Chapter 10: Pievolution

Pinkie had just finished sweeping the floor and dusting the shelves while Mr. Carrot Cake and Mrs. Cup Cake were decorating a big birthday cake in the kitchen. "All done Mr. Cake." Pinkie Pie said to her kind landlord. "You've been working really hard around here, Pinkie Pie. I think you deserve a good vacation for all that you do." Carrot Cake said. "It must be very tiring to organize all those parties you host in Ponyville." Mrs. Cake added. "Aw, it's nothing!" Pinkie Pie smiled. "I just like making every pony happy, which makes me happy too!" "We'll be going to a birthday party for our nephew later this evening. But seriously Pinkie, we don't want you to overwork yourself. Enjoy the next couple of days without work." Mr. Cake said. "Thanks guys! I'm gonna go for a quick stroll." Pinkie said, while she exited the bakery.

"A vacation... hmm... I've always wondered what kind of vacation would be great for a party planner like myself." Pinkie thought "I could go to Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, oooohhhh, Las Pegasus! They have one of the best casino parties EVER!" She had already been walking around Ponyville for a while, daydreaming about vacation ideas. Pinkie unexpectedly crashed into the front door of the Golden Oak Library, the home of her close friend Twilight Sparkle. "Owie! That'll leave a mark." Pinkie Pie said to herself in embarrassment. "Coming." a voice spoke from behind the door. Twilight opened the front door and looked surprised to see Pinkie scratching a bump on her head. "Oh my Pinkie, are you alright!?" Twilight asked, trying to offer help. "No biggie, I was zoning out and all the sudden, I crash into your door." Pinkie said in her very fast Pinkie Pie expression, finishing with a wide happy squeaky grin. "Oookaaayyy... I guess you're alright then." Twilight said, getting a little creeped out. "Come on in. I was getting lonely anyway." Pinkie Pie walked in and made herself comfortable while Twilight prepared green tea for them to enjoy.

So has anything big been on your mind lately?" Twilight curiously asked. "Oh nothing. Mr. and Mrs. Cake just think I should take a break from all the hard work I do for them, that's all." Pinkie said, keeping it simple. "That's nice of them to let you do that. Do you already know what you'll be doing or where you might travel to, if you don't mind me asking?" Twilight asked politely. "That's the only thing holding me back is that I don't know what to do for a vacation!" Pinkie Pie panicked. "Pinkie, calm down! I can help you. I'm sure we can think of something for you to do for a vacation." Twilight insisted. Suddenly, Twilight had a breakthrough moment in her mind and knew what would make Pinkie Pie happy. "I have an IDEA! Pinkie, how about you come with me to find the next talisman!" Twilight said with excitement. "You mean those magic talismans that have crazy powers? Where would we be going?" Pinkie asked with eagerness. "The Everfree Forest." Twilight said. "Well... I don't know... Okay!" Pinkie answered happily. Twilight was weirded out by Pinkie being so happy-go-lucky about going to one of the eeriest places in Equestria. Then again, Twilight had to remind herself that she was dealing with the one and only Pinkie Pie. "Now that I think about it, we're coming very close to the end of our talisman quest." Twilight said with a smile. "It's been challenging, but also very memorable. We only have four left to find and it will all be over." "So that means we only have the Tiger, Pig, Dog, and Monkey left to find, right? Pinkie Pie guessed. "That's correct. Wait, how did you know that!?" Twilight said, finding it hard to believe Pinkie knew the remaining talismans. "Why wouldn't I; it was Princess Celestia that named all twelve from the very beginning, remember?" Pinkie Pie giggled.

"I think it would best if we get ready now. It won't be as dark during the day versus going at night." Twilight advised. "Fine by me." Pinkie replied. "But first, let's have some lunch. We don't wanna go hunting on an empty stomach." Twilight's stomach rumbled, which made her blush a little bit. "Hehe, that's not a bad idea." said Twilight.

Only an hour later, Twilight and Pinkie Pie were getting close to the mouth of the Everfree Forest, a place that no ordinary pony would be brave enough to explore. "We've been here so many times before, but for some reason I never get over my fear of this place." Twilight said, getting more nervous. "I know what will cheer you up. Giggle at the Ghosties is an all-time favorite for getting rid of the willies!" Pinkie Pie joyfully suggested. "Eh, thanks but no thanks." Twilight said, getting really turned off. "We've heard that only once before, and let's keep it that way. Now... time to get this over with..."

