//------------------------------// // Let the FUN Times Roll // Story: Harmony's Thieves // by 4428Gamer //------------------------------// Downtown Ponyville Pinkie Park! Big Mike’s POV “Welcome to...” The three horse-pony-things said at once. “PINKIE PAAAAAARK~!”     After their cheer, the three of them started looking at the three of us like it was our turn to do something. So, because I had no idea what else we were supposed to do, I just started applauding.     “Woooo,” I called out plainly. Compared to some games I’ve been to, their cheer wasn’t too great. The standing-on-an-umbrella part was cool though.     “Does this mean the park’s open now?” I asked them. “Cause, Big Mike thinks we weren’t supposed to be here until that happened.” The three of them giggled a bit as the one on top of the pyramid hopped down beside me. “What are you talking about? Pinkie Park is always open, silly! If we close then there might be somepony who wasn’t able to make it to the park in time. Then they miss out on all the fun.” “Fun?” “Fun?” “Fun, fun, fun!” The other two still on the umbrella started chanting as they jumped around the umbrella. The fabric started to rip and pull but they didn’t mind. My eyes lit up. “Oh! Then people come to this park all the time?” “We would certainly hope so! People would love coming here,” The one in front of me said. “...Well, whatever a people is anyway.” “Uh, excuse me,” Beetle Swelle said from beside Big Mac. “Pinkie. Is that your name?” “Yesseroni,” the one in front of me cheered. “Pinkie’s my name too!” “Hey, same!” The other two announced. Wait, all their names are Pinkie? That’s gotta be confusing. “Feel free to wear it out,” the one in front of me said. “If it gets old, we’ll get a new one from the other Pinkies.” “Other Pinkies?” Beetle asked. The Pinkie on the ground pulled her face into a smile so tight it was like a taffy puller. “I was hoping you’d say that!” She ran over towards Big Mac and with one leap landed perfectly on the top of his head. When she had her balance, she took in a deep breath and placed a hoof to her mouth. “OH PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINKIEEEEEEEEESSS!” The voice reached pretty far, her echo going further than that. When the echo was done, there was only silence. Then there was rumbling. Since I was still sitting on the ground I felt it before the others could. The rumbles grew in intensity. When Big Mac and Beatle Swelle started to hear it Big Mac put a hand in front of Swelle to try keeping her from whatever was coming. Although, the rumbling wasn’t from one direction. From all sides, the rumbling closed in on us. When it got to the point that the tiny pieces of glass I left on the ground started shaking, I quickly stood on my feet and saw what it was. From every open road, clouds of pink moved towards us. When they got close enough to hear what they were saying we only heard one word. Fun. “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” “Fun.” As they got closer, the three of us finally realized what we were watching. Dozens, if not more than a hundred, of these pink ponies were rushing at us, all screaming the same thing. “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” “FUN!” When we thought we saw all of them, more ponies started leaping up and over the rooftops, falling into the marketplace and joining the other ponies. Some of them started stacking themselves on top of each other as they swarmed towards us. Worried that they’d get separated, Beatie Spelle and Big Mac walked over next to me as we were surrounded by all of these ponies. “Big McIntosh,” Beatie half-whispered. “E-Eeyup?” Big Mac never broke eye contact with the army of pink. “...Why does everypony look the same?” A chill ran down her spine. “...” Big Mac didn’t answer. All the ponies started asking questions all at once. At first they were speaking but it quickly raised into screaming questions to try speaking over each other. Now it sounds like a pep rally, I noticed. FInally I rose a hand high into the air and all at once these ‘Pinkles’ fell silent as they stared at me. “Big Mike. Has. A question,” I announced