The Little Pony Legend: A Kingdom of Friendship

by MaggiesHeartLove

Party Pooped

*(~)*

Hebrews 6:1 ~

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding…

*(~)*

Party Pooped

Team Avatar watched both with amazement, and concern, as Princess Twilight Sparkle continued to jump up, kick and punch the punching bag with her front and back hooves. Each impact more powerful than the last.

In time, Twilight had found other methods to ease her stress or anger, and boxing was one of them. It allowed her to release her feelings rather than try to keep them under control, seeing as she can be very emotional at times, and help her think straight afterwords. And today, she was very stressed out, hence all of the bottled up rage inside she was now unleashing.

Her friends all winced and cringed at every punch, until finally the bag itself just broke into pieces on the floor. Twilight panted, her tongue sticking out while sweat dripped down her body.

Korra handed her a towel to clean herself with. Twilight levitated the towel and cleaned herself up. Rarity used her horn to bend some water to wash the smell off of her and Pinkie Pie, using her tail like a propellor, airbended her dry. Her hair ended up becoming puffy until Korra snapped her fingers, magically making it look as it did before.

"Twilight, you've been at this for hours now." Korra stated, "I think you've got it all out of your system."

"And all over the floor." Bolin said…looking at all of the other broken down punching bags the alicorn had already broken. "You're not still nervous are you?"

"Me? No, no of course not! There's no reason to be nervous. Nothing to worry about. Everything's gonna be fine!" however, she was not fooling anybody or anypony. She was still nervous. However, instead of sweating it seemed more like she was trying to keep herself from exploding in a fiery inferno.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, demonstrated nothing but confidence for her friend, "Twilight, tell those butterflies in your tummy to beat it! Making new friends is always fun."

But the poor alicorn could not seem to calm herself. This visit was extremely important, one mess up and things could go south fast.

"They're probably just as nervous as you are." said the sweet Fluttershy.

"You've been planning this for weeks." said Flash Sentry in reassurance. "And you know everything about these guys. It's gonna be a-okay."

Twilight inhaled and exhaled to calm her nerves a bit. "You're right. Remember, Equestria and Yakyakistan haven't opened their borders for hundreds of moons. In fact, Yakyakistan is so far north of the Crystal Mountains, nopony's even been there! Imagine the look on Princess Celestia's face when she finds out we made friends with a yak prince!" However, saying them out loud did not help her in any way as she laughed nervously. "I'm calm! I'm calm…"

The princess felt her sister's hand placed over her head. "Don't worry, I'll be right beside you all the way. If the yaks are going to be friends with ponies they need to know they'll be befriending humans too."

Spike blew the trumpet as he stood by the doors, which were then opened as a long red silk carpet rolled onto the castle floor. Two large harry creatures walked into the room, both with long beards and bangs, covering their eyes, wearing golden anklets and bracelets around their beards an large majestic horns as well as golden earrings. They both dispersed to reveal another yak, who's fur was a slightly lighter than his comrades, wearing a robe over his large back and golden accessories on his horns, as well as a crown. This was the prince of the yaks: Prince Rutherford.

"Ponies! Greetings, ponies!" he said, speaking in a powerful booming voice that echoed through the walls, and he spoke in broken sentences.

Twilight and Korra both approached him and bowed in respect. Twilight greeted him first, "Prince Rutherford, your Majesty. On behalf of all of us, we welcome you to Equestria."

Mako leaned in and whispered to Bolin through his teeth, "When did we reach a point in our lives where stuff like this is no longer weird?"

"I'm guessing, today." Bolin whispered in reply.

"Me honored." said the yak prince, "Yaks hope for great friendship between ponies and yaks. Friends for a thousand moons!" his voice echoed. It was so loud Twilight had to inspect if she still had her hearing.

"Allow me to introduce to you my foster sister, Princess Avatar Korra. She represents the side of the humans, who are also a part of our home and culture."

Korra gave them a traditional bow from her homeworld. "It's an honor to meet you." she said politely.

Prince Rutherford inspected the two-legged princess's proportions. "Avatar Princess looks very strong. Like female yaks from home."

Korra…really had no idea how to respond to this. Was it meant to be a compliment, or a subtle insult, or criticism, she really didn't know.

"Um…thank you. I think."

So far so good, Twilight thought. Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all.

"You must be hungry after a long journey." she had Spike push forward a large table, filled with an assortment of foods, not normal for Equestrian ponies but did come from the yak's homeland. Or at least, what they read about. "We've prepared a banquet of traditional yak foods."

Prince Rutherford inspected the kind offering, but it was hard to tell with his bangs covering his eyes. Many wondered how he was able to see with it. "If things not perfect, yaks get mad. Yaks always get mad when things not perfect!"

Twilight gulped, she hoped this meal would be to their liking. Just when she was starting to calm down.

Prince Rutherford sniffed what appeared to be some kind of rounded sampling sprinkled with green spices. He took a bite, chewed on it and then spit it right out in disgust. The ball went flying, hitting Bolin right in the head, knocking him own like a bowling pin.

"This no taste like yak food! Fake pony food make yaks mad!"

In a fit of range, the yak prince tossed the table over with his horns and his fellow yaks joined in. The others watched in horror at the way these savage animals were literally tearing the palace apart, beaching the walls and tearing down the curtains like they owned the place.

The friends had never seen such destruction, and for such a pretty silly reason. Maybe the food wasn't good but that was no reason to throw a tantrum. Korra, as usual, was the very first to react. She spread open her wings, flew up into the air, unleashing a powerful wind blast that caught the yaks attention. Her eyes, wings and forehead started to glow brightly as she began to speak in a powerful booming voice in order to get their attention.

"Stop this savageness this instant!"

The yaks, their eyes now visible, were wide open in awe but also intimidation. They stopped their wild behavior and the princes slowly lowered down, her eyes, wings and forehead stopped glowing.

"Thank you. Now, I apologize that the food was not to your liking, but destroying my friend's home was uncalled for. I don't know how things are done back in your village, but here we do not simply destroy things that upset us."

