In the morning, Pinkie Pie felt much better than she had yesterday. Her muscles no longer screamed at her, and she felt lighter than ever! She fairly well bounced along with Provie on her back! She was up, freshened, and ready to go earlier than ever as well! She packed Provie in some saddlebags, along with her lunch, put on her uniform, and was out the door soon after the sun came up!
She arrived at work to a few strange looks from her co-workers when she hung Provie from a hook, staring out of her saddlebags at the break room, but nopony really said anything except the manager, Sprinkles.
“Pinkie Pie, I don’t mean to be rude, but what is that?” She pointed at Provie, staring with her slack-jawed, googly-eyed face out across the break room.
Pinkie Pie followed her hoof and giggled. “Oh! That’s just Provie!”
“Provie? Is that a name?”
Pinkie nodded vigorously. “I found her in my attic! She was lonely at home, so I thought she might like to come watch me work.”
Manager Sprinkles shrugged. “Weird, but I’ve heard enough about you to accept that as the truth. It’s a little disconcerting to look at, but harmless enough. Don’t let it distract you from your work, okay?”
Pinkie saluted. “Yes, ma’am!” and raced to begin preparations for the day.
Pinkie Pie zipped about the kitchens, creating delightful confections as she was wont to do. She was feeling far more energized than yesterday and felt so light on her hooves she practically flew about as she worked. She bounded from station to station, mixing dough and icing cookies, placing them on sheets, pulling items from the ovens, sliding them over counters, dropping powders, salt, sugar, flour, vanilla, and whatever else in their rightful places without missing a beat.
When it finally came time for a break, Pinkie was perky and peppy, all smiles when she went back into the break room to sit down for lunch. She walked up to Provie and her saddlebags, hanging on the wall and pulled out her lunch.
“May I sit with you, Pinkie Pie? I have seen glimpses of you working with the others. Yes, I have. You are quicker and much faster than the rest. How are your hooves?”
Pinkie Pie smiled and pulled Provie out of her bag and sat her limp in a chair next to her. She bit into her sandwich and chewed noisily. “My hooves feel great, Provie! Much better than yesterday. I guess I just needed to get used to working in such a busy place!”
“Ohhh, no that is not it at all, Pinkie Pie. I am helping you. Yes, I am!”
Pinkie took a slow bite of her sandwich. “What? How?”
“I am helping you take the weight off your hooves. You feel much lighter than before, do you not?”
“Oh! Is that you?”
“Yes, it is!”
“Well, that’s very helpful, Provie. Yes, it is!” Pinkie laughed.
There were hoofsteps behind her and Pinkie Pie heard a voice. “Pinkie Pie? Who are you talking to?”
Pinkie turned to look and saw one of her co-workers. Her name was Gumball, if she remembered correctly, and Pinkie Pie usually did. “Hello, Gumball! I’m talking to Provie, here!”
“Provie?” Her eyes flicked to the puppet in a chair next to her. “The… doll?”
Pinkie nodded emphatically. “Yep! This is Provie. Provie, this is Gumball!”
“Is Provie even a name? I guess a puppet could be called that. Really not a pony name, though, is it?” Gumball said.
“Maybe not, but it doesn’t matter, because that’s her name, and it’s a good name. Yes, it is!” Pinkie giggled again as she copied Provie’s manner of speech. “Provie, would you like to say hello to Gumball?”
Gumball stood there a moment awkwardly during the silence that followed. Pinkie Pie laughed, then looked at Gumball. “Oh, don’t mind her. Gumball is a great name. It’s like you don’t know what you’re going to get. You could be sweet, sour, filled with sugar, and taste like anything! But you can always count on you being fun!” Pinkie looked back at Provie and shook her head. “No, I like Provie as well. I just have no idea what it means!”
“I’ll… leave you to talk with Provie alone, Pinkie,” Gumball said, giving her a confused look.
“Okey dokey lokey! I’ll see you in the kitchen in a little bit, Gumball!”
“Yeah… sure.”
“I do not like her, Pinkie Pie. She didn’t like my name, and she seems a little too friendly. Yes, too friendly,” Provie said.
