Star lobe

Darkness.  It was everywhere.  All encompassing…everywhere.  It knew all, it saw all, and it heard all.  It was my comfort.  The thing that put me to sleep on so many nights, and yet it was impossible to sleep.  In fact, the feeling of darkness was like…

“Wakey Wakey, Muffins with Cakey!”

“Ahhh,” I screamed as the shrill voice sent me flying over the side of the large queen sized bed located in my personal quarters.

“Pinkamena Diana Pie,” I shouted when my mind cleared enough to recognize the incessant giggling coming from my bed.  Crawling to my feet with about as much enthusiasm as a drugged up homeless person, I saw the Pink blur lying side-ways across the length of my now ruffled up comforter.

“What in Celestia’s name is your problem?”

“Oh silly boy,” she giggled.  “I wanted to wake you up.  It’s already seven a.m. and I didn’t want you to miss a single bit of this very important day.”

“What,” I growled dangerously,” was so important that you had to wake me before eleven…on a SATURDAY!”

“Don’t be so upset Mr. Grumpy pants,” Pinkie tweaked my nose.  “Todays the summer sun celebration, and at the moment…there’s no sun.”

My startled head shot up as he finally realized what was so wrong.  It was almost eight a.m. and there was no light coming in through the large window over the bed.

“Wow,” I muttered as he picked open the dark green curtains.  “What did you do now Pinkie Pie?”

“What are you talking about,” she pouted.  “Just because the sun disappears, it’s automatically my fault?”

“Wait,” I shouted as I placed my hand over her mouth.  “What do you mean the sun has disappeared?”

“Are you going to keep interrupting me,” Pinkie said impatiently.  I was admittedly slightly taken aback by her attitude.  Pinkie was one of the most patient, if excitable, people that I had ever known.

“Well excuse me,” I snapped.  “But pardon my slight disbelief at the sun actually growing wings and flying away.”

“It didn’t silly,” she told me as if talking to a young child.  “I’m not the one to give you the answers though.  Even I don’t have a solution to everything.

“Really,” I said thinking of the amount of fluff that probably floated around that girls head.

“Hey,” she smacked me upside the head.  “That’s a mean thing to say.”

“Oh Pinkie Pie,” I muttered.

“Anyway,” I said steering the conversation towards a better, simpler subject.

“Just how again did you get onto my ship again?  I didn’t even have it moored to the ground last I checked.  I’m at least seventy feet in the air.  And what’s that you said about the sun disappearing.

“Well,” chuckled Pinkie Pie, “To answer your first question.  Do you really want to know?”

After pondering how he should respond to that, I finally came up with a reply.

“No…no I don’t.  Still, what happened to the sun?”

“You best come with me Storm,” Pinkie said.  “The girls and I need your help.”

“The girls,” I asked with no small amount of confusion.  “What could you possibly need my help with?  Last I checked, the majority of your little group came to the conclusion that I was, and I quote, too lazy to help anyone, so immature that I made kids look like adults, and obsessed with myself.  Rainbow Dash even called me a creep.  How am I supposed to help them after that?”

“We need a ship Storm,” Pinkie pleaded.  “If you follow me, Twilight can explain everything.”

“Twilight?” I asked.  “Who’s Twilight?”

“Oh,” said Pinkie Pie, her excitement returning.  “She’s the personal protégé of Princess Celestia, all the way from Camelot.”

“Where are they,” I asked while I tried to comprehend what she wanted me to do.  Really, to help would be a dumb idea.  I mean, Fluttershy was nice enough.  Pinkie was really my only friend.  I tended to not have many friends though, what with being a sky sailor and all.  Not much time for friends.  Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash though.  I didn’t know if I’d be able to deal with them.  For whatever reason, they had a problem with me ever since I had come to live in Magiville three months ago.

“They’re just on the outskirts of the Everfree,” Pinkie said as if nothing was wrong.

“Ummm, I’m sorry,” I laughed at Pinkie.  “I must be hearing things or something.  I thought I just heard you say that they were waiting near the Everfree. A in, in Everfree forest.”

“Yep,” Pinkie smiled happily.  She obviously didn’t notice the large amount of shock on my face.  “We need a ride over the forest, and the dingy Twilight has just won’t cut it for all of us.”

“So,” I said just to confirm.  “You and your jerky friends wish to use my sky ship, my pride and joy, the very thing that makes my life worth living, out over arguably the most dangerous forest known to Equis, where it runs the risk of chaotic wind currents, constant storms, and the high possibility of sky pirates.”

“Well when you put it like that,” Pinkie huffed.

“No,” was my simple and very straightforward answer.  “I will not risk my life nor my ship in something like that.”

