Pinks 'n Pedro

Well, this was it. Pinkie was going to have to take a considerable absence from her job at Sugarcube Corner. Not quitting, no, not at all. She just had to take leave, which could last quite a while depending on how successful her newfound showbiz was. She was finding it hard to do this, but telling them in advance would surely be better than simply failing to show up when they were expecting her to do her job.

She trotted to the desk and cleared her throat. Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked up from their documents and at Pinkie. “Ah, hello, Pinkie,” said Mr. Cake with a smile. “May we help?”

“Um, yeah…” said Pinkie, fumbling around a bit for the right way of going about this. “You... can put my job on hold for a while.”

The couple looked confused. Whyever would dear Pinkie want to stop working here?

“You see…” said Pinkie. “Manehattan Telecommunications has accepted my idea for a talk show where I sit down and discuss stuff with a pineapple named Pedro.”

Mr. and Mrs. Cake took a few moments to let that sink in, then they had a big, hearty chuckle. “Ah, good one, Pinkie!” said Mrs. Cake. “I should’ve known you didn’t really need to quit here. Even if temporarily.”

“Excuse me?” said Pinkie. “No, no, this is a real thing.” She showed them the letter. After the Cakes skimmed through the letter a few times, they sat there rather stunned. Surely this had to be a clever fake of Pinkie’s. But no, the seal was at the bottom, and not even Pinkie Pie herself could duplicate that. She wasn’t capable of fraud.

“…So you need to take some unpaid leave for a while to be part of this new show?” repeated Mr. Cake.

“I can still have my job back if I return, right?” asked Pinkie.

“Of… of course, dear,” Mrs. Cake told her, more than a little perplexed. “You’re one of our most trustworthy and loyal workers.”

“That’s so great!” said Pinkie. She gave them each a great big hug. “I’ve got my suitcase here. And I’ll be off!”

She took her suitcase, left, and after going back in to give them another farewell (four times), she was headed for the station.

Pinkie stumbled upon a most peculiar sight when she got to the station – Rainbow Dash slumped out on the platform’s bench, gasping for breath in exhaustion. “Maybe trains aren’t so shabby after all…”

Now that her train had arrived, Pinkie got into a carriage, put her suitcase up in the storage compartment, and sat down, very eager to get going.

“Where’re you off to?” asked Steamer the driver, recognizing Pinkie from two previous journeys.

“Manehattan!” replied Pinkie.

“Is that a regular thing with you?” asked Steamer.

“You bet it will be!” answered Pinks, tapping the seat in anticipation.

Well, Steamer had seen stranger things in his time. He got out of the carriage and back into the engine cab, and soon the train chugged away, closer to Pinkie’s destination.

Pinkie had taken some mints before coming to ensure her breath was fresh for the occasion. Thank the heavens for mints. They were probably the only candy she could eat without having to brush. She took the way she had taken the last two times she was here at the Telecommunications Tower, and followed the directions she had been given last time.

Of course, the friendly ponies were there to greet her. “Pinkie! Come right in!” said Log Roller, ushering her in. “We can’t wait to get started.”

“We gotta see about getting you looking spick and span for the part,” added Spectrum. “Right this way, if you please.” So Pinkie went over into a booth, where there was an array of perfumes, make up items, and outfits.

“Choose whatever you think looks appropriate, dear,” Lovely told her. Of course, Pinkie was delighted with the options she had, and got to work immediately.

“So… how do I look?” asked Pinkie, stepping out. She grabbed the attention of all the other ponies in the room with her attire of a flashy blue dress with yellow frills at the bottom and sleeve edges.

“It’s beautiful!” commented Log Roller.

“You think so?”

“As soon as we clean your face up, you’ll be ready for filming,” said Spectrum. She directed Pinkie to a mirror, where she could see she looked as if she had used her face to make imprints onto a surface of mascara and lipstick.

One major wipe-up later…

“Now then,” said Rain Whip. “Do you like the set we put together?”

Pinkie opened a door and looked into the large box area that had been arranged. There was a desk with two swirly chairs, and a cabinet at the back with a fruit bowl. On the wall behind the desk was a very large logo of Pinkie’s head laughing with a pineapple.

“Really, guys, you shouldn’t have!” exclaimed Pinkie, rather taken aback. (Uh, yes they should have, Pinkie. Don’t you know how television studios work?) She jumped onto the swirly chair. “WHEEEEEE!” she squealed happily and she spun around, then rode around quickly… she was out of sight when the crew members heard something smash.

“Um… what do you say we use regular chairs for that?” suggested Spectrum Dream.

