Once Spike and Twilight made amends and accepted Owlicious into their family, something didn't exactly go back to normal. Not the fact that Twilight had an owl, but it was that Xavier never came out of his room the next day. Or the next, or the next two, he was still held up inside his room. The girls were worried about him, but they didn't know what to do to get him out and help him. After a few days, the human girls were setting up the table for breakfast when some footsteps were heard, and when they looked, they saw none other than Xavier walking in, though he didn't look too good with messy hair and his eyes had bags, they were even a bit red. When he came into the kitchen, Jasmine ran over to him and hugged him in worry.
"It's about time you came out of your room." Cali commented, rather annoyed. "What took you so long?"
"It's nothing." He said, rather tired as he pushed Jasmine off him. "I was just taking some time to myself."
"Well next time tell us that."
"I never thought of you to worry about something like this."
"I wasn't, the girls are." Cali crossed her arms. "They were worried sick."
"Oh, well sorry. I'll try to tell you next time." Xavier trailed off nearing the end of his sentence. The two girls looked at each other but knew otherwise.
"Well, as long as you promise next time. Now come over here, I'm 'bout done with breakfast." Xavier gave a small smile and joined them. As he was however, a knock at the door got their attention.
"I'll go get it." Jasmine said as she went to the door. As Cali was finishing up, Xavier decided to try and find out some things.
"So, anything happen recently?"
"Well, Twilight did get a pet owl named Owlicious while you were barricaded in your room."
"Really now? Huh, go figure." Jasmine then came back into the room. "Who was it Jasmine?"
"It was Pinkie. She came here to invite us to a birthday party for Gummy. Though she seemed exhausted."
"The gator she keeps as a pet?" Cali asked as she put their breakfast, pancakes, down. "She's throwing a party for it?"
"Yeah..."
"Sounds like Pinkie." Xavier said. "She will find practically any excuse to throw a party."
"Well, if it's one of her parties, I guess I'll go." Cali replied.
"Yeah, let's go!" Jasmine said, excited as well.
"Have fun then you two, I'll just-"
"No, you're coming with us!" Cali said as she grabbed his shirt. "You've been locked up in that room of yours for days. You are coming out and seeing the others for once."
"What? Since when did you care so much?!" Xavier asked as he wiggled out of her grasp. As he was turning to leave the kitchen, he was surprised to see Jasmine standing at the entryway with a sad face.
"Why not? It wasn't the same without you during the meteor shower. Please?" Looking at Jasmine, Xavier tensed up as his brain and heart went into overdrive.
"Y-You KnOW WhaT?! I reALLy haVe beEn INsidE tO much! I'LL gO!" Xavier spoke nervously and weirdly, voice going all over the place. Jasmine didn't notice however as she beamed at Xavier's decision and happily exited the kitchen, leaving a flustered Xavier and Cali who was putting the pieces together.
"Wait a sec. Jasmine, you forgot about breakfast!"
Later, Sunset
After breakfast and Xavier recovering from his shock (He would not elaborate on why it happened) the three of them began to get ready for the party. It was mostly getting Xavier ready however as the girls were focused on getting him presentable since he was a mess. After they finished that, it was close to the time for the party since Xavier was putting up a bit of a resistance to the two, so they left the house and headed for Sugar Cube Corner. Once they entered the bakery, they were greeted by a big hug from Pinkie Pie, but the only one that was hugged was Xavier.
"Xavier! You're here!" She shouted happily.
"Y-yep, I'm h-here." He strained from the force of the hug before wiggling his way out of the hug.
"What took you so long?" They looked over to see the rest of the girls walking over. "Seriously, do you know how worried we were?!" Rainbow said annoyed.
"Sorry girls, I was going through something..." Xavier replied quietly. After a swift bot onto Rainbow's head, Twilight stepped forward.
"Are you okay though? You've been-"
"Yes, I'm okay." Xavier cut her off agitated, catching everyone off guard, the ponies more so since they've never heard him this mad.
"It's just that-"
"Look, I'm okay. I don't need to tell you anything about why, so respect my privacy and leave me alone." Xavier then left the group and went upstairs to where the party was. The group were left confused and even more worried than before as Jasmine broke the silence.
"Um, does that happen often?"
