La Vie En Rose

by Summer Dancer


Save Our Souls And Sandwiches

Pinkie stuffed the last of the balloons into her saddlebag before tossing it onto her back. She had everything. She was ready. Pinkie turned to Gummy, who was sitting on her bed. She smiled and nuzzled the toothless alligator affectionately. “Now, you be good, Gummy! I’m gonna miss you sooo much.” She kissed him on the head. “I love you.”

Blink.

She laughed. “No, silly. I love you more.”

Blink.

Pinkie scowled. “I LOVE YOU MORE!!!”

Gummy didn’t blink.

Pinkie giggled and patted him on the head, satisfied. “Bye, Gummy! Take care of the Cakes!” She waltzed out of the bedroom door with her game face on. It’s go time. She cart wheeled down the stairs and preformed an impossible back flip onto the floor. “Ta-daaaa!”

The twins laughed and crawled up to Pinkie. She rubbed the back of her head nervously. “Ah heh…. You saw that didn’t you?” She looked around the living room. The Cakes were still taking orders near the front. She knelt next to the twins with a sheepish smile on her face. “Don’t tell mommy and daddy. Also, don’t repeat that.” Pound started crawling on top of her head and Pumpkin tried to chew on her mane. “I knew you’d understand!”

Cup Cake came in through the swinging doors with dough smeared all over her. “Pumpkin, Pound, stop that!” She scooped up the twins, much to their aggravation. Cup smiled at her tenant. “Do you have everything you need, dearie?”

“I sure do!” Pinkie affirmed, confetti shooting out from her saddlebag. Cup chuckled. Mr. Cake strolled in through the doors with a paper bag in his mouth. Pinkie leaned forward on her hooves. “What’s in there?” She asked.

Carrot set the bag down in front of the curious pink mare and smiled. “Ginger snaps for our Ginger snap.”

“A little something for the road.” Mrs. Cake said.
Pinkie bounced up and down in excitement. “Oooh, Ginger snaps!” She grabbed the bag, and shoved it down in her saddlebag, careful not to let any balloons escape. “I’ll try not to eat them all on the way to the train!” She giggled. She stretched her arms and hugged the both of them. “Thank you guys so much! You’re the best!”

Cup Cake rubbed her back. “I hope you have a happy trip, Pinkie.” Once the hug was over, Pinkie grabbed the twins and showered them with kisses. The twins always loved that.

“Auntie Pinkie loves you! Yes she does! Yes she does!” The babies squealed happily, nuzzling her and touching her face. “I’ll see you real soon, okay?”
She handed them over to their parents. “Bye Guys!” She called, making her way towards the front door.

“Bye dearie! Be sure to write!” Cup Cake called.

“And be careful!” Carrot said.

Pinkie looked back and flashed them a bright smile. “I will! You know me… Pinkie Safety Pie!”


The first thing Pinkie Pie felt was a hard metal surface. The second thing was the awful headache that assaulted her skull. Pinkie slowly lifted a hoof to her head. “Ohh…”

A soft voice started to reach her ears. “..inkie? Pi..kie?” She felt a gentle nudge. “Pinkie? It’s me. Wake up, Pinks.” Slowly, Pinkie’s eyes fluttered open. At first, she saw nothing but a grey blur, but colors and shapes started to look more obvious once she blinked a few times. Looking up, she saw yellow, brown, and then orange.

“Cheese?” She whispered.

Cheese lowered himself next to her. “Yeah, it’s me,” He said quietly. “Are you alright?”

Pinkie yawned and nodded slowly. “Uh-huh. I’m just reaaaally dizzy… and reaaally sleepy. Dude, Somepony totally spiked my root beer last night.”

Cheese chuckled. “You didn’t have any root beer last night, Pinkie.”

“…Oh…” She glanced up at him, her eyes staring to focus a bit. “What happened? Where are we?”

Cheese frowned sadly. He didn’t want to alarm her, yet she deserved the truth of the situation. He tried to choose his words carefully. “We… we’ve been taken last night. The ponies with masks… they put us in here last night.” He looked around.
“In this cage.”

Memories from the night before started pouring into Pinkie’s brain like a waterfall. They were all terribly frightening. She shuddered visibly. The warm feeling and the delicious smells of the bakery had vanished. All the love and laughter had been replaced by fear and uncertainty. It had all been a dream. Her mane deflated just a little. “Oh.” Was all she could manage. With her vision back to normal, she looked Cheese over for any injuries. There was a tiny bruise on his forehead. “Are you okay?”

