Partying, Partying, Yeah!
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// Story: The Party that Never Stopped.
// Chapter: Chapter 1: Partying, Partying, Yeah!
// Author: ThatOneYellowPony
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“Hi Rarity!” squealed the pink pony when the last of her party guests arrived at Sugar Cube Corner for Gummy’s after-birthday party.
The alligator in question was busy sucking Pinkie’s famous cotton candy tail, one eye on Rarity, and the other at a disco ball hanging from a hook in the ceiling. Pale blue drool was seeping down him where he hung.
“Hello Gummy.” greeted Rarity, delicately wiping her hooves on the pink welcome mat.
“I thought you just did that when it was raining.” said Applejack
“Just because there’s no mud out there, doesn’t grant me immunity to dirt on my hooves; a lady should always leave her mess on the welcome mat.” said Rarity, eyeing applejack’s hooves, with enough layers of grime on them to tell the history of Sweet Apple Acres.
“So whataya you guys wanna do first?” chimed in Pinkie, eager to get on with a party as great as last night’s. She zipped over to Rainbow Dash and nudged her “We’ve got games-” indicating a small collection of board games on one of the cakes’ tables. She sprung like an elastic band over to Twilight Sparkle, who was having some punch “We’ve got more of Gummy’s favorite! I know how you liked it Rares!-”, indicating the refreshments and cookies on the table. Somehow, as though by teleportation, she was next to Fluttershy now “Watch your step! Twi arrived early and magiced up a wavy jelly floor!” She placed a hoof before her, and the wooden floor of the room’s far half rippled like the floor of a bouncy castle “Imagine playing Twister on that!” giggled Pinkie. She was between AJ and Rarity now, a foreleg wrapped around both of her friends. “There was so, so much we didn’t get to do last night, so I thought we should get started super, super early. That’s why I invited you all here at six.”
Her guests murmured excitedly, and all took off for fun, games, and snacks.
Pinkie closed her eyes, breathing heavily from all the running about she had just done. “Dear Princess Celestia,” she whispered so only she could hear “this is going to be my best party ever”
She squeed to herself.
It turns out that Twister on the jelly floor was what everypony wanted to do first. Everypony but Rarity, who was hesitant to pop her personal bubble and press herself against anypony else.
“Back left hoof green? What? Pinkie! Not that green! We’ll get all twisted up! We’d both be much better off if you go for that green over there by Twilight” She would say, unnoticed.
“Your horns are a lot sharper than they look” said Pinkie, after being poked in the ribs by Twilight.
“Pinkie-you’re-crushing-me!” wheezed Twilight as she stretched her right forehoof to one of the only yellow circles available “Isn’t there a rule against leaning?”
“Hey all’s fair” said Rainbow. Rainbow and Applejack, exercising their competitive natures, had been twisting one another into impossible positions. They looked like a knot of blue and orange fury. They were battling it out in one corner and nopony dared approach them. Lest they be sucked in, chewed up, and spat back out.
“Ha! Back right hoof blue!” taunted Applejack, but they both toppled over the instant she raised her back right hoof an inch off of red.
A small tidal wave resulted from their fall, which rushed towards the other ponies, felling Twilight and Rarity, leaving the perplexingly stretchy Pinkie still on all fours. Fluttershy even fell over from the wave, and she was just sitting by the spinner.
After Applejack won the next game, it was time for cake. And since last night’s cake was just big enough to be divided into six reasonable pieces, it made sense that tonight’s cake was three times as big. The round cake resembled a tall tube equal parts chocolate, vanilla, and rainbow bits.
After cake, the disco ball turned on, casting twinkling lights all over the bakery. Twilight extended the jelly floor magic to the entire room, leading to a very bizarre rug cutting experience.
And so the night disappeared in a blur of party pranks, laughter, ice cream, and games.
“Wait-how much did you have?! I’m not even allowed a half-tub of ice cream!” said spike, laying the hot water bottle across Twilight’s head.
“And this is why” moaned Twilight, clearing suffering a sugar head-ache. “When’d home get so bright?”
“This isn’t home. It’s a park bench. You kinda, sorta passed out here”
“Oh yeah,” Twilight recalled “Pinkie was walking me home, but had to turn back for something. I said I’d wait for her here.”
“When was that?”
“Early in the A.M. I think.” said Twilight. It felt like there was a lit firecracker in her skull. “Is there anything important I’m supposed to do today?” she groaned, rolling about on the hard bench.
“I don’t think so.” said the dragon.
“Good. I’m dead to the world” she said, burying her head in the corner of the bench, trying to escape the burning light of Celestia’s unknowing wrath.
“Hey Twilight!” chirped Pinkie.
