A cold, misty fog roiled around two figures standing in a glistening green field, some two hundred yards away from the treeline of the White Tail Wood. A little pink earth pony, and a tall and regal white deerfolk. At least, that was how Pinkie Pie might’ve described it to somepony else. It hadn’t taken her too long to get to the place, but she knew they’d been watching her for miles and miles since she left the road.

It had been then that the Doe had appeared, and for the first time, the Shadow power within her had done something other than accent her desire. It had recoiled from the very presence of the white deerfolk and tried desperately to urge Pinkie Pie to flee the area as fast as her hoovsies could carry her. But she couldn’t run away from this one, nosireebob. She had a responsibility to Mrs. Cake and to herself to face the party music, so to speak.

She’d spent the last half hour since she arrived explaining the events of the past few months to her, and it had felt an awful lot like that time she’d had to make that report on proper kitchen sanitation. It was really hard to make cleaning up icky stuff sound like fun, so she’d ended up a lot like right now. Stammering, blushing, and feeling suuuuper awkward. “Um… and well...” Pinkie Pie ducked her head, wondering how this white female deerfolk made her feel like she was back in school in front of her teacher, Mrs. Brighteyes. Even Celestia didn’t make her feel like that. “Um… that’s kind of how it all happened, at least with me.”

The white doe had told her Mrs. Cake wasn’t going to be allowed to come until she’d explained herself, so… so she had. Even now, she couldn’t see what all the big fuss was about. What was wrong with everypony having a good time? “I… I don’t know what happened with a lot of the other girls, or what else Mist-” Pinkie stumbled over the word, remembering how angry the white doe had looked when she’d said it the first time. “Um... Twilight. I don’t know what else she might have been doing. I just… I just kinda went along. All of us were together, and we were gonna make sure the meanies couldn’t come and hurt Equestria, and…”

Pinkie trailed off, tucking her hooves around her middle and feeling awful miserable all of a sudden. “I didn’t mean to hurt Mr. Cake,” she said in a quiet, soft voice; not daring to look at the doe, just knowing she was going to be giving her that angry look. “I just wanted to have some fun. He was always super nice to me… and I wanted to…” She sniffled a little and looked up only to find the Doe’s hard gaze softened just a little. “Are the twins okay? I mean… I know you said you couldn’t tell me anything yet but… I just wanted to know if they’re okay.” She did her best to imbue her words with a certain amount of desperation. Of all the things she’d worried about since what happened in Ponyville, it had been the ultimate fate of the Cake twins that had worried her most of all.

Silence stretched between them for a few long moments until the Doe spoke in her gentle yet still stern voice. “Yes. They are in good health and much fussed over by those in the camp.” Pinkie felt relief flood through her, and some of the tension eased out of her body. That was good. Mrs. Cake and her foals were safe, and that was good. There was silence again, but Pinkie felt some of her energy rejuvenate at the good news. Now if she could just figure out why everypony was so angry or scared… “You… really don’t know what’s wrong here, do you?” the doe asked in a tone of astonishment, her eyes wide, as though she had just come to a revelation. “You’re… you just think this is all a bigger party.” That was a statement, not a question, but Pinkie knew that sometimes statements were questions, and you needed to answer them.

“Well… yeah!” That was an easy enough thing to know. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with sex! Someponies get so hung up about it sometimes, but sex is a good thing! It’s fun and it's creamy, and it makes everypony happy and want to cuddle and stuff.” That was, like, basic rules of life one-oh-one to Pinkie Pie. What on earth had happened to this doe that she didn’t know that? “I mean, okay, sure it's a little weird that some of what Twi does is a little overly kinky. But I had my first time when I just barely had my cutie mark, and I got really-really into the crazy stuff pretty soon after that!” She huffed out a breath and stomped her hoof, wondering why this was getting her so… frustrated.

But the doe just shook her head slowly. “Creator preserve me, you really do not see it, and it has nothing to do with Umbra.” The doe’s voice was gentle, almost infinite in its sadness. “Such innocence. I didn’t think its like still existed…” She wasn’t so much talking to Pinkie right now as she was to herself, but Pinkie could understand. Sometimes ya just needed to talk to yourself about the important stuff. There was nopony else who knew you like you did, after all. Or maybe it was nodeer for her. Nodoe? She really needed to figure these things out sooner.

