The walk back to Sugarcube Corner was one of the longest, most sluggish walks Pinkie had ever taken. As it had been when she made her way to see Twilight, nearly everypony she passed by gave her a glare or a snide side glance, practically disgusted with her existence. The weight of all the looks slowed her down even more.
After what felt like an eternity, Pinkie made it back home and dragged herself up the world's longest staircase to her bedroom. There hadn't been any call of concern from either of the Cakes, so it stood to reason they hadn't seen their resident Pie. They'd be the only ones as of late that were happy to see her anymore. She closed and locked the door to her room, climbed up onto the bed and cried softly into the pillow.
With her sad blue eyes staring firmly at the dirt, Pinkie missed seeing a small, white-maned unicorn watching her intently before trotting off to her own dwelling. Once inside, she leaned her back against the door and burst out laughing, calling the attention of her parents from inside.
"What's got you going?" Curtain Call asked.
"Just everything commencing wonderfully...no thanks to you." With a silent sigh, the mother mare rolled her eyes and turned back around. "Don't you dare give me that! I've told you to go out and do something to help our cause and all you've done is lay around day in and day out!"
Cottontail's horn lit and yanked her elder in from across the house, hanging her upside in front of its owner's face. "Consider yourself fortunate that things are going as well as they are. Otherwise, you'd be nothing but a smear on my hoof!"
High Note stood aside, holding his tongue. He wasn't about to anger the little one. Besides, he had been obedient.
Curtain Call shook in horror and gulped down what fear she could. "R-r-right. No problem! I'll g-go out right now and do...whatever you want!"
"Don't patronize me!" the filly growled as she flung her mother into the couch, knocking it over. "Go ahead and stay here for all I care. Keep things looking presentable. But when I call on you...this next time, you're going to do as I say. Got it?!"
The mare peeked over the toppled furniture, shaking like a leaf again. "Unders-stood."
A throat to the side was cleared. "So, um," High Note interjected, much to the relief of his wife, "what's your next move?"
Cottontail smirked and sauntered over to her loyal father. "Let them stew for a day or two. But, this next step is going to require a little...coordination."
"Coordination, huh? How so?"
-----
A beige hoof tapped daintily at the large crystal double doors. Before any answer came, Mayor Mare snuck a peek over both her shoulders, not noticing any potentially spying eyes on her. Just another average day in Ponyville, it seemed. Nearly a minute passed and still nopony had greeted her. Quickly checking around again and once more finding nothing out of the ordinary, the bureaucrat tugged at the door and creaked it open just wide enough for her to slip inside the castle.
Her ears swiveled around, searching for any sounds of life from deeper in the castle. Seemed quiet, but then again, Twilight could have been lost in studying or reading. As the mayor started her trek, she called out, "Hello? Anypony home?" No response came. "Hell-oooooo?"
A whispered flapping of wings suddenly appeared from behind her followed by hooves landing on the shiny floor. Their owner's smile practically sparkled almost as much as her name. "Mayor Mare! Good to see you. What brings you here?"
"Twilight, there you are. I hope I'm not intruding or interrupting anything."
"Oh, no. Sorry I couldn't get to the door sooner. Was in the bathroom. Anyway, what can I do for you?"
The mayor motioned Twilight in close. She wasn't sure what was going on, but the princess complied nonetheless. There were barely a few inches apart when the old mare hissed, "Something rather important has come to my attention at Town Hall that may affect just about all of Ponyville, but...I'd like to keep it under wraps."
"You don't have to whisper in here, Mayor," Twilight chuckled. "Nopony can hear us, even with all the echoing."
"If it's alright with you, I'd rather not take that chance. If somepony happens to be eavesdropping because the two of us are talking and they think there could be some juicy gossip, it'd ruin how quiet I need you and your friends to be about this matter."
The alicorn blinked and jerked away, standing rigidly in place. "My...friends?"
"Err...well, yes. The six of you seem to handle so many crises, I thought it best if you all came."
"I-I don't know if that's really such a good idea right now. Haven't you...heard the rumors that have been spread around town?"
