The door opened and a pair of ponies stepped in. "Good afternoon," Ava grinned, waving a hoof.

As the door opened, Applejack looked up, and wiped her lips with a hoof, laying the Daring Do book pages down to hold her spot. She was rather getting into the first chapter when the two turned up. "Uhh... Howdy, there." She gave a nod, and pushed her stetson back up on her mane. "Ya'll lookin' fer Twilight?"

"Well, I certainly wouldn't say no to meeting her, but I was mostly looking for a book," Ava laughed. "I'm Ava, and this is Atom."

<-- Pinkie Pie enters from Rogue Heart's Apartment.  Rapidly.

No sooner has Ava managed to make her introductions did she hear the sound of tromping hooves.  She and Atom would barely have time to acknowledge a dull pink blur of motion before it barreled straight through them, knocking them aside like bowling pins on a 7-10 Split.  It didn't even stop either until it crashed into the far wall, rattling the whole tree and sending many books toppling down from the shelves.  Pinkie Pie staggered back woozy but no worse for the wear... at least, not in the usual sense.  Applejack would certainly recognize her friend's state -- it wasn't often her coat lost its luster and her mane drooped down into a flat hang like it was then.  The last time that had happened had been on her birthday the year before and oh, what a mess that had been...

"TWILIGHT~!  Emergency!" she squealed, reared up on her back legs while her forelegs pedaled about in the air.  Of course, Twilight was nowhere to be found.  Applejack proved to be the next best thing (or at least the next nearest) and would immediately end up sporting a Pinkie Pie backpack as the weeping party pony hurled herself atop her friend, blubbering up a storm.  "AJ!  I...!  And then...!  Waffles!  But, no...!  He didn't...!  And... and... uuuwwaaaaaaaaa~!" it was hard to understand her normally, but when she was in full sob mode?  Ugh...

Applejack was about to greet them, more properly, and even try to help them find what they were looking for, but when the Pinkie Torpedo hit. As books collapsed from the shelves, Applejack face hoofed.. but then, she had greater concerns. She held up Pinkie easily, and as she bawled, Applejack glanced to make sure Ava and Atom were alright. "Uhh... Ya'll help yerselves.. Ah'll try an' see ta' Pinkie..." she said.

She really.. really didn't know how books were sorted anyway... Carrying Pinkie out of the main library room, she shrugged the sobbing pony with the deflated mane off he rback and onto a chair, and stepped in front of her, putting a hoof on each of her front shoulders, then drew her into a hug, rubbing her back.

"Shhh, Pinkie... shhh... What's got ya'll fretty, sugar cube?" - She barely caught one word in the chaos before.

The blue mare shook herself as she reoriented to be more-or-less right-side-up. Finding a pair of glasses near her hoof, she levitated them to her face, only to wind up even more googly-eyed than before. "I think these are your glasses, Atom."

Atom grimaced as his world also went further out of focus. "Yes, yes they are. Trade ya."

"Much better," Ava nodded as the library came back into focus. "You okay, Atom?" she asked, getting to her hooves and dusting herself off.

"Fine," he nodded, standing. "How about you, Avi?"

"A bruise or two, maybe - nothing serious," she assured him. She looked to where AJ had gone with the pink mare, hoping that Pinkie Pie was all right.

"Do they shelve by Dewey Decimal or Library of Canterlot here?" Atom asked.

"Neither - looks like it's all sectioned, then alphabetical," Ava said, stepping up to the shelf. "I'd be surprised to see Library of Canterlot here - you usually only see it at large academic institutions and, well - the Canterlot Archives."

"Alphabetical? Well, that should make it easy," Atom grinned. "Should probably get those reshelved first, though," he observed, waving a hoof at where Pinkie had knocked the entirety of the D, E, F, and G fiction sections to the floor.

"Right," Ava laughed. "Come on - it shouldn't be too bad with two of us." Horns a-glowing, the two unicorns happily set about re-alphabetizing and re-shelving the books.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:56, Thu 21 June 2012.

