Best Friends From the Start

by Yoshachu

Rating: everyone
Tags: Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Slice of Life
Length: 5377

Everypony has a special magical connection with her friends. Maybe even before she's met them.

It's been a few days since Pinkie Pie earned her cutie mark and moved to Ponyville. Now she was on a never-ending quest to make as many friends as she possibly could. Now just with Sugarcube Corner's customers, but also with ponies from the outside, including four particular foals.

I was inspired by Never2muchpinkie's How a Pie Became a Cake and all the adorable fluff in it, and I also based Pinkie Pie's current residence at Sugarcube Corner and her relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Cake off of said story.

Published 2015-09-04 15:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-06 12:15:35 UTC

Fluttershy

"A half dozen blueberry muffins for Derpy!" Pinkie Pie called back in her usual loud, cheerful tone as she stood on a stool behind the counter of Sugarcube Corner.

"A half dozen of blueberry muffins coming up!" Mrs. Cake replied back from in the kitchen. A few moments later, the sweets shop owner trotted out balancing a white box on her head carefully, and once she reached the counter she set it gently down in front of the gray pegasus filly before her.

"Yummy! I love blueberry muffins!" Derpy squealed. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out twelve bits before balancing the box on her head and fluttering her tiny wings, carrying her into the air. "Thanks, Pinkie Pie!"

"Don't thank me, thank Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" she giggled. "They're the ones who made all these delicious treats!"

"But if it weren't for you, there wouldn't even be any delicious treats to sell," Mrs. Cake smiled as she nuzzled her adoptive daughter's muzzle affectionately, causing her to giggle.

"Bye! I'll see you later, Pinkie Pie!" Derpy bid farewell before flying out of the shop.

"Is there anypony else?" Mr. Cake called from inside the kitchen.

"Nope, that's everypony!" Pinkie Pie reported. She bounced off the stool and grinned up at her adoptive mom. "So what do we do now that there isn't anypony here?"

"Well, Dad and I have to clean up the shop; it's been a busy morning," Mrs. Cake answered. "Meanwhile, why don't you go make some new friends?"

"Ooo, okay!" Bouncing with joy, the little pink filly galloped out of the shop.

Pinkie Pie grinned as she looked around the town, waving to everypony she passed and complimenting them one way or another.

"Hiya, Mr. Waddle! I see you're wearing my favorite tie!"

"Enjoying those muffins, Derpy? I'm so happy!"

"Rose, your flowers are looking even more beautiful this year!"

The pink filly found her hooves now trotting towards a beautifully green and sunny hillside with a few trees scattering here and there. She quickly noticed a trio of bunnies, many birds, a pair of squirrels, and other small critters quickly making their way up and over the hill. Curious, Pinkie Pie followed them to see where they were headed.

Once she climbed to the top of the hill, she looked down to find the animals all crowding around something. She squinted her eyes and leaned in a bit, but all she could see in the flurry of fur was what looked like a pink tail.

Pinkie Pie leaned in closer to try and identify the bearer of the tail, but she ended up leaning too far. She quickly lost her balance and tumbled down the hill with a few surprised squeaks. She landed with a thud at the bottom, and the commotion had startled all the animals into hiding again. Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

However, she pushed that feeling away almost immediately once she saw what all the animals were crowding over - or who rather. There, laying in the center of the grassy fields, looking back at her with large, gentle turquoise eyes, was a butter-yellow pegasus filly with long, silky pink fur with the same color as Pinkie's coat. She also had a cutie mark: three pink butterflies.

"Hiya!" Pinkie immediately greeted, bouncing up and towards the pegasus. "My name's Pinkie Pie! I'm new to Ponyville and I'm taking a break from helping the Cakes at Sugarcube Corner to meet new friends! And now I've found one: you!"

The filly immediately yelped and got to her hooves to scramble away, startled by the pink filly's energy and loudness. Pinkie furrowed her brows in confusion before trotting after her.

