//------------------------------//
// Something Pink This Way Comes 
// Story: Pinkie and the Bandits 
// by BronyDad 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1


Something Pink This Way Comes


The small group of foals ran down the dirt road, laughing excitedly as they gazed over their shoulders at Pinkie Pie.  With her tongue sticking slightly out of her mouth in concentration, Pinkie reared up on her hind legs and launched the large, red rubber ball after them, pelting Pipsqueak in the back of the head.  	

"Darn," Pipsqueak said with a hoof stomp before making his way to the side of the road where the other foals that had already been tagged out were sitting.   

Pinkie quickly snatched up the ball, and aiming carefully, threw it again.  

Within minutes, she had tagged out all of the foals except for Featherweight, who began jumping up and down, shouting triumphantly.  "I win!  I win!"  Featherweight pranced proudly toward Pinkie and took the ball.  As he turned toward the others lined up on the side of the street, he raised the ball threateningly. "Ready, set, go!"

A gale of laughter erupted on Mane Street as the fillies and colts darted in every direction.  Pinkie laughed with the foals as she glanced up at the sun and felt a thrill of excitement.   

Twilight had paid an early visit to the Sugarcube Corner the day before, and in a very apologetic tone, told Pinkie that she wouldn't be able to make their lunch appointment that afternoon.  She explained that she had received an assignment from Princess Celestia, and that it would most likely take all day and most of the night to complete.

Pinkie had been looking forward to their lunch together all week, and had been very disappointed by the news, but understood how difficult Twilight's studies were.  With one of her most brilliant smiles, Pinkie had assured her that that was fine and told her friend that she would pay her a visit at noon the following day. 

Although she had spent the day at Sweet Apple Acres helping Applejack with her chores and playing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she had missed Twilight's company and had thought of her often.  Now, with noon only an hour or so away, Pinkie looked forward to seeing the Unicorn once again.	

As Pinkie turned away from the playing foals, she caught sight of Rainbow Dash landing on a rise outside of town.  Rainbow was always great company, and Pinkie quickly decided to spend the remainder of the morning with her.

When Pinkie had first moved to Ponyville after leaving her family's rock farm, she had caught a glimpse of the Pegasus as she was bringing in storm clouds for the town's scheduled rainfall.  Being the curious Earth pony that she was, Pinkie had followed the annoyed Rainbow around the rest of the day, asking various random questions about the weather until the Pegasus had resorted to threatening her with a lightning charged storm cloud.  After that, Rainbow had avoided Pinkie at all costs for several years, but all that changed with Twilight's arrival in Ponyville.  

Giggling at some of her most early memories of Rainbow, Pinkie started up the hill.  As she neared the top of the rise, she heard a voice that she immediately recognized.  "Wow, what is it?" Scootaloo asked.	

"It's a catapult," Rainbow answered.  "I built it myself.  See all those bales of hay?  I'm gonna blindfold myself, then have you hide these three eggs inside one of them.  Then you're gonna pull that lever over there, and I'll have to bust through them, still blindfolded, and return the eggs to this box."  She indicated a small wooden crate on the ground beside her.  "I gotta have all three eggs unbroken inside the box before the bales hit the ground."

"That would be so cool!" Scootaloo exclaimed.  "Do you think you can do it?"

"Pfft, in my sleep!" Rainbow replied with a cocky smile.

"That would be cool," Pinkie said from behind them, causing the two to start.  "Mind if I stay and watch?"

"Oh, hey, Pinkie," Rainbow greeted, brushing her rainbow hued mane out of her face.  "Of course you can stay."

Pinkie gazed at the large wooden contraption, then at the twenty bales of hay that were stacked on a wide platform at her feet.  "You really built this?  I bet it took a while."

"Kinda," Rainbow said with a shrug.  "I've been working on it on and off for a little over a month.  I got the wood from Sweet Apple Acres.  Applejack had just finished repairing the stables for the cows and I offered to take the extra wood off her hooves."  Turning to Scootaloo, she continued, "Anyway, hold onto these while I blindfold myself.  And Pinkie, you mind stepping back?"

Pinkie slowly backed away as Rainbow pulled on the blindfold.  "All right, Scoots, now hide those eggs in the hay."

"Yes, ma'am!" Scootaloo exclaimed excitedly.  The little filly hurried over to the hay and started stuffing the eggs deep into the bales.  

