Faux Mark: The Purple Balloon

Faux Mark

The Purple Balloon

Chapter 2: Wake-Up Call

“Oh Peppermint!”

“You did it, Honey! You got your Cutie Mark!”

As excited as her parents were when she got home that day, Peppermint herself could barely notice. It was all so confusing, so much happening so fast. First her birthday, and then a celebration over her new Cutie Mark. It was just overwhelming.

But something else was overwhelming in the poor filly. She just never saw it coming. Frankly, she couldn’t have, not with how powerful the effects of her curse were.

The first sign should’ve been when she snuck home a few packages of balloons from Ms. Rivers’ old store. Or rather took several. Fourteen packs of twenty, to be exact.

Her parents didn’t care much. They thought she was just excited to practice her new talent. In fact they encouraged Peppermint. It never struck them as odd when their daughter spent the rest of the night practicing blowing up the balloons and letting the air out, over and over again, from one of the packages. Perhaps it was only since she eventually did fall asleep.

The second warning would have been Peppermint’s behavior back in school. On three separate occasions she was punished for disrupting class with balloons she brought in. The third time she even snuck them in without her parents knowing. This time her parents were concerned, but not for the right reasons. All they did was pull their daughter from class for a few days to let her think about what she’d done.

Now the third warning sign was what finally tipped somepony off. The problem was, it was Peppermint herself.

See, she had taken to a habit of playing in her bed with a pack of the balloons. She happily experimented with her magic, testing the limits of the rubber, and even started using one as a replacement stuffed animal.

Something clicked one night in her head. Something about the situation just caught her completely off guard, perhaps. Surrounded by balloons, wallowing in them, laughing and smiling and having the time of her life, Pepper picked out something odd. A disturbingly familiar sound: Peppermint caught herself giggling, in exactly the same childish and cheery manner of Ms. Windy Rivers.

Pepper’s eyes widened and her ears drooped. The world came into focus for the first time in months. Her ceiling was the only thing that looked familiar about her room anymore. She wanted to ask where the balloons came from. She wanted to ask how she got there. But she knew, vaguely. It was as if she was just along for the ride, and she was only half-paying attention.

She gasped, whimpering, as a balloon rolled over and tapped her hoof. She brushed all of them off in a panic, only to find them bouncing around with others on the floor. Thirty balloons, each blown up and tied exactly the same way.

Pepper shut her eyes tightly. “It’s just a dream,” she said. “Just a bad dream, just a bad dream...”

She winked one eye open. No such luck.

She panicked. Her screaming and crying could be heard as far as the neighbors’ houses. Her parents ran as fast as they could to see what was the matter, only to find their daughter buried in the corner of her bed and the walls, trying to hide her eyes.

“Make it stop!” she yelled.

“Oh, Honey!” her mother reassured. She swept over and held Pepper close. “It was just a bad dream...”

“No it wasn’t!” Pepper snapped. “What am I doing with all these?”

Her father carefully stepped across the floor, bouncing the balloons around. “All of what, Sweetie?”

“The stupid balloons!”

Pepper’s mom hugged Pepper closer. “That must’ve been an awful dream, Sweetie,” she said. “Don’t you remember? Your special talent?”

“W-wha...” Pepper whimpered. She glanced back at her flank and screamed. “No no no no! That’s not right!”

Her dad sat next to the bed. “What do you mean?” he asked. “I thought you loved your party... balloon... something magic.”

Pepper sat in silence. It all came rushing back to her, memories of few months since Windy left. The memories of how she acted just left Pepper speechless.  Her father was right. She had loved it. But now, now that she was out of that haze—

Peppermint clung tightly to her mother and sobbed into her chest. Pepper’s mother hugged her back.

“It’s not my Mark,” Pepper whined, muffled from her position.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” her father retorted.

“It’s just not!” Pepper repeated.

Her father pat her on the back. “But you’re so good at it,” he reassured. “Just look at all of this. Why, some day you’ll be a great pony for parties, just you wait.”

Pepper shook her head violently. She sniffled and flopped back onto her pillow. “But it’s weird!” she added.

Her parents exchanged looks. “It’s not weird,” said her mother. “There are plenty of ponies with party talents out there.”

“But balloons?!” Pepper interrupted.

“Look,” said her father. “I get it. When I first got my Cutie Mark, I was a little disappointed after a while too.” He showed her his Mark, not that she ever forgot it: a shiny bit coin. “This doesn’t mean I’m good at business. It means I’m good at making the coins in the first place.”

