54 - Dimly
I woke to raindrops and pain in the dim light of dawn. For a second, I had an impression of… gears? Cogs? A… crystal tree? A fading conversation?
My eyes flickered open, desperation yanking me from the depths of unconsciousness. It was raining. Someone -
Someone?
Someone was standing over me. Pale blue skin, and fuschia hair. A white blouse and black slacks, clinging wet. Humanoid! I rolled away, springing to my feet, bludgeoning my beaten and complaining body to respond. Bruises and cuts covered me; even with just facing small-fry and fighting better than ever, I was in rough shape.
If I needed force, things might get tough.
My eyes focused on her. She drew back, sneering.
"Well well." Her voice was sweet, like chimes. That color, that sound…
"Glisten?" I fell into a fighting stance despite the crying of my limbs. Rain trickled down my face, washing ichor into my eyes.
"The one and only!" She grinned. "Hah! You may have stopped the spell, Wes, but this…this is no setback!" She raised a hand, and wiggled her fingers at me. "Oh, Sombra will be pleased! To have translocation, even by accident; this will set us forward years!"
"What?" My brain was still trying to catch up. I kept her in my vision, carefully scanning the surroundings. The light wasn't bright, but through the mist I could see...
Cars. Blacktop. Sidewalks. Mowed lawns. Telephone poles!
"Holy crow…" I locked my eyes on her. "What are you planning, Glisten?"
"Do you think I'll just spill? That easily?" She gloated. "I'm no two-bit comic villain! But maybe…Hmm." She rubbed her chin. "Maybe I could, just this once. It's not like you'll survive long." She walked over to a nearby street sign, and casually ripped it from the ground. "Why, I could kill you right now." She flung the pole. I sidestepped. It flashed past end-over-end, and clattered off something behind, splashing to the ground. I glanced backwards; there was a statue of a rearing horse a hundred feet back. On the ground beside was a familiar red-and-orange mane.
"Sunset!" I dashed over, barely keeping an eye on Glisten, but stopped in shock when I got near.
"Sunset…?" I dropped to my knees, next to a rather worse-for-the-wear human. Still, she had Sunset’s colors, and something about her face… "Nice boots." I glanced at her feet. At least she had clothes. Her breathing was strong, if slightly unsteady. Though there was blood on her, thinning in the rain, I didn’t see dangerous wounds. I breathed a sigh of relief, and glanced towards the street-sign. On the other side of the statue, I saw a black hoof.
Bitterbloom! This time, I held my exclamation in. I forced myself to my feet, and scooped up the sign. We weren’t safe yet. Holding it like a quarterstaff, I turned towards Glisten. Even this much exertion was exhausting; my breathing had started to accelerate, and my head swum slightly. Raindrops shushed the entire conversation, swishing into the ground and running down my skin.
"Stop!" I shouted. Glisten paused her slow advance.
"Or what?" She flounced another step. "You're at the end of your rope. You're beaten! I could kill you with one hand!"
"I'm not beaten." I forced as much fire into my voice as I could gather, demanding functions from my body that it was reluctant to give. "You know so little! You pampered, pathetic fool! Listen up, glitterpony, because if you don't learn this now, it will kill you. I'm not beaten." I forced a ghastly wolfish grin. "I'm desperate. And if you've never faced a desperate human, you have no idea what that means. I'll say this once. There's nothing more dangerous than those with nothing to lose."
"Hah!" She threw her head back and scoffed. Still, there was a note of uncertainty in her voice. "As if you can stop me! I'm no ordinary pony." She raised a hand. Cracks spiderwebbed it. My eyes widened in shock, but narrowed in suspicion as the limb slowly re-formed, shaped into a short knife on her wrist. "I'm farther along than ever Glory was. Maybe nearly as far as Emperor Sombra himself!"
"Oh, really?" I piled on unbelief and condescension. "You think wearing the Emperor's New Clothes will save you?" I slid a hand into my pocket and palmed the Screaming Emerald. It was running low on power; it no longer squealed whenever it touched the air, but the crystal hadn't lost alignment. I clapped my hand onto the pole, and dredged up every last micro-swirl of power. With a gigantic effort, I squeezed it out my palm, into the sign, through the stone.