But the Doe didn’t appear to have noticed her temporary befuddlement, or if she had she wasn’t showing it. “I think…” She paused and turned her head over her shoulder. Pinkie blinked at that odd motion until she got her act back together enough to notice who’d come. “I told you to stay in camp, little pony.” The doe said in a cold voice and instantly Pinkie felt a surge of anger as Mrs. Cake, still looking very not-so-good strode out of the fog. The last thing in the world anypony who gave a buck should be doing to Mrs. Cake right now was chastising her!

Fortunately, Mrs. Cake didn’t need defending. “With all due respect, your grace. Fuck. You.” Mrs. Cake spat at the White Doe and strode without fear or hesitation toward Pinkie. Once again she could feel the shadow-power within her belly uncoiling and desperately wanting to lash out and add Mrs. Cake to her big happy creamy family, but… “Thank Harmony you came, Pinkie.” Mrs. Cake threw her forelegs around Pinkie’s neck, her eyes hollow and her voice soft. This was no time at all for fun or parties of any kind, so she told the Shadow power to go stuff itself in the mailbox.

She threw her own forelegs around Mrs. Cake’s neck and fought back the sadness. She was a tough filly, and somepony she really super cared about was sad. And that, Pinkie just could not abide. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t not come, Mrs. Cake. You needed a smile.” Pinkie produced the best smile she could, given the circumstances, and was pleased to see Mrs. Cake brighten up just a little. Some of the darkness fled from her eyes, and a tiny smile crossed her lips. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. “You know I can’t sit by when other ponies are frowny," Pinkie tried to gently tease her, and that coaxed a bit more smile too.

Mrs. Cake shook her head slowly then, obviously trying to rally her thoughts while the Doe stared on in stark disbelief at the both of them. “Pinkie… I know you might think that evil bi-” She swallowed for a moment, taking a deep breath and then exhaling. “Your unicorn friend isn’t… isn’t hurting anypony, but she is.” Pinkie felt shock at that, but Mrs. Cake wasn’t letting her go, she was holding her tighter and closer to herself than before. “Please, Pinkie. We’ve already lost so many neighbors and friends. Thunderlane is gone, and so is the Mayor, and Octavia, and nopony has seen Davenport or Mister Spuds or Cranky Doodle…” Pinkie felt a lump fall into her throat at that. Cranky wasn’t in Ponyville either… But Mrs. Cake hadn’t stopped talking. “And Filthy might not have been the best pony, but he’s dead too! And…”

Mrs. Cake’s voice broke before she could continue to speak, but she didn’t need to say a further word. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Cake. I didn’t… I wish there had been something I could’ve done.” Pinkie’s voice was miserable even to her, and that was truly saying something. It was also the truth, even if it wasn’t the entire truth, but it was better to give a little lie than to say something that would hurt somepony else. “I’m so sorry,” Pinkie sniffled, feeling the energy deflate out of her mane and leaving it limp and colorless.

For a few moments, Mrs. Cake’s hoof stroked down her back and a moment of solemn silence reigned over the misty plain. Pinkie felt the tears come, even though she didn’t want them right now, and they stubbornly refused to listen to her and kept coming. She felt her chest heave a little in a sob, and then…

“Hush, Pinkie Pie. There is nothing you could have done,” Mrs. Cake soothed her quietly, and Pinkie cracked open an eye to see the stern gaze of the Doe boring into her. Did she know? How could she have known? Had she been there, when Mr. Cake had jumped? The back of Mrs. Cake’s hoof gently brushed away the tears, and Pinkie felt her head being turned to gaze into Cup’s kind eyes. “Now, I am begging you, Pinkie. Please give up this… this shadowy nonsense and come back to the camp. The twins miss you so.”

A more effective blow to Pinkie’s morale could not have been better conceived. Carrot Cake was gone, and that meant it had to be even harder on Mrs. Cake to keep them under control and taken care of. That meant less happy foals, and that meant more frowny faces, and that made Pinkie’s teeth itch in a way nothing else in the world did. Even the idea of going against Twilight was less itchy-teeth than the idea of leaving ponies without a smile.

