//------------------------------// // Serious Questions // Story: Awakening Pink // by Masterweaver //------------------------------// We shall skip over the trick or treating that followed. Look, I know you want to know all about what happened and the whole bit where Gilda threw candy to the orphans and how we spontaneously reenacted the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy with those hobbits and why we ended up with that canoe but really, as fun as it all was... it just doesn't have the impact needed to be considered part of this story. Maybe I'll make it a side story, okay? It was pretty crazy. In fact, I'm just going to skip ahead to the hotel. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! **** Gilda was rather aggravated, growling as she searched through what little stuff she had on her. That actually surprised me a bit, that she had anything at all considering she had nothing when we first met. I floated over, looking over her shoulder-- I say floated, but actually Pinkie and I had figured out how to use the hand-shaped braids of our tail as basically a Wallmaster and spent the latter portion of the day mimicking Midna's method of transportation. It was crazy, right? Walking on our tail. That's earth ponies for ya. Or maybe just Pinkie, I'm not sure. Anywho, I sort of tail-walked-floated over to Gilda, curious where she had gotten the items. After munching on some random candies from my basket--I had finally convinced Pinkie that chocolate should be pushed aside for different flavors whenever possible--I took a moment to examine Gilda's expression. "You need any help?" "Unless you can magically pull Cale up from the depths of whatever hell he's in, NO!." "Well, I don't think he's that deep," I mused. "You knew about airport security, after all. I'd suggest either meditation or hitting your head against that wall there." Gilda snarled at me, clearly mistaking my suggestion as a threat. I held my hooves up in a placating gesture. Up till this point, Mrs. Buzzy stood sentinel on the windowsill, musing over her relationship with Figment, while Erishy had been conversing with Julien. Finally, though, she gave him a brief hug and walked over to us. "So Shining says that it would be best if you two came with him to the lady's house, and I can start preparing for the trip, putting the vehicles into storage, um..." She caught sight of the wrath on Gilda's face. "...are you okay?" "Perfectly fine. Pinkie just told me to ram my head into the wall." "Suggested," I clarified. "Not told. I also suggested meditation. Or talking to a mirror, that could work." "Ah might just take ya up on that suggestion," Ian commented, walking in wearing one of the new ensembles Jackie had crafted for him. "This whole foal thang is gettin' on mah nerves... not tah mention tha accent." "I hear ya bro," I agreed with a nod. "It only gets weirder from here on out though. Especially when you talk with your pony partner--griffon partner in Cale's case, although Cale's... not... here... this metaphor is labored so I'm eating candy. OH! By the way, I got a facebook message for you Ian!" I handed my iPad over. Yeah, apparently Sweetie Belle was wandering around New York already and had sent a brief message to us. Who'da thunk it, eh? "Well... that is less mean," Erishy conceded. "If you want, I could help you with meditation, Gilda." Gilda huffed, averting her eyes. "Seriously, I'm sure he's perfectly fine. No need to be so concerned for someone so completely useless. Can we please just move on? Maybe talk about our plans, devour our massive stashes of ca- no wait, you probably ate it already, Pie. Talk about our plans...?" "Give me some credit," I grumbled, "I have some restraint." "Way Ah see it, we need ta figure who's flyen' and who's driven'." Once again, Ian proved himself to be the reasonable member of the party. I gave him a thankful nod before listing off the data points in my head. "Gilda's staying grounded, and if she gets Cale back she can drive. I'd suggest leaving Julien and Linda in the cars cause royal flights are expensive. Plus Julien can drive the modified car. That leaves the ground crew needing one human... two if Gilda doesn't reconnect with her worldly self." Ah'm taken tha plane," Ian informed us. "Figure Ah can get a little enjoyment outta this thang..." "Hmph. You know what?" Gilda crossed her forelegs. "I refuse to connect with Cale. He's nothing but trouble." "Oh so you can't handle a little trouble, Gilda?" I said sweetly. "You can't handle a little irritation? Shame. I understand your phobia of guns, but I never realized you were an out and out coward." "Are ya really aggravating tha predator?" Ian asked me, worry apparent in his voice. "Yes. Yes I am." I rotated