Twilight sighed as she trotted downstairs, half awake, searching for the smell of breakfast, quickly arriving to the sight of Spike, hard at work with a batch of pancakes. "Morning Twilight! There's some pancakes on the table, and a letter came for you from Celestia." The small dragon pointed to the table where, true to his word, sat a plateful of pancakes and a rolled up scroll bearing the sun seal of the solar princess.
"Thanks Spike" twilight got out as she quickly began to chew through her first pancake, lifting the letter up in her magic, unrolling it to read the message from her mentor.
Dear Twilight Sparkle
I apologise for writing to you so early but i would like to ask for your advice, SunliRainbow Dashes birthday draws near and I still have yet to figure out what to get her, I'd like to ask your opinion as her friend, please write to me as soon as possible.
Your Mentor
Princess celestia.
Twilight stared at the letter, trying to figure out what to send back, her own gift for her friend lay wrapped and hidden under her bed, a book on aerodynamics that twilight thought would help her friend prepare for the equestria games with her new, larger stature, after a while she called out for her pseudo son "can you write a response for me Spike?" The fact the baby dragon already had a quill and paper in claw made her smile. "Thank you, Dear princess celestia, while I'm surprised you came to me for this i do have one or two ideas i was mulling on before that i believe Rainbow may enjoy, the first is signed Wonderbolts memorabilia, She's always been a big fan of them, the other is a first edition copy of Daring Do and the quest for the Sapphire Stone, she's been searching for one to complete her collection, i hope this helps, your faithful student, twilight sparkle." As She finished Spike rolled up the paper, sending it off in a burst of emerald flames.
"Celestias really trying, isn't she?" Twilight nodded, hoping that this birthday didn't somehow end in disaster as other events tended to around ponyville.
Rainbow sighed as she watched on, it had been a simple meeting between her and Pinkie, the party pony, having decided on the final decor for Rainbows party, was detailing the planned events to the birthday girl when a yellow stallion decided to butt in, which led to her current situation. "This is the party for a PRINCESS! This isn't something you can just hold in a bakery, it's a town wide event!!" Cheese got onto his hind legs, stretching his forelegs out far wider than should be possible to show his point, having placed a paper crown on his head
"I don't want a town wi-" Rainbow was about to interject when Pinkie interrupted.
"Rainbow Dash SPECIFICALLY wanted a SMAALLL party!" To emphasise her point as She yelled small Pinkie pushed her hooves as close together as possible. "Anyway! Rainbow SPECIFICALLY said i had exclusive rights to planning her birthday party this year!" Pinkie pulled a scroll out of her mane, pushing it into Cheeses face.
"Why are you even talking about this?? Pinkie, you already put together the whole party, don't give this guy the time of da-"
"WAIT!!!" Cheese shouted, cutting of Rainbow mid sentence once again. "It says here in the party contract article 65, subsection sprinkle streamer B that this contract can be handed to another party planner if the party plan-ee decides that the second party planner can plan a more fun party!" The yellow stallion held out the scroll, pointing to an extremely small print with a magnifying glass.
"Give me that!" Pinkie growled, taking scroll and glass to read it over, muttering to herself. "I really should read the fine print on these things! Whelp! Plan away, if Rainbow decides your party is better than I'll step aside!" With that she held out her hoof. "May the best planner win!"
"I plan to!" With that Cheese slammed his hoof into Pinkies before both party ponies walked off.
"Ugh, I've gotta stop this before this gets out of control...." Rainbow groaned before lifting the scroll the party ponies have made in her magic and taking off to her friends library.
"So is there anything in this contract that says how i can get this Cheese guy to back off?" The prismatic pink alicorn was currently pacing as her purple friend perused the contents of the party contract.
"Unless you either have a tea kettle shaped like a turkey or a bipedal cat with a hat, no, the contract doesn't specify that you can deny other party ponies from trying to win the contract from Pinkie, why did you even sign this??" Twilight sighed as she set the scroll down, shaking her head.
"Pinkie says its because she's a Union Planner, not allowed to plan parties without contracts." Rainbow groaned, the party planning business was apparently Ruthless.