My head swam and I nearly blacked out. I held to consciousness desperately. The magic pulsed through the iron, setting it humming. I carefully concentrated on the aluminum blade, the actual sign attached to the top. It sang, vibrating invisibly fast.
"Watch." I spun smoothly, concentrating hard on keeping the motion effortless. I didn't actually want to fight Glisten; I just wanted her to leave so I - we - could recover. Grace. Power. Façade. We could face her again, stronger. Just not now. The tip of the sign touched the edge of the plinth; there was a squeal, a spray of sparks, and the corner of the concrete block slid to the ground.
"Want some?" I leveled the pole at her. She stepped back, surprised and intimidated. I'd been ineffectual in our last match, but Lyra had handily thrashed her with very similar techniques. "I've got plenty more where that came from." Maybe.
"I doubt that." She eyed me again, and for a second, my heart quailed. If she pressed, I would be truly desperate. I had no idea if I could win here, which was why I was trying to so hard to intimidate. I suppressed a relieved sigh as she stepped back. "But no, I don't need to fight now. I'll take my time. Gather reinforcements. Besides, I've already got what I wanted." She held up a palm-sized crystal, flatly dull. "The prototype, all to myself!" She threw her head back in mirth. "Oh, what a chance! But enough gloating." She grinned. "Flail and despair on your own time. I'd love to watch, but I've got work!" Just like that, she spun and dashed off. Within seconds, she vanished around a corner.
Gone.
Safe.
That stone had looked like… My hand went slowly, hesitantly, to my chest.
Nothing.
I gasped, shocked beyond belief. My shirt was unbuttoned; I ran a hand over my breastbone. There was a patch of stinging flayed skin, raw and bleeding, but that was it.
My gem was gone.
My gem was gone!
"YES!" I yelled, overcome by sudden euphoria. I threw my hands in the air in a sudden display of exuberance. I barely noticed the sign clatter to the ground. "It's over! I survived!" I clapped my hands to my face, careless of the grime the rain was washing loose. "I survived!"
I fell to my knees and for a minute, I just sat there. Crying, in the rain, at dawn.
For so long, that gem had been a symbol of my ordeal. I felt like I'd never be totally free as long as I dragged it around with me. It was a constant reminder, a continual weight, pulling me back into the patterns and habits I'd held to for so long. I'd dreamed this day would come; I'd known we were getting close. Suddenly, my exhaustion and aches were more than war-weariness; there was soul-burn piled on top. I thought back to that last rush of impressions. My bond with Twilight had broken, and I'd survived.
Twilight!
"Oh, Twilight." Suddenly somber, I forced myself to my feet and tried to take better stock of the situation. My last impression of her had been shock and worry. I had no idea if she'd had a rush of sensation, as well, but if so… honestly, even if not, there's a good chance we'd be considered dead.
Sure, it might have been for a good cause; Baltimare was safe by our actions. We'd actually managed to crimp one of Sombra's plans before it finished, though only by serving an enemy plot. We'd be heroes and all, but that wouldn't make it easier on our friends. I needed to find out where we were. How we got here. If this actually was Earth, hope against hope. And… maybe, just maybe, a way to get something, somepony, back to their homes. I glanced at Sunset, and my eyes drifted to Bitterbloom.
Bit! I dashed over to the small bug. Sunset, it seemed, was the only one of us changed by the translocation magic. I checked Bit’s pulse; it was weak, but alive. I ran hands over its shell, and winced at the bruises and lumps I discovered. I'd known it was hurt, but this was more than I'd guessed. I glanced at its eyes; the normal pearly sheen was gone. My aide was dangerously low on emotion.
I slipped a hand into my pack, feeling for the reserve. I found three vials; I'd given the rest to Onyx. Popping the top on each, I carefully poured them onto Bit's horn. The murky liquid was quickly absorbed. I waited a minute. Though Bit's pulse seemed stronger, there was no other response.
<"Damn damn dammit."> I patted my pockets, feeling for something, anything useful. I paused, and dug deep into my breast-pocket. My shaking hands withdrew a tiny vial, the sparkling contents crystal-blue. I'd carried it with me ever since receiving it. I hesitated for a second. Did I really need to do this? I glanced at Bit, suddenly struck by how dead it looked. It didn't have eyes to close, and its carapace obscured the rise and fall of its chest. With quick fingers, I unstopped the vial and tipped out a splash.