For a moment, all was silent. Twilight began to get nervous, why did Korra need to open her big mouth now? But, to her incredible amazement, the yaks were not mad.

"Princess Avatar very firm…yaks respect that."

Twilight's jaw dropped, "Hu?!"

"Yaks will give ponies nother chance. But if things still not perfect, yaks will--"

"Yaks will keep their temper under control." Korra said firmly, "We have homes and families here too, we can't afford to have our subjects' properties destroyed. I'm more than certain that is something we can both agree on."

Prince Rutherford and his fellow yaks nodded in agreement. "Yaks agree to Avatar's terms. But things better be perfect for next time."

"You can be sure of that." Korra responded in a clam but firm tone. The yaks left the already destroyed palace.

Bolin rose his hand up, "Is it okay to be nervous now?" he asked…right before another piece of the castle fell and shattered onto the floor.

(~)

The group got to work, cleaning up the mess the yaks had made. Fluttershy, Flash Sentry and Rainbow Dash fixed the tapestries and the curtains while Applejack and Asami hammered the broken rails of the indoor balconies, Mako and Bolin helped Spike sweep the broken shards and Rarity tried to glue the broken vases together.

"Them yaks sure have a funny way of sayin' "howdy." said Applejack while Asami hammered a nail in place.

"They're different, that's all." Rarity said while she glued the vase back together and placed it on the pedestal, "Very… different."

"I think they broke my record for most stuff broken in under a minute." said Rainbow Dash, "I mean, they even broke the trophy." she demonstrated them the already broken trophy, which literally crumbled to pieces on her hoof.

"Good thing Korra managed to calm them down." Mako stated as he continued to sweep, "For the moment."

"How did you do it?" Bolin asked, still surprised.

The Avatar placed her hand over her hips, "Let's just say, I speak 'hot-head'."

"All we have to do is show them how great it can be to have friends before Princess Celestia arrives for the friendship party tonight." Twilight explained, "Now, who read the seven-volume cross-indexed history of Yakyakistan I recommended?"

Most the group cringed, unable to look her in the eye. None of them read the index…not that they could keep themselves awake long enough to do so. Even Mako found it boring. The firebender scratched the back of his neck, "Um… I-I had a thing…"

"Flash? Did you read it?"

Her boyfriend was also just as nervous as his human male counterpart, "Uh…maybe…I skimmed a bit."

The only one who didn't look nervous was Pinkie Pie, who was hopping up and down in excitement. "I did, I did! Did you know they live so far north of the Crystal Empire that it's cold all the time? Yaks have yak fur to keep them warm." she demonstrated this by wrapping her head in Fluttershy's mane.

"Pretty sure that's what fur's always for, Pinkie Pie." said Asami from the balcony, only to practically leap up when the pink pony spontaneously appeared from underneath Applejack's hat, also startling the country pony.

"I know! Yaks are so cool!"

In the process, Asami dropped the hammer she was holding, which crashed into the originally glued together vase Rarity had just placed.

"This is perfect!" Korra exclaimed with happiness, "Pinkie Pie knows all there is to know about the yaks, she can show them around town. Can you do it Pink? I know you have to plan the friendship party too, but it would really help make them feel welcome."

"Don't worry. They'll be in good hooves with me."

Twilight paced back and forth in front of the team, "Remember, we want to make sure Equestria feels like home. That means doing everything we can to make this place feel like Yakyakistan."

"No problem!" Pinkie saluted.

"Good. Let's get out there and make some new friends!"

"If they don't smash everything in sight first." Mako bluntly stated, all eyes now staring at him.

"Mako, why'd you say that for?" Flash asked.

"Hey, I call them as I see em."

(~)

First on the agenda was to find the perfect place for the yaks to sleep in. Applejack and Pinkie Pie took them to Sweet Apple Acres, where they would sleep in the barn.

Applejack removed her hat to the yaks, her long yellow mane, now in her new signature braid, danced around her shoulders, "We know y'all are noble warriors who avoid the so-called finer things, so me and my family would be honored if you rested here in the barn during your visit."

Pinkie Pie hopped towards three beds, made out entirely out of hay with a pillow on each one, "Applejack and I made hay beds like you're used to back in Yakyakistan."

Prince Rutherford examined the barn and the beds before making his final decision, "Hmm… This perfect."

"You can snooze here all afternoon," said Pinkie Pie, "'cause you're gonna need a lot of energy for my party tonight!"

Applejack sighed in relief, "That wasn't so hard." she whispered to her friend. Unfortunately, she had spoken too soon.

"Wait!" Prince Rutherford licked the hay bed and immediately, he lost his temper. Again.

"This not yak hay!"

"Well, we didn't have actual hay from Yakyakistan, but we tried our best to make it just like yours." Pinkie explained while a very nervous Applejack slowly backed away with her hoof around Pinkie's shoulder, also leading her away from the now angry yaks.

"Not perfect! Yaks destroy!"

"Wait!" Pinkie Pie raised up her voice, making the yaks stop for a brief moment, "I don't think Princess Korra would be happy about that."

The three yaks looked at one another before the prince spoke, "Fine. Yaks no smash barn."

The two friends sighed in relief…

"Yaks smash hay beds!"

The three yaks roared and grunted in anger as they started jumping up and down in the hay beds, destroying them. Applejack and Pinkie galloped away as the three went at it.

"Pinkie Pie, what do we do?!"

Pinkie pondered for a moment before coming up with another solution. She was not about to give up yet.

(~)

Out in the woods, Pinkie had Fluttershy present an animal show for the yaks. The pink pony stood before some curtains hung on the trees. Bolin was there as well to help in any way he could.

"And now, for your entertainment pleasure... Presenting animals, Yakyakistan style!"

The curtain opened and in came all of Fluttershy's adorable animals: rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, beavers, bluebirds, bluebirds, even field snakes, even Pabu, all wearing yak antlers. Fluttershy even had a blanket set up for the yaks with tea and cookies.

So far, Prince Rutherford was pleased, "Animals cute." he said.

