Pinkie's hooves were covered in a layer of dirt, and bounced off the ground as she skipped down the center of Ponyville. Her smile was as wide as the ponies alongside her had ever seen. In her hoof was a shiny, golden ticket, to the Grand Galloping Gala. Such a prestigious event was an honor for anypony to attend. Yet... there she was, caking the corner of the slip in soil.
Celestia graciously sent them all invitations, after touching her hoof to her heart and giggling from Twilight Sparkle's sincerity in returning the two original tickets. In thanks, Pinkie looked to the halfway set sun, and gave a big, cheer filled grin. She was treating Twilight and the rest of her friends to some sweets, on her! After all, Twilight's stomach rumbled periodically, and Pinkie would've gone crazy had it not been fixed, and it may have been partially her fault Twilight hadn't eaten all day. Besides, she didn't need a reason to play host for her friends.
Pinkie navigated, hopping up to the front door of Sugar Cube Corner, where Mrs. Cake was just about to flip the "open" sign to "closed".
"Hi Mrs. Cake!" Pinkie enthusiastically chirped, noticing the clean interior and the nice dress Mrs. Cake was wearing.
"Oh! Why hello Pinkie," Mrs. Cake said, looking around Pinkie's shoulder to see a ragtag group of ponies. She giggled nervously. "And what are you all up to?"
Pinkie fired back, "Well, it's a funny story. Twilight Sparkle got these two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala! Of course, everypony in town wanted to go, and kept nagging Twilight to take them! I tried my best to persuade her into taking me..." she spoke so quickly that it was hard to understand her.
"Oh goodness... Pinkie!" Mrs. Cake broke in, trying to intervene.
"... but she wasn't gonna have it! Instead, we all cornered her so she would have to give the ticket to someone..."
"Pinkie!"
"... BUUUT, she felt too much pressure to give the tickets to anyone, including herself! So she sent back both tickets to Princess Celestia." Pinkie paused, grinning.
Mrs. Cake waited a moment. "Why, is that so, dear?" she asked. "Well - "
"And then we got seven tickets back from Celestia right away, so we could all go to the Gala!" Pinkie burst out, hopping energetically, reaching her hoof from behind her back to show Mrs. Cake the ticket.
Mrs. Cake blinked. "Oh. How exciting, Pinkie. Still... what are you all doing here?" Mrs. Cake gulped and smiled anxiously, peeking around the pink pony to see the rest of the vibrant group once again, this time talking amongst themselves while Pinkie finished her antics. Twilight's belly growled loudly, making her blush with embarrassment.
"Oh! Twilight hasn't gotten to eat all day, and I wanted to make it up to her. I invited the rest of my friends to come along too!" Pinkie added.
Mr. Cake overheard the conversation walking down the stairs, quite overdressed, wearing a dapper vest that would only be appropriate at the Gala. It was obvious that the couple had plans they didn't want delayed by something silly. On the other hoof, they had never left Pinkie in the store alone with the kitchen all to herself. They shared an eyebrow raising glance for just a moment, seeming to agree with each other quickly.
"Okay Pinkie, you're welcome to help yourself and your friends to some snacks. You'll have to bake it all from scratch. Please don't do anything too crazy, Mr. Cake and I are going out for a while," Mrs. Cake said, putting a decorative satchel on her back. Pinkie nodded with an excited look.
The other five ponies shuffled in, giving their thankful greetings to the Cakes as they passed them by.
As the couple was about to walk out the door, Mr. Cake reassured, "Pinkie, this place will be spotless when we come back, understood?"
"Completely!" she replied.
Mr. Cake sighed, glancing over Pinkie, looking for some sign of legitimate recognition. "Okay then. Have fun!" he said, dismissing his worries while closing the door.
"You too!" Pinkie repeated, as the door shut. "Yippee!" She turned around, beaming widely, so happy to have been given responsibility over Sugar Cube Corner, even if it was technically closed. The rest of the ponies giggled along, ready to help should they be asked.
"Come on, let's get baking!" she said, bursting through the swinging kitchen doors. The hinges squeaked with each pony coming through them.
...
AJ stood stout, protesting Pinkie's insistence. "Aw, come on Pinkie, I might as well finish what we started."
"No, trust me, the Cakes like to have everything in its exact place! It's getting late, don't you have to start harvesting your apples soon? You need your rest!"
Applejack got fairly flustered over this, because Pinkie was wholeheartedly right. The harvest had already started, but most of the apples weren't quite ripe enough to be picked yet. In a couple of days, the whole Apple family would have to help harvest the orchard, lest they let the whole thing go to waste. That meant getting some good sleep in beforehand.
"Oh, all right sugarcube," Applejack said reluctantly. "I hope Ah'm not burdening you too much by making you put everything away by yourself. That dang'd Rainbow Dash, sneaking out halfway through... I'll give her a good ear-tuggin' the next time I catch her."
Pinkie laughed and snorted, imagining the scenario in her head, and the doubtless teasing that the two competitors would put each other through. "Hehe, you don't have to worry about it too much Applejack. We didn't have to clean up too much with the six of us working together."
"I know Pinkie, but the nerve of that pegasus sometimes... anyways. Thank you so kindly for the food, it was the tastiest eatin' I've had in a week! I'll be seeing you soon now!" Applejack said, turning towards the door.
"See you soon AJ! Oh! Tell me when you start making some cider! I have all sorts of ideas for some snacks I can bake with it!"
"Will do, Pinkie. Goodbye!" Applejack waved, the last of the ponies to part from Sugar Cube Corner that night.
Pinkie turned back to the kitchen, ready as ever to finish her work. She trotted back and fro, from table to cabinet, finishing the last bits of cleaning. She sung to herself in true Pinkie Pie fashion, reminiscing about the wonderful day she had with her new bestest friends. She was having an absolute blast getting to know these five ponies... there was already a special feeling revolving around them. Never had she ever felt so excited about a friendship before, and Pinkie had five of them to revel in! She was friends with everypony in town as long as she had lived here, but these five were different. Already, she truly loved each of them, in a way she wasn't familiar with. It seemed to her like they were all destined to be together.
A few tears formed in Pinkie's eyes, an honestly genuine smile on her face. That smile's main purpose wasn't to make anypony else happy, like most of Pinkie's smiles. That smile simply came from her own elation.
"Hm?" Pinkie audibly hummed to herself, feeling the drops starting to stream down her face. Initially, she wasn't aware she was crying.
