“Where is the baking powder? Come on, come on, where is it…?” Twilight muttered furiously to herself as she scoured the contents of the library’s kitchen. She was already falling behind on the instructions in that book—she was certain she had added the eggs too early, and the chocolate chips were proving stubborn to melt. She didn’t need anything else going wrong, and yet the cruel mistress that was fate seemed intent on barring her progress at every conceivable turn.
Finally, she pulled open a cabinet and grinned ear-to-ear. “Ahah! There you are!” she declared, pulling the container out with her magic before returning to the scene of the project. As she turned, she realized that there was a pony and a dragon in the door leading out to the living room, and both were staring at her with looks of abject bewilderment.
“Uh… Twi?” Rainbow asked slowly, raising an eyebrow as she looked around. “What… are you doing?”
“A surprise,” Twilight replied with a slight twitch in her eye. She tried in vain to use her hoof to block one of the multiple piles of flour that had somehow wound up on the floor that she did not know the origins of, no sir. “Nothing!”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Twilight… are you trying to cook?” he asked after several seconds.
“Er, no!” Twilight denied with a furious shake of her head, forgetting the baking powder that was currently floating right next to her in her magic. She looked at it, grinned sheepishly, and hid it behind her back. “I’m trying to bake. A bit different.”
Rainbow slowly waded through the chaos, trying not to step in anything. “Yeah, uh, I guess,” she uttered slowly, wrinkling her nose as if there were some foul odor in the air. “Ugh. But why are you baking?”
“It’s a surprise!” Twilight shot back without missing a beat before turning back to her cookbook and scanning the contents for exact measurements. “Don’t you two worry about me. I’ll be fine. Just go ahead and, uh…” she paused, her brow furrowing as her brain caught up. She turned to face the two and tilted her head in confusion. “Actually, what are you two doing up so early?”
“It’s almost noon,” Spike deadpanned.
Twilight blinked. “Noon?” Her eyes began to wander toward the nearest clock. It couldn’t be noon, that was absolutely ridiculous. She had gotten up at the crack of dawn to start working on this, and if her staggering lack of progress was any indication, she hadn’t been at this for very-
The clock gave off twelve chimes, signaling the arrival of noon, ending Twilight’s train of thought before it could properly form. Her ears drooped in mild irritation. How had she lost track of time like that? That wasn’t like her at all!
...Okay, it was absolutely like her, but that was beside the point. She shook her head to chase away the unwanted thought before smiling back at the others. “Heh. Guess I lost track of time, huh?” she asked sheepishly.
Rainbow nodded along. “Uh-huh… Twi, you doing okay?” she asked, drawing closer and draping a foreleg comfortingly over Twilight’s shoulders. The alicorn immediately melted into Rainbow’s embrace, leaning into her. The warmth of Rainbow’s chest fur immediately chased away Twilight’s lingering doubts, allowing her to sigh and relax as her thoughts began to come into focus.
She nodded after a few seconds. “I think so. Luna talked to me last night, so I’m better than I was,” she said, smiling up at Rainbow.
Rainbow’s concerned expression softened with relief. “Oh, thank gosh for that. And how did it go?” she asked after a moment.
Twilight gently pried herself from Rainbow’s embrace and returned to her bowl of partially mixed ingredients. “It went fairly well. She helped me wrangle my thoughts on all of this into order and helped me come up with a plan on what to do next. Which is what I am trying to do with all of this baking,” she explained, tapping the mixing bowl with a hoof.
Spike waddled in after Rainbow, tilting his head in confusion. “I don’t get it… How does baking something with your cooking skills help anypony do anything ever?” he asked bluntly with a hint of mirth in his voice.
Twilight pouted at him indignantly. Were these two ever going to stop teasing her about that?! “Ugh. It’s not about what I make, Spike, but- you know what? No, nevermind, you can find out with everypony else,” she decided after a moment, putting on a tiny, triumphant smirk. She’d withhold the purpose of the disastrous insult to her baking from these two, and she’d lord it over them, make them beg for the answers, and she would laugh and deny them until the time was right. Oh, it would be so sweet! Payback! Kind of.
