Chapter 140

“Alright, Pinkie Pie, is that everythin?” Applejack asked, adjusting her hat as she scanned the almost empty room.

“Yeah, pretty much. Just these boxes here and that’s it,” Pinkie replied, reaching behind her head to tighten her ponytail before wiping her brow.

“Sweet! Let’s load ‘em up!” Rainbow Dash clapped her hands and stood before a pair of stacked cardboard boxes. She exhaled noisily as she looked down at the cargo, cheeks puffed. “Betcha I can get both of these at once,” she gloated.

AJ rolled her eyes. “Go fer it.”

Squatting down, Dash wrapped her arms around the boxes and wriggled her fingers under their edges. She grunted noisily, teeth gritted as she hefted the weight from the floor. She staggered back a step after adjusting her grip, and then faced Applejack with a toothy grin.

“Huh. Say, that’s purty good,” AJ said, before turning to approach two stacks of three boxes, which she proceeded to hoist into the air like they were nothing. “Ya’ll ready ta go?”

Deadpanned, Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “Yeah, fuck. Whatever.” She turned to head for the door, but then stopped to face Pinkie. “You got that last one?” she asked, nodding at a single box sitting next to the doorway, its flaps open, with a desk lamp and her toy alligator pointing out the top.

Pinkie looked down at the box, scratching her brow with her thumb. “Uh… yeah. I got it.” She looked up at Rainbow Dash, and then Applejack. “You guys go ahead. I’ll be right there.”

“Alright. We’re gonna go throw this stuff in the truck. You go ahead and take yer time. We’ll wait.”

Pinkie nodded silently, and her friends exited with boxes in hand. Now alone, the party girl sighed as she scanned the room once more.

She didn’t look her usual self that day, which was somewhat the norm in recent times, in all honesty. Her hair was still straight and flat, and it was pulled back into a ponytail for the day, which threw her proportions out of whack. For those who’d known her for a long time, it took some getting used to.

The lack of curly, poofy hair made her head look unusually small, especially compared to her massive bust, curvy hips and thighs, despite her round, smooth cheeks—which, sadly, had lost those lovely dimples in the absence of her bright, bubbly smile.

Pinkie Pie neither looked nor felt like herself anymore, and she desperately wished she could travel backwards and return to her old ways of unconditional happiness and the celebration of all things fun.

She swallowed and turned to pick the box up. Then she paused once more to look around her former bedroom. It saddened her to see it like this after years being decorated with her brightly coloured furniture and stuffed animals, all illuminated under multiple strings of red Christmas lights that’d been strung around the perimeter of the ceiling.

After a deep breath that failed to alleviate the knot in her chest, Pinkie turned and switched the light off using the corner of the box before entering the hallway, where her nostrils were met with the awful scent of high-powered cleanser, which the clean-up crew had used to erase the horrors that took place in the upstairs of that old country house. Pinkie had grown to despise that smell; it carried the terrible implication of what it was being used to clean up, so she hurried to the staircase and made her way down to escape it.

The day was Thursday, March 9th—over two weeks after the hotel and the incident at the theatre.

Nothing was ever heard about the ballroom massacre on any of the news stations, and so far, nothing had been traced back to the girls—though they did opt out of brandishing their suits during the following weeks to minimize attracting attention to Canterlot. No coverage was expected, though; no footage was captured of them, thanks to the app, and the individuals who actually saw any of them —just Twilight, to be exact— and lived to tell about it, were presumed unable to identify anyone.

No forensic evidence was left behind either, other than the possibility of Pinkie Pie losing a hair or two. And even if she did leave something behind, the hotel was, for the most part, a public place with countless visitors per week.

Not that any of this mattered; it was highly unlikely that The Ministry would want the police snooping around their operations, so it was likely that the whole ordeal had been covered up. They would almost certainly be conducting an investigation of their own, however, and it wasn’t out of the question that one of them might stumble upon some obscure internet videos showing previous reports of the Dark Mistress aired by the local press. The girls and I were mindful of this, making sure to keep an eye on the city cameras for anyone suspicious snooping around Canterlot.

Still, we had considered it safe to call the mission a success for the time being—other than the anguish Pinkie endured after accidently exploding another human being, which she honestly seemed to be handling better than the rest of us expected.

Sonata, in the meantime, had been released from the hospital only a few days ago. Although she was expected to make a full recovery, she would be laid-up for quite some time, and would need to stay with someone who could look after her.

