I woke up the next day and sprang to my hooves. Today was the day the other ponies would show up, and a big party was how I was gonna say hi, and help other ponies say it too as loud as they could. We'd have fun, and games, and everypony would learn everypony else's names and we could all become friends, even if some of them didn't like to talk much.

I bounced down the corridor, only to notice I had two guests springing along with me. The foals were following me. "Hey guys. Do your parents know you're here?"

Haruna shook her head. "I don't know where they are, miss Pie."

The colt pointed back. "She knows I'm playing with Haruna, grandma."

I paused. Grandma? He didn't sound like he was trying to be rude, but I wasn't that old! Foals! I grabbed them both up and squeezed. "Hey, you." I looked at the colt. "I don't think I ever got your name. You already know both of ours'."

He quirked a smile. "M-my dad used to call me Little Tree. Lots of other people took new names, so I took that one. I'll always be his Little Tree."

Aw. I felt a soft pull in my chest and squeezed them close. "Do you two know how to make cake?" They shook their heads at me with looks of wonder in their eyes that made me giggle. "Well I'm gonna show you how, and a few other tasty things while we're at it! For today, you are my chef's assistants. Are you ready?!"

A chorus of affirmatives came from them as they thrust up their forehooves and cheered with building excitement. I tossed them onto my back and pronked with a big grin down the hallway. One of the soldiers looked at me a bit funny. "Not going alone today, Pinkie-chan?"

I shook my head at him. "Nope! Two grade A assistants right here. We're going to prepare a party the likes of which none of these ponies have seen before!"

The soldier sighed. "You know, between you and me, it's a little unfair the ponies get to have parties and the rest of us have to ration everything."

Little leaned over my head. "Why don't they get to have fun too?"

Haruna leaned over his head, making a stack on me. "We should make them some sweets too!"

Gosh, it's not like I didn't want to... "If we make them, they might make the humans into ponies, and then they'd be sad, and angry."

Little held out a hoof. "We can wear gloves and be super careful."

I imagined cooking a treat while wearing that heavy suit the scientist had on when we visited Hiro. Wait... "Hey." I looked up at the soldier past the little foals parked on my head. "If we wanted to get some of those big suits to keep from getting sick, could we?"

He raised a brow. "We'd have to decontaminate it inside and out, but I guess so? I'd have to ask the brass. Why?"

I flashed a bright smile. "Easy! If we wear those, sure it'll be a bit stuffy, but then we can make lots of tasty stuff for everyone, pony or not. Then we can have a big party day, even if us ponies have to do our partying in another room, at least we'll all be having a good time, all together. I mean, at once, right?"

He looked interested in the idea. "I'll ask. Why don't you head on and start on the pony portion. I'll swing by the kitchen when I have an answer."

We did just that. I carried the foals to the kitchen and introduced them to the other people that worked there. They were still a bit nervous, but little foals? Even they couldn't help but find them adorable. I took the both of them to the stove. "This one's mine, and where we'll be working today! Haruna, go to the pantry and get some sugar, a nice big bag. Little, flour. I'll be getting other things ready. Today, we cook!"

With a mighty warcry, they charged for the pantry. We got right to work. I had them mixing things and measuring things and they really got a kick out of cutting things out with a stamp. Teaching them and playing with them was so much fun! I felt like my old self and was bouncing around with joy as we got to the slow part, waiting for things to bake. That just meant time to start preparing other things!

That was when someone came in. It wasn't the soldier, it was the head commander guy. "Miss Pie, if you have a moment?"

He crouched down to be on my level as I waved for the foals to keep working on some stuff that'd turn into candy later. I rushed over to him. "Heya, what's up?"

He nodded. "Nice to see you, Miss Pie. To start, you can borrow the hazmat suits, if you fit them. Your idea for a hospital-wide morale event is a good one. We don't need more rifts between the infected and uninfected portions of the people here."

I clopped my forehooves together with joy. "Thanks! I'm gonna make you so many tasty things!"

His smile was... fake. He was forcing it. "I'm sure you will, but there's another matter. One I've thought long and hard about. Something dire is coming, that could see a lot of the infected being gunned down in the streets. If you thought we were merciless in keeping a forbidden zone, it will seem like a trip to the park in comparison. Imagine millions of soldiers sweeping across this island, possibly murdering every infected citizen they see."