Cheese touched a hoof to his head and nodded. “Yeah. They got me pretty good there, but I’ll be fine.”

Pinkie nodded slowly. Through the thick black sheet that covered the cage, she was able to see sunlight. She also noticed that they were moving. “How long were we asleep?” She wondered.

“I don’t know. I’d guess almost a whole day. I only woke up two minutes before you did.”

Pinkie put on a determined face. “Then I guess we’ll have to break out of here!” As she got up, a wave of dizziness washed over her, but she was able to keep herself standing. She stumbled over to the cage door and started to push against it. “HNNNGGG! HRRUUNNNGGG!”

No dice.

“Let me help,” Cheese offered. He hoisted himself up and almost fell over. “Whoa, whoa, whoooaaaa….” He regained his footing with a triumphant grin on his face.

Pinkie had to giggle.

Together, they pushed against the cage with all their strength, but nothing budged. Cheese sighed, and sat on his haunches. “Nope. It’s no use.”

Pinkie tilted her head sideways, and started to chew on the metal bars. “Nom nom nom…”

Cheese bit his lip to keep from laughing at the adorable sight. “Pinks, what…what are you doing?”

“I’m gnawing through the bars! They’ll have to give in sooner or later! Nom nom…” After a few minutes, Pinkie groaned in frustration. She threw her head back. “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE!!!”

“I thought they just did take us alive, Pinks,” Cheese reminded her.

There was a banging against the outside of the cage. “SHUT UP!” A voice screamed.

Pinkie pouted angrily. “A please and thank you would’ve been nice!!!” The voice only grunted in response. The pink mare sat down with her arms crossed. “If my friends were here, we’d give it to them big time.” She mumbled.

“You still have magic inside you, right?” Cheese asked. “Maybe you could use your superpowers to break us out.”

Pinkie rubbed her chin. “I guess so… but I never tried to do it on my own before. We haven’t tried the rainbow bomb thing since we defeated Tirek… and that was weeks ago.” A devious smile formed on her face. “Then again… I would like to see them taste the rainbow.”

“That’s the spirit!” Cheese laughed as they got back on their hooves. “Do you want me to stand back, or...”

“Yeah. That’d be a good idea.”

Cheese backed up to the far end on the cage and gave the O.K.

Pinkie squeezed her eyes shut tight, and concentrated. Like all the times before, she thought of all the things that made her happy to harness the energy of laughter. Her best friends, her family, The Cakes, Gummy, parties, Ponyville, Sugar cube corner, singing, dancing, playing practical jokes, birthdays, Cheese, used furniture, desserts…Friendship is Magic!!!

“Anything?” She asked through gritted teeth.

“…You look like you’re constipated,” She heard Cheese say with a small laugh. Pinkie opened her eyes. Nothing.

She sighed. “I’m sorry, Cheese. The force just isn’t with me today.”

Cheese went over to the pink mare and wrapped an arm around her. “It’s all right, Pinkie. You did what you could. We’ll find another way out, don’t worry.”

Pinkie nodded sadly. “I hope so.”

Cheese looked upon Pinkie’s solemn face with guilt. He mentally kicked himself. He was disappointed with himself in many ways. He failed to protect Pinkie Pie. He wasn’t strong enough to fend the thieves off. He wished that he had made Pinkie go with the kids. He wished that they had taken him only, instead of her. But he couldn’t go back in time. What happened happened. All he could do now was make sure that none would hurt Pinkie in the future…somehow.


About five minutes later, the two ponies were lying side by side on their backs, staring up at the top of the covered cage. They could hear distant conversations from outside but they all sounded distorted. Pinkie glanced sideways at her partner. He glanced back at her with a small smile. “Did you always live in Ponyville, Pinks?” He asked suddenly.

“…Well, not always. I grew up on a rock farm.” Cheese’s eyebrows shot up. Pinkie Pie on a rock farm??? Pinkie giggled at Cheese’s expression. “I know. I get that a lot. I lived there with my parents and my sisters. I left when I was eight.”

Cheese turned over on his side to face her. “Why’d you leave your home so young? Did something happen?”

Pinkie shook her head. “No. I love my family. I really do. But they were really into rocks. And I just wasn’t. I tried to convince myself that maybe I just hadn’t grown into it yet, but once I got my cutie mark, I realized my true purpose in life. Making ponies smile. I wanted to spread laughter, and joy, and happiness to others. But I couldn’t do that spending my whole life at the farm. It just wasn’t my thing. I saw Ponyville on the family map, and I thought it would be the perfect place to spread cheer.”

