//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Putting the Pieces Back Together // Story: Inkwell - Reflections and Phantoms // by Archmage Ansrit //------------------------------// AUTHOR NOTES IN THE COMMENTS BELOW ***** Ponyville Hospital’s waiting room – After Canterlot. Princess Celestia sighed as she entered the room; the situation didn’t go as she had anticipated… well, to be honest, she never really knew what to expect, so maybe things had gone poorly before it all began. Because, as her student, as well as her own dear sister already knew, there was something she feared and yet had to deal with it constantly; mercilessly testing all of her abilities on a daily basis. Making a costly mistake. Hindsight is, and has always been, an unkind, unforgiving thing. She should have insisted more on using her own wings and leading, instead of letting the guards go first and using the much slower carriage… The guards had reacted far too harshly. There had been a monster attack not a full minute before they arrived! What had they expected, a ‘yessir, lemme roll over’? Nerves were frayed and –if what they were told about the creature’s natural weaponry was right- there were far more pressing issues occupying everypony’s heads. Even if she somehow had the ability to stand, she was bleeding, for goodness sake! It was plain as day that they should have been less aggressive! And the worst of all was that, so far, all they had was a bunch of rather weak connections; far too important to ignore, too big to be mere coincidence, but too flimsy to consider them as proof of anything solid. At most, they proved that she knew something. That was it. Somepony was struggling with the line between life and death because of information that might not even be related directly to the case; this development might prove something more… well, more! The only problem with that was that Celestia had no way to be sure until she spoke to her. Regardless of what it was, it would be a huge step towards understanding what had happened back in the castle, but now… Pinkie Pie entered the room with Rarity not far behind; distracting her from her thoughts… when had the pink pony left, anyways? Her mane was… odd, it wasn’t bouncing and pillow-like, but rather, it was straight and limp. “It’s not good!” She said, sniffling, before Twilight had the chance to ask her any question. “They- they are al-already…” “They are talking; saying that she must be a changeling or something of the sort; perhaps even from the start.” Rarity completed the sentence, doing what she could to alleviate the pink mare’s tension. “They are saying that that must the reason for the princesses’ visit; they are here to ‘deal with it’. And, naturally, this goes double for ‘Aer’.” “They are being mean, calling her stuff like ‘agent of Discord’ and such.” Pinkie said, and Celestia could have sworn that the filly’s colors had darkened slightly. “Ah dun’ get it.” Said Applejack, frowning slightly as she gave the other earth pony a brief nuzzle to try and console her. “No matter how weird it was, she helped –hay, she even got hurt ovah it- then-…” ***** “… Why would yah be feared? Ah just dun’ get it.” The orange pony heard the sharp gasp and realized she had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she missed when Pinkie- -was already running away to prepare the party. Oh well, one less worry to- A wheezing sound came from the cherry-haired pony, and she started mumbling and trembling after a few seconds. “Are yah alright?” Gemini fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut, whimpering softly. “Hey!” Dash was already by her side, nudging her head slowly to get a reaction, or at least find a way to help her up. “Hey, Gem, what’s wrong?!” With Applejack’s help, they managed to prop her up into sitting on her haunches; she was still unresponsive, but she didn’t fall again. “Hey there sugarcube, what happened?” For a moment that seemed to painfully stretch into minutes, Gemini did not react, her tear-stained face still frozen in fear. “No.” The unicorn lightly shook her head. “No, nonono.” She pushed herself backwards and tried standing, but her knees wobbled, barely able to hold her weight. Applejack, doing her best to support the distraught mare, was close enough to hear her faint whispers. “I have to go.” “Now wait a minute.” Applejack held her, gently but firmly. “No! If I wait, it’ll be too late!” She responded a little louder now, but her shallow breathing didn’t allow anything more than a hoarse