//------------------------------// // 2. Pinkie Paradise // Story: Invitation // by SP //------------------------------// The crack of dawn had just come to time. An ultra bright almost blinding golden light seeped through the slightly opened magenta curtains spotted with balloons. The exact direction of the light had almost impaled through Pinkie’s shut calm eyes, causing her to squint hard and throw her sheets over her head. “ Not now mommy, 10 more minutes….” She had whispered out with a slight yawn in her voice. She turned away from the curtains view in attempt to avoid the burning light, till she felt Gummy’s rough skin on her cheek, causing him to flinch and wake up. “ Hee-hee, mornin’ Gummy, sleep good?” “Tssssss” let out Gummy with his tongue tickling the tip of Pinkie’s nose, causing her to giggle in her high pitched voice. She stretched her arms over and squeezed him into a tight hug just as she was rising to a sitting position on the edge of her bed. She planted her hooves firmly on the wooden floor as she stretched out her back, arching it into a steep bridge of some sort. She hopped over and just as soon as she threw open the curtains, the brightest most beautiful day shined right through the glass, causing Pinkie to let out a smile that stretched ear to ear. “ Woow wheee!!! Lookit, Gummy! Its so bright outside, did Rainbow Dash get up early and clear out the clouds? That’s unlikely, huh?” Pinkie yelled out in glee, staring into the pure blue sky and the bright jubilant Ponyville. “ Welp, I aint gonna let this day go to waste, Ima heading over to get some grub. I’ll bring you a doughnut, Gummy- bums!” Pinkie shut the door behind her as Gummy simply stood there in his own world, eyes staring blankly around the pink fashioned room. Pinkie giggled a merry little tune as she hopped along the dirt road, the heat had coexisted perfectly with the nice soothing breeze going through her cotton candy hair. She had her eyes shut happily as she knew where she was going. She is Pinkie Pie after all, she could do anything. Pinkie had just gotten to the end of her melody when she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and opened her eyes. She wondered what had her heart racing up a bit quicker than usual as she placed a hoof on her chest, spreading a confused expression on her face. She had just looked ahead as she ignored the heart rate for a second as she saw a familiar figure in front of her. It was the back of Twilight Sparkle, staring idly into the stature of the library. Pinkie managed a grin on her face, “ Hiya Twilight, good morning!” The almost stone like figure’s ear twitched almost instantly. She then began to turn her head slowly, the breeze ceasing to blow on, creating a dead awkward silence that engulfed the area. Her head moved at an ultra uncomfortable speed, seeming slower and slower, even having her body not move at all, just simply her neck turning around. Pinkie stood there in awe and confusion, almost uncertain if her purple friend had even heard her greeting. The purple mare then showed her face. Pinkie’s heart stopped. “ Hello, my dear Pinkie Pie”, the figure let out with an indescribable tone. The voice sounded of course like Twilights herself, but it was monotone and almost robotic, almost sounding like an incomplete sentence at the end. Her body then turned as her arms were open and ready for a hug although of course Pinkie was far away. But what had truly shocked Pinkie, were the figures eyes. The eyes were ovular, almost seeming a bit thinner in width, and there were no pupils to speak of. Nothing else but white engulfing the entire eye, beside three balloons in the center. Two of them blue on each side, and the center one showing yellow. Her pupils, it appears, were Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark. Pinkie sat there, breath still and mouth slightly open. She couldn’t even comprehend what she was seeing, but whatever it was, she wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. She then gathered her composure and let out in short breaths “ You…you’re not…Twilight?” Twilight’s body and face were then turned completely faced toward Pinkie along with Twilights shadow stretching all the way to the tip of Pinkie’s front hooves that were firmly planted on the floor. “ What Pinkie? You look more scared than when Rainbow Dash found a spider in her sandwich, I mean, you’re shaking like a leaf!” giggled Twilight as she started to hop over to Pinkie. That’s right. Hop. Pinkie stared in awe and confusion as her seemingly friend “Twilight” bounced toward Pinkie, a smile still wide across her face reaching up to each of her ears. Pinkie was ready to back up a step, until Twilight landed smack in front of her and gave her a quick strong hug that lifted Pinkie’s whole body off the ground. Pinkie let out a loud “ WHOAH!” as she was lifted off the ground with her air being knocked right out of her, deflating almost like a balloon. It seemed like a quick mere second as Twilight placed Pinkie back down, Pinkie falling on her back due to her being completely surprised from the event. She was flat as a pancake on the floor as she looked straight up at the blue sky, until a familiar face shadowed her view. “Whooopy daisy, Pinkie Pie! You fell down as quick as a tree! Here, lemme help ya up, Pinks!” Twilight squeeled out as she stretched out her hoof, shaking it in a giddy nature that of course, only Pinkie would do, not the Twilight she knows and loves. Pinkie slowly reached for the purple hoof and got carried up to her hooves as quick as a wasp sting. Pinkie knew