//------------------------------// // Too Many Pinkie Pies // Story: A New Hero // by Alex The Lone Wolf //------------------------------// Episode 55 – Too Many Pinkie Pies Soon enough, and perhaps a bit longer than usual, I opened my eyes to welcome the conscience of the outside into my mind. I looked out to the window and noticed a nice sunny day waiting for me outside. Still waiting for me to fully awake, I continued observing the activities outside while placing a hoof on my chin. Fluttershy definitely deserves some time together with me… I continued looking out the window for a moment, just enjoying the sight of everypony sucking in the sunny sunshine. I smiled softly, beginning to remove the hoof from under my chin and hopping out of bed. There was total silence for a moment until the soft but sharp chirps of the soaring creatures pierced through the walls surrounding me. I was able to hear these pleasurable sounds as I walked down the steps of my stairs. I arrived at the door and gently pushed it open with my hoof. As soon I did, I was immediately welcomed and bathed in the sunlight produced by Princess Celestia. I turned my head up and smiled softly, basking in its ambience. I looked around town and realized it was pretty much an average day in Ponyville. There were group of ponies, each doing their own thing, which would follow walking together or sitting at tables, talking. I looked towards the café area, deciding I would cut through there to start heading to Fluttershy's. Walking through the middle of the action, I began to hear familiar sounds vibrating around me. My ears slightly twitching, I looked around, almost instantly spotting a familiar pony and dragon. "Try again, Twi, you can do it!" Spike encouraged as a focused Twilight stared at an apple on top of a mushroom table. "Phew, this spell's a toughie." Twilight responded, wiping her forehead with her hoof. Deciding I would stop by and say hello, I walked towards them. "Hey, you two." I greeted warmly. Twilight removed her sight on the apple towards me. "Oh, hey, Alex! How are you doing?" "I'm fine. I was just about to go to Fluttershy's." I looked towards the apple, intrigued by their reasons for staring at it. "What's going on?" Twilight faced towards the apple as well. "Well, I was practicing on turning this apple here into an orange." "Turning an apple into an orange?" I asked. "Comparing that to teleportation, I'd say that it would be a piece a cake for you." She slightly chuckled. "Trust me. It's not. I've been trying for quite a while right now, and I still haven't been able to do it." She looked at me for a moment and slightly tilted her head. "Say, if you think it's so easy, why don't you try it?" She asked, teasing me playfully. "Me?" I questioned, widening my eyes a little. "If you can't do it, then I'll be a fool to try it." "Aw, come on. You're full of miracles. I'd say it's worth a little try." I thought about it for a moment and decided I could quickly take her up on her offer. I sighed and walked to her side. "I suppose so." Twilight released a smile. "Alright. Now, knowing what to do is easy. The hard part is putting what you know into action. Basically, you just have to imagine that apple turning into orange. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Not exactly. It's like trying to think clearly when there are a bunch of distractions around you. Understand what I mean?" "Yeah…" I glanced over to Twilight and then back at the apple. "I think so…" "Well, take the time you need to concentrate." "Okay…" As I began narrowing my eyes to focus on the apple, I suddenly started thinking about my worst fear back at the Crystal Empire. It was random at the time, but catching me thinking about that allowed me to share it with Twilight. "Hey, Twilight…" "Hm?" "…Remember when we stepped through the door to our worst fear back at the Crystal Empire?" "Yeah?" "…Now that I think about it…I find it really strange…" "Why? What do you mean?" "Well… The vision I had wasn't exactly my worst fear. I didn't know what it was at all. But now that I know what my real worst fear is… It definitely doesn't make any sense." "Well… What is your fear?" Twilight asked, seeming to become a little more concerned now. I remained silent, taking my eyes off from the apple and looking at the ground for a brief second. Then, I turned my head and viewed Twilight's expression with serious eyes. "Losing you girls…" "Alex…" She reacted with for a moment and then placed both of her front hooves around my neck. "Just like I told Spike that that is a fear that will never come to pass. You don't have to worry about that, Alex. We'll never leave you." I returned a soft smile. "I trust you." I faced towards the apple once again and placed my hooves firmly on the ground. "Now, let's try making this into an orange." I began closing my eyes and tried to imagine the apple being forged into an orange, which was really complicated. It sounded stress-free, like Twilight mentioned, but it felt as if I had to imagine every small detail on how the apple could possibly form into a fruit of opposite descent. Nonetheless, I hoped for the best and began feeling the magic on my horn work. "Here we go…" I mumbled, ready to shoot it out. Just when I was about to, I was suddenly forcefully pushed to the side. "Hiiiiiiii!" A cheerful voice screamed out in joy as it tightly embraced my whole body with its hooves. Surprisingly, I was able to analyze the pony, even though I was practically suffering at its mercy. It was none other than Pinkie Pie. She literally squeezed me, holding her mouth open and her eyes closed in jubilant celebration. I was running out of oxygen, and I was too breathless to speak up. Twilight aided me in time as she pulled Pinkie off from me, causing me to fall back on the floor starkly and take in deep breaths to regulate my respiratory cycle. "Pinkie, why'd you do that?!" Twilight scolded in an almost loud and irritated manner, frightening Pinkie a bit as she sat on the floor with a sour face. "'Cause hugs are funnerific," Pinkie explained her sudden actions, quickly hopping back on her hooves and emphasizing her emotions with her whole body. "Especially when you throw one around a friend." She wrapped herself with her own hooves and then let them unwind hastily. "Whatcha doin'?" "Trying to turn that apple into an orange!" Twilight answered for me, most likely as I was just about to finish my breathing. "But you kinda threw his aim off..." Spike added, rubbing the back of his head. Twilight walked over to me and held out a hoof. "Are you alright, A— She suddenly gasped as I began grabbing her hoof. "What?" I questioned, wondering what she seemed to be shocked about as she pulled me up from the ground. "Your horns and wings! They're gone!" Twilight exclaimed. "What?" I moved my eyes upwards to look at the top of my head. My horn wasn't there. I quickly turned my head to view my sides. My wings weren't there either. I sighed and lowered my head. "They must have disappeared when Pinkie surprised and caught me off-guard…somehow…" "Oh, I'm so sorry, Alex!" Pinkie cried out and now wrapping her hooves around me once again, except not as tight. She released these huge puppy eyes and pursed her lips in a saddened frown as if she wanted to cry. "Please, please, please, please, please, please, forgive me! Please?" She pleaded. I patted her back, assuring her forgiveness. "Don't worry about it, Pinkie. It's completely fine. I can just find a way to get them back. It's only temporary. Besides, I guess I could take a break from that form…" I lightly chuckled, rubbing my head with my hoof. "Thank you!" She squeezed a little tighter for only a few seconds and then released to bounce around in joy. However, when doing this, she bumped into another familiar pony, who was wearing a black robe for some reason. "Rarity?" I inquired after analyzing the pony for some time. "Mm-hm!" She delightfully nodded her head and responded. "Guess what I'm wearing!" "Another one of your fantastic creations?" I accepted her offer, guessing at her question. She slightly giggled in flattery and nodded. She grabbed the robe with her left hoof and pulled it off. "Allow me to introduce to you this haute-couture ensemble that I just finished making!" She presented brightly and fashionably. "Delightful, no?" She added a little cute accent at the end. Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped and placed her hooves to her face in horror. "This is terrible!" "I admit it's perhaps not my finest work, but I- Pinkie interrupted Rarity by pushing her face against hers in surprise. "You had total-awesome-amazing fun and I missed out on it?!" Hey eyes stretched out in emphasis. "Eeh!" She bounced back towards us. "Wait! What if there's more awesome amazing fun with friends happening somewhere in Ponyville right now that I'm missing out on too?!" She tip-toed around us quickly and then placed her hooves to her face in shock. Without another word, she quickly evacuated the area by fleeing away in a dash. Rarity could only turn her sight back towards us in widened confusion. However, her expression changed when she focused her attention towards me. She walked towards me, continuing to look at my face. "Alex, it has come to my attention that you are missing your horn and wings." I narrowed my eyes and looked back in irritation. "No, really…?" I replied sarcastically. "I can't believe I didn't notice before…" She formed saddened eyes and moved back one step away from me. "I-I'm sorry I brought it up…" When I realized what I did to shift her expression to a frown, I quickly shook my head and hooves, slapping myself mentally for acting like a common donkey. "No no no. I'm sorry, Rarity. I really am. I didn't mean to act like that." "It's okay…" She replied, still a little saddened. "I understand I can be annoying sometimes…" Feeling worse for having placed Rarity in this type of behavior, I quickly placed my hooves around her in an apologetic manner, which Pinkie had ironically done a few minutes ago. "No, Rarity. It was my fault. I should have known better than to act like that, especially to a friend like you… I'm sorry…" Fortunately, Rarity managed to pull a soft smile and placed her hoof around me as well. Then, we both pulled away and looked at each other. "I forgive you, Alex." She answered. She placed a hoof to her mouth and slightly looked away. "Saying that almost makes me feel like I had no fault in it whatsoever…" "You didn't, Rarity." I responded, emphasizing the complete blame on me. "It was my complete fault. Don't worry about it." "Well…" She turned her head back towards me. "As long as nothing happens to our friendship." She thought for a moment and giggled a bit. "Hehe, I almost feel stupid for overreacting to that one small remark…" Her response caused me to chuckle slightly as well. "Don't worry about it. I completely understand. I wouldn't say it was an overreaction." I then suddenly remembered about seeing Fluttershy. My eyes widened at the thought. "Oh! Sorry." I apologized to Rarity and the others. "I should go to Fluttershy's now before I forget again. See you three later!" They waved as I ran through the café and towards Fluttershy's cottage. After a short moment of rushing, I reached Fluttershy's cottage, bumping into her just as she was exiting the front door. "Oh, hey, Fluttershy!" I greeted, panting a little. "I'm glad I ran into you." "Why?" She asked, tilting her head slightly in a questioning yet adorable manner. "I wanted to spend some time with you." I formed a warm smile. "Aw, that's so sweet of you." She placed a peck on my lips. "I would love that very much." "You're not busy, are you?" I asked. "Oh no no." She shook her head. "I was just going to fly over to my butterfly grove because I let Pinkie Pie rest there." "What do you mean?" "When Angel and I were having some tea together, she found us and asked me if I was having any fun. Then, she found out I wasn't and passed out. I think she was really tired because she was breathing really hard. Anyway, I was just going to check up on her. Want to come with me?" "Sure." Before she began spreading her wings, she narrowed her eyes towards me. "You look different…" "Yeah…" I looked at an angle towards the ground. "I don't have my wings or horn anymore…" "Oh my goodness." Fluttershy answered with shock, placing a hoof to her mouth. "What happened?" "Pinkie Pie startled me with this really tight hug, and I guess they somehow disappeared because of that. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll get them back soon, or maybe even manage to transform on my own." "Aww." Fluttershy frowned, looking towards the floor. "You could've flown with me…" I placed a hoof on her shoulder and created an assuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine with walking." "Well, okay then." Fluttershy lifted her head and managed to add a soft small smile when she saw my expression. "Let's go." I nodded and began walking as Fluttershy flew closely by my side. When we reached the butterfly grove, we saw thousands of butterflies surrounding this comfortable couch. At the end, I could see a large poofy pink tail. Fluttershy landed in front of the couch, facing the pony on it. "Feeling better, Pinkie?" She asked as I stood by her side. "Abso-tootley-lutely!" Pinkie Pie responded, seeming as she never even lost her energy at all. "What's up, Alex?" She exclaimed when she noticed me. I reacted with a light smirk. "Geez, Pinkie… I never thought you'd actually be out of energy." She sighed. "I know! It's just so much work when you're trying to have fun with everypony!" She faced Fluttershy. "Anyway, thanks for letting me rest in your butterfly grove while I get my Pinkie-Strength back!" She laid back on the couch, allowing one of the butterflies to hover above her and land delicately on her nose. "What are friends for?" Fluttershy softly, but happily, answered, closing her eyes. "That's just the thing!" Pinkie Pie suddenly squeezed Fluttershy's cheeks with her hooves and brought her closer. "I've got so many wonderful friends having fun in every last corner of Ponyville, I can't figure out how to keep up with it all!" She released her grip and allowed Fluttershy back by my side. "It's driving me even more coco-loco than usual!" She stood up on the couch with two of her back hooves, rolled her eyes in dizziness, and hung over the couch on her backside. "I can promise to not do anything fun at all if that would help." Fluttershy offered. "You are such a good friend." Pinkie responded, keeping her awkward posture. "Yeah." I added. "Fluttershy and I can just spend some nice quiet time alone together, so you don't have to worry about us." Before Pinkie could comment on that, we heard Applejack's voice sound from behind her. "There y'are, Pinkie. Been lookin' everywhere for ya, girl." Then, there was flapping above us. "Hey Pinkie, got some fun planned this afternoon thought you might wanna know about." Rainbow Dash announced, landing beside us. "Heh, well I'll be an apple crisp, I'm here for the same reason." Applejack added further. "This is