Mayor Mare tapped at her chin, thinking and thinking. Eventually, she shook her head and shrugged. "I try not to pay attention to rumors. Who knows how many of them may involve me? Hah! Honestly though, you know how it can be for somepony in my position. Always having to dismiss ridiculous things ponies may hear that none of them can prove – it gets boring and repetitive, so I pay them no mind."
"But these aren't exactly–"
"I really do appreciate it, Twilight. I'll head back to Town Hall and have some of my representatives fetch your friends. Come by in about an hour, okay?" the mayor interrupted, turning and quickly heading toward the exit. "Oh, and if you could bring Spike too so he can take some notes for you, that'd be great. See you then!"
"But–!"
A loud creak and quiet boom signaled the bureaucrat's departure. Why the princess didn't catch up and try to talk some sense into her instead of just standing there with a stupid look on her face Twilight wasn't sure. It was a little odd that Mayor Mare just turned and left, but it wouldn't be surprising it that wasn't the first time she had done something like that. She was probably used to getting her way thanks to her position and likely figured the matter was settled.
And she was right. If something was amiss in town that only she and her friends could solve, then they had a responsibility to help, whether they wanted to be around each other or not.
That didn't mean she had to like it. With a sigh, Twilight spun about and dragged herself toward's Spike's room. She figured he'd still be there, likely still stewing over everything. Hopefully it wouldn't be hard to convince him to join her and the others at Town Hall. If nothing else, it'd get him out of the castle for a little while.
-----
Several small fuzzy critters sat around the cottage, waiting nervously for their midday snacks. Their yellow friend was still as grouchy as she had been for the last few days, but fortunately she hadn't taken any of her frustrations out on them. Instead, Fluttershy chose to mope around with a seemingly perpetual scowl and leave her house even less than usual.
As she sat on her sofa skimming the day's headlines, one of her squirrels gently tugged on her mane and chirped at her the general consensus that they were all a little hungry.
With a blink, she came back to reality. "Oh. I suppose it is getting to be about that time. Sorry about that."
She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a few bowls to lay out. A second trip allowed her to bring the large bag of pellets she kept for her woodland critters. Halfway through filling the dishes, a knock came from the door.
"One second!" As the final bowl got some attention and the animals dove into their food, Fluttershy set the bag against the wall and glided over to see who it was. "Oh, hey Twilight. What brings you here?"
"Afternoon, Fluttershy. Wish I could stop by with some better news, but the mayor asked me to get the girls together at Town Hall."
"Why? What's going on?"
"She didn't say. I'm figuring it's something pretty secretive if she didn't want to tell even me what all was up and didn't want anypony else to know about it either."
"I guess," the pegasus replied, tapping her chin inquisitively. From the corner of her eye, she saw her munching friends and their bag of food right where she left it. "Give me just a minute to put a couple things away and I'll head out with you."
"Take your time," Twilight said with a weak smile. "I have to go make the rounds anyway and let the others know. I'll see you there!"
"Sounds good." As her royal friend took off in a hurry, Fluttershy went to grab the pellets only to stop after a step or two. It just occurred to her that everypony was going to be there, including...
Ugh, great. Well, if they had something important to do for Ponyville, she figured she could stomach being around an Apple for a little while so long as she didn't start any nonsense. Maybe whatever the mayor wanted would distract her enough to allow them to get the requested job done.
-----
"You're sure she wanted all of us to come to whatever this shindig is?"
"That's what the mayor said, Applejack," Twilight repeated. "Wish I knew exactly what was going on, but it's probably pretty important." As the farmer dug in and bucked the tree she was working on again, the princess glanced over her previously injured leg but didn't comment about it.
"Sure would've been nice if she said somethin'. Anything new at Casa de Twilight lately?"
The alicorn replied, her ears sagging, "I've been distracted by a lot at home. Much of it revolves around Spike, but there have been some royal duties here and there as well."
"Spike, huh? And Rarity too, I'm assumin'?"
"Afraid so. Any rumors you may have heard about them...well, they were true. Even after she broke away from him, he's still rather upset with the both of us. Can't say I really blame him, but it hasn't been easy on me either, y'know? What do you think about it, if I may?"
