//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Changing Octaves // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// There had been a point where the Pie family thought they'd seen the worst that Pinkamena's newfound talent had to offer. They all believed after that first week that the middle child of the family had reached her apex as far as her propensity for partying went, that she would wear herself out and calm down, at least to the point where the others could manage to live their everyday lives without too much interruption. Things were sure to go back to normal, just as they had been prior to the rainbow that exploded in the sky. That was a month ago. Since then, the family had endured more parties than any of them had encountered in the rest of their lives. It made no sense whatsoever to Pinkamena's family. Nopony they'd ever known had such insatiable effervescence. Nopony should have been able to exert themselves as much as Pinkamena did and still be capable of standing at all, let alone bouncing about as she always did. Yet she was. It didn't matter how raucous the parties got. It didn't matter how many there were, or how little time there was between them. Somehow, defying all logic, she was always ready and raring to go, with little to no sign of fatigue. Octavia would often try to keep up, making her best attempts at being her minutes-older sister's shadow, but it proved to be an impossible feat, and the gray filly would eventually be left in the same place as Aquarina and their parents; watching helplessly as the pink party dervish rampaged cheerfully on, leaving naught but streamers, balloons, and confetti in her wake. There was no way that the Pie family could go on living like this. One side would eventually have to give. "Pinkamena Diane Pie!" Aquarina's shrill, no-nonsense voice rang out, using her sister's full name for emphasis just as their parents would. "What in Celestia's name is wrong with you?" Normally, this might not have been a question that was worth listening to. After all, she'd ask this kind of thing at the smallest sign of something being out of the ordinary. This time, however, it was just a bit more warranted. The current party had started out innocently enough; shortly after the triplets' parents had gone out for the day, Pinkamena had happened upon a rock that was shaped like a heart. This, naturally, excited the easily-excitable filly, and with that, the "Rock of Love" party was underway. At first, the other fillies had enjoyed it. Octavia was helping decorate and dancing around as much as her little hooves would allow. Even Aquarina had enjoyed it at first, an event which may have been spurred on by being put in charge of judging the rock-carving competition. If there was one thing that placated Aquarina, it was being given control over something. It didn't take long for her to protest, though, as the party got more and more out of control. First it was the music being too loud, which put Aquarina straight into bossy mode. Then it was the confetti spilling out of its designated area and getting all over the place. Octavia was still on board for fun at that point, but when Pinkamena's dancing nearly knocked over one of their mother's favorite vases, even she had to admit that perhaps some calming down was in order. The event that had caused Aquarina's latest outburst, though, was Pinkamena's entrance into their parents' bedroom. Their parents' bedroom was strictly off-limits. "Wheeeee!" Pinkie shouted, bouncing around the bed, trailing streamers behind her. She had toppled head-over-hooves into the party zone, and even though her sister knew there was very little chance of snapping her out of it, she was going to try anyway. "Pinkie, I think that's enough..." Octavia offered. There were rare occasions where Octavia was the only pony who'd be able to rein Pinkamena in when she got like this. Unfortunately for her, this was not one of those occasions. "Octavia, don't even bother!" Aquarina groaned. "She's clearly gone insane." The gray filly frowned; she didn't want to agree with her bossy sister, but she couldn't help but admit that things with Pinkamena had gotten out of hoof to a startling degree. Part of her wanted to go and pull her sister out of the room. Maybe some physical restraint would help calm her down and bring her out of this frenzy. Try as she might, though, neither she nor Aquarina could bring themselves to enter the forbidden land known as their parents' bedroom. "Wanna see how high I can bounce?" the unstoppable pink pony asked, her gaze turning to the bed. "NO!" Octavia and Aquarina shouted in unison. The question seemed to be a rhetorical one, though, as Pinkie's next leap landed her square in the center of the