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Tragedy1,734 words
Comedy1,732 words

Comedy

“Are you really sure that this is a good idea?” Rainbow asked as she passed underneath a great banner. The banner was painted in pink with golden and blue accents, and a great picture of Pinkie Pie’s smiling face in the center. Balloons were tied to both of the posts that the banner was hanging from, dancing slowly in the wind.

“No, that’s why I wanted you to talk to him,” Carrot said, walking alongside Rainbow down the street. Tables laden with food and sweets stood on either side of them, with ponies helping to set up decorations on trees, lamps and poles. The color pink was everywhere, but always in subdued tones, not the bright, sharp hue that stung at the eyes.

“He’s been throwing himself into this,” Carrot explained as they walked past an enormous fondue fountain. “He barely sleeps, doesn’t eat much, and he almost never talks to us. Cup and I are worried.”

“So are we,” Rainbow nodded. “We’ve tried to talk to him, but planning this party has been taking up all of his time.” She looked up at the enormous cake that six ponies were carrying in on their backs. “Yeesh, how big does this need to be?”

“Pinkie…” Carrot stopped, his throat convulsing as though he were trying to swallow a great rock, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “She said that she wanted it to be a big party, for everypony in Ponyville. She just...wanted everypony to be happy.”

“There he is,” Rainbow pointed. Cheese Sandwich was standing in front of a stage, looking over a checklist.

Carrot hesitated, looking nervously up at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow looked between the two stallions, then approached Cheese. “Hey, Cheese?”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out!” Cheese cried, spinning around with a broad grin. “Hay cheese...that’s not a bad idea! Maybe I should try serving that?”

“Cheese, are you sure you’re okay?” Rainbow asked, fixing him with a serious gaze.

“I’m fine,” Cheese answered, wandering away from the stage and towards a horseshoe game field, checking that there were enough red and blue horseshoes evenly divided between the two posts. “I’ve just got until tomorrow to finish preparing this party.” He paused, his smile momentarily flickering. “You think we should use blue or pink for the theme?”

“Cheese, listen,” Rainbow pressed. “I know this is important for you; this is what Pinkie wanted for her, after...after all…”

“Pink. Definitely pink,” Cheese nodded, walking away as though he had not heard.

“Cheese, wait!” Carrot shouted, trying to block Cheese’s path.

“I know that this is important for you,” Rainbow continued, laying a hoof on Cheese’s withers. She felt his body trembling slightly. “This party is for Pinkie, after all—”

“That’s right, it’s for Pinkie!” Cheese said, his smile strained and cracking, his voice unnaturally high and as tense as a rubber band stretched to the breaking point. “And Pinkie is a party pony like me, so she would want ponies to be as happy as possible. So I have to make this party perfect for her—”

“Cheese,” Rainbow interrupted, grabbing his shaking shoulders. “Pinkie’s dead!”

The word impacted Cheese like a sledgehammer; he staggered back, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open in shock.

“She’s been dead for over a week now! And I know it hurts!” Rainbow continued, tears leaking from her eyes. “And I know that you’re working hard on this party for her, and she...she would want you to be happy, b-but you don’t have to pretend that you’re happy when you...when you…”

Cheese’s face settled into a neutral mask, all joy fading from it. He slowly released himself from Rainbow’s grip and walked away, all bounce removed from his step.

Rainbow stayed where she was, tears still streaming down her eyes. Carrot reached out and hugged Rainbow, allowing her to sob on his shoulder.

“I miss her, too,” he whispered.

The day of the party had arrived. A banner stretched across Ponyville Square, with a cameo of Pinkie’s smiling face beaming down at the visitors who had gathered in her name. She had insisted in her will that this party not be called a funeral or a memorial; “A crossing-over party” were the words she had used in her will. Even as the sudden illness stole the life from her, she had been determined to make ponies happy.

And of course, everypony in Ponyille had been invited. The citizens milled about the party grounds, sampling the baked wares, partaking in provided games, dancing to the energetic music that the band on the stage was providing, and sharing memories.

“I remember the day that she showed up in Ponyville,” Carrot was saying, holding a half-eaten muffin in his hooves as he reminisced. “We were thinking about closing up the shop for good, remember, sugar cookies?”

“I do,” Cup Cake nodded with a smile. “Business was very hard for us, and we were struggling to make ends meet. We’d decided that we would have to close the shop if things didn’t change. And then out of the blue, she came into the store and said that she loved our wares. When she heard that we would have to close, she started doing song and dance routines to attract attention. It was because of her that we were able to stay open!” Her smile wavered, but a few tears leaked from her eyes. “We owe so much to her.”