around, still balanced on the hand-braids of my tail, and gave Erishy a small smile. "If you really want to ride a plane, I can stay with the ground crew--" Gilda turned and snarled at me, her face contorting into pure rage. "TROUBLE? TROUBLE? HOW ABOUT YOU DEAL WITH SOMEONE WHO BREAKS YOUR LEGS, PIE. OR MAYBE SOMEONE WHO BREAKS SHY'S WINGS? HUH? HOW DO YOU THINK IT FEELS?" I dropped to my hooves, turning to her with no humor on my face. "There once was a mare that covered the land in eternal night. And I forgave her. I'll protect my friends, Gilda, but I'm strong enough to trust that I can change my foes." "Did--Did you honestly just compare Cale to Nightmare Moon? Really?" The griffon pounded her chest. "What does that make me, Luna? Are you going to banish me to the bloody moon, Celestia? Huh? HUH?" I took the moment to shove some sweets into her beak as an attempt to make peace. "Go talk with Shy, kay?" We both knew that the pegasus probably better at dealing with this sort of thing then I could be, but Gilda snarled at me anyway, storming off into another room with Erishy. This left me alone with Ian. Well, the royals and the cosplayers were off to the side, but whatever they were talking about didn't involve us. "...so how are you holding up?" "...could be better," Ian admitted. "Ah'm a bit short fer mah liking." He tapped his bow. "And thar's... that." "Yeah." I nodded. "I only got the equipment switch, not the.... rewind. I mostly handled it as well as I did by basically just moving on." "...Moven' on?" "I dunno. It just didn't click. Or maybe it did. I've been... wow, I've been incredibly passive about this whole thing." I rubbed the back of my head. "I mean, it happened and then up I go! Huh. I dunno, maybe I just... never really..." ...why didn't I freak out, anyway? "Whatever. Point is, I feel ya man." "....That sounds so wrong with that voice." "Said the moepony." "Touche." Ian gave me back my iPad. "So, just outta curiousitay, how do Ah--how does Apple Bloom know this Sweetie Belle pony?" "You two and another filly are founding members of a club devoted to finding your cutie mark." "Gotcha." I was browsing through my sites as I spoke. "Also, Applejack is your older sister--I think you got that--and your eldest sibling is Big Macintosh. And you all live with Granny Smith on your farm and oh my gosh this is hilarious." "What? What is it?" "There's this guy writing a fanfic about this whole situation, but he says he turned into Opal!" I cracked up laughing. "Oh my gosh. Llama mafia? Really? Total crackfic." "Opal?" "Rarity's cat." "How are ya sure that it ain't real?" "He put this disclaimer on the front. 'This is not a factual event, but it is inspired by the rash of ponifications happening right now.' Hilarious." "What's going on?" Cadance asked, trotting in. "Reid here found a crackfic based on this whole thang." Ian rolled his eyes. "Honestly. What kinda psychotic daranged asshole can take this thang so casually..." Harold shrugged, taking a seat. "Well, people adapt." "Understatement of the year," Ginny quipped. We all stood around staring at each other for a moment or two since we really didn't have any idea where to take the conversation. It happens sometimes. ...hey maybe I should tell a scary story! Yeah sure, Pinkie, that could be something. "So... you guys want to hear about Little Leafhopper?" Ian gave me a look. "Who's Little Leafhopper?" Pinkie smirked. **** β€œ...so then I looked up. And there. It. Was.” Pinkie nodded. β€œTHE CEILING FAN.” ....Pinkie, that story made so little sense that if I ever write memoirs about this whole event I'm just going to make sure it doesn't go in. Awwwww. I thought it was terrifying! Everyone in the room was giving us an odd look. Erishy glanced around as she walked back in. "I must have missed something. So how is the planning going?" GIlda walked in after her, a little unsteady on her paws. "Weeeeeeeeell..." I shuffled my hooves guiltily. "It... hasn't happened any further then what you know." "Oh..." Erishy looked around the room and shrugged. "Well I think so far it sounds like Gilda, Cadence, Shining, Pinkie and one or two humans will drive, but Cadence and Shining could fly." "I can't drive," I pointed out. "Neither can Jackie," Ginny quipped. "Oh come on!" The Fluttershy cosplayer shot her friend a flat look. "Remember when we first met?" The actual Fluttershy simply gave a confused look around the room. Gilda held up a talon. "Wait, driving?" "It's what the humans call the act of operating a motor vehicle," Cadance supplied helpfully. GInny crossed her arms, giving the alicorn a flat look. "I'm a fan and all, but I'm a little freaked out that Linda isn't back yet..." "Um, right..." Cadance smiled apologetically, leaning