Spike shrugged. “Meh. Alright.”
“Curses!” Twilight thought with her cheeks puffing up in annoyance.
“Brilliant revenge, truly,” Midnight cackled in sadistic amusement. “Now, if only you had-”
“One more word and my head is going in the mixing bowl,” Twilight threatened without missing a beat. “The contents have about the same consistency as cheese in a quesadilla. And you and I both know how much I wouldn’t like that.”
There was a prolonged period of silence, and Twilight took that as her victory.
Rainbow chuckled at Spike’s reaction before glancing back to Twilight. “Heh. Well, I don’t mind waiting to know what it’s all for. I mean, I’m sure the, uh…” she glanced at the mixing bowl and cringed. “...Cake? Er, pie? Fudge?”
“It’s cake.”
Rainbow did not seem convinced. “I’m sure the cake will be good,” she said all the same, turning back to Twilight with a small, uncomfortable smile of her own.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh, hardy har. Just go and get a move on,” Twilight dismissed with a wave of her hoof. “Go see Pinkie. I’m sure she’d like the company. I’ll be along in a little while.”
Those words put an immediate end to the jovial atmosphere in the room. Rainbow and Spike shared a nervous glance. It was the dragon who broke the silence by coughing into his hand. “Uh… Twi? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked slowly. “I mean, Maud said-”
“Maud has good reason to be mad at me,” Twilight cut him off, her own tone lowering. Lingering feelings of guilt and regret over her actions, even if aggravated by Midnight, swelled back into her thoughts. She took a few deep breaths to force them back down before giving the others a nod and knowing smile. “But I’m confident Pinkie will make her come around. I mean, that is the little sister’s job, isn’t it? To make their elder’s come around when they’re overdoing it?”
Spike chuckled, folding his arms over his chest. “Heh, fair enough. I can vouch for that myself. How many times have I talked you two out of-”
“Many times,” Rainbow and Twilight answered simultaneously. They then looked at each other for a moment, their eyes wide in surprise. A few seconds passed before their stunned silence was broken with a series of amused giggles.
Once the chuckles died down, Rainbow gave Twilight a knowing look. “Luna said that didn’t she?” she asked with a wink.
Twilight hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. She did.”
Rainbow nodded along before turning to Spike. “Heh. She’d know,” she said before nodding for the exit. “Anyway, I think Twi’s right. Let’s go see Pinks. I think she’s supposed to go and get another session of healing magic from the doc, so I bet she’d like some company.”
Spike nodded at that, taking confidence in Rainbow’s assurance. He quickly hopped up onto Rainbow’s back and got comfy. However, before the two could exit, Rainbow spun back around to face Twilight, her expression turning serious.
“And Twi?”
“Yeah?”
Rainbow’s expression softened into something less intense. “...keep your word this time, please. Show up,” she requested quietly.
Twilight winced, another small spark of guilt lighting up inside her heart. She had completely forgotten to go last time she had said she would, thanks to that stupid pile of rubble and her insatiable obsession over it. But she would do better this time. She knew she would. She wouldn’t let herself not. She smiled and nodded. “I will, don’t worry.”
Rainbow watched her a moment longer before smiling, seemingly satisfied with the answer. With that, she turned and stepped out through the door. The moment it closed behind her, Twilight turned back to her mixing bowl and took a long, deep breath. The contents were a stringy mess. She had obviously done something wrong with this attempt.
“Oh, well. Just have to try again,” she told herself as she scooped the inedible contents into the trash. She returned to her cookbook on the tabletop and squinted at the page. As she did so, her horn lit up, and she was sure to lay her ingredients out before she began mixing them this time.
She was no Pinkie Pie, but she could still give it her best effort.
The walk to the clinic was a slow and quiet one. Rainbow and Spike had dropped in at Sugarcube Corner to see if Pinkie was still there, only to find that she had already departed to see the doctor for the next round of her treatment: another dosage of healing magic to speed up the recovery process. The Cakes had proved to be optimistic that this would be the last round Pinkie would need, as, despite all of her grumblings and complaining, she had been following the doctor’s orders remarkably well and was speeding toward full recovery faster than expected.
