Start of April, 1005 A.D. (After Discord)
The morning slowly started, clouds barely covering the horizon and coloring the sky with pale pink and orange. The light filtered through dark auburn curtains, slowly illuminating the two mares on the single bed, resting on the upper floors of the town library. Limbs entwined with one another, they both wore pleased smiles, resting against each other under the blankets. As the subtle light reached the shut eyes of the two ponies, they shifted in place, unwilling to wake from peaceful slumber.
The nearby clock ticked ever closer to seven in the morning. When the little arm reached to three minutes before the hour, bright blue eyes shot open, a wide smile forming on the pink muzzle. Pink forehooves shifted, drawing their target ever closer. With an expectant grin warring for space on the muzzle around the blush, all movement stopped when the two faces were close together, eyes directly across from one another even as one set was still shut. The usually hyper mare remained still, a grin threatening to take over but she stayed calm, wanting to use the element of surprise instead of happiness at the moment.
Her wait soon paid off, as when the small clock arm reached the noon position, the soft chime rang through the silence, causing the purple unicorn to stir. Blinking open sleepy eyes, the unicorn slowly focused on the bright blue gaze facing her, freezing in surprise before thawing when they recognized the laughter hidden within. Pinkie couldn’t hold back her giggles, closing the few inches to give her marefriend a loving peck.
“Pinkieee! You startled me. If it weren’t for the fact that you have been doing this every morning for the last few weeks, I may have jumped out of bed.” Twilight playfully frowned at the giggly mare, trying to slow her rapid heartbeat with even breaths. This didn’t really help since each one only highlighted the scent of vanilla and icing extremely nearby.
Pinkie watched with overbearing joy as a blush slowly made its way across the lavender muzzle. She was tempted to keep watching from this distance except that the desire to nuzzle grew exponentially. With a squeal through the wide grin, she gave in to the impulse and pulled the unicorn closer, wrapping both hooves tightly around the lavender barrel. Twilight chuckled at the reaction and copied the motion, burying her muzzle into the light pink fur. The earth pony couldn’t help squeezing the mare in her hooves in return. Resting her head on top of the dark purple mane, she spoke around a wide smirk.
“But I can’t help it my star! I want to be the first thing you see every morning! Or at least when I can stay the night.”
“I do appreciate it my sweetheart, especially since Sugarcube Corner has such a booming business with the arrival of spring. Do you have more work to do today?” Twilight raised a brow, curious and hopeful. Since some of her plans required privacy, the studious unicorn hoped that it would be yet another day when she could get more preparations done for her surprise.
“Well, I do have to get everything ready for tomorrow… So I’ll be at the bakery all day. Sorry…” Pink ears tipped back in anxiety. Thinking back to the busy last few days, Pinkie couldn’t hold back her wilting smile at being without her partner.
Twilight noticed the shift. Sighing playfully, she tightened her grip and added an extra nuzzle to the hug. Peppering kisses on the pink barrel, she searched for the ticklish spots. When shakes and strangled laughter resulted from her attempt, she brightened and laughed as well.
“That’s ok Pinkie, your birthday only comes once a year and is pretty special. Besides, we’ll be able to be together for most of tomorrow right? To celebrate together?” The lavender mare chuckled when she felt the rapid nodding on top of her head. Pulling back, the two mares gazed at one another, hooves still connecting them as they rested on their sides.
“When you guys are done being all mushy, breakfast is almost ready!” Spike’s voice floated up from the lower levels, breaking the quiet sphere that had appeared around the two ponies.
Two sets of eyes turned to the doorway, though neither moved and the mares giggled amongst themselves at the tone the drake used. With a sudden spring, the party mare leapt from bed without disturbing the other occupant. Skipping merrily out the door and down the stairs, Pinkie peeked her head back into the room for a second, a wide grin across her face.
“Come on my little star! You shouldn’t miss breakfast!” The pink baker didn’t wait any longer, finishing her trip down the stairs while keeping an ear on the upstairs room.
Twilight shook her head with a bemused smirk, slowly stepping out of the bed and adjusting the blankets into their proper place. Picking up her pace at another call from the drake, she arrived in the kitchen to find Pinkie had taken over the cooking process. Spike was helping with the smaller tasks, pleased to not have to do the final steps of cooking. Due to time limits, Pinkie used some of her faster speeds to finish the work, getting three plates ready in mere seconds.
After taking another step in the room, Twilight found herself rushed to the chair, right between the young dragon and earth pony. Opening her mouth to comment on the quick handling, the lavender mare found a fork inserted in the opening, full of steaming food.
