Pinkie was in a part of the marsh where the monsters didn't wander. She had organized a party for the frogs of the marsh, and one thing a party did not need, was monsters. We don't need any party crashers! Pinkie thought to herself. Her mane was slightly deflated, but she wore a convincing smile for her guests. The party wasn't what anypony would call a resounding success, only a small number of frogs were in attendance, but it was enough for Pinkie, maybe, just a little. She gathered what she thought constituted as frog food and party fun for her guests, and she even dressed several of the frogs with a small top-hat and cane.
“Come now Pinkie,” Discord began as he appeared before her, “do you really think you should be partying around with a couple of handsomely dressed frogs?” Pinkie acknowledged him, but he wasn't actually there. He was a figment of her imagination. Pinkie pulled out a piece of paper,and checked a box written on it as she turned to the spirit of chaos.
“I'll have you know," she began as she raised an eyebrow at him, "'pretend Discord', that these frogs are simply overjoyed~! Just look at the smiles on their faces!”
“Frogs don't smile, you bouncing ball of cotton candy,” he pointed out, and Pinkie suddenly found a strong urge to taste her tail, but resisted it.
“Errr mot vreely vere!” Or maybe she didn't. It did not taste like cotton candy. She spat out her tail and repeated herself, “You're not really here! If you were, it would have tasted juuust like it~!” she pouted. She's been seeing Discord since that rodent of unusual size left her yesterday, and Discord was boring when he couldn't make things happen.
“Oh, am I not? Who's to say I didn't add a little something of myself when you were accidentally sent you over?” He said, giving her a big grin. He snapped his fingers and the frogs started dancing.
And they're singing! Pinkie took the scene in with glee, then shook her head. Nope, the frogs were still laying there, being normal frogs, wearing top-hats. Pinkie checked another box on her list as she considered his words. Strange things happening around Pinkie was never out of the norm, to the pink mare anyway, but seeing things that were not there was something knew, and she didn't like it.
“Did you~?” She asked, putting on her serious face.
“I'm afraid the only answer you'll believe is 'maybe'. So instead, I'll say yes!” He cackled. All the frogs gained his goatee and horns, and matching eyes as they all said in unison, “Shouldn't you be looking for Spike and Applejack? After all, you're stuck here because sparkle-butt tried to send that tin-can and adorable ball of magic back to this world.”
“It's Twilight~” she almost sang out, “Not sparkle-butt! If you're going to be some part of my imagination, you can at least get our friend's names right!” Adding her third, and fourth check, she worked to refill the party treats. She then let out a surprised gasp. Oh dear! We're all out of flies!
“I suppose you've got a point," Discord replied as he nodded, his head rolling off in the process. "Maybe I wouldn't call my new friends mean names, or maybe I would. Who knows? You certainly don't know, that's for sure.” He scooped his head back up and nodded, as if confirming something to himself. “So, why exactly aren't you looking for our friends?” He said as the party, and the frogs disappeared, leaving the pink mare alone in the marsh with her imagination. Her mane deflated more as she believed the party hadn't been real in the first place, but her mane still had some puff to it.
“This place is different, you know that ghosty-cord. I wander too far from here and the scary beasties and ghosties come out. Laughing at them doesn't scare them away." She then let out a slightly sad sigh. "And now this silly pink pony is seeing somepony who isn't there.”
By herself, the outside was dangerous, it was dangerous in the marsh too, but there were safe spots. Quina's fork and her party cannon was all she had to defend herself. It sufficed in the marsh, for a little bit, but not outside. Wait, who's Quina? She briefly wondered, Eh, must not be important~ She then added a fifth check mark to her checklist. Suddenly a miniature Discord appeared on her check list, looking over it.
“Let's see,” he said, “all that's left is to 'Mention Unified Fantasy'.” He then shook his head as he turned to her. “Honestly Pinkie, this is the fifth list you've made since yesterday, at least the party list made some sad amount of sense.” Pinkie checked off the last item, then tossed the list aside.
Ever since the mist started seeping out of the Everfree, she's been working non-stop to keep everypony happy. She was exhausted when Applejack and Spike disappeared, and she hasn't been able to sleep straight since arriving in this world. Her fatigue was clearly getting the better of her.
