Controlled Chaos

Pinkie Pie was worried about Mrs Cake.

She’d gone out earlier when that window had been shattered and hadn’t come back in yet. Then another window had been broken and Mrs Cake shouted a lot and then Mr Cake went outside and there was still shouting going on out there. Pinkie was pretty sure Applejack was there too. She would’ve gone out already, but her cake was almost finished cooking and she didn’t want to accidentally burn the place down by leaving an oven turned on and not checking on it periodically.

That’s how the great fire of Trottingham started, you know.

Speaking of which, the timer dinged, signifying the end of the cake’s cook time. She spun to face it and peered in through the glass on the door. It looked perfect, so she quickly put her hooves into some oven gloves and took the cake out of the oven. It was still steaming hot, so she decided that it would probably be best to let it cool a little before putting the decorations on. No one ever won a baking contest by entering a cake with all its icing messed up, after all.

Well, there was that one time…

“Pinkie, I need your help,” said James from right behind her, making her jump and almost drop the cake.

She spun to see him carrying that pony that was with him earlier in his arms. She looked like she was completely unconscious, most likely James’s doing. She put the cake down gently after she’d checked that it was okay, then gave James a fierce glare.

“You’re lucky that didn’t get messed up, Mister!” she said angrily. “If it did, you’d have to make a new one for Spike real fast, or I’d have to…! Ooh, you don’t want to know what I’d do!”

“You don’t know what you’d do, Pinkie,” he replied, lowering Prism Shine onto the ground. “But I really need your help right now. Are you in or out?”

“I’m in!” Pinkie replied, completely getting rid of her angry demeanour. “What do you want me to do?”

“You know how to make friends, yes?”

“Are you kidding me?” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Have you ever met me, James? Of course I know how to make friends!”

“What about friends that have never had friends themselves?”

Pinkie was quiet for a moment. “As in… no friends at all?” she asked, tilting her head. “Do you mean Prism? Did she never have friends?”

“Answer the question,” he snapped, giving her a quick glare. “Can you make friends with someone who doesn’t know what it’s like to have a friend and, by extension, may or may not know how to deal with it?”

“I… I guess I could try…” Pinkie answered slowly and unsurely, tapping her chin. “I mean, of course I’ll try, but I bet I can do it anyway!”

“Good, because I promised Prism Shine to give her some friends. Not in those words exactly, but something was promised and I intend to make it friendship.”

“Well, that’s a really nice promise, James! If friendship’s what you promised, I’d be more than happy to help in any way can!”

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am, Pinkie.” He looked down at Prism and checked her pulse. “Do you know how long a normal sedative lasts? It’s only been a few minutes, but Twilight was only asleep for a few seconds when I drugged her with the same thing.”

“I don’t know. Why can’t you ask Twilight? Would it make her remember last night?”

“I don’t want to bring Prism to Twilight like this and I don’t want to leave Prism on her own. She knows too much for her own good.”

“Ooh, does she know a secret?” Pinkie asked excitedly. “Can I know that secret too? I promise that I won’t tell anypony at all!” She made the movements of a pinkie promise. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

James sat in silence for a few seconds. “You know what, Pinkie Pie?” he said after the pause, looking up at her slowly and deliberately. “I just might do that. The only catch with this one is that if you break it, you’ll die.”

Well, that was scarily straight-forward.

“Are you saying you’ll murder me, James?” she asked slowly, frowning. “Because that’s not cool. Not cool one bit. Even if I do break a pinkie promise, you can’t just –“

“I won’t be the one to kill you, but someone else will. I can try and prevent it from happening, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Well, that’s ominous and scary and really really non-descriptive.”

“You’ll see what I mean later and see why it’s like that though.” Before Pinkie could say anything else, James put a finger to her lips as Prism started breathing normally again. “Hey, Prism,” he whispered, smiling lightly at her. “How are you feeling? Remember anything?”

“I… I remember… everything!” Prism replied, eyes widening. “B-but… you said you were going to… I thought you told him you were wiping my memory!”

