//------------------------------// // Chapter Three - An...Odd Greeting // Story: A Brony and Two Pegasisters // by Drwhooves-bestpony //------------------------------// Chapter Three – An…Odd Greeting Just outside Ponyville, Equestria “Ohmygosh!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Three new ponies! That’s three times as many friends as one new pony! What are your names? Ooh! You have a cookie cutie mark! Do you like cookies? Do you guys like parties? I LOVE parties! They’re so fun! *GASP* Wait one moment!” She zoomed off in a blur, leaving only a cloud of dust. The three (now turned) ponies exchanged some excited, confused and worried looks, only for Pinkie to return seconds later with a wagon they vaguely recognised. From the wagon, jaunty music began to play. “Welcome, welcome, welcome A fine welcome to you! Welcome, welcome, welcome! I say how do you do? Welcome, welcome, welcome! Hip, hip, hip hooray! Welcome, welcome, welcome! To Ponyville today!!!” Finishing her song, Pinkie said, “Wait for it!” “Wait!” Catherine gasped, now knowing what came next. But a second too late, as they were all covered in cake batter and had confetti showered on them. Catherine and Caitlin shook the cake mix off, licking it off around their mouth. Pinkie was evidently an amazing cook. Leroy had somehow picked up Pinkie Pie’s non-physics, and he and Pinkie both ate their own cake batter figures, as Pinkie had done in ‘A Friend in Deed’. “The Fourth Wall won’t be able to take it.” Catherine thought, bemused. “Sooooo,” Pinkie started, “Who are you guys?” “Well,” Catherine explained, “My name is Page Chapter, and this is Coco Chip and Cloudstar.” She pointed to herself and her friends in order while speaking. She had decided to keep it simple and use their OC names as well. “I’m from… Fillydelphia and these two are from… Los Pegasus.” She had just said the first two Equestrian cities that made sense and wouldn’t make anyone suspicious. “We’re just visiting Ponyville.” She said, knowing her story sounded weak and hoping Pinkie wouldn’t notice. “Oooooh!” Pinkie exclaimed, “That’s really cool! Hey, I just had a great idea! Would you like me to give you a tour of Ponyville? I mean, if you were visiting, you’d wanna see all the sights, right?” “Well…uh…” Catherine hesitated. Then she looked at Pinkie Pie’s smiling face eye-to-eye. And made what she thought was the best decision of her life. “We’d love to.” She said, beaming back. Ponyville “So,” Pinkie led the three ponies through town, going through an immensely fast tour reminiscent of Braeburn’s tour of Appleloosa in ‘Over a Barrel’. “That’s Ponyville Town Square… That’s the school… That’s the joke shop… That’s Sweet Apple Acres over there… That’s the spa… That’s Carousel Boutique… That’s where I live, Sugarcube Corner…and that’s the library!” Finishing her (quite short) tour, she turned towards the three ponies. “So, what do you think of Ponyville so far?” “It’s amazing!” Leroy said, containing an almost girly squeal. Catherine and Caitlin nodded eagerly, no words for what was happening. Pinkie Pie was giving them a tour of Ponyville. “It’s-“ Catherine started, only to be silenced by a flying blue blur. She was carried several metres off until she and the blur stopped, and she found out it was Rainbow Dash who had given her an impromptu joyride. “Oops, sorry!” Rainbow Dash apologised bashfully, hovering off the ground. “Hehe. Wasn’t watching where I was going.” “Hey Dashie!” Pinkie Pie greeted. “This is Page Chapter! She’s visiting, along with two other ponies, Coco Chip and Cloudstar!” “Huh. Cool.” Rainbow Dash said. “Nice way to start a visit, being crashed into by your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash!” She spoke with her natural tone of cockiness and joking. “Nah, just kidding. Sorry ‘bout that.” “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Catherine assured. “So you’re Rainbow Dash, huh? The same one as the one who saved the