Laughter is the best medicine
"Dusk and Spike are new, and that's a good thing // Well, they'll know every pony in the place! //
Now sing, dance, jump and laugh // While Ponyville welcomes you, with a huge party!"
With that last verse Pinkie Pie finished singing the song dedicated especially to Dusk and Spike, all with a huge cheer, while confetti and streamers magically came out of nowhere. This left a bittersweet feeling in Dusk and Spike, they didn't want to admit it, but the joy of the pink mare and her song was infectious, they were about to join singing with Pinkie Pie and the other ponies of the place.
"That was great!" Said a young brown colt who had joined Pinkie Pie's choir.
"Yes, it was really fun! By the way, when will the welcome party be Pinkie Pie?" Asked another white mare who was also in the choir and approached Pinkie Pie while other ponies who had also sung were already returning to their respective routines.
"Huff... It... It will be this afternoon, I'll send the invitations, don't worry..." Said a very exhausted Pinkie Pie as she tried to catch her breath.
As the remaining ponies of the choir returned to their routines leaving Pinkie Pie alone again, Dusk approached her.
"That was awesome! I had no idea you were so passionate about parties." Dusk said with a smile as he approached the mare.
"Yeah... Huff... that's what I really like to see..." Pinkie Pie began to speak with effort, but couldn't finish, as soon as she closed her eyes she immediately fell faint in front of Dusk, who by reflex reached to grab her before she fell face first to the ground.
"Hey! Pinkie Pie, wake up!" Dusk said as he held Pinkie Pie in his hooves. "Gosh... I cannot believe that she's fallen asleep again, is she anemic? or maybe-"
Dusk suddenly stopped talking and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Spike asked, approaching Dusk and Pinkie Pie.
"She... She's burning up with a fever!" Dusk said in awe as he put a hoof to Pinkie Pie's forehead.
"Well... what should we do? Take her to a doctor?" Spike asked, getting nervous.
"I don't know, I don't even know if this town has any kind of hospital or something." Dusk said something agitated, trying to reassure himself against such a situation. "Maybe it's not so serious, maybe it's best to take her home..."
Then Dusk gently shook Pinkie Pie to make her wake up without being too abrupt.
"Hey! Pinkie Pie, where do you live?" Dusk asked softly, bringing his face closer to the mare's as soon as she opened her eyes.
"Huff... it's in... Sugarcube Corner..." Pinkie Pie whispered as she struggled to speak, then fell back unconscious.
"Did she say Sugarcube Corner? That's-" Spike said excitedly, before being interrupted by Dusk.
"Yes, I remember, it's the bakery that Scootaloo showed us!" Dusk completed the phrase, at the same time he gave thanks for not having breakfast and therefore remembered in detail where the bakery was, to visit later.
Dusk immediately thought of bringing Pinkie Pie quickly to what should have been her home, but hesitated for a second on how to do it. For Dusk the best option would be teleportation, but the bakery was out of his field of vision, so it would take a lot of energy to concentrate, and he didn’t want Pinkie Pie to get queasy as was know to happen to those not accustomed to teleportation. Then he thought of levitating her magically over him as he ran to the bakery, but it would be very strange for the towns ponies to see him running alongside a Pinkie Pie magically levitated like a puppet, which could only cause more misunderstandings. Finally Dusk chose the simplest and at the same time more uncomfortable means of action for him, since Dusk was quite reluctant when it came to physical contact.
Dusk placed Pinkie Pie gently on his back, her whole body on Dusk's back as the mare's four legs fell inert without reaching the ground. The young unicorn could feel the warmth of the pink mare's body above him, something that made Dusk blush with embarrassment, since he had to admit that feeling the soft skin of Pinkie Pie on his own skin felt very good.
“Don't think anything perverted! Don't think anything perverted!” He mentally repeated to himself as he finished accommodating Pinkie Pie.
"Is something wrong?" Spike asked innocently as he looked at his brother get nervous.
“N-No problem! Let's get going!" Dusk answered quickly as he began to walk.
This is how Dusk was charging the unconscious Pinkie Pie, with a slow but steady pace for not to shake the mare too much, while Spike walked behind Dusk making sure the mare didn't fall off his brother's back.
As Dusk and Spike walked in the direction of Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie's mind was fadding between consciousness and unconsciousness.
“What was I doing? I... Where am I?” Pinkie Pie thought as she tried to regain consciousness and with some effort opened her eyes a little. “Am I moving?” She thought something uneasy.
Pinkie Pie could not distinguish much through her cloudy vision, only some shadows of what seemed to be the road, but she could tell something that was holding her, something lavender, something that smelled nice, something soft and warm to lie on.
