The Arms Hotel, Saturday

[gunslingerpose]

Nikolai's week had been a long one. Hannibal had been so kind as to fit his shoulder back into place, hook him up with a sling for his arm, and to patch up his head. Still, it had only been a few days since he'd been bricked from behind while on patrol, and painkillers were still very much factoring into his productivity today.

And also into his willingness to really put any sort of effort into anything. At all. Ever. That included arguing with Gunther, who was apparently taking Nick's complacency as a cue to be followed for the day.

Welcome To The Arms Hotel!
Today's Specials:
Potato Chips

... Yeah. Yeah, Nick was going to just let it slide and work on not falling asleep behind the desk. Whatever, Gunther. Whatever.

[OOC: Waiting for the storm with a bag of potato chips and a 'bring it' glower out the window. This post was inspired. Open with 'likely impending power outages' warning in effect.]

Comments

[locointhecoco]

"Party! PARTY!" came a chorus of voices. "FUN!"

A crowd of Pinkies came sproinging up to the hotel door. One of them squashed right into it before the other ones managed to barrel through. "FUN! Fun! Fun!"

"Ooo, chips!" One of the Pinkies paused at the specials sign, giving the letters horns and mustaches.

[gunslingerpose]

... Nikolai was not on enough painkillers for this.

"Someone neglect to tell me there was a party today?" Because it would explain the potato chips, but probably not the swarm of pink ponies. "I get the feeling I missed that memo."

[locointhecoco]

"Ginseng told us!" Pinkie said.

"Nono, Kinsey!" said Pinkie.

"I think her name is Carter," mused Pinkie.

"This party needs more balloons," said Pinkie, her mouth full of chips.

"I've got the party cannon!" added Pinkie.

There were not enough painkillers in the world for this.

[gunslingerpose]

Don't ask don't ask don't ask don't ask...

"The hell is a party cannon?"

Nikolai really shouldn't have asked. But he figured he had this handled. He worked with Hollywood celebrities when he wasn't on the island, after all. What could a few pink ponies do?

[locointhecoco]

Oh honey.

"It's a cannon for parties!" Pinkie said. She whipped out a little blue cannon with floral wheels. "See?"

Then she set it off, launching ballistic grade streamers, balloons, and confetti across the lobby.

[gunslingerpose]

More painkillers would have been amazing right about then. Nikolai could feel his headache getting worse by the moment.

"Ohhhhhkay." A streamer drifted down and draped itself fetchingly in his face. He blew at it. It remained put. "Neat trick. What's the occasion?"

[locointhecoco]

"Ooo, ooo!" Pinkie waved a hoof in the air, as though volunteering to answer a question in class. "I don't know."

[gunslingerpose]

Somehow, that seemed like the right answer to Nick, anyway. He gave that particular Pinkie a somewhat deadpan look before finally brushing the streamer away from his shades with his good arm.

"Well... there are potato chips, anyway. Help yourself to those." Nikolai. Nikolai, no, don't encourage this. "Careful. Gremlins have been hanging out by the chip bowls this afternoon."

[locointhecoco]

"Ooo! Are they here for the party, too?"

"Party! Party! PARTY! Party!" cheered the Pinkies.

It was possible even the gremlins would flee in terror.

[gunslingerpose]

At this rate, if this led to the gremlins leaving or the Pinkies getting bitten, Nick figured he was a winner either way.

He would take the little victories.

"Okay, but two questions," he ventured, holding up his good hand and counting off a finger at a time, "One, why are you all exactly the same, and two, where did you get the idea that there was a party going on in here, anyway?"

[locointhecoco]

The Pinkies exchanged a look. "We're doubles," they said in unison.

Duh.

"And we told you," said a Pinkie who had found herself a hat, somewhere. "Kimberly told us."

They really should have studied the original Pinkie's friend charts better.

[gunslingerpose]

"Right, right, Kathy said," Nick echoed, shaking his head a bit. "Except, see, the problem is, there wasn't actually a party here until you all showed up."

Doubles? Looked a little more like these ponies were giving octuples a run for their money.

[locointhecoco]

They were many, many multiples of doubles.

"Oh!" said the Pinkie in the hat. "You're welcome, then."

For bringing the party, you know.

[gunslingerpose]

"... Yeah, I'm feeling super lucky right now."

Crawling under the desk and having a nap wasn't going to be an option, then, was it?

"So, now that the party is here, what is the party going to do, exactly?"

Because he was still sort of holding out hope that this was some sort of 'quietly sit and appreciate the vast selection of potato chips' party.

[locointhecoco]

A murmur ran through the crowd of Pinkies as they discussed options, then they fell silent and looked back at Nikolai.

"Marching band party?" suggested the Pinkie in the hat.

[gunslingerpose]

Nick stared back at them for a moment in something that was starting to edge neatly towards 'horror.'

"... With cymbals and drums and horns and everything, huh?"

[locointhecoco]

"I'll play the tuba!" A Pinkie at the back volunteered.

[gunslingerpose]

"Do you know how to play the tuba?"

He figured he was probably correct to be afraid no matter what the answer to that question was.

[locointhecoco]

"I do!" said another Pinkie.

"I like the accordion."

"I have a bass drum!"

And then there was Pinkie next to Nikolai, a tuba wrapped around her like a toga. She played a deep, loud note to the accompaniment of cheers.

[gunslingerpose]

That was about the point where Nikolai wondered, if there was a god, what had he done to piss the guy off so badly? He couldn't even cover his ears, here. This was cruel and unusual.

Mostly unusual.

"Great. Fabulous. You know who really likes tubas? Gunther, in the kitchen. I bet he would love to be serenaded with that thing."

He would probably storm out here and kill Nikolai with a spatula, actually.

[locointhecoco]

"That sounds like fun!" Pinkie said. And with a chorus of "Fun!" and "Party!", the Pinkies started swarming their way into kitchen, knocking most things onto the floor and leaving them covered in streamers and glitter.

[gunslingerpose]

And Nikolai, left in the wake of all of that, took one look around, reached for the painkillers that Hannibal had suggested he take when his shoulder and head got too bad, and took a few more than was strictly recommended before announcing to nobody in particular, "I'm not cleaning this up."