Chapter Fourteen: Eris vs Pinkie, A Beautiful Melody, Greed's Redemption, and Lyra's Sorrow
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// Chapter Fourteen: Eris vs Pinkie, A Beautiful Melody, Greed's Redemption, and Lyra's Sorrow// Story: Living the Good Life// by Aetherpony//------------------------------//
The two scramble out of their chairs and out the door. They look around in hopes of finding you, but you’re already out of sight. You’re walking at a brisk pace towards Sugarcube Corner. After what just happened you need to find a friendly pony to hang out with. At least until today blows over.
You just hope she didn’t see what you did to Fluttershy. Pinkie was probably friends with her too considering they were both elements. You possibly beat up one of her best friends. You sigh to yourself as your mind wanders over the events that occurred just yesterday. The image of Fluttershy’s beaten face and her sobbing only furthers your guilt.
You can’t seem to stop thinking about it. Twilight’s crying makes its way into your thoughts as well. You thought you were doing well, or at least you thought. Perhaps you messed up your ability to make friends when you took that factory job. Then again anyone who worked in that place became a husk of their former selves. When people weren’t on break they’d perform their tasks in a daze.
It was like being a robot without the cool stuff that brings. That is, until someone was stupid enough to perform their task wrong and lose a finger. You remember a guy who worked with you by the name of Bob Hurst. He was a prick among pricks. He’d do things incorrectly, he’d spread rumors, and he would love giving people the middle finger. One day when he was working on melting the metal being brought in, and he was smoking on the job. You recall him gasping and reaching out for the cigarette he couldn’t keep in his mouth.
He screamed at the top of his lungs. The moron reached into the liquid metal for his nicotine fix. When he pulled his hand back there wasn’t much left of it. You chuckle to yourself as you recall the event. You also remember what you said to him when he came into work some time later, “Hey Bob, please tell me you fap with your left hand. If you don’t you’re fucked and not in the good way.” You smile as you recollect how much he yelled. He was so mad at you, and you couldn’t have laughed any harder. He brought his injury upon himself.
A pink and red ball of fur latching to your chest jerks you from your thoughts. Hooves wrap around your torso making whatever it is stay attached. You yelp before leaping a little from the sudden sensation.
“Hi Nonny!” you hear it shout. Oh wait, it’s just Pinkie Pie. You look down to find her smiling up at you. Her eyes and parts of her mane are covered by the hood of the jacket you gave her. Hold on, what did she just call you?
“Wait, did you just call me Nonny?” She responds by nodding her head rapidly. You swear you can hear something rattling within her skull.
“Yes indeedie! So, why’re YOU all alone on Hearts and Hooves Day?” Her eyes seemingly stretching out of her head as if to examine you closely. As if she wasn’t close enough, you still can’t get over the concept of being given a pet name. Screwball called you the same thing.
You sigh before looking around. You find pony couples going about their day. Some are being confessed to with gifts, other ponies are sharing meals, and even some older ponies are sitting upon benches together content with just enjoying their day together. None seem to be in ear shot however. You’re going to tell the party pony all about your morning, but you’d rather not have others overhear you.
“It’s a secret.” Pinkie’s eyes seem to light up before her smile widens.
“Ooh! Did you Pinkie Promise not to tell anyone?” you shake your head, “Awesome! Tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me!” she repeats without stopping to catch a breath of air.
“Okay, fine! Just, calm down.” Pinkie stops her endless chatter and gives you her undivided attention. After taking a deep breath you tell her about your little date with Eris and Screwball, and about how they have the elements. Then you tell her about Eris shoving the muffin down your throat and pissing you off. Pinkie’s immediate reaction surprises you
“That’s it?” The flat, disappointed tone throws you for a loop.
“Y-yeah I guess that’s it.” You raise a brow when Pinkie starts to snicker.
“Aw, come on, Nonny! You can’t just be a Grumpy Gus and storm off because someone’s being nice! Eris just wanted you to try a muffin silly filly!” You refrain from shouting “what” at the top of your lungs. You find it odd that she’s not acknowledging the part about the elements, or that you’re hanging out with Discord’s daughters.
She’s only pointing out the fact that you’re alone. She let’s go of your chest and hits the ground on all fours. Suddenly, one of her front hooves wraps around your wrist. You find yourself being dragged in the direction of the café.
“I’m not gonna let meanie-weanie-Anoninie ruin his day!” Pinkie happily drags you along. You’re trying to pry yourself away, but you fail at each attempt.
“How the hell am I being mean? I’m not the one trying to suffocate people with my food!” Pinkie giggle snorts at your reply.
“Oh, Nonny, you’re so crazy. Nopony wants to hurt you! You should have just chewed your muffin!” you growl, your patience is wearing thin. Pinkie’s happy attitude isn’t helping either.
“I can’t chew a muffin when it’s forced down my god damn throat!” you grind your teeth as you start trying to remove Pinkie’s hoof with improved vigor. You contemplate gnawing your hand off at the wrist.