Pepper stopped, watching her father intently.

“Sure, I’m not the richest pony,” he said. “But without me, nopony would have any money!”

He smiled and rustled up Pepper’s mane a bit. “Everypony’s important, everypony matters. It doesn’t matter what your talent is, so long as you can enjoy yourself.”

Pepper immediately started crying again. Her father frowned with her. “Sweetie, don’t cry,” he said softly. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong.”

From there it took until around three in the morning for Pepper to finally wear herself out, at which point her parents were so exhausted that they just slept in different parts of Peppermint’s bedroom. And in the morning, Pepper got one more surprise.

She blinked open her eyes and saw her mother laying on the end of her bed. Pepper sighed. The night before really did happen. Pepper blinked her eyes a few times; something was caught in her eyelashes, or so she thought. It wasn’t until her mother stirred and rolled over onto her back that Pepper realized what she was seeing: a faint image of her mother, chest and belly swollen several feet with air.

“Gah!” Pepper screamed, covering her eyes. Both her parents shook awake and panicked. When they saw where they were, they groaned.

“Pepper, Honey,” her mother mumbled, “go back to sleep.”

Peppermint was still shaking, but she dared a glance over her hoof. The image was gone, thankfully. She sighed with relief, then shut her eyes calmly. She couldn’t quite sleep though. Thoughts and questions raced around her head.

“What’s happening to me?” seemed to be the big question.

Mom and Dad don’t believe me. I’m stuck with this talent— I’m stuck with these thoughts about it! What if I turn into somepony like Ms. Rivers? What if I’m already there?! No I can’t be! I’m not like her!!

She gave me her Cutie Mark, and I don’t know how. But that doesn’t mean I’m the same pony. I can do better... right?

Maybe what Dad said is right. I can make a difference. I just have to find a way to... enjoy it? No, I— well maybe I can, just— no, I need to make the best of this. That’s it.

Pepper shuddered. I don’t know what’s happening, but its like I wantto like this. I don’t want this. I want a real Cutie Mark. I want my real talent.

Whatever it is...

Over the years, Peppermint discovered just how her curse worked. The visions, the impulses, they all added up to one thing: Blowing stuff up. Particularly balloons. And if the sights she saw were to be believed, other ponies.

But she could fight it. If she just let it have its way for a little bit, she’d be fine. It just got harder and harder to please as she got older.

At some point around when she was seventeen, she hit the final straw, and decided it wasn’t worth the risk of her parents finding out about the “other thing” her talent let her (or rather wanted her to) do. So Pepper moved out, and away. It wasn’t that hard; she had been so focused on keeping things in check and researching what she might be afflicted with that she had neglected most of her friends for years. Only Tulip, her best friend since second grade, managed to keep in touch up until Pepper left.

Now living on her own in Coltport, a small city nestled on a coastal bay somewhere miles from her hometown, Pepper was used to finding time to “take care” of the odd urges. And as much as she hated to admit it, a party supply store like Ms. Rivers’ was perfect for this. The only difference was how Pepper managed to make use of the privacy.

On this particular morning, Peppermint was quite grateful for the thick blinds as she was oh-so-uncomfortably reminded of why she left home in the first place.

“Ugh,” she groaned, blinking open her eyes. Before her she could barely see anything but a wide blob of shady green. “Ugh!” she yelled, tilting her head back. “Stupid Mark!” It didn’t even take full sensation after waking up in the morning for her to know what this was anymore. Waking up to find herself part-way blown up was getting to be something she was just sick of.

Sure, it wasn’t ideal, but it was better than the alternative. And at least she was used to the feeling after a few years of this. Pepper found a way around that little voice in her head that told her to start puffing up just about everypony she saw. The problem was that she had to deal with it herself.

“At least nopony gets hurt,” she reminded herself. She rolled over, literally, until she was more or less upright. She braced her rear hooves against the bed, prepared the proper magic, then exhaled. This was the worst part of course. After about ten or twelve seconds straight, Pepper stopped, finally back to normal size, and gasped for air. It was perhaps the only thing more disorienting than being blown up in the first place.

“Okay, I might need a bigger room soon,” she grumbled. The bedroom was already cut down to just a bed with a pair of saddlebags lying in the corner. Even clothes and hats were kept downstairs, among the store’s inventory.

