When Minty and Pinkie Pie returned to Ponyville, they shared what Storybelle and Kimono had told them. The ponies seemed both excited and concerned about the Magic Paintbrush story, and they were definitely concerned about the legend Kimono relayed. The ponies were unsure what to do about either problem at first, until Rainbow Dash stepped forward.

"I know it's worrisome for us, darlings," said Rainbow Dash, "but we should tell Unicornia and Butterfly Island about this as well. If those Forgotten Ones are really 'rising', we should all be ready."

Pinkie Pie nodded.

"Right. And after that, let's try to help the Breezies!"

Sweetberry smiled. "It'll be sweet. But where do we start?"

A cry interrupted their discussion; the ponies turned to see Razzaroo holding her Ponyville Surprise Birthday Book and looking quite frazzled.

"What's up, Razz," asked Sunny Daze. "Something happen?"

"Well, when I got back from Breezie Blossom, I checked the Official Ponyville Surprise Birthday Book to see if there were any birthdays I missed."

"And are there any," said Rainbow Dash, looking a bit cross.

"That's the thing that's odd! Look at this," she said, flipping the pages. Every pony, as well as Spike, crowded around to look.

The page Razzaroo found was sparkling and very much blank. The label read 'Cheerilee' and had red ribbons around the ends of the pages, dotted with pink flowers.

"Cheerilee? Perhaps it means Cheerilee the unicorn," said Wysteria. "I remember Spike telling me about her! She's Rarity's teacher."

"That's what I thought too," said Razzaroo, who looked very frantic now. "But there's a separate page for that Cheerilee, and it's filled in with birthday photos! Oh, this is terrible! Either this pony doesn't exist, or I've somehow forgotten her birthday for years!"

"It's okay, Razzaroo," said Pinkie Pie kindly. "You didn't mean it! And whoever they are, I'm sure we can give them the best party ever to make up for all the ones they've missed!"

Razzaroo seemed comforted at that. "I just hope they're not too mad…"

"How could they be mad? Pinkie Pie is great at planning parties, and you're great at knowing when to plan them," Minty said with a wink.

Rzzaroo blushed. "If you say so…"

Spike cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look. His smiled, but his tone was stern.

"With that matter settled, who should go to Unicornia and Butterfly Island? Someone needs to warn them about the—"

"Dragon," Skywishes cried, running into the square. "There's a dragon in Ponyville!"

Spike stared. "Yes, I know. You've met me before."

"N-no, not you, Spike! There's a big. Scary. Orange dragon. And she's headed this way!"

"A big scary dragon?" Minty yelped.

"Headed this way?" Sweetberry squeaked.

"She?" Spike exclaimed.

Before any of them could move, a large shadow passed over them. Every pony in town screamed in terror. The dragon was definitely orange; she had brown hair tied with a blue ribbon and purple wings. And she was much larger than any of them, including Spike.

The dragon landed in the middle of the square, right in front of Celebration Castle. A red pony hopped off her back; the pony had a pink mane tied in pigtails, and her cutie mark was pink flowers.

"Hi there," said the dragon.

"Um…hi," said the ponies, still very scared.

"Aw, don't be nervous! I didn't mean to scare you all like that. I'm Whimsey Weatherbe! The great and not-so-scary dragon," she said, offering a hand.

Spike stepped forward. "Greetings, Miss Whimsey," he said with a bow. "I am Master Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike…but you can call me Spike."

Whimsey squealed. "Oh my gosh, you're adorable! You're so short," she said, flying over and ruffling his hair.

"Short," Spike said, sounding put off. "Well, you're awfully tall!"

"What are you doing here," asked Pinkie Pie. "And who's that pony with you?"

The red pony looked very sad. "I'm lost. Whimsey and I were trying to find our way to Unicornia by flying, but we got tired. We saw your town, so we decided to land and ask for directions."

"It's alright, darling. Unicornia is north of here, just past the mountains," said Rainbow Dash.

"Really? Thank you for your help! I'm Cheerilee," the red pony said with a smile.

Razzarroo gasped. "Oh my gosh! You're the birthday pony! We need to get started right away!"

Cheerilee blinked. "Birthday pony? And started with what?"

"Your party, of course," said Pinkie Pie. "Now, let me think…or squink."

Pinkie Pie began to swish her mane and tail around, as if she were dancing. Magic, pink sparkles began to float around with every shake of her mane. Then she lowered herself to the ground and winked. Finally, Pinkie Pie closed her eyes, deep in thought—and pink, magical smoke began to form above her head. After a moment, images began to appear—images of the ponies, Whimsey, and Cheerilee having fun.

