Ch. 31 Neighbors
Pinkie frowned as she wandered through her castle home, boredom threatening to tear her in half as she battled against her greatest enemy; solitude. Granted, it wasn't as if the girl didn't like having a little time to herself, she was a teenager after all. However, there was a big difference between taking some time to decompress in private and being essentially exiled from society. This was especially painful for a social butterfly like Pinkie. Tattle made her situation a little more bearable, but now that he was gone the Terran-turned-pony was struggling to find a way to deal with herself.
"I wish I could do something fun around here," she grumbled as she walked out of a gap into the castle's library. "Being a hermit is so boring!"
She huffed as she tromped through the library, eyes drifting uninterestingly across the hundreds of ancient tomes as she passed. It really surprised her just how much of her free time relied on technology. While she didn't mind books, she would rather watch a movie than read the book the movie was based off of. As a result, Pinkie had to reteach herself how to appreciate the literary works at her disposal. That, or slowly bang her head against a wall as her boredom ate at her sanity. Again.
She let out a dejected sigh as she scanned through the rows of books at her disposal.
"Basics of Unicorn Spell Craft, fourth edition? Nope. Magical Herbs and Fungi? Nuh uh. Legends of the Everfree Forest? Mmmm...maybe? Necronomicon Ex Equis? Maybe later. To Love Your Princess Vol.1?"
She stopped dead in the face of that last title as her mind tried to guess what kind of book that was. Not able to fight against her curiosity, she reached out and pulled the book off of its shelf. Brow raised, she opened the book to a random page and started reading. Her expression slowly shifted from curious to red-faced mortified before she slammed the book shut and shoved it back where she found it.
"I never knew a pony could bend that way," she muttered, face still red as she stiffly trotted away from the piece of literary debauchery.
After a few minutes of wandering through the library she finally found a book that could hold her interest for the moment.
Gap Magic Theory.
"Bingo!" she grinned as she pulled the book out of its shelf.
A wide grin spread across her muzzle as she opened the book as she skimmed through the first couple pages. Most of it was things she already knew thanks to first hand experience, but every now and again she'd find something that made her raise a brow. One such thing was the theory that if an object was dropped through two vertical gaps, it would eventually gain enough speed to blast through a stone wall. Curious, she found a rock about the size of a baseball on the ground then summoned two gaps, one on the ceiling and another on the floor beneath it. Once she connected them, she tossed the stone into the bottom gap. At first, nothing really impressive happened as the stone continuously fell out of the ceiling gap into the one on the floor, but that didn't last too long. Soon, the stone started to fall faster and faster until a straight line of light connected the two portals. Pinkie panted as the strain of maintaining the two gaps started to take its toll on her and with a strained gasp she closed the one on the floor.
The end result was a loud bang as bits of rock and mortar flew throughout the library, nocking the poor Earth Pony clear off her hooves. She groaned as she fought against the ringing in her ears and the nausea it summoned as she struggled to regain her equilibrium.
Okay. Let's not do that again!
She groaned as she dragged herself to her haunches as she waited for her vision to clear. When it did, her jaw hit the ground when she saw the end result of her little experiment. A ten foot wide, two foot deep crater occupied the spot the rock slammed into. After she picked up her jaw, she looked around and leveled a cocky half-lidded smirk at the book she was reading.
"Proof positive!" she exclaimed, pointing at the book just before another wave of nausea made her groan.
She rubbed the sides of her head as she waited for the world to stop showing her what it was like to be drunk and hungover at the same time. Once she managed that, she returned to the shelf she had investigated previously to find a less risky tome. She did take note of where she left Gap Magic Theory for when Tattle came back though. She briefly considered trying to read the "love" novel, but decided Herbs and Fungi would've been a much more useful read to kill time with.
While not as common as in other times of the year, Pinkie knew there were a few useful herbs that grew in the snow. Countless camping trips with Limestone and Maud hammered such things into her purely to keep her from eating something dangerous while they were out in the wilderness. A quick check of the book's index told her where the needed chapter was as she skimmed through the pages. Once she got to the winter section, she quietly searched for any information she didn't already have. Her brows rose as she saw just how many alien winter plants grew in Equestria. In addition to all of the plants, trees, and fungi she was familiar with, she saw several dozen others that were complete mysteries to her. Intrigued, she took a look at what these new plants could do and was not disappointed. One plant was a flower that could be used to treat hypothermia or added to soups or teas as an energy booster for ponies recovering from other types of drops in body heat. There was a mushroom that could be used to treat muscle weakness and dizziness if eaten raw. There was even a tree exclusive to the Everfree Forest whose bark and needles could be brewed into a tea that could be used to treat severe anxiety.
