Prince of Errors

by David Silver

2 - Can You Slow Down?

Pinkie gave him a soft prod with the flat of a hoof. "That's a nice color."

He cocked a brow at that. "Dull grey?"

"I was more thinking 'steel grey'." She nodded primly. "Or maybe slate grey? That works! So, what happened? You feeling better?"

He knew who Pinkie was. He loved her, in the show, on television. Thrust in front of him it was a bit overwhelming. Sure, he was used to random other ponies, but he knew Pinkie. "Well... I..." What do you say to Pinkie?

"I've never met you before," suddenly noted Pinkie. "Do you live here or are you just visiting?"

He felt his words drying up and fleeing, unable to form them. He was naked and vulnerable without an identity and purpose.

"Do you have a name, a real name?" she continued to gently prod him for information, looking quite curious. But he was shut down, just squirming a little. "Well, alrighty, Mister Strangepony." She shrugged softly. "But when you want to talk, the pinkster's right here." She hopped up to her hooves, her nurse's hat flopping to the side a little. "You look better at least."

"Look, I just made a stupid deal," he suddenly blurted, his face heating, but it only darkened, not becoming red as it should, as if his blush had to follow the rules of his monochromatic body.

"What kind of stupid deal?" Pinkie leaned in dangerously close, her attention captured.

"The kind where you stop being a pony because you think all ponies are jerks and go live with the hippogriffs but, surprise, they're jerks in a different way, but now you're a weird hippogriff." He rubbed behind his head, squirming in place.

"Oh..." She tilted her head a little before reaching for him, patting him on the shoulder softly. "Well I'm guessing you aren't a hippogriff, but whatever you were, you're a pony now, and you live in Ponyville, so that means--"

"--I don't live here."

"Where do you live?"

That caught him off guard, since he slept in different places more often than not. "Well, uh..."

"Sounds like Ponyville to me," sings Pinkie gleefully.

He put a hoof to his head. "Look, I just want to, if not get home, at least not be a pony everyone, but you, ignores. I want to stop changing into things."

"You shouldn't be sad being a changeling," she chided with a wagging hoof.

"I'm not one of those, I think? Am I?" Hope lit in his eyes. Had it been that simple?

"Turn into me!" she eagerly encouraged. "Do it, do it! I'm used to it, promise!"

"I'll try." He slipped from the bed and spread his wings wide. "Mmm..." He imagined being Pinkie, being all pink, maybe being as cheerful and social. "Is it working?"

"You're, oooo, wait, no. It's not working." She shook her head a bit. "Aw… It's okay. Um, alright, not a changeling, hmm… Maybe we should ask Twilight?"

"No!" He half-pounced her in a sudden leap. "Keep it a secret!" Visions of becoming a pony scientific curiosity drifted through his mind.

"Alright alright, a secret, but only if you tell me your name." She crossed her arms, looking at him pointedly.

He sighed slowly and deeply, placing a hoof at his chest. "I am the animation error."

She tilted her head. "Oh, huh, that's a funny name. You're more like a Prince of Errors to me."

"I'm an alicorn, male, and I'm a walking error. I… guess that works." A little smile touched his lips, as if the title had pleased him. "Um, nice to meet you, for real, Pinkie."

"Oh yeah, how do you know my name? I mean I guess a lot of ponies know my name, but most of them I know their name already." She booped him right on the nose. "Reveal your secrets, oh strange prince."

"Well, alright." Pinkie seemed to be on his side, and they weren't strangers anymore. He could talk to her, right? "I was once a human."

"Like those things Twilight saw past the mirror?" She waved her hooves in a loose approximation of the shape of the mirror portal.

"Exactly, those." He nodded quickly with a growing smile. "I was one of those."

"Wow, neat." Pinkie bounced free of her hat, which landed on her nightstand as if it had been carefully placed there. "What's it like being all naked and stuff? Is it cold?"

His ears flipped back against his head. "It could be, um... clothes."

"Clothes are cool," agreed Pinkie. "What does that have to do with it though?"

He fidgeted a moment before taking a step towards the door. "I should go."

"Wait!" She slapped a hoof down on his back. "You didn't finish explaining! Why do you turn into other ponies?"

"O-oh, well..." He sat on his haunches, rubbing his hooves on one another. "Look, when someone's missing, I can fill that spot. I don't get... asked, it just happens." He huffed softly. "Whether I want it to or not." He reached up to poke at his useless horn. "I usually have something off, like parts that shouldn't be there, or the wrong color, or something."