Pepper shuddered, then rolled her eyes. She trotted over to the bags and levitated out an empty balloon. With a SHOOOP it puffed up, then the air sputtered back out. Peppermint did this a few times, then sighed and returned it to the back. “Ahh, much better,” she mumbled. “For now anyway.” Just in case, she scooped up and put the saddlebags on to keep with her.

She trotted her way downstairs with a yawn. There was a calendar on the wall just to the side of the counter. A big red circle caught Pepper’s eye as she passed.

“Oh, right, Doctor’s appointment today,” she thought aloud. “Good. Maybe he’ll actually have something to tell me this time.” Pepper smiled. She hopped the counter and went straight for the door. “Also means I’m closed today,” she added as she shut off the lights behind her. “About time I got a day off.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” said the doctor. “Your test came back today, and—”

Pepper leaned forward on the office’s bed. Her eyes lit up. “Yes? Yes?!”

The doctor looked over his glasses at her. “You’re perfectly healthy. We got nothing. Nada. Zilch.”

Peppermint slammed her face into the thin pillow at the end of the bed. “Well your tests are wrong!”

“Ma’am— Peppermint, you’ve been coming here for a year now. I think you just need to face facts.”

Pepper pouted. “It’s not my real Cutie Mark,” she mumbled.

The doctor put a hoof on her shoulder. “I think it is, you just don’t want to admit it,” he said. “I get it, it’s weird. I almost didn’t want to be a doctor at fi—”

Pepper scoffed. “Oh please! If you didn’t like being a doctor, you wouldn’t have all those awards and articles posted up in the waiting room!” She hopped down off the bed. “I’ve heard this all before. From you, the last two doctors, even my Dad!”

“Fine, then I’ll tell you something different,” her doctor continued. “I’m not the right kind of doctor for this problem you’re having.”

A shudder ran over Pepper’s spine. She retrieved the balloon from her bag and pulsed it twice.

“See, that,” he said. “That’s either a psychological thing, or you just don’t want to admit how much you enjoy your talent.”

“I sure as hay don’t enjoy it...” Pepper mumbled, ironically punctuated by another pulse of the balloon.

“Sure you don’t,” the doctor mocked. Pepper blushed.

“I already told you, it’s like this itch!” she yelled. “I can’t help it!”

“Look, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I can send you to a good psychiatrist that I know.”

“Thanks, but no tha—”

“It’s that, or you just have to learn to accept you for you,” he finished.

Peppermint sighed and hung her head. “Alright, alright,” she said. “Just give me his card or something.” She hovered her bags back onto her back, leaving one side open for the doctor.

“There, was that so hard?” the doctor asked. He took a stack of business cards from a drawer under the bed, looked through them, then slipped the right one into Pepper’s pack. “Alright, you’re free to go.”

Pepper nodded quietly, then walked back out to the waiting room. She double-checked that the doctor wasn’t looking, then picked up her pace.

“See you next time, Pepper?” the receptionist asked as Pepper passed by.

“Nope!” Pepper called in passing. She kicked open the door, then slammed it behind herself.

— — —

“‘Accept you for you’,” Pepper mocked in her frustration. “Please! Tell me something I don’t know!” A few passing ponies in the street started staring, but she was used to it. Besides, it was mostly out-of-towners that didn’t know about her habit. Well, this habit anyway.

Pepper trotted over to the side of a building and sat down. She rumaged through her bag to find the card, then tore it to pieces. “And that was supposed to be a good doctor,” she mumbled. “Still nothing? Ugh!”

She shivered, then sighed. “Wow, the itch is bad today,” she admitted. She pulled out the balloon again and puffed it up. This time she didn’t let the air out right away, however. She just stared at it. “And this does like nothing anymore,” she muttered. “But why?”

“Ooooh,” came a small voice behind Peppermint. She looked over her shoulder to see a colt, no older than four, staring in wonder at the balloon. Pepper hesitated.

“Uhh,” she started. “Hi?”

“Bawoon...” he said. Pepper smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Ohh, you mean this?” she asked, hovering it closer to him. He giggled and poked at it with a hoof.

Peppermint sighed. “Hang on just a sec, kid,” she said. In literally a second, she managed to stretch out and tie off the end. The sight left the colt staring in curious awe. “Here ya go,” said Pepper, letting it drop into his hooves.

“Thanks, Miss!” he said before running off somewhere.

