「MMMM」: Pinkie's Story /// Chapter VII: 「Pride and Joy」 II

Previously, on The 「Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness」: Pinkie's Story...
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>It's painful and a long process, but you and Applejack manage to catch up to 「Pride and Joy」
>Once you both do, however, it laughs, looking towards you both psychotically
>"What's so funny, ya stinkin' varmint?"
>"My plan worked out perfectly. I'm the reason the train stopped in the first place."
"Huh?
>As the creature disappears into midair, most certainly wishing to return to its user, you hear a whistle a distance away
>The train's moving, and it's going to leave without you and AJ

-----------

>You are Pinkie Pie, with Applejack as your accomplice
>And this is the closest you're ever going to feel like you're helpless
>Scratch that, you ARE helpless, even with AJ by your side
>You're twenty meters away from the train tracks, you're tired as shit, and from what you can observe, Applejack's ability isn't actually that useful
>What did it do? Strengthen her rope or something? Yeah, Applejack's gonna lasso the train and drag it back here
>It's enough to make you cry
>And so, you do
>A few tears stream down your face as the wounds weep more and more, causing immense pain
>Celestiadamn does it sting badly, you can forget friendship, this just HURTS
>Who knew Pony Joe was actually a sociopath in his free time?
>AJ notices and attempts to comfort you, watching as the train leaves without you both
>How long was the train to Canterlot? Five days?
>You're hoping you're able to get there in time, but it's nothing more than a pipe dream
>If you're lucky, you might even get to the tunnel so you can heal your wounds there
>That's unlikely, though
>You'll be cooked from the heat, and even if you DO get there, the wounds will get infected
>Such is life in Equestria

>"Come on, pardner. If try hard enough we'll be able to get there in no time. Might even stop somewhere else on the way there!"
"T-There's no point, AJ. Look at me. My legs hurt, and we don't have any way of getting to the tunnel, much less the train, with me like this! Face it. We're a lost cause."
>Regardless, you begin taking small steps, ignoring your muscles screaming at you to stop
>Might as well go out fighting like 「Pride and Joy」 said you would
"There's nowhere else TO go. Canterlot's a long way away by hoof, and unless we come across food soon, we have NOWHERE to go. I can't use 「PPP」 while I'm like this. I'll bite the dust from energy exertion."
>You're past three cacti before you fall over, sand getting in the wounds
>GOOD CELESTIA DOES IT STING
>You don't even hold back your tears as you take pity for yourself, mentally kicking yourself for getting involved with this mess
>Now you're never gonna find the culprit, much less have the Cakes win in that competition
>You weakly close your eyes, trying to have your family be the last thing you see before you pass out
>It's no use, the pain is too much, and all you can concentrate on is your breathing
>At least you got to be with Applejack before you passed away
>"Now, you ain't dying on me just yet, Pinkie! Look alive, or I'll beat you straight!"
>AJ moves next to you, nudging your stomach in an attempt to get you to move
>"Now, you ain't gonna be happy with this, but if Ah told you mah special ability was, uh, 'multipurpose', would you gain the strength to move?"
"How could I? I can't even move!"
>"Mah strength means Ah can run fast, Pinkie. Ah can get to the tunnel before you can say '「Bad Apple!!」'."

>Sighing, you drift off to sleep, hoping it's a bad dream and you'll wake up from this
>Until Applejack hoists you up on her back, summoning  「Bad Apple!!」 next to her
>"The next time we come across a 'special ability' user, Ah want you to tell me straight, okay? As your friend, Ah expected to be let in on this a long time ago!"
>She begins to gallop to the end of the cactus field, taking extra care to not rouse you too much
>She's no doctor, but even she can see just how serious your wounds are
>"Alright, Pinkie, Ah'm not sure about reaching the train at the speed Ah'm going, but Ah can get you to the tunnel. How's that?"
"Fine by me... Snore..."
>"Ah don't even know how you're going through this without bawlin'..."
>Little does she know, you're actually crying right now due to the immense helplessness you feel right now
>You can only do so much in the desert, even when you're going to somewhere as lush as Canterlot
>Of ALL the places you had to be when the train "broke down", it was the fucking DESERT
>FUCK
>Well you'd better let Applejack take the reigns for now (pffft), there's nothing you can do
>Except maybe use 「PPP」 to help?
>You've never, ever used 「PPP」 on another pony before, maybe the both of you would end up in the same place...
>Although, well, in your condition, you may as well see what AJ has planned for you both

