Vanguard Of Harmony

by Enfield

Is This Who You Once Were?

The trip through the town this time was a little less lonely but the feeling of hostility still loomed overhead. There were a few other ponies who came out of their homes and wandered around the streets, they stared at Lauren with suspicion but when they saw the ponies around her they went back to wandering aimlessly about the town. They viewed Lauren's interaction with Scott, Twilight and Applejack as strange but they stayed away from the four. When they managed to get deeper into the town Scott walked over to a pony who was tending to a small patch of dead roses.

"Hi," Scott said, "Which way to Sugarcube Corner?"

The pony didn't give Scott a second glace, she just tended to the flowers and shook her hoof to the left.

"It's over there," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. Scott looked at the dead roses and placed his hoof over the Element around his neck and felt a warmth run through his body which then went icy cold. The pony looked at him with confusion as he stepped closer to the roses.

"What are you doing?"

Scott snorted and spat out a glob of saliva into the soil, the pony stared in disgust and watched as the phlegm was absorbed by the soil and the roses started to quiver. Scott and the pony watched as the roses slowly started to turn green and blossom, within a few seconds the roses bloomed and grew twice their original size.

"Wow," the pony said, "Did you do that?"

"Yeah," Scott said as he put one hoof around the pony's neck, "Makes the place seem so much brighter."

"Three months of trying to get these things to live and you manage to do it in less than a minute."

"Just keep them alive, I'm sure that you'll have all of your orchard alive by the end of the week."

Scott left the pony to her garden work and joined Twilight, Applejack and Lauren. Twilight nodded in approval and led the way to Sugarcube Corner.

"What did you do?" Lauren asked.

"I just made the town a little brighter," Scott replied, "So, where's my former place of occupation?"

"Just over here," Twilight said. She led the three to a half wrecked building in the shape of a cake, Scott inhaled deeply and sighed.

"Ah, memories. Come on, let's go and see if the Cakes remember me."

Scott took point as they entered the store. The interior was a wreck, chairs and tables were scattered across the room trash and half eaten stale cakes littered the floor, the signs of a family trying to get on in tough times were visible. Scott shook his head in disbelief as he walked deeper into the store.

"Scott," Twilight said. Scott cut her off before she could say another word.

"Hello? Mr and Mrs Cake? Are you here?"

Lauren walked into the kitchen and looked at the mess on the worktables.

"How could they leave the kitchen in such a state?" she asked.

"They haven't been in Ponyville for a long time," Applejack said, "The Cakes left a few days after the town famine started."

"Wait, when did the famine hit?" Scott asked.

"Over nine months ago," Twilight said, "It started in Stalliongrad and then moved around the kingdom until it stopped here."

"Was Canterlot affected?"

"No, they managed to find a way to stop it at their gates, but they're trying to distribute as much spare food as they can to the other towns."

"This is terrible," Lauren said, "I didn't know that something like this could happen here, this was meant to be a stable and peaceful world."

"Why are you concerned?" Applejack asked.

"Because I made this world."

Applejack sank to the floor and bowed before Lauren.

"Ah'm sorry your Greatness, if ah had known that you were the Creator then ah would have given you a better greeting."

"It's okay Applejack, meeting you alone was enough."

"Aw, thanks sugarcube," Applejack said as she rose.

"No-one's ever called me sugarcube before."

"She's renowned for saying that word, aren't ya Applejack?" Scott said as he ascended the stairs, he stopped halfway up and fabricated a small pair of two-way radios, he gave one to Applejack and mounted the other on his back. "We need to stay in contact of each other in case we find Pinkie. This place is bigger than it looks."

"Ah don't know how to use these," Applejack said as she fiddled with the palm sized device, Lauren took it from her and clipped it to her front shirt pocket.

"I can use this, it's easy enough for someone like me to use."

"Good, now you stick with Applejack, Twilight, with me. We'll take a look around upstairs while you search the basement," Scott said as he and Twilight went up the stairs.

"I have to ask, why do we need these when I can just teleport to them every so often?" Twilight asked as she opened up a door to the left, which was an empty bathroom.

"Because I've got nasty feeling in the back of my mind and I don't want us to get separated."

"What, do you think that Pinkie's in her murderous Pinkimina stage?" Lauren's voice crackled over the radio, Scott chuckled and pressed the transmit button.

"Nah, I know that she's in her killer mood," Scott said in a very dark tone, "Stay away from the shadows."

Scott and Twilight searched all of the bedrooms upstairs and they both ended with the same result: Nothing. Scott called Applejack and Lauren and they too hadn't found Pinkie. Frustration taking over his mind, Scott started to look for attic hatches and secret doors hoping to find something that might help. He did find an attic hatch in the hallway and he called Applejack and Lauren upstairs.

"You think Pinkie's up there?" Lauren asked once she arrived. Scott nodded.

"Hopefully, Twilight, bring the ladder down."

Twilight brought the ladder down with her magic and ascended the stairs. In the darkness of the attic Twilight was unable to see but a small window let in some sunlight which cut a bright line across the wood floor and ending at a tinge of pink on the floor.

"Pinkie?" Twilight shakily asked. She was greeted by a pair of blue eyes staring at her. "Um, Pinkie, are you going to come downstairs and meet the new townsfolk?"

The eyes continued to stare, Twilight shifted from one hood to the other.

"Well, um, the new ponies who moved here. They have heard about you and they want to meet you."

