I'm awake. The bell beside me rang. I grabbed it. I pounded it. I pulled out a hammer and smashed it. Stupid clock. Now, I'd have to get a new clock. Clocks are funny though. I like clocks. I ran out of bed and into the bathroom. I didn't remember what ponies do in the bathroom, so I had to stop and think about it. That's right! I pulled out a tube of something.
"Whaaat's this?" I said, staring at the tube. "What could it be?" I licked it. "Maybe I shouldn't brush my teeth now, and maybe I shouldn't talk to the toothpaste. Meh." I shrugged, shoving the tube in my mouth, eating a mouthful. "Good," I said, and put it back. I ran down the stairs of the Sugar Cube Corner, and yelled, "Hellooo. Hellooo. Hellooo." Eyes turned toward me. I saw smiles. Those ponies are too easy, I thought, but I still like it. I ran out the door.
"Wait," Mrs. Cake said. "Aren't you working today?"
"Work," I said. "That's a good idea. Why not?"
"I think you were supposed to work."
I ran back into the shop and over the counter, picking up baking supplies. "We need the works done."
"Yes," she said. "There's a lot to do."
"Oh, I saw it. I saw it. Don't worry, Ms. Cake. I have the situation under full and total control."
"Mrs.," she said. I saluted.
"I know," I said. "I know." I picked up some flour off the floor. "I put it where I could remember it. On the floor."
"On the floor?"
"Yes," I said, reaching out my hoof over the counter, extending it, and patting Mrs. Cake on the shoulder. "Yes, sir."
"Okay," she said. "I'll go to the market and buy some supplies."
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know. You have a lot of questions today, Pinkie."
"I guess it's just one of those days," I said, smiling. "Have fun and good times at the market." I waved as she was leaving. She was gone. "Wow, I really hope she has it good on the market." I stood there for a second, and then looked down on the flour. Some of it had spilled down on the floor. "I'm so clumsy," I said, and picked it up. "Okay, then we just have to do this."
I grabbed a bowl from somewhere and emptied the bag in the bowl. "Too much flour." I carefully poured flour back into the sack. The bowl got empty. "Too little flour." I poured it over into the bowl. "Yeah, that's about right." Now, I thought, I need egg. Somewhere there has to be egg. Egg is what I need. I need many egg, for many pie, that I make. I opened a door. "No egg?"
It was the storage room. I saw zero egg in there. "Hm. There has to be somewhere around here. I need egg. Egg is good." I searched for egg, but no egg was found. I thought that I would never find an egg, one or several, or many. Egg eluded my grasp, evaded it, and ran away from it at full speed. Egg was out of the question. The eludening continued, and I walked out of the storage room.
"Egg," I said, straight into the restaurant.
Twilight came walking in. "Hello, Pinkie." She waved to me, but I was too concerned about egg. "How you doing?" she said, looking a little confused, but I didn't bother saying hello. I didn't want to forget about the egg-problem, egg-ellusion, eludingment. The eluding of the eggs from my grasp. I reached out and grabbed Twilight's face. "Okay," she said, smiling at me.
"Egg!" I ran out the store.
Somewhere, somehow, I had to find it. I ran down to market. "Hello!" I said, looking for Mrs. Cake. "Where are the one that takes care of Sugar Cube Corner, where I work? Mrs. Cake. Ms. Cake. Where are you? I need to talk to you about ingredients." I didn't know where she was. I had no idea. I was looking, and I kept looking around the many stands, and many other things. Carriages and things were around the market. I looked around them, searchingly.
"Okay," I said. "If you won't help me find egg, then surely, I can do it myself." I turned to a pony that was close to me. "You there."
"Meee?" the pony said, looking around. It was a child. She was female. I was looking for egg.
"Hello, my good friend. I want an egg. No, sorry. I want several eggs. Where are they?" The little filly shrugged at me. "Are you sure don't know where to find any egg, I mean eggs?" I said, leaning forward.
"I don't know," she said. "Hey, Pinkie. Have you seen what happened this morning when the guy came and asked for you to sign that book?"
"Who's a guy?" I said.
"I don't know!" the filly yelled. "He was like old and stuff, and he had a little scraggly-looking beard of a thing on his face."
"Whaaat?" I yelled back. I just wanted eggs.
The filly pointed to a stand that was close to us, all brown and robust, and full of color and life, since ponies walked around it, buying things, and that was nice, and it looked nice, and I was happy for the owner of the stand, but it made me want to buy something too. "Yeah," the filly said. "I don't know about nothing like that. I don't know why a stranger would come looking for you."
I held my breath, trying to calm myself down. I had gotten all worked up over eggs. Now, I wondered what this little feller-thing was talking about, this little cute child. I wanted to know. "I think I..." I collapsed on the ground from having held my stupid breath for too long. I stood up. "I think I want to know what you're talking about. Why would- like, he had the friendship book, and he wanted to, I don't know," I said.
"Yeah," the filly said. "He was like causing a ruckus going around town, with that beard, and all, and he looked weird, you know."
"Well, I don't know about you," I said, shaking my head, wobbling it back and forth, trying to make sense of the situation. "But I'll make sense of this little situation, but first, I need an egg."
"A single egg?" the child said, smiling at me.
"No, I need many egg," I said, staring around the place. The kid laughed. "Yeah," I said. "I still need eggs though."
The filly walked away.
"Okay." I searched around the whole place, spying with my eye where the egg could be. "I see now." I walked to a stand. "Hello," I said.
"Hello there, Pinkie," a kindly old stallion said, picking his hat off and making a bow. "What can we do you for today, milady?"
"I see that you have eggs," I said. "I want to exchange my bits for the eggs that you have there? Will that be something you're willing to accept? I want to get back to work. I'm not sure I'm even allowed to be out here." I looked around. "I don't know where Mrs. Cake is, but I hope to find her soon. I want to talk to her so I can be sure, but now, I want to buy an egg."
"Egg?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "We have just want you need." He picked up a single egg and wrapped it up. I paid him. I turned around to walk away. I grasped my forehead.
"No, wait. That's not right. I- what? Oh my gosh." I turned around. "No, I want more than one egg." I felt fuzzy-headed. Maybe I was more fuzzy-headed than normal, but I thought, no, this is probably normal. I just need to focus, and take the egg-situation a little bit more seriously. After all, I needed eggs for my baking. It was an essential ingredient, and without eggs, I was unsure what to do. There is no easy replacing of an egg. The only thing to replace one kind of egg with is another kind of egg. Okay, so if I couldn't get the eggs from hens, I would need to get it from lizards, or bigger birds, but that whole idea made me uncomfortable. I wasn't sure I wanted egg, or eggs, if I had to get it from something that wasn't a pony. An ostrich? How many ostrich eggs does it take to make a pie? Like a half? I wasn't sure.