Pinkie hummed in thought, hoof resting on her chin as she looked over the pages like a dinner menu. She gave the crater she caused earlier a glance and shrugged as she shifted her attention back to her book. With a resolute nod, she reached into a gap, pulled out her jacket, threw it on, and snapped the herb guide shut.
Maybe this won't blow the castle up, she thought with a grin as she walked towards the library door, book tucked into one of her inner coat pockets.
***
Zecora hummed happily as she sat in her hut, wooden mug held firmly in her hoof as she relaxed in her hammock. While an often unpredictable place to live, the Everfree Forest was relatively safe in the winter months. With most of the major predators either hibernating or having long sense migrated to warmer regions, the most the Zebra Shaman had to deal with were the occasional snow fox or Timberwolf that wandered into her territory. Threats that became little more than nuisances thanks to her potions, traps, and spear. As a result, most creatures knew to keep their distance from the tribally decorated hollow tree the Zebra inhabited.
"May miracles never cease, as I enjoy this time of peace," she smiled, taking a sip of her tea.
She sighed happily as she stared out her window onto the snow-covered mid-afternoon ground and trees of her forest neighborhood. The tranquility of winter was something she never got tired of seeing, usually because the chaos of the nearby town and the forest's wild nature seldom seemed to feel the need to compete with each other this time of year. Even ponies seldom came by to explore the forest at this time. While she was more than willing to entertain her equine neighbors, she did appreciate the solitude her home provided. It was for that reason that she blinked in surprise when she saw a pony dressed in a hooded red coat walk pass her window. Curious, she set her cup down on a table by her hammock and leaned closer towards the window.
From her perspective, the pony looked like the were looking for something in the snow. Occasionally, they would sit down and pull a book out of their coat to open for a few minutes before putting it away and resuming their quest. Zecora watched the pony repeat this process a few more times, all the while wondering who this pony was and why they were wandering through the forest.
She rolled out of the comfort of her hammock and made her way towards the door to investigate. After taking a moment to slip into her winter cloak, she stepped out into the frigid air and towards the foraging pony. Said pony seemed to be lost in their own world as they moved around the trees, not once looking away from the giant oaks or the snow-covered ground beneath them. While the pony's hooded coat did a good job hiding their identity, it didn't hide everything from the Zebra's keen eyes. While the bit of mane and tail was styled differently, there were only so many ponies in the area that had that much pink on them.
"Unless my eyes do deceive," she smirked as the pony turned their back to her. "Is it not Pinkie that I perceive?"
The pony flinched, then slowly turned to face her. Sure enough, Zecora found herself staring into the bright blue eyes of Pinkie Pie. Only, something didn't seem quite right. Instead of the bright bubbly mare she was used to seeing, this pony looked like a rabbit that was just cornered by a Timberwolf.
"Uh, w-w-who wants to know?" she asked, eyes quickly alternating between looking at the Zebra and her surroundings.
Zecora raised a brow at that as she stated, "Offense I did not intend, for you look just like my friend."
Pinkie blinked at that, then visibly relaxed as a soft smile graced her muzzle.
"No problem. Things like that happen all the time."
"Be that as it may," she continued, a warm smile worming its way onto her muzzle. "What brings you out here today?"
"Oh! Just looking for herbs," Pinkie smiled sheepishly.
"A fledgling medic I see," the Zebra nodded. "Perhaps some help I can be."
"Would you?" Pinkie sighed. "Cuz I could really use some help with this."
Zecora chuckled at that.
"Certainly my wayward drifter, but perhaps in space less touched by winter."
As she said that, she nudged her head towards her home. Pinkie gave the tribally decorated tree an appreciative once over before nodding. Both mares happy for the company, but simultaneously preparing their own means of protection as a precaution. While their reasons differed, both knew it never hurt to be prepared.
