S1 E25: Party of One (What If?)
It was another lovely spring day in Ponyville and the first rays of Celestia's sun were already starting to poke their way into the homes of various ponies all over town. It really didn't seem like a day of great importance, but a couple of ponies knew that the day that would follow this one was going to be important. They'd all marked it down in secret, though they weren't sure how much of a secret it really was.
Anyway, Twilight woke up the day before the big day she and some of her friends had planned to the sound of knocking on her front door. Her mane had a small loose end sticking up, but that was easily brushed down once the unicorn had managed to shake the cobwebs from her mind and get out of bed. Now fully awake, she trotted downstairs to open the door. When she did so, Twilight was immediately greeted by the presence of her party planning friend, Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie was dressed up like a clown, complete with a big, red shiny nose. And she had Gummy, her pet baby alligator accompanying her alongside a basket containing little cards.
"Oh. Hi, Pinkie Pie," Twilight greeted her friend. "Can I help-"
Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Pinkie started launching into a little song and dance routine. And she'd go on to do it with slight costume changes for each of her remaining friends, starting with Rarity and continuing all the way to Fluttershy. And the song she sang went like this:
This is your singing telegram,
I hope it finds you well!
You're invited to a party,
'Cause we think you're really swell!
Gummy's turning one year old,
So help us celebrate!
The cake will be delicious!
The festivities first-rate.
There will be games and dancing.
Bob for apples, cut a rug.
And when the party's over,
We'll all gather 'round for a group hug!
No need to bring a gift,
Just being there will be enough.
Birthdays mean having fun with friends,
Not getting lots of stuff.
It won't be the same without you,
So we hope that you'll say 'Yes'.
Now, please, oh please R.S.V.P.
And come, and be our guest!
By the time Pinkie finished the song and gave the last invitation to Fluttershy, she had worn herself out completely. She only just had enough strength to make it back to Sugarcube Corner while dressed up to look like a birthday cake. "You know what, Gummy?" She said to her baby alligator. "I think next time I'll just pass out written invitations instead." And once she was safely within the confines of her bedroom she collapsed to the ground.
Pinkie didn't know that her next party would not only not have to worry about written invitations, but it was going to be overshadowed by something else entirely.
All of the invited guests were soon at Gummy's birthday party, which took place in the loft Pinkie lived in. Music was playing, cake was being served and in general everyone was having a fine time doing whatever they liked to do best at parties.
Like any good host, Pinkie Pie bounced from place to place to make sure all her guests were satisfied. Her first stop was a table serving refreshments.
Rarity was currently helping herself to a cup of punch. "I must say, Pinkie Pie," She sincerely smiled. "This punch of yours is simply divine. Is it the same punch you used for your 'Spring Has Sprung Party'? I quite enjoyed that punch, more so than some of your others."
Pinkie giggled as she filled her friend's cup up to the brim. "Well you'll be happy to know that this punch is even better than the 'Spring Has Sprung Party' punch. It's got a secret ingredient."
Rarity felt tempted to ask what said secret ingredient was, but then she happened to look at the punch bowl and was horrified to see Gummy swimming around in it, with the baby alligator blowing bubbles out of the punch. She immediately spat out her punch in disgust!
The pink party pony seemed oblivious to this display as she just grinned. "It's Gummy's favorite. The birthday gator deserves only the best."
"So I see." The fashionista declared as she forced herself to take another sip of punch through a straw. But as soon as Pinkie was out of sight she not so secretly spat out the punch in a nearby potted plant without saying a word. No wonder the punch had tasted so different.
Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was bouncing over to a tub where Rainbow Dash and Applejack were busy bobbing for apples. "How's everything going, girls?" She asked them.
"Fantastic!" Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded. "Applejack seems to think she can beat me at bobbing for apples. But I'm about to prove her wrong!"
Applejack grinned back. "Come on, sugarcube. Be honest. You couldn't beat me in a million years. I'm the apple bobbin' champ, I've got years of experience that you'll never have!"
But Pinkie vaguely answered. "Ah, don't be like that, girls. Just plain old apples aren't any fun. If you want a real challenge, try to find all the hidden surprises I put in the tub."
It didn't take long for the "surprises" to reveal themselves to the unexpecting athletes. They looked like apples but in actuality they were fake ones tied to springs that pulled both into the tub, to say nothing of when Gummy surfaced and attached himself to Rainbow's face.
Just then a familiar musical track began to blare over the record player. Pinkie's ears perked up upon hearing it. "Ooh! This is my jam!" She made her way over to the dance floor to join Twilight and Fluttershy. "Hey girls, having fun?" She asked the both of them.
"A blast!" Twilight happily nodded.
"You always throw the best parties, Pinkie." Fluttershy smiled in agreement.
"Just what I like to hear!" The pink party pony stated and started dancing all about. A little too roughly in fact as she ended up knocking both Twilight and Fluttershy into walls by accident. They were dazed but fortunately not harmed. "Come on, everypony!" Pinkie shouted! "Let's all dance with Gummy!" She proceeded to chant as her friends all joined her. "Go Gummy! It's your birthday! Go Gummy! It's your birthday!"
Several hours later, night fell and the party drew to a close. Everyone started to leave one by one. "I'm downright beat!" Applejack declared. "Couldn't party any longer if I wanted to."
"See you later, birthday alligator!" Rainbow Dash called to Gummy as she departed alongside Fluttershy and Rarity. "Don't go getting too big now, you hear?"
"Can you believe he's a year old already?" Fluttershy commented. "He's growing up so fast."
Rarity, meanwhile, could be heard saying. "A most delightful engagement. It's so nice to spend quality time with friends."
