Chapter 8

Pinkie burst through town like a mad-mare, running through groups of ponies as if they didn't even exist. She held onto Fluttershy with a death grip, though not tight enough to smother the poor pegasus, but her attention was entirely devoted to fleeing from her chasing friends. She leapt over a cart being hauled by a very surprised Big Mac, and the denizens of Ponyville barely had time to step out of the way of the barreling earth pony as she made a beeline towards the center of town.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight and Rainbow Das called at the same time, both being the only ones capable of catching up to the speeding mare. "Stop so we can talk about this!"

Unfortunately for them, Pinkie was beyond listening to them, as she was in full blown panic mode, and was not going to pause for anything less than perceived safety. She ground her teeth together while making another large leap over the various obstacles that blocked her path; things such as piles of stones from the construction crews beginning renovations over Ponyville, or carts of hay being hauled around town. Dashing to and fro on the ground, or taking shortcuts by jumping over things, Pinkie noticed that her friends were still gaining on her, and no matter how much effort she put into escape, they always seemed just that much closer to her with each backwards glance. The roads seemed to be getting more and more crowded the more Pinkie ran, the fact only being compounded once she got to regions of the town where workers were laying cobblestone.

Starting to feel the pressure get to her, Pinkie made the best decision she could under desperate circumstances, and set looking for the proper stage to use. Her opportunity came when, as she rounded a corner, she spotted a wagon being hitched to a stallion, just outside of a small two-story building. Lowering her head and steeling her resolve, she charged straight for the wagon, causing the ponies nearby to dash away when they realized she wasn't stopping. Using her momentum, she leapt on top of the wagon loaded full of wooden supplies, and with a mighty hurl, launched herself into the air, through the open window, and found herself inside the building.

"Geez, Twilight, what is the hay is going on to make Pinkie act like this?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she led the Princess around the corner where Pinkie was still taking them along this ridiculous chase of hers. The two were forced to stop when they lost the trail of Pinkie, but the chaos that was these scattered and confused ponies were just enough for them to start again.

The stallion reattaching himself to the wagon simply pointed his hoof in the direction of the window before nodding to the others to continue with their work. Twilight thanked the guy before flapping her wings to become level with the open space, floating off to the side to allow herself and Rainbow Dash room to peek inside. Seeing a lack of the pink mare they were chasing for whatever reason, they nodded to each other and flew into the room, landing gently and glancing around the room.

The room itself was relatively bare; there was a single bed laying off to one side, its only company was a small nightstand that bore the weight of a thin layer of dust. Off on the other side of the room was a pair of doors, one sitting cracked enough to let in the light from deeper into the building, the other sat firmly shut, concealing whatever lay beyond from their peering eyes.

Twilight glanced over uncertainly at Rainbow, who merely shrugged, before quietly trotting over to the closed door. She stopped in front of it, taking a deep breath as she prepared to open it, when the sudden presence of Rainbow behind her made her jump a little, to which she scowled lightly at the rainbow-maned pegasus. Shaking herself from her stupor, she used her magic to slowly turn the handle to the door, and painfully slowly, creaking all the way, se opened the door. Before the door had even gotten half way open, a small burst of yellow shot out from behind, making both girls yelp and leap back.

"Dang it, Fluttershy!" Pinkie called as she pushed the door open fully, only making the pair of fliers jump back in fright even more. She smiled loosely, almost guiltily at the other two, before her eyes focused on the small yellow and pink blur now hiding in Twilight's mane. "Fluttershy, come on out so we can get this all explained, please?"

The yellow blob hesitantly fluttered out of the purple and pink mane, earning a curious glance from both Twilight and Rainbow. Fluttershy shyly landed on Pinkie's outstretched hoof, offering a weak wave towards her friends, who had leaned in with awestruck expressions at the sight of their tiny friend.

"Hi." The single word was barely perceptible, but the smile of Fluttershy's face said enough for the two stunned ponies to speak for itself, and was enough to rouse Rainbow Dash out of her state. The cyan mare leaned around her tiny friend and pointed an accusatory hoof at Pinkie.

"What have you done to Fluttershy?"

