Chaos now!

CHAPTER 8

HOW FAT

It was almost midnight, and everything was pitch black. The P.V.R. Sweet Apple’s engine hummed softly as it proceeded swiftly down the river. Rainbow Dash was at the wheel. She had taken over from Applejack only a couple of hours ago. Everyone was lounging about in the back of the boat, drifting in and out of sleep.

A bright light shining on them caused everyone to stir awake. They caught sight of a makeshift boat dock with a series of storage tents, and a nearby large empty field with a stage at the far end of it.

“Is that what ah think it is?” Applejack asked drowsily as she got beside of Rainbow Dash.

“Yep!” Rainbow Dash answered. “That’s How Fat.”

“Never thought ah’d see this place again.” Apple Bloom admitted.

Kark, carrying a still sleeping Sweetie Belle, got up to watch as Rainbow Dash manoeuvred the boat to accost at the dock. A couple of male ponies guided the boat in.

How Fat was a recreational outpost set up by the Army smack dab in the middle of enemy controlled Equestria. It was well protected. No enemy platoon would even think of threatening, or even attacking this place.

Its real name was “P. X. and rec outpost no. 349”, but everypony nicknamed it “How Fat”, as in “How fat is your bit purse?” The more bits you got, the more fun you could have. It was here that we encountered somepony we didn’t expect.

“Now where’s that here Quartermaster’s desk?” Applejack asked.

“I think this is it.” Rainbow Dash answered as she indicated the empty desk she saw under a sign that said “Supplies”.

“Hellooo-ooo? Anypony home?” she called as she leaned forward over the desk.

“Right here!” a pink filly said as she lifted herself into view.

Both fillies gasped simultaneously as they saw each other. They both called each other’s names as the same time as they hugged each other. Everyone else was in disbelief at who they saw.

Needless to say, we were all surprised to see that the Quartermaster was Pinkie Pie.

“I never thought I’d see you again, you silly filly!” Rainbow Dash cried.

“And I never thought I’d see you again, you daring dasher!” Pinkie Pie squealed.

They hugged each other for what seemed like the longest time. When they finally did relinquish their mutual hug, their eyes were wet from tears of joy.

“And I’m not alone. I’ve brought some of your old friends with me.” Rainbow Dash said as she gestured.

“Hi, Pinkie Pie!” everybody said in unison.

Pinkie Pie gasped. “Applejack! Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle, and…” She gasped again in surprise.

She then hopped over the desk that was in front of her and jumped right into Kark’s chest. “WHOA!” the big dragon as he staggered back a little from the force of the impact.

“KARK! OhmygoodnessIcantbelieveyourehereIthoughtIdneverseeyouagainIthoughtyouwereDEAD!”

“N-nice to see you, too, Pinkie.” Kark grinned awkwardly as he accepted Pinkie Pie’s hug. Pinkie Pie sighed contentedly.

“So you’re the Quartermaster here, huh?” Kark asked.

“Yeppers! Anything you want, I can get you(provided you have enough bits for them)! I’m also the morale officer around here, and I’m also responsible for the entertainment. But where’s my sense of duty?”

She then let go of her bear hug on Kark and hopped back behind her desk.

“Sergeant Pinkie Pie, at your service!” she said as she snapped a salute. “What can I get you?”

“We need three barrels of methane fuel for the boat.” Apple Bloom immediately said.

“Okie dokie! Destination?”

Applejack glanced at Rainbow Dash before answering. “Doe Long Bridge.”

Now it was Pinkie Pie’s turn to show surprise. “Doe Long??? Why in Equestria would you go all the way up there!?”

“I’m afraid that’s classified.” Rainbow Dash answered.

“Classified??? OOH, some sort of top secret mission? So top secret that you can’t even tell sweet lil’ ol’ ME about it?” Pinkie Pie grinned.

Kark nodded. “Basically, yes.”

Pinkie Pie blinked, then smiled. “Okie dokie lokie!” Then it hit her. “Wait! Did you say three barrels of fuel???”

“Yes.” Applejack said.

“But that’s more than enough to get you to Doe Long Bridge and back again! You sure you don’t have some other destination in mind?”

“We really can’t tell you.” Rainbow Dash said regrettably.

“Yeah. ‘Top secret’ n’ all. So are ya gonna give us our fuel or not?” Applejack asked with a hint of impatience in her voice.

