A very special family.
Gentle Light strolled over the market very slowly and smiled friendly to everypony in his way. A few ponies were smiling back, a few other were glancing at him with a neutral expression and the rest, well the rest were confused at best. He hold his head up and smiled anyway. His long sapphire ponytail waved around his face and his prancing followed the music in his twitching ears. The reason why the ponies gave him a strange look could be the earring in his left ear, or his whistling. He couldn't decide, what was stranger for them. Either way he didn't care. His short horn sparkled then and there in the time of the music and created glittering music notes here and then, which were bursting as they were raising higher. His bright, even pearly and so on strangely iridescent, coat glimmered in the light of the sun, as he walked cheerful through the crowd and waved his braided tail.
He didn't stop the dancing until he stood in front of the booth with the vegetables and levitated with a pale blue shine the headphones out of his ears. He put down the music player and smiled to the owner, a mare with yellow coat. She smiled back, with an expression of confusion, but Gentle didn't mentioned it. She didn't mean to be rude, he guessed.
“Well good morning, my dear.
I would like to buy a few necess...woah...”
A quick pink hoof grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. He saw two great cerulean blue eyes gleaming with joy and a face with a so friendly smile, that his own smile was just a small grin in comparison to. He tried to greet the mare in front of him, but she was much faster than him.
“Hello there.
You''re new in Ponyville, aren't you?
Well I've seen you never before and so on you're new, right?
Besides I had seen the pegasus-removalists, funny word, right?
Alright, the pegamovalists, but I didn't know where from they are and they were empty at the time,
so I had to look for the new settled house.
But it got way too late for a welcome party and...”
A gentle snicker interrupted the mare and she looked very confused.
“You are Pinkie Pie, right?”
This sentence put a surprised expression on the face of the pink live wire and she inhaled very long. She tried to look inquiring, but the astonishment in her face prevailed.
“Are you psychic?
Uh, do you have a... What's your name again?”
The stallion shook his long ponytail and grinned waggish, what looked quite strange in his young face and gave him the attention and an amorous glance from a young unicorn mare. He shook his head again and tried to answer.
“Well no, I have heard many stories about you...”
Pinkie Pie stared much confuser as before and raised a hoof. She touched the stallions chest and tried to verify something. She even fondled over his coat and Gentle flinched one step back.
“Aha. So you are a pony, who bought into the wildest rumours about somepony else, right?”
This question sounded almost agitated and Gentle raised a hoof quickly and drew apologetic circles with the other.
“No, no. I just have heard a few stories from a friend in Canterlot.
Simply the best about your uhm, antics. She had told me about your ways.
And I really have looked forward to meet you in person.”
Pinkie cocked her head and her expression get more serious. Gentle sighed softly and tried to explain further.
“I'm sorry, but we wanted to move in here at all costs.
I don't mean to...”
The pink earthpüony took one step back and her hooves drew observant circles on the ground.
“Which friend of yours had told you this rumours?”
Her voice sounded silently and snatchy, like she wanted to hide something. Gentle stroke the ground more nervously and cleared his throat.
“Minuette had told that you...”
“Ho-hum, so Minutte. I should tell her, that she better not dare to put away my favourite surprise and warn newcomers from me!”
The tone in the voice changed and sounded cold and surprisingly scary, so the smile from Gentle Lights faded and he lifted his right hoof again.
“No, no. She had only said, that you...”
A suppressed snicker escaped the mares mouth and she put a hoof around Gentle to control her snickering. But she failed miserable. She snorted and the stallion looked really confused.
“Gotcha. You should see your face right now.”
She was finally able to speak again, as her snickering faded a little bit and a wild grin stayed on her face instead.
Gentle couldn't reply anything, so he stayed silent.
“Well, where was I?
Alright. We have to throw a welcome party immediately, don't you think?
I will prepare everything for today and you and your family could sit back and enjoy the party in Sugarcube Corner.
We make simply the best welcome party you've ever seen.”
Gentle sighed and opened his mouth in an attempt to stop the cheerful pony, but Pinkie hadn't finished yet. She laid her hoof on the stallions chest again.
“Uh and I need the names form your very special somepony and your foal.
After all your banner should be very nice and
Hello you there and Welcome ponies
doesn't sound very special or funny, don't you think?”
Her grin widened and cocked her head, as Gentle sighed again.
