Here's My Suggestion

by Appletastic

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Pinkie Pie, Main 6
Length: 6287

Nobody ever takes Pinkie Pie's suggestions. That needs to be changed.

Pinkie Pie has realized that her friends often ignore her suggestions. She comes up with a plan to fix it, and puts it into action immediately.

The plan goes well, at least from Pinkie's point of view. But the rest of the Mane 6 must stop her before things get out of hand.

If it's not already too late, that is.

Published 2013-01-12 16:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-23 01:17:05 UTC

The Party

Pinkie Pie woke up to the sound of birds singing. She rubbed her eyes groggily, then stumbled over to her window and threw it open. She had most certainly not gotten enough sleep the night before. She had been up late into the night, thinking. Ever since her friends had so blatantly rejected her fabulous fake facial hair, she had been determined to find a way to get them to accept her mustache. But how? She leaned out of her window and let out a melancholy sigh. Why didn't her friends ever listen to her suggestions? They only ever listened to her on the subject of parties.

Pinkie's face lit up. A party! That was it! And not just any party, either: a mustache party! Attendees would have to wear mustaches. Surely that would get her friends, nay, all of Ponyville, to appreciate the 'stache. Plus, it would have all of the basic staples of a party: music, dancing, decorations... there was a lot of planning to do. She rushed down the stairs to prepare for her party. First, she had some flyers to make.

Rainbow Dash gawked at the flyer pinned to a tree. Its background was in two hues of pink, and emblazoned in the centre of it was a bushy black mustache.

Mustache Party! it read. Tonight in Ponyville's town square. Music, dancing, snacks, laughter, and mustaches! Mustaches will be provided on entry. Come one, come all!

Rainbow rolled her eyes. No doubt Pinkie was behind this. She'd been trying to convince everyone to wear her false mustaches since the Timberwolf fiasco. This was just another one of her harebrained schemes. As Rainbow pondered this, she did not notice the rose-coloured streak zooming up behind her.

"Hey Dashie! I see you've noticed my flyer! What do you think?" shouted Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, startled, and whipped around to face Pinkie.

"Pinkie Pie, what have I told you about sneaking up on me?" yelled Rainbow Dash. Pinkie's ears drooped a little. Rainbow took an apologetic look in her eyes.

"Anyway, I think it's crazy. Your parties are the best in Equestria, though, so I suppose I'll go," Pinkie instantly brightened at this remark.

"Yay!" she squealed, "It just wouldn't be a party without you there, Dashie! I'll see you then!" With that, Pinkie raced off. She had more party planning to do. Rainbow rolled her eyes again. This party was sure to be interesting, at the very least.

Pinkie Pie hung her last banner. With a pink background, and a curly mustache, it matched the style of the flyers that she had hung all over Ponyville earlier that day. Pinkie looked down at her Super Duper Uber Amazebulous Mustache Party To-Do List, and checked off decorate. She looked down at the rest of the things on the SDUAMPTDL, and did a double-take. Decorating was the last job! Now that she was done, she would double-check her checklist, just like Twilight had taught her. It was too bad that Twilight couldn't come for her party, but she was in Canterlot on important business. Pinkie sighed. It wouldn't be the same without Twilight. Or any of her friends, for that matter. Good thing that the rest of them were here.

Pinkie Pie shook her head. Back to the list. First thing: mustaches. Yep. A huge bin of mustaches sat next to the entrance of the party. There were enough in there for all of Ponyville. Snacks. You betcha. A long table covered with an elegant tablecloth sat to one side of the party, holding bowls overflowing with hay chips, grass punch, and other pony-tastic snacks. Music. Uh-huh. Ponyville's best DJ, Vinyl Scratch, was setting up her turntables in a corner. Pinkie continued with her list. Dance floor, party hats, cake... yes, everything was in order. Now all that was left to do was wait for ponies to start arriving. Pinkie let out a small squeal of excitement. She couldn't wait!

It was a good thing that Pinkie had enough mustaches for all of Ponyville, because that's exactly who showed up. Ponies from all corners of the town had seen Pinkie's flyers, and all were interested in her party. Town square was packed with ponies dancing, eating, laughing, and, most importantly, wearing mustaches. Pinkie traversed the party, greeting friends. She found Fluttershy lingering on the edges of the party, alone.

