Pinkie was laying in her bed, but no, not just laying.
After such a joyful day, contrasted by confusing statements and even more confusing things, the sleep wouldn't come willy nilly.
So Pinkie tossed and turned under the covers and spoke to herself. Just carefully sounded to not waking up Gummy with it.
The little alligator nibbled on her mane with his toothless mouth and smacked satisfied.
“We will build a house tomorrow, maybe we can even move in tomorrow, Gummy.
And after that...”
She giggled enthusiastic and even tossed away her blanket very excited.
She turned onto her hooves and wanted to jump off the bed, but stayed in bed, before she could wake up Gummy. She sighed quietly, as she remembered Cheerilee's parting words.
“I think you can do it, Pinkie.”
Cheerilee cocked her head thoughtful and sighed deeply.
Her eyes scanned over Pinkie with an almost confused, well for Pinkie clearly confused, smile and she continued gentler.
“Scootaloo will push herself over every hurdle to impress you.
She wants to get adopted from you after all and wont make any kind of trouble for you.
Well first.”
Cheerilee sighed again and shook away the rest of her words. She forced a smile back onto her face and closed the door finally.
Pinkie shook away the rest of the memory, laid her head on her front hooves, puffed up her cheeks and blow over them.
She whispered as low as a breeze.
“She would do anything.
Really anything...?”
The mare shivered, as her memory drifted back to her dullest moment in life. To the time as she was forced to her breaking point.
The time in her life, as she was forced to do the most boring thing imaginable to do, only to prove, that she was the real Pinkie.
Watching paint dry!
She shivered again and put on an inquiring expression.
And Scootaloo would do even that to get adopted?
Pinkie turned around, faced the ceiling and took a deep breath. She yawned and her eyes went close slowly.
“If she would do that, I have to...”
She closed her eyes and dozed away, before she was able to finish the sentence.
The next morning dawned so quickly, that Pinkie wondered how quick the night has passed, as she stood up.
It felt like she was in bed just for minutes.
Pinkie shrugged and jumped down the stairs humming a sweet tone.
Arriving downstairs she pranced on the spot, before she bounced into the bath.
She showered and heard a knocking sound in the middle of it.
She was late already?
First she thought, that the Cakes would let her in and continued showering.
But as the knocking continued and grew even louder, she jumped out of the shower, drying herself in a whirling fashion
and called for the Cakes on her way to the door, but nopony answered.
Pinkie had to open the door herself and cried relived, as she faced the pony outside.
“Good morning Applejack.
You're early, in fact earlier than...”
She hugged her friend as strongly as she could, but the elder earthpony answered the hug just half hearted and Pinkie let her loose quickly.
She cocked her head confused and whispered a question.
“Is everything alright?”
Applejack took a deep breath and swallowed something. She even evaded eye contact and a drop of sweat wandered over her face.
She had to do some soul searching and answered in a calm, almost monotone manner.
“Pinkie, I'm sorry, but I have to tell you...”
Pinkie cocked her head even more, as she could hear the serious tone and tried to smile encouraging.
But it vanished half ways, as Applejack sighed again, cleared her throat and continued.
“We can't let ya adopt Scootaloo.
We are worried, if you're responsible enough for that!”
Pinkie stared at the nervously smiling friend and wasn't able to answer first.
More and more thoughts flew through her head, but as longer she thought about a good answer to give,
as more they got tangled in themselves and finally she had an inextricable ball of thoughts, so she could just stammer around.
She was stranded in her thoughts.
“But we, you, me...see...”
Applejack laid a hoof around her very slowly and led her back into the house.
Pinkie didn't catch up with that, so much she was stuck in her own thoughts, but as her friend pushed her gently on a sofa,
she saw that something was very wrong.
Applejack looked around in the room and Pinkie followed her look, as she continued.
“I'm sorry, we hadn't told you about our concerns earlier.”
Applejack's eyes were locked on the dark red curtains on the windows and she sighed.
Pinkie's eyes skidded over the fireplace in front of the sofa, a low closet with a painted wing on it
and a huger one with painted balloons and felt a strange sting in her heart.
“But now you can invite a stallion into your new house and...”
The party pony's head turned around quickly and stared at her for a long time.
But Applejack just continued and drew lines on the floor.
