Outside Applejack’s barn were several tables with various cakes, cupcakes, and a moderately sized stack of gifts. Surrounding the tables were orange and pink balloons everywhere Applejack looked.
Such an odd color pairing, although Pinkie ain’t exactly a normal earth pony.
Applejack smirked at the thought, and watched as a much taller Twilight Sparkle was feeling her hoof around Sugar Belle’s belly with Big Mac watching the two mares interact. Applejack felt her heart brightening with a glowing light inside of her as she took it all in. It had been almost two years since Equestria united against and defeated the Legion of Doom, and about five months since Sugar Belle announced that she was expecting Big Mac’s foal. Applejack glanced over at Rainbow Dash, who had her wing wrapped around Fluttershy, and expected that her new roommate was going to move out before long.
Applejack smiled at the two pegasus mares, and for her brother and his wife, knowing that even without a partner, Applejack knew that all of these ponies were here for her and her birthday. As she walked over to the fold-in table closest to her, Applejack looked at the biggest cake that Pinkie had brought, a simple vanilla cream cake with vanilla frosting and a “2” and “5” candle together. Applejack heard somepony bounce up to her side, and knew who it was from the smell of strawberries and cream.
“Hey P-Pinkie,” Applejack stammered. “Er, is this mah birthday cake?”
“It sure is!” Pinkie hopped up and down. “Isn’t it perfect?”
“Yeah, ah guess ah just thought it’d be something more like an apple pie or cake,” Applejack shrugged.
“Well I did bring apple empanadas, apple fritters, caramel apples…” Pinkie drifted off, and Applejack looked over and flinched at how wide Pinkie’s pupils were, like Applejack was all that existed in that very moment. “But this cake is one of my favorite cakes, it’s a bestseller at the Sugarcube Corner.”
“Huh, ah’d thought you’d like somethin’ with fifty different candies on it,” Applejack laughed a little. “Like an explosion of sugar enough to get ya bouncin’ off the walls.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, those are pretty good too,” Pinkie explained. “And you’ll try this cake soon enough, and I pinkie promise that you’ll love it. Walk with me?”
“Oh! Sure, why not sugarcube,” Applejack walked up the hill with Pinkie bouncing beside her, and felt the sun shining brighter on the trees as her eyes went up and down with each time Pinkie jumped towards the sky and landed back down on the grass. “So…ah heard Cheese Sandwich was back in town?”
“Um, yeah? He is,” Pinkie stopped bouncing up and down and gave a strained smile. “We’ve been hanging out a bit.”
“And do you see yourself with him?” Applejack spoke again as soon as she saw Pinkie’s smile fading. “Hmm, ah figured as much.”
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s really fun to hang out with!” Pinkie insisted. “But do you remember how we treated each other when we first met? Competing to the point where I felt worthless as a party pony?”
“Wait a second…he ain’t going out of his way to make ya feel worthless, is he?” Applejack growled.
“No! Not at all!” Pinkie gasped. “But I don’t want to feel like I’m competing with my special somepony in the talent that I cherish most, you…saw what that did to me.”
“Ah understand,” Applejack nodded. “What about Princess Skystar? Ya got along with her pretty well.”
“She is really cute,” Pinkie agreed. “But she lives in Mount Aris. Plus, I’ve been thinking of somepony more…different than me.”
“Somepony more down to earth?” Applejack suggested, and flinched when Pinkie jumped in the air and grinned from ear to ear.
“Yes! Exactly!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Somepony that can show me that there’s more to life than my parties, that sometimes…beauty is in the simple parts of life.”
“That does make sense,” Applejack nodded. “Ah swore that Rainbow Dash moved in to make a move, but ah’ve been seeing her hanging out with Fluttershy more and more. Which is fine, but it would’ve been nice to have a marefriend to be part of mah family.”
“Family,” Pinkie nodded, staring deep into Applejack’s eyes as she clarified. “Family is very important to me too.”
“How’ve they been, by the way?” Applejack asked. “Your other sisters find their special someponies?”
“No, they’ve been taking care of the farm still,” Pinkie replied. “Although I’ve wanted them to move down here, there’s so many more ponies to meet and talk to here, and I just don’t want to see them just-”
“Waste away?” Applejack suggested, and noticed various strands of Pinkie’s mane straightening as she slowly nodded her head. The farm pony felt her head come up blank with what to do in this situation, and so she came closer and wrapped her foreleg around Pinkie. “It’s okay, Pinkie. Ah’m not quite sure how to help them without taking them away from the rock farm, but we can visit them and figure somethin’ out.”
“You mean that?” Pinkie looked at Applejack, and their muzzles were centimeters apart as Applejack continued to hold Pinkie in an embrace.
“Ah do,” Applejack whispered, and barely had time to gasp as Pinkie leaned forward, sealing the distance with a kiss that wasn’t anything like Applejack had experienced before. All her life, it was taking care of apples by doing this or that, eat apple this or that, everything was about apples. But Pinkie’s words became crystal clear as Applejack tasted an entirely new flavor on her lips, a bright and sweet flavor, yet tame and simple at the same time.
Applejack couldn’t put her hoof on the exact kind of flavor until she had returned to the party, her and Pinkie walking with their pelts pressed against one another as their friends rejoiced over the two mares getting together. Applejack then tried the cake, and tasted the exact same taste.
Sweet and simple.
