//------------------------------//
// Balloons (Pinkie x Pokey) 
// Story: The Undermining Project 
// by treetoptrooper 
//------------------------------//

	Here's a visual of Pokey Pierce, just in case you don't know.

Hi there, my name's Pokey Pierce. I'm one of the best known ponies in Ponyville, mainly cause I love everything that's surprising or loud, but my absolute favorite surprise is the sound of a balloon popping. The shocking pop sound that makes everyone at the party look up is just so thrilling. Too bad not everypony shares my interests: namely my arch-nemesis, that annoying filly Pinkie Pie. I pop just one of her balloons and she totally freaks out on me like I've just killed someone. It can really get on my nerves the way she's so protective of her stuff.
Too bad we've got another party coming up this evening. Blues' sister (Brass Horn I think it was) just moved into town and Pinkie's gonna throw a party about it like she always does. Well this time I'm not gonna pop any balloons until the party is officially over, not that there's any fun in that when everpony's gone. It's ironic really, that she would take the fun of somepony else and trample over it while she has dedicated her life to letting other ponies have fun.
Look at the time, I've gotta get going to the bowling alley for Brass' Welcome to Ponyville Party soon. Time to show Pinkie that I'm not some ninny!
-----
The party had been okay so far. Pokey haven't popped a single balloon yet, but he had noticed Pinkie eyeing him from across the allies. Him and Bon Bon hade been tied since the beginning of the game and Caramel was falling behind on them along with Romana, but Ditzy Doo was just beating all four of them into the ground. Who knew that such a clumsy pony would be so good at bowling anyways?
Pokey turned and saw Pinkie staring at him again. There it is, that evil eye of Pinkie's again. She really seems to be serious about this. Did she have traumatic experiences as a foal involving balloons popping or something? Whatever it is, that glare sends chills up my spine every time I see it, he thought to himself. I hope I can keep myself in check. Maybe I'll go get a drink to help calm down -
As Pokey turned around, he felt something touch his horn. He looked up and found his horn deep inside of a bright red balloon. After the most tense and dark-feeling second of his life it popped, causing all of the ponies in the alley to turn to him and leap into the air in fright. Normally a grin would have spread across his face, but this time his face paled and he prepared for the worst.
"Pokey Pierce, was that you!?"
It's Pinkie! Oh crap, this is the end for me.
"You'd better hope for your sake it wasn't!" She was now marching towards him with a stern expression.
Oh man oh man oh man, she's coming this way! Brace yourselves for a hurricane.
"S-sorry Pinkie! I didn't see that balloon, honest!" he stammered and stepped backwards.
"Yeah right, Pokey! You're ruining the party!" she growled and pointed a fierce hoof at his face.
With a frown she turned away and began to leave him, but soon turned back around to finish giving him a piece of her mind, much to his despair.
"I wanna talk to you after the party, okay Mr. Pierce?"
She sounds like my elementary school teacher... Pokey thought as he nodded in response.
"What're you gonna do to me, turn me into cupcakes or something Ms. Pie?" he shot back with a sneer.
The two stared into each other's eyes, Pokey's greenish yellow contrasting with Pinkie's bright blue. After a few heated seconds Pinkie blew raspberries in his face and darted back off into the crowd of the party.
I hope I haven't made a mistake...
------
The party was almost over and most ponies had left already: unfortunately for Pokey, he wouldn't be able leave so soon. Whenever he even thought about leaving he would see Pinkie standing somewhere in his line of sight with that disappointed expression on her face. However, when he saw her and she didn't see him he noticed she had her usual cheery disposition and was still bouncing off the walls like normal. He couldn't blame her though: when the hostess of a party is lame so is the party itself.
The night went on and Pokey was forced to stay and watch as all of his friends slowly filtered out and he was left to sit quietly on the benches surrounded by taboo balloons and watch his captor bounce around cleaning up the mess created by the previous party. After a moment the pink pony froze in mid-bounce and turned to Pokey.
"Oh right! I kept you here so that you could help me clean up, not just sit there. How could I forget? Get over here and help me! The owners of the bowling alley don't wanna have to clean up this big mess!" she suddenly commanded.
Pokey hurriedly hopped from his seat and got to work with his nemesis on tidying up the allies. It was finished faster than they had both expected, every single dish washed and mess cleaned.
"Whew, nice work Pokey. Now, what has this taught you about popping balloons when you're not supposed to?" Pinkie sighed when they finished.
