//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Where Pink Hooves Have Trodden // by SanityLost //------------------------------// Top successfully was able to finish a cupcake before pinkie had eaten through five. As he watched her stuff her face, he imagined her forming into the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner. After she licked her hoof to pick up a few stray crumbs she missed, she continued. “So a sad pink pony walked into a grocery store.” Pinkie broke into a high pitched giggle. “What's so funny?” Top asked quizzically. “Oh sorry,” Pinkie snorted, “that just sounded like the beginning of a joke.” Top nodded, “That it did.” “Well I was walking down the isles, a sad little pony. I didn't see where I was going when I ran into this mare earth pony wearing clown makeup and a really frilly, colorful costume.” “A clown?” “Yepper depper! She was a clown. She looked up at me, frowned and said that she was really sad, too. She said she installed a skylight in her new apartment, but her upstairs neighbors were furious.” Top story smirked, “Classic Stallion White, he was a great comedian.” “I know! I have all of his records, especially I Have a Pony. Anyway, I looked at her, and I did something I didn't think I would do.” “What is that?” “I laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and when I stopped that, I laughed more. I laughed so hard I cried. People were staring at me, but I didn't care, I didn't care about anything, except laughing. I opened my eyes and saw colors, I saw joy, I saw everything. I thought that the clown mare wasn't going to stay there, but she did. She was looking down at me and smiling. I got up off of the floor and ignored all the other ponies.” “Then she said that she was really sad because of what happened last night at her poker game. She was playing poker with tarot cards, she got a full house and four people died. I laughed again. Not as hard, but still hard enough to fall to the floor again.” “She stood there until I picked myself up off of the ground again, and said she never got that kind of reaction to her jokes before. I told her that the last few days were really hard, and I really needed a good laugh. We started talking, and that was how I found out that her name was Brightmane and that she worked for the Reignsling Brothers Circus as a clown comedian.” “The Reignsling Brothers Circus? The biggest circus in Equestria?” “Darn right! She was a performer at the show, and when I told her that I needed a job, she said she would talk to the ringmaster and see what she could do. Before I knew it, I was an assistant stagehand, helping set up props for the show! I was so excited, I couldn't believe it. In as little as five days, I went from being a secretary to having an exciting job at a circus!” Pinkie's words were an echo to Top as he reminisced about the dishwasher job he had. He'd broken one too many dishes, and his boss just found out that her husband was cheating on her with a much younger (and nicer) mare. In a fit of rage, she fired him. He and his wife were on the street. They didn't know what they were going to do. He was applying for a grocery store position when he met a heavy set, dark red mare looking over apples. He couldn't remember how it happened, but they started talking about apple quality, and growing apples. Top impressed her with his knowledge on several subjects. She told him that she was the editor of the local newspaper, and was needing someone to do little stories. The mare asked if he was interested. In almost no time, he was working on his first story. He heard a loud snap. He woke from his momentary recollection to find that Pinkie had clapped her hooves in front of his face. “Hello, are you okay?” “Uh yeah, why do you ask?” Top's eyes focused back on the round faced mare. “Because you were staring out into space. If I'm boring you, I can stop and...” “No!” Top said with a little bit more fervor than he meant to. “I mean no, you aren't boring me.” “Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie scrutinized him closely and said slowly before returning to her normal, hyper, upbeat voice, “I was an assistant stage hand at the circus. The pay wasn't great, but I didn't care, the shows were amazing! The animals, the acrobats, the aerobats, the bat bats, the crazy, awesome, fun performers, it was so cool. Each show was just as awesome as the last!” “It was actually a few days until I got to talk to Brightmane again. I saw her perform, and oh my gosh, she was the funniest thing I had ever seen. She had me in stitches backstage! I still tell some of her jokes to my friends today! But anyway, I saw her perform, but she was always so busy or surrounded by fans, I couldn't get close to say hi. Well one day, a tall orange filly with a wild red mane walked up to me and asked how I liked working at the circus. It took me a second for me to realize who she was, but when I did I gave her a huge hug. I was so grateful. She looked down at me with dark magenta eyes and said it was no problem.” “She quickly became my mentor at the carnival. Brightmane told me who I should talk to, who I should avoid, and the things that I should and shouldn't do. I was kind of shy at first, since I didn't know anybody. But after she introduced me to some of her friends, I was my normal, bubbly self in ten seconds flat!” Top smiled as he recalled the heavyset mare that introduced him to her friends at the office where he worked for the paper, and helped him get settled into his new career. “Red was really something. I will never forget her cutie mark, it was of a clown head sticking its tongue out. She really enjoyed making people laugh like I did. I loved her performances more than any of the