"N-no, it doesn't." Twilight responded. "In fact, he's never gotten that angry before."
"Really? That's hard to believe." Cali brought up.
"It's true, he's never gotten to that point before." Applejack replied.
"Yeah, he has raised his voice and gotten serious at times, but never angry." Rainbow added.
"W-well maybe we should respect him and not bother him for now." Fluttershy suggested.
"YEAH, after all this is a party!" Pinkie said happily. "Come on everypony, let's go." She then went up the stairs to the party, the rest of them deciding that it was best to give Xavier space, he has done a lot for them after all. When they got upstairs, they were greeted by Pinkie's preparations to the party, with Pinkie hopping around, the birthday alligator Gummy in the center of the room and Xavier leaning on a wall, staying out of the way. Everyone began to enjoy themselves to the games, music, and refreshments the party had, all except Cali who joined Xavier. When she joined him and leaned against the wall, Xavier had a face of both curiosity and annoyance.
"I thought I said-"
"You wanted to be left alone." Cali interrupted by finishing his sentence. "I know, I know. I'm just not one for parties." Xavier's face softened slightly.
"Well, I guess that makes two of us." The two stayed silent for a bit, watching the rest of the girls have fun. It wasn't before long that Cali said something.
"So you and Jasmine, eh." Xavier's previous annoyed expression was replaced in an instant by a face of shock, nervousness, and fluster all in one.
"EH?!"
"Heh, it's been on my mind for a while. I didn't have much evidence until this morning. And now with that little reaction..." Cali turned to him with a smirk. "You have a crush on her, don't you?"
"AD- BA- GU- SR-" Xavier wasn't able to give a valid reason, instead he was fumbling with his words.
"Haha, don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." Xavier looked down with a face of shock and embarrassment. "But you should talk to her, I'm sure she will understand."
"I-it's not as s-simple as you think." Xavier said, his tone portraying not embarrassment, not annoyance, but instead one of sadness, even despair. Cali took note on this and began to feel unsure about bringing it up.
"Erm, okay. I won't force you to do anything, so think about it I guess." The two kept silent for a while as the party continued. Speaking of, Jasmine was more involved in the party as she was observing Rainbow and Applejack bob for apples, with Applejack currently doing it.
"Tada." Applejack pulled her head out of the water to reveal she had an apple.
"Nice one!" Rainbow commented as Jasmine clapped. "Now, let me show you how it's really done." As Rainbow was about to go in, Pinkie Pie trotted over.
"Hey, girls!"
"Hey, Pinkie Pie!"
"Howdy!"
"Hi."
"Just wanted to tell you how happy I am that you could make it to Gummy's party." Pinkie thanked.
"Are you kiddin'? I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Applejack commented.
"Me neither. When Pinkie Pie throws a party, I am there!" Rainbow then dunked her head into the barrel, pulling up to reveal she had an apple as well.
"Aw! It's just a boring old apple. Don't worry, there are plenty of other surprises in there." This got the two competitors' attention as Rainbow spat the apple out of her mouth.
"What kind of surprises?"
"I can't tell you that, silly. Then it wouldn't be a surprise." Pinkie then trotted away from them, leaving the three to wonder what was inside the barrel.
"You want to join in Jasmine?"
"No thank you. I'm don't like getting wet." The two ponies nodded and dunked their heads into the barrel. When they came up, Applejack had an "apple", but the apple had a spring attached to it and it pulled her back in, soaking her. While Applejack had a bad pull, Rainbow had it even worse as she resurfaced with Gummy latched onto her face, leaving her a bit scared and Jasmine a bit confused. As Applejack was chuckling at Rainbow's misfortune, Jasmine looked around for Pinkie to tell her about Gummy, only to see her giving Rarity a refill of punch.
"This punch is simply divine! Is this the same recipe you used for your ‘Spring Has Sprung' party?” Rarity asked.
“Nope! Something new.” Pinkie answered as Rarity took a sip out of the cup. Jasmine and Rarity looked at the punch bowl, only to be shocked to see Gummy inside of it in an awkward position. Rainbow must have tossed him accidentally, and he must have landed into the bowl since it was such a short time between him "biting" Rainbow and him in the bowl. Rarity didn't think of this however as she spat out the punch right into Pinkie's face.
