Ding!
“Done!” Lemon Hearts shouted happily, as the bell of her timer chimed to announce that the content inside the oven was ready. Right after she trotted to open the oven doors and pick out the third batch of cupcakes out of it with her hoof mitts, she took a deep breath to let the smell of lemon scented baked goods fill her lungs. “Perfectly made, just like the others,” she praised herself while letting the platter cool down next to the other two batches that were recently made before going to add some decorations and make some other treats.
It had always been a hobby and a joy for her to create many lemon based pastries and desserts of any kind she could learn of, and the cupcakes had been a certain well praised specialty of hers, since she made a lot of the baked treats for some of her partners of the working staff. She was very certain that her friends would be delighted to have a taste of her baked goods once she arrived at the party.
Leaving the cupcakes on the counter in order to cool down enough, she glanced outside of her window, noticing that the sun was still too early to reach sunset nor even dusk, indicating to her that the time of their slumber party was still a ways off. This allowed her time to prepare her personal belongings before spending the night at Twilight’s home. “Oh, I just can’t wait any minute longer. I gotta leave now to get there and be the first to arrive. The face that Minuette would make once she sees me there... she will be shocked to know that I beat her on being the first one to arrive!” she exclaimed while rushing to pack up the cupcakes and some other objects to take with her.
The yellow unicorn reached her room and happily packed her blanket, her jumper and her fluffy slippers, excited at the chance to be assisting a party where Twilight was acting as the host for the first time.
“Oooh, I bet Twilight might be surprised that I arrived early so we can have a moment to chat, one on one, while I help her prepare some last minute arrangements!” Lemon said, all while packing the cupcakes in her saddlebag before leaving her home for the night event.
On her way through the streets, Lemon Hearts reminisced about her past with Twilight and her friends when they got along together, but most of them were from the lavender filly being in the background with a book in front of her face most of the time during their reunions. That was about to change, and for the better.
***
“Moondancer, you can’t be serious,” exclaimed a tall mare while kicking an empty cup of instant noodles aside on the floor. “You can’t leave this place like this, Moondancer. At least give it a swipe or something,” she gestured around and pointed to the many things that were dispersed all over the room, without mentioning the other quarters of the house itself.
Moondancer looked at the mess that was around her home, followed by the clock on the wall indicating that it was almost time for the party to begin. “I can do that later, Morning Roast. I have to go and meet with Twilight and the others tonight,” she said before trotting to the second level of her room and packed up the necessities for the slumber party.
Morning Roast followed suit as she sighed at the answer of her sister. “You told me that the last time, and you still haven’t done it since then,” she complained, watching her sister put her belongings in her saddlebag.
“I was so busy with my studies that I didn’t have time to do some maintenance here when I dedicated my time to several research projects that I still need to focus on,” Moondancer said as she closed her saddlebag, finally focusing on her sister and giving her a soft look. “I still need to finish my research on the ancient order of the Sunsingers and the theory of the Portable Sun,” she added while pulling her saddlebags on her back and trotting off to the stairs.
“I know that you want to dedicate your time on your studies, but this house needs attention, too. Having it in such mess won’t be healthy for you or anypony that would come and visit you,” she said with the tone of concern she usually gave.
Moondancer gave a look at the clock once more and knew that if she stayed to give a quick clean up to the house it would make her arrive late for the slumber party. This event was meant to be Twilight’s second chance to open up to her sense of friendship, and to the others as well.
But on the other hoof, this was a perfect opportunity to give the lavender unicorn a bit of her own medicine and make her have the same feeling Moondancer felt for not being present at her own party.
“Alright. I will give a quick clean up of the house before leaving,” she said with a calm tone as she put her belongings on the couch and levitated over a broom and a dustpan.
“I’ll help you, so you don’t have to be late,” her sister said, happy to know that her little sister would see it her way. As she began to levitate all the garbage around them and placing them into the trash bin, followed by emptying the trash bin filled with crumpled papers and broken quills, she took the silence as a moment to gather information via a simple question. “So, are you going to tell about your feelings for Twilight tonight?” she asked with a certain mocking tone in her voice and face filled with mischief.