Fluttershy wiped her brow, "Oh. Thank goodness." she said in relief.

However, one of the ducklings tumbled and his yak horn fell right off. This did not please the yak prince at all.

"Wait. These antlers lie! These not Yakyakistani animals! Yaks smash!"

"Wait!" Pinkie stopped again, "Princess Korra…" she reminded them.

Once again, the yaks shared looks before the prince spoke, "Yaks no smash animals."

Fluttershy and Bolin sighed in relief…

"Yaks smash picnic!"

Fluttershy quickly flew her animals to safety up onto the tree while the yaks destroyed the once lovely picnic set up. Bolin held onto Pabu while he clung to the tree, sacred out of his wits end.

"That could have gone better." he said.

Pinkie Pie pooped her head from the branches. "Okay, well... There's still other things we can do. I think."

(~)

Pinkie took the yaks to Rarity's dress shop where she presented them a stunning sparkly blue fabric she had just bought.

"Yes! These are some of my favorite materials. Very rare, imported from the Crystal Empire to match your northern sensibilities. I hope you'll find them—" the unicorn was both shocked and rather disgusted by the yaks literally eating her fabric. "…delicious."

However, just like before, they were not pleased for they spitted the now saliva covered fabric.

"This no taste like yak fabric! Yaks destroy!"

"Hold it!" Pinkie pointed at a picture on the wall which was one of Korra with Rarity at one of her old fashion shows, reminding the yaks of what would happen if she found out. They would receive another stern talking to and they, as warriors, respected strength.

"Fine. Yaks no destroy store."

Rarity sighed in relief, but Pinkie knew what was coming next. She furrowed her brows, "Wait for it…"

"Yaks destroy fabrics!"

They started taking all of the imported new fabric and started stomping and ripping at it, leaving the rest of the store in tack but knocking down manikins around the room, still causing mayhem. Pinkie Pie tried to remain positive, "Everything's gonna be fine. You'll just... make it up to them. Somehow."

(~)

Finally, Pinkie Pie was confident in this new idea. With the help of Rainbow Dash and Flash Sentry, who both being pegasus ponies could manipulate the weather, even if Flash wasn't on the weather team, would make the yaks finally feel at home.

Pinkie addressed o the yaks once they made it to an open field, "Listen up! Tell your faces to hold onto their frowns, 'cause they're about to get turned upside-down!"

"Hold your frown, face!" said Prince Rutherford, keeping a very stern frown face, his green eyes temporarily exposed.

"Flash, Rainbow, do the thing!"

Using Varrick's most popular line, Flash and Rainbow pushed a gigantic cloud over the yaks and kicked it at the same time, causing a large blanket of snow to fall all over them. More flakes of snow fell over their heads.

"Just like Yakyakistan snow, right?" said Pinkie Pie, "Because snow is snow, no matter where it comes from."

She gave the two pegasus ponies a bro-hoof in gratitude for their help. But, there was about to be a rain on this parade. Prince Rutherford slurped the snow and, once again, got mad.

"This not yak snow!"

The yaks roared and grunted, hitting the snow. Since there was nothing else for them to destroy nearby, they couldn't pull the "Princess Korra" card this time. Not that it would be much help anyways.

"Seriously?!" Pinkie Pie palmed her face into the snow, "…Seriously?"

(~)

Back at the palace, the whole team was gathered together. Korra and the Mane Six sat on their respected thrones, while the others remain beside them.

Mako spoke first, "So, how's the progress report coming?"

Applejack cringed, "Y'know… it's goin' okay." she tried to sound convincing but failed.

"Satisfactory, I'd say." said Rarity.

Flash's eyes darted around for a bit, "It's getting there."

"Could be better." said Rainbow Dash

"It's not very good." said Fluttershy, her mane practically covering her face.

"What she said." Bolin replied.

"It's a disaster!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly and frantically.

Asami spoke next, "These yaks have been doing nothing but smash anything they don't like. Nopony was hurt, thank goodness, but I don't know how much more smashing this visit can take."

"Tell me about it!" Korra exclaimed, "I had to organize a 'no panic' meeting in town hall just to cool down the chaos!"

"I thought they wouldn't destroy anything after you told them off!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, apparently, these yaks play by their own rules. Even I can't keep them at bay for very long."

Twilight turned to the pink pony, "Pinkie Pie, tonight's Yakyakistan theme party is more important than ever! You'll make them forget all about this afternoon, right?"

Everyone's eyes looked at Pinkie Pie, each one both hopeful but also fearful is she fails. She had never felt this much pressure before. Her left eye was twitching.

"Because if it's not perfect, they're gonna smash everything! And if I hear another "Yaks smash!" again I'm going to blow a gasket!" the alicorn took in deep breaths to try and calm herself, but the fuse was already lit and there was no telling when the bomb would go off.

Flash took Pinkie's face with his hooves, yelling frantically, "You gotta do this, woman! I don't know how much longer she can hold that fuse!"

Pinkie Pie gently removed him and smiled in assurance, "I definitely will! I think. Maybe…?"

"You're the best party planner in all of Equestria." said Bolin, pounding his fist in enthusiasm, "You'll show 'em a good time!"

"You can do it!" said Fluttershy with a smile.

"We have absolute confidence in your abilities, Pinkie Pie." said Rarity, also smiling.

They all believed in her so much, she couldn't let them down now. She just couldn't.

"It's going to be my most happy-tacular party ever! I hope!" the pony's smiled broadly at her friends, but her blue eyes couldn't keep still, moving back and forth with no stop in sight.

"Why are your eyes darting around like that?" Rainbow asked.

Pinkie briefly stopped her antics, still keeping on her forced smile to look happy for their sake. "It's what I do when I'm not nervous! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" she laughed hysterically.

Korra could sense her friend's stress and tried to calm her down, "Pinkie Pie, you don't have to—"

"Look at the time! Gotta go!"

Using her airbending, Pinkie zoomed right out of the room, leaving the rest of the group behind, looking concerned and worried for their friend.

