//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: It Started With a Hoof // by Skillet Biscuit //------------------------------// This...is ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! Twilight groaned for the umpteenth time as she rolled in a desperate attempt to find a comfortable spot. She flopped her head down on the pillow, burying her muzzle in the soft fabric. She let out a disgruntled sigh. It was nearly three in the morning now. Every joint in her body ached painfully, and the lightning strikes were giving her a headache. Her eyes were sore from the lack of sleep. Her ever-alert mind this evening did little to ease the situation. Oh for Celestia’s sake, why is this happening to me? She huffed as she grabbed an extra pillow and smothered her face with it in annoyance. I need to get up bright and early tomorrow to get started on my daily studying! I can’t afford to be tired like this! I just can’t! She pulled the pillow away and threw it across the room, not caring about the trajectory. It fell next to Spike’s bed, barely missing the baby dragon. She looked over at Pinkie, who was still fast asleep on the other side of the bed. At the sight of her sleeping friend, Twilight’s foolish anger boiled away, and she felt a small smile crawl across her face. In her own slumberous tumblings, Pinkie had accidentally stolen one of the blankets and managed to get all coiled up in it.  Only her head stuck out, her snores muffled by her pillow. Twilight shook her head at the sight. Silly Pinkie. What are you doing now, pretending to be a giant caterpillar in a cocoon?  She chuckled at the thought. Oh dear, don’t tell me you’re going to grow wings tomorrow morning. You’re troublesome enough as is! Pinkie responded by murmuring something in her sleep. She rolled over in the bed, moving away from Twilight and continuing to wrap herself up in the blanket. Twilight shook her head. Not even going to put up an argument huh? Guess I win this round! “Hmmmmmm,” Pinkie murmured. Twilight perked her head up as she tried to get a better look at her. “Well somepony seems to be sleeping well. Could you give me any tips?” She cocked her head curiously. To her surprise, Pinkie responded, a tiny slew of gibberish popping out of her mouth. “Cremadaba,” Pinkie chirped. “Come again?” she asked, stifling her giggles “Creamy crispy candy cookie,” Pinkie murmured as she curled up more, the blanket cocoon moving with her. “Well gee. I wonder what you could be dreaming about! I just don’t have the faintest idea!” Twilight giggled. She perked up her ears, hoping for another reply from the sleeping mare, but much to her disappointment, she was greeted with nothing but gentle snores and whispers from her dreaming friend. A few seconds passed before she realized nothing new was coming from the party diva. She rolled away, leaving Pinkie in peace for the evening. Twilight lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling with no real intention. She closed her eyes, once again praying that she would find herself cast away into a deep slumber. A minute later, another crackle of thunder outside sounded off from the Equestrian sky, rattling her head and forcing her eyes open. It was the final straw. That’s it! I can’t take this anymore! I’m sick of just lying here! She sat up and quietly slipped out of bed, her hooves landing gently on the hard wooden floor of the bedroom. If I’m going to stay up all night, I might as well make good use of it! She turned back to the bed and lit up her horn, grasping one of the free blankets and a pillow with her magic, and levitated them both over to herself. I’ll move downstairs and lie down on the couch with my books. The last thing I want to do is wake up the others. As she quietly crept away from the bed, Pinkie wasted no time and rolled over into the center of the mattress, claiming the entirety of it for herself. Twilight smiled. “Go ahead Pinkie. It’s all yours. Enjoy it.” “Hmmmm,” Pinkie murmured. “Good night Pinkie,” Twilight giggled before turning her attention back to her own endeavors. As quiet as a mouse, she crept down the stairs, taking her time to softly place her hooves on each board. She walked over to the couch in the middle of the room and placed her bedding on the cushions, fluffing up the pillow before laying it out near the hoofrest. After making sure everything was in place, she walked over to one of her many bookcases. Twilight lit up her horn and randomly grasped several books from the shelves.  At this hour of the night, it didn’t really matter to her what material she read, just so long as it helped her ease her mind. With the four books levitating next to her, she casually made her way back to the couch, her hooves heavy with sleep.  