“No time to talk Twilight! Gotta get your day started right or else it’d be something I’d have to fix later! That and if we aren’t fast enough, we may have NO TIME for breakfast and that’d be just horrible! Who could even think of such a thing!?!” Pinkie continued to feed both herself and her marefriend quickly, frowning towards the wall.
Spike and Twilight shared confused glances before trying to question the baker. But anytime the librarian opened her mouth to ask, it was promptly shoved full of food, leaving it up to the lad to question the hyper mare.
“Uhm, Pinkie Pie? Who are you talking to?” Spike slowly ate through his own meal, green eyes watching the pink mare closely. Pinkie paused for a second, head tilting to the left, before answering with a grin.
“Don’t you worry about a thing Spike! He won’t take our breakfast away! Oooooh! Almost out of time, open wide Twilight!” With only a sudden warning to prep herself with, the unicorn found her marefriend opening her jaws to their full extent and tipping the entire plate in. As Twilight coughed, trying to choke down the food, Pinkie performed a similar act for her own plate, swallowing with no issue and giving the unicorn a swift peck. “Okie dokie lokie, time for me to get baking! I’ll see you later Twilight!”
The two remaining residents watched in bewilderment, not used to the rapid departure without the couple even getting the chance to get one last cuddle in. Twilight drank more of her coffee, wanting to both wake up and to clear her throat, looking over to her assistant with a shake of her head.
“Well, uh, at least she’s going to be busy for most of the day. Once you’re done eating, we’ll get that list out and make the final preparations for the big day.” The unicorn smiled at the excited gaze of the drake and stood from the table, levitating the few dirty plates into the sink. Pinkie had the ability to clean as she worked, making the end cleaning process even faster.
Spike jumped down from his seat with a smirk. Claws holding tight to his plates, he soon joined the older mare at the sink, helping wash them briefly. Running out to the main room once it was done, he went in search of the hidden scroll, tucked away in a large pile that served as the best hiding place for the librarians. Turning to face the unicorn stepping into the room, he waved it above his head, grin visible from any distance.
“Got it!” Spike’s cry was met with a smile from the lavender unicorn. Trotting up, Twilight nudged the lad while taking a hold of the paper with a flicker of magic.
“Yes, so you do. Time to get started!” Together, the two friends exited the tree library, excitement lightening their steps.
The pink party master hopped away from the library, a wide grin plastered on her muzzle. Humming a soft tune, she waved to everyone she saw, not slowing her rapid speeds through the town. The other townsfolk weren’t too shocked at the speeds, it was an unusual mare afterall. Her mind was filled with her mental list of party planning. She would have to rush after her morning shift at Sugarcube Corner to get it all done. Not that it should be any problem, it just meant the usual kinds of pacing for the hyper mare.
“Sorry Pinkie Pie, I don’t think we’ll need you to work today. I think everypony is getting ready for tomorrow and just don’t want to buy sweets. Maybe you can go ahead and get the rest of your supplies?” Mrs. Cake smiled from behind the counter, wiping a rag across it’s surface in a steady pace.
The pink baker froze in place, back left and front right hoof in the air, as she tilted her head to the left in question. Blinking a few times, she glanced around the empty store front without moving an inch, blue eyes finding the statement to be accurate. Pulling her hanging limbs back close to her body, Pinkie tapped her chin in thought.
“Huh, I guess it is kind of quiet in here. You guys sure you don’t need help with any baking for tomorrow?” The young mare shared with wide unsure eyes to her mentors, both of whom looked back with wide smiles.
“We’ll be fine Pinkie Pie, don’t worry. You go on ahead.” Mr. Cake spoke from his place in the doorframe. He took a few steps to stand beside his wife, continuing to grin reassuringly to the young baker.
Pinkie spent only a few more seconds before changing demeanors completely, straightening in place with a giant beam and squinting of her eyes. Nodding happily, she spun in place and skipped out of the bakery.
The older couple slumped behind the counter. Chuckling to each other, the two bakers stood up, walking to the back room.
“At least she won’t be ‘taste testing’ all our products for tomorrow.” Mr. Cake nudged his wife, beaming as he gathered cooking supplies. Mrs. Cake laughed, nodding once as she helped start the baking process.
“Yes. She means well, but sometimes she can go just a little overboard.” The couple shared another laugh, knowing how their charge could get when it came to parties. Together, they prepped the next few day’s products, safe from the nibbling that often preceded a special event.
Meanwhile, once the door swung shut behind the hyper pony she paused, taking in the fresh air with a deep breath. Nose flaring and chest expanding at the inhaling, Pinkie released the breath with a large grin. Casting a cheerful gaze to the clear sky and bright sun, she began to wave to everypony she came across while mentally recalling a special list made with her marefriend.
