//------------------------------// // Correspondence // Story: Double-edged Sword // by fic Write Off //------------------------------// Heya Pinkie! It’s your sis, Inky! How is Ponyville? I’ve heard nice things about the place. I bet you’re making tons of friends with those parties of yours. There are a lot of ponies out there that appreciate parties. I hope your still spreading the joy, although I’d like to know how you’re supporting yourself out there. I need a bit of help. When you went off after that fight with dad; I didn’t think that I’d ever want to talk to you again. You know how angry we were, how abandoned we felt. None of us took it well. Dad was intolerable after you left. He blamed himself; his drinking became worse, he didn’t sleep well and I know he’s still a good pony. Mom tried her best to hold us together but she could feel us drifting apart. Blinky and I, we blamed it all on you. We blamed the breakdown of our family on you. But I’m sorry we felt that way. I really am sorry big sis. I finally realised why you did it, there was nothing for us there. I left the farm. I tried to convince Blinky to leave too but she doesn’t see it that way. I’m going to see if there’s any call for my talent in Canterlot. I still have grandpa’s double bass; it’s the only thing I took with me other than what I’ve saved up over the years. Well, and this quill and parchment but that was just to write a letter. If my cutie mark’s any indication then music is what I’m best at. I wish I could come visit you. Maybe one day I’ll come see you. I’ll come see you once I’ve settled in. It’d be good to catch up. Isabelle Pie Hey Pinks, It’s Inky again. I know it’s only been a day and you probably haven’t even gotten my other letter yet, but what a day it has been. I found myself in the capital of Equestria; I’m barely through the main gate and some guard notices my double bass. Apparently the Canterlot Symphonic Orchestra has been looking for more strings players for a special strings heavy piece by Haydn. So I show up and play my heart out. Hopefully I’ll be able to make a name for myself right out of the stable. I’ll get a reply back tomorrow. I can’t wait. You remember Granny Pie’s friends, the Trefoils? They’ve let me stay with them on the condition that I help out with the clinic when I can. It’s as good arrangement as any in this town, and I’d rather keep my bits for emergencies. All in all, everything has worked out perfectly. None of the big dangers of the outside world that dad used to rant about. I guess you were right about him being full of hot air too. Thank you Pinkie, if you hadn’t left yourself I don’t think I’d have ever had the courage to do so. If you’re ever in Canterlot swing by, I’ll do the same if I ever show up in Ponyville. Inky Heya Inky! It’s so good to hear from you! When you guys went completely silent, it drove me crazy! You’re the best! Pinkie hugs next time I see you! I’ll definitely take you up on that offer if I’m ever in Canterlot. That place is in desperate need of a Pinkie Pie Party! Ooh! Ooh! I’ll bring streamers and cake and balloons! And we could both do the Pony Polka all night long! The Trefoils are very nice ponies, I remember one time I cut myself while helping Granny bake and they rushed me all the way to their clinic to fix me up. I’m sure all the pony patients appreciate the help in whatever form you can give it too! So that’s another bonus! I’m happy excited joyful glad that you’ve forgiven me. For what it’s worth, I never held anything against you girls. It was dad I disagreed with at every turn. Dad was the bane of my Dad was complex, I never understood him. I know, at the heart of it, he did his best to keep us safe; but that was no way to live. I’m extremely happy that you finally got why I left! I hope one day Blinky will see it too. I’ve settled into Ponvyille extremely well as well. Fresh off the train, I run into a pair of ponies that live in a genuine, bona fide gingerbread house! The pair, Mr and Mrs Cake, offered me lodgings in return for a little help at the bakery. Sure enough my treats are well known around these parts. It seems I got a little bit more than Granny Pie’s condition rebellious spirit; I also got her cooking skills! I’ve finally managed to throw a party for every pony in Ponyville! I also got a pet! A toothless alligator named Gummy; he is so cute and has such a sweet tooth and you should see him dance! He is the life of the party! Working at a bakery gives me access to all kinds of party food, and I make all the confetti myself. Things couldn’t have worked out better over here. Your Big Sis, Pinkie Pie Pinkie, I’m so glad you got my letters! When I wrote that second one I felt silly because you might have never received either of them. I just needed somepony to share the joy with, somepony who understands. And that’s you, Pinkie. You