//------------------------------// // Pinkie Pie Wins // Story: Get Him! // by TJHoofer //------------------------------// Chapter 17: The Winner is… There was an intense silence in the air. The dust slowly began to settle as the shadowy image of a pony pileup became visible. All the other ponies moaned and groaned as they rubbed their head trying to shake away the dizziness. Twilight, Celestia and Luna stared with their mouths wide agape at the incredible sight, with their horns still lit. Somewhere beneath that pile of ponies was Alex, the weight of all of them having knocked the wind out him. Unsure of which of them had their magic locked on Alex, the two monarchs and Twilight simultaneously lifted Alex off the ground, pushing away the ponies above him. As soon as he was in view, everyone’s eyes widened with more surprise and disbelief. Someone or something was clinging tightly around Alex’s torso! Somepony had succeeded in getting to him first before Twilight and the princesses’. Once they got a better view of the lucky pony, Celestia smiled and cleared her throat. “The hunt is over! The winner is… PINKIE PIE!” “Aaaaw…” the other ponies groaned with disappointment. Pinkie Pie’s eyes were as wide as saucers, with her smile growing wider by the second with overwhelming joy. Alex, regaining consciousness, saw the grinning pink pony on top of him and he grimaced. ‘Oh crud…’ “YAY!!!” Pinkie Pie happily wrapped her hooves around Alex even tighter and danced him around like a lifeless rag doll, nuzzling his cheeks. Alex was staring blankly into space, unable to do anything knowing that his life a human being was soon coming to an end. “Congratulations Pinkie Pie!” said Celestia with a smile. The others quickly joined in and congratulated her for her victory, while hiding their disappointments greatly. “Yeah… Congratulations Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow grumbled silently. “THANK YOU DASHIE! THANK YOU EVERYPONY! WOHOOO~!” Pinkie cheered some more as she and Alex continued dancing around. “I got you! I got you! Oh yeah! Yeah YEAH~! Now my party will come true! Oh yeah! Yeah! YEAH~!” she sang. Alex didn’t share Pinkie’s joy as he was still lost in his own state of mental despair. “I’m SO excited! Are you excited Alex? Because I can tell you that right now I’m REALLY excited!” She then suddenly let go of him and turned to the others, reaching inside her mane and pulling out several invitation slips, all addressed to the ponies present. “Listen up everypony! You are all hereby invited to Sugarcube Corner to attend Alex’s ‘Good Bye Human Party’. Bring lots of welcoming gifts!” “Since when did you have time to write invitation slips?” asked Twilight. “My dear Twilight, you of all ponies must realize by now that when it comes to parties, I’m always prepared.” “Wait…” Everypony’s attention was drawn to Scootaloo. “…If he’s leaving, why are we supposed to bring welcoming gifts?” “Nevamind tha gifts!” yelled Applebloom suddenly with concern. “Why is Alex leavin’? Did ya’ll jus’ grab ‘im jus’ so that he could leave?” “No silly filly!” Pinkie Pie giggled while playfully rubbing Applebloom’s mane. “I’m just throwing Alex a ‘Good-Bye Human’ party. The gifts are for his ‘Welcome New Pony’ party!” Everypony were confused, except for Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. “New pony..?!? What’cha talkin’ ‘bout, Pinkie?” “She’s going to turn Alex into a pony…” said Twilight with a sigh. Pinkie smiled. “Yup!” “WHAT!?!” “Really..?” uttered Celestia curiously. “So you’re really going to change Alex into a pony? Interesting… And here I thought you were just going to make him an ‘honorary pony’.” she rubbed her chin. “And just how are you planning on doing that?” “With this!” Pinkie then pulled out the bottle she had in her mane. “It’s a ‘Pony Potion’.” She then pulled Alex close and nuzzled his cheek. “One drink from this and Alex will be part of our big happy family! Squee!” “Get off!” said Alex suddenly as he pushed Pinkie away. “Who says I going to be happy? I’m not going to be happy! And I’m most certainly not going to be part of your big happy family!” “Sure you will!” Pinkie smiled. “After all, you made a Pinkie Promise, remember? Back in chapter 4?” “What?” “Cue Flashback!” Don’t tell me how to do my job. ~~*~~ Flashback… “NO!!” Pinkie jumped up and placed her forelegs on his shoulders as she locked eyes with his. “You mustn’t go anywhere! Pinkie Promise that you won’t!” “Pinkie Promise?” asked Alex confused. “You know, a Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly! Stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie pushed him against the stove of Sugarcube Corner. “Pinkie Promise that you’ll stay for the party!” Alex gulped as Pinkie’s look turned very serious. “Say it!” “I Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart… hope to fly… Stick a cupcake in my… Gulp! eye..?” “Super! You must never EVER break a Pinkie Promise! To break a Pinkie Promise, is to break a trust! And losing a friend’s trust is the fastest way to lose a friend! FOR-EVER!” ~~*~~ “See?” Pinkie grinned. Alex facepalmed and groaned loudly as he finally remembered. He only said that because she was scaring him. He never meant it to be taken seriously. “Were we supposed to see something just now?” a rather confused-looking Rarity whispered to a rather tired-looking Twilight. “What was all that about?” “It’s Pinkie Pie, Rarity… Don’t question it it…” “You made a Pinkie Promise. This means you have to make due!” Pinkie smiled. ”And as everypony knows, breaking a Pinkie Promise is the fastest way to lose a friend! You wouldn’t want to lose me as a friend now, would you?” Alex looked her and was quiet for a moment as he thought about it. “I see no problem in that…” “Well, too bad! A Pinkie Promise is a Pinkie Promise!” Pinkie suddenly wrapped her tail around him and tied him up. “I’m going to give you a party even if it kills you!” Alex gulped. “Hey wait! Stop! I