The Mane Makes The Pony

by MerlosTheMad

First published 5th of December, 2013

Pinkie Pie gets a haircut, and the ponies of Ponyville don't know how to react.

It's time for Pinkie Pie to get a manecut once again, that time when even her own gravity defying hairstyle can no longer support its own weight.

But, something goes wrong.

First Chapter : Pink Bubblegum

"Rarityyyy!" The sound of a whining, desperate voice pierced the calm air of Ponyville. It carried all the way down the street, then in through the closed door of the nearby Carousel Boutique.

Rarity was in the middle of delicate needlework, or had been. The needle in her magical grip went awry, and narrowly missed jabbing her delicate hoof. With her concentration broken, and her twitching ears full of a certain friend's voice, she was left with little choice but to see what was wrong.

"Pinkie?" Rarity began to lay down her sewing instruments, heading for her boutique's front door.

"I need your help!" Pinkie called out again from outside.

Rarity put on a worried look. It was rare that Pinkie Pie ever seemed so desperate. "Whatever is the matter, dear?" Her front door swung open at her magic's command.

Pinkie Pie trotted in slowly, her head hung low.

Rarity immediately noticed what was likely the cause for desperation, and half gasped, half shrieked. "Pinkie! What is wrong with your mane!?" She leaped forward and stopped just short of trampling her friend. Her hooves hovered over the matted, filthy mess that her friend's head and normally poofed hair had become. "By Celestia and Luna themselves! I have never seen such an atrocity as this!"

Pinkie looked up, eyebrows quirked in confusion. "Huh?" Her gaze followed Rarity's upwards. "Oh! No, my hair isn't the problem at all. What made you think that?"

Rarity leaned back and made eye contact with Pinkie. "What?" she asked dumbly. Her horrified look slid back up to study the ruined pink mane facing her.

Strewn throughout Pinkie's mane was a spiderweb of some gross and very gooey pink substance; it looked a great deal like taffy, or perhaps a similar candied product.

Pinkie giggled and replied to her friend. "Silly, no! I'm out of bubblegum, and the candy store is closed! Do you have any I could borrow?"

Rarity looked down again and furrowed her brow incredulously. "You... want to borrow bubblegum? That's all?" she asked. Meanwhile, her eyes flickered back up to her friend's mane, which normally held an admittedly darling aesthetic. Now, though, it was nothing short of being the natural disaster of the entire fashion world.

Pinkie Pie bobbed her head cheerfully in response to Rarity. "Yup! Don't worry, I can return it by the end of the day."

Rarity grimaced a little at her friend's suggestion to return used bubblegum. Gently, she set out to try and get Pinkie on her own desired line of thought. It seemed obvious enough that the other mare was, once again, not fully aware of her surroundings.

"Pinkie," Rarity started slowly, and gestured a hoof upward. "Should I assume that you're out of bubblegum because it's currently all in your mane?" She bit her lip in an effort to keep from gasping again at the terrible sight.

Pinkie's eyes widened immediately, then she looked up. "It's what!? Oh, wow! Thanks Rarity! I had no idea where that bubble from earlier went."

Rarity stared a moment, then facehoofed.

With that, Pinkie reached up with a single hoof of her own, tongue stuck out in concentration, then twirled around faster than the eye could track. When she was finished, a giant, perfect ball of pink, gooey bubblegum was balanced precariously on one hoof; in the middle of the sphere was a little alligator sticking out of the top.

Gummy made a small growl that held no obvious mood in it whatsoever.

Pinkie Pie let out a tiny gasp. "Gummy! There you are! I was wondering where you went." She leaned in and gave her beloved pet a quick nuzzle.

Rarity, for her part, stared at her friend, mouth agape and one eye twitching slightly. "Oh..." she murmured. "Well, w-was that all you need then, dar- Oh my." Before she could finish concluding her meeting with Pinkie, she spotted the new state of her friend's mane, which was entirely flat, and limp, rather than poofy and chaotic. What was more it seemed to cascade all the way to the floor.

"Pinkie," Rarity began instead. "Are you feeling quite alright?" The state of her friend's mane was universally a worrying thing whispered of throughout Ponyville. There had been several large events caused by Pinkie's emotional state, all of them well known. I wonder if poor Caramel has gotten over his fear of going outdoors yet... Rarity briefly reminisced.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was busy bouncing the Gummy-ball gently in her hooves, with the pet alligator giving no signs of discomfort. "What? Oh, yeah! I feel great, Rarity. Why do you ask?" She turned, smiling happily as was usual.

Rarity released a somewhat tense breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Oh, well, no reason..." She let out a quick bit of laughter to avoid the topic. "But, Pinkie, your mane does seem to still be in a bit of a state." Frowning slightly, she made no efforts to hide looking over the pink hair that cascaded towards the floor, where it all rested in a big heap. The sheer length of Pinkie's mane gave Rarity the distinct reminder of an old foal's story of a mare trapped in a tall tower with a similarly long mane.

In return to Rarity, Pinkie Pie hummed in acknowledgement, then followed her friend's gaze for a second time. Her eyes found her mane, which was oddly straight and flowing down the side of her face. She tracked the hair, which led all the way to the floor, and then a whole stride across the carpet. "Wow, is all of that on my head?" She stared a moment longer in wonder, then looked up, smiling and laughing happily.

Rarity laughed alongside her, albeit far more nervously. "Heh heh, yes, uhm, do you need help fixing your mane?"

Pinkie sneaked out a couple more giggles, then slowed to a stop. "Nah, with hair like this you become an expert at fixing it. Don't worry, Rarity, I've got this!"

Before Rarity could answer, Pinkie stuck her hoof in her mouth, then made a show of blowing into it with a great deal of effort. A loud popping noise proceeded to fill the boutique, followed by the instant re-inflation of Pinkie Pie's mane to its normal, cotton-ball-like state.

Rarity stared flatly at Pinkie, whose mane was once again a match to her poofy tail. "Well then," she quietly murmured. "Is that quite everything, Pinkie? I was just about to step out to the Spa for my tri-weekly visit, actually."

Pinkie Pie, busily bouncing Gummy up in the air on her snout, stopped with another chime of laughter. "Nope, that was it— Ah, hey!" Her mane was taller than normal... and began tipping this way and that like a towering, unstable cake trying to collapse under its own weight.

Rarity had been trotting towards her hat rack, eager to get underway, and turned back to see Pinkie Pie, struggling fiercely to keep her mane upright. "Oh my— Pinkie, are you alright?"

Pinkie grunted, set down Gummy on the floor, then tried using both hooves to wrestle her hair into submission. "Yeah I'm— grr— I'm fine, no problems here!" The hair seemed by all rights to be defeating her, though, and only grew more out of control with each frustrated movement. "Ah!" she cried out, then fell backwards, oofing loudly.

Rarity covered her muzzle with one hoof in shock. "Goodness, Pinkie?" She trotted forward towards her friend, then used her magic to levitate the mass of fuzzy mane off of Pinkie's face. "Your hair seems to be out of control."

Pinkie quickly took in a gulp of air. "Wow, thanks, Rarity. I thought I was going to be a goner for sure." She giggled and stood up, one hoof supporting her mane off to the side. "Well, I gotta get going!" Briskly, she turned and made for the Carousel Boutique's exit, already thinking about the rest of the day. "There's a party for—"

Rarity heaved a sigh and grabbed a hold of her friend's tail, which she noticed was also a bit too long for its own good. "Pinkie, darling, why don't you accompany me to the spa? I think it's very much apparent that you're in dire need of a manecut." She frowned at the unstable, beehive-like style which Pinkie's hair had somehow morphed into.

Pinkie, stopped at the door by her friend's magic, turned around to face her. "What gave you that idea, Rarity?" She tilted her head slightly, ears laid back.

Rarity paused while putting on her sunhat, staring blankly at the other pony for just a moment. "Oh," she began quietly. "Well, you know, this and that... Just trust me on this one, Pinkie, you need a manecut." She trotted forward hastily, pushing her friend's rump along with her head and out of her home's door.

Pinkie giggled in response, letting herself be pushed. "Well, if you say so, Rarity! Also, it's called a haircut, duh! But yeah, I guess you're right, it is a little long." She ran her front hooves over her pink mane, gauging its length.

"You don't say?" Rarity asked rhetorically, rolling her eyes. All the while she trotted along briskly down Ponyville's main avenues with the local spa in mind.

Pinkie Pie nodded in response to Rarity. "But I do say!" She laughed again. "Hm, wow, I can't even remember the last time I even got a haircut. Isn't that strange that sometimes you can't ever think of things that you know you must have done? But you can't recall ever doing them? Like school, I don't remember even going to school!"

Rarity briefly eyed her friend, trying her best not to look at her as though she were crazy. "Really?" she began skeptically. "I thought you were home-schooled, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie's cheerful trot became a slow canter, then she stopped. "Oh yeah..." she murmured, a hoof held up to her chin in a thoughtful look. "Guess that explains that!" she stated plainly, then noticed Rarity was still walking and now pulling away. "Oh, Rarity, wait for me!"

Author's Notes:

Good day fellows. As you can see I, like AJ here, am rather out of sorts. There will be new content elsewhere soon, though.
This story was a good place to put meta jokes that don't fit in my other stories, which are a little less goofy. I like silly humor, I sometimes regret starting a big, over-arcing story line like I did. I do like that I took up the challenge at the end of the day, though.

Second Chapter : The Spa

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was slinking along the side of the buildings in Ponyville's square, and doing her absolute best to remain stealthy. Ever so carefully, she craned her head around an alleyway corner and spotted her goal. "Alright... there it is... the Ponyville spa." She swallowed hard, sizing up her target, and whether or not there were any nearby ponies that would recognize her.

Rainbow Dash had been made a fool of once already by going to the spa, and refused to ever let that happen again. Still, it was the only place where she could get a manecut, other than asking a friend. There's no way I'm going all the way home for a manecut... Dad would freak out, act weird and want me to stay all week. That reduced her options to the spa, or a friend, and there was no way she'd let Rarity's hooves near her head ever again. Fluttershy's scared of scissors... Applejack's busy working... Couldn't find Pinkie Pie... and Twilight's working on some weird potion...

Rainbow let out a tired breath and used one hoof to raise her overgrown mane out of her eyes. "Alright, lets get this over with." Her hooves squared up on the ground, while her wings flexed and readied themselves for use.

Quick as a speeding thing that could go really fast, Rainbow Dash cleared the entire town square in seconds, coming up just shy of running into the spa's glass doors. "Phew, okay. Step two— Oh, sorry about that." Standing beside her were three mares who had just stepped outside. Each bore a flower cutie mark familiar to most Ponyvilleans, but they now also sporting frizzed and ruined mane styles that would come as quite the shock.

Rainbow Dash laughed nervously and backed up slowly inside, moving past them; luckily, it seemed that the three mares hadn't quite noticed yet what had happened. "Sorry..." she murmured, just as the door shut.

A voice caught her attention. "Oooh, Ms. Rainbow, so good to see you—"

Rainbow Dash's eyes sprang to their widest and she whirled around, jabbing her hoof out to press it against the muzzle of whoever was talking. "Sssshhhh! Don't say my name..." Her eyes darted around frantically, looking every which way to make sure she'd be seen by as few ponies as possible. "My rep can't take any more hits, Lotus. Look, I just need a quick trim, can you help me out, please?"

The spa pony, who sported a vibrant pink coat and baby blue mane, delicately removed Rainbow's hoof from her mouth. "Ah, I see. Well, let's hurry you on back then. You're in luck! We have no other customers right now." Smiling gently, she turned about and began trotting briskly down a near hallway.

Rainbow let out a relieved breath at hearing that, and promptly began following behind the other mare.

"Oh, and Ms. Rainbow." Aloe turned about, smirking as she did. "I am Aloe, my sister is Lotus." She tilted her head up at a slight angle, giving an air of amusement to send the point home.

Rainbow Dash blinked, then laughed nervously. "Oh, heh heh, my bad," she murmured, while the pony leading her through the spa entered a side room.

"This way, Ms. Rainbow!" Aloe called back into the hall.

Rainbow took another breath to calm herself. After a quick looksie around, she ducked through the door after the other pony. It'll be fine, Rainbow, she reassured herself. This never takes longer than five minutes.

Aloe was standing just inside the door, waiting patiently. "So, can I interest you in anything other than your usual?" she asked cheerfully.

Rainbow Dash gave the other mare a withering look, one eyebrow raised, then rolled her eyes. "No, Lotus. Come on, you know I'm not big on girly stuff..." She winced at the thought, shaking her mane and shivering.

"I'm still Aloe," Aloe reminded hastily, then chuckled. "Alright, well in that case have a seat at one of the chairs and somepony will be right out."

Rainbow began trotting to a chair near the exit, but stopped after something she'd heard rang an alarm. "W-Wait? Somepony else? Lotus- er, Aloe, I thought that you would cut my mane?" She looked around worriedly, giving the impression that she was still trying to keep her presence there a secret.

Aloe hummed and paused at the door. "Oh, well, don't worry Dash, they're new. I doubt that they even know you. Is that alright? They need the practice is all and, well, your style isn't exactly hard to pull off." She held a hoof up to her muzzle and tittered lightly at the joking observation. "No offense," she added.

Rainbow groaned, front hooves dancing slightly. "A-Alright, but please hurry?"

"Of course, right away." Aloe winked, sliding out the door so she could do just that.

Rainbow's wings fluttered slightly, while she looked around, then spotted a window nearby that would make a perfect escape route, just in case. She flew up and opened it, intent on using it in an emergency. "Uggh, sometimes I wish I had a horn, then I could just cut my own hair." After a brief moment, and settling into the stylist's chair, she gave a loud guffaw of laughter. "Yeah, like that'll ever happen."

Aloe trotted back through the hallway of her beloved spa towards the front desk, chuckling the whole way over Rainbow Dash's behavior. As she saw it, the other mare was being rather silly over maintaining her image, so to speak. It was well known by all that Rainbow did her best to keep up the 'tough-mare' routine, and would never put that in jeopardy if she could help it. Even better well known to most Ponyvilleans was her concern of the way others thought of her.

To that end, Aloe and her sister had allowed themselves to be sworn to secrecy over Rainbow's occasional, rare visits; which was perfectly fine with them.

Aloe, still wearing a residual smile from her amusement, pushed open the door to the staff room and called out, "Oh, Hans!"

A deep, accented voice speaking in Germane called back in answer. "Ja, ich bin hier, ich bin hier..."

Aloe recognized that much at least as meaning, "Yes, I am here, I am here." She spotted just the employee she was after, sitting in one sorely undersized lounge chair. "We have somepony for you to try out your 'handiwork'." She chuckled at her little joke while trotting up to the hulking hairdresser, and prodded his knee with one hoof. "It's an easy style so you should have no trouble. A very 'butch' look I think you'll appreciate."

Hans was a minotaur, and recently moved to Equestria in order to, as he put it, find where his art would be truly appreciated. His dream was to pursue a life as a hairdresser, and he had only recently arrived in Ponyville to do just that.

Hans lowered his newspaper just a fraction and peered over the top, his horns reaching up even higher than that. "I do? This is... good," he replied, suddenly in normal Equestrian, then spoke again in more Germane, punctuating how bored he'd been.

Aloe put on a concentrated look, trying hard to follow what her new hair stylist was saying. Though it was her native language that he spoke, she was a bit rusty. "Oh, Hans, you're making me feel bad for letting my Germane slip so much." She sighed briefly, shaking her head, then pulled out a stylist's catalog and pointed to a picture of a stallion with a longish styled mane. "There's a mare in room two, can you cut her hair like this?"

Hans looked at the picture, and his eyes widened in response. What he said next, as near as Aloe could tell, was a couple muttered complaints over the simplicity of such a look.

Aloe patted his shoulder consolingly. "Now, Hans, I know you want to handle something more complex, but I really do need to find out just what your skill level is before I can just have you handling the regulars. The mares around here can be very picky and... You don't understand a word I'm saying." She had spotted the confused look on Hans' face just a little bit too late.

"Alright, let me get my sister," Aloe quickly said, then, when Hans shrugged, she angrily added, "Warten sie hier, ich holen meine schwester!" Roughly, she had told Hans to wait there, she would go and fetch her sister.

