Pinkie scanned the square, her mane twitching with a sudden onset of Pinkie-sense. Her most basic sensory perception told her plain as vanilla frosting that there was a new pony in town, and she needed to get another ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party planned. All that remained to be seen came down to finding the new pony in question for the party.

She looked to the left toward Roseluck’s flower shop, and then to the right, tracking all the way to Bon Bon’s Confections. High above, she scanned the skies with excitement at the prospect of welcoming a new pegasus. Fluffy clouds being layered in strategic clumps by the expert weather ponies darting through the skies above nearly distracted her from seeing the cloaked stallion making his way through the crowd out of the corner of her eye. In a blink, she rushed over to greet him.

“Hello there, stranger! Welcome to Ponyville! My name is Pinkie Pie. What’s yours?”

The newcomer lifted his gaze up from under his hood. Dark brown eyes reflected Pinkie’s cheerful smile. He raised a rugged hoof, shiny red fetlock draped over the toe, which Pinkie grasped and vigorously shook before he could say a word.

“Hey, haven’t we met before? I’m sure we have.” The light of recognition sparked in Pinkie’s encyclopedic mind. “I’d know that hoof anywhere. You’re Red, right?” The stallion shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head.

Pinkie gasped. Both of her forehooves shot to her muzzle. “But that means…” She spun around, her gaze strafing from one shop to the next. The bakery, the flower shop, Quills and Sofas, she couldn’t decide where to start. “So much to do, and so little time!”

Red did his best to motion for calm. Pinkie settled into a steady pant, watching intently as he indicated toward the path leading south out of the square.

“Right, first things first,” Pinkie said, nodding emphatically and falling into step with the stallion. Her smile had lost some of its luster. “Don’t worry, Red, we’ll get everything sorted in no time.” Marching to a determined, yet steady beat, they carried forward, both set to a single purpose, preparing for the big event.



Following a short walk through town, Pinkie held open the door to Carousel Boutique. Red stepped inside to the jingle of the doorbell.

Rarity briefly looked up from her work, a dozen articles floating in the air beside her. “Good morning, Pinkie.”

“Rarity!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing over to the row of ponyquins lined up against the far wall of the showroom, all in a state of partial dress. “We have an emergency! Do you have any dresses?”

Rarity cocked her head, not sure what to make of the request. Noting that dealing with Pinkie would require her full and immediate attention, she laid her tools, thread, fabric, and appliques on her bench and stepped away from her latest project. “I believe you’ve come to the right place. What kind of dress were you looking for?”

“Oh, no. It’s not for me. It’s for Red!” Pinkie stuck out a hoof and pointed over at the cloaked stallion eying the models in the storefront display.

Rarity glanced around Pinkie, taking a curious interest in her odd declaration. “I see. And what kind of dress would Red be looking for?”

Red raised a hoof and pointed over at the green and white gingham pattern frock with tiny pink and white flowers marking the hem being modeled in the window. A matching bonnet lay perfectly over the ponyquins flat mane completing the outfit.

“That one!” Pinkie shouted, pointing at the same dress. “It’s perfect! We’ll take it!”

Rarity strapped her tape measure over her shoulder and stepped to the front of the store. “Are you sure it will fit? Ponies come in all shapes and sizes, and we might want to take some measurements to make sure that Red will—”

“Nope. We’re good. He knows a good dress when he sees one.” Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out her coin purse. “How much?” She turned the purse inside out with a few bits of dried up frosting and a couple of old candy wrappers falling out. “Oh, darn…”

Rarity blushed. “Well then… you did mention it was an emergency. How about you take the dress, and we worry about payment some other time.”

“Wow! Thanks, Rarity! You really are the most generous pony around,” Pinkie said, cupping her hoof and turning aside, “despite the gossip flying around Canterlot.”

“Pardon me?” Rarity said, suddenly taken aback.

“Well, it’s obviously not true, but anyway, you have to come with us now.” Pinkie dashed over and picked up the dress and bonnet. Just as fast, she moved to shove Rarity out of her momentary shock and straight out the front door of her shop. Red carried along with Pinkie, following only a step or two behind.

Rarity dragged her hooves, but managed to fall into stride as she got hauled along for the ride. “And just where are we going?” She lit up her horn and closed and locked the door behind them as they left.

“To get the next item on the list: flowers.” Pinkie let up on her half-dragging and half-pushing of Rarity down the street once she reluctantly agreed to the task.

“And how do you plan on acquiring them, dear? You don’t seem to have any bits, and I’ve somehow managed to leave home without mine.”

“Easy, we’ll just pick out our own,” Pinkie said, smiling with the simple thought. “And I know just the pony to help us. Rainbow Dash!”