"Hey, where are you going? You don't need to be afraid, I just wanna be your friend!"

Pinkie ended up cornering the pegasus against a tree, and she turned her head away to hide her face behind her mane, whimpering quietly. Pinkie immediately realized the cause of the slightly older filly's strange behavior - she must be really shy.

"Oh, I get it, you're kinda shy, aren't you?" the pink filly asked. When the pegasus nodded slowly, she smiled again. "Well, you don't need to be shy around me! I just wanna be your friend! How about you tell me your name?"

"Um... Um..." the pegasus whispered timidly, her ears lowering. She then muttered something very quietly.

"Sorry, what was that?" Pinkie asked.

"Um... I'm... Flttrsh..."

"C'mon, you can do better than that. I wanna be your friend, but I gotta know your name first." When Pinkie only received more whimpers, she frowned. Obviously it was gonna take a lot to even squeeze a name out of this filly, let alone becoming her friend.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Pinkie suddenly gasped, startling the pegasus. She zipped off and returned with a toy alligator, then held it up to her. "This is my best friend! His name is Gummy! I wanna get a real baby alligator when I grow up and name him Gummy, too!"

Pinkie then placed the toy on the ground and nuzzled it towards the filly slowly, imitating a few squeaks, pretending that the toy was alive. "Hi, there! I'm a cute little animal and I wanna be your friend!"

The pegasus slowly turned her head to look down at the toy, and after a while she began to bend down to it, almost as if she were really convinced it were a real alligator.

"I wanna play with you and all your other animal friends!" Pinkie squeaked in a high-pitched, slightly husky voice. "Can you tell me your name so we can be friends and play forever and ever?"

The pegasus blinked, then she smiled, and finally she said in a clear voice, "Of course you can, little one. My name is Fluttershy."

"Fluttershy?" Pinkie grinned, her normal voice returning. "That's such a pretty name!"

Fluttershy squeaked and turned away a bit again, looking at Pinkie nervously, who bent down again to nuzzle her toy towards her.

"You can have him if you really want to, Fluttershy," the pink filly smiled, "so that you can remember me as one of your best friends! I really wanna be your friend, and so does Gummy!"

The pegasus blinked a few more times before looking down at the toy, then back up at the pink filly before her. And finally, she smiled.

"Thank you, Pinkie Pie..."

"Eee, you said my name! Does that mean we're friends now?"

"Well... If that's okay with you..."

"Of course it's okay with me!" Pinkie squealed, giving a little skip of delight. "Now we can play together! Hey, do you wanna have a tea party? We can invite your animal friends and Gummy, too!"

Fluttershy hesitated a bit, then nodded. "I'd really like that. You're so kind, Pinkie Pie."

"Who, me?" Pinkie blinked in surprise. "Well, I'm not nearly as kind as you are, Fluttershy!"

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"Well, you were so very gentle with all of those animals. They were all over you! You really seem to have a gift for being kind, especially to animals. I know that you can use that same gift of kindness towards other ponies, too!"

"Oh, I dunno..." the pegasus gulped. "All the foals from Flight Camp in Cloudsdale would tease on me a lot because I can't gallop hard or fly fast..."

"Do I look like I'd tease you?" Pinkie asked. "You're still a filly after all. Of course you can't be perfect; nopony is. But I know that once you grow up, you'll be one of the fastest fliers in Equestria!"

"Oh, I'd never be nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash. She's a pegasus, too. She stood up for me against a few bullies. She's really loyal."

"Ooo, sounds like another pony I'd love to meet!" the pink filly grinned. "Can you tell me more about her during our tea party?"

"If you want me to," Fluttershy smiled. She stood up and gave Pinkie a quick nuzzle. "Thanks for being my friend, Pinkie Pie. Now I don't feel nearly as lonely as before. Well, I didn't anyway thanks to the animals, but you make me feel even happier."