Nevertheless, Maud had gone with her to keep an eye on her. In the back of her head, Rainbow couldn’t help but think that the reason Pinkie was following her orders so well was that Maud was there to keep her on task. Rainbow shuddered at the memory of Maud’s cold stare managing to cow Pinkie into going to bed the previous day.
For a mare whose emotions were about as expressive as the rocks she studied, Maud could be really terrifying sometimes.
It didn’t take long for Rainbow and Spike to arrive at the clinic, and, after a brief period of having to wait in the front lobby, they were eventually called back to join Pinkie and Maud in the room. Rainbow grimaced as they entered. This was the very room she had been kept in back when she and her friends had returned from Hollow Shades, just before Chrysalis’ invasion of Canterlot. Her wing throbbed slightly in protest at the unpleasant memory, and she instead forced herself to focus on the three other ponies waiting in the room.
Maud was seated on one of the simple chairs, watching Pinkie, who was currently seated on the bed with a bored look on her face. The doctor was next to her, his glowing horn lightly pressed up against her now-exposed side. Pinkie looked over at Rainbow and Spike as they entered and got a big grin on her face. “Oh, hey Dash!” she called over, lifting her other hoof to wave. She locked up, her eyes bulging and her mouth falling open, no doubt as the sudden movement aggravated her tender ribs.
“Miss Pie, please try not to move,” Horse said in a firm but soothing voice. He pulled his horn away and gently nudged her foreleg back down into position. “This magic is delicate, and we don’t want anything to heal wrong.
“Sorry. I just wanted to wave hi to my friends,” Pinkie apologized.
The doctor nodded, giving Rainbow a respectful nod. “I understand, but your greetings can wait. Hoof up, please,” he instructed. Pinkie once again lifted her left foreleg, exposing her side. The doctor leaned in and got back to work, filling the air with the gentle hum of his magic.
“How’s she doing?” Rainbow asked as she made her way to sit beside Maud. Spike hopped down and took the seat next to her without a word.
“Well enough,” Horse replied, though his tone made it clear he was only half paying attention to the new arrivals. “We’ll see where we’re at when we’re done with this round.”
“Well, that’s good,” Rainbow said with some relief. She then turned to Maud and put on a small smile. “And what about you, Maud? Holding up alright?”
Maud turned to Rainbow, then glanced down to the now snipped-off tip of her tail. “I’m fine. You?”
Rainbow absently flicked her tail so the tip was out of view, her ears lowering slightly at the reminder of her near-death experience. “I’m doing okay. Twilight’s doing better now, in case you were wondering. She got some help.”
Maud blinked, then looked back at Pinkie. “Okay.”
A few seconds passed in silence. Rainbow wanted to feel frustrated by that response, but at this point, she just couldn’t find it in her. If Maud had more to say, she’d say it. No use trying to pry it out of her.
It was just such a shame that Spike didn’t feel that way. He leaned forward to stare at Maud past Rainbow with a furrowed brow. “Really? That’s all you gotta say?” he asked in mild annoyance. “Come on, express some worry or something!”
Maud turned to him and visibly frowned. “I’m not worried about her, though.”
Spike sighed and flopped back in his seat. “Guh, whatever.”
A few seconds passed before Pinkie spoke up in a much quieter voice. “...I’m worried about her, though.”
Rainbow turned to face Pinkie. Her ears had drooped, and her eyes were downcast. “Is she doing okay? I heard about what happened yesterday. Maud told me. She must be so sad and upset because she’s blaming herself for what happened, and she probably thinks I hate her now, and I just wanna go and hug her and tell her it’s alright, but I-”
“Hey, hey,” Rainbow cut her off before she had a chance to devolve into a manic rant. She leaned back and put on a comforting smile once she had Pinkie’s gaze. “Relax. Twi’s okay. Luna talked to her last night and helped her work through it. She’s doing okay, and she said she’s gonna come by a little later to check in.”
Maud’s frown deepened. “I told her to stay away.”
Rainbow turned to Maud, matching her frown with one of her own. “You did. But Pinkie’s her own mare. Pretty sure she can make her own choices as to who she hangs out with.”
