To say Pinkie Pie was ecstatic of her plan was the understatement of the year; she was positively thrilled. She never once grew tired of telling of ponies of the party at Sweet Apple Acres, of the co-operation between the Cakes during said party, of the music that the party would employ, and of the other ponies expected at that very same party! In fact, with each retelling of the party plan, she became more and more energized, almost wishing she could shut her eyes and the party just happen right then and there! Of course, the party wasn't until tomorrow. Most ponies might have given a bit more notice, but she wasn't patient enough to wait a week or a few days or anything. Heck, she was barely patient enough to wait for one day!

Still, the gears were in motion. Pinkie's plan was constantly under evolutionary potential; she wanted her party to be the best, and if she came up with new ideas along the way, she would put them into the scheme as well! Why, she dared to think of what she might do! So many possibilities just outside of her mind's eye...

It was then she saw her sister trotting out of Rarity's house.

"Oh hi 'Tavy! How are ya?"

Octavia quirked a brow. "Hi Pinkie... I... see you've come up with a new nickname for me?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yeah! I know that I used to like calling you Octi and Vinyl liked calling you Octi and I suspect we both did it cause it sounded funny cause it makes me think of octopuses... octopi? Octo-Pie! Get it, cause your name is Octavia Pie!"

"Pinkie."

"Oh yeah! So, I thought to myself, 'Octi sounds a bit weird' so I tried a few things! I thought of 'Octa' but that sounded like a bad villain name. I thought of 'Avia' but that made me think of birds! 'Tavy' came to me, and I was all 'OH YEAH THAT'S IT RIGHT THERE!' Now I'm calling you 'Tavy!"

Octavia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I see... so... what is with the wagon?"

Pinkie grinned. "Invites! I'm passin' 'em to everypony in town! So far I have a few ponies already aboard! I was trying to come up with new ideas for my party too! What are YOU doing?"

Octavia smiled. "Well... after some consideration I bought something from Rarity. She's working on it as we speak..."

Pinkie hummed. ".... Do you think she does decorations?"

The elder sister quirked her brow, placing her hoof on the back of her head and stroking. "I don't know, Pinkamena... it might not be polite to just ask her to-"

"Nevermind, I'll ask her myself!" Without another word, Pinkie bounced towards Rarity's home. Octavia groaned a bit internally as she resumed her previous journey back home.

Her mind raced with information as she turned to a problem she knew was looming over the horizon. With Pinkie Pie unemployed, Octavia only getting the occasional bit from her DJ work, and Octavia herself only earning minimum wage, she had no idea how they could survive. They had already paid this month's rent, but they were sorely low on funds, so they would have to live with the bare minimum for a while. She dreaded to think of it, but they may even have to look for a roommate as well to help pay the money; something she knew Vinyl wouldn't be happy with as they barely had room for Pinkie in their two bedroom home.

Still, desperate times and all. Another option was always, of course, finding a new home. A cheaper one, perhaps... but any cheaper than their current home, they'd probably live in a one room apartment. Still... a small home is better than no home at all.

As she opened the door to their home and stepped in, she couldn't help but notice how silent it was. Too silent, really. Octavia trotted into the dining area and was shocked to see Vinyl, sitting at the table, with the Want Ads in front of her. "... Vinyl?"

Vinyl looked up at her. "Wha?" She turned her gaze back at the paper, then grinned back up at Octavia. "Oh yeah, this. Well, I figured if the old man was cutting me off, I better get a real job and pull my weight around here. After all, I always figured if I left this old place I'd be goin' to a better home. Preferably one that didn't belong to my parents."

Octavia felt conflicting emotions at the moment. For so long she had hoped that Vinyl would find a real job, get out there and do more, make more money, become self sufficient. She was proud to see her friend pulling herself towards work under the situation given to her, to see that Vinyl was a mare of resourcefulness, of action. And yet, she was angry. Angry at the stallion who would force her to this, to the halfway point of choosing between her dream and her father's dream for her.

Vinyl would not give in so easily. She would likely be a pauper if she were alone. She was doing this for her friends, more so than herself, and Octavia knew it.

Still, at this time, Octavia knew to say nothing. She smiled respectfully to the unicorn instead. "I see. Well, I shall be in my room, resting if you need me."

Vinyl nodded. "Alright, you deserve a rest. Take it easy, 'Tavy."

"... You too?"

"What can I say? The Octavia-puss joke wore on me, and 'Tavy sounds more like you." Octavia smirked, shaking her head a bit as she resumed her trip up the stairs, ready to take a well earned nap.

Pinkie was trotting home for the night. It had been hours, but she had finally passed out every invite, asked favors of every pony she felt the need to ask, and eaten every treat she felt the need to eat (not for the party, she just wanted to see what cup cakes tasted like with hot sauce in them!) She was finally ready to sleep, to hit the sack, and wait eagerly for the next day. If everything went well (and she had no reason to think it wouldn't) by this time next week, Applejack will be happy, the Cakes will be business partners, Vinyl would be a recognized DJ, and-- oh wait, look, door!

Pinkie opened the door and stepped into the house. Shutting it behind her, she trotted towards the kitchen to grab a snack, though she immediately noticed that Vinyl was passed out, face flat against the table, an empty mug next to her hoof, and the Want Ads in front of her with a few places circled. She glanced over them a minute - janitorial work, restaurant work, even bakery assistant. These didn't seem like the kind of jobs Vinyl liked! She really was serious about this whole one-upping her dad thing, wasn't she?

This made Pinkie think.

Fathers are supposed to be loving, caring, and supportive. Her own father had always supported her, no matter what she wanted - accept for when she wanted to be a cow. They had a nice, long talk about the difference between species that day.

It's funny. Despite most of the negative things Pinkie had learned about Equestria, she had never heard her own parents talk negatively of it. She had learned of the sinful nature of Unicorns from schooling, and had learned of the horrors of the world from friends. Now that she thought of it, her friends were all about her age, and those who had left for their journeys had yet to return.

Then that reminded her of something. Her parents had also been on the journey.

This put new questions in her head. Why hadn't her father warned her of unicorns? Why hadn't he tried more to convince her she would come home? Was Octavia right in thinking he was assured his subtle influence was secure enough to guarantee it? Or was it possible that he truly wanted what was best for her?

She found she had subconsciously wandered back to hers and Octavia's shared room. Opening the door, she slipped in and closed it gently behind her to find her sister sleeping. She had passed out in the bed, likely for a nap she had only expected to last a short while. Pinkie Pie smiled a bit, grabbing her sister's covers and making sure she was nice and snug in bed. With a yawn, Pinkie Pie herself pulled out Octavia's sleeping bag, setting it on the floor. Achieving the spare pillow, she huddled herself into the sleeping bag, hugged the pillow tightly, and shut her eyes.

Without any effort at all, Pinkie drifted into sleep.

That night, she dreamt of a strange new dream; she and five other ponies playing in an endless field of joy. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were hoof wrestling, and Rarity was putting Fluttershy in dresses. There was a fifth pony, however, laying in the grass, reading a book. She couldn't make out any defining features other than a horn on her head.

For some reason, this pony she had never seen before looked so... familiar...

The day had arrived.

Pinkie stepped outside of the house she had been sharing for the past few weeks with her sister and her friend and took a deep breath of the morning air.

It smelled fantastic.

As far as air goes.

Just as she took her first step from the house, however, she froze. Suddenly, her body began to twitch, stretch, spasm, swell, and then shrink back to its original state.

"Woo! That one was a doozy! Can't wait to find out what it means!"