It was a bright young morning in Ponyville, and many ponies were hustling, trying to get from somewhere unimportant to somewhere important, and the streets were busier than usual. But none of that mattered for Rainbow Dash, who was more jittery than a snake in a pickle jar, according to Applejack.
Rainbow Dash zipped through the streets, almost crashing into her best friend Twilight Sparkle, who screamed as she saw the rainbow-maned pegasus running at full speed like a runaway train blazing towards her, leaving a rainbow trail behind her that evaporated moments after she stopped.
"TWILIGHT!" Rainbow Dash yelped, a huge grin plastered across her face. "GUESS WHAT?!"
Twilight Sparkle looked her friend in the eyes. Confused, she muttered, "Okay.... What?"
"I'VE GOT IT!" Rainbow Dash shouted in her face.
"Got what?"
"GOT A SIGNED COLLECTOR'S EDITION, FIRST-CLASS VERSION OF THE FIRST DARING DO NOVEL!" Rainbow Dash shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Twilight's face lit up. "Oh my gosh! Really?!"
Rainbow Dash dug through her saddlebag and practically shoved a book in her face. "DO YOU KNOW HOW RARE THESE ARE?!" Rainbow Dash gushed.
"That's so amazing! Where'd you get it?"
"Saved up all my bits for it! This guy I know is like used to be this HUGE Daring Do fan like me and was looking to sell it, and it only cost me 2,000 bits!"
"Whoa! 2,000 bits?"
"I know, right? Such a bargain!"
"Rainbow, isn't that a little... overpriced?" Twilight said carefully.
"No!" Rainbow shot her a glance, but was busy looking through the book before her with a gleeful expression. "Not when there's only 10 in existence!"
"Oh my gosh, really?!"
"Yeah, you didn't know that?"
"I knew they were rare, but not that rare! Are you sure that's true?"
"Positive! A.K. Yearling wrote that on her blog!"
"Wow!" Twilight gleamed with excitement. "That's so amazing!"
"I KNOW! I'm gonna go show Fluttershy now!" With that, Rainbow launched herself in the air and made a beeline for Fluttershy's cottage.
"I'M. SO. EXCITED!" Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs, bouncing up and down on a trampoline. "I'M TOTALLY GONNA HAVE THE MOST AWESOMEST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER! There'll be music, and games, and balloons, and cake and ice cream and a biiiiiig CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!" She threw her arms in the air. "OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!!!"
"That sounds lovely, Pinkie, darling, and we're happy for you," Rarity told her. "We really are. But could you please keep it down a notch? I've already had three neighbors call and ask for you to quiet down."
Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing, and giggled. "Oops, sorry Rarity!" She shouted to her. "Oh! Oops again! Was that too loud? Sorry!" She laughed again. "But Rarity, I'm just soooo excited for my birthday party! I'm so excited I can hardly stand up straight!"
Ironically, right after that remark she lost her balance and fell face-first off the trampoline and on the ground. Getting up and dusting herself off, she continued, "See?! I can't even stand up straight!" She flopped back on the ground, laying on her back. "How am I ever gonna wait two more days?"
"Aw, c'mon Pinkie," her friend Applejack told her, standing over her now. "Two more days ain't that bad."
"And besides," Twilight Sparkle, her other friend added, trotting up to her. "you can use this time to plan the party out anyway!"
Suddenly Pinkie Pie gasped. "Oh my goodness! I haven't even started to plan the party yet! WHY DIDN'T SOMEPONY TELL ME SOONER?! I have so little time!"
With that, Pinkie Pie bolted off, leaving the three ponies alone in Rarity's front yard, each one puzzled yet not shocked by her sudden behavior after knowing her for years.
Rainbow Dash was busy napping on a cloud, dreaming of things she couldn't remember, and shifting uncomfortably in her sleep while snoring loudly. Suddenly a loud call shattered her sleep mode and dragged her back to real life.
"Rainbow!"
