Pinkie Pie's 4th Wall Breaking Show epi 10 Part 16
Just then, the studio doors flew open, and a panting Coffee Swirl rushed in and slammed the doors behind him. "Too... too many! Ponies are lined up clear around the block to get at my shop!" He leapt towards Photo Finish, flapping his wings to get there in a single bound. "Find me a disguise!"
Applejack chuckled. "Now hold on there, sugarcube. Maybe ya just need some help. It just so happens, Ah know a thing or two about selling to a crowd..."
Coffee shook his head fervently. "Disguise! Now!"
Photo Finish shrugged. "Let's give it a try, shall we? You never know... a new look can work wonders to build one's confidence. Come along, darling..."
Fluttershy walked past them coming out of the dressing room, wearing elegant golden armor with wing guards and a long horn on the helmet. "Um... the label on the box said that this was a cyber-Alicorn costume. Does it look alright? I hope Princess Celestia won't be offended."
"It looks beautiful," said Twilight warmly. "I'm sure everypony will love it."
Applejack opened her mouth, then hastily closed it again.
"This actually doesn't look half bad," said Coffee Swirl, returning. Photo Finish had dressed him as a white robot with a blue chestplate and red accents. The helmet had golden spikes making a V shape on top. "I was sure you'd turn me into Marvin the Paranoid Ponybot."
Pinkie twitched. "A robot that does nothing but frown? Not in my prop room, mister!"
-
Fluttershy's coat changed over signifing that Fluttercruel was in control and spoke up, "I don't know he really could pull off that character well enough." a slight chuckle escapes her lips. "I mean he does have enough pactice at it."
Cofee Swirl gave 'Cruel a level stare. "keep it up and the next time you get coffee from me it'll be the sweetest I can make it."
'Cruel gave an offened look at her... well significant other. "You wouldn't da-"
Swirl retured her shock with a knowing smirk. "I would. And I'd do it in a way that would get you hooked on it."
Seeing Cruel's face go though several interesting shades of red as she tried to make a response at the statement that: he would do that to her, and could do it in a way that she'd actually enjoy it was fun to watch. But she finally settled into a resigned pout. "Fine I'll lay off the teasing. I don't need both of you ganging up on me." 'Cruel shifted back to 'Shy's coloring with one last comment. "Still think you could do that costume justice though..."
-
Maud Pie's expression did change. "Oh my. Excuse me. How greatly rude of me. I think I forgot to introduce him. Sorry if I have already. This is Boulder. My pet rock." Maud Pie took a small pebble out of her dress.
-
Octavia and Photo stared at the pebble in their sister's hoof.
"Oh! Uh, hello, Boulder." Octavia gave her sister Photo a look that showed utter confusion. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Ah, the same." Photo picked up her camera.
"Girls, you've met him before," Maud reminded them.
Octavia and Photo had a flash back of a shattered boulder, that resulted in several tiny stones...and now their big sister picked up one in the aftermath.
"Yes, well, it HAS been a long time Maud." Octavia said.
"I understand," Maud nodded.
"Vould you like me to take a picture to remember this -- very unusual moment?" She began to snap the shutter but stopped when Maud gently but firmly pushed the camera down.
"Sis, what's wrong with you?" Maud said, frowning slightly. Photo looked at her, wondering what the problem was. Maud pointed at Boulder.
"That's not his good side."
Nearby Rarity shook her head as she observed Photo trying to sweet-talk Boulder into facing the camera.
"Uh, he doesn't like it when ponies patronize him," Maud said.
"Poor dear," Rarity said. "She thinks that little rock is alive." She turned to walk away and froze to find Pinkie glaring at her.
"Sorry, Pinkie Pie, darling," Rarity said, "but it's true." She pointed at a similar tiny stone on the floor. "It's a pebble. How many ponies do you know that talk to rocks?"
"Maybe we should ask TOM what he thinks," Pinkie responded. Rarity flushed.
"I thought we agreed NEVER to speak of that again!"
"You agreed to that. None of us ever did," Pinkie Pie said plainly. "Besides we're PAST the whole 'hiding from our pain' thing remember?"
Rarity sighed. "I'm not longer terrified of the subject, well, the nightmares have stopped, and I'm past all the self doubts Discord's sickness made me endure...I just don't like to talk about it."
-
Static filled the camera feed for a moment.
And at that moment in another world, what looked like a heroic unicorn made of stone flinched.
Beside him, a snowy-coated and amethyst-maned alicorn nuzzled him.
"Tom? Son, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," the stone pony said. "But for a moment, I got the weirdest idea you were about to say you didn't want to even remember me any more."
"My dearest Tom, my most precious treasure," Queen Libra said as she twined necks with him in an equine hug, "I would rather forget my skill as an artist, than you."
The two hugged.
Then the static flashed again.
Pinkie Pie looked at the camera, "The camera got overridden for a second, weird."
-
Meanwhile, Sir Discord from the mirror version of Equestria briefly popped into the studio near the ceiling, where only Pinkie Pie and possibly Not-Maud Pie could sense his presence.
Upon taking one look at the studio, he snapped his claw and said, "D'oh, I missed! And right after I was saying to myself, 'There's no way I could get lost traveling back to my home dimension.'"
He then popped out of the studio again, with almost none of the ponies in the studio any the wiser, and those who did know knew better than to mention it to the others for fear of causing a panic in the middle of a party.
-
Maud held the pebble to her ear, then calmly put it back in a pocket. “Boulder wants to know if you’d like you hear one of my poems.”
Octavia and Photo Finish blinked, then started shaking their heads subtly. Even Pinkie flinched. “Sis, I’m not sure now is the best...”
Rarity gasped. “Do you mean to say that you’re a poet, darling? Why, I’d love to hear one.” She beamed. “It’s such a shame that so few ponies take the time to truly express themselves. I’ve written a few poems of my own, you know...” Rarity winked, and now Fluttershy took a step back, and Rainbow Dash twitched, shedding a couple feathers.
Maud stood there, silent just long enough to be slightly awkward, then nodded and cleared her throat.
Rock
Gneiss rock
You are metamorphic
Foliated and coarse
Which is nice
Sentimental
Not sedimentary
Rock
Ponies stared, speechless. Applejack twitched, sweating a bit. 'This is bad,' she thought. 'Maud looks harmless, but even Snow Bound was scared of her! Ah gotta say something nice about her poem before she destroys Ponyville... but Ah can’t lie!'
Applejack got a little shifty-eyed. “That was... that was definitely... a poem! Eeeyup, Ah’ve certainly never heard any poem like that before!”
Maud walked over to her, so quietly that Applejack was surprised to find herself face to face with Pinkie’s sister. AJ gulped, fearing the worst, but looking into Maud’s eyes didn’t melt her brain. They were soothing, hypnotic almost. AJ could tell that she wasn’t really seeing what was past those eyes, and grateful, she didn’t try.
“Applejack, you don’t need to flatter me,” said Maud simply. “I like it when you’re honest.”
“Well, Ah’ll be…” mused Applejack to herself, as Maud trotted away.
-
"You know you never paid us, er, me for my last paycheck." Fluttercruel said to Photo Finish, pretending to be her mother.
"My dear, I appreciate you wishing to leave the business, but you did BREAK YOUR CONTRACT. That cost me dear."
-
Photo said, "it cost a fortune to even begin to fine somepony to replace you. I tried non-ponies," she threw down a book of photos, showing off various beings modeling clothes from her line: a zebra with her mane in cornrows, a golden-hooded griffon with her beak tilted back and looking snooty, even a shy doe.
"Everything!" Photo sighed. "But neffer could I replace my Flootershy." She tossed her mane. "Between your breaking contract and my inability to find a new star model, my business is facing difficulties. You could return, or maybe your friend with the golden mane and natural beauty?" She pointed a hoof at AJ.
Applejack looked confused. Rarity just glared and snorted.
Maud walked over to Photo and Fluttercruel.
"You'll survive, sis," Maud said. She paused, rubbed her chin with one hoof, and said, "If you're that hard up, I could work for you. Can't be that hard walking the runway."
Photo looked up, eyes rolling behind her glasses in horror.
"NO! I mean," Photo forced herself to be calm. The words rushed from her mouth. "My dear sister, neffer could I subject you to the life of a model! The endless primping, the nonstop dieting, the hours and hours in makeup and dress, visiting so many important ponies, noble and common, again and again... Livestock is what they are, well-dressed livestock. I could neffer do it to a pony I even pretended to like."