“What!?” shouted Moondancer as she dropped the broom and dustpan while facing her sister. “She’s only my friend, Morning Roast. I have nothing but respect for her!” she defended herself as she composed herself and returned to cleaning.
“Yeah. She was all you thought about before. You told me how much you wanted Twilight to arrive at the party you hosted,” she continued while placing some dirty dishes in the sink. “Not that I forgot to mention that you have her same manestyle,” she added with a smirk.
“Th- tha- that is because it helps me focus on my studying. It prevents me from being distracted by anything that can keep me away from my education!” the vanilla unicorn shouted as she dangled her hoof on her mane, wondering if that was true and that she might need to have a haircut someday. “Besides, like I already said, I was eager to have Twilight at the party back then because I respect her as a fellow student in Celestia’s School of Gifted Unicorns, as she is academically smart, talented, composed, a helpful mare, known by the Magicians Guild, well presented, beautiful eyes, a well trimmed coat...“ she stopped herself as she noticed where her list of traits to her fellow scholar was going, all while feeling her sister’s eyes piercing upon her nape, and when she turned to see her, she could add a smug grin on her face to sum it all up with it.
Moondancer felt her cheeks burn as her face went completely red, and without any moment for hesitation, she levitated her saddlebags and rushed to the door. “It’s late! I gotta go now! See ya tomorrow!” she shouted before leaving the house.
“Sis! Wait! I was only tea-” the slamming of the door made it clear that Moondancer was no longer in earshot, “-sing... That’s what you get for having your own fun, Morning, and now, you have to clean this place on your own before heading home.” Picking up the dustpan and broom, she continued where her little sister left off and began to chuckle to herself, wondering if she really hit the nail on the head.
***
“Let’s see... Blanket, slippers, toothbrush, Mr. Chord, some magazines just in case and some gummies, because I am a good friend!” Lyra said while placing all the mentioned belongings, and plushie, into her own saddlebag, ready to leave once the sun reached sunset.
As she wondered what to do in the spare time that remained, a knock from her door called for her attention. “Lady Lyra? It’s me, Rumpelstiltskin,” called a professional voice from the outside of the mint green mare’s home.
Without a moment to think, Lyra opened the door to meet with the butler of the Heartstrings family. “What does my mother want now?” she asked with a hint of annoyance, not wanting to dawdle with formalities and go directly to the point. “Hope it isn’t the same thing she usually wants to talk about, again.”
“I apologize for the interruption, but I am here on behalf of Lady heartstrings to request your presence tomorrow at noon,” he announced with a perfect tone and a slight bow.
Lyra grumbled to herself all while clenching her teeth. She never liked to agree to her mother’s invitation, since they always talked about the same subject, but it was all part of the deal she made, ever since she began to live in the small shack. “Fiiiiine. I’ll be there on time.” She agreed and waited for the butler to nod and leave before closing the door shut in one swift movement.
Huffing down on the couch, she lifted her face to the roof and reminisced about her little bet she had with her mother, a bet that would define her future from Canterlot to Ponyville.
She shifted her head to look at a small photo that was standing at the coffee table, a photo that portrayed both Lyra and Bon Bon smiling with cheerful joy at the camera while hugging, like they were fused together. “I won’t lose, Bons. I will prove to her that I can make a name for myself and win this bet,” she declared at the photo with a soft smile before she got up again and noticed that the clock was telling her that it was almost time for the party. She had to get going. “Time to go and have a good fun night at Twilight’s… Hope she likes to play Truth or Dare! Hee hee hee….“ she smirked at the idea of how much she would embarrass Twilight or the juicy secrets she could obtain from her. Tonight was going to be a night to remember.
***
Minuette was closing the blinds of her shop windows as well rummaging through her list of things to take for the party. “Jumper, blanket, special back pillow, toothbrush, floss, mouthwash and six hoof lanterns in case we tell some spooky stories… All check and ready!” she affirmed while scrolling up her parchment and locking the front doors of her home, closing the clock shop, Time to Shine, for the night and returning to her saddlebags, where everything she listed was in there.
With everything ready, Minuette didn’t need to look at the clock nor to the window to have a good sense that it was almost time to be on her way for the event, but a detour to her mirror wouldn’t affect her time of arrival.
