Pareidolia
Written by Xfiles90210
Pareidolia: psychological phenomenon involving a vague and randomstimulus(often an image or sound) being perceived as significant.
- Wikipedia
Prologue
Day 13 – Sugarcube Corner
After the meeting with her friends and Peter, Pinkie Pie returned to the Sugarcube Corner: the pastry where she lives and works.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I'm back!" she announced as she was bouncing to the stairs "And I'm going to go soon."
The couple of Earth Ponies looked each other, trying to understand what did the pink Pony meant. Soon, Pinkie Pie went down the stairs carrying two bags: one was full of pastries while the other had several traveler items in it.
"Pinkie, dear" Cup Cake asked "what do you mean by "going to go soon"?"
"Didn't you hear?" Pinkie answered with her normal tone "the zomponies are coming! You'd better get going too, unless you got a boomstick or at least a chainsaw."
"Wait wait wait" said Carrot Cake as he sighed "is this another prank Pinkie? It's not funny, not funny at all."
The pink pony denied with her head, moving it quickly, "nu-uh, I'm saying the truth. Pete's going to bring 'em here aaand he told us to move out of Ponyville."
"And you just found out that all of a sudden?" Cup Cake asked skeptically "and you expect us to believe that zombies will come from nowhere to Ponyville."
"Well, duh!" she replied, "don't be silly, I ain't gonna lie to you" she pointed at her pet alligator, "Gummy's coming with me. You know when he's in, then is serious business."
"Um, sure; why don't you just say it's just another prank you came up with?"
"Okay okay!" Pinkie pointed at the library "go ask Twi about it. She never lies... or at least you'll believe in her."
Mr. and Mrs. Cake were losing their patience. Their friend never behaved like that before, that's the reason behind their lack of trust on her. They still had the doubt if she was telling the truth or not. After a few moments of silence, Cup Cake finally asked Pinkie:
"Well, where will you go to then?"
"Easy question" she replied as she smiled "I'll go back with my family meanwhile" she then made a thoughtful face "and I think Twi told us to meet in Canterlot later."
The couple looked at each other. They'd find out if it was a prank by seeing how far the overactive pony could go before she gets bored and gives up.
"Okay Pinkie, take care on your travel."
"You can come with me if you want!"
"No, no thanks. We'll be fine."
Pinkie Pie stared at them as her smile slowly faded and turned into a serious face. She then smiled again and said: "okie dokie loki!" as she bounced to the door and opened it.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed and turned to the couple, "don't let 'em bite you and don't make any noise. They're not exactly smart" she then bounced outside the pastry, heading to the village's limits.
"Do you think she was telling the truth?" asked Cup Cake as she felt slight fear.
"I... I don't know. We'd better ask Twilight about this" he answered as he was hesitating.
"I agree. Take care of the babies while I go ask her."
"Sure thing."
As the couple finished their conversation, the pink pony was bouncing around Ponyville as she was heading to the dirt road, leading to the open fields and the rock farms.
"My family will get a great surprise when they see me" she thought as she grinned widely, "It's been a looong time, they will surely throw a welcoming party with lots of balloons, streamers and a big delicious cake made by my dear mom" she chuckled.
The Story
Day 14
Equestria's Open Fields
"Well, guess I didn't remember my home place was farther than I thought", the pink earth pony said to her pet alligator as she was stretching her hooves. She was packing a small sleeping bag she used during the night. "Silly me, but at least we're close now!" she said with a smile.
Moments later she, along with her pet attached to her mane, was bouncing through the road. Then, she took a canteen out of her bag, took a swig of its contents and spat them quickly.
"Eww" she cleaned her tongue with her right hoof and giggled, "I should have chosen water instead of chocolate milk, too bad it's not tasty anymore", she then looked at her pet and said: "lucky you, Gummy. You can eat anything with no complain."
The alligator, as usual, just looked distant. The apparently emotionless pet was the perfect antithesis for his owner. Although he had no teeth, he had the instinct to bite anything near him. In this case it has Pinkie's mane, but she didn't complain about it; she even found his peculiar behavior funny.
The pink overactive pony kept bouncing for some more hours, showing no signs of tiredness. For a normal pony it would be impossible, but not for her; she was an overactive earth pony after all, and earth ponies are known for their endurance and strength. Even her peculiar ways of seeing the world has aroused intrigue and curiosity to the ponies around her, like her friend Twilight Sparkle, the violet smart unicorn.
Hours later, she finally arrived to her destination: The Rock Farms. Like other farms, it was formed by a small wooden house and a silo next to it, surrounded by a large extension of open fields.
Normally rocks grow anywhere in the wild, but those rocks Pinkie's family breed were special. Their composition, shape and form were so unique they were used for ornamental, medical and even for building purposes all over Equestria. Many ponies know about them, but only her family knew the secrets of their proper breed.
"Ohh, look Gummy!" she took her pet and rose it in the same direction her house was, "isn't it beautiful? It brings me happy memories", she said as a happy tear dropped from her eye. She quickly cleaned it; put the alligator back on her mane and bounced faster to her home.
The Rock Farms
Meanwhile, inside the house there were a couple of earth ponies. One of them, whose coat was brown and his mane was gray, was named Clyde; he was an old but healthy and energetic stallion whose devotion for his job never changed through the years. His wife, a mare with pale gray coat and grayish green mane, was named Sue; like his husband, she was still a hard-working mare even though her age.
