Special friendship study.

>You are now maud pie.

>You love rocks.

>Just kidding, you’re not Maud at all! It was you, Pinkie the whole time!

>Playing pretend could be so much fun though, sometimes it was the best thing you COULD do.

>Other than throw some totally ‘rocking’ parties for your favorite sister in the whole world.

>Or your friends.

>Or some really nice strangers.

>Strangers are just friends you don’t know yet, after all.

>You have soso many friends now.

>Nop0ny seems to be available lately though..

>You keep inviting them to parties but they don’t show up.

>Or they look away from you when you’re talking.

>Silly p0nies must have a lot going on in their life!

>You wish they would start coming back to Sugarcube Corner more though, your bits are starting to get a little tight to rent your room here.

>But that’s ok.

>Things’ll work out, they gotta stop being busy eventually!

---

>Days later.

>Almost no customers most of the time.

>The Cakes seem kinda funny because of it, but not haha funny like when you told them that super duper good knock knock joke.

>They didn’t seem to think your haha funny joke was very haha funny either!

>Miss Cake made that face like she ate a sour candy worm, chuckled, then left with Mister Cake.

>You really wanted to see her smile, but you’ll just have to think of a better joke later you guess.

>Rent getting steadily more scary, you’ve been trying to pick up some side work.

>Freelance party throwing/setting. It’s going um..ok, you guess. At Least some p0nies seem to like it. You always did throw a good party.

>You hope everyone stops being so darn busy soon. You don’t need the bits just for your room-gummy is starting to get really hungry too.

>Sitting behind the register, watching p0nies walk up to the store, they look inside curious. For the briefest of seconds you think they’ll come in and you can talk and have fun and get some bits for you and the store and-

>They leave when they see you.

>Oh.

----

>Customers don’t come to Sugarcube Corner anymore.

>Cakes seem increasingly unhappy with you around.

>Rent is nonexistent now, throwing freelance parties has absolutely gone south. No one seems happy with what you do anymore, last customer said he wouldn’t pay you.

>Nop0ny wants to be around you more than a few minutes, including your friends-except for Twilight.

>Why’s this all happening?

>Did you throw somep0ny a bad party? Did you do something?

>There’s a low lead ball in your stomach that forms as your mind picks through ideas, some good, many that make you upset and you push away as fast as possible.

>You think about going out and finding Dashie-until you remember she asked you not to hang around her anymore.

>Boy that had been a confusing day! Haha! You..

>You think of another p0ny you can hang out with.

>There are none, except Twilight.

>They’ve all asked you to stay away for the most part.

>Asking why sure did make them upset too.

>Rainbow Dash spit in your eye.

>No Tears! You smiled and said you were sorry and that you’d let her have some space.

>Couldn’t make your friend feel bad for your mistake, that’d hardly be fair!

>Nop0ny comes in today

>You close the store early.

----
>You promised yourself you wouldn’t cry.

>Really you did.

>But Gummy got so skinny so fast.

>You tried so hard to get him some more food, growing baby alligators need to eat more than adult p0nies.

>But he just got sicker when you had less and less bits to buy anything with.

>You thought, maybe, if Fluttershy could house him you’d be able to visit everyday.

>Fluttershy didn’t want to take him in, said she had enough animals.

>You wonder if that..if maybe it wasn't..

>No, Fluttershy wouldn’t lie like that.

>Your nose runs and you can hardly see past your own tears, Gummy is taken from your hoofs, such a skinny little alligator, and replaced with a small pile of bits from the exotic pet collector you sold him to.

>Baby Alligators need to eat.

>You choke your tears back, Gummy slowly turns to look back at you as the p0ny leaves your room and the store. Blinking those dopey eyes of his.

>You wave.

“Bye-Bye Gummy don’t..don’t forget to write your friend Pinkie Pie!”

>You spend the rest of the night laying in bed, looking at the empty space where he used to sleep with you.

----

>You’ve been evicted.

>When you came home to Sugarcube, your stuff had already been sold to make a profit from the loss you’ve caused to the cakes.

>Twilight doesn’t talk to you anymore now either.

>When you had left, Twilight was the only p0ny that came to watch you go.

>She said you two could still be friends, that she would write you back.

>You write her a letter every week.

>You never find anything when you check the mail.

>You look up at the ceiling from your bed, you haven't been home since you were a filly.

>Maud doesn’t stay home much, she doesn’t like being around dad.

>Limestone had an ‘accident’ last week with some spare rope in the barn.

>Limestone has never been one to express emotions the same way as you or maud.

>Never thought she’d be the one to get choked up saying goodbye!

>Your joke makes your heart sink somewhere far away.

>You are alone, even surrounded with what’s left of the Pie family.

>Only p0ny 'close' to you left in your life is Marble.

>She’s such a quiet mare, but you know why.

>You know why, as you lay in your bed keeping your eyes fixed on staring through your ceiling.

>It makes what happens easier.

>The movements are familiar, as is the smell of old earth on him. Breathing labored as he rests over you, your skin prickles underneath him.

>”Thou art as beautiful as your mother is, Pinkamena.”

>Dad is in your bed again, he is most nights.

>His breath is hot.

>”My daughter hath truly returned to providence at long last..”

>You never liked this part growing up.

----

>Twilight smiles, going through her notes with care. When She's done she makes short order of sending her current findings to her precious teacher, thanks to a little help from spike.

>She’s going to Sugarcube Corner to pick up a treat for her picnic today with her friends.

>By her table, there is a small trash can stuffed full of opened letters. Some stained with tears, each one smelling like granite and dirt.

>She hadn’t thought the experiment would go nearly this well, she watched with fascination what happened as her friendships dissolved. A p0nies life really can go terrible so fast without anyone around!

>Her paper on the effects of a friendship withdrawal is going to be great.

>Celestia will be so proud.