Twilight was the last one to leave, and Pinkie Pie was calling out to her friend from her bedroom window. "Are you sure you don't wanna stay just a little bit longer? There's still plenty of cake and punch left to go around."
But Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, Pinkie. It's late and we all need to go to bed. Still, this was a lot of fun, just like your last party. We should do this again soon." And with that she trotted on home.
Unknown to Twilight, however, her comment had given Pinkie an idea. "You're right, we should do this again soon!" She thought out loud. "Ooh, why didn't I think of it before?!" And the gears in her mind began to turn. For anypony else the prospect of having another party only a day later would be impossible. But for a pony like Pinkie Pie it was doable.
The very next morning, Twilight was surprised to be awoken by the sound of another knock at her door, and even more surprised to find Pinkie Pie waiting outside with a basket of invitations. "Pinkie Pie?" She blinked in confusion.
"It's soon!" The pink party pony excitedly declared while jumping up and down.
"Yeah, so?" Twilight questioned her friend.
Pinkie giddly explained. "You said last night we should have another party soon, and... it's soon! So here's your invitation, don't be late! Don't worry, there's an extra one for Spike as well."
Twilight used her magic to open up one of the pink colored envelopes Pinkie had given her and read aloud what was printed on the letter inside: "'You're invited to Gummy's 'after-birthday' party. This afternoon at 3 o'clock at Sugarcube Corner.'"
Pinkie flashed a bright smile as she said to Twilight. "All our bestest friends are invited, and there's gonna be dancing, and games, and cake, and ice-cream, and punch! It's gonna be fantastic!"
But Twilight's response was not what Pinkie had been expecting, for the unicorn glanced back briefly before asking. "Uh, this afternoon? As in 'This afternoon' this afternoon?"
The pink party pony nodded. "Yes indeedy! Did I make a mistake on the invitations?"
The unicorn's eyes seemed to briefly widen. "Huh? Oh no no, not at all," She then cleared her throat while nervously saying. "Listen, Spike and I... we'd love to come, really. It's just that... well... we can't. We're going to be busy."
Spike questioned from upstairs. "What do you mean, Twilight? Isn't today supposed to be the day of..."
Twilight cut Spike back off while lighting up her horn. "-No, Spike. You must be thinking of something entirely different. Besides, I can't go anywhere. I've... uh... gotten a bit behind in my studies. So I've really gotta hit the books." She used her magic to create a huge stack of books behind her, hoping Pinkie would buy the argument.
Pinkie did as she nodded her head and respectfully declared. "I understand, Twilight. Your studies come first, and you need Spike to get to those hard to reach places. Don't worry though, even if you can't make it, I'll be sure to save some cake and punch for the both of you. A party's still a party even with four guests."
"Sorry, Pinkie, sometimes this just happens," Twilight apologized as sincerely as she could. "Besides, I still haven't figured out what my next friendship letter to Princess Celestia is gonna be."
"Right," Pinkie nodded again as she bounced away, though not before adding. "Oh, by the way, Twilight."
Twilight suddenly froze on the spot, as if terrified of some unspoken thing. She did her best to hide it, though. "Yes?"
With a sincere smile the pink party pony told her studious friend. "You really shouldn't hit the books. You really should just read them instead."
The unicorn with a light purple coat nodded her head. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you." And then watched as her party planning friend bounced away. Only once she was certain the coast was clear did she allow herself to breath a small sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her brows.
Spike, however, came down the stairs with a rather grumpy expression upon his face. "Just what was that all about, Twilight? I thought you and the girls would have everything finalized for the big day by now."
"We do, Spike," Twilight replied as she made sure to shut the door, preventing any outside ponies from overhearing the conversation. "Mostly, anyway. There are still a few last minute things we didn't get a chance to take care of yesterday because of Gummy's birthday party. We don't wanna give ourselves away to Pinkie Pie before everything is ready."
"So now you're lying to her? And after all the years of telling me that lying wasn't acceptable too." Spike snorted as smoke escaped from his nostrils.
Twilight sheepishly retorted. "It's not really lying. I have kind of gotten behind with my studies. It's more like not telling the whole truth. Trust me, when everything is set up and ready, Pinkie Pie will understand why we had to keep it all a secret," She forced back a gulp as she added. "I hope."
"Okay, so what exactly do you want me to do?" Spike questioned Twilight.
"Just play along and don't tell Pinkie about our plans," The studious unicorn explained. "I promise I'll make it worth your while."
The little dragon huffed. "Whatever, I'm gonna go see if Rarity needs my help. Just get those preparations done now. Pinkie's going to suspect something sooner or later you know." And then he strolled out the front door of the library.
Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, made her way to Sweet Apple Acres where she found Applejack pulling three big wagons full of apples behind her.
The farm mare quickly spotted her pink coated friend and fellow earth pony, greeting her warmly. "Well howdy, Pinkie Pie. What brings you 'round these here parts today?"
Pinkie just excitedly grinned as she declared while shaking her rump. "Who's ready to shake their hoof-thang?!" She then pulled one of the pink colored envelopes out of the basket, offering it to Applejack as she explained. "This is an invitation to 'Gummy's after-birthday' party this afternoon at Sugarcube Corner. There's gonna be dancing, and games, and cake, and ice-cream, and punch! Oh, it's gonna be even better than Gummy's birthday party!"
Applejack took the invitation and immediately blinked upon seeing the date. "Wait, this afternoon? As in 'This afternoon' this afternoon?"
"That's funny, Twilight said exactly the same thing," Pinkie pointed out before declaring. "And the answer's the same as it was for her: 'Yes'."