He was crushing my happy moment. I felt my mane start to sag under the weight. "Why?"

He sighed softly. "There are old grudges, before either of us were alive. In this moment of weakness, another nation thinks they can take us with little resistance, and I'm afraid they're not entirely wrong." He pinched the bridge of his nose like he was warding off a headache. "Our fighting force is scattered and ineffective, with roughly half of our men infected. We can't mount a reasonable defense."

I pointed at myself. "Alright, that sounds super serious, but you wouldn't come and tell me that just to tell me. I mean, you trust me, and I appreciate that, but you didn't just say that just to get my advice."

He cracked the hint of a smile, more genuine than the first. "You're right, Miss Pie. You don't strike me as a pure civilian, and you're not a Japanese civilian to start. You're an alien, and one with many talents. I want you to go to them before they come to us. You need to sneak into their land just as you managed to do to ours. You infiltrated an airport without an issue, and I know you don't want this to happen. Will you do it?"

That sounded really dangerous, but... "What would you want me to do?" I smelled something burning and called out to the foals, "Hey, get the cookies out of the oven! You can go ahead and put the next batch in."

"Hai!" They got right to work. They were so cute...

The commander watched them too for a moment. "They're still our children... I don't want them to face this. Find out what we're up against. The more you can tell us, the more we can prepare. Do they have an infected populace? How are they dealing with it? How large of a force do they seem to be gathering up to throw at us? Every fact is lives saved in preparation."

I stuck out my tongue a little as I thought about that. "Let me talk to the others. I want to help, but how this all will help, you know, your world? I'm still trying to learn all of that."

He put a hand down on my suited shoulder. "Give me an answer by sixteen hundred." He must have saw my confused expression. "Four o' clock." Oh. Why hadn't he just said that? "Enjoy your baking, Miss Pie. Whether you're here or not for the party, I'll be sure to share your brave deeds." He rose up to his feet and marched from the room stiffly. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he was determined to not show it, I think. Poor guy...

I returned to Haruna and Little and we spent several hours making all kinds of delicious things. I gathered them up and took them on my back once we climbed out of our suits. I didn't bounce back. I wasn't in the bouncing mood, and they looked tired from all the work they did. "You two did great. You should be proud."

Little nuzzled into the back of my head. "Thank you for showing us."

"Yeah..." Haruna yawned widely and flopped all over me. I wanted them to grow up big and strong, and get a chance to be happy ponies, or people, or whatever. The idea of them getting hurt just because I was scared to do something... That's not what Pinkie Pie should do! That's not what her friends would expect of her. It's not what I expect from me!

By the time I got back to the pony wing, they were passed out. I returned them both to Little Tree's mom, who quietly tucked them in and smiled at me. I nodded at her and stepped out towards my room, head full of heavy thoughts.

"Pinkie." Aiko stepped in lightly. "Forgive my intrusion, but I've been trying to refine my sense of other ponies, and your... Your energy? It feels strange."

I giggled at that. "Is it that obvious? The commander asked a big favor of me..."

She settled beside me, looking down at my prone form. "What did he ask? It obviously weighs on you. Perhaps sharing will ease it?"

It occurred to me suddenly. "Hey, where's Hiro?"

Aiko gestured vaguely. "He went with Spitfire, Homer and Ground to fetch the feral ponies. They should be back in an hour or two."

"So how are things with Emma and Yuka?"

Aiko leaned over me. "They are well, but you are avoiding the question. I want to help you, Pinkie. You've been there for us."

I wasn't getting out of this one. "Well, alright... They want me to go to a place far away. They said they're going to attack the whole island and hurt a lot of ponies along the way."

She squinted at me. "What? Where?"

I shrugged. "A big place, from the way he was going on abou--Hey!" She grabbed me by the ear and was tugging me up to my hooves. "What?"

Aiko frowned. "We are going to the commander this instant."

She didn't sound like 'no' was an acceptable reply. I nodded at her and she led the way, practically stomping. What got her so angry?

Aiko waved aside a soldier in the way. "We have urgent business with the commander, step aside." He might not have been a pony, but her authoritative voice didn't invite argument, and he moved for us with a nod. She smiled, and trotted past him. "To demand an answer from you, Pinkie, without the fact is reprehensible. We're going to get all the details before you throw yourself into this task." She paused and turned to face me. "You do plan to do this, don't you? I can't imagine you refusing it."