Both have had a strong relationship that never weakened. While he was working on the farm, she was either helping him with his job or at housework. They had three fillies during their youth, Pinkie Pie among them, and took care of them with a love only a parent can offer.
Like Pinkie Pie, the three daughters decided to travel and find their own fates. While at first they kept in touch either through sporadic visits and letters, they then stopped visiting their parents. Not because of a breakup, but because of Clyde's ideals; for him, everypony must be independent and break the ties with their familiars so they could be self-dependant.
Inside the house, Clyde was sitting on a chair and reading the newspaper while Sue was cleaning the small furniture with a plume in her mouth. An atmosphere of tranquility and calm reigned upon the house; they weren't expecting any visitors and there was almost no job to do due the rock season ended a few weeks ago.
Suddenly, they heard the door being knocked constantly. The old stallion just looked briefly at the door while her wife approached to the door with no rush.
"I'm coming, I'm coming", she said calmly she reached the door's knob. She barely turned it when it completely opened and Pinkie Pie entered. With a big grin, she turned to her mother and hugged her.
"Hello mommy!" she said with happiness, "I missed you so much, but now I'm here! Did you miss me? I bet you did!"
"Oh Pinkamena, my dear", Clyde replied and hugged her back, smiling. Then, the pink earth pony turned to her father and approached to him. This time, she only kissed his left cheek.
"Hello papa!"
"Nice to see you again, my lovely daughter", he folded his newspaper, put it on the table next to his char, stood up and cuddled her mane. "What brings you here? It's so unexpected"
"Unexpected is my middle name", she giggled and then continued to talk, "and besides, something very very important brought me here!"
"And what is that, my dear?" her mother asked as she suited her glasses.
"Oh, it's something about..." she stopped talking and then hesitated if she continued to do so.
"About what?" his father said after a moment.
"Erm..." she kept her hesitation and then thought: "I shouldn't worry my own parents. I can deal with this little bitty problem."
"Pinkamena", her mother spoke, cutting her train of thought, "why did you stop talking?"
"Oh, it's nothing really", she then tried to giggle, "it's always important to miss my own parents and visit them. Oh, also..." she showed them her tail. She smiled at their surprised faces when they saw an alligator biting it and then kept talking: "...I brought my pet. His name's gummy!"
"Dear, is that... thing harmless?" Sue asked. Pinkie Pie grabbed Gummy and put it close to her.
"Yes indeedy!" she got it closer to her mother, "look! He has no teeth. He's too young for that"
"Aren't alligators supposed to have teeth since their birth?" Clyde asked while he raised an eyebrow.
"There's an explanation for that, papa!" she grinned, put her pet on her mane and raised her hoof, "and... I think I have it... erm..." she then rubbed her chin and said: "silly me, I don't know", she then giggled.
"I don't like animals inside my house", Sue said with a serious glimpse, "please take your pet out of it."
"But mommy..."
"You know the rules, Pinkamena. All the pets tend to get messy"
"But mom..." Pinkie said with a lower tone and then made a puppy face, "just this time. I promise he won't get messy."
A few moments of silence passed. Her mother could just not continue with her serious attitude since her daughter made the same face she used to make since she was a filly. She couldn't decide if the pet could stay or not. Suddenly her husband talked, cutting the silence:
"All right, Pinkamena. He can stay only if you promise to take care of it and don't let it get the house dirty."
"I Pinkie promise!" she quickly replied with a smile on her face and then said: "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
"Very well; he can stay"
"Yahoo!" she bounced in the air, with hooves opened, and then said: "You know what this calls for? A party!" and, before her parents could say anything, she trotted away from the house towards the silo.
"Oh my, she hasn't changed at all", Sue said calmed.
"And she will never change", Clyde replied, "our lovely daughter will be always happy and doing a lot of things nopony expects", he smiled and then finally said: "we raised them well, darling."
Meanwhile, the pink overactive pony was trotting to the silo when she heard hums. At first she didn't care, but when the sound was getting louder and louder, she stopped, raised her ears and looked at the source of it. She squinted in an attempt to get a clearer view and then she saw them: a swarm of infected parasprites was heading towards the farm. Its size was big enough to look like a dark cloud on the sky.
Pinkie Pie noticed them. At first she said nothing and her smile faded, but then her smile came back and saw the silo.
"My brilliant idea will work! I swear it will", she thought as she approached to the building and entered it. The cloud of Parasprites seemed to get bigger as it was getting closer. Then the silo's door opened again, allowing the pink pony to walk out of it, carrying a phonograph on her back. As she was smiling with confidence, she walked a couple of yards closer to the swarm. She put the musical item on the floor, turned it on and held a vinyl disc on her mouth.
"Come closer", she thought, "and you'll get a pleasant surprise, parasprites". When the swarm was ten yards away from her, she quickly put the disc on it and music started to play. It was the same tune she used the first time she threw a party years ago, the same tune she used to fend off the parasprites a while ago from Ponyville.
The closest Parasprite got only a bunch of inches close to her. Its mouth was open, ready to bite, and its eyes were faintly glowing. Then, it stopped; it looked like if it was hypnotized at the music. It stood still for a moment, as well as the rest of the swarm, and then all of a sudden they started to fly rhythmically around the phonograph.