mattress. The two sisters watched in helpless terror as she bounced over and over, the carefully-made bedsheets thrown into disarray. The blue and gray fillies looked at each other, met in a rare moment of complete and utter agreement; they had to stop their sister before their parents got home. Pickerton and Goodie Pie had just finished up a very nice, very relaxing day. Normally, they would have taken their daughters with them on one of these excursions to Ponyville, but they had chosen to go alone this time. After all, the surprise candy they'd purchased for them wouldn't be much of a surprise if they were right there when it was being purchased. Plus, the occasional time to themselves wasn't exactly unwelcome. It was relaxing to spend time alone with each other, but any relief that they'd gotten from this little bit of relaxation was quickly dashed as they stepped into the house and beheld the sight that lay before them. It looked as if a tornado had blown straight through their living room. Confetti and streamers adorned every piece of furniture in their sight. A pin the tail on the pony board had been drawn onto the back of some of their important documents. The trail of destruction led upstairs, and the two made haste in following it, arriving at their bedroom just as Octavia and Aquarina were about to step into it. The two fillies froze in their tracks. Each tried to speak up, but a stern look from Goodie silenced them. Pickerton stepped around the two to get a good look at his bedroom. He was a stallion whose face rarely showed emotion, but that day, anypony who was paying attention could easily see his anger rise. “PINKAMENA DIANE PIE!” His voice rang out, loud and fierce, causing Octavia and Aquarina to tremble. They couldn’t remember ever hearing their father yell that loudly. Even Goodie flinched. Pinkie stopped bouncing immediately and turned to the doorway, smiling in defiance of her father’s anger. “Ooh!” Pinkie giggled. “Hi dad! Hi mom! You came home early to come to the party, didn’t you?” She began to bounce again, but was intercepted in midair by her father. In one quick motion, she was spun around and brought face-to-face with a very upset Pickerton. The voice he spoke with next, an eerily even tone, was arguably more terrifying than his shouting. “Everypony. Family room. Now.” Everypony obeyed. There was no other viable option.even The three sisters watched their father pace back and forth. Their mother stood aside, saying nothing. The tension was palpable, the silence deafening. Even Pinkie, rarely able to sit still, said nothing. It was a good minute before Pickerton finally spoke. "Pinkamena," the patriarch of the Pie family began. "For over a month, our family has done its best to allow you to be yourself and embrace the destiny that your cutie mark has beseeched upon you. We did this so you could be happy, but now, things have gone way too far. We can't allow things to continue in this fashion." "But daddy, she was just..." Octavia began, but a stare from both Pickerton and Goodie silenced her. "I tried to tell her not to..." Aquarina said confidently, thinking that siding with her parents would put her solidly in their favor, but she too fell silent as her parents gave her the same look they gave Octavia. In a vast change from the usual, Pinkie was the quietest of the three. Pickerton turned his attention back to her. Despite the anger that was evident in his tone and mannerisms, the pain from what he was about to say was clear. He didn't want to make his daughter sad, but certain measures had to be taken. "The family and the farm have put up with enough," he continued. "There will be no more parties on my property." The room couldn't possibly fall any more silent than it already was, but somehow, it felt like it did. Goodie lowered her head, feeling bad about the decision but finding herself unable to disagree with it. Aquarina, on the other hoof, looked absolutely relieved, perhaps even glad. Octavia's lip trembled; sometimes the parties could be a little much, but they made Pinkie so happy, and she liked to see Pinkie happy. She turned to see Pinkie's reaction, and the sight of her made her heart sink. Pinkie's usually-poofy hair and tail had fallen flat, as if they were balloons and the air had been taken out of them. She watched as Pinkie slowly got up out of her seat, dragging her hooves towards the stairs. The habitual bouncing that she'd taken up was nowhere to be seen. She had been sapped of her special talent, and by extension, her joy. "Aren't you going to make her clean up after herself, daddy?" Aquarina asked, feigning innocence over her clearly cold-hearted question. Pickerton turned his head and watched his usually-exuberant daughter make her sad ascent