A strong sense of dizziness was the first thing I felt upon returning to my senses. And some sore aching in just about every part of my body. Well, maybe not all of them. But if I had to list every muscle that didn't hurt, it would take a lot less time than counting those that did. Know what I mean?

Next thing, I could tell immediately that my body was way short on sugar. Which explained the dizzy feeling I got before even trying to sit upright. That couldn't be good. I usually fill myself up with all kinds of sweet stuff than at every opportunity I get. That way I always keep my saccharine levels right where they need to be: Ridiculously high. But right now, and for the first occasion in a really, really long time, I felt like I hadn't eaten anything in days.

And what can I say? Maybe I truly hadn't. I still didn't feel perfectly up to the task. Whatever task that was, I couldn't remember very precisely. I only recalled there being something important I had to do. Like, real super important...because of reasons. That kind of thing. And it was something involving princesses...and stars. Lots and lots of them. Stars, I mean. Not princesses. These were strictly limited, I think. We didn't have that many in Equestria, to be honest.

Carefully, I opened my eyes, only to squeeze them shut again within an instant. A flash of bright light came shooting right into my pupils from who-knows-where, causing a jolt of pain crushing straight through my head, and out the back side. It felt like a cold, deadly icicle first working its way through to my vision, then right up to my brain. Needless to say, I hated it. Also, what in the world was wrong with me? I didn't usually feel pain as strong as this. And neither did I feel this sore, and...unmotivated to get up.

Again, it probably was the lack of sugar. I did feel seriously de-energized all along. Sure, I was only now waking up. But even now in this case meant about twenty seconds ago. On every other day, I would've already jumped out of bed at this time, drawn back the curtains, fed Gummy, completed my morning workout routine, made some notes on half a dozen future parties, rushed out into the street, and meet at least two or three ponies. Like, just a perfectly reasonable pace, I guess. Though it might have been stacked a bit too high. On some days, I'd take a bit longer for the last few points.

Today however, nothing of that happened at all. Instead, all those valuable seconds passed, yet I still remained laying on my back. Eyes closed, snuggled in the blankets, one hindleg slightly kicking from time to time. And mentioning it just now, the bed did feel amazingly cozy that morning. Extremely inviting, and making the process of getting up even harder. Much more than it usually did.

Morning...right, could I even call it that? Considering the subject, my memory started going all funny on me again. I only remembered there being some kind of trouble with the different times of day, last time I checked. Again, all of it somehow connected to something about princesses.

In a somewhat larger effort than last time, I tried to open my eyes once more. And a lot slower at that, trying to keep the unexpected reaction from last time under control. Trying to get them completely wide-opened still hurt like Tartarus, though. I might even have spilled a tear or two in the process, but ultimately, I made it. A smile coming to my face, I looked up at the natural, wooden ceiling hanging a few feet above my head, giving off a pleasant and natural atmosphere. Just before the realization struck me.

This wasn't even my home. Or my bedroom, for that matter.

I snapped wide awake all of a sudden, like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on my head with somepony commenting on my wet and clueless face. In my confusion, I started tossing my head from left to right, trying to make out any features that would hint to details of my current location. It looked somewhat familiar, and I was more or less certain I'd been here before for...some reason. Still, I couldn't quite put my hoof on it.

The room by itself was left in a state probably supposed to get it in harmony with nature. Or at least that's what it looked like. I'm not exactly an expert on those things. But there wasn't any paint on something else hinting to any artificial modification ever done to the aesthetics of this place. All the timber planks, which made up most of the walls and furniture, remained in their original, beige-brownish shade. One large window interrupted the wall to my left, opening up into an azure sky with the uppermost branches of an outside tree waving in front of it. Inside the treetop, a number of colorful birdies were happily chirping away.

To my right, there stood a small bookshelf, reaching up about two-thirds to the ceiling. A single gas lantern was placed upon it, though nopony had ignited it at the moment. Well, of course they hadn't. The room was lit up more than enough as it was. Did I really just question that logic for a bit? Silly. I could hardly even see straight, yet.

Still tired for some reason I didn't feel too sure about, I tried pushing myself to my hooves. I felt like moving around a bit, make the weariness go away. It sounded like a decent approach, to say the least. And getting your hooves beneath yourself is usually a good start for that. Of course, in order to achieve that first step I needed to roll over, so all four my hoofsies could actually reach the ground below myself. I did still rest on my back, remember?