"Hey, it's what I do," Pinkie giggled. "Now c'mon, let's go have that tea party! I'm starving for tea biscuits!"

Fluttershy giggled, and the two friends trotted away to the center of the field to play together for the first time.

Applejack

It was a beautiful and sunny day in Ponyville, the perfect day for Pinkie Pie to spend the morning playing with her new friend Fluttershy, a shy pegasus filly she had befriended a few days ago. The two of them have been having tea parties and playing with Fluttershy's animal friends ever since they met, and Pinkie was so glad to have many a chance to play with her friend and learn more about her.

In just a few days, she had learned so much about Fluttershy that she was even planning a surprise party for her, and all of her animal friends were invited as well. She was going to make sure to include her stuffed animals, many fragrant flowers, a tea party set, and plenty of fruits and sweets, just the way Fluttershy likes it. And butterflies, she can't forget about the butterflies!

Pinkie had already asked her adoptive parents for a dozen vanilla cupcakes for Fluttershy's party, and she managed to gather all the materials needed to throw the party. But there was one last thing she needed: apples.

Pinkie wasn't the biggest fan of apples - she loved cupcakes and cookies and other sweets much more - but they still had a natural sweetness that was good enough for her sweet-seeking tastebuds. She heard from Mrs. Cake of a place where she could get the freshest apples in all of Equestria, and lucky for her it was located right in Ponyville: Sweet Apple Acres.

She was currently on her way to the farm, carrying on her back a saddle bag to carry the apples, and she also carried a small bag of bits in one of the bags to pay for the apples. She wasn't exactly sure how much she needed, so she borrowed thirty bits from Mr. and Mrs. Cake and promised to work off the bits she borrowed - even though her adoptive parents tried to assure her they were more than happy to offer her some bits in return of her helping their shop stay in business the first day she arrived in Ponyville.

Pinkie gasped when she saw a large, bright red barn come into view and broke into a run to reach it quicker, excitement flowing through her body. Not only was she going to be able to buy some apples for Fluttershy's party, but she'd also be able to make new friends here, too!

The pink filly galloped through the entrance and looked around, gaping in awe at the beautiful scene before her. There were apple trees as far as the eye could see, as well as a few fields of carrots, wheat, sugar canes, and other crops. This farm had absolutely every crop known to pony!

She grinned happily and trotted towards the barn, and once she reached it she knocked on it a few times before speaking. "Hello? Anypony home? I wanna buy some apples for a friend's party! Maybe I can invite you, too, if you wanna come! My name's Pinkie Pie by the way!"

Pinkie smiled widely as she waited for a response, but it slowly turned into a frown of confusion as no one opened the door to greet her. Shrugging, she decided to walk around the barn. Behind it, she was amazed to find so many farm animals such as sheep and pigs. But still no ponies.

"I wonder where everypony is..." Pinkie said to herself, tapping a hoof-tip on her chin to think.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. At first, the filly thought it was her imagination, but when she looked down to see a few rocks bouncing, she knew something was going on. She then heard what sounded like many hooves stomping the ground, and it was growing louder and louder as the shaking was intensifying.

Pinkie looked behind her and yelped at what she saw. It was a stampede of cattle. And they were heading right towards her!

"Help! Somepony! There's a stampede on the loose! And they're heading right towards the livestock!" Pinkie shouted, hoping someone would hear her cry of warning. She gulped as the cows grew closer and closer. She crouched on the ground and covered her head with her fluffy pink tail. "A-And me!"

"Yee-haw!"

Pinkie looked up at the sound of the holler, just in time to see a single cow just about to trample over her. She screamed at the top of her lungs, but before the cow could collide with her, an orange blur collided into its side and pushed it away from her, leading it in another direction.

The filly watched as the cattle now followed the leading cow, no longer stampeding towards her. She peered over them to see something yellow and orange running alongside the leading cow.

