Friendship In Progress
Strings started to sweat. His concentration was unbroken, though he couldn’t help but get nervous. The current challenge was one of pure will power. Doubt crept into his mind through the stress, but he quickly shook it away; he could win this, he just needed to hang in there for just another few moments. There was no way Pinkie Pie would outlast him. His eyes burned fiercely, but he kept up the fight.
Pinkie Pie watched him, completely unaffected by what was happening. She had been doing this her entire life, and has only ever been beaten by one pony. As she watched him struggle, she knew it would only be a matter of time. He would fold any second now. She, on the other hoof, still had at least two hours left in her.
Any on looking pony couldn’t help but admire Strings’ determination, although any attempt to beat Pinkie Pie at this battle of wits would be futile to even the most stubborn of ponies. He still fought on, ignoring the agonizing pain that came with the challenge. His will was going to be hard to break. His eyes started to water as he continued the challenge.
Ten…more…seconds! He pleaded in his head. Even his thoughts were strained, showing how much he had left in him. Each of those ten grueling seconds drug by, tormenting him. Aargh! I can’t take it anymore!
Strings couldn’t hold it in any longer. He was at his absolute maximum threshold. Quickly, to douse the metaphorical flames that burned his eyes, he blinked in defeat. “That’s it! I’m done!” he begged, “I give up. You win.”
“Yay!” Pinkie Pie cheered. She jumped up from her seat on the ground and started to dance around as Strings used his magic to create and wave a white flag.
“You’re just lucky”, Strings said, rubbing his still stinging eyes. “I haven’t been in a staring contest in a long time.”
Pinkie Pie didn’t hear him over her dancing and cheering. Strings shook his head sarcastically. He concentrated his magic energy and a small bag of bits appeared in front of him.
He withdrew four bits from it. “Here ya go, Applejack.”
The Earth Pony held up her hoof. “Ah don’t think so, partner”, Applejack stated, “Friends eat free.”
Though surprised, Strings decided not to argue. He put the bits back into his bag and returned it back to its hiding place. Applejack’s apples were definitely worth the bits she charged for them, and Strings didn’t exactly feel right not paying. He wondered just how Applejack could warm up literally in a matter of minutes, but she interrupted his thoughts.
“Ah think Pinkie Pie’s tryin’ to get yer attention”, she giggled.
Strings turned and realized Pinkie Pie had been poking his shoulder the whole time he was in his thoughts and was staring at him with wide eyes. “Oh, sorry, Pink. I was thinking about something.”
“That’s okay!” she rang, “I sometimes get caught up in my thoughts too! Sometimes it’s about cupcakes, but mostly it’s about parties!”
“Pinkie Pie, yer always thinkin’ about parties”, stated Applejack with a chuckle.
“Always”, Pinkie Pie hissed, wide-eyed.
Strings snickered at her silliness. “Oh, wait. Pinkie Pie, whatcha need?”
Pinkie Pie thought about the question for a second. “Oh, yeah! I was going to ask you if you were ready to go meet my friend Rarity!”
“That sounds radical. Sure thing”, Strings said happily.
“Yay!” cheered Pinkie Pie again, “Follow me!” Pinkie Pie jumped into the air and literally flew in the direction of the Carousel Boutique her hooves were moving so fast.
“Heheh, it was nice meeting you Applejack. The apples were awesome!” Strings told the farm pony. “See ya later.”
“It was nice meetin’ y’all too. Take care now.”
“I will as long as Pinkie Pie doesn’t break me!”
He left Applejack laughing as he turned to follow the Pink Wonder.
Strings walked along Pinkie Pie’s flight path, hoping that he would find where the party pony had landed. The unicorn kept walking around until he found himself lost in the town. He passed by several buildings he was sure he had passed already. He was already irritable due to the heat of the day beating down on him. “Argh, tree sap!” he cursed. He sighed. “I guess there’s only one thing left to do.” He took a deep breath. “Pinkie Pie!” he shouted, “Where are you?!”
“Here I am!” she replied, having suddenly appeared right next to him.
“Wah!” he yelped. Pinkie Pie’s abrupt arrival made him jump and fall over.
She giggled herself to the ground right next to him. Strings started to laugh with her. They both kept laughing until their lungs couldn’t take the punishment any longer. They lay there, breathing heavily. Strings clambered to his hooves first, and then pulled Pinkie Pie up.
Once again, Pinkie Pie got that tickly feeling in her tummy. But now something new was happening. It felt like her face was starting to get really hot. She didn’t have a fever, maybe it was the heat of the day or because she was just laughing so hard. She would definitely have to ask Twilight what these weird feelings were. She didn’t think they were bad, but they did make her feel awkward.