The reaction was immediate. Onyx had told me pure loyalty had much more energy than other emotions, but I hadn't really understood. As soon as the condensate touched Bit's horn, blue swirled thickly across its eyes. It shivered and gasped, and its disguise refreshed, a wave of dense green fur sweeping it. I breathed a sigh of relief as it finished transforming. I glanced at the vial; I still had some left. I stoppered it and tucked it back into my pocket.
"Sir?" It's voice was weak. "Did we make it?" It raised its head and carefully looked around.
"Yeah." I slumped to the cement in the rain, tension suddenly draining out of me. "Yeah, I think we did. Where we are, though… I have no idea. How to get back? Not a clue. So… yeah. But hey, at least we're alive."
"The others?"
"Sunset is with us. The others… hopefully escaped. Onyx is sneaky and Lyra is powerful; they have a chance, and reinforcements were inbound." I scooped Bit up and carried it to where Sunset lay. I checked again; she still seemed stable, just unconscious. I wished for shelter from the rain. I had no idea what to do for an unconscious human, so I made sure she could breathe and sat down. Bit curled up next to me. At least the rain was warm, or we'd all be shivering. I wiped my grimy face on my sodden sleeve and for a while we simply sat. Maybe we’d be safer elsewhere, but I didn't have energy for more.
The rain broke a few minutes later. Bit had curled into a tight ball, its green fur sodden. I rubbed my face one more time, and Sunset stirred.
"They're over here!"
"Huh?" I pulled my hands back, surprised as a familiar voice rang out. That sounded like…
"W-wait up, Pinkie!"
"Hurry, Fluttershy!"
What on Earth?
"Thank goodness!" An exuberant, pink-haired, pink-skinned, blue eyed human… or human-like person ran up, carrying a closed umbrella. "You're OK!"
"…Pinkie?" I rubbed my eyes. I pinched myself and looked around. Clearly, this was not Earth.
"Yup!" The apparition giggled, leaning her umbrella against the statue. "But you shouldn't know that, should you?" She grinned. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you? Will you be my friend?"
"What…how…"
"Oh! A pony!" A very cute gasp rang out, and another…pony-person appeared, this one a dead ringer for my quiet pegasus friend. The…yellow skinned, pink-haired girl swept Bit up in her arms. I caught the changeling's eyes, and shook my head ever so slightly, warning it to keep quiet. That ought to hold until I had a chance to understand the situation.
"Wes?" Sunset groaned, raised a hand to her head, and moved to sit up. "I feel funny."
"That's strange!" Pinkie knelt, gently patted her shoulder. "You feel fine to me!"
"Sorry, what?" Sunset gave this strange Pinkie a glance, and her eyes widened in shock. Her gaze swung to me; I gave a nervous grin. I had no idea what was going on here. Suddenly, copies of our friends appeared? Were they locals? If so, why the resemblance? Did they know us? What should I say? How would Sunset deal with her condition?
The last one was answered pretty quickly. She glanced down at herself and gave a muffled gasp before struggling to rise.
"Sunset, it's Ok." I tried to keep her steady with a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be fine." I looked deep into her eyes, trying to communicate a need for calm. If this world was anything like mine, more commotion was the last thing we wanted. She drew in a deep shuddering breath and visibly restrained herself. I nodded slightly, impressed; she was willing to follow my lead, even in this sort of situation. I resolved, once again, to do my best.
"I'm Wesley Kilmer, and this is my, uh, sister, Sunset Shimmer. And our… pony, Bitterbloom." Still sitting, I held out a hand, and Pinkie shook it enthusiastically. While I distracted her, Sunset carefully inspected the new body she found herself in. I saw her eyes flashing from herself, to me, to Fluttershy, to Pinkie, to Bit, to herself again. She visibly relaxed when she saw Bit.
"I'm Pinkie, and this is Fluttershy! Oh, you're hurt!" Pinkie leaned over and pointed to my arm, which was bleeding freely. I winced. Sunset didn't look too bad; she'd stayed out of the press as fire-support and her clothes were new, although damp. Bit's problems were mostly bruising and exhaustion. Its disguise masked both. As for me, though… I glanced down. I looked like Rambo had fought and eaten a Goth, with black-and-iron boots and gloves, my green denim pants and button-down shirt, and obvious wounds.
