[Sweet Apple Acres, Open-PM, Invite, Friends, Family] Apple Bloom's Big Day!

[Bellosh]

Ingrid Marie had originally planned on heading straight back to Canterlot once the party ceased, but how could she say no to Cheerilee’s offer? Not just because the school teacher promised wild stories about pet zoo jousting or some awfully-distant cousin of Ingrid’s that she only heard of just now, but because Cheerilee was genuinely a very nice pony. If it wasn’t for the earth pony’s unwavering dedication to look after those inebriated foals, the counselor would have probably thrown in the towel (as in the one also graciously provided by the school teacher) long ago. So even if the local inn was no tropical paradise, it would nonetheless be a lovely place for the duo of educators to wind down after all the chaos and cleaning up.

[colour=#008080]“Why, that would be a splendid idea Cheerilee,”[/colour] Ms. Marie happily affirmed; [colour=#008080]“I’ve got all sorts of stories to tell you too. Have you ever had a dragon suddenly grow to adult-size in your classroom? Or maybe instead of that, your students got afflicted by prismatic sickness from a miscast spell? Heh... they can happen; only at Celestia’s School!”[/colour] As Cheerilee started to pick up trash with her mouth, Ingrid put herself to work by levitating trash and putting it all in an orderly pile.

Meanwhile, it seemed like the troublemaking filly from earlier in the party, Haywire, was somehow the only foal left not only awake and aware, but also one of the few ponies left to salvage the barn’s interior. After Cheerilee showered the rust-coloured filly with praise, Ingrid asked the purple mare; [colour=#008080]“So this Haywire; I assume she’s one of the ponies that... you have many interesting stories about?”[/colour] Chuckling, Ingrid summoned an aura of telekinetic magic around the dozing Apple Strudel as the magic counselor started the process of levitating him off to the side.....

[RarityDash]

[colour=#ED458B]"Are you kiddin' me? You can put coffee in a coffee cake! Sugarcube Corner gets freshly roasted coffee from a pony named Breve Bean that grows his own beans! Micro brews are all the rage, and they have more buzzzzzz to them! Teeheeheehee! Buzz buzz buzz! [/colour][colour=#ED458B]Let's make a ...heehee...bee-autiful sugary and caffinated cake!" [/colour]

Rarity sighed. For her knowledge a coffee cake was only a cake to be served with coffee, but she supposed Pinkie had a point. That didn't mean the cake couldn't be flavoured with coffee too. Of course Pinkie would know everything when it comes to cakes. Sugarcube Corner also did seem to produce some rather creative flavour combinations at times. This was probably pretty normal by their standards. She nodded.

[colour=#663399]"Of course you can, Pinkie. I just meant..."[/colour] she trailed off, not sure it was worth the effort. She turned back to see Dash return with the eggs, smiling at her quietly some. That Carrot Fields stallion from before was with her.

​

[colour=#FF8C00]“Ummm… hello there”.[/colour]

[colour=#663399]"Yes, hello again, Mister FIelds,"[/colour] she sad nodding to him. [colour=#663399]"It's... nice to see you again,"[/colour] she added somewhat unsteadily.

She was a little anxious about being seen so disheveled and untidy by someone who wasn't one of her closest friends. Applejack and Dash seemed to know to know him though, so maybe it was okay. She gave an awkward laugh and then added, [colour=#663399]"I wasn't aware you knew so many of my close friends!"[/colour] she smiled and shook her head, hoping she wasn't being too awkward in her off, less than fabulous mood. [colour=#663399]'Though, then again, I suppose that's why you're here... at little Apple Bloom's party."[/colour]

​

[Lux]

As he slept he dreamt that a dark shadowy cloud creature was attacking Ponyville causing all the townfolk to run away in fear. Then Light, now a stallion in his dreams, stood to face the swirling black smoked creature with a look of defiance on his face.

[colour=#DAA520]"I will stop you with my light," [/colour]he said in his dreams, which translated to some unintelligible mumble in reality.

Then the dream version of Light sent out a beam of white light which pierced through the shadowy figure cauing it to scream in terror as it dissipated into nothingness.

As he dreamt this Light's horn suddenly glowed and a bright beam of light shot from it. Of course it was harmless to ponies except for maybe blinding a few temporarily.

[Rosewind]

Pinkie trundled around the kitchen, gathering various ingredients to throw into the cake. She paused as Carrot entered the kitchen with Rainbow. She waved a hoof warmly, dropping several sacks of sugar. They hit the wooden floor with heavy thumps. [colour=#ED458B]"Oooooh hiiiii there Carroty!." [/colour]She shook flour from her curly, pink mane like a wet dog extracting water from her fur, causing billows of the white powder to cloud up the kitchen. As the dust cleared, Pinkie Pie appeared right in Carrot's face...literally. She narrowed her large, aqua-blue eyes at the stallion, burrowing deeply into his very soul. She pressed her muzzle to his. It would appear from a distance that the pair were kissing, but their lips did not touch.