Strings looked at Pinkie Pie. Her cheeks were starting to become even pinker. Is…is she blushing? he asked himself. He decided to say something in case she was becoming nervous or embarrassed. “How in Equestria did you come out of nowhere like that?” he asked.
The blush left Pinkie Pie’s face as she forgot about the feeling in her stomach. “That’s a secret! I can’t tell you. Sorry!”
“Oh, come on, Pink. Any secret is safe with me”, he guaranteed. “I’ll tell no pony. I promise on my guitar!”
As reassuring as his promise was, she still didn’t think he was ready to handle it, yet. “No can do!”
“Heh, okay, what if…” he started, trying to come up with an offer, “…I can show you something just as awesome before tonight?”
Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin. That seemed fair enough. “Hmm…Oki Doki Loki! But it has to be really amazifying!”
“Deal.” Strings said. He turned around. “Come on, let’s go meet your friend.”
“Just follow me!” Pinkie Pie bounced in the direction Strings started walking.
He walked beside her, wondering just which trick he knew would be enough to match Pinkie’s teleporting or whatever it was she did. He didn’t have to think for too long before he found it. It could wait until later, though. He wanted to know a little about Rarity before he met her.
“What’s Rarity like?”
“Rarity makes dresses for lots of ponies! She’s really polite and she loves to make new friends”, Pinkie Pie replied excitedly.
“Does she do more than just dresses?” Strings asked. He could truly use another water-proof jacket for stormy travels.
“Yep, she makes scarves, capsies, bootsies, coatsies you name it!”
They continued along until the very clean, and very fashionable, Carousel Boutique came into their line of sight.
Strings smiled deviously. “Hey, Pink.”
“Yes?”
He excitedly shouted, “Race you there!” He took off, completely sure that he caught the pink pony off guard.
Pinkie Pie, however, wasn’t even caught in a moment’s hesitation. She was right next to him almost as soon as he started running. Strings saw her, and pushed it a little harder. In retaliation, Pinkie Pie lengthened her bounces, pulling ahead and leaving Strings staring at her tail.
He slowed his gallop as he approached the front door of the boutique where Pinkie Pie stopped to wait for him. “That’s two for two, Pink. Is there nothing you’re completely awesome at?”
“There are some things. No pony is perfect at everything they do!” Pinkie Pie bounced through the door, leaving Strings to do nothing but follow her. The bell of the shop rang.
The inside air was cool, pulling Strings in like a magnet. The shop was very neat and tidy, with the exception of a few textile supplies lying about. He split off from Pinkie Pie to go explore, hoping to find a catalog or something with pictures of regularly made clothes.
“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique”, greeted a gray unicorn, “Where every garment—Oh! Hello Pinkie Pie. Have you come to visit Rarity?”
“Hey, Linen! Yep, I have a new friend I’m showing around!” Pinkie Pie said energetically.
“A new pony?” Linen asked. He gazed around Pinkie Pie to see Strings exploring the shelves of the boutique. Linen walked over to introduce himself. “Excuse me.”
Strings turned around to see a hoof extended out to him.
“Hello!” Linen said brightly, “I am Linen Fiber. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Awkwardly, Strings shook the colt’s hoof. “We haven’t. I’m Strings. Bass Strings.”
“Welcome to Ponyville, Bass Strings.” Linen smiled, “If you have any fashion needs whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to come by the Carousel Boutique!”
Strings hesitated his reply, “Uh…Thanks?”
“Where’s Rarity?” Pinkie Pie asked, popping up in between them.
“You’ll find her in the back taking measurements”, Linen responded, adjusting his green-rimmed glasses.
“Let’s go!” Pinkie Pie grabbed Strings and pulled him into the Boutique’s show room, where Rarity usually dresses her close friends in custom ordered—and very fashionable—attire.
Inside, Ponyville’s assistant librarian stood on the display pedestal, holding out his right foreleg for Rarity. The measuring tape Rarity was using floated next to Dream’s leg. She noted the length and continued.
“And now for your wings, Dream Runner”, Rarity said.
He extended his wings out to their full length. “Like this?” he asked.
“Perfect!” Rarity chimed. She set the tape on a table and several light blue fabrics floated across the room from their resting places and wrapped around and conformed to Dream Runner’s body. A pair of scissors trimmed them and Rarity focused on sewing the fabrics together. As she converged and shaped the cloths, Rarity also concentrated on creating a hood for Dream Runner’s new cloak. When the general form of the cloak took shape, a thin, light green fabric drifted over to Dream Runner. Rarity sewed the green trim to the cloak and stood back to admire her work.
