A Time to Say Hello and Farewell
Pinkie Pie bounced down Ponyville’s main street, careful not to buck off a cake that was delicately balanced on her back. She was on her way to the hospital to cheer some young ponies up that were sick. As she neared the hospital, she saw an earth pony colt dejectedly playing in the yard she didn’t recognise. Pinky Pie’s eyes lit up in anxious anticipation to become this pony’s best friend.
“This is the best day ever!!” she yelled, “Hello, my name is Pinkie Pie and what is yours, we are totally gonna be best friends forever and we are gonna eat cake and have parties and I’m gonna make you smile! Why the long face?” Pinkie Pie bounced in front of the colt, the excitement radiating off of her.
The silver colt was missing his tail and his mane. He wore a head bandage and didn’t have a cutie mark. He looked sadly at Pinkie Pie. “My name is Cake Icing, and I will never get my cutie mark…” He shed a tear, but Pinkie reached out her hoof and caught it. Cake Icing looked up at Pinkie Pie, his sad, fearful gaze reaching her loving and caring gaze. His sadness melted away like ice, he felt happy for the first time in many months. He gently smiled, his expression becoming similar to Pinkie’s. Nopony had ever done something so nice for him.
“See you just totally smiled, we are so best friends now and I am gonna totally help you get your cutie mark,” Pinkie Pie jumped high in the air. “Stay here while I go drop this cake off.” Pinky Pie was a blur of pink as she rushed into the hospital, eager to further become this pony’s friend.
Cake Icing was alone again, just like he always was since he got sick. Pinkie Pie was energetic and upbeat which cheered him up when she was around him. But when she left, that emptiness and fear of being alone closed in on him again. He nervously began to play with his toy blocks. She was his one ray of sunshine on a day that was quickly ending. He hoped she would come back soon.
Pinkie Pie darted out of the hospital with a balloon tied to her right front hoof, “Okay, Cake Icing, I’m back. I totally brought you a balloon I blew up in the hospital. Do you like it?” Pinkie Pie once again bounced up and down in anticipation. “We are so gonna do so many things together. I love doing lots of things.”
Cake Icing’s face lit up, he darted to Pinkie Pie’s side and gave her a hug. “I love the balloon, and I would love to spend the day with you.”
Pinkie Pie returned the hug, her warm and energetic motherly embrace enclosing his small, cold form. “Yay! Does this mean we are best friends?”
He smiled, and looked at Pinkie “There is no question in my mind that you are my best friend. Can you throw a party?” he pulled away from the hug and took her hoof in his.
“Can I throw a party? What kind of question is that, silly? I will introduce my new best friend to all of my friends at the party I’m gonna throw for you!” Pinkie Pie laughed, “There will be cake and Gummy and friends and my party cannon and music and drinks and did I mention cake?” She licked her lips hungrily gave Cake Icing the balloon.
“Today is gonna be the best day ever!” yelled Cake Icing weakly. He let go of the balloon in celebration and let Pinkie Pie lead him down the road towards Ponyville. His happy steps had a weak bounce, and Pinkie toned down hers to match his. They happily walked in the sunshine through the town, ponies happily saying hello to both him and Pinkie.
“This is Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie Pie announced gleefully, “This is where we are gonna make your cake for the party! I’m gonna teach you how to bake and decorate and eat the cake with friends.” She licked her lips, “The best part, personally, is eating the cake with friends part.” Pinkie opened the door for Cake Icing. “Come on in silly, you can’t come in to bake your cake when you are outside!”
Cake Icing’s jaw dropped, the size and colour of Sugarcube corner impressed him. It was certainly a unique building that set itself apart from the rest of Ponyville. He nodded at Pinkie Pie and followed her inside. They both got down to baking.
Cake Icing received an hour of baking lessons from Pinkie. When the undecorated cake was taken out of the oven, Pinkie was impressed by the way the chocolate cake came out of the oven, “Cake Icing, you are a natural at cooking cakes, look how good this came out,” Pinkie Pie gleamed over the spongy chocolate cake, “Now it is time to decorate it! Here are your coloured icing tubes over there. If you feel up to helping me out, feel free to take one of those tubes and hop in!” Pinkie Pie was startled at how fast Cake Icing grabbed the tube of icing and began helping her, “Yay! My best friend forever is helping me! This is the best, best, best day ever!”
