Pinkie and Court finally arrived back at Sugarcube corner. By this time, Court's coat had shaken off all the gray dust and his fur had taken on a russet hue. Pinkie had kept her change, sulking in her straight haired persona, keeping silent most of the way back. Court too, stayed silent, though for different reasons. Pinkie led him around to the back where she unlocked the back door and went inside. Court began to follow her when she suddenly turned around.
“What are you doing? Don't follow me.”
“I'm so rry, what?” Court asked perplexed.
“I said, don't follow me. Are you stupid?” Pinkie said, getting right up in Court's face. “I want you to go.”
“I am so rry Miss Pie, but I know how you feel. Please a llow me to-”
“Stop that, stop it, stop it, stop it. Why in all of Equestria do you talk like that? Can't you speak like a normal pony?”
Court took a deep breath and then a second. “I apologize if it upsets you, when I am nervous I tend to fall into certain patterns.”
“Nervous? That's the silliest excuse ever like washing your mane or house-sitting for a bear. You've been talking the same all day except for the snake. And let me tell you buster, if there was a time to feel nervous that was it!” Pinkie turned around and began walking back up the stairs. Court sighed and shook his head. “Oh and another thing, why-”
“Pinkie, is that you?” Came the voice of Mr. Cake, followed by the stallion himself as he pushed open the door to the back hall. “Pinkie, some of your friends were, oh.” he said as he noticed Court at the bottom of the stairs, and he said it again when he saw Pinkie's straight hair. “Pinkie, you're friends came by earlier, it seemed important.”
“Well if it was so important then they can come back. I'll be in my room.” With a loud humph she trotted up the stairs and out of sight.
“I don't understand.” Court muttered and turned to leave.
“Hey wait a second son.” Mr. Cake said to him before he could leave.
“Yes sir?” Court stopped and turned to face the man.
“Now I don't know what's gone on between the two of you, but between you and me, you never let a mare go away mad at you. It's just a bad idea.” He gave Court something that he thought was a sly grin. “Here, this will cheer her up.” Mr. Cake ducked back behind the door and then came back out with a plate of cupcakes covered in pink icing. “Just bring these up to her and she'll probably forgive you. It's how I did it.”
Mr. Cake disappeared back into the shop as Mrs. Cake started shouting for him to help her with something. Court looked at the plate and then up the stairs. He wasn't exactly sure what Mr. Cake was talking about but he felt he had to explain things to Pinkie. After what had just happened, she deserved some explanation. She was also one of the new element bearers. That was an unexpected piece of news. He wondered what had changed, but that was a thought for later. He picked up the tray with his teeth and began walking up the stairs.
“Oh come on, can you ponies go any faster.” Rainbow complained as she hovered over the walking Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack. “The clouds are moving faster than you slowpokes.”
“This isn't as easy as it looks Rainbow Dash, and you aren't making it any easier.” Rarity replied, her eyes still closed and her horn barely glowing.
“That's right Dash, we have to be careful. We don't know who this pony is or what he's capable of.”
“Not to mention that this is the Everfree forest and ah shore haven't spent much time in here.” Applejack added.
Rainbow scoffed. “If this stallions as powerful as you think then I can't wait to take him on and show him the ground. Nopony can beat me.”
“Might Ah remind you of the running of the leaves. You didn't do so well if Ah remember.” Applejack said with a grin.
“Hey, you didn't win either.”
“Yeah well Ah-”
“Girls!” Twilight interrupted. “Can we do this later, we're on a mission for the Princess, let's try to act like it for a little while. Rarity, do you think we're getting close?” She asked, changing the subject while Applejack and Rainbow Dash tried to pretend the other didn't exist.
“It certainly seems so. It is so very hard to pick up something like this, after all, it's only a few gems that have moved and though my talent is certainly magnificent it isn't all powerful.”
“That's fine. As long as we're getting close it's good.” Twilight answered.
“Hey I think I see something sparkly.” Rainbow said, suddenly fully attentive. Applejack snickered but Rainbow Dash didn't notice. “I'm going to check it out.”
“Be careful Rainbow, we don't know what he can do.” Twilight cautioned.
“Yeah, yeah, you said that already.” Rainbow Dash said, brushing her off and flying low towards the glint.
Court knocked on Pinkie's door. It was helpfully labeled with her name and balloons. When she didn't answer, he knocked again a bit harder in case she didn't hear him. This caused the door to shake a bit in its frame. Pinkie swung open the door and glared at him. Her strange and sudden hair change still bothered him on some instinctual level. “What do you want now? I told you to go away.” Pinkie shouted at him. Court set down the plate of cupcakes rather calmly despite the circumstances and looked up at her.
“I have brought you cup cakes.” He said before pausing and taking a deep breath. “I wish to talk with you and to tell you a story.”