She checked herself for any stray hairs on her mane and checked if she needed to look more presentable, but with a simple wink of self confidence, she trudged off to the back door of her home and off to her destination once the sky began to burn a soft color of orange and violet.
“If I manage to get her to speak with ease, I bet I can get her to have a good time along with the others. She had always been so reserved and hidden behind a book with us that it has to be a good theme of conversation to get her more open about herself, just as it would be a good idea for her to learn more about us,” mused Minuette as she considered the many subjects that Twilight would feel more comfortable to be open about. “Knowing Twilight, she can talk nonstop about magic and the many intrinsics about it… I can even explain to her the many magical artifacts the Timekeepers Guild has in their collection and the mechanical devices that have been improved in the clocks of today compared with those from the beginning of Gear Cogswell!” She gave a quick rush in her step as the thoughts of them bonding closer made her smile grow wide in happiness as she almost bounced in her steps.
***
Twinkleshine was looking at her personal library of films and began to consider which ones would be the most entertaining to bring with her for the slumber party.
“Hmmm… Horror? Probably… Comedy? That seems certain… Romance… Nah.” She walked by several collections as she levitated the few selected ones that could be fun to bring for her friends and placed them in the saddlebags, with her own belongings and a movie projector.
With a struggling effort, she levitated her saddlebags upon her back and walked to the door, using her magic to twist the doorknob, then left her home for the night.
With a careful step through the streets as she made a quick beeline to Twilight’s home, Twinkleshine was busy in her thoughts about her upcoming casting in a small production set for a movie they were making. Sure, it was small set, but one needs to start somewhere before hitting the big stars of the big productions of Canterlot, Manehattan and Applewood.
“Just you wait, Equestria! I am going to be the biggest star that ever shines upon the firmament of celebrities!” she promised herself with a vigorous determination…. until she realized that she was shouting in public to herself as she blushed in embarrassment, lowering her head. “But first will be Twilight’s party...” she whispered, right after she walked on with the several objects on her back.
***
“And then, you pour the tomato sauce, along the rest of the ingredients, and you let it heat inside the pot for the next ten minutes. Just as easy as that!” instructed Spike from his stool, watching how Twilight was following his instructions before placing the lid on the top, in order to let the heat do the rest for her tomato soup.
Twilight smiled proudly for her achievement at cooking, with Spike’s help of course. “Thanks, Spike. I know that they will enjoy this dinner and have a perfect night with all the things made and done,” she praised as she saw the other prepared dishes resting on the stove, ready to be served to her guests.
Aside from the tomato soup, there was several other meals they both cooked, such as a batch of garlic bread filled with cheese and a spinach pasta for the night.
Twilight felt that everything was now ready, and in its proper place for the party tonight, the tower was cleaned, the dinner was ready and the guests would soon arrive and have a good night of fun, getting to know each other in a deeper level to strengthen their bonds of friendship… Nothing could go wrong.
“Uuumm, Twilight?” ...except for those two words. Those words that Spike always used in order to express his discomfort of Twilight’s actions whenever she had an idea or plan that she was just going through to dubious proportions. She never liked it when he did that, and it was worse now than all those times put together.
Her mind raced at the speed of light, making a mental list of the things that were missing or that had not been done to make Spike be uncertain and doubtful of her recent actions, but no matter what the problem is or what was the reason was, Twilight couldn’t grasp any idea of what problem could be bothering him.
“Is something of matter, Spike?” Twilight asked, as if nothing was amiss and that her little assistant had a simple question in his little mind, or at least that was what she wanted it to be and hoped to leave it as such.
Spike was hesitant on his answer, but he knew that something was certainly amiss. It was right before his eyes to point out. “Don't you think this is all too formal?” he gestured to the dishes for the dinner as he looked back to Twilight.
Twilight gave a look to all the food and then at Spike? “What do you mean with being too formal? This is barely an entre compared to the royal banquets during the meetings that I was invited to assist in,” she pointed out as she gestured at the feast she made.
“That’s the thing, Twilight. This whole dinner is too formal, and that won’t fit in with the purpose of this meeting.” The simple fact that Spike gave had made Twilight feel more anxious, since she remembered all too well those meetings about how quiet everypony was.
