Pinkie dashed through Ponyville, well actually not like Rainbow Dash, but as fast as...never mind.
She shook the funny thoughts away and tried to avoid the other ponies around her. She didn't stop, beside at her friend's doors.
She was so excited, that she almost could burst and grinned as wide as she could on her way.
Everything would totally work out as easily as she imagine.
And the homework thing would also be no problem at all.
Especially when Cheerilee would help. Pinkie reminded herself, that she should visit Cheerilee, as soon as she was done talking with all of her friends.
The rest of the day rushed faster as Pinkie would have expected.
Rarity insisted, that she stayed for tea and cake to discuss her plans. The fashion mare wanted to get a clear vision from the whole interior of her future home.
But Pinkie couldn't say what she would like most, so Rarity made assumptions for the tapestries, curtains and even whole rooms. So the friends talked for more than four hours and the day went on.
It was already past 15 o'clock as Pinkie was finally able to leave. But it was really funny to imagine her future home.
Fluttershy invited Pinkie to stay for supper and she couldn't decline that. She helped the mare and both fed every small critters the yellow mare hosted, before they got their own meal. Pinkie told her all about her plans and Fluttershy listened pensively.
Pinkie had almost told her why she was in such a need for a house, but Fluttershy finished the soup just in time and the eating silenced Pinkie easily.
Fluttershy asked of course how she could help with that, visibly unsure, how she could contribute.
She happily agreed, as Pinkie suggested, that she could bring snacks and lemonade.
The earthpony mare finished her bowl after that and gulped down the tasty stew.
In fact she finished it so quickly, that it stayed on her cheeks and she had to clean it with her tongue afterwards.
She asked for a second whip of stew and hawked it down even faster.
“Say, Fluttershy is this pegasus food?
It's yummy!”
The yellow mare blushed and shook her head quickly. She turned her face slightly away and mumbled an answer.
“Pegasus food is much, much hotter.
Too hot for me.
Even Mum's dishes are way too hot for me.
I've learned that down here.”
Pinkie nodded, cocked her head slightly and licked her lips.
She already asked another question, but stopped and jumped back on her hooves, as she saw the clock.
“Do you know, what I could...Holy Pie, look at the time.
I'm sorry Fluttershy. Gotta go.
See you tomorrow.”
The yellow mare stared confused to the pink puff of smoke, formerly the place where her friend was and mumbled an unheard answer.
Pinkie rushed over the almost closed up market, but luckily her favourite place, the balloon and other party supply booth was open.
So she was able to grab a few of the balloons and cried out.
“I'm sorry, I'll pay tomorrow!
Pinkie promise.”
The vendor mare turned surprised to the pink puff of smoke, but smiled and nodded, as she recognised the voice.
Pinkie just had a balloon emergency again.
The running mare tied the balloons around herself and jumped off the ground, as she got to the outskirts of Ponyville.
The huge cloudhome from her only winged friend hovered in the wind.
She flew blissfully unaware of the danger to the door and even managed to stop there.
Well she didn't just stopped there, but actually banged into the wooden door with a loud thud.
Pinkie didn't flinched and just smiled, as she shook away the little stars around her head.
It wasn't just her leap of joy but the balloons of course, that she was capable of such a high jump.
The sinking sun dyed the door of the house crimson and the wind started to move Pinkie away from it,
but she was able to knock, before she drifted off to far.
Luckily Rainbow had heard her loud thud against the door and opened it shortly after Pinkie started to drift away.
The cyan mare looked confused around, spotted the pink drifting pony and caught her with an even more confused expression.
But Pinkie didn't mind it and already blabbed her invitation.
Rainbow hold her in place, as they returned to her cloud and just shook her head to fought back her confusion.
Finally she nodded quickly.
“I'll help you, of course Pinkie.
But why do you need a house out of the blue right now?”
Rainbow let Pinkie loose and scratched her head with the hoof, but had to catch her again, as she drifted away again.
She cocked her head and stared into the bride smiling face of her friend. The partypony opened her mouth, but shook her head at the same moment and beamed even wider.
She tried to turn away and her hooves waved quickly back and forth to move her, but she wasn't able to set herself free from Rainbows grip.
“I can't tell you that, silly.
It's a surprise.
See you tomorrow...”