“See! You shouldn’t be like that. Why are you so mad Nonny? You’re supposed to be having fun, and shame on you for leaving your special someponies alone.” The muscles in your left eye twitch involuntarily. It gets worse when you see a very familiar chimera and pony searching around buildings near the café. When Pinkie spots them she calls out their names. You try desperately to get away and run for it but it’s no use.
“Hey!” Eris shouts as she and Screwball approach. Neither seems to be sporting irate glares nor do they seem to be angry. In fact, they seem worried, at least until they saw you.
Eris breathes a sigh of relief, “There you are!” Pinkie’s beaming at this point. She probably thinks she did a good job while you think she’s nothing but a dirty traitor.
“Here you go!” Pinkie pushes you over to Eris and Screwball. “Nonny was being weird! He thought you two were trying to kill him!” Eris avoids eye contact while laughing nervously.
“Yeah, that’s crazy, yup.” Screwball snickers while you glare at Pinkie, “Well… thanks for bringing him back.” Eris seems reluctant to say anything more to the pink party pony, let alone a thank you. You try to take a step away from Eris but her lions paw drapes around you before you can. You curse inwardly.
“You’re welcome!” Pinkie exclaims cheerfully.
“Now if you’ll excuse us,” They turn to leave with you in tow, but the party pony steps in front of them, blocking their path.
“No can do. Nonny here ran away and is being a total grumpy frumpy lumpy! I’m going to stay and make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Pinkie trots over and stands with the three of you.
“Besides, he needs to learn how to be a proper special somepony. You can’t just run out on a date.” Pinkie adds.
Eris looks her over, “And I suppose you’re the pony for the job?” To everyone’s surprise Pinkie nods. Eris’ frown deepens, “Yeah… nope,” she snaps her talons. Right when she does Pinkie’s body glows in a purple hue before disappearing in a flash of light. “There we go.” With that Eris leads you and her sister away from the area.
Like you were with Pinkie, you’re forced to go in whatever direction Eris is leading you in. You’re wondering just how these creatures could be stronger than you furiously. The fact that they are only infuriates you.
“So, where are we going and why didn’t you consider this date a crash and burn after your fuck up?” You’re sure to keep anger out of your voice. Regardless you still sound like an ass.
“We’re giving you a second chance Anon. Please try not to mess this up.” Eris smirks, though the guilt from what happened is prevalent behind her gaze.
”Yeah!” Screwball adds. You look down to her to find her glaring up at you; her lower lip is stuck out in a pout.
“And about what happened in the café, I’m sorry. I won’t do that again.” Your eyes widen a little before casting them towards the chimera. You were expecting something along the lines of verbal abuse, yet you got an apology.
“Well, I didn’t think you’d say that.” You surprise is palpable.
“Why not? You’re supposed to have fun too. You shouldn’t have to be worry for your life or be miserable. Why do you think we’re here and not in Canterlot?” She asks.
“I thought you were supposed to be making this hard on me. To make me think I really earned the Elements.” You grimace when Eris thumps the back of your head with her lion’s claws.
“You really believed that banter Anon?” With that question comes more confusion. You nod causing Eris to groan when she realizes yes, you did believe her and Screwball. “For the love of… ugh Anon, daddy found out we stole The Elements and he’s making us give them to you. It doesn’t matter how today goes.” Eris explains, obviously annoyed by your reaction.
“W-what?” is all you can manage. Confusion is one of many words that could be used to describe how you’re feeling right now.
“So, we’re just going to have fun today? No pressure?”
“That’s what we were hoping for yes. The muffin incident kind of put a damper on that.” Screwball glares her sister’s way.
“And that ‘giving you a second chance shtick?’” you inquire.
“What? You can’t take a joke?” Eris asks before winking and giggling. You could honestly say you felt a large weight being lifted off of your shoulders. And maybe you could allow yourself to have some semblance of fun. You needed something to help take your mind off of yesterday’s happenings. Aside from the awkward stares, the immaturity of Screwball, and the near muffin suffocation today might not be all that bad.
Besides, Eris apologized, and maybe you did over-react a little. After all, if you really were going to die by asphyxiation you’re sure they would have helped you. You still remember how bad Screwball felt for hurting you with her water prank back when you were bedridden from your injuries. There’d be no way she’d let you die.
All of that could be possible, or you’re being too forgiving and this is a huge mistake. You’re better off just winging it and seeing what will come of it. If something like what happened at the café happens again you’ll just call it quits and go about your day. You still get the Elements, so what do you lose, aside from potential friends? Friends that were also your room mates…
You sincerely hope nothing else happens. Well, what’s the worst that could happen? The sound of an electronic, repetitive beat catches your attention. Without realizing it you’ve made it to the other side of town. Just how long were you walking with Screwball and Eris? You have really have to stop putting yourself on auto pilot. One day you’ll probably walk off of a cliff and won’t notice until the ground is right there in your face. As the music grows louder you look between the two.
You notice both are silent, hopefully you weren’t ignoring anything they were saying. You’re starting to feel quite anxious, it doesn’t help that they haven’t’ stopped dragging you along.