were always there when I was younger, now it You’ve always been there to support me. I thank you for that and I hope that one day I can pay you back fully, but I can at least make a start now. I got the part. I’ll be playing in the Canterlot Symphonic Orchestra next week. Prince Blueblood himself will be attending. This is make it or break it time. I’d love for you to be there; I’ve been given a ticket for one of my friends and, well, it wouldn’t be the same without you. I really do hope you can make it. It’s running on the fifteenth Lunar, in four days time on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration. If you come visit me at the clinic beforehoof, I’ll give you the ticket before I leave to get ready. Looking forward to seeing you, Inky Inky! That would be fantastic! I’d love to come! I’ll be on the first train to Canterlot in the morning on the fifteenth! This is great news! I’ve wanted to see you again for so long! I’ll throw us an after party! This is going to be so much fun! Oh, I’ll bring Gummy and I’ll bring my party cannon! This’ll be the best day ever! Of all time! I can’t wait, Pinkie Pie Isabelle Pie, I am so sorry. Truly I am. I wanted nothing more than to be at your concert, but I couldn’t. I’m sure you’ve heard about what happened in Ponyville, the Nightmare Moon fiasco. We defeated Nightmare Moon, the Mare in the Moon, Queen Meaniepants! Me and my friends put an end to her! I’m the Element of Laughter! I don’t know how it happened, but it did. Some kind of special necklace appeared and it was so beautiful but then Celestia nabbed it along with my friends’ ones and took them all back to Canterlot Castle. To top it off, did I mention my new friends! There’s Twilight Sparkle, she’s Celestia’s most prized student and a total bookworm but she can be fun; she became the Element of Magic. Then there’s Applejack, she’s a member of the Apple family and helps run Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville; she’s the Element of Honesty. There’s also Rarity, owner of Carousel Boutique and very posh and prim, but she’s very nice underneath; she’s the Element of Generosity. And of course there’s Rainbow Dash! She’s this super-cool speedster pegasus who loves to have fun! She’s the Element of Loyalty. I can still come up and we can party, if you want. Oh! And I almost forgot Fluttershy, she’s a friendly pegasus that lives on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest and takes care of animals; she’s the Element of Kindness. I knew all these ponies beforehand, except Twilight, but we never connected on the level we have now. I’d call them all my super best most friendliest ponies in the entire world! I can still come up and party if you want. Pinkamena Pie Pinkie, I understand that you had problems. Don’t worry about missing the concert, most ponies did. Even Blueblood didn’t make an appearance, due to the riots. We still played though, to a mixed audience of connoisseurs and ponies who just didn’t want to stay outside. It was a total disaster. The Trefoils had to kick me out to house more patients; the riots took their toll on everypony. Canterlot is starting up repair efforts. Fortunately, I still got paid for my performance, well paid. I made enough to put myself in the Canterlot Musical Academy for a semester so I’m afraid you can’t visit. I’ll keep writing though. It was nice to hear about your adventure, congratulations on being an Element of Harmony. I’ll be in touch again later. Inky Inky, Thanks for understanding. If you want to hear more about my adventures, well, I’ve got a barrel load for you! The other day my good friend Twilight received two invites to the Grand Galloping Gala. Naturally two tickets between six friends did not work out well. We ended up fighting over who could guilt her into giving them up, we weren’t being very good friends. But then Celestia sent over seven tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala and everything sorted itself out, what fun! So I’m going to the Grand Galloping Gala! As a Canterlot resident, I’m hoping you got invited too. And then Applejack got really tired because she couldn’t pick all those apples that she grows. Normally Big Mac would help Normally her brother would help but he hurt himself so Applejack had to do it all herself. When she was tired she made some baked bads and they made everypony sick! And then to top it off she went and caused a stampede of … wait for it… bunnies! Things are crazy here! I hope that you’re enjoying yourself in the academy. I have a friend who went to the Canterlot Academy for Gifted Unicorns on the other side and she said that it was a great school. Write me when you can, Pinkie Heya Inks, You would not believe the week I’m having! I saw a Griffon! This big old meaniepants named Gilda tried to split me and Dashie up! I’d just started getting along with