Gripped by the thrill and anticipation of the moment, and wondering if Rainbow could actually pull this stunt off, Pinkie stepped around the side of the contraption and leaned against it.  She gasped as the lever depressed beneath her, and seconds later, the bales of hay, as well as Scootaloo, were suddenly launched high into the air.  With a shriek of terror, Scootaloo began to flap her wings desperately as she hurtled across the sky.

With a start, Rainbow quickly removed the blindfold, and spotting Scootaloo tumbling through the air, rocketed after her.  Smashing through three bales of hay, Rainbow spun in the air and caught the terrified filly against her chest. 

Rainbow swooped back down to the rise and set Scootaloo gently on the ground.  "You okay, squirt?" she asked worriedly.

"That was so totally awesome!" Scootaloo shouted, grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down.  "You were so fast!  And you blew through those hay bales like they were nothing!"	

Rainbow smiled and ruffled the little filly's mane, then turned an intense glare on Pinkie.  "What the hay was that, Pink?!  You need to be more careful, Scoots could've been hurt!"

"Oh, Dashie, I'm so so sorry.  I didn't mean to—"

"What if I hadn't been quick enough?" Rainbow demanded.  "What would you say then?"

Pinkie simply shook her head as her eyes brimmed with tears.	  

"Just get outta here, Pink," Rainbow snapped with an angry snort as she turned her back on her.

Her head hanging low, ears drooping, and her fluffy tail dragging the ground, Pinkie wordlessly headed back down the slope.  She was mortified by what she had done.  If Rainbow hadn't reacted as quickly as she had, Scootaloo could have been seriously hurt, or even killed.  Pinkie shuddered as she recalled the little filly's terrified scream. 

Upon reaching the bottom of the slope, she glanced regretfully back up to the top.  With a heavy sigh, Pinkie trotted toward the woods, staring at the ground shamefully without paying attention to where she was going.

Before long, Pinkie found herself on the small wooden bridge that led to Fluttershy's cottage.  She stood in silence and listened to the whispering babble of the river beneath her, and inhaled the fresh air deeply as she let the peaceful serenity envelop her.  A small smile crept onto her face as she watched several chipmunks tumble and play on the well-maintained lawn, and as she started forward, a pair of blue jays swooped down and landed on a perch on the roof, singing happily. 

A talk with Fluttershy was exactly what Pinkie needed right now.  She knew that she could share her feelings with Fluttershy; she always listened to her and was always understanding and sympathetic.

Inside, unbeknownst to Pinkie, Applejack stood on a stool in front of the door with a hammer sticking out of her mouth.  "Well, that just bout does it.  One more nail in this here hinge and your door will be right as rain again."

Fluttershy smiled from her coziest chair as she sipped from her teacup.  "Oh, thank you so much for your help, Applejack.  That door has been giving me so much trouble over the last week.  I really must ask Rainbow to open it more gently from now on."  She indicated the teapot.  "Are you sure you don't want any tea?"

"Nah.  I ain't the tea drinkin' sort of pony, but thank ya for the offer," Applejack declined as she removed a nail from the bucket sitting on the table directly behind her.

"Okay, then."  Fluttershy turned to Angel.  "Would you please go get my money pouch?  It's on the floor over there against the wall."   

Angel nodded enthusiastically and scampered across the room.

"Y'all know better than to try and pay me, Fluttershy," Applejack stated as she carefully held the nail in place and raised the hammer. 

Fluttershy rubbed her foreleg as her gaze fell to the floor.  "I know...but I thought maybe just two or three bits...just to say thank you?"

"Your thanks is enough, sugar cube," Applejack said with a warm smile.  "I'm always willin' to help a good friend."

Without warning, the door unexpectedly flew open. 

Thrown from the stool, Applejack slammed into the wall, causing a birdhouse hanging above to fall.  As the terrified residents flew to safety, the birdhouse crashed down onto the table, launching the bucket full of nails across the room and right toward Angel.

With a shriek of fright, Angel pressed himself against the wall as the nails struck all around him, forming a perfect silhouette.  The little bunny remained still for a moment, gasping for air, and then slowly moved away from the wall.  Hesitantly, he ran his paws over his body and sighed with relief upon finding himself completely intact.  

Fluttershy rushed forward, and scooping up the trembling bunny, hugged him tightly as she began speaking to him soothingly.

Turning, they all found a stunned Pinkie standing in the doorway.  "I-I'm so sorry..."