With a sigh, the country girl moved onto the next tree, double checking the placement of the baskets she had left on the ground. Everything seemed alright. "I've been too busy myself to give it much thought." She continued after a quick buck. "But, if I had to throw in my two bits, I'd be happy for them if they hadn't rushed into things so fast, considerin' Spike's age and all. Would be like if Apple Bloom wanted to date, like, your brother or somethin'. T'ain't right."
"My thoughts exactly. A-anyway, I need to head out. Gotta make the rounds and let the others know. I'll see you by Town Hall in a bit?"
"Yeah, I'll finish putting these bushels away and start heading over," Applejack confirmed as she scooped up one of her baskets.
Twilight took to the air and saluted her friend as she started her glide away. "Sounds good. I'll see you there!"
-----
The princess knocked a second time. Perhaps the dressmaker wasn't home, but there weren't any signs anywhere that indicated she was out, and the day wasn't near done yet. Either way, the inevitable encounter was going to be less than fun.
Before she could try a third time, the door finally opened and the cheerful look on the resident's face immediately soured. "What do you want?" Rarity growled.
Twilight glared right back. "I don't want to be here either, but the mayor asked us to help her with something at Town Hall."
The ivory mare raised a disbelieving brow. "Why didn't she just come over herself? I'm right up the road, you know."
"Look, she asked me to do her this favor, alright? If you want to go complain to her later, that's your business. Just keep in mind that you'd be digging yourself deeper into a hole that's already got you buried under certain rumors and stories by whining at Mayor Mare about some perceived slight against you. I'm sure that'll go over really well," Twilight rebutted with a nasty sneer across her face. Sticking her snout an inch away from Rarity's, close enough to feel her rival's breath, further boiled the dressmaker's blood.
Unfortunately, the royal mare had a point. Rarity had already felt the effects of such scandalous words thanks to her business taking a hit. She didn't need even more unwanted, wholly inaccurate press. Best to swallow her loads of pride than make things worse. "I'll be over there shortly. Just need to put a few things away in my studio first," she snarled through her teeth, hoping Twilight didn't see the throbbing vein on her neck.
"Alright then." With nothing left to jam down the unicorn's throat, the princess backed off and took to the sky.
How Rarity didn't cause her lips to bleed by gnawing on them as hard as she was was a feat unto itself. Twilight was barely out of sight when the flustered mare slammed her door closed. "Why do I continue to stay here?" Rarity grumbled to herself.
-----
"No offense, Twilight, but I'd really rather not go to this thing," Rainbow Dash protested as she glided around her visitor. "Rarity still makes me want to wring her neck and now A.J.'s got a stick up her flank. You're royalty! Can't you do this thing on your own? I mean, isn't that part of your job title now or something?"
The princess shrugged. "Sorry, Rainbow. She wanted all of us. I know how you feel about Rarity though, and I completely understand where you're coming from with her, but they weren't my words. I tried to argue with the mayor the same way, but she wasn't budging."
A blue hoof draaaagged down her scowling face. "Ugh. Fine. When does she want us there?"
"About fifteen or so minutes from now. I have to go make a couple more stops and get the others rounded up."
"Alright, whatever," the speedster groaned, rolling her eyes. "Guess I can go punch a wall for a few minutes to pass the time and blow off some steam. I'll probably still beat everypony there even if I'm late. Or maybe I'll be late on purpose this time, I dunno."
"Whatever floats your boat. I'll see you then."
And with that, Twilight took off again, heading for her next stop. Barely floating in the air outside her cloud mansion, Rainbow slowly hovered over to a nearby pillar, forelimbs folded before her chest, and gave it a goof swift kick. Unfortunately, she forgot how solid they were compared to most of the rest of her home. Biting her lip and wincing in pain, she jerked her head around and confirmed that nopony was around to see her not being her usual tough self. Couldn't let her reputation take a hit or anything. With a growl, she carefully opened her front door and went inside, most likely to pout on her bed for a little while.
-----
In the center of town, the day was going on as it usually did. Stallions and mares running their stalls with others thoroughly inspecting and purchasing their products. A few cantered on through, chatting with friends about common pleasantries. Some sat on some nearby chairs and benches reading the papers while snacking on some midday grub.
