Inside of Ponyville's castle, Star Twinkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all stood patiently in line in the entrance hall waiting for some visitors to arrive. The only one who was nervously walking up and down was, of course, Twilight.
Star Twinkle could only roll his eyes at the sight of this. For some reason though, that got the attention of Twilight. "You look nervous. There's no reason to be nervous. Nothing to worry about. Everything's gonna be fine!" The mare then said being the full definition of nervous right now.
Again, Star Twinkle rolled his eyes. "Twilight can we please skip the usual "you freaking out about nothing," Part?" the stallion said in annoyance. He found himself way too often in a situation like this to not get annoyed. Twilight was simply too nervous, like every other time when she prepared something for someone, and of course, she was really bad in hiding it.
As expected, Pinkie Pie was not the least bit nervous. "Twilight, tell those butterflies in your tummy to beat it! Making new friends is always fun," she said.
"They're probably just as nervous as you are," Fluttershy added.
"You've been plannin' this shindig for weeks. You know everything about these fellers. It's gonna be dandy," Applejack further pointed out.
Twilight inhaled and exhaled slowly, she managed to calm down a little bit after hearing those words. "You're right. Remember, Equestria and Yakyakistan haven't opened their borders for hundreds of moons. In fact, Yakyakistan is so far north of the Crystal Mountains, nopony's even been there! Imagine the look on Princess Celestia's face when she finds out we made friends with a yak prince!" She said in a more nervous voice than ever. "I'm calm! I'm calm..." She then kept telling herself, which was, of course, wishful thinking.
"No, you are not..." Star Twinkle thought to himself. He just wanted this to be over quick so that he no longer had to look at the mare in this state.
It was then when Spike blew into a trumpet, next to the door to let everypony know that their visitors have arrived. Of course, Twilight was on the brink of completely losing it for a moment but she tried her best to hide it, something she wasn't really good at.
As soon as the door opened two big yaks entered the room. Yaks were big creatures with big horns and a lot of fur on their bodies. Despite their bulky appearance though, they carried a lot of pride with them. There was something regal about them. The two yaks stepped aside and revealed another yak behind them, it was Prince Rutherford, who was wearing golden ornaments around his horns, giving him an even more regal looking appearance.
It just struck Star Twinkle that he was in the presence of royalty and he could actually understand why Twilight was nervous now.
"Ponies! Greetings, ponies!" The rough voice of the prince said as soon as he stepped into the castle.
Twilight promptly teleported herself in front of the prince. "Prince Rutherford, your Majesty," she said as she bowed down in respect. "On behalf of all of us, I welcome you to Equestria," she said.
"Me honored. Yaks hope for great friendship between ponies and yaks," Prince Rutherford replied. "FRIENDS FOR A THOUSAND MOONS!" He then shouted in a loud echoing voice, which caused Twilight to rub her ears for a moment.
Now Twilight got a little nervous again. If she would mess up, then it would be her fault now since the yaks definitely seem to wish the same thing as her. This only puts more pressure on the mare.
Luckily, she prepared some things in advance with the help of her friends. "You must be hungry after a long journey," she said before she gave Star Twinkle a signal to push a table in front of the yaks. "We've prepared a banquet of traditional yak foods," she explained.
The prince hesitated at first but he eventually gave the food a try but not before making one thing clear. "If things not perfect, yaks get mad. Yaks always get mad when things not perfect!" He explained.
Twilight just gulped after hearing that. As if she didn't have enough reasons to be nervous already.
Prince Rutherford then gave the food a try. It didn't take long until he spat it out though "This no taste like yak food!" He complained. "Fake pony food make yaks mad!" The prince said in anger.
What then followed was him and his yak companions roaring through the halls of the castle before knocking over the table in front of them and stomping on it angrily. They then crashed into the walls and pretty much everything breakable in the room. Or to put it in simpler terms, the wrecked havoc in the castle.
No one really knew how to react to all of this but Star Twinkle was putting it in the best words now. "Okay...maybe, for once, you had all the rights to be nervous," the stallion admitted.
"Yeah," Pinkie Pie added with a surprised look on her face. She clearly did not expect this meeting to go this way as well. "Is it okay to be nervous now?" She then asked.
A little later...
It all happened so fast. The yaks came to visit, they tasted the food, they didn't like it, they decided to destroy the place. And of course, it was up to the group to fix the mess that those yaks left.
"Them yaks sure have a funny way of sayin' "howdy"." Applejack said while she
Rarity said, putting it mildly as well. "They're different, that's all. Very... different,"
But Star Twinkle had no problem speaking his mind. "A bunch of brutes is what they are," he said in an annoyed tone while he was busy fixing a wall of the castle.
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed. "I think they broke my record for most stuff broken in under a minute. I mean, they even broke the trophy," she said while she presented said trophy in front of everypony before it completely broke in her hoof.
But Twilight remained positive. "All we have to do is show them how great it can be to have friends before Princess Celestia arrives for the friendship party tonight. Now, who read the seven-volume cross-indexed history of Yakyakistan I recommended?" She asked.
But what she got as an answer was not much to her liking. The whole group was nervously avoiding eye contact, a clear sign that no one read what Twilight told them to.
"I have read...one..." Star Twinkle then said hesitantly in the middle of that.
"One volume?" Twilight asked, seeing how that was better than nothing.
"One chapter..." Star Twinkle then added, taking all hope away from Twilight again.
Luckily, there was actually one pony who did as Twilight told her. And her name was Pinkie Pie. "I did, I did! Did you know they live so far north of the Crystal Empire that it's cold all the time? Yaks have yak fur to keep them warm," she explained as she formed some fur around her face with her mane.
"Pretty sure that's what fur's always for, Pinkie Pie," Applejack pointed out.
"I know! Yaks are so cool!" Pinkie Pie then exclaimed loudly while appearing behind Applejack, causing her to drop the hammer she was holding and making it crash into the vase below her, which Rarity was just fixing. Needless to say, Rarity was not too happy about that.
With Pinkie Pie having some knowledge about the yaks now, Twilight figured it was the best idea to let her handle the situation. "Pinkie Pie, can you show them around town? I know you have to plan the friendship party too, but it would really help make them feel welcome," she asked of the mare.
