1: A Delicious Beginning Turns Sweet but Sour
"Alright, it's time,"
Kicking over her bed sheets, sending them flying over her bedroom mirror, Pinkamimi Diane Pie (Better known to pretty much everypony as Pinkie Pie) began to enact a plan that had rattled through her brain for positively hours. Taking the teeny tiniest second to glance at her clock, she nodded furiously to herself before dashing out the door.
"Good, if I lose even a teeny tiny second now, I won't make it in time. Gotta pick up the pace,"
At a pace even she found surprising, she galloped into the favorite cuddly wuddly baby ponies' room before taking her leave. Was there a word for that? In the split second or so it took her to make it, she wondered about that with much more brain power than she anticipated.
"Aw nuts, I've got bigger things to worry about now"
A twinge of nervousness entering her skull, she hopped madly as if she'd just ingested a full jug of jumping beans as she briefly greeted the two half-asleep baby Cakes.
"Hey guys. Sleep well? Know I did. Well, gotta go, see ya,"
Dashing at least sixty miles a minute if not more so, Pinkie continued her madcap romp through the house.
Yes, the greeting was Very brief.
"Oh, hope I can make it up to them when I get back."
"Pinkie Pie, what are you… AH!" How did he get there? Well, Pinkie Pie sure didn't know. Faster then she could say pony piper, she felt her body crash through something soft before she could slow down for Mr. Cake, and:
"Mmm, delicious,"
She thought quite vividly, wrapping her 'dying for sugary nourishment' tongue eagerly around the cake, losing herself in a delectable, chocolate covered fantasy underlined with extra creamy vanilla cake.
"Pinkie Pie…" Mr. Cake gazed down upon the newly created masterpiece: Cake le Pinkie Pie. Hopefully, Mr. Cake would be impressed. To further support this brand new confectionary creation, she even performed a gigantic smile to increase his likelihood to buy into her especially convincing theory.
He didn't.
"You do realize how long I spent making this cake, don't you? I was supposed to bring this to a very important customer tomorrow…" He didn't seem furious, just ever so slightly cross. Waving his hoof over his un-kept mane, his baker's hat tilted slightly, he let out a deep sigh.
"Oh, I'm so, so sorry Mr. Cake. I was in such a rush, I didn't see you there. I promise I'll make it up to you as soon as I—"
"No, no, that's quite alright, Pinkie. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get at least half of it done before you get back." Pinkie reluctantly left her heavenly position, gorging her face into freshly baked marble cake, and watched sadly as Mr. Cake began to walk into the kitchen. She didn't mean to do it; in fact, she never really meant to do any of those things she did. She just let her mind focus on one thing, and one thing only; nothing else could take that place. After all, she'd told herself many, many times before, I always make it up in the end, right?
That didn't change that horrible, heavy feeling she felt in her chest every time she made a mistake that was the farthest thing from the chocolate cake she just helped herself to.
"C'mon Pinkie. Get back in the game. You can worry 'bout this later; any more time lost, and you really will have messed up."
Her last thought echoing several times in her head like a fast forward video, she made her next movements as quickly as possible.
"No, I'll make it up to you. I promise. But I gotta go now, see ya!"
Galloping at a speed that she was sure would've impressed even her pal Rainbow Dash, she zoomed to Sweet Apple Acres, making extra sure not to bump into anyone, or let her super eager stomach posses her brain as it had like a thousand times before.
On her way to the barn, even moving at a gajillion miles per hour, she couldn't help but notice how well-kept, and pretty Sweet Apple Acres looked. Somehow, coming off of an Apple Family Reunion not long ago, the apple trees in the east and west orchards in particular looked gorgeous, white tints from a hot, yet wonderful summer sun richly embellishing the apples even more. Although it all passed in a flash, Pinkie couldn't help but smile.
Just barely stopping herself from crashing head first into the front barn door, she practically leaped into its dark interior.
Normally, the place seemed nice to hang out. However, even though she knew that this place was going to be dark, Pinkie decided to herself she hadn't thought it through. 'Course, she wasn't scared. No, her only reasons were, as she knew Twilight would put it, "pragmatic": If it wasn't for that one little light near the corner of the room, she might have raised the Apple Family's month bill a bit higher then they were probably accustomed to.
