Princess v.s. Princess
A day had passed since the "Inspiration Manifestation Incident" as Twilight (and many others) were starting to call it, and Ponyville had been returned to its pre-disaster state. Twilight had made it clear that Spike was never to take books out of the library of the Castle of the Two Sisters without asking, and a good night's sleep had helped to soothe her nerves.
Today, she was getting ready to have some quality one on one time with Cadence, her sister-in-law. As Cadence had put it while helping Twilight and Luna clean up Ponyville. It's been too long since they just spent time hanging out together, . Just the two of them, no big disasters, nothing involving the fate of Equestria, and no unexpected friends dropping by for a visit. Just the two of them spending time together as sister-in-laws and princesses.
Twilight had eagerly agreed, and was currently in the middle of packing for her big day. "It sure was nice of Cadence to agree to stay in Ponyville for another day," She told Spike. "I thought she'd head back to the Crystal Empire on the very first train, after she'd finished helping Luna and I clean up from that book." She raised an eyebrow at her little dragon.
Spike groaned. "How many times do I have to say it, Twilight? It was an accident! I didn't know that spell book could do all those things!"
Twilight sighed, she had to remember that Spike meant well despite his tendency to either cause trouble or get into it. "I know you had good intentions, Spike, nopony will deny that. But you still should've known better than to just take something without knowing what it could do. You're just lucky there were no side effects from eating that book."
Spike slightly gagged at the memory. "Who knew dark magic could taste so awful?" Then he playfully nuzzled himself against Twilight's legs. "I'm really, really, really sorry, Twilight. I promise I won't do it again."
Twilight smiled. Her disappointment faded away as she nuzzled Spike back. "Oh, come here you. You know I can never stay mad at my number one assistant and trusty baby dragon. You mean the world to me, and I can't imagine my life without you."
Unknown to either of the occupants of the Golden Oak Library, somepony was watching this adorable sight from a window. It was none other than Princess Cadence, who couldn't help but smile. "It always warms my heart to see those two bond like this. It really brings back memories." She thought to herself.
Later that same day, Twilight and Cadence were enjoying a meal at the Hay Burger (Twilight's favorite eating place). Cadence tried not to react too much to Twilight's lack of table manners, in some ways it was like the filly she'd foalsat hadn't fully outgrown some of her bad habits.
Deciding it best to focus on something, Cadence asked her sister-in-law. "So, how's Spike been doing? It's been ages since I've had any meaningful time with him. The last I can remember was him helping me to stop King Sombra. It seems like I haven't really spent a lot of time with him since he was a hatchling." She giggled at some of the memories that came to her mind as a result.
A younger Cadence had been looking after Spike for an afternoon while Twilight was taking an important exam. This was the first significant period of time that the little dragon had spent away from the pony who had hatched him. Upon the sight of the new pony, Spike zoomed under Twilight’s bed in fear.
Some time later, Celestia, the only pony Spike knew and loved as much as Twilight, helped Spike out from the bed and held him in front of Cadence. Spike was still afraid, but stopped when Cadence began to stroke his little face and scales with gentle care. Within seconds, Spike had ended up in Cadence’s arms as she rocked him back and forth, not even noticing Celestia exit the room.
Getting back to the present day, her happy mood faded. Cadence commented to Twilight. "I feel bad that Spike never got to know his real parents at all. Kind of like how I was found as an orphan, before that earth pony couple took me into their lives and raised me as if I were their daughter."
Twilight put down her burger and reached out a hoof to Cadence. "I'm sorry about your foster parents, I know you miss them," Then, switching the topic to Spike, she told her sister-in-law. "But you know, much like that earth pony couple for you, Princess Celestia and I kind of became Spike's mothers. We both helped raise him, though I sort of ended up taking on more of the work because I wanted to prove to Princess Celestia I could be responsible," The young alicorn giggled, as she then added. "You know, that means Spike would be your nephew. And that would make you Spike's aunt. Auntie Cadence has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
Cadence was surprised at the statement. "Y-yes, I... suppose it does." She lightly commented.
The very thought of being an aunt to Spike, continued to linger in Cadence's mind for the rest of the day, even after she returned to the Crystal Empire that night. In fact, the princess of love found that it was this thought that was keeping her from going to sleep. "If what Twilight says is true, and she and my aunt Celestia are Spike's mothers. Then because I'm Twilight's sister-in-law, Spike really is my nephew!" She was overjoyed at the idea of this, Cadence always did think she would make for a good aunt considering her many years of foalsitting.