whisper. “I’d rather leave than be run out of town. Sorry if I- if I gave you trouble.” “And why would somepony want to kick you out of town?” Lyra managed to ask despite the confusion. Gemini just gaped for a second; her pounding heart didn’t let thoughts form properly. “Why? Why not!” She was panting, and felt how fear was choking her. She pointed down the street in the direction she had seen the pink blur. “You saw her run! Maybe she saw something, maybe she was reminded of something! It would not be the first time…” Twilight, now understanding that Gemini had mistaken Pinkie’s reaction of surprise with one of fear, told Rainbow Dash to bring her back expeditiously. “As in, yesterday!” She hissed. “Now what’cha talkin’ about? That happens often?” “Yes!” “Why?” “Want the summary? I’m strong and that scares them.” “Now yah can’t be serious.” Applejack had to get Lyra’s help to stop the cream-coated filly from fidgeting, trying to stave off a full-blown panic attack; both had to quickly entrust their saddlebags to Twilight. “Mah big brother is real tough; could buck a dragon’s head all the way ‘round, but he’s just a big lug.” Gem looked her in the eyes, hers streaming with tears, and spoke in that cold, flat tone again. “And what if he did?” “Beg yer pardon?” “What if he killed a dragon, huh? What-what if there was a dragon that tried to eat a village, and he killed him?” Her ragged breath lowered in volume as she once again put on a mask of cold calm. “That’s how I came to be feared, how I got kicked out the first time; I killed a dragon - a large, eat-you-in-one-bite adult dragon.” “Sorry. Goodbye.” The distraction was enough to allow Gemini to push past the pair of ponies blocking her, but that only served to snap them out of it and make them shove back. And ask a multitude of questions. “The dragons that are smart enough to fight well are smart enough to not fight.” She offered in answer and, since she figured she wasn’t going to be staying much longer, she continued. “Besides, I had a good weapon and he didn’t quite expect to go against one with chaos permeating their being. The idiot never stood a chance.” “Chaos?” Twilight asked, right before- “There she is!” A high-pitched voice cried out energetically. This caused Gemini’s calm demeanor to vanish instantly, making her panic attack reach its peak. She screamed in terror and reared up, tossing Lyra and Applejack down to the ground. ***** Celestia, for all of her experience, didn’t have a good answer to Applejack’s question. She had a logical explanation, sure, but it didn’t mean it was actually good. “Uhg.” Twilight groaned, and Spike –who had not let go of her since the guards had arrived in town - hugged her a little tighter. She shook her head. “But it doesn’t make sense! No matter what they say; her being a changeling goes against what we know of her and about changelings, thus it cannot be the explanation! Besides, it’s wrong, didn’t they learn their lesson with Zecora?!” Hearing her student brought a genuine smile to her lips. ’Always so logical; despite the scare, she is still using her head.’ “And what are you going to do?” The princess of the sun glanced around the room, making sure to look everypony in the eye. With the exception of Spike, who was still shaken up… not that she could blame him. Her gaze came to a stop at the door a second or so before it opened. The nurse blinked, having just dropped by to see who they were holding up (and the guards posted everywhere were starting to freak her out, just a little). The princess was looking straight at her! “What are you going to do, with all of those rumors about her?” She repeated her question. “We-well, we made an oath.” The nurse stammered only once, before managing to get her mind back on track and continuing with more confidence. “It doesn’t matter if she’s a pony, an angel, or the spawn of Discord himself; she’s a patient in this hospital, and we will do our best.” The princess could not help but feel a small touch of pride and relief. ’Thank you.’ The mare by the door nodded, as if she had heard the princess’s thoughts, before turning around the room. “Speaking of which, Miss Dash, do you need any help?” “Nah.” She tried to play cool, but even the less observant could easily tell she was completely exhausted by the way she was swaying; the way she winced whenever she moved her wings told the princess that she was most likely feeling very sore. Going by what Twilight had written in her letters, these past few days the multi-hued mare seemed to be racing back and forth all across Ponyville. “Fluttershy, you need anything?” The butter yellow pegasus shook her head, leaning into Dash a little bit further. As Celestia understood, the shy filly had seen everything rather… closely; the creature’s hunt, then her friend’s injury, that thing’s demise, the guards’ actions… It was clear, at least to her time-tested mind, that Rainbow was doing anything possible to support her long-time friend by being strong for her, for all of them; despite of the protests of her own body, she held fast. Element of Loyalty indeed. “And you Spike?” Dash asked the little dragon, who just mumbled a negative while still hugging Twilight closely; not just for comfort, but to protect her. They cared for each other like siblings, with the occasional spat and all. If the words of ‘Aureolus’ on that crumpled, hastily-scribbled note were true… Twilight had been in danger. Of course, Celestia knew how resourceful and clever her student was, not to mention powerful and skilled, but for young Spike the words could well have said that the world was at stake. And on top of that he had become close friends with the mare in the emergency room; she simply loved how warm to the touch he was. This situation was hard on him. Applejack wasn’t just sitting idle, either; she tried comforting the pink party pony in turn. The first meeting with their new friend had been… less than ideal; she had no way of knowing, but still felt a little guilty about it. Celestia knew she would feel uncomfortable if she, too, had touched a sensitive issue with the grace of a sledgehammer; regardless of its accidental nature, it was still a rather unpleasant thought. Now? What had been a mere misunderstanding threatened to happen for real, and Pinkie was not taking it very well. ***** Sugar Cube Corner – Day 1 Bon-Bon loved the part-time job, really, she did – her candy shop was great, awesome, in fact- but the chance to do some baking and getting paid for it was something she simply could not let pass. ’One just has to get used to Pinkie Pie…’ “And you know what that means! A new friend has arrived!” Pinkie ranted at incredible speeds, during which she was also preparing a cake, cupcakes, and even her super-special hoof-made rainbow frosting (not made from actual rainbows). Bouncing from one place to the other to do everything at once, she wasn’t really paying much attention to Mrs. Cake, Bon-Bon, or Dash. ’Easier said than done. It’s WAY too early for me to be dealing with this.’ Bon-Bon thought, trying to see if she could get something done on time for the breakfast rush. On a weekend. Pure joy. “Pinkie.” Dash tried to speak. “And then I saw her! She was all gloomy and sad and speaking like she’s been through rough times so I gasped and I said to Myself: ‘Myself, you cannot let this continue!’ She deserves to be happy so I’m going to do my best and make sure she becomes happy with a fantabulous welcome planned by Ponyville’s premier pink party pony –yours truly! Only my name is not Yours Truly – is there a pony with that name? I’d love to meet him or her!” “Pinkie!” Dash tried to- “But the party funds are low! And I’m down to the last five kilos of confetti, last ten meters of each color of streamers and I have less than one hundred balloons and that means I have to break out the donations jar but I can’t actually break it because glass is dangerous and it could hurt somepony and don’t want to hurt-“ “You hurt her!” Dash screamed in exasperation, making Pinkie stop in mid-air, falling gently to her hooves; the other ponies look at her like she was spouting crazy talk even loonier than Pinkie’s. “What?” Pinkie said without turning around, still trying to process what she had heard. “Look, she thinks you’re scared of her and are putting a mob together to run her out of town!” “What?!” Pinkie was shocked, as was Mrs. Cake. “Why would I do something like that?!” “Look, she’s had it that bad before, alright?” Pinkie’s gaze hardened; she was a mare on a mission given to her by the heavens. “I’m going to need the Welcome Wagon.” She shot out of the kitchen, a bowl of pink cake batter on her back, and stopped in front of a closet. ’No.’ The other ponies watched Pinkie with mild concern and confusion. ’I’m not Twilight, and I don’t know much about Physics, but I know there is No. Way. No BUCKING way that that thing can FIT in there!’ Pinkie reached for the doors, the eyes on her widened on disbelief, she opened the closet and… it wasn’t there. The spectators let out a sigh of relief –each for their own reasons; Mrs. Cake was happy that Pinkie hadn’t ‘enhanced’ the place without at least warning her; Dash and Bon-Bon because the world still held a semblance of sense. “Mr. Cake!” Pinkie shouted. “Have you seen the Welcome Wagon?!” “I had to give it a good cleaning, dear!” The yellow stallion’s voice came from upstairs, then a few giggles, a rather loud squeaking noise, and a ‘thump’. “Pound! No pounding daddy!” The stallion, carrying his foals on the baby harness he wore, came down to meet them, dark bags under his eyes. “Anyways, one of the confetti-cannons was clogged with batter, and I had to change a hinge that was rusty from all the hot sauce.” Pinkie chuckled nervously and blushed slightly. “Erm… and where is it?” “Out-“ Pinkie disappeared from sight in a blur. “-back.” Dash had a brief moment to herself and her options. She could go along Pinkie and help her push that contraption, or get back first and explain that Pinkie didn’t have a mean bone in her body (maybe a few annoying ones at worst). She sighed, made her choice, and followed Pinkie. ***** Ponyville’s Hospital – Emergency operation in progress “We need to do… something.” Twilight spoke, determined to help, but unsure as to how. Her own grip on Spike tightened unconsciously. “This… this is the longest time she’s been in a town; she never had the opportunity to live her life as she wanted because of… stupid misunderstandings and close-minded panic! We can’t let something like that happen again…” Princess Celestia smiled sadly, nodding almost imperceptibly in silent agreement; she, too, was determined to show that Equestria was completely different from… wherever it was that she lived before. No-one, pony or not, should be forced to live like… like a vagrant! And certainly not because of such discriminations. Their meeting a few days before… she behaved just like a little filly! So full of awe, cheerfulness, and respect… and that heavy sorrow; Luna took a liking to her, what with her interesting quirks and such. They even saw her inner chaos magic, just by asking her to let it show (so to speak, it’s an aura thing); soft and gentle, so unlike Discord’s twisted one… kindness made all the difference. “Unfortunately, the past issues with the changelings, as well as herd mentality, have made ponies very wary and fearful of those different from them.” Clestia’s words sounded as grim as her mood. “Ignorance breeds hate, and it pains me to admit that there are things we do not understand about her… things she kept secret…” The princess paused to give everypony a brief glance to see their reactions, which were mixed, of course; this whole deal was very confusing. “Honesty breeds a family.” Celestia offered a comforting smile. “She might not have intended to reveal so much of herself when you first met, but do remember that her past has been harsh.” “Ah guess that if she wasn’ sayin’ sumthin’, it was ‘cuz she was afraid of that same reaction.” Applejack said as she pointed towards town. If their friend had many secrets, it was only because she had been mistreated for being careless with them, and yet, she wanted to be honest with her friends. That right there was a major inner conflict. Sure, friends trust one another and sure, they could trust that whatever secrets they still kept were things that they didn’t really need to know but… well, this wasn’t a normal situation. Heck, the ponies involved were not normal to begin with – what with six of them being the Elements of Harmony and one a sort of descendant of some kind of spirit of chaos. No, not Discord, thank you very much. The story didn’t explain the whole thing, like how exactly her ancestors had gotten what she called their ‘gift’, but AJ and the others could understand that if she wasn’t ready, then that meant she wasn’t ready! “Luna should be addressing the assembled ponies about now; we don’t want misunderstandings.” The princess spoke in her most reassuring voice, her confidence and motherly tone seemed to bring some comfort to them; Spike had let go of Twilight, even, though he was still glued to her side. “After all, we came personally to discuss something very important with her, not because of a changeling threat or anything related to Discord.” “Important?” “She is rather knowledgeable, and it seems she has been hiding the true extent of her abilities… I am sure that, thanks to her knowledge and her ability to see magical flow so clearly, she might know a thing or two both about what happened