Let’s see, number one on ‘How to plan a Pinkie Pie Party by my Little Star and my Sweetheart’, streamers! Then there’s number two, plates and utensils, three is party favors, four balloons, three hidden pies, two trick cups, and a banner of the party! Gosh, Twilight was right, lists can be very fun!
In moments, the distracted but amused mare found herself already done with the local party palooza stand. Bouncing out with saddlebags full of the paper products, she skipped towards the gift shoppe, eyes breezing over everything around her only to skid to a jarring halt at a familiar lavender coat. Body freezing in place, the blue eyes were unable to focus on anything else in their surroundings least they lose sight of the mare of her heart. This was unfortunately a lost cause as the familiar figure disappeared into the surrounding crowd.
What’s Twilight doing over there…?
“Ok Spike, what’s the first thing on ‘How to plan a Pinkie Pie Party’?” Twilight glanced to her assistant resting on her back, legs on top of saddlebags that hung from both sides. The lad smiled and shook open the scroll he had, which sat firmly on the unicorn’s back with still plenty left in the roll.
“First thing on how to plan a party is streamers.” Spike skimmed over the list, refreshing his memory of destinations.
“Sounds like a job for Smooth Streamer, he's the one Pinkie suggested we go for the best streamers. Where was his stand again?” The lavender mare picked up her speed, heading for the market place, smirk forming on her muzzle.
Spike rubbed his chin, a faraway glint in his eyes. He held out the list, searching for specific notes from the usual party planner about where to locate the shops. “Yes, but I’m not sure how easily we’re going to find all this stuff.”
“Oh Spike, I’m sure it won’t be that hard. Pinkie manages to get everything quickly, surely there’s a store or stall that has the majority of party supplies.” The librarian started to slow down when they reached the busy market place, the sounds of the mid-morning crowd ringing through the air.
While the duo searched the area for the party supply stalls, Twilight glanced back to her assistant, a questioning brow raised as she eyed the list.
“Spike? What was the next few things we needed to get? Hopefully we can get them all within moments of each other.”
“Oh, erhm, well the next few things are plates and utensils, party favors, balloons, confetti and flags... “ The drake trailed off, unsure if they could get everything in one location. There were a lot of specialty stands in the market after all.
“That’s not too bad! I’m sure it won’t take but a single trip.”
----NKP---
“How could this not take a single trip…?! Why are the vendors placed so far apart?” The unicorn frowned as they continued their trip. Using a bit of magic to adjust the bags on her back, she glanced over the tops of the crowd, trying to find the next store that was suggested by the previous shopkeeper.
“I’m not sure they really thought about that kind of thing Twilight. At least it’s not too far…” The purple and green drake helped with the search, standing on Twilight’s back and putting a hand over top of his eyes to shield it from the sun. With a pleased shout and frantic pointing, he led the way to the next store, the two of them still traveling at a moderate pace through the mid-morning crowd.
La la la la la…. Spring, spring, spring, everything is in rings… Let’s see, item three, party favors! Now, while the pony for the party is me, and I love all kinds of things, it is April 1st and everyone does like a good prank! Perhaps some toy games and a good prank or two hidden in the mix. Better stop by Little Trinket’s stand! Let’s see… Where did it move to today…?
The pink furred mare paused in her travel, tilting her ears independently, sticking her nose in the air with eyes wide open. When her knees tickled and both ears wiggled in time with each other, she smiled gratefully and resumed her trek. Humming once again, she skipped along, enjoying the feel of the warm sunlight on her fur.
Sounds of her fellow ponies rang out around Pinkie. All of which was met with a chirpy response from the overly friendly earth pony. Seconds away from her target location, a new sensation came over her. A very bright warmth, much different and stronger than the sun’s rays, spread from the party mare’s center to the tips of her hooves. Her heart rate paused for a moment before taking off in a rapid beat in her ribcage. Bright blue eyes widened in pleasant surprise and searched the nearby vicinity, looking for the source with a large grin.
When there was no sign of purple or lavender, the grin faded minutely until she got closer to her original target. Steps away from the colorful vendor with it’s party gadgets, a flash of purple with a single pink highlight walked quickly away. Tilting her head to the left, Pinkie paused mid-step, trying to follow the familiar mane only to lose it in the crowd. Slow and unstable steps drew her forward, even as her head stayed still, trying to find the source of her speeding heart rate.
“Well hey there Pinkie Pie! You getting party supplies too?” Little Trinket, a bright yellow with blue mane unicorn, waved from her place beside a few tables. A light yellow hue covered a couple of bits that were promptly floated into the awaiting basket, the result of the previous transaction.