others. She was so good with the crowd, and all of her jokes were perfect, well at least I thought they were perfect. Almost every time she was done she got a standing ovation.” “She must have been a really amazing comedian,” said Top. “Oh it wasn't that she was just a comedian,” Pinkie hopped up and down in her seat and began attacking a piece of cake, “she could do all kinds of things...she would sing songs...play instruments...do tricks...anything to make the crowd laugh.” She spoke between bites. “So did you become her protege?” Pinkie gulped down her last bite of cake and chased it with a frosted glass of chocolate milk, a glass that, Top was sure hadn't been there a moment before. In a fluid motion, she placed the empty glass in front of her and wiped milk residue off of her lip. “Oh yeah! I asked her if she would teach me how to do what she did, and she said yes. I was so excited, I mean super duper uper excited, more excited than I had ever been in my life, except for that time that I discovered that I loved to make people laugh and smile more than anything else in the world.” Pinkie's words began to pick up speed, and Top had to speed up his brain to keep up. “After work she would give me lessons,” Pinkie continued, “she taught me how to tell jokes, sing, dance, play instruments, use props, and do all kinds of fun stuff. She said I was a natural! I got really good, I was able to play several instruments, dance and use props to do funny stuff, all at once. It was really awesome.” The reporter saw the heavy set filly again, looking over his news stories and pointing out where he could improve. With each story he got better and better at his craft. He bit his lip and fought to keep his eyes dry. “Did they let you perform at the circus?” Top managed to choke out. “Oh no no no, I wasn't ready for something like that, at least not yet. I was good, but Bright was better, a lot better. It took me a while to figure out how to stun a crowd like she did. I did admit to her that I loved to throw parties. Bright talked to the Reignsling Brothers for me, and they let me throw parties for the crew after their shows.” “A carnival party?” Top smiled “Those had to be incredibly fun.” “You have no idea, they were way more fun than the parties that I threw in Salt Lick. All of those circus people loved to have fun, especially after working really hard doing performances. I got better and better at the stuff Bright taught me, but I was already starting to become a master at holding parties and decorating. After a couple of months, the Reignsling brothers put me in charge of decorating the circus tents before a show. Oh my gosh, you will not believe how fun that was! I made all kinds of fun decorations. I really loved to make animal balloons, multi-colored streamers, and oh, I had the cutest ribbons put on the animals. You should have seen the pink bows I tied to Matilda the Siberian Tiger, they were just so cute!” “But the fun didn't stop there. One night before a show, someone that ran one of the concession stands got sick and couldn't bake goodies. I remembered some of the recipes that my granny Pie taught me how to make, so I threw on a bakers hat and went to work. With Bright's help, we were able to make super savory treats for the show. Everyone loved them!” Top chuckled when Pinkie tore a huge chunk out of a chocolate doughnut with sprinkles and chewed ecstatically. “I started to become more and more important to the circus. I was given a big raise and put in charge of the decorating and baking. It took me a bit to get good at the baking, and I really wasn't super awesome like my granny Pie, but I did pretty good. On top of that, I was still also holding the cast party and taking lessons from Bright.” “I bet you were a busy mare,” Top's eyebrows arched. “You have no idea. But I was able to keep up with that busy schedule, and was even able to spend some quality time with Bright.” “Bright must have been special.” The reporter smiled. “She was. We spent all the time that we could together.” “What did you do when you were not practicing?” “Oh just anything, we would talk, play games, read stories...well she read me stories, it was really fun with her around.” “You and your mentor must have been very close, I would venture you were good friends?” “We were great friends! But it was more than that. Bright had been working at the circus for 20 years at that point, it was her life. She never had been married and or had foals. She was really successful, but she was kind of lonely. She would always laugh when I would bounce around as I baked or decorated, and she would chuckle when I did tricks, even when we weren't practicing.” Lunch meetings out with the heavy set mare that ran his newspaper flashed across Top's mind. They would sit and talk about the news and all of the crazy things that the Princess and the Canterlot court were doing. They would both chuckle at this new policy or talk about a special story that was run in another newspaper. Sometimes, they would talk about home life, like how her husband was ill, or how his wife was growing anxious about him not making much money at the paper... “I remember one time I was playing the national anthem on the harmonica while I did cartwheels...” Top's eyes bugged out, “How in the world did you manage that?” “Really carefully,” Pinkie replied with a grin. “But even though I enjoyed the circus, I enjoyed my time with Bright the most. She was really special, and I felt that she deserved someone special too.” The reporter nodded, “I have full faith that she probably felt the same as well.” Pinkie stroked her chin with her hoof, “Let's move on with the story. Things were going really well at the circus. I was making great money, not