//------------------------------//
// Chapter Twenty-Three: Catering 
// Story: CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence 
// by GanonFLCL 
//------------------------------//

Velvet sat at one of the many available tables at The Sweet Spot, slurping away at a "hot chocolate"—nothing more than pan-heated Dolor Black mixed with a little water—and watching the crowd come and go. It was a somewhat slow day today; there weren't a lot of customers coming in and out and very few actually stuck around to eat the treats that they'd purchased. The orders were big, however, at least from what Velvet could see; an earth pony had just walked away with his saddlebags stuffed full of boxed treats.

But through it all, Velvet just kept her eyes mostly on Pinkie, but she wasn't exactly pleased with what she saw.

Her friend had made a full recovery from her injuries, with nary a scar in sight. Velvet was frankly impressed by that. She knew that she could heal herself from any injury or illness, but that the process was often slow and sometimes impossible for others without powerful magic. That ancient earth pony had fixed up a bullet wound with just some paste and a bandage, and it only took a couple of days. This "Miracle" lived up to his name.

At least, Pinkie had no physical scars, but she was certainly not the same mare that she was a week ago. Gone was the bouncy, overeager, excitable mare that would crack jokes with the customers, always gave them a wide, toothy smile, and waved them off enthusiastically as they purchased sweets. Sure, Pinkie was smiling and being polite and friendly, but it was just a front, a fake grin to hide the anxiety she clearly felt. Velvet couldn't imagine what that even felt like.

And so it had been for the past several days, ever since the attack. There were a few lapses in the façade here in there in either direction: sometimes Pinkie would break down in nervous jitters and whoever was near—typically Velvet or Rainbow—would need to pull her in for a hug to calm her down; other times, Pinkie would legitimately smile and laugh and be back to her normal self, only to settle back down and go about her business.

Rainbow's skyball game last night had been the closest Pinkie had been to "normal", but even that didn't last. And Velvet hated it.

Today, Velvet had a mission. So as she sat there at her table and drank her drink and watched her friend work, she kept her gaze just enough on the door of the establishment to watch for a very particular pair of ponies that would help her put her plan in action.

They arrived just before Pinkie was scheduled to take her lunch break. One was a white-coated earth pony stallion with a short, curly black mane and a short, trimmed beard and mustache, wearing a warm winter coat. The other was a pegasus mare with a peach-colored coat and a striking red mane, also in a warm winter coat. Some ponies were just affected differently by the winter temperatures, Velvet figured.

She'd met the pair here at this very establishment just two days ago, when they tried to get The Sweet Spot to cater a little party they were putting together. Unfortunately, The Sweet Spot was already booked with catering orders and didn't have the time or the staff to handle their request. 

But Velvet had heard everything, and she told the couple to come here today if they were still looking for a caterer. Her entire mission depended on this, so she felt a rush of excitement when they walked into the room; it was a good sign.

She waved the pair over with a little shake of her drink cup. The pair grinned, headed over to her table, and squeezed into the seats.

"Hello, Miss Velvet," said the stallion, Snowglobe. "A fine afternoon today, isn't it?"

"Yeah, just dandy," Velvet replied, taking a sip of her chocolate. "A bit chilly, but not too bad."

"Well, winter is here, after all," he replied with a smile. "And it'll pass soon enough."

"Aye, and it's a right nippy one, too," added the mare, Scarlet Band. "But let's cut the crap, eh? I hear ye got somethin' figured out for us, Velvet."

Velvet leaned back in her seat and grinned. "Yup, sure do. Assuming you guys are still having trouble getting things together for tomorrow?"

"O' course we are," Scarlet said, rolling her eyes. "Do ye have any idea how hard it is to get a holiday party catered on such short notice? Every bloody caterer in the city is swamped, even this one." She gave Snowglobe a hard look. "We wouldn't be in this mess if ye just listened to me in the first place and booked in advance."

"I didn't know it was going to be so difficult," Snowglobe said with a sheepish frown. "It's just a small party, I figured it'd be easy."

"Ye know nothin', Snowglobe, that's what I always tell ye." Scarlet looked back to Velvet. "So, can ye help us or not?"

"Oh, I think I can," Velvet said, her grin widening. She tilted her head towards Pinkie at the counter. "She's your ticket to paradise, kids."

Snowglobe raised an eyebrow. "Her? Pardon my saying, Miss Velvet, but we've already asked The Sweet Spot to cater us, and Miss Swirl said they're swamped with orders and events. They can't take us."

"Yeah, The Sweet Spot is, but I'm not suggesting you ask the shop again or anything like that. What I'm suggesting is that you two give my pal Pinkie the catering job."

"She's your friend?"

Velvet nodded. "My bestie. And she's been in a real funk lately, y'know, so I figure that the best way to get her out of it is to help her get her groove back." She gestured at the pair. "That's where you two lovebirds come in. I'd like to offer my friend's catering services for your party. Pro bono, of course."

Scarlet rubbed her chin. "The 'pro bono' bit makes it sound more than worthwhile. We can afford to take a risk on quality if we're not payin' for it." She leveled Velvet with a look. "And she's gonna provide all o' her own food for the party? And do it for free? What's the catch?"