>Applejack walks down the sand dune with you on her back, humming to herself about "dark eternity" and "paralyzing agony"
>If you were in a normal state of mind, it would concern you, but you could not care less
>You're focusing on keeping yourself safe, the wounds on your legs slowly beginning to ease
>At the very least, you can appreciate Applejack's efforts to help you
>Earth ponies have to stick together, right?
>You're both at the end of the sand dune, Applejack finishing her little tune before looking back on you
>"Aw, you poor thing. Ah should've come earlier so you wouldn't be like this."
"No, no, it's okay... I shouldn't have been accusing you of all those things..."
>Sighing, you stay silent and watch as AJ heads towards the tracks
>"Now, Pinkie, when Ah do my thing, Ah don't want you to freak out, okay?"
>Weakly nodding, you position yourself so you won't fall off of her
>You sincerely hope you're not too heavy or else she won't be able to carry the both of you
>Thinking about it, there's no way 「Bad Apple!!」 could actually be THAT bad compared to 「PPP」
>Strength compared to what can be probably classified as "dimension hopping"?
>There's no contest at all
>You could probably beat her with a bit of effort and Pinkie Smarts
>Shit, with Pinkie Sense, she's not even that hard to beat
>While you're contemplating just how strong AJ's power is, she gets to the side and looks towards the tunnel
>"Darn, that sure does look like a good... Eh... Five miles away? Ah'm not the best at measurin' distance, but we'll get there in a jiffy!"

>"Here we... GO!"
>Galloping at full speed, you nearly fall off as Applejack races to the tunnel at breakneck speed
>You can feel the wind lapping at your injuries, as gross as that sounds
>Is this a part of her ability, too? To run really fast when she wants to?
>Sweet Luna this is almost as fast as Rainbow Dash if she was running on the ground, this is insane
>She's showing no signs of slowing down, you might just be thrown off if she keeps running so erratically
>「Bad Apple!!」 sure is a strong ability if it keeps going this fast forever
>Combine that with AJ's natural strength and it's a recipe for disaster
>The cacti are going by fast, the tunnel is slowly approaching, second by second
>Half of you is wanting to slow down so you don't throw up, but the other half wants to go faster because of the adrenaline
>It's a feeling so complicated
"A-AJ? When are we getting to the tunnel?"
>"Soon, Pinkie! Don't worry and let me get to the train!"
>The both of you reach the tunnel in record time, noting that Applejack is somewhat slowing down
>She doesn't look to be in the best of conditions
>Not only that, but the train seems to be gone as you look through the tunnel
>It's not like 「Pride and Joy」 actually took the form of a train, right? That's just ludicrous
>Well, as long as AJ doesn't trip over, it doesn't matter
>You're halfway through the tunnel before Applejack stops inexplicably, almost throwing you off
"Hey! AJ, are you okay?"
>"Ah'm tired, Pinkie. 「Bad Apple!!」 only works for a minute or two."

>Looking back as well as you can, you can see that your injuries aren't actively bleeding anymore
>That wind must have blown off all the sand, as much as you don't want to have that mental image
>You don't think you can walk, though, but the both of you can get to the train in no time
"Hey, Applejack. Can 「Bad Apple!!」 still give you a bit of strength if you don't use it all in one go?"
>"Ah guess so. Why're you askin'?"
"Run! Let's go as fast as we can!"
>Applejack begins to gallop at a steady pace, taking care not to exert herself too much in case she loses all her stamina
"Ready? Go!"
>Thanks to 「PPP」, you open a portal and the both of you fall into it
>Applejack is most certainly terrified as she's never seen it in action, but she rolls with it anyway
>The both of you "fall" from the ceiling of the tunnel, the two of you landing at the end of it
>The train's nowhere to be seen, which is weird
>You didn't take THAT long to get out of the cacti clearing, did you?
>You hear a whistle in the distance, confirming that you made it just in time to be able to reach the train
"Radical! We can make it there if the both of us work together! AJ, keep running!"
>AJ nods, running as hard as she can towards the horizon
>You just have to go up the hill, and the both of you can get onto the train
>Looks like luck is on n your sides after all
>You wonder if the rest of the gang is concerned that you're not here at all

>You're catching up on the train, the both of you heading up on the caboose
>「PPP」 could bring the both of you up to the train, but it's risky if 「Pride and Joy」 is still around
>Then again, what COULD it do? Impersonate the train in order to throw you off?
>It's too complicated to successfully copy, 「Pride and Joy」 is as good as dead
>Well, you say that, but then 「Pride and Joy」 shows up at the back of the caboose, staring upon you both with that same eerie smile it always has
>"Back for more, are you? I had thought you would have survived our little spar. Good thing Joe had granted me autonomy."
>「Pride and Joy」 rips off the window of the caboose and shatters it on the ground, leaving it as little shards
>That must cost like fifty dollars, what a waste of glass
>The glass seems to revolve around the creature in a circle, almost like a shield
>You can tell that something doesn't seem right, you're nowhere near the train, so why would it need a shield?
>Hold on, the way it's revolving around the void...
>"I will take the first victory. Addio per sempre!"
"Wait! AJ, dodge to the left!"
>"What in tarnation—?!"
>Narrowly dodging a shard of glass, it's becoming suddenly clear what the glass shards are there for
>If you both get on the train, it'll kill you by throwing the glass shards
>Laughing, the void gets ready to throw the next piece of glass, taunting you ever-so-smugly
>"It is my duty to erase those who stand in our way. You two will be the first!"