Well... I squirmed a bit. "I don't want a bunch of ponies being hurt if we can avoid it, and thinking of Haruna or Little getting killed when I could have stopped it..."

She nodded. "I thought so." She brought up a hoof and clopped on the commander's door firmly. "Commander! We need to speak to you immediately."

The door opened after a moment. His face was wet, like he was just washing it, and there was a bit of an odd smell. Was he drinking? "Yes?"

Aiko scowled. "You will tell us the exact details of Pinkie's mission."

He frowned back at her. "You might be some princess of horses, but I'm no horse, miss." His fist slammed on the wall out of our sight. "Pinkie, what do you want?"

I cleared my throat a little. "Well, where would I be going again?"

"China."

"China!" Aiko bristled. "You want her to do something about all of China? Are you mad?!"

I didn't get it. "How big's China? Why are you acting like it's such a big deal."

Aiko held up two hooves. "Pretend these are opposite ends of China. You could walk for an entire year and not get from here--" she wagged her left hoof. "--to here." She wagged the other hoof. "It's one of the largest nations on the planet!"

"And one that will run us over shortly." The commander was scowling at Aiko. "Countless millions will die, gunned down in the street. Japan will become little more than a province of China along the way. Is that what you want? Before you say to surrender, that isn't an option. If we throw our guns to the ground, they'll still march through here, 'pacifying' and controlling the nation, and that will mean purifying our sick. You'll be one of the first on their termination lists, horse princess."

Aiko began to tremble as I fully deflated at the idea of every horse, I mean pony, being... This was a terrible world in some ways.

She slammed a hoof on the ground. "I won't just sit here and let Pinkie run off to die while waiting for the end. Don't they have this same sickness?"

"That's one of the things I wanted to know." He put a hand over his face as he sighed loudly. "There could be any number of situations. They may have put their infected population down like rabid dogs the moment they noticed something amiss. Maybe they reacted faster than us. Maybe they quarantined the lot of them. Maybe they worked out some kind of inoculation, but I doubt that. I can't say it's impossible. We don't know. We just don't know. All we can do is prepare, and know that we'll lose, one way or the other."

I raised a shaking hoof. "But you could know, if I go, right?"

"Right." He knelt down to my level. "Please... I wouldn't normally even consider this assignment to a trained soldier, let alone a foreign alien. You're the only one I think has a chance of pulling this off. Your friends say you make the impossible, possible. Can you pull our survival out of that? Can you make that impossible dream possible again, and return our hope to us?"

Aiko put a hoof in front of me. "Wait, before you answer that. She's not the only one. If they do have infected, they'll be our best chance. We need to reach out to them as quickly as possible. They're just like us, the Chinese. Their people, they're... people. They want peace, not a war. Given the choice and the leadership, they would rise against this. If they're jailing them, we break them free, by showing them how they can set themselves free. Otherwise, we'll have them marching in the streets. We'll do what it takes, whatever that is... If it... If..."

The commander held up a hand. "Say nothing more. For reasons of plausible deniability, I've already heard too much. Fine, Pinkie, can you protect Aiko as you go?"

I swallowed with a dry mouth. "I'll do my best. Every pony makes it harder."

Aiko put a hoof to her chest. "I'll leave the others behind. It'll just be us two." She smiled. "Will you be my pink guardian?"

I wrapped my forehooves around her. "Of course I will." She held me close and squeezed me. "We'll pull the impossible out, right?"

She nuzzled back at me gently. "Right... Everyone's counting on us. We have to do this right, or all our struggles were for nothing."

I nodded quickly. "We won't mess up." I brushed a hoof through my limp mane and batted at it. "Come on, it's time to be a super hero, not mope!" As if listening to me, the mane floofed up into its curls for me and I smiled at them. "That's right. Aiko, we're going to do this!"

Aiko held up a hoof and I met it in a loud clop.

The commander gave a little smile. It was sincere, but I could tell he was so worried. "I'll arrange for a boat out of Sakai. There's a contingent still in fighting trim there." He turned away from the door, leaving it hanging open as he shuffled through papers. "Have you been to the piers in Sakai, Aiko?"

"Yes."