In an effort to slowly roll my forelegs towards the wooden bookshelf at the side of my bed, I started moving. It felt like the first time in forever though, and it wasn't only that. Well, I suppose it was, after all. But there's more to it than that. A lot more. Like, not really, but...a little. Get it?

Reaching only a few inches to my left, I felt another flash of pain shoot through my body. Only this time, it came from my spine instead of just some light in my face. The former one by the way, feeling incredibly torn and twisted, even for my standards. I couldn't go any further than that, it felt like I'd break apart otherwise. Wincing loudly, I returned to my original position. Doing so didn't eliminate the pain completely, but at least it weakened a bit.

Did I fall sick? I probably hit my head or something. That would explain my memories trying to mess with my skull all this time. As well as my weird reactions to getting up, the sunlight, and all that. Depending on what exactly happened, it also could explain whatever was wrong with my back. Maybe. Nevertheless, none of this seemed to make any sense of why in Equestria I was here of all places. Wherever that was, I still couldn't tell for sure.

And no, I did not feel very well prepared for this situation, thank you very much.

A groan passed my muzzle, as I made an effort to lift up my hindlegs, hoping I could get at least some of the pressure off my back. Mind you, most of my torso rested on it, so that probably would make a difference. Or not. I wasn't sure whether any of the approaches I tried would actually help, but neither did I come up with any other constructive ideas at the moment. At least, none of this would do any more damage...right?

As soon as I'd stretched myself fairly enough, I suddenly felt another weird sensation run up my torso. Without a warning, the entire lower part of my body suddenly twisted itself around. And extremely quick at that. In less than a second, one half of myself performed a clean, 360-degree turn. Counter-clockwise, to be exact. Like, from where I was standing. Lying. Ugh...why do I even talk about this?

Anyhow, that portion of my body did an entire loop quite elegantly, making my spine shoot around like a whip. And after it did, I collapsed back on the bed, smashing back onto the mattress, and into the (almost) exact same position as before. Even though I got all tangled up with the sheets, the pain from earlier was gone. I still felt sore, but that much I could handle. I also felt a good chunk closer to normality as it was. Spinning around like that was never a big deal for myself. Actually, I did that kind of motion all the time. My record currently lies at four complete spins. Or was it five? Anyway, like I said, I'm rather flexible. But remaining in that twisted position for however long I was out...that was a completely different story.

Sick? Unnatural? You must be new here.

I eventually decided not to have myself distracted by those minor details, as long as I still couldn't be too sure about my overall situation. I then spent a good five minutes counting the lighter and darker lines ornamenting the timber planks above my head. Of course, all of this felt much too long, and remaining perfectly still in one position is probably somewhere among the things I'm just the worst at. That said, I decided to try and get up once again.

It felt a lot easier this time, obviously. I didn't notice any more pain while moving, just the same old soreness from quietly resting for so long. Oh, and I still did feel a little down from the sugar rush I was missing out on this morning. If it even was a morning. Right now, it could be any time of the day. There wasn't even any sort of clock on this room's walls. Not that it would help, but their absence still confused me. Didn't ponies normally need some sort of alarm clock by their bedside? Weird.

All I could recognize right now was the sunny day outside. A Sun-day, to be precise. I like those. And I might have said so before...might as well not. Can't ever be too sure.

Pushing myself off the bed, I accomplished what I'd tried for so long: Landing on all four hooves simultaneously. They supported the rest of me steadier than ever, though I might have felt just a teensy bit dizzy when first standing upright. Which really didn't needed to distract me right now. Keeping that in mind, I made for the door.

It seemed like the simplest way of getting outside. Not the only one, of course. After all, there was a window next to me. But using that appeared pretty painful, thinking about it. And a lot harder to take than the door. Especially since the latter was unlocked, and easily swinging open, anyways.

Okay, I might not have noticed that last thing until I actually tried opening the door. But in the end, it just counts as another valid point in my argument, doesn't it?

Looking out of the room, I immediately faced a staircase leading down for a few meters or so. All of it was also framed by more wooden walls. They looked exactly alike to those inside the bedroom, making me wonder whether the architect ran out of ideas five minutes into his work or something. I made a mental note to wonder about that later. If I could even find the time for that. There was some urgent matter pushing itself back to the front of my thoughts, but I couldn't recognize what it was, just yet.