"It's taught me that I shouldn't pop balloons when I shouldn't..." he said the first part in mock shame, but came back with a cheeky grin for the second. "And that it makes you super angry so you become some brute that no pony likes at all!"
Pinkie gritted her teeth and turned away. "M-me! I don't get angry! Well, I try not to anyways..." she flipped back and pointed a hoof at Pokey. "Hey! You didn't learn that just now, you've been doing this ever since we first met!"
"So? I was just trying to embarass you!"
"Well your dumb little trick worked, didn't it!?"
"It sure did!"
"Worked like a charm!"
"You got it!"
"SHUT UP! I HATE YOU!"
Pokey watched in surprise as Pinkie's mane deflated to a straight composure and her whole colorscale became much darker. Tears welled up in her eyes and she darted off out of the alley. He puffed out his chest and smiled before leaving the building as well, proud of his accomplishment.
Hah! I sure showed her!
------
Pokey soon found that his accomplishment wasn't as fulfilling as he thought. He couldn't sleep that night, tossing and turning in frusturation at his insomnia. His mind was filled with shadows and he felt like he had done something terrible to his pink pony nemesis.
With a shout of anger he threw his pillow across his bedroom. "That's it! I can't take it anymore, I've gotta go apologize to Pinkie..."
Pokey dashed downstairs and out of the door to Sugarcube Corner to find Pinkie. He needed to do this, it just felt like the right thing to do in his gut.
------
Knock-knock-knock.
No answer.
Knock-knock-knock.
Still nothing.
No pony was awake at Sugarcube Corner - either that or they were ignoring him. Despite this Pokey just had to see Pinkie. He would never be able to live through it if he didn't apologize.
Pokey inhaled deeply in preperation before slowly pushing on the door. Luckily for him, Pinkie/the Cakes had left it unlocked and the door slowly creaked open. He was just about to step inside when something sped in front of him, giving him a bad scare and making him cry out in surprise. In his adrenaline rush he performed a complete backflip before shooting up the side of a nearby tree.
His fright was proved useless when he saw the small creature in the moonlight: it was Pinkie's pet, the quiet baby alligator Gummy. Pokey wiped the sweat from his forehead and slipped back down the tree trunk to enter the house again, this time undisturbed by any animals.
He quietly snuck like a shadow through Sugarcube Corner, hurriedly snaking up the stairs that led from the main shop to the bedrooms of Pinkie and the Cakes. In the moonlight he saw a bright pink door that was slightly ajar, light spilling out of the crack. With another inhale of preperation he knocked on the door, trying not to wake up the other residents.
"Pinkie?" he whispered through the crack.
He saw her lying on her bed with her face buried into a pillow, tears gushing out of her eyes and soaking her bed. Used tissues lay all around her and she seemed to be trying hard to hide her crying. Her mane remained deflated and her coat darkended just like before.
"Is that you, Mr. Cake?" she sniffled without looking back.
"No Pinkie, it's me..." he hesitated before stating his name. "P-Pokey P-P-Pierce..."
Her sobbing almost instantly stopped and her head craned around to see him peeking through the doorway. He saw her eyes widen before she leapt off of her bed and galloped towards him.
"What do you want, you big bully? And why are you sneaking around in my house, anyways?" she asked in a shaky voice that was trying to be fierce.
Pokey cringed at the sight of her. She looked absolutely terrible: her eyes were puffy, her colors were dark, and he could still see tears in the corners of her face.
"I came to say that I'm really sorry about what I did and said at the bowling alley. I feel terrible about making you act like this..." he sighed.
Pinkie was unimpressed by his apology and her sad expression stayed. "Apology accepted, fine. Now get out of here before you wake up the others," she commanded.
Pokey looked down at the floor and began to leave, but stopped with his back turned to Pinkie. He didn't feel like that was enough. He still felt terrible, just not as terrible as before. This wouldn't do.
"Hey Pinkie."
She exhaled deeply and turned back to him. "What?"                 The tone of her speech would melt on Pluto.
"I don't feel like that was enough. I need to forgive you, and you need to forgive me, alright?" Pokey explained.
"Okay, okay, I'm almost sorry that I've been so mean to you and I almost forgive you for being a jerk back. Is that good enough for you, princess?" she quickly finished.
Pokey shook his head and made a small tutting sound. "Nope, you've gotta really forgive me. Words don't matter in this situation. What you feel at heart is what matters." He hoped that making the situation seem a bit more fun than serious would lighten up Pinkie.