“Hmm…” Rarity pondered, “It still needs something…aha!” Rarity searched one of her textile drawers for the last element of Dream’s ensemble. She came back levitating a spool of golden thread.
“Now hold perfectly still…” Rarity threaded a needle and began to stitch something on the cloak’s left shoulder. She stepped back a final time. “Finished! What do you think, Dream Runner?”
Dream examined what Rarity had just stitched on the cloak. In perfect, gold cursive was his initials. He looked up and turned to see himself in the mirrors at different angles. “It’s really comfortable and just my color. I love it, Rarity. Thank you.”
“You are most certainly welcome. It was my pleasure to create it for you”, Rarity replied.
He hopped down. “So…are you sure it will be okay for me not to pay?” he asked quietly.
“Of course, dear! What kind of friend would I be if I charged you for a simple cloak?” Rarity answered. “It was my pleasure and your birthday, after all!”
“…Thank you again, Rarity. I will take very good care of it…I promise”, Dream Runner stated.
“That is all I ask of you”, Rarity said. “And I hope to see you wear it for your birthday.”
“I will…” Dream Runner sheepishly gave her a hug of thanks. “I have to get back to the library and show Twilight my new cloak”, he said. He left for the back door, not noticing the two new ponies in the room.
“Okay, Pinkie Pie. You have been patient long enough. What can I do for you?” Rarity asked, finally turning around.
Pinkie Pie jumped up, expelling all of the energy she had just kept contained sitting quietly by the door. “I have a new friend! His name’s Bass Strings. He plays the guitar and he’s gonna teach me how!” Pinkie remembered what Rainbow Dash had said and decided not to tell Rarity every little fact she knew about Strings.
Strings stepped forward, offering his hoof to Rarity.
She shook it politely. “I’m Rarity. Charmed to meet you, Bass Strings.”
He smiled, “You too. And it’s just Strings.”
“Strings…I assume you have already met Linen Fiber?”
Strings nodded. “He’s kinda right up front, huh?”
“That’s Linen for you”, Rarity agreed with a sigh, remembering the day she first met the gray unicorn. The memory gave her a new thought as she glanced to Pinkie Pie. “Will you be staying long, Strings?”
“Maybe a couple of months”, Strings said. “Why?”
Rarity’s ears drooped so slightly that no pony else in the room would have been able to tell. Even her response was just slightly dithered. “No reason. I was merely curious.”
Strings nodded. He turned to Pinkie Pie. “You wanna stay a little while, or jet on outta here?”
“Unless Rarity needs anything, we can go to the library next.” Pinkie Pie looked at Rarity.
“I do apologize, but I have a large order that needs my attention. I don’t have much more time to dawdle”, Rarity lied. She held her breath, hoping they bought it. Neither of them could see through her, even though it killed her to lie to her friends.
“Okay then, we’ll see ya another time Rarity”, Strings said.
The fashion designer followed them out. She sighed sadly after the door was closed. Luckily, Linen was too busy cleaning the lenses to his glasses to notice.
Outside, Strings followed closely behind Pinkie Pie. He wondered when exactly he should show her his special trick. He knew, as well as any musician, that performance was all about timing. He also knew that thinking about it would only further delay the moment he could use to present it. So, the guitarist decided to say something.
“Ya know, I’m really excited to learn how to bake”, he told Pinkie Pie.
“I knew it! There isn’t a pony I know that hasn’t been excited about baking”, Pinkie Pie replied.
“How long for you?” Strings asked curiously.
“Ever since I was real little. I moved in with the Cakes right after some of my first parties and they taught me the secrets of the trade.” Pinkie Pie fondly remembered the first—big—cake she had made by herself. She was covered in icing and cake mix, but she was proud of the sugary giant.
“Radical”, Strings complimented, “If that’s the case I should learn in no time from a pro like you!”
“I hope you learn fast, because I’m going to throw you the biggest of all parties when you bake a cake without any help!” Pinkie Pie blurted. A silent gasp entered her lungs. That wasn’t meant to reach his ears! She nervously looked back at Strings.
He seemed to be too focused on something going on in his head to hear her. “Phew…” she sighed. That was a close one.
Strings’ mind was now occupied on what he would want to bake first. Definitely not a cake. No, not at first. Maybe brownies or cupcakes. Yeah, something like that. When he came back to the real world, he heard Pinkie Pie ending a description of her friend Twilight Sparkle. Oops…I guess I wasn’t paying attention, he thought. Oh, well…
After that she fell silent, having nothing else to say. To be honest, she was afraid to say anything. She had just practically announced to Ponyville that she had planned another surprise party for her friend. She had been too relaxed earlier when she was on the subject. It didn’t happen often, but when something did slip, she usually refused to talk as much.