But… the problem was, this whole Shadow thing couldn’t be a bad thing. There had been tragedies, for sure, but Pinkie just could not wrap her head around why everypony was fighting over it so darn much. “Little pony…” the Doe said slowly, drawing Pinkie’s attention back to her. “In spite of what my foe might have led you to believe, I do not hate passion or honest lust. It is just that…” Her mouth twisted, as Mrs. Cake turned so Pinkie could easily face the Doe, taking her hoof in her own and squeezing it. “She twists you all to be like her. She would make the entire world only like her, so that she might never lack for companionship. Rejecting her duty to preserve the world in order to fill the void in her heart.” The words came out in a tumble from the Doe, and instantly Pinkie cottoned onto it.

“So… You’re telling me she’s super lonely, and it scares her so bad that she does bad things to make it go away?” Pinkie ventured, hoping she was actually following the train of logic here, since if she wasn’t that’d mean she was following some wild hare of non-logic, and everypony was soon to be confused. But the Doe nodded in a cautious sort of way, and Pinkie figured she had at least gotten close. Still… “But… then why doesn’t she stop? Twilight’s a great friend, and so is everypony else!” Once again, she was back to confusion, but she felt like she was finally getting closer to understanding what was going on.

The Doe shook her head slowly. “I do not know, little pony. I doubt even she knows why.” She glanced over her shoulder, and blew out a breath. “We are running out of time. My magic cannot conceal where we are for much longer.” She thrust a hoof toward Pinkie, her eyes narrowing. “You must choose, little pony, to either reject the Shadow within you and renounce its power, or to not.” The Doe lowered her head and sighed. “If not…”

“If not, we shall let her go, and if you dare lay a hoof on her you bit-” Mrs. Cake cut off her cussword, her entire personality transforming in a single moment of anger. Gone was the weariness and sadness, replaced by a fierce fire that burned brightly in her soul. So brightly even Pinkie Pie could see it, as though it were some kind of tangible thing that shimmered inside of her heart. It was… beautiful in its own raw, seething way. “She is the last bit of family I have left, and you shall not harm one hair upon her mane so long as I draw breath!” Mrs. Cake stamped her hoof and the flames seemed to roar higher within her, so much so that even the Doe took an involuntary step in retreat.

But it was the words that struck at Pinkie. Family. Pinkie’s relationship with her parents had never been all that great after she grew up and had never grown into the rock-farming lifestyle, but they had been as supportive as they could be. Still, she had always missed the affection and the quiet love of her mother and sisters, all of whom lived too far away for Pinkie to visit. The Cakes had always been the closest thing she had to family in Ponyville and now… “Very well, little pony,” the Doe huffed, obviously in annoyance. “But be warned of the dangers of treating those touched by Shadow lightly.” And then she was gone in a gust of wind and a flurry of fallen leaves, with no sign of the poofing that magic might have suggested.

Mrs. Cake gave off a much more Cup Cake-like harrumph before turning back to Pinkie. “The nerv,” she sniffed daintily, and for the first time since the battle she almost looked like she ought to have looked. But Pinkie felt her heart ache a little at the sight of the thousand and one little things that were off, not even counting her mane. Like her color was off, and the dark rings under her eyes, and she wasn’t wearing her apron, and- “Pinkie?” Her voice cut through the concerns flitting like a horde of parasprites through Pinkie’s mind, and she vigorously tried to shake them out. “Pinkie… I’m okay, really.” Mrs. Cake tried to soothe her, a gentle hoof lifting Pinkie’s chin up from where it had been stubbornly pointed at the ground.

“No you’re not,” Pinkie argued back miserably, trying to put her chin back down so she could stare at the ground like a properly chastised filly. “You’re not okay, and its all my fault.” Pinkie knew she had to tell Mrs. Cake now, but how could she say it? What would she say? I was trying to boink your husband, and he threw himself off a cliff? How in the name of hooah was she supposed to break that news to her?! “All my fault...” she just muttered, as she tried her darnedest to find the right words.