“And your parents let you go?” Cheese asked.

“Not at first. They were a bit miffed about me leaving to an entirely different town, being so little and all. But it turned out that my Granny Pie was good friends with the Cakes, and she convinced my parents to let me go.” She smiled. “I think I get my enthusiasm from her.”
She looked at the pony beside her. “What about you, Cheese?”

Cheese smiled a little. “You already know, Pinks. I went over it in song, remember?”

“I don’t think that’s the only reason you left,” Pinkie said softly.

The stallion sighed. He knew better than to try to hide anything from Pinkie. It was like she saw right through him. She probably could. He let his eyes wander. “My parents weren’t around much. My dad was a standup comedian, but he was a different pony when he came home. Gave us the cold shoulder.

My mom was a lawyer, but she didn’t come home often, unless it was every other weekend. My dad was suspicious because he thought that she was seeing somepony else. He was right. My mom left us when I was nine. That made him angry. He started yelling more, and he started breaking stuff around the house. Thankfully though, my aunt Blueberry stepped in and took me and my brother in while my uncle took dad to therapy. It was really fun living with her. She cared for us, made us laugh… and she loved us.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Pinkie said brightly.

“It was. We lived with her for a year. Then one day…. She disappeared. We couldn’t find her anywhere. It was like she had never existed. She was only about your age.”

“What happened to her? Pinkie asked, her expression crossed between concern and sadness.

Cheese shook his head. “I don’t know. My brother was so angry, he ran off. Nopony could find him. I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared; I decided to run away before FPS could find me. I didn’t have any reason to stay. I didn’t have any friends. My parents were who-knows-where. My brother and aunt were nowhere to be seen. So I left.” He smiled softly. “And then I met you.”

Pinkie smiled, her expression still just a little sad. “I remember you. You were the kid with glasses and a rubber chicken on his back. Ka-razy looking mane.”

Cheese laughed. “Ha! Oh sister, my mane couldn’t even compare to that wild afro you were sporting.”

Pinkie sat up gasped in mock offense. “Hey!”

“Just kidding, Pinks,” Cheese said with a chuckle, sitting upright. “I actually really liked your mane.” He glanced at the floor bashfully. “I still do.”

Pinkie blushed.

They sat in silence for awhile. Cheese suddenly spoke. “You wanna hear a joke?”

Pinkie smiled. “I could use a joke right about now.”


The mane five, plus Spike walked into the throne room with anticipation beating in their hearts. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor were all waiting for them. All seemed somber, as well as sympathetic. “Hello, girls. Spike.” Celestia greeted with a soft smile.

“Hi, Princess,” They chorused.

Twilight immediately embraced her brother tightly. She buried her face in his shoulder, trying to keep the tears from falling. Shining nuzzled her softly. “Twily, I’m so sorry. Don’t worry, we’ll find them.” He whispered. Twilight nodded as they released.

“So, what’s being done?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, first we made sure that everypony knows what’s going on,” Shining said. “We also made sure that Pinkie Pie’s and Cheese Sandwich’s faces are well known. Posters have been put up. We’re getting tips from all over as we speak.”


Officer Justice was frantically trying to get what everyone was shouting at once, claiming to have seen the missing ponies. He frantically tried to jot everything down on paper with his magic. “They rode the express train!” Giles said frantically.

“The pink one stole him from me!” Misty shouted.

“Those whippersnappers woke me up from my nap!”

“We all sang a song together on the train!”

“They bought my streamers!”

“She used my bathroom!”

“He defied the laws of physics!”

“One of them looks like my mother!”

“I saw them with Discord!”

“Excuse me, but is there a dentist nearby?”


“The royal guard is hard at work trying to find them. The police are teaming up with us on this one. So far, nothing has turned up.” Shining finished.

“We have another problem to address,” Princess Luna said. “With Pinkie Pie gone, you are one element short.”

Rarity frowned. “That would mean if some new threat were to appear…”

“…We can’t stop it.” Fluttershy finished sadly. “Not without Pinkie.”

Luna nodded. “Precisely. This puts all of Equestria at great risk.”

Twilight straightened up, with a newfound fire burning in her chest. “Not if we have anything to say about it.”

“Just tell us what to do and we’ll do it.” Applejack said.