How the table was too silent, during dinner, with each guest too busy checking their own eating habits and etiquette to even make a good conversation with one another.
“You’re right!” Twilight shouted as she grabbed the little drake by his head and dragging him close to her muzzle. “How did I not foresee this?!” She suddenly dropped the baby drake and rushed quickly back to the upper levels to the book she used as a reference and searched through the pages in order to find a quick solution to the problem that had managed to creep its way into her first party.
She held the book right near her muzzle and quickly began to read every word in order find a proper solution. “Aha! Here it is!” she said happily as she rushed down to meet Spike in the living room. “It says here that having a light dinner or a small snack bar can provide a good combination of eating and communication. Some of the meals suggested are oatmeal cereal, s’mores, sandwiches, donuts with milk, etc.” Twilight listed out as she closed the book with an almost manic grin.
Spike knew that symptom, and it meant that nothing good will come if the solution wasn’t made present right away. “I’ll go and check if we have some donuts to offer…” he suggested while walking back slowly and soon enough running away.
Twilight nodded as she thought of the other options, but she soon realized that she had little to no oats for dinner and that she doesn’t have any kind of snacks for tonight, since she never considered such an option to be planned out.
“Uhm… We don’t have any donuts… At all,” Spike almost whispered as he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes to prepare himself for the burst of the madness that Twilight would become… except that it never came. Daring to open one eye, Spike noticed that Twilight was mumbling something and was deep in thought.
“This still can be solved… Yes, it can still be fixed. All I need to do is to rush to the market and buy what the books says… Easy!” Twilight exclaimed with several nods of approval.
“T- Twilight... the market is closed at this hour,” Spike said, almost regretting to tell her, but it was necessary for her to be reminded and not being running around the entire city in such a state.
Twilight’s left eye twitched, but soon, she began to take a deep breath and look at the clock. Relief fell upon her once she noticed that it was still early for her guests to arrive, so she could still be able to have something sorted out before it was too late. “Okay… There is still time, forty five minutes to be precise. I just need to head directly to the castle and ask the kitchen staff for some snacks, just what’s needed to prepares s'mores and other simple biscuits... Easy!” With her plan now made, it was all a matter of a quick round run to the castle kitchens and back. “Spike, I can trust you with making something to drink, right? Hot chocolate can be an excellent option for tonight,” she instructed with a serious tone.
“You can count on me, Twilight. I can make it in twenty minutes flat!” he declared with conviction now that a plan was present and the crisis was averted.
“Great! Now, all I need to do is-”
*Knock, Knock, Knock*
The knocking from the door caught both of them by surprise, Spike being nervous while Twilight was frozen in panic, worrying who could it be.
“Who is it?” the drake finally asked for both of them. He could assume that a servant from the castle was visiting them, since it was still too early for any of their friends to arrive.
“Spike? It’s me. Lemon Hearts… I came early,” replied the yellow unicorn from the other side of the door, which had the young drake gape in surprise at the inconvenient and disastrous development.
Tempting fate as it was, Spike turned his head around and dared to meet with the creature that used to be his mother figure and expected a mental break down from her… But all he saw was a living statue of a lavender unicorn with her pupils shrunk into tiny amethyst dots, a small twitch in her eye and a small smile that could be described as insanely calm. He dared to take a step towards Twilight. But as soon he did it, a bang and flash came out of nowhere, and with it, Twilight disappeared.
It took Spike a minute to know what Twilight had done and let out a small sigh of relief. “Well, guess I should take care of the door and entertain the first pony to arrive,” muttered Spike as he shrugged it off and went to the door to receive Lemon Hearts with a smile.
***
In kitchens of the castle, a small group of ponies rushed from left to right, preparing themselves to take their places in order to begin with the dinner for tonight, as chefs and assistants trotted from carrying the specified ingredients and chopped the vegetables in several bowls in order to get them ready for their royal superiors.