Mrs. Cake sighed in obvious frustration before finally stomping a hoof. “Pinkemina Diane Pie, you stop this nonsense right this instant!” the scolding tone alone was enough to send an electric shock up Pinkie’s spine. Instinct took over, and she instantly straightened up and out, raising her head and refluffing her tail. Now sitting up properly like she was supposed to, she only belatedly realized what Mrs. Cake had done and nearly fell into a pout again before the vision of the peeved baker pony filled her vision, and she thought better of it. “I swear to Celestia, you’re almost as bad as Scootaloo,” Mrs. Cake huffed out, grabbing Pinkie by the head and pulling her down to stare dead on into her eyes. “There was nothing you could have done to save Carrot, Pinkie. None of us could have. The best we can do now is to make his death mean something. To make his sacrifice worthwhile.”

Mrs. Cake’s voice trembled a little, but there was no sign of hesitation or fear in her eyes. “Pinkie. We need you. This camp needs you, the ponies in it need you, and I need you. Nopony in the world knows better how to keep morale up than you do. And…” Mrs. Cake hesitated for a moment before continuing, the resolve in every inch of her body as hard as granite. “And I know its not easy, being asked to take our word over the word of your closest friend… but I would not lie to you, Pinkie. We have to stop this before more ponies get hurt. This. Is. Not. Right.” Her last words fell like hammer blows against stone, with all the force her tiny body could muster.

Pinkie trembled, unable and unwilling to tear her gaze away from Mrs. Cake. In good conscience, what could she do? Were her friends really bewitched under some corruptive spell like Discord had used on them? Had she simply been too wrapped up in the wondrous freedom the power had provided her to see it? It had been a heck of a party, no doubt, but… Pinkie hated to admit it, but even parties could sometimes get a little out of control if you weren’t careful. “I’m scared, Mrs. Cake,” she whispered, wishing this was easier.

She wished Dashie was here, or Twilight, or Rarity. They’d all been so wonderful for her and for everything in her life. Sure she’d had friends and parties beforehoof, but never like the ones she’d shared with her friends. They’d stuck together and fought the fight for so very long, she’d forgotten what it was like to face problems like these without them. But if Twilight was here, she’d tell you that you’d have to be brave for everypony. That if you were the only one who could stop something bad, then they’d trust you to find the way because that’s how the Mane Six roll.

She felt her head give a little nod as tears formed in her eyes. “I wanna stay. I gotta stay." She had to stay to figure this out. Maybe they were lying to her, and maybe there really wasn’t anything wrong with the Shadow. But she’d never find out if she didn’t go looking. She’d never be able to help Mrs. Cake unless she stayed either. And between those two things, there was a force more powerful than any kind of creamy playtime. All good things had to come to an end, including parties.

“Good to hear you say that, Pinks," came a new voice, a very familiar one. Pinkie turned to see Scootaloo leaning on a metal crutch with one hoof and a tired smile on her face. “We needed something to make up for the losses we took at the bridge.” Scootaloo limped over toward the two of them, a bright red cloak with a vibrant blue shield stitched into the back fluttering in the breeze from around her neck. “Mrs. Cake. The Doe told me what to do, so I’m gonna need you to step back,” Scootaloo said in a surprisingly-commanding voice. “And to trust me, because this is kind of… weird and fucked-up, to be honest.”

Mrs. Cake nodded once and kissed Pinkie on the cheek. “For luck,” was all she said before retreating a distance. Pinkie took in a deep breath and exhaled out as much stress as she could. She hoped Twilight would forgive her. She hoped Dashie wouldn’t get in trouble for this. But most of all, she hoped that she could someday atone for what had happened to Carrot Cake.

Scootaloo drew a long and vicious-looking silver dagger from a sheath under her cloak, and the blade glowed mystically in a mystical way with a golden mysticism. ”Just…” Scootaloo growled around the haft of the blade as she hobbled up. “Just be ready to push out that shadow crap. This is gonna hurt a little.” Then Scootaloo closed her eyes and the golden glow around the blade went from a gentle haze to a blinding beam of light. Pinkie threw a hoof up to protect her eyes, only to feel a piercing pain right in her midsection.

The pain was searing, like she’d just shoved her gut into the corner of a pan fresh from the oven. The Shadow within her had gone mad with fear and was desperately trying to wrench her away from the feeling… but Pinkie had a responsibility to fulfill now. Most ponies didn’t realize that planning as many parties as she did also meant she had to clean up all of those parties. Now, after all these months of partying, it was time for the cleanup.

