Party Pooped
Pony's Log Number 511: I've heard of guests being difficult to please, but who would have thought it could lead to an international crisis...
Inside the main lobby of Twilight and Mario's castle, the two ponies were pacing back and forth in front of the rest of the Mane eight, who stood in side by side of each other. Twilight and Mario were both sweating a bit as the former trotted past Pinkie, who had a very casual smile on her face.
"You look nervous," said Twilight as she zipped up to the purple pony, "There's no reason to be nervous. Nothing to worry about. Everything's gonna be fine!" Twilight couldn't help but make a few exaggerated expressions as she spoke.
"Right dear?" Twilight asked her husband. Mario just gave her a large smile.
"R-r-right," Mario stuttered with a light giggle as he impulsively raised a fore-leg that was trembling uncontrollably.
"Twilight, Mario, tell those butterflies in your tummy to beat it!" Pinkie replied, "Making new friends is always fun!"
"Ohhhh..." Twilight groaned.
"My wife is lucky it's just butterflies in her stomach, I've got jackhammers in mine!" said Mario as he trembled a bit until Shenran gave him a side hug.
"You'll be okay, buddy," said Shenran as Mario groaned.
"Why did we agree this idea, Twilight?" Mario whined, "Look at us! I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm on the verge of nervous breakdown right about now!" Twilight gave her husband a kiss on the cheek.
"I know this is a big task," said Twilight, "But we're the Princess and Prince of Friendship. Our mission is to spread Friendship across Equestria and its surrounding kingdoms. This is a big step forward in doing just that but being nervous is perfectly normal. Isn't it guys? Right? Right?!" Twilight chuckled nervously and then groaned again.
"They're probably just as nervous as you are," said Fluttershy.
"Yeah, I mean...I was nervous meeting Fluttershy and she was nervous meeting me," Shenran reminded the group.
"Uh, that isn't the same thing!" Rainbow remarked.
"It is when you remember we were friends first, lovers later," Shenran retorted as Fluttershy nodded in agreement. Rainbow just rolled her eyes in reply.
"Nerves or not," said Applejack, "You two have been planning this shindig for weeks. You know everything about these fellers. It's gonna be dandy." Twilight and Mario both did the breathing technique Cadance taught them to help them settle down.
"You're right," said Twilight, "Remember, Equestria and Yakyakistan haven't opened their borders for hundreds of moons. In fact, Yakyakistan is so far north of the Crystal Mountains, nopony's even been there! Imagine the look on Princess Celestia's face when she finds out we made friends with a yak prince!" Twilight and Mario gave nervous laughs since the former's composure was getting more unstable as she spoke.
"I'm calm! I'm calm..." Twilight said aloud, but the others looked worried.
"Why do I feel like these two have bitten off more than they can chew?" Shenran whispered to his wife.
"Ew, why would they wanna chew on the yaks?" Pinkie asked since she was listening on the conversation. Shenran glared at her.
"Figure of speech, Pinks," said Shenran annoyingly.
"I knew that," said Pinkie simply.
"I think Twilight and I are way over our heads," said Mario nervously.
"It'll be fine," said Twilight, "Just keep cool and..." Twilight was then interrupted when there was some trumpet fanfare. Spike was the one playing the trumpet as the doubles doors burst open, one of them slamming into Spike as a large red carpet rolled out up to the eight ponies. It was then two male yaks appeared wearing traditional yak attire and jewelry. They each side stepped to reveal the yak prince himself. Unlike his counterparts, he was a lighter shade of brown and his jewelry was mostly gold.
"Ponies! Greetings, ponies!" the yak prince said boldly. Twilight and Mario quickly teleported up to the yak prince.
"Prince Rutherford, your Majesty," said Twilight as she and Mario bowed before him, "On behalf of all of us, my husband and I welcome you to Equestria."
"Me honored, " Prince Rutherford replied, "Yaks hope for great friendship between ponies and yaks." He then said boldly into Twilight's and Mario's ear, "FRIENDS FOR A THOUSAND MOONS!" Mario looked a bit woozy from the loud voice.
"We...would...very much appreciate that," said Mario, still feeling a bit shaken up as Twilight was still sweating.
"Honey...the banquet?" Twilight asked with a very tense smile on her face. Mario blinked but then his eyes went wide and zoomed away. He then came back with a table loaded with various kinds of food on it.
"We've prepared a banquet of traditional yak foods," said Twilight, "cooked by my husband, Equestria's own personal iron chief!" Mario blushed at the complement.
"If things not perfect, yaks get mad," Prince Rutherford pointed out, "Yaks always get mad when things not perfect!" Twilight gulped as she put on a brave smile.
"G-g-guess that's something w-w-we have in c-c-common then," Mario replied shakily. Prince Rutherford than walked up a stalk of what appeared to be a white yam. He sniffed the yam and then ate it in one bite. His eyes bulged out before he spat it out.
"This no taste like yak food!" Prince Rutherford said angrily, "Fake pony food make yaks mad!"
"WAH?!" Mario yelped in utter shock as Twilight cringed. Prince Rutherford then used one of his horns to overturn the table as he and his two yaks started stomping everything into smithereens. Then Princes Rutherford charged at one of the crystal columns and damaged it. Another yak started tearing the drapes as the third yak smashed a nearby sofa into pieces. The Mane eight were left in shock, Mario was frozen in place with his face hanging out, as the three yaks had a demolition derby in the castle lobby. Twilight just bit her lower lip as Pinkie walked up to her.
"Is it okay to be nervous now?" Pinkie asked as she cringed at all the destruction. Rainbow and Fluttershy then hovered over to the now frozen in utter shock prince.
"I think his mind snapped," Rainbow said worried as he waved a fore-hoof over Mario's face. Fluttershy just looked at him sadly.
"Probably because nopony has ever rejected his cooking before," said Fluttershy. Shenran hovered over to Pinkie and Twilight.
"Well this friendship meeting is off to a smashing start," Shenran remarked.
"Ugh...bad joke, Shenran," said Pinkie sternly as Twilight and Fluttershy glared at him, "very bad joke."
"Sorry," said Shenran with an eye roll.
He actually wasn't trying to be funny.
(Main Theme)
Later on, all but Mario were hard at work trying to clean up the mess and repair the damages the yaks made to the castle lobby. Twilight was supervising the repairs since Mario still hadn't recovered fully from his shock.
"I can't understand it," Mario said to his wife, "I followed those recipes perfectly, made sure to get the spices as accurate and authentically correct as possible."
"Well, if those dishes were as perfect as you claimed," said Twilight before adding sternly, "Maybe Prince Rutherford and his yaks wouldn't have caused a demolition derby in here!" Mario winced at Twilight's raised tone and then just looked sadly away. He was feeling too sorry for himself to help with the clean up. Up above on an upstairs balcony using a hammer to repair some of the broken railing.
"Them yaks sure have a funny way of sayin' "howdy"," Applejack remarked.
"They're different, that's all," Rarity replied as she used her magic to repair a vase that had been broken, "Very...different."
"I think they broke my record for the most stuff broken in under a minute," said Rainbow as she hovered past the royal couple and was holding a broom, "I mean, they even broke the trophy." The already broken trophy Rainbow was carrying fell apart even more. Mario groaned and buried his face into his fore-hooves.
"Just shake it off buddy," said Shenran as he appeared holding a loaded trash bag, "We may have had a rough start, but it's how we finish that matters in the end."
"Well said, Shenran," said Twilight, "All we have to do is show them how great it can be to have friends before Princess Celestia arrives for the friendship party tonight. Now, who read the seven-volume crossed-indexed history of Yakyakistan I recommended?" Fluttershy had just landed on the other side of Twilight and just smiled sheepishly to the purple pony's question.