(~)

Back in her room, Pinkie was laying her her sofa, hyperventilating. This was all too much pressure for her. Parties use to be fun, but now the fate of two contras friendships depended on this one event. She had failed so many times already, she couldn't fail this one. She just couldn't.

"Gummy, what am I gonna do? I had all this amazing stuff planned for the party, but they're gonna hate it!"

While she spoke, Gummy blankly stared out the window at a fly buzzing around, sticking his tongue to try and catch it for lunch. The depressed Pinkie slid down from her sofa before jumping back up.

"There's no way to make Equestria feel like Yakyakistan. They're just too sensitive! Even Fluttershy made them mad! Fluttershy!"

She walked on over to the window next to Gummy, where she saw Twilight and Korra giving the yaks a tour.

"Oh… I need a new idea, and I need it now. How am I supposed to make this party feel like Yakyakistan without actually going there and bringing something back?!"

Gummy simply stood there before sticking out his tongue at Pinkie's nose, which was stuck there for a few seconds. Then, suddenly, Pinkie Pie inhaled a large gasp as if a stroke of genius hit her like one of Mako's lightning bolts.

"Gummy, you're a genius." she kissed her littler gator's head before zipping away. This was her one and only chance to fix everything. There was no time to waste.

"This is my one and only chance to fix everything. There is no time to waste!"

Didn't I just say that?

"Yeah, but it sounded way better coming from me."

Fair point.

(~)

"And this is Sugarcube Corner." Twilight showed the yaks the candy styled bakery, "They're working hard to make your traditional Yakyakistan cake."

"Vanilla extract balance very tricky." said Prince Rutherford, and his yaks agreed.

Twilight could feel her eye twitching due to the nervousness, but Korra was a tad more worried about Pinkie Pie. The Avatar politely excused both her and Twilight, "Do you mind, um, waiting here for one moment?" Using her magic, she teleported them both to Pinkie's room. "Pinkie, we need to talk. I know you're busy with the party and all but…." the two princesses noticed that their friend was nowhere to be found.

"Pinkie?"

"Pinkie?" Twilight called out for her, "Where are you?! Oh, this is bad, this is very, very bad!" in her franticness, Twilight accidentally set one of the wooden stools on fire and Korra had to quickly extinguish it.

"Great. Now we've got three problems." the Avatar said with dismay.

(~)

Twilight literally bit on her hooves, trying to keep herself from exploding, when the rest of their friends arrived. "Did you find her?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy began, "Angel and I searched the forest, but…" she sadly shook her head in 'no'.

"Aerial recon turned up nothing either." said Rainbow Dash.

"She's not on Air Temple Island." said Flash, "Mako and I searched everywhere."

"She's not at Narrok's." said Bolin, while chewing on dumplings, which earned him some stern looks. "What? I can't look for a lost pony on an empty stomach!"

"I searched the farm inside and out." said Applejack, "No Pinkie Pie. But I did find a set of Granny Smith's dentures under the house, so... not a complete loss."

"She's simply vanished!" Rarity exclaimed in horror.

"But the party! It's all we have left! What are we gonna do?!" Twilight was at the end of her rope. They all were.

Korra tried her best to keep the calm, "Okay, take it easy. Maybe it's not as bad as we think." she was a bit startled when Twilight flew up in her face.

"Get your head out of the clouds, woman! It's not like something's just going to fall right out of the sky!" the alicorn pony exclaimed. Right on cue, Gummy landed on Twilight's head.

"Or, from the ceiling." said Korra, once seeing the little alligator land on her friend's head. Gummy stuck out his tongue, where a note was stuck to it.

Korra removed the gator while Twilight read the letter from Pinkie Pie. "Don't worry. I'll be back in time for the party. Love, Pinkie Pie."

"Does it say where she was going?" Mako asked. To his dismay, Twilight shook her head.

Korra placed Gummy back down and addressed to the others, "If Pinkie Pie says she'll be back in time for the party, she'll be back. We have to trust her. Right?"

"Right! No reason to freak out!" Twilight's eye was practically twitching. She was not looking forward to another yak smashing episode.

"When it comes to parties, I think she knows what she's doin'." said Applejack.

Twilight quickly inhaled and exhaled, slowly calming down, "You're right. Let's just focus on keeping the yaks happy 'til she comes back."

Bolin snapped his fingers, "It'll be a piece o' cake."

The two princess's eyes widened in realization, "The cake!"

Bolin quickly covered his mouth, realizing what he just said. Rainbow narrowed her eyes at him, "You never learn, do you?"

(~)

Mrs. Cake cut off a large piece of the brown colored tall cake with white frosting she had prepared for the yaks. Even she was terrified of their criticism. "One bite, and you'll be transported right back to Yakyakistan." she laughed nervously as she offered the prince his large slice, "I hope."

Twilight and Korra manifested beside her, the Avatar was crossing her fingers for good luck as the yak prince opened his mouth and ate the piece in one single bite. He chewed on it for a moment before shouting at them.

"Ponies too heavy on vanilla extract! Yaks smash!"

"Hold it!" Korra slammed her fists onto the table, glaring at the yaks. "This place is the Cake's home, can't you spare it?"

The yaks were silent before the prince spoke again, this time his voice booming at Korra, causing her hair to bellow behind her. "Princess been telling yaks what to do all day! Yaks agree this last time. But princess better make visit better, or yaks no friends!"

The yaks took the cake and exited the bakery, but their smashing could be seen, and heard even from inside, and frosting from the cake was splattered everywhere in town, covering ponies with the baked goods. The princesses winced at the sight.

Twilight started to sweat again, "We've never needed a party so badly."

(~)

"Next stop, Crystal Empire!" said the conductor to the passengers of the train Pinkie Pie was currently on. The pink pony was on a quest to help her friends and the yaks at any cost. She gazed out into the window as the scenery bypassed in front of her. Her eyes as serious and focused as her speech.

"And so my quest begins. I know what you're thinking. "Why go to Yakyakistan alone, Pinkie Pie?" Because I'm the party planner. This burden falls on my rump and my rump alone." she emphasized this by rubbing her rump, "If I want a great party, I gotta climb the mountains north of the Crystal Empire, find Yakyakistan, and come back with something authentic!… Know what I mean?"