An awkward silence followed. Pinkie lowered her voice to a dangerous murmur.

[colour=#ED458B]"There can never be enough cake," [/colour]she said softly, her warm breath -- scented like the inside of a Nightmare Night candy bucket -- puffing over the stallion's face.

[colour=#ED458B]"NEVER EVER ENOUGH! EV~ER!" [/colour]She did a playful back flip and tripped over a sugar bag, landing on her back with her hooves up in the air. [colour=#ED458B]"Waah~OoooOH! Heeheeheehahahaha!" [/colour]She looked up at the stallion. [colour=#ED458B]"Lucky you! You get to help all of us girls bake some yummy stuff!" [/colour]Pinkie grabbed a broom and offered it to Carrot with a large smile. [colour=#ED458B]"[/colour][colour=#ED458B]You can start by cleaning up all this flour! I have no idea how it got everywhere!" [/colour]Pinkie glanced to Applejack. [colour=#ED458B]"We've got sugar and eggs, where do ya have all the coffee?!"[/colour]

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]As Carrot greeted with the other mares in the kitchen, Rarity seemed a little unaware of the bond between Carrot and Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh. Still, this silly like filly's party was probably more for Purple than it was Carrot. Carrot and Applejack were friends, but she was sure Carrot would have better things to do on the farm then to attend a foal's party, especially on of this type. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Oh no, Carrot and I are friends, but he's probably just here to support his sister."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Applejack stared at Carrot for a short moment before she realized something in her thought process. She gasped. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Ah know! How about your sis comes and helps up make some cake and treats? I bet she and Pinkie would get along very well, with them being the party bakin' types and all. And don't worry about the ruined cake. We'll have plenty of time to make something, maybe even better than the original! You think she would like that?"[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Before Carrot could really respond to Applejack, Pinkie was in his personal space, before whispering strange nonsense and bouncing away again. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Uh, yes Pinkie, they should be in canisters stored in the pantry over there." [/colour][colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#ff0000]Oh no! Ah just told Pinkie where we keep the coffee.[/colour]

​

[Davroth]

Nursery opened her eyes. She was dizzy, and she had no idea what happened. She didn't even really remember anything past arriving here at Sweet Apple Acres and giving Applebloom her gift. Everything else was fuzzy. She did feel like she had slept a lot, though.

As she made a few awkward steps, she spotted Miss Cheerilee in the crowd of adults, clearly the right pony to inform when one didn't feel so well. And she fit that description perfectly at the moment. She stumbled forward, slowly getting closer to them, trying very hard not to stumble. This was so much harder then it should be, and her head was still spinning. What had happened?

The group of adults were now in speaking distance to her, and she brought up considerable concentration to mutter:[colour=#dda0dd] "M-Miss Cheerilee? I'm s-sorry, but I'm not f-feeling so well. I t-think I'm ill."[/colour]

[SteelEagle]

A filly's head could take so many blows and slams, especially Apple Bloom's. They were a surprisingly hardy little creature, Earth ponies, and among that species was a particularly hardy subgroup called the Apple family. They could take anything Equestria and beyond threw at them and come back with a smile, but every last one of them had a weakness. Applejack was ticklish to a nearly absurd degree and little Apple Bloom couldn't hold her delicious, nutritious fun for the whole family cider. It had seemed an odd thing to succumb too, but then again, everything seemed odd to the filly who slowly pulled herself away from a sleep that had been divided into many fractured dreams. As her eyes fluttered open on the barn floor, a jackhammer migraine played it's deadly tune directly into her brain, and for once in her life she wished she could ignore the bright sun of the day and sleep for a dozen or so more hours.

Well, it wasn't the sun's light. It was Guiding Light's horn that at the very moment she risked a glance up went off like an overcharged magical sparkler, blinding her and sending her hooves up to her face.

[colour=#ff0000]"Ahh, sweet Celestia's mercy that ain't fair at all!"[/colour] She hollered in shock, shaking her head three times in an effort to shake it all away. A partial failure; as she allowed her eyes to flutter open once more, dark spots seemed to shimmer in and out of existence and she pulled herself up groggily.

[colour=#ff0000]"Uggh, it feels like Ah've been put under Big Mac's plow. Gosh, mah jaw hurts! And mah head..." [/colour]She moaned as she rubbed them in order, Applejack's slap playing mightily into her current state. She couldn't really remember much of anything with the exception of a party and some sour cider, but the specifics were at best evading her and at worst buried under layers of inebriation and shame. But she had enough faculties left to her to try and piece things together the trappings of a party, her friends, and worried adults. Yep, most definitely still her party, which seemed mighty postponed.

[colour=#ff0000]"Miss Cheerilee, what the hay's goin' on?"[/colour]

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash blinked a bit, looking around at her friends ... there was a whole lot of awkardness going around, most of it focused around Carrot. And as Applejack and Pinkie got a bit close to Carrot, Dash found it weirdly annoying. She didn't even know why. Well, she hoped the awkwardness wasn't anything serious. Carrot seemed pretty cool. She trotted over to grab down a bowl next to Rarity, and tossed half a dozen eggs into it whole, then grabbed a whisk and started whipping at the eggs, mixing them and their fragments of shells together in a mess as she turned to look back at her three friends.