"Yup, that's right, and there's no catch, I assure you. All the payment she needs is to see a bunch of ponies having a good time," Velvet said with a smile. "So? What do you say?"

The couple shared a look, then Scarlet gave a nod. "Aye, we'll do it."

"Fantastic," Velvet said, leaning forward. "So, let's talk some details, shall we?"


*****


Pinkie wasn't really sure of what to make of the situation she found herself in right now. Velvet had invited her over after work claiming to have a big surprise for her. She'd somehow convinced Lockwood to let them borrow his apartment for a few hours. Pinkie was expecting… well, she didn't know what to expect from Velvet, actually. Knowing her, it could be anything from some sweet treats to a naughty toy she'd picked up to loan to Pinkie and Rainbow for the evening, if she could even get in the mood to be intimate with Rainbow right now.

The apartment was rather, well, big. Pinkie hadn't actually been in it yet, but some of the others had for one reason or another, and they'd all pretty much said the same thing. His living room alone was as big as their whole apartment, and his kitchen was twice the size of theirs. She didn't go into the bedroom or washroom—she didn't need to and wasn't that curious—but guessed they were just as large.

She was not expecting to come into Lockwood's kitchen and see a bunch of cooking supplies and ingredients. Real ingredients, it was worth mentioning. There were real strawberries, cherries, and blueberries; there was a real sack of flour and a real sack of sugar; there were real batches of salt, vanilla, and chocolate; Velvet even opened the fridge to show off the real eggs, milk, and butter. There was more than that, but Pinkie was just lost in awe and only took stock of a few.

"Ta-da!" Velvet said with a wide grin and flourish of hooves. "So, what do you think, Pink?"

Pinkie blinked and looked around at all the materials, still stunned by the sight of it all. "How… how did you get all of this?"

Velvet scuffed a hoof on her chest. "As I'm sure you know by now, money's not hard to come by for my sisters and me. It still took some doing, but I managed to track down a shipment of real stuff coming into the city and bought a big batch of it, enough to make a whooole bunch of cupcakes. Real cupcakes, with real ingredients; just the right thing to knock somepony's socks clean off.

"As for the apartment, well, I figured Lockwood's pad had more room than mine, so I paid him a little visit this morning. I thought I'd have to do a little 'favor' to get him to agree to it, but hey, he handed me a spare key as soon as I asked him! Nice guy, right?"

Pinkie walked over to the selection and started browsing through it all. There was enough of a supply here that Pinkie could easily bake up a dozen cupcakes each of several different varieties. There were plenty of baking pans—all of them brand new—as well as cupcake wrappers and boxes to put them all in. It all felt just like home, actually.

"But… why? What's all this for?" she asked anxiously.

"For you, silly," Velvet said, pulling her in for a side-hug. "You and I are gonna whip up a bunch of patented Pinkie Pie cupcakes tonight, enough for a decently-sized party. And do you know what we're gonna do with them after that?"

Pinkie shook her head.

"We're gonna take advantage of your day off tomorrow, and we're gonna take all these cupcakes to the penthouse apartment of some nice ponies I met, and we're gonna cater their little shindig and have a grand ol' time. Sound fun?"

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "What? We're catering a party?"

"That's right. I spoke with them earlier today, and they hired you and me—well, I say 'hired', but we're not getting paid—to help them put together a private party for them and some friends. Just a little get-together, that's all."

"You did that without asking me?" Pinkie asked, confused. "Why would you do that?"

Velvet shifted Pinkie so that they were nose-to-nose. "Because you've been unhappy for days now, and I don't like seeing you unhappy. You are my friend, my best friend, and I knew there was no way I could leave you like that." She gestured out at the kitchen and the ingredients therein. "And the only thing I could think of to do the trick was this."

Pinkie shook her head. "I don't know, Red… I don't know if I can…"

"Sure you can! You're Pinkie Pie! You're the partying-est mare I know! You always talk about how much you like parties and baking and making other ponies smile, and so that's what I knew I needed to do for you."

"But—"

Velvet pulled Pinkie in for a real hug now. "Look, Pink, I won't force you to do it, okay? I know it's a lot to ask, but… but I know you can't stay like this forever. I know what happened was awful, and I wish there was something I could say or do to fix it so that you never got hurt or anything. But it happened… and all I want is the old Pinkie back…"

Pinkie curled up into the hug, enjoying her friend's warmth. "You really did this all for me?"

"Of course I did. You're my best friend." Velvet put her hoof over her heart. "I don't know what it is about you, but... I feel this, like, connection with you that I don't feel about anypony else. I know I've only known you for a couple of weeks, but it feels like I've known you my whole life. I love you like a sister, but like..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "But like, more than my own sisters, y'know? Don't tell them I said that. I don't know if they'd understand."

Pinkie nodded and smiled at her friend, putting her hoof over her own heart. "I know what you mean, Red. I felt it the moment we met."

"See? So you get why I'm willing to do anything to help you. And not just me, but Rainbow too."

Pinkie's ears perked up. "Dashie helped?"