While Rarity, who had the most space, volunteered her home to the siren, she was unable to look after her full-time due to her obligations at the boutique. That duty fell upon Sunset, who was once again jobless after not showing up to the coffee shop for a week without so much as a phone call to tell them she was stuck at the bottom of the harbour. She was still employed by Shining Armor, but she’d barely heard a peep from him over the past few weeks as far as work went; he’d had several meetings with Maud and Pinkie, however, dealing with the house and their inheritance.

Sweetie Belle and her friends were also present when they weren’t working. After what’d happened, they all but worshipped the ground Sonata walked on and were happy to wait on her hand and foot, which Sonata didn’t mind one bit since they were feeding her all the tacos she could handle.

Speaking of Sweetie Belle, she and Rarity did have a sit-down to discuss being the Dark Mistress, and what rules that entailed. It wasn’t just them having the conversation, however; Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were also present, as well as Sunset, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The talk went as one would expect: the young girls were practically bursting with curiosity and excitement, and it was difficult to maintain their concentration long enough to relay the gravity of the situation to them. Luckily, Rarity and the others managed to keep their immortality a secret for the time being, attributing the suits for their ability to absorb inordinate amounts of damage—though this was only a temporary solution to a problem that was, unfortunately, inevitable.

In the end, the girls promised to keep everything a secret, which was far from ideal, as their involvement complicated things and jeopardized the secrecy of the group, but there really wasn’t much that could be done about it. And to make matters worse, they weren’t the only people who were aware of the suits.

Pinkie Pie also did her best to spend time with the siren, but was in no shape to actually look after her, given her own condition; she was also quite busy taking care of Maud and dealing with their parents’ will, which had been written under the assumption that all of their children would be alive when they passed.

No one knew what happened to Adagio and Aria. The police were unable to track them down that night, and it was assumed that they fled town immediately to avoid arrest. No one had seen them since, but we had our doubts that they’d be gone for good.

In the meantime, Pinkie had acquired an apartment not too far from Sunset and Rainbow Dash’s area, that being one of the more affordable areas of town. She’d managed to scrape together enough cash for her first and last month’s rent, but was unsure of how to afford utilities and food, not to mention insurance and maintenance on her car. It was also intended that Sonata would move in with her once her condition had improved, but with only Pinkie’s meager income, both of them living there was simply not feasible.

Fortunately, she and Maud had come to the agreement that she could have their parents’ car, since Pinkie’s car was getting on in years, and was not wearing them well. So the plan was that she would take their parents’ car, which was much newer, and she would sell her car and use the money to live on until she could obtain a better income.

While her party throwing brought in enough money to live at home, it was not enough to survive in the real world, especially with the occasional short-changes and sometimes outright non-payments her clients would drop on her; a frustration, yes, but Pinkie had long accepted it to be the nature of the beast.

Unfortunately for her, she had yet to find a better job, and after having her car listed for sale for over two weeks, she’d received nothing but low-ball offers and no-shows. And now, moving day was upon her and she needed money right away, so she’d managed to talk Golden Arrow into taking the car to the wrecking yard to get whatever she could in scrap money for it. He was sure to warn her that she wouldn’t get nearly as much as what she had it listed for, but she begrudgingly insisted since it was better than nothing.

When Pinkie reached the bottom of the stairs, she found Maud sitting in her wheelchair in the doorway by the front room. She stopped and turned to face her sister, holding the box against her abdomen.

“Hey.”

Maud blinked. “D’you have everything?”

Pinkie nodded. “Mm-hm.”

A pause.

“So… first night in the new place?” Maud asked.

“Yup.” Pinkie nodded again. She drew a breath to say something else, but was interrupted when the front door opened and Rainbow Dash poked her head in.

“You comin or what?”

Pinkie glanced at her friend for a moment, then at her sister again. “Uh… in a minute. I just— … Actually, here.” Pinkie turned to set the box on the bottom stair and turned back to Dash, shoving her hand into her tight-fitting jeans. “I’ll give you the key; you guys go ahead and unload that stuff. I’ll be there in a bit. I just have a few things to do first.”

“Uh… OK,” Dash replied, reaching out to take the key from Pinkie. “We’ll, uh… see ya there, I guess.”

Pinkie nodded. “See ya. Thanks, Dashie.”

