//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Invitations // Story: Laughter is Faith // by Redric Carrun //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash growled. She snarled, she grit her teeth, she paced through the air. Finding that this did nothing to alleviate her gnawing frustration, she flung herself down on a branch of the tree she had been hovering next to for almost ten minutes now. The cold of the tree bark made a firm contrast to the heat of the blood burning in her veins. The pegasus glared down at the charming woodland cottage in which resided the source of her displeasure. “It would have been fine, you know!” she roared. “Five hundred bits, Fluttershy! That's what you cost me with this.” Rainbow Dash shifted against the wood of the tree. The branch she was sitting on somehow didn't seem as comfortable as it should have. She moved to a neighboring limb that looked like it might be more accommodating. And it was. For a moment. Then she started feeling antsy again. “The dumb thing would have been just fine anyway,” Dash muttered. “They'd have taken care of it. They're not monsters.” There was no response from the hut. Not that Dash had expected any. There was no noise except the wind through the trees, and the gentle rustling of leaves. Dash shifted a little. A stick snapped near the base of the tree. Rainbow's head whipped round to look, years of finely honed instincts on the lookout for danger. She knew it was more likely to just be one of her friend's many “pets” than anything really dangerous; the dangerous stuff liked to stay further in. But sometimes it came out to play. Even with Rainbow Dash's exceptional night vision, she didn't see anything down where she had heard the twig snap. But now that she was listening, her ears picked up more noises that shouldn't have been there if she were truly alone. Not that you were ever alone in the Everfree Forest. She could hear the lower branches creaking. Was something moving them? Was it climbing the tree? Carefully, Dash leaned out to look. Nothing on the other side. The sounds grew closer. As the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise, Rainbow cautiously took to the air, noiseless in her flight. She hovered backwards, away from the tree she had been sitting in, searching for whatever strange creature had made that noise. One hoof reached for the hilt of her short curved sword where it rested in the small of her back. The sound crept upward. “Hi, new friend! How're ya doing?” With a yelp, Rainbow Dash whirled around to find a strange earth pony mare sitting in the tree behind her, who had most decidedly not been there just a few moments before. Dash would have seen her. She was pink. “W- what?” Dash stammered. Her head snapped back and forth between this newcomer and the place she was sure the sounds had been coming from. “Was that you? How did you –” The stranger cut her off. “My name's Pinkie Pie,” she said cheerfully, “and I'm here from Canterlot to arrange a party for the Summer Sun Celebration. Here's your invitation!” Pinkie hoofed the pegasus a card that shimmered with too much glitter, even in the pale light of the full moon, and was covered in cheery pink lettering that Rainbow Dash wouldn't be caught dead with. Dash accepted it anyway, vowing silently to destroy the abomination at the first opportunity. “What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” She asked with a frown. “We're inside the Everfree forest, in case you hadn't noticed.” “I already told you, silly. I'm here to invite you to my party tomorrow! Well,” Pinkie shrugged, “I'm here to invite Fluttershy, really, but I saw you sitting in the tree there, and I thought, 'ooh! New friend!' So I climbed right on up here to invite you. What's your name?” The sudden change of topic threw Dash off balance, and the pink mare's sunny smile made her feel uneasy. She began to feel much less sure that not drawing her weapons when she first saw Pinkie had been the right decision. “Uh... I'm Rainbow Dash.” “Nice to meet you Dashie!” Pinkie beamed. “Wow, lucky me! I was gonna visit your house last, because you live in a cloudhouse, and it was gonna be really really really hard to get up there, so I was going to give myself lots of time to figure out how I was going to do it, but now I don't need to!” Rainbow Dash scowled. “Don't call me Dashie.” “Sure thing, Dash-dash. What are you doing out here in the middle of the night? It's dangerous out here, you know.” “Nothing.” Rainbow Dash folded her forelegs in a huff. “I wasn't doing anything out here.” “Oh,” Pinkie said. “'Cause I heard you yelling something about being out five hundred bits, but I guess I was just imagining things.” Rainbow Dash winced. “Yeah. Imagining things.” Dash expected Pinkie