"If you say so," Maud said. Photo relaxed with a sigh. Then she turned back to Applejack.
"Perhaps you would wish to give it a try?" She trotted back a pace as Applejack snorted at her, ears down.
Across the room Rarity wondered if she should just start beating her head against the nearest wall.
Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I just couldn't stand it, all those eyes looking at me! I was only doing it for Rarity but then she got jealous and neither of us really wanted me to do it but I thought I did-"
Flluttercruel forced her hoof into their mouth. "Mom's sorry," she said flatly.
"Well I must admit, ze empathy, it is not my strongest area," Photo Finish replied, rubbing her head. "Of the four of us, Octavia is ze only one with...traditional social skills."
Octavia nodded. "We all have a unique way of seeing the world, but I'm the only one who's way leans towards heightened empathy. I can tell when someone's 'rhythm' is off so to speak."
"I see ze beauty in everything and how to make ze magics!...but I sometimes need ze help seeing when somepony is distressed," Photo explained. "I am sorry I did not catch on to your discomfort, it is simply not my area of expertise."
Fluttershy nodded. "O-Okay...still, I'm very sorry."
"It is no problem, water under ze bridge darling...but if you could pose for a few pictures, we can all the contract completed. It only had a little longer to go as it was..."
Swirl, still in his costume, walked up to the Flutters and Photo Finish. "Hey, sorry for interrupting, but I was wondering something."
The three mares (two in the same body) turned to him. "Hm?"
He looked at Fluttercruel. "I know they're just costumes now, and it's probably not your kind of thing, but... well, you're a princess and I kinda look like a knight right now. So... care to dance?"
'Actually, a knight's job is to protect princesses; they very rarely got to- OW!'
'Let the guy have his moment, Squire,' Logan said. 'He's still working on getting used to them.'
And dance they did.
Meanwhile, the rest of the mane six dressed up costume befitting Mega-Mare and Mecha versions of themselves out of Soundwave the Bushrat.
The pictures were taken, and they got OUT of the costumes, without any of them turning real.
"About time," Rainbow Dash said.
Photo Finish said, "You know Mr. Swirl, I could use a better brewster you care for the job?"
"...I...okay?"
"Excellent."
-
Suddenly, Twilight recalled a certain conversation with a mildly annoyed princess. "Those exotic models that you mentioned hiring... didn't one of them turn out to be a deep cover changeling?"
"Really, one has no idea where such rumors..."
Applejack snorted again.
Photo Finish sighed. "If one did have such a most useful model, who could be perfectly groomed and dressed in the latest style at the drop of a hat, then certainly he would be welcome to leave behind his fabulous new lifestyle and income to return to Princess Cadence's hive at any time he chose."
Rarity blinked. "I'm sorry, did you say... 'he'?"
"He, she... we are speaking hypothetically of course!"
Twilight tapped her chin. "Well, Death Stalker and Cadence said how gender doesn't matter as much to changelings, so I guess she's right."
-
"This machine lives, I means functions once again!"
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie smiled.
"Terrific." Rarity groaned. "Are you going to use MORE blank screens half our friends are going to stare at?"
"No. I only have enough power recovered for a short run before I need to shut down again. How'd you like the world where insectoid aliens turned Trixie into a living suicide bomber?"
"Want to see the world where I turned you into a pile of scraps and ply wood?" Pinkie Pie said smiling, holding an axe.
"PINKIE PIE!" Rarity said pulling the weapon from her friend's hooves. "That is NOT like you at all! Don't let this ill behaved contraption into corrupting who you are!"
Maud Pie also looked at Pinkie Pie ...blanky, but Pinkie Pie whimpered under her gaze. She saw Octavia and Photo also looking at her worried. "I'm...I'm sorry, I...I'm just so sick of seeing worlds where we're all miserable or bad guys."
"I WAS JOKING! I never intended to show that world!"
"It wasn't a funny joke." Fluttershy said sternly. "Now apologize."
"I...I am sorry. Before I shut down again, allow me to share with you this one last world. A continuation of a previous one. The other two Pie sisters were not here for this, but I feel it should still be enjoyable."
= Hot Wind Blowing - Metal Gear Rising =
The screen changed to showing a Ponyville at night, many of the buildings were burning. Ponies were fleeing INTO the Everfree of all places, were were blocked off by Night Guards. There was no sign of things had been built after Twilight Sparkle's visit to Ponyville.
"Oh no." Twilight Sparkle whispered. "You horrible machine! Don't show us this world!" Twilight Sparkle shut her eyes.
Rarity pulled on the power cord but nothing happened.
"BATTERY BACK UP!"
"I like epic fights and everything but not this!" Rainbow Said.
Applejack couldn't bear to watch either, remembering what the plan had been for Sweet Apple's Acres during the battle plans of this attack of this world they were now seeing.
And there was Shining Armor in the middle of it...his armor looked like it had been repaired more than once. knocking away knight guard one after another.
"Come on Twiley, big brother is right here in the open. Come and get me." He whispered.
He defended himself a powerful spell blast, as strong in offense as his shields were in defense.
"Hi little sister." Shining said grimly.
"I am not your sister, because you are not my brother! If you were, you wouldn't be trying to plunge Equestria into chaos and sentencing the world to death!"
It was Twilight Sparkle, one scar (of many) over an eye, wearing armor of the Night Guard herself.
"And you think living under Nightmare Moon won't be a slow death?!"
Twilight shook her head. "You'd want Equestria to splinter into pieces fighting over resources and land with the only lynch pin to our country gone."
"It's not gone! Everything Princess Celestia taught us is still here! How can you forget everything she stood for?"
"I'm doing what a soldier does, protecting my Princess, and Equestria and saving lives from radicals like you." She looked around. Readying for an ambush. "Where's the rest of your Squad? You'd never have them without you."
"This is between you and me Twiley."
Twilight rolled her remaining eye. "Get over yourself. This isn't about US. This is about EQUESTRIA! And if sacrifices have to be made for the GOOD of Equestria! Then so be it!"
"You call this good?"
"I call it necessary!"
The two clashed. For Twilight, it brought back horrible memories of when Chrysalis had forced Shining Armor to attack her.
The other ponies cringed at the sight. The Flutters hid their eyes.
Endlessly different shaped forcefields, the destructive spells on Twilight's arsenal. It was the irresistible force against the immovable object.
"You don't have the brains to do what have to be done Shining Armor! You didn't kill a single one of my soldiers! We're your enemy!"
"They're the enemy's SLAVES! I don't kill slaves!"
"And that's why you're archaic and outdated! No wonder I always got better marks at the Guard Academy than you!"
"Forgive me for having a social life!"
"My only life is to Equestria!"
The entire town shook slightly. All eyes were drawn to the source. In Canterlot... there had been a explosion.
"Cowardly terrorist!" Guard Twilight snarled.
"No. Rescue," Shining Armor said evenly.
"What?" Guard Twilight blinked her one eye.
Then the entire sky filled with a rainbow shockwave. A line of rainbow color zipped from Canterlot to a hill near where the siblings fought.
Twilight's eye widened.
There was Shadowbolt Captain Rainbow Dash...except the symbol of her uniform had been torn off, replaced by the symbol of the Wonderbolts.
"There ya go Sunset...easy now. I'm here for ya." Rainbow Dash gently said as she put down the yellow unicorn, Celestia's student.
"SUNSET! A baby dragon hugged her.
"Hey ...Spike . . ." The dirty and disheveled unicorn whispered, still having marks where the chains had been on her legs, neck, and horn.
"RAINBOW DASH! YOU TRAITOR!"
"No. I just figured out where my REAL loyalties were all along."
A second group followed the lightning fast pegasi, helping fly a pink Alicorn, it was Shining Armor's own Squad.
"You!" Twilight eye narrowed at Shining Armor.
"Sorry sis'. I was the distraction."
"What are you hoping to accomplish!?"
"What you want Twilight, we're hoping to end this." Cadence said sternly.
"CADENCE! PLEASE DON'T! PLEASE! Don't do this! Her Nightjesty spared you before! She won't a second time!"
"Don't worry Twilight, it's all about to end. Sunset? Can you do it?"
"I have to." The yellow unicorn whispered, and touched her horn to Cadence's.
-Wild Arms 4 - That Is Where The Spirit Becomes Certain ~ VS Kresnik -
Cadence grunted, her horn sparked, Sunset's cutie mark FLICKERED.