Among the citizens, however, sat an impatiently purple alicorn and her young assistant who passed the time by scratching things into the dirt only to unmake them once he was bored with them – which typically didn't take long. The doors to Town Hall teased them by being perpetually locked. Could Twilight have simply picked the lock or torn the doorknobs off? Sure, but that wouldn't be becoming of a princess. The thought had crossed Spike's mind once or twice but he figured Twilight would probably scold him and then proceed to lecture him on pony's private property and such.
At least she hadn't bothered to try and talk to him about recent events or his feelings in a little while. The peace had quelled his anger and resentment down a few notches, but there was still quite a distance to go. Who knows how long it would take before his blood had stopped boiling – or stopped being a low simmer.
After what felt like forever, a pair of hooves softly touched down a few feet from the two. A buttery yellow pegasus greeted them rather blandly, the look in her eyes evidence enough that she preferred not to be there. "Hello, Twilight. Hey, Spike."
"Hey, Fluttershy," the dragon mumbled. "What's going on?"
"Nothing really. Just wondering what all we're expected to do here."
"Yeah, us too. Haven't seen the mayor anywhere either. Don't suppose you spotted her on your way over here?"
The gentle mare shook her head. "Maybe she got tied up with something inside."
"Eh, maybe. Things do pop up unexpectedly when you're a politician," Twilight agreed.
"That does tend to happen, yes," a familiar, snarky voice said from behind them. The princess' brow immediately curled. It took quite a bit of effort to not grind her teeth together. A pair of reptilian eyes glared through the new arrival as well. "Hello, everypony."
"Rarity," Twilight mumbled through pursed lips.
The two horned mares stared at each other, practically challenging each other to make a move. Fluttershy desperately wanted to try and talk some sense into them, but the anger she could see on their faces told her she would be wasting her time. Instead, she sat down between them enough so they didn't have to look right at each other.
Rarity skimmed over the denizens and the political halls. "Wonder where the others are?"
"Oh, I'm sure they'll be along shortly," Fluttershy commented. Twilight chose to remain silent.
The next several minutes were mostly silent too save for the timid mare splitting herself between two awkward conversations that never intersected. It wasn't long after a brief, frustrating sigh that she joined the alicorn in a fairly foul mood.
"Alright, so what are we doin' here?" Applejack complained, walking up on strong, healed legs. It barely took a second for her green eyes to find her adversary.
Fluttershy didn't need to glance at the farmer to know she was being stared at and folded her forelimbs in response, choosing to look off into the distance with the hardest of frowns. A particular fashion designer took note of this.
"What's going on with you two?"
"You didn't hear about Fluttershy almost snapping my leg in two?" the cowgirl asked as she brushed past a large wad of pink hair and sat beside Rarity. The other direction into the distance suddenly looked more interesting to the animal lover.
"What?!"
"Wait, what happened?" Twilight added.
"You didn't hear about it neither?" Spike and his surrogate shared a confused glance. "Guess Rainbow didn't stop by to brag about it then."
"I haven't seen her in a few days. Did she visit at any time when I was out, Spike?"
"No, I haven't seen her either since...that one outburst of mine. I've been spending all of my time indoors, don't forget."
Her purple eyes shifted away. He was never very good at hiding his passive-aggressiveness.
"Anyway, yeah, somepony nearly broke one of my legs. Was only a sprain but it still didn't feel very good. Only healed up yesterday."
Everypony who wasn't an Apple was suddenly gawking at the silent pegasus.
Rarity was the first to say what was on everyone's mind. "But...w-why would she do that?"
Fluttershy's brow furrowed harder. If she could stuff something into her ears to silence the noise she was hearing, she would have.
"Because my brother was dating her, apparently."
Everypony was equally confused. "That...doesn't make any sense, dear."
"It shouldn't because he wasn't."
"Gods, you Apples are such terrible liars," Fluttershy growled under her breath.
"Oh, get over yourself already."
"Okay, will everypony just stop arguing?" Twilight suddenly blurted. "Dear Celestia, I can't tell you all how sick and tired I am of hearing about all this squabbling over the last several weeks! I mean, yeah, I've been guilty of it too, but can we please knock it off? It's getting old!"
