> Pinkie's Past > by FeatheredWings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Beginning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie stood behind the counter at SugarCube Corner, humming to herself. The door jingled open and Twilight strolled in. She walked up to the counter and put a few bits on the counter-top. "Hi Pinkie," Twilight said. "Hi Twi," Pinkie started. "Oh hey. That rhymed. Maybe I could start rhyming all the time, like Zecora. I'd rather not. That sounds hard." She smiled brightly at Twilight. "What can I get for you?" "Well, I would like one of your new ice cream cupcakes. The Pinkalicous IceCream Cakes." Twilight smiled. "Oh good choice." Pinkie jumped up and shot through the swinging door that lead into the kitchen. She came back out as quickly as she went in. She had a blue box tied with a pink ribbon in her mouth. She laid it on the counter. "I see you already had the right amount of bits ready for this, huh." Twilight nodded at the four bits on the counter. Pinkie swiped two of them and pushed the other two back to Twilight. "But the cupcake was four bits," Twilight spoke with a raised eyebrow. Pinkie just giggled. "Consider it a best friend discount." Pinkie winked. "But I thought Mrs. Cake said you can't have those discounts because everypony is your friend." "Ok then." Pinkie brought a hoof up to her face to think. "Consider it an Element of Harmony discount." Pinkie smiled. "What's really going on?" Twilight was getting suspicious of this behavior. It was odd, even for Pinkie. "It looks like you caught me," Pinkie said while waving a hoof. "Today is my two-year anniversary of working at SugarCube Corner. And I'm so super-duper happy about it, that I asked Mrs. Cake that today could be a discount day!" Pinkie bounced over the counter and landed in front of Twilight. "How did you even come to work at SugarCube Corner?" Twilight backed up a little. Pinkie smiled sadly, "I don't like to talk about it much." Pinkie jumped back over the counter and almost knocked over Twilight's cupcake box. Twilight levitated her box and started walking out the door. She turned and looked at Pinkie who was waving madly at her. Twilight left and processed what happened. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I just want to figure this out Spike!" Twilight was trying to explain what happened to Spike with no success. "I just don't see how you're going to find out. Pinkie isn't going to tell you," Spike placed a claw on a bookshelf and leaned. "I will figure this out, Spike. Mark my word." Twilight stormed off. Spike scratched his head. "What just happened?" He thought about it, shrugged and started to dust the selves. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nighttime fell over Equestria as Luna's magnificent moon began its trek across the sky. Everypony was asleep, except for one pink pony. Pinkie was in her room over SugerCube Corner. He hooves hung out her window and she looked sadly up into the sky. "Oh, I was hoping nopony would ever want to know how I got here. I don't ever want to talk about it. Living through it was hard enough," Pinkie spoke quieter than an audible whisper. She laid her head in her hooves. She closed her eyes and the memories came back. Fire, everything is burning. Blood-curdling screams pierced the warm night air. Pinkie's eyes shot open and her head went up. Warm tears stung her face and she walked over to her bed and climbed in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pinkie woke with a wet pillow pressing against her face. She got up and walked over to her mirror. Her mane was flat. She lifted some of it with her hoof and sighed. She went over to a chest in her room. he opened it and inside was a little box that read, In case of flat mane. She opened the box and inside was a cupcake, a pink cupcake. She gulped down the cupcake and her eyes widened and her mane poofed up. She looked back in the mirror and she looked like her normal perky self. She bounced down the steps of SugarCube corner and right into another pony. They crashed down the rest of the steps and landed with Pinkie on top. She looked down at who she hit. A very familiar lavender unicorn had cushioned her fall. Pinkie bounced up and off of the pony. "Hi Twi! What are you doing here? Sorry I crashed into you. Let me help you up," Pinkie held her hoof out and Twilight took it. "I came to ask you a question that's why and ow!" Twilight winced at the pain in her back from being a fall breaker. Twilight got up and looked at her hyperactive friend, who had her ears flattened on her head. "Why was there two cupcakes in my box?" Pinkie's ear instantly perk back up. "Because you are my bestestestest friend that's why!" Pinkie started to bounce around Twilight and into the kitchen. Twilight magicked a journal and quill into existence in front of her. She wrote, Pinkie seems to get scared when about to be asked a question. Twilight flashed the book away and followed Pinkie into the kitchen. Pinkie was adding ingredients to a bowl and was humming her famous cupcake song. Pinkie then started to bounce around the room gathering some strange ingredients. One of them was labeled, Hard Cider. Twilight saw another one that said, Fermented Watermelon Rind. Pinkie added those ingredients and more to her batter. She then proceeded to pour the batter into a big cupcake mold. she put it on the oven. Twilight left the room and