“No problem,” Dash said as she disappeared for a second, but then popped her head back inside. “Hey, where do you want this stuff, anyway?”

Pinkie waved dismissively. “Just put it in the front room. I’ll figure it out later.”

“OK,” Dash said with a nod, and then she was gone.

With the door closed, Pinkie faced Maud once more, folding her arms over her stomach, making it look like she was cradling her bust. “Well?”

Maud blinked.

Drawing a breath, Pinkie looked around the place. “I’m, um… gonna miss living here. I liked this house.”

“It was a nice house.”

Pinkie looked down at her sister for a moment, then she cleared her throat and cast her eyes to the floor. Outside, the sound of Applejack’s truck rumbled when it started, and then slowly faded into silence as they drove off.

The party-girl drew a breath when they found themselves drowning in that awkward silence once again, and she put her arms behind her back, joining her hands just above her derrière. “So… are you just gonna hang out here then, or…?”

“No. Big Mac’s coming to pick me up in a bit,” Maud answered.

Pinkie cocked her head. “Big Mac?”

“Yes. I’m staying at the farm for the weekend. Next week Cheerilee is off for March Break, so she’s gonna take me to my physiotherapy appointment on Monday.” Maud paused for a moment to blink slowly. “They’re supposed to upgrade me to crutches.”

“Oh!” Pinkie actually managed a little smirk. “That’ll be bonus. Good for you, Maud. I can tell you’re really excited about that.”

“Thanks. It’ll be nice not having roll around in this thing all the time.”

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah.”

The conversation fell into limbo once again, and an idle Pinkie began to poke at the floor with her toe, not knowing what to do other than fidget. She was always a fidgety person.

Maud just stared at her.

After Pinkie let out a deep, forlorn sigh, her older sister spoke up.

“Why don’t you cut the act, Pinkie?”

Surprised, Pinkie stared vacantly at her sister. “What are you talking about?”

Maud glared at Pinkie for another moment before replying. “The thing at the hotel.”

Pinkie shook her head and shrugged. “What about it?”

“It wasn’t an accident, was it?”

“What?”

“What you did to that girl. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

The colour quickly drained from Pinkie’s face, a reaction she tried to hide by putting on a grim expression. She raised her arms to fold them across her bust and brought one hand up to chew her thumbnail as she stared back at Maud. Then she moved her hand away from her mouth, blowing a sliver of nail from between her lips to speak.

“How do you know that?”

Maud blinked. “I knew you didn’t want to be there just to tell a sob story. You had bigger plans.”

“Like what?”

The older sister sat up and drew a breath. “When we were staying at the farm, I saw you practicing... on living things.”

Pinkie furrowed her brows.

“Out behind the barn,” Maud continued. “I saw you catching spiders and taking them outside where no one would see you. You were using your magic on them; that’s when I knew what you were planning.” She paused for a moment to watch Pinkie, slowly tilting her head to the side. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen ‘her’ come out.”

After a short staring match with her sister, Pinkie sighed and looked down at her hands, studying her chubby, pink digits, contemplating just how deadly they’d become since that fateful day at the camp all those years ago. “I’m sorry.”

Maud stared at her sister. “Don’t be sorry, Pinkie,” she replied, which earned her a surprised look. “I heard what happened after you did it; you felt bad, even though she killed our family. You still hated the thought of sinking to her level, but she deserved it, and I don’t blame you for doing it.”

Pinkie drew a breath and nodded. “I couldn’t help it,” she said softly, sounding ashamed.

“I doubt I could either. I was here, Pinkie. More of that night has been coming back to me. I heard the whole thing. I can’t judge you for what you did… because I too wanted her to suffer for what she did to our family... and to me.” Maud continued as she stared off into space, recalling that terrible night. “Now that the memories are coming back, I wish I could get rid of them all over again. The gunshots, wondering if everyone was OK—then I heard Dad, out in the hallway.” Her eyes were blank, unmoving. “I heard that horrible scream. I’d never heard Dad make a sound like that before.”

Maud’s eyes drifted shut, and she drew a deep breath, listening to that heart-wrenching sound as it played back inside her head. Then her eyes opened and locked onto Pinkie. “I’ll never forget it, Pinkie. That sound will haunt me ‘til the day I die.”

