Chapter Four
Ditzy shot into the air, turning about in a slow arc, not even bothering to try to get her eyes under control. She searched for any telltale sign of pink, finding some but not the right shade in the mane, tail or coat. “Oh, this is getting me nowhere!” she cried out, throwing her forelegs up in frustration.
After another minute, Ditzy floated down, landing on the street. She galloped over to Daisy as the skittish mare was stumbling away from a parasprite. “Daisy!” she cried out. “Daisy, wait I-” She stopped as Daisy turned and galloped off at full speed, turning in a sharp arc and going back around the street. She looked over her shoulder at the parasprite, only for it to cough up another one of its kind right onto her muzzle.
Ditzy stood there as the newborn parasprite sprouted wings, detached itself from her face and flew off, cooing. “You are so lucky I'm the Element of Kindness right now.” She spun around so her body faced the general direction of her sight. She took a deep breath before shouting, “Attention everypony!” at the top of her lungs. She spread her wings and hopped up, hovering a few meters on the ground. She scrunched her muzzle up and focused, projecting all of her 'mom voice' into it. “Attention, everypony!” she yelled.
There was momentary glee as all those on the street stopped and turned to her. Ditzy quickly snapped back to the matter at hoof. “I need help finding Pinkie Pie.” A trio of parasprites flew by her, one eye trailing after them. “She seems to know something about these things, like their name. And she wants a banjo!”
Coconut spoke up. “Dudette, you are totally harshing our buzzes!” He held up a hoof and waved it about at a half-dozen of the little blobs hovering around his head, another half-dozen hovering around his back and his lunch balanced there. “They don't seem too bad to me, and they're so adorable!” One of the parasprites landed on his upturned toe and he grinned. “Aww, you're so, like, adorable!”
Three of the parasprites suddenly dove, flying under the plate and upending it, tossing a lilac sandwich and carton of hay fries into the air. Before Coconut could do anything, the whole dozen of them converged on his lunch, ripping the sandwich apart and eating the hay fries. Within a minute, their number doubled, each one shooting off in a different direction.
Ditzy flew over to Coconut. “See?” She spun around, locking an eye with each of the ponies on the street. “We need to spread out and find Pinkie Pie as soon as possible!”
Daisy held a foreleg to her forehead. “We're doomed!' she cried out, keeling back and landing on her back, legs sticking straight into the air. Within seconds, Coconut cantered back, nickering and whinnying before spinning around into a full-fledged gallop. Others soon galloped off, adding their screams and the sounds of their hooves to a cacophony of chaos.
Ditzy floated there as the ponies scattered, the parasprites tossed about in their wake. One eye focused squarely on Daisy as she lay there, face a rictus of terror. “You are so lucky I'm the Element of Kindness.” Motion caught one eye and she looked up as a yellow-coated pegasus with an electric-blue mane descended. A sigh of relief escaped her as she slowly descended, head whipping about. “Raindrops!” she cried out. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you!”
Raindrops kicked her forelegs out, touching down. She looked around at the parasprites and the panicking population. “What the hay is going on?” She looked to Ditzy, but her gaze was drawn by the parasprites buzzing about her head. “And what the hay are these?” she asked, waving a foreleg about at them.
Ditzy sucked in a breath. “They're called parasprites. They eat food, spit up more of them and they eat more food along with the original ones. I think they're from the Everfree Forest and...” Her voice trailed off. “Oh, sweet Luna!” She reached out and grabbed Raindrops by the shoulders, shaking her about. “Dinky and Trixie are still back at the post office!”
Raindrops' eyes swam about from Ditzy's shaking. She grunted before shrugging her off. “Ditzy, Ditzy!” she shouted. She leaned in, eyebrows narrowing. “Get a hold of yourself, Ditzy. No amount of panic is gonna help.” The pegasus waited for her friend to calm down. “Okay, now they're parasprites? What else?” She pointed up at the sky. “I heard you shouting about Pinkie Pie. What's she got to do with these things?”
“She knows their names,” Ditzy replied. “She acted with disgust at them and headed off to get a banjo.” She held up a foreleg. “And no, I have no clue why she wants a banjo. Just that she does and galloped down an alley and disappeared.” She looked behind her shoulder, spinning around in midair. “Oh, my muffin...” She stopped and looked to Raindrops. “She, Trixie and Silver Script are back at the post office.” Her breathing increased slightly. “I trust Trixie and Silver Script is the best boss I could have, but those things eat and puke up more of them and most of my cupboards are bare and I just don't know what'll go wrong next!” She landed on the ground, eyes glittering, chest and barrel heaving.