"Yeah." I shrugged the front of my shirt closed. Buttons were missing, but she didn't need to see the raw seeping mess on my chest. It hurt, but it wasn't deep enough to be really dangerous. I hoped.
"We need to get you help!" She whipped out a cellphone. I blinked, but whisked it away.
"Hey!"
"Sorry." I held it away from her, but didn't do anything else. "We can't go to a doctor." We had no money. No ID. The last thing we needed was to be tagged by any sort of official system. Authority could only mean trouble. I was hurt the worst, and I could doctor myself. Probably. I paused, searching for a believable story and coming up with nothing. "Um… we…we can't." I ended firmly, hoping if I insisted, we could dodge an explanation.
"Give me my phone back!" She fixed me with an angry stare, and I swallowed uncomfortably, suddenly realizing that this was, as far as I could tell, a human version of one of my good friends. I didn't want to face an angry Pinkie.
"Promise you won't call an ambulance."
"But you're hurt!" Her blue eyes were serious.
"Yeah, but we can't pay for one. It will only cause us trouble. Really!" As I realized what I'd just said, my mind spun. Money. Money was the first thing we would need. "Look, I'm OK." I buttoned as many buttons on my shirt as I could; it might stay closed. I heaved myself to my feet, and offered Sunset a hand. She looked hesitant, but offered her own. I leaned down, gripped her wrist, and hoisted her to her feet. She gasped and staggered, leaning against the base of the pedestal.
"She doesn't look OK." Pinkie stood, and gave her a serious stare.
"She has an inner-ear disorder. It affects her balance when it rains," I replied blandly. "She'll be OK if she leans on me." I proffered the phone. "Promise, and I'll give it back."
"Fine!" She huffed. "But we're still going to help you!"
"That, we will gladly accept." I breathed in a deep sigh. "And yes. If you want, I'll be your friend. Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." She blinked at that, but grinned hugely.
"Woohoo!" She pumped an arm in the air. "Now I know your nice! New friends, get! Ok, let's move you somewhere dry! Fluttershy, can you bring the pony?"
"Y-yes."
"Then we're off!" Pinkie grabbed my hand and started pulling. I threw Sunset's arm over my shoulder, and half-carrying her, half being dragged, we set off down the sidewalk.
"Wes."
"Yes?" I glanced up at Sunset's morose tone. I was kneeling on the floor, unlacing her new boots.
"Will we be Ok?"
I paused, sitting back on my heels, and taking a minute to meet her eyes.
"Yeah." I said firmly. I glanced around. Pinkie had taken us somewhere called Sugarcube Café. It was a small cream-colored corner shop, with candy-striped awnings. It lacked the flamboyance of the Ponyville version, but Pinkie had confidently unlocked the door and led us in, saying something about the Cakes not opening till noon on the weekend. I'd barely listened, instead focusing on steadying Sunset. Our host disappeared upstairs, and I'd set my adopted sister down at a nearby booth.
"We're in a new world. Cut off. No way back." She shook her head, slowly. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better? Because you've gone through this once?"
"We'll manage." I leaned forward, and carefully slid her boot off. She still hadn't gotten the hang of fingers, despite learning fast. Boots seemed to be the fashion here; I'd fit in well. I'd reluctantly left Bit with Fluttershy. After talking to, or rather at, the shy girl for a few minutes, I didn't worry about Bit’s welfare; she really was Fluttershy. Still, I didn't want my aide separated from us any longer than necessary.
"Sunset…" I paused, and started unlacing her other boot. I got halfway down before I realized what I was trying to ask. "Something else bothering you?"
"Maybe." I looked up. She shivered, and rubbed her arms. "Yeah, OK." She glanced around, aimlessly, nervously. "Wes… my magic's gone."
"Oh." I frowned. I hadn't considered that, but it wasn’t surprising. "That…wait a minute." I slid her other boot off, and sat back, thinking. She glanced down, and her eyes widened slightly.
"Wes…" She gave a strangled gasp.
"Huh?" I looked up.
