Spike crouched awkwardly outside of Sugarcube Corner, his head poking through an open window into the front dining area of the bakery. Inside were two dozen or so ponies, party hats on, all chatting happily. Mister and Missus Cake sat together, their manes grey and limbs frail, smiling happily at the ponies filling the front of their bakery. Pumpkin Cake sat beside them, beaming at the attending ponies. She reached out with one hoof, catching a younger pegasus with a red-and-white striped mane and yellow coat in her grasp and kissing her on the forehead. "Oh, Angel Cake, I'm so proud of you! Graduated top of your class! You sure showed those fancy chefs that fine cuisine can come from places other than Prance!"
Angel Cake blushed, struggling slightly in her mother's grasp. "Thanks, mom."
"We're very proud of you, our sweet little cake!" said Cup Cake, her voice wavering with age and infirmity. She reached out with one hoof and lightly patted Carrot Cake on the fetlock. Carrot Cake was asleep, snoring with aplomb in his seat. Cup Cake smiled at her husband. "Grandpa is very proud, too."
"Thanks, grandma! Thanks, grandpa!" Angel Cake chirped, escaping her mother's grasp and trotting over to kiss her grandmother and grandfather on the cheek. Carrot Cake stirred, but did not wake up, smiling gently.
"Yes, congratulations. I'm sure Pinkie Pie is raring to go with some surprise or other. She's been over the moon about your graduation party," Spike added, his voice rumbling over the top of other conversations despite his focus on keeping his volume low.
Angel Cake beamed up at Spike. "Thank you, Spike. Do you know where Aunt Pinkie is?"
As though overhearing the conversation, Pinkie Pie's voice floated out of the kitchen in the back, her voice barely loud enough to overcome the noise of the party. "I'll be there in just a second! Auntie Pinkie Pie just needs a little help. Could you ask Spike to come around the back window? We need more, uhhh, firepower!"
Spike smirked, an expression shared by Angel Cake. The young pegasus pony shook her head, giggling. "Oh, man. If she needs your brand of firepower, it must be a serious surprise."
"I'll go see what she needs," Spike said, pulling his head carefully out of the open window and standing up. He stretched briefly up onto his back legs, stretching out his neck and nearly touching the topmost point of Sugarcube Corner's roof. It was tough being a big dragon among little ponies, and his neck often hurt from being held so low to the ground. It was always worth it, though. He loved them all.
His stretch complete, he walked around to the back side of Sugarcube Corner, spotting the open window into the kitchen and poking his head through. The interior of the kitchen was a disaster, as per usual, with a multitude of cakes and pies and assorted goodies filling every avaliable space. Pinkie Pie had obviously been hard at work for hours. Pinkie Pie herself sat in the middle of the kitchen, her head down, and she looked up at Spike as he 'entered' the kitchen. She was covered in flour and frosting, which blended well with the white tinge of her coat and the streaks of white that shot through her pink mane. She smiled up at Spike gently as he peered in. Spike immediately sensed that something was wrong. "Hey, Pinkie. What did you need?"
Pinkie's smile widened a bit, but there was a tremble to it, almost imperceptible. "Heya, Spike! Well... it's a funny story!"
"Yeah?" Spike asked, knowing that it was best to allow Pinkie to explain things in her own time.
"Well, not exactly funny. It's not like, a 'ha-ha' sort of funny? It's more of a 'wow, isn't the passage of time and the things it does to ponies crazy' kind of funny? The kind of funny that isn't exactly funny, but you don't have any choice but to laugh, because the alternative is throwing up and crying a lot and being sad?" Pinkie said, one hoof gesticulating wildly. Spike stared at her, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, and Pinkie Pie stared back, her eyes watering slightly. "You know what I mean," she said, her voice getting quieter.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Spike said slowly.
Pinkie nodded. "Yeah, of course you do. You're super-duper smart! All that time around Twilight, all that time in the library. You grew up so good, Spike! I don't think I say that enough. Well, you grew up, and then you grew up!" Pinkie giggled and snorted at the little pun, and Spike snickered along with her. She'd said that joke a hundred times, maybe more, but he always laughed because he loved it and her. Pinkie smiled at him, a little relief evident on her face at the laugh, and the silence stretched overlong.
"What did you need, Pinkie Pie?" Spike asked, finally, a gentle reminder of the topic at hoof.
"Oh! Right! So, I've been baking all day, and working really super duper hard on the stuff for the party! I pulled out my Party Cannon, got it loaded, and I've been on-track!" Pinkie gestured around to the obvious end result, the mountains of snacks, treats, and cakes staggering in their sheer volume. "I'm so proud of my little cousin, growing up in the proud family tradition of cooking! She's done so much hard work, so I wanted to throw her a super duper special party!" Pinkie smiled, her eyes closing briefly, as she listened to the sound of happy ponies filtering through the closed door to the bakery. When her eyes opened again, they were wobbling with barely contained tears. "But I, uh... I don't think I can."
