[Ponyville] Visions of Frosting and Terror! [Open]

[Rosewind]

Pinkie nodded knowingly. "I'm Madame Pinkie, I know everypony who lives around here! For realsies!" Pinkie sat down at her cabbageless table, sliding the plate of slightly-charred hay cookies to Twilight. "Lemonade? Course you want some!" Several fireflies had managed to flutter into her jug of super-sour lemonade, where they swam around, casting their little blinking tummy lights unhappily. She didn't seem to notice, and poured a glass of the "sparkling" lemonade for the unicorn -- ironically into the empty firefly lamp. "Oh, you want to know what I wanted my sign to say? It was going to say 'Ask Madame Pinkie, Fortune and Fate await all who dare to enter the unknown! Love, business, pleasure, she does it all! Well, most everything. Some stuff she can't do, but definitely certainly not a lot she can't won't do'" Pinkie smiled. "It wouldn't all fit, though!"

She crossed her hindhooves, propping her flank up on her woven wicker seat. "So, Miss Twilight, you have questions for Madame Pinkie? Ask away!"

[hinata2000100]

Pinkie nodded knowingly. "I'm Madame Pinkie, I know everypony who lives around here! For realsies!" Pinkie sat down at her cabbageless table, sliding the plate of slightly-charred hay cookies to Twilight. "Lemonade? Course you want some!" Several fireflies had managed to flutter into her jug of super-sour lemonade, where they swam around, casting their little blinking tummy lights unhappily. She didn't seem to notice, and poured a glass of the "sparkling" lemonade for the unicorn -- ironically into the empty firefly lamp. "Oh, you want to know what I wanted my sign to say? It was going to say 'Ask Madame Pinkie, Fortune and Fate await all who dare to enter the unknown! Love, business, pleasure, she does it all! Well, most everything. Some stuff she can't do, but definitely certainly not a lot she can't won't do'" Pinkie smiled. "It wouldn't all fit, though!"

She crossed her hindhooves, propping her flank up on her woven wicker seat. "So, Miss Twilight, you have questions for Madame Pinkie? Ask away!"

"I.... can see that not fitting..." Twilight said in disbelief. She thought about a question that would be fitting to such a random pony. "I have two questions. One serious, one not so serious. One, how and when will I get my cutie mark? Two, If you were a canoe stuck in a tree, how many pancakes wold it take to get to the moon?" Twilight said, laughing at her second question.

[Rosewind]

Pinkie smiled at the young unicorn. "Cutie mark questions huh? That's really high-tier prediction territory!" The pink mare frowned, motioning to her table. "Sadly I had to generously give up my divining cabbage to the oh-so-desperately needy, so we'll need a new method of delving the deepy mystically arts!" She looked up to the ceiling of her tent, seeking inspiration through the ether. A firefly landed on her headdress, and began to clean its wings. Pinkie sat motionless for an uncomfortable amount of time, when she suddenly jumped up, quite excited! "That's it!" She squeed. "Duh! We'll do a hoof reading!"

Pinkie snatched up Twilight's hoof and pressed it against her table, with just enough force to knock off several cookies. The firefly on her headdress was content to stay there, and it pulsed its soft green light in a mesmerizing sort of way. "Just relax. Don't make any sudden movements or I might misread the information, okies?!"

[Rosewind]

(( ))

A little late to the party since the cabbage is gone, but Sunny gave me this, this morning:

[hinata2000100]

Pinkie smiled at the young unicorn. "Cutie mark questions huh? That's really high-tier prediction territory!" The pink mare frowned, motioning to her table. "Sadly I had to generously give up my divining cabbage to the oh-so-desperately needy, so we'll need a new method of delving the deepy mystically arts!" She looked up to the ceiling of her tent, seeking inspiration through the ether. A firefly landed on her headdress, and began to clean its wings. Pinkie sat motionless for an uncomfortable amount of time, when she suddenly jumped up, quite excited! "That's it!" She squeed. "Duh! We'll do a hoof reading!"

Pinkie snatched up Twilight's hoof and pressed it against her table, with just enough force to knock off several cookies. The firefly on her headdress was content to stay there, and it pulsed its soft green light in a mesmerizing sort of way. "Just relax. Don't make any sudden movements or I might misread the information, okies?!"