"Eggs!" he said, grinning. "Not egg, then, but eggs is what you wanted." He wrapped up some more eggs.
"Yes, sir," I said, saluting. "I need many eggs. You know how it is."
"I sure do," he said, wrapping them up. "Have a good day, missy!"
"You too," I said, as I was running away. "You too, my good sir. I hope you have a wonderful day." I ran away.
Something hit me, or I hit it? I wasn't sure, but in the next moment, I was lying on the ground. "I have to make sure my eggs are safe!" I said, I think, somewhat too loudly. "My egg," I said, picking the last surviving egg off the ground. "No." I hugged it. "I'm not feeling very good," I said, standing up. "I think I need a break from work."
"Your eggs?" Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head at me. "You have eggs?"
"I'm sorry," I said, standing up. "I didn't know it was you."
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Maybe you do need a break. Ponies don't lay eggs, Pinkie." Rainbow then spoke through her teeth. "As far as I know."
"No!" I said. "No more egg troubles. I just wanted to buy some eggs. That's all."
Rainbow laughed again. "Oh, I get it. I just thought, I don't know. That was funny. But I'll walk you back and buy some eggs for you."
"This chaotic egg-life is getting on my nerves," I said.
Rainbow grabbed me by the shoulder. "Are you feeling well, Pinkie?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm too stressed. I don't feel well at all, sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Let's buy eggs." She walked past me. "Now, where are the eggs?"
I turned around so that we both faced the same direction. "I don't know." I looked around and about. "Over there," I said, pointing.
Someone came running. "Huff. Huff!" he said.
"Okay," I said. "If you don't have eggs, then I hope we can talk later."
He held up a book. "Ah!" I said. "You're the book-guy. Follow me to the egg-stand, and then we can swat two flies in one, um, swat. Is that the right expression, Rainbow?"
"Seriously," Rainbow said. "You need to relax. We'll get you some eggs." The guy held up the book. I looked at him.
"Yeah," I said. "I like expressions anyway. Expressions! Express! Do you want to be my friend?" I reached out my hoof to the stranger. He put a pen on it. It fell off. "Oh, how clumsy," I said.
Rainbow Dash pushed me forward. "Oh, eggs," I said.
"Something's bothering you," Rainbow said. "No, something's bothering you. I know that look on your face."
I turned around to face her. "I'm sorry. I think looking for eggs somehow just really messed me up. I don't know. I don't know."
"No," Rainbow said. "No, it's something else. Call it my Rainbow-sense, but it's definitely something else." I wobbled my head around, turning it, and spinning it, a whole lap around. I spun it so that it turned all the way around.
"I don't know. I want an egg, I think."
Rainbow reached for my mane. "Let me check your hair, buddy." I didn't resist. "Oh my gosh," Rainbow said, drawing back. "You have spiders in your hair."
"No, I don't," I said, laughing at this strange accusation of Rainbow's. I didn't have any spiders. I would've seen it in the mirror when I, OOOH. I had spiders in my hair, didn't I? I put a hoof into my own mane and drew it out. The hoof was covered in very tiny spiders. "Oh, spiders," I said.
"Yeah, I think you need a break from work," Rainbow said. "I think you have a pretty good explanation if you ask me. You literally have spiders in your hair. How does that even happen?"
"I was trying to ignore it," I said, licking my arm, some spiders getting on my tongue. I spit out. "This is extremely, extremely, extremely disturbing," I said, calmly.
"They're just spiders," Rainbow said. "You will need to get some help. But jeez, that is pretty crazy. Like, really crazy, but they're just spiders. I mean, stuff happens. You know, I once had a million tiny bugs crawling on my head when I woke up after a long Wonderbolts-exercise. Life is strange."
"It sure is, and also, life is scary." I shook my hoof so that the spiders would fall off. "Spiders? Really?" I watched them crawl across the ground in different directions. "Maybe they're lice."
Rainbow nodded. "Okay, but those are some pretty spidery-looking lice. I wouldn't blame a single person for thinking those were spiders."
"So what do I do now?" I said, waving my arms around. "I don't know what to do. I need to solve the spider-problem. It's really making me feel a lot weird."
"I know," Rainbow said. "You and me both. Maybe Zecora? Or maybe, the spa? I don't know. The hair-salon? Maybe there's some ointment you can buy. Maybe cut the hair."
"Cut it?" I said. "Never."
"Really? But there's spiders in it. I can see them crawling right now. That's pretty unusual, to see spiders in somepony's hair."
I grabbed my mane, squeezing it. "Okay, but I'm not cutting it."
"This day is shaping up to be pretty interesting," Rainbow said. The guy came walking.
The guy with the book smiled. He had crooked teeth. "Autograph maybe please?" he said.
"While we're at it," Rainbow said, "let's have a discussion about proper dental hygiene."
I put my hoof across Rainbow's back. "Silly!" I wiggled my hoof at her. A pony walked by and bumped into us. "Watch yourself." The pony just kept walking. "I still love you though," I said, waving at the pony, who wasn't paying attention.
"What's silly?" Rainbow said.
"I totally forgot," I said, laughing. "I have spiders in my hair." I ran away as fast as I could, toward the forest, to deal with this issue. Having spiders in your hair, I realized, was not a joke. What if it came from some disease? Or what if it was from a health problem? I couldn't take the risk. I needed this problem dealt with faster than faster, and maybe even faster than that. I reached Zecora's cottage. It only took me a minute, on account of my super-speed, and fast reflexes. I knocked on the door.
"I will give you bits if you fix my spider problem," I said. "But you can do it for free if you want to, but don't feel any pressure. I spent a lot of money on eggs before. I broke the eggs. I shouldn't have done that." The door opened.
"Come in. I will see what's the thing that I can do for you," Zecora said. "It's win, or lose. The thing we have to think about is do, or don't, Pinkie."
"Do or don't?"
"Find you a help for you troubles, or not find a help, and your troubles double."
I nudged her nose with my hoof. "Nice rhymes, Zecora. As you can see, I'm in quite a dump. If you don't help me, the dump will become even worse, and that's- and that's because I have spiders in my hair. Why? How does that even happen? I mean, come on, you know." I nudged her some more.
"Come in. Come in. Don't think about anything I can win, money, I don't need." I see. You don't need the money, eh? That's something interesting, I thought. Then, maybe I won't have to worry about the money lost on those stupid eggs as much, but I don't know. Maybe I will, and then again, maybe I won't. Only time will tell. I liked time. I thought that time could fix almost any issue, save the day. Time is wonderful. That's something to remember. It's important to face your fears, face time, face your troubles as time makes them change, and smile, I thought. Time is a great thing, because time makes things easier to solve. The more time goes, the more you learn, and the more you can do to fix things!