“If you want to you can try to have one...”
Pinkie cried out finally and jumped onto the hooves. She even stamped them on the ground.
“I don't have a house right now, Applejack!”
Pinkie thumped with her side on something hard and squeaked surprised.
She looked around in shock, landed in her old room and shook her head confused.
“Pinkie?
Are you all right?”
Miss Cake's voice sounded through the floor and the sound of hooves came slowly upstairs.
Pinkie jumped back onto her hooves, looked to the clock shortly and galloped out of her room, before Miss Cake could even enter.
Pinkie ran almost into the mares hooves and just could stop directly in front of her.
Miss Cake smiled almost sheepish and opened her mouth, but Pinkie cocked her head, pranced on the spot and stammered first.
“I've overslept!
I have to prepare everything, before...”
Somepony knocked on the door and Pinkie went silent. She sighed and Cup Cake said finally something.
“Twilight and Applejack were waiting down there and I want to wake you up.
W...”
Pinkie didn't want to wait another second, so she bounced over Cup, landed hard on her hooves and galloped downstairs quickly.
She tried to stammer an apology. But she left the stairs already and saw two ponies sitting on the breakfast table, who looked seriously to her.
Pinkie braked hastily, opened the mouth, bit her first answer down and was finally able to put on a smile.
“I'm sorry.
I've overslept and...
Applejack, I've dreamed about you!”
The orange pony cocked her head confused, thought for a moment and nodded finally.
She looked to Twilight, who set down a teacup and looked quickly over Pinkie.
Before she was able to say anything, somepony knocked again and Pinkie wince.
She galloped to the door, pulled it open and faced two other ponies, who looked confused to her.
Rarity sat in front of her second cup of tea and drank more or less satisfied.
She looked from time to time to Pinkie and tried to say something about her appearance,
especially her not present hairstyle, but the partypony didn't let her start.
She marched back and forth beside the table and mumbled a few words, changed her mind and started over.
“I'm glad, that you all could...”
Somepony knocked and Pinkie just pulled the door open, grabbed Rainbow Dash and placed her on the last chair
with a huge pile of steaming pancakes in front of it. She cried out a quick greeting.
“Good morning, Rainbow, you've made it in time,
we don't have started your pancakes are ready and I hope you like them.”
Pinkie took a deep breath after that and Rarity was finally able to ask a question.
“Why do you need a house, Darling?
Don't you think, that an apartment isn't enough for you?”
Pinkie stopped her already and hugged her quickly. She opened her mouth, while Rarity frowned.
She levitated a brush out of her saddleback and brushed her multiple times over the bundle of energy's frizzled mane.
“If you're wondering?”
Pinkie paused quickly and all ponies, besides Applejack and Twilight just nodded confused.
Pinkie took such a deep breath, that she was afraid to burst, but it was necessary.
She cried out in joy so loud and energetic, that Rarity lost the brush with a shriek and had to cover her ears with both hooves unladylike.
“I want to adopt Scootaloo and need a house for that!”
The other ponies just rubbed her ears.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were exchanging confused looks and Rarity fumbled for her cup nervously.
She took a sip to calm herself, gave a little cough and simpered slightly.
Applejack was coming to term with herself, but didn't say anything, just stared nervously to Twilight,
who cleared her throat and levitated a few flashcards to check them.
“I think, that you...”
Before the mare was able to continue her speech, Rainbow Dash cracked her tail,
stopped her and blurted out a question.
“Why do you, of all ponies, want to adopt her?”
There was a strange undertone in the question, almost accusative and than not.
Pinkie looked into the mares eyes, who pushed away her plate and caught the look with her own strange, almost angry one.
Twilight cleared her throat again, to get back the attention, but Pinkie just ignored that, stood up and looked away from Rainbow.
“I just want to become part of her family.
She is...”
Fluttershy squeaked and both Rainbow and Pinkie looked at her surprised.
The yellow mare blushed, felt for her teacup, but knocked it over.
Rainbow took a deep breath, turned to Pinkie with ostentation and licked her lips.
“A pegasus isn't easy to hoofle, you know?
Especially not, when there is so much wron... not right with her.”
Rainbow reflected for a moment, but as Pinkie cocked her head and looked inquisitive to her, the blue mare shook her head.