But then the princess of love realized that she hadn't spent a lot of time with her "nephew". She hadn't even invited him to the Crystal Empire, despite the fact that he'd played a big role in saving it from King Sombra's clutches. And today, a day she could've spent bonding with Spike, she'd instead decided to use to hang out with her sister-in-law and fellow princess. So many opportunities that she'd missed out on, so many chances to be a part of her nephew's life. "Some Princess of Love I am." She sighed to herself as a massive wave of guilt washed over her. There had to be a way to make it up to the dragon, but what?
Suddenly, while pacing back and forth in her bed chambers, the Princess of Love got an idea! "Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?!" She thought to herself, and began to make a plan to prove just how much Spike really meant to her.
Meanwhile in Canterlot, Princess Luna was currently tending to her sister, who was sick in bed. The sun princess had contracted a bad cold, and the doctors had recommended plenty of bed rest and a break from her royal duties. Least she spread her sickness to her subjects.
Luna, having just gotten over a cold of her own a few weeks back, didn't need to worry about coming down with the illness herself.
Celestia suddenly began to twitch and her horn began sparkling. "Ah...ah…"
Luna quickly ducked in cover.
"ACHOO!!!"
After a couple seconds, Luna popped back up, but now as a raccoon, much to Celestia’s surprise.
Luna sighed in relief and scurried to open a window, not having the slightest clue what happened. "It’s a good thing nothing happened that time."
Celestia chuckled nervously. "Uh...yeah," She quickly used her horn to turn Luna back to normal, without Luna noticing. "So, how was yesterday?"
"Apparently, young Spike was so eager to help his friend that he took a spell book out from our old castle and gave it to her," Luna told her sister. "It was the Inspiration Manifestation book, and its dark magic caused Rarity to turn Ponyville into a fashionable paradise. Cadence and I had to help Twilight clean up the mess, and it took a very long time. Twilight was completely frazzled by the time we'd finished."
Celestia couldn't help but chuckle in spite of herself. "That's Spike for you, always going to extreme lengths to try and help. He used to do that a lot when he and Twilight still lived in Canterlot..." Celestia looked down and sighed. "I really miss that about him."
Luna, growing concern for Celestia, stood by her.
"It feels like it's been forever since I've had a chance to see him," With a sigh, the sun princess went on. "Twilight and I practically raised him from day one. In a lot of ways, it was like we were his two mothers." Then she yawned, and curled up in bed with one of her favorite books.
"Rest, my dear sister," Luna softly called as she departed the bedroom. "As always, I will manage my nightly duties alone, and call upon you in the morning if necessary."
Celestia just smiled. "Very well then. See you in the morning, Luna."
Luna left her sister's bedroom and made her way to her own private bed chambers. As she did so, the moon princess started to think about what her sister had said earlier. She knew Spike well, on many occasions she'd intervened in the little dragon's dreams when he was having a nightmare, and ever since her first Nightmare Night after her banishment, she became his official dragonsitter, as she didn’t have that much to do in the day.. Truth be told, she saw a bit of herself in the dragon. A desire to help others even at great expense to himself, often being stuck in a supporting role while others got all the attention, and even some hidden insecurities he didn't want anyone to find out.
It was then that she realized. If what Celestia said was true and she and Twilight really were Spike's mothers, that would mean Spike was her nephew! Luna was ecstatic at the idea! "Oh, I'd be thrilled if he called me Auntie Luna! And Spike always loves spending time with me, who else has been dragonsitting him?!"
But then Luna began to think about her prior experiences with being an aunt, namely her adopted niece Cadence, who Celestia had taken in while Luna was stuck on the moon. By the time Luna had come back from her imprisonment, Cadence was already a full grown mare leading her own life. "I wasn't there to raise Cadence, some aunt I sure turned out to be. I don't have a ton of experience with being an aunt because of my imprisonment," She thought to herself, as she reached her bed chambers. "There must be some way I can prove myself. But how?" Then, all of a sudden, an idea came to her! "Yes, of course! Luna, you are a genius!" She mentally praised herself, and began to make plans for a visit to Ponyville.
The next day, Pinkie Pie was working the counter at Sugarcube Corner. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had taken the twins to visit some relatives, leaving Pinkie in charge of the shop for the day. It had been a long while since they'd trusted her with such a responsibility, but the party pony had come a long way from the baked bads incident so they felt they could trust her.