"Oh, hello Pinkie. This is a wonderful party you've put on. It's also very... loud," she whispered, cringing at the loud beat of the music.

"I'm glad you like it, ol' Flutter ol' pal! I could ask Vinyl to turn the music down a bit if you like," replied Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, no, Pinkie. Lots of ponies are really enjoying the music. I wouldn't want them to be annoyed," said Fluttershy, smiling at Pinkie Pie.

"Alrighty, if you say so, Fluttershy! Anyway, it looks like we're getting low on cupcakes over at the snack table. I'd better go do something about that. See you later, alligator!" chattered Pinkie as she began to trot away, waving over her shoulder at Fluttershy. Fluttershy waved back. Pinkie didn't want to show it, but her conversation with Fluttershy had left her slightly disturbed. Fluttershy hadn't accepted her suggestion, even though it was the smallest, most harmless thing! This was worse than she had initially thought. It seemed like it had gone from ponies listening to her suggestions, then denying them, to ponies just automatically ignoring her suggestions, no matter what! Pinkie had had enough of that. But what was she to do?

That was the moment that Rarity chose to appear.

"Pinkie, darling! Your party really is smashing, though I do have some problems with the, er, attire," she gushed, adjusting her mustache as it threatened to fall off her nose. Pinkie wasn't paying attention. As Rarity blathered in the background, her thoughts continued. She felt the urge to express her thoughts aloud.

"Why doesn't anypony listen to my suggestions?" she blurted, cutting Rarity off mid-sentence. Rarity forced a smile, though she was annoyed by Pinkie's interruption.

"Pinkie dear, of course we listen to your suggestions! We're at this party, aren't we? You suggested it!"

"Name one other time."

Rarity began to stutter. "Well... I... uh..."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Pinkie, jamming one of her hooves into the other, "You guys never take my suggestions! Well, I'm going to fix that!" she galloped over to Vinyl Scratch and asked her to turn the music off. This caused most ponies in the crowd to turn their heads towards the two ponies. Standing up on the slightly raised platform, Pinkie Pie began a speech.

"So, who's enjoying this party?!" screamed Pinkie Pie. Cheering emerged from the crowd.

"You think it was a good suggestion?!" More cheering answered.

"Then how about you take my suggestions all the time in the future?!" Most ponies cheered, if only because the action was familiar.

Pinkie showed a wide grin to the crowd, but it wasn't her usual, gleeful smile. This smile looked slightly maniacal.

"It's settled, then. I'll probably give you some suggestions in the morning. Now goodnight, everypony." Pinkie chuckled to herself and trotted towards home.

In the crowd, Rarity grimaced. She had a feeling that something very bad was about to happen, and she was partially to blame.

Author's Note

I realize this isn't really a dark story yet, but it will get darker in future chapters.

Also, this is my first fic, so I would appreciate any feedback you guys could give me!

It Escalates

Pinkie Pie was having difficulty. This was not a common thing in the world of Pinkie Pie. She was currently trying to set up a stage in Ponyville's marketplace from which to issue her suggestions. Usually she was able to do anything, but today, something seemed... off. She attempted to prop up a board between two cement blocks. As it fell to the ground for the eleventh time, she screeched in frustration and glanced around desperately. She noticed two stallions chatting together off to the side and rushed over to them.

"Excuse me, gentleponies, but could I have some help with my construction project over there?" Pinkie Pie inquired. The stallions in question either didn't hear her or ignored her. Pinkie assumed it was the latter.

Pinkie's face contorted into an expression of rage. She was tired of being ignored. She stormed towards the two stallions and slammed her hoof down on the table between them.

"I suggest you help me with my construction project," Pinkie Pie whispered in a coarse voice. The stallions startled and stared up at Pinkie Pie.

"Uh, sure lady. Right away," stuttered one of the stallions, before racing over to Pinkie's pile of construction materials and beginning to build. He was closely followed by his companion. After a few minutes, they had several boards balanced between cement blocks. Pinkie Pie stood up on the makeshift stage, a megaphone in her hoof.