Pinkie frowned before moving the named mare onto her shoulder so that she could properly address her friend, though she couldn't help but match the frown on the pegasus' face. Setting her shoulders firmly straight, raising her head and puffing out her chest a little, Pinkie stared Rainbow Dash down, though through sheer stubbornness, neither party moved for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Pinkie nodded a little and seemed to return to her original state of existence before this entire crisis had blown up. "It was an honest mistake on our parts; I was in the process of explaining my shrinking gun to Angel, when Fluttershy got in the way of the blast, and thus, her current state. I apologize for the rapid departure on my part, but it was simply my wish for me to be able to by enough time to properly adapt to the situation. Given enough time, I would have managed to reverse the effects of my shrink gun, and I would have gotten our dear friend Fluttershy back to normal."

"But why didn't you just tell us that from the beginning, instead of leading us on this chase?" Twilight asked, using her magic to lift Fluttershy off of Pinkie's shoulder and moving her onto the nightstand so she wasn't in danger of slipping.

"You see, it was my intention to have delayed you all long enough for me to find the solution to this problem before any of you knew about what was going on. It was under my assumptions that you would have tried to intervene with my testing of this machine, and then I wouldn't have had the proper field results of how it actually worked. Once you all arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, most unexpectedly, I was forced to improvise, and had there not been as much hoof traffic down the streets, I would have gotten away."

"Pinkie, you may be fast, but I would have been able to chase you down, so you wouldn't have gotten away." Rainbow Dash said as she took a step closer, glaring into Pinkie's blue orbs as if trying to find something there to argue with.

"Dear Rainbow Dash; I have always been one of the few ponies capable of catching and keeping pace with you, but I need you to understand something. I had that speed before my enhancements, and while I have unprecedented levels of intelligence, my brain wasn't the only thing that was improved during my visit to Miss Oleander's home in the Crystal Empire." Pinkie replied in an even tone, though the accent that she was using was making her come across as snobby, almost sneering to her friends. This was only made known to her when Rainbow began to growl and got up in her face.

"Is that so? Sound to me like you are asking for a little competition." The cyan mare said in a forced breath, her jaw clenched about as tight as she was capable of getting it, and the words came out laced with determination. Her eyes squinted as she glared at the pink pony, forcing herself up as close as she could get to Pinkie, a small grin finding its way onto her muzzle as she stared into Pinkie's blue eyes. "But I know that you couldn't even come close to me in any competition."

"Oh please, Rainbow Dash. We both know that you may be the best flier in most of Equestria, but on the ground, there are quite a few ponies who are more than your match." Pinkie said with a sigh, backing away from the intruding pegasus while giving herself some room to smooth out her jacket. She stared evenly at Rainbow Dash, studying her stance, making mental notes on the small specks of confusion and doubt flowing over her face. Seeing that she had already won the mental battle, she decided that once this issue with Fluttershy was resolved, she would spend some time with the second pegasus among their friends. "But if you truly wish for us to enjoy some time together, perhaps I could show you a thing or two about athleticism on the ground."

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked, shaking her head in confusion as she straightened herself and stood proud again, any semblance of doubt she had shown before was replaced with interest.

"Twilight, I know you are the strongest magic user in most of the known Equestria, so perhaps we could combine our intelligence and cast a spell that will bring Fluttershy back to her normal size?" Pinkie asked as she stepped towards the named mare, causing the Princess of Friendship to blink in surprise of being addressed when two of her friends were resolving something between themselves. "I can have this machine set to help Fluttershy return to normal, but I already happen to know of a way to solve this issue with magic. Unfortunately for us, I have no means of using magi, but you do."

"What do you need me to do?" Twilight asked, looking over at the tiny Fluttershy, who could only watch on helplessly on the nightstand.

"Just close your eyes and follow my instructions." Pinkie said in a soothing voice, placing a comforting hoof on Twilight's side as she hesitantly shut her eyes. "Good, now focus you magic towards where Fluttershy is, steady, calm your breathing, turn off your thoughts. Focus, now, imagine Fluttershy as she normally is, full size and all, hold onto that image, focus on making it true. Focus, breath. Good, now; when you are ready, open your eyes and let that image be reality, bring Fluttershy back to normal."

