//------------------------------// // 24. Pinkie Pie // Story: A Kingdom Divided // by Samey90 //------------------------------// Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. Kurt Vonnegut The door opened and Silver Spoon heard hoofsteps getting louder as the pony entered the chamber. She clenched her eyelids shut; after her short moment of hope, she couldn’t bring herself to look into Twilight Sparkle’s eyes again. “Twist? Silver Spoon? What are you doing here?” Silver Spoon felt her blood running faster through her veins. The voice didn’t belong to Twilight Sparkle. “Pinkie Pie!” Twist exclaimed. Silver Spoon opened her eyes. Pinkie Pie looked a bit thinner than they remembered her from Ponyville. Her mane was half-deflated and dirty. She was shooting nervous glances around, at the fillies strapped to the tables and the pieces of equipment scattered around. She put a hoof on her chest, panting heavily. “Can you free us?” Silver Spoon asked. Her hooves were getting numb because of the restraints. Pinkie looked at her absent-mindedly and trotted to the table to loosen the straps. Then she went to Twist to do the same. They jumped off the tables and hugged each other. Silver Spoon stopped caring about Pinkie being there; her lips locked with Twist’s when she buried her face in the mass of her red curly hair. “What are you two doing here?” Pinkie asked, unfazed by what they were doing. “It doesn’t look like a place for little fillies...” Twist shuddered. “It wath Twilight! She wanted to kill uth…” “Silly filly, Twilight would never hurt anypony!” Suddenly Pinkie felt a jolt of pain in her chest. She’d felt it before and she wasn’t sure if it was some kind of new manifestation of Pinkie Sense or just a side effect of the spell that had hit her. “Are you okay?” Twist asked, looking at her unsurely. “Y-yes,” Pinkie replied. She rubbed her chest and grinned and them half-heartedly. “How did you find us?” Silver Spoon asked. “I was walking nearby, looking for Twilight,” Pinkie chirped. “I wanted to tell her that Princess Luna herself is attacking Canterlot and that we have to do something about that. Then I felt a twitch in my right hind leg, and itch in my left side, which means ‘fillies in danger’. So, I went here and found you, my little fillies in danger!” “Well…” Silver Spoon muttered. “We’re a bit less in danger now, but we’d rather not meet Twilight… Can you help us get out of there?” Before Pinkie could reply, Twist poked Silver, her eyes widened in horror. “We need to help our friendth!” she exclaimed. “They’re still locked in the cell…” They heard explosion somewhere below them. Pinkie Pie’s right hind leg twitched. Then she scratched her left side. “Fillies in danger!” she exclaimed jumping and landing next to Silver Spoon. Then she began to pace nervously. “Quick! Do you know where they are?” “I don’t…” Silver Spoon looked at Twist unsurely. “I… I think I remember the way…” Twist said. She furrowed her eyebrows, staring into the distance. “Thith way!” she exclaimed, running down the dark corridor. *** “What’s going on with these explosions?” Scootaloo shouted. Their cell was shaking. They were lying on the floor, too afraid to breathe. Apple Bloom was covering Dinky with her own body. “It seems that Luna will soon come and rescue us…” Vinyl said, her voice quivering. “Or maybe she’ll drop the whole castle on our heads…” Another explosion, close to them, nearly deafened them. Whatever was the cause, it was approaching them. Several bricks fell from the ceiling, shattering on the floor. Vinyl looked at the wall, which suddenly started to move in the way no wall should move. The wall exploded, burying them in debris. Scootaloo was first to get up. Ignoring the fresh set of bruises and cuts she had just acquired, she looked at the pony in front of her. “Sweetie Belle?!