Pepper just shook her head. “Well there is that upside,” she mumbled. Her eyes widened. “Oh wow, what am I saying?”

“I hate kids.”

— — —

It would seem fate just told Pepper “that’s too bad” after that remark. Of course with her store, she had to be around little colts and fillies way more often than she’d normally want to anyway. But today, she had to pass through the park. On a Saturday.

“Just ignore them, Pepper,” she told herself as she lay on a park bench. “They won’t bother you if you don’t bother them...”

She tried to find something to distract her from the laughing and giggling of the children. Except they were everywhere. This bench was about the only place she could count on for a little peace. It’s not like any of the kids were gonna stop and take a break anytime soon.

“At least they’ve got their parents in the way,” she said. She shut her eyes and smiled. “That’s it Pepper, stay positive.” This was good practice for her. She could just lay there and tune out the world, except for the breeze and the birds. Coltport had that smell of the sea on the air almost all of the time; it was calming, even when Pepper was worked up over her “itch”.

That didn’t stop her from feeling uncomfortable over it, however. She winked open one eye and groaned. There it was again, the images. To anypony else, it might have been comical: a park full of ponies, all waddling about with balloon-bellies. But for Pepper it was just annoying, so she shut her eyes again.

Somepony prodded her side. She sighed. With a fake yawn, she waved off whoever it was. “I don’t have any more with me right now,” she groaned. “Try again tomorrow. I just wanna take a nap.”

“Any more what?” asked a regal mare’s voice.

Pepper lifted her head immediately. “Oh, no, I’m sorry!” she blurted out. She hopped off the bench so she could properly face the newcomer: a mare in an elegant dress with elaborate earrings. She couldn’t have looked more out of place in that park if she was a mule.

“I’m confused,” the mare repeated. “My name is Simple Summer. I’m looking for the local owner of the party supplies store. What was her name—”

“Peppermint!” Pepper said. “T-that’s me, yes.”

Simple smiled. “Oh, good. I was hoping I could hire you for my son’s eleventh birthday party next week.”

Pepper smiled. “Oh, of course! I’m free all month.” Of course she was, now that she’d be cancelling her appointments with her doctor when she got home.

“Splendid,” said Simple.

Peppermint sat down and thought. “So what’ll it be?” she asked. “Basic party, tons of streamers, what?”

“Well—”

“Oh, and what kind of cake?”

“Actually, you’ll be sharing the work,” Simple added. “We already have separate caterers. All I want from you is whatever decorations you think will work for the mansion ballroom.”

Pepper’s eyes widened. “Wait, so you’re—”

“Yes, we’re the current residents of the Coltport Seaside Manor,” said Simple. “At least as our Summer home.”

Peppermint shuddered, and this time not from the itch. “I-I’m honored. Really.”

Simple smirked. “Oh, why thank you,” she said. “Now, I’m sure you’re wondering about your payment. I was considering, due to such short notice, maybe just five times your normal rate?”

Pepper’s smile slowly grew across her face. “How does that sound?” asked Simple.

“That sounds like a done deal!” Pepper announced. “Pardon me, but—” she started. Suddenly, she bounced in the air and yelled, “Wahoo!”.

Simple Summer chuckled. “Very good. I take it you know the address then?”

Peppermint nodded.

“Perfect. I’ll see you in a week, then. Next Saturday, remember.”

“Yes, ma’am!” said Pepper. “I’ll make sure to give it my all, too!”

Simple smiled and walked away while Peppermint went over the math in her head. “That’ll be like three thousand bits... for one party!” she thought aloud. She snickered to herself. And with a room that big, I’ll have a way to avoid the foals for half of the party!

Of course, something had to go wrong. Pepper blinked, then groaned. The images were back, in particular around Simple. In Peppermint’s eyes, that dress could not still be intact. Pepper shook off the pictures.

Or, I’ll lose control and fill the room with puffed-up ponies, she thought.

Peppermint hurried home through the streets of Coltport, just barely dodging between everypony she met. Well in her eyes it was just barely. A few times she got a particularly dirty look from somepony she wasn’t anywhere near that she swerved “out of the way” of.

On one pass she nearly crashed into somepony’s lemonade stand trying to hop over in imagined belly-blob.

“Sorry!” she shouted back while the owner still clung to his pitcher. Pepper blinked her eyes a few times, trying to clear the vision. Nothing helped.

