> APP: The Fall of a Pink Pony
>  by Underwood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: Party Planning 101
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another characteristically sunny day in Ponyville, which was of course thanks to the efforts of the hard-working pegasi on weather duty. Twilight Sparkle—a purple unicorn of considerable book-smarts—was already muzzle-deep in a new book as the morning birds sung outside her bedroom window at the Golden Oaks Library. Spike, her PDA (Personal Dragon Assistant), was still in his basket, sleepily mumbling to himself from under an issue of Power Ponies. It was a lazy, quiet morning without any disasters or adventure, just the way Twilight liked it.

Far above the outskirts of Ponyville lay Rainbow Dash, a spectrum-maned pegasus with an ego as big as her heart, tangled up in the sheets of her bed and snoring loudly. She would likely remain in her floating Cloudominium until the early afternoon, making the most of her day off from cloud-duty. Back down on earth, Applejack—a proud member of the rustic Apple family and chronic hat-wearer—had already been up for hours, bucking away in her apple orchard to collect the morning harvest. Her brother, Big McIntosh, was ploughing Sweet Apple Acres' fields, while her younger sister, Apple Bloom, was still tucked up in bed as any good filly would be.

Meanwhile in Ponyville's own Carousel Boutique, Rarity—a prissy white unicorn fashionista—was in an unusually unpresentable state as she prepared breakfast for her sister, Sweetie Belle, and herself, busying herself around the kitchen with a mud-mask still on and hair-curlers still in. Likewise, Fluttershy—a pastel-yellow pegasus who lives up to her name—was busy feeding the animals that she cares for in her home, as she does every morning, evening and night. And last, but by no means least in this group of friends, was Pinkie Pie—a pastel-pink, curly-haired earth pony and party-planner extraordinaire with a sweet-tooth, who just so happens to live over a cake shop. Unlike the others, who had either just woken up or were still in bed, Pinkie had been awake the whole night planning a party. It wasn't usual for her to burn the midnight oil like this, but this wasn't just any birthday party, oh no, this was the birthday of one of her best friends, and pet alligator, Gummy.

“Ok, let's go over this one last time.” Pinkie rustled through stacks of notes, ideas, and blueprints scattered across the desk in her secret party-planning cave, hidden deep below Sugarcube Corner. “Everything has to go perfectly for Gummy's first birthday. I mean, it's his first—birthday! You only get one of those!”

The lack of sleep may have been making her loopier than usual, but this day was important—she had been planning it for weeks- months, even! This was to be her masterpiece, her magnum opus, a party so mind-blowingly funeriffic that stories would be passed down for generations!

“Well, maybe not that good, but I'll make sure it's the best birthday party Gummy's ever had!”

With a grin on her face, Pinkie effortlessly defied gravity by sliding back up the secret slide that connects the party-cave to her bedroom, then made her way up to the the balcony doors on the highest floor of Sugarcube Corner. Shafts of light pierced the sky from behind sparse clouds, forcing Pinkie to shield her eyes after spending so much time underground. It was a beautiful view: an idyllic scene of small thatched cottages, rustic dirt roads and verdant flora, accented with colourful flags and flower arrangements. It was still too early for most ponies to be up, but a few shop owners and mail carriers dotted the vista, going about their daily duties.  

Pinkie sleepily rubbed her eyes, “Morning already? … Morning already?! That means-” she gasped, wide-eyed, “today's the day!”

Pinkie shot back through the balcony doors and back down to her room, hooves barely touching the steps, to find her pet alligator curled up on her still-made bed. With one fluid movement she whisked him up and held him aloft in both hooves, still half-asleep in her grip.

“Happy First Birthday, Gummy! Oh this is going to be the most absolutely super-fun- terrifically amazing party you've ever seen! There's going to be cake, and music, and balloons, and-” Pinkie gasped, her hooves shooting over her mouth to silence the words she had already spoken, leaving Gummy to land on the floor with a thud.

“Oh no, that was supposed to be a surprise! I can't believe I just blabbed away your birthday treats before you've barely even woke up! Ohh, this is a disaster!”

Gummy blinked his slow, asymmetrical blink as he lay on his jaw—body and tail dangling backwards over his head. He didn't seem to mind. He didn't even seem to know where he was or what was happening, though that was pretty typical for him.

“Wait! If today's the day of your party, then-” Pinkie took in another, longer gasp, “I was so busy planning the party, that I never sent out the invitations! Nopony is going to be there! This is a disaster!” She began frantically trotting on the spot in a panic, whilst Gummy sleepily blinked once more down by her hammering hooves.

“I have to think. I need to think clearly! Think Pinkie!” Letting out a frustrated hum, she shot into her bathroom and continued to trot on the spot while she ran a basin full of cold water, before taking a breath and plunging her head under the surface. There was silence for a moment, punctuated by the gentle pop of breaching air bubbles, broken suddenly when she pulled her head back out with a loud gasp for air.

“Singing telegram!” she screamed, before vigorously shaking the water out of her hair like a dog. She stared blankly at her reflection in the basin mirror as she thought aloud, “But I have to make it seem like this wasn't a last-minute idea... I've got costumes; I could wear a different one to each pony's house, so if they talk to each other about the party, they'll be all 'Oh wow, Pinkie made such an effort to invite us all in a unique way, isn't she the best party-planner ever?', and I'll be all 'Aww guys, I'm not the best party-planner ever, but you're all the best friends ever!', and then we'll all have a biiiig group-hug and it'll be the best – party – ever.” She grinned to herself and turned, leaving the bathroom with confident determination in her step, “Come on Gummy, let's go!”

It took the best part of the day to travel to each pony's house, sing them the hastily written invitation song, then return home for a costume change. The trip to Rainbow Dash's Cloudominium was a little different, given its location in the clouds, so a costume change had to be foregone in lieu of renting a hot air balloon. Each journey sapped at Pinkie Pie's stamina until—returning from the fifth and final trip to Fluttershy's cottage—she collapsed on the floor of her room.

“Just... a quick... nap.” She managed to crawl up and onto her bed, cake costume still on, then immediately fell asleep on top of the sheets.

She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep, but the gentle gnawing of Gummy on her face told her it was time to get up. Gummy popped off as she sat up, rubbing her eyes and sleepily looking around. What time was it? Why was she wearing a crumpled cake costume? Three knocks came from the downstairs that immediately cleared her mind.

“Oh no, I can't believe I allowed myself to fall asleep! The guests are here and I haven't even decorated the room!”

Luckily, being the super-duper party planner that she is, Pinkie Pie was prepared for just such an emergency. Shooting into her wardrobe with the doors slamming behind her, she returned costumeless a second later, wheeling out a large, pony-sized pastel-blue cannon; far too large to have been stored in said wardrobe. With a sharp tug on the cord, the cannon exploded, filling the room with confetti, streamers, pre-inflated balloons, and other seemingly meticulously-placed decorations. Another rap came from downstairs as she rolled the cannon back into the impossible space it came from.

Standing outside Sugarcube Corner, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other with mild confusion. “She said to be here at four, right?” Twilight posed to the group, who agreed with her. Suddenly one of the windows to Pinkie's room burst open, with a frazzled—but smiling—Pinkie leaning out to look down at them.

“Just a moooomeeent!” she called down, before slamming the window shut. 

The group of friends looked at each other and Rainbow Dash shrugged, having little else to do but wait while mysterious bangs and crashes came from inside the cake shop. No more than a minute must have passed before Pinkie Pie appeared at the front door, chest heaving and sweating a little. Ushering her friends inside, the quintet entered and made their way up to her room, where they were greeted by a stunning sight: strawberry cake, fresh punch, music playing on the gramophone, and even an apple bobbing trough.

“Pinkie Pie, this looks amazing!” Twilight said, looking around in awe. “You must have been planning this for weeks!”

“You're darn tootin' I was! I just had to make tonight special for my one-and-only Gummy!” Pinkie dashed over to her pet alligator, who was sprawled out in the centre of the room. Leaning down and placing a small red-and-yellow conical party-hat on his head, she pulled out an instant camera from seemingly nowhere and positioned herself behind the birthday gator.

“Say 'Cheeeeese'!” The camera's flash went off and a small black-and-white square of paper emerged from the front. “Ohhh, this will look so good in my memory-album!” She pulled the undeveloped photograph out of the camera with her mouth and began to wave it around vigorously. While this was happening, the party guests began to mill around the room, checking out what was on offer.

Twilight made her way to the punch bowl and ladled herself out a cup. “Mmm, this punch is great! You should try some, Rarity.”

“Don't mind if I do!” she replied, making her way to Twilight's side.

“Well I'll be, an honest-to-goodness apple bobbin'. Pinkie Pie sure does think of everything!” Applejack enthused to Rainbow Dash, as they made their way to the water-filled trough together.

“No kidding!” she replied, looking down into the apple-filled abyss.  

“Ah'm feeling a mite parched, how's about we head on over to the punch bowl before we give this a whirl?” Applejack tilted her hat up and gave Rainbow a wry, competitive smile.

“You're on.” 

Rainbow Dash and Applejack made their way back to the main table, regrouping with Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy, who had been distracted by the multi-tier strawberry cake. As the ponies made their way to the punch bowl, Gummy made his own way over to the apple bobbing trough, and was now precariously balanced on the rim. Seeing this, Pinkie zipped over to the star of the party and eagerly craned her neck down to his height.

“Oh, you want to go for a swim, Gummy? Hold on, I'll get your waterproof party hat!” Energetically dashing off, she returned a few seconds later with a new blue, fish-patterned cone for her pet, she swapped the hats. “All ready! Off you go!” With a gleeful smile, Pinkie gave her pet an encouraging slap on the back, causing him to gracelessly topple forward into the water.

Hours of singing, dancing, laughing and apple bobbing passed; everypony partied the night away until it was time to reluctantly go home. The moon was high in the sky and Pinkie waved to her friends from her bedroom window as they made their way out the front door and down the street.

“Are you sure you don't want to stay? There's still some cake left.” Pinkie called out after her friends, most of whom were already out of earshot.

“Uh... I think I'm gonna pass.” Twilight lamented, “Great party, though. We should do this again soon!”

'Do this again soon?' Pinkie thought, then gasped. “We should do this again soon!” It had been a great party and everything was already set up from today, so why not do the same thing tomorrow? It was the perfect plan!

“This is the perfect plan!” she smiled to herself and headed back to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
> Chapter Two: RSVP
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie was up before the birds, high on the success of last night and eager to prove herself again. Yesterday's planning was good, but not perfect. For a start, the singing telegram took way too long and jeopardised the whole operation. Faster, non-musical, costumeless invites would speed the whole thing up, even allowing the party to start earlier! She was a genius. This would be the best after-birthday party ever!

At least, that's what she thought.

