Chapters A Late Night’s Guest
Luna’s moon casted its cool, radiant light over the land of Equestria. The town of Ponyville was blessed with silence as its residence enjoyed the relaxing comfort of sleep. A cool breeze provided an updraft for the local owls. They glided around the town, in search of anything to satisfy their midnight hunger. In the middle of swooping down to snatch up a scurrying mouse, one of the birds let out a disturbed “HOOT”! The shadow that fell over the bird of prey belonged to a very tired unicorn.
“Owls…” The unicorn rolled his eyes. He walked along at a sluggish, weary pace. He winced with each step. His breathing became heavier by the second and soon he couldn’t even walk straight. The next step he took was his last before his hooves gave out. He hit the ground hard and almost flipped forward.
“Oh, great. I was so close…” he groaned. “Looks like I’ll be waiting here until somepony finds me. That’s what I get for not stopping to camp.”
A few minutes dragged by, but to the impatient unicorn, they felt like hours. He looked around for a place he could stop for the night. Many of the buildings were too dark to make out in the night. Thankfully, one shop was brightly lit by the full moon. It was a bakery, that he was sure. The whole building looked like a giant cake! Relief washed over him when he realized it wasn’t that far from him. And that there was a light on inside! When he tried to stand, a burning stab hit him right in the bottom of his hooves. He quickly sat back down. An irritated sigh forced its way from his mouth.
“Now how am I getting over there?” He asked angrily. It took about three minutes of thinking until a thought smacked him with reality. He was a unicorn for crying out loud! “Of COURSE I would forget I can do magic!” By concentrating some energy into his horn, he created a force field around his body and carried himself to the door of the shop. When he got there, he misjudged the distance between him and the ground and dropped himself ever-not-so-gently to the ground.
“Owww…” He groaned. He focused another force field. This time he only put it around his hooves and legs so he could stand up. With a deep breath of hope, he raised his hoof and gave the door a gentle knock.
Pinkie Pie nearly jumped out of her skin. At a quarter after twelve at night, the knock sounded like a cannon blast echoing in the kitchen. She shoved a cookie into her mouth and quickly took a sip of her warm milk before standing to answer the door. As she made her way to the door, she couldn’t help but wonder who in Equestria would be knocking past midnight.
She pulled open the door to reveal a light navy blue unicorn. She instantly recognized him as a new pony.
“Sorry for knocking so late”, he said apologetically, “I just came into town and my hooves are killing me. I was wondering if there was someplace I can crash for the night.”
The pink pony thought about it for a second. Mr. and Mrs. Cake wouldn’t mind it if she let a tired pony stay for a night. She had done it before. She stepped aside and let him enter.
He made his way over the threshold and stumbled forward. He forgot to concentrate on his magic again. Pinkie Pie immediately helped him back up.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks…uh…” He looked at her, expecting to get her name.
“Pinkie Pie”, she whispered with a smile. She wished it wasn’t in the middle of night. Being quiet wasn’t one of her strengths. It also didn’t help she was very, very excited.
“Nice name. Mine’s Bass Strings. Just call me Strings for short.”
She led him into the kitchen. “I have some cookies and milk. Hungry?”
He shook his head. “Nah, not really.” He took a seat at the table to give his horn a rest.
“Are you suuuuuurrre?” She grabbed the plate of cookies from the table and held them up to his face enticingly.
He levitated a cookie from the plate. “Umm, thanks.”
As he bit into the cookie, Pinkie Pie gulped down her milk, leaving behind a white mustache on her upper lip and nose.
Strings chortled, almost choking on his cookie. “You look funny, Pinkie Pie!” he laughed with his mouth full.
“You sound funny!” she countered.
He shrugged and snagged another cookie.
Snack time lasted only another few minutes before Strings started some serious yawning. “I think now would be a good time to ask where I’m sleeping tonight.”
Pinkie Pie dropped the two dishes into the sink. “Come on. You can sleep in my room.” She started to walk out.
He stood up. “You sure about that?”
“Mmmhmm!” Pinkie Pie hummed. “I don’t think you’re a bad pony.” She turned in the doorway to the kitchen. “And besides, I think I can take you.”
Strings nodded honestly. He followed her up the stairs to her room. The stairwell was dimly lit by gas lamps. The unicorn thought it was old-fashioned, yet super peaceful. His legs were on fire again, but not as bad as before. Pinkie Pie led him down the hallway until she stopped and pushed open a door. The inside of Pinkie’s room was hard to make out in the dim light, but Strings saw Pinkie Pie walk to her bed and grab a small blanket and pillow.
“You don’t hafta take those for me”, Strings objected. He tapped his horn. “I’ll just make my own.”
“These are for me, silly. You’re sleeping in my bed”, she replied.
“Miss Pie, that’s totally unradical—” He started.
“You need a comfy bed more than I do, besides, I can’t sleep tonight anyways. And call me Pinkie Pie”, she interrupted.
“I…” he tried, “Thanks, Pinkie Pie.”
Strings used his magic to place his guitar beside the bed and climbed into it as Pinkie Pie created a nest-like cot beside it.
As he settled in, Strings thought about what Pinkie Pie had said about her insomnia. He felt bad for her, so he quickly decided to do her a favor. “Pinkie Pie?” He whispered.
“Yes?” She looked up at him as he hung over the bed. “Hmmhmm”, she giggled, “you look silly upside down.”
“You’re the one upside down”, he chuckled.
They shared a quick, quiet laugh before he continued. “I wanna thank you for letting me stay here…”
“No thanks necessary, all you have to do is be my friend.” She smiled wider.
“Then let that be the first of my six returning favors”, he said, “and let this be my second.”
Before Pinkie Pie could squeal in excitement at the thought of a new friend, Strings’ horn glowed and a short, small burst of sparkly dust fell over her. Her eyes instantly became heavy, and she yawned. Her body became relaxed as the dust rained over her. The last image she saw was his smiling face.
“Two down, four to go. I’m looking forward to it”, Strings said to himself. He looked at Pinkie Pie again before turning. “Heh, she should’ve been named Pretty Pie.”
He blushed at the thought. “I hope she likes music.” His last yawn was followed by his eyes closing, and finally, sleep found him.
_________
“Wake up…wake up!”
“Mmmmoooommm, it’s Saturday. Let me sleep in”, Strings complained in his sleep. He rolled over.
A familiar giggle tickled his eardrums. When he opened his eyes, he saw Pinkie Pie standing over him.
“Good morning! Filled with sunshine and pancakes, it’s rewarding!” she sang. She bounced throughout the room, continuing her song. “No sleeping in, there is so much that we have to do! So please oh please, keep your eyes open and wakey wakey why don’t you? Good morning!”
Strings gaped in awe. “That is one rad singing voice you got there. Heh, it’s music to my ears.”
They both laughed at his bad joke.
Before he could sit up, she pushed a tray in his lap. “Surprise! Breakfast in bed!”
He eyed the loaded platter. It was piled high with food! “Whoa, where do I begin?” he asked in amazement.
“I like to eat the breakfast cupcakes first. Then, I usually eat the waffles. Then…” she started.
To be honest, Strings really couldn’t hear a word she was saying. His heart was pounding so hard that it managed to reach his eardrums. Her eyes were a maze of happiness. Her voice was so her. She was just…well, he couldn’t even find a word to come close to describing her.
“…and that’s how I eat breakfast.” She picked up one of the cupcakes and stuffed it into her mouth.
“I’m not in an eating mood right now, Pinkie Pie. Thanks anyway, though.” He hopped off the bed and stretched.
“What do you want to do then?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I mean, I have so many things we can do, but you just got here and you probably wanna do something you wanna do first instead of letting me drag you around!”
“I’m low on cash. I think I’ll go look for a job. Hopefully I’ll find a gig somewhere.” He stretched again and looked up to see Pinkie Pie’s confused expression.
“What’s a gig?” She asked expectantly.
“That’s what I call a job that I can play my guitar at. Sort of a small concert type thing.” He began to walk toward the door.
“Ooh, can I help? I play all kinds of instruments.” She bounced in place, hoping he would say “yes”.
Pinkie Pie’s eyes looked directly into his as she waited for the answer. For that moment, he couldn’t breathe. It would seem as if all of his internal organs had stopped completely. The only things that worked were his eyes, as they looked right into hers.
Pinkie Pie, however, was confused. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pry her stare away from his pair of lighter sky blue eyes. It was so strange, just like being lost in the hedge maze back when Discord made it rain chocolate milk. There was a tickly feeling in her tummy. This made her feel weird and giddy at the same time.
Strings did his best to pull himself together. He finally managed to stutter, “S-Sure, Pink. But before you can, I gotta find work first.”
Pinkie Pie’s heart hit her throat at his answer. She was so happy at the fact that she might get to spend more time with him. And not like the regular kind of happy. She couldn’t describe it, but it felt better than the regular happy.
He left through the door and down the stairs. There was bustling in the kitchen of the bakery, but Strings ignored the noise and left to find a bulletin board.
Pinkie Pie followed closely behind, hoping to figure out what those weird feelings were. She would definitely have to ask Twilight about them later.
For some reason completely unknown to her, she wondered if he had a fillyfriend…
Author's Note
Story number three! Sorry for the delays, but I've been more focused on posting them on Fanfiction. If you'd like to read the rest of the updates, then all you have to do is go to Fanfiction.net/~MegaTJ.
A Day in Ponyville
“Let’s see now…” Strings hummed as he examined the examined board outside Ponyville’s Town Hall.
Pinkie Pie bounced in place beside him. She watched him carefully scan the job notices. She wanted to try and help him out, so she did her best to think of a way to get him work. Then, she got an idea. “Why don’t you come help me and the Cakes at Sugarcube Corner?”
Strings chuckled. “Heh, no thank you. I would love to, but cakes burn to a crisp if I even look at a kitchen.” He thought back to a time when he could actually swim through the smoke that filled his mother’s kitchen.
Pinkie Pie tried to think of something else. Her second idea got her very excited. “Ooh, I know! I can teach you how to bake! I wasn’t so good at it at first either, but I had a good teacher, and I think I’m a good teacher so…”
As Strings listened to her proposal and several explanations, he couldn’t help but smile. Pinkie Pie’s happiness seemed to radiate from her. He never thought that he could feel happiness on the outside like that. Then, he knew that a job could wait a while. He wanted to become real good friends with her fast, first.
“Pinkie Pie”, he stated.
She stopped, ready to hear what he had to say.
“Maybe you can help me out. Why don’t you show me around so I don’t get lost?”
Pinkie Pie flew into the air. “Yes! Where do you want to go first? You can meet my friends! Then we can go to my favorite prank shop, and then we can get a cook book at the library so I can teach you to bake. And I’ll show you my favorite party spots!”
Strings smiled wider. “Lead the way, Pink.”
Pinkie Pie cheered again and tore off in the direction of Rainbow Dash’s home.
Strings dashed after her, glad that he used to run cross country. As soon as he caught up to her, she stopped without even slowing down, causing him to flinch and stumble forward. He came to a rolling stop ahead of her. On his back, he looked back to see Pinkie Pie laughing upside down.
“Do you like being upside down or something”, Strings called. He smiled widely as Pinkie Pie bounced up to him.
“No, you must really like being upside down! You do it all the time!” Pinkie Pie trotted over and put her face directly above his.
The way the light bordered Pinkie Pie made Strings gasp inwardly. It lit up her mane and coat as if she were in a real-life golden picture frame. Over and over again, he kept thinking: She’s so pretty…
“Your face is turning red. It looks silly!” Pinkie Pie giggled.
Strings quickly flipped over and took a few silent deep breaths to force his blush to go away. He smiled brightly at Pinkie Pie. She smiled back.
“Weren’t we going somewhere?” He asked, before the silence grew awkward.
She nodded and then started to hop—more slowly—to Rainbow Dash’s. “We’re going to see my bestest friend Rainbow Dash! She’s the best flyer in all of Equestria!”
“Rainbow Dash?” Strings quietly echoed. “Why does that name ring a bell? Was that the pony I met back in—”
“She also loves to prank, just like me! Do you like to prank?” Pinkie continued, interrupting his thoughts.
“I like a good laugh, yeah. I can’t do it by myself, but I can if I have the stuff to do it, like a squirting flower”, he answered.
“That’s why we’re going to the prank shop later!” Pinkie Pie rang.
Strings decided to change topics. He really needed to know something. “Pink, do you really think you can teach me to bake?” he asked. He was hoping she could; he liked to eat sweets, and if she could teach him, then he could do something very special for them both.
“Absolutely! I can teach you, and then we can have a party to celebrate it! You can even bake the cake!”
“That’s great. And maybe I can teach you how to play the guitar. I’ve taught plenty of ponies, and you can be my—”
“I would love to! I don’t know how to play the guitar, and I really want to know how! I can play a banjo, but it’s really different from a guitar! I know some ponies that know, but I never thought that I could do it just like them!” she interrupted. As it stood, Pinkie Pie would walk through the Everfree Forest if it was on fire to just spend time with him. It was really confusing her. She really liked to be around him. More than she liked to be around anypony else. Strings was just so nice, and he enjoyed being around her too.
“Then that will be my third returning favor”, Strings said. He decided to add a cool effect and used his magic to create the number three with sparkling magic dust in front of them.
As pretty and exciting as the numerical symbol was, Pinkie Pie was more curious about this “favor”. “‘Third returning favor’?”
“Yep”, Strings said, popping the word cheerfully. “Whenever a pony shows me an act of radical kindness, I give him or her six very special returning favors. The first one you got was me being your friend. The second was the sleep spell. And now the third is guitar lessons! Each favor gets more and more special as the number gets bigger, so the sixth is the most awesome! I can’t wait!” The sheer thought of the favors made him ecstatic. He had always loved the policy and the fun he had with them was a new experience every time.
Pinkie Pie looked at him. “You don’t have to do that. I didn’t mind letting you rest.”
He chuckled, “Heh, you aren’t the first that’s told me that. I have a simple statement for you: These special favors are like wishes, except these are sure to come true every time. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on a wish.” He sighed happily.
“Well, I really don’t need wishes. I have everything I want already. Thanks anyways though!” Pinkie Pie continued to bounce down the path.
Bass Strings smiled. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Soon, she’ll see that she’s missing something. Everypony else has, he thought.
“We’re here!” Pinkie Pie cheered. She quickly bounced up to Rainbow Dash’s cloud fortress of a home. “Rainbow Dash! Hey! Rainbow Dash are you home!?”
“Yo! Rainbow Dash!” Strings called.
After two minutes of hearing their calls, the rainbow-maned Pegasus burst from the clouds and backflipped her way down to them. She landed softly, and the look she wore on her face boasted her skills.
“Wow! That was super-duper spectacularmazing!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed at Rainbow’s ten backflips.
Strings remained silent, even though he was amazed. He decided not to bring attention to himself just yet. He completely remembered Rainbow Dash. He wondered if she remembered him.
“Thanks, Pinkie Pie. That was just something new that I decided to try”, Rainbow Dash replied.
“Rainbow Dash, I have a new friend I want you to meet!” Pinkie Pie moved to the side and presented Strings. “This is Bass Strings. He came to Sugarcube Corner in the middle of the night last night and needed a place to rest. I know what it’s like to be tired, so I let him come in and sleep. He also plays the guitar and he’s gonna teach me soon! He likes to prank just like us and—”
Rainbow Dash interrupted her, “Pinkie Pie, if you tell me everything right now, I won’t have anything left to learn.”
“Oh, good idea! I didn’t think about that”, the pink ball of energy stated.
Strings chuckled and grabbed Rainbow’s awaiting hoof. “Nice to see ya again, Rainbow Dash.”
Confused, Rainbow Dash asked, “Do I know you?”
Strings smirked. “You should. Manehattan’s thirteenth annual Battle of the Bands contest? Remember, I was the runner up?”
Rainbow Dash tried her best to rob her memory banks. Then, it clicked. “Oh, yeah! How can I forget such an awesome bass player?”
“You already know each other?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Well, sorta. You see, Rainbow Dash and I both played in a big music contest a few years back. She played guitar and vocals so good that she was just one point away from a perfect score on her first run.”
“The next few judges had it in for me I tell ya”, Dash continued, “I had to play my hardest just to get a barely decent score.”
“They weren’t so easy on me either. I had to pull my best solos to get to the finals”, Strings explained.
“After that it was just me, him, and a rookie drummer”, Rainbow Dash told Pinkie Pie.
“Who won?” Pinkie Pie asked, astonished.
Rainbow Dash and Bass Strings looked at each other, then at the ground, smiling sheepishly.
“The rookie drummer”, they said in unison.
“Oh, well, I’m sure he just got lucky. I bet that he couldn’t beat you two now even if he tried”, Pinkie Pie said.
“And I still think it was rigged…” Rainbow Dash grumbled.
“I told ya back then, and I’ll say it again, Rainbow: I didn’t deserve second place. I messed up so many times that I should have gotten third”, Strings said to Rainbow Dash. He didn’t realize that he had just proved her point.
She huffed, and changed the subject. “I’m on weather patrol detail as of five minutes ago. I have to fly before I lose my job.”
She quickly spread her wings and rocketed into the sky, heading for the Weather Watch Post.
Strings looked at Pinkie Pie. She opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly, her tail started to twitch violently. Instinctively, she grabbed him, and jerked him aside.
Caught off guard, Strings lost his balance and fell to the ground, flat on his face.
Pinkie Pie giggled, “Sorry, but you almost got squished!”
Strings looked up to see a gray Pegasus scrambling to her hooves. She brushed herself off and reached into her mailbag and presented a letter to Strings. “Got a letter for ya!” Derpy Hooves announced.
Strings levitated the letter over to him. “Uh, thanks”, he said uneasily.
“Heya, Pinkie Pie!” Derpy greeted, walking over and hugging the Element of Laughter.
“Hi, Derpy! So, what happened this time?” Pinkie Pie replied cheerfully. She pointed to the Pegasus-shaped imprint in the dust of the path.
“Oh, I think I miscalculated the wind speed as I landed.” Derpy stated. She stretched her legs, “Sorry, I don’t have time to chat! Lots more letters to deliver!”
With that, she bolted into the air as Rainbow Dash had done a few minutes ago. Pinkie Pie bounced over to Strings, who had yet to open his letter.
“How’d you know she was going to land on me?” he asked, uninterested in the paper he was levitating.
“Oh, that was just my Pinkie Sense!” she simply responded.
“Pinkie Sense?” he asked, “That sounds so cool! What is it?”
“Well”, Pinkie Pie began, “it works like this. I get little, different feelings that mean different things.”
“What kinds of feelings?” Strings leaned closer to her.
“Well, when my tail gets twitchy, that means something’s gonna fall. If my ears starts flopping, that means somepony’s gonna get dirty! There’s a lot more too.”
“Whoa! That is some radical power. Can I learn how to do that?” Strings was nose to nose with her now.
He was making her tummy getting tickly again, but she still answered, “I don’t think I can teach you. The feelings come and go randomly. I don’t control it.” She shrugged and changed the subject, “What’s the letter say?”
Strings snapped back out of his thoughts. “Oh, yeah. Let’s take a look-see.”
He peeled the envelope open and levitated the letter out. In his mother’s hoofwriting, were the words:
To my Dearest Bass Strings:
I hope you are doing well on your journey. I write to you now to inform you that a very important pony has asked for you by name. I don’t know, but it would seem as if he is looking for your musical talents. I know that you will most likely turn him down, but I thought you may have wanted to know anyway. I sent his card with this letter for you to look at later.