I smiled at Zecora. "You know, Zecora. I think you deserve a big hug." I tried hugging her.
"Not now, pink pony," she said. Here's the rhyme I thought. Here it comes. "We need no hugs."
"C'mon," I said.
"What?"
"C'mon, rhyme." I stared at her with anticipation.
"I won't be phony."
"Ha!" I pointed. "Ha-haaa!"
"Stupid pony," she said, putting me in my place.
"I'm a pony, sadly, with a big problem. I'm a little pony with a big problem." I bent my head down to show her. My head was filled with spiders, not lice, but spiders.
Zecora looked at it. "Hm. This is very strange. We'll see what we can do about this change."
"It's the worst change." I leaned in toward her ear. "I don't know if I ever told anyone about this, but I haaate spiders."
"You?" She laughed. "But you take everything with a smile, don't you?"
"Does it count as a rhyme if it's the same word twice?" I said.
She nodded. "Yes, why do you question my rhyming skills. I think we have to–"
"Cut off my frills? Please don't do that."
"Give you some pills," Zecora said.
I turned my head askance. "Against spiders? What for?"
"No, you are correct. The first thing was direct, not the second, which I said to misdirect."
"Whatever. Why are your rhymes getting so over-complicated? Help my hair." I reached my hair over to her. She shook her head.
"I don't know what to do. I will turn the question to you. What do you think you should do?"
I jittered and shook, and then I ran around the room, shaking spiders off in all directions. "I don't know. What is this even? Spiders." I laughed. "Spiders, really?" I ran out the door.
"Wait," Zecora said.
I ran back in the little house, filled with weird masks and tubes and stuff. "I don't know." I jumped up and down. "I'm really bothered by all this, you know. I'm sorry if I was being rude."
Zecora nodded. "And I'm sorry for trying to confuse you."
"Whyyy?" I said, bouncing around the room, still being careful to avoid her stuff, so I don't crush it.
"To see why you were acting so strange, and get a reaction that is true."
I collapsed to my back. "My reactions are still not getting better. I don't know what I'm saying. I want it to stop." I rolled around the floor. Spiders spread out on the floor.
"Don't do that," Zecora said.
I stood up. "Don't do that whooo?"
"You," she said, sighing. "Now, we need to help this mane of yours, or cut it off, which might be a better way, since I have never seen anything like this in my day."
"Why?" I said. "Why do ponies keep insisting on attacking my poor defenseless mane? Oh sure. It has done some bad things, but haven't we all, Zecora? Haven't we all?"
"Hm." Zecora went and grabbed something. "You're acting weird, and that's not something I would usually say about you, dear, dear, since you're always acting weird."
"Oh," I said. I sank down on the ground. "Oh. I'm not working."
"Still, we need to find what's going on with this mane. We need to make the spiders, all of them, wane."
I wanted to hug her for helping me, but I could also understand that I was not working today. My ability to connect with other ponies and make them smile was turned off, and that had to do with this stupid spider-problem. It had to be, or was I just stupider now than yesterday? I felt very myself, but I tried ignoring the spiders, and every time I did, it just felt worse. I didn't even know what to think, or do, or anything. These spiders were all getting on my nerves, very much.
"These spiders are too much to handle. I want them gone," I said. "I'm sorry. I don't like spiders."
"Yes," she said. "I can tell. It's all not well, if you can't act swell like you do around other ponies."
"Is it really that baaad?" I said, flying up in the air. "No, I can act swell. Look at me, swelling." I plugged my nose and blew myself up into a giant balloon. "Look how swell I am." I exploded. "Oh." Spiders flew everywhere. "I should've known that would happen. I don't know." I started shaking a little bit, and getting nauseous, seeing all those spiders. It was getting into my head, my ability to think, and concentrate. That was not good. I knew that I wasn't stupid, at least not this stupid. I had to show Zecora that I could change, and be a better person right now, and if I couldn't, then what to do? I was a disappointment, and now, I was even skipping work. Everything felt, deflated, like an empty balloon.
My hair fell down, and got straight, losing its curls. "Oh, I don't like this feeling," I said. "I'm bothered by the bad things around me in this particular thing-situation."
Zecora gave something to me. "I don't know if this will work, but try and see what it does to your problem, as it were."
"I will, Zecora, my good friend," I said, saluting, and then feeling stupid at once. "I don't know." I returned to the floor. "I like your floor."
"I don't like spiders on it, so don't stay too long to sit."
I walked out the door. "Oh, what is this?" I looked at it. It was a bottle of some kind. "She didn't say what to do with it, but I don't want to talk to her anymore. I don't want her to think I'm being stupid and mean to her." I tried to put it in my mane, but the bottle just fell out. "Oh, that's too bad." I picked it up in my mouth and carried it that way.
I rubbed, scrubbing, and rubbing some more, trying to get all the spiders away, with the little bottle in hoof. This, I couldn't really believe. This, I think, was one of the strangest things that had ever happened to me. Spiders in your hair? Really? How straaange. How weeeird, and how bonker-y.
"This is not supposed to happen." Someone knocked at my door. "Not now," I said. "Sorry, I'm busy. I don't want to talk. I can't be around other ponies right now."
The door went up. "Ah, I'm naked!" I yelled, crossing my legs. "Oh, no. Yes, right. I'm always naked." I jumped out of the tub. "You know, I'm feeling kind of stressed right now."
"I can see it on your hair." I recognized the voice. "Dear." Dear? Who would call me dear? I jumped out the window and down the street, running away. "Stupid spiders. There has to be a way to make them go away." I looked at my mane. There wasn't as many as before. Well, I guess it wasn't like they were stuck on my mane forever. They could let go. They're just spiders, after all. For sure, that's all that it is. They're tiny normal creatures that live in the forest. I ran to Fluttershy's cottage and knocked. There were plenty of birdhouses and stuff outside, and I looked around. This place would always calm me down, but for some reason, now it's giving me a headache. How come, I thought. How come this be, in all the world, and with all the things that are happening.
I knocked carefully. The door went up. "Hello," Fluttershy said.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. I need help. There are spiders in my hair." Fluttershy looked at me. Then she glared at me.