“Is someone carrying me? Who is? I... I have to get up!” Pinkie Pie thought, regaining some more consciousness and opening his eyes even more. “I have to... I must...” Pinkie Pie mentally repeated herself as her thoughts lost conviction.
“But...” Pinkie Pie thought quickly, as her strength left her, again she fell asleep while her mouth drew into tender smile. “But... it feels so good...” Pinkie Pie finished thinking before falling soundly asleep in a pleasant dream.
It didn't take long til Dusk and Spike finally reached Sugarcube Corner, the building left no doubts that it was a bakery, in front of the door were pillars that resembled candy canes, its ceiling was designed such that it appeared to be made of a layer of chocolate and meringue, even the upper floor and attic was designed to look like a cupcake sitting on a huge cake. Undoubtedly it was a very striking building, a bakery that made whoever saw it immediately crave to eat cakes, as happened to Dusk at that time, who for a second forgot why he came there in the first place, as his guts reminded him that he had eaten nothing all day.
Dusk and Spike approached the door of the bakery, however before they could knock, it opened to giving way to two ponies leaving the place, a couple, made up of a rather thin yellow stallion with orange hair, wearing a bowtie and a small baker's hat; The other was a turquoise mare with some extra weight and pink mane, she wore an apron and pink earrings; They both had cakes like cutie marks and they both seemed to be in a hurry.
"Oh! I'm sorry but can't go in." The mare said as she looked at Dusk and Spike as the colt closed the door behind him. "We need to leave on an urgent appointment, so the bakery is closed for today."
"I... I didn't come to buy cakes," Dusk said, who really wanted to do it, but giving priority to the important thing. "I found this mare in the town square and apparently she has a fever."
Dusk turned to show the mare he carried on his back, an act that made the pair of ponies look with astonishment at the pink mare.
"Pinkie Pie!" Said the turquoise mare horrified, coming up to touch the mare's cheek. "Honey, take her inside, to her room."
"Yes, hun," said the yellow pony obediently, who was apparently the husband of that plump mare.
The yellow pony gently took Pinkie Pie off of Dusk's back and placed her on his own, and opened the bakery door again to enter.
"What happened to her!? How bad was she when you found her!?" the turquoise mare asked Dusk nervously.
"Well... Spike and I found her floating motionless with balloons in the town square, there she looked pretty tired, then she sang a song and fainted in front of me." Said Dusk also somewhat nervous, greatly summarizing the encounter with Pinkie Pie, hoping that they would not misinterpret him or accuse him of something bad, for a change.
"Oh my gosh! I knew something like this would happen!" Said the mare turning around and also entering the bakery. "I warned Pinkie Pie that it would be dangerous to come out in her condition."
For a second Dusk didn’t know what to do, should he turn around and just leave or waited there, but then again that lady had aroused his curiosity, so he ventured to follow her and entered the bakery.
"What do you mean by her condition?" Dusk asked as he entered the bakery.
"A few days ago she had gotten sick, nothing too serious, but the doctor recommended that she stay in bed." The turquoise mare answered, stopping in front of some stairs and looking up. "Pinkie Pie is very restless but was willing to follow the doctor's orders, however the next day she got out of bed and went out to walk the streets. She said it was because her Pinkie sense had warned her that someone new had come to town and she had to throw a party, I warned her that it wasn't good for her to go out sick, but she wouldn't listen. That's how she spent all these days looking for this supposed new pony, but she didn’t find it, all she did was to make her illness worse day by day. Finally she could hardly stand today, I begged her not to leave because she could hardly walk, but she refused and simply tied some balloons to her body to be able to float and not have to walk and went out to look again for this alleged new pony."
Dusk was finally able to fit the missing pieces of the puzzle and understand why Pinkie Pie had been floating inert in the town square, it was not that she was tired, it was because she was sick, and apparently it was because of Dusk, at least indirectly, since he was the new pony in the town that Pinkie Pie was looking for.
A few hoof steps were heard from above, drawing Dusk from his thoughts. The yellow stallion was coming down the stairs trying not to make too much noise.
"I left her lying on her bed, I hope she can rest well and not go out again or her fever will only get worse, I think all she needs now is to rest." The yellow stallion, looking at his wife with concern.
"You're Pinkie Pie's parents, aren't you?" Dusk timidly asked, noticing how worried they were for the welfare of the pink mare.
Both ponies were surprised at the question and then, to Dusk's surprise, both smiled sadly.
"No... we're not her parents, but she works and lives with us here." Said the yellow pony. "Besides everyone loves Pinkie Pie, she's the funniest pony in town. And we, even though we are not her parents, we love her a lot."