"I read them all," said Mario timidly and raised a fore-hoof into the air.
"Uh...heh...uhh..." Shenran stuttered with a sheepish smile on his face.
"You told me you were going to read those books!" Fluttershy scolded as she got into her husband's face.
"I fell asleep after the first volume!" Shenran retorted, "What's your excuse? Too busy making Angel a bigger brat than he already is?!"
"You leave our baby bunny out of this mister "I love ballerina twirling with the animals"!" Fluttershy shot back.
"You promised not to tell anypony about that!" Shenran yelled.
"Well maybe I JUST WILL!" Fluttershy yelled as the two Pegasi pressed noses and growled at each other. Twilight and Mario just watched the couple argue uncomfortably before the former looked at the others with a nervous, over-the-top smile on her face. Rarity and Rainbow just looked away sheepishly while Pinkie, who was standing between the two ponies, looked calm.
"Um...I-I had a thing..." Rainbow stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse.
"I did, I did!" said Pinkie excitedly as she jumped up and down, "Did you know they live so far north of the Crystal Empire that it's cold all the time? Yaks have yak fur to keep them warm." As Pinkie spoke, she got into Fluttershy's face and then grabbed the edges of the Pegasus's pink mane and wrapped it around her own head. She then gave Fluttershy a squeaky smile.
"Pretty sure that's what fur's always for, Pinkie Pie," said Applejack as a matter of fact and was then given the shock of her life when Pinkie appeared underneath her hat. Plus, it also made the orange pony drop her hammer off the balcony.
"I know!" Pinkie replied a she stood on Applejack's head, "Yaks are so cool!" The hammer Applejack had dropped then smashed the vase Rarity repaired. Rarity looked up and gave Applejack a glare from below.
"Pinkie Pie, can you show them around town?" Twilight asked as Fluttershy tried to fix her mane. Shenran tried to help, but Fluttershy shot him a dirty look, which Shenran returned since they were still mad at each other, "I know you have the friendship party too, but it would really help make them feel welcome."
"No problem!" Pinkie replied, "Come on, Mario! You can help me!"
"Are you sure..." Mario asked uneasily. He wasn't feeling very confident at the moment.
"Mario, we are the party duo!" said Pinkie, "We've got this! And you were helping me with the friendship party and I still have a few more adjustments to make before party time and I need your help."
"Good point," said Mario and sighed, "Alright, Pinks. Let's do it."
"Team spirit time!" Pinkie shouted as she stood next to him and then twisted ninety degrees.
"Ready..." said Pinkie as she squatted down.
"...Yeah!" Mario finished, feeling more confident, as he squatted down facing Pinkie. Then they stood on their hind legs and did a high-hoof together. The rest of the Mane eight stood side by side in front of Twilight.
"Remember," said Twilight to everypony else, "we want to make sure Equestria feels like home. That means doing everything we can to make this place feel like Yakyakistan."
"No problem," said Pinkie as she wrapped a fore-leg around Mario and saluted with the other.
"This dynamic duo is ready to go!" said Mario confidently.
"Good," Twilight replied, "Let's get out there and make some new friends!" The others gave cries of agreement as they joined in a circle and put their fore-hooves in the center before breaking.
At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack, Pinkie, and Mario were with the yaks as Big Mac and Apple Bloom watched from outside the doorway.
"We know y'all are noble warriors who avoid the so-called finer things," said Applejack, "so me and my family would be honored if you rested here in the barn during your visit."
"Her family is also my family," said Mario as he wrapped a fore-leg around his younger sister, "Applejack is my little sister and the Apple family hope you'll find our barn welcome and comfortable."
"Applejack, Mario, and I made hay beds like you're used to back in Yakyakistan," said Pinkie as she bounced over to three rectangular beds made out of hay with a single pillow.
"Hmm...This perfect," said Prince Rutherford as they walked over to the bed.
"We're glad to hear you're pleased with the beds, your Majesty," said Mario.
"You can snooze here all afternoon," said Pinkie, "'cause you're gonna need alot of energy for Mario and I's party tonight!"
"Mario and I?" the alicorn prince asked in surprise. Twilight had mostly given credit to Pinkie and he had preferred it that way.
"I said we're gonna do the party together," said Pinkie, "and that means sharing the credit too."
"Aww, Pinks..." said Mario, deeply touched as Applejack smiled and sighed with relief.
"That wasn't so hard," said Applejack.
"Wait!" said Prince Rutherford, "This not yak hay!"
"Well, we didn't have actual hay from Yakyakistan," said Pinkie as she, Mario, and Applejack backed away, "but we tried our best to make it just like yours." Big Mac and Apple Bloom had already run off.
"We never said they were made from yak hay," said Mario, "We were talking about the size and design of your beds..."
"Not perfect!" Prince Rutherford snapped angrily, "Yaks destroy!" The three yaks started stomping apart the beds as the three ponies ran for their lives and barely missed getting a milk canteen from clocking one of them on the head.
"Seesh, we said this was Apple country," said Mario, "what kind of hay did they think we had?!"
"Doesn't matter now," said Applejack as she turned to the pink pony, "Pinkie Pie, what are we gonna do?!" Pinkie pondered for a moment before she got an idea and whispered something to Mario. Mario pondered for a second before humming to the idea.
"Worth a try," said Mario as he felt the ground rumble from the yaks rampage inside the barn, "I just hope they don't knock the barn down on top of themselves." Applejack and Pinkie cringed at the thought.
Once the yaks had calmed down, Pinkie and Mario had brought them over to Fluttershy and Shenran, who had set up a blanket and a teapot for a tea party. Pinkie then zipped over to a makeshift curtain.
"And now, for your entertainment pleasure..." said Pinkie, "Presenting animals, Yakyakistan style!" Mario then used his magic to open the curtains and Angel, a squirrel, a blue jay, a gopher, two baby ducks, and a snake appeared before the yaks. Each of them was wearing a pair of yak horns on their heads. But it should be noted that each of the two baby ducks was wearing one horn each and one had the horn stuck over it's face.
"Animals cute," said Prince Rutherford.
"Oh. Thank goodness," said Fluttershy with relief.
"Phew," Shenran added as he pulled his wife close. They had already made up from their little fight earlier that day. Then there was trouble, the baby duck that had the horn over his face tripped and got stuck. It tried to pull the horn off to get free, but Prince Rutherford was offended at what he had seen.
"Wait. These antlers lie!" said Prince Rutherford, "These not Yakyakistani animals. Yaks Smash!" Fluttershy bit her lower lip and squealed in terror. Shenran then gasped loudly as Prince Rutherford raised his fore-hooves into the air, preparing smash down on all the animals.
"LOOK OUT!" Shenran shouted as he and Fluttershy scooped up these animals just as Prince Rutherford slammed down on the tea set, smashing the teaware as he got the blanket over his face. Prince Rutherford shook the blanket off as the three yaks stomped about. Fluttershy, Shenran, and all the animals watched the smashing session from a nearby tree branch. Fluttershy winced at the mess as Shenran grunted annoyingly.
"I just bought that tea set too," Shenran remarked.
"Nevermind honey," said Fluttershy, "It's just stuff. At least we're all safe...wait! Where's..."
"Up here Flutters," said Mario as he appeared in a tree branch above them, "Ugh, I can't believe something as simple as a horn falling off was enough to set them into a rampage! And you guys say I have a short temper?!" Fluttershy just rolled her eyes in reply and said nothing more.
"Okay, well..." Pinkie replied as she poked out of some leaves from a different tree branch, "There's still other things we can do. I think." Mario pondered and then smiled as he got an idea.
Mario then had Pinkie bring the three yaks to the Carousel Boutique.