“Hello Little Trinket! Uhm, what-what do you mean ‘too’? Was there another Pinkie running around buying supplies for another awesomely fun party?” The baker attempted to smile, still stunned by the missed chance to greet her marefriend, only to focus on her own words and grew still. With a large inhale, she stared wide eyed at the shopkeeper. “OooooooOOOO, does that mean that there are loads of other Pinkies running around, planning parties in all the other worlds? Or is in this world? Did I just miss her?! Can we not meet because of the time paradox we’d make if I met a future Pinkie!? Or is she a past Pinkie? Oooh, I hope it’s not a too far past Pinkie, then she might be missing out on the most importantist of important ponies in her life and she’d be really sad without knowing it and then I’d have to find the past Twi-”
“Eh heh heh heh, there you go again Pinkie. Remember, not all of us can think fourth dimensionally.” The trinket seller chuckled uncomfortably, eyes scrunched up as she looked to the pink earth pony. “Was there something you needed Pinkie Pie?”
The other mare stood still, ears twitching independently, as she stared out into space. With loud zoom of a vacuum, the mare refocused with a grin, a passing shiver removing any lingering thoughts.
“Oh yes please! I’ll need some easy game trinkets and a few empty ones. Hmmmm, about six of those empty ones and twenty of the usual ones, make ‘em spring themed!” Pinkie Pie beamed, all previous ramblings pushed aside.
When the requested toys were floated over, she nosed open one of the bags resting on her back, giving plenty of clearance for the newly acquired items. Bouncing upwards, her mane shook, with the correct amount of bits popping out with a flick of her hair. Little Trinket laughed at the show, having seen it many times before, and accepted the bits with a grateful grin.
Giving one last jolly wave of her hoof, the party planner skipped away, heading directly to the next location. Following her senses, both natural and supernatural, the earth pony’s mind was allowed to wander and search, trying to find that flash of purple once more. She wasn’t able to find it until she got closer to her next destination, the best place for flags of all kinds. Trotting up, she found there was someone already talking to the pale blue unicorn.
Stopping several feet away, eyes wide with confusion, Pinkie only snapped out of her daze when Bright Blue called out in greeting. Turning from the lavender librarian, the vendor smirked, pleased to find her number one customer.
“Hello Pinkie Pie!”
The shout drew most of the crowd’s attention. While most turned with a smirk to the usually hyperactive mare, the purple maned unicorn jumped into the air, mane rapidly frizzing as she and the young drake searched the area. Spotting the bright pink earth pony coming closer, the duo shared panicked looks before a distinct light raspberry hue covered both of them.
Realizing what the magic was for, Pinkie rushed forward, a greeting and question resting on her tongue. But she was too late. With a sizzle and flash of light, the two librarians disappeared from view, leaving without a word to the bewildered earth pony. Turning to the shop keeper, eyes glassy, Pinkie tried to understand what happened.
“What, uh, what did Twilight want Bright Blue?” Pinkie tried to keep some kind of smile, but it was too late. The unicorn had seen the disappointment and confusion, wearing a frown of her own.
“Oh, well, Twilight was just buying some balloons. Is, erhm, everything ok?” The shop owner watched anxiously, not used to seeing the usually chipper mare upset. It was a sight that actually made most of the crowd freeze in place, watching the pink mare.
Pinkie blinked, mind running in circles of questions, eyes focused solely where the highly magical unicorn was seconds ago. Pink ears twitched as the crowd began to murmur to themselves, staring at the motionless mare. Crouching down, the pink baker began to hum to herself, growing in pitch as she grew more tense. At the peak of her focus, she shot up in the air, fur and hair expanding outward in a soft explosion. Landing as gently as a feather, she gave the crowd a wide beam and turned to the salespony.
“Yepperonie! I’m going to need your best balloons. Pinks, greens and blues please!” The party pony quickly finished her purchases and trekked to the next vendor. Her pace, at a distance glance, seemed casual, unless a pony looked closer and saw the distances she was traveling in a mere fraction of the time.
Better pick up the pace. Maybe I’ll be able to find… Well, time’s a wastin’!
A bright flash of light tinted with raspberry stunned the nearby crowd. Cackles of energy made them pause in curiosity only to resume their walk when they identified the two figures who were left in the center of the ball of light. Spike and Twilight were both panting as though they ran a marathon, glancing randomly about, trying to see any sign of pink of bouncy.
“Do you-do you think she followed us Twilight?” The drake clenched his teeth in worry, recalling with ease just how mysterious and almost overpowered Pinkie Pie’s abilities could be. The mare he sat on was no better, right eyelid twitching as she glanced about.