>The creature fires two more shards, narrowly missing your faces by an inch
>「Pride and Joy」 is firing all the shots (pffffft), and it's obvious by his firing pattern
>Thanks to 「PPP」, you deflect his next one and fire it straight back him
>Of course, it misses, mostly because it's a void and voids absorb what's thrown into them
>You're not a clever pony
>Not everything is going to be smooth, though, because it seems like the void is planning something sneaky
>Applejack swerves to the left as a shard embeds itself into the ground, narrowly missing her hooves
>There are sixteen shards left at 「Pride and Joy」's disposal, so you have to take care of it quickly
>Stepping to the left, Applejack yells to you as quickly as she can
>"Pinkie! Use your special ability! Don't worry 'bout me, okay?"
"But Applejack, I can't leave you behind! What if this train leaves without you—?"
>"It doesn't matter! Use it before Ah throw you to the darn train myself!"
"Alright, you asked for it... 「PPP」!"
>Falling off of AJ and onto the ground, you appear behind 「Pride and Joy」 and kick into it
>Not the best idea considering it has all that glass behind it, but hey, you turned out fine
>"You think I hadn't already thought of that?"
>Wait what the fuck
>「Pride and Joy」 dissipates into the air, leaving you to fall off the train onto the tracks
>SHIT

>Luckily, AJ was behind the caboose and catches you, you landing on her back
>You quickly twist around and point forward at 「Pride and Joy」, yelling loudly
"You're not gonna get away with this, you dang stupid, slimy, silly, sonuva... uh... slave!"
>"Slave? Slave?! I'll show you who's a slave, you pink brat! I'm autonomous! I'll kill you!"
>In a fit of rage, the void throws thirteen shards at you both, forcing you to take extra care
"Go left, AJ."
>She swerves to the left, dodging three sent her way
"Go to the right, AJ."
>She curves right, dodging four coming from in front
"Jump over the ones on the ground!"
>She jumps, hurdling over the three on the train tracks
>"You're not finished yet, you two fools! I promise you, the both of you will bite the dust! Have at you!"
>With all his strength, he throws the last three with intense force
>One cuts through your mane, almost striking your forehead
>The next one cuts through your front left hoof, drawing blood
>But the next one cuts through Applejack's hat, cutting your cheek and almost damn near killing you
>It's not hard to see that he's trying to make sure you both stay dead, but you know you can make it
>「Pride and Joy」 throws two more shards, the both of you dodging it with relative ease

>"Git him! If I can't get him, you can! We can't let him get our friends!"
"「PPP」!"
>Falling off into the ground and behind 「Pride and Joy」 once more, you don't kick, and instead buck him
>"GAH! You fool! I'll kill you! I promise, by all things I stand for, I'll kill you! Perfection makes no mistakes!"
>Taking the form of... you, it swerves around and kicks you in the face, almost knocking out a tooth or two
>Which isn't the smartest idea, since now you're able to give him a right whack on the face
>You rush into him, pushing him back to the railings
>You bring back one hoof and sock him, almost pushing him off the train
>Wait, that gives you an idea
>You push him off the train, and use 「PPP」 to send him back on top of you
>As it happens, you uppercut his "face", almost certainly knocking him out, if not giving him a killer headache
>"Urgh! You're really starting to make me mad!"
>「Pride and Joy」 ditches its form and surrounds you, using the single shard of glass to keep cutting you as you're stuck within the void
>Does it hurt? Yes. Is there a way to get out? You wish, but he doesn't seem to be letting go
>Never before have you hated a creature like you do with 「Pride and Joy」
>「Pride and Joy」 moves away, letting you fall to the ground in pain
>"There we go. Next time, I want you to give up so I don't have to actually work. Farewell!"
>He nudges you off the train, falling onto the tracks, and generally making life just that little bit harder for you
>If that isn't enough, he's thrown a glass shard at you, this time embedding into your right hind hoof

>You've fallen off the train with a glass shard in your hoof
>Applejack's huddled around you, making sure that you won't die with what little medical knowledge she has
>You're not sure how, but the day's suddenly turned a whole lot worse for you
>If the both of you don't find help soon, you're both going to die stranded in the desert

><=To=Be=Continued====