"Yeah, in a sense. I asked her if there was anything I could do to help you, because neither of us like seeing you like this, and she knows she can only do so much. She has obligations too, and she can't be there for you every minute of the day… so I'm more than happy to fill in the gaps where I can.

"She told me about something that happened to you once a long time ago," Velvet said, stroking Pinkie's back. "Something about you feeling down one day because you thought everypony forgot your birthday? And how it just turned out everypony was planning a surprise party for you? I didn't get all the details, just the important facts."

Pinkie nodded, a faint smile on her face. "Yeah… I remember that. That was a really bad day, until it wasn't."

"Well, I know this isn't exactly the same situation, obviously, but I figured I'd give my idea a shot anyway. What you need is a shot of pure joy right into your bloodstream, and I'm willing to bet helping put together a party would do the trick."

"I mean… I guess it couldn't hurt…" Pinkie murmured. "I still have memories about that day, y'know? Good ones, sure… but bad ones too. Sometimes, when I'm not feeling good, I think about that day and I wonder… what would've happened if Dashie hadn't come to get me for the party? What if she just… left?"

"You started dating Rainbow after that, right?"

Pinkie smiled warmly. "Yeah. I dunno, there was just a part of me that felt really warm when it was all said and done. I guess I saw that Dashie pulled me out of that really dark place, even though I didn't want to leave, and… I wanted to thank her for not giving up on me. I wasn't expecting it to turn into what it did… but I'm glad it did…"

Velvet returned the smile. "You love her, don't you?”

"Very, very much.”

"And from what I've seen, she loves you, too." Velvet pat Pinkie on the shoulder. "So, do you think you can do this? For her? For me?"

Pinkie broke out of the hug and nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Let's do it." She put on her apron, tying it tight with force. "Let's bake some cupcakes."

She and Velvet immediately set to work, separating things out and setting things up so that they could get started: pre-heating the oven, opening all of the tins and bags, washing the utensils and baking pans, etc. Velvet had bought herself an apron as well—she joked that she'd like to have a stallion over one day and wear just the apron—and was enthusiastically helping with every step of the process.

Eventually, as they started putting together the first batch, Pinkie heard Velvet humming a strikingly familiar tune to herself and singing a bit under her breath, just loud enough for Pinkie to hear if she was being quiet.
"♫All you have to do is take a cup of flour.
Add it to the mix."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow, and while she continued putting her set of ingredients together, she sang along with Velvet, only a little bit louder.
"♫Now just take a little something sweet, not sour.
A bit of salt, just a pinch."

Velvet looked at Pinkie with surprise, but kept singing, louder than she had been before; she didn't stop putting together her assigned ingredients into the bowl, which were matching up with the lyrics just perfectly.
"♫Baking these treats is such a cinch!
Add a teaspoon of vanilla!"

Pinkie smiled brightly and shoved a ready-to-bake batch of cupcakes into the oven, slamming the door closed—gently, this wasn't her kitchen, y'know?
"♫Add a little more, and you count to four, 
And you never get your fill of…"

Then, Velvet joined in, and the two sang in perfect unison:
"♫Cupcakes! So sweet and tasty!
Cupcakes! Don't be too hasty! 
Cupcakes! Cupcakes, cupcakes, CUPCAKES!"

They then broke down into giggles as they started putting together the next batch of batter.

"That was great! Where'd you learn that song from, Red?" Pinkie asked with a grin. "I thought only I knew it."

Velvet shook her head, a little smile on her face. "I dunno. It just sort of… came to me. Like a… a dream, or something. It's weird, 'cause I was just putting things together and all of a sudden I felt like singing. Is that weird? That's weird, right?"

Pinkie licked some batter off her spoon. "I like to sing sometimes, too. A lot, actually. Singing makes me happy, and I know it makes other ponies happy too, so sometimes I just break into song at a moment's notice." 

She tapped her chin with the spoon, getting some batter stuck there. "Y'know, sometimes when I start singing, a bunch of other ponies will join in, like it's a weirdly choreographed musical number right out of a movie. I wonder when they find the time to practice? Is it like some kind of compulsion? Hypnotism, maybe?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Velvet said, taking her hoof and wiping the batter off Pinkie's chin with a paper towel. "This isn't a movie, y'know? Ponies around here don't just break into song, especially not in public, and they certainly don't break into flamboyant, choreographed musical numbers. I think the city's got a law against that sort of thing."

"But Red, of course this is a movie! We just had the touching drama sequence where I talked about an important moment from my past and everything! Total award bait!" She stopped, and scratched her head. "Come to think of it, there's been a lot of that going on with everypony lately. Weird, right?"

Velvet rolled her eyes. "Let's just focus on the cupcakes, okay? We've got a lot of batches to do."

"Right, yeah. Let's focus on those."

And so they did. 

The pair baked up ten batches of cupcakes, a dozen of each flavor: vanilla, chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, cherry, lemon, carrot, raspberry, and of course, red velvet, because it just wasn't a party if red velvet wasn't invited, which Red Velvet was quick to quip with a waggle of eyebrows and a nudge.