“It’s Gummy favorite!” Pinkie replied with a smile, not minding the punch that was dripping from her face (Jasmine didn't even think she was registering it). Rarity realized that she could offend Pinkie and Gummy, so she began to drink from it again, but not swallowing. "Oh, this is my jam!" Pinkie got distracted by some music playing, giving Rarity the opportunity to spit the punch into a nearby flowerpot. Jasmine then watched Pinkie start dancing along to the music, rather recklessly as she managed to slam into both Twilight and Fluttershy, the two flying into different things in the room.
“Go Gummy! It’s your birthday! Go, Gummy! It’s your birthday!” Pinkie began chanting as she began to circle around Gummy. Jasmine watched in worry, seeing as she's never acted like this before, Xavier and Cali were as well.
After the Party, Night
As the night lights came on for the dark night, the party for Gummy came to a close. The guests were leaving Sugar Cube Corner to go to bed.
"See you later Pinkie." Jasmine waved goodbye as the other humans followed suit.
"Bye guys! It really means a lot to Gummy that you came!"
"It was our pleasure." The three then left the bakery, Pinkie closing the door when they left. Once the door closed, Jasmine wanted to know something. "So is she like that a lot in parties?"
"Honestly, no. Not really." Xavier answered. "She is hyper, but never like this."
"She was probably tired." The three looked over to see the rest of the girls. "She can get like this sometimes if she works too hard on something. "Rainbow answered.
"Huh, never heard of someone getting hyper when tired, but whatever." Cali commented.
"Well, outside of that, do you three think you can help us with something?" Applejack asked, gaining the curiosity of the humans. "We've been planning a surprise party for Pinkie's birthday."
"A surprise party!?" Jasmine asked happily, before being shushed by the ponies.
"Please, we've been planning this for a while darling."
"Sorry."
"So when is the party?" Xavier asked.
"Tomorrow." This got the three's attention. "Don't worry, we just need to set up the party, but do you three think you could help out?"
"Mmmm, you know what. Why not." Xavier said. "I'll help out.
"Me too." Jasmine agreed as well.
"I'll bake some of my buns for the party too." Cali added.
"Great, just make sure Pinkie doesn't know a thing about the party." Twilight reminded. The humans voiced their agreements.
"So where will the party be held?"
"At my barn. We'll need to set up decorations and get the cake."
"Hm, the cake will be the hardest thing since we had the Cakes bake it." Twilight noted.
"In that case, I'll get it when I finish my buns tomorrow." The group looked at her, some with doubt and some with confusion. "I can be pretty quiet and stealthy when I need to be."
"I guess me and Xavier can take the buns up when you're done. Leave it to us!" Jasmine said as she raised a fist into the sky. The group found her enthusiasm enjoyable and gave a laugh, all except Xavier who blushed lightly and looked away.
"If that's settled then, we'll see you all tomorrow." Twilight said as she walked to her home, along with the others. The humans took this as a sign and left as well to get some rest to get ready for the party.
Later that Night
The night was silent, and everyone was asleep in peace. Well, all except Cali. Cali at this moment was working on baking her hot cross buns in hopes to get the cake ASAP tomorrow. She just put the buns into the oven to bake, and as she was setting the timer...
"You're not asleep?" Cali turned to Xavier entering the kitchen.
"Well you should be more than me."
"Relax, I'm just getting a drink." Xavier said as he went and grabbed a cup and filled it with some water. "Shouldn't you be as well?"
"Well, I was making my buns so that when you and Jasmine are ready to go, you can take the buns up as to not wait for them to bake."
"Huh, never thought of you as a forward thinker."
"You should know that I let my actions speak for myself." She said with a smirk. "I was just thinking to make this as smooth as possible." She finished setting the timer and set it down, it ticking away.
"Fair enough, just promise me you won't stay up all night."
"I will." Xavier nodded and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Cali and the ticking timer. A timer that was hypnotic in a way, very...
Before Cali realized it, she was standing in front of a jagged, rock wall. Turning around, she realized that she was inside of a massive sinkhole, at least a mile in diameter. When she looked up, she saw that the sink hole was just as deep, if not deeper. As she was processing what was going on, she saw someone on an outcrop halfway down sitting over the edge. When she took a closer look, she saw it was a girl, though her age was indecipherable. She did see that the girl was in sneakers, shorts, a blue tee, and an aviator hat (of all things). As she was looking up and wondering who she was, she spoke.