Pinkie started her deliveries by visiting Twilight's library and expectantly knocked on the door. It was early, but Twilight was the type to be up at this hour, provided she hadn't been up all night at a party. She waited a moment before a rather dishevelled Twilight wearily opened her front door.

“Oh, hi Pinkie-”

“It's soon!” She bounced up and down gleefully, unable to contain her excitement about seeing the imminent joy on her friend's face.

“Pardon me?” Twilight was a little startled, to say the least.

“You said we should have another party soon, and- it's soon!” She grinned, leaning her head towards the open door, offering the wicker basket of invitations that she had crafted into a jaunty hat. “Here's your invitation!”

Lifting the card out of its envelope with her magic, Twilight read the note aloud.

“You're invited to Gummy's After-Birthday Party, this afternoon at three o'clock.”

“All our bestest friends are invited and there's going to be dancing and games and cake and ice-cream and punch!” Pinkie was so lost in her own party-fever that she didn't notice Twilight's expression slowly dropping.

“This afternoon? … As in 'this afternoon' this afternoon?”

“Yes indeedy!” It was a strange question to ask... when else would this afternoon be but this afternoon? It didn't phase her for one moment, though. Twilight would never turn down an opportunity to have fun with her friends!

“Oh, gosh... I wish I could make it, but I've- gotten a bit behind in my studies.” She looked back over her shoulder for a moment, “I've really got to hit the books.”

Pinkie Pie peered past Twilight and saw a surprisingly mountainous stack of tomes piled up behind her. Strange... Twilight wasn't the kind of pony to let things get out of hoof like that... but her studies were important—she is a student of Princess Celestia, after all.

“I understand, your studies come first.” She forced a smile, naturally disappointed, but knew  Twilight would never decline one of her parties unless she absolutely had to. “But don't worry, we'll be sure to save you some cake!”

“Please do!” Twilight smiled after Pinkie as she made her way to the next recipient, one Applejack of Sweet Apple Acres.

A seasoned practitioner of harmless pranks, Pinkie Pie decided to hide in a stack of hay bales to surprise her friend, knowing she would be returning from her morning apple-bucking session soon. Hearing the gentle creak of wooden carts and the crunch of displaced grit grow closer, Pinkie popped out just as the orange earth pony approached the large red-and-white barn doors.

“Huh? Oh hi, Pinkie Pie.” That wasn't quite the reaction she had been hoping for. AJ was a much harder mark than Fluttershy or Spike... Mental note: prank Fluttershy or Spike soon. “What brings you around these parts?”

Pinkie introduced her party and offered the invitation once more, still full of energy in anticipation for this afternoon.

“This afternoon? As in... 'this afternoon' this afternoon?” Applejack asked, a look of apprehension crossing her face.

“That's funny... That's just what Twilight said... And the answer is: 'yes!' It's this afternoon.”

“Uhh... Well Ah- Ah- Ah don't think I can make it, 'cus uhh- Ah have to, uh- uh- You know, Ah- uh- Pick apples! Yep! Apples! 'Cus that's what we do! With the- apples... we, uh- pick'em.”

Applejack—bearer of the Element of Honesty—was a notoriously bad liar, and this was no exception. The sweat on her brow, the exaggerated and awkward smile, the shifting eyes... A lesser pony would have called her out on it. A lesser pony would have asked why she was lying; but there had to be a good reason for it, right? She was the Element of Honesty! Maybe... maybe she wasn't lying? Maybe she was just... thirsty? Tired from a long morning of apple-bucking? There was no real reason to suspect her—a close and dear friend—of lying... So... She deserved the benefit of the doubt.

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” she smiled in reply, not wanting her friend to feel bad. “A party is still a party, even if there are only three guests.” And with that she left for her next prospective invite: Rarity, back in town at the Carousel Boutique.

The first sight she saw as she rounded the corner was a floating—and frankly quite pungent—Spike being batted away by a rightfully disgusted Rarity. Pinkie's approach was seemingly unnoticed, though the fashionista didn't take long to notice her and her newest accessory.

“Ooo, love the new hat. Very modern. What's the occasion?”

A compliment? This was a good start. There's no way Rarity would be too busy to come the party – she loves social events. Pinkie couldn't contain her smile at the thought of the party still happening, despite the two drop-outs.

“Gummy's After-Birthday Party is this afternoon! I'm delivering the invitations,” she enthused, though her thoughts of this afternoon's party blinded her to the darkening expression on her friends' face.

“The party is this afternoon? As in... 'this afternoon' this afternoon?”

Pinkie's hopes were raised only for the briefest of moments before that dreaded question reared its ugly head once again. Why? Why was this happening?

“It's so strange, everypony keeps saying that.”  

“Oh, uhh... do they?” Rarity shifted awkwardly as she said this. She wasn't giving much away, but a pattern was starting to emerge, as little as Pinkie wanted to believe it.

“I know it's short notice, but we had such a great time at his birthday party, I thought we could have even more fun at his after-birthday party!” She tried to mask her disappointment, but it was getting harder with each rejection.  

“-And I'm sure that we would, but I'm going to have to decline. I have to... wash my hair.”

Wash her hair? Wash her hair? Of all the reasons-  

“Don't be silly, your hair doesn't look dirty.” Pinkie tried to maintain her smile, though this uphill struggle was starting to get to her.

“It doesn't?”

“Nope!”

Without warning, Rarity suddenly did the last thing Pinkie Pie ever expected to see from her; rushing over to a freshly filled garbage can, she dunked her head into it with nary a hesitation. Pinkie stared, dumbfounded. Removing her head from the trash, Rarity was now caked in grime, a yellowed apple core protruding from her locks.

“See? … Dirty.” Her revulsion was palpable... Why did she just do that? “I have to go.”

Rarity rushed into her house and slammed the door, leaving Pinkie outside, alone. What in Equestria was going on? And why? She pondered these questions as she half-heartedly made her way over to Fluttershy's cottage.

Only Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash remained on her invitation list, but they were practically guaranteed to come... Right? Fluttershy is so sweet and accommodating, there's no way she would say no—especially after everypony else turned her down—and Rainbow Dash never says no to fun. Having made her way there on auto-pilot, Pinkie Pie looked up in time to see both Fluttershy and Dashie standing in front of the cottage, just as they saw her. Or did they see her? The two looked at each other and took off into the air.

“Hey!” Pinkie called out, a mixture of confusion and forced cheeriness in her voice. The two pegasi froze in place, slowly turning around to meet her approaching gaze. Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“Oh, uh- Hi, Pinkie Pie. We were just-”

“Just give me a moment, it won't take long.” Pinkie cut her off, desperate to at least get as far as inviting them. The two pegasi glanced at each other again.

“I wanted to invite you both to Gummy's after-birthday party this afternoon. There's gonna be dancing and games and cake...” She trailed off, already feeling that dreaded question coming.

“This afternoon?” First Rainbow Dash...

“As in...” And then Fluttershy.

“Yes! As in 'this afternoon' this afternoon!” Pinkie's frustration was getting the better of her, though a spark of hope still remained. Maybe they were actually free 'this afternoon' this afternoon? Great, now she's doing it. Just smile; remember to be a good host, and maybe they'll-

“Aw man, we'd love to, but we're... house-sitting this afternoon,” Rainbow explained.

Pinkie sighed. What were the chances? “Both of you?”

“It's, uh- a big house.” Fluttershy wasn't the type to lie, but could this really all be a coincidence?

“Look at the time, we'd really better get going,” Rainbow interjected, looking down at a hastily drawn watch on her foreleg. What, so now she's stealing her gags too? Ugh!

Pinkie watched the two pegasi fly away, having given up on trying to get the truth out of them after a few more back-and-forths. An uncharacteristically dour expression across her face, she slowly made her way back into town and home to Sugarcube Corner.

“Something strange is definitely going on around here, Gummy.” She sat on the floor of her room, her pet alligator playing with a ball of string in front of her, “Sure, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had to house-sit for that vacationing bear, but what are the chances that all my other friends would have plans this afternoon too?”

Pinkie stood up and made her way to a nearby open window. “Rarity has to wash her hair. Applejack has to pick apples. Twilight is behind on her studies and has to hit the books? The more I think about it, the more those are starting to sound like-” She gasped. Could it be true? Was there really no other logical explanation? Could they have all been... “Excuses!”
> Chapter Three: Divergence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie Pie was beginning to lose herself. Never before had all of her guests turned down their invitations, and these weren't just any guests either, these were her best friends! As she leaned out of her bedroom window, Pinkie happened to spot Twilight sneaking around the entrance of Sugarcube Corner. Now what?  Watching her friend enter the shop below, Pinkie decided to do a little intelligence gathering of her own. Removing a pre-loosened knot in the wooden floor of her room, she revealed a hole looking directly down onto the shop counter downstairs. Lowering her highly technical piece of surveillance equipment—two tin cans attached by string—she was able to listen in on the conversation below.

“-I don't want her to know anything about this,” came the muffled voice of her purple friend up the cord. Just what are you up to, Twilight? So much for 'hitting the books'.

“Yes of course, I'll be right back,” followed Mrs. Cake's cheery tone. Was she in on this too?

Pinkie Pie leaned back from her end of the cans. “But... we're friends. What would Twilight not want me to know anything about?” She replaced her ear to the receiver.

“Here you go,” returned Mrs. Cake's voice.

“Thanks! And remember, not a word to Pinkie Pie.”

So, this wasn't just in her head after all... She knew something was up; she didn't want to believe it, but here was the proof. They must have thought she was stupid to not see through those lies. She had thrown parties for fish who smell less fishy than those excuses! But why? What did she do to deserve this?

Twilight said goodbye to Mrs. Cake and made her way out of the shop, jumping from bush-to-bush and generally behaving quite suspiciously. Watching her egress from her bedroom window, Pinkie decided to take this surveillance further. Throwing her pet alligator and a length of rope out the window, Pinkie rappelled down the building—despite not needing to—and took off in hot pursuit, with Gummy firmly attached to the back of her head.

Her supposed friend was carrying some kind of package, undoubtedly what she had picked up from Mrs. Cake, and seemed to be on high alert for tails, almost spotting Pinkie a few times. Having pursued her across town, Twilight finally arrived at her apparent destination: the Carousel Boutique. So, the others were involved. She knew it!

Ringing the doorbell, Twilight stepped back and looked nonchalant, while Pinkie watched from within a nearby tree. Rarity emerged from her parlour, looking equally shifty.

“She didn't see you in the sweet shop, did she?”

“I don't think so,” Twilight replied.

“Oh good, I'd hate for her to ruin everything.”

“Me too.”

She could hardly believe her ears... Were these really the friends she had come to love? Sure, Twilight was kind of new to the group, but she had never seemed like this kind of pony, and Pinkie had known Rarity for years. What had prompted this change? Everything had been normal yesterday.

