MLP: A Guest of Honor? Part 1

Deep within the town of Ponyville that lay blanketed under the black night sky, the bright lights of civilization swarmed the streets to conquer the oppressive darkness. One such source of civilization in this settlement was Sugarcube Corner, residence of the cheerful, if often insecure, Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie was often considered by most that knew her, and especially her own friends, to be an incredible source of laughter and joy to be witnessed, as well as incredibly taxing of any diligence previously mustered by those who meet her. For the past two months, however, this was hardly the case, as Pinkie Pie had just spent the previous two months recovering from serious psychological trauma.

Two months had passed since the infamous anomaly Pinkamena had returned to blight Pinkie Pie's reputation, as she was forced against her better judgment to set about spreading fear and terror to all who would find themselves a victim. However, Pinkie had eventually returned to her original demeanor since these incidents occurred, as she had finally returned to the more excitable, positive attitude that she and her friends had cherished.

As of this moment, Pinkie Pie was in the middle of cooking for herself and her guests' dinner, as the clock chimed 8:00 from upstairs. "Yes! Yes! I know what time it is. You don't have to hang off my back!" Pinkie shouted as she stirred through the warm cake mix for her friends to indulge themselves upon.

"How are you all going out there?" she called into the living room, to which a familiar voice replied "Wow! How long does a cake take to make?!" Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow and pondered whether to take offense to this statement, unsure of whether to treat it as an insult or just a genuine question.

Eventually, she decided to shrug it off, as dinner was finally ready to serve. Pinkie whistled to herself as she collect the five different meals for her guests, each staked upon her head as she carefully balanced them. Pinkie Pie made her way out of the kitchen and entered the dining room, soon to be met with a truly bizarre sight.

All of her friends were asleep; each slouching in their seats with their mouths hanging open. Pinkie Pie howled "Hey, everyone WAKE UP! Food's ready!" while shoving Rainbow Dash gently. To her surprise, Rainbow simply slid from the chair and fell to the floor, to which Pinkie realized that her friends were neither breathing nor moving in the slightest.

Her friends weren't asleep at all, and were definitely not going to wake up.

Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs in terror, only to find silence from her voice. She continued to scream to herself, discovering herself to be physically unable to vocalize in any fashion. Pinkie Pie soon fell to the floor in shock as her chest radiated with warmth, feeling her heartbeat become steadily more intense.

"What took you so long?" a voice echoed, "We were nothing but skin and bones before you were finished!" Suddenly, all that could be heard was a loud, menacing cackle that rang in Pinkie Pie's ears.

All of the plates Pinkie Pie carried were carelessly dropped and crashed to the floor as Pinkie Pie swung her head relentlessly. "NO! NO! This is a dream! It has to be a dream! Wake up! WAKE UP! PLEEEASE!" she shouted in a fit of hysteria.

"You can't wake up, cherub… This is not a dream… You're as awake as you've ever been".

"HUUUAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Pinkie Pie soared up into the air landed comfortably on the mattress of her bed. After the additional shock had subsided, she struggled to sit upright on the mattress as she gasped desperately for breath.

Her hair was drenched in sweat and her heart relentlessly pounded away inside her chest. Her head was aching from stress and her muscles were throbbing in agony, leaving Pinkie Pie in an almost broken state, both physically and emotionally.

"When… will this ever… stop?" she whimpered miserably to herself, wiping her brow with her wrist as her eyes glistened with long-contained sorrow. Pinkie Pie leapt from her bed and rushed through her bedroom door, much to the dismay of her muscles. Pinkie ignored the welling discomfort that spread through her body as she burst through the front door and ran madly into the street.

"Hello? Hegh… Anypony?!" she called helplessly into the empty streets, searching for anypony to interact with to retain her dwindling sanity.

However, as this happened, Pinkie Pie's shoulder had finally had all the strain it could endure and ultimately gave way, sending the rest of her body sprawling across the pavement. As she lay against the concrete path, she wheezed "I n-need help… please… somepony… anypony?"

Fatigue had begun to take its toll as Pinkie Pie slowly felt her body shut down from extensive wear. Reluctantly, but voluntarily, she lost consciousness as the sound of a nearby voice became the only sound she could hear.

"Pinkie Pi…ony get hel…to the hosp…".

Unbeknownst to the stricken Pinkie Pie, and to her miraculous luck, a pedestrian had been passing by Sugarcube Corner at the time. The pedestrian had heard the screams from within the streets and found the unconscious straggler, and began calling for the assistance of others.

In little time, Pinkie Pie was in the hospital, steadily recuperating from most recent psychological collapse.

However, from this moment, several citizens of Ponyville became aware of something terrible that was happening to the young pony, and were concerned for her health upon awakening. Pinkie Pie remained unconscious for the rest of the night.

A few hours later, word of Pinkie Pie's wellbeing spread quickly amongst the public of Ponyville. Many were concerned for her health and attempted to enter the hospital to visit her, but were prevented by the medical staff and left unable to enter the ward. Naturally, from this bustle of worry within Ponyville, news quickly reached her closest friends, and each were no less than devastated by the news.