"I knew you still liked my music more than anything. You're still silly, cute lil' flies", she giggled and put the item on her back. She was walking slowly to the silo while the parasprites were flying around it with calm and rhythm. When she entered the building, the infected insects did the same; she waited until she saw no more parasprites were entering and then she put the phonograph on the center of the building.
She smiled and started to crouch out the silo, being careful to not to touch the teeth of any of them. When she reached the door, she giggled and said: "now you will have tons of fun without bitin'!" She walked out the building, closed the door and locked it. With satisfaction in her eyes, she trotted back to her parent's house; she felt a great relief as she thought she saved Equestria from the infection.
She entered to her home again, looked at her parents and said: "silly me! I forgot to bring my party bag. Too bad, there won't be a party today", she smiled as she tried to get her lie go unnoticed.
Her parents looked at each other confused. Pinkie Pie noticed it and she quickly approached to the stairs. After she said with a fake tone of tiredness: "Yawn, I'm still tired after travelling" she started to walk upstairs.
"Pinkie, my dear", her mother said worried, "you must be hungry."
"Oh well, actually..." she pointed at one of her bags, "This one used to be full of cakes." She giggled and kept walking upstairs. "But thank you mommy, you're so caring. See ya tomorrow, I love you!"
Her mother looked back at her husband with worry. He looked at her and only smiled. "She's just like a filly."
"I should go with her. There's something strange on her."
"Don't be so overprotective, dear. She's a full grown mare now. She knows what she does."
Her wife smiled, took a breath and said: "you're right. I just still see her as that little filly who taught us how to smile and have fun."
"I still thank Celestia for sending us such a lovely daughter. She's not like her sisters, and that difference is what makes her unique." He put his hoof on a chair next to him and said: "just relax and be happy she's with us again. We don't know for how long she will come back again after leaving."
Her wife approached to the chair and sat on it. Clyde then put a hoof on her shoulder and both smiled. The couple of old ponies snuggled together until both fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was already in the room she used to sleep in when she lived with her parents. After she left her bags on the floor, she lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling. Her thoughts were going by fast: memories of her childhood, thoughts about her future and the future of Equestria and, most important, how to say the others she saved Equestria by locking up the parasprites.
"It's such a lovely place, don't you think, Gummy?" she then looked at her pet; he was trying to chew one of her bags. "I wish my sisters were here too. I miss them much", she sighed, "Would be nice to exchange stories about our adventures. I think Inkie became famous on Canterlot with her music. Oh well, I forgot her artistic name." She giggled as she was still looking at her pet, knowing he was listening to her. "I will pass by and say hello to her next time I go to Canterlot. She will be so happy."
She smiled, looked back at the ceiling again and said with determinacy: "Pete's plans were silly after all, so silly I stopped them! Now that there's no threat, I will tell my friends about this", she grinned mischievously, "right after I stay with my family for a week. Yes sir!"
Suddenly and while keeping the same gesture, she closed her eyes and fell asleep in an instant. How she does that is still a mystery for everypony else; but for her, it was completely normal, it was just part of her unique personality.
Day 21
Days passed as Pinkie Pie spent them with her family. They were all happy, they were all with joy. During these days, she never said a word to them about the threat or the reasons that led her to come to the rock farms. Although she couldn't throw a party due to the lack of the phonograph, she didn't really care; she still had a good time. The only things that worried her were keeping an eye on her pet to not to do anything forbidden and ensuring his father to not to go to the silo.
However, none of them suspected the threat was not only still latent, but it was bigger than before. The swarm Pinkie locked up was just the first of many swarms mankind released. She never suspected that; the thought of still being in danger never crossed her mind. She even thought Equestria was completely safe, but she was wrong; worst of all: she realized her mistake the hard way.
During the dusk, Sue was walking through the open fields with a bag on her mouth. She was carrying supplies bought from a seller located only a few minutes from the rock farms. She was humming a song to keep herself entertained while she was walking slowly. Then, she heard a sound behind her; it was like a breath, but it was faltering. She turned around, but she saw nothing. She shrugged and turned back to the farms. She only walked around four yards before she heard the same sound again. She turned around, nervous, and said:
"Who's there?" she looked around, desperately trying to see something, "Pinkamena, is that you?" she received no response, she gulped and then said while hesitating: "Darling, Clyde. Please tell me it's you", as she was waiting vainly for a response, she was stepping back. She then put the grocery bag on the grass, grabbed a lantern she carried in a case of an emergency and lightened it. She took the dumbbell and raised the lantern to light the darkness in front of her.
She looked at her front for a brief moment and then her eyes widened. Her shock was strong enough to make her body tremble in fear and drop the lantern, setting the grass on fire. What she saw made want to scream, but she was mute; it also made her want to run away, but she was petrified: she saw a living corpse standing just in front of her; but it was not a normal Walker, it was an undead filly, she had her mouth opened, showing her lack of teeth; it started to growl as she also saw her and walked to her.
Sue was desperately trying to do anything: run, scream or even step back. Only when she felt the pain of her hoof feeling the heat of the fire, she could move again. She once heard pain is stronger than fear, and she just confirmed that saying. Without caring about the groceries she left or the pain on her hoof, she started to run away from it.