“Come on, ponies. We barely have thirty minutes to have these veggies sliced and diced!” a golden coated stallion with a white mane shouted to the assistants, inspecting and ensuring that everything was cutted in perfect shape. “Quickly now! I want those spices crushed into dust, or it will be certain that there will be a good pile of dirty dishes and pots to wash for the next morning that will last all day to clean up!” he warned while walking throughout the entire kitchen, making sure everypony was doing their job with the utmost dedication and perfection before he decided to take a seat and read the menu for tonight’s dinner.
Taking the small chart, he had already memorized the several dishes and desserts of today’s menu, but he pushed himself to find ways to improve every dish, as it was his real job in the kitchen to give an improved taste for his superiors to enjoy.
His inspiration fell short once the noise of pots and utensils clashing into the ground came about, followed by the scream of a mare that snapped his concentration and made him grumble and check upon the accident. “What is going on? Who is the responsible for causing such a commotion?” the first chef asked as he suddenly spotted a lavender unicorn standing in the middle of the kitchen with her mane made a tangle of a mess and her eyes wide open. With her irises as small as pin pricks, he assumed she was the reason of the small accident once he saw the nearest assistant of the kitchen, who was the one that screamed, getting up on her hooves.
Twilight Sparkle looked from left to right until her gaze fell upon the first chef and rushed quickly to be in front of him.
“First chef Golden Yolk!” the lavender unicorn shouted as she desperately clung onto his uniform.
“Calm down, young mare.” The sudden surprise caught Yolk off guard as his mind wondered what the personal student of the princess wanted from him. “Tell me what ails you, and the kitchen staff and I will be sure to assist you in your needs,” he held his hooves on hers in an effort to be freed from her strong grip before she could wrinkle his white pristine uniform.
“I need the keys of the White Vault!” Twilight pleaded as she calmed herself and waited for the stallion to aid her in her desperate need.
Golden Yolk raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Hooh... Is that why you are in such distress?” he asked with a coy smile after he glanced to the other ponies to make them return to their own jobs. “I can give you the key, but I assume that you would normally ask me in a proper manner in order to obtain the key,” he added.
Twilight knew what he wanted to hear, and she never liked it one bit to go through that kind of stuff. In some regard, Golden Yolk was almost the same as the nobles and wealthy ponies of Canterlot. They liked to go with the entitlements and nothing less.
With a deep breath and a swift movement of her right hoof to brush and straighten up her mane, Twilight took a posture of regal attitude and did her best to rise her chin and look down at the stallion. “I, Twilight Sparkle, personal student and protege of Princess Celestia, Daughter of Twilight Velvet and Night Light, younger sibling of Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard, demand you to give service upon me and hoof over the key of the White Vault… Please?” she announced with the tone she had heard from Celestia herself whenever she made a royal proclamation or a speech. It was never of her liking to go and make such a statement of superiority and privilege, but it was something she had to do in order to get Golden Yolk to help her in her times of food emergency.
Golden Yolk chuckled as he patted Twilight’s head a little. “It is my honor and privilege to serve such an important mare of the castle,” he said while giving reverence to her, to which she just merely rolled her eyes. “Sous Chef!” the stallion then shouted, calling for one of the ponies from the kitchen.
A young mare rushed in between the others as she stopped in front of Golden Yolk and Twilight. “Silver Platter, at your service!” the violet pegasus declared with a salute to both ponies.
Yolk gave the mare a golden fork that was adorned with several encrusted gems. “Guide our important guest to the vault and let her take everything that is not labeled under personal authorization,” Golden Yolk instructed as he gave the key to his Sous Chef.
“Right away!” Silver Platter said as she held the key in her mouth and nodded for Twilight to follow her to the indicated place.
“Thank you, Yolk,” Twilight said before following the pegasus mare through the kitchen.
“Whenever you wish, my lady!” the yellow stallion said before returning to his own job and shouting to the others ponies to continue their jobs with the utmost perfection that he always demanded.
Twilight followed the mare until they arrived to a big, white door, and Silver Platter inserted the key into the lock and gave it a turn until she heard the mechanics shift, hitting metal with metal to indicate that the giant door was now unlocked and ready to be opened.
“After you, my lady,” invited Silver Platter, opening the door and bowing with courtesy, allowing access to the lavender unicorn.