“Hey guys, where are we going?”
“I told you there’s ponies’ gathering in the market. They’re having a good time with each other. I figured we should join em.” Eris looks back at you sporting a grin. “And you need to learn to pay attention.”
You open your mouth to retort, but Eris is right about that. Seriously what’s wrong with me? Screwball’s snickering at your sudden realization causes you to narrow your eyes.
“What? She’s right, you know.” She says in between giggles. As the stands along the outskirts come in to view you see crowds of ponies near the center of the area. Dozens of them are dancing upon a red and pink cloth that covers the poker cards. A long rectangular table to the left of the “dance floor” has assorted sodas, snacks, and candy.
It seems like Hearts and Hooves Day is a holiday that helps support bad eating habits. It reminds you so much of Earth. People on Valentine’s Day couldn’t get enough candy either. As you, Eris, and Screwball get closer to the crowds the ones who notice you start getting the attention of the other ponies around them.
They point to your small group as you draw near. The ponies on the dance floor part like the sea for the three of you. You hear the music end abruptly with a record scratch. You awkwardly glance at the staring ponies. It seems like this kind of situation is going to follow you wherever you go. They start by glaring, and then whispering to one another.
This state of events goes on for a few more moments before you hear Pinkie call out among the figurative sea of ponies.
“Aw come on, everypony, let them have their fun!” she shouts before climbing upon a random stallion. She trots over the heads and backs of various ponies. Her eyes are set on the record player located near the concession table. After she fumbles with it for a moment the beat picks right back up yet again.
While you appreciate Pinkie’s willingness to help you out, you can’t help but wonder what she’s doing here. Eris teleported Pinkie away somewhere, you assumed it’d be far away from here. You turn to Eris to ask, but it seems as though Eris already knew what was coming.
“Anon, I sent her to Trottingham, a town twenty miles from here. I have no idea how she got back here in fifteen minutes.” You shrug in response, “I guess the best way to explain it is, she’s Pinkie Pie. I figured she was a bit different.” You watch as Pinkie starts doing her own rendition of what you think is the chicken dance.
Eris rolls her eyes, “I think I might be losing my touch.” Once the tune starts getting faster Pinkie goes from pony to pony. She gets them to move in sync with the beat of the music.
“Get those flanks moving everypony! There’s nothing to see here but couples!” she yells over the noise as she continues to make other ponies moving. Her infectious attitude seems to cause the ones staring at you to finally stop and go back to flitting about. Though it doesn’t stop them from casting the occasional glance your way it’s better than what it was.
You watch as Pinkie comes trotting up to the three of you. She bobs and weaves around various ponies, dancing all the while until she finally appears at your feet.
“You too Nonny!” Pinkie yells with a grin before wrapping her hooves around the three of you. Your group is forced to the center of the dance floor. None of you dare try to break out of Pinkie’s iron grip. For one if Eris’ magic didn’t do its job it will probably fail again. The second reason would be because her gripping you alone is breaking all kinds of physical laws.
When she finally lets go she tries to get the three of you to move just like the other ponies are. Screwball seems to be a fan of trance so she gets into the beat without too much trouble. Eris won’t take her doubtful gaze off of Pinkie, but she herself becomes engrossed with the song. Soon she’s moving about without a care, aside from the occasional glance at Pinkie of course.
You can’t blame her. Where you in Eris’ metaphorical shoes you’d be apprehensive of the pink party pony too. Now you’re the only one not dancing among the sea of ponies.
“Come on, Anon! move those legs!” Pinkie exclaims before lighting tapping both your knees with a hoof. You shake your head before attempting to move off of the dance floor. You don’t mind if Eris and Screwball dance that’s their thing, let them have fun. You however aren’t much of a dancer. The snacks and pop are calling your name though.
Pinkie won’t have it. You feel her hooves wrap around your legs at the thigh. She forces you to turn to her. She alternates between hopping around you and dancing on her hind hooves. That in turn keeps you from going anywhere.
“Don’t ruin the fun! Get dancin’!” Judging by how Pinkie seems to be attached to your hip there’s no way you’re getting out of this without at least swaying a little bit. You sigh to yourself before your shoulders slump. You really didn’t want to do this, you were hoping to avoid it altogether, but Pinkie just had to step in.
Fine, if Pinkie wants you to dance you’ll do it. You start moving back and forth in repetition in hopes of getting into sync with the beat. Eventually your shoulders, arms, and legs are all moving in beat with the song. Pinkie nods approvingly. Luckily trance is easy to move to and no one around you is silently judging you; you hope.
You don’t dance often, and you’re a little self-conscious about it, but no one around you is paying you any mind. That helps you get more into the music. Soon the only thing occupying your mind is the beat that seems to reverberate through your very core. Your ears are alight to the sharp sounds of the tune playing through the record player. You almost stop wondering as to how a record player is capable of playing any sort of techno beat…
An untold amount of time passes before you open your eyes and really take a look around. You find Eris and Screwball dancing together just a few feet away while Pinkie hasn’t move from her spot in front of you.
