Rarity woke up the next morning a short while after everyone else the next morning. The scent of pancakes wafted from the kitchen and through her nostrils. She lifted her head from the pillow and was greeted with something that surprisingly, wasn't a stranger to her: a hangover. As she sat on her hind legs and held her head in her hooves, she started to question what had happened the night before. The only thing that she could remember was the wine from the restaurant.

"Wine?" She thought. "Well, if it was merely wine, then it had to be much more potent than Berry Punch's..."

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty." Rainbow Dash teased. "Looks like you had a rough night."

Rarity took this offensively and immediately summoned her bedside mirror and brush. Rainbow Dash looked incredulously at the white unicorn, who was frantically grooming her unruly mane. Rarity took a quick glance at the pegasus, who was staring at her incredulously.

"What?" She said, attempting to multitask. "Is it wrong for someone to want to look their best as early as possible?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and continued to switch the television on to the motor sports channel. Rarity shrugged off her lack of understanding and finished styling her mane and tail. Afterwards, she sluggishly made her way into the kitchen where she poured herself a cup of coffee.

When she arrived in the kitchen, she noticed that I was already dressed and showered, enjoying my pancakes like they were going out of style. Applejack was helping Pinkie Pie crank out pancakes at the stove, who was ranting on and on about her plans for today. Fluttershy who sat next to me also enjoyed an equally sizable stack of pancakes.

"Where's Twilight?" Rarity asked, noticing the absence of her fellow unicorn.

"She's on the computer, researching as usual." I replied between bites of pancake.

Rarity glanced over into the living room, where Twilight sat in the computer chair and was clacking away quickly on the computer's keyboard. "Is she not going to join us for breakfast?" Rarity continued. "She of all ponies should know it's the most important meal of the day." "Even more so if you're in my predicament." She thought to herself.

"She said she had already eaten before we were awake," Fluttershy said quietly, "But I haven't seen a dirty dish all morning. I'm honestly a little worried about her."

"She gets like this with her studies sometimes." Rainbow groaned. "Twilight would probably forget to breathe if she didn't have us around."

The four of us laughed, causing Rarity's headache to swell a little larger. She glanced over to Twilight, who locked eyes with her for a split second before returning her attention to the computer screen.

After breakfast was eaten and cleaned up after, everyone prepared for Pinkie Pie's transformation. Pinkie slid herself under the blanket and started bouncing from excitement. I had the hoodie and shorts at the ready, and Twilight positioned herself in front of the hyperactive earth pony.

"Stand still!" Twilight barked. "I can't get a clear shot!"

Pinkie stopped bouncing momentarily, but her mind was still racing. Twilight seized this rare opportunity and fired the spell at Pinkie, who began to glow beneath the blanket. Rarity had to look away from the light, as it only increased the pain of her hangover.

Pinkie's shape morphed and the glow faded until a shorter girl with pink, poofy hair emerged from the blanket. She giggled wildly and danced around the living room, completely oblivious that she had lost her blanket in the process. I, hoping to not get another scolding, closed my eyes and blindly held out the clothes.

"Woo! Look at me!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "I'm a human! I'm a human! And look at these things! They feel like huge bags of jiggly gelatin! JIGGLE JIGGLE JIGGLE! Hee hee!"

I didn't have to look for my face to instantly become blood red (yet again). The others were either shocked by the naked Pinkie Pie running about the room, or laughing hysterically at her fascination with her chest. I waved the clothes about, still protecting my dignity. Pinkie snatched them from my hands and pulled them on.

I peeked just as Pinkie pulled the zipper up on the hoodie. I sighed in relief as I stood to pull my shoes on. Pinkie squealed with delight as I walked to the counter to collect my car keys. She bounced towards the door, giggling all the way.

"We should be back by dinner." I announced, making my way out the door with an ecstatic Pinkie Pie. Everyone waved goodbye to the two of us, even Rarity, who was slowly overcoming her hangover. Everyone but Twilight, who seemed more involved in her studies than ever.

Pinkie and I got in the car and backed out of the driveway. As we started for the discount clothing store, Pinkie began wiggling in her seat in excitement, similar to the others before her. I took small sips of coffee from my to-go mug  while Pinkie Pie went on and on about how today was the last day of a street carnival in the city and how much she really wanted to go.

"A street carnival, huh?" I thought to myself. "It's definitely been a while."