Twilight dropped her package and trotted away, leaving Rarity to surreptitiously pick it up and continue on past the boutique. Elegantly diving from the tree into a nearby bale of hay, Pinkie made after the new courier. After a short journey—made significantly more difficult by the new hay disguise—the two were back in town, rounding the corner just in time to see Rarity approach Fluttershy with the box. Et tu, Fluttershy?

“Have you seen her?” Rarity asked.

“Not since this morning.”

“Me neither. Can you believe she was planning on throwing an after-birthday party today?”

“I'm just glad I was able to come up with an excuse for why I couldn't be there.”

This was inconceivable. Fluttershy would never turn on her like this... Would she? They all knew how much parties meant to her. This was a- a- an anti-party conspiracy!

The two deceitful ponies whispered to each other for a moment longer before the parcel was hoofed over to Fluttershy and Rarity made her exit. Lost in her thoughts of a moment, Pinkie Pie didn't realise that Fluttershy was walking right towards her. In a panic, Pinkie tried to escape, accidental running into a wall, then staggering backwards into the yellow pegasi she was trying to avoid. With a distressed scream—having been assaulted by a sentient bale of hay—Fluttershy flew off into the sky, with the package in-mouth.

Pinkie sighed. “I thought everypony loved my parties...” She didn't understand. Everypony seemed to have so much fun at her party yesterday, so why was this happening now? What had changed?

“Hi, Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash walked past Pinkie, somehow recognising her despite the incredible disguise. There was a moment of mutual panic between the two as they both realised the situation they were in; Pinkie wanted answers and Rainbow wasn't going to give them willingly. “Uh oh.”

Rainbow Dash shot away with her usual speed while Pinkie Pie attempted to give chase in her encumbering disguise. Managing to get free of the bale as she turned the corner, Pinkie spotted a rainbow-coloured tail disappearing around a bend to the left. Becoming increasingly annoyed, she followed in quick pursuit, taking the left turn and galloping after the blue pegasi as fast as she could. Coming around the corner, Pinkie locked eyes on her friend once more, who was already a few houses ahead of her. Wasn't Rainbow Dash wearing a saddlebag just a moment ago? Pinkie didn't care; she wanted answers, not whatever was in that bag.

The chase continued for a few minutes, Pinkie's eyes locked firmly on the rainbow tail waving in the distance. They seemed to be heading towards Sweet Apple Acres... She didn't understand what was going on, but by Celestia she was going to find out.

“What's the real reason you didn't want to come to Gummy's party?!” Pinkie screamed out.

Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder, too far ahead for Pinkie to make out an expression, but she certainly wasn't flying at top speed. Did she want Pinkie to follow her? Not long after, the two arrived at the large red barn next to Applejack's house on the farm. Rainbow shot through a gap between the barn doors as they shut behind her. Pinkie galloped up to them, furious over this cat-and-mouse game, and hammered on the door with her forehead. “I know you're in there!”

Unsurprisingly, Applejack was the one who opened the top half of the stable door, her face plastered with a disingenuous smile. “Oh, er- Howdy partner!”

“Mind if I take a look inside the barn?” Sarcasm wasn't a tone Pinkie typically employed, but this had gone too far. She needed answers, and she was willing to be mean to get them.

“Sorry Pinkie Pie, you- uh, you ain't allowed in.”

“Why not? Rainbow Dash went just went in there.” An unfamiliar feeling of frustration began to swell inside her chest.

“Well, she ain't you. Sorry.” Applejack's expression had relaxed to one of neutral contempt.

“What's going on in there?” Pinkie growled between grit teeth, craning her neck to see into the unlit interior. Every attempt to peer over her friend was mirrored, blocking her view.

“Look, you ain't allowed in the barn, sugarcube. This here's my barn, and if ah say you ain't going in, you ain't going in.”

“Why are you being like this, Applejack? This isn't like you.” The anger in Pinkie's eyes was wilting into sadness as frustration turned to helpless confusion.

“Let her in, Applejack,” a voice called from inside the barn. Was that... Twilight's voice?

AJ looked over her shoulder for a moment, before solemnly taking the barn door's ring pull in her mouth and backing up, revealing the shadowy interior. Pinkie Pie swallowed hard. This is not at all where she thought today was going. She cautiously stepped into the barn, squinting into the darkness.

One-by-one her pony friends stepped out of the shadows and into the half-light cast from the open doorway. Everypony was here: Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, with Applejack moving back to join them.

“It seems that you stumbled upon our little meeting, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight spoke up from the centre of the group. “I suppose that now is as good a time as any.”

“Time for what?” she asked tentatively, her voice quivering with a mixture of fear and confusion; every muscle in her body tensed. “What's going on here?”

“You've lived in Ponyville for a long time now, Pinkie, and you've brought happiness to a lot of ponies during that time...” An ominous presence filled the barn as Twilight trailed off, her steely gaze piercing Pinkie's very being.

“W-What's your point?” she stammered, her eyes flitting between the dimly lit faces of her friends. “Ponies love my parties... It's my special skill.”

“It's your only skill.” Her reply was instant. Calculated. A pinpoint strike to the deepest, darkest neuroses of Pinkie's mind. “This is one town, there are only so many ponies in it. Do you really think that ponies want to go to the same parties day after day? Year after year? Have you never once stopped to consider if the only one who likes parties this much is you?”

Pinkie Pie's jaw hung loose, speechless, winded, as though the words had physically punched her in the gut. Twilight's voice was cold, deliberate and unfamiliar; a far cry from the cheery pony she had partied with yesterday. This... This had to be a joke, right? A cruel, bad joke gone too far. Why would the ponies she considered her closest friends say such horrible, hurtful things to her?

“What- What are you saying?” Pinkie's voice trembled and her body shook, screaming at her to turn around and run away before things went too far.

“I'm saying that maybe it's time for you to move on. Find a new town with new ponies to entertain.” Twilight stepped forward into a sliver of light piercing the wooden slats of the roof, her face starkly lit under the heavy shadow of her fringe. “We don't want you here anymore. You should leave.”

“W-... What?” Her pupils dilated and mouth slowly opened in disbelief once more, her eyes darting between the darkened faces of those that she had considered friends. “Do- Do you all feel this way?”

Silent nods and slow blinks answered her question.

She was paralysed, overcome by the cacophony of thoughts trying to process what was happening. This was so sudden; so unprecedented. The loud, bubbly voice inside her head that always saw the positivity in things was uncharacteristically silent. She blinked a few times and looked around, trying to find something that would make sense of this insanity. Having been in the darkness of the barn for a few minutes, Pinkie's eyes were now able to pick out details in the scene around her. Balloons; streamers; presents; cake. This was-

“-a party?” Her voice was breaking up, tears welling up in her eyes. “You were having a party?”

“A going away party,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly.

Fluttershy took a step forward, standing next to Twilight with her head slightly hunched. “I'm sorry, Pinkie. I think this is for the best.”

Rarity followed close behind Fluttershy; “We all do.”

Applejack followed suit, joining the group with hat in hoof. “Sorry partner, ain't no two ways about it.”

Rainbow Dash took to the air and crossed her forelegs, content to remain in the shadows. “See ya.”

Lip quivering and heart broken, Pinkie turned towards the open door. “Well, i- if that's what you all want.” She took two deep, shuddering breaths before uncontrollably bursting into tears and fleeing the barn in a desperate gallop.

Applejack casually walked out of the barn, placing her hat back on her head as she watched Pinkie run into the distance. At the same time, having heard the earlier commotion, Applebloom exited the farmhouse and walked to her sister's side.

“Was that Pinkie Pie? Why's she cryin'?”

“Don't you worry yourself about her, sugarcube. It won't matter none soon anyhow.”

Barely able to see through a blur of tears, Pinkie Pie clumsily ran through Ponyville, stumbling and sobbing all the way to Sugarcube Corner. Slamming the door behind her, Pinkie shot up to her room and buried her face in her pillow, bawling her eyes out with muffled wails. Gummy awkwardly climbed onto the bed to see what going on, disquieted by the unusual sight and sounds, though unable to do more than simply curl up besides his favourite pink pony.
> Chapter Four: The Long Road Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“My friends don't like my parties and don't want to be my friends anymore. My friends don't like my parties and don't want to be my friends anymore. My friends don't like my parties and don't want to be my friends anymore,” Pinkie mumbled to herself, slumped in front of the balcony door on the upper floor of her room. She had run out of tears after a few hours of crying on her bed, but sleep had never come to take the pain away. The sun was setting, casting golden rays across a pastel pink face stained by stale tear streaks. Her tired eyes were framed by an unusually flat cascade of bright pink hair, while an uncommonly joyless atmosphere permeated the room.

“This is it, Gummy. If nopony likes my parties here, then... then we might as well leave.”

It was spoken as an empty threat, but the truth of it struck her before she had even finished the sentence. Gummy lay on the floor just behind Pinkie, looking up at her silhouette against the picturesque view of Ponyville's skyline. His head sunk, not understanding the specifics of the situation, but grasping the tone nonetheless.

“But where will you go?” Mr. Turnip chimed in from the floor below.

“The only place I can go, Mr. Turnip,” she replied, forlornly staring at Ponyville's town centre. “Back to the farm.”

'Mr. Turnip' was a metal pail filled with—wait for it—turnips; one of two bought for Gummy's birthday party and kept for the after-birthday party. He had started talking to Pinkie at some point during the last few hours of her existential breakdown, and the two had since become best friends. It is worth mentioning that in a world filled with talking pastel ponies, this was not normal.

There came a muffled rapping from downstairs. Somepony at the cake shop this late was quite unusual. A familiar “Just a moment~” rang out from below as Mrs. Cake answered the door.

“Who could zat be?” Madame le Flour asked, despite being an inanimate bag of flour slumped against the bedroom wall. Pinkie stood and turned to face the stairwell.

“Pinkie, your friends are here to see you,” Mrs. Cake, co-owner of Sugarcube Corner and Pinkie Pie's landlady, called up in her typically melodic voice.

With a scowl on her face and frustration to her step, Pinkie marched down the two flights of stairs to meet her recently-ex friends. Stopping halfway down the ground floor's staircase, in full view of the room, she glared at the gathering below. Had they come to apologise for their horrible behaviour? Part of her still hoped this was a bad practical joke, but that didn't seem to be where today was going...

“What do you want?” she spat.

“Come now, Pinkie, that's no way to speak to your friends.” Mrs. Cake replied, as frustratingly positive as ever. Her husband, Mr. Cake, was standing next to her with an equally annoying smile on his face, just to the right of the five familiar intruders.

“Nice hair.” Rainbow Dash sneered as she flew a few hooves above the others.

“We know it's a mite rude coming into your home like this, Pinkie Pie; what with it being so late and all, but we- ah... uh-” Applejack shifted restlessly, scratching the back of her neck.

“We needed to make sure you were leaving,” Twilight finished for her, looking up at Pinkie with that same steely stare from before. Pinkie's scowl intensified.