The eyes moved, tilting to one side and then the lower eyelids moved upwards slightly and a set of pearl white teeth glowed in the sunlight.

"Sure Twilight," a disturbing voice said, "I'd love to meet the new folks."

"Okay then," Twilight said uneasily, "Let me just light the way for you."

Her horn glowed and Pinkimina Diane Pie walked over to her and stopped next to the attic hatch. Twilight left the attic first and Pinkie followed, what worried Twilight the most was how Pinkie would react to Lauren. Her fears were confirmed, once Pinkie saw Lauren her creepy smile dropped and she lunged at her without warning, but before she could get close an unseen force slammed her into the ceiling and then the floor.

"I-MUST-KILL-THE-MONSTER!" Pinkie yelled as she struggled against the force that was holding her down.

"You're not killing anyone Pinkie. Do I need to hit you on the nose again?"

Pinkie stopped squirming and she looked up at the stallion with the glowing stone around his neck.

"Scott?" Pinkie said in a breath. Scott sat down next to the prone Pinkie and stroked her mane.

"What happened to the lovable pony that gave me a job here? Where did all that random kindness go?"

Pinkie smiled as tears streamed down her face. Scott released the field holding her and she dove on top of him, the two tumbled a few times before Scott slammed the back of his head into a wall, Pinkie was hugging him tightly around his neck, crying and laughing.

"You're back, you're really back," she said through tears.

"I missed you as well," Scott said as he pressed his head against Pinkie's flattened mane, "You've changed in the year I was gone."

"A lot's been happening."

"I know."

Pinkie nuzzled Scott's neck making him laugh a little and tighten his grip around Pinkie.

"Is somepony ticklish?" Pinkie taunted.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Scott said, he saw Lauren crouched down next to Twilight and nodded to them. "Pinkie, do you want to say hi to my new friend?"

Pinkie let go of Scott and slowly walked over to Lauren, her head almost touching the floor in fear.

"I'm really sorry I tried to attack you," Pinkie said, "I've been through a lot but I didn't mean it."

"It's okay Pinkie," Lauren said, "You said sorry and I forgive you. Also, where's your trademark mane and tail?"

"Huh?" Pinkie asked. Scott stood next to Pinkie and put his hoof on her shoulder.

"She means the usual fuzzy look that you had. I think I know a way to get it back to it's original form."

Scott poked her in the ribs and a small shock ran through Pinkie, making her giggle and causing her mane and tail to fluff up. She felt the fuzziness of her mane and smiled.

"Thanks Scott."

"Well I wouldn't be able to do it if somepony wasn't ticklish," Scott said jokingly. Pinkie punched him playfully on the foreleg.

"I'm really glad that you're back to your old self," Twilight said.

"Me too," Pinkie said, "I don't know how I sat up there for so long without getting bored."

"You say some strange stuff Pinkie," Applejack said.

Pinkie grinned and looked at Lauren.

"So who are you?"

Lauren got down to head height with Pinkie and pulled the pony closer to her.

"Pinkie," she said softly, "This might seem a little bit unusual and it might be hard to believe but I need to tell you something, something of utmost importance."

Pinkie shuffled closer and stared at Lauren.

"Yes?"

"Pinkie, I am your god."

"What?" Pinkie said with a laugh, "Everypony knows that those are old mares tales right? I bet it's a joke you made with Scott, you know, because he's a human like you."

"You still remember that?" Scott asked.

"No, I'm not joking with you Pinkie," Lauren said, "I know you, I helped create you. Pinkie Pie, you have to believe me."

"I don't know if I can right away, but I will if you prove it."

"Is it me or has Pinkie, changed?" Scott asked Twilight. Twilight nodded and continued to watch the human god and the party pony.

"I can prove it Pinkie, I know all about your life and how you got your Cutie Mark."

"How could you know? We've never met until now."

Lauren took hold of Pinkie's head and stared her directly into her eyes.

"You once lived on a rock farm with your parents and your sisters. It was a boring life for you, nothing ever happened and you longed for some color in your life. One day you saw a rainbow and it made you smile, and because of that good feeling you vowed to make your family happy as well and you succeeded. You threw a party for your family and they loved it, henceforth you got your cutie mark."

Pinkie's jaw crashed to the floor, she sat there frozen. A whole three minutes passed before anyone said anything.

"If she's not your god then how does she know so much about you?" Scott asked. Pinkie's lower jaw retracted and she sighed.

"I guess you're right, Scott," Pinkie said softly. She then switched to her normal high pitched voice and held out her hoof, "Nice to meet you, whoever you are."

"It's Lauren, Lauren Faust."

"Ohhh, so you are the Creator. Why didn't you tell me your name?"

"It didn't cross my mind."

"Ooh! Ooh! Wait here for a second."

Pinkie shot off like a bullet, leaving only a cloud of her form that dissipated in a second. Lauren and Scott looked at each other questioningly and Pinkie returned, a box on her back.

"Oh my god, she's got a cake," Scott thought.

"Here you go," Pinkie said to Lauren as she handed her the cake. Lauren opened the box with shaking fingers as Scott leaned closer to see what kind of cake it was. Twilight and Applejack leaned over Scott to see as well. The four looked at the cake, it was a chocolate cake with white icing. Written on the cake were the words, "Welcome Great Creator". Scott sniggered and shifted his amused stare to Pinkie.

"You've got a cake for every kind of situation haven't you?"

"Yep, I'm always ready for any cake related greeting."

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

Heh, Pinkie will always be Pinkie