All of a sudden, who should come trotting in through the front door but Princess Luna in all her glory?
Pinkie's mouth dropped wide open and she instantly dashed over and bowed before the night princess! "P-Princess Luna, I'm so humbled that you would visit Sugarcube Corner on this fine day! Whaddya want?! Whatever it is, I'll get it for you free of charge!"
Luna giggled, motioning for Pinkie to rise. "At ease, Pinkie Pie. I did not come here for a bite to eat. I have sought you out for a very important purpose, one that requires your unique party planning gift."
"Ooh, you want me to plan a party?!" Pinkie eagerly grinned, jumping up and down in excitement! "Who's it for and where you do want it?! Just say the word and it shall be done!"
"It's for Spike, a private one in fact, just for me and him. I wish for you to have in the Whitetail Woods," Luna instructed to Pinkie. "I intend to show him how good of an aunt I can be for him. And what better way to show much I care about him, than to throw him a surprise party?"
Pinkie grew even more excited upon hearing this! "You had me at Spike, princess!"
Luna just giggled and put a hoof to her mouth. "Can you have it ready by the end of tomorrow?"
Pinkie nodded. "Of course I can! I like a challenge!"
Luna smiled and departed. "Very well then. I trust you will not let me down. And you will be greatly rewarded for your services."
"Oh Luna, you really need to get out more. Smiles and happy faces are the only rewards I ever need." Pinkie thought to herself. And she was just about to enter her secret party planning cave and dig up her file on Spike, when Princess Cadence came trotting in.
"Hello, Pinkie Pie," Cadence greeted in a warm tone. "I was told you're the one to seek out for planning a party?"
Pinkie eagerly nodded, bouncing over to the alicorn. "Yesarooni, Cadence! You travel in the right circles, or whatever shape you like to travel in!" After giggling at her joke, the party pony asked. "Who's this party for, and where do you want it?"
"Well..." Cadence stammered for a bit, before she managed to force out. "I was hoping you could throw a surprise party for Spike, and have it set up in the Whitetail Woods by the end of tomorrow. I want to connect with him more as an aunt."
Pinkie struggled to keep her mouth from dropping open once again! "That's the same thing Princess Luna wants! What am I gonna do?! Can I really throw two parties for the same dragon, in the same place, at the same time?!" She thought very, very hard. And in her eyes, she could see two Pinkie Pies giving her looks.
"Well don’t just sit there! Tell her!" The first one said.
"No-no-no-no-no. Keep it a secret! You’ll feel better for it!" The second one waved her hooves.
The two Pinkie Pies in her head both reacted differently. The first one looked proud and happy, the second one looked angry and annoyed.
"Now look what you did!" The first Pinkie said. "The truth hurts as usual!"
"Hey, just a minute, you!" The second Pinkie pushed her face in the first one’s. "Them’s fighting words!"
"Yeah, them’s fighting words!" The first one shot back.
"Okay, bub! You asked for it!" The second one then charged the first one as smoke covered their battle.
"...Don’t fight…" The real Pinkie whimpered.
"What?" Cadence asked.
"Oh!" Pinkie snapped out of it. "Oh, nothing!"
Cadence smiled. "Great. I knew I could count on you, Pinkie Pie. I'd best be going now."
Pinkie nodded as Cadence began to exit, but soon, guilt started crawling all over her. "Cadence, wait!" Pinkie called out, catching the alicorn before she had a chance to depart. "There's something you need to know!"
But Pinkie needn't have bothered, for at that very moment Princess Luna came trotting back in. "Oh, Pinkie, I almost forgot. What kind of party games do you think we should have?" And just a second later, the night princess' eyes noticed the familiar pink coat of her niece, Cadence. "Cadence, what a surprise!"
"The feeling's mutual, Aunt Luna," Cadence greeted. "What are you doing here?"
"Funny, I was about to ask you the same question." Luna commented, raising an eyebrow.
Cadence smiled. "Oh, I was just asking Pinkie Pie if she could throw Spike a surprise party in the Whitetail Woods. I want to connect more with Spike as an aunt, and I figured a surprise party was the best way to do that."
The princess of the night was speechless. After a couple seconds of silence, Luna let out a haughty laugh. "That's exactly what I'm trying to do! What do you mean by stealing my idea?!"
"Your idea?!" Cadence remarked. "You mean my idea! I thought of it first, didn't I?!"