Pie to start talking about something else, or maybe just leave, but the pink pony just sat there, staring at her with that same sugary smile. Rainbow's ear twitched. “Alright!” she finally exclaimed. “Fluttershy's bleeding heart cost us five hundred bits, and I was out here being angry about it, okay?” Pinkie's eyes widened. “She's bleeding from her heart?” The look of panic in her eyes was surprisingly genuine, and Rainbow Dash was only just able to catch her before she leapt off the branch to go to Fluttershy's aid. “No, no,” Dash sighed. “She's fine. It's just an expression.” Pinkie blinked. “I don't get it.” “What I meant was – well, it's like this. I'm a hunter,” Rainbow Dash grinned. “The best in the business. Cockatrice, Manticore, Hydra, if it's got a name, I've beaten it. But skill isn't enough to keep you alive out there in the woods. You need supplies, and knowledge of how to get them; what sorts of plants and stuff to gather, how to mix them to make stuff, things like that. I'm... not so good at that.” She rubbed her neck. “But Fluttershy's a whiz with all that sort of thing. And we've been friends for a long time, you know? So I thought 'hey, let's form a partnership! I'll take down the monsters, and Flutters can keep me from bleeding out afterward. It's a win-win!'” “A win-win? That does sound like a win, especially when one's won. Double win!” “Yeah, I know right? It sounded great,” Rainbow said. “But then Flutters got all upset about me killing the poor little three meter tall death machines, and said if I wanted her help, I'd better not do that anymore. Well that was fine. I mean, the live capture requests always pay better anyway, 'cause everyone thinks they're hard, but I'm the best; I can do them no sweat. So I figured, 'whatever, 's cool, I can deal with it –' only then Fluttershy started taking the things I caught and making them into her pets! I had to capture three separate northeastern sphinxes before I got one she didn't take. And now, I've just spent the entire day hunting a shelled pyro-iguanadon – one of the biggest, meanest guys this side of the Forest Center. I've got some earther scientist from Manehatten all lined up to buy the thing, and tomorrow is the last day for the deal to work. Only Fluttershy thinks that just 'cause I went and chipped its teeth a bit, she's gotta take care of it. For a month.” Dash threw up her hooves in disgust. “Can you believe it? After all the work I went to getting this deal, all the boasting I made about how I could get this thing that nopony else has ever caught, and all the hours I spent tracking the dumb thing, I'm gonna have to go back and tell the guy, 'nope! Looks like I can't get you one after all. Thanks for coming and stuff, with your big custom holding device and team of specialists and everything, but it was just too much for me to handle!'” Rainbow realized she had started yelling again, and sighed. “I'm going to be a laughing-stock...” “Wow. This Fluttershy sounds like a real jerk,” Pinkie said, with a frown that was mixed with a pout, and softened by her slightly pudgy cheeks. “Don't you worry, Dash-dash. I'll sort things out for you!” The pink earth pony fell backwards off the branch before Rainbow Dash could stop her. There was a loud crashing of leaves, and for a moment Dash worried that the strange mare would hurt herself in the fall, but when she looked down she saw Pinkie marching up to the cottage door. “Wait!” Dash cried. She caught up just in time to keep Pinkie from knocking. “She's not like that!” Dash protested. “I mean, sure, I'm angry at her, but she was just looking out for the animals. And okay, maybe I roughed the thing up a bit. Stuff happens.” She shook her head. “Look, Fluttershy's my friend, okay? She's sensitive. I don't need you to come butting in here trying to fix things and making her feel bad.” “Okay!” Pinkie smiled. Dash sighed and let go of Pinkie's foreleg. Pinkie knocked on the door. “What are you doing?!” Dash hissed. “I told you, you don't need to bother her!” “I was going to talk to her anyway,” Pinkie hummed. She held up a card. “I still need to give her her invitation!” Pinkie knocked on the door again. “Hello! Fluttershy! It's me, Pinkie Pie! You don't know me yet, but I want to get to know you!” There was no sound from inside, so Pinkie reached for the doorknob. “Fluttershy, I know you're in there~! I'm opening the door now!” Pinkie only got the door about a third of the way open before it bumped into something on the inside of the cottage. The thing was brown and furry. Slowly, Pinkie's gaze followed the thing up to its face. The bear let out a massive roar, and Pinkie Pie slammed the door shut. She turned to Rainbow Dash, with wild, accusing eyes. “You never told me Fluttershy was a bear!” The