"Great." He drew a quick map for her and gave her the scrap of paper. "This is where you two need to be then. We'll radio them and let them know you're coming. The faster you go, the better for everyone involved."

I realized something and frowned. "You're going to have that party without me. The treats are ready. The ones with a Pinkie Pie sticker should be kept to ponies only, while the rest is safe for anyone, alright?"

He nodded. "We'll do that. I won't be able to go into great details, but I'll tell them you're doing a very brave thing, for all their sakes."

I flashed a little smile. "Tell Hiro and Homer and all our friends we'll be back soon, alright? And to not mope around. Oh! Spitfire's the stand-in princess while we're away. She's a good mare. She'll do alright."

Aiko nodded in agreement. "Spitfire can handle it. There are few others I would trust to this. The ponies here are in good, um, hooves." She glanced at me. "Maybe Hiro and she will grow closer while we're away."

I giggled at the thought. "That'd be nice."

We had everything we needed, except for some food to take with us. We stopped by the kitchen and stocked up on some supplies to take with us, wielding a note from the commander giving the okay for it.

Aiko glanced aside at me as we went back through the halls. "I still don't understand where you tuck things, Pinkie. I see you pushing things into your mane, but hair doesn't work that way."

I shrugged a little. "If it works, it works. Why question it?"

She smiled. "So others can enjoy it?"

I hadn't considered that before. Maybe that was a reason to question it. Huh... "We should get going for now. No time to go prying into that right now."

She didn't argue that. When we got outside, she moved around me and hopped up like an eager stallion. She wrapped her hooves around me and hugged me close. "Ready?" I wasn't sure what she had in mind but I nodded anyway. She smiled and flapped her wings, lifting us both into the air with some effort on her part before she turned in place and started soaring over the city. "Much faster than walking, isn't it?"

I giggled as I saw the vast city go by beneath me. For all the ugliness, their city was a very pretty city. It was bigger than any I could think of from Equestria, and had so many more people in it, relying on us to get it done right. To save them. "We can do this..."

"We will do this." She kissed my left cheek. "We have to."

She veered down towards the edge of the city, where it met with the water. We had soared quietly for about ten minutes, just for something to crash into us on our way down. I was suddenly freefalling through the air with a loud squeal, but I was crashed into again, caught up in the arms of a pegasus stallion. He nuzzled into my cheek as he worked me around in his hooves and prodded up against my side. Did he knock me out of Aiko's grip just to play with? That was just rude!

"Hey, let go of me!"

It was something of a shame he took that too literally. I was freefalling again, with the wind rushing past my ears in a loud howling as the ground came rushing up towards me way too quickly for my comfort. Why didn't I bring my blanket?

The sparkle of magic reached around me and pulled, slowing my fall, but I was still falling. I smacked against the ground roughly bounced before flopping to the cement. Ouch... I wasn't all splatted, at least. Aiko landed right next to me and grabbed me into a hug despite the bumps and bruises being unhappy about being moved. "Pinkie! Tell me you're alright, please!"

I giggled a little. It felt at once great and kinda ouchie to be held by her. "I'm alright. Just some stallion that thought he could impress me."

Aiko's wings ruffled as they folded against her. "Impress you? He almost killed you. Come on, we'll walk the rest of the way. Besides, we're almost there." She lifted me with her magic and tossed me on her back. She was a bit larger, sort of like how Twilight was larger. I hugged to her and we were off towards the soldiers waiting for us.

The pier came into sight. It wasn't hard to miss, with all the soldiers standing around, guns at ready. I didn't want to be a feral pony around there, no sir. They saw us quickly enough and some of them pointed at us with those guns, but word traveled quick and they lowered.

One of them approached. "Aiko, Pinkie?" We nodded quickly. "Great. We have the ship ready to depart the moment you're ready. Uh, kindly cut that out."

Did he think? "I'm a girl pony." I slid off of Aiko anyway and stretched out. A little rest was just what I needed, and I felt ready to walk again.

We had a country to save.

Author's Notes:

Go Pinkie, go Aiko! Take the fight to the nation of typos. Take care of China while you're out there.

Votes? Yep, we need votes.
1: One of the others somehow sneak along (feel free to include who you intend)
2: They're spotted by a patrol boat, making things quite dangerous before they even land!
3: Luna has a message.
4: So how does Spitfire handle her new role?
5: What do you mean there are infected in the ocean?