Three Balloons and a Pinch of Laughter

by Maera Fey

Prologue: How Equestria was Made

Three little fillies, who we all know as Cutie Mark Crusaders – or simply Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo – are listening to the story with polite smiles on their faces. Smiles which disappear when the last sentence of the tale is spoken.

“And that's how Equestria was made.”

Shocked Scootaloo stops her scooter.

“Wha... huh?”

Little pegasus is interrupted before she can even form her question.

“Look! We're here!” Apple Bloom is right. Somehow Pinkie's tale lasted exactly as much time as they needed to get to the Sugarcube Corner.

“Maybe on the way home I can tell you the story of how I got my cutie mark,” says pink earth pony, trotting towards the doors of the confectionery. “It's a gem!”

Girls stare at each other in confusion.

“Oh, come on,” finally Sweetie Belle says. “She's just being Pinkie Pie.”

“Ugh...” Scootaloo does not seem to be convinced. Nonetheless, she follows her friends to the Sugarcube Corner. The incident completely slips of her mind as she finally sees her hero. „Rainbow Dash! You're here!”

But Pinkie Pie is there too. She thinks about extraordinary ability of pony minds to forget or simply ignore the facts they cannot understand or don't want to understand. While blue pegasus is telling her story, pink mare buries herself deep in the memory of the days long gone.