“A story eh? What sort of story huh?” Pinkie asked as she poked at the plate of cupcakes before picking one up and taking a careful bite. She chewed it slowly.
“It is a story of long ago. The past when Discord still ruled.”
“Uh-huh. Well I'm hanging out with my friends so your story will have to wait.” She turned her nose up at him and turned back to her room. Then she turned back to grab the plate of cupcakes and set it on a table inside. Court finally got to see in and was surprised to see that her friends were, in fact, a bag of flour, some rocks, turnips, and a rather large clump of lint all set on chairs.
“Those are your friends?” He asked, rather confused.
“Yes, and they're perfectly normal unlike you mister changing hair color and creepy healing and time traveling weirdo.”
“I see. Well then I'll tell them as well. I need you to understand. You seem like a nice pony and now that my girls are...gone you're the only pony I even come close to knowing in this town. Discord's beard Miss Pie, please let me try and get you back on my side.”
Pinkie looked at him with a frown and thought for a moment. She turned to look at her friends, then back at Court. “Fine. You can tell me the story, but only because these are good cupcakes. But if they don't like it” she gestured at the inanimate objects on the chairs next to her, “you're going out the hard way.”
Court took a deep breath. It would have to do. “Well this story starts a long time ago. When Discord still ruled the world.”
Rainbow burst through the brush and tumbled onto the path, startling the ponies that had been slowly making their way toward the glint Rainbow had seen. Rainbow's breath was ragged and she staggered to her hooves. “Quick, you have to hurry. Something terrible has happened.” She flapped and got a few feet of air. “Come on, you have to hurry.”
“Are you OK Dash?” Twilight asked quickly.
“Yeah, you don't look so good.” Applejack added.
“What's going on? What happened-Oh dear me.” Rarity said as she opened her eyes and saw the panicked Rainbow Dash.
“It's terrible.” Rainbow said. “Somepony got into a fight with a giant snake, but that's not the worst of it.” The other three ponies finally made their way into the clearing and saw what Rainbow had already seen.
“I think I'm going to be sick.” Rarity said before stepping back into the brush.
“Oh Celestia.” Twilight whispered under her breath. Applejack didn't say anything, she just started taking shallow breaths and stepped further into the clearing. There was a snake that had been nailed to a tree by a large sword, that was probably what disturbed Rarity, but Applejack had seen what Rainbow had panicked over. Amid the torn up bushes, damaged earth, and spatters of blood was the remains of a cake.
“Is this...” Applejack began but she couldn't finish.
“Yeah. It sure looks like it. I'd taste it but...I'm not going to.” Rainbow replied as they looked at the ruined cake.
“Oh no, don't tell me that's a Sugarcube Corner cake.” Twilight exclaimed, she had recovered partially and had stepped in closer to see what Applejack and Rainbow Dash were looking at.
“The platter's got their seal on it.” Rainbow said.
“Twilight poked at part of the cake with her hoof. “This is really stale. Being out in the open like this probably hasn't helped but I'd say this cake is a few days old. When was the last time any of you saw Pinkie?” Twilight asked the pair.
“Well Ah've been kind of bogged down at the orchard so Ah guess I ain't seen her since Saturday.” Applejack answered looking rather nervous.
“Umm.” Rainbow said. “Last Thursday. What? She can get on your nerves sometimes too. I've been doing stuff.”
“This is not good, not good at all. We have to check if the snake ate her. Does anypony know how to do that?” Both Applejack and Rainbow had to shake their heads. “Ohhh,” groaned Twilight, “I shouldn't have sent Fluttershy away. She might be upset about it but at least she'd know what to look for.”
“Ladies?” called Rarity from behind a few bushes. “Ladies if you could come here for a moment. I found something.” The three hurried over to where Rarity stood over the broken armor. “I have found the armor and I must say, it isn't what I expected at all.” The gleam of the solid diamond armor managed to outshine even their worry for Pinkie Pie for a second. “It looks like it's carved from a single solid diamond, but it isn't. This is fake which explains why I had a little extra difficulty locating it.” Rarity said.
“Fake?” Rainbow asked. “How do you fake something like this?”
“Magic.” Rarity said. “It's a conversion spell, possibly transformational. However it must be an incredibly powerful unicorn to do something like this. Especially to keep it diamond after it has broken. I would think even Twilight, no offense dear, would only be able to do something like this if she tried very hard and never stopped focusing on the spell. I don't know a single being who could do something like this apart from maybe a princess.” That gave them all a pause as they suddenly realized what all this meant. Pinkie was missing, possibly eaten, and the most obvious characteristics of the stallion Princess Celestia wanted tracked down were now abandoned here. The sword and armor. The four mares looked at each other with a growing sense of dread. What would they do now?