I am feeling fine, so please do not worry. The main reason I am writing is to tell you that Snare and Bass have both come back to Melodyville. They came right to me and they wanted to apologize for what happened. I know how much you want to apologize to them too, but I told them you were still searching for Harmony. They have both already apologized to Sise, and she has done the same. Bass spoke for all of them when he said that he wanted to get the five of you back together.
Good luck in your search, Sweetheart. Don’t forget to stop by soon!
With lots of love,
Harp Strings A.K.A.: Your Mother
“It’s a letter from Mom”, Strings said, trying to conceal the mixture of feelings inside him. He teleported the letter to Pinkie Pie’s room where he could read over it again later.
Pinkie Pie jumped up, “Ooh, what’s it say, what’s it say!?”
“She wrote to tell me mom stuff”, Strings half-lied. His belly growled. “Oh, jeez. I can’t believe I didn’t eat breakfast.”
“Ooh! I know just the place to go for lunch!” Eagerly, Pinkie Pie grabbed his hoof and dragged him across Ponyville.
Strings didn’t even try to resist.
Author's Note
So chapter 2 is here! Sorry for the delay, I've been focusing my attention mainly on Fanfiction, so if you wanna see what happens next now, you can take a trip over there for a peep.
Friendship In Progress
Strings started to sweat. His concentration was unbroken, though he couldn’t help but get nervous. The current challenge was one of pure will power. Doubt crept into his mind through the stress, but he quickly shook it away; he could win this, he just needed to hang in there for just another few moments. There was no way Pinkie Pie would outlast him. His eyes burned fiercely, but he kept up the fight.
Pinkie Pie watched him, completely unaffected by what was happening. She had been doing this her entire life, and has only ever been beaten by one pony. As she watched him struggle, she knew it would only be a matter of time. He would fold any second now. She, on the other hoof, still had at least two hours left in her.
Any on looking pony couldn’t help but admire Strings’ determination, although any attempt to beat Pinkie Pie at this battle of wits would be futile to even the most stubborn of ponies. He still fought on, ignoring the agonizing pain that came with the challenge. His will was going to be hard to break. His eyes started to water as he continued the challenge.
Ten…more…seconds! He pleaded in his head. Even his thoughts were strained, showing how much he had left in him. Each of those ten grueling seconds drug by, tormenting him. Aargh! I can’t take it anymore!
Strings couldn’t hold it in any longer. He was at his absolute maximum threshold. Quickly, to douse the metaphorical flames that burned his eyes, he blinked in defeat. “That’s it! I’m done!” he begged, “I give up. You win.”
“Yay!” Pinkie Pie cheered. She jumped up from her seat on the ground and started to dance around as Strings used his magic to create and wave a white flag.
“You’re just lucky”, Strings said, rubbing his still stinging eyes. “I haven’t been in a staring contest in a long time.”
Pinkie Pie didn’t hear him over her dancing and cheering. Strings shook his head sarcastically. He concentrated his magic energy and a small bag of bits appeared in front of him.
He withdrew four bits from it. “Here ya go, Applejack.”
The Earth Pony held up her hoof. “Ah don’t think so, partner”, Applejack stated, “Friends eat free.”
Though surprised, Strings decided not to argue. He put the bits back into his bag and returned it back to its hiding place. Applejack’s apples were definitely worth the bits she charged for them, and Strings didn’t exactly feel right not paying. He wondered just how Applejack could warm up literally in a matter of minutes, but she interrupted his thoughts.
“Ah think Pinkie Pie’s tryin’ to get yer attention”, she giggled.
Strings turned and realized Pinkie Pie had been poking his shoulder the whole time he was in his thoughts and was staring at him with wide eyes. “Oh, sorry, Pink. I was thinking about something.”
“That’s okay!” she rang, “I sometimes get caught up in my thoughts too! Sometimes it’s about cupcakes, but mostly it’s about parties!”
“Pinkie Pie, yer always thinkin’ about parties”, stated Applejack with a chuckle.
“Always”, Pinkie Pie hissed, wide-eyed.
Strings snickered at her silliness. “Oh, wait. Pinkie Pie, whatcha need?”
Pinkie Pie thought about the question for a second. “Oh, yeah! I was going to ask you if you were ready to go meet my friend Rarity!”
“That sounds radical. Sure thing”, Strings said happily.
“Yay!” cheered Pinkie Pie again, “Follow me!” Pinkie Pie jumped into the air and literally flew in the direction of the Carousel Boutique her hooves were moving so fast.
“Heheh, it was nice meeting you Applejack. The apples were awesome!” Strings told the farm pony. “See ya later.”
“It was nice meetin’ y’all too. Take care now.”
“I will as long as Pinkie Pie doesn’t break me!”
He left Applejack laughing as he turned to follow the Pink Wonder.
Strings walked along Pinkie Pie’s flight path, hoping that he would find where the party pony had landed. The unicorn kept walking around until he found himself lost in the town. He passed by several buildings he was sure he had passed already. He was already irritable due to the heat of the day beating down on him. “Argh, tree sap!” he cursed. He sighed. “I guess there’s only one thing left to do.” He took a deep breath. “Pinkie Pie!” he shouted, “Where are you?!”
“Here I am!” she replied, having suddenly appeared right next to him.
“Wah!” he yelped. Pinkie Pie’s abrupt arrival made him jump and fall over.
She giggled herself to the ground right next to him. Strings started to laugh with her. They both kept laughing until their lungs couldn’t take the punishment any longer. They lay there, breathing heavily. Strings clambered to his hooves first, and then pulled Pinkie Pie up.
Once again, Pinkie Pie got that tickly feeling in her tummy. But now something new was happening. It felt like her face was starting to get really hot. She didn’t have a fever, maybe it was the heat of the day or because she was just laughing so hard. She would definitely have to ask Twilight what these weird feelings were. She didn’t think they were bad, but they did make her feel awkward.
Strings looked at Pinkie Pie. Her cheeks were starting to become even pinker. Is…is she blushing? he asked himself. He decided to say something in case she was becoming nervous or embarrassed. “How in Equestria did you come out of nowhere like that?” he asked.
The blush left Pinkie Pie’s face as she forgot about the feeling in her stomach. “That’s a secret! I can’t tell you. Sorry!”
“Oh, come on, Pink. Any secret is safe with me”, he guaranteed. “I’ll tell no pony. I promise on my guitar!”
As reassuring as his promise was, she still didn’t think he was ready to handle it, yet. “No can do!”
“Heh, okay, what if…” he started, trying to come up with an offer, “…I can show you something just as awesome before tonight?”
Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin. That seemed fair enough. “Hmm…Oki Doki Loki! But it has to be really amazifying!”
“Deal.” Strings said. He turned around. “Come on, let’s go meet your friend.”
“Just follow me!” Pinkie Pie bounced in the direction Strings started walking.
He walked beside her, wondering just which trick he knew would be enough to match Pinkie’s teleporting or whatever it was she did. He didn’t have to think for too long before he found it. It could wait until later, though. He wanted to know a little about Rarity before he met her.
“What’s Rarity like?”
“Rarity makes dresses for lots of ponies! She’s really polite and she loves to make new friends”, Pinkie Pie replied excitedly.
“Does she do more than just dresses?” Strings asked. He could truly use another water-proof jacket for stormy travels.
“Yep, she makes scarves, capsies, bootsies, coatsies you name it!”
They continued along until the very clean, and very fashionable, Carousel Boutique came into their line of sight.
Strings smiled deviously. “Hey, Pink.”
“Yes?”
He excitedly shouted, “Race you there!” He took off, completely sure that he caught the pink pony off guard.
Pinkie Pie, however, wasn’t even caught in a moment’s hesitation. She was right next to him almost as soon as he started running. Strings saw her, and pushed it a little harder. In retaliation, Pinkie Pie lengthened her bounces, pulling ahead and leaving Strings staring at her tail.
He slowed his gallop as he approached the front door of the boutique where Pinkie Pie stopped to wait for him. “That’s two for two, Pink. Is there nothing you’re completely awesome at?”
“There are some things. No pony is perfect at everything they do!” Pinkie Pie bounced through the door, leaving Strings to do nothing but follow her. The bell of the shop rang.
The inside air was cool, pulling Strings in like a magnet. The shop was very neat and tidy, with the exception of a few textile supplies lying about. He split off from Pinkie Pie to go explore, hoping to find a catalog or something with pictures of regularly made clothes.
“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique”, greeted a gray unicorn, “Where every garment—Oh! Hello Pinkie Pie. Have you come to visit Rarity?”
“Hey, Linen! Yep, I have a new friend I’m showing around!” Pinkie Pie said energetically.
“A new pony?” Linen asked. He gazed around Pinkie Pie to see Strings exploring the shelves of the boutique. Linen walked over to introduce himself. “Excuse me.”
Strings turned around to see a hoof extended out to him.
“Hello!” Linen said brightly, “I am Linen Fiber. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Awkwardly, Strings shook the colt’s hoof. “We haven’t. I’m Strings. Bass Strings.”
“Welcome to Ponyville, Bass Strings.” Linen smiled, “If you have any fashion needs whatsoever, please don’t hesitate to come by the Carousel Boutique!”
Strings hesitated his reply, “Uh…Thanks?”
“Where’s Rarity?” Pinkie Pie asked, popping up in between them.
“You’ll find her in the back taking measurements”, Linen responded, adjusting his green-rimmed glasses.
“Let’s go!” Pinkie Pie grabbed Strings and pulled him into the Boutique’s show room, where Rarity usually dresses her close friends in custom ordered—and very fashionable—attire.
Inside, Ponyville’s assistant librarian stood on the display pedestal, holding out his right foreleg for Rarity. The measuring tape Rarity was using floated next to Dream’s leg. She noted the length and continued.
“And now for your wings, Dream Runner”, Rarity said.
He extended his wings out to their full length. “Like this?” he asked.
“Perfect!” Rarity chimed. She set the tape on a table and several light blue fabrics floated across the room from their resting places and wrapped around and conformed to Dream Runner’s body. A pair of scissors trimmed them and Rarity focused on sewing the fabrics together. As she converged and shaped the cloths, Rarity also concentrated on creating a hood for Dream Runner’s new cloak. When the general form of the cloak took shape, a thin, light green fabric drifted over to Dream Runner. Rarity sewed the green trim to the cloak and stood back to admire her work.
“Hmm…” Rarity pondered, “It still needs something…aha!” Rarity searched one of her textile drawers for the last element of Dream’s ensemble. She came back levitating a spool of golden thread.
“Now hold perfectly still…” Rarity threaded a needle and began to stitch something on the cloak’s left shoulder. She stepped back a final time. “Finished! What do you think, Dream Runner?”
Dream examined what Rarity had just stitched on the cloak. In perfect, gold cursive was his initials. He looked up and turned to see himself in the mirrors at different angles. “It’s really comfortable and just my color. I love it, Rarity. Thank you.”
“You are most certainly welcome. It was my pleasure to create it for you”, Rarity replied.
He hopped down. “So…are you sure it will be okay for me not to pay?” he asked quietly.
“Of course, dear! What kind of friend would I be if I charged you for a simple cloak?” Rarity answered. “It was my pleasure and your birthday, after all!”
“…Thank you again, Rarity. I will take very good care of it…I promise”, Dream Runner stated.
“That is all I ask of you”, Rarity said. “And I hope to see you wear it for your birthday.”
“I will…” Dream Runner sheepishly gave her a hug of thanks. “I have to get back to the library and show Twilight my new cloak”, he said. He left for the back door, not noticing the two new ponies in the room.
“Okay, Pinkie Pie. You have been patient long enough. What can I do for you?” Rarity asked, finally turning around.
Strings stepped forward, offering his hoof to Rarity.
She shook it politely. “I’m Rarity. Charmed to meet you, Bass Strings.”
He smiled, “You too. And it’s just Strings.”
“Strings…I assume you have already met Linen Fiber?”
Strings nodded. “He’s kinda right up front, huh?”
“That’s Linen for you”, Rarity agreed with a sigh, remembering the day she first met the gray unicorn. The memory gave her a new thought as she glanced to Pinkie Pie. “Will you be staying long, Strings?”
“Maybe a couple of months”, Strings said. “Why?”
Rarity’s ears drooped so slightly that no pony else in the room would have been able to tell. Even her response was just slightly dithered. “No reason. I was merely curious.”
Strings nodded. He turned to Pinkie Pie. “You wanna stay a little while, or jet on outta here?”
“Unless Rarity needs anything, we can go to the library next.” Pinkie Pie looked at Rarity.
“I do apologize, but I have a large order that needs my attention. I don’t have much more time to dawdle”, Rarity lied. She held her breath, hoping they bought it. Neither of them could see through her, even though it killed her to lie to her friends.
“Okay then, we’ll see ya another time Rarity”, Strings said.
The fashion designer followed them out. She sighed sadly after the door was closed. Luckily, Linen was too busy cleaning the lenses to his glasses to notice.
Outside, Strings followed closely behind Pinkie Pie. He wondered when exactly he should show her his special trick. He knew, as well as any musician, that performance was all about timing. He also knew that thinking about it would only further delay the moment he could use to present it. So, the guitarist decided to say something.
“Ya know, I’m really excited to learn how to bake”, he told Pinkie Pie.
“I knew it! There isn’t a pony I know that hasn’t been excited about baking”, Pinkie Pie replied.
“How long for you?” Strings asked curiously.
“Ever since I was real little. I moved in with the Cakes right after some of my first parties and they taught me the secrets of the trade.” Pinkie Pie fondly remembered the first—big—cake she had made by herself. She was covered in icing and cake mix, but she was proud of the sugary giant.
“Radical”, Strings complimented, “If that’s the case I should learn in no time from a pro like you!”
“I hope you learn fast, because I’m going to throw you the biggest of all parties when you bake a cake without any help!” Pinkie Pie blurted. A silent gasp entered her lungs. That wasn’t meant to reach his ears! She nervously looked back at Strings.
He seemed to be too focused on something going on in his head to hear her. “Phew…” she sighed. That was a close one.
After that she fell silent, having nothing else to say. To be honest, she was afraid to say anything. She had just practically announced to Ponyville that she had planned another surprise party for her friend. She had been too relaxed earlier when she was on the subject. It didn’t happen often, but when something did slip, she usually refused to talk as much.
“You’re it!” he shouted, tearing off in a random direction.
Pinkie Pie was instantly on his tail. “Not for long!” she yelled.
Strings knew he couldn’t outrun her forever, so he decided to call on his agility rather than his speed. He bided his time and when Pinkie Pie got close enough to tag him back, he turned so hard that his hooves nearly slid out from under him. He used his tail as a counterweight and managed to keep his balance. Pinkie Pie was thrown off by the sudden turn. She attempted to follow him, but kept sliding in her previous direction. Luck was on her side, however. In her skid, she saw where he was running and stopped. She swiftly slipped into a hiding spot.
Strings slowed to a trot after noticing Pinkie Pie’s absence. “Huh?” He looked around. “Where is she?” He stayed on his guard, full well knowing the rules of tag didn’t forbid an ambush. His gaze studied his surroundings. He watched every shadow and inspected every perch. But the attack didn’t come. With every step, he couldn’t help but wonder if he really did lose Pinkie Pie.
He walked until he came to a flower stand. The mare running it was preoccupied with a customer, so she didn’t see him. The whole stand was filled with a variety of flowers. It could easily hide a prowler. A pink prowler. Pinkie Pie used the guitarist’s confusion as her cue to pounce.
Strings only saw her shadow. Before he could so much as flinch, Pinkie Pie landed on top of him. The force knocked him to the ground. Strings and Pinkie rolled a short distance before the latter pony hopped up.
“You’re it!” she announced.
Some of the passing ponies stopped to see what all the commotion was. They saw Strings stand up and shake himself back to full responsiveness. The crash had dazed him slightly and he was finding his blurry vision irritating. After collecting himself fully, he turned to Pinkie Pie, who was beaming at him.
“That’s three for three”, he declared. He then added with a chuckle, “Heh, game. Set. Match.”
“It’s not over yet!” Pinkie Pie said. “There’s still a lot more games to play!”
Strings nodded in agreement and followed her as she walked in what he could assume was the direction of the library. The thought of another race crossed his mind, but he quickly shooed it away. Pink would just win anyway. A small smile made itself present on his face. He loved the fact that somepony could beat him in a race. It showed him that he wasn’t the best at everything he did. And the fact that Pinkie Pie didn’t shove it in his face made it even better.
The library was built into a tree. From Strings’ experience, it was expertly crafted. The tree was hollowed out instead of the library built around it like a tree house. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Pinkie Pie walk in until the door shut behind her. He took a step forward, but decided it would be funny to see how long it would take the party pony to figure out he was still outside.
On the inside, Pinkie Pie made it clear she had just shown up. “Heya Twilight and Dream and Spike and Applebloom!”
“Hey Pinkie Pie”, they all said in unison.
Spike noticed the look on Pinkie Pie’s face. “I haven’t seen that face in a while”, he said, “When’s the party scheduled?”
“No party this time!” Pinkie Pie replied. “I’m showing my new friend around!”
Four puzzled expressions flew at her. Applebloom spoke up. “Uh, what friend?”
Pinkie Pie looked behind her. Strings wasn’t there. She bounced over to the door and opened it, revealing the light blue musician.
“Ta-da!” Strings cheered, “Here I am!” He trotted in, happy to finally be out of the sun again.
“This is my new friend Strings!” Pinkie Pie announced. “He just came into Ponyville and he’s super fun!”
“Pinkie Pie, you’re too nice”, Strings admitted sheepishly.
Twilight stepped forward and offered him her hoof. “Hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s always a pleasure to meet a fellow unicorn.”
“Same here”, Strings replied. He looked around her and saw Dream Runner, who was trying to be silent. “Hey, I saw you at the Carousel Boutique.” Strings walked over to introduce himself.
“Really? I didn’t see you there.” Dream’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Come on. I’m not that scary”, Strings chuckled. “No fangs in my mouth or claws on my hooves.”
“I guess not”, Dream agreed, more confidently now.
“That’s more like it”, Strings said.
The Pegasus cracked a smile for his new friend.
At this point, Applebloom introduced herself. She zipped right up to Strings without a second thought. “Howdy, Strings, Ah’m Applebloom.”
Strings looked down at her. “You’re Applejack’s filly sister, aren’tcha?”
“She told ya ‘bout me, huh?” Applebloom guessed.
“Nope”, Strings chirped, “I can see it in your presentation!”
“Huh?” Applebloom gave him a look that told him she didn’t have the slightest clue what he was talking about.
“The way you carry yourself, kiddo”, Strings clarified.
“Oh, well, whah didn’t y’all jus’ say that?”
He chuckled. “You pick up some vocab when you’re a stage guitarist.”
“Hey, did you guys just forget about me!?” Spike sarcastically shouted. He walked up to Strings.
“Nopony forgot about you”, Strings replied, shaking the dragon’s claw, “We just overlooked you for a second.” He received a couple of giggles from the others as he hovered his hoof above Spike’s head. “Just kidding, little bro.”
Spike smiled, not at all insulted. It was all in good fun.
Pinkie Pie went on to their second point of business. “Hey, Twilight, do you have any good cook books around?”
Twilight recoiled, dumbfounded. Even Dream, Applebloom, and Spike were surprised. “Pinkie Pie, you live in a bakery. You don’t have any?”
“Nope! Me and the Cakes don’t use’em because we don’t need’em! All of the recipes are right up here!” Pinkie Pie pointed to her head. “I need a book because I’m teaching Strings how to bake and a book would be the best way to teach him!”