"Clyde, Clyde!" she yelled as she was approaching to the house. His husband, after hearing her, looked through the window and gasped when he saw the scene: her loved wife was being chased by a filly covered in flames. "Help me!"
"What in the hay is that?" he wondered when he approached to the door. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie heard the noises from her room and took a look through her window. She opened her mouth widely in surprise and fear as she remembered the threat she thought she solved.
Meanwhile, the burning filly was trotting fast as Sue was trotting slower and slower. Her condition didn't help her; she was an old mare, she tended to get tired much faster. When she was just forty yards away from the house, she felt a hoof grabbing her. She also felt the fire burning her coat, but the adrenaline on her veins made her ignore the pain and kept moving slowly.
Then, the filly turned its head to the sky and begun to whistle loudly. The whistle was loud enough to be heard miles away. For surprise of Pinkie Pie and her parents, they heard moans and screams from the woods. The grass set on fire helped them see what they were.
"No no no no no", Pinkie mumbled in fear, "I locked up the parasprites. I locked them up!" she put her both hooves on her head, not knowing what to do.
Only a few moments passed before Clyde and her daughter saw the tragedy: The group of walkers surrounded the mare and begun to satisfy their hunger. Their moans and screams were mixed with the screams of agony and great pain. Although it didn't last more than a minute, it seemed eternal for the pink pony, who was watching the entire scene from her room.
His father, with tears on his face, was extending his hoof to her wife. He was shaking, his face showed pain; not physical pain, but the pain of losing Sue, the mare who loved and cared for almost his whole life.
When he realized the group of walkers lifted their heads and turned them to him, he quickly closed the door and went around the house, closing the windows. Pinkie Pie was just looking at her mother without blinking. Her smile, as well as her happiness, faded; she said nothing, she felt nothing. All she was doing was watching.
"Pinkamena!" Clyde said and then opened the door of her room. "We must stay safe, come with me." He looked at her and noticed she was not responding; he then approached to her, covered her eyes with his left hoof and grabbed her front hoof with his right hoof softly.
She opposed no resistance and let him lead her outside the room. Father and daughter went through the upper level of the house until they reached the desired place: on the ceiling was a door that leads to the attic. Clyde looked to it and then grabbed a hook with his mouth and quickly opened it.
Meanwhile, the horde of undead ponies was already breaching the house through the fragile windows and the door. They knew there were more preys inside and they were looking for them. They didn't take much time to find the ladders, but their frenzy made them push each other in an attempt to reach the living ponies before the others.
Their lack of coordination gave Clyde enough time to open the door and let the sliding stairs drop. He didn't lose time and grabbed his daughter's hoof; he led her to the first steps of the stairs and then pushed her so she could climb upstairs.
Her deep shock was still present; she still didn't show any emotions, but her mind was in such a chaotic state: she was remembering what happened during the last days over and over again. The images of her playing with her parents were being constantly interrupted with images of the infected parasprites and the undead coming from the woods.
"Come on, dear. We can make it", Clyde said in an attempt to give her hope. "That's it, Pinkamena, keep it up, you..." he couldn't finish his sentence as he felt his hind hoof being grabbed. He turned around and noticed one of the walkers was about to bite him. He quickly grabbed the hook again and struck it on its mouth.
The undead creature was desperately trying to get the strange object out of his mouth. It shook its head quickly as it was chewing it. The old stallion took advantage of the situation and kicked it with his free hind. When the walker freed his hoof, he quickly turned around and gave her daughter the last push to put her in safety.
She was in the attic now, she was now out of the reach of those undead ponies that she thought she prevented. She stood up slowly and turned back, seeing his father.
However, Clyde didn't have the same fate as hers. He had begun to climb when he felt his hinds being grabbed again. He turned around and saw with fear the same walker he hit before; it was grabbing him, but this time, it didn't try to bite him; instead, it begun to pull. He tried in vain to stick to the stairs, but the strength of that frenzied walker was superior to the old stallion's.
Pinkie Pie was watching the scene. She was just staring at his father struggling for survival. Suddenly, he turned back to her and smiled. He said: "I'm sorry Pinkamena", he contained himself to not to sob, "I love you, darling, I really do. Take care". Then, in an extraordinary burst of endurance, he climbed the stairs and reached the safe that kept the stairs connected.
"Papa", she extended her front hoof and managed to touch his. He smiled again and broke the safe; the stairs, along with himself and the walker, fell to the ground. "Papa!" she yelled as she saw the rest of the walkers surrounded the unconscious body. Again, she saw how the undead feasted on him; she didn't blink even once and this time she didn't feel great shock, she felt sadness, fear and anger.
When the walkers finished their purpose on Clyde, they all looked up, growling, moaning and screaming. Pinkie looked at them for a moment as she was breathing heavily and her face was showing a glimpse of anger.
"Why did you have to come here?" she yelled. "I stopped you days ago. There's no way..." tears started to drop from her eyes, "there's no way you could have existed."
Then, she saw a familiar little shape walking through the undead. Her eyes widened as she recognized her own pet. "Gummy!" she yelled.
The little alligator looked up and noticed his owner. He only blinked as he was looking at her, but he did nothing else. He didn't seem to care about the undead around him or the corpse in front of him. Then, he turned to the closest object he saw and bit it: a walker's tail.