"Yes! These are some of my favorite materials," said Rarity as she showed off some baby blue fabric and then grabbed another fabric from her shelves as well as a basket of yarn and scissors, "Very rare, imported from the Crystal Empire to match your northern sensibilities. I hope you'll find them-"
"Uh...Rares..." said Mario as he pointed to the three yaks who were eating the fabric.
"...delicious," Rarity finished uneasily.
"Yipe!" Mario yelped as Prince Rutherford and the two yaks spat out the fabric in front of Mario.
"This no taste like yak fabric!" Prince Rutherford complained.
"We never said it was yak fabric!" said Mario, "just from the surrounding area of your home..."
"Yaks destroy!" Prince Rutherford shouted. Mario tried to stop him this time.
SQUASH!
Mario was flatten instantly as he floated over to Pinkie and Rarity, who both cringed when Mario got flattened.
"Momma mia..." Mario groaned as he floated before them.
(Lose a life fanfare)
The yaks started stomping and wrecking the boutique. Rarity and Pinkie cringed at the destruction as the former walked away. Pinkie then caught a mannequin head with her fore-hooves and gave Mario a green-and-white mushroom with the other.
(extra life fanfare)
"Any more bright ideas?" Mario asked wearily, still feeling rather battered despite being revived.
"Everything's gonna be fine," said Pinkie as she used the mannequin head to block the objects flying at herself and Mario, "You'll just...make it up to them...somehow."
Back outside, Pinkie and Mario lead the three yaks to an open field.
"Listen up!" Pinkie told the yaks, "Tell your faces to hold onto their frowns, 'cause they're about to get turned upside-down!"
"Hold your frown, face!" said Prince Rutherford.
"We didn't mean..." Mario began to but Pinkie nervously shook her head, "...never mind."
"Hit it, Rainbow Dash!" said Pinkie. Rainbow then appeared with a very wide cloud. With a strong buck, she dumped the cloud's entire contents of snow onto the yaks.
"Just like Yakyakistan snow, right?" said Pinkie, "Because snow is snow, no matter where is comes from."
"Hopefully," said Mario quietly since he was starting to think there might be a difference. Then a single snowflake floated to Prince Rutherford's tongue and he slurped it up.
"This not yak snow!" Prince Rutherford said angrily.
"Ugh, I knew it!" Mario groaned as he face-planted the snow while the yaks stomped about angrily. Pinkie and Rainbow were shocked.
"Seriously?!...Seriously?" Pinkie exclaimed before face-planting the snow herself.
It wasn't long before the Mane eight were back at the castle. Twilight and Mario had crafted a throne for Shenran to sit beside his own wife. Just his throne didn't have his cutie mark on it...yet. Twilight had wanted an update report on the yaks. To say everypony wasn't sure how to tell Twilight the truth was an understatement.
"Y'know...it's goin' okay," said Applejack.
"Satisfactory, I'd say," said Rarity.
"It could be better," said Rainbow sheepishly.
"It's not very good," Fluttershy whispered.
"Not good at all," Shenran added in the same tone.
"It's a disaster!" Pinkie screamed.
"There's no such THING as perfection with these guys!" Mario cried out, "Even my perfect efforts are failures to them! It just not good enough...NOT. GOOD. ENOUGH!" Mario laughed maniacally before face-planting the table hard. Twilight winced but quickly tried to keep her composure. "Tried" was the key word since she was still sweating as she spoke.
"Pinkie Pie, Mario," said Twilight, "tonight's Yakyakistan theme party is more important than ever! You both must make them forget all about this afternoon, right? Because if it's not perfect, they're gonna smash everything! And I'm not sure how much more smashing this visit can take!"Twilight clapped her fore-hooves together and smiled nervously at the group. Then she twirled her fore-hooves about. Pinkie just had a half smile on her face as one of her eyes twitched a bit. Mario slowly lifted his head and cringed fearfully when Twilight slammed her fore-hooves on the table and after seeing the look on Pinkie's face.
"I already got flattened!" Mario retorted, "I just don't think we can...hah...uhhhhh..." Mario was stopped in his tracks when he saw Twilight give him a very mentally unstable, over the top smile and one of her lower eye lids twitched uncontrollably.
Sweet Celestia, it's been a LONG time since she's given me that look! Mario thought fearfully, And it's even scarier than I remember it!
"You love me don't you my sweetie cutie?" Twilight asked in a tone that was far too sweet.
"Y-y-yes dear," said Mario timidly as Twilight stuck her face in his.
"You won't let me down," said Twilight in her overly sweet tone, "You're my husband and you're not gonna fail me. You'll know if you fail, we fail right? And I won't be happy about that. I don't like failure. You won't let me fail. Riiight?!"
"Y-y-y-yes d-d-dear," Mario replied nervously with a sheepish smile on his face, sweating heavily.
"You will make this party perfect and you will not fail me, okay my sweetie cutie teddy bear?" Twilight asked, now pressing her nose against his own so they were making very direct eye contact.
"Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy..." Mario replied with a smile that showed he was on the brink of losing his own sanity and his voice raised an octave. He turned away and faced the others.
"Good," said Twilight as she pulled away, "isn't that right Pinkie Pie?"
"Mario and I definitely will," said Pinkie and ducked so she was peeking from the table, "Maybe...?" Pinkie smiled nervously as well.
"You're the best gosh-darn party planner in Equestria," Applejack said, "Especially when you and my big brother work together."
"You two will show 'em a good time!" said Rainbow Dash.
"There's no better party then a Mario and Pinkie party," said Shenran.
"You can do it!" said Fluttershy.
"We have absolute confidence in your abilities, Pinkie Pie and Mario," said Rarity.
"It's going to be our most happy-tacular party ever!" said Pinkie with a nervous smile on her face, "Right my party partner!" Mario's ear twitched impulsively.
"Ye-hehehe-essss," Mario replied with a dorky tone and over the top smile on his face.
"See? Mario thinks we can do it," said Pinkie, "I hope!" Pinkie's eyes began moving back and forth.
"Why are you eyes darting round like that?" Rainbow asked as Pinkie's smile was now looking just as maniacal and mentally unstable as Mario's.
"It's what I do when I'm not nervous!" said Pinkie as her eyes darted about and she laughed hysterically before going back to her over the top smiling.
"We're perfectly calm!" Mario added before laughing hysterically as well, "See? Happy, happy happy!" Mario went back to smiling like a mad pony.
"Pinkie Pie, Mario," said Twilight as she walked up to the pink pony. She was apparently clueless to the fact Pinkie and Mario were on the verge of mental meltdowns, "I don't know what we'd do without you-"
"Me neither!" Pinkie said as she got into Twilight's face, "Gotta go! Come on, Mario!" Mario just kept smiling and stayed put. Pinkie then extended an extra long fore-keg and tapped Mario's head. Mario stayed in his sitting position as he side-somersaulted toward Pinkie like a wound up flip toy.
"Taking too long!" Pinkie snapped as she grabbed Mario and they both took off. Twilight blinked cluelessly as the others watched Pinkie and Mario disappear with blank looks on their faces.
"You think they'll be okay?" said Shenran, "Poor Mario looked like he was going to fall apart any second."
"He's fine!" said Twilight, her anxiety still clear as crystal, "He's my go to pony! He never lets me down! He won't let me down!" Twilight just smiled as her left ear twitched uncontrollably.
"We're in deep trouble," Shenran said worriedly as Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
Back at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie was sitting upside down on her sofa and was hyperventilating. Gummy was just staring out the window and Mario...was currently nowhere to be seen at the moment.
"Gummy, what am I gonna do?" Pinkie asked her alligator as she slumped to the floor, "I had all the amazing stuff for the party and Mario was gonna help me put everything together, but they're gonna hate it! There's no way to make Equestria feel like Yakyakistan. They're just too sensitive! Even Fluttershy made them mad! Fluttershy!" Gummy just stared at a fly buzzing about outside the window as Pinkie spoke. He even tried to capture it despite the fact the fly was on the other side of the window and then flew away.