[colour=#0000cd]"Heh... "[/colour] she grinned a little aside to Rarity. [colour=#0000cd]"Not bad, is he? Love a stallion in a kilt,"[/colour] she said lowly, a grin on her muzzle - totally ignoring her earlier teasing about it being a skirt. "[colour=#0000cd]When I was a little filly, I got an REA recruitment poster of Cirrus McCloud for the wall of my bedroom." [/colour] Not that it'd necessarily *left* her bedroom wall ... and it'd since been joined by REA posters of several other Wonderbolts stallions. [colour=#0000cd]"and he wasn't wearing his Wonderbolts uniform in it!"[/colour]

She paused a moment, frowning at Rarity's awkward expression. [colour=#0000cd]"Hey, somethin' wrong?"[/colour]

​

Sweetie Belle would never admit it to any of the foals in her class, but she rather liked a little naptime now and then. The day was just too long sometimes, and the warm afternoon sun just would always make her want to curl up in a sunbeam like Opalescence. And when she got into that muzzy, sleepy state, it was hard to get her to wake up. As Apple Bloom started to stand up, and move around, taking assessment of her many injuries, Sweetie Belle just clung to Apple Bloom's hind leg like it was her favorite stuffed animal, giving a soft little sleepy giggle and mumbling lazily, [colour=#800080]"Nono, you use the paperclip and the apple slice on the BLUE wire... *mumble mumble* thirteen hugs for Apple bloom ... " a little strand of drool dripped from the corner of her mouth ... [/colour]

​

[Lux]

The sound of Apple Blom's cry nearby suddenly awoke Guiding Light from his heroic dream causing him to sit bolt upright and look around.

[colour=#DAA520]"Who what where? Is the town under attach by a dark cloud monster?"[/colour]

He looked to see that he was back in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. There was still the remnants of cake and other food around the barn and lingering in the air. There were still a couple of very concerned loooking adults and still some fellow clasmates there, some asleep and others wide awake. He saw the strangest thing: Sweetie Belle hanging onto Apple Bloom's leg for dear life, like if she let go something would happen.

It was then that Guiding Light noiticed another classmate in distress, a filly named Nursery Rhyme.

[colour=#DAA520]"Are you ok? You don't look so well? Then again, I don't feel so well either." [/colour]

[Rosewind]

Pinkie was gone before Applejack could understand the true gravity of her error. She trotted across the kitchen and made her way deep into the pantry of Sweet Apple Acres. It was a homely and well-stocked area, replete with jarred goodies, zap apple jam from long-past seasons, barrels of aging cider, bulging sacks of vegetables, grains, flour, and --most importantly -- sugar. A few cobweb spiders had taken residence in the rafters -- they quickly skittered to safety as the pink pony bounced deeper into the storage area. She tapped her chin, scanning every shelf with her large, blue eyes. [colour=#ED458B]"Nope...double nope, triple nope, and quadruple nope! Where the hay is the coffee in here? This place is bigger than Sugarcube Corner's pantry!"[/colour]

The pink mare looked up, up, up...on the highest shelf of the highest part of the room, sat a brown burlap sack of coffee. Several wooden shelves lined with various jars were underneath, along with a huge -- very very big -- oaken barrel. She ran her hoof over the wood, making out the letters "molasses" stamped on the side in aging black ink. Pinkie Pie shrugged and climbed on top. She stretched as far as she could, flicking her curly pink tail. Her front hooves just barely touched the sack of coffee. She leaned further, groaning. She felt the barrel of molasses move underneath her hooves. She held her breath, hoping she wasn't about to send herself off the top. Her nerves settled, she made another grab for the coffee sack. [colour=#ED458B]"Al~most there!" [/colour]She made one more lean, and managed to hook the burlap sack with her hoof. The molasses barrel she stood on leaned. [colour=#ED458B]"Wah-oh! No no no! Stay there, barrel! Good barrel, nice barrel!" [/colour]It seemed as if -- just for a moment -- the barrel would listen to her. Gravity had other plans.

The barrel toppled over. Pinkie set the coffee sack on her head, hearing the beans inside rustling. The barrel bounced down from the shelf -- with Pinkie on top -- and she danced to stay. The molasses barrel rolled through the pantry with a large, thunderous crash. She could see the light of the kitchen ahead. Pinkie ducked, barely missing a wooden rafter where her head had been moments before. Her hooves worked faster and faster, the barrel beneath gaining momentum as it rolled for the kitchen. Pinkie cleared her lungs as she danced on top of the rolling barrel:

[colour=#ED458B]"MAKE WAY EVERYPONY, RUNAWAY MOLASSES BARREL WITH A PINKIE ON TOP! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"[/colour]

[brianblackberry]

[colour=#800080]Cheerilee[/colour]

As Cheerilee picked up a few of the ribbons and mugs off the floor, was starting to feel better about the party,it could be a success still and she wasn't alone in this, she had help and perhaps a new friend. Speaking of which, the schoolteacher mare turned toward Ingrid and smiled, [colour=#800080]“you had dragons in your classroom?! What in Celestia’s name for, and how did one grow to full size? I have to admit, that does beat anything that has happened in my classroom, and we had everything from fires to magic potions!”[/colour] Cheerilee just laughed, it was all just part of the job caring for the next generation of ponies; truth was she never met a foal who was truly bad, just overly excited, rambunctious, secretly scared, or misguided.