She said the last part with a smile at her current traveling companion whom she encountered on the train ride.

"I totally get it! You're the only other creature on the planet who's as much of a mad genius as I am!"

"I still can't believe I ran into you Varrick."

"I know, and on the same day I was heading for a business treating at the Crystal Empire. What are the odds?" he rummaged through his bag to pull out what looked like some kind of polish machine. "I'm gonna make a fortune out these crystal polishers! I've been up all night adding the finishing touches. I seriously need a spa day just to get rid of these bangs." he pointed to his eyes, which indeed were tired and had bangs underneath them.

He nearly dropped the machine only to conveniently catch it when the train came to an unexpected, and horrible, stop. Pinkie nearly feel off of her seat before looking out the window. They were not even close to the Crystal Empire.

They were in the desert, Appleloosa to be exact. Varrick scratched his head, "Did we go the wrong way?" the train doors opened and he stepped out, examining the place, "Where's all the snow? Unless that postcard lied or the Empire got a makeover." He squatted down and examined the dirt, "I'm betting this is some kind of magical sand-colored snow." he stuck his tongue out to lick the substance…only to spit it out immediately. "Nope. It's sand. Definitely sand."

Pinkie Pie rushed to the conductor, "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Dodge City. End of the line, I'm afraid. All trains had to stop. Sheep decided to sit on the tracks."

Indeed, there were sheep on the tracks. Pinkie Pie waved her hoof into the air, shouting in anger, "Curse you, sheep!" she shouted…right before happily thanking the kind pony, "Thanks for you help, conductor. Come on Varrick, let's find another way to get to the Empire." she hopped along with Varrick close behind.

"Out of all the days for Zhu Li to visit her sick aunt. She could carry me three miles in one day."

Pinkie abruptly stopped when the door to a stall bursted open and a familiar female earth pony with pale yellow coat, green eyes, red cherry curly mane and a cherry cutie mark walked out. Pinkie Pie recognized her immediately.

"Cherry Jubilee!"

The lovely southern bell pony smiled at her old friend as she helped her stand back up. "Pinkie Pie?! I reckoned I eyeballed you crossin' my way right now."

"It's great to see you! This is my friend, Varrick." she introduced her to the human.

Varrick knew he heard that name before, "No way! The Cherry Jubilee! My friend Applejack used to work for you!"

"Oh, I remember her. Sweet as honey, that pony."

"Great to meet ya!" Varrick shook her hoof.

"How are you?" Pinkie asked, "You look amazing! I need help." she said the last part rather directly and in hopes she would comply.

"I'm dandy as a daffodil and fit as a floribunda. What can I do ya for?"

"Have you heard of Yakyakistan? Do you have any idea how I can get there?"

Varrick intervened, "And I need to get to the Crystal Empire to sell my crystal polisher!"

"Mark your calendar, missy, 'cause this right here's your lucky day! I'm headin' north to the Crystal Empire myself for a delivery."

Cherry lead the two to her horse drawn carriage, which was filled with barrels and buckets of cherries, and four strong stallions were pulling the carriage. Cherry jumped onto the drivers seat.

"I ought to warn you though – me and the boys are powerful tired 'cause we was up all night countin' cherries." she noticed one of the boys dozing off and called him out on it, "Hey there! Wake up!"

"Counting cherries?" Pinkie asked as she and Varrick got onto the carriage. "How many?"

"Four hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred and thirty-four." she yanked into the reins, commanding the boys to gallop along, "Yee-haw!"

The ponies galloped, using their powerful legs to speed up across the desert planes, the dust of the sand covering their hooves as they went. Varrick lounged on the carriage, enjoying the ride, while Pinkie Pie monologged on about her journey.

"And so my quest resumes. As I stare across the endless desert, I tell myself I will soon triumphantly enter the homeland of our noble guests and return with a prize to make the best party they've ever seen… Know what I mean? Cherry?" she asked cheerfully the last question, only to find that Cherry had dozed off….and so did her stallions…while they were still running.

But to make matters worse, they were only a few feet away from a large ravine!

"Varrick!" Pinkie called out to him, but the man was already fast asleep too, mumbling in his slumber.

"Cherry…polish…hmmm…."

The pony knew she had to do something to wake the others up. "Ravine. Ravine!"

She tried an alarm clock, throwing a bucket of water at them, even banging on the said bucket, but nothing was working.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Nothing seemed to work, and they were going closer and closer to certain doom. Pinkie did what first came to her mind and pulled on the reins, which woke the stallions up one by one.

"Stooooop!"

Pinkie cried out, and the ponies all came to a screeching halt at the very tip of the ravine. The impact caused the ponies to flip over and land onto the carriage, which woke Varrick up, as well as Cherry Jubilee.

"Huh?! Whoa. I was dreamin' about a ravine." she looked down and screamed in terror at the revelation that it was not all a dream. "Ravine!"

"That's what I said." Pinkie stated…right before the edge gave way and the carriage fell, along with the ponies and human.

"This kind of thing never happens with Zhu Li around!!" Varrick shouted as they fell.

(~)

To keep the yaks distracted for a bit longer, the girls had Spike play a private concert for them. He played a large wooden piano for them on a stage. The yaks cried at the beautiful melody, wiping away their tears and blowing their noses with tissues.

"Music beautiful." Prince Rutherford weeped, "Much soul." these yaks may be aggressive, but even they could appreciate classic music.

Twilight wiped away the sweat from her brow, and Korra also sighed in relief. So far things were looking up and there had not been another 'smashing' episode in the past half hour.

Once Spike finished playing, he took a bow. "When Twilight told me to stall— I-I mean, entertain you, I thought there's no way I could—"

Suddenly, the piano started to play…all by itself. This took the yaks by surprise once they opened the back of the piano, only to find that it was self-playing. The dragon had tricked them.

"Piano play itself?! Music a lie!"

Korra spoke through her teeth at the dragon, "You got a fake piano?!"