"T-that's Whimsey, and me," said Cheerilee. "We look so happy!"

"And there's the Sweetberry Sweet Shoppe," Cotton Candy said with a smile. "Sweetberry works there, and I work at the Cotton Candy Café next door! I'm sure we could make a wonderful birthday cake for you, if we have time!"

"And there's Daffidazey," said Rainbow Dash. "She works at the Petal Parlor! Take it from me, darling—she's the best stylist in Ponyville! You'll love her!"

"T-that's very kind of you," Cheerilee began, "But—"

"I know you and Whimsey have to get going," Pinkie Pie said, breaking free of her Pinkie Squink. "But we need to make up for all the birthdays you've missed, Cheerilee! Please?"

"Well, uh, let me think for a minute."

She leaned over to her dragon friend and whispered.

"Let's play along for now. Then we can catch them offguard!"

Whimsey nodded and whispered back.

"Okay. To be honest, I was kinda hoping you'd say yes. That parlor looks like my kind of thing!"

Cheerilee turned around. "Okay, we'll stay…for a little while!"

At that the ponies cheered. "Happy birthday, Cheerilee!"

"Where would you like to go first," asked Spike.

"Well…"

"How about the Petal Parlor," Whimsey said with a grin. "I love mirrors and clothes and trying new hairstyles!"

"It's my birthday, Whimsey," Cheerliee giggled. "But that sounds like fun to me, too! They need time to get the cake ready, after all."

"The Petal Parlor it is then," Spike said cheerfully. "I'll have you know I had my first ever bath there, and a haircut!"

"Really? Was it nice?"

"Absolutely! Though at first Daffidazey thought I was a pony…"

###

To their relief, Daffidazey had her glasses on and didn't mistake Whimsey Weatherbe for a pony. After the ponies told her about the birthday situation, Daffidazey was more than happy to give Cheerilee and her dragon friend a fabulous hairdo. When Cheerilee balked at having a new do, the stylist smiled and said she'd keep the look—but make it even better.

In a matter of minutes—though it took a bit longer to find a chair that would fit Whimsey—Daffidazey was done.

"You can look now," she said, handing each of them a mirror.

Whimsey squealed in delight; her hair hadn't changed in style, but it had more volume and seemed easier to toss or run between her fingers. "Ah, I love it! You gotta tell me where you learned this stuff!"

Cheerliee's pigtails seemed a bit bouncier and full of life, and she smiled—perhaps genuinely—at the care Daffidazey had taken with retaining her hairstyle. She was the only pony Daffidazey had ever met with pigtails. "This is amazing! Thank you so much!"

"Nothin' to it. You just gotta shampoo thoroughly, rinse well, and run it through your hooves til you get it right! Anything else I can do for your dos?"

"That'll do," Whimsey said. "But before I go, can I borrow this funny little hat? It'd look great with my new hair!"

Daffidazey nodded, but her smile turned to shock when she realized what Whimsey meant. "Wait, don't touch that!"

"Why not? You had it lying right next to these flowers like nobody wanted it!"

Spike stepped forward. "Miss Whimsey, that 'hat' is actually one of Minty's socks. And right now…these socks are housing the Breezies."

"Breezies? You mean those little insect ponies?"

Cheeriliee nudged her with a hoof. "Whimsey! We're not supposed to—"

"You know the Breezies," Minty asked. "How?"

"W-well, uh…" Whimsey stammered.

"No," Cheerilee finished, "but we've heard of them before! They're famous for flowers."

"Right now their home has become like winter," Wysteria explained. "We put them here next to these sweet-smelling flowers and in warm socks so they can rest comfortably while we work on a solution to warm the place up. Spike said that their condition is probably connected to their home being so cold!"

"That's a shame. Hey, maybe I could—"

"No, Whimsey," Cheerilee muttered. "Rememeber what the Master said! And do you want to undo Toola's hard work?"

"Oh, uh…N-never mind, I think the cake's done! Yeah, it's time for Cheerilee's birthday cake. At the Sweet Shoppe."

The ponies looked at each other. Something odd was going on…

"Of course, Whimsey, darling," said Rainbow Dash. "Let's head to the Sweet Shoppe!"

As they headed out, she whispered to Pinkie Pie.

"Stay behind us, darling. I have an odd feeling about all this."