Just as Pinkie had said, Twilight focused her magic, controlled her thoughts, and used what she had always know Fluttershy to be like to power the spell. She was amazed at how Pinkie was able to understand what a unicorn or alicorn had to do in order to cast a spell. She didn't really have time to focus on it, as she had found the necessary power to cast the spell. She unleashed the magic, feeling a surge of power rush through her as she let it go, and as she opened her eyes, she saw Fluttershy being returned to her normal size.

Smiling, Fluttershy dove off the nightstand she rested on, and embraced the Princess in a hug, one that was gladly returned, and eventually compounded when Rainbow Dash joined as well.

Finally breaking away from the hug, Fluttershy tentatively turned to face Pinkie, who bowed her head in apology. The two sat there in awkward silence for a few moments, one being to shy to try to break the mood, the other being unsure for once about what to do in this situation. Fluttershy stood there doing her best to not look at Pinkie, while the advanced mare was completely unable to will herself to look the buttery mare in the eye. The silent standoff was broken when Twilight cleared her throat, catching the attention of all three of the mares in the room.

"Perhaps we can have this conversation outside? We are still in somepony's house, and it would be wrong for us to remain here any longer than absolutely necessary."

Nodding at her suggestion, Rainbow Dash hopped out the window, with Twilight using her magic to teleport Pinkie, Fluttershy, and herself to the ground just outside the building. Sparing a quick glance at their surroundings, she nodded to herself before returning her attention to the two mares that had begun this whole situation to begin with. "Now, Fluttershy; is there something you needed to say to Pinkie?"

"What? Oh. Well, I kind of did have something that I wanted to ask, if that's okay with you, Pinkie? But I think that it can wait until we have this thing between Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie settled, unless you absolutely need me to ask it." Her confession was detailed in the typical Fluttershy manner, with her getting quieter and quieter while she slowly hid behind her mane in her own embarrassment. Twilight and Rainbow Dash frowned at the behavior, their ever-constant efforts to break the mare from this bad habit always being a chore, but it was Pinkie who decided to speak up next.

"Actually, Fluttershy. I'm curious to know what it was that you desired to know, and Rainbow's and mine competition will just have to wait until this is dealt with. Ask away."

"Um, okay?" Fluttershy said, slowly peaking out of her mane and standing a little taller, as if being encouraged to speak her mind gave her a boost in courage. She offered a weak, almost apologetic smile as she looked between the ground and Pinkie, as if still trying to make her mind up about where to begin her simple question. "If you don't mind me asking; why were you trying to shrink Angel in the first place? Had you not been trying to do that, I don't think any of us would be here right now, and we both could be enjoying a nice, relaxing day of watching my animal friends trading presents."

"Oh, I figured you would ask something of the sort, but I would have thought that you knew the answer to that back before I had even tried to do such a thing: I was concerned that you were falling into old behaviors of allowing Angel to walk all over you, and I was worried that he was abusing your kindness." Pinkie answered matter-of-factly, though the tone she used put a surprised look on the buttery mare's face.

"Um. . ." Fluttershy couldn't come up with a response to the genuine answer.

"So I figured that the best way to circumnavigate the problem, and to provide a lesson solution for Angel, was to shrink him and remove him from the equation until he learned a bit of gratitude." Pinkie finished with a shrug, leaning to a side so that she could restraighten her jacket after shifting from the teleportation. Fluttershy blinked at Pinkie, before turning her stunned gaze to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, hoping that one of them could offer her some assistance. They couldn't.

Pinkie waited patiently, hoping that she hadn't said anything too rash, but when the buttery mare returned her gaze to her, she let go of any regret, and met Fluttershy's gaze. She offered a weak smile and kicked at the ground. "I am really sorry about this whole affair, though, Fluttershy. I never intended for it to get this far out of hoof, and I'm going to put some procedures in place that should prevent events like this from happening in the future."

"It's in the past, Pinkie. I think we should just move on and continue with our lives." Fluttershy said as she wrapped Pinkie in a hug, who was more than grateful to return the act whole-heartedly.

