Going Home

by -Mazer

9: The Party

It felt as if this massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders after talking to Father. Now that I know he isn’t upset with me for leaving – even better, that he understands why I left – I feel so much better. I couldn’t keep the skip out of my gait as I hopped all around the farmhouse, looking for anything I could use to make the decorations for Father’s party. Octavia joined me an hour later and judging by the look upon her face, Father had shared his feelings with her as he did with me. She sat herself down at Father’s old desk to begin work on a new musical score while Granita buried her face in a mound of papers that Mother had given her. I made a mental note to get Granita alone so that I could clear things up between us. I did not want her mad at me, I didn’t want anypony upset with me, least of all my baby sister, but for the time being, I had to get the party underway.

Ah! How I wish Gummy was here. He could be a helpful little scaley sometimes, but alas, I had to rely on my own talents to make this party a smash. No problem for I, Pinkie-Pie, was the Princess of Parties, the Mistress of Musicals, the Jester of Jubilation! I will make this a party that no-pony would ever forget!

No, wait, I couldn’t go over-the-top. This was not some birthday party, or surprise party, or even a “I-Made-A-New-Cake-Party-And-Want-To-Share-It-With-Everypony” party. This was a business party. I needed to obey Father’s wishes and keep it as somber as possible.

Except I had no idea what a somber party was supposed to look like. Well, I had already settled on using different shades of blue for the color scheme and I am pretty sure that because we are going to be discussing farming that these guests wouldn’t mind a bunch of hay bales with blankets upon them to serve as chairs. Of course, where was I going to get hay bales on a rock farm? I guess I could use rocks as chairs, but who would ever want to sit upon a rock as Granita discussed farm business with them.

Oh, this was going to be harder than I thought.

Well, no matter. First things first. I needed to prepare the location that will play host to the party itself and since I didn’t bring my spare circus tent (which would have looked, amazing), I would have to use the old barn. No problem!

Or so I thought. The barn, I soon discovered, wasn’t really in the greatest of shapes. When I held my first party here, it had still been pretty new. Now it was in a pretty ugly state. The walls needed a fresh coat of paint and some of the boards had gotten loose or broken completely. There were a bunch of rocks and boulders stacked up in one corner – rocks that Father hadn’t either been able to sell or just haven’t gotten around to selling because of his condition. Hm. Maybe these rocks would prove most useful after all. I mean, these ponies would be purchasing a rock farm, so what better way to showcase a rock farm than by placing a bunch of different rock types on display?

I glared at the pile, forcing the bad memories out of my head. So what if I had spent the first few years of my life rolling things stupid things around? They would control my life no more! I decided that the pile of rocks would be my first target, followed by sweeping up the barn, then painting and repairing as much of it as I could. I had two whole days to get things prepared – plenty of time!

I tied a bandana around my forehead, put on my best war face, and got to work.

It’s Party Time.

Pinkamena style!

The following days were a blur of stress and motion. The only time in which I wasn’t fixing up the barn or working with Octavia on the choice of musical numbers, was spent sleeping or snacking on whatever turnip-themed dish Mother had prepared for us. Every evening I would check in with Father, watching him sleep or, if he were awake, telling him about my friends in Ponyville. I regretted the years that I hadn’t stayed in touch so I spent as much time with him as I could to fill him in on everything I had been doing. He would listen quietly, only speaking when he had a question concerning the activities that I was involved in. He was particularly interested in the whole Elements of Harmony, including my time seeking out NightMare Moon. He wasn’t happy that our Princess had given my friends and I a responsibility that put our lives at risk, but he was pleased to hear how it ended up.

I told him about all the different types of cake and ice-cream recipes that I had learned while living with the Cakes, about my ticket to the Gala, the dress that Rarity had made for me, my work with helping AppleBloom figure out her cutie mark, to the whole parasprite catastrophe. I told him that when I saw Fluttershy with those icky bugs, it reminded me of one of the stories he had told me – when the farm had been attacked by a swarm of the insects and how Grandfather had used music to shoo the buggers away.

Mother and I would also spend some time together. She would pop into the barn to watch me working my hooves to the bone as I spruced up the place. We would talk and I learned that she and Father had actually been off the farm several times in the past five years. They had been taking vacations to different regions of Equestria in order to visit all the places that they have read about in books or heard from clients. “Business has been slow,” Mother had explained to me. “Which gave us some time to enjoy life.”

She, too, expressed her interest in my new life in Ponyville, though she had more to say about my friends and journeys than Father. She wanted to know what each one of my friends were like, what they all did for a living, and how they all came to know me. I think that I shocked her when I told her that I’ve met Princess Celestia several times. It was as if she couldn’t believe that one of her fillies had become a heroine. I couldn’t stop laughing at the expression on her face when I told her about NightMare Moon. It was priceless!

