An Inkling Of Friendship

by Green Akers

You Speak Inklish?

Danielle's mind raced as she held the two creatures before her at gunpoint. She thought about calling to the rest of her team for help, but they were probably too busy arguing to hear her, and besides, what if these two were only the tip of the iceberg? What if there were others walking around the woods looking for her team right now? She took a deep breath and decided she could handle these two by herself, and keep the existence of her team a mystery.

As Danielle pondered her predicament, the orange creature she was holding hostage began to speak, but the yellow creature cut it off with a raised leg. "Shhhh," the yellow creature whispered. "Hold still. She's very nervous right now, and we don't want to scare her." The yellow creature took a small step forward. "Please, don't be afraid," it said to Danielle. "We're not going to hurt you."

"What the..." Danielle nearly dropped her gun in surprise, and she gave the yellow creature a bewildered look. "You... You speak Inklish?"

"In a way, yes," the yellow creature replied. "You see, I have a special gift that lets me communicate with all sorts of different animals." The creature took another step forward. "My name's Fluttershy, and this is my friend Applejack. What's your name?"

Danielle's expression hardened. "Danielle, Plankton, Serial Number FF27-AJ10," she stated.

Fluttershy nodded. "Danielle Plankton Cereal Number—"

"No, it's just Danielle," Danielle clarified.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Fluttershy said. "Anyway, on behalf of all the ponies in Ponyville, we'd like to welcome you and your friends to our town. I had some—"

"Friends?" Danielle's eye started to twitch. "What friends? I don't have any friends! Nope, there are noooooooo other Inklings around here!"

Suddenly, a bird started squawking in the trees above Danielle. "Miss Sparrowbeak says that four of you just passed by five minutes ago," Fluttershy translated.

Danielle cast an irritated glance skyward. "Well, she must've been seeing things. Trust me, I'm the only Inkling around."

On cue, a small furry creature popped out of the bushes and rushed towards Fluttershy with its front paws over its ears. Fluttershy listened to the creature voice its grievances for a few moments, and then turned back to Danielle. "Mr. Fuzzy Tail says your friends are shouting at each other and making a lot of noise. Is something wrong?"

Jeez, is everything in this stupid forest against me? Danielle threw up her hands and sighed. "Fine, you got me. Yes, there are four of us, and no, I can't get them to be quiet. In fact, I can't get them to do much of anything right now. Believe me, I tried."

"Gosh, this sounds serious." Fluttershy reached over and patted Mr. Fuzzy Tail on the head. "Don't worry. We'll go and see if we can help."

"What?!" Danielle's heart skipped a beat as she imagined Fluttershy coming face-to-face with an irate Brianna. "No, no, no! Bad idea!" she said as she raced over to cut Fluttershy off. "When Bree gets mad, she really gets mad. The best thing to do is to wait until she calms down, and---"

"But they're disturbing the forest creatures." Fluttershy walked around Danielle and kept moving towards the shouting. "Don't worry, we've got lots of experience with resolving disagreements. Come on, Applejack."

"But... But..." Danielle smacked her face with her hand as the two ponies walked away, and she knew she had to intervene before something bad happened. Using her weapon, she blazed a trail of orange ink and swam her way past the ponies and back over to her feuding teammates. She found Brianna and Tommy now taking swings at each other as Craig held them both at arm's length, meaning that the only thing they were hitting was him. "They're still fighting?" Danielle asked.

Craig nodded. "It's kind of a buzzkill."

Danielle grabbed Brianna by the shoulders. "Get a hold of yourself, Bree! The ponies are on their way here right now!"

"What? What do you mean, they're coming?" Brianna stopped swinging at Tommy and grabbed for the gun at her waist. "Son of a squid, we've got to take cover!"

"It's no use!" Danielle explained. "One of them can talk to all the animals. The birds will rat us out!"

"Wait, really?" Tommy suddenly snapped out of his foul mood. "You mean these things can actually communicate with animals?"

"Well, one of them, at least," Danielle confirmed. "And apparently 'animals' includes us."

"Amazing!" Tommy gushed. "This species may be more advanced than I thought! And without a language barrier, we can—"

Tommy made the mistake of stepping within Brianna's reach as he spoke, and Brianna responded by grabbing Tommy by the shirt and flinging him into a nearby bush. "That's for irritating me," Brianna grumbled.

"That wasn't very nice!" The Inklings turned to find a stern-looking Fluttershy staring straight at Brianna.

