A Lil' Party Problem
The alarm hadn’t rang. But Cheesecake Pie didn’t need it to.
The chill washing past his face. The frost upon his bedroom windows. The aroma of freshly baked treats wafting through the air, coaxing him out of bed like a siren’s song. He knew what day it was. He tossed his sheets aside, leapt out of bed and raced down the steps with a joyful gait.
The first floor of Sugercube Corner was decorated from roof to floor in tinsels and bells. A tree stood proudly in the middle. Underneath which boxes of all shapes, sizes and colors had been stuffed. The kitchen, too, wasn’t spared this serial decorating. The old, pink oven mitts were out. And the ones with reindeer and gingerbread stitched onto them were in! Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich darted between stove tops and mixing counters in a blur, pumping out treats at a breakneck pace. Every oven ding was accompanied by a delicious smell of cookies. Every sniff Cheese took was accompanied with the growl of his stomach.
“Wow, you’re out of bed early Lil’ Cheese!” said Cheese Sandwich as he sped over and rubbed his son’s puffy pink mane.
“Of course he is! I bet my tinsy tiny Windigo cookies woke him up~!” Pinkie sang as she tossed one of the treats in question to Cheesecake. He caught it within his hooves, eyes wide at the white frosting and sugar crystals that covered its crispy surface.
“Don’t count your cookies yet! Half a party says he woke up because of my patented Chimichurri Specials!” Cheese lobbed a circular biscuit, topped with a glowing cherry, to Cheesecake, who stacked it on top of his Windigo Cookie. “Patent pending.”
Cheesecake licked his lips. He opened his mouth, ready to crunch down on the delicious Hearth’s Warming treats. But looking up, he spotted Pinkie and Cheese looming down upon him with grinning faces.
“So?” asked Pinkie. “Which one was it?”
“Uhh… both?”
“Now that’s a good answer!”
“You said it, Cheese!” Pinkie swung around to the display cabinets. Cheesecake took this time to stuff both cookies rapidly into his hungering maw. “Excited for your tenth Hearth’s Warming Eve Eve?”
“Mmmhm!” Cheesecake replied. Words were all but impossible when the delicious treats took up his entire mouth. Even his tiny groan sent small chunks flying to the floor. He chewed and swallowed. “What’s going on tomorrow?”
“Hmm… let’s see. Where’s that planner thing Twilight made me?” Pinkie retreated into the backroom, emerging just a moment later covered in streamers, a book in her hoof. “Here we go! Let’s see…” She flipped through the pages. “The only thing written here is the Hearth’s Warming party with Twilight in Canterlot tomorrow. So you have the whole day to yourself, Lil’ Cheese!”
“Sounds good! Cause I have something special planned to...mor...row…” He froze in place. The sudden realization slammed into him like a carriage. “Wait, tomorrow’s the Hearth’s Warming party?”
“Yeah! Why?”-
“O-oh!” Lil’ Cheese forced a smile to his face. “N-nothing! Nothing at all! Just… uhh… see you later bye!” He swiped a scarf from the coat rack, tossed it on and sped out onto the snow-covered streets. “Oh no oh no oh no….”
“Hey, there’s my favorite awesome kid!”
Cheesecake looked up. A large rainbow mane met his gaze.
“Rainbow Dash! I— wait, I’m your favorite?”
“...You’re all tied.”
“O-oh.” Cheesecake shook his head. “Wait, not important! I need your help!”
“Uhh… y-yeah? S-sure?” muttered Rainbow with a squint. “Something going on? Did I do something to anger Pinkie? ...Again?”
“Huh? No! But… but not here!” He rushed down the street, beckoning Rainbow to follow him. They trotted until Sugarcube Corner was out of sight. “You’re good with fast things right?”
“Psh, you’re talking to the fastest pony in Equestria. And probably even beyond!”
“Okay good! Cause I was planning to throw a surprise party for my parents tomorrow but I forgot that Twilight’s Hearth’s Warming party was tomorrow, which makes no sense mostly cause if it’s a Hearth’s Warming party why host it on Hearth’s Warming Eve, right?”
“Uhh—”
“But now I can only host it today to get it ready on time for my parents! How do I throw a party in less than a day!?”