Pinkie Pie was not a subtle pony by any means.  She never did anything halfway and her friends had long since come to understand that she didn't have emotional shades so much as she did 'stages'.  It was all or nothing.  When she was happy, the world was a bright and cheerful place where the sun sparkled and she could drag everypony in town into a rousing musical number about how great life was.  When she was angry, she vented neigh on apocalyptic wrath the likes of which would haunt a pony's nightmares for weeks to come, assuming they even survived the initial outburst.

But just then?  As she sat sniffling and miserable to the point that even a best friend's embrace did nothing to console her?  The worst thing one could ever fear to see was a sad Pinkie Pie, because when she pitched into the dumps, there was no light left in her world.  She hated being sad... nothing ever came of sadness, and all she wanted was to smile again, but her aching heart just wouldn't let her.

"I... I went to go take Rogue Heart breakfast.  We always have breakfast together!  I made extra waffles just for him 'cause I know h-he never eats right... but... but he's... he's not..." Pinkie managed to keep control of herself enough to choke that much out and it was likely all Applejack needed to hear.  Twilight had mentioned before that Pinkie might take it hard, but this was something else.  "He's gone!  His house is all locked up and dark and there's sheets everywhere and why would he do this?!  I'm his friend, but he didn't even say anything!  I know sometimes ponies need to move away or go do other things, but why didn't he at least say goodbye?!  I thought he cared more than that..."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:30, Tue 19 June 2012.

Clinging to the distraught pink pony, Applejack felt her heart jump up into her throat. She really didn't have any answers, not to the questions Pinkie was asking, but she had to try and help her friend... no matter the cost, after all. That bucking jerk! It was alright to throw her into a state of chaos, but to upset Pinkie... the only thing worse would be upsetting Fluttershy, and part of her started to boil at her idiot ex's behavior.

Worse, Applejack knew he was gone but... "P... Pinkie, hon... " she said, trying to be soothing in tone, her hoof brushing down that deflated mane... that was the worst of all the signs, right there... This was crushing enough to drain Pinkie of all her joy and hope. Being the one saddled with breaking the news just made Applejack feel sick.

"Ah know he left town this mornin'. He stopped by tha' farm ta' say goodbye, ah guess." she shrugged both shoulders, and hung her head. "Ah couldn't stop'em... ah think he finally decided he wanted to go find who he was." she said, and hugged her tighter. "Ah told'em he' better write..." she said softly, and hung her head, closing her eyes, arms about Pinkie. How would she react? Applejack had given up trying to predict... All Pinkie could recognize was that she had a sense of being betrayed... how could Applejack right that?

"He.. jus' said he didn't wanna make long an' painful goodbyes...." - so he made long, painful conversations for Applejack about why he left, like this one... Buckin' hay...

There were a number of different reactions Pinkie could have taken to Applejack's confession that she knew Rogue had left, and that he'd at least said goodbye to her if nopony else.  Heck, at least half of them would have been justified too.  But Pinkie Pie wasn't a selfish pony -- her entire world revolved around making sure others were happy, so she recognized when someone else was hurting too.  She didn't hold anything against Applejack... well, except for herself, as she hugged her tighter.

"He.. jus' said he didn't wanna make long an' painful goodbyes...."

"But this is worse!  I hate saying goodbye too, but at least you can make sure everything's okay when you have to leave!  And everypony knows you're going to be alright..." the normally fluffy mare's voice was muffled against AJ's shoulder as she held her close. "Doesn't he know how much this hurts?"

Applejack nodded, and hugged her tight. "Ah think he'll be fine, Pinkie... Ah just think he didn't wanna see anypony get upset over him leavin'..." she said softly. "Ah know it hurt him ta' do it, too.." she said, reassuringly. "But ah'm sure we'll see 'em again." she said, and smiled  brightly, giving Pinkie's nose a nudge up. The farmpony then grinned a bit. "And then ya' can throw'em a biiiig welcome back party, right Pinkie?" she prompted her.