The farm mare seemed to become as hesitant as Twilight upon receiving confirmation of the date. "Oh, I see," And she started to stammer while putting a hoof to her chin. "Uh, well, I... I... uh... I don't think I can make it 'cause... uh... I have to... uh... uh," She suddenly got an idea when she looked back at the wagons she was hauling. "Pick apples! Yeah, that's it! 'Cause uh that's what we do 'round here! With the... apples. We, uh... we pick 'em!" She paused and gulped hard as Pinkie gave her a most unusual look.
But Pinkie quickly made the look go away as she just smiled. "Okey-dokey-lokey! A party is still a party, even if there are only three guests. Still, I'll try to save you some cake and punch too." And she trotted away, not noticing Applejack let out a sigh of relief the same way Twilight had earlier.
Rarity was the next to receive a visit from Pinkie Pie, and this was after she was having Spike help her with some chores: Namely taking out the trash.
The little dragon was all too eager to help push the metal trash can filled to the brim with garbage, not realizing he had picked up quite an odor, as he made his way back to the fashionista. "Is there anything else I can do for you, most beautiful one?" He asked her with a dreamy smile and stare.
Rarity took one whiff of Spike and immediately used her magic to push him back. She tried her best not to be too blunt with him and hurt his feelings. "Hmm... perhaps you could take a nice hot bath," She put a hoof to her chin. " How do I put this delicately for you?" She soon found the words, however. "You smell just like a rotten apple core that's been wrapped up in moldy hay and then dipped in dragon perspiration. Does that help?"
Spike just dreamily sighed even as he obeyed. "Oh, alright. As long as you're you don't need me for anything else, Rarity," And he bowed his head as he departed. "It's been an honor to serve you, my lady." Spike was hardly out of sight when Pinkie Pie approached Rarity outside Carousel Boutique.
Rarity soon took notice of Pinkie's attire and complimented. "Ooh! Love the new hat, darling. Very modern. What's the occasion?"
The pink party pony declared as she presented her fashion friend with an invitation. "Gummy's 'after-birthday' party this afternoon at Sugarcube Corner. This hat helps with delivering the invitations."
Just like Twilight and Applejack, Rarity gave the response. "This afternoon? As in 'This afternoon' this afternoon?"
"You know, it's so strange. That's what everypony keeps saying." Pinkie pointed out.
Rarity blinked a bit in realization. "Oh, they do? That's... odd."
The pink coated earth pony nodded her head while defensively saying. "Look, I know it's short notice and everything, but we had such a great time at his birthday party, and I thought we could have even more fun at his after-birthday party."
The fashionista unicorn nodded back. "And I'm sure that we would, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. I'm not prepared, I need to... wash my mane!"
Pinkie's blue eyes blinked. "Don't be silly, Rarity. Your mane's not dirty."
Rarity replied by immediately rushing over and sticking her head in the trash can Spike had just moved outside for her. She pulled it back out after a second with several pieces of leftover food now clinging to her beautiful, curly blue mane. "It is now!" She declared before gagging due to the smell. "I have to go!" And she rushed inside, slamming the door of her boutique shut behind her!
Pinkie briefly put her hooves to her sides as she exclaimed in dismay. "No Twilight or Spike, no Applejack, and now no Rarity? What's with everypony today?!" But then she realized there were still two guests she had yet to deliver invitations to. "Oh well, a party's still a party even with just two guests."
But even Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash (who Pinkie had the good fortune to run into at the exact same time in the sky above a small bridge) ended up giving the same response when presented with their invitations to Gummy's after-birthday party.
"This afternoon?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
And Fluttershy began to add. "As in..."
"-Yes!" Pinkie quickly interrupted, having learned by now to anticipate this response. "As in 'This afternoon' this afternoon. Can you girls make it?"
Rainbow Dash nervously replied. "Oh, man! We'd sure love to, but... we're... uh... we're house-sitting this afternoon."
"Really? Both of you?" The pink party pony blinked in confusion and dismay.
Fluttershy reluctantly nodded. "It's... uh... a big house. Sorry."
Rainbow then pointed to a watch she'd hastily drawn on one of her front hooves. "Oh uh, would you look at the time?! Sorry we can't stay and chat but Fluttershy and I really must be going! See ya!"
But before either pegasus pony could fly away, Pinkie called out to them. "Wait! Maybe I could bring you some after-birthday cake and ice-cream, or maybe even some punch. I'm sure I could make it if I'm fast enough. Who're you house-sitting for and where can I find them?"
"Uh, we're house-sitting for, um..." Rainbow nervously stammered while looking across to Fluttershy, before finally answering. "Harry. Yeah, Harry."
"Harry? Is he new in town?" Pinkie wondered.
Rainbow nodded back. "Yeah, and I don't think you'd know about him or where he lives."
"Why not? If there was a newcomer to town I'd know about it," Pinkie Pie pointed out. "I know just about everypony around here."
Fluttershy quickly declared. "Uh, that's because he's not from here. And he's not a pony, he's a bear."
At that the pink party pony blinked. "A bear? And he lives in a house?"
Realizing how unlikely anypony would be believe such a statement, Fluttershy corrected. "Well actually, it's more of a cave."
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash nodded at her fellow pegasus. "But he has the place so fixed up that it feels like a house."
The pegasus with a butter yellow coat then added. " And, uh, he wants us to look after his house... er, cave... while he's, uh..."
The pegasus with a light blue coat hastily replied. "A-at the beach!"
"He's vacationing at the beach? I didn't know bears went to the beach." Pinkie commented in apparent realization.
"Well, this bear does," Rainbow hastily explained. "And he loves to-" She and Fluttershy proceeded to give answers at the same time that quickly devolved into "Collect Volleyballs" and "Play Seashells".
"So, uh, yeah," Rainbow declared as she and Fluttershy prepared to take off again. "We promised Harry we'd look after his cave, and we should be over there soon. So, gotta go!"