“...S-so you want to organize and throw a party… tonight?”
“Yup!”
“Welp, sorry, squirt, I’m not the right pony to ask for that.”
“What!? I thought you said you were the fastest pony in Equestria!”
“In flying,” Rainbow clarified. “If you’re trying to plan a party in a day, only Pinkie can help with that!’
Cheesecake tossed his head back and groaned. He paced in a circle, panting heavily. “Don’t you have anything?”
“Hmm… well, AJ’s always helped cater the food. Fluttershy helps with the drinks and utensils and Pinkie always asks Rarity for help with the decorations. Maybe you could ask them?”
“I… could, couldn’t I?” Cheesecake’s eyes grew wide. A ear-to-ear smile stretched across his face. “Rainbow that’s perfect!”
Rainbow rubbed her puffed out chest, a smirk upon her face. “Told you I was good at this.”
“This might work after all!”
“Yeah! This is really brave of you!”
“Brave?”
“Yeah. Throwing a party for the two biggest party ponies in Equestria? That can’t be easy.”
All the excitement in Cheesecake evaporated at Rainbow’s statement. Replaced instead with looming dread.
“Oh… y-you’re right. I… I never thought about it that way.” His breathing grew heavy. His shoulders heaved up and down. “It… it has to be perfect! I’m their son! if it isn’t perfect, they’ll just wish they threw it themselves! They’ll be so disappointed in me! I can’t disappoint them!” He pressed his hooves against his head, falling to the floor. “And if they hate it, then they’ll be in a bad mood and then all of Hearth’s Warming will be ruined!”
“Uhh…” Rainbow gritted her teeth hard, as if someone had just punched her in the gut. “Hey, squirt. Let’s, uhh, go back to talking about what a good idea this was! You know the praising. And the—”
“N-no time!” squealed Cheesecake. “I need to get so much ready! Ahhh!” He sped off, hooves a blur as he galloped away.
“I think you’re overthinking this, Lil’ Cheese.” Applejack pressed her hooves upon the machine. Hot apple cider rushed out of the nozzle at the bottom, filling a bottle, which she swiftly capped and place it among the others in the barn. “Hearth’s Warming ain’t about the items. The best present you can give ‘em is yourself!”
“That…” Cheesecake’s smile rose. And rose further. Until it fell. “...doesn’t help me at all.”
“What!? Us six learnt a long time ago that the best gift you can give is friendship!”
“That’s not going to help me when they’re angry at their only son for being a horrible party thrower!” He froze. “O-oh no, what if they get me gifts at tomorrow’s party!? How am I going to face them if this party doesn’t go well!?” His heart raced, his mind blanked. His breaths grew short and rapid.
“Whoa whoa.” Applejack hooked an arm around Lil’ Cheese, pulling the colt close. “Take a breath.”
Lil’ Cheese did as he was told.
“Now let it out slowly.”
“Ahhh…”
“Better?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Auntie AJ.” Cheesecake smiled. “So, can you help?”
“Of course I can. What do you need?”
“Well, mom really likes anything sweet. And Dad’s all about sandwiches and finger foods.”
“I… reckon I could whip something up!” Applejack tossed another filled bottle to the pile. “Come back a little later, I’ll have something ready for you.”
“Yes!” Cheesecake shot up, planting a soft kiss upon Applejack’s cheek. The country pony blushed with a sheepish smile. “Thank you, Aunt AJ!”
“No problem. Now, go on and get the other things!”
“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Cheesecake sang, galloping away to his next destination.
“A party for Pinkie Pie?” Discord scoffed, twirling a wisp of cloud across his claw… finger.
“Oh, that sounds delightful!” Fluttershy sang. Her voice was soft. Gentle. Like the sleeping deer laying in her lap. Cheesecake tried to abstain from picking favorites among his aunts. But deep down Fluttershy’s caring nature had always struck a chord with him. “Pinkie and Cheese will love it!”
“So? Any ideas?” asked Cheesecake.
“I think Pinkie will love having them shaped into cute fluffy little bunnies! I know I do!”