Trying to ignore that, I rushed forward and stepped on down the stairs. With each step, my surroundings' potential identity became increasingly clear to me. Though I hadn't seen the building in its entirety, it did look very much like some kind of natural-based cottage. And I only knew one other pony who lived in one of those. If I was correct in my assumptions, that would mean more than just one reason for me to take a deep breath in relief. Of all ponies, this mare would be among the least to do me any harm. Which, y'know, wouldbe a possibility to consider when waking up in some strange place after passing out for reasons unknown.

There was another, much larger room downstairs. Spanning over the main entrance, a living room area with seats and sofas, and even a small kitchen, it easily made up most of the first floor. There also stood a dining table with several stools around it right in the room's center. Sunlight kept flowing in through one half of the windows, the ones on the opposite side merely giving way to a glum, purple darkness. From the lighter side, the lively twittering of dozens of birds filled the room. The other one remained plunged in silence.

The entire duality of this place did seem a little freaky. Even frightening to some extend, though I did consider that feeling more or less negligible for now. Instead, I turned to the light, where I spotted a very familiar, yellowish pegasus pony.

Fluttershy was sitting by one of her home's large windows. She was facing about two-thirds away from me, so I suppose she didn't directly recognize me coming down the staircase into her main living room. Also, there was something else that seemed to occupy most of her attention at this time. Some of her face might have been visible to me, but her eyes were directed outside, where she held a lively conversation with a friend of hers. Unfortunately, I could only understand one half of it, since said friend just so happened to be, y'know...a duck.

Well, to be completely honest, I couldn't make out any of the words spoken at all. As always, Fluttershy's voice remained at an extremely soft volume, so there was no way her words could possibly make it all across the room. From what I could gather, they were probably discussing food. Which was kind of an assumption, to be honest. Then again, if I wasn't mistaken, that's pretty much everything those woodland critters ever thought or cared about.

Speaking of food, I was starving. Depending on how long I'd been out and why, I couldn't tell for sure just when I had my last meal. It must have been a while back, though. I felt like I could easily swallow an entire candy shop in one go, outside construction and foundation well included. I needed something to gulp down, right now. And something with lots of sugar at that. Something sweet. How could I ever keep up the speed of my daily routine (that of a usual pony, multiplied by something like four or five, I think), if I didn't get my belly stuffed anytime soon? I sure as hay wasn't going to let myself die just so; that didn't seem anywhere near productive. Or fun.

And my stomach itself didn't make much of a secret about its hunger. Instead, it reminded me of the facts by letting out a loud, clearly audible grumble, just then. While it caused nothing but a confused blink from my part, Fluttershy sure didn't take it as lightly. At the very sound, she jumped for a good three or four feet. Straight up that is, not out the window. Which was probably a good thing. Turning around to meet my gaze, she kept gasping for air a number of times, trying not to hyperventilate.

Had I really spooked her that much? Well, uh...I didn't mean to, to say the least.

"Y-you're awake," she stuttered, her eyes fixating themselves on me after a moment or so. "We were all so afraid of you, after what happened in Canterlot, and, and your whole belly getting messed up like that on our ride back...I-I seriously thought we had done you some serious damage. I even asked Nurse Redheart, but she told me we'd have to wait till you're back up on your hooves. We...we thought you could best handle it yourself..."

She quickly trailed off, her breathing going back to normal after briefly rambling about like that. The room fell silent, and I didn't know just what to say, either. I mean, I sure had a whole ton of questions, but I also kinda wanted to apologize for scaring her like that. Scaring or pranking ponies usually just means a good laugh on both parties' sides at the end of the day. It's not a big deal to me most of the time, but...with Fluttershy that's a different matter. You don't scare Fluttershy like that, you just don't. Or hurt her in any other way she might not approve of. I already felt bad for doing this to her, even though there was nothing I could've done to prevent it.

For time being I didn't say anything. Fluttershy looked at me for a moment longer, halfway nervous, the other half somewhat expectant. When I hesitated, however, she quickly broke our eye contact. Afterwards, her view kept shifting throughout the room, eyes directed at anything but me. Eventually, she narrowed them to the ground below, one forehoof slowly grinding over the wooden planks. I could tell she kept looking for words, so it was probably for the best if I tried breaking the silence myself.

"So, uh..." I began, but immediately went silent again as soon as her eyes hurriedly darted back up to meet my looks. Pausing mid-sentence, and failing to properly shut my mouth (I only realized that mistake later), I must have looked like an idiot. And whether she thought so too, I couldn't tell. The element of kindness didn't usually comment on that sort of thing. Or at least she'd never poke fun at others that way.