The tenth flavor was a new one, though, one Pinkie had never tried before. She had decided to make them after only a brief interaction with an ingredient that was totally alien to her, something they simply didn't have back home.

"Okay, so, this… is a magmaberry," Velvet said as she passed one over to Pinkie from out of the jar they were contained in, being very careful and treating it like she was handling a bomb. "It's a delicacy up here in the north. Very expensive, but extremely popular with certain crowds."

Pinkie held the little berry and studied it with awe. It was a reddish-orange color with little specks of black, like cooling molten lava. It was cool to the touch, though, despite looking like it had every right to be melting straight through her hoof and into the floor below. When she gave it a teensy squeeze to test the strength of the berry's skin, she found it deceptively tough.

"Neat," she said, holding it up to her nose to sniff it. It smelled like burnt coals. "And you're supposed to eat this? It's not poisonous, is it?"

"Perfectly safe," Velvet said with a nod. "Er… relatively speaking. They're really, really spicy, so be careful."

Pinkie smiled wide. "Ooh, nice. I love spicy stuff. Dashie got me a bottle of this super hard-to-find hot sauce for my last birthday and I put it on everything I eat." 

"Except Dash, I hope?" Velvet snickered.

Pinkie popped the berry into her mouth and bit into it, chewing and rolling it around in her mouth a few times before swallowing. It wasn't spicy at all, but a rather pleasantly sweet and savory flavor, like strawberry fused with coconut. The texture wasn't watery, but thick and syrupy, coating her tongue almost like wax. 

But it wasn't spicy. At all.

"Psh, you call that spicy?" Pinkie scoffed, grabbing the jar from Velvet and sticking out her tongue. "That was nothing! Pretty sweet and tasty though." She reached into the jar and grabbed a few more and ate them down all at once. "Down the hatch!"

"Pinkie, no!" Velvet blurted.

"Oh, relax, Red. Sheesh, you must not be able to handle your spicy stuff if you think these are hot." She scarfed down a few more as Velvet watched on in abject horror. "What?"

Velvet just shook her head, her hooves over her mouth with worry. "You're not supposed to eat more than one until you build up a tolerance to them."

"A tolerance to what? These aren't—"

Pinkie froze up, her eyes widening in shock as an incredible burning sensation ripped across her tongue. Her taste buds were melting, as though somepony had poured molten lava right into her mouth and just wouldn't stop pouring. She began shaking uncontrollably in place, like a kettle of popcorn. Her entire face turned red, followed by the rest of her body; smoke began spewing out of her ears; when she opened her mouth to talk, actual fire belched out, like a dragon's breath.

"Whoa!" Velvet exclaimed, taking a step back. "See? Told you."

Pinkie was at the kitchen sink faster than anypony could possibly move, leaving a trail of Pinkie-shaped smoke in her place. She placed her mouth right onto the faucet and turned on the cold stream to full blast. A vicious cloud of steam poured out of her mouth, filling the entire kitchen like a sauna.

When Pinkie could finally feel her tongue again and the burning sensation was gone, she turned off the faucet and collapsed to the tiled floor like a sack of potatoes, taking deep breaths like her life depended on it.

Velvet cautiously walked over. "You alright there, Pink?"

Pinkie bounced up, a smile on her face, as if nothing had happened. "We have got to make cupcakes out of those."

Velvet smirked. "You read my mind."


*****


Snowglobe and Scarlet Band lived together in a penthouse apartment in the inner city, specifically within the Sherwood District. Though the sector of the city wasn't as wealthy or influential as the Romantique or Baroque Districts were these days, it was still well-respected for its rich cultural history, and famous for its high-quality teas. Everything had a sort of old-world charm as far as aesthetics were concerned—cobblestone roads, brick-and-mortar buildings—but it was still very much a modern city neighborhood.

The couple lived on the twentieth floor of a complex called Windsor Tower, which wasn't as tall as some of the larger high rises in the other Inner District sectors, but that was because the Sherwood ponies preferred larger numbers of smaller structures to the fewer-but-taller gleaming skyscrapers that the other influential districts seemed to like so much.

The penthouse itself was of a respectable size, outrageously big for even a couple, but it made it ideal for holding parties like this one. There were only about a dozen or so ponies in attendance, none of whom Velvet knew apart from the hosts until she'd arrived, but she assumed that they were all influential sorts with big pocketbooks. The mares were lovely and came dressed in the latest fashions—Velvet recognized that one was wearing a Rarity Original—and the stallions were mostly handsome and wore crisp suits.

Velvet and Pinkie had taken up a spot behind a serving table, which they'd loaded up with all of the cupcakes they'd made the night before; they arranged the treats in such a way that one's eye would be drawn to everything at once. The guests at these sorts of events were likely not used to self-service catering, but it was a small party and the display would hopefully entice folks to try some cupcakes.

Pinkie, though, seemed exceedingly anxious; the social portion of this party had only just officially started—the hosts provided dinner to the guests first while the dessert caterers got ready—but nopony had come over to try a treat yet. They were all too busy schmoozing with one another at the moment, drinking wine and just generally being a bit stuffy.