The two brave ponies entered the dark forsaken forest as they knew this was the only place to find the Monkey talisman. The thick trees made it difficult to tell what time of the day it was, making to so that it always felt like nighttime. Owls screeched, bushes rattled, any eerie sound from a typical horror story could be heard or imagined. After traveling about 2 miles deep within the forest, Twilight and Pinkie got out of the thick woods and came to a cliff with a broken bridge. "Pinkie, doesn't this bridge look familiar to you?" Twilight rhetorically asked. "No idea, Twilight. DOES IT look familiar?" Pinkie answered back with the same question. "Believe me, we've been here before. It's the same bridge that Rainbow Dash helped us cross to get to the Elements of Harmony." Twilight recalled. "Ohhhh yeah, now I remember!" Pinkie said, feeling the nostalgia build up. "She almost ditched us that time!" "But her loyalty conquered over Nitemare Moon's Shadowbolts, and that was a very courageous task for Rainbow Dash." said Twilight. "I already have what we need to get to the other side." Pinkie exclaimed. Twilight eyes widened in surprise when Pinkie made the clear statement, but of course she remembered not to question Pinkie's logic. "My party cannon!" Pinkie shouted in excitement, as she pulled out her trademark party cannon from out of nowhere. "Of course, who else besides Pinkie would have a party cannon." Twilight chuckled. "You get in first, I'll blast you over, and then I'll shoot myself." Pinkie stated. With some hesitation, Twilight readied herself in the cannon, and then Pinkie instantly fired her unicorn friend over to the other side. Twilight landed without injuring herself, which relieved her. "Alright, here I go!" Pinkie said as she positioned herself in the cannon. The cannon shot her out while she let out a big WEEEEE! during flight. Pinkie landed with a loud thud, but still appeared to be in fresh condition. "Good, we made it over. Follow me, Pinkie." Twilight said.

They approached a quiet abandoned temple that still brought back vague memories to Pinkie Pie. "This was where we found the Elements of Harmony and defeated Nitemare Moon for good." Twilight stated. "I never thought we would be coming back here again after all this time. Wait, Pinkie what are you-!?" "Hmm, nope not here, or here... or here." Pinkie said each time as she would closely examine different areas of the walls, floor, and ceiling. "Look, Princess Celestia said that she detected the Monkey talisman around this area, but she never said-" "Found it!" Pinkie cried out in excitement. She had found the Monkey talisman etched in a ceiling tile, yet somehow Pinkie had crawled up like a spider to get that high up. Twilight facehoofed herself as she witnessed yet another feat achieved by Pinkie that was beyond belief. "How are you doing that!?... Ugh never mind. Great job Pinkie, now please come down from there before you hurt yourself." Twilight ordered. "Okie dokie!" Pinkie replied as she pulled out the talisman, released her grip, and then fell down and used her coiled up tail as a cushion to reduce the fall impact. Shortly after, she stuffed the talisman in her mane.

"Wow, you really are something when it comes to talismans." Twilight complimented. "Let's get out of here before-" "SPARKLE!" three voices shouted from the entrance. "Gulp! Too late, they found us." Twilight said, fearfully finishing her sentence." "Too bad you did all the hard work for nothin'. Now we're gonna take it!" Chow berated. "Brace yourself, Pinkie. We're gonna have to fight to get out of this one!" Twilight said, glowing her horn as she prepared for battle. "Wait! This one's mine..." Pinkie said, narrowing her eyes as she cast a serious glare at the enforcers. Suddently, Pinkie whipped out a pair of pink poofy nunchucks from her mane. She stood up on her two back legs, and got into her ready position. "I call these... the Pinkiechucks!" Pinkie declared. "With incredible dexterity, Pinkie flashed out amazing cool moves as if she was a martial arts grandmaster, not making even one slight mistake as she alternated the Pinkiechucks from her hooves. She was also able to create the cinematic sound effect that typical nunchucks make in martial arts movies . Twilight stood there dumbfounded with her jaw hanging open, while the enforcers just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Come and get me..." Pinkie solemnly said, giving the enforcers the death stare. Finn, Ratso, and Chow got even more fired up, and charged headstrong at Pinkie Pie. Finn tried to punch and kick Pinkie, but he failed miserably due to the strength and speed of the Pinkiechucks. She took Finn out quickly with a frontal strike to the face, and then side kicked him into the wall. Ratso and Chow came at her from both sides, which was still no threat to Pinkie. Her next attack, the helicopter spin, put both of her assailants down on the pavement in only a few seconds. "I don't know how you learned to do all that, but that was incredible!" Twilight complimented. "I've read every Moose Lee comic, and that's how I learned to fight like him." Pinkie replied. Shortly after, Twilight and Pinkie felt the overbearing presence of Tohru as he appeared at the entrance. "The talisman!" Tohru barked. Pinkie was not going to surrender to the colossal stallion, and she was still ready to fight. "Hiyah!" Pinkie shouted as she swung her Pinkiechucks at Tohru. The brute reacted quickly enough to catch Pinkie's weapon with his hoof, and then he snapped it in two. "Oopsies..." Pinkie gulped. "Run Pinkie Pie!" Twilight shouted. Pinkie made a run for it and took off for the cliff. She had forgotten that the party cannon was still on the other side of the cliff, which meant she had nowhere to run. Tohru and the other enforcers slowly approached Pinkie and had her surrounded. "End of the line, chump." Finn sneered. "Give us the talisman and we won't hurt you, little princess." Ratso added. Twilight came out of the abandoned temple and saw that her friend was in danger. "Pinkie, hold on I'm coming." Twilight cried out to her. "Wait Twilight. Don't come closer. I got a plan!" Pinkie answered back. Pinkie thought of one clever idea to get out of trouble, but it was a major gamble. She jumped and landed as hard she could on the ground with the hope of collapsing the cliff to make the enforcers fall. Suddenly, the cliff edge gave into her force and cracked, making Pinkie and all the enforcers fall down to the whole lower level of Everfree Forest. They all screamed as they plummeted straight down into the unknown. Twilight heard the loud thud of the land, and she hurried over to see what happened. She looked down from her position, but could not see anybody. "No, Pinkie Pie! PINKIE PIE!" Twilight panicked! She was all alone, but Twilight knew what she needed to do. Her only hope of success was to find Pinkie and get out of the eerie forest before sunset. "Pinkie, I'm coming for you!"