Of course, Pinkie Pie was ready to help in any way possible. "Don't worry. They'll be in good hooves with me and Star Twinkle!"
The stallion's ears peeled up in confusion. "Wait...why me!?" He asked confused, feeling a little dragged into this situation without any warning from Pinkie Pie.
The mare quickly explained. "You said you read something about the yaks so that means you basically know as much as I do! That could help us out a lot," she said.
"One chapter!" Star Twinkle exclaimed annoyed. "I read one chapter! How does that make me a good help!?" He asked frustrated.
But Twilight had to disagree. Maybe she was also getting desperate right now. "That's better than nothing! In case you haven't noticed, we are not on the best terms with the yaks right now! We need every single bit of help to make them feel better now!" The mare explained, her voice sounding more frustrated by the second.
Star Twinkle just had to help now. The situation was pretty bad after all and the stallion was pretty much pushed too much into this situation to not help now.
But in order to not put him and Pinkie Pie under too much pressure, Twilight decided that everyone should help in some kind of way. She wanted the yaks to feel like home and the group had to somehow archive that. One of them would come up with a solution eventually.
The group quickly agreed to this plan and they vowed to make the yaks their friends by the end of the day.
Later...
The first stop was Applejack's farm, one of her barns to be exact. With the help of Applejack, Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie prepared a little something to show Prince Rutherford and his two yak companions.
They build three beds made out of hay. Apparently, yaks tend to sleep on those in Yakyakistan.
Applejack proudly presented those beds to them. "We know y'all are noble warriors who avoid the so-called finer things, so me and my family would be honored if you rested here in the barn during your visit," she offered with a generous smile on her face.
"Star Twinkle, Applejack and I made hay beds like you're used to back in Yakyakistan," Pinkie Pie explained.
Just like before with the food, the yaks seemed really hesitant at first which made the three ponies feel a little bit nervous since they knew what happened before. But they then were surprised to hear Prince Rutherford's answer.
"This perfect," he said in a grumpy tone.
The three Earth Ponies sighed in relief after hearing that.
"You can snooze here all afternoon, 'cause you're gonna need a lot of energy for my party tonight!" Pinkie Pie said happily.
"Yes. I bet you all forget the bad things that happened earlier today if you sleep for a while," Star Twinkle added with a nervous smile on his face.
Once more, Applejack sighed in relief. "That wasn't so hard," she admitted happily.
But of course, things couldn't possibly go this smooth...
"Wait! This not yak hay!" Prince Rutherford pointed out.
And now it was Pinkie Pie who got a little bit nervous. "Well, we didn't have actual hay from Yakyakistan, but we tried our best to make it just like yours," she explained.
"It's the thought that counts, right?" Star Twinkle said nervously with a smile on his face.
That was not enough though. "Not perfect!" Prince Rutherford exclaimed angrily. "Yaks destroy!" He then said before they repeated what they did earlier this day. They destroyed everything, starting with the beds and continuing with the rest of the barn.
"Run!" Star Twinkle said in a panic before he, Pinkie Pie and Applejack ran outside to flee from the destruction that the yaks would cause.
They could still hear the three yaks smashing everything into pieces from outside. They had to come up with something new for the yaks. All eyes were set on Pinkie Pie, in the hope that she knew what to do. Luckily, it didn't take too long until she knew what to do next.
Later...
The next plan, to make the yaks feel like home, was to present them some creatures and animals that are living in Yakyakistan. For that, the group decided to take some of Fluttershy's critters and let them put on some yak horns, that looked like the ones that the yaks had on their heads.
Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie stood behind a curtain, along with Fluttershy who was just done preparing her animal friends.
"You sure this is gonna work?" Star Twinkle asked. He didn't even attempt to hide his worry.
Pinkie Pie gave a positive response. "Of course it does! What could possibly go wrong?" She had the nerve to ask.
"They don't like it, they get mad, they smash everything," Star Twinkle reminded her.
The mare laughed nervously. "That didn't happen for a while now," she replied.
"It happened half an hour ago..." Star Twinkle thought with an annoyed look on his face.
But despite the stallion's warning, Pinkie Pie decided to proceed. She stepped out from behind the curtain and walked over to the three yaks to start her little presentation.
"And now, for your entertainment pleasure... Presenting animals, Yakyakistan style!" She announced before the curtain opened and Fluttershy's animal friends walked up to the yaks.
Prince Rutherford and his companions silently watched until he finally spoke his mind. "Animals cute," he simply said in a serious tone.
Fluttershy was relieved to hear that. "Oh. Thank goodness," she said.
But only a few seconds later, things went wrong. One of the animals stumbled and the horns on its head fell off, much to the dislike of Prince Rutherford.
"Wait. These antlers lie! These not Yakyakistani animals!" He said angrily "Yaks smash!" He then added before he and his companions tried to stomp the animals in front of them.
Of course, Fluttershy was about to get a heart-attack by simply hearing this but she managed to grab all of her animal friends and saved them. The same could not be said about the picnic, that the three put in front of them. The yaks smashed everything, again...
Star Twinkle only watched in frustration. "This is reaching almost comedic levels now," he thought after he witnessed the yaks reacting and acting pretty stupid from his point of view.
"Pinkie?" Star Twinkle asked, looking at Pinkie Pie, in the hope to hear another idea from her.
"Well... There's still other things we can do. I think," she said. It was obvious that she was getting pretty flustered about all of this now as well.
Later...
This time, Pinkie Pie decided to show the yaks Carousel Boutique. She figured that they would probably like to see some nice fabrics. Star Twinkle figured that the mare was getting out of ideas by now but maybe it actually will work this time. He didn't know much about yaks anyway so maybe they actually would like some of this stuff.
Of course, Rarity was in her full element and proudly presented her boutique to the yaks. She levitated a fabric towards the yaks to let them inspect it closer.
"Yes! These are some of my favorite materials. Very rare, imported from the Crystal Empire to match your northern sensibilities," she said. "I hope you'll find them—" she continued before she noticed that all three of the yaks were chewing on the fabric.
Shortly after, the three then spat out the fabric again, and as expected, they didn't like it. "This no taste like yak fabric! Yaks destroy!" Prince Rutherford said angrily before the same thing started that they did before, they destroyed everything in sight, much to Rarity's dislike.