The silence that came from her caught Strings’ attention. Something was up, but he didn’t know exactly what. So, he decided to make her beautiful voice ring again. The sky blue unicorn sneaked up on Pinkie Pie. As he trotted along next to her, he looked in a different direction and tapped Pinkie Pie on the side.
“You’re it!” he shouted, tearing off in a random direction.
Pinkie Pie was instantly on his tail. “Not for long!” she yelled.
Strings knew he couldn’t outrun her forever, so he decided to call on his agility rather than his speed. He bided his time and when Pinkie Pie got close enough to tag him back, he turned so hard that his hooves nearly slid out from under him. He used his tail as a counterweight and managed to keep his balance. Pinkie Pie was thrown off by the sudden turn. She attempted to follow him, but kept sliding in her previous direction. Luck was on her side, however. In her skid, she saw where he was running and stopped. She swiftly slipped into a hiding spot.
Strings slowed to a trot after noticing Pinkie Pie’s absence. “Huh?” He looked around. “Where is she?” He stayed on his guard, full well knowing the rules of tag didn’t forbid an ambush. His gaze studied his surroundings. He watched every shadow and inspected every perch. But the attack didn’t come. With every step, he couldn’t help but wonder if he really did lose Pinkie Pie.
He walked until he came to a flower stand. The mare running it was preoccupied with a customer, so she didn’t see him. The whole stand was filled with a variety of flowers. It could easily hide a prowler. A pink prowler. Pinkie Pie used the guitarist’s confusion as her cue to pounce.
Strings only saw her shadow. Before he could so much as flinch, Pinkie Pie landed on top of him. The force knocked him to the ground. Strings and Pinkie rolled a short distance before the latter pony hopped up.
“You’re it!” she announced.
Some of the passing ponies stopped to see what all the commotion was. They saw Strings stand up and shake himself back to full responsiveness. The crash had dazed him slightly and he was finding his blurry vision irritating. After collecting himself fully, he turned to Pinkie Pie, who was beaming at him.
“That’s three for three”, he declared. He then added with a chuckle, “Heh, game. Set. Match.”
“It’s not over yet!” Pinkie Pie said. “There’s still a lot more games to play!”
Strings nodded in agreement and followed her as she walked in what he could assume was the direction of the library. The thought of another race crossed his mind, but he quickly shooed it away. Pink would just win anyway. A small smile made itself present on his face. He loved the fact that somepony could beat him in a race. It showed him that he wasn’t the best at everything he did. And the fact that Pinkie Pie didn’t shove it in his face made it even better.
The library was built into a tree. From Strings’ experience, it was expertly crafted. The tree was hollowed out instead of the library built around it like a tree house. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Pinkie Pie walk in until the door shut behind her. He took a step forward, but decided it would be funny to see how long it would take the party pony to figure out he was still outside.
On the inside, Pinkie Pie made it clear she had just shown up. “Heya Twilight and Dream and Spike and Applebloom!”
“Hey Pinkie Pie”, they all said in unison.
Spike noticed the look on Pinkie Pie’s face. “I haven’t seen that face in a while”, he said, “When’s the party scheduled?”
“No party this time!” Pinkie Pie replied. “I’m showing my new friend around!”
Four puzzled expressions flew at her. Applebloom spoke up. “Uh, what friend?”
Pinkie Pie looked behind her. Strings wasn’t there. She bounced over to the door and opened it, revealing the light blue musician.
“Ta-da!” Strings cheered, “Here I am!” He trotted in, happy to finally be out of the sun again.
“This is my new friend Strings!” Pinkie Pie announced. “He just came into Ponyville and he’s super fun!”
“Pinkie Pie, you’re too nice”, Strings admitted sheepishly.
Twilight stepped forward and offered him her hoof. “Hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s always a pleasure to meet a fellow unicorn.”
“Same here”, Strings replied. He looked around her and saw Dream Runner, who was trying to be silent. “Hey, I saw you at the Carousel Boutique.” Strings walked over to introduce himself.
“Really? I didn’t see you there.” Dream’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Come on. I’m not that scary”, Strings chuckled. “No fangs in my mouth or claws on my hooves.”
“I guess not”, Dream agreed, more confidently now.
“That’s more like it”, Strings said.
The Pegasus cracked a smile for his new friend.
At this point, Applebloom introduced herself. She zipped right up to Strings without a second thought. “Howdy, Strings, Ah’m Applebloom.”
Strings looked down at her. “You’re Applejack’s filly sister, aren’tcha?”