Rarity trotted into the spa, smiling broadly all around the entrance. "Oh Lotus! Aloe!" she chimed out merrily. "I'm here for my appointment, darlings!" She immediately spotted just the two ponies she wished to see.

Aloe was trotting towards the staff lounge with Lotus, but stopped and waved. "Ms. Rarity, good afternoon. How are you today? I see you brought a friend with you." She smiled and moved back behind the front counter, taking up her spot by the register. With one hoof gesturing to her side, she motioned Lotus to move on. "Just go and tell Hans what to do, I'll help Ms. Rarity," she whispered, then turned back to her best customer. "So, how can we help? Will you be having the usual?"

Rarity was watching Pinkie trot in behind her, having held the door open with her magic, then let it close. "Oh, fabulous as always, of course, Aloe." After a quick, tinkling bit of laughter, she continued. "Yes, the same as usual for me, and would it be any trouble at all if Pinkie here could be seen to as well? She's having a bit of a fashion emergency, so to speak." For emphasis, she used her magic to envelope and hold up the top-most section of Pinkie's mane.

Pinkie's eyes widened some as her mane was tugged out of her reach. "Whoa!" Her front hoof swirled in the air trying to regain a hold of the floating length of mane.

Aloe whistled in fascination at the sight. "I'll say," she breathed. "You must have been needing a manecut for some time, Ms. Pinkie."

Pinkie laughed nervously, just barely managing to regain control of her mane as Rarity let it go. "Y-Yeah, and just 'Pinkie' is fine!" Grinning broadly, she bounced her way up to join Rarity by the counter, her mane dragging along the ground occasionally.

Aloe smiled. "Alright. Well, Pinkie, Ms. Rarity, if you will both follow me I can get you situated right away."

Together, the three mares moved through the hallway.

Rainbow Dash almost immediately heard the laughter from several voices, like the distant thunder before a coming storm. She gasped, "Oh no! Aaah, I knew all this quiet was too good to be true." Her teeth gritted, and angrily she thought over her options. She could stay and risk future ridicule, or just fly off through her escape route as she'd planned to.

The voices were getting closer, and the last straw was pulled when the doorknob to the room turned.

"To hay with it!" Rainbow squeaked out, then zoomed like a flash of lightning out the near window. I'll just go visit Pop... I haven't swung by home in a while, anyway.

"And this, Pinkie, is where you'll be seen to in just a moment if— Oh, that's odd." Aloe looked around after she got the room open, searching for her previous customer. Oddly, the room was empty except for a gently swinging, open window.

"What's wrong?" Pinkie Pie jutted her head in, which in turn crowded the other pony up against the doorway. "Was somepony else supposed to be in here?" She looked this way and that, then up at the ceiling, searching for what was supposed to be odd.

Aloe grunted, stuck between Pinkie and a hard place, then popped into the room. "Ah heh, no, nothing I guess. Never mind." She coughed and gestured towards a near stylist's chair. "J-Just have a seat, Pinkie, we're short hooved today, but my sister or I should be with you in just a few minutes."

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie grinned and bounced her way inside, pausing just a little to wave at Rarity.

Rarity returned the gesture, already trotting towards the back of the building with Lotus close behind her and two towels over her withers. "Take care, darling! Feel free to join me in the hot tub when you're finished!"

Pinkie settled into the chair, leaning back until she was seated, and smiled towards the door again. "I sure will, that sounds absolutely terrific!" She turned to face towards the mirror again, humming happily and kicking her rear hooves idly.

A tentative speaker addressed her. "Oh, uhm, Pinkie?" It was Aloe's voice.

Pinkie turned again, still smiling happily. "Hm?"

Aloe had on a friendly, but very nervous look. "If— If you do stay, I must insist... That... you do me a favor?"

Pinkie tilted her head, wondering what Aloe could possibly need of her. "What is it, Aloe?" One of her ears flicked, reflecting her curiosity.

Aloe took a deep breath, composing herself. "It's just, if you stay... You are under no circumstances, whatsoever, allowed to dive into the hot tub again. I must also request you do not cook vegetables or smores in the sauna, either." She gave a curt, withering smile beneath a pair of steely eyes.

Pinkie held a hoof up to her muzzle and giggled nervously. "Hehe... No problem! Uhm, won't happen again!"

Aloe waited a moment, an eyebrow raised, then smiled and nodded as she left. "Just wait here Pinkie, we'll be right in to give you your manecut."

"Haircut!" Pinkie corrected, then let out a relieved breath as the door shut. "Phew, for a moment I thought I was in trouble there—"

The door to the room suddenly shook slightly, as did everything else.

Pinkie watched in shock as a lone cup of water on the near counter-top began to move with each boom, creating ripples in its surface. "What the hay?" she asked the empty air around herself, eyes glued to the frightening oddity before her.

The door then swung open quickly, but very gently.

Pinkie sat upright in surprise and looked over; in stepped a tall, looming figure, that bounced the various hair products and nearby shelves around the room.

Pinkie's eyes widened at the sight of the newcomer, who happened to be a rather imposing minotaur.

"Iron Will!" she cried out immediately, standing up in her seat while jabbing a hoof at the doorway. "Or, wait, who are you?" She realized she didn't recognize whoever the stranger was, and she would know, being the very best at remembering any face from Ponyville.

The minotaur was tall and had a slicked back, fancy looking hair style. The shirt that he wore had poofy sleeves, looking equally as fancy.

A sudden realization struck Pinkie, still standing on her back hooves atop the chair. "Oh my gosh! Are you new in town!? We need to throw you a par—"

Before Pinkie could finish, she was taken by surprise as two large minotaur hands picked her up by the shoulders, turned her around mid-air, then set her back down gingerly in the stylist's chair.

He pointed one thick finger at himself, then gestured for Pinkie to sit still by pointing at the floor. A few muttered things that were too difficult to understand, or too strange, followed. To begin, he whirled her chair around quickly and turned on a nearby faucet, filling the sink with water.

"Oookie dokie!" Pinkie answered. She rolled her eyes back, trying and failing to look at the minotaur already getting to work. "Well, I guess the party can wait... Sssso, what's your name, stranger? Oh, and before I forget, just a little off the top, please!" She giggled again, watching absently as barber's tools were set in rows on the near table.

The minotaur placed a hand down on her shoulder to sit her still, then paused for a second and hummed thoughtfully.

Pinkie quirked an eyebrow, studying his face now that she was momentarily facing him. That's weird, did he forget his own name?

"Hans," the stranger's thick voice finally rumbled in reply, nodding thoughtfully and smiling.

"Nnnneato! Never met anypony named Hans before." Pinkie oooed interestedly while the hairdresser laid an apron-like sheet over her, then dunked her back slowly in the filled sink. Next, with her hair slicked, he began seeing to it straight away. She giggled, "Wow! The service here is great as always! I didn't have to wait long at all. I was expecting Aloe or Lotus to cut my mane though. Not that I mind you at all mister Hans the Hairdresser." She laughed again, absently looking around the colorful room while Hans put various pins into her overly long manestyle.

"Yes, yes, Aloe, Lotus," Hans responded simply, amidst sighing; it was odd, but he had sounded almost sad as he picked up some clippers.

Pinkie furrowed her brow, taking notice. Why would he be sad? Just as she had the thought, she absently heard the beginnings of her hair being trimmed. "Remember, just a little bit shorter," she added, still staring at the floor in thought. Huh, was it something I said? Or maybe he doesn't like working with Aloe and Lotus? But they're such nice ponies! Hm... I may have a case of somepony needing to be cheered up on my hooves.

Pinkie thought she heard an unmistakable sniffle amidst the trimming of her mane. She wanted to gasp and leap into action right there to help her new friend, buuut she decided he might appreciate it if she at least waited until he was finished.

All the while, it seemed that a lot more trimming was being done than Pinkie had first expected. Her thoughts became impressed. Wow! My mane really was getting long. Just look at all that hair on the floor.

Author's Notes:

I believe the art is by a chap named Pyruvate. It isn't story related, but it was cute.

Oh, also, Hans the Hairdresser was just a silly idea. I was thinking of the best way to make this joke happen before I started writing, and I thought that it being an accident would be the best way. I had thought about Derpy doing it, or Rarity trying to do it and messing up, but honestly, after Rarity botched old Cadence's hair I felt like doing that joke again would be second-hat. So, I made an oc that didn't speak the language. I hope he didn't throw you guys for too big of a loop.

Also, sorry if my German was off, I, like Aloe, am terribly rusty.

Third Chapter : Temporary Solutions

"Aaahhahha..." Rarity sighed happily and reclined deeper into her soak in the spa's premiere hot tub.

Aloe and Lotus were seated at the edge of wide pool, each smiling with eyes shut. Both listened with joy at the sounds of yet another satisfied customer. "Is there anything more that we can get for you, Ms. Rarity?" Aloe chimed up, stretching out her neck over the water.

"Mmmhmm... What? Oh, yes, the weather is lovely out..." Rarity intoned absently, looking for all the world as though she were in another world altogether.

Aloe snickered lightly and trotted towards the wall. Along the way, she smirked at her sister, who returned the look back with an equally amused one of her own. "Such a delightful mare, and so easy to please..." she mused aloud.

Lotus nodded, still smiling. "Oh yes, very," she agreed, then went on. "Speaking of, I'll go and see to Pinkie Pie's manecut now, sister. I hope Hans is fairing alright being left alone with Rainbow and Pinkie Pie together." She laughed, recalling how mischievous the famous pair would get.

Aloe chuckled along, until she recalled something. "Oh, actually, Rainbow Dash already left, sister. Flew out the window, I think."

Lotus clicked her tongue in exasperation at the news. "Again?" Her hoof pressed against the door at the entrance, hesitating to open it and let out the heat from the room. "Honestly, that girl is too concerned with her image."

The two mares stared at one another in the wake of the statement, then burst out laughing.

"Is something funny over there?" Rarity called out, and leaned out of the hot tub with a smile.

Both spa-ponies gave the other mare innocent looks, "Noooo," they both sang in response, then began giggling again.

Rarity rolled her one eye uncovered by a cucumber.

Aloe turned and made shooing motions at her sister. "Well, in any case, you go. I'll keep Ms. Rarity company in case she needs anything."

Lotus bobbed her head once. "Certainly! I would say I would be back in a jiffy... but I think that cutting any of that forest on Pinkie Pie's head is going to take hours." She gave her sister a silly, slack jawed look, then pushed open the door. A cloud of steam billowed out into the hall.

Aloe laughed again. "Let me know if you need some hedge trimmers or a chainsaw."

Lotus chuckled at her sister's parting words, filling the hallway alongside the clip clopping of her hooves on the tile floor. That lasted until a different voice, loud and joyful sounding, could be heard leaking from out of the barber's room.

"So which word do you like more, Hans? Chimi-cherry? Or Cherry-changa? Chimi-cherry? Or—"

Lotus began snickering once more at the hallmark manner in which Pinkie Pie spoke to almost everypony, and it seemed her victim was now Hans. She paused at the door for a moment, listening to the sounds of Ponyville's newest resident getting broken in, so to speak. "Oh, Ms. Pinkie, are you ready for your haircut—"

Pinkie Pie looked over from where she sat, still as bright eyed and happy looking as always, and spotted Lotus standing in the doorway. "Hi Lotus!" she greeted the other pony, waving. "Am I ready? Well, I'm totally already getting one, so yeah! I'm ready."

Hans grumbled and nabbed Pinkie's hoof out the air, then tucked it back on her lap where it belonged.

Pinkie looked up wonderingly for a moment, then laughed. "Oops, sorry about that, Hans," she apologized.

Hans rolled his eyes, then used one hand placed on Pinkie's head to point her face back forward so he could finish. "Ms. Lotus, pink pony is very... how you say, verrückt." He sighed, and tilted Pinkie's head forward a second time, once again, so he could get at last get the remaining bit on her neck. "Hold still. Almost done."

Pinkie gasped a little. "Wow, already!? That only took, like, five minutes! Usually it takes Aloe and Lotus foooorever!" After a brief pause of giggling, she went on. "You must be good!"

Lotus blinked in disbelief at the situation in the room; as her sister had said, Rainbow Dash was gone, leaving her sister's new stylist and only Pinkie inside. "Pinkie, you, uhm, are trying a new look, are you? It's... very interesting. In fact, it is very boyish."

Pinkie, still mostly facing the floor, rolled one eye over to look at the spa-pony. "Hm? Boyish? What do you mean, Lotus?" she asked, thinking over what had been said to her. "I asked for the same haircut I always get here, the Pinkie Pie special!" Giggling, her hooves kicked until some annoyed mutters came from behind her, at which point she stopped again to be nice. "By the way, your new friend is so great! He doesn't laugh at my jokes much, and is pretty quiet, but he doesn't mind me talking all I want!"

Lotus laughed a little nervously, starting to realize what had gone wrong. That is Rainbow's manecut. I recognize it anywhere. Her hooves began walking her back towards the door. "T-That's great, Ms. Pinkie... I'll just be a moment."

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie nodded happily, watching the other pony go. Behind her, Hans snorted again and tried to hold her head still.

"I must go and fetch my sister and—" Just as Lotus was backing towards the door, she bumped into Aloe, who was coming inside.

"Lotus, are you— oof!" Aloe cut off.

Pinkie looked over at the sounds of commotion, which was usually her job. "Oof? Why would Lotus be oof? I thought she was just Lotus." She laughed again, at which point she heard a huge sigh erupt from beside her.

"It is finish," came the gravelly voice Pinkie had associated with the minotaur barber. "You look now?"

A hoof mirror, or in Hans' case, hand mirror, swung down and moved between Pinkie and the two spa-ponies piled on top of one another by the doorway.

Pinkie bounced in her chair, excited to see her old haircut restored to its former glory. She looked into the mirror, and froze in her seat as a result. That... thaaat's not my mane. Her eyes blinked in disbelief for a split-second, then, she screamed, then stopped again just as quick. Wow, she thought, staring wide eyed at herself, then screamed again, then stopped for the second time. Huh, my head feels so light now. Mom always did say I was an airhead... She was briefly amazed at just how free she felt, and the cause of that freedom was very clear to her.

"Is not that bad..." Hans mumbled, scratching his head. "This mean you not want to see tail?" His voice held a large amount of uncertainty.

By the door, Aloe heard the commotion and stood up angrily. "Pinkie? And, sister, honestly can't you watch where you're going— ah." She froze in the middle of standing up, staring at the mare busily looking at herself in a mirror at the chair.

Lotus grunted and slid out from underneath Aloe. "I was hurrying to come get you! It seems that there's been—" Before she could finish speaking, a panicked gasp, followed by a short scream escaped her sister. "—a mistake..." she finished, ears and tail drooping.

One of Aloe's hooves shakily rose and pointed at her customer. "H-Hans? What did you do!? You were supposed to cut Rainbow's mane! Not Pinkie's!" A string of decidedly heated Germane phrases poured out of her mouth, not all of them strictly accurate.

Hans gave his boss an indignant look, and folded his arms while returning his side of the story as he understood it.

Pinkie Pie was sitting still in the barber's chair, and without the hoof mirror from Hans, turned around to look in the one hanging from the wall, instead. What looked back at her was definitely her old face, her old muzzle, but completely different from that was the absence of the cotton-like, poofy hair, bouncing without a care on her head. In fact, her hair was too short now to have any poof at all, to the point where it just laid flat entirely.

Pinkie slowly raised a hoof up and ran it over her mane, a look of disbelief on her face. "This is... new," she said weakly.

Next, the near door burst open, and in ran Rarity, wrapped in seaweed and wearing a mud-mask from her spa treatment. She looked around the room frantically. "What's wrong!? Why are we screaming?"

Everypony in the room ceased their shouting at one another and looked over in shock after the door opened. They all locked eyes with Rarity. Pinkie jabbed a hoof in her friend's direction and began shrieking once again.

"Ms. Pinkie, that's enough yelling now, I think," Aloe pleaded while rolling her eyes.

Pinkie ceased crying out, then smiled. "Oh, alrighty!"

