At the top of the bookstore’s flight of stairs, Twilight found a large room. It was obvious that this was the living quarters. To her right was a small kitchenette with a run down fridge, a microwave, and a few cupboards; to her left was a small couch, equally as run down, and a worn down coffee table. Directly in front of her was was a desk in a cramped-looking alcove, and lining every wall was a mix of countless stacks and unorganized piles of large books. It looked as if whoever lived here left part way through organizing them.
Walking into the room, Twilight couldn't help but notice the smell, the air was potently stale. It reminded her of a tomb, which the thin layer of dust covering everything complemented in just the worst way. Scanning the room, she noted a half-stairway leading to a small sleeping nook in the space above the way in. In that small space was something that brought a genuine smile to her lips.
Dragging her hooves up the additional few stairs she looked at the bed. It was a simple affair, a box spring flat on the floor, no frame in sight, with a bare mattress and two pillows. Above the bed along the wall was a small window, currently locked, but Twilight completely ignored it as she unceremoniously flopped onto the bed. Dust was knocked into the air as the bed creaked painfully.
At first Twilight had been expecting to catch up on her sleep before grabbing Spike in the morning and just leaving. But her plan was halted the second her back hit the bed.
"OOOOH MMYYYY GOOOOD!" She screamed internally in pure ecstasy. "This feels SO MUCH BETTER than my refrigerator box back at the warehouse!" She was happy enough to jump off the bed and do a little victory dance, if she wasn’t too comfortable to move.
She stayed like this for several minutes before she finally turned to look around the sleeping nook. Spotting the pillow she wasn't using, she snatched it immediately in her hooves and brought it down to cover a portion of herself. "And it comes with a second pillow." She thought as she looked down at it, "SCORE! Now I won't be cold tonight!"
Turning her body to join her head, she pulled her back legs into herself to get as much pillow coverage as possible. "I may never leave this bed." She thought in bliss as she looked out the window; it was a bit opaque, but reflective enough that she could see herself.
She saw the beaming smile on her features and it looked...out of place. It suddenly brought her to the realization that she couldn't actually remember the last time she had sincerely enjoyed something. Reading was fun, but it served a practical purpose. Being self-sufficient was nice, but it was the end result of her lifetime of living in Panhandlershot. She supposed she could say she liked spending time with Spike, but really that was based more on trust and a desire to not be alone than actually liking him.
Twilight studied herself and, probably for the first time in years saw what everyone else would have: a moment of joy that didn't belong. The world was filled with garbage, idiots, and useless assholes with an inkling of power, there was nothing to be happy about. Her smile screwed up as she thought about how it felt to feel good in this dust-caked mattress in a rundown bookstore housing unit, and closed her eyes as she came to a conclusion.
"Happiness feels weird."
---
With the moon high in the sky and the sun having set some time ago, the small outer district of Partyville lay quiet in the late hours. Save, that is, for one pink earth pony.
Pinkie Pie trudged through the quiet streets of Partyville, her head downcast. True to its name, there was a party in a three storey apartment building down the street, but for the most part lights were off, shops closed, and ponies asleep. Pinkie's expression was distant as she passed by several buildings, each some form of business, until she stopped in front of one.
It was a bakery by the look of the decorations in the storefront window. The sign hanging above the glass door read 'Baking Thyme' and the door had its own sign signifying that the shop was closed. Like the bookstore, it too was two storeys. Pinkie took one look at her front window and sighed dejectedly as she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door, disappearing inside.
Moments later she exited the shop again with a spray bottle and cloth at the ready. She began to clean off the latest bit of graffiti that adorned her shop. She counted herself lucky that, for the most part, it was never anything too bad. The window currently told her a single word: Crazy. But Pinkie knew that it could be significantly worse. At least she still got plenty of business, and hey, no one had ever thrown a rock through her window. Not since Rabbit Punch left, anyway.
Still, it was disheartening, and it weighed heavily on Pinkie's mood. "Hey mom, check it out, it's that crazy lady that believes in ghosts," she said aloud as she wiped away the spray paint from her store window. "Don't look sweetie, if you ignore her, she'll go away."
Finishing up with the window, Pinkie re-entered her shop. "Now now dear, let her look, no harm can come from staring at that weirdo." She sighed again, dejectedly, as she locked the front door and made for the stairs. Walking up the stairs she passed by a light switch, which she flipped off as she reached the top step. "If only they knew the truth about living here." She whispered. Before her was a hallway leading in either direction. The left led to the bathroom, the right to a pair of bedrooms, and directly in front of her was a mirror. "That the only reason nobody sees the ghosts or ghouls is because they wipe everyone's memory."
"Everyone but me..." She spoke, looking at her reflection before turning to her right and entering the first room she came across. Inside was what was supposedly a bedroom, though in place of an actual bed there was a run-down looking couch, which Pinkie plopped her body onto as she closed her eyes.