perfect!" Pinkie widened her eyes and exclaimed. "Everyone will now bring their fun to me." She rubbed her hooves and dashed out of the couch, blowing our manes. "Ha, this'll solve everything!" She bounced with the butterflies. "Why didn't I think of that?" Rainbow Dash flew towards her to face her when she landed. "Actually, what I meant is after I'm done whipping up today's weather, I'll be chilling by the lake catching some rays. Wanna hang?" "I am so there." Pinkie emphasized and waved her hooves joyfully in the air. "Wheee!" "My family's havin' a barn-raisin' this afternoon at Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack shared. "And I'm also so there." She bounced happily. "Whee, whee!" "But... that's when I'll be at the swimming hole." Rainbow Dash lightly and politely cut in between. "Ah well, doesn't matter, whichever one you choose is okay with me." As that last sentence left Rainbow and entered Pinkie's ears, it seemed to have struck her mind, bringing her to a conflict and paralyzing her to a silence as her expression immediately shifted to the opposite direction. "Me too." Applejack ensured. Pinkie gasped shortly. "Choose?" "Yep." Applejack answered. "Don't worry. We'll give y'all some time to think about it. Don't need to tell us, just come on by when you decide!" Applejack began turning around to walk away. "Yeah! See you later Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash finished and flew away. "Oh no." Pinkie expressed and placed her hoof to her teeth, chattering them nervously. "Are you alright?" I asked, leaning towards her a bit. "Sorry! I don't have time to talk! I have to start moving and planning my time wisely!" Pinkie Pie declared rapidly and darted out of the area as quick as she could. "Okay…" I responded with and looked towards Fluttershy. "Ready for some time together?" She returned a soft look towards me and nodded. Just as we were about to leave, a squirrel scampered by and stopped at Fluttershy's hooves. It tapped them, catching her attention. She looked down in surprise, which commenced the critter to begin squeaking in communication. "Yes? Uh-huh?" Fluttershy responded to it. "Oh, that sounds nice! Um… Let me ask him." Fluttershy ceased her eyesight towards the critter and lifted it up towards me. "This little critter here wants to know if you'd like to have a picnic with the others." "Others?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow. The squirrel turned it head and blew a whistle. Unexpectedly, many of Fluttershy's animals removed themselves from within the bushes and trees, including a giant bear. "Whoa!" I exclaimed in surprise, jumping back a little. Fluttershy giggled and flew over to the bear, beginning to rub its back. "Don't worry. He's very friendly and harmless. What do you say?" "Uh…" I looked at each one of them. They all returned bright smiles towards me. "…sure, why not?" I answered. Fluttershy turned towards them and nodded. "Go bring what you want for the picnic, everyone. Alex and I will bring some food and tea." They all responded with their own form of communication and scattered away, beginning their search for food. Fluttershy chuckled a bit at their actions and flew towards me. "Ready to go make something back at the cottage?" I returned the same facial expression that always formed when I saw her cute, soft, and adorable face; a smile. "Of course." When Fluttershy and I walked into her cottage, she began heading her way into the kitchen. I heard her setting the kettle to begin to create tea. As she did, I looked around. I walked through the living room, smiling at most things. It was just now that I seemed to begin remembering the memories here, especially the ones before I was with Fluttershy. I chuckled at my own thoughts, even remembering the asocial behavior I used to have. I couldn't believe that was actually me. After so much time with the girls, it almost feels like it was a dream. It even feels like it was a completely different pony. I shrugged, consumed in my thoughts as I stared at the floor. Then, I looked to my right to see a photo frame on the counter. It was a picture of a pony staring back at me. I drew closer to it as its presence intrigued me. After standing right in front of the frame, I realized it was the drawing I drew for Fluttershy. Well, the drawing was her. As I noticed every simple detail of it, something awakened inside of me. I sat down, lifted up my hoof, and carefully grabbed the shot, holding it delicately. I analyzed how her form was so perfect, the eyes and her smile being absolutely fit into her mood. I observed the shading throughout her, especially the shading on her cheeks which was supposed to depict the blush on them. As I gazed at the facial expression of hers even further, I noticed that she was looking back shyly at me in the most adorable and beautiful way, as she held up a hoof, almost striking a pose. Her wings were outstretched elegantly, the rest of her body in perfect motion. It never occurred to me before. This drawing was…perfect…I mean… It was perfect to begin with as it held the most perfect pony in the center of attention, but… I never knew I had such amazing drawing skills… Everything in this shot was just…absolute…just like…Fluttershy… Then, it clicked in me. Why the hay am I sitting around like a complete bum when the other girls have their own jobs? Twilight works with her studies. Rainbow Dash manages the weather. Pinkie Pie is a baker back at Sugarcube Corner. Applejack works at Sweet Apple Acres. Rarity uniquely designs clothes. I don't think Fluttershy exactly works…but she takes care of animals, darn it! Like a vet… So why the hay haven't I been doing something productive lately? Ugh… I shook my head in disgust. All I've been doing is mooching off the money Princess Celestia had given me way back when she bought the house for me. Wow… I'm a loser… I've been living off her bits while the others worked for them. I remained silent for a moment, and then looked at the drawing with furrowed eyebrows. That's it. I know what I'll do. I placed the drawing back on the counter and stood up. "The tea and food is ready!" Fluttershy announced from the kitchen, entering the living room seconds later with a picnic basket. She sniffed for a moment and released a breath of satisfaction. "Ahh. It smells delicious!" She faced me. "Everything alright, sweetie?" "Yeah…" I walked towards her. "Ready to go?" "Mm-hm." She was about to walk, but I stopped her. I grabbed the picnic basket from her back and placed it on mine. She returned a questionable look, causing me to explain. "You've done enough. It's my turn to do my part." She lightly blushed and slightly turned away from me as she kept her eyes on mine. "What a gentlecolt." She commented in a joking yet serious manner. This brought a smile on my face and allowed me to kiss her on the cheek. However, I suddenly remembered something. "Fluttershy, do you have a pencil and paper?" "Mmm." She thought for a moment, placing a hoof on her chin. "I think there might be some in that drawer over there." She pointed towards a drawer in the counter. I walked over to it and opened it. I spotted some blank paper and a pencil inside. I used my teeth to take them out and place them in the basket. "What are you going to do?" "Practice." I answered with a smile as I walked back to her. "Practice?" She questioned, revealing that slightly tilted head. "You'll see." I assured, caught by the net she weaves with her cuteness. After, we both walked out and began heading towards the area where we would have the