'Whatever you say, Madame Pinkie...' Twilight thought. "All right, I won't make any 'sudden movements'." Twilight said.

[Rosewind]

Pinkie studied Twilight's hoof in painstaking detail, pausing every few moments to "Hmmm?" or "Oh my! or "That's terrible!" or "It doesn't make any sense."

After a time, she looked up at the unicorn "All set! I can't tell you exactly what your cutie mark will be, but it has to do with a vat of melted chocolate, a berry patch, a straw hat, a stack of gardening books, and several candles. There's more to be worried about than just your cutie mark, though!" Pinkie pointed to a small indent on Twilight's hoof, her face grim. "Hoof reading is a very tricky art. See that? It means terrible, terrible doom in store for you!" She wiped a tear from her eye. "Wahaha! I'm so sorry! You poor, poor thing! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!"

[hinata2000100]

Pinkie studied Twilight's hoof in painstaking detail, pausing every few moments to "Hmmm?" or "Oh my! or "That's terrible!" or "It doesn't make any sense."

After a time, she looked up at the unicorn "All set! I can't tell you exactly what your cutie mark will be, but it has to do with a vat of melted chocolate, a berry patch, a straw hat, a stack of gardening books, and several candles. There's more to be worried about than just your cutie mark, though!" Pinkie pointed to a small indent on Twilight's hoof, her face grim. "Hoof reading is a very tricky art. See that? It means terrible, terrible doom in store for you!" She wiped a tear from her eye. "Wahaha! I'm so sorry! You poor, poor thing! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Um.... What?" Twilight asked, looking at Pinkie with a confused expression. "What kind of doom?" Twilight asked to humor Pinkie.

[Rosewind]

Pinkie wiped hot tears of despair off her cheeks, sniffling. She pulled up the corner of her cloak and blew her nose on it. Pfffft! Sniff. "You'll get stung by a bee, you'll run out of bits, your coltfriend will leave you for another filly, Celestia will exile you to a dark corner of Everfree, and your toast will get burned!" Pinkie held up Twilight's hoof, examining it closer. "Oh! Haha, that's a dirt smudge! Whoops! No bad fortune for you!" Pinkie smiled awkwardly, another firefly landing on her headdress.

"Thirteen million, six hundred thousand, twenty-five hundred and nine pancakes. Hay cookie?" She shook the plate under the unicorn's nose, grinning.

[hinata2000100]

Pinkie wiped hot tears of despair off her cheeks, sniffling. She pulled up the corner of her cloak and blew her nose on it. Pfffft! Sniff. "You'll get stung by a bee, you'll run out of bits, your coltfriend will leave you for another filly, Celestia will exile you to a dark corner of Everfree, and your toast will get burned!" Pinkie held up Twilight's hoof, examining it closer. "Oh! Haha, that's a dirt smudge! Whoops! No bad fortune for you!" Pinkie smiled awkwardly, another firefly landing on her headdress.

"Thirteen million, six hundred thousand, twenty-five hundred and nine pancakes. Hay cookie?" She shook the plate under the unicorn's nose, grinning.

(You know you're a good Pinkie when your posts make me facepalm like I do when Pinkie does one of her crazy things. )

"Uh, sure..." Twilight said, taking the cookie. "So, that's my whole fortune? Nothing else you need to say, Madame Pinkie?" Twilight asked with a somewhat sarcastic tone.

[Rosewind]

Pinkie rocked back and forth in her woven wicker chair, with her forehooves on her pink knees, her beads clinking. "Hmmmm, yup! That's the whole doodle and kaboodle! I don't hear anypony outside my tent, so I guess we can shoot the breeze. Except there's no breeze in here, now that I think about it, and we don't really have anything to shoot it with."

She tapped her chin, lost in thought. "Want to talk about pickles?! I found out something crazy the other day. Some ponies actually freeze pickles in fruit juice and eat them! How gross is that?" Pinkie picked up a hay cookie and bit into it boredly. "Maybe I'll see if Mrs. Cake has any different pastries. Hay cookies are okay, but they can be kind of bland. They need chocolate chips in them. Or pickles, maybe?"