"Oh… this isn't working, Red," Pinkie murmured, deflated. She looked over her display of treats and shook her head. "Aren't they even going to try any?"

"Hey, just give them some time, Pink," Velvet assured her. "They just finished dinner, alright? Let them make some room for dessert. Not everypony's like you and me, y'know?"

The pair wore a matching set of crisp uniforms and aprons so that they'd look the part of high-class caterers. Velvet didn't much like being in such stuffy clothes, but she'd manage just fine for tonight, if only to make sure that this evening went just right for Pinkie. They'd even had their manes done up with some assistance from Rarity, so the two looked every bit as prim and proper as the rest of the guests.

It took several minutes before anypony came over to try any of the sweet treats, and the first one who did was a rather wild-looking earth pony stallion with a cool blue coat and fiery red mane and full beard. In the tight-fitting suit he looked somewhat out of place, really, but he was a guest so obviously he belonged. Velvet was certain she'd heard his name was Icebreaker; the coincidence that he was the first one over was not lost on her.

Icebreaker strode up to the table and gazed across the display, his hard eyes looking over every single treat like he was looking over the scene of a crime. He gestured at one of the blueberry cupcakes. "What flavor is this one?"

Velvet nudged Pinkie so that she'd take charge.

"Blueberry," Pinkie said with a grin.

"Hmm." He took the treat up in his large hoof and scarfed a huge bite without even putting it on a plate first, almost eating the wrapper with it. His eyes widened as he chewed, and he nodded appreciatively as he gulped it down. "This is… really good. Ye say ye made these yourself?"

Pinkie tilted her head towards Velvet slightly. "She helped—"

"I just followed directions," Velvet cut in. "It's her recipe, and she did most of the work. Yup, all her."

The huge stallion took another bite, nodded at Pinkie, and smiled; he had a bizarrely jovial smile for such an intimidating pony. "It's good. I like it." And with that, he walked away, though he had a little more pep in his step than before.

Soon after that, the other guests eventually started flocking over and taking cupcakes as well before heading back to schmooze and flirt and carouse with one another. They would often come back to grab another treat, of course, because the night was young and there was plenty to do.

Snowglobe and Scarlet provided plenty of entertainment for their guests, which Velvet and Pinkie were mostly limited to watching: playing charades with one another; dancing to music, none of it upbeat sorts of tunes that Velvet personally enjoyed, but still pleasant to the ear. 

She and Pinkie weren't there to do anything but cater the desserts, and that was fine by her. Pinkie seemed to get a bit of enjoyment out of the deal, seeing the other ponies happy and enjoying their provided snacks, though there was probably a part of her that wanted to join in, if her jittery bouncing during charades was any indication.

Every now and then, when the guests would wander back over to the catering table to grab a cupcake, they would be quick with a compliment to the pair, and Velvet was equally quick to push all the credit onto Pinkie, whose smile was growing bigger every minute.

"I'd always considered myself a connoisseur of the finer things in life," said a short, gold-coated unicorn stallion with a black mane and a clever look in his eyes, who introduced himself as Hyperion Gold. He seemed partial to the raspberries. "But these, my dear, are positively scrumptious."

An older earth pony stallion who was gray in coat and getting gray in mane, and who called himself Seaweed Vinegar, took a big bite from one of the lemon cupcakes. "I've never really had much of a sweet tooth, but there's something about these that just keeps me coming back." He winked at Pinkie. "You've got yourself a real talent there, lass. You should be proud."

All-in-all, the evening was shaping up fairly well, and it seemed that it was mostly Pinkie's cupcakes' doing if Velvet were to be the judge. Okay, sure, maybe she was a little biased, but if the guests ever stopped coming back for more then maybe she'd be willing to grant that they weren't that important to everypony's enjoyment.

As the party started winding down, Pinkie and Velvet started putting the remaining cupcakes—there were very few—into little boxes so that the guests could bring some home with them; a larger box with one of each flavor was made up for the hosts, as was polite and proper. Any leftovers—if there even were any—would go with the caterers themselves to do with as they pleased.

Now, Snowglobe and Scarlet stood before their friends and guests to bid them farewell; this really was a prim and proper party, it seemed, since nopony even left early.

"Thank you all for coming," Snowglobe said, his face an odd mixture of anxious and excited that Velvet hadn't seen all evening. "This wonderful evening wouldn't have been the same without you all here, and I'm very glad that everypony could make it."

"And a hearty thanks to Pinkie Pie and Red Velvet," said Scarlet, gesturing over towards the pair, "for caterin' for us tonight. Give them a round of applause, eh?"

A little round of clapping went through the group. Not exactly rousing, but polite and friendly, and most of all, sincere.

"So, I suppose we can call it an evenin' now—"

"Before everypony leaves, I have another announcement to make," Snowglobe said, his voice nearly cracking.

Scarlet paused. "Huh?"

Snowglobe took her hoof in his. "Scarlet, we have shared so many experiences together, both good and bad. We have struggled and fought, but we have also laughed and cried. There isn't a single pony in the world that I would rather spend my life with."

He knelt down before her. The room went quieter than ever.

