"Happy Birthday!" Every pony in Sugarcube Corner yelled with enthusiasm as the lights turned on, illuminating the building as confetti rained down around them. It had all started with the familiar twitchy tail followed by an itchy nose as she woke up. Pinkie had been confused, however, as she knew everypony's birthday dates, and a triple check of her calendar had shown that nopony in town she knew was having a birthday today. It had become her mission, then, to find this pony in town and ensure they got the best birthday party of their life!
After a brief word to the Cakes, Pinkie had set off on her search. It'd taken longer than she would have liked to find this pony, and once she did it only made things more odd to her. Her Pinkie Sense rarely failed her, and when it did, it was for major events only. It had never failed to alert her about a new pony in town, even if they had been visiting, yet she had not been alerted to this stallion who looked to be around her own age, somewhere nearing thirty.
The first thing she'd noted, beyond the obvious facts of him being a rather nondescript, brown on brown earth pony stallion, was how he carried himself. Pinkie could feel that there was something wrong as she held out a hoof to him. “Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie, I’ve never seen you around town before, Mister…” she trailed off, fishing for his name with a smile on her face.
“...Sour Note,” he remarked with a hint of distaste, although it wasn’t directed towards her. “And of course you haven’t, I haven’t been in Ponyville for very long,” Sour grumbled. “What do you want?”
Pinkie carefully listened, trying her best to size Sour up. It was obvious her talent was needed here, and nothing seemed to cure the grumps like a good party! Still smiling, Pinkie pulled out a small piece of paper and held it out in her hoof. “Just wanted to say hello and welcome you to Ponyville, Sour Note! I work at Sugarcube Corner, it’s the best bakery in all of Equestria, guaranteed! This here’s a coupon for a free sample, so perhaps you could swing by around noon today for lunch on the house?” she finished, waiting to see how he’d respond.
Hesitantly, Sour took the paper, looking at the quick scribbles that read ‘Free Food!’ on the paper, with a signature that looked like the name Pinkie Pie, although it was hard to tell with the balloons replacing the i’s. “I guess that I can stop by around then. It’s hard to argue with a free meal,” he slowly replied, tucking the paper away. “Now, could you possibly leave me be? I’ve got things to do, places to go to.”
Her mission complete, at least the first phase, Pinkie nodded. “Okies, I hope that you have a good morning, Sour! I’ll make sure to bake the best muffins that I can, banana and raisin both,” she cheerily responded before turning around and quickly walking away, leaving the stallion to stand in the middle of the street, vacantly staring at nothing in particular for a few moments.
Sour Note grumbled under his breath and continued on with his morning, hating everything about the day, despite the tranquil beauty it presented. One would think it impossible to be in a dour mood when the sky was unmarred by clouds, the slight breeze the perfect contrast to the warmth of the sun, yet Sour lived up to his namesake, trudging along from shop to shop, familiarizing himself with this annoying town.
Twelve clear chimes filled the air hours later as one of the stranger buildings in town entered his sight. It looked edible from a distance, and as he got closer, the words Sugarcube Corner were visible. Reminded about that paper, the promise of a free meal drew him to the store, his stomach hungry for food. With heavy hooves he walked inside, not even noticing that the interior was dark despite it being the busiest time of the day.
The lights turned on moments later, those two, terrible words greeting his ears. “Happy Birthday!” Standing there, frozen with a look of anger on his face, he turned around and left the shop in a huff seconds later.
“Oh, um… I’ll be right back folks, make sure to save him some cake!” Pinkie quickly shot out, speeding towards the door and following Sour Note at a distance, all the way to the park where he finally stopped.
Approaching the bench slowly, Pinkie noted how Sour seemed to be more pensive than angry, she even noted a faint look of pain present on his face. He was withdrawn from the world, lost in his own thoughts, not even noticing Pinkie as she stopped right in front of him. “Sour Note?” she quietly asked.