Rubbing her eyes, the blue pegasus looked off the edge of the cloud to see Twilight Sparkle calling her.
"Oh, hi Twilight," Rainbow smiled, greeting her friend warmly.
"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight continued, flying up to meet the rainbow-maned pony. She was holding a pink envelope in her hoof.
"At your service!" Rainbow Dash saluted her with a grin.
"Pinkie Pie told me to give you this," Twilight said, using her magic to give the pink envelope to her friend.
"P-Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash stuttered, blushing slightly. "Wh-What could this be?"
"Oh, it's an invitation to her birthday party that's coming up in two days," Twilight explained, confused by Rainbow's sudden nervous appearance.
Rainbow gasped loudly, blushing more now. She had forgotten all about her best friend in the whole wide world's very own birthday!
"WHAT?!" she shrieked, startling Twilight. "PINKIE PIE'S BIRTHDAY IS IN TWO DAYS AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!"
Twilight was too shocked to respond, and Rainbow Dash threw her arms up in the air in a furious fashion. "GREAT! YOU KNOW I HAVE THE WORST MEMORY EVER, TWILIGHT! THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING! NOW I'VE GOTTA GO OUT SEARCHING FOR THE BEST GIFT EVER AND I'VE ONLY GOT TWO DAYS!"
Not waiting for a reply, Rainbow Dash stormed off into the sky, using the cloud she was perched on as a launchpad, which in response was reduced to a few puffs of dusty cloud that lingered around Twilight's face, making her cough as she inhaled a bit of a cloud.
When she stopped coughing, Twilight said out loud in a hoarse voice, "What the hay just happened....?"
She was busy watching the angry pegasus trail off in a rainbow huff outside of Ponyville. "Where could she possibly be going?"
Rainbow Dash frantically trotted down the streets of Canterlot. She had such little time, and even less money! It had taken her an hour and a half to even get to Canterlot, which was known for its expensive taste, and her head was turning this way and that, looking all over the street for the perfect store to shop for Pinkie Pie. She had spent all her bits on that signed first edition of Daring Do. She didn't know what a measly 20 bits could get her in Canterlot; at least not something of any actual value or anything that was good enough for Pinkie Pie!
She didn't know why, but Rainbow Dash felt like she really really wanted to get Pinkie Pie an amazing present this year... It was really weird. She felt like no matter what, she had to get Pinkie Pie a great gift. They were good friends and all, and it was natural of Dash to want to get her friends awesome gifts on their birthdays, but this time it just felt so... so much more important, and Rainbow wasn't exactly so sure why.
Not that she favored Pinkie Pie over any of her friends. Or that she thought Pinkie Pie was funny, and kind, and very pretty...
Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks, shaking those thoughts out of her head. Pinkie Pie's my best friend. Just my best friend. I mean, sure, I think she's pretty, but there's nothing more to it than that. At least I think so...
Rainbow Dash couldn't hold back a stupid smile when she thought of the pink party pony. Her beautiful blue eyes, her plush pink mane... Her heart skipped a beat as she thought of that cheerful, familiar friendly face.
Snapping out of her trance again, Rainbow Dash became enraged. Stupid! She scolded herself in her mind. Stop thinking of Pinkie Pie that way and hurry up and find a great gift!
Running down the street now, Rainbow Dash turned her head to read several different signs. She was the second-fastest pony in Equestria, the first being Applejack, but she could still read the signs in a hurry without having to stop and look.
As she turned her head to read another store's sign, she didn't notice the giant telephone pole right in front of her until she smashed into it.
"Ugh..." Rainbow Dash got up, rubbing her head. "Ouch.."
When she looked up, she saw a big fun-looking store right in front of her. There were balloons outside, and from what she could see through the glass windows there were tons of party supplies. Many civilized Canterlot citizens gave the party shop a stern look through the window as they marched by with their heads held high in an aloof fashion.