She intensified her waving, but didn't move in the slightest, so Rainbow just sighed and let her loose.
The mare started to drift away and Rainbow looked dumbfounded after her.
When she was in a surprise mode, there was no talking her into to spill the beans, so the mare knew that she just could play along.
Pinkie grinned even as the wind caught her and pulled her higher into the sky.
She tried to intensify her struggle to get down, but even as her hooves were just a whirl of pink, the balloons just float higher.
She struggled for a few seconds more, before she turned her head and cried out for help.
“Rain...bow a little assistance would be nice...”
Rainbow just snickered and shook her head. She dashed closer, grabbed the mare and pulled her back to the ground.
Meanwhile she bantered her floating friend with a question.
“What would you have done, if I wouldn't be here right now, Pinkie?
You're lucky I'm home, you know...”
Pinkie just hugged the mare almost bone crushing and grinned. She pondered her answer for one second and simply admitted.
“I just would wait till you’re getting home, silly.”
Rainbow opened her mouth and seemed confused about that statement.
She stammered an answer.
“Consider the win and...”
Pinkie just stopped her train of thought with a snicker and continued.
“But I already knew, that you're home. Fluttershy had seen you, so...”
She stopped herself mid sentence, as the two friends glided slowly over a field full of crops.
She felt her mouth watering and her stomach grumbled.
“Oh right, what do you want for breakfast tomorrow?
Pancakes, oatmeal, or a sandwich?”
Rainbow just shook her head, as she spotted a good landing spot and glided closer to it.
“Pancakes would be great, Pinkie.
But I can't promise to be there from the start. We've a weather patrol meeting in the morning.
But as soon as it's over, I'll dash to Sugarcube corner and we can start to raise your home.”
Pinkie's smile widened again, as Rainbow landed and let her loose.
Of course she started to float again and didn't seem to be too concerned, as she drifted away from the ground again.
The wind caught her and she flew away with more and more speed. Rainbow caught her after a few seconds and put her back on the ground.
She hold her down and released the balloons finally. They were caught in the wind quite quickly and floated out of sight and into the troubled air.
Pinkie looked after them and lost her thought again.
Maybe she could help Scootaloo with a bunch...
Rainbow waved in front of her mindless staring eyes and Pinkie looked down to her again.
“So, you want to stay in Sugarcube Corner, till I arrive,
or do you want to meet somewhere else?
Do you even know, where your future home should be?”
She sounded a little bit bugged, as she had asked this question for a while.
Pinkie took a deep surprised breath and gazed at Rainbow. She answered her question with an outcry.
“No, but I thought we just build everywhere, because...”
Rainbow just shook her head unbelievingly. She cleared her throat and sounded almost setted.
“Pinkie, I'm well being in game for many things, but this isn't one of them.
How big shall...”
Pinkie turned away and dashed away, before Rainbow was able to finish her sentence. Her answer sounded first very loud in Rainbows ears, but as farer as Pinkie went, as more it died away.
“I have to talk with Twilight. See you tomorrow.“
Pinkie arrived at her next destination, the Golden Oaks, as Spike had already cleaned everything up for closure and only swept the last steps inside.
He fought down a yawn and sighed relieved, as he lifted the broom for a last stroke.
The sun was just a thin line of gold on the horizon and a few stars already sparkled over the library.
Spike smiled, as he reached the end of today's duty.
Pinkie raced past Spike, caused a great stir and took it with her on the path through the room.
The whole room was covered in dust again.
The slow falling particles tickled in Spike's nose and the small dragon sneezed fire.
“Oh, hello Spike, I'm sorry.
I've to see Twilight?”
Pinkie didn't slow down, but raced through the library, upstairs and collided with the other resident,
a purple pony, who let loose a bowl of salad, as she was knocked over.
The friends were twirled into a mess of legs and mane's and Pinkie felt a horn on her shoulder.
“What the...Pinkie?
What is gotten into you?”
Pinkie nuzzled her friends shoulder and tried to untangle herself, but failed and just grinned apologetic.
“Uhm, nothing, but we could say, that I got into you, Twilight?”
She snickered quietly, but Twilight sighed bugged and Pinkie stopped quickly.
She stammered around and tried to entangle the bodies, but that wasn't quite so easy, as her thoughts drifted back to Scootaloo.
She sighed and started to speak clearly.