don’t wanna go!” Twilight turned to Celestia. “Princess? Don’t you have anything to say to this?” “Indeed I have.” Celestia smiled. “We are going to attend Alex’s party.” “WHAT!?!” cried Alex. “But princess...!” “Twilight, I’m certain that whatever Pinkie Pie has in mind, Alex will be fine. Pinkie is not the kind of pony who would harm anypony for no reason.” Everypony looked at one another with an uncertain look. They knew Pinkie better than anypony and couldn’t imagine anypony being comfortable around Pinkie once she had her mind set on something really bizarre. “I trust you’ll have Alex ready before we arrive, Pinkie? I’m actually looking forward to this.” “You bet! You heard the princess, Alex! Don’t be such a worrywart!” She tied Alex on her back and fastened him tightly on with her tail. “Now just sit back and enjoy the ride. We’ve got a party to get ready and we can’t be late! Yehaw~!” Tied down and unable to get off, Alex sat helplessly on her back Pinkie reared up and galloped back to Ponyville at full speed, disappearing in a thick cloud of dust. Once the dust settled, the other ponies just kept staring after them with deadpanned expressions. “Poor Alex… Looks like his numbah is up…” muttered Applejack while shaking her head. “Alex..? A pony..?? Is she serious?” Rarity stuttered. She had a hard time swallowing this idea. “Surely Twillight, we’re not just going to stand by and allow this, are we?” “She caught Alex, Rarity…” said Twilight. “There’s nothing we can do about that…” “To be honest…” Rainbow Dash uttered. “…I’m actually curious to see how this is going to turn out.” Twilight looked at her invitation and sighed. “Well… If we’re to attend, we better do it soon. According to this, the party is tonight.” “Sheesh! She doesn’t waste time does she?” said Rainbow Dash. “Come on girls. Let’s go.” Twilight led the way back to Ponyville. Only the princesses remained and watched them as they disappeared from view. Luna looked to her sister. “I trust you know what you’re doing, sister?” Celestia giggled. “Relax Luna. Let’s get back to Canterlot and get ourselves cleaned up and ready. Don’t want to be late for the festivities.” With a glow of her horn, both sisters vanished from view. ***** Later that evening… Light and music was emitting from Sugarcube Corner as Ponyville’s first ‘Good Bye Human Party’ was currently underway. Ponies all across town had been invited and were pouring through the bakery to partake in this curious event. Inside there were tables covered with all manner of food, cakes, pies, cupcakes and beverages. Streamers and balloons of all manner of shapes and color completely littered the floor and walls of the bakery. Pinkie Pie was busily zipping to, fro and about as she was serving all manner food and drink while tending to her guests and their needs, showing no signs of fatigue what so ever. “How are you doing?” Pinkie asked a random pony mare before immediately switching over to another mare beside her. “Enjoying the party so far? How’s the family doing? Are you going to eat that…?” DING! Pinkie’s ears perked as the bell above the door chimed and two more mares entered the bakery. “Bon Bon! Lyra!” Pinkie bounced over and greeted them. “Come on in! Glad you both could make it! There’s a table for you over there.” She pointed them towards an empty table with their names on it. “Just help yourselves to whatever you want.” she said as Bon Bon trotted past her over to the table. “We got lots of-” “Sniff..! Sob..!” Pinkie’s ears perked at the sound of crying and looked at Lyra, only now noticing that she was wearing a black mourning dress. “What’s with all the black Lyra? This is a ‘Good Bye Human’ party, not a funeral party. That’s next week.” “Sob! Whatever you call it, it might as well be a funeral!” Lyra wailed. She blew her nose and trotted over to join Bon Bon. Pinkie just gave her a confused look. On one wall hung a yellow banner labeled ‘Good Bye Human!’ in colorful letters, with Alex conveniently placed beneath it next to a table. He stared up at the words behind him and sighed. He couldn’t fathom that this was actually happening. He then looked across the bakery and at all the ponies currently present. With this much excitement in the room, he could’ve easily sneaked away and no pony would notice. Of course he already attempted a few times, only to be constantly intercepted by Pinkie Pie each time. Her ‘Pinkie Sense’ was no joke. It hadn’t been all bad though. All the ponies that had arrived had been really friendly to him, despite that little frightening ordeal in the park. Many apologized for that and asked him how he was doing. Some were even curious to know where he was going. Pinkie had made every effort to make his little ‘ponyfication’ a surprise to everypony as much as possible. With the exception of her friends and the princesses, nopony else in Ponyville knew what this party was really all about. Alex wanted to tell them, but found that rather difficult now that he was all bound and gagged. What really surprised him was that nopony seemed curious about that at all. “Are you enjoying yourself Alex?” said Pinkie Pie as she suddenly popped up beside him. “MMMPH! MPH! HMP!” “I’m sorry, what was that?” Pinkie removed the gag from his mouth. Alex, relieved to finally speak again, glared at her. “Oh! I’m having marvelous time Pinkie…” he answered sarcastically. “I’m just thrilled…” “Well you should be!” Pinkie smiled. “It’s your ‘Good Bye Human’ Party! You should be excited! Just think… You’re just moments away from finally becoming part of the great and wonderful life that is Ponydom.” “By becoming a pony..?” Pinkie smiled. “Exactly! Squee!” “Oh joy…” Alex stared down at his reflection on the empty plate in front of him, knowing it would probably be the last time he’d lay eyes on that handsome face ever again. “You’ll excuse me if I don’t share your excitement, especially after you bound me up like this.” “Well you didn’t