//------------------------------// // Why Pinkie Pie came to the lake // Story: Short stories about ponies and whatnot // by shutaro //------------------------------// Maybe I was adopted? Rarity dragged her hooves over the ground. It chipped the hooficure she had gotten last week, but she didn’t bother. She had saved her allowance for a whole month to go to the spa, but now it no longer mattered. Ever since her parents had the new foal, Rarity was only second rate. For a moment she wished Nightmare Moon would just steal Sweetie Belle away and … That little foal could hardly crawl; Rarity knew it wasn’t at fault. But that meant it wasn’t the baby. It was her parents: they didn’t love her anymore. She walked down the jetty in front of her house and plopped down at the edge. Her reflection in the water looked just as unkempt and crushed as she felt. “Hello, Rary! What are you doing here? I’m on the way to the park to meet Cheery and the girls, and we want to play in the park, and if you want to you can totally come along, that would be super fun and I like fun, I wonder what fun ... we … could … have … together,” Pinkie Pie ran out of breath as she wheezed the last words. Pinkie Pie. Why did it have to be her? The pink earthpony had joined Rarity’s class last month. Rarity didn’t like her very much, she was loud, even obnoxious at times, and didn’t care for her looks or for acting ladylike. She wasn’t a bad pony, but she could be so … exhausting. “Are you sad, Rary?” And she always used that annoying nickname, like they were friends. Rarity kicked a pebble into the water and watched the waves. She heard the sound of hooves on wood as the other pony approached and sat down next to her. Pinkie Pie’s worried face appeared next to her’s in the reflection, but Rarity dropped another pebble into the water to make it go away. “You know, my mom always says ‘earthponies are strong because we know when to look for another shoulder to help carry the weight’, maybe that works for unicorns too? I’ll help you if you tell me what’s bothering you.” Rarity mulled that thought over in her head. She didn’t want to talk about it, but she also knew that Pinkie Pie wouldn’t let go of this. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?” Pinkie nodded. Rarity sighed, “You have to say ‘I promise’ when you promise something. That makes it offacial, ofish … really important.” It really showed that Pinkie had only known the life on her family’s farm out of town until a few months ago. “I, Pinkie Pie, promise to keep your secret,” the earthpony said with an unusually solemn tone in her voice. Rarity snuffled and wiped her nose on her foreleg. “Ever since they had the new baby my parents don’t pay attention to me any more. It’s always ‘Sweetie Belle this, Sweetie Belle that’. They didn’t even come to our performance at school.” “Performance?” Pinkie looked at her with questioning eyes. “Oh, right, that was before you started to come to school. The important thing is, I got my cutie mark, and the weren’t there. Because they don’t love me anymore.” Rarity felt Pinkie wrap her forelegs around her. “Don’t be sad, Rary. Your parents still love you, but the new foal needs them more right now.” The hug got a bit tighter. “I mean, just look at us. We even have your cutie marks; we’re almost grown-ups. Your parents trust you to know that they love you and to do what is right. That’s why they pay more attention to the baby.” Rarity looked up and into those bright blue eyes. “You really think so?” Pinkie gave her a little smile. “I know so. That’s what my parents told me when my first sister was born and what they told us again when my second sister was born. And you know, if they tell you twice, your parents really mean it.” “I ... I think I should ask them. Would you come with me, Pinkie Pie?” Now the smile in Pinkie’s face was as big as it always was. “Of course I will.” The two young ponies walked down the jetty and into the house. Rarity told her parents what had happened and her mom and dad called her a silly filly for thinking they didn’t love her anymore. And they thanked Pinkie for being such a good friend for her daughter. But all the good mood evaporated as Rarity realized the state she was in: her makeup ruined by tears, her hooficure chipped from dragging her hooves, her mane was a total mess. And what was that slime on her foreleg? Her mother put a hoof on her shoulder. “You have learned today that we trust you, right?” Rarity nodded. Her father reached for his wallet and took a hoofful of bits from it. “Then we can give you a raise to your allowance and trust you to not spend it all on …” He waved a hoof in the air. “An afternoon at the spa for you and your friend here.” He closed with an exaggerated wink. Rarity’s mom rolled her eyes. “Just today, you hear young lady?” The unicorn filly could hardly believe her ears. More allowance and the permission to go to the spa? She grabbed Pinkie Pie by the hoof and dragged her upstairs to snatch her shower cap from the bathroom. When Pinkie asked what that was, Rarity even calmed down enough to improvise a cap for her. But then the two left and not ten minutes later they entered the spa. Pinkie had never been to a spa before and Rarity enjoyed the visit even more for the fun they had together. As they sat in the big tub and relaxed, a thought came to Rarity’s mind. “Pinkie Pie, you said you wanted to meet our classmates at the park. Why did you come by my house? However I look at it that’s quite a detour.” Pinkie Pie hid her grin behind her hooves. “One of the older colts at school said an alligator lives in the lake, so I thought I’d take a look. Wouldn’t it be total fun to have one for a pet?”