Cheerilee gave Haywire a hug as Ingrid singled the little red filly out as particularly worthy of tale. [colour=#800080]“Haywire just likes to keep things interesting, although she can be a daily hooffull, her heart is in the right place.”[/colour] Cheerilee gave a cheerful grin as she turned to her student and winked, [colour=#800080]“thank you Haywire for helping; I guess all those times helping the school really paid off!”[/colour]

Haywire wasn’t the only one that managed to keep away from the cider; there was Purple Haze, who also happened to have the one remaining food item somehow not destroyed. Cheerilee trotted up to the green earth filly with a proud smile. [colour=#800080]“Smart move protecting that cake Purple, I don’t suppose you mind putting up on the table and giving a hoof with some of the others? You and Haywire could get some ice water and juice for them, so we all can make sure they’ll fully recover; we have a party to throw after all, and your cake will be the centerpiece!!”[/colour]

Each of the foals who did have the "special cider" were slowly waking up, hopefully with some fresh water and juice, the party could go on, although in an improvised way. [colour=#800080]“Well Applebloom, I am afraid that you all had some bad cider, well bad for little fillies such as yourself, but everything will be alright, you'll see. It is your special day after all and every little pony deserves their special day!”[/colour] Although it looked like some of the foals weren’t doing so well, especially the little nurse, Nursery Rhyme, whom Cheerilee slide under and lifted up onto her back so the little curly maned filly could rest there. [colour=#800080]"Nursery, do you need to be taken home, or to the doctor? Or do you think you will be fine with some ice cold water and juice and a little more rest?" [/colour]

[colour=#FF8C00]Carrot Fields[/colour]

There was one thing that was consistent among the four mares in the room with Carrot Fields, they were all stunning. They all acted different towards him though; Applejack and Dash were friendly enough, but likely because they knew him. The white unicorn though appeared standoffish, was it his kilt? Did she think it was a "skirt" too? Well at least she was polite, I wonder what she normally looked like.. Without all the mess that is. Probably really hot. Then there was the pink one, the one he would like to give a piece of his mind, the one who then suddenly blanketed the kitchen in a mist of white.

Carrot waved his hoof to clear the air around him, before he could even finish, there Pinkie Pie was right in his face, muzzle to muzzle as she looked straight into him with those adorable blue eyes. Carrot just blushed fiercely as she said something about never enough cake, he couldn't say anything in response his brain only teasing him with a single thought, [colour=#ff8c00]'Wooldnae ye loch tae kiss 'er reit noo?' [/colour] Carrot shook his head. Oh Luna, why did she have to be so cute? He was supposed to be mad at her. Fortunately she flew off just as suddenly, ending the most awkward situation for him.

Carrot initially didn't know what to say as he held the broom Pinkie gave him until he remembered Applejack's suggestion,[colour=#ff8c00]"aye, Ah can ask Purple tae help in haur, she is a reit genius in the kitchen! You remember aw those station treats she made Applejack? Aam sure she can make aw sorts ay sweet treats haur wit' ye! Plus she has uir cake out in th' main room still, so sae can have twice th' cake, but is coffee cake really guid for foals?"[/colour]

At least Carrot Fields began to feel better about the situation, maybe there was no need to be upset at all; besides how could he be? Look at all the hawtness around him! He was about to suggest to Applejack to be the one to ask his sister when the pink pony came rolling back into the kitchen, on a molasses barrel no less! [colour=#ff8c00]"Sweit Luna nae!"[/colour] Carrot had to act! Knowing his luck, she'd roll it right into the main room, into Purple's hay fort, and right over his sister's cake!

There was only one thing he could do, get in front of the barrel and somehow stop it! Unfortunately in the moment Carrot had to react he could only think of one way to do that, head butting the barrel to keep it from rolling forward. With his head down and a gallop, he did exactly that, unfortunately he hit it a little too hard and sent himself tumbling backwards while the barrel went bouncing towards the back exit and any pony who may have been in the way...

[Bellosh]

As Ingrid Marie continued to clean up the barn floor with Cheerilee, the beige unicorn couldn’t resist teasing the schoolteacher with selective information. [colour=#008080]“Well Cheerilee,”[/colour] Ingrid tantalizingly explained;[colour=#008080] “How a full-grown dragon materialized in a lecture hall is actually a very long story... and believe me, I’ve got more stories too. It’s probably best to save them all for the inn, mmkay...”[/colour] With all the tales that Ingrid guessed the two of them combined could share with one another, Counselor Marie wouldn't be surprised if the two of them stayed up til dawn (and them some) talking about all the crazy, annoying, and blissful experiences they've had as educators.

