All's Fair

by Equestria Buck Yeah

Chapter 12

The last customer at the sugar shack headed out with a scrumptious triple layer cake tucked away safely in a pink box that was just barely balancing on his back. A similarly pink employee waved goodbye and flipped the 'closed' sign with a relieved sigh. As always, it was a steady day at Sugarcube Corner – nothing Pinkie Pie couldn't handle, but even the most energetic of mares can get worn out from time to time.

Lately, however, the normally chipper pony had been reeling herself in more so than she was used to. Things around Ponyville had just been...different. She heard nasty rumors flying about involving Rarity and Spike. She was aware of how much the little dragon liked Rarity; he admitted it to her and Twilight a while back and she had kept his secret ever since. Whether or not it was a secret anymore was debatable at best.

But then, Rainbow Dash and Twilight had somehow gotten caught up in the whirlwind. All she really knew was there was a lot of yelling involved. Everypony had a different story as to what happened, including her friends. It was painfully obvious that they preferred to not talk about things either. Trying to get everyone together to hopefully patch things up had proven futile too. After a few attempts, Pinkie had decided to just let some time pass and hopefully whatever bad vibes there were will have calmed down or disappeared completely. But now, apparently Rainbow was bickering with Applejack recently or something? Hopefully the clientele who let that nugget of information slip out was wrong.

It was more than just some arguing among her friends that had the party girl so reserved recently. She recognized all of the customers she served. Heck, she knew pretty much everypony in town, including the newer arrivals that had moved to Ponyville over the last few months though not as well. No matter how cordial and nice they seemed when they stopped by the store, it'd be almost like they were a completely different pony if she tried to say hello after hours. Offering to throw them any kind of party since they first arrived had slowly been filtered out of her routine too as none of the new families wanted one at any time. The last time she had bothered to ask anypony, only to be told no, left her crushed for the better part of a week. Work was rough during those several days.

While they weren't what one would consider nasty, the newcomers always seemed to suddenly be pulled away or remember their oven was on or some other lame excuse. After how things happened with Cranky when he first came to town, Pinkie had decided to give the new folks some space for a bit and let them get to know the place on their own terms. Only a few families took the time to get to know her at all and even they seemed only mildly interested in what the baker had to say.

Strangely, even ponies she'd known for years were suddenly rather distant, particularly if they were spending time with some of the newer ponies when Pinkie would go to greet them. Some of the more familiar faces around Ponyville had blown Pinkie off more than once even without their new friends around at the time. It wasn't always like this either. Only in the last few weeks have the native Ponyvillians been so openly dismissive of her. It hurt a lot, considering how well-liked she thought she was around town, and it certainly wasn't easy for the happy mare to hide how devastated she was feeling.

Despite everything, she did her best to stay positive. Still, it was getting more and more difficult to put on such a happy face when only a few were excited to see her these days, and those few unfortunately weren't exactly excited to see each other anymore. Maybe today will be different. There was only one way to find out.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake," she hollered to the kitchen, "I'm going out for a walk now that we've closed up. Want me to pick up anything for you?"

The chubby blue co-owner stuck her head out through the double doors, a bright smile beaming on her face as it always did. "Oh, thank you Pinkie Pie, but I think we're okay. Sweetie-kins, Pinkie's going out for a little while. Do we need anything?"

Her husband spoke up from further inside. "Umm, I don't believe so, sugar lump."

"That's okay. Just wanted to check. See you later!" Pinkie said, feeling a bit warmer now. The Cakes were just the best! They could always cheer her up!

Mrs. Cake and Miss Pie traded waves goodbye as the bouncy mare left. Off to make the rounds again! Today was definitely going to be different!

-----

"Pinkie, how many times do I have to tell you?! I don't care about your stupid parties and with you constantly bothering me, I really don't want to get to know you – ever! Now get lost!"

And their door was slammed in her face.

"Will you leave us alone?! Celestia almighty!"

Slam!

"Go away, Pinkie!"

Slam!

"I have plenty of friends already and none of them want to be around you – nor do I!"

Slam!

"No!"

"No!"

"Dear gods, no!"

Slam!

Slam!

Slam!

One last door nearly punching her in the snout was all Pinkie Pie could take. Any surprise she felt early on was gone. All that was left was the first of many forming tears, quivering lips and a deflating mane. Sniffling, the broken mare turned and crawled away, dragging her hooves several paces away to plop herself down on a nearby bench. She had hoped today would be different. Sadly, she got her wish.