“Since almost all of Equestria knows about the disappearances, it is likely that the Sinister Sixty knows too.” Princess Celestia said. “They will try to evade any high-ranked search team that threatens their cover.”

“But that’s where you come in,” Cadence smiled. “We need a small group of ponies that know Pinkie and Cheese more than any of us. A group of ponies that are able to slip under the radar.”

Rainbow beamed and did a hoof pump. “A rescue mission! Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

Spike genuinely smiled for the first time since he heard about the incident. “Can I come too?”

Celestia smiled. “Of course you can, Spike.”

“But won’t ponies find it suspicious with us gone?” Rarity inquired.

Shining spoke up. “We have already announced that the Princesses have brought the bearers of harmony to the Canterlot Castle for their safety, and that the elements are stricken with grief. The public seems to buy it. Whatever the public knows will surely reach the Sinister Six.”

Twilight rubbed her chin. “I guess we’ll have to keep a silent vigil then.”

Rarity beamed. “And I know the perfect ensemble for this occasion!”


“Is this really necessary?” Applejack whispered. The moon was just rising over the hills as the five ponies and dragon snuck their way to the train station. All of the girls were wearing long, black capes with hoods. Spike was wearing a black sweat jacket with a hood. He also wore black sunglasses.

“Of course it is,” Rarity frowned. “We want to remain unseen, don’t we?”

“Pinkie would’ve loved this,” Fluttershy said quietly. The others nodded.

“Yes, she would.” Twilight sighed. “Maybe when this is over, we can make capes for Pinkie and Cheese too.”

Rainbow shook her head, but smiled in spite of herself. “They’d flippin’ lose their minds.”

Spike lowered his glasses. “Train station’s up ahead.”

“And not a pony in sight,” Twilight smiled. “We made it.”

“So, where are we going?” Her assistant asked.

“Prance. That’s where this whole mess started. Hopefully, we can find any clues that the police might have missed.”

Applejack lifted her weary head to look up at the stars. She hoped they were alright, wherever they were.


“…And then he said mint!

Pinkie fell over on her back, laughing. It took her four minutes to recover. “That… was so.…funny!” She gasped.

“I knew you’d like it!” Cheese chuckled. Suddenly, the cage lurched to a halt. The laughter immediately stopped. They heard several hoof steps ton gravel from outside. Ponies were talking in low, gruff voices.

The sheet over the cage was suddenly pulled off. There were numerous ponies dressed in black all around them. They were loading stolen items off the carts. Some were stretching their legs. One pony, which had pulled off the cage, was standing in front of them, glaring at them with cold eyes. Cheese instinctively stood protectively in front of Pinkie. Another pony in black came up and unlocked the cage.

Pinkie shivered. This was not good. Not good at all.

The pony that opened the cage grabbed Cheese by the shirt collar and yanked him out. “Cheese!” Pinkie gasped.

The other pony with the cold glare grabbed her and pulled her out of the cage and onto the ground. “Ooff!” She looked over and saw Cheese held to the ground by his assailant. She gritted her teeth in anger, and tried to wiggle free of her own captor. “Let go! Let go!” Poison Ivy suddenly came up to her and kicked her in the side. Pinkie cried out involuntarily as tears of pain stung her eyes.

Cheese’s insides boiled with rage. “Hey!” He shouted angrily. “Leave her alone!” The pony that held him punched him in the ribs. The party pony bit his tongue to keep himself from shouting in pain, but tears obscured his vision. The pony smirked.

“You can’t take much, can you?”

“Enough,” Said Sal, walking over to them. “Let’s get them inside.” The two ponies were yanked to their hooves. Poison shoved Pinkie by Cheese’s side, and they started walking. Cheese gave Pinkie a look that said Are you okay? Pinkie nodded in response.

The night was cold. The moonlight shone down on them from overhead. Crickets chirped from a distance. They were approaching a large mountain with a big cave opening.

Pinkie thought about how she missed her family and friends. She wondered if they knew that they were missing. Were they looking for them? What If Cheese and herself would never make it back home? How would it affect the ponies she cared about? What would happen to Ponyville? Who would be around to make ponies smile? Or what about the poor Cake twins? How would the Cakes explain why their aunt Pinkie would never come back?

She closed her eyes ridding herself of those thoughts. No. She would come back. They will find their way out of this. She wouldn’t lose herself. She would stay positive and keep the laughter in her heart no matter what. Their spirits will remain lifted! It was like what Granny Pie used to say: Hardships are inevitable, misery is optional!