"That's right, she's like a daughter to us. Although... I hope someday I can be a real mother..." The mare said sadly.
Dusk swallowed and cursed himself for becoming skilled at hitting touchy subjects without realizing it, just as he had that morning with Scootaloo. Apparently the issue of motherhood was a delicate issue for both ponies, Could it be that pair had trouble conceiving?
"Honey, we're late for our appointment with the doctor." said the yellow stallion, looking affectionately at his wife.
"I know, but... we can't leave Pinkie Pie alone, what if she tries to leave again?" The mare replied to her husband.
Dusk went blank while his brain split in two and internally he had a conflict about what to say and how to act in that situation. The two sides of Dusk argued with each other, the one side of him that had usually won all his life, and another side of Dusk that had remained hidden for many years, that had resurfaced just a few days ago and was gaining more and more strength against the old Dusk, and was winning even now.
Against all thought of leaving and not getting involved in problems that didn't involve him, against any antisocial feelings he normally had, and without any obligation or promise to fulfill, Dusk spoke.
"I... I could take care of Pinkie Pie if you can't, I mean... if it's okay with you." Dusk said timidly as Spike gasped at his brother's words.
"Really!? That would be great!" Replied the turquoise mare with a big smile of thanks as she gave Dusk a big hug.
The unicorn froze, as Spike did with Pinkie Pie, not knowing how to react to such displays of excessive affection.
"By the way, you're not from here, are you?" Said the yellow stallion looking at Dusk and Spike as his wife finished hugging Dusk. "I don't remember seeing you before in town, and I would definitely remember seeing a little dragon before."
"Ehh... no, I'm Dusk and this is Spike... we're new to town, in fact... we are the ones Pinkie Pie was looking for..." Dusk replied, realizing that he had not yet introduced himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, Dusk immediately noticed another detail, both he and Spike were complete strangers to this couple, the fact that two strangers offered to look after their home and their sick ‘almost’ daughter could generate a lot of mistrust, the sensible thing would be that they say no.
"That's perfect!" the yellow pony said joyfully, to Dusk's complete surprise. "If you're the ones Pinkie Pie was looking for, that means there's less of a chance she'll leave the house again."
Dusk just laughed nervously and realized that, like everyone else in town, this couple trusted other ponies a lot, something Dusk hadn't gotten used to yet.
After that the couple quickly explained to Dusk that Pinkie Pie's room was on the top floor and that he should do everything possible to keep her in bed. But as the couple talked, Dusk began to realize that he still did not fully understand why he had offered to help this pair of strangers, that is to say, it was empathy, but he felt that there was something more... and that was how, the more time passed, Dusk felt more that he had said too much and that he should simply leave.
"By the way, as gratitude you boys can eat some cakes in the display case." the yellow stallion suddenly said as he opened the door to get out.
Those words made Dusk's stomach growl, causing in turn that any idea of leaving the bakery disappear from his head, since if he needed at least one reason to stay, now he had it, He needed to eat!
"Alright, we'll be back later, goodbye Dusk, goodbye Spike!" The couple said goodbye as they left the bakery.
"Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. ..." Dusk said good-bye, without finishing his sentence since he had realized that he still didn’t know the name of that couple.
"Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" They both completed as they started running since both were late for their appointment.
"Of course, very suitable for a bakery." Dusk smiled, talking to himself.
Once he lost sight of them, Dusk closed the door and walked, then he could see his brother, who looked at him with utter disbelief.
"Why... why did you offer to take care of her?" Spike asked, still confused.
"Well, you heard 'em, they had an appointment with the doctor, an important appointment for them that they probably could not afford to lose. Besides..." Dusk said quietly, until he reached the end of his sentence, as he finally realized what the other reason he had stayed was. "I think that Pinkie Pie getting sick is partly my fault, because she got sicker from trying to find me."
"But you didn't force her, that is, I also heard about this Pinkie sense madness, but it's not your fault." Spike said, trying to understand Dusk's behavior.
"I know that, but... I still think it's the right thing to do." Dusk said, unable to shake Pinkie Pie's smiling face out of his head, and then when Pinkie fainting on his hooves.
Spike was still surprised by Dusk's answers, he realized that his brother was changing, a change that seemed fortunately for good, so he couldn't help but smile a little.
"Okay, I guess you're right." Spike said trying to sound indifferent and trying to change the subject so as not to force those new emotions that surfaced in Dusk. "So... what should we do now?"
Spike stood silently waiting in vain for an answer, as Dusk had stopped paying attention to Spike and had his sights totally focused on something else. Spike followed his brother's eye to see what was so intriguing. As he did so, he could see Dusk looking at a large display case with many cakes, then Spike looked at his brother's face, Dusk had his eyes fixed on the cakes and a small thread of drool fell from his open mouth.