She gently set the books down on the table, stacking them one on top of the other before leaping up onto the couch and making herself comfortable. The thick, cushy cushions quickly swallowed up her tired form, relaxing her aching muscles and joints. She laid down with her belly on the pillow and pulled a blanket over her so that half of it draped down the side of the couch. “Almost ready,” she whispered to herself. She took a quick moment to stretch out her legs, her joints popping in response as she pulled them straight. It felt good. Comfortable and cozy, she was prepped and ready for a night of reading. “Let’s do this.” She lit up her horn and firmly grasped the book on the top of the pile and propped it up against the foreleg rest in front of her. She read the title. Trailblazors: Equestria’s Greatest Travelers and Adventurers She smiled. “Perfect.” It was just what she wanted. Nothing too mind consuming for her at the moment; just fun stories about many of Equestria’s cherished heroes. It had been a few months since Twilight had last looked at this title, so she decided to start from the beginning. The first story was on Sapphire Mist, an ancient tale about a young unicorn explorer who traveled on the high seas far to the east, seeking far off lands and hidden treasures, all while trying to fight off hordes of savages, pirates, and terrifying sea monsters. For Twilight it was a favorite read of hers, because it eventually inspired a young novelist to write one of her favorite book series of all time: Daring Do. Three chapters later, Twilight was completely enthralled with her story, reading about the time Sapphire ran into a multi-headed sea monster all by herself on a lone island. She was so captivated that she barely heard the noise of the raging storm, nor the soft clip-clop of hooves approaching her couch. “Twilight?” Twilight gasped in shock before turning around to coming face to face with none other than Pinkie Pie. “Oh dear Celestia! Pinkie, please don’t do that do me!” Pinkie giggled nervously. “Sorry about that Twilight! I didn’t mean to scare you. I just noticed that you weren’t in bed anymore and I just wanted to check on you and see what you were up to.”  “But, you were asleep. How did you know that I was up?” “My Pinkie sense of course! You should know that by now!” Pinkie giggled, wiggling her tail in glee. Twilight cocked her head. “But...I thought that only worked when you were awake,” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow in wonder. “Of course not silly! My twitchyness is always alert twenty-four seven! What if some super duper horrible disaster happens while I’m being a snoozy?” Pinkie suddenly noticed Twilight’s book propped up on the couch and she edged herself closer, getting a better look at the pages. “Watcha reading?” “Huh? Oh, this.” She sighed and her head drooped in defeat. “Well, let’s just say I’ve had a pretty rough night so far and-” Pinkie’s eyes suddenly widened in horror. “Oh no! You didn’t sleep did you? How long have you been up?” Twilight chuckled nervously. “Eh heh. All night?”   A small gasp popped out of Pinkie and Twilight watched as she cupped her lips in horror. Oh dear, here it comes. Twilight braced herself for the slew of words. “You know what the worst part about trying to fall asleep is? You want to fall asleep, but just can’t! Your joints are always achy and your body feels tired and you just want to go to beddy bye land, but no matter how many times you try you just can’t because, the longer you stay up, your mind starts to get upset. Then you get frustrated and angry, and then you start crying and...” Without a single word Twilight formed an aura around Pinkie’s lips and gently closed them up, cutting off Pinkie’s harangue. Pinkie continued to mumble. “Shhhhh,” Twilight giggled. “I think I understand where you’re coming from Pinkie. You don’t need to continue, okay?” Pinkie groaned but after a few seconds nodded her head in agreement. Satisfied, Twilight released the magic around Pinkie’s lips, who grinned upon being freed. “And then this one time at pony camp I got so upset I...” “Pinkie!” Twilight whispered harshly before breaking out into a fit of giggles, burying her face in the pillow. “I get it I get it! Hahaha!” Pinkie shook her head and placed a foreleg around her friend. “But I have such a fun story to tell you! You’d enjoy it!” she said with a smile “Oh gee! I wonder,” Twilight sputtered as she raised her head again, a couple tears running down her face. “You know as part scientist, I’m surprised I haven’t tested how many words you can speak in a minute.” Gasping, she quickly stuffed her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth before she could speak. “On second thought, let’s wait until later okay?” Pinkie pulled Twilight’s hoof away and giggled. “Of course silly! Besides, we need to get you to bed!” Twilight’s smile dropped like a weight and she frowned glumly at the book in front of her. “Oh I don’t know Pinkie. It’s almost four in the morning now. What’s the point?” “What’s the