//------------------------------// // The Perfect Pie // Story: Post-Reception Stories // by sister_mike //------------------------------// The Perfect Pie Part 1: Awakening After the survivor feast in Canterlot, everypony headed home. The princesses provided their chariots for those headed back to Ponyville. Everyone was exhausted. All anypony wanted to do was go home and rest. But for many of those ponies, their homes had been destroyed. And with so many ponies to revive, there was no time for rest. Rest wouldn't come for a while. Pinkie Pie, her sisters, and Rarity headed to the Pie rock farm. Pinkie Pie tried to tell Rarity that one of the royal unicorn guards could free her parents, but Rarity insisted that she do it, since it was Pinkie and her sisters that had initially saved her from the Diamond Dogs. Pinkie knew that all Rarity really wanted to do was go find Sweetie Belle, and go free their parents. She was grateful that her beautiful unicorn friend was taking the time to help her. Element of Generosity indeed. Rarity respectfully left once Ma and Pa Pie were out of their cocoons. Pinkie and her sisters waited restlessly, as their parents lay peacefully on the floor. Pinkie prayed they would both wake up. Slowly, Ma Pie began to stir. Pa Pie started shortly after, and before Pinkie knew it, her parents were blinking and rubbing their eyes, groggily looking around with slightly confused faces. Tears began to brim Pinkie's eyes. "Mom? Dad?" she said softly. Pinkie's father stood and helped up his wife. They looked at each of their daughters in disbelief. "P-Pinkamina? Inka, Bellamina!" their father said. Everyone seemed to move together at once and entered into a big, family group hug. They laughed and cried. "What in Equestria happened?" Pa Pie asked, as they eventually broke up their hug. "Equestria as attacked by changelings," Inkie explained. "Those terrible black creatures that broke into here?" Ma Pie asked, a scowl on her face. "Just how long ago was that?" Pa Pie asked. "There's a lot to tell, Ma and Pa," Inkie said, "You were trapped in those cocoons for months. Pinkie—" "Pinkamina," their mother interrupted. Pinkie forgot how much their mother hated nicknames. It was always full name or no name. It made Pinkie smile. "Pinkamina," Inkie said, a slight annoyed tone in her voice, "was even in a cocoon, in Canterlot." "You were in Canterlot when it happened? What were you doing in Canterlot?" Pa Pie asked. Pinkie nodded. "Pa! You know that Pinkamina has connections in Canterlot, what with her saving Equestria all those times and such," Ma said, "She has an extensive social life." Her parents knew about her being the Element of Laughter? Pinkie scratched her head for a moment. She recalled telling her parents about it in one of her recent letters, but since her parents never replied, she figured they didn't know or care. Laughter had nothing to do with rock farming. "Canterlot was the site of the very first attack," Inkie explained, "The Changeling Queen was disguising herself and about to marry a stallion. Pinkamina was at the wedding." "How in Equestria did you get out of the cocoon then? How did we get out?" Ma asked. "My friend Twilight Sparkle woke up in her cocoon and freed me and the rest of my friends. The only ponies who can free others from the cocoons are unicorns. My friend Rarity came over and freed you two," Pinkie said. "How long ago was this Queen defeated?" Pa asked. The sisters looked at each other. Pinkie shrugged. "Couple of hours ago," she said. They all sat in silence, the events of the past hours on their minds. Pinkie closed her eyes for a moment, picturing everything she had just been through. It seemed like it had happened years ago, or that it had all been a dream. "Well," Pa said, as he stretched, "this house ain't going to clean up itself." Pinkie Pie couldn't help but laugh. She pulled her father into another big hug and then nodded her head. They then set to work on repairing their farm. Part 2: Repairs Over the next few weeks, Pinkie traveled back and forth between her family's rock farm and Ponyville. For the first few days, she had stayed with her family and had helped clean up all of the broken furniture her sisters had used to keep the front door closed. They dust out cobwebs and took down shredded old curtains. Soon the house was practically all bare and then her father set to work on building new furniture. Pinkie Pie's dad was one of the handiest and craftiest ponies she knew. He could build anything—except anything "newfangled" as he put it—and always did so with precision and care. Sometimes his intricate details made Pinkie wonder why he had gone into the rock farming business instead of building and selling furniture. While Pa was rebuilding furniture, Ma was sewing up a storm. She made rugs, curtains and blankets. The only rooms that hadn't been