After landing hard, Pinkie felt very lucky that she wasn't unconscious from the fall. Finn, Ratso, Chow, and Tohru were not as fortunate since they were quickly out of it when they hit ground. "Ooo, that's gonna leave a bump on my rump." Pinkie ached. "I'd better check to see if I still have it." She reached in her mane to grab the Monkey talisman, and sure enough it was still there. "Now to find out what this silly thing does." said Pinkie. She tried squeezing it to see if the magic would trigger, but nothing happened. "I'd have to be a monkey to figure out-" As soon as Pinkie said the word "monkey" the monkey image on the talisman glowed and shot a magic blast at Pinkie and hit her in the face. She felt a little strange at first but then she looked at herself. "This is weird, I have hands instead of hooves. I'm a lot shorter and... oh my gosh! I'm a monkey!" Pinkie thought to herself. "I hope this can change me back!" Her thoughts triggered the talisman again, but this it returned Pinkie back to her regular form. "So this must be the animal talsiman." Pinkie concluded.

Shortly after, the enforcers were slowly waking up from being knocked out. Finn was the first one to get up on all fours and see Pinkie holding the talisman. "The pink one still has it. Let's nail her!" Finn shouted. "Gotta go, bye!" Pinkie said as she sprinted away. The Dark Hoof pursued after her through into another thick wooded area leading to possible danger. Pinkie still had a big lead in front of her chasers, but knew that it was going to be hard to lose them. "Alright Pinkie, it's time to give them a tastle of animal power!" Pinkie said. She pivoted and aimed the talisman at the enforcers. "Turtle! Frog! Bunny!" Pinkie kept screaming out animal names and firing beams from the talisman and then quickly resumed her get-away. Unfortunately, the enforcers were too evasive and were able to dodge each of the magic shots from Pinkie Pie. "I can't seem to lose these guys with my monkey magic. Wait, that's it! If I can't hit them, I can use it on myself." Pinkie Pie thought. She quickly made a sharp turn around a corner of bushes, and managed to get out of sight of the Dark Hoof. "Monkey!" Pinkie Pie said. She held the talisman directly at her face, allowing the light blue beam to strike her. Instantly, Pinkie had turned into a pink monkey while still maintaining her distinctive curly mane and blue eyes. "Alright, now to make a run!" she thought to herself while stuffing the talisman in her thick mane. The enforcers finally got to where Pinkie transformed, but they were too late. "Where did that that pink ditz go." Finn said impatiently. She was just here, I swear it's like she disappeared or somethin'!" Chow said. "Find her right now! She still has the talisman!" Tohru ordered.

"Phew, that was close." Pinkie thought, while hiding behind a tree. "Now to find Twilight." Pinkie climbed up another tall skinny tree to get a better view of her surroundings, but Twilight was nowhere in sight. "Alrighty, now it's time for this lil monkey to make her moves! Ah!-" Pinkie was caught off guard by a big python sneaking up behind her that she panicked and sprinted away. "Oh no! I forgot, other animals eat monkies!" Thud! Pinkie crashed into something bigger than herself, but she was also relieved to see who it was.