Scarlet's face went bright red. "Bloody hell you're not—"

"Scarlet Band… will you marry me?"

She put her hoof to her mouth and said nothing for a long moment, then, tears in her eyes, she rapidly nodded. When he rose up, she pulled him in for a kiss that even Velvet found to be aggressively passionate. The guests all applauded; Velvet applauded; Pinkie, though, she cheered.


*****


After the party, Pinkie and Velvet made their way home in a pegasi-drawn chariot, eating the single cupcake each that they'd brought along—Pinkie with a strawberry, Velvet with, of course, a red velvet. The two smiled and laughed, pointing out things as they flew by them, like the tall buildings of the other city districts they passed by, the billboards, restaurants, and stores that they flew over, and the crowds of pegasi that constrained themselves to skylanes that the chariot wasn't bound to.

"Y'know, Red… this was a really good idea…" Pinkie said, sighing and looking up towards the fiery orange sky. As she took another bite of her cupcake, she noticed that Velvet had some frosting on her nose. "You got something on ya."

Velvet crossed her eyes to look at her nose, then licked the frosting off without much effort. "Thanks. And hey, I'm just glad you had a good time. Feeling any better?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yeah, lots. I really needed this… so, thanks. Thanks for doing this for me." She leaned her head on Velvet's shoulder. "You're a really good friend, Red."

"Yeah, well, with how busy everypony else is all the time, I figured I'd take advantage of being unemployed," Velvet said with a shrug. "I mean, since I've got all this free time, I should use some of it to make you happy, right? I'm glad it worked."

"Me too. Even if it was just for tonight, I felt really happy. Almost like things were back to normal for me… for all of my friends. Things have been kind of tough these past few weeks, y'know? I know we get a chance to have fun every now and then, but usually all we do is work and worry. I think we all need… a break…?"

Pinkie then sat up straight and gasped. "That's it!"

"Huh?"

Pinkie grabbed Velvet by the shoulders and shook her. "A party! I need to throw a party for everypony!"

"Hey, yeah! That sounds like a great idea!" Velvet paused suddenly, tilting her head. "Oof, but your apartment's kind of small for that many ponies. I don't think it'd be comfortable at my place, either. I mean, depends on how many ponies you're inviting?"

"Hmm…" Pinkie pulled a notepad and a pen out of her mane, then started marking off names. "Let's see. There's me, you, Dashie, Shy, Twi, AJ, Rarity, Insipid, Gray, Havoc, Flathoof, Lockwood, and Winter makes thirteen, and I usually always account for a few randos showing up. Let's say, for the sake of argument, sixteen. That number just makes perfect sense for some reason."

"Oof, yeah, that's gonna be a rough fit even at my place, especially if we've got food and activities set up. Hmm… ah, we could always rent a place?" Velvet suggested. "I'd be happy to chip in."

"I appreciate that, but no, I don't want to make you do all that for me again. You've already done so much—"

Velvet pulled Pinkie in for a side-hug. "Hey, it's no big deal. What are friends for, right?"

"No, that's not the point," Pinkie said, though she did return the hug so that Velvet didn't feel left out. "That point is, I want to do this myself. You can absolutely help, of course," she added with a wink, "but I need to be able to do this without going totally overboard."

She paused, tapping her hoof to her chin, and she thought. "Think, think, think. C'mon, Pinkie, what are you gonna do about a location? Your apartment's too small, Red's isn't big enough either, so, where else could we—" 

Pinkie gasped again, and to her surprise, Velvet did too.

"Lockwood's apartment!" they said in unison.

"Yeah!" Pinkie continued. "He's got a biiig apartment, with plenty of space for food and games and whatever! I can ask him! I bet he'd be more than happy to let us hold the party at his place, just like he did for baking last night!"

Velvet nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that guy's always helping you guys out with little things here and there, so why wouldn't he agree to this? I mean, he's on the guest list and everything so it's not like we're gonna do anything to mess the place up."

"Exactly! Ooh, this is gonna be great!" Pinkie flipped the page of her notebook to a blank sheet. "Okay, Red, you're my assistant for this party planning adventure, got it?"

Velvet gave a brisk salute. "Got it."

"So, we've got a guest list—not that I'd turn anypony away if they wanted to join in—and I figure if we make it late enough at night, everypony will be able to make it no matter how late they get off work. But the next thing on the agenda is planning out snacks and activities! I know my friends, and you know your sisters, so let's start planning!"

If there was one thing Pinkie knew would bring a smile to everypony's faces, it was putting on a patented Pinkie Pie party, and so that was exactly what she was going to do.


*****


It was mid evening, and Havoc sat in a chair in her father's office directly across from him. Silvertongue's expression was hard to read, like it always was, but she could at least guess that he wasn't exactly pleased with her. Or maybe she was reading it wrong and he wasn't upset, but was just curious? It was an odd expression, and it didn't help that one of his eyes was different from the other and that he liked to keep the room dark.

"I want to make sure that we're perfectly clear on what happened, Havoc," he said, tapping his hoof on his desk. "You're telling me that you took Rainbow Dash to the city wall and accessed one of the undisclosed backdoors in place there, the ones that are only supposed to be used for emergencies and clandestine operations, so that you and her could 'go flying'?"

