“So, after we finished with that row a’ trees, we—”
“Oh no!” Pinkie Pie suddenly straightened and sat bolt-upright, her pupils shrinking to pinpoints. “I forgot to tell her!”
“Huh?” Applejack raised an eyebrow while she glanced at Pinkie across the outdoor café table the two of them were having lunch at. “Forgot to tell who what?”
Without bothering to answer, Pinkie Pie jumped out of her chair and took off galloping at a full tilt.
“I FORGOT TO TELL HEEERRRRR!!!” Pinkie’s voice wailed like a siren, Doppler-shifting to a lower pitch as she vanished into the distance.
Conversations stopped and surprised faces turned to follow the noise. A puzzled expression came over Applejack as she looked around. “Mah story wasn’t that borin’, was it?” she quietly asked nopony in particular.
Then her ears fell as she considered something else, sitting there alone in front of two half-eaten lunches. “So, uhh... Ah guess Ah’m stuck with the check, then?”
A pink blur shot through the Ponyville market square, weaving around vending carts and sending shoppers spinning.
“Outta the way, everypony!” A voice cried out, high-pitched with panic. “I’ve gotta tell her BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!!”
Ponies stood motionless, eyes wide with surprise as something zoomed by at breakneck speed. Manes blew wildly in the wake of wind. Hats were pulled right off ponies’ heads and sent rolling in the street.
Before anypony could react, it was gone, leaving only stunned silence. After a few seconds, the shock wore off and quiet murmurs of confusion began to reanimate the crowd.
“Yeah!” Lily Valley suddenly shouted from her flower stand. “You go get that mare! Don’t let her slip away!”
“...What in Equestria was that all about?” Roseluck asked from the neighboring stall, peering out from behind it after the now long-gone pink blur while the thin dust trail started to settle.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Lily sighed, batting her eyes with a dopey grin. “True love.”
“Guh.” Roseluck rolled her eyes with a sour look. “That’s your answer to everything lately.”
“Is it so horrible of me to want ponies to find happiness?” Lily asked. “When was the last time you were out on a date, anyway?”
“Shut up,” Roseluck grumbled.
“Found your problem!” Lily sang smugly.
The doors to Twilight’s palace burst open and Pinkie Pie charged in, huffing and puffing.
“Twilight!” she called out breathlessly. “Twiiiili-i-i-ght!! I’ve gotta tell you something! Where are you?!?”
“In the map room!” Twilight’s voice echoed from down the hall. Pinkie Pie took off galloping again, scrabbling hooves clopping loudly on the crystal floor.
Pinkie flew through the door to the map room and skidded to a halt. She stared at Twilight, who was levitating a cake in her magic, about to set it on a table.
“Thanks again for taking care of all the food, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “I’m just setting everything up for the party now. Wanna help?”
“Twilight, stop! I forgot to tell you that—”
*KA-BOOM!*
With a bright flash and an ear-splitting crack, the cake exploded.
Pinkie Pie and Twilight, both suddenly pelted with gooey, sugary shrapnel, stood there frozen in wide-eyed shock. The walls and ceiling were plastered with blobs of icing. Chunks of cake rained down to litter the floor like confetti.
The two ponies were speechless for several seconds. They watched as one particularly large gob of frosting slowly oozed its way down a wall, leaving a trail behind it. Others lost their sticky grip on the ceiling and fell, hitting the floor with wet slapping sounds.
Twilight finally turned to face Pinkie Pie. “What didn’t you tell me?” she asked. “Let me guess: that there’s a splatter-gag charge hidden in one of the cakes you delivered this morning, so I shouldn’t move it with telekinesis because magical energy might trigger it?”
“Yep. That.” Pinkie Pie chuckled nervously. Her eyes roamed around the room while she surveyed the confectionary carnage and gave Twilight a half-hearted grin. “Oops!”
“You know, Pinkie,” Twilight said, staring at Pinkie Pie, “some ponies might ask what’s wrong with you.”
There was a half-second of dead silent pause, then Twilight smiled and started giggling. “But whatever it is, I hope it never, ever gets fixed.”
She scooped up a glob of frosting and splatted it into Pinkie Pie’s face. Then she reached out and scooped her friend in close. The two of them laughed while they hugged.
“Thanks for making my life more interesting, Pinkie.”
“Any time, Twilight. That’s what I do.”