Apinkalypse

by StageQuill

In Which Pinkie Pie Makes a Discovery

The sun shone on ponyville, reflecting off of the neon citizens big, bright eyes and warming their coats. A yellow pegasus helped a family of ducks across the street. A recently-crowned princess stuck her head out of the library window, actually taking her eyes off of her work for the first time that day. A bright pink, party-loving pony put on aviation goggles and skating pads.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Pinkie yelled as jumped out of her window. Somepony who didn't know the brightly colored earth pony might wonder why she would do something like that, but those who knew her would know her reason. She just felt like it.

Pinkie hit a tree and bounced off like a pink, pony-shaped rubber ball. She was knocked into another tree, but didn't bounce off this time. She fit through a small narrow space and fell in. She closed her eyes for the impact, but didn't hit the roots. Her blue eyes flew open in the darkness. It was actually fun. She grinned in anticipation, falling feet first. She had to wait for a while. She just kept falling... And falling... And falling.... The wind rushed by her head, forcing her mane up above her ears.

She hit the ground, surprisingly softly. Light flooded a huge underground cavern, blinding her for a moment. Once she blinked the light out of her eyes and saw where she was, however, her excitement kicked in.

"Ooh!" Pinkie squealed. She hopped around on the gem-encrusted floor, taking it all in. "A secret cave!" She inspected the jewels on the walls and floor more closely, admiring their unique patterns and shapes. "Rarity would love this!"

Pinkie hopped over to a small pool, surrounded by grass, out of place in a jewelled cave. "And Fluttershy could bring her animals here!" Pinkie jumped so high she almost hit the ceiling. "Rainbow Dash-" She went back to the ground and jumped again "Would love" jump "This ceiling!" She landed. "Rainbow could fly all over!"

Pinkie rolled over a small fireplace, a fireplace a scholarly pony would recognize a a place for burning incense or sacrifices. Pinkie, however, was not a scholar. The fireplace was, to Pinkie, perfect for other things. "Ooh! There's even a stove so we can have a PAR-TAY! AJ could make apples here!" Pinkie drooled at the prospect of her friends delicious baked apples. Then she saw the altar. An old-looking book sat squarely on some sort of pulpit. Pinkie ran and picked it up. She ran her hooves over it and smelled the binding.

"A book! Twilight would loveloveLOVE this BOOK!" Pinkie jumped to the chute where she'd come in, carrying the book with her. "Oh, I have to tell my friends about this place!"

Feeling even more excited than usual (Hard to do, for Pinkie), the squealing mare jumped up and up and up. And up.

"Help!" She squeaked as she hit the highest point in her jump, not reaching near the top. "Help!" Pinkie couldn't clear the top, and it was dark in the chute. "In here!" Pinkie called, at the top of her shrill voice. "In the tree!"

In the little circle of light that was the hole in the hollow tree's trunk, Pinkie finally saw the silhouette of a mare's face.

"Pinkie?" Twilight said. "Where are you?"

"Down here!" Pinkie yelled. "In a secret passageway under the tree!"

Twilight's horn lit up, and illuminated Pinkie... But not the rest of the pitch-black passage. Twilight gasped. "Wow, Pinkie Pie. That's impressive." Twilight levitated Pinkie out of the tree with her horn. "What's that you're holding?" She asked, as the book came into view.

"A book! I got it because I know you like books, so I saw this book and was like, 'A book! Twilight loves boOKS!" Pinkie screamed the last syllable, and so did Twilight. When the book came into contact with sunlight, it burst into flames, then disintegrated, with particles floating around Twilight's horn. Twilight's horn began to shoot out fireworks.

"Pinkie, WHAT DID YOU DO?" Twilight shouted. Her extremely powerful alicorn's horn pulled her in circles. Other ponies in the street stopped to stare. Most of them backed off slowly. Soon, the street was empty, all but one.

"Pinkie, darling!" A white pony with a beautifully curled purple mane trotted out of the crowd. "What is the matter?" Rarity stared at Twilight's horn, and Pinkie's astonished expression. "Oh, dear."

Pinkie looked on, slackjawed. She gulped, then began to prattle excitedly, eyes wide with fear and bouncing around the other two mares.

"I fell into the tree then saw all these things and was like, 'Woah! cool things!' and then I saw a book and was like, 'Woah! Twilight loves books' and then I picked it up and it was tingly and felt funny!" Pinkie giggled despite herself. "So then I took it out and went the light hit it it went KLABOOSH! only without any noise! Could you imagine not making noise? Then- What?" The two mares' jaws suddenly dropped in unison, gazing over pinkie's head. She looked behind her.

