Pinkie Pie had been distracted by the glowing squares. Tiny ones, just hovering behind the stone and steel but she could still see them. All sorts of pastel colors and they hummed. Some of the humming sounded like Jack's alicorn voice, and some sounded like rocks being scraped together as if sand paper was an instrument now.
But the real distraction was when she looked real, real hard at one of them. It was cerulean, paler and brighter than Dashie's coat. When she caught it with her eyes it stopped moving, and inside the square she could see a forest.
When she saw the forest she could hear the ocean and as soon as she identified that sound she could feel the sunshine and smell the breeze blowing from the cool forest across the beach sands.
Pinkie deliberately blinked, and found a deep pink one, almost the color of the red patch in Twi's mane. This time she heard the clatter of hooves, and from there it became the smell of hot, sweaty ponies and then she was there was a giant crowd pulling a big statue across a cobblestone street. "That's so cool!" Several milliseconds passed before she realized this might just be her dream thing. Or one of them, anyway. "But where do I get one?"
They were behind the wall, sort of. But if she could see them, she should be able to touch them, right? She screwed up her face with determination and focused as hard and as precisely as her sometimes addled brain could manage on a square that started the pink color of her coat. As she reared to reach for it she saw it expand, and now the top was a dark pink like a sunset almost over, and the bottom was off-white. Like my throw rug in my apartment! Although if pressed she would never have been able to explain why that was the particular image that came to her.
But when she reached a hoof out, the square expanded to engulf her. She was now in her apartment, and Twilight and Dashie and the others were nowhere to be found. "Phooey. Twi's gonna be mad, isn't she?" She spent several moments looking for more squares, but couldn't find anything like that her in her room. "I'm still asleep aren't I?" But pinching herself hurt the way it was supposed to.
Pinkie's smile faded. "Dashie was hurt a lot in her dreams. A lot more than a pinch." Her smile returned. "But then she woke up." Then her thought went to the time when the thing she thought was Twilight said she wasn't Twilight Sparkle at all. That had really hurt but it had turned out OK because Rainbow Dash was able to see who was a pony and who wasn't.
She hadn't been able to help Dashie very much but maybe now that she was here she could find a way to help all her friends. Help them sleep at night. That's what I'm going to do. Out loud, she said to her walls that still didn't have opaque lighted squares "I'm sorry Twilight, but I'll find my way back. Just you see!" And as evening descended she raced downstairs with no ideas beyond helping her friends.
Her employers didn't have any ideas either, but Pinkie figured the fact they were using her voice meant something. "Now dear, there's no door to leave by." Mrs. Cake said. She sounded just like Pinkie's voice sounded from inside her head. "We had to do some repairs after your last party and we saved money by not reinstalling the door."
Mr. Cake poked his head out from the kitchen. His voice sounded like the one time she had heard a recording made of her voice. Not at all like she thought she sounded like but everyone said her voice was like Mr Cake's right now. "And we need your help keeping the stove lit. They burn cupcakes now so we need to keep feeding what we bake into the the ovens as fuel."
Pinkie ran around the public area of the store, and found there weren't even any windows. "OK Mrs. Cake but how are the customers going to get in?" she said while making a second circuit. is a door what I'm looking for? But that won't hang around my neck very well.
Mrs. Cake gave Pinkie one of her big smiles as she shrugged. "I guess it hardly matters since we can't keep anything we bake now that we've got bigger ovens."
The Cake's logic was making her head feel all fuzzy but Pinkie tried a different tack. "But how will you get out? You'll have to go shopping for other stuff, won't you?" Speaking as she trotted around her workplace she stepped into the kitchen but felt certain her special tool was not a skillet, as much as she wanted to smack the fake Twilight with one. And that spear wielding eel was creepy but maybe it would look better simmering in a skillet.
Mr. Cake, shoveling a mountain of unfrosted cupcakes into a boiler said nonchalantly "Oh we never really leave the kitchen anymore Pinkie. You should know that by now."