yesterday and its possible relation to the ‘Magical Phantom Thief’.” ***** Intersection of Mane Street and Daisy Lane – Day One. “There she is!” Pinkie Pie perked up when she saw that the new arrival hadn’t moved much from the place she left her at. Her smile fell when she got a panicked scream in response, but her resolve hardened twice as much. She dashed forward, leaving the wagon behind for Dash to push. The pink pony passed in between her stunned friends and through an odd, funny-feeling bubble of air. Not funny-ha-ha, oh no… it was icky, like whatever had placed it there was feeling bad and left some of that feeling hanging in the air. The runaway mare dove into an alley with a dead end and turned around, only to find Pinkie already there. She froze and, in turn, Pinkie did as well; the cheery baker still could not believe that she had provoked that reaction! Such a small misunderstanding, well, what should have been small, had caused this. This poor spirit had been broken in the past, and she had accidentally provoked another fracture. However, there was something she could do about it; after all, when you fell down you had to get back up and pick the pieces. And you didn’t have to do it alone. “I’m sorry I made you sad.” The party filly pawed the ground awkwardly. “See, there’s this thing I do like, all the time, where I make a party for some reason or the other… maybe no reason at all. It’s what I do.” The mare that had backed to the wall choked on her words for a few seconds, but Pinkie kept going. “What to know a good reason for throwing a party?” Pinkie’s smile returned to her face bit by bit. “Making a new pony feel welcome and make lots of friends.” “Fo-fo-…” Gemini swallowed. “A party… for me?” She asked softly. She was not going to leave anything to chance. She was focusing really, really hard on the pink mare standing in front of her… so much, in fact, that her senses started to bleed into one another like whenever she let loose too far. The mare’s heartbeat was like a drum solo and a fireworks display, full of color and energy. Her body was absolutely free of the dark, smelly, constricting apprehension the great majority experienced when telling a lie. And there was something else yet again that she couldn’t place – only now she was focusing hard enough (at first in case of emergency, now from curiosity) to tell a bit more about it… it was the sound of sunshine dancing on the petals of flowers, it was the taste of a good time. This cotton-candy pink filly was as far from being part of an angry mob as the moon was from being made of cheese. “So you are Pin…?” Pinkie’s grin was so wide it almost split her head. She got on her hind legs and retreated while spinning like a ballerina, stopping right in front of Rainbow, who just nursed a bruised muzzle and grumbled something. Gem slowly walked out of the alley, curious at whatever the dancing pony was doing, since it was affecting everything around them; the sheer energy she spread began to take shapes and, in turn, shaped the free-flowing ambient magic. It was taking the form of… music, of all things. “My name is Pinkie Pie,” “Is she…?” Gem asked. ”And I am here to say,” “She is.” Lyra answered, dusting herself. “I’m gonna make you smile, and I will brighten up your day! It doesn’t matter now, If you are sad or blue. Cause cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie’s here to do! Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile! Yes I do~! It fills my heart with sunshine all the while, yes it does~! Cause all I really need is a smile, smile, smile, From these happy friends of mine!” “We’ll talk later.” Twilight said as Gem was pulled by the singing pony. If she liked music, she’d love Pinkie. “I like to see you grin, I love to see you beam, The corners of your mouth turned up, Is always Pinkie’s dream.” “Hoof-bump!” Pinkie knocked hooves with the cerulean pegasus, who just couldn’t stay mad at such a cheerful display. “But if you’re kind of worried, And your face has made a frown, I’ll work real hard and do my best, To turn that sad frown upside-down! Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin! Yes I do! Busting out from ear to ear, Let it begin! Just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin! And you fill me with good cheer!” Pinkie let go of her and sat down, nuzzling her softly. “It’s true; some days are dark and lonely. And maybe you feel sad, But Pinkie will be there to show you that it isn’t that bad.” The pink mare smiled widely when she saw how much Gem seemed to enjoy her song. “There’s one thing that makes me happy, And makes my whole life worthwhile! And that’s when I talk to my friends and get them to smile!” Random ponies from around were bouncing with each step, ready to burst into a joyous chorus as the resident merrymaker worked her magic. “I really am so happy; Your smile fills me with glee! I give a smile, I get a smile, And that’s so special to me. Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam! Yes I do Tell me, what more can I say to make you see? That I do! It makes me happy when you beam, beam, beam. Yes it always makes my day!” The singer held the newcomer by her forelegs and made her dance around with her. Ponies all around were singing along. “Come on, everypony, smile, smile, smile. Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine. All I really need is a smile, smile, smile, From these happy friends of mine! Yes a perfect gift for me, Is a smile as wide as a mile! To make me happy as can be! Smile, smile, smile, smile, smile! Come on and smile!” The music had barely faded from the air when Pinkie let go of the cherry-haired mare, both with large smiles pasted on their faces. She pressed a button on the contraption she had suddenly abandoned before. Those ponies that were paying attention to the party pony –pretty much anypony who had heard her sing- recognized the signs and hurried along. A violinist barely had any time to put away her instrument before a trumpeter began poking her to speed her up; musicians with bulkier instruments had a harder time moving than their nimbler companions, but such was the life of an Equestrian music pony. The unspoken message spread like wildfire to whoever looked at the Welcome Wagon, sending ponies off in a hurry. ‘Party imminent’ it said with nary a word, ‘clear up a spot on your schedule to at least nab a slice of cake’. The wagon opened up, mechanically-controlled instruments performed a small fanfare and an oven called out with its bell, opening and flinging a pair of pans towards the future guest of honor. And covering her in lukewarm pink batter with colorful bits of paper stuck inside. To say Twilight and the girls were shocked wouldn’t do it justice; they froze where they stood. Pinkie was crestfallen… … Right as the confetti cannons blasted sprinkles and chocolate chips high into the sky, raining on the messy unicorn and bouncing off the metal pan that hung from her horn, hiding her face from the gathered ponies. “Oh no!” Pinkie was hopping from one side to another, remembering what had happened the last time she had had a mishap like that, the memories making her feel a mix of awkwardness and mild panic. “Pleasepleaseplease don’t be mad! I was just-!” “Pinkie.” Gemini didn’t bother with moving at all and spoke calmly and firmly, making the others flinch in fear of an outburst. What they got instead surprised them. “You just sang for me and fed me.” She was heard smacking her lips and gulping from under the pan; apparently, she was eating the batter as-is. “Thus filling in two of my favorite activities, all despite not knowing me and, in fact, because of it.” Another gulp. “I can say that you are the best pony and it’s damn near physically impossible for me to be mad at you for any meaningful length of time.” Everypony else sighed in relief, with Pinkie nearly melting from it. “Next time you might wanna wait longer than a single musical number.” Dash nudged a blushing pink pony. “I mean, I know we aren’t the most patient, but I know it’s kinda hard to rush a cake – at least without turning it into coal.” “So… everything’s alright?” Twilight asked. “No running?” “Not unless you make me run, no.” “Mind telling us what that was all about?” Dash asked. “I don’t react well to being shown fear.” “Ah’m glad that’s over, then.” Applejack smiled… then grimaced at the noises coming from their guest, who was just sitting there, unmoving. “Don’ya even care there’s them paper bits in there?” “You have no idea of how hard cake is to come by when living in the wild.” She was licking something under there. “And there are many actual advantages to being me.” Twilight was relieved to see that Gem had gotten over her multiple successive crises, at least right now. “So no, not really.” “Pink-ie!” They heard a high-pitched shriek. “What have you done?!” Pinkie blanched, her ears pressed against her head, her pupils turned the size of pinpricks and her hair almost deflated. ’Uh oh, Rarity found out I ruined somepony’s dress again.’