Spike frowned. "Why not?"
Pinkie Pie's ears drooped. "I think I hurt myself pretty badly, Spike. I was lifting a big bag of flour earlier, and I think it was a teeny-bit too big for a little old pony like me. I fell over, and the bag landed on me, and... well, I've been hoping I could just push through, but the party is here, and... I can't move my back hoovesies any more."
"You... can't move them? What do you mean?" Spike asked, leaning forward further into the kitchen, peering at her intensely, trying to spot the trouble.
"I... I can't move them. My back was all tingly and it hurt really bad, but I just ignored it, because I had so much to do! So I just kept working, and my back hurt worse, but then it got tingly, and I thought it was getting better! But then my back legs got tingly too, and I was having trouble bouncing and pronking around, and then... they just got numb. I can't even feel them. Like they're asleep. Pins and needles, but now it's nothing!" Pinkie stared at her lower back, craning her neck.
Spike's eyes widened. "Can you stand?"
"No. I tried, I Pinkie Promise, but they're just not working," Pinkie said, her eyes filling with tears.
Spike closed his eyes, feeling sick to his stomach. "Pinkie, this could be really bad. We need to get you to a hospital. They might be able to help you."
Pinkie stared up at Spike, her eyes wide. "What about the party?!"
Spike managed a small smile, despite the ill feeling in his gut. "They'll... figure something out. Nopony would want you getting hurt just to throw a party."
Pinkie bit her lip, a few tears finally falling from her blue eyes as she stared around the kitchen. "I... I worked so hard."
"It's okay, Pinkie. They'll all understand. Your health is more important."
Pinkie inhaled slowly, her mane drooping bit by bit, and she nodded to Spike. "Isn't there something we can do? Spike... I really want to do this! It's not fair that Angel Cake worked hard and then the party got ruined because of my dumb old back!"
Spike managed to get one arm into the kitchen, reaching out and patting Pinkie Pie gently on the head. "It'll be okay, Pinkie."
Pinkie reached up with one hoof, clinging to Spike's wrist, the other hoof supporting her upper body. "Spike... please... I didn't know that this was going to be my last party. Don't let me go out like this, Spike. Give me... give me this one, please? I know you're super smart, and you're super right that I should go to the hospital, but... can we wait, just a little while?"
"The longer we wait, the more likely that whatever damage you've suffered is going to be permanent... you know that, right?" Spike said, his eyes burning with the threat of tears.
"I know! But... please, Spike," Pinkie Pie begged, clinging to Spike. He could feel her tears against his scales; feel her vivacious energy draining out with every barely-contained sob and shaking breath. Spike blinked away the tears that filled his eyes too, and he swallowed hard.
"Pinkie," Spike sighed...
"Change of plans, everypony! The party is moving outside! Up and at 'em! Let's hoof it to the park! Spike and Pinkie have a surprise picnic just waiting for all of you happy ponies, so let's get going!" Pinkie Pie cheered from between Spike's wings, raising one hoof up and waving happily.
Angel Cake laughed, looking out the window. "Auntie Pinkie Pie! There you are!"
Spike moved closer to the window, crouching down to bring Pinkie Pie level with the window. She rode carefully on his shoulders, the scaly ridges on his back almost like a saddle. Pinkie Pie winked, grinning at Angel Cake. "Never a dull moment with Auntie Pinkie Pie around! Come on, let's shake those hooves!"
Angel Cake spun around, addressing the party at large. "Come on, everypony! We're having a picnic outside!"
The assembled ponies cheered, leaping to their hooves and heading to the park in groups, chatting excitedly about the surprise picnic. Pinkie giggled, watching as the party moved towards the park, where a banquet awaited them the likes of which would pass into legend. Spike looked over his shoulder and smiled at Pinkie. "... Are we going to go to the party?"
"No. I Pinkie Promised, just enough to kick things off, and then we can go. I just... needed this. I really, really needed it." Pinkie stared up at Spike, tears of gratitude falling down her cheeks. She leaned forward a bit and kissed Spike gently on the nose. "Thank you. You know how to make an old pony smile, smile, smile."
Spike nuzzled his dear friend. "Yes, I do. Now, let's get you to the hospital, okay? And we'll... figure out the rest as we go."
Pinkie Pie giggled. "That's the best way to do things, I think."
Spike chuckled, checking to make certain his hurting friend was secure on his back, and then he began the long walk across Ponyville.