So she sternly regarded the Shadow within her and told it to go shove itself into a mental cereal box…. which it promptly did inside of her mind. She stuffed the thing, along with all of the detritus it had left behind into the big poofy trash bags she favored. Little by little, she cleaned up the mess it had left on her insides and fed the bags into the searing light and fire that was her mental dumpster. It was hard doing all of this, but necessary. Just like all party cleanups.

She dealt with the pain, the same way she’d dealt with what had happened to Carrot. She categorized it as ‘temporary’ and put it off to the side. Some things could wait for Pinkie to get the things Pinkie needed to get done, and if they didn’t like that then they could shove it up their coochies. The last thing she needed to get rid of though, was the line that led back to Twilight. It had been wonderful always knowing that her bestest friend was okay, but… but...

As Pinkie lifted her mental shears, all that she could think of was the hope that Twilight would understand.

Hundreds of miles away, Twilight Shadow bolted up from a sound sleep and screamed in pain and confusion. It took only a moment for all of those around her to be on their hooves and searching for the source of the disturbance, but there were no physical signs. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. Twilight’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and she had taken on a paleness that did not fit on her richly colored coat.

She spoke in a hoarse whisper, “Pinkie,” before collapsing into unconsciousness. In an instant, Umbra was by her side and holding her hoof to Twilight’s brow, her dark inky eyes closed in concentration as the other mares in the room stared on in disbelief. Though nopony there knew what had happened, they all knew one thing for certain.

Something had happened to their friend, Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie awoke nestled amidst softness and two tiny sources of warmth. It took a moment to identify them, but the instant she did she could feel a surge of happiness well up inside of her. As though they could sense her thoughts, Pumpkin and Pound Cake awoke and scrambled up over her chest while speaking in the tiny and slightly-awkward voices of very young children. “Pinkeh! Pinkeh!” they burbled together, and smothered her in foal-hugs.

Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around them both and gave them cheeknuzzles and headrubs right back, feeling the giggles lift out of her throat at the sight of them. They were truly okay, and they seemed to be in excellent health. “Ah, at last the pink one awakens. Glad am I to see you no longer taken.” The lilting and smoky voice of Zecora filtered past the twins’ bubbly sounds, and Pinkie sat up with two forelegs full of filly and colt to see her leaning over the edge of a chair, a sly smile on her face. “Welcome back, my silly friend. Perhaps we-”

Her words cut off as a reddish-pink hoof smacked her upside the head, Berry Punch appearing out of the shadows to lean on Zecora’s shoulders with a saucy grin. “I told you to cut that shit out, Zeccy. Girl’s gonna have enough to catch up on without you tryin’ to explain it in couplings or whatever the heck you call that poetry.” Berry looked… sober. And for Pinkie Pie, the sight of Berry Punch actually sober was almost terrifying in how impossible it ought to have been.

Zecora half-glared up at Berry, but there was a noticeable affection in the look, and all of the little shipping alarm bells in Pinkie Pie’s head began going off at full klaxon. “I suppose you are right,” Zecora sighed, then perked up instantly. “Regardless… welcome back to the Light, Pinkie Pie.” Zecora’s hoof touched her shoulder as the Cake twins gave off a little cheer and cavorted about on the bedsheets.

The flap of the strange tent flew open, a figuring standing wreathed in sunlight beyond it. It was a stallion, definitely, and he had a scraggly white beard and a very familiar-looking hat and cloak. Say… wasn’t that the same costume Twilight wore that… one… Nightmare Night. Pinkies’ thoughts trailed off as the living image of a stallion she’d seen in a thousand different books in Twilight’s library strode into the tent.

His golden eyes shone as the flap closed behind him, and his voice was rough as tumbling gravel. “Yes… Welcome back, Element of Laughter.” He doffed his hat and bowed toward her, its bells jangling joyfully as he did. “There is much we need to discuss,” said Star Swirl the Bearded with a fiercely happy tone, a smile as bright and wonderful as any Pinkie had ever seen splitting his features.

“It seems I have arrived just in time after all.”

Author's Notes:

I would like to thank all of your for your patience. My focus and brain energy has been at an utter nadir for DAYS now. I hope I'll be able to make up for it in updates to come.