that I needed all of it. I saved a lot of it for a rainy day, though I spent some of it on the parties or gifts for friends. My schedule could sometimes get really insane with all of the decorating and the baking, but I was able to keep it down. Then one day Red got sick.” “What happened?” “She came down with a severe case of Hazel throat, she wasn't able to talk or sing. Worse of all, she felt so sick that she couldn't hop and bounce around, or play her instruments. The circus was in a panic, they didn't know who they were going to get to replace her. Well, Bright had an idea, can you guess what that was?” “She suggested you for the part?” “Yeppers peppers! She wrote a little note and told the Reignsling Brothers that she had trained me to do what she did, and that she felt I was ready to perform in front of a crowd. Being desperate, they asked if I wanted to play the part. I didn't say yes...” “You turned it down?” “Nope, as I was saying, I didn't say yes, I said ohmyfreakinggoshthatwillbethegreatestthingever!” Those last words were so fast, Top paid close attention to see if a Sonic Rainboom would burst out of the mare's mouth. Pinkie cocked an eyebrow at his focused demeanor, then he sat back and let her continue her story. “So that night I was on. I did all of the decorations, baked the goods, and prepared for the show. My first performance was...well it was my first performance. The crowd kind of liked me, so I knew that I was off to a good start. The next night and the night after were about the same, the crowd kind of liked me, I got some cheers. But after that...things sort of started to fall through.” Pinkie sighed, “It was really hard to keep up with my hectic schedule, decorating and baking took up a lot of my time, so I barely had any time to prepare for the shows. My performances got worse, and Bright wasn't showing any signs of getting better soon. “Then came the day that I heard we were doing a really big show in Canterlot. This was a major deal since the Princess herself was going to attend. Since Bright's act, which was then my act, was one of the most popular acts, the Reignsling Brothers wanted me to start focusing exclusively on it.” Top nearly spit out his coffee, “They wanted you to prepare to perform in front of the Princess?” “You betcha! They handed the decorating and baking to other ponies and left me to practice. I focused all of my efforts on playing instruments, telling jokes, doing tricks, all sorts of things. Some of the people that watched me thought that I was getting as good as Bright.” “A couple of nights before the show began, I talked to Bright. I told her that I was going to give an awesome performance for the Princess, just like she would. I told her that I would make her proud of me. She didn't say anything, then again she couldn't really say anything because she was sick, but she smiled and that made me feel super duper!” “Opening night was there before I knew it, and I was ready. There was a huge crowd there. A bunch of unicorns, some earth ponies, and a few pegasi were sitting in the huge arena under the sparkling red and blue tent that was placed near the castle. Everyone was talking excitedly before the show was about to begin. The Princess flew in and took her place on a plush throne of velvet surrounded by her guards. I remember seeing her. She looked so beautiful and majestic, I thought that if I did really good, maybe she would hire me to be her court jester!” “I put on my joker suit, painted my face, got my instruments ready, prepared my best jokes, and did my special Pinkie meditation to prepare for the biggest performance of my life.” Top Story chuckled, “Pinkie meditation?” “It's where I think about myself eating strawberry cupcakes under a rainbow. It makes me really happy, so it calms me down and clears my mind.” Pinkie tilted her head and said with a grin. “I imagine you were nervous.” “Noper soaper! Not in the slightest. I was confident, I was ready to give the princess a performance that she would never forget. So I went out there and started out with my jokes, I then did a retinue of tricks, sang, played a bunch of instruments at once, and did a combination of the four.” The reporter tried to picture this mare doing all of those things at once. He couldn't imagine it, but he was sure that it was possible, somehow, someway, this crazy mare could do it. “How did it go?” “The audience was stone silent. They hated me.” Pinkie's eyes focused on a new glass of chocolate milk she had in front of her. “They all just stared at me. I was starting to sweat real bad. I didn't really feel embarrassed until I looked to the left and saw my hero looking on at me with those magenta eyes. I hid my face. I was so embarrassed. I failed her. I failed the circus. I failed everyone. I started to cry and ran backstage.” The pink mare sounded as if she were trying to get words around a lump in her throat, “As I ran I heard an applauding sound. I turned to see that the Princess had started to applaud, pretty soon the others applauded also. I didn't even bow, I turned around and ran backstage.” “I ran to my dressing trailer and cried. The audience only applauded because the Princess did, I knew I failed. I hid my face in my pillow so that no one could hear me. The pillow case was sopping wet when I heard a knock on the door, I opened it to see the Reignsling brothers." "They were just there to tell me that even though my performance was not up to their expectations, and that the Princess' applause saved the show from being a disaster. They then told me that they were going to find another person to replace Bright until she got better. Then they left as soon as they came. They said nothing else. I blew out the candles in