I should have gone with Freya, at least I wouldn't be stuck in the stinky, smelly, party-less, smile-less, daisy-less marsh!
“And yet you stayed put, what kind of party pony stays put when there's friends that need a smile on their faces?" Discord scoffed a he looked her in the eyes. "One that doesn't want to risk her life to do it, that's who!” He delightfully added, making her mane lose the rest of her fluff.
She was afraid, and that fear made her nothing better then a scaredy pony. What her friends needed, however, was not a scaredy pony. What was needed right now was the resolve to push through, beyond the monsters and the ghosties. Pinkamena. Yes, that was it, the part of Pinkie Pie that was not a party pony. Pinkamena could do it. She had the resolve to do it. She could take on what Pinkie could not.
She looked over the marsh, fed up with the location. She wanted to be with her friends, she wanted to make them smile. Wishing to to just that, Pinkie placed all that made her a party pony aside in a place in her heart, to keep it safe while Pinkamena tackled the beasties and misties. With her mane and tail straight and lifeless, Pinkamena opened her eyes, and looked around, wondering what she should do.
“How about getting on your hooves, my little pony,” Discord suggested, “And do something caa-razy!” He recommended, using Pinkie's voice to deliver the final word.
“You're right,” she said, being filled with a new sense of resolve, “sitting here all pouty pony is doing nopony any good! Monsters wanna fight me, huh? Won't they be surprised when I fight them!” With that proclamation, Pinkamena got on her hooves and moved to leave the marsh.
The mist does strange things to the mind, and she had been in it for too long. “Not long enough if you ask me!” She said aggressively, to nopony in particular. If this place is going to be scary unsafe, then I'll just be scary unsafe until it wants to party with me instead! Grabbing the oversized fork with her tail, she marched into the marsh. Leaving the frogs and party, that actually had been real, behind her. Appraising the fork, it was almost as long as a pony, its head big enough to be a shovel. Honestly, it better resembled a dragon sized spork more than a fork.
It wasn't long before she, Pinkamena, had encountered her first monster. It was a pony-sized toad with a penchant for summoning smothering water. She didn't give it a chance, she whipped out her party cannon, slammed the fork into it and fired! The frog was lanced by the fork, confetti fell on it as it dispersed into mist, leaving a small pile of coins where it once stood. She let out a sinister grin, her brow furrowing at her victory.
Clearly, that's how she should have been fighting them, as apposed to using the weapons on their own. Getting the fork back, she continued through the marsh, singing a tune about all the monsters being misties. The next frog she came across only got nicked by her attack. It's accuracy could use some work! She thought as Discord was laughing at the terrible attack. The frog, in its confusion, tried attacking Discord, its spell going through the apparition. Pinkamena gave Discord a sidelong glance, You really sure I'm just imagining you? Discord shrugged as the pink mare got the fork and fired another shot off, slaying the frog.
Continuing through the marsh, she was soon attacked by water salamanders! These monsters were also the size of a pony, and typically came in packs of two or three. This was a pack of three. One of them spat a jet of water at her, knocking her back, slamming her into the ground in pain.
“You call that a splash?” She coughed out as she got on her hooves, “This is a splash!” She pulled out the fork from her cannon and let her weapon take the next stream of water the salamanders shot at her. Her cannon took it in, and she fired it back, washing all three in confetti and water.
“The fun's just getting started!” She cheered viciously, two of the salamanders were confused, leaving the last with its senses intact. Thinking that one of their own had sprayed them, they ended up attacking each other. While they were distracted, she took out the third one with her fork cannon. One of the confused ones caught her with its tail, knocking Pinkamena back. Reaching back for her cannon, she gathered her fortitude and sent loose another stream of water on the two monsters, turning them to mist.
“Ah-ha~!” Discord chimed, “So brutal, if only your friends could see you now!” She hesitated as she looked to him, a little hurt.
