Shard: The Dark King Returns

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Waiting It Out - Pinkie Tells Her Tale

The five ponies sat in the shelter they had found, watching the rain and hail. They sat close to the fire, enjoying the warmth. The worst of the rain, ice and wind were kept out, but there was still a chill in the air. Although none would admit it, they chill the five felt was not entirely related to the weather.

Things were not all bad though. It turned out that Rarity had brought marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.

"Well we have a s'mores," she said, "and we have a lovely campfire. We may as well tell some stories while we wait for Dash to return."

"You really think that she'll be okay?" Fluttershy asked, her wings twitching as she shifted.

"Now don't you worry 'bout her," Applejack said, placing a hoof gently on the batpony's side. "That girl tends to get in a fight nearly every day tryin' to 'protect Ponyville.' If anypony can whoop those things and get back to us, it's her."

"I hope so."

"Getting back to stories," Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie, "I'm kind of curious about yours. How does a changeling end up working at a bakery in a small town?"

"It's a long story," Pinkie Pie replied, "and not very interesting."

"I like stories, long or short. As for interesting, I would say it is just because this is something that I have never seen or heard before. Please?"

Pinkie looked at Twilight and started to giggle.

"Okay, okay. But only because you look so cute when you beg like that."

She reached out to grab some more marshmallows, setting them on the stick to toast them. Once she had them going, she started to talk.

"It doesn't start with my arrival in Ponyville though. It starts with when I was a baby. My pa was heading back to the rock farm when he heard something. When he went to find out what it was he found me.

"Pa knew what I was, but didn't know anything about changelings. As such, he wasn't sure what to do about me. On one hoof, he was worried that if he messed with me, my family wouldn't know where I was or something. On the other, I was still a living creature that looked a lot like a pony, and he didn't feel right leaving out there alone.

"It wasn't until I was older that I learned about the whole changeling hive thing. Most likely I was abandoned because I look different from most of the others. A 'genetic anomaly' I think they called it. Because I was different, the other changelings would have thought that I wouldn't survive and probably be a danger to the hive. As such, they took me far away from where they were and left me somewhere to...well... whatever nature would do with me I guess."

Pinkie Pie stopped and took a deep breath. She rubbed at her eyes, wiping the tears away with a sniff. She ate one of the s'mores and started on some fresh marshmallows.

"Pa didn't know anything about hives, or genetics, or anything like that. He was happy with his simple life as a rock farmer. In the end, he saw a living creature that needed help. So he took me home where he showed me to Ma -- who was pregnant -- and my older sister.

"Things were fine at first, then I started to get sick. Ma and Pa didn't know why. I had been eating fine at first, but then I couldn't keep anything down. The doctors didn't know what to do since I wasn't a pony. Ma and Pa tried everything they could think of, but days passed and I got weaker and weaker..."

The other four ponies leaned in closer toward Pinkie Pie, finding themselves entranced by the story.

"It reached the point where it was so bad that they were afraid I wouldn't make it through the night. They took turns staying up with me, doing everything they could. Ma and Pa were scared they were going to lose me. Ma even told me that she felt like she was going to lose one of her own daughters.

"Then in the morning I was fine. My folks couldn't figure out what happened, but Pa came in to check on me and found me sleeping curled up and sleeping against Ma who had fallen asleep. When he woke us up, I was happy, healthy and hyper. They had no idea what happened. After learning a lot more about changelings, I think I know though."

"Love," Twilight said. "You needed love to survive but hadn't been getting it. Then they came to think of you and love you as their own daughter, so you got what you needed."

Pinkie Pie nodded.

"After that I was pretty much like a normal pony. I had a loving family, including my parents and sisters. I learned to change forms and eventually came up with the one you see now. I even learned to cook. That was one of my favorite things to do. Ma's food was always so good. She said it was because she always put plenty of love into it. 'Good food always had to be made with love.'

"It turned out it was truer for me then she realized. When I make something like a cake or muffins, ponies can enjoy it so much that they give off a small amount of love without realizing it."

"Wait," Applejack interrupted. "You mean to say that you bake because ponies love your cooking and you can feed off it?"

"I thought you knew," Pinkie Pie responded, looking at her friend.

"I... I guess I did in a way." She looked toward the fire. "I guess I just never really thought about it much 'til you actually said it."

"It's pretty nice. Show ponies some generosity and friendship, and they give off happiness and joy that I can feed off without having to hurt them."

"Well don't stop now," Rarity stated. "You have told us all but how you came to work at Sugarcube Corner."

"You don't know?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well not entirely," Rarity admitted. "I mean I just came in one morning and there she was working for the Cakes."

"A couple years ago," Pinkie continued, "I was looking for a job. I had applied to some places closer to my family home, but none of them wanted to hire me because of what I was. My folks thought it would be better if I was honest about it instead of trying to hide it. Figured I couldn't hide it forever, and if ponies found out that I was hiding it, they would think that I was spying on them.

"Unfortunately, most of the ponies I met with were afraid of me just because I was a changeling and worried that I was going to steal their love from them in their sleep or something."

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy mumbled. "I know what it's like to be different."

"Thanks" Pinkie replied with a smile, "but it's okay. I know the kind of stories of my kind that are told.

"Anyway, Mr. and Mrs. Cake admitted that they were a little uncertain, but gave me a chance. They helped me fill out the paperwork so I could work there and let me stay in the spare room that made the cupcake above their bakery. From there, I met other ponies and eventually, they accepted me."

"You forgot about the official letter of citizenship from Princess Temporal."

Rainbow Dash gave her wings a flick and her mane a shake as she stepped into the shelter. She looked around with one eye, the other swollen shut and discolored. The wide grin she gave the group showed a missing tooth. The pegasus grabbed several marshmallows and tossed them into her mouth.

"You're okay!" Fluttershy shouted, leaping to give Rainbow Dash a hug.

"Ow," Dash cried out as she was squeezed. "Easy there."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's alright." The pegasus gave the batpony a gentle pat. "Just a couple of bruises and scrapes. Nothing serious."

"See?" Applejack said with a grin. "I told you Rainbow Dash could whoop those things."

"Uh..." Rainbow Dash shifted. "Not so much. Those things could hit pretty hard, but fighting back was like trying to punch pudding. That and the fact there were four of them made it worse. Ended up having to fly to get away from them. Good news is they didn't just sprout wings and fly after me. Bad news is they didn't run over the edge of the cliff so they're still back there."

"Great," Twilight groaned. "So if we want to go back the way we came, we have to find our way across a chasm where a bridge used to be, escape four weird shadow pony creatures, make our way back up out of the valley, and somehow get past the fallen trees blocking the path." She rubbed at her forehead.

"Don't worry Twilight," Rarity said. "I'm sure that once we reach the castle we'll be able to find another way back to Ponyville."

"In the meantime," Rainbow Dash added with a grin, "how about I tell you a proper campfire story while we wait for the storm to pass? Like the story of... The Headless Horse!"

Comments

[UfUnNyF1r3nd]

hopely threre is moar!!!!!!!

[AmethynniaTheDragon]

This makes so much sense for Pinkie!
So far I have really no complaints about this story, good work!