"PRINcess Celestia!" Pinkie froze in midleap. She and Rarity bowed. Pinkie's heart raced at the sight of Princess Celestia.

"Pinkie Pie." Princess Celestia looked sternly at the pink mare. "Do you know what you just did?" Celestia's tone was serene, but strained. Pinkie nodded.

"Yep!"

Celestia looked shocked, as if Pinkie had committed a crime. Her eyes began to blaze. A shiver ran up Twilight's spine.

"I exploded a book!" Pinkie grinned, not noticing how tense Princess Celestia had gotten.

Celestia relaxed and sighed.

"Pinkamina Diane Pie." Princess Celestia said. "That was no ordinary book. That was the book that corrupted King Sombra and Nightmare Moon."

Twilight and Pinkie paled, while the already-snow-white Rarity fainted. She looked up an instant later. "Oh, dear." She brightened. "But Pinkie destroyed it, Right?"

"No, Rarity. I'm afraid she released the spirit within it." Celestia shook her head sadly. Pinkie's ears drooped.

"WHAT? PINKIE!" Twilight howled in dismay. She attacked the particles circling her horn, and the fireworks still yanking her head around. She caught a handful, but the rest continued to circle. "What in the name of Equestria are they doing? Eating my magic?" Twilight paled further. "Corrupting me?"

"Almost, Twilight Sparkle. They are testing your magic, absorbing it, but not depleting your own supply." Celestia touched her horn to Twilight's and the particles vanished. Twilight relaxed, no longer being pulled around by her horn, and massaged her aching neck. "But as long as they remain free, an Apocalypse will come nearer and nearer to the universe, and every other universe." Celestia's tone was edged with sorrow and ripping with concern. "The elements of harmony are our only hope." Celestia sighed. "Oh, Pinkie Pie.."

That was the only rebuke Twilight had ever heard her utter. Pinkie hung her head, her mane flattening. Twilight and Rarity gasped.

"Pinkie, no! If you stop laughing, your element won't do any good!" Twilight exclaimed, taking Pinkie's hoof. "It's not your fault! I would have done the same thing!"

Pinkie looked up. "But I'm the one who did it." tears dripped down her cheeks, not in faucet mode yet.

"Oh, darling" Rarity patted Pinkie's mane. "Anypony would do the same. I'm positive NOpony will blame you. Nopony." Rarity whispered in her friend's ear, "And besides, your mane looks horrendous like this." Rarity spoke louder. "Why don't you go arrange an 'Elements of Harmony Going on a Quest to Save the World' Party?" Pinkie managed a tiny smile, but Rarity could see even a party wouldn't cheer her guilt-ridden friend that quickly.

"Pinkie Pie." Princess Celestia reached out her hoof and raised Pinkie's chin to look her in the eye. "You owe it to the universe to keep laughing. Without laughter, you will never reverse the book's effects." Celestia- Smiled. "And Pinkie Pie, most ponies would have looked inside and been overtaken by the evil in that book. If that had happened, you would have become a Nightmare Moon or King Sombra. In that case, Equestria would fall much more surely without the Element of Laughter. You did much better than anypony before you. Now to go on a final quest, to destroy the spirit, and Equestria just may be safe forever." Celestia stroked Pinkie's mane, almost like a mother stroking her foal. "You can do it, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie looked into Celestia's deep magenta eyes, full of millenia of sorrow, fear, joy and love. She gulped. And grinned.

"Rarity, what were you saying about an 'Elements of Harmony Going on a Quest to Save the World' Party?"

Author's Note:

So, comments? I love comments. And feedback.

If you don't like it, could you tell me why so I can fix it? If you do like it, can you tell me why so I can keep doing it?

Thanks!

Comments

[defunct321]

Reasons why it is bad: It is too short for what appears to be an epic/hilarious adventure type fic. You tell way too much as opposed to show. You oughta have a bit more, say the point right before they begin the journey, done before publishing. There isn't really anything that good in it, but then the flaws aren't that big of a deal either in my opinion. I'll reserve my like/dislike until you have more done.

[x0jackie0x]

It feels like it almost falls a bit short, but the end isn't abrupt. I was able to read on through the second chapter without feeling too much of a distraction. :3

You captured Pinkie rather well in my opinion, but there is so much focus on her that the others feel a little flat. Pretty much, I only know its them talking because you say it is.

Some points feel a bit rushed while others are paced right. Kind of difficult to pinpoint exactly where.

Other than that, the basic structure is fine, yet there is some missing punctuation and a couple of typos hanging around. Still, a good read. I'm looking forward to more. <3

Now, for the 'authors helping authors' group, would you mind if you review my fic, 'You Never Know'? Its under the 'more than 30k words' group.