"Goooooooooooooood morning ponies of Ponyville! I'm here on this fine morning to make some suggestions to you!" Pinkie shouted through the megaphone. A few heads turned in her direction. Pinkie pulled her Big Great Fabulous Awesome List of Suggestions, or BGFALS, out of her pock-- wait a minute. Pinkie doesn't have pockets. Where did that come from? Well, wherever it came from, Pinkie began reading from it.

"Number one: I suggest that everypony in Ponyville wear mustaches all the time. For your convenience, I will provide mustaches," began Pinkie. More heads turned towards her, most wearing quizzical expressions.

"Number two: I suggest that everypony in Ponyville attend a party every day. For your convenience, I will throw these parties," she continued. As even more heads turned towards her, she was recognized as 'that crazy pony from last night's party.'

"And lastly, for today, number three: I suggest that everypony in Ponville follow my suggestions for a week. For your convenience, I will be in this spot every morning to issue my suggestions. Alrighty then, thanks everypony! Have a good day! I'll be back with the mustaches soon!" Pinkie shouted, then leaped off of the stage. The ponies of Ponyville glanced at each other in confusion, then went back to their regular business.

One of the heads that had turned towards Pinkie was tangerine in colour, had a blonde mane, and was wearing a rather distinctive ten gallon hat. The mare in question sighed and followed Pinkie to Sugarcube Corner, where she was rummaging through a bin of random junk.

"Hey Pinkie, can Ah talk to ya for a minute?" asked Applejack. Pinkie Pie looked up.

"Oh, sure thing, Applejack! I'll be here a while, looking for my mustaches," replied Pinkie.

"Sugarcube, Ah'm not sure that ya really understand about suggestions. Ya see, they ain't somethin' ponies have to listen to, they're just ideas, not necessarily great, but sometimes good. Ya understand? It's not because nopony likes you that we don't always take your suggestions, it's that--"

"Don't always take my suggestions? You NEVER take my suggestions! Ponies take other ponies suggestions, sometimes even when they're bad, but never mine! I need to fix this. I need to be appreciated!" Pinkie found a box of mustaches and pulled it out of the bin. She slapped one on her own face, then threw one at Applejack. Applejack let it fall to the ground.

"No thanks, Pinkie, Ah don't wan' ta wear a mustache. Anyway, like Ah said, it's not--"

"TAKE MY SUGGESTION!" screamed Pinkie. She grabbed the fallen mustache and slapped it on Applejack's face. Applejack tore it off.

Pinkie Pie had had enough. She felt a blind, bitter rage coursing through her veins. She brought her hoof up and smashed it down onto Applejack's back. Applejack crumpled to the ground.

"Now," Pinkie Pie whispered, her apparent calm more terrifying than her former rage, "I suggest that you put on that mustache and help me give these out to other ponies." Applejack scrambled to her feet, her head hanging low. She gingerly placed the mustache on the end of her nose. She followed Pinkie Pie back to the marketplace and began handing out the mustaches to passerby. Nopony noticed the tears of shame and regret welling in the corners of her eyes.

Late that night, after Pinkie's party, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy met in the cellar of Sweet Apple Acres. A hoof-shaped bruise bloomed on Applejack's back where Pinkie Pie had struck her.

"What Ah saw in her eyes girls, it frightened me like nothin' ever has. There was such a deep hatred there. Ah don' know how this happened to our Pinkie, but I have a right awful feelin' that it's our fault," Applejack explained to the others. Rarity sobbed in the corner, lying atop a stack of burlap sacks.

"Th-this is all m-m-m-my fault... all my f-f-fault! I-if I hadn't st-st-stuttered when sh-she asked m-me about taking h-her suggestions, we w-wouldn't be in this s-situation in the first place!" she wailed.

"Oh, no Rarity, this is my fault! I should have listened to her suggestion at the mustache party," consoled Fluttershy.

"Guys, this is Pinkie we're talking about! She never raised a hoof to anyone in her life, at least not on purpose! It was probably an accident, or something," said Rainbow Dash. She was the most relaxed of the group.

"Ah don' know, Rainbow. Whenever somepony refused to wear a mustache, Pinkie would hold her hoof up in the air, jus' like she did before she hit me! Somethin' in her's snapped, and Ah wouldn't want to cross her before we get it fixed," replied Applejack.