Ingrid simply gave Haywire a nod of respect as the filly received a thank you from her teacher. Observing that the other foals were starting to wake up from their slumber, the counselor doubled her efforts to finish cleaning things up. With any luck, she’d be finished before all the other little ones became awake and aware.....

[Mojo]

Before Granny Smith left the barn to help bake up some coffee cake, she helped Uncle Apple Strudel over to the door.

[colour=#00FF00]"Yur comin' with me, dear brother of mine!" [/colour]the determined lime green mare neighed. [colour=#00FF00]"If'n yur fine enough to help with the bakin', then I'll need ya in the kitchen. If not, yur gonna lay down fer a spell in the guest bedroom so y'all kin git better."[/colour]

[colour=#006400]"But I am fine, mein sister," [/colour]the groggy bearded stallion muttered. [colour=#006400]"You vill see! I can bake vith dee best of ponies! Und if youj like, I can play mein tuba as vee vork!"[/colour]

[colour=#00FF00]"No way, Strudel, can't ya see we all suffered enough today?" [/colour]Granny Smith asked as she continued to help him over to the house. Meanwhile, Haywire was happy to receive a hug from her teacher and compliments from others for the things she did today.

[colour=#B22222]"Thank ya, Miss Cheerilee," [/colour]the rust coloured filly said, [colour=#B22222]"y'know, helpin' others makes me feel good too!"[/colour]

Suddenly, her conversation was broken by Pinkie Pie zooming past them rolling on top of a barrel.

[colour=#B22222]"HAY PINKIE PIE! THAT LOOKS LIKE FUN! I WANNA RIDE THAT BARREL NEXT!"[/colour]

[Davroth]

The little nurse-to-be only noticed very peripherally that there was actually a lot of commotion around at this very special birthday party. She tried to think, which turned out to be harder then usual. She felt dizzy, and a little light headed. It was kind of comforting, though, to be on Miss Cheerilee's back instead of the slightly damp grass. She could feel herself shiver lightly regardless. Which was weird, because she didn't feel cold... she actually felt a little too warm.

Usually, Nursery would have taken any excuse to get to the hospital, even as a patient. She felt very much at home there, after all. But today was a little different. She had looked forward to Applebloom's birthday. In fact, she had declined her usual volunteer work for the day to be here. So the last thing she wanted was to leave now, especially since she had already missed part of it by napping surprisingy. So she would just tell Miss Cheerilee that she felt fine and that she didn't need to go to the hospital, or had to be taken home. Okay, ready? Here goes.

[colour=#dda0dd]"I d...dun wa-wanna g..gooooo...."[/colour] She wailed. It had sounded a lot more coherent in her head. [colour=#dda0dd]"I'm o-okay,.. you c-can p-put m-me dow-down..."[/colour] She said to the purple mare, trying a concincing smile, but being betrayeled by her face muscles, settling for an expression between light worry and tiredness.

[Lux]

Nursery Rhyme looked too sick to respond, especially not to Guiding Light's question. The stallion looked around to see if his other classmates were ok when suddenly he saw it: a bareel that he could have swiorn was about the same size as him, maybe even bigger, rolling right towards him. He kept running as the rolling pile of wood threatened to turn him into a pony pancake. At the last moment he jumped out of the way as the barrel rolled by, barely missing the colt.

[colour=#DAA520]"I hope I don't see another rolling barrel coming at me in my life," [/colour]he said as he collapsed to the floor in exhaustion.

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]With Carrot fields lightened mood and mentioning of Purple Hazes joys for cooking, Applejack smiled and nodded at the recalling of what Carrot was speaking of. And then Pinkie Pie, with an incredible record of four whole seconds of sifting through pantry goods, final threw something out of it that would put other ponies in the same room in danger. As a barrel of molasses came hurling towards Applejack, the orange pony double took her eyes focused on the accident and then attempted to burst away with speed. But before her hind legs could push off the wooden floors of the kitchen, Applejack's yellow tied tail was caught in the roll of the barrel, and continued to pin her down to the ground and steam roll her as Pinkie rolled across her backside. With a thud, the barrel snapped off of Applejack's poll and shot her hat away from her head, before the roll was complete. But then, after the attack of molasses, The barrel was knocked back by Carrot Field's head-butt which sent the barrel hurling back towards Applejack. Looking up briefly, Applejack ducked her face and remained her body to the ground as flat as it was still laying, and the barrel was shot towards the open back door of the kitchen.

Applejack got up quickly and started chasing the barrel out of the kitchen. The barrel started rolling towards the descending foothills of the orchard. Applejack grabbed a rope hanging on a nearby fence and started tying a lasso as she ran towards the molasses. And with a might twist of her mouth and head, the swirling motion of the rope was thrown at the barrel and wrapped itself around it. Applejack tugged on it to tighten the rope and bring the barrel to a stop.

