It was a great morning today, as all the other days before it had been. In a world where whether the weather was bad or misplaced, or the Sun lay too low on the horizon, a simple wake up call to the right pony upstairs would fix the problem in a jiffy, putting any one pony in the most opportune position to go about their day. Such was the case for little Spike as he set off from Golden Oaks to his next point of business, Sugarcube Corner. The worn path that was Mane Street lay afoot, welcoming the oncoming messenger with every step, those of which had gone by at a steady pace and balanced gait. He occupied his stroll by hammering into his head the plan for today, as the more efficiently he could get through his schedule would be less and less conspicuous to Twilight.

This schedule of course comprised of a finding and providing catering and decoration for Twilight's party while simultaneously assembling it right under her nose. That was why he needed to see Pinkie Pie first; her role was to spread the word to the ponies around town without "spreading" the word, hence why an expert planner like her would be first in line. She would also be helping him around town with the setup. Next of course were the services, giving another close friend a hoof in preparation.

Applejack would bake and cook food for the party. After meeting up with Pinkie he would have to travel way out to the farms and get to work with her in the kitchen. Later would come the decorating, that of which will be supplied by Rarity and he could persuade Rainbow Dash into helping them set them up. Fluttershy was the failsafe in case Twilight got too nosey about the racket going on in the library. He was sure she could get Discord to guard her from the setup without looking too suspicious, given Twilight would expect dickery from him anyway.

His plan was foolproof, all he had to do to start was to knock on Pinkie's door.

<<====>>

Knock, knock

He was too early, she could have sworn he wouldn't get here till noon. Pinkie hopped out of bed and bounded to the staircase.

Knock, knock

The stairs grew exponentially longer, every step she took had been replaced by another. Could she have held out any longer? Did this have to come so soon?

Knock, knock

Things were going to change today; her life and that of those around her would never be the same.

Knock, knock

She kept going faster and faster, her legs were getting so tired, but she barely moved. Each step she descended seemed to put her back in bed. She was so terrified of what was going to happen tonight. What would come about from it. Who would come abo-

Knock, knock

Thump

Thump

Thump
Thump
THUMP
THUMP

The front door flung open, "Pinkie Pie! Was that you!"

She looked up to see the concerned eyes of a baby dragon staring into her own.

"Are you hurt?" He asked "Should I get help?"

"Nope!" Pinkie huffed, popping from the ground to her hooves "Just a little bump on the noggin from a trip down the stairs!"

Spike noticed the dark circles under her eyes and a small bump and cut where her head must have hit the floor on the way down the stairs. She looked pained, but her voice gave no help to show it. "have you been getting enough sleep, Pinkie? Your eyes look a bit crusty on the edges."

"Oh you mean this?" She pulled her eyelids from her face like rubber bands before snapping them back into position in a similar fashion, "I uh- read a spooky story last night and had a nightmare! I was up all night!"

He heard her voice falter. Was pinking lying to me? he thought. Pinkie is a very... simple mare. There wasn’t much to her aside from her sporadic, spontaneous nature. He didn't even know if she had anything she would lie about, given she could even lie. "Well you should at least put a bandaid on that scrape and ice it. You're lucky there don't seem to be that many steps on your stairwell."

"Right, of course"

<<====>>

Firmly affixed to her head was a bag of refrigerated peas- pretty much the only cold thing in the café that wasn't ice cream. Although a bit dizzy, along with a small bump with a cut on her forehead, Pinkie really didn't feel that bad. After Spike relayed his plans for the day, she sent him off to set it all in motion, whilst she prepared a special line of deserts that Spike totally allowed her to do. Her thoughts drifted back to her fall and the thoughts that accompanied her along the way. Even now, a mere four minutes have past and the dream had began to decay from the depths of her subconscious, its looming threat flickering out as the details of her premonition alluded her for good.

All she could remember was that it was something that would shake the very fabric of her way of life, quite ominus of a threat to happen the day of such a big party which she couldn’t bare as parties were what made her who she was after all. She wondered if she could after have celebrations of this caliber after the events of tonight. Would the meaning of the word ‘party’ carry a solemn reminder of what would come to be—would this party tonight birth a grim age and would she be to blame for its conception? The infecting dread that plague her mind was ever present beneath the mask of a smile she wore as she went about her role in the festivities tonight, tormenting her psyche, feeling responsible for the unknown destruction to be wrought in the near future.

