The prompt: Pinkie Pie invites her four best friends to her birthday party.
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Twilight Sparkle stood outside Sugarcube Corner, taking in the peeling paint and the scorch marks on the wall. The bakery had seen far, far better days. She remembered when the three lamps – designed to look like candles – had burned all through the day. Now two were broken, and the other hadn’t been lit for as long as she could remember. Sugarcube corner had been a wonder, once upon a time – but as time had moved on, the lovely couple who had run it, whose names Twilight couldn’t quite remember, had passed on and their children had moved on to bigger and arguably better things.
Care of the Corner had fallen to Pinkie – they had all been worried about that, at first, but to Twilights ever lessening surprise the crazy, random, unreliable party pony had proven them wrong time and time again. For years, Sugarcube hadn’t just existed – it had, quite literally, shined. To say the place was always spotless and never had a scratch would be doing Pinkie Pie a great injustice – between her and Rainbow Dash, the place had suffered at least a thousand small explosions and probably more fires than that. But the damage was always done when the bakery was empty and no one could be hurt, and for a very long time it had been repaired within short order.
But years took their toll, even on Pinkie Pie. Especially on Pinkie Pie. It wasn’t that her friend didn’t want to take care of the bakery anymore – the number of times Twilight had tried in vain to make her give it up were a testament to that. It was just that she couldn’t. She was too old, now, and in no state to keep the old place from falling apart. Sometimes, Twilight wondered if –
She was snapped out of her thoughts, right on schedule, by the sound of loud, cheerful music – polka music – starting to pour forth from within Sugarcube Corner. It was an old, old tune – one she knew far too well, and one that brought back more memories than she would have liked. As it washed over her she couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Applejack hadn’t come – the farmpony had promised she’d be there, but she wasn’t. It likely wasn’t a choice, on her part – more than once Applebloom had stepped in to stop her stubborn sister from endangering her own health, and the snowstorm that swirled all around her now…well, it was undeniably stupid even for her to be out in it.
A step to her right and the heartbreakingly predictable pink pony, having launched out of the bushes an instant before, tumbled past her and landed in a heap on the doorstep with a surprised cry that quickly became a giggle, and then a loud, echoing laugh. Long ago, Twilight might have joined in. But not anymore – in truth, when the party pony finally got herself under control and blinked those wide, beautiful, shining eyes up at her with a grin on her face in was all Twilight could do to fake a smile.
“Wow, Twilight, I’m impressed! I saw you just standing there waiting to be let in and I thought I’d get you for sure. How’d you know I was there, huh? Was I too loud? Do I need to be sneakier? I can totally be sneakier! Me and Dashie’ve been practising and I –” Twilight cut her friend off. She had to, or she’d ramble for hours.
“I think you’re just getting a little predictable.” She said the words, as she often did, without really thinking about them, and not for the first time she regretted it deeply as she saw the pain flash across Pinkie’s almost unchanged face. It was gone in a flash, but still – she resolved to consider her words more carefully the next time.
“Predictable, hmmmmm?” Pinkie’s eyes narrowed and her smile was replaced by a smirk that reminded Twilight more of a certain Pegasus than the baker – that was a smile that had always, always meant ‘I’m going to have to prove you wrong now, Twilight Sparkle’ no matter who had been wearing it. And then her friend was up on her hooves, embracing her in a hug and laughing. “Well, let’s hope Dashie and Fluttershy don’t predict their super –duper-welcome-home-surprise party because that wouldn’t be any fun at all, and I worked really really hard on it and it’s the best party I’ve ever thrown!”
Twilight ran a hoof through her friends mane with a small smile of her own. “I’m sure you’ve outdone yourself, Pinkie. You always do. And I bet they’d love it.”
“Well of course they will, silly filly – who wouldn’t!? We got games, and dancing, music and party food! Who doesn’t love party food!? I mean there’re cakes and pies and cider – I got the cider specially for Dashie – and those little…bun things, Fluttershy likes! You know the ones…uhmmm.” The party pony, hoof still draped over her shoulder, guided her through the door and into the main room.