“You're not being a funny pony you snarky warky larky.” Pinkie said, her hair gaining some fluff. She got the fork and worked it back into the cannon. To no pony in particular, she said, “Somepony might think I'm coocoo. It's just me talking to Discord, nothing coocoo about it.” Discord, never missing a beat, started making the noises of a coocoo clock, deflating her hair, and making Pinkamena roll her eyes.
Wandering through the swamp, she found herself lost. Wait, which way did I need to go? Her mental question was answered by a giant arrow that appeared in the air near her that said 'not that way', which was the direction she came from. Well, besides that way, then arrows appeared that pointed in every direction, including the sky and the ground. Not helping~. Considering her options for only an instant, Pinkie grabbed her fork and tossed it up, and went in the direction the head pointed when it landed.
“A mare after my own heart!” Discord sniffled out, almost crying at her choosing randomly. This exchange between the pink mare and her psyche went on for almost an hour. She fought several monsters during that time, getting more and more battered with each fight. Some monsters she slew left a healing item behind as they perished, which she never questioned, and made quick use of, as well as leaving behind the strange currency. But it happened too infrequently, it was never enough to fully restore the mare.
After finishing another fight against some more salamanders, she slumped down, battle worn and drained, and still in the marsh. She looked around, even Pinkamena was starting to worry, another poor fight, and it would be her last.
“Oh dear,” Discord started as he looked over her, “you're not looking too good, your health is in the yellow,” he said with some genuine concern. In the yellow? She thought. “Another fight like that last one and it's game over, my little pony.” At this point, Pinkamena was too tired to care. “You better care, if you perish here, your friends will never smile again.” Her mane briefly poofed as she stared at him, wide-eyed. Never again! That's like, never ever!
Pinkamena got on her hooves, hoping- No, determined to get out of this marsh. Slogging through, she finally found her way out, the marsh and wet ground giving way to green hills. Taking a few steps out, her ears fell as she heard the sound of a monster charging towards her.
It attacked her before she could defend herself, knocking her to her side, hitting the ground hard. Her mind started becoming cloudy as darkness began to overtake her. Her eyes lingered on Discord, who stood over her, looking sad, as if he was about to cry. Please, not that. Please, smile for me. She weakly thought through the fog. She didn't want the last thing she saw to be his sad expression.
She refused to let her last image be a sad one.
Pinkamena refused. Pinkie Pie refused. Determination pored through her, pushing the growing darkness back. Get up Pinkie, we have to make everypony smile, no time for being lazy! Feeling emotion and power surge through her, she struggled, and got on her hooves. Her mane tingled as the fog over her mind melted away, and Discord watched in amazement as she glowed.
Her coat shimmered white, her mane and tail taking on a golden hue, regaining their fluff as she entered Trance. Pink and gold lightning arced from her as she looked to the frog. Facing the frog, ethereal silver wings spread from her sides, coating her in protective and regenerative magic. The frog blinked at her, taking a step back.
“Surprise!~” She sang out, getting her cannon and shooting the frog with a water balloon bigger than the cannon itself. The balloon flew at the frog with such speed that the frog became mist from the impact alone. Then the balloon popped, sending water exploding every which way, causing the mist in the area to disperse. The white mare giggled at the turn of events.
“Well, that sure was a surprise!” Discord said with a smile, mirrored by Surprise. As the mist started to fill in the void caused by the water balloon, the energy crackling from her died down, and her colors returned to her pink palette. “Ah, over already, oh well~” he said with disappointment. The magic her Trance had wrapped her in was starting to wear off, but she felt completed healed from the restorative spell the Trance had given her. “You're looking better than ever!" He proclaimed with a smile, then bent low, raising an eyebrow to her. "Now, how about heading to someplace full of people that could use some smiles?” Pinkie didn't hesitate, and gave him a happy nod.
“Okey Dokey Lokey! Let's go make someponies smile~!” She replied, feeling better than she had been for the last few weeks. As she started to move from the swamp, her tail twitched, Something's falling!? Looking up, she ducked down, looking for whatever was fall-
Freya landed in front of Pinkie Pie, making her gasp and falling on her back, legs pointed at the sky. Seeing Freya's look of concern was no good, she needed to smile!