damaged were the sisters' room downstairs, and all of the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. That left Pinkie and her sisters to tend to the farm itself. Inkie had tried to convince her father that the rocks could wait until he and Ma could help too, but Pa insisted that they had to get things going if they wanted to catch up. So, Inkie, Blinkie and Pinkie—on the days she wasn't in Ponyville—worked outside. First they cleared all of the fields of broken and cracked rocks. Then Inkie checked the schedule and said that they had to rotate the rocks in the south field and north-eastern field. The west field would be next, but not for a few more weeks. It was exhausting work. Pinkie had forgotten how physically demanding the farming had been. Even though she was always full of energy, she found herself tiring before her sisters and needed more breaks than they did. "You haven't farmed with us for years," Inkie said one day, as she brought Pinkie some lemonade, "Don't worry about it. You've been a great help." "Thanks," Pinkie said, slightly out of breath. She took a long sip of the lemonade and rested her head against the tree she was under. It was now a full week and a half since the taking back of Equestria. The sun was shining brightly and Pinkie and her sisters were resting in the shade of a large tree on their property. "What about your gems? When will we be farming down there?" Pinkie asked. "Probably when Pa is ready to help with the rocks again, or until we finish our work with them," Inkie said, "Since he and Ma don't really approve of the gem business, it's not a priority for them. So we'll need to finish our 'proper' business with the rocks first." "Didn't you say the money from the gem business goes towards helping with the rock farming?" Pinkie asked. "Yes, most of it does, but Ma and Pa still don't like it. They like farming the boring, everyday rocks, not the nice, shiny, sparkly ones," Inkie said. Blinkie stomped out something. "Blinkie asks how your stay-home family in Ponyville is." "Oh, the Cakes?" The Cakes had been one of the more fortunate families in town. After Luna had awakened them, she had sent Mrs. Cake into the Everfree Forest to be with her twins, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Luna had also sent any other young fillies and colts to Zecora's hut, in case the war were to spread to Ponyville. And Mr. Cake had gone to Canterlot to fight, and had come home relatively unscathed. Their business and home at Sugarcube Corner had also been one of the least suffered residences. Things had most been turned over, and aside from a bunch of mouldy cakes, all they really had to do was dust everything off and start baking. "They've been providing free cakes and treats, and will continue to do so until Ponyville is officially back on its hooves," Pinkie said. "That's so generous of them," Inkie said. Blinkie smiled. Once the Cakes had learned that it was Pinkie who had freed the twins and sent them to safety, they couldn't stop thanking her enough. Pinkie explained that they were like little siblings to her, because really, the Cakes were her family too. "I'm so lucky to have two such great families," Pinkie said. "And who all survived," Inkie said quietly. Pinkie nodded gravely. She had just gone to Granny Smith's funeral at the Apples' farm. Her sisters had come with her. "You know... you should invite the Cakes over," Inkie said. "Over here? For dinner or something?" Pinkie asked. Inkie nodded, "Yeah. I know Ma and Pa have met them briefly and stuff, but you're right. They're your family too. We should all do something together. We need something upbeat to get this changeling madness out of the air." "You're right!" Pinkie said. She jumped up excitedly, "We could have a big luncheon! And there could be balloons and desserts and fun decorations! I could bring Gummy too!" "Who's Gummy?" Inkie asked. "I'm going to go ask Ma right now!" Pinkie said, too excited to have heard Inkie's question. She bounded off through the fields and into the house. Part 3: Gems The next week, Pa had finished with the furniture and had taken over the last bit of rock farming that had to be done. "Helmet." "Helmet," Pinkie repeated. Blinkie stomped. "Lights on." "Light on," Pinkie said, switching the light on her helmet on. "Ok; let's go in," Inkie said. Blinkie dropped down the rope first. Then she tugged on it two times to say that it was safe for her sisters to follow. Inkie climbed steadily down next, and then Pinkie swung her way down. "Wheeeeeee!" The cave was eerie. Even though light shone from the sun above, the cave had a dark feel about it. There were splinters from broken boxes everywhere, and a lump of something that smelled horrible off to one side. "Poor Rarity," Pinkie said, "I can't imagine how terrified she must have been." The boxes had of course been piled up by