up the stairs. He had honestly expected her reaction to his ruling to be more heated. His heart wasn't prepared for the despair that she had displayed. He sighed, deep and pained. "Your mother and I will clean," he said. "I think Pinkamena has been punished enough." Bedtime came about an hour after. It was the first time since they began doing it that Pinkie did not join her sisters' nightly ritual of singing for their parents. Aquarina had protested, saying that she had to join them, but Pickerton said that she was excused for the night. Both sisters had attempted to go see how Pinkie was doing, but they had been told by their parents to let her be. The two went to their separate rooms for bed immediately after their song, but sleep would not find Octavia so easily. She tossed and turned, before finally deciding that she needed to check on Pinkie. She had been told specifically not to, and leaving her bedroom for any reason other than a bathroom visit was strictly prohibited to begin with, but the situation was writing too heavily on her mind for rules to be much of a concern. The filly quietly made her way out of bed and to the door, careful not to open it too fast, lest it hit against the wall. She approached Pinkie's door, and was surprised to see that her light was still on. A gentle nudge was all it took to push the door, already open a crack, aside. Octavia gazed upon the sight that lay before her, not knowing how to react. There Pinkie sat, in the middle of the room, a toy tea set laid out in front of her and what looked to be her "guests." The pink filly was flanked by a wagon wheel and a bag of oatmeal, and seated across from them were an unlit candle and a stack of rocks. Octavia silently slid into the room and nudged the door closed, watching the scene from a distance. "More tea, Bernie?" Pinkie asked, before moving a hoof to manipulate the candle. "That would be lovely!" Pinkie responded for the candle, using a Fancy accent. "Yo, I want some too!" the rocks were made to say. Pinkie gleefully acquiesced and poured some invisible tea for the two. "Hey, why does Rocky get tea before me?" the wheel questioned. "I'm sorry, Admiral Wheelberg!" Pinkie quickly responded, pouring "tea" for it. "I want apple cider instead!" the oatmeal was made to say. Pinkie responded with a gigglesnort. "Oatmeal, are you crazy?" the pink filly laughed. Octavia, meanwhile, had seen enough. She made her way cautiously over to her sister. "Pinkie?" the gray filly whispered. Pinkie whirled around to meet her gaze. "Hi Octavia!" Pinkie responded, not bothering to whisper. "Did you want some tea too?" "Um...n-no," Octavia said. Pinkie drooped a bit. "I understand..." she replied sadly. Octavia frowned, but then smiled slightly. "I was just wondering if you wanted to have a slumber party," she asked. "B-but that's a kind of party..." Pinkie answered. "And I'm not allowed to..." Her response was interrupted by a gray hoof on her mouth. "I promise I won't tell," Octavia said. "As long as we make it a very quiet, very neat party." Pinkie's mane and tail suddenly poofed back up, and she grabbed her sister in a big, happy hug. "Thank you, Octavia," she said, giving her sister a nuzzle. "I knew you'd be here for me. My Pinkie sense told me." "....Your what?" Octavia asked. Pinkie giggled quietly. "Never mind," she said with a smile. "I knew you'd be here for me, and that's all that matters." She gave another warm nuzzle. "And I'll always be here for you too." ~~~~~~~~~~ It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. It had to be, after all; Rainbow Dash had called in a favor with the weather team to reschedule the storm that had originally been planned for today. Normally, she wouldn't try and get the team to adjust their plan. Regardless of her usual carefree attitude, she knew how important it was for them to adhere to a strict weather schedule. Today, though, was a special occasion. She couldn't let the big festival get rained out. Pinkie always worked so hard to make everypony smile; her personal goal today was to make Pinkie smile ten times bigger than she'd ever made her smile before. Pinkie was indeed smiling as she bounced about the festival. As soon as news spread about the festivities, nearly everypony in town had stepped up to do their part. She gave a smile to Carrot Top and Berry Punch, whose booths were situated right next to each other. The two were holding a friendly competition to see whose smoothies would sell better. At the moment, the berry smoothies were in the lead, but the carrot smoothies were making a steady comeback. Across from them stood Bon-Bon's candy stand. In a rare change, Lyra, her ever-present marefriend, was nowhere to be found. It was understandable, though; she