"Oh...Mario and I need a new idea, and we need it now," said Pinkie as she appeared behind Gummy. Outside, she saw Twilight leaded the yaks down the street, "Umm...where's Mario anyway?" Pinkie looked around her living space until her ears perked up. She heard the sound of somepony crying. Pinkie wasted no time following the sound until she looked under the bed. She found Mario crying underneath her bed.
"Mario?" Pinkie asked gently. Mario groaned as his tears continued to stream down his cheeks and he looked away. Pinkie just looked at him sadly before she crawled under the bed to speak to him.
"I guess the pressure got to you too huh?" Pinkie said gently. Mario sniffled.
"I don't want to let my wife and our friends down," said Mario, "But I just don't think any of my ideas will be good enough. I've been giving my best as it is and they've..."
"Rejected it," said Pinkie, "and all the rejection hurts your confidence."
"So did Twilight practically threatening me not to fail," said Mario.
"And I know that isn't the first time she's done this to you either," said Pinkie in an understanding tone.
"I'm scared Pinkie," said Mario sadly.
"Don't be." said Pinkie gently, "It's gonna be okay Mario. We can do this." Mario sniffled as he saw Pinkie give him a warm smile.
"It's been a while since I've gone to confide in your about stuff," said Mario, "I forgot how good you of a listener you are." Pinkie giggled.
"Hey, I'm always here for you," said Pinkie as she put a fore-hoof on his shoulder. Mario smiled as he wiped his eyes and the two ponies crawled out from under the bed.
"So...what is the master plan, Pinks?" Mario asked as the two friends stood up.
"I'm not sure," said Pinkie sadly as she held Gummy, "How are we supposed to make this party feel like Yakyakistan without actually going there and bringing something back?!" Gummy then tagged Pinkie's lips with his tongue as the pink pony gasped dramatically.
"Gummy, you're a genius," said Pinkie as she gave her alligator a kiss.
"What did Gummy say?" Mario asked.
"I'll explain on the way," said Pinkie, "we've got a train to catch!"
"Train?" Mario asked, "WAH!" Pinkie then grabbed Mario and the two zoomed off without a trace. Neither pony knew that Twilight was bringing the yaks their way.
"And this is Sugarcube Corner," said Twilight, "They're working hard to make your traditional Yakyakistan cake."
"Vanilla extract balance very tricky," Prince Rutherford pointed out.
"Uh-huh," the two yaks said in agreement. Twilight just smiled nervously.
"Do you mind, um, waiting here for one moment?" Twilight asked sheepishly as she teleported directly into Pinkie's room.
"How's tonight's party coming?" Twilight asked, "I'm doing what I can, but it's really up to you at this point! Mario, remember...don't let me down!" Twilight then realized the only pony she was talking to was...herself.
"...Pinkie? Mario?" Twilight asked when she found the room was empty, "Where are you?!" It wasn't long before Twilight had called the rest of the Mane eight for an emergency search for Pinkie and Mario. Twilight just paced about the room and then started chewing on her horseshoe nervously. It wasn't long before the rest of the Mane eight arrived.
"Did you find them?" Twilight Sparkle asked worriedly.
"Angel, Shenran, and I searched the forest, but..." Fluttershy said sadly but shook her head to say no luck. Shenran held his wife close.
"Aerial recon turned up nothing either," said Rainbow.
"I searched the farm inside and out," said Applejack, "No Pinkie Pie or Mario. But I did find a set of Granny Smith's dentures under the house, so...not a complete loss."
"They've simply vanished," Rarity exclaimed.
"But the party!" Twilight retorted, "It's all we have left! What are we gonna do?!" Gummy then landed on Twilight's head and spat out a slimy note from above. Twilight used her magic to retrieve the slimy note.
""Don't worry. Mario and I will be back in time for the party. Love, Pinkie Pie and Mario"," Twilight read aloud and then faced the ground, "If Pinkie Pie and Mario say they'll be back in time for the party, they'll be back. We have to trust them. Right?" Twilight laughed nervously, "No reason to freak out!" Twilight's wings opened up as she finished her statement and just smiled nervously before the group.
"Twilight, you need to calm down," said Shenran gently, "Everything is going to be okay."
"So don't worry, Twilight," said Fluttershy.
"When it comes to parties," said Applejack, "I think they know what they're doin'."
"Ever since they started bonding with each other and became like brother and sister," said Rarity, "Pinkie's party planning skills have become quite impressive. They never fail to amaze us all!" Twilight did her breathing technique to help herself calm down.
"You're right," said Twilight, "Let's just focus on keeping the yaks happy 'til they come back."
"Piece o' cake," said Rainbow as he hovered over to the purple alicorn.
"The cake!" Twilight exclaimed in a panic and teleported away.
Downstairs, the yaks were inside the bakery as Mrs. Cake set down a very tall mountain sized shaped cake.
"One bite," said Mrs. Cake as she cut a slice of the cake and served it to Prince Rutherford, "and you'll be transported right back to Yakyakistan." Mrs. Cake chuckled nervously before adding timidly, "I hope." Mrs. Cake had a right to be nervous. She had originally wanted Mario to help with the cake, especially the vanilla extract, but once she saw how upset Mario looked, she decided to do the cake herself. Twilight then appeared beside the baking pony as Prince Rutherford gobbled the entire slice in his mouth.
"Hmm..." said Prince Rutherford as he chewed on the cake, "Ponies too heavy on vanilla extract!" Mrs. Cake and Twilight cowered back as Prince Rutherford smashed the cake and the three yaks started smashing the kitchen.
"We've never needed a party so badly," said Twilight wearily, "Mario please don't let me down!"
Outside of Ponyville, Pinkie and Mario were sitting on a train.
"Next stop, Crystal Empire!" the conductor announced as he entered the passenger car. Mario and Pinkie were just looking out the train window with determined looks on their faces.
"And so our quest begins," said Pinkie as she stared at her reflection in the window, "I know what you're thinking. "Why go to Yakyakistan alone, Pinkie Pie?" Well, I'm not going alone. I've got my big brother and best friend with me. But we're more than just friends, we're party planners. This burden falls on our rumps and our rumps alone." Pinkie and Mario both slapped their flanks and rubbed them with a fore-hoof at the same time.
"If we want a great party," Pinkie continued, "We gotta climb the mountains north of the Crystal Empire, find Yakyakistan, and come back with something authentic! You know what I mean?" Pinkie then got in the face of a pony nearby that was reading a newspaper. The pony just nervously shook his head.
"I know what you mean, Pinks," said Mario with a stern look on his face, "We're gonna get to Yakyakistan or bust. And nothing is going to stop us!" Pinkie smirked in agreement. Suddenly the trains came to a screeching and hissing halt, knocking both party ponies off their seats and onto the floor.
"What in the blazes..." Mario exclaimed as he and Pinkie sat up and looked out of the window.
"Did we go the wrong way?" Pinkie asked as she and Mario got off the train, "Where's all the snow? Please tell me this is a magical sand-colored snow." Pinkie then scooped some up with her tongue before Mario could reply and spat it out.
"Nope. Sand. Definitely sand," said Pinkie.
"Even I could've told ya that!" Mario remarked.
"Dodge City. End of the line, I'm afraid," said the Conductor, shocking Pinkie and Mario.
"Ugh, it's just going to be one of those days isn't it?" Mario groaned and walked up to the conductor, "What's the problem sir? I happen to work with trains so maybe I can help."
"The train's fine," the conductor replied, "All trains had to stop. Sheep decided to sit on the tracks." Mario and Pinkie blinked as the latter went to see all the sheep on the tracks.