"Stop staring at my socks!" She angrily kicked out. I leaned back, letting the blow swish past.
"Woah!" I waved my hands. "Hold still, I'll just-"
"No!" She curled her legs up under her. "No you don't!"
"Oh, um." I stopped. "I'll just, uh…" I moved to sit across from her in the booth. "Sorry. I didn't… is that a, a pony thing?"
"Mmm." She blushed slightly, looking down, and I tried not to grin. I'd obviously embarrassed her; laughing now would not help, although her reaction was silly and cute.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought." I reached back and pulled out my wand, setting it on the table between us. Ornate silver wire, wrapped around layers of fine orange silk, glimmered softly. The shape of the horn showed subtly.
She started at the clink, before glancing at it with wide eyes. Her gaze slowly rose to meet mine.
"Um…" Her voice was hesitant. I waved it towards her. "Really? Are you sure?" I nodded. She picked it up warily.
"Anything?" I asked. She held it gently and inspected it carefully.
"I…" She gulped. "I'm afraid to try. What if…" Her voice trailed off.
"Our magic is extremely similar. It still works for me." I frowned. "Which is a little odd, honestly."
"Hmm?" She shot me a sharp glance. "Why?"
"Um." I stopped, unsure. Both of us were tired and hurt. We needed to rest and recuperate; telling her about my missing gem, and who'd taken it, might just add to her stress. "Later." I waved it off.
"…alright." She nodded slowly, accepting. "But don't forget."
"Cross my heart." I grinned.
"Oh, that looks neat!" Pinkie popped her head in, and her eyes fixed on the wand. "What is it?"
"A keepsake," Sunset said. "From our brother."
I blinked at that. Splinter… was my brother? I nodded slowly. Right. Splinter was my brother. I thought of the fights we'd been through. The confidence of working with him or the enthralling rush of adrenaline facing against him. He'd always been my brother. How had I not realized that?
"Oh." Pinkie's smile faltered slightly, as if she knew, but resurged. "Well, it's pretty! Sunset, I drew a bath, and laid out fresh clothes for you! Why don't you clean up, and I'll find some first-aid supplies for Wesley?"
"Sure." She handed the wand back; I took it slowly. She confidently rose to her feet and stepped unsteadily towards the stairs, before pausing uncertainly. I nearly got up to help, but she shot me a glare and continued.
"You're doing better!" Pinkie called encouragingly, right before a loud thump sounded from the stairwell. We both winced.
"I'm all right!" She called.
"So!" Pinkie said brightly. "I have a first-aid kit!" She dashed to the back of the shop and slipped behind the counter.
“Good.” I slipped my pack off. It was considerably lighter. I'd cut it down several times, to make it easier to run and fight, but I'd kept the essentials. I fished through, coming up with my own kit. I frowned as I cracked it open; I'd used a lot on Onyx. "If you have gauze and tape, that should be enough."
"But - " Pinkie re-appeared, suddenly shockingly close. I flinched; I still couldn't track her movement. " - some of those cuts look bad!" She pointed to the rip in my sleeve. "That one might need stitches!"
"Do you have sutures?" I asked, calmly.
"No, but - "
"Could you sew me?"
"Um…" She paused at that.
"Look, Pinkie, I'm grateful for your help." I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I was exhausted, and feeling slightly woozy and feverish. "Really, more grateful than you might guess. But we can't go to the hospital, and unless Rarity - " I stopped, mouth snapping shut and eyes going wide as I realized what I'd just said.
"Yeeeees?" Pinkie leaned in close, eyes sparkling. "Go on, go on!"
"Um…" I paused. I'd really stuck my foot in it this time. "I, I mean - "
"Only, I don't think you should know Rarity!" She smiled sweetly. "I'm sure she would have mentioned being on a first name basis with a college age guy." She winked.
"I don't - " I stopped, backpedaling. Suddenly, I remembered the first thing I'd heard her say. I'd been looking at this the wrong way the whole time. "Pinkie, how’d you know we were there?"
"Hmmm?" She gave me a sly smirk.
"When you showed up, you said 'They're over here!' and called to Fluttershy. Did you know we were coming?"