Finally, she reached her store and darted through the door. She slammed it shut and backed up against it afterward, panting heavily. Her eyes darted back and forth to the windows. Nopony was there. Nopony could see her. She sighed with relief.

“That was bad,” she said. “I-I’ve always been able to fix it before.” She rubbed her eyes and blinked a few more times. “Maybe I should just see...” she began, levitating out the pack of balloons from her saddlebag. She grabbed it in quivering hooves and slowly drew one out between her teeth, only to toss it on the floor.

“Okay, Pepper,” she mumbled. “It’s not that bad, you’ll see...”

In just an instant and a SHOOP, she knew how wrong she was.

“Gah!” she yelped, letting go of the balloon to sputter out around the storefront. Pepper sat, dumbstruck and shivering against her door. “I-I have no control,” she admitted. “This is bad. Really, really bad.”

She grabbed the balloon from where it landed on the counter and, ignoring that it automatically filled itself again, dashed through the back room and up to her bedroom. The blinds were still pulled, leaving only the light of a lamp nestled far above in the ceiling.

Pepper took a deep breath. “Okay, calm down,” she told herself. “No need to overreact, Pepper. I just have to let it have its way, that’s all.” She groaned. “Alright, Cutie Mark, you want a puffy pony? You got it,” Pepper growled. After a moment of mental preparation, she reared back, shut her eyes, and inhaled. Combined with magic, it only took a few seconds for her to tip off balance as she swelled out. She stopped another few seconds after her front hooves left the ground.

“Hmm,” she mumbled. Out of curiosity, she grabbed one of the shades with her magic and tilted it to the side, granting her a free view of the street.

Even now, the view of everypony hadn’t changed.

“Ugh!” Pepper groaned. “Why isn’t it working?!” She frowned and prodded herself with a hoof. “I mean its not like I’m doing anything different...”

Defeated, she magically “punctured” herself to let herself sink back down to size, without all the extravagance and light-headedness that went with blowing the air out more manually. “Maybe I really do need to— No, no, I don’t!” A shiver passed over Pepper’s whole body, leaving her with a wild smile on her face. “But it could be fun...”

Peppermint shook the thought away. “No, no!” she yelled. “I’m not gonna be like Ms. Rivers. I just won’t do it. Not when I know how it feels.” She fought back another shiver.

Her forehooves touched the floor, and she calmly strode over to the window. Reluctantly, she lifted the blind just a hair.

“But I think I have to,” she said. “Or there’s no telling what’ll happen. Or when. Or where!” Ponies of all makes and colors passed on the street outside her house. Older ponies, foals, mares, stallions. In Pepper’s eyes, any one of them looked equally bloat-able. And that sight just wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard she rubbed her eyes.

Suddenly, an idea struck Pepper. “But what if it’s nopony important? Or nopony that’ll remember it?” She gasped and smiled. “Oooh, or nopony that anypony else will remember!” Pepper glued her eyes to the window, scanning the streets. Finally she found what she was looking for: a gift shop.

“This is Coltport, duh! Tourist attractions are everywhere!” She paced away from the door, just as her belly finished shrinking back to normal size. “So there should be tourists everywhere, too,” she continued. “All I need to do is find somepony who looks out of place, tell them its some exclusive whatchamcalit, and bam! Easy, harmless target!” The same smile from before crossed her face again. “Easy, harmless fun!”

Pepper shook her head and scowled. “Stop it, me,” she grumbled.

“I do need to worry about what to do with ‘em afterwards though,” she continued as she paced by the door. “I-I don’t know any memory magic...”

Pepper snickered. “I could just hit ‘em over the head with something if I was desperate.” Another shiver. “Okay, I am desperate,” she whimpered. Another shiver came shortly afterward. “Okay, okay!” she yelled.

Peppermint trotted downstairs, pausing every so often for a shudder, then came back up with a box full of balloon packages. She lined up several at once and tore them open with her teeth, spreading the contents on the floor. “Its gonna look like that bad rainbow polka-dot sweater from Mom in here,” she said. “But at least it won’t be just me that gets blown-up while I sleep.” Even as she said this, her horn started to glow faintly, and a few of the balloons on the ground started to twitch.

“This is gonna be a long night,” she groaned as she tore open the next set of packages. Pepper sighed and frowned. “Whoever I pick out tomorrow, I just wanna say now: I’m very sorry.”