We arrived in the innermost part of the city a while later, I scanned the surrounding area for a decent place to park. Pinkie Pie just sat, still wiggling and talking as she had been since we left the house. The only difference was her outfit. She now wore a tight, pink v-neck, pink frilly skirt, and pink flats. To me, she looked like a ballerina dancer straight off the stage. Her style was just about as eccentric as she was.

A wave of relief washed over me as we found an empty parking meter just around the corner from the carnival. Pinkie nearly exploded from the excitement when we parked the car and began climbing out of the seats. The smell of carnival food wafted through the air and got stronger as we approached the event area: five blocks of Benson Avenue that had been blocked off to traffic. It ran alongside the city park, where games, rides, and a musical stage were all set up and already being enjoyed by the public.

Pinkie cheered and pulled me into the heart of the carnival. It didn't take much before I myself caught the joyous feeling that Pinkie Pie had emanated. It was almost contagious. I no longer required the tugging of my shirt to catch up with the pink-haired woman, and, for the first time in a while, I completely let all my inhibitions and worries dissolve into nothingness.

Pinkie Pie danced over to the booth that sold wristbands for rides. I purchased them each one and then followed Pinkie over to the line for the Merry-Go-Round. She seemed more excited than even the smaller children who also occupied the line. The current cycle didn't last long, and after the current riders had exited, it was time to send in a new crowd.

The operator counted in his head as the children passed. Pinkie had just slipped through before the operator held out a hand, halting Tristan from entering. Pinkie froze and looked back at me, making a small frown.

"It's okay." I called after her. "I'll be waiting at the exit."

Pinkie smiled again and skipped to the closest horse. The bell rang, signifying that the ride was beginning, and Pinkie cheered. The other children around her cheered also, causing me to crack a smile. The ride went around and around with Pinkie Pie cheering and giggling all the while.

"If only she could only see the irony the way I do." I thought, chuckling.

The ride ended a few minutes later and Pinkie bounced off of her horse and skipped over to me, who, as promised, was waiting for her at the exit gate. We rode all the other rides together, one of which I got sick from almost immediately following. Pinkie Pie drug the disoriented me over to the closest food stand and sat me down at one of the picnic tables.

She ordered us both a soda and a funnel cake and I groggily handed her the money. Pinkie Pie returned to the table with the food, licking her lips in both hunger and excitement. The smell of warm dough and sugar made me forget about my sickness and I graciously accepted. The two of us ate the funnel cakes with much content, and, in Pinkie Pie's case, quickly.

We followed up our small lunch with more games and a second round of rides, taking occasional sitting breaks to just sit and absorb the atmosphere. The sky began to turn a dark orange, causing me to look at my phone in panic. It had been eight hours exactly, but Pinkie hadn't changed yet.

"Maybe Twilight's spell lasts longer the more she uses it!" Said Pinkie Pie, seeming to read my mind.

"That could be the case," I replied, "But I don't wanna take a risk. We should go home now."

Pinkie Pie frowned at this and her hair went from poofy to flat as fast as her emotions changed. I was slightly startled by the new hairstyle, but kept my stern face.

"Can't we ride just one more ride?" Pinkie begged, her bottom lip quivering.

I sighed and gave in. For some reason, I couldn't find it in my soul to say no. Pinkie's hair changed back into it's cotton candy-like form as she grabbed my arm and once again hauled me towards the Ferris wheel.

We were on our way home from the carnival after the ride. I had bought some more snacks for the trip home, seeing as how we missed our dinner deadline before we could make it back to their car. The sun had set a few minutes ago and Pinkie had already transformed, the light causing me to swerve a little.

Pinkie sat contently in the seat on her hind legs, putting down a couple more of the funnel cakes and grinning from ear to ear. She laid herself down in the seat and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath and sighing in satisfaction.

"I had a super-duper fun time with you today, Mat!" She beamed. "You're fun to hang out with and super nice and I'm so glad I can call you my friend!" She wrapped her front legs around my torso, causing me to swerve a bit again. I smiled and petted the pink pony's mane.

"I had fun, too." I said softly. "And I'm also glad to call you my friend."

"Friend..." I thought to myself. It's been a while for that, too. I thought back to the first few months after I left my family. I was so depressed that I had practically cut myself off from the few friends I had and the rest of the world. I smiled again as Pinkie pulled back from the embrace and sat back into her seat.