Star Twinkle looked over to the pink party mare. "Pinkie?" He simply said. His voice was beginning to sound really desperate by now.
Pinkie Pie smiled in response but she couldn't hide her frustration as well. "Everything's gonna be fine."
The stallion did not believe her, or at least he didn't believe her that she was thinking that everything was gonna be okay. But by now, Star Twinkle was desperate too. He just wished that those yaks would get happy in some way, somehow.
Later...
The next stop was on an open meadow in the middle of the town. Star Twinkle made sure to lead the yaks over there while Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash prepared something. The stallion didn't know what they were up to but he wished that whatever they came up with would help. It would certainly be the right time to do something right for once.
"Please wait here for a moment. Pinkie Pie will be right back with...something..." Star Twinkle explained to the three yaks.
Prince Rutherford did not seem to be happy at all to hear this. "Yaks don't like to wait! Yaks get angry when waiting, and then yaks-"
"Smash stuff, yes I know," Star Twinkle replied annoyed. Those yaks seemed rather simple-minded when it came to something like this, he felt.
Luckily, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash came back relatively quickly. Pinkie Pie stepped in front of Star Twinkle. "I'll take care from this point on," she said confidently towards the stallion before she directed Rainbow Dash to fly above the heads of the yaks while placing a cloud over them. "Listen up! Tell your faces to hold onto their frowns, 'cause they're about to get turned upside-down!" Pinkie Pie announced to the yaks.
"Hold your frown, face!" Prince Rutherford replied with a ready voice.
Pinkie Pie then gave a signal. "Hit it, Rainbow Dash!" She said.
Moments later, Rainbow Dash kicked the cloud and a big pile of snow came falling down right on the heads of the three yaks.
"Just like Yakyakistan snow, right?" Pinkie Pie said. "Because snow is snow, no matter where it comes from," she pointed out, being surprisingly logical in this situation.
The three yaks stood there motionless and unimpressed. Prince Rutherford just licked off some of the snow from his face. immediately after, his eyes popped open in shock. "This not yak snow!" He said angrily before he and his two companions were throwing snow around angrily.
"Seriously?! ...Seriously?" Pinkie Pie then said annoyed. Not even she could believe that this was happening right now. She was simply overwhelmed when it came to those yaks. She didn't know what to do anymore.
"Let's go and meet up with the others. I think we need to come up with something else," Star Twinkle suggested.
Things were already bad enough now so leaving the yaks alone for a moment was probably not making any difference anyway. It's not like Star Twinkle was eager to spend more time with the yaks anyway if they continued to act like this.
Later...
Inside the throne room of Twilight's castle, the group was recapping what happened between them and the yaks so far. And just like before, after the yaks arrived, everypony was putting it very mildly.
"Y'know... it's goin' okay," Applejack said.
"Satisfactory, I'd say," Rarity agreed.
"It could be better," Rainbow Dash admitted.
"It's not very good," Fluttershy whispered under her breath.
Star Twinkle was about to speak his mind in this situation, but Pinkie Pie was one step ahead for once. "It's a disaster!" She exclaimed in frustration.
That was not exactly what Twilight wanted to hear at all, judging from hear twitching ears and eyes, not to mention the nervous grin on her face. "Pinkie Pie, tonight's Yakyakistan theme party is more important than ever! You'll make them forget all about this afternoon, right?" She asked towards the pink mare, who in response formed a really weak smile on her face. "Because if it's not perfect, they're gonna smash everything! And I'm not sure how much more smashing this visit can take!"
"Seriously!" Steel Hammer said who was just entering the throne room, much to the surprise of everyone. "I was just about to come and tell you that I was pretty busy repairing a lot of stuff that, apparently, was smashed by some yaks who visited this town. Now I do like my job but I could really appreciate if those yaks could stop destroying stuff for today!" The stallion said in a rather annoyed tone.
"Maybe if the party is a success?" Star Twinkle said before looking over to Pinkie Pie.
"It definitely will!" Pinkie Pie said. Her voice did not sound very convincing though. "I think. Maybe...?" She then added quietly, making it even more obvious that she was nervous as well.
But despite all that Applejack still was pretty optimistic. "You're the best gosh-darn party planner in Equestria," she said.
"You'll show 'em a good time!" Rainbow Dash said with confidence in her voice.
"You can do it!" Fluttershy added.
"We have absolute confidence in your abilities, Pinkie Pie," Rarity added.
With all those ponies showing that much confidence, there, of course, was one who could not show the same amount of optimism. And that one was Star Twinkle.
"I think the problem is more about the yaks acting unreasonable and not us trying to put much work into things..." he thought. He felt that saying those words out loud at this moment was not the best idea.
"It's going to be the most happy-tacular party ever! I hope!" Pinkie Pie replied after all those compliments, her voice still sounding really nervous. She also smiled really awkwardly and her eyes were moving around hastily.
Rainbow Dash quickly picked up on that later. "Why are your eyes darting around like that?" She asked.
"It's what I do when I'm not nervous!" She replied before she started laughing hysterically. An obvious sign that she was almost losing it.
Twilight surprisingly did not pick up on that behavior and just thanked the mare for her help. "Pinkie Pie, I don't know what we'd do without you—"
"Me either! Gotta go!" Pinkie Pie then said before she stormed out of the room, only to come right back to grab Star Twinkle. "And you are coming with me!"
"Wha-!? Why!? Hey!" Star Twinkle replied before he was pulled out of the room, forcefully accompanying the mare.
Pinkie Pie was rushing through the town with Star Twinkle, forcefully, tagging along. Before he knew it, they were inside Pinkie Pie's room, where she closed the door immediately behind them. Once the door was closed, the mare started to hyperventilate heavily.
"Are you...alright?" Star Twinkle asked, fully knowing how stupid that question may be.
The mare grabbed Star Twinkle's cheeks. "I AM NOT!" She screamed right into the face of the stallion, causing him to fall over in shock. Once Star Twinkle got up on his hooves again, he noticed how Pinkie Pie was jumping around the room nervously until she finally decided to lay her head on the sofa, as if she was completely broken now.
"Um...calm down..." Star Twinkle said in a pretty unconvincing tone. He just had the feeling that he should say something. "I'm sure the party that you planned will be a huge success and the yaks forget all about the rest of the day, just like Twilight said," he pointed out.
