//------------------------------// // Story 12 // Story: Another Day in Ponyville // by AnOrdinaryWriter //------------------------------// The room was filled with the sounds of discussion and laughter. Groovy music blared through the phonograph in the corner of the room, eliciting dance moves from the numerous party guests. At one side of the room sat a basket carrying water which filled it to the brim, and apples which rested submerged at the bottom. Ponies surrounded the basket, dipping their muzzles into the water to capture the apples and popping their heads out again with wet manes and an apple in their mouths. Some ponies ended up with strange objects in their mouths and one of them freaked out once a tiny alligator had appeared on their muzzle. A desert table was set up by the staircase in the room, that’s treats were disappearing by the second. The success of the party filled Pinkie Pie with joy, delighted that everypony was having a wonderful time. Pinkie wanted Twilight’s party to be something special, as today was exactly one year since the day she had become an alicorn. That day was one of the most important landmarks in their friendship, and undoubtedly, the most important day of Twilight’s life. That was the day her life had completely changed. The day where Twilight had embraced a new role, and thereafter earned the title, the princess of friendship. Pinkie Pie doubled the amount of decorations she would normally put up for this particular party. She had sent invitations to almost the entire population of Ponyville, and was overjoyed that over three quarters of the ponies she had invited attended the party. This party would highlight just how important that day was, not just for Twilight, but the rest of her friends as well. While her party guests were having fun, occupied with the fun activities she prepared, Pinkie Pie kept watch at the window by the front door. She stared, waiting for Twilight to arrive so they could surprise her. It was taking longer than Pinkie had expected for Twilight to arrive, but it didn’t matter. A few minutes were nothing, and she didn’t worry. After all, why would Twilight miss her own surprise party? As time passed, Pinkie excused herself from her station to try out one of the desserts she had made. She grabbed a cupcake and dropped it into her mouth, moaning in the deliciousness of her handiwork. Satisfied, she returned to the window, pulling the blinds back and peeking outside. She almost yelped when she saw that Twilight had almost reached the front door. Instead, she let out a loud gasp, and turned back to all of her party guests. “EVERYPONY!! TWILIGHT’S HERE, HIDE!!” Her shout was audible over the conversation and laughter, and everyone in the room immediately retreated behind a couch or table. Pinkie rushed over by the staircase where the room’s light switch was and flipped it downwards. The lights in the room died, although that didn’t make much of a difference. It didn’t matter though, it would still add to the surprise. She jumped behind the railing of the staircase excitedly as everyone else waited in anticipation for the door to open. The sound of the knob turning was followed by the ringing of a bell, and in came the guest of honor with her assistant on her back. Twilight looked around confused for a moment before Pinkie reached towards the light switch and flipped it upwards. Once the lights in the room turned on, the rest of the party guests jumped out of cover. “SURPRISE!!” everyone shouted in unison, smiles adorning each and every one of their faces. Twilight was startled for a moment, as was Spike, before a grin appeared on her face. Pinkie rushed over towards Twilight. “Welcome to your alicorn anniversary party, Twilight!” Pinkie happily announced to her friend. Twilight looked around at all the party decorations and games in the room. “Wow, thanks Pinkie. And thanks for the surprise everypony.” The rest of the party guests began resuming where they’d left off. “Wow, this looks so cool!” Spike said, jumping down from Twilight’s back and admiring all of Pinkie’s work. “You put so much work into decorating and getting everypony here… you didn’t have to do all this,” Twilight said, grateful for the extents that Pinkie went to for her. “Why wouldn’t I?” Pinkie Pie remarked. “I know that day was very special to you, so I wanted to make a party that was just as special to celebrate you becoming a princess!” “Thanks Pinkie.” “Enough thanking. Have some fun!” *** Twilight was having some of the most fun she had ever had. She helped herself to some of the desserts on the table and thought they tasted delicious, reminding herself how good of a baker Pinkie was. Eventually, she couldn’t help but dance with Pinkie once the music started getting good. Pinkie started going crazy to the music, kicking ponies around her and taking Twilight's hoof, spinning her at miles an hour. Hours had passed, and as Pinkie was dancing, she noticed Twilight wasn’t by her anymore. She slowly stopped moving and got down on all four legs, looking around. She finally saw Twilight who had been sitting on a couch, staring at everyone else looking depressed. Wondering what the matter was, she approached the couch, moving past the dancing ponies and giving them quick smiles as she passed by. She stopped in front of Twilight, and the alicorn looked up at her. “Hey,” Pinkie began. “What’s wrong, Twilight?” “Hi Pinkie,” Twilight said calmly. “I’m just… not feeling well…” “Twilight, is there something bothering you?” Pinkie said, concerned, taking a seat next to Twilight. “Yeah,” Twilight admitted. “Something just doesn’t feel right. I don’t know why, but I’ve been feeling this way for weeks. I don’t know how to explain it—it’s like I’m used to things being one way, but it feels like something’s changed, and now everything seems wrong. It’s like I’ve turned into a completely different pony. I don’t understand it.” Pinkie laid a comforting hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Twilight. I understand, and don’t worry. I know since you turned into an alicorn things have felt weird, but you’ll get used to it before you know it. It’s just gonna take some time. Think about Princess Celestia and Luna and how super weird it must have been for them once they became princesses, and look at them now.” Twilight smiled. Everyone saw Pinkie Pie as a strange, but funny pony that would act goofy and say strange things that made no sense, but they were only seeing her outside self. On the inside, she was a caring and smart pony. Even though she acted weird, she kept in mind the appropriate times for that act, and the times where she should put that act aside. Even though the fact that she was an alicorn wasn’t the reason why she was feeling down, she felt better anyways. Because she knew she had a friend who cared about her and her wellbeing. “Thank you for making me feel better, Pinkie Pie.” “And thank you for your smile, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie got up from her seat, as did Twilight. Neither of them noticed that the music had stopped, and Pinkie Pie quickly rushed over to the phonograph, inserting a new disc. Twilight was about to continue dancing, but noticed Rarity at the center of the room, dressed pointlessly fancy. She immediately felt bad upon being reminded of how she had treated Rarity the week before. How she had treated her rudely and kicked her out of the castle. She began to approach Rarity with the intention of apologizing. “Hey, Rarity,” Twilight said. Rarity turned to Twilight, and looked unexpectedly glad to see her. “Twilight, hi!” Twilight decided to get it over with. “Listen, I’m really sorry for how I treated you last week. I was really stressed and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. It was wrong of me to scream at you and I hope you can forgive me.” “Of course I forgive you, Twilight,” Rarity said, much to Twilight’s relief. “It’s not like one little outburst means we’re not friends anymore. Being a princess must be very stressful, and I completely understand that. I suppose I’m also sorry for peaking through your stuff.” “It’s fine, I don’t know why I got so angry over that…” “Say, you look a lot better today,” Rarity said, noticing her mane was looking much better than the ruffled mess that it was the last time she saw her. Twilight looked down at her straight and much cleaner mane. “Yeah, I’ve been doing a lot better recently.” The two heard a new disc being inserted into the phonograph, playing their favorite song, and together, they began dancing to their hearts’ content. It was a good day. Unfortunately, it would be the last…