"You're the best all-around person in this whole wide world! Not that I've really met anyone else from this world, but I would say that if I did, I would still say you're the best!" She continued, giggling. "It's no wonder why she likes you."

I swerved yet again, this time almost sending the car off the road. I slowly turned my head to Pinkie, who was wide-eyed and covering her mouth, realizing that she had slipped some top secret information.

"What...did you say?" I stammered.

Pinkie buried her head in her hooves. "No, no, no." She said in a panic. "I can't say anything else! I Pinkie Promised her that I wouldn't say anything about the crush she has on you!" Pinkie's eyes widened again and she started sobbing loudly. "Why can't I stop talking about it?!"

I returned my attention to the road ahead, completely numbed by this news. One of the ponies liked me? This didn't make any sense. I shook my head and attempted to calm myself, then looked back at Pinkie, who needed to do some serious calming of her own.

"Look, Pinkie," I began, trying not to flip out, "You guys are only going to be here two more days, then were all going back to your world. It's kind of pointless to try to date someone from a world that you never thought could exist in real life, correct?" I finished.

Pinkie wiped an eye and nodded in understanding. Luckily for the both of us, we arrived at the house before the conversation got any more awkward. Pinkie bounced out of the car and up the steps of the front porch and up to the door. I followed behind her, still in a slight case from shock.I unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door, expecting to see the happy faces of the others.

Instead, I only got to see that the other ponies, even Fluttershy, was giving me mean looks.

"What did I do?!" I questioned in fear, "What's going on here?!"

Rainbow Dash flew up to me and poked me in the chest. "You kissed Rarity last night while she slept!" She accused. "What kind of creep does stuff like that?!"

My jaw dropped the more they talked about it. The other ponies started yelling too, taking their own verbal shots at the defenseless human. Rarity looked a me in a mix of horror and anger, and soon joined in on the shouting. Feeling a migraine coming on, I jumped onto the couch, hoping to end all this once and for all.

"STOOOOP!!!!" I shouted. Everyone fell silent. I was still met by a few bad looks, but none the less, I got the attention I needed. "Let me explain everything."

I told everyone, detail for detail, the events of everything that had happened the night before, from the dinner, to the drunken ride home, to Rarity's sleeping kiss. The other's faces all softened as I finished the story. Rarity's mind finished filling in the blanks of last night and she ran to me, weeping.

"I'm so sorry..." She said, burying her face into my shoulder. "I hope you don't think less of me..."

The others followed suit, jumping onto my lap and sides apologizing to me. A few minutes of sobbing and apologizing, they all readied the living room for sleep. Fluttershy excitedly jumped into the  bed, eager to be the first one awake for her first day out. As the ponies all settled, I waved them goodnight. They happily returned the gesture, making me happy that things were back to normal. Whatever that was.

Twilight stayed awake however and decided to come into my room to apologize.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, taking notice of Twilight's sad face.

"I'm sorry I brought all this on to you." She replied. "I mean the whole Rarity thing."

"How so?" I asked, curious.

"Well, you see," She began, nervously. "I was the one who saw her kiss you."

My eyes widened a little. "Twilight saw it?!" I thought, trying my best not to show a reaction.

"It was too dark to tell, but all I could see was you leaning over Rarity and then I heard a kiss." Twilight went on to explain. "I was feeling a little restless last night, but I didn't want to disturb anypony else, so I just waited, hoping that eventually I could fall asleep." Her volume lowered. "Then I saw the kiss, and..."

I cut her off. "Let's just forget about this whole silly incident." I said, hoping to cheer her up.

"I feel really bad for telling the others." She pressed. "I was just stressed out by it all and it slipped. I'm really, really sorry. I know I should have come to you first."

I smiled and ran my fingers through Twilight's mane. "It's okay." I comforted. "I forgive you. Everyone slips every now and then."

Twilight smiled warmly at me through teared-up eyes and rested her head on my arm. The two of us laid like this for a while. Twilight let out a yawn and stood back up, wiping her eyes.

"I should probably get to bed." She said. "You need your rest as well if you plan on taking Fluttershy to the city tomorrow morning." Twilight turned to go back towards the living room and I walked a little further down the hall to my room. I stripped myself of my day clothes and pulled on a tank top and gym shorts and crawled under the covers for some much needed rest. Next Chapter: Chapter 10 - One Very Shy Adventure/Ponynapped/Rescue/Life Is Saved Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 53 Minutes