“AIEEE!” shrieked Spike “I mean! Auugh!” he yelled in his best manly voice. “Where’d you come from Pinkie?” he asked in a deep voice, trying to distract from his girly scream.
“I came to invite Twilight to another party!” she said in a deep voice like Spike, then giggled at the silliness of it all.
“Another party?” asked Twilight, desperately wishing her friend was joking.
“You bet! Last night was great! Even better cause we’d partied the night before too! And then it hit me! I said ‘Pikamena Diane Pie! If a second party’s great, than a third party’s going to be even better!’”
“That’s not how it works Pinkie. You need a reason to throw a party.” said Twilight, rolling over to smile at Pinkie sheepishly. Her eyes were pink and slightly derped and her mane was dirtied.
“Woah Twilight! You’re a real fright in the mornings! Actually this is noon, so I guess you’re just a fright! Anyways, I’m inviting everypony for a third party tonight. And I don’t need a reason. My cutie mark’s in partying, so why shouldn’t I party every day? It’s my calling! Like you and magic!” and with that, the pony left, bouncing all the way.
“What do you mean you don’t want any cookies?” asked a baffled Pinkie Pie.
The third party was just starting, and Applejack had refused a plate of gingerbread ponies Pinkie had offered.
“It’s just I’m a little sick that’s all. I can’t keep eating sugary things. I need things from the four basic food groups: hay, milk, fruits, and vegetables.”
“I always thought they were cakes, soda, chocolate, and coffee” said Pinkie, though she wasn’t looking AJ in her tired green eyes. She was distracted by her four other friends, who were stumbling about the party like zombie ponies.
“Do you have any hay? Or apples or something?” asked Applejack.
“Well I do have this” said Pinkie, producing what appeared to be an apple.
“The hay-?!’
“It’s a cross between an apple and a grape. It’s got some sugar mixed in too, but it’s fun enough that I won’t mind if you eat these and not the sweets.”
Applejack bit into the grape apple, and chewed it slowly. After a few chews, she decided the strange flavor was doing her stomach no favors, but she swallowed and smiled to appease Pinkie Pie.
“mm” said Applejack, smacking her lips uncomfortably.
“Glad you like them! I’ll get you some more in a little K?”
Realizing her party was going Titanic, she zipped away from Applejack, her mind racing. How was she going to salvage this thing?
“Have you ever had coffee Twilight?” offered Pinkie with a mug in hoof. Twilight had been mostly standing still and blinking slowly all night.
“Muffins?” mumbled Twilight, but she took the coffee all the same.
“Do you wanna play Pin the Tail on the Pony, Rarity?” asked Pinkie after zipping over to a very cranky looking Rarity.
“DON’T LOOK AT ME!” she barked “I haven’t had any beauty sleep in what feels like forever! My complexion is positively hideous!”
“Oh, I was wondering why you brought that big black cloak”
Indeed, Rarity had shown up with robes covering her supposedly ugliness from the outside world. Not the outside world seemed very aware of anything. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were having a conversation that went as follows:
“I just realized I make Tank speed up for me, but I never slow down for him, that’s like, super, like, it’s just weird” said Rainbow
“And then I thought; what if the animals are just there to laugh at me…” said a wide-eyed Fluttershy. Clearly burnt out, but also intensely aware.
“And then there’s Scootaloo, she really likes Tank. A little too much…”
“I can hear their thoughts: Fluttershy: The Great Big Silly Pants Who Thinks We Can’t Take Care of Ourselves!...”
“…and I’m like, like, she’s totally a spy, like, like it’s a conspiracy or something…”
Rainbow was also suffering a case of the giggles. So incredibly tired was she that simple words like ‘peanut’ and ‘tail feathers’ sent her rolling on the floor.
“What-is-in-this mug?!” asked a jittering Twilight after a few minutes. Her eyes freaking out as they shot about the room, taking every incredible detail in.
“Twilight! Can you do magic? This party’s pooping itself and I need the whole floor jelly again!”
“You bet I can! And then I can make fireworks! Oh! I just realized now would be a perfect time to organize my library by genre! I can do it after this cause I don’t think I’ll ever need to sleep again!”
The hyper purple blur did as she was asked, practically liquefying the floor.
“Urp!” said Applejack, who was very sweaty and very green. The floor was more like a bouncy castle than ever.
“Ah’m gonna be sick and there ain’t a bathroom here!” AJ announced, turning for the door.
Rarity screamed as the sick hit the pink welcome mat, which is where a lady leaves their mess.
After this AJ was too sick and too tired to go on, so Pinkie let her sleep on her bed upstairs. Later Rainbow Dash joined her.
“I got here first. And I kick” warned AJ when Rainbow approached.
“I kick harder, and I’m not taking the floor” said Rainbow.