“I see you’re having fun, Nonny! I’m also having fun myself!” She giggles and snorts before going back into her little boogying world. She’s thrown flank shaking into her repertoire of dance moves. You can’t help but laugh as she does her little move in exaggerated motions, almost as if she were a child trying to copy an adult’s way of dancing. You don’t know how but she can hear you laughing over the music. She turns around and blows raspberries at you.
“I know I look silly, but I’m enjoying myself!” You point to her and say nothing. You simply smile before shaking your head. Sometime later she yells out, “I saw what you did to Fluttershy.” You freeze in your tracks before looking to Pinkie with wide eyes.
Of course she knew she knows what happens to every pony. At least that’s what Twilight told you. Pinkie’s smile is gone, but she doesn’t appear angry with you; she just seems sad.
You open your mouth to speak but she cuts you off, “I know why you did it. She was being mean and nasty to Twilight. That really wasn’t Fluttershy, so I’m not mad at you.” You wipe the sweat from your brow in relief, you try to go back to dancing but Pinkie’s frown and sad stare stops you.
”Was I that bad? I know I was being mean to everypony, especially you, but I don’t remember everything I did. I think I can remember you coming into Sugarcube Corner, but I don’t know anything after that, until you threw powder at me, and the mess.” Pinkie looks to you for an answer.
You shake your head. “All you did was make me clean up that huge mess. Fluttershy had me bedridden. You weren’t bad compared to her.” You tell Pinkie before trying to get back into your groove. Pinkie nods before her frown starts to melt away.
“Hey Anon?” she asks while bouncing around.
“Yeah what is it?” You finally find the groove you were in prior to Pinkie’s questions.
“Are you really Special Someponies with those meanies Eris and Screwball?”
“Nope, not at all,” you answer her without a moment’s hesitation. After all you’ll be getting your reward no matter what happens. There’s no need to lie. You have no idea if you should even consider this a real date or not.
Right now it’s just you having fun with your room mates and friend. Pinkie’s smile seems to get a little bigger from your answer. She starts bouncing around you in a circle yet again. She performs poses in the air at the peak of each bounce.
“Well, then, how, about. Being, my—“she tries to ask between bounces. She’s cut off by a combination of both Screwball and Eris knocking her away with a hip bump.
You watch as Pinkie goes flying in some random direction. She’s caught by a sea of ponies. You see her point a hoof in anger at Eris and Screwball before being forced to ride the wave of dancing patrons. Soon Pinkie is out of sight.
”Hey, Anon!” Eris and Screwball greet you with a smile.
“Isn’t this beat great!” Scewball asks before grabbing hold of your hand with a hoof.
Eris mimics Screwball’s actions, taking your free hand in hers. Together they lead you to the opposite end of where Pinkie is at.
“Uh, yeah it is.” You’re a bit thrown off by their actions. While you’re curious as to what Pinkie was trying to ask you, you’re sure that if it was important she’ll find you and ask you again. Until then, you’re going to enjoy the rest of your time here on the dance floor. An hour or two passes with you either grooving with Eris and Screwball, or taking a break to get a few drinks in you.
When the next song ends there’s a ten second pause before an announcement rings out from the record player. A deep, booming voice calls out the ponies.
“This next one’s gonna take you way back to the early days. You party animals are gonna get a good ol’ dose of nostalgia. Better grab your special someponies for this one.” How is that record player doing all of this?
As a combination of clarinet and violin, along with various other instruments begin their concerto, you're awestruck. This masterpiece, you've never heard anything like it. Light, yet commanding and unyielding. The way the symphony carries itself just makes you feel airy, weightless even. It makes you want to move, not in the way the trance was earlier. No, this, you couldn't just move in sync with the music. What you’re hearing is something you had to feel, to savor, to play with and enjoy. You find yourself moving unconsciously.
It's almost as if the tunes themselves are embracing you. To carry you away from the culmination of anger and fear that wells inside. The indecision of who to side with, the thoughts that dwell upon Fluttershy and Twilight; it all starts to fade away as the melody rises in volume and in strength. You allow the melody to flow through your very being. To become entranced by this, is so relaxing. The world seems to give way to an abyss filled with the notes from the symphony being played.
It's as if the burning from dancing these past few hours has melted away. With a lazy, contented smile playing upon your features you continue to move with the concerto, oblivious to those around you. That is until Eris taps upon your shoulder. You turn around to find her staring you up and down with a raised brow.
“What’s with you?” She doesn’t sound concerned, just utterly confused. You smile and weave slowly with the music.
“I think I just need to enjoy it. I haven’t gotten to do something like this in a long, long time.” You say before closing your eyes and entering your wonderland of melody for a second time. Eris rubs her griffin arm with her lion’s arm nervously while glancing back and forth at the various ponies dancing with their significant other.
“Hey Anon,” you open an eye when she says your name. “Ya know, all these ponies have a partner, and I know you don’t HAVE to be around us today if you don’t want to…” you can see where she’s going with this already. “But it looks a little awkward, what with the two largest things out here dancing alone.” You take a quick glance around to find that you and Eris are literally the only ones out on the floor without a partner.