[hinata2000100]

Pinkie rocked back and forth in her woven wicker chair, with her forehooves on her pink knees, her beads clinking. "Hmmmm, yup! That's the whole doodle and kaboodle! I don't hear anypony outside my tent, so I guess we can shoot the breeze. Except there's no breeze in here, now that I think about it, and we don't really have anything to shoot it with."

She tapped her chin, lost in thought. "Want to talk about pickles?! I found out something crazy the other day. Some ponies actually freeze pickles in fruit juice and eat them! How gross is that?" Pinkie picked up a hay cookie and bit into it boredly. "Maybe I'll see if Mrs. Cake has any different pastries. Hay cookies are okay, but they can be kind of bland. They need chocolate chips in them. Or pickles, maybe?"

"A cookie with pickles? That doesn't sound very tasty." Twilight laughed. "I think your tent might attract more visitors if you finished your sign. I almost didn't come in because I couldn't understand what the tent was here for."

[RarityDash]

Rarity hummed quietly as she strolled through Ponyville, so far enjoying an all too rare day off from the business of the boutique. Sure it was a rather oppressively hot summer day, but her mood was calm and collected, and she well expected her day to remain free of any concern. It was just her and the smiling ponies of Ponyville whom she counted as friends and nothing was going to get in the way of any of it. She was nothing but positive!

Seeing a pony covered in ink pass her by did nothing to raise her concerns. Ponies were weird sometimes. According to her darling little sister, there was apparently even a stallion in town who spent much of his time inside of large jars of jelly. If a pony wanted to roam about town with his head dyed black with ink that was his prerogative, and she didn't need to pay it any mind.

However, when following that another unicorn walked past her, a certain alarm was raised. She knew this pony; he was Lore Weaver, the owner of Textural Treasures, Ponyville's new bookstore and a friendly acquaintance of the fabulous fashionista. As she passed him by, she couldn't help but be drawn to the fact that he had a cabbage stuck on his horn. Now, from how she knew him, Lore Weaver was no silly pony, so this was definitely something abnormal. She considered confronting the stallion on the matter, but instead her eyes traced their way in the direction from whence he had came and all of the answers became immediately clear.

"Madame Pinkie's Fortune and Fa" the sign in front of the tent read. Rarity didn't have to look inside to know this could only mean her dear friend Pinkie Pie. She stared at the sign, wondering what the "Fa" was supposed to be. With Pinkie it really could be anything, and Rarity hadn't much of an idea what to even consider for a guess. Pinkie was a friend, but she was an unusual one. Rarity didn't always get her, even if she did usually enjoy her brand of weirdness. Sure, a certain extended incident involving a hoofcar out toward Dodge Junction was a lingering proof in her mind that there was definitely such a thing as too much PInkie, but in her good mood, she was confident that paying her friend a visit could only lead to good things.

As it seemed Pinkie was already seeing somepony inside, Rarity stopped at the outside of her tent. She wasn't going to interrupt Pinkie's time with a "customer". She giggled at that thought, finding the whole situation wonderfully absurd. She smiled and waited outside for her turn.

[Rosewind]

Pinkie Pie perked her ear, as she heard gentle hooftrots outside. A new "customer!" Like a spider reacting to a bug freshly caught in her web, she sprang into action. She glanced at her empty wrist. "Oh gee, oh my! Look at the time!" The pink pony reached across the table and grabbed Twilight, lifting her in the air. She gave her one of her trademark-able Earth Pony huggles, squeezing her several times. "I'm so glad we had this little chitchat, Twi...hhhgghn....light! Don't cry, our paths will surely cross again some day!"

Pinkie smiled, satisfied that she had truly done a good job, and guided the unicorn to her tent flap. "I know I warned you that Celestia might exile you to the darkest corner of Everfree, and I later oh, you know, did a little fortune take backie, right?" Pinkie lowered her mouth to Twilight's ear, speaking softly "I'd still be careful about that."

[Lux]

Upset wasn't even a strong enough word to describe Guiding Light's current state. In just a short time the unicorn went from being blissfully happy that he had a special somepony to finding out that the one he like didn't do so in return. He could have been happy in his ignorance, thinking that there was some possible interest there. But due to Pinkie Pie now not just his state of happiness was shattered, but he was embarrassed in front of Celestia knows how many ponies at Sweet Apple Acres!