"Cadence! No no no no no! You can't do it! Stop! You'll hurt yourself! STOP!" Guard Twilight pleaded.
Cadence's entire body shook, she moved like she had the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. She spread her wings with a mighty yell as a magical shock wave went off...And the sun rose.
"Impossible . . . " Twilight whispered. "BUt...Her Nightjesty..."
"Your troops aren't nearly as effective in normal daylight." Shining Armor said. As the nocturnal troops suddenly found themselves nearly blinded as it went from night to high noon in seconds.
"THIEF! THAT IS NOT YOUR CONCEPT! TRESPASSER! THE SKY IS NOT YOUR DOMAIN!" It was the booming voice of Nightmare Moon.
"You've all doomed Ponyville." Guard Twilight said dismayed.
"Don't bet on it." Shining said.
"Idiot."
"Come on Sunset, the others are waiting." Rainbow helped her up from where she had nearly fainted from helping Cadence raise the sun against Nightmare Moon's will.
"The . . .the others?"
"You didn't think we rescued you just to be some magic battery did you?"
You came...you came for me." Sunset whispered.
"Of course I did...we're friends." Rainbow Dash grinned.
The centers of Sunset's eyes grew large and there was a slight twinkle in her eyes.
Then the screen flickered. "And with that...my battery is out of power...good night." The what-if machine flickered off.
-
The assembled group all stared at the machine in silence, some sharing a few glances at each other, but none really moving.
It was, of all ponies, Coffee Swirl who finally started moving first. He grabbed the What-If Machine's power cord with his mouth, and casually trotted over to the socket once more.
"What are you doing?" Rarity finally managed to find her voice, causing the barista to pause.
He glanced back, then spat the cord out into his hoof. "What's it look like? I'm plugging this thing back in so it can recharge."
Twilight was next. "What? Why?!"
"Because I want to see what happens next, it was just getting good."
"WHAT?!" Now it was Pinkie Pie, and she was suddenly right in front of him, grabbing the cord away. "No! Nonononono! No more sad stories!"
"Give me that plug back!" He latched on and was locked in a tug of war with the Party Pony. "I want to see how it ends!"
"I know how it it ends! Lots of meanness and sadness and bad things happen! Why would you want to watch that?!"
"Why would YOU want to watch mindless happiness for happiness's sake!" He snapped back. "I LIKE these kinds of stories!"
That managed to get her distracted enough that her grip slipped and he fell back on his rump, still holding the plug. "B-but... how? How could you like stories with nothing but sadness and bad endings."
"Seemed like it was on it's way to a pretty good ending to me," Swirl said. He calmly stood up and brushed himself off. "And I like stories like it because, quite frankly, it just make it seem like the stakes are that much larger, like they might actually fail. So, when they don't you actually feel relief and joy for them. I enjoy feeling that; and, even if they don't succeed in doing it so everything turns out perfect, you still feel glad that they did, and it makes you appreciate the good that they DID do in the process."
He finally plugged the machine back in. "And, if you want to hate me for that, go right ahead. It's not like it's the first time I've been hated for an unpopular opinion."
Back with group, the Flutters (both of them) flinched just a bit.
"This isn't about yer opinion! Ya wanna go watch horror movies with yer other friends buddy nobody is gonna stop ya! But Ah'd say SHE is more important than 'finding out the end.'" Applejack pointed at Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight wasn't listening, she was on the couch, hugging herself. Looking ready to cry.
"Meh, such tabloid trash, just because it is having the moving pictures, you are having the break down, it is like any of it is real." Photo Finish said ignorant of the what if machine's true nature.
Rainbow Dash, made a face. "I'm all for seeing heroes beat up the bad guys when things get tight, but NOT when one of those bad guys have the face of one of my close friends."
Maud Pie said nothing.
Rarity also chose to stay neutral in this. She was worried that that world's Rarity's family was alright after Nightmare Moon continued her rampage long enough to become recognized as Queen of Equestria. She also sat down next to Twilight Sparkle and gave her a few gently hugs as everypony else seemed too busy debating tastse to care. Fluttershy joined her.
Octavia took in a deep breath. "Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time. I came to Canterlot, I changed my name to Octavia Melody, ponies though I was a Canterlot native I fit in so well. I felt like I'd come home. Mother and father? Their story telling was...wooden at the best of times, and...Maud's were all about rocks, not that there is anything wrong with that big sister! And Pinkie Pie...her stories were hard to follow. When I came to Canterlot...
I did music as part of the orchestra for several plays. And...the writers felt the best way to be self expressive, to get attention, to show their individuality, was to take traditionally light hearted and optimistic themes, and turn them as bleak and gritty as possible. Changing the old myths so Megan was an evil tyrant and con-woman who was secretly allied with the witches. Making Flutterponies only eat sweets and lynch anypony who suggested vegetables. Make it so Saint Sweetheart poisoned the wells of pegasi and unicorns and became a saint by 'curing' them that way. Having Patch be a bully and a thug who just took what she wanted when she wanted from anypony whether they were good or bad."
'HEY! JERKS!' Patch's spirit snarled in the sword.
"And...of course, the classic comical ghost hunter stories, were redone so they met grisly ends. And...one play...when they managed to escape with their lives in spit of it being close and a tragic reveal near the end...I realized after seeing the play myself in its entirety...that a part of me felt...LET DOWN that they hadn't met grisly ends! I kept prepping myself for that one moment where everything would go horribly wrong for them...And it never came. And I realized, I had come to EXPECT and ANTICIPATE things going horribly for them, for Celestia to betray everypony over some arbitrary reason, for Fancy Pants to reveal he'd been working for the Hooviets the entire time...And when it didn't happen...I felt like something had been missing. When before, looking back on those works, I'd have SATISFIED and HAPPY that everything worked out int he end, that everypony lived, that ponies HAD their happiness that our ancestors worked so hard for us...I was NOT happy about that! AT ALL! It was a SICKNESS! I WANT to watch a story about Flutterponies and be happy when the heroes and villains all kiss and make up at the end. Where it's love and not violence that saves the day. It's the pony way."
Pinkie Pie hugged Octavia. "Once upon a time there was a pretty barnacle, and she was so pretty that everypony lived. The end."
Octavia hugged her back.
The what-if machine flickered on.
"Little sister," Celestia said to the dark figure before her, Nightmare Moon's every rigid line displaying scorn. "Please, I am begging you. Don't make me send you back to the Moon."
"Return me," the Nightmare said, hatred thickening her voice. The pitiful remnants of her Night Guard and other loyalists stood behind her. Twilight stood beside her, stripped of her armor, glaring at her brother and Sunset and Rainbow. But why did they bear the Elements? Nightmare Moon repeated herself, "Return me to the Moon, and my subjects with me. I and my servants tire of the sight of your Sun, and your lackies," Twilight snorted at Shining Armor, "in what was my kingdom."
"Then you leave us no choice," Celestia said. She looked at Sunset, Rainbow Dash, and the other ponies with them: an Earth pony palomino with a Stetson, scraping the dirt with one forehoof and snorting; a bouncing pink Earth pony who looked at Twilight as though she were seeing an old friend laying drunk in the gutter; a purple-maned unicorn, scars along one side of her neck and half covered by her mane and with that little dragon standing nearby; and half hidden behind her own wings, the dangerous one, the yellow pegasus with the soft voice that lead the Everfree monsters against the Nightmare''s forces in that last battle.
"You leave us no choice," Celestia said. She stepped back with a sigh. "I just hope this heals you rather than simply exiling again, as Sunset assured me it would." She looked at Sunset. "Do it."
Sunset Shimmer and her friends looked at each other, nodded, and then something began to gather around them. It seemed to come from the Element medallions they bore, glowing and gathering, like a rainbow. It rose, swirled, and turned to crash down on Nightmare Moon and her followers.
The Nightmare reared and whinnied as she was enveloped in a rainbow whirlwind.
Twilight beside her whinnied once in shock, a whinny repeated by the gathered Night Guards behind her.
And when it cleared, Luna stood there on shaky legs. Luna as she had once been, long centuries before ever Nightmare Moon existed, once more a young filly. Behind her the Night Guard blinked at each other, normal pegasi once more.
Luna looked at Celestia and blinked.
"B-big sis?" She stepped forward and twined necks with her elder sister.
"Twily?" Shining Armor trotted forward, Cadence with him. They both looked down. At their hooves sat a little filly, almost a foal, with a light purple coat and a pink-striped purple mane. She looked at them and gave a high-pitched whinny.