"Didn't seem like it was getting old earlier," the designer complained.
"Do you have any idea how hard it's been for me to try and get past everything you did to me? To Spike? It's been exhausting!"
"Considering I didn't do–!"
The unicorn was quickly cut off by the next visitor.
"You think you're tired of it, Twilight?" Rainbow said as she landed next to the princess. "I've been in the middle of everything just as much, y'know." Her narrowed ruby eyes darted between Rarity and Applejack. She received exactly what she gave. However, instead of immediately insulting anypony, she quipped, "Hmph. Guess I sat around longer than expected. Now where's Pinkie Pie so we can see what the mayor wants?"
"Yeah, you're usually the first one here at these get-togethers," Twilight pointed out. "Must be slacking or something."
The daredevil shrugged and quickly glared again at her targets. "Got a lot on my mind. The sooner we can get this over with, the sooner I can get back to not thinking about it."
"For once, we agree," Rarity muttered.
"Don't talk to me."
Sneering, the fashionista quietly slung some more mud. "Yes, I'm sure not thinking about things isn't terribly hard for you anyway." She suddenly found a pegasus in her face.
"I'm sorry, you wanna speak up?"
"Heeeere we go," Applejack groaned.
Rainbow turned to her other challenger and poked her in the chest, turning a bit of mild sarcasm into another bomb ready to blow. "Don't you start too, blondie! Or do you want another busted up leg?"
Swatting the jab away, she countered, "Pfff, you wouldn't have be able to handle me before if you were gonna start somethin', so get off your high horse, missy!"
"You couldn't even handle me, Applejack. Remember? Timid, quiet, unassuming, little old me? How'd that go for you?"
"Fluttershy!"
"Don't even go there! You sucker punched me and you know it! That still don't change the fact that you went off the deep end for no reason!"
"Will you all stop it already?!" Twilight suddenly hollered.
It was Rarity's turn to throw her two bits in. "Why should they? I always thought it was supposed to be healthy to get your feelings off your chest!"
"Oh, like that's something you'd understand so well!"
The ever-increasing voice levels eventually started to gather a small, perplexed crowd. Whatever they may have been screaming about seemed less interesting to some of the ponies than the fact they were at each others' throats to begin with. While their once-subdued anger started coming to a head all at once, a pink filly hurried off to Sugarcube Corner a few buildings away.
Within a minute, Cottontail burst through the bakery door. A short line was in front of her but that wasn't a concern. The little unicorn hopped past the other customers, receiving an annoyed look or two for her efforts. However, instead of receiving a boisterous welcome from Pinkie Pie upon arriving at the counter, Cottontail was greeted rather somberly.
"Hey there, kiddo. You really shouldn't cut in line."
"No, no, I'm not here for any sweets. There's something going on with your friends outside. They're all fighting for some reason."
"Fighting?" Pinkie waved at her dismissively, half a smile on her face. "Come on now, if what I've heard around town was true, then yeah, they've had a few disagreements recently, but it's nothing they haven't dealt with before."
"Uhhhh...I don't know them as well as you do, but they were getting pretty loud."
The party girl shared a curious glance with her next customer. Even she had been involved in some arguments but they never got to a point where somepony not involved would be concerned. Maybe she should check this out just to be safe.
"Mrs. Cake?" she turned and called out to the kitchen.
"Yes, Pinkie?"
"Could you take over up front for a minute? Something seems to be going outside with my friends."
"Sure, go ahead. I'll be out in just a second."
"Thanks!" Quickly excusing herself to the patrons, she trotted out, darting past Cottontail and seemingly leaving her behind.
However, even from a distance, it sounded just like the filly said. She recognized the voices of the ponies screaming at each other even before she started making her way through the crowd. With every half-step Pinkie took as she slipped past the sea of bodies, her ears slowly, slowly fell and each step felt harder and harder to take. When she finally reached the front, her closest friends didn't even see her arrive. Even the mayor had come out from Town Hall – also without being noticed – wondering what all the shouting was about, but quickly went silent when she saw who was at the heart of the fighting, just as surprised as everypony else.
"–just proving the only way to get through to you is a shot to the head!"