Without delay, they each arrived at the hospital and demanded to visit their stricken colleague, Applejack and Fluttershy arriving before the rest. Not soon after, Rarity arrived and joined them and was soon followed by Twilight, the four of them quietly entering the ward and searching for the right bed.

Eventually, an unmistakable magenta mane caught their eyes as they ran to the bedside, Pinkie Pie resting peacefully beneath the covers. "Is she still asleep" Twilight asked, finding her answer as Pinkie slowly opened her eyes and attempted to fixed her gaze on their faces.

"Hey girls…" Pinkie Pie greeted with a warm smile, before frowning and groaning in dissatisfaction, "This is the second time I've had to put up with these awful beds".

Suddenly, the doors flew open as the final visitor arrived, Rainbow Dash stopping before the bed and sighing with relief from Pinkie Pie's wellbeing.

"What happened this time?!" Rainbow questioned, clearly the most devastated of all her friends. "Pinkie collapsed in the street last night" Twilight explained, "somepony in town got her here about five hours ago". "Yeah, and we each got news about it about an hour ago" Applejack stated, "Pinkie Pie's lucky that somepony found her when she needed help".

"No… kidding…"

All eyes peered into a pair of white, glistening eyes as they sleepily gazing upwards from the bed, Pinkie Pie shifting slightly beneath the covers and preparing to sit up. However, Twilight gently pushed her back against the pillow and said "No… Don't move yet". "What made you run out into the streets and pass out?" Rarity inquired.

"Another nightmare…" Pinkie Pie replied exhaustedly, "But this one was… worse… much worse that the others". Her friends listened as she explained the events of the dream, leaving each of them mortified by the specified details. "What could this mean?" Twilight asked herself before turning away to ponder this situation.

"It may not mean anything, Twilight. It's just a bad dream, after all. It can't hurt me" Pinkie Pie reassured as she sat up comfortably from the bed. "Well, I dunno about that. If it can land ya in the hospital…" Applejack reminded her. Pinkie soon pulled herself from the bedsheet covers and stated "Trust me, it's nothing to worry about".

"I'm sorry, but you cannot leave just yet" called a nurse who had entered the room to interrupt this action. "What? Why?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously. "Miss Pie, we have read your files. You have apparently been suffering from multiple forms of nausea and repeated nightmares. I'm afraid you must stay under care for the time being" the nurse explained.

"How did you know I was suffering from nightmares? Twilight, did you tell them?" Pinkie turned to Twilight for the answer. Twilight simply stood flustered and remained without an answer before the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Fluttershy. "I-I did…" the pegasus stuttered nervously, "I thought it would be the right thing to do".

"No, it was. But Fluttershy, why didn't you tell us before?" Twilight questioned curiously, degrading Fluttershy's already declining confidence. "Leave her alone, Twilight. She did the right thing, and I'm actually annoyed that I didn't do it before her" Applejack admitted. "Whatever… it doesn't matter, anyhow" Pinkie Pie sighed meekly before jumping back-first against the bed once again.

Rainbow Dash then turned back to face the nurse and asked "Well, is there anything we can do?" The nurse then pondered the possibilities before answering "Well, she may return home. But, she would have to stay there under both house-arrest and constant supervision. Just for safety precautions, after all" the nurse then reassured.

"Well… I dunno" Applejack considered, while her companions remained skeptical of such a choice. "Well, there is a choice at least, which is rare. So we should take advantage of it" Twilight offered to end to this prolonged stalemate. "Very well; in that case, you may take her home" the nurse offered with a somewhat stiff smile, before turning away and swiftly leaving through the door to tend to other patients.

And with that, Pinkie Pie and her friends made their way from the hospital back to Sugarcube Corner, thankfully savoring the lack of a delay or unforeseen event having occurred. The night had greeted them with the same chill that they felt when they arrived, though they eventually managed to arrive at Pinkie's home.

But as they entered the establishment, Pinkie Pie had begun to succumb to her insurmountable fatigue, resulting in her mindlessly staggering through the living room and collapsing on the couch. Twilight stared down at her and asked "Should we take her upstairs?"

Rainbow Dash pondered for a moment before replying "Hmm… Nah. Just leave her here, I guess. She seems okay" while watching Pinkie Pie snuggle comfortably into the sofa.

"I'll stay and watch over her for the night" Applejack offered generously, clearly confident of her own capability. "What if you fall asleep?" Fluttershy questioned, Applejack turning to her to express her attention.

"Well, it's already..." Applejack paused as she stared towards the clock, "2:30 am, so I should manage". After this agreement was confirmed amongst the group, Applejack remained beside Pinkie Pie as the others followed a single file though the front door and shut it; thus beginning Pinkie's daily 'house-arrest' routine.

It was the next morning, and the sun shone over the rooftops of Ponyville. In the early hours of this weekend, several ponies had already awoken and began setting about their daily business. However, one such house that hadn't taken advantage of these early hours were the residence of Sugarcube Corner.