for a fact that Twilight has never called her “Pinks” before, and especially knew that she is not the type of braniac to say “Whoopsy daisy”. “Awright Twilight, whats up? You don-“ “Now how’s about that party you promised us, eh Pinkie! I’m just’bout ready to shake my hoove-thang!!” Twilight hummed out as she bounced up and around Pinkie Pie, standing surprised, then suddenly, happy. “Wow, Twilight, you must’ve had either one too many sasparillas or read too much or something, heee hee!” Pinkie started to bounce around in place as Twilight still frolicked around the currently excited Pinkie Pie. “Seriously, you are starting to be more of a party animal than me!” “ So wad’ya say, Pinkie, party time or smarty time, cuz I am ready to PARTAY!!” Twilight let out with almost an echo throughout the deserted yet beautiful Ponyville. Pinkie seemed almost now oblivious to the fact that her friend’s eyes were demented and engraved with her own cutie mark, her excitement was blinding her due to her being so shocked with her friend’s current personality. She smiled and sung along “whatcha say we head on down to Sugar Cube Corner then? I’ve got some cake ready from yesterday.” “Sounds awesome to me, my dear Pinkie Pie, lets go!” Twilight leaped over ahead quicker than Pinkie has ever seen Twilight go, and she knows that she isn’t athletic from her view during the running of the leaves. Pinkie giggled than ran over behind Twilight, till she just remembered something even weirder, and that’s saying a lot from the events of today. My dear Pinkie Pie... Those words rung through Pinkie’s head as her hooves ran through the road. That’s not something Twilight would say, not anypony except maybe Rarity would talk to her like that. She does say darling and deary a lot after all, but Twilight? Something was definitely gong on, but maybe its just for them to make up for yesterday. Yeah! That’s it! “Welp, we’re here, Pinkie. Here,” Twilight spun around to face her pink friend. “Close your eyes.” Pinkie happily shut her eyes as she allowed Twilights hooves to guide her into the seemingly dark room. Pinkie was excited, until she felt Twilight’s cold unfamiliar hooves. Pinkie thought it was all in her head, but she knew that these weren’t the hooves of her friend, it was just a strange feeling that she can’t describe. That is, until she opened her eyes. “SURPRISE!!!!!” shouted all of her friends in front of her. Applejack blew into a party whistle, Rarity and Fluttershy were holding a big box with a bow, no doubt a huge present. Twilight was behind the snack table with snacks galore with different shapes and colors all in the cookie cut shape of either Pinkie Pie or her signature cutie mark balloons. Strangely enough, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen and stranger yet, all of her friend had those strange disturbing ovular eyes, all fixated on the surprised Pinkie at the door. “Wow! This is amazing, girls! Not even my party would’ve been bigger than this! Seriously, how long did you girls have time to even plan this?!” Pinkie bounced around observing her jubilant surroundings, until she stopped and asked, “where’s Rainbow Dash?” “Why she’s out pickin’ up the cake all the way in Canterlot, from the best dang bakery in all o’ Equestria! Besides you’re cookin’ of course, Pinkie” explained the happy Applejack. “But don’t worry, my dear Pinkie Pie, she should be here in at least half an hour or so, darling” said Rarity in a nice comforting tone. Pinkie was now possibly the happiest pony in Ponyville, dancing with Fluttershy who was near the boom box on the party table. Twilight, Rarity and Applejack joined them almost instantly as they all danced to the hip-hop beats in a circle. Time had flown to Pinkie Pie, surrounded by her friends in a happy-go-lucky environment with nothing but smiles and laughter, but suddenly she had come to a realization. Her body kept moving and her mouth kept smiling, but her mind was in a twist. Why were her friend eyes like this? Why are they all calling her “dear”? Where is everypony else in the town? Why is it such a bright day from yesterdays overcast gloom? She could have let these questions get to her, but this was a paradise that she wasn’t going to let by. She was on top of the world right now, alost as if her friends have turned into…well…Pinkie Pie. Her wonderment continued on for what to her seemed like a minute while it was almost an hour stricken from the beginning of the party, until there was a faint knock on the door. Fluttershy stopped the record much to everypony’s dismay as they all let out an “awwwwwww” until Fluttershy pointed at the door. “Hey girls, I think Rainbow is here with the cake! Time to chow down!” shouted Fluttershy in her now seemingly energetic light voice. Twilight bounced on with a happy step over to the door, yet the knocking still seemingly hadn’t stopped. Everypony stared at the door with smiles wide across their faces, Pinkie seeming a bit creeped out by the sudden silence with nothing but faint separate knocks on the wooden door… knock…knock….knock Twilight stretched her hoof over to the handle and slowly opened the door, engulfing the silent room with a deathly creek from the door hinges as they opened. But what Pinkie saw on the other side of the door, caused her heart to stop dead. Her pupils shrunk, her breath stood still, and her hooves begun to shake uneasily as never before. There at the door was her Pegasus friend, Rainbow Dash, holding a cake box dangling from a string in her mouth, with her whole body battered in blood…a smile across her face.