Castlemania: Aria of Pinkie

by FullMetalFurbee

A Disappointing Adventure

Various growls and shrieks emanated from the thick underbrush of the forest. Pinkie Pie laughed at the fact that the woods used to incite so much fear. Ever since she'd stumbled upon the castle, Everfree Forest turned into Everfree snore-fest. Blissfully immune to the foreboding atmosphere, she hummed happily as she traipsed through the darkly lit path. What kind of powers would she find today? What kind of baddies lurked in the shadows? The anticipation was killing her.

Understandably, the entrance to the cryptic castle was hidden deep within the murk of the forest, well past Zecora's hut. Only a desiccated wooden door under a stone outcropping separated the familiar world she knew from the fantastical one of ghosts and ghouls. All manner of scary monsters and legendary creatures inhabited the castle. Why? She didn't know. It didn't really matter. All she cared about was that sometimes when she kicked the monsters' butts, they gave her awesome powers. Powers that made her feel mightier than Iron Will. Powers that helped her float in the air when she happily bounced along. Powers that were rip-offs, because they didn't do anything. Those particular varieties were lame.

True indeed, her powers rendered the forest fauna harmless. However, she made extra sure not to accidentally wander through any patches of Poison Joke flowers. They were still hazardous - at least until she found a power that made her immune to their intoxicating effects. It wasn't difficult to navigate away from the maliciously beautiful flowers.

Now with any potential peril behind her, Pinkie was free to drop her guard and set the pace at full speed ahead. Her stream of consciousness quickly began to corkscrew. Gosh, today sure is pretty! My powers make me feel funny. Did I leave the oven on at the Cake's? Should I be in school? That stick sure is interesting. Oh look there's Fluttershy. I should make a bunch of copy-Pinkies again. Wait a minute, Fluttershy!?

Sure enough, Fluttershy sat just off the path, probing a nearby bush for ripe berries.

“Fluttershy!” Pinkie hollered.

The poor pegasus yelped and whipped around, eyes wide with terror.

“It's just me, silly! Don't be so scared!” laughed Pinkie.

Fluttershy sighed in relief. She slowly took control of her rapid heartbeat and sat back down.
“Good heavens Pinkie Pie, please don't shout like that. Especially in the Everfree Forest.”

Slightly insulted, Pinkie found nothing out of order with her verbal conduct. She shrugged. “I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I was just happy to see you. What are you doing out here all by yourself anyway?”

“Well,” Fluttershy explained, “Angel picked today to be an exceptionally picky eater. He keeps swatting away everything I offer him. I'm running out of china.”

“Ooooh! So, you came all the way out here just to pick berries?”

Fluttershy sighed again, this time with tedium. “Yes. Angel showed me a picture of what he wants in my cookbook, and it said the berries only grow way out here.”

“Hmm...” Pinkie put a hoof to her chin, deep in thought. “Hey! I know! Why don't you come with me! I'm going to a super cool place I found that has lots of rare food in it!”

Fluttershy seemed to perk up a bit. “Really? Where?”

“It's just a little bit farther down the path! It's a huuuuge old castle! I found it a few days ago. There's lots of secret passageways and pretty sculptures and all sorts of stuff!”

“Oh, that sounds dangerous,” said Fluttershy, deflating again.

“Well, there are a lot of big mean monsters inside, but that's okay because I have my powers to protect us.”

None of Pinkie's words reassured her. Half of them didn't make any sense. “W-what? Powers?”

Pinkie nodded quickly. Her vigor was admirable. “Yeah! Sometimes when I beat a bad guy, a funny glowy orb comes out and I absorb it! Some of them are red, and blue, and yellow. They give me powers!”

Fluttershy shook her head a little. “Pinkie, did you wander into some Poison Joke?”

Pinkie laughed. “No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't fall for that a fourth time. Come on. Just come with me. I wanna show you the castle. Besides, there is really really rare food in there!”

“Oh, Celestia...” Throwing the slightest iota of logic out the window, Fluttershy hesitantly agreed to follow her eccentric friend. They trotted along uninterrupted for about half a mile. Pinkie bounced and hummed upbeat melodies while Fluttershy cringed fearfully at every unseen stimulus. At long last, the two arrived at the door. Or rather, at some planks of wood bound by a tight vine.

“I don't like this,” voiced Fluttershy quietly.

Pinkie motioned with her hoof that it was no big deal. “Come ooooon. Where's your sense of adventure?”

“I... I don't...”

“I'll protect us. It'll be fine. Here, I'll even go first!” offered the boisterous Pinkie.

How kind of you, thought Fluttershy.

The area certainly didn't look like a castle. There was nothing above the randomly placed door except a steep rocky incline with more thick brush. It looked like typical forest topography. Yet, through the raggedy door lay quite an intriguing tunnel. Its walls were a light colored stone coated with a layer of glistening moss. The dull roar of waterfalls echoed faintly in the distance.

“I thought you said this was a castle,” said Fluttershy incredulously.