However, Fluttershy then spun around and faced her pink coated friend as she declared. "Actually, now that I think about it, the cave's not that big. I think I can manage on my own," Looking across to her fellow pegasus she declared. "I'm sure Rainbow Dash could attend the party, just for a little bit."
"I could?" Rainbow blinked in surprise, before receiving a look from Fluttershy that seemed to change her mind. "I mean yeah, I could! Let's go right now, Pinkie Pie!" And she ushered her pink coated friend away before the party pony had a chance to say anything further on the subject.
Yet even with Rainbow Dash there to partake in everything the party had to offer, Pinkie Pie was not satisfied. The unusual behavior of her friends hadn't gone unnoticed and she was thinking about it more than they'd hoped she would.
"Hey, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash called while at the tub used to bob for apples. "You wanna try and beat my new record?"
But Pinkie called back. "Not now, Rainbow Dash," And then she started thinking aloud. "You know, it's really strange. I know Fluttershy had to go house sit for that bear, and she was originally going to have you help too. But what are the odds that all our other friends would be too busy today too?"
The brash speedster quickly flew over, trying to distract her party planning friend. "N-now now, Pinkie. You know our friends would make it to your parties if they could. They've never missed one before."
"I was so sure there wasn't anything on today's date that would make a party impossible," Pinkie protested as she kept thinking. "But something doesn't make sense. I know our friends, and I know they wouldn't just let those things happen if they could help it: Twilight's suddenly behind on her studies and needs to hit the books? Applejack needs to harvest more apples? Rarity has to wash her mane that suddenly got dirty? The more I think about it, the more they sound like..." She suddenly let out a gasp! "Excuses!" Glaring at the pegasus she declared. "And you're in on it!"
Rainbow defensively retorted with a nervous grin. "That's crazy talk, Pinkie. I don't know what you're talking about, I swear."
"Oh yeah? Then what do you know?" Pinkie demanded of her pegasus friend. "You think I don't know what's going on around here? You think I'm too stupid to understand what you girls are planning? You're trying to make up excuses and I'm gonna find out why one way or another. So tell me, just what is going on?! Why's everypony avoiding me all of a sudden?!"
But before Rainbow had a chance to answer, Pinkie happened to look out of her bedroom window and spot Twilight. The unicorn was taking considerable measures to avoid being seen even while she was making her way right up to the front door. Immediately, Pinkie caught on. "Wait a minute: That doesn't look like studying or hitting! Twilight lied to me!"
At that Rainbow Dash gulped, and with beads of sweat working their way down her face she declared. "She's not lying... but I... can't say any more."
"Why not?! You didn't make a 'Pinkie Promise', because if you did I would've known!" The pink party pony pointed out.
Unwilling to say anything else on the subject, the brash speedster stepped back further and declared. "Uh... actually, Pinkie, I... I just realized I forgot to do something really important back at my place! I'll uh... I'll swing back as soon as it's taken care of, though. Bye!" She zipped away before Pinkie had a chance to stop her.
"Wait, Rainbow Dash!" The party planning earth pony called out, before her attention was drawn to something else: The sound of a ringing bell. Twilight had approached the front counter down below.
Mrs. Cake was trotting out to greet Twilight. "Twilight!" She smiled. "You must be here for-"
But Twilight immediately shushed the plump baker. "-I know, you don't have to say it out loud! It's supposed to be a surprise."
"Oh, you're right, I'd almost forgotten," Mrs. Cake blushed. "Kind of hard to keep something like this a secret from her, though," She soon brought over a huge package. "Here you are, dearie."
Twilight nodded and smiled. "Thanks again, Mrs. Cake. And remember, not a word to Pinkie. She can't know about this or the whole thing will be ruined."
"Trust me, my lips are sealed," Mrs. Cake promised. "And I made sure Carrot knows too."
Unknown to either mare, Pinkie had heard everything through the use of a tin can tied to a string. And she was rather distraught to hear the conversation. "I thought we were friends, Twilight," She sadly sighed to herself. "What would you not want me to know?"
Twilight prepared to leave Sugarcube Corner, but just as she did she ended up spotting the tin can on a string. "Wait, what's this?" She asked aloud and tried to tug on it. She was surprised when she felt an equally powerful tug from above, and winced and screamed when the tin can ended up on her nostrils.
After getting rid of the tin can, Twilight left with the package carefully stored on her back while she trotted about town. Unknown to her, she was being followed.
"Okay, Gummy," Pinkie said to her pet alligator as she put on a pair of funny glasses with a fake mustache. "Time to get to the bottom of this! One way or another, we'll know what they know!" She followed Twilight from afar, taking advantage of every possible alleyway or vendor stand to stay out of sight. But after a little while Gummy sneezed, and while nopony seemed to acknowledge it, the pink party pony was still frightened by the close call. "Drat! I think you just blew our cover, Gummy! We'll need a new disguise." She whispered.
The "new disguise" involved a bale of hay with a trench coat and a propeller cap in a rainbow of colors, but with the same funny glasses and fake mustache. And it was this disguise that Pinkie employed to tail Twilight as the unicorn approached Carousel Boutique and rang the door bell.
Rarity came trotting out and took ownership of the package, tucking it into the curls of her tail while whispering to Twilight. "You weren't spotted at the sweet shop by anypony, were you?"
"I don't think so, and Mrs. Cake said she's keeping Pinkie in the dark." Twilight whispered back.
Rarity then whispered. "Good. I'd sure hate for Pinkie to ruin everything after we worked so hard to keep it a secret. She'll never suspect it."
Twilight nodded and whispered. "I agree. Guess I'll see you later for the final preparations."
Rarity then took off with the package, Pinkie following the fashionista until she ducked into an alleyway to meet up with Fluttershy. "Have you seen her?" The unicorn asked her pegasus friend.