Rarity as a means to escape the cave. Pinkie glanced towards the smelly lump off to the left. She didn't doubt it was the Diamond Dog that had been down here. Inkie was on the same brainwave. "Should we... move him or something?" she asked. She wrinkled her nose at the smell. Inkie stomped out something and then began to move forward, inspecting the rest of the cave. "Are you sure, Ink? That's kind of a gruesome job to do on your own," Inkie said. Blinkie shrugged, but didn't respond. "What did she say?" Pinkie whispered. "She said she would come down later and bury him," Inkie said. She sighed slightly, "She's always taking on the gruelling tasks." They followed Blinkie as she surveyed the cave. Although she had dropped a grenade down here when they had saved Rarity, the cave was still stable. It hadn't collapsed, though it had been blown to a bigger size. Random piles of dirt were everywhere. Pinkie was surprised that the Diamond Dog hadn't been blown to smithereens. Blinkie stomped or something. "We need to clear away all of the piles of dirt first; then we'll inspect our tunnels and see if we can find any more gems," Inkie said. The work down here wasn't as laborious as the work with the rocks had been. Pinkie swept up the dirt into a large pile. Inkie would then fill a bucket with dirt, and Blinkie would pull it up the hole and put it into a wagon. Once the wagon was full, Blinkie would signal down that she'd be a minute and would go empty the pile of dirt on the farm somewhere where it was needed. Once that was all done, they then inspected the tunnels that Blinkie and Inkie had created. They were still stable, and then they began to mine some of the gems found down there. Blinkie showed Pinkie a few of her explosive techniques. It was so cool to see her younger sister working with her element (when it didn't involve blowing up evil changelings). Pinkie could see how proud Blinkie was of her work. And she finally got to see Inkie use her talent as well. Whenever they found a gem or a rare form of rock, Inkie would rattle on and on about its different properties, how much it was worth, what you could do with it. Sometimes she would keep some for her collection. "It's so cool to see what you guys do," Pinkie said excitedly one day after mining. They had just climbed up the hole and were making their way back to the house, their faces dirty, Inkie carrying a small bag of gems. Inkie smiled. "Thanks. It'd be nice to see what you do on a daily basis in Ponyville one day." Pinkie stopped walking and began jumping excitedly on the spot. "It would be nice, wouldn't it?" she said cheerfully, "We should do it! You guys should come to Ponyville with me when I go back tomorrow!" "Ok," Inkie said. Blinkie smiled and nodded. As they walked back to the house, Pinkie began excitedly plan all of the things they could do together. She loved spending this time with her sisters, catching up on all of the time they'd missed together. But as she got to the house and began to head for the shower, she paused, and thought to herself: What do I do on a daily basis? Part 4: Song "And that's Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie said with a jump. She had just given her sisters a tour of the whole town, and they were once again standing in front of Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie walked inside. She explained to her sisters that she really didn't have a daily schedule like they did. Sometimes she helped the Cakes bake treats for their bakery. Sometimes she stood behind the till. Sometimes she helped ponies plan parties. Other days she hung out with her friends, or babysat the twins. "So you just really do as you please?" Inkie asked. Pinkie nodded. Blinkie stomped out something. Inkie laughed. "She said, 'and then there are the days that you save Equestria by being the Element of Laughter'," Inkie said. Pinkie laughed and Blinkie laughed silently. "Pinkie!" Inkie suddenly said, "What is that?" "Hmmmm?" Pinkie turned to see what Inkie was pointing at. A small, green alligator was clamped onto Pinkie's tail. "Oh! This is Gummy!" Pinkie said excitedly. She pried Gummy off of her tail and held him up to her sisters, "He's my pet!" "He's... he's an alligator," Inkie said, somewhat uncertainly. "Yup!" Pinkie said. Gummy smiled a toothless smile and didn't blink. "Have Ma and Pa ever let you guys have pets?" Blinkie shook her head, but Inkie nodded hers. Pinkie cocked her head to the side, confused. "I have a pet rock!" Inkie said excitedly, "Her name is Ignia and—" Inkie stopped when she saw the look on Blinkie's face, which was of monotone bluntness. Blinkie rolled her eyes and shook her head. She then stomped something out. "She is too a real pet!" Inkie said, "I've had her since... well, actually, since just after you left for Ponyville. I found her the same day I got my cutie mark! I knew she