Pinkie felt confident she had seen enough. The store didn't have a basement that you could get to from inside, and it was just sort of a crawl space that was icky with spiderwebs that you could get to from outside anyway. I hope my mental forms of my employers can forgive me. I'm gonna hafta just break the wall down and MAKE a door.
And so without further explanation Pinkie built up to a full gallop, from behind the counter at the edge of the kitchen at the farthest wall so she could have the best velocity. At the last second she planted her left fore and spun, uncoiling her whole bulk and all her rump muscle's power into the wall, which shattered with a sound that Pinkie thought was a cross between a thousand matchsticks being snapped and small pile of dynamite being set off. Breaking matches around dynamite can have that effect, I suppose..
Pinkie's problems became immediately apparent as she trotted away. Sugarcube Corner was the only building in this dreamscape. To her left was a farm that looked like it was growing carrots to judge by the low greenery, and to right was another farm with a few orange trees interspersed with lots of blueberry bushes.
In front of her, granted more than a minute's trot away, was a giant wooden wall. It went all the way up to the ceiling, where a huge magical light source that was nowhere near as blinding as the sun, was beaming down on everypony.
Namely her, Carrot Top, and Applejack. Just them. Is Applejack in here now? Or is she like the Cakes in that she's not in here but it looks like it Will she sound like me or like Applejack I guess there's only one way to find out especially if I want to know about a door to whatever is outside Except if this is like Sugarcube Corner she won't know about a door and I'll have to kick the wall down again but now my hooves are sore Maybe I can talk Applejack into breaking the wall even if she wants to stay so she can feed blueberries to her orange trees or something HI APPLEJACK! Having trot between the rows of tended bushes to where Applejack was tending an orange tree, Pinkie said out loud "Hi are you Applejack?"
Applejack put her clippers down and turned, an easy going smile on her face. "Yes ma'am. Applejack. And who are you? Don't know that Ah've seen you in Ponyville afore now."
"I work for the Cakes. I've been here at least since this morning." Pinkie thought that was a fair answer since the Ponyville she'd lived for so many years wasn't this dream which obviously hadn't seen here before. Her dream Applejack said so.
Applejack nodded. "We used to have parties for newcomers but Sugarcube Corner sort of adjusted their business model and we don't see them out here much. But I betcha Golden Harvent an' Ah can put together a mean soup to share this evenin'"
Pinkie looked around again. "You mean the carrot farmer?" Applejack nodded. "Isn't she named Carrot Top?" A confused look crossed Applejack's face.
"Nah hon. Ah know her as Golden Harvest." Giving her tree one last look, Applejack began walking towards the other end of this Ponyville. "Let's go meet her, huh? Sure she'll want to meet'cha."
Pinkie followed Applejack, who seemed not to notice the broken lumber or the hole it was piled in front of as they passed Pinkie's home and place of employ. Carrot Top looked up from her work and set her tools down to meet the approaching pair at the edge of her farm.
This mare was made of stronger stuff that the Carrot Top Pinkie knew from the waking land. Her walk was confident, her glance knowing and charismatic. I bet Mayor Mare looked like this twenty some years ago.
But her greeting surprised both the approaching mares. "Pinkie. This is not where you need to be. You'll have to find your way outside." And so saying, she strode up to the party pony and shook her hoof. "You can call me Golden Harvest." Setting her hoof back down, she continued. "Or not. And I daresay you know why."
Finally she deigned to acknowledge her neighbor, looking over just long enough to say "Applejack." in a flat voice.
The orange farmer of oranges held a bemused smile and one cocked ear as she replied quickly "Golden Harvest."
Pinkie spun around once, then gave Carrot Top a hopeful look. "Do you know what I'm looking for, then? And why aren't you Carrot Top I know a mare named Carrot Top who looks just like you and is neighbor to an orange mare named Applejack but she grows Apples And that's pretty much it." Pinkie felt her ears twitch with the sheer volume of anticipation.