"What's going on?" Pinkie asked herself. She then gasped when she saw the orange figure leap up on the cow's back with a rope made into a lasso in its mouth. It was an earth pony filly!

The filly spun the lasso in her mouth and wrapped it around the cow's neck before yanking as hard as she could on the rope. The cow bellowed in surprise and began to skid to a stop, as did the rest of the cattle following. Pinkie's jaw dropped in disbelief. A little filly stopped an entire stampede of cattle on her own!

Once the cows skidded to a stop, the filly spat out the rope and leaped off the cow. She then walked over to them all and spoke to them in a southern accent: "Okay, that's enough for today. Thank y'all so much for helpin' me hone my wranglin' skills."

"Anything for you, Applejack," the lead cow replied. She and the rest of the cattle then walked off to their field.

"Wait, it was practice?" Pinkie gasped before grinning and galloping towards the filly.

The filly waited until the last cow passed the gate into their field before closing the gate door. When she turned around, she yelped when she suddenly saw an ecstatic-looking pink filly in her face. "What in tarnation?"

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!" the filly greeted. "I just saw what you did and wow, was that amazing! I can't believe you stopped a herd of cows all on your own! You're amazing!"

"Aw, shucks, Pinkie Pie," the filly blushed, tracing her forehoof against the ground slowly. "Thank ya kindly for the compliment, but it ain't too hard actually."

"Well, I sure wouldn't have been able to do it! What's your name by the way?"

"My name's Applejack. I'm the second youngest Apple in the whole Apple family, the first bein' my little sister Apple Bloom. She was born a few months ago before... well... before my parents..." Applejack's expression suddenly saddened dramatically, and she sniffled a bit.

"O-Oh..." Pinkie muttered, understanding the filly's reason for becoming so sad all of a sudden. "Well, at least you have other family members as you said, right? Do you live here alone?"

"Well, no. I live here with Apple Bloom, my big brother Big Macintosh, and my grandmother Granny Smith. They were all torn up with... what happened to my parents... but we're still pulling through together, and at least we still have each other." Applejack's expression looked a bit more uplifting and she smiled sincerely at the pink filly. "Thanks, Pinkie, for cheerin' me up."

"Anything for a friend!" Pinkie replied.

"Friend? Well, boy howdy, would I like to make a friend outta you, too, Pinkie Pie!"

"Yay!" The pink filly gave a little bounce of joy before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that's right! I made another friend named Fluttershy a few days ago and I was planning a surprise party for her, but I needed to buy some apples!"

"Sure thing! Follow me!" Applejack led Pinkie through the apple orchard to a large apple tree. "Ya better stand back unless you wanna get bopped with apples."

Pinkie nodded and backed away a bit. She watched as her new friend trotted over to the tree's trunk before turning around with her backside to the trunk. She then lifted up her hind legs, balancing on her forelegs, and narrowed her eyes in concentration as she aimed. Finally, she kicked out as hard as she could, shaking the entire tree, and almost all of the apples fell out of the tree into buckets surrounding the trunk.

"Wow!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing up. "You have really powerful hind legs! You shook the entire tree!"

"Well, an Apple's gotta have strong hind legs to buck the apples from the trees," Applejack replied. "Every earth pony has the magical gift of strength needed to attend to the land and grow crops."

"Really? I didn't know that. That's cool!"

"I really hate to ask this of you, but would you mind helpin' me carry these here buckets of apples back to the barn?"

"I'd be more than happy to help!"

The two fillies spent a good hour pulling each bucket back to the barn. Applejack was strong, but not strong enough to carry multiple buckets on her back just yet. She was able to carry one with the help of Pinkie, and within an hour the two placed the last bucket of apples in the barn.

"Whoo-wee! Nothin' like a good hour of haulin' apples to put some muscle on yer bones!" Applejack panted with satisfaction, wiping the sweat off her forehead with a forehoof. She turned to Pinkie, who was panting heavily. "You all right, sugarcube?"