"Little Twily," Cadence said, looking down at her. She picked Twilight up with her magic and, together with Shining Armor, gently nuzzled her.
In studio, Fluttershy smiled.
"Well, everything worked out after all."
"There are always six friends, and they always call on the magic of friendship to save the Princess' sister from herself, that's the way of the world." Applejack said to herself.
"I can't believe we missed the big ka-pow!" RD said.
"Oh Rainbow, we WERE the big ka-pow remember?" Pinkie Pie smiled.
"Well I didn't see it the 'first time' I was in Canterlot." Octavia crossed her arms.
Twilight Sparkle didn't respond, she was sleeping in Rarity's lab. "I think I'll be taking her home." Rarity said. "And then check on Sweetie Belle. Miss Maud Pie? I got my cutie mark when Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom shattered a rock open revealing the jewels within. I think we might be slight kindred spirits like that. It was an honor to meet a stead-fast mare such as yourself. Good day. Fluttershy, will you be alright?"
"Y-yes."
"Alright. Remember, you don't need to do anything Photo Finish tells you to if it gets to be too much. Miss Octavia, I love the theater and your music is beautiful every time I hear it. Miss Photo Finish, I do hope we're able to business together some time. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, it was wonderful to see you always, good day."
Rarity carried the still sleeping Twilight Sparkle out of the studio.
-
The studio's security station chimed, and a large pink button began to flash. Pinkie gasped hard enough to lift her hooves off the floor. "It's a Friendship alert!" She bounced right over and mashed the pink button with a hoof.
Nopony in the room seemed especially surprised by this, though Coffee Swirl let out a long sigh.
The big monitor in the middle of the security station fuzzed with static, then showed them the streets of Canterlot, at dusk. The mountain and the tall buildings cast long shadows across the streets. A single pony stepped out of the crowded main thoroughfare, white coated with an elegant red mane... Red Gala. She stopped at the door of the Carousel Boutique: Canterlot and started to unlock the front door with her magic, then stopped, hanging her head.
"Whatever is the matter with me?" she murmured, shaking off her travel bags. "It's my shop... my own home, the same as it was yesterday and the day before that." She brushed the door with a hoof. "But... but it's not. I know the truth now. It wasn't here yesterday, and neither was I. I'm... not real."
In the studio, Rainbow Dash lifted off the ground and flew closer to the screen. "What was all that? I couldn't make it all out with that wind blowing."
"Who is this pony to us?" said Photo Finish. "I am not recognizing her. Quite a beauty, though! Wait, could she possibly be..."
Fluttershy nodded. "Red Gala is Rarity's big sister. Poor thing. She must still be sad about... you know..."
Applejack flicked an ear, but said nothing.
On the screen, Red Gala gritted her teeth. "But I must carry on. I simply must! If I don't take up this life that I remember, then I don't have anything else. I don't even have Big Mac..."
A second figure emerged from an alley nearby, completely covered in a dark traveling cloak. Red Gala wiped her tears hastily at the sound of hoof steps. "I'm sorry, darling. The store is closed today, but if you return in the morning..." Just for a moment, there was a glimmer of orange in her eyes, and the cloak rippled, as if the creature underneath it was much larger than an ordinary pony. Red Gala frowned. "You're not... Who are you?"
The dark figure moved the hood aside, revealing a midnight blue coat and a flowing mane. "It is I."
Red Gala gasped. "Princess Luna! I..." She looked down at the cobblestones. "I suppose you've come to take me away."
Luna arched a brow. "And whyever would I do that, my little pony?"
"Because I'm not one of your little ponies," Red Gala blurted out. "You know that I'm not. I'm a fraud. I'm... an Insertion." She made a face, as if the word tasted foul. "I... I understand. I won't resist."
In the studio, Rainbow scowled at the monitor. "There's that noise again! Can't your contraption pick up the sound any better? Man, if this was a movie, I'd want my bits back!"
On the monitor, Luna rapped a hoof on the ground. "Red Gala Belle!"
Red Gala trembled, nearly falling over.
"It is indeed true, that we recall a world where thy sister Rarity was the eldest, and neither thee nor thy place of business ever were." Princess Luna's expression softened. "But that is because we are an alicorn, child. In this world, the world in which you and I live, I recall a mare who gave all her time and effort to help make her sister's dream a reality. A mare who fought to rescue her friends from the fiend Chrysalis even though she was afraid. A brave mare who even helped save us from Temptation herself."
"You truly mean that?" asked Red Gala.
"Did we not just say it? You always were one of our little ponies. You did not need to earn it, yet earned it you certainly have."
In the studio, Applejack smiled and wiped a tear with her hoof. Pinkie nodded to herself. "Don't worry, girls. I owed Red Gala an extra birthday party, so I already pulled some strings! It's all taken care of!"
"Wait... it's her birthday?" said Dash. "Did she say anything about that?"
"Maybe she just didn't want to make a big deal out of it," suggested Fluttershy.
"Hah" Dash lounged in midair. "Like anypony can keep a birthday secret from Pinkie anyway."
Pinkie giggled. "Oh, it's not her birthday birthday. It's her other birthday! You know... well, you don't, but... you know!" Coffee Swirl facehoofed.
On the screen, Princess Luna stepped aside and gestured towards several other ponies who were just now arriving. Red Gala stared, not recognizing them at first in the twilight. She gasped. "Minuette? Moon Dancer? Lemon Hearts? My goodness... what are you doing here at this hour?"
Moon Dancer smiled. "I'm not sure what this is all about, but a little bird told us that you were feeling really down. Want to hang out at the tavern?"
"I hear the roof's finally fixed," said Lemon Hearts.
Red Gala beamed. "I'd love to. Thank you so much!"
Luna slipped into the shadows, nodding to herself. "It is that time again." As the sun slipped below the horizon, she spread her wings and raised the moon.
Even as they were watching the sun set in Canterlot on Pinkie's monitor, night came to Ponyville too. Pinky's party had run late indeed.
-
AJ looked at the sunset. "Oh boy. Sorry Maud, but early to rise, early to bed. Yer a farmer too so Ah know ya understand."
"I do."
"Look...okay has a been a long day fer me, REALLY LONG, Ah mean like, Ah lived a second lifetime long." AJ said perfectly honestly. "And Ah hadda clean up a lotta disasters today." AJ said again honestly though most of her friends wouldn't remember all of those disasters. "Ah'm sorry all that happened when we were supposed to be gettin' to know ya. So... Ah just wanna say...it was nice meetin' ya Maud Pie. Ah'm Applejack Apple, Ah have longer fancier name but Ah don't use it."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Applejack." Maud Pie said evenly. "You remind me of a rock. Stead-fast. Reliable. Dependable. Loyal."
"Heh. Maybe, but RD isn't that honest with herself and others so somepony had to fill in for honesty."
"HEY!"
"Just rattling yer cage RD."
"DANGIT! I gotta go check on Scootaloo! Weather duty is no problem but watching that filly isn't something you can do in ten seconds flat!"
"Her parents sure put a lot on you Dashie, you should really talk to them," Pinkie Pie said innocently.
"Don't worry ...I'm working on that."
RD zoomed in front of the stoic mare. "Maud! I just wanna say! Erm . . . nice meeting you! Sorry we spent so much time dealing with troubles and dealing with that STUPID machine, instead of getting to know you, I'm sorry. To make up for up, wanna hoof wrestle me and AJ before we leave?"
"Dashie, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"One round! I promise. So does Applejack, right?"
"Ah promise, one round, can't be any harder than when Big Mac hoof wrestled Celestia."
Everypony looked at her.
"What? It as a festival and the Princesses were special guests...again. They were doin' lots of stuff with lots of ponies!"
"How have I am been missing all this publicity?!" Photo declared.
"Welcome to living in closed circles," Ovtavia said.
"Alright." Maud Pie said sitting at a table putting her hooves up. "Both of you. At once please. You're both have responsibilities to get back to after all."
"Oh. Ya sure that's fair?" AJ asked.
"Yeah, I don't want ya to be a sore loser."
"I don't care much about losing...or winning," Maud Pie said.
"WHAT?!" RD's jaw dropped. "W-what?" It did not compute in RD's brain.
"It's just a game isn't it? What should it matter if you've had a good time."
"Oh....oh okay." RD said hesitantly.
AJ decided not to hold back because she respected Maud as a fellow farmer, rocks or not.
RD was never one for holding back anyway.