By then, they had entered the mouth of the cave. After a few seconds of walking through complete darkness, they stepped into a whole underground facility filled with machines, gadgets, maps, and mostly, stolen items. Pinkie and Cheese were stunned. The place was huge. There was even electricity to light up the place. The band of thieves all spread out to different stations, talking loudly and freely. “This would be so cool if I wasn’t terrified,” Pinkie whispered.

“Ditto,” Cheese whispered back. They were brought down some stairs and were led through a long narrow hallway until they came to a door. When Sal opened the door, it revealed a room with a giant rug, some couches, a large table and a large flat screen T.V.

“Sit.” Poison commanded. Reluctantly, they did as they were told. Their hooves were instantly chained so that they could not run away.

“Esme and Red are on their way over here,” Sal said to his group. “They were informed about the prisoners. Now, since you let them see your faces, I think it’s only fitting if you are the ones to explain.”

Steel and Poison lowered their heads.

Pinkie leaned over. “This isn’t good. We need an escape plan, fast!” She whispered.

“I think I might have one in motion,” Cheese whispered back. “I need to get to a storm drain of some kind.”

“How can you, when you’re in chains?”

Cheese gave her a confident smirk. “No chains can contain me.” He lifted his head. “Excuse me, violent kidnappers!”

The thieves turned and glared at him. “What?” Steel spat.

“I have to squeeze the lemon.” The ponies rolled their eyes. Poison Ivy looked disgusted.

“Well, you’ll just have to hold it,” Sal said snidely. “Bathrooms are on the other side of this facility, but a couple of ponies would just love to make your acquaintance.”

Cheese pouted as the thieves returned to their own conversations. “Well, that puts the kibosh on that plan.”

“Don’t worry, Cheese. I’m sure there’s like a bazillion drains around here. All we need is to get to the other side somehow, find a big enough drain, and acquire paper, a pencil, and a bottle.”

“I doubt that they’ll give us any of those things, Pinks.” Before the pink pony could respond, Esme and Red Herring came in the room without their masks.

“What’s this I hear about letting not one pony seeing you without your masks, but two?” Esme questioned angrily.

Poison and Steel started talking at once. Red held up a hoof, which silenced them. “Enough. Do you know what you have done? You put the whole team at risk! And another thing—"

“Hold on!” Esme suddenly said. She was staring at the new prisoners, mainly at Pinkie Pie. She came closer to the pink mare, her eyes widening. “Red. Do you know who this is?” She asked, using her hoof to lift up Pinkie’s chin. “Look at her face. This is the bearer of Laughter!”

Red’s eyebrows shot up. “Pinkie Pie?” The rest of the ponies in the room looked at her closely, mouths opening in realization.

Pinkie chuckled nervously. “Heh…How’s it goin’?”

“I’m sure the Princesses would pay a pretty penny to get this one back,” Esme said smoothly, staring into Pinkie’s eyes.

“But… uh… I’m not sure how that’ll work out,” Sal said uncertainly.

Esme frowned. “Of course it won’t, numbskull,” She growled, releasing Pinkie’s chin. “Only a fool would try and go up against the Princesses. Do you think I’m an idiot?

“N-No, of course not—"

“No. I’ve thought of a better idea. I’ve heard rumors of Queen Chrysalis and her changelings residing further up North, deep in the forbidden marshlands. We could sell Pinkie for the Queen’s riches. We could make millions.

Voices rose in agreement.

Pinkie and Cheese looked at each other in alarm. “And what about this one?” Sal asked, nodding in Cheese’s direction.

Red smiled. “He’s that Cheese Sandwich kid. He threw a bunch of parties around Equestria. I say we put him to work around here. He’s awfully thin, but I could whip him into shape in no time.”

The two party ponies held each other tightly. They were going to be separated?!?

“Then it’s settled. It’ll take time to prepare for the journey to Chrysalis. We rest for a day or two, and then fifteen or so of us will head out.” She gestured to Pinkie Pie. “Bring her to my room. She is not to be harmed.”

It all happened so fast.

Pinkie gasped as she was pried off of her friend. “Pinkie!” Cheese cried, trying to escape Sal’s grasp.

Pinkie yanked and pulled, But Poison and Blade both had a firm grip on her, and started to pull her out of the room. “Cheese!”

“Pinkie! It’ll be okay! Just remember, I—"

The door slammed shut behind them before Pinkie could hear the rest.

A single tear ran down her cheek.