Ditzy flew through the skies of Ponyville once more, again on the trail of Pinkie Pie. Both eyes wandered about in her quest for the earth pony. “Searching for Pinkie Pie to deal with parasprites,” she muttered. “Learning what parasprites are and trying to head off a completely unpredictable pony who is more random than weather over the Everfree and more complex than hoofball statistics. I am so bucked.” She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “No, I must find her.” She thrust a foreleg into the air. “I will find her!”
She looked down, catching sight of Trixie as she galloped into the town square. Ditzy dove towards her friend, one eye on Trixie and the other eye trying – and failing – to see Dinky. “Trixie!” she called out. “Where's Dinky?” she asked, landing on the ground and trotting to a halt.
Trixie sucked in a breath, holding it before blowing it out of the side of her muzzle. “She's back in the post office with Silver Script.” A shaky smile formed on her mouth. “She did good helping me out with those damned things. We got them all rounded up into mail bags for... later.” Her eyes drifted about at the clumps of parasprites flying about. “Oh, this is beyond not good,” she muttered.
Ditzy threw her forelegs around Trixie's neck, pulling her in for an Ursa hug. “Oh, she's all right?” she cried out. “Oh, thank you, Trixie. I was so worried about her!” She leaned back and kissed Trixie on the cheek. “Thank you so much!”
Trixie's cheeks turned a bright, deep red. She craned her neck away, eventually wriggling out of Ditzy's embrace. “Yeah... no problem.” She grunted. “Ditzy... please let go.” She waited for the pegasus to drop her forelegs back to the ground before speaking again. “Okay, so the bugs back at the post office are all tied up, but now we've got all these to deal with.” She shook her head. “And I'm already exhausted from earlier.”
Ditzy bit her lip. “Trixie, I've got an idea about that. I think there's somepony who knows how to stop these things.” She leaned forward. “She knows their names and reacted with utter disgust at their mere presence!” Her head bobbed up and down, a grin forming on her face.
Trixie cocked an eyebrow. “And... what's the catch?” She waved a foreleg at Ditzy. “Come on, Ditzy. I can tell you're holding something back.”
Ditzy's head drooped. “Promise me you'll give me the benefit of the doubt? That you won't simply dismiss what I have to say out of hoof?”
There was a slight pause before the unicorn nodded. “For you, Ditzy, of course I will.” Trixie glanced around at the various parasprites. “Not like I've got a better idea at the moment.”
Ditzy let out a sigh of relief. She hopped into the air, turned and flew off, Trixie following behind. “Oh, thank you, Trixie!” Her head turned back and forth. “We've got to find Pinkie Pie. I know she's – WHOA!” Ditzy let out a shout as she was telekinetically swung around to come muzzle-to-muzzle with Trixie. “Hey, come on!” she said, flailing her legs about. “Trixie, you promised!”
Trixie's right eye twitched. “Ditzy, it's Pinkie Pie.” She waved a hoof around and rolled her eyes. “Okay, so she knows their names. What if that's all she knows about them, Ditzy? She's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, to be blunt.”
Ditzy's eyes rolled about. “Trixie, come on! We don't have time to waste.” She flailed about in the telekinetic field holding her. “And please let me go.” At that, the field dissipated and she touched down on the ground. “Trixie, you're breaking your promise,” she said, hanging her head and kicking at the dirt. “You didn't even give me a chance to explain!”
Trixie's eyes slowly shut. “Okay, you're right. I'm sorry, Ditzy.” She reached out and patted her friend on the shoulder. “Just... make it quick?”
The pegasi's head cocked to the side. “So lucky...” She let out a breath. “I saw Pinkie Pie standing in the town square, with a bunch of parasprites – that's their name – floating about. They weren't eating anything at the time, but she still reacted with utter disgust and trotted off.” She raised her head and leaned in close to Trixie, causing the unicorn to back up slightly. “She wanted a banjo, Trixie. I'm not sure why, but she was in a big hurry to get one!”
A snort escaped Trixie. “Considering what Silver Script was doing to some of them back at the post office, she might not be planning to serenade them.” She focused on Ditzy. “Okay, she knows their names, reacted like she's seen them before and wants a banjo. That is... random, even for her.” She held up a foreleg just as Ditzy's mouth opened. “I'm not dismissing anything you said, just laying it all out!”
Ditzy sighed. “Well, I don't have any other ideas than find Pinkie Pie and ask what the hay's going on.” She unfurled her wings and shook her entire body as a cloud of parasprites flew about. “And where did these come from?” She hopped about. “Shoo, shoo!”
Trixie's horn glowed once more. The clouds of the vermin were pushed back, but only for a moment. She groaned, her head dropping slightly. “No way we can get rid of all of them,” she confessed. “If we miss one of them, it'll just hock up more!” She trotted around Ditzy, head bobbing back and forth. “I just hope Pinkie Pie knows what she's doing and isn't planning a concert.” She looked back to Ditzy, a gleam in her eye. “That's Lyra's job!”
