Today was the day.
Pokey had been waiting for his little sister’s birthday for months, hoping to bring a smile to her face. The kitchen, the living room, even her bedroom had been secretly prepared for this day, and all of her schoolyard friends have been invited with the help of Pinkie, who knew all of their parents.
Knock, knock.
The knock at the door was loud and sudden, causing Pokey to jump with a start. His horn hit one of the various balloons he had attempted to put up and popped it. He frowned and let the corpse of a balloon lie limp as he turned to open the door.
He was overwhelmingly relieved to see Pinkie smiling on the other side. She grinned and hugged him, carefully avoiding his horn on the way in.
“Are you excited, Pokey-wokey?!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing off her hooves as if they were inflatable. “Today’s the day and I bet little Tootsie is going to be so happy too!”
With a shy smile, Pokey avoided Pinkie’s eyes, unsure of how to display his excitement. Whenever Pinkie was around, his emotions became even more jumbled than usual, but there was an overlying happiness that he couldn’t explain. So instead of voicing his opinion, he just continued to smile and welcomed her into the house.
“Ohhh, I see you tried hanging balloons again.” Pinkie observed, although still sounding as enthusiastic as usual. “Good job! Looks like you got one to stay together!” She motioned her hoof to one balloon amongst the dead, floating proudly over the others.
“Heh… Heh, yeah. I’m not good at decorating.”
“No problem, I never leave home without my–”
“Party cannon?" Pokey guessed, smiling but still averting his eyes. He had heard Pinkie say it before, and he remembered almost everything weird that she’d ever said.
“Yeah!”
However, he was still stunned when he lifted his eyes back to her and she was wielding said cannon proudly. “Wh-where…” He started, but before he could finish there was a loud POP and the room filled with colorful confetti and balloons.
He held a hoof over his horn and closed his eyes, hoping to salvage any balloons that would unfortunately land near him. Luckily, he didn’t pop any and when he opened his eyes again, he was pleased with the results. He also noticed that somehow the cannon had vanished.
“You should be set ‘til Tootsie gets out of school now!”
“I-I see that.”
“Hey, hey, do you wanna follow me somewhere for a bit?”
The invitation was really out of nowhere, leaving Pokey flustered. After looking the room over one last time, he nodded slowly. After a toothy grin, Pinkie hopped out the door, looking back at Pokey and urging him to follow. He followed suit, anxious to see what she meant.
“No cheating! You have to blindly follow me!”
Normally, he’d be intimidated by a statement as open as that, but he didn’t know what Pinkie meant since she wasn’t guiding him, simply expecting him to walk behind her. He had to keep his eyes open in order to follow, so he ignored her statement and laughed quietly rather than dwelling on it.
Pinkie was enthusiastically pacing three or four paces ahead of him, a slight bounce in her step that intrigued Pokey. His brow bent curiously and he looked closer at her hooves. He was undeniably curious of the art of her gait. He examined closely, watching her hooves hit the ground and snap up happily, imitating the hopping motion of a deer, or maybe a rabbit. He honestly couldn’t tell. Some of Pinkie’s carefree mannerisms would often leave him without a way to comprehend anything. Sometimes, she was all he could think about.
Sometimes, he found himself wondering if she thought about him too.
He felt his cheeks get hot and he snapped into reality, looking up to see Pinkie standing eagerly in one spot, staring at him. He took a step back in surprise, noticing where they were.
“Ta-da!! I already scheduled an appointment!”
The soapy scent should have been enough for him to realize where Pinkie was leading him, but for a moment his thoughts took over and his senses were all blocked. But never in a million years would he have thought Pinkie was leading him here.
“The… spa?”
“Yep!” Pinkie responded with such enthusiastic vigor that Pokie was left even more confused. However, she remained oblivious to his feelings and continued grinning.
“O-oh, thank you, Pinkie, I, uh…” He paused, mulling his thoughts over in his mind. “I appreciate it?”
“It’s for your horn, silly.”
A wall of embarrassment slammed into Pokey, causing his knees to buckle ever so slightly and tremble. “M-my horn…?”