Fluttershy shook her head. "Nope, haven't seen Pinkie since this morning. And I made sure Rainbow Dash went with her to keep her in the dark."
The fashionista breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," And she remarked. "Can you actually believe she was planning on throwing an after-birthday party today of all days?"
"I'm just glad I was able to come up with a good excuse for why I couldn't make it." Fluttershy explained.
Rarity happily exclaimed! "Me too! This is obviously going to be so much better."
Fluttershy was quick to point out to Rarity. "As long as we can keep her from finding out about it, it will be."
So the two ponies went their separate ways with Rarity whispering in a hushed tone of voice to Fluttershy. "See you later!"
Unfortunately for Fluttershy, she had the misfortune of bumping into the disguised Pinkie Pie while carrying the package. She thankfully didn't recognize her party planning friend, but the disguise worked a little too well and gave the pegasus quite a fright! As a result she took off with a scream!
From within the hay bale Pinkie sadly sighed anew as she said to Gummy. "I thought everypony liked my parties. What's so wrong about today?"
Just then, Rainbow Dash passed by and without even thinking she said aloud. "Hi, Pinkie Pie," Quickly realizing her mistake she flinched. "Uh-oh!" And she took off as fast as her wings would let her!
Pinkie followed in hot pursuit! "Rainbow Dash, wait! Don't run away again!" She pleaded to her friend.
Rainbow quickly turned a corner, believing she'd given her friend the slip only to be proven wrong when said friend poked her head up from a barrel. "Where do you think you're going?!"
"Gah!" Rainbow yelled and flew away again! She flew all the way to the schoolhouse, taking refuge inside of the bell.
But Pinkie Pie was inside there too, hanging upside down like a bat. And she loudly yelled as the bell rang and shook! "What's the real reason nopony wants to come to Gummy's party?! I will not be ignored!"
Rainbow tried to flee once again, this time flying all the way up the side of a cliff. But once again she was greeted by the sight of Pinkie Pie, who now took notice of heavily loaded saddlebags the brash speedster had strapped to her. "What's in those bags?! What are you hiding?!"
So Rainbow Dash took off, making a direct beeline for Sweet Apple Acres. "Applejack, we have a problem!" She shouted, drawing attention to the pink party pony precisely pursuing her across the fields!
A horrified Applejack rushed to the safety of the nearby barn, and as soon as her pegasus friend had zipped inside, she slammed the barn door shut!
That didn't stop Pinkie for even a second. She just strolled right up to the barn door and furiously knocked on it over and over again with her head. "I know you're in there!"
Applejack reluctantly opened the door just a crack to talk to Pinkie. "Oh! Howdy partner!" She declared with a nervous smile. "Wasn't expectin' to see ya again so soon."
The pink party pony didn't reply, she just issued her demand. "Mind if I take a look inside the barn really quick?"
"No! Uh, I mean yes! Er, I mean... you can't come in here!" Applejack defensively retorted as she tried to block Pinkie to the best of her ability.
"Why not? Rainbow Dash just went in there." Pinkie pointed out with a grin that seemed more unnerving than friendly.
The farm mare quickly tried to come up with a convincing counterargument. "Oh, well, that's cause she was just bringin' in some... supplies! Yup, supplies. You know, for the... renovation! Fixin' up the whole thing, top to bottom..." And she turned to the barn's interior as she shouted. "Uh, lots of construction goin' on in there right now."
It was easy to hear Rainbow call in a muffled voice. "You heard her! 'Construction'!" And the sound of four ponies trying desperately to imitate construction tools could soon be heard.
It wasn't enough to fool Pinkie Pie as she continued to try and gain access to the barn, sizing up Applejack to try to look for any sign of weakness. But Applejack didn't falter, eventually managing to force her fellow earth pony back. "Yup! Construction! That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it." Despite her best efforts she couldn't help letting out a nervous laugh and a gulp.
For a moment Pinkie locked eyes with Applejack, and Applejack watched as Pinkie's blue eyes narrowed. "Okie dokie lokie." Pinkie said slowly while backing away. Before retreating all the way though, she approached Applejack and shot her a look that would've been quite deadly if looks could kill.
Only once the party pony was safely out of sight did Applejack breath a sigh of relief, as did the four other ponies who had taken refuge in the barn. "That was too close." Twilight commented as everypony nodded in agreement.
Unable to gain access to the barn, a frustrated and suspicious Pinkie Pie was pacing back and forth in front of Gummy as she declared. "Secrets and lies. It's all secrets and lies with those ponies! They're up to something, Gummy! I just know it! They're up to something and they don't want me to know about it! Well, I'm gonna know about it all right! I'm gonna know about it big time!" Then a light bulb went off inside her head as she added. "And I know exactly who's gonna tell me about it. Tell me all about it big time!"
A short time later, an unsuspecting Spike was brought up to the loft above Sugarcube Corner and presented with a huge plate of gems that made his mouth water. "Whoa! Nice spread." He complimented.
Pinkie flashed what appeared to be a sincere smile. "Like what you see? It's all yours, Spike," But then without warning she turned off the lights, and had Gummy pull Spike's tail and hold it back. "On one condition: All you have to do is talk."
And talk is exactly what Spike did. "Okay, you wanna talk? We can talk. Okay... let's see. Uh, beautiful weather we're having today, eh? I love a sunny spring day, don't you? The birds chirpin' and the flowers bloomin'."
Pinkie just pressured Spike to try to nudge the conversation in her preferred direction. "No, no, no. Talk about our friends." She adjusted the light of the single lamp that she was shining on Spike to try and un-nerve him.
