Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I rub my eyes and reach over to shut off my alarm, hitting Gummy in the process. I rest my head in my hooves and sigh. Not this again. I'm not really ready for another birthday after my last one—my twentieth—being the worst one ever.

I slip out of bed and head to the bathroom to curl and wash my naturally straight hair. There is a small tapping noise against the door. I look over and set down the curling iron.

"Oh, hey Gummy," I pick Gummy up off the floor and hold him in my arms. "I hope our birthdays go better than last time." I remember it all too well: The flour sack, the dust bunny, the rock pile. It still gives me shivers. I lean against the bathroom counter blankly staring.

Come on, Pinkie, snap out of it, I tell myself, you have a birthday party to go to! I blink and set Gummy down on the floor. I march over to my closet and study my dresses. The truth is I hate them all. Even though I had most of them tailor-made by Rarity, they're not really my style. That's because they're not for me: They're for Pinkie Pie, the mare I pretend to be.

I pick the least over-the-top dress I own and look over myself one more time in the mirror before I head downstairs. I smile my best fake smile. It hardly takes any effort anymore.

I bounce down the stairs and into the Cakes' bakery. Mr. Cake is away at the moment, no doubt purchasing the last few items for my party. The twins are sitting in their high chairs and Mrs. Cake is feeding them breakfast. When she hears me coming she drops the spoon she was using, runs over, and hugs me.

"Happy Birthday, Sweetie," she says. "You're getting so big!" Mrs. Cake trots over to the fridge and pulls out a whole cake. She cuts a slice, puts it on a plate, and gives it to me.

"Here," she says. "Breakfast."

"Really?!" I ask in disbelief. Mrs. Cake nods. I waste no time digging into my cake. The only thing I'm not faking when I'm being Pinkie is my sweet tooth.

"Your friends will be here in a few hours," Mrs. Cake reminds me. "Help me finish decorating."

I try to help Mrs. Cake decorate, but I can't focus on anything. I feel jittery, like I'm on a sugar high. I think it's a combination of cake and a small amount of birthday excitement.

At 10:00, there's a knock at the door.

"Can you get that, dear?" Mrs. Cake asks. "Sure!" I reply. I gallop to the door and open it to find myself face-to-face with Twilight Sparkle.

"Hi Twilight!" I greet happily.

"Happy Birthday Pinkie Pie!" Twilight hugs me and simultaneously uses telekinesis to put my cube shaped birthday gift on the table. Spike arrives soon after and pulls me aside.

"Don't let the shape fool you," he whispers. "That's definitely a book." I laugh. "That's OK. I love books!"

My four other friends arrive one by one, each equipped with a birthday gift. The party goes on all day. All of my friends are already twenty-one so they took me to some new places I'd never been to. We went to the bowling alley and even had a few drinks. After all the presents had been opened and all the cake eaten, all my friends went home.

All except Rainbow Dash.