"Oh joy, the cavalry's here." Brianna rolled her eyes. "Look, Miss Manners, I'm not in the mood for a sermon on good behavior, so I suggest you—" She stopped as her eyes met Fluttershy's gaze. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "Stop looking at me like that!"

Fluttershy calmly walked up to Brianna and fluttered up to match the Inkling's eye level. "Violence is never the way to settle a disagreement," she declared, peering deep into Brianna's eyes. "What you did was mean and uncalled for, and you should feel bad about doing it. You've also upset many of the forest creatures with your shouting, and need to do a better job of controlling your temper."

"Stop it!" Brianna closed her eyes and raised her hands to shield herself from Fluttershy's glare, but she could still feel the pony's eyes peering into her soul. "Get away from me!"

"I want you to go over and apologize to your friend for throwing him into that bush, and promise that you'll never do it again," Fluttershy requested. "Can you do that?"

"Okay, okay!" Brianna agreed. "Just stop it with that look already!"

Danielle's jaw dropped as Brianna melted under Fluttershy's stare. I've never seen anyone tell Bree off like that and walk away without a fat lip, she thought to herself. If the rest of these things can do that, we're in serious trouble...

Brianna scurried over and yanked Tommy out of the brush. "Look, uh, Tommy," she stammered, "I, uh, I shouldn't have gotten mad and tossed you like that, and, well... I'm sorry."

"N-N-No apology necessary!" Tommy stammered, himself a bit unnerved by Fluttershy's stare. "We're good, really!"

"There!" Fluttershy said with a satisfied sigh. "Isn't that better?" She turned back to Danielle. "Now then, I had—"

"Yikes!" Danielle turned away from Fluttershy and shut her eyes as tightly as she could. "It's okay! We'll do whatever you want!" she insisted.

Applejack finally spoke up from behind Fluttershy, but the Inklings didn't have a clue what she was saying. "You think so?" Fluttershy said. "Gosh, I didn't mean to." She bowed her head to the Inklings. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you with my stare. I'm getting better at controlling it, but sometimes it just happens."

"Uh huh," Danielle acknowledged, though she continued to avoid looking directly at Fluttershy's face.

"I had made up some picnic baskets as a welcoming gift for you all, but I left them at Applejack's house," Fluttershy continued. "If you want, I can—"

"Wait, you have food?" Danielle spun and faced Fluttershy. "What kind of food?"

"Oh, lots of things. Flowers, berries, roots, fruits, fish—"

The word "fish" drew a growl of approval from Danielle's stomach. "What sort of fish?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, actually," Fluttershy admitted. "I didn't have much time, so I just grabbed whatever I had in my icebox."

"Do you have flounder burgers?" Danielle asked. "I love those things!"

"Well, I'm sure I could—"

"What about catfish steaks?" Brianna interrupted. "Those are the best, especially with a side of trout salad!"

"Um, I'm not sure I—"

"What about French fries?" Tommy inquired. "Are potatoes native to this island?"

"Yes, but—"

Danielle raised her hands to call for quiet. "All I need to know is this," she declared. "Are you gonna make us eat seaweed jerky?"

Fluttershy gave Danielle a confused look. "What's seaweed jerky?"

"Hallelujah!" Danielle wrapped an arm around Fluttershy's neck. "As splatoon leader, I declare that we totally welcome your welcoming. Lead on!"

---

Fluttershy and Applejack led the Inklings out of the forest and across the fields of fruit trees. "Applejack's house is just a few hills over," Fluttershy explained. "We'll be there is no time."

As the group moved, Brianna walked up alongside Danielle. "Are you sure this is a good idea, D?" she whispered. "We're completely at the mercy of these pony-things now."

"I think we were at their mercy all along," Danielle admitted. "Think about it: The first pony we run into knows our language, can communicate with everything but the freakin' grass, and has the greatest death stare in the history of history."

Brianna shuddered at the memory. "That was like staring into a Killer Wail."

"Exactly," Danielle said. "What else can these ponies do? If you ask me, we're in way over our heads, and the best thing we can do right now is smile, wave, and hope we get out of here with our lives."

"For once, I agree with you," Brianna replied. "But if Tommy asks, I'm following orders against my will. I'm not giving that know-it-all the satisfaction of being right."

"Speaking of which..." Danielle pointed to where Tommy was peppering Fluttershy with questions. "Let's hope he doesn't ask these ponies anything too personal."

Eventually, the group stopped in front of a large red building with white trim. "Holy wow, that's big!" Danielle exclaimed. "How many of you live in there?"

"Oh, just the Apple family," Fluttershy explained.