“Oh, nonsense, Fluttershy. You recommend bunnies to every creature.” Discord circled around the giant stone waterfall of the animal sanctuary. “Pinkie Pie is... weirder. More chaotic! Which is precisely why you made the perfect choice asking me, Cheeseburger!”
“Uhh… Cheesecake,” the colt corrected. “And I came to see Auntie Fluttershy.”
“Ugh, semantics.” Discord waved a dismissive hoof? Paw? ...Thing, around. He snapped his fingers and poof! Three small pieces of bread materialized in thin air! They hopped around upon the grass, leaning their cream covered ‘noses’ to the air and giving soft sniffs.”Ta-da! Bun-nies!”
Fluttershy giggled. And Lil’ Cheese couldn’t help but smile too.
“Thanks, Uncle Discord, but I don’t think that’s going to work with a napkin.”
“Nonsense!” Discord snapped his fingers, creating three pieces of napkins that folded themselves into ‘bun-nies’ within the blink of an eye.
“Ahh!” Cheesecake screamed.
And the napkins screamed back.
“Ahhh!” Cheesecake screamed louder. “What are these things?”
“What do they look like? These are napkins!” He picked one up.
“Napkins don’t scream back at me! ...Or at all!”
“Well, maybe not your napkins. But these napkins read the energy in the room and mimic it!”
“...Why?” Cheesecake asked.
“A party is sure to be full of high energy excitement and life. These things help keep that constant! It’s a no-brainer really. Trust me, when the party’s starting up you’ll be happy that they’re there.”
I… don’t have time to argue. Lil’ Cheese shrugged and opened his saddlebag. The napkins immediately hopped inside.
“Anything else, Cheesecake?”
“Oh! I heard you have tea? Could I get some for the party?”
“Oh, tea!” Discord grinned.
“Maybe you should let me handle this one, Discord?” said Fluttershy in a strong, assertive tone. “I don’t think he’s looking for ginseng that actually sings. Or early grey that turns things grey… or names them Earl.”
“Oh, how boring!” Discord pouted and folded his arms. “But if you insist!”
“So, what tea do you think Pinkie would enjoy?”
“Oh, mint and honey, no question! And my Dad doesn’t really drink tea, but he likes what Pinkie likes!”
Fluttershy giggled, though Cheesecake wasn’t sure why.
“I’ll get those for you right away.” Fluttershy disappeared into her cottage, leaving Cheesecake alone with the smiling draconequus. Discord slithered around Cheesecake’s neck, poking a claw upon his head.
“Has it crossed your mind that throwing a party for the two biggest party throwers in Equestria is—“
“A bad idea? Yeah. Had that freak out already.”
“What!?” Discord teleported back in front of Cheesecake. Eyes wide with… rage? Confusion? Pride? Cheesecake could never really tell with him. “But that’s my job! Who-“
“Rainbow Dash.”
“Oh… well, it looks as if my chaos is rubbing off on them after all! Must be after the Winterchilla incident!”
“Winterchil- wait what? Don’t they turn into Winterzillas after dark?”
“Oh, interesting! It appears that it won’t be easy tricking you I see. Though I do like a challenge! Now, run along. I have planning to do!” Discord snapped himself away in a poof. Leaving Cheesecake alone, mind scrambled and eyebrows furrowed.
“But… I still have to wait for Auntie Fluttershy…”
“To be perfectly honest with you, dear, I’m not sure why you came to me.”
“You know all about making things look pretty, right, Auntie Rarity? I’d ask my mom about how to set a party up but…”
“The party is for her. Yes, I see the issue.” Rarity pulled a stitch through the mannequin's sweater. “I suppose I have attended enough of Pinkie’s parties to have a slight idea of what she might do. Though what ribbon would she enjoy?” The doors to a nearby closet opened, revealing an endless array of ribbons of every shape and color, wrapped around spools and stacked neatly on top of one another. “I suppose the red velvet gold is in season, but it doesn’t feel very… Pinkie Pie. Or Cheese Sandwich.”
Cheesecake stepped forward, pulling a blue ribbon inlaid with silver. And then another. One by one he went through the selections.
“Ah, how about this?” Rarity lifted a green ribbon. “It just screams Hearth’s Warming!”