Rarity looked up in the direction that Pinkie had shouted. “How is Rainbow going to help you get flowers? They don’t exactly grow on clouds, I’m afraid.”

Rainbow Dash zipped by overhead, stacking another raincloud on the growing pile hovering over Ponyville.

“No, silly,” Pinkie said. “I was talking about Fluttershy. But we do need Rainbow’s help to postpone the showers until tomorrow, though.” She kept on moving, shouting up at the cloud pile as she went. “Rainbow! Rainbow Dash!” Nearing the edge of town, she finally caught Rainbow’s attention.

Rainbow stuck her head out of the clouds. “What is it, Pinkie? I’m kind of busy here.”

Still shouting, Pinkie attempted to convey some sense of urgency. “You need to hold off on the storm! We’ve got a situation that calls for clear, sunny skies for the rest of the day!” The entire weather team’s cloud building efforts ground to a halt.

Rainbow shook her head and called over to the rest of her team. “Take five guys. I’m going to go try and resolve this. Be right back.”

Rainbow swooped down from the cloud bank, coming to rest on the path in front of the others. “What’s the big deal? We’ve had this shower on the schedule for over a month.”

Rarity shrugged and pointed over at Pinkie.

Pinkie pointed over at Red and replied, “We’ve got a big event to handle and everything needs to be perfect. Red’s been waiting a long time for this, a lot longer than a month, at least. He needs a clear, sunny sky without any gloomy rainclouds to dampen the occasion.” Pinkie draped her legs around Rainbow’s shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. “Can you make it happen?”

“Sure, but—”

“Please?”

Rainbow caved. “Alright, I’ll tell the team to clear the sky, but they’re going to want overtime pay for the extra work.”

“Not a problem. I’ll make sure they get extra frosting on their next dessert from Sugarcube Corner.”

“That’s not really what I meant, but, whatever.” Rainbow tossed Pinkie off and flew back to her team. A few grunts and groans followed with the crew getting started on undoing their whole morning setup.

“Catch up with us when you’re done,” Pinkie shouted, waving back at Rainbow before heading off down the path. “Now we’ve really got to hurry. Don’t want to be late to the party.” She quickened her pace from before, Red easily matching her step. Rarity struggled to grasp sight of their goal, but kept following out of a sense of growing curiosity.

They rode up on Fluttershy’s cottage a little before lunchtime. The homeowner, hard at work in her garden, waved as they turned up the path to her house. She set her shovel aside along with the basket of fresh vegetables being collected for the hungry animals waiting for their midday meal. Angel gave a sneer and tapped his foot, frustrated by the delay in service.

“Fluttershy, we need your help,” Pinkie said, passing through the garden gate. “Can we pick some of your flowers? It’s really important that we get the best ones.”

“Certainly, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said. “I’ve got roses, and petunias, and daisies, and sunflowers, and—” Red kept shaking his head until Pinkie cut in.

“Do you have any orchids?”

“Why, yes. It’s around back, near the trellis.” Fluttershy picked up her garden shears and tucked them under her wing. Leading the group around the house, she presented the most beautiful orchid display that anypony had ever laid eyes upon.

Pinkie gazed up at the plant, pink and white and almost matching the small buds lining the hem of the dress draped over her back. “Wow, Fluttershy, I didn’t know you had such a lovely flower garden.” The orchid sat in the center of a ring of rose bushes with trumpet vine draped over the trellis above building a natural gazebo surround. “This will be perfect!”

Red smiled and nodded.

“Can I ask what you need it for?” Fluttershy said, hesitating just a touch to pull out the shears on her prized flower.

“It’s for Red. He’s got to have everything just right, and that orchid matches perfectly with the dress.” Pinkie raised a hoof to her chin in contemplation. “I wonder if we should make a full bouquet or stick with something simple?”

“Would you mind if I helped make the arrangement?” Rarity asked. “It’s such a magnificent flower, and I wouldn’t want to damage the presentation. We want to preserve as much of that natural beauty as possible.”

“Thank sounds great,” Pinkie said. “What do you say, Fluttershy?”

“It’s okay, I guess. Just be gentle, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, handing over the shears.

Rarity worked her magic, tenderly clipping the flowers and arranging the stems into a lovely bouquet. She bundled the ends in a short piece of twine, rustic, yet refined.

Fluttershy smiled at the finished arrangement. All her hard work in tending to the flower seemed to have paid off with wide eyes and smiles all around. Even Angel paused to nod his approval before tugging at her leg as a reminder of the late lunch preparations. “Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said, remembering the vegetable stew ingredients waiting in the garden, “would you care to join us for lunch?”