Pinkie Pie and Cake Icing together put a base layer of blue down on the triple layer chocolate cake. Pinkie Pie wrote out “Welcome Cake Icing!” in silver letters while Cake Icing stuck his tongue out and worked diligently on a sugary Pinkie Pie to go next to Pinkie Pie’s sweet rendering of him. Pinkie Pie was rambling on and on about how happy she was to be with Cake Icing, but he was too focused on his work to listen to her.
Pinkie Pie’s tail began to quiver, sending oscillations through her body, “Ohhhhh… Something big is going toooo happen. I get these sensatiooons all the timeeee, but this one is a biiiiiig one.” Her hooves and eyes began twitching.
He stepped back and looked at his creation, it looked exactly like Pinkie Pie. He was ecstatic and full of happiness about he made, it felt like his special talent. There was a tingling sensation in his flank, he cried out with both excitement and fear at the feeling. Pinkie Pie was smiling and looking at his flank as well in excitement.
Pinkie Pie jumped up in the air, throwing confetti everywhere, “Cake Icing, your cutie mark, look at your cutie mark! See silly, you did get to see your cutie mark! I am so happy for you! This is gonna call for an extra special celebration!” she bobbed up and down, admiring Cake Icing’s rendering of her on the cake. The cake had the image of a smiling Cake Icing holding Pinkie Pie’s hoof. The sweetness of the picture sent a tear of happiness down her cheek as she hopped up and down.
Cake Icing was at a loss for words, he just stared at his cutie mark. It was a cake with blue icing on the top of it. His eyes welled up and tears began streaking down his face in happiness. It was all possible thanks to Pinkie believing in him. He was only able to manage to choke up a, “Thank you,” he hugged Pinkie warmly, “My best friend forever,”
Pinkie returned the hug, gently holding him close. They looked at the cake, laughed, and cried for what seemed like forever. There was still much work to be done for the party, so both of them got back to work.
A Time to Say Hello and Farewell
Cake Icing stood on a stool to put some streamers up, flashing his new cutie mark proudly. Pinkie Pie bounced up and down as she placed drinks and apple cider on a table for guests to drink, somehow not spilling them. “You know silly, that cutie mark is fitting for your name since you are Cake Icing and your cutie mark is a cake!” Pinkie Pie licked her lips, “Cake makes me happy, but a best friend does a better job at that! Don’t you think?” Pinkie Pie’s tail started to go crazy, so she swiftly ran over to Cake Icing.
The stool began to wobble beneath him, Cake Icing fell off, and expected to hit the carpet floor with a thud. However, he felt a pair and saw a pair of pink hooves catch him and bring him gently to the floor. “I think so too,” responded Cake Icing as he smiled, “How do you know about disasters or surprises about to happen anyway?”
Pinkie Pie sweetly chuckled as she set out brownies, “It’s my Pinkie sense, silly! Whenever something big, surprising, or disastrous is about to happen I get these twitches! It would take me a while to explain what each twitch precisely means.” She finished placing the brownies and went upstairs to the bathtub.
“Oh, so it’s kinda like a sixth sense!” exclaimed Cake Icing at the realisation, “Where are you going?”
“Exactly, gee silly you got me figured out!” Pinkie Pie’s sweet voice sweetly drifted down the stairs, “I’m going to introduce you to Gummy of course!” She scampered down the stairs with a tiny green alligator hanging off of her frizzy mane with his toothless gums.
“Oh sweet Celestia, that beast is eating your hair!” gasped Cake Icing in surprise.
“Don’t worry, he is harmless. I call him Gummy because his teeth are just that!” chortled Pinkie Pie, “Don’t worry Gummy, some ponies get unnerved by alligators. This silly pony is one of those!” Pinkie Pie put on a cake costume, “Now we have to give the invitations! Come with me, it will be fun! You can ride with me in the balloon!”
“Why do we have to ride in a balloon to give invitations?” inquired Cake Icing.
“To invite Rainbow Dash and the pegasi, of course silly! I believe in giving invitations personally!” chortled Pinkie Pie, “Have you ever been in a balloon?”
Cake Icing’s face lit up, “I've always heard of balloons but never got to ride one, I'm really excited!”
Pinkie Pie opened the front door to go outside, and got the basket and balloon ready for flight. Cake Icing followed Pinkie Pie’s directions to get everything in order. Once the balloon was ready, Pinkie fired up the gas to fill the balloon with hot air. “Ok Cake Icing, hop in before it takes off. Next stop, Dashie’s house!” Cake Icing jumped in quickly as the balloon slowly lifted off. “Ok silly, how about some cupcakes? I brought some for mid-flight snacks!”