Pinkie Pie then jumped up and right in front of the stallion. "No, you don't understand! I had all this amazing stuff planned for the party, but they're gonna hate it! There's no way to make Equestria feel like Yakyakistan. They're just too sensitive! Even Fluttershy made them mad! Fluttershy!"
Star Twinkle had to admit that things were looking a little bit difficult. "They sure are a tough crowd," he figured. "But when it comes to parties you know what to do...right?" He asked.
"But it won't be enough!" Pinkie Pie replied. "I need a new idea, and I need it now. How am I supposed to make this party feel like Yakyakistan?" She asked.
"They really don't seem to get happy unless they are confronted with something that is actually from Yakyakistan..." the stallion figured. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's eyes popped open and she looked over to Star Twinkle. At first, he wondered why she was looking at him like that but then he slowly seemed to have figured out what would come next, and he didn't like it one bit. "Oh no! No no no no!"
Pinkie Pie had exactly planned what Star Twinkle feared, much to his dislike. Of course, he was kinda forced to tag along again...
Later...
Twilight herself was keeping a close look and tried her best to make the yaks feel at home. She brought them to Sugarcube Corner to offer them some Yakyakistan-style Cake, made by Ms. Cake. Naturally, Twilight was really nervous about the outcome of this and was sweating buckets just showing the yaks the building.
"And this is Sugarcube Corner. They're working hard to make your traditional Yakyakistan cake," she said, pointing at the building in front of her.
"Vanilla extract balance very tricky," Prince Rutherford just replied. His two companions just nodded in agreement to that.
That was not really what the mare wanted to hear right now. She needed some good news for once.
"Do you mind, um, waiting here for one moment?" She said before she teleported away and appeared inside Sugarcube Corner now. She needed to know how Pinkie Pie's party was doing and if it was good enough to save the situation.
"How's tonight's party coming? I'm doing what I can, but it's really up to you at this point!" She said as she was nervously walking up and down inside of Pinkie Pie's room. It didn't take long though until she realized that no one was there to listen to her. "...Pinkie? Where are you?!" She screamed in frustration.
A little later...
Wondering where the mare went to, she sent her friends to look for her while waiting inside her room. It didn't take long until her friends came back. "Did you find her?" She asked in a panic.
"Angel and I searched the forest, but..." Fluttershy said.
"Aerial recon turned up nothing either," Rainbow Dash said.
"I searched the farm inside and out. No Pinkie Pie," Applejack said. "But I did find a set of Granny Smith's dentures under the house, so... not a complete loss," she added.
"She's simply vanished!" Rarity figured.
Twilight was on the brink of completely going insane. "But the party! It's all we have left! What are we gonna do?!" She exclaimed in a panic, seeing how everything will turn out even worse than she could possibly imagine. In the middle of her frustration though, Pinkie Pie's pet alligator, Gummy, was falling from the ceiling and right on Twilight's head, much to her surprise. There was a small note stuck inside his mouth, which the mare quickly inspected.
"Don't worry. I'll be back in time for the party. Took Star Twinkle with me just in case. Love, Pinkie Pie."
Twilight was calming down a little bit more now after she realized that Pinkie Pie's absence had a reason. "If Pinkie Pie says she'll be back in time for the party, she'll be back. We have to trust her. Right?" She started laughing nervously. No reason to freak out!" She said as she was freaking out.
"Don't worry, Twilight," Fluttershy said as she put a hoof on the shoulder of the nervous mare.
"When it comes to parties, I think she knows what she's doin'," Applejack added confidently.
Twilight slowly inhaled and exhaled. It seemed to have calmed her down a little. "You're right. Let's just focus on keeping the yaks happy 'til she's back," she said with sweat dripping down her forehead.
"Piece o' cake," Rainbow Dash just replied casually.
Twilight instantly freaked out. "The cake!" She exclaimed. She just ow remembered that Prince Rutherford and his yak companions were just now waiting for the promised Yakyakistan-style cake that she promised them.
Only one floor below them, Ms. Cake already offered the prince a slice of a really tall cake, which is supposed to be the Yakyakistan cake.
"One bite, and you'll be transported right back to Yakyakistan," Ms. Cake said with a nervous laugh followed right behind.
"I hope," Steel Hammer added annoyed before he readied a hammer. He knew that they just would get mad again so he already prepared himself for that.
A second later, Twilight appeared next to the two ponies. She saw how Prince Rutherford already took a bite only to get angry after he was done eating.
"Ponies too heavy on vanilla extract!" The yak said angrily before he smashed the rest of the cake, along with the table, followed by his two companions smashing everything in sight.
Steel Hammer just sighed annoyed. "Here we go again..." he said before he walked up to the broken table to repair it right away.
Twilight only had a frustrated expression on her face. "We've never needed a party so badly. Pinkie Star Twinkle, please come back soon," she wished. The mare had no idea how much more she could take. This whole situation needed to be fixed and fast.
In the meantime...
Away from Ponyville, inside a train that was heading to the Crystal Empire, both Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie were sitting next to each other. Pinkie Pie looked out of the window while Star Twinkle looked at her with an annoyed look on his face.
"Why am I here?" He just asked himself. "This is really not a good idea..."
Pinkie Pie remained silent for the most of the trip, much to Star Twinkle's surprise but she eventually started to speak while staring out of the window.
"And so my quest begins. I know what you're thinking. "Why go to Yakyakistan alone, Pinkie Pie?" Because I'm the party planner. This burden falls on my rump and my rump alone..." she monologues in a very serious voice.
"And maybe Star Twinkle's rump!" Pinkie Pie then said in her usual cheerful voice.
"Why are you talking like this?" The stallion asked confused.
But Pinkie Pie didn't answer and continued her monologue...
"If I want a great party, I gotta climb the mountains north of the Crystal Empire, find Yakyakistan, and come back with something authentic!" She said before she turned towards Star Twinkle again. "Know what I mean?" She then asked cheerfully again.
"Why am I here, Pinkie?" Star Twinkle just replied, feeling dragged along for no reason.
Pinkie Pie snickered in response. "I thought it would be fun if we both go on a trip like this. It's not often you get to visit Yakyakistan after all!"
