//------------------------------//
// Little Red Riding Bloom 
// Story: Once Upon a Pinkie... 
// by Teyeson Bee 
//------------------------------//

	...sitting at the edge of a humungous forest, there sat a quaint little cottage. And living in that cottage, was a quirky, earth pony filly by the name of Little Red Riding Bloom, or Lil' Red for short. She was a rambunctious filly with a flaming red mane and a big pink bow. She lived with her sister, Applejack, at the edge of the forest. Her only other form of family was within her grandmother, Granny Smith, who lived on the other side of the forest. Pretty bad setting choice if you ask me. Anyway, Lil' Red was always looking for adventure, and never being able to leave the backyard of the cottage wasn't helping much. She had always hoped that one day, she would get her chance to find that sense of adventure.

One particular day, Lil' Red was playing in the backyard, pretending to be some flying, sword-fighting character who fought pirates and never wanted to grow up, or something like that, when her sister called for her.

"Lil' Red! Ah have a job for you!"

Lil' Red sighed. The jobs that she normally got from her sister included taking out the trash or sweeping the floor. "Kids' stuff," she thought as she trotted into the house. Her sister was in the kitchen, putting several pies into a big, picnic basket. "I have something I need ya to do. I need ya to run these apple pies over to Granny Smith's cottage. She's not feelin' well, and asked if I could make some." Applejack was drowned out, however, as the mention of going to Granny Smith's cottage, across the forest, was enough for Lil' Red to hear to get her excited. She got even more excited when she heard her sister say, "I would make the trip myself, but I've got some errands to run in town, so I'm trustin' you to do this yerself."

That was all she needed to hear. A feeling of adventure started to build within Lil' Red. She had been through the forest before, but only with her sister. The fact that she was about to go through by herself was getting her all excited. "Do ya mean I get to go to Granny's...alone?" she asked with a big smile.

"That's right sis," Applejack replied as she handed the basket to Lil' Red. "I want you to remember; stay on the path, no going off to play your little games, no talking to strangers-"

"Ah know Applejack," Lil' Red sighed. "Ah'm not a baby! Ah've been through the forest before!"

"Alright," Applejack said, "And also keep a close eye out for 'it'."

Lil' Red knew exactly what she was talking about. Within the forest, there were many different creatures, both strange and dangerous. But none of them compared to the strangest and most dangerous as the Big Bad Timberwolf! A creature that resembled a regular wolf, but not only was bigger and meaner, but also was entirely made up of a magical wood, that mended itself when it fell apart. Everypony around the area knew the dangers that awaited anypony who dared try to venture into the Big Bad Timberwolf's territory. Though she never saw it, Lil' Red knew all the stories from the villagers. 

"Aw who's afraid of the Big Bad Timberwolf?" Lil' Red scoffed. "I ain't afraid of no timberwolf!"

"I wouldn' say THAT out loud in the woods," Applejack said. "Ya wouldn't want the Big Bad Timberwolf to hear you! Now go on and git! Ah want ya back before sundown!"

Lil' Red gave a "got it" salute and ventured out the door and down the path that led to the woods, the basket dangling from her mouth. As she entered the woods, Lil' Red made sure not to look anywhere else except the front of the path, as to not lose her way. She heard the wind whistling through the leaves and an occasional owl that sat on a branch as she journeyed on, and she would've been lying if she said that she wasn't the least bit nervous. The forest had a habit of bringing out a little fear in everypony who dared to venture through it. She tried not to focus on the nerve-rattling scenery around her as she started to hum an old tune that her mother sang to her when she was just a baby to stop her from crying. It always made Lil' Red feel better. It made her feel like she wasn't alone.

Little did she know that she WASN'T alone! For as she trotted down the path, she did not notice a pair of big, round, hungry eyes staring at her through some bushes. The creature made a low growl, but was unheard by Lil' Red. 

"What a lovely little filly," the beast growled as she watched Lil' Red trot on. From the sound of the voice, it was clear that the creature was a female. "And...<sniff sniff>...mmmm. Something smells awfully good. It must be coming from that lovely looking basket. Smells like...apple pies." 

As Lil' Red left the area, the creature came out of the bushes. It was quite big, the size of a full-grown stallion and twice as long. Its body was completely composed of twigs and sticks, from its snout to its tail. Its teeth were sharp, its breath was foul, its eyes were glowing. But the weirdest part of all was that the sticks making the creature were all...pink. It was the Big Bad Timberwolf! Or at least...it was thought to be. 