Twilight smiled awkwardly as she nodded to the mare before she went inside the White Vault.
From inside the vast room of groceries, Twilight saw the the endless shelves filled with many supplies far beyond what the eye could see, enough food to feed the entire city if the dire situation ever occurred, and everything was protected with a preservation spell to keep it in fresh conditions whenever they needed it.
It was the second most valuable and secured place in the castle, aside for the treasure chambers of course.
Walking down into the depths of the vault, the lavender unicorn selected several bags of marshmallows, crackers, pretzels, chocolate, potato chips, fried hay sticks, apple cider, root beer and a box of donuts for the perfect replacements for tonight's dinner.
With all the products she needed and placed inside several bags that the vault offered, Twilight carried all of them out from the vault and met back up with Platter at the entrance. ”Okay, I have everything I need. Thanks for your assistance, Silver Platter,” Twilight said as she nodded to the Sous Chef.
“O-oh... I just did what I must in order to help,” the violet pegasus replied as she hid the blush for the compliment she just received from one of the most famous mares of the castle, and most respected as well.
Twilight nodded and teleported herself back to her room, leaving the kitchen behind with the working chefs.
Twilight reappeared back in her own kitchen, where the boiling noise and smell of chocolate made her notice that Spike managed to brew the hot beverage for the night. She took the opportunity to take away the other dishes, and save them for another day, replacing them with the snacks she just brought and began to pour them all in several bowls, just to be ready for when the guests would feel hungry.
Relief was with her as soon as she saw that she was just in time, with a few minutes to spare.
“She did what!?” the shout from Lemon Hearts called the attention of Twilight, reminding her that she was already in the tower, and decided to go and greet her properly.
“Yeah. Twilight once made a small bust of Celestia that giggles whenever somepony passes near it,” Spike replied, excited to tell her friend about the things his caretaker had done in their times when they had been with the princess. “You should’ve seen the ponies that crossed in front of it during that time! They were scared once they heard that thing laugh!” he added while laughing, just before Twilight arrived to the living room and made herself present.
“I hope you’re not telling about my dark secrets, Spike?” Twilight said jokingly as she met with the yellow unicorn with a hug.
“Twilight!” Lemon Hearts shouted as she smiled broadly to her friend. “I hope I didn’t come in an inconvenient hour?” she asked once she finished the hug.
“No, of course not!” Twilight laughed almost nervously as she saw Spike shake his head and took the chance to attend the hot chocolate in the stove. “You just surprised me. Nothing else,” the lavender unicorn assured her with a nervous laugh.
“Well, I just couldn’t wait any longer and decided to jump in early to have this good get together!” Lemon Hearts said with a little jump from her hooves.
Twilight was happy to know that her friend was hyped to be present at the party, and she was aiming to please her and the other girls with the night she had planned.
Another set of knocks called at the door at the moment the clock chimed the hour, and Twilight was far more eager to receive the door now that everything was made and done. Reaching to the handle and opening it with a quick movement, Twilight saw the second guest of the night. “Minuette, just in time!” the lavender unicorn shouted as she hugged the blue unicorn.
“You know me, Twilight! Always being the first to… arrive…” Minuette said, until her eyes spotted Lemon Hearts inside the room. “Lemon! being here earlier doesn’t count!” she complained as she walked inside the living room and placed her saddlebags on a perch as she sat down near the yellow unicorn.
“We never made any rules for who could be here first, so I can assume my victory is certain,” Lemon Hearts declared with a victorious smile at her friend.
“Well, that would make things easy and not fun, since I could have been here five hours ago!” the blue unicorn complained.
“G- girls… I don’t think that we should be fighting,” Twilight was nervous, as she did not know what to do in order to stop them, except to make herself be in between the two mares to avert their eyes from each other and stop their argument... but even though they didn’t listen to her, the two mares started to laugh at each other.
“Don’t worry, Twilight. This is just a thing we both had since long ago,” Minuette said as she calmed herself enough to talk. “We had been competing on who would be the first to be on time… And since Lemon doesn’t like to lose that much, she just decided to go forward and be ten minutes early to the deadline.” She gave a look at her friend and hit her gently with her right forehoof.