But this yellow mare's mouth barely cracked even a small smile. Pinkie admired how impressive she looked since she was just standing there, and was shorter then either of the other two ponies in front of her. But this dream form of Carrot Top held Pinkie's attention when she spoke. "I know, Pinkie Pie, that you will not find it here, and that I cannot tell you what you seek for or where it is." Now the deep orange mop of a mane dropped a little as Carrot Top gained a motherly smile. "A part of what you need to find, is how to find it, and what to find. So I can't just hand it to you or you won't have it at all." Her head came back up, her face beaming hopefulness towards that party pony. "Do you understand, Pinkie?"
She didn't really, but she did get that further questions of her misnamed dream form of Carrot Top wouldn't get any farther. "Sure, Carrot ... I mean Golden Harvest. But, can you tell me how to get out of here, if that's where I'm supposed to go?"
Applejack looked around at would have been the horizon if this room had one. "Ain't rightly seen a door in all mah years." Applejack cocked her head at the carrot farmer and asked "There ain't a door, is there? Ain't nopony come or gone that I heard tell of."
Carrot Top nodded her head once, and said to Pinkie "There is no door. Your way further will have to involve more focused searching than a doorway would provide." and with that, turned back towards where she set her tools. "Good luck to you, Pinkie. Remember to stay focused; you're distracted too easily sometimes."
Pinkie felt her cheeks redden. That sounds like something my unfunny mother would say. "stay focused on the rocks young filly they won't farm themselves." but rocks aren't any fun and neither is farming Although I like eating and I guess I like roads both of which require farming Although I'd hate to walk on carrots to a plateful of gravel That wouldn't be tasty or fun Although it might be a little bit funny Like how Carrot Top changed her name That's funny too But Applejack and Carrot Top both sound like they do when I'm awake Is Jack awake yet Will I wake up when he does or do I have to stay and search Or maybe they're not even related Like how I'm not related to Applejack Except I'm related to this Applejack standing next to me In fact I think she IS me in here But that's not really related either Dreams sure are funny things.
Turning to herself Pinkie visualized a pink Pinkie talking to an orange Pinkie to say "I think I need to get going then, however I find a way to do that."
And Pinkie heard in her mind an orange Pinkie speak with an Apple drawl to the pink Pinkie "Ah shore enjoyed your company then, miss. Don't know how yah'll leave but Ah don't know how you came here so Ah'll just wish you well on your journey." The orange Pinkie Pie looked behind her, and said politely to the pink Pinkie "Ah've got to get back to mah farmin' sugarcube. Take care."
And as the farmer walked away Pinkie visualized a blue stallion Pinkie named Care and the pink pony would take him, take Care, to Sugarcube Corner for coffee and cupcakes. But then the pink party pony looked around, and realized she couldn't see a blue Pinkie so she sighed, and walked away from the farms to inspect the wooden wall marking the edge of her personal Ponyville.
Pinkie Pie galloped around the whole of Ponyville and found it to be really small. Less than half the size of the waking Ponyville and just like the two farmers had said, no doors. So she decided she just have to break out, like out of Sugarcube Corner.
She kicked a few times, but the wood didn't respond. Focus! Kick exactly one spot, girl. Like a kung-fu play right? Pinkie concentrated on one spot, just about hock height, just big enough for two hooves to fill it. Taking a deep breath, she kicked with all her might, just there.
And the wall shattered, leaving a perfect arched doorway. Beyond was a cobblestone courtyard and stone buildings were visible all around. As Pinkie stepped through she could see a familiar castle not very far in the distance. I'm in Canterlot! Pinkie's breath was taken away by the beautiful oranges and pinks and yellows in the distance but realized it was also much darker than inside Ponyville. The sun was setting which augmented the banners and paints and masonry but also meant it was getting dark.