Maud suddenly rose to her hooves, and any further words died in Rainbow’s throat as the gray mare loomed over her. Maud stared down her nose at Rainbow, her expression as always unchanging, yet somehow far more threatening. “Pinkie Pie is my sister,” she said simply. “My little sister.”
Rainbow blinked a few times before straightening herself out and matching Maud’s glare. “She’s also Twilight’s friend. I get you’re protective of her, but come on, ease off a bit.”
Maud snorted, but before she had a chance to speak, Pinkie spoke up again, cutting her off. “I want Twilight to come.”
Maud blinked and turned to face her younger sister. Pinkie was smiling and nodded emphatically. “She’s one of my best friends. In fact, if we count all of the Flashes I had before I met her in real life, then she’s also one of my oldest. I’ve known about her since I was reeeaally little, you know.”
Maud was quiet for a moment. “I remember,” she eventually said.
Pinkie nodded energetically. “I know you do! I had all those weird and crazy visions and you all kept thinking I had gone nuts or something!” she giggled at the memory before shaking her head and focusing on Maud again. “But Maud, I know Twilight. I trust Twilight. She’s one of my best friends, and I can always count on her to be there for the rest of us when we really need her. She’s brave, she’s nerdy, she’s funny, she and Dashie are just so cute when they get all smoochy with each other~”
Rainbow blushed and looked away, whistling a little tune.
Pinkie smirked and continued. “And she’s just so nice and friendly!”
“But… Pinkie,” Maud tried, but Pinkie kept going before she could.
“I know she’s not really herself right now,” Pinkie admitted, nodding slowly. “But she did just get done having amnesia for a few years, and she turned into an evil meanie version of herself that stole ponies’ memories of her. That was really really bad of her… And I know that whenever I do something mean, or something that hurts my friends, I feel horrible about it afterward… I feel like I’m not a good friend anymore, and there’s no feeling worse than that.
“And Twilight represents the Element of Magic! She’s, like, the big cherry on top of the wedding cake of friendship! She’s the big cheese that holds the hayburger together! The bark from the dog, or the meow from the cat! So if doing something bad hurts me, I can only imagine how hard it must be on her.
“She’s just struggling…” she continued, lifting her free hoof gently to hover over her heart, being careful to not disrupt the doctor or cause herself any pain. “But she’ll pull through. I know she will. And when she does, I wanna be there to throw her a big party to celebrate, and I wanna be there the whole way to cheer her on and be the bestest friend I can be. Because that’s what friends are for. They’re there for each other even when things are at their worst. If we left each other when things got bad, then… well…”
She lowered her hoof and met Maud’s gaze with a sad smile. “Then we wouldn’t be friends anymore… and I don’t want that.”
Rainbow stared at Pinkie with wide eyes, genuinely impressed with the eloquence of that entire speech. She then put on a warm smile and nodded approvingly in the party mare’s direction. The light in Pinkie’s eyes grew brighter, and her smile wider.
Maud was quiet, though. She stared at Pinkie for a time, her expression unchanged. Her tail flicked behind her once or twice, and she took in a very slow, very deep breath. When she let it out, she gave a tiny nod. “...Okay. She’s your friend,” she finally conceded. “Sorry.”
Pinkie shook her head. “No no, that’s totally okay, Maud! I know you were just looking out for me, and I appreciate it! You really are the best sister ever, even if you can be a little overprotective sometimes!”
Maud managed to smile a little at that, her eyes shifting to the side to look at anything else.
Several minutes passed after that where nopony said a word. Doctor Horse continued his work on Pinkie’s wound, only occasionally offering muttered instructions for her to move her hooves or shift so he could get a better angle. The only other sound was the muffled chirps of the birds outside the hospital window.
At some point, Spike became visibly bored. With a huff, he stood up on the chair and turned around to look out the window. He kept his eyes out there for several minutes before his eyes widened. He squinted into the distance before leaning back and tapping the glass. “Uh… Twilight’s coming.”
Rainbow looked up at Spike and raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. And she’s bringing something with her.”
Pinkie bounced slightly in her seat, much to the doctor’s chagrin. “Ooh, ooh! What is it? Is it a kite? A book? No, no, wait, a horseshoe! A candy bar?”