Rarity quirked an eyebrow at the other ponies, including her friend. "Did I miss something— iiiieeee! Pinkie!? What happened to your mane!?" She trotted into the room, staring all around at the field of horror inside, and understanding why everypony had been shrieking so. There was pink hair everywhere, and all of it obviously from Pinkie, who now had little more than a short, sad amount remaining on her head.

Hans began muttering in his language again, gesturing from side to side with one, meaty hand holding a set of clippers, while the other rested on his hip.

Rarity raised both eyebrows in surprise, just noticing the stranger. She briefly wondered how exactly she had missed the presence of such a hulk. "Is that a minotau—?"

Before she could finish, Aloe spoke up. "Alright, that's enough. Ms. Rarity, please return to your room? I will take care of things... I hope..."

Rarity hesitated from doing so. "But what happened? Pinkie, why did you get your manecut like... that!?" After tilting her head and studying her friend for a moment, she added, "Why, you look like a pink Rainbow Dash."

Pinkie turned and looked at the mirror again, then laughed. "Huh, I do... and, I didn't ask for this haircut, Rarity." She faced her friend again, and quickly spotted the ashamed look on Aloe's and Lotus' expressions, as well as the confused one Hans seemed to be wearing. "Buuuut, I think I know what happened. You see, Hans here is from Germane, and didn't understand what I was telling him it seems. He's new to Ponyville, so he doesn't know me or what the Pinkie Pie special is. On top of that, I bet Rainbow Dash was just here, because the window was open and there's a couple blue feathers stuck on the sill on that side of the room. So that means—"

Pinkie Pie paused, one hoof upraised right before finishing, then began looking around as though she had lost something.

Rarity tilted her head worriedly, and exchanged a quick look with Aloe. "Pinkie? Is everything alright?"

"Uhm, yeah... Well, I can't find my bubble pipe..." Pinkie was looking around the floor, while both of her hooves patted around her head.

Meanwhile, Hans raised an eyebrow, then retrieved something from the pocket of his shirt and held it out to the pony. "Is looking for this?" He also pointed towards a plastic bowl sitting on the table, filled to the brim with random toys, balloons, food, and what looked to be a small alligator.

Pinkie's eyes lit up at seeing her pipe. "Oh, there it is!" She laughed and accepted the item from Hans, then stuck it in her mouth. "Now, where was I?"

Aloe sighed and pressed one hoof against her heart, leaning back against the wall for support. "I believe you were just getting to the part where we owe you an apology and a refund, Ms. Pie..." She was joined by her sister after a moment.

Pinkie looked over at the other pony, then gasped and hopped out of the chair at what looked like signs of sadness. "Oh, no way Aloe! I mean, yeah... it's tooootally different and proooobably going to freak some ponies out, but I'm over it!" She giggled and grabbed both spa-ponies in a bone crushing hug.

Lotus coughed and wheezed out, "Really? Ho' Cele'tia..."

Rarity, frowning weakly over the scene of hair carnage in the room, quickly set about unwrapping herself and washing the mud-mask off her face in a nearby sink.

Pinkie released the two. "Yup! I mean, this should be a great prank for Dashie if nothing else." She laughed again, then slowed some until it trailed off. "I mean... manes grow back anyway." She trotted towards a nearby mirror and began looking herself over again, tilting her head this way and that while sticking her tongue out. "Wow, yeah this will take some getting used to..." One hoof lifted her forelock up and brushed it back. "I'm sure that it'll be great for some laughs though!" She made a confident grin back at herself. "...Right?"

Rarity turned to eye Pinkie worriedly, really not sure about what to expect. She had known Pinkie for a few years now, and had become quickly aware of just how serious the condition of her friend's mane could be. "Pinkie," she began, wiping off the remnants of her mud-mask with a towel. "Why don't we get you home, darling? Pinkie? Are you there?"

Pinkie was staring at herself in the mirror, not answering. In a flash though, faster than Rarity or the others in the room could track, Pinkie zoomed out the near door, leaving a small vacuum of empty space in her wake. Missing from the counter was the bowl that had been filled with Pinkie's belongings and pet.

Rarity spun around in a circle, feeling as if the air itself had been sucked out of her lungs. "P-Pinkie?" she called out, eyes tumbling in her head. Once she'd regained her senses, she ran towards the door and looked out into the hallway. "Pinkie!" There was nopony there, and without waiting she charged outside after her friend. "Wait!" All the while she was quite aware of how damp and matted her own mane was.

Aloe ceased spinning slowly and put both hooves on her head in an effort to help regain her own senses. "Oh dear... Well, that could have gone worse. Our reputation may suffer for a little while, now..." Once the presence of crippling nausea began to abate, she stood up and leaned on a nearby counter for support.

Lotus watched Hans, who was already sweeping the literally mountain of Pinkie Pie's mane and tail hair. She gasped in response to her sister. "Pinkie would surely never do that to us!"

Aloe held a hoof against her muzzle for a moment, then swallowed hard and looked over at Lotus. "What? No, I meant Rarity! If anypony sees her after leaving our spa looking like that, who knows what the mares will think now."

Lotus grimaced a little and shrugged. "Oh, they already have all kinds of odd rumors about specialties you can pay extra for here. Maybe this will work out and actually increase business." Chuckling at the idea, she trotted towards the door. "I still feel terrible though, even if it was an honest misunderstanding... I will have to keep a closer eye on Hans, I guess."

Aloe traded an awkward glance with the minotaur as his name was mentioned. Sheepishly, he raised his palms up at the ceiling in a confused gesture. "Yes, we wouldn't want something like this happening again, after all."

Fluttershy sipped delicately at her straw, absently enjoying the fizzy drink she had gotten, all while listening to the still frantic unicorn sitting across the table from her.

Rarity was an absolute mess, but, she often would get that way when something worrying arose, and Pinkie Pie sometimes was worth worrying about. The situation at hoof, though, seemed a little strange.

"Wait, what is—" Fluttershy raised a hoof up and tried to interrupt with a quiet voice.

"—And you'll never believe this, but the pony that did it wasn't even a pony at all! And they didn't speak Equestrian either, I guess. Did I mention that? Oh, but that's besides the point, and the point is simply that who knows what—"

"Rarity—" Fluttershy tried to say again, then scrunched her face up delicately when her friend kept rambling over her. Oh dear, she thought helplessly. This all seems a little extreme for just a little manecut accident... She briefly considered the possibility of misfortune befalling Pinkie's hairstyle. I always thought her hair was indestructible, too.

"Hi girls," a strained sounding voice greeted out of the blue.

Rarity stopped talking mid-sentence, and turned along with Fluttershy to face Pinkie Pie, slowly walking towards their outdoor table.

Pinkie gave her two friends a weak smile, her eyes shifting between them both nervously.

Fluttershy's ears laid themselves back on her head, confused by what she saw. "Rarity, I thought you said that Pinkie's mane had been completely destroyed? It looks... fine to me." Briefly, she considered the possibility that her friend was having a nervous break down of some sort.

Rarity stuttered and blinked wide eyed at Pinkie Pie. "B-But, I swear! It was— There was almost nothing left! It was an exact duplicate of Rainbow's manecut!" She nearly fell out of her chair, then scrabbled her way over to her friend. "Pinkie, did— What happened? And are you alright, dear?"

Pinkie stopped where she was, now being faced down by Rarity. "O-Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Rarity. Yup! Nothing wrong at all here." She let out a confident sounding laugh, though it was clearly fake. "Uhm, how do I look, girls?"

Fluttershy tilted her head, wondering more and more about what was going on. Pinkie is acting odd though... "You look good, Pinkie. You got your mane cut?" she asked quietly.

Pinkie laughed again, but nervously. "You could say that..."

Rarity leaned in close, her eyes narrowing as she inspected her friend's mane closely. She believed she had spotted the cause of her friend's miraculous hair regrowth. "Pinkie, do you have cotton candy on your head?" One hoof reached up to tentatively give the hair a poke.

Pinkie's eyes began shifting all around guiltily, and a rather noticeable, nervous sweat appeared on her brow. "N-No... Uhm, It's funny though, I hear that quite a lot these days about my hair... Hah... hah." She sighed, then reached up with a hoof and removed the wig of candied sugar atop her head. "Oh, you got me... I guess this was a silly idea after all." Sadly, she trotted up and sat her rump down on the ground beside Fluttershy at the table.

Fluttershy gasped a little and held both of her hooves up to her muzzle on reflex. "Pinkie, oh my goodness, Rarity wasn't joking about your mane. She wasn't joking at all."

Rarity walked up, frowning weakly, and sat on Pinkie's other side. "Well, the concerns of your hair's health from wearing candy over it aside, it did look a bit like your mane, Pinkie..."

Pinkie shrugged and sighed again. "Oh... it's fine... I'll get used to it... My new look... just feels really weird, and different, and weeeeird..."

"And looks just like Rainbow Dash's," Fluttershy added, staring openly at Pinkie's new mane style.

Pinkie Pie laughed lightly, nodding twice.

Fluttershy could hardly believe what her eyes were telling her she was seeing. "Pinkie Pie... you look like an entirely different pony." After she had already spoke, she remembered that the entire incident had been an accident, and slapped a hoof over her muzzle. Oh, Fluttershy, you dummy, you have such a big mouth.

Pinkie looked over and gave her friend a weak smile. "Yeah, Fluttershy, it's pretty... uhm, different alright, ehheh." Her smile sank again quickly, and she began stirring a hoof around on the table. "It doesn't look bad though, right?"

"No!" Fluttershy exclaimed, then remembered herself and stopped staring. "It looks so good, Pinkie, really." Quickly, she leaned over the table and laid one hoof on her friend's.

Pinkie looked taken aback, then smiled broader. "Thanks, Fluttershy," she replied, some of her normal cheer evident. "It is super... duper different, but I guess I can get used to it..." She trailed off, rubbing one foreleg with the other sheepishly.

Fluttershy put on a sad look for her friend, feeling every little bit as upset as she thought Pinkie did for the accident that had befallen her.

Rarity let out a sad breath. "I can't help but feel somewhat responsible. If I didn't always take up both of Aloe and Lotus' time, then maybe they could have saved your hair..."

Pinkie looked at Rarity like she was crazy, then shook her head. "Nooo, silly, it's nopony's fault, not even Hans! I just... gotta get used to looking not-Pinkie-like for a little while..."

Rarity frowned and sat up to inspect Pinkie's head closely. "I just wish such a misunderstanding about your beautiful mane could have ended you up with a more befitting style is all—" She cut off, then sat back down grinning innocently. "Oh, but it looks great! You look really good, I mean it."

Fluttershy sighed and rolled her eyes where she sat, while Pinkie gave Rarity another small smile.

"Thanks, Rarity. But yeah, it's just a haircut after all..." Pinkie laid her head down on the table, then looked out across the outdoor restaurant at a group of ponies. They were looking at her, she realized, and pointing. "It's weird," she said and looked up at Rarity. "I've almost never felt nervous in a crowd, but having a haircut that's so different is making me really nervous, girls. Almost like I really am a different pony altogether."

Fluttershy and Rarity traded a quick look, Rarity looking a bit nervous and biting her lip, while Fluttershy looked lost.

"You don't say? But Pinkie, that's silly." Rarity intoned quietly, and gently rubbed her friend's shoulder with a hoof.

Pinkie nodded, her head still resting on the table. She kept watching the group of ponies studying her until they turned and left. "Yeah... I mean, so far other than some odd looks nopony's treating me any different, but what if that changes? What if—" she gasped and sat up. "What if they don't think of me as the same Pinkie Pie!?"

"That's ridiculous, Pinkie," Rarity scoffed. "Don't let this worry you. I'm sure everything will go back to the way it was with a little time, you'll see."

Pinkie furrowed her brow and gave Rarity a doubtful look. "Really?"

Fluttershy rested a hoof on Pinkie's other shoulder and gave her friend another comforting look. "Really," she added in as well.

Pinkie Pie sniffed, and started tearing up slightly. "Oh, you girls are the best!" She brought them both into a tight hug with both forelegs. "Yeah, I guess I am being a little over the top." She giggled at that. "It's just so strange, everypony was staring nonstop until I got that wig! Tons of ponies kept walking up to me and saying how great it looks. I never would have thought that would ever happen. I guess they were just so used to my old mane... Right, girls? Girls? Oopsie—"

Upon noticing her friends' purple expressions, she laughed weakly and let them both drop from her grip. "Sorry," she apologized, "My mind has been scattered like marbles on a hockey rink all day!"

Rarity waved a dismissive hoof, gulping air. "Oh— That's quite alright Pinkie." Meanwhile, Fluttershy was busy taking heaving breaths, her wings flapping hard on her back to help out.

Pinkie hummed and sat down again. "Still... I gotta go and think about things... Maybe buy a real wig... I wonder if they make any extra large in pink?" She paused a moment, and rubbing her chin absently, then stood up quickly and began trotting away. "Thanks for talking to me, girls! Let me know if you would like to... to party later? Uhm... Well I'll talk to you later!"

Rarity and Fluttershy watched, a little speechless, as Pinkie Pie trotted away, looked around a building corner, then quickly ducking out of sight.

"Oh dear, I hope Pinkie Pie will be alright." Fluttershy cringed inwardly somewhat, worrying profusely over her friend's well being. "She never does take change very well..."

Rarity gulped and sat back down. "It's just like I said, she is going to feel different for a while with ponies reacting like this, and that means she won't know how to act! Her initial behavior had given me hopes she wouldn't mind this and would just breeze right past it, but who knows?" She traded her nervous look between Fluttershy and glancing at the table. "Perhaps if we throw her mane a get well soon party?"

Fluttershy stared at her friend a moment, then tittered uncontrollably.

Rarity frowned when her other friend continued to laugh. "What? I wasn't being funny, I was being serious!" Idly, her hooves busied themselves in trying to straighten her mane, which was still sorely windswept and frizzed.

Fluttershy slowed some and smiled. "I know, and I think Pinkie being less silly than usual has left room for you to become the silly one, Rarity. That was pretty funny." Her head tilted, a sly grin painted across her muzzle and directed at her friend.

Rarity stared back a moment, then gasped. "That's not something that can really happen, is it?"

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "I was just joking, Rarity. Ponies don't just change how they act overnight... well, most of them..." She gave a thoughtful look at her soda, then took another quick sip. Pinkie seems almost... scared though. She knew, she recognized fear and shyness better than anypony. How could I help? Think, Fluttershy... think.

Author's Notes:

One more chapter to come fellows. It will more or less be both the climax and resolution.

It will be entitled 'The Mane Requiem'.

Fourth Chapter : Surprise!

Pinkie Pie breathed heavily, having arrived both late and in a hurry after nearly forgetting a certain event in town that afternoon. Worse, it was an event which she had agreed to help provide desserts for.

The garden party that June Bug was putting on in her yard was quaint and low key, but she had requested a week in advance if Sugarcube Corner would help cater. Luckily, everything was now out and prepped and ready for consumption by friendly Ponyville faces.

Pinkie Pie exhaled one last deep breath. She stood stiffly off towards one side of the big open yard, smiling as convincingly as she could and to as many other ponies as she could, all at once—even if they weren't looking her way. Okay, play it cool. You're late, but that's fine.

Pinkie surveyed the area, starting to calm down. It wasn't really her kind of party, but everypony was chatting, sipping drinks and having friendly conversation. That all was nice in and of itself.

She hoped that everypony was enjoying it. The calm atmosphere, the cool breeze, the colors of the garden, it was all pleasant.

Yup, everypony seems like they're having a good time. Nothing to worry about. Her eyes widened a fraction and her left ear flicked twice. But maybe they actually aren't. What if... Maybe, they're actually having an awful time, and they’re hiding it!?

She wouldn't know, she had been late! What was worse, she had that horrible itchy sensation you get after a haircut, reminding her that she totally should have rinsed her mane back at the spa before fleeing. That was totally distracting. Her head was a little sticky from her impromptu cotton candy wig, too.

Pinkie wiped a nervous sweat drop away from her brow, eyeballing the mingling crowd. With some difficulty, she forced herself to calm down. Just cool it, Pinkie ol' girl. Focus on the party. Yeah. Nopony thinks June Bug's party is awful. And this isn't really even a crazy party. Just a calm, relaxing one. Yup. Oh no, is that bad!? Maybe I should have surprised them with something! In a fit of nervousness, she began gnawing on her hoof.

