Its Over Now

by HazelGems

Gathering Hope

In the back of the Le Grande bakery, two young women walk into the work station of the building, the door being held open by a third.

“You two better not make a mess at all, or my dad will flip his shit for letting you in here while he’s gone.” The third girl barked at them. She was wearing an apron with the stores logo on the front. Despite it, she still wore a brown jacket with tassels underneath it, illustrating her rebellious nature.

“Gilda, you seriously need to chill out! Me and Fluttershy plan on cleaning up when we’re done. We promise.” The girl with colorful hair shouted back with.

The baker only made the tiniest of scoffs before going back to the front of the store to resume her cleaning

“She, uh, s-still makes me a little uncomfortable with her shouting.” Fluttershy expressed to her friend.

“Don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash said, patting her shoulder. “Ever since she’s done anger management, Gilda’s pretty much all talk at this point.”

“But couldn’t we bake this cake over at the Cake’s place? They’re less… loud.”

“Pinkie will probably catch wind that we’re whipping up a cake for her birthday if we did that! You know how she is. At least here it’ll be a guaranteed surprise.” Rainbow told her, pouring the flour in. “I honestly can’t wait to see her face when we bring it!”

“Me too,” Fluttershy answered with a smile. “And the rest of our friends will be there as well. We haven’t seen them in months since college started.”

Rainbow merely nodded to her friend, just thinking about what she said. Only her and Fluttershy were going to the same school now. Twilight and Sunset both got accepted to some prestigious university the next state over, Rarity went to the big city to study fashion as an intern, and of course Pinkie is at a culinary institute. The nearest friend she had other than Fluttershy was Applejack, but even then, AJ has been busy working full time in the family business now that she became 18.

Mindlessly stirring the mix, Rainbow couldn’t help but worry that the seven of them had been drifting apart ever since.

“Rainbow? Rainbow?” Hearing Fluttershy’s concerned voice caused her forget about her worries for a moment.

“Oh, sorry, what’s up?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to use this?” Fluttershy said, holding up an egg beater.

“Heh, that would be faster than using a spoon, huh?” Dash said, putting the bowl on the counter.

Fluttershy just softly smiled better turning on the tool and getting to work. As scared as Rainbow Dash was about losing her friends, Fluttershy has been very helpful in keeping her together. Learning that they both got accepted to Cloudsdale University nearby filled her with a lot of happiness that day.

For the next hour, the friends got around to talking about how each other’s classes have been going along, all the fellow students they’ve been meeting and how their roommates have been treating them. Rainbow boasted how the soccer team has been exceeding expectations this season, while Fluttershy told a daring story about having to inject medicine into the veins of a sedated bear for her veterinary course.

With the ding of a timer going off, the girls took out the freshly baked cake, proceeding to decorate it to the best of their abilities. Rainbow made sure they liberally applied as much pink frosting as possible, putting the finishing touch on the top. The writing came out perfectly.

Happy Birthday Pinkie Pie!!

Two exclamation points seemed appropriate for a cake meant for the ultimate party girl.

Now that they were done, Fluttershy checked her phone for the time.

“Oh my, I barely have enough time to get myself ready. Dashie, do you mind if you be the one to take the cake to the party?”

“Don’t sweat it, I’m pretty reliable when it comes down to it.” She answered with a smirk.

Fluttershy giggled at the silliness. “I’ll get my roommate to take me to the party. See you there.” She said picking up her things before leaving the bakery for her dorm.

“So, Dashie, why wasn’t I invited to that party?” Gilda said, drenching her nickname with bucket loads of sarcasm, making her way to sneak a peek at the cake.

“Probably because you broke Sunset’s nose that one time.” She replied while wrapping up the cake in a box with a lace bow.

“True, but that was before she stopped being an asshole and you two being friends. It was completely justified!”

“You’re right, but she ain’t gonna see it that way, even if you begged.”

“Whatever, I’ve just finished closing shop, and I’m ready to drop you off at their house. Come on.”

Rainbow silently agreed, bringing the gift and riding shotgun in Gilda’s old ass car. It used to belong to her father, and the shape it’s in was abysmal by hand-me-down standards. They were just entering the neighborhood when Gilda spoke up.

“You know, I could totally come in quick and snag some snacks. Sunny wouldn’t have to see me, and Pinkie sure as hell wouldn’t give a shit.”

“This party is just supposed to be the seven of us hanging out and catching up, dude.”

“You sure about that? Because I peeked at your invite and it kinda seemed kinda like---“

“Gilda, I’m honestly sorry you can’t come, but I need this. I think we need this. We all haven’t been in the same room for months.”

“Well alright. Just… be careful, ‘kay?”

If Rainbow didn’t know Gilda since childhood, she could’ve swore she actually gave a concerned look right there.

“Sure, I will be. I’m pretty tough y’know.” She said while playfully punching Gilda’s shoulder. “By the way, Fluttershy cleaned up before she left, so you should be fine with your dad.”

“Yeah, well, my old man has eyes like a goddamn hawk, so if he finds something, and he will, you owe me.”

“Pssh, whatever.”

Although everyone was in the midst of a semester, Pinkie and the rest were able to tear themselves away from school to all come together and throw her party at their hometown. Approaching the house, Dash noticed all the cars parked on the roadside, with loud pop music playing clear into the night.

Huh, I guess another party must be going on.

Once she reached Pinkie’s house, she realized how naïve that thought was. The house was filled with people. Way more than six.