"Okay? So? I could help you." She stuck her nose into my hair. "Come out, little spider." A bunch of spiders came out and walked into her house. "There. Now, Pinkie. We need to be nice to those spiders. They need a home–"
"Pinkie- I mean Fluttershy," I said, putting an arm around her neck. "I have a secret. Or I don't know. I think I didn't even know this myself, but I really don't like spiders. Whatever, I mean, c'mon, they're just spiders, right? I mean, I don't know. Sorry for acting weird. I will go now." I turned to run away.
"Wait," Fluttershy said. "Your hair."
"What's with my hair?" I laughed. "Yeah, so? Sometimes, I like having straight hair. You know, sometimes I straighten it because I want it to be straight. I could change any time I want to."
"Just, just come inside," Fluttershy said, holding open the door. "Like, you're being a little crazy, Pinkie. I think you need to talk to a friend, and I'm here for you, so please come inside." I ran in through the door. "Careful," she said. She closed it.
"Okay, you want tea?" I said, not Fluttershy.
Fluttershy smiled a little. "Please. Pinkie. We're not being calm here. I don't want tea. I want to talk."
"I talk can," I said, sitting down. The floor was covered with spiders. "Those are some cute spiders," I said.
"You know," she said. "You can just be honest about your emotions. It's not good if you keep everything bottled in."
"Gotta go now," I said, running toward the door.
"No," Fluttershy said. "Please stay."
"Okay, I stay." I sat down on her green couch. "I like where I'm sitting right now."
Fluttershy laughed. I picked up a tiny pump. "Look," I said. I pumped a few times, air into my hair. Then my hair deflated. "That is too bad," I said, laying the pump down.
"Yeah," she said. "But if you really are scared of spiders, then I can of course understand not wanting them in your hair."
"Who wants spiders in her hair?" I yelled.
Fluttershy nodded. "Okay."
"Yes." I just sat there. "I don't know. I think I need a psychologist."
"Maybe not," Fluttershy said. "We can talk."
"I don't know," I said. I saw a spider on the floor and then crawled back higher up on the couch. "I've never had this much trouble with spiders before, I don't think. No, I don't think so. Have I?"
"I think you've been around spiders before," Flutters said. "And it hasn't been an issue, but maybe you got traumatized, specifically because they were in your hair."
"Right!" I said. "I don't know. Like, this is really bothering me for some reason. I don't even know."
Fluttershy sat down beside me and patted me on the back. "That's okay. We can talk about it, because that's what friends are for."
The air returned to my hair. "I feel better now," I said. "You know, this whole spider-thing has gotten way out of hoof. I mean, I know it's not normal to have spiders in your hair, but I really don't like how it made me act around my friends."
"I see," Flutters said. "So what to do about that?"
"I don't know," I said. "Maybe I should ask Twilight. I mean, she's smart and stuff, right? She should know what I should do, I think. Shouldn't she?"
Fluttershy nodded. "You could always ask Twilight."
"I don't know though," I said, grasping my face with my hooves. "This whole thing is way confusing. Like, okay, sure, spiders in your hair is crazy, but I feel like I really lost myself there."
"Your hair got deflated," Flutters said. "That only tends to happen when you're depressed."
"But I wasn't even depressed," I said. "I just felt, weird. I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much. Like, having spiders in your hair, I mean, is pretty freaky. It is. But I don't like hurting people. Zecora thought I did. Or did she? I don't know. I'm not really sure. I don't know what's going on." I started breathing a little heavy. "I feel like I woke up wrong today. Maybe I shouldn't have eaten all that toothpaste."
Fluttershy shook her head. "It's probably not the toothpaste."
"Well, I don't know," I said. "Having spiders in your hair is pretty bonkers."
"I wonder how it happened," Flutters said. "But you're in here right now, with the spiders, so at least you're facing your fears."
"No," I said, climbing further up on the couch. "I had just totally forgotten they were there." I looked down. I saw the spiders. They looked evil. The more I looked at them, the more I felt evil. "I don't want to be evil," I said.
"Having spiders in your hair, if it happens out of nowhere, and is not of your own free will seems pretty weird, and crazy, yeah," Flutters said. "I don't really know what to say about that. I mean, I think you should just take a break from work."
"But I love work!"
"Okay, then don't."
I sank down on the couch. "Maybe I should though. Oh, I don't know. I don't know what I should do."
"Yes," she said. "I think I understand that. So you need to focus a little bit and maybe talk to Twilight. She could help you, maybe."
"Hm," I said. "Maybe." I walked to Flutters' door. "Thank you for talking me out of my weird mood. I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I need to go," I said, walking out the door.
I knocked on Twilight's door. "Hello Twilight, my old friend." I sang. "I came to meet you again." I knocked once. "Because I'm scared that I'm losing my mind, because of spideeers. Yeah-yeah. Because of spideeers!" I knocked in rhythm to the singing. "Hello Twilight. I love you. You are one of my bestest friends, so I hope you won't be angry. No. No-no-no. I hope you won't be angryyy. I hope, when I spill spiders on your carpet, and in your cauldron, and on your masks." The door opened up.
"Pinkie, what the heck are you doing?" Twilight said, looking angry.
I hung my head. "I'm sorry. I don't feel too good."
"Come inside." She let me in.
"Yeah," I said. "Have you ever had spiders in your hair?"
Twilight lifted one of my curls with her magic. "I don't see any spiders."
"There was many spiders. But Fluttershy helped me."
"Okay." Twilight walked further inside. "What's the problem? I'm a little busy."
I turned around. "I should just leave."
"No, you stay," Twilight said, grabbing me around my back. "Let's talk."
"I just close my eyes," I said. "And every time I do, I see a spider. Am I going crazy?" I gasped. "Maybe I am. Maybe there aren't even any spiders. Maybe it's just my imagination."
"Settle," Twilight said. "I'll find you a place to sit." We turned into a room with two chairs, and a table. Twilight sat down. "Now, please, tell me everything that happened," she said, looking at me with concern on her little face. Oh, Twilight. I don't deserve a friend like you, I thought.
I planted myself on the comfy little chair. "This is comfy."
"Okay. But now, tell me everything." And I did.
I told her about the eggs, spiders, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Zecora's comment, and everything.
Twilight nodded. "Is that everything?"
"Sure is."
Twilight shook her head. "I'm pretty sure you're not imagining things, unless everyone has been lying to you, and that seems unlikely."
"Unlikely?" I was unsure. "I don't know about that. What's unlikely?"
"Okay," she said. "So maybe Zecora's not used to being around you, but this isn't the first time you've gone crazy. I remembered when Fluttershy did acapella."
"Oh, yeah. I did go pretty crazy there, didn't I?" I said, remembering the memories. "But still, there must be something we can do about the situation."
"Is there a situation?" Twilight said. "You seem fine now, but you need to face your fears. I think that's the gist of it. It's pretty obvious to me at least. Sometimes, you just have to look at what you're afraid of and face it."