Cake Icing licked his lips and beamed a huge smile, “Yay, I was getting hungry! Thank you Pinkie Pie!”
Rainbow Dash laid on her soft bed reading a Daring Do story, “I'm such an egghead, it was dumb of me to let Twilight talk me into reading!” Rainbow Dash rolled onto her back, “An athlete like me should be training instead of reading a book on a day like today,” her semi-quiet reading was interrupted by an enthusiastic knocking on the door. “That is probably Pinkie Pie going to invite me to a party. I am game for one!” Rainbow Dash opened the door to be greeted by Pinkie Pie floating with balloons tied to her back. Pinkie Pie began to sing as she blissfully swung in the breeze.
“Rainbow Dash oh Rainbow Dash I hope you are enjoying Daring Doo
I know that you borrowed it from Twilight, but
We hope that you will join us to greet a friend,
a new pony is in town, so come and be our guest at 6 o’clock!”
Pinkie Pie whispered when she finished, “Hey Dashie, can you give me a push to get back to the hot air balloon?”
“Well count me in for that party,” replied Rainbow Dash as she stretched her body out, “I can get you back to your balloon in three seconds flat!”
“Thanks Dashie, but don’t you think that three seconds is tooooooo faaaaaassssst!” screamed Pinkie as Rainbow Dash spread her wings, grabbed Pinkie by the hoof, and streaked to the balloon to deposit her shaking body inside. “Dashie you are so fast!” replied Pinkie Pie as she stroked the bottom of the balloon to make sure she still wasn’t being whisked in the air at top speed.
“Naturally, I am the fastest pegasus alive, who is your friend?” Rainbow Dash inquired and bragged.
“This is my new best, best, best, friend ever!” exclaimed Pinkie as a huge smile cracked across her face, “His name is Cake Icing and I am throwing the party for him!”
Rainbow Dash moved her mouth close to Pinkie’s ear, “That pony looks really sick, he reminds me of my old roommate at the hospital when I broke my wing some time ago. I wouldn’t get too emotionally attached to him, because he looks really sickly.”
“Oh Dashie, but what good would my special talent be good for if I didn’t share it with everypony?” Pinkie responded happily back as she bounced up and down in the balloon.
“I’m really sorry for that comment Cake Icing, it was a bit uncalled for, see you at the party!” Rainbow Dash saluted Pinkie Pie and Cake Icing. She took off for her house and closed the door to read more of the Daring Doo novel.
Pinkie Pie turned to see Cake Icing have tears welling up in his eyes, “Hey silly, why the long face? Dashie can be a bit rough around the edges, she didn’t really mean what she said,” Pinkie Pie embraced Cake Icing, “Best friends forever?”
Cake Icing returned the hug and a tear streaked down his face, “Yeah best friends forever!”
Pinkie Pie continued to embrace Cake Icing warmly, and a tear streaked down her face to join with Cake’s. Cake Icing let go of Pinkie, and a smile was on his face, “How many more of your friends are we going to invite?”
“Well, Fluttershy is next on the list,” replied Pinkie, “Want a brownie?”
“Sure,” replied Cake Icing as he licked his lips, “I think I can eat another one of these!”
The balloon slowly drifted towards the Everfree forest while Pinkie Pie and Cake Icing enjoyed the scenery of Ponyville from the sky, drinking apple juice that Pinkie had brought. “Ok silly, see that tree down there? That is Fluttershy’s cottage! She is the sweetest and shyest pony you will ever meet!” The balloon descended towards the ground.
“I will come with you this time, this is a pony I want to meet!” Cake Icing exclaimed, jumping off of the balloon the instant it landed. He gave a gasp, “Ouch, that wasn’t a good idea. I’m alright.”
Pinkie Pie bounced off of the balloon and landed next to him, “Ok silly, lets go!”
Pinkie and Cake Icing trotted up to Fluttershy’s door and gave it a knock. A bunny slowly opened the door, and Fluttershy’s voice came from within the cottage, “Ooh Angel, hang on please don’t close the door on them. Oh dear Pinkie, I hope Angel didn’t give you any trouble.” Pinkie Pie responded by singing.
“Good day, good day Fluttershy, I hope you’re doing well
I’m throwing a party and it would sure be swell
if you could come by and say hello and meet and greet
to welcome my new best friend to Ponyville.”