Maud looked up to the top of the stairs, exhaling through her nose. “That’s why I’m selling this house as soon as Shining Armor gets the papers together. I don’t believe in ghosts, Pinkie, but… the memory alone is… enough. It’s enough to make me never want to sleep here again.”

Pinkie brought her eyes up just in time to see a stream of moisture roll down her sister’s cheek. The sight of this, something rarer than a UFO or bigfoot sighting, twisted the party-girl’s heart into a knot. “Oh, Maudie!”

Dropping to her knees before the wheelchair, Pinkie wrapped her sister in a tight hug and began to sob while Maud returned the embrace with her good arm.

“I’m so sorry,” Pinkie whimpered, her face buried in her sisters shoulder. “I never meant for things to get as bad as they did. I wanted things to be better; I wanted to fix it, but now we’re never gonna see them again! I’ll never get to tell them how much I love them, and how much I’m gonna miss them.”

Maud swallowed as she rubbed her sister’s back. “I miss them too, Pinkie. And I’m sorry for how things were. I know I wasn’t a very good sister either. It probably would have been preferable if someone else had survived, in all honesty.”

Gasping, Pinkie leaned back and took Maud by the arms. “No! Maud, I’m glad I still have you. I don’t know what I would do without you. Even when we fought, I still loved you—and I love you now.” She reached up to wipe the moisture from Maud’s cheek. “I know I didn’t say that enough before, but from now on, I promise I’m gonna say it every time I see you. Mom and Dad, Limestone and Marble; they might be gone, it might be too late to tell them, but I still have you, and I promise I’m gonna be a better sister going forward.”

Maud blinked. “Thanks, Pinkie. I love you too, and I’m glad I’ll still have you around to bug me when I’m sorting my andesites from my diorites.”

This made Pinkie smile. She let out a blubbery laugh, accidently spattering Maud with a mixture of tears and saliva. “Sorry,” she croaked, brushing the moisture away before taking a thoughtful pause. “And don’t worry about ‘her.’ She’s not coming back; I’m still in control.”

Pinkie stood and wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand, exhaling nosily. Then she cleared her throat and swallowed, glancing at the box sitting on the stairs. “Ehh, I should probably get this outside; Goldie-woldie’s supposed to be here soon to get my car.”

Maud watched for a moment as Pinkie peeled the hem of her shirt up to wipe her eyes, exposing her pink belly and deep navel. “Couldn’t find a buyer?”

“Ughh…” Pinkie lowered her shirt and patted it flat, sniffling. “No, just a bunch of cheap-skates. The only promising one was that one guy who kept calling about it. He called again yesterday, but he’s been a no-show this whole time so I’m not holding out for him anymore. Goldie’s gonna take it for scrap to see how much he can get, and that’ll be the end of it.”

“That’s too bad,” Maud replied. “How much were you asking?”

“Twenty-eight hundred.”

“Hm. Seems more than reasonable. I’m surprised no one bit. I wish I could say the inheritance was coming soon, but I have no idea how much longer that’s gonna take.”

“Yeah, same here,” Pinkie sniffled as she tightened her ponytail and then approached the stairs to retrieve the box. “But I can’t rely on that. I need money now.”

As the party-girl bent down to pick the box up, Maud asked a rather vague question.

“Why don’t you do it?”

Pinkie froze. She glared at her sister, confused. “Do what?”

“Why won’t you become like your friends?”

After looking down at the box again, Pinkie closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t— … what are you t—“

“Your friends can’t die, Pinkie. Only you can. Why don’t you want to be like them?”

Pinkie stood again, rubbing the back of her neck. “Uh… you do know how that works, right?”

“Of course. You have sex with that Golden Arrow guy, and your magic spreads his power to you.”

Hearing the rather frank description made Pinkie’s cheeks redden, and she cleared her throat awkwardly. “I don’t know. I told you before why I didn’t wanna do it: because I didn’t want to deal with living without my family after they’re gone.”

Maud stared vacantly for a moment. “Pinkie… that doesn’t make any sense. For one thing, you’ll still have your friends—and for another, your family is gone.”

Pinkie scowled. “That’s not true. I still have you.”

“You need to think of it from my perspective,” Maud replied. “I just lost my entire family, except for one sister—and she has the chance to make it so she’ll never die. I’d feel a lot better if that’s what she decided to do.”

Pinkie watched her sister for a moment, lips pursed. Then she looked down at her feet and sighed.