"I like you, Twilight, and I think that's good advice." I put a hoof in my mouth, slurping on it. "I think I'm thirsty."
"There's water somewhere," Twilight said. Someone knocked on the door. "Okay, I think it's back to work for me."
"Where are you?" someone shouted from the other side.
Twilight looked at me. "I'm sorry, Pinkie." She ran out the door.
"Boy, I sure am happy I'm not a princess," I said. I sat there in quietude. "Hm." I looked around. "This sure is a nice room." I remembered the spiders. A shudder came over my body. "That's not good." I stood up. "What am I going to do now?" I walked out the room. Twilight was with someone. I didn't even know who it was.
I ran through the corridor and out the door to the castle. "What a good day," I said. Then, a spider came up in my imagination. "Oh," I said, and I whimpered, but not on purpose. I walked down the road of our little town. Zecora came walking. I turned away and walked the other direction.
"Wait," Zecora said.
"Okay." I turned around. "I don't know what's happening. But I know one thing for sure, and that's that I don't like hurting my friends." I was determined on that point. I really didn't like doing it, really not. That was a fact, for sure. I didn't want to hurt anyone. I wanted everyone to be happy. I'm almost always happy, I thought. Other ponies deserve the same, for sure.
Zecora came up to me. "How is it going? I hope I'm not too late."
"What's wrong with me?" I said.
"I wanted to apologize," she said. "I had something happen when you were away."
"What?" I said. "Something fishy?"
Zecora held up a wet lump, that was a package. "I thought I didn't know what to do, and when I met you, everything got screwed."
"You know, I feel pretty screwed myself. I just want to face my fears now, no matter what happens. And I will."
"Still," Zecora said. "You spread spiders everywhere. I don't know. I look. I don't know where. Spiders are all over. I can't go near."
"Fluttershy," I said, a little drowsy. "Fluttershy can help you. They're only spiders. I mean, come on." A spider flashed before my face, in my memory. "Ah!" I jumped up in the air. "I don't know what's wrong with me, but I do know this, Zecora. I'm going to find out." I walked away from the conversation.
"Don't you want to talk some more?" Zecora said. "We haven't settled the score."
"There is no score. It's okay. It was never about you," I yelled, turning my head around as I was running. "You didn't do it. It was all me. It was my fear of spiders that made my mane sink down, and lose its plushy. And I will fix it." I kept running forward. "I will fix it. I know I will." I closed my eyes for a second, and then, remembering what had happened with Rainbow Dash, opened them again. I crashed into another person. Bad luck!
I sighed and gasped for air. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not really myself today, sir." The guy I had crashed into, get this, was the same guy that I had met before, with the book. I recognized him. "Hey, you're the guy with teeth- um, I mean, the big beautiful smile, in which there are teeth, that are also pretty, and- and–"
"Will you just sign my book?" he said.
"Yeah, but I don't know why my signature is worth so much, and I'm not even sure. I mean, I haven't signated, signed? Sorry, signed many things, and I'm not sure if I even really have a signature, so you know."
"That's okay," he said, smiling. Applejack came running.
I got really happy, seeing her. "I haven't seen you today. You're one of the best friends a pony can have, and today, I've learned that being honest with yourself is one of the most important things you can do." Applejack lassoed the pony in question, that had wanted my autograph.
"Pinkie, I love you, and you're cute and stuff, but I'm really busy," Applejack said. "Let's come along now. Don't be getting all pushy, mister." She pulled the guy closer. "I know who you are now, m'friend."
"Great," he said. Applejack pulled and he followed with her.
Okay, now, this was interesting. I followed with them. "What's happening, Applejack? What's the deal with lassoing this guy? Like, is he an evil villain? Are we on an adventure together?"
Applejack turned to me. "This is between us two. You don't need to get involved, Pinkie, in all this. My business." She pulled at the rope, as if she was pulling on an animal.
"I see you're busy," I said.
"I don't know what to do," she said. "Every time I try to concentrate, like, I think I need to go get Twilight, and she can help me handling this business." Applejack groaned. "This whole thing has been a big waste o' my time."
"I see, but Twilight is busy. She was talking to someone. I couldn't tell." Applejack just ran past me and let go of the guy that she had lassoed. I tried waving to her but she wasn't looking. I turned to see what the guy was up to, but the moment I did, he was gone. "Strange. Usually, I feel like these things end with an explanation," I said. "But that's for later. I go now." I walked away. "I need to get to- I don't even remember. Do I still work at the Sugar Cube Corner? Yes, I didn't get fired, I hope."
I walked down the road to my destination, which was now the Sugar Cube Corner. Weird things happen, I thought. That's part of life. It has to be, and otherwise, I wasn't even sure what to make of it all. "Hey," I said. A pony bumped into me. I turned around. "Hey, I want you to be careful please, because being bumped into can be uncomfortable and stuff, and sometimes, it kind of hurts, but just a little, and have a lovely day."
The pony turned around. Its eyes flashed green. It scurried off in the other direction from where I was. "Okay, do I?" I looked around. "I'm losing my job for sure. Why is this day so weird? All I wanted to do was buy some eggs." I ran after the pony. "Changeling," I said, pointing, but there was no one else around. "I'm sure of it. Come here you," I said. The pony turned around, staying her ground. I turned around and ran the other direction. "Never mind. I'm sorry." I stopped.
"Hey, you," the pony said, the mare.
"Okay," I said. I slowly spun back toward this strange strangeling changeling pony. "What do you want?" I struck me that the pony maybe could be a nice changeling. One of Thorax's, maybe? But Applejack had caught a pony, and, I, um, maybe I was putting things together in my head to quickly. But this pony had been rude, because she didn't even stay to listen when I tried to tell her that I thought she was being rude, twice.
The mare spoke. She was violet. "I want justice. I want everyone to know the truth." She ran away toward Twilight's castle. I followed her on instinct, mostly wanting to know what was going on, but also, if this pony was dangerous, then I had to help Applejack and Twilight. It was the right thing to do.
The strange mare ran into the castle and I followed. "Hey!" I said. I came inside. I was met with three Applejacks and one Twilight. "Whaaat?" I said. Twilight shot a beam on one of them, and it turned into a green changeling, like those of Thorax. "Hello," I said, waving.
"I'm sorry," he said, with his male voice. "I didn't think this would happen."
I laughed. "Wow. You and me both." All eyes turned toward me. "Hello," I said, again.
"Okay, so this is mighty weird," one of the Applejacks said.