Spike just innocently went on talking. "Oh, okay. Let's see, there's Twilight Sparkle. She's a unicorn. Good with magic. A real brainiac. But hey, she hatched me and helped raise me so I guess I can't complain too much. Ooh, and then there's Rarity! A real beauty and a total knockout. Twilight seems to think I haven't got a chance with her, but what does she know? She wouldn't know the first thing about romance if it bit her in the butt. And uh, there's also Fluttershy. She's what, a pegasus who's afraid of heights? What's up with that, exactly?"
Pinkie only groaned in annoyance while glaring at Spike, applying more pressure to try to get what she wanted out of him. "No, you're not understanding this!" She growled. "I want you to confess!"
"Confess? Confess to what?" Spike questioned.
"Just confess! You know what I want, so spill the beans! Assuming you have any beans anyway!" Pinkie demanded. "If you don't, just spill whatever it is you've got!"
The baby dragon reluctantly obliged. "Okay, okay. I'll confess. I'm the one who spilled juice all over Twilight's copy of Magical Mysteries and Practical Potions! It was an accident, I swear!"
"And?" Pinkie questioned further.
The baby dragon confessed further in reply. "And I'm the one who used up all the hot water in Ponyville yesterday when I took a seven-hour bubble bath!"
"Aaand?" Pinkie questioned in a much more furious tone of voice. "Come on, you're still hiding something!"
Struggling not to sweat or break down, the baby dragon confessed. "And sometimes... when no one's around... I look in a mirror and I do this:" He stood up and flexed his muscles as he said to himself. "Lookin' good, Spike! Lookin' really good!"
For about a second the pink coated earth pony was silent, but then she shook her head as she shouted at her captive. "No! No! No! No!" She started panting and growling quite heavily, which made Spike quite frightened.
"Then what is it?!" Spike demanded of his captor. "What is it you wanna hear? Tell me what you want me to say, and I'll say it if it means you'll let me go!"
Standing over the baby dragon, Pinkie shouted into his face. "Tell me that my friends are all lying to me and avoiding me because they don't like my parties, and they don't want to be my friends anymore!"
And that's exactly what the baby dragon repeated back. "Your friends are all lying to you and avoiding you 'cause they don't like your parties, and they don't want to be your friends anymore! There, you happy now?"
The pink party nodded and then triumphantly declared! "A-ha! I knew it!" Yet only a second or so after she sid this, something unexpected happened. A sound just like when air was let out of a balloon could be heard as Pinkie's curly mane and tail went flat, and her entire coat color seemed to dull and become darker. "Oh no, my friends don't like my parties and they don't want to be my friends anymore."
The lights flickered back on as Spike turned his attention back to the plate of gems in front of him. "So, uh... about the gems?" He asked as he started digging into them.
A depressed Pinkie pushed the plate towards Spike. "Oh, right. A deal's a deal."
Spike smiled. "Ah, that's better!"
Yet it was then that Pinkie told the baby dragon. "Spike, listen, you're free to go. Take the gems and get out of here. Whatever Twilight's paying you, it's not enough."
The baby dragon blinked in surprise. "Pinkie, are you sure? I could stay for a few party games if it'll make you feel better."
But the depressed party pony only insisted. "No, Spike. It's better if you're not around. It's just not a party if only one guest is having fun."
"Well, alright. But if you change your mind you know where to find me. See you around." Spike called, taking the plate of gems and departing the loft without another word. Pinkie watched him depart and let out a sad sigh.
The party pony's mood seemed to improve somewhat when she was able to find four other "guests" to attend. "Thank you all so much for coming, it means so much to Gummy!" She happily declared, looking out at an assortment of different inanimate objects: A bucket of turnips, a pile of rocks, a ball of lint and a sack of flour.
Pinkie went about making each of the objects speak, each with a different exaggerated voice. "Can I have some more punch?" She made the bucket of turnips speak in a pretty dumb sounding voice.
"Oh, of course you can have some more punch, Mr. Turnip." Pinkie smiled as she pushed a cup of punch toward the bucket.
"Yo, this is one great party! You've really outdone yourself!" Pinkie made the voice of rocks speak in a strong Manehattan style of speaking.
Smiling back, the pink party pony nodded. "Why thank you, Rocky."
Next up was the pile of lint, which Pinkie gave the voice of someone trying to sound upper class. "I'm having a delightful time as well."
"I'm so glad to hear that, Sir Lintalot." Pinkie grinned.
Finally came the sack of flour, which Pinkie gave a high pitched, Prench accent. "Might I trouble you for another slice of cake?"
"Anything for you, Madame LeFlour." The pink party pony obliged as she pushed a plate of cake in front of the flour sack.
Pinkie then made Rocky speak up. "I'm just glad none of them party pooper ponies showed up."
"Oh, they're not so bad, really." The pink party pony defensively argued. Had one been watching closely, they might have seen her eyes shrink and retreat to the farthest corners of her pupils.
And now it was no longer Pinkie's imagination that was making the four "guests" speak. They spoke of their own free will or so it seemed. "'Not so bad'? Puh-lease! They're nothin' but a bunch of helpless losers!" Rocky declared.
Pinkie blinked and tried to argue back. "N-now now. Losers might be a little strong, don't you think?"
Sir Lintalot only retorted. "After the way they treated you today, I'd say losers isn't strong enough."
The party pony forced back a gulp. "Well, it was pretty rude of them."
"Pretty rude?!" Madame LeFlour argued! "It was downright despicable!"
Pinkie Pie now gasped in realization! "It was, wasn't it?! I can't believe I didn't see it before."
Mr. Turnip then suggested. "If I were you, I wouldn't speak to them ever again."
And that seemed to give Pinkie an idea. "You know what: I'm not gonna speak to them ever again. And I'm not gonna invite any of them to another party for as long as I live. They don't deserve to come to my parties, not after the way they've been acting today." And each of her "guests" cheered and applauded the decision.