Before Spike could say anything, Dusk teleported and appeared right in front of the display case, with his hooves and face resting on the glass in the display cabinet.
"They said I could take what I wanted..." Dusk was salivating as his stomach growled loudly. At first he didn't know which to choose, there was a great variety of cakes and they all looked tasty, but finally Dusk couldn’t take it anymore and took out the one that was closest, so he took a strawberry cake with cream and ate it as fast as he could.
"That was delicious!" Dusk said cheerfully after savoring the creamy remains on his hooves. "First Applejack's apples and now these cakes, why is the food in this town is so tasty!?"
"You're right, this one is delicious too." Spike said suddenly, who had also approached and grabbed a chocolate cupcake.
"What?" Spike asked as he realized that Dusk was looking at him disapprovingly. "I did have breakfast but that doesn't mean you're the only one who can have cupcakes."
"Okay, but just one more, I don't want to repeat what happened with Applejack’s apples." Said Dusk sighing and taking another cupcake, eating it slowly to enjoy it even more.
Although the idea was to eat just a few cakes, Dusk and Spike finally ate all the cupcakes in the display case, once they finished eating, they both sat and rested in a few store chairs while they smiled happily satisfied.
"We ate more than we thought... again," Spike said with a small smile of guilt. "Although there are still more cakes in the back."
"No, that's enough!" Said Dusk startled. "We've eaten too many, we can’t continue to abuse the hospitality of these local ponies."
Spike wanted to argue that idea by saying that Mr. Cake wouldn't mind, but decided that Dusk was right this time.
"So... Now I repeat." Spike said, changing the subject as he looked at Dusk. "Now what? We just gonna stay here all day making sure Pinkie Pie doesn't come down stairs?"
"I guess so, although... she must keep absolute rest, that means she should not even get out of bed." Dusk replied, scratching his head and wondering what would be best to help Pinkie Pie recover soon.
"So we should see if she's still in bed or not?" Spike asked.
Dusk swallowed and got a little nervous.
"I-I guess so." replied Dusk stammering, for he now had an obligation to sneak into a mare's room without her consent, a common fantasy of young colts his age, but one which he had never before thought to do in reality.
Dusk and Spike started up the stairs to the top floor, Spike quietly and Dusk hiding his nervousness. In his mind, Dusk began to imagine what a young mare's room should look like, neat and clean, with some stuffed animals and a pleasant smell of perfume, a perfect, feminine room.
As soon as they arrived in front of the room, Dusk slowly opened the door as to not wake Pinkie Pie.
POP!!!
The loud sound of a balloon bursting inside the room completely dislocated Dusk, who was shocked at what he saw. Inside the room were a mass of blown balloons scattered all over the floor along with serpentine streamers and colorful confetti littering the room, the room also had a sweet scent, but not a soft fragance like Dusk expected, but a strong smell of candies and cakes, an odor even stronger than that of the bakery on the lower floor. However, what most astonished Dusk was that in the center of the room was Pinkie Pie, up out of bed and fruitlessly trying to inflate a balloon.
"What's all this mess!? And what are you doing up?!" Dusk said rather upset at the surprise.
"Oh! This... this is your welcome party..." Pinkie Pie struggled, smiling as she teetered and could barely stay standing.
"Well, this doesn't look like a party at all" Spike said to Dusk's side after seeing the mess in the room.
"I... I'm sorry, I just... I can't inflate these balloons very well, but... just wait a minute and... I'll call the village ponies and we'll make a great... welcome party..." Pinkie Pie said between sighs as she tried to walk towards Dusk.
"Stop! This is ridiculous, you can throw me a party some other time." Dusk shouted decisively at how weak the mare was.
"But... I always throw a party... the new ponies, since I got to town... I always do parties for others..." said Pinkie Pie staggering and approaching to Dusk.
"Why are you so passionate about parties?" Dusk asked holding her up, remembering that he'd asked that same question to Pinkie Pie before she collapsed in the town square.
"Because... I like to see others smile..." Pinkie Pie said as she fell faint again into Dusk's hooves.
Dusk stood for a moment holding Pinkie Pie in silence, he couldn't understand that Pinkie Pie's response was as simple as she liked to see other ponies smiling, she went through all the trouble of organizing a party just to get a simple smile? In his opinion, that was ridiculous.
After carefully taking Pinkie Pie, Dusk carried her to the bed and laid her down gently, making sure she was asleep and tucked in.
"Hey, Dusk! Look." Spike whispered as to not wake Pinkie Pie.