"I'm here", racing over to the corner of the barn, locking eyes with an, on most days anyways, a fierce, powerful, yet surprisingly good natured rainbow colored mane Pegasus.
Instead, she just looked slightly freaked out, and somewhat irritated.
"Don't scare me like that. You made me think it was Fluttershy,"
"Aw, c'mon, don't be silly. She wouldn't just come walking into someone's barn unless she was absotutely sure she was supposed to go in there."
"Okay," Her eyes looked annoyed at being defeated in a logical contest. Pinkie couldn't understand that look in the least. "You make a good point."
"Hey, why's it so dark in here? I can barely see my own shadow, and I'm standin' right next to the light."
"Well, we kinda thought it'd be kind of conspicuous to leave the lights on, so we turned them off."
"Couldn't you have just left the lights on, and closed the barn doors or something like that?"
Rainbow Dash stared at the frizzy maned pony, perplexed as if spikes were sprouting out of her mane. She couldn't understand what in Equestria she was confused about.
"Well, that's the funny thing. I would do that, but Applejack will be coming in a little bit with another batch of apples. We kind of felt her sneaking into the barn, shutting the door behind her would look kind of suspicious, so we just left it open."
"Well…" Pinkie had to think that one over. It just seemed so over complicated for something so simple. "Yeah, I didn't think of it that way. But, do you think for just an itsy bitsy second, I could see how the party decorations are coming along?"
"Sure. Rarity, stop ooing over the fact your black curtains compliment the dark so well, and turn on the lights."
Promptly, they switched on. She couldn't help it, Pinkie Pie decided to do some 'ooing' of her own.
"You're looking at it far too one dimensionally, Rainbow Dash. From a fashion perspective, a color blend like that is very important." She heard the words, but Pinkie paid little attention to them.
Rarity had apparently hung vivid black and white silk banners on each wall of the barn, white on the left and black on the right, each having a simple, yet eloquent picture of each of her closest friends in the center. Several party tables were stationed around the room, punch and various bottles of soda set up neatly on each, an elegant red tablecloth on each of them. She felt happy, yet somewhat sentimental about it. A bittersweet feeling she could never escape lately.
Like, somehow, the happy-go-lucky cheeriness she always felt was always subdued by knowing her friend Twilight very well might not attend this party.
Nothing felt quite the same for her and her friends ever since she left. Sure, they visited whenever they could, but sometimes she'd be called away on meetings, and all they could send was letters. Pinkie was pretty good at that; after all, she'd probably jammed every nook and cranny of the Cake's mail box fitting every last letter she wanted to send to Twilight in there. Despite all that, she, and all of her friends probably knew too, nothing felt quite the same as it once did. But, Pinkie Pie knew for certain that while every one of her friends might feel that pain, no matter how hard it might be sometimes, she'd always smile in the end.
If she didn't, that melancholy feeling everyone graciously decided to be subtle apart would descend into a barrage of confessions of the awkwardness of not knowing whether a best friend was really going to see them when she said she would.
Pinkie shook herself out of that daze, and returned herself to the task at hand. "I can't get all depressed. We get to see Twilight all the time, don't we? She knows how everything's going, even when she's not here. Besides, this isn't about me, this is to make Fluttershy really, really happy again." That she knew with all her heart.
"So? If you think I'm going to give a really big care about any of that stuff, well you must be looking for someone else."
Huffing slightly, Rarity took a moment to glance over the entire party room they had set up the previous day. All they had been doing that day was putting up some finishing touches, and obviously, preparing for Fluttershy's entrance.
"I really do hope this lifts her spirits up a bit. She hasn't really been quite the same ever since Twilight left for Canterlot."
"Yeah, she said she would come, but, y'know; being a princess and all, you can't know for sure if something comes up."
All Pinkie Pie could do was nod. After all, her friends' words were just conveying each of her thoughts into words, the ones not focusing on Chocolate waterfalls, hot fudge sundaes, and Cinnamon rolls anyways.
"Aw, c'mon you guys. We gotta be cheery for Fluttershy's sake. She's not going to be happy if she thinks we're unhappy."