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide. Sweetie Belle screamed. Scootaloo looked into her eyes and saw that they were white, burning with pure energy. The green halo was surrounding her. Her body was twitching from time to time; she aimed her horn at the nearby wall and fired a magic beam that obliterated it. “She can’t control it!” Vinyl exclaimed, when Sweetie Belle ran away through the hole she’d created. Apple Bloom got up and helped Dinky sit on her back. “What will we do?” she asked. “We can’t leave her like that…” “I… I think I know how to stop it,” Vinyl said, feeling her throat dry. “I mean, this trick’s dedicated for stopping foals who levitate frying pans, not the ones who bring down the buildings, but I think it can work…” Another explosion followed, destroying a part of the ceiling. Vinyl cursed under her breath and ran forward, trying to avoid the falling debris. She saw a filly in front of her. Her body twitched violently. A fountain of golden and green spark erupted from her horn. She gave out an ear-piercing shriek and ran forward. “Stop!” Vinyl shouted. It was hard for her to catch up with Sweetie Belle. Her injured leg was aching. With each step her vision was almost blacking out from pain. She gritted her teeth and ran, seeing that Sweetie Belle stopped again. Vinyl licked her hoof. She knew exactly what she had to do – to stop the uncontrolled magic she had to make her own body act as an earthing system. All the books about unicorn foals she’d read mentioned that it could mean a small electric shock. In this case the shock could be much bigger. Vinyl darted forward, tackling Sweetie Belle. The filly thrashed. She was surprisingly strong, while Vinyl was sick and malnourished. Vinyl screamed and almost let her go, when Sweetie Belle kicked her injured hoof. “Vinyl, what the fuck are you doing…” she muttered to herself. She gave out a powerful yell and placed her hoof on Sweetie’s horn. The flash almost blinded Scootaloo and Apple Bloom when they were running to Vinyl and Sweetie. They skid to a halt, turning their heads away. They heard a thud when something heavy hit the ground. Everything went silent. The only source of light was a hole in the ceiling. “Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom shouted, seeing her friend lying unconscious in front of them. She ran to her and sat next to her. Dinky slid off her back and looked at her enquiringly. “Sweetie!” Apple Bloom poked her. Sweetie groaned. She opened one eye, looked around groggily and suddenly gave out a scream. “Are ya okay?” Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie Belle embraced her tightly, weeping in her coat. “L-last thing I… I remember is the… the fire…” she stammered. “And then… Rarity…” Dinky crawled to her and also hugged her. Suddenly, Apple Bloom noticed that somepony was missing. “Scootaloo?” she asked. “I’m here,” she heard Scootaloo’s voice behind her. There was something weird in it. Apple Bloom turned around and saw Scootaloo sitting next to Vinyl Scratch. Vinyl’s hoof was badly burned – the fur was missing, the skin was white and cracked. She was lying in unnatural position, her legs spread in weird angles. Her coat was still smoking after the shock. “Vinyl…” Scootaloo whispered, swallowing her tears. She put her hoof on Vinyl’s chest hesitatingly. “Is she alive?” Apple Bloom asked. She was still holding Sweetie in her hooves. “I’m not sure…” Scootaloo replied. “I think I can sense a heartbeat, but… I don’t know!” She banged her hoof against the ground. Vinyl coughed and groaned. Her hooves twitched. She slowly stretched them and muttered something incomprehensible. “Vinyl!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Are you okay?” Vinyl muttered something again, rubbing her burned hoof. “I don’t understand…” Scootaloo rose her eyebrows. She lowered her ear to Vinyl, hoping to hear her. “My arse hurts…” Vinyl whispered raspily. “Ohh… fuck me. Every… thing hurts…” “Shit…” Scootaloo muttered. She turned back to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “Can you help me?” Sweetie Belle turned her tear-stained face to them and gasped. She ran to Vinyl and looked at her burned hoof. Apple Bloom lifted Dinky on her back and joined them. “Leave… me… run…” Vinyl groaned. She rolled on her back. A violent fit of coughing shook her body. “Never!” Scootaloo exclaimed, trying to lift her. The only result was Vinyl’s scream of pain. Scootaloo released her from her grasp. “I… I think I can fix this…” Sweetie Belle muttered, examining Vinyl who was panting heavily, holding her injured hoof. “Are ya sure?” Apple Bloom asked. “We must try…” Sweetie Belle replied. “I… I don’t want anypony else to die because of me…” She closed her eyes and focused, aiming her horn at Vinyl’s injured hoof. A green halo engulfed Vinyl’s foreleg. She moaned in pain, but soon her breath became more even. She stopped thrashing and relaxed. When halo disappeared, they saw that her burns were now covered with a layer of fresh skin. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes. “That’s all I could do,” she said. “It’s not only her hoof, it’s also heart, lungs… Well, everything…” Her voice quivered. “I think it shouldn’t get worse, but we need to get her out of here…” “H-how did you do that?” Scootaloo asked. “I don’t know…” Sweetie replied. “I just… I feel more sure about my magic since… since…” “Hey, look at that!” Dinky exclaimed, pointing at Sweetie Belle’s flank. They all looked at it to see a cutie mark: a green cross surrounded by sparks. Scootaloo didn’t know what to say. On one hoof, they all had their cutie marks now. But on the other, she didn’t imagine it to look like that. They were supposed to get their marks while crusading together, not in that dark dungeon… Or in the snow-clad fields somewhere between Ponyville and Canterlot. She looked at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but they were also lost in their thoughts. Finally, Apple Bloom broke the silence. “We need to get her out of here,” she said, pointing at Vinyl. “How?” Scootaloo asked. “She’s heavier than Dinky…” “I can help you…” Sweetie Belle approached Vinyl and lit her horn, levitating her few inches above the ground. Her magic flickered and she almost let Vinyl slip out of her grasp. Scootaloo caught the DJ’s left hoof and wrapped it around her neck. Half-levitating, half-dragging her, they began to walk down the corridor, looking for the way out. “That’s hopeless…” Apple Bloom said when they reached the stairs. “We’ll never get out…” “Wait! I can hear something…” Scootaloo muttered. Now Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle heard that too: a faint hoofsteps and somepony’s voices. “Here they are!” Twist exclaimed when she saw them. “Twist! You’re alive!” Scootaloo shouted. She saw that Silver Spoon and Twist, although dirty and limping, were okay. She also noticed Pinkie Pie who trotted to Vinyl, her mane deflating slowly. “What happened to her?” Pinkie asked, lifting Vinyl effortlessly and placing her on her back. “It was me,” Sweetie Belle replied, her voice shaky. “My magic went a bit mad…” “It wasn’t yer fault,” Apple Bloom said. “That’s not important at the moment!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “We need to get outta here!” They ran forward as fast as they could while carrying Vinyl and Dinky. Twist was running first, choosing the way through the seemingly identical, narrow corridors. The floor was shaking from time to time, moved by the explosions above them, echoing through the whole dungeon. Finally, Twist stopped in front of the staircase. “It’th here,” she said. “We need to go upthtairth and we’ll be free…” “Yeah… but what will we do then?” Scootaloo asked. “I know a safe place,” Pinkie Pie said, stopping to catch a breath. “We’ll wait here till everything ends…” She winced and put her hoof on her chest. They ran up the stairs. When they were halfway through, Vinyl groaned and tried to say something. “Chill out,” Silver Spoon, who was trotting next to Pinkie, said. “We’re almost there…” Vinyl sighed loudly and shuddered. Suddenly, the light blinded them. Scootaloo blinked and saw that it wasn’t the sunlight – it was coming from the numerous explosions somewhere in Canterlot. “I don’t like it…” Sweetie Belle said. “Pinkie, where should we go now?” Pinkie was already trotting through the garden. “Here!” she exclaimed. “There’s a bunker not far away from here…” They saw a couple of pegasi flying above a small group of ponies running away. When one of the pegasi saw them, she departed from the formation and landed in front of Pinkie. “Cloudchaser!” Pinkie exclaimed. “What’s going on?” “It’s all fucked up,” Cloudchaser panted. Suddenly she saw a group of foals behind Pinkie and blushed. “I mean… Twilight and Luna… We’re not fighting anymore. We need to evacuate the civilians.” “Great!