slowly. Then, before I could ask, my stomach growled. “...” I looked at my gut, then back to the Pinkles. “...Do you have. Any funnel cake?” “Oh. I know! I know where!” One of the ponies from the umbrella waved her hoof like a noodle. “I can take you there!” “What, no! I’ll do it! I can get you better funnel cake!” A random Pickle shouted. “I can get you two funnel cakes!” Another screamed. “We’ll get you more cake than funnels!” A tower of Pickles said in sync. “I know a better funnel cake stand!” “Take me with you!” “Are you sure you don’t want cupcakes instead?!” “I know where they make the good funnel cakes!” “I won a keg of powdered sugar at the dunk tank!” “Wait, the dunk tank has prizes again?!” “Did they clean the dunk tank water?” “I heard the dunk tank’s glass shattered!” They filled it with whipped cream! It’s so much more fun now!” “Fun?!” “I want fun!” “FUN-FUN-FUN!” The Pickles chanted ‘FUN’ over and over at us, some of them trying to get the crowd to shout the word in a rhythm. It didn’t work but now some of the Pickles began to clap or stomp to their own beat. It wasn’t that good but I liked their energy. At that moment, I felt a tug on my shirt and turned to see Fishie pulling her hand back. “What is it Wheatie Spell?” I asked. She blinked. “Uh...Sweetie Belle,” she corrected. Oh. Whoops. “And, u-uh, I think we should go.” “Eeyup!” Big Mac nodded, trying to be louder than the crowd of ponies. “Go?” Suddenly, a Pickle appeared between myself and the others, giving us this sly smile and eyebrow look. “Now come on. You don’t really wanna go, do you? We got games, and funnel cakes, and firewor—” “Actually, we’re out of fireworks,” Another Pickle from the crowd shouted. “But we’re using a slingshot to shoot bottles of color water so we’re covered for now!” “Why?” Sweety asked with her brow twisted down. “Well, the color water probably looks like a firework,” I reasoned. “And it’s water so it’s, like, a waterpark from the sky.” Sweety looked at me like I was crazy but then all the Pickles started cheering for me. “Now that’s the kind of attitude that’ll get ya into the VFP Tent,” The Pickle told me. “Guys, did you hear that?!” I beamed at Big Mac and Sweaty. “The VFP Tent!” “What’s a VFP?” Sweetly asked. I shook my head. “No idea. Sounds nice though.” “But before that.” A second and third Pickle walked up. “We gotta give ya the grand tour! Ya ready to start?” “Can’t wait, yeah! Let’s start with food.” I gestured for the others to follow. “You guys ready?” “H-Hold on!” Sweaty shouted over the Pickles. “Weren’t you and Big McIntosh looking for Applebloom?!” “Don’t worry Sweaty—” “Sweetie!” “Sweetie, right!” I shouted. “We’ll find her in no time! With all of these Prickles helping us, we can track her down even faster! They might even find my brothers!” “You have brothers?!” One of the three Prickles asked me in a shout. “Yeah! They’re both older than me,” I shouted back. “Morgue would probably love this place! He throws house parties all the time back home!” “House parties?!” Without a moment passing, the Prickle turned around, pulled a giant toy kazoo out of her poofy hair and blew it, making a sound that would rival tubas. “Listen up, fellow Pinkies!” The, I guess named, Pinkie screamed at the army of other Pinkies. Makes sense, I told myself. They are all pink...Oh! That’s how I’ll remember! “There’s a fellow par-tay~ animal named Morgue running around,” The Pinkie went on. “And right now, he’s lost! Now. I know that Pinkie, Pinkie, and Pinkie all hold the record for the best hide and seekers!” “Hey, don’t forget about Pinkie and Pinkie!” A random Pinkie demanded. “Pinkie and Pinkie traded that for the best Staircase Log Flume Riders,” said the Pinkie in front of us. “But nevermind that! We all know we’ve been looking for a way to boost our FUN-Having productivity! And I, Pinkie, and you, Pinkies, all know that this Morgue will be the answer to our fun!” “There’s a girl named Appleboom too,” I reminded them. “Applebloom,” Sweetie Tell reminded me. The Pinkys didn’t respond. They were too busy breaking out into crazed happiness, jumping around like tiny dogs and screaming ‘FUN’ as they went. A few Pinkys even started jumping back onto the rooftops so they could be seen celebrating better than the other Pinkys. When about ten more had the same idea they all started bouncing and dancing on the roof until it collapsed. Big Mac, Tell and I all cringed at the sound of the wood splintering but it all turned out okay as the Pinklers began pouring out the front door in laughter. “This is crazy,” Swintie Tell breathed. “Eeyup.” Big Mac agreed. I was a little worried too but all the Pinkeys seemed to be having fun. I guess if this was an amusement park then that building was probably a funhouse or something. “Seems like all Pinkies are on deck!” Our Pinkey told them. “Now then. Let the 212th game of Hide and Seek: Morgue edition begiiiin...” She reached to her side and held up a checkered flag with her hoof. “...NOW!” She brought down the flag and before it was even close to the ground, all the Pinkies turned into blurs, running out of the marketplace and into every direction possible. The army of Pinkeys was now back to three Pinkeys. When the three Pink-Es smiled back at us, I furrowed my brow. “Don’t you wanna find Morgue and Applebroom too?” “Sure we would,” one of them told me. “But we can’t let you wander around without knowing where all the fun is. If you can’t find the fun then you might not have fun! And we can’t just let you not have fun! Where’s the fun in that?!” Then, out of nowhere, one of the Pink-Es leaned over my shoulder. How’d she get there? “So what do you guys wanna check out first?” She asked. “We got the Showstopper Stage, the Rubber House, Game Lane. Oh, oh! How’s about the Neighborhood Ball Pit?” “Let’s save the ball pit for the end,” the other Pink-E, now leaning out from my other shoulder, suggested. “With all the Pinkies that get lost in there, that’s where they’ll look for that party guy first!” “So, you’ll really be able to find Mike’s brothers and his sister?” I asked, pointing my thumb out towards Big Mac. “No problemo!” The third Pink-E suddenly looked down at me from atop my head. “With all the Pinkies on the search, if they’re anywhere in the park then we’ll find ‘em. They can’t hide forever, ya know.” Wow, they all feel so weightless, I noticed. How did they break that roof when they’re so light? I smiled but before I could thank them my stomach began to rumble. All this excitement and the pile of Pink-Is were doing a great job at distracting me from being hungry but that wouldn’t last long. All three of the Pink-Is hopped off, giggling as they went. “With that rumbling tummy, I think I know where we should start. Come Pinkies! And guests,” she added. “To Buffet Street!” “Buffet Street?!” I could feel my mouth start to water. “What do they got?” “You mean, what don’t they got!” A Pink Flea beamed at me. “Get a Funnel Cake, wash it down with a milkshake, nom on some super-chunker cookie quartets, and in the center of the street? One of our Cooking Pinkie’s filled the fountain with chocolate pudding mix!” I spun around to the others with stars in my eyes. “You two hear that? Chocolate pudding fountain...” Big Mac and Swindly Fell shared a look before they both turned back to me with this apologetic look. “That’s...great and all,” Swindly started. “But we...I...Is it a good idea to stick around that long?” “Hay yeah it is!” One of the Pink Fleas walked up to them. “I mean, Pinkie Park is the best place to be around here! Why would anypony want to be anywhere else?” Big Mac said nothing. Instead, he stared at me with a careful expression. “Mike. We gotta go.” “Wait, go?” I frowned. “But, chocolate pudding fountain. Do we really have to go now?” “Yeah~,” a Pinkee hummed. “Do you really?” This time, Swindle looked at me. “Big Mike, what if Applebloom and your brothers aren’t here?” “Where else would they be?” I asked. “Well, that forcefield thing looks like it goes over all of Ponyville and then some.” Swandly pointed at the purple sky. It did seem like it curved back down to the ground. Like a huge, 3D rainbow. I scratched my jaw as I thought it over. Before Swandly woke up I was calling out for Morgue and Joe. If they were anywhere nearby, they