"And...has anypony bothered to contact the fellow sheepherder?!" Mario asked rather annoyingly.
"Their free range sheep," said Conductor. Mario face-hoofed himself. He would have tried to herd the sheep himself, but Fluttershy said free range sheep were not allowed to be herded under penalty of law. Pinkie knew this as well.
"Curse you, sheep!" Pinkie screamed before zipping up to Mario and the conductor.
"Thanks for your help, conductor," said Pinkie, "Come on, Mario! We'll find another way to the Crystal Empire!" Pinkie had barely bounced twice before somepony opened the door to the nearby out house and smacked Pinkie in the face.
"Pinkie, are you okay?" Mario asked worried as he knelt beside her. Pinkie quickly recovered and noticed the pony who had knocked the door into her.
"Cherry Jubilee!" Pinkie and Mario said in surprise. The cherry rancher turned around to face them.
"Pinkie Pie?! Mario?!" said Cherry Jubilee in surprise as she helped Pinkie stand up, "I reckoned I eyeballed you two crossin' my way right now." She then looked to see Mario, "Why I'll be, just looked at you now! An alicorn prince! Who would've thought that injured unicorn I met so long ago would become the Prince of Friendship?" Mario blushed at all the praise.
"How are you? You look amazing!" said Pinkie before getting into her face, "We need help!"
"I'm dandy as a daffodil and fit as a floribunda," said Cherry Jubilee, "What can I do ya for?"
"Have you heard of Yakyakistan?" Pinkie asked, "Do you have any idea how we can get there?"
"Since neither of us have traveled there before," Mario added, "It seems unwise for me to just run us there with my super speed."
"Mark your calendar, missy and prince," said Cherry Jubilee as she lead the two ponies to a stagecoach hooked up by four stallions, "'cause this right here's your lucky day! I'm heading north to the Crystal Empire myself for a delivery. I ought to warn you though - me and the boys are powerful tired 'cause we was up all night countin' cherries." Cherry Jubilee then noticed one of the stallions falling asleep.
"Hey there! Wake up!" she shouted at him. Mario looked worried as he and Pinkie hopped in.
"Sure you don't want your boys to take a rest and I can pull the stagecoach, CJ?" Mario asked, "Remember that I am capable of pulling heavy freight trains long distances."
"We'll manage just fine, you'll need your energy once we get the Crystal Empire," said Cherry Jubilee, "It was just countin' cherries after all."
"Countting cherries? How many?" Pinkie asked.
"Four hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred thirty-four," Cherry Jubilee replied, "Yee-haw!" Pinkie and Mario jaws dropped.
"Whoa!" Pinkie replied, the two ponies were most impressed as Cherry Jubilee whipped the reins so the four stallions took off and they were on their way. Pinkie and Mario just watched the scenery from the back of the stagecoach.
"And so our quest resumes," said Pinkie to nopony in particular, "As Mario and I stared across the endless desert, we tell ourselves we will soon triumphantly enter the homeland of our noble guests and return with a prize to make the best party they've ever seen."
"Victory will finally be in our gasp," said Mario.
"Know what I mean?" Pinkie asked Cherry Jubilee as she and Mario turned around. They were stunned to see Cherry Jubilee fast asleep at the reins and the four stallions were now sleep running.
"That's not good," said Mario. Pinkie then scouted ahead and pointed towards a large ravine up ahead and the stagecoach was heading right for it and not stopping.
"That's really not good," Mario said in a panic.
"Cherry? Ravine. Ravine!" Pinkie shouted, but Cherry Jubilee refused to wake up. Pinkie even pulled out an alarm clock from her mane and set it off, but it was no good. She even went for the old bucket of cold water, but it still didn't wake Cherry Jubilee up. Mario even went for the cymbal crash. Mario's body vibrated from the crash and he just slumped into the stage wagon feeling a bit dazed for a moment and then recovered. Pinkie then jumped onto the back of one of the stallions.
"Wake up! Wake up!" Pinkie grunted as the ravine got closer and closer. Mario then jumped out of the stagecoach, quickly set up his harness, and coupled himself to the back of the stagecoach as he tried to rev his hooves to slow the coach down. Mario noticed that he was having a hard time doing so.
"Geez, you'd think holding back four running stallions wouldn't be a problem when their asleep!" Mario replied, "Either that or this desert dirt doesn't have much traction!" Pinkie grabbed the reins and pulled back. This got the two stallions in the front to wake up. Their eyes widened when they saw the upcoming ravine and applied the brakes.
"Stooooop!" Pinkie and Mario shouted as the former pulled on the reins while the latter ran faster to make the stagecoach stop faster. Fortunately, they did managed to stop the stagecoach at the very edge of the cliff. Since Pinkie was still pulling back and Mario was running in the opposite direction so fast. The four stallions went flying into the stagecoach and on top of Pinkie as Mario stopped running.
"Phew! That was close!" said Mario as he hung over the back of the stagecoach. Cherry Jubilee finally started to wake up.
"Huh?" Cherry Jubilee mumbled, "Whoa. I was dreamin' about a ravine."
"You mean that one in front of you?" Mario asked as Cherry Jubilee looked down.
"Ravine!" she screamed as she jumped over to the other side of the stagecoach Mario was dangling from.
"That's what I said," said Pinkie. But then they heard a cracking sound and the edge of the cliff the stagecoach was on broke away.
"It's certainly been that kind of a daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Mario shouted as they plummeted into the ravine.
Back in Ponyville, Spike was playing the piano for Twilight and three yaks. Despite being rampaging beasts, they apparently had tender hearts. The three yaks were crying from the piano music. And it was because Spike was playing so well. One of the yaks was using a cloth to wipe his eyes offered it to the yak prince so he could blow his nose.
"Music beautiful," said Prince Rutherford, "Much soul."
"Phew!" Twilight said with relief as she used a wing to wipe her brow. Spike sighed as he approached the yaks from the stage.
"When Twilight told me to stall-" Spike then froze and corrected himself, "I-I mean, entertain you, I thought there's no way I could-" Spike then froze again when the piano started playing by itself.
"Huh?" said the three yaks in confusion.
"Spike!" Twilight cried out and gestured for him to shut it off. But it was too late, Prince Rutherford turned the piano around and found it playing by itself.
"Piano play itself?! Music a lie!" Prince Rutherford yelled. Spike then looked up as Prince Rutherford roared and went for a body slam. The impact smashed the piano to smithereens and Spike was sent flying into Twilight's fore-hooves.
"We demand party!" Prince Rutherford demanded sternly as he and his two yaks stood before Twilight, "Party now or yaks no friends!"
"No!" Twilight pleaded, "Just a little longer!"
"No more longer!" Prince Rutherford yelled angrily, "We leave now! Yak go to train, return with more yaks! We declare war!" Twilight and Spike both gasped in shock and horror.
Twilight hurried back to town to try and find Pinkie and Mario, but wasn't having any luck.
"No Pinkie Pie? No Mario?" said Twilight in a worried tone, but then she was shocked even further when she saw the rest of her friends decorating the area outside of town hall, "What's this?!"
"Heh-heh," Applejack chuckled nervously as Fluttershy tried and failed to inflate a balloon, "We panicked and tried to plan our own party."
"It's sort of panic-themed," said Rainbow Dash as she appeared from above tied up in wrapping paper.
"And we have absolutely no idea what we're doing," Shenran added as he yanked off some party streamers tangled in his mane, "Owww." Shenran rubbed his sore head since he had accidentally ripped a few hairs from his mane.
"The yaks are going home!" Twilight told the others, "This is awful! I wanted to surprise Princess Celestia. Now the pony surprise is that I may have just started a war." Twilight felt her eyes water. Despite having everypony besides Mario and Pinkie there, the fact that Mario wasn't there with her made Twilight feel very lonely.