"One family!?" Brianna's mouth fell open. "If this was part of Flounder Heights, they'd stuff fifty Inklings in it and charge them all fifteen hundred coins a month!"

Applejack walked into the house, and emerged a few moments later with a large picnic basket. "There's a second one in the house if you'd like more," Fluttershy explained as Applejack set the basket on a nearby wooden table. "Have all that you want!"

"Booyah!" Danielle opened the basket, but her expression went from satisfied to surprised as she stared at the raw fish inside. "Um... Gosh, thanks," she said weakly.

"Is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well..." Danielle scrunched up her face, and exchanged a look with Brianna. "It's just that it's so... So..."

"Raw," Brianna grumbled.

"I was going to say 'rare,'" Danielle replied.

"Righteous, dude." Craig reached past Danielle and pulled a large uncooked trout from the basket. "Fish lose valuable nutrients when you cook them. It's better to eat them raw."

"Ewwwwwwwww!" Brianna's face turned green as she watched Craig bite into the trout. "You're disgusting!"

"You mean you cook fish before you eat them?" Fluttershy looked at the Inklings quizzically. "I've never cooked a fish before. Have you, Applejack?"

Applejack shook her head, but said something and pointed to her house.

"Well, I guess we could cook them," Fluttershy said. "Do any of you know the right way to do it?"

"Uh..." Danielle realized that she had absolutely no idea how to cook fish, and she glanced around at her fellow Inklings. "Brianna! Your dad was teaching you how to cook, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, and he gave up after the third time someone called the fire department," Brianna revealed. "Apparently I'm allergic to stoves."

"Well, we can—Oh!" Suddenly, Fluttershy looked past the Inklings and up into the sky behind them. "There's Twilight and Rainbow Dash! I'll go get them—they were very excited to meet you."

The Inklings watched as Fluttershy flew past them and over to where two other ponies, one purple and the other light-blue, were hovering off in the distance. "I don't like how she said they were 'excited to meet us,'" Brianna said to Danielle. "Who else did the stupid birds blab too?"

"Remember: Smile, wave, and hope you can outrun Craig if things get ugly," Danielle replied as Fluttershy led the other ponies down to the farmhouse.

"All right, everypony," Fluttershy said as she landed, "These are my friends Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, and the dragon is my friend Spike. Girls, this is Danielle and her friends Brianna, Tommy, and... I'm sorry, was it Chris?"

"Close enough," Brianna muttered, drawing an elbow from Danielle.

The purple pony smiled, but the light-blue one kept her distance and eyed the Inklings warily. "Hello!" Danielle said, putting on her biggest smile. "We're, uh, so happy to see you!"

Applejack spoke up from behind the Inklings. "That's right!" Fluttershy remembered. "Officially it's Princess Twilight Sparkle. She's the Princess of Friendship!"

"P-P-Princess?" Danielle's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and she immediately dropped to one knee and bowed her head. "My apologies for the casual introduction, your Highness," she said. "It is truly an honor to be in your presence!"

Brianna, who didn't even flinch at the word 'princess,' shook her head. "You haven't lost your touch, D," she observed. "You're still the biggest brown-noser in Inkopolis."

"Shut up and bow," Danielle whispered sternly without looking up.

The purple pony's face turned red, and she said a few words to Fluttershy. "You don't have to do that," Fluttershy translated. "Twilight gets a little embarrassed when creatures give her the royal treatment."

"Whatever you say!" Danielle popped up from the ground. "I just didn't want to do anything to offend—"

"Incredible!" Tommy suddenly shoved past Danielle and got in Twilight's face. "I've observed ponies with wings and ponies with head tentacles, but never one with both! How many different types of ponies are there? What do you use that extra tentacle for? How did it—Ow, ow, ow!" he squealed as Brianna grabbed him by the ear and dragged him back.

"Well, generally there are three different types of ponies, but princesses are a rare fourth type called alicorns," Fluttershy explained. "Alicorns have both the wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn, which is used to perform magic."

"Wait, magic?" Tommy eyed Fluttershy suspiciously. "What do you mean, magic? There's no such thing as magic."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked. "Of course magic exists."

"Yeah, Tommy," Danielle said in a strict, don't-argue-with-the-ponies tone. "Magic definitely exists."

Tommy sighed. "Look, I'm sure something might seem like magic because you don't understand how it works, but I assure you, there is a perfectly scientific explanation behind it."

Fluttershy started to reply, but Twilight interrupted her. "No, he doesn't believe in magic," Fluttershy confirmed.