"What's that?" Dusk asked, approaching Spike who had come up to a table in the room and held a notebook in his claws.
Dusk took the book with his magic and opened it to read it. The notebook was an agenda type calendar that had marked the name of dozens if not hundreds of ponies in it.
"It seems to be the birthdays of all ponies in town, at least I recognized the names of Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Big Mac, the Mayor, even to that damn rabbit named Angel." Spike said in surprise. "And not just birthdays, but also anniversaries and the dates of when they first came to town. Look, see how almost all the pages are marked? That means that this mare celebrates and throws a party almost every day!"
Dusk was also surprised, even more so knowing that she was apparently solely responsible for throwing the parties in Ponyville, that meant she had a lot of work to do each day organizing all these different parties.
As soon as he lowered the notebook, Dusk put it back on the table and his gaze went to a ledge on which was a pile of framed photos. Dusk took some of the photos and could see that there were three patterns in all the photos, one: the photos had been taken at a party; Two: in the photos appeared Pinkie Pie laughing, dancing or doing some madness; And three: always the pony that appeared at her side appeared posing with a natural and bright smile. In the different photos Dusk was surprised to see the Mayor smiling, the Apple family, all the different pegasi who had trapped him the day before, but for all that he looked, he couldn’t find a photo that featured Fluttershy, Applejack or Rainbow Dash .
"Looks like she's crazy about parties, right?" Spike asked with a small mocking smile.
"No... she's crazy about seeing others smile." Dusk contradicted him after having a revelation, as he realized that Pinkie Pie's response had not been simple, the truth was that parties were only the half of it, for what she really strived, worked hard and for what she had demanded upon herself to achieve with Dusk, was to make others smile, to make them truly happy if even for a moment, and that was no simple task, that was something admirable.
Dusk turned and looked at Pinkie Pie while she slept, but this time he saw her with new eyes, he now felt that he really wanted to take care of her, not only because he felt indirectly responsible, but because she also deserved to smile.
"What should we do now?" Spike asked again, whispering. "I don’t think she will fall asleep for long, and if she wakes up she'll try to do a party again."
Dusk meditated for a few seconds until a bright idea came to him.
"I know what we'll do! Follow me." Dusk whispered, as he and Spike headed for the bedroom door.
Pinkie Pie had a dream that she never had before, she was near a cliff looking down towards the bottom of the ravine and a moment later the ground gave way beneath her and she fell, however instead of crashing to the ground, she fell on a comfortable and warm giant pillow which she cuddled with great joy, but as time passed Pinkie Pie began to realize that what had fallen on to was not a pillow but huge lavender hooves that held her strongly and had prevented her from falling to the bottom of the ravine, then she looked up and tried to see the face of that pony, but the sun was just overhead head and prevented her from seeing the face of her savior, even so she recognized those hooves, she had already fallen into them before, so while remembered that feeling, the face of that pony became clear.
"Dusk?" Pinkie Pie said in her dream. Then she was startled and remembered that she hadn't thrown a welcome party for Dusk. "It is true! I still haven't thrown him a welcome party! I... I've got to wake up!" Cried Pinkie Pie in her dream, causing her to wake up and come back to reality.
Pinkie Pie slowly opened her eyes after having that crazy dream, she looked down and remembered that she was sick and that she was in bed, she immediately saw her room was full of balloons, something normal for her bedroom, so she started to get up until she suddenly realized that the last thing she remembered was that she had failed to inflate the balloons for Dusk's party and that her room was full of half filled and deflated balloons.
“Wait... How come the room is full of inflated balloons?” Pinkie thought, trying to remember what had happened before falling asleep.
"Psst... Hey, she's awake!" Pinkie Pie heard a voice, but she couldn’t see from who or where as the room was almost entirely filled with balloons.
"Surprise!!" Dusk and Spike suddenly shouted, popping out from under the balloons and tossing some confetti. "Happy welcome party!"
Pinkie Pie was very surprised to see Spike and Dusk appearing suddenly and celebrating as she always did, but she didn’t understand why they were trying to throw a party.
"Huh... W-Why are you having a party? I'm supposed to throw you a party." Pinkie Pie said, still surprised.
"Well... it's just that you can't get up right now, you should stay in bed." Dusk said nervously. "I know that you like to throw parties for others because you love to make them happy and see them smile, so I thought maybe this time I'd like to give it a try and see you smile."
Dusk's words were true, but he also had another intention besides that, what he most wanted at the time was that Pinkie Pie stay in bed and to rest, so it occurred to him that if she couldn’t make a party, a good deterrent would be if that party came to her.
