“Guys! Did you see that?” Pinkie yelled.

“See what?” Inkie asked.

“There was this loud boom, and then a massive burst of colors, and then a huge giganti-normous pulchritudi-ful magnifi-licious rainbow! It was the biggest I have ever seen! No, the biggest there ever was!” Pinkie now grinned like a Cheshire cat.

Her sisters happily copied Pinkie's smile. “That must have been amazing!” Blinkie remarked.

Pinkie's beam slowly faded. “But you guys missed it. It was the single bestest thing ever, and you missed it. Where were you?”

“We were helping mother prepare lunch.” Pinkie just now noticed that they had slowly been walking towards the storage silo the entire time. “Mother is still waiting for these potatoes.” Inkie saw that her sister's smile had now turned into a full  frown. “Don't worry, hearing you talk about that rainbow was great enough, we didn't have to see it.”

Pinkie just stood still, as her sisters went back inside. “But it's not the same. It's not the same as seeing it. I will somehow make it up to them,” she promised herself.

*  *  *

None of these books were any helpful. Few of them mentioned Parasprites to begin with, and those that did only provided references to a book, which was only available in the Royal Canterlot Archives. Clyde let out a sigh. He had spent several hours in the library and came up with nothing. What did he hope for anyway? Even if he found out anything about the Parasprites, that wouldn't give him his farm back.

He packed up and left the library. Even if he couldn't get his farm back, there had to be some benefit to knowing about those creatures. Maybe he could protect other farmers from suffering the same fate. After all, that was his duty as an upright citizen.

Still, unless he could somehow get to Canterlot, his only clue had come to nothing. It would be better not to obsess over the Parasprites and finally try to spend some quality time with his family.

Clyde managed to get home before dinner, and Inkie and Blinkie embraced him immediately. Only Pinkie seemed somehow absentminded. Maybe she just had a bad day. Maybe she just wanted to be left alone. But he wouldn't let this small misfortune spoil the fun he wanted to have with his other daughters.

*  *  *

Pinkie had bothered her head all day about how she could make her family feel the same way she had felt, when she saw the rainbow. It had to be something big, something fun, something that lets everypony forget about all their troubles. It had to be a party.

She decided the perfect time for the party would be the day after tomorrow. That would be her father's next day off.

Pinkie wanted to make the party a surprise, and that would be tricky. Obviously, that meant she couldn't get help from anypony and that she would have to do all the preparations in secret. Lucky for her, her mother had already planned to go to the market with all of them tomorrow. Pinkie would just need to fake an illness, then she would have all day to plan, bake, and decorate.

*  *  *

“I have a tummy ache.” That excuse was foalproof when dealing with her mother. Pinkie had given herself half a day to finish with the cooking and baking. She should probably be able to squeeze in some of the decorating, but that could be left for tonight.

Pinkie had always paid attention to her mother's cooking and picked up most of her traits. She was confident she could prepare something yummy, after all she didn't get born into the Pie family for nothing. First off, Pinkie would make her mother's famous strawberry cheesecake, followed by jelly-filled brownies and cupcakes, lots and lots of cupcakes.

Inside the silo, Pinkie had set up all the food she had cooked, including some apples for good measure, and even set up most of the balloons she found around the house. She could hear her mother's footsteps just outside the door, when the major flaw in Pinkie's plan came to her mind: She would have to keep her family out of the silo for the rest of the day.

The young pony quickly squeezed through the silo's door, alarming her mother: “Don't go in there!”

With a look of confusion Martha replied: “Why not?”

“Well you see...” What could Pinkie possibly tell her mother? “...I've found some rocks... and they... seemed sick. So I decided to put them in the silo until they felt better. They need as much rest as they can get. We can't disturb them.”

“Oh, Pinkamena.” Martha had decided to just walk past her daughter, but stopped dead in her tracks. To the children the rocks must actually be alive, after everything they told them about rock farming. If Martha just went in there she might blow their cover and would have to reveal the truth, at least to Pinkie. Eventually Pinkie would find the rocks looked well enough, and she would put them back. “Well, you're right. We should give those rocks some rest.”

Pinkie couldn't allow herself to show how relieved she was. The party would be a surprise after all. She only needed to put up some additional balloons and streamers around the silo tonight, and she was way too excited to sleep anyway.

*  *  *

Pinkie Pie had fallen asleep in the barn. Fortunately, it was still early in the morning, so her family was just about to get up themselves.

Actually she could hear them outside, yelling her name. They had probably been worrying about her whereabouts all morning. But she knew a way to fix that. She just played her favorite record on full volume; That was sure to catch their attention.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie! Is that you?” she could hear her mother's voice from the outside.

“Mother! I need you and father and the sisters to come in. Quick!”

As the four of them entered the silo, Pinkie jumped at them yelling: “Surprise!”

Inkie and Blinkie welcomed the party with a big smile on their faces. However, Pinkie's parents just gasped in shock.

Clyde quickly regained his composure. “Girls, I'll have to talk your mother right now. Alone.” Neither his voice, nor his face carried the slightest bit of emotion.

Worriedly, the three fillies obeyed and left the silo. Clyde made sure none of them were eavesdropping. Then he began to speak: “Martha, what are we going to do?”

Martha raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “You're not seriously thinking about punishing her, do you?”

“Of course not, I'm not an idiot. The kid has slogged her guts out to make this party, but still those were our last supplies. Without them I don't think we'll make it to the end of the month. We might have to consider that possibility again.”

Martha sighed deeply. “You're right, we have to. But first let the girls have their party. They are probably worried sick outside.”

Clyde went to the door and a opened it with a quick smile. “Who's ready for a party?”

The three sister immediately dropped their worries and cheerily bounced inside to have that party. As the cake was cut, the entire family witnessed the appearance of Pinkie Pie's cutie mark. It was a set of three balloons, two of them blue, surrounding a single yellow one. Everypony got even more excited, elevating the party to a whole new level.

“They grow up so fast,” Clyde thought to himself. He remembered the day he held the newborn Pinkie in his hooves, like it was yesterday. “Even more reason to party, like there is no tomorrow.” After all, he knew there might not be.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a small flying creature was enjoying the party from the other side of the window.

*  *  *

The party was an obvious success. The whole family danced, talked, laughed, and snacked on Pinkie's treat until the late afternoon. Clyde had never seen his daughters this happy in his life.  He probably himself has never been this happy in his lifetime. Only after the party had ended, he remembered the dreadful decision he had to face.

After a small dinner (everypony was still stuffed from the party), the three fillies went to bed right away. After they fell asleep, Clyde and Martha sneaked upstairs and sat on the side of their daughters' beds, just to watch them sleep.

They must have sat like that for an hour, before Martha broke the silence: “Clyde, we finally have to talk about this.”

“Honey, I don't think we have a choice anymore. We'll have to do it.”

“Don't talk like that! There's always a way!”

“No Honey. We have to do what's best for the kids. I will send a letter to the Cakes right away.”

“But they are newlyweds! Do you honestly think they can handle three little fillies?”

“Yes, I am. They are some of the kindest and most patient people I've ever met. You should know that. After all, they are your cousins.”

Clyde expected his wife to say something, but she just stared at the floor with a worried look on her face.

Clyde tried to comfort her: “Besides, don't underestimate our kids. They've grown up so fast; Pinkie has even gotten her cutie mark today. You'll see. Everything will be okay.”

Those words had the opposite effect of what Clyde had anticipated. Martha was on the verge of tears. The farmer pony decided to keep his mouth shut and simply hold her in his arms until she would feel better.

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