“She told ya ‘bout me, huh?” Applebloom guessed.
“Nope”, Strings chirped, “I can see it in your presentation!”
“Huh?” Applebloom gave him a look that told him she didn’t have the slightest clue what he was talking about.
“The way you carry yourself, kiddo”, Strings clarified.
“Oh, well, whah didn’t y’all jus’ say that?”
He chuckled. “You pick up some vocab when you’re a stage guitarist.”
“Hey, did you guys just forget about me!?” Spike sarcastically shouted. He walked up to Strings.
“Nopony forgot about you”, Strings replied, shaking the dragon’s claw, “We just overlooked you for a second.” He received a couple of giggles from the others as he hovered his hoof above Spike’s head. “Just kidding, little bro.”
Spike smiled, not at all insulted. It was all in good fun.
Pinkie Pie went on to their second point of business. “Hey, Twilight, do you have any good cook books around?”
Twilight recoiled, dumbfounded. Even Dream, Applebloom, and Spike were surprised. “Pinkie Pie, you live in a bakery. You don’t have any?”
“Nope! Me and the Cakes don’t use’em because we don’t need’em! All of the recipes are right up here!” Pinkie Pie pointed to her head. “I need a book because I’m teaching Strings how to bake and a book would be the best way to teach him!”
Twilight couldn’t argue with that logic. If anypony knew the power of knowledge through books it was her. Her horn glowed and three books flew from a nearby shelf. She presented them to the pink mare. “Here, these should do the trick. There’s a how-to, a learner’s guide, and a book full of simple recipes.”
Pinkie Pie scooped them up, turned around, and, with a little Pinkie Pie Magic, put them away in a secret hiding place. She turned to see Strings staring at her again. “It’s like the same trick I used earlier”, she explained.
“Ah.” Strings nodded. “Oh, speaking of that, I know trick to do!”
“I can’t wait to see it!”
“Are we missing something”, Spike interjected.
“Just a small bet Pink and I have”, Strings said simply. He gave her a challenging yet friendly smile.
“I hope it’s nothing too serious”, Twilight stated. “Sometimes bets can get out of hoof.”
“Don’t worry Twilight! We have it under control!” Pinkie Pie reassured.
“I hope so”, Twilight mumbled to herself.
All of a sudden, Spike burped loudly. The flame that shot out materialized into a scroll with Princess Celestia’s seal. Twilight immediately snatched it out of the air as Spike recovered from the belch. She read over the Princess’s words.
“What is it Twilight?” Dream asked, peering over her shoulder. His face lit up red when he finished reading it.
“I guess we have some packing to do.” Twilight said with a bemused smile. She turned to her assistant librarian. He was still frozen in place, so she turned to the others. “I’m sorry everypony, Dream and I have to go to Canterlot. It’s important business for us.”
“When do you have to leave?” Strings asked. He usually wasn’t nosy, but he hated to bail almost as soon as he got someplace.
“As soon as we can”, she replied. “According to the Princess, it’s very urgent.”
“Oh, is Equestria in danger again?” Pinkie Pie asked, in Strings’ opinion, a little too excitedly.
“No, not this time.”
“Is there some big important test that librarians have to take?”
“No, Pinkie Pie”, Twilight laughed, “I’ll keep it secret, for Dream’s sake.”
They all looked at Dream Runner. He was shaking slightly and beads of sweat were starting to form across his now violet nose. When it became clear that he would be in shock for a while, Twilight turned back to the three ponies in the room.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any more time to chat. You can still come browse through the library while we’re gone. Spike and Applebloom can handle things. Right you two?” Twilight glanced at the two in question.
Spike gave the unicorn a proper salute. “You betcha Twilight! Not one book will be out of place while you’re gone! We’ll hold down the fort!”
“Raht…what he said.” Applebloom continued.
“I guess we’ll leave you to pack…” Strings said, disheartened. Man, he really hated to leave so suddenly. He had at least a few more minutes with all of Pinkie Pie’s other friends. Well, except Rainbow Dash.
Back out in the heat, Strings and Pinkie Pie were now again alone.
“So…” Strings started, “What now?”
“You’ve met most of my friends, I guess we can get back to Sugarcube Corner now!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “I can’t wait to teach you how to bake brownies, or wait, even better, cookies, or better yet, cupcakes!”
Strings smiled in agreement. “Me neither. I’ll show you that thing of mine when we get there too!”
Pinkie Pie didn’t hear him, she was already hopping along back to the bakery. He rolled his eyes and followed after her, carefully resisting the urge to challenge her to another race.
He just absolutely couldn’t wait to learn how to bake, especially from the pony who would be teaching him.
Just to spend time with her…