Rainbow Dash opened the door, looking around. There were tons of amazing party contraptions, gadgets, supplies, pranks, and even spy gear lines up along the colorful shelves. The place gave off a happy, vibrant aura that instantly comforted Rainbow Dash... Well, it would have, if she wasn't so panicky at the moment.
"Welcome," the shop's clerk called to Rainbow as she found her hooves carrying her inside the childish store. "Looking for anything in particular?"
Walking up to the counter, Rainbow asked, "I'm looking for a fun gift for my friend's birthday."
"Well, we have plenty of fun gifts!" the clerk told her. "Have a look in Aisle 3."
Rainbow muttered her thanks and trotted down the aisle the clerk instructed her to ponder over. There were tons of decorations for parties, streamers, toys lined up against the shelves in a surprisingly neat order for such a party store... But then something definitely caught her eye.
There was nothing on that shelf, but the shelf's label read, "Super Party Cannon 2000-- Latest Model-- High Tech" and Rainbow Dash gasped as she remembered Pinkie Pie telling her all about it when it came out-- how Pinkie Pie couldn't wait to get over her phase of spending all her money on cupcakes and silly little trinkets and toys so she could save up her money to buy the party cannon.
Rainbow was disappointed to see there was no party cannons there, though... She zipped back to the counter, and asked, "I saw you sold the latest 'Super Party Cannon,' do you have any left in stock?"
"Uh, well someone bought the last one the other day, so...." the clerk pony shrugged.
A sharp pang of such upsetting sorrow washed over Rainbow. If she had just remembered a few days sooner, she would have been able to buy the cannon... Her pink eyes found their way to the floor, staring down in shame and defeat.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sales clerk. "Want me to check in the back to see if we have any more?"
"Yeah," Rainbow grumbled.
The sales pony disappeared into the back of the store where nopony but the ponies who worked there were allowed to go. Rainbow waited patiently for a few minutes before the pony came back with good news.
"We have one in the back!" he announced, and Rainbow's gloomy expression was forced away by a hopeful, excited one.
"Great! How much?!"
"Uh, that'll be.... 2,000 bits, I think."
Rainbow's mouth dropped down to the floor, and she instantly flew back to her old sense of pessimism and rage. "2,000 bits?! That's insane, man! I only have, like, 20 bits on me!"
"Sorry, miss," the clerk told her, staring her in her disheartened magenta eyes. "I guess you're out of luck."
"But.... Pinkie Pie's my best friend ever and I really really really need to buy her an amazing gift to make up for that totally epic party she and Cheese Sandwich threw me a few months ago!" Rainbow Dash complained, half to herself. She had been using that as an excuse in her mind as to why she was seemingly so desperate to get Pinkie an awesome gift for her birthday, an answer she didn't quite know the answer to herself.
"Uh.... Sorry, miss," the clerk repeated, shrugging again.
Rainbow Dash stared at the cold ground beneath her. This had really thrown her off, and she felt slightly depressed now after hearing that piece of news. If only she had enough bits! There had to be some way... Some compromise... Something she could do... She just had to get her beloved best friend the best gift ever! And it would be something to thank her for all the parties she'd thrown, all the gifts she'd given, every smile that had made Rainbow's day since the magical experience in which they first met. The thought of showing up with a dumb gift after all that Pinkie Pie had done for her and her friends made her stomach churn.
Then an idea flashed through her mind as she was walking out of the store. It was a stupid idea, to Rainbow at least, but she had never really shown Pinkie Pie how much she meant to her... How much she cared about her, and loved her...
Love, that word made Rainbow's heart skip a beat or two. Of course, she loved Pinkie Pie... But, in any way more than a friend....? She just didn't know. She never really had thought about it that way until now. Rainbow thought of Pinkie Pie again and again, the one image of the party pony's beautiful smile racing through her mind and repeating like a broken record that a spark of motivation in which she knew what she had to do drove her hooves to the counter.