"Ah! Rainbow! I just finished drawing up the first draft of my party! I need you to look over it so we can get all the paperwork in order to hand the contract over to me!" It spoke to the two alicorns experience with Pinkie that the new party ponies appearance through a bookshelf, folder in hand, didn't surprise them as much as it should.
"Alright but i doubt I'll be deciding on your party over pinki-" as if she was summoned by her name the pink party pony dropped in from the ceiling, dangling by a rope tied around her barrel.
"Rainbow! I just came to tell you about a feeeew revisions i made to the party plan from before" as she spoke she reached into her tail, shoving her foreleg deep into its curly pink depths. "Just some small things like location" apparently needing to search deeper Pinkie shoved her head in. "Also a bit more food, just some standard stuff, i also revised the guest list a liiitle bit!" As she finished she pulled out a tome as thick as her barrel and twice as tall.
"Why!? I was already happy with the original! I was gonna-" a yellow hoof was shoved in her mouth as Cheese silenced Rainbow, shoving his face into Pinkies.
"Hey! It specifically states in article 10362, subsection chocolate, of the party planner union rules that any party revisions can not be placed whilst another party planner is proposing to take their party contract!" The yellow party planner pulled out a pink tome covered in streamers and balloons that was twice the size of pinkies revised party plan, pulled up to a page with an arrow pointing directly to the article in question.
"Except it ALSO states in the following subsection, subsection alpha green velvet cake, that in the event the initial planner is personal friends with the plan-ee that the initial planner can still show revised plans as long as they are pushed as SUGGESTIONS!" Pinkie turned the page and pointed towards the supporting subsection.
"Oh! Well carry on then!" Cheese chuckled, stepping back and removing his hoof from Rainbows mouth.
"Eugh! First off, never do that again or I'm biting off your hoof, second, please i just want a small party, can't you two just work together on something?" The look the two party planners gave her was as if she had decided to trot over their grannies graves.
"Absolutely not! That would break article 37146! If a party is initially contracted as a single planner party then it cannot be changed to a dual or tri planner party!" Cheese stated, not noticing as a purple aura encased his planner guide book, sliding it away.
"And not to mention it'd be just plain silly, multi planner parties are only authorised for things like weddings and other such parties that include multiple sections! I'm sure Spike still has the contract he had to sign to be authorised to plan shining armours bachelor party!" Pinkie giggled, as if it was obvious to the two alicorns.
"Aha! It says here in article 3529154p that if a planner is being challenged for a party contract they can choose to take the challenge to a goof off instead of a simple decision on the part of the plan-ee!" Twilight shouted, standing over the massive tome. "Pinkie! Do you want to elevate this to a goof off?"
"Yes! That'll be perfect! I, Pinkamena Dianne Pie challenge you to a goof off!" Pinkie roared at the yellow stallion.
"Then i, cheese chester sandwich the third, accept your challenge!" He shouted back, raising his hoof to his chest.
"Okay, I'm probably gonna regret this, what's a goof off?"
Rainbows left eye twitched as she was sat on a piñata throne in the middle of ponyville, both party ponies were currently preparing as a crowd gathered in front of the gazebo that had been set as the arena for the goof off. "Why is this ANY better than just going over plans??"
"Because this way you won't have to spend hours reading through party plan revision after revision." Twilight sighed. "Though i was hoping they'd pick a less public place to have this, sorry Rainbow."
"It's alri- whaat in the name of the sun is that?!" Rainbows attention was immediately drawn to the first move in the goof off, a giant painting of her face done in different coloured rubber chickens, Cheese sandwich grinning smugly at its base before beginning to play a tune by pushing on specific chickens on the mural.
Rainbows attention was violently jerked away by pinkie as she was lifted up by a claw grip that wrapped around her middle, rising to come into view of a menagerie of bubbles in the shapes of ponies that were somehow moving in a breakdance.
Despite herself Dash yelped in pain as she was pulled away by her tail into a dance with Cheese Sandwich, she didn't even register what he was singing as she was pulled along in doing the worm.
How a springboard was placed under the two would probably have bothered rainbow more if she hadn't somehow landed in front of Pinkies party cannon "What's a party if not a BLAST!?" as she shouted that word the cannon fired, flinging rainbow into a large metal tube that filled her with an intense amount of dread as she poked her head out.