“Aw, c’mon. She’s not that bad. She just doesn’t know you like I do. She’s trying to make friends!”
“I do not want to be her friend. No, I do not.”
“Not everypony has to be friends with everypony else. I had to learn that.”
“Then I choose to only be friends with you, Pinkie Pie. Yes, I do.”
Pinkie laughed and chomped down the rest of her sandwich. “That’s fine, Provie. But I think you may change your mind later, so don’t be mean to anypony, okay?”
Provie didn’t answer, so Pinkie just patted her on the head and put her back in the saddlebags. Pinkie stepped away to go back to the kitchens and had to stop for a moment. She felt a little lightheaded, but it quickly passed. She bounced back into the kitchen with a final wave at Provie, and work began again in earnest.
Once again Pinkie felt light on her hooves and reminded herself to thank Provie for her help when the day was over. She zipped throughout the kitchen, washing, cleaning, working, cooking, and didn’t have any problems. There was one point where she was icing a cake and turned away for a moment. Somepony else bumped the table she had placed the cake on and she managed to catch it. The pony who had done it went pale at seeing Pinkie catch it, and she tried to reassure him it was fine.
Things got a little weird when she caught a mixing bowl before it could fall to the floor, and she thought she had been a little too far away to catch it. Nopony commented on it, but she figured that was because nopony had seen her do it. She was really proud of her catch, but she let it go.
The day was a little odd, but Pinkie felt happy with her work completed so easily and smoothly. The day had just been smooth and easy, just the way she liked it. Ponies went home happy with their treats and smiles, and Pinkie went home with her own with Provie on her back.
Nopony wanted to talk to her, and they barely wished her goodbye, but that wasn’t going to dampen her spirits, no sirree! She was Pinkie Pie, and even if she couldn’t be their friend, she would be a good coworker, no matter what!
“Your day was good, Pinkie Pie?”
“It was, Provie. Thank you for your help.”
“You are welcome Pinkie Pie. Yes, you are.”
“So what did you think of my work, Provie?”
“I thought it was very interesting, Pinkie Pie. Yes, I did.”
“Can you smell things? I love the smell of the bakery while we work. It’s sweet, and pleasant. Just like a good friend!”
“I cannot smell things. No, I cannot. But I am sure it smells just lovely.”
“It does. It really does.” Pinkie bounced up the steps to her house and opened the door. She slipped inside, placed Provie on a chair and went upstairs to shower and prepare herself to make supper.
Provie waited patiently for her to come back down, pick her up, and the two of them went into the kitchen while Pinkie made dinner and ate. Provie was silent for much of it until Pinkie spoke up.
“So, would you like to dance tonight, Provie?”
“Oh, no, Pinkie Pie. I thank you for the offer, but I have something else on my mind. Yes, I do. Being at work with you was enough to keep me happy. I am just glad I was able to be of some assistance to you in your busy, busy work.”
“Well, I feel energetic and peppy even after a whole day’s work! You did an excellent job, whatever you did, Provie. Thank you!”
“I could do more, you know. Yes, I could.”
“Well, that might be fun. Like what?”
“I will show you tomorrow, if that is alright with you.”
“Ooooo, a surprise? I love surprises! I think I can wait!” Pinkie pulled herself under the covers of her bed and giggled. She was silent for only ten seconds before she asked again. “What is it?”
“I will show you tomorrow, Pinkie Pie. Yes, I will.”
“Okay, okay. I can wait.”
There was silence again, then Pinkie spoke up. “Can I get just a little hint?”
“You will understand tomorrow, maybe. Sleep now, Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie tried, and sure enough, she fell asleep. When she woke, the day started well. She was cleaned up and ready before she even realized it, dressed in her outfit for work. She again felt loose and peppy and felt like her bounding took her larger distances than they ever had. She got a lot of looks in the street as she bounced to the bakery, leaping so high she felt she could even clear an entire pony!
As a matter of fact, she thought she might try it! She was giddy and felt so light on her hooves, so she bounced toward a pony in her path and gave an extra hard push off the ground! She sailed over their head, limbs flailing in the air from the force of the jump and was surprised to feel herself floating! She slowly came back down to the ground, hooves lightly touching down. She laughed aloud, giggling and snorting, and continued on her way to the bakery, ponies staring at her as she left.