roaring inside the house died down after a moment, and Pinkie could hear a new voice inside. It was a calm, soothing voice, cooing softly in a way that was not very bear-like. “Shh, Mister bear," the voice went. "It's all right. I know you're just trying to keep me safe, but you can't go around scaring visitors away. Even if they are l- loud, and, and new, you still need to be polite.” “Fluttershy can talk,” Pinkie whispered. “I didn't know bears could do that!” Rainbow Dash held a hoof to her face and tried not to smile. Slowly, the door creaked open from the inside. Only about half an inch though, just enough for Pinkie to see a blue eye, and a pale yellow hoof. “C- can I help you?” the gentle voice whispered. “Hi!” Pinkie said. “I'm Pinkie Pie, and I want to be your new best friend! Could you give this to Fluttershy? It's an invitation to a big party I'm throwing half an hour before dawn for the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony's invited! And Fluttershy too, I guess. Do you think bears enjoy parties? Of course they do! Fluttershy!” Pinkie shouted, jamming her face up against the door and trying to make herself heard inside the house. “You can bring your bear friends along too! They're all invited! Bears are ponies too!” Fluttershy squeaked – the real Fluttershy, not the bear – and tried to push the door closed. Her rather pitiful attempt ended up pushing her back instead, and Pinkie tumbled into the room through the now-open door. Outside, Rainbow Dash started to laugh. “Hi!” Pinkie said again. “How are you doing, new friend? What's your name? I have an invitation for you too, but I'm not sure which one is yours.” Pinkie held up a whole plethora of cards. “Ooh! Ooh! Let me guess! Are you: Ditsy Doo? Bulk Biceps! No wait, Princess Celestia!” Fluttershy was curled up in a shuddering ball of pink hair and yellow feathers on the floor, far too shell-shocked to respond. Pinkie's eyes narrowed. “Are you really the Princess in disguise? Because if you are, I already sent your invitation to Canterlot Castle. Gasp!” Pinkie gasped. “Oh no! I'll have to run all the way there and get it for you! Just hold on tight, your Majesticfulness, I'll be right back!” Just before Pinkie could take off, Fluttershy reached out. “Wait,” she mumbled. “I'm not... actually... … …” “You're not what?” Pinkie asked. “Hungry?” Fluttershy shook her head. “Left hoofed?” She shook her head again, and whispered in an even quieter attempt to explain. “You're actually not the Princess but really Fluttershy, the mare I've been looking for this whole time, who isn't really a bear after all?” Fluttershy blinked. “... Yes.” “Well that makes sense!” Pinkie beamed. “I didn't think the Ponyville census recorded bears, but it had your name on it, so I figured I must just be mistaken. Here you go,” she said, holding out another card. “Your invitation!” Fluttershy stared. “... But you already gave me an invitation.” “Yeah, but that one was for your bear friend I thought was you. This one is yours!” Pinkie leaned over to whisper in Fluttershy's ear. “They don't actually have any names on them!” Pinkie bounced back out the door. “Well, I've got a lot of invitations to deliver before sunrise. See you there Fluttershy! Bye Rainbow Dash!” And then she was gone. The two pegasi stared after her. “Well, that was... odd,” Fluttershy said. “Ha! That was great,” Rainbow Dash chortled. “Maybe I'll go to this thing after all. Just watching what that mare gets up to should be worth my time.” Rarity, hard-working unicorn craftsmare, was enjoying a well-deserved rest when something landed on top of her luxurious queen-sized bed. “Hi, new friend!” came a cheery voice. “I'm throwing a party for the Summer Sun Celebration. Here's your invitation!” Rarity shrieked, and ripped the sleep mask off her face to find a pony she didn't know sitting uncomfortably close, illuminated only by the dim blue light coming from Rarity's horn. The stranger had a card in her hoof. Rarity screamed again, and hurled a pillow at the intruder. The pink pony toppled off the side of the bed, out of sight. Rarity scrambled to the other side and turned on her bedside desk lamp. Her eyes darted around the room in the new light. “You're Rarity, right? I'm Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet you!” Rarity whirled around at the noise, and found Pinkie standing there behind her with a sugary grin, still holding out the glittering card. “What do you want?” Rarity asked, backing away. “How did you get in here?” “I'm here to give you your invitation,” Pinkie repeated. “Your doors were locked, so I used the ventilation shafts.” Rarity blinked. “But... those are too small for a pony to use. They're the size of a mailbox.” “No,” Pinkie argued. “Well, sort of. It's like if