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I have some civilians to evacuate!” Suddenly, Cloudchaser frowned, seeing half-conscious Vinyl on Pinkie’s back. She also noticed that one of the civilians, a grey mare with black mane, trotted to them. “Come back to the group,” she said. “We need to stay together... You saw what happened to that stallion...” “I’m sorry, but it’s my marefriend,” the mare replied and trotted to Pinkie Pie. “Vinyl? Sweet Celestia, Vinyl, what have you done again?” “Tavi?” Vinyl whispered. “We… must run… She’s… gonna kill me…” “Who?” Octavia asked. “I’m not gonna kill you,” Cloudchaser replied, trying to make her voice sound soft, but her frown was spoiling the effect. “I only need that name…” “What… name?” Vinyl asked, trying to focus her gaze on Cloudchaser. “The one you said when I… when we last met… The mare who killed Rainbow Dash.” “Ah, this…” Vinyl shuddered. Scootaloo looked at her, opening her mouth to say something. “Emerald… Emerald Clover…” “Thanks.” Cloudchaser smiled bitterly. “Tavi, or whatever your name is, help Pinkie carry her. She needs to see a doctor. You, kids, should go with us too...” They joined the crowd of ponies running away from the battle as far as they could. There were no time to stop and talk. Some stray spell hit the nearby building, throwing debris around. The pegasi were flying above them in pairs, looking for the bat ponies. “What’th going on there?” Twist muttered, pointing at the street near the city gates. A large ball of magical energy was hovering between the buildings. From time to time, a lightning was shooting out of it. “I don’t know, but I’d rather not go there to check that...” Scootaloo muttered, following Twist’s gaze. “Let’s go.” Pinkie Pie grabbed Vinyl’s hooves and carried her with Octavia. Cloudchaser and a couple of other pegasi were watching the sky. Apple Bloom was walking slowly with Dinky on her back. “Watch out!” Cloudchaser exclaimed, pointing at the group of bat ponies diving at them. She flapped her wings and aimed her gun at the leader of the formation. He spread his wings to slow down when the bullet hit the bomb he was carrying. The explosion deafened Scootaloo. She ran away blindly, barely hearing Apple Bloom’s muffled voice calling her name. Suddenly, she felt that she was falling. She spread her wings to slow down, but it didn’t help her much. The collision with the ground knocked the wind out of her lungs. She opened her eyes and found herself on the bottom of some ditch. Pinkie Pie was standing next to her, panting heavily. Before Scootaloo could say anything, Pinkie grabbed her and helped her up. “Where’s the rest?” Scootaloo blurted out, trying to pierce the cloud of dust with her gaze. “We’re here!” Apple Bloom shouted. Sweetie Belle was standing next to her, with Dinky on her back. Twist, her mane slightly charred, was supporting limping Silver Spoon, who was blinking, trying to see anything. Twist took off Silver’s glasses and gave them to her, but Silver only shook her head. “Quick!” Pinkie exclaimed, pointing at the sky, where Cloudchaser was fighting with several bat ponies. “We have to hide somewhere!” “But where?” Twist asked. “Silver can’t climb out of that ditch...” “Let’s go here.” Apple Bloom pointed at the hole in the wall of the ditch – the explosion had reached the sewers. “We can even find Firefly’s base.” One by one, they pushed themselves through the narrow hole, to the sewer. Pinkie was trotting behind them slowly, resting herself against the walls. From time to time, her body was twitching; once or twice she fell down and Scootaloo had to help her get on her hooves again. “Twilight...” Pinkie whispered. “No good... No good at all...” “We noticed,” Silver Spoon deadpanned. “I really hope Luna will buck her to the moon...” Pinkie twitched again. “Luna!” Her voice echoed through the sewer. “Danger... Octavia and Vinyl... Safe... Spitfire...” She coughed. “What’s going on?” Apple Bloom asked, watching Pinkie, who started to shiver, muttering something barely comprehensible – a long list of names and horrible fates waiting for their owners. “Pinkie sense.” Scootaloo felt that her voice was hollow, but she couldn’t do anything to bring more life to ir. Sweetie Belle trotted to Pinkie and aimed her horn at her. Before she could cast a spell, Pinkie opened her eyes and looked at Dinky, who smiled at her. “Are you okay?” Pinkie asked. “Y-yes...” Dinky replied, sliding off Sweetie’s back and crawling closer to Pinkie. “And how are you?” she asked, hugging her. “Doesn’t matter...” Pinkie sighed. “You’re okay and it’s all that matters. I can see...” She rolled on her back, panting