Slowly, the stallion raised his head and met her questioning gaze. “What in Tartarus do you want? Why’d you go and butt your nose into my business? I hate birthdays and birthday parties,” he growled out in anger.
Sitting down, Pinkie kept her gaze on his, unfazed by his anger. “And why’s that? A birthday is supposed to be a good time spent with family and friends. Some of the happiest times of my life were with those I care about.”
A sound of annoyance rolled from his mouth. “As if, all that a birthday does is remind you about everything that’s wrong in your life… yeah, as a foal they were fun, but after a point… it’s useless,” he refuted, giving her a glare. “Sides, you’ve got to have friends and family.”
Pinkie slightly frowned with a hint of sadness. “Who says that you don’t, Sour Note?” she genuinely asked. “I’d like to be your friend, and everypony at the bakery, they’d all be your friends if you just asked. Nopony is ever alone, no matter how much they might believe it, Note.” She started to reach out a hoof in reassurance, even as he responded.
Note snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yes, friends. Ponies who want things from you, who cozy up and try to manipulate you. Some friends they are, who needs them?” he bitterly remarked, knocking away Pinkie’s slightly outstretched hoof. “It’s better to be alone, and that’s the way I like it!”
“I don’t believe that,” Pinkie firmly stated, standing up and sitting on the bench next to Sour Note. “There are bad ponies out there, like those snobby nobles who are always scheming about something, yes. But for every bad pony, there are a lot of good ones, I promise! You can’t just shut everypony out because of a few ponies, trust me, Note.
“For example, my friend Rarity, while she sometimes comes off as a bit haughty and well-to-do, she’d be the first pony to leap outside of her comfort zone to help a pony in need, without even being paid for it! And she’d never try to use them for anything, because that’s just wrong. Think you can let Ponyville change your mind?” Pinkie earnestly asked, a hopeful look on her face.
It was a long minute before Note slowly nodded, a grimace still on his face. “I guess I can try to. Still, there’s other things wrong with a birthday. It’s the day of the year where life tells you that you’re still failing, and time is leaving you behind,” he grumbled, crossing his forehooves and turning to look square at Pinkie.
“Oh? What if I said it was the time of the year when you could look back and see what all that you’ve accomplished?” she countered, firmly nodding. “I mean, I could look at my next birthday and think about everything I messed up… and I mess up plenty, I promise you that, but instead I like to think about the joy and happiness I’ve brought to everypony! It’s hard to be a downer when you’re thinking like that!”
“It’s easy to say that when you’ve actually got things that you did,” he sourly replied. “I’ve got nothing like that, Pinkie Pie. I had to move here because I couldn’t afford living in Canterlot anymore. I couldn’t afford Canterlot because I failed every audition I had for the orchestras, and everything I can think about is an abysmal failure...”
Sighing, Pinkie shook her head. “Tsk tsk tsk, that’s not the way to look at it though! Let me tell you, at one time when I was young, I worked on a rock farm with my family. It was pretty boring honestly, and I didn’t think I was doing anything. I mean, I hadn’t even gotten my cutie mark yet! But, eventually I moved here, to Ponyville, and I’ve been bringing joy and happiness to ponies all over!” she finished with a big smile as she remembered it.
“...what’s that got to do with it?” Note asked, a bit confused as he failed to see a connection. “There’s a big difference, you were a foal still it sounds like, but I’m almost thirty now, and I’ve amounted to nothing,” he furiously replied in annoyance.
“What I’m saying is… don’t look at your failures like they’re failures! They’re opportunities, silly. Perhaps an orchestra isn’t meant for you, and now that you’ve moved, you can consider it a fresh start. After all, it’s never too late in life to find what you truly enjoy, that’s something my mom always told me,” Pinkie countered with conviction. “I mean, I know every musician in town, and I’m sure you’ll find your place here, or my name isn’t Pinkie Pie!”