my trailer and just laid there in the dark. Even though it was hot outside, everything inside felt really cold. I didn't close my eyes, because when I did I could see all of the spectators at the carnival again, laughing at me as I danced and sang for them.” “The show had long since been over when there was another knock on the door. I said that I didn't want to see anybody, but the knocking just kept getting louder. I slowly walked to the door and opened it. Bright was there, looking straight at me. I cried again. I said I was sorry. I threw my forelegs around her neck and she held me. I told her I was sorry for failing her and the circus. I told her that I tried to be like her, but I wasn't. I wasn't the performer she was, I was just regular old party throwing, decorating Pinkie. I told her what the Reignsling brothers had told me, and said that they would probably fire me later.” “Bright only stood there and held me. After I cried out all of her apologies she held me back and looked at me with those magenta eyes. When I was done, I said that I would understand if she never wanted to talk to me again. After I said this she calmly reached back into the saddlebag she carried on her back and pulled out a note.” The focused reporter cleared his throat, “What did it say?” “Hang on, I still have it.” Pinkie pulled a piece of paper from seemingly out of nowhere and handed it to Top with her mouth. Top laid it in front of him and unfolded it. It read, The Canterlot crowd is always hard to impress. You were amazing Pinkie, I am so proud of you. The letters swam around on the page and formed a picture of his mentor squeezing his shoulder. The newspaper had been bought by another media company, and had fired both of them. His mentor was old enough to retire, but he was still very young with many years of work ahead of him. The red mare rested a hoof on his shoulder and told him that he was the best reporter she employed. She told him that great things were around the corner for him, he just had to have faith and keep his head up... The reporter saw the pink pony across from him wiping her eyes. “I pulled her inside and gave her the biggest hug I ever gave anybody. We hugged and hugged and hugged, I think she finally pulled away from me because she couldn't breathe.” “Her eyes sparkled and her smile told me all I needed to hear. We hugged once more and she stayed the night while we talked...or while I talked. It was fun, even though I was the only one doing the talking.” Top chuckled, imagining that Brightmane probably had the patience of a saint. “Brightmane slept on the floor in my trailer.” Pinkie continued, “She motioned to me that she was going to stay and I told her that she didn't have to but she insisted. I told her that she had to sleep in my bed and I would sleep on the floor, but she just laid down and closed her eyes. There is no arguing with someone who can't talk.” “I slept well that night. The next morning both Reignsling brothers came by and apologized if they sounded like meanie pants the night before, and told me that they still wanted me to be their baker and decorator for the circus.” The reporter smiled, “So things were back to normal.” “Yep, they sure were. I felt that I should be really happy, but something was missing. I loved it there at the circus, but I felt like I needed to be somewhere else.” Pinkie sighed, “When her voice came back, I had a talk with Brightmane. I told her how I felt and then asked her what I should do. Do you know what she said?” Top shook his head, “No, what did she say?” “'Pinkie, you are a grown mare, you need to do what makes you happy.' It made a whole lot more sense hearing it the second time around, especially from her. Over the next couple of weeks, I thought and thought about it, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.” “What was that?” Asked the reporter. “I decided that as much as I loved it there, it was time for me to leave the circus. It was really hard for me to tell Brightmane, and when I finished we both had tears in our eyes. On the day that I was set to leave, she threw me the biggest surprise party. Everybody was there to wish me luck. Before I left, Brightmane gave me a big hug and told me that no matter where the road leads, I should always walk down it with a smile on my face. That way, there will always be a ray of sunshine, even when its all dark. I wasn't really thinking about it when I did it, but when I told her goodbye and said 'goodbye mom.' It took us a while, but we both finally stopped crying.” Top smiled smiled cleared his throat.. “Before I left the circus, Bright gave me one of her most prized possessions, her accordion! I still have it to this day. That accordion is very special to me, I used it on the day I saved Ponyville from the parasprites.” “Huh?” Pinkie waved a hoof in the air, “That is another story for another time. But anyway, I left the circus and started my next great adventure!” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's Note: I have had this chapter written for quite some time, but it took me a while to get around to editing it. As I read it, I felt that I could have done a better job with it. However, as I have other stories that I would like to write, I decided that I would just go ahead and put it up. Despite giving this a read over, it probably still has a million grammatical errors. Grammar is not my strong suit, just ask the really nice people that preread my stories for me. Word-Sight, a wonderful guy and good writer himself, edited chapters one through three for me, and I will get those edits posted soon. Right now I just have a lot of things going on. In any case, I hope you enjoy chapter four of this story! Thank you so much for reading!