“This one.” Cheesecake lifted a piece of pink and blue ribbon, its bright gold edges cut into soft waves. It was loud, yet there was a certain sense of comfort that came with its color. Its simplicity, combined with the chill air and snow outside, was perfect to Cheesecake.
Rarity gasped upon seeing Cheesecake’s choice “Magnifique! The slight sparkle. The colors! Why, what a great eye, Cheesecake!”
“T-thank you,” he blushed. Rarity unraveled a portion of the ribbon, cutting off a decent length and wrapping it around another empty spool.
“Here you go, dear. One ribbon for what will be one spectacular party, I’m sure!”
“Thank you, Auntie Rarity. I’ll figure out how to tie somehow.”
“Oh, tying a ribbon? Cheesecake dear, do you need help?”
“C-can you teach me?”
“I most certainly can!”
“G-great!” He leapt upon a nearby couch. Rarity floated two pieces of red ribbon over. She placed one in his hooves and kept the other levitating in midair.
“Alright, so. To make a ribbon, you simply…”
Rarity’s instructions were clear. Her hooves danced effortlessly around the ribbon, tying them into spellbinding patterns within seconds. She was agile. Deft. Quick.
Cheesecake was none of those things.
He had, instead, tied the ribbon around his hooves in several knots. He tried again. But the result was even worse. Once more. Twice more. Each failed attempt only made his nervousness escalate even more, increasing his breathing rate to a rapid pace.
“Cheesecake, what ever is the matter?”
“Why am I so bad at this!?”
“Nonsense! You simply need to calm down.” Rarity floated over a pair of scissors, snapping Cheesecake’s hooves free. He glanced at the clock and his heart immediately sank.
“Rarity, I… don’t have the time! I have to go to Sweet Apple Acres to collect the food and I have to prep the party! And—”
“Shush. Then we’ll try it once more. Hold up your ribbon.”
“Rarity—”
“Hold it up, dearie.”
Cheesecake wanted to scream. Yet somehow, he managed to bottle it inside him. With shaky hooves, he lifted the ribbon.
Rarity took it even slower. She led Cheesecake at every single step until, finally, he had a ribbon tied within his hooves.
“I did that?”
“Yes,” said Rarity with a smile. “You did.”
Instantly, all the anxiety within Cheesecake’s heart washed away. He grinned. “Okay! I… think I can make this work!” He shot his eyes at the clock and bolted out of his seat. “Sorry, Auntie Rarity! I need to set this all up now! Thanks for everything!”
“You’re quite welcome! Let me know how everything goes!”
Cheesecake stood back to admire his work. The room was decorated with streamers and tinsels. Ribbons, threaded through glass ornaments, hung from the ceiling. They were tied into the bow shapes Rarity had taught him, though they weren’t quite as perfect as he had wanted them to be. A compromise that he was less than happy to make.
The food table had been set up to the side. While the bun-ny napkins Discord had given him were running about the floor, twitching their ‘nose’ to sniff the air. But what they were hoping to find, Cheesecake had no idea.
The clay teapot, filled with the delicious honey and mint Fluttershy had given him, sat nicely upon the fla—
Oh no, the flame!
The wax candle that was supposed to keep the tea warm sat unlit. In his haste to get everything ready, it must have slipped his mind. And Cheesecake dreaded to think how long ago that was.
He struck a match and lit the candle, then discarded it to the nearby trash. He placed a hoof to the pot and, like he had feared, it was ice cold.
“It’s fine,” he spoke to himself. He could already feel the anxious energy overtaking him. “It’s just the tea! I can just wait for it to warm up and it’ll be okay! R-right?”
A wind blew by, wafting the scent of the freshly baked sandwiches and pie to his nose. Applejack had done a spectacular job at the food. He sniffed then smiled. At least something was going right. He would have to delay their arrival a little due to the tea but at least when they came, they would be able to have…
Delay.
They would be delayed. And if they were delayed to wait for the tea to warm, then the treats would certainly have lost their freshness by that point.
“No no no no no!” Cheesecake pressed his hooves to his head and sat upon the ground. “Come on, Cheesecake,” he spoke through the pauses in his rapid breathing. “Think, there has to be a way to keep them warm. Think!”