“Alright! I will play by the rules next time,” Lemon said, as she felt curious and decided to head directly to the pillow fort.
“Ooh! A fort made out of pillows!” Minuette shouted in awe once she saw the comfy structure that was in the middle of the room and didn’t hesitate to test its level of comfort by jumping inside of it.
Twilight, watching how happy they were in the fort, was going to join them for the moment, but a new knock from the doors called her attention as rushed to open it again to receive her third guest.
“Hey-ho! Twilight,” called Lyra as she saluted her while making her way inside the tower without a second to spare and ruffles Twilight’s mane before hugging her.
Twilight hugged the mint coated unicorn once inside, and the mint unicorn suddenly noticed the big white building in the middle of the living room. “Really, Twilight? A pillow fort?” asked Lyra, not sure what to make of the unexpected object she had in front of her. “I’m not a little filly anymore,” she said with a soft chuckle at the childish idea of her friend.
Twilight blushed as she scratched the nape of her head while looking at the fort, “We- well... it is kinda-”
“Can somepony please lend me a hoof here?!” the voice of Twinkleshine called them from the stairs, which made both Twilight and Lyra to rush over to see the marble unicorn staggering up the stairs with her heavy equipment. “Never thought there were... this many stairs!” Twinkleshine complained once she spotted her two friends.
Lyra and Twilight lifted her saddlebags to bring them up to the top of the stairs to help Twinkleshine finish her trek far more easier, “Thanks. I thought I would be stuck down there with all those stairs,” she said as soon she reached the top and met with the others.
“What’s in these saddlebags? Bricks?” complained Lyra as she carefully placed the bags on the floor next to the others.
“Only a movie projector and some movie films,” Twinkleshine replied casually after hugging Twilight before she made her way inside the tower and noticed the pillow fort and with it, Minuette and Lemon Hearts. “A pillow fort? Yeah!” the marble unicorn rushed and joined the other two as they jumped together in the pillows of the comfortable structure while laughing.
Lyra was in disbelief once she saw how easily the three mares were having fun in the pillows, jumping up and down and laughing with the sheer fun of the activity.
“Well, I guess I should just go and enjoy it with them, since it is no fun to just stay on the sidelines,” the green unicorn shrugged as she rushed to jump in the fortress and laughed with the others in the activity.
Twilight was happy to see them having fun, a sign of a good start, and once their last guest arrived, they can begin with the event, to finally have fun together.
She awaited for Moondancer to make her arrival, and she would cheer once she made herself present, while everypony would join in a group hug as they shared smiles with one each other. This would be followed by Spike joining the evening with the snacks and drinks as he takes place in the hug for days to come. They would spend a good time together at night with laughter, a good bonding friendship with one another…
…
That would be if Moondancer arrived after the fifteen minutes that had occurred. No sign of her presence was seen neither, causing a dreading feeling inside Twilight the more time passed. “She must of had something important to do…” the lavender unicorn said as her ears deflated in sadness. Her friends noticed the dreadful feeling and noticed how sad she was being.
“Aww... don’t worry, Twilight. We can still have fun with only the five of us,” Minuette promised as she walked closer to Twilight with a bright smile, feeling a dread of Deja Vú from the scene.
Twilight didn’t know what to say. She felt abandoned, and the feeling of a failure was crawling upon her mind once more as she felt that, without the most important guest, she would cancel everything and send back everypony to their homes. However, Princess Celestia had taught her to never derail from any plans, for better or worse. It was imperative to continue forward as scheduled, regardless of the outcome. Twilight could not lose face in front of her guests.
“You’re right… I can plan out something with her for tomorrow, so why don’t we all gather arou-”
“BOO!” shouted Moondancer once she saw her opportunity to surprise the lavender unicorn once she averted her eyes from the door. “You didn’t think I would miss out on this party, did you?” she smirked at the scared expression of Twilight’s and hugged her tightly.
“I’m glad I didn’t!” Twilight hugged her back and felt the dreadful feeling in her mind vanish. “Now, come on in and put on your pajamas, cause we are going to party!” she invited with a smile while the others cheered in excitement as Spike arrived with a platter of snacks and drinks before joining them in the fun.