Pinkie made herself stop panicking, again, and thought back to an assertive, but polite request from June Bug that things stay low key. That’s right, it's just a calm little party. And nopony's looking at you funny or treating you different than usual, either. It's all in your head! Not on it. Yeah.

"Love the new look, Pinkie! Very bold," Cheerilee said, and gave a cheerful smile as she trotted past, almost seeming to come from nowhere.

"Thanks!" Pinkie Pie did her best to return the favor, though her own smile was three times the size as was necessary and perhaps looked proportionally as creepy. There, see? A different look is good. It's spontaneous. It's you! Totally you. Her ear to ear smile began to peter out, until she was frowning slightly at a daisy shaped jello mold on the buffet.

Pinkie let out a weak sigh, her left hoof reaching up to pat at the thin air above her head. Sure, ponies did double-takes at her, stared briefly, or asked what had happened, but that didn’t feel like it was what bothered her at all. Then again, she also couldn't put her hoof on what actually was bothering her.

Another pony approached, smiling and heading towards the buffet.

Pinkie happened to look up, and they both happened to make eye contact.

Bon Bon stopped her trot towards the snack table short, two legs still hovering mid-air. "Oh my goodness. Pinkie Pie, is that you?" She blinked dumbly, then threw on a hasty smile. "Oh wow, it is. When I heard Daisy mention this, I had no idea this is what she meant. At first I thought that you were having a... I mean, uhm, hey, it looks good!"

Pinkie managed a grin for her fellow purveyor of sweets. "Thanks, Bon Bon! It— I'll admit, I didn't really plan for it to come out like it did. Ehheh."

Bon Bon gave a reassuring smile. "So it was an accident, then? I guess even Daisy is right about half of the time.”

"Heh heh, yeah..." Pinkie nodded in return, perhaps a bit quickly. "Hey, uhm, are you sure it doesn't look... uhm..." She frowned trying to think of the right word.

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow at Pinkie. "What? Bad? Nah. Not at all. Just real different. Yeah, you look like a whole other pony. But it's good. In fact, I bet you'll enjoy how aerodynamic it makes you zipping around at your parties, right?" She chuckled in an encouraging way.

A whole other pony. Pinkie realized Bon Bon was telling a joke, but a full two seconds late. "Oh! Hahah! Hah, good one!" She bounced a couple times on her hooves. "Heh, you’re right, it does. Hey! I've got a knee slapper I've been saving for the next birthday party I set up. Wanna hear?"

"Well... okay, sure thing." Bon Bon smiled.

"Alright, this one's a doozy!" Pinkie inhaled and opened her muzzle wide to share her joke about where pegasi would migrate if they did, but suddenly her words escaped her. "Ah— Uhm... huh." Wait, what did the pelican say to the Wonderbolt? Or was it a penguin? Oh no. She held up a hoof. "Wait, it'll come to me!"

Bon Bon stood by patiently while Pinkie began to appear more and more nervous.

During which, Pinkie Pie failed to even reach the punchline. And then the seapony… said… Her thoughts strained, and she absently felt herself reach up and brush her mane to the side while remembering her own joke. Remembering a joke! Something she was a natural at. "Okay... I guess I can't remember it. Huh."

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow, but smiled consolingly in return. "It's fine, Pinkie." She patted Pinkie's shoulder with a hoof. "Well, I recognized your desserts from across the party. I'm going to go get some. They're always really good."

"Oh, okay. Thanks again!" Pinkie's eyes followed as Bon Bon nabbed a paper plate and some desserts.

As soon as Bon Bon's back was to her, Pinkie also turned around, both of her hooves smooshing either side of her own face. "Oh my great golly gumdrops— I couldn't even say my joke. Am I losing it? Going crazy!? Is Pinkie Pie really just a mane framed by a cute face rather than a real pony!?"

"Pinkie? Are you okay?"

Pinkie laughed absently in a way that came out as a frantic cackle. "You betcha! I'm okay. Way perfectly totally-alrighty." She looked up too quickly, almost coming snout to snout with Bon Bon. "O-Oh, uh… I was just uh, looking for my yo-yo! Yeah, because I dropped it. Because I got a haircut and I can't keep my yo-yo there... anymore?"

Bon Bon's worried look became startled, then shifted to confusion. "You keep stuff in your mane?" She stared as Pinkie nodded lightning fast in response. "Ah, right. Anyway, I was trying those pink icing cupcakes over there? Those are yours, right?" She jabbed a hoof in the vague direction of Pinkie's provided sweets.

Get a hold of yourself, Pinkie. You're still helping with somepony's party. Pinkie Pie took a couple delicate breathes and calmed down. "Oh, they sure are! My super-spectacular strawberry spring-fling surprise cupcakes! What did you think?" Her grin stretched from fuzzy ear to fuzzy ear, swollen with pride for her latest delicious creations.

Bon Bon rubbed a hoof behind her head slowly. "Yeah, that's the thing. I'm no pastry baker by any means, but... I think maybe you didn't use enough sugar in them? Or maybe forgot it? They taste pretty bland."

Pinkie Pie heard the sound of glass shattering from somewhere, but wasn't sure where exactly.

"Pinkie? Helloooo?" Bon Bon waved a hoof in the air. "Are you in—"

A rush of wind and a sudden suction effect in the air almost threatened to knock Bon Bon and several other party-goers off their hooves.

Bon Bon blinked. "There?" she mumbled. Thin air and a small trail of fire leading into town stared back at her. She sighed. “I swear I’m the only sane pony in this town.”

Already across town and going even faster, Pinkie ran and ran. Trailing behind her was an indiscernible outcry that roughly translated to, “I forgot the sugar!”

Pinkie ran so hard, so fast that she'd barely even registered her sheets and pillows pulled around her after diving headfirst into them from the hallway in Sugarcube corner. "Okay, new solution," she panted. "Stay wrapped in a sheet cocoon until my hair is back. And then I'll be my old self again!"

That Evening

Pinkie Pie continued to look into the mirror of her bedroom, every so often hanging her head to either the left or right, watching as the frazzled, but scarce remnants of her mane slid along with it. Trying to get used to the change hadn't improved her opinion of it, though she had hoped that maybe if she looked long enough, it would at least stop bugging her.

Waiting several months hidden within her bedding for it to grow back wasn't realistically an option at all, certainly.

Pinkie sighed. "It's not a big deal, Pinkie. It isn't! It's simple, if somepony says something mean, which they won't because you're friends with everypony in Ponyville! Then you just say 'Good day, sir!' and turn the other cheek." Her muzzle stuck up in the air to the imaginary pony that wasn't there, until slowly she cracked one eye open at the mirror again.

"Yeah, but I'm not worried about what they think, or about McMeanies..." She thought about her trot through town after her haircut. "Even if everypony did give me an ooky-kooky look at first, they still reacted better to it than I did." She sat back on her haunches with a thump, a hoof idly flipping up the forelock of her mane's remnants. "Maybe I should just find another wig until I'm me again. I mean, my mane hasn't been this short since... ever!"

Pinkie thought hard. If only the Wig and Tassels store had been selling something like my old haircut. She paused, and before long her muzzle scrunched up into a pout. But... even if I did have my mane back or a wig, I wouldn't know why this is bugging me so much!

Pinkie's eyes searched around her reflection in the mirror as she fought to recall a time when her hair wasn't a proud pink poof atop her head, wild enough to rival the mane of any proud lion or fancy hairdo from Canterlot. As far back as she could recall, even before getting her cutie mark when she still lived on the family farm with Ma, Pa, Inkie, Blinkie and Maud, her hair had at least been long. She hung onto the memory of the quiet filly she used to be for just a second, before snapping back to the present.

"I never could have imagined I'd ever be more concerned with my looks than Rarity. Not that there's anything wrong with that! But my hair isn't that big of a deal to me!" She told herself the last bit forcefully, and stamped a hoof. Her reflection looked back in a stern way. "It isn't," she affirmed again, leaning forward.

When she didn't feel convinced, she asked, "Then why do I feel like this?" She could see the doubt on her face just as well as she could feel it. "I guess..." Her hoof tapped the mirror's glass momentarily, as if that might change what was in it. "I guess I don't know." Her expression finally softened.

With another sigh, Pinkie flopped on her side, then rolled over to face away from the mirror. It seemed she had no choice but to confide in one of her most trusted and wisest of friends.

"What do you think, Gummy?" Her head slid over the bare floorboards to soulfully lock her eyes on her little pet alligator. "Am I overreacting over nothing? Ponies’ moods and personalities don't shift with their hairstyle after all. That would be crazy!"

Gummy stared back at Pinkie Pie for several seconds, not moving. One of his eyes blinked slowly, then the other, before he moved up to mere inches from her snout. Then, he jumped forward with a reptilian croak. His toothless jowls snapped shut swiftly on Pinkie's mane; the remains of its tip, that is. He hung there for a moment, then slid off, slowly, unable to stay put with so little mane to hold onto.

Another croak escaped him, maybe of disappointment, and he tried once more, going for Pinkie's tail. Again though, it was too short and too straight for him to have a comfortable grasp.

Gummy paced around Pinkie, trying to find what should be there but wasn't. Finally, he blinked once, then twice, and let out another tiny growl, before turning away.

"By Celestia’s pink footie pajamas! What's happening to me!?" Pinkie began crying on the spot, and threw a foreleg over her eyes in her misery. "You're right, Gummy! You're right! How can others see me the same way when even I can't see me seeing me the same way!?" Her sobbing worsened, and she buried her face in a nearby pillow.

Outside the room in that moment, was Mrs. Cake. She stopped her march up towards the twins’ room, having heard crying once again. Her ear pressed to Pinkie’s door, confirming that it was another false alarm that night, and trotted back downstairs with a sad hum. She had already spoken with Pinkie at length, trying to cheer her up, but the other mare insisted she was perfectly alright each time.

Meanwhile, Gummy idly pushed a rogue balloon around the floor with his head. The room stayed as it was, with a crying pony and an aimlessly meandering alligator, until the balloon being pushed about suddenly bumped into Pinkie's shoulder.

Slowly and still sniffling, Pinkie looked up at Gummy to see the balloon there, spinning slightly until it stopped. She looked at it, and then Gummy, before going back to the balloon, then gasped as a twinkle entered her eye.

She suddenly knew what she had to do.

"Holy Gargonzoli! Gummy, you're a genius!" Pinkie jumped up to her hooves and hugged her pet, suddenly grinning from ear to ear. "Of course that's the best thing I can do! If ponies, including me, don't see me as Pinkie, then all I have to do is be as Pinkie as I can be! That'll show them! And I know I can do it. Yes!" She cheered and whooped, throwing on her saddlebags—with Gummy tucked safely in one satchel, instead of in her mane—and zoomed out of her bedroom.

Downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Cake turned, smiling pleasantly to say good morning, only to be greeted by a rush of air strong enough to reshape their own manes into straight lines.

"Gotta-go-I'll-be-back-to-use-the-kitchen-a-little-bit-soon-but-I-gotta-go-order-some-stuff-for-a-party-bye!" The front doors to Sugarcube corner swung back and forth in Pinkie's wake, the jingling of the confectionery shop's bell the only sign left that she had even come through.

Mrs. Cake slowly began to smooth down her mane. "Oh dear. I wonder what that's all about?" she said, staring worriedly after Pinkie and the massive dust cloud that had been kicked up outside. "I hope she isn’t too upset still."

Mr. Cake put both hooves on either side of his head to help the spinning of his eyes slow down. "She sounded chipper to me. I'm sure she's just in a hurry." After a moment, he amended by saying, "Hopefully..." He eyed the combat helmet stuffed with a pillow that he kept under the front counter, just in case of emergencies. "I'll go leave the twins with a sitter, just in case."

In the streets and alleyways of Ponyville streaked a pink blur, stopping every so often to zoom into a shop in order to work towards a surplus of party supplies. The blur had so much work to do and only a night to get it all ready!

While in the middle of picking up an industrial sized tub of jello mix, the blur thought to herself, This is going to be the best party, ever!

Two Days Later

The Golden Oak Library

Twilight Sparkle hummed a perky tune as she entered her study, a fascinating looking book tucked under her foreleg and a cup of tea levitating overhead. She had an eager grin plastered on her muzzle as she pranced to her seat. A quill, a roll of parchment and a fresh inkwell promptly floated over from labeled stations beside her desk. With all the materials needed and placed in alphabetical order atop the desk, she giggled like a filly as she settled in for her bi-weekly all day study session.

“Huh, that’s odd.” A pair of pink envelopes, both covered with Pinkie Pie’s bubbly hoofwriting, lay torn open on her desk. “Party invitations? I wonder why Spike hadn’t mentioned these.”

Spike had stepped out that early morning, actually, if under highly suspicious motives. Twilight had listened to his story about going to help Rarity with a chore, but could tell there was something he was hiding. Without wanting to seem like she was overbearing, she let him go ahead with his hidden agenda.

It did mean solitude and focus for her studies, after all.

“Oh well, back to business... and 'Enchantments and Advanced Magical Tampering for the Curious' by Professor Murphy!” Twilight hugged the fancy covered volume lovingly. “How I’ve waited for you so.” Her last encounter with a different book of the same name had ended both catastrophically, and prematurely, but that was a different story altogether. The newly arrived copy, however, promised hours of exciting reading.

“Now… it’s just you, me, some delicious cinnamon tea and the secrets you have in store.” She cooed the words dreamily, eying the raised font of the cover like Rainbow Dash would a Daring Do book on its release date. Quill firm in her magical grip, Twilight dipped it in the ink well as she opened the hardbound cover.

Her eyes lit up even more when she saw the title page, an unheard angelic voice singing in the background. The book itself almost openly spoke out in greeting to her. The quill hovered over her scrolls for notes, poised to pen down the heading to her research. She brought it down oh-so-keenly, only an inch or so from making contact, when a low rumble stopped her thoughts, and the quill, short.

Twilight jolted upright from hunching over her book.

“What the hay was that?” she asked. To her immediate right, she spotted ripples in her tea. They emanated in-sync with the rumbles and dull booms. She thought she heard music now.

A small blot of ink dripped from her idly floating quill, staining her parchment.

Twilight frowned at it momentarily. Normally, it would’ve bothered her that a blotch soiled the introduction of her next paper. But the ripples were getting bigger and the rumbles were getting louder. They quickly grew so intense that her books shook on the shelves and the ink well clattered on the table, pouring errant splotches here and there.

“Hey!” Twilight called out, then snatched her new book away from where a rather large glob had been about to land. “Seriously, what the hay is going on!?”

Capping the well, she rose and ran downstairs, beginning to get a twinge flustered. “Razza-frazza… I swear, the timing of these things is getting worse by the week.” Ponyville was often peaceful, at first glance, but she knew the signs of something crazy happening when she saw them.

Twilight barged out her front door in a huff, intent on seeing what all the commotion was about. Circumstance was most definitely against her that moment, when the commotion turned out to be a party cannon aimed right at her.

“Wah!” Twilight screamed. Her timing was impeccable, as she was just able to conjure a shield strong enough to withstand the point blank blast of confetti.

“What the—" When the smoke cleared, she was able to see clearly what she’d stepped outside into. “What the hay is going on!?” A party cannon was mysteriously and strategically placed at her doorstep, but that was just the beginning.

Twilight goggled wide-eyed at what was usually a quiet, homely country town. By Grabthar's hammer. At least, it was quiet and homely half of the time. But right then, the scene before Twilight could only be described as the most intense, festive state that it had probably ever been in.

The booming suddenly made sense, as three elephants, a hippo, several giraffe, and other animals all marched past, seemingly following a circle around her house.

While in the middle of tooting its lungs out, one of the elephants raised its trunk up to tip its colorful and plumed hat in a gentlemanly gesture.

A mix of surprise and surreal shock played across Twilight’s face, but she managed to wave with a hoof and smile sheepishly in return. "Ehheh, hello?" Immediately after, she thought, Alright, where the hay is Pinkie and what has she done this time? She was already scanning the area dutifully, searching for her all things party obsessed friend. This has her name written all over it... literally.

Banners hung everywhere, strung from nearby buildings all the way to the Golden Oaks library by long wires. They left little doubt at all who was responsible. Most of them seemed to advertise different party events of varying silliness, but at least half their number read: Surprise Ponyville Party Bonanza by Pinkie Pie!