"Besides..." added Dusk. "You said that ever since you came to town you started throwing welcome parties for other ponies, right? That means that nobody threw you a welcome party. So now we can celebrate YOUR welcome party and celebrate mine another day."
Dusk puffed out his chest, being proud of his logical reasoning, now to wait for that crazy and illogical mare to follow his reasoning and finally want to rest instead of trying to get up and make up a party for him.
Pinkie Pie was speechless, she just stared at Dusk, however thousands of thoughts crossed her mind. She had parties thrown for herself before, but rarely, in fact even most of her birthdays were parties that she organized, but here was this colt she had only just met and had tried so hard to throw a party for her, that's what she always did for others and now someone else did it to her.
“So is this what everypony feels when I throw them a party?” Pinkie Pie thought, feeling her heart fill with joy. “Is this happiness that I feel the same as they felt?”
Then Pinkie Pie looked more intensely at Dusk as the last words he had said repeated in Pinkie Pie's mind. What Dusk had said was true, no one had given her a welcome party, that's why she invented the welcome parties, though neither she nor anyone had noticed it before and Dusk had surprised her with such a gesture, it made Pinkie Pie's heart beat even faster, not just from happiness, but from something else, a new feeling was coming out and one that made Pinkie Pie unable to look away from the tender eyes of Dusk Shine.
"Oh no! Pinkie Pie, are you okay?" Dusk said worriedly, moving closer to her. "Looks like you still have a fever, your face is all red."
"Huh?" Pinkie Pie came out of her reverie without realizing that she had blushed the whole time she was looking at Dusk.
Dusk decided that it would be best to take Pinkie Pie's temperature, which was a simple thing he had learned from his mother, where one had to touch their horn to the sick one's, since unicorns horn was very sensitive and this way a unicorn could easily check the temperature difference. However Pinkie Pie was not a unicorn, so he decided to come a little closer.
While Pinkie Pie still slightly out of it, Dusk dimly lit his horn and approached extremely close to Pinkie Pie's face to touch the mare's forehead with his horn. Dusk closed his eyes to concentrate more, unlike Pinkie Pie who opened her eyes wider in surprise and blushed all the more.
“This is not OK! I'm supposed to be the one who surprises ponies! But now I'm surprised!” Pinkie Pie was mentally told that for the first time in a long time she had been caught off guard.
"Well, I'm no expert but I'd say you still have a fever, though not much, so you'd better stay resting in bed." Dusk said, that once he had finished taking her temperature, he turned his face away from Pinkie Pie.
"Yea... the doctor said that with one or two days rest I would be fine." said Pinkie Pie, somewhat distressed after Dusk had left.
"Well then, back to the party, here's something for you." Dusk said turning around and heading for Spike.
The instant Dusk turned, Pinkie Pie was surprised again looking at her own tail, which for some reason had begun to shake.
"Two turns to the left and three turns to the right... that's-" Pinkie Pie whispered to herself, but couldn’t finish speaking because she was interrupted by Dusk.
"This is for you, happy welcome party!" Dusk said with Spike while Dusk held what appeared to be a cake, since it's shape was very irregular and it seemed to be fuming for some reason.
Pinkie Pie looked shocked at the cake for a few seconds, then took it and gave them a big smile.
"Thank you!" Pinkie Pie smiled with her usual joy.
Pinkie Pie pushed the cake to her mouth and unceremoniously took a bite, something she regretted at once. Pinkie Pie's eyes widened in horror as her mouth stopped chewing.
"Is something wrong?" Spike asked, confused at Pinkie Pie's expression.
"N-Nothing, it's... delicious..." said Pinkie Pie smiling with her mouth full and a strange expression on her face. "Did you make the cake?"
Dusk and Spike looked at each other and then smiled proudly.
"That's right, I made the dough and baked it, and Spike made the filling." Dusk grinned. "We both ate all the cakes from the display case, so to not take another one out of the kitchen we decided to cook one."
Then Dusk began to remember when he and Spike had gone down to the kitchen to prepare the cake while Pinkie Pie slept, Spike had refused the idea of cooking, since neither had done it before, however Dusk had told him that cooking was like making a magic spell, just follow the instructions in the book and the cake would come out just fine.
“That is, just follow the steps, How difficult can it be?” Dusk thought at the time.
Now, with Pinkie Pie's horrified face, Dusk's confidence in how well his cake came out began to dwindle drastically. So to have no doubts about it, Dusk approached and took a piece of Pinkie Pie's cake, and shared it with Spike. As soon as they both tasted the cake, they had the same look of horror as Pinkie Pie.
