Awakening Pink

by Masterweaver

Breakfast Planning

After a few minutes of ravenously devouring the golden discs of wonder, I noticed that a certain stallion had slipped into a dark gloomy corner with a banana. Erishy had apparently caught sight of him too, watching him with that sort of intense look one usually reserved for people gripping the edge of the railing and looking into the river but not actually climbing up just yet.

Linda stepped down the stairs, a haggard expression on her face. She caught sight of the pathetic creature in the corner and, for a moment, simply stared at him.

And then her head simply fell.

I watched her mechanically snag a red apple from the breakfast bar as she cautiously approached the somber table. She took time sitting down, as though she was prepared for the worst.

"...listen. About, um, yesterday..."

Julien sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you that, I'm dealing with...." He tapped the side of his head meaningfully, not lifting his gaze to look at the mare across from him.

"...I, um, kinda lied a bit," Linda admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "See... I said, um, we both wanted you to... ya know... that, uh, that was just me." She glanced away, a faint blush on her cheeks as her eyes roved over the carpet. "Cadance just wanted a hug... and... yeah. I was being a bitch."

"See?" I gave Erishy a nudge, gesturing at the couple. "They're doing all right." Whatever happened last night was, in fact, repairable. The pegasus couldn't help letting out a quiet but happy coo at the heartwarming scene.

If it had been louder it would have been a full on d'awww but, well, Erishy.

"Do you..." Julien leaned forward, lifting his eyes uncertainly. "...Still want a hug?"

Linda faltered. "...Actually, I just wanted to make sure, you know, Cadance and Shining weren't... breaking up because of me..." She tried to find a good change of subject. "...um. Soooooo. You... were going to take me out on a date today, right?"

"Right after trick or treating," I reminded her, suddenly being between the pair of them. "I believe that was the plan! Cause we're totally still doing that."

Yeah, that was a bit of a weird sensation. First I was THERE and then I was HERE. I thiiiiiink I back flipped into the new position, but to this day I'm not... sure.

"What? Where did you come f--?!" The pink pony princess shook her head. "No. Never mind, I've heard that joke too often. Ugh."

"No, of course not," Julien reassured her. "No argument could do that. And yes, I figure after trick or treating and getting to the next town, we can sneak off to go on a date."

"And then make up sex!" I quipped thoughtlessly.

"WHAT?!"

I cringed at Linda's expression, realizing exactly what I had said. "...you know what, I'm going to blame Discord for that." My hoof went to the gray streak in my mane. "Ever since I woke up, I had this and a strange obsession with sex. Strange for me, anyway. And since Dissy is responsible for the streak, I'm blaming him for that too. Excuse me, pancakes." With that, I slunk back to my plate, burrowing my shame in hunger.

By this point, Harold and Ginny had come downstairs from their slumber, glancing around the room. I ignored their conversation, trying to comprehend exactly WHY Discord had seen fit to fill my head with thoughts of sex, and how I could possibly distract myself from such images. It was really rather annoying, to be honest--

"DARLINGS! BEHOLD!"

Jackie had reemerged, still dressed as Photo Finish and now presenting her latest achievement: Stuffing my little brother into a green tunic and cap, complete with shield and sword wrapped around his body and, I noticed, a little Triforce wristband.

"Why is everybody treaten' me like a doll?" Ian grumbled.

"But you wanted to go trick or treating, didn't you?" Erishy countered.

"Ah didn't... Ah mean, Ah didn't care either way!"

"Wait wait wait." I held up a hoof, considering the situation. "I'm Midna, and he's Link? JACKIE YOU ARE AMAZING!"

Of course, she gave me a somewhat embarrassed smile. "Oh, well, I made this for some rich brat who decided it wasn't cool at the last minute. Still, I'm glad you like it."

The filly in her hands squirmed a bit. "Please. Put me down."

"Oh! Right!" She lowered him to the ground with a sly smirk. "Sorry."

"I think your outfit looks great," Erishy commented encouragingly. "And it hides your bow too."

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Linda and Julien having a minor squabble. From what I could tell, Julien was trying to be concerned and caring and gentle and Linda was offended she was being treated like an emotional teenager. And of course, that Discorded part of me decided to throw up an image of what would happen if they suddenly kissed, hooves roving down each other's shoulders--

"If you lovebirds would come over to the main table, I'd like to tell you all some important things!" I shouted, more to distract myself than anything.