“And staying mortal just because you don’t want to deal with living without me doesn’t change the fact that I’m still going to die one day,” Maud continued. “You growing old and dying along with me helps no one, plus you’ll be putting your friends through the exact same thing that you’re trying to avoid.”

“I don’t kn—”

“And besides… where would the world be without Pinkie Pie?”

The question brought the party-girl to a standstill, and, instead of protesting further, she simply stared at her older sister, who, once again, blinked slowly.

“Your friends need you, Pinkie,” Maud insisted. “Don’t make them live out an eternity without you. Besides, a good romp would probably do you some good.”

Pinkie was more embarrassed by the last part than she normally would have been, but then again, she’d been anything but normal lately. She folded her arms under her bust and looked up the stairs, her cheeks burning brightly as she tried to appear casual by running her tongue along the inside of her bottom lip.

After a sigh, she bent once again to pick the box up. “Fine. I’ll think about it. It’s kind a big decision, you know? I need to be sure it’s what I really want.”

“Of course.”

After approaching the door and hooking one arm around the box so she could open it, Pinkie stopped once more to face Maud. “Are you gonna be OK here by yourself?”

“Yes. My ride’ll be here soon. I’ll probably just sit in Dad’s office and sort my sedimentaries by Mohs hardness.”

Pinkie paused for a moment before forcing a smile. “OK. Have fun, Maud. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Pinkie.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Outside, the party girl approached her new-to-her car, opened the rear door and set the box on the back seat. Then she swung the door shut and leaned against it with her back, folding her arms to fight off the chill that hung in the air. It was an unusually warm day for that time of year, but even so, the breeze could still gave one goosebumps, especially in the shade.

Her face was where she felt it most; the moisture left behind by her tears took most of the blame for that, but having her cheeks filled with hot blood after that conversation was certainly a contributor as well.

Pinkie furrowed her brows and chewed the inside of her cheek, wondering if Maud had made a better point than she originally thought. Much of it made perfect sense, but the idea of such an irreversible decision made her anxious.

That wasn’t the only source of stress, either. Looking down at herself, she unfolded her arms and placed one hand just below her navel, feeling the slightly convex shape of her belly. What would happen if she presented this to Golden Arrow? She thought about the lovely, wonderful ladies that he normally kept company with. Each of them stood within inches of physical perfection—or what modern humans consider perfection, at least.

Would he want to sleep with a chubber like me? she thought as she slid her hands around to her hips, letting them rest upon those pink muffin tops, feeling the indent where pants sat. She looked around the yard for a moment, listening as a gentle wind whispered through the trees, making them wave back and forth as though they were gossiping under their breath about her.

The caress of chilly air made her skin tighten as it became riddled with more goosebumps, and she felt a tension building inside her bra, on the peak of each of her breasts. Looking down, she saw a pair of bumps where her nipples sat, having become erect and poking through her clothes. It looked spectacular, and oddly enough, it gave her a small boost of confidence when she saw it.

If there was anywhere she had it going on, it was her boobs! None of her friends could touch her in that department, and she knew she’d caught Golds looking at them more than once in the past.

The little spark she felt when she imagined Golden Arrow having a sexual interest in her suggested that perhaps Maud was correct. After all, it’d been many moons since the party-girl had seen any action.

Not that her life was completely devoid of sexual experiences, because it certainly wasn’t. Being a paid party planner meant that throwing high-school and occasional college parties was a common occurrence, and they had a tendency to become pretty wild at times—not that Pinkie orchestrated or promoted it; most often the guests themselves would get a bit carried away and she would end up bearing witness to some rather shameless acts.

Or sometimes she would find herself in the middle of them. Sometimes the hand of some half-wasted freshman would end up squeezing her backside or fondling her breasts, and Pinkie, being a well-experienced veteran of situations like these would usually find an amicable way to dissuade him—though some parties would be so out-of-hand with rowdiness, sex and drugs that after several warnings she would pull the plug and distance herself from it before the police arrived.

Sometimes, however, the party girl would find herself in a certain mood, and certain advances, if handled well enough on his part, would be allowed. Under the right conditions, it could be rather difficult to resist letting a stranger slip his hand down her pants to give her a bit of free pleasure; sometimes a girl just needs to get off, after all, and sometimes, if she was feeling generous enough, she might even return the favour.

She drew the line at intercourse, though. Pinkie respected herself too much for that.