The depressed party girl stared at the ground, begging for an answer that would never come. What happened with Cranky all that time ago could never compare to all this. At least with him, it only felt like her heart was utterly being crushed inside her chest for a few hours rather than weeks on end.

The murmur of a small group of ponies caught her ears, pulling her eyes away from the dirt. Blossomforth, Junebug and a newcomer named Crystal Clear were shuffling past the gloomy pink mare. They stopped and met Pinkie's gaze only to roll their eyes and snort in disgust as they continued on their way.

Once they were out of earshot, the brokenhearted pony buried her face in her hooves and openly wept. What did she do to earn such ridicule and scorn? Everypony used to call her a friend. Was it something she said or did? It simply couldn't have been that she inadvertantly bothered a few new ponies! Heck, even Twilight wasn't keen on socializing when she first came to town!

Twilight...maybe she had an answer. Friendship is her thing; it's why she became a princess after all. She had to have some advice...again. But, it was more than just a single donkey now – it was everyone.

In the distance, Pinkie saw the crystalline star atop her friend's castle looming high in the sky. She wiped the raining tears away and hopped off her bench, heading straight for it as fast as her sagging, heavy limbs would take her – which, tragically, wasn't very fast. Hopefully she wouldn't run into anypony else on the way. The last thing she wanted was for more ponies to scowl at her for no reason.

-----

"I'm sorry, Pinkie. I haven't honestly noticed anypony acting terribly out of the ordinary...except for some ponies I don't feel like talking about," Twilight growled through her teeth. "Everyone I've talked to seemed decent enough. Why would they want to single you out?"

"I don't know. At first, I thought it was because I was being a bit too, err...forward and pushy." The party pony sank further into the couch her in friend's grand study hall as Twilight listened. "But even after weeks of leaving them alone and giving these new ponies some space, they didn't seem to come around. I tried and tried to be nice and courteous – I even toned down how super duper hyper you've said I can be sometimes – and nothing changed. High Note and Curtain Call don't even want to have anything to do with me anymore and they were one of the few families that seemed to get along with me. You remember them, right?"

"I've seen them around. They have a daughter, fairly small filly for her age. Cottontail, I believe." The princess raised a brow. "You introduced them to us a little while back. They seemed pleasant enough."

Pinkie's blue eyes started to water again. "Yeah, well, they all seemed pleasant enough at one time. You'd tell me the truth, wouldn't you, Twilight? Have I been...m-more annoying or assertive or whatever than usual?"

"I don't believe so," Twilight said, smiling happily for what felt like the first time in a month. "You're the same, lovable Pinkie Pie we all know. If the nopony else sees this, well, it's their loss." Her lavender ears fell as her jovial attitude quickly soured. "But, I'm not exactly one to be giving advice these days on how to be decent with others – at least I don't think so."

"What do you mean? Aren't you supposed to be a professional friend-maker or something now?"

"Just because I'm the Princess of Friendship doesn't mean I can't make mistakes from time to time. I made a few...really big mistakes not long ago. I'm sure you heard about–" The alicorn sighed heavily and twisted her lips. "–Rarity."

The party girl bit her lips and nervously twirled her hooves together. "That she and Spike...? I-I heard some things, yeah."

"Well, they're not just rumors. She...s-slept with Spike and then proceeded to lie about it. Did you hear what she did to the Celestia and Luna by any chance?"

Pinkie tapped at her chin, going over recent stories and whispers she heard around town lately. Most of them revolved around Rarity, Rainbow Dash and the Friendship Castle's residents. A few wove a tale involving Applejack and Fluttershy but the details were sketchy. Finally, the bubbly mare shrugged.

"She horribly insulted them over a bunch of trivial nonsense. I've never seen anypony chew anyone out like that. What made her do it I have no idea." Twilight snorted at the memory of the event. "I threw her out – screaming at her. Pretty sure I made a scene outside."

Silence took over the room. Twilight pawed at the edge of her seat while Pinkie's ears fell. It just couldn't have been the same Rarity that Pinkie had spent afternoons at the spa with and gone shopping with and relax at Sugarcube Corner with! But the high class unicorn wasn't the only party who Pinkie knew had come under scrutiny.

"How's, um...how's Spike taking things?"