Just then, however, there came a knock at the door tied to Pinkie's balcony. The party pony blinked in surprise. "Who could that be? There aren't supposed to be any more guests."
The question was answered when the door swung open, and in trotted Rainbow Dash, who seemed unaware of what she was trotting in on. "Hi, Pinkie Pie. Sorry for bailing on you like that," She sincerely apologized while trotting forward. "And uh, sorry about the chase earlier. I would've told you, but I was in such a rush I didn't have time to slow down and say hi. You know how it goes."
"Oh, I know how it goes alright!" Pinkie muttered through gritted teeth, no longer bothering to keep her resentment a secret.
The brash speedster stopped dead in her tracks, blinking in confusion. "Uh, okay? I wasn't expecting that sort of reaction."
Meanwhile, Pinkie offered Mr. Turnip another slice of cake. "Well, you can just tell our 'friends' not to worry. They're not gonna have me to kick around any longer. And they don't have to worry about any of my parties interfering with their plans." She bitterly remarked.
The pegasus only trotted forward. "Pinkie, it's not like that at all. Just come with me to Sweet Apple Acres and I promise you, everything will be explained."
Pinkie only responded with a snort. "No can do! I'm having a perfectly good time here with my real friends. Isn't that right, Madame LeFlour?"
"Wee, that is correct, madame!" Madame LeFlour confirmed.
Rainbow just sighed. "Okay, Pinkie. Very funny. Now come on, everypony's expecting you."
Yet Pinkie just proceeded to shove Mr. Turnip in front of the pegasus. "She's not going! Can't you take a hint?!"
"Pinkie, please!" Rainbow pleaded as she went around the bucket of turnips.
Pinkie dove under the table and pushed Rocky forward. "You heard the lady! She ain't goin' anywhere, chump!"
"Who you calling a chump, chump?!" Rainbow roared back, causing the pile of rocks to tip over. She quickly realized how silly she probably looked arguing with a pile of rocks of all things. "That's it, party's over!" She flew around to the back of Pinkie as she demanded. "You're coming with me one way or another, Pinkie!"
The pink party pony only shook her head and declared. "No."
"Pinkie, come on! Stop trying to fight this, this is going to happen!" Rainbow pleaded.
"I said no." Pinkie insisted as she refused to budge.
Rainbow pressed her head up towards Pinkie's rear to try and push her friend forward. "You... have to... come with... me..." She argued.
But Pinkie argued back. "No... I... don't!" She proceeded to bring her rump down right on top of Rainbow's face as she sat down.
The brash pegasus managed to break free, bumping her head against the table and causing a slice of cake to land atop her head. "Oh, you wanna do this the hard way?! Fine, we'll do this the hard way!" She proclaimed as she got up.
The pink party pony dug in her hooves. "I'm not going and you can't make me."
Rainbow Dash refused to accept no for an answer, however. And as a result she ended up dragging her pink party planning friend by the tail all the way across town to Sweet Apple Acres. It was an exhausting effort. "You just had to pick today to be stubborn, Pinkie!" She thought to herself as they approached the barn. "Well, we're here," She said at last. "Don't bother trying to run away." And she pushed open the barn door.
When the door swung open all the way, the rest of Pinkie's friends were waiting inside the barn. Streamers and banners hung all around alongside balloons, a nearby table housed refreshments and another even had a record player. "Surprise!" The four mares and Spike yelled all at once, only to gasp upon seeing their friend's darkened coat and flattened mane and tail.
After Spike and the four mares (and Rainbow Dash) had exchanged nervous whispers for a bit, Fluttershy pointed out. "Oh dear. I really thought she'd be more excited than this."
"Excited? Excited?!" Pinkie roared as she confronted her friends with harsh glares. "Why in the wide world of Equestria would I be excited to attend my own farewell party?"
"'Farewell party'?" Twilight questioned.
Pinkie roared back. "Yes, a 'Farewell to Pinkie Pie Party'! I know what's going on here, I'm not stupid," And she bitterly added. "You don't like me anymore, so you decide to kick me out of the group and throw a huge party to celebrate! And you thought I wouldn't find out."
"Darling, whatever would give you the idea that we're throwing a farewell party for you? Or that we're kicking you out of the group?" Rarity questioned her party planning friend.
At that the party pony snapped. "Why? Why?! WHY?!" She became so mad that she was able to lift herself off the ground briefly while shaking her hooves in rage! "Because you've all been lying to me and avoiding me all day, that's why!"
But to the surprise of the frustrated mare, all of her friends just laughed. "Of course we've been avoiding you," Rainbow pointed out. "How else could we get everything ready for your special day? Don't tell me you've forgotten. You know everypony else's birthday so well."
"We were going to get everything done yesterday, but then you invited us to Gummy's birthday party and we just couldn't decline," Rarity pointed out. "So we had to hurry and get everything done today, and you deciding to throw an after-birthday party for Gummy complicated things. Obviously, we should've done a better job planning this out so that it wouldn't have to come to this."
Twilight then added. "And Pinkie Pie, if this was your farewell party, then why does the cake I picked up from Sugarcube Corner say 'Happy Birthday, Pinkie Pie!'?"
All of a sudden, a realization dawned on Pinkie as her blue eyes took in all the sights of the decorated barn. Her mane and tail poofed back to the way they normally were and her coat went back to its bright pink color as she happily proclaimed! "Because it's my birthday! And you're all throwing me a big surprise party!" She pulled her friends close, hugging them all. "Oh, you're the best friends ever! I don't know why I ever doubted myself," Then she blushed. "How could I have forgotten my own birthday? I should've known I was forgetting something important."