That didn’t stop others from engaging, however. Couples, or even random pairs, would often disappear into a bedroom or bathroom for about fifteen minutes, and it wouldn’t be hard to figure out what they were up to.

Pinkie shook her head, remembering one of the crazier, if not the craziest act she’d ever witnessed. It happened many years ago, just weeks after high school graduation. The party was going along as usual: loud music, people dancing and talking, lots of red Dixie cups everywhere; then, out-of-nowhere, Sandalwood and Rose Heart started making out, got naked and started fucking on the couch right in front of everyone—with Pinkie sitting next to them.

It was awkward at first, to be sure, but Pinkie avoided moving simply because she didn’t want to appear put-off by it, even though they were so close that an elbow or a knee would occasionally bump Pinkie’s arm.

After a while, though, Pinkie grew comfortable with all the moaning right beside her, half drowned-out by the music. Feeling adventurous, she actually made a point of craning her neck to see if she could get a better look at the action; it turned out that Rose had a lot of pubic hair, and it unfortunately obscured the actual penetration.

In Pinkie’s mind, it looked like he was banging a piece of Red Velvet cake.

She could, however, see Sandalwood’s length every time he withdrew for the next thrust. The creamy coat of Rose’s fluid covering his length set the party-girl on fire, forcing her to make a conscious effort not to let her hands wander too much, and as soon as she witnessed him pull out to sprinkle her belly and breasts with his cum, Pinkie darted from the couch to find the nearest bathroom to masturbate in.

She figured at least a half dozen knew what she was up to, but she didn’t care. She needed to get-off immediately, and get-off she did, eyes closed with one foot on the toilet as she stroked the orgasm out, imagining how amazing it would have felt to have that dick inside her instead of Rose.

Before she knew it, the memory of that bathroom-fantasy had transformed into an exciting new vision, featuring the man who had the power to make her life an eternal one. The very thought of being ploughed by Golden Arrow caused her loins to stir in a way that she hadn’t felt for weeks; she’d already witnessed firsthand the effect he had on Fluttershy, and the curiosity of what it would feel like to have him inside her made her temperature rise, even while standing out there in the cool breeze, leaning against her late parents’ car.

It was then that she realised that under the wind was the sound of a diesel engine approaching, punctuated by the clatter of an empty trailer as it bounced over a row of potholes. It caused her heart to flutter, knowing who that sound was associated with. She stood from the car to face that direction, but as always, couldn’t see past the large trees at the edge of the yard.

*****

I released the accelerator to coast around the final bend before the Pie house’s driveway, which was laid out more like a wide, shallow parking lot than a narrow lane. As the trees passed by, I was greeted by the sight of two cars, one of them Pinkie’s, the other her new one—which she was standing beside. She watched me approach, not wearing a coat, which surprised me a little.

I gave her a nod as I drove by and looped the truck and trailer around the lot, ending up facing the way I came from. After idling for a moment to let the turbos cool, I killed the engine and opened the door to hop out.

“Hey, Pinks,” I said as I approached.

She forced an awkward smile. “Hi, Goldie,” she replied with an especially quiet tone.

I returned smile and gestured to her inheritance. “So these are your new wheels? Nice.”

“Mm-hm,” she hummed absentmindedly as she watched me circle the car one time, giving it a quick check-over.

“Looks good! You’re gonna look like a classy dame driving around in this thing,” I continued as I reached the front bumper and paused to glance at Pinkie. “Granted, it’s a little bigger than you’re used to—but I’m sure you can handle it.”

“Hm?” She stared for a moment. Then she blinked a few times and shook her head before looking down at the hood. “Oh… the car? Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure I’ll get used to it after a good… uhh, ride.”

I raised a brow in response. Heavy emphasis on the word ‘ride’... hmm. As with every other time I saw Pinkie, my eyes dropped to that huge bust of hers, and I was quick to notice she was sporting a pair of hard nipples.

I brought my eyes back to hers next; she was looking at the car still, which gave me a chance to study her a little closer. Having her hair pulled back the way it was made her features appear extra round and cherub-like —not in a bad way, it was definitely a cute look— but it didn’t take me long to notice the redness around her eyes.

I glanced over my shoulder at the house. Pinkie was moving out under less than positive circumstances, after all; it wasn’t difficult to imagine that she would have had a ‘moment’ before leaving for the last time. And of course, a good cry was never a bad thing.