Walking through the streets of Ponyville in a sulking state, he spotted a tent that had a sign which read: Madame Pinkie Fortune and Fa. His curiosity peaked, he ventured forth to the tent. If this really was a fortune teller, maybe the pony could help him. If this Madame Pinkie was the same Pinkie that upset him, there was going to be words.

[hinata2000100]

Pinkie Pie perked her ear, as she heard gentle hooftrots outside. A new "customer!" Like a spider reacting to a bug freshly caught in her web, she sprang into action. She glanced at her empty wrist. "Oh gee, oh my! Look at the time!" The pink pony reached across the table and grabbed Twilight, lifting her in the air. She gave her one of her trademark-able Earth Pony huggles, squeezing her several times. "I'm so glad we had this little chitchat, Twi...hhhgghn....light! Don't cry, our paths will surely cross again some day!"

Pinkie smiled, satisfied that she had truly done a good job, and guided the unicorn to her tent flap. "I know I warned you that Celestia might exile you to the darkest corner of Everfree, and I later oh, you know, did a little fortune take backie, right?" Pinkie lowered her mouth to Twilight's ear, speaking softly "I'd still be careful about that."

"I'll remember that." Twilight said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and walking off.

[RarityDash]

A young filly trotted out of the tent, looking not quite as worse for wear as the previous two. That was a good sign. Nodding quietly to herself, Rarity trotted slowly into the tent to face her friend, dressed in a gaudy, ridiculous fortune teller outfit. Rarity had to smile and laugh at the absurdity of it all. Pinkie was really putting her all into this; Rarity almost had to wonder why. Of course she knew better. For Pinkie, usually there was no greater reason beyond her simply being Pinkie.

"Good morning, Pinkie," Rarity said in a casual voice. "I saw your quaint little set up here and I couldn't help but drop by for a second to get out of this burdensome heat for a moment and see what my dear friend was up to."

The unicorn nodded as she looked around the tent. "So you're telling fortunes then? How charming. How exactly does it all work? Also, what exactly does your sign mean by Fa? I must say that I am quite curious."

[Rosewind]

Pinkie's smile lit up like a thousand smoldering suns. "Rarity! What a big surprise! HUGE!" The pink pony wrapped her hooves around the Fashionista's neck, pressing the side of her face to the pale unicorn's cheek in greeting. The many dozens of beads dangling from her gypsy headdress jingled and clinked. She smelled faintly of ink, cabbage, lemonade, and sage. She stepped back, her hooves still on Rarity's shoulders. "My sign was supposed to say Ask Madame Pinkie, Fortune and Fate await all who dare to enter the unknown! Love, business, pleasure, she does it all! Well, most everything. Some stuff she can't do, but definitely certainly not a lot she can't won't do, but I ran out of room! Crazy huh?"

The pink mare looked to her table. It was quite a mess -- covered with discarded cabbage leaves, drops of ink, half-eaten hay cookies, and an empty pitcher of lemonade. "Oops! Let me tidy up a bit!" She trotted over to the woven purple tablecloth, lifted the hem, and flipped all of the bits across the tent. She smoothed the "cleaned" cloth back across her table, looking quite pleased with herself. She trotted over to one of the woven wicker seats and pulled it out, motioning for her friend to sit. "You're welcome in Madame Pinkie's tent as long as you like, Rarity! I just love when super bestest best friends visit! Do you want your fortune told?! I don't need to tell you how successful your business is, and I'm sure you probably don't want to know what's in store for your love life, do you?" Pinkie looked to the sides of her tent nervously. "I'll get more snacks while you mull over that!"

Pinkie skipped out of her tent to raid Sugarcube Corner next door. After several crashes and some muffled complaints, she reemerged back inside her tent. She had none other than Pumpkin Cake riding on her back, looking rather confused, as well as a blueberry-wheat pie, bottles of apple juice, and several oranges. "All set!"

[RarityDash]

"Rarity! What a big surprise! HUGE! My sign was supposed to say Ask Madame Pinkie, Fortune and Fate await all who dare to enter the unknown! Love, business, pleasure, she does it all! Well, most everything. Some stuff she can't do, but definitely certainly not a lot she can't won't do, but I ran out of room! Crazy huh?"