She pulled the barrel towards her and lifted the barrel onto her back, brought it back to the kitchen just inside the doorway, and set the barrel down on one of its flat ends. Applejack never though she would be flattened and have to chase molasses. Without proper context, the story would fill a smile around a future family and friends campfire. But for now, Applejack gave a straight disappointed face at Pinkie. Then she looked around at everypony else. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Anyone hurt?"[/colour]

​

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash was letting out a soft laugh. [colour=#0000cd]"Well, if his sister is as good with food as all that, maybe I could trade places with her," she said softly to Rarity. "I could go take her place. Like one of the royal guards, who never move and just stand there and stare..." [/colour]

Ugh. That sounded boring. Even worse than-

[colour=#0000cd]"LOOK OUT!"[/colour] she cried, leaping at Rarity and knocking her out of the way of the tumbling barrel. The two mares landed in a heap on the floor, a puff of the flour Pinkie had been flinging around rising up around them, washing out Dash's bright colours, and Rarity's mane. Rarity could feel a pat of butter *squish* underneath her.

Dash looked down at Rarity in concern, though this time from a couple inches again, and resting atop of her, and asked again, [colour=#0000cd]"Um ... are you all right?"[/colour]

​

[Rosewind]

Pinkie Pie balanced herself on top of the rolling barrel as it entered the kitchen, waving to her friends as they gazed at her in shock. She felt a sharp jolt as the barrel was punted by Carrot in a different direction. The sudden change in direction caused her to fly off the barrel. She spread her arms wide in a swan dive as she sailed across the kitchen, did a midair spin, her curly pink mane and tail swirling around. She landed in a large bowl of eggs with a large, gooey splat, plot first. Egg goo sailed in every direction! She awkwardly stood up, the wooden bowl firmly attached to her rump. She wiggled her flank, trying her best to extract herself, with no luck. She hunched over, bits of egg and shells dripping down her backside. She noticed Applejack run from the kitchen and return a moment later with the molasses barrel, now under control. Rarity and Dashie looked a little more pale than usual. Flour seemed to be settling across the kitchen. This was nothing compared to various incidents that occurred at Sugarcube Corner almost daily, so it was business as usual for her.

The pink party pony looked up at her friends, grinning awkwardly. [colour=#ED458B]"Oops! My bad! Is anypony hurt?! I'm so, so sorry!" [/colour]She squee-grinned awkwardly in AJ's direction, her ears flat. [colour=#ED458B]"I got the coffee, AJ! Actually, where IS the coffee?"[/colour] She lifted her flank (with the bowl still attached and dripping eggs) and glanced underneath herself, then scanned the kitchen. [colour=#ED458B]"That's really weird! I wonder where the beans are? Have you seen a big bag of beans, Carrot? Anypony?!"[/colour]

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze looked up to Miss Cheerilee, but she was already on her way to talking to other little foals - Purple Haze leaned out of her little fort, peering at the broken table, the two halves slanting down to the ground beneath them, toppled and snapped by the chaos of earlier. Put her precious cake on THAT?!

[colour=#ff8c00]"Ach, Nae thankee, Miss Cheerilee!"[/colour] she called to the teacher. [colour=#ff8c00]"Oi think Oi'll jes' keep an eye open here, roit then? That dinnae look tae stable there, that it dinnae!"[/colour]

Yeah, if foals wanted cake, they could come on over this way, and she'd pass out slices through a little hole in her fort. The only one she'd let in would be Apple Bloom, to blow out the candles!

​

[RarityDash]

(ooc: thanks to Bramble for the ideas. )

[colour=#FF0000]"Oh no, Carrot and I are friends, but he's probably just here to support his sister."[/colour]

Rarity nodded. She definitely understood the feeling of wanting to support one's sister. She hadn't always. Applejack had helped her realize just how important it could be. Now she was a mare who would even endure the indignity of roughing it out in the wilderness on a camping trip if it was important to Sweetie. All the same, something in Carrot's eyes made Rarity pretty sure there was more to it than just supporting his; he genuinely wanted to be there. If she didn't know any better, he just might have fancied one of the mare's attending. He did seem pretty affected when Pinkie suddenly invaded his space. Her perhaps? Rarity didn't really know.

She went back to her task. She hummed quietly as she continued to help with the cake. She spent several moments contently minding herself until the sounds of commotion reacher her ears. Almost immediately Rarity could rightly assume this was very much Pinkie Pie related commotion. Almost instinctively she did her best to step out of the way, moving toward the back door of the kitchen.

​

[colour=#ED458B]"MAKE WAY EVERYPONY, RUNAWAY MOLASSES BARREL WITH A PINKIE ON TOP! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"[/colour]

Rarity was right to move out of the way, as soon the announced spectacle came stampeding toward them. Sure enough it was Pinkie Pie on top of a barrel of molasses. At the sight Rarity panicked some. Today was cursed. She was resigned to that already. All the same she didn't want it. She didn't want the barrel to smash over her head and cover her head to hoof in thick, sticky messy molasses as she was sure it would find a way to somehow do. No. She needed to avoid further mess at all cost. Any more would push her past a breaking point.