"I was desperate!" he replied, "You know I can't play when I'm nervous!"

The yaks leaped into the air, demolishing the self-playing piano. Spike was flung into the air, only to be caught by Twilight. Once the dust cleared, the piano was in shambles.

"We demand party! Party now or yaks no friends!"

"No! Just a little longer!" Twilight pleaded.

"No more longer! Princesses out of time! We leave now! Yak go to train, return with more yaks! We declare war!"

The three friends gasped in horror. This was the last thing they imagined happening.

"You want to start a war?!" Korra exclaimed, "Are you crazy? You can't do that!"

But any respect she had from the yaks was now gone at this point as Prince Rutherford flared his nostrils. "Princess may be strong, but yaks finish with patience! No give what yaks ask, now ponies and princess pay for disrespect!"

And that was that…the fuse had hit its mark. Twilight Sparkle's nice demeanor had disappeared. No more miss nice alicorn. She bucked Spike off of her back and onto Korra's arms while she hovered over the yaks, her wings and horn literally catching magenta colored fire as she spoke in an authoritative Canterlot style voice.

"Listen here, Prince! We welcomed you into our home with open hooves, tolerated your smashing, worked to the bone in making everything right just for you, and this is how you respond?! If you go through with this war what happens to innocent lives will be on your hooves and your hooves alone! Are you really willing to risk harming families and children all because something wasn't perfect?! How would you feel is we harmed your families?! Answer me!!"

Korra and Spike were literally petrified at Twilight's incredible outburst, but not as much as the yaks. Here was a small alicorn, literally set ablaze and speaking in the most powerful, and terrifying voice they had ever heard. Twilight was never going to harm them, far from it, but she had been keeping those words inside of her all day long. And now, she finally got them out in the open. The yaks, immediately, started to whimper like puppy dogs. Twilight slowly lowered down, her flames diminishing as she gazed at them, peculiarly.

"Pony Princess right." said the yak prince, much to everyone's surprise. "Harm children not what yaks want. Yaks never realize how hard ponies work to make yaks happy. Yaks been unfair. Maybe yaks and ponies not meant to be friends. Ponies kind and selfless, yaks assertive and strong. Ponies patient and wise, yaks impulsive and strong."

"You said "strong" twice." Korra said.

"Yaks know. Yaks sorry for causing trouble. Yaks leave on next train. No declare war. But no declare friendships either."

With their hears and heads lowered, the yaks calmly walked away, feeling terrible for having been so horrible to the ponies who ere only trying to be kind. Maybe they were just too powerful for their tastes. They did not blame the ponies, rather they blamed themselves.

Korra rushed on over to them, "No, wait! You don't have to leave. I know things here aren't the same as back home but please give us another chance."

"Yaks no mad at ponies. Ponies too good for yaks."

Twilight wanted to hit herself so badly. "What have I done?"

(~)

Twilight zoomed right and left around Ponyville, hoping to find any trace of Pinkie Pie. Korra flew behind her, the alicorn was going faster than she was. Amazingly.

"Twilight, wait up!" she finally caught up to her.

"No time! Because of me the yaks will be leaving without becoming our friends!"

"If you hadn't said anything they'd be halfway back with an army by now. You stopped a war before it even happened."

"Yeah, but I also made them feel terrible."

"It's not all your fault Twilight. If anything, we're all to blame here. The yaks should have been more patient and we should have been…well…"

"We nothing! I should have kept my big mouth shut!" she flapped her wings and flew further ahead with Korra close behind. The two landed in front of Sugar Cube Corner, where they found their friends covered in paint, balloons and confetti. "No Pinkie Pie? What's this?!"

Applejack laughed nervously while she tried to paint a banner with her hooves, "Heh-heh. We panicked and tried to plan our own party."

Rainbow Dash rolled down from the roof, wrapped in party paper. "It's sort of panic-themed."

"The yaks are going home! This is awful! I wanted to surprised Princess Celestia. Now the only surprise is that I may have just caused a riff between our homes."

(~)

Pinkie Pie bravely walked over the cold snow as the winds bellowed in her main. She continued to monologue her adventures.

"There we were, face-to-face with Falling Pony Ravine. Down, down, down! And then, suddenly...Pow! I used my airbending to rise us all back up again, only to be rescued mid-air by the Wonderbolts!" her tone changed to happy for the moment, "And then they gave me a ride to Manehattan, I joined a traveling band, we played some shows here and there, got popular, almost made it big until creative differences tore us apart." then back to serious, "And that's when I knew I had to get back on with my journey to the Crystal Empire, the gateway to Yakyakistan! And so here I am. It was a major adventure that took most of the afternoon… Know what I mean?"

Standing beside her was Princess Cadance and Varrick, still holding his new machine. The alicorn pointed towards the hilltops.

"This is it. The northern boundary of the Crystal Empire. Beyond lies Yakyakistan. Nopony who's attempted this climb has ever returned. Are you sure you have to do this?"

"I do." Pinkie replied, gazing directly into certain doom.

"Very well. Good luck, Pinkie Pie."

"And don't forget to bring a souvenir!" Varrick shouted at her, only to receive a glare from Cadance. "What? I like those big horn hats! So, Princess, let's talk business!"

(~)

Twilight looked out the window, and still not sign of Pinkie Pie. She and the others were gathered in her room. "How could she be so late to the party? This isn't like her."

"I'm sure she's trying her best." said Asami while brushing Fluttershy's mane.

"Pinkie Pie's tougher than she looks." said Rainbow Dash.

But Twilight continued to feel awful, "I know you're right, but... I wish she was here. I put too much pressure on her. I let everybody down. And the alicorns will be here any minute and see that I've ruined everything."

Flash wrapped his hooves around his distress girlfriend, while Mako leaned against the stairs, decorated like candy, placing his hand over the frosting design. He gasped when the top suddenly lowered down. The sound of gears filled the room and the floor underneath everyone suddenly opened up, causing Team Avatar Harmony to fall down into the dark unknown.