Having to say long goodbyes were never fun for anypony be they leaving or staying behind, but to Pinkie, it was worse not saying anything at all.  That was an even longer goodbye made worse by the sting of betrayal.  Saying goodbye to a friend was awful, but how was leaving them hanging in the wind abandoned any better?  Every one of Pinkie Pie's friends were so very precious to her... the idea that Rogue Heart could just turn his back and leave without a word felt like a knife to the gut.

Still... Applejack made sense.  The down-to-earth farmer was always an anchor for her friends; even when everything was going crazy, she never seemed to get quite as phased by it all.  She was just better at coping with it, Pinkie figured.  And as much as it hurt to think of a friend leaving, there was something to be said for the joy that could be felt of that person coming back home again.  It wasn't like he was gone for good, right?

"And then ya' can throw'em a biiiig welcome back party, right Pinkie?" Applejack prompted.

"W-with balloons and streamers?" she sniffled in return.  She somehow managed a weak half-smile despite how morose she still was.  Moping wasn't going to do her any good... she needed to shake it off and AJ's reassurances were quite a boon in that regard.

Applejack saw her recovering smile, and held her tight. "Eyup.  And Games and Cake, too." she reassured her, then gently leaned back, at hooves-length in front of her now. She nodded. "Ah know it ain't an easy thang, butya' just gotta trust'em ta' do what's best fer' him." she said softly. "An' ah did send him off with a sack full of apples, so, he ain't gonna starve fer breakfast..." She blinked... Really? Pinkie was freaking out about breakfast, this late in the day?

"There we go - ah, wait one more Daring Do novel that slid over under the table," Atom laughed, retrieving it and levitating it over to Ava.

"Daring Do and the Temple of Zantor," Ava said, reading the title. "I think Poppy was reading this one a couple of weeks ago." She slid it into place with the other Daring Do stories and grinned in satisfaction. "Much better," she nodded. She'd worked in the campus library as an undergrad and was completely at home around shelves and shelves of books.

"Yep. What was that book you needed again, Avi?"

"Erlenmeyer's Caustics, Cations, and Combustions - an Original Oratory on Organic and Inorganic Chemical Synthesis," she replied. "Let's see - nonfiction is over here, B... C... Canterlot Castle - A Complete History... Care and Keeping of Cats... Ah, here we go - Caustics, Cations, and Combustions," she said happily, betting the book down from the shelf.

"Wish the school library would do it this way," Atom laughed. "I hate Library of Canterlot."

"You and everypony else," Ava laughed. "But trust me - no you don't. Me, I love Library of Canterlot. I know a lot of ponies don't, but it really is the most efficient way of organizing a library of that size, even if it is less intuitive for most ponies than Dewey Decimal. If they tried to go alphabetical at Pranceton, the entire library staff would go mad inside of an hour. Dewey is good for moderate sized libraries - I know the Canterlot Regional Public Library uses it, and I think the Fillydelphia Public Library does as well. Hayvard, Dartmare, Roan, and Corneigh all use Library of Canterlot just like Pranceton and the Royal Archives. But an alphabetical system is the most intuitive for a small town library like this, and here, it really does make the most sense."

Atom just laughed. "Avi, I sometimes wonder why you didn't go into library science."

The blue mare managed, with some effort, to keep a straight face. "Because it doesn't turn pretty colors, and you can't blow anything up with it," she replied, deadpan, before breaking down in a fit of the giggles.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:21, Wed 20 June 2012.

It was hard to tell exactly how long Pinkie Pie had been running around in a panic over Rogue's disappearance, though given how late he tended to sleep into the day with his lazy attitude, it was entirely likely he was accustomed to having breakfast right before lunchtime.  It hardly mattered by that point though.  Pinkie sniffed quietly and rubbed her eyes with her fetlocks, though getting rid of all those tears wasn't easy.  Still, she did her best to keep a stiff upper lip.

