"Yeah, about that. Pinkie, you know Fluttershy's not exactly...like you, right?"
"No," Pinkie Pie replied, rolling her eyes a little bit, because duh. Then she gasped, widening them dramatically. "Wait - are you saying she's some kind of zombie pony?! No - ghost pony! No, wait - she's totally a fairy pony! Ooooh, that explains so much!" She bounced up and down on the spot excitedly, her mind bursting with possibilities.
"Yeeeeah...no," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes right back and totally failing to join in the game. "I mean more like how she doesn't like pranks, or parties, or - you know what, forget it. I'll talk to you some other time."
And with that, she flew off, leaving Pinkie to ponder how Dashie thought she was just being her usual, silly self. She couldn't possibly understand Fluttershy's feelings because she was Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's premier party pony, and nopony ever expected her to understand much of anything not directly related to parties, food or fun times.
But Pinkie did.
"It's not that I don't trust you, darling, heavens, no! It's just that, well, Fluttershy can can be rather, ah, delicate. She's not terribly fond of surprises, or loud noises. She likes calm, rest, relaxation. Nature, as we know," Rarity wrinkled her nose in distaste at the mere thought, as she carefully placed an enormous heart-shaped hat on the mannequin. "Most especially, she likes quiet."
Pinkie nodded through all this, pretending not to notice the meaningful emphasis on the last word. "Uh-huh, sure - calm, nature, quiet. I can totally do those things," She flashed Rarity her biggest, brightest, actually-kinda-bordering-on-painful grin when she glanced over, quirking a doubtful eyebrow. "Don't you worry, Rarity. I got it aaaaall under control."
"Yes, that's what I was afraid of," Rarity murmured under her breath, but Pinkie was already bouncing off home.
You couldn't go wrong with cupcakes. It was Pinkie's motto in life - everypony liked them, they tasted delicious and ever since she was a teeny baby Pie, she'd loved the way somepony's face could light up, just from one little cake, like nothing else. Cupcakes were Pinkie's thing, so she couldn't go wrong with them, could she? Everypony loved her cupcakes, they always sold out at Sugarcube Corner and when it came to special occasions, Pinkie knew everypony's favourites and she wasn't afraid to use them.
Pinkie made sure she took extra, extra care with Fluttershy's favourite recipe (carrot cake, which she always shared with the bunnies, even if it meant she only had a teensy bit to herself) - baking the cakes to perfection, her tongue sticking out with concentration as she painstakingly piped the red and pink-coloured butter icing. A sprinkling of little sugar hearts later, and she was done. Pinkie appraised her work with some satisfaction.
A plate full of perfectly formed, heart-shaped cupcakes - one for each month they'd been each other's very special somepony. Pinkie Pie made cupcakes every day and twice on Sundays, but she had never felt so many butterflies - heh - in her stomach just looking at them. Fluttershy would like them, wouldn't she? She didn't like surprises - as Pinkie was reminded every year when it got close to Fluttershy's birthday - but surely cupcakes were okay. Fluttershy was scared of a lot of things, but cupcakes weren't one of them. Pinkie didn't think. Although maybe she should check again?
No, Pinkie decided, shaking her head hard until she felt the bad thoughts bounce off her mane, this was a good plan. The best plan ever, in fact - Pinkie loved cupcakes and she loved Fluttershy, and this way she got to spend Hearts and Hooves Day with both of them.
Now she just needed the perfect hiding place.
"Surprise!"
The shout wasn't very loud - it was more of a whisper, maybe a little bit louder than normal talking - it just wasn't exactly what Pinkie Pie was expecting, and neither was the sudden glare of lights, cascade of streamers and assorted critters leaping out at the same time. Still, if a rogue bunny didn't crash into her, Pinkie might not have squealed, stumbled and landed on the floor with a face full of cupcake.
"Pinkie! Oh no! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"
Dazed, Pinkie managed to blink the worst of the icing out of her eyes to see Fluttershy right there by her side, her face scrunched up with worry. She took hold of Pinkie's hoof tenderly, squeezing to check it wasn't hurt and pressing her face right up close to peer into her eyes, as as though she was a nurse. Through it all, she was talking so fast even Pinkie had trouble keeping up with her.
"...and because you love parties so much I thought that maybe somepony should throw a party for you, and because it's Hearts and Hooves Day I wanted to surprise you even though I'm not very good at parties but then - then you just came in and I, um, we, scared you and ruined everything...oh, Pinkie, I'm so sorry! I'm such a loudmouth!"
Fluttershy finally paused to draw breath, blinking hard as though she was going to cry, and Pinkie tried to squeeze her hoof reassuringly as she stood up again. Still a little stunned, she took in the scenery: assorted animals scattered around her house, all of them wearing frilly pink collars and party hats with hearts on. An enormous "HAPPY HEARTS & HOOVES DAY" banner that spanned the whole room, handwritten and beautifully decorated. And if Pinkie wasn't mistaken, that was one of her very own party cannons in the corner, loaded with pink and red confetti already strewn across the floor.
"You..." Finally, Pinkie's voice came back to her as she looked at the most wonderful pony in Equestria - no, the world - standing in the middle of it all, shuffling her hooves nervously. "You did this for me?!"
"Um," Fluttershy said, her eyes darting all over the place until they finally reached Pinkie's eyes, at which point she managed the tiniest of smiles. "Do you like it?"