“I'm sorry it's come to this Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake spoke up again, “But you really do need to leave.”

Pinkie's expression melted from anger to shock. She had expected this sort of display from her ex-best friends, but to hear Mrs. Cake agree with them so readily... The whole town really was against her. She collected her thoughts for just a moment before slipping back into her mask of anger.

“I'll go get my stuff,” Pinkie forced out from behind gritted teeth. She turned and stomped her way back up the stairs. If she'd had a door, she'd have slammed it.

“And make it snappy, we don't have all day.” Rainbow Dash called up after her.

Pinkie was breathing heavily as she threw a red and white-dot cloth onto her bed next to Gummy. She leaned over the fabric, legs trembling and bitter eyes filling with tears once more. There were no words; her mind was too busy screaming.

After a moment to steady herself, she walked over to the fireplace and swept the contents of the mantle into her hooves, depositing a hoof mirror, two framed photographs, and an assortment of loose confetti onto the cloth. Moving over to a set of drawers, she pulled out a comb, Gummy's outdoor collar and leash, a number of loose, wrapped sweets, and a hoof-sized rainbow lollipop, all of which were dumped with the other items. She looked down at the collection of haphazardly selected objects. Was this what she had been reduced to? Was this her sum worth?

Pinkie took a moment to brush the sweets and confetti off one of the framed images, slowly running her hoof down the family photo from last Hearth's Warming Day. It had been so good to see her sisters—Maud, Limestone, and Marble—and her parents back on the stone farm.

“'The only place I can go'...” she wistfully repeated from earlier, her eyes dry and anger waned, leaving only a profound tiredness in their stead. She walked over to the bedside table and picked up a small square of paper: the photograph of Gummy and her she had taken on his birthday.

“It was a good party... right, Gummy?” She looked back at pet, who sat up and almost seemed to nod as he slowly blinked one eye after the other. Pinkie weakly smiled back before adding the photograph to the collection. Reaching under her bed, she pulled out a half-full box of confetti, streamers and fresh balloons, and dumped them all onto the pile. “You never know, right?” she weakly joked.

The inanimate 'friends' she had made earlier seemed to have gone silent; not that they could have contributed much to the situation anyway, being a bag and a bucket. She looked up from the bed and walked over to her wardrobe, where she kept her party cannon, among other things.

“I know I can't exactly bring you with me, but I'd rather give up sugar for a year than let them have you.” She closed the doors to her wardrobe and turned a small brass key that was already in the lock, sealing it shut.

“C'mon, Pinkie Pie, time's a-wastin'.” Applejack's voice called up from below, immediately souring Pinkie's mood once more.

“Just- a- minute!” she half-screamed back through gritted teeth, spiking the small brass key into the already overflowing pile of objects, kicking up a plume of confetti as it impacted. She grunted in frustration, though her face softened as she looked down at Gummy.

“Well, looks like this is it. Just you and me against the world, little guy. Are you ready?”

Gummy slowly blinked one eye after the other.

“Yeah, me neither.”

Pinkie Pie tied the edges of her red and white spotted cloth together into a bindle, which was then hooked over the end of a long stick she kept next to her wardrobe—Gummy's favourite. She made her way back downstairs with Gummy on her back; confetti spilling from the top of her newly created bag with each step. The room turned to face Pinkie as she descended, who glanced back at them briefly before turning her attention to the staircase, doing her best to conceal the pain-fuelled rage boiling inside.

“It's about time, darling,” chastised Rarity with her usual sass, pampering her hair while doing so.

“Like you're one to talk.” Rainbow Dash retorted, forelegs crossed, still hovering slightly above the others.

Pinkie made it to the bottom of the stairs and the group took a few steps back, allowing her to pass. A bitter scowl was chiselled across her face as she focused solely on the door ahead of her, beginning her spiteful march towards it. As she passed Twilight, who was standing in the middle of the group, there came an authoritative voice from behind her;

“I'm afraid we can't let you take Gummy with you.”

Pinkie froze. A moment passed before she slowly turned back to face the speaker with a piercing glare.

“What?” she hissed.

“Come on Pinkie, look at you, you're a mess.” Twilight took two steps forward, immediately reminding Pinkie Pie of the confrontation in the barn earlier. “Do you really think you're capable of looking after an animal, when you lose yourself in a single day like this?”

“Wha-?! I-!” Pinkie turned to face her accuser, her mouth agape and anger replaced by disbelief.

“She's right, Pinkie Pie. You do look a mite... forlorn.” Applejack spoke up, spouting more of her 'southern wisdom'.

“Forlorn? Forlorn?” Pinkie couldn't even begin to express what an understatement this was. 

AJ took a step closer.  

“D'ya really think you're in a state to be looking after something? You can barely look after yourself, sugarcube”

“I- I...”  

Pinkie was lost for words. Were they doing this just to get under her skin? To buck her while she's down? … Or was there some truth to what they were saying? She hadn't packed any food for Gummy, and it was a long trip to the rock farm... Would it really be fair on him? … Was she bringing him along for his sake... or hers? 

“I...”

Her objections were becoming less assertive with each thought. Would Gummy have a better life with Fluttershy here? Everypony was turning on her... They couldn't all be wrong, could they? There had to be something wrong with her, right? She was the 'common denominator', as Twilight might say. Maybe something had changed... Maybe she had changed and never realised it?

“Look, sugarcube, Fluttershy here can take care of Gummy. He'll have a good life—with all her other critters. You got nothing to worry about.”

There seemed to be sincerity in Applejack's voice, but it was hard to tell through the tears clouding Pinkie's eyes and mind. She twisted her head the best she could to look back at Gummy, his face as expressionless as ever, then faced the group once more.

“You- You really mean it?” she asked, almost pleading.

“Would I lie to you, Pinkie Pie?” Applejack replied with what she expected was a rhetorical question, though Pinkie wasn't so sure anymore.

“Think about somepony other than yourself for once,” Twilight casually added, her words venomous and precise like a snake's bite. It was hard to tell if she was simply being heartless, or merely firm in her belief that this was the right thing to do. This was his home, after all. Would it really be fair to take him away from all his other animal friends? Nothing brought a smile to his face quite like their regular pony-pet playdates. Thinking about it that way, there was a lot more to his life here than just her...

Broken, miserable, and only wanting the best for one of the last few things she loved, Pinkie Pie turned and picked up Gummy by the scruff of his neck with her teeth. She turned back to the group; a look of weary, tortured compliance on her face. Fluttershy stepped forward and hesitantly took him in her hooves; stepping back with him snugly held against her shoulder.

“You're doing the right thing, sugarcube,” Applejack nodded.

Pinkie stared vacantly at the back of Gummy's head as Fluttershy held him, like he was already miles away.

“I- I'll take good care of him,” Fluttershy stammered, having sat down and now looking up at Pinkie Pie. “But you mustn't ever return, it'll only make Gummy's transition to his new home harder on him.”

Pinkie just stared, once more abandoned by helpful thoughts. She was losing everything she loved. Yesterday she couldn't have been happier—not a care in the world beyond planning parties and what to have for supper, but this day... this day has been the worst day in the history of forever. First her best friends, then her home, and now her pet! She'd had Gummy since he was only one day old, and now he was being taken away from her the- the day after his first birthday...

Gummy had been a birthday gift from Fluttershy last year. She said Pinkie could pick any animal in her cottage as a pet, and the moment she laid eyes on the newborn alligator, Pinkie knew that he was the one, despite Fluttershy's reservations. She named him Gummy, after his lack of teeth—a rare birth defect that caused his mother to abandon him, landing him in Fluttershy's care—and the very next day he was Pinkie's pet. A gift. On her birthday. Which means...

“Today is my birthday...” her voice was soft, like a whisper; her empty eyes still locked on Gummy's cradled form.

“Wha- What's that, sugarcube?” Applejack leaned in, barely hearing the utterance.

“After all the fuss today, it completely slipped my mind.” Pinkie's voice began quiet and monotone, not even intending to out loud, but slowly raised in volume and vitriol. “Today is my birthday, and you are ruining my life!Was this all on purpose? Was it planned?!”

The herd looked at each other and murmured under their breaths, half shifting around uncomfortably, half... wryly smiling? This was too much.

“Give me back Gummy, right now!” Pinkie's furious gaze shot up to meet Fluttershy's eyes, immediately causing her to panic.

“You know we can't do that, Pinkie.” Twilight subtly spread her hooves apart into a more defensive stance. Was she going to start a fight over this? Was Pinkie?

“I swear to you, Gummy, this isn't the end,” she growled through her teeth. “I'll make arrangements at the farm and have you shipped over soon.” Pinkie's intense stare shot from Gummy to Twilight as she continued; “You've got no reason to stop me if I do that.”

“If you say so, Pinkie.” Twilight's stance relaxed as she returned to her previous state of arrogant incredulity.

How could Pinkie have ever been friends with this pony? Was this... Was this what hate felt like? This deep, burning sensation in her chest that grew every time their eyes met? She had never felt like this before. She had never wanted bad things to happen to somepony before, but this...

“It's time to leave.” Twilight's voice remained emotionless, controlling, and cold. The dominance of her form was more like a military commander than that of a librarian. This wasn't the Twilight that Pinkie knew... or did she not know?

Twilight Sparkle had arrived in Ponyville only a few months ago, punctuated by the appearance of—and showdown with—Nightmare Moon, an event which irrevocably changed the group's lives by bonding them to the Elements of Harmony. Pinkie was suddenly much closer with four of her old friends, and now a fifth one that had unexpectedly brought them all together. Everything seemed great—destined, even—despite her surprise at becoming a Bearer of Harmony, but since then... since then it's been one disaster after another: ursa minors, dragons, freak storms, parasprites, twitchy-twitches out the wazoo, and now this... Everypony was acting so strangely. Was it... mind control? Were they possessed by angry ghosts? Maybe they all had a bad night's sleep and are just super grouchy today? … No, none of those would affect all of them at once... So what changed? Maybe nothing... Maybe this had been bubbling under the surface since Nightmare Moon and she just hadn't noticed. Fake smiles hiding a growing disdain. Maybe she was the one who changed? Or maybe they just didn't like her to begin with. She silently scoffed. Element of Laughter, huh? That was the only funny thing right now.

“We don't want you here anymore,” Rainbow Dash impatiently exclaimed, yanking Pinkie Pie's wandering mind back to reality with a painful jolt.

“Quite,” Rarity agreed.

Fluttershy simply looked up at Pinkie with her doe-eyes, still holding Gummy close to her chest.

There was nothing left for her here. Pinkie turned, shooting one last angry glance back at the group before storming out the door. As the group broke rank to speak among themselves, Gummy was given a view of the open door and Pinkie's barely moonlit silhouette, feeling as much despair as a baby alligator could. The sky-blue pegasus flew over to the exit as murmurs and snickering began to fill the room.