"Yeah, you're right. Let's move on to lighter topics," Promptly, Pinkie Pie began to examine how her face's reflection changed in the cup's stunning reflection. It was always amazing to her, seeing how in every different type of reflection, she could see a wildly different image. And, it always helped her to calm down when things ever became tense. "Where's Applejack? Shouldn't she be here by now?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry. After all, she's probably just picking up a huge load because this will be her last trip. You know how she is; she doesn't cut corners, especially with something as important as this."
After Pinkie Pie finished looking into her interesting reflections, she bounced around the room, looking for something she could do before Fluttershy showed up. In not finding anything, her mind began to dwell on Fluttershy.
Such a party without a special occasion was very rare. Of course, Pinkie Pie knew she might sporadically throw one if she felt like it, but today was a special, carefully planned occasion. Of all of her friends, Fluttershy had taken Twilight's leaving for Canterlot the worst.
It wasn't that she was always forlorn, no, she was absolutely happy sometimes. In fact, Pinkie Pie had seen her smile on several occasions. But sometimes, she'd look sad, disinterested, as if she felt something was missing; a piece she felt she couldn't pas together. Often, she seemed the yellow coated mare wandering through town, her puffy white bunny, Angel, riding on her back without much of a goal. Walking as if she hoped that something in town would make her forget all of these things. Sadly, as much as Pinkie Pie could figure, they didn't seem to help her mood much. In fact, she probably felt doing them only made her think more of Twilight. Somehow, she felt compelled to do them over, and over, and over again.
A condition Pinkie Pie knew needed to stop.
"Hi gal, 'sorry I'm a bit late, a few of those trees were mighty stubborn, 'know what I mean?"
Sweat drenched, illuminating her bright, perky orange fur, Applejack trotted into the barn, a large cart of those shiny apples Pinkie saw earlier right behind her. She dragged the wagon over to the nearest punch table, shoving it with a 'whew' into the wall.
"Well, you sure got a lot of 'em," Rainbow smiled enthusiastically. "Fluttershy's sure ta love this."
"Yes, now, get into your places, close the barn doors. She could be here any minute now,"
Giving each other affirmative nods, Pinkie watched as her friends dashed into various sides of the barn. She put on her biggest, toothy grin, and trotted outside the barn, taking a moment to stare at the sun, which was already making her feel like ice cream in the desert.
Bored, she decided to quickly sketch three smiley faces onto the ground, and promptly bounced from one face to the other as she waited for something to happen.
"Um, Pinkie Pie,"
A head that looked suspiciously like Applejack stuck out of the barn.
"Wow! You musta really done something weird with the Mirror Pond, Applejack. I didn't know you could just clone your head!"
"No. My whole body's here."
"You sure?"
Applejack looked back to check, and nodded. "Yes, it is,"
"Okie dokie lokie!"
"But, moving along Pinkie, what's that drawing thing you did in the ground?"
Pinkie looked around for a second, wondering what the hay her friend was exactly referring to. Glimpsing at her super excited faces, she furrowed her eyebrows as she wondered about her friend's confusion.
"Why, it's hopscotch with an extra dosage of happy, duh!" Applejack stared for a moment, but didn't say a word. Finally, she shook her head.
"Okay, just checking," She moved back into the barn, closing the door behind her.
"I can't believe she hasn't played that before. Well, you learn something new every day."
After a few minutes, she finally started to hear hoofsteps. Perking up excitedly, she dashed over to her position as she watched a pink mane drift slightly in the wind.
Fluttershy had arrived.
She wasn't sure she wanted to go. Being a bother to her friends at a party where they were supposed to have fun would be a horrible thing for her to do.
But after seeing Pinkie Pie go through the trouble to ask her personally just the previous day, she felt obligated to at least say yes, if not do more for her.
"Hey Fluttershy, how's it going?"
When she'd seen her that day, she still felt like her happy, jovial self. But, somehow, she seemed subdued, and she wasn't sure why.
"Um, it's going alright." She put on a slight smile to reinforce the point.
"Cool." She stuffed her hoof into a bag she'd placed around her neck, and handed her an invitation.
"It's an invitation to a super awesome, happy 'let's make Fluttershy smile' party!" behavior, even with all of her attempts to hide it. Still, she was able to smile.