“It’s a… box,” Spike leaned back slightly. “A big cardboard box. She’s also got one that’s for carrying a cake or a pie or something.”
Pinkie’s eyes lit up, and he gasped in excitement. “Oh, oh! Did she try to bake something?!”
“Maybe?” Rainbow said with a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. As true as it was that Twilight had claimed to be baking before they left, leaving that mare alone with the stove and oven was, in all likelihood, a recipe for the birth of a new eldritch lifeform before the creation of sustainable food.
Without a word, she stood up and prised open the window. Sure enough, there was Twilight, cantering up the street with two separate boxes floating along behind her in her magic. Rainbow grinned, relieved at least that she was here, before reaching a hoof out to wave. “Hey, Twi! Up here!” she called out.
Apparently, the doctor had some objections to this. “What the- hey! You can’t just let somepony in like that! We have a receptionist for a reason!”
“Aw, give it a rest,” Spike said in disapproval, glancing back at Horse. “After that whole speech Pinkie gave? Plus, you know, Rainbow’s a princess, so she technically outranks you.”
“Spike, do not pull rank on my behalf,” Rainbow chastised him with a frown. She then turned back to the doctor and smiled apologetically. “But, ah… can we get her up here to the window?”
The doctor sighed in exasperation, then nodded. “Oh, very well… I suppose it can’t do any harm,” he relented before withdrawing from Pinkie’s side. “At any rate, miss Pie, your ribs are healing nicely. I want you to come back the day after tomorrow for one more check in to make sure they’ve healed up properly, but if you keep it up as you have, you should be right as rain in no time.”
Pinkie grinned. “Woo! Thanks a lot, doc!” she said, leaning over and giving him an appreciative hug.
Horse grunted as he was squished up against her. “Oof! Pinkie, please…”
She released him a moment later. “Haha, sorry,” she said apologetically.
Rainbow smiled warmly at the display, then turned to the window. Twilight was flying up now, her eyes alight with a weird mixture of excitement and… was that fear? Whatever it was, she did a good job of hiding it as she swooped up to come in through the window. Rainbow stepped aside to let her pass, and with a flutter of her wings, Twilight alighted gently on the floor.
“Whew! Hey, Pinkie!” she greeted, notably short of breath. Her mane was a little frazzled, too, and, judging by the bags under her eyes, her early start had taken its toll on her. “Sorry I didn’t come sooner, but I had a lot of stuff to get on short notice!”
Pinkie jumped down from the bed and quickly gave Twilight a friendly hug. “Aaaww, it’s no biggie! Thanks for stopping by, Twi!” she said happily. She drew back and looked up at the boxes. “Ooooohhhh. Did you get me presents?!”
Twilight chuckled sheepishly and set the boxes down on the bed. “Eheh, kind of? Sorta? Er, not exactly. Well… hm,” she tapped a hoof to her chin. “I guess it’s technically a present, but it’s not what ponies normally associate with-”
“Twi,” Spike cut her off with a deadpan look. “Concentrate.”
“Oh, right. Sorry,” she apologized. She then turned to look at Pinkie, then Maud. A quiet tension came over the room at that. Nopony said a word, and Rainbow watched on from the sidelines with a growing frown on her face. Several seconds passed.
Finally, Twilight took a deep breath. “Pinkie… Maud. Both of you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I almost blew you up at the ruins, Maud, and I’m sorry I didn’t come when I said I would, Pinkie. I have no excuse,” she finally confessed. “I got lost in my own little world. I was too scared to face the situation, and I let my own paranoia get the better of me… I let it consume me, and I wasn’t there for you when I should have been. I let you down, and I can’t take that back.”
She then turned to the boxes on the bed and nodded at them. “But, hopefully, if you’ll let me try, I can make it up to you, and I’d like to start with these.”
Pinkie eyes the boxes intently, seemingly taken off guard by the sudden apology. A few seconds later, though, she tore her eyes away and gave Twilight another hug, surprising the alicorn. “Oh, Twilight. You don’t have to be sorry,” she said, giving her an affectionate nuzzle. “You’ve been sorry for so much lately. I don’t blame you for anything. I’m just glad you’re here.”