Dashie after we pranked the whole town! Then Gilda started picking on me! She broke my flying machine and she scared my friend! Nopony would believe that Gilda was a big ol’ meanie! Twilight thought I was just jealous. So I decided to throw Gilda a party, to improve her attitude. Then Dashie decides to make it a prankfest and Gilda completely blows her lid! She finally showed her true colours in front of Dashie who sent her walking flying. Then this showmare named Trixie shows up in town. “The Great and Powerful Trixie” she called herself. Great and Powerful my flank! She started picking on my friends, she turned Rarity’s mane green! But Twilight showed that upstarts whose boss! Trixie claimed to have banished an Ursa Major and then these two schoolfoals, Snails and Snips, believed her and lured an Ursa to town! Trixie tried her best and did nothing but make things worse. Then Twilight’s there and her horn’s so purple it hurt to look at. I’m all “Twilight!” but she looks more confident than I’ve ever seen her as she casts this totally rad spell! The Ursa was just an Ursa Minor! And Twilight rocked it back to sleep and sent it home. Trixie galloped away, not even coming back for her things. So how are things on your end? Hope you’re not burning yourself out. Remember to party hard every once in a while! Pinks Dear Pinkie, It ends up I had a lot to learn. They said I was musically talented yet I didn’t carry myself with the grace of a classical musician. I’ve been having etiquette lessons and now known how to introduce myself to eighteen different types of official. What “fun”. But it’ll all pay off in the end, I hope. I’ve made some friends here of my own: this blue mare named Beauty Brass who plays the Sousaphone and this brown colt named Frédéric Horseshoepin who is a piano whizz. The three of us have formed a band. However this “wubstep” obsessed pony calling herself DJ Pon3 insists on crashing all of our rehearsals. It’s like she’s on a mission or something. It sounds like you’re having a lot of fun Pinkie, griffons and ursas? I thought Ponyville was supposed to be safe but apparently not. I’m writing you to invite you to the first performance of our band. It’s for an assignment and it would mean a lot to me if you could show up. It’s on the Day of Generosity 17th Discordant so in three days. Hope to see you here, Yours sincerely, Isabelle Inkie, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it again. Celestia had a super special secret mission for us Elements to send a sleeping dragon packing. You must have seen the thick smoke blanketing Equestria? That was the dragon snoring. We scaled to the top of Brittlepeak Mountain and had to convince it to leave. The brute was afraid of balloons so insisted on popping all of mine when I tried to give him a surprise party. He saw through Rarity’s seduction and ignored Twilight’s reasoning. We were in a real pickle when Dashie decided to kick the dragon in the snout. Just when we thought he’d wail on us Fluttershy came to the rescue. She was all staring and shouting and the dragon flew off with his tail between his legs. Then again isn’t his tail always between h legs? Where else would he put it? I just want to restate I’m sorry I couldn’t make it. I hope you don’t resent me for it. If you get any breaks then feel free to come down to Ponyville to visit me, Pinkie Dear Pinkamena Pie, I know Celestia has put a lot of trust in you as Elements, so must I. I’m a little annoyed you had to stay in Ponyville again, but you can’t ignore a direct request from Celestia. I understand you had more important things to do. So no, I don’t resent you for it. Our band passed with flying colours in the first examination and we’ve found ourselves with a fourth band member, a purple earth pony named Harpo Parish Nadermane, but we all just call him Harpo. His harp is the perfect companion for my double bass, giving us the high string notes as well as the low. The four of us have to compose and play our own original creation for the next assignment. This is going to be a little difficult but we should manage, that is if Vinyl Scratch DJ Pon3 stays out of it. I passed my etiquette lessons now and have considered taking a new name. Isabelle is good, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t have that Canterlot ring to it. According to my instructor the name is the first thing they’ll hear about us so it has to be as positive as possible. I’m thinking Octavia, like our great grandmamma, the one who sang. Thoughts? Yours sincerely, Isabelle Pie Inky, If you want to change your name, go ahead. Just don’t forget who you are; that’s what’s important. Tell me when your next exam is and I Pinkie Pie Promise I’ll be there. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Then we can finally party and have the best night ever with streamers and cake. Ponyville has had an action filled month. A doozy of a downpour kept everypony inside yesterday, so I made a colossal cupcake so big it filled the entire kitchen, then I ate it. It was so delicious; I wish I could make another one. Then we got cursed by an evil enchantress! Although that just ended up that we got Poison Joke on us. My tongue swelled up like a balloon and it was so thick I couldn’t talk properly! Me, not talking! It was the worst thing ever! Remember the time parasprites swarmed the farm? Well they were in Ponyville. I saved everypony with my polka band. I wish you had been here; they would have followed your sweet bass to the ends of Equestria. Then we finished off by wrapping up the winter, on time for once. Twilight was all checklists and orders and everypony tried their hardest. Good luck, Pinkie Dear Pinkamena, It is heartening to know that you’re so committed to seeing me perform. this time I’m currently preparing for my finals, you’re welcome to sit in on our performance. It will be on the 10th Celestial. This is your last chance. I look forward to hearing from you. The band and I think we’ve finally established our style. We’ve written up our concerto and are ready to perform. Frédéric is a real maestro with a piano, his hooves dance across the keys like graceful waltzers. Harpo’s really come into his own with that harp of his and Beauty’s sousaphone completes the set. We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. Vinyl Scratch is trying to go it solo, whereas almost everypony else is a member of a large group; yet she doesn’t feel at any disadvantage. She certainly is an odd character who I think I can now count as a friend. She wants to see if she can combine classical with modern in some ungodly symbiosis, frankly it sounds horrible but she has a passion about her you don’t see anywhere else. We’re thinking about keeping together afterwards. I hope you can actually make it. Yours sincerely, Octavia Octy, I know I Pinkie Pie promised but something super specially serious came up. Rarity was kidnapped by Diamond Dogs! We had to save her; I couldn’t leave my friend in evil’s clutches! You understand right, right? She was kidnapped whilst out gem hunting. We couldn’t let those beasts enslave her. Well, here’s the kicker. Rarity wasn’t actually in trouble! She’d manipulated the Diamond Dogs into working for her and collecting a large bounty of gems! I really am sorry! Please reply, Pinkie Octy, Some interesting things happened in Ponyville this week. Twilight didn’t believe in my Pinkie sense so she followed me all across town. The silly goose thought I was making it all up. Then we got attacked by a Hydra! But we all managed to escape across a flimsy rock bridge that the Hydra couldn’t cross. Twilight cast this new awesome spell that let us all walk on clouds! How nifty is that! Then we all went to Cloudsdale and I got to taste a rainbow! It was like every flavour at once! My tongue couldn’t handle it. Rarity got these fancy butterfly wings and entered the Young Flyer’s Competition with Dashie but then Rarity’s wings melted. Dashie had to save her and she was all zoom, swoop and then boom as she let out a sonic rainboom! It was intense. I hope you’ve forgiven me. If you have, please reply, Pinkie. Octy, Fluttershy became a fashion model for a few days! Photo Finish thought that she was adorable and wanted to make her “shine across Equestria”. Rarity was jealous of Fluttershy while Fluttershy was doing it for Rarity. Another lesson learned in friendship. But Twilight couldn’t keep a secret! I warned her that loose lips sink friendships but she almost lost Spike anyway. Then we all went to Appleloosa with Applejack and had an awesome time. The ponies there were fighting with a buffalo clan and I put on a song and dance but that made them all angrier. Then there was a big pie fight and apple pies were everywhere. The big buffalo chief got hit with a pie and then he became all smiley and they cut a deal. Now they’re all friends! And we helped, isn’t that awesome! Please reply Inkie, please, Pinkie. To Miss Pie, Octavia has requested that I message you on her behalf. She is still most displeased with how you abandoned her in her moment of need. She does not want to speak to you again. You abandoned her, just like you did with your dad. There is no point denying it. Please stop sending letters. If you care about her that much, then just leave her alone. Yours faithfully, Frédéric Horseshoepin Pinkie, I saw you at the gala. I forgot how full of life you always were. I just wanted to inform you that you may have ruined our chances of ever getting another performance, ever. Thank you for ruining the gala which we tried our best to get to play on. Thank you for driving all of our potential clients away. Thank you for ruining my shot. Don’t reply to this. Don’t ever look for me. Inky