Trixie plodded up to a two-story building situated near the Ponyville Public Library, Ditzy barely hovering beside her. Trixie looked up and down Bonbon's Confectionarium, the awning over the closed and locked entrance, the two windows shut and the curtains drawn behind them. “Okay, no sign... of... Pinkie Pie around Ponyville... so where... is she?” she gasped out. She wiped her sweat-soaked brow. “Two hours of searching, and not one trace of a pink mane anywhere?!”
Ditzy landed next to Trixie. “Not a clue. Maybe she found her banjo?”
Trixie looked about as a group of parasprites dove for an unclosed window, funneling through it and into a flower shop. “If she did, she didn't do anything with it!” A sudden slam from above caught her attention. She looked up just as one of the windows opened and Raindrops tumbled out. “What the feather?!”
Raindrops tumbled head over hooves, finally spreading her wings out and slowing to a stop. She righted herself and stared at the window, snorting. Her shoulders heaved and her legs curled up, tensing.
Trixie hopped up onto her hind legs, waving her forelegs in the air. “Raindrops!” she shouted, waiting for the pegasus to look down at her and Ditzy. “Pinkie Pie in there, I assume?”
Raindrops looked down at Trixie and Ditzy. “She just... was there!” She jabbed a foreleg at the window. “Lyra and Bonbon closed up the shop and locked every door, but she was just... there!” She ground her teeth together. “I'm not sure how much I can take, Trixie. She's not listening to anypony and I think Bonbon's about ready to kill her!” She paused. “How's Dinky?”
Ditzy spoke up. “She's fine!”
Raindrops let out a breath. “Good to – Get away from the window!” she shouted as a dozen parasprites made a beeline for the still-open window. “Ditzy, get Trixie up here!” she called out as she flew about the small swarm, pushing them back with carefully-applied gusts of wind from her wings.
Ditzy tossed Raindrops a salute before flying up. She hooked her forelegs under Trixie's shoulder joint and lifted off, her wings beating rapidly. She let out a grunt as she approached the windowsill. She flew through, placing Trixie on a the carpeted floor of Lyra and Bonbon's bedroom. Raindrops flew in, the window slamming shut behind her. Trixie's eyes shifted back and forth as she quickly took stock of the situation.
Pinkie Pie was standing on a princess-sized bed, one lyre balanced on her withers and another clutched in her mouth. Lyra and Bonbon flanked the bed, the former pawing at the carpet and the latter standing stock-still with a rather blank expression on her face. “Pinkie Pie,” Bonbons slowly said, her words drawn out, “if you give us back Lyra's lyres, I promise I'll only break one of your legs. And you even get to choose which one!” Her muzzle widened as she smiled, her eyes glittering. “Come on, you don't need one of your hind legs to bake, do you?”
Pinkie Pie backed up a bit before leaping straight up, somersaulting in midair before landing on Bonbon's head. Before Bonbon could react, Pinkie Pie was in the air again, bouncing through the room. Raindrops swiped at her with her forelegs, but Pinkie's body contorted, somehow slipping through Raindrops' grasp while keeping the lyre balanced on her back stable and the one in her mouth still gripped tightly by her teeth. She landed, hopping up and spinning around even as Lyra and Bonbon jumped at her. She ducked underneath Lyra and sidestepped Bonbon, backing up but stopping as she bumped her dock and tail into a corner. Her eyes widened slightly as Raindrops, Bonbon and Lyra cornered her in the corner, but she shook her head. “Mhh, mhh!”
Trixie's lips curled back. “All right, that's it!” She trotted forward, past Lyra and Bonbon until she came muzzle-to-muzzle with Pinkie Pie. “We've got swarms of big eaters out there straight out of Dream Valley. Beyond marshaling every unicorn in the tri-city area and beyond we've got no reliable way of getting rid of these things beyond Princess Luna herself. And the Eventime Festival is next week, with my big performance.” She jabbed a foreleg at the lyre. “You know what these things are. You know their names, and Ditzy thinks you know how to get rid of them.” She cantered to the side and waved back at the window. “So unless you'd like Ponyville croup deep in parasprites, start talking!”
Pinkie Pie's head bobbed up and down. She began speaking – with the lyre still gripped in her mouth. She hopped up onto her hind legs, waving her forelegs about. Her eyes bulged and she trotted in place before dropping back to all fours, panting slightly.
Trixie blinked. She bit her lip and wobbled slightly. “I give up,” she muttered.
Ditzy's mouth twisted, her cheeks puckering. She trotted over to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, please. You know something about these things. We need to know it, too. Why do you need the instruments? What do they have to do with the parasprites?”
Pinkie finally spat out the lyre. Lyra gasped and her horn glowed as she snagged it, levitating it away. “Hey!” Lyra cried out.
Pinkie Pie tilted her head down, looking at Ditzy down her nose. “I don't have time to tell you, Ditzy. “She shook her head, her mane whipping back and forth like a cloud of cotton candy.” I don't have time for any of this! I need to get going and-”
“No,” Trixie stated. “You need to tell us what's going on!” She stomped on the floor, then looked down. “And this needs to be hardwood for dramatic effect!”