was something real special then. Ma and Pa said I could keep her if I took real good care of her!" "That's so awesome!" Pinkie said. Although she slightly agreed with Blinkie—a rock wasn't a real pet—she wasn't about to crush her youngest sister's heart. "But have you guys ever had an animated pet before?" "Oh," Inkie said, "No, we haven't. Ma and Pa don't really like animals." Blinkie stomped out something. "Blinkie's always wanted an animated pet though," Inkie said, "Ignia is too boring for her." "You've always wanted a pet? What kind of pet? One that flies, crawls, runs, barks...? Feathers, fur, scales?" Pinkie asked in rapid mode. She then gasped loudly, "I KNOW! I know the perfect thing we can do! We can go find Blinkie a pet! And I know just the pony to help us!" Before either of the sisters could protest or agree, Pinkie had lead them out of Sugarcube Corner and down the road. She jumped up and down gleefully, and continued to talk at a rapid pace about pets. Gummy had clamped back onto her tail. They soon arrived at a quaint cottage just on the outskirts of Ponyville. As they approached the property, Pinkie Pie spotted Fluttershy and Big Mac near her chicken coop. Big Mac had a hammer in his mouth, and Fluttershy was holding up a piece of lumber. A can of unopened red paint lay beside them. "Oh, hi Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy said. Pinkie saw her glance at Big Mac and blush slightly. Pinkie Pie smiled. She had been extremely happy when she heard of her friend's newfound romance. "Hi Inkie, Blinkie. What brings you three here today?" "We're here to find a pet for Blinkie!" Pinkie Pie said. Fluttershy squeed with excitement. She carefully passed the piece of lumber to Big Mac, who proceeded to hammer it into place. Fluttershy began to talk rapidly—something very rare for her—like she had when Rainbow Dash came to her looking for a pet. With some translation between Inkie and Blinkie, they narrowed down the list to an animal that could see in the dark. Blinkie wanted a pet that could see down in the caves with her, so that it could keep her company on days when Inkie didn't farm with her. Finally, in the end, Blinkie chose a black owl. She explained that the owl could see in the dark, and it could fly up for help if something bad happened to Blinkie. After careful consideration, Blinkie named the owl Song. "She says that her name is Song, because Song is to represent the voice that Blinkie has lost," Inkie said, as Blinkie stomped out her message. "Song is to be her new voice." Part 5: The Perfect Pie A month and a half after the terrible disaster, the rock farm was back in full swing. The house was complete and the farming was back on schedule. Ma and Pa Pie had been surprisingly accepting of Blinkie's new pet. Apparently Ma had a soft spot for owls. The night had finally arrived when the Cakes came over to the Pies'. Ma had cooked a large roast for dinner, something she only ever did on rare occasions. Blinkie had helped make a special salad, and Ma had also baked a pie. Inkie and Pinkie set the table, while Pa had a fire going in the fireplace. The Pies and Cakes had gotten along together better than Pinkie had hoped they would. Ma and Mrs. Cake swapped recipes for desserts, Mr. Cake and Pa talked business. Pinkie and her sisters cooed and played with the foals. Pinkie was pretty sure she had heard her mother say something about grandfoals when she took the time to fawn and coo over the twins herself. Once the meal was over and all of the pleasantries had been exchanged, the Cakes bid farewell and made their way back to Ponyville. Pinkie sighed and reclined in her chair at the table, an empty plate of pie crumbs in front of her. She had forgotten how much she had loved her mother's pie. It was her favorite pie. "That was such a nice meal," Pinkie said. "The Cakes are such lovely ponies," Ma said, as she cleared the table. Pinkie yawned. "I think I might go hit the hay," Pinkie said, "I'm so tired." She stood up and stared to make her way to her sisters bedroom. She had been spending her nights on a spare mattress on the floor. Ma tapped Pinkie on the shoulder. "Come; I have something for you," she said. Pinkie followed her mother up the stairs and they stopped in front of the sisters old bedroom. Ma Pie pushed it open and Pinkie's heart warmed. She had forgotten what Inkie had told her when she had first come to the house during the war. The room was painted a soft pink. Flowery curtains hung on the window, a matching quilt on the bed. A small freshly white painted dresser was in one corner, a vase of flowers on top. Gummy lay curled up on top of the bed. It was the most colorful room in the whole house. "This is your room," Ma said, "for when you want to visit." Pinkie Pie pulled her mother into a hug. "Of course I'll want to visit," Pinkie said, "because this is my home."