//------------------------------// // A Pony Walks into an Elevator // Story: Ask Chatterjoy // by Chatterjoy //------------------------------// Chatterjoy was currently in Canterlot. Jazzy was conducting some concert business, and the pegasus wanted to surprise her friend with a visit. The mare had noticed the new contraption that everypony was calling an elevator. The best part? It had buttons! The real reason Chatterjoy liked the idea of this elevator was the fact that she wouldn't have to use the stairs, or her wings to skip the stairs. She pressed the button that had an up arrow. The doors didn't open right away, which made the young pegasus a little irritated. Was the elevator thinking about it? Did she have to pass some secret scan of the hoof that pressed the button before it allowed her on? Chatterjoy impatiently pressed the up button again. Soon she began to rapidly push till the door opened. "Oh yay! I must have passed the secret scan of the hoof!" Chatterjoy exclaimed happily before bouncing into the elevator. Someone else was already in the small container. Chatterjoy used her peripheral vision to glance at the visitor. "Hey there! I'm Chatterjoy!" she greeted closing her eyes and smiling. She held her hoof out for the stranger to shake. "Yes, I know you very well. You slammed your head on my back!" came the reply as a very skinny appendage wrapped around her hoof and quickly shook it. Chatterjoy opened her eyes in curiosity and gasped. A three stepped staircase stood in front of her. It had two arms with tiny skinny hands and skinny legs with long flat feet. The eyes were located on the front of the first step. "I did? Sorry," Chatterjoy apologized. She looked away from the odd creature. "Um...what do you like to do?" Chatterjoy asked nervously as she tried to start a conversation. "I don't know. I was just now created for the purpose of thi-" the staircase began before Chatterjoy shushed it. "That is confidential! No pony is supposed to know! Come up with something!" Chatterjoy rushed. She removed her hoof from the mouth of the staircase and put on a smile. "Very well. I much like to not be shushed." the staircase replied. All of a sudden the elevator stopped moving and the light began to filter. The machine had done a little jerk and the staircase was now underneath the pegasus. Poor Chatterjoy had the air knocked out of her by the ridges of steps. "Ugh, what just happened," Chatterjoy asked trying to clear her head. "It seems the elevator has stopped. Probably due to the au-" the staircase began to explain before Chatterjoy gave a quick buck to the staircase. "Confidential!" "I was ju-" "CONfidential!" "Would you-" "CONfiDENtial!" "What? Just-" "Confidential." "Fine." "Confidential." "I didn-" "Shush a baby." "Pfft what?" "What?" "What?" "Shifernoodles." The staircase slapped the side its body in annoyance. The pegasus wasn't making any sense whatsoever. "It looks," the staircase began, looking at Chatterjoy to see if she would say anything, "that we might be in here for a while." "Okay," Chatterjoy said. She began rocking on her hooves and glancing around. A few minutes passed in silence before Chatterjoy began to sweat profusely. "You okay?" the staircase asked, looking at the pegasus with concern. "Uh huh," Chatterjoy replied with a nervous smile. A few more minutes passed before Chatterjoy broke and began to ran around in circles. "What are we going to do! What are we going to do! All I wanted was to surprise Jazzy with a visit! I like visiting others! Do you like visiting others? Oh Celestia and Luna! I can't take this small cramped places. The heat of our breath accumulating and suffocating us with its Carbon Dioxide! What if no one looks for us? What if someone is late to work because they couldn't use the elevator because we broke it! Oh my Luna! We broke the elevator! We gotta hide! I am too young to go to prison! What would Applejack and the rest of Ponyville think of me!?" "That you're a claustrophobic pegasus that needs to take a chill pill," replied the staircase nonchalantly, "Besides most of this is no cause of concern because of the au-" "CONFIDENTIAL!" screamed Chatterjoy before she began to run around in circles again. For the next hours it was Chatterjoy panicking with the staircase just replying calmly. Soon the elevator began running again and got to the designated floor. There were ponies in uniforms at the floor. Chatterjoy ran up to them and bowed crying. 'I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to break it!" she bawled at the officer's hoof. "Woah! Calm down kiddo! The elevator just shut down for twenty four hours. Seems there are some bugs we gotta fix. You and your friend okay? I bet you're hungry!" replied the officer offering both Chatterjoy and the staircase some chocolate bars. "Thank you," Chatterjoy replied sniffling and nibbling on her chocolate with tears streaming down her face.