Within the living room of this popular pastry store, Pinkie was slumbering comfortably upon the sofa, alongside her southern friend Applejack. Unfortunately, despite what she had claimed the previous night, Applejack had indeed fallen asleep at some point during the short hours she had spent and lay beside Pinkie Pie, embracing her during her slumber.

"Hnnnnmmm…" Pinkie Pie moaned as she stirred from her sleep, her eyes opening before immediately shutting. The sunlight reflecting through the window shone directly into her eyes, forcing her to squint as she leaned up from the sofa. The light was finally no longer in her eyes and she was able to look around the room, and immediately found Applejack laying against her with her arms wrapped around her waist.

Pinkie Pie gulped nervously as she carefully pulled Applejacks arms from their grip against her body, before stepping off from the couch and laying Applejack gently down to continue her sleep. Pinkie sighed as she watch her snooze thinking "Poor thing… I kept everypony up last night, I'm not surprised she fell asleep".

She shrugged indifferently as she beamed a bright smile, before making her way into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the pair of them.

She walked along the outer way of the kitchen and passed the window, before stopping in her tracks and stepping back to peer through the glass panels. Just as she suspected, there was an abnormality from the usual sights, in the form of an unknown pony staring directly back at her.

The black expression of this stranger unnerved her, and she quickly drew the curtain on impulse as she made her way back into the living room. But then, Pinkie Pie found a disturbing surprise, as every window within the living room had several strangers observing her without consideration for her privacy.

Becoming unnerved by this attention, she ran upstairs to escape it until it would eventually disband. She then stopped, unable to comprehend what she saw. Every room she passed by and looked inside, there was an expectant stare from behind the windows within the room.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

There was a scream that bellowed throughout every room in Sugarcube Corner, and the southerner's state of sleep was interrupted as a result. "Ugh… W… Wha…?" she muttered sleepily, her eyes opening slowly as she yawned. Immediately as she began stretching her arms, her eyes shot open as she leapt from her sofa bed in a panic.

"Pinkie Pie! Are ya still here?!" she called into the room, finding no trace of her observant anywhere within the living room. Applejack rushed upstairs to search her bedroom, peeking through a gap in the bedroom door and finally finding Pinkie Pie, though she was backed against the corner of the room.

"Pinkie Pie! Are ya alright?!"Applejack asked as she entered the room. "Applejack?" came a soft, exhausted voice from the corner of the room, where lay Pinkie Pie in a truly degrading state. Pinkie's tearstained eyelids opened as she turned to face the door and asked "Applejack, can you… see them?"

Applejack simply stared in a confused fashion before Pinkie Pie added "I need to know if they're there or not!" Applejack replied "If what are where?" with her head tilted curiously. Pinkie shook her head violently before replying "There's strangers in the windows and their spying on me! THEY WON'T GO AWAY!" before catching her breath while clamping her mouth shut.

Applejack, willing to believe this to be the case based on her earlier experience, rushed to the window and pulled the curtains apart, only to find nothing but the sunlight greeting her. "There's nopony there, Pinkie Pie. Are ya sure?" Applejack asked, and Pinkie turned to face the window, before freezing to the spot as she stared as the glass.

Applejack turned back to the window and still found nothing, immediately confirming her suspicions. She jumped down from the bed and held Pinkie Pie by her shoulders, "There's nopony there, Pinkie Pie! I think ya're seein' things again!"

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had come by Sugarcube Corner to make sure nothing that they hadn't predicted had happened in her absence. As she came to the window of the front door, she soon found that Twilight had arrived before her, possibly intending the same act of precaution, and entered the establishment to greet her respectively.

"What happened while I was gone?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously. Twilight cringed nervously, obviously debating whether to reveal what had happened before eventually, if reluctantly, coming to a conclusion.

"Well… Pinkie Pie had a breakdown this morning, apparently" Twilight explained, her breath rather faint as to not be overheard. "What!? Is she alright!?" Rainbow Dash began to panic, before Twilight steadied her and explained "Nothing happened! She's alright now".

Twilight then proceeded to explain the events that unfolded on their behalf, or at least from what Applejack had told her. Rainbow Dash then heard the sound of sobbing from the living room; and upon peeking carefully into the living room, she was destined to discover Pinkie Pie cowering distraughtly on the couch, "Let's face it. I've got one step left until I completely lose it, don't I?"

"Pinkie Pie, ya're not losin' yar mind! It was just a hallucination, that's all. It can only get better from here" Applejack intervened in this degrading statement. Applejack herself currently sat across from Pinkie Pie and had spent the past hour comforting her from such a horrific experience.

"I'd like to know how" Pinkie sighed before hanging her head in shame of her own insecurity. Twilight then stepped into the room and added "Well, it definitely couldn't get any worse than this, to be sure".

Unfortunately for the protagonists, the writer had other plans, and regrets to say that Pinkie Pie's dilemma had only just begun. And it did so with two musical notes.

'DING-DONG!'

To be continued…