"Not for long," Twilight said. She fired the beam at another Applejack, but she remained as apple-y as she had ever been, meaning, I thought, that she was the real Applejack.
Twilight then shot the beam at me. I closed my eyes. Nothing happened. "You think I was a changeling?" I said, shaking my head. "Really?"
"No, this is a really crazy changeling," the real Applejack said.
Twilight pointed at the other Applejack. "Then, by process of elimination, it must be you." The other Applejack crossed her legs in a playful maneuver.
"Wow," I said.
"I guess it must be me. Then again." The other Applejack pointed to the real Applejack. "She's getting away."
Twilight turned to her. "Yeah, but it still has to be you." She shot her beam, but nothing happened. "What the heck?" Twilight said. "What's going on here?" The other Applejack, who was also real, because the beam didn't turn her into a changeling, ran out the door, after the first Applejack. I walked closer to them. The green guy-changeling was still standing around there in the room next to Twilight.
"Twilight," I said. "Can you explain what's going on in a way that I can understand, buddy?" I hugged her. She hugged back.
"I don't know. She came in, and she said she wanted help with a changeling, but the thing is, that spell always works, so I don't know what kind of switch-up happened there, but it has to be something that went wrong." Twilight turned to the green changeling standing next to us. "And who are you?" He grinned and scratched the back of his head.
"It's sort of hard to explain."
Twilight glared at him. "I'm all ears."
"Okay," he said. A dart hit his neck. He fell down on the floor.
"Okay," I said.
"Okay?" Twilight shook her head at me and bent down toward him. "Yeah, he's still alive. But this is getting really serious now. Pinkie, I need your help."
"Anytime," I said. "Anytime anywhere, Twilight."
"Okay, well, obviously, we need to figure out what's going on." I nodded, agreeing with her. When ponies are hit with unconscious-darts, you know it has gone too far, way too far.
"Maybe we could look on Applejack's farm," I said. "I'm sure there might be some good old clues. We could be detectives again."
Twilight smiled faintly. "This is more serious than that. We need to be serious."
"Okay." I understood what she was saying. "What are we going to do?"
"I mean, I think I agree with your idea," Twilight said. "Let's look at the farm. C'mon." She nudged me with her hoof to make me move, and I did, and we ran, and we were gone.
"We have arrived the farm!"
Twilight glared. "What a strange thing to say, Pinkie. Now, come on." Twilight got lost somewhere. She ran away from me, and I didn't know where she went, because I wasn't really paying attention.
"Where are you, Twilight?" I looked around. I hadn't really been paying attention, again. I didn't know what to do, but my spider anxiety seemed to have faded a little bit. It was still there though. The more I thought about it, the weirder it made me feel in my tummy. Spiders, I thought. Those are some scary crawlies, but I know they don't mean it. They're just living their lives. I wonder what they were doing in my hair.
"Pinkie," Twilight said. It came from inside the barn. So there was where she disappeared to, huh? I walked inside. All I saw was Applejack in there.
"Okay, so I'm confused." I looked around. I looked behind me. I looked back. She was gone. "Twilight!" I said, running in. "Twilight, where are you?" The place was empty. "Okay, first the spiders and now this?" I turned around. Twilight was standing there.
"Where did you go, Pinkie? You can't just disappear like that."
I pointed to behind me. "Bu- but I, and the, um, what?"
"I looked inside the house," Twilight said. "No Applejack. This is really starting to worry me."
"Okay. Calm down." I put my hoof into her mouth. "I saw you inside the barn. For sure. It was either real you, and you are fake Twilight, or you are real Twilight, and that was a fake." Twilight walked past me.
"Let me see," she said. I faced the same direction, into the barn, as she was walking inside.
Twilight scanned the place with her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Way sure." I was unsure what to believe. Was this really Twilight? Was it fake Twilight? Had it always been fake Twilight, since the castle? Who was this? What was she doing? I was so confused that I didn't know what to do.
Twilight looked at me. "Pinkie." She shot another beam at me.
"Darn it, Twilight. I'm still me. Seriously? Ugh, let's just go." I went out the barn.
She followed me out. "Sorry. I'm just being a little paranoid, I guess."
"Twilight, you know me. Look into my eyes." I stared at her, making eye-contact.
"Yeah, I know," she said. "But this changeling has tricked me before. I have no idea what's going on."
"Who is it?"
Twilight groaned. "It's a long story. I don't even- I don't even know. But it's not a nice person. He tricked Applejack into signing some kind of contract."
I nudged Twilight. "Never sign any contract from a stranger. That's what my granny always said. Granny Pie."
"Was that really what you called her?"
"Oh, sure. Why not?"
"Like, whatever. Doesn't she have a real name?" Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude."
"No, that's okay," I said, bouncing. "I don't know her name. I always only knew granny Pie. I'm sure she had a name. It's just easier to remember when you have a big family, I think." We reached Applejack's house.
"Let's search it more thoroughly," Twilight said. "I'll take downstairs, maybe, and you take upstairs."
"Yes, sir Twilight," I said, and hurried toward the stairs. "This is important," I said to myself. I reached upstairs. The familiar green walls gave me comfort. "Good house." I drew my hoof against the wall. "I like this house." I felt a little uncomfy. "Something is off." I walked into Applejack's room. I knew where it was, since I think I had a good memory, maybe, I think. I was sure it was Applejack's room, but then I was unsure. "No." I walked out the door. "No." I walked back in. I looked at the bed. Apple Bloom was sleeping it, in the middle of the day? I sneaked, going backward, walking out the room.
Then I closed the door. "Hm." I walked back inside. The bed was empty. "Okay. Someone or something is going on here." I closed the door again, and then I reopened it. The bed was still empty. I gasped, and then I ran all the way down the stairs. "Twilight, I saw it. I saw him, her, it? I saw it!"
"Where?"
"In Apple Bloom's bed, but it's gone now."
"Who?"
"The changeling. That's kind of who."
"Kind of?"
"Just come on." I pulled her with me and ran up the stairs. We reached the door. Twilight pulled it open and went in there.
Twilight searched the place. "Are you sure, Pinkie?"
"If you shoot me with the beam again, then that will be really annoying, buddy?" I crossed my arms. "No, I'm Pinkie. Whatever. You don't believe me?"
"No, okay," Twilight said. "I just think this whole thing is, weird. Weird? Yes, I think it's very weird."
"Me too," I said. Twilight shot the beam at me. "Whatever." I jumped out the window and then into the barn.
"Applejack," I said, pointing. I ran at her and grabbed her. "You are Applejack. Admit it."
"Guilty as charged," she said, pushing me off. "What's gotten into you, Pinkie?"
"Well, you do have the authentically authentic southern accent," I said, squeezing her face. "Are you really Applejack?"