“Actually, we’re running late, and I wanted to invite you to come along with us,” Pinkie said, suddenly remembering the time. “We just need Rainbow Dash to finish up, and then we can find—Twilight!”

Twilight Sparkle banked around the house and came in for a landing, with Rainbow Dash right behind. “Pinkie, what’s this I hear about postponing the afternoon shower? Rainbow tells me you had some kind of emergency. What’s going on?”

Rarity stepped up with the finished bouquet. “Yes, I too would like to know what this is all for. First it was the dress, then the weather, and now these flowers. What is this all about, dear?”

Pinkie glanced around the group at all the friendly questioning faces. “I told you guys already. This is all for Red. We have to help make everything perfect for him. It’s the least we could do, for a friend.”

“And who is this, Red?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, right.” Pinkie twisted a hoof into the soft dirt. “It’s probably best if I filled you in on the way to Sweet Apple Acres. We’re already running late.”

“Alright, Pinkie, but this better be important. Those weather ponies sure aren’t happy about postponing the shower.”

“Oh, it’s important,” Pinkie said, averting her eyes from Twilight and blinking over at Red. “Real important.”

Twilight nodded and folded up her wings. “Lead the way then.”

---

Pinkie knocked on the door to the Apple homestead. “Hello, Applejack. We’re here. I hope we aren’t too late.”

Applejack answered the door. With a wan smile, she did her best to greet her friends. “C’mon in. You’ll have to excuse the mess.”

Pinkie and the others slowly filed inside, each giving Applejack a hug as they came. Red trailed the rest. The room looked cleaner than ever, not that it ever stayed messy for long. Big Mac sat in a large chair in the front room, Apple Bloom snuggled up beside him. Winona sat in the corner curled up on a small rug. A cursory glance mixed with a few fresh tears, but no smiles or hearty welcomes, greeted their guests.

Once everyone found a seat, Pinkie handed Applejack the dress and the flowers. “Red helped pick these out. I hope you like them.”

Applejack held up the dress along with the bonnet and flowers. “They’re beautiful, Pinkie. Where’d you get ‘em?”

Pinkie smiled and motioned over to the rest of the group. “Rarity made the dress, and Fluttershy grew the flowers. Rainbow Dash even helped postpone the rainstorm.”

Twilight bowed her head. “And the castle is yours, if you need it. Just say the word.”

“Aww shucks,” Applejack said. “I figured we’d just keep it simple. No sense making a huge production out of it. Thanks for the offer. We really appreciate it. Honest.”

“Whatever you need, we’ll be there,” Twilight replied.

“Just give me a minute to get everything settled, and then you can come up, if you want to that is.” Applejack laid the dress, bonnet and flowers on her back before taking off her hat, hanging it on a wall hook, and heading upstairs.

Everypony waited patiently as the minutes ticked by. Only the occasional sniffle or creak in the floorboards overhead broke the silence.

After a considerable wait, Applejack called down the stairs. “You can all come up now.”

The ponies formed a line and filed up the stairs one by one. Applejack met them at the bedroom door. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and finally Pinkie Pie walked by, filling in the space around the bed. Granny Smith lay silent and still, wrapped in the green and white gingham frock, clutching the bouquet of orchids against her chest.

---

“You look even more beautiful than an orchard in bloom.”

“You look shiner than an apple fresh off the tree.”

Red Jonathan gazed across the room as Granny Smith stepped off the stairs in her beautiful new dress, an orchid tucked behind her left ear looking very much like a giant apple blossom sticking out from under her bonnet. The couple pranced up to meet, tossing their hooves around each other for the first time since the last time.

“It’s been so long, Red,” Granny said.

“Not so long as you might think,” Red replied. “We’ve got all the time in world now, the universe even.”

Granny pulled back just a little. “But what if I want to stay right here where we are? The family? The foals?”

“I know your tap root runs deep, dear, but our harvest is over. Wherever we go, we’ll always have a little part of us here, watching over our saplings.” Red turned and opened the front door, bowing and letting his wife carry onto the porch. “The universe isn’t such a big place, nor is home ever too distant to return when we like. We have a long way to go, and forever to get there.”

“Lead the way, Red,” Granny said, smiling. “I’m ready for something new, as long you’re right there beside me.”

Big Mac looked up to see the door swing open, but never saw the couple leave. Only the rush of a gust of wind marked their passing. The door closed behind Red as he took up Granny’s hoof and lead her away toward the apple orchard.

Pinkie stuck her head out the second story window to wave goodbye. Just before disappearing into the trees, Red turned and nodded to the party planner. Their special day turned out better than he could have ever hoped for.