(~)

The snow had rise, and Pinkie Pie's body was barely seen. Only a long extended piece of her mane stuck out as she made her way through the snow. She heard a roaring sound and blasted the snow away from her body with a wind blast. She looked up and saw a gigantic cave before her, no doubt where the roar had come from. In the dark opening, she saw a pair of red colored eyes.

"Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie! I'm looking for Yakyakistan. You know, faraway land, lots of yaks? Maybe you've heard of it?"

The roars became louder once the enormous creature came out. It looked like some form of feline mammal with no ears or tail and the upper part of its body was covered in white fur, while the rest had thinner gray colored fur. Its eyes were read and its face gray as were its paws and the backside of its body. A strange red colored marking rested on its forehead. It roared right in Pinkie's face, messing her mane in the process.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Slow down! I can't understand a word you're saying—"

The monster growled once more, cutting off a piece of her mane. But Pinkie remained unfazed. The creature raised its paws high, ready to end her life. Pinkie Pie leaped up into the air, spun her body around, and blasted the creature away with her incredible airbending. The monster flew back into its own cave, hitting the stone wall as a rock from above hit its head, rendering it unconscious. Pinkie happily landed onto the ground and galloped ahead without a care. Then, she saw it. Over the snow covered hills were the place she had been searching for.

"There it is! Yakyakistan!"

As she galloped she almost crashed into a young adorable little yak on his sled, only to accidentally hitch a ride with him. His helmet landed on her head and the two slid down the slope, up a cliff where the sled rested on the other side. Yakyakistan was surrounded by a large wooden gate, where the little yak opened up, nodding his head to her in welcome.

Pinkie Pie had never felt so relieved in her life…until the ice beneath the sled started to crack. The sled fell and began to slide all the way backwards…away from Yakyakistan.

"Noooooooooo…! "

Her cries echoed across the land as she slide pass the now conscious monster's cave. Down the hill, Cadance was trying her best to ignore Varrick's proposal.

"We can split the profits fifty, fifty. No? Okay, sixty, twenty, you can have the sixty!"

"Noooooooooo…! "

The two were startled when Pinkie Pie came sliding backwards down the slope. The ride continued on as the sled bypassed a surprised Cherry Jubilee in Manehathan, even the still stuck train back in Appleloosa. The ride carried on as her screams echoed.

"Noooooooooo…! "

(~)

"Twilight, you okay?"

She could hear her boyfriend's voice and feel his strong hooves helping her stand up. "Yeah, I'm okay." The room was now pitch black. Wherever that trap door led them, it certainly didn't seem like a good place to be. "Is everybody alright?"

"I'm okay!" said Asami, "Good thing I landed on this big feather pillow."

"That's not a feather pillow." Korra said with a frustrated groan. If there was light, they could see the embarrassed blush on Asami's face right now.

"Oops."

"Where are we?" Mako asked.

"You tell us." said Bolin, "You're the one who opened the trap door!"

"I didn't even know it was a trap door! Who has a trap door in a bakery, anyways?"

"I can't tell if my eyes are open or closed." said Fluttershy, her eyes blinking.

Rainbow Dash tried to walk through the crowded room, "I think I can see a little bit." she said as she tried to make her way through the darkness, only to crash into something. "Gah! Nope."

"Oh, hey I think I found a light switch!" Flash said. Indeed, he was right. He flicked the switched and the lights turned on. Rainbow rubbed her eyes, having hit a filing cabinet and stared wide eyed at where they where.

The room was brightly colored with all sorts of balloons, candies, plastic or otherwise, cakes, pastries, wallpapers, presents, party favors, plates, cups, confetti and streamers everywhere, shelves filled with party hats, gifts, ect. On the walls were notes and drafts as well as filling cabinets and a long yellow slide, which was how they got in.

"Ooooh…"

Never had they seen such a spectacular room, and so festive. It was so Pinkie Pie!

Asami felt a tap on her shoulder, and realized she was still sitting on top of Korra's back, more specifically her wings. The Avatar looked at her in annoyance. The heiress stood up and Korra straightened her back. Applejack opened the cabinet and found an entire assortment of files. "Look at these! Pinkie Pie's made files for everypony in town!"

Fluttershy looked at them as well, even picking out a folder, "For all of us! With exactly what kind of parties we like."

"Pinkie Pie has a secret party-planning cave?!" Rainbow exclaimed with such enthusiasm, "How cool is this?!"

Fluttershy took out a file and started reading out loud, "Twilight Sparkle likes vanilla ice cream, red balloons, dancing..."

"That's right!" said the happy alicorn.

"But she's afraid of quesadillas."

Twilight slightly flinched, "No, I'm not! They're just so... cheesy." she shuddered.

Bolin looked into another cabinet and found one particular folder that fascinated him. "No way! Mako look at this!" he showed his brother what he had found, "It's plans for yours and Korra's wedding. How adorable is that? Look, she even has a recipe for the cake. Vanilla and dark chocolate, your favorite!"

The firebender blushed as he read the paper, only to then swipe it out of his brother's hands. "Ha, ha, yeah, adorable." he backed away a few feet and continued reading the paper by himself.

(~)

"..oooooooo! "

And just like that, it was over. The sled took Pinkie Pie all across Equestria and back to her room at Sugar Cube Corner. She laid on her bed in despair with her loyal gator beside her.

"No! I'm all the way back where I started! Gummy, I was this close to helping Twilight befriend the yaks. Now I've just let everypony down."

She was just about ready to throw in the towel, until she heard muffled chatter coming from underneath the floorboards. This was strange, who could be in her secret party planning cave?

She went down the slide to her secret cave until she heard the voices of her friends. She couldn't face them all now, not when she had failed. She hid behind her balloons and listened in on their conversation.

"Looky here." said Applejack, showing everyone a list, "It's notes for the party she wants to throw for her folks' fiftieth anniversary. But they ain't nearly that old! Huh. She's already plannin' their one-hundredth too. And their five-hundredth?"

"I had no idea she worked so hard on her parties." said Twilight.

"She may be more organized than you, Twilight." said Rainbow Dash with a nudge.

