Cynicism
Pinkie Pie stared relentlessly at the balloons. Sweat trickled down her forehead as her whole body tensed. Sadly, it was futile. Not even balloons, her own cutie mark, could bring a smile to her face. Nothing seemed to make Pinkie feel happy anymore. She had assumed that her cutie mark meant that she loved having parties. Sure enough, there was one right in front of her. She'd planned it herself. Even Gummy was there. It seemed good enough. The Cakes seemed to be enjoying themselves, at least.
"It's really great to have some time to relax in this awful period. Y'know, with Discord and…" Mr. Cake said, smiling. He took a sip of punch and glanced uncertainly at his wife.
Mrs. Cake's pupils constricted. "Oh, yes. We appreciate the party, Pinkie Pie. You did a great job." She stressed "great" as if teaching Pinkie a new word.
"You're just saying that," Pinkie sighed. As she rose to her hooves and turned away from her mentors, Pinkie came face to face with a mirror and unconsciously studied herself. One thing was unmistakeably clear: Pinkie's lips were a thin, straight line. If anything, it had a slight arc downwards. That's not what I want to see.
In the mirror she could see Mr. and Mrs. Cake laughing nervously as colourful streamers floated down on them. Some of the balloons had popped, revealing the rainbow strips of paper.
"Stop laughing!" Pinkie hissed, whipping around. How dare they have fun when I can't?
The Cakes recoiled at Pinkie's sudden change in mood. They exchanged an unreadable glance, their expressions gradually softening. Pinkie knew they were about to try to comfort her. She was sick of it. Holding back a stream of easy tears, Pinkie Pie burst out of the bakery and into the havoc that was Ponyville. She fought not to break into a gallop, but kept at a steady trot, observing her almost unrecognisable hometown. Flowers sprouted sideways from buildings, odd wolf-looking animals caterwauled as they circled the town hall, the brick road that had suddenly appeared was constantly switching colours from grey to maroon and several ponies were jumping from roof to roof to get around, simply to avoid the chaotic ground. Of course, the infamous cotton candy clouds were still looming over Ponyville ominously. Discord's tricks seemed to be getting more absurd as the days went by, and the stress of it all was beginning to show up on the faces of all of Ponyville's residents.
Colliding head-on with another pony brought Pinkie back to her senses. She rubbed her nose vigorously with her hoof, glaring religiously at the ground. She muttered an inaudible "Sorry" and was about to escape the confrontation when she heard a familiar voice.
"Pinkie Pie!?"
"Applejack!" Pinkie Pie jerked her head sharply upwards to look her enemy in the eye. Every ounce of her being begged her to hurl insults, but Applejack looked as furious as she felt. Pinkie wasn't ready to hear what the dim-witted country-pony would have to say if she were provoked.
"Look, ah'm happy to see ya and all, but why don't ya step aside so ah can pass?" Applejack inquired in a deceptively polite voice. Her green eyes were lit with fury and burned into Pinkie Pie's stormy blue ones.
All her tentativeness vanished, Pinkie Pie dared to take a step forward so that the two mares were once again nose to nose. "No, you let me pass!"
"Girls, girls," soothed an achingly familiar voice. "Take it easy. I thought we were all friends."
Pinkie Pie and Applejack simultaneously swerved around, but found no one. Pinkie felt a scaly hand on her shoulder and glanced up to see the indistinct face of maniacal draconequus himself, Discord, as he slowly became less transparent.
"Now, how about we play a little game?"