I faced her again, noticing that she’d folded her arms across her bust.

“Where’s your coat, Pinks? Aren’t you cold?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m… plenty warm, actually.”

It was then that I noticed she was standing with her toes pointed in and was pressing those shapely thighs together inside those tight jeans.

Suspicious, I chewed the inside of my cheek as I watched her a few seconds more before changing the subject by turning to nod at her old car. “Well? You got that thing all cleaned out? Said your goodbyes and all that?”

She looked over at the other car. “Yeah.” Then she returned her attention to me. “So how much do you think they’ll give me for it?”

I scrunched my face and sent my eyes upward, bouncing my head side-to-side. “Eh… scrap prices aren’t that great right now. Probably… like two or three hundred?”

Pinkie deflated slightly. “Aww… major bummer. It’s better than nothing, though… I guess.”

I rubbed my temple, watching the poor girl. She’d been through so much lately; I wished there was something I could do for her. “No luck with the listing, eh?”

She shook her head. “Nah.”

I waved dismissively. “Those online classifies are useless. The only responses you get are people who wanna waste your time.”

“Yeah.”

After watching her for another moment, I sighed and glanced at the car once again. “OK, well… I guess I’ll get ‘er loaded up then.”

Pinkie forced a smile and nodded, and I made my way over to the trailer, opened the box at the front and pulled out a bunch of chains and tie-down ratchets, which I tossed onto the deck with a loud, metallic thump.

As I untangled the mess of steel links, the sound of a car coming down the road entered my ears. A moment later a large, navy blue SUV rounded the bend and came into view. After figuring it would pass by, it surprised me and Pinkie both by slowing down and stopping on the side of the road.

I glanced at the truck first and then Pinkie, who watched curiously as its engine was shut down, followed by the driver’s door opening. Out stepped a taller man in a long, gray fleece coat and shiny shoes, wearing a pair of sunglasses on his forehead.

“Hi, there!” he greeted as he jogged across the road. “I’m looking for someone named Pinkie Pie; would I find her here?”

Pinkie looked surprised, but she nodded nonetheless. “Yeah… uh, that’s me.”

“Ah!” He approached her and held his hand out to shake hers. “I called about the car.”

I stopped what I was doing to glance over my shoulder at them. Pinkie, as expected looked surprised.

“Sorry I stood you up the last couple times. Heh! Life. Gets busy, you know?”

“Oh! Uh…” —she shook her head and waved it off— “it’s OK, I just figured… you know.”

He put his hands on his hips and chuckled. “Yeah.” Then he looked over at the car and nodded to it. “So is that it?”

She followed his glance. “Yeah, that’s it. It needs to have a few things fixed, but overall, it’s not that bad. I’m only getting rid of it cuz I was given something better.”

“It looks pretty decent,” he replied. “It’s actually for my daughter. She’s going away to college in the fall, but she’s moving there for the summer so she can get used to the city and make some friends before school starts. I’ve been looking for something like this for her, but I couldn’t find anything in my price range.”

“Oh, well…” Pinkie shrugged. “That’s weird. I haven’t actually gotten any offers on it at all; and I’m moving out today, so I really just need it gone.”

I turned back to face the trailer, groaning softly as I pretended to fiddle with the chains. Ugh, don’t tell him that.

“Hm,” the man hummed to himself and went for a quick walk around the car. He looked inside through the windows, kicked the tires and bent to look underneath—basically everything that a person who doesn’t know how to buy a car does. “Hm,” he muttered again as he made his way back to Pinkie. “It looks pretty nice, actually.”

Pinkie nodded and smiled. “It’s been a good car. Good on gas.”

He stopped and folded his arms, pressing a finger to his lips as he thought for a moment. Then he moved his hand away to speak. “Would you take thirteen hundred?”

Pinkie’s shoulders sank. “Ohh… that’s a lot lower than asking price,” she said timidly.

He sighed and thought for another moment. “How about fifteen?”

The party girl sighed, clearly not happy with the offer.

Noticing her reaction, the man shrugged and shook his head. “Sorry, miss. I can’t go much higher. That’s all I can afford. But my little girl needs a reliable car, and I really hate to see her go without one in a strange city.”

I didn’t like this. I glanced over at his truck, sitting on the side of the road. Its paint was spotless and sparkling in the sun, and it sported a set of twenty inch chrome wheels, along with a full limousine-style window tint package.