“Hey Freya, looking as red as ever, has anypony told you that you have a tail?” She stated as she sprang onto her hooves, circling Freya. Her last time talking to the rodent ended without a smile, she was a stubborn one, but so was Pinkie. Freya shook her head as she let out a sigh.
“Glad to see you're still alright,” she weakly admitted, “I met someone that wants to see you,” she added as she turned to where she came from, “Over here!” She shouted, and shortly afterwards Pinkie was surprised to see an orange mare gallop out of the mist to them.
The mare had a sword sheathed to her side, her chest and forward legs were covered in heavy looking armor, she had some leather saddlebags, and she wore a cowgirl hat. Pinkie hopped over to the orange mare with startling speed, crashing right into her, toppling the fortified mare and standing over her.
“APPLEJACK! I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, soooo~ happy to see you!” She sang out, her heart singing so loud that it ached. “Are you okay? Are you fine? Have you been getting your doctor's recommended amount of smiles!? I say you haven't! You don't even have a doctor, but that's okay because I'm a certified funny doctor pony, see my badge!” She quickly exhaled, even bringing out a badge that proved her credentials. Applejack shook her head as she gave Pinkie a warm smile.
“Boy, am I right glad to see yer face,” Applejack said as she got up from under Pinkie. The two wrapped each other in a warm hug, and Pinkie knew that there were still many smiles for her to give in the future, regardless of how sad, dark and lonely things got.
“Not to break up the flow of this touching moment,” Discord said, seen only by the pink mare, “but there are mist bags coming this way,” he pointed out, literally, with a neon sign reading 'free cathartic derailment'. A group of salamanders came to harass the three, Pinkie's mane immediately went limp as she got her cannon, switching into battle mode.
“Ah, Pinkie?” Applejack asked with concern.
“Not now AJ, we got misties to poof, and they ain't gonna poof themselves!” Pinkamena said as she brought her cannon to bear, taking out one of them with a lucky shot. Applejack nodded, and was quick to buck one away, never to be seen again. Freya had jumped out of sight, and as the pink mare was rearming her cannon, her tail twitched as Freya fell from the sky, spearing the last salamander, slaying it.
“Wow, did you see that!?” Pinkie said, her hair returning to normal, “I was like, Kaboom! And AJ was like Yee-Haw! And Freya was like; Jump! Zip! Bam!” She stood before Applejack, being over expressive with her hooves. “It. Was. Amazing~~! Those misties sure chose the wrong girlies to ghosty!” She said with her usual enthusiasm, Applejack shook her head, clearly thinking that Pinkie was as crazy as ever, and smiled at her. Pinkie Pie returned that smile. She was in a strange world, far removed from most of her friends, but now she wasn't alone anymore, making her smile shine true.
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Moogle Notes:
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'Howdy Equestrian, Mois the moogle here with more tid-bits about Gaia!'
'Pinkie Pie was the third, and last Equestrian to be transferred between the two worlds, Quina of Qu's Marsh was sent to Equestria when Pinkie came to Gaia.'
'Qu's Marsh is one of many marshes on Gaia, and they are typically homes for the Qu, a race of food enthusiasts that love to eat frogs.'
'Pinkie has a form of magic called Blue magic, which allows her to use abilities monsters of the mist use. In order for her to learn these abilities, she needs to be hit by them.'
'Her trance is very party friendly, it casts Mighty Guard and Regen on the party, making them difficult to injure, while their injuries recover! Kupo~'
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Pinkie Pie
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Items Equipped: *New Item Acquired*
*Fork Cannon: High Tide, Auto-Confuse(mastered)
Shard of Chaos: Pink-a-mena(mastered)
Lvl up! Lvl-9 HP 349/349 MP 14/56
AP 7/18
*Auto-Confuse (5) - Targets of your abilities and attacks have a chance to become confused.
High Tide (8) - Allows you to Trance faster.
*Pink-a-mena (6) - 'You're not quite right in the head at the moment...'
Abilities:
Blue Magic:
Aqua Cannon 14 MP: Deals Water damage to all foes.
??????:
Trance: Automatically casts Mighty Guard and Regen on the party. Blue Magic abilities become more potent.