"What the!?" Dusk asked annoyedly at Spike pulling a lollipop out of his mouth. "A lollipop!? Why did you use lollipops as stuffing!? Since when do cakes have something so hard in them!?"
"Well, my cakes always have gems, I thought the candies would give it a similar texture." Spike said a little annoyed. "Besides, you told me to put something sweet in the filling, well, lollipops are sweet."
"That doesn't serve as a filler! No wonder the cake's so bad!" Shouted Dusk.
"Oh yeah? So what about the dough?" Spike replied, shouting. "All the crust and the top is burnt!"
"Huh? Well..." Dusk said embarrassed. "We didn't have much time and the cookbook said that it should cook at 200° for 30 minutes, meaning that if it doubled the heat would take half the time, it's basic math." Dusk finished saying proudly.
"That's not how an oven works!" Spike yelled.
"Pfff!" There was a noise that distracted Dusk and Spike from their argument.
"Pfff... Hahaha! Hahahaha!" Pinkie Pie laughed loudly, unable to hold back her laughter after listening to the follies and arguing of Dusk and Spike.
Pinkie Pie's laughter continued as Dusk and Spike looked at her in surprise, then both looked at each other and couldn't resist join in the the pink mare's contagious laughter. The three of them they laughed for a long time until they couldn't do it any more, what had begun as a horrible cake and an argument, had become a show of nonsense that appealed to them all.
"Do not worry! Hehe! I'll teach you how to cook when I get out of this bed." Pinkie Pie finally said when the laughter ended.
"That would be great!" Spike said enthusiastically, though he didn’t want to admit it, he had enjoyed cooking.
Pinkie Pie started to get up, but Dusk lifted a hoof and stopped her.
"Stop right there, you must rest completely if you want to get any better." Dusk said seriously.
"But I feel better." Pinkie Pie said pouting like a foal. "Besides, if I stay in bed, what else could we do?"
"Hmm... what fun thing could we do without you getting up...?" Dusk replied looking up and trying to think of something to keep Pinkie Pie in bed. "I know! What if we tell stories? Anecdotes of funny things that happened to us!"
"Ohh..." Pinkie Pie said, opening her eyes with excitement and settling into her bed with a smile.
Bingo! Dusk had achieved his goal, catching Pinkie Pie's attention and thus preventing her from getting up.
"Yeah... that would be fun." Spike said to Dusk's side, looking at his brother with a devilish grin. "I have many stories about my dear brother, hehe."
Dusk saw Spike's evil grin and swallowed nervously, now he regretted having given the idea about the stories, unfortunately for Dusk, he had many embarrassing stories in his past.
Spike told many stories of when he and Dusk were younger, like when they had dug all around the royal garden believing that some treasure was hidden in it or when Dusk tried a new spell and blew up his room; each story usually ended with some particular 'punishment' given by Dusk's teacher that humiliated him in some way, so each story ended with a comical ending accompanied by Pinkie Pie's laughing. At first Dusk was ashamed of the things Spike told about him, however Pinkie Pie's contagious laughter had rapidly changing his mood and finally he accompanied the mare’s laugh every time Spike told something funny.
"... And that's how we got in a sack to Ponyville." Spike finished telling another story, which this time had coincided with how they had been sent to Ponyville.
"First class! Hahaha!" Said Pinkie Pie crying with laughter.
"That's right, hahaha!" Spike laughed too. "And now it's time to tell you everything we've been through here in Ponyville, get ready to laugh even harder! It turns out that the first day we met with this mare called-"
"We're back!" A voice came from the first floor that interrupted Spike's story.
"Oh, must be the Cakes." Dusk said looking at the door and then at the window, the sun was almost gone, to Dusk's surprise. "Is it nighttime already!? Time sure flies!"
"That happens when you have fun!" Pinkie Pie said with a smile.
Dusk stood for a moment meditating on that phrase, which was very true, not only did Pinkie Pie have a good time, without realizing both Dusk and Spike had also enjoyed that afternoon of laughter. At that moment Dusk went through his mind to the day before, he and Rainbow Dash had played a joke on her coworkers and also had laughed and had a good time, but that time, when later saw that those mares had ended up crying and upset, Dusk couldn’t help feeling a little guilty; But now it was different, this time he had also laughed, but not at the expense of others, but in sharing it with them, this caused that laughter felt different, even Dusk would say that it felt even better.
"Well, the Cakes are back and it's getting late." Dusk said looking at Spike and then at Pinkie Pie. "I think it's time to go."
Pinkie Pie lowered her head sadly and prepared to get up to say goodbye to Dusk and Spike, however Dusk quickly approached and stopped.
"Listen, you've got to promise me you'll rest for the days the doctor asked you to do." Dusk said seriously. "I don't want you to be sick anymore."