A pair of strong forelegs wrapped around Ditzy, squeezing her gently. “Don't worry,” Raindrops said. “It'll be all right. We'll get rid of these things. And I may rag on Trixie, but when the chips are down she'll pull through” She let go and locked onto one of Ditzy's eyes. “Now... you're sure about Pinkie? Seems pretty random, even for her. A banjo?" She let out a nervous chuckle. "Maybe she wants to throw a parade for them."
Ditzy's right and left eyes both wandered a bit, her left eye finally locking onto Raindrops. "Like I said, she knows their name, Raindrops. And she didn't have a look of welcome on her muzzle." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can feel it. She's the key to getting rid of them." A rueful smile crossed her muzzle. "And I know what it's like to be ignored like that."
Raindrops' throat bobbed a bit. "Okay, good points." She threw her forelegs up. "Not like I've got a better idea." She looked around at the panicking populace, then at Daisy as she lay there. “Lemme guess, she did her thing and everypony else went nuts?”
“How'd you know?”
A bark of laughter escaped Raindrops. “Lucky guess.” She looked around. “Okay, so Pinkie's looking for musical instruments. What's the best source for them?” She suddenly spread her wings out and shook her body, sending several parasprites flying off. “Shoo!”
Ditzy rubbed her chin before striking a hoof against the dirt. “Lyra and Bonbon's apartment!” she cried out. “Lyra's got a number of instruments, and I bet she'll be the first place Pinkie hits!” She spread her wings and hopped into the air, but paused for a second. “Wait, shouldn't we get more ponies involved in this? Maybe we should tell Mayor Scroll about this.”
Raindrops cocked her head to the side. “Why? So she can give some dumb speech and do nothing else?”
There was silence from Ditzy before her head drooped. “Okay, okay. But what about Cheerilee or Carrot Top? Or anypony else?” The street was quieter, with the occasional pony about, parasprites swarming about and Daisy still on the ground. Several homes and businesses had been locked up, windows and doors closed, some barred with impromptu barriers.
Raindrops shook her head. “Speed's of the essence right now, Ditzy.” She jumped into the air and spun around. “I'll head for Bonbon and Lyra's apartment over the Confectionarium. Pinkie's bound to show up there. You circle around and keep both eyes peeled for her.” And with that, she shot off into the air and down the street, turning at the nearest intersection.
Ditzy spared a glance back, her mind flying towards the post office, her best friend and her daughter. “I hope she's all right...” she mumbled before flying off, one eye pointing left and the other right.
The parasprites struggled against the telekinetic field surrounding them, but they were slowly forced down into a large mail bag. The buzzing of their wings created a palpable breeze, but it merely stirred Trixie's mane as she stood over them, her horn glowing brightly. The mouth of the bag closed and a length of string tied itself around in a knot. The entire squirming mass floated over, joining two others on the floor of the post office.
Trixie's legs wobbled, but she kept herself upright. “Okay, piece of cake.” She looked to Dinky, standing by her side. “Dinky, thanks.” She reached out and mussed Dinky's sweat-soaked mane. “Couldn't have done it without you.” A grunt from behind caught her attention. “Nor without you, Silver Script,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Silver Script trotted up besides the two unicorns. His baseball bat was gripped in his muzzle, the bat slick with squashed parasprites. He spat it out onto the wooden floor and glared at the three bags. “Thanks, Trixie.” He gestured to the bags. “So, what do we do with them?”
Trixie shrugged, wobbling slightly. “I'll figure that out once we've gotten the rest of them out of Ponyville.” She looked to the door. “Hopefully Ditzy has a handle on the situation.” She moved forward, but stopped as Dinky moved with her. “Kiddo?”
Dinky looked up at Trixie, her lower lip jutting out. “You need help, Miss Trixie, and Momma needs help too. So I'm gonna help!”
Trixie's eyes shifted back and forth. She looked to Silver Script, then back to Dinky with a grin pasted on her face. “Oh, but Silver Script needs your help, my assistant!” She rose to her hind legs, her cape fluttering out behind her. “Only the greatest and most powerful assistants can help him sweep the post office for any of the little buggers we missed!”
Dinky's eyes grew twice their size. “Really?”
Trixie looked to Silver Script and waved a foreleg around in a circle. “Really. Right, Silver Script?”
Silver Script's eyebrows furrowed. He waved a wing at Trixie, motioning to the service counter with his head. He turned and walked back around the counter. He waited for Trixie to join him before speaking. “Okay, what gives?”
Trixie sighed. “I am telling the truth, Silver.” She rolled her head around, her eyes darting about. “I'm not sure we got all these little buggers, so a more thorough sweep would be good.” She let out a breath and kicked at the floor. “And... I just don't want Dinky out there in this mess.”
Silver Script's muzzle twitched. “I thought you liked her.”