“I have no idea. We better keep moving!” Twilight set off in a random direction, not caring about being lost as much as trying to lose somepony else. They stayed within the crowds however, hoping that the large amount of ponies could hide them better.
“Why was she out of work though? Why was she going to a flag store anyways? You don’t think she was shopping for her own birthday party do you?!” The librarian began to panic internally, mind racing to understand what happened to almost ruin the surprise. Checking on her assistant, Twilight almost paused in her trek, confused as to the stare she was receiving.
“Well, you guys did make a shopping list for parties together. She might be following that. What if we just waited and then go back later?” Spike crossed both arms, a confused frown on his face, attempting to convince his guardian to stop the operation.
“What? And potentially mess up the entire time table of making the surprise party? That could set us back for days! No. No, no no no no no, no. We’ll just skip every other shopping step, saving time and still being organized about it. If we do it fast enough, I’m sure we can regain some of our lost time.” Twilight stomped her right hoof at the thought. Taking a deep breath, she began to quickly trot to the closest and next vendor.
Several feet away, the duo paused, checking that the coast was clear of any party planners. With all the stealth they could muster, they tried to blend into the crowd, stepping up to the large open vendor ahead of them with small nervous twitches. The stall had no roof, with four poles where one normally would hang from raising high into the sky. There were ropes upon ropes of different flags and party flags flapping in the breeze strung between the poles. There were some with only solid colors, ones with designs, and even some with a mixture. The pegasus stallion who was running the store had a pale green coat and dark blue mane. He was watching the approaching duo with a mix of curiosity and bemusement, not usually seeing the more serious librarian act that way.
“Ok Spike, while I do the talking, keep an eye out for Pinkius Pieacus ok?” Twilight gave the brief command to the drake who saluted before standing in place on her back. Finishing her carefully attempted casual walk, she stood directly in front of the stallion.
“Er, hi there Twilight. Where’s Pinki-”
“Shhhh. This is a secret mission of great importance to not be discovered by one Pinkius Pieacus.” The purple maned unicorn scowled in the stallion’s direction, eyes scrunching to watch for any sudden movements from him. The shop owner chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof, amused by how much Pinkie’s behavior rubbed off onto the more serious mare.
“Errr, right, right. I’m guessing it’s about the special, uh, event that is set to take place tomorrow?” The stallion, Flowing Breeze, tried to use alternative terms for his question, feeling that he would be scolded otherwise from the sombre duo in front of him.
“Yes. I’ll need twenty feet of flags. Pink and purple. Maybe some blue as well.” Twilight checked her surroundings, all senses on high alert for possible discovery.
“Oh, I can guess who it’s for with those colors in mind. Are you out buying everything else for the err, ‘event’, today too? Didn’t want to be uh, discovered?” Flowing Breeze tilted his head to the right, a teasing grin struggled not to take over his muzzle.
“Oh, uhm, yes. The layout of the various vendors aren’t very well organized, and I just don’t have Pinkie’s sense for directions, so it’s taking me a little longer to find them all.” Twilight looked to the sky, mind full of how Pinkie Pie seemed to do impossible things at all times, with a tiny smirk on her face.
“Hmm, yes, she’s been able to do that for a while. I could possibly help though. We vendors like to keep an eye on the others, and I know where they are, roughly. What were you looking for?” The pegasus tilted his head closer to the large scroll, trying to make out what it said from a distance. He drew back slightly when it became covered in a light hue and floated forward, unrolling as it traveled.
“Would you really? I’d love to get a new list going! Where did I put that extra blank scroll?” The studious mare smiled wide, head reaching around to search her bags while Spike rolled his eyes at the behavior. “Here we go! Ok, so here is where we need to go still, where do you think they are?”
“Eh heh heh heh heh, right, so, let’s get those flags first. Then we can work on where everypony is at.” The light green pegasus floated into the air, searching his large crates for the colorization Twilight was hoping for, as they both spoke about the various shopkeepers in the area.
In minutes, the unicorn had a short but clear list of where the different stalls were, and the flags she wanted to buy were safely tucked into her bags. Rolling up both lists, Twilight stashed them away and brought out her bit purse, gazing to the stallion in question.
“For the flags, how much do I owe you? I can’t thank you enough for the help!” A green hoof waved away the bits, making the library duo pause.
“Oh, eh heh heh heh, no need for that. Since it’s a special day and for a pony who’s friends with everypony, there’s no charge on those flags. Just make sure she has a nice party, ok?” Breeze rubbed the back of his head once more, a toothy grin etched on his face.
