Eclipse: Poets and Pests

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Afternoon Tea-rror

Pinkamena sat by one of the windows at the coffee shop, enjoying her break between heavy customer flows. On one side of her sat a plate with an alfalfa, spinach, and garlic cream cheese bagel sandwich. On the other was a small notepad and pencil with was various ideas and lines for poems, epics, plays, and even a possible song. She looked over the lines of her most recent poem.

And lo, fierce battle was then made, through the use of words instead of blade.
For while blood may not have connected each other, she would protect as fiercely as any mother.
In her, their faith they did place, so for them, any danger she would face.

Still not quite right, she thought, giving a shake of her head. Setting the pencil down, she turned away from the pad to clear her mind of the issue and enjoy her meal. She took another bite of her sandwich, her gaze focusing on the street outside. Sometimes just observing others going about their business helped. Between Ponyville being a small town and the popularity of Bean There, Done That, she knew most of them by sight, even if not by name.

As she continued to eat and observe a group more familiar to Pinkamena -- seeing as she called one of them friend (a title she deemed on others rarely) and another was pretty much one of a kind -- came into view.

Rarity walked along, her son Spike on her back. Following not far behind was Rarity's sister, carrying a picnic basket in a similar fashion. The young unicorn's ears were pinned back as she followed, glaring ahead. The other two seemed oblivious to the angry look in their direction. Spike was grinning widely, holding something like a blue ball and talking excitedly. To Pinkamena, it looked like the young dragon was actually talking to it. Hopefully, Sweetie Belle would be in a better mood and the three of them would enjoy their picnic together.

...Except, they were walking further towards town instead of the outskirts. Was that why Sweetie Belle was upset? Did something happen during the picnic and she was now in trouble? That did not seem likely. Sweetie Belle was a pretty well behaved filly, even if she did cause a bit of trouble while with her friends. If she had done something wrong, she would look guilty or sad, not angry. Besides, neither Rarity nor Spike seemed sad or upset.

The "ball" suddenly flew up from the young dragon's grip, buzzing around in the air above his head.

Pinkamena's eyes went wide, one of them twitching. The sandwich dropped from her hoof, landing on the plate with a wet "plop" as it fell apart.

No, Pinkamena thought as she got up. No. It's impossible. It can't be. Can it? I must be mistaken. She walked toward the door, continuing to watch the... she did not even want to admit the name of the thing to herself. She had to be mistaken. Had to be. It could not possibly be a...

The thing opened its mouth, and out shot what looked like a yellow one, which started to fly with the other.

Trying to keep a calm and casual pace, Pinkamena moved to catch up with the group.

"Rarity," she called out, getting her friend's attention. Rarity turned to face her, smiling gently.

"Hello Pinkamena. How are you this morning?"

"Just having a quick break before the lunch rush," Pinkamena answered. Her gaze shifted from Rarity to the pair of flying creatures. "Speaking of, going on a picnic?"

"We were," Sweetie Belle grumbled, "but Spike's stupid bug ate the whole thing."

"Sweetie Belle," Rarity scolded, giving her sister an angry look.

"He's not stupid," Spike called back, reaching out to grab the blue insect and hug it to his chest. "He's my friend."

Sweetie Belle let out a snort, but kept quiet. Rarity turned back to Pinkamena and gave a small smile.

"Please forgive my sister," she said. "It seems she skipped breakfast in anticipation of this picnic, and is rather irritable due to hunger.

"Anyway, while we were setting up, Spike found this..." she motioned toward the creature, and stopped when she noticed there were two of them.

"Huh," she hummed softly, brow furrowed as she tapped a hoof to her chin. "Odd. I thought there was only one." She gave a shake of her head and turned back to Pinkamena.

"As I was saying: Spike found this unusual insect which I had never seen before, but was rather cute and extremely friendly. Next thing I know, the thing had eaten all of the food we had brought with us."

"I was really looking forward to it too," Sweetie grumbled.

"Now, Sweetie," Rarity said, "you don't hear Spike complaining, now do you?"

"He got to eat," Sweetie Belle retorted, "and he made a new friend. Why would he complain?"

"We'll get something to eat after Rainbow Dash's," Rarity stated, getting another irritated snort. She returned her attention to her friend. "We are going to visit her quickly and see if she is aware of what it... they are."