A blast from her confetti cannon on her back caused Fluttershy to jump in shock and flee into the house, leaving the door open. Pinkie Pie bounced in the cottage and opened a pantry door to ask the frightened mare, “So Fluttershy, do you want to come, oh please, oh pleaaaaseeeee?”
“Ok…” came the whispered reply, “Just don’t shoot the cannon again.” Cake Icing stepped next to Pinkie Pie. “Oh dear you poor thing,” she shyly addressed Cake Icing, “You must sit down and let me look after you.”
“Fluttershy, my mane and tail have been gone since I got…” whimpered Cake Icing, “…cancer,” he broke down crying while Fluttershy held him closely.
“You poor dear, you are in good hands with Pinkie, but I would like to be your friend too,” muttered Fluttershy to him.
“Really? Even a dear poor thing like me?” sobbed Cake.
“Yes,” cooed Fluttershy, “Pinkie is a good friend. A friend of my friend is also one of mine. Do you mind if I come with you and Pinkie?”
Pinkie Pie jumped in the air and exclaimed, “Three is a crowd, so we have more invites to give out!” She trotted out of the cottage with Fluttershy and Cake Icing. They all boarded the balloon, and it rose in the air towards Sweet Apple Acres.
“Who is next on the list, then?” said Cake Icing as he sat down in the bottom of the balloon.
Pinkie Pie couldn’t contain her excitement, “The apple tree kicking, most honest, and best apple picker Applejack! She lives in an orchard called Sweet Apple Acres!”
“Oh, I hope we don’t surprise her too much in this balloon,” muttered Fluttershy, as she tried not to look down.
The balloon once again began to make its descent into Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was in the orchard busy bucking apples off of the trees. She only noticed that she had visitors when Pinkie popped up in her face and sang.
“Applejack, oh Applejack I hope you’ll come to a party
for a friend of mine who is new to town
so please, oh please RSVP and don’t be tardy.”
Applejack’s face turned red, and she said in her southern drawl, “Well okay, Sugarcube, I would love to come to your party. These apples will still be here in the morning.” she gave an apple tree a tremendous kick, and apples fell into a basket. Seeing Cake Icing, she kindly offered, “Well welcome stranger, what is your name?”
“My name is Cake Icing,” the colt said, but was shocked when the mare began shaking his hoof vigorously.
“Pleased to meet you, Cake Icing,” she said while she continued to shake his hoof, “Here have an apple.” She stopped shaking his hoof, bent down to pick up an apple, and offered it to him.
Cake Icing let out a sigh of relief and took the offer of the apple just in case the mare wanted another hoofshake. Pinkie Pie began bouncing away from Applejack, “The party is at 6:00 at night at Sugarcube Corner. See you then, we gotta pay Twilight a visit!”
Twilight Sparkle sat down, magical energy surrounding the books on the shelves of the library, “Its re-shelving day again Spike!”
The purple dragon Spike looked ravenously at a gemstone he had been saving for weeks, “Twilight, you do these too often, we don’t get that many new books that much!”
The glowing purple books slid off the shelf and carefully to the floor. “I like to keep organised Spike! You know that as well as I do!” Twilight busily read over the titles and subject content of the books and sorted them back onto the shelves. She was interrupted by a balloon touch down outside her window. “This can wait, because Pinkie Pie has hardly ever used that balloon since we visited Cloudsdale. Whatever the reason is for her visit, it has to be important!” Twilight rushed down to the front door and opened it to hear Pinkie joyfully sing.
“Hello, hello Twilight Sparkle
come RSVP and please be
our guest at 6 o'clock.”
Pinkie Pie panted after her singing, “Sorry for leaving that personal invitation a bit brief, but I have a friend to introduce to you. Meet Cake Icing, Cake Icing, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight Sparkle looked at Cake Icing, “Well Cake, nice to meet you, and Pinkie I would love to come to that party! I will finish re-shelving and be there on time! Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to do before I go to the party.” She half closed the door, “I can’t wait to get to know you Cake Icing.” Twilight closed the door and quickly re-shelved all the books as fast as she could before the party started. “Hey Spike, change of plans, we are going to a party at Pinkie’s tonight.”
The purple dragon rubbed his stomach, “Sounds good to me, hopefully Pinkie makes some of her tasty cake.”
“Just don’t eat too much Spike,” chuckled Twilight, “I don’t want to have a sick dragon on my hooves!”
Pinkie Pie, Cake Icing, and Fluttershy trotted back to the balloon. They all hopped back inside, and the balloon took off towards Sugarcube Corner.