“I may be evil, but I’m not that evil, Prism Shine,” James explained. He helped her up and glanced over at Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, keep an eye out for Mrs Cake coming back in. Don’t want another problem right now.”

“Don’t worry! If she was coming back in, I would’ve heard her already!” Pinkie answered happily, but she moved to keep an eye on the door into Sugarcube Corner anyway.

“Now then, Prism,” he said, looking down at Prism Shine again. “You remember me saying I’d give you something more than just chaos, yes?”

“Y-yeah…?” Prism replied unsurely, anxiously glancing over at Pinkie Pie.

“And you also remember telling me that you’ve never had a friend before?”

“Y-yes…”

“Prism Shine, meet Pinkie Pie,” James said, waving a hand at Pinkie.

Pinkie perked up at the sound of her name and turned her head to smile at Prism happily. She waved enthusiastically before bouncing over to Prism and holding her hoof out.

“Pleasure to meetcha, Prism Shine!” she greeted excitedly. “I can tell we’re gonna be reeeeeeal good friends, you and I! That’s because I’m real good friends with everypony though, but I can be your best friend even more than my other best friends!”

“Um…” Prism squeaked, nervously taking Pinkie’s hoof to shake it gently. “H-hello… Pinkie Pie…”

“Aw, don’t be shy!” Pinkie replied, pulling Prism into a warm hug suddenly. “I’ve already got a friend who’s really shy! You should meet her one time! Ooh, I could introduce you to all my other friends! I’m sure they’d love to get to know you too!”

“Go easy, Pinkie,” said James, smirking as Pinkie pulled out of the hug and beamed at Prism. “Introduce her to more friends when she’s ready.” He frowned slightly. “But, you know the story with Twilight, so it might be best to leave her out of it for a while.”

“Y-you mean… Princess Twilight?” Prism stammered, looking back at James confusedly. “W-what’s the story with her? W-why do we have to leave her out?”

“Oh, I didn’t explain that to you yet, did I…?” he muttered. He smiled weakly at her. “Basically, you know that thing between me and Twilight last night?”

“What about it?”

“You can’t tell Twilight about it at all. Pinkie can tell you why not later, and that’s what… he told me.” He looked down at the confused Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, you’ll understand what that means later when I let you in on that… secret. Meet me at six tonight on the edge of the Everfree. Make sure you’re not followed, and I can’t be any more serious about that than I am.”

“I-is that… a good idea? T-to tell her about… him, I mean…” Prism asked nervously, glancing at Pinkie out of the corner of her eye.

“I’ve told her the consequences, and now I’ll have to tell you too; tell anyone, and I mean anyone, about what you saw, and he will come after you. I’ll defend you as best as I can from him, but I can’t promise anything.”

Prism went quiet, thinking about what he had said. Pinkie noticed her new friend’s discomfort and leaned over to put a hoof on her back. After a moment, the sound of the door into Sugarcube Corner could be heard opening.

“Oh yeah, you were supposed to be watching for her to come back in, Pinkie,” James said with a small chuckle. He looked down at Prism and smiled at her. “That’s probably the one that slapped you for breaking her windows, Prism.”

Prism gasped. “Th-then... we need to get out of here!” she yelled frantically, hurrying to stand behind James in fear. “She’ll just get mad again!”

“Who’s in there?” Mrs Cake called into the kitchen. “Pinkie Pie, who’ve you got in there with you?”

“Well, at least she’s calmed down,” James said quietly. He smiled down at Prism and stepped to one side. “You know what, Prism? I think it’s better that we let her know you’re here. You could apologise for doing what you did and maybe make another friend, if she’s feeling nice.”

Before anything else could be said, Mrs Cake entered the kitchen. When she saw James and Prism stood there beside Pinkie Pie, her jaw dropped. Pinkie hurried to stand in front of Prism Shine when she saw Mrs Cake’s expression shift to a furious one.

“Hold on, Mrs Cake!” Pinkie exclaimed, putting her hooves on Mrs Cake’s shoulders. “Don’t get angry again! You just got calmed down!”