Perhaps it was nothing, but her name was painted in a very eye catching way, and underlined an excessive number of times.

In the vague direction of Town Hall were even more sounds of music and lights. Around the edges of buildings were ponies dancing, ponies watching the parade, and even more ponies just having a good time.

Twilight didn't understand, even more because she could have sworn she didn't recognize some of them. "Is it some kind of holiday? Why a party? And it's not even noon!" Without waiting, she started out into town with the intent of finding Pinkie, leaving behind the small circus and the crowds that had set up shop around her no-longer-peaceful library. "Oh well, I guess it isn’t too weird. Pinkie did go a little nuts for talk like a pirate day… but this is still redicu— Uh oh."

Twilight stumbled to a stop, having entered the wide avenue main street of Ponyville that would eventually take her past Sugarcube corner. She looked around herself at the confetti strewn across the cobblestone. Too late, she then noticed that to either of her flanks were even more party cannons, with ponies all cheering and celebrating beside them. The sounds of a parade thundering up from behind made her ears twitch.

Twilight gasped and reacted on instinct alone, already breaking out into a frantic gallop. “Piiiiiinkieeeee!” she shrieked, all while cannons fired one after the other just behind her, grazing her tail slightly as she evaded them and confetti that threatened to cover her entirely.

Rarity was crouched low beside Applejack's apple cart, twitching in horror. She shrieked, as yet another random pie tin whipped out of the crowd into the air and landed with a splat far too close to her freshly restyled mane. "Applejack, do something! You simply must help me get home where my coiffure can be safe! I just got it re-styled this morniiiing!"

Applejack rolled her eyes as she gave the customer at her stall their change in bits. "Rarity, I told yah once and I'll tell yah again, this big circus troupe that's come through has business a poppin'. Now I can't rightly leave the stall unless Big Mac comes out to take over, and I can't rightly leave to go get Big Mac to take over, neither. So mare up and just make a run for it on your own. Also, if you're gonna loiter, be useful and pass me that sack of apples behind your rump."

Rarity scoffed. "Oh, I should have known you wouldn't care for the sanctity of a lady's dignity." She also absently pushed out the apples requested with a hoof. "And you should say please!" The sounds of music and laughter beating at her laid-back ears seemed to increase by the minute, threatening to drown out her words.

Applejack hefted the apples up onto the cart cheerfully to await the next customer. "Phew, I don't know where all these strangers came from, but I ain't complainin'!”

"You aren’t even listening to me!” Rarity pouted a moment, then huffed. “So, I take it you really aren't going to do anything about all this?" She had to almost shout towards the end as the sounds of one of the parades going past took over briefly. She thought she also heard a sort of shriek, too, but it was hard to tell in all the commotion.

"I already am! I'm makin’ an honest livin’ and enjoying this here shindig. You should join in!" Applejack shrugged, smiling over her cart to potential customers, but most seemed content just dancing to the music that could be heard everywhere.

Rarity scowled up from under the safety of Applejack's cart. "But Pinkie Pie hadn't told us about planning any sort of shindig, and this one is far too rough! There was a clown spraying seltzer everywhere for Celestia’s sake, Applejack! I only just narrowly escaped! And anyway, I'm certain that this has to do with what happened a couple days ago to her mane."

Applejack shook her head and chuckled at Rarity's apparent fear of clowns. "Pony feathers. She's throwing a big ol' surprise party that ain't hurtin' nopony in order to express her emotions and reaffirm that she's still herself, to herself. Even that banner over there says right out that this here is the biggest surprise Ponyville party ever.” She rested an elbow oh her cart and looked underneath toward her cowering friend. “It sounds to me like that filly's just a might bit upset and she's working it out is all, Rarity. At least from what I understand of this whole thing. Where's the harm in that? This’ll blow over in no time. You’ll see."

Rarity stared starkly up at Applejack for a good moment. "You know, darling, you seem to have an uncanny ability to sum up situations that you really shouldn't be able to."

"Well, what can ah say." Wearing a smirk, Applejack glanced down again at her crouching friend. "I know ponies and I know my friends."

Rarity frowned back, then harrumphed. "Well anyway, this party is harming me and my mane," she pleaded on. After the brief bout of despair, and a stern look directed at her from AJ, she went on more seriously. "Applejack, while what you say may have some truth to it—”

Applejack rolled her eyes at this.

“—I'm much more worried that Pinkie might be having a… well, ‘Pinkie Pie’ level of crisis." Terribly nervous of just that, Rarity gingerly tapped her front hooves together.

Applejack hummed, thinking hard on it. Meanwhile, her eyes briefly tracked an entire group of ponies riding by on unicycles and playing instruments at the same time, each wearing strange white and black domed helmets.

"Well, I will admit I'm puzzled as to where all of these friends of hers came from... If I didn't know for a fact she'd set this up all herself, I might think something else was going on." She’d seen Pinkie zipping around town back in the wee hours of the morning, before disappearing and being replaced by the party. Nopony seemed like copies or anything magical, neither. It did look to her like Pinkie had simply convinced a carnival or two to show up out of the blue… which for Pinkie wasn’t unbelievable.

Rarity rolled her eyes and groaned. "I got the chance to question a couple of them before things got too crazy. One of those scruffy carnies claimed that Pinkie had asked them to divert from going to Seaddle from Vanhoover of all things!"

Applejack blinked. "She what? How in Equestria did she manage to do that?" Still, she gave an impressed whistle at the information. "This is definitely her going all out though, that's for sure. And I haven't even seen her yet."

"I'm worried, Applejack. This is my fault," Rarity whined, half because dust kicked up from the crowd was getting to her even under cover, and half because she was legitimately worried over Pinkie Pie.

Applejack scratched her head with a hoof idly while in thought. "Shucks, Rares, if you're that serious we can head over to Sugarcube Corner and see if we can't find her. I'm sure the Cakes won't mind watchin' my cart, neither."

"Thank you, Applejack. I'm sure everything's just as you say, but—" Rarity stopped short, gasping in surprise.

A ragged looking mare, obviously out of breath and knackered, limped up alongside Applejack's cart. She collapsed there, confetti fluttering into the air off her flanks and back.

"Twilight!?" both mares exclaimed.

Twilight looked up weakly as she was helped up by her friends. "Parade..." she breathed out. "Running of the cows… and then... the clowns… so many clowns... couldn't get away..."

Applejack tilted her hat back. "Running of the cows? Huh, so that's where Mootilda and the girls were going this mornin'."

Twilight stared at AJ a moment, sides heaving in breaths, then made a fainting sound and threatened to collapse again—only Rarity's magical grip under her forelegs held her aloft.

"Twilight, you mean to say you were caught up in a stampede?"

Twilight nodded once, looking for all her worth like that was all she had the strength to do.

Rarity didn't know what to think, but Applejack had a question. "Can't you teleport, darlin'?"

Twilight blinked, still panting, then groaned out loud at her oversight.

"Alright, you're fine now. I'm sure it was all just a mistake and everypony got too caught up in the fun to see you." Applejack gave Rarity her 'stern' look again as she spoke.

Rarity shot back an indignant pout over the reminder of everyone else's good time.

"Maybe, I don't know!” Twilight caught her breath, then began explaining. “Too much happened too fast. The whole town is like this. First I stumbled into some street menagerie that involved more party cannons than I've ever seen, but I ducked into a crowd really fast, only to discover it was actually one of Vinyl's mosh pits!” Finally able to rest and think after her escape, Twilight took a look around at the town-wide party that seemed to be in full swing. "Girls, what is going on around here? Today isn't a national holiday or anything. I triple check my calendar every morning!"

Applejack tipped her hat back and looked up at one of the party announcements. "Well, you've seen the banners, right?"

Twilight followed her friend's gaze. "I did. Pinkie Pie obviously put all this on, so I ruled out trouble, but why—"

Rarity jumped in, a little frantic and unable to keep quiet any longer, Applejack staring at her or no. "Twilight, we were just about to go look for her! Maybe this is all just her doing something nice for the town, but I think it's actually the result of something terrible I'd caused the day before yesterday! I'm worried about her."

"Worried about her? What you caused?" Twilight parroted, and quirked an eyebrow.

Rarity nodded her head despondently, wearing a resigned and dramatic expression.

“You haven’t heard yet, Twilight? The rumor about Pinkie’s been gettin’ passed around town more than a wagon full of free cider.” Applejack then looked at Rarity. "And also, it sure didn't sound to me like it were your fault at all, Rarity."

"Sorry, I don’t get out that mu—…” Twilight stopped and decided to re-word her reply. “That is, I didn’t hear the rumor yesterday, or today… nevermind. So what happe—"

Twilight froze as something smacked against her side, making her stutter for just a second. She could see the shocked looks on her friends’ faces, and felt something slimy sliding down her neck and flanks. "I just got hit in the side with custard pies, didn't I?" She sighed.

Rarity shuddered, no doubt thinking 'better her than me' and took cover behind the applecart once again. At the same time Applejack nodded slowly, suppressing a snicker.

"Looks like banana cream, to me." AJ swiped her hoof over Twilight's waist and tasted the desert, her eyes following the roaming pie fight that seemed to have erupted across the street. "Yup, banana cream! I sure know my dessert." She chuckled again, until the stares from her friends got to her. "Alright alright, Rarity, I'll admit this here party is a little bit out of the ordinary. Let's go to Sugarcube Corner and catch Twilight up along the way. And maybe get her a wash tub, too."

Twilight sighed, in the middle of scooping pie out of her mane with both hooves and magic. "I'd like that... and speaking about 'like', the town sure seems to like this party."

The three mares turned to stare openly as a remarkably loud conga line passed by, at the head of which was Mayor Mare herself, dressed in a hula outfit, and accompanied by most of her staff. “Yah-tahtah-tahtah-tah!” they chorused.

The line of ponies whooped and danced, until finally rounding the bend onward into town.

"Ah-huh." Twilight turned away from the strange sight. "So, what did Rarity do exactly? And have you seen Spike today? I think he took off to party without supervision. Also, don't move."

"Spike? Why, no I haven't, and what was that last part—" Rarity began to ask.

A loud noise that sounded like paff filled Market Street, and then a violet blur turned into Twilight, Rarity, Applejack's cart and Applejack, now outside of Sugarcube corner.

Both Applejack's and Rarity's eyes spun in their heads slightly as they regained their balance and orientation. The funny thing about teleportation over a long distance was that if they weren't ready for it, passengers sometimes felt like they'd been put into a tumble dryer on 'high spin' afterward.

"As I was saying." Rarity shakily took in where she'd been re-located to and proceeded to walk in a wavy line towards the bakery doors. "Not yesterday, but the day before that, Pinkie received a manecut at the spa and it was... fumbled a bit. Her hair has been, well, deflated ever since. Though to be honest I couldn’t find her yesterday when I went to check up on her..."

“I see.” Twilight turned towards the little bakery's doors and was happy to discover that the place seemed quiet. Then, what she'd just heard dawned on her. "Wait, her hair was what!?"

Author's Notes:

Hey fellas, there's blog post with some news and rambling on the story if you're curious.

Blog Post!

Other than that, the ending comes in a couple days! So no more waiting. Sorry for, the uh, the long wait up until now.

Fifth Chapter : The Mane Requiem

It had been a relief for Twilight that the Cakes allowed her the use of their restroom to rinse off the banana cream pie. Unfortunately, it also turned out that Pinkie was nowhere to be found at Sugarcube Corner, and nopony there had seen her since earlier that day after leaving with a large quantity of jello.

In order to formulate a new plan, Rarity and Twilight sat at a table on the main floor, while Applejack leaned up against the counter not far off. They had the whole place to themselves on account of the little store being uncharacteristically closed for the day.

"If you need anything else, Twilight, I'm right in the back. Just... tidying up." Mrs. Cake sighed, shaking her head as she exited back into the kitchen. "I just don't get it. Pinkie usually leaves everything so clean after baking.”

Twilight called thanks out to Mrs. Cake for the towel, then continued to dry her coat while being enlightened by her friends. "So... the basic version of this, is that Pinkie got a manecut because of a mix up with Rainbow Dash at the spa, and now she's put on this huge party for the whole town with no warning?"

Rarity nodded once and sipped her tea, absently smoothing her delicately preserved mane with a hoof. "Yes, it was a botched job, and it's at least partly my fault, despite what Applejack insists. If only my mane and beauty didn't require such attention, things would never have happened this way!" She leaned back somewhat in her chair with a dramatic flourish, one hoof held up to her brow.

Off to the side of the room, Applejack rolled her eyes. "Rarity, it's just hair. Why, I bet that’s the only reason you think we need to hunt her down. Pinkie’s a grown mare! A little manecut won’t frazzle her."

Rarity ignored her friend’s interjection with a humph, and went on. "But a mare's coiffure is her identity itself! Why, I understand precisely what Pinkie Pie is going through. And besides, we all know what the state of Pinkie's mane can mean. It’s just as serious as Pinkie's strange sixth sense, remember that?"

Applejack's skeptical look became wary in a flash.

She didn't know how much she bought into the 'Pinkie's Mane' business, but 'Pinkie Sense' was something she'd learned to be careful of the very first day Pinkie Pie had come bouncing her way into town, many, many years ago.

An image of the most terrifying day of Applejack’s life flashed through her mind's eye.

"Buhuhuh..." She shuddered, crossing her forelegs protectively against her front.

Meanwhile, Twilight stared across the table, recalling incidents that concerned Pinkie Pie. At the same time, her ears both twitched in complaint, reacting to the loud noise outside. She put it out of her mind for now.

"That's true, Rarity, but something doesn't add up." Twilight’s muzzle scrunched in thought. "Let's think about this logically. In the past, Pinkie has never acknowledged her... well, mane being anything but... uh, Pinkie Pie-ish."

"Ya mean poofy?" Applejack tilted her head.

"Right, that. She saw it and took off. She was then seen shortly after, again by Rarity and by Fluttershy, but acting normally despite the circumstances." Twilight went on, scratching a hoof under her chin and wishing desperately for her encyclopedia's worth of 'Pinkie Pie' notes back at the Golden Oaks library. "And she only goes, hm, ‘flat’ when she is exceptionally upset or sad over something to do with other ponies."

"That, and throwing a party for the whole town isn't usually what she does when actin' all loopy." Applejack nodded.

Rarity hummed, putting together the puzzle pieces along with her friends. "So if Pinkie hasn't been acting too out of the ordinary, what does it all mean, then?"

"I have postulated many theories in the past over the strange qualities of Pinkie's mane," Twilight offered.

Both Rarity and Applejack waited impatiently for more.

"And?" they asked expectantly.

Twilight blinked her way out of her own thoughts. "Hm? Oh, they're just theories, of course. There are no documented cases of hair that shifts according to mood that I've ever found. And Spike’s silly comics don’t count... So from the sound of it, I doubt her behavior itself is magical, though I don’t know about her… hair thing. Anyway, your theory that Pinkie's just having an identity crisis of some kind makes the most logical sense. How major or minor it is, I can't say until we see her for ourselves."

Applejack stood up from leaning on Sugarcube Corner's counter. "Well shoot, let's go hunt the silly filly down then. Sounds to me that in the best case scenario, we all just enjoy this big party that Pinkie's put on. Which by the way sounds like it’s in full swing out there." She paused to nod appreciatively to the doors. "Worst case scenario, we talk her down same as we always do when one of us gets out of sorts! Seems pretty simple to me."

Rarity harrumphed lightly, while Twilight passed an eager look between both of her friends.

"Alright! Then it’s settled. So, where should we start looking?"

Applejack tipped her hat back with a hoof. "Well, we could get Rainbow Dash to find her, 'course if there's a party this big and everypony's got the day off then she's probably barrel deep into the cider already. I'll bet she could hardly get off the ground let alone fly over town to look for somepony... I could go fetch Fluttershy at least. But with this many ponies out and about she’s likely to be hunkered down in her cottage."

Twilight shook her head. "No, we shouldn't take time to hunt down anypony else. As for finding Pinkie Pie, she's going to be the center of attention somewhere. I'll bet if we just follow the laughter we'll find her in no time. I doubt we’ll need help."