“I know you’re embarrassed, and afraid you’ll hurt somepony,” Pinkie responded with an unexpected calmness, “I want this day to be fun for you so you can smile more. It just so happens that this spa is having a special on horn-filing and will shape your horn for free with a full purchase of a mud bath! Which in hindsight doesn’t make much sense. I mean, what if you’re not a unicorn? What would they offer then?”
Pokie was lost for words, embarrassed and flattered at the same time. He took a step back as Pinkie came closer and smiled again.
“Just give it a try?”
He took a hesitant breath, looking at the spa building, then around him for anypony who might see him enter. He bit his lip, and then looked at Pinkie’s eager face.
Suddenly, the weight of his embarrassment went away.
However, as he tried to speak, he choked on nothing and fumbled on his words, eventually averting his eyes. Reluctantly, he looked back at Pinkie and settled with a nod.
Overjoyed, Pinkie’s eyes lit up and she wrapped a foreleg around the nape of Pokey’s neck and tugged him towards her before embracing him in a tight hug. Instinctively, his magic gripped Pinkie and pushed her away slightly, alarmed by the sudden closeness. However, Pinkie made no reaction and skipped ahead towards the building.
He hesitated to step forward still, poking ever so slightly at the ground with his hoof. After a moment of thought, he glanced side-by-side, wary of any possibly onlookers.
“Come on!”
Pinkie’s voice called out to him from in front of him, drawing his attention.
She was standing at the entrance, the door slightly ajar, smiling back at him widely. She looked so charmingly happy that he felt prompted to approach and follow her. He nodded in response, finally pushing himself to enter the dreaded and feminine salon.
The first thing that he noticed was the strong and pleasant scent of the many creams and lotions (or whatever it was they used) in the air. He wrinkled his nose and glanced once more over to Pinkie. She was oblivious to his attention.
The mare at the desk seemed delighted to see Pinkie. As they set off conversation with each other, Pokey’s eyes wandered around the scenery. His eyes slowly scanned around, taking in all the information at once. He murmured his disbelief to himself quietly; he never imagined he’d be in a salon. The flowery smell of perfumes and lotions mixed with the pastel décor and paintings on the wall gave him a slightly uncomfortable vibe. Shifting in his spot, he watched as Pinkie flawlessly conversed with the prim looking pony behind the desk. Despite the strange situation, he found himself smiling ever so slightly watching his friend socialize with such ease. If only it could be so simple for him.
Suddenly, Pinkie grabbed him by the hoof and pulled him closer.
“Pokey, are you ready?” She said with a grin. “This will be super fun, I promise!”
“Right, yeah, sure.” Pokey responded, his smile quickly vanishing again.
With a small laugh, Pokey was dragged away, barely willingly, into another room with a large tub in the center. The two attendants giggled at the two of them as they entered, looking briefly at each other. He blushed fiercely, unsure of the reason for their amusement.
“Pokey Pierce?” One of the girls called out. “Pinkie Pie? Your bath is ready.”
“Wa-wait, what?!” Pokey exclaimed, his body jolting away from Pinkie. “W-we’re taking the bath together?!”
The outburst startled Pinkie, and the two other ponies in the room almost stumbled into the large mud bath themselves. The pink mare next to him looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“What’s the problem? It’s just a mud bath. Besides, I wanted to see what they’d offer if an Earth pony wanted to buy a mud bath for the horn shaping. Turns out they’ll give me a hoofacure, isn’t that great?!”
Still taken aback, Pokey shook with embarrassment. He looked at the tub, the attendants, and then to Pinkie, whose endearing smile left him feeling strangely shaken. After a hesitant breath, he relaxed. “Fine,” he muttered, “I suppose it’s alright.”
As he stepped into the bath, the first thing he noticed was the thickness and warmth of the mud. As his face flushed with pure embarrassment, he looked over at Pinkie, who was shimmying backwards at the edge of the tub. He watched in shock, slowly realizing what she was planning.