Twilight couldn’t argue with that logic. If anypony knew the power of knowledge through books it was her. Her horn glowed and three books flew from a nearby shelf. She presented them to the pink mare. “Here, these should do the trick. There’s a how-to, a learner’s guide, and a book full of simple recipes.”
Pinkie Pie scooped them up, turned around, and, with a little Pinkie Pie Magic, put them away in a secret hiding place. She turned to see Strings staring at her again. “It’s like the same trick I used earlier”, she explained.
“Ah.” Strings nodded. “Oh, speaking of that, I know trick to do!”
“I can’t wait to see it!”
“Are we missing something”, Spike interjected.
“Just a small bet Pink and I have”, Strings said simply. He gave her a challenging yet friendly smile.
“I hope it’s nothing too serious”, Twilight stated. “Sometimes bets can get out of hoof.”
“Don’t worry Twilight! We have it under control!” Pinkie Pie reassured.
“I hope so”, Twilight mumbled to herself.
All of a sudden, Spike burped loudly. The flame that shot out materialized into a scroll with Princess Celestia’s seal. Twilight immediately snatched it out of the air as Spike recovered from the belch. She read over the Princess’s words.
“What is it Twilight?” Dream asked, peering over her shoulder. His face lit up red when he finished reading it.
“I guess we have some packing to do.” Twilight said with a bemused smile. She turned to her assistant librarian. He was still frozen in place, so she turned to the others. “I’m sorry everypony, Dream and I have to go to Canterlot. It’s important business for us.”
“When do you have to leave?” Strings asked. He usually wasn’t nosy, but he hated to bail almost as soon as he got someplace.
“As soon as we can”, she replied. “According to the Princess, it’s very urgent.”
“Oh, is Equestria in danger again?” Pinkie Pie asked, in Strings’ opinion, a little too excitedly.
“No, not this time.”
“Is there some big important test that librarians have to take?”
“No, Pinkie Pie”, Twilight laughed, “I’ll keep it secret, for Dream’s sake.”
They all looked at Dream Runner. He was shaking slightly and beads of sweat were starting to form across his now violet nose. When it became clear that he would be in shock for a while, Twilight turned back to the three ponies in the room.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any more time to chat. You can still come browse through the library while we’re gone. Spike and Applebloom can handle things. Right you two?” Twilight glanced at the two in question.
Spike gave the unicorn a proper salute. “You betcha Twilight! Not one book will be out of place while you’re gone! We’ll hold down the fort!”
“Raht…what he said.” Applebloom continued.
“I guess we’ll leave you to pack…” Strings said, disheartened. Man, he really hated to leave so suddenly. He had at least a few more minutes with all of Pinkie Pie’s other friends. Well, except Rainbow Dash.
Back out in the heat, Strings and Pinkie Pie were now again alone.
“So…” Strings started, “What now?”
“You’ve met most of my friends, I guess we can get back to Sugarcube Corner now!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “I can’t wait to teach you how to bake brownies, or wait, even better, cookies, or better yet, cupcakes!”
Strings smiled in agreement. “Me neither. I’ll show you that thing of mine when we get there too!”
Pinkie Pie didn’t hear him, she was already hopping along back to the bakery. He rolled his eyes and followed after her, carefully resisting the urge to challenge her to another race.
He just absolutely couldn’t wait to learn how to bake, especially from the pony who would be teaching him.
Just to spend time with her…
Author's Note
The third trial is at an end, but don't worry, updates will be here soon enough!
First Lessons
Just as Pinkie's hoof reached the door, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
When she turned around, she jumped in surprise, for standing in front of her, was another Pinkie Pie! She leaned forward curiously. The other Pinkie Pie leaned forward too. She studied the doppelganger closely. Everything was precisely the same. Her eyes, her eyelashes, her mane, even her nose! She leaned her head to the side, and so did the copycat. Even her Cutie Mark was the same! The next few minutes were spent by Pinkie Pie checking out Pinkie Pie. It was almost like looking in a mirror. Every move the real Pinkie Pie made was exactly replicated by the other Pinkie Pie.
The constant mirroring gave Pinkie Pie an idea. She quickly stuck her tongue out. The fake Pinkie did the same. In a matter of five seconds, Pinkie Pie danced on her rear hooves, performed a hoofstand and several cartwheels. She landed back in front of herself. This time, she got the best of the replica. She still had her tongue sticking out. The other Pinkie Pie noticed and started giggling.
"Okay, Pink! You win!" she said in Strings' voice.
"Aha!" Pinkie Pie shouted, "There's only enough room in this town for one Pinkie Pie!"
"You got that right." Pinkie Pie's body slowly faded away from over his. "Not even I can copy you all the way!"
"How'd you do that?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Twilight told me that unicorns can't transform into other ponies without getting stuck that way."
He grinned. In a small flash of light emanating from his horn, Strings changed into Twilight herself. "I bet she also said that the laws of transmutation magic forbid a unicorn from changing his or her cells."
"Hey, she did!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "How did you know that?"
"That's what everypony says", Strings chuckled. "But I found a way around that."
"How?"
"Easy." His—well, Twilight's—horn glowed. He explained, "I don't change myself. But I put a picture around me. It's like a real life picture." Now standing in front of her was Applejack. He held out his now long mane to Pinkie Pie. "You can even feel what really isn't there."
Pinkie Pie gave the mane a touch. It felt like the real thing!
"Impressed?" Strings asked boastingly.
She nodded, "But maybe a little more if you can sound like them too! Too bad you can't."
Strings gave her a gloating look. "Oh, no", he said in her voice, "And who says I can't do that?"
"Wow! That's so cool!" She bounced in the air with her rising excitement. "Now do Rainbow Dash!"
He laughed. "Come on, Pink", he said in Rainbow's voice. "It's not that cool." He grinned widely.
Pinkie Pie squealed. "I just got the perfect idea for a prank!"
"What's that?" He dropped the illusion and reverted back to his normal body.
She stepped forward and whispered a long and elaborate Pinkie Pie plan. When she was done, he nodded respectfully.
"Not bad, Pink. Not bad at all."
He opened the door to Sugarcube Corner, letting out all of the sweet and inviting smells. "After you", he said, once again mimicking her voice. After she passed him, he threw another Pinkie Pie picture over himself.
In the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Cake were busy making batters and pulling sweets from their many ovens. The demand for treats and cakes in Ponyville had recently taken a huge rise and they were often finding themselves overwhelmed between their jobs and tending to the twins.
"Here you go, Honeybun!" Mrs. Cake called as she slid a freshly baked cake across the counter for him to set aside to cool.
"I think it's about time we hired a little more help around here", Mr. Cake said as he splattered a spatula full of icing onto a chocolate cake. "Business is booming and it's getting hard to keep up with everything. Even with Pinkie Pie around."
"But who could we trust with our recipes?"
Pinkie Pie walked in just as she said that. "I know who!"
"Who dear?" Mrs. Cake asked, throwing another pan into an oven.
"Hang on, I'll be right back!" She flew right back out of the kitchen.
As soon as her tail disappeared, Strings entered through the opposite door. "Hiya, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! How's business today?" Strings did his best to mimic Pinkie's excited and sporadic personality, and was sure he had crashed and burned in his attempt.
"Well, that was fast", said Mr. Cake.
"What was?" The fake Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side.
The Cakes exchanged confused glances. Cupcake asked, "Didn't you just leave to show us who we could trust to hire?"
"What are you talking about? I just got here!" Strings bounced into the kitchen. "You're not working too hard again are you?"
"It has been busy today", Mr. Cake admitted. He reached for an icing pack to detail his cake. He noticed that it was nearly empty. "Pinkie Pie, could you go into the pantry and fetch a tub of coconut icing for me?"
"I sure can!" Strings bounced to the back of the kitchen. As he disappeared into it, Pinkie Pie bounced through the front door of the kitchen.
"I'm back", she chimed. "He wasn't home, so I'll have to bring him later." She grabbed her apron from the hook by the door and hurriedly tied it around her. She assumed her position at the far counter opposite the wall of the pantry. She grabbed a bowl and some nearby ingredients.
Now the Cakes were very confused, and almost scared that they were going crazy. Mrs. Cake completely stopped what she was doing. "Pinkie Pie weren't you getting icing?"
Taking that as his cue, Strings poked his head out of the pantry. "I am."
The air in the room thickened with terror. The two non-pink ponies looked from one Pinkie Pie to the other, in total disbelief at what their eyes were telling them.
Strings smiled, and walked over to take his place next to the real Pinkie Pie. Simultaneously, they burst into laughter. After a few seconds, they calmed down a bit. Slowly, Strings returned to his original form.
"Mr. and Mrs. Cake", Pinkie Pie announced, "This is Bass Strings! Make sure to call him only Strings though! He's a guitar player who wants to bake and I'm going to teach him how!"
The pressure in the room eased with the sighs of the bakers in relief that the universe hadn't just delivered them another Pinkie Pie.
Mr. Cake liked the looks of this young stallion. If Pinkie Pie wanted to teach him how to bake, then that meant she trusted him. "It's nice to meet you, Strings." Mr. Cake stepped forward. "I take it you are the colt Pinkie Pie was telling us about?"
"Huh?" Strings frowned in confusion. He didn't hear Pinkie Pie tell them about him. And there was no way she could have. He was with her all day.
"For the job, Dear." Mrs. Cake clarified.
"I thought that was part of the prank", he said honestly. He turned his eyes to Pinkie Pie for assistance. "I don't know about a job . Music's more me. And I can't bake to save my life. That's why Pink's teaching me."
"We could always have you work part-time." Mrs. Cake suggested. "That way Pinkie Pie can teach you in your spare time."
"Starting now!" Pinkie Pie grabbed Strings and dragged him into the next room.
"Pinkie Pie, what—"
She interrupted him by slipping a tan apron over his head and tying it around him.
"Pinkie!" he shouted with a blush. "What're you doing?!"
"The cakes just offered you a job and I'm your trainer!" She replied happily. She pulled the cookbooks she got from Twilight from their hiding places and set them all up on the counter.
"Pinkie Pie I said I wanted to learn how to bake", he said, struggling to undo the knot she tied into the apron's strings. "Not that I wanted a job baking."
She stopped setting up for his lesson. With a hurt expression, she asked, "You don't want to work with me?"
His fidgeting with the knot ceased. Her tone was a direct hit to his stomach. He quickly came up with an idea. "No it's not that. I'm a music pony, and this whole job thing's kinda sudden. I need a little time to think about it."
"Oh, okay!" Pinkie hid the rest of her disappointment by turning around to put away the supplies.
"Hey, Pink."
She turned to see him levitating a bag of flour in front of him. "I thought it over." He was grinning. "I'll take the job."
The grin stuck to Strings' flour and icing covered face reflected his pride. He lifted the face towel to his face and wiped off all of what was left of his first baking lesson. He didn't actually get to bake anything; Pinkie Pie only taught him how to mix ingredients and taught him which said ingredients were best for the different kinds of baked goods. Besides the unexplainable batter explosion he caused, the session went by, in his opinion, pretty awesome. He wiped the rest of the flour from his nose and left the bathroom. Pinkie Pie was still cleaning up the kitchen when he got back. She worked a lot faster than he thought; all of the batter had disappeared from the walls and ceiling. Pinkie was now putting the dishes and books away now.
"All done!" she chimed as he walked in. She placed the last bowl in a cabinet. "You get an "A" for the day Strings!"
"Awesome!"
"Now it's your turn!"
"Huh?" Strings raised an eyebrow.
"Aren'tcha going to give me those guitar lessons?"
"Oh, right!"
The look Pinkie Pie was giving him made his hair stand on end. It took only a single second before both ponies were tripping over each other as they attempted to get out of the kitchen and up the stairs. They wrestled up the staircase, with Strings trying his best to hold the mare down. Pinkie Pie eventually managed to get out from under Strings as they both crawled up the last step. The Earth Pony flew down the hallway and was almost in her room before Strings grabbed her tail with his magic. He lightly tickled her nose as he walked passed her and victoriously into her room.
He set her down gently. "My first win!"
"Victory hug!"
Strings didn't get to react. Pinkie Pie already had him in a near bone crushing embrace. To the unicorn, though, it was the softest and warmest hug he ever got. He put his hooves right back around Pinkie Pie and savored it, completely unaware that she had lifted him up and was spinning him around.
Pinkie Pie was enjoying it just as much if not more. Of all of the ponies that had ever hugged her, Strings was by far the best hugger ever. The feeling in her tummy spread so that her entire body was feeling tickly. In her mind, there was nothing but him with her. There was no room, no floor, nothing. Just Strings.
Neither pony knew how long they were spinning, but eventually it did stop, to their dismay. Pinkie Pie put Strings back on the floor and when the room stopped spinning, bounced over to grab his guitar, which he leaned against the wall next to the window.
"Just a sec, Pink", Strings said, levitating it from her hooves and into his. He closed his eyes and concentrated on a special spell.
Pinkie Pie watched in awe as both his horn and guitar glowed. Two of the strings disappeared and the other four changed in size. The bridge and neck shrunk slightly as he resized it. When he was done altering it, he handed the instrument back to the pink mare. "I had to change'er back to a bass", he explained, "I was practicing with her as a six string for a while, and I forgot to change it back. Can't exactly teach you on a guitar I can't play."
Pinkie Pie nodded. "What do I learn first?"
"If you can learn fast you might get to learn a couple awesome beginners." He motioned for Pinkie Pie to sit on her bed and he sat beside her.
She turned so that they were now facing each other. His guitar sat in her lap.
"First thing's first", he said, "You have to know which string is which."
He pointed to the top one. "This one is the 'E' string. Then 'A', then 'D', then 'G'."
"E, A, D, G got it!" Pinkie Pie recited seriously. "Every Apple Does Good!"
"Nice", he complimented. He moved his hoof farther up the guitar. "Up here's the neck and these little bumps are frets. You put the hoof you don't strum with up here to make the notes you play make different sounds." Boy, was he glad his parents made him go to music school. He probably wouldn't even know where to begin without it! He grabbed Pinkie Pie's left hoof and placed it at one of the top frets and placed her right hoof in strumming position.
Pinkie Pie felt awkward sitting like that. Strings must've noticed.
"Yeah, that's how felt when I first held a guitar, too", he sighed, "Bummer, I know, but you get used to it."
"When do I get to play?" Pinkie Pie asked anxiously.
"Just a sec." He focused a bit of energy into his horn. It glowed at a constant rate. "Okay, go ahead and give it a try."
Pinkie Pie pushed her right hoof downward into the strings and a low "waaah" sound echoed in the room. "That sounded so cool!"
"Sure did", he agreed, "Do it again."
She plucked a different string, and got a different noise.
"Good."
Pinkie Pie's guitar lesson lasted for another hour, and ended when she mastered a simple, fretless song. She wore the proudest of looks when she gave his guitar back. During her lesson she learned the different ways to strum, and how to rotate her hoof to play single strings.
"You're a natural, Pink. Totally radical!" He put his bass back against the wall.
"Really?"
"You better believe it!" He hopped off the bed. He really wanted to show her how proud he was. "I think we should go celebrate!"
"Ooh ooh! I know where we can go!"
Strings didn't bother to ask, he only stuck his hoof out, allowed her to grab it and let her drag him out of Sugarcube Corner and into the cool, evening filled town.
Author's Note
And so the story continues.
Karaoke Night
Strings couldn't believe that of all of the places in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie brought him to a karaoke club. He couldn't help but awkwardly chuckle himself to hiccups for being so out of place. He managed to get it together after a few ponies started to stare. He looked around. It looked like a regular hangout place. Everypony seemed to be so casual. A colt on stage was singing along to a pop song that didn't much appeal to the rock pony. There were many more mares in the place than colts, making him feel even more uncomfortable. His gaze stopped at Pinkie Pie, who was still ordering their food. He cracked a smile at the pink mare and sighed. Even way over there, she's still so pretty... To fight down the new blush, he shook the thought away. Pinkie Pie looked like she was really preoccupied with what she was ordering, leaving Strings to slip away from the table unnoticed. He snuck up to her and, when he was close enough, threw his hooves over her eyes.
"And five bags of candy!" she said without missing a beat. She reached around with her right hoof to foil Strings's plan by giving his side a tickle.
He jumped back with a slight yelp. "Hey, no fair!"
"All's fair in tickle war", she replied slyly.
"I'm gonna remember that." He stepped up to her side. "So, what're we getting for food?"
"I've got haydogs, fries, nachos, and tons of candy on the way!"
"No drinks?"
"Oh, yeah!" She turned back around.
"Pink lemonade!" they both shouted at the pony behind the counter. He cringed slightly, only used to one Pinkie Pie at a time.
"Hey, you like pink lemonade too!?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.
"Most radical drink ever!" he replied. The next thing from his mouth was on impulse. "I love the color pink", he blurted.
It was the first time since they had met that they both were blushing at the same time. Strings from embarrassment, Pinkie Pie from, well, that tickly feeling again. The blushes didn't stay for long, for they were booted from their respective faces by a tray thrust across the counter.
"Here ya go guys!" the stallion said before turning to take another order.
Strings levitated the tray from the counter and led Pinkie Pie back to their table. He scooted in the booth and to his surprise was forced over by Pinkie, who scooted in right beside him. As much as he liked her next to him, he asked, "Aren'tcha supposed to be on the other side?"
"If I sat over there, then I wouldn't be able to sit next to you silly!"
Strings' second blush rose to his cheeks. "Okay, then", he chuckled.
Pinkie Pie was enjoying how close they were. She had scooted so far that she was almost touching him. By now, she was so used to that tickly feeling that she barely even noticed it. At least, not over the empty feeling she was getting from barely eating all day. She quickly picked up a hoofull of fries and shoved them into her mouth while Strings went for the nachos. For a while, they didn't say or do anything but eat until their stomachs had been filled to an adequate capacity.
After sip of his lemonade, Strings asked, "So, Pink, why'd you bring me to a karaoke club? Gonna sing me a love song or something?"
"Oooh", she said with her mouth full of candy, "That's a great idea! And then YOU can sing a song!"
The conversation officially hit a brick wall with that statement. "Oh, no sorry, Pinkie Pie. I don't sing", he barely managed to say.
"It's easy!" Pinkie Pie chimed, "All you gotta do is just follow the words on the screen!"
"No Pink", he replied after a bite of his haydog, "I mean I CAN'T sing. It hurts ponies' ears…"
"In that case we can sing a duet!"
Strings almost choked on his drink. He coughed, "No, Pinkie, I can't—"
Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. She knew how she could get him to sing. No pony could resist her persuasion. "Okay, I'll go sing by myself then!"
Strings cringed slightly, but it didn't affect him very much. He seriously didn't want to embarrass himself that much. "Can't wait! You have an awesome singing voice!"
Pinkie Pie didn't reply with her mouth full of food again. She barely even heard him. The song the pony on stage was singing had ended, leaving the stage empty. Pinkie Pie thought against enacting her plan just yet; she had to catch Strings off guard. Besides, an Earth Pony had already raced up to the screen to pick out her song to sing.
"What kind of song are you gonna sing?" Strings asked, looking over at her. He sipped his lemonade while he waited for her to answer.
She shrugged. "I'ma push the random button and sing the first song that pops up!"
"What if it's a song you don't like?"
"Then I'll just push it again!"
The thought of taking all night for picking a song gave Strings an idea. "Hey, can I pick it for you?" He didn't know it yet, but he walked right into a Pinkie Pie sized pony trap.
"You sure can!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "You pick it, I'll sing it! Just like that no questions asked!"