'So are we going to be okay?" The voice was not obscured so it was easy to be read, but the voice's tone nor voice could be distinguished as the sinkhole's walls echoed the voice so much that it was hard to pick up on one place. As Cali was wondering who she was, another voice rang out.
"I wish I knew, kid. But we are here now if that's any consolation." As the voice spoke, it was impossible to tell where it was coming from, so Cali simple assumed that the other voice was on the same outcrop as the girl.
"What does that mean?" The girl asked.
"It means that we're lucky. Now come on, let's go. We'll get caught if we stand around for too long." The other voice spoke
"Can you promise me something?" The girl asked. After a pause, a faint rumbling could be heard, then felt by Cali. As Cali was looking around, the voice spoke again, speaking as if nothing was wrong and the ever-increasing rumbling wasn't there. "Can you promise that no matter what happens, we'll stay together until the end?" The rumbling became worse for Cali, as she saw that the entire sinkhole was close to caving in as rocks and boulders began to fall inside. As Cali was bracing for one of the boulders to hit her, the other voice spoke one last time.
"I promise."
Cali's ears were ringing. She was bracing for impact, but nothing came. It was only a few moments later that she realized the ringing was coming from the alarm she set. Opening her eyes, she saw she was back inside the kitchen, like nothing happened, other than the timer going off. Looking inside the oven, she saw that the buns were done. Turning off the timer, she put on some oven mitts and took the buns out of the oven. As she was doing this, one thought popped up in her head.
"Who was that girl..."
Morning
Once Cali made sure the buns were good, she went off to bed. That morning, the three were getting ready to leave for the party.
"So Cali, you know what you're doing?" Xavier asked as he adjusted his bandana.
"Yea, get the cake from Sugar Cube Corner and bring it to AJ's barn. All while making sure that Pinkie doesn't see me." Cali described.
"Good, meanwhile me and Jasmine will take your buns up to the barn."
"Wait." Xavier and Cali looked at Jasmine. "Does she know how to get there?" The two took a moment to stare blankly at her. Xavier then face palmed.
"Dang it, I completely forgot I never showed her where Sweet Apple Acres is." Xavier then looked at Jasmine. "For that matter, I never showed Jasmine either. This complicates things, great." As Xavier was trying to think of something, a knock at the door was heard. He want over to the door to answer, and when he did, he saw Twilight at the door looking rather nervous. "Twilight? Is something wrong?"
"Somewhat." Twilight admitted. "Pinkie is about and trying to invite us to an 'after-birthday party' for Gummy."
"Seriously. What even is that?" Xavier asked as Jasmine and Cali came over.
"Well, either way, she's going to be suspicious that everyone isn't going to be available." Cali said.
"Yeah, I had to come up with an excuse about not coming, but the others may run into issues. So I came to warn you."
"Well you came at a good time honestly." Xavier admitted, catching Twilight's attention. "It's come to our attention that neither Jasmine nor Cali know where Sweet Apple Acres is. If you can, could you take Jasmine there while I tag along with Cali so I can take her when we get the cake?"
"I can do that. Come on Jasmine, let's go." Jasmine nodded and retrieved the basket of buns before following Twilight.
"We should get going too." Cali nodded and the two left for Sugar Cube Corner. As the two were walking, Cali thought of something.
"Hey, so what is Pinks about anyway?" Xavier looked at her confused. "Well, she just planed that party yesterday, and now she wants to throw an 'after-birthday party'. What's the deal?"
"Well, if there is one thing I've learned about Pinkie, it's that she will find any excuse to throw a party, no matter the situation. Though her throwing a party after one just ended is beyond me." The two kept walking, waving to ponies that waved at them until they made it to Sugar Cube Corner. When they entered the bakery, they saw Mrs. Cake by the register, who took notice of them and knew what they were there for.
"Ooh! You must be here for..."
"Shh!" Cali and Xavier shushed her simultaneously. After looking around for a minute, the two went over to the register quickly and began to whisper. "Is Pinkie here?"
"Or nearby?"
"Oh, I don't think so." Mrs. Cake mentioned.