"I want my husband!" Twilight whimpered as she made her lower lip quiver.
"Um, would you like to borrow mine for a bit?" Fluttershy offered as she gesture for Shenran to comfort. Shenran nodded as he pulled Twilight in for a gently hug.
"It's going to be okay," said Shenran gently.
"No it won't..." Twilight croaked as she buried her face into his shoulder and began to cry. Shenran just held the purple alicorn quietly as the others shared sad looks with each other.
Back up north, Pinkie and Mario were already arrived at the Crystal Empire and were making their way up the Crystal Mountains together.
"There we were, face-to-face with Falling Pony Ravine," Pinkie monologued with Mario beside her, "Down, down, down! And then, suddenly...Pow! We were rescued mid-air by the Wonderbolts! And then they gave us a ride to Manehattan, where we joined a traveling band, we played some shows here and there, got popular, almost made it big until creative differences tore us apart. Well, Mario stayed by my side and tried to keep us together but they told him off. They didn't deserve his creativity. They were jealous cause he was the lead singer of the group and all the mares were gushing the most about him." A flashback was seen of the stagecoach plummeting down the ravine until two Wonderbolts grabbed the stagecoach. Then several snapshots were seen. The first was showing the Wonderbolts after they had dropped the group off at Manehattan. The second was showing Pinkie and Mario joining the band. (Pinkie was the drummer while Mario was acoustic guitar.) The third showed the newly formed band performing. The fourth featured the band arriving at the Crystal Empire. The fifth showed them in some Beatles style uniforms. The sixth showed them at the entrance of the crystal palace where the band members, except for Pinkie and Mario, went their separate ways. Pinkie and Mario then came to a stop.
"And that's when we knew we had to get back on with our journey to the Crystal Empire," finished Pinkie, "the gateway to Yakyakistan! And so here we are. It was major adventure that took most of the afternoon. Know what I mean?" Pinkie then turned to Cadance, who had been guiding them through the mountains to the trail they needed to go. Cadance just gave Mario a stunned look.
"You really did all that on the way up here?" she asked Mario.
"Shockingly...yes," Mario replied, "I never know what's gonna happen when I team up with her to plan a big party."
"This is it," said Cadance as they stood before a very treacherous trail, "The northern boundary of the Crystal Empire. Beyond lies Yakyakistan. Nopony's attempted this climb has ever returned. Are you both sure you have to do this?"
"We do," said Pinkie, "Right Mario?"
"Correct," said Mario, "Success right now could make the difference of us making friends with the yak prince. Besides, Twilight's counting on us and I don't plan to fail!" Cadance looked concerned.
"Mario, did Twilight put you up to this?" Cadance asked.
"No," Mario answered, "but she's on the verge of a nervous breakdown since our other efforts to please the yaks haven't gone well. It's up to Pinkie and I to turn things around." Cadance then nodded in understanding, but she still felt worried.
"Mario, you're not perfect," said Cadance, "You're not always going to be able to save the day for Twilight. Something's are just beyond your capabilities. Sometimes, even you're going to let her down even when you give it your all."
"Well I'm going to let today be that day," said Mario firmly, "It's to Yakyakistan or bust! Right Pinks?"
"Right!" said Pinkie with a firm nod.
"Good luck, Pinkie Pie. Good luck...little brother," said Cadance as she watched them head onto the trail. She watched them for a bit before heading back the Crystal Empire. But she had one thought in mind.
I'm going to have to give Twilight a long talk about letting her anxiety put too much pressure on Mario Cadance thought to herself He shouldn't be going this far just to make her happy. Not even Shining Armor would go this far for me...would he?! Cadance spent the rest of her way back debating the second part in her head.
Back as Sugarcube Corner, Twilight was looking out the window with a worried and now upset look on her face. Despite crying her frustrations, and guilt, out with Shenran, she still didn't feel that much better.
"How could they be so late to the party?" Twilight asked aloud as the rest of the Mane Eight were sitting inside of Pinkie's living area, "This isn't like them, especially my husband! He's supposed to be like clockwork! Never late! Always on time!"
"I'm sure they're trying their best," said Fluttershy with a brave smile on her face.
"Pinkie Pie's tougher than she looks," said Rainbow, "She and Mario make one of the best teams I've ever seen. They literally are the unstoppable duo."
"I see..." said Twilight bitterly, "I didn't know they were so close to each other."
"It's not romantic darling," said Rarity, "You see. Way back when you...let's just say that first gala incident when Mario wanted to spend more time with us...he and Pinkie really bonded with each other. It was quite interesting to see the two of them having casual and even serious conversations with each other. It's so non-Pinkie-like I know, but Mario has always been a pony you can confide in just about anything to. Those two really became like peanut butter and jelly because of it! There were even points where Mario pondered on whether he should move on from you. It was Pinkie who encouraged him to hold on to the love he had for you Twilight. She said you two were meant for each other and in time you'd come around and realize how amazing he was. And you did! I know you've wondered why he gave a special cider toast to only Pinkie and not the rest of us at your wedding."
"That...does make sense," said Twilight, "and it makes me feel even worse!" Twilight sniffled.
"Twilight, they'll be back," said Shenran, "I'm sure of it."
"I know you're right, but...I wish they were here," said Twilight sadly, "I put too much pressure on them, especially my husband. And Princess Celestia will be here any minute and see that we haven't made new friends. We've...no...I've made new enemies." Twilight just rest her head on an ice cream statue, when the first two top layers descended and some gears started clicking. Twilight back away from it and toward the rest of the group when suddenly a trap door opened underneath them.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The six ponies screamed as she fell through the trap door and it closed above them.
Back on the mountain path, Mario and Pinkie were burrowing through the snow as Pinkie used the tip of her poofy mane as a periscope so they could see where they were going. The tip of her mane then straightened out as Pinkie poked out of the snow.
"Did ya find something, Pinks?" Mario asked as they both heard a creature roaring nearby. Pinkie looked into a nearby dark cave as a pair of eyes glared at them and then a abominable snow monster came out and roared at Pinkie and Mario.
"EEK!" Mario yelped as he held Pinkie.
"Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie and this is Mario Star!" said Pinkie to the monster, "I'm looking for Yakyakistan. You know, far away land, lot's of yaks? Maybe you've heard of it?" The monster roared at the two ponies. Mario trembled fearfully.
"Whoa-ho-ho! Slow down!" said Pinkie, both her and Mario's manes messy from the roaring, "I can't understand a word you're saying..." The monster growled at her as he swiped off the tip of Pinkie's mane. Pinkie looked at Mario fearfully.
"Big brother?" she asked timidly.
"Yeah?" Mario asked in the same tone.
"That monster wants to hurt us," Pinkie said fearfully.
"So I've noticed," said Mario.
"YAAAAAAH!" Pinkie and Mario yelped as they both ran for their lives. As they ran as fast as they could, Mario noticed something in the distance.
"Pinks, look!" Mario shouted.
"There it is!" Pinkie replied, "Yakyakistan!" Suddenly, they saw a yak calf with its sleigh. Before either pony could stop, they had hitched a ride with the yak calf. Pinkie also got a yak helmet stuck on her head as she, Mario, and the yak calf just enjoyed the ride. As Pinkie adjusted her new hat so she could see, they slide up a steep curved slope and landed with the front tip on the edge of the cliff. The little yak calf hopped off and opened the main gate to welcome them inside. Pinkie and Mario smiled excitedly, they were going to be the first two ponies in hundreds of moons to enter Yakyakistan.