"How many times do I have to go through this with ponies? Yes." She pushed me away. "I'm looking for the changeling."
"Sure you are," I said. Twilight came running.
I looked to her. "Twilight. Don't shoot me. I'm the real Pinkie. Shoot her." Applejack removed her hat and put it over her face.
"Oh, whatevs." I grabbed the hat from her. Twilight shot the beam, but the pony in question remained Applejack.
Twilight walked up to us. "Okay, this is honestly really starting to weird me out. What's going on here? Did you run away from the castle, or was it the other one?"
"We both ran away," Applejack said, angrily. "You don't understand."
"I sure don't," Twilight said. "Please, explain, because I'm going crazy here."
Applejack sat down on the ground. "Okay, listen. This changeling has been chasing me all the way over from Apple-land."
"Isn't that your yard?" I said.
"His name is–" Applejack collapsed on the floor. A dart was in her neck.
We turned around. Twilight was standing in the opening of the barn. "Sorry," she said, "but I had to do it." I ran up to her and grabbed her.
"Stupid changeling." Twilight wrestled me.
"No, let go."
"Never," I said.
Twilight pushed me away. "No, Pinkie. I'm the real Twilight."
"The real Twilight would never shoot darts on Applejack."
Twilight sighed. "Oh, no!" I turned around to look where she was looking. The other Twilight, the one that had been talking to the passed-out Applejack, was gone.
"Not good," I said.
Twilight shot a beam of light at me. I flew up in the air and yelled, "Stop doing that."
"I only did it the one time," Twilight said.
"How do I know you're the real Twilight? What if the other one's the real Twilight?"
Twilight grabbed me. "Pinkie. We've known each other for years. Look into my eyes. I'm real. I'm the real Twilight."
A fuse went off in my head. "Whaaat?" I flew up in the air and ran out the door as fast as I could. "No, you're not." I got into the apple-part of the apple farm, with all the trees. I gasped for air. "Who? Where?" I jumped back and forth from place to place. I heard something, someone, but from where?
"I know you're there," I said. "But wheeere?" I didn't know. I couldn't know. I had no idea where to look, where it was. I didn't know.
A tree rustled. I went up and kicked the tree. Some apples fell down. A pony fell down. It was Apple Bloom. She screamed and ran away from me. "Wait," I said, and she did. "Where have you been? I saw you. Did you run away?"
"I've been hiding," she said. I thought that most assuredly, this couldn't be another changeling. That would be too weird, and yet, somehow, I thought that it could be. "Where were you, say, five to ten minutes ago?" I said.
Apple Bloom got wide-eyed. "Not you too."
"Okay, calm down. Everything's going to be all right." She ran and I took chase. "Please, Apple Bloom. I need to know what's going on. Everything is crazy right now. This is making spiders seem like a simple stupid thing that you don't have to worry about." Apple Bloom screeched to a halt and stopped.
"Like, everyone been asking me, are you the real Apple Bloom? Are you not? I am Apple Bloom. You know me. I'm Apple Bloom." She jumped up and down in her anger.
"Okay, but someone here isn't who they really are, and I'm going to find out."
Apple Bloom said, "Don't go back there. You don't know what I've seen."
"Then tell me, what you have seen, please, Apple Bloom." I hugged her. "I need to know. Why, I'm probably more confused than you are, if- if that's even possible."
"Really?" she said.
"Most definitely really."
"Okay, but you can't tell anyone."
I shook my head. "I can't do that if I don't even know what you will say, but I guess I must. I have to, for you, Apple Bloom."
She took a deep breath. "You were there and you told me to go to the barn, and then Applejack was there, but when I tried talking to her she jumped out the window and I don't know what to do. And then I went back into the house, but I didn't go back to bed."
"Okay, okay," I said, gesturing for her to stop talking, so I could talk. "Look, Apple Bloom. I don't know what's going on. I'm really sorry. This is crazy, but I don't know what happened, and I saw you in bed, but then you were gone."
"When did you see me in bed?" she said.
"Just a short while, just a- a ten minutes ago? I think so."
She squinted in confusion. "Was I in bed ten minutes ago?"
"You weren't? Was that the changeling?"
"No, I was in bed like recently, but not ten minutes ago, or was I?" She looked to be thinking. "I don't know about any of this."
"Still," I said. I looked around. It was still daylight of course, and the trees were red and beautiful with apples, and I wondered in what other trees someone could be hiding, and maybe I should keep looking. "I don't know if the guy's still hiding around here. Gal? Applejack said it was a guy, but was that the real Applejack even?" I turned to Apple Bloom. She shrugged.
"Did you see him?" I said.
"No, I only saw different ponies running around and coming and going and disappearing, but why would they do that? Are all them changelings, or is there something I'm missing?" Apple Bloom walked past me toward the barn, that was not too far away.
She looked at me, like she was scared. "Maybe we could go together," she said. "I don't want to go back there alone."
"Yeah," I said. We ran down the farm and back to the barn. I sneaked up to the door. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Shh," I said to her. "There are poison darts flying around. We'd better be super careful."
I plugged open the door with my hooves, very slowly, but then it was empty. Even the unconscious Applejack was completely gone. "Huungh," I said.
"What the tarnation is- what?" Apple Bloom said. "Now, someone was here?"
"They hit Applejack with a dart." She looked angry. I then said, "I don't know. Someone was here." She looked more angry. "I'm going in, and maybe, okay, you come with me." We both sneaked inside. "No one?"
Apple Bloom kicked some hay around. "No one. Okay, but then we're safe, I guess."
"You know what, Apple Bloom? I certainly hope so. I certainly hope so." I leaned out the barn, searching around, making my memory of the place more clear, so I could remember how it looked later. I had my head outside, and my body was inside the barn. "Maybe." A spider came crawling on the floor. Without thinking even, I ran the other direction and jumped out the window. Then I jumped back in.
"Sorry, Apple Bloom."
"Okaaay," Apple Bloom said, backing out of the barn, and then scurrying off.
I sighed and collapsed on the floor again. "She thinks I'm a changeling, and she's right to think it. I'm acting stupid. What's wrong with me?" The spider crawled into the barn and closer to me. "Ah, get away."
"I'm sssorry," the spider said.
"What? You can talk? Spiders can't talk. Go away." I was about to jump out the window again. "Wait a minute. You're a changeling."
"Nnno," the spider wheezed.
"Sure you are. You're just trying to scare me. Well, I'm not scared. I'm facing my fears. You don't scare me, changeling."
"Sss," the spider said. It crawled closer to me.
I jumped up on a big bundle of hay. "Don't touch me though."