“Good riddance.” And with that, Rainbow Dash slammed the door shut.

Pinkie winced. She stood still for a moment, her teeth grit in anger, her mind clouded by the deafening thoughts of what just happened, and her eyes glaring straight ahead at nothing. A cold breeze blew past as Celestia laid the sun to rest and Luna took control of the skies over in Canterlot. The evening chill tempered the cacophony in her mind, shining an all-too-real light on the situation she was in. She looked down at her hooves; what was once anger had become hopelessness. What was she going to do now? She had felt some semblance of hope thinking she would be in this together with Gummy, but now that she was alone, what was the point?

The rock farm... The rock farm was her only hope of being reunited with Gummy. All she needed to do was get there and make some changes; a nice bed, some alligator food, carve a few toys—easy! Twilight wouldn't be able to stop her. Oh, but Gummy's animal-friends are still here... Well, she could always come back to Ponyville for the pony-pet playdates. She wouldn't have to talk to the others, just let Gummy play around for a bit then go home, just like before, only much, much further.

She looked to her left, down the road leading south. It was getting too late to catch a train that would take her to her parents' rock farm... She had to hoof it. Thinking about the journey ahead of her, her stomach let out an audible growl. Gosh, when was the last time she ate? She looked down at her belly, then back up to see a fully-stocked food cart across the street. Strange it hadn't been cleared up at the end of the day. There wasn't anypony attending it, but she could always take something and leave some bits behind. She reached up to root around in her hair, where she often kept various knickknacks for moments like these, but found her locks lacking. Did her last few bits fall out when her bouffant lost its bouf? What was she going to do now? She couldn't go back to her room, and she couldn't steal them... could she? It was an emergency situation... she was sure the salespony would understand... and she would definitely come back to repay them... but it just felt so wrong.

Her cramping stomach made the decision for her.

With a look of great discomfort and regret in her eyes, Pinkie made her way over to the apple barrel and quickly scanned the area for witnesses. The coast was clear. She stuffed her mouth with as many apples as she could fit in it—a surprisingly large amount—and threw a few more in her bindle for later, displacing even more confetti, before galloping away like the thief she was.

Twenty minutes later and Pinkie was at the southern outskirts of Ponyville. Running with a mouth full of food hadn't been her best idea, and though her stomach had found peace, her conscience had taken its place. She looked up at a nearby signpost; its mossy, warped wooden arrows pointed in three directions: north-west to Ponyville, east to Rambling Rock Ridge, and south to the Everfree Forest and Ghastly Gorge. Appleloosa was the next town along from Ponyville and far closer to the rock farm, but being days away by hoof, unsurprisingly it wasn't signposted. This is why everypony uses the train.

Well, this was it. It had been a long time since Pinkie had been alone—really alone. Even her formative years on the rock farm had been surrounded by family, then she'd moved in with the Cakes as a filly, and every day since then had been filled with meeting everypony in town, learning their likes and dislikes, planning their celebrations... Had she ever been alone? Even when she moved to Ponyville, Maud had been there to make sure she arrived safely. Well, now was the time to find out what being alone felt like. She didn't expect to like it.

With a short sigh and bindle-stick in hoof, she began trotting south towards the looming wall of vegetation that was the Everfree Forest. This was not her first time here. The last time had been to get help from Zecora—the local zebra herbalist—during the poison joke fiasco; but her hut isn't that deep within the forest's boundaries, and it was a rather embarrassing series of events she'd rather not dwell on any longer. As the dark greens of the canopy began to blot out the moonlit sky, Pinkie's mind wandered back over the day's events: the expectations, the rejections, the scheming, the sneaking, the barn, the crying, the eviction. Today had been a very long day.
> Chapter Five: Between a Rock Farm and a Hard Place
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Everfree Forest is a location of superstition and cautionary tales; an unnatural place where plants grow on their own and animals look after themselves. It has long been tradition that pegasi govern the weather in the skies, earth ponies plough the fields and clear the seasons, and unicorns raise the sun and the moon every day. Society has evolved since then, of course: pegasi  don't simply manage the weather, but create it with the advanced technology in their floating factories; earth ponies created tools and festivals to better their working of the land, fostering strong communities and a sense of pride in a job done by hoof; while the duty of raising the sun and moon passed on from unicorns as a whole to the alicorn nobility, leaving them to develop their magic, science, and high culture. But through it all, the Everfree Forest persisted; ever creeping forward, uncontrollable and unstoppable.

It would be a lie to say the ponies of Ponyville weren't worried about the forest's proximity to their village, having overrun the Castle of the Two Sisters one-thousand years ago, and grown unnoticeably closer with each passing moon. Now no more than ten minutes outside of town, the dark, dense, and foreboding vegetation looms high over anypony that dares approach it.

Pinkie Pie was now one such pony.

Visiting Zecora for a poison joke cure was the last time she had been in the forest, but it hadn't been the first time, and nor was it the deepest she had ventured. Back when Twilight first arrived at Ponyville, the six then-friends had ventured deep into the forest to find the Elements of Harmony within the Castle of The Two Sisters. It was quite the adventure, filled with ghosts, and monsters, and ancient ruins, and singing. The six of them had harnessed the magic within themselves to defeat the darkness of Nightmare Moon, proving that the heart was mightier than the sword, and returning Princess Luna to where she belonged, back by her sister's side. But what did that all mean now? That camaraderie, that widening of horizons, all those months of laughter and friendship leading to this point—all alone in a cold, dark, musky forest.

Thick, gnarled branches clawed at the moonlit sky overhead as Pinkie cautiously pushed forward. As wild and scary as the forest was, there were still a few convenient paths that could be followed, though it didn't take long before she found herself in uncharted territory. The route was fairly simple: travel south through the forest, then follow the Ghastly Gorge until you reach the San Palomino Rockies, and home is just on the other side. While this wasn't a journey she had made before, she had once run away from home as far as the Rockies, so she was hopeful she would recognise where to turn off the road to Los Pegasus.

Creaks and groans filled the windy silence of the long trek through the woods, accompanied by darting shadows and glowing eyes peering from within the darkness. The dense overhead growth made the forest gloomy even during the day, so despite the luck of tonight's bright moon—thank Luna—Pinkie  could barely see ten hooves in front of her. She thought about stopping for the night, but she had neither camping equipment, the desire to stay here any longer than she had to, nor the ability to sleep with these cursed eyes always watching her. Despite her reluctance, time waits for no pony, and exhaustion soon forced her to seek shelter in a cold, damp, rotted-out tree, which looked uncomfortably like a face. Using her sack of (hard and pointy) worldly possessions as a pillow, she curled up into a ball and did the best she could to ignore the damp cold. Sleep did not come easily. The night was long, scary, and full of strange noises. She dreaded the thought of being forced to live like this; at least she had somewhere to go.

It took four and a half days, but Pinkie eventually made it through the Everfree Forest, past the bulk of the Ghastly Gorge, and toward the more familiar territory of where she grew up. She didn't go back home very often, usually only for Hearth's Warming Day, and only by train and cart, not on hoof. The memory of all the decorations, blinking lights, cold air biting at her lips, and a nice, warm bowl of rock soup to stave off the chills brought a weak smile to Pinkie's face. Her stomach groaned at this thought, reminding her how long it had been since she last ate. The forest hadn't been so bad; there were berries, plants and mushrooms to forage for food, but the land around here was barren—barely a living thing in sight. A tumbleweed obnoxiously crossed her path with perfect comedic timing as she dragged her hooves onwards, sweating under the hot midday sun.

Having loomed in the distance for hours, the San Palomino Rockies now towered over her—its peaks obscured by the blinding light of the sun. The Applewood Hills stretched far off to her right as she traced the edge of the Ghastly Gorge, at the bottom of which ran Longfall Stream. She had left the beaten path a little while ago, recognising the water below as the brook that flows right past the farm. Pinkie paused and looked up at the snow-covered mountaintop, shielding her eyes with a weary hoof. It was probably really cold up there. She sighed, trying to ignore her chapped lips and shaking legs. She should have rationed the apples or gathered more supplies in the forest, but right now she was wishing she had packed some drinking-water. She had never had to consider how important water was before now. What she wouldn't do for a tall glass of ice-water. Swallowing dryly, she continued her journey around the left side of the mountain range, the final obstacle separating her from the rock farm. She thought back to the last time she saw a map of Equestria... 'Not to scale' indeed.

Another forty minutes of walking passed before the high cliffs of the Ghastly Gorge had tapered to a manageable height, allowing access to the stream. Pinkie desperately descended the steep decline, catching her hoof on some dried brush and tumbling the rest of the way, landing face-first into the brook. Half-drowning and half-drinking, the immersion was instant relief. The water was slightly bitter and had a metallic aftertaste, but she didn't care, it was cool and made everything feel better. With renewed strength, Pinkie pushed herself out of the knee-high water, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. Her stomach felt full for the first time in so many hours. Wiping the residual moisture from her mouth and squeezing the water out of her hair—which had needed washing for some time now—Pinkie continued down the stream towards the rock farm.

“How did they do it?” she silently wondered. “How did ponies live like this, before the towns, and cities, and shops, and-” She stopped. The next word was going to be 'cakes', but even the thought of sweet things was too much to bare. It reminded her too much of what she had left behind. 'Who' she had left behind.

Two more hours passed before Pinkie Pie started seeing the familiar dead, blackened trees of her foalhood home. A thin, rickety wooden fence stretched out for miles in each direction, surrounding little more than a barren wasteland of rocks and quarries, with a modest farmhouse far off in the middle. It was hard to imagine what life would be like back on the farm. There was a very good reason she ran away from home as a filly that one time, and then moved to Ponyville at such a young age. There had never been any bad blood between her and her family, though, and she loved her sisters so, so much. They had always supported her alternative lifestyle the best they could, but everypony knew that she simply wasn't built for life on the farm. Despite being so young, they gave her their blessing to pack up and go live with with the... Cakes... and live her dream as a party planner. That felt like an eternity ago... Had she wasted her life? Smiles were the only payment she had ever wanted for all her hard work, but where were those now?

Lost in thought, Pinkie was surprised to find herself already at the smaller inner-fence of the Pie Family Rock Farm. It was all there, just like she remembered it: the farmhouse, the wind-thingy, the silo,  Holder's Boulder. She expected this familiar scene to be a comforting sight after such a long, painful journey, but the structures stood cold and judgemental in front of her. Her heart raced. Was this what anxiety felt like? A vision of her disapproving parents filled her mind, scowling, wondering where they went wrong. Was she admitting defeat? Running home to mummy and daddy as soon as things got hard? Was this an admission that her party-pony lifestyle had been wrong all along? Was this proof of her failure?