A long, heavy sigh flew from the princess' lips. "He still resents me. He hasn't tried to sneak out since the incident. After how things went down, I think he knows better now. Plus, I...kind of put a spell on him that would let me know if Rarity wandered a little too close to him when he wasn't looking."

"Twilight!" Pinkie gasped in horror.

"I know, I know! Even though she broke it off with him in one of the most despicable ways, I just don't trust her – not after what she did! We both know how she's toyed with him in the past. Who's to say this all isn't just another game of hers?"

"But...she's one of your closest friends!"

"Was one of my closest friends," Twilight mumbled.

"Spike's like a son to you! It's wrong, what you're doing!"

The regal mare couldn't reply. A part of her knew Pinkie was right but it didn't matter. Like Applejack, she had a stubborn streak of her own. What the fashionista did was wrong – completely unacceptable! Spike was still young and needed proper supervision. She had screwed that one up herself and wasn't about to blow it again. It didn't mean she didn't feel any guilt over what happened though.

"Pinkie...you once talked to me about trust. That breaking it was the fastest way to lose a friend."

"Forever," the miserable party planner muttered for her. She remembered that talk. She remembered it well.

Silence briefly reigned again until Twilight spoke up. "Can I make a confession to you?"

A pair of pink ears popped up. "Uhhhh, sure."

Shamefully, Twilight averted her eyes, unable to look at her friend. "Lately, I've been thinking that maybe my title should've been given to somepony else."

"W-what?"

"Think about it. Part of what I'm supposed to do as the Princess of Friendship is to work out differences, forgive transgressions, come to understandings, be patient, all that. So what do I do to someone I've known for years who I've be able to confide in as if she were my own blood? I snap like a twig at her and give up after a few disagreements, however big I think they may or may not be. I've treat the dragon I hatched and have raised since birth like a criminal under house arrest instead of considering his feelings. I wonder where else I might have messed up along the way." The nerve finally returned to look at Pinkie Pie. Both of the mares could feel each other's hearts breaking where they sat. "Let's be honest. Being able to make friends and hold onto them has always been your greatest strength. I constantly had relied on books to figure out this and that. Social interactions, though...those are things no book can teach you about – not really. You had that gift long before I came along."

"Even ones as strong as ours need work, Twilight. You're the most magical pony I know and there's no magic out there that can instantly solve friendship problems. But you're wrong about your title. You got it because you've been able to learn how to overcome those obstacles." With a deep breath, Pinkie wrapped her forelimbs around herself, squeezing tightly. It was her turn to hide her gaze. "I did it once, maybe twice, and I know I could have gone about it better. I simply haven't had as much experience as you with that. Now, everypony hates me and...and I have absolutely no idea why. I've tried everything I know! What am I supposed to do? Please, you've gotta help me!" Pinkie begged as she slid up to Twilight, kneeling before her with wide eyes.

Perhaps Pinkie Pie had been taking lessons from...a particular unicorn on how to act melodramatic. Whatever the case was, Twilight couldn't help but feel terrible over her friend's dilemma. Out of the group, Pinkie had always been the most child-like and, some may argue, naive. The few times she had been removed from her comfort zone resulted in her soul practically being crushed. True, Fluttershy also felt pain and sorrow rather easily, but she was used to dealing with it over her life; Pinkie not so much since she moved away from her old home.

A soft, purple glow encompassed the frantic young mare, lifted her up and set her on back on the couch. Twilight's brow creased as she plunged deep into thought as to what she could do to earn her wings again – in a manner of speaking.

One idea after another came to mind only to be immediately shot down before she could even suggest them; Pinkie had already stated that tried most of what Twilight thought of. Unfortunately, the few that were new to the table didn't sound plausible either. Trying to talk to some of the ponies who have lived in Ponyville a while without any of their friends around probably wouldn't work if they were suddenly hating her too. Finding common ground to break the ice with seemed out of reach. Doing something nice for their children – if they had any, of course – may result in the parents pulling the foals away and telling them not to associate with her again.

"Was I the first one you came to?"

"Yeah. Who better to give friendship advice, right?"

"Alright, not a problem. Was just curious if anypony else had given you any suggestions so I wouldn't have to bring them up again myself. Let's see now...perhaps a simple gift related to their special talent?" Twilight proposed.

"Tried it a couple times. Never worked."

The princess tapped her chin. "Maybe help them find some work in town?"

