“Trixie… what brings you out here?” Rainbow asked casually. The unicorn scoffed at her.
“Isn’t it obvious? The Great and Powerful Trixie has finally acquired some worthy followers who appreciate her magnificent performances! Pinkie Pie was easy enough to persuade into buying that statue, funny the moment I saw it the thing simply called to Trixie!”
“Then why not buy it yourself?” Rainbow asked.
“Ha! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not spend money she doesn’t have to, and besides, how could she have managed such a worthwhile payoff like this without your friend’s help?” Trixie asked, gesturing to the cloaked ponies. “Now, as much as the Great and Powerful Trixie would love to stay and chat with you, she has important matters to attend to!” She began to back away, looking at her cloaked companions. “Educate this troublemaker in the ways of fun!” she ordered and let out a crazed laugh as she created a burst of smoke. As it cleared Rainbow saw her already at the tunnel, fleeing the scene and still laughing, but before she could follow, the hooded ponies advanced on her.
“Fun… fun… fun…” the ponies chanted, throwing back their hoods and revealing that their eyes all glowed green, all of them were sporting huge, creepy grins as they charged at her. Rainbow jumped into the air, barely avoiding them in time, flipping and landing behind them, the pegasus bucked the one closest to her, sending him flying and crashing into a tree. The other three looked at him and one shook her head.
“That’s not very fun, outsider,” she said softly, regrouping with the others as one that was a unicorn began using his magic to float out party string cans to the others. Sitting on their haunches, the ponies held them in their hooves. The pegasus regarded them in confusion for a moment before the three immediately opened fire.
Rainbow attempted to fly out of the way, but her wings got covered in gooey strawberry-scented semi-liquid string, causing her to move clumsily in the air as more was sprayed upon her. Unable to fly right, the pegasus crashed into the ground, the stuff was much stickier then she remembered it ever being, she could barely move now. The ponies did not stop, and in seconds, she was cocooned in the party string.
~
Everything was dark, Rainbow could feel herself being carried somewhere. She could hear a door being opened and being carried even further. The chants of the cultists were all around her now.
Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun.
She was suddenly dropped on the floor, and she struggled as much as she could; the adhesion of the party string had dried up and she attempted to tear her way out.
“Alright, no more Miss Nicepony!” Rainbow said angrily, ripping the makeshift cocoon off of her and shaking the remaining pink goop off of her. Her eyes widened when she found she was in a large room, painted completely pink with tattered streamers hanging about. There were rows of ponies in pink cloaks chanting but otherwise making no move towards her. Up ahead was a stairway leading up. Was this the mansion the other pony told her about? She didn’t like it here, all these creepy smiles were making her uncomfortable and she still had to find Pinkie Pie.
“Go up the stairs…” one cloaked pony said, emerging from the rows. “You must learn to have fun… Miss Pinkamena will show you…” he said, gesturing to the stairway with a big, creepy smile.
“If you say so.” she said.
“…After we have made you ready!” the hooded pony said, floating a knife out from under his cloak, and soon the others followed in producing similar weapons.
“Oh, no way!” Rainbow said, immediately taking to the air and flying past them as fast as she could and up the stairs. Reaching them, she turned and saw them slowy advancing on her, holding knives with magic, their hooves, or teeth and all grinning at her, their eyes glowing green.
“Come have fun with us, Rainbow Dash,” the ponies all said in a synchronized monotone, their large smiles not fading in the least. “Fun must last forever and ever…”
Turning and pulling open the door in front of her, Rainbow quickly hurried inside and closed it behind her, sliding the lock into place. When she turned around, though, she was treated to a far more unnerving sight.
She was in a smaller room, with a large shrine. All around hung balloons and streamers, with a huge banner in the middle with the words “Life’s A Party!” in crude red letters in front of a large table where there sat a pile of rocks, a flour sack, a clump of dust, and a bucket of turnips with eyes and a grin painted on it. At one end of the table near the window was the alicorn statue, and at the other, her back turned to her was a pony in a pink hooded cloak.