away. "I promise I'll get her back before bedtime." "Right..." Gilda shook her head. "Then." "So..." Erishy held up a hoof. "Jackie would fly with us?" "I'm not that bad of a driver," Jacqueline grumbled. "I was showering and you came through the wall," Ginny deadpanned. "I only had a permit back then!" "It was on the SECOND FLOOR!" "I've gotten better!" Harold raised an eyebrow. "Marginally." That earned him an irate glare, which he took without comment. Gilda rolled her eyes. "Listening to you guys talk makes me feel like someone is walking over my grave." "It's called banter," Erishy explained. "I'm terrible at it too." I gave her a sly smirk. "I already knew you were bad at driving..." She flinched at that, unfortunately, which mad my own throat catch. I'd only meant to tease her a little bit, not... "So that's Shy, Ian, and Jackie definitely going on the plane," Cadance listed, "and probably Ginny because she's Shy's number one fan. Me and Shiny on the ground with Gilda... and Harold, because we need a driver." I nodded, keeping myself distracted from my faux pas. "And since our elderly patron will probably fly, I'll stick with the ground crew." Gilda nodded, glancing around at her car companions.. "Sounds fair." "So Gilda and the rest will get there a day later?" Erishy clarified. "Should give me time to start organizing and trying to get in contact with the princesses." "...I guess? " I shrugged, smiling at her awkwardly. I dunno, I'm terrible with schedules." "Let's split our stuff up," Ian suggested, walking towards the parking lot. "Check ta make sure all tha stuff you have is going with ya." "I'll go with you," Cadance offered, walking after him. "You're... kind of short now and somebody could run you over by accident." Ian sighed and nodded, and they both stepped outside. Erishy shrugged, turning to our resident predator. "You just have Cale's stuff right? I could show you to the car so you can decide which vehicle to ride in." "Actually, with the way things are set up, she's going to need to learn how to drive." Harold stood up, walking after the two who had just headed outside. "I'll move everything from the van to Ian's car so I can teach her." I shuddered in fear and disgust. "Driving. How normal people do it I'll never know... I tried once, but... it was... wrong." Really there's no other way to explain it, I have never been able to get a grip on cars. There's no connection, not even the basic one. It's too... grshriknera, you know? I mean-- I'm rambling, sorry, where were we? "...You want me to drive?" Gilda stared at the man as though he were crazy. "You have hands." Harold glanced back. "Talons. You can grip the wheel." Gilda glanced at her appendages and shrugged. "And that's a good reason in what world?" "Hey! Let me show you something." Erishy galloped to her backpack and pulled out her laptop, dragging it over to Gilda gripped awkwardly between her forehooves. Opening a browser, she pulled up a video of someone driving a fancy car of some kind. "That's what driving a car is like. There is a speed limit but you get to guide this huge machine on the road, and if you can drive then you can help out the others, letting them rest. I drive a lot and let me tell you, it is really wonderful when someone can take over to let you rest. It would mean a lot to us if you could help." Harold nodded. "Also, apparently Pinkie can't drive. And between Linda and Cadance... one is still getting used to her body, and the other probably wouldn't have a clue. You though. You have the eagle eye, the instinct to keep that car safely on the road. Trust me, you'll need it." "Eagle instinct, eh?" Gilda rolled her eyes and looked about, eventually flicking her wings in a resigned gesture. "Fine. I don't even know if Cale knows how to drive." Erishy chuckled as she crammed her laptop back into the bag. "Who is going to meet with the lady? I'm assuming that Shining would want to, you Pinkie?" "Well..." I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "We should all meet up and explain why we're splitting up. That sound okay?" "Okay, let me get Shining." Erishy trotted off.... ....leaving me alone with Gilda. Don't ask me where Jackie and Ginny were, I have no idea. An idea snuck into my head, one that could not be ignored. I glanced around the room cautiously, making sure that nobody else was around. "...so, um, Gilda." My hoof brushed against the ground. "Just... out of completely random no I'm not telling you the real reason curiosity... have you ever... you know, been in a romantic relationship?" She gave me an odd look, as if to stare into the depths of my soul with her intense peering avian gaze. Her proud form lurked over me with intent, intent perhaps to kill, to maim...! "...Not