“Did you see that jump, Provie?! Was that you that helped me clear that pony? That was amazing! I jumped so high!”
“Yes, Pinkie Pie. It was me. Yes, it was.”
“How are you doing that?”
“Strings, Pinkie Pie. A lot of strings.”
“Well that’s super cool!”
“Pinkie Pie?”
Pinkie whirled her head around to look. “Hello, manager Sprinkles! It is a lovely morning, isn’t it?”
Manager Sprinkles flinched as Pinkie turned around. The rest of the ponies in the bakery were all huddled in a corner, not coming any closer. “Uh… Pinkie? You look… different this morning, are you okay?”
“Never better! Never better! Lovely as always! Happy to help!” she said as she snorted and laughed. She turned her body around to face her manager’s direction, and the ponies in the bakery all cringed and pushed out the door behind them.
“Uh, Pinkie Pie, can I ask you to go home today? Your… choice of attire this morning is unsettling to a lot of your coworkers. I’m afraid I can’t allow it at work.”
Pinkie’s mane drooped at that request. “What? What’s wrong? Am I wearing the uniform wrong? Is it Provie? I can cover her head. Is it my bubblegum shampoo? Do I smell bad?”
“Pinkie, no, it’s—” Manager Sprinkles moved her hoof around her face. “—your face and legs. Everypony finds it, well, creepy. We get that you like your puppet, but you can’t come wearing makeup like that to work, okay? You can wash it off, or you can go home.”
Pinkie patted herself on the face. “Makeup? I didn’t put any on.” Her head twirled around to face backwards and her jaw unhinged in alarm to look at Provie. Her mouth didn’t move as she spoke. “Provie, did you put makeup on me while I wasn’t looking?”
The crowd, including Manager Sprinkles all flinched as she did that. “Pinkie Pie, please! I had heard you liked a good prank, but this is going too far! You’re frightening everypony! Please go home! I will talk to you about this later!”
Pinkie’s mane drooped further and she picked up her bag. Her hooves rattled as she wobbled her way home. Ponies gave her more looks as she walked, and she knew why, now. She didn’t get it, though. She wasn’t wearing any makeup!
When she got home, she took off her uniform and moped up to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror, and still didn’t understand what Manager Sprinkles was referring to. What makeup? She didn’t have any on! She spun her head around fully backward to look at Provie sitting on the toilet behind her.
“What was she talking about, Provie? What’s wrong?”
“I do not know, Pinkie Pie. I could not tell you what they are afraid of. You look like your beautiful, lovely self. Yes, you do.”
“That’s what I thought. My peppy perky pinkie pony self,” she said as she pushed her mane upward.
“Would you care to dance, Pinkie Pie?”
“I think I would like that. You’ve always been there to help me, Provie. You gave me company in this lonely old house just as I was getting settled in, and you were willing to help me with my work.” She picked Provie up off the bed and swung her around. “I just wish I knew what I had done wrong. I don’t have any makeup on.”
“No, you do not. I must confess that was me.”
“You? What did you do?”
Provie’s haunting music began playing again, and Pinkie Pie found herself in a dark room, with walls on all sides covered in long, heavy drapes. The room was longer than it was wide, and the ceiling was covered in a dark, fabric-looking sort of material. There were no windows, and the room seemed to be suffused with a dim, but visible, light all throughout.
“I wanted to spend all my time with you, but your coworkers were keeping you away from me.”
Pinkie Pie tried to pull her hooves away, but found she had no control over them. They swung Provie back and forth, spinning her about. As she watched, Provie began moving, lifting her head up to finally stare at Pinkie Pie, even as her own eyes lost the ability to move.
Provie’s mouth dropped open in what Pinkie could only assume was meant to be a smile. “We will never have to be apart, now. We’re safe here, and we can dance together, here in my box. Safe. Just us two.”
Pinkie wanted to scream, but wasn’t allowed.
The music played on.
The End.