"That won't be necessary," Pinkamena said. "I can tell you what they are."

Rarity tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"They are called a Parasprite," Pinkamena answered, "and are very dangerous. You should take them back to where you found the first one and release them back into the wild, far from any ponies."

"No," Spike cried out. "You can't get rid of Spike Junior. He's my friend." He pointed at the yellow parasprite. "You can have the other one if you want..."

Rarity turned and smiled gently at Spike. She reached out with a hoof, running it gently over the young dragon's head.

"Don't worry," she told him. "Nopony is going to take them away from you."

"Rarity," Pinkamena started, but stopped when a hoof was held up.

"I'm sorry," Rarity said as her horn started to glow, "but you must be mistaken." She took a hold of one the yellow parasprite and held it out in front of her. "I just cannot believe that something that looks as adorable and acts as friendly as this could possibly be dangerous. You must have it confused with something else."

Pinkamena took a long, slow breath in and out through her nose, looking at Rarity and the parasprite, its big green eyes blinking.

"I mean really," Rarity continued before Pinkamena could, "what is the worst that could possibly happen?"

And with that, Pinkamena thought cosmic irony has decided that our fate has been sealed.

"Since Sweetie Belle is so hungry," she said instead, "why not let her have lunch at the coffee shop? You do have a tab set up already."

"Yes," Sweetie Belle cried out, hopping up and tossing the picnic basket off her back. "Please Rarity. Please please please?"

"I guess it would be fine," Rarity decided, releasing the parasprite. "Just promise you won't cause any trouble for Mister Joe or Pinkamena."

"I promise," Sweetie replied before rushing toward the coffee shop. Rarity, Pinkamena, and Spike all watched her go.

"I appreciate the offer," Rarity said with a smile. "It is rather sad to see her upset, and -- honestly -- irritating when she's in a cranky mood."

"I should get back as well," Pinkamena said. "She's probably ready to order, and the lunch rush will be in a few minutes. And Rarity? At least think about what I said."

Rarity looked at her friend for a long moment, then gave a nod.

"Very well." She started down the road. "I will see you in a while." Spike gave a wave from Rarity's back as they went.

Pinkamena returned the wave before returning toward the shop. Quickly, she made her way through to the counter and moved around to the back of it.

"Pinkamena?" Mugga Joe asked as he saw her approaching. "Is everything okay?"

Moving past him, she into the back toward The Ponyville Threat-level board. Taking down the pink indicator, she replaced it with the white one, then added the orange one beneath it.

"A potential orange threat?" Joe asked, looking at the chart.

"Whether or not it is an actual threat will depend on the next few hours," Pinkamena responded. "We'll know for certain tomorrow." She turned toward the stairs.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to get something quickly before my break is over."

Mugga Joe watched her start up before turning to look at the threat board one more time. With a shake of his head, he walked back toward the main area, where a young filly was eagerly awaiting to place her order.

Author's Note:

I don't really see a good way to work it into the story without it feeling forced, so I'm going to put it here. Directly from Crow himself, the Ponyville threat level color chart:

Ponyville Threat-level chart:
Pink: All clear.
White: Unknown. Remain vigilant.
Yellow: Low threat, but pony-power is needed to resolve the issue.
Orange: Economic threat. Ponyville's finances or businesses are in danger.
Blue: Medical Emergency. Somepony could need immediate urgent care, or a disease could be spreading.
Purple: Clear and present danger imminent. Take shelter and leave it to the professionals.
Rainbow: FIRE THE ORBITAL FRIENDSHIP CANNON!!

Comments

[Whiteeyes]

You're missing a LOT of detail in this chapter. To the point that this chapter is actually hard to read.

[Hopeful_Ink_Hoof]

5395388 Went back and made some adjustments. I don't know if it fixes the problem fully, but it should help.

[Whiteeyes]

5395638 It's a LOT better. Quick question though, what was on the board before she put own a white and orange combo?

[Hopeful_Ink_Hoof]

5395976 the pink Crow previously mentioned as all clear...although really, the way the town is, vigilant should really be the default...

[Whiteeyes]

5396019 Pink as the All Clear is not mentioned in story; they'd have had to read the comments in another story to find the system.