was probably practicing, due to having been asked to join Octavia's orchestra for the big performance tonight. Pinkie bounced up to Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith, who were manning their apple cart. She stopped and flipped a few bits into the collection basket before grabbing herself a delicious apple fritter. "Hi Applejack!" Pinkie said cheerfully, taking a big bite of the fritter. "How are things going over here?" "Shoot, Ah'm jus' pleased as punch with these sales!" Applejack responded, giving the collection basket a hearty shake and pointing out the sound of a large bounty of bits shaking within. "Ah'm happy ta report that t'day's sales're blowin' mah Gala sales outta the water!" She then blushed slightly. "Not that that's really much'f a feat." "Aw, it's okay, Applejack!" Pinkie responded, finishing the rest of the fritter off with one big bite. "Those Canterlot ponies didn't know what they were missing!" She flipped another ten bits into the basket, then snatched up a pie. "That's only seven bits, Pink!" AJ told her friend. "I know!" Pinkie responded before bouncing off. Her next stop was the booth set up by Rarity. Unsurprisingly, her booth was the most lavish one in the market, colored fabrics and flashy baubles grabbing everypony's attention. The pink party pony poked her head into the booth, just narrowly ducking under the feathers of a large hat being tried on by one of Rarity's customers. "Hi Rarity!" Pinkie said. "I see things are tres magnifique in here!" "Why Pinkie Pie!" Rarity responded, looking up from the project she was working on; a custom scarf for Blossomforth, as was obvious by the cutie mark embroidered on the end. "I was not aware that you spoke Fancy!" "Oh I don't!" Pinkie giggled. "Just that phrase!" Rarity smiled back to her. "I have been working nonstop," Rarity said. "And I could not be happier. Such inspiration! Such appreciation! My stars, business has been simply booming!" "Great!" Pinkie answered. "Keep up the wonderful work, Rarity! And have some pie!" She tossed a paper plate with a slice of apple pie over to the seamstress, wincing as its landing caused it to stain a lovely roll of white fabric. She offered an earnest "sorry" to the unicorn, but she would have none of it. "The stain...it speaks to me!" Rarity exclaimed. "The placement...the color...I can work with this! Apple stain shall be the new trend! I shall alert Applejack immediately!" Pinkie just laughed and turned to head to her next destination, a trip which was interrupted by the need to duck under a speeding Rainbow Dash. She watched as Ponyville's fastest flyer skidded to a halt about ten feet ahead of her. "Hi Dashie!" Pinkie called. "Thanks so much for arranging a nice day for today!" "No problem at all, Pinks!" Rainbow responded, waving a hoof. "Anything to help you!" Pinkie beamed. She found it a little odd when Rainbow asked her to smile bigger, but was happy to do so. "Whatcha doing?" the pink party pony asked. "Oh, you're gonna love this," Rainbow said, hovering and smiling as if she'd had the best idea ever. "I'm charging ponies to race me, and if they win, I pay them double their investment!" Pinkie tilted her head. "But aren't you worried about if you lose?" she asked. Her attention then turned to a panting Silver Speed, who had only just made it up to the group. Rainbow looked to Silver, then to Pinkie. "Yeaaaah, I don't think that'll be a problem," Rainbow said matter-of-factly. Pinkie just smiled and passed her a slice of pie. She then took one more look at the exhausted Silver and gave her a slice as well. The happy pink pony continued on her way, stopping to watch two little fillies running eagerly. Ruby Pinch and Noi had become nearly inseparable since Berry (Ruby's mom) and Carrot (Noi's sister) had gotten together. Pinkie decided to follow them wherever they were going, which ended up being the petting zoo that Fluttershy had set up. The pink pony poked her head into the tent, getting a good look at the scene. Fluttershy had brought so many of her animals to town for the event, and all the young ponies couldn't be happier. Even a couple of adults were paying up to enjoy the experience. “Hi Fluttershy!” Pinkie bubbled. “I see business is booming!” The shy pony looked up and gave her friend a warm smile. “Um...yes,” Shy responded, nodding. “It’s wonderful...and the young ponies are being so careful with the animals...I was worried that they would get spooked.” “The ponies or the animals?” Pinkie asked with a giggle. The yellow pegasus giggled lightly in response. Pinkie grinned and passed her a slice of pie before exiting. Pinkie’s next planned stop was Twilight’s booth, but before she could make it there, she found herself distracted by a small table set up amidst the larger ones. She bounced up to it, giving a happy greeting to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Hey girls!