A Tear in the Fabric

by Cold Bolt

09: Rink

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

Pinkie Pie had no idea why she was soaring through the air, but it sure was fun!

Granted, that might not have been entirely clear based on the way she was screaming and flailing... but hey, sometimes those things can be fun, too!

It sure was hard to tell what was going on around her, though. It looked like there were a bunch of buildings somewhere below her, and that big sheet of white was probably an overcast sky? That was her best guess, at least.

Boy, all this spinning was really making her dizzy. Was this going to end soon, or what?

Just a few seconds later, she found herself tumbling across smooth stone for a moment before coming to an abrupt stop against the wall with a loud SMACK.

"Oww...!"

The twinkling stars faded from her vision fairly quickly, and she stood up to have a look around. As it turned out, she had landed on the rather expansive balcony of a really tall palace (was she twenty stories up, or thirty?) overlooking a city that stretched way off into the distance. It ended at a tall wall beyond which snow-covered mountains were visible. The buildings down below looked kind of old, but still somehow fancy at the same time. It was kind of cool, actually!

"Thi-i-is pla-a-ace is ki-i-ind of co-o-o-ol!"

Why did her voice sound so funny? Like, more than usual, even?

Only then did she realize she was shivering. Wherever she was, it was really cold! Looking again, she saw that the buildings below her were all lightly dusted with snow, which had also piled up a bit on the balcony nearby. Her teeth began chattering as though prompted to do so by the sight before her.

Pinkie glanced over her shoulder, quickly spying a fancy door that led inside the palace. Nobody would mind if she snuck in for a bit to warm up, would they? The ornate glass door slid rather than swung open, allowing her to step through.

To her dismay, the interior wasn't much warmer than the balcony had been, but a minor improvement was an improvement nonetheless. Warming her cupped hands with her breath, she let her eyes wander.

The hall in which she now stood stretched for several hundred feet before turning a corner. The walls and floor were pristinely polished marble, flanked by intricate tapestries and columns that stretched all the way to a curved ceiling about a hundred feet up. Candelabras set into the columns cast an eerie blue glow over the room, only barely bright enough to see by. There wasn't a soul in sight.

Frankly, the place gave Pinkie the creeps... but she wasn't about to let that stop her.

She held her hands up to the flickering blue flames of the nearest candelabra. To her disappointment, they gave off no heat whatsoever... which struck her as strange, even though she couldn't readily recall why. Breathing into her hands once more, she glanced up at the nearest tapestry, noting that it was probably within reach of a good jump; if there was no one around to mind, maybe she could snag it and use it as a blanket?

Well, Rarity would probably object on principle... but Pinkie frowned as she remembered that Rarity wasn't here. None of her friends were.

She was alone.

She shivered again.

Not much else to it then, she decided as she began wandering the creepy hallway, clutching herself for warmth. At some point it had dimly registered in her mind that she had ponied up; her impressively long hair, tied in a cute ponytail near the end, helped at least a little bit in keeping her back warm.

Something was seriously wrong with this place. Who would go to all the trouble of decorating a palace like this if no one was here? She passed by more doors as she went, but the few that weren't locked only led to dark, empty rooms... all except for one.

One door sat open, revealing a room even more ornately decorated than the hallway, and more brightly lit to boot. Most importantly, it featured a fireplace at the far end, in which a fire crackled gently.

Her face lighting up instantly, Pinkie dashed through the doorway, narrowly avoiding crashing into the long table in the center of the room as she skidded to a stop in front of the fireplace and dropped to her knees.

"Mmm, that's much better..."

It was like an oasis in the desert, or perhaps the exact opposite of that. She closed her eyes for a moment, the better to drink in the warmth of the fire.

"Ahem."

In hindsight, it should have been obvious that a lit fireplace wouldn't be left unattended.

Pinkie hopped to her feet and spun around, spying a nearby figure she hadn't noticed in her earlier haste. He was tall, pale-skinned with jet black hair, and wore a really expensive-looking blue robe trimmed in gold that would have made Rarity envious. He seemed to be scowling.