Pinkie stared on as horror filled her fellow pink friends eyes as she stared down at Cheese Sandwich, currently standing by a panel at the ground with a single large button saying fire!, the titanic cannon primed to launch Rainbow. "Well if a bang is what you need then how about a ear rupturing KABLAM! from my party HOWITZER!!!" he raised his hoof, ready to slam it onto the button.
"WAIIIIT!" Pinkie shouted, moving in front of the button before Cheeses hoof could descend.
"What? You can't block my move in a goof off!" He glared at the pink pony.
"That's the thing though! I forfeit, look at her, none of this is what Rainbow wanted!" Pinkie pointed towards the alicorn in question, who was currently back on the ground, trying to calm herself down from what must have felt like a near death experience. "If what Rainbow wants is a party planned by you, then i won't stop her" with that, she walked off, head held low as she heard Cheese celebrate.
Pinkie sat at the edge of a lake, mane deflated, sighing sadly as she stared at her reflection. "Room for one more?" Came a voice from behind her.
Pinkie turned around to see her fellow party pony. "Cheese!? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be planning Rainbows birthday party?"
"I would be.... if i didn't quit, i realised even if i planned the perfect party, it wouldn't make her happy, because I'm not her friend, I'm sorry, i kinda got carried away with wanting to plan a party in front of you, after all, you helped me get my cutie mark all those years ago." He pointed to his flank. "I remember it like it was yesterday." He sighed dreamily. "Anyway, i relinquish this party to you, and alongside it" he set down a rubber chicken with a bowtie on it. "Boneless, i think he'll do much more in your hooves" with that he rose, trotting away as the pink party pony pulled boneless close.
"Goodbye, Cheese sandwich" with that her mane poofed back up as she sat boneless across her back. "Now! We've got a party to set up, the way Rainbow WANTS."
Rainbow smiled as she set a photo on her shelf, it depicted her and her friends, each covered in different arrays of streamers and glitter, aside from the chaos with the goof off it had to have been her best birthday yet, she landed, fully ready to go to bed when a knock came at her door. "Who is it?"
"It is princess luna, though i have recently discovered that auntie may also be an apt description" came the voice from the other side of the door, rainbows eyes widened as she rushed to open the door, revealing the moon princess, carrying a wrapped box on her back. "May i enter, i come bearing gifts" The slightly larger alicorn stepped in before Rainbow could respond, setting the gift on a table.
"Thank you, though I'm still trying to get used to the whole 'part of the royal family' thing" Rainbow lifted the gift, reading the tag. "From mom, i didn't think she'd get me anything"
"Quite the opposite, she was agonising over what to get you and how to get it to you as she didn't want to push the situation too soon, it just so happened i wished to visit you and get to know you better as your aunt, Faust knows I have been barely holding myself back from visiting since tia told me you were hers" the alicorn coughed awkwardly "needless to say i was not happy that i was kept in the dark about this"
"You and me both" Rainbow muttered as she tore open the wrapping paper and opening the box to reveal a note reading:
'dear Rainbow, i know it may not be welcome but i wanted to get you something for your birthday, i hope this is to your liking, from what twilight tells me you're quite the fan of these books
your mother, celestia'
As Rainbow set aside the letter she reached into the box with her magic, revealing a hardcover book that she could recognise instantly; daring do and the quest for the sapphire stone, and as rainbow lifted the front cover she was met with a gold ink hoofprint of the author, this was a first edition copy. "How did she know i was looking for this?" Rainbow spoke softly, gently pulling the book close to her.
"I believe it was on the suggestion of Twilight, even if she had to send a castle worker to manehattan for the day to purchase it" Rainbow chuckled, something about the princess of the sun stressing over a gift till the last minute only to call in help from a friend was amazing, it brought her mind back to the tiara currently sat in her bedroom.
"Luna? I need some advice, i want to get to know celestia, as my mother, but how do i do it?, how do i even begin to startwith that?" The prisma maned princess sighed.
Luna hummed, mulling it over. "Why not Spend time with her, come to canterlot for a while, try and build that connection." She finally spoke, walking up to her and setting a wing over her neices back.
"I.... i think i will, I'll sort some things out here first, and try to visit, i just hope it isn't too late" she sighed, nuzzling her aunt in appreciation, it would take time, but hopesully, this family would begin to mend its cracks.