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Pinkie panted. "Just... really tired... and thirsty..."

"I know what to give ya fer all your help." The filly trotted into the kitchen and opened the fridge, then pulled out a wooden cup. She trotted back to Pinkie and handed it to her. "Drink up to yer heart's content!"

The pink filly took the cup into her forehoof and took a little sip. She gasped and began chugging the contents down immediately after.

"I take it you like it," Applejack laughed.

Pinkie finished and licked her lips. "You bet I do! What is it?"

"It's our high-quality one-of-a-kind apple cider," the southern filly replied. "Cider Season's a few days away, so Granny, Big Mac, and I had to make a few batches to make sure the cider's the best it can be. And judgin' by your reaction, our cider's gonna be perfect this year."

"You bet it will!" Pinkie squealed. "I'm gonna make sure to work even harder in Sugarcube Corner so I can get enough bits to buy so much cider! I'll even be first in line for Cider Season!"

"Well, thank ya kindly, Pinkie Pie! Now, I recall you sayin' you needed to buy some apples, right?"

"That's right! I need a dozen apples, please."

"Comin' right up!" Applejack grabbed a small bag of a dozen apples that were freshly harvested just minutes ago and gave it to her. "Here you are."

"Thanks so much! So, how many bits do I owe you?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, sugarcube. They're on the house! Well, barn, really."

"Are you sure? I still think I should pay you. It wouldn't be fair to just take apples you worked your tail off to harvest."

"C'mon, you helped me out today. It's the least I can do. It's okay, honest."

Pinkie smiled, a few tears bordering the corners of her eyes. "Thanks so much, Applejack! You're so wonderful!"

"Th-Thanks, sugarcube," Applejack blushed. "Well, I'd better let you git along. You got a party to plan."

"Actually, I was thinking I could push the party back a few times in time for me to get to know you."

"Come again?"

"Well, I was planning a surprise party for Fluttershy because she was my new friend, but now I've made a new friend: you! I gotta get to know you so that I can throw the same party for the both of you at the same time, and you two can probably befriend each other, too!"

"Well, color me pleased as punch!" Applejack grinned. "You're so mighty kind, Pinkie!"

"No, that's Fluttershy. I just love to do anything for my friends, especially throw parties for them!" Pinkie replied. "Guess that means I'd might as well stick around to get to know you better, too. I'll even help you out with your chores!"

"Golly, you're just too nice! Well, I have to give the pigs a good scrubbin'. You wouldn't mind helpin' out, would ya?"

"Of course not! Let's go!"

The two earth pony fillies trotted side by side out of the barn and towards the back with towels, buckets of soapy warm water, and scrub brushes, ready to bond and get to know each other.

Pinkie Pie just couldn't wait for the party for her two new friends Fluttershy and Applejack!

Rarity

"I have two new best friends now! They're both fillies just like me, too! One of them is another earth pony named Applejack and she lives on Sweet Apple Acres, and the other is a pegasus pony named Fluttershy who can actually talk to animals!"

Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down enthusiastically as she told a few of her friends at grade school during recess about her two newest friends. Mr. and Mrs. Cake felt it was a necessity to enroll their adopted daughter to Ponyville Grade School being as she's still a young, inexperienced filly. Pinkie was absolutely thrilled at the idea. Getting to learn new stuff and make new friends? Who wouldn't love that idea?

"Wow, they sound like they're really nice!" a pale earth pony filly with dark blue and magenta hair named Bon Bon gasped. She pushed her blue glasses up when they began to fall along the bridge of her nose. "I wish I were as courageous as you to make new friends."

"Oh, I wouldn't call it being brave, I'd call it just wanting to make friends!" Pinkie replied with a little skip. "Anypony can make new friends, it's super easy! Even you!"

"Speaking of which," a red-violet earth pony filly with lighter pink striped hair named Cheerilee spoke up, "there's a new student at school, and she's a unicorn!"