Fluttershy blinked. I blinked. The duck didn't, but flew off instead. And I sincerely didn't like the awkwardness we found ourselves in. It felt worse than all my previous not-so-elegant situations combined. Even though there weren't a whole lot of them. Of course not, since I usually start doing stuff even before thinking about it. After that, one thing leads to another...well, you get the picture.

I restrained from doing anything rushed right now, though. At this moment, I had to remind myself, I was alone in a room with Fluttershy. Who was the sole mare in all of Equestria, whom I would always reserve a special treatment for. And that meant cutting down on my energy a bit, and trying to be a bit more consoling. I forget to do so most of the time, but today I totally got it. Eh...more or less.

"Well...hi," I stuttered, unsure what else to add. Considering that, I probably didn't got this. Had I tried sounding too confident? Fluttershy didn't seem to mind. Or maybe she did, and I just missed it again. Might as well be.

"Good morning to you, too," she replied with a deadpanned expression. I honestly couldn't read any of her features right now, and if that didn't upset me, I wouldn't know what would. Other than any other day, Fluttershy seemed so clearly resolved and certain of her words, despite their volume that still was pretty low. She was so...unlike herself, much more confident in her position than I was in mine. Again, I didn't like that.

"Sorry about sneaking up on you, I didn't mean to do that. Also, what happened?" I blinked two times at rapid speed, cutting off my own sentence. Well, own two sentences. All those little details...sheesh. At least I had proven both my points in a short amount of time, so that was something. I didn't have a second to lose, after all. And why was that again? Uh...

Fluttershy blinked at me in confusion. "You really don't remember anything, do you?"

"Not really, silly. That's why I'm asking you," I replied, causing a minor frown on her muzzle. Which, in turn, started to cause a sense of guilt nagging somewhere around my gut. I didn't mean to get that reaction out of her, but...oh well. "I'm kinda having a hard time recalling what happened. Something about princesses, though. They told me something...something super-spectacularly important, and...and that there's no time to lose for us, and..."

"The princesses are dead, Pinkie."

I stopped mid-sentence, my heart skipping a good two or three beats. That was not good. Not good at all. If Fluttershy of all ponies kept such a tone saying something like that...well, something must have gone terribly wrong. On normal days, she would never even dare pronouncing the words. Heck, she'd probably even try to push the very thought out of her mind as soon as it came up. Did she ever act like this before? I wasn't sure. Again, all those memories just kept messing with me.

I turned my head, looking out one of the windows facing out west, when I saw it again. The sky wasn't entirely lit up by the sun after all. Instead, a great divide ran through it, leaving one side in the bright of daylight, while the other was tinted as deep purple as only the blackest of nights could have managed.

I mean, I had realized the room being about halfway lit before, but only now did I see both Celestial bodies floating up there at the same time. And within an instant, all the memories of the recent past came tumbling back down onto me. The impact almost knocked me off my hooves. Don't ask how that's even possible. I'm not so sure, myself.

"N-no, they're not," I squeaked. At the same time, I tried supporting myself with a giggle, but it came out really weak. I admit, after all those years, this particular side of Fluttershy still put me on edge. "I saw them...both of them. When I fell unconscious in Canterlot...I think I did that, didn't I? They brought me to some kind of totally crazy outer space-thingy, and told me what happened. They're both still in the ruins, but not dead, only...well, weak. That's why they can't control the sun and moon right now. Oh, oh, also, they sent all the other ponies away, but they don't know where, so its up to me to find them..."

I gasped, grasping the sudden realization. "Ohmygosh! We don't have a second to lose! They could be in the worstest of dangers right now..." Trailing off, I looked into Fluttershy's skeptical expression. She had both eyebrows raised, almost as high as her hairline, watching me with definite concern in her eyes. But she didn't say anything. It seemed like, despite her doubts about my words, she was waiting for something more.

"How...long have I been out?" I concluded. Of course, I was talking complete gibberish to her. That was another realization coming to me just then. Luna, Celestia, and me had been completely on our own at that...other place. Neither Flutterhsy, nor anypony else had actually seen any of it with their own two eyes. How could she possibly believe me, just like that? Easy. She wouldn't.

"You've been asleep for about a week," she answered. "Or unconscious, there really wasn't any way to tell. Twilight sent me back with you to Ponyville, so somepony could watch over you until you felt better. I-I was afraid you'd never wake up, so...thank goodness for that. But...and I don't mean to restrict you or anything, but you do sound like you still need some rest."