"Thanks Applejack..." she said as she leaned in to catch her friend in another hug.  That time it was out of gratitude rather than needing a shoulder to cry on.  She released it soon enough and gave another smile that had a little more heart to it.  Pinkie wasn't quite okay yet, but she would get there in her own time.  "But... what about you?  I mean, I know you and Rogue Heart had, like, a thing before when you were kids..."

Applejack almost flinched when the sniffling Pinkie brought up her past. She turned a bit pinkie herself, and awkwardly fussed with her stetson. "Ah... Ah'm doin' fine. That's actually why ah ain't so worried about'em..." she said. "He seemed ta' know what he was doin, when he left this morning... well... aside from not bein' sure where he was goin'"

Applejack closed her eyes for a moment, and shrugged her shoulders. She sat down, heavily. "He an' I always talked about runnin' off ta'gether an gettin' out of Ponyville." She let the story go half-untold for the moment, but Pinkie already knew about her visit to Manehatten and subsequent return.

Pinkie Pie shifted a bit to rest beside Applejack and give her a gentle, querying look.  While normally quite the motor mouth, she could be a pretty good listener too and put herself there for Applejack if she wanted to go on.  She didn't press on the matter though and would back off all the same if AJ didn't feel like talking.  If nothing else, she already knew a lot of it from Rogue Heart since the two of them spent so much time together.  Most of their interactions were all fun and games but there had been a few more vulnerable moments shared here and there.

She shrugged. "When we were foals, 'afore ah left Ponyville,"she glanced up to the door to the other room, and gave it a slight kick, sending it closed. "We were close, yeah. But after he decided ta' treat me like an idiot, ah just left without'em." she said, with a mild boil as she recalled how he'd treated her.

"So, ah guess he finally decided he was gonna go find himself." She answered, and kicked a hoof at the floor. "Ah ain't mad, ah think it's great... Ah just wish  he'd not left it ta me to tell everypony. Makin' me look like this..."

Applejack just gave her head a vigorous shake. "Buck me~ Ah gotta get mah mind offa this. Ain't no reason to be moping." She got to her feet. "Hay, Pinkie.. you seen Rainbow's sign out in the square?"

Pinkie Pie couldn't judge what had gone on in the past.  Those times were far and long away.  She did wish that Rogue and Applejack could have gotten along better through the years though... did AJ know just how lonesome Rogue got?  It was one of the traits that drew Pinkie to him in the first place -- she was eager to be his friend regardless, but there were some ponies who really needed a friend more than others sometimes.  Still... she couldn't blame AJ for being mad either given the position she was left in.

A change of topic seemed like a good idea and the party pony instead moved down that conversational chain.  It sounded like AJ had enough of talking about Rouge Heart already.  "A sign?  Nuh-uh.  Did Dashie make an announcement or something?  Or is she having a yard sale?  'Cause that'd be pretty tough to manage since she doesn't have a yard." just a bit of that classic Pinkie rambling edged its way back into the conversation as she got up to her hooves as well.

Applejack gave an incredulous ear flop and looked at her with a fairly deadpan serious look. "The Filly is throwing a contest fer ponies, and the winner gets ta' date her. Really." She said, disapproval in her tone. "Ah mean, we've done this before, ain't we? And ah don't wanna be unsupportive or leave 'er unhappy, but... this just ain't a good idea, if ya ask me."

For a moment, Pinkie remained completely still and silent, only blinking in response to the news.  She seemed quite passive, though Applejack had a rather peculiar sight to enjoy as it appeared that some sort of miniature explosion occurred inside the pony -- her coat suddenly flared up back to its usual bright saturation and her mane and tail both poomphed out wildly with a sound akin to a confetti popper going off.

"You don't say?" she kept a solid poker face, through the rest of her wasn't doing such a good job at hiding a returned rush of glee.  She didn't even seem to notice that her fluffy tail was wagging about like a dog's.  Well, at least she was back to normal...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:54, Thu 21 June 2012.