She was about to eat another piece of candy, when Strings levitated it right out of her hoof and put it in his mouth instead. "Mmm", he teased, "Blueberry."
She narrowed her eyes playfully, "You shall pay for this!"
"What are you gonna do about it?" he challenged. He levitated another blueberry chew up to his face.
Pinkie Pie shot forth and snatched the candy from the air with her mouth and chewed on it noisily. "That!"
Strings blinked. Pinkie Pie sure was full of surprises. "Hey! I was gonna eat that!"
Pinkie Pie held out the candy on her tongue. "'ere ya 'o!"
"No you keep it. I think it's happier in your mouth", Strings chuckled.
The lights in the club dimmed. Smaller lights in the back made the place glow violet.
"Hey, what's going on?" Strings looked around until the floor lights on the stage lit up the Earth Pony on stage. She was turquoise with two giant teal pigtails for a mane. She was wearing a black skirt with a blue ring around it and a blue-gray shirt. Electronic music started playing from the surround sound, giving cue to the regulars to stand and get ready to dance.
Pinkie Pie stood up and pulled Strings with her. She grabbed him at the right time. He couldn't object with his mouth full of hay fries. That didn't mean he couldn't resist. Pinkie Pie had to drag him into the middle of the dance floor in front of the stage. She made sure that they were directly in the middle of everypony so that he couldn't take off.
"Ready?" Pinkie asked when they finally stopped.
Strings looked around. All eyes were on the stage. The music picked up, and the room was filled with a quick cheer from the audience. "Ready for what?"
"To dance, silly. When somepony picks the Spotlight song, everypony has to dance." Pinkie Pie pulled a small instruction manual out of nowhere. "Club rules!"
Dance? That's not too bad, except that I can't dance to this kind of music! "Pink, I can't dance to this."
"It's easy!" Pinkie Pie swayed and hopped from hoof to hoof with the music. "Just do what I do!" She twisted and shuffled left.
Strings gulped. Around him, all of the other ponies were dancing along with the pony onstage. He watched Pinkie Pie dance while he tried to get a feel for the music, no matter how queasy it made him. Once he found that the dance repeated with the music, he managed to slowly start off. Okay, I got this, let's see, left hoof left hoof, turn and hop…
Pinkie Pie turned back around to see Strings awkwardly watching his hooves as he attempted to copy the stage pony. She smiled and gave the ground near his hooves a tap. He looked up to see her singing along with the song. A small blush appeared on his cheeks at how cute she was. She danced in front of him and amazingly, he found it was way easier to dance along with her. He turned and hopped from his right hooves to his left hooves, just like everypony else. He was enjoying himself, only vaguely aware of the song that was making him nauseous earlier. Then just like that, the song stopped. That was a short song , he thought disappointedly.
S
"Told you it was easy", Pinkie giggled back in the booth. They were sitting across from each other now, so they could talk easier.
Strings smiled. "Yep, and I had a radical time!"
"I'm going to go pick my song now!" Pinkie Pie bounced away to the song selector next to the stage, leaving Strings shaking his head after her. They had just got back and now she was on her way right back out there. He stretched and put his hooves behind his head when a thought hit him. Wait, I'm supposed to pick her song. What if she picks random and another song like that pops up? Or a slow song, or an instrumental or something? Oh, man, I gotta stop her!
"Pinkie Pie!" he called, galloping up from behind, "Pinkie—"
Pinkie Pie's final phase kicked in. She turned, grabbed the blue unicorn, and pulled him on stage.
"Pinkie Pie, what're you—"
"You're singing with me!" she cheered happily.
There was no arguing, just an escape plan. Strings made a beeline for the stage exit. Right before he was home free, a magic barrier prevented his escape. He looked around to see a unicorn pointing to a sign that read "No mind changes". Strings walked back slowly. Pinkie Pie had a microphone in her hooves and was motioning for him to take a place by her side. So much stress was flying through his mind. The pressure from all of the eyes on him was suffocating him. He was close to passing out when the opening drum solo blasted out from the speakers above him. He froze and listened. I know this song!
Pinkie Pie tapped his shoulder and pointed to the lyrics monitor set into the stage floor. The title read across the screen: "My Own Way by The Shooting Stars". He looked out over the sea of on looking ponies. He smiled and thought, Luna…thanks . He forced as much magic energy into his horn as he could. When enough was gathered, a plume of smoke discharged from it, just as the drum solo exploded with bass. When it cleared, everypony saw that Strings now had a black star covering his left eye. His guitar had been summoned from Pinkie Pie's room and his mane had flared out a little more.
The pink mare on stage with him gaped at the sight. He looked back and nodded his head toward the screen. Pinkie Pie followed the gesture and saw that she was going to miss the opening lyrics. She jumped, but didn't hesitate. She started the song off. There would be time to ask Strings the hundreds of questions later.
"I see the faces pass in almighty mass. Going one way, just passing through the day! But that's not me. I just cannot see, myself as one of these ordinary pon-ies!"
Strings stood on his hind legs and held himself up with his guitar to get ready for his part. Pinkie Pie went on.
"So I turn around, and I scream and shout…"
Strings raised his strumming hoof high above his head and linked his magic to his guitar. The words on the monitor turned blue, signaling that it was the second singer's turn. Strings didn't need it; he knew this song by heart. At one time, he brought his hoof down and slammed a loud, hard note and sang, "I want to blast out! I wanna rock out loud! I don't want to be the same, I wanna go my own way!"
He didn't care how bad he sounded; all he knew was that he wasn't going to let the song fail. Pinkie Pie, however, found that he was a great singer. Whatever he was saying about not being able to sing earlier just flew out of the window. She watched him shred in awe. She knew this was a different Strings. Something was definitely not the same about him on stage. Maybe it was how serious he was about making sure he didn't miss a note with the guitar. The lyrics changed color again to pink, and she followed along.
"They try to drag me down, bring me with the crowd. But I don't want to go and I'm going to make it knoo-oown. Grabbing my guitar, I'm making my mark!"
Strings dropped another bass-filled bomb with his guitar. "I'm gonna blast out! I'm going to rock out loud! I will be different! I will be magnificent!"
The crowd was now getting into the rhythm. They were jumping with the beat and shuffling with Strings's chords.
"I'm not ordinary, I'm more imaginary. These ponies criticize before my eyes. I just give a smirk, then I turn away, and show them my Cutie Mark."
"It's then I say, 'You see this Cutie Mark? It's something we all seek, and just like all us ponies, each one's special and unique.'"
Pinkie Pie grabbed the next verse. "I walk away, grab up my guitar, throw up my hooves, then scream and shout…"
Now the lyrics were purple. Strings upped the volume and nearly blew the windows out of the place. Together they sang the final chorus as loud as they could, "I'm blasting out! I'm rocking loud! I'm different and proud! I'm not the same!"
"And so on this day, I'm going my own…waaaaaayyy…my own way." they sang as the song faded out.
The ponies in the crowd erupted into a roar of applause and cheering.
S
Strings propped his guitar back against the wall from which he had summoned it for the song. He didn't wipe the star from his face just yet. He wanted to savor wearing it just a little longer. The memories drowned him with mixed feelings. He wanted to be happy for remembering the good times with that song, but wanted to cry through the sour feeling it left in his stomach. Strings pushed all of those away and focused on what happened just that night. Man, that was so awesome…and Pink, geez, she sang better than…
"That was superamazinglyawesomefying!" Pinkie Pie yelled from the threshold of her room. She grinned from ear to ear as she bounced over to him. She didn't say anything since they left the karaoke club, which was surprised even her. She was just so awestruck with his performance that she was left completely speechless. That, and it didn't seem like he wanted to talk much. He left right out of the building without even letting her know.
"It was just instinct", Strings chuckled. "Really, no big deal."
"No big deal!?" Pinkie screamed. "They made us permamembers! Almost no pony gets that!"
"Okay, then, it wasn't hard or really that special." Strings sighed. "YOU were the awesome one."
"Not as awesome as you!"
Strings wanted to tell her she out sang the original vocalist, but thought against it. So instead he flopped down on her bed. "You usin' this tonight?"
She shook her head. "It was fun sleeping on the floor last night! I wanna do it again!"
"Good. I wasn't getting up even if you tried pushing me", he teased.
"If I tickled you again you would!" Pinkie Pie held up her hooves, ready to strike.
Strings rolled over on his back and closed his eyes. "Please don't, I'm way too tired for that."
"You're just lucky I don't want to."
Strings wanted to say something, but a yawn came out instead. "What time is it?" When he got no reply he looked up to see that Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found. "Pink?" He shrugged, figuring she probably had gone on a snack raid. He stretched and turned back over. He spotted the letter from his mother. He knew he needed to write the reply while he was thinking about it. The last thing he wanted to do was give her a heart attack with a late letter. He conjured up a sheet of paper and a pencil and began to write.
S
Pinkie Pie shivered as she hopped out of her bathtub. She took a quick bath, and didn't let the water heat up all the way. She was super eager to get back to Strings. Using a little Pinkie Power, she shook off the water and poofed her mane back into its usual, curly fashion. She bounced back to her room, knowing she had caught Strings off guard when she left. It was a small prank, but she was sure she still got him good.
On the inside of her room, Pinkie Pie saw Strings barely asleep on her bed. A devious smile rose to her face as she snuck across. She walked on the tips of her hooves so not to make any noise. When she made it to the side of the bed, she pounced.
Strings caught her off guard. He hurriedly rolled over and caught her in midair with a levitation spell. He held up his hooves. "I'm gonna enjoy this!"
"Noooooooo!" Pinkie Pie cried.
Strings tickled her mercilessly.
"Heehee!" she giggle-screamed, "No fair!"
"Ha!" Strings laughed, "All's fair in tickle war!"
He kept poking her sides until he was laughing so hard he lost concentration. The spell dissolved from around Pinkie's body. She fell out of the air and right on top of him. Luckily, she didn't hit very hard. Neither could move through the shock of her fall. Strings was the first to recover. Gently, he rolled her to his side.
"Hey, Strings?" Pinkie Pie sat up.
"Yeah?"
"Why did you bring your guitar on stage earlier?"
"Because I wrote that song", he answered. "A long time ago, I was in a band. The same band that played it first."
"The Shooting Stars."
"Uh huh", he yawned.
"Why do you have—"
"The star's my signature mark for the band. We all had one."
"That's so neat! Can I have one too?"
"Maybe…" Strings gave one more yawn before drifting off. The laziness in his body beat his stubbornness to stay awake.
Pinkie Pie took a look at her clock. It read eight-thirty. She thought it was weird for anypony his age to fall asleep so early, but shrugged and left to go say good night to the twins. Before she left out of the room, she walked back and threw her blanket over Strings. She watched him snuggle into the bed even more and sigh in his sleep with a comfortable smile.
For the oddest reason, the tickly feeling in her stomach and moved up to her lips, making her want to kiss him on the cheek. But, being Pinkie Pie, she managed to ignore it and left the room, wondering why the feeling was getting stronger the farther away she got from him.
Maybe her Pinkie Sense was going haywire…
The Fourth Favor
Strings once again snored comfortably in Pinkie Pie's bed. The morning had yet to be set ablaze by sunlight, so all of Sugarcube Corner was still asleep, even the pink mare curled up on the floor next to her bed. The cool air that came in the night brought a light frost that fell upon the dew-covered grass. Unfortunately, there was a window open in her room, letting the outside air come and go as it pleased. Strings was safe underneath Pinkie's many blankets, so the cold air targeted the filly with extreme prejudice instead. Her thin blankets and sheets couldn't contain the precious heat she needed and was viciously bullied by the cold air.
She shivered in her sleep. More and more cold came in, torturing Pinkie Pie by further dropping her outer body temperature. The shivering became more and more violent as the frozen seconds ticked by. Soon, her teeth began to chatter loudly. Her subconscious took control of her body and scooted her closer to the bed. It miscalculated and instead of stopping just against the bed, it threw her hard against the frame.
The jolt knocked Strings right off the side onto the cold floor. He shot awake and sat up groggily. "Sweet Luna, what just happened?" he groaned, giving his sore flank a rub. He yawned and climbed back under Pinkie's blankets. That's when he heard how miserable Pinkie Pie was on the floor. She was shivering pretty badly from what he could tell. While he looked down at her, he knew she was having a horrible time sleeping. She clutched her thin sheets for dear life and was balled up tightly in them. He climbed down from the bed. Focusing a little magic to his horn, he gently lifted Pinkie Pie and set her in the warm spot he had made in the mattress while he slept. A smile came to her face, but her shivering had yet to be evicted. He pulled the comforter over her body and concentrated on another spell. He felt the spell rising to his horn, but it fizzled out almost as soon as it was ready. He sighed in annoyance.
Strings levitated his guitar from the wall. Turning it around, he opened a secret compartment where he kept a composition notebook. In his scratchy hoofwriting were the words "Tour Book". He flipped through the worn book to where he kept notes of the harder spells he knew. In the fifth or six page in the section (he was too drowsy to keep count) he found the instructions for a heat spell. "Tree sap, I always forget to think about kittens", he said to himself. He shook his head and concentrated a second time.
His horn released a delicate ray of warm, glowing heat over the bed. Pinkie Pie's shivering came to a standstill, allowing her to sleep in peace and warmth. She hugged a nearby pillow as she bathed in Strings's heat wave. Once he was sure she would stay toasty, Strings yawned and stretched his drowsiness away. He wanted to go back to sleep, but the cold floor was the exact opposite of inviting. Instead, he offered the room one final yawn, closed the window, and left for downstairs. From somewhere he could hear a baby crying on the second floor. He just happened to pass by that somewhere, and curiously poked his head in the door. Inside, Mrs. Cake was nuzzling her foal back to sleep. He quietly withdrew. He didn't like creeping on ponies. I hafta say hey to the little guy sometime. I love kids , he thought.
He descended the staircase slowly to make sure his hooves didn't clop on the hard wood steps. The first story was even colder than Pinkie Pie's room, but Strings was never bothered with the cold. He yawned one more time. "Sometimes I hate being lazy." He scratched the back of his head.
"Can't sleep?"
Strings opened his eyes to see Mr. Cake awake at the kitchen table. A cup of hot chocolate was nestled in his hooves. The absence of the baker's shirt and hat made him look a little weird. The bassist shrugged. "Not really, but kinda."
"Cocao?" The light amber pony nodded to a kettle on the stove.
Strings shook his head. "Nah. I'm good."
Mr. Cake smiled, "It's Pinkie Pie's special recipe."
There was an instant sign the unicorn's change of mind in his eyes. "Then again, a cup wouldn't hurt", Strings replied quickly.
The older stallion chuckled. "There's a mug waiting for you on the counter."
Strings took a seat opposite of the baker while he levitated the mug over. He took a sip, but immediately regretted it. He almost spat out the molten drink, but forced it down before it came out. He placed the cup in front of him.
"Shoulda warned you about that. I just made it", Mr. Cake apologized.
Strings wiped his mouth. "It's cool."
"Why are you wearing the star?"
"Huh?" Strings frowned in confusion.
"The black one over your eye."
Strings nodded in comprehension. He forgot to wash it off before he passed out last night. "It's a reminder of my old band. We all had a star somewhere."
"You were in a band?"
Strings nodded. "Five of us. We got sorta famous back home. Sold an album or two. That was years ago though."
"For somepony as young as you are that's amazing."
"That's what ponies say."
"You don't do it anymore?"
"I still try to get gigs, but it's hard for just one shredder to get work."
"Is that why you came into Ponyville?"
Strings shook his head. "Sorta, but no. I just drifted in."
"Run away from home?"
Strings chuckled, "No, it's not like that."
"Just traveling?"
Strings nodded. "Yeah. I drop by home when I can, but I'm mostly on the road.
Mr. Cake didn't have any more questions for Strings, so the two fell silent. The unicorn dared to try the hot chocolate again. It had cooled down, leaving only the threat of a very probably cavity. It was super sweet and extra chocolaty. Nothing tastier had ever engulfed his taste buds. Not even chili hay fries were better. He savored the taste and slowly let it drain down to his stomach. The warm spread to his whole body. He paused to breathe, then chugged the drink down as fast as he could. He wiped the milkstache away. "Pretty radical."
"So is this who you really are?"
"What?"
"You act very differently around Pinkie Pie." Mr. Cake noticed immediately that his behavior had changed since they first met. He was using words more specific to his personality.
"Oh, that", Strings sighed. "I'm just slowly getting her used to me a little at a time. Mom told me to behave around fillies. At least until they get to know me. I mean, she almost knows me all the way, but I'm still working on it." He didn't think anypony would've notice he was acting differently. Mr. Cake was the very first.
"Then why not let her get to know your whole real side now?"
He shrugged. "I don't want her to think I'ma music bum or something."
"Trust me", Mr. Cake said with a wink, "Pinkie Pie won't see you like that."
Strings was becoming seriously uncomfortable. "I'll try it and see." He stood up. "Gotta spare bedroom, Mr. Cake?"
"Sorry, Strings. Pinkie's and the babies' were the only ones."
Strings nodded. "Figures", he mumbled to himself. "I gotta find a hotel or something. I can't keep sleeping in Pink's bed while she camps out on the floor. That's totally not radical."
"I have a friend that will help you find a room."
"Thanks, that would be awesome." Strings left the room, muttering something about needing a gig.
The climb back to Pinkie's room was uneventful. The stairs creaked a little, but other than that and his hoofsteps, nothing made a sound. When he made it back, Strings didn't know what to do. The floor was still too cold for him to sleep on, but at least the air was warm now. He looked around the room. Pinkie Pie had a small table in her room with two chairs pulled up to it. He shook his head. They weren't big enough put together for a makeshift bed. He sighed. "To hay with it. I'll just stay up. How long could it be, I mean seriously?"
It turns out it was a three hour wait. Strings used the time to quietly practice a few solos while he waited for Luna's white moon to go down. He almost nodded off a few times, but the feeling of falling out of his chair gave him an instant wake up call. Boredom struck way before dawn, but thankfully, the sun was starting to turn the sky pink. Strings stared at it with quiet inspiration. He quickly levitated his book over and flipped to a fresh page. He removed the pencil from the rubber eyehook and quickly began jotting down new lyrics for a song in the brightening room. He scribbled, erased, smiled, and banged his head on the table in the process.
He was vaguely aware of the sun lighting up the room as he worked. The song took all of his attention and was firmly holding his eyes to the page. Something bumped his chair a little, but he ignored it. A few seconds later, another push scooted him a few inches from his notebook. Expecting to see Pinkie Pie, he looked down, only to have his blood freeze over. Staring him right in the eye was Gummy, watching him blankly. They stared at each other for three seconds before Strings lost it.
"CROCODILE!" Strings screamed at the top of his lungs. He shot straight to the ceiling, and used his magic to stick his hooves to the surface. He shook in terror while Gummy looked inanely up at him. His scream pulled Pinkie Pie right out of REM sleep. She shot up to see the frightened unicorn and Gummy watching him. "C-careful, P-P-Pinkie Pie, there's a crocodile in your room!"
She bounced down from her bed. "Heehee, no silly! Gummy's an alligator!" Pinkie giggled.
"Does that really matter Pinkie Pie?"
Gummy jumped up and planted his jaws around Pinkie Pie's mane. "He doesn't have any teeth, that's why I named him Gummy! He can't eat you!"
Strings still refused to come down. "Th-that doesn't matter. He's a…a…" The accursed word wouldn't come out of his mouth. He was way too terrified to say it.
Pinkie Pie tilted her head at him. "A what?"
"A r-reptile!"