leave me much choice. You were complaining an awful lot…” “And did you really have to put this ball and chain on my leg too?” He lifted his leg and sure enough there was a strong iron chain around it, connected to a large heavy metal ball next to him. “Well… DUH! You keep sneaking away! How am I supposed to give you a ‘Good Bye Human’ Party if you’re not here?” “Couldn’t we just make this simply a ‘Good Bye Human’ Party and just let me leave and never come back?” “Silly Alex!” Pinkie playfully rubbed his hair. “If we did that, who would be the new pony for the ‘New Pony’ Party?” Pinkie smiled. “Trust me Alex. You’ll do perfectly fine. There’s no reason for you to be nervous.” Alex just hung his head and groaned. “Aw…” Seeing Alex this bad was hard for Pinkie. “I know just what’ll cheer you up!” She disappeared, only to return a second later with a cupcake. “Here! Eat up!” She lifted his head and shoved the cupcake in his mouth. Alex nearly chocked on the delicious cupcake but managed to work it down. “Better?” “Thanks… I feel so much better now…” Alex said sarcastically while swallowing the last of the cupcake. While it didn’t brighten his mood one bit, he had to admit it was a rather delicious cupcake. One that he as a human would never experience again... “Wonderful!” Pinkie chirped. “There’s plenty more where that came from.” She suddenly noticed that more guests had arrived. “Oh! More guests! Don’t go anywhere! I’ll be right back!” She put the gag back on and bounced away with Alex silently glaring daggers at her. “Hi Pinkie!” said Twilight as Pinkie approached them. “Twilight! Friends! You came!” Pinkie wrapped her hooves around Twilight and hugged her. “Well we Cough! wouldn’t want to miss this for the world, now would we?” said Twilight, struggling to breathe before Pinkie finally released her. “Wow! You’ve certainly been busy. You must’ve invited the whole town.” “Yup! Today is a very special day after all. I couldn’t let anypony miss out on Alex’s big day.” Twilight looked passed Pinkie at Alex, seeing him all tied up and gaged. “Why is he all tied up like that? Isn’t that a bit too extreme?” She gave her a look of disappointment. “Oh! Alex is just nervous.” replied Pinkie. “You wouldn’t believe how many times he tried to sneak away. He’s worse than Fluttershy! Remember the time I had to tie you down?” “Yes…” Fluttershy blushed, remembering back when Pinkie was forced to tie her down for her own ‘New Pony’ Party. She was very shy and didn’t like being the center of attention back then. “Believe me Twilight. Once he’s a pony, he’ll be all better.” Twilight and her friends looked questionably at eachother. “Um… Pinkie? Could I have a look at that ‘Pony Potion’ you showed us?” “Sure.” She rummaged through her mane. “Now where did I put it?” There were sounds of cans and all manner of junk rattling around in her mane, leading Twilight to wonder what else she stored in there. For the sake of her own sanity, she didn’t ask. Pinkie eventually found what she was searching for and pulled out the small bottle. “Ah! Here it is!” She showed it to Twilight. Twilight levitated it from her hoof and studied it more closely. She even opened it and sniffed at the contents. It had a surprisingly sweet aroma. “How did you make this again?” “Zecora made it for me.” Pinkie grinned. “It’s made from a concentrated batch of Poison Joke, mixed with the ingredients from that book I borrowed and with a hint of something super awesome extra from me.” Twilight and her friends eyed the bottle. “And what would that be?” Twilight asked curiously. “Peppermint!” Pinkie smiled. Everyone just stared at her. “Oh! And of course, a little string of pony hair from me, which also tastes like peppermint! Squee!” Twilight and her friends just looked at eachother without saying a word. “So when is this ‘super awesome’ event gonna start anyway?” asked Rainbow Dash. “As soon as the special guests arrive. They should be here about-” There was a sound of royal trumpets as the doors opened and two very regal figures appeared. “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!” Twilight exclaimed surprised. Every pony in the bakery bowed as they cantered in. They were quickly motioned to carry on with the festivities as Twilight greeted them. “Hello Twilight. It’s good to see you again. And thank you for the invitation Pinkie Pie. I must admit that both Luna and I are very curious.” Pinkie Pie smiled as she bounced excitedly up and down. “Ooh, it’s going to be SO great! You’ll love it!” With the final guests having arrived, Pinkie then bounced up on a table and had everypony’s attention. “Alright everypony! Gather around! It’s time for the Mane Event! Giggle-Snort!” She then suddenly popped up beside Alex. She was now carrying a serving tray with two cups of juice. “It’s time for the ‘Good-Bye Human’ Party to finally begin!” Pinkie opened the bottle and poured its liquid into one of the cups. “Here you go Alex! Let me just remove this…” She placed the cup in front of him and removed his bonds. Once free, Alex quickly removed the gag and stood up. “Finally!” he glared down at Pinkie. “Now look here you! I-” Alex’s words froze as Celestia and Luna approached them. Whatever flaming words he was about to spew out was quickly extinguished and he found himself sitting quietly down at the table. “Mares and Gentlecolts! I like to thank all of you for coming!” said Pinkie. “Both Alex and I are overjoyed that you all could make it to his first ever ‘Good Bye Human’ Party!” Alex shot Pinkie a hateful glare. He then stared into the cup, seeing the swirling, bubbling purple liquid mixed with both juice and potion. He gulped. He then looked at all the excited ponies in the room. At Celestia who looked just as curious and excited as the rest. He knew what they were all waiting for and that there was no way for him to argue himself out of this. “Alright everypony. Take a cup of juice and be prepared to toast. We are now