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// Prologue (The Party and Pinkie Pie) 
// Story: The Most Special Party  
// by Chaos_Azeroth 
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 You're invited to a super special sleepover party. Please don't tell the other ponies, I don't want to hurt any of my other friends, but I want just my most super-specialest friends to come. I need a special ingredient from the Everfree Forest. It's on the slip of paper inside your invitation. Hope you'll come! :)
Love,
Pinkie Pie
P.S. That means Spike too, silly.

Twilight Sparkle read her invitation 3 times. She was sure she knew the other ponies who had gotten the super-secret invitations. She was worried Applejack might not be able to keep it a secret,  but quickly brushed that thought aside. 'As long as no one asks her, it's not really lying. It'll be okay. Especially if I know Pinkie Pie. There will be no reason for anyone to.' And as she got ready, the others got ready as well. She was bringing a book, one about baking. Pinkie Pie couldn't have this one, it was the rarest recipe book in all of Equestria! Spike, of course, was bringing nothing. And riding on Twilight's back too boot. 'Spike really can be a pain sometimes, but I really do like him anyway. I'll just say this is from both of us.'

Pinkie Pie couldn't wait for all of her friends to come. She had realized the world was just too dangerous! Monsters everywhere, and worse. Bad influences like Gilda and Iron Will. Pinkie Pie, despite all her friends and laughter, was secretly sad and lonely. And the worst part was, no one knew. Not her friends, not herself...Especially not herself. Every night while she slept, she cried. Except there was a small part of her that did know why, a part if her shoved so far back it was amazing she felt the loneliness and sadness at all anymore.

It had started when she was little. Rock farming was tedious, boring, thankless, and worst of all, friendless work. Sun up to sun down, all they did was work. If it wasn't the rock farming itself, it was some other chore. She loved her family, but she just wished she could get to meet more ponies. She wanted to bake good things. Most of all, she wanted to be happy. Pinkie Pie had always been a little strange, talking to her 'friends', her random laughing, sometimes even talking to herself. But it wasn't that big a deal, it didn't hurt anyone and she got the work done. Then it happened. Pinkie Pie began to lose it.

It started with the party story. She would talk about what a great party she had thrown, and how glad she was that everyone had loved it. But the truth was, she had spent all of their hard earned money on stuff for a party, and now everyone was hungry. They hadn't exactly gotten mad at Pinkie Pie. What was the use? It would only hurt her feelings, and before you knew it she'd likely do it again. But the sat in silence the entire time, too afraid to eat anything yet, and trying to figure out how to make what was there last until they could get more.

Then, there was the fact that she had stopped working altogether, planning parties for her 'friends'. Her family worried about her, and themselves. They thought that maybe she would get better if she could go out and make some real friends. They scrimped and saved to be able to move, just in case the plan didn't fully work out right. Then, one night Pinkie Pie's mother crept into Pinkie Pie's room, careful not to wake her.

'Pinkamena sweetie,' she whispered softly into Pinkie Pie's ear. 'Can you hear me?'

'Yes mommy...' She muttered it softly.

'Pinkamena, you need to go out and make friends. Do what you love. Do you understand?'

'Yes mommy.'

'And most important, you can't come back. You'll always simply be too busy. Don't ask why dear, you'll be the most popular pony of course. And the parties!'

'Ok mommy...' Disappointment crept into her voice.

'Good.' Pinkie Pie's mother sat by Pinkie Pie's bed, repeating that all night long. She prayed it would work.

The next day, Pinkie Pie announced she would be setting off to Ponyville to make the ponies smile. As many as she could, and she was very sure she could get every pony in Ponyville to smile. Her party was great after all, she could bake lots of good things. She would be fine. And even though they were sending her off, her family was actually a little sad.

Granny Pie didn't move, and the rest of the family came to visit, randomly but often. Which was good, because they happened to come the day Granny Pie died. She just simply didn't have the strength to get up even. She died of a broken heart, having had a special fond spot for Pinkie Pie. Crazy or not, she loved Pinkie Pie with all her heart. And somehow, the hidden part of Pinkie Pie knew that Granny Pie was dead, just like it knew the truth about all of it. And that had been what had pushed Pinkie Pie into full-blown insanity.

'I have to make sure the party is ready!' Pinkie Pie, who had once been Pinkamena Diane Pie, exclaimed. it has to be the very best for my friends!' And for a while, and not for the first time, she forgot what she was planning. It was just a super-special sleepover to her too.

Meanwhile, Applejack had been bothered all day. She didn't like the secrecy of it. It wasn't quite lying, as long as nopony asked, but it was close enough to bother her. She couldn't even tell her family, that was the worst part. She just hoped they had all been invited. It would be even worse if any of them, including Spike, had been left out.

'Don't be a silly pony,' she chided herself. 'Of course we all got invited. But why just us? Pinkie loves big parties, she loves to make as many ponies happy as possible.' She felt silly, even a little ashamed, for thinking the last part. Surely it was alright to want to have a small party, especially if it was a sleepover. And it had to be really awesome, if Pinkie Pie was worried about hurting the other ponies feelings. She got some apples, as a gift for her friend. She knew Pinkie Pie would love them, and thinking about that helped her feel better about all of it as she went to get what Pinkie Pie needed from the Everfree Forest.

It was worse for Fluttershy. She was worried about her animals, but she couldn't tell them or ask anyone to take care of them. She had to do something she knew Applejack wouldn't approve of.

'Okay...uhm...I have to go to the...' She gulped. 'Everfree Forest. It's for something special. So I want you all to behave, and I'll be back....uhm...as soon as I can..Take care..of each other...Okay?'

She wasn't the greatest at baking, but she had worked hard on a treat for Pinkie Pie. She knew that Pinkie Pie would be delighted, and that was what was giving her the extra needed courage to go to the Everfree Forest. She just hoped she could find what was needed quickly. She still didn't quite like roaming around in there.

Rarity had asked a pony to watch over her shop, Opal and Sweetybell included, because she had some things that simply had to be done. She would be back tomorrow afternoon, and not to worry. She had worked secretly, rushed and almost to the point of breaking down, on a dress for Pinkie Pie.

'It's my best dress ever! Oh how she'll adore it. I know I do.' That was the thought with her as she went to the Everfree Forest.

Rainbow Dash was already at the Everfree Forest before any of them. She had decided to give Pinkie Pie one of her many pairs of flight goggles, an exact replica of the ones used by the Wonder Bolts. 'Sure she can't fly, but with these she'll look at least 20% cooler when she does all of the things she can do. Thinking of that, I hope there's lots of food, I'm starved!'