A Human, a Pony Princess, and a Mistake
Chapter 22: Party Prep
The day was overcast and there was a downpour scheduled for later that day, but that did little to dampen Pinkie Pie’s spirits. She had things to do and people to see before the day was out! Rainbow Dash’s Birthday/Anniversary Bash was tomorrow! She had to make sure everything was perfect! That meant starting with the music!
So that’s why Pinkie was approaching a cottage on the outskirts of town. It was a modest affair, but seemingly split down the middle by two different colors of stone. Even the door was painted to be split down the middle. Pinkie could feel the wubs even from a few meters out. Knowing Vinyl was probably working, Pinkie just let herself in.
“Hey Vinyl!” Pinkie tried to call out over the music, “Vinyl! VINYL SCRATCH!”
It was no use. Vinyl had her eyes closed, headphones on, and was securely in her own little world. This called for drastic measures! So Pinkie slinked up beside Vinyl and pulled one side of her headphones off.
“Hey there, pretty filly,” Pinkie whispered directly into Vinyl’s ear in the must sultry voice she could muster. Her reward was Vinyl nearly jumping out of her skin.
“SHIT! Pinkie, don’t do that!” The white Unicorn swore.
“I did call you three times and told you I’d be showing up around now,” Pinkie pointed out. Vinyl shot a glance at a hanging clock.
“Oh…well, my bad, I guess,” Vinyl said as she rubbed at the ear Pinkie had whispered into.
“So, do you know what you’ll be playing?” Pinkie asked intently.
“Yeah, you actually caught me finishing up the last track. Everything’s gonna be perfect Pinkster! Octy’s even gonna be in town for once,” Vinyl said happily.
“Aww, yeah, OctiScratch together again!” Pinkie cheered.
“Before I forget, Twilight and I have something special planned for later on in the party. Twilight wanted me to give you a heads up,” Vinyl informed Pinkie.
“Really? What are you planning?” Pinkie asked curiously.
“Can’t tell, top secret stuff. You’ll appreciate it more if you don’t know ahead of time anyway,” Vinyl promised. Now Pinkie was really curious. If Vinyl said Twilight that meant Tom was plotting something. Well, Pinkie supposed that there was an outside chance he was helping Twilight with some nefarious plan. If she wasn’t as busy as she was, she’d hunt him down and squeeze him for answers.
“Alright, I’ll trust that you two aren’t planning to give rise to Midnight Sparkle or something during Dashie’s party. I’ve got places to be, so tell Octavia I said hello when you see her!” Pinkie said happily.
“If Twilight can become the Princess of Friendship, then I will become Princess of Wubs! The Dubstep shall last forever!” Vinyl vowed melodramatically, “See you later, Pinks.”
Pinkie couldn’t help but giggle as she left Vinyl’s and Octavia’s shared home. Vinyl was always fun and after Octavia had forgiven her for the Triple G, Octavia had proven to have a sense of humor as well. Why the pair had moved to Ponyville in the first place was still a topic of debate among the local gossips. All Pinkie knew was that Vinyl placed the ‘blame’ on Octavia and Octavia did likewise. Pinkie, for her part, after getting to know both mares, suspected they both were secretly hoping to be embroiled in one of Ponyville’s famous adventures.
Next on her list was the Flower Triplets. They, of course, were in charge of the flower arrangements for the event. Pinkie didn’t think a visit with them was strictly necessary, but knowing their habit of freaking out over every little thing, Pinkie would feel better knowing they were on track.
“Pinkie, The Horror! The Horror!” Roseluck shouted as soon as she spotted the party mare.
“I’m not that ugly, am I?” Pinkie teased.
“What? No, you’re lovely as ever. What I’m talking about is we ordered the purple roses and they gave us PINK!” Lily Valley slumped to the ground in a faux faint as Roseluck finished her sentence.
“Give me one of them,” Pinkie requested. It was always strange to be the sensible one in the room. Daisy hoofed one of the offending roses to Pinkie and she ate it.
“See? It’s the worst possible thing!” Daisy wailed. Pinkie swallowed.
“It’ll be fine. I haven’t bought the decorations yet. I can still get ones that match better with pink than purple. The taste isn’t too different, I doubt Dashie will even notice,” Pinkie assured the sisters.
“Are you sure?” Lily asked, not daring to hope.
“Sure I’m sure!” Pinkie chirped, “I’m always sure when it comes to planning parties, you three know that.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Roseluck sighed.
“Anything else I should know about?” Pinkie prompted.
“The daisy arrangements were slightly wilted, but Amethyst will be able to fix that right up,” Once again it struck Pinkie as odd what caused the Flower Triplets to panic and what they took like champs.
“Well, I still have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. See you three later!” Pinkie bid the trio farewell.
“Bye Pinkie!” The three chorused and Pinkie walked away.
Next up on her list was the catering, which was being handled jointly by Sugar Cube Corner and Bon Bon *coughAgentSweetieDropscough*. Since Pinkie worked and lived at Sugar Cube Corner, she already knew their preparations were ready. So all she had to do was stop by Bon Bon’s place. Pinkie walked in and saw Lyra was manning the counters.
“Hey, Lyra, where’s your better half?” Pinkie asked innocently.
“She’s not my marefriend!” Lyra instantly replied.
“I never said anything about marefriends,” Pinkie knew she shouldn’t but it was just so easy to tease the two of them, “But, I mean, I didn’t know “just best friends” these days had se-” Suddenly she found Lyra’s hoof in her mouth. The mint green Unicorn was glaring at her. Pinkie thought it was worth it.