"Don't try to confuse me, Cadence!" Luna retorted to her niece. "Who told you I was planning to throw Spike a surprise party?!"
"What makes you think anyone told me?" Cadence responded. "I don't see what sort of experience you could possibly have as an aunt for Spike. Sure, you started dragonsitting him, but I have years of foalsitting him and Twilight under my belt, you spent a thousand years on the moon while Spike was growing up."
The very mentioning of her banishment and subsequent imprisonment, touched off a very sensitive nerve for Luna, who perceived Cadence's comment as an insult. "How dare you imply that me being trapped on the moon disqualifies me from having experience! I could be ten times the aunt you are, I was around long before you ever ascended to alicornhood!"
Cadence rolled her eyes. "And yet you were banished for a thousand years, and children used to be afraid of you because they thought you were 'The Mare in the Moon'! I know for a fact that I could be a way better aunt than you could ever hope to be!"
"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" Luna scoffed, and turned and trotted out the door with her snout raised in the air.
"Yes, we most certainly will." Cadence also scoffed, doing the same thing. Neither princess was willing to make eye contact with the other.
All the while, Pinkie just stood there as chills ran through her fur. "Oooh," She shuddered. "If looks could kill…" After a couple seconds, she goofily held up a flower before playing dead.
Unsure of who to support, or if there was even going to be a party to throw, Pinkie spent the rest of the day just tending to patrons at Sugarcube Corner. By the time the Cakes came home that evening, she was exhausted. More so from thinking about the princesses and their dueling party plans, rather than the actual workload.
Hoping a good night's sleep would take her mind off such troubles, Pinkie climbed into her bed and soon she was fast asleep.
The party pony was having her favorite dream again. The one where she was surrounded by all sort of delicious sweets, cake, ice cream, chocolate, candy, the list went on and on. There was nothing but sweets as far as the eye could see, and Pinkie delightfully switched from one part of this endless dessert paradise to another. She needn't worry about running out of sweets to try, because they just kept magically replenishing whenever they got low.
All of a sudden, the dream was rudely interrupted as the familiar figure of Princess Luna appeared atop a huge cake, her hooves planting themselves firmly in the frosting covered surface with a loud splat. "Pinkamina Diane Pie!" She bellowed in her Royal Canterlot voice, thus attracting the party pony's attention. "We have sought you out for a very important task! One which requires your assistance post haste!"
"Huh?" Pinkie asked, looking up at the alicorn. "You know it's kind of hard to understand you when you talk all fancy like that, Luna."
Luna blushed, and reverted to her normal way of speaking. "Sorry about that, Pinkie Pie. But I need your help."
"Help with what?" Pinkie innocently asked.
Luna looked all around, as if fearing she would be overheard. "I'll tell you in the waking world. It's important that nopony but us know about the details of this mission."
Pinkie woke with a start, briefly wondering if Luna had just been a part of her dream as well.
She let out a yawn and was ready to go back to sleep. "Goodnight, Luna," She spoke to the night princess at the edge of her bed. With widened eyes, she nearly jumped straight through the ceiling in surprise. "P-Princess Luna! There has to be a better way of getting my attention!"
Luna just shook her head. "There is no time, Pinkie Pie! It was imperative I contact you and get your help now, I will not be outdone by the likes of Cadence," And she then explained. "Now would be a good time for us to go shopping for party supplies, and a gift."
"In the middle of the night?!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Luna nodded, she wouldn't take no for an answer. "Come on, we must go now! I'll need your help to find the perfect gift for Spike, one that will blow whatever Cadence is going to get him out of the water!" And she then proceeded to use her magic to yank Pinkie out of bed. "I'll make this up to you later, I promise. Now come on, we must hurry!"
"Alright, alright," Pinkie yawned. "You don't have to yell."
Luna led Pinkie all the way across town to the party pony's favorite party store. "It's a good thing this place stays open twenty four/seven," Luna commented, as she grabbed a shopping cart and wheeled it through the front door. "Come on, Pinkie Pie. I'm going to need your help. What do we need to throw the perfect surprise party?"
"Letting the party planner get her beauty sleep for one thing." Pinkie muttered under her breath.
Princess Luna paid no attention to Pinkie's comment, she was too fixated on her party shopping. She eagerly wheeled the cart down aisle after aisle, picking up supplies as needed. "Let's see here: Napkins, definitely need those. Paper plates, probably less of a hassle than normal plates. Pinata, can't have a party without that."