He was hoping the self instruction would clear his mind. But the random, storming thoughts clouded any good ideas. This nervous energy, one that had helped him focus on his work, was now coming back to haunt him.
As it always had.
“Ahhh!” Cheesecake screamed.
And, like an echo, a scream returned to him.
“W-what?”
The bun-ny napkins had stopped their scurrying around on the hardwood floor. They stared back at him and screamed once more. And that’s when Discord’s warning echoed within his mind.
They were echoing his nervous energy.
“No no no no! Shh! Shh!”
The napkins released a loud wail and hopped away.
“Please. Please keep it down.” Cheesecake begged. But the napkins didn’t listen. He felt his composure falter. Like a tower of cards where one had been disturbed, bit by bit, he felt himself crashing down. “This was supposed to be perfect.” He wrapped his hooves around his form, shaking his head.
“Cheesecake?”
The chirpy, cheerful voice froze Cheesecake’s blood solid. He jerked up and, to his horror, his parents were standing at the entrance to his room, bewildered at the sight in front of them.
“What’s all this?” asked Cheese Sandwich.
“No! You can’t be here!” He galloped over as fast as he could and tried fruitlessly to push them out of the room. “It’s not ready yet!”
“What’s not ready?”
Instantly, the nervousness in him melted away to despair. It overwhelmed him, robbing him of his ability to stand and bringing a wave of tears to his eyes.
“Y-your party,” Cheesecake stammered out through his sobs.
There were a million possible scenarios running through his mind. He was sure they would be angry. Leave him alone in the room to sob. Or worse, outright scold and confront his mistakes. Critique every imperfect element of the party. This would not only ruin tonight, but tomorrow as well. He was going to be blamed for ruining Hearth’s Warming not just for his family, but his aunts who all so graciously helped him. Of course this is how it would go.
After all, how could they stand having a child who was terrible at their passion.
Yet, what he wasn’t expecting was two pairs of hooves to wrap around him, pulling his face close to their warm form.
“Aww, you planned for a party for us?”
“I tried to. It was supposed to be your Hearth's Warming present. But everything went wrong. It isn’t perfect.”
“Oh, Cheesecake,” Pinkie smiled, wiping his tears away. “It is perfect.”
“W-what? No it isn’t! The mint and lemon tea’s cold. The sandwiches and pies are going to get stale. The ribbons aren’t as good as Rarity made them and…”
The napkins screamed out again.
“Oh!” Cheese Sandwich picked up one of the hopping napkins. “Rabbits?”
“Pfft, ‘bun-nies’!” Pinkie snorted. “Now that’s comedy!” She let out a loud laugh. And so did her husband.
Cheesecake wondered if their laughs were fake. An act to make him feel better. Yet, they didn’t seem forced. And when Pinkie snorted again in the middle of her laugh, he knew they were genuine.
But he didn’t understand why.
“I... don’t get it. Everything went wrong.”
“But you tried to make it right. You cared enough to go through all this effort to set this party up, even though it isn’t easy.”
“Trust us,” Cheese added with a wink. “We know.”
“Most importantly, you even knew all our favorite stuff. Sandwiches for Cheese and pies for me!” Pinkie smiled. “The perfect party isn’t one that’s always run well. The best parties ponies ever hosted for me were those where ponies really put in an effort to make me smile. That is what makes parties perfect! And this party definitely ranks up there with the best I’ve ever been thrown.” She leaned in close, whispering into Cheesecake’s ear, “you know, between you and me, I couldn’t have done a lot of my parties without help from my friends too.”
Cheesecake leaned away. “You knew what I was doing the whole day?”
“Not at the start. But… it’s hard not to know when our kid is going through so much just for us.” Cheese winked.
Cheesecake’s mouth hung open in awe. He couldn’t quite see due to his misty vision, but he felt himself being pulled to his hooves.
“If you’re still up for it, we can still make this an amazing Hearth’s Warming Eve Eve party!” said Cheese.
“Are you?” asked Pinkie.
It took a couple of seconds for Cheesecake to find his answer. But when he did, it didn’t take long for him to give a firm nod.