“Bonnie’s in the back. Comment again on how we spend our free time together and I’ll light your tail on fire,” Lyra threatened.
“Oh, Lyra, what would Bonnie say if she heard you talking dirty to me~?” If Lyra had gone through with even half of her threats Pinkie wouldn’t have a hair left on her body.
“She’d say to stop tormenting the poor filly,” Commented Bon Bon, who had appeared in the doorway.
“Me? Tormenting Lyra? I’m not into that kind of play, but if you’re offering…” Pinkie waggled her eyebrows. Bon Bon blushed prettily.
“For the love of Celestia, why is it only us you can’t stop making lewd comments around?! You’re not like this around Vinyl and Octavia,” Bonnie whined.
“Comparing yourselves to one of Ponyville’s top power couples? Is there something you’re hiding? Eh, I just do it because you make it so easy and even Laughter sometimes just wants junk food,” Pinkie shrugged.
“Okay…everything will be ready by tomorrow. I trust that will be all? I’m not of a mind to deal with The Pink One for much longer,” Unlike Lyra, Pinkie knew Bon Bon could and would take something she cared about: Bonnie’s spectacular confections. Bonnie had done so in the past and it had been torturous. So she headed out the door with all due haste, catching sight of Lyra and Bonnie nuzzling each other through the storefront window.
“‘Just friends’, riiiiiiiight,” Pinkie snickered to herself. Lyra and Bonnie’s “just best friends cuddling” was the worst kept secret in Ponyville. Who they were trying to fool, she doubted even Discord knew. In any event, there was one last stop to make and if she hurried, she’d just beat the scheduled cloudburst.
Soon, Pinkie was outside the Changeling Hive and quickly tracked down Pharynx.
“I want to let you know I’m thankful for you offering the services of you and your brothers for crowd control tomorrow. I don’t think we’ll need it, it is Ponyville, but the gesture is nice,” Pinkie told him.
“Of course, it’s Rainbow Dash’s birthday. Anything less would be criminal,” Pinkie strongly suspected the Changeling was crushing on RD. Whether he realized his feelings or had the courage to act on them were different matters entirely. Pinkie thought it was adorable, but chose not to bring it up with Pharynx. Getting two tsunderes together was a monumental task in and of itself. No need to make it worse with teasing.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries, talking about Pharynx’s training and her plans for the party itself before Pinkie excused herself. She wanted to get home before the rain started and had a Party Canon to recalibrate besides. Tomorrow was going to be AMAZING!
Pffft...mares. So melodramatic over things that don't matter; they're still flowers, right? Good enough.
10306691
You're right, having the first and last chapters being in first person would have been very appropriate thematically. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances the characters will find themselves in for the finale, that simply won't be possible.
Well, I suppose that isn't wholly accurate. I could do the last chapter of the story in first person. It would just be extremely awkward. You'll see why once we get there.
10306701
Yeah, funny thing about 9/11, I was in kindergarten when it happened and I still remember my teacher getting a phone call and turning on the TV we had in the room. I had just finished arts and craft for the day and I still remember watching the news footage, even if I didn't fully appreciate what had happened until I was a little older, even five year old me knew something major had just happened.
10306713
Aye, that's true. I probably could have had Tom not speak in such absolute language. Although, I might just leave it as is to show Tom is still thinking from a mortal perspective as opposed to an immortal one.
10306731
Ponies eat flowers, so they're equal parts decoration and hors d'oeuvres. Think of it more like someone delivering a Hot Pocket when you asked for a Calzone. They're very similar, but I know a some people who hate hot pockets but really like calzones. Pinkie wants this party to be perfect for RD, so while the Flower Triplet's reaction is comically out of proportion, they are right to be at least a little put out by the mistake.
10307111
I actually like pineapple on pizza, so...DENIED.
What I don't like on pizza? Tomato sauce. Give me barbecue sauce or creme fraiche instead. Also no olives or capsicum or onion.
10307145
No tomato sauce on pizza? What kind of inhuman monster are you?!
10307434
Yeah, I thought about moving Moon Dancer to later in the story and having her being hopelessly in love with Twilight but also deep in the closet. But honestly, I prefer the extreme depressive disorder and self injuring/suicidal take on Moon Dancer's character.
Could Moon Dancer's rant at the end of Amending Fences be construed as the words of someone suffering long term heartbreak? I think so and it would've been interesting to explore that angle. Ultimately, I'm more than satisfied with how things have panned out. But I could easily see myself writing a TwiDancer story sometime in the future.
10307431
...The sort of "monster" who generally dislikes the taste of tomatoes? I've never particularly enjoyed that particular flavour.
10307606
Hmm, I'll let you off with a warning, mister, but if you say you don't like chocolate too, I may have to take drastic measures.
10307620
I don't like dark chocolate - too bitter. I also don't like orange chocolate, or chocolate with caramel, or chocolate with nuts; those additional things just ruin the flavour of the milk chocolate.
I do love Guylian and Lindt, but Nestle and Cadbury will do just fine.
I have to agree with you on cheese
10307663
Alright. I can accept that.
Pinkie for Princess of Junk Food!
What? There's a precedent already set for pink ponies ascending over a relationship to Food...
10307606
10307663
I like tomato sauce but I hate tomatoes -- way too acidic a taste.
As for chocolate I like it dark but not too dark. 60-65ish% cacao is optimal. 72% is too much. I use 58% morsels in cookies if I bake.
*cut to someone walking in on Bon Bon and Lyra going at it hardcore* "Still just friends!"
10733395
You'll see~