The shopping lasted quite a while, and poor Pinkie tried her best to stay alert and focused the whole time. Even a hyperactive pony like her appreciated a good night's sleep every now and then, especially when she'd been having such a delightful dream.
At last, there was just one thing left to get. "Come on, Pinkie, we must find the perfect party gift for Spike!" Luna excitedly shouted! "What do you think he'd like to get as a present from his Auntie Luna?"
"Don't know," Pinkie yawned. "Can't be a book though, he gets those as presents all the time from Twilight. Hearth's Warming, Birthdays, you name it."
"Oh, poo, and here I was thinking he'd appreciate this lovely coloring book," Luna frowned, putting the childish object back on the shelf where she'd found it. "Well, that's okay, there's an entire store worth of gifts to explore! I'll search up and down every aisle if I have to, I'm not leaving until I've found that perfect gift!"
"Great, we're gonna be at this for a long time! Normally I wouldn't mind this, but I'm so tired!" Pinkie mentally complained. Still, she did her best to grin and bear it. A good party planner had to respect the wishes of the host.
Hours ticked by before Luna at last found something she was sure Spike would love! It was a gigantic, heart shaped pillow that was colored bright pink, and had the words "Best Aunt Forever" written on it.
"This will go nicely with Spike's basket!" Luna happily exclaimed. "It's so nice and soft, like Tiberius' fur! He'll have much less trouble falling asleep with it."
Satisfied with her purchase, Luna placed it in the shopping cart and wheeled it the front counter to check out. Pinkie, for her part, was just relieved to have the whole thing done. "Is that all you need for the party, Luna?" She asked. "If not, maybe we could ask somepony else if they'd be willing to share some of their party supplies?"
Luna was too busy celebrating in her mind to pay any attention to what Pinkie had just said. She just payed the store clerk for all the party supplies, and the pillow, and then she took off. But before she said to Pinkie. "I shall be calling on you again tomorrow, Pinkie Pie. You don't know how much I appreciate your help with all of this. This party will surely put anything Cadence is planning to shame. And then she'll see that I am undeniably the better aunt."
Pinkie was just relieved to finally be done with the late night shopping. Exhausted, she trotted back to Sugarcube Corner in the hopes of catching up on her sleep. Maybe she'd even have that dream again.
Alas, just as the party pony was starting to nod off, Mrs. Cake came barging into the room and flicked on the lights.
"Good morning, Pinkie Pie!" Mrs. Cake spoke. "What are you doing?"
"...Just making my bed." Pinkie yawned, bitterly.
"Terribly sorry to disturb you, Pinkie Pie, but Princess Cadence is here," Mrs. Cake told the mare. "She's asking for your help shopping, something about a surprise party for Spike I believe."
Pinkie sighed, she wanted more than anything to go back to sleep. But she couldn't bring herself to say no to Cadence and so she reluctantly got up from her bed and made her way downstairs.
"Hope this isn't a bad time, Pinkie," Cadence apologized. She then noticed Pinkie Pie’s half-lide eye expression with heavy bags under them, and bloodshot eyes.
"Pinkie? Are you okay?" Cadence asked, waving a hoof around her. "Pinkie?"
Only moving her hooves and not changing her expression, Pinkie reached for a pitcher of water and splashed it all over her face. "GAH!!!” Pinkie yelped, feeling the cold water. "No! I’m fine! Wide awake, see?"
"Okay, good," Cadence nodded. "I'm not about to let Luna get the upper hoof. I need your help to get all the supplies for my party, and find that perfect gift that'll make Luna's pale in comparison. Then she and Spike will both know I'm the best aunt."
"And let me guess, we're gonna go to Party Heaven for our shopping spree?" Pinkie bluntly commented. "Because it can't be anywhere else that happens to be open twenty four/seven."
Cadence nodded. "It's the only place to truly shop for party supplies. Besides, I figured you as a frequent customer could help me navigate the store more easily. Now come on, we're wasting time!"
And so, Pinkie was roped into helping Cadence with her party shopping as well. It didn't last nearly as long as Luna's shopping spree, but it was still several hours too many for the weary party pony.
Cadence settled on a stylish, wool blanket for Spike. "Twilight told me how drafty it can get in the library sometimes, this way Spike won't have to shiver himself to sleep in that little basket of his," She cooed. "Oh, I remember how he and Twilight used to love cuddling up with me at night, it was so adorable."