Admittedly you're a bit reluctant to do so. She did nearly suffocate you with a muffin. While you're making a grand attempt at pushing that image out of your mind; it still resurfaces. She can feel sorry about it all she wants, but that won’t make you want to be around her any more.
What if she ends up dipping you while you dance? God forbid she bends you so far back she snaps your spine. She can’t just “sorry” something like that away. Or what would happen if she spun you? She obviously doesn't know her own strength. Her tossing you into the pool like a ragdoll attests to that. She might make you spin around like a top.
Naturally you'd end up smacking in to other ponies in the process. You don't want to make these party patrons hate you any more than they already do now.
“Then find someone. I'm having fun here." You turn your back to Eris and getting back in to the melody.
Eris shakes her head in disbelief, “I was referring to us; as in, you dancing with me?” You wave your hand in a dismissive fashion.
“Yeah I’m not doing that with you. I’d like to stay in one piece.” You say, not breaking out of your repetitive movements.
“Oh come on! I said I was sorry, and I really meant it that time!” Eris exclaims angrily. When she realizes you won’t acknowledge her beyond that she becomes so angry her body shakes. “Fine, I’ll find somepony else to dance with, then you’ll be all alone out here.” She crosses her arms and floats away, leaving you to your fun.
You shrug; it’s no skin off your bones. With her gone you can finally have the peace you were hoping to get for this melody. Over the next few minutes you find yourself lost to the symphony of sound being emitted from the blessed record player.
That is until you hear one of the stallions shout, “Hey let me go!” your peace and tranquility is broken when you open your eyes to find Eris dancing with him. By dancing you mean she’s got him off of the ground and at her level. His hind hooves dangle helplessly as Eris leads in a dance fit for something more your size than a pony’s.
Your eyes widen when you find that this stallion has an hour glass cutie mark. What was the name of that stallion Bon-Bon mentioned? Time Turner was it? You look next to the dancing duo to find Bon-Bon fuming over the sight of her partner dancing with Eris. You can see the muscles in Bon-Bon’s eye twitching.
Within a minute you know Bon-Bon is going to drown Eris in her righteous fury, but she seems none the wiser. In fact when she turns to look at Bon-Bon she sticks out her tongue. You sigh exasperatedly. It looks like you’re going to have to be the one that administers damage control. Hopefully you can do something to end the impending storm of rage that’s billowing on the dance floor.
You walk over to the three, “Bon-Bon, is there anything I can do to help?” you ask with a nervous grin. Bon-Bon’s ice cold gaze turns to you. You shiver with fright; you’ve yet to see a pony give such a look. Big Macintosh’s glare from back then was nothing compared to this. It’s like death was behind her gaze just waiting to strike.
“Get, that FREAK, away from Time Turner,” her angry tone causes you to shrink back. Bon-Bon notices this but she doesn’t seem to care. “Please,” she adds. Malice is dripping from her voice. You gulp before nodding. With the possibility of severe retribution in mind you make your way over to Eris and tap her on the shoulder.
“What do you want? Can’t you see I’m dancing?” Eris turns to you obviously annoyed by you cutting in. You point to her partner who’s in obvious distress to the angry Bon-Bon. Eris giggles, “Okay, so she’s angry. Why should I care?” Here’s the part where you need to come up with something quick, something believable.
An idea comes to mind, but you really didn’t want to go through with it. The last thing you wanted to do was stroke Eris’ ego, but it’s either that or Bon-Bon’s fury.
You sigh to yourself. “Eris, this isn’t about her.” You’re trying to sound as convincing as possible. Eris stops dancing, she turns her head to face you but she doesn’t let go of Time Turner.
“Then what’s it about?”
“I’m jealous. It shouldn’t be him dancing with you. It should be me.” You explain. You see a small smile form on Eris’ muzzle. “Besides, I’d probably make for a better partner anyway. After all I’m closer to your height than he is.” You accentuate your point by motioning to Time Turner. You could feel a part of you die inside as Eris’ smile grows. You can see her fangs poking out from her lips. She thinks to herself for a moment before dropping Time Turner.
“Yeah, you're right.” Eris’ voice trails off, “besides, he was boring anyway,” She adds before dropping Time Turner, grabbing your arm, and dragging you off to another part of the dance floor. You couldn’t hear if Bon-Bon thanked you or not, but she better. She has no idea how much you’ve sacrificed in order to get Eris away from her date.
When Eris finds a proper place she finally stops dragging you around. The two of you stand in that spot for a few moments, well you stand, she floats. She smiles to you happily while yours is forced beyond belief.
It doesn’t take long for the same question to work its way through both of your minds. After all it’s only natural for the two of you to be curious. As realization washes over the two of you the two of you ask simultaneously.
“Are you going to lead? I thought you were going to lead!”
“Okay, here, hold on.” With a quick shift of your hands and hers you’re able to get into the proper position for what you think is the waltz; but there’s a problem. One you don’t know what you’re doing and two…
“Eris?”
“Yes?”