"WE ARE NOT oh forget it," Linda grumbled, taking her position at the communal table. "She's going to keep at it no matter what we do."

Ian rolled his eyes as he reclaimed his abandoned breakfast. "At least yer not short."

It took all of fourty two seconds for everybody, human and pony, to find a chair and meal. I took stock of their position, making sure they were all situated, before clopping--clapping my hoof onto the table.

"Alrighty! So, Erishy has already heard what I'm about to tell you all. Now, last night I discovered the princesses were missing and had a brilliant idea on how to find them."

"She told us about tha tin foil thang," Ian said blandly. "And about Twilight."

"...right." Well, there went my momentum.

I shook my head and continued. "So anyway, I did manage to get in contact with Luna and Tara. I didn't come out entirely unscathed," My hoof twirled the streak of grey in my straight mane, "Dissy was there too, but I managed to scare him off. So, Luna and Tara are, well, making amends for what happened with Tara's family while they were Discorded, and then they'll go find Celestia."

Ginny nodded. "That seems like a good idea..."

I couldn't resist throwing in an infomercial joke. "BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! Luna told me of a few things Dissy let slip."

I grabbed a glass of orange juice between my hooves--which, I realized, had not been on the table till that moment--and took a long, slow, deliberate drought. All the better to build the suspense.

"The fact is.... Twilight Sparkle was not shot."

"Oh thank Celestia." Shining was so relieved at this statement that he took a moment to praise his pagan gods--I kid, I kid!--before shaking his head and focusing on the task at hand. "So what, did Discord fake that picture?"

"Nope!" I chirped. "A purple unicorn, who could pass any genetic test you want, got shot and is now in the hospital."

"...But... that couldn't..." Jackie blinked her tired and confused eyes as she tried to comprehend the paradox. "...what?"

"Now now, Jackie, know thine enemy. What fun is there in making sense?" I smirked. "Twilight did get shot. Twilight also did not get shot."

"No... He can't have... He made a bunch of Twilights?" Shining shook his head. "And I thought one was a pain... But that still means we need to get to Twilight."

I blinked, surprised at how on the ball the unicorn was. I'd really expected them all to be confused until I explained it. "He split Twilight in two. The one in the hospital has her magic. The one we haven't found has her mind." Even as I clarified, I realized I wasn't giving a full explanation. "At least, that's what he told Luna in order to discourage her. And then he had one shot. So they must both be important, from a purely strategical perspective."

Harold nodded. "Alright. So... what do we do?"

"We have two responsibilities," I stated. "One: Locate and gather ALL the bearers, hopefully with the elements on them. Two: Keep the population calm. Shooting Twilight is terrorism, plain and simple, Discord's trying to get us all in a panicked state of mind. " A grin formed on my face and I turned to our unofficial navigator. "Lucky we have a way of fighting that. Julien! Where's the next city on our trip?"

"Columbus, Ohio. We can get there in a single day if we leave at sunup or we can do it overnight, taking turns at the wheel. Or, wheels." He shot a look at Ian and rolled his eyes. "Wait, we don’t have multiple drivers anymore except for Erica's car, since it has been... modified."

Wait, leave at sunup? "Yeeeeeah we're going to have to cut that journey in half. We need to be in a town by this afternoon or evening."

"Why?" Harold asked.

"Publicity. Or rather, counter-terrorism methodology. Because that's what putting Twilight in the hospital is, terrorism. It's meant to terrify us," I pointed at the hotel's entrance, "and I guarantee you the MOMENT we walk out that door we will be assailed by news cameras and whatnot."

"That..." Ginny shot a glance at Erishy. "...probably isn't good."

"We need to divert their attention from the tragedy while also reassuring them that we still have hope," I continued. "SO! We'll tell them that whatever town we end up in next, Hasbro has arranged a public talk show interview with Erishy and I. Hasbro will have to arrange the interview then, since we're basically their flagship salesmares copyright or not... Anywho, then we tell them that all questions WILL be answered on the talk show but that we intend to celebrate Halloween no matter what, because we're not going to cower in fear."

