//------------------------------// // Tragedy Strikes // Story: Pinkie's Brew // by Cycnus //------------------------------// Pinkies Brew Pinkie continued to work on the rock farm along with her sisters, Marble Pie and Limestone Pie, months after her visit with Sunshine. She would talk about him all the time in such detail that they admitted as if they knew him as well as Pinkie did. They even wished to meet him too. While working Pinkie would think greatly about Sunshine and from time to time she would visit him every week or so and stay from hours on end. She would sit in his place through the quiet afternoons, humming a song she called “Smile” that she sings for him while looking into the sky; watching him fly happily through the air with his family, laughing down at her from the clouds, teasing her to fly, though she had no wings to join them. One day while Pinkie was helping her sisters stack rocks into piles for shipment into the nearby city of Hoofston, a stallion came trotting up the road. Pinkie wondered what this was about. Normally they didn’t get many visitors around there so this got the attention of both Marble and Limestone too. “Igneous!” the stallion called. He was a strong built stallion that looked a little above middle aged. He had a grey coat and a black mane with purple eyes. Pinkie had recognized him. She didn’t know his name but she had seen him many times helping her father with the rock shipments. “Igneous!” the stallion continued to call out approaching the farm along the road, while Pinkie called for her father, “Papa, Papa!” Igneous turned his attention away from loading rocks into wheel barrows and noticed the stallion approaching them. “Corpal is that you?” asked Igneous. Corpal approached Igneous, “What’s the rush?”. Corpal responded, “Igneous I’ve got some news from Hoofston.” Igneous listened, “There was a horrible forest fire from an unknown cause and it’s over taken areas on the outside of the city and it’s spreading wildly. There could be a chance that it might make its way inside the city!” Pinkie and her sisters were to their father’s side and were listening intently. “What’s he talking ‘bout Daddy?” asked Limestone. “It’s nothing now, come on.” said Igneous, leading the girls away, “Girls go back to work now. We need those piles ready for delivery by Tuesday.” Pinkie and her sisters obeyed and went back to work peering over their shoulders to the conversation. “Now.” said Igneous, “What’s this about some little fire happening?” Corpal sighed, “Look Igneous. There is a fire that must’ve been caused by some care less pony or something on the out skirts of Hoofston and its getting out of control. With the drought going on and all along with the harsh winds we’ve been receiving, it’s galloping fast like an escaped nut head from the Crack House and it’s dangerous.” “Well I’m sorry about that Corpal.” said Igneous, “I really hope they get everything resolved out there, you know I really do, but it’s no reason to come here and start scaring my girls. Why you telling me this anyway? It ain’t affecting us.” “Oh but yes it is!” snapped Corpal back, “Your daughters should be concerned. You all should!” “Corpal.” “Igneous listen! The fire’s raging fast and going wide. You need to be like everypony else, pack up your family, and get outta dodge!” Corpal was huffing and puffing frantically. “Corpal.” said Igneous sternly but calm, “Relax son. I’ve lived here for forty years. Knowing this area we are out of the path of whatever you claim to be coming. What could there be that would catch? Look around! It’s a rock farm for Celestia’s sake.” Corpal looked around. There really were literally only rocks ,but there were also small patches of trees and grass and the forest line was nearby too. “Igneous I’m telling ya you’ve…” “No Corpal I’m telling you.” Angrily, ”Nothing is going to happen son. Now I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.” Corpal began to leave and then turned back, “Fine, but don’t be expecting me to come in on Tuesday.” And with that he turned and trotted back down the road. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day came and the Pie family were very busy. Igneous was loading rocks into huge metal crates. Limestone walked up to her father with a little worry in her voice, “Daddy, is the fire Mr. Corpal was talking about really gonna hurt us?” Igneous looked down at his daughter with a comforting smile stroking her soft mane, “Of course not honey, now c,mon. Daddy’s got a big load tomorrow.” As Pinkie Pie shoveled rocks into wheel barrels with Marble she looked up and began to notice far off into the horizon the slightest glow of orange light and the sky above appeared to be a bit dark. Marble noticed this too and turned to Pinkie, “Pinkamena you don’t suppose what Mr. Corpal was saying could actually be true do you?” “What?” exclaimed Pinkie, “Don’t be silly! Papa knows this place better than any of us and if he says nothing’s gonna happen then nothing’s gonna happen.” Though this was said with full confidence, a little bit of doubt and uncertainty made its way into Pinkie’s mind. That night Pinkie lay in her bed, exhausted from the day’s work. She and her sisters had set all the rocks, freshly dug up from the ground, into crates and were ready to be shipped to Hoofston. For what the use of them exactly is, she was not sure of. She laid all snug up in her bed in the middle of two other beds of which on the right was occupied by Marble and on the left Limestone. Marble was fast asleep, Pinkie half, but Cloudy Quartz, the girl’s mother, was still tucking in Limestone. “Mama,” said Limestone, “Are we gonna be alright? I saw some smoke tonight.” “Oh Lime.” said Cloudy, “You know nothing’s gonna happen. You’re worrying too much. You know Mr. Corpal is quite the exaggerator Whatever is going on in Hoofston I’m sure will be fixed. Ll. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deep into the night the smell of smoke awakened Pinkie causing her to cough and gag. She twisted and turned all around. Finally she had awoken to someone screaming. “Wh-What?” Pinkie opened her eyes and noticed that there was a glow from outside illuminating the room, “What the..” She walked to the window and what she saw horrified her. The working field was covered in…fire! The trees around had caught and patches of grass around were completely set ablaze. Pinkie screamed, “Marble! Limestone! Wake up!” Pinkie went to Marble’s bed and shook her violently. “Marble wake up!” she screeched. Marble coughed and shook her head, “Pinkamena what’s going on?” “Help me wake up Limestone. We need to go get Mama and Papa! There’s fire outside!” “What?” Marble went to the window and saw what Pinkie was talking about. Fire surrounded the area. How had it gotten here and spread so quickly in such few hours? She turned to Limestone’s bed with Pinkie, “Limestone, Limestone!” They cried, get up!” “What do you want.” Limestone said with annoyance in her voice. “Get up!” Marble screeched. The three girls rushed down the stairs of their two story house and down the hall way to their parent’s bedroom. “Mama! Papa!” the girls yelled “Igneous wake up.” said Cloudy. “Huh?” he responded gruffly, “What is it girls?” he asked. Pinkie spoke up, “There’s fire outside! We need to leave!” “What you talking about?” responded Igneous. Cloudy began coughing and held her hoof over her mouth, “Oh my, Igneous do you smell that? It’s smoke. Get up!” “It’s probably the neighbors having a late barbeque.” Igneous joked. “Igneous we don’t have neighbors.” replied Cloudy frantically, “This is serious!” The family rushed back down the hall to the front door but what they were greeted with was horror. Fire had made its way into the house inside. “Corpal was right!” yelled Cloudy to Igneous. “Holy Hay it’s in the house, everyone to the back!” Igneous led the family to the back door only to find more flames had spread throughout the house, all over the floor, around the walls, and even catching on the furniture, but the way to the back door of the house was clear. As they turned to escape suddenly Limestone screamed, there was a crashing sound, and when they turned back she was trapped under a wooden beam that had fallen. “Daddy help!” she screamed. Igneous rushed to her side and tried to lift the beam off of her, “Girls get outside now!” “But Papa!” protested Pinkie. “Now!” commanded Igneous. Pinkie and Marble rushed through the back door and out of the house. “Cloudy help me!” he called to his wife and she too rushed to Limestone’s side and worked to get the beam off. “Daddy it’s hurting me!” Limestone cried. “I know Pumpkin we’re trying.” Igneous comforted. “Igneous hurry it’s spreading!” warned Cloudy. “I know!” barked Igneous, “The darn thing won’t budge!” Outside by the road Marble and Pinkie waited nervously for their parents and Limestone to be running out to join them but no such thing happened. They watched as more and more of the surrounding blaze climbed the house. The entire property was engulfed in flames. “How did this happen?” they thought. They looked to each other in terror. Then after a moment, more wood popped, crashes were heard from inside the house, and all of a sudden, from inside, the piercing screams of Igneous, Cloudy, and Limestone together. “Do you hear that!” cried Marble, “We have to help them!” Marble bolted back into the house and Pinkie tailed behind her. “Marble no stop! Please!” protested Pinkie, but before Pinkie could keep up with Marble into the burning house it was too late. More and more planks of wood came crashing down and the house began to collapse. Sparks flew and bits of house fell all around. The whole place was getting ready to cave in. Right as it did Pinkie heard the final screams of her family from inside and then the house fell as she ran back to the road. Now the base of the house with scraps and rubble were only standing still in flames. All of what use to be the house was just a pile of burning scrap. All fell silent except for the crackling of the fire all around and the heavy sobbing of Pinkie Pie. She lay down on the ground with her head in her arms and cried so much. She looked upon her home burning to dust as well as the rest of the land. She breathed and wheezed heavily, her heart pounding. Everything she had not a few hours ago, her family, and her home, lost forever…or so it’s thought.