picnic. Arriving at the spot, I looked around, but didn't see any of them in sight. "…Where are they?" I asked. Fluttershy placed a hoof by her ear and stretched out her neck, looking around and focusing on any sounds. After several seconds, she placed her hoof back and giggled lightly. I only looked at her in slight confusion. "They're right here." She walked over and pushed the leaves of a nearby bush away. The spot she opened revealed all of them already munching on their snacks while sitting on the ground. "Whoa…" I expressed, slowly walking towards the sight in awe. "To be honest… I don't think I've ever seen a lot of critters gather together to have a picnic…" She giggled and led me towards them. "You'd be surprised." I placed the picnic basket down, and that's when we began setting the event up. I set the paper and pencil aside, and helped Fluttershy bring out the blanket and food. Once everything seemed to be in order, Fluttershy sat down and looked around. However, in a few seconds, her expression changed. "Oh no." "What is it?" I inquired. "I forgot the berries." She sat up and began walking out of the area. "I'll be right back." "Need me to come with you?" I asked, beginning to stand up myself. She stopped and looked back to send me a warm smile. "No, that's fine. I won't take long. While I'm gone, why don't you introduce yourself to the others?" "Okay…" Afterwards, she exited out of the bush and I was left with the critters. I looked at them and began feeling a bit awkward… I don't know how to talk to these animals…and I don't know how to understand them… "Um…" I began. "Hey…I'm Alex…" They all returned what seemed to be a greeting of their own sounds. I remained silent for a moment and then looked up to the bear. "…what's up?" He just returned a happy grunt and roar. "Uh-huh…" I began to feel extremely awkward as I had no idea on what they were saying. I rubbed the back of my head for a moment and looked around. Finally, when I felt like I couldn't really take it anymore, I stood up and excused myself. "Excuse me…I'm going to…check on Fluttershy. I'll be right back…" As soon as I exited out of the area using the bush, from a distance, I could see Fluttershy picking berries and placing them in a basket nearby. Near her was Angel. As I walked towards her, I noticed the basket was almost full. She must have heard my hooves because she turned around to see me. "Oh! Alex. How'd it go?" "Um… No idea…heh… I honestly have no clue on what they're saying…" This caused her to begin laughing for a short while. When she finished, she faced me, opening her eyes. "You're so cute." "Sorry?" I answered, beginning to blush a bit. She continued to smile for a few seconds. "Want to help me pick the rest of these berries?" She asked. "Sure." I walked towards her side and picked them with my teeth, placing them in the basket after. However, witnessing the scene that just took place seemed to have caused Angel to grow an irritated frown on his face, but I didn't care. I was too happy at the moment. After a few minutes of berry picking, we heard bouncing behind us, causing us to turn around to see what it was. We noticed it was Pinkie Pie. "Oh, Pinkie Pie, I'm so glad you wandered by." Fluttershy began walking towards her. I grabbed the basket and placed it on my back to bring it along with me. Pinkie stopped bouncing, skidded on the ground for a moment, and turned around to see Fluttershy. "I know Alex and I promised not to have any fun today, but, oh, we couldn't help ourselves." She flew over to the bush where the animals were behind and opened it with a wide grin. "All of my critter friends wanted a picnic, and I couldn't disappoint them." They all sent another greeting towards Pinkie, causing her to grin significantly. "Come join us." Fluttershy welcomed as I brought the berries over to the picnic blanket. We have plenty of hay juice and marmalade to go around," She laid down by me. "…don't we, critters?" She asked them, receiving a warm agreement. A mouse carried a piece of cheese in its mouth and brought it over to Pinkie. Stopping at her hooves, the mouse held it up to her. Pinkie smiled and lowered her head to take the piece of cheese and chew on it. As soon as she swallowed, she spoke. "Wait, but that sounds super fun! Oh, but Applejohn sounds super fun too!" Applejohn…? "Uh, and, and, I can't do one without missing out on the other!" "...who's Applejohn?" Fluttershy asked the question for me, highly confused as I was. "Two fun things, at once?" She bumped her nose against Fluttershy and then backed away, tip toeing on her hooves nervously. "But which, which? Oh, can't decide..." She began breathing heavily. "Trouble breathing... walls closing in!" "Walls? But we're outside." Pinkie Pie suddenly shrieked, ran around us very hastily, and then dashed off. "Goodness. Was it something I said?" Fluttershy asked me. I shrugged, unknowing what to say. "Yes!" Pinkie returned to scream and then leave once again. "Huh?" Fluttershy looked over to me, still tangled upon Pinkie's dialogue. "Uh…why don't we get started on our picnic?" Despite the strange encounter with Pinkie Pie, we began eating our nice lunch together. As I observed my surroundings, noticing Fluttershy and her animal friends, my eyes grew and my brain clicked in an idea. I walked over to where I had left the paper and pencil and grabbed them. Conversely, I had some trouble keeping it all together in place. Hm… This would be easier if I still had my horn… Oh well. Needing to improvise, I grabbed the basket, which was empty at the time, flipped it around and used my mouth to grab the pencil. When I had the paper placed on the back of the basket, I tested it out by drawing a few lines with the pencil. Once I received some positive feedback, I nodded my head and began observing my shot. Fluttershy was eating and talking to her animal friends. This initiated me to smile and begin drawing the scene. I began performing a basic sketch and outline of them, taking some time, but not making the lines too perfect. Once I sketched everything, I removed some of the lines that leaked out of the main ones with the eraser. After fixing it up a bit, I now had a good outline of the critters and Fluttershy. Basically, it was all of them as they were, just in black and white. Now, all I need to do is add some shading… Manipulating the pencil to where the lead was on its side to touching the paper, I began to lightly color the spots requiring shading. I pressed very lightly in areas that contained more light than others. For the shadows and darker places, I pressed harder, creating a much thicker and darker shade to go along with it. This certainly didn't take me a few minutes or even half an hour. These things took time, but somehow, I managed to be patient enough to complete this task. I had fun while chewing on my sandwich from time to time. Yes…this is definitely what I want to do… For the rest of the time, I was just adding a few touch ups, darkening the outlines and fixing up a few pieces. Once I felt it was complete, I dropped the pencil from my mouth and grabbed the paper instead. I walked over to Fluttershy and laid down next to her with a grin. "Why are you smiling like that?" She asked, intrigued by revealing a raised eyebrow and giggly smile. I answered her question by placing the work in front of her. She observed it for a moment with an agape mouth. "Wow…You just drew this now?" She asked. "Yep." "This is amazing, Alex!" She continued to gaze at it. "It looks so…real…" I chuckled a bit, slightly looking away in modest