Pinkie Pie hung her head as she rode in the small cart that was taking her to a new life somewhere away from the rock farm. The cart was mostly full of luggage and supplies for the trip. Limestone had fallen asleep by then, and all Pinkie could do was stare at the light blue sky. The cart was being pulled by her mother, strapped to it by a harness. Cloudy Quartz turned her head to look at her youngest daughter staring at the ground with glassy eyes and a very disconsolate face. She sighed and turned her head back to face the muddy road.
Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz had gotten divorced, which caused their family to split in two. Igneous Rock stayed at the rock farm with his two daughters, Maud and Marble, while Cloudy Quartz took Pinkie and Limestone to travel somewhere far away from the farm to live somewhere else. Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz's relationship was slowly deteriorating as time went on and their children noticed it happening. To Cloudy Quartz, Igneous Rock had become a completely different pony from the one that she had first met at the vegetable stand all those years ago. After the children came, he was more stern and serious, and his farm work seemed more important to him than his family, and Cloudy Quartz saw that. She figured that it was because he wanted sons instead of daughters, so he treated his children rough and she didn't like it. And he failed to even notice the fact that his eldest daughter was constantly bullying his youngest daughter; either that or he didn't wish to notice it. But now to Cloudy Quartz, it was just a thing of the past and she was ready to start a new life with her two daughters. She would miss Maud and Marble, of course, but Igneous Rock promised that she would get to see them every now and then.
Cloudy Quartz's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden bump in the road that made the cart jolt, which of course startled her. She looked back at Pinkie again and she still had the same expression on her face.
"Honey, please cheer up, just think about how we'll be able to start a whole new life now, and leave all of those bad memories behind us."
"Yes, and Limestone can tag along just so she can make even more bad ones." Pinkie said, almost mumbling under her breath.
"Pinkamena, I know that your sister can be difficult to get along with, but she's got some pain in her heart too you know." Pinkie perked her head up with interest. "Limestone, she...she always wanted to impress your father, and she never wanted to have any siblings to compete against her. She could tell that her father was dissatisfied that he got a daughter instead of a son, and I think that's been bothering Limestone ever since the day she was born. So, I guess she feels like she has to put you down, so she can gain your father's attention."
Pinkie then had to sit there for a moment to take that all in. She had never really thought of what might have been the reason Limestone was very cruel to her, but even so, she still thought that it wasn't a good reason for Limestone to act that way. But still, Pinkie could sympathize, Igneous Rock and Pinkie were never exactly "close." She was the last child, and that's when it got to Igneous Rock that he wasn't going to have any colts, and because of this, Pinkie was neglected the most by her father, which she thought was completely unfair. Sometimes, Pinkie would wish that she was in Limestone's shoes, and then she would get some attention from her father, but after the divorce, she figured that didn't matter too much anymore.
"Don't worry Pinkamena, you won't have to work on a rock farm anymore. Where we're going, is where your real destiny lies." Cloudy Quartz said with a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. Pinkie just rolled her eyes at the statement and decided to lie down and take a nap.
When Pinkie awoke, she was surprised to find that she was no longer lying in the cart anymore, actually, when she looked around, she had no idea where she was. She was in an open field with many rocks that looked exactly like the ones back on the rock farm, in fact, they WERE the rocks from her old home. She was back at her family's rock farm! In the distance, she saw her old house, and feeling very lonely standing there in the field all by herself, she ran as fast as her little hooves could carry her. When she got to the house she was out of breath, and had to give herself some time to stop panting. She went to open the front door, but it was locked. She looked in through the window, and saw her family inside, her parents, and sisters, Limestone, Maud, and Marble. They were all sitting around the dining table eating their dinner. From what Pinkie could tell they were all laughing and smiling and having a great time. Pinkie knocked on the window. No one inside looked up at the window. Pinkie then tried talking to get there attention.
"Mom! Dad! Could you come open the door for me, please!" They didn't respond. "Mom, Dad! Please let me in!" They didn't respond. Pinkie was now knocking on the window. "Guys come on! This isn't funny! Let me in! Please!" she was now beginning to tear up. She saw her mother and two other sisters go to clean the dishes, she could only see her father and Limestone now. Her father bent down and gave Limestone a warm hug and kissed her on the forehead.