"Great! Now that we got this thing out of the way, Pinkie and I have a little dispute to settle, and I'd like it if we were all there to watch me prove that I am still the fastest pony in all of Equestria, So, let's get a move on!" Rainbow Dash added enthusiastically as she hovered in the air, pushing Twilight away from the building, while she motioned for the other two to follow her. Pinkie looked at Fluttershy, who shook her head exasperatedly, and the pair followed slowly after the rushing mare, glad to have their friendship repaired. "Come on, Twilight! We gotta get out of town so I can show Pinkie who is the fastest pony in Ponyville!"

The four made their way back towards Fluttershy's cottage, running into the other girls as they left the town boundary behind them.

"What in tarnation is going on there, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as Rainbow Dash hurriedly pulled Twilight along, though she received no answer from the rushing fliers. She turned and frowned at Fluttershy, who smiled and stopped to explain the situation as Pinkie nodded and continued on her way following Rainbow.

Pinkie decided that showing her athletic friend that this was going to be a real competition was a good idea, so she trotted along a bit faster, catching up to the Princess and the Wonderbolt before they had even gotten off the road. "So, Rainbow Dash. I was thinking, first thing we could do is have a bit of a hoof race, and in theme with the gift giving Fluttershy had her animals doing; I was thinking that we could deliver some gift cards to the hospital, to show the injured ponies that we care. What do you think?"

"I think that that is a wonderful idea, Pinkie." Twilight answered for Rainbow Dash, though the cyan mare did nod her own agreement to the idea, stretching her legs for the run she was confident she was going to win. "But we will need gift cards for that, wouldn't we Pinkie? If I had a moment, I'm sure that I could make some nice cards that could cover the ponies that I know are there."

"No need, dear Twilight." Pinkie replied with a cheeky grin, and she reached a hoof into her mane, pulling out a stack of small envelopes, each bound with strips of ribbon and decorated with lovely patterns. "I had already figured that Rainbow would want to try something athletic, so I took not of the ponies that would most likely be in the hospital today with this very same incident in mind. I always come to these things prepare, Twilight. Rainbow Dash; take half of these, I'll take the other. First one there to deliver the cards and get back here wins the first race."

"But what if there aren't as many ponies there as cards, and I can't give them all out?" She asked as she grabbed half the stack within her muzzle.

"Don't worry about that, I ran the numbers this morning, and I am positively certain that this will cover most of the doors, but not all of them." Pinkie said with a smile as she shoved the remaining cards back inside her mane, before walking around the athletic pegasus and started stretching her legs for the run.

"Would you kindly wait but a moment, dears" Rarity called as she trotted to where the three of them stood at the side of the road just outside of Fluttershy's cottage. She looked between the competitors with confusion written all over her face. "But just what exactly has been happening over the last couple of hours? I feel like a bit of information is really been withheld from Applejack and I."

"I'll explain once these two get going, as it should take them some time for the race." Twilight offered as she used her magic to pull the fashionista over to the side, of the street and out of the way of the racers preparing to do the deed. She looked over the pair of mares who were ready to start, with Rainbow Dash bouncing on her hoof-tips and rolling her shoulders to race. Pinkie was taking a much more sedated approach, crouching low and taking a starting position to the race. Her eyes were focused on the empty stretch of road in front of them, a barely noticeable smile spread across her lips. "Ready? Get set: Go!"

Summoning a small flag, Twilight gripped it in her magic and waved it across the street in front of them, signaling the start of the competition. Before the flag had a chance to do anything else, both mares had launched from their starting positions, a burst of noise and a cloud of dust the only evidence they were there at all.

Pinkie took the lead almost immediately, her smile only growing the further and further they made their way towards town. She slowly pulled in front of Rainbow, pumping her legs faster and faster as she gracefully distanced herself from the Wonderbolt. Wings gave Rainbow Dash a slight advantage in the air, but with her new advancements, Pinkie was confident she was far superior on the ground.

The two broke into town at breakneck speeds, but Pinkie was clearly in the lead, and it seemed that she hadn't even raised her heartrate yet, while Rainbow Dash clearly looked displeased with the current results of the race.