"Now, how would I know that?" She grinned. "It's almost as mysterious as you knowing the name of my friend Rarity. Why, it's almost like you're from an alternate universe, where everyone's a pony and has magic powers! And you disappeared in the night, and they went looking for you! But you'd vanished from the world completely, so all they could do was finish the job you'd started, collect your friends, and hope you were OK!"
"You know? What about Lyra and Onyx?" I grabbed her arm, voice harsh.
"Ow!" She winced and I let go, suddenly contrite. I hadn't meant to hurt her. "Just a hunch!" she exclaimed, instantly cheering. She winked one blue eye and tapped her temple.
"…no." I shook my head, slowly.
"Hmm?"
"No, that's not enough." I fixed her with a long stare. "If this was Equestria, I'd maybe accept that. But you're not a pony. Hunches aren't that specific. Please." I clasped my hands, begging her. "Tell me! What do you know? How can you… how can you do that? Can you help us get home?"
"Not content?" She smiled again, but there was a twinge of sorrow. "Can't you call it Pinkie being Pinkie?"
"Uh." I stopped. She didn't seem to be refusing, but… "Pinkie…" I stopped, checking her hair. It retained its spring. Encouraged, I forged slowly ahead. "Pinkie, I really, really would like to know. I don't mean to hurt you, but…" I dropped my head into my hands, and surrendered. "I'm in another new world. I've got two friends relying on me. I'm the best prepared, the best equipped to do something. Glisten… I don't know what she’s up to, but it's nothing good. I need to stop her, and get us back. Please, if you can help me, tell me what you know!"
"I…" Pinkie gave a slow shake of her head, smiling sweetly and sadly. "I can't help. Really, it was a hunch." She held up a finger as I drew a breath. "Or something like that. Listen." She set her chin on her palm, and leaned on the table. "When I was little, I didn't smile much. My family lived on a farm."
I nodded slowly. I had no idea how similar these people were to their pony counterparts, but I'd heard the story.
"It didn't grow anything well except rocks, but we persevered and survived. One way or another, we took each day at a time and conquered it. It wasn't an easy life. It was hard. It was boring. We never had much. But one day, I realized it wasn't so bad." She gave me a glance. "One day, I realized the only thing keeping me from smiling was myself. I had a family that loved me. I had food, and a soft bed. Even the work was fulfilling, despite being hard. So I stopped." She gave me a big grin. "I stopped frowning. I stopped being bitter and sad. I started smiling, and I never looked back."
I nodded slowly.
"After that, I had a dream." Her grin faded, and her smile looked serious. "I saw everything. Really everything! Not just everything that is, but everything that was, everything that could be. Every possibility, ever, spreading and branching through space, like a giant shining tree."
"Yggdrasil," I said softly.
"What?"
"Huh?" I started, losing my thought. "Sorry, go on."
"I saw everything. And you know what?" Her blue eyes were distant, glowing with remembered wonder. "It was good. There was so much joy and happiness out there, that not even the darkness could destroy. But here and there, I saw it. People fighting, people killing. Sadness. Destruction. Death. All because people chose it, because they weren't strong enough to stop themselves or others. It hurt me, Wes, seeing it." She gave a small laugh. "I'm so small, and all I can do is smile. Right there and then, I promised myself I would never stop, no matter how hard it got. Because even if I was small, even a small smile helps." She trailed off.
"Then, as it got darker, I saw myself in the branches. A thousand thousand Pinkies, with a thousand thousand smiles. They looked different, but the smile was the same. They saw me, too, and I realized maybe I wasn't so small. Maybe I wasn't so alone." Her smile grew a bit bigger. "So we all smiled together, facing down the dark, though it howled and screamed. It's hard, Wes. I've seen things you wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. C-beams glittering in the dark by the Tannhauser Gate - "
"Pinkie…" Suddenly jarred out of a speculative mood, I groaned. "Are you seriously quoting - " I cut off as she laid a soft finger on my lips, and smiled impishly. Her hair tickled my ear as she leaned in close.
"Wes," she whispered. "I'm always serious." I blinked slowly. "Anyways." She leaned back. "Ever since, I've remembered bits. Sometimes I think I can almost still see it." She glanced upwards. "Hanging in the vasty dark, near enough to touch, all crystal and blazing life. Sometimes, I see things that might be. Like three new friends appearing out of thin air in front of my school, hurt and lost. And sometimes, I can try to help." She smiled sadly. "But it's just a hunch. Nothing reliable."