The two sat down and locked hooves Maud Pie, AJ taking the left, RD taking the right.
The other three Pie sisters all looked at each other, and took several hoof steps back. Pinkie Pie got the first aid kit out.
"Now Maud, you shouldn't-"
"Don't worry Inky, it's just a game."
Flutters fluttered closer in awe, while Coffee Swirl put on a blast helmet.
"Fluttershy? Care to ref?"
"OH?! Me? Uh, erm, okay!" She replied looking around and finding no one willing to do so in her place.
She flew between the three. "Okay, ready, onetwothreego!"
She zipped away.
AJ and RD strained her strength...Maud Pie didn't budge.
Maud moved her eyes between them. "Oh is it my turn yet? I've never played this game before."
"Uh, Maud, you all 'go' at the same time." Octavia offered.
"Oh. Right." An instantly later the table was split in two and AJ and RD were on the floor their forelegs in tiny craters.
"OH MY! RAINBOW! APPLEJACK!"
"It's...it's nothin'...gotten worse before..." AJ said. "Maybe. Hard to tell."
"It's Rarity all over again," RD said.
-
As AJ and RD rubbed their bruises, a machine in the corner of the room began beeping.
"That thing is still workin'? Ah thought it went kaput," AJ spoke first.
"What is that contraption? An automated oven cake cannon?" Photo Finish asked.
"No Blinky, I keep that in storage. That's The Pinkie Party Piece Picker 7000 or PPPP7 for short. We used to get it working all the time. But recently it's been kinda...worn down, I think everypony just began using the what if machine and forgot about it."
"If that thing is gonna come alive too, forget about it," RD said looking for a wiffle bat.
"No no no no it's fine Dash. Okay sisters, what this baby does is spit out art and stories for ponies all over Ponyville and what not. And since all of this is non-canon, we don't have to worry about spoilers."
Most of the girls tuned this out as Pinkie Speak.
"And we finally have a new one! Let's see!"
http://kendell2.deviantart.com/art/Commission-Pony-POV-Series-A-Rough-Day-514520115
http://fav.me/d8iby9f
-
Rainbow Dash blinked upon hearing the story.
"Huh," Applejack said, "Never knew that Cloudkicker gal was like that. The way some ponies talked about her, Ah allus thought she was sneakin' off ta some stallion or another. Feel kinda ashamed Ah felt that way now..."
She stopped as Dash gave a yell beside her.
"Huh? Stallions stare at my butt?" Rainbow Dash snorted, ears back and eyes blazing. "Who?!? They better not be why they made me Weather Patrol captain! Lemme at 'em, I'm not some public display!" Then she stopped and looked at her flank. "Gotta admit, though, it's probably a heck of a view."
AJ just rolled her eyes. Photo and Octavia looked more amused, and Pinkie just shook her head.
"Gee, and the readers keep acting like Rarity is the one of us obsessed with stallions."
"Huh?" Dash flew over to her. "Hey, I'm not obsessed with stallions! I can take them or leave them, I'm happier by myself or with you guys and the Squirt." She paused, flared her wings out, and said, "But still, if I wanted to get a guy, I know I'd get the best one."
"Remember thet kissin' booth we took care of for the local fair a few months back?" Applejack simply said. Dash crimsoned. "Poor 'Shy near about fainted, Twi kept busy reading books on smoochin', Rarity got a sore throat from somepony, they were all scared o' me for some reason..."
"Probably because Big Mac was glaring at every stallion that even looked at you," Pinkie said with a laugh. "I liked kissing some of those stallions, and Rainbow Dash..."
Dash blushed at the memory.
"HEY! You! You paid, now GET OVER HERE!" And the stallion Dash yelled at fled into the night in a panic.
"An' in the end, Sweetcream STILL made more bits than all six of us together! Nice o' her ta give half of it ta the town." Applejack rubbed her chin. "Huh, maybe next time we can ask some o' Cadence's Changelings ta help out, they can get a meal and get ta help th' town at the same time."
-
Maud simply stared stoically at everything. "...Little sisters are important."
She hugged her little sisters and was hugged back.
The What If Machine watched. "...Is it wrong I'm disappointed it didn't become sapient?" it asked, looking at the fanfiction machine.
Fluttershy blinked. "Uh...why?"
The Machine displayed a frowny face. "...Then I would have a little sister too...this thing you organics call 'family' is something I wish I had...other my father, but he is sadly a mad scientist in the year three thousand in an adult cartoon universe...I would like to have a younger sister that looks up to me as much as Alula does her sister."
Pinkie Pie hugged it. "Don't worry, with all the crazy things that happen around here you'll have one eventually..."
The machine nodded, giving a small smiley face. "Thank you..."
"Anyway, Ah really need to get home," Applejack said, tipping her hat. "See yah'all later."
The apple looked to the Pie Family. "...Yah know, yah remind meh of mah family."
The sisters blinked. "Really?" Octavia asked. "Because we were born farmers?"
"Nah, that's just a little bit of it. Ah mean how yah come in all kinds, but in the end yer still family through and through. Not all the Apples are cowponies yah know. Cousin's a Royal Guard, darn good one, there's the Oranges in Manehatten, got a few in other countries. Tartarus, some CHANGELINGS turned out tah be Apples! Who woulda thunk!"
The four sisters looked at each other, then smiled (or in Maud's case, smiled inside). "...You're right, thank you Applejack."
Applejack said goodbye and left.
"Gotta go see Squirt...better make sure she and the other Crusaders haven't summoned another Elemental."
Octavia blinked in confusion. "ANOTHER?!"
"Yeah, that's why we don't let 'em near matches..." Rainbow Dash said. She gave a quick salute. "See ya all later!"
With that, a rainbow streak flew out of the room and towards a little orange pony waiting for her.
Fluttershy smiled placing hooves over her heart. "It's so sweet seeing them together."
-
Fluttershy wouldn't say it outloud, but she was happy to have a much smaller party of five ponies counting herself (six counting Fluttercruel, oh and seven counting Coffee Swirl), then she was at a party with over a dozen ponies. Large crowd just made her uncomfortable, even if logically they'd be easier to get lost in.
Fluttershy saw Rarity had left the telescope out and chose to put it away ...except...curiosity snagged Fluttershy and she looked through the telescope.
She saw a red stallion and purple mare outside Sweet Apple Acres.
"That was a lovely dinner Big Mac."
"Yer welcome Cheerilee." The two gave a SLIGHT nuzzle, enough to make Fluttershy blush ever so slightly. Fluttershy admitted she and Big Mac were kindred spirits, both shy, both gentle, both not known for socialization.
She loved him, but Fluttershy couldn't call it being IN love with him. And Cheerilee, had been first, had tried the hardest, had thought the longest about it, had endured the most, and above everything, she understood him the most, and Big Mac felt the most at peace around her.
The pair departed ways with one last look at each other.
Big Mac trotted behind the farm house to look at a small house made for two ponies...the roof had holes in it, varmints had claimed as their personal territory, and the board creaked.
Big Mac sighed at the disaster, the 'newly wed' house was going to need a LOT of fixing.
-
When Fluttershy looked away from the telescope, she was startled to find Maud Pie right there, peering intently at her.
After a few seconds, Maud spoke. "You want to date Coffee Swirl."
The pegasus blinked and blushed furiously. "No! I mean... um..." Her colors and cutie mark shifted. "No, I want to date Coffee Swirl," said Fluttercruel. "What's it to ya?"
"Fluttershy wants to date a different pony," deadpanned Maud.
Fluttercruel folded her wings crossly. "That's her problem!" Then she glanced to one side, fuming. "No, it's our problem. I live here too. We'll figure something out! Not that it's any of your business."
Again, Maud took her time answering. "You should use two bodies. Then it won't be a problem."
Fluttercruel facehoofed. "Do I look like Miss Purple Sparkle-Butt? How would I do that? Sorry, mom... I know, I know. But seriously, me and mom LIKE always being there for each other even when we're alone."
"Geode," said Maud simply.
Now Fluttercruel stared, at a loss for words. "Huh?"
"You are a geode."
Fluttercruel stamped off, pacing. "More poetry? Thanks. Not in the mood..."
Coffee Swirl started to object too, but Maud gave him a strange look, and the stallion trailed off without saying a word. "You have hidden depths," Maud explained, fixing her eyes on Fluttercruel again. "There's a thing. Detachment. You won't understand it. But you can do it if I show you. May I?"
Fluttercruel blinked. "Well... Okay. What could it hurt?"