Harold leaned over his plate, giving me a curious look. "Where are you getting these ideas?"

I gulped. Even with it this far in the past, admitting that I was inspired by that particular tragedy left a bad taste in my mouth. "...history. Recent history, actually." I decided to scuttle sideways at the reference. "...It... happened eight days before my birthday. I was born on talk like a pirate day, did you know that?"

Harold's eyes widened. Clearly he got the point.

"Don't worry about me," Erishy added. "I can... Suck it up, and deal with my fear later. This needs to happen."

"Then we need to leave now." Julien stood up, walking towards the stairs. "I'll start packing."

"Wait wait wait, what about Trick or treating?! That's a vital part of the plan! We can't let Dissy send us into a panic, otherwise he wins?"

Linda smirked. "Are you sure you don't just want candy?"

I crossed my forelegs grumpily. "That's a side benefit and you know it." It wasn't like I was addicted.

I'm addicted, Pinkie reminded me. And you're in my body so--

I'm doing this for the people. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

"We could trick or treat after the press conference," Erishy offered sheepishly.

"Or we could do it before, spreading the word," Julien mused.

I gave the stallion my most unbelieving stare. "...That's what I'm saying!" Seriously, how did he miss that? Was I really that terrible at communicating?

Yes.

Thank you Pinkie.

Jackie stood up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I agree to this plan."

"You see?" I exclaimed. "Sense!"

"I prepared the body dye and we need to get it on you soon if you're going to be Midna. Give me twenty minutes to apply and ten minutes for it to dry... and I think Erishy can handle helping the other ponies into their costumes and applying her own makeup."

My eyes narrowed to pinpricks. "Wait, I thought you were making a bodysuit?" Bodypaint meant OH FRICK FRICK FRICK.

"Nope. Body paint and colored contacts." She tilted her head. "And hair dye. I don't half-do things. Now finish those pancakes missy!"

FRICK FRICK FLARKING SKREEPING FRICKITY DANGIT.

A mare without an option, I unhinged my jaw and pulled the entire stack of pancakes down my throat with a single gulp.

".... that's just freaky," Ginny commented after a moment.

Comments

[TundraStanza]

Unnecessary spacing between last two lines is unnecessary.
So pointless that I can't help but smirk at it.

[Red Bomber]

Sounds like a good plan and lots of story building time. I just hope Ian is okay with being dragged around like a doll little longer.

[Ebonheart]

2292981 The premise has promise and has delivered, but with all the other parts on hiatus or spinning their wheels loss of interest is to be expected.
I do hope the other parts get in gear soon...

[Firebirdbtops]

I suppose it's just that time of the year for you...

[blazikenking]

Seems that Pinkie's skills are starting to surface. It's highly amusing.

[ForeverFreest]

Oh yay! This needs a ukulele ditty. I'll get right on that.

[Themaskedferret]

So...Is pinkie sort of discorded or really discorded? Because honestly she seems *really* discorded. Completely ignoring the feelings of her friends repeatedly and all...

[Scarves]

Then her jaw unhinged like a snake! It was horrifying!
"Thank goodness the children weren't around to see it."
Pinkie!

(Llama's with Hats reference.)

[Arcadia Arcanum]

"DARLINGS! BEHOLD!"
Jackie had reemerged, still dressed as Photo Finish and now presenting her latest achievement: Stuffing my little brother into a green tunic and cap, complete with shield and sword wrapped around his body and, I noticed, a little Triforce wristband.

...
must resist adding music
whoops i failed

[Alondro]

2293224 And that is problem #1 will collabs. If others fall behind for too long, it all starts to come apart.

And that doesn't even address problems 2, 3, 4, and 5.

[Voltrasin]

I took stock of their position, making sure they were all situated, before clopping.

[R4skall]

SMELL ME!!!!! ^.=.^

[A friendly face]

3330871 ME TOO!!!

[Pinklestia]

Yes, being Pinkie Pie is freakie.

[Kaffeina]

Ian turning into Apple Bloom ADORABLE!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPP!!!!!

[sorenxoras]

I unhinged my jaw and pulled the entire stack of pancakes down my throat with a single gulp.

Mmmm, thats sexy.

[Glowing Ember]

4134427