"Thank you. I'd love to come."
"Wait for it…"
"Huh..?"
"SURPRISE!" Suddenly, party cannon rolled onto the lawn. With a loud 'BOOM', it fired Pinkie's alligator, Gummy, into her frizzy, wild mane along with huge amounts of confetti that coated the sky in sprinkles.
Although she'd seen it many times, she couldn't help still being startled by Pinkie's wild, yet heart-felt invitations.
"So, you're coming?" She asked, her eyes growing so huge they practicially bulged out of her skull, her pupils growing to a huge size.
"Of course I will."
"YESSSSSSSS!" She leaped into the air as soon as she finished her sentence, and did a dance on her roof top, before jumping back down as if nothing had happened. "Okay, thanks Fluttershy, see ya there."
And then she left like she always did, gallivanting as fast as she could into the sunset. She'd go back to the Cakes, and continue doing what she always did: bringing happiness and joy to everyone she could.
"I'm so grateful that she's willing to be my friend." She couldn't help, even with all the sadness inside, smiling at that precious thought.
"YAYYYY! You came. You were a little bit late, so I got worried, so I thought about coming to your house, but then I figured you'd find that rude, so I thought about getting the Cakes to send you a letter, but that might take too long, so—"
For a moment, in her thoughts, she'd forgotten that Pinkie Pie had been zooming to her position just a moment ago.
"Oh, I'm sorry for being a little late. I accidentally slept in today."
"Oh no, that's fine, really. Besides, we had a few things to take the party from super awesome, to super duper awesome if ya know what I mean."
"Of course, that's a relief." Her lips curved upwardly in the most natural smile she could put up. Pinkie Pie's face somehow lit up even more.
"Alrighty! Well, just follow me, and we'll be on our way!" Saluting with her right hoof, Pinke Pie led Fluttershy through the rest of Sweet Apple Acres to the cherry red barn that served as a landmark second only to the school house nearby.
"Where next, Pinkie?"
"Well, let's see…" She looked up, down, left, right, as if she'd completely forgotten something important. Suddenly, she hopped up in excitement, and pointed her body towards the barn as rigid as a dog.
"The barn?"
"Absotutely! This is where we're having the party. Kinda cramped, but hey, this place's got lots of surprises. Too bad I had to learn that the hard way," She smiled, and Fluttershy giggled slightly, remembering how much Pinkie Pie had changed from a simple misunderstanding.
"Well, here we are!" Both ponies walked into the dark embrace of the barn. With the exception of the summer sun behind her, causing trickles of sweat to flow down Fluttershy's back, the barn was completely dark.
"Um, Pinkie Pie, what exactly are we—"
"SURPRISE!"
A sharp cry, mixed with two other voices she distinctly recognized filled the room as the lights suddenly turned on. She felt absolutely flabbergasted. On both sides of the barn, beautiful black and white banners hung, made out of an expensive fabric, and with a masterful patter that clearly told Fluttershy who made them. Various punch tables were stationed around the barn, red velvet tablecloths coating the somewhat rusty looking wood underneath. A genuine smile filled her face.
"You did all of this… For me?" She stared at a large cart which leaned against another punch table with a bowl of neatly stacked apples next to it.
"Of course we did, sugar cube. We'd do nothing less for one of our PFFs," Applejack looked into her eyes, Rainbow Dash and Rarity followed close behind.
"'Course, if it wasn't for Pinkie Pie here, we wouldn't have thought of it in the first place." She followed Rainbow Dash's extended hoof to the pink pony who'd introduced her. Shyly, she made her way towards her.
"I… I don't know how to thank you…"
"Aw, come on, Fluttershy. Ya don't have to. It's like Applejack said; anything to help a friend, right?"
A chorus of 'mmhmms' followed her voice.
"Now, let's get ready to PARR-TAY!"
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash clapped her hoofs together in excitement. "I'll get the boom box." She flew over to another side of the barn, straining as she carried the radio over to the center of the barn.
"Where did you get that?" Rarity asked with amazement.