The questions berating her mind remained unanswered as the door to the farmhouse broke the solemn stillness of the barrens. Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock—her mother and father—stepped out from the interior, the picture of simple living. They moved a short distance from the house and stopped, prompting her to move forward to meet them. Pinkie swallowed hard, hoping her fears would follow the lump in her throat. They wouldn't be mad with her, right? They had always loved and supported her, despite not really understanding her... Hay, this would be like an extended vacation where she can spend all the time in the world with her BSFFs (Best Sister Friends Forever)! It'll be so much fun; the Pie sisters back together again! Well, except for Maud, who was away doing her rocktorate near Manehatten, which was a shame, but she still had two other super-duper sisters to spend time with. Wait, how long had she been thinking for? Her parents were waiting!

Pinkie vigorously shook her head to dispel the thoughts, then climbed through the dilapidated fence surrounding the inner-buildings and made her way towards her parents. She trotted up to them slowly, the best her sore hooves could manage, and put on the best, weak smile she could muster.

“H-Hey...” she awkwardly rasped. It had been a while since she'd last spoken out loud—especially for her—and her voice was a little hoarse, no pun intended.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie, what in this land of Equestria art thou doing here?” her father replied in his old-timey drawl, a comforting reminder of more hopeful times.

“It's a long story,” she weakly chuckled, “perhaps we could talk about it over some warm rock soup?” She tried smiling again, hoping for it to be returned on her parents' faces.

It was not.

“Alack, daughter, thou shalt not step within the homestead.” Her mother's voice was monotone and her expression sour, which was normal, but she wasn't known for her jokes. This had to be a joke, right?

“What? Why?” That same hollow and dark dread she felt in Sugarcube Corner a few days ago was returning.

“Simply, thou art no longer welcome here,” her father replied, turning to face Cloudy Quartz. “Your mother and I have spoken, and come to an accord that thou art too... different to remain within this family.” He turned back further to look at the farmhouse and raised his voice. “Is that not correct, daughters?”

On this command, two more ponies emerged from the interior, one a dusty purple and the other a soft grey. Both were instantly recognisable to Pinkie as her sisters, Limestone Pie and Marble Pie respectively—or as they called each other during their foalhood—'Blinkie' and 'Inkie'. Pinkie was the only one to retain her nickname beyond their formative years, despite her parents' resistance to it; but this wasn't out of defiance, she just preferred the bouncy sound that 'Pinkie' has to it. Maud was the only one of them to not have a nickname, being the elder sister, and just way too Maud to change. You can't improve perfection! She made a joke once that her nickname should be 'Clyde', and that's when Pinkie knew her sister was destined for comedic greatness.

“We have names y'know, Dad. Geez...” Limestone scowled, as acerbic as ever, while Marble quietly followed behind.

“You- You don't want me here either?” Pinkie's voice was wispy, feeling light-headed from the emotional sucker-punch.

“No, we don't want you here. We've been running this rock farm just fine without you, after you cantered off to Ponyville. You don't need us? Well we don't need you, got it?” Limestone spat, now standing with their parents.

“Mhm,” Marble agreed. Even she wanted Pinkie gone?

Pinkie Pie flashed back to ground floor of Sugarcube Corner, seeing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy where Lime and Marble had been a second before. She saw Gummy being held away from her again, and her eyes filled with tears.

“Do not make this more trying than it need be, Pinkamena,” her father spoke up, causing the memory to streak away like the tears down her cheek. “The time of reconciliation hath long since passed.”

“Okay,” she barely whispered. Her voice and body shook, but she remained quiet. Resigned.

	'Okay'? How could this be 'okay'? Her friends had betrayed her and her family had disowned her. She wanted to fight for their love, refuse to leave, scream to Celestia herself about how unfair everything was... but her voice had no more words left to share. She turned, cloudy-eyed and expressionless. There was no fire left inside to fuel her, no reason to struggle anymore, no hope, no future.

Igneous, Cloudy, Limestone and Marble all watched on as the pink pony shuffled away, her steps heavy and without purpose. There was nothing left to say.

As Pinkie passed under the outer-fence's main archway, a wooden sign hung over her head, reading: 'PIE FAMILY ROCK FARM; The Home of Holder's Boulder'. Had she noticed or cared, the thought of 'family' would have seemed pretty laughable right now. The farm had originally been called 'Rockville Rock Farm', before their competitor, Rockville Quarry, opened up on the other side of town. The quarry operated far more efficiently than them due to their excavation machinery, so emphasis had to be made on their family values and hoof-carved rocks.

Leaving the farm, you'll find yourself on a dirt track leading in opposite directions. Turning right will take you towards Rockville train station—which would certainly be running at this time of day—and beyond to the town proper, while the left path curves back around the farm and ends at Longfall Stream. Pinkie's legs continued to carry her forward without direction, turning left and back towards the path she had come from.  

The world was a grey blur, devoid of detail or meaning. There was nowhere left for her to go. No friends, no family, no home. So she just walked. And walked. And walked. She passed dead trees, a stream, a mountain, a gorge, a railroad. There was no purpose to her travel, no aim in sight, no destination. She was simply walking... Walking... Walking... Walking... Walki-

Pinkie collapsed on the floor, exhausted, dehydrated, and malnourished. Was this the end? Did she care? The world faded from view, and she welcomed the inky black void with open hooves. A final release from this torture. No more pain, only rest.
> Chapter Six: Silver Linings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Consciousness slowly returned to the pink pony as she felt something nudging against her head, as though she were being poked with a log. Where was she? Her memories were a blur after leaving the farm. She remembered the sun setting, the musky smell of damp leaves taking over, and an unbearable twisting pain in her stomach. She tried opening her eyes, but her vision was hazy, only able to make out basic shapes around her. She attempted to push herself off the ground, but gravity had other plans, leaving her legs feeling like tingly jelly.

Suddenly something white and soft bopped her in the face. Sluggishly recoiling in surprise as much as she could, a familiar scent filled her nostrils and prompted her to return to the object that assaulted her. It was... a mushroom? Not wanting to look gift food in the mouth, she extended her head forward and took a bite. It was good. No sooner had the first disappeared, before another one plopped out of the sky in front of her, which she met with similar voracity. After finishing a third mushroom, she blinked a few times and her vision began to clear. There were leaves. Lots of leaves. She was back in the Everfree Forest—the gnarled and haunting trees made that painfully obvious—and lying on her side in the dewy grass of a small clearing. Cautiously observing her surroundings, given the vulnerable state she was in, she spotted a small pile of mushrooms behind her head, along with a hoofful of red berries, and an assortment of twigs and leaves. There was no way that she had done this, so somepony must have helped her... but who?

Despite her confusion, answering these questions was the least of her worries right now, as the more pressing concern was filling the aching pit in her stomach. Weakly pulling herself toward the alfresco platter, she made short work of the surprisingly filling meal, minus the twigs and leaves. It was finally time to stand up and really assess the situation she was in. She rolled on to her tummy and shakily pushed herself up on all fours. She was cold, damp, and still quite thirsty, but at least her ravenous hunger was satiated for now.

This area wasn't familiar to her. It didn't seem like the last thing she remembered before collapsing, but it was far better than being left out in the open somewhere, so she probably had her mushroom-delivering saviour to thank for that, too. And as far as the Everfree Forest goes, this clearing was downright welcoming.

As she looked around the moon-dappled grove, there came a rustling from the bushes to her left. Something was getting closer, moving directly towards her location. Was it her rescuer? Her pony in shining armour? She faced the approaching unknown with equal parts hope and fear, though nothing could have prepared her for what emerged from within. A fractured wooden log  protruded from the brush, followed by two green, iridescent eyes. This was no pony, this was a timberwolf—albeit a small one.

Timberwolves were well known for being the most vicious, unrelenting predators in the Everfree Forest; monsters made from living wood, like some malevolent magic had given a pile of sticks the form and fangs of a dire wolf. Foals grew up listening to cautionary tales of green eyes glowing in the shadows of the forest, ready to pounce on any filly or colt foolish enough to stray too close to the forbidden woods. The very sight of one—even a pup—was enough to send the pink pony flailing backwards, her legs unable to register the sudden command to flee. Terrified, she pushed herself away the best she could, almost immediately backing into the trunk of a nearby tree. The timberwolf seemed equally startled, dropping something from mouth and taking a half-step back, its hindquarters still obscured in the dense the foliage.

Pinkie locked eyes with the timberwolf—or at least the glowing holes in its head—too  scared to move another inch. A few moments passed without incident, though she noticed the leaves over the creature's eyes seemed to droop, almost as if it was... sad. Tension began to fade between the two, dissolving into an awkward silence. The adolescent timberwolf began to turn away, its head held low, like a scolded dog. Still wrapped in confusion, Pinkie allowed her eyes to stray from the animal, spotting the item it had recently dropped.

“Wait!” she called out, her voice raspy from disuse.

The timberwolf flinched, surprised by the sudden outburst from the hereunto silent pony. It slowly turned back, a look of concern across its leafy, wooden face. She had no idea these creatures could be so... emotive.

“Did you- Are you the one who saved me?”

Lying in the grass between the two was a freshly picked, fat, white mushroom. Could it be-? Could a timberwolf really have saved her? It was insane that she was even asking it. It was like... talking to a stack of firewood, or a bucket of turni- oh.

The autonomous collection of twigs looked at her for a moment, not really seeming to understand her words, but recognising something positive in her tone. Gingerly, it returned to the mushroom and picked it up, using its stake-like teeth. At least there was no drool. Edging closer, but still a couple of hooves off, it dropped the food and flicked it the remaining distance with its muzzle. Pinkie watched the mushroom roll up to her hoof in a state of surreal disbelief. It was just like the others.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked, looking up at the lupine with genuine confusion.

The timberwolf tilted its head. It didn't seem to speak Ponish; obviously.

“Oh, right. Uh...”

She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to express herself to a wild animal. What would Fluttershy do? Besides stab her in the back and steal her pet. No, stop, that kind of thinking wouldn't help anypony. She needed to do everything on her own from now on. What would she do? How could she show her gratitude without words?

Leaning forward, Pinkie picked up the fresh mushroom and ate it, arching back and rubbing her tummy with over-exaggerated motions of contentment.  

“Mmmm!”

Seeing this, the timberwolf perked up. Its back straightened, its mouth opened, and its tail—which she could now see was a plume of twigs, much like a broom—began to wag. She imagined its tongue would be hanging out, if it had one. It was behaving almost like a regular, flesh-and-blood dog, which was far from the cautionary tales that she had heard as a filly. It reminded her of Applejack's pet dog, Winona, and the time they would spend together on their pony pet playdates. Perhaps it was the bitter-sweet memories of happier times, or the gratitude she felt towards her unlikely saviour, but Pinkie already felt a bond of trust with her new acquaintance, despite its species' reputation.

“You're a good boy, aren't you?”

That was a rhetorical question, of course. She didn't actually know if it was a boy, and while it did seem friendly, recent events had fostered a keen sense of distrust in the back of her mind that screamed one question: “Why?”