point?” Pinkie exclaimed in shock as she hopped up on the couch. “Twilight, you need your sleep!” “No I don’t,” the librarian whined pathetically. Pinkie Pie shook her head and gently stroked Twilight’s mane. “Oh you poor little thing. Can’t get to sleep at all. Well don’t you worry. Auntie Pinkie Pie here is going to help you out!” Twilight smirked. “Uh, Pinkie, I’m pretty sure I’m older than you.” Pinkie giggled nervously and a tiny tinge of crimson swept over face. “Sorry Twilight. I keep doing that to my friends. I guess I got it from being the oldest of my sisters.” Twilight looked at Pinkie curiously, her eyes searching her friend. “You know Pinkie, I’ve never heard you talk about your family.” “Really?” Pinkie replied, surprise in her voice. “No, the only time I remember you mentioning them was the time you told me the story on how you got your cutie mark.” She tilted her head curiously. “You know, I’ve always wondered what life is like on a rock farm. I can imagine it was probably a lot of hard work.” Upon saying this Twilight noticed Pinkie’s perky attitude deflate a little and the pink pony shivered as memories came rolling back. “My parents were pretty strict with me and my sisters. They always woke us up at the crack of dawn for work, usually before the sun was completely up. Then we would be out there until lunchtime when they would finally bring us in. That is if our work was done for the day.” She giggled nervously. “I often joked around a lot when I worked so I was usually the last one to go back inside for the day.” She looked at Twilight. “Ever pushed rocks with your muzzle for six hours or more?” She said with a smug look on her face. Twilight shook her head promptly. “Nope. Can’t say I have.” Without warning, Pinkie forced her muzzle right in Twilight’s face, looking right into her eyes with intense envy. “You lucky duck.” Twilight gently pushed the space hugging pony away. “Oh come on, Pinkie. I’m sure it wasn’t that b-.” “It was miserable!” Pinkie cried out as she dived into her best Rarity impression, her mood switch catching Twilight by surprise. “It was sooooo muuuuccchh woooorrrrkkk! Pushing rocks with your muzzle is never a fun chore!” Pinkie whined in sorrow. 'It was so scary moving them at times because sometimes little creepy critters hid under them, waiting to scare our fur off!  I think I ran into about one thousand, two hundred and sixty seven of them on the farm.” Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Wait, you counted them all?” “Huh? No no no no! I couldn’t count them all! That would be crazy!” She shook her head vigorously. “I just counted how many times I screamed.” “Aahhhh of course. I see.” Twilight nodded as she stifled her giggles. Pinkie Pie continued. “But worst of all was the work.” She grumbled. “All we did was push rocks and dig, push rocks and dig, push rocks and dig! And it never changed! It was the same thing everyday!” She frowned. “It was ssooooo bbboooorrrrinnnng!” Twilight couldn’t help but facehoof at Pinkie’s ludicrous display. She giggled. “Oh you poor little thing,” she teased, nudging Pinkie’s cheek playfully. Pinkie tried to hold her scowl, but she felt her defenses collapse as her cheeks began to blush red. Twilight smiled. “Awwww. Are you still grumpy?” Twilight cooed. Pinkie began to giggle.  “Do...don’t laugh at me.” Twilight snickered. “Why not? You laughed first.” “No no no! That’s not fair!” Pinkie exclaimed, only to break out into smile. Twilight shook her head. “Okay okay, I’m sure it was pretty dreadful, but hey, at least it wasn’t all day. I’m sure you had some free time, right?” As soon as the word free was mentioned, Pinkie’s juvenile anger quickly dissipated and a wide grin spread across her face. She squeed in delight and her front hooves playfully shuffled about on the cushions. “Oh! I have so many great memories from my childhood! So many!” She clapped her hooves together, Twilight’s medical spell still holding strong after these hours. “Me and my sisters always spent the afternoon together after we finished our chores.” Twilight smiled at Pinkie’s enthusiasm, happy to see her on a lighter topic. “What are your sisters' names out of curiosity?” Pinkie grinned. “My parents named them after rocks!” Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Huh?” Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Yep yep! Like my youngest sister was named Marble Pie, because her mane was smooth as a Marble, and my middle sister was named Limestone Pie, because her skin reminded them of Limestone.” Limestone? Really? Who in Equestria would name a pony Limestone? “Those are...definitely interesting names,” Twilight chortled. “Aren’t they cool? My mom’s name is Cloudy Quartz and my father’s name is Igneous Rock,” Pinkie exclaimed with glee. “Wait. How does Pinkie Pie fit into all this?” Twilight asked, her curiosity peaked. Pinkie shook her head, her mane flopping around like a wet rag. “I have no idea! I think they were just being a couple of lazy daisies when they named me.” Twilight giggled. “Whatever floats their boat. Still, it sounds like you three had a lot of fun.” “Well...actually there wasn’t too much for us to do on the farm,” Pinkie admitted, a gloomy look on her face. “Our family was kinda poor, and it was hard enough for our parents to raise and provide for the three of us. We didn’t get a lot of the little pony toys and games that most other fillies and colts got when they were growing up.” Twilight felt her heart drop a bit upon hearing this. “Oh my. I’m so sorry to hear about that. It sounds like it was rough.” But instead of a gloomy response, Pinkie’s replied in a chippy attitude. “Not really! We didn’t need all those fancy toys anyways! We knew how to have fun without them!” “Really?” Twilight asked. “How so?” “Easy cheesy! We just used our imagination!” Pinkie Pie proclaimed, a tinge of pride in her voice. “Go on,” Twilight prodded. “Well, since we didn’t have a lot to do or many places to go, we just made everything up! Once we finished lunch, we would go outside away from the house and pretend to go off to far off lands in Equestria!” She smiled thoughtfully. “Limestone was the hefty reader in the family. She read a lot about strange places in Equestria so before we would head out we would always look through the book to see where we would like to go and what we would like to do there.” “Interesting.” Pinkie continued without a second thought. “One time we were the daring swashbucklers sailing the high eastern Equestrian seas, fighting off horrible sea monsters and braving terrible storms and tsunamis! We used the leftover rocks in one of our abandoned field to build a boat, made a mast out of tree branches and paper!” She giggled gidley at the memory. “That was one of my favorite days!” Twilight listened as Pinkie continued. “Another time we went into the dark depths of the Everfree Forests in search of the ancient palace of the princesses.” She shook her head. “Oh Twilight, if only I knew I would actually go there when I was older!” “Ever fought any dragons?” Twilight asked, cocking her head. “Oh yes!” Pinkie exclaimed, her eyes widening in delight. “We had to go to the badlands once and face Cinder, the evil dragon tamer! I think that was our most dangerous quest ever! It’s a good thing the four of us stood together in that horrible battle! Cinder was devastating!” Twilight smiled, enjoying Pinkie’s stories. “That actually sounds like a lot of fun, Pinkie. Who played Cinder?” “Oh.” Pinkie fell silent and Twilight noticed Pinkie’s joyful expression deflate a bit upon being asked. “Pinkie? Are you okay?” Twilight asked, worried about the sudden change in her friend’s behavior. But Pinkie, being the ever unpredictable mare that she was, snapped out of it in a second. “Oh, sorry. I was just thinking how we couldn’t find anypony to play Cinder. That would have been a lot of fun, wouldn’t it?” “Uh, yeah. It would have been fun,” Twilight said reassuringly. Pinkie sighed as she thought about her memories. “You know, I miss being a little filly at times. We had so much fun together back then.” She looked at Twilight, showing off her best puppy dog eyes to the unicorn. “Why do we have to grow up? Can’t we be young forever?” Twilight laughed as Pinkie continued. “We did so much, although sometimes we did venture off the farm. We were always curious to see what was outside our property.” Pinkie paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “Sometimes...we got a little bit too careless at times. We would venture too far away from the farm and...” Twilight noticed Pinkie’s head and ears droop as she frowned. “We sometimes got into trouble, big trouble. One time we were playing too far away from the house, and we found ourselves getting chased by a timber wolf.” She shuddered at the memory. “We managed to get back to the house, but my parents were furious with me.” She paused for a moment, and Twilight noticed her quivering. “They said that I wasn’t responsible for my sisters; that I was too focused on having fun than looking out for them.” She sighed. “I remember them grounding me for a week, telling me that I had to grow up and learn to be a mature, responsible mare.” Twilight shook her head as she placed a hoof on Pinkie’s chin, raising her head so she was looking right into her eyes. “Oh Pinkie Pie. You have! I’m sure you’ve come a long ways since then!” To Twilight’s surprise however, Pinkie gently pushed her hoof away. “I...I don’t know Twilight. Sometimes, I feel like I haven’t.” “What do you mean?” Pinkie sighed, and for the first time that night, Twilight noticed a single tear rolling down her cheek. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m more of a burden to you girls than anything else.” “Pinkie P-” Pinkie placed a hoof on Twilight’s lips. “No, really. I know I don’t act like it's bothering me much, but lately, I’ve been wondering what my purpose is in this group.” She shook her head glumly. “You have your magic, Rainbow has her bravery and speed, Applejack is honest and strong, Fluttershy is the kindest mare in Ponyville and knows how to take care of everypony, and Rarity is well organized.” “But me...” She sighed. “All I do is laugh, make jokes, and throw random parties. I don’t take our super duper important missions seriously enough all the time, and I just feel like I sometimes cause more trouble for you girls like with the mirror pool incident.” She looked back at Twilight. “Sometimes I feel like I’m a bad element.” Twilight was flabbergasted. In all her years knowing the merry mare she had never expected her to bring herself down so low. Her mind raced as she tried to process this new discovery. This is really unlike her. Although I do agree with some of the things she’s said, she’s never this hard on herself. Never. Pinkie turned away from her as Twilight continued to ponder. There’s something going on, that’s for sure, but what do I say? Come to think of it, I’ve never thought about everypony’s purpose as the elements. What is hers? Then in a brilliant lightning flash of inspiration, it hit her. It was so subtle, and yet so important to the friendship of their group. She knew what to say. Twilight shook head. “You know Pinkie Pie, I’ve never really said it before.” She placed a hoof on Pinkie’s chest. “But, I’m really happy you’re one of the elements.” Pinkie cocked her head. Now it was her turn for curiosity to poke her mind. “Really? You think I’m a good element?” Twilight smiled. “Yes I do. You’re always here for us whenever we’re going through hard times. You make us smile and I think that is crucial for us. You know Pinkie, I may technically be the leader of this group, and Rainbow Dash was the one who helped unite us with her sonic rainboom. But you, you’re the one who holds us together.” Twilight paused. “The six of us have been through a lot over the years. We’ve encountered a lot of dangers and hardships along the way and sometimes, I’ve been scared, very scared. I’ll admit, when things get out of my league I sometimes begin to lose faith in myself. But, whenever you make a joke or even one of your little puns, its just enough to make me smile again, to urge me to keep moving ahead, no matter what could be around the corner. Pinkie, you give us hope, and that is one of the most powerful elements any group can have.” Pinkie sat there, stunned as she took in Twilight’s assertions. “Wow. I...I don’t know what to say.” “Oh come on Pinkie Pie! It’s true! And-” “No no. That’s not what stuns me. It’s...” She smiled as she looked Twilight in the eyes. “No ponies have ever been so sincere with me before. And...” Her body began to shake with excitement. “I don’t know why but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! It feels funny!” “Funny?” Twilight asked, confused by Pinkie’s description. “That’s an interesting way to look at it.” Pinkie grinned. “Oh, but who cares? I’m so happy right now because it gives me even more reason to make more ponies smile and continue smiling forever and ever!” “Well, like I said Pinkie, you better not stop anytime soon! Ponyville needs its party planner.” Twilight remarked, playfully nudging Pinkie with her hoof. Pinkie smiled, sighing in relief. “Thank you Twilight. You know its silly. I came down here to help you with your snoozy doozy, and yet I was the one that had to be comforted.” She pouted. “Come on, let me do my job! And...AAwwwhhh.” Pinkie’s jaw opened wide as a huge yawn took over her sentence, quickly stealing away any words that had yet to pop off her tongue. Twilight giggled as Pinkie smacked her lips. “Well this is dumb,” Pinkie said as she laid down on her belly, her forelegs hanging over the edge of the couch. “So what do we do now?” Twilight chuckled. “Believe me, I’ve been having a rough enough time trying to figure that out all night.” She smirked as she reopened her book, turning back to the page she was on earlier. Curiosity getting the better of her, Pinkie cocked her head. So watcha reading about?” “Oh it’s a book about some of Equestria’s most famous explorers! Really fascinating!” Then she had an idea. “Hey, we don’t have too much longer till sunrise. Wanna join me?” Pinkie grinned whimsically, a small gasp popping out of her lips. “Oh that’s a super idea Twilight! A reading party!” As quick as a ferret Pinkie scooted around next to Twilight, snuggling down under the blanket. She looked at the book's pages with unrivaled inquisitiveness, clapping her front hooves together gleefully. “Oki Doki Loki! Who should we read about?” Twilight smiled as she focused her horn's light on the current page, illuminating it in the evening gloom. You know, this night wasn’t too bad after all.