Havoc gulped, and nodded. "That's right. Dash was talking about how much she hated having to be constrained while flying around here, and so I… I figured that if I showed her this cool secret, she'd get a real kick out of it and we'd have a good time together. Y'know, like friends do?"

"That might be true, but the Wastelands are not an appropriate place to be taking your friend when you're supposed to be keeping her safe. I know that the larger Gargantuans don't make their way this far north, but the smaller ones still do. What would you have done if those creatures decided to attack either of you?"

"Psh, it was no big deal, Pops," Havoc replied, dismissing the thought with her hoof. "We were in the air the entire time. Those freaky bugs couldn't possibly get us that high. I made sure that the only place we landed was in the mountains, 'cause you said that they don't ever go there."

Silvertongue leaned back in his seat, still tapping his hoof on the desk. "Well, then I am at least glad you took as many precautions as you could. However, I am still disappointed that you risked it at all. This situation is progressing quickly now, my dear, more quickly than ever, and soon it will be time to give your friend and her companions the aid they seek."

Havoc nodded; she still wasn't clear entirely on what her dad was going to be offering her friend, but she hadn't questioned it so far and wouldn't start now. "Right… sorry, Pops."

"It's alright, Havoc. Just be more cautious in the future." Silvertongue then leaned forward. "Now, tell me more about this 'Sonic Rainboom'. You say that Rainbow was able to achieve supersonic speeds just by 'flying fast', and that it created this visible phenomenon when she broke the sound barrier?"

"I don't really understand it any better than that," Havoc said with a shrug. "Dash doesn't know how she does it either, just that she can fly really fast and do that whenever she does. I didn't know a pegasus could even fly that fast in the first place, and I guess it's just something she can do, even back where she's from."

"Interesting…"

"She said that maybe I could do something like it if I practiced hard enough. Do you think I could?"

"It is within the realm of possibility," he replied, steepling his hooves. "A most curious concept, though. I wouldn't know how such an ability might manifest if you or your sister Gray attempted such a feat, what with your other abilities, but the very consideration of such a fact is most intriguing. Something for me to ponder…"

Havoc scratched her chin. "Well, okay. Uh, so… you're not mad?"

"As I said, I am disappointed that you left the city without permission and put your charge at risk, even if it was minimal. However, I consider this information on the 'Sonic Rainboom' to be interesting enough that I'm willing to overlook it for now. No harm came to you or Rainbow in the event, so I consider the data worth the effort." 

"Phew. Thanks, Pops…"

Silvertongue leaned back in his seat again. "Go on. It's getting late. Your sisters are likely expecting you to join them for dinner."

She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you coming?"

"No. I have much work to do and will have a meal delivered to me later."

"Well, okay then. See you later, Pops." Havoc got up from the chair and headed towards the door.

"Enjoy your evening, Havoc," Silvertongue said.

Havoc left her father's office and made her way to the elevator, which she set to the floor housing the Tower's dining hall. She was feeling more than a little hungry, since she and Rainbow had skipped lunch to help do some drills with the team's new striker, Gilded Match, who would be replacing Rainbow when she had to drop off the team. The guy wasn't quite as fast or skilled as Rainbow, natch, but he had a passion for the sport and had blended into the team dynamic fairly well.

When she arrived in the dining hall, she saw that Dawn and Curaçao had already taken their seats, but hadn't started eating yet. Dinner had already been served and looked like a good selection, with a big salad, what looked like some sort of cold soup, breadsticks, and a large, tomato-based pasta. It looked like a pretty fancy Baroque spread; Havoc always found she liked Baroque cuisine, even the fancy stuff, not because it was romantic or anything but because it was just good.

Curaçao greeted her first with a polite wave. "Bonsoir, Havoc. Did you enjoy your talk with Papa?"

Havoc grunted and took her seat; she noticed that Dawn was staring at her with no small amount of disdain. "Yeah, it was fine. He seemed less upset than Dawn was making him out to be. I think he was more interested in that Sonic Rainboom thing that Dash did, like he asked me how she did it and stuff? I dunno, he thinks maybe if I work at it, I might be able to take a shot."

"Ah, c'est merveilleux! I would certainly like to see something like that from you, ma sœur." 

Curaçao served herself some salad without Dawn's say-so, and Dawn didn't argue it. Havoc thought it was both unfair since she'd always gotten shit from Dawn if she didn't follow etiquette, but also cool, because Dawn had argued it at one point with Curaçao, and the latter had shut it down by lecturing Dawn on all of the etiquette rules she was expected to follow if she wanted to "be the host", all of which she wasn't.

So, Dawn didn't give Curaçao any guff for anything anymore. And, when Havoc was serving herself some pasta and clearly going against etiquette in how she did it—hooves on the table, reaching, and so on—Dawn didn't say a thing then, either, even though she clearly wanted to. Not even telepathically, because she'd tried that too, and Curaçao picked up on it and scolded Dawn for having private conversations at the dinner table.

