Several people watched as the building burned to the ground. The weather team had pulled every raincloud they could spare, and the firefighters had fought, but in the end, there was nothing to be done. Tears streamed down the face of a middle-aged woman, as her husband held her close and stroked her pink hair.
Beside them, a pink-haired girl kept the couple's sleeping twins close, her arms holding them protectively. Her blue eyes never left the fire. She never flinched. Even as the fire crackled and popped and the house collapsed in on itself. Long after most of the crowd had gone, the five of them stood there.
Eventually, the five other girls who had stayed led them away, to the towns library. The couple took the twins from the girl, who looked ready to collapse herself. A young, dark skinned boy hastily brought out a teapot and cups for everyone.
"Thank you, Spike," Mrs. Cake said.
"Not a problem, Mrs. Cake." He gave her a forced smile as he placed the tea set on the table. "I…uh…I'm sorry." He ran his hand through his hair nervously before scurrying away.
The room was silent again, once the boy left. No one knew what to say to the couple that would really be of use.
The sudden, quiet sobbing of the girl pulled the room into action once more. Her hands covered her face as she cried. Mrs. Cake wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her close. "Shh…it's all going to be okay, Pinkie dear." Pinkie buried her face into Mrs. Cake's neck as the sobs came harder. "We'll be okay. Mr. Cake and I will find someplace for us to go, and we will get the shop open again. We're alive, and that's all that matters."
After a few moments, Pinkie calmed down and pulled away. Wiping at her red eyes, she shook her head. "I left Gummy. I couldn't find him, and…" she swallowed, shaking her head again. "I promised I'd take care of him, and I just left him." Ignoring the "Oh, Pinkie's," she looked up, her eyes resting on a slender girl with long, flowing light pink hair. "I'm so sorry, Fluttershy."
"No, no, it isn't your fault," Fluttershy said, her soft voice carrying over the reassurance of the others.
A woman with purple hair curled into perfect spirals stood and walked over to Pinkie, taking one of her hands. "If you think, even for just a moment, that saving the twins and warning Mrs. Cake and Mr. Cake of the fire wasn't more than fantastic, then you are wrong."
Pinkie pulled her hands back, squeezing her eyes shut. "No. I caused the fire. It's all my fault." She looked up, eyes full of tears again. "I was baking and I guess I fell asleep and then I woke up and half the kitchen was on fire, and the whole lobby, and I just…" Again, she shook her head, hiding her face in her hands. The whole room looked around worriedly; Pinkie had never behaved this way.
"Pinkie," Mr. Cake said, leaning around Mrs. Cake and gently pulling Pinkie's hands from her face. "Listen to me. It wasn't your fault. It was probably just a freak accident. The smoke from the baked goods would have warned you, had it been them." Pinkie didn't respond, instead folding her arms across her stomach and laid her head on Mrs. Cake's shoulder.
"Well, what d'y'all think you're gonna do now?" A blonde girl asked. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "We have lots o'room at the farm. You're more than welcome to it."
Mr. Cake smiled. "Thanks, Apple Jack. I really appreciate it."
A cough from a girl with short cut rainbow colored hair drew the room's attention. "Uh…I still have some of my old baby stuff." Her dark colored cheeks tinged red. "I'm sure it would work for the twins." A pair of blue ethereal wings appeared as she walked toward the door. "I'll be right back with them."
"Thank you, Rainbow," Mrs. Cake called after her.
"Actually, I think I have some of Belle's old things. I was going to reinvent them for her dolls, but I think the twins will get more use out of them. Will you come with me, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked. The two girls walked out the door.
Applejack rubbed her hands together nervously. "Now, I only got the one extra room, so it might be a tight squeeze. We still have the old crib, all of us Apple kids used it. The twins can sit real comfortable in it. I could maybe put Apple Bloom in with Granny, and then Pinkie can sleep with me, and…"
"Oh, where did everyone go?" A girl walked down the stairs, looking around the living room. "I just got the letter off to the Princess." She cast a sad smile to the family on the couch. "I guess I missed a lot."
"They're all off collecting stuff. We're about ready to head off too, just waitin' to tell you." Applejack explained. "I was just trying to figure out where everybody's gonna be sleepin'."
Mrs. Cake frowned. "Yes, about that dear, it sounds like your uprooting the entire house for us."
Jack waved a hand in the air. "Apple Bloom'll be fine with Granny, and I'm sure me an Pinkie can work something out."
Twilight cleared her throat, bringing attention back to her. "Pinkie could just stay here? I mean," she said, turning and smiling at her friend, "if you wanted to."
Pinkie nodded, giving Twilight just a hint of a smile. "Yeah, that sounds fine. Thanks, Twily."
After a short moment of silence, Jack stretched. "Welp, we better get goin'. I'll see you girls tomorrow."
Pinkie hugged each of the twins tightly, and Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake even tighter before they left. Then she walked over and sat on the couch, looking into the fire burning in the hearth.
"Hey," Twilight said, sitting next to Pinkie. "We can just treat it like a sleepover, right? We'll have to share a bed, but I can get another tomorrow if I need to. And we can do fun sleepover stuff like…well, the last sleepover I had was kind of a disaster, but I bet you know plenty of fun sleepover stuff. And tomorrow—"
She stopped when she felt Pinkie's soft hand touch hers. "Don't be so nervous, Twily. The Cakes said everything will be fine so it will." Though the smile was forced, Twilight was happy to see Pinkie was at least trying to stay positive.
"That's the spirit. Come on, let's get some sleep."