"Oh my, a pink monkey. Never seen one before." Twilight said in amazement. During the time that Pinkie was being chased by the Dark Hoof, Twilight had managed to scale down to the level of Everfree Forest that Pinkie fell down to. "Twilight, It's me, Pinkie Pie! The Dark Hoof chased me, and now I turned myself into a monkey!" Pinkie's efforts to communicate were in vein because all Twilight could hear was a bunch of ooks and screech sounds. "I'm very sorry little monkey, but I can't understand anything your saying. I need to keep looking for my friend Pinkie Pie." Twilight said. As Twilight started to walk away, Pinkie ran very in front of Twilight to stop her from leaving. Pinkie then drew an arrow on the ground with the word "PINKIE", stood and front of the arrow and presented herself in a way to make the arrow indicate who she really is. "Wow, you're a lot smarter than I thought! So Pinkie went that way. Thanks!" Twilight said, sprinting away really fast. Pinkie slumped down in disappointment as she felt like she was going to be a monkey forever.

Twilight continued to run through the thick forest, but had no luck finding Pinkie Pie or the Monkey talisman. but then she ran into an obstacle that would give her more trouble. The merciless Tohru looked down at Twilight and did not look amused. "The talisman! Tohru ordered. "I don't have it, honest!" Twilight answered back. "Finn, Ratso, and Chow came from another area and had also managed to apprehend Pinkie and the talisman. "We have what we came for, Sparkle. But we still gotta deal with you first." Finn threatened as he held the Monkey talisman. Suddenly, Tohru punched Twilight on the side of her head hard enough to temporarily knock her out.

After about ten minutes, Twilight slowly woke up only to find herself and the pink monkey tied up by vines to a boulder. They also saw and heard the enforcers discussing something rather awkward. "So what should we turn her into." Finn questioned the others. "Let's make her a dog. I like dogs." said Ratso. "Don't make somethin' you like! That beats the whole purpose!" Finn snapped. "We should turn her into an ugly roach so we can step on her!" Chow eagerly added. "Hmm, I like that! A roach is something that we CAN KILL!" Tohru maliciously stated. "No! That would make you all murderers!" Twilight panicked. The enforcers clearly did not care what she had to say. They viciously gazed at her and started walking up slowly like a cat stalking prey. Twilight was sweating bullets down her forehead as the thugs got closer to her. "Any last words Sparkle?" Ratso said. "Before we roast your hide!" Finn taunted as he held out the Monkey talisman and aimed it at their victim. "Yes, I do..." Twilight said quietly under her breath "Spit it out, we want to hear you beg!" Chow provoked. "PINKIE PIIIIIIEEEE!"

The cry for help gave Pinkie an adrenaline rush as she knew she had to help her friend fast. She busted out of her captivity with vigor, and then lunged at Finn's hoof. She grabbed the talisman and ran far enough to avoid getting caught. "Change back!" Pinkie said in her monkey language. The talisman shot out the magic beam and changed Pinkie back to her normal self. "Pinkie!? How did you?... nevermind! Just don't let them get to you!" "Oh believe me, they won't" Pinkie said with a cunning smile. "Bear!" Pinkie said as she aimed the talisman at herself. The magic beam struck Pinkie and then everybody was shocked to see her transformed into a big pink feral grizzy bear. "Aw, she looks cute." Ratso teased. "RRRRROOOOAAARRR!" Pinkie roared out loud." She charged at the menacing enforcer and body slammed Ratso so hard that he laid on the ground in aching pain. "Get the talisman!" Tohru ordered to Finn and Chow. "Now way dude, we ain't gettin' near that thing." Finn retorted. "Then I will!" Tohru replied in anger." Pinkie and Tohru glared each other down for about five seconds and proceeded into battle. Pinkie was so much faster and stronger that when they both collided, Pinkie was top of Tohru and kept him pinned on the ground. She clawed and bit him so much that Tohru's clothes had rip marks and his mane and tail were ruined. "Pinkie! Stop! He's had enough!" Twilight cried out. Pinkie relinquished Tohru and came to realize there was no need to continue fighting. She quickly changed herself back into a pony and then walked over to Twilight. "I guess I did get a little carried away." she said feeling embarrassed. Finn and Chow ran over to help Tohru and Ratso off the ground. "You guys keep the talisman, just please don't hurt us." Finn begged. "We'll let you off this time, but if you don't behave..." Twilight said, nodding her head to Pinkie Pie. "I'll have to use this." Pinkie said holding the Monkey talisman. "Ah! Run for it!" Chow cried out. The Dark Hoof made a fast run in fear that they were going to be bear food.

Twilight and Pinkie both shared a good laugh as they watched the enforcers disappear into another area of the Forest. "I can't wait to see how the other ponies react when we tell them you turned into a bear." Twilight giggled. "Wow, this has been my best vacation ever!." said Pinkie. "But this party pony really needs her rest. "All kidding aside, you've earned it." Twilight said. "Time to go back to Ponyville."

End of Chapter 10