//------------------------------// // Chapter 34 (Party of One) // Story: Spike The Brony Dragon // by red4567 //------------------------------// I was reading my comic books as usual. A new series came out about the origins of the Power Ponies, so I bought the first issue. It talked about how a filly named Trot Summers became a superhero called the Masked Matter-Horn. So far, I was at the part where Trot meets Professor Celestia (I guess the real Celestia never trademarked her name). That’s when Twilight and I heard a knock on the door. Twilight hurried to answer it. “Oh, hi Pinkie Pie,” Twilight greeted. “This is your singing telegram! I hope it finds you well,” Pinkie sang. “You’re invited to a party ‘cause we think you’re really swell!” It was that song that reminded me that this was when the events of “Party of One” took place. In the show, Pinkie’s friends kept avoiding her, making her assume that they don’t want to be around her anymore. This caused Pinkie to become downhearted, resulting in her “Pinkamena” state. It wasn’t until later that she realized her friends were trying to throw a surprise birthday party for her. I realized that Pinkie turning sour was partly Spike’s fault, since he told Pinkie exactly what she asked. Thankfully, I was Spike this time. That meant I could find a way to convince Pinkie that her friends still like her, but I should also avoid saying that it’s her birthday. Strange that the pony who knows everypony’s birthday forgets her own. “Uh...sure,” Twilight said after Pinkie finished her telegram. “We’ll be there.” “Okie dokie loki!” Pinkie pronked away. “I can’t believe Gummy’s gonna be a year old,” I said as I walked down the stairs. “I didn’t even know she celebrated her pet’s birthday.” “Pinkie would always find a reason to throw a party,” Twilight said. “Not that it’s a bad thing of course. Her parties are always fun.” On the day of Gummy’s birthday, the party played out like in the show. Honestly, there was nothing I could change that day, and I even attended the party this time. “Boy, that was one heck of a party,” I said as Twilight and I arrived back home. “I’ll say,” Twilight said. “Pinkie would throw a party for anypony, even her own pet.” “You know, we should have a birthday party for Owlowiscious. Wouldn’t that be fun?” “Hoo?” Owlowiscious hooted. “Oh, Spike,” Twilight said. “Even if we could, we have no idea when Owlowiscious was hatched. Fluttershy didn’t meet him at all until after I found him, so she wouldn’t know either.” “Oh, well,” I said. “It was just a suggestion.” The next day, Twilight and I got up and did our respective morning routines. “Spike, do you know what today is?” Twilight whispered as we ate breakfast. I replied. “Is it Pinkie Pie’s Bir—?” Twilight shoved a hoof in my mouth and looked around. “Yes, it is. Pinkie’s thrown so many parties for us, the girls and I decided to plan a surprise party to return the favor. You’ve gotta promise me you won’t tell Pinkie about this, or else she’ll ruin the surprise.” “Cross my heart, and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” “Good. Good.” After we finished our routines and chores, I headed to the Carousel Boutique. It had been a while since I last interacted with Rarity. I have been doing some activities with her like gem collecting and fashion stuff, but it feels like we were doing it as friends. That got me worried. In the show, Spike always had an affection for Rarity, but I seem to like Fluttershy more. I know about the butterfly effect, but do I really need to force my relationship to Rarity? Would some of the events stay the same if I went for Fluttershy instead? I did remember taking Fluttershy to the Gala, and Rarity wasn’t at all upset. I also knew that Rarity was aware of Spike’s crush before his confession. There was that moment in the show where Spike gave Rarity that fire ruby and later confessed his crush to her. I felt like I should do the same, without the greedy rampage of course. I already have the fire ruby from one of the gem hunts Rarity and I did last year. I’ve kept it in a safe spot just like the old Spike did. “Hey, Spike!” A voice called out. I turned around and saw Pinkie right in front of me. I almost lost my balance. “I’m inviting all of my bestest friends to Gummy’s ‘after-birthday’ party this afternoon! You should totally come!” “This afternoon?” I asked. “As in, ‘this afternoon’ this afternoon?” Pinkie nodded. “I don’t know.” I rubbed the back of my head. “I’ll need to ask Twilight about it first.” “Okie dokie loki!” Pinkie hurried to the library. I sighed and hurried to the boutique to meet Rarity. I helped her with a lot of stuff, including taking out the trash. Though, I didn’t get as dirty and smelly as the old Spike. “Hey, Rarity,” I said. “I feel like we haven’t talked to each other in a while. I was wondering if you and I could meet up sometime and just chat.” “Well, we could,” Rarity replied, “but we should do it after you wash up.” “Oh, right. See you later.” I quickly hurried back to the Library. “Hey, Spike,” Twilight said. “Hi, Twilight,” I replied. “Did Pinkie invite you to Gummy’s ‘after-birthday’ party as well?” “Yeah, I had to tell her I needed to study.” She then sniffed the air. “Ugh, Spike. You...” “...need a bath. I know. I’m gonna take one right now.” “I’m gonna get the cake from Sugarcube Corner. Try to get to the barn after you’re done cleaning