Maud Pie grasped Fluttercruel firmly with her hooves and yanked hard... and like some kind of magic trick, she pulled a full-grown griffon out of the pegasus pony, with dark golden fur and feathers, and a pink tail and mane. The pegasus that was left behind instantly reverted to Fluttershy's colors.
"What? Oh my GOSH," squeaked Fluttershy. "What did you do?!"
The griffon spoke with Fluttercruel's voice. "Whoa. I'm... I'm still with mom, but I'm over here too! That's so weird! Hang on a sec... am I a griffon?" She patted herself down and recoiled, then jabbed a claw towards Maud. "Why the heck am I a griffon?!" she roared.
Maud smiled ever so faintly. "I said you wouldn't understand. And don't try to do this outside of Pinkie Pie's parties here...you're just under a million years too young to do this on your own and you'll only hurt yourself. Your Detachment will rejoin with the rest of you when the party ends."
The What If Machine gave it thought. "I have another happy ending I wish to show now that Rainbow Dash is not present to be unnerved..."
Rainbow Dash, the same one that had had her wings bound for so many years, watched as Nightmare Inferno hovered above, challenging Twilight Sparkle, the other five standing nearby. She wasn't sure what had happened to her original human self, Sunset said she'd ran away with this universe's Sunset, but Rainbow hadn't been there. Sunset had come back and brought her back.
Now Rainbow was able to fly, a demon like Snips and Snails, except her wings were much longer. Her wings, how she'd missed them! After years of being trapped in those braces, she was not happy when it turned out she didn't have them here, but Sunset had promised she'd have them back, and she kept her promise.
But...despite the power rush, despite the dark magic tainting her mind, something seemed...wrong...Even as she stood by to help Sunset out, something felt wrong. It'd felt wrong ever since Sunset had transformed, but something was stopping her from questioning it.
"She has us."
Then the rest of the five stood up next to Twilight.
Inferno laughed. "Gee, the gang really is all back together again..." she then began collecting a dark magic fireball into her hands. "Now step aside! Twilight has interfered with my plans one too many times already."
Rainbow's eyes fell on Fluttershy. Fluttershy wasn't much of a danger and never did anything to get on Shimmer's bad side (she stayed in the background 'where she belonged' and out of things...) so Sunset hadn't minded when Rainbow talked to her on occasion...Fluttershy hadn't been too happy to realize Rainbow was on the wrong side, they'd had a fight...but now...seeing her about to be threatened...
"If I lashed out...if I exploded...If I went on a big rampage, I'd just be what you want me to be, wouldn't I? And why should I ever be ANYTHING you want me to be ever again? So you know what I'm doing instead?! I'M GOING WHERE YOU CAN NEVER MAKE ME STOP AGAIN! WHERE NO ONE CAN TELL ME NOT TO BE ME!"
"Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked, looking up at the pegasus in front of her.
"Dash?" Gilda asked.
Rainbow Dash glared at the ponies, then hugged her two friends. "...I'm sorry if I scared you...Gilda?"
"...Yeah?"
"...Take care of Fluttershy. Never let her get hurt..."
"Dash..."
"Promise me!"
"...I promise..."
The mare stepped back. "And another thing?" she asked to the city. "If you EVER try to hurt them again for my sake? I'LL GIVE YOU A REASON TO BE AFRAID ME!"
"...What the hay am I doing?"
Rainbow Dash flew up in front of Nightmare Inferno. "Sunset!"
"Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. I forgot about you, do you want to be the one to fry Twilight Sparkle," Inferno cackled, eyes unhinged and insane.
"...Since when was THIS the plan?!" Rainbow asked in shock. Her eyes flickered back into her normal eyes. "I thought we just wanted to go back to Equestria as Alicorns! Not kill somepony!"
"Oh, that, I changed my mind," said the Nightmare. "We're going to conqueror it. And you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs after all."
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, looking in her eyes and feeling like Sunset just...wasn't there...Or rather, like Sunset had changed into something else.
"...Then do it without me..." Rainbow Dash stated, glaring. "...I promised some friends I wouldn't become a monster..." she looked over at Fluttershy, giving a small smile. "And I'm going to keep it."
The Nightmare's face contorted in rage. "...You...you...You traitor!" she screamed, Rainbow quickly having to block with her wings to avoid being blasted full on by a fireball. The blast sent the mare-turned-human crashing to the ground.
"RAINBOW!" yelled Fluttershy, dashing to her side, the others following.
"You steal everything from me, Twilight! Everything! Now you've stolen her!" the Nightmare roared, seeming almost paranoid. No, not almost. "If you're going to side with HER Rainbow, then DIE WITH HER!"
Rainbow Dash found herself grabbing onto Futtershy and trying to shield her, the others all covering BOTH each other and Twilight...but the fireball never hit. Instead, it'd converted into purple magic that surrounded them.
Rainbow blinked, finding herself transformed back to her human form. "Huh?"
Twilight did a good summation of what had happened: the magic of friendship was something that Sunset had tried to steal, not something she'd earned, so it'd rebelled and decided to give them a bit of a buff.
Rainbow's face lit up looking at her pegasi wings reformed on her back...but frowned. "But...why me? I..."
She remembered her promise. "...Hehe...guess I was loyal to something..."
One friendship powered Rainbow later, Sunset was sobbing in a crater, purified of her darkness...and broken by what she'd become.
Rainbow was one of the first to take up Twilight plea to help her. "...I was helping you as much as I was them...you were mean, but that thing you became? That wasn't healthy for you either...it was hiding the rest of you, and that isn't something that should happen to anyone...You need to be able to be yourself..."
Sunset Shimmer looked at her human hands, shaking, and then at the one person she'd considered a friend her entire life, the one Nightmare Inferno, the one she'd just tried to kill!
-
While others watched the What-if machine, Coffee Swirl circled around Fluttercruel's new body.
"What?" She asked, giving him a mild glare.
"Nothing," he said, "just... you actually look pretty good as a gryphon is all."
Fluttercruel blinked, then blushed slightly. "Well... thanks, I guess. Her feathers puffed up as she tried to put on a 'tough girl' look, and failed miserably.
-
Fluttercruel sat her hindquarters down and scratched the back of her neck with a paw. "Mmmm, nice!"
"Did you just purr?" asked Coffee Swirl.
"You didn't hear that!" Then she lifted a foreleg and flexed her talons, wiggling each one individually. "Ooh, I remember these. Check it out, built-in knives!" She strutted across the studio a couple times. "So... this body needs a flight test." She leaned close to Coffee. "Wanna help?"
"Oh, do be careful!" said Fluttershy. "Don't fly too high."
"At least, not on first date", said Photo Finish, grinning saucily. Octavia groaned.
'Don't worry mom.' Fluttercruel's voice said within Fluttershy, 'Like I said, I'm still in here. It's just a part of me going out and about.'
'I can guess which part.' Fluttershy thought.
-
"Cursed! I mean mystical items for sale! You'll be a whole new you and all your problems will be solved!" Shouted a voice announcing the opening of a new store.
Coffee Swirl looked out the window. "HEY! That's where my store should be!"
"Oh no! NO MORE INTERRUPTING MAUD'S PARTY!" Pinkie Pie took out her anti-Mary-Sue bazooka, loaded in a 'Anti-TF-Plot-Device-Sue' shell, and fired it out the window, hitting the target dead center, blowing it up, and restoring Coffee Swirl's shop. Along with several ponies restored from being cheerleaders, marble statues, cuddle-dolls, masochists, and a dozen other twisted fetish fantasies. Now all they wanted was some good evening coffee.
Pinkie Pie said to Coffee Swirl. "Look, I'll pay you for catering the whole thing PLUS overtime. Just deal with the horde of Celestia endorsement induced customers!"
-
The blank wolf pup who had been going at double time to take out "Bait n' Switch's Novelty And Costume Shop" once he had noticed it stood stock still at what he could only see as the... beauty of such an effective means of removing those that did not belong. It was a unique idea: long range removal of foreign elements to the world. And all without the targets being none the wiser.
A thoughtful expression appeared on his snout.
"...I wondeR iF I coulD geT onE oF thosE"
-
The camera turned outside the window again, this time showing a small dental office that Mineutte had opened up with Cadence pulling a few strings and in Ponyville where such laws were a little more lax, it was Minuette's idea of a vacation.