going to say good bye to Alex and soon welcome him back as a changed stallion!” Nearly all the pony guests now looked at eachother with mixed confusion and curiosity. Still, they all did as instructed and filled their cups with juice. Alex’s hands were trembling as he raised his cup from the table. He was now moments away from being ponified. He could’ve easily just poured it to the flowers in the pot next to him while nopony was looking and just pretend to drink it, but Pinkie would easily notice it since it was blueberry juice. No blue tongue would give him away. Not to mention the flowers would look rather ‘pony-ish’ if he did. He was more concerned that the potion would probably poison him instead of changing him. Pinkie had repeatedly ensured him that the potion was harmless, but he was never 100% sure about that since she had never actually showed him what it could do. ‘This is it…’ Alex quietly lamented as he seemed to be out of options. I’m done for! Suddenly, Alex had an idea. It was a long shot, but there was no better chance than any. With everypony distracted and Pinkie’s back momentarily turned, Alex took his chance and quickly switched the cups on the table, replacing his cup with Pinkie’s. He figured that if Pinkie believed the potion was a dud, she would probably give up this whole ‘pony’ idea and instead give him a regular party as a human. And if she somehow turned into more of a pony than she was now, maybe she would act more normal. With the deed done, Alex grabbed Pinkie’s cup and raised it just as Pinkie turned around and grabbed his. “A toast to Alex!” Pinkie cheered as she raised her cup high. Everypony in the bakery did the same. “A TOAST AND GOOD BYE!” “GOOD BYE ALEX!” Everypony cheered and drank up. Alex raised his cup and held it while watching as Pinkie downed the potion. Feeling really smug about himself, he downed Pinkie’s cup without concern. “Congratulations Alex. Welcome to the herd!” Pinkie cheered as Alex finished his cup. Now they only had to wait for the potion to take effect. Everypony was deathly quiet as they waited with curious anticipation. Even the princesses’ were paying close attention. “Uh… Pinkie..?” whispered Twilight. “Nothing seems to be happening.” “Ssh~! Give it time.” whispered Pinkie. Several minutes passed and still nothing happened. Soon there was muttering to be heard as ponies wondered what exactly they were waiting for. “Still nothing is happening…” said Twilight. “Huh… Maybe it was a dud?” replied Pinkie confused while scratching her head. “Hah!” Alex suddenly let out a huge laugh, earning everypony’s attention. “Jokes on you! Seriously, all this talk about turning me into a pony… Pfft~!! Some potion… You really had me go-” BANG! Alex suddenly passed out and slammed his face on the table. All the ponies gasped and became concerned. “OMGOSH! WHAT HAPPENED?” yelled Twilight. “Relax Twilight!” giggled Pinkie. “I knew he would try and weasel out, so I laced BOTH cups with the potion. It won’t affect me because I’m already a pony.” “But he just passed out! He’s probably been poisoned! Quick! Call a doctor!” yelled Twilight. “Somepony pl-” “Okay…!” There was a new wave of gasps as Alex suddenly sat back up as if nothing had happened. “What were we saying?” Everypony, including Twilight looked both deadpanned and bewildered. “Uh… Well… You were about to say something about-” POFF! “…t- the potion..?” Twilight finished with wide eyes. Alex had suddenly sprouted pony ears. “The potion! Of course! Now I remember!” laughed Alex, while sprouting a pony tail. POFF! “Boy Pinkie! You should’ve seen the look on your face!” Alex picked up the plate and viewed his face. “You really thought you were going to make me into a pony.” He put down the plate and gestured his hand across his face. “But as you can see I’m still human.” POFF! Everyone silently gasped as his face transformed into that of a pony stallion. “I mean, I’m sorry if I disappointed you-” As Alex rambled on, Fluttershy took a curious glance underneath the table and her eyes went wide as his legs, along with his pants, magically transformed into hind legs. How the clothes were affected she had no idea. POFF! “-but I guess there are some things you just can’t change.” He paused as he scratched the hair at the back of his head, moments before it completely turned into a complete stallion’s head with a mane. POFF! “Still, I have to admit I was a bit curious myself if this actually worked.” POFF! His height was reduced in size as his entire body was completely transformed. The only thing remaining now was his arms. Yet Alex was too caught up in his little speech to notice anything. “But seeing as how it didn’t…” Alex stood up and leaned over the table while pointing his index finger at Pinkie. As he did, his one arm supporting him on the table was turned into a foreleg, complete with a hoof. POFF! “…I can point my HUMAN finger at you and say…” POFF! “HA! IN YOUR FACE! ” Alex exclaimed with a huge grin, only to soon notice that something wasn’t quite right. “Wait… What happened to my hand?” Alex’s eyes widened as he noticed his arm. He then held up both arms. They weren’t arms anymore. He had forelegs! He had hooves! He felt his face and discovered he didn’t recognize any of his human features. He even glanced behind him and discovered he had a tail. He quickly raised his plate and saw his reflection again. He was a pony! An earth-pony stallion! Complete with muzzle and everything. His coat was dark green, while his tail and mane retained its blond, yellow-streaked color. “I… I’m…” “Congratulations Alex!” shouted Pinkie. “This is now your official ‘New Pony’ Party!” She strapped a party hat on his head, stuffed a party whistle in his mouth and blew a horn as streamers and confetti was blasted into the air. As that happened, Pinkie then pulled a rope and the banner ‘GOOD-BYE HUMAN!’ was suddenly replaced with ‘WELCOME NEW PONY!’ The ponies all cheered, stomped and clopped their hooves in applause. “WELCOME TO PONYVILLE NEW PONY!” Pinkie cheered. As everypony in the bakery cheered and laughed heartedly, Alex just sat there staring into the plate and his reflection. He was utterly speechless. ***** The party went on late into the night. Everypony was drinking, eating and having a marvelous time. While the events leading up to the party had been strange, it didn’t stop anypony from having a good time. After all, it was like every other ‘New Pony’ Party that Pinkie was well known for, and she never disappointed anypony. Pinkie Pie of course was bursting with energy, much to the amazement of her friends. She was literally all over the place, inviting ponies to take part in various party games or to jump in on the dancefloor and break down. She couldn’t be any happier now that Alex… “Hey! Where’s Alex? He’s missing out on all the fun.” said Rainbow Dash suddenly as she and everypony realized he was missing. Applejack reached underneath her Stetson and scratched her head. “Ah don’t know Sugarcube. Last time Ah saw ‘im, he was right over thar by tha table. Wonder where he went. Hope he’s alright…” After his transformation, Alex had been uneasily silent ever since Pinkie released him from his bonds. He barely acknowledged her or anypony as he was too fixated on his new features. Twilight got worried that he was suffering a mental breakdown and managed to convince Pinkie to leave him alone and only talk to him when he felt he was ready. However, being too caught up with the party, neither her nor anypony had seen him leave the table and venture upstairs. Alex was busy regarding himself closely in a large mirror that he had found in the Cake’s bedroom. He looked at the strange pony staring back at him. He didn’t quite know what to feel. He was no longer human, trapped forever in the body of a pony. A mixed sense of emotions coursed throughout his body, mostly confusion and sadness… ’Why..?’ “Alex?” His ears perked as he heard the concerned sound of Twilight behind him as she entered the bedroom. “I figured you’d be up here. Are you alright?” “How did you know I was here?” Twilight giggled sheepishly. “The first time Pinkie held a party for me, I fled upstairs too…” She joined him and stared at the reflections in the mirror. She could tell by the look on his face that he was not at all pleased by the results. “Are you okay..?” “I’m a pony Twilight… I feel just peachy…” he replied sarcastically. “I must admit Alex, you’re taking this awfully well considering…” “Believe me Twilight, I would want nothing more than to pick up that chair in the corner and break something with it.” He sighed. “But I’m just too tired…” He then held up his hoof and stared at it. “…and I can’t pick up anything with these.” “Alex… I know this must be difficult for you. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I can talk to Pinkie. Maybe-” “Just forget about it Twilight. It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s done. I’m going to be a pony forever…” He lowered his head and trotted solemnly out of the room. “Alex?” Twilight followed him downstairs. Alex trotted slowly past every party guest, ignoring their smiles and compliments as he reached the front door of the bakery and opened them. “Alex? Where are you going?” “Please… I just... I can’t be here…” Before Twilight could say anything else, Alex had already left. She looked out after him and saw slowly disappear down the street. She couldn’t help but feeling really sad for him. “Hey Twilight!” Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared beside Twilight with a fake ponytail in her mouth. “Where’s Alex? We are about to start the ‘Pin the Tail on the Pony’ game!” “Pinkie… Alex… He’s not here.” “What?” exclaimed Pinkie, spitting the tail out of her mouth. “He’s outside. He wanted to be alone.” “But… This is his party! Why would he not be here?” “Pinkie…” Twilight sighed. “…You turned Alex into a pony.” “So?” “Did you ever think to consider Alex’s feelings about this? You’ve practically robbed him of his life. He’s confused and… and I think he’s really hurting now.” “Hurt?! Why would he feel hurt? I made him a pony!” “How’s that any better..?” “Don’t you get it? Now that he’s a pony, nopony will chase him around anymore or look at him all funny! Now he can have lots of friends instead of ponies being mean to him.” “You didn’t have to turn him into a pony for that.” “Oh? Should I instead just let him be human so you could experiment on him?!” she jabbed her hoof accusingly at Twilight. Her sudden outburst caused the party to grind to a complete stop and everypony’s eyes were now on Pinkie and Twilight. “Pinkie! I-” “And what about the rest of you?” Pinkie directed her attention to her friends as they gathered around them. She started with Applejack and Fluttershy. “You wanted to make money off him! You wanted to keep him a zoo!” Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind Applejack. Pinkie then focused on Rarity the Crusaders. “You wanted to make him a pet! You three wanted to use him to get cutiemarks!” “Ah don’t see what’s wrong ‘bout that…” said Applebloom as she shared a confused look among her friends. Pinkie then eyed Rainbow, her eyes narrowed. “And you…” Rainbow gulped. “You wanted to make him tiny so you could eat him!” “WHAT?!??” yelled Rainbow Dash in shock. “No I didn’t! That was an accident! That YOU caused! I wanted him to be my toy!” “GASP!” Everypony in the bakery gasped in shock. “Oh come on! Like you all didn’t have an idea like that?” Everypony just shook their heads. Some rubbed the back of their heads while glancing away, muttering in denial of ever having such a horrid idea. Rainbow sighed. “Pinkie Pie…” Pinkie’s ears perked as Celestia and Luna trotted over. “You are right… We are all guilty of wanting Alex for our selfish needs. Even I…” She closed her eyes and lowered her head, causing everypony to gasp with more shock. “GASP!” “And I as well…” admitted