As the hospital came into sight, Pinkie began to slow down, wanting to make a seamless transition to trotting inside the doors to the building. Rainbow Dash, on the other hood, seemed to want to make a harsher transition, and barreled in front of Pinkie, closing the distance to the hospital faster than Pinkie. They both knew what they were doing, and while Pinkie did, indeed, make a flawless slid into trotting through the doors, Rainbow Dash had to power slide to the steps before jumping into the air and flaring her wings to slow down before entering. Despite her difficulties, the two entered the building at the same time, with Pinkie reaching up and grabbing her bundle of cards while merrily trotting down her side of the building, humming to herself as she made her way down the halls. Rainbow Dash stopped to gasp for breath from around her own bundle shoved carelessly into her mouth, before snapping to attention and bolting down her side of the hospital.

Pinkie happily stopped at each door and carefully handed each pony inside her card, taking her time as she made her way through the halls. She smiled and waved at each pony, greeting them all by name but not really sparing any time to talk, explaining in quick exchanges what she was doing before moving on to the next room. She had made her way through her small bundle of cards very quickly, and began to trot back to the entrance carelessly, knowing that the pressure Rainbow Dash was feeling would put the pegasus at a disadvantage. She got to the entrance just in time to see said pegasus struggling to dish out her last few cards by the end of the hallway. She smiled and waved at Rainbow before trotting out the doors and onto the bright street that was freshly paved in cobblestone. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of a bright day, before waiting for the telltale sign that Rainbow was about to exit.

Rainbow Dash couldn't believe it: she had been doing her best to stay ahead of Pinkie, but that darn pony was so fast! She hurried through the halls of the hospital, hoping to get this done with before the pink party pony, barely acknowledging any of the ponies she threw her cards at, too busy focused on getting the job done. She had, like, four or five cards left, and she could literally see the exit right there, when all of a sudden Pinkie happily trotted into view. She trotted into view, as if this was some slow-paced visit, and not a race. Then she had the audacity to wave at Rainbow, like this wasn't even a competition.

Rainbow Dash was panicking at this point, because not only was Pinkie capable of running just as fast as her, maybe even faster, but now she had a small lead that was sure to snowball. Rainbow Dash growled in frustration, and threw the remaining cards at the doors. Each card whipping into the rooms followed by the sound of ponies being startled by the sudden intrusion. Snorting with as much force as she could, she reared onto her hind legs, then launched herself forward, galloping out of the halls and into the reception desk, throwing herself over the poor worker and towards the door. Just outside the glass, she could see Pinkie waiting on her.

Pinkie was waiting on her, standing there like this was some kind of joke, mocking Rainbow for being so slow. Her pulse pounding faster and faster, the pegasus forced her legs to go as fast as they could, and she crashed through the doors, nearly flying as her wings shook the shattered glass from her slender frame. Whipping her head to the side to free her gaze, she saw that Pinkie was once again leading her to the next destination, only this time; Rainbow wasn't going to let herself be beaten in a hoof race.

Growling to herself, Rainbow pushed her legs to run faster than they ever have before, and with her heart pounding into her temples, she felt the ground flying underneath her as she raced on. Pinkie was nothing but a blur in her vision as she focused entirely on the road in front of her, and that stupid pink pony just a tails-length away. A tails-length winning.

Pinkie smiled as she glanced back at Rainbow Dash, who was obviously putting her very soul into this race, and that she was putting up a good fight. Still, Pinkie could clearly see the strain on Rainbow Dash's face, the strain of a pony who was reaching their limit, and one that meant that she was more likely to give in to exhaustion only once the adrenaline wore off. For a moment, Pinkie considered slowing down and helping her tired friend, but then she remembered that she was also testing her own physical abilities here, and se restrained her desire to hold back.

Putting in a little extra effort as the town faded behind her, Pinkie forced her legs to push her further along Fluttershy's cottage came into view, and that was when she realized that she was going fast enough that Rainbow Dash would have undoubtedly seen that Pinkie was the victor. She saw the cottage and she slammed her hooves into the ground, hoping to slow herself before she went too far, only she didn't know exactly how fast she was going, and as she drug herself into the ground as she tried to stop, the cottage came and went in a cloud of smoke. Until she finally came to a stop, within a large track of grooves in the dirt road from where she applied the brakes, only to dig through until she had gone well passed the finish line.

Wiping a hoof in front of her muzzle, she waited for the dust to clear.