The undead turned to it immediately. They looked each other for a brief moment before the undead growled and showed its decomposing teeth; the alligator didn't seem to care either as he kept biting it. Pinkie looked at him worried; she thought the undead attack everything alive.
Suddenly, the walker turned back and ignored it. It looked like it lost interest on the distant alligator quickly, or it realized he wasn't a tasty prey since it smelled his cold blood. Pinkie Pie looked at the walker with surprise; not even she was expecting that behavior. But it didn't last long before she forgot that and remembered her parents; she started to sob again in sadness for a while.
As she was looking at the walkers roaming around, and looking at her without turning to another direction, she was thinking what went wrong on her plans. She was trying to figure out how a surprise happy visit turned to a tragedy she thought only happened in movies and books.
Hours passed as the tensed calm was kept. Although she was safe on the attic, she was still looking at them. Her tired and stressed mind started to trick her: in more than once she thought she saw one of the undead smiling at her. She realized she had to rest if she wanted to have a chance to live and plan a way to escape to Canterlot.
The pink earth pony looked around her; there were a lot of old furniture as well as old objects: from a broken phonograph to a bunch of dusty, torn pillows. She cleaned the dry tears with her hoof and walked towards them. She sat in one of them and kept looking at the opened door, wondering if the undead would manage to climb and reach her. Her eyes were slowly closing and she was nodding continuously. Despite her best attempt to stay awake, she finally fell asleep.
Day 22
Rock Farms, 3 am
During her sleep, Pinkie Pie had a particular dream, or at least what she thought it was a dream. In her dreams, she was wandering with no direction. All she could see was complete darkness. She was nervous, she was afraid, she was trembling. She was looking at all directions in a futile attempt to see anything.
Suddenly, she instinctively stopped walking. She wanted to move, but a superior force was stopping her to do so. Then, among the darkness, a silhouette of a tall unicorn formed in front of her; it had the same height as the princesses and its presence also inspired respect and fear. She was sweating as she didn't know what was happening or what that was.
Although time serves no purpose inside dreams, it passed just a minute before the figure opened its eyes. They were bright pink, pink as Pinkie's coat. It looked at her and then it talked:
"Hello, Pinkamena", he said. His voice was male and it was throaty; Pinkie thought it was a grown unicorn, but she didn't know exactly since he was completely covered in shadows. "Finally we meet."
"Who..." she gulped, "who are you?"
He laughed quietly and then replied: "it is not important who I am right now", he approached to her, although it was still too dark to see his true form. "What it matters is that you survived. Well done."
"What?" she could only ask, she couldn't come up with one of her usual fast questions.
"Do not fear, Pinkie", he seemed to smile, "I will not hurt you."
"Shining Armor, is it you?" she suddenly asked.
"What makes you think that?" he asked with confidence.
She saw his horn and then his eyes again. "Because you have a horn and you're a... stallion."
He laughed and said: "Are you sure, Pinkie?" he then unfolded his wings, showing all his majestic presence. "Do not judge a book by its cover."
She gasped in surprise as she realized he was, in fact, a winged unicorn. She wanted to ask, but she ran out of questions. The stallion looked at her eyes and said: "you are indeed a great pony. You have done marvelously."
"I..." she lifted her head down and said: "I'm not a great pony", a tear dropped from her eye as she remembered her parents. "I couldn't save them, I thought I saved Equestria. I thought the zomponies would never attack us: my family."
"Aw, do not blame yourself", he replied as a shadow hoof lifted her head up, "it is not your fault, Pinkie". Then, a picture formed slowly in the darkness, a picture of Peter. "It is their fault, it is his fault. Not yours."
"But..." she closed her eyes, "but he warned us. I know he was being honest."
"Honest?" his voice became louder and more serious. "Pinkie, all he did was to fool you. He laughed at you, he pretended to be your friend", he smiled ironically, "you offered your friendship and what did you get? Only death and tragedy."
"I...I..." she was shaking, "I didn't know he was just a liar."
Then, as the picture of him was fading on the shadows, a picture of a horde of walkers in her house formed. He then said: "but there is still hope", he laughed, "you can still save Equestria."
"I can't"
"Oh you can," he smiled, "and you will."
"But how?" she asked, trying to get hope from his words.
"You are the element of laughter itself", he giggled, "We are not so different after all. What matters now is to bring smiles and laughs."
"What?" she asked confused.
"Just look at them", the shadowed hoof turned her head to see the picture of the walkers. "What do you notice?"
"They're dead. They killed my parents."
"I do not mean that, Pinkie. Use your element and focus", he then asked again: "what do you notice?"
"I don't know."
"Focus!" he yelled, scaring her.
"They're... they're not smiling?"
"That is right, Pinkie. And what is the cause of their lack of smiles?"
"They're zomponies."
"Good, and who is the responsible for this?"
"Peter?"
"You are close, Pinkie."
"Humans?"
He laughed loudly and then said with a big smile: "very good, Pinkie. Now, what should the element of laughter do?" he looked at her and then lifted her with the shadows around her. Both stood face to face and said: "Come on Pinkie, answer me."
"Make them laugh", she replied, "make them smile. But..." she hesitated on continuing.
"But what?"