"And you think bring back something from Yakyakistan is gonna help us making the yaks feel at home?" Star Twinkle asked. It didn't take long though until he remembered what happened throughout the day and why it was happening. "Maybe it actually will work. We still need to get back for the party though," he pointed out.
But Pinkie Pie was really confident. "Don't you worry, we will be back for the party in no time. Unless things go wrong on the way there," she added casually.
And just like that, something did happen of course...
The train came to an abrupt hold causing Pinkie Pie to fall forward because of the quick brake and making her bump into Star Twinkle. "Oof!" He said after the mare bumping into his stomach area. "You just had to say it!" He said annoyed with some pain in his voice.
From the looks of it, the train was not gonna drive anymore and came to a hold in Dodge City. When Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie walked outside the train, Pinkie Pie was wondering why they were making hold here.
"Did we go the wrong way? Where's all the snow? Please tell me this is magical sand-colored snow," she asked before she took a bite and tasted the sand on the ground. Since it was sand, she immediately spat it out again in disgust. "Nope. Sand. Definitely sand," she found out.
Luckily, a conductor appeared next to the two to give them some insight. "Dodge City. End of the line, I'm afraid. All trains had to stop. Sheep decided to sit on the tracks," he told them.
Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie both looked ahead on the tracks, that is where they saw a bunch of sheep actually walking on the tracks, blocking it completely for the train to drive past.
Realizing that, Pinkie Pie screamed on top of her lungs. "Curse you, sheep!"
After the mare calmed down again, the two walked into Dodge Town. "Now what do we do?" He asked. They already came this far but with no train heading to Yakyakistan, they certainly ran into a problem.
Still, Pinkie Pie was not giving up hope. "I don't know..." she casually replied as she hopped away happily. "Maybe we will find some help in town?" She figured.
"If you say so..." Star Twinkle replied, lacking the same optimism that Pinkie Pie showed.
Pinkie Pie then was stopped in her track all of the sudden. The door of an outside toilet door was smashed right into her face by the pony walking outside it. It was an accident and Pinkie Pie didn't get hurt too bad, she managed to get up quickly and instead of getting mad or anything, she got surprised to see who the pony was that smacked the door into her face.
"Cherry Jubilee!" She said as soon as she recognized the mare.
The mare turned around and smiled as soon as she saw the two Earth Ponies. "Pinkie Pie, Star Twinkle?! I reckoned I eyeballed you crossin' my way right now," she said excitedly after she saw two familiar faces.
Back when Applejack was attending the rodeo in Canterlot and was too afraid to come back with not enough money, it was Cherry Jubilee who offered her a job. Star Twinkle well remembered how much trouble they ran into back then to get Applejack to return to Ponyville.
But that was long ago, and since then, everypony befriended the mare already. It was a while though since they met her again.
"How are you? You look amazing!" Pinkie Pie greeted the mare.
Star Twinkle then coughed, grabbing the attention of Pinkie Pie. He was happy to see a friend again as well but they were kind of in a hurry and he needed to remind his friend to that.
"Oh, yeah!" Pinkie Pie then said before she grabbed Cherry Jubilee's shoulders. "We need help!" she then said in a hurry, much to the mare's surprise.
"I'm dandy as a daffodil and fit as a floribunda. What can I do ya for?" Cherry Jubilee replied, offering her help to the two ponies who were desperately in need of it right now.
Pinkie Pie explained the situation. "Have you heard of Yakyakistan? Do you have any idea how we can get there?" She asked.
Luckily, Cherry Jubilee seemed to be ready to help with that. "Mark your calendars, 'cause this right here's your lucky day! I'm headin' north to the Crystal Empire myself for a delivery," she explained before she took both of the ponies to a wagon with four big stallions standing in front of it. "I ought to warn you though – me and the boys are powerful tired 'cause we was up all night countin' cherries," she added.
"Counting cherries? How many?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.
Cherry Jubilee gave a quick answer. "Four hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred and thirty-four."
That was a really big number. "That's a lot," Star Twinkle just said before he stepped into the wagon along with Pinkie and sat down next to some baskets filled with cherries.
And like that, Cherry Jubilee was ordering the stallions to go and the journey could continue. It might take them a little bit longer than traveling by train but at least they were making progress again.
Some time had passed since they left Dodge City and just like inside the train, Pinkie Pie remained silent for most of the time. It was Star Twinkle who then tried to start a conversation to skip the time a little bit faster.
"So...once we arrive in Yakyakistan, what should we-"
"And so my quest resumes," Pinkie Pie then said in her serious monologue voice again, ignoring Star Twinkle's attempt to speak with her.
"Uh..." Star Twinkle said but he decided to remain silent.
"As I stare across the endless desert, I tell myself I will soon triumphantly enter the homeland of our noble guests and return with a prize to make the best party they've ever seen," she said before she turned towards Star Twinkle. "Know what I mean?" She then said switching from serious to cheerful again.
"Totally," Star Twinkle replied in a deadpan tone. Since some time has passed already, the stallion wondered how much longer it would take them to reach Yakyakistan at this pace. He stood up and wanted to ask Cherry Jubilee exactly that but he then found out that she was asleep, snoring loudly in the process. It didn't take long until he also found out that the four stallions pulling the wagon were asleep as well.
"That is not good..." Star Twinkle said, getting nervous in the process only to freak out completely once he saw what was ahead of them, a ravine. "Even worse!" He exclaimed in shock.
Pinkie Pie took a look at what Star Twinkle was getting nervous about and quickly tried to make Cherry Jubilee wake up.
"Cherry? Ravine. Ravine!" She pointed out. But Cherry Jubilee was fast asleep and didn't reply. She soon resorted to pulling out an alarm clock and splashing some water into the mare's face, only for it to not work at all. "Wake up!" She then screamed into her face but there was still no response.
In the meantime, Star Twinkle tried to wake up the four stallions. "Wake up, please! How can you even run while being asleep!?" He said in a frustrated tone.
Pinkie Pie was getting more nervous as well the closer they got to the ravine. She eventually decided to take the ropes of the wagon and pulled them back to stop it.
"Stooooop!" She screamed.
She managed to actually wake the four stallions up with this move. They soon realized that there was a ravine coming up but there was not much to do. They hit the brakes but it wasn't enough to stop before they reached the edge of it. Luckily, the four ponies were pulled upwards and landed inside the back of the wagon in the nick of time before falling down.