She wasn't sure how to move though. She was positive that no matter where she did move, it would be exactly where the barrel ended up. That was how it worked right? She skipped a heartbeat when Carrot quite gallantly rushed to alter the course of the barrel as Applejack rushed toward it. Unfortunately, as predicted, the barrel was directed right towards her. She was frozen. It seemed like an inevitability. Nope. She wasn't just going to get covered in sticky mess, she was going to get pummeled with a likely quite heavy barrel and all she could do was just stare.

​

[colour=#0000CD]"LOOK OUT!"[/colour]

Rainbow Dash had a way of always saving Rarity when she needed it. Usually the circumstances for some reason seemed to involve her falling to her death rather than anything involving barrels. All the same it was something Rarity noticed. Dash was so fast and so bold; she really was the sort to play a gallant hero, ready to swoop in and save the damsel. Perhaps this was something that leant to the baffling confusion Rarity sometimes felt. Whatever the case, Dash had rushed to her rescue again and for yet another time she was pinned by the rainbow-maned pegasus.

This time, however, the implications of any of it were not what was on the front of Rarity's mind. Nope. There was no time to feel vulnerable, conflicted or confused. There was no time for any of it as Rarity's mane was now full of flour and, worse yet, her back was now covered in butter. She grimaced at the unpleasantly viscid feel. Her mind went blank. No more. She had wanted no more. Heavy breaths started as she wordlessly pushed Dash off of her. She had to do something about this now.

Rarity was no Twilight Sparkle; few ponies even approached that level of expertise. She was still a unicorn though. She still had some tricks up her perpetually dirtied sleeves. Contrary to what some might assume, she had learned some convenient magics to help make herself and others look glamorous. One of her most advanced spells was something that could set wrong these entirely unjust happenings. It was a tricky one, and without proper focus one could come out of it looking quite silly, but if performed right with just enough fabric a mare could emerge from the swirling magic well-dressed and immaculately groomed. It wasn't something Rarity commonly used, as she had far easier control when she styled with her own hooves, but it was quick and she had had the confidence to successfully performed it before a crowd of onlookers at least once.

At that moment, Rarity wasn't even thinking consequences. Success or failure, only getting clean was on her mind. [colour=#663399]"This... is the w-worst..."[/colour] she murmured desperately as she pulled down a nearby curtain, not even coherent enough to think of asking AJ for permission. Her horn then began to shine brighter than usual. She closed her eyes and considered how she wanted to look. With concentration and if the fabric was enough, the magic would make it be so. The curtain moved toward her swiftly, ready to fabulously transform the pony it connected with...

​

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash blinked, at the look on Rarity's face, and the glow of the magic. [colour=#0000cd]"Hey, there,"[/colour] she said in surprise, starting to get up off of Rarity. [colour=#0000cd]"I'm sorry, I thought ... What are you-"[/colour]

The curtain hit her and a bright light surrounded her. Dash floated up into the air a moment, briefly lost in a bright light. As it cleared, she settled back down onto all four hooves, blinking in surprise. The curtain had wrapped around her as a white gown, an elegant grecian over-the-shoulder dress that draped over one flank but not the other, leaving all the colours of her tail to splay over the draped folds of the white fabric. A little shiny metal pin of a lightning bolt fastened the white gown at her shoulder. Her coat was clean, and her mane ... her mane had grown, sleek and draped down to almost her hooves, with two thick tresses taken up behind her head and twined together, their colours mixing with the normal stripes of her hair, making them stand out all the more.

Dash stumbled momentarily at the sudden heaviness weighing on her head, looked down at the suddenly elegant garments. [colour=#0000cd] "What... what the ... "[/colour] Her blue wings flared out over her back with a couple of quick, startled flaps.

​

[Lux]

If he could rank all of his life moments by their strangeness, then for Guiding Light this would be at the top. Things had gone from a perfectly normal birthday party to a cacophony of bad cider, rolling barrels, cake ingredients, and awkward situations. The colt wondered if this was all a dream as he often had an active imagination that when left alone would gallop free. But this was more than even his imagination could concoct.

[colour=#daa520]"I'm ok," [/colour]he said to Pinkie Pie and Applejack before looking at everything going on around him, [colour=#daa520]"[/colour][colour=#daa520]I think."[/colour]

Suddenly the unicorn caught a bright light out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Rainbow Dash suddenly dressed in a gleaming white dress with now a long mane. she looked liked she was ready for a fancy ball.

[colour=#daa520]"So shiny," [/colour]Guiding Light remarked staring at the glimmering pony like a moth attracted to a flame. But then the white was too bright, like staring at the sun, and the colt had to turn away.