"I don't know how. Zomponies never laugh."
He snickered, put her back to the floor and said: "That is simple, Pinkie. They do smile, they just need some help."
"Help?"
"Yes, Pinkie, help," he then casted a knife, with symbols craved on its blade, in front of her and said: "Make them laugh forever and they will thank you."
"But... you're asking me to..." she tried to stay away from the knife. "No! I won't hurt them, even if they're dead."
"You must complete your task, element of laughter", another picture formed from the shadows, it was a picture of her family: her parents, her sisters and her. She saw the image as her eyes widened. Then, the aspect of her parents was changing slowly. Their coat was decaying, their smiles were fading and their eyes were glowing.
"No! Stop this!" she tried to cover her eyes.
"Just listen to me!" he said loudly, "you carry the element of laughter, and you carry the responsibility involved. They are begging you to finish their agony, Pinkie."
"I can't"
"Indeed you can!" he interrupted her, "if mankind could release the origins of your pain, then you can end theirs. Everypony must smile, everypony must laugh, the cost must never matter to the element of laughter", he smiled, "and talking about mankind, there is another task I have for you."
"Another task?"
"Princess Luna knew it well, and now you will know", his horn glowed, forming a beam of light on its edge. Then, he smiled and then he shot it straight to her. What she saw was terrible: she saw a town she didn't know it existed, if it even existed now, being raid by a human. She saw ponies trying to escape from him; she then saw how a young pony fell to the ground and the human reached her. He grinned, pulled out his curved blade and killed her without hesitation.
"No! Stop!" she was shaking and breathing heavily after she got free of the spell. "What... what was that!?" she yelled.
"That is mankind's true nature, Pinkie", he laughed quietly, "They just seek for destruction, death and war. As long as they are here, then nopony will be completely happy."
"But... Peter... I can't."
"If you hesitate, then he will back stab you again, remember that. He took your parents' lives away and he will take yours away too," he turned around and said: "Never trust a human, Pinkie. It is better for everypony to just get him out of Equestria. Or even better, you can pretend they are also zomponies."
"Wait", she extended her hoof and stopped him from walking, "how can I know you're telling the truth?"
"Pinkie, we are not so different after all", he briefly turned his head back and gave her the knife he casted moments ago, "Only you can save Equestria from the undead", he turned back and lastly said: "and from mankind. Ponykind must smile, ponykind must laugh". He laughed as he disappeared in the shadows the same way he appeared.
"What just happened?" she mumbled and then she looked at the blade. She realized it was not a normal blade; its inscriptions were glowing and its sharpness was superior to any knife she held before. "Who was him? Why does he want me to do this?" she threw the weapon, crossed her hooves and looked in another direction.
After a moment, she turned back to the knife. She looked at it for a few moments and then she walked to it. "What if he was telling the truth? I'm the element of laughter after all", she grabbed the blade and saw her reflection on its metallic sharpness, "and those zomponies are dead anyway, maybe if I pretend it's a game, then it may work. But, but I haven't hurt anypony before; I don't want to, but I must do it."
Rock Farms, 11 am
The pink coated pony woke up all in a sudden. She stood up quickly as she was hearing a familiar sound, a sound she heard yesterday and still chills her spine: a whistle. It was coming from outside; she ran to the window and opened it. At first she was blinded at the sun's light, but she could see what was happening as her eyes were adapting to the light.
"What are they..." she was very surprised at the scene, "what in the?" She saw the horde of walkers, the same that raided the house and devoured her parents, trotting to the source of the whistle as if they were following it. She was seeing them trotting to the same direction the closest town was located until the last of them got too far to even see.
At first she felt relieved as she thought she wouldn't have to confront them. She turned back to the door and gasped. The knife that strange winged unicorn gave her was on the floor.
"I thought it was just a dream. Then he's real, there's another royal pony out there and I didn't know it." She grabbed the knife, opened the door and took a look.
She quickly evaded her sight as she saw his father, or his remains, were still there. She had to take courage before the jumped off the attic. She looked around and took a deep breath after she confirmed there were no undead threats in the house.
Then, she walked to her room. She opened the door, entered and grabbed her bags. She was about to leave when she noticed the picture of her family on the floor, probably dropped by a walker. She sighed, evaded her sight and walked out the room.
She was trotting to the stairs when she heard a noise close to her. Nervously, she turned around to see what was causing it. She quickly couldn't help but to smile when she noticed the little green alligator coming out from a room.
"Gummy!" she quickly grabbed him and put him on her mane. The pet quickly bit it as soon as he felt it. "Thank Celestia at least you're also alive." She then proceeded to continue walking.
When she was walking past by his father, she stopped and saw him. She noticed he was making a low noise from his throat. She felt fear as she noticed it wouldn't pass much time before he could turn into a zombie. Before she could move again, he opened his eyes and started to move.
She stepped away as the walker was standing up slowly. His glowing eyes looked at her for a moment. He started to walk to her as he started to moan. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was holding the knife on her mouth as well as she was hesitating. She looked at her father with sadness.
"Father..." she gulped and she prepared the knife, ready to strike, "please don't get mad at me. I'm just..." she took a deep breath and then yelled: "I'm just doing what I must do!" she then closed her eyes and moved her head quickly.
