itsjustcambot | 6 Stitches: With a Little Help from My Friends

[Not an accidental recording for once - Rarity is dead serious this time around.]

I'm sure you've all seen Discord by now, or at least his handiwork. Not the nicest person, is he.

If he's gotten to your friends - if their colors have gone dull and they're not acting at all like themselves...well, I can't tell you not to worry, but I can tell you that they don't mean what they say when they're like that. It's what Discord does - aside from the chocolate rain and the gelatin pools and all of that, he also makes your friends act entirely unlike who they really are.

It is disheartening, yes, but don't give up! All your friends need is a reminder of who they really are - of how much they mean to you. Remind them of their friendship with you! No matter how cruel and hurtful their words get, keep going! You will get them back!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a party to throw.

[There's a glimpse of a few bright colors before Cambot shuts off - yep, that was a bunch of balloons. SHE'S COMING FOR YOU, PINKIE]

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[WELL TOUGH YOU'RE GETTING THEM ANYWAY]

[It doesn't take Rarity long to reach Pinkie's room - it's not far from hers, after all - and she pushes the door open with a hoof, a large bunch of brightly colored balloons trailing after her. It's a bit worrying to see Pinkie this muted, but Rarity is determined.]

Hello, Pinkie! I thought you could use a little color in here.

[She's definitely gotten duller since her encounter with 90s Kid. She stops up short as Rarity enters, dropping the packet she was holding in her mouth as her eyes narrow. Why couldn't anypony understand that she didn't want them around?]

Ugh, balloons? I hate balloons!

[And it hurts to hear that from Pinkie of all ponies, but Rarity soldiers on. Her inner steamroller is out to play and she's not about to quit. Instead, she ties the balloons all around the room - to the bedposts, to the dresser, to the doorknobs, to anything that has conceivable tying space.]

Oh, but these balloons are different. At least take a look.

[Upon closer inspection, each of the balloons has a marker drawing on it - of Gummy, of Applejack's barn decked out in party fare, of cake and balloons and even the party cannon and all sorts of ponies and places from back home. A few even have pictures of people on the Satellite.]

Hey! Quit it!

[She doesn't do anything to stop Rarity, but as soon as the unicorn's moved on from the first balloon she darts in and grabs its string, trying ferociously to tug it loose. As she's starting to growl a little in frustration - Rarity ties a good knot - she happens to glance up at the balloon itself. A look of confusion crosses her face at the sight of a marker-alligator giving her his typical blank stare, and the string slips from her mouth.]

[A second later it's gone. She plops down on the ground with an angry huff, staring at the floor.] I don't need any color anyway.

[Oh, Rarity caught that look. It was brief, but it was there, and now she's determined to get through to Pinkie.]

You could be right. What you need is a full-fledged party, I think. What about something like this? [She pulls a balloon down. Pictured on it is a surprise party thrown inside a library a good while ago.] The surprise party you threw for Twilight the day she arrived in Ponyville. You also showed us you like hot sauce on cupcakes, remember?

Or maybe this one! [She wanders over to another balloon] Gummy's birthday party! Goodness, you did go all-out on this one. Singing invitations and everything! Quite the thoughtful touch.

Or maybe one a little more recent, hm? [She pulls out yet another balloon] Minako's surprise birthday party! Definitely a different sort, given the venue, but still very much a Pinkie party.

[Come on, Pinkie, don't you remember any of these? Rarity's keeping an eye on her - surely something's managed to strike a chord with her.]

[Pinkie remains staring sullenly at the ground, head hung low, but she's listening. She snorts derisively at the first example.] Yeah, Twilight sure seemed happy. For the ten seconds she was there.

And you thought that was soooooo funny, didn't you? Watching me run all over town looking for you guys! And you were just yukking it up in Applejack's barn - [ - and throwing her a surprise party of her very own. She stops talking and turns away abruptly. They'd probably just done that to watch her flip out anyway.]

[But hardly anyone had ever thought to throw her a surprise party before that. She droops a little.] ...I never liked those parties anyway. [She sounds more like she's trying to convince herself.]

[That sarcasm will not daunt Rarity!] True, Twilight was a bit high strung at the time, but she was certainly happy at the party you threw once we found out she was staying.

[No, they hadn't been doing it to watch her flip out. NOPONY WANTED TO SEE THAT, PINKIE. THAT WAS ONE SCARY UNINTENDED SIDE EFFECT.] -And putting together a party for you, as I recall. [Said gently, with a smile - Pinkie's not often on the receiving end, and Rarity remembers it being a nice surprise for her.] You certainly were surprised.

Really, Pinkie? [Rarity takes up one final balloon as she's talking and brings it over to her friend.] Because you were the life of all those parties. It wasn't truly a party until you arrived. [The balloon floats in front of Pinkie. On it is a marker drawing of the six of them - the closest of friends - all laughing and smiling together.] No, it's not quite the same without Pinkie.

I know this party isn't quite up to par with what you can do, but I felt as though somepony ought to thank you for everything you do to make everypony happy. [Come on, Pinkie. Come back to her.]

[Pinkie can't help it; she looks up at the balloon as it floats around to face her. Even in bright rubbery balloon form, Rarity's artistry shines through; everypony looks just like they do in real life. They'd looked an awful lot like that at her surprise party, actually.]

[...they didn't even look like they were laughing at her. She stares at the picture, raising a hoof as if to either touch it or kick it away. Her ears flick towards Rarity as she continues talking, and the old retorts bubble up in her mind: they only liked having her around to laugh at her and mock her, that was all she was to them. But this time she doesn't pay attention to them - she's too busy thinking about the surprise party, and how everypony tried to make her feel better when they realized what a frowny-pie she'd gotten to be and didn't even once laugh at her for being a silly paranoia-pants.]

[She drops her hoof with a visible shiver and turns to look at Rarity instead, properly meeting her gaze for the first time since she's entered the room.] This is a -

[Stupid party. Is what she meant to say. But instead she catches a glimpse of Mr. and Mrs. Cake on a bright green balloon over the unicorn's shoulder. Them too? Pinkie stops and peers around at the other balloons filling her bedroom. There's Gummy again, and Dashie doing one of her tricks, and her party cannon - Mark II, even BETTER than the first one! - and Sugarcube Corner, and ooooooh, was that 90s Kid over there? Oh, oh, and Maes and Applejack and Twilight and even Fluttershy - and there's that one right in front of her snout again, with all of them having fun together and playing and laughing - ]

...this is the best party EVER!

[There's a sudden small explosion of pink, which quickly changes direction midair as Pinkie glomps Rarity at an inexplicably high speed.] Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh nopony's EVER made me a balloon garden before! It's like the biggest -

[Wait.]

...whoa.

Rarity! I just had the WEIRDEST DREAM EVER!

[The explosion was unexpected but a good sign nonetheless. Normally Rarity is not a fan of roughhousing, but if it means Pinkie's back, then she will gladly be tackled to the floor, laughing.]

I thought you would like that!

[She picks herself up and shakes herself off, still smiling.]

Do tell. [Though she gets the feeling Pinkie would anyway, with or without her invitation.]

Okie-dokie-lokie!

[She lets Rarity up and starts hopping around looking at all the balloons as she talks.] There was this funny-looking dragon guy, and a WHOOOOOOLE BUNCH of balloons, just like these ones...but not as nice. And I think 90s Kid was there too, and...

...and...

[She stops bouncing and droops a little as a sudden realization occurs to her.] ...oh.

6 Stitches: With a Little Help from My Friends

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