The sun was just about to rise by the time Cadence had finished checking out and paying for everything. Much like Princess Luna, the alicorn made sure to thank her pink party planning friend for her assistance. "When the party's over and this competition with Luna is settled, you can just name your price." And then she too set off.
Wearily, Pinkie trotted back to Sugarcube Corner, made her way upstairs to her bedroom, and fell asleep at once.
"Pinkie? Pinkie!" A voice called out to the party pony.
Pinkie yawned and rolled over in her bed, murmuring. "Five more minutes, Mom. I'm having that dream again."
"Pinkie, you've been asleep all morning!" The voice called out, as a hoof gently nudged the party pony.
Pinkie shot up in her bed in fright! The identity of her waker soon revealed itself as Mrs. Cake. "Oh my gosh!" Pinkie gasped. "Why didn't you wake up me sooner, Mrs. Cake?! I've got a surprise party to plan, two surprise parties actually!"
"You were up so late last night, I wanted to make sure you got plenty of rest," Mrs. Cake explained to Pinkie. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be asleep for nearly this long."
"It's okay, it's not your fault," Pinkie commented, rolling out of her bed. "But I've gotta get going! The parties need to be ready by the end of today!"
Zipping downstairs, Pinkie almost didn't notice when she bumped into Princess Luna. "Ah, you're finally awake, Pinkie Pie," The alicorn smiled. "Good. Now we can start setting up my party. I'll have it at the entrance to the Whitetail Woods, that way Spike won't have so far to travel."
"You know, we could just offer to share a surprise party with Cadence," Pinkie suggested. "I don't think Spike will mind who's throwing it, a surprise party is still a surprise party either way."
But Luna only shook her head. "No can do, Pinkie. There can be no compromise in this situation I'm afraid. Cadence threw down the gauntlet when she made that comment about me being stuck on the moon. And I'll show her that my thousand years of absence doesn't mean I can't be a good aunt, despite what she thinks."
"I'm pretty sure that's not what Cadence thinks at all, Luna." Pinkie protested. But Luna didn't hear her.
Pinkie had just finished setting up more stuff for Luna's surprise party for Spike, when Cadence came trotting into the Whitetail Woods. "Ah, there you are, Pinkie," She spoke up, dragging the party pony away with her magic. "Come on, we need to get more decorations."
"Hard to get decorations for a party when you've got two similar ones taking place at the same time in the same place." Pinkie muttered under her breath.
Cadence didn't acknowledge the party pony's remark. "This won't take long. We've gotta hurry though, Luna's already getting some for her party."
Pinkie reluctantly got to work on setting up the decorations for Cadence's party, which took place deeper in the Whitetail Woods. But no sooner had she finished that, when Luna dragged Pinkie away with her magic. "That's quite enough of aiding the enemy, Pinkie Pie."
"Enemy? This is a surprise party, not a war." Pinkie commented.
"It is now!" Luna boldly declared. "Cadence fired the opening shot when she roped you into helping with her surprise party!"
"But-" Pinkie protested.
Luna shook her head. "No buts! From this moment onwards, Cadence is the enemy! Now come on, let's go to Sugarcube Corner and order some treats for the party guests!"
And so it went on and on throughout the day. Luna and Cadence kept pulling Pinkie back and forth between the two of them, both of them trying to recruit her to help with their party and their party alone.
When Luna got cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner for her party, Cadence had Pinkie place an order for a cake. When Cadence started to set up her own pink and purple streamers, Luna dragged Pinkie away to make special night colored streamers. And when Luna started to wrap her gift for Spike and asked Pinkie for help, Cadence insisted Pinkie do the same for her gift.
This constant back and forth drove Pinkie crazy! Even Spike started to take notice of how stressed out she was looking. While walking around, Spike took notice of the pink pony and walked up to her."Hey, Pinkie Pie. You don't look so good. Is everything okay?"
"No, not okay!" Pinkie pouted. "Who would've thought planning two separate but identical parties, in the same place, at the same time, on the same day, could be so stress inducing?! And all because someponies just don't wanna talk it out!"
"Who are you talking about?" Spike asked. But as Pinkie was about to open her mouth, Spike protested. "Actually, wait, don't tell me! It's supposed to be a secret, isn't it? A surprise party?"
Pinkie clammed up and nodded.