“N-no, wait – ”
SPLASH!
The onslaught of splattering mud flung itself at Pokey. In sheer surprise, he thrust himself down into the pool of mud below him. When he rose out of the soil once more, his ears cleared to the sound of Pinkie’s cheerful laughter.
The warm sound of her giggling and the warm touch of the mud left Pokey feeling blissful. The two girls attending the room looked at him and then back at Pinkie before taking their leave of the room, laughing amongst themselves. His face red, he reeled on mentally about what they may have been laughing about.
“You need to stop being so embarrassed, you silly filly!” Pinkie spoke cheerfully, as if reading Pokey’s mind. As expected, he blushed in response. Pinkie once more laughed, distracting him briefly. “This spa is here for problems just like yours!”
She squirmed closer to him in the mud and nuzzled up under his chin. “It’s my pleasure to help a friend smile!”
Pokey’s face grew to the shade of a tomato and his knees grew weak. As if scared of buckling over, he pulled away and sat himself down. Laughing nervously, he watched Pinkie’s endearing grin from the safe distance he had put himself in and smiled back.
Wow, this spa room is really quite warm…
-----
The balloons were still sparkling at Pokey with the same excitement he had wished to see. If her schedule was as it usually was, Tootsie would be home any minute now.
Many young fillies were scattered amongst the room. Their small bodies shimmied into corners, behind furniture, under tables, and their enthusiasm was beginning to rub off on the ever calm Pokey. He tapped his hooves in a sporadic rhythm, keeping his nerves down. Pinkie was shaking with excitement in a very adorable, yet blatantly obvious, hiding spot; behind the birthday cake.
Hearing the front door click open, Pokey squirmed under a table, got a magical grasp on the light switch, and waited…
“Uh… Pokey?” A frail voice called from the darkness.
“SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
As if perfectly rehearsed, everybody in the room leapt into action. Some young classmates went up and swarmed Tootsie, others danced in their spots eagerly awaiting her reaction.
The air was silent. Silent, but also thick.
While her usual face was blank and border lining emotionlessness, her face now almost made Pokey cry. Her violet eyes were welling up and her small lips curled into a faint smile. Her frail body was shivering and her ears were tucked back, hiding from the loud sounds. She chose not to speak, but she was clearly moved from her strictly depressed state.
She pushed a couple fillies aside gently, so as not to upset them. Slowly, her small hooves took her across the room where Pokey had been eagerly waiting. She pressed her body against his in a hug. Lowering his head, he nuzzled up to her. Not a sound was heard for a moment.
“Thank you so much, Pokey…”
Her voice was so quiet, yet it filled the room with so much joy that Pokey could almost clearly hear the tears forming in many eyes. As Tootsie turned to face the rest of the group, she grinned earnestly. “Th-thank you, everyone…”
Pinkie was the first to move, swiftly pacing to the record player. She slammed her hoof down on the machine, moving the needle to the disk, and a fast paced party song began to play. She looked to Pokey and grinned. He resisted the urge to cry further.
-----
As the house emptied, the stars seemed to twinkle down their congratulations. The moon was bright, and he whispered a silent thank you to the ever kind princess of the night who gave him this crisp air. He was so happy that the party was a success and best of all, he didn’t hurt anyone or pop her balloons on accident like usual. He remembered her last birthday party, and how the uninvited nurse came into the room, not realizing how her presence and sad face or even her dark news had scarred a terrified little girl. The death of their parents had taken an earth shattering toll on his beloved little sister.
Tootsie had already fallen asleep. Pokey finished tucking her in and sat out in the moonlight, basking in the subtle nip in the air. The breeze sang him a sweet lullaby, the crickets singing measure after measure of a serenade he couldn’t place.
The sky was creamy and pale, brightened by the glow of the moon. He appeared to blend in with the night as he sat alone in the grass outside of his house. He looked back on his day. It came out so perfectly. There was only one pony he could thank.
“Aww, you don’t need to thank me.”
“Pinkie? How did you -- ?” He quickly turned towards the voice. Pinkie was standing in his doorway, silhouetted by the glow of his living room light.