At least that was what they had hoped. Fate seemed to have other ideas. The piece of cliff the sled was on cracked and they found themselves sliding away from their destination. Mario tried to grab the ledge, but his hooves slipped in the icy slope and the momentum forced him to curl into a ball and was unable to slow himself or Pinkie down.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...!" Pinkie screamed as she and Mario zoomed past the snow monster, Cadance, then knocked into Cherry Jubilee back in Manehattan, and past the sheep still sleeping on the tracks in Dodge Junction.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Mane eight found themselves in a dark room as Twilight opened her eyes.
"Ugh. Is everypony alright?" Twilight asked.
"I can't tell if my eyes are open or closed," Fluttershy replied as her eyes were visible in the darkness.
"The fact I can see a pair of gorgeous cyan eyes must mean they are open," said Shenran.
"Oh Shenran, stop it! You're embarassing me!" said Fluttershy with a giggle.
"I think I can see a little bit," said Rainbow as she tried to hover about.
CRASH!
"Gah! Nope," said Rainbow as she smacked into something hard. The lights finally turned on and Rainbow was on her back, looking rather dazed.
"Ooooh..." said the six ponies as they saw the room was filled with disco balls, wrapped present boxes, several file cabinets, and various other party supplies.
"Look at these!" said Applejack as she looked inside one of the file cabinet drawers, "Pinkie Pie's made files for everypony in town!"
"With exactly what kind of parties we like," said Fluttershy as she held a manila folder in her fore-hoof.
"Pinkie Pie has a secret party-planning cave?!" said Rainbow as she hovered behind Fluttershy, "How cool is this?!" Fluttershy then grabbed a piece of paper from the manila folder.
"Twilight Sparkle likes vanilla ice cream," Fluttershy read aloud, "red balloons, dancing..."
"That's right!" said Twilight as she stood next to the yellow Pegasus.
"But she's afraid of quesadillas," said Fluttershy as Twilight made a long and stunned face.
"No, I'm not!" Twilight protested, "They're just so..." Twilight cringed and shuddered fearfully, "...cheesy..." Twilight just back away to avoid eye contact. Shenran snickered and then looked at the folder.
"Hey, here's Mario's file," said Shenran as he grabbed the paper.
"Oh, read it to me!" said Twilight as she zipped up beside him excitedly.
"Mario Star likes mint chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate cake," Shenran read aloud, "any party decorations in the color yellow, party mini-games..."
"That's my sweetie!" said Twilight as Shenran snickered.
"But he's afraid of both quesadillas and nacho cheese!" Shenran finished as Twilight blinked.
"So...he wasn't just freaking out over those things to make me feel better?!" Twilight exclaimed, "Wow...I...I always knew we had alot in common but...aww, my sweetie really is just like me!" Twilight just had a lovesick smile on her face. Shenran and Fluttershy just snickered to each other.
Outside...
"...ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Pinkie finished screaming as her sleight, and Mario's rolling, lead them right inside of Sugarcube Corner. The sleight then hit the side of her bed so the pink pony landed it on her back. Mario bounced off the side, managed to uncurl himself before he landed on the floor on the other side of the bed.
"UGH!" Mario groaned from the hard landing.
"No! We're all the way back where we started!" said Pinkie as she saw Gummy standing on a pillow, "Gummy, we were this close to helping Twilight befriend the yaks. Now we've just let everypony down." Mario just sat up from behind Pinkie as he had a devastated look on his face.
"Nothing...all for nothing..." Mario sadly as he covered his face with his fore-hooves, "I...I failed..."
"Mario..." said Pinkie gently as she pulled the alicorn into her fore-legs. Suddenly they both heard muffled chatter nearby and pulled apart from each other. Pinkie then put her ear against the floor and Mario did the same. The two ponies then exchanged looks with each other before they triggered the switch and slid down the slide leading into the party cave. They quickly hid behind some balloons as they saw the rest of their friends nearby.
"Looky here," said Applejack, "It's notes for the party she wants to throw for her folk's fiftieth anniversary. But they ain't nearly that old! Huh. She's already plannin' their one-hundredth too. And their five hundredth? Wow, Mario even had notes on these parties too. Very detailed notes to be precise."
"There not the only anniversaries Pinkie and Mario have been planning," said Rarity as she pulled out another sheet of paper, "Pinkie's got the party plans for Mario and Twilight's fifth, tenth, twenty-fifth, fiftieth, sixtieth, seventy-fifth, one hundredth, and five hundredth anniversaries!" Twilight was in awe.
"Me and Mario, celebrating five hundred years of marriage together," said Twilight as she giggled at the thought as she had a lovesick smile on her face.
"She and Mario even made party plans for the same anniversaries for Fluttershy and Shenran as well," said Rarity. Fluttershy and Shenran blinked and then blushed as they giggled bashfully at each other. The couple hadn't even been married for a year yet and the idea of being married for hundreds of years made them feel very giddy.
"I had no idea Pinkie worked so hard on her parties," said Twilight, "and that my own husband had such a big role in most of them too!"
"Pinkie may be more organized that you, Twilight," said Rainbow as she hovered by the purple pony while reclining on her back, "No wonder she and Mario work so well together."
"Let's not get carried away," said Twilight with a smirk on her face, "Besides, Mario and I know how to work together very well thank you very much."
"I just wish Pinkie Pie and Mario were here so we could tell them both how much we appreciate all their hard work," said Rarity as she cluster of balloons approached.
"Thank you! Thank you!" said Pinkie as she and Mario revealed themselves. Both ponies were crying, "I love you too! All of you!"
"We both do!" Mario croaked.
"You're back!" said Twilight with a smile on her face.
"I'm so sorry honey!" Mario sobbed as he and Pinkie gave the purple pony a hug.
"We tried to go to Yakyakistan so we could bring something back for our party," Pinkie explained as the two ponies pulled away, "But at the last second, we made a mistake." Pinkie sighed as Mario just continued to cry.
"I failed you Pinkie..."
"Mario stop!" Pinkie said firmly as she made eye contact with him, "This isn't your fault. You did everything you could to help me and support my ideas." She then turned to face the others, "We both worked harder on this party than any party ever. But I'm still just a big failure!" Pinkie sat down feeling sorry for herself as Mario hugged her for comfort.
"We're both big failures," Mario said sadly.
"Pinkie Pie, Mario," said Twilight, "Neither of you are failures."
"What matters is how hard you tried," said Fluttershy.
"I still wasn't good enough," said Mario, "I let my wife down and my friends down..."
"But you gave it your best and that is what matters the most," said Shenran, "You didn't let anypony down. Right Twilight?"
"Of course not," said Twilight as she nuzzled Mario's cheek, "I'm very proud of you honey. I'm also very sorry for putting so much pressure on you and Pinkie over this party. I know you both did your best and you certainly went above and beyond to try and help me and I'm very grateful for your efforts. Yours and Pinkies."
"Who else would've gone all across Equestria to plan one party?" said Rainbow, "or in Mario case, just to make his wife happy?" Mario blushed sheepishly as Twilight kissed his cheek to show her gratitude.
"You know...the trip was really hard," said Pinkie, "But everypony we met along the way was so helpful. I just wish the yaks could see how friendly and wonderful and great Equestria really is."
"Yeah me..." Mario then paused as he and Pinkie gasped dramatically.
"Mario, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"For the first time in my life, I'm willing to admit that our minds are thinking as one!" said Mario excitedly.
"I just got the best party idea ever!" they said to each other as they jumped into the air.
"It's too late," said Twilight, "The yaks left on the last train."
"Um, no, they didn't," said Pinkie with squeal, "Trust me! There are a whole lot of sheep out there!"
"And they've pretty stopped all trains until they get off the tracks since they're free roaming sheep," Mario added. Pinkie then sat on the slide and rode up it like an elevator. The others minus Mario were left stunned.