Star Twinkle felt as if his heart stopped for a second there but he calmed down again as soon as things came to a hold.
"Huh?!" Cherry Jubilee woke up right about now. "Whoa. I was dreamin' about a ravine," she said confused.
Star Twinkle, who sat next to the mare, only pointed downwards with an annoyed look on his face.
"Ravine!" Cherry Jubilee then said in shock as soon as she looked down.
"That's what I said," Pinkie Pie said.
Star Twinkle was trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. If they made one wrong step, then the whole wagon would still fall down with them on it.
Unfortunately, things were too late already. Cracking could be heard beneath them. "Uh oh," Star Twinkle then said as soon as he noticed what would happen next. A second later, the rocks beneath them gave in and the wagons started falling down the ravine.
Meanwhile...
The desperate attempts of Twilight and her friends to make Prince Rutherford and his yak companions feel like home still continued. This time, they decided that it would be best to play some music for them. Spike offered to play some piano music while Steel Hammer was singing to them.
It seemed to work. The three yaks were sobbing while listening to the music of the two. "Music beautiful. Much soul," Prince Rutherford said in a shaking voice.
Twilight, who was sitting next to the three yaks, was whipping off some sweat from her forehead after hearing that. Finally, something was going well without any problem.
Steel Hammer and Spike were happy to hear that as well. They were done playing and singing so Spike decided it would be a good idea to share something with the yaks. "When Twilight told me to stall— I-I mean, entertain you, I thought there's no way I could—"
But then suddenly, the piano continued playing music, without Spike sitting there playing it. This, of course, confused the yaks. Prince Rutherford decided to turn the piano around and found out that it was playing on its own.
"Spike!" Twilight said in frustration making him stop, unfortunately, the damage already had been done.
"Piano play itself?! Music a lie!" Prince Rutherford said angrily.
But still, Steel Hammer took pride in his abilities. "I assure you that my singing was pretty real so-" but Prince Rutherford didn't listen and already jumped towards Steel Hammer and Spike to smash them. "AAAAH!!"
Spike managed to jump out of the way but Steel Hammer laid under the angry prince, groaning in pain.
"We demand party! Party now or yaks no friends!" Prince Rutherford said.
"No! Just a little longer!" Twilight replied. With Pinkie Pie not being around the party could not start. She needed to buy some more time.
But Prince Rutherford wouldn't have it anymore. "No more longer!" Prince Rutherford replied angrily. "We leave now! Yak go to train, return with more yaks! We declare war!" He said towards Twilight who stood there in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. She just, in a way, was responsible for a war between ponies and yaks. Words could not describe how scared, frustrated and shocked she was now.
Twilight was seeking some help. She went to the town hall, the place where the preparations for the party would be at. When she arrived in front of the building however, she found a huge mess. Balloons, confetti, and paint were scattered all over the place.
On her way, Twilight already had her eyes open for Pinkie Pie but looking at all this pretty much confirmed that she must have not been back yet. The rest of her friends were nearby, they were the ones putting all this together apparently.
"What's this?!" She finally asked in frustration.
Applejack explained after laughing nervously "We panicked and tried to plan our own party," she said.
Rainbow Dash then came falling down from the roof of the building. She was tangled up in a bunch of ribbons and couldn't free herself. "It's sort of panic-themed," she casually said despite being in this state.
Twilight had to let her friends know how the situation with Prince Rutherford was, they were not really surprised to hear the outcome. "The yaks are going home! This is awful!" She said in frustration before she began to frown. "I wanted to surprise Princess Celestia. Now the only surprise is that I may have just started a war," she said with a sad tone in her voice.
"Well if those yaks want a war then I will give them one!" Steel Hammer then said as he approached the girls. He was wearing a self-made wooden armor that made him look as if he wanted to make his last words really come true. "Just let me at them! They pay for destroying all the stuff in Ponyville!" He said with an angry look on his face.
Of course, the girls immediately went to the stallion and held him down so that he wouldn't do something stupid. Pinkie Pie was probably the only pony who could save everyone in this situation. The others just had to believe that she would come back in time...and there was not much left of that...
In the meantime...
Star Twinkle and Pinkie Pie were both in the Crystal Empire. After some weird events unfolded earlier, they somehow managed to get really close to their goal. Pinkie Pie was back to continue her monologue once more as they walked through the snow of the Crystal Empire.
"There we were, face-to-face with Falling Pony Ravine. Down, down, down! And then, suddenly... Pow! We were rescued mid-air by the Wonderbolts!"
"Yes, Pinkie...I was there..." the stallion said.
But Pinkie Pie did not listen to Star Twinkle and merely continued. "And then they gave me a ride to Manehattan, I joined a traveling band, we played some shows here and there, got popular, almost made it big until creative differences tore us apart. And that's when I knew I had to get back on with my journey to the Crystal Empire, the gateway to Yakyakistan!"
Star Twinkle rolled his eyes. "That didn't happen...I think...I'm actually not sure now that I think about, which kinda worries me..." he added as he tipped his chin for a moment.
The mare ignored those words and just continued. "And so here we are. It was a major adventure that took most of the afternoon. Know what I mean?" She then said towards Princess Cadance.
The princess of the Crystal Empire was offering to show the two how to get to Yakyakistan. She was accompanying them until they reached a path leading through a mountainside.
"This is it. The northern boundary of the Crystal Empire. Beyond lies Yakyakistan. Nopony who's attempted this climb has ever returned," she explained to the two ponies.
Star Twinkle started to shiver and it was not because of the snow that was falling down on him. "You really could have left that last part out, you know?" He said nervously.
Princess Cadance looked worried to show the two this path. "Are you sure you have to do this?" She asked in concern.
"We are," Pinkie Pie replied determinedly.
Star Twinkle looked over to the mare with a bothered expression on his face. "Do I have any choice in this?"
"Of course, you do!" Pinkie Pie replied cheerfully. "You either come with me or you go all the way back on your own, through half of Equestria," she casually explained to the stallion as she already walked up the path.
The Earth Pony stallion sighed in response. "Alright, alright I'm coming..." he said as he followed the mare slowly behind.
Princess Cadance stayed behind and only looked at the two ponies, hoping that they would be safe. "Good luck, you two."