“What’s wrong Madame Le Flour? Do we have another guest?” the pony asked, and she got our of her seat, removing her hood. "Yes we do... she's no fun!" the pony said, in a higher, softer tone vaguely like Fluttershy's out of the corner of her mouth like poorly-done ventriloquism.
Rainbow cringed when she saw Pinkie Pie. The normally bubbly and cheerful party pony looked even more disturbed then the time she thought they had been avoiding her. Pinkie’s mane was completely flat, her pupils were like pinpoints in her glowing green eyes, and a wide sneer spread across her face.
“Aw, but this one I super-specially invited. Trixie sent the invitation but this one didn’t want to come,” Pinkie said, cocking her head. “Why do you wanna be a no-fun party-pooper Rainbow Dash?” she asked softly, her eerie sneer never leaving her face. “After all, everypony here wants to have fun…”
“Okay, Pinkie, I think all this craziness is getting to ya, so why don’t you just come with me and we can get Rarity outta that shed before she has a nervous breakdown?” Rainbow asked, managing a scared smile as she had a feeling it wasn’t going to be nearly that easy.
“Aw, Dashie, I can’t do that. She was a whiny-mc-whinypants who didn’t like my parties. She had to be put away so she didn’t make my other guests sad,” the earth pony answered, approaching slowly.
“Th-that’s close enough, Pinkie!” Rainbow said, holding her hoof out, and her friend frowned.
“What’s the matter, Dashie? Are you still gonna be no fun?” Pinkie asked. “Then maybe you’ll just need to be punished too!” she said, raising her voice on the last two words as she tossed back her cape and revealed her party cannon. Jumping behind it, Pinkie aimed it at the worried pegasus.
“W-whoa! Pinkie, this is going a little extreme here, isn't it? Come on, you don’t wanna do this! I’m one of your best friends!” Rainbow said, backing against the door and cringing when she heard the pounding on the other side from the eager cultists.
“Then you wouldn’t mind holding still for me like a good friend would!” The cannon suddenly fired a blast of pink lightning at Rainbow Dash before she could even move in time. Rainbow Dash jerked back as the blast knocked her back and crackled around her but then dissipated.
I’m okay? I’m okay! She looked down and noticed the gem Rarity had given her was still around her neck. “Whoa, thank you Rarity!”
“Fine! Be that way! Me and my other guests will be happy to show you real fun!” Pinkie said, the disturbing grin returning to her face as she drew a knife from behind her back and advanced. Behind her, Rainbow noticed the statue’s eyes glow for an instant.
“Madame Le Flour! Fire two!” Pinkie said, taking up the flour sack and stuffing it into her party cannon. “Ready, Miss Pinkamena,” she said out of the corner of her mouth doing a soft voice that imitated Fluttershy’s again and firing. This time, the pegasus was ready. Flying up into the air, she avoided the flour sack as it impacted the door, bursting into a cloud of white that filled half the room. Pinkie coughed and waved her free hoof around to clear it away, but Rainbow Dash had already swooped down and dive-bombed her before she could react, knocking her to the floor and disarming her.
“This isn’t FUN! GET OFF!” Pinkie ordered, her tone a cold, angry one as she bucked the pegasus off of her, then scooped up the rock stack, placing it into her cannon. “Rocky, fire three!” she said, then mimicked Rainbow’s voice as she spoke for the rock stack. “Right away Miss Pinkamena!” Pinkie fired again, sending the rocks at the pegasus before she could take to the air again and knocking her backwards with the first rock, but Rainbow managed to catch the second one and flung it back at the cannon, knocking it the other way and causing its owner to accidentally fire its last rock at the bucket of turnips, blasting it apart.