“How are you supposed to lead when you’re feet aren’t on the ground?” Eris typically floats and flies from place to place. You’ve seen her feet touch the ground maybe once during the entire duration of your stay.
“Give me a moment and I’ll show you.” Eris stands straight. As soon as her Minotaur and lizard feet touch ground her limbs and torso elongate and contorts in order to mimic your height.
Soon she’s eye level with you. “That’s better.” She has to re-adjusts her claws positions. But with her new appearance it’s not much of an issue. While her griffin talons interlock with your fingers her lion’s paw rests upon your shoulder.
You take your free hand and place it where you believe her hip would be. You’re hoping your hand isn’t trailing any lower than it should. Since you haven’t been slapped yet you believe you have your hand in the right place.
And so you begin. While the dance you are doing should invoke passion that would reflect the sheer beauty of this song, you’re instead showing these pony couples just how little you knew about dancing.
Even with Eris leading you’re stuck looking at her feet in hopes of moving with her. Multiple times you’ve stepped upon her lizard foot. Lucky for you, you can’t exactly step on a hoof. You’d alternate between looking at her and giving her an awkward smile coupled with an apology, to looking at her feet hoping you wouldn’t step on her.
At least you aren’t the only one having problems. On more than one occasion Eris jerks you a little too hard in her direction, causing you to bump in to her. She in turn ends up hitting one of the pony couples trying to enjoy their time. They cast you two an angry glare.
“Sorry.” You mutter before you and Eris get back to your train wreck of a dance. Five minutes pass before your barely passable dance becomes smooth enough for you to take your eyes off of her feet. When you look to Eris’ face you’re met with laughter.
“We look ridiculous don’t we?” She tries to dip you. You nearly lose whatever balance you had and Eris is forced to lean in order to keep you from falling on a unicorn. This is one of the few moments where you’re glad she’s part serpent.
When she pulls you into a standing position you answer, “Yeah we do, but who cares? Are you having fun?” She nods. “Then don’t worry about it.” You grin. Unbeknownst to you a few ponies within the crowd watch you and Eris as you move. Your lack of grace and odd dancing style catches their attention. They’ve never seen a human dance before and yet here you are swaying in a half assed waltz with a chimera. You have really set the bar for human dancing talent.
“So, what happened to Screwball?” You scan the crowd for the little cap wearing pony. Your own question is answered when you find her sipping punch over by the concessions table. You guess she doesn’t dance to this sort of tune. When she catches you looking her way she raises her eye brows before winking. You shake your head before turning your attention back to… Pinkie?
You’re no longer dancing with Eris. At some point Pinkie replaced her; you look down to find that Pinkie appears to have stilts on her hind hooves so she can match your height.
“Hey Nonny.” Pinkie greets, her grin becoming ever so prominent upon her muzzle. “You look so weird dancing like this.” She dips you just like Eris did. Unlike Eris Pinkie’s hooves are able to stretch with you and keep you secure. Pinkie doesn’t even have a humanoid body yet she’s able to accomplish something Eris couldn’t.
When you’re back on your feet you shrug, “Pinkie, I have no idea. I just go with it. And where’s Eris?”
“I dunno! Something about an alligator in the tub?” Pinkie answers with a giggle.
“But Pinkie, that doesn’t make any… sense.” Your eyes widen when you look around her to find Eris stomping towards you and Pinkie. She’s completely soaked and her once disheveled mane now lies flattened due to the water.
You find Gummy has latched himself to a strand of her hair. His soulless eyes stare off into space. When Eris gets to you she growls before pulling you and Pinkie apart. You wince at how tight of a grip she has on your shoulder. She stares menacingly into Pinkie’s eyes.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Eris ends her question with a low growl. Pinkie gives her an oblivious grin before answering.
“I’m just having fun with Nonny! See, I was trying to be nice because I thought you were each other’s special someponies, but since you aren’t I was thinking Nonny’s up for grabs!” You’re thrown into confusion yet again. Before you can ask what Pinkie means she continues her explanation.
“Then I thought ‘Pinkie you should totally get him to be your special somepony’ and I told myself ‘you’re crazy Nonny wouldn’t go for it.’ So I decided to try it, after all what’s the worst that could happen?” Pinkie shrugs when she finishes.
Why would Pinkie want to be your special somepony? What did you do that made her want to? Besides it’s only been a week, that title shouldn’t come up from ANYTHING living on this planet when it regards you. Before you can voice out against Pinkie’s explanation Eris does it for you.
“Not gonna happen.” Eris snaps her talons. A pink cannon appears where Pinkie once was.
“Ooooh what’s this thingy?” you hear her call from within the cannon. Eris smirks before aiming it; her target is Sweet Apple Acres. With a pull of a string the cannon fires Pinkie into the air. You hear her shout with joy as she leaves the cannon. You watch as a blur of pink is launched to the farmlands in the distance. Upon impact Pinkie leaves a small mushroom cloud of pink smoke in her wake.
“W-what?” Your jaw hangs slack upon your face, pony patrons around you stare at the smoke as it slowly dissipates. When it finally does they go back to dancing as if nothing happened.