Just like Princess Cadance, Star Twinkle hoped that this trip would not end up even more dangerous. He would like to return to Ponyville soon, not to mention that he was worried about how the situation with the yaks was there. But since the two already came this far, they might as well go all the way.
The path was not getting easier, the snow as high enough to reach the heads of the two ponies. They were literally fighting their way through thick snow. They couldn't even see where they were going too because it was too high.
"You think we are still on the right track?" Star Twinkle asked.
"I don't know, maybe we should ask someone for direction?" She suggested.
"Ask who?" Star Twinkle replied, seeing how they are the only ones in this place.
Shortly after, a roar could be heard that came from not too far away. "How about there! I bet there is someone in this dark creepy cave," she said before she happily hopped over to it to ask for direction.
"Uh, Pinkie," Star Twinkle said, trying to warn the mare. Whatever made that sound just now was not giving him a friendly impression.
But Pinkie Pie was totally oblivious to the potential danger. She saw a pair of red eyes from inside the cave and figured that she should just ask away. "Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie! We are looking for Yakyakistan. You know, faraway land, lots of yaks? Maybe you've heard of it?"
She got an answer which came in the form of another angry roar. There was a baboon-like snow creature coming out of the cave which definitely looked dangerous.
"Pinkie," Star Twinkle said in a shaky voice, as an attempt to warn the mare again.
And again, Pinkie Pie was not seeing any danger in this situation and continued trying to talk with this monster. "Whoa-ho-ho! Slow down! I can't understand a word you're saying—" she said before she was interrupted by the monster, which used its claws to cut off a piece from her mane. Now the mare seemed to be aware of the danger as well since she looked rather scared now.
"Let's run!" Star Twinkle said as he grabbed Pinkie Pie's leg and dragged her along with her. His instinct was telling him that this creature was not easy to be reasoned with.
The two were running away with the monster right behind them. This was certainly the last thing that they needed right now. Luckily, for once on this trip, luck was shining upon them. A big town could be seen in the far distance.
"There it is! Yakyakistan!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly while still being on the run.
Her guess seemed to be right since there was a young yak sitting on a sled not too far away. Star Twinkle hated to interrupt the little yak right now but that sled would certainly help them out in this situation. He decided to grab Pinkie Pie and jumped on the sled, making the three of them slide down the hill in front of them and speeding up enough to get away from the monster behind them.
It didn't take long until the three of them were in front of the huge entrance to Yakyakistan. Two giant yak statues were next to the gates and the little yak jumped off from the sled and opened the gates, inviting them to enter the town.
"I can't believe it, we actually made it," Star Twinkle said excitedly.
"Yes! We did it!" Pinkie Pie joined in happily.
The two were hugging and jumping up and down like a colt and filly who just got a bunch of presents on Heart Warming Eve. Considering how the day went so far, this was certainly a reason to be happy now.
Star Twinkle then stepped off from the sled, determined to find something to bring back to Ponyville. "All we have to do now is to go in there and-"
The stallion stopped as soon as he saw how him stepping off from the sled caused Pinkie Pie to fall back a little, and since she was just barely hanging on the edge of a hill, it caused her to slide back, with an unnatural big amount of momentum.
"Noooooooo!" Was the only thing that Star Twinkle could hear as Pinkie Pie was sliding further and further away until she was completely out of sight.
Star Twinkle didn't know what to say at this moment. It almost looked as if she had so much momentum that she would slide down the whole mountain again, if not even further.
"That...is not good..." was the only thing that Star Twinkle managed to get out in this situation.
In the meantime...
Twilight and the rest of her friends were still waiting inside Pinkie Pie's room in hope that she would return any second. But seeing how much time has passed already, Twilight only got more nervous about the party.
"How could she be so late to the party? This isn't like her. Star Twinkle is with her, isn't he? Wouldn't he try to make her come back sooner?" She questioned her friends.
"I'm sure she's trying her best," Fluttershy said.
Rainbow Dash agreed. "Pinkie Pie's tougher than she looks," she said.
Steel Hammer nodded in response as well. "They are probably on their way back already. They wouldn't leave us all hanging like this after all," he figured.
"I know you're right, but... I wish they were here," Twilight then said with a frown on her face. "I put too much pressure on Pinkie Pie. I let everypony down. And Princess Celestia will be here any minute and see that I haven't made new friends. I've made new enemies," she said with a sad tone in her voice. She clearly regretted doing all of this.
The mare was leaning on something that looked like a cupcake-shaped banister next to the stairs. Soon the clicking of gears could be heard as if she activated something on this thing. The group was a little confused about this and they certainly got more confused as soon as the ground vanished beneath them and they were sliding down to the room below.
"Ugh. Is everypony alright?" Twilight asked after a rather rough slide downwards.
It was dark, not a thing could be seen in this room. "I can't tell if my eyes are open or closed," Fluttershy said.
"I think I can see a little bit," Rainbow Dash said as she tried to make her way through the darkness.
CRASH!
"Ouch, careful!" Steel Hammer said.
"Sorry!" Rainbow Dash apologized.
Shortly after, the light turned on and the ponies were able to see again. What they saw surprised them. A room filled with all kinds of stuff that you would see at a party, ranging from disco balls, presents, balloons, streamers, confetti, there was everything that would fit in a good party.
"Ooooh..." The six ponies said in awe as soon as they laid eyes on this room.
Applejack then walked towards an open locker and saw how many documents were sticking out of them. "Look at these! Pinkie Pie's made files for everypony in town!" She said after she took a closer look at them.
"With exactly what kind of parties we like," Fluttershy added after taking a look at them herself.
"Pinkie Pie has a secret party-planning cave?! How cool is this?!" Rainbow Dash said impressed.
Fluttershy then was reading out one of the documents. "Twilight Sparkle likes vanilla ice cream, red balloons, dancing..."
"That's right!" Twilight confirmed.
"But she's afraid of quesadillas." Fluttershy continued.
This one took Twilight by surprise. "No, I'm not!" She said embarrassed. "They're just so... cheesy," she said shuddering for a moment while she said that.
"She sure takes her job as a party planner serious," Steel Hammer figured.
"Really," Applejack said while she continued to look through some more documents. "Looky here. It's notes for the party she wants to throw for her folks' fiftieth anniversary. But they ain't nearly that old! Huh. She's already plannin' their one-hundredth too. And their five-hundredth?" She said confused and impressed at the same time.