"It's been so long since I've eaten a good apple pie," the Timberwolf said to herself. "I'm sure that little filly won't be missing one or two. Time to execute my never-failing plan A!" And with that, the Big Bad Timberwolf sped off into the forest to set up its trap.



	

It didn't take long for the Timberwolf to set up its special, never-fail trap. It was quite simple; the Timberwolf was dangling by a rope tied around her midsection and the other end wrapping around a branch and stretching down across the path to make a tripwire. When Lil' Red would come down the path, she would trip the rope, making the Timberwolf fall on her unexpectedly, allowing the Timberwolf to make off with the basket. "Absolute genius!" the Timberwolf said it herself as she dangled from a large tree, "That little filly will never suspect a thing." Just then, the sound of clopping hooves was heard getting closer. The Timberwolf assumed the best pouncing position as she watched Lil' Red come trotting around the corner. As she trotted closer to the tripwire, the Timberwolf watched with both hunger and anticipation. She got closer and closer and closer and...completely missed the rope as she continued on her way, not suspecting a thing. The Timberwolf looked from Lil' Red to the rope, all with a puzzled look on her face.

"Y'know, in hindsight, it probably would've been easier just to pounce from the branch," The Timberwolf mumbled. "Looks like I'll have to try something else. Now...how do I get down from here? Duh! You have teeth silly-billy!" The Timberwolf happily reached around to snap the rope with her teeth, forgetting that she was still dangling in the air. The Timberwolf dropped with a THUD as she face-planted into the dirt below.

"Theet coodve gern bertter (Translation: That could've gone better)," the Timberwolf grumbled, her face still in the dirt. She got up and shook the dirt off as she watched Lil' Red continue down the path. "This could be more difficult than I thought," the Timberwolf thought, "Looks like I'll have to go to...plan B!" 

Unfortunately, plan B didn't go quite as well as hoped...and neither did plans C, D, E, or F. It would be too long to explain what specifically went wrong, but it will be said that each plan involved either a self-projectile slingshot, tar on the trail, or a tripwire connected to a cardboard box. It can probably be guessed where all of these things went wrong, but to save on time, we'll just skip ahead to plan G. THAT involved painting a boulder to look like a tunnel, put it in the middle of the path, trick Lil' Red to walking into it, and having a rock fall on her, knocking her out. As the Timberwolf finished painting the tunnel, she soon noticed that Lil' Red was only a few yards behind. The Timberwolf quickly ran into the bushes to watch the trap take place. "A little old school," she thought to herself, "but this plan will work for sure! I saw it in a cartoon once!" She ducked down as Lil' Red came trotting down the path and toward the giant boulder. She watched with anticipation as Lil' Red came closer to the boulder. Closer, and closer, and closer, and watched her trot on through the tunnel...wait what? The Timberwolf watched with a mixture of shock and utter confusion as Lil' Red just TROTTED through the painted tunnel.

After Lil' Red was through, the Timberwolf slowly trotted up to the painting and tapped it lightly. Her hoof didn't go through. She looked around confused, trying to think of what just happened.

".........AGH!" the Timberwolf suddenly grunted with frustration. "I forgot the ending in the cartoon! This gag NEVER works!" She then started to pound her head against the boulder in frustration grunting, "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Unfortunately for her, the vibration of her head hitting against the boulder released the rock on top and it plummeted toward the Timberwolf, hitting her on the head, and causing a huge lump to appear, as well as a few circling birds.

"Aren't the fireworks lovely tonight?" the Timberwolf mumbled, dazed from the rock. She soon shook herself back into reality before shooing the birds away and pushing the lump back into her pink, sticky (Get it? Sticky. HA!) head. "Alright," she told herself more seriously than before, "I didn't want to have to do this, but she leaves me NO choice! It's time to initiate plane H! 

TALK TO HER!"