“Don’t worry about her, she’ll be fine.” Eris takes her place back as your partner. You seem unsure when it comes to Eris’ claim. But if Pinkie could come back to Ponyville almost instantly after being sent to a town many miles away, then she might come back from that.
When Eris places her claws upon your hand and shoulder the two of you try to get back into what little groove you had, but there was a slight problem.
“Eris, you have something in your hair.” You point to Gummy hanging from her locks. Eris’ eyes cast a quick glance over it before looking to face you.
“Oh, don’t worry Anon, it’s just an alligator,” her voice trails off as she processes what she just said to you. Her eyes widen in fear before she shouts, “OH CELESTIA THERE’S AN ALLIGATOR IN MY HAIR!” Eris pushes you away before flailing her arms wildly in a hopeless attempt to knock the Gummy away. She flies around in a panic, knocking over ponies in the process.
You should find this funny, but the angry glaring of the party ponies is keeping you from doing so. You hope Eris can take care of her problem. Finally she manages to swat him and the poor thing goes flying into the punch bowl. A poor unsuspecting pony is now covered in a fruit punch flavored beverage.
“What the heck was that?!” the pony asks before investigating the punch bowl. The curious pony is rewarded with the alligator latching to his snout. “IT’S ON MY FACE! IT’S ON MY FACE!” the pony screams before taking off in a gallop away from the marketplace.
Eris is hyperventilating by the table, Screwball is dying of laughter, and each pony around you looks like they want to kill you. You gulp nervously before tugging at the collar of your shirt.
“I uh, I think we should get going.” You say to no one in particular. You waste no time in picking up Screwball. She laughs in to your ear but you ignore it. You grab hold of Eris’ arm and help lead her away from the dance floor. Lucky for you neither is putting up any resistance.
Eris remains floating while muttering to herself about reptiles and Screwball is busy trying to get in a breath of air from all the laughter she emitted. You have no real destination in mind, but anywhere that isn’t the marketplace or café sounds good to you right about now…
While you’re busy with your chaotic trouble, Rarity the seamstress is having problems of her own. Like the night prior to this one she paces about the foyer of her shop lost in thought. She casts an occasional glance over to a large boulder that has taken residence in the corner of her shop. Sweetie Belle’s words play in her mind like a broken record, as do Applejack’s. When Rarity made her way to Sweet Apple Acres she found Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom playing on the front porch of her friend’s home.
When the two fillies saw Rarity coming Apple Bloom ran inside to get her sister while Sweetie sat and waited for Rarity to get to her. When she stepped on the porch the pits of Tartarus seemed to open up for her. Sweetie didn’t want to have anything to do with her.
Sweetie screaming in such a shrill voice felt like nails upon a chalk board for Rarity. She cringed when her little sister started naming off the things Rarity has done. Sweetie covered topics from as far back as she could remember: Rarity taking her food under the premise of her owning it since she spent her bits to get it. The food hoarding, along with her constantly stealing from others while leaving her to take the blame was taking its toll on the little filly.
Rarity gasped in abject horror when she saw the bandage around Sweetie’s leg. She wanted to examine it, she wanted to see if her little sister was okay, but Sweetie wouldn’t have any of that. Sweetie was sure to stay as far away from Rarity as she could. All the while she kept listing off each and every wrong Rarity has done to her and other ponies.
Each thing brought to light cut into Rarity like a cold, unforgiving knife. She felt as though her heart was being wrenched and torn asunder inside her chest. As her little sister continued to scream through the tears now pouring down her face, Rarity found herself to be in the same state. She couldn’t stand it anymore, this thing she’s become, it isn’t her. It isn’t her at all. Rarity would never willingly put Sweetie Belle through that.
For the first time, Rarity broke down on the Apple Family porch that night. The sheer atmosphere of it all brought Rarity to her belly. She shouted apologizes through her tears. She begged Sweetie to forgive her, but Sweetie would not accept a single one, she couldn’t. Not while Rarity is the way she is. Eventually Apple Bloom came back outside with Applejack in tow. To see her friend in such a state frightened Applejack like no one would believe.
While it hurt her to make this decision, she knew that Rarity couldn’t stay here and do this all night. Applejack had apples to buck and the two fillies needed to get their sleep. With tears of her own beginning to pool around her eyes Applejack had to lead a sobbing, hysterical Rarity off of the property…
As Rarity looks back on it all she finds herself in tears yet again. She’s disgusted with herself, both for what she’s done to those she cares about, and about how she presented herself. She considers herself a mare of class, regality, and of poise. Not some sniveling, helpless mare. This greedy, cowardly persona she’s taken on is a false one, it took the harsh words of her little sister to make her realize this.
Rarity looks upon the boulder yet again. Her eyes narrow in anger. She’s allowed herself to be tricked! How could she have been so foolish? That boulder she thought was something of value wasn’t at all!