particularly. Don't see many griffons." ...or maybe just to respond. Wow, griffons can be scary. "Ohm well then. Yeah. Okay." I nodded, glancing away. "Alright." She tilted her head. "Why did you ask?" I decided to try to shift the conversation a different way. "I think you should go out and have Harold teach you to drive." She stared at me curiously for a moment. "Why?" "BECAUSE REASONS." Gilda lidded her eyes. "The reasons are?" Erishy walked back in, Shining beside her. "You two okay?" Oh no, not this! Okay, um... "Hey there Shy we were just talking about Gilda's most embarrassing secret." BRILLIANT! Gilda blinked. "...Secret?" "You should be happy Applejack isn't here," Shining quipped, taking a seat as the rest of the group filed back in. "So. Take the floor, pinkie. What's up?" "Well, you know...." I waved a vague hoof. "Things. And stuff. And birds--OHMYGOSH SHY YOU NEED TO TALK TO A PIGEON." "Pinkie..." Gilda twitched as she focused on me. "Tell me what my secret is..." I petulantly stuck my tongue out. "No. It's secret." "PIE! Tell me already, dang it!" GRIFFONS CAN BE SCARY! I backed up against a wall. "...I..." thinkthinkthinkthink... "...actually don't know." Her eyes remained wide for a moment. Then she growled and turned away. Erishy looked from her to me with her piercing gaze. "So, if Gilda doesn't have a secret... what's your secret, Pinkie?" My teeth clenched as sweat began to form on my brow. She'd almost seen through my clever ruse. I had to think of something to say, something that would distract her.... "....I am actually a big fan... of cats." Yes. That would work. Right? Erishy rose a curious eyebrow, totally oblivious of my bungled attempt to ask Gilda for romantic advice. In retrospect, not my smartest idea. I mean... Gilda, you know? There was an awkward moment when the conversation stalled again. Julien...Shining finally shifted. "Well. Go ahead and explain the plan." I nodded in gratitude at his topic starter. "We all drive over to our benefactor's house, and explain why we're splitting up. Then you, your semiwife, Gilda, me, and Harold continue the road trip while everybody else flies." "Great. I'm packed, as is Shy. I think we are ready to go." Julien gave me a sly smirk. "This will be the last chance to get in some good hugs, take advantage of it." "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...." Erishy shot me a look, glancing back at the floor with a blush. While everybody else chattered and chitted, she stepped awkwardly sideways toward me. "Hey." "....hey," I squeaked back, suddenly aware that I was still in my extremely revealing Halloween outfit. "Uh... I... think I should, uh... maybe wash off this paint and get dressed before wegosoI'mgoingtodothatnowbye!" I gave her a brief hug before shooting up to the bathroom and turning on a cold, cold, COLD shower. Oh geeze oh geeze oh GOD what do I do what do I do what do I do?! I dunno! I've never been in this situation! I've never dated at all Pinkie! I don't know what to do here! Neither do I! What are we going to do?!?! I DON'T KNOW! STOP PANICKING! I'M THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO PANIC! WE'RE SHARING THE SAME BODY WHEN YOU PANIC I PANIC! DON'T SAY THAT! WHY?!?!? THAT'S SOMETHING I WOULD SAY! BUT IT'S ALSO... something... We shut off the water silently. ....My... my name is Reid. I am a social recluse with a powerful imagination and, and a large family. Eldest son. ...yeah. Yeah that's you. I'm Pinkie. You're Reid. I'm silly and friendly and... know about rock farming. Youngest daughter... ...yeah. Yeah. We nodded, stepping out of the bathroom and toweling ourselves dry. ***** I walked into the parking lot, fully clothed and taking a steadying breath. With a single glance I could see that everyone had already hopped into a vehicle... well, almost everyone. My hooves took me up next to the pegasus, and I allowed myself another deep breath of air. "We sharing a car again?" Erishy drooped a bit, keeping her eyes on her hooves. "You... don't have to... I could take Shining and Cadance... you should go with the rest." Her voice was barely audible. I sighed, inwardly berating myself for handling the whole situation so stupidly. "...hey, this is the last time we'll be together till we hit New York. Awkward emotions aside, I'm not letting you sit in that car alone." My face flushed a bit, but I decided to press on. "You are my friend at the very least.... and, um, I'm still figuring out the rest." "Yeah... I guess I'm driving then..." She hopped into her car, buckling up and wiggling the wheel. "I'll try really hard to be safe... I promise." "I'm just really sensitive to acceleration," I assured her quietly, walking around and hopping into my own seat. "That's all."