Rarity sighed as Applejack and Twilight headed for outside. "It's not that I mind putting my mane and coat at risk if Equestria or Ponyville is threatened, but must it be just after I've gotten it done for the second time?" The clamor of the persisting crowd of party-goers outside did a good job of covering up her muttering.

"Did yah say something, Rarity?"

"No, nothing at all, coming!" Rarity whisked her curled mane back away from her eyes and trotted swiftly to catch up to the others.

Leading the way, Twilight magicked open the door to Sugarcube Corner, calling back a final thanks inside. The intense sounds of partying rushed in immediately, growing ten fold. Once outside, she stopped out of shock, only for Applejack and Rarity to crowd up behind her in the doorway.

"Twilight? Why’d yah stop?”

“Is something the matter?”

Twilight stepped out of the way. “See for yourselves!”

“What in the…” Applejack leaned out and stared wide-eyed at Ponyville’s hectic state. By all rights, it looked as if someone had taken the already festive celebration and cranked up its dial to eleven. The scene made Pinkie’s usual bashes look less like parties, and more like the time Spike accidentally spilled a cup full of glitter on Twilight in the library.

Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack goggled in wordless awe as several giant balloons resembling various animals, each being drawn or pushed by laughing pegasi, floated in a column down the street.

Above those floated Ponyville’s hot air balloon, dragging behind it a giant pink streamer advertising the party.

Beneath that were the floats, each seeming to be followed by their own crowd of dancing and laughing ponies as musicians of different types all played a lively tune. The circus parade that Twilight had been caught up in earlier was mixed in as well.

On top of that, unless Twilight was mistaken, even more strangers than just the entertainers seemed to be amongst the crowds. A small squad of photographer ponies had even laid claim to a large space of the street to one side, no doubt capturing the event for later newspaper publication.

“Whoo-eee, would you girls lookit all that.” Applejack took off her hat in appreciation. “I can't remember ever seeing such a sight in Ponyville before. Pinkie must have been planning this for weeks. I hope the town can handle it...”

Twilight stared at all of it a bit longer before speaking again. "Maybe. It is Pinkie, though." Not hesitating a moment more, she began to scan the crowd, floats and even the rooftops. "Alright, lets find a party pony, girls." It seemed easier said than done, especially considering the extent of the party. Almost as if to add insult to injury, a troupe of ponies marched on by, each wearing bright pink jumpsuits that bore a striking resemblance to their quarry.

Meanwhile, above Ponyville

“Uggh, I’m glad that’s over. Why does dad always gotta fuss over me? I visit like, at least once a year.”

Rainbow Dash, along with her newly shortened mane, flew in an exhausted way on a heading straight for home.

The breeze caught her wings like sails every so often, gently trying to guide her one way or the other. Careful adjustments made without thinking about it kept her on course, taking her all the way from Cloudsdale back to her boring, calm home over in Ponyville. At least, it was boring on a slow day, and even with the occasional dark force that tried to stir up trouble that was still more often than not.

Rainbow sighed weakly, thinking intently about getting to her cloud couch in her cloud home and just passing right out; visiting her dad for a day or two, even for something as simple as a mane cut, always took it right out of her.

The same old farmland as always passed by Rainbow Dash as she soared high above Ponyville's mix of thatch and shingle roofed homes, such that she hardly noticed anything about it.

Same old boring market. Same old boring ponies wearing clown suits. Same old boring flaming watermelon jugglers and wait a second— What the hay!?

Rainbow Dash’s eyes slowly began to bug out of her head as what she was looking at far below finally dawned on her. There was chaos everywhere. Not the crazy Discord variety of chaos, but the organized, excited kind of chaos that a huge crowd of celebrating ponies created. The whole town seemed to be outside contributing, too, and then some.

Even the town hot air balloon was aloft and proudly dragging a massive streamer, big enough to need the other end hitched to a cloud just to keep it held up.

"A Ponyville surprise party…? Did I miss something?" Rainbow read aloud.

Even with the wind whistling in her ears she could make out the distinct sounds of music and cheering. Miniature looking ponies dancing and having fun covered every street, making the town look as if somepony had crammed Canterlot’s populace into Ponyville’s confines.

Rainbow snickered in anticipation, deciding to not think on it too hard. "Oh well, no sense questioning a good thing." A sly look crept up her face and without waiting a second longer, her wings angled her down toward the earth and what looked to be the party of a lifetime.

“Alright, I see a cider stand!” Rainbow cheered.

Back on the ground

Twilight, Applejack and Rarity all had their work cut out for them, and that became clear as they continued to slowly nudge and politely shoulder their way as quickly as they could through the throngs of ponies and party-goers. Searching the festival covered town for Pinkie Pie was proving to be no small feat, and they had searched for a while already.

"Seen anything yet, Twi'!?" Applejack called over.

"No, still nothing. Oh, hi there Cheerilee! Yeah the party’s... a lot of fun alright. Ehheh. Say have you seen Pinkie? No? Darn.” Twilight fought to stay put amidst the churning bodies of the festive crowd. “Excuse me—"

With Twilight busy asking others if they had seen Pinkie, Applejack mumbled to herself, "Shucks, me neither. It’s almost like she’s hiding from us." Frowning over that, she hopped atop a nearby pickle barrel to scan the crowd for a solid pink body amongst them. As she did, she also had to remind herself to not search for a large and bouncy pink mane. Phew, that'll take some gettin' used to.

“Wait a second.” Applejack noticed a distinct lack of welching nearby, and turned about in a tight circle on the rickety barrel. “Rarity? Now where’d she get off to?” There was no sign of the alabaster unicorn anywhere. “Twilight, did you see where Rarity got to?”

Twilight paused in speaking to another passerby. “She was right next to you.” She too looked around for Rarity, but came up empty on finding her. “Great, we must have gotten separated.”

“Well, that just about does it.” Applejack snorted, then stamped a hoof in frustration.

The crack of wood, though quieter than the intense party, made Applejack’s ears stand up. At the same time, the rest of her toppled downward.

“Woah!” she cried out. As she landed, the powerful smell of dill and pickle juice filled her nostrils. There was also the unmistakable soak that her coat got from being splashed by a full barrel.

“Applejack? Did you find— What happened? Are you alright?” Twilight had heard her friend cry out, and hoped maybe she had seen Pinkie. Now, that didn’t seem so likely.

Applejack picked herself up slowly, eyes concealed by her own dripping wet mane and the brim of her hat. “Ah’m fine… But Twilight, I’d say it’s turnin’ out to not be neither your day or mine.” She whipped her mane back and shook her hat out as best she could. “Gross…”

Twilight winced at the murder scene of the barrel. “That would be ‘it’s not turning out to be your day, nor mine,’ Applejack,” she corrected offhandedly.

As Applejack ringed her abused stetson out, she shot a dry look the way of her friend. “Ah huh. Anyway, should we go track down Rarity?”

Beside her, Twilight again stood up on her hind legs, a forehoof over her brow to block out the sun as she searched for their original quarry. "Let’s keep looking for Pinkie. Maybe Rarity even saw her and took off. In the meantime, there's no sign of either one around here. If we go on over to the balloon ride, we could..."

Twilight trailed off as a large shadow passed over her, blotting out the sun and immediately getting her attention. Powerful, gusting wing-flaps also got her to look up to see what the cause was.

"Huh? Who— Oh my gosh." Twilight lowered her hoof, staring up in surprise at who it was.

"Good day to thee, Twilight Sparkle!" a regal voice announced.

Some of the laughing, celebrating ponies in the crowd stopped immediately, and long enough to bow, wave or even cheer. They received quick greetings in turn from the Princess of the Night as she came into a low hover beside Twilight Sparkle.

Luna’s smile was as wide as it could go, and she carried a gigantic plush toy on her back of an overly fluffy pony with its tongue sticking out comically. "Hello to you also, Applejack! It is good to finally see you out here! I was unable to pick you all out amongst the crowds at the start of this marvelous gathering.” She gave them both a friendly nod of her head, to which Twilight and Applejack returned a quick bow. “I hope I'm not interrupting your good time with my presence. You see, I just finished eating a couple things called an 'extra large pizza' when I took notice of you across the way. Also, I was not fond of the pineapple."

“N-No!” Twilight stammered, smiling. “You’re not bothering us at all. We were just looking for, uh… I think we’re just surprised to see you here in town.”

“Ah.” Luna smirked and nodded. “I see! Yes, I was just as surprised by the last minute announcement of this festival. And to think, the Summer Wrap Up Festival and Hoe-down was so recent! I had not expected another Ponyville celebration of such magnitude so quickly, and both myself and Celestia received invitations. Strangely enough, so did our entire staff... It caught us rather off our guard.”

Twilight traded shocked looks with Applejack, before snapping back to Luna. “Wait, Princess Celestia is here too!?”

Luna blinked, then made a chiming laugh. “No, sadly my sister and most of the servants have duties to attend to during the day, and were unable to come. But, mine take place during the night! And I was all too happy to attend Pinkie Pie’s festival, along with much of my Night Guard from the barracks.”

As she spoke, two bat-winged ponies wearing tropical themed shirts and sunglasses gave curt nods, before resuming to suck on what appeared to be smoothies gripped in each of their wings. Each also had excessive globs of sunlotion smeared atop their muzzles.

“But enough of that!” Luna proceeded. “I trust you are both enjoying the festivities? I do see that Applejack has already visited a dunk tank!”

Applejack grumbled at that, but traded another look with Twilight, this time a doubtful one.

“Well, we would be, Princess,” Twilight answered slowly. She took a breath, and decided to spill the beans. “But we’ve actually been trying to find Pinkie Pie and it might be important that we do.”

Luna’s look became tinged with worry and slightly serious as she read into the tone in Twilight’s voice. “Find her? Is something wrong?”

“O-Oh. I don’t want to get in the way of your time off, Luna, we’re not so sure it’s serious,” Twilight stammered.

Luna batted a hoof towards her sister’s pupil and blew a raspberry to the air. “Nonsense! Twilight, if I can help I would be happy to. Now, what is the matter?”

Twilight made a thoughtful sound. “Well… it might be safer to say we aren’t really sure. We mostly just want to check on her. Assuming we can even find her.”

Princess Luna hummed and tapped a hoof to her chin. “Hm, I’m not sure I understand. It was Pinkie that put on this large festival, correct? Do you mean to say she is in trouble, despite this?”

Applejack added her two bits in. “It’s a long story, Princess. But the short version is that Pinkie Pie might be throwing this whole party because she’s self conscious over, well, a botched manecut. We’re just tryin’ to find her and make sure that everything’s okay. I’m sure you remember how coocoo that girl can get.”

Luna stared back, then nodded after recalling several Pinkie Pie related instances from around the castle and elsewhere. “I see. This won’t be anything like the sentient pudding incident, will it? I think I can assemble a reasonable fighting force if―”

Twilight quickly shook her head. “I don’t think so, Princess. We just want to check on her, and maybe spend this party with her like good friends.” She gave Luna a cheerful, wide smile to further her point.

“Ah, I see... And we are also friends, Twilight Sparkle!” With that, Luna encased both Applejack and Twilight in a rib crushing hug that she must not have realized was rib crushing. “Allow us, I mean me, to help thee! Ohhh, this is like a game of hide and seek. I haven’t played that since… by my stars, it’s been forever.”

“Oh, s-sure. If you ‘nsist—” Twilight wheezed out, her eyes bulging slightly.

Luna unceremoniously dropped Applejack and Twilight, eliciting oofs from both. “Excellent, I will inform my guards of this as well.” She quickly took flight again, still talking aloud to herself. “We’ll have her found in no time! Perhaps I should offer prizes…”

Applejack grunted and readjusted her hat as she stood up. “That mare is crazy strong. Remind me to never get stuck between her and Pinkie Pie at once. I think I’d croak.”

Twilight winced a little as she stood, but chuckled. “Weeeell, Princess Luna was just being a little enthusiastic. Her hugs are usually more tame. Anyway, let’s get back to looking. We still have a lot of town to cover.”

Applejack nodded determinedly. “At least with Luna’s help this should go a lot quicker. Still, I can’t believe we haven’t found Pinkie yet. She isn’t exactly a ‘low profile’ mare, yah know?” She glanced around at the surrounding festival pensively. “You don’t think… she might’ve gotten hurt or somethin’?”

Twilight started back into the crowd, all the while searching for a pink pony atop one of the stages doing an act or in the streets saying hello to everypony one by one, making sure they were all having a good time.

“I don’t know, Applejack,” she replied. “I do think I’m starting to agree with Rarity, though. There must be something going on. Let’s just hope it’s not trouble.”

Elsewhere in Town

Rarity breathed heavily as she traversed the crowds, her sides heaving, and continued in a half panic to keep an eye out for more possible dangers. Dangers to her pristine mane, that is. She had already been forced to gallop away from several, ranging from pies, to messy rides, to splashing mud, to water balloons and more.

Her accidental separation from Twilight and Applejack seemingly had made things even worse, but she continued to search for Pinkie despite this, and despite almost everything trying to dissuade her.

“No!” Rarity shouted to the cloud’s and overhead sun. “I must not give up. Under no circumstances will I stop, you hear me, festival of filth!?” Her determined sky-ward stare was met by a hot air balloon, floating lazily past through the air. “Hmph, it’s no fun being dramatic if I don’t have the girls as an audience—”

A couple of passersby snapped Rarity out of her state, and gave a slight applause by stamping their hooves or clapping.

Rarity blinked at them, then hurried along and regathered herself. Her coiffure, only recently restored to pristine perfection that very morning, simply seemed to be attracting every sort of dirty or greasy obstacle in the entirety of Ponyville like a magnet. It was best not to linger anywhere long or take any chances.

Though it had been at least a couple of hours, if not longer since she had lost track of Applejack and Twilight, she had still not found Pinkie. And that was after she had searched with them for some time already.

Rarity looked up as she trotted and sighed weightily. The sun was moving toward the edge of the sky at a steady pace, and she had already covered most of Ponyville, twice, but there was no sign of her quarry. She was beginning to think that Pinkie was out of town, or maybe working so behind the scenes to keep the celebrations going that she was nowhere to be found.

“At this rate, it will be sundown soon! And my hooves are starting to ache,” Rarity complained. “If Pinkie Pie’s truly upset and trying to convince everyone she’s still herself, who knows what she’ll come up with...”

The roaming band of pie-fighting clowns ran by up ahead, then, but at a safe distance.

“Oh, if only Applejack were still here. She would make an excellent shield— Ah!” Rarity jumped to the side, just in time to miss being gunked by a large glob of melted cheese.

“Haha, whoops! Sorry there, filly,” a portly, buck-toothed mare apologized. “The bucket got away from me. Hey, would’ja like a free sample? Skinny thing like you needs to put on some weight if she wants any hope of findin’ a stallion ‘round these parts!”

Rarity stared in horror at the oozing pool of cheese resting at her hooves and shuddered. “N-No thank you, I— Eee—!”

Disaster reared its ugly head again just then.

Coming from both sides this time, muck and grime assaulted Rarity in the form of a traveling herd of pigs on one side—all of them snuffling and slinging mud happily—and a dumpster being wheeled past atop a wobbly wheelbarrow by a janitor pony on the other.

The pigs sought to push Rarity into the dumpster, and the precariously perched garbage looked as though it would tip from the hands of its master by a stiff breeze.

Rarity’s expression drew down in horror upon seeing the impending doom of her entire coat and mane. Just before she was sandwiched between the two, she went into mane-protection maximum-overdrive. With the same grace as a swan taking flight, she leaped to the side, over the pigs, managed a flawless sideways roll the rest of the way, and landed on all four hooves with ease.

“Phew.” Rarity watched as the pigs, jolly as ever, accidentally careened with the garbage pony, who then careened with the melted cheese stand, all of it turning into one giant mess. She wiped what felt like possible sweat from her brow: a small sacrifice in the face of complete failure.

“That was too close.” All that avoided, Rarity finally breathed a sigh of relief. She took a careful look around herself, double checking for obstacles or threats, then turned away, eager to move on.

“Heya there, Rarity!” a filly’s voice with a southern drawl called.

It was followed by another, only slightly more boyish voice. “Hi, Rarity!”

Rarity’s ears perked up and she turned about, only to be greeted by the sight of her little sister’s friends.