"Oh, if only Twilight was here! She'd know what to do!" lamented Fluttershy. Applejack's eyes lit up.

"Twahlight! That's it! She will know what to do! We'll send her a letter in Canterlot," declared Applejack.

"Hold your horses, AJ. We're not a bunch of wusses. We should at least try to stop her ourselves before we go crying to Twilight. She's just Pinkie, after all. It's not like this is the first time she's gone insane," protested Rainbow Dash.

"Well, alright, but let's at least come up with a plan first. Ah want to be very cautious where crazy Pinkie's involved," answered Applejack.

And so they talked until dawn, and a plan was formulated.

The Plan

It was up to Fluttershy to put the plan into action, so just before Pinkie was to issue her suggestions that morning, Fluttershy intercepted her in the marketplace. The pale yellow pony was already wearing a mustache.

"Um, hi Pinkie Pie. The rest of the girls and I were wondering if we could, um, help you give your suggestions today?" squeaked Fluttershy. She put on a wide grin. Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes.

"You guys want to 'help' me, huh? More like replace all of my suggestions with your own! No way am I letting all of you make all the suggestions again! Then we'd be right back where we started," spat Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy's ears drooped.

"Oh... Well, okay then. We weren't going to do that, we just wanted to show our support, but... okay..." Fluttershy whispered, backing up quietly.

Pinkie Pie found herself, if only for a minute. She left behind the past two days, if only for a moment. She saw her friend, Fluttershy, the kindest pony in all of Equestria, who would never try to hurt her. Pinkie's second of sight ended, but it had been enough.

"Well... I suppose we could give it a try... But no tricks, you hear me?!" she screeched. She spun around and began marching for the stage. But instead of perking up, Fluttershy's ears drooped further. Even if Pinkie wasn't herself, she was still Fluttershy's friend. Fluttershy felt awful for what was about to happen. Suddenly, the rest of Fluttershy's friends were beside her. They sported mustaches as well.

"She bought it?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"She bought it," confirmed Fluttershy. Her voice wavered slightly. Applejack wrapped a foreleg around her.

"Ah know yer havin' regrets, sugarcube, but don' worry about it. We'll have Pinkie back to normal soon, an' then she'll be thankin' us," she comforted.

"Well, if you say so..." said Fluttershy. She had a feeling that this wouldn't go well.

When the other four ponies arrived, PInkie was almost finished giving her suggestions.

"And lastly, I suggest that everyone dance the polka at least twice a day. For your convenience, I-- oh, hi girls! Come up on stage here and help me. Some ponies are laughing at my suggestions!" shouted Pinkie Pie.

"I wonder why," muttered Rainbow Dash under her breath. The four ponies got up on the stage, two on either side of Pinkie Pie.

"Anyway, now that my friends are here, we can continue. For your convenience, I will provide polka music at this very spot every hour. Alright, goodbye now!" finished Pinkie, stepping off of the stage.

This was the cue the other four had been waiting for. As a single body, they tore their mustaches off of their faces and flung them to the dirt below.

"Ponies of Ponyville!" began Rarity, "You need not take her suggestions!" Pinkie Pie whipped around, bristling.

"Control your own lives! Pinkie Pie may have threatened you, but we are many!" continued Rainbow Dash. A murmur came from the crowd. Pinkie Pie ground her teeth together as she crept towards the speakers step by step.

"She's hurt me too, but that didn't stop me! We have our own suggestions, and y'all have yours! Stand up for yourself!" yelled Applejack, showing off her purple bruise. The murmuring increased. Pinkie's eyes blazed.

Fluttershy was shaking in her hooves, but she managed to stutter out, "W-w-w-we st-st-stand t-together. Um, fight back?" The murmuring grew to shouts. Pinkie Pie rushed to the front of the stage.

"These ponies are scoundrels! Traitors! Treasonists! Don't listen to them, whatever you do! Instead, I suggest throwing rocks at them and driving them out of town!" screeched Pinkie Pie. She flung her megaphone at Rainbow Dash's head as hard as she could. It hit Rainbow's skull with a metallic clang.