“What are you doing back here?!” Mrs Cake yelled, snarling at the two unwelcome guests in the kitchen. “I thought I told you to get out, you crazy pony!”

Applejack entered the kitchen suddenly, no doubt drawn by the sound of Mrs Cake’s rage building up again. When she saw James stood there smiling innocently and Prism Shine cowering beside him, she frowned.

“James, ah… Ah think you better get outta here,” she said unsurely, glancing at Mrs Cake.

“Oh, I will,” James said innocently, putting his hand on Prism’s back. “Right after I repair the damages caused by my friend here.” He snapped his fingers and there was the sound of a window shattering in reverse from outside. “And I think Prism Shine has something she’d like to say to you, Mrs Cake.”

“Honey, the windows are fixed!” Mr Cake called in from outside. “We don’t need to get them repaired anymore!”

Mrs Cake narrowed her eyes at James. “What are you playing at, you menace?” she spat. “You have an ulterior motive. All evil villains do. You’re no different to them.”

“Come on, Mrs Cake!” Pinkie said sadly, frowning. “Don’t be a meanie! He fixed your windows!”

“No no, she’s right,” James said. “I do have an ulterior motive, and that’s to make Prism some friends.”

“You mean her?” Mrs Cake spat, nodding at Prism. “She could never make friends! She’s as evil as you are!”

“Now that’s just cruel,” James replied. “Sure, she’s different to you, but that doesn’t make her evil.” He looked down at Prism and gently pushed her forwards. “Come on now, Prism. What do you have to say?”

Prism gulped and looked down at the ground. “U-uh…” she muttered worriedly. “S-sorry…”

“Come on, Prism, you can do it,” James assured her. “This is one way you can make friends; by apologising for upsetting someone.”

“I…” She lowered her head and looked up at Mrs Cake fearfully. “S-sorry for… breaking your windows… and… calling you names…”

“Great job, Prism Shine!” Pinkie complimented, turning back to smile at her friend. “I’m sure you’ll make loads of friends if you keep going like that!”

“Now, I think you have something to say too, Mrs Cake,” James said, turning his head to look at her.

“What did I do?!” Mrs Cake yelled angrily. “She’s the one who damaged my property!”

“Uh… you did physically assault her, Mrs Cake,” Applejack supplied, earning glare from Mrs Cake. “Ah’m just sayin’ what ah saw.”

“And, while breaking other ponies’ property is against the law too, you can’t press charges when there’s no damages to report,” James said calmly. “But when other ponies saw you attacking her, she’s allowed to press charges for that.”

Mrs Cake’s jaw worked up and down as if she was trying to say something, but couldn’t. Applejack nodded at James’s statement, understanding what he meant. Pinkie Pie glanced between Prism and Mrs Cake like something was about to happen between them. Prism Shine merely kicked at the floor nervously, staring downwards.

“Come on, Mrs Cake,” James said. “Be the better pony. Prism’s apologised for her mistake, and now you need to apologise for yours.”

Mrs Cake scowled and ground her teeth, but eventually gave in. “I’m sorry for attacking you, Prism Shine,” she said at last, with hardly any niceness in her voice. “It was wrong of me to do that, but you were asking for it.”

“Don’t be sour about it, Mrs Cake,” Applejack commented. “You know it’s the right thing to do, so there’s no point stayin’ mad about it.”

Mrs Cake growled lowly, but saw the logic in Applejack’s statement. Besides, Prism Shine had apologised, and if evil ponies could apologise, so could she! No, calling her evil was mean. The poor mare was terrified of her, and she wasn’t even apologising back and meaning it. There was nothing good about that.

“Prism Shine,” Mrs Cake said seriously. “I am very sorry for attacking you and insulting you.” She forced a smile. “I mean that. I’m sure that, in time, the two of us can look back at this and laugh about it.”

“Woohoo! Great job, everypony!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing up and down ecstatically. “Even James, who’s not even a pony! Great job, friends!”

