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Sugarcube Corner had been cleared out for the greatest, most awesomest party that was ever to be held there. Celestia had yet to rise the sun that morning, and so everything was bathed in the colours of the night sky – rich navy and milky whites. Inside Ponyville’s top bakery, however, there was no resting to be done. Mr and Mrs Cake had gone off to Canterlot for a holiday, and Pinkie Pie had agreed to watch the store for them, bouncing eagerly on her hooves.
Pinkie Pie had a plan. She stood square in the middle of the bakery, assessing it with a scrunched muzzle. The case that usually held pastries and cakes was empty, a sheet draped over the clear glass. All the chairs and tables had been pushed over to the side of the room, and so she was left with a wide open room.
“Right.” She announced, her face completely serious. Pinkie glared around the room, as if daring something to come out and challenge her. Gummy crawled out from beneath the stairs, blinking slowly at her. “We have a party to prepare, Gummy!” Pinkie Pie yelled, a rallying cry, and then she raced up the stairs. Gummy continued to sit beside the stairs, his tail wagging side to side.
It took a full half hour, and the sound of several things breaking, before Pinkie Pie returned downstairs. Behind her she dragged a large box, overflowing with party supplies. Once both pony and box were safely on the landing, Pinkie Pie slammed her head into the container. Her head swung side to side as she searched, her tail bouncing in time with her sharp movements.
She pulled her head from the box with a loud gasp, a piece of tinsel sticking into her mane. Claimed proudly between her teeth as a large banner, a plain, sky blue. Pinkie trotted backwards, tossing her head to encourage the long strip to get out of the box. She laid that down, smoothing it out with her forelegs, assessing where it could be tied onto. “Perfect!” She chirped, bounding happily back to the box.
Her searching continued in until the sun rose, high and proud outside. By that time the floor of the bakery was unrecognisable – Pinkie Pie had set out balloons and streamers and tablecloths and cups and plates and confetti and an assortment of paints.
Getting the box back upstairs proved to be more troublesome than getting it down initially. They reached the first landing, in which Pinkie Pie turned a deathly stare on the box. They continued this particular match for a few minutes, before the Earth Pony pulled back, apparently pleased. “This is for the party!” Pinkie Pie yelled, before dragging the box upstairs with renewed vigour.
The morning wore on as Pinkie Pie worked. She dashed about the bakery madly, paintbrushes hanging from her mouth. She would occasionally attempt to yell distorted commands at Gummy, who had moved himself onto the second step after getting splashed with red paint.
The banner was painted awkwardly, with Pinkie Pie trying to simultaneously hold the fabric flat with her forelegs and also paint with her mouth. There were several hoof prints across the canvas, made in a rainbow of colours, but it still looked spectacular. Getting the banner up on the roof proved even more difficult. A ladder was a concept unheard of to the pink pony, and she made a tower out of the chairs and tables in the corner. She leapt up them, nimble as a mountain-pony, balancing on her hind legs as she attached the banner to hooks on the wall.
“Boy, Gummy, I sure am getting pooped.” Pinkie Pie said at last, letting out a heavy sigh. “Here, you go take all the invites!” She shoved the stack of pages into the mouth of the alligator, who simply continued blinking sluggishly at her.
Gummy did not move as Pinkie Pie frantically began moving the chairs and tables into place, throwing tablecloths over their light wooden tops, blowing up balloons and tossing confetti around the room. “Perfect! It’s going to be perfect!” Pinkie Pie wailed, bouncing around the room, her energy renewed by a job well done. Then came the matter of food, which Pinkie Pie had – in an unusual moment of foresight – prepared with Mrs Cake before she had left.
“Those invites better be out, Gummy!” Pinkie called from the kitchen, and she added something on the end, though it was muffled by the tray of muffins in her mouth. Out came all manner of sweets – cakes and pies and muffins and cookies – all stacked high on one table. In the kitchen, the off-limits area, sat a huge cake. The monstrosity almost reached the ceiling, and was iced in almost as many colours as the banner outside.
Once she had finally set everything up, Pinkie Pie came to sit beside Gummy, who had spat out the soggy invites long ago. “You’re so silly, Gummy.” Pinkie Pie said, laughing loudly. The alligator crawled over and attempted to bite her foreleg. “We handed all those out yesterday. I wanted to see if I could trick you!”
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Rainbow Dash arrived at her birthday party in her usual style, transitioning seamlessly from flying to trotting. Inside the building, though, the Pegasus had to pause. “Pinkie Pie, you seriously...” She trailed off, taking in everything. Pinkie Pie always threw the best parties, but this time she had outdone herself. Everything was in the sky blue of Rainbow Dash’s own pelt, with rainbows and clouds splashed liberally around the design. She caught sight of the hand painted banner, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAINBOW DASH YOU ARE SOOOO AWESOME!!!” was barely visible between several rainbows, clouds, and paint-covered hoof prints.
“You’re here!” Pinkie Pie squealed, and if it weren’t for the fact Rainbow knew she was an Earth Pony she would’ve thought Pinkie had wings. The pink blur collided with her, balancing her painted hooves on Rainbow’s shoulders. “I have something super special for you, I made you a cake!”
“Awesome, Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash said, knowing how Pinkie Pie was with presents. She could never wait to hand them out – once she had the right thing, she had to give it to the receiver as soon as physically possible. Rainbow Dash trotted after the other pony, who danced and jumped and bounded and kept turning around to talk to her.
“You should’ve seen how dark it was when we got up.” Pinkie Pie began, though every time she turned around her conversation topic changed. “I had paint everywhere – and you should’ve seen Gummy, he’s so silly – you’re going to love your present – and I was like, jeez, you can’t just say that...”
They eventually reached the kitchen. “Close your eyes!” Pinkie screamed, and Rainbow Dash did as she was told. She barely resisted the urge to tilt her leg to the side and peek through.
“Alright, you ready?” Pinkie Pie asked. Rainbow Dash nodded. “Open them!”
Before her lay the most amazing thing Rainbow Dash had ever seen. It was a full-scale model of her – Rainbow Dash – standing proud on a stainless steel bench. Instead of being the sky blue her coat was, Pinkie Pie had gone over and iced her in Wonderbolt uniform. Rainbow Dash felt her jaw drop at each detail. It was almost impossible to render Rainbow Dash speechless, but Pinkie Pie achieved it.
And it worried her. “What’s wrong?” Her face fell instantly. “Is there something wrong with it? I had to stay up all night to get it finished, it’s taken me forever, I thought you’d lik-” Pinkie Pie was abruptly cut off, receiving a little of her own treatment when Rainbow Dash came crashing into her.
“Pinkie Pie, I love it.” The Pegasus professed, nuzzling her head into a fuzzy poof of pink mane. “I can’t believe you stayed up all night doing that.” It was seriously breathtaking – each detail was absolutely perfect. Rainbow Dash wondered how Pinkie Pie had refrained from eating it as she worked. She was well known for consuming almost as much as she made.
Rainbow Dash pulled her head back when she received no response. Pinkie Pie rested her muzzle against the rainbow of her mane, sound asleep.
“Thanks, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash echoed, quietly, as she nuzzled back against her neck.