//------------------------------// // Cookies! (Rev. I) // Story: All I really need's a smile, smile, smile! // by Lightening_Zing //------------------------------// The next morning, Pinkie came bouncing down to the kitchen only to be met with a concerned looking Mrs. Cake. Lying on the desk in front of the mare was a small paper note. "Hiya Mrs. Cake! What's up with the frown? Or maybe my eyes have turned upside down, because I’m sure there’s no reason to be sad!" asked Pinkie upon seeing the look on her employers face. "Oooh, did you get mail Mrs. Cake?! Is it an invitation?! An award for being awesome?! Oh wait, that isn’t something to get sad over. I get it! ...Bills?" with that last question Pinkie raised a confused eyebrow. "No no, Pinkie, nothing like that." Mrs. Cake smiled lightly. "Problem is; I’m not sure what it is! Please, could you have a look Pinkie? Maybe it's another of Rainbow Dash’s pranks?" Pinkie trotted up to Mrs. Cake with a happy smile. "Oh, it's way too early for Dashie! She is a real sleepyhead. Napping all the time. Like a cat! Hey, maybe she's part cat!? That would explain why she is so agile!" While she was talking, Pinkie began to look over the sheet. At first she didn't notice anything weird. It seemed like a regular letter and she was about to say so, when she suddenly realized that the writing wasn't of the Equestrian alphabet: It was Changeling runes. A cold shiver ran down her spine. It was incredibly stupid; the perfect way to blow her cover! What was Chrysalis thinking?! "I know who wrote this!" She chimed happily, making sure to put on a smile before turning to face Mrs. Cake. "Yes, Pinkie? Please, do tell." "Scootaloo!" Pinkie said, as if it had been obvious all along. "Why Scootaloo?" "Oh, because she's a chicken! So her hoofwriting is complete chicken scratch!" Pinkie had to admit, that was pretty cruel. Scootaloo hated that nickname with a passion. Pinkie once told her that that chickens are very determined and tough. So tough that when they fight, they fight to the death. That had lifted the pegasus filly’s spirits a bit. But then that meanie- pants, Diamond Tiara had told her that it only applies to the male chickens, and that the females are only good for lays eggs. Then she laughed about what an egg-laying Cutie Mark would look like. Scootaloo had had enough and pummeled the spoiled unicorn into ground. Apple Bloom eventually managed to cheer her up when she showed her an old comic-series about a time-traveler, named McFly, who was a master of all kinds of scooters and who kicked some serious flank after being called a chicken. It goes without saying that Scootaloo now had yet another idol. "Dearie?" Asked Mrs. Cake. "Yes, Mrs. Cake?" "You kind of spaced out for a bit. I was saying that you might be right that this was work of some foals. It looks just like scribbles. And children nowadays..." "Yup, nothing to worry about!" nodded Pinkie enthusiastically. Mrs. Cake grabbed the note and started to crush the paper into ball. "No!" Pinkie gasped and ran up to Mrs. Cake, taking the now crumbled note from her hoofs. "Dearie?" Mrs. Cake backed up a few steps. "Oh, Mrs. Cake, I'm sorry but I wanted to ask you if I could use this paper for origami. Or better yet; airplanes! Ooooh! Pegasus flying origami!" Pinkie babbled, masking her panic with typical Pinkie Pie behaviour. "...Allright Pinkie, you are so bizarre." Mrs. Cake smiled slightly. Pinkie let out a silent "phew" and hurried back to her room with the note. "I'll be back in a minute!" She shouted down the stairs, and bounced inside her room. After making sure that nopony was around, she unfolded the paper and started to read. The runes were shaky to say the least, as if whoever wrote this was weak or unskilled at writing. "Sis I need your assistance. ASAP. I hate to risk your cover and your happiness, but lives are at stake. Come to Everfree Forest. Someling will lead you to me. I couldn't come myself, I'm too weak. Please, bring some Love if you can, by any means possible. P.S. If you can't make it there without risking your life or your secret, DO NOT COME." Pinkie stared at the note for a while. Chrysalis had to be out of love if she couldn’t even make it to Ponyville. She must be in dire need of love. But maybe it wasn’t just her. She wrote "lives". How many of them could be hiding in the Everfree? How many were starving right at that very moment? Pinkie sighed and looked under the bed. There it was: Her Love-filled treats. She had come up with this idea many years ago. Transferring Love into real food or drinkables, and using them later. Not that she was ever in need of that, but it helped her dealing with excess of Love and she liked treating her friends with their own love. It always made them so happy, and they told her it was delicious. What she was holding in her hooves could probably fill at least a dozen changelings. Pinkie smiled to herself. "You gotta share, you gotta care..." She sang quietly and giggled. She wrapped it as a gift, put it onto her back, and walked down to the kitchen. She sneaked, like ninja, behind Mrs. Cake who was pouring flour into a bowl. "Mrs. Cake!? Could I get a free day? I almost forgot my Pinkie Promise to spend time with a friend!" The pink pony started pleading with tears in her eyes. Mrs. Cake jumped under the ceiling from shock. She needed a while to calm down. "What? Of course dearie, I know how important your promises are to you. And I can handle today myself, I doubt we are going to have that many customers." She gave Pinkie a nervous