Scootaloo and Applebloom, two of the three cutie mark crusaders, grinned upward at her, a giant hard candy on a stick clutched in one’s hoof, and what looked like a great big bag of popcorn resting on the other’s back.

“What’s up!? Are you out here having fun, too?” Scoots asked.

Rarity blinked, hesitating to answer. She could practically see the dirt and sticky candy remnants on both of their grimy faces.

“O-Oh, Yes, fun. I’m having that. Ehheh.” Rarity gulped, eager to move on and resume her search.

Applebloom tilted her head. “You okay there, Miss Rarity?”

Rarity began to nod, just as a high pitched and cutesy voice called, interrupting their greetings.

“Raaarity! There you are! I was hoping we’d find you!” Sweetie Belle galloped up and skidded to a halt, kicking up dust as she did.

Rarity winced. She had been about to answer, but her eyes instead homed in on the state of disarray her little sister was in. What had to be butter and candy stains covered much of Sweetie Belle’s normally bright and spotless hooves. Her face was covered in what appeared to be low-quality face paint. And worst of all, she must have gone swimming in something untoward, as the rest of her coat was tinged a light green.

“Oh my gosh, we should go on some rides together!” Sweetie squealed, speaking quickly. “Mom and Dad are over there trying to win a prize right now, but I bet they’ll let us go with you for—”

Rarity smiled weakly and made a settling motion toward her sister. “Easy, Sweetie, slow down. I’m actually on business at the moment, and can’t really go off to enjoy myself just yet.” All the while, she tried to back away slowly from her messy train-wreck of a little sister.

Sweetie Belle awwed loudly. “Darn...”

“But I thought you said you were out having fun?” Scoots spoke up and asked.

“Yeah, what gives?” Applebloom chimed.

Rarity groaned inwardly. “Well, that’s because I find business to be fun!”

The crusaders gave each other a look, then rolled their eyes as one.

“Nevermind. Uhm, what exactly happened to you by the way, Sweetie?” Rarity asked her sister, changing the subject.

“Huh?” Sweetie Belle craned her around around and her eyes lit up at the sight of her coat. “Oh! There’s a big ol’ jello mold on the other side of Town Hall, by the lion tamer’s pit.” She giggled. “Silly me, I didn’t realize it wasn’t for diving into… I mean, why put a diving board on the side if it isn’t?”

Rarity hummed at that, and remembered again that she was in the middle of looking for Pinkie. “I see, well, you should get mother to get you washed up. That stuff will stain your coat horribly.”

Sweetie groaned. “Aaw, but I don’t wanna! Are you sure I can’t come with you instead?”

Rarity shook her head resolutely. “Absolutely not! I’m in the middle of searching for Pinkie Pie, and I cannot allow the three of you to distract me. It’s very important that I find her quickly.” She thought that putting her hoof down so soundly would have done the trick, but she immediately discovered she was mistaken.

The girls all looked at each other, eyes lighting up as if by a single switch.

“Oh my gosh, you guys are playing tag!” Applebloom shouted first.

Scootaloo nodded, her wings buzzing. “I knew it! The adults never wanna tell us anything.”

“Rarity, please let us play too? Pleeease!?” Sweetie begged. “We’ll be the best marehunt seeker assistants ever! Pleasepleaseplease! What if I give you a hug? Can we help then?”

Rarity had been about to calmly refute the crusader’s requests, but all at once the three of them had begun advancing on her. “Uhm, girls― no, girls? Stay back, back! I don’t need any help―” The sheen of greasy faces, the icky clumps of mud on their flanks, and worst of all, the gum-like stains and jello all over Sweetie Belle!

Rarity skittered back on her hooves, stammering, until her rump came into contact with something.

“Oh, hey there, darlin’! You change your mind about this here free sample o’ quality melted swiss?” It was the same mare from before, returning with a vengeance. “It got a bit o’ gunk in it from tha’ there trash can, so I’ll give yah a discount!” The grinning carnie held out a sloppily filled cup of melted cheese, and the world went into slow motion.

A glob came free of the cup, headed straight for Rarity. It soared through the air, straight as an arrow in flight. As if by some ill-fated unholy design, the glob managed to splash delicately on her pristine, white front.

Rarity stared down aghast at her soiled coat. Her mouth drew down in horror, her muscles tensed, and she had no idea how to react. I’ve got to get out of here! she screamed internally, and burst into a full on charge.

The crusaders stared after the adult unicorn who shrieked as she ran away from them.

“Oh, I get it! We’re playing now!” Scootaloo cheered.

“Whoo!” Applebloom added, and began to give chase.

Sweetie Belle brought up the rear, shouting, “If I catch you I’m gonna give you that hug, Rarity!” The three girls laughed as they gave pursuit.

At Sugarcube Corner

“Uggh, my hooves are killing me…” Twilight lamented, massaging two of her sore hooves against one another. After hours of trotting, the search of the town hadn’t produced Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah… mine, too.” Applejack agreed, and sat down hard on Sugarcube Corner’s steps. Running around Ponyville more times than she had bothered to count in a single afternoon had drained even her. She gratefully accepted an offered glass of water from a somber Mrs. Cake.

Night time in Ponyville had nearly fallen, the sun having reached its destination in the western part of the sky.

The surprise festival that had been put on by the M.I.A organizer had moved onto its later stages, with outdoor vegetable barbecues and bonfires being erected for evening dancing and relaxing. Ears of corn wrapped in foil were being cooked alongside marshmallows, while bright lights outlined the edges of the buildings in the festivity filled town.

But Pinkie Pie was still missing.

Even with the help of Luna, her guardsponies, the local police ponies and more than a few other random citizens keeping an eye out, she was nowhere to be found. What had started out as a search for a possible party monster on the rampage, had turned into a mare-hunt for a missing friend.

Twilight and Applejack sat despondently on Sugarcube Corner’s front steps, each of them weary from having circled Ponyville’s entirety more than once. Luna and a few of her Night Guard were standing or sitting in a similar fashion around them. One guardsmare tossed popcorn lazily into a nearby styrofoam cup, while three other guards busied themselves with interviewing passersby. Luna herself frowned at the well-trampled fairground, frustrated and worried over her subject’s well being.

“I think it may be time to stop this party,” Luna said, out of the blue. She looked at Twilight. “And perhaps to organize a proper search effort. Or is it too soon for that?”

“No.” Twilight peered up through her disheveled mane, a look of deep concern etched into her features. “I think you may be right, Princess. Pinkie wouldn’t be gone this long.” She didn’t like the thought, but couldn’t come up with an alternative.

Luna nodded. “I can leave my guardsponies here to help you organize a halt to the festivities then, but I’m afraid my own free time here is near an end. I must return to Canterlot with haste in order to conduct my nightly duties.”

Twilight and Applejack shared worried looks from the princess’ words, and of what was to come.

“Alright, I’ll go see if I can’t track down the Mayor, hopefully we can—”

A loud, scratchy voice from across the street cut Twilight off, and broke the relative silence that the town had become reacquainted with since sundown.

“Hey, lay off!” The familiar mare’s voice yelled. “I swear to officer, drunk! I’m not Celestia!”

“Listen, lady, you’ve clearly had too much and I’ve got bigger problems than making sure you’re alright! Just land and I’ll let you go with a warning, okay?”

The assembled group of ponies around Sugarcube Corner turned to face the disturbance. They were met by the sight of Rainbow Dash, somewhat lilting in the air just a short distance above the ground, and the earth pony police stallion following along beneath her.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight and Applejack called. They jumped up to their hooves and sprinted over.

“There you are! Now you can help us look for… uhm.” Twilight trailed off and had second thoughts of what she had been about to say. Rainbow didn’t exactly look search-party-ready. “Well, in any case, what have you been up to?”

Rainbow’s eyes shot wide open in surprise. “Twilight? Applejack? Oh, hey!” She ignored the officer giving her a hard time. “Woah, is that Luna over there? And I’m partying, duh! It’s a great time, am I right?”

Twilight rolled her eyes as she approached Rainbow, then gave the trailing police officer an apologetic look. “Eh-heh, hello there—” She quickly read the cop’s name-tag. “Officer Cinnamon Swirl? We’re her friends. I promise we’ll take care of her, if that’s alright.”

Rainbow floundered her way down to the ground, landing with a thump. “Hehe, Cinnamon Swirl. That’s a girl’s name.”

The officer, looking none too pleased by Rainbow’s comments, snorted gruffly. “Whatever, just keep her grounded, alright?”

Rainbow hiccuped. “Whoo! So what are you guys up to? I haven’t had this much fun since… well, Pinkie Pie’s last party!”

Twilight finished giving the cop assurances they’d see their friend home, while Applejack answered.

"Yeah, about that, Rainbow." Applejack swept the hat off her head and gave Rainbow a somber look. “Have you seen Pinkie Pie anywhere? Not sure if you’ve heard, but we can’t find hide nor hair of that mare.”

“Pinkie’s missing!?” Rainbow half took flight again, only to tip to the left and thud back onto the ground, where Twilight rested a steadying hoof on her shoulder. Rainbow blinked and paused, wearing an intense look of thought. Then she began snickering. “Hehe, that rhymed. Hair… Mare… Hic—”

Applejack and Twilight traded a flat, but knowing look.

“Rainbow, focus. This could be serious,” Twilight pleaded.

“Although, hopefully it isn’t.” Luna had trotted up as well, joining the three friends.

Rainbow shook her head. “Er, right, sorry. I just got here, Twilight. I was in Cloudsdale visiting— Eh, my dad. I hadn’t heard about Pinkie Pie. Didn’t she throw this party? That’s what the streamer on that balloon said…” She looked around a moment, then pointed a hoof up at the hot-air balloon in question. “So how is she missing?”

Something distracted Twilight. She furrowed her brow over the town’s hot pink, hot-air balloon, as it was flying overhead abnormally low to the ground. “Uh… well, Pinkie was last seen over at town hall, delivering… uhm, a jello mold.”

Rainbow lowered one ear and raised her other. “A jello mold?” she asked, confused. “That’s it?”

Twilight pulled her attention away from the balloon. “Wait, no, we think she went missing because she ended up getting your manecut by accident. For the last couple of days after that she was setting this huge festival up.”

Rainbow blinked slowly. “Wait. She’s wearing the Rain-do!?” Her expression lit up and she devolved into a fit of laughter. “That sounds awesome!”

Luna turned and whispered to Twilight, “She named her hair after herself?”

Twilight gave the princess a floundering, sheepish look, while Applejack continued with the explanation. “That ain’t all of it, Dash. The standin’ theory is she’s upset and wantin’ to prove to everypony that she’s still the same ol’ party animal.”

Luna chimed in. “I can relate to this. The proving to others of some aspect of yourself, mind you. Not the party animal thing.”

Applejack nodded. “So, I guess not havin’ her poofy mane rattled her a bit. She has kind of had it as long as I’ve known her, and as far as Pinkie Pie over-reactions go this one didn’t seem too bad.”

Rainbow’s laughter outburst died down quickly as she listened. “But now she’s missing. Hoo-boy…” She held a hoof up to her head and groaned. “Now I wish I’d taken it easy with the cider. Oh well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go look for her!”

Despite Rainbow’s enthusiasm and sudden sobriety, the rest of the mares around her gave doubtful expressions.

“We’ve been looking, Rainbow.” Twilight looked up absently for the Ponyville hot-air balloon, but it had moved on. “I don’t suppose you know about any super secret hiding spots or something that Pinkie might be using? We really hadn’t thought finding her would be so difficult, but it has been.”

Rainbow Dash sagged, looking a little frustrated. “Oh. No, I don’t. Not really? I mean, why would her mane getting messed up make her go into hiding? That’s way more Rarity’s style. Was Pinkie really that upset?”

Twilight answered, “According to Rarity? Not really, and if she just wanted privacy I’d imagine she’d just be up in her room, but she—”

Rainbow interrupted, her frown growing. “And if her mane was the only issue, why didn’t she get a wig!? Or why didn’t Twilight cast a hair-grow spell or something? You could have at least copped out and gone to Zecora if you couldn’t figure it out.”

“Well of course a hair spell would be simple enough to look up, but...” Twilight’s brow suddenly drew down. “Hey, now wait a second, why wouldn’t I be able to figure that out—!?”

Applejack stuck a hoof in Twilight’s muzzle and spoke over her. “Dash, that would solve the main issue, no pun intended, but that isn’t the problem. Heck, we never even got the chance to talk to her about it. We gotta find her first.”

Luna picked up Applejack’s sentence. “We were actually about to conclude this stage of the search, Rainbow Dash.”

“What!? But we gotta find her!”

As the others spoke, Twilight grumbled while wrenching Applejack’s hoof away from her face, angry thoughts stirring in her head. Can’t figure out a spell? Me? Something as simple as inducing some hair growth for Pinkie Pie would be foal’s play! I’ll show her... After I get back to my house I’ll have a look through the library and—

Twilight froze in the middle of her machinations to give Rainbow Dash a mane long enough to span a hoofball field. After looking in the direction of her home, already thinking of which books in particular to search, she had spotted something that was quite befitting of just how crazy the day had been thus far.

“Wait… how—? There’s a…” Twilight stammered.

Luna observed both Twilight and what she was looking upon. “Hm, Twilight, did you know there appears to be something positioned atop your arboreal athenaeum?”

“Twilight! There’s a balloon in your tree-brary!” Applejack shouted.

Luna frowned over at Applejack. “That’s what I said, Applejack.”

“My house!” Twilight screamed, then proceeded to run to the defense of her home while shouting, “Why does everything and everypony out there want to destroy my tree!?”

In the wake of Twilight’s retreat, the remaining three mares all traded glances, before proceeding to follow her amidst their conversation.

“I suppose Celestia won’t mind covering for me for now,” Luna mused in answer. “I swear this town never stops being interesting.”

“Tell me about it.” With an eye-roll, Applejack then continued from before. “Anyway, Rainbow, we’ll keep searching, don’t you worry, but I think you oughta just head home.” Notifying the authorities for more help was an obvious next step, but Rainbow’s inclusion at the moment didn’t seem wise.

Rainbow‘s scowl returned. “What? Is this because of the cider? I swear I was just enjoying myself, I’m fine now! Look, I can even fly perfectly fine.” True enough, she hopped up into the air and floated smoothly beside them. “See?”

Luna again thought to speak her mind on the topic. “Back in my time, the village drunks were dunked until sober for public misconduct and endangerment.”

Applejack and Rainbow stared at her a moment, until Rainbow opted to land again. “Ooor maybe I’ll just stick with you. We could totally search better as a team.”

The three of them soon caught up with Twilight and what appeared to be a balloon caught up in the branches of the Golden Oaks library. Ponyville’s hot air balloon, to be precise. Surrounding the building were also several police ponies, as well as the local Ponyville fire-brigade with several ladders.

Twilight herself was looking up at the balloon and frantically pacing, amidst arguing with one officer in particular.

Applejack and Luna frowned over the deteriorating scene, just coming to within earshot.

“Ma’am, it’s not a suggestion. Please stop trying to use magic and let us handle it. You’ll just make things worse.” The police stallion, who was funnily enough the same one as earlier, stretched a hoof between Twilight and her library.

“But that’s my house!” Twilight shot back as her horn lit up with a purple glow. At the top of the tree, the balloon took on the same glow as it was tugged on. The tree’s branches, however, held the basket fast. The tree itself began to lean somewhat to the side as more pressure was applied. Despite this, Twilight kept her determined look in place.

The work ponies still on ladders held on tightly as the tree swayed.

“Ma’am, I won’t ask again, put your horn down!” The officer squared off against Twilight, one hoof tucking itself behind his belt. He kept a trained eye between both the tree and the delinquent.

Twilight, meanwhile, had her expression screwed up in concentration. "I've almost got it!" she insisted, carefully unwrapping tangled limbs from the balloon’s cables and working around the crew up in the tree.

“That’s it!” the officer shouted.

Applejack, Rainbow, and Luna winced as they witnessed their friend Twilight get tazered by the angry police officer. Her mane exploded into a frizzled mess, before she yelped and slumped onto the earth.

“Now you wait just a minute, you know us!” Applejack shouted at the cop as she ran closer. “She’s an Element of Harmony!”