Rarity just giggled pleasantly as the pink pony started to speak up and got up to embrace her. Pinkie really was a silly pony, but that's why everypony in Ponyville loved her so. She was fun in its purest, rawest form.

"Oops! Let me tidy up a bit! You're welcome in Madame Pinkie's tent as long as you like, Rarity! I just love when super bestest best friends visit! Do you want your fortune told?! I don't need to tell you how successful your business is, and I'm sure you probably don't want to know what's in store for your love life, do you? I'll get more snacks while you mull over that!"

The unicorn just nodded. Pinkie was hard to keep up with at times. As Pinkie began to tidy her tent, she began to consider what she wanted Pinkie to do for her. She obviously registered that Pinkie was no psychic of fortune teller; she had her unusual power, the Pinkie Sense, but that only worked for vague and immediate danger, it was hardly something that could be used here practically. Still, Rarity liked to be a good sport, and was definitely willing to humor her good friend with her little fun. Rarity continued to ponder just what to ask as Pinkie left for a moment.

"All set!"

Rarity stared in confusion as her friend returned with juice, pie, citrus and nothing less than the infant daughter of her employer. She tilted her head in deep surprise and concern. What? What exactly did Pinkie intend to do with a foal? Rarity laughed awkwardly.

"Ah... little Pumpkin," Rarity said, nodding and smiling tentatively to the cake foal. Foals weren't really a part of Rarity's world or something she even dealt with. Even youngsters Sweetie's age usually strained her patience; watching foals, just wasn't Rarity. So while she had met this Cake foal before, she didn't have much of a relationship with her or her brother.

She glanced back toward Pinkie Pie. "What ever do you intend to do with her, Pinkie?" she asked, smiling awkwardly.

[Rosewind]

Pinkie set to work with placing the food on her round table. First the blueberry-wheat pie, studded with fresh, juicy blueberries and stalks of wheat, oranges, a few bottles of apple juice... "Intend to do what with who, Rarity?" Pinkie gave her friend a confused look, as she finished the snack spread by placing Pumpkin on top of the table. The baby unicorn crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, obviously not enthused with the situation. Pinkie hopped into her seat and blinked awkwardly, noticing Pumpkin for the first time. "Oh! How'd she get there? Isn't that something?" Pinkie smiled, booping her little nose. Pumpkin frowned. "Don't worry, sweetie! We're not going to eat you. Can you imagine what Mr. and Mrs. Cake would say if we did? Hoo, they would not like that one bit!" Pumpkin's face drained to a light-pale wheat color, her little blue eyes wide. "Waaaah?"

The unicorn foal's attention shifted to an orange sitting next to her. She picked it up with two of her little hooves and attempted to cram the huge fruit into her mouth, slobber running down the sides. "So Miss Rarity, do you have any mystically amazing questions you need Madame Pinkie to answer? I'm sure you have something you need divined! I'd avoid asking any questions about love, or where your favorite rubber ducky vanished to." Pinkie set her elbows on the table, grinning widely.

[RarityDash]

"Intend to do what with who, Rarity? Oh! How'd she get there? Isn't that something? Don't worry, sweetie! We're not going to eat you. Can you imagine what Mr. and Mrs. Cake would say if we did? Hoo, they would not like that one bit!"

Rarity shook her head and resisted the urge to cover her face with a hoof. Pinkie was certainly unlike any other pony. Her behavior was just so bizarre and random, and the things she said sometimes really did make no sense what so ever. The unicorn couldn't help but just sigh as she watched the pink pony's antics unfold, a wary eye also following the infant foal as she forced a large orange into her mouth.

"So Miss Rarity, do you have any mystically amazing questions you need Madame Pinkie to answer? I'm sure you have something you need divined! I'd avoid asking any questions about love, or where your favorite rubber ducky vanished to."

Rarity laughed, still not entirely sure what was going on. She shook her head again and then looked up in thought. "Well, questions...? Hmmm... let me think..." the fabulous mare glanced back down and then over at Pumpkin and then back up, kind of at something of a loss. There weren't really many questions pounding in her head that needed to be answered. She sighed when she realized she was putting too much thought into this; this wasn't a real psychic who actually had answers, it was just Pinkie playing around.