"Let's not get carried away."

"It doesn't surprise me." Korra said sincerely, "Throwing parties is what Pinkie lives for. There isn't anything else in the world that makes her happy than to make everybody else happy."

Pinkie Pie couldn't deny the tears rolling down her eyes right now. Korra knew her better than anybody or anypony, she understood perfectly well just how much parties meant to her.

"I just wish Pinkie Pie were here so we could tell her how much we all appreciate her hard work." Rarity said with her ears lowered sadly.

"Thank you!" Pinkie Pie released the balloons she was hiding behind, tears of happiness rolling down her eyes. "Thank you! I love you too! All of you!"

"You're back!" Korra opened her arms to hug the little pony, and everybody else joined in the embrace. "Where have you been?"

"I tried to go to Yakyakistan so I could bring something back for my party. But at the last second, I made a mistake." Pinkie sighed sadly,"I worked harder on this party than any party ever. But I'm still just a big failure."

"Pinkie Pie, you're not a failure." Twilight said sincerely.

"What matters is how hard you tried." said Fluttershy

"Who else would've gone all across Equestria to plan one party?" said Flash Sentry.

Pinkie knew that their words were true. They always believed in her and they never once doubted her. They were the best friends she could ever ask for.

"You know... the trip was really hard. But everybody I met along the way was so helpful. I just wish the yaks could see how friendly and wonderful and great Equestria really is!"

It was then, that both she and Korra had the exact same idea. They gasped in realization. "It's not too late!" Korra said with a smile. But Twilight's ears lowered in dismay.

"Only it is. The yaks left on the last train."

"Um, no, they didn't." Pinkie squealed and jumped up to the slide, "Trust me! There are a whole lot of sheep out there!" she happily slide backwards up the slide while the others just looked on with confusion.

Fluttershy then asked, "So, um, do we walk back up the slide or... or what?"

(~)

At the Ponyville train stop, Prince Rutherford yelled at the conductor, "Yaks stuck here?! Why trains not work?!" he was even more surprised when he heard another voice coming from behind him.

"I never thought I'd say this, but... thank you, sheep!" Pinkie Pie had never been so happy to have trains on the train tracks.

"What is meaning of this?" Princes Rutherford asked.

Korra attempted to speak to him, but was stopped when Twilight stepped forward. "Prince Rutherford, I'm sorry for how I acted. I let my anger get the better of me and I made you feel terrible. Which was the last thing I wanted." she felt the prince place a hoof over her shoulder.

"Pony have no reason to feel bad. Yaks tried to start war, hurt little ponies. Pony talk sense into yaks, never been done before."

"But, if you weren't mad then why did you decide to leave?"

"We leave because we think we not enough to be friends with ponies. Too different."

"That's silly!" Korra stated, surprising the yaks, "Being friends despite our differences is what Equestria is all about."

Pinkie Pie jumped up and down, "And if you give us another chance, we can show you. Because, it's party time!"

(~)

Everypony in town was as happy as could be, balloons, booths with fun games, even the folks Pinkie found on her journey attended as well. Varrick certainly wowed folks with his crystal polisher and Cherry Jubilee got to sell some cherries. Even Pinkie's old band played for a song or two. The yaks were having a wonderful time, eating, laughing, sharing with the ponies. Leilani, Celestia and Luna attended, also enjoying the yaks company.

Twilight could not believe how fast this all came together. "Wow, Pinkie. This came together quick, even for you."

The party pony smiled, "What can I say? I'm good at what I do." with that, Pinkie walked over to the yak princes, "Prince Rutherford, every time we tried to make something in Equestria feel like Yakyakistan, we couldn't get it right. When I got back from my adventure, I realized something. We shouldn't try to make Equestria feel like your home. We should try to make you feel at home in Equestria."

"Which is exactly what we should have done to begin with." said Twilight, "We got so caught up in trying to impress you we forgot what making new friends was all about."

"And that meant showing you why we love it here so much." said Korra, "So you'll love it too."

Prince Rutherford looked all around him, removing the hair from his green eyes. He saw how much everypony cared for one another, even how much Korra's human friends cared for them. Even if the ponies may have made a mistake in trying to please them, their hearts were still in the right place. And the yaks may have been wrong in smashing everything they didn't like, and declaring an unnecessary war, the ponies still gave them a chance. They showed them kindness, mercy and humility, all qualities that yaks themselves needed a great deal to learn. Neither of the two groups were perfect, far from it, but maybe they could still learn something from each other, even if they will never be like the other in an exact perfect image.

The prince wiped away his tears, his heart growing three sizes that day. "Ponies and humans work hard to make yaks feel at home. Now yaks happy."

These words were enough to ease Twilight's previous worries. She got an even bigger surprise when the prince hugged her tightly. "Yaks thank Princess for yelling. Help yaks see truth. Ponies may not have Yakyakistan food, beds or snow. But ponies do have Yakyakistan spirit!"

Twilight was released and caught her breath, having it nearly knocked out of her from the hug. "Glad we could work something out."

"Ponies and yaks... friends?"

"For a thousand moons?" Pinkie asked hopefully.

"For a thousand moons!"

At the wonderful announcement, everybody cheered happily. Now their countries could be united at last. Leilani placed her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "I am very impressed, princess. You did a wonderful job. You and your friends."

Korra ruffled Twilight's mane, "Guess going all fiery inferno wasn't so bad after all, hu?"

Twilight rearranged her mane, "Yeah. Who knew that would be the only way to get through to them."

Prince Rutherford extended his hoof fro Korra to shake. "Yaks looking forward to friendships in future."

"Me too. We've got a lot to learn from each other."

"And yaks thank Pink pony for party. You understand yaks now."

"Aww, come here, you!" Pinkie Pie hugged the prince's large furry body, but then stopped when he didn't hug back. Only to have him hug her tightly, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.

"Wow! Too strong! Okay, okay, okay!"

(~)

Comments

[Wildcard25]

I liked seeing Korra actually having the courage to stand up to the Yaks for all their roughhousing