"Really?" a light gray earth pony filly with a darker mane and tail named Octavia gasped. "I heard that unicorns usually attend schools in Canterlot!"

"Well, this unicorn filly lives in Ponyville with her parents and baby sister," Cheerilee retorted. "She's got the prettiest white coat I've ever seen! And her curly purple mane looks so silky and lustrous!"

"Ooo, I can't wait to meet her!" Pinkie squealed excitedly. "Where is she now?"

"I'm not sure, but I think she may be in the schoolhouse making costumes for next week's school play."

"I'm gonna go find her and see if she needs any help, then I'll be her friend!"

The pink pony bounced back into the schoolhouse and began trotting down the halls, looking in each classroom in search of where a white and purple-maned unicorn could be.

She stopped when she came across the arts and crafts room. There were a variety of colored paint splattered all over the white walls that have dried a long time ago, and the floor was covered in paint splotches as well. There were also scissors and glue sticks next to piles of cut paper and crayons on tables, which was all sprinkled with glitter.

A bit of movement caught Pinkie's attention and she turned to see a white and purple foal working at a larger table. She had pieces of fabric sewn onto foal-sized mannequins as well as a chest of colorful, vibrant gemstones next to them. She was currently running a piece of pink fabric through a sewing machine, and the pony herself was wearing red reading glasses.

Curious, the pink filly walked over to the other filly's side and looked at what she was sewing. It looked like a lacy foreleg piece to a costume with a few gemstones sewed into it, making them sparkle and glisten in the light.

"Ooo, that looks super pretty!" Pinkie squealed loudly. She winced as the other filly screamed in surprise and leaped back, bumping into the table and causing the sewing machine to fall off the table and completely rip the fabric she was sewing. She tripped over her chest of gems and collided with the mannequins.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" the pink filly quickly apologized, her ears flattened against her head in panic.

The unicorn filly grunted and rubbed her head before climbing to her hooves. She glared at Pinkie for a while, causing her to gulp, but her gaze softened and she let out a long sigh.

"It's okay, it was an accident," the filly spoke in a sophisticated voice. Her tiny horn glowed light blue, and soon the toppled-over mannequins glowed in the same aura, and they then magically stood back up on their pedestals.

Pinkie gasped at the sight of the magic. Sure, she had seen a few unicorn mares around town levitate bits and boxes of pastries in the shop, but the ability of magic was still alien to her, and no matter how many times she would see a unicorn levitating anything it would still amaze her as if it were the coolest magic trick she had ever seen in her life.

The unicorn filly looked at Pinkie in confusion. "Have you never seen a unicorn use magic before?"

"No, I have, it's just that I come from a place that's only inhabited by earth ponies and I've never seen any pegasus ponies or unicorn ponies before and I think that their abilities to fly and use magic is super-duper ultra amazing-tastic!" The pink filly panted a bit, catching her breath.

The unicorn blinked a few times, almost looking disgusted, and forced a smile and a small chuckle. "W-Well, isn't that nice? Anyhow, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm falling terribly behind on these dresses and I need as much time and concentration as I can get."

"Speaking of the dresses, they're oh so pretty! You're really talented, especially for a foal!"

"Why, thank you... uh..."

"Pinkie Pie!"

"Thank you, Pinkie Pie." The unicorn filly walked back to the table and levitated the sewing machine back up. She winced when she saw the tear in the fabric.

"What's your name?" Pinkie suddenly chirped, startling the filly once again.

Heaving a sigh, she replied, "My name is Rarity."

"Wow, what a pretty name! Perfect for such a pretty foal!"

Rarity giggled and flung her mane around, showing off how silky and sparkly it was. "Well, one has to look their best, especially if one does have such a magnificent name as I."

"Hey, do you mind if I helped you out with your dress-making?" the pink filly grinned.

"Well... I suppose so. I could use all the help I could get. You really wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not! I'm always willing to help a friend in need!"