"This would be a good time to run," muttered Applejack from the corner of her mouth.

The four ponies turned tail and fled out of Ponyville as fast as their hooves or wings could carry them. They heard Pinkie galloping behind them. The occasional rock sailed past their heads. They rushed past the treeline of the Everfree Forest. Pinkie Pie did not follow.

"Don't try to return to Ponyville! You will have no welcome!" screamed Pinkie from behind them. The four collapsed in a pile under a huge oak tree to catch their breath.

"Nice plan, Rainbow dash," said Rarity sarcastically.

Fluttershy fainted.

The yellow pegasus cracked open her eyes to see the grass roof of a hut.

"So, Fluttershy finally awakes. It seems your flight gave her the shakes," said a familiar voice in an exotic accent. Fluttershy rolled onto her side and saw her friends sipping tea from wooden cups. Zecora sat next to them, examining Fluttershy's face.

"It is lucky that I was alarmed. Out in the forest, she could have been harmed," rhymed Zecora to the others.

"Oh! Thank you for rescuing me, Zecora," said Fluttershy. Zecora smiled.

"Now, what is this about Pinkie Pie? This craze that caused to her you to lie?"

"Like we were tellin' ya, Zecora, she jus' snapped. We came up with a plan, but it failed. Next, we were goin' ta write a letter to Twalight," explained Applejack.

"A letter wouldn't work anymore, AJ! We need to fight her!" protested Rainbow Dash.

"I could not help you with the fighting, but perhaps I could help you with some writing," suggested Zecora. Rainbow Dash sighed dramatically. Applejack ignored her.

"That would be mighty kind of ya, Zecora. We'd be honoured to have your help," she said.

"Enough of this, then, let us get a pen," said Zecora. She strode over to a table and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. The four ponies and one zebra began to write.

Author's Note

Wow, I just realized how Pinkie deprived this chapter was. Next one will definitely be more Pinkie-centric.

Hatred

When the traitors had disappeared, Pinkie began her trot back to Ponyville's marketplace. But she could not relax. Sure, her ex-friends were gone, but her mind was awhirl. Why had her ex-friends done that? They were her friends! Well, they had been, anyway.

Was she too harsh? Surely not. After all, she just wanted for her suggestions to be taken now and then. Where was the harm in that? Yeah, she'd gotten mad at Applejack. What, you hit a girl once and then they're out to get you? Pinkie sighed and shook her head. Some ponies were just so immature. She wasn't a bad pony, other ponies just didn't know how to recognize her goodness. That was all. Pinkie Pie nodded to affirm this.

Anyway, she had more pressing matters on her hooves. She needed to get back to the marketplace right away. What if some other ponies were inspired by her ex-friends' little display and decided to take their own little action? She couldn't have that. No, they still had to take her suggestions for six more days.

Pinkie Pie shook her head again. She shouldn't be so worried. Everything would be just fine.

Nothing, in fact, was fine.

Pinkie couldn't even make it into the marketplace. The crowd had set up a barrier blocking her from entering. A wall of ponies stood firmly behind it. In the centre of them was Mayor Mare.

"You won't rule this town anymore, you tyrant!" she shouted.

Pinkie stood stock still. A wave of feelings washed over her. Astonishment, fear, grief, anger, betrayal...

Then, as quickly as they had come, they washed away. One feeling swept over her, erasing all of the others. Pinkie wasn't sure if she had ever truly felt this before. If she had, it certainly hadn't been this strong. It wrapped her in its cruel arms and squeezed until it was all of her being.

It was hatred.

Pinkie Pie screamed. It was a shrill, piercing scream, the likes of which the citizens of Ponyville had never before heard. The scream was full of passion, a hot, burning passion that could not be tamed. The scream was not out of terror. It was the cry of a creature that had learned to hate.

Pinkie Pie flew at the barrier like a creature possessed. Ponyvillians who had only moments before stood firmly behind the barriers scattered like dust on the wind. Pinkie was a whirlwhind of hooves. Very few ponies were left unscathed by her rage. Ponies struggled to escape the fray. Those that did fled to their houses as quickly as they could. Pinkie Pie showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Mayor Mare had had enough. She rolled away from the fight and struggled to her hooves.