"Oooo, well, why can't you turn into me?"

"Mm?"

"There's always room for at least one more Pinkie." She nodded with certainty. "Just not twenty of them. That didn't work out so well." She waved a hoof dismissively. "Nevermind that. With this super power, we need to get to work!"

The prince of errors perked an ear at her. "How would that work? This isn't a group thing."

"It is now," she sang, bouncing in place. "For instance, I know the weather ponies are down one pony. He had to hurry off for some family stuff and they're really stressed out. I bet you could help them out."

"But I do--" He didn't get to finish, feeling the wave of tingles and the pulling and pinching that signified he was assuming a role. With wide eyes, color swept over him as he became a soft cyan shaded pegasus, though his horn remained. "Oh... But... How?" Never had his ability turned on at the prompting of someone else like that before.

Pinkie rolled a hoof at him. "See? It's working great! You don't have a place to sleep, right?"

He nodded, stunned but recovering quickly. "Did you do that? Was that Pinkie magic?"

Pinkie tilted her head. "I don't think so? I just know where ponies are needed." She poked him on the nose, a habit she seemed to enjoy. "You look just like him, neat! If I'm ever missing, I guess you could do me, but then I wouldn't see it, aw."

He flapped his wings, lifting from the ground a few inches. While he was assuming a pegasus identity, he could fly. "I've never done weather before though. Are you sure I can handle it?"

She pointed at his rump, where a lightning bolt and a cloud resided. "You look ready to me."

While the idea might have seemed silly to an outside view, he looked relaxed at that. "Yeah..." If his cutie mark related to it, he could usually muddle through it. "Alright, let's do this... I'll help, and get paid." Having some bits sounded good. It was one of the better parts of assuming a needed position. "It's late though."

Pinkie peeked out the window to where it was clearly still night. "Oh yeah." The fireworks were still exploding brilliantly in the night sky. "For tonight, you stay here." She pointed at her bed. "Get some rest. First hint of the sun, I'll show you where the weather ponies meet up."

He felt his cheeks warming, actually turning red with the borrowed color of the pony he had never met before. "I shouldn't..."

Pinkie waved a hoof at him. "Go on. What do you think this is?" She thrust a hoof upwards at something only she could see. "This isn't that kind of story."

He blinked softly at that. "What kind of story is it?"

"The kind where you go to bed." She rolled her eyes, still grinning. "See you in the morning."

He flew the few feet to land on her bed. It was soft and yielding to his hooves as he sank down onto it. A sleepover with Pinkie? There were worse fates out there. Besides, he had already assumed an identity. If he tried to ignore that, it wouldn't go well. It never did. It was like the fabric of the world conspired to make sure whatever form he had taken was properly filled, by him, or else.

She pronked to the door. "There's still a party going on, which means I need to get back to it. Sleep tight!" She bounced right through it, her tail lashing around the door's knob and pulling it shut without the rest of her slowing down a moment.

He was left on the comfy bed. It wasn't his. He didn't have a bed and rarely did. He weighed his options as he tried to nod off at the same time. Pinkie could approach him without him starting the conversation, was that a plus? He put it gently towards the plus side of the spectrum. Did it mean the other Mane Six could all see him? Possibly. That... could be bad, or good?

On the other, er, hoof, she was Pinkie. There was a good chance it was just a case of Pinkie being Pinkie. More worryingly, she had just grabbed hold of his curse and commanded it as if she was born to do it. He wasn't sure he liked that.

Maybe, after he finished the weather duty she had signed him up for, he could just slip quietly out of town. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of Pinkie having that much power over him. Even as a lone drifter, at least he decided where he was, even if he didn't always get to decide who he was.

He faded off, sleeping on the sugary-smelling bedding.

---

"Wake up," came a loud, but friendly, female voice. Pinkie pulled a string, pulling the blinds on her window open wide, allowing the sun to spill in, but even it wasn't fully awake yet. "Time for you to report for weather control!"

He sat up, blinking sleepily. "Already?"

"I know, I'm excited too." She bounced in place before pointing up at an angle. "I saw them, just over there. Head on over and say hi!"

He shook himself out and hopped down from the bed, clip-clopping over to Pinkie's mirror. "Let me get ready." He looked meaningfully at a brush, but he wasn't imitating a unicorn, so no magic happened. "Dang it."

"Need a hoof?" She pronked over, tail snatching the brush and starting to work him over from the top down easily. "I didn't figure you'd be the sort that'd be worried about that."

