//------------------------------//
// Party! 
// Story: Wings of Friendship 
// by DemonBrightSpirit 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle sighed as she stared up at the sign above her. It didn't have any words on it, just a big, pink cupcake. Since Rainbow Dash had been released, everypony seemed to be in better spirits. Even the rainbow pony herself seemed to be happy to hear about Twilight's progress with the spell to make her a new wing. Rarity was happy to get to try to design a new wing for Dash. Fluttershy was just happy that Rainbow Dash was out and starting to cheer up. Applejack…well, Twilight was pretty sure that Applejack was happy about it. That just left one pony in the doldrums: Pinkie Pie.

Trotting into Sugarcube Corner, she was greeted by Mrs. Cup Cake, "Why hello there Twilight! We haven't seen you since before the accident. I hope you're holding up well."

"Pretty well, all things considered," Twilight replied as she approached the counter. "I'm a little worried about Pinkie Pie, though. I've heard she's taking it pretty bad."

Mrs. Cake's smile faded away. "Oh, dearie, I can't remember the last time poor Pinkie Pie was so upset. Do you think you could cheer her up?"

Twilight smiled. "That's what I'm hoping to accomplish!"

"She's upstairs watching the twins," Mrs. Cake pointed a hoof.

Twilight headed up the stairs to the twins' room. As she opened the door, she was met with a sight that told her this task was going to be harder than she thought. Pinkie Pie was just sitting there in the middle of the room with her head hung low. Pumpkin Cake was gnawing on Pinkie's foreleg while Pound Cake was bashing a stuffed toy with another stuffed toy over near their toy box. The most alarming thing was Pinkie's mane. Her normally curly hair hung straight down.

"Um…Pinkie Pie?" Twilight spoke up as she stepped into the room. "You okay?"

"No," was her curt reply.

Well, that was productive, Twilight sighed. What little glimmer of hope she had that Pinkie would just snap out of it faded away. "What's bothering you?"

"Oh, nothing," Pinkie replied in a bitter tone. "Only that I'm the worst friend ever!" She gazed over at her flank before continuing. "What good is this stupid cutie mark of mine if I can't even cheer up the saddest pony in all of Equestria?"

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to figure out how to approach the subject. "You know, sometimes some ponies are just…inconsolable," she gently claimed. "It's not your fault you couldn't cheer Rainbow Dash up. Nopony else could, either."

"She's one of my most bestest friends and when she needed me the most I couldn't help her at all," Pinkie flatly lamented. "I tried everything I could think of to make her smile. Some party pony I am. More like a party-pooper!"

"Aww, don't say that, Pinkie Pie," Twilight urged as she sat next to the pink pony and draped a leg across her withers. "You're always the life of the party."

Pinkie didn't reply other than to pull away from Twilight. As she did, Twilight felt a warm, wet sensation on her foreleg. Pulling up her leg, she found Pumpkin Pie hanging onto it with only her mouth. "You shouldn't chew on that," she chided as she gave her leg a gentle shake. When that didn't remove the foal, she used her magic to pry the youngster off of her foreleg and float her into the crib. "It's probably time for a nap, anyway," she cooed as she gave Pound Cake the same treatment before using her telekinesis to tuck the duo in. Of course, they squirmed out of their fluffy prison in no time, and the duo approached the bars. Surprisingly, they were obedient enough to stay there as they gazed out at the two mares.

Twilight took a moment to recompose herself as she tried to wipe away the foal-goo from her leg. "Pinkie Pie. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," she urged. "I know your special talent is to bring joy to others, but this situation… Well, think about it. With the loss of her wing, Rainbow Dash can't fulfill her destiny either. That's a big part of why she's so…despondent."

"So…so she feels super-duper-terrible-awful bad!?"

"Yes," Twilight answered her rather bluntly. "That's why she still needs you! Rainbow Dash could still really use a good cheering up."

"But I tried everything!" Pinkie Pie asserted as she finally turned back to face Twilight, revealing tear-stained cheeks. "I couldn't cheer her up no matter how hard I tried!"

"You haven't tried throwing her a full-blown party, have you?" Twilight prodded.

"The hospital won't let me," the limp-maned Pinkie ground out, not bothering to blunt her bitterness.

Twilight smiled as she ribbed the grumpy pony. "Well then, it's a good thing they released her a little while ago then, huh?"

Pinkie perked up a bit as she looked to Twilight, wide-eyed. "Really?"

Twilight nodded. "Applejack and Fluttershy are getting her settled in over at Fluttershy's cottage. Too bad there won't be a party there to celebrate her getting out."

With the sound of a party favor, Pinkie's hair sprung back to its joyous, curly self. "A party!? For Rainbow Dash!?" she smiled from ear to ear. "I've gotta start getting things ready RIGHT NOW!"

Twilight smiled a bit as Pinkie Pie rushed off. She was happy that last bit managed to get Pinkie out of her funk. It was her ace in the hole. Had that party bit failed she would've had to improvise to try and to get Pinkie back to her old self. And that probably wouldn't have worked.