"What's so bad about reptiles? Reptiles are cool! They're cold blooded, they live a long time, they can survive a really long time without food." She stopped her list there in hopes that it would be enough to get him to come down.
"Pinkie Pie, it doesn't matter. I have herpetophobia. I'm scared outta my mind by'em!"
Pinkie Pie pulled Gummy from her mane, and guided him to his bed in the corner of her room. "You stay here, Gummy. Strings needs a little time to get to know you before he can be your friend. Don't worry, I'll work on him for you." She gave the creature a wink.
"I-is it safe?"
"Uh huh, you can come down now you big scaredy-cat!" she laughed.
His cheeks slightly roasted with a warm blush. Strings spread the magic field holding him to the ceiling from his hooves to around his whole body. He levitated himself downward until his hooves were back on the floor. "…Thanks, Pink."
"You're welcome!"
"Let's go get some breakfast", Strings said in an attempt to get as far away from Gummy—and the fact that he had screamed like a girl—as he could.
That idea was perfect in Pinkie Pie's book. The fast food they had the night before wasn't what anypony would call "whole and hearty". Needless to say she was pretty hungry. "Okay! We can have the leftovers from yesterday!"
Strings followed Pinkie Pie back down to the first floor, wondering just how she could be so awake so fast. She bounced happily down, skipping multiple steps on her way down. Strings yawned for the fifth time since they left the room as he sluggishly followed. He hated how he could never wake up in the mornings.
Mr. Cake was no longer in the kitchen, but the memories of Strings conversation with him still were. It made him wonder if it was really true what the baker said about Pinkie Pie not thinking of him badly if he showed his true colors. I could try it…at least to see what happens. I mean, it's just words…
Pinkie Pie grabbed the tray she stowed in one of the fridges the morning before. After a quick heating spell from Strings, they were soon chewing away at the premade breakfast. While Pinkie Pie put a stamp on the day's seemingly forever long to-do list, Strings struggled with his identity dilemma. The main problem was figuring out where to start. Should I just come right out all at once, or ease it faster? Man, I wish her dad was here…he knew what he was talking about.
"And THEN we can go to the prank shop since we didn't go yesterday!" Pinkie finished with only one breath. She chomped down on another pancake.
Strings didn't really hear anything she had said, but it didn't matter since he didn't have anything planned for himself. That and he loved being with Pinkie Pie. She was the ultimate definition of fun. And she's cute too , he added in his head with a blush. He was still caught up in his thoughts until the same mare he was thinking about waved a hoof in his face.
"Hello, anypony in there?" she giggled, giving his head a small knock.
"No pony home", Strings replied with a smirk.
"I'll just come back again some other time, then." She turned around and pretended to walk off. She was aiming to get a few steps away but Strings grabbed her tail and pulled her back.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked through his clenched teeth.
"To Rein Meadow!" Pinkie Pie replied as if it was obvious.
"I don't think so. Not unless I jump on the bus too!"
"Okay! Let's get rolling then!" Pinkie Pie bounced away, pulling Strings behind her. He levitated the last muffin from the table and placed the now-empty tray in the sink. He let go of Pinkie's tail to stuff the muffin in his mouth.
"So, what's in Rein Meadow?" Strings asked through a mouthful of digesting muffin.
"You'll see!"
"Another secret, eh Pink?"
"Nope, just a surprise!"
"And you don't want to ruin it, huh?"
"Nope!"
Strings smiled. She was so cute. He blushed again, but didn't care. There was no shame in finding a girl cute. Fortunately for the two of them, Ponyville had warmed up considerably since morning struck. The frost that had fallen was now merely heavy water droplets on the leaves, giving Strings a creepy sensation in his hooves. The grass and dirt stuck to him, making a chill run through his spine. This is so messed up…
To take his mind off of it, he listened to Pinkie Pie ramble on about the day, picking up a lot of what he missed earlier. From what he could figure, Pinkie Pie was taking him on a final, but grand tour of Ponyville. They were going to visit every place that he had yet to see, and they were going to meet even more of her friends. How she could have planned this all in a few minutes was amazing. Strings knew roadies that couldn't plan the way she did. She would make a radical Star…
They were entering Ponyville's vast open outskirts now, leaving Strings to wonder exactly what could be in Rein Meadow. Knowing Pinkie Pie, though, he knew it wouldn't be disappointing.
"…then we can watch the meteor shower tonight!"
Strings flinched, he was barely listening again. "There's a meteor shower tonight?"
"Twilight said that it should be passing by at seven! Everypony's going to be watching it, and we'll have the best seats in town!"
"Where're we sitting?"
"On Sugarcube Corner's roof!"
"Cool, I haven't seen a meteor shower in forever!" Strings shouted. "We can pop popcorn and get some snacks and stuff!"
"Yeah, we can bake cupcakes too!"
Strings's heart skipped a beat at the sound of "we". "Yeah, and I can do the mixing with my awesome new mixing skills!"
Their excitement kept getting higher and higher until they were passing ideas about baking a full bed to eat while they lay down to watch the shower. Strings was getting so excited that he was soon bouncing alongside Pinkie Pie. He was well aware that he was bouncing, and loved the way it felt. He felt so free and innocent. Does Pinkie Pie always feel like this? he wondered. It's so awesome!
They bounced through the fields until a grove came into view. Strings slowed his bouncing, squeamish of the tall grass. Pinkie Pie started to leave him behind, so he hurried to catch up, but kept a look out for any snakes that might be slithering around. Pinkie Pie navigated her way through the very thin forest and brought him to a place where the trees had stopped growing. There was a crowd of ponies scattered around as they watched the sky. Strings could hear old instrumental music playing somewhere in the field. He turned his gaze to the sky to check out what everypony was staring at.
Six Pegasi were flying in a very neat formation and were dancing in sync to one another in the air. They wore matching outfits consisting of tutus, red bows, and striped stockings. Pinkie Pie bounced to the middle of the field and took a seat in a dry patch of grass. Strings sat next to her. The music was making him nauseous, but the choreography was fantastic. The ballet Pegasi consisted of mostly young fillies flying alongside two older instructors. One instructor, a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane and tail flew one way, letting her half of the ballerinas follow her in twists and jumps around clouds while the other instructor, a dark blue Pegasus sporting a green and yellow ponytail led her fillies into a wide circle pattern underneath the others.
"They're really good", Strings commented.
"Yup. That's the Ponyville Lily Blossom Ballet team!"
Strings watched how into the routine she got. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn…
"I wish I could fly with them", she said absently. "I'm a ballerina too sometimes, but I can't fly, so I just jump on the ground and dance with my hooves. I have a pedalcopter, but it's not the same as flying like a real Pegasus."
Strings smiled, and almost puked he was so excited. This is gonna hurt, but it's totally worth it! He stealthily scooted away from her. Taking a huge breath, he focused every ounce of magic energy he had into his horn, even taking it from his hooves. The amount of power that was forced into his horn was excruciating. Tears washed from his eyes as he gritted his teeth and concentrated on the most unique spell he had ever learned. Despite the strain he put on his body, the spell simply snaked from his horn and gently phased into Pinkie's body.
The unicorn's vision went blank and the only thing he could hear was a high-pitched ringing. He nearly fell over but managed to spread his hooves out for balance. It took him several seconds before the pressure in his body eased. He soon came to realize that he was breathing heavy, but no pony was paying attention. He closed his eyes to wipe the blurriness of the tears away, and when he opened them, was very satisfied with his work.
Pinkie Pie watched Fluttershy spin again. She was getting really good with all of the practice. She gracefully danced in the sky, occasionally bouncing from one cloud to another. The fillies copying her movements were just as graceful. They all formed up in a flower shape, while the other fillies formed the stem. The music began to fade away, and the fillies bowed for their fans and parents. Pinkie Pie applauded the performers with a classical hoof ground pound.
Fluttershy spotted her friend on the ground and flew down to meet her and the new unicorn she had been hearing about. She landed a few feet away, and happily trotted the rest of the way, but froze upon seeing what had happened to the pink mare. Pinkie Pie frowned at her friend's behavior, but thought it was just the sight of Strings and bounced the rest of the way over.
"You were amazifying!" Pinkie Pie complimented happily, "You danced better than I do after a root beer float!"
Fluttershy refused to say or do anything but stare at the mare in absolute confused horror.
"What's wrong?" Pinkie asked suddenly, "Is there something in my teeth? Is my mane too curly? Am I even ME!? Pinkie Pie started to panic as she went off the list of crazy diagnoses from growing fangs to becoming a disciple of Princess Chrysalis.
Strings laughed at her silliness.
"This is no time for laughing!" Pinkie cried, "I gotta figure out what's going on!"
He trotted up to her. "Maybe it's these." He took his hooves and spread out her new, pink wings to full length.
Pinkie gasped, "These are…are…"
"Favor number four!" he announced to everypony. Pinkie Pie kept stuttering over her words, unable to get a clear sentence out. "You okay, Pink?"
"I…I…I LOVE THEM!" Pinkie Pie launched straight into the air and instinctively began flying around the field as fast as she could, giggling through the air.
Strings was impressed, she was the first pony to get into flying without lessons. She flew above him once more, and his gazed followed her until he caught sight of Fluttershy. The poor mare was still shaking from the shock of Pinkie's wings. He introduced himself. "Heya, there!"
The Pegasus jumped. She turned to see the scraggily-pony warmly holding his hoof out for her to shake. She managed to force herself to take it, and whispered, "I'm Fluttershy…"
"Bass Strings, but just call me Strings!"
"Did you give Pinkie Pie her wings?" she asked softly.
He nodded, "Sure did. It hurt, but she'll get some use outta of'em."
"Will she…"
"No, just for today. I can't give out permanent wings. If I did, then everypony would be messing with me about wanting to fly! The world needs Earthy ponies ya know?"
Fluttershy wanted to know more, but couldn't talk to the empty space where Strings was just standing. Her eyes traced the path where he and Pinkie Pie rolled after she tackled him with a hug.
"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU !" Pinkie Pie hugged all of the air right out of the unicorn's lungs. She squeezed even tighter and was very close to snapping his spine when she let go.
He stood up, breathing heavily. "Glad you like'em, Pink", he gasped, "But they're just for today, got it? I'm not strong enough to give you wings forever."
"It doesn't matter! Now I can go visit Rainbow Dash without a balloon, and walk on clouds, and eat cupcakes while I fly and, fly to all of my favorite places in Ponyville, and make it rain and strike lightning from clouds, and, chase birds, and, and…"
Strings put a hoof over her mouth. "I get it", he chuckled.
"Come on, let's go show Rainbow Dash!" The pink now-Pegasus took off without waiting for his reply.
"I'll catch up in a sec!" he yelled after her. "Guess we're cutting this short, Fluttershy", he called, "See ya later!" He left after Pinkie Pie, leaving Fluttershy thoroughly lost for words. He hated losing the chance to make a new friend, but he had to make sure Pinkie Pie stayed out of trouble. He could always talk to Fluttershy later. Pinkie's flight path led him, thankfully, through a small dirt path away from the grass. He galloped across the fields to where Rainbow Dash's house floated. Strings didn't have to run far; her home was closer than he thought. Pinkie Pie was busy flying figure eights in front of a very stunned Rainbow Dash. The blue Pegasus saw the guitarist out of the corner of her eye. She glared at him and was, in a flash, yelling in his face.
"You gave her wings!?" Rainbow screamed. "Are you nuts?!"
"Yeah, cashews." Strings replied cheekily Why?"
"Pinkie Pie was an Earth Pony for a reason! Now she'll never leave me alone and I can't even fly away anymore!"
"Okay, number one: chill, Rainbow", Strings instructed, "And number two, it's only for today. You only have to hide until tonight."
She rolled her eyes. "I guess you're off the hook", she grumbled. "But don't do it again!"
He snickered, "I'll try."
"Hey, whatcha talkin' about over here?" Pinkie Pie asked, having popped in between them flying upside down.
"The next Battle of the Bands", Strings lied. "We're going together!"
For the sake of her feelings, Rainbow followed Strings's lead. "Yeah, I might get the guitar out. I'm probably not going to sing."
"Why not? You've got some awesome vocals." Strings frowned. "Guess Pinkie's our singer then?"
"Really, I can sing for you guys!?"
"Yep!" Strings shot a grin at Rainbow, who mumbled something out of earshot.
"Alright when is it!?"
"Don't know yet. I'll get some numbers and we'll make it a date!"
"Yay!" Pinkie Pie flew upwards and began flipping and cheering.
"What. Have you done?"
"Made a very special pony really happy, that's what."
Rainbow Dash huffed. "Now I have to go practice."
Pinkie Pie flew back down. "Come on, Strings, let's go to Lyra's!"
She grabbed him under his hooves and carried him away. "Haha! I'll see ya later, Rainbow Dash!"
The mare waved them goodbye, the left her home for Applejack's.
Pinkie Pie carried her unicorn cargo all the way to the opposite side of Ponyville. To make sure a fall didn't stunt his life, Strings lightened her load by using a floating spell on himself. Together they landed in front of a peaceful looking two story building. The sign on the shop read "Bon Bon's Confectionaries" in bold blue and pink letters. A mint pony sat on a bench outside plucking the strings of a lyre with her magic.
"Hey, Lyra!" Pinkie fluttered over to her. "Check out my new wings!"
Lyra blinked. "Wow! Where'd you get them?" She stood to get a better look.
"My friend Strings gave'em to me!" the pink mare answered happily.
Lyra looked over her shoulder to see Strings grinning warmly. She hopped off the bench. "Strings…" she said uncertainly. That name had been drifting around Ponyville since the day before, and now she had finally met the new arrival. "Can I have a pair!?"
Here we go… "Sorry. It takes way too much outta me to do it again today."
"Oh…all well, I tried." Lyra shrugged indifferently. "But that's amazing! I thought only Alicorns could do that!"
"It's actually an easy spell. It just kinda sucks the life outta ya when you use it", Strings explained. He scratched the back of his neck, "I really wanted to do something nice for Pinkie Pie today."
"And do he did!" Pinkie commented, "I can FLY FLY FLY!"
"I can see that Pinkie", Lyra giggled.
"Watch this!" Both non-flying ponies gazed upon a trick that she taught herself. She flew straight up and then slowly fell back downwards, flipping and giggling until she was just about to hit the ground. At the last second, she opened her wings and landed on her back.
"She's a natural", Strings stated. "I have never, repeat, never seen somepony just take out and fly like she did."
"That's Pinkie Pie for you."
"What?"
"She never does what you expect her to."
"Got that right", he chuckled.
The pink Pegasus in question stood up. "I have four gold trophies for being random!" she declared, then added, "Sugar muffin!"
Strings laughed. Then he saw how far the sun had moved since they had gone out into the world. He really messed up Pinkie Pie's schedule by giving her wings. She was so fascinated about flying that she really wasn't focused on anything she had planned. It didn't matter to him either way if he got to see the rest of Ponyville. Pinkie Pie's company was more than worth it.
The next several hours flew by faster than Pinkie Pie flew to get them lunch, giving the news of her wings plenty of time to spread like wildfire across the small town. Surprisingly, not many ponies bugged Strings about giving them wings. He was even more surprised, and disappointed, when Pinkie Pie suddenly left him in the park for the library. She insisted that he didn't go with her, making sure that he Pinkie Pie Promised not to go near there until she was finished with whatever it was she was doing.
Only seven seconds passed until he was out of his mind with aggravation. "Man, I'm so bored !" he groaned to himself. "I wish Pink was here." Strings was sitting on a park bench, having nothing to do for entertainment except complain to himself. He looked around the park once again. He saw that it was starting to become packed with picnickers for lunchtime. To him, though, he saw a crowd. "Oh, it's on now." He tuned his horn to a different channel of magic, and teleported his guitar from Sugarcube Corner. "I love a crowd!" He cleared his throat, and turned on his magic amplifier. He had no specific song in mind, so he freehoofed a tune. He struck a couple of notes to start the show off with a low blast of bass.
Some of the ponies turned their heads, but for the most part he was disregarded. The lack of interest didn't affect him, and he launched a few more notes. This time, the ponies that turned their heads didn't turn back around. "That's more like it", he said under his breath. He stringed together more low notes to draw the curious crowds closer. Then, when he had four or five walk up to him, he dropped a bass-filled bomb in the park. The music-loving ponies cheered, but Strings was too focused on his strumming to notice. He picked up the tempo, and really gave Ponyville a one pony rock show.
His music could be heard as far away as the library, but it only barely penetrated the walls of the building, making it insignificant to the ponies inside. Pinkie Pie hated to leave Strings so suddenly, but she had only just caught a glimpse of Twilight and Dream returning from their trip to Canterlot. She didn't know when the next time she would get to talk to the librarian, so she had to get her story to Twilight right then.
Twilight was very intrigued with what Pinkie Pie was telling her. She also barely believed it. Pinkie never seemed like the pony to have a problem like the one she was spilling to the unicorn.
"And yesterday my face got hot like when I get a fever!" Pinkie claimed. "Is my Pinkie Sense going crazy or what?"
Twilight didn't even have to investigate or consult any of her books to know what was going on with her friend. With the widest smile, Twilight said, "Pinkie Pie, you're in love."
Pinkie Pie froze, then giggled. "Pfft! Don't joke Twilight! There's no way I'm in love! Hearts don't float around my head, and Strings isn't the only pony I see when he walks in a room!"
To Twilight it seemed like Pinkie Pie had read one or two romance novels. "Pinkie, love doesn't really work like that. That tickly feeling you keep getting is a direct result of the special feelings you have for Strings. In fact, I bet that you feel really different when you're around him and miss him after just a few seconds. Right?"
Pinkie Pie thought it over. She did feel a little lonely when he wasn't around. And she did feel super happy when he talked to her. But that really couldn't mean what Twilight was saying. Could it?
"I know this is probably confusing for you, Pinkie Pie", Twilight assumed, "But all you have to do is give yourself time get used to these new feelings."
Pinkie Pie put her hoof to her chin in thought. Aside from the intrusive cupcake thoughts, she was trying very hard to comprehend it. "I don't know Twilight, I don't FEEL in love."
"That's because this is probably the first time." Twilight turned around and levitated a book to her friend. "Here, this'll clear up all of the confusion."
"What is Love? The Many Feelings Of ?" Pinkie Pie read from the cover. "Twilight, I don't need this."
"Trust me, it'll help."
She shook her head. "If you say I'm in love, then I'm in love no doubt about it. You're a smart pony", Pinkie Pie stated. "Just, what now?"
Twilight choked on her words. What could she tell Pinkie Pie to do now? Confess it? Something told her that Pinkie Pie's personality wouldn't exactly follow the normal criteria for dating. "Umm, well, do you want to tell him?"
"Hmm…I don't know…" Pinkie Pie stopped fluttering and placed her hooves on the floor. "Could anything bad happen?"
"Well, there is always the possibility of rejection." Twilight admitted. "But Strings seems like a good pony, so the worst that could happen would be that he would just want to stay friends."
"Then I'm not telling him a thing!" Pinkie exclaimed, "Friends is good enough for me! Thanks Twilight!" Pinkie Pie flew out of the library, leaving Twilight wondering whether or not she was any help at all. The know-it-all side of her was sure though, that Pinkie Pie would eventually want to be more than friends with Strings.
Pinkie Pie immediately gained altitude when the day's warm breeze streamed through her feathers. The ponies down below looked so different from above. She waved at those who gazed up at her while she returned to the park to gather up Strings. The clouds she soared by suffered minor bites as she playfully got mouthfuls of water vapor from them. The mare flipped, twirled, looped, and twisted in the air and throughout the few obstacles at roof height. It was when she got dizzy from spinning when she finally heard Strings's guitar exploding with chords. Even though the world was still twirling in her head, she looked in the direction of the park to see, in absolute amazement, white lightning shooting into the sky from the middle of a crowd of ponies. She looked closer and saw that they were coming from the bassist's guitar. She dived downward to better listen to him.