Fluttershy wound up crashing under the snack table, and Rarity collapsed awkwardly in one of the corners.
Twilight seemed antsy for something to do, and Pinkie Pie was left with a lump in her throat. More parties equaled good right?
‘I ain’t coming to another party’ said Applejack, shortly after Pinkie proposed a fourth party.
“Oh come on! We have to end on a bang or this’ll be a bad memory! Granny Pie told me that happy endings make for good memories. We had a great party, then an amazing party, then a terrible one! We’ve got to have a good one to finish things up!” pleaded Pinkie
“Granny Smith tells me sick ponies ought to stay in bed. How’d you get in my room anyhow?”
Pinkie rolled her eyes. How long until her friends stopped asking all the silly questions?
“Well okay. I guess you’ll learn your lesson when Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, Fluttershy and I have a great time tonight!”
“They agreed to more?” asked AJ, skeptically.
“I haven’t asked them yet,” said Pinkie, turning her head away from the orange pony “But they will!”
“No” said Rainbow Dash. “I’m too tired to even FLY today. I haven’t been too tired to fly since ever.”
“Twilight stayed awake all night and had a super duper time! And tonight I’ll have enough coffee for everypony!” said Pinkie, who had flew to Cloudsdale with her pedal operated flying gizmo, complete with spinning gears, opening flaps, and an aroooooga horn.
“Are you crazy? I need sleep Pie!” grunted Dash as she pulled more cloud covers over herself. “Good luck getting the others.”
A small tear in her eye, Pinkie descended to earth.
“Please! Nopony wants to come” said Pinkie Pie, blubbering.
“I’m sorry Pinkie, but I don’t think I can handle another night like that. I’m just not wild like you” explained Fluttershy, who was out watering her tulips. “I have a lot to catch up on, too.”
“That’s okay.” said Pinkie, sounding disappointed.
“I’m sorry, I simply can’t” said Rarity through the boutique’s letter hole. She was still convinced she’d become ugly from lack of sleep and refused to be seen. “Give me a few days, and I’ll be presentable enough to reject you personally.”
Her last sentence was intended to be like good-natured ribbing, and the white unicorn would have never said it if she could see the heartbreak in Pinkie’s big blue eyes.
“When you brought Twilight home last night, she made a book fort, declared war on the rest of Equestria and spent a few hours flicking bits of paper at me before passing out.” Explained Spike when Pinkie Pie showed up at the door.
“May I see her?” asked Pinkie
“Sure, but she’s going to say no”
Twilight’s book fort was one of the most incredible Pinkie had ever seen. It resembled a medieval castle, with pillowcase flags and a queen who was drooling over some ancient texts that composed her thrown.
“Pinkie?” she burped when Pinkie shook her awake.
“I wanted to ask you” she started “I wanted to ask you” she stopped “Oh never mind”
Pinkie cried a little, before letting herself out of Twilight’s library. Twilight fell back asleep, and would have no memory of Pinkie’s visit when next she woke.
A few joyless days passed. Pinkie hadn’t even seen her friends. Twilight’s cutie mark was in magic, but Twi never overdid things and ruined everything like she’d just done. Rainbow Dash’s mark was for rainbow lightning, but never had she rainbow-lightninged herself to tears. Fluttershy had never butterflyed straight out of the best circle of friends she’d ever had.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” she mumbled to herself as she went home for the night, and pushed open the cakes’ door “Today I learned that nopony likes me anymore.”
“SURPRISE!” cheered five familiar ponies as she stepped inside. The roomed was fitted like it had been for parties 1, 2, and 3.
“I-I” said a shocked Pinkie Pie.
“Didn’t you say you needed a fourth party?” said Applejack.
“We thought it would be more enjoyable to wait a few days, that way nopony would be tired” explained Fluttershy
“Or sick”
“Or ugly”
Pinkie had no idea what to say. Her friends embraced her in the warmest hug she’d ever been a part of.
“You don’t hate me for messing up?” asked Pinkie Pie
“Hate you? Pinkie, you’re our friend! Who cares if you made a mistake! I’ve written over thirty letters about how great friends can overcome mistakes!” said Twilight “Spike told me you came over heartbroken”
“Oh great, she’s crying again” said Rainbow.
Pinkie, stretched her hooves around the five mares hugging her, and hugged them harder back.
“I love you all”
THE END
Author's Note
Have you ever watched an episode of something and thought it would totally go a different way? When I first watched Party of One I thought the lesson was going to be that you can’t have a party every day, and just because your friends don’t always want to be with you, doesn’t mean they like you any less. This fic was a spinoff of where I anticipated that episode going.
Sincerely; ThatOneYellowPony
Special thanks to Gage McGage for editing this puppy.
