//------------------------------// // Ponyville // Story: A Different Kind of Pony // by thatwheelchairguy //------------------------------// Bass couldn’t believe it. Right now, he was on the train from Manehattan to Ponyville. As promised, his parents had come in while it was still night to get him up so they could get him up and ready to go. As they were waiting for the train to leave, he thought back to the previous night: Bass just sat there looking back and forth between his parents. “You aren’t kidding. Please tell me you aren’t kidding….” “Nope, your mother and I bought the train tickets last week, and we’ve already reserved our rooms at the Ponyville Inn,” his father replied. What happened next went something like this: Bass jumped up and ran to first his mom, then his dad, giving them the biggest hugs possible. “CanIpacknowpleasepleaseplease PLEASE?!” letting it gush out without stopping to breath. Abi merely laughed and nodded. “We’ll be getting up early just a heads up. So make sure your saddle bag is packed,” she said. Before another word could even be uttered, he was gone, headed back to his room. Shutting the door behind him, Bass finally let his wings pop out. They’d been threatening to do so at the dinner table, and only by sheer will power they had been kept pinned to his side. He jumped up, flapping a bit and hovering around his room, throwing his saddlebag on his bed while thinking of what to bring. “Let’s see, I’ll need some bits in case I want anything. Oh! Also the book they got me. Um… what else? Hoodie! He hoofed thru his closet, looking for it when finally he saw it. The fabric was grey, much like his pelt, each sleeve near the top had a black music note, and on the front in blue and silver writing; Pon-3. I’ve got to show this to Scootaloo! Um, I… mean the Crusaders!” Putting the hoodie in with his book and bits he couldn’t help but blush. Why had he thought of Scootaloo like that just now? Sure he liked her as a friend, and she was a Pegasus as well. Though he didn’t realize it, the more he thought about her the more his wings flapped, that is until his head hit the ceiling. “Umph…” No he thought. Shaking his head Bass let himself plop down in his bed, sprawling his limbs out and closed his eyes. There’s no way he could like her as more than a friend, could he? And thus the grey Pegasus dozed off, dreaming dreams of a certain filly. “Bass? Bass?” “Wha- huh?” Bass woke up to being nudged by his father while his mother was calling his name. Looking out the window, he had to blink a few times to let his eyes adjust. Celestia’s sun was now up high in the sky. Even though the train was moving fast, he could see the shadows of objects. Using that, Bass guessed that was roughly close to noon. “Sweetie, we’re almost there.” he heard his mother saying as he groggily sat up. “What time is it?” “Close to noon,” his father said. So I was right. At that moment his ears finally picked up what the speakers on the train were saying. “… Next stop, Ponyville. I repeat, next stop, Ponyville.” Reaching into his saddlebag, Bass pulled his hoodie out and slid it on, then throwing the bag over his back, he joined his parents in the hall waiting for the train to stop. They were there, Ponyville, his home away from home. Bass was excited and his parents could tell, not only from his smile, but also the way his wings were twitching, begging to be let free. It was a clear day, not a cloud in sight. Bass was always amazed how similar yet different this town was compared to where he lived near the city. He liked it better here though, it was quieter and the air felt better, cleaner. Walking alongside his parents as they headed towards the inn, he could see the ponies selling their wares from carts. Carrot Top and Applejack were going at it about whether apples or carrots were better. Next to them was the sofa and quills store. I never can figure why anypony would sell those two things together. Further down the street was Sugarcube Corner. The building itself looked like a giant cake. Last but not least he saw it again, the building he'd spent hours reading in; the town library. The giant tree house was centered in the middle of the town. Bass smiled at the fond memories he had. "We're here!" He heard his mom say as they stopped in front of Ponyville inn. "If you hurry up you can still go see your friends. Be back at the Sugarcube Corner at night though!" Bass barely heard the last part; he was galloping off to the Crusaders clubhouse. As he neared Sweet Apple Acres, Bass slowed down, letting himself catch his breath. Looking over at a nearby pond he checked himself in