"It's alright, sugarcube. I reckon it happens to the best of us every once in a while," Applejack pointed out. "Still, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to ease off on the parties just a little bit. No need to have one every single day, 'cause otherwise they wouldn't be special."
"If you do that, we promise we'll run all future party ideas through you first," Twilight insisted. "Deal?"
Pinkie happily nodded. "Deal!"
Everypony breathed a sigh of relief as Rainbow Dash then declared. "I'm just glad I haven't been replaced by a bucket of turnips," When the other mares shot her strange looks she added with a nervous laugh. "You don't wanna know, trust me."
And with that the surprise birthday party for Pinkie Pie began! The events that had unfolded had even given Twilight the idea for her latest friendship letter to Princess Celestia. And it went like this:
Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing to you from the most delightful birthday party for my friend, Pinkie Pie.
Not only am I having a good time with my friends despite my previous aversion to big parties, but I was also given the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson about friendship.
Always try to expect the best from your friends, and never assume the worst. Rest assured that a good friend will usually have your best interests at heart.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
And the party continued well into the night with ponies (and Spike) dancing, eating cake, playing party games and just generally having a good time.
Stats
Page generated in 0.021 seconds
Total duration
603 users online
893,942 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
All I can say is excellent job on this latest chapter. Greatly enjoyed the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations, general wrap-up and future chapter/episode set-up in all the right places. Yeah, I can definitely see the points you made in the author's notes as usual. Indeed, the stuff at the end about the deal to for Pinkie to go a bit easier on the parties and the rest of the gang agreeing to run all future parties by Pinkie sounds really good.
And now, a few other re-write ideas if (and I know this is a pretty big if) you decide to do a Volume Twelve:
"The Return of Harmony": Discord creates a set of INCREDIBLY well-detailed FAKE elements (i.e. SO well detailed that it would take a master detective with an electron microscope to tell them apart from the real elements) AND keeps them separated so the Mane Six will have to split up to look for the Elements (i.e. he told them that the Elements were being kept separate, but he DIDN'T tell them they were FAKE elements). On top of that, he ALSO has each fake Element guarded by a powerful monster that the Element Bearers will have to rely entirely on their courage and wits to overcome (so that even the smartest of the Element Bearers WON'T think it was TOO easy and get suspicious). Then, once the six element bearers all put on the fake Elements, they fall victim to a powerful enchantment that causes them to become the exact opposite of their usual selves. From there, Celestia has Spike and the Crusaders working on getting the Element Bearers back to normal while she, Luna, Cadance and Shining Armor try to take on Discord themselves (and actually prove to have the power and teamwork to stalemate Discord long enough for the Mane Six to get back to normal and defeat Discord while he is being distracted by the three Princesses and Shining).
"Of the Sweet and Elite": Have Rarity be a lot more honest much earlier on. Plus, have Spike clearly in it when the gang is bringing the party to Rarity (I mean, come on, this is his foster mother's birthday AND they are going to see his crush. There is NO WAY he would miss THAT realistically). Finally, having Shining Armor making an appearance (BEFORE he and Cadance are officially engaged) to wish his little sister a happy birthday.
"Ail-icorn": Expanded to a 22-minute Season 8 episode by showing how Twilight got sick in the first place, adding a few scenes of the gang trying to help Twilight and Zecora working on the medicine and then having the gang helping Spike take care of Baby Twilight in the third act until that side effect to Zecora's medicine wears off. (meanwhile, "the Break-Up Breakdown" is condensed to a three-minute short by completely cutting out the sub-plots and Averting Plot-Induced Stupidity).
"Growing Up Is Hard To Do": Instead of the Crusaders wanting the age-up, it's Spike that wants it. And Spike ALSO has a MUCH nobler reason for wanting the age-up (i.e. he KNOWS the gang has a major battle coming up with the Legion and also knows that Chrysalis and Tirek are definitely two members of the Legion, so he wants to be big and strong enough to be much more of a help in that upcoming battle). He DOES get the age up (about two decades worth, which gives him a form greatly resembling his older body in the canon final episode) and it DOES give him the increase in his strength and flame breath, but it comes with him having a hard time learning to control that increase to his power.
"The Ending of the End Parts 1, 2 and 3": Grogar blocks the Legion's attempt to betray him and makes an example out of the most powerful in that Legion (albeit in a manner that leaves No Body To Find and is still well within an "Everyone" rating), explaining that he KNEW they were lying about not finding the Bell and was simply playing dumb to lull them into a sense of false confidence. Also, it is revealed that he REALLY DID find an alternate power source that, COMBINED with the Bell, makes him more powerful than ever. Grogar then proves to be so powerful that it takes the BEST combined efforts of Discord, all four adult alicorns, the rest of the Mane Six AND the Pillars to defeat him and, even THEN, it is an INCREDIBLY close fight. Meanwhile, the royal guards of both Canterlot AND the Crystal Empire (led by Shining Armor and Spike) take on the rest of the Legion and the Crusaders and the Young Six work together to rally the rest of Equestria (Apple Bloom working on the earth ponies, Sweetie Belle working on the unicorns, Scootaloo working on the Pegasi Yona and Sandbar working on the yaks [Sandbar backing her up, of course, making Yona's point about "Yaks and ponies being stronger together" have more impact], Ocellus working on the Changelings, Smolder working on the dragons, Silverstream working on the hippogriffs and Gallus working on the griffons).
"The Last Problem": A 45-minute post series special that has the two-decades older and wiser Mane Six and Spike working together to broker a peace treaty between the Abyssinians and the Diamond Dogs while ALSO teaching Luster Dawn how valuable friendship is.
Unless, of course, you (VERY understandably) have other/better ideas. In which case, I will profusely apologize.
At any rate, I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this.