"What the hay is wrong with you, girl," Applejack demanded angrily as she climbed back to her hooves.  "Ain't ya ever heard of knockin'?"

Pinkie's eyes lowered as she poked at the floor with a hoof.  "I-I was just distracted.  I didn't even think—"

"Well, you need to think," Fluttershy suddenly interrupted, flying forward and landing on her hind legs.  Holding Angel out before her, she yelled, "Just look at what you've done to poor Angel!  He's terrified!  Look at those nails in the wall, he could have been seriously injured!  All because you didn't think!"  Shocked and hurt by Fluttershy's shouting, Pinkie backed away and cowered from her as she continued.  "These animals are completely helpless!  They rely on us to keep them safe!  You've got to be more careful around them, Pinkie!"

"I-I..." Staring at the angry faces of two of her closest friends, Pinkie suddenly burst into tears as she turned and fled the small cottage.

Pinkie galloped away for several minutes before stopping to hide beneath a giant bush.  With tears streaming down her face, Pinkie hiccupped as the words of her two angry friends repeated in her mind.

You need to be more careful, Scoots could've been hurt!

You've got to be more careful around them, Pinkie!

What was wrong with her today?  Why was she being so careless?  It seemed like everything she did, even something as simple as opening a door, ended in disaster for her friends.  

She thought of Scootaloo falling to the ground far below and of Angel being struck by numerous nails, and began to cry harder.  What would she have done if things had ended differently?    

Swallowing hard, Pinkie wiped her eyes.  She understood that she had been very lucky so far, and resolved to be more careful from this point on.  If she could prevent herself from causing any more trouble for her friends, then there still may be time to make it up to them. 	 

Finally regaining control of her emotions, Pinkie climbed out of the bush and headed back to Ponyville.       

Unsure of what else to do before meeting Twilight at the Golden Oaks Library, Pinkie's eyes suddenly landed on a red flag flapping in the distance.         

Rarity always enjoyed her company, no matter how stressful her day was, and Pinkie always enjoyed watching Rarity work.  She loved the raw passion that was always present in Rarity's eyes as she contrived and created new designs, and liked to think that she had a similar look whenever she was setting up a party for somepony.  Pinkie also loved helping her friend, and was always thrilled when Rarity asked her to take a measurement or to cut a piece of fabric.  Still, Pinkie wasn't convinced that even spending time with Rarity would cheer her up, but figured that it would be better than moping around town. 

Pinkie trotted down the dirt road gloomily, and was only able to offer a small smile to Noteworthy's cheerful greeting as he passed.  As the Carousel Boutique came into view, she immediately noticed that the second floor windows were opened, and realized that Rarity must be upstairs, perhaps already creating new dresses. 

Without warning, Pinkie experienced an ear flop, followed by an eye flutter, and then finally a knee twitch just as she reached the door, and quickly jumped back as the bottom diamond swung open.  Opalescence, Rarity's fluffy white cat, pushed her way through the pet flap, and upon seeing Pinkie, hissed and swiped her paw threateningly.  Satisfied that she had properly intimidated the pony that had so foolishly gotten in her way, Opalescence pranced away and disappeared into the bush beside the building.  

Pinkie entered the shop and immediately caught sight of Spike as he was exiting Rarity's inspiration room with a roll of fabric in his arms.  Hearing the ring of the door bell, he turned and said, "Hey, Pinkie, how's it going?"

"Not too well," Pinkie stated unhappily as she crossed the room, passing by the mannequins wearing the week's featured outfits without even a glance.  Ordinarily, she would have stopped and admired Rarity's latest creations, but today she just wasn't interested.  

Spike knew this as well.  "Uh oh.  You really are having a bad day."  When Pinkie nodded her agreement, he added, "Well, Rarity is upstairs, why don't you talk to her?  She always makes me feel better when I'm down."

Even though she was feeling sad, Pinkie couldn't help but smile at Spike's words.  She had always found his crush on Rarity absolutely adorable, especially the fact that he still seemed so blissfully unaware that they all knew about it.  	

As she watched the dragon awkwardly climb the stairs with the large roll of fabric, Pinkie hurried forward and helped him reach the top.

"Phew," Spike said as he wiped his brow.  "Thanks, Pinkie."

"You're welcome!" Pinkie said happily as she patted his head.

She opened the door and allowed Spike to carry the fabric in, then followed him inside.  Rarity was standing in the center of the room next to an ironing table, her horn glowing with a bluish light as she concentrated on ironing a strip of yellow cloth.