“Actually Shining wanted to make it a little bit quieter as you suppose to.
And I can really understand him. He...”
Gentle bit his lips and fell silence, as he saw Pinkies inquiring glance. He stroke the ground once with his left hoof and took a deep breath. Finally he cocked his head too and smiled apologetic.
“You know what Pinkie, eventually we should make a smaller Welcome party.
Just you and me and two or three other ponies, shouldn't we?”
Pinkie Pie inhaled and opened her mouth, but he hesitant look on Gentles face stopped her.
“Please, Shining isn't a party pony at all and he doesn't like to interact with too many ponies at once.
He just doesn't like parties, you know.”
Pinkie looked at him with wide opened eyes and an expression so shocked, that everypony else would guess, that Gentle had tell something so horrible, that they would run far away. She even raised both front hooves in the air. She put both hooves around him and took a deep breath.
She stopped, before she spoke up loudly. She stood back on her own four legs and spoke really normal. Though she drew circles on the ground with one hoof.
“If your foal doesn't like it, I really understood him.
But eventually we could distract him with a sleepover
and we grown ups can throw a really nice party.”
Gentle cleared his throat and shook his head with an warm smile. He even stopped her hoof with his own and nuzzled her gently.
“No, Slight would love the idea and the party.
Shining is my very special somepony and he...”
Pinkies expression changed from confused to more puzzled and she couldn't avoid the question much longer.
“You have a stallion as your really special somepony?”
Gentle saw many different glances from many ponies after this interjection, but he held his head high though. He even stroke his mane in the right way and his smile widened.
“Yes, Pinkie. I love a stallion!”
He spoke up and thumped once on the ground.
Pinkie looked at him with a very calm smile and cocked her head. Other ponies were staring at him, but a few other had an approving smiles on the face. He glanced to everyone of them and smiled back. Then he turned over to Pinkie Pie again. The pink mare nodded slowly and stared at the smiling yellow mare behind the booth.
“Of course, I will then...uhm.
Why do you have a stallion as your very special somepony in the first place?”
Gentle tried a friendly smile and sighed to himself. He laid a hoof around her and replied gently.
“You know, Pinkie. I love him, because he is really a very special pony.
He is friendly, kind and simply told the best bedtime stories for our foal.
He is sometimes very cuddly and can be really soft.”
Gentle blushed and looked away, as his voice became more lyrical as he wanted to. The mare put a hoof around him by herself and responded with an understanding grin.
“I see, uhm...
What's your name again?”
The stallion let her loose and smiled back at her. Pinkies own expression changed into a more inquiring one and she faced the other staring ponies around them. She inhaled a lungful of breath, but before she was able to talk, or cry out loud for that matter, the staring ponies were clearing their throats and moved away. The stallion stomped on the ground and got the attention of her.
“I'm Gentle Light.
Uhm, nice to meet ya.
My very special somepony is called Shining Star and our little colts name is Slight Hope.
If you like to we could simply...”
Pinkies smile widened and she waved a hoof for a fast Goodbye. She disappeared in a puff of smoke afterwards and Gentle could just follow her disappearing with amazement. The stories didn't match up with the pony in the slightest. Her answer sounded over the market and didn't faded away as usual.
“Now, I'm able to make a banner and...”
Pinkie fell silent and even returned. She was drawing circles on the ground with one hoof and drooped her head.
“I won't invite too many ponies, okay?
But your foal should have a very special
Sleepover-and-very-very-very-warm-welcome-welcome-party, don't you think?”
She gave him her very best puppy eyes, she could muster. Gentle knew this look very well from both his colt and his stallion, but couldn't resist any of them. So he managed to put a warm smile on his face and nodded simply. Pinkie got back her usual grin instantly and rushed away.
“Yippie. Now I have to gallop to the school and ask him, who his friends are right now.
I'm sure he is bouncing around in excitement, when he hears...”
Pinkies blabbering sound faded more and more away, as farer away she got and Gentle smiled after her. Finally, as she wasn't in sight any more, he turned over to the mare behind the booth. She was still smiling, a little bit more confused of course, but at least smiling. She stared at him with wide eyes, not in shock, but in astonishment. He raised his head higher, stroke his mane gently and guided his ponytail back to his shoulder. Then he cocked his head, smiled gently and started again.
“Well, my dear. It seems, I need much more necessaries, as I thought.”