Luna as she too closed her eyes and lowered her head in shame. Oddly enough, nopony seemed that shocked about it. A surprised Luna felt somewhat insulted by this lack of reaction. Celestia then spoke again. “…But you Pinkie, have been just as selfish.” “What? But… But I helped him. I made it so he didn’t have to run anymore. So that he would feel more at home.” “By taking away that which he valued the most..? How would you feel if somepony took away your identity?” “I… I would…” Pinkie’s eyes widened as realization sank in. She never fully realized it until now how important ones identity was. Alex was now trapped in a body he didn’t belong to and was now hurting in ways Pinkie could never imagine. “I… I never meant to hurt him…” “I think you should go and talk to him Pinkie. Perhaps if you explain to him why you did this, he might forgive you.” said Twilight. “I’ll do more than that! Hold this!” Eyes filled with determination, Pinkie pinned the fake tail on Twilight’s face and bolted out the door to find Alex. Twilight glanced after her as she disappeared from view. “I hope she finds him…” She turned to her friends. “And I really hope she can make this al...” She suddenly noticed that they were all just quietly gawking at her. They were utterly shocked and some of them even cringed at the sight of her. “...-right..? What? What’s wrong?” Applejack was the first one to speak. “Land Sakes Twi… Doesn’t that hurt?” “Doesn't ‘what’ hurt?” Applejack pointed and Twilight finally noticed the nail of the fake tail deeply imbedded in her snout. “GAAAAAHHHH!!!” ***** Alex trotted slowly down the streets of Ponyville, his mind in deep sad thoughts about this new life he had been thrown into. He glanced towards a large window and beheld his bleak reflection. Seeing his pony form made him sigh even more as he slowly continued onward. He could hardly understand how it all had come to this... “ALEX!” Alex’s ears perked as he heard the familiar voice of Pinkie Pie running up and stopping beside him. “There you are! I’ve looked everywhere! I was so worried! Listen I-“ “Pinkie. If you don’t mind, I’d like to say something first if that’s okay?” Pinkie bit her lip and listened. “Look… I know you wanted to make me into a pony, and you did… But… what now? What am I going to do now?” He showed her his hooves. “How am I supposed to live my life with these things? Being a human is all I’ve ever known. A pony’s life is not for me…” Pinkie wanted to say something but kept quiet. “Just look at me Pinkie… I was once a normal guy. A normal HUMAN guy with a normal life and normal problems! Now I’m a cute, green horse-” “Pony…” Pinkie corrected before shutting up again. “Pony…” Alex sighed. “Look at me. Hooves… Mane… Tail… It doesn’t get any more awkward!” “You got a cutiemark.” “What?!?” Alex turned his head and looked. His eyes widened as sure enough a cutiemark had appeared on his flank. Both flanks actually. He studied them closely and frowned. “THAT’S IT?? A PONY??? That’s my cutiemark? That’s my destiny? You can’t be serious!?” He sat down on his haunches and facehoofed. “Great… Just great! As if things couldn’t get any worse! It’s like some big cosmic joke.” “Or lazy writing…” said Pinkie. “What?” “Alex… I thought you’d be happy…” “HAPPY?!!” Alex growled. “I’m going to stay like this forever!!! How can I possibly be happy about this??! You ruined my life!!” Pinkie’s mane suddenly deflated and her smile completely vanished. Seeing the anger in his eyes frightened her. Eventually she worked up the courage to say something. “Alex… I never wanted to ruin your life… The reason I made you a pony was not for some cruel sick joke. I… I just… I wanted to help you.” “Help me?” “I could tell from the moment I first saw you. You looked so alone and so out of place. I figured that if you were a pony, you wouldn’t feel so alone and afraid, and ponies would stop chasing you or looking at you all funny.” “So… You changed me just so other ponies would accept me?” “Yes… And for that I am so sorry! As a friend I should’ve thought more about your feelings and not what everypony else would feel. I shouldn’t have forced this change upon you.” Pinkie suddenly rummaged through her mane and pulled out a new bottle. “Here! I was saving it for when the party was over but I guess you need it now...” “What’s this?” “It’s the antidote. I asked Zecora to make it just in case this didn’t work out.” She took Alex’s hoof and placed the bottle in his grasp. “Antidote..? But I thought…” “That you’d be a pony forever? I may be a wild party pony, but I’m not a twisted pony. Look, I’m really REALLY sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you and I hope you’ll forgive me, or at least still consider me a friend. If you want to be human again, I’m not going to stop you.” Alex was speechless. He stared at the bottle. He wouldn’t need to live his life as a pony after all. He could return to being a human again. He then glanced up at Pinkie and saw the sadness in her eyes. “Pinkie..?” Pinkie glanced at Alex and was surprised to see him handing the antidote back to her. Her biggest surprise however was that Alex was still a pony. “Thanks for telling me.” “But… Why are you still a pony? Don’t you want to be human again?” “Believe me Pinkie, I would LOVE to be human again. I was just so afraid of never seeing my hands again I couldn’t think straight.” He gently placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Now that I know there’s an antidote, I’m not afraid anymore. Although I think it would’ve been easier just telling me from the beginning.” A weak smile appeared on Pinkie’s face. “I know… I just wanted it to be a surprise...” Alex giggled. “Well, you definitely succeeded in that. Besides, after all the hard work you did putting all this and the party together, I guess I can humor you a bit and stay like this for tonight.” he smiled. “And to be honest, it doesn’t really feel that bad.” “It… It doesn’t..?” “Well… The