its reflection. "Boo!" Bass fell face first, landing in the puddle that had only seconds ago been acting as a mirror for him. Sitting back on his haunches and shaking his mane out, he turned to glare at the perpetrator. Instead he was met with the three smiling faces of Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and Applebloom. "Don't you know it's rude to sneak up on somepony like that?" Bass was glad that he had a darker pelt; it helped hid the blush that was on his face. The three just bursted out laughing, making him blush more. "Ah'm mighty sorry Bass, we was just so excited to see you and wanted to give you a surprise," the yellow filly said. "Y-yeah you should've seen your face! What were you doing anyways?" The tomboyish orange Pegasus added, still laughing. Bass was suddenly glad for the length of his mane, hiding behind it to prevent the three girls from seeing his embarrassment. The only one who looked sympathetic was Sweetie Bell. Shaking his mane in an attempt to look unfazed he tried to reply as coolly as possible, "I-it's cool. I was looking for y'all anyways." The three filled just looked at him, Scootaloo still trying regain her composure. "We just got in and there's still plenty of day before we have to be at Sugarcube Corner." "Oh!" The three little ponies all said in unison. "In that case, Sweetie Bell had an awesome idea for us to try earning our cutie marks, you could help us out!" said Scootaloo. He knew what was coming next, and he barely had time to cover his ears, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, BEAUTICIANS!” One second he had been sitting on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, now he was in Rarity’s Carousal Boutique. Sitting in one of the fashionista’s swivel chairs, Bass could hear them whispering and practically begging her to let them do what they planned, while occasionally glancing over at him. He was nervous, and for good reason. They wanted to try trimming and highlighting his mane. Not that he wouldn’t mind a few extra inches off his mane and tail, he like the dazzling white color of his hair. But he didn’t want to disappoint his three best friends, so he sucked it up. After what seemed like forever, the fashionista walked up to him, running a hoof gently through his mane. “Are you absolutely sure about this, dear?” Bass could see the concern in her eyes. Afraid his voice would betray him, he only nodded. “Well then, in that case if you girls need anything I’ll be in the next room.” With that, she walked off, leaving him in the care of three overly eager fillies. He had to admit, it felt good. Feeling as Sweetie Bell ran her hooves and a comb thru his mane getting the knots out was really relaxing. Applebloom applied the face mask while Scootaloo mixed the dye. They talked to him about everything from how school was to their latest adventures in getting their cutie marks. “… And then Scootaloo fell out of the tree tryin’ ta get her scooter out of tha tree!” Applebloom said as she finished telling how Scootaloo had been trying to pull off a new trick. “Oh come on! I thought we agreed not to talk about that!” The other two girls broke down laughing. Bass couldn’t see but he could imagine Scootaloo blushing. She’s so cute when she blushes. The way her pelt gets just a bit darker… The sound of glass shattering broke him out of his reverie. “Is everything ok?” he asked. “Yeah, just dropped the dye let me grab some more.” After letting himself relax, Bass sat there and enjoyed feeling of the comb, hearing the occasional snip of scissors. He must dozed off, because the next thing he knew he was being nudged awake. Bass knew something was off right away. “What is it?” Scootaloo was the first to respond, “That looks so cool…” Sweetie Bell and Applebloom just sat there nodding in agreement. Were they blushing? Taking a second to access himself, Bass ran his hooves thru his mane. It felt about the same length, albeit being a lot lighter than he remembered. And what was this darkness he kept seeing? Turning to look in the full length mirror, all he could do was gasp. Looking back at him was a completely different pony. This pony had the same body and eyes, but the mane and tail didn’t belong to him. Instead of white with black highlights, this pony had two toned white and black hair. Turning sideways, Bass looked at his tail. It was the same as his mane. “I look like Vinyl Scratch.” ............. A/N: so here is the full chapter sorry for taking so long. Up coming in the next chapters will be more shenanigans, school dances, and young love. Thank you again everyone for comments and your support.