"YOU GIRLS SHOULD HAVE COME TO ME AT ONCE! ONCE YOUR TEETH GET HURT YOU SHOULD GO TO A DENTIST IMMEDIATELY! THAT'S JUST COMMON SENSE! THE LONGER YOU WAIT THE LESS LIKELY IT IS FOR ME TO REPAIR DAMAGE!" Mineutte said in an imitation of the Royal Canterlot voice, her lack of genetic relation to Twilight was confirmed by lack of a soap box underneath her.
Rainbow Dash and Rarity stood being brow beaten by Minuette for not coming sooner from them 'tasting' (stealing a bite of) Maud's 'marble cake made with real marbles.
Behind them, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle resisted sniggering.
"But Rarity, you always said not take things that aren't mine."
"Not now Sweetie, OW!"
-
Minuette scowled at the mares. "Honestly, some ponies! Now wait here, I have to finish with my assistants and their patient in the office."
The mare turned and walked back into the office where the sounds of drilling and groans of pain emanated. Rarity and Rainbow Dash shuddered.
"N-now, now," Rarity said, reassuring herself as much as Dash. "Some ponies are just childish about a little pain. We've fought Discord and mad alicorns more than once, we're not scared, are we?" She gave the pegasus a brittle smile.
"Y-yeah," Dash said, swallowing. "I'm n-not scared. Of the d-d-dentist?" A howl came from inside the office. Her pupils went to pinpoints. She barely whispered, "Wimp."
Both mares jumped and wrapped their forelegs around each other at a raw shriek from within the office. The door shot open and Bulk Biceps galloped out, holding his jaw and groaning in pain. Minuette followed him, smiling nervously.
"Now that didn't hurt, did it?" She recoiled at his look of agonized rage. "Besides, you have to get back in there, we're not finished yet!"
"Oh yes you are!" Bulk turned to leave but stopped at the door, turned and asked, "Hey, what did those three helpers of yours DO before they became dental assistants?"
Rarity flicked one ear as an oddly familiar voice called from inside the office, "We dig gems and catch ponies before get put on probation -- OW!"
"Shut up, Fido!" The voice added, "That not all. Once we be knackers, too."
Minuette flinched, and the other ponies recoiled.
"Far as I'm concerned, they still are!" Bulk said, and stormed out.
"It can't be!" Rarity went to the door and looked inside. Her eyes went wide and her jaw worked uselessly. Dash hurried to her side and blanched.
Inside stood three Diamond Dogs, of all beings. One big, one thin, and one short. The short one wore glasses that looked to be at least an inch thick. They looked ready to start fighting then and there. Then they looked at the pony looking at them and froze in horror.
Rarity shrieked, "You three idiots!"
"Nasty whining pony!" Rover howled. He and the other two crowded back into the corner, taking turns shoving each other to the fore. "Keep her away! She scary pony."
Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked at Minuette, pleading with their eyes even as the throbbing in their jaws redoubled.
"It's them," Minuette said coldly, "or it's this." She showed them a picture of a pony missing half their teeth and looking malnourished from the lack of food.
Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and gulped. Dash took out a bit from the small money purse hanging around her neck.
"Let's call it. Heads I win, tails you lose -- Hey!" She snatched uselessly after the coin as Rarity took it away. The unicorn dropped the coin and threw Dash to the Dogs.
"Do a good job on her, boys," Rarity called out. Dash whinnied and fought as the Diamond Dogs got her into the seat, held her there, and got the tools out. Rarity shuddered at the sight. "I'll just be out here, wondering why I'm not running away." She closed the door on the pleading Dash.
Scootaloo came up to her. "Uhh, Miss Rarity? Rainbow Dash WILL be okay, right?"
They heard the drill inside, followed by a howl of pain.
"Dumb Dog!" Rover said. The sound of a swat followed. "That not pony's tooth, Fido, that pony's forehead!"
"She'll -- survive, dear," Rarity said. Another yell from inside.
"Wrong tooth!"
"I think."
"Rainbow Dash, would you like me to hypnotize you into not feeling pain until I fix your teeth?" Minuette's voice called.
"No way! I had enough seeing ponies' heads getting messed with! You'll turn me into a mare who can't say no to anything!"
"I swear to Celestia I'll do no such thing. I suggested it to Roid Rage, but he wasn't quite smart enough for it to work on him. The smarter you are, you more suggestible you are to hypnosis after all. Then again maybe-"
"Hey! Just cause I'm not an egghead doesn't mean I'm dumb! I can take it!"
"Alright then. Just look into my eyes."
"Yes Mistress."
"I haven't started yet."
"Oh sorry."
-
Meanwhile...
"Snowy!" Pinkie bounced straight at the Blank Wolf and, to his horror, gave him a great big hug.
"Uh, sis..." Octavia and Photo Finish were watching Pinkie hug herself.
The wolf squirmed, finding it surprisingly difficult to get loose. "Don't call me..."
"Say, what was that all about?" interrupted Pinkie. "You know, with the spookY echO voicE?!"
Snow Bound winced, ears folding. "Stop that!"
Pinkie giggled. "stoP whaT?"
"yoU knoW whaT!" The Blank Wolf sighed grumpily. He eyed the multiplying plot bunnies, still running loose all over Ponyville, and found himself looking longingly at the mad Pink One's wondrous bazooka. Surely that would be much faster than slashing them one at a time! "Say..."
"Nope!"
"But I haven't even asked..."
"You can't have it!" Pinkie nuzzled the anti-Sue bazooka. "It's mine! My... prrrecious! You'd just erase it anyway."
"I would not! Well, perhaps it is a thing that should not exist, but... I'd make an exception!"
"No you wouldn't!"
"Indeed, I would!"
"This eez worse than I've seen in some while!" fretted Photo Finish. On the security monitor, the street wavered, and another costume shop appeared. "We must help Pinkie. Just after I buy one of those fabulous Snap Shot costumes. Imagine, me as a stallion. Somepony actually made a costume of that. I must try one on right now."
"And I must buy a Concerto costume," droned Octavia. "The costumes at that shop are fabulous, yet affordable."
Pinkie and the Wolf turned to stare at the new shop. "That shouldn't have happened," said Pinkie, a bit worried. She slapped another party munition into the bazooka and fired, blasting the second shop away just like the first.
The Blank Wolf nodded sharply. "There's something else out there, spreading more nonsense. I'll sniff it out. Steel yourself, Pink One. This could be a foe beyond any of us!"
Suddenly, Pinkie's legs twitched and her tail shivered. "Cool, a Gilligan Cut!"
"Oh for the love of! ..."
And suddenly the Blank Wolf was just returning to the studio, gently setting a small, very pink foal on the carpet. An invisible studio audience laughed at the situation.
Pinkie's eyes grew big and watery. "Oh, she's adorable. I can't blast that with my bazooka!"
The foal hopped over to Pinkie. "Mom? Mom, mom... Not mom! Want mom!!" The studio camera shook in place, and everypony stumbled around, even though the ground wasn't really moving.
"It wouldn't work anyway," grumbled Snow Bound. "She's not a Marey Sue. She's..." He gritted his fangs and took a deep breath. "the foal of a draconequus and an alicorn. From millions of years in the future in another dimension. I think she is the concept of Comedy." He glanced at the security monitor. "That would explain the dentist office."
"Uh..." Pinkie scratched at her mane. "That sounds like pretty textbook Marey Sue to me." The studio audience laughed again.
"I'll send her home," said Maud unexpectedly. "Her parents can't come here. It would cause drama, not laughs."
The foal perked up right up. "Gramma!" With a glow of her cute little horn, she teleported straight to her, nuzzling against Maud's foreleg.
"Grandma loves you too, sweetie," deadpanned Maud. The studio audience went "Awwww." Maud headed towards the prop closet, with the foal riding on her back. "I'll just be a moment..."
-
The what-if machine flickered on, though only Shy, Cruelgriff, and Coffee Swirl were watching.
It now showed the human Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash hugging. Though Sunset looked unsure and ashamed in her body language.
"Goodbye Rainbow."
"Hey! I'll be back! I'm just gonna look for the native uses. Their family deserve to have them back."
"I...I know...good luck."
"Thanks!" The bus left with Rainbow on board to where they'd seen their human doubles headed years ago. Fluttershy and the others, having said their goodbyes already, waved her off as she went.
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5663321
It's a pain, yes, but I just hit F11 so I wouldn't hit the button again.
5663925
Oh yeah, right.
5663960
Right, silly me.
5663972
Not sure what's worse, the names, or the fact that I actually believe you.