“Mister Turnip!” Pinkie said, aghast and she turned and glared at her friend. “You’ll pay for that, Miss Party Pooper Dash!” she said. “Sir Lintsalot, punish her!” She tilted her head sideways with a grin. “With great pleasure, Miss Pinkamena” she said, imitating Rarity’s upper-crust accent as she stuffed the clump of lint into the cannon and fired it.
As expected, the lint did little to offer on inflicting any sort of harm like the others would have. Rainbow seized the opportunity to grab a stray turnip and throw it into the cannon while Pinkie stared at it incredulously. Turning the cannon, Rainbow aimed it at the statue that sat at the end of the table, facing the window.
“What are you doing to my new bestest friend?” Pinkie asked in an unnerving, sad monotone as she took up her knife again and leaped onto the pegasus, attempting to stab her with it.
“Hey, stop it! Get off me!” Rainbow protested, struggling as she tried not to get gutted and rolling to the side to avoid the knife that promptly got stuck in the floor. The pink earth pony grunted as she attempted to pull it loose, buying just enough time for the pegasus to get up and grab the string on the cannon with her teeth, firing the turnip at the statue with enough force to knock it out the window.
“NO!” Pinkie cried out, rushing to the window and seeing it laying on its back on the ground. “You… you…” her eyes glowed green for a second, then they faded back to her normal blue and her pupils grew back to their usual size. “I… whoa… where…?” She looked around the room. “What was I doing?” She then saw her frightened friend and the memories came back to her. “Oh Rainbow Dash I’m so, so, so, so, so, SO sorry!” she pleaded, hugging the pegasus and letting tears flow. “I couldn’t stop myself! Ever since I got that statue Trixie was saying we should totally get so it can spruce up the town a little I thought it was a little creepy but she thought it looked cool so I bought it and then I started feeling all weird and stuff and then I started thinking all these weird things and a buncha rocks and flour and stuff were telling me to make everypony have fun by making some kinda group for it then I got mad because Rarity said I was acting wrong and you know I don’t get mad like thatandI’msososososososososososososoooooSO sorry I tried to kill you I didn’t mean to and I didn’t want to but the voices kept saying for me to and it was like my body and mouth were doing stuff without me wanting them to like one of those crazy dreams where you watch everything but can't do anything and I was so scared and again I’m REALLY sorry!” she ranted, somehow not even drawing breath till after she'd finished.
Rainbow flinched for a moment, then hugged her friend. “It’s alright, Pinkie. It’s over now, I think,” she said, noticing there wasn’t any pounding on the door anymore. “That statue did somethin’ to you, things have been getting really weird around here lately,” she explained, recalling Gilda and Spitfire and the FlimFlam Brothers.
“Y-you forgive me?” Pinkie asked, surprised after all she’d done, even if she wasn’t in control of herself at the time she still felt awful about it all.
“Of course, you’re my friend and I know you wouldn’t do something like that for real!” Rainbow said, giving her a pat on the back.
Pinkie’s mane and tail instantly poofed out again and she promptly gave her friend a huge hug. “ThankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOUSOOOOMUCH!” she said in her usual peppy and happy tone. “Oh, and I should probably give you this!” she said, reaching into her mane and taking out a key. “Go get Rarity, I’m gonna help clean up downstairs! There’s probably a LOTTA confused ponies down there!” she said with a grin; not the creepy one she’d had earlier, but her usual bright friendly one that livened up everypony's day.
“Sure thing, I’ll be back before you know it!” Rainbow said, taking the key and dropping it in her bag and flying out the broken window. The moment she was outside, however, she saw the statue floating now, engulfed in a magic aura, and next to it was a familiar unicorn in a wizard hat and cape, grinning at her.
“Trixie?”
“Why hello, Rainbow Dash. Don’t mind the Great and Powerful Trixie, for she is merely taking what’s hers!” the showmare said.
“That statue’s bad news, Trixie, you shouldn’t be messing with it!” Rainbow said, glaring at her.