Everypony slowly looked to her, silence descending upon the room. “Well, it's true,” she mumbled. Trixie rolled her eyes. “Anyway, the point is you need to tell us why you need musical instruments.” She leaned forward, cocking her head to the side and wiggling one of her ears. “Well, come on!”
Pinkie Pie stared at her for a second. “What? Listen to me? But... nopony here listens to me!” She looked around at their stares. “Well, you don't. I talk, but you bob your heads and say 'that's nice,' or simply walk off.”
Trixie stared at her, right eye twitching. “B-but... half the time you're just spouting nonsense about parties or inane streams of babbling that loop back on themselves like a mobius strip!” She ground her teeth together. “It's always about parties and cake and you foist cupcakes onto me, calling muffins boring and other horse apples.” She shrugged her shoulders, causing her cape to flutter about. “Don't you dare try to turn this back on us, you party addict! Now spill on those instruments, now!”
Raindrops looked down, focusing on Trixie. “Little harsh?” She held up a hoof as Trixie looked up, her hat tilting back so she could look the pegasus in the eyes. “Well, you're right, but you could've gone a bit easier on her.” She motioned to Pinkie Pie.
The pink earth pony had fallen back on her haunches. “You-you don't think I listen to you? But if I didn't listen, how would I know when to throw you parties or where you'd be when the parties go off? Or when you're buying boring old muffins instead of cool cupcakes? If I didn't listen, I'd never know you were getting boring muffins!”
Trixie bit her lip. She finally sucked in a breath. “Pinkie Pie, sometimes we don't need or even want parties thrown for us. You may hear us, but you don't listen to us. You throw parties and bounce through them with nary a care if the 'guest of honor' is happy or not to even be there.” She held up a hoof as Pinkie Pie's mouth opened. “Okay, maybe you really want everypony to be happy. In and of itself, that's good. But you never find out what it takes to make us happy, or even if we want cheering up in the first place.”
Raindrops crossed her forelegs and smiled. “Pretty good, Trixie.”
Trixie glanced up, nodding. “Thanks.” She looked back to Pinkie Pie. “Okay, I'm gonna take a big step here, Pinkie. I'm gonna listen to you. Okay? But please remember about the parasprites outside, out of control.” She waved a hoof in the air. “So we're listening to you. Go on.”
Pinkie's eyes darted around. “I... lived on a rock farm when I was a filly, farming gems and other precious metals. We also grew crops for our own, but that meant we didn't go into town often for much of anything.” She looked to the floor, a hoof tracing a circle in the carpet. “One of the things we had to worry about were parasprites, since they'd eat all the food. The only way to drive them off was a tune Granny Pie taught to us. If they heard it, they'd follow it away from the farm.” She waved at the lyre next to Lyra. “That's why I need all the instruments. I... figured it'd be easier to simply get them and play the tune and lure them away.” She looked around. “I'm sorry, everypony. Especially you, Lyra.”
Lyra waved her off. “No hard feelings, Pinkie.” She glanced to her left and Trixie. “Okay, I've got a spare harmonica and cello, but beyond that it's all I've got.” She looked to Pinkie. “Will it be enough? And can you hum the tune?” A crazy grin crossed her mouth. “I'm listening.”
Pinkie rocketed to her hooves. “A few more ought to do it!” She trotted forth. “And I've got a record of it in my apartment above Sugarcube Corner.”
Trixie nodded. “Okay, good.” She waved a foreleg around, pointing at everyone in the room. “Raindrops, fly to Blues' music store and ask him for some instruments. Lyra, go to Sugarcube Corner and listen to that tune. Ditzy, you fly to the post office and tell Silver Script and Dinky to move the mail bags of parasprites outside and be ready to open them when the parade goes by. Any questions?”
Bonbon raised a hoof. “Yeah. Who put you in charge?”
Trixie rolled her eyes. "Do you have a better idea?"
Bonbon shrugged. "Sorry," she muttered, pawing at the carpet. "Just trying to lighten the mood."
Raindrops snorted. “We forgive you this time, Bonbon.” She flew to the window. “Ditzy, ready?”
Trixie, Lyra, Bonbon and Pinkie Pie trotted out of the bedroom and down the stairs as Ditzy flew to the window. Raindrops placed a hoof against the center seam separating the two halves. “Okay, on three... one, two three!” She pushed against the window and it opened. Ditzy and Raindrops flew out, the former flitting about at any passing parasprites while Raindrops shut the window. “See you at the post office,” Raindrops called out as she turned, angling for as straight a path as possible to Blue's store.
“Wait,” Ditzy called out. She waited for Raindrops to look to her. “Thanks for listening to me,” she said, smiling. “And it seems you were right.” At her friend's confused expression, she chuckled. “It seems Pinkie did want to throw a parade after all!”
Trixie paused as she approached the front door of the Confectionarium. “What the buck is that?” she said, cocking her head to the side. “It almost sounds like... laughter?” She shrugged. “Nah.”