“Tom, you’re nothing but a-a horrid boulder!” Rarity promptly turns her head away from the large rock. “While I would take great pleasure in forcing you out of my boutique I’m afraid there are matters that take a higher priority!” Rarity says to the inanimate boulder as she trots into the room containing her mannequins. “I cannot allow such a travesty to continue. I have tarnished my good name enough to last a lifetime. It’s about time I made a few alterations as to how I carry myself.” She appears to be searching for something her eyes light up when she finds a glorious red heart shaped ruby acting as a pendant for one of her dresses.
With a bit of magic she removes it from the dress. She examines it for a few moments before nodding. With a plan set she wipes away the tears upon her cheeks and a look of determination sweeps across her features.
“And I know just where to start.” With her destination made she places the ruby in a saddle bag. With it in tow she makes her way out of her boutique and into the busy streets of Ponyville. While Rarity sets off to make things right you’re currently catching your breath while using the side of a building as support. Eris has finally calmed down and Screwball can’t giggle without yelping in pain.
It appears as though her sides weren’t able to handle laughter of that magnitude. Serves her right, she did nothing to improve the situation. If anything Screwball made it worse. It looks like today has become a train wreck.
The café was a bust and while you were able to dance for a while that too soured. Though the day isn’t over yet, sure the sun is starting to set, but you know the two daughters of Discord have another plan up their sleeve. It only makes sense, considering bad things happen in threes. While you recover from your excursion Eris rubs her chin in thought.
The sound of someone singing catches her attention. Her ears flick from the sound. She turns to find that the three of you are resting next to Ponyville’s Karaoke Bar. There’s a pony current singing something. You have no idea what, but judging by the fact that this pony can’t carry a tune she isn’t doing a very good job.
You look to Eris to find her smiling at the front door of the bar. You turn your head to find Screwball smiling at you menacingly. The two seem to have the same idea in mind.
“Oh no, no no no no.” you repeat while shaking your head. Screwball nods, her eyes never leaving yours.
“Oh yes Anon. We’re gonna sing our hearts out tonight!” Screwball pumps a hoof in the air.
“That we are.” Eris adds before she wraps her claws around the sleeve of your shirt.
It’s your turn to be carried somewhere, and that somewhere is through the threshold of the karaoke bar. You are dreading the terrible moment that is sure to come from this venture. The interior, like most of the buildings today, reflects Hearts and Hooves Day. The tiled flooring has a repeating pattern of Red, Pink, and White. The seven booths lining the right side have their cushions and back rests lined with red material while the tables in the center of each booth appear stark white. The bar opposite to the booths has barstools that match the booths themselves.
The barstools have a red cushion and the pole keeping them planted upon the ground is white. The wooden bar and shelves behind the bartender stallion are all pink. At least the drinks lining the shelves aren’t matching the theme. The interior walls, much like the café’s, have hearts lining them. You’re getting sick and tired of seeing the same patterns and colors everywhere you go. A bar that you believe to be made for certain ponies to come in and forget about the day has now become a jolly, bright, and happy place to be.
Judging by the exhausted look upon the bartender’s face he isn’t happy about the aesthetics of his bar, or maybe it’s because of the mare singing; you don’t know. Speaking of which, you’ve managed to figure out as to why the mare’s singing is horrible. You hear her words being slurred in to the microphone. Whoever is singing is quite inebriated.
You get to your feet and dust yourself off. You’re thankful that Eris has finally let go of your shirt. As you remove the dirt from your jeans you look to the small white and red striped stage at the back of the bar to find a very familiar unicorn standing there. Her mint green coat gives it away. Lyra is standing upon her hind hooves; a bottle of Applejack Daniels in one front hoof, a microphone in the other…
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Curse you for posting this so late, not letting me get any sleep.
Uy I hoped Pinkie reaper, we are not finish with their duel, so far the score goes Pinkie: 1, Eris: 2 and we also have to know how she deal with Screwball. But yeah, we had confirmation Pinkie do like Annon and is willing to fight for him, against chaos itself, that is love.
Oh men, I hoped the singing happen something similar, like the 3 girls fight to sing with Anon and he don't realized with witch one he is singing.
As for Lyra, maybe she is drunk, because of his new best human friend turns out to be with their enemies and though he was evil in the end.
And for Rarity's plan, perhaps he will search for Annon and give him that gem as a peace offer, a thank you, for waking her up, and a pleading request to help her win back her sister and return to her former self, he did wake her up, perhaps he can return her to her former self…
Who knows, she even admire him, for his tough love and bravery to do what no other stallion has done to her, worry and don't be a afraid of spoken tough trues…that should score some points in her book
laughing like mad
Awk, Mr.Asshole gets all the ladies. I can take solace in the fact that it's just a story and if he was real he'd have no one, because he's a fucking asshole. Pinkies right, he should lighten the fuck up, the big angry cry baby.
Karaoke? *gulp*
4108493 Hypocritical are we? Don't call someone an asshole unless you aren't acting like one yourself.
5007802
I think he's here only to insult Anon.
Pinkie steps up her game! This really is going to be a love war between Eris and Pinkie! Love it!
5007802
Aka "it takes one to know one"