CHAPTER ELEVEN: You Can't Help but Fall

Pinkie Pie ducked with a gasp, using her hooves as the only thing she could to cover her head. However, moments before they were toasted ponies on a stick, a glittering magenta light enveloped them, shielding them from the rafter as it crashed down and slid aside harmlessly. Pinkie Pie looked up to find Twilight Sparkle hard at work, keeping the shield powered while Discord's debris rained down on them.

She relaxed a bit and found a new warmth in her chest. The element of laughter was lit up, filling Twilight's magical dome with the sunny light of a clear blue sky. It sent tickles up her spine, just as it always did, forcing a giggle out of her at the most inopportune times.

Through the smoke and fire, she saw other lights rise up out of the darkness: a ruby thunderbolt, a bright pink butterfly, a caramel apple, and a shiny violet diamond. The lights all came together, and when all were present, each one shot out a spectacular beam of color, joining together in the center ring.

Twilight Sparkle rose up, her shield taking over the entire tent and pushing away the flames. Discord tried to fly off in a panic, but a shining beam of magenta reached out and grabbed him by the tail, dragging him to the ground. "Twilight, my favorite little bookworm," he pleaded. "I-It was just a game, you know that! T-This is a carnival, after all! Nothing but fun times, right? P-Pinkie! Pinkie Pie, my favorite element of harmony, can't you put in a good word for the ol' ringmaster?"

"Sorry, Discord," Twilight interrupted, her eyes lighting up with the blinding powers of harmony. "We win."

xxx

By the time the smoke and magic cleared, Discord's carnival was nowhere to be found. The Everfree Forest was back to its normal dark, quiet ways...if you ignored the new Discord statue and a herd of disoriented ponies in costumes trying to figure out where they were.

Pinkie Pie was quick to rush to Twilight's side. With the elements of harmony dispelled and her magic drained from the rescue, the young unicorn looked unsteady on her hooves. "You okay, Twilight?"

Twilight gave her a tired smile. "Fine, fine. Are you alright?"

Pinkie Pie pouted. "No. Look, Twilight, I-I don't know what came over me! These ponies came by, and they had fun costumes and popcorn and cotton candy and everyone was singing and playing instruments, I wasn't even paying attention anymore when Discord showed up! Then everything got way-super out of hand, and-" She bowed her head shyly. "I'm sorry. Everything almost got real messed up, and it was all my fault."

"You're also the one that helped save the day," Twilight reminded her. "I couldn't have beaten Discord's game without you." Still, Pinkie seemed downtrodden. So Twilight Sparkle put a hoof to her cheek, mashing it and moving it until she forced Pinkie's famous smile to show. "I really am so happy; your smile fills me with glee. I give a smile, I get a smile, and that's so special to me!"

Unable to frown any longer, Pinkie Pie burst into a laugh, grabbing Twilight in a tight hug. "Thanks, Twilight! You're the best friend ever."

"TWILIGHT! PINKIE!"

Both mares looked up as they were nearly blown over by the quartet of mares that galloped over and tackled into their hug. (Well, trio and a unicorn that held back. "You two will get plenty of hugs as soon as we get out of this dingy forest and wash all of the cheap circus glitter out of Pinkie's mane," Rarity assured.)

Twilight could hardly believe her eyes. "Oh, I'm so glad to see all of you are okay!"

"'Course we're okay, sugar!" Applejack chimed in.

"Yeah, you really think ol' Discord can pull one over on us?" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "As if!"

"That was, uhm, really brave of you two," Fluttershy added quietly. "Thanks for saving us."

"Indeed," Rarity echoed. "Goodness, that carnival was absolutely NIGHTMARISH." With a pout and a whimper, she looked back at her tussled tail. "I'll have nightmares about being tail-less for weeks."

"Yeah, but at least you've got one hay of a tail to tell!" Pinkie Pie laughed.

The rest of the mares bit back a groan. "Yep, we definitely got Pinkie Pie back," Applejack noted with a roll of her eyes.

Rainbow Dash ruffled up Pinkie's already-mangy mane. "And I wouldn't have her any other way!"

Amidst the girls' giggling, Princess Celestia and Shining Armor finally caught up to them. "Twilight Sparkle, is everything alright?" Celestia asked.

"Everything's just fine, Princess!" Twilight answered quickly, instead rushing towards her brother to give him a loving nuzzle. "Are you okay, Shining Armor? Oh, I was so worried about you! I-I thought I lost you in there!"

"I'm just fine, Twily," Shining Armor reassured. "If anyone could've pulled that off, of course it'd be you."

Still, Twilight picked up the tired undertone in his voice. "If Cadance asks, I'll tell her you saved the day," she winked.

"Twilight, how did you find all the missing ponies?" Celestia asked. "What happened? Where were they?"

"Discord had them," Twilight explained. "He's been rounding up ponies across Equestria and forcing them to perform in a carnival. It was all just an elaborate trap to get to the elements of harmony." The unicorn dragged Pinkie Pie into the conversation. "Pinkie's really the one that saved the day, Princess! She's the one that helped me get to the bottom of everything, and she's the one that helped me fight off Discord in the end."

Celestia smiled. "Is that so, Pinkie Pie?"

"Yepperoni!" Pinkie Pie beamed. "And I learned a friendship lesson, too!"

"Oh, really? Let's hear it."

"When I first got pulled into the carnival, I was just having fun, and I wasn't thinking about what my fun was doing to other ponies." She gave the unicorn at her side a playful shove. "Twilight helped me remember that it's not JUST about having fun, because having fun at the expense of other ponies isn't really any fun at all! I learned I have to pick my friends more carefully, and make sure nopony's getting hurt while I'm having a good time with them. 'Cause even if they're my friends, ponies out to hurt other ponies aren't really anyone's friend at all. Even if they have a super-fun carnival," she ended with a giggle.

Celestia nodded. "That was an excellent friendship report, Pinkie Pie. I'm glad you learned something from this mess."

Twilight looked back at the disoriented herd around the petrified draconequus. "So what do we do about Discord and the showponies, Princess?"

"Luna, myself, and the guards will take care of making sure everyone gets home safely. Then I'll deal with Discord personally afterwards." Shining Armor ran ahead to start rounding up the ex-carnies, but Celestia stayed back for a moment. "Are you girls going to be alright?"

Twilight Sparkle looked around to each of her friends. "Yes, Princess, we'll be just fine. Come on, girls, let's go home."

While Celestia and Shining Armor dealt with the showponies, and everyone else seemed more than eager to return to Ponyville, Pinkie Pie shyly hung back. "Pinkie? What's wrong now?"

Pinkie Pie nervously looked around, mainly at the sequined skirt and fishnet gloves she was still wearing, tattered as they were. "...Can I keep the dress?" she asked sheepishly.

Twilight rolled her eyes. Now that was the Pinkie Pie she remembered. "Yes, Pinkie, you can keep the dress."

"Alright, awesome! Come on, guys, let's hurry up and get home - I'm craving cupcakes like you would not believe! I'll make up a big batch for everyone! Ooh, actually, I should make two, 'cause poor Gummy probably hasn't eaten in hours! Ooh, hey, you guys know what sounds like a REALLY good idea? A party! Come on, let's have a 'we beat Discord' party! I'll decorate and get music and make punch and it'll be SO much fun! Right, guys? ...Guys? Hey, come on, what's so funny? I'm being serious!"


Whoo! How's that for a delightfully-cheesy Hasbro ending? :D Anyway, that's all of the story I've got to tell for now! Thank all of you so, so much for reading, reviewing, and showing your support! Hugs and bro-hoofs! You guys are the best!

For the last time, thanks for reading!
- May