Pinkie enjoyed making others happy. When it came to facts that most people already knew about her, that was right up there with “she smiles a lot” and “she has pink hair”. It was such an intrinsic part of who she was that it might as well have been included as part of her name. In fact, given the kinds of stuff Pinkie usually said out-of-nowhere, it probably was part of her name. Regardless, nothing brought a grin to the pink girl’s face quite like putting a grin on other people’s faces. And so it was today that this was what she was trying to do. Sitting at the kitchen table of her home, she was currently downing a particularly sugary-looking drink, complete with all of the candy and frosting and other toppings that people would expect her to put on something. The kind of drink that could make your teeth hurt just from looking at it. But Pinkie laughed in the face of such things, and so kept on drinking.

However, she was not alone here today, as there, sitting across from the table, was Sugarcoat. This girl, who not so long ago would have gladly opposed Pinkie in any way thanks to their being from formerly-rival schools, now found herself sharing time with her. As the spectacled girl sat there quietly, she watched as Pinkie continued to chug her drink, not even stopping to take a breath as she did so, as if the universe had somehow forgotten to remind her that she needed to breathe every once in a while. Only when Pinkie had finished did she take a gulp of air, doing it in such an over-the-top manner, complete with massive mouth, that Sugarcoat wondered if it was all exaggeration on her part. But, Pinkie simply smiled to her afterwards, gesturing to the girl’s own drink, which was just as sweet-looking as her own had been. Raising an eyebrow at it, Sugarcoat finally spoke in that deadpan way of hers.

“You and your friends certainly enjoy these things, don’t you?”

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically at that.

“We sure do! Because they’re tasty, that’s why!”

Looking from the drink, to Pinkie, and then back again, Sugarcoat let out a sigh, adjusting her glasses slightly before finally picking up the glass and taking a sip. The sip in question was so small that it may as well have been a token effort on her part, as she soon put the glass back down again. Seeing this, Pinkie’s smile faded a little.

“Awww! You’re not having any more?”

Sugarcoat shook her head at that.

“No. I’m not really a fan of sweet things. Too much…sweetness.”

But Pinkie let out a brief giggle after hearing those words.

“Silly! Why didn’t you tell me that! I’d have gotten you something else if that’s what you wanted.”

But Sugarcoat shrugged her shoulders.

“You never asked.”

Giggling again, Pinkie bounced out of her chair and began walking over to the nearby closets around the kitchen, rummaging around them in a frantic and energetic manner that was very typical of her. And all the while, the Crystal Prep girl observed her, never cracking a smile as she did so.

“You’re acting pretty hyper. You should slow down.”

But Pinkie, turning to face her again, simply scoffed at that.

“Never gonna happen! Life’s too short to be all slow and stuff!”

Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow at that, opening her mouth to speak. However, before she got the chance to say anything further, she stopped as she began to hear the sound of oncoming footsteps. Turning, Sugarcoat looked on to see a new arrival in the kitchen. A girl around their age, maybe a year-or-two older, with grey skin and purple hair, clad in a simple blue outfit. Like her, the new girl had a completely emotionless face, though stopped to look at her as soon as she entered. Pinkie, by contrast, simply squealed with glee at the stranger’s arrival.

“Hiya, Maud!”

Immediately, the pink girl rushed forward, embracing Maud in a tight hug, which the latter returned, though not in the enthusiastic manner Pinkie had done.

“Nice to see you too, Pinkie.”

Her voice was monotonous, as if someone had made it simply to make someone who sounded like the exact opposite of Pinkie. After breaking apart from her, Pinkie put a hand on her shoulder as she turned to Sugarcoat.

“Maud, Sugarcoat. Sugarcoat, this is my sister, Maud!”

Sugarcoat looked from one girl to the other, and while her face betrayed no emotion, it would have been clear to anyone in that position that her thoughts were of how unlikely it was that two seemingly-different people could be related. Regardless, she was never one to shirk manners, and so nodded at the new girl.

“A pleasure to meet you.”

Maud nodded back.

“Likewise. You’re from Crystal Prep, correct?”

“I am,” Sugarcoat replied.

“You competed against my sister and her friends?”

“I did.”

“And now you’re here.”

“Yes. Pinkie requested my being here.”

Remaining silent after that, Maud turned to Pinkie, who nodded frantically.

“Yep! It’s true! Us and the Crystal Prep girls are all buddies now! Isn’t that great?”

Yet again, Maud cracked no smile, even in the face of the boundless optimism her sister was displaying. Instead, she turned to Sugarcoat.

“The other Crystal Prep girls are spending time with Pinkie and her friends?”

“They are. After what happened, it was decided we should…mingle,” Sugarcoat answered.

Maud nodded.

“I’ve been at Canterlot High a lot longer than my sister has, and we always used to hear bad stuff about you lot from Crystal Prep. Personally, it bored me to hear it over and over like that.”

To that, Sugarcoat nodded.

“Agreed. It was tiresome.”

But Pinkie, in stark contrast to the other two, just kept on grinning wildly.

“Yeah! It was totally silly, right girls? I mean, why be rivals when we can be friends instead?”

Before either of the other two could reply, Pinkie let out a massive gasp, as if an idea had just formed in her head that she was incredibly excited about. And as soon as she spoke, it was clear that this was exactly what had occurred.

“Oooh! You know what I just realised! We have a whole bunch of new friends now! Do you know what that means?”

Maud turned to her.

“You want to throw a party to celebrate?”

Looking to her sister, Pinkie’s smile was so wide that one would be forgiven for assuming that it was going to burst from her face.

“Yeah! How did you know?”

Maud shrugged her shoulders.

“Just a guess.”

Turning to Sugarcoat, Pinkie rushed forward, stopping just an inch from the other girl’s face.

“So, Sugar, what do you like in a party? There’s no such thing as planning too early after all.”

But Sugarcoat shook her head.

“Firstly, it’s Sugarcoat, not “Sugar”, and secondly, I’m not really a fan of parties. Too loud.”

Yet again, Pinkie gasped, only this time it was out of shock.

“What?! You don’t like parties?! Well, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help you get over something like that? Oooh! How about a quiet party?! I’ve never done one of those before!”

Sugarcoat opened her mouth to respond, only to stop as Pinkie immediately darted out of the room, no doubt ready to prepare some kind of party-related activity for Sugarcoat to take part in. Now alone with Maud, Sugarcoat looked to the latter, seeing her take out what appeared to be a small rock from her coat and setting it aside on the counter, after which, and to Sugarcoat’s confusion, she actually started to pet it, like a dog. After sitting in silence for some time, Sugarcoat watched as Maud turned to her, speaking in her usual flat tone.

“Trust me on this. Once my sister gets it into her head that someone needs a party, she’s not going to stop.”

Sugarcoat looked to the door Pinkie had zipped out of, before looking back to Maud.

“Indeed. Your sister is very…enthusiastic.”

Maud nodded.

“She is. But…that’s one of the reasons I love her.”

Had this been anyone else, Sugarcoat could have sworn that the next words would have been spoken with a frown.

“Pinkie wants you as a friend, along with all of your classmates. I want her to be happy. So…do you think you can be a good friend to her?”

Sugarcoat considered that for a moment before giving a single nod.

“I believe so. She’s rather…unusual. But yes, I think I can be friends with her.”

Maud stared at her for a while before nodding.

“Good.”

However, Sugarcoat’s eyes flickered for a moment, as if showing some hesitation, before she then spoke up again.

“Only…do you think she can be a little less energetic in future?”

To that, Maud shook her head.

“You may as well ask the sun to be less bright.”