“Your friend was endangering our crew, and I don’t care if you’re Princess Celestia herself. I’ve got another one ready for you ma’am. Back off,” he said, his hoof resting on a holstered taser.

Applejack thought better of interfering, and slowly backed away.

“And what if she were Princess Luna?” The princess trotted up swiftly, ready to interfere on her sister’s student’s behalf. “At ease, constable. She’s with me.”

“Alright, now look—” The officer turned his scowl towards the next newcomer, only for his jaw to drop. “Oh. You really are Princess Luna.”

Luna gave a smile. “Indeed. I apologize for the disturbance caused. May we see to our friend?”

The officer jerkily nodded his consent.

Twilight shakily climbed back to her hooves with Luna’s help. “Hee, I’m ready for my next lesson Printhess Celethia!”

Applejack waved a hoof in front of Twilight’s face. “Are you alright there, sugarcube?”

Twilight heard the question despite the ringing in her ears and proceeded to clear her head with a brisk shake. “Uggh, what hit me?” Her mane bounced slowly, now somewhat resembling a cross between a chia-pet and a bird's nest.

“That’d be the long arm of the law,” Rainbow answered with a frown, then brightened up. “But hey, at least you got the balloon unstuck.” She pointed a hoof at the object in question.

The work crew had attached ropes to the sides of the balloon and anchored it. They were now slowly pulling it to the ground. Once it touched down, however, a sound like ripping cardboard came from the basket and filled the air.

Applejack backed up a step. “What in tarnation?”

“Was that some kind of monster?” Rainbow added, cringing away as well.

Whatever the origin of the noise, it sounded again, and twice as fierce as before.

Luna acted quickly. “Stand back everypony.” She held out a hoof, while the other mares stood at the ready. She approached the basket cautiously, ready to investigate.

The other three friends looked on, each standing prepared for the worst. After all, somepony had been piloting the balloon at one point, but they had stopped. Perhaps whatever had got them was still in the basket.

With the tension in the air growing ever thicker by the second, each of the mare’s eyes peeled, and Twilight’s crispy mane blowing slowly in the wind, Luna finally reached into the balloon with her magic and pulled out…

…

A green and purple baby dragon, encased in a blue aura.

“Well, look at what we have here,” the princess proclaimed.

With the threat gone, the other ponies moved up to the balloon to finish securing it.

Luna continued. “And there is also—”

“Spike?” all three mares chorused together.

Twilight stormed up to the napping dragon angrily. “What are you doing—? Hey, you were supposed to be helping Rarity! Wait, where is Rarity?” It suddenly dawned on her that perhaps the story Spike had given her earlier hadn’t been truthful, especially considering that Rarity had been leading the search for Pinkie Pie. Where the other mare had ended up though was a mystery. “And have you seen Pinkie anywhere?”

Luna raised a hoof to interject, but she was interrupted again.

Spike snorted awake, the scruff of his neck still held by magic. “Huh— What? Twilight!? Why are you out here!?” A panicked look crossed his features while he spun slowly in the air. “Oh, well, uh, you see there was this swarm of parasprites, and… Uggh, okay, I confess. I really was going to help Rarity, but I got side-tracked! This huge party came out of nowhere and I ran into Pinkie, so I—”

“Pinkie?” Twilight asked, and again all three of them shouted as one, “Where is she!?”

“She’s over here!” Luna chimed in, and schooled her features away from an offended frown.

“Uh, she’s in the balloon? Why, what’s up?” Spike scratched a claw behind his spines, utterly lost.

Twilight gasped and ran up to the basket, followed closely by her friends.

True enough, Pinkie was still sound asleep at the bottom of the basket. Everypony present, rescue and work-crew included, gathered around to spot the napping mare inside.

“Oh thank goodness,” Applejack breathed in relief. “And here I was really startin’ to get worried.”

“Well, looks like she’s alright.” Rainbow, in her unquestionable sobriety, decided to poke her until she woke up.

“Huh? What?" Pinkie Pie slowly uncurled from her position in the basket's corner, legs stretching and back arching. Then, she suddenly screamed, "THE JELLO MOLD! How did it go!? Did it work out? What happened? Did anypony jump in? I have to know if it was the most super-ific-est thing ever or a complete flop!” She reached out and grabbed hold of the closest pony’s cheeks with both hooves, which happened to be Twilight’s.

“TELL ME!”

“Pinkie,” Twilight smiled after prying two pink hooves off of her face. “Everypony loved your jello mold.”

Pinkie sighed in relief. “Thank goodness!”

Twilight smiled, and shared in the laughter with her friends. “More importantly, have you been here the whole time?”

“And are you alright?” Applejack also asked.

“Great haircut, by the way,” Rainbow Dash threw in last. After a couple stern looks from Twilight and Applejack, she added, “Oh, and what the hay happened?”

Pinkie Pie yawned, then hopped out of the basket in one go. “Phew, well, for starters I apparently fell asleep while flying the hot-air balloon! Thank goodness Spike was with me to take over.”

Spike tried to shrink from sight, but that was a little difficult hovering as he was. “Eh-heh, about that… I didn’t really know how to lower the balloon, and couldn’t reach the control-cords… so I sort of figured it was alright to nap too?” He gave a sheepish look to the ponies around him.

“Endangering a minor…” the nearby earth pony cop sighed, already taking notes.

Luna flapped a wing harshly at the stallion. “Off with you, I’m granting them amnesty.”

Twilight stared wide-eyed at Luna. “Princess Luna, you can do that?”

Luna snorted. “I’m a princess, I can do what I want, and I’m getting tired of these shenanigans. Pinkie Pie, please continue.”

Pinkie giggled over the word 'shenanigans'. “Okie-dokie! So there I was for the last two days, or was it three? After you hit that thirty hour mark everything starts getting loopy… Anyway! I got everything arranged, from the circus to the vendors! All I needed to do was announce to everypony about the party and—!” She looked around herself, suddenly taking in the fact that it was night out.

“Well, I guess I fell asleep after bumping into Spike.” She rubbed a disappointed hoof behind her head, then gasped. “Oh no! I missed so much! What time is it!? It's dark, already? That means I need to get to work and go set up the fireworks!” She made to take off down the road, but Twilight stopped her with a hoof.

“Relax, Pinkie. You’ve worked yourself to the bone. The party can take care of itself from here on.”

“But, but… this has to be the BEST. PARTY. EVER!” Pinkie looked around nervously for a moment. “There was so much more I had planned out!”

“What’re you talking about Pinkie?” Rainbow asked rhetorically. “This IS the best party ever!”

Pinkie blinked a few times. “It is?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“Yeah,” all of her friends resoundingly agreed.

“Really?” Pinkie asked again, head tilting a bit.

“Yeah!” The police ponies, work-crew, Princess Luna, and a few passersby all chimed in this time.

With a thoughtful look, Pinkie paused, mulling it all over carefully. “Hmmmm, but are you all absolutely, one-hundred-percent-ly, without a shadow of a doubt-ly, totally and completely positive?”

“Yes!” They all answered once more in unison, this time with a couple groans and laughter scattered throughout.

“OH MY GOSH! Do you know what this means!?” Pinkie beamed all around. “It means... that I’m still a super-duper party pony!”

Twilight giggled. “Well of course you are, Pinkie. Were you really doubting yourself that badly?”

In response to that, Pinkie put on an ashamed look momentarily. “Well, I did forget the sugar in some cupcakes.” Twilight and Applejack raised an eyebrow each, while Rainbow and Spike gasped.

“But Pinkie,” Applejack butt in, “You threw a right good shindig, did ya really think your hair had anything to do with that?”

Pinkie giggled, then batted a hoof at her friend playfully. “Of course not, Applejack! That’s just silly! Silly Applejack.”

Applejack’s look fell a couple inches.

“And if I really wanted my mane fixed, I coulda just gone to Zecora! Well, or Twilight, but she’d take longer.”

Twilight joined in with Applejack’s expression. Rainbow snickered at both of them to the side.

Pinkie continued. “But after I got my hair chopped off... I just felt like a different pony, even if nopony else treated me different. I’ve always had that haircut!"

Twilight arced an eyebrow and raised a hoof. "Don't you mean 'manecut', Pinkie? I mean, not to be a grammar dictator since either could work, but—"

"No no no no. Haircut, Twilight. Haircut." Her mistaken friend corrected, Pinkie continued. "Anyway, I didn’t even realize how used to it I was. I had to do something to make me feel all Pinkie-rific again! That’s why I threw this party. Come to think of it, I hope it didn’t get out of control while I was asleep…?”

“No, it didn’t.” Applejack shook her head, chuckling. “Well, maybe a little. So, I take it you’re feelin’ just like your old self again?”

Pinkie nodded a dozen times in rapid-fire succession. “You betcha! And I gotta admit, I really can move way faster with a short mane!”

“Really? So, Pinks… does this mean you're gonna rock the Rain-do from now on?" Dash asked with a grin.

Pinkie Pie giggled again. “I don’t think so, Dashie.” She rolled her eyes before giving her friend an innocent look. “After all, you’re toootally the only one who can pull off the colt look!”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, I’m definitely—” She screeched to a halt and stuck her friend with a dirty look. “Hey!”

The girls all shared a good laugh, as well as Spike, who Twilight promised to only ground for a few days. Together, after saying their goodbyes to Princess Luna, they all decided to head to Sugarcube Corner for a late and well-deserved snack.

“So, Twilight, Applejack, I was wondering something,” Pinkie asked, trotting briskly along her friend’s left.

“Yes, Pinkie?” Twilight answered, still smiling from everything working out so neatly.

Pinkie tilted her head, getting a better look at her friends. “What exactly happened to your mane? Or Applejack’s, for that matter?”

Applejack and Twilight each looked at each others’ disheveled appearance, both of which had been earned during their search for Pinkie. Together, they turned towards her and muttered, “You don’t wanna know.”

“Really? Because it sounds like an awesome story! Almost as good as why Applejack smells like pickles.” Pinkie snickered at their expense, but soon threw two hooves over their withers and brought them close into a comforting hug. It was then that the group of mares—and also Spike—ran headlong into somepony.

From around the corner, a certain fashionista named Rarity came barreling out of nowhere, colliding with and knocking over all of her friends.

"Oof!"

Once on the ground, Pinkie Pie looked over from her spot in the newly formed pony-pile. "Oh, hi Rari—!"

Rarity jumped up first out of the group, and grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders.

“Hide me!” she shrieked, although her voice sounded entirely out of breath. In addition, her mane was even worse off than either Applejack’s or Twilight's.

“Hide you?” Pinkie asked. “What’s wrong, Rarity?”

“You don’t understand!” Rarity gulped. “At first it was just a game of hide and seek for them! Innocent! Harmless! But you know how they are. They get these ideas. And they’re still coming for me! They found others, they multiplied! And then—” Abruptly, Rarity cut off and blinked dumbly for a moment at who she held in her hooves.

“Pinkie!?”

Pinkie Pie giggled and gave Rarity a boop on the nose. “Hi there!”

Rarity was suddenly aware of the other three ponies standing there. “Twilight? Applejack? And Rainbow Dash is back? You all found her?”

Twilight and Applejack gave a nod, each wearing amused smiles and dusting themselves off.

“We sure did! She was—” Twilight had a hoof stuffed in her muzzle—again—before she could get another word out. She sighed, not bothering to fight it off this time.

“There’s no time!” Rarity insisted, already looking around back the way she came. “They were just behind me, and they had— oh no.”

Everypony else followed Rarity’s gaze to the building corner down the dark street. There was still some bustle in Ponyville, but strangely that road in particular was abandoned. This gave them a perfect view to a single, tiny head that peeked around the building corner.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t that a filly?” Twilight asked, getting worried from the heaviness in the air.

Rarity heard the voices long before she saw them. Even after successfully losing the squadron of fillies and colts that had been chasing her, they were relentless in their pursuit. Along the way, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had picked up additional children, all of them convinced there was a game being played.

“It’s too late!” Rarity shrieked. “Every mare for herself!” With that, she charged off in the other direction down the cobble road.

Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow and Twilight—also Spike—all stared after her.

“Huh, what do you s’pose all this is—” Applejack was unable to finish her sentence due to the sudden thunder of hooves that was approaching. “Woah nelly!”

“There she is!” a tiny voice cheered. “And those are her friends! We almost got her, guys! I bet the grand prize is gonna be awesome!”

Pinkie Pie exchanged excited looks with the others in her group. Well, they looked shocked and terrified, but anyway, she wasted no time in joining them in a mad dash after Rarity.

“Wheee! Best party eeeever!” Pinkie cheered, all while Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack all tried fruitlessly to discourage the stampede of fillies and colts running behind them. Spike was of course devoured first by the hungry mob, unable to keep up on his short and stubby legs. “Geez, Fluttershy’s gonna feel awful that she missed this!”

Pinkie Pie laughed the whole way to Sugarcube Corner, happy that everything worked out and feeling way better. In fact, she was already planning an apology party for her friends for causing so much trouble! That was all in the future though. For now, she had a herd of foals to outwit.

Author's Notes:

And that brings us to the end, everyone.

Firstly, a super duper big thanks to Hoopy Mcgee for lending his police-pony OC Cinnamon Swirl to me! He didn't need to be in the story, but I wanted him to be. ^^ And a second big thanks to the RedBrony for wrapping this chapter up last night with me! He was a bigbig help. Thanks to everypony else that helped me proofread too. There are a lot of them so I don't think listing them all would be a good idea... but you guys know who you are. ^^

Finally, I apologize profusely to the rest of you for the wait. I understand if the story loses its luster to you for being so late. In case you don't read my blog, I don't have an excuse, reasonable or otherwise to give you. I just haven't been writing as much as I used to. I have become *gasps* a lazy author. 'Tis true, sadly. Not to say I don't write at all these days, I peck at my stories almost everyday, as a matter of fact. But I've become long winded and detail obsessed, that's for sure, in addition to not really sitting down for long periods of time to write. So, not much ever really gets done. I do plan to write again though, so it's not that my stories have no hope. I can't say when this'll be, but hopefully soon.

If you're reading this then thank you for sticking with me and reading my story or stories. I love writing them for you all and helping you have a laugh or a good time. It helps my dark powers grow you see- Oh, never mind that. Anyway, I hope to have something special for you all for Christmas! Enjoy the season, everypony! I know I will. ^^

Also, for everyone asking or saying in the comments that Pinkie could have just fixed her hair and none of this would have happened? That explanation from her to Applejack—the silly pony—that she was upset, is just for you. Yes, this story was intended to have a moral, that just because something is important to you, it doesn't define you. No I am not the best writer, and yes, I could have probably written this a million times better. *Mic drop*

Oh, uhm, but thanks for reading and Merry Christmas.

Epilogue : A Shy Solution

---

Fluttershy leaned back in the barber's chair, a stern look painted across her yellow coated features. What she was about to do was for a dear friend.

"Are you... absolutely sure this is what you want, Ms. Fluttershy?" Aloe nervously poked her front hooves against one another, eying the scissors that were poised to cut the long, luscious pink mane laying before them. She gave Hans a quick glance, and could also see the overwhelming sadness the hulking minotaur was bearing over what he had been ordered to do.

Fluttershy looked over at the spa-pony, and nodded determinedly. "Oh, yes, Aloe, I'm very sure. Pinkie Pie is one of my absolute best friends in the whole world, and she's feeling very out of her element right now. I want to do everything I can to make her feel not so alone." She turned and gave the new hair stylist a pleading look. "Please, go ahead and do it, Mr. Hans."

Hans gave Aloe one last, doubtful glance, then, once Aloe nodded to him, he sucked in a breath. Slowly, he slid the long scissors he held over Fluttershy's mane and...

---

Author's Notes:

Can anypony say... cliff hanger...? Sorry everypony, I would love to write more, but I have obligations to other stories, and I'm not sure this premise should overstay its welcome. Anyway, much thanks to Blankscape for lending a hoof here and there, and the rest of my friends.

Lastly, I did leave room for a sequel, and I have an idea for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in that sequel. It will be just as silly and ridiculous as this one, should I choose to write it. That's all, fellows. I hope you all fare well in your future travels.

Or maybe I'll do this for the sequel, instead.

Just kidding. I could never write something that silly.