"Well, I'm right here! Why don't you just show me what you're made of?!"
"Try not to hurt her too badly. Goodness knows her poor ego wouldn't be able to handle it!"
"My ego?! You've always used every trick in the book to get whatever you wanted!"
"I've never forced anypony's hooves in anything!"
"Except when you forced dragon claws in something we won't mention!"
"Oh, you're disgusting!"
Finally, a heartbroken mare's voice brought a hush down over the other Elements. "Stop it! Stop it!" It proved immediately effective, stealing their attention away from each other and onto Pinkie, her eyes watering.
"I...I didn't want to believe the things that I had been hearing and keeping to myself. I thought it was just some nasty ponies spreading rumors and lies, but...but look at you! You're supposed to be better than this! We talk out our problems in private and forgive each other! We don't do...this! You aren't the ponies – my friends – who've saved the world on multiple occasions! This isn't you! This is just wrong! This...you're..."
Her tears finally ran down her face, and it was more than she could take. What more could she say to them? Would they even listen? Utterly crushed, she turned and ran back home, sobbing the whole way and ultimately locking herself upstairs in her room.
Once the shock of her lecture subsided, Rainbow was the first to speak up, her jaw clenching in anger once again. "Great! Nice going! You made Pinkie Pie cry!"
"What? Who?" Applejack asked.
"Any of you! All of you! I can't deal with this anymore!"
"What did I do?!" Twilight snapped. "She came to me a few days ago because everypony else seemed to be treating her like dirt! I didn't do anything to upset her!"
"Me either!" Fluttershy added.
"You're here screaming with the rest of us! Doesn't seem like that really helped her either, y'know!" The speedster threw up her forelimbs and turned away, scowling and folding said limbs in front of her. "Ugh, why did I ever get involved in all this in the first place? Every other thing that anypony's said to me in the last several weeks has been nothing but one giant headache after another!"
"I had a legitimate issue on my hooves thanks to that whore over there!"
A boiling Rarity snarled, "How many times do I have to say–?!"
"Shut up!" Twilight yelled at the top of her lungs. With the unicorn left steaming and gritting her teeth, the princess returned her raging attention back at the blue pegasus. "So, what, everything you did for me, everything I trusted you with was too much for you?"
Rainbow's ruby eyes very nearly bulged out of her head as she spun around, nose to nose, and continued her tirade. "Yes! Well...not at first, but it's gotten to that point, yes! You happy now?! I've got problems too! You want to know what my biggest one is right now?! Having to absorb everypony else's! Dear Celestia, even I have my limits!"
"Well, if I would have known you were going to eventually tell me to go buck myself, I wouldn't have bothered asking you for help in the first place!"
"Fine! Whatever! Just...deal with your own crap from now on. I'm done."
A prismatic streak was all that was left after she sped off. The remaining mares watched, stunned, as the multicolored streak became a distant dot in the sky. Her last words gradually sunk in, resulting in four ponies with wrinkling brows glaring daggers at each other. Spike, though upset from the sudden turn of events, stood there with his jaw limply hanging open in shock until he too joined the others in anger and frustration.
Rarity was next to turn around and head home, sticking her snout in the air with an audible 'hmph!'. Applejack glowered at Fluttershy from the corner of her eye and followed the dressmaker's lead a few seconds later. Although the normally soft-spoken pegasus had no personal beef with the alicorn, her temper was riding high, and with a contemptuous sneer, she too took to the air and left.
Though she would never admit it, a very small part of Twilight was almost glad the others left, especially if that's how they all had felt for a while now. As she calmed down, she suddenly felt the weight of at least a hundred eyes staring at her, their owners at a loss for words over what just transpired – as was she. Eventually, hers met with the bewildered Mayor Mare's, snapping her back to the embarrassing reality. With resentment and bitterness guiding her hoof, she kicked at the ground and started her long shuffle home.
"Come on, Spike. Let's go."
"Y-yeah. Right."
The crowd parted, giving the alicorn and her assistant plenty of room just in case one of them still felt like attacking somepony else. Near the end of the make-shift hallway stood a glaring pink filly with a curly white mane sporting the tiniest of smirks.