“This statue has brought Trixie much luck, and she intends to keep it for later use!” Trixie replied, looking at it for a moment as it magically shrank down to a smaller size. Satisfied, the showmare floated it under her hat. “Farewell, Rainbow Dash!” With an over-the-top laugh, Trixie used her telekinesis to throw the pegasus against the wall of the pink mansion and set off another burst of smoke, fleeing immediately after.
Facehoofing, Rainbow Dash sat herself back up. “I swear, next chance I get…” she muttered, going over a million ways she’d personally beat that annoying showmare into a pulp, but another priority came to mind. “Rarity! Right!” Spreading her wings, Rainbow flew off to the tunnel leading north, and to the shed where her friend was being kept.
~
“Oh, Rainbow Dash! You look rather banged up!” Rarity said, cringing a little.
“Yeah, yeah, but I’ve been through worse,” Rainbow said, taking the key out of her bag. Rarity grinned and used her magic to float it to the lock to free herself.
“Why thank you very much, dear!” Rarity said, trotting out of the cell in her usual dignified manner. “Now, perhaps we should be returning to Fillydelphia?” she asked.
“We better check in with Pinkie Pie real quick, she was worried about you—“
“Oh my word, is she alright?” Rarity asked, recalling how strangely their friend had acted, and as it was Pinkie Pie they were talking about, that was saying something.
“Yeah. The statue’s gone, she’s alright now. It was controlling her or something. Remember that time when she thought we were avoiding her? Think like a hundred times creepier,” Rainbow explained. “But she’s worried about you, so let’s get back to the town before we head back.”
“Very well then. Hope the poor dear’s not too shook up,” the unicorn said. “By the way, if the statue’s gone, whatever happened to it?”
“Trixie. She ran off with it before I could stop her. Guess we gotta look for her, too. I’ll explain everything later; this whole experience is a total headache!” Rainbow answered.
~
As they emerged from the tunnel, the town was completely different now. The buildings were all painted like normal cottages; like a smaller, newer version of Ponyville. The creepy balloons and banners were gone, and the ponies all looked much more normal now, no longer wearing cloaks or creepy grins.
“Wellllll whaddya think?” Pinkie’s cheerful voice suddenly asked from behind the two. Both turned in shock… when did she get behind them?!
“Uh, looks great, Pinkie!” Rainbow said with a smile.
“Simply divine, dear. Very quaint and I’m certain it’ll only improve from there.” Rarity said. “Now shall we be returning together?”
“Naw, not yet for me. I’m gonna stick around and help with the rebuilding, plus I gotta help organize a real non-creepy-cult kind of new-town-celebration party! It’s the least I can do for all that’s happened,” Pinkie said with a wide smile. “If you see the others say hi to ‘em for me!”
“If you insist, darling,” Rarity said.
“And also, I’m really really sorry for getting all crazy and possessed by the evil statue and locking you up, Rarity!” Pinkie said, hugging her friend.
“It’s alright, dear. It’s in the past and we can move on from that now,” Rarity said with a smile. “Well, Rainbow Dash, I suppose it’s just the two of us then.”
“OOH! OOH-OOH!-OOH!” Pinkie said excitedly, jumping up and down. “That other tunnel over there that leads east! You should totally go there first!”
“Why whatever for, Pinkie?” Rarity asked.
“DUH, because that’s where the next sanctuary thing Rainbow’s gotta collect to save the world is!” she said, grinning.
“Uhh wait, how did you know about the sanctuaries and stuff?” The pegasus asked, confused. The pink mare shrugged.
“Eh, just a hunch!” Pinkie said. “Well, anyways I’m gonna go back and help out with fixing up the town. Have fun on your adventure!” With that, Pinkie bounced away in her typical, joyful manner.
Shaking their heads, the two ponies bid their goodbyes to their friend and after a quick trip to the town doctor to patch Rainbow up from her encounter as well as giving Rarity a chance to write a letter to send off to her sister that they’d be returning a little later, they headed off to the cave awaiting them, unsure what sorts of weirdness would be waiting for them…