“Thanks, mom. Thanks, dad. Sorry I’m not the amazing party planning kid you were expecting me to be.”
“We never expected you to be anyone other than your amazing, puffy haired self!” Pinkie pulled him close and nuzzled against his forehead with her muzzle.
“Yeah! Who knows, maybe you’ll grow up to be a swimmer!” Cheese grinned, pulling the ribbons from their place in the ceiling.
“Or a rock climber!”
“Or a sugar taster!”
“What!? Why did nopony tell me they had that as a job!?”
Cheesecake laughed.
“You still have a whole life to discover your cutie mark,” Cheese gestured to his blank flank.
“And no matter what you choose to be, we’ll be behind you every step of the way!”
Lil’ Cheese felt a boulder’s weight lift from his shoulder. He wanted to thank them for everything. But with the tears and sobs working their way up, he could only bury his face in Pinkie’s coat and cry.
Of joy, this time.
His father joined in the embrace. And they held it for… well, he didn’t know. He just enjoyed every second as it ticked by. The warmth and love chased away any anxious, nervous energy still left in his system. Even the formerly screaming napkins went silent, hopping around with a seemingly joyful energy.
The moment they broke the hug, they returned to cleaning up the party. Pinkie tied the ribbons into mesmerizing shapes. Cheese set the tables and music. And Lil’ Cheese went over to try to keep the food warm. But strangely enough, they were already set up on metal trays over a tiny flame, much like the tea pot.
“Nice work, Dad!”
“What? But… I haven’t done anything to the food table. Pinkie?”
“Nope! But don’t look a gift pony in the mouth!”
Lil’ Cheese’s mind raced. His eyes narrowed.
And he smiled.
Cheesecake’s eyes shot open. The soft moonlight pouring through his window illuminated his bed and the remnants of the party that had happened just a few hours ago. Shadows of falling snow dotted the confetti-covered ground. He sat up, pulling his blanket snugly to his form to stave away the chilling cold.
“I know you’re here.”
At first, there wasn’t any movement. But sure enough, one of the chairs morphed into a long, snake like shape. His yellow eyes glimmering in the dark.
“What gave it away?”
“I slide in all my chairs before I sleep.” Cheesecake pointed to the several present in his room.
“Drat, foiled by good pony manner again. When will I ever learn?” said Discord, placing a hand over his forehead and pretending to faint.
Cheesecake giggled. “If you’re looking for your napkins, I folded them at the desk for you.”
“Huh? O-oh, right! Napkins! Exactly so!” He snapped and they vanished with a familiar ‘poof’. He turned to leave, but a hoof upon his arm stopped him in his tracks.
“It was you who set up the warming dish for the food, wasn’t it?”
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Right. You have no idea that the napkins could’ve been normal napkins and that they didn’t have to echo my emotions. And you definitely have no idea that it might’ve been you who told my parents everything I was doing to get the party set up?
“Nope! Not an idea in the slightest!” He dragged a finger across his head, plucking a lightbulb from it. He winked. And the lightbulb flickered on.
“Right.” Cheesecake smiled. “Thank you, Uncle Discord.”
Discord seemed taken aback by Cheesecake’s words. After a moment’s pause, he pocketed the lightbulb into his nonexistent pockets and cleared his throat. “Well, enough talk. You shouldn’t be up this late. If you’re tired tomorrow and she finds out, Pinkie Pie will have my head!” Without warning, he popped his head from his neck, rolling it around the top of his arms. Cheesecake burst into loud laughter, which he tried to stifle by turning it into giggles through his gritted teeth.
Discord moved closer, pushing Cheesecake’s head to the pillow. With another snap of his fingers, the blankets rose up and fell precisely on Cheesecake’s neck, tucking him in.
“You should get some rest too.”
“Oh don’t you worry about your jolly old Lord of Chaos,” replied Discord.
“Happy Hearth's Warming.” Cheesecake shut his eyes and snuggled in. He pretended to sleep, waiting for the poof of Discord disappearing from his room. It did come eventually. But not before he heard him speak softly under his breath. As if he was afraid that someone would hear.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming to you too, kid.”