"I tried to help a couple of mares named Sweet Tooth and Candy Cane set up a stand in Market Square for their goods. They weren't interested."

"Did anypony need help moving in? That's always a great way to meet new ponies."

"Tried that a few times too. I was really surprised when the Pocket brothers didn't want any."

"Who are they again?" Twilight asked.

"Side and Corner Pocket. They're pool sharks. Who would've thought a couple of bachelors would turn down having a mare come in and set up their home with them?" Pinkie sadly joked.

The purple mare was quickly running out of suggestions, her eyes shifting around in thought. Nervously biting her lip, Twilight took to the air and skimmed over the countless books sitting on the numerous shelves and the few scattered about the floor. Here and there, she selected a text and quickly looked through the table of contents, growing more and more desperate to find a reasonable answer to Pinkie's dilemma. Eventually, she found herself surrounded by a veritable army of books and blowing through their pages like tissues.

Below, Pinkie saw Twilight's ever-increasing urgency as clear as day in her large purple eyes, quickly stifling any hope the party pony may have had. Eventually, she found herself depressingly staring at nothing, the only thing that barely registered to her being the steady sound of book after book being replaced on their shelves, signaling one failure after another.

"Well, offering to pay them would be just as ridiculous as it sounds," the alicorn badly quipped as she shut another text.

"I'm not faking friendship, Twilight," Pinkie whimpered.

"I know. I...just don't understand why this is suddenly so difficult." The aerial pony softly touched down beside her miserable friend. "I don't suppose any of these ponies have any long lost loves that may be living here like Cranky did?"

"Even if they do, I can't imagine they'd tell me." Her blue eyes began to water again. "Maybe...maybe it's simply not meant to be." At this point, it was the only thing Twilight could think of as well, even if she didn't want to admit it. Her crestfallen face and drooping ears gave her away regardless. "I only wish I knew what I did to upset everypony else who had been living here for so long. I thought I knew them so well! I...I-I guess I was wrong."

A lavender hoof rested on a pink shoulder. "Pinkie, if you want, I can try talking to some of them. Put in a good word for you?"

The poor mare sighed. "I have a feeling if you mentioned you were doing that for me, they'd probably brush you off too. Can't afford to be associated with me, y'know."

"You know I'd never think that way about you – and if that's how the rest of them feel, then...then they can go to Tartarus for all I care."

"Don't say that. I'm sure they have a good reason for hating me even if I don't know what it could be."

"Whatever their reason, it's wrong. I promise you that."

Smiling weakly, Pinkie squeezed her friend's hoof. Maybe only having one friend was better than having a thousand fake ones – but it still hurt either way. Her other hooves hit the floor with a whisper rather than her usual bounciness. "I'm sorry we couldn't figure things out. Thanks for your help, Twilight, but I-I'm going to go home. I just need to think about things, I guess."

The princess frowned. "I understand, and I'm sorry too. If you need something – anything at all – you know where to find me, okay?"

"Yeah. Th-thanks."

Finally, Pinkie let her friend go and limped away, barely making a sound as she dragged herself out of the castle despite its propensity for echos. Discouraged by their lack of results, Twilight plopped herself back in her chair and sighed. She knew that Pinkie Pie was hurting; whether she was disappointed in Twilight as well for not giving her an answer she perhaps only wanted to hear was up in the air. The Princess could only hope that wasn't the case.

Comments

[Hillbe]

Spike and Rarity kiss and make up
remember she said kiss and nothing else
RARITY SPIKE!
HE KISSES REAL GOOD!'
you taught me ????!!!!!!!
eeep! you two too! ???!!!!! WUT?!

WELL DONE the conflict grows

[Crimson Dawn]

Poor Pinkie. She is trying so hard and is not getting anywhere. Maybe she should hang out with some more friends like Dash to just feel good for a little bit?

[SFaccountant]

Don't feel bad about the Rarity thing, Twilight. Sex and betrayal are pretty far outside your "friendship" specialty.
A much more serious problem with your supposed "friendship" specialty is that you either haven't noticed that one of your friends has been physically injured by another good friend, or that you have heard of it and haven't looked into that at all. I mean, Applejack sporting a limp has to have raised some eyebrows in town, and even if Applejack wanted to keep Fluttershy's assault a secret (and she didn't give that impression), Rainbow Dash probably isn't so prudent.
I've mentioned this before, but these changelings are being REALLY suspicious.