embarrassment. "Well…I wouldn't really go that far… I don't think I'm that great…" "It's still better than anything I've ever seen." "Really?" "Mm-hm." She faced me now. "You are quite the artist." "Thanks, Fluttershy…" I responded with a warm soft smile. We were just about to share a fanatical kiss as we leaned our heads towards each other, but suddenly we began hearing something in the distance. Fluttershy opened her eyes, which were only inches away from me. "Do you hear that…?" She questioned, almost in a whisper. "Yeah…" I answered. The sound continued to grow louder, and in several seconds, we were able to distinguish the sound as a crowd of ponies…but they had the same voice…a familiar voice… "Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!" We heard the same word overlapping each other. "Is that…" I began. "…Pinkie Pie…?" As soon as I mentioned that, the entire area was filled with Pinkie Pies. I could only stare, stunned in confusion as they bounced all over the place, terrifying the critters away, even the humongous bear, and trashing our picnic. They all were clobbering down the food and tea Fluttershy had made. "No!" Fluttershy yelled softly. "Stop!" I turned to see one of the Pinkie Pies messing around with my drawing in her hooves. Her tongue stuck out as she meddled around with it in curiosity, looking almost exactly like a monkey. "Fun?" "No! Don't touch that!" I exclaimed, holding out my hoof towards the Pinkie that had my drawing. "Fun!" She exclaimed and created a hole that covered ninety percent of the page by sticking her head in the middle, wearing it around as she resumed bouncing. Witnessing this caused me to feel my spirits shattered. I began becoming highly irritated, my mouth stretching out in a growl. "Pinkieeee!" I scolded loudly, causing them to now flee away while keeping their spirits up and repeating the same word over and over. Once they left, all I could see was a chaotic mess that appeared to be as if a tornado passed through. I stood up and noticed the remaining pieces of my drawing. I walked over to a couple, picking them up and turning them around to see the separated pencil lines in each. I released them off my hoof, feeling terribly torn to pieces myself. I allowed myself to fall to the ground, pounding my hooves in anger after. I felt Fluttershy quickly place her hooves on me, wanting to comfort me. "I'm so sorry, Alex… I know how much work you placed into that drawing…" She looked around. "Our picnic…" I lifted my head from the ground and looked around. "What the hay just happened…? Where the hay did all those Pinkies come from?" "I don't know…" Fluttershy shook her head. "But if there's anypony that knows how to make duplicates of Pinkie, it's Twilight." "…you're not saying Twilight did all this…are you…?" I asked, unable to believe Twilight would create all those Pinkies, even though she had unfortunately caused some trouble in the past… "Well…no…but… Twilight's pretty much the only one who could possibly know how to make a spell to clone a pony. I'm not saying she did this on purpose…but…" She sighed. "I don't know…" "Then, let's go see her and find out…" I mentioned, picking myself up from the ground and walking away from the disaster of the place, still feeling…demotivated… Fluttershy seemed to notice and feel this as well, only walking by me in silence with a frown. When we arrived at Twilight's library, we also noticed a crowd gathered around the tree as well. A very angry crowd. I suppose they had the same issue? We made it to the front, where we also saw Rarity and few other familiar faces. They were all chattering and speaking out very angrily, eventually causing Twilight and Spike to come out to see what all the noise was about. "What's going on…?" Twilight asked, confused. Everypony was answering her question, but they were all talking over each other that nopony could understand what they were saying. As Twilight looked around, dazed and stunned, looking unaware of what was going on, more ponies continued to join in with the crowd. "Okay, everypony, please, calm down!" Twilight announced, wanting to receive a clear answer. "Calm down?" Rarity exclaimed in an extremely maddened manner. "I have just had a Pinkie hurricane raging through my shop!" "And they ruined Alex's drawing and trashed our critter picnic!" Fluttershy now seemed steamed, mostly due to how let down I was when the Pinkies ruined everything. However… I still couldn't help but find her cute, even when she was mad… Ponies continued this outrage by talking over each other in shouts, complains, and exclaims. "Please, everypony, hang on while I try to figure something out!" Twilight tried to cope with the situation, turning around and heading into the library. "Come on, Spike." The crowd continued to hang outside the library. Fluttershy continued to have that soft expression of anger on her face. I placed a hoof on her and looked at her caringly. "Fluttershy, it's not that bad… It was just a drawing… It didn't take me too long to do…" "Even if that's so, it was a picture drawn of what was going on at the time." She shook her head and looked towards the floor. "It could've been really important…almost like the perfect shot you take in a camera, and then lose it in a fire." She raised her head and looked towards me. "You don't know if you could ever draw something like that again… What I mean is… You probably wouldn't be able to draw exactly how the picture was…" She sighed. "Sorry… I don't think I'm making much sense…" "No…No… I understand… You mean that even if I try to draw it again, it most likely won't be the same way it was the first time…" She nodded. "Right…" "Still… It was just a drawing… Now the drawing I made for you…that's something different. I made that because I was thinking about you. It may have not seemed or looked like it, but I had placed my heart and soul into that picture. If such a picture like that was merely torn apart by all those Pinkie antics, that's when I would be really mad…" She formed a small smile and embraced me, sighing contently. "I love you…" She whispered. "I love you too…" I whispered back. Soon enough, Twilight came back out with a book hovering beside her. "Does anypony here know how we can tell the real Pinkie from all the rest of them?" Drifting away from the anger, the crowd shifted into a clueless stage, responding with "Uh…" and "I don't know." "Twilight!" Pinkie jumped from the middle of the crowd. "I have to talk to you, I need your help!" "Excuse me, whoever you are," Twilight's response was joined by another Pinkie who was mocking her by moving her lips to match Twilight's but made no sound. "…but I'm not talking to any of you Pinkies unless you're the real Pinkie." "Oh, but, but, I am the real Pinkie!" The Pinkie who first spoke stated. I don't know why…but I have a feeling that that is the real Pinkie. Judging by the way she spoke…it just seems…to fit… I can't explain it. "No you're not, I'm the real Pinkie!" Another one challenged her. "I'm the real Pinkie!" "No, I'm the real Pinkie!" "I'm the real Pinkie!" "No, I'm the real Pinkie!" "I'm the real Pinkie!" More of her duplicates counterattacked each other. "How in tarnation are we supposed to tell which is the real Pinkie?" Applejack reached Twilight, beginning to become worried. "I have no idea." Twilight reacted blankly. "Me either." Pinkie, who I assumed and felt really good about being the real one, added. "Ohh... We've all got the same adorable tails, we've all got the same adorable manes, we all got the same adorable hooves!" She compared