"Oh, excuse me!" Pinkie flashed him a pleasant grin as she brushed some dust off her skirt. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything! It's just that your house is really cold and I didn't have time to grab a jacket before I got sucked through the mirror portal, not that I knew I'd need one in the first place, oh and do you mind if I borrow one of the tapestries from the hall, because this fire is super duper cozy, but it's still pretty cold in here and I could really use a blanket!"

The strange man stared at her for several seconds before speaking.

"You have no idea to whom you speak."

It wasn't so much a question as a simple statement of fact.

"Well, you know what they say - a stranger is just a friend you haven't made yet!" With that, Pinkie grinned at him as she stepped forward and extended a hand. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"

The man stared some more - first at Pinkie, then at the outstretched hand, then back at Pinkie. He otherwise did not move.

"Aww, are we a little shy?" Pinkie leaned forward, tilting her head at him cloyingly. "I know what'll help you out of your shell!"

As though from nowhere, she suddenly produced a brightly-colored cannon. Aiming it at the table, she gave the string on top a hearty tug.

BOOM

In an instant, the room was decorated quite differently. Streamers and confetti floated gently to the floor, balloons bobbed up and down near the ceiling, and a spread of various treats - cupcakes, cookies, potato chips, and even a bowl of punch - was laid out on the table.

The strange man's eyes widened slowly.

"There we go, that should do it!" Pinkie dashed over to the table and helped herself to a cupcake, devouring it in seconds. "You should try the punch! It's my secret recipe," she offered, her cheeks smeared with blue frosting.

Before the man could reply, two more people burst through the door. In contrast to the general feel of the palace, these two wore very modern-looking military uniforms in a deep blue, and each one carried a very strange sword in one hand. If Pinkie didn't know better, she would have said they were made of ice! But that was silly, wasn't it? A sword made of ice would just melt! Then it wouldn't be very helpful anymore.

"Your Imperial Majesty!" one of them said. "We heard weapons fire! Are you well?"

Three pairs of eyes traced their way over to Pinkie. In an instant, the two guards rushed forward and pointed their ice swords at her. "Intruder!"

"What? Me, intruding? Pah! The only intruders I see here are you two!" Pinkie scoffed, but her scowl quickly traded itself for a friendly smile. "If you wanted an invitation, all you had to do was ask!"

The two glanced at one another for a moment and nodded before looking back at Pinkie. One of them marched his way around her and jabbed her in the back with the pommel of his sword.

"Hey!" she protested.

"We'll lock her up right away!" said the rude man with the sword. "She won't be - "

He stopped mid-sentence at the sight of the robed one's raised hand.

Everyone else in the room stood stock still as the strange man stepped forward, served himself a small cup of punch, and casually took a sip. Though the rest of his expression was inscrutable, his eyebrows raised. Before long, he'd drained the cup.

Pinkie grinned. He must have liked it! Maybe now they could be friends!

"Did you like it?" she asked. "Does this mean we're friends?"

The guards stepped back as the strange man approached Pinkie.

"I am Emperor Pyradon of Itantea," he declared. "I have never seen the like of such talents, and I would have them at my disposal. You will be made to swear allegiance to your Emperor, and promptly brought into shape as an imperial agent."

"Hey, that's kind of rude." Pinkie frowned, poking her large belly. "How dare you insinuate I'm not in shape? Round totally counts as a shape!"

Pyradon's eyes narrowed. "You will be competent, and you will be obedient."

Pinkie eyed him suspiciously in return. "And what if I refuse?"

"Then you will be tried as an enemy of the state and summarily executed," he said coldly.

Pinkie blinked. Not only did she not know her new friend well enough yet to tell if he was joking, she wasn't even sure if they were friends at all yet! For one thing, his intimidating presence reminded her a little too much of a certain Adagio Dazzle, a girl she had been all too happy to forget about. That, combined with the glaring and the staring and the swords pointed at her... If this was a joke, it wasn't very funny. As a matter of fact, she realized as her pink pony ears folded back in dismay, she was quite certain it wasn't a joke at all.

These weren't friends.

She was in danger, and her actual friends were nowhere to be found. She really didn't have a choice in the matter - if she refused, it may well be the last thing she ever did.

Pinkie giggled half-heartedly, twiddling her fingers. "Um, heheh, well... how could I say no to that...?"

Comments

[Xenophylia]

poor pinkie... =(