"Good, if she knew then everything would be ruined." Cali said. "Now, do you have it?"
"Why yes, I'll go get it." Mrs. Cake then went into the kitchen to grab the cake, coming back out with a box tied with a ribbon. "Here you are."
"Thanks, Mrs. Cake. And remember, Pinkie cannot know about this." Xavier said as he picked up the box, looking inside to confirm it was right. After he was satisfied with how it looked, him and Cali left the bakery and began to walk away stealthily, trying to look casual. After a bit however, the two picked up the pace to get to the farm ASAP, with Xaiver leading. After a while of jogging, the two finally made to the farm, heading over to the barn and entering. Them entering gave everyone inside a scare, but calmed down when they saw it was Xavier and Cali.
"Phew, you scared us." Applejack mentioned.
"Sorry girls, we didn't mean to." Xavier apologized. "We got the cake though." Xavier took it over to a table and put it down, opening it to reveal the nice cake with the words 'happy birthday Pinkie' written on it with frosting."
"Perfect. Now you can help us with decorating." Rarity said, getting nods from Xavier and Cali. As they were about to, Cali noticed something in the distance. When she looked outside of the barn doors, she saw two blurs.
"Erm, is something going on?" The rest of the group were confused and went over, curious to see what was going on. Xavier decided that the mystery was not what they needed so he pulled out his telescope and looked to the blurs, panicking at what he saw.
"Oh not good! It's Pinkie, and she's chasing Rainbow!" Everyone grew worried at that as they went inside to hide, Applejack staying out to let Rainbow in. After a bit, Rainbow and Pinkie closed in on the location, Rainbow just ahead of Pinkie. Fortunately, this lead was enough for Rainbow to fly into the barn and gave Applejack just enough time to close it before Pinkie got in. When she got there however, loud knocks could be heard.
"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!!" As Pinkie yelled inside, Xavier decided to answer and try and get her to leave.
"Oh! Hey Pinkie." He was nervous, but it was to be expected with the death glare Pinkie was giving her and how everything they were working on could be ruined in an instant, so he hid it in his signature solemn face.
"Mind if I...take a look inside of Applejack’s barn?" Pinkie said as she tied to lean her head around to look inside.
"No, sorry. You can't come in right now." Xavier spoke calmly, but in reality he was nervous as all get-out.
"But Rainbow just entered."
"Oh, um." Xavier thought for a second before coming up with something. "She was just bringing some supplies in for repairing the barn. There is a lot of CONSTRUCTION going on inside right now." Xavier said the last part with some emphasis in it, getting the girls to understand.
"You heard her! Construction!" Rainbow whispered. The group understood and began to make a bunch of random sounds, poorly portraying the sounds of what construction sounded like. Pinkie wasn't buying it however as she eyed Xavier suspiciously, who's facade was beginning to crack. Pinkie began to move her head around to try and get a peek inside, but Xavier moved his head around as well to block her. It wasn't until Pinie began to move in closer to him did his solemnness break as panic was taking over. This panic made Xavier not think much as she slammed the door right before she could get close. As Pinkie was processing what was happened...
"Sorry Pinkie, but like I said, there is a lot of construction going on right now. So if you could leave, we can talk later, 'kay?" Xavier spoke through a crack in the doorway. Pinkie eyed the cracked door suspiciously before...
"Okey... dokey... lokey." Pinkie responded suspiciously. She backed away slowly and finally turned around to walk away. As soon as she was out of sight and earshot, the group collectively sighed.
"That was close. Too close." Twilight sighed.
"Yeah. Not bad, Xavier." Cali complimented.
"We couldn't let her in after everything we've done right now." Xavier sighed, his brave face finally gone. "Though I need to ask you Rainbow, what happened."
"Well, I was walking through town to get decorations we missed, and as I was walking I wasn't paying attention. I ended up walking past Pinkie, and since I gave an excuse, she got mad at me and chased me." Rainbow explained, earning a groan from Xavier.
"Good job, now she really knows we didn't come to her party."
"At least she doesn't know the reason yet." Jasmine pointed out.
"Your right. Let's hurry up and complete the decorating before something else happens." Twilight said, the others agreeing and got to work.
A Little While Later
After the near discovery of their plans, the group began to work faster in their decorating. After a while, things were finally finished and looking over their work.