Havoc had never really realized it before, but it was cool having her older sister at the table lately. It wasn't often, but she much preferred it when Curaçao was present instead of just sharing meals with her brat of a youngest sister. 

However, since proper etiquette was no longer to be the subject of debate, Dawn took that as an open invitation to broach other subjects. "I am of the opinion that your punishment was far too lenient," she said as she daintily served herself some soup. "You should have been consigned to your quarters for the remainder of the evening without a meal."

"Pops didn't have a problem with what happened," Havoc snorted, taking a big bite of tasty pasta. "Yeah, sure, I feel bad that he's disappointed in me for going outside the city with Dash. If he wanted to actually punish me, like ground me or whatever, fine, fuck it, I'd accept that, but he didn't. Tough shit for you that you couldn't get me in bigger trouble."

"Oh, does it exasperate you that I informed Father of your excursion outside the city?" Dawn asked, eyes narrowed. "How unfortunate for you, then, that I discovered that you were responsible for the occurrences there only because of Twilight's information. You failed to deliver anything relating to this 'Rainboom' in your report to me, nor did you inform me that you had departed the city."

"Look, it wasn't a big deal," Havoc huffed, sinking into her seat. "I was gonna tell Pops myself…"

Curaçao cleared her throat. "Je suis d'accord. I think that perhaps it might have been better if Havoc had broached the subject to Papa herself, Dawn."

Dawn snapped her head towards Curaçao. "Her flagrant disregard for safety protocols reflects negatively on me in Father's eyes. Am I not in charge of our operations and thus responsible for my subordinates?"

"Fuck you, calling me 'subordinate'," Havoc spat, not caring that she got flecks of sauce on the table. "So that's what this is about? You don't give a shit about what happened or could've happened to me or Dash, do you? You just care that it might have made you look bad?"

"Not just myself, but all of our sisters!" Dawn retorted, rising in her seat. "Father has not been required to reprimand anypony but yourself since our assignment was initiated. This is our first noteworthy undertaking since… since ever! We should function flawlessly as a unit!"

Havoc snapped up from her seat, slamming her hooves on the table. "Suck my unit! Pops didn't give me any shit for it, so neither should you! If you care so much about being like our dad, then maybe you should start acting like him, you stuck-up—"

"Calme-toi," Curaçao interjected before taking a long sip of tea. "She already does just fine at that. That is why she cares so much about pleasing him. This is Dawn's chance to prove herself to Papa, oui? You do not need to be so sévère with her."

"Oh don't you start taking her side," Havoc huffed.

"I am not 'taking sides', ma sœur, I am merely trying to be objective."

"Do not exhaust yourself with explanations to this uneducated lout, Curaçao," Dawn snorted. "She clearly does not appreciate Father as I do. He is an exemplary pony, a paragon of virtue, and we should all strive to emulate him." She turned on Havoc. "That you and some of our sisters prefer to debase yourselves with barbaric, lascivious, and inutile interests is just… despicable."

Havoc rolled her eyes. "Dawn, you are such a fucking brown-noser. All you care about is being Daddy's Little Filly, but even Pops would tell you that he's not perfect. Nopony is!"

"Rescind that comment immediately!" Dawn hissed.

"If our dad was so perfect, then why don't we have a mom, huh?"

"He has no need for another mare! He has me!"

A pregnant pause filled the room.

Havoc blinked, sitting back down in her seat. "Uh… you wanna rephrase that last one there, maybe? Or am I gonna need to get some bleach for my brain?"

"What? What absurdities are you spewing now?"

Curaçao coughed gently into her hoof, then took another sip of tea. "Your last comment, ma sœur, could be... misinterpreted."

"As what?"

"Insinuating that Papa needs no other mares because 'he has you'? Take a moment, réfléchir—think it over."

Dawn paused, as if repeating the statement in her head, then her eyes widened and face reddened in shock. 

"Oh. I… n-no, that was not my intent— I was just— I do not—" She then looked between her sisters briefly. "Perhaps I misspoke. I meant… he does not require the love of a romantic partner, because he has the love of myself… of all of us. Perhaps not… in that particular sense, obviously. A familial love, n-not... romantic or sex—"

"No! You're good! I got it!" Havoc said quickly. A pause. "You don't really have… that kind of feeling for our dad, right?"

Dawn gulped and nodded. "Correct. I do not."

"You're sure? No thoughts about, like... hugging him a little too tight, or like, 'accidentally' kissing him a little too close to the lips?"

"Uh... correct? No such thoughts."

"You're positive? No thought about maybe walking in on him in the shower—"

Dawn glared at her. "I am positive that I have had no such thoughts. Maybe we should inquire as to why such situations entered your train of thought—"

Havoc shook her thought. "Nope, nice try, but Pops ain't my type. I just needed to see your reaction, used a few cliché ideas to work it out. You're clean. No dirty thoughts about our dad." Havoc turned to Curaçao. "Right?"

Curaçao nodded. "Oui."

Dawn huffed. "Well, I am pleased that my responses satisfied your curiosity." And she sat back down and started eating again, barely paying much attention to anypony's etiquette at all anymore.

The rest of the meal proceeded in silence, without so much as anypony asking to pass the salt.