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief as her friend erupted back to normal, and she gave her a light hug. "Eyup. Ah do say." she said. "Ah wanna do somethin' about all this... Twi thinks it's a bad idea too, but RD won't call it off..."

Applejack considered what she'd spoken of with Twilight... Entering the contest for Rainbow's own good... and what it'd look like. Her cheeks pinked a little as she tried to think over the topic. "Ahh..  Ah was... thinkin about competin', ta' try and win so she doesn't end up datin' somepony who ain't good enough for 'er... but ah was wonderin' if you'd have any ideas?"

"Well, if you're gonna enter, the competition's gonna be really steep... 'cause you're gonna have to beat me too~!" Pinkie Pie chirped as she bounced in place with her usual springy manner returning in full.  She reared back and clapped her hooves to her face, swirling and swaying about happily.  "I had no idea Dashie wanted to start looking for a special somepony~!  First Twilight, and now this?  Eeeee~!  This is gonna be so much fun~!"

"P.. Pinkie?" Applejack began, and then narrowed her eyes. If Pinkie was going to get in her way, then... "Ah really think yer' missin' the point, Pinkie." She groaned, finding her efforts to talk her into helping lost on the mare, but at least she was feeling better. Feeling a bit more determined with some competition, Applejack opened the door back to the library, and gave her a friendly nudge back to the main Library.

--> From: Sweet Apple Acres

As if on cue, Shai Ni pokes her head into the library before entering happily, a most definite spring in her step and song in her heart.  As joy is attracted to joy, she finds herself bouncing happily in a very Pinkie-ish manner towards, well, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, although she is not aware of it herself.  As she trots past them towards the bookshelf, she is heard to be singing quietly, "Joyous day... glorious day... tomorrow will be a most wonderful date... my very first date..."

It appears that she has been singing like this since she left Sweet Apple Acres.

Pinkie Pie entirely missed the point of what Applejack was concerned over and, frankly, couldn't have been happier because of it.  Rainbow Dash may not have been making a particularly wise choice of action, but when it came down to it, Pinkie Pie wasn't the best pony to talk to for wise choices either.  She giggled and bounded out of the room, skipping right past Shai Ni in a mirrored gait.

"Joyous day... glorious day... tomorrow will be a most wonderful date... my very first date..." the unicorn sang quietly.  Pinkie Pie, however, was not a quiet mare.  She picked up on Shai Ni's tune and caught her by the hooves, bringing her into a playful spin on the spot.

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫
Joyous day~!
Glorious day~!
'Cause hearts and hooves are on the way~!

It's that special time of year,
when all the ponies laugh and cheer~!
A time to play and dance together~!
To be together for-ever and ever~!

Joyous day~!
Glorious day~!
♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Pinkie Pie let go of Shai Ni after spinning her into a twirl and bounced away, landing nimbly on the tall rolling ladder against one of the many bookshelves.  It slid along on its wheels to let her hang upside down off the rungs and drop herself eye-level between Atom and Ava.  She reached out and caught them both about the shoulders to pull them in to a fond hug with her in the middle.

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫
When you've got somepony by your side,
the world is bright and cheery~!
They know your heart and know your dreams,
and you can count! on! them! when things get dreary~!

Even if somepony has to leave,
it'll be okay.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder~!
And they'll come trotting back someday~!

They'll be back one--
Joyous day~!
Glorious day~!
'Cause hearts and hooves are on the way~!

So take a chance~! Let's tempt fate~!
Let's all dance, so grab a date~!
We'll swing and sing, love and laugh~!
It's worth the risk so take a chance~!

Joyous day~!
♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

The last leg of Pinkie's song was spent bounding around the library from place to place, sweeping up any pony she could grab a hold of to twirl about.  It was a good way for her to cope with Rogue leaving, sure, but wasn't she getting a little out of hand?