"Oh." I rubbed my eyes. "Is… um, can you talk to…" I stopped, unsure of what I was even asking. "Can you talk to other Pinkies?"
"No, silly!" She gave a sudden trill of laugher, and the somber mood shattered. "It's just a hunch! Even though they're usually right, they're not the sort of thing you should take so seriously! Follow your heart, is all. But maybe, if it wasn't just a dream, and I'm not as silly as everyone believes - " she winked broadly " - maybe another Pinkie out there will have a hunch that you're OK. Maybe a Pinkie who's shaped like a pony, and can tell her friends, who might believe in things like magic and Pinkie being Pinkie." She grinned. "So don't mope too much, alright? You're my friend now, so at least try smiling!" She threw her arms around me in a bear hug. I stiffened, but slowly relaxed as she showed no sign of releasing.
"Thanks, Pinkie." I hesitantly hugged her back, careless of my damp and grime.
"You're welcome," she mumbled, smiling against my shoulder.
And things suddenly didn’t seem quite so dark.
Stats
Page generated in 0.024 seconds
Total duration
901 users online
295,707 hits today, 2,591,549 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Hmm, this did not pop up on my favorites. It must be a conspiracy!
4476796 That... is odd. It's not my conspiracy; I did everything like I normally do.
Anyone else notice this?
4476825 LIES! I know you're out to get me!
4476826 Ah! Discovered!
At least he doesn't know about the cupcakes. Right precious? Precious?
4476825 didn't go into mine either..... hmmmmmm
...I learned something new today. And it turns out that this show is even more brilliant than I thought.
How exactly did he figure that out? The fact that Pinkie was there? How does he know that there aren't people who are oddly similar to Pinkie and Fluttershy somewhere on Earth? Was it the fact that these humans don't look quite like real humans, as you kind of alluded to? If so, why hasn't anyone mentioned how different he looks?
4477477 Yes, the fact that there are veritable facsimiles of his friends was enough to cue him in. Natural pink hair; don't think about it too much! Though I try for a higher standard, this story is not always super-rigorous.
His looks are different, but not enough out of the norm for immediate comment; diamond dogs and such are canonically humanized in the Equestria Girls universe, so there's an array of bimorphs, although the variety is less than Equus. He's just a beady-eyed person, here. Maybe something like Cranky Doodle.
I'm glad someone found my note enlightening. The show has some surprisingly subtle writers.
4476991 Hum, hum. If this happens again tomorrow, please comment. Thanks for letting me know.
4477633
Oh, Right. I suppose all of that Pink probably would give it away.
And I hadn't realized until now just how much the human version of Cranky looks like a normal person. Does that mean that all these humans who show up in Equestria should be turning into donkeys instead of ponies?
4477758 Heh, that's an interesting idea. Some trolls should start a group, and spam all the HIE's where the humans get ponified. :D
Personally, I think an actual world wouldn't quite look like the show, even; the animation obviously skews certain bits, especially faces, and the colors are too... toned. Although I did consider doing a technobabble explanation for that, where the colors look different because a changed speed of light might blueshift everything to the human eye, making colors brighter and cooler. I almost threw it in when Wes was thinking about relativity, but didn't care enough.
Yes, I overthink everything. :P
Pinkie pie daughter of the dragon tree.
54# oooo
This is possibly the weirdest, and yet most beautiful, description of why Pinkie is Pinkie I have ever read. It is now my headcanon.
Sonofa... I was planning a fic on just that moment but you described it so much better than I ever could! You... Gah! Well done.
translocated?
5222255 No... I'm using this as a noun for the phenomena, not the present tense of a verb.
PINKIE MET JESUS! OH GOD! (Hehe, see what I did there?
)
Awwwwwwwww
Huh. Well, this should be interesting. If you cover it later, then I guess I'll find out, but why was he not concerned his gem being removed could have hurt or killed Twilight? Or did I miss something that would cause him not to consider that?
"didn't"
And now the bad guys have a piece of Twi's soul...
sooo..make sure the Gitter Pone dies... Painfully! 