The bells over the door chimed as Rarity walked into the shop.
“Pinkie Pie! This is simply marvelous! You’ve truly outdone yourself,” she greeted Pinkie.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Not with my trust party cannon!” Pinkie said, leaning on the cannon in question.
“And Twilight, darling, you look incredible. Have you been to the spa? I just came from there myself, of course. One must always look one’s finest when one’s Princess is coming for a visit!”
The door opened again and Applejack came into the room, followed by Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus dragged a struggling Fluttershy by her tail.
“C’mon, Fluttershy, the Princess wants to see us all!” Dash said through a mouthful of hair.
“But...but I need to feed my animals!” Fluttershy complained, still trying to escape.
“No, ya don’t,” Applejack told her, “I heard ya say you could spend another hour helpin’ Rainbow Dash here with her new trick. What is it you’re scared of?”
“The guards! They’re all big and fierce and mean...”
“Celestia’s guards? Never! They won’t hurt you, Fluttershy,” Twilight promised.
“Well, in that case...” Fluttershy relaxed.
“Don’t worry,” Dash added, dropping Fluttershy’s tail. She noticed Derpy, who was still skipping around the room, chasing the balloons.
“What’s Derpy doing here? She’s gonna ruin the whole thing! You know what she did to the town hall!”
“Be nice, Dashie,” Pinkie answered, “Derpy helped me make muffins! We can’t exactly send her away before they’re done!”
“That’s right. And, Rainbow,” Applejack began, “didn’t ya promise Fluttershy you’d buy her a donut if she helped you with that trick?”
“But we’re not done!” Rainbow Dash protested. Applejack continued to stare at her.
“Oh, fine. What kind do you want?”
“Chocolate would be nice...” Fluttershy said.
Rainbow purchased the treat, keeping a wary eye on Derpy. The pegasus was floating around the room, hanging onto a large yellow balloon.
“Pinkie!” she squeaked, “This is fun!”
“You said it, Derpy!” Pinkie Pie laughed, floating by on a pink balloon of her own. Flutttershy, nibbling at her donut, looked concernedly up at them.
“You should be careful! That doesn’t look safe...”
“Pinkie, Derpy, get down!” Twilight called, “We need to be ready for the Princess!”
Reluctantly, Pinkie let go of her balloon and floated gently to the floor. Twilight tried to ignore the blatant violation of the law of gravity. It took another prompting for Derpy to release her balloon. She tumbled to the ground, landing with a smack on one of the fancily-draped tables. She climbed to her feet, laughing happily, her gold eyes spinning.
Pinkie’s right ear twitched. She gasped happily.
“The muffins are ready! C’mon, Derpy, let’s go get them!”
“Oooh! My muffins! Yay! Let’s go get them, Pinkie!”
The two ponies skipped into the kitchen. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
“Look, Twilight, do you really think this is a good idea? She’s so clumsy! What if she messes everything up?”
“Well, I think it’ll be okay,” Fluttershy said, “Look at how happy she is!”
“I suppose...” Twilight sounded uncertain.
“Let her stay. Celestia will understand,” Applejack stated firmly.
“If Celestia can handle Pinkie Pie, Derpy will be no problem,” Rarity added.
“Yes. She’s Pinkie’s friend, in any case. We have to respect that,” Twilight concluded.
Derpy Hooves riding a balloon in a sweetshop. Mother of Celestia...
This series is fun to read, and very skillfully written. Pinkie and Twilight's personalities you have down to a T, and the light atmosphere makes for a good break from so many tragic stories. Needless to say, you get five of five moustaches!