As Lil' Red trotted closer to Granny Smith's cottage, appearing more brave than when she began, she suddenly thought to herself, "Why do I have the sudden urge to go 'meep meep' and run away in a puff of dust?" She shrugged off the feeling and continued on her way. Seeing the familiar scenery gave her a sense of relief, as she knew that her granny's cottage was close at hoof. As she passed through a clearing filled with multiple-colored flowers, she was suddenly stopped by the sound of growling coming from behind her. Chills instantly ran up her spine as Lil' Red knew EXACTLY what the sound was. Frozen with fear, all she could do was hope that it was just passing through and didn't actually see her. The growling continued to get closer as Lil' Red stood perfectly still, not making a single sound. As the growling grew closer, she closed her eyes, just hoping that it was all a dream. The growling got closer, and closer, and closer, until finally...it stopped.

Confused by the sudden silence, Lil' Red hesitantly opened one eye to see what had happened. What she saw, however, almost gave her a heart attack. The Big Bad Timberwolf was literally an inch away from her face! As soon as she saw the pink snout of the beast, Lil' Red fell back in fear and tucked into the fetal position, whimpering and mumbling to herself. The Timberwolf looked at her, looking like she was ready to gobble her up, until...

"Hiya!"

Lil' Red opened her eyes with surprise as she looked up at the now smiling Timberwolf above her. "Wait. Hiya? That's it? Yer not gonna just eat me?"

"Eat you?" the Timberwolf asked. "Why would I do that?"

"'Cause yer the Big Bad Timberwolf!" Lil' Red answered as she got up. "Rumor has it that you eat ponies for breakfast."

"Oh is that right?" the Timberwolf asked with agitation. "Oh sure sure! Every timberwolf is bad! Geez! My cousin blows down a few houses and threatens a few ponies, and suddenly, every timberwolf is 'Big' and 'Bad'! The Big Bad Timberwolf is my cousin! I'M the Big PINK Timberwolf!" She held out a claw to shake. "But you can call me Pinkie Wolf!"

Lil' Red took looked hesitantly at the smiling timberwolf before taking her claw and shaking it. "Uh...howdy Pinkie Wolf. Sorry I...uh...though so badly of you."

"Aw it's no big deal," Pinkie Wolf responded. "So, what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"I'm off to my Granny's house," Lil' Red replied. "My sis made some apple pies for her, so I'm delivering them. All by myself!"

"That is SO sweet of you!" Pinkie Wolf said, "but you know, I bet there is something that your Granny might like even more than just the pies!"

"What?"

"Flowers! And there are a whole bunch of flowers scattered around this area. You can get a great big bouquet together and bring them along! I bet your Granny would be so happy to see them!"

Lil' Red looked around the clearing and DID noticed that there were many different assortments and colors of flowers all around. She knew her Granny Smith loved honey suckles and daffodils. But then she remembered what her sister said. "Ah don't know. My sis told me to stay on the path..."

"Aw don't worry about that," Pinkie Wolf scoffed,."After all, it's not like you're going far into the woods. The flowers are practically right next to you!"

"Good point," Lil' Red replied as she looked around. "And Granny might just like a fresh bouquet. Maybe I will pick some." Lil' Red headed off to the field to pick some flowers, as she looked back and called out, "Thanks Pinkie Wolf!"

"No problem!" Pinkie Wolf happily called back. As soon as Lil' Red had left hearing distance, Pinkie Wolf chuckled mischievously to herself. "That plan worked better than I thought! Now that SHE'S out of the way, it gives me time to go to the cottage, take Granny's place, and get me some pie! Absolutely brilliant! And I don't even need an anvil this time!" And with that, Pinkie Wolf zoomed off down the path towards Granny Smith's cottage.

After Lil' Red had picked enough for a pleasant-looking bouquet, she continued on the path until she finally reached Granny Smith's cottage. As she got closer to it though, she noticed that the door was slightly open. Granny never was one for leaving a draft in, especially when she wasn't feeling well. This sparked Lil' Red's curiosity. Hoping nothing was wrong, she raced to the door and cautiously knocked three times. After a few seconds, a voice called out, "Who is it?" The voice almost sounded like Granny Smith, and yet, there was something different in her voice, like it was...higher.

"It's Lil' Red Riding Bloom, Granny!" Lil' Red called back. "I got some pies for ya."

"Come in dearie," Granny replied happily. Taking that as her cue, Lil' Red pushed the door open and stepped into the cottage. The smell of apple spice and cinnamon filled Lil' Red's nostrils as she waked through the den. At least the smell of the cottage hadn't changed. As she walked passed the kitchen and tiny dining area, she reached the bed area, which was surrounded by old pictures of family and a coo-coo clock hanging above the bed. On the bed lay the covered up body of her Granny, but strangely enough, her face was also covered up, as if she was trying to hide from Lil' Red. As she stepped into the area and closer to the bed, Lil' Red started to get a strange feeling that something wasn't quite right. She approached the side of the bed and lightly tapped on the figure.