Pinkie tried to restrain herself, she really did - she managed a whole two and a half seconds before she leaped on Fluttershy, tackling her to the floor and covering her face - cheeks, lips, nose, forehead, anyplace she could reach - with kisses.
"ThisisTHEBESTmostsuperfunwonderfurrifictaculamazingthinganyponyhaseverdoneformeandIcan'tbelievethisisrealandyou'rerealandIloveitANDILOVEYOU!" she shrieked, until she realised she was kinda yelling into Fluttershy's face and squishing her face between her hooves which, as adorable as it looked, may not actually have been super comfortable.
Pinkie let go of Fluttershy's face, giving her space to wriggle out if she wanted to and ready to apologise for being so, well, Pinkie - but Fluttershy stayed right where she was, giggling when Pinkie gave her one more kiss on the nose for good measure. Then she attempted to get up, but only succeeded in squishing their noses together which made Pinkie start to laugh too, until they both collapsed in a helpless puddle. Even though it kinda hurt her stomach, Pinkie thought she could have stayed that way forever - curled up with Fluttershy on the floor, pressing her face into her neck to muffle the giggles until tears rolled down both their cheeks.
"I had some help," Fluttershy told her, smiling when they eventually managed to calm down long enough to get to their hooves. "Rainbow Dash helped me hang the banners, and Rarity designed the banner. And the outfits, of course." She turned to cast an adoring glance back at Angel, who only stopped scratching at his frilly collar long enough to glare at Pinkie, who simply beamed and waved back.
"She also gave me, um, this," Fluttershy was holding onto something around her neck, a little hesitant to reveal it until Pinkie leaned in, and she turned her hoof to reveal a small, pink crystal heart.
"Oooh, pretty!" Pinkie peered at the jewel, tilting her head various ways to watch the dozen tiny Pinkies grinning back at her.
"I thought so, too," Fluttershy smiled, looking down at the heart like it was magic. "Rarity said that if somepony wears it, it's supposed to make them lucky in love. I mean, maybe. I think. But then I said..."
Fluttershy trailed off, shuffling her hooves and ducking behind her mane against. Pinkie was on the verge of bursting with anticipation, but she suddenly heard Rarity's voice in her head, sharp and clear: quiet! Delicate! Gentle!
Geez, Rarity, way to ruin the moment! Pinkie complained back in her mind - but when she looked back at Fluttershy, saw her hesitating and biting her lip, something in those words made sense like they never had before. Pinkie never, ever wanted Fluttershy to be sad or uncomfortable, as long as she could help it, and if Fluttershy needed those things right now, then Pinkie would be what she needed.
So Pinkie pressed her lips together, and she was quiet.
And sure enough, Fluttershy glanced up from under her mane and caught Pinkie's eye, and she smiled. Pinkie's very favourite of her smiles, the one that started off tiny and grew and grew til it stretched across her whole face and her eyes shone, and Pinkie's heart felt like it would burst.
"I said I didn't need any more luck in love. Because I already had the most wonderful marefriend in the world."
Fluttershy kept smiling, like Pinkie really was her favourite thing in all the world - even better than peace and quiet and nature - and Pinkie blinked, found that her eyes were wet, and also found that - for the first time in maybe forever - she didn't know what to say.
"Nu-uh," she managed eventually, smiling widely to distract from her tears - because if Pinkie cried then Fluttershy would cry for sure, and Pinkie didn't want to cry today, even happy tears. She wanted to make Fluttershy smile, more than ever. "Sorry, Fluttershy, but you got that one all wrong."
Pinkie never could prank Fluttershy, even if she wanted to, because - just like now - she always made that sad scrunchy face, and Pinkie always ended up ruining the punchline - "'Cause I do."
Worth it, she decided, to see Fluttershy break out into a grin again, shaking her head before leaning in to nuzzle Pinkie affectionately. She closed her eyes for a second and buried her nose in Fluttershy's mane, breathing in her familiar, comforting scent. Fluttershy gave a gentle sigh of contentment, and huh, Pinkie thought, maybe she could work with this "quiet" thing after all.
Then Fluttershy murmured against her ear, "But what about your cupcakes?"
Huh? Oh, yeah. Pinkie had somehow forgotten about the icing all over her face up until then, when Fluttershy gently wiped a sticky strand of it off her mane, giggling a little.
"Oh, that's no problem. I can make more cupcakes," Pinkie shrugged, because she was a pro after all. "And - see?" She stuck her tongue out, waggled it for emphasis, and licked all the icing clean off her own face. "Still just as tasty!"
Fluttershy blinked, looking somewhere between impressed and concerned - until she leaned forward and licked a spot right off Pinkie's nose, making her squeak and scrunch it up.
"It's delicious," she replied, still blushing a little, but now with a mischievous glint in her eye that Pinkie couldn't help but feel proud of. "My favourite."
Pinkie Pie loved cupcakes. She loved all flavours, all sizes, and all the ponies she baked the, for. There would always be cupcakes, big ones, little ones, ones as big as your head, and Pinkie would be baking them for as long as she could whip up a batch any time, as easy as - and she had to stifle a giggle into Fluttershy's mane at her own corny joke - pie.
But there was only one Fluttershy - she was a unique recipe, one that nopony could ever replicate, but Pinkie's very favourite. And, for as long as she was Pinkie's, Pinkie was determined to savour every moment.