"Alright, let's see..." Twilight was looking over a list that she made. "Streamers, check. Music, check. Balloons, check. Refreshments, check. Cake, check. I think we're just about done here."
"That means we just need the birthday mare here." Rainbow said.
"I'll go get her then." Xavier offered, the ponies voicing their agreements.
"Actually, can I go get her?" Everyone looked at Cali. "The way that Pinks' been acting is worrying me a bit."
"Erm, I guess you can get her. But do you remember the way there?"
"Please, I'm pretty good at memorizing directions. I'll be fine." Cali said as she backed out of the barn confidently. She turned around once she left the barn and began to walk to Sugar Cube Corner. She wasn't lying as she had no trouble making her way to the bakery. When she entered the bakery for the second time today, she saw Mrs. Cake again.
"Oh hello dearie. Do you need something?" Mrs. Cake asked with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm looking for Pinks. You know where she is?" Cali asked.
"Oh, I believe she's upstairs. Though it's strange, I've been hearing voices up there recently, and the baby dragon she invited over left a while ago." This caught Cali's attention.
"Huh? Who is she talking to?" Cali asked out loud. "I-I'll talk to you later Mrs. Cake. I'm going to see what's going on." Mrs. Cake waved at her as she walked past her and up the stairs. As she was walking...
"This is one great party! You’ve really outdone yourself!" Cali heard a voice, but it was incredibly strange. It didn't sound like a natural voice, but more like someone pretending to have a masculine voice, a Brooklyne one at that. When she got up the stairs, she saw a very, very strange sight. What she saw was a "party", but the attendants were apparently only Pinkie and Gummy, but there were party hats on a bucket of turnips, a pile of rocks, a bag of flour, and literally just a ball of lint. Pinkie was also strange, seeing as her hair wasn't poofy and was practically flat. Cali usually was the only one who was okay with Pinkie's antics, but this was too much, even for her.
"Erm, Pinkie?" Cali snapped out of her trance and raised a finger, getting Pinkie's attention.
"Oh, hey Cali. I was just in the middle of my party." Pinkie greeted. She then dashed over to the bucket of turnips
"Welcome." Pinkie spoke in a deeper voice, speaking as the bucket.
"Erm..." Cali was officially weirded out, and she's not one to get weirded out.
"I'm having a delightful time." Pinkie spoke through the lint.
"I'm so glad, Sir Lintsalot." Pinkie then twitched, her eyes going crazy.
"I'm just glad none o' them ponies showed up. Or those other humans." The "Rocks" spoke.
"“Oh, they’re not so bad….” Pinkie replied, staring at the ceiling as her eyes rolled away from each other and grew smaller. Cali went from weirded out to creeped out.
“Not so bad? They’re a bunch of losers!” the pile of rocks "spoke".
“Oh don’t be like that Rocky, I’m sure they have their reasons!” Pinkie tried to reason, with the literal pile of rocks. “Besides, ‘losers’ might be a little strong ,don’t you think?”
“After the way they treated you? I say ‘losers’ isn’t strong enough.” the lint "said".
“Well...it was pretty rude…”
“Pretty rude? It was downright despicable!” The flour "added".
“It was, wasn’t it?” Pinkie assured, but the tone of her voice was beginning to become irate.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t speak to them ever again!” The bucket of turnips "proposed".
“You know what? I’m not gonna speak to them ever again. And I’m not gonna invite them to another party as long as I live! They don’t deserve to be invited to my parties!” Pinkie’s face began to twitch. She then began to run around and have the "guests" "cheer" her on. After a while of watching, Cali couldn't take it.
"Alright, I think we're done here." Before Pinkie could ask what she meant, Cali pulled out her whip and snapped it, the whip tying around Pinkie and binding her.
"Hey, what gives?!"
"Sorry Pinkie, but this is not healthy. Take it from me, sheltering yourself is not healthy for your head, especially like this." Cali picked up Gummy since she didn't want to leave it alone. "Besides, me and the others have something to show you, and I don't feel like dealing with your antics after seeing this." Cali then picked up Pinkie and proceeded to carry her out of the building.
"Hey, let me go! Rocky, help me!!"
Rocky didn't help.