She was taken back by his words and her sad expression brightened slightly, a sign that meant Pokey was making progress. "What do you mean?"
"You have to feel it in your chest. Once we both stop feeling so bad then we will have really forgiven each other and can make up for real," Pokey explained with a sheepish smile.
Pinkie sighed and looked at her chest as though trying to get something out of it. "I guess so... but it's so hard to feel good after being insulted so badly! I just can't stand you when you act like that!"
"Does that mean that you can stand me when I'm not like that?"
"Huh?"
Pokey nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Well, if I didn't act like that, then would you feel better?"
Pinkie quickly nodded and he could tell that tears were returning to her eyes. "Pokey, I liked you when I first saw you. You were so nice to everypony and I wanted to be friends with you, but something about that first party when you popped all of those balloons really set it off in me. I started to hate you, and I'm not even sure why. You're really nice when you're not insulting anypony, you know that right?"
The sight was breathtaking. Pinkie's mane was slowly inflating again as though it were being blown up like a balloon and her color was returning to her. "Now I do. You're a nice pony when you're not getting on my back for trying to have some of his own kind of fun too."
At this Pinkie suddenly snapped back to her normal self. "Wait... you were having fun when you were popping those balloons? You weren't just doing it to wreck my party?"
Pokey raised his eyebrow at her question and slowly nodded. "Why would I do that?"
Although her appearance was back to normal, Pinkie's tears came back and she threw her arms around Pokey. "I thought you were just being a big meany, but you were really just trying to make some fun! We should have been working together, not apart! I'm so stupid, Pokey. I'm a stupid, stupid pony..." she sobbed into his mane.
"It's alright Pinkie. I myself thought that you were just protective of your balloons, but really you were protective of the other ponies' fun... so I guess we're both stupid, stupid ponies..." Pokey replied and slowly stroked Pinkie's head to comfort her.
"Yeah, we're both stupid," she sniffled.
"Dumb."
"Thick."
"Fools."
"Hard-headed."
"Idiots."
For the first time in a few minutes Pokey realized what he was doing. He was wrapped in the arms of his arch-nemesis as he lightly stroked her mane. What was going on here?
Whatever it is, I'm okay with it.
Pokey had never known a warmth like this. He felt at peace, like the world could fade away and he wouldn't give a single care. He could just sit here with Pinkie forever, holding each other tightly and offering comfort to one another. Was this just friendship? No, it was something else.
"I forgive you, Pokey..." Pinkie suddenly spoke up.
Pokey nodded and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. "And I forgive you, Pinkie."
His eyes widened at what he had just done and he felt prepared to dash back home and stay there forever, but noticed something: Pinkie hadn't minded it at all. In fact, she had seemed to enjoy his affection for her as she had snuggled deeper into his shoulder when he did it.
"Pokey, could you... stay a bit longer?" she asked through his mane.
The blue unicorn took her by the face and looked her in the eyes. "I would gladly, Pinkie. Anything to make you feel better."
She smiled at him and released him from her arms. "The Cakes are asleep, so we don't wanna wake them up with our talking. Let's go downstairs."
Pokey obliged and followed her down the staircase he had previously walked up, noticing that the spring in her step had returned. Once on the ground floor Pinkie trotted towards the fridge to fix up a drink for the two.
"Do you want apple juice or cider?" she asked Pokey without looking back.
"I'm fine with juice, not really a fan of alcohol," he answered and plopped down into a seat at the counter. Pinkie took out two glasses, pouring juice in one and cider in the other. "How could you not like cider?" she asked him as she put away the drinks.
"My dad... wasn't exactly smart when it came to how much alcohol a pony should have at a time..." Pokey answered, trailing off at the end.
Pinkie slid him his juice and hopped onto a stool beside him. "He was a big drunk, wasn't he?"
"Yeah, it sucked really. Most days I'd come home from school and would be afraid to tell him anything about my time out of the house: every now and then he'd just wave me off, some special days he would laugh, and others he would yell at me. It was all so stressful, but in the end he died of unchecked diabetes."
"Ooh, that's rough. Ponies with diabetes shouldn't even drink alcohol," Pinkie chipped in.
"Too bad no one had the guts to tell him that. He was so big and tough - he was actually part of the Royal Guard once, but got kicked off because he was drinking too much booze on or before duty. Being part of the Guard really set it off for him in the end, because he thought that everypony had to listen to him or else. If they didn't, he resorted to physical abuse. He hit both me and my mom for several nights in a row, so my parents got divorced. Shortly after that he died."