“Really? Oh thank you! This will hopefully make it just right! She’s bound to like it if we follow this plan exactly!” Twilight jumped in place, a gleeful smile covering her muzzle. The lad on her back had to grip her sides with all four limbs. A bemused smirk covered what little could be seen of his blurred face.
“Well of course she’d like it! It’s Pinkie Pie, she loves surprises!” The pegasus smirked, waving the concern away with a hoof. An action that made the librarian pause.
“Well, I, uh, I just... want this to work. I mean, I want to make it special.” The mare rubbed one hoof against the other as she stood still, head tilted down towards the ground. A tiny blush started to make it’s way across her muzzle. “She just makes things special all the time and I want… to do the same thing for her.”
The pegasus smirked, amused by the unsure unicorn in front of him, and dropped down next to the mare. Slinging a hoof around her neck, mindful of the drake on her back, he gave Twilight a shake, leaning to look in her eye.
“I’m sure that it’s not like that. I bet she thinks the things you do are special too. And she’ll definitely like the party you have planned.” Flowing Breeze smirked reassuringly to the distressed mare. Blushing heavily, Twilight leaned gratefully against the stallion, dipping her head with a grin.
“Th-thanks…”
Spike, still astrid the older mare, rolled his eyes, feeling like the responsible one for a change. He had been trying to assure Twilight all day, but one conversation with a shopkeeper and everything was different. Green eyes coasting over the crowd around them, they widened when they came across a mare of pink and bright raspberry.
“PINKIE PIE!”
The pink baker stood a couple of paces away, form frozen mid step. Right front leg and back left were halfway through the air, stuck in place with taut muscles, twitching at the joints without unlocking their position. Brilliant raspberry mane and tail were expanded, in the middle of their usual excessive movement, frizzed out and parts sticking outwards in sharp points. Her smile, half formed, flickered. When bright blue eyes twitched over the scene before her, searching and analysing every aspect of the image, her muzzle gave in the fight, allowing the anxious frown to take place. The bright blue orbs started to glaze over, her right hoof breaking it’s ridgid place to stretch out, reaching for the lavender coated mare.
“Tw-twilight…? What…?” Two stunned faces, open mouthed in shock, was the reaction she got to her question.
A second later, Twilight broke free of her motionless state, pulling free of the stallion’s hold and turned in place, magic lighting up from her horn to cover her body. With a soft pop and crackle of energy, she and Spike vanished from the marketplace without a word to the transfixed earth pony watching them. The dark blue maned stallion gaped at the sudden disappearance and the inert mare. Stuttering, he dropped his limb from it’s place in the air, stepping closer to the pink earth pony.
“Uh, Pinkie Pie…? Don’t you worry about -” He stopped mid-sentence, stilling at the sudden glare he received.
Pinkie firmly dropped her hooves, sagging for a moment when the two library residents left only to stand firm once more, lifting her head as her mane uncurled, flattening from its usual style. Her fur seemed to grow darker, muted, as her eyes blazed with tightness, focusing on the stallion who held her marefriend.
“My Little Star is MINE. She’s my star.” The earth pony shifted her harsh gaze to the gathered crowd.
Everypony, expecting some kind of event due to the main participant, had gone silent by this point, startled by the sudden exit of Twilight Sparkle. The wetness that had gathered under blue eyes also stilled the watchers. Some, knowing the extremes Pinkie could go for fun, thought it was an act and looked on with weary expectations. Had it stayed only with the two other ponies as the focus, they may have smirked in amusement, but finding themselves faced with the abrasive gaze they couldn’t bring forth the grin. The rest of the crowd, noticing the glazed orbs and fragile state, frowned, hesitant to move and break the tension that grew the longer Pinkie stared.
“She’s with me… I just, need to catch her.” The pink baker and party maker took a deep breath and stood upright from her slouched position.
Blinking in surprise at her sagging, she firmly put slow unsettled hoofstep after hoofstep. What started as a sluggish pace gradually sped up until she was racing through the town. Glistening droplets seemed to follow her as she sped by, trying to find her way to where the keeper of her heart ran to.
---NKP---
The silence that came only with a library broke briefly. A sizzle of energy and crackle of power sounded out in the empty room for mere seconds before being replaced with the sound of hyperventilation. Two small feet dropped onto the wooden floor, their owner turning to the panicking mare and giving a hug. The shivers didn’t stop however, and Twilight began to shift in place, head flinging back and forth in an attempt to be sure they got away.
“Twilight, it’s going to be ok, honest! We got away in time, calm down!” Spike kept his voice soothing, trying to meet worried purple eyes.
“No, we have to make sure she didn’t see what we bought! It would ruin the surprise! It has to be a good surprise! I have to show her just how much she matters to me!” The frightened mare levitated her bags and hid them into a box that was moved from it’s place near her desk.