Strings was drawing in more and more ponies with every new note he called out of the instrument. He spotted Pinkie Pie flying toward him and got a brilliant idea of a way to make an awesome exit. He played a few more notes in quick succession, and then, in one really loud chord, launched himself off of the ground with a spell he used a lot before he quit the stage. He strapped the guitar to his back and held his hooves up.
Pinkie Pie knew what to do. She flew above him and grabbed his hooves just like the trapeze performers in the circus. She almost fell with the surprise weight, but quickly made up for it. The ponies under them applauded and whistled, with a few of them calling for an encore, but Pinkie and Strings couldn't hear anything but the wind in their ears. Pinkie Pie landed hard in front of a random building, scaring a few of the ponies standing around outside.
"Wow that was so cool! How were you doing that lightning? I didn't see any clouds! Does it hurt? How long hav—"
"Just some special effects I picked up on the road." Strings stretched. "Real simple stuff."
"Did you ever do that on stage?"
"All the time. And today, it brought me back."
Pinkie Pie noticed that there was something different about Strings now. Everything looked the same, but he was different. She stared intently at his face, wondering what was so different about him.
Strings smiled awkwardly. Why is she staring at me? Did I smear the star last night? What's wrong? "Umm, Pinkie Pie?"
She shook her head slightly to get out of her trance, but didn't take her eyes off of him. "Sorry Strings, you just look a little different, but I can't put my hoof on what it is!"
"I look different?" He adjusted his eyes on his mane. It was still a wreck, so that didn't change. Maybe it's because I'm fully me now…
"It could be something, but maybe it's nothing! Sometimes my eyes play tricks on me!"
"If you figure it out, let me know", Strings said, "So, um, what now?"
"We're going to go see my friend Zecora!" Pinkie Pie didn't wait to ask the unicorn if he was ready to go; she just took off, leaving him to stumble and chase after her.
I hope that whatever's different about me, it's a good thing , Strings thought, I don't want to push Pinkie away…
A Meteor Shower and a Show
A Meteor Shower and a Show
"Okay! Here ya go, Strings!" Pinkie Pie called, sliding a pan blotted with uncooked cookie dough across the long kitchen counter.
He picked it up and chucked it into the nearest preheated oven. Altogether that was sixty cookies, but Strings wasn't paying attention to the numbers. "Okay, Pink, you think we should stop there? I mean, we have like, two hundred cookies!"
"No silly, that's only nine dozen!" She rolled out more dough. "That's not nearly enough for all of Ponyville!"
She really likes doing this stuff , he thought with a chuckle. "Okay, how many more? Isn't the meteor shower going to start soon?"
"We have plenty of time!" she replied cheerfully. "I'll make sure of that!"
"What are you gonna do when we run out, stop time?" Strings laughed. He turned to see her right in his face.
"I will if I have to", she whispered, staring him straight in the eye like a madmare.
"I seriously think you will!" Upon hearing a distinct "ding", Strings opened on of the ovens and extracted a long pan of, thankfully, non-burnt cookies. "Woo! Another batch not destroyed!"
"Good job, Strings!" Pinkie Pie flew into the air with another goody bag. She opened it wide to let Strings levitate the batch of cookies into it.
"Be careful, Pink, the spell's gonna wear off soon. I wouldn't fly around so much anymore", he warned.
"Don't worry, Pinkie Pies always land on their hooves!"
The unicorn rolled his eyes as he reset the timer. A teasing smile replaced his sarcastic one. "Well let's test that theory!" he reached up to Pinkie Pie and tickled her sides.
"Ah! Hahahahahaha!" she screamed before falling to the ground. She only barely landed on her hooves before falling to the floor.
Even though she was right about the landing thing, Strings kept tickling her. He loved to hear her giggle and laugh. He stopped tickling her only to conjure up a small feather. He held it up to let her get a good look at it and his evil expression.
"Oh, no", she laughed, "Nononononono!"
"Mmm…yes." He wiggled the feather all over her body, taking care to keep it on her more sensitive tickle spots. He found that under her wings seemed to be the best place to keep the feather, and held no mercy when she screamed.
"EEEEEEEEEE!" she cried. There was nothing she could do. Strings had her pinned down with the horrible torture device. She couldn't get up or even swat it away. She laughed and squirmed under the torment.
Strings decided that the tears were a sure sign she had enough. He removed the feather and waited for her to stop laughing. For a second he though he went too far; Pinkie Pie didn't seem to notice that he had stopped. "Hey, Pink, ya know I'm not tickling you anymore right?"
She nodded. "I-it's just that I'm g-going to get y-y-you back for this! Hahahahahaha!"
Ding!
"Huh?" Strings turned to see that the timer had just finished its countdown. "Oh, right, we're baking." He opened two ovens and levitated out four pans. Two bearing cookies, and the others holding cupcakes. "Okay, Pink, let's get back to finishing this thing", Strings said to the giggling mare on the floor.
She hopped up and snatched the cupcake pans out of the air. She slammed them down on the counter so hard that the cupcakes popped right out and landed perfectly onto a large platter, ready to be decorated. Strings filled five more plastic bags with the cookies while Pinkie Pie splattered the cupcakes with icing and sprinkles. "Why just one batch of cupcakes, Pink?"
"Because they're for us!" she replied brightly, "It'll take too long to bake them for everypony else!"
Strings nodded in comprehension. He levitated the pans back onto the counter and dealt out more globs of cookie dough onto them before throwing the sheets of aluminum back into the hot oven. When he turned around, Pinkie Pie had the twelve cupcakes fully topped with icing. She was so much faster at it now that she could fly above them. Strings watched in admiration, somewhat longing to be up there with her. He sighed. Even though she was so energetic, Pinkie was graceful while she flew. Strings chuckled at the fact that he didn't even know he liked grace.
When she turned around, he quickly looked away. He didn't want to get caught staring. He grabbed the nearest mixing bowl and began mixing its ingredients intensely. Unfortunately, he was only barely paying attention to what he was doing and flung the dough all over the flying mare's face. "Pinkie, I'm sorry! Uh, um, let me—"
She interrupted him with a giggle. Using one of her Pinkie Pie Abilities, she licked it all off with her extra-large tongue. "MMMMMmmmmmmm! Thanks Strings! That was so good!" she squealed.
"No prob, Pink", he said to shrug off his mistake. He smiled. She had the best ways to keep him from looking like a foal. He scratched the back of his neck. "It was—"
Splat!
A big glob of icing hit him dead in the face. The only thing he could hear after that was the sound of Pinkie Pie laughing her head off. His eyes were heavy with the thick pastry topping, but he was still able to open them.
"Told you I was going to get you back!" she laughed.
He levitated the mess from his face, glad that it was no longer sticking to his fur. He smiled at how good she got him. He noticed it was the same flavor he accidently got her with. He laughed a little and dropped the icing back into an empty container.
"Well, that was the rest of the cookie dough", Strings sighed. "Looks like we're not making any more."
"I could have sworn we had more than that!" Pinkie exclaimed. "We have to have more somewhere!"
"I don't know Pinkie Pie", Strings said, "I think this is what Zecora was saying from earlier…"
"You mean when she said, 'Not all you have will last, so get it out and fast'?"
"Yeah, I mean, we went through all of our cookie dough pretty fast", Strings said in parallel to Zecora's prophecy.
"That makes enough sense to me!"
"So what are we going to do about the rest of town? You said we didn't make enough." Strings switched the ovens off.
"That was before the last batch came out, silly!"
"What? You—eh, never mind." He rubbed his head. Sometimes Pinkie Pie could make no sense in the confusing way. "So, how're we getting the cookies to everypony?"
"By using the Pinkie Pie and Strings Cookie Delivery System, duh!"
He raised an eyebrow. "The what?"
She hopped back into the air. "Heehee! You'll see!"
She loaded the many bags of sweets into some of the baskets she lined up on the opposite counter. Strings saved them a heap of time by levitating every bag and filling the rest of the baskets equally.
"Hey!" Pinkie Pie protested. "You took all the fun out of it!"
"No, I kept it all to myself!" He snatched the baskets away. "Now to deliver them by myself too!" He made a break for the door only to be tackled immediately by Pinkie Pie. It wasn't enough to break his concentration on the levitation spell, but it sure was enough to knock him to the floor. Pinkie Pie held up her own, larger and fluffier feather now. His hair stood on end when he realized that Pinkie Pie was on the offensive and he was now the one pinned to the floor. She lowered her feather dangerously close to him.
"Wait wait hold it!" he pleaded.
She stopped her assault long enough to let him levitate the baskets of sweets to the counters.
"Okay", he said, "Bring it."
Pinkie Pie began her assault, but didn't get any immediate results. Strings held his laughs in almost effortlessly. "That all ya got?"
At that point she decided to ditch the feather and use her hooves instead. This time she got him. The laughs broke out as soon as she made contact. Her pink tickling weapons were way more effective than the flimsy feather. Strings did everything in his power to keep from pushing her away from him. It might have been torture, but he was enjoying it. He loved the way her hooves added an electrifying impact to the already sensitive areas of his body. Pinkie Pie didn't forget much. She immediately targeted the places that made him laugh most. He let her tickle her for as long as she pleased, which was until she noticed how dark it was getting outside.
She shot off of him, "Come on, Strings, that's enough foaling around! We'll miss the meteor shower if you keep letting me tickle you!"
Outside the kitchen window, the night's first stars were beginning to peak into view against the darkness. Together, Strings and Pinkie Pie grabbed the baskets and left the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner. Strings carried most of the load since Pinkie Pie insisted she fly instead of walk and could only carry four baskets with her hooves.
The streets of Ponyville were packed with its residents. "Whoa, full house, eh, town", Strings observed, "Looks like the shower's got everypony ready to party."
"Of course", Twilight said out of the blue. From the looks of it she was just passing by. "This particular meteor shower only happens once every one hundred years."
"It's a pretty big deal", Pinkie Pie added nonchalantly.
"I bet", Strings said, "In Melodyville meteor showers are the radist thing to happen. I skipped a birthday for one."
"Wow, they're something special for your town aren't they?" Twilight asked.
"We have an old story about them", Strings replied, "But can't tell it right now. Got a ton of cookies to deliver."
"Hey, the girls and I have a place at Pointy Peak we're going to watch the shower. Are you coming too?"
"No, Pink and me are gonna watch it on Sugarcube Corner's roof." He turned to leave with Pinkie Pie. "Maybe later or something, Twilight."
They went separate ways after Pinkie Pie gave Twilight her order of three baskets for her and the rest of their friends. Pinkie led Strings through the crowded streets to, from what he could tell, the center of Ponyville. She pulled out a giant map of the town and propped it against the left wall of Town Hall. "Okay!"
"Okay what?" Strings asked as he set the baskets down. He saw that the map had a ton of arrows, numbers, and "X"s littering the layout.
"I have marked on this map everypony who placed an order for Meteor Shower Cookies for tonight!"
"Then why are we here?" Strings jumped into the air in a very Pinkie Pie way. "We gotta get out there and deliver the goods!"
"Don't worry! I have a plan!" she declared.
"What is it?"
"I'm going to fly up and when I yell 'pull' you throw a basket right into the air!" she instructed enthusiastically. "I'm going to fly by, grab them, then get them delivered lickity split!"
He gazed up at the darkening time, wondering just how much time Pinkie Pie had left on her flight spell. Strings hid the uncertainty brought on by his gut's better judgment by readying a levitation spell. "Alright, sounds totally radical, let's do it!"
"Pull!"
Strings obliged by springing one of the baskets straight up. Pinkie Pie shot after it and snatched it up. Then, with a quick burst of her wings, dashed away into the darkening sky. Strings watched her until she was gone. This isn't good, we have to hurry up or she'll lose her wings in the air…oh man, if she gets hurt because of me…
"Pull!" He heard above him. He flinched, but still launched a basket into the air. The vessel carrying the sweets disappeared as soon as she flew by.
"That was insane", Strings said in awe, "How fast was she going?"
"Pull!"
He tossed another one into the air. "Dear Luna, she's cruising!" he shouted in disbelief. Strings figured she was moving fast enough to outfly the time it would take for her wings to disappear. By the time he got another basket ready, Pinkie Pie was flying overhead. The deliveries didn't take much longer. He didn't know how Pinkie Pie did it, but they were getting baskets out faster than he could shred his fastest solo. By the time most of the ponies left the streets for their observation points, Strings was down to only two baskets. He bet they were his and Pinkie Pie's since one of them was full of their cupcakes. The darkness overhead prompted the streetlights to flick on.
"Double pull!" Pinkie Pie shouted from the sky.
He was just about to launch them when he saw the inevitable happen. In a small flash of light, the pink Pegasus's wings disappeared. The unicorn's heart stopped dead as he watched her fall helplessly out of the sky. She was moving so fast that she was on a crash course to completely destroy the prank shop if he didn't do anything about it. He dropped the baskets and leaped after her. He missed the first catch, but threw a force field around them. He guided her softly into his hooves and landed gently on the cool grass. "Gotcha, Pink."
"Yay! That was fun! Let's do it again!" Pinkie Pie didn't get a reply. Nor did she ask why her unicorn savior stared down at her with wide eyes and a deepening blush. She felt so at ease in his hooves and could feel her heart picking up. She was sure it wasn't a sugar rush. She knew for a fact it was him. "Teehee! Strings rush", she giggled to herself. Twilight sure was right. She was definitely in love. Now there was something different swirling around inside of her head. She thought back to the conversation she had with the unicorn. There was one question she forgot to ask. How do I know if I want to be more than just friends with him?
To her slight dismay, he put her down. It took all of his strength to force his hooves to do it, but he still had to put the adorable mare down. Man, why am I such a wimp when it comes to feelings? "So, um…" he stammered, "To Sugarcube Corner now, or what?"
"Nope", she replied, popping the word loudly. "To the top of Sugarcube Corner!"
He didn't immediately follow her when she bounced away with the baskets in tow. Instead, he gave the nearest light pole an introduction to his forehead, barely missing his horn. "Ugh! I had the perfect chance! Stupid stupid! Why didn't I tell her!? I'm so stupid!" He banged his head against the poll with every self-insult until he was positive a nice red mark had appeared on his head. It didn't last very long since he didn't want to make Pinkie Pie wait. "Better get back before she figures out I'm not behind her…"
He took the darkest route back to the bakery. He was a little too depressed to talk to anypony about the fresh bruise next to his horn. However, the sound of a very familiar bass line echoing through the darkness made him feel way better. It brought a huge smile to the bassist's face, especially since he knew exactly why every note strummed was completely flat. He sped up his trot into a Pinkie Pie bounce. The sounds of his guitar got louder as he closed the distance between him and Sugarcube Corner. He was amazed Pinkie Pie got the guitar to play as loud she did. Especially since there wasn't an amp hooked up to it. He counted down the notes. "Three…"
Twang!
"Jeez, that was fast!" he laughed. "She must've destroyed that string!"
In her rush, Pinkie Pie left the back door wide open. He closed it behind him and made his way up the stairs to her room. From behind Pinkie Pie's closed door, he could hear the faint sounds of crying. The sounds made him stop cold. It was worse than anything he could ever have heard in his life. Pinkie Pie…crying? What am I going to do? I have to cheer her up! He looked around, but couldn't find anything to help him out. Think! Okay, what would she do? Wait…I got it in the bag now… He took a deep breath, concentrated some energy into his horn, and put on his best Pinkie Pie image.
Pinkie Pie sat on her bed, crying over Strings's now-broken guitar. All she wanted to do was surprise him by playing one of the songs he taught her. She didn't mean to break a string. The guitar just wasn't playing as loud as the last time she played it. She kept sobbing quietly until the door to her room slowly creaked open. She gulped as her imagination predicted the unicorn's angry yells over his guitar. She looked up, and instead of seeing an unhappy unicorn, she saw a happy bouncing Pinkie Pie.
"Hey, what's eating you? Bedbugs?" she giggled.
Pinkie Pie didn't reply. She only looked down at the broken guitar.
Her double looked down with her. "It's just a broken string, silly! You don't have to be so sad!"
"But it's Strings's guitar", the real Pinkie replied. "I played it without asking."
"You and Strings are such good friends you don't need to ask!"
"I still broke it…"
"Have you forgotten your Pinkie Fix-It Ability already?"
Pinkie Pie quickly looked up. "I have that!?"
Strings hopped on the bed. He gently took the guitar. "It's as easy as saying 'abc'!"
"'Abc'?"
"Done!"
When Pinkie Pie looked down, the guitar was good as new. It was like she never broke the string in the first place. She was so amazed at the fixed string, she didn't notice Strings drop his illusion until he hoofed the bass back to her.
"Strings?" She looked around for the other Pinkie Pie. "Where did—"
"Ready to give it another shot?" he interrupted with a toothy grin. He lit his horn up with his amp spell. "This time don't go so rough, okay?"
She gave him a weak smile. She sniffed and wiped the drying tears from her face. She took the guitar and got into strumming position. She brought her hoof down on the strings for a set of four open notes. She played the few warm up exercises Strings taught her. Strings closed his eyes to listen to the mare play one of his favorite beginner songs. She hit every note with deadly precision. In his head he sang the vocals but didn't dare voice them for fear of messing up Pinkie Pie's note streak. She finished with a little more flare than last time, adding a few more notes to end the song with a Pinkie Pie styled pop.
"Nice", Strings complimented, "I think you're ready for the next lesson."
"Really!?"
He nodded, "Come on, I'll show you on the roof."
Pinkie Pie brought the last of the blankets up to the roof as Strings continued to set up the sweets for their observation. He convinced Pinkie Pie to let him bring up his favorite flavored cake and a couple brownies to fully satisfy their sugar cravings. "No mattress?" he teased.
"Nope! Blankets work good enough!"
Strings shrugged. "I've passed out on worse."
He levitated the comforters from her grasp and opened them across the roof. Taking another awestruck look around, Strings was amazed no pony could see the flat, boarded portion of the Corner's roof. It was pretty big, and even featured a banister that ran the perimeter. "This is a really sweet spot, Pink."
"No, this is a sweet spot!" she shouted, pointing to the chocolate chip of one of the cookies.
Strings almost fell over after his failed attempt to snatch the cookie away in his jaws. "Almost got it!"
"You need more practice in the art of cookie nabbing!" Pinkie Pie pointed out. She victoriously chomped down on the helpless treat.
Strings chuckled. "We set up?"
She nodded energetically. "Not missing a thing!"
"Radical!" He levitated his guitar over. "Okay, ready for lesson number two?"
"Do you even have to ask?!"
He rolled his eyes and they assumed the lesson's position in front of the other. When Pinkie Pie had the instrument ready, Strings started them off. "Okay, so you know how play without the frets, so now you're going to learn to play with'em." He pointed to the neck. "When you play the lower frets, you get a higher pitch in the sound. And the higher you go, the lower the notes go. It's hard to get into since everypony thinks it's the other way around. It took me forever."
Pinkie Pie tried without being prompted. She strummed all four notes clumsily at the lower end of the neck. Then at the higher end. Strings let her practice by herself until it sounded like she got the hang of it.
"Now it gets weird", Strings said, taking her left hoof and placing the tip of it on the D string. "Almost every song's gonna need you to play a single note at a time. When you do, just push down on the string up here and play only that string."