smile. "Great! Thanks Mrs. Cake! You really should get that reward for being super-duper-awesome Mrs. Cake! See’ya!" She bounced from the shop and into Ponyville. She trotted happily along the streets, exchanging small talk, calling out "Hello!" or "Hi!" along the way, even though she was worried by the contents of the letter. Well, she was changeling in the end. Wearing masks was a part of her life. Remembering the words of the note, she gathered as much love during this trip as was possible without hurting anypony. "Sup, Pinkie?" a brash cyan pegasus landed in front of Pinkie. She had a rainbow colored mane and tail. "Feeling up for some pranking?" The pegasus asked with a playful smirk. "Nah-ah, I can't right now Dashie. I've got to make some deliveries." Pinkie bucked herself in her mind for not preparing a good excuse in case she met any of her friends. "Oh, great, is everypony avoiding me? Applejack is busy bucking, Fluttershy had to do something with her animals, Twilight closed the library because she is practicing her new spells, Rarity wanted me to pose for her stupid fashion, and you have to make some deliveries!" Rainbow fretted and flew up. "What's up with all of you? Totally uncool." "Oh, Dashie" Pinkie giggled. "You are behaving just like me before my birthday!" "Well..." the pegasus scratched her arm. "Yeah, you are right, I think. So, where are you going? I'm up for going with you." Pinkie wasn't prepared for that. She couldn't just tell Rainbow to go away, and she didn't want to give her treats to anypony. There were beings that needed them more. So, she had to tell Rainbow that she was going to somepony who Dash don't like. Who could she choose?... "Ditzy Doo!" She chimed. "Derpy? Ugh, I'll pass. It’s not like I dislike her... but she can be such a weirdo." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "She's fun!" "She causes too much extra work for the rest of us." Dash said matter of factly. Ditzy was indeed a hard working mare, and she was generally a good, sweet, pony. But sometimes she... derped something up. And when she did, she did it to the max. And it didn't help that she was just trying to help and often didn't know what went wrong. Someponies thought she did it on purpose, when she was actually truly oblivious to what happened. Pinkie knew perfectly well that the gray pegasus was really embarrassed about what she did. Nevertheless Pinkie liked Ditzy. There was something uplifting about this bubbly postmare. She just needed a little help fitting into Ponyville. "Yup, but she's so often trying fix what she messed up!" "Which sometimes ends in a much bigger disaster." Rainbow huffed, thinking of the time when Derpy single-hoofedly demolished town hall. "Well... You’re right..." Pinkie pouted slightly. Rainbow suddenly felt a little mean about the whole conversation. "Hey, but she's still cool, okay Pinkie?" "Okey Dokey Loki!" "Awesome! Okay, sorry, I gotta go! See ya later Pinks!" and with that, Rainbow Dash whizzed away. Pinkie left Ponyville and headed into the Everfree, careful not to be spotted by anypony. At the boundary of the forest she spotted a single Pegasus. He was a stern looking soldier from Celestia's Royal Guard. Pinkie panicked a bit. Was it a trap? Or was this one of her own kind? When she was exiled she was also deprived of her abilities to recognize other changelings, as well as the ability to mind-link to the others. It was taken from her in case she wanted to seek revenge on her kind, by compromising their covers. She had only recognized Chrysalis because Chrysalis let her. Otherwise she would have been oblivious about who she had been speaking to. And now she was in trouble. Unsure about the identity of the pegasus in front of her, how should she defuse this situation? Pinkie began to open her mouth, but then the guard bowed before her! "Queen, I was awaiting for you. Do you wish to be lead to your royal sister?" Pinkie was stunned for a moment, but the she brought her hoof under the chin of the pegasus and raised his head. He had clueless look on his face. "My lady, what are you doing?" His brow raised in confusion. "Silly, you’re risking your cover like this. And there is no need to call me by my title!" "But..." "No buts, only yes ma'am, okay? So, what's your name? And are you hungry?" "Que... Um..." He stopped when he saw Pinkie's disappointed glare. "My name is Second Shade... Um... and yes, I am... Very. But you really shouldn't worry about it too much... And what should I call you... Que... errr... my lady?" "Oh, call me Pinkie for now! Everyone calls me that! Oh, and take this cupcake!" She reached for the box, and she took from it a single cupcake. "Um... thanks? But... what should I do with it?" "Silly, eat it! What else can you do with it?" She laughed at the confused guard. But she had a suspicion that he wasn't really trained for undercover harvest missions. He bowed before her and he didn't know what to do with food... He was probably a worker inside the hive, not a soldier or scout who was trained to fit into pony society. She mimicked eating with her mouth to encourage the confused changeling. "Okay..." He took a small bite. His eyes widened in shock. "It was... I... I'm full! And it was so live in taste... I’ve never tasted Emotions like these!" He spaced out for a second. "Oops... I got a bit carried away Qu... Pinkie..." "No worries! I'm glad you liked that! So, could you lead me to Chrysalis?" "Yes, Pinkie! Follow me." And with that, the two disguised changelings disappeared into the shadows of the Everfree Forest.