Another short silence fell between the two of us. She tried smiling at me, but it didn't require a whole lot of deduction that this smile was merely forced. I didn't blame it on her. The poor mare must have had the most stressful time of her life those past few days, all thanks to me. I had to think of a way I could make it up to her, later on. A super-gigantic birthday bash or something like that might work.

"If I were you, I'd better get myself back to bed for some time. Um...a few hours at least, I'd say. Can I bring you something? A cup of tea? Something to eat, maybe? You should probably start off with something simple to get your stomach going again. I bought some crackers the other day..."

My brain pounded inside my skull. I had to come up with a way to convince her, I just had to. Those ponies needed our help, and they needed it now. Twilight and the others weren't here? Well, too bad. With every minute we hesitated any further, some poor pony on the other side of Equestria might get shredded to pieces by whatever meanie things there might be. And I wouldn't wish for anypony to end up like that, even though the inhabitants of Canterlot were among the dullest ones I've ever met. Nope, this was serious. Their fate rested in my hooves, and I knew that.

"Listen, Fluttershy," I told her. "Do you know these times in life, where there's something you can't really prove, but it's still there? And...and ponies simply believe you, and trust you, nevertheless? That's because they're your friends. And friends should trust each other, even if they don't understand the point of it all. Or themselves, for that matter. Sometimes, good friends just have to stick together."

"Well, I suppose you do have a point, but..."

"Like, you talk to animals, right? You understand what it is they tell you, and vice versa, when no-one else does? Well, guess what. Neither me, nor any of the girls have ever seen prove of that, ever. And yet, we still believe you because we're your friends. I'm not asking a lot of you, but just this one time, would you please, please, please believe what I'm telling you?"

Fluttershy looked at me for another moment in silent confusion. Running a hoof through her mane, she then replied, "So, what you're telling me is that the princesses survived somehow. And they told you to look for a bunch of ponies, who...who could be just about anywhere right now. All of which was some kind of subconscious experience you've had after being hit over the head."

"Yes!"

"I really don't think this is a good idea. Um...not that I'm calling you a liar, but...where would you have us start the search, anyway? You told me you didn't know where these ponies were."

"I, uh..." How would I, indeed? Hadn't Celestia mentioned something about that? Using my Pinkie Sense because that made me special somehow? It could be the key, but I didn't get any kind of information from my body parts. So maybe this was one of those occasions that required some stronger concentration? I remembered Zecora talking about those, every once in a while. No matter what, on some situations one simply needed to focus more than at other times, otherwise they'd just remain hidden forever. And that wouldn't help me in the least.

I closed my eyes, trying to fully concentrate on that sixth sense of mine. Vision, smells, noises...I ignored them all, even just for a little while. Every kind of outside experience or influence became completely cut out of the picture, until I could only see the things my Pinkie sense would tell me. And right now, all of them piled up on top of one another, amounted to...well, nothing to be precise. I'm not sure what exactly I hoped to find, but it sure would have been a tad more than this.

"Uh, I don't know...South-east, maybe?" I asked. "I'm not really sure about this, to be honest. Do you have a map or something? Maybe that way I can recognize where we need to go."

"Are you sure you don't need some more rest?" Fluttershy asked, one eyebrow questioningly raised. I could still see the looks of concern in her eyes. But as much as I appreciated her fearing for my well-being, there was nothing to worry about. And if there was something we should both try to work on, it was the survival of those Canterlot ponies, not mine. There really wasn't anything wrong with me, just to put it clearly. Not more than usually, anyways.

There also wasn't any time to lose. Did I say that already? That would be a waste of time...heh, ironic. Anyway, there was no time to...aw, come on.

I decided I couldn't wait for another moment. Not even long enough for Fluttershy to get up and hand me that map, wherever that may be. And if she even planned on doing so in the first place. Which, honestly, I didn't feel too sure about. Instead, I jumped up from my sitting position, and started darting in between numerous places inside her living room. Shelves, window sills, hidden compartments, the sink...you know, all those non-suspicious looking places a pony would likely hide a map in. Or at least, I would do it like that. Just in case of sudden map shortages. Those would be awful, how would anypony ever get their directions?