Pinkie Pie nodded. Strumming like that was really weird, and pretty hard for her jittery hooves to do. She misfired her first few strums, giving the experienced unicorn a big reason to turn the volume down on his amplifier. "Okay, not bad. You're going to need to practice it a lot to get the hang of it, but you're doing awesome." Seeing her move her hooves from one string to the next reminded him of something. He gazed carefully into her face. Her concentrated frown jumped. "Pinkie Pie, stop", he said seriously.
She blinked. "Huh? What's wrong?"
He grabbed her hooves. They were red and swollen. He looked up at her in disbelief. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted to keep practicing so I could get better faster", she replied honestly.
He levitated the bass away. "It's not worth destroying your hooves. Let'em toughen up a little before starting again."
She nodded and rubbed them together to ease the soreness. His scolding didn't hurt her feelings or scare her like he feared he did. Instead, she felt more tickly in the belly than anything. It felt really nice for him to care about her like that. She smiled up at him and held up her hooves in a double promise-like fashion.
Strings, getting the wrong impression, happily obliged her false gesture and warmed up his horn for a quick Healing Spell. A small wave of swirling neon vapor wafted from his horn to her hooves. It tickled, causing her to giggle until it stopped. "That'll make it better for ya."
"Thanks, Strings." She tilted her head and gave him a smile.
She's looking at me like that again…Oh, man, what do I do? He attempted to slow his quickening breath down, but only succeeded in speeding it up. He levitated a cupcake into his mouth. It only barely helped.
Pinkie watched in amusement as Strings's blue face slowly faded into deeper shades of pink until stopping on red. He reminded her of a bunny. Not just because he was kinda soft like a bunny. Because he was, well, there was no other word for her to use. He was cute, plain and simple as that.
If Strings concentrated, he would've noticed that Pinkie Pie was slowly moving her face closer to his. She had no idea what was about to happen. She only knew that her body had taken a mind of its own. The sounds of the night were drowned out by the pounding of her heart in her ears. A flash of light in the sky shook her body from its self-control.
She and Strings shot their gazes to the sky to see the tail of a shooting star disappear over them. Their eyes scanned the dark, speckled abyss for more. Strings's smile slowly faded into a frown. "That's it? No way", he complained. He bit into a brownie. "There's no way that can be it!"
His complaining seemed to do the trick. At once, hundreds of tiny fireballs streaked down from the stars. Sounds of cheering echoed from all over Ponyville, the loudest probably coming from Strings. "Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaa!" he screamed to the heavens. "SHOWTIME!" He snatched up his bass and lit Ponyville up with electric charges that launched and divided into the sky before exploding into colorful fireworks. It was then his eyes glossed over with abyssal light.
Pinkie Pie watched in utter amazement as Strings's coat released an awesome glow that brightened the roof of Sugarcube Corner. The lighter blue streaks in his mane and tale exploded with white light, making him hard to look at. With every new note he strummed, something miraculous happened. A bright circle of light formed under him and a gold star appeared over his right eye. Then, as his magic energy materialized into a physical substance, he grew magical wings. He shot into the air high above Ponyville, where the chords he played caused light to burst from his body in front the meteors burning through the sky.
The song he performed echoed for miles around. He never stopped, not even ten minutes after the meteor shower first started. Some of the ponies watching him could tell that his guitar and the meteors were in sync. The faster he played, the faster they fell. The more complex his performance, the brighter and more diverse the shower became. The light from his body illuminated all of Ponyville until it intensified into six gigantic spot lights that grazed the land. No pony could keep their eyes on just one of the amazing sights at one time for long. When one of them started to become less interesting, the other one would kick up and explode with more special effects.
The meteors in the sky started to become more and more spaced out at the same time Strings's began to play slower. His body steadily lost its glow and magical properties until he was no longer floating in the sky. When the final note echoed from his guitar, the unicorn fell from the sky. Pinkie Pie felt her heart stop. She was hopping from roof to roof the second she it happened. She made sure to keep an eye on him and the platforms serving as her main road to Strings's safety. Now that all of the light was gone from him she couldn't see him anymore. Fortunately, a watching unicorn shone a spotlight on the falling pony. But it didn't help. He was already too close to the ground and out of range of Pinkie Pie. She didn't stop despite the obvious fact she was not going to make it to him in time.
He fell out of her line of sight when he cleared the roof height. Reality hit Pinkie Pie with everything it had. She skidded to a halt just before. Tears immediately ran down from her face. That was, until she heard the distinct flapping of wings. She looked up from her hooves to see her two best Pegasus friends flying towards her with the unconscious unicorn and his guitar in their hooves.
"Don't worry, Pinks", Rainbow Dash called. "We got him."
Relief continued to wash over Pinkie Pie as Rainbow Dash set him down on the large reading couch in the library. Twilight suggested they go there instead of back to Sugarcube Corner since that's where everypony in town would go to see what was going on. She and the rest of the Elements of Harmony along with their guests to the meteor shower joined the transport of Strings to find out just what went down with the bassist.
"I don't know what happened", Pinkie Pie answered Twilight honestly. "He just got real happy about the meteor shower and then started flying like a Pegasus!"
"Perhaps it was an emotionally triggered magic surge", Rarity suggested.
"I don't think so", the librarian replied. "It lasted too long."
"Ah think we should just ask'im when he wakes up", Applejack interjected. "There ain't no sense in tryin' to figure all this out right now."
"I side with Applejack", agreed the Carousel Boutique's assistant tailor. "Our current odds for stumbling across an explanation are most likely between slim and knell."
"And I'm pretty tired, so let's just call it a night", Rainbow Dash yawned. A wave of nods and yawns circled the room.
"It's a good thing we planned the slumber party for tonight", Twilight said. "Okay, girls, let's get started!"
Rarity and Applejack rolled their eyes, but still grabbed their sleeping bags. Twilight led the group into the library's foyer to let Strings sleep. Pinkie Pie began to follow, but stuck around with Strings. He snored pretty loudly for somepony that almost became a pancake. Pinkie Pie watched him sleep with so many questions in her head. She wasn't exactly sure how to process all the different events at once. First, her body takes control without her mind. Then, Strings explodes with the best musical performance she had ever seen. And then, Strings almost went splat in the middle of Ponyville.
Her head wasn't the only one havin trouble keeping up with it all. Her heart was still speeding since the second she saw she wasn't going to catch the unicorn. Seeing him safe and sound on the couch didn't hamper its speed. If anything at all the sight sped it up.
Strings rolled over in his sleep. He mumbled something, but she couldn't tell what. Pinkie Pie became a tad bit drowsy seeing him snooze so peacefully. He rolled over again and shivered slightly. The Earth Pony looked around for something to throw over him. Unfortunately, the only things around were books and pillows. Strings didn't look like he needed it anymore now that he was snoring again. Pinkie Pie sighed at how adorable he looked. Her heart kicked up when she realized that her body had once again taken itself over. Her face got closer to his until her lips were planting a sweet, delicate kiss on his cheek.
She reeled back in shock of what she just did. Her pink face was now red enough to brag about. Taking a couple of steps back seemed like a good idea. So good, in fact, that her hooves shot her to the opposite end of the room. Her mind quickly tried to process the what and why of what just happened, but only focused on how much better she felt inside. The butterflies in her stomach were driven out by the bubbly feeling of fireworks exploding throughout her whole body.
It was then Pinkie Pie's mind clicked. She answered her one unanswered question. Now she knew what it felt like to be more than friends with somepony. It felt just like this. Now there was just one more problem. "I gotta find the best way to tell him!" she declared to herself.
Hoofsteps coming from the door caused the mare to whirl around to see that they belonged to Twilight. The unicorn was levitating blankets and pillows for the sleeping bassist to use for the night. She only got about halfway before Pinkie Pie blocked the path. "Pinkie—"
"Twilight! I need to know the best way to tell somepony you're in love with him, pronto!"
Favor Five
Exactly eleven days had followed the spectacular night of the meteor shower. Having no memory of what happened, Strings disappointed everypony by leaving their questions completely unanswered. Other than that, everything was going just fine. He was adapting to Ponyville life comfortably, and exchanged letters with his mother regularly. He learned more about baking the more he taught Pinkie Pie the ways of the bass. The pay he was getting from the Cakes for his part-time service helped him get a place to stay. Roseluck had rented out one of her one-bedrooms and adjusted the monthly rent so that he could meet it. Despite the new, small distance between him and Pinkie Pie, their friendship didn't falter one bit; they constantly visited each other and often times had sleepovers.
Pinkie Pie was currently on her fifth day of planning for her love confession. She wanted it to be just like her parties: loud, flashy, and unforgettable. The only thing about her want of perfection was just that. It had to be perfect. Unfortunately, there was something she feared would mess up the big reveal and would have to take five steps backwards, losing the original two she would manage to gain before. Twilight had tried several times to reassure her that just telling the colt would be just as memorable and effective as a flashy party, but the pink mare would have none of it. She just had to make sure that she did everything she could to ensure that he would have the same feelings.
Today, however, was proving to be one of those days where she couldn't think of a single thing to move the plan along. Instead of frying her brains like an egg, she decided to go check on Strings, who she hadn't seen all day. Both were currently free from the Corner, and they usually met up at the crack of dawn to hang out. Today was a little different. She was too busy planning for the morning to go see him at the usual time, so he was probably still sleeping in.
She had no idea that Strings was busy planning something of his own. Inside his house, he was busy moving all of the furniture that came included when he signed the lease. He had been working endlessly since four in the morning, leaving him already tired in spite of the sleep he had gotten. No pony was around to lend a helping hoof, which is exactly the way he wanted it. A returning favor didn't count if he didn't do it alone. Well, the important part that is. He had the Elements of Harmony assisting him with keeping Pinkie away until it was finished, and various other ponies to help him get small things set up.
"Grr…" he grunted as the biggest couch gave way to the pressure his hooves were putting on it. "Magic would make this so much easier…" Regardless of how much strain it put on his body, Strings refused to use any of his magic energy to aid him. Not until he was sure there would be enough left for the most significant part of the plan.
Knock knock…knock knock knock!
The blue stallion froze. Quietly, he crept to the door. If it was Pinkie Pie, then he could pass off ignoring the door as sleeping in. To his relief, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake in the peephole. He opened the door to quickly let them in. "Did you bring what I asked for?"
They nodded and dropped off their pans and cookie sheets on the counter in his kitchen. He eyed them to make sure nothing was missing. When he was positive they didn't fail him, he gave the Cakes a thank you hug. "You have no idea how radical this is of you."
"If it's for Pinkie Pie, then we don't mind even a little", Cupcake replied with a smile. "When do you plan to finish? It would be nice to see the look on her face."
"I'm shooting for three this afternoon…if not, I'll be pretty close." He rubbed the back of neck. "There's just a song full of work to sing here…"
"I'm sure you can finish before then, Strings. You have a work horse inside you, for sure!" Mr. Cake gave the colt a pat on the back. "We'll see you later."
He nodded to the backdoor. "Don't want Pink seeing you and asking questions, you know?"
They nodded in comprehension, and once it closed, Strings locked it back. He gazed over the destroyed house. "Sweet Luna, I'm going to be tired later…"
S
Outside, Pinkie Pie was just about to give the red door to Strings's home a knock. Her hoof was just grazing the wood before her name was called out. She turned to see Twilight waving her over from the library.
"Pinkie Pie! Over here!"
Knowing how groggy Strings could be in the morning, Pinkie decided to let him sleep in a little longer to find out exactly why her favorite librarian was getting her attention. She bounced happily to the unicorn. "Hey, Twilight, great morning, huh? I was just about to wake Strings up, but then you called my name, so what's up?"
"I was just wondering", Twilight said. "If you were almost done planning to tell Strings."
She shook her head. "Not yet. I'm so close, but I just can't get it perfect."
"Would you like some help?"
Another shake of Pinkie's head. "I hafta do this by myself Twilight. It's my heart's feelings remember?"
Twilight nodded. "I remember. Well, in that case do you want a book to help? I just got some new arrivals." She brought a mental hoof to her face. Great plan, Twilight. A book will definitely distract her from Strings.
"No thanks, Twilight, but I do have to return those cookbooks before they're overdo! I need to go get them before I have a fine and a bad reputation for checking out books. What if I get put on a list? Then I'll never get to check out another book again without signing a contract or something!"
She figured an explanation about the paranoid hypothesis would only undermine her original plan to stall Pinkie Pie for seven hours, so she didn't say a word. She expected her friend to bounce back to her room in Sugarcube Corner, but should've known better. She watched in irritated amazement Pinkie Pie reach around and pull her books from a place she couldn't see.
"Here ya go, Twilight!" She presented the three books out to the librarian, who took them inside, leaving the door open for Pinkie Pie in hopes she would follow her. Twilight was relieved to hear the door close followed by a trailing set of hoofsteps. Twilight guided Pinkie Pie to the desk in the back of the foyer. She took her time signing out the cards in the books' pockets. Pinkie Pie left her to go find another book to check out. That was probably the best thing she could have done for Twilight. "That's one hour down", she sighed. "It's a good thing Pinkie Pie is always indecisive about which books she wants."
She could hear Pinkie's bounces echo from the fiction wing. They traveled from one end to the other and back again. Twilight had just finished the end of her initials on the first card when she heard Pinkie Pie comment on a book she had found. The bouncing continued through the room. Twilight yawned. She wasn't used to waking up so early on a Sunday.
It was a good thing Pinkie Pie overlooked the fact that the library was supposed to be closed. She would've been instantly suspicious. Twilight heard another comment, followed by more bouncing. "And now we wait", she half-giggled.
And wait she did. Pinkie Pie always limited herself to three books a library visit, and that last book always managed to find a ton of competitors to fill the spot. Twilight ended up taking a small nap by the time Pinkie Pie found the book that shined above the others. When she found Twilight was no longer at her desk, she bounced to the top floor to the mare's room. To her surprise the unicorn wasn't in her bed. She searched the whole room, even in Dream Runner's bed to make sure Twilight didn't accidently lay down there.
Back downstairs, she heard the distinct sound of a unicorn's snore, and found a passed out Twilight on the cold floor behind her desk. She giggled. Twilight sure was silly for falling asleep so late in the day. Behind her the clock chimed nine in the morning. Regardless, she still picked the mare up and carried her to the empty bed upstairs. Once Twilight was under the star and moon printed blanket, Pinkie Pie left the second story again. She stacked her books on the corner of the desk and happily bounced out into Ponyville.
The sun had just finished its assault on the morning dew, leaving her hooves with the satisfaction of a dry ground. Strings would definitely be awake by now. He always complained at how the sunlight would fill his room every morning, making it difficult for him to sleep in. He would probably be up, and if not, he would be asleep on his couch. She made the short distance to his door and was just making her second attempt to knock when again her name was called.
"Pinkie Pie!"
She turned and was surprised to see Rarity trotting up to the house. "Heya, Rarity! Whatcha doin out?"
Rarity took a deep breath. "I've been looking all over Ponyville for you, Pinkie Pie. When I saw that you weren't present at Sugarcube Corner, I was afraid that you might miss the chance to, er…sample a few new dresses I've just finished."
"That sounds great, Rarity! I'll just get Strings and he can play music like in a fashion show!"
"NO!" Rarity shouted a little louder than intended. "Er, I mean, are you sure you would want to wake him after the performance last night? He should catch up on his rest, don't you think?"
Pinkie Pie mulled it over. He sure did stay up late last night to attend—against his fears— Gummy's birthday party. He played some great songs to commemorate the day the alligator hatched. Then she kinda felt bad for wanting to deprive the stallion of his much needed sleep. Refusing to say anything about it, she merely left the porch to walk with Rarity to the Carousel Boutique. "What kinds of dresses are they?"
As the white unicorn explained to her what she would be trying on, Strings was adding tons of festive ornaments to the walls and furniture. The streamers and confetti pouches lined the ceiling in awesome shapes that he was sure Pinkie Pie would love. Upon taping the last streamer to the corner of the room, he rushed into his kitchen. In the oven, his masterpiece wasn't even close to burning. "I'm so paranoid. But it would be a horrible solo to play if I burned it to a crisp."
Knock knock knock!
He crept to the door and found one Derpy Hooves in the peephole this time. He opened it and she nearly fell in when she leaned in to give the door another series of knocks. "Whoa, gotcha Derpy!" He caught the mare just as she fell forward, saving the floor from a faceplant.
"Thanks, Strings. I gotta letter from your mom!"
"Thanks", he said, levitating it from her.
She saluted him, as always, and flew off to deliver more of the off-schedule Sunday letters. He closed the door, placing the letter on the counter in the kitchen. He checked the oven again, and found that what he was baking made no progress since the last time he checked it. He decided to take a break from the manual labor and read his mother's letter. In her neat hoofwriting, he saw that she had written exactly what he wanted to see.
Dear Strings,
Your father has just finished what you wanted to give Pinkie Pie. We'll send it to you when it is noon in Ponyville. Be sure to keep your magic aura unhidden so we can pinpoint your location. On a side note, we both think you're very sweet for doing this for her. It's too bad we can't travel out to be there, but you have our thoughts with you. As your father would say: rock out, son.
Love, Harp Strings
"Three hours until then. I won't be ready to perform, but that'll be great. I'll be able to wrap it." He placed the letter inside the table drawer with the rest of them. Following the instructions his mother sent, he cast a spell on himself to make his magical presence visible to all magic-using ponies in Equestria. He went on to finish what he started with the house. He thought he was finished decorating, until he saw that there wasn't nearly enough pink hanging from every surface.
While he attempted to finish the decorating, Rarity attempted to keep Pinkie Pie in the Carousel Boutique as long as she could. They were on the third dress, and Pinkie Pie was already beginning to itch with the desire to get out and see Strings. She had never been more than a night away from the stallion, so twelve hours was eating away at her to the point of taking a dress off before Rarity could get a good snapshot with her new camera.
"Pinkie Pie? Is something the matter?"
"Sorry, Rarity, but I have to go see Strings", Pinkie Pie said as the last of the dress was shaken loose. "What if he's looking for me? He could be worried that I'm not at Sugarcube Corner and if he's worried he could go crazy and something might happen to him!"
Even though she knew that Strings was perfectly fine, her love for romance and all things alike just couldn't let Pinkie Pie stay. Especially since this was Pinkie Pie's first time in love. She did nothing to stop the mare from galloping out of the boutique so fast she forgot to say goodbye. "I hope letting her go won't compromise the entire point of keeping her away from Strings's home", she sighed. She glanced at her clock. She had only managed to stall Pinkie Pie for forty-five minutes. "Oh, curse my weak heart!"
S
Pinkie Pie knocked as frantically as she could on the door of the best bass guitarist in Ponyville. She knocked for three full minutes nonstop before her hooves began to sting. Not a sound was made during that time, or even the two minutes she spent giving her hooves a rest. "Oh, he has to be awake now, right? He doesn't sleep in this late, right?"
She kept questioning the invisible pony beside her until a Pegasus came to her mental rescue. "Hey, Pinkie Pie!"
She turned her attention to the sky, where Rainbow Dash was busy waving at her. Pinkie returned the wave, somewhat hoping Rainbow was just passing along and wasn't going to be another distraction from Strings. Unfortunately, the latter rained even more on her parade. "Hey, Pinkie Pie, I came up with some new moves yesterday, and I need somepony to come make sure I don't mess them up before I perform tonight!"
Pinkie Pie glanced at the door, then to her best friend. "Can it wait, Rainbow Dash? I wanna see if Strings will want to come too."
"After last night", Rainbow laughed, "You'll be lucky if he wakes up by the time I fly tonight!"
