Octavia lay in her bed as she stared dismally at the ceiling. She wasn't sure of the time, but she thought it might be getting close to sunrise. She had been laying there like that for hours, trying to fall asleep, but she couldn't; not when every time she closed her eyes she saw the tearful face of Ditzy.

She growled in frustration as she pulled her pillow over her face. Perhaps she could just smother herself to sleep? She knew that wouldn't solve her problem, but what else was she supposed to do? Wander the streets of Ponyville, calling out Ditzy's name like some bad movie? Then what? Apologize to her and just expect her conscience to magically wipe itself clean?

Octavia thought about the idea seriously for a few minutes. Maybe... but no. She dismissed it, realizing how silly it sounded. But she had to do something. Just waiting until the next time she saw Ditzy and acting like everything was fine would just be selfish. Sure, Ditzy would act just like she did before, but they would both know the truth. And they would suffer for it.

Octavia bit down on her pillow, brow furrowed as she tried to think of a solution. There had to be something she could do, someway to show Ditzy just how much their friendship meant to her... Something big... She chewed on the pillow a bit, trying to make her brain work harder. She needed to apologize to and comfort her best friend... She'd never had a best friend before... She wasn't good at this kind of stuff... She needed help...

"THAT'S IT!" She shouted as she shot up in bed. She needed to do something great for Ditzy, but she couldn't do it alone. She needed somepony's help.

Octavia's mind immediately remembered Pinkie Pie. She seemed friendly and somewhat close to Ditzy, and she worked at the restaurant that Ditzy seemed so fond of. Perhaps they could use the place to throw a surprise party for her? Octavia felt like she was drowning just thinking of going that far out of her comfort zone... But if it made Ditzy even the slightest bit happier, it would be worth it.

Now Octavia just needed to work up the courage to talk to the pink ball of energy about her plan. She hoped that Pinkie Pie was good at throwing parties.

Octavia stepped tentatively through the front door of Sugar Cube Corner much like she had the previous day. She hadn't been able to fall asleep after coming up with her idea of throwing Ditzy a party; it had just made her too excited, and too nervous. So she stayed awake, much against her better judgment, and charged over to the restaurant/bakery (she was still unsure of its main function) as soon as the sun rose to find Pinkie Pie.

It looked as though Octavia was the store's first visitor of the day. "Um, h-hello?" She stuttered into the empty room.

"Just a sec~ond," came a sing-song reply from where Octavia assumed the kitchen to be in back. The very pony she was looking for came skipping out moments later with a tray of freshly baked cookies balancing on her head. She hummed to herself as she began placing the baked goods in the display case under the cash register. Octavia swallowed nervously before approaching her.

"Well hi there!" Pinkie said as she popped up from behind the counter. "How can I help--" She suddenly gasped as she recognized her. "Hey! You're Ditzy's special somepony!"

Octavia blinked in confusion. She may have been a tad socially awkward, but even she somewhat understood what somepony meant when they said special somepony.

"Oh, silly me!" Pinkie interrupted. "You're here to get Ditzy a gift, right? I mean, why else would you come here so early unless you wanted to surprise her?

The social ramifications of Pinkie's misunderstanding were completely pushed out of her head as Octavia saw an opening to tell her of her idea. "Well," she began, "I actually wanted to surprise her with a party, but I have no idea where to start. I was hoping maybe you could help me. Maybe we could even have it here?"

Pinkie Pie seemed to freeze at Octavia's words. She began to shift nervously on her hooves as seconds passed and she still didn't move. Had she done something wrong by asking to have the party here?

"Uh huh! We can have cake, and streamers, and balloons! Ooh, and games like apple bobbing and pin-the-tail-on-the-pony!" Pinkie Pie's smile grew wider and wider as she listed off all of her ideas. Most of them went right over Octavia's head as she was still coming to terms with her good fortune in finding such an enthusiastic pony to help her.

Octavia shook herself out of her daze as she realized Pinkie was speaking to her. "Huh?"

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said as she bounced out from behind the counter. "Come on, we gotta lot of party planning to do!"

"That's what I'm here for, silly!" Pinkie said as she began pushing Octavia towards the stairs leading to the second floor. "With both of us planning it, it'll be the best. Party. Ever!"

Octavia made her way back home as the sun was beginning to set. She was completely exhausted. Her crash course in party planning combined with staying up the previous night had zapped every ounce of her strength. Of course Pinkie Pie was still bouncing when she left, but that hardly surprised her by now. She found herself smiling as she thought about the eternally-hyper pony. She didn't know how or when it happened, but she had made another friend.

As Octavia walked up the steps to her house, she noticed a little pink envelope lying at the foot of her door. Curious, she thought. It was the same type of envelope they had decided to send out the party invitations in, but it couldn't be. She had just left Sugar Cube Corner. There was no way Pinkie could have delivered all the invitations yet... right?

Octavia picked up the letter and opened it. It was the party invitation alright. But what the invitation said made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. In the center of a giant red heart, it said:

Dear Octavia,

You are invited to attended
the surprise day-iversary party of
Octavia and Ditzy Doo
tomorrow at 3:00

P.S. Don't tell Ditzy, it's a surprise!

Of Cellos, Bubbles, and Moonbeams

by Eyvind

Chapter 4