"Alright, Pinkie Pie. I give in," she rasped, her voice low and hoarse. Pinkie Pie froze. She rose elegantly to her hooves and smiled. This smile, as before, was not her usual smile. Nor was it the slightly maniacal grin of the mustache party.

This smile was happy. But it also displayed insanity.

And maybe a hint of evil. Just a hint.

"Alright, everypony. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I have a few suggestions for you all."

As soon as Pinkie Pie had finished giving out her suggestions, the citizens of Ponyville- uh, I mean Pinkieville- got to work. They cooked and baked sweet treats for Her Pink Highness. They swept Her floors and washed Her dishes. They erected great statues in Her honour. Of course, there were grumblings at first:

"She's insane!"

"A tyrant!"

"No better than the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Those ponies were quickly silenced by a blow from Her Pink Highness's hoof. The mare in question sat upon a grand throne in town square, looking down upon her subjects, both literally and figuratively. She wore a regal crown and a disdainful expression. Every now and then She would stand and issue a suggestion from Her throne. She resorted to violence at the slightest sign of defiance.

And so, as She had come to hate the citizens of Pinkieville, the citizens of Pinkieville had come to hate Her.

Back in the Everfree Forest, a letter was being written by four ponies and a zebra, all of whom were oblivious to the goings on in the nearby town.

"And perhaps we should tell that she struck other ponies as well," suggested Zecora. Rarity, who was in charge of writing due to her magic, nodded and added a line to the letter.

"Oh, just tell her to come home soon!" wailed Fluttershy, who had become quite distressed after the discussion of the events of the past days. Rarity made note of Fluttershy's want with a swish of the pen. Applejack read the letter from over Rarity's shoulder.

"I think that's a mighty fine letter we have there," she affirmed. The others nodded in agreement.Suddenly, Zecora looked distressed.

"It's very good, my pony friends, but how can we get this letter to send?" she asked.

"Well Spikey-Wikey could--" started Rarity.

"He's with Twahlight!" interjected Applejack.

"Or Derpy--" suggested Rainbow Dash.

"She's in Ponyville. With Pinkie," said Rarity bluntly.

"Oh, we'll never get it sent!" cried Fluttershy.

The four argued for a while. Zecora remained silent, until she suddenly shouted, "Ponies! Is this dispute true? Do you not see who you have with you? The one to send it will be Rarity. Has she not told you of her ability?" A slight blush crept onto Rarity's cheeks.

"I-I seem to have f-forgotten. I can send letters magically," she stuttered, embarrassed.With a flash of blue light, the letter disappeared.

"Now you may all stay with I, until we receive Twilight's reply," volunteered Zecora. The others accepted her offer graciously.

Her Pink Highness struck the stallion across the face. Hard.

He fell to the ground, and She smiled.

She loved this feeling.

A Letter Received

A Letter Received

Twilight Sparkle sat at a table in the Canterlot Royal Library, poring over a book. Spike ran back and forth between the bookshelves and the table, adding to the ever-growing pile of books beside Twilight. Suddenly, a letter appeared beside her in a puff of blue smoke.

"That's odd," she murmured, turning away from her book, "I wasn't expecting any correspondence today." Despite its unexpected appearance, she opened the letter and began to read.

As Twilight's eyes moved quickly down the letter, they grew wider and wider. Her face warped into an expression of shock and worry.

"Twilight, what's the matter? Is something wrong?" asked Spike when he saw his friend's reaction. Twilight nodded.

"Spike," she managed, her voice shaking, "take a letter."

Later that day, a letter appeared in Zecora's hut. It arrived in a jet of green fire, igniting a vacant chair. Zecora let out a cry of surprise and began trying to stamp out the fire with her hoof.

"Although I love our Twilight dear, she should know better than to send fire here!" She eventually managed to put the fire out. Rarity levitated the letter towards her with her magic.

"Now, let's see what this letter says, shall we?" She unfurled the letter and began reading.

"My dear friends,

I was quite disturbed to hear of your predicament. This is quite uncharacteristic of Pinkie Pie's usual happy nature. I have been studying magic here in Canterlot, and I think I may have found a spell to revert Pinkie back to her usual state of mind. I will come back to Ponyville as soon as I can. Until then, I believe it would be best to remain in the Everfree Forest. Pinkie's actions you described sound dangerous, and I would not want you to be confronted with that.