would have probably heard me. “But...But the chocolate fountain,” I muttered. This place seemed so nice. Not to mention I was pretty hungry. “Would taking a small break really be that bad?” “At least a little one?” “Just an insy-tini one. It’ll be fine!” “We can keep looking for you. Just stay and have fun!” “Fun?” “Fun-fun-funily fun!” The Pinkees were trying to back me up but the two looked unconvinced. “Please?” I tried one more time, trying to muster the best puppy-dog eyes I could. I knew that I was too old for them but Morgue told me that they still might work out of pity. And pity food tastes just as good as not pity food. Big Mac’s expression dropped a little and for a moment I thought I had convinced him. He even started walking over towards us. Then he planted a hand on my shoulder. “Big Mike,” he started, giving me a sad frown. I frowned myself. I knew what ‘no’ looked like. “Yeah?” I asked anyway. “Ya said yer brothers were older before. That right?” My head leaned back a little. That’s not a no...Where’s this going? “Yeah? Joe’s nineteen and Morgue’s eighteen. Big Mike’s turning seventeen...sometime,” I trailed off. Actually, I couldn’t remember how long it was until my birthday. Probably because I couldn’t remember what day it was. “You’re seventeen?” Swaniy asked in shock. Big Mac ignored her, keeping his attention on me. “Ya worried ‘bout ‘em?” “About Morgue and Joe?” I smiled and shook my head. “Nah. They’re pretty smart. If they’re lost they probably have tons of ideas on what to do.” Big Mac’s frown didn’t let up. In fact, he just gave me a slow nod. “That’s mighty fine a’ ya Big Mike. But Ah can’t relate.” Now it was my turn to frown. “Why not? Isn’t this Appleboom girl smart?” “Applebloom,” Swanty corrected and I flinched. Oops. Only now did Big Mac give me a sad smile. “As a tack,” he told me. “Sometimes too smart fer her own good.” Then the smile dropped back down. “But, Ah’m still gonna worry. It’s what big brothers do.” I wanted to say something, but I could tell he had more to say. “It’s good hearin’ ya trust yer kin. Ah trust mine too,” he explained. “But. Mah Granny an’ AB are all the family Ah got near me. That means it’s mah job ta keep ‘em safe. “If Applebloom ain’t here, Ah need ta check someplace else. So Ah’m checkin’ all a’ Ponyville. Then Ah’ll check the farm.” He took in a breath. “Now, Ah ain’t ever gonna admit it but Ah know Granny can hold ‘er own. Jus’ like ya say yer brothers can. “Ya seem nice Big Mike. So Ah’m gonna trust ya. But, Ah don’t wanna drag ya about if’n ya don’t want to. So...Can Ah ask fer yer help?” He held out his hand towards me. “...” “...” “...” “...” Swenty Trail kept looking back and forth between us but she wasn’t gonna find anything. Big Mac was waiting for an answer and I wasn’t wasting my time thinking. I looked Big Mac straight in the eyes. “You said you were worried?” “Eeyup.” He nodded. I took in a deep breath. Then clasped his hand. “Why didn’t you just say so?” When he gave me a good long look, I only smiled in return. “When you said you wanted to find your sister, I didn’t think it was because you were worried. I thought it was because neither of us know what was going on.” I held out my hand again. “If you’re worried, then that’s that. Forget about the food. I’ll eat later.” Big Mac blinked. “...Yer name.” “Huh?” It took me a second before my face lit right back up. “Oh, that. Sorry, Big Mike tal—err, I don’t mean to talk like that on purpose. I just don’t think about it,” I finished, putting attention into every word I said. It was something I fell into a habit of. If I actually paid attention then I could talk normal whenever I wanted to. But I knew I was bigger than everybody else, maybe a little scarier too. Using my name all the time made people think I was goofy instead of scary. So I kept it. At least, that was the excuse I was going with. “Hold on.” I turned around to see the three Pinkees staring us down. Their faces weren’t smiling anymore and they had that same look of annoyance that they had when they mentioned those dragons. “None of you are staying,” One of them accused. “You wanna leave?” “You’re