heavily. “It’s wonderful...” she whispered. “What’s wonderful?” Dinky asked. “Not this sewer, I think...” She looked around. “I’m not very pumped at the thought of walking through it...” “Sometimes you have to go underground...” Pinkie muttered, raising her head. “That was deep...” Dinky laughed. Pinkie laughed with her, coughing from time to time. Scootaloo smiled. Even though they were in the middle of the dark, dirty tunnel under the town torn by a fratricidal battle, she started to believe that one day it’d get better. The ponykind would leave at peace again, honest, loyal, kind, and generous; laughing, joined together by a magic of friendship. She looked at the faces of the others. Even Silver Spoon was smiling. Scootaloo realised that together, they could do anything... End the war, heal the wounds, fill the world with hope. Only after a while, they noticed that Pinkie stopped laughing. She looked at her and saw that her body was lying limply, one of her hooves reaching towards Dinky. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling, but they could see that she wasn’t going to wake up. “No!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. She aimed her horn at Pinkie and cast some spell, but nothing happened. She tried again, her magic bathing the whole sewer in green light, but Pinkie didn’t move. “It’s no use,” Apple Bloom said, placing her hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder. “We have to go...” “B-but...” Twist wiped her eyes. “What are we going to do now?” “We’ll do what she told us,” Dinky replied, looking into the darkness. “What?” Silver Spoon asked, approaching Dinky. “Admire how wonderful is the other side and exchange crappy puns till we die?” She sat on the ground, shuddering. “We can always ask him.” Dinky looked into the darkness. “Ask who?” Apple Bloom asked, staring at Dinky unsurely. “I don’t know. He’s standing there,” Dinky replied, remaining motionless. “He looks funny...” “Oh no...” Apple Bloom whispered. “Good morning Apple Bloom!” Discord exclaimed, suddenly appearing next to them. “Hello, Sweetie Belle. I’m glad to see that you got much better since we’ve last seen each other.” Sweetie Belle could swear that Discord’s eyes widened when he looked at her. “What do you want from us?” she asked. Discord disappeared and appeared again inches from her. “From you? Nothing.” He laughed and disappeared again, this time next to Apple Bloom. “It’s our dear Apple Bloom I want to talk to...” A book appeared in his paw. He opened it and read, “Ah’d do anything to save mah friend. Isn’t it what you said when we last met?” “Whaddya want?” Apple Bloom asked. “Ah have no time for your games, Discord. We need to get outta here!” “Oh no, you’re not getting out of here...” Discord smiled. “At least not before you do a teeny tiny thing for me... Just a little thing to pay for saving Sweetie Belle’s life.” “I told ya somethin’...” Apple Bloom sighed. “What do ya want?” “Oh, it’s easy.” Discord produced a large, golden watch out of nowhere and looked at it. “If I didn’t forget to wind it up, right at this moment one immortal alicorn princess is tearing the other one to shreds. The names are not important. Your task is easy.” He looked at Apple Bloom and smirked. “Defeat the remaining one.” “What?” Apple Bloom asked, staggering. “H-how? Can’t ya do that yerself?” “Oh, no,” Discord replied. “I’m the spirit of Chaos, but I’m not insane. Also, that’s not how the payment works, don’t you think?” “But how is she supposed to do that?” Silver Spoon trotted to Discord. “They are, like, immortal alicorns...” Discord patted Silver Spoon’s mane and smiled. “You all felt it when poor Ms. Pie passed away and yet, you don’t know...” He shook his head. “There’s six of you. Think about it, Silver Spoon...” He winked and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Before it dissipated she heard Discord saying, “You know where they are...” “There’s six of us!” Silver Spoon exclaimed. “You don’t say, you old creep!” She sighed and looked at Apple Bloom. To her surprise, she was standing with a determined expression. “What’s going on?” Silver Spoon asked. “We have to go,” Apple Bloom replied, turning away from Pinkie’s body and trotting forward. “Go? Where?” “There’s six of us.” Apple Bloom replied, still walking forward. “And we know where they are...”