Trixie's eyes wandered back to the foal who stood by the door. “I do. That's why I don't want her to go with me. See her mane?” At Silver Script's nod she continued. “She's already pushed herself hard with these things. I don't want her going over the edge and overchanneling at so young an age.”
Silver Script looked Trixie over. “And you're much better?” he said, snorting.
Trixie nodded. “I am.” She smirked. “Element of Magic, personal student of Princess Luna and an adult with a lot of years of training.” The smirk vanished from her face. “And on the extremely low chance that anything happened to her while helping me, not only would Ditzy never forgive myself, I would never forgive myself.”
Silver Script nodded. He reached out with a wing and patted Trixie on her shoulder. “You know, you may be a jerk sometimes - okay, a lot of times - but you're all right the other times, Trixie.” He hopped back over the counter. “Okay, Dinky. Let's do one more look around the place while Trixie goes off to help your mother, all right?” He shepherded Dinky away from the door and to the stairs leading to the Doo's apartment.
Dinky stopped and looked to Trixie. “You'll be all right, Miss Trixie?”
Trixie nodded to the young unicorn. “Ditzy has my back, so I will be. And thanks for your help, both of you.” She turned, her cape swirling about. “Now stand back as the Great and powerful Trixie goes forth to vanquish the swarm!” She opened the door and galloped out, slamming it shut behind.
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Okay.....now that Ditzy and Raindrops have started to take care of business, it's time to corral a jacked-up, pink-maned case of arrested development and pry some answers out of her. Also to hear a "Trixie is a Meanie McMeanpants" speech because the little kid in Pinkie confuses the stress-induced hostility she's about to face with hatred.
1168454
I don't think Pinkie is that far gone, as to speechify about Trixie being mean.
Though I can see her as getting caught up in the middle of an explenation on a tangent about how Trixie's okay even though she's a little full of herself and jerky and...
1168598
)
That makes a trifle more sense. Saying just the wrong thing is part of being sorta oblivious. (Also, watch somepony without a character tag appreciate Pinkie's gift for understatement.
i like this chapter it warms my heart.
Okay, that was heartwarming.
Dinky is full of Dawwww
Short but heartwarming. A few problems with names in the last segment though. Go over it one last time, I think you mix up Dinky and Trixie.
Also don't forget that chronologically Love & Tolerance didn't appear yet, so you can't just refer to it as 'Love & Tolerance'. I suggest you refer to it as a 'bat with an inscription rendered unreadable by mushed parasprites' or something like that.
Hmm... I still like this overall, yet a few things are bugging me too.
-- In the M-verse it wasn't until the next day that the parasprites multiplied to swarm numbers. The ones in this story seem to be breading quite a bit faster.
-- I sorta get why Ditzy thinks it's important to find Pinky, but I don't think Raindrops should have been so easy to convince. At the very least she should have tried to say something like "Come on Ditzy, we both know how random Pinkie can be. She's probably just collecting supplies to throw all these little pests a party or something."
-- It makes sense that Lyra would know where in town to find any given instrument, but the idea that she herself has a large collection of such doesn't seem right.
-- If Silver Script has been squashing paraspites with L&T, shouldn't his solution for the ones in the bags be similar?
-- Silver script seems kind of obtuse about Trixie trying to get Dinky to stay safe at the post office; the scene just seems to drag on unnecessarily.
Wait, I don't remember Ditzy taking the tie to go back and tell Trixie what they were called, or am I mistaken?
There should probably be spaces around those dashes, otherwise the words look oddly hyphenated.
1172021
Well, technically anachronistic order means this could be the first appearance, but I still agree. Mention it hear spoils the more dramatic reveal in the future story. Actually, I might even take it a step further and not have him use L&T at all; we know from AHB that he keeps a variety of other implements capable of delivering copious amounts of blunt trauma
962188 Ah, gotcha.
962319 Yes, Kosh. ;)
968536 probably not. Good thing she's not showing up.
969405 Some things not even the bat second only to Ace's can solve. And yeah. That was a huge thing in the episode for me.
1069333 For once she knows the way.
1073033 Go ahead and read it. It's far better than mine.
1168454 lol, yeah. It's gonna take a bit to pry out what she knows... but not that much. And Trixie's not mean!
1168598 I plan on Trixie just shutting Pinkie down and politely but firmly asking what is going on.
1169405 Thanks.
1169583 Really? Hmm, cool. Thanks.
1171035 Single greatest source in Equestria.
1172021 Thanks. I fixed the mix up, methinks, and changed it simply to a baseball bat.
1173162 Okay. I'm trying to avert 'Poor Communication Kills' with this one, which is why Raindrops is listening to Ditzy instead of dismissing her friend. I guess the prasprites like Ditzy's food. ;) I don't see any reason why Lyra can't have more instruments than her lyre. Silver Script's calmed down a bit and doesn't want to wash/throw out the mail bags.