"Sssorry," the spider said.
"You want me to just believe that a talking spider comes out of nowhere, just as we have a changeling running around. I'm not that stupid, you stupid spider." I scrunched together on the hay, trying not to look at it.
"The captain is expecting you."
"What captain? No, I know what this is. You're just trying to distract me."
"Sssorry," the spider said.
"Sorry for what?"
"Ssscaring you."
I laughed. "You're not scary. You're just a spider."
"Thossse spiders were Captain Spider's children. He wantsss them back," the spider said, quietly. "He is expecting you. If not, Captain Spider will commme to Ponyville, little pony."
"Like, seriously? There's a captain-spider?"
"Lllike ssseriously."
I laughed, a little louder. "That's stupid. You're stupid. A spider can't be a captain." The spider crawled closer. I jumped off the hay. "What do you want?"
The spider reached behind its back and picked out an over-sized map. "Heeere." It reached the map to me. I grabbed it, without looking at the spider.
"It's a treasure map."
"Fear Captain Spider." The spider crawled away toward the door. I ran after it.
"How can a captain be a spider? I mean, I mean, how can a spider be a captain?"
"Sss." The spider crawled down a hole in the ground and disappeared.
"I'm used to this kind of stuff," I told myself. "I think. Am I?"
Magic appeared around the doors of the barn, and Twilight walked in with Applejack by her side.
I hurried up to them. "Friends," I said. I stopped. "Friends? Friends!" I glared at them. Applejack sat down in front of me.
"It's over," Twilight said.
"How do I know one of you isn't just a changeling, or both? I think both." I pointed at them, accusingly. "I don't know about any of this stuff. Who are you guys? Are you my friends? I don't even know."
"We're your friends," Applejack said. "For hay's sake."
I nodded. "That does sound like something Applejack would say, but then again, I'm not so sure." I grabbed her face and tried to rip it. Applejack punched me. I embraced her.
"Only the real Applejack would react like that."
"Okay," Applejack said. "How do we know you're not a changeling?"
"I love you," I said.
Applejack nodded. "Okay then."
"But seriously, where have you been?" I looked back and forth between them, expecting answers, or some kind of explanation at least. Something!
Twilight sighed. "I don't know, really. We were at the house, and then, we were suddenly at the barn. We were hit by these stupid darts." She levitated some darts in front of me.
"That's the one you hit Applejack with," I said
Twilight dropped them. "You think I would ever do that?"
"I don't really think," I said. "I'm just happy to see you. You're beautiful, both of you."
Twilight smiled. "Okay, but you saw someone else get hit by a dart? That for sure wasn't me who did it."
I hugged her. "I know." Twilight hugged back.
Applejack said, "Well, at least we got rid of that phony-baloney contract. No Apple-land anymore. No, siree."
"What's an Apple-land?" I let go of Twilight. "And where have you been anyway?"
"Cross my heart, it's the dumbest thing that has ever happened to me," Applejack said. "I don't even want to talk about it."
"Okay." I shrugged, almost forgetting about it in the next moment, but the memory still lingered around. Apple-land. Apple-land. What's an Apple-land? Oh, whatever.
"I'm just happy this day is over and done," Applejack said.
"Not for me," I said. "It's just beginning." I ran out the door, remembering work, and that I hadn't done work for the last five to six hours, and now, I was either getting fired, or forgiven, and I didn't know which, and I wanted an explanation, and fast, and I wanted it, really, really much, and I would get it. I entered the Sugar Cube Corner.
"Okay," I said. "There's seriously a good explanation. I promise you. There's seriously a good explanation. I pinkie-promise." I held up a hoof. The place was empty. "Note to self. Pay attention, and then do your speech." I nodded. "Okay, Pinkie." I shook my own hoof. "Good Pinkie. Now, where to find- find eggs?" Seriously? This had not been a normal day, I was pretty sure. Either that, or something was wrong with me. Anyway, whatever, I thought. Eggs then, or egg? No, eggs. No more egg for me. I have bad memories around egg, so it's eggs, not egg. I walked up behind the desk of the cafeteria.
"Or, maybe I could just stand here, rather than running out and being stupid." I went to the storage room. "New eggs? Did she buy it?" There were no eggs, or egg, or anything like that. "Okay." I walked back to the front of the store. "I'm bored."
What I didn't realize then was that the day had just begun, and I'm not talking about work. I'm talking about spiders and eggs, and pirates, but that's another story, I guess. I'm sorry if I take too long to get to the point, but the point is that the day would get even crazier, but I guess that's obvious. Now, I think it's Rainbow's turn to write in this book.
Pinkie stood aside from the book, and Rainbow flew past her, laughing. "Okay, that was weird."
"Don't laugh at her," Rarity said. "Why, she can't help it if there's spiders in her hair."
"I've had spiders, no, bugs in my hair many times," Rainbow said, shuffling around in the air. They were in Twilight's castle, in the map room. Twilight stood lodged in the middle, with the other characters spread out far and wide across the room. "I'm just saying. Sorry, Pinkie. I mean, but even when you're trying to be serious, you make me laugh."
"Okay," Pinkie said. "I think you're funny too."
"I'm not getting all of this," Spike said, furiously writing.
Twilight pushed her hoof in front of his face. "No, don't write down all of it." She grabbed the book with her magic. "Only the important parts. It's what happened during the day that's important."
"Why?" he said.
She lifted the book to eye-level and gave it back to him. "I'm a little stressed out." She sat down on the floor. "Can everyone listen for a moment? Sorry, but I need your attention." All faces turned to her.
She rolled her eyes. "This wouldn't have happened if- oh, never mind." She stood up. "Esceforn," she said.
Applejack nodded. "Yup."
Fluttershy fluttered across the map table and over to Twilight. "Where could he be?"
"In this room," Twilight said.
"But why?"
Twilight looked at Fluttershy and sighed a deep morose sigh, of grief and despair. "I don't really know," she said. "But we have gone through the situation. There are holes in our stories. Something about it doesn't seem right, and we have to figure out what it is."
"Then it's my turn?" Rainbow Dash said, landing beside Twilight. "My turn to tell my epic story, about what happened when the evil Spitfire tried to sue the only other gym in town." Rainbow flapped her arms around.
Pinkie laughed. "I want to hear that story."
"Okay," Twilight said, sitting down on the floor again. "It's innocent until proven guilty."
"So follow along on the epic tale," Rainbow said, swerving her arms around, making epic gestures.
The small of life is the small of times in the small of ways in the small of days. This is the small of life, and the smallest of them. This is the right life. It's the time for Rainbow to shine, now. Have you heard her story? You will like it.