up.” “Will do.” Twilight left the library while I headed to the bathroom. I don’t know how long it took for me to wash my entire body to get the smell off. I had to use one of Twilight’s body wash. After I dried myself, I hurried out of the library. Suddenly, I was stopped by Pinkie Pie. “Spike, I need you.” Pinkie grabbed me and carried me to Sugarcube Corner. “Wait! I didn’t ask Twilight yet!” I pleaded. “It’s not for that. Trust me.” At Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie sat me down on a table and placed a plate of gems in front of me. I guess Rarity wasn’t the only pony who knew how to pick the right gems. “Nice spread,” I said as I looked at the sparkling snacks. “It's all yours, Spike,” said Pinkie. Suddenly she shined a light in my eyes as Gummy grabbed my tail. “All you have to do is talk.” “Really? That’s it?” I asked. “Okay...uh...so when did you move from your rock farm to Ponyville? How did you get your job at Sugarcube Corner? Was it difficult?” “No, no, no. Talk about our friends.” “Oh, my bad. Um...who did you first meet when you first came to Ponyville? Were you all friends before Twilight and I came along? How did you meet Gummy?” “No! You're not understanding me! I want you to confess!” “Confess to what?!” “You know!” I sighed. “It was only a matter of time before you figured out,” I lied. “I guess being in this body for too long can raise a lot of red flags.” “You’re not taking this seriously! Are you, Spike?!” “What do you want me to say?” “Tell me that my friends are all lying to me and avoiding me because they don't like my parties and they don't want to be my friends anymore!” “Wait...Pinkie. Do you know what today is?” “Tuesday?” I chuckled. “Seriously? You, of all ponies, don’t know what day it is?” “What? It’s not Tuesday?” “Tell you what, I’ll go find the girls and see why they’re avoiding you. You just stay here until we can sort this out.” I hopped out of my seat and grabbed a few gems from the gem platter. “Wait, Spike,” Pinkie asked, “what day is today?” “Tuesday, like you said,” I replied. I quickly hurried out of Sugarcube Corner and to Sweet Apple Acres. I knocked on the barn door. I heard panicking whispers in the barn. “You do it this time, Twilight!” Rainbow’s voice hissed. “Okay, okay,” Twilight’s voice whispered back. Twilight cracked the barn door and peeked outside. “False alarm. It’s just Spike.” Twilight opened the door. “Come in, Spike, before Pinkie sees you.” I quickly hurried in and saw that the barn was already decorated with balloons, ribbons, and confetti. “I see everything’s going well,” I said. “Yeah, but it wasn’t easy,” Rainbow replied. “We nearly had a run-in with Pinkie earlier today.” “You're not the only one. She tried to get me to spill the beans, but I didn’t reveal anything.” “Well, we’re almost done,” Applejack said. “So hopefully we don’t have to keep up with this fer long. It’s a good thing ya got lips tighter than the lid of a pickle jar, Spike.” I nodded. “Okay, looks like everything’s ready,” Twilight said. “Now, we can let Pinkie Pie come in here.” “She’s at Sugarcube Corner right now,” I said. “I’ll get her,” Rainbow Dash said. Before we could say anything else, she dashed out of the barn. “I hope Pinkie didn’t get the wrong idea about us avoiding her,” Rarity said. “Could you imagine how dreadful it would be if she thought we weren’t gonna be her friends anymore?” “I wouldn’t worry,” I said. “It’s not like she’s gonna use a bucket of turnips, a flour bag, a ball of lint, and a pile of rocks to replace you girls.” “That was strangely specific, Spike,” Twilight pointed out. After a few minutes of waiting, we heard hoofbeats approaching. “It’s Pinkie and Rainbow Dash,” said Fluttershy. “Hide!” We all quickly hid behind the table and turned out the lights. “Wait ‘til you see what we’ve done,” Rainbow said as she opened the barn door. “What were you building that was so important?” Pinkie asked as she entered the barn. “SURPRISE!!” Pinkie nearly jumped backwards. “Hey! I thought I was the one who did surprises,” Pinkie said. “Wait, don’t tell me. Is today Opposite Day? That would explain all your behaviors earlier today.” “Oh, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “Even if there was an ‘Opposite Day,’ why does the cake I picked up from Sugarcube Corner say ‘Happy Birthday, Pinkie Pie’?” Pinkie Pie gasped loudly. “Because it’s my birthday! Ooh, how could I have forgotten my own birthday?” Pinkie gave everyone a big group hug.  “You’ve been throwing so many parties for us, we decided to throw one for you,” Twilight said. “We'd been planning this party for such a long time,” Rarity added. “We had to make excuses for why we couldn't attend Gummy's party so that we could get everything ready for yours.” “You girls are the best friends ever!” Pinkie exclaimed. “How could I have ever doubted you?” “It's okay, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight replied. “It could have happened to any of us.” After I sent the friendship letter, the girls and I enjoyed the party. We also celebrated Gummy’s after-birthday party. It was a good thing that Pinkie didn’t go crazy. Or crazier in this case. “Oh, and Spike?” Pinkie asked. “Yeah?” “When I was 12. They had a ‘Help Wanted’ sign. Just a teensy bit. Rarity. Just minor friends. Found him as an abandoned egg.” “Uh...what?” “Hey, you asked. It was about time I gave you some exposition.”