Granita was still giving me the cold shoulder, ignoring both Octavia and myself whenever we were in the room. However, as the hours ticked away into days, she began to warm up to us, even if it were for a bit. We were able to convince her to share all the stories of her time on the farm and it was a lot more interesting than I had originally figured it would be. Granita had learned so much from Father and Mother alike that it made me feel just a bit naïve, especially when she began to go into detail over the different types of granite and how to read the layers of rock and stone to tell which were of a higher quality than the other. It took a lot of convincing and tickling, but Octavia and I were finally able to get Granita on our side by the date of the party arrived.

For the first time in over sixteen years, the Pie Family Farm heard the sound of laughter from all three sisters.

Finally the morning of the party arrived. I triple checked the barn, making sure that all the banners were hanging in place, checking on the table of rocks (Granita made sure that I had only displayed the highest quality of stone), and making sure that the treats remained either cool or hot, depending on which kind they were. I won’t lie, the pressure of this party was really wearing on my nerves, and not in the good way. Usually when I threw a party, I would get a little anxious as I waited for my friends to arrive. I would run through every room, making sure that all my things were put away, that all the decorations were up, that the punch was still cold. This was a different kind of anxious. This was not a party that depending on the guests having a good time, but a party that would determine the fate of my parents’ farm.

The first carriage of guests began to arrive – mares and stallions alike dressed to the nine in suits (or, at the very least, their best overalls and collared shirts). I welcomed them happily, inviting them into the barn while Octavia played her cello. After the last of the guests had arrived, and after I made sure that they were all enjoying the hors d'oeuvres, I went back into the house to check up on Granita. She was in Father’s study, sitting at his desk while staring at a small stack of papers that lay before her. She looked absolutely terrified.

“Granita?”

She jumped. “Pinkamena?” she rested her hoof over her heart. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry,” I giggled. “What’s wrong?”

She looked back to the papers. “I need to deliver the speech soon. You know the one telling everpony how great the farm is and how it would be a great invested?” She rocked back and forth upon her haunches. “Everything rests on my hooves.” She swung her mane over her face. I finally recognized that as a habit she used to do as a filly. Whenever she lost her confidence in something, she’d go into hiding behind her mane.

“It’s not that hard,” I chirped with a smile. “I have to speak in front of ponies all the time. You know what I do? I pretend that they are naked and that calms me down right away. I mean, really, who could ever be nervous in front of a crowd of naked ponies?”

She gave me a look. “Pinakmena. We’re almost always naked.”

I rolled my eyes. “Duh! That’s why thinking about it is funny! Because, you know, you never think about it until somepony points it out and then it’s like, Oh my Celestia! We’re all naked!”

She smirked. “You were always the unusual one.”

“Says you! I am just that awesome.” I grinned. It felt good being myself again. “But really, I know you’ll do just fine. Mother and Father have been preparing you for this, and really, you are the only Pie who can pull this off. Octavia and I have complete faith in you, Granita.”

She pondered this for several seconds before finally nodding in agreement. “You’re right. There is nothing I have to be afraid of. I will just go out there and talk about what I know best – the farm. After that, it’s all in their hooves.”

“Exactly!” I nodded. “Now you go on out there. I’ll let Father know that everything is going as planned before joining you.”

“Alright,” she paused for a moment then wrapped her legs around me in a tight hug. “Thank you, Pinkie.”

“For what?” I said, surprised by the hug.

“Just being you. I’m sorry for taking all my frustrations out on you and Concretia. I didn’t mean to get jealous, it just happened.”

I hugged her back. “It’s okay! I promise.” I squeezed her again before pulling away. “Now hurry up! I don’t know how many songs Octavia has left.”

She grinned. “Alright, alright, I’m moving. Wish me luck!”

“Break a leg!” I called out. She took her papers and left the study. With a bounce in my step and a song in my heart, I bounded upstairs to tell Father the news.

I stepped into the bedroom. “Everyone’s here, Father.” I exclaimed. “Granita is getting ready to deliver the speech and everypony seems to be enjoying the music Octavia is providing. I think my treats are a real crowd pleaser too for I already had to deliver my second batch, can you believe that? Anyways, I am sure everything will go great.”

I took a few more steps towards the bed. “Would you like to try any of my treats out, Father?”

When he didn’t answer, I took a couple more steps forward. “Father?”

My heart skipped a beat “Daddy?”

Comments

[jakeedge04]

arghhhhh!!Must resist!(eyes watering)NO! no now!

[Captain Comet]

Damn! His is asleep and weak or is he what we all think????? Great story!