"Dad! Please, it's cold out here! Let me in! It's me, your daughter, Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie screamed as she was now furiously pounding against the window, with tears clouding up her eyesight. "Please Dad, why don't you love me?" she then saw her father and Limestone disappear from her sight and all the lights inside shut off. Pinkie still stood there pounding and screaming. "Please Dad, why won't you let me in!? Why won't you let me in? Why?"
"Wake up, Stinkie Pie!" Pinkie jerked up breathing heavily, it was just a dream. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes to see her older sister staring at her with a sickening grin.
"Come on, Mom wants to show us our new home." Limestone said, as she sprinted away quickly. The cart was parked under a tree that shaded Pinkie from the hot sun. She was still sitting in the cart with all of the luggage still in it. Pinkie jumped down from the cart and stretched her legs. She got a chance to get a good look at the environment, the tree that the cart was shaded under was in the middle of an open field. But beyond that open field was a quiet little village, which fascinated Pinkie because she had spent her whole life on the rock farm and had never gotten a chance to see the rest of Equestria. In the little town, there were cute little cottages, and each one was of different shapes and sizes, and they all gave off a welcoming feeling that relaxed Pinkie. She now began to not be bothered by the fact that she was away from home. She became excited and wondered what kind of cottage they were going to live in. Maybe it would be a really big one, with lots of rooms and a lot of space. Or maybe it would be a little cottage that would make you feel safe and content. Pinkie became so excited to see her new home that she dashed to catch up with her sister.
When she reached the edge of the little town she noticed how many ponies there were, she had never seen so many of them in all her life. She saw many earth ponies, but she already knew about them seeing as how she was one, but the ponies that she was most fascinated by were the ones with horns and wings. She had never seen a Unicorn or a Pegasus and was drawn to them by their abilities. She found it interesting how Unicorns could levitate things and how the Pegasi could fly high up to the sky and be able to touch the clouds that passed. She had learned about them at a young age by her parents, which is how Pinkie learned most things because she had never really been to school before. Pinkie then began to wonder if she had to start attending school now that she was living in a new place. She wondered what it would be like, seeing new fillies that were different from her sisters, and being taught by another pony that wasn't your parents. She figured that she would just have to get used to it. Not only that, but she would have to become more adjusted to this whole new environment, which was to be her new home. Speaking of which, she still wanted to see what their new home looked like.
Pinkie kept trying to follow her sister, but always managed to lose her in a crowd of ponies. Limestone was also faster than Pinkie so that didn't help either. But after going through some crowded market places and turning a few corners here and there, Pinkie finally saw her sister stopped in front of a raggedy, old-looking cottage.
The walls had all kinds of chips and cracks in them, and cobwebs infested every corner of the place. All the windows were smudged and had stains plastered on them. It was clear that the structure used to be colorful, but the colors had faded over a long period of time, and it just made it look dark and gray. At the very top, sitting on the roof of the old structure, was what looked to be a loaf of bread. However, the age of the cottage had gotten to it, and the cardboard and plaster of the advertising symbol was chipping away. This image itself confused Pinkie, and she wondered to herself why anypony would have a decorated loaf of bread on top of their cottage.
Her mother was using a little feather duster in her mouth as she was dusting off cobwebs on the windows. Pinkie walked up beside her sister as they both stared awkwardly at the old cottage.
"Is this our new home?" Pinkie asked, still staring at it.
"Yeah, it stinks. Hey, you'd fit right in, Stinkie Pie." Limestone said in her usual nasty tone of voice. Pinkie managed to let out a small growl before getting interrupted by her mother.
"Isn't it great?" Cloudy Quartz said as she turned towards her daughters waiting for their agreement. Which they responded by looking at the place with confused looks and shrugged. "Okay, I know it looks a bit...rough, but we can fix it up and it'll look like the best bakery in all of Equestria."
"Bakery?" Pinkie asked, confused.
"This used to be the old bakery of Ponyville, that is until it ran out of business. But we will open it back up and call it 'Sugarcube Corner!' Do you like it? I came up with the name myself." Cloudy Quartz said with a cheerful smile.
"Why are we gonna live in a bakery?" Limestone asked, annoyed.
"I said I wanted to give you two a new life away from the rock farm, so I bought this place so that you two could become bakers." Cloudy Quartz said as she reached out to hug her two daughters.