"Here's the roll of red fabric you wanted, Rarity," Spike said as he placed the roll of fabric on her large, four posted bed.

"Oh, aren't you just the most helpful little dragon?" Rarity replied affectionately as she tilted the iron on its side.  "Thank you so much, Spikey.  It is always so splendid having you around."

Spike beamed with pleasure and began to rock back and forth on his heels as Rarity's eyes fell on Pinkie.  

Her work glasses magically raising up and propping themselves against her horn,  Rarity asked, "Pinkie dear, whatever is troubling you?"

Pinkie blinked.  "Is it that obvious?"

"You came through my shop, up the stairs, and into my bedroom without my knowing that you were even here," Rarity stated as the yellow cloth floated across the room and draped itself over one of the mannequins.  "That simply does not happen unless something is wrong."

"It's been a bad day," Pinkie said as she lay on the floor, her ears drooping as she gazed at her friend unhappily.  "I've managed to make Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy all really mad at me."

"Well, darling, there are some days when even a little bit of Pinkie Pie is too much," Rarity said gently.

"What do you mean?" Pinkie inquired.

"Sometimes you are rather...um...er..." Rarity hesitated.  "How to put this delicately..."	

Seeing his beloved at a loss for words, Spike enthusiastically offered his help.  "Annoying, no...irritating?  Wait!  Destructive, or maybe fr—"

Suddenly, a balled up piece of fabric soared across the room and crammed itself into Spike's mouth, effectively silencing him.  With a sympathetic smile, Rarity said, "What we mean is, maybe they just need some time alone to calm down.  Understand?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Pinkie mumbled with a deep frown.  "But it's no fun upsetting your friends.  I really want to go back and bring them smiles."

"I'm sure that you will bring them plenty of smiles...tomorrow," Rarity reassured her.  "Today, however, I think you should give them their space."

"Okay," Pinkie agreed with a sniffle.

Rarity flipped her mane.  "Why don't you stay here for a spell?  I know you enjoy my dressmaking, and your cheerfulness has always been a great source of inspiration for me."

Charmed by the compliment, Pinkie stood back up.  "All right, but only for a little while.  I promised Twilight I would visit her at noon."

"That sounds like a marvelous way to spend an afternoon," Rarity commented warmly.  "And I dare say, it will keep your mind off of your dreadful morning."

As Rarity turned back to her work, her horn began to glow as a needle and a spool of thread lifted out of a large wooden bucket sitting in the back corner of the room, and with a tilt of her head, she guided them toward the closest of the mannequins.  As she threaded the needle, Rarity came to a slow halt as she frowned with deep concentration, and then moved forward for a closer look at her design.

"Actually, in order to get the effect I'm going for, I'm going to need to use a slip stitch," she muttered to herself.  Then she turned to Pinkie.  "Would you mind going to my inspiration room and getting a book for me?  I would like to apply an appliqué, but it is mostly used in quilting and I haven't much experience.  It would be nice to have a reference."    

Although she had no idea what Rarity was talking about, Pinkie was happy to have a chance to help her friend.  "Of course!"

"It will be in the bottom shelf of my desk," Rarity directed her.  She studied the dress fitted on the second mannequin for a moment, then asked, "And Spike, downstairs near the pedestal is a small bucket of turquoise, could you fetch it for me?"

"Absolutely!" Spike replied eagerly.

Rarity gave him a stern look.  "I need every last gem in that bucket, Spike.  If you eat even one, I'll know it, and I'll have no choice but to extract it."

Spike swallowed hard as he placed both of his claws over his belly protectively and nodded.   	

Pinkie laughed at Spike's reaction as she left the room.  As she descended the stairs, she began to find comfort in Rarity's words.  

Of course my friends will cool off and forgive me.  After all, I didn't mean to upset them.  That whole mess had really just been bad luck, but things are going to be different now.  I'm going to have a great time with Rarity, and then I'm going to visit Twilight and have a fun fun fun afternoon.  Then, first thing tomorrow, I'm going to find the others and apologize, and we'll put this whole thing behind us.

Just as she entered the inspiration room, Pinkie tripped over a roll of fabric that had been left on the floor just in front of the doorway, and stumbling sideways, she stuck her hoof in a small trash bin that was overflowing with fabric scraps.  As she attempted to kick off the bin, Pinkie stepped on a spool of thread that rolled under her hoof, causing her to crash to the floor.  