“It is! Well, the upper part is. I guess this used to be a gigantic cellar or something. Somepony must have seriously missed their Spring cleaning.”

The companions pressed on through the slippery tunnel until they emerged into a vast, luminous cavern. After another few minutes of silently observing the geology, Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to explode. “Do you wanna see my powers now? Huh? Huh? HUH?”

Fluttershy still failed to comprehend what her friend was talking about. “Um, sure. Okay Pinkie.”

“Great! Alright! Let's see, which one to show you first...Ooh! I know!”

The pink pony's eyes flashed a deep scarlet, and the ground under their feet began to quake with a sizable magnitude.

“What's going on?” cried Fluttershy in dismay.

Pinkie produced some kind of ancient book and scanned the pages. “This one is my favorite! It's called uh... Bone Ark!”

The rock floor of the cavern cracked and continued to split violently until a wide fissure streaked the ground. The ponies heard scraping noises originating from within the pit. Peering inside, they were greeted by two skeleton ponies, animated by an ancient magic. The skeletons huffed and puffed as they clawed their way up the rock face. As the first one reached the precipice and climbed out, he extended a bony hoof to assist his comrade. Skeleton Two had a great deal more difficulty escaping the hole. The feeble underlings made quite a show of the whole process. Their emphasis soon proved necessary, as it appeared they were tugging up an object. After an excessive amount of time, they somehow managed to surface their cargo - a beautiful double-seated chariot composed of pearly white bone. Its ornate designs looked meticulously hoof carved.

A terrified Fluttershy cowered behind a rock. She didn't care how hard those skeletons had to work to bring that thing up. They were skeletons. Monsters. Monsters she could deal without.

The dead servants hefted the chariot up to their shoulders. Pinkie sprang into the air with glee and landed right in place on the first seat. “Come on, slowpoke! Get a move on!” she cajoled.

“Is it safe? I - I'm really not comfortable with this,” squeaked Fluttershy.

“Of course it's safe!” retorted Pinkie. “I'll tell them to move slowly. Now get up here! It's relaxing!”

Fluttershy cautiously crept out from her hiding place. She gazed at the patient monsters, then up at Pinkie. She wondered if her friend's every decision was stalked by insanity. It was likely. She finally crawled up onto the chariot and whimpered with discontent as she took her place behind Pinkie.

“That's the spirit! Now we can ride in style! Let's go, boys!” shouted Pinkie in elation.

The pawns marched. They carried a perfect rhythm as they transported their living cargo through the disused cistern. Pinkie pondered on which wing of the castle she should show Fluttershy first. There were so many! There was the fighting arena with lots of strong bad guys, the top floor with the fancy statues and the throne room, and even that really funny place where everything was gray and time didn't work right. So many places...

“I got it!” screamed Pinkie.

Fluttershy jumped and nearly fell off the chariot. “W-what?”

“I know where we should go first! Jean Pierre, Federico, take us to the Dance Hall!”

“They have names now?” Fluttershy groaned.

The skeletons obeyed Pinkie's command and adjusted course.

“So, wanna see more of my powers?” pushed Pinkie.

“Um, I'm good, thanks,” said Fluttershy.

“Nonsense. Watch this one!” She reared her hoof up, then flung it forward like she was pitching a ball. “Hiyah!” Instantly the spot where she'd pointed erupted in flame, sending a swirling crimson pillar high into the air. The fire blazed in a straight line, sending a solid wall of flames in the direction of Pinkie's pointing. It finally snuffed out after reaching a mossy wall. “I got that from a... Biphron!” said Pinkie, looking at her book again. “Basically he was a really super creepy old hooded pony that just paced back and forth with a lantern. He tried to throw fireballs at me and it was a really close call, but I defeated him and the glowy orb came out and now I can use fire!”

Fluttershy was regretting her decision to follow Pinkie more and more with every passing second. “That's great, really. But listen, Pinkie? I-I think I'd really like to go home now. I've seen enough.”

Her friend turned to look at her with the most disheartened frown she'd ever seen. “Awwww! Are you sure...? What about the rare food?”

“No, really, it's okay...” conceded Fluttershy. “I'd really rather just go home. If that's okay with you.”

Pinkie sighed dramatically and slumped down in her seat. “Fiiiiiine. If you insist. Jeez Fluttershy, you can be a real party pooper sometimes. I really wanted to show you the Dance Hall.”

“S-sorry...” whispered the pegasus.

“Oh, I suppose it's okay,” consoled Pinkie. “I just wanted you to see how super awesome-tacular this place and my powers are. Oh well. You can always come back tomorrow.”

“Yes, so, can we go home now? Please?”

“Yep!” she shouted. “Jean Pierre, Federico, chop chop! Let's get Fluttershy home. We'll have to continue the adventure tomorrow.”

Comments

[Dark-Gold-J]

I must ask is this a pinkshy story?

[FullMetalFurbee]

3162436 Not so, good sir.

[Dark-Gold-J]

3162475 O

But hey it's your story

[FullMetalFurbee]

3162498 I hope you can still find enjoyment in it!