Sincerely,

Twilight Sparkle."

Fluttershy sighed with relief, "I'm so glad she'll be home soon!" Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, looked agitated.

"How soon is soon? We can't stay out here much longer- no offense, Zecora- but anyway, we need to get back home!" Applejack's eyes fell towards the ground, and she absentmindedly rubbed her bruise.

"We're all anxious t' get home, Rainbow. But you've seen what Pinkie's doing. We should listen to Twalight this time and stay safe here." Rainbow hated to admit it, but what Applejack said made sense. She sat down on a chair and began a long wait.

Back in Pinkieville, the finishing touches were being put on Her Pink Highness's candy palace.

"Just a few more gumdrops there... NO! There, you idiots!" She was supervising the construction project. One mare tripped and spilled a box of gumdrops on the ground. Her Pink Highness whipped around at the sound of sugared treats hitting the dirt. The mare scrambled to gather up the gumdrops, but the heavy iron collar around her neck restricted her movement somewhat. Her Pink Highness galloped over to her.

"Five second rule! You're too late!" She screeched. The mare ducked her head.

"Please, Your Pink Highness! It was only an accident!" pleaded the mare. Her Pink Highness narrowed her eyes.

"Well, I don't allow accidents around here," She hissed. With all Her might, She brought both of her front hooves down on the mare. The mare screamed in pain while Her Pink Highness looked down on her, eyes dark.

"I suggest you take her away now," She ordered. Two stallions rushed forwards and grabbed the mare by her front legs. As the mare continued to scream, they dragged her off. Her Pink Highness watched until the stallions dragged the mare over the hill and they could be seen no more.

She turned back to the construction of her palace as the last gumdrop was set into place.

"Good!" A smile graced Her face.

"Now, on to our next project."

Not a protest came from the citizens of Pinkieville. They did not want to meet the same fate as the mare from earlier.

Twilight Sparkle was frantically packing her saddlebags, while Spike sat on the bed of her chambers in Canterlot.

"Spike, come on! Help me pack. We need to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible!" she shouted at the baby dragon. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Don't you think you're overreacting, Twilight? It's just Pinkie Pie! She'd never hurt anypony. It's probably just a bit misunderstanding," he protested.

"That's what worries me. It's true that she'd never hurt anypony, but now she has. Something must be seriously wrong. Like," Twilight ranted, paranoia coming into her eyes, "what if she's under mind control? Or something? We have to save her!"

"I still think you're taking this too seriously, Twilight. But if it makes you stop this panicking, I guess I'll help you," agreed Spike.

"Great! Start packing!" panted Twilight. She had exhausted herself with her rant and her darting to and fro. Spike grabbed some books and started shoving them in her saddlebags.

"Don't worry, Ponyville. I'll save you," stated Twilight to herself. She went back to her frantic packing.

Author's Note

Woo! Writer's block gone!
Enjoy your regularly scheduled update. It's a short one, but I think this is a good place to end the chapter.

A Return

The next day in the early hours of the morning, Twilight Sparkle trotted into Pinkieville, Spike at her side. Twilight hadn't known what to expect upon her return, but it certainly wasn't this. The town she knew as Ponyville was silent at this time of the morning, as expected, but the surroundings had changed drastically. Where there had been nothing only days before were grand statues and piles of candy heaped to the sky. Most buildings were painted bright pink. Scrawled in crude lettering on the side of a building at the edge of town was Welcome to Pinkieville. Under that, in smaller letters, was Population: Opressed. Twilight tossed her head nervously. This new Ponyville was giving her the creeps.

A clock struck six times.

Slowly but surely, ponies began to trudge out of their homes. They wore iron collars and held their heads low in shame. Many sported bruises on various areas of their bodies. Twilight watched their march with her mouth agape. Spike grabbed hold of her leg to assure himself. This was beyond the nightmares that had plagued them the night before. This wasn't just scary- this was terrifying! The only time Twilight had heard of slavery like this was from Celestia's account of Sombra's reign. Twilight was struck with the almost irresistible urge to flee the town.