###

Sweetberry's Sweet Shoppe was filled with pastries, cookies, and cakes of all shapes, sizes, and tastes. Whimsey snacked on an entire rainbowberry cake while they waited, and Cheerilee helped herself to a cookie.

"Mmm. Tastes just like Sweetie Belle's," she mumbled.

"What," asked Cotton Candy.

"Nothing. These are so yummy, though! Is my birthday cake ready?"

"Well, yes, and no," Sweetberry sighed. "The cake's done, but you can't have cake without ice cream! And, well…it's more cream than ice. For some reason our freezer isn't working!"

Whimsey flew up in excitement, nearly crashing into the ceiling. "I can fix that! Just bring it here and I'll show you!"

Sweetberry brought out the cake and melted ice cream; Cheerilee gasped at the sight. Even though the ice cream was melted, it looked delicious, and the cake was beautiful. Three layers tall, it was red velvet with white icing and trim—and on it were candies shaped like pink flowers, just like Cheerilee's cutie mark. Five red candles were on top.

"We weren't sure how old you were," said Cotton Candy, "but five is a good number!"

"That looks great! Now stand back," said Whimsey. The ponies obliged, and Whimsey drew back, inhaling air. She exhaled sharply and a burst of cold, icy air came out, freezing the ice cream solid.

"Oops. That's a little too cool," she said.

"That was amazing, Whimsey," Minty exclaimed. "I didn't know you could do that! Can you do other things too?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I also have hea—"

"Cake time," Cheerilee sang loudly, grabbing a fork in her hoof. "And thanks for the help!"

###

When the food was done, Pinkie Pie called everyone to the town square.

"There's something we still need to do for our new friends," she said.

"Friends," Cheerilee muttered. "Yeah, right. Even if it did feel nice…I still have to carry out my mission."

"What's that, darling," Rainbow Dash asked, looking at Pinkie Pie.

"Well, we've done all the things we like to do, especially for ponies with birthdays. But we don't know what they like to do! Cheerilee," Pinkie Pie asked, "what do you love to do?"

Cheerilee turned to Whimsey and winked. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Well…I like to tell stories."

At that the ponies became excited.

"Stories? Oh wow! Storybelle and Kimono would love you," said Minty. "Can we hear one?"

"Sure! Why don't you all gather in one spot—like that—and sit down while I tell it?"

The ponies, along with Spike, did so. Rainbow Dash nudged Pinkie Pie again. "Darling…I think you should sit in the back, behind me."

Pinkie Pie nodded and did as Rainbow Dash suggested.

"Ready, friends," Cheerilee asked.

"We're ready!"

Cheerilee began—but her tone was sharp, sad, and more than a little bitter.

"Once upon a time there were five ponies—"

"And a dragon," Whimsey added. Her tone, too, was harsh.

"Five ponies and a dragon who thought they had friends. They lived in Ponyville together and played together—but it was all a lie. Their friends forgot them, and they had no one to turn to but each other and a Master who gave them special powers."

Every pony was enraptured by her words, however harsh—except Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Unseen by the others, as well as Cheerilee and Whimsey, Pinkie Pie began to nudge her way to the edges of the crowd.

"Forgot them? Oh, darling! You sound so sad," Rainbow Dash cried. "Is this story true?"

"Uh huh. And we're two of the friends that were forgotten."

Rainbow Dash gasped. "Then…are you one of the Forgotten Ones we heard about?"

"Yeah," Whimsey spat. "And you're the ones who forgot us!"

With that, Whimsey Weatherbe exhaled a burst of ice—sharper, solid, and much colder than the air she'd used to cool the ice cream. She aimed at the ground before the ponies, spreading it up and around them, and soon every pony in town was encased in an icy cage—except Pinkie Pie, who was just far away enough to escape. Her mind was racing.

"Better get them inside," Cheerilee called. "That cage will melt in this sun."

Whimsey nodded and grinned. "Why don't we lock them in the Sweet Shoppe? They'll work great as a freezer. We can eat all the ice cream we want while we wait for word from the others!"

Cheerilee laughed at the thought and watched as Whimsey began to shove the cage towards the shop. Spike, Wysteria, and some others pounded on the icy bars, but soon drew back from the cold. They cried for help, but their captors were unmoved.

When Whimsey and Cheerilee had gotten the cage inside, Pinkie Pie began to run.

She ran outside of Ponyville, stopped to catch her breath, then kept running.

She wasn't sure where she was going.

But she knew she had to get help.