"Oh," Spike realized. "Well in that case, I probably shouldn't ask who it's for. Might ruin the surprise. By the way, have you by any chance seen Luna and Cadence around today? I seem to keep bumping into them for some reason, and they keep staring at me with these really goofy smiles."
Pinkie said nothing, she did not want to give away the surprise to Spike, as much as she might be tempted to do so just to end the madness.
Sensing he wasn't going to get any answers from the party pony, Spike turned and walked away. But just before he did so, he asked Pinkie. "Well, if you see them, could you ask them what the smiles are all about? They're kind of starting to creep me out."
Once Spike had left, Pinkie let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Oh, those princesses!" She complained to herself. "What I wouldn't give to give them a piece of my mind!"
Rather than do that, however, Pinkie decided to use some clever in stand ins. Fortunately, the party pony had sock puppets of everypony she'd ever met, stashed all over Equestria in case of sock puppet emergencies. She bounced over to a nearby tree, and after a bit of searching she retrieved sock puppets of Princess Luna and Princess Cadence. She put the Luna puppet on her left front hoof, and the Cadence puppet on her right front hoof.
"Hey, Pinkie Pie!" The Luna puppet spoke up in a cheesy imitation of the night princess' voice. "Who said you could take a break?! I need your help to plan my surprise party for Spike so I can prove I'm a better aunt than Cadence."
"Very funny, Luna!" The Cadence puppet spoke next. "Pinkie is helping me with my surprise party! And between you and I, I'll always be the better aunt compared to you."
"Oh but that's where you're wrong, Cadence!" The Luna puppet protested, as Pinkie blew a raspberry to imitate Luna sticking out her tongue. "He risks his scales to save your empire, and you 'reward' him by not letting come back to the empire! At least I dragonsit him!"
"Well I did it more than you!" The Cadence puppet taunted. "I even made Spike ring bearer at my wedding, what's the most you've done for him?"
"More than you, that's for certain!" The Luna puppet replied, turning her head. "In fact, I bet if we combined our parties together, Spike would still be able to tell mine was superior!"
"I'll take you up on that challenge!" The Cadence puppet agreed. "But Spike will be able to tell that my party was better!"
That ended up giving Pinkie an idea! "Hey, why didn't I think of that before?!" She exclaimed. "The answer was staring me right in the face the whole time!"
She looked down and noticed the two puppets looking at her. "...Okay, guys. You can quit it." Pinkie leaned back.
With Luna and Cadence busy wrapping their gifts, recruiting ponies to come to their parties, and just straight up avoiding each other, Pinkie was able to put her plan into motion.
Carefully moving everything, Pinkie merged the two parties together midway between the entrance and the heart of the Whitetail Woods. Now it was impossible to tell that there had ever been two competing parties.
"Alright, now for phase two of my plan." Pinkie thought to herself, and set off to find the princesses. Soon after making her way back into town, she found Princess Luna at Sugarcube Corner retrieving the cupcakes she'd ordered earlier that day.
Luna became aware of somepony tugging on her tail, and turned to see that it was none other than Pinkie Pie. "What is it you wish to inform me of, Pinkie Pie? Is it important?" She asked.
Pinkie nodded. "Meet me just outside the Whitetail Woods, it's urgent."
"Very well, I shall be there momentarily," Luna promised. "Just make sure you're not spotted by Cadence, I won't have her ruin everything when I'm so close to finally beating her."
"Yes ma'am!" Pinkie saluted and then zipped away.
"Don’t get spotted by Cadence...Don’t get spotted by Cadence…" Pinkie remembered Luna’s words as she walked through Ponyville to the Carousel Boutique. "Hi, Cadence!"
The Princess of Love just so happened to be coming back from Carousel Boutique, her gift wrapped up all nice and neatly with a hot pink bow atop a box covered in light green wrapping paper. "Hi, Pinkie Pie," Cadence greeted. "Is something up?"
"There most certainly is. You need to meet me just outside the Whitetail Woods," Pinkie told the alicorn. "I'll explain when you get there."
"Alright, I'll be on my way. Just make sure Luna doesn't spot you," Cadence replied to Pinkie. "I'm not about to let her beat me, just when I'm finally going to put her in her place."
As the Princess of Love trotted away, Pinkie mentally high hoofed herself. "Alright, my plan is working perfectly! They don't suspect a thing! Now for the third and final phase!"
When Luna and Cadence both arrived at the designated spot Pinkie had told them to meet at, they were surprised to not only see no trace of the party pony anywhere, but also to see that they now in the same place at the same time.