She extended her hoof as a gesture of good will, which the animal cautiously approached to sniff, though she wasn't quite sure what it sniffed with. She didn't see any nostrils on its muzzle, or have any reason to believe it had lungs, for that matter. Timberwolves were known predators, so they had to be able to smell, right? That must be what he was doing right now. Come to think of it, what did timberwolves even eat? Were they carnivorous? Did they eat ponies, like the stories told? It was a terrifying thought, but a hard one to believe while looking at this friendly kindling nuzzling her hoof. And while she was on this train of thought, did timberwolves even have genders? They're just a bunch of sticks held together by magic, so how do they reproduce? Is it just more of that creepy forest magic bringing inanimate objects to life? She had so many questions, and nopony to answer them. 

“What are you doing out here alone, little one?” she asked, happy to have something—anything—to talk to in this haunting place.

Despite her initial fear, it had taken no time at all for her opinion of this cute little fellow to dramatically change, and it seemed as though he felt the same way. Beginning to relax a little in his presence, Pinkie decided to take a better look at the creature. He was small—very small, considering that adult timberwolves are at least twice the height of a regular pony, and he barely reached her chin as she rose to her hooves. The small timberwolf backed up in response, unsure of this new movement, though not as scared as he had been before. Moonlight shone through a patch in the canopy just above his position, highlighting the scars that covered his body—chunks of wood missing from his 'paws', legs, and face. He must have been the runt of the litter, beaten up and kicked out of his pack for being so small. Or perhaps he was lost; forced to fend for himself and survive against all odds at such a young age? Of course, she was only assuming he was a puppy—up until this point she had assumed timberwolves were born fully-formed... however that happens. But whatever his past, it seemed as though he was a survivor, and that was something Pinkie desperately needed to learn how to become right now. 

“You're hurt,” she stated with worry, taking a step toward him. She had no idea if those missing divots were new or old, but it was still a concerning sight on such a selfless beast. However, the concern in her voice was not enough to stop the timid creature from retreating further.  

“Wait!” She looked around, hoping to find something to show her good intentions. Bandages? Food? Ugh, why did she have to eat all the mushrooms? Wait, were there any apples left in her bag? No, she must have eaten them all already... but she never touched the sweets! Would a timberwolf even like sweets? Do they even eat food? So many questions and so few answers... Come to think of it, where was her bag?

Pinkie eyed the area for her red-and-white-spotted bindle; first the patch of grass she had woken up on, then the rotten tree trunk behind her, and finally a panicked sweep of the entire moonlit glade. Those items were her last worldly possessions and the only connection to her old life that she had, even if the memories were painful, she wasn't ready to give them up yet.

“W-Where's my bag?!” The panic in her voice must have transcended language, as the timberwolf immediately perked up and barked at her, before turning and dashing into the bushes he originated from. Hopeful that he somehow understood the problem, Pinkie followed after the lumber-lupine, desperate to recover her personal treasures.

Poking her head through the other side of the brush, she spotted the twiggy tail of her new companion disappear off to the left. For the briefest of moments she worried that it had chosen to abandon her too, just like her friends and family, but given the dire situation she faced alone in these woods, she pushed those feelings down and gave chase. Galloping around the bend, Pinkie arrived in time to see the timberwolf pulling her bindle out from beneath a large-leafed shrub and raising it in his mouth. Had he stashed her things while she recovered? She had no idea that wild animals could be this intelligent, particularly ones with wood for brains. Turning to face her, the small pup pattered over and offered the bundle, which she gladly accepted, slinging it over her shoulder.

“Thank you...” She looked down at him with a weak smile, quite taken aback by this show of compassion. Reaching out to pet him, the young timberwolf flinched at first, before tentatively relaxing into her hoof. She rubbed his face like she might a dog's, finishing with a scruff on the top of his head. It felt a little odd, given that he didn't have any fur to ruffle up, but he seemed to like it, as his brow-leaves covered his luminescent eye-holes and his tail wagged vigorously back and forth. Seems like she had made a friend. But... what now? She looked around, only just starting to realise how lost she was. Where was there left for her to go?

As if reading her thoughts, the wooden wolf sprung into action and ran back up the path they had just come from, stopping only to turn and bark at her expectantly. He seemed to be leading her somewhere this time. With the reacquired bindle of personal treasures hooked snugly under her foreleg, she followed the energetic creature as he continued down the path, vaguely lighting the way with the fluorescent green glow of his eyes.

The two companions walked side-by-side through the woods for a good half-hour before reaching a sea of flowers. The timberwolf rushed ahead, deep into the thicket and towards a central clearing, while Pinkie stood at its border. This was no ordinary blanket of leaves or brambles; this was a sea of bright blue flowers—poison joke. She hesitated for a moment, remembering the consequences of the last time she touched this type of flower. There was no Zecora to save her from a swollen tongue this time... Though it's not like she even needed to talk anymore. There were no ponies around to hear her, and for all she knew Zecora's potion may have made her immune to the flower's effects. It's not like she had anything to lose. Centring herself with a deep breath, Pinkie closed her eyes and stepped into the floral blanket. It had taken all night for the poison to show its symptoms last time, so she would just have to wait and see. She continued on, leaving a wake of trampled flowers behind her as she moved to catch up with her eagerly waiting guide ahead.

Exiting the azure blooms, Pinkie found herself in a small, grassy clearing, facing the last thing she ever expected to see in this forest: a cottage. It was a humble building; a spartan, single-story construct of wood and plaster, slightly rotten and overgrown, yet seemingly intact. To her left was a small stone well, complete with wooden roof and chained bucket, while in the centre of the clearing sat the now familiar stick-dog, facing her with a wagging tail and excited panting. She never would have imagined that this scene would even be possible before today, let alone welcome. Her life was becoming more and more unpredictable by the minute.

Pinkie walked up to the central, circular window on the broadside of the house, facing the well, and peered inside. Despite standing on her hind legs and straining her eyes to see in, the hut's interior was far too dark to really tell what—or who—was inside, though she could tell from the dust on the inside of the window that it hadn't been lived in for a long time. 

“Whose is this?” Pinkie asked as she stepped back, giving the exterior another look-over.

The timberwolf replied with a couple of unhelpful barks, before leaning forward, whipping his tail back and forth like a puppy playing fetch, and dashing to the rear of the house. Curious about what he was doing, Pinkie rounded the corner and surveyed the new side of the building. While it sported the same cracks and growth as the others, this one also featured a solid-looking wooden door and an ornate handle fixed to it, which her companion was now scrabbling at. Pinkie paused and swallowed the lump in her throat; her newfound insecurity flaring up again. There was no way anypony still lived here, right? Why would anypony live this deep in the Everfree? I mean, she was here, and Zecora lives in the outskirts, and somepony must have built this house in the first place, but...

The pastel pink pony walked up to the door and hesitantly knocked three times. Nothing. Swallowing again, she reached out for the handle and pushed it down, finding it unlocked. With a little push, the sturdy door slowly swung inwards, revealing the dark, dusty room she had caught a glimpse of through the window. The air was dank and heavy from dust and mould, forcing her to clamp a hoof over her snout, for fear of sneezing or retching at the overpowering atmosphere that leaked out. The two trespassers peered in from the doorframe, fearful of crossing the threshold.

“H- Hello?” Pinkie called out, uncomfortable, unsure, and somewhat muffled by her hoof.

No answer.

Propping her bindle against the exterior wall, the earth pony gingerly stepped inside, squinting to see through the darkness and to protect her eyes from the stale, dusty haze. Four hooves in and she was already at the centre of the tiny hut. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, it became clearer that this place had been abandoned and untouched for years.

To her front-left was a table, stool, and what looked like a typewriter; while to her right was an uncomfortable-looking single bed, still made up with olive-green sheets, and the other side of the circular window. The window was just a little too high to look through while standing, but did a good enough job of letting in some desperately needed light. Directly to her left was a huge, ornately carved stone fireplace, covered in flowers, swirls, and monogrammed with a large 'DD' in the centre. It was a bizarre sight to behold in such a tiny room, taking up almost the entire wall it was on, with a firebox almost big enough to walk right into.

Turning around, there was nothing behind Pinkie but the door, which her fellow four-legged friend was just now cautiously breaching, and what looked like a hat stand in the right corner. As her eyes were slowly adjusting to the barely lit room, she spotted a light switch next to the hat stand, and moved towards it. Click, click. Nothing. She looked up to the centre of the room and spotted a lone, unadorned bulb hanging limply from the wooden slats of the ceiling, likely long since blown. She could hardly visit the nearest shop and buy a replacement.

As she inhaled to sigh in disappointment, the ambient dust caused her to choke and go into a coughing fit, startling the nearby timberwolf. Replacing her hoof over her snout while using the other to fan away the thick air, she staggered back out the door, eventually managing to catch her breath in the comparatively fresh air outside.

“Sorry,” she wheezed.

Taking a moment to clear her lungs, Pinkie wandered over to the well and stood on her hindlegs to lean over its thick, dry stone wall to peer into the depths.

“Hello-o?” she called down, pleasantly amused by the echoed response. Her lupine companion joined her, having sufficiently scouted the room himself, apparently unphased by the dust and mildew. It made sense, given that he didn't have a nose, or at least not one she could see. She watched him circle around the well and jump up, balancing against the wall on his hindlegs in an attempt to mirror her pose, despite not being quite tall enough to see down the hole himself.

“Who used to live here, little guy?” She knew she wouldn't get a response; she wasn't expecting one. “Was 'DD' the one who lived here?”

The pup's small, wooden face, tilted in confusion. If only he could answer...  

Come to think of it, she had spent the last few hours with somepony who had saved her life, and she didn't know their name. Simply calling it 'the timberwolf' wasn't good enough, she needed to think of something appropriate. Appleja- Somepony once called them the 'lupine menace'... How about Lou? He already has the 'pine' part covered. No, that wasn't great. She'd named Gum-... Gummy... after his looks, so how about Woody? Tim(ber)?Stickdog? No, these were getting worse. She hadn't known him very long, so maybe it would come to her in time, assuming he was staying, of course.

“Are you staying with me?” she asked, really hoping for an answer this time. She was becoming familiar with disappointment. This was stupid, he was a wild animal, of course he wasn't going to live with her. And why would he? What did she have to offer him? What could she offer to anypony? Fluttershy—or whoever said it—was right. She couldn't even look after herself, so how could she support an animal, let alone one she knew nothing about? What do timberwoves eat? Do they eat? Do they get energy from the sun like plants do? Photo- Photo- Photo Finish? Whatever. This was stupid. She was stupid.