She giggled at him again. He never tired of the sound.
“You’re easy-peasy to read, silly!” She approached him, leaving the front door ajar. Seating beside him, she looked up to the sky and aligned to where he appeared to have been looking before she distracted him. “Ohh, that moon is really pretty. Luna outdid herself.”
“Yeah, she did.”
“I asked Twilight to write her a letter and ask if she could make the moon extra super duper pretty tonight. It kinda makes me think of an apple.”
“An apple? Why is that?” Pokey asked, before suddenly realizing what he had heard. “Wait, you did what?”
“Yep! An apple! It’s pale and delicious looking, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Pinkie, y-you didn’t have to do that!”
He was tearing up and his voice was shuddering.
“See an apple? Okay, then how about a cookie! A sugar cookie, of course, chocolate chips and oatmeals don’t look quite like the moon.” She continued on, smiling widely. She leaned her head towards him before finishing, “I would definitely have to say it’s a sugar cookie.”
Water dripped onto Pokey’s hoof. He looked up to the sky. Not a single cloud. He glanced back over to Pinkie, and was appalled to see her eyes sparkle and glisten. The water glaze over her eyes reflected the stars, eventually darting back and forth and blinking, as if the stars were dust that had landed onto her bare eyes. Why was Pinkie crying?
Sure Pinkie cried a lot. But when she did, it was almost comical. Forced. As if it was just another part of her comedy routine. But now her tears were soft and heavy, falling one by one down off of her face. Despite the solemnity, she was still smiling. She was always smiling.
“Pinkie, why are you crying?”
“Can I ask you something?”
The change of subjects made him uneasy. “Yeah?”
“Have you ever liked someone?”
The question confused him. Of course he has. He liked the Cakes, all of the guests at his party, he liked all of Ponyville. He liked Pinkie. He answered hesitantly, but surely. “Yes, I have.”
“Not as friends, though. As, like, I-want-to-take-you-to-the-grand-galloping-gala friends?”
Once again she left him flustered. “Y-yeah, I think I have.”
She looked at him sorrowfully. “I don’t want to lose my friends because of a boy.”
The conversation took another complicated turn. He chose not to speak, and instead he puzzled over that last phrase.
“Boys, liking them, loving them, whatever you call it, friends have broken up over it before. Boyfriends can drive wedges into everything. I don’t want my friends to think I like you more than them!”
“H-hold on, what?”
Suddenly, she turned to him. All of a sudden, the sweet lullaby that was musing the air turned solemn and dark. The crickets’ notes fell flat. The breeze sputtered to an end. Even the stars’ beautiful twinkling seemed to be on pause.
“Do you like me, Pokey?”
“H-hold on, P-Pinkie, I’m r-really confused here.”
“You like my friends, right?”
“Y-you mean, like, like-like? O-or like, friend-like? I-I really would l-like for you to, um, clarify. About you I m-mean.”
“Will you go with me to the Grand Galloping Gala?”
“W-wait, what?”
The crickets were gone. The breeze was gone. The stars were gone.
“But if you start driving a wedge between me and my friends, I will take away your ticket.”
Pinkie stood up and quietly walked back to the house. Pokey was still lost for words.
He heard the door creak as it was shutting. His window of opportunity closing, he turned around to face his house.
“I would l-love to go with you.”
The door’s movement stopped, and an eager head came into view in front of the glowing light.
“I would never do that, Pinkie, break up your friendships, I mean. Y-your happiness is so rare and so genuine that,” he paused for a breath, “I want to learn about it. Your friends, they taught you that, didn’t they? Happiness?”
The light silhouetted her face completely. Not knowing the kind of face she was making, he gambled that he was choosing the right words.
“I am excited to spend more time with you and your friends, i-if you’d let me!”
Before he knew it, he was wrapped up in a tight hug. Pinkie’s tears were dry, but he could feel her cheeks pinned up into a grin. The smile took the heavy weight from his chest, and he found himself able to hear the beautiful music again.