<<====>>

Looking to the Horizon, Spike could just make out the red of Applejack’s barn over the massive property of Sweet Apple Acres. He walked the beaten path from Ponyville to here time and time again, but not once did it occur to him just how large the property was. He left Pinkie’s place this morning around sunrise and he was now just arriving at AJ’s place and the Sun was already high in the sky. To own such a large sum of land brought the realization of just how successful the Apple family must be and he questioned why Applejack settle down in a lowrate town such a Ponyville; why, with such wealth, she could take on business in high class cities like Canterlot or Brookneighven. Granted, the Apples were among some of the early settlers of Ponyville so it's natural for them to have such a hold over the land it occupies and maybe they see it in their roots to stay. He’ll have to ask her later when he isn’t behind schedule.

He considered saving AJ for last as he could have swung by the boutique before he left for the acres, but he needed to have her know now to allot enough time to cook everything, especially with how late-notice the party was. It's unlikely she would turn down such an offer whether it was for her close friend, Twilight or not—though that may have just been an excuse to not feel bad about putting her on the spot like that. Surprise parties are a surprise for everybody he guessed.

He finally made it up to the porch of her abode when he notices the back door was ajar. He decided that he wouldn’t get to quick of a response if he had knocked, and it not like he had much time to spare anyway, so he skipped the front door and passed around to investigate the commotion

“Is that you back there Applejack!” he called out as he approached the door. A loud series of crashes was all he got in response and he hastened his pace to meet the kitchen. He walked inside to find a comically tall mountain of pots and pans and the like on a now ensnared Applebloom.

“AJ! Big Mac! Can somebody help,” she called out, “the cabinet door broke open again!”

Spike bent down and began to dig her out of the mass of cooking utensils that spilled onto her.

“I’m here.” he replied between the clanking of tossed metal.
“Is that you, Spike? I’m glad for the help but what brings you out here?”

“I came to ask Applejack to help cook up some grub for-” he paused, wondering if he could trust two-year-old, “-lunch today. Twilight asked me to find her. I was about to ring the bell when I saw the kitchen door wide open and found you instead”

“Last I saw AJ was out by the orchard at dawn checking up on the trees and such,” rang out her still muffled response. How much could these guys possibly be cooking?! “I dunno if she’s still out there but it would be the first place I would look! Also, why would y'all just be making up lunch at 3 o'clock? Isn't that a bit late? I'd say its more time for a nice supper by now.”

“Uh, consider it then a-uh," he paused once again, wondering if there was a word for the combination of lunch and dinner in the same sense the word 'brunch' existed, "linner, lupper I guess? That's not important right now, however, can I ask you what's going on in here? I don’t think the cabinet door would have just fell off on its own, or so I’d assume anyway. ”

“Uh, I wasn’t doin nothin...” she mumbled sheepishly. Spike’s eyes drifted from the chair propped up against the counter to the only thing left cabinet above, a jar of cookies. Something told him he was right to assume foul play as his eyelids sunk in a mix of disappointment and assurance.

“I’m sure you were…” he muttered with the last of the pile removed, a large crock pot that had once completely covered the now free Applebloom, her bottom lip tucked between her jaws. “I’ll just leave you to your ‘nothin’ and head out to the orchard for Applejack”. Just as he stepped out the back door a rustling in the bush nearby caught his attention and his head snapped to it, his eyes locking onto a mix of orange and white among the leaves.

“Mission failed! Abort, abort!” cried the bush as two pairs of wide eyes met his own and their owners fled the scene.

“Don’t leave me you cowards!” cried Applebloom as she dashed past Spike in pursuit of her friends. Crazy kids, he thought while he turned to the bounding hills ahead.

Author's Note

Uh, lets just pretend the time stamp always ended in 17 and not 16. Also, a new chapter is finally here! And I'm gonna be honest when I say the next one will be out shortly and not next year.