Pinkie Pie blinked a couple of times in surprise and then lowered her head.
"You know... normally I'm more cheerful and funny, so it bothers me a little that you've seen me like this..." Pinkie Pie said seriously, then lifted her head and showed a big smile. "So yes, I promise! I will rest and recuperate before the Summer Sun Celebration and then you'll meet the real and festive Pinkie Pie!"
"Uh... Good! Then we'll see each other at the celebration." Dusk said a little blushed and also smiling.
“What a beautiful smile... I will really love to see her again.” Dusk thought, not daring to say it out loud, to see Pinkie Pie's jovial, vibrant smile.
Finally Spike also said goodbye to Pinkie Pie and then, with Dusk, they left the room while Pinkie Pie looked at them from her bed, especially Dusk, she had the feeling that she forgot to say something to the unicorn but couldn't remember what.
As soon as Pinkie Pie thought of Dusk and saw him disappear behind the door, her fluffy tail vibrated, something that took her by surprise.
"Again with that weird vibration..." Pinkie Pie said to herself as she watched her tail, then opened her eyes and realized what she had forgotten to tell Dusk. When she had met Dusk and Spike she explained to them that her Pinkie sense had given her a strange signal, Dusk said that maybe it was because he was coming with a dragon and then she had been excited to see Spike, but she was forgot to tell him that that strange sign was not due to Spike! That morning when she had felt the strange sign of her Pinkie sense, her right hind leg was flushed and her hair bristled, something that had happened to her once before, which meant she would meet a scaly creature, probably a Dragon, that was a known sign; However immediately after that signal Pinkie Pie felt the new signal, when her tail took two turns to the left and three turns to the right as her heart pounded, she had never felt it before, and only felt it that day: when she found Dusk, when he approached to take her temperature and now when he left. There was no doubt, that signal must've belonged to Dusk, but why had her body reacted differently just because it was Dusk? That was the question that Pinkie Pie began to ask, something that was unconsciously responding in herself, since the more she thought about Dusk, the more her heart beat louder and filled her with great happiness just thinking about him.
As soon as she began to smile with joy, Pinkie Pie opened the drawer of her bedside table and took out a picture, the photo she treasured most.
"Maybe... he's as special as my friends." Pinkie Pie said as she looked at the photo she was standing next to her four best friends: an earth pony, two pegasus and a unicorn. Then she brought the picture to her chest and looked up at the ceiling with dreamy eyes.
"Or maybe more, maybe he's... special to me." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile as she laid down to start falling asleep while basking in that pleasant sense of happiness.
Meanwhile, Dusk went down the stairs without knowing the thoughts and feelings the pink mare felt at that moment. When Dusk and Spike reached the floor below to meet the Cakes, Dusk noticed that both were in an excellent mood, in the opinion of the unicorn that it could mean that they received good news from the doctor, so he was glad for them but he didn’t want to ask, as not to intrude on their privacy.
"So everything went well with my dear Pinkie Pie." Mrs. Cake said cheerfully and relieved after Dusk had told them what they had done all afternoon and how they had finally got Pinkie Pie to rest.
"No problem." Dusk replied proudly.
"Honey, didn't we leave a lot of cakes in the cabinet?" Mr. Cake said doubtfully as he scratched his head and checked the display case.
"Well... I-It's time to go..." Dusk said nervously walking quickly to the door next to Spike while the pride he had felt a few seconds ago was blurred and replaced by shame.
That's how Dusk and his brother began to walk the streets of Ponyville as night fell.
"Now we head to the inn?" Spike asked simply followed his brother not knowing where they were going.
"Yes, I'll finally be able to sleep in a decent bed." Dusk sighed wearily. "By the way, is there any money left over from Applejack's?"
"Yea, the inn is very cheap." Spike replied, as a good assistant to Dusk he was good with math. "It is enough to pay for this and the next night, just to cover the whole stay before the Summer Sun Celebration."
"Good." Dusk said cheerfully. "Only two more nights, then the night of the celebration and finally I will return to my warm room in the palace."
As soon as Dusk said these words, for some reason his heart clenched, as if his determination to return to Canterlot had wavered for a second. Dusk didn't know it, but that certainty in his words was not shared by his own feelings.
Oblivious to everything, as Dusk and Spike continued to walk, a figure hidden in the shadows laughed silently as it watched Dusk walk away.
"Fufufu! There you are." said a female voice, the voice from the figure in shadows. The moonlight only showed a pale hoof holding a photo of Dusk next to Spike and Princess Celestia. "At last I found him, a true prince charming."
# End of Chapter 9