“Well, she’d be happy to see all this,” Rainbow commented, looking about the party. The smiles on every pony’s face was genuine, although most were not without a hint of sadness. But there was one face that was not present.

“Where’s Cheese?” she asked, looking about. Sure enough, Cheese Sandwich, the party pony himself, was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, dear,” Cup said, raising a hoof to her mouth. “I was afraid of this. You think perhaps the strain finally got to him?”

“We should go looking for him,” Carrot suggested, dropping his cupcake onto a table. He led Cup Cake and Rainbow Dash back to Sugarcube Corner, which had been closed for the day in observance of the party. Cup unlocked the door, and they proceeded inside, each of them worried of what they might find.

The bakery was empty, floating dust twinkling like stars in the sunlight streaming through the windows. As soon as the ponies entered, each of them was greeted with the scent of baking, accompanied by a quiet song:

“‘Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile, yes I do,
“It fills my heart with sunshine all the while, yes it does…”

The familiar lyrics, sung by a different voice and at a slower tempo, guided them forward to the kitchen. Pausing at the hallway, they peeked around the corner. Cheese Sandwich was standing at the oven, his bushy chocolate tail slowly swinging from side to side as he carefully extracted a tray of warm chocolate cupcakes from the oven and setting them down on the counter.

“Now can we decorate them, Uncle Cheese?” Pumpkin asked eagerly as she and her twin brother bounced up and down in anticipation.

“Gotta wait for it to cool, kiddos,” Cheese grinned, tussling their manes. The jewel bouncing against his chest cast a rainbow on his yellow shirt.

“Cheese?” Rainbow asked, approaching. “Why aren’t you at the party?”

Cheese and the twins looked up at their approach. “We were making cupcakes!” Pound told his parents proudly.

“Yes, we see, dear,” Cup smiled, her eyes focused on Cheese.

Cheese shifted slightly, then looked up, his expression now serious. “Hey, Pound, Pumpkin, I guess they’re cool enough to decorate now,” he said. Both the twins cheered and tossed themselves at the bowls of icing, syrup and sprinkles spread out on the counter.

Now that the kids were occupied, Cheese approached Cup, Carrot and Rainbow and began to speak. “I was thinking about what you said yesterday,” he told Rainbow. “And I realized that you were right; I’ve been focusing so much on trying to make other ponies happy that I forgot that I wasn’t happy.”

His hoof went up to the necklace and he began to slowly flick it back and forth. “I’m a party pony, and Pinkie was, too. And one thing you learn quickly when you’re a party pony: parties don’t last forever.”

“Oh, Cheese,” Cup said softly.

“But that’s okay,” Cheese continued, a small, sad smile crossing his face. “Because parties wouldn’t be special if they lasted forever. And it’s okay to be upset when the party’s over.” His lips parted in a faint chuckle. “So I decided to take some time off today to think...about what happened, about how I’m feeling.”

“Oh, sweetie, you didn’t have to go off on your own!” Cup cried, gently pulling Cheese into a hug. “We were worried about you!”

“I’m sorry,” Cheese said, backing out of the embrace. “But I needed this time to myself.” His smile widened slightly. “I’m better now. I’m not really okay yet, but I think I will be.”

“We’ll be here to help if you need us,” Carrot declared, laying a hoof on Cheese’s shoulder.

“I know,” Cheese nodded. “Thank you.” And with that, he pulled all three of them into a warm hug. They held him in return, holding him up as a few tears fell from his eyes.

“Uncle Cheese, look!” Pound and Pumpkin both cried, holding up their freshly decorated wares, both of which were slathered in icing and covered in far too many sprinkles.

“Those look great, kids,” Cheese grinned.

“Let me help with those,” Cup said, joining the kids at the counter along with her husband. Rainbow and Cheese eagerly followed a moment later.

This party would not last forever: the sweets would be consumed, the tabletops and dishes would be washed, the booths taken down and the trash cleaned up. But the memories that would be made on this day would last forever. So rather than crying because it was over, the ponies would be able to smile because it happened.

Author's Note:

Tragedy and Comedy, two sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other.

Magic Step commissioned this sad little snippet of a story, so if this brought a tear to your eye, then you can blame her, not me. If you did enjoy it, please leave a like and a comment!

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SuperPinkBrony12

SuperPinkBrony12 #1 · Dec 25th, 2016 · · ·

I guessed what the problem was right away, but it still stung to see my hunch be proven right.

Emperor of Jurai

Emperor of Jurai #2 · Dec 25th, 2016 · 1 · ·

This was done rather well and it tugged at my heart strings a little. Here is a thumbs up to your story good author. -least I think I gave one, darn bar won't turn green and show a green 1 for me-

PonyJosiah13