She pulled out everything stashed inside, taking rapid inventory of the supplies purchased. Comparing it to her ‘how to’ list, she grew ever more frenzied, movements shaking while her eyes grew wide.
“It’s not going to work, it’s not going to work, it’s not enough…! We don’t even have half our supplies! Oh no no no no no no no no no no no no…..” Placing both hooves against her head, mane coming undone from its clean state, Twilight bent forward, eyes clenched shut.
Just as Spike creeped over and placed a comforting clawed hand on the mare’s shoulder, the door bursted open, slamming against the wall with a loud bang.The sound made the two friends jump in shock. While Spike spun to gaze at the introducing party, Twilight shuffled the objects in the air, movements wild as she stood and cleaned up.
“Pinki-?!”
“TWILIGHT!” Pinkie Pie cut Spike’s shout off, running into the building only to skid to a halt when she noticed the hectic librarian.
“O-oh, h-hello Pinkie Pie! What, what are you doing here..?” Twilight tried to cover her actions, twirling in place with a manic grin. Her limbs trembled even as her smile stretched longer across her muzzle. Her entire frame went numb when she got a complete look at the mare in the doorway.
The usually bright and cheery mare was muted, mane iron board flat and all her colors faded. For a moment, her current image overlapped with one from the past, one that occurred exactly three hundred and sixty four days ago. Except that instead of an angry glint to sky blue eyes, they were had a small tint of pain and sadness hidden in their depths. The realization was like lightning striking through her heart, making Twilight drop all pretenses and take a cautious step forward.
“Pinkie…? What’s the matter?” The lavender unicorn dropped her ‘smile’, face contorting into one of anxiety.
The pink mare’s lower lip shook, ears tipped back flat against the straight mane. Her neck leaned towards the unicorn, coming from a lower angle, though her body remained stationary by the door, wobbling on unsteady limbs.
“What…. what are you doing?” The duo stiffened, eyes locking forward, at the question. Pinkie whimpered, head dipping downward at their reaction.
“Why, nothing! I was just, uh, re-organizing, uhm, stuff.”
“What were you doing with Flowing Breeze…?” The dejected earth pony managed a weak step. Her body wavered briefly before settling once more as she stood still.
“Who…?” Twilight scrunched her brow, not understanding the question and still being unfamiliar with every town citizen’s name.
“You know! Flowing Breeze, green with dark blue mane pegasus, the stallion running Flag World, the one who’s on every mare’s best friend who’s just a friend list, weighs a hundred and fifteen pounds, bright orange red eyes, the guy who encourages everypony, the stallion who had a hoof on my little star, the one who thought he could just be the best friend to anyone, the pegasus who thought he could just swoop in and take you, someone I’m going to have to watch, a pony who’s as light as a flag, cutie mark is of a string of flags, came from Cloudsdale three years ago, someone who-” With every statement about the vendor, Pinkie took half steps closer, eyes shut while her head shook from side to side. Her tirade was silenced by a purple hoof resting against her mouth. Blue teary eyes shot open, the moisture gathering at their edges threatening to spill over.
“Pinkie, calm down… I was only talking with him..” Twilight closed the short distance between them, sitting directly in front of the distressed mare. Both were a study in being nerve wracked, but the unicorn pushed past her own unease to focus on her marefriend.
“But-! But-but, but you were running away from me! And just what was he doing with his hoof huh?!” Pinkie sagged to a sitting position, lightly stomping with her left hoof, mouth set into a determined line.
“He was just reassuring me about something. Nothing happened, you don’t have anything to worry about.” The reassuring hoof placed onto a dull pink shoulder was shook off by a rapid shake.
“You shouldn’t have to go to somepony else to get your reassurances! I’m your marefriend! I’m supposed to take care of you! I am! Not somepony else! There’s nothing that you could ever ever ever ever not talk to me about! You can tell me anything! Anything! I’ll do anything…!” Pinkie tipped forward, resting her head against a purple chest, hooves pulling up to wrap around the unicorn in desperation.
Twilight bent over top of the other mare, hooves coming up as well to pull the distressed mare closer. Rubbing her chin over the flat pink mane, the book mare sighed, glancing over to the shell-shocked dragon standing several paces away. Spike shrugged helplessly, waving both hands towards the couple. Purple eyes closed tightly, thoughts frantically shifting until they came into focus at the soft cry underneath her.
“You still won’t tell me…….” The pink baker sniffled, trying to hold back her tears. Feeling a squeeze from the other mare, she glanced up, trying to look at the mare of her heart through watery eyes.