“See, Prism?” James asked Prism, smiling at her. “Friendship is better than chaos. Now you have something else.”

Prism smiled weakly, but remained staring at the floor. Applejack trotted over and patted her on the back before Pinkie Pie pulled the other three ponies in the room into a warm, friendly hug. James laughed at the exchange, knowing that Prism was going to get very far if she kept up like this.

But then there was the case of him.

“As wonderful as this is, I’ve got some bad news,” he said solemnly, frowning. The others looked up at him and their smiles faded. “Prism, I need to take you somewhere that he won’t find you. I’ll give the address to Pinkie Pie so she can send letters to you until I… deal with it. You don’t mind keeping a long distance friendship, do you?”

“It’s… fine, I guess…” Prism muttered, moving a little closer to Pinkie Pie. “It… won’t take long, will it?”

“What’s this now?” Applejack asked. “Ah get the sense ah’m missin’ out on somethin’.”

“Shh! It’s a secret!” Pinkie whispered to her.

“Is it important?” Mrs Cake asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” James answered sincerely. “Pinkie, I’m trusting you to stay in contact with Prism. You’ll see her again, but it won’t be until something happens. You’ll know what it is when it does. And… you know what to do later.”

“I know it!” Pinkie replied happily with a knowing wink. She frowned sadly and pulled Prism into a one-hoofed hug. “But is it really important that she goes?”

“I… think it is…” Prism answered dejectedly, pulling away from Pinkie Pie and trotting over to stand beside James. “Sorry, Pinkie Pie…”

“I’ll give you her contact details later, Pinkie,” James said, leaning down to take Prism’s hoof. “And to everyone else, we bid thee good day!”

“Uh… bye everypony…” Prism said quietly. “I’ll see you later... friends…”

James gave a farewell salute before snapping his fingers and vanishing with a colourful pop, taking Prism with him. As soon as they were gone, Pinkie bounced up and landed in a crouch facing Applejack.

“I’m gonna go write a letter to her right now!” she yelled, grinning ear to ear. “I don’t even know where she’s going to be, but I’ll write a letter to her right now anyway! She’s my new pen pal and even newer best friend!”

“She certainly seems like a nice pony,” Applejack replied. “Reminds me a lot of Fluttershy. Ah bet the two of ‘em will get along like a house on fire. Shame they didn’t meet up today.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange that I went from hating her to liking her that fast?” asked Mrs Cake. “I mean, it’s nice that I can call her friend and all, but don’t you think that’s a little bit strange?”

“You shouldn’t be complainin’ about it!” Applejack answered, smiling and shaking her head happily. “It all got sorted and you made an unexpected friend. Just enjoy the moment!”

“Aw, but I got a get-better-soon cake to finish!” Pinkie moaned, frowning and drooping a little. She perked right back up suddenly. “Ooh, I know! I’ll write the letter while I decorate the cake! It’ll be the best cake making, letter writing letter-cake I’ve ever done!”

“I think it’s the only one you’ve ever done, Pinkie Pie,” Mrs Cake commented with a little chuckle.

“Well, it’ll still be the best I ever did!” Pinkie yelled before bouncing out of the kitchen for something to write the letter with.

“Ah guess ah’m not needed anymore, Mrs Cake?” Applejack asked, smiling at her friends antics.

“No, but thank you for calming me down, Applejack,” Mrs Cake replied kindly. “I hate to think of what I would’ve done if I’d come back in like that.”

“No problem. Ah’ll see you later!”

Applejack trotted out of the kitchen as Pinkie Pie bounded back in with a quill and notepad. As Pinkie started on the cake making and letter writing, Mrs Cake giggled at her almost crazed process of getting two things done at once.

The whole time, she couldn’t help but think; why did she go from hating Prism to liking her in almost the blink of an eye?

Oh well, it didn’t really matter right now anyway! She had made a new friend and a cake to help decorate! Pinkie Pie wasn’t as good as she’d thought at doing the two things at once, after all.