"So, um, do we walk back up the slide or...or what?" Fluttershy asked.
"I have no idea," said Shenran bluntly.
"I do," said Mario with a smile, "Fluttershy, I need you to stand up on your hind legs and put one hind leg into my fore-hooves, stand as straight as you can, and just trust me."
"Um...okay," said Fluttershy as she used her wings to stay upright and put hind leg into Mario's cupped fore-hooves, "But how is that gonna...WAH!" Mario then tossed Fluttershy straight up, sticking her inside of a hanging green warp pipe as it pulled her upwards. The others were surprised.
"My turn!" Rainbow called out as Mario boosted her up and she went up into the pipe and the rest of the Mane eight did the same until Mario was the only pony left and he simply jumped up to the pipe and pulled himself up.
"Well that answered my question," said Fluttershy as she dusted herself off.
"So tell me sweetie," said Twilight as they headed after the pink pony, "Could I assume you had something to do with all those organized cabinets down there?"
"You would be right," said Mario, "But in truth, Pinkie is just as hyper organized with her parties as you are with your books and other papers. When she first showed me the room, it was just a party storage cave. She had her notes but the place was pretty much organized chaos. I helped her re-organize everything so it was easy to find and now she said her party planning efficiency has increased by 450% ever since."
"Impressive," said Twilight, "very impressive. You, Mario Star, are very impressive." Mario just blushed in response. He wasn't used to his wife praising him so much like this.
Meanwhile, the stationmaster pony was cowering back from three very furious yaks.
"Yaks stuck here?!" Prince Rutherford said angrily, "Why trains not work?!" The yaks growled angrily when the Mane eight arrived.
"I never thought I'd say this, but...thank you, sheep," said Pinkie as she and Mario stood before the rest of the group. Pinkie then jumped to the side and squatted.
"Ready..." said Pinkie.
"...Yeah!" Mario replied as he mirrored Pinkie and then they shared a high-hoof.
"And now if it's okay with you," said Pinkie as she and Mario stood on their hind legs and put on some star shades, "it's party time!"
"Pinkie and Mario style!" Mario added confidently.
"Ooh," was all the three yaks could say at the moment.
Soon the three yaks were brought to a nicely sized carnival area where the party was taking place. Everypony was enjoying themselves, especially since Celestia had arrived for the party as well and Prince Rutherford was laughing and enjoying myself.
"Wow, Pinkie and Mario," said Twilight, "this came together quick, even for the both of you."
"What can I say?" said Pinkie smugly, "we're good at what we do. Right, Mario?"
"When I'm good, I am really good," said Mario smugly as Twilight grabbed him and gave him a good two second kiss on the lips. Mario just looked lovesick and wobbled a bit, making Celestia snicker at him. Pinkie then walked up to the yak prince.
"Prince Rutherford, every time we tried to make something in Equestria feel like Yakyakistan," said Pinkie, "we couldn't get it right. When Mario and I got back from our adventure, We realized something. We shouldn't try to make Equestria feel like your home. We should try to make you feel at home in Equestria. And that means showing you why we love it here, so you'll love it too." Prince Rutherford was silent for a moment as he saw Bon Bon tuck a flower into Lyra's mane and then saw Sweetie Belle help Scootaloo put her scooter helmet on. A small tear came from his eyes.
"Pink pony and prince pony work hard to make yaks feel at home," Prince Rutherford replied, "Now yaks happy. No declare war." Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, but then noticed Celestia giving her a funny look. Twilight just smiled sheepishly.
"Eh...let's just say...we learned the hard way to never make Equestria feel like Yakyakistan," Mario told Celestia, "hehe...oh boy..." Celestia just chuckled to herself, she didn't need any further explanation after hearing that.
"Ponies and yaks...friends?" Prince Rutherford asked.
"For a thousand moon?" Pinkie asked back.
"FOR A THOUSAND MOONS!" Prince Rutherford shouted boldly. Everypony cheered.
"Prince pony," shouted Prince Rutherford.
"Yes, your majesty," Mario replied as he zipped up to him.
"Prince Pony call yak, Prince Rutherford," said the yak prince, "Prince pony and Prince Rutherford friends! Yaks give Prince pony and pink pony these!" Prince Rutherford then raised one of his fore-hooves into the air.
Two Flower Sprites appeared!
They gracefully floated above the two ponies heads. The other ponies watching oohed and awed at them. Mario and Pinkie smirked to each other before jumping up to pick them up.
(Cue "You got a Flower Sprite!" fanfare)
The Flower Sprites floated down as Mario and Pinkie stood on their hind legs, twirled at they grabbed them with a fore-hoof and held them into the air.
"WAA-HAA!" they shouted happily before the two Flower Sprites jumped into Mario for safe keeping.
"I am very impressed, princess and prince," said Celestia to the royal alicorns.
"Heh. Just doing our best to spread friendship," said Twilight sheepishly.
"And you both did a wonderful job of it," said Celestia, "You and your friends."
"But it will be a long while before we try something like this again," said Mario in exasperation, "I'm emotionally spent!" Mario sat down and wiped his sweaty brow.
"I'm sorry sweetie," said Twilight as she nuzzled his cheek, "Your wife has trouble handling her anxiety and is a perfectionist. I didn't mean to overwhelm you like that. I mean it."
"I know, Sweetie," said Mario as he held his wife, "It's a flaw we share and need to work on so these situations don't send us into panic attacks all the time."
"Forgive me for before?" Twilight asked.
"Always," Mario replied as they nuzzled noses. The rest of the Mane eight just smiled at each other. Fluttershy and Shenran shared a hug and kiss with each other.
"Pink pony, you and prince pony understand yaks now," said Prince Rutherford.
"Aww, come here, you!" said Pinkie as she gave the yak prince a hug. Prince Rutherford gave Pinkie a death glare, making Pinkie sheepishly back away. Then Prince Rutherford surprised Pinkie by stand on his hind legs and gave her a very strong yak hug.
"Wow! Too strong!" Pinkie said in a strained voice, "Okay, okay, okay!"
Maybe now Pinkie can understand why ponies look like they're in pain from her own super hugs.
"Aw, come here you!" said Pinkie as she tightly hugged...ME?!
TOO TIGHT! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH! I CAN'T TAKE IT!
(Lose a life fanfare)
"Hey there! It's me Pinkie! Since I kinda left the author unconscious with my super-duper hug, I'm gonna do the end of chapter notes! How fun is that! And Don't worry, the author will be back by the time the next chapter is posted!"
"I hope you all enjoyed watching Mario and I bond, especially during our adventure together. It sweet how he works so hard to help me and the rest of our friends. But I also don't want nopony to think Mario comes off as a nervous wreck. It's actually the author's way of showing that he struggles with pressure too, especially with this very story. He sees just how much you all love his story and he wants to keep pleasing you all with each new chapter. Sometimes he gets anxiety trying to get these chapters out in a fast and timely manner. Especially when alot of readers want him to get to the more recent seasons and the MLP movie, and now the Holiday Special, which the author has confirmed will be in the story right after the season eight finale chapter."
"Plus the author did say that there would be some exceptions were Flower Sprites could be earned from non-friendship missions. This was one of those occasions!"
"Plus our "Ready...yeah!" high hoof routine is a tribute to the recent Super Mario Party game for Nintendo Switch! It's not easy playing those joy cons without fingers or claws, but I still have fun playing with my console! Just don't ask how I got one or how I charge the battery! All you need to know is that Gummy keeps beating me by doing absolutely nothing! I DON'T GET THAT!?"
"Next time: Mario and Twilight go visit their old friends in Canterlot. I just know Mario will feel alot better when he deals with some of those aches and pains from the past with them. It certainly is gonna be dramatic!"
"As the author always says: Peace Pony Fans!"