As far as I was concerned, I couldn't get any hints towards my goal other than those from my Pinkie Sense at that point. And even that didn't prove very efficient so far. Still, there wasn't anything else to rely on. Because I didn't see any maps in the places I kept looking into. And none of my own senses could help me with that task. That's just not how things worked. I had to rely on my natural abilities at finding stuff, and even those failed me inside this cottage. Somehow, Fluttershy must have had a different approach on storing her belongings than I did. I reminded myself to add that to her party-planning file later on.

Seeing no other possible way, though it would certainly waste another few seconds of precious time, I darted back to my friend, until I occupied the exact same sitting position as before. The entire search took me about three or four seconds or so. I might have been kinda sore and low on sugar at the time, but I could still pull off some everyday movements like that one. If only I'd manage to precisely measure the time. Life and death may depend on it...or not.

I narrowed my eyes, staring into those of my friend with the most serious expression I could gather at the moment. Which sure wasn't perfect, but at least a start. Given our somewhat tensed situation, I might have actually gotten across to her this time.

"Okay then, I couldn't find the map. Where is it?"

"I don't think I even have a map here..." Fluttershy mumbled. "I know my way around town, and that's usually all I need to..."

"To! Exactly!" I interrupted her, leaping back up on all fours. "To, as in to the library! I'm sure we'll get anything we need at Twilight's place! Who else would have a detailed description of Equestria? And a neatly organized one, at that."

Fluttershy grimaced. She looked upset, but I didn't really detect any real anger in her voice. Then again, can you blame the element of kindness for that? After all, the element didn't define her. She defined her element, and mostly without even thinking about it. Being kind to others came just as natural to her as making others laugh got to me.

"Pinkie, you're not yourself," she concluded. "I don't know what it is you've been dreaming about. But remember, no matter how real any of this might have felt, it was just a dream."

With her last words, she lay a hoof onto my shoulder, looking me deep in the eyes. I don't think she initiated her signature stare just then, but it sure was intimidating one way or another. I felt myself lost in thought for a moment, felt like I couldn't even look away. Hypnotized, you might wanna call it. But just a moment later, I could also feel my breath slowing tremendously, along with my heartbeat. All in all, by the time my pegasus friend released me from her strange psychic grip, I did feel a lot calmer than before. I wasn't sure how to feel about that, but I probably had to be somewhat thankful at least.

"Now, what you need is some good rest, and try not to worry too much about what happened. All of us will have to deal with Canterlot sooner or later, but for now, I do not see you being in the right state of mind for anything like that." The returning sternness in her voice made me pause completely, even holding my breath for a moment or so. Hadn't I been sitting on my haunches, I would've instinctively taken a step back. But seeing things as they were, I didn't.

Then again, how could I possibly stay calm now? For all it's worth, I knew that none of this had been a dream, it couldn't be. The entire scenery; me, the princesses, the space-y surroundings...hadn't it all felt much too real? Well, duh. Because it was real. Within an instant, I felt a strong sense of confidence rise back up in my chest. It was real, it was all real. I was right about Luna and Celestia. And it was Fluttershy who was in the wrong here. I couldn't prove my version of the story, but neither could she prove hers. Why wouldn't this pony listen to me?

"I'm having Discord over for tea this afternoon," she suddenly spoke up, interrupting my line of thought. "And you will be very welcome to join us, if only you try to cure yourself from this exhaustion a little more. Maybe that will help in distracting yourself a bit."

Discord.

I felt my stomach being twisted upside down as soon as the tender words softly pounded onto my eardrums. Probably only figuratively, but there was no way I could be sure. I don't know that much about pony anatomy. But recalling all those awful, non-fun things the spirit of chaos could do (minus the chocolate rain, of course), I suddenly discovered a whole other reason for why all this might have happened to us. And I mean all of it. For just a few weeks, I'd actually fully trusted that meanie. As of now, it seemed I could only regret that decision.

"...if you're okay with that."

Once again, snapped out of my thoughts. I perked up my ears and nodded off my friend's request. "Yes, of course," I told her. "I've got a few questions to ask him as well."

"Good."

NO!

I suddenly realized how she already distracted me from what was truly important. It came back to me only now: Those ponies were still in danger, no matter what caused the explosion in Canterlot. I couldn't possibly just sit back here, waiting to get an explanation out of somepony. How could I be so short sighted? Had I really just forgotten about that?

"Fluttershy, I'm really super-duper serious about all this," I replied, grinding my teeth to get at least some of the tension out of my system. "We have to do something. We can't just sit around, drink tea, and pretend nothing happened."