you took a very small mailbox, and turned it on its side, and then sort of squished it and used that as the hole.” Rarity had nothing to say to that. Pinkie held out the card again. “Here's your invitation!” “Rarity!” came a small voice, as the door to the room opened. Rarity turned, and saw her little sister Sweetie Belle standing there, a dawning look of comprehension on her young face. “Don't worry, Rarity! I'll take care of this bad guy for you!” “Bad guy?!” Pinkie's head whipped left and right. “Where?” Sweetie Belle let out a battle-cry that was far too high pitched and cracked to actually intimidate anyone, and slammed into Pinkie with all of her eighty pounds of weight. Pinkie Pie let out her own cry of alarm, and the two started rolling about on the floor. Rarity was about to break the two apart when the squeals of laughter started. “'M g'nna gnaw on yer 'ugular!” Sweetie growled, scrabbling her way to somewhere around Pinkie's withers. “N- no! Wait! That tickles!” Pinkie cried, laughing all the while. With a huff, Rarity lifted Sweetie Belle in her magic, setting her down beside her on the bed. “Now, Sweetie,” Rarity said, “that was very brave of you, but I am perfectly capable of defending myself. If this ever happens again, it would be much better if you went and got other ponies to help, instead of... what you did.” “Aww...” Sweetie groaned. “I never get to fight bad guys...” Pinkie giggled. “That was fun! You're really ferocious, Sweetie Belle! Just wait a moment – I have an invitation for you too.” Sweetie's eyes brightened. “An invitation? For what?” “I'm throwing a big Pinkie Pie party for the Summer Sun Celebration in the town hall, just before daybreak, and all of Ponyville is invited!” “A Pinkie Pie party?” Rarity asked. “I don't think I've heard of such a thing. What is it?” Pinkie gasped. “You've never heard of a Pinkie Pie party? It's only the most biggest, spectacularist kind of party ever: a party hosted by me, Pinkie Pie, party pony, pupil of princesses, professor of pastries!” “Woah...” Sweetie Belle whistled. Rarity frowned. “That's very nice, Miss, ah, Pinkie, but I've been up far to long already. I'll need my beauty rest if I want to be presentable at your... party. Now, if I could just show you the door, I'll be sure to meet you there in the morning.” Pinkie Pie blinked. “How much sleep could you get? The party is in thirty minutes.” Rarity's eye twitched. “I'll see you then, Rarity! Bye, Sweetie Belle!” Sweetie Belle waved. “Goodbye, Pinkie!” Rarity groaned and clutched at her forehead. Today was going to be a long day. There was a knock at the library door. Spike wasn't up yet, but Twilight still hadn't gotten to sleep. She often spent whole nights studying; it was easier that way. She had the whole library to herself. No ponies coming in and out, distracting her with their attempts at conversation. Or worse: checking out the books she had wanted to read! Nighttime was Twilight time, and that was good enough for her. So someone knocking at her door, minutes before sunrise, in what was still obviously a “me time” zone, did not put the purple unicorn in the best of moods. Twilight opened the door with a scowl, to find a pink earth pony she had never seen standing on the doorstep with a manic grin on her face. “Hi!” the pony started. “My name is Pinkie Pie, and –” “The library is closed,” Twilight interrupted. Pinkie blinked. She looked around at the massive tree the library was built inside. Then she looked back. “This is a library?” Twilight resisted the urge to groan. “What do you want?” she asked. “It's late. Any sensible pony would be in bed.” “Actually, it's almost morning,” Pinkie said brightly. “And I'm here to give you your invitation to the party I'm throwing for the Summer Sun Celebration! Here you go, Twilight! I'll expect to see you there, okay?” Twilight Sparkle lifted the card in her magic without looking at it. “Look, Pinkie Pie, thanks for inviting me and everything, but I'm not really big on parties. I'm sure you and your other friends can all have a great time without me. Have a nice day.” Twilight shut the door before Pinkie could respond. The unicorn turned around with a warm smile of anticipation, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Pinkie sitting in front of her, a look of desolation on her face. “But Twilight,” Pinkie whined, “it won't be the same if you don't come. You're on the list Celestia gave me.” Twilight's ears perked. “Celestia? Princess Celestia? She gave you a list with me on it?” “Yeah!” Pinkie nodded, pulling out a scroll. She opened it to show hundreds of names, the vellum dropping from her hoof and rolling out to bounce against the door. “The Princess gave me a list of everypony in Ponyville, so I could invite them to my