hooves may take some time to get used to… And I’m not really sure I feel too comfortable wearing nothing… But other than that, I feel just fine. So I suppose I can give it a shot... After all, I did Pinkie Promise right? And nopony ever breaks a Pinkie Promise…” he winked. Pinkie smiled as her mane suddenly inflated back to its cotton candy look. “There they are!” Both Alex and Pinkie turned their heads and saw Celestia approach them with Luna, Twilight and the rest trailing behind. “Alex? Pinkie? We were getting worried. Is everything alright?” “Yes princess.” replied Pinkie while bowing. “We’re alright.” replied Alex as he bowed as well. Being a pony now, Alex felt a bit nervous as Celestia now towered over him. “Please Alex, you don’t need to bow. You have nothing to be nervous about.” Celestia calmly trotted over to him, regarding his pony form. “Are you certain you’re alright? I can only imagine that becoming a pony must be really traumatizing for you. If you like, I can undo this right now.” “No need princess.” said Alex with a reassuring smile. “Pinkie showed me the antidote. I can go back to human whenever I want.” “So… Why are you still a pony?” “I figured I’d give this ‘pony’ thing a try. I feel alright and I’m a little better now after talking with Pinkie.” Celestia smiled. “That’s wonderful to hear. I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.” She then eyed Pinkie. “…But I trust that you Pinkie have learned a valuable lesson from all this?” “I sure have princess!” smiled Pinkie as she threw her arm around Alex and hugged him. “I’ve learned to never again force change upon anypony. Just because they look different and have trouble fitting in, you should help them by supporting them and be their friend regardless of looks.” Alex returned her hug. “Everybody is a pony underneath, just as everypony is a body underneath! Wait… Did that come out right?” Celestia smiled. “A fine lesson learned. I’m proud of you Pinkie.” “Alex..?” Alex let go of Pinkie as Twilight and her friends approached. He was curious as to why Twilight was now wearing a large band-aid on her muzzle. “Twilight? What happened to you?” “Oh this?” Twilight rubbed her muzzle, wincing slightly. “It’s nothing. Just… Just a little party accident…” She shot Pinkie an angry glare, to which the pink pony just looked away and whistled nonchalant. “Listen...” Twilight smiled nervously. “We’re all happy to see that you’re okay. And… And we’re sorry for everything we put you through. I really hope you can forgive us.” Alex looked to Pinkie. Pinkie didn’t say anything but her smile said it all. Alex scratched the back of his head. “It’s okay. I forgive you, I guess…” “I’m happy that you all become friends.” said Celestia. “Now are you sure you’ll still be okay like this, Alex? You can still become human, right?” “I’ll be okay.” Alex smiled. “And you know what, your Highness? I honestly think this could be an interesting experience for me. And as long as Pinkie still has the antidote, I’ve got no worries about staying a pony forev-” Suddenly, a mint green blur zoomed past everypony. “THE ANTIDOTE!?! WHERE-???” “THIS IS A HUMAN POTION?!?” Everypony looked and saw Lyra standing there with the antidote in her hooves. “HANDS! HERE I COME!” “HEY! THAT’S FOR ALEX! GET BACK HERE!” yelled Pinkie as she and Alex galloped after her. Everypony just gawked for a moment before bursting into laughing. ***** Twilight never received her Hoofbel prize. Yet in spite of this, it didn’t stop her from learning more about Alex and where he came from. She visited him regularly and he would tell her all he knew about his world and its workings. She in turn would teach him all about Equestria and gave him free access to her library any time he wanted to borrow a book. She apologized for the hard time she, Spike and her friends had put him through and she especially apologized for hurting his feelings. Using her magic for much better use, it didn’t take long before they both eventually became good friends. Alex managed to pay Applejack back for the apples he ate by helping her out with some odd jobs around the farm. While she never got the chance to make a fortune out of him, she was impressed with his working skills. She apologized for her behavior and even wanted to hire him as a farm hand. She even went as far as practically making him a part of the Apple Family. Fluttershy never got the chance to care of Alex like she wanted, but she did however provide for him a house in which to live as a sign of apology. Moving it closer to Ponyville, it became a second home with all the comforts that he required. Fluttershy would visit him regularly to check on him and see how he was doing. Even though she had lost her pet, Rarity never gave up on her creativity. In an attempt to salvage her ruined dress, she unexpectedly created a design so unique and so retro that it became the talk around Canterlot. Needless to say, her dress earned her more than enough Bits to repair her boutique and buy more supplies. Seeing that Alex had been responsible for ruining her dress in the first place, she gave him his share of the profit for the trouble she put him through. She even offered him a time at the spa as a sign of good will. Rainbow Dash forgave Alex for the troubles he had caused her, just as long as he forgave her for acting like a real jerk. She felt really bad about her behavior and promised to never bully him again. She even went as far as wanting him to punch her just to make things even. Alex didn’t punch her, but instead forgave her and pranked her with a buzzer he had borrowed from Pinkie Pie. Surprisingly enough, their wild chase had actually inspired her with some ideas for some new moves in which to impress the Wonderbolts with during their visit. The CMC would visit Alex often, to play with him and tell him about their adventures in crusading for their cutie marks. They still didn’t earn any, but always remained