One change later…

“Now then…” said Log Roller to Pinkie. “What do you think?”

“I LOVE it!” said Pinkie. “So will Pedro!” She held him up to show she had put Pedro in a miniature fancy-looking business suit.

“What do I do now?!” she asked ecstatically.

“Now…” said Log Roller. “We’re going to run some test shoots. Sit down there and put your pineapple friend on the table next to you.”

Pinkie followed the instructions, getting herself ready for the first shoot.

Spectrum started recording, and Pinkie seemed like she had been rehearsing for this her entire life. “Hello, fillies and gentlecolts, and welcome to Pinks ‘n Pedro! Tonight’s schedule is gonna be about the victors of the recent cloudball match, the sudden abundance of geese in Appleloosa for some reason, and of course, what I had for dinner last night! What do you say to that, Pedro?”

…

“Thought so! Aaaaaaaaaand, cut to Cloudsdale!”

Log Roller came in to congratulate Pinkie on her performance. “That, my dear, really was something,” he commended.

“I know, right?” agreed Pinkie. “Now how about getting to Cloudsdale?”

“We don’t have any of that footage yet,” Lovely reminded her.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” A sheepish grin followed. This in turn was followed by the sound of the MTT staff giggling with each other.

“You have a natural talent for this, Pinkie!” said Spectrum happily. “If you keep that up, you’ll have top ratings in no time at all!”

“I will?” said Pinkie. “That’s good, because my watch is broken. Good to know I don’t need it.”

Of course, this sent her new friends into another frenzy of giggles and snickers. “Let’s just use this for the first episode!” said Log Roller. “This has gotta be the first time we do that!” Everypony in the room was okay with that idea.

As they were getting ready, Spectrum came to talk to Pinkie. “We’re all getting very lucky, Miss Pie,” she said. “Including you. Not all showbiz runs as swiftly as this. We need more people like you.”

“Good to know!” said Pinkie. “I’ll have us some ripe material to use. Don’t you worry.”

“...And that’s all we’ve got time for, folks. Ready to end it, Pedro?” … “I agree. Until next time, goodbye, good residents of Equestria!”

And then the credits rolled, over which Pinkie’s rambling voice could be heard, which the crew had opted to leave in since they found it so endearing, and it was still so now that they were testing it. After a while of editing, it looked just like they had a quality pilot episode to air.

“I’m taking it to them right now!” declared Pinkie, then ejected the reel and took it out to hand it to the ponies in charge of broadcasting footage.

“Pinkie, dear, wait-” called Spectrum, but it was too late. Pinkie had had her own ideas.

“What’s wrong? I thought you liked it,” said Lovely Bow.

“Oh, I love it, Lovely,” said Log Roller. “All of us do. But we could get in trouble with the boss if he doesn’t know what’s going on…"

“IS THAT NOT AN EASY RULE TO REMEMBER?!” thundered Chief Assets at the group. “When a project is finished, you are to take it up with me before it is put on air!”

Pinkie was starting to tear up. She could have gotten these ponies in major trouble with their big and intimidating CEO, and all because of her overexcitement. She gave them all a hug. “Sorry, guys…”

“It’s quite alright, dear,” said Lovely. “We all know you just wanted to get your masterpiece through to the masses as soon as possible.”

The door opened, and in came another smartly-dressed stallion. “Sir, I think you ought to see this.” He handed Chief Assets a clipboard. The latter pony sighed, knowing that this could symbolise a huge loss for his company.

However, fortunately for everypony involved, it didn’t. This had been to inform him that the first episode of Pinks ‘n Pedro had gotten ratings through the roof. Assets was lost for words and breath, simply looking up and down again with wide eyes.

“...Did we do well?” asked Pinkie.

Chief resumed his plain demeanor. “All of you ought to consider yourselves lucky,” he said to them sternly, to which Pinkie Pie, Log Roller, Spectrum Dream, Lovely Bow, and Rain Whip gave a simultaneous sigh of relief.

Log Roller got up and looked at the clipboard to confirm that the plan had indeed gone swimmingly. Pinkie had gotten an average of 4.6 out of 5.

“We still do have problems,” said the other stallion who had brought the clipboard.

“And what would that be?” asked Log Roller.

“Our viewers are demanding more episodes.”

Spectrum realized. “Oh yes, of course…” They had not arranged a schedule.

“No problem at all,” Pinkie assured them. “I’ll get straight back to the recording area and provide Equestria with another round!”

“You can? Wonderful,” replied Lovely." Whenever you’re ready.”