He tensed a little, but her brushes felt nice, and she seemed pretty harmless in doing it. Relax, he chided himself. She wanted him to be ready and get out there. "Um, thanks, really."

"Not a problem." She set the brush aside. "Not perfect, but if you want that, you'll have to bother Rarity or the spa sisters. You're good enough for some weather work."

"Thanks." He flapped his wings softly in experimenting. "You're even nicer in person, Pinkie."

Pinkie smiled brightly at the compliment, but it faded to confusion. "In person? How did you meet me before then?"

He lifted into the air. "I'd better get going or I'll be late." He flew out the window that she opened at the last second. Why were pony windows perfectly clear half the time?! Regardless of that, he made it out without crashing and ascended into the sky.

Flying never failed to bring a smile to his face despite anything else. The feeling, the liberation. He could see Ponyville spreading out beneath him and the wind rustling his recently brushed fur. It was time to do a little weather work.

Author's Note:

We get to know a little more about our character and how he operates. I hope things are coming a little closer to focus. Apologies for the confusing entry into things.

Pinkie has this under control. That works, right?

This update was voted on as an extra by the patreon.

Want to get your own story written or get this story updated more often? Want to just support the author in his writing? Join the atreon!

Join my discord to chat!

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Ah. As I suspected, what with Prince Neon on the cover. (And I suppose the title was a bit of a tipoff as well. ) Pinkie's involvement should be very interesting indeed. A pony aware of the narrative manipulating our hero's Biff the Understudy powers certainly makes sense. Let's see if he can get past both the day's work and the existential horror that is being Pinkie's plaything.

[badninja]

So now we know why we see random background ponies change tribes randomly. Now how will our protagonist handle having such a troublesome ability?

[Heptameron]

TYPO

"Do you have a name, a real name?" she gently continued to prod him for information, looking quite curious. But he was shut down, just squirming a little. "Well, alrighty, Mister Strangepony." She shrugged softly. "But when you walk to talk, the pinkster's right here ." She hopped up to her hooves, her nurse's hat flopping to the side a little. "You look better at least."

want

[David Silver]

9185525
This is a confusing situation. We don't need typos making this worse! Fixed.

[Reese]

"trail snatching the brush"
"tail snatching the brush"?

"I hope things are coming a little closer to focus. Apologies for the confusing entry into things."
Heh, no problem; it was a mystery. :)
Though I'm now wondering if those muffin-cupcakes indicate that errors around him aren't limited to him...

[David Silver]

9186113
Fixed!

[Not so New Brony]

So not only does his horn and wings don't work(at least in original form), his ability to shapeshift is random too though it would make sense how Pinkie sort of controlled it.,,sort of.

[David Silver]

9186883
Yup. He can only use wings or horn if he is imitating a unicorn or pegasus as appropriate. He doesn't get to pick who he turns into.

[Daremo]

blinking sleepilly - blinking sleepily
He slipped from bed - He slipped from the bed
She poke him - She poked him
she gently continued to prod him - she continued to gently prod him
A little smile touched on his lips, - A little smile touched on his lips,

[David Silver]

9190413
Pony historians need to tighten up their linguistics, but then, Pinkie is involved.

[AnormalUnicornPony]

Prince of the Background ponies..... Bonbon is ready.

[Vaalintine]

Not sure I like Pinkie at all here. She feels insincere,
basically taking him over. Doesn't seem to really care that someone is cursed.

[tsaukpaetra]

So he can only really interact when inserted. Curious.
And it's not like Pinkie is in control. She just narrates what she will have yet request.

[Luckyfanisaac]

It was one of the better parts of assuming a needed position. "It's late though.“(——

[David Silver]

9930548
Fixed.

[flutterboot]

He lifted into the air. "I'd better get going or I'll be late." He flew out the window that she opened at the last second. Why were pony windows perfectly clear half the time?! Regardless of that, he made it out without crashing and ascended into the sky.

ha ha. silly bird brain.

[KvAT]

"Thanks." He flapped his wings softly in experimenting. "You're even nicer in person, Pinkie."

Pinkie smiled brightly at the compliment, but it faded to confusion. "In person? How did you meet me before then?"

"You're Pinkie, you can figure it out ;)"

Alright, this chapter clears a lot of things up. I'm up for a nice slice of life.
I still don't like how the first chapter felt like a really bad draft though, and I guess where a lot of the downvotes came from.