"I am sooo gonna regret doing this," Rainbow said to herself as she approached the clerk again for the third or fourth time of pacing back in forth considering her options. Except this time was for real. She had made her decision, and she was afraid she was going to seriously wish she hadn't later on.
"Thank you guys soooo much for coming to my birthday party!" Pinkie Pie giggled, bouncing up and down and doing a backflip while airborne in the colorful bounce house outside.
"No problem!" Twilight responded, a childish beam of happiness spreading over her face that warmed the whole area as the two ponies bounced up and down. "Why wouldn't I come to my best friend's birthday party?"
"We wouldn't miss it fer the world! Right Fluttershy?" Applejack asked while bouncing up to the point where her orange fur brushed the ceiling and back to plunge herself up again.
"Of course," Fluttershy giggled, taking a few short leaps, not having to go very high as she was afraid of heights but didn't want to sound rude on Pinkie Pie's birthday.
"You guys are the best!" Pinkie Pie squealed with joy.
Pinkie Pie stuck her head out of the bounce house's opening to glance down at Rarity, who was politely levitating a piece of cake on a plate by her that she every once in awhile took a bit of.
"Hey Rarity!" Pinkie Pie called in her high-pitched, friendly tone. "Come in and bounce with me and the girls!"
"Oh dear, I'm sorry to have to decline your offer but it would most definitely mess up my perfectly styled mane! And besides, no offense, but I simply have no interest in that childish sort of thing," Rarity explained, a guilty smile glued on her face.
"Aww, but it's so much fun!" Pinkie Pie whined, her big blue eyes growing bigger as she made her best puppy eyes. "Please please pleeeease? For me on my birthday?"
Rarity laughed nervously and rolled her eyes, smiling slightly as she gave in. "Oh... alright, but only for a few minutes." She rested her slice of cake on the table next to her and joined an ecstatic Pinkie Pie with a smile as she slipped in through the entrance.
"Hey, have any of you seen Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie asked in the air as she did another triple-somersault and landed on her hooves at the last minute to spring against the wall.
"Nope, haven't seen her," Applejack told Pinkie. "Where's that darned pony? Rainbow Dash is never late!"
"I'm sure she'll come soon," Rarity reassured everypony. "Rainbow Dash loves Pinkie Pie's parties, after all."
"Well she better come soon cause I'm totally gonna start the awesome amazing games in a minute!"
"She will, darling, just give her time."
Everypony was outside talking and laughing and playing pin-the-tail-on-the-pony on a wooden board Pinkie had set up, when Rainbow Dash arrived hauling a cart with a huge wrapped present in it.
"OH MY GOSH!" Pinkie Pie gasped as soon as she saw Rainbow Dash unload her giant present next to the present table, not wanting to crush the table with its weight. "DASHIE!"
"Pinkie--" Dash was cut off as Pinkie slammed into her, tackling her friend in a big hug that made Rainbow Dash's heart flutter for a stupid reason.
"I haven't seen you aaaaall day! Where have you been, silly Dashie?" Pinkie Pie asked quickly, letting the blue pegasus under her get up and dust herself off.
"Oh, nowhere," Dash shrugged. "It was kinda hard dragging this heavy present over to the party, especially when you live super far away." She cleared her throat. Sorry I'm late, Pinkie. Did I miss much?"
"Well there was cake..." Pinkie said guiltily, looking back at the empty refreshments table with nothing left but crumbs, "and a chocolate fountain... and ice cream... and I kinda went nuts...."
"Oh," Rainbow said, "that's okay. At least I'm here, right?"
"Right!" Pinkie hugged her friend again. Dash smiled, blushing as she wrapped her hooves around the pink pony she had been longing to see all day. As they broke the embrace, Pinkie sang, "C'mon! We're starting a new round of pin-the-tail-on-the-pony!"
"Awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with a sense of happiness and heartwarming excitement.