“But Storm,” she whined.  “I need your help.  In fact, all of Equis needs your help.”  That peeked my curiosity.  What was so wrong that all of Equis depended on me helping the woman that didn’t even like me?  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued.

“Ok,” I muttered when I saw the absolutely pleading look on her face.  How could I resist those beautiful blue eyes.  “I’ll go only so that I can find out what’s going on. And you’re going to tell me everything.   After that, I reserve the right to back out if I want to.  Also, you better keep Rainbow Dash in check.  I don’t need another black eye over a simple misunderstanding.

“Oh thanks a lot Storm,” Pinkie shouted happily.  “You’re the best.”

“Don’t I know it,” I muttered.

“Hold your horses,” I told Pinkie when I saw her walking out the door.  “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m leading you to meet the girls,” she said with a bit of confusion.

“Not on the ground you’re not,” I grinned at her.  I knew that this was probably a little arrogant, but I wasn’t walking anywhere.

“If you and I have to go anywhere, we’re doing it with style.”

“Style,” she asked.  “What do you mea…OOOOOHH?”

She was obviously figuring what I was getting at.

“Does that mean I get to…you know.”  Her face was split into a crazy large grin.

“Go for it,” I whispered.  With a giant squeal of excitement, Pinkie was suddenly standing in front of my wardrobe, and before I could say “Be careful” she was dressed in a dark pink and purple overcoat, a pink tri-corn hat, and pink boots with purple trousers.

“Hurry up,” she giggled.  A pile of clothing was practically stuffed into my mouth.

“Pinkie,” I asked the giggling girl.  “Have you…mentioned to your friends that we’re…going out?”

“Weeeelllll,” she twiddled her thumbs nervously.  “I haven’t really…told them per say.”

“Pinkie,” I sighed, pulling on my sailing gear.  “I…never mind.  Let’s just get to your friends.”

“Okay,” Pinkie replied glumly.  Sometimes it amazed me how this one subject made her cringe.

After a month in this place, I finally managed up the nerve to ask her out.  Our relationship wasn’t the most…normal, and sometimes I felt like I needed to treat her like a child, but her constant joy is probably the only thing so far that’s kept me from losing my mind.  I could even go as far as to say that I loved her.  She just seemed so…reluctant to tell people.  I couldn’t think on this now though.

“You coming storm,” she asked from the door.  I slipped on my black tri-corn, a gift from Pinkie just yesterday in fact in honor of the summer sun celebration, and made my way out of my cabin and up the planks to the steering deck.

“Okay,” I caught her attention as she stood by the helm.  Said helm was really only two hollow wooden pedestals, open at one end, sticking out of the deck.

“You ready,” I asked her, coming to a halt beside her and behind the unorthodox steering tool.

“Yeah,” Pinkie said sadly.  It really killed me inside to see her like this.  It appeared that I was the only one capable in this small town of getting her to show any emotion besides over-zealous happiness.  Whether it was some more mellow form of happiness, excitement, or other emotion, I also had the strange effect of depressing her sometime.  I suppose it just comes to show that she wasn’t some hyper-active alien from a different planet.

“Pinkie,” I admonished her as I pulled her into a hug.  “Please don't be sad.  I know you must think I’m upset, but I’m not.  I could never be upset with you.  It’s a practically impossible feat to achieve,” I said with a joking look.  “You don’t need to be sad, because that makes me sad.”

“I’m trying,” she sniffled out.  “It’s just…I know you guys don’t see eye to eye.”

“Listen Pinkie,” I said.  “I don’t care what happens between us if you tell them.  I just want you to be happy.  If I’m getting in the way of that…”

“NO,” she shouted into my chest.  “You could never get in the way.  It’s not your fault my friends are stubborn.  They’ll come around, or they’ll lose the only friend who can get free cakes for them.”

“Oh Pinkie,” I said giving her a peck on the cheek.  She giggled and held on to my waist as I turned back to the two wooden constructs.

“Are you ready my little cupcake,” I asked.  I had started calling her that right after we started going out.  I had come down with a case of the rattles.  She had somehow gotten onboard my ship, with a tray of get well cupcakes no less.  After eating a few, she stayed the rest of the night and took care of me.  The next day I was fine.  So in honor of that incident, my little cupcake was born.

“You betcha,” she said standing back.

I stuck my arms into the two pedestals up to the mid forearm.  With a sound like that of a dull thrum, my arms started to glow.  The bluish tent traveled up my arms, along my neck, around my head, before entering my eyes.  With a sudden gush of wind, the air around my ship suddenly all seemed to blow in the same direction.  The sails were filled, and quick as a whip, they caught and the body of the sky-faring vessel was jerked forward.  With a smile from me and a joyous laugh from Pinkie, the Star lobe was on its way to wherever Pinkie told me.