Rarity smiled warmly at the energetic earth pony filly. "Thank you so much, Pinkie Pie, you are ever so generous!" She levitated a small pink and purple dress over to her, as well as some blueprints. "If you could sew some purple gems on the pink and pink gems on the purple, you'd be helping me out so much. Do you know how to sew?"

"Honestly, I never learned how to," Pinkie grinned sheepishly.

"Would you like me to teach you?"

"Yes, please!"

Rarity trotted to a separate table, using her magic to brush off the glitter and paper, and placed the dress, gems, and blueprints on it. She subsided her magic, finding it easier to teach an earth pony how to sew by handling a needle and thread like one, and gripped the needle in her teeth carefully. She then spoke through her teeth, "Make sure to be very careful when holding onto the needle, and always hold it with the pointy tip facing away from you. You wouldn't want to poke your tongue."

Pinkie dug her forehooves into her fluffy pink tail and pulled out a pencil and notepad, then wrote down notes as the unicorn filly spoke.

"You now place a gem on the piece of fabric as directed on the blueprint," Rarity continued. She picked up a purple gemstone with a hoof and carefully aligned it on a pink sleeve as shown on the paper. "Then you find the little hole poked through the gem and slide the needle through." She did so, sliding the needle through the gem, and very carefully grabbed the tip to pull it back out. She then placed it on the table and picked it back up by the end.

"Finally, you poke the needle through the fabric, wrapping the thread around the gem a few times to make sure it stays in place." After she demonstrated the technique, she grabbed a pair of scissors with her hooves and snipped off the extra thread. "And that's how you sew gemstones into fabric!"

At this point, Pinkie was writing on a very long scroll of paper, ditching the notepad beforehand for there wasn't enough room to write down the instructions. She looked up when she finished and grinned, spitting the pencil out of her mouth. "Wow, that's a lot of stuff to keep in mind. But I think I'm ready to give it a shot!"

Rarity left Pinkie alone to sew the gems into the costume as she fixed up the ripped sleeve, as well as finish up the rest of the unfinished costume on the mannequin. Once finished, Rarity walked over to Pinkie's station to see how she had done.

"Okay, let's see what you have!" Rarity smiled. She gasped in surprise to see all the gemstones have been sewn precisely where the blueprint had instructed. She smiled, very pleased. "Well done, Pinkie Pie! You'd make for a marvelous seamstress!"

"Thanks, Rarity!" Pinkie squealed happily, bouncing over to the unicorn filly, somehow managing to tie up all four legs together with thread. Rarity giggled and levitated a pair of scissors to snip the pink pony free.

"Oh, Pinkie, you sure are something else," Rarity giggled. She then hugged the pink filly. "Thank you ever so much for helping me out today, I just can't thank you enough! And to show my gratitude, I've made you something!"

"You did? For me?" Pinkie gasped, grinning.

Rarity led Pinkie into a corner in the room to a white cloth covering up a mannequin. She whipped it off with her magic and revealed a beautiful sapphire-incrested pink bow with glitter and even a few colorful triangular pins resembling candy corns.

Pinkie gasped loudly before squealing and hugging the unicorn filly. "I love it!"

"I'm ever so glad!" Rarity smiled. She helped the pink filly put the bow on her left ear, tilting it diagonally to give it a cuter look. "Oh, you look absolutely adorable in that bow!"

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! I love it so much! Thank you, Rarity, you're so generous!"

"Anything for a pony who helped me out today."

"I'm not just another pony who helped you. I'm your friend, and you're mine, too!" Pinkie hugged Rarity once again, who giggled and hugged back. Pinkie suddenly gasped and grinned. "Oh! Now I can push the party back a few more days to make time to get to know you so that I can throw you a party, too, for being my newest and bestest friend alongside Fluttershy and Applejack!"

Rarity blinked a few times, then narrowed her eyes playfully and chuckled. "I'm not entirely sure what you said, but sure thing, darling."