"Yes, we can," Fluttershy answered me with even more determination. She even stomped one of her hooves on the ground. And this time, I did take a step back. "We can, and we will. The only place to worry about right now is Canterlot itself. And I am positively sure Twilight can handle it for time being, even without the two of us showing our support for another day or two."

My turn to grimace. But well, if Fluttershy deliberately tried being a tough nut to crack, there wasn't anything I could do to change that. Or at least I suppose so. I still had to convince her...somehow. My standard Pinkie Pie style for winning arguments like this mainly contains telling your opponent about all the fun they'd miss out on if they didn't accept my proposition. Of course, I didn't exactly see a whole lot of balloons and confetti down my path, so there's that. If Fluttershy even considered those fun.

And that was just the point: What did she consider to be fun? Her weak spot had to be somewhere around that part. Probably her love for animals. Technically, if I wanted to win her over, all I had to do was milk that particular cow. More or less literally, I suppose.

"There's a long journey ahead of us," I started. "I'm sure we'll met a whole lot of cutesy woodland critters along the way."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes at me. "Please don't do this to yourself, Pinkie. It's not going to convince me, and you're just...and I'm sorry to say this...but you're just making a fool out of yourself, nothing more."

Oh, okay then.

Lucky me, I always have another backup plan up my sleeve, in case the primary one doesn't work. Which is pretty hard sometimes, considering I don't even wear shirts. And I only had a few seconds for putting all of it together. Especially in sugar-deprived situations like that, a strict time limit would cut down on my imagination quite a bit. Still, I came up with something, and I also felt more than convinced this plan would work. If I couldn't win Fluttershy over with this most spectacularly professional approach, nothing ever could.

Grabbing one of her forelegs with both hooves, I had myself drop to the floor, where I broke out in a tremendous rampage of uncontrollable sobbing. Well, only seemingly uncontrollable, since I still regulated the exact amount of tears I thought of as appropriate.

"Ple-e-e-ease!" I lamented at her. "You've got to believe me, you just have to! Who knows what other horrible things might happen, if..."

I was interrupted by a yellow forehoof that rose up sternly blurring out most of my vision, obviously telling me to stop. So I did. And maybe, just maybe that crazed show I put on might have just made the difference. I didn't actually believe in that possibility, to be honest. But still, a mare can dream, can't she? Not that all of this was just a dream, of course. It was real. As was the whole thing with the princesses. I might have already pointed that out as well.

Fluttershy sighed with a slight frown, as I decided to release her leg from my grip. She lifted her hoof up further to her face, rubbing her forehead with a pang of frustration plastered upon her face. "You're not going to stop with this, are you?" she asked. I could only shake my head in response, trying to keep up with my somewhat pitiful look.

"Well...alright then."

Alright? That was fantastic! I felt myself beaming with happiness considering my friend had finally come around. And what can I say? Drastic times require drastic measures. It looked like I just executed that concept as perfect as somehow possible. Granny Pie would be so proud of me. Of course, before bathing in the sweet satisfaction of my ancestors' envy, I first had to tell Fluttershy how I felt about her sudden change in mind.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I blurted out. "I knew you were gonna believe me, I just knew it. Now, how will we..."

"I didn't say I believe you."

Damn.

"What? B-but why wouldn't you..." I tried to erase my grin, instantly changing back to my sad face, as I realized what she just said. I don't think it went very well, though. Fluttershy's reaction was a bit hard to read, too. Her own expression didn't change a whole lot, just then.

"Just promise me this one thing, and we'll be good to go," she demanded.

"Anything for a good friend," I replied with another toothy grin. Probably not one of my best approaches, either. Oh well.

"We'll go to the library, and you'll find your map, okay? After that, I'd like you to at least try calming down for a bit. Look at it as some kind of compromised solution."

"Okie-dokie-lokie," I squeaked, leaping back up into the air. "Let's go then, there's no time to lose"...I needed to stop that.

Bouncing out of the door, I turned my head a few times to make sure Fluttershy actually followed suit. All the while, I could still see the skeptical look on her face, meaning it would probably take even more to ultimately convince her. But that could wait until later. For now, I managed to get ahead a first step towards persuasion. Which meant I was now one step closer to saving the world, and that was all that really mattered.

All things considered, it really hadn't been that hard, right? Next Chapter: Chapter 6 - Kindness Lost Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 21 Minutes