//------------------------------// // The Party // Story: Here's My Suggestion // by Appletastic //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie woke up to the sound of birds singing. She rubbed her eyes groggily, then stumbled over to her window and threw it open. She had most certainly not gotten enough sleep the night before. She had been up late into the night, thinking. Ever since her friends had so blatantly rejected her fabulous fake facial hair, she had been determined to find a way to get them to accept her mustache. But how? She leaned out of her window and let out a melancholy sigh. Why didn't her friends ever listen to her suggestions? They only ever listened to her on the subject of parties. Pinkie's face lit up. A party! That was it! And not just any party, either: a mustache party! Attendees would have to wear mustaches. Surely that would get her friends, nay, all of Ponyville, to appreciate the 'stache. Plus, it would have all of the basic staples of a party: music, dancing, decorations... there was a lot of planning to do. She rushed down the stairs to prepare for her party. First, she had some flyers to make. Rainbow Dash gawked at the flyer pinned to a tree. Its background was in two hues of pink, and emblazoned in the centre of it was a bushy black mustache. Mustache Party! it read. Tonight in Ponyville's town square. Music, dancing, snacks, laughter, and mustaches! Mustaches will be provided on entry. Come one, come all! Rainbow rolled her eyes. No doubt Pinkie was behind this. She'd been trying to convince everyone to wear her false mustaches since the Timberwolf fiasco. This was just another one of her harebrained schemes. As Rainbow pondered this, she did not notice the rose-coloured streak zooming up behind her. "Hey Dashie! I see you've noticed my flyer! What do you think?" shouted Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, startled, and whipped around to face Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie, what have I told you about sneaking up on me?" yelled Rainbow Dash. Pinkie's ears drooped a little. Rainbow took an apologetic look in her eyes. "Anyway, I think it's crazy. Your parties are the best in Equestria, though, so I suppose I'll go," Pinkie instantly brightened at this remark. "Yay!" she squealed, "It just wouldn't be a party without you there, Dashie! I'll see you then!" With that, Pinkie raced off. She had more party planning to do. Rainbow rolled her eyes again. This party was sure to be interesting, at the very least. Pinkie Pie hung her last banner. With a pink background, and a curly mustache, it matched the style of the flyers that she had hung all over Ponyville earlier that day. Pinkie looked down at her Super Duper Uber Amazebulous Mustache Party To-Do List, and checked off decorate. She looked down at the rest of the things on the SDUAMPTDL, and did a double-take. Decorating was the last job! Now that she was done, she would double-check her checklist, just like Twilight had taught her. It was too bad that Twilight couldn't come for her party, but she was in Canterlot on important business. Pinkie sighed. It wouldn't be the same without Twilight. Or any of her friends, for that matter. Good thing that the rest of them were here. Pinkie Pie shook her head. Back to the list. First thing: mustaches. Yep. A huge bin of mustaches sat next to the entrance of the party. There were enough in there for all of Ponyville. Snacks. You betcha. A long table covered with an elegant tablecloth sat to one side of the party, holding bowls overflowing with hay chips, grass punch, and other pony-tastic snacks. Music. Uh-huh. Ponyville's best DJ, Vinyl Scratch, was setting up her turntables in a corner. Pinkie continued with her list. Dance floor, party hats, cake... yes, everything was in order. Now all that was left to do was wait for ponies to start arriving. Pinkie let out a small squeal of excitement. She couldn't wait! It was a good thing that Pinkie had enough mustaches for all of Ponyville, because that's exactly who showed up. Ponies from all corners of the town had seen Pinkie's flyers, and all were interested in her party. Town square was packed with ponies dancing, eating, laughing, and, most importantly, wearing mustaches. Pinkie traversed the party, greeting friends. She found Fluttershy lingering on the edges of the party, alone. "Oh, hello Pinkie. This is a wonderful party you've put on. It's also very... loud," she whispered, cringing at the loud beat of the music. "I'm glad you like it, ol' Flutter ol' pal! I could ask Vinyl to turn the music down a bit if you like," replied Pinkie Pie. "Oh, no, Pinkie. Lots of ponies are really enjoying the music. I wouldn't want them to be annoyed," said Fluttershy, smiling at Pinkie Pie. "Alrighty, if you say so, Fluttershy! Anyway, it looks like we're getting low on cupcakes over at the snack table. I'd better go do something about that. See you later, alligator!" chattered Pinkie as she began to trot away, waving over her shoulder at Fluttershy. Fluttershy waved back. Pinkie didn't want to show it, but her conversation with Fluttershy had left her slightly disturbed. Fluttershy hadn't accepted her suggestion, even though it was the smallest, most harmless thing! This was worse than she had initially thought. It seemed like it had gone from ponies listening to her suggestions, then denying them, to ponies just automatically ignoring her suggestions, no matter what! Pinkie had had enough of that. But what was she to do? That was the moment that Rarity chose to appear. "Pinkie, darling! Your party really is smashing, though I do have some problems with the, er, attire," she gushed, adjusting her mustache as it threatened to fall off her nose. Pinkie wasn't paying attention. As Rarity blathered in the background, her thoughts continued. She felt the urge to express her thoughts aloud. "Why doesn't anypony listen to my suggestions?" she blurted, cutting Rarity off mid-sentence. Rarity forced a smile, though she was annoyed by Pinkie's interruption. "Pinkie dear, of course we listen to your suggestions! We're at this party, aren't we? You suggested it!" "Name one other time." Rarity began to stutter. "Well... I... uh..." "I knew it!" exclaimed Pinkie, jamming one of her hooves into the other, "You guys never take my suggestions! Well, I'm going to fix that!" she galloped over to Vinyl Scratch and asked her to turn the music off. This caused most ponies in the crowd to turn their heads towards the two ponies. Standing up on the slightly raised platform, Pinkie Pie began a speech. "So, who's enjoying this party?!" screamed Pinkie Pie. Cheering emerged from the crowd. "You think it was a good suggestion?!" More cheering answered. "Then how about you take my suggestions all the time in the future?!" Most ponies cheered, if only because the action was familiar. Pinkie showed a wide grin to the crowd, but it wasn't her usual, gleeful smile. This smile looked slightly maniacal. "It's settled, then. I'll probably give you some suggestions in the morning. Now goodnight, everypony." Pinkie chuckled to herself and trotted towards home. In the crowd, Rarity grimaced. She had a feeling that something very bad was about to happen, and she was partially to blame.