leaving fun?” “Why?” They all started to get more and more upset. “Don’t worry. It’s all okay,” I told them with a smile. “We know that this place is probably way better than anything else. You guys even have a street named after my favorite kind of restaurant. “But right now, we gotta go find his sister. Because if she’s not here, then she can’t have fun at the park either.” The ponies eased their frowning faces for a second. “But we already told you that the other Pinkies are looking for them. Our best seekers are on it.” “Our best hiders too!” “Maybe,” I admitted. “But if Big Mac doesn’t know where his sister is then he won’t have any fun at the park.” All of their expressions stretched into shock and terror. “And, if this Babblebloom—” “App-Le-Bloom,” Sweety interrupted. “Yeah. Either of them,” I added as Sweeny covered her face with her hands. “If Big Mac can find his sister, then his sister can stop having whatever the opposite of fun is.” The Pinkees fell silent for a moment before the center one pulled the others in for their own private group huddle; impossible to understand the murmuring and whispers that snuck past their meeting. Every now and then one of them would turn to watch as Big Mac and Sweetie shuffled over next to me as though we had our own meeting. “Big Mac, did that make any sense to you?” Sweeney asked. “Eenope.” When the Pinkees were finished with their team huddle, they broke apart and stood at a line facing us with smiles all around. “After our completely exclusive fun meeting, we have come to a decision,” The head Pinkie told us. “For reasons of which we are sworn into only the most secretest of secret secrecies, we have decided that for the sake of fun, we’ll let you leave Pinkie Park to help find your family and bring them back!” I broke out into a huge grin almost as big as the ponies’. “How nice! Thank you so much Pinklys.” “D’awww, it’s nothing.” “Glad to help.” “For the sake of fun!” They each looked their own version of bashful. “Did nopony catch that ‘let you’ party?” Sweeney muttered none of us could hear it. Without much else said, the Pinkiis started bouncing onward, beckoning for us to follow. I gave the others a thumbs up and started walking as they took place behind me. As we went on, we ran into a handful of Pinkiis, with most of them asking where we were going. The three Pinkiis didn’t even have to explain everything to them. All it took was a smile and a nod and the rest of the Pinkiis waved us goodbye. After a short walk, and roads coated with confetti and the messy remnants of fun parties’ past, we finally made it to the edge of the amusement park. Streamers and lines of colorful party flags ran across the buildings and low to the ground as though it was piles of police tape. There was much less trash and decorations around this point too. And up ahead, the colorful paper and amusement park simply ended. As if there was a solid line that divided this park from everything else. Meanwhile, past the park was a town with weeds growing wild and some dusty looking windows. “Here we are. The other side.” The three of us looked behind us and saw that the Pink Flys were keeping their distance. I furrowed my brow. “You don’t wanna come with us?” A Pink Fly chortled. “And leave the park? Are you crazy?” The three of them shared a laugh. “We’re good. But thanks for the invite! Have fun!” They didn’t stay long after that. Instead, they started walking away, waving with their hooves as they did. Weird, I thought. Can all horses lift their arms that high? Streamer Belt studied the road past the park. “It looks so...different.” Big Mac said nothing. Instead, he started walking under the flags and streamers and into the other side. I gave Streamer a smile and started to walk forward myself. “Big Mac’s right. If his sister’s somewhere over there than that’s an even bigger reason to go. So let’s go then.” It only took a moment for her to convince herself to come along too. Within a minute or two, the decorations were long out of sight and the only thing we could see of the park was the big tent and the even bigger Ferris wheel looming over this entire town.