And sometimes you can't see the parasprites for the swarm. I fixed the name and spaced out the hyphens. And I'm keeping him using the baseball bat.
1174832 Kosh is always good XD
:)
Oh, Daisy...
You cause a panic and make things worse in any universe...
1174832
I can appreciate wanting to avert 'Poor Communication Kills' (to be honest that's one of if not my most hated plot contrivances), but I'm still a little worried you might be going too far in the other direction. Pinkie Pie is generally supposed to be the very definition of a character no one takes seriously and even might just largely try to ignore even, if only for the sake of their own sanity. Ditzy Got to see the reaction first hand (and is sorta used to being the ignored one herself), so I get why she's keen to look for Pinkie. I'm also fine with Raindrops agreeing to help; I just think it should take a wee bit more prodding to get here there. Have her agree to do so with a bit more exasperation, have her not really see the point, but be willing to trust, Ditzy's judgment, even if only because she can't come up with a better plan.
As for Lyra, I'm quit fine with her having an extra 2, maybe 3, instruments she plays around with, but having a collection large enough to describe as "more instruments than she knows what to do with" seems too much to me.
1175336 yes. Although like with most mysterious mentors, there were times I wanted the throttle him.
1175344 It's her lot in life.
1175479 All right, I edited both a bit. But I am trying to avoid the thing I hated in 'Swarm of the Century'. Honestly, very second she let slip their names Twilight should've TKed her back in and asked about knowing their name and why she wanted a banjo. Pinkie knows their names, reacts in disgust and wants a musical instrument. She's random, but even she follows some ABC logic. Same here. Ditzy sees her reaction, hears the name. Two and two equals four and bob's your uncle. No reason for Raindrops not to trust her fellow Element, either.
1181216 True. I still like him a lot better than his replacement.
1181216
Perhaps, but at the time Pinkie first name dropped them in the M-verse everypony thought the were just cute and harmless, while by the time it things got bad, they had probably mostly forgotten what had seemed like normal Pinkie randomness.
1181254 Yeah. The first Kosh was kinda nice, and not too bad.
1181255 I just watched the scene.
She reacts in utter disgust to them, and of course names them. And Twilight just brushes it off. "A para-what?" She should've stopped Pinkie dead in her tracks and asked her what was up. This is Twilight 'must learn everything!' Sparkle, after all. 
1181297
This is also Pinkie "spouts random nonsense all the time" Pie. There was absolutely no reason at that point in time to assume any different. The Parasprites were seemingly harmless and unquestionably cute. I may often find poor communication kills to be a major pet peeve, but it was played quite fluid and naturally in that episode.
1181336 We're just gonna have to agree to disagree, then. I found it somewhat contrived in the episode that Twilight didn't stop Pinkie and ask what was going on.
1181354
Like I said, I can appreciate your intentions, I just feel that in your zealous desire to avert poor connection kills, you might be going too far in the other direction. Ditzy can be strangely insightful but her insistent assertions that Pinkie Pie *MUST* be the solution sort of come off just as contrived as the issues you take with the actual episode, except from the opposite angle (remembering that an actual L!audience wouldn't know how Swam of the Century turned out).
That said, I just read the revised version of the scene with Raindrops, and it plays out much better. I still kind of think Raindrops should be a wee tad more hesitant, maybe even briefly suggest that instead of looking for Pinkie they go check on Dinky and Trixie, if only because Ditzy gives the appearance of being an emotional wreck (which she should be considering the situation she left her daughter in), but it feels a lot more organic now than before so I won't push the issue further.
This, this line right her vindicates all my concerns, because if I hadn't made a fuss it wouldn't exist. I love the fact that it's sort of true.
1181297 Eeyup. Plus the fact that he took on the image of Sheridan's father when the shadows were attacking him strikes me as incredibly heartwarming.
Vanquish the swarm? Oh, I'm getting Zerg nostalgia.
The hell is Silver Script's problem? Trixie was explaining why she was looking out for Dinky 's health, and he uses it as an opening to snub her.
That should be "me." No reflexive pronoun in that context.
At least I don't think so.
4685083
You are correct. not only would Ditzy never forgive myself, should be, not only would Ditzy never forgive me,
I don't know why I love the sister/mentor relationship between Trixie and Dinky...I just do. Its probably one of my favorite things about the Lunaverse.
5333978
It's the Lunaverse version of "Spike and Twilight". Didn't the "No. 1 assistant" thing give anything away?
5751642
Except that Trixie doesn't treat Dinky with criminal neglect, nor near slavery. She actually treats her little apprentice right. Where as Twilight puts Spike to work that'd make what Pokey deals with look tame by comparison.