party. And you're on the list!” For a moment, Twilight's interest gave way to an unimpressed look of annoyance. Then a thought occurred to her. “Why would the Princess of Equestria bother to help you plan a party?” “Well, parties are serious business,” Pinkie frowned. “But she's also my teacher, so I suppose she might have paid just a little bit more attention to me than to all the other party-planning requests I'm sure she gets every day.” “Princess Celestia is your teacher?” Twilight's eyes widened, and she grabbed Pinkie's withers in a surprisingly strong grip for a librarian bookworm. “Yep!” Pinkie smiled. “She's the best.” Images flashed before Twilight's eyes. The poise, the regality – Twilight had met the Princess once, long ago. The swift weaving of ethereal energies had burned itself into her mind, as the Princess stepped in to stop, in one smooth motion, a magical mishap that had enveloped six of the School for Gifted Unicorns' most wizened spell-casters. Here was a chance to talk to somepony who had learned straight from the Princess herself! “I'd love to stay and chat Twilight,” Pinkie said, as she slipped out the door, “but I've only got a few minutes left to get this party set up, and I've still got invitations to give out. We can talk at the party, okay? See you there!” The door slammed shut. Twilight sighed. “... Well... I suppose one social gathering won't hurt too much...” Applejack was up before sunrise, just like she was every day on the farm. The cool morning breeze was just what she needed to shake the last remnants of sleep from her bones. In a few minutes, she would step back into the kitchen and help Granny Smith finish setting up the breakfast table. Applejack let out a contented sigh. This was the life. “Howdy do, my fine farmer friend!” Applejack's eyes snapped open, and she stumbled back a pace at the sight of a strange pink earth pony grinning up a storm in front of her. “I'm Pinkie Pie,” Pinkie said, “and I'm here to give y'all your invitations to the big party I'm throwing for the Summer Sun Celebration just before daybreak!” Pinkie giggled. “'Y'all.' Hee hee! That's really fun to say!” Applejack blinked. “Well, uh... Howdy. Pinkie. Ah'm Applejack.” The farmer smiled. “It's nice ta meet ya.” She held out a hoof. Pinkie put a sparkly card into it. “Oh!” Pinkie said. “I just remembered something else. I still need to get everything set up for the party. I've got everything else covered, but I still need someone to supply the food, and I've heard that Sweet Apple Acres is one of the best catering businesses around. Think you can help me out?” “Well, shucks,” Applejack said. “Of course we'd be willin' to do some work for you. How much are you gonna need?” “Enough for the whole village!” Pinkie announced, flinging her forelegs wide as an example. “So that'll be about three apple cakes, five apple pies, twelve dozen apple strudels, five barrels of apples to slice up for the chocolate fountain, six cinnamon apple pies...” Applejack's eyebrows slowly raised as the pink party pony listed an impressively precise variety of apple-based goods from memory. The list went on for several minutes. “... five apple snaps, twenty-five apple tarts, and one red delicious on a stick,” Pinkie finished. “Think you can handle all that?” “You got it,” Applejack nodded. “That's a powerful lot of food, there. You got enough to pay for it?” Pinkie Pie pulled out a bag, which clanked heavily when it hit the ground. “One thousand, four hundred and seventy eight bits exactly. Tip included!” Applejack blinked. “... Sounds about right. And when exactly are you gonna need all these goodies?” “About... six minutes from now, at the town hall.” “What?!” Pinkie nodded. “Short notice, I know, but you're the only caterers in town, so I'm kinda out of options. Well, except for the Cakes, but I already visited them.” Applejack frowned. “The Cakes turned you down?” “Oh no,” Pinkie smiled. “They're gonna be supplying all sorts of pastries and stuff. But since Princess Celestia herself is attending, I wanted to make sure that everything was perfect.” “The Princess is attendin'?” Applejack cried. “Yep! And I may have mentioned something to her about how great everypony says your food is, and how I'll be getting you to help cater for it. And she may be really really looking forward to it. Maybe.” Pinkie was the picture of innocence as Applejack stared helplessly into the face of disaster. “So,” Pinkie said. “You think you can do it?” Applejack burst back into the house. “Granny!” She yelled. “Grab everything we've got for breakfast 'n get it ready to travel. Apple Bloom, Big Mac, come help me grab everythin' we've got from the cellar. Double time!” Pinkie waved as the Apple family ran past. “See you in four minutes!” she chirped.