THE SANDBOX

[wolfintheattic]

NO LONGER IN USE

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[iwasarockfarmer]

_{[Pinkie leans in with a loud stage whisper.]}

You are sooOoo right! Let's get goin' while the goin' is good!

_{[Aaaaaand SHE'S OFF! Try and keep up, Cheese! The pink blur is already at the end of the street. There was going to be a PARTY! And if Cheese was here it was going to be HYOOOOOGE!]}

[goudatparties]

[Cheese is quick to take off after her, only stopping long enough to make sure Boneless is securely perched on his back. It was going to be a bumpy ride, after all.

When he catches up to her he falls into step by her side, talking breathlessly.]

We're going to need streamers, balloons, confetti...you know, usual stuff. Beyond that we need to contact a caterer, assuming the Cakes wouldn't be interested in doing so from the get go!

[iwasarockfarmer]

Right, gotcha, A Code A! What size party we talkin'? Shindig? Block party? Blowout?

[goudatparties]

Blowout, for sure! We're gonna have to pull out all the stops for this one.

[iwasarockfarmer]

_{[Pinkie pulls a hard left and leads them into Lofty's Party Goods.]}

Sounds serious! What's the occasion?

[goudatparties]

[He takes a deep breath once they enter, standing in the midst of the double doors as he declares with his gaze riveted on the aisles ahead.]

Birthday party. For triplets.

[iwasarockfarmer]

_{[Triplets. Pinkie turns to the aisles, ears laying back, nostrils flaring. This is serious. Triple the streamers, triple the banners, the music, the tricks, the everything.]}

Get a buggy. A big one.

[goudatparties]

[The sound of squeaky wheels heralds Cheese's return as he flops Boneless into the child-seat area of the cart.]

Are you ready?

[iwasarockfarmer]

Cheese, I was born ready....THREETWOONEGO!

_{[She joints him at the bar, handle in hoof. And ZOOM, off she speeds like she's in the Nickelodeon Super Toy Run. Her hooves fly as she passes shelves and displays. Soon the cart is piled so high that she can't see over it.]}

GIMMI A BOOST, CHEESE! WE'RE COMMIN' UP ON THE DELUX PLASTIC PARTY PLATES! WITH THE SMILEY FACES.

_{[While the cart is still in-motion, she starts climbing the mountain of party goods.]}

[goudatparties]

Already on it!

[He takes up the helm at the back of the cart, scooting to the center of the bar to make sure it remains steady while she climbs.]

Directly ahead at three o'clock!

[iwasarockfarmer]

_{[Pinkie climbs like a seasoned base jumper and soon crouches atop the pile, hooves up and at the ready. The plates zoom toward them and she reaches out to knock them down onto their hoard. She also knocks down several plastic pitchers, a large teddy bear, twelve owlbear pinatas, and an industrial sized box of straws that change color in cold water.]}

LOOK OUT BELOOOOW!

[goudatparties]

[Cheese steadies the buggy and manages to get the plates, but tries to catch the other objects as well to avoid making a mess. His success is debatable, but hey, he caught some of it. And most importantly, the plates!]

Ten points!

[iwasarockfarmer]

_{[That's the party champion she knows! Gouda on cheese! Pinkie hunkers close to the pile and leans.]}

HANG A LEFT WE NEED BIRTHDAY CARDS! ONES THAT PLAY MUSIC! FAMILY MUSICAL PROFILE, STAT!

[goudatparties]

ON IT!

[The store owners probably aren't going to be very pleased with them after this is all over but hey, this is important business they're doing. This could save lives.

SO OFF WE GO AROUND THE CORNER NYOOOOOOOOOOM]

[iwasarockfarmer]

HIIIIYAH!

_{[Pinkie swings down a hoof and knocks off far too many of those obnoxious singing cards. One even gets stuck in her mane. All of them are singing. Some of the batteries are low.]}

Now all we need is wrapping paper!

[goudatparties]

Not far away! I can see it from here!

[He calls up to her as he veers in a sharp right around another corner, narrowly missing clipping the edge of one of the aisles.]

[iwasarockfarmer]

BRING US HOME, CHEESE!

_{[She slides down the front of the mountain and wedges herself between the pile of party supplies and the front of the buggy like the figurehead of a ship. She knew she could depend on Cheese!]}

Pink or blue?

[goudatparties]

Go for blue!

[He says as he keeps the cart moving, ready to pull it up short once they get to the paper proper.]

[iwasarockfarmer]

BLUE IS THE HUE!

_{[And she grabs both blue wrapping and tissue paper.]}

WE DID IT, CHEESE! ANOTHER FLAWLESS VICTORY.

_{[Or not so flawless. The shelves lay in ruins behind them and a VERY upset Lofty steps out from behind the nearest checkout counter with her horn alight, a broom hovering in front of her.]}

Not so fast!

Oh! Hiya, Lofty! I can't stay in chat, we have a HUGE shebang to put on!

_{[The unicorn flatterns her ears and shoves the broom into Pinkie's hooves. A dustpan is all but hurled at Cheese's head.]}

Well it's going to have to wait.

[goudatparties]

[Ahhaaaa...whoops.

Cheese just barely manages to catch the dustpan before it can bash him on the nose, smiling sheepishly at Lofty.]

Sorry. We'll get it cleaned up straightaway. Won't we, Pinkie?

[iwasarockfarmer]

Right, right, ahuh!

_{[Pinkie grins her best cheeriest grin at the unimpressed Lofty as she quickly shimmies back the way the two of them came, sweeping up spilled things.]}

Think we can do that run backwards, Cheese?

[goudatparties]

Hey, if anybody can do it, we can!

[Hopefully not knocking even MORE stuff down in the process.]

[iwasarockfarmer]

_{[Once Lofty is out of sight, Pinkie wipes a hoof across her forehead.]}

Whew! Well, it's only a little setback. Tell me more about these triplets we're throwing a bash for! It's important to know your customer after all! And while you're at it, tell me EVERYTHING you've been up to!

[goudatparties]

Alright!

[He flips the dustpan over so he can hold it in one hoof while he talks.]

The triplets are probably the most energetic little things I've eeever seen. Like, the type it's probably legitimately dangerous to give extra doses of sugar to. But they deserve a good bash, so I promised their folks I'd give them one!

[iwasarockfarmer]

Hhmmmm

_{[She taps her chin with the hoof.]}

Then we probably shouldn't give them the red fruit punch. I heard that makes foals really excitable, but I drank it my whole life and never noticed anything strange. They can have grape instead!