"I had no idea she worked so hard on her parties," Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash could only smile after hearing that. "She may be more organized than you, Twilight," she figured.
"Let's not get carried away," Twilight replied, getting a little defensive about that.
It was now that the group started to feel a little bad. "I just wish Pinkie Pie were here so we could tell her how much we all appreciate her hard work," Rarity said in the name of everypony else who was present.
To their surprise, Pinkie Pie was there and listened to them. She revealed herself hiding behind some balloons and cried her eyes out after hearing those nice words.
"Thank you! Thank you! I love you too! All of you!" She said with a sobbing voice.
Twilight was quickly happy to see Pinkie Pie again. "You're back!" She said before the pink mare came to her in order to give her a hug.
"I tried to go to Yakyakistan so I could bring something back for my party. But at the last second, something went wrong and a slid all the way back to Ponyville!" She explained before she started to sigh. "I worked harder on this party than any party ever. But I'm still just a big failure," she added with a frown on her face. She blamed herself completely for all of this.
But Twilight quickly disagreed. "Pinkie Pie, you're not a failure," she said.
Fluttershy agreed. "What matters is how hard you tried," she added.
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said in agreement "Who else would've gone all across Equestria to plan one party?" She pointed out.
Pinkie Pie had to admit that this was true. "You know... the trip was really hard. But everypony I met along the way was so helpful. I just wish the yaks could see how friendly and wonderful and great Equestria really is!" She said before she then gasped after a big realization "I just got the best party idea ever!" She exclaimed happily.
But Twilight had to bring the mare the sad truth."It's too late. The yaks left on the last train," she said with a frown on her face.
"Um, no, they didn't," Pinkie Pie replied confidently. "Trust me! There are a whole lot of sheep out there!" She added, obviously referring to the problem that she ran into back when she tried to get to Yakyakistan.
Pinkie Pie then jumped on the slide and slid upwards to the floor above again, much to the surprise of everypony of how the mare was defying logic like that.
"So, um, do we walk back up the slide, or... or what?" Fluttershy asked confused but there was no answer coming from the others. They had to go and help Pinkie Pie with her party but for now, the better question was how to get out of this room again.
Later...
Prince Rutherford and his companions were already at the train station of Ponyville, screaming at the poor conductor because the trains would not drive now.
"Yaks stuck here?! Why trains not work?!" The prince screamed at the of the conductor before he growled in anger, having dealt with enough nuisances in this town already.
"I never thought I'd say this, but... thank you, sheep!" Pinkie Pie said happily as she walked up to the three yaks with the rest of her friends next to her. "And now, if it's okay with you, it's party time!"
The yaks looked confused but not mad to hear this. There was definitely time to save this day and Pinkie Pie wanted to make sure of that.
Later...again...
With Pinkie Pie throwing a successful party, the yaks finally seemed happy and didn't have a problem with anything. Other than that, it sure was impressive for Pinkie Pie to set all this up in just that short time.
Even Twilight had to point that out. "Wow, Pinkie. This came together quickly, even for you," she said.
"What can I say? I'm good at what I do," Pinkie Pie said modestly but also confidently. Still, there was one more thing that she had to get off from her heart and for that, she had to talk with the prince of the yaks himself.
"Prince Rutherford, every time we tried to make something in Equestria feel like Yakyakistan, we couldn't get it right. When I got back from my adventure, I realized something. We shouldn't try to make Equestria feel like your home. We should try to make you feel at home in Equestria. And that means showing you why we love it here, so you'll love it too," she explained.
The yak looked over at all the ponies attending the party, the ponies who were laughing and having fun with their friends. Seeing the happy faces of them caused the tough prince to tear up.
"Pink pony work hard to make yaks feel at home. Now yaks happy. No declare war," he announced.
Of course, those words heavily confused Princess Celestia who was at the party as well. She looked over to Twilight with a confused look and wondered what this talk about a war was to which Twilight could only smile awkwardly back.
Prince Rutherford then asked one more question to Pinkie Pie. "Ponies and yaks... friends?"
"For a thousand moons?" Pinkie Pie asked back.
"For a thousand moons!" Prince Rutherford announced for anypony to hear.
The place was filled with cheers. That party was exactly what everypony needed now, especially the yaks. Princess Celestia also seemed happy about Twilight's achievements and congratulated her for it.
"I am very impressed, princess," she said towards Twilight.
The mare smiled back in response "Heh. Just doing my best to spread friendship," she said, trying to hide how nervous she was before.
Princess Celestia smiled. "And you did a wonderful job of it. You and your friends," she said happily before she noticed something. "Speaking of your friends, isn't one of them missing right now?" She asked.
Twilight had to admit that she was just noticing that as well. "That's right! Pinkie Pie, where is Star Twinkle? Wasn't he with you?" She asked towards the pink mare.
"Oh yeah!" Pinkie Pie replied. "Last time I saw him he was-" then suddenly her eyes popped open in shock. "Oh uh," she then said after she realized where Star Twinkle must still be at.
Meanwhile...
After Pinkie Pie was gone, Star Twinkle thought it would be a pretty bad idea to get back to Ponyville on his own. The way back was way too long and dangerous for him alone. The next best thing for him to do was to stay in Yakyakistan for a while until he figured out what to do.
However, staying in Yakyakistan also came with a few complications...
"Pony now eat special Yakyakistan cake!" One yak said as he offered him another slice of cake.
"But I already ate two full cakes!" The stallion replied while he held his stomach in pain. "I think I had enough," he pleads.
"Nonsense!" The yak replied in a serious tone.
"Yes!" Another yak next to him said. "Yaks love visitors!"
"Yaks also love to show hospitality to ponies," Yet another yak threw in. "And if yaks get visitors who don't appreciate yak hospitality, yaks smash visitors!"
"YES!" All the yaks close to Star Twinkle said at the same time.
Star Twinkle started to sweat. He smiled nervously before he took another plate with a slice of cake in his hooves. "Then I better get back to eat this delicious cake, hehe..." he said as he forcefully took another bite from the cake.
"Somebody please come and get me out of here!" The stallion thought in frustration, hoping that this stressful visit would be over soon.