5663988
Fair enough, but those sound ridiculous even by MLP standards.
5664084
Figured as much.
It's a joke. I did I thing. Laugh dammit.
Most definitely no.
Oh right.
Aw, pity, i could have made a lot of Borg jokes.
That doesn't make it much better.
No problem. But could I just make one teeny, tiny, small request? And no, I wouldn't like a glass of water, well, actually yes, i could use one right about now, but that's not the point. I think. What?
5664638
?????
5664667
What's confusing?
5664678
Your favor. Do you have any instant message programs?
5664703
I could use the site's PM system.
(I hate my reload button. It makes what should be a fun thing into a chore that I'm just tired of doing.)
Not surprised.
Doubt it.
And just what are you supposed to be?
That's the Pinkie we all know and love.
SignifYing and pRactice.
Capital K.
No semicolon ndded, period after enjoy.
Hi.
Wait, Rarity's shattered boulder was close to the rock farm?
Of course.
Bad move.
You.
Burn.
You are.
Fair enough.
That happened.
Oh boy.
I don't get it.
Nice.
Maud is harmless, Entropy is not.
I have.
Nice.
She has a point.
Capital I in it.
Poor Rarity.
That would either be a disaster, or hilarious.
This is nice.
That'd be a no.
One l in Fluttercruel.
Oh?
Ah.
Good thing she's willing forgive and forget.
Cute.
Thank you Logan.
Hm.
Indeed.
Heh.
AJ snorting: Her way of saying "Bullshit."
He?
Works for me.
Nice.
How'd YOU like to meet your Maker?
You and me both.
Agreed.
Oh?
Oh no...
Drat. This better end well for your sake.
Agreed. And no need to capitalize the s in said.
It's a trap.
The Unstoppable Juggernaut against the Immovable Blob, or Juggernaut alicorn against the Stone Wall Alicorn, Leo, I think he's called.
Eternal Night will lead to a slow death, but still death.
No, he wants Celestia back.
Definitely a trap.
If you call sentencing the world to a slow death via starvation good.
I call it bullshit.
Ooh, that moment.
Oh my god.
Eh?
Rainbow Dash. Sweet!
Guess simply being Celestia's student and having sun related colors, name and talent was enough to make things even worse for her when Nightmare Moon arrived.
Also, closing quotation mark before a baby dragon.
Nice.
Him.
This should be fun!
Guess deep down, Twilight does care about Cadence.
What the?
And cue the Circle of Life!
Lowercase u.
Since they're nocturnal, it's normal.
Oh boy.
Eh?
This is nice.
Opening quotation marks.
The Spark...
Plugging the machine in.
You're probably the only one who wants to see what's happening next in universe.
See?
You're trying to win a tug of war with an earth pony who used to be a rock farmer. Yeah, good luck with that.
Don't think that's what he means.
I see.
Dick move CS. Dick move.
NoPONY! I swear I'm gonna break my keyboard with the amount of times I've had to write this.
Oh, oh my.
More real than you realize.
Yeah.
TastE. No extra S.
So, they like to demonize.
Aye.
Did you just, reference that, no, nope, NOT saying that show's name.
Ouch. And LackEYs.
One apostrophe between Nightmare and s. Though it's the first time I've seen Fluttershy described as the dangerous one, but then again, she could probably convince both Everfree Ursas to help.
It will.
Sunset Shimmer and her friends looked at each other, nodded, and then something began to gather around them. It seemed to come from the Element medallions they bore, glowing and gathering, like a rainbow. It rose, swirled, and turned to crash down on Nightmare Moon and her followers.
The Nightmare reared and whinnied as she was enveloped in a rainbow whirlwind.
Twilight beside her whinnied once in shock, a whinny repeated by the gathered Night Guards behind her.
And when it cleared, Luna stood there on shaky legs. Luna as she had once been, long centuries before ever Nightmare Moon existed, once more a young filly. Behind her the Night Guard blinked at each other, normal pegasi once more.
It worked.
This is nice.
Yep.
Yep.
You were the big ka-pow.
Fair enough.
Poor Twilight, this has been an tiring experience for her.
To you too.
Eh?
Been a while, eh Red Gala?
You're very real.
Probaby.
Poor Red Gaa.
Luna...
That'd be the Blank Wolf's job, but I doubt she's here to do that even if it were her job, she'd just do it.
You're NOT an Insertion, you're very real.
Aye.
Yep.
Aye.
Hm.
It's early to bed THEN early to risel.
Fair enough.
Aye.
HA!
Hm.
So you say.
Bad idea.
He did what? How well did he fare?
HA!
Aye.
She cares little.
Error, does not compute.
Fair enough.
Indeed.
It'd probably have been more fair if they both took the same hoof.
Um...
I'll get my portable bunker.
She's got you there.
Whoah.
Oh yeah, when she beat you at Fluttercruel's cuteceañera.
Pretty much And since it's 7000, it should be PPPP7000 or 7K.
Nah, it's not alive.
Hm.
Cloud Kicker, 2 words. And alWAYs, just because AJ has a thick accent doesn't mean you can misspell words.
*chuckles* It probably is, yes.
I know.
Never lose that confidence Dash. Never.
How would Rarity get a sore throat from, oh.
OK, that is funny. And VERY Rainbow Dash.
Yeah, that'd be nice for them.
Correction. a BAD adult cartoon universe.
Daaaww....
How so? And me in this case, not meh.
You, make a good point.
Crusaders: ONE TIME! ONE TIME!
Technically, you did it on purpose once during the wedding invasion.
Sweetie Belle: Semantics!
It is.
Fair enough.
Indeed.
True, true.
Eeyup.
Fluttercruel does actually.
Indeed.
Yes, but she hasn't mastered her draconequus abilities to the point where she can do that.
Fair enough.
How so?
Hidden depths, fair enough. Detachment, isn't that what Nice did in Season 8?
Cool!
I suspect it's because your "father" is part griffon. Also, I usually imagine Fluttercruel's voice sounding halfway between Fluttershy and Rainbow's.
That, and she doesn't have a teacher, if she had more time, And a teacher, then she might eventually start to get the hang of it.
Oh?
I see.
So it seems.
Oh?
Oh boy.
It reminds you of YOUR Fluttershy?
That'd be a yes, and afraid OF me.
This is gonna be good.
Question mark not comma.
You seriously think you can win? And conquer, not conqueror.
Not wrong.
Exactly.
Must have been tough, to have all that power, and have it taken away and for her Element to just shatter like that.
Twilight'S plea.
THAT'S IT! Pick one spelling and stick with it, Griffin, Griffon, Gryphon, I don't care! I know this is a Round Robin, but still.
Ending quotation marks after guess.
Built in knives, all right.
Photo Finish...
HEH!
Pinkie Pie is best pony.
Blank Wolf x Pinkie Pie's bazooka is my new OTP.
You're having fun, aren't you kid?
Those 3 idiots.
Rainbow Dash x Minuette is my new NEW OTP.
Pinkie x Snow Bound is my new new NEW OTP.
You OK there Pink?
HAH!
(Gonna have to continue in new comment.)
She is cute.
MY SIDES!
That is adorable, I can imagine the foal doing that to the real Entropy and her not being able to bring herself to do anything due to the sheer cuteness of the kid, which of course Havoc find hilarious, leading to him getting erased, and him willing himself back into existence, making the kid giggle.
This is a nice end. Also, native us, not uses.
(FINALLY got this done, which took longer than you'd think due to that goddamn reload button of mine f*cking up. In the meantime, this is ShadowLDrago, signing off.)
5665652
"No. I only have enough power recovered for a short run before I need to shut down again. How'd you like the world where insectoid aliens turned Trixie into a living suicide bomber?"
How'd YOU like to meet your Maker?
Based on fanfic on this very site that got 'recommended' multiple times.
5665642
Crusaders: ONE TIME! ONE TIME!
Technically, you did it on purpose once during the wedding invasion.
Sweetie Belle: Semantics!
HA HA HA!
5665652
Sweetie asked that innocently, oh, and the chapter 17 of the variety show is in progress.
5665652
If you feel like writing something.
5668483
You can't be serious.
5668558
Glad to make someone laugh.
5668577
Cool.
5668578
Maybe.
5665652
While it is irrgrammatical, I'm fairly certain it's also right. It's a fairly common intentional "error."
Wow. My favorite author is a Chuggaaconroy and a Runaway Guys fan. As if I didn't like you enough already