"Ask Pinkie Pie,"
Immediately, music Fluttershy could only describe as crazy absorbed the room in a cheeriness that pushed out any sentimentality, and sorrow that previously existed. All of the ponies gathered in a conga line, doing every sort of dance and fancy hoofwork they could possibly think of. Of course, many would find it strange. Some would even find it insulting and rude. Fluttershy didn't care.
This was exactly how she wanted life to always be like.
Finally, the music came to a stop, and each of the ponies' took a breather.
"Whoo-whee, I haven't danced like that since… well… y'know."
"Yup, I sure do."
"Alright everypony, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to chow down! AJ, think you can get the cake?"
"Yup, life of the party's cake, coming up!" Although her friends, like all do sometimes, got into arguments, sometimes even stayed angry at each other for a while, they'd always come through for each other in the end. Often, they'd even find out something about the other, and sometimes themselves, they didn't even know before. Of all of them, Fluttershy felt she knew that feeling most profoundly.
Applejack pushed a cart from the storage closet next to the silent boom box. The cake had a similar design to the banners, but different. Her friends were each carefully designed in frosting, colors corresponding to each of her friend's fur coat and mane colors. Each face was smiling, each face lacking any sort of uncertainty or insecurities, under it lay a message. "Pony Friends Forever!"
Seeing Twilight's face, wings outstretched, her crown laid over her head, Fluttershy couldn't help but let a tear sprout from her eye.
"It's beautiful,"
All four of them gave a sympathetic smile, and Pinkie Pie decided to approach her first.
"Don't worry; I decided to invite her just the other day. Even with all of her Princess Twilight stuff she has to do, she still has time to be the old Twilight we know and love. I'm sure she's gonna…"
Her voice trailed off. While seemingly random, Fluttershy understood why she did so. She could hear muffled voices behind the barn, one sounding vaguely, yet wonderfully familiar.
"Is… Is that..?"
"I don't know, Rainbow," Applejack replied, in a similar hushed whisper. "But we might be able ta find out. Who should go out there?"
"I will!" Pinkie Pie waved her hoof franticially.
"Alright, sugar cube, just be careful, okay?"
"Yes, Twilight's on a tight schedule, if she is here, she probably doesn't have too much time before she has to leave again." Rarity made her point quite clearly. Fluttershy understood why she reaffirmed the point, though the fact of Twilight leaving again made her heart wrench inside.
"Okie dokie lokie! I'll be right back!" And in a pink blur, she was gone, leaving only a few tufts of pink fur in the air.
"Well… That was interesting," Rainbow Dash's statement, though simple, Fluttershy felt was surprisingly fitting. In fact, interesting could probably sum up Pinkie Pie on most days. Of course, that's exactly why the townsfolk, her included, loved her so.
"Well, what are we waiting for; let's listen in on the conversation!" Rarity burst out, an overly giddy look on her face.
"You mean, eavesdrop, right?"
"Hmph, perish the thought, Applejack. Eavesdrop is such a negative word."
"Yeah, Rarity's right. We're just peeking in on the conversation, I mean, it's obviously not supposed to be private or somethin'."
"But it ain't honest. If you wanna do the right thing, make yourselves known to the ponies chattering 'bout this and that."
"Um, guys, what's… that?" Fluttershy pointed hesitantly to the barn door, now making a queer rattling noise.
"Aw, don't worry about it, Fluttersy. It's just Pinkie being Pinkie, that's all."
"Yeah, don't worry; any minute now, she's gonna…"
Just then, the barn doors crashed on both right and left sides, making a ringing noise throughout the barn. Abruptly, a pink, bouncy tailed pony threw her knees onto the ground, and dramatically slid to the group's position.
"I… FOUND HER!" A yell echoed through the barn door, and the entire group, as far as Fluttershy knew, collectively stared at her. Even Applejack seemed slightly surprised.
"No, I didn't find me. I FOUND HER!" Another yell, but this time, an unnatural light accompanied the sun glistening through the now open doors. Seeing a few ponies' jaws drop, Fluttershy turned to face the doors. Her brilliant coat shining like diamonds, her mane flowing in the soft, yet firm summer wind, they all knew her by name.
Twilight Sparkle.