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “Whatcha got going on here?” “Oh, this is an Anything Booth!” Sweetie Belle said, beaming.. “What’s an Anything Booth?” the pink pony asked, tilting her head in confusion. “Well,” Scootaloo answered. “We figured that helping out was a really easy way to figure out what our special talents were!” “So we got this here booth set up,” Apple Bloom continued. “An’ ponies can come up an’ pay us money ta do anythin’ they want us ta, so we can find out whether it’s our special talent!” “It was my idea!” Sweetie informed Pinkie proudly. Pinkie stared at the three fillies for a few seconds. “...Well just be careful with that!” Pinkie offered. A slice of pie went to each filly, and then she was on her way once more. Finally, Pinkie arrived at Twilight’s booth. She looked around at the stacks of books set up behind the booth, giving a warm smile to Twilight and Spike, who had just finished up with a customer. “Hi Twilight! Hi Spike!” Pinkie said, bouncing up and leaning on the counter. “How’s business going over here?” “It would be better if Twilight didn't keep backing out of sales,” Spike told her. “Well...they keep wanting to buy my favorites...” Twilight said, smiling awkwardly. “You have multiple copies!” Spike insisted, causing the purple unicorn to blush, embarrassed. “Aw, it’s alright!” Pinkie said. “You’re doing the best you can, and that’s all that matters!” “Exactly!” Twilight said, as Spike moved aside to talk to another pony who’d approached the booth. “I can’t even tell you how much this all means to me, Twilight,” Pinkie said, calming down a bit. “Everypony has been so helpful today!” She glanced at the final two slices of pie; she’d really wanted a little for herself, but still, she slipped the two slices into plates for Twilight and Spike. “Pinkie, you’ve already done so much for the residents of Ponyville,” the purple unicorn told her. “We’re all very happy to help you and your family.” She then tilted her head, having remembered something. “Where’s Octavia, by the way?” “Oh, she went back to the rock farm to go talk to Aquarina,” Pinkie said. She seemed not to think much of it, but the response threw Twilight off. “Pinkie...” Twilight said, raising a brow. “Why didn't you go with Octavia?” Pinkie’s smile faded slightly. “Um...well, I’m not really sure if Aquarina would want to see me,” Pinkie said with a light sigh. “And I’m sorta nervous about seeing my parents...” Twilight nodded slightly, though she didn't seem completely convinced. “Well...” Twilight started, trying to figure out how to word this best. “I mean, I understand, Pinkie Pie, but I really think you should see your parents while you can. Not to be a downer, but there might come a time where you won’t be able to see them anymore.” Twilight looked down towards her pie, blissfully unaware of how blunt she’d been with her last comment. It wasn't until she noticed the first teardrop splash onto the counter where the pink pony stood that she realized her error. “...Pinkie?” Twilight asked, looking up into watery blue eyes. “What is it?” Pinkie’s smile had faded, and she was trembling. Before Twilight knew what was happening, Pinkie had spilled the truth of her father’s condition. By the time she’d finished, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Twilight hugged her friend tightly, giving her mane some comforting strokes. “Oh my gosh, Pinkie...” Twilight said softly. “I...I’m so sorry...” “I didn't want to tell anypony and ruin all the happy energy going around...” Pinkie whimpered. Twilight lit her horn up and dabbed at Pinkie’s eyes with a handkerchief. Part of her was amazed that Pinkie would withhold her own tragedy from her friends just so they could be happy themselves, but upon further consideration, it really wasn’t much of a surprise at all. Twilight found herself at a loss, not knowing what exactly to say. In the end, she figured that maybe cold, hard facts could be set aside for a moment, and chose to say nothing. Sometimes words were unnecessary; just being there for her was all that was needed. “...Please don’t tell the others,” PInkie pleaded, pulling back and looking into Twilight’s eyes. Twilight nodded without hesitation. “I won’t,” she told her friend. “Cross your heart, hope to fly?” Pinkie asked. “Stick a cupcake in my eye,” Twilight finished. The two shared a long, much-needed hug. Spike, who had just finished with his customer, turned to witness the hug. He considered questioning it, but backed off and let it be. He wasn't sure what it was about, but something told him it was best not to interrupt.