***
The two mares laughed, steaming wooden cups of tea set before them on a hoof-carved circular table. For the past couple hours, the two mares traded stories and mirth. Granted, Pinkie had to make some creative adjustments to her stories, but it was more a minor inconvenience than anything else. What made the conversation more interesting for the Terran was her companion's manner of speech. Even some of the best rappers couldn't weave a rhyme as casually as the Zebra mare she was talking to. It just seemed to come so naturally to her that Pinkie had to wonder if she was even aware she was doing it half the time.
"Do all Zebras talk in rhyme?" Pinkie asked.
Zecora chuckled at that and said, "You are not the first to ask me that, for my tribe this is old hat. A shaman's tongue is known to twist, to trick foul forces from the mist."
"So, only shamans talk in rhyme?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea.
Zecora nodded, taking a sip of her own drink.
"Turn of phrase holds great mystic powers, both in common and drastic hours. Make no common false notions, as this also extends to mixing potions."
"Really?" Pinkie asked, brows raised.
Zecora nodded.
"Herbs hold their own power and love, and intent filled chants give the effects a little shove. What would normally give a small peak of energy, while a few well versed chants could give the vitality of a tree. Though this technique is quite advanced, the remedies are generally worth it when enhanced."
"And I bet the rhyming becomes a bit of a habit after a while," Pinkie added with a sly smile.
Zecora shrugged as she said, "I cannot deny that it is a tic, one that most find quite hard to quit."
Pinkie thought for a moment, then asked, "Could you teach me? The potion making, not the rhyming."
Zecora blinked at that, then asked, "I see no true reason not to, but are you sure that's what you want to do?"
Pinkie nodded.
"I, um, can't really go into town for very long. Going to the hospital would make things pretty complicated, so knowing how to make medicine would be a huge help."
"Complicated you say," she frowned, briefly glancing at her spear where it stood propped up by the front door. "In what way?"
Pinkie frowned into her tea cup.
"I...I'm not really welcome around here. Just going into town to get supplies is a huge risk, so going to a hospital is not the best idea in the world."
Zecora saw the pony's hooves tremble as she stared into her cup and an understanding smile spread across her muzzle. Pinkie flinched when she felt a hoof rest gently on her own. She locked eyes with her host and sported an appreciative smile.
"An outcast's burden I understand well, but is not something that should be worn like a shell. I will teach you the basics of my craft, but don't place your faith in the world in a shaft. There are many ponies that will lend you aid, some even if they are not paid."
Pinkie nodded, but her smile trembled a bit as fear entered her heart. For the most part, she knew that she had little to fear. She knew that most of the people here didn't know what she did, but she knew that the ones that did held a tremendous amount of power both socially and literally. She still remembered the massive amount of power she sensed coming off of the white Alicorn she saw so many days ago. The thought of having such a being level their ire at her scared her to her core in ways she never knew was possible. Yes, she knew that there were good people out there, but all it would take is one word from a Princess to make her life a lot more difficult.
"Yeah...I-I'll think about it."
***
Pinkie sighed as she stumbled out of a gap into her bedroom, dozens of bottles rattling in her coat pockets as she slumped through the dark into her bed. Her head was spinning as she rolled onto her back and reached into her coat.
Didn't think I was going to need this one so soon, she thought as she pulled out a purple vial with a cork in its stopper.
After a few failed attempts, she managed to grip and pluck out the cork and swallowed a small mouthful of the potion inside. As she popped the cork back into the bottle, her thoughts started to clear as the potion started to take effect. While she thought she did a pretty good job keeping up with Zecora's lesson, it was still a little hard to follow at times thanks to her unique speech pattern. Luckily, her time in the kitchen made her fairly competent when it came to measuring and preparing ingredients, but that only helped so much when said ingredients were so alien to her.
"At least I only blew things up twice," she chuckled. "Still, it was nice getting to talk to someone."
A twinge of regret settled into her heart as she remembered what she said before returning to the castle. While it was easy enough to write off her appearance as an uncanny resemblance, she couldn't play that card when it came to her name. As a result, she nearly had a panic attack when the Zebra shaman asked her what her name was. Thinking fast, she offered an alias that, in hind sight, she was shocked actually worked.