"Twilight!" Applejack lead the charge as each pony except for Fluttershy dashed in to embrace their returning friend. Twilight looked slightly surprised, but quickly joined in the sentimental celebration. Fluttershy stood still, watching the scene unfold, not sure what to think.
"T-Twilight..?" Slowly separating from her hooves, Twilight faced her, a happy glint in her eyes.
"Hey Fluttershy,"
She couldn't take it anymore. Tears forming in the corners of her eyes, she ran into Twilight's hooves, wrapping her in a firm hug that said never-leave-again. "Th-Thank you so much…"
As if sensing this, Twilight nodded to her quietly. "Aw, come on, you think I'd miss a party with all my very best friends attending? That's not going to happen, Fluttershy, not in a million years."
"I'm glad you found time," Rarity said, making her own way into the conversation. "It seemed unlikely with all of your royal duties."
"Oh, you don't know the half of it. I'm lucky if I get five minutes between tasks sometimes. I'm lucky Spike's around to keep everything together. Don't know what I'd do without him." She levitated a plate of cake over to her side, savoring the flavor as she talked.
"I guess you're probably not gonna stay long. right?" Rainbow Dash interjected a thought Fluttershy knew all of them must share, but something she thought nobody would bring up in case it might ruin the moment.
"No, in fact I have to leave right now if I want to be in time for a ceremony honoring the promotion of a guard in Canterlot Castle. I really am sorry…"
"Don't worry about it, sugar cube," Applejack said. "After all, ya came, and that's what really matters in the end."
"Yes," Fluttershy felt a surge of confidence flowing through her. "You're the most wonderful friend we could hope for."
Another embrace enfolded the group, reminding Fluttershy of the times they'd spent together. "No, I haven't done that much. Really, I wish I could do more." Leaving the embrace, Twilight moved back. "I'll visit again as soon as I can."
"Don't worry. I'll come up with some reason for you to come back," Pinkie Pie said, a chuckle following soon afterwards.
"I'm counting on it," She winked. "But, don't worry. I got word from Princess Celestia before I arrived here that a new pony is moving into Ponyville later today. I heard he's coming to Ponyville because of how nice and homey he felt the ponies were." She smiled in a teasing manner.
"Oh, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, what's he or she like, what's he or she like?"
"No, no, I can't tell you that, Pinkie, that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?"
"Aw, good point," All laughed as Pinkie Pie huffed indignantly.
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you then." The somber feeling gradually returned to being the center of emotion in Fluttershy's heart. "Take care,"
"Good-bye, Twilight," As if planned, Fluttershy noticed everyone had left her a good bye in perfect unison. A silence came upon the party as they watched her fly back towards Canterlot again. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence.
"Well, you heard the princess, let's chow down!"
The ponies began chatter, talking about this and that, even laughing now and then, but Fluttershy felt her melancholy feeling returning. She almost wondered whether seeing Twilight again made the feeling worse. How could she ever get used to it if she kept coming back as if to stay in Ponyville once again?
As the sun started to set in the distance, the party ended. Each pony left, leaving an empathetic look to Fluttershy they tried to keep hidden, but she knew was there. Soon enough, only she and Pinkie Pie were left in the barn, which now felt dull, and as sad as she was.
"Hey, want me to walk home with you?" Pinkie Pie asked as cheerfully as she could.
"That's okay, really. I don't want to trouble you,"
"Are you really super duper absotutely sure?"
"Yes, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She knew she wasn't lying. Being with Pinkie Pie now would be even more damaging to her mood.
"Ya know, she is going to come back again. I mean, this is Twilight we're talking about, she always does, right?"
"Well, yes…"
"Look, if you ever feel like talking, I'm always here. We're all here for you. You know," She hopped out of the barn in her Pinkie Pie way. "You're never alone, Fluttershy. We'll always be here for you. Always,"
And she disappeared like that from sight.
Fluttershy started her return home. She felt glad seeing Twilight again, but her happy mood quickly dwindled afterwards. How could things be the same again? How was she going to greet a pony with a jovial look on her face if she didn't believe it herself?
Struggling with these questions, not even making a vain attempt to hide the look on her face, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something walking down a far away dirt road. She didn't pay much attention, but she knew something was strange about that pony.
Something about that pony she never remembered seeing before.