“Forget it!”
Rainbows stomach growled and the mare pulled the plate closer, stopped and looked to Fluttershy, who was just trembling right now.
The blue mare smiled encouraging and hugged the friend shortly.
She whispered something to her and Fluttershy just nodded weakly.
She answered with her own inaudible whisper and looked from Twilight to Pinkie Pie, but her voice was so low, that only Rainbow could understand her.
The blue mare grimaced almost irritated, laid a wing around Fluttershy and answered her question with:
“I think so.”
The yellow mare squeaked again and slipped onto her hooves, as Twilight cleared her throat and continued speaking.
“So, when we could return to the matter at hoof and talk about the house...”
Pinkie looked to Fluttershy, who started to walk slowly to the door and her own expression was hard to read.
But she held eye contact the whole time, so Pinkie thought, that she should follow her and stood up.
Twilight tried to ask a question, but Rainbow just hissed and shook her head, as Twilight looked at her.
Rainbow just waited, till Pinkie Pie walked after Fluttershy out of the room and started to whisper, as both mares had left the building.
Pinkie didn't listen, but stayed fixated on her friend, as both slowly wandered through Ponyville.
She could have taken the lead very easily, how slow the other mare walked and how she was trembling.
Pinkies eyes glided slowly over the downcast body of the other mare, stayed for a moment on her close hold wings
and continued with her wavering mane in the breeze. She followed the slower mare and thought for a few minutes.
Fluttershy uttered a sigh of relieve, as before both mares left Ponyville and even held her head higher,
as the smell of wild flowers combined with that of an gurgling water of a nearby stream was blown into their faces by the wind.
Fluttershy took a few deep sniffs of the scent and followed its trace closer to the Everfree Forest and through a field of different wild flowers.
Bees and many other insects were buzzing and humming around the yellow, blue and red dots of colour, putting a smile on Fluttershys face.
Pinkie followed her to a place next to a blooming elder bush, who exhaled a sweet redolence of nectar, which numbed everyponys bad feelings with its heavy sweetness.
Fluttershy laid down next to the bush, took a deep breath and held her nose into a warm ray of sunlight, which flickered through the leaves.
She remained silent for a few moments and Pinkie looked around while she was waiting.
She marvelled at the view, so many flowers, so many creatures, she didn't know that a place like this existed so close to Ponyville.
It was like a jungle, a really small jungle of course.
Pinkies smile returned as well and she too sniffed the scent of the elderberry.
As Fluttershy heard Pinkies deep breath, she woke up and got her attention with a sigh.
“You...you know, as the three little fillies stayed by me for a sleepover, they...”
Fluttershy's voice was drowned out by the buzzing and humming by the swarming insects,
so Pinkie had to step closer and laid down beside her, to catch every word.
Even the little thud, as she laid down, stopped the yellow mare and let her look to Pinkie shortly.
After a while of awkward silence, Fluttershy took another deep breath, turned her face back into the ray of warm sunlight,
closed her eyes and continued with a whisper.
“Well I have bitten more, than I chew with them.
I thought it would be easy, but it wasn't.
Are you sure with what you are doing?”
Pinkie waited a few moments, but Fluttershy didn't speak along, but listened with twitching ears.
The pink mare took that as a hint, to answer. She laid her head against Fluttershys cheek,
first the mare squeaked and wanted to slip away, but she stopped and leaned her head against Pinkies.
“I think so.
If I don't do it...”
Fluttershy opened her mouth, but shut it close again, as Pinkie stopped speaking.
She waited and continued cuddling with her friend.
Fluttershy took another deep breath and whispered a question.
“Are you sure, that this isn't just a funny idea?”
Pinkie wanted to take a indignantly gasp and tried to turn her head away, but her mind took the lead
and she just scratched the ground with a hoof, unable to find the strength to rise up.
“Why does everpony believe, that I can't do that?”
Pinkie sounded almost hurt and Fluttershy hugged her with a wing.
She whispered an apology and answered.
“We do believe you can, Pinkie.
But why do you want to rush it?”
Pinkie opened her mouth, closed it and cocked her head.
She raised a hoof, opened her mouth again, but nothing came out and she put the hoof back on the ground.
Fluttershy kept waiting, till Pinkie had an idea, what to answer.