herself to the others. "Which one of us is the real Pinkie?! Oh! I haven't the slightest clue! And if I can't tell us apart... who can?" She placed herself on the ground and began crying as the other Pinkie's were now just beginning to go berserk in joy. As I continued to observe the crying Pinkie, my thought process was suddenly interrupted when Fluttershy wrapped her hoof around me and looked at me worriedly. "Alex…we need to hide. Who knows what else all these Pinkie's will do…" "I…" I looked back to see the only sad Pinkie lying on the ground. "I understand…but…" I released a breath of being unable to make a choice. I thought for a moment and then looked at her. "You go on ahead… I have to stay here for a bit…" She tugged at me a little tighter. "Are you sure…?" "Yes." I formed a confident smile. "I'll be fine." "Alright then… Be careful, sweetie…" She placed a kiss on my lips and then began flying away. The whole platoon of Pinkies continued to bounce around in complete chaos, screaming out "Fun" repeatedly and endlessly. I managed to squeeze through and walk up towards the distressed Pinkie in the middle. She still laid her head on her hooves, her body motioning in a jerky motion as she continued to cry. I lightly frowned and kneeled towards her, placing a caring hoof on her shoulder. She felt this and lifted her head, wiping the tears away from her eyes. She turned her head and noticed me. "Alex…?" "You're the real Pinkie…aren't you?" I asked. She sighed sadly and looked at the ground, motioning her hoof across the dirt. "Who knows? We all look the same. We all have the same adorable voice. I don't think there's anything that can make any Pinkie different from the others…" "But… You're the only one that's not acting crazy like the rest of them…" "So? Maybe I'm just another clone that just happened to be the sad part of Pinkie instead… The real Pinkie could be in the crowd trying to get your attention by being crazy too. Anyway, that's how the real Pinkie acts. Not super down like me…" "Pinkie, if you're really the real Pinkie, then you should know that you are." "That's just it… I don't… So I must not be the real Pinkie…" She pushed herself up and began to walk away sadly. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go stay in one place and just be sad forever." She stopped and glanced over to me. "That's something the real Pinkie wouldn't do." Then, she continued to walk away, all while I could only stand there like an idiot and feel so sorry for her. I know that's the real Pinkie. I just know it… But how am I going to prove it to the other girls? Even if I do explain how this Pinkie is different from the others, they are still going to want evidence to make sure they don't risk anything in sending back the real Pinkie. "Fun!" One of the Pinkies bounced on top of me and jumped, placing her hooves on my back and causing me to fall down flat to the ground. Then, a few other Pinkies bounced on me, causing me to grunt and groan in pain. However, they only just passed me, beginning to bounce crazily onto another area. Once I managed to push myself back up, I growled in slight anger and turned around. There was no pony in sight. They all must have fled. I sighed and walked towards Twilight's library. I sat nearby the door and began thinking. The problem is that we need to find a way to prove Pinkie's differentiation between the others. But how? We would need something that only the real Pinkie can do… Something that the others can't… Let's see… I tapped my hooves. These Pinkies obviously have no self-control whatsoever. You can't keep them still for a second. And to me, they obviously just seem to have this same vibe and voice, including attitude. That's why I truly believed that the Pinkie I just talked to was the real one. How am I going to prove she is? Hm… I continued to think more, reviewing over what I had just thought. A test… A test for Pinkie Pie. A test that would prove it. But what will the test be? It has to be something in which the hyperactive Pinkies can't handle. Something that's… I widened my eyes and looked upwards in the click of a mind. …not fun… That's it! All we have to do is round up all these Pinkies and put them in the same room. That's where we can give them a test that's not fun at all! Only the real Pinkie would be able to last the longest, since she was the saddest of them! I began walking, starting to place a hoof of my chin in thought. But what is the test going to be? What is something that's obviously not fun and that will definitely single the real Pinkie out… A strong odor entered through my nose, causing me to look up and to the side to see town hall. There were buckets of paint outside, and it appeared to be that the building was in the middle of being repainted, but the situation with the many Pinkies caused the work to stop and the workers to flee. Paint… Is that something I can use…? I walked a little closer the wall, noticing that the paint was still wet. Wet paint… Wet paint takes a long time to dry… My head lifted up from an idea once again. If there's anything that takes a really long time, it's watching the paint dry! …or watching the grass grow, but we can't do that inside… I shook my head. No time to waste. I've got to get this started. I looked at the bucket of paints that were opened and revealing their colors. Hm… What's a real boring color…? Something that's not bright… something dull… My eyes scanned the buckets, noticing blue, purple, and gray. My search stopped at gray. Gray! Of course! I placed a large brush inside the can of gray paint and grabbed the handle with my teeth. I carefully tried to move it inside town hall, since it was the largest area to place all the Pinkies in. Once it was inside, I looked around for something to place the paint on. I was on the stage, so I decided to look around backstage. I didn't seem to find anything, but then I noticed that the background of the stage was actually a curtain. I poked my hoof through, finding that there was a space beyond the curtain. I entered, noticing a large room with a large piece of wood in the middle of it. "Huh…" I muttered tapping my hoof on my chin and observing the piece. "I don't know what it was supposed to be for…but this disaster obviously seems the first priority urgent matter right now…" I walked back out to bring the can from outside into the room with the board. After I placed the can on the floor, I studied the board a bit. Well, this is no painting I'm going to do…all I have to do is cover the board with the dull and boring paint. That's all. Oh well. I picked up the paint brush with my teeth and began sweeping the bristles across the board. All this took some time, of course not as long as it did for my drawing. All I had to do was cover one part of the board and dip the brush in paint when I was running dry, repeating the process after. When I was finally done, I stepped back and placed the brush back in the paint can. I moved the can to the side and then brought myself to the front of the board, observing my work. Yeah… even this is making me pretty sleepy…or maybe it's because of all the tiring things that occurred today… I stepped out of the back curtain and was now on the stage. The place was still empty. I removed myself from the stage and headed towards the exit. When I was outside, I managed to fortunately bump into Twilight. "Alex!" She exclaimed in surprise. "I've been looking everywhere for you! I thought the Pinkies might have actually did something with you!" I released a small smile and shook my head. "No. I think