"I can't think of anything in particular to ask," Rarity said. "Perhaps you could just do a sort of general reading of sorts?" She looked downward. "I'll admit that I'm not terribly sure how this whole fortune telling thing is supposed to work."

[Rosewind]

Pinkie nodded understandingly. "Oh Rarity, you're absolutely right! It can be very hard to figure out what we truly want in life. Before I got into baking, I tried to become a leech wrangler in Froggy Bottom Bog! They get pretty big there, you know! Anyway, it was leech feeding time and I couldn't find any leech food, so I gave them my lunch instead, except my lunch for that day was a dozen cupcakes because I forgot to go to the market. Let me tell you something, Rarity," Pinkie said, her face twisted in reflection of a foul memory, "you never want to put a half dozen giant leeches on a sugar high!"

Meanwhile, Pumpkin was working on her orange like a snake trying to swallow a mouse. She had half of it in her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, drooling dribblets leaking out of the corners of her lips. Pinkie reached over and nonchalantly attempted to extract the citrus from the foal's mouth. Pumpkin wasn't going down without a fight, though! She pulled backward as her foalsitter pulled forward, her jaw locked tight around the bumpy orange sphere. With a loud POP, the orange flew out of her mouth. Pinkie, of course, lost her grip, and the orange sailed across the tent, smacking into a firefly lamp. The buggies inside fluttered around, displeased from the disturbance. "Silly filly! You need to peel it first, then nom nom nom it!" The pink mare shot up. "I've got it, Rarity! You want just a general reading, right? Let's do a Piefoal Reading! Ooh goodie, this'll be so fun!" Pumpkin perked her head to the side, curious. Pinkie nuzzled the little unicorn. "Ready to let Rarity know her fate, cutie pie?" Pumpkin nodded approvingly.

Pinkie pulled a paintbrush out of her cloak, and a pot of yellow paint. She set both on the table, looking to Rarity. "This'll be super easy! Just take the paint and write down the five most important things to you around the tablecloth. Just anywhere. Don't worry about ruining the cloth, I borrowed it from you earlier this week!"

[RarityDash]

"Oh Rarity, you're absolutely right! It can be very hard to figure out what we truly want in life. Before I got into baking, I tried to become a leech wrangler in Froggy Bottom Bog! They get pretty big there, you know! Anyway, it was leech feeding time and I couldn't find any leech food, so I gave them my lunch instead, except my lunch for that day was a dozen cupcakes because I forgot to go to the market. Let me tell you something, Rarity, you never want to put a half dozen giant leeches on a sugar high!"

Rarity stared at her friend as she told this story, both transfixed and perplexed. What did she say to that? What could anypony say to that? Pinkie had such crazy stories, and while Rarity didn't care to question their veracity, with a character like Pinkie Pie the possibility that they were all somehow accurate was somehow very real. Still, giant leeches being fed cupcakes? Rarity wasn't entirely sure she could come accept such absurdity as part of her reality.

Somewhat dazed, she stared ahead as Pinkie fought the orange out of the foal's mouth until it went flying into a firefly lamp, Rarity stepping aside so that she stayed entirely clear of its trajectory. After these bizarre antics, the peculiar pink pony began to speak again:

"Silly filly! You need to peel it first, then nom nom nom it! I've got it, Rarity! You want just a general reading, right? Let's do a Piefoal Reading! Ooh goodie, this'll be so fun! Ready to let Rarity know her fate, cutie pie?"

Rarity just laughed awkwardly and nodded. "Piefoal reading?" she mouthed, mostly to herself. She wasn't particularly well versed in the art of fortune telling, but she was pretty sure this wasn't a thing that ponies did typically. Pinkie wasn't slowing down though. She retrieved a bucket of yellow paint and a brush and put them on the table.

"This'll be super easy! Just take the paint and write down the five most important things to you around the tablecloth. Just anywhere. Don't worry about ruining the cloth, I borrowed it from you earlier this week!"

The pink pony spoke. Rarity nodded. "Well, all right Pinki-- Wait! What?" she stopped and slid into shocked protest as the last part registered. She looked at the cloth laid across the table and gasped. Sure enough, it was some of her choice fabric. "This is my-- When did you--? Pinkie..."