Tangled up in a ball of yarn and lying on her back with a trash bin stuck on her hoof, Pinkie took a moment to reflect on her disastrous morning as she stared at the ceiling.  Not even back when she had been working on the rock farm had there ever been a day that she wished that she had never gotten out of bed, but today was dangerously close to being her first.

After a brief struggle, Pinkie freed herself from the ball of yarn, pulled the trash bin from her hoof, and climbed to her hooves.   

Pinkie turned toward the desk and stared for a moment at the chaotic mess that stood before her.  There were numerous books piled haphazardly across its surface, as well as an overturned sewing machine and several spools of thread.  The top drawer was hanging open and was overstuffed with sheets of fabric, and measuring tape hung from the handle of the bottom drawer.

"Yeesh," Pinkie mumbled, "and Mrs. Cake always complains that my desk needs to be cleaned out."

Forced to crouch to reach the bottom drawer, Pinkie pulled it open and dug through a pile of packaged sewing needles until she finally reached the book.  She had to fully extended her neck to reach it, and as she gripped its spine with her teeth, she inhaled the dust that coated its cover. 

Without warning, she sneezed violently and banged her head hard on the upper drawer as the book fell to her hooves.  She took a moment to gingerly rub her head as a tear of pain ran down her face before gathering up a few scraps of fabric and using them to dust off the book.  Finally, she picked it up and made her way back upstairs.

Hard at work attaching the turquoise to a stunning blue dress, Rarity's eyes were squinted with concentration behind her glasses when Pinkie returned. 

Quietly, she crossed the room and sat the book on the desk next to Spike, who was sitting on the edge and slowly kicking his legs, watching Rarity unblinkingly as if he were in a trance.

"Thank you, Pinkie," Rarity said without looking away from the turquoise dress. "Now, would you be a dear and find the section on appliqués?  I believe it is about halfway through the book."

Pinkie opened the cover and blew away the dust inside before she thought better of it.  The dust swirled through the air and struck Spike full in the face.  

With a terrible sneeze, Spike was thrown over the edge of the desk as a jet of flame shot over Pinkie's head.  Struggling to stand up, he launched another stream of fire across the room as he fell back down.

"Spike, no!  Not the dresses!" Rarity shrieked as the dragon turned toward her.

In desperation, Rarity reached out with her magic and shoved all of her mannequins into the far corner of the room.  She then dove to the floor, hooves over her head, and waited for the next explosion of flame.  After a moment of silence, she slowly raised her head.

Spike was sitting on the floor, panting and rubbing his nose.  "Oh, poor Spikey-wikey," Rarity said as she approached him and affectionately toyed with the large green spine on his head.  "You've got to be more careful, Pinkie," she lectured.  "That could have ended disastrously."  When Pinkie didn't respond, Rarity looked up.  

Pinkie was standing on shaking legs, her face a mask of horror.  "R-Rarity...I'm so...so sorry."

"It's okay, Pinkie," Rarity hastily said, "nopony is mad.  I was simply expressing my concern.  Spike here can be extremely dangerous when he—"

ACHOO!   	

Due to the large amounts of hairspray that she used in order to give her mane its buoyancy bounce, Rarity's hair ignited like a well oiled torch.  

Screaming in terror, Rarity trotted in place.  "Put it out! Put it out!"

Stunned, Pinkie's mind suddenly seemed incapable of processing a single thought as she stared helplessly at her panicked friend.   

Spike rushed out of the room and quickly returned with a bucket of water that he promptly dumped over Rarity's head.  With a loud hiss, the fire was extinguished.  As the steam began to clear away, Pinkie found Rarity standing tense and rigid, dripping wet while the charred remains of her mane continued to smoke.

Dismayed, Pinkie cried, "Oh no!  Rarity!"

Without moving a muscle, Rarity's eyes inched toward the mirror.  Upon seeing her reflection, she wailed, "Oh, my mane!  My beautiful mane!  It's ruined!"

Rarity moaned as she raised a hoof to her brow and swayed for a moment before fainting.  Placing her head in his lap, Spike began gently slapping her cheeks and softly calling her name.

Head hanging low and shoulders slumped, Pinkie slipped out of the room unnoticed.  Outside, she looked up at the clear sky miserably, thinking that dark clouds and rain would be more suitable weather for this morning.  

Slowly crossing the bridge that led to the Town Square, Pinkie wondered if any of her friendships would be able to survive this horrific morning.