"What are you doing here, Cadence?" Luna asked with eyes narrowed. "Pinkie specifically said she wanted to meet with me, not you."
"That's funny, because I'm pretty sure Pinkie specifically wanted to meet with me, not you, Luna." Cadence retorted, her eyes also narrowing.
Before the two princesses could get into another argument, however, Pinkie leaped out from where she was hiding and angrily shouted! "Alright you two This has gone on long enough!" That got both princesses to look at her, as she then went on! "Look at you two! You're sucking all the fun out of throwing this surprise party, which is something I didn't even think was possible until now, and turning it into a competition!"
Both princesses looked down at the ground in shame. Pinkie was right, they had allowed a silly "competition" to get the best of them, and they'd lost sight of what was supposed to be important.
"Is this really what Spike would want from aunt figures?" Pinkie went on. "What's so wrong with sharing a title? If Spike can have two mommies, surely he can have two aunts, right?"
"I... guess we never thought of." Luna realized.
Cadence nodded. "I can't believe we were acting so petty and immature. We're princesses, we're supposed to be better than this. Ponies look up to us as role models for crying out loud."
"Then you two know what you've gotta do, right?" Pinkie asked, to which both princesses nodded.
Luna spoke first. "I'm sorry for the way I acted, Cadence, especially since you're my own niece. I should've cherished the fact that we were both spending time together, doing something nice for Spike. In fact, you're a big reason why I'm doing this for Spike."
"What do you mean, Aunt Luna?" Cadence asked. With the competition over, she no longer felt the need to ignore that title.
"I want to do for Spike what I couldn't do for you as a filly," Luna explained. "Celestia told me how every night for the first several weeks, you cried yourself to sleep because of how much you missed your foster parents. And you also had a lot of nightmares about the witch that took them from you. I couldn't be there for you to chase away those nightmares, and my sister had long since given up her ability to enter the dream realm. I wanted to make sure history wouldn't repeat itself with Spike."
Cadence, with tears in her eyes, apologized. "And I'm sorry I brought up you being stuck on the moon. Aunt Celestia always told me when I was growing up how much she missed you, and longed for the day when you would be freed."
"We both said and did things we regret, Cadence," Luna replied, as the two princesses embraced each other. "Do you think you can ever forgive me for accusing you and being suspicious of you for no good reason?"
"Only if you can forgive me for doing the same... and bringing up the moon thing." Cadence answered with a blush.
Pinkie smiled and clapped her hooves in delight. "Hooray! Now I can FINALLY stop stressing myself out at having to switch back and forth between parties," Then she grinned. "Speaking of which..."
Spike was walking along the path that led to the Whitetail Woods. He was just outside the forest entrance, and it was not quite sun down just yet. "Pinkie said to meet her in the middle of the woods. I wonder why." The little dragon thought to himself, suspecting nothing.
Spike made his way into the middle of the woods, halfway between the entrance and the heart. When he did so, he noticed what appeared to be streamers, and even a banner.
Before the little dragon had a chance to wonder what was going on, a trio of voices shouted out! "Surprise!" Leaping out from behind a bush were Pinkie Pie, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence!
"Guys!" Spike grinned happily, running up to his friends. "What are you all doing here?"
"Well, Aunt Luna and I had a realization recently," Cadence explained to Spike. She and Luna then both stood next to Spike. "We came to realize that, since Twilight and Princess Celestia were your mothers, that would make the two of us your aunts."
Spike’s eyes widened. "My...my aunts?" Spike looked down as so many thoughts went through his mind.
"We feel bad for having missed out on so much of your life for so long," Luna added, raising his chin. "And we wanted to make it up to you. This surprise party was our way of doing just that, though we sort of had to be 'reminded' of what was most important."
Spike didn't reply right away, he just looked at the two princesses, alternating back and forth between them. And tears were starting to form in his eyes.
"What's the matter, Spike?" Luna asked her nephew.
"Is everything okay?" Cadence inquired of the dragon.
Spike wiped the tears in his eyes, as he looked up to Luna and Cadence, smiling. "...I’m having trouble deciding who I should hug first."
Luna and Cadence were all but moved to tears, and they both embraced him at once. Spike nuzzled himself in Luna and Cadence’s chest furs as the two held him close to their hearts. Pinkie Pie watched happily at this sight. The smiles were a sign of a job well done.