“Alright, I have to think about the whole house thingy again. Where I should place it...”
Twilight put Pinkie back on her hooves with her magic and placed her a few steps away.
After that she stood up herself, brushed over her coat and tried to arrange her ideas, but she sighed as Pinkie addressed the subject of the house.
“Major Mare had already assigned a place!”
Pinkie turned her head to the mare and stared confused to her. She thought it through and mumbled another question.
“Eh, Major Mare? What had she to with it?
I thought we just could place it wherever we want.”
Twilight sighed loudly and laid a hoof on Pinkie's blabbering mouth.
She shook her head and levitated a city map closer.
“We have a few free places for houses, Pinkie.”
Twilight's voice sounded more and more elated, as she shifted into teachers mode.
Her magic formed arrows and pointed on different areas of the map.
But one after the other vanished, as she continued speaking, till just one reminded.
“But for your needs and Scootaloo's as well this one is just perfect.
It's just a parted public house area, but I'm pretty sure, Applejack wouldn't mind...”
Pinkie cut Twilight short with a surprised cry and grabbed the map out of her magic.
She stared to the place with the magic arrow and mumbled a few word.
“Well it's near the school, close to Sweet Apple Acres and a few hoofsteps past the last house.
There are living, uhm, the Twists, perfect.”
Pinkie's grin widened, as Twilight levitated the map out of her hooves and locked her gaze onto it.
She snapped first, but eased up quickly and got into her elated mood again.
“We just need somepony who could make the foundation and...”
Pinkie nodded and rushed to the desk nearby. She took a piece of paper, a quill and an ink pot and bounced back to Twilight.
“Can you help me and draw the house?
Rarity suggested that we should do the floor plan first.
And she had said, that three bedrooms are certainly most divine.
But I think, that a kitchen, a playroom and a...”
Twilight's stomach started to rumble, as Pinkie mentioned a kitchen and even the corner of her mouth were watering up.
She looked to her bowl of salad and opened her mouth.
“I will help you tomorrow, Pinkie.
But today was a long day and I'm hungry.
Would you mind...”
Pinkie covered her mouth with her hooves, put the things back on the desk and nodded.
“Of course, Twilight.
How rude of me.
I wanted to ask you out for a house building date. Well not a date date, but...
I mean, would you like meet me tomorrow for breakfast, I can make pancakes and...”
Twilight's stomach rumbled even louder and the mare blushed a little bit, as her eyes trailed off to her bowl.
She licked her lips and sighed deeply. Pinkie just nodded and bounced to the stair.
“Oki, doki, I should go now and let you eat.
Enjoy your meal, Twilight. See you tomorrow.”
She raced downstairs, past Spike, who were trying to clean the whole mess again and grumbled a few inaudible words into his scales.
Pinkie just rushed past him and took all of the dust with her outside. Spike just gaped confused after her and the cloud of dust.
“I'm sorry, Spike.
But I have to meet with Miss Cheerilee to talk about...”
Pinkie bit her lips to suppress the last word. She didn't want to ruin the surprise for anyone, so she fell silent and just raced.
She raced past the schoolhouse and to a small house behind it.
There waited the last door, who she had to knock today, Cheerilee's door. The round yellow door was opened by an almost sleepy looking pony.
Cheerilee stood behind the door, wrapped into a fluffy dark red bathrobe and looked to the nervously bouncing party pony.
Pinkie couldn't wait and started to blabber, as Cheerilee finally answered the door.
“Hello Cheerilee, I thought, I come for a visit and ask for...oh is that ginger tea?”
Pinkie sniffed mid sentence and caught a very familiar smell. Cheerilee just looked at her very confused, but nodded quickly and opened her mouth, but Pinkie babbled faster than she could answer and continued.
“You know, Caring mentioned that you can help me with Scoota...”
Cheerilee grabbed Pinkie, pulled her into the house and closed the door quickly, as the mare cried out Scootaloos name.
Pinkie had anticipated a corridor, but a huge room continued after the door. She looked around quickly, as she entered and turned her head from left to right.
The room was filled with books almost as many as the library, just interrupted from folders and dozens of pictures.
A huge desk stood beside an opening on the other side.
It was chock full with exercise books and sheets of paper, but one square was empty.
Well it wasn't total empty, but the purple teapot with a cup in the same colour didn't fill up the space in front of a comfortable armchair.