She heard the sound of the sharp item cutting while she felt the warmth of the blood on her face. She opened her eyes and saw she slashed his mouth. The wound was at the same time an irony she found cruel; the slash on his mouth made him look like if he was smiling widely.
The walker moaned once again, barely reacting at the attack, and tried to bite her. This time, the pink pony moved her head in a different direction and stabbed it directly on the head. The undead stopped instantly and then collapsed; his eyes were not glowing anymore.
Pinkie Pie looked at him; she was not crying now, instead, she stood there, trying to hide her regret. Suddenly, she heard the same male voice again coming from the blade. It laughed first and then said:
"I cannot believe you were so foolish to trust in me, Pinkie. Tell me, how does it feel to kill your own blood? It felt great, isn't it?"
"What?" she replied in shock as she dropped the bloody weapon.
"Oh, you are so stupid. Did you really think you could actually save Equestria by yourself?"
"I don't understand. You told me what to do", she replied nervously.
"Let me explain you slowly. Look at your father and tell me what you see." The pink pony turned to the corpse and she almost panicked: his father's body didn't have the wounds the walkers did to him, but only the wounds Pinkie just did with the knife.
"No! It's a trick. It must be a trick." Pinkie put her hooves in desperation, trying to take that image out of her head.
"Of course it is a joke, Pinkie", the voice laughed loudly, "I thought you liked jokes. You are so naive; just look at yourself, you could never save Equestria, you could never make anypony smile. You did not even save your family!"
"A joke..." she muted; her hooves were shaking and her right eye was twitching.
The voice laughed again and said: "Enjoy it, Pinkie. It might as well be your last laugh", then, the weapon's symbols stopped glowing and disappeared. The earth pony looked at it and then looked at her father.
"It was just a joke..." she suddenly began to laugh loudly, "...a mere joke, and I fell like if I was a filly!" she kept laughing loudly as she was looking around. Her laugh was not her normal happy laugh; it was part of a nervous breakdown. She laughed and laughed nonstop for a minute as her mane, covered in blood, partially deflated.
Then, she approached to the corpse who once was her father and grabbed his tie. With a quick move, she ripped it off and then she used it to tie the knife on her left hoof. While she was doing that, she was still holding a wide grin on her face.
"I'll show that meanie what I can do", she mumbled between subtle giggles. When she ensured the knife was held tight on her hoof, she grabbed his dead father's mane and walked with it to the outside. As if it was a doll, the body was receiving constant hits with the stairs and the floor. When she walked out the house, she searched with her eyes until she spotted her: Sue.
She walked slowly towards it until she stood in front of her. Like Clyde, she was making low noises with her throat. With still a wide grin on her face, Pinkie dropped his father's body on her mother's right and raised her left hoof.
"Mommy, daddy", she said, "My dear family, do not worry about the walkers anymore. Auntie Pinkie ensured you won't feel the same pain I'm feeling right now", she aimed the knife to her mother's head while her eyes were opening, "after all, all we need is a smile". She then moved her hoof to her face and slashed it the same way she did to her father. Before the walker could stand up, she moved her hoof again and stabbed it on the chin, going through the head and reaching the brain.
After she finished, she instinctively looked her reflection on the bloody knife. She realized her mane was flat and she was smiling widely. She stopped seeing it, turned to the silo and said: "This place is no longer my home". She trotted to it and stood in front of the door.
She put an ear on it and waited; there were no hums sounding inside. She unlocked the door and slowly opened it. As she was opening the door, she saw there were no parasprites inside; all she saw was yellow crystals all over the floor. For a moment she wondered what happened, but she quickly forgot it as her eyes turned to the center of the silo and saw the phonograph; it was still intact.
Somehow, she felt relieved there was no threat on the farms now. She sighed and turned back. Her smile faded for a moment when she spotted a foal approaching to her. He was making no noise, he wasn't even moaning. He was just walking fast towards her.
As she remembered what happened to her mother, she started to run towards it. "Oh no, sir! You will not tell your friends where I am", she said loudly. She then tackled it and quickly put the knife on his throat. She smiled again and looked at its eyes. The undead was just looking at her, although with no glimpse, like if it was in sorrow.
Pinkie hesitated, getting her guard off. The walker seemed to notice it and whistled loudly. As she yelled: "you trickster!" she quickly slashed him twice on the face, killing it. She stood up, looked around and saw the horde of walkers trotting from all around to her.
"How can they be so fast!?" she yelled upset. She looked around, searching for a free spot to run, and noticed the silo was still empty. She lost no time and quickly ran inside and closed the door. She stood back as she was looking at the wooden entrance, she knew it wouldn't resist.
"How am I supposed to kill so many in short time? With plants or what?" she asked to the knife, waiting in vain for it to talk again, "answer me!" she quickly turned back to the door after the walkers broke it. They all started to enter one by one to the silo, approaching to her. She was stepping away from them as she was trying to find a solution when she tripped over. She looked at the object and smiled. She took it, quickly turned it on and put it on the floor.
"Please please please work", she said desperately. Suddenly, music started to play loudly from the musical item. She then saw the walkers; at first they ignored the tune, but then something happened: they all stopped and their eyes' glow was weaker, they turned back to the phonograph and walked to it with calm. All their frenzy and desperation for reaching a prey was gone.