The unicorn shook her head in disbelief. After a moment, she sighed. She supposed she was used to fabric disappearing from her workroom on account of her sister and her little friends. She could allow this pony to get away with it this once too, she supposed. Nodding, she lifted the brush and nodded. "Fine, I'll do it."

Rarity squirmed a little as she dripped the brush into the paint. This was going to be hard. Ruining a piece of her own top quality cloth with some messy paint. She shook slightly as she gulped down some air. Then, slowly, but not so slow the paint would drip, she moved the brush to the fabric and began to write.

The first word she wrote was "friends". There was nothing more important than her wonderful friends. Pinkie, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had brought her so many smiles and good times since they first became friends. They were all irreplaceable to her, and she loved each of them so dearly.

The second word off of the brush was "family". This was a word she might have neglected to write at all not too long ago. The events surrounding Ponyville's previous Sisterhooves Social, had moved her rather profoundly. Her sister meant the world to her, and so did her parents really. They supported her and allowed her to achieve what she had.

"Carousel Boutique" was the third thing she wrote. Her business and her home, the place that she had put so very much time and effort into running and maintaining, was needless to say closer to her heart than just about anything. Her work was such an important facet of her life, and through all the stress of it all, the rewards made it all the while worth it.

The fourth word to hit the fabric was "fashion." Here she intended the greater world of fashion. The good, the bad, the ups, the downs, the ponies involved, the dresses themselves, everything about the industry. It was her calling, and thus it was so very integral to her world.

Rarity gave pause when it came to the fifth word she was to write. Fame, luxury, gemstones, there were a lot of things Rarity liked, but compared to the others already listed, they didn't seem quite as important to her. What the unicorn ultimately decided on was not a thing that could be pointed to as clearly as the others; instead it was a broader concept, "making others happy." Nothing was more important to the Element of Generosity than, through her actions and her craft, pleasing other ponies. She expected nothing less than perfection from herself, and the primary reason was that she genuinely cared to make every single customer as happy as they could be with what she presented to them. She was even willing to compromise her art to satisfy her customers if she needed to, as her friends all surely remembered.

"There, all done," she said as she placed the brush aside and nodded to her friend. "What now?"

[Rosewind]

Pinkie smiled as she watched Rarity write on the already-stained tablecloth. Amidst splotches of ink and lemonade stains, she saw her friend scrawl her list of things in bright sunny yellow paint -- with excellent hoofwriting, no less! "Friends, family, and fashion...the three 'Fs' huh?!" Pinkie gigglesnorted. "Heeheehee, hahaha! Snork! Those are safe picks! Aah let's see...your Carousel Boutique and making others happy! Yup, those are all connected, huh!?" Pinkie's mood shifted suddenly. She stomped her hoof on the table. Pumpkin blinked at her curiously. "Now that's all done, we have to prime the foal!"

Pinkie held her hooves up. The baby unicorn's face drained again. What was her foalsitter up to? She closed her eyes, her face twisted in anxious fright. "Kachoochie-ka-choochiecoochiecoo!" Pinkie giggled, tickling the baby. Pumpkin gasped for air as the crazy pink pony slathered her in hoof tickles, tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks. "Eeeh! Heeheehee! Hahahaha! Hoohohoohoheehee! AAaahhhhh!" Satisfied, Pinkie stood back. Little Pumpkin gasped for air. "Now the fun part!" Pinkie said, scooping up the blueberry-wheat pie. Something needed to be said about blueberry-wheat pies. There were apple pies, chocolate pies, ice cream pies, hay pies, and zapapple pies, but none were more messy, treacherous, or gooey to eat than a blueberry-wheat pie -- not to mention the staining of the thick, concentrated blueberry juice. Devourers of said pie were easy to pick out by the blue stains that subsisted around their mouth and tongue for days.

Madame Pinkie placed this pie square in front of Pumpkin. Oh yes she did. The unicorn foal gave Pinkie a "You're kidding me, right?" look. "Go ahead, cutie cake! Snackie time!" Pumpkin gingerly tapped the crust with one of her little hooves. It was brown and flaky with whole stalks of wheat poking out the top, hiding the messy contents within. Without another second thought, Pumpkin plunged both of her little hooves into the pastry with all of the reckless abandon one could hope for. She giggled, scooping the staining, messy filling into her little mouth. Blueberry goo and pie crust FLEW all over the table and surrounding area. Some of it splattered right in Pinkie's face. She didn't seem to mind -- or even notice -- as it dripped down her cheek. "Oops, I should have warned you it might be a teensy bit messy! ...AAAAH! DUCK!"