"Granny? Are you ok?"

The figure then rolled around to face her, and Lil' Red jumped a bit. Granny's face had changed dramatically. What once was an old, wrinkly green face with a white mane and green eyes, was replaced by a pink face, curly pink mane, and red eyes. When she spoke, her voice was definitely higher than before, and somehow, it sounded all too familiar. "Hello my dear."

"Granny?" Lil' Red questioned as she examined her granny. "You look...different."

"Uh...must be this illness," Granny replied. "Nothing that a few apple pies can't fix."

"Granny," Lil' Red said in amazement. "What big eyes you have!"

"The better to see you with my dear!"

"And...what big ears you have!"

"Why, the better to hear you with!"

"And...what big TEETH you have!"

"The better to eat your pies with!" Granny suddenly lunged upward and reached for the basket Lil' Red was carrying, a hungry look in her eyes and drool dripping from her lips.

"Ok ok wait!" Lil' Red suddenly sighed. Granny stopped in confusion. "I tried to play along, but I've had enough. Yer not Granny Smith."

"W-why what are you talking about?" Granny said as she started to sweat. "Of course I am."

Lil' Red raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Ok, maybe the ditz from the original story was stupid enough to fall for this trick, but I'm not. Yer Pinkie Wolf. Yer not foolin' anypony." Seeing that she really wasn't fooling anypony, Pinkie sighed in defeat and jumped out of the bed. She then walked over to the closet by the wall and opened it, revealing the true Granny Smith, tied up and gagged. Lil' Red quickly rushed over and pulled the gag from her mouth. 

"Dern whippersnapper!" Granny angrily said to Pinkie Wolf. "I'd outta have ya turned to toothpicks fer that!" 

As she untied her granny, Lil' Red turned to Pinkie Wolf with a look that said, "Really? Just...really?" Pinkie Wolf lowered her head in shame.

"I'm sorry," she said sorrowfully. "It's just that I really wanted some apple pies. It's been such a long time, and apple is my favorite kind! Every time somepony brings pies through the woods, they are always to scared for me to get some. They run away. I was sooooo hungry, and I just couldn't stand it anymore. But I really am sorry for all the trouble I caused." She then turned to Granny Smith. "I'm sorry Granny, for tying you up like that." Granny huffed as Pinkie Wolf turned to Lil' Red. "I'm sorry for tricking you like that. And for trying to pounce on you, and for the tar pit, and for the rock trap, and for-"

"Wait what?" Lil' Red asked.

Pinkie Wolf blushed in embarrassment, "Eh...it's a long story. Well, I don't want to be of any trouble anymore. I'll just go now." Pinkie Wolf hung her head as she headed for the door, dragging her tail sorrowfully along the way. As she was about to leave however, she was stopped by Lil' Red tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to see Lil' Red holding a piece of pie out for her. Pinkie Wolf's eyes went wide as she looked up at Lil' Red in confusion.

"Ya know, you could've just asked," Lil' Red said with a smile. "If us Apples know anything, it's that sharing is what brings others together. And ah can tell you really feel sorry for what you did, and ah feel sorry for you. Why don't you stay here and we can all share the pies?"

Pinkie Wolf's expression changed as a big smile curled across her face. "You mean it?"

"Sure!" Lil' Red answered. "That alright Granny?"

"Well," Granny said with a soft smile, "ah suppose this one has learned its lesson. As long as there's no more tying up involved!"

"Deal!" Pinkie Wolf said happily. "Boy, and to think that asking you was Plan I. Should've just skipped to that plan!"

The others laughed as the three went into the dining area to share some wonderful apple pies, and with a new friendship born as well.

THE END.



  

"That was great Auntie Pinkie!" Pound proclaimed as Pinkie finished the story. "That one was probably my favorite!"

"Well thanks Pound," Pinkie said happily, "You guys want to hear another one?" The twins cheered as they bounced up and down, clapping for more. Pinkie laughed as she settled them down. "Alright alright! One more, and then it's off to bed." The twins got comfortable again as Pinkie leaned forward and began her story.

"Once Upon a Time..."