As they all were gathering around, Pinkie Pie stood up and saw them for a moment. Once again, her smile was back; she looked at the knife and then at the closest walker. She approached to it slowly, watching it moving its head rhythmically, and started to mumble to herself:
"It all ends so violently I know", she was singing. She stood next to the walker and stabbed it on its back of the neck, breaking his vertebral column.
"My sweet Pareidolia", she approached to the next walker and stabbed its right eye all the way to the brain. Although blood was dripping all over her body, she didn't seem to care.
"It all ends so painfully and slow", she stood in front of another walker and slashed its mouth. She then finished it off and proceeded to do the exact same thing to the next walker.
"My Pareidolia", she finally said before she killed the last walker standing. She looked around with satisfaction and with a grin on her face. She laughed manically, grabbed the phonograph, putting it on her back, and walked out the silo.
"Come on, Gummy", she said and then she looked at her pet alligator. Although he was also covered in blood, he never cared about that fact and was still biting her mane. "Twi said she was going to Appleloosa, we must save them..." she giggled and said: "...we must save her from stop smiling".
Epilogue
Day 26
Appleloosa, 2pm
"Four days of travel, four days of boring travel", the pink pony said to her pet. Her loneliness made her mind trick her again; she thought her own pet could actually reply her words. "What'cha say, Gummy? Should we end more ponies' misery or look for Twi and AJ?" she looked at the alligator for a moment and then said: "oh, that's a brilliant idea!" she looked back at the town, "we can do both things at the same time. You're so smarty pants."
She looked at the closest walker and grinned again. She approached to it while she was saying: "Oh, hello Caramel, how you doin'?" she giggled, "oops, I forgot you can't talk. Don't worry friendo. Auntie Pinkie will end your pain and so you will smile again". She showed her knife, already rusty because of the dry blood, to him.
The walker moaned and trotted to her while she just put her phonograph on the floor and turned it on. "Dance for Pinkie, walky", she said as she waited for it to get hypnotized. When the walker stopped reaching her and walked to the item slowly, she quickly approached to it and, with great skill, slashed him two times: the first one on his mouth and the second one on his back. It collapsed to the ground while its eyes were not glowing anymore.
She was about to giggle when she heard a weird sound of lightning behind her. She turned back and saw a sphere of lightning forming. After a moment, she saw two figures forming inside it and smiled.
"You and your transformations: they're weird, but funny", she thought. Then, she stopped smiling when she recognized who they were: Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle.
When the teleport was complete, Princess Luna accidentally landed on the phonograph, breaking it. The pink earth pony with flat mane noticed it and, while yelling: "no! My music!" she ran quickly to Twilight, ready to stab her while thinking she was another walker.
"Pinkie Pie, it's me..." Twilight said smiling at first, but it faded as she realized Pinkie was running fast to her. "What are you doing? Pinkie Pie!"
Princess Luna looked at her and then at the walker stabbed by her. "What happened to her?" she thought as she looked back at her. "Stand back, Twilight!"
"Please don't hurt her, Princess", she said worried even though she was in danger.
"Do not worry", the dark blue winged unicorn replied as her horn glowed. Then, she paralyzed Pinkie's body through a spell.
"What in the hay!?" the pink pony said upset, "You're not supposed to do that!"
"Pinkie, listen to me!" Twilight said in an attempt to bring her back, "we are not infected, we managed to survive!"
"What?" she said shocked, "No! I won't fall in your tricks again, zompony."
"Snap out of it, Pinkie! We are not walkers; we escaped from them to a hideout unreachable for them."
As the pink pony was desperately trying to move, Princess Luna stood in front of her. She then said: "Pinkamena, let us take you out of this dangerous place. So far you have been lucky and survived, but we do not know for how long it will last."
Pinkie Pie looked at her, laughed and said: "Oh you winged unicorns say the same, all of you", she grinned, "I'm only doing his task."
"His? Who are you talking about?"
"I don't know either, but he told me I could save Equestria and make everypony smile", she stopped grinning and said: "why aren't you smiling, Princess? Free me and I'll fix this."
"Pinkie, what happened to you?" Twilight thought and then she looked at Luna. She noticed the dark blue winged unicorn wasn't showing any emotions on her face.
"Twi", the pink pony said while looking at her, "I knew I'd find you here."
"How did you..."
"Gummy told me", she giggled, "he's smarter than he seems."
"What?" she said surprised.
"Twilight, do not listen to her", the princess sighed, "I am afraid she lost it". Then, she noticed a couple of walkers coming closer. Her horn started to glow and said: "Twilight, take your friend. We are leaving know."
"As you wish, princess", the violet unicorn approached to the pink earth pony and said: "I'm sorry for not coming for you earlier." She then used her magic to lift her up and both got closer to the Princess.
Before the walkers could reach them, Princess Luna casted the teleport spell, fading away. The undead ponies just looked at the burnt patch on the grass and turned around, continuing their search for new dams.
Among them, there was a particular earth pony. She saw the entire scene while she was trying to get closer to them; her once yellow coat was in advanced decomposition, her once green eyes were glowing and her legs were too weak to allow her to walk. Unlike the other walkers, she just kept looking at the patch while she was crawling to it. She used her scent and then moaned for a long time before she gave up on trying finding her friends and she crawled away with no direction.
The End