“You know Pinkie, generally when you’ve been baking something for thirty years you can call it by its name.” She glanced around the room as she entered, barely noticing the decorations and party supplies that filled it. It was beautiful – but if she dwelt on it for too long, it would break her heart.
“Pfft,” Pinkie shot back, “Who needs names? Names are booooooooooooring. I memorise by taste n’ recipe and I never, ever forget! Ooooooh, you know what else we got? Doyadoyadoyadoya?”
“Crème Brulee.” Twilight answered, absently.
“Crème Br – Hey! How’d you know? Did you peek? Or are you just a super-smart-cutie-patootie-smarty pants today?” Pinkie stepped in front of her, and pressed her muzzle against Twilights own, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Twilight stared back, trying to keep from crying.
“Hmmmmmmmmmmm,” Hmm-ed Pinkie, before grinning at her, “Nope, no cheating there! Guess you’re just a smarty pants, huh? And you totally still have a cutie patootie, even if you got kinda old. You want something to drink? Of course you do! What do you want to drink? Punch? I’ve got punch!”
“Punch sounds lovely.” Keeping the cheer in her voice was getting harder, and she had a purpose here. Dragging it out wouldn’t help things, and so as she slumped down at one of the many tables filling the room she began. “I couldn’t help noticing you didn’t invite Rarity. Is something wrong?” She tried to keep the question casual, and she kept a close eye on Pinkie – saw the way the other pony froze, for just a second, body tense and a frown on her face. Saw the party pony force a smile onto her face. And it was impossible not to notice the way she pretended the question hadn’t been asked.
“Applejack couldn’t make it, huh? Well, I think the girls’ll understand – her hips are getting pretty bad and it’d do her no good at all to be walking through all this snow! We should totally take her some cake after though, if there’s any left when Dashie gets through with it anyway because –”
Twilight sighed, softly. Applejack would never have ‘walked’ through the snow. Applejack hadn’t walked anywhere in three years – Pinkie, who’d been there for the farmer every step of the way, should have known that better than anypony. The unicorn bit down on her lip to chase the tears away, before continuing steadily. “Pinkie, why didn’t you invite Rarity?”
“Oh, that.” The tone was light and breezy, dismissive – a tone Pinkie never, ever used for her friends. “I think she’s mad at me again. She hasn’t been around a whole lot recently, and when I went to visit her the other day she threw me out! That was really mean, so I decided ‘no parties for Miss Meanie Pants until she says sorry!’
“How DARE you!?” The Unicorn had roared, any hint of elegance dropping from her voice, “Do you think this is FUNNY!?”
“O…Of course not! Why would it be funny? That’s horrible! I just…I just don’t get why Dashie didn’t come – Fluttershy was her best friend, and she’s too much of a meanie to even show up at her funeral?”
“Pinkie, I put up with a lot from you – but my best friend is dead, and you have the nerve to stand here in the middle of her funeral and make jokes about Rainbow Dash!? You were supposed to be HER best friend!”
“Jokes? Please…please I’m not…I’m not joking I –”
“Don’t play dumb! She’s DEAD, Pinkie Pie. She’s not here because she’s DEAD! They BOTH ARE!”
“No! No. Dashie….she’s…she’s not! You’re LYING! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT!?”
The tears were coming now, and Twilight couldn’t stop them. She knew she should answer Pinkie, knew she should tell her the truth – but she couldn’t. She’d broken Pinkie’s heart so many times now, and each time it got harder. It was easier just to let the party pony hug her, to bury her face in her friend’s neck and cry until she couldn’t anymore.
“You miss them too, huh?” Pinkie whispered gently. Twilight just nodded, not saying a word.
“I know. It’s been…I don’t even remember. Too long. But it’s okay! They’ll be here soon! I threw them a party, and Dashie’d never miss one of my parties. She Pinkie promised!”