That was when Her Pink Highness emerged from Her palace. She was clad in robes of soft, supple rabbit fur dyed a shade of pink deeper than Her mane. She walked with a regal air about her, Her snout sticking up towards the heavens. She wore Her mane long and straight. Twilight Sparkle barely recognized Her as her happy, laughing friend, Pinkie Pie. Her Pink Highness made Her way to what was once a couple of boards balanced between cement blocks, and was now an extravagant stage. Her Pink Highness cleared her throat, then swept Her eyes over the gathering of her subjects. As Her eyes lit upon Twilight, they widened in surprise. After She had had time to process Her friend in the crowd, Her Pink Highness's eyes narrowed.

"Twilight Sparkle!" She shouted in her most regal voice, "Why have you come back here? If you hope to question My leadership, you will be banished! If not, you can pick up your collar, and one for Spike, in that bin over there." She gestured with Her hoof to a bin overflowing with iron collars. Twilight stood in shock. Her mouth opened and closed, as if she were trying to form words, but couldn't. It was Spike who finally spoke up.

"Nothing like that, Pinkie Pie! We just-" The crowd gasped, cutting him off. Her Pink Highness narrowed Her eyes further.

"You dare speak My mortal name? I am past that name! I am a ruler! I am a god! You shall refer to Me as such, or be banished!" Her Pink Highness leaped off of the stage and charged towards Spike. He stumbled backwards in horror. Twilight Sparkle suddenly regained the ability to move. She grabbed Spike's claw and raced off in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Her Pink Highness followed, and She recalled another chase to the forest. That seemed like so long ago. But She couldn't get sentimental now. She had a troublemaker to banish.

At the forest's edge, instead of continuing into the forest, as Her Pink Highness had expected, Twilight Sparkle whipped around to face her. The unicorn's face scrunched up in concentration, and her horn began to glow with bright purple magic. Her Pink Highness scrambled backwards, but Twilight shot a beam of light towards her. This was a spell that would remove anything against the nature of the one it was cast on. Any mind control or anything at all that was not brought by the receiving pony's desires or instincts would vanish. The beam hit Her Pink Highness square in the chest, and She was thrown backwards by the force. Twilight Sparkle watched Her struggle to her feet. Looking into Her eyes, Twilight found them cold, hard, and full of anger.

"Go to your friends, Twilight Sparkle, for they, like you, have defied Me! You are banished, and you shall never set hoof in Pinkieville again!" She screeched. Twilight Sparkle looked shocked and hurt at her failure. She stared into Her Pink Highness's eyes for a moment, looking for a shred of her former friend. Finding nothing, she turned and galloped into the Everfree Forest, Spike at her side.

A knock came on Zecora's door a short while later. Rarity rushed to open it, and found a rather dejected-looking Twilight and a frightened Spike standing outside.

"Hello, Rarity," murmured Twilight, then pushed past her into the hut. She flopped down in a corner and refused to look at anyone.

"Twilight Sparkle, please look at us, for you are making quite a fuss. We need to know what happened in Ponyville. Did Pinkie Pie's strange behaviour you kill?" questioned Zecora. Twilight only shook her head. Spike related the happenings of the day to the five gathered in the hut.

"If you ask me," said Rainbow Dash, stomping her hoof on the ground, "the only way out of this is action. We need to fight Pinkie Pie, really fight her!"

"We can't fight her, sugarcube! We can't!" shouted Applejack. Rainbow pressed her face close to Applejack's.

"I don't know how you do things on your farm, sugarcube, and I don't care if you're too weak, but the bottom line is, this is the last course of action we can take." Applejack pressed her face closer to Rainbow Dash, anger in her eyes. Suddenly, Fluttershy spoke up.

"Rainbow Dash is right." Everyone in the hut, including Twilight Sparkle, turned to gawk at her. The yellow pegasus lowered her head nervously, but continued.

"We already tried sensible words, non-violent action, and magic. We've tried everything else. There's only one thing left to do." The beings in the hut stared at her. Gradually, a few of them began to nod in agreement. Finally, Applejack agreed.

"You're right, Fluttershy. This is the last course of action. Let's begin planning."

And so once again, plans were made.