I looked at him again, eyes narrowed, noticing how he was dressed. This guy’s driving around in a brand new Suburban and he expects me to believe he can’t afford any more than fifteen hundred? Give me a fuckin break.

I brought my attention to Pinkie next. It was clear that she was disappointed, having this guy show up and giving her false hope for a decent deal. She was desperate enough, though, to settle, since the only other option as a meager few hundred from the scrap yard.

“Whaddaya say?” he asked, brow cocked smartly. “I can cut you a cheque right now. It would make my little girl so happy to hear she’s finally getting a car.”

This guy... wow. I turned back to face the trailer, chewing my lip. Pinkie was in no condition to be negotiating with someone like this. She wasn’t her usual bubbly, confident self, and he was taking advantage of her; he was gonna rip her off, and on the day she moved out of the house where her family was murdered.

Unless…

I spun around to face them. “Hey, man? You’re too late, I’m already taking this car.”

Both he and Pinkie spun around to face me. He looked surprised; Pinkie looked like she wanted to ring my neck.

“I’m sorry?” he said, scowling.

I pointed at the car. “The car’s mine. I was just about to load it up, pay the girl and be on my way,” I said, gesturing to the trailer.

He looked at Pinkie again, confused. “Wait… you already sold the car?”

Her eyes darted around. “Uh… I, uh…”

“Damn straight!” I said, drawing their attention again. I shrugged and cocked my head at him. “Sorry bud. You snooze, you lose.”

He stared at me for a moment. Then, after a quick glance at Pinkie, he licked his lips and faced me. “Can I ask how much you’re paying for it?”

“Twenty-five hundred,” I replied.

Pinkie’s head whipped around to face me, eyes wide.

The man cursed under his breath. “What was the asking price again?”

“Uh… twenty-eight hundred,” she replied, facing him.

He nodded. “OK. I can do that. I just… I need this car. My wife and daughter are gonna kill me if come home empty-handed again.”

Is that a fact? I thought, arching a brow.

Pinkie, in the meantime, was staring in surprise. “Uh… OK, sure—”

I held my hands out, scowling. “Hey! The fuck you doing, man?”

He raised his brows at me, pointing his finger. “You just said you haven’t paid her yet. That means the car isn’t officially sold.”

“I was—“ I raised my hand to object, but then stopped to face Pinkie. “I’ll give you three!”

Pinkie looked at me again, eyes even wider.

The man scrunched his lips, clenching his fists in frustration. “Thirty-one—No! Thirty-two fifty.”

Pinkie turned back to him, her jaw nearly hitting the gravel.

The man looked over at me, waiting for my counteroffer. I paused for a moment, rubbing my chin as I turned to look down at the trailer deck. Holy shit, I didn’t think this dumbass would go that high. I glanced over at him again. Better not push my luck.

With a roll of my eyes, I sighed and shook my head. “Shit.”

“HA!” He clapped his hands victoriously and then pulled a chequebook out of his coat pocket. “Thirty-two fifty. Do we have a deal, miss?”

Pinkie snapped out of her daze, blinking. “Uh... yeah! Sure. Thirty-two fifty sounds good.” She glanced over at me as he busied himself with writing the cheque, and I gave her a little wink, followed by a smirk. She was too shocked to smile back, so she instead faced him again when the sound of a cheque being torn away caught her attention.

After handing an incredulous Pinkie Pie the cheque, the man threw a hand out and grinned smugly at me. “Sorry, bud, but you gotta bring bigger chips to the table if you wanna play with me.”

I sneered and turned away. What a fuckin idiot. I was just about to gather up the chains when his voice drew my attention once more.

“Hey, man?”

Feigning annoyance, I dropped the chains into a noisy heap and turned to face him again.

“You were gonna take the car home on this?” he asked, pointing at my trailer.

I nodded.

“OK, how about this? I need to get this car home,” he explained. “How about I get you to trailer it home for me?”

I raised a brow.

“That way, I don’t have to get a temporary permit and make a second trip out here to get it, and you won’t have wasted your day coming out here for nothing. I’ll even pay you a hundred bucks for your time. Whaddaya say?”

I glanced past him at Pinkie, who was now hiding a smirk, then I hung my head and looked at the ground. After one more sigh, I ‘begrudgingly’ held my hand out for the cash.