Pinkie Pie shrugged, then she tore a piece of paper from a receipt book. “Just give this slip to the supply tent over there, and they’ll give you your fuel.” She said as she pointed, then handed the slip to Apple Bloom.

“Thanks, Pinkie!” The filly said as she grabbed the slip.

“You can also get some rations as the Mess Hall tent. HEY! You want some tickets to the show!?”

“What show?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“DUUUH! VINYL SCRATCH!” Pinkie Pie grinned brightly as she gestured towards a poster right next to her desk.

Sweetie Belle gasped. “Vinyl Scratch is coming here??? I LOVE her!”

Rainbow Dash smiled at the excited young filly. “Might as well, for all of us.”

Pinkie Pie squealed as she produced the tickets. Sweetie Belle grabbed hers eagerly.

Thanks to Pinkie Pie, they got enough fuel so the boat can take them to their final destination. They also stocked up on enough rations for the journey. Apple Bloom made sure they got enough jars of apple sauce to add to the rations for taste.

The very next evening was the highly anticipated Vinyl Scratch concert. A large crowd of ponies of all kinds gathered in the open field in front of the stage.

Pinkie Pie had gotten all of her friends tickets to the Press Box area of the concert field. It was the equivalent to having front row seats to a sporting event or theatrical play. Kark wondered how she was able to get these “VIP” tics for them. He figured it must come with being the Quartermaster and Morale Officer for How Fat. It was certainly a nice perk to have! She was even there in person with her friends, having delegated her responsibilities to somepony else!

For the next half hour, most of the entire crowd of ponies were chanting Vinyl Scratch’s name; and when she finally walked on stage, the roar from the crowd was deafening. Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle went all crazy as soon as she appeared. They were probably her no. 1 fans!

“How’s everypony doing out there!?” she said into the microphone next to the turntables that were set up for her.

This brought more cheers from the crowd. Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle’s cries of “I LOVE YOU!” were drowned out by all of the noise.

“My goodness!” Vinyl Scratch said in reaction to the crowd’s enthusiasm, which brought more hysterical cheers from the assembled ponies. “Uhh… I wanna say a special hello to all of you Pegasus flyers out there… and the unicorn magi… and the Earth pony infantry… and the sailors… who’ve worked so damned hard for Operation Strike Back! I know how hard it’s been! Seems like the fight for freedom is a never ending battle; but I know that someday soon, WE WILL PREVAIL!” she exclaimed as she pumped a hoof in the air. The pony crowd erupted in a deafening cheer again.

“But we’re gonna have LOTS of fun tonight. I’ll be spinning all of those tunes you know and love all night long. Let’s kick things off with this little masterpiece I like to call ‘Shake That Flank Thang’. Come on, I wanna see some tails MOVE out there! YEAH!”

Everypony started dancing as soon as the music started. The fillies dragged Kark into the dance group with them. Kark had danced with many a female in his day, dragon females; and they had a totally different dance style than ponies. About the only dancing he ever did with a pony was formal ballroom dancing with Princess Luna at royal functions, and a few times at the annual Grand Galloping Gala; but they certainly never played music like this at those events. All of the ponies commented that he had some pretty nifty dance moves, for a dragon. Although he enjoyed himself tremendously, he looked out of place among a field of smaller ponies. Vinyl Scratch even lifted her sunglasses to make sure she wasn’t seeing things when she noticed the two ton dragon dancing amongst the ponies.

Kark didn’t recognize any of the songs Vinyl Scratch played, except for two. He recognized her own rendition of “Something Good”- a song made famous by The Utopia Stallions- that included her own voice sample for the phrase “I just know that something good is going to happen.” The other song he recognized was her cover for “Rock It” written by Herbie Hancolt over 25 years ago.

A bunch of Diamond Dog civilians gathered near the security fence, curious to see what the ponies were up to. A lot of them probably wouldn’t get much sleep tonight, and would more than likely lodge a complaint with their local Administrator the next morning.

Doggie didn’t care much about Vinyl Scratch. He was too busy controlling all of the diamond mines they had at home, and in their conquered territories. His own idea of R and R was counting up all the diamonds they’ve collected that day. For him, there was only two ways this war would end: death or defeat.

The concert continued until the wee hours of the morning when Vinyl Scratch did a grand finale, which was a medley of her most popular songs. She got an ovation that lasted for nearly fifteen minutes. She bowed several times under the thunderous cheers of the ponies. “Thank you very much! You’ve all been GREAT! See you next time!” she said in her microphone before finally walking off the stage.