"What if I don't want to be a baker?" Limestone said pulling away from her mother. Cloudy Quartz's cheerful mood suddenly changed very quickly.
"I liked working on the rock farm, I never wanted to leave, and I wanted to stay with Dad, not spend the rest of my life living in a stupid bakery!" With these words, Limestone stomped away very angrily. Cloudy Quartz then ran after her, while Pinkie was left there standing all by herself. She looked up, hesitantly, at the old, decrepit building which stood before her, and for some bizarre reason that she could not explain, Pinkie felt intimidated by it. There was this ominous feeling that seemed to illuminate from within the place itself, and it made Pinkie feel very uncomfortable. And in that moment, Pinkie felt alone. Very alone.
After Limestone was given a chance to calm down, the three opened up the old bakery and saw that the inside was all but impressive. Some of the tables were knocked over and almost everything was covered with dust and cobwebs. The place had a bizarre smell to it that none of them could describe. It seemed as if the place would be impossible to clean, but the family did what they could with what they had. They worked for several hours until Cloudy Quartz noticed that it was getting late.
"I think we're about done now, pretty soon we won't be able to see our own hooves in front of our faces." Cloudy Quartz said as she dropped the broom from her mouth. Pinkie was scrubbing the floor with a scrub brush in her mouth, while Limestone kept herself busy by dusting off the tables. Pinkie looked over at Limestone, and noticed that she looked miserable. She felt bad for Limestone, she couldn't really explain why, but she felt bad for her all the same. It was probably because Pinkie knew that Limestone had basically been torn apart from her loving father. Pinkie wished that she could relate, but she couldn't, because her father had never shown her that much love. Maybe Pinkie could cheer her up, they could play a little game together and have some fun for once. She wouldn't know if Limestone would except her offer, but she had to try. Pinkie dropped her scrub brush and walked over to Limestone who was dusting off the last portion of the table.
"Hey...Limestone, um, I was wondering...if you wanted to play a little game...after we're done working I mean-"
"Listen Stinkie Pie, I don't know what you are trying to pull, but it's not gonna work." Limestone said, quickly turning herself to face her sister. "No, I don't wanna play any dumb games with you." With that, she turned away from her sister and walked upstairs. Cloudy Quartz saw what happened, and went over the Pinkie.
"She'll come around, Pinkamena, she just needs some time, that's all." She said wrapping her arm around Pinkie. They both stood there as they heard Limestone stomping upstairs and then heard a door slam.
After they had finished their work, they decided to retire for the night. The rooms that they stayed in were very comfortable for being very old, of course they had to move all of their belongings into them and fix the rooms a little, but they were satisfactory. Cloudy Quartz proposed that Pinkie and Limestone shared the same room, but of course, Limestone objected to that idea and they ended up getting two separate rooms. This didn't bother Pinkie all that much, because she would rather have a room to herself anyway, so that she could play her imaginary games. Pinkie could really only have fun when she was by herself, just her and her imagination. These imaginary games usually had the setting of a little party for herself, but what's a party without guests? So Pinkie imagined that her father and sister were there with her to attend her party. When she first started playing these imaginary games, Pinkie would just make up the nice things her father and sister would say in her head. Maybe they would compliment on the party, or about how much fun they were having, or maybe they would even tell her how much they loved her. For Pinkie, that was fun. Making up a little environment where the ponies that would barely speak to you, could become your best friends. However, there was always that little creeping feeling in her head that would tell her that all the dialogue she was making up for her father and sister was a lie. Pinkie knew it was true, and that would affect her little game. She would begin to hear all of the awful things that her sister and father would say in her head, and it would drive her mad. The cruel words from her sister, the scolding from her father, it was all being replayed in her head, over and over, just like a broken record, and she couldn't stop it.
Then there would always be something that would snap Pinkie back into reality, and then she would realize that she was just imagining, or was she? Pinkie always thought that when she heard the cruel remarks from her father and sister in her head, they always sounded so real, as if they were really standing there in the room downgrading her. This was usually how most of her imaginary games would end up going. It would start out fun, and then turn into a nightmare with the manipulating sounds of cruelty repeating in her head, which would torture her to no end. These little phases that Pinkie would go through, concerned her and she began to believe that there was something wrong with her. Maybe there was, and maybe there wasn't. But all that Pinkie knew, was that she wouldn't be able to take this cruelty much longer.