"You've really got a tough past, Pokey. It just seems like you're the one who's been helping me, and I haven't been giving much back," Pinkie paused to take a swig of cider. "Like right now, you're staying up with me when you could be back in your comfy bed catching some Zs. Thanks for staying."
He dismissively waved his hoof. "Don't mention it, I'm not very tired anyways.."
She nodded and stared at Pokey with her bright blue eyes. Unlike most times when he was faced with them, they weren't filled with hatred or annoyance, but rather innocene and friendliness. Pokey felt like he was lost in them and soon found himself zoned out of existence and just looking dead-on.
"Hey Pokey, you look tired. Maybe you should go home and get some rest after all," Pinkie stated.
Pokey shook his head to regain his senses before answering. "No no no, not at all! I'm not tired. It's just that..." He mentally kicked himself for even starting the second sentence, since now she was gonna get up on his case about why he was staring.
"It's just that what?" Her eyes grew in curiousity, somehow adding to the stunning effect placed over her blue friend.
"Your eyes are a nice color, that's all."
No you idiot, that's not all. They're simply beautiful, heavenly even. It's like they belong to an angel. You could just stay with those eyes forever and be eternally happy. Tell her the truth!
"Really? That's sweet of you, Pokey. And to think just a while ago we were fighting, now you're complimenting me! I guess it's only fair to share my thoughts about you," Pinkie replied. Where was she even getting all of these weird ideas?
Pokey was taken by surprise as Pinkie leaned over and sniffed his mane. "Your mane's pretty nice too. It smells like springtime kinda, and it felt nice to touch when we were hugging."
"Thanks, I guess..." Pokey needed to change the subject before he lost it and confessed everything about his true feelings about her. "Say, how do you get your mane to stay up like that?"
Pinkie looked up at her mane and shook slightly to watch it wobble around. "Um, I actually don't know. Back when I was a filly or when I'm feeling down it falls straight like you saw earlier, but when I'm happy it puffs up and curls around like a cloud - well, a pink cloud, but you get the idea. I've even tried straightening it, but it just went right back to its natural puffiness once I was done."
"Interesting..." Pokey's mind drifted from his previous nervousness, but soon came right back to the subject of Pinkie and him together. He needed to stop thinking about it: too bad whenever he tried to stop thinking about her by force he thought about her even more. She was like a parasite in his mind - a good parasite, but a parasite nonetheless.
"Uh, Pokey?"
He looked up at her and was met by the bright blue orbs from before. "Are you sure you're not tired? You haven't touched your juice at all, and you keep going quiet every now and then."
"I'm fine, really! I was just thinking about us together..."
That last bit wasn't supposed to come out, dang it! Now she's definitely gonna find out!
His pink friend raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What about us together?"
Pokey took a deep breath before answering. "You and me partying together, playing together, working together... living together."
"W-what?" Pinkie exclaimed, more confused than surprised.
"Really! Over the course of this night I've realized that we're more similar than we think, and also that I want to be with you forever. I've finally found out how much you mean to me. By Celestia's mane, I'm in love with you, Pinkie Pie!"
No turning back now.
A radiant blush came over the pink pony's face and she turned away to hide it. "I hope you didn't just say that to make me feel better..." she sighed, obviously exhilerated by his statement.
"No, Pinkie. I want to stay with you and help you. It's fine if you don't return the affection, because if you don't I'll still be there to take your hoof and lead you onwards," Pokey answered.
He could now hear her breathing accelerating. "Pokey, I don't know what to say other than..."
In one swift movement she swung around and slung her arm around his neck, pulling him into her and directing their vision into each other's eyes. "I'll love you right back." With that their lips locked and Pokey was overwhelmed by two things: one being Pinkie's expression of love for him, the other being Pinkie's weight that was growing on top of him as she pushed furiously into his mouth. They fell off of their seats and sprawled out on the floor, faces still connected and tounges still battling. With a slight flip Pokey rolled himself on top of Pinkie, causing her to squeal and giggle into the kiss with excitement. Although they would soon regret it, they released each other to speak.
"Stay the rest of the night at my place, 'kay Pinkie? You won't be dissapointed," Pokey panted.
"Oh yes, please yes..." she moaned. “I need to let out some steam really badly…”
Bingo.