[RarityDash]

"Friends, family, and fashion...the three 'Fs' huh?! Heeheehee, hahaha! Snork! Those are safe picks! Aah let's see...your Carousel Boutique and making others happy! Yup, those are all connected, huh!? Now that's all done, we have to prime the foal!"

Rarity smiled softly as Pinkie examined her writing. Her smile turned to concern at the mention of "priming the foal". She was really somewhat concerned about what this might entail. She just watched with a mixture of confusion and anxiety as Pinkie started tickling the infant and then lifted the blueberry pie she had brought out as well.

Reminding herself that Pinkie had called this a "piefoal reading", Rarity's mind began to race with the possibilities of what exactly Pinkie was going to do with this pie and this foal. She laughed awkwardly, partly out of fear, not sure if she shouldn't try and stop whatever it was that was going to happen. When all Pinkie did was site the foal down to eat the pie, Rarity relaxed, figuring this wouldn't be so bad.

"Oops, I should have warned you it might be a teensy bit messy! ...AAAAH! DUCK!"

As prior stated, Rarity didn't spend much time with foals or know very much about them. When the infant pony started digging into the pie, she wasn't expecting projectiles. The warning had come much too late too, as two large globs of pie filling flew right in Rarity's direction. One landed in her perfectly coiffed mane, while the other hit her right in the side of her face. The moist and messy feel made Rarity's skin crawl as she hurriedly tried to user her hooves to get it to go away. She gave a sharp cry of displeasure, as she struggled against the sticky blue mess. In the end her, mane was wet, messy and smelled of blueberries and a large streak of blue could be seen all across her face, staining her white coat.

Rarity glanced at her friend, with a critical look in her eyes, resisting the urge to become angry. Closing her eyes and stomping her hooves a little, she settled herself to a calm and breathed in. In a voice laced with just a hint of irritation, Rarity spoke, "Now what, Pinkie?"

[Rosewind]

Pinkie Pie held a hoof to her mouth, stifling a giggle as she saw some of the lovely, gooey pie filling fly into Rarity's face. Pumpkin was so coated with blueberry goo, the shade of her coat actually changed to a lovely purple! She inwardly knew what Mrs. Cake was going to say to her later, and she inwardly knew it was she who was ultimately going to give Pumpkin her bath after. "I think it looks great on you, Rarity! It really matches well with your eyeshadow and mane!" She quickly changed the subject as she saw her friend's patience quickly running dry. "Let's take a lookie!" Pinkie gently lifted the pie-coated foal off the center of the table. Pumpkin squirmed, sending more pie mess splattering. "Sshh! It's okay sweetie!" She set Pumpkin on her lap and smoothed her little ducktail, looking to the bits of pie on the table.

"Madame Pinkie shall now read the pie goo of fate! Piefoal reading is surprisingly accurate, messy as it is! Heehee! I once used it to figure out...oh, look at that!" Pinkie pointed to where Rarity had painted "friends" on the table in her neat hoofscript. "See that!? Six pieces of crust, attached with little tendrils of blueberry slime! That means we share a deep connection with each other, and the other girls!" Pinkie smiled at the unicorn. "Family! See that big piece of crust and the little one? I think that means you and your little sister are much closer than you've ever been in your entire lives! I see two bigger crust pieces farther from your writing, which suggests a disconnect with your parents." Pumpkin raised her hoof and smeared pie on Pinkie's chin. She didn't seem to notice. Pinkie's eyes moved back and forth over the remaining three notes on the messy tablecloth. "Fashion!" Pinkie nodded knowingly. "I think this suggests you're going to make a dress out of pie! I mean golly, look at it!" Pinkie pointed to a piece of pie crust, which looked, amazingly, like a dress. "These last two are difficult to make out. Hmmm..." Pinkie looked up at her friend. "Are you okay? If you want some pie, there's a teeny bit left in the tin that Pumpkin didn't use for your reading! Feel free to stuff it in your face if you'd like! Hahaha!"