She then drew back and smiled softly down at the packages. “That said, I won’t say no to presents!”
Twilight visibly relaxed, her smile returning. She then turned to the boxes and, with a simple flick of her magic, opened the first one. Rainbow leaned in with everyone else to get a closer look, curious to see just what Twilight had been concocting all morning.
The first package was stuffed to the brim with a wide assortment of party favors. Party hats, kazoos, party poppers, party horns, a single bag of confetti, and a few rolled-up sheets of colorful laminated paper that she recognized as belonging to a few of Pinkie’s favorite party games, such as ‘pin the tail on the pony’ or ‘twister.’ There were also a few muffins wrapped up in plastic wrap that Rainbow instantly recognized as coming from Sugarcube corner. There were eight of them in total.
“I missed out on your last gathering,” Twilight explained simply. “And I’m really sorry about that. So I thought it would be a good idea for me to throw a small party for you. Just a little one, easily portable—hence the small box. But there’s just enough in there for the basics.”
Pinkie lifted a hoof to her chest and gave out a long, adoring coo. “Aaawww, a little mini Pinkie party! Or, I guess it would be a mini Twily party, huh?” she asked with a short giggle.
Twilight nodded before moving on to the next box. “Of course. But what would a party be without…” she left the sentence hanging and opened the box with her magic.
A long, awkward pause filled the room. Rainbow squinted at it, trying in vain to find words to describe the charred, lumpy, oddly-concrete resemblant block of stuff that filled the second box. She could faintly smell frosting and chocolate in it, but the rest of it was overwhelmed with the smell of burning flour and other, nameless aromas that gave Rainbow a funny feeling in her stomach.
Pinkie blinked and pointed at the monstrosity. “What… what is that?” she asked.
Twilight’s eyes flew wide open in horror and disbelief. “Wait, what?!” she asked upon realizing something was wrong. She peered inside, and the color swiftly drained from her face. “No, no, no! But I- how did- what is- What?! How did that get in here?! It was supposed to be a cake!”
Spike smirked. “Ya see? This is why we don’t let Twilight cook,” he said as if there was no other way this could end. He lifted a single digit and wagged it back and forth. “Tsk tsk tsk. Honestly, what were you thinking?”
“I followed the instructions to the letter!” Twilight whined, her face turning an impressive shade of red. “I just… I must have grabbed the wrong one on the way out… It was getting late and I was in a hurry…”
Rainbow watched the ‘cake’ for several long seconds. Was this thing really supposed to have been cake? Judging by the way it was faintly bubbling on one side, she had a hard time making that connection. The doctor looked in and blanched. “Oh, good heavens, that thing is moving.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “So… the cake is a… live?” she asked slowly, not really wanting to know the answer.
“If there was a new species of bacteria growing inside that thing, I would not be surprised,” Horse said before levitating over a can of disinfecting spray and giving the monster a few good squirts. “That said, this is a hospital.”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight mumbled from behind both hooves and wings, having retreated into the corner. “I’m so sorry.”
Rainbow turned to her, her ears drooping. She opened her mouth to say something before a sound cut her off, one she was not expecting to hear, but one she really should have.
It was Pinkie laughing.
All eyes fell on the pink mare as she covered her face with her hooves, giggling hysterically. She shook her head, a few tears rolling out of her eyes before she turned and lunged at the cowering, confused Twilight, enveloping her in a tight hug and eliciting a startled squeak from her.
“I love it!” Pinkie declared. “Thank you, Twilight! This is gonna be the best hospital room mini party EVER!”
Twilight stared blankly at Pinkie for a second, completely taken off guard. But then her own fortitude began to falter, and she joined Pinkie in her laughter. Not long after, Spike joined in, and Rainbow just did not have it in her to resist and added her own chuckles to the mix. Of course, Pinkie would love it. Why wouldn’t she?
Doctor Horse shook his head with an amused smile before quietly excusing himself.
As the room was left to just the group of friends, laughing their little hearts out, Rainbow couldn’t help but notice that even the corners of Maud’s lips had turned up.