"Thanks, for whatever you did or said."

Twilight looked up to see Mr. Cake trotting in. "Happy to help, really," she smiled as the lanky earth pony approached the crib.

"I haven't seen her so excited in a week," Mr. Cake continued as he gathered up the twins. "She just rushed in and started baking up a storm."

"I certainly hope you mean that metaphorically," Twilight joked as she helped Mr. Cake swaddle up the foals.

Mr. Cake nodded his thanks once the twins were swaddled up against him. "I do, too," he wearily claimed as he left out the door with Twilight behind him.





While Pinkie Pie prepared for the party of the century, Fluttershy was struggling to make Rainbow Dash feel at home in her cottage. "Oh, are you sure you want to stay here on the couch?" Fluttershy asked for what had to be at least the fourth time. "I'm sure my bed would be so much more comfortable."

"For the last time, Fluttershy, I'm not gonna take your bed away from you," Rainbow Dash grumpily asserted as she struggled to find a comfortable position on the plush couch. "Besides, those stairs don't look fun and I doubt you could fly me up there."

"I-I'm sorry," Fluttershy mumbled, "I wish I could fly better."

"I wish I could fly at all," Rainbow Dash muttered as she finally found a position that didn't hurt. The fact that she was stuck looking at the back of the couch was just something she'd have to deal with.

"I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy earnestly apologized. "I-I didn't mean t-to make you feel bad. I'm sorry!"

Rainbow Dash sighed as much as her mending body would allow. "You don't have to keep apologizing, Fluttershy."

"B-but I feel awful," she muttered as she shrank away, despite the fact that Rainbow Dash wasn't even looking at her. As an uncomfortable silence set in, a thumping drew Fluttershy's attention down to Angel Bunny. The dinky bunny glared impatiently up at the yellow mare. Fluttershy shook her head in refusal, but Angel Bunny stood firm. He crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to glare at Fluttershy and tapped his oversized foot impatiently.

Fluttershy whimpered before she turned back to Rainbow Dash. "Um…Rainbow Dash?" she gently prodded. "I-there's something and it's been b-bothering me…" she trailed off. Another urging from Angel Bunny gave her the courage to continue. "A-actually, it's been…eating me up inside. Rainbow Dash… D-do you hate me?"

Rainbow's eyes grew wide as she struggled to roll over and face Fluttershy. "Wha-how can you even think that!?" Dash exclaimed as she struggled to sit up. A little push from Fluttershy got her there. "I don't hate you! You're my oldest friend, Fluttershy. I mean, we've been friends for as long as I can remember! I could never hate you."

"B-but I wasn't able to catch you… I-I just, I watched as you-you…" she trailed off.

"Fluttershy, even the Wonderbolts weren't fast enough to catch me," Rainbow Dash assured. "Unless...you weren't like, right there, were you?" she asked as she rubbed her head, still lamenting her shattered memory. "Still can't remember a thing about that day."

The shy mare shook her head. "Um, I was in the crowd with everypony else," she recalled. "B-but I… I could have done more. I should have."

"You've done more for me than anypony else," Dash reminded her. "You visited me every day in the hospital and you're putting me up here and everything. What more could you possibly do?"

"You don't…resent me for being able to fly when you can't?"

Rainbow Dash looked down as she exhaled deeply. "I…wouldn't say resent," she honestly answered. "I'm jealous, yeah. But I'm jealous of all the flying…things around here," she claimed as she motioned to the various birds and bugs flying about the critter-filled cottage. "I just wanna fly again."

"Oh, I'm sure that right now Twilight Sparkle is hard at work—"

"Surprise!" a collective shout announced the entry of Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Rarity. As soon as she got in the door, Pinkie fired her party cannon sending streamers and confetti all over Fluttershy's cottage. Inexplicably, it managed to land a cone-shaped party hat on every critter in the room as well as decorate everything. Twilight and Rarity used their magic to levitate an enormous cake in as Spike pulled in a wagon loaded down with snacks, punch, and party favors.

All four of the yellow mare's legs were sticking up as she lay flat on her back. "You okay there, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked as she poked one of Fluttershy's hooves.

"Congrats on getting out of the hospital!" Pinkie Pie announced as Fluttershy recovered from her fright. "I made you a super-duper cake as soon as I heard!" she shouted as she pointed to the enormous confection. Before Rainbow Dash could even really take in the multi-layered cake, Pinkie shot over near a table. "And I made cupcakes, and punch, and there's fun and games, and I brought Gummy!" A turn of her head revealed the toothless alligator with its jaws wrapped around Pinkie's curls. "He loves playing with all of Fluttershy's cute little animal friends!" In the blink of an eye the party pony was scooping up Rainbow Dash in her wheelchair. "So, do you like it!? Isn't it great!?"

Rainbow had a hard time keeping track of Pinkie Pie's eager, expectant expression with her bouncing and bounding about. "Yeah Pinkie," she assured with a small smile. "It's great."

"All right!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she threw her front hooves into the air. "Everypony party!"