brought back her journal. Pinkie is making a cupcake with some strange ingredients. My research shall continue. Twilight sent the book away and reentered the kitchen. "So," She started. "What are you baking?" Pinkie was staring intensely at the oven. "Just a cupcake." Pinkie plopped her butt on the ground and leaned forward. "A big cupcake?" "Yes." Pinkie turned her head to look at Twilight. "Cupcakes can be all different sorts of sizes." "What were with those strange ingredients?" "Cupcakes can be made out of anything. Just like pie!" "I have a question for you, Pinkie," Twilight started to walk over to Pinkie. Pinkie's ear twitched. "What happened before you came to Ponyville?" Pinkie's ears flattened. That was the very question that she feared. She knew that somepony would ask sooner or later. She just wished it was later. "Oh. Um. When I earned my Cutie Mark, I decided to spread smiles to the nearest town." Pinkie was smiling nervously. It wasn't a total lie. Before the incident, Pinkie wanted to spread cheer throughout Equestria. Twilight narrowed her eyes at Pinkie, she identified the hollow lie. The tips of Pinkie's mane was starting to flatten. "Why don't you ever write to your parents, I do. Rainbow does. Rarity ignores hers. Fluttershy visits hers. Applejack visits hers when she's sad." Twilight was going to start to lecture but she saw that half of Pinkie's hair has flattened. "Did... Did something terrible happen?" Pinkie's head lowered and she nodded weakly. Twilight covered her hoof with her mouth and silently gasped. She walked over to Pinkie and put a hoof on her shoulder. "If you ever want to talk, I'm here for you." Twilight started to leave. "Wait," Pinkie said in a whisper. Twilight turned and looked, all of Pinkie's hair was flat by this point. Pinkie got up and walked over to Twilight. "I think I need to get this off my chest." Pinkie turned the oven off and started to walk up the stairs to her room. Twilight followed. Pinkie sat in the middle of her room and Pinkie sat right next to her. "Here's what happened." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was after my first ever party and when I got my Cutie Mark. I left the silo with my parents and sisters and reentered the house. I started to clean the kitchen because I made a mess of it preparing some cakes for the silo party. When I was done, I didn't realize I forgot to turn the oven off. I went back up to my room, passing all of the rooms. I heard my parents snoring and my sisters breathing peacefully as they slept. I went into my room and laid down on my bed. I fell into a dreamless sleep. I awoke to the sound of crackling. I sniffed the air and smoke stung my lungs. I got up quickly and lunged for my door. I opened it and the air was unnaturally warm. I looked in the direction of the other rooms in the house and saw flames. They were licking the doors of my parents and siblings rooms. I went to my room and jumped out the window, landing hard on the rocky ground. I turned and looked. Half the house was on fire. Fire, burning everything. Blood-curdling screams pierced the warm night air. My parents and my sisters were burning alive, and it was all my fault. I fled the out-skirts of the fire-encased house in tears. I didn't stop running until I hit the nearest town. The moon was in the middle of the sky when I got to Ponyville. I felt like it was mocking me. I started walk until I found a dark alleyway. I entered and found a little box. I crawled into it and closed my eyes. For the first time in my life, I felt utterly useless. I started to sob. Somepony must've heard me, because heard a voice getting closer. It sounded like a mare. "But I have to find out where it's coming from," The female voice spoke in little more than a whisper. "Ok, Sugarpie. Just make it quick," A more male voice spoke. A light blue mare looked into my box. "Oh my." She said. "What are you doing in there, dearie?" She reached in and picked me up. She had a pink mane that resembled frosting. "Well this is not what I was expecting," Said an orangeish tan stallion with a short orange mane. The blue mare held me close and carried me here, to SugarCube Corner. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "And that's when I started my Apprenticeship here," Pinkie ended her story on that. Twilight's mouth was open in shock. "Pinkie. I had no idea," Twilight started but got silenced by Pinkie. Her hair was starting to poof up again. It's okay Twilight, besides, talking this out made me feel better," Pinkie said. "A lot better actually!" Her mane poofed up quickly and she bounced out of the room, leaving Twilight to comprehend everything. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Spike!" Twilight yelled as she walked into her library. "Yes?" Spike ran down the steps of the library. "I have today's friendship report." Spike went over to the podium and got ready to write. Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight began. "Today I learned that sometimes, the happiest pony in a group will have more depth to them then you think. My friend Pinkie Pie seems to be happy and carefree and not know sadness, but in reality, she wa alwas eaten away by memories. Sometimes just talking, can solve more problems than just actions alone. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Spike sent the letter in a green haze as Twilight went to the window to watch it soar to the palace.