"He's never slept so late before, though…" Pinkie Pie was beginning to become depressed with worry and guilt. She walked, once again, away from the door she desperately desired to go through.
"Hey, don't worry, Pinks", Rainbow Dash said cheerfully. "You'll get to see him today. Let the guy sleep."
The pink mare mustered a smile for the Pegasus. "O-okay, Rainbow Dash! You're right! Who likes to be woken up before noon after such a hard night, anyway?"
"That's what I'm saying! C'mon, let's go to the usual place!" She flew off to the practice meadow she had used since she first moved to Ponyville, leaving Pinkie Pie to bounce after her.
Before she left the sight of Strings's home, she turned to looked one more time, yearning to go back. A twinge of guilt came back with the thought of returning to the porch, causing her to sigh with sadness. She set off again for the hill, but this time didn't bounce. She just didn't feel like being bubbly without Strings around to see it. Depression was a foreign emotion to Pinkie Pie, only having ever felt it once or twice before. When she looked around, everything didn't look as bright as the sun was making it out to be. The air wasn't crisp or peaceful, nor was the sky blue. Everything could be wrapped up with just one word. "Strings-less…" Pinkie Pie whispered with a pout.
When she got to the hill she normally watched Rainbow Dash practice, the blue mare was already showing off her skills to the clouds and trees. She saw Pinkie down below and instantly her showboating meter skyrocketed. She put everything she had into looping, swooping, zooming, and Sonic Rainbooming through the air.
Pinkie Pie was only barely paying attention to the crazy stunts her crazy friend was doing. She could only think about how the feeling inside of her that usually was warm and fuzzy was now empty and cold without her crush sitting beside her. The want to go see him wasn't even present anymore. He would only be sleeping and not wanting to be disturbed. Eventually, Pinkie Pie's gaze drifted from the sky to the grass at her hooves. She was pretty sure that she was so the opposite of happy that her mane fell in response.
If Rainbow had been keeping an eye on Pinkie Pie, she would have seen the depressed mare stand up and wander off. Her gaze remained on the ground as she walked back into the now fully awake Ponyville. The first few ponies didn't see her walk by, but as she got farther along, some of them were surprised to find she didn't return their greetings or even acknowledge their existence.
"Hey, Pinkie Pie!" chirped Roseluck happily as she walked by. When she didn't get a response, a red flag went up in her mind. She turned and was quickly trotting beside Pinkie Pie. "Hey, Pinkie Pie."
To spare her feelings, Pinkie Pie finally said something. "Hi, Rose…"
"What's up, Hun? You don't look so good", Rose said with concern.
Pinkie Pie turned her head away from her friend. She didn't reply.
Rose sighed. "Hey, if you need to talk about something, you know I'm right here for you."
Pinkie Pie nodded absently, the words barely meaning anything to her. She kept walking, vaguely aware that Rose was still walking beside her. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, so she hid her face again. No pony should have the displeasure to see Pinkie Pie cry. It was just so wrong in her mind.
Rose knew she had to get Pinkie Pie to talk somehow, but she didn't even know where to start or what could even upset her. This was the first time she had ever seen a legitimately sad frown stuck to the Earth Pony's face. They kept walking until they happened to pass the home to her newest tenant. That's when it clicked. "Guy troubles?" Pinkie jumped. She didn't say anything, but still gave enough reaction for Rose to confirm it. "Did Strings hurt your feelings?"
"No…"
"Did he get a marefriend before you told him you like him?" When she got a confused, "how did you know?" look, she replied, "Pinkie Pie, you would have to be blind not to see it. Almost everypony knows."
"Even him?"
Rose laughed. "Except him! Haha! Strings is one of the densest ponies I've ever met!"
Pinkie Pie cracked a smile for Rose. "R-really?"
"Yep. Well, he's not dumb, but he can't see what's right in front of his nose", she giggled. "Is that why you're upset? He isn't picking up on your hints?"
Pinkie Pie didn't know what these hints were about, but she did know that they weren't the case. She shook her head with a sigh. Rose was actually beginning to cheer the mare up. She was close to regaining the light pink color her coat was meant to be instead of the gray tone it adorned when soaked in stress. "No, it's that after last night, he's just asleep and I—"
"Miss him?"
"Mmmhmm", Pinkie sighed.
"You know", Rose said, "That's one of the downfalls of love. Sometimes you do hafta be apart for a while. Don't worry, Pinkie Pie, you'll see him the second he wakes up."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you two are already as close as can be. He can't stand to stay off your tail even for a second."
Pinkie raised an eyebrow. Rose knew it was about the whole close thing she mentioned.
"You guys always hang out. I can't wait until you guys start dating", Rose explained, "You're so cute together!"
Pinkie Pie's cheeks slowly darkened into a blush. She giggled nervously as they finally came to a stop. "Thanks for cheering me up, Rose! I have to go wait somewhere for Strings to wake up. Maybe I'll go walk through the park or go see what Fluttershy is doing or maybe Applejack!"
"Heheh, you go do that, Pinkie Pie." Rose gave the mare a gentle pat. "I gotta get back to the stand. See ya later!"
They parted ways, leaving both mares with fresh new smiles. Pinkie Pie bounced her way to Fluttershy's cottage. Along the way she took in the bright sunshine and the tunes of the robins and blue jays preparing to head south for the upcoming early winter. Fluttershy's home came into view faster than she thought; it turned out daydreaming about what her first date with Strings was going to be like took a lot of time away from the trip.
In the yard of the animal sanctuary that was Fluttershy's cottage she saw a yellow stallion working diligently to drag a large bag of feed across the yard. "Hey, Day!"
He stopped to greet her in his usual, hesitant way. "…Hi, Pinkie Pie. You'll find Fluttershy inside." And with that, he returned to dragging the bag to wherever it was he was going to drag it.
She bounced on past and found herself inside the cottage just a few seconds later. It was brighter than usual, but that was only because Fluttershy left the windows open to help air the place out while she deep cleaned the inside. Pinkie Pie was just about to call her name when Day's kitsune beat her to it.
"Fluttershy!" the two-tailed ice elemental fox called from the kitchen, "Can I have the last cookie in the jar?!"
"Of course you can, Rime", Fluttershy answered on her way down from her room. She spotted her pink visitor in the living room and remembered what day it was. "Oh, Pinkie Pie! I'm glad you've stopped by. I was so busy getting started that I completely forgot to ask you if you wouldn't mind helping me."
"Helping with what, Fluttershy?"
"Well, since Day's working outside, I need somepony to help clean inside. That is, if you want…" While she waited for a reply, Fluttershy glanced at her clock. She only had to stall her friend for at most three hours. It sure was a good thing she had four hours of work left to do.
"I'm not doing anything right now, anyway, so sure I'll help you out", Pinkie Pie said brightly.
She couldn't see, but the yellow Pegasus sighed with relief. She didn't mess Strings plan up by forgetting to grab Pinkie Pie at daybreak.
S
"Finally!" Strings cheered. He levitated out the fully baked cookies. He carefully arranged them on a plate into a small tower. "Now I just have to wait on the cakes."
He walked through the rooms he was preparing for three. So far, so good…the balloons are ready, steamers are fine, and I just made sure the party ball is rigged right, so yeah, all good…
Just as he was sitting down to take a break, did something force him right back up. A tingle in his horn told him that a surge of magic energy was heading his way. He honed in on it until it was just over his house. He didn't have a chance to give it a Cushion Spell as all at once, it materialized in front of his eyes faster than he could react. Unfortunately, he received a little more than what he asked for when along with Pinkie Pie's surprise, a pink Earth Pony crashed to the floor with it.
"Sise!?" Strings screamed at the top of his lungs, "What the hay are you doing here?!"
When the mare managed to catch her breath, she responded in a daze, "I missed you too, dummy."
Strings facehoofed harder than he ever had before. "You just crashed in on my solo, do you know that?"
"If you had any idea how much I had to beg your parents to get me here you'd be proud", she said with a huff. "Anyway, I'm only staying for a few minutes, so get off my back."
"How do you plan to get back to Melodyville?" Strings asked in anger.
"Look, grouch, I'll get back. Can you at least say, 'Hey, Sise, missed you, how've you been and stuff'?" she retorted.
"You're so lucky we're almost family", Strings said. He left her to go check on the oven and cool his attitude down.
Sise decided to wander around aimlessly, and check out Strings's house. She liked the furniture and color, but didn't see anything remarkable about it compared to his parents' home. She came to a stop when she spotted a peculiar photo booth strip wedged in the frame of a larger picture. The bigger photo featured Strings and the pony that she had to assume was Pinkie Pie. They were smiling from ear to ear, with their hooves over each other's shoulders. The strip merely captured the two exchanging silly faces with the camera, except for the last one, where Pinkie Pie surprised Strings with a hug. The look of embarrassment was clear in the pink that covered his cheeks and nose. "It's about time that dummy moved on", she sighed.
"It is", agreed Strings, standing right behind her.
Sise set the frame down and turned to Strings. "She your fillyfriend yet?"
He showed no signs of embarrassment. Not even the lightest of blushes. "Soon", he said with a smile, "…hopefully."
"Well, getting off that subject, what's going on? Looks like you're throwing a party."
"Today's her birthday", Strings explained. "I'm making sure we celebrate it with a small bang."
"Not with that party ball you aren't", she said knowingly.
He gave the back of his head a good scratch. "Look, I gotta go icing a cake, just, uh…stand here and annoy the floor." He shot into the kitchen to hide his blush, leaving Sise laughing in his wake.
S
Fluttershy watched over the cleaning of her home. It was surprisingly easy to keep Pinkie Pie occupied with the chores. After one job was finished, she got started on another right after. She kept an eye on the time during the whole operation. Strings told them to hold Pinkie Pie until two-thirty. The arms of her clock were just coming around to read that time. It was time for her to hoof everything over to Day and get the blue jay out of dodge while she still could.
She gave him the signal from a second story window, then left through the back door when Pinkie Pie wasn't looking. The stallion trotted into Fluttershy's unusually large utility closet, where he found Pinkie Pie alphabetizing grooming tools on a shelf. He cleared his throat. "…Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy just told me to let you know she saw Strings walking by. She said he was calling your name as if he was looking for you." His lie got the reaction he was looking for. It seemed that she had just remembered Strings after almost three hours of work.
Pinkie Pie dropped everything in her hooves and sprinted out into the yard. She didn't see the stallion anywhere around and assumed he had already moved on to keep searching for her. Her instinct wanted her to go to Strings's, but he was looking for her, and wouldn't be going back there. She left for Sugarcube Corner, and was shocked to find it closed at the busiest time of the day. However, she was on a mission, so investigating why her place of work wasn't in business would have to wait. She took off for Vinyl Scratch's shop, and was disappointed to find he wasn't around. Using her Pinkie Pie Teleport ability, she covered all of Ponyville in just a few minutes. Unfortunately, whatever road Strings was using to look for her, it was one less traveled.
The more time she took to search, the more difficult it got to find him. It seemed that everypony she asked about Strings didn't know where the stallion was. No pony happened to see him despite him looking for her. She kept at it though, and soon found somepony she was sure to have seen Strings. She spotted Twilight walking slowly behind a building. "Hey, Twilight!"
The librarian flinched. She spotted Pinkie Pie trotting up to her from a good distance away, giving her plenty of time to stealthily hide the wrapped gift she was levitating into a bush. "Hi, Pinkie Pie. I had gone ahead and checked those books out for you. They're waiting in your room."
"Thanks, Twilight. Have you seen Strings around? I can't find him anywhere." Pinkie Pie bounced with anticipation, hoping that the mare had some good news for her.
"Have you tried his house?" Twilight asked.
"Why would he be there? He's supposed to be looking for me." Pinkie Pie was becoming impatient. Nothing was making sense to her at all now.
"He might have gone back there to see if you're looking for him." Twilight held her breath. It wasn't her best lie, but hopefully Pinkie's gullibility would fill that hole.
"Oh, what a great idea, Twilight! I'ma go look right now!"
Before Twilight's eyes could complete a single blink, the pink filly disappeared. She panicked, and using a surge of magic energy, teleported herself and the bush containing Pinkie's present to Strings's living room. She hit the floor rather hard, and was immediately helped up by several hooves. "Sh-she's on her way!" Twilight wheezed as her respiratory system recovered from the shock of the landing.
"Everypony hide!" Rainbow Dash commanded, turning out the lights to completely blacken the room.
Several tense seconds went by while they found what few places Strings had left for them after moving all of the furniture in the already small living room. It didn't take long for the echoes of Pinkie Pie's bouncing to come from the porch. She inserted Strings's spare key into the lock and turned it with almost enough force to break it off. She slowly opened the door, wondering why Strings would leave it locked if he was coming back here to look for her.
She flipped the switch and got a lot more than she bargained for when expecting the lights to come on. "SURPRISE!"
Five confetti cannons showered the mare with their payload followed by an earful of party blowers. After the several happy birthdays she saw that all of her closest friends, and her employers were present, but not the one pony she had wanted to see all day. "Where's Strings?" she asked seriously.
"To be honest", Twilight started.
"We don't know", Rainbow Dash finished.
"He jus' told us t' tell you t' pull this rope." Applejack held out the end of the rope connected to the party ball.
"'The party starts with this'", Pinkie Pie read on the note attached to the rope, "'See ya in a sec, Strings'."
"Go ahead Pinkie Pie", urged Twilight, "I can't wait to see what happens."
Putting all of the negativity she almost felt aside, she tugged as hard as she could on the rope. The party ball split in half, releasing a black mist into the room, darkening everything except the ponies waving it from their faces.
Fluttershy screamed and hid behind Applejack while Rainbow Dash took a defensive stance against the assaulting blackness.
"What is this?" Cupcake panicked.
No pony got to answer. The black around them became speckled with stars, planets, and other stellar objects then swirled around them before moving them through the universe. They all stopped hyperventilating to look on in awe.
"Incredible!" Rarity exclaimed, "I've never seen such magic before!"
"Welcome to space", Strings's voice echoed around them, "Beautiful, right?"
"This is a bit much for a surprise party, don't you think?" Twilight asked the space above them.
"You haven't seen anything yet." In an instant, the floor beneath the eight ponies disappeared, leaving them all floating around each other. "You guys ready?"
"Ready for what", Pinkie Pie giggled as she twirled upside down over and over.
The sound of a guitar chord boomed around them followed by his bass. The universe around them lit up brightly and faded with the sounds. "Happy birthday, Pinkie Pie." His voice disappeared only to be replaced with a mad dual solo and light show. The group collectively traveled through the stars and planets as his song went along. It wasn't as long as they would thought it would be before the universe stopped moving by. They quickly came upon an icy planet, where lightning shot from a high mountain. They flew along the surface then up to the top mountain to find Strings shredding alongside a pink pony with a mane and tail that hit the ground. They saw she was wearing a gold star in the direct center of her forehead. The planet moved so that they all landed directly in front of the rocking ponies. The effect of the artificial environment was beginning to wear off. Strings and Sise showed off their musical talents in five more chords before dropping the illusion and landing everypony back in the living room they started in.
They received an explosion of applause from their eight fans. They bowed with large smiles. "Thanks guys", Strings said, "But don't forget about Pinkie Pie, this is her day, remember?"
"You mean you did that just for me?!" Pinkie Pie shouted in disbelief. Her cheeks lit up with red when he nodded.
"Strings, how did you do that?" Twilight asked, "That's incredible magic!"
"Not magic", Strings said with a grin, "It's a little stage trick I learned a long time ago. I just used a little Fantasy Mist and tweaked it to tune into our guitars. Anypony can do it. The only problem is that I didn't use enough, so the tour through space was cut up a little. But we did pull it off, right?"
"Speaking of…" Rarity turned to Sise, "Just who are you? Are you of any relation to Strings?"
She shook her head. "Nope, just old bandmates. I'm Sise, meaning six." She held up her red and silver guitar. "As in a six stringed guitar."
Strings snuck away from the group as they conformed around Sise. "You like what I did for ya, Pink?"
She smiled bashfully and nodded. "Thank you, Strings."
"You're welcome, Pink." He cast a spell on the confetti poppers around the room and they all exploded into colorful shreds of paper. "Party time, everypony!"
S
Strings's plan came together more than perfectly. By the time everypony was tired, Pinkie Pie had opened all of her presents, had gotten to know Sise a little more—and thankfully hadn't got jealous of her—, started several dance offs, and engorged herself on every sweet thing Strings had spent the day baking. Chocolate still covered her mouth and chin from taking out a large slice of the cake. Strings was surprised to find out that he had baked it to perfection and even mixed the icing right for the first time since his baking lessons began.
Everypony but the he and Pinkie Pie had already left, leaving them alone to clean up as was Pinkie Pie's insistence. She just couldn't let him throw her an awesome party and not help clean it up. While he used his magic to vaporize the wrapping paper, she tasked herself with ripping the wrapping paper from the walls, furniture, and ceiling.
They had only partied until eight, but Strings didn't get the chance to catch sleep, so he was pretty beat. "Did you like Sise?" he yawned.
"Mmmhmm! She's so cool!" Pinkie Pie replied. "I can't believe you used to be bandmates!"
"Yeah", he chuckled, "Don't tell her this, but she's the little sister of the band. Back when we all played, we all called her Sis. It made her so mad because she's older than most of us!"
She laughed at his recollection, devising a way to bring it up in conversation with the guitarist later.
He obliterated the final pile of confetti before turning with another yawn. "Hey, Pink."
"Hey, Strings!" she announced, having appeared right into his face.
He flashed her half of his teeth with a smile. "Before I pass out, I got one more present for ya."
Pinkie felt her heart jump to her throat with a backflip. "What is it?"
"Hold out your hooves."
She did as he said and closed her eyes while she waited for her surprise. She wasn't prepared for the weight of what he pushed into her hooves. She almost fell to the floor with it, but quickly adjusted herself upright. She opened her eyes and gasped. Strings gave her a bass guitar. But it wasn't just any guitar. It was personalized just for her. The body and neck were the same pink as her mane. The strings were colored blue, just like her eyes. Her Cutie Mark was printed to the pick guard. Below the bridge was her name, engraved in perfect cursive and dyed with gold.
Strings was well pleased with himself. "I had my dad make it for you", he explained with the biggest of grins. "But the design was all me. It has a direct link to my magic channel, so everytime you use it, it'll be like we're playing together. Always."
Nothing in the world could have prepared him for what Pinkie Pie did next. She gently settled the guitar down on his couch, then immediately after launched herself at him. Her hooves hooked him around the neck, making it easier for her to plant a big kiss on his cheek. He froze, completely, unable to move away from the most wonderful set of lips that had ever landed on his left cheek.
Neither of them even so much as twitched during however long it was for Pinkie Pie to break the contact between them. Strings still stared back at her while she turned around in embarrassed success. It took only one action to give her the perfect opportunity to confess all of the feelings she had for him. She turned slightly, but didn't look at him just yet. "Strings, I wanna let you know that for a really long time I think I like you. And I want you to be my coltfriend!"
When she finally set his eyes on him he was asleep on the floor. The excitement had finally knocked him out. The sight didn't discourage her at all. "Looks like I'ma be telling you tomorrow then", she laughed.
She maneuvered the colt to his couch and threw a blanket over his snoozing body. She locked the door behind her as she took her presents and left for home, unaware that a flash of light had caused the colt to crash to the floor. When he looked up for whatever had just caused his back to hurt, he saw a red envelope fluttering down to him. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He snatched it open and read threw it as quickly as he could. Then a second time before letting it fall to the floor. "Uh, oh…"