“I’m so sorry Pinkie Pie… I was just trying to surprise you. Please… please don’t cry.” The unicorn used a touch of her magic to pull the box of party supplies over to where they sat. A single thought went to bringing out the box of things and setting it beside them.
“Wh-what…? What surprise…?”
Another sigh met the question. Pinkie, feeling Twilight sag in their hug, pulled back slightly to look at what she brought over. Rubbing a hoof to a moist eye, she tried to focus on the brightly colored objects in it.
“I-we, were going to give you a surprise party after your regular birthday party tomorrow. I was trying to get everything without you noticing.” Twilight blushed, her right hoof dropping down to paw at the ground. The other mare sniffed, trying to peer at the supplies.
“You guys were-you were trying to… to make a surprise party for me?” Hearing the hopeful tone starting enter the depressed mare’s voice, Twilight turned to look at Pinkie with a tiny smile. Putting both hooves back on the party planner, she nodded.
“Yes. I know the surprise party last year didn’t go very well, and I wanted to give you a better experience this year. But I guess that didn’t work out so well. Flowing Breeze was just reassuring me about how well it would go… Guess he didn’t get it right after all.” Twilight smiled ruefully about this fact. Eyes gazing with bemusement and sadness at how her day turned out, she didn’t catch the utterly relieved expression on Pinkie’s face until the very end. Smiling more naturally and with feeling, Twilight gave her marefriend a short nuzzle.
“So… He wasn’t trying any tricky business…? You just, wanted the day to be special?” With every word the pink mare spoke, she regained her bright hue and cheerfulness.
The unicorn nodded once more, giving a swift peck on her forehead and settling her forehead against the other mare’s. Pinkie’s mane slowly poofed out with the reassurances, amusing Twilight who still had her head touching the earth pony’s. Pulling into herself, Pinkie shivered, a smile growing on her muzzle. With a soft shout, the pink earth mare lurched forward, gripping the unicorn in a tight hug.
“Ahhhh, you silly filly! Anything you do with me or even for me is super special to me! I don’t need super secret surprises! Though most ponies do like surprises, especially me, but I love anything you want to do!” Hearing the usual cheerful tones once more from Pinkie Pie, Twilight relaxed with a pleased grin.
“I’ll make sure to remember that next time. Guess we don’t really need a party after the party huh…? Maybe just a nice little evening to ourselves…?” The librarian glanced to her assistant, asking if it would be ok without speaking.
Finding an agreeing nod and bemused grin as an answer, Twilight chuckled to herself at the expression of resigned suffering the drake sported. Turning back to the mare in her limbs, she smiled when she saw Pinkie’s rapid head shakes, enthusiastically agreeing to the plan. Relaxing in each other’s hold, the two mares spent the rest of their day sitting beside one another, never straying too far from the other.
The afternoon was a calmer affair. The couple went out together to get the supplies needed for Pinkie’s party, and they offered apologies to Flowing Breeze for the trouble that happened earlier in the day. He didn’t mind and was more pleased to see that their relationship wasn’t damaged by the hiccup. By the time evening was drawing to a close, they had gathered all the needed supplies to throw a proper Pinkie Pie Party.
“I guess we can be pretty silly huh Pinkie Pie? I should have known Rainbow Dash and Applejack would laugh about what happened yesterday.” Twilight leaned against the warm pink fur beside her. Her thoughtful gaze was focused on the fire before them.
Pinkie Pie laughed, causing her body to shake and disrupt the mare laying beside her. Dropping her head onto the lavender neck, smiling widely, she closed her eyes, breathing in the unicorn’s scent.
“Of course! If it didn’t happen to us just yesterday, I bet we’d be laughing too! Except that it did happen to us, so I get to kiss the lovely unicorn who was doing a good job of making a surprise!” With the exclamation in place, calm in tone it may have been, Pinkie twisted her head to kiss the neck presented to her.
Humming at the sensation, Twilight turned her head to the right, burying her nose in the pink shoulder that was nearby. Closing her eyes, she thought back to the nice calming evening they spent together. The party had gone off perfectly, with nearly everypony in town stopping by to give their birthday greetings to the friendly earth pony. After several hours of partying, the couple retired to the library, Spike staying behind to be with the others in order to give the two mares privacy.
“I’m happy that you liked everything Pinkie… Happy Birthday…” Twilight began to drift off into slumber, the past few days’ work catching up with her. A warm smile stayed even as she relaxed even more on the pink earth pony.
“Silly Star, you’ve said that twelve times already… You’ll always be my star, my little star…” Pinkie nuzzled the unicorn, eyes twinkling with care for the other mare. Bright blue eyes drifted shut, even as she tried to continue watching the magical mare beside her.