"Red Hood? Seriously?!" she groaned, placing a hoof over her face. "That was the best I could come up with?"
She sighed as she rolled onto her side and stared blankly through the dark at a wall.
"I'm gonna need to tell her the truth at some point," she sighed. "It's only fair, right?"
The silence of the room was heavy as she waited for sleep to take her away for the night. It never really hit her how alone she was in the castle. She whimpered as she pulled in on herself. She missed having Tattle in her head. She missed having her friends on speed dial. She missed having her family in arms reach. If she could, she'd go back in time and give herself a firm kick in the butt for everything she took for granted at that point. For a time, she wondered if this was what Sunset had to deal with after they cut her from the group. That thought lit a fire in her heart as she stared out into the darkness of her room. Her eyes narrowed as the flame burned away her grief and replaced it with a determination that rivaled the one she had when she confronted her Equestrian counterpart.
I'm going to make this up to you Sunset. No matter what it takes.
Sleep started to claim her as that simple yet powerful thought echoed through her head.
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Interesting.
Well, at least Pinkie and Tattle have inadvertently come up with the same alias. Too bad for her she doesn't realize that no one feels anything near the anger for her that she's afraid they do. Hope she gets it sorted out soon, her personality needs people around, as shown, and she doesn't need to be hermiting anyway.
I hope Pinkie goes home soon. Her sisters are going to be beyond pissed when she returns if she keeps away much longer.
Hmmm, I wonder what Pinkie has in mind to make it all up to Sunset?
It's good to see Pinkie finally had someone to talk to after being alone for quite a while, now let's just hope she can get home soon
Somehow coming up with the exact same name as Tattle? Seems she hasn't completely lost all her pinkie-ness.
And apparently gap magic doesn't care about silly little things like 'air resistance', who'd a thunk it.
Yes! Please do! Start by stop running away from Sunset's friends and family! You can't fix things with Sunset if you're afraid to get anywhere near her family. Talk to Tattle! Let him be the bridge builder if necessary.
She's never met the human counterpart of Cloudkicker then.
9936816
While that is somewhat true in a technical sense. it isn't true at all for the mane six. They were convinced Sunset was falling back to old behaviour. They had very good reason to think so. And all they did was break contact with her because she was becoming a bully again.
Of course, the reader knows that is not the case, that she is being set up. The reader also knows what this does to Sunset, The Mane Six have no idea and they have no reason to assume this would have such an effect on Sunset.
So you are blaming the mane six based on knowledge that they didn't have nor can be reasonably expected to assume. Meanwhile, Lyra knows full well what she is doing and that it's wrong.
Unless the gaps cause some form of acceleration with passage terminal velocity tends to top out the damage anything can do. Also technically the coriolis effect would apply on earth at least, don’t know if Equestria rotates at all.
9937476
The idea here is like what happens if you drop a silver dollar off of the empire state building, but with a much higher continuous "drop". Am I 100% accurate in regards to the physical aspects of what happened here? Not really. Is the basic idea involved realistic given the x-factor of dimensional magic laws? Yes.
9937571
Yeah with normal physics it doesn’t matter if the drop is 100 feet or a million. Terminal velocity is the fastest an object can go when gravity and atmosphere are the only things affecting it. So if the spatial distortions are helping it along, like a magnetic rail, it would go faster than that, but otherwise a rock would peak out at somewhere between painful to lethal levels, and would at best crack stone rather than having an impact crater.
when are you going to wright the next chapter?
I already pointed this out, I think, but you really should embed names in the dialogue using commas. It'll make things easier for the reader.
Thing is, the writing otherwise is really good. That issue tends to stand out because the rest is really good.
What Red Hood did with the stone reminds me of the infinite energy machine
glanced at
by
9937222
Yes but if you want to friends with someone you need to trust them when they say they are telling the truth even if it sounds nuts. Besides it was a pretty obvious frame job as princess twilight pointed out. People who do bad stuff never purposely leave a calling card that says i did it. If they are going do that then they just turn themselves in. If they just admitted that they were idiots and acted like jerks and said sorry they at least being to heal their broken relationship with sunset. I wish that the author had shown them having a talk with their sisters about their stunt.
This is becoming a running gag