Directly above the free square, hung a dozen pictures from classes and a huge pinboard with pictures from students and a class schedule.
Pinkies attention was riveted by all the pictures above it and she took a deep breath, as she saw the dozens of smiling students.
These were many ponies, who just smiled because of one pony, Cheerilee. Certainly more ponies,than even Pinkie had brought to smile period.
In the middle of the pictures hung one from Scootaloo's class and Pinkie looked out for the pegasus.
She was sitting between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, had laid a hoof around both and smiled a real smile, as wide as she could muster.
Cheerilee waited and breathed out in relief, as Pinkie didn't say anything.
The teacher pulled the other mare to a yellow couch on the other side of the room and placed her there.
She turned to the desk and mumbled a question.
“Would you like some tea too, or do you want a little bit juice, Pinkie?”
Pinkie looked curiously to the left, but in the rest of the room were just a small table beside the couch and another two doors.
“A little bit juice would be nice.
Uh are you having a cold?”
The mare just sighed relieved and stepped through the next door into a small kitchen.
Cheerilee seemed to open cupboard and searched for something and closed them, as she couldn't find what she was looking for.
She answered Pinkies question meanwhile.
“No, no, but I want to prevent it, you know?
A teacher shouldn't fall ill.
Who would teach the foals in the meantime?”
She poured something into a glass and her voice sounded mumbler as before as she took it into her mouth.
“I have expected you a little bit earlier that day, you know?
I had waited half of the afternoon and thought, that you have to work today, Pinkie.”
The mare returned to the room and put a tray with a glass apple juice onto the small table. Pinkie grinned apologetic and grabbed the glass quickly.
She drank a small sip and breathed out quietly.
“I thought it would be more important to build a house first.
Daddy always says...”
Cheerilee cleared her throat and shook her head. She walked slowly to the desk, took her cup, returned to the couch and sat beside Pinkie.
She drank a sip on her own and sighed.
“I hope, that you two can live together some day, Pinkie.
But first it is more important to help Scootaloo.!”
The mare sounded so serious, that Pinkie turned her head and the smile faded away.
Cheerilee continued quietly and sounded even more serious.
“Scootaloo has problems to follow the lessons properly.
Her homework is getting thinner from week to week.”
Cheerilee took a deep breath, drank another sip and blow over the edge of the cup.
She sounded a little bit more positive and was able to smile wistfully.
“I don't think, that she is stupid, Pinkie. Far from it.
She could do it easily, when her room wouldn't be so messy.
Or when her mind wouldn't circle around other things.”
Cheerilee turned the head to Pinkie and examined her. The partypony cocked her head, smiled and opened her mouth, but Cheerilee shook her head and continued.
“Caring had said, that she is rarely in the orphanage and so didn't make much homework.
Even when Caring told her off, she didn't changed it for long.
And I can't let her stay in detention forever.”
Cheerilee cleared her throat and eyed up the confused mare again.
Pinkie raised a hoof, put it down again and drank another sip finally.
She thought for a good answer, but couldn't find anything. Cheerilee waited for a while, but continued as Pinkie couldn't say anything.
“So this is our last straw, Pinkie.
I have no choice, but to let her stay back and let her resit the whole class, when she doesn't get her act together now.
She would loose all of her friends and that would hurt her deeply!”
Pinkie started to sweat and started to stammer nervously.
“But...but...I wasn't good at school on my own. And I don't know, what Scootaloo should learn now...and...”
Cheerilee just smiled and nodded.
“That's the reason, why we're sitting together, Pinkie.
I can show you everything you have to know and I think, that you are capable of teaching her that.”
The mare sounded encouraging enough, that Pinkie calmed down and turned relived to the teacher.
Cheerilee put the cup down, laid both hooves on Pinkie's shoulders and sounded firmer.
“But you have to give her the much needed structure, Pinkie!
This is a very difficult task.”
Pinkie started to sweat again and cleared her throat nervously. But Cheerilee just smiled and nuzzled her encouraging.
“Don't worry.
I know you can do it!”
Pinkie sighed and her ears lowered themselves halfway.
The partypony's mane lost a little bit of her usual fluffyness and her smile faded into an unsecure expression.
Her mouth formed a question, who echoed within her.
“Do you really think, Cheerilee?”