The pink pony's ears drooped as she gazed absently into the well's void. With a sigh, she dropped to all fours and made her way back to the house as the timberwolf watched her, its tail slowing to a gentle wave. Reaching the door, she looked back at the well just in time to see the wooden animal disappear into the surrounding bushes, leaving her alone once more. With a pained heart and deep grimace, Pinkie picked up her bag and walked inside the run-down hovel, slamming the door behind her.
> Chapter Seven: Sadly Ever After
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This room was disgusting. Mould lined the skirting boards, the floors and ceiling were warped and rotten, and dust was so encrusted into the fabrics that climbing onto the bed barely disturbed any of it. She didn't care. She deserved this. A useless pony in a useless house, just as abandoned as she was. She would never throw another party again. There was a sharp stab in her chest as she thought this, but the pain was less than before, numbed by the acceptance of her fate. This was her life now. Alone. Pained. Worthless.

Unexpected scratching at the door brought her mind back to reality with a start. Was it a monster? Timberwolves? Was this all an elaborate ruse by the small one? Had it left to get its friends a few hours ago? Was she about to become timber treats? Was this it? The end? A pause to the scratching and a few small whines stayed her paranoia. It sounded... sad. She rolled off the bed and walked to the door, cracking it open to cautiously peek at the visitor. Surely enough, she was greeted by the familiar, scarred face of her deserter, standing there with a mouth full of fresh mushrooms, just like before. His droopy leaf-brows perked up at the sight of the door opening, causing some of his delivery to drop to the ground in his excitement.

“You... came back.” A tired smile crossed her face. It had all been in her head.

	She leaned forward and scratched the timberwolf where his ear might have been, which he seemed to like, causing his mouth to open and drop the entirety of his bounty on the floor. She chuckled.

“You're going to need to show me where you find these.”

Sitting just outside the house, the two shared a meal as the sun began to rise; or rather, the pony ate her meal, while the timberwolf watched. Finishing her food, Pinkie returned to the well to test its viability, as she hadn't had a drink in some time. To her relief, the weathered bucket brought up a brimful of drinkable—if somewhat stale—water, along with some easily-removable algae. This wasn't Ponyville, she didn't have the luxury of being picky, but what this raggedy old hut lacked in charm, it made up for with the bare necessities. Winter could be problem, given the lack of insulation and blankets, but that was a problem for future-Pinkie, and right now she only wanted to live in the present.

As she stared off into the distance, the small timberwolf joined her at the well, seeming quite interested in the half-full, slowly leaking pail. Noticing him sniffing around—or whatever he was doing—by her side, she lowered the bucket down to the grass for him to inspect properly. Now able to get a good look inside it, Pinkie watched as the creature dunked its snout in and out of the container repeatedly, sort of like a bird. Not having a throat, she supposed it was absorbing the water directly through its 'skin'.  It made sense that he had to drink; trees need water too, even with their photo-whatever. She couldn't help but wonder what he was like on the inside... Was he nothing but twigs and wood all the way through, or did he have some kind of magic core keeping him together? She certainly wouldn't be the one to answer these kinds of questions. Somepony else would have had a field day, though.

The two sat in front of the well as they watched the rising sun slowly illuminate the windowed side of the house, casting golden rays over the cobblestone chimney stack and slanted wooden beams of the roof. As terrifying as this forest could be, there was an odd serenity in this clearing. The cold and earthy morning air felt like it was cleansing her mind, overwhelming her senses to the point that she couldn't feel the pain in her heart, or the voices in her head. She didn't feel alone while the wooden canine was by her side.

The couple sat in relaxed silence for a short while before Pinkie got up and returned to the house. She had left the door open in an attempt to air out the dust-encrusted room, though it was proving difficult without any circulation. It certainly wasn't as fresh as the air outside—even if it was just as cold—but her ability to breath without choking was a sign of progress. Making her way over to the bed, she began to pummel the mattress and sheets with her hooves, billowing large clouds of dust into the air. She was hoping to dislodge as much of the settled grime as she could, though she had to admit that it was pretty cathartic too. Losing herself in the emotional venting for a moment, she suddenly realised that she could barely see, let alone breathe in all this kicked up filth.  Running back outside as the stagnant wave chased her, she concluded that it would probably be best to beat them outside next time.

Hearing the commotion, the young timberwolf perked up and walked over to the coughing pony, who had just turned the corner.

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” she strained, still trying to clear the air around her.

With a determined breath, Pinkie returned to the doorframe, already having to squint through the freshly agitated atmosphere. Walking forward with one leg shielding her eyes and nose, she disappeared into the beige miasma, returning a few seconds later with the off-white pillow draped over her back. The curious wooden creature watched its pony friend whack the hay-filled object a few times, releasing additional clouds of dust into what was once fresh air. Not entirely understanding what was going on, the young pup edged his way back into the room, examining the particles in the air and recently assaulted bed-covers. Pinkie leaned around the doorframe to see what he was doing. After seeming to sniff around the area a bit, he walked over to the empty space opposite the coat rack and settled down. He didn't seem bothered by the thick dust filling the interior. She had to wonder again if he was actually capable of smelling. If timberwolves were simply territorial instead of predatory, maybe they didn't need to smell? Maybe it was some kind of... moisture sense? Or heat? She really needed to stop asking these unanswerable questions.

Waiting for the dust to settle and aiding its extraction by waving the pillow around, Pinkie finally made her way into the house and closed the door. She had done enough for today; she was tired, and her companion seemed to be as well, despite the sun rising outside. It was a little sad to see him curled up on a hardwood floor without anything to call his bed. She didn't know if timberwolves could even feel comfort, but it would at least make her feel better if she did something about it. Tomorrow, though. Making her way over to the bed, she threw the pillow back to where it had come from, once again kicking up a light cloud of grime. Stifling her coughs, she gingerly lay down on the bed, careful to not cause another dust cloud. The room was cold, almost as bad as sleeping outside, minus the wet grass, and now filling with morning light. It was a far cry from her accommodation one week ago.  

Curling up into a ball and carefully trying to make the most of the thin sheets, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the shivering. She hadn't realised just how cold she was, probably due to all the panic and walking, but now that she was lying still, it was really starting to get to her. It was too bad that timberwolves weren't warm-blooded—being made out of wood—or they could have cuddled up together, even if he was made of sharp twigs. She considered starting a fire in the ample fireplace, but remembered stories from Sweet Apple Acres about aggressive timberwolves being fended off with torches. Like any moist or living wood, timberwolves weren't explicitly flammable, but probably fear fire more than your average wild animal. Her sleepy mind wandered further, wondering how timberwolves felt about wooden furniture and buildings. Was it offensive to them? Threatening? Perhaps they didn't even recognise it as wood anymore? How did they feel about trees? Were they like relatives, or just scenery to them?

It didn't take long for the weary pony's thoughts to carry her off to a deep, dreamless sleep. Morning followed with a cylinder of light cast through the east-facing window and some confusion. Had she only slept a few hours? No, the sun had already risen. Had she slept for a full day? Fresh scratches marking the now-open door suggested that was the case. Aching and light-headed, Pinkie rose from the cocooned sheets and made her way to the door.

“T- uh, Timberwolf?” She called out the best she could with such a dry mouth.

Squinting from the surprisingly warm glow of today's sun, the pink pony made her way to the well for a much-needed drink. Sure enough, it didn't take long for her reliable friend to return, once again burdened with edible gifts. Once she had eaten, the puppy delivered on her earlier request to see where he found these supplies, leading her to some edible berry bushes and mushrooms growing in hollow tree stumps. When they returned, Pinkie brought her dirty bedding outside and beat them a little more, before washing them the best she could in well-water and draping them over some fallen branches. While looking for suitable branches to prop the sheets up, she also collected as many bendy sticks as she could, with the intention of weaving them into a basket for her friend. The day ended with another food hunt, and a bitter pony cursing her still-damp linens.

The following day moved just as slowly as the first, starting with some breakfast scavenging—this time together—and attempting to make a sleeping-basket, with unfavourable results. By the end of the day, Pinkie had managed to weave a couple of twigs together, and finally had some dry bedding to sleep in. The day after was much the same: looking for food, drinking from the well, attempting to weave the basket, vain attempts at house-cleaning with a leafy branch, and trying to make the most out of the lumpy, straw mattress at night. This deep in the forest, so far away from civilisation, it was surprising how fast time began to lose meaning. Hours smeared into days; days into weeks; weeks into... who knew how long? Each day was bookended by a trip through the ring of poison joke that seemed to completely surrounded the clearing, though Pinkie never noticed any effects from the constant contact. Food and water were surprisingly plentiful, and the monotony of simply surviving day-to-day seemed to make her old worries fade away. Was this what it felt like to have no friends? She never could have imagined it before, but this... this wasn't so bad, was it?

… Was it?

Pinkie shook off her vacant stare, having been lost in thought once again, as was common these days. She was sitting across from her timberwolf companion, either side of a small colony of bioluminescent mushrooms they had found some time ago. He had been quite vocal about these not being edible when they first discovered them, though she didn't really need to be told that. When you've lived off the land for as long as she has, you pick up a sense of what's good and what isn't. Nature's little warning signs. But they weren't here to eat, it was just a nice place to relax after the sun had gone down.

How long had she been here, exactly, in this forest? There were no landmarks in time to grasp onto; no defining moments besides hunger, thirst and fatigue. Pinkie shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the dark, invasive thoughts that seemed to hang over her these days... weeks... months? She hadn't even come up with a name for her friend yet, after all this time. Yeah, friend. He was her friend, wasn't he. He might not be a pony or much of a conversationalist, but he was still here, by her side, however long that had been. She needed to remember that. She wasn't alone, and he deserved a name that was as important to her as he was.

“Kumquat.”

Her voice was a little hoarse from lack of use—again, no pun intended—and took the dozing lupine by surprise, causing him to raise his head. She didn't know why, but speaking that one word out loud made her suddenly realise just how exhausted she was. Despite her drooping eyelids, she looked across to her companion with a weary smile.

“It's one of my favourite words. Kumquat. It's fun to say.”

She knew he didn't understand what she was saying, and it would probably take quite some time for him to associate that word with himself, but she knew it was the perfect fit. This fatigue had really caught up with her, though. It was time to go home. She got up from the tree stump she was sitting on and walked over to her friend's side, who followed suit.

“I'd like it to be your name, a reminder of something from before... Something that brings a smile to my face. Something that hasn't been spoilt. If you don't mind it, of course.”

The newly named Kumquat looked up at her and tilted his head. Of course he didn't understand, why would he? She weakly smirked and rubbed his head with her hoof. The two set off back to the hut, leaving the faint glow of the mushrooms behind them under the starry sky.

She was so lucky to have found this place, she thought, as she sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the intricately carved fireplace through the pitch-black. Kumquat was curled up in his hoofmade wicker basket, already sleeping peacefully. She was so lucky. She couldn't even remember what there was to miss outside of the forest anymore. This was all that she needed. This was her life. Just her, Kumquat, and a lifetime of simplicity. No parties, no ponies, no pain. Just him, her, and the flowers...