Twilight scratched her chin for a few seconds, and then smiled and said a few words to Fluttershy. "She'd like to try out a spell on you, if you're okay with that," Fluttershy said.

"Absolutely!" Tommy declared as he stepped forward. "Afterwards, I'll explain how the trick worked, and show you the scientific methods behind it."

"You do that, champ," Brianna said as she and Danielle took two giant steps away from Tommy.

Twilight closed her eyes, and a pink glow surrounded her horn, causing the Inkling girls to take another giant step back. A similar glow soon surrounded Tommy, who stood stoically as the spell took effect.

Danielle held her breath as the spell was cast, but when the aura disappeared, Tommy looked no different than he had before. "H-How do you feel, Tommy?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Tommy proclaimed. "You see? There were some odd lighting effects, but otherwise—"

Twilight stepped forward and said a few words to Tommy. "The light?" he replied. "Well, my guess is that the cells in your horn generate enzymes that react with the oxygen in the air, which—" Tommy stopped as he realized whose question he was answering. "Wait, did you just..."

Twilight nodded and started to say something else, but Tommy shook his head. "No," he declared emphatically. "There's no such thing as a translation spell. You must have been able to speak our language all along."

Twilight sighed, said a few more words, and pointed to the other Inklings. "All right, I will," Tommy said. "Danielle, you understand the princess now, right?"

Danielle looked at Tommy like he had two heads. "Uh, no," she replied. "It's all gibberish to me."

"You don't? But that doesn't make any—" Tommy stopped as Twilight spoke up again. "She's wondering if you'd like to try the spell next," he translated.

Brianna scowled and stepped in front of Danielle. "I think we've seen enough 'magic,' thank you very much."

"It's alright, Bree," Danielle said as she pulled Brianna back. "I'm way tougher than Tommy. If it didn't hurt him, then I'll be fine." She nodded to Twilight. "Go for it."

Twilight smiled, her horn started glowing, and a pink glow surrounded Danielle. The Inkling gulped, closed her eyes, and wished she was really as confident as she sounded.

Danielle stood still for what felt like an eternity, until she heard an unfamiliar voice: "Can you hear me now?" When she opened her eyes, she found Twilight standing directly in front of her. "Did the spell work?" Twilight asked.

"Whoa..." Danielle's eyes popped open, and she turned to Tommy. "Say what you want, Tommy, but I'm a believer."

"But it's impossible!" Tommy insisted. "It is scientifically infeasible to—yahhhh!" he screamed as he suddenly found himself lifted off the ground and swung around in the air.

"What the...?" Danielle turned back to see Twilight's horn glowing again. "What are you doing?"

"Letting him fly," Twilight said with a smile. "Flying always wins creatures over."

"This... This is incredible!" Tommy gushed from above. "Do you have any idea what this means? This challenges everything we knew about science! This is monumental, revolutionary, a seminal moment in history!"

Craig looked up from his fish. "Far out, bro."

"What'd I tell you?" Twilight let Tommy fly around for a while before bringing him back down to earth. "Now then," she said, "now that we can speak to each other directly, I'd love to know more about you four. What are you? Where are you from? What brings you to Ponyville?"

A cold chill ran up Danielle's back, and she said a silent prayer that the pony didn't have a mind-reading spell. "Well, heh heh," she said, fidgeting nervously as she looked at Twilight, "it's, uh, a funny story actually..."

Comments

[Mkchief34]

ITS ALIVE!

[Mkchief34]

AND I LOVE IT!

[KingJoltik]

"Think about it: The first pony we run into knows our language, can communicate with everything but the freakin' grass, and has the greatest death stare in the history of history."

Danielle said in a strict, don't-argue-with-the-ponies tone. "Magic definitely exists."

These two are probably my favorite lines in this chapter. Especially the 'don't-argue-with-the-ponies tone' part.

Great chapter!

[TodayIWriteFanfics]

IT'S HERE!!!!!

[kittinpaws]

XDXDXD to funny

[TodayIWriteFanfics]

I can't wait for Tommy to meet Pinkie Pie. If he keeps his sanity I'll give him a medal.

[Green Akers]

A random thought as I write Chapter 5: The problem with having a character like Tommy is that now I have to think of ways to explain Splatoon's crazy ink mechanics, because you know Twilight's going to ask him about them...

[pootdispencer]

6523977 usually people just "borrow" ideas from other works (in this case go fanfiction.net) and use the explanation with a little variation on the wording

[ShadowRazer2121]

How big is the inkling to a pony.

I’m getting that the inklings are bigger than the ponies but I think they should be at lest a couple cm shorter than the ponies, but not my story.