With a harrumph, Note rolled his eyes once more. “You’re annoying, do you know that? How can you stand there filled with… cheer and try to tell me all of this nonsense? Failures are failures, and that’s just how it is. Now leave me alone, and before you ask… no, I’m not going to go back there.”
“Okay, I know what’s wrong now… you’re suffering from an acute case of the Negative Nancies!” Pinkie refused to budge an inch from her seat next to Note. “You need to be reminded about what’s good in life so that you start looking at it that way. May the optimism be with you,” she lightly joked, smiling at him.
Groaning, Note buried his face in his hooves. “You’re not going to go away, are you? Do you know the meaning of personal space?” he asked, resignation underlying his words. “Just… fine, I’ll give it a shot. What do you recommend that the almost thirty year old stallion who fails at life and is still single do, then?”
Pinkie grinned, seeing that she was finally starting to sway his mind. “Easy, of course! Once we’re done talking, follow me back to the bakery. It can be kept nice and calm, and you can get to know the awesome ponies that live here. We’ll make sure that you’re fully cured of those nasty Negative Nancies, me and everypony else will make sure of it!” Pausing, Pinkie thought on what he’d last said, something standing out to her. “And single? Do you see that as a bad thing?”
“Uh, yeah,” he instantly replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, every stallion my age has a family by now, and here I am… no special somepony to call my own. It just shows how pathetic I am even more, and my birthday rubs it in my face,” he bitterly finished.
“So? I’m a wee bit older than you and I’m single. I don’t see what’s wrong about that,” Pinkie said, tilting her head slightly to the side. “Honestly though, if you stopped looking so dour all the time, it’d help a lot, Notey. You carry yourself like a crotchety old stallion, it’s not very attractive,” she finished, scrunching up her nose a little bit. “Why, I’m sure once you get rid of all those negative thoughts, you’d look quite handsome, mmhmm,” she finished. “I’m sure a few of my single friends wouldn’t mind meeting you, then. Anything else Doctor Pinkie Pie can clear up about birthdays?”
Sighing in resignation, Note met Pinkie’s questioning gaze. “... no, but could you leave me be for a bit? I need to think about… things by myself for a bit,” he pleadingly asked at the end, his mind conflicted.
Carefully studying him for a few seconds, she nodded. “Yup, I think you’ve got plenty to think about now. Birthdays are good, trust me. When you’re done thinking on it, we’ll all be waiting at Sugarcube Corner. See you soon, Notey,” Pinkie hopped off the bench, walking away back towards the bakery.
Left alone with his thoughts, Note looked up to the sky, ruminating on what the crazy mare had said. Despite her odd and quirky personality, once he pushed past his stubbornness, she had given him some very good points. Perhaps, despite the negatives and shortcomings he’d experienced this past year, it didn’t mean that his birthday, or those events, were bad. After all, he’d learned from his failures, hadn’t he?
Note let out a small sigh and looked to the sun, reaching towards it with a hoof. “Perhaps… I should try to look at things different, try something else out. This town is a new place for me, perhaps I can succeed where I have failed before, using what I’ve learned from my failures,” he mused aloud, slowly sliding off the bench and letting his hooves guide him, not really paying attention to where he was headed. Only once his nose bumped against the glass door of Sugarcube Corner did he pull himself from his thoughts, looking inside and meeting the bright smile of Pinkie Pie.
After all, there’s two sides to every coin.
Author's Note
Just a short, spur of the moment idea that came to me as I was pondering my own birthday and the past year of my life. It truly is easy to get mired down in the failures and obstacles one has failed to overcome and forget about the positive things and lessons learned. So, I set out to write this not only as a reminder to myself that no matter how bad things may seem there is always a good side to life, but to hopefully remind others of this fact as well. Failure is simply a lesson learned, and even when we fall short, we can still walk away with something.
Hope you all enjoyed this.
P.S. For those curious, I'm 26 today.