I may have finally figured out how to find real Pinkie now." "Me too!" Twilight responded. "This sad Pinkie told us that we should make some sort of test." Spike, who was on Twilight's back, announced. "Exactly, but we still don't know what to do yet. We asked Applejack to round up all the Pinkies and bring them over here while we thought of something to do." "I'm way ahead of you Twilight." I replied, turning around and leading her to the inside of town hall. "Follow me." I brought her towards the room where I had painted the entire board with gray paint. Twilight noticed this and studied the board. "…paint?" She asked. "And what's not fun about paint?" I answered her question with another question. In a few seconds, her face lit up and she gasped loudly. "Watching it dry! Alex you're a genius!" "Not really…" "Yes you are! This is a sure way to bring out the real Pinkie! Those other fake ones can't keep still for any moment at all!" We heard the door to the town hall open, initiating us to leave the room with the board and figure out who it was. It was Fluttershy and Rarity. Fluttershy's face lit up when she saw me, allowing her to quickly fly and almost tackle me to the ground. "Alex, you're okay!" I chuckled a bit. "Of course I am." "Fluttershy told us that you had stayed behind with those terrible Pinkies." Rarity announced to me. "We were beginning to worry about you." "No need to worry, I'm fine." I responded. "Alex here thought of a fool-proof plan to find out who the real Pinkie is." "Really? How?" Rarity inquired. "Watching paint dry." Twilight placed simply. "That makes sense… Those disastrous Pinkie Pies cannot withstand a minute without their 'fun'." "Exactly." Soon enough, we began hearing the chanting of the word "fun" as it grew louder. "That must be Applejack." Twilight announced. The door was immediately opened and the entire room was filled with the Pinkies as they continued to chant their favorite word in a disorderly fashion and bounce all over the place. "Oh, give it a rest." Applejack mentioned. Twilight looked over at us and nodded. Then, she faced all the bouncing flashes of pink. "Welcome, Pinkies, welcome. Please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable." Twilight paused, waiting for them to do so, but they obviously weren't paying attention. "Okay, I suppose you can't be comfortable staying in one place, but have a seat anyway." Pausing for another second, she then grew an irritated frown that stretched across her face as the Pinkies continued to not listen. "Sit down!" Twilight shouted, catching every one of their attention and immediately sitting them down. "Better." Twilight shifted back into her normal voice. "Now, I suppose you're all wondering why I've gathered you all here today." One of the Pinkies looked at another one and then back at Twilight, shrugging. "For fun?" "No, just the opposite, actually." Hm…where's the real Pinkie? It doesn't seem like she came in… "Wait up, I got one more!" The door suddenly opened, revealing Rainbow Dash as she carried in a very depressed Pinkie. "I found this one poking at the ground with her hoof and drawing frowny faces." "Have her come sit with the others." Twilight announced, seeming as to be unaffected by this particular Pinkie's behavior. That's the real Pinkie… However, Rainbow Dash merely lowered her hooves and dropped her towards the ground, causing me to close one eye in almost feeling the pain. "Pinkies, you've been brought here to take a test." Twilight continued. "Awwww!" They all exclaimed, covering their faces with their hooves and throwing back their head. "Don't worry; it's a simple test, about as simple as they come, and whoever passes gets to stay." This statement caused all the duplicates to look at each other and respond with "huh" and shrugs. "Curtain, please." Twilight cued Spike, who pulled down the rope and raised the curtain. Rarity and Fluttershy had walked towards the back of the board to push it forward. "The test will be watching paint dry!" This caused the Pinkies to return gasps of horror, as if this could actually kill them…well…technically it could send them back to wherever they came from… "On your mark, get set, go!" Twilight threw her hoof, signaling for them to start. They immediately leaned their head forward, keeping their eyes on the paint. "Ooh, this is so exciting!" Spike exclaimed, forcing his claw into the popcorn he was carrying and consuming some of it. However, after pretty much a long while, he decided to revoke his answer. "Okay, maybe not that exciting…" As I waited for any Pinkie to make a move, I was beginning to almost fall asleep myself as I sat against the wall with my forelegs crossed. Rainbow Dash looked at her watch, which she somehow retrieved or had… Applejack was sitting by her, looking tired as well. Every Pinkie looked to be struggling as they all purposely strained and focused their eyes on the paint. One Pinkie began rubbing her head nervously. Then, I heard a bird chirp near the window. "Oh, hey, look, it's a birdie!" The Pinkie turned away from the paint and looked at the window. Suddenly, a beam of magic was shot towards her, causing her to inflate greatly and disappear into a mist, traveling out of the town hall and most likely back to the where she originated from. This surprised me, causing me to widen my eyes and to see what did this. It was none other than Twilight. She was eyeing each Pinkie and made sure to take care of any that failed. Another Pinkie turned her head to look at another Pinkie beside her. "Watch me bounce and touch the ceiling!" She jumped up and bounced off the ground as Twilight immediately zapped the one watching. Just as the Pinkie was about to touch the ceiling, Twilight zapped her as well. "Is that... is that a frog crossed with an orange?" One more looked out the window after hearing a frog croak. "Cool!" "Where?" Two more joined, but they were all instantly vaporized. Only eight Pinkies remained. "Look what I can do with my hooves!" Yet another began, pulling out her hoof. She then brought up her right hoof and blew onto it, somehow and weirdly causing the left hoof to grow…fingers…? As the Pinkie she was talking to returned a positively shocked expression, I could only slightly twitch my right eye in confusion and almost in disgust. "What the…?" I commented. However, the both of them were caught and inflated, being sent back home. "Betcha can't make a face crazier than…" One of the Pinkies left spoke and turned her face away to mess with it. "…this!" She turned around to reveal a completely different face, shocking me and making me rub my eyes in disbelief. Am I seeing things…? Twilight sent the two of them back home and continued to remove the rest, leaving only two Pinkies left at this point. I studied them carefully, but I couldn't tell which one was which anymore. They were both staring intensely at the wall of wet paint. It was a very suspenseful moment. Each of them appeared to want to give up. It also looked as if the wait was going to be long, especially since there were no more Pinkies to distract the last fake Pinkie. Each of the girls could only wait carefully and patiently as the both of them continued to stare in silence. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, seemed to be losing her patience. One of the Pinkie's eyes began twitching. Sweat began to drip from her face and she seemed to struggle so hard as the other one seemed to have less of a hard time. "I…" She bit her lip. "I…can't…look…any…more!" Her face suddenly dropped to floor as she began crying. "Yay!" The other Pinkie bounced into the air and cheered. "That means I'm the real Pinkie! Yipee!" I narrowed my eyes, not quite believing it was true just yet, so I walked to the front of the stage and faced the Pinkie that cheered. "That's great, Pinkie. How about a celebratory hug?" I offered. "No thanks." She responded. "I'm way too tired from watching paint dry." Uh-huh… Twilight walked over to the bawling Pinkie, reading her horn. She stood right in front of her, causing for Pinkie to look up with tears in her eyes. Twilight frowned and spoke. "Sorry, but you have to go back where you belong now." Pinkie sighed and looked away. "I understand… I couldn't stare long enough to stay here…so I deserve to be sent away with the rest. I'm sorry. I'm sorry everypony." She looked at all of us and sighed once again. "Have fun with the real Pinkie…" Twilight hesitated for a moment, looking to be struggling with thoughts. Nonetheless, she began preparing her horn as she allowed statistics and data to win over. The Pinkie in front of her could only strain her eyes and flinch greatly as the magic on Twilight's horn glowed immensely. Just as Twilight was about to shoot it towards Pinkie, I exclaimed. "Wait!" The sudden sound of my voice stopped Twilight and caused her to look over to me, along with the other girls. "That's Pinkie." I pointed towards the one Twilight was standing in front of. "Huh? But…" Pinkie answered, opening her eyes. "I knew it was you. You were the only one to stand out from the other Pinkies. All of them appeared to be as if they were about to go to an amusement park. Sure, there was still a one percent chance of the real Pinkie hanging among the crowd of those bouncing around, but come on. How would the real Pinkie feel when she's put herself into deep trouble that could take her away from her friends? Sad, of course. I know I would. Plus…" I looked over to the other Pinkie, who carried widened eyes. "The real Pinkie Pie would never refuse a hug from me." Every one of the girls eyed the other Pinkie, who was beginning to grow nervous as sweat dripped from her face. "Uh…" She suddenly began running away, panting heavily, to bolt out the door. However, Twilight quickly readied her horn and shot it towards her, just before she could escape. She inflated towards the air and disappeared. I sighed in relief, smiling now to finally have this mess over with. We all walked over to Pinkie Pie, who was pretty much surprised herself. She looked towards me. "…You really knew who I was…?" "Of course." I released a smile. "I'll admit…I didn't really have enough evidence to prove it was you…but that's what this test was all about. Now… How about a celebratory hug?" I offered, holding out my hooves. She grinned widely and greatly accepted it, throwing her hooves around me tightly. "You're right! I'd never refuse a hug from you!" Then, she pulled away and looked towards the girls sadly. "I'm sorry I got you all into this mess. I'm sorry for everything the other Pinkies have done to all of you. It's my entire fault. You all were just having so much fun and I wanted to have fun with each of you. I couldn't leave my friends, I just couldn't. But I guess sometimes I will have to choose between them." "That's right." Twilight answered. "We're not asking or forcing you to be there with us. We just want you to do whatever you want to do." Pinkie smiled and tapped her hooves a little embarrassingly. "I guess so." Then, she stood up and observed herself. "I'm me! I'm me! I'm me!" She exclaimed bouncing and flipping in the air. "Or am I?" She messed around with her face with a frightened expression, but then removed it. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am." She grinned significantly after nodding her head. "Come on, let's go make sure everypony knows that this whole Pinkie mess if over." I advised. The other girls agreed, walking with me towards the door to the outside. Before we exited, I looked at Pinkie and asked her a question that I should have asked a long time ago. "Pinkie… How did this all start anyway? How were there a bunch of you running around?" "Oh! My Nana Pinkie used to tell me this story about a Mirror Pool, so I figured I would try to find it. When I did, all I had to do was remember the rhyme and say it while looking into the pool. That's when my reflection would come out of the water and tada! Another Pinkie!" "And let me guess, when you created more, they all lost control and created a mirror of themselves as well?" "Heheh…" She laughed a little nervously. "Yeah…" "Well, it's all over now." "We should block the path to the Mirror Pool as soon as possible, so this will never happen again to nopony." Twilight recommended. "You're right about that…" I agreed. "I don't think I could survive another event like this…" We spent almost the rest of the day advising the ponies and cleaning the rest of the mess up. Applejack headed back to her farm to complete the barn raising she was doing. After Pinkie had taken Twilight to the entrance of the Mirror Pool to block and hide it, she decided she would go help Applejack with the barn raising. Then, she spent some time with Rainbow Dash by the lake. When everything finally returned to normal, we all decided to visit Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner, who was writing a letter to Princess Celestia. In front of the shop, we spotted her standing by the door with Spike, who just sent the letter. "Hi Pinkie Pie, we were thinking we should go out and celebrate." Twilight announced. "You up for some wheelbarrow races?" Applejack offered. "Or I could take everypony on a cloud ride!" Rainbow Dash added. "I could throw a party with punch and zesty cucumber sandwiches! Ooh!" She waved her hooves excitedly in the air. "You wanna know exactly what I feel like doing right now?" She responded tiredly and backed away. Once she was in the shop, she fell towards the floor on her back and sighed, beginning to snore immediately as her right back leg twitched. "That looks like fun." Fluttershy announced after everypony observed Pinkie Pie for a moment. This caused me to release a weary smile as the rest of them laughed. Twilight selected the door with her magic and closed it. "What about you, Alex? Are you up for some fun?" Twilight asked. "Thanks…but I feel like I could catch some sleep myself." I sighed. "Today has been one heck of a day…" Twilight giggled. "I understand. Have a nice sleep." Applejack looked at me curiously for a moment while rubbing her chin with her hoof. "Hey…um… Are your… horns and wings missin'?" "Yeah, yeah…" I responded with tiredness in my voice, feeling my eyes need rest. "It's a long story, but maybe the others can tell you what happened." "Oh, alright then. Well G'night!" I answered with a nod, feeling too tired to speak. As the girls began leaving, Fluttershy stayed with me to give me a quick farewell. "Bye, sweetie." She kissed me and then began on her way. I immediately walked towards my home. Lowering my head in sleepiness and fatigue, I walked into my home and up the stairs. I fell onto my bed once reaching it, closing my eyes. I guess I'll try getting that job next time I see Mayor Mare… For now… I just want to get some sleep… I sighed. I still can't believe I was able to survive a day full of Pinkies. That's pretty much an experience I never want to go through again. Hm… Not only do I want to get that job, I also need to figure out to change forms easily. But then again… I guess it is a little nice to be like this way for a bit… Ugh… Shut up and get some sleep already.