They danced and laughed and talked until it was nighttime. Pinkie had opened all her presents, and there was only one left: Rainbow Dash's.
"That's a super-duper big box!" Pinkie gasped, eyeing the pink wrapping. "I wonder what's inside?"
"Well hurry up and find out," Rainbow prompted, practically bursting from the anticipation and excitement of waiting to see Pinkie's reaction.
Not having to be asked twice, Pinkie Pie began to tear the wrapping off the box. At the first sight of the packaged cardboard box with the familiar logo on it, she didn't scream, but might as well have.
"OH MY GOSH!" Pinkie held her face in her hooves, a gigantic smile blossoming across her face like a new dawn. "THE SUPER PARTY CANNON 2000!" She tackled Rainbow in another hug, both of them grinning. "DASHIE! OH MY GOSH!"
"Heheh, glad you like it, Pinkie..." Rainbow looked away in a pathetic attempt to hide her scarlet face.
"I don't like it. I LOVE IT!" she threw her arms in the air. "How'd you ever get enough bits to buy that?!"
"Well..." Rainbow got up, rubbing the nape of her neck. "Ya know that signed Daring Do book that I spent a fortune on?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I kinda sorta maybe... sold it."
A loud gasp came from not only Pinkie Pie, but all of her friends around her.
"But Rainbow Dash! There are only ten in existence!" Twilight shouted.
"Yeah... But I guess I learned a pretty valuable lesson in friendship," Rainbow laughed nervously. "I learned that seeing a friend smile is like, 20 percent cooler than being able to smile yourself."
Pinkie Pie's eyes were watering. "You did this all for me?"
"Yeah, I guess..."
She threw her arms around Dash. "THANK YOU SO MUCH!"
"Uh, y-you're welcome," Rainbow Dash smiled, returning the hug as everypony around her smiled and whispered amongst themselves: "Awwww, how sweet."
"Well what're ya waitin' for, Pink?" Applejack asked when they broke their hug. "Show us yer fancy new party cannon!"
It was a beautiful, shiny new white-and-blue cannon with balloons painted on the sides, and tons of super cool buttons and gadgets all around the top.
"Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie squealed, "What's this button do?" She pressed a big blue button on the end of the cannon, and suddenly, loud music blared out of nowhere, startling everypony.
Realizing her mistake, Pinkie Pie guiltily smiled and pressed the button again, instantly cutting off the music. "Uh, heh heh... Sorry, everypony."
After hours of dancing and laughing and talking and playing with Pinkie's new party cannon, every guest had left, except for Rainbow Dash, who was busy trying out Pinkie's brand-new party cannon as Pinkie spoke about what an amazing time she had.
"And Twilight's face when I shot her out of the party cannon was priceless!" Pinkie burst out into laughter, falling on her back.
Rainbow stuffed confetti into the cannon, grinning as well at the memory. "Yeah! And when I threw cake at Rarity-- she could not have hated me more at that moment!"
After Dash pressed a button that fired the cannon, the confetti blasted out of the big blue contraption, a multicolored flock of paper floating down to the ground slowly and steadily.
"You know-- this really has been the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" Pinkie Pie flung her arms around Dash again. "Thanks for making it the best, Dashie."
Dash looked into the pony's bright, promising blue eyes that melted her heart at that very moment. Everything became clear now, and she whispered, her heart aflutter, "Uh, Pinkie, the party cannon wasn't the only gift I have for you...."
"It's not?" Pinkie Pie looked puzzled.
"No, I actually have another gift," Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly.
"What is it?" Pinkie asked, smiling at the excitement.
Rainbow Dash leaned forward and Pinkie Pie's face turned scarlet as Rainbow's lips met hers. It was a quick kiss, but passionate and loving all the same, filled with mixed emotions that had been held back for so long, and when Rainbow pulled away, her face centimeters from her friend's, Pinkie Pie looked awestruck, as if she didn't know what had hit her. Then she broke out into a big smile.
"BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!"