After a bit of an awkward meeting and explanation with Mrs. Cake, Cali walked over to Sweet Apple Acres with Pinkie struggling and Gummy... being Gummy. As she was getting close to the barn, she saw Xavier walking her way. When Xavier saw Cali and her carrying Pinkie, he ran over in worry.
"Cali?! What's going on?!" Xavier asked frantically. "Why are you carrying Pinkie like that?! And... why does she look like that?"
"You do NOT want to know what happened." Cali said with a deadpanned expression. "Let's just say she was being stubborn and I had to if I was going to get her here." Xavier looked at her unsure, but decided that she was being serious.
"Erm, okay then. I was going to head over to Sugar Cube Corner to check up on you since you were taking a bit, but since you're here, let's go." Cali nodded and the two went to the barn, stopping outside of it to untie Pinkie. Once she was untied, Xavier opened the door to reveal the...
"Surprise." The group yelled out happily. Pinkie however didn't look impressed, and if it wasn't for Cali pushing her inside she may not have entered. As Pinkie eyed the party decor, the group became a bit nervous. (Except Cali who knew why)
“I really thought she’d be more excited…” Fluttershy whispered, her smile wavering.
“Excited? EXCITED?!" Pinkie's outburst caused some of the group to flinch, while the others were shocked "Why would I be excited be attend my own farewell party?!” Pinkie asked angrily, causing most of the group to stare confusedly at her, all except Cali who stood there flabbergasted.
"Farwell party?" Twilight asked.
“Yes! You don’t like me anymore, so you all decided to kick me out of the group and throw a great, big party to celebrate! A ‘Farewell to Pinkie Pie’ party!” Pinkie answered with an over-the-top display.
"Erm, why would we do that?" Xavier asked, starting to get why Cali had to tie up Pinkie.
“Yeah, why in the world would you think we didn’t like you anymore, sugarcube?” Applejack asked with a concern expression.
“Why? WHY? WHY?" She really began to get very angry at this point. "Because you've been lying to me and avoiding me all day, that's why!” Pinkie yelled out in rage. Once she went back down, the group all had different reactions and expressions. Some were sorry, some were understanding, and some were just a bit worried.
“Uh, yeah! Because we wanted your party to be a surprise.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“We've been planning this party for such a long time. We had to make excuses for why we couldn't attend Gummy's party, so that we could get everything ready for yours.” Rarity added as she played with a balloon. Pinkie's expression began to lighten, but not by much.
"You've done so much for us, so we wanted to do something for you." Jasmine joined in with a kind smile. Pinkie's expression lightened again.
"If this is a farewell party, why does the cake Xavier and Cali picked up from Sugar Cube Corner say, 'Happy Birthday, Pinkie Pie'?" Twilight noted.
Pinkie began to look around the room and everything that the group put together, every balloon, every streamer, even the cake that had the exact words Twilight said written in frosting. Something clicked in Pinkie, and she smiled wide as her hair puffed back up into her signature style. “Because it's my birthday! Ooh, how could I have forgotten my own birthday?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she pulled the group together into a big hug. The group didn't pay attention to the shock and sighed, happy to know that their friend wasn't angry anymore. Pinkie then released her grip to bounce around the barn happily. “And you like me so much, you decided to throw me a surprise party!”
"Well yeah, you've been a great friend to us. This is the least we can do for you." Xavier said with a calm smile.
"You all are the best friends ever!" Pinkie announced, before shrinking down in guilt. "How could I have ever doubted you?"
“It’s okay, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight assured. “It could have happened to any of us.” The rest voiced their agreements as they surrounded Pinkie in a happy circle.
"As long as you don't replace me with a bucket of turnips, I'm good." Cali mentioned, getting the group to look at her confused, other than Pinkie who was a bit nervous.
"Huh?"
"Y'all do not want to know." Cali said, getting a sigh of relief from Pinkie as she smiled a bit at her.
"All right, everyone! Enough of this gab." Everyone looked over at Applejack who was next to a record player. "Let's party!" As the music took the barn, everyone began to smile and laugh, all of them having a good time. Even Xavier who wasn't up for parties as much as the others. His mind was still thinking about what Cali said though. As he looked at Jasmine dancing, Xavier smile fell to a frown and he thought to himself.
"I can't, I can't get attached again..."