in high spirit (much to the painful chagrin of Alex’s ears). At times they even invited him to join in and help them, often resulting in hilarious hijinks. They apologized for the jar treatment they gave him, and Alex just found them too adorable to stay mad at for that. While it did take a while, Alex eventually forgave Luna for bringing him to Equestria. Luna made it her solemn vow to watch over Alex and to make sure nopony and nothing threatened him. On occasion she would visit Alex in his dreams as often as she could and through his creative mind, they had many grand and fun adventures together. With the magical tether binding Alex to the mirror gone, Celestia eventually admitted to herself that humanity probably wasn’t ready for her and her ponies just yet. Still, when she told Alex about her true intentions, he did feel rather embarrassed after that. Still, that didn’t mean all was lost. She continued her work on the mirror, and with new notes based on Luna’s actions, she believed the answer to cross the barrier safely was very close… In return for him being a good sport in letting her and her ponies hunt him, Celestia let Alex ride her and he had her parade through both Canterlot and Ponyville, earning a lot of surprised looks from her subjects. ***** Five months later… Time went on as usual. Alex had been well accepted into Ponyville. All over town, ponies greeted him and treated him like he was a regular pony citizen of Equestria. Every once in a while Alex would use the Pony Potion and traverse the town as an actual pony just for fun. Alex would trot down the streets of Ponyville and greet everypony in this form. The ponies in town were well aware of his pony form and didn’t mind it at all. During his first weeks Alex was curious to know which form the Ponyvillians preferred the most. The results were mixed. Some ponies preferred him as a pony, while other liked him better as a human. In either case however, all agreed that Alex was fine the way he was, whether it was pony or human. Alex rose from his bed at the sound of his alarm clock as new bright morning graced over Ponyville, ready to face the new day. His first order of business like every morning was looking himself in the mirror and greeting the human face staring back at him. “Hello there handsome!” he chuckled. To think, that five months ago he was afraid he would never again look upon that familiar face again. He was glad things turned out the way it did. DING-DONG~! The sound of his doorbell rang and Alex walked towards the window to see who it was. Pinkie Pie hummed cheerfully as she stood waiting outside Alex’s house. Her ears perked as the sound of a window opening caught her attention and she looked up to see him sticking his head out. “Yes..?” Alex glanced down at the pink Earth-Pony. “Oh! Hi Pinkie Pie! What’s up?” “You are!” Pinkie laughed. Alex laughed as well. He had to admit he walked right into that one. “Actually, I wanted to see if you would join me and the girls for a picnic? It’ll be so much fun!” She reached down and showed him a picnic basket. “I’d love to! Just wait just a sec, and I’ll be right down.” Alex disappeared back inside and closed the window. Pinkie remained outside and hummed to herself as she waited. It didn’t take long before the door opened and a green pony trotted out. “Alright Pinkie! I’m ready!” Pinkie smiled. “You’re going as a unicorn today? That’s great! Dashie and I had a bet. She figured you’d go as a pegasus today.” Alex laughed. “And you?” “A unicorn.” she smiled. “Of course.” Alex rolled his eyes. This betting game was something Pinkie and the girls had done for a while… ***** Five months ago… Alex’s ‘New Pony’ Party was in full swing, and even more so after he had returned more cheerful now than before. Even Pinkie’s friends were enjoying themselves and were happy to see that he was feeling better. Everypony cheered and clapped their hooves as Pinkie and Alex were on the dancefloor, showing off some impressive dance moves. Or rather, Pinkie was showing off her moves. Alex’s moves consisted mostly of him falling over. BAM! “OOF!” “You okay Alex?” asked Pinkie as she pulled him back up. “I’m fine Pinkie.” Alex laughed. “Guess I must have two left hooves. Or is it four..?” Pinkie giggled. “Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of it.” “Thanks.” Looking at Pinkie, he then found himself looking at the other ponies in the bakery. He suddenly had a thought. “Say Pinkie..? This Pony Potion of yours..?” “Yes?” “I was just wondering. Does it come with wings too..?” ***** Alex had the crazy idea that he would spend the day as a different pony each time. As an earth-pony, Alex has been helping Applejack on the farm and learning to master the art of apple tree-bucking. After five months of practice, he has so far managed with great pride to buck down more than ten apples in the whole orchard. As a pegasus, Rainbow Dash offered to teach him how to fly and master the weather. He had gotten fairly good at it too. He had only crashed into four trees and one barn, and had only been electrocuted five times this past weekend. As a unicorn, Alex spent most of his time learning the basics of unicorn magic with Twilight. He has gotten pretty good at that too and was now close to being just as good as Sweetie Belle. It didn’t take long for Alex and Pinkie to reach the park and already they could see the rest of Mane Six setting up a picnic table while the Crusaders were busy playing around on the grass. They were soon spotted by Twilight and everypony happily waved at them. Rainbow however noticed Alex’s horn and groaned loudly. “Alex?” “Yeah Pinkie?” “I was wondering… Do you want to come over and help out at Sugarcube Corner later today? Lyra’s birthday is coming up soon and I just know she’d appreciate a birthday cake made by you.” “Sure! I’d love to help! Should I change first?” “Nah! I’m sure she won’t mind a cake made by a unicorn…” Pinkie laughed. THE END