[brianblackberry]

[colour=#800080]Cheerilee[/colour]

Cheerilee liked the suggestion by her tan unicorn compodre of going to an inn after the party and regale all those crazy stories about the adventures of teaching foals, magical or not. Something told the mulberry coloured mare she would need the time to decompress anyway. [colour=#800080]“Well that sounds like a date then Ingrid! I know just the place too; it is a little bar where they serve great fruity drinks ran by a mother of one of my students, Berry Punch.”[/colour]

The mulberry teacher turned her attention back to Purple Haze; who had no plans to abandon the hay bale fortress she had constructed for herself and her most prized possession. Cheerilee couldn't blame the little green filly, there wasn't yet a place to put the cake anyway and food products did have a tendency to be destroyed; who knew of Applejack and her friends would have another ready on time. [colour=#800080]“Well my brave little cake guard, I’ll tell you what, we’ll set up some hay bales to place the slices of cake that you can pass through your window there, ‘kay?”[/colour] Cheerilee gave a warm smile and salute to Purple in the hope that will assuage the filly’s fears.

Now to finish cleaning and setup things to start a game or two, [colour=#800080]“ponies, if any of you are up to it, I need a couple hay bales in the middle of the floor so to make one large flat surface.”[/colour] Between Ingrid and the now awaken foals, they can get back on track finally and have some fun! Just one more thing to take care of…

[colour=#800080]“I think I know what ails you Nursery Rhyme”[/colour], Cheerilee smiled as she looked back to the little tan earth filly resting on her back. [colour=#800080]“Don’t worry; we won’t have to go to the hospital for it either. I may not be a doctor, but I've had my share of sick foals.”[/colour] Cheerilee chuckled as she picked up a large pitcher of ice water with her mouth and filled a tall glass with it. [colour=#800080] “There we go, why don’t you slide on down and drink that while I go and gather up some nice juice for you too; you’ll feel better in no time, courtesy of nurse Cheerilee!”[/colour]

[colour=#ff8c00]Carrot Fields[/colour]

Carrot Fields sat there on his haunches, his back stumble from going head on with a full oaken barrel only stopped by a soft bag of coffee beans. It wasn't the cleverest of plans but it was the only thing he could think of at the time. As he rubbed his sore head he witnessed in awe as the stunning Applejack managed to do what he couldn't bring the barrel under control. [colour=#ff8c00]“Ah hink ah foond th' coffee ye aw waur lookin' fur…”[/colour] Well at least you haven’t been completely useless, dumbtail.

Carrot figured he should go get his sister... she was far better at kitchen stuff anyway. He could just see her now, hopping up onto the counter and delivering orders like a little Drill Sergeant - heck, she could probably even bring this crazy pink mare into line. And he could escape all this awkwardness. Yup, he should go get –

Fwash!

Suddenly a bright white and purple light flashed near him, when the bright glow dissipated enough to reveal the source…

Carrot figured Purple wanted him in here, so he'd just stay in here. Yup. Wouldn't want to disappoint Purple!

He needed to be helpful though, show them he was helpful. What did they need doing? First thing he needed to do was get his mouth to work. Wait, wait, think about what you're going to say, first, plan it out so you don't sound like a dumbtail... Well, we should get started on the cake. What do you need me to do? Yes, that sounds good. [colour=#ff8c00]"Aye! We should cake wi' me tae need do? Me help!"[/colour]

Carrot stopped, appalled. Ah, there was the problem. His brain apparently wasn't connected to his mouth at all.

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008080]“Ah, that bar just sounds delightful,”[/colour] Ingrid Marie replied, trying hard not to let her mental exhaustion show as she now wanted nothing more than getting this crazy party over with and winding down with her new friend; [colour=#008080]“Just curious, but do you know if there is there anything else that Applejack plans to do before the birthday party’s through? I don’t mean to be rude, but now that her experimental cider is gone, well... you know.....”[/colour] An awkward laugh from the unicorn followed, who realized that she hadn’t had almost any of the party treats at all thanks to the constant mayhem.

But now was a time to let all of that go and have the show go on, as the earth pony teacher seemed intent on using the hay to recommence the birthday festivities. [colour=#008080]“Allow me,”[/colour] the beige unicorn interjected as she used a levitation spell to bring two of the hay bales towards the center of the barn. Never the one to hog the spotlight and do everything, the middle-aged mare sweetly shouted to the foals present; [colour=#008080]“Would any of you little ponies like to help me and Ms. Cheerilee flatten out the hay?”[/colour]

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Having come back to the barn, and seeing the kitchen a mess, and Pinkie withdrawn from her own craziness just a bit, Applejack with a straight face walked over to Carrot, grabbed his hoof and wrapped it around the coffee bags. She emphasized, [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"You take the coffee."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Applejack looked back to see, that while she was gone on her short unscheduled rodeo with a barrell, Rarity had been covered in baking stuff, again. And to her surprise, Rainbow Dash was next to her wearing a glittery outfit. At first Applejack wasn't sure why, but she chuckled as soon as she figured it had something to do with Rarity's unicorn magic. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Heh heh heh. Wow Rainbow. You look like you could win a beauty pagent!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack grinned.[/colour]

​