"At least Twilight is here now," Pinkie mumbled with a yawn, "She'll believe me." And without another word her breathing steadied and she drifted off to sleep.
---
The sun was just barely stretching as it awoke for another peaceful day above the city of St. Orangeberg. The air was crisp, telling of the incoming winter season some four months away, with morning dew along the strips of grass that lined the streets. A rare pony was out at this early an hour, but a jogger or two could be seen.
Along the main street of Partyville district was shop after shop, all closed, but one or two with at least the lights on. In between the hardware store and the coffee shop sat one of St. Orangeberg's many microparks: a small alley that remained unpaved, with a covering of grass, a small tree, a bench, and several bushes.
This unnamed micropark stood silent alongside the businesses that framed it. That is, until one of the few bushes began to rustle and a large pink bow poked its way into the open. Following the bow was a mop of red hair, and the small yellow pony that they belonged to.
The yellow pony, Applebloom, couldn't have been more than a child, but as she opened her eyes and yawned, a fierce intelligence could be seen behind those orange spheres. She stretched out her back and looked up at the morning sky.
"Morning already? Aww..." She thought, disappointed, "Well I should probably go before somepony sees me.” Her eyes, looking more awake by the second, looked to her left and right as she stepped out of the micropark, making sure no one spotted her.
"Applebloom? Is that you?" She heard come from a couple dozen feet away. Applebloom mentally cursed herself for being careless, and allowing herself to be seen before she could get away from the micropark.
"Shoot! Is that Pinkie Pie?" She asked herself purposefully making her expression blank and neutral, despite the hasty thoughts that streamed through her head. "Quick, think up an excuse!"
The pink mare with the curly mane was walking over to Applebloom, slightly surprised, but no more alert than she normally was. A bit of a grin also adorned her face. "What are you doing out so early?" Pinkie asked. Applebloom, in reply, said nothing, her expression one of confusion that she carefully constructed to mask her panic. "Nevermind, I could use your help actually, are you free?"
To her credit, Applebloom continued to hold her composure. "Well...I mean..."
"Great, follow me!" Pinkie chirped, excitedly before motioning a couple buildings down the street.
Applebloom's eyes narrowed slightly, but after a short moment she shrugged and followed Pinkie, to her bakery, "Why not?" She asked herself, "Being with somepony crazy is better than being called crazy yourself. I'll look mundane by comparison."
The bakery, as it turned out, was actually on the other side of the Hardware store. Pinkie opened the door, it being unlocked, and held it open for Applebloom, who walked in and looked around. She couldn't remember ever having actually been inside Baking Thyme before. Pinkie smiled and lead her to the kitchen, behind the store's counter.
"Pinkie Pie's a lot friendlier than I thought she'd be," Applebloom thought as she studied the bakery's kitchen. She hadn't really put much thought towards it in the past, but she supposed she was curious what the back of this place looked like. It was surprisingly clean, with three ovens, a couple sinks, a table in the centre of the room, a fridge, and pans and measuring utensils lining the room. All equipment properly put away, at least for now.
Looking Pinkie in the eyes, Applebloom relaxed slightly. "So what do you need help with?" she asked, as Pinkie pulled out a cooking tray from under the table.
"Do you know how to bake?" Pinkie asked with a curious expression, when Applebloom didn't answer immediately, Pinkie continued. "It's early, and people are still asleep. I need to do baking before I open the shop...but I slept in, so that's in half an hour." She explained, rubbing the back of her neck.
Applebloom smiled mischievously, "Only if I get to eat what I make," She declared, a sly smile on her face.
Pinkie rolled her eyes out of sight of Applebloom, but kept a genuine smile on her face; not everyone in town was the worst. "Sure."
"What are we making?"
"Cookies to start," Pinkie answered pulling a mixing bowl down that was hanging from above her. "Can you grab the flour and cooking grease? Third drawer on the left."
Applebloom nodded, "Yep," before she checked Pinkie to make sure she wasn't looking. The Pink mare was focusing on finding something else. "Time to snoop the crazy pony’s kitchen."
Without the watchful eye of the baker behind her, Applebloom zipped to a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. “What does she have in here?" Finding the flour, she moved onto the next door, and then the next. "More boring adult stuff, c'mon, I want some dirt." She rolled her eyes as she continued searching through a few drawers before she stopped at one in particular that made her stop.
"Whoa! Why does she have an iguana in here?" Tucked away in a drawer that Pinkie probably never actually used, there was a nest with a lizard sleeping. "I wonder what else is hiding around here!"
She closed the habitat just in time to see Pinkie turn around, "Find the flour yet?" She asked.
Shaking her head, Applebloom grinned sheepishly, "Nope, sorry."