The Drawing Board

Ponyville slept under Luna’s moon, the streets silent, save for the hoofsteps of three ponies and one small dragon cloaked in the night’s shadow. The four companions approached the town plaza from the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, as one of them finally broke the silence.

“That was some party, but I didn’t expect it to last that long. Spike and I still have to clean up the library for tomorrow, and I have a letter to write to the Princess on top of that.”

“But Twiiiiiilight...” the young dragon whined.

“No buts, mister. We have to get it done before the library opens in the morning,” Twilight Sparkle admonished her assistant. Her demeanor softened as Spike sulked at her response. “But, if we get it finished without any complaining, I may be able to let you sleep in.”

Spike perked up at the prospect. “Until noon?”

“Until nine.”

“I don’t know...”

“Fine, ten o'clock and no later.”

“It’s a deal, if I get extra gemstones in my cereal in the morning.”

The two other ponies chuckled at their friends’ haggling. As they reached an intersection, one of them interrupted Twilight and Spike’s bickering.

“Well, this is my stop. Thanks again for the superific party! Gummy had so much fun he can barely stand.”

The alligator in question was draped lazily over his provider’s back, toothless jaws clamped on a lock of her fluffy pink mane to retain his balance.

“Oh, it was the absolute least we could do, Pinkie,” the final member of the group chimed in. “After all, it would have been an absolute affront to social etiquette if the mare of the hour were required to organize her own birthday celebration.”

“Silly Rarity, I LOVE throwing parties! I could never have a bad time at a party!” The smile on Pinkie Pie’s face lit up the entire square, but it was short lived as the memories of the rest of the day resurfaced. “Still, I can’t thank you girls enough, especially after how I acted earlier.” Pinkie lowered her head, averting her eyes. “I should have trusted you.”

Twilight quickly jumped in to reassure her forlorn friend. “Pinkie, you don’t have to apologize to us again, and you have nothing to feel bad about. Celestia knows I’ve jumped to some crazy conclusions before. We all make mistakes.” She smiled as Pinkie lifted her head, her face adorned with a sheepish grin. Twilight never had to worry about Pinkie Pie for too long, she always managed to bounce back.

“Thanks, Twilight. I promise, I’ll never doubt my friends ever again.”

“Girls,” Rarity interrupted. “As much as I enjoy these heartwarming moments, we really should get going. I still have to check on Sweetie Belle, she’s probably worried sick about me.”

Twilight’s head bolted upright. “Oh my gosh you’re right! Spike, we need to go now. Oooh, we’re going to be up all night at this rate.”

“Hey, our deal still stands even if you complain, right?”

“Sorry Spike.” A mischievous grin crept into Twilight’s face. “Should have read the fine print.”

Pinkie couldn’t help but laugh as her friends all went their separate ways, two of them still arguing as they ran. They really were some of the best friends a pony could ask for.

Probably better friends than I deserve.

A rustling sound on her back shook Pinkie out of her thoughts. The blank, listless stare she received from Gummy clearly broadcast his outrage at the fact that he was not in his warm, cozy bed right now.

“You’re right Gummy, all parties must come to end, and this pity party is no exception. Let’s go home.”

Pinkie carefully nudged the door to Sugarcube Corner open, avoiding the bell that announced the arrival of customers. It wouldn’t do to wake the Cakes up this late at night. She snuck up the stairs, carefully balanced on the tips of her hooves, and silently slipped into her room without so much as a creak from the door’s hinges. Stealth is a critical skill in any party planner’s repertoire. A surprise party isn’t a surprise if you get caught, and Pinkie had plenty of practice over the years.

Gummy rolled off of Pinkie’s back with about as much effort as he always puts into anything he does, expertly landing on a pillow on the floor and immediately falling to sleep. Pinkie glanced around the room, her gaze resting on the table in the center and the “guests” seated around it.

I guess I left a bit of a mess, huh? I’d better get all this put away.

Pinkie hoisted the sack of flour that she had dubbed ‘Madame Le Flour’ onto her back and picked up the bucket that held ‘Mr. Turnip’ with her teeth. She quickly relocated the party guests to their rightful places in the storeroom. The last thing she wanted was for the Cake’s to wake up in the morning and discover that their supplies had been pilfered.

‘Sir Lintsalot’ was quickly dispatched with a handy broom and dustpan, and only one guest remained. Pinkie stared for a few moments at the trio of rocks that made up ‘Rocky’. The other attendees had merely been random objects from around the shop, but there was nothing random about the stones that made up this imaginary partier. She hadn’t been in her right mind when the guests had been assembled, and examining the stones in her now lucid state caused Pinkie no small amount of distress, a feeling she had devoted her entire life to trying to avoid.

How fitting, that in one of my lowest moments, I would pick out those three.

Pinkie rolled the first rock onto her back. A simple chunk of useless minerals to most, but to Pinkie, it meant so much more. The small, brownish colored rock was schist, a fairly common rock to be found back on her family’s farm. Not a particularly sturdy specimen, its fine layers were prone to flaking and could easily be split without much pressure. She carefully carried the rock to her closet and opened the door.

Behind the door was, for the most part, an unorganized pile of rocks on the floor. Pinkie lowered herself until she was laying on the floor and delicately shifted the chunk of schist from her back onto the pile.

Safe and sound. I don’t know what I would have done if that had broken.

Pinkie wanted to kick herself for handling such a delicate specimen in her earlier fit of madness. Each and every rock in this closet was special to her, and breaking one of them would be like breaking a piece of herself. Each of these rocks held a precious memory. Some of them were happy, some were sad, some made her smile, and some made her mad, but all of them were important to her, more than she could say. She could identify them all by their shapes, their colors, and the cracks that adorned them, and looking at them let her relive her most powerful memories as clear as the day she found them.

She trotted over to the two remaining rocks at the table. She positioned herself next to the stool they rested on and gave it a little nudge, bumping the second stone onto her back. Argillite, a sturdy rock, smooth to the touch, with a dark blue-gray color. This particular specimen had been found in Ghastly Gorge, a trip Pinkie wouldn’t soon forget.

As Pinkie walked the stone across the room, she reflected on the interesting choices made by her maddened self. These stones weren’t picked by mere coincidence. She had chosen these stones in particular to represent her anger, and her sorrow. These three held powerful memories like the others, but they were different. These were memories of her darkest moments, and surely they had resonated with her madness on a subconscious level.

The second stone rolled to the floor of the closet, and Pinkie quickly returned to the third. The largest of the three rocks, Pinkie almost lost her balance when it slid onto her back with a little more momentum than she had intended. She righted herself with a little effort and trudged back toward the closet. Slate, a common rock back on the farm, and a good, sturdy building material. Much of her family’s revenue had come from harvesting slate. It fell to the floor next to the others, and the night’s cleanup was complete.

Pinkie laid down in the closet’s doorway, exhausted from having hauled three sizeable chunks of rock across the room when she was already tired out from the day’s festivities. She looked at the rocks before her, contemplating something. It had been a while since she last took time to reminisce about days gone by, and her brain was working too hard to sleep.

Which one, which one...

She glanced at the schist momentarily. Passing it by, her next focus was the slate, then the argillite. She shook her head and shivered.

No, not those tonight. After today, I need something to lift my spirits! How can I greet the day with a smile if I end the night with a frown?

It didn’t take long to find what she was looking for. In the corner, all by itself, laid a very small rock, almost a pebble, that she easily lifted with one hoof. Pinkie always kept this one separate from the others, so it wouldn’t get lost.

Perfect! A surefire way to brighten my day!

Pinkie laid the stone on the ground before her, crossed her hooves in front of her, and laid her head on the floor, staring at the rock as she silently began to dream.

“PINKAMENA! PINKAMENA WHERE ARE YOU?” A grey coated mare with her mane tied in a bun was standing in front of her family’s small farm house, shouting at a barren field. “Goodness gracious, where could that filly have gone?”

A shuffling noise could be heard from the side of the house, and the mare quietly walked around the corner of the building in an attempt to remain undetected. She looked around and still found nothing. An almost inaudible noise could be heard coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like somepony was trying to stifle a giggle.

“Well then,” the mare said a little louder than was necessary. “I guess if I can’t find her, I’ll have to eat ALL THIS PIE by myself.”

The giggling stopped immediately. One of the barrels propped against the side of the house started to shake.

“Yep, a special pie, just for her, and she isn’t even around to share it. What a shame.”

The top of the barrel shot into the sky like a cannon as a tiny pink cannonball was fired through the air, landing right in the dirt at the mare’s feet.

“I GET A PIE? WE NEVER HAVE PIE! I LOVE PIE! WHAT FLAVOR IS IT? PIE IS THE BEST! YAY!”

“Hmmm... well I can’t be certain, but I think that it might have been... raspberry?”

“WOOOOHOOOO! RASPBERRY IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITEST FLAVOR EVER!” the little pink filly could barely contain her excitement as she bounced circles around the older mare. “You’re the best, mama.”

“Well, you can’t very well celebrate a pony’s fifth birthday without their favorite pie now can you?” Pinkamena’s mother flashed her widest grin at her daughter. “Now, go in and wash your hooves before dinner starts to mold, your father and your sisters are probably getting tired of waiting.”

Pinkamena trotted into the house, practically bouncing with each step. She was going to get pie! She could barely believe it, her family could rarely afford luxuries like pie. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, except for the last time she had pie, so maybe it was more of a twice in a lifetime opportunity. Either way, she was prepared to savor it like it was the last pie she would ever taste, which seemed likely.

She approached the table and hopped up onto her stool where the rest of her family was waiting. The rest of the family bowed their heads and Pinkamena followed suit as her father began to speak.

“Celestia, we thank you for this bounty which we are about to receive, and your glorious sun that banishes the darkness and its nightmares from our world.” The brown coated stallion paused for a moment, deep in thought as his eyes scanned the aforementioned ‘bounty’, before continuing. “We also pray that you may see fit to bless our family with a decent harvest this year, so we might be able to afford something besides plain hay. Some spices would be nice.”

His wife gave him a piercing glare. “Clyde...”

“Right, uh, amen.”

“Amen,” the rest of the family mumbled in unison.

Pinkamena bit into the hay in front of her. It was dry, scratchy, and didn’t really taste like anything. She wasn’t sure what ‘spices’ were, but if her father wanted some, they were probably pretty good. Still, hay was what they had, and she had learned not to ask about her parents’ choices in cuisine. Besides, tonight there was pie, and nothing could ruin it for her.

“Clyde, do you have to do that?”

“Do what?” Pinkamena’s father muttered around mouthfuls of hay.

“You know perfectly well that Celestia had nothing to do with our last harvest, yet you insist on blaming her.”

“Look, I’ve told you before, I don’t blame the princess. I just figure, maybe she could use some of that fancy magic to help us out next time. We could use all the help we can get after everypony else quit on us.”

“I could help,” a small voice squeaked from across the table. Both parents turned their heads in surprise. They had completely forgotten that they were arguing in front of their children. Their two older daughters stared at their food awkwardly as their youngest joined the conversation. “I saw a really big rock today, and then I saw an even bigger rock than that one. See? I can find good rocks like you can.”

“Pinkamena, I know you want to help, but you’re just too young. Rock harvesting is a lot more than just finding rocks. There’s a lot of heavy lifting involved, and it can be dangerous too,” her mother informed her. “I just don’t know what I’d do if you were hurt trying to help us.”

“Well, maybe I can find smaller rocks? Could I help then?” Pinkamena pleaded.

“Sorry kiddo, your mother’s right. It’s just not work for a filly your age to be doing.”

“But I-”

“The answer is no. End of discussion.”

“Alright...” Pinkamena hung her head in disappointment. “I just wanted to help,” she sniffed.

Clyde felt his heart break as the filly’s eyes teared up. He had made his own daughter cry, and on her birthday no less. He had to do something.

“Pinkie.” The little filly’s ears perked up at the sound of her nickname. “You’re not strong enough to help with the harvest just yet, but how about I teach you about the difference between metamorphic and sedimentary rocks after dinner? Then you’ll be ready to help next year. What do you say?”

Pinkamena wiped her tears away with the back of her hoof. “You mean it? You’ll teach me?”

“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?” Clyde smiled at his youngest daughter as she regained her composure. “Now, cheer up. Rumor has it, there’s a raspberry pie somewhere in the house with your name on it.”

If Pinkamena wasn’t at one hundred percent before, she was now. Pie tended to have that effect on her. Her smile had returned in full force, and Clyde could have sworn her pink coat had turned a shade brighter.

“That’s my girl. Now let’s go find that pie.”

One slice of raspberry pie and a lesson on rock formations later, and Pinkamena could barely keep her eyes open.

“Well now, looks like someone’s ready for bed.” Clyde crouched down to let his daughter climb onto his back. “You’ve had a long day today.”

“Papa, do you think I’ll really be able to help harvest rocks next year?”

“Well, if you don’t fall asleep in the middle of anymore of your lessons, you just might.”

“I didn’t fall asleep!” Pinkamena bolted upright, but her weariness got the better of her as she slumped down again. “I just closed my eyes for a minute.”

“Uh huh.”

“Honest I didn’t! But uh, just in case, could we have another lesson tomorrow? You know, so I don’t forget anything.”

Clyde chuckled. His daughter was a terrible liar. “Sure thing. Hey, if you’re good, I’ll even throw in an extra lesson on igneous rocks.” He waited for a response, but none came. He couldn’t see her on his back, but the telltale heavy breathing told him all he needed to know. He gently deposited the little filly onto her bed and tucked her in for the night.

“Good night, Pinkie.”

“PINKAMENA! PINKAMENA WHERE ARE YOU?”

“I’M OVER HERE MAMA!”

Pinkamena’s mother turned her head towards the voice and spotted her daughter in the distance, out in the middle of one of the empty fields.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE? I WAS WORRIED SICK WHEN I COULDN’T FIND YOU!”

Pinkamena had broken into a run and was headed straight for the farmhouse at breakneck speeds. She looked so excited about something, her mother just couldn’t seem to stay upset.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie, what in Equestria has got you so excited?”

The little filly unceremoniously rolled a small object off of her back, right at her mother’s feet. “It’s a rock!”

The older mare examined the rock with a critical eye. It was a granulite, of what looked like felsic composition. Certainly not the most common rock, which was good since it didn’t have many uses, but that meant that this sample wasn’t particularly valuable. Combined with the fact that it was too small to fulfill any purpose it could have normally, this specimen had a net value of absolutely nothing.

“I think it might be one of those uh, sed-uh-mintery rocks papa told me about.”

Another interesting property of this particular rock was that it was metamorphic. Pinkamena was so happy about her first ‘successful’ harvest though, her mother couldn’t bring herself to correct her.

“So, how much is it worth? Can we sell it?”

“Oh, well, I don’t know right off hoof. I’ll have to have it appraised. Now, you go inside and wash up.”

“Okay!”

Pinkamena bounced into the house, literally jumping with joy. Her mother picked up the rock that was left behind and walked inside, shutting the door behind her.

“So, the sedimentary rocks are like layers?”

“That’s right, sedimentary rocks are formed when layers of sediment are compacted together under immense pressure. That’s why they’re called ‘sediment’-ary.”

“Huh.” Pinkamena nodded, pondering this new information. “So, the rock I found earlier today, that wasn’t sedimentary was it?”

“Right again. That was a metamorphic rock.”

“Metamorphic, right.”

Clyde could tell his daughter wasn’t fully invested in tonight’s lesson. His wife had shown him Pinkamena’s rock earlier, and they had both decided it was best to tell her its real value sooner rather than later. The little filly hadn’t taken this revelation well, but it was better than risking the chance that she might hurt herself trying to look for more.

“What’s got you down, Pinkie?”

“I’m useless.”

The response was expected, but it still hurt to hear her talk about herself like that.

“You’re not useless. What makes you say that?”

“I wanted to help so we could make money, so I tried to find a good rock, but the rock I found was worthless, and now we won’t make any money, and we’ll have to eat hay forever because I’m too stupid to be a rock farmer.” Pinkamena’s voice started to crack as her tear ducts threatened to turn on the waterworks.

“Pinkie, you aren’t stupid, you just made a mistake. Even mistakes can be a good thing as long as you learn from them. The fact is, you’re still too young. You’re not strong enough to carry the large rocks that we need, but there’s more to it than just that. Remember what I told you yesterday?”

“That if I study hard,” Pinkamena recalled her father’s words, answering between sniffles. “That if I study... I can help next year.”

“That’s right. If you study, you’ll be able to tell which rocks are the most valuable. And speaking of value, I don’t think that rock you found is worthless at all.”

“It’s not?” Pinkamena jumped up, her tears nearly evaporated with her sudden mood swing.

“Well, we still can’t sell it.”

Pinkamena deflated slightly as her hopes were dashed.

“However, I’d say that you learned a very valuable lesson today. No matter how many mistakes you make in your life, your only failure is when you don’t get back up and try again. If you keep at it and always try your best, you will succeed. That rock is your first step to becoming a great rock farmer, and that’s worth more than any number of bits.”

“He was right. I wouldn’t trade that day for all the bits in the world.”

Pinkie Pie glanced around the room, and then back at the rock she had been talking to. The absurdity of sharing such a sincere moment with a rock, no matter how sentimental, finally hit her and she burst into laughter. Gummy gave her a sidelong glance from his pillow across the room.

“I’m sorry Gummy,” Pinkie apologized amidst her various chuckles and chortles. “It’s just so, ahaha, so ridiculous. Just what I needed to put a smile back on my face, at least I hope so.” She dashed over to the mirror on her bedside table and took a look. “Yep, there it is!”

Another giggle fit later and Pinkie Pie was back to your usual, jubilant self. She returned to the closet and picked up the small chunk of granulite with her hoof.

“I was such a silly filly, to think I could actually fix everything with one rock.” She took one more look around the room, really taking in her surroundings this time. “I’ve really come a long way since then.” She thought back on the events that had transpired earlier that day, and remembered her father’s words of wisdom.

Your only failure is when you don’t get back up and try again.

She had failed to trust her best friends in the world, and had turned her back on them in her anger. Even so, they forgave her like nothing had ever happened. Perhaps the best way to make up for her mistake was simply to forgive herself. Well, that and a party, of course.

Pinkie placed the rock back in the corner of the closet and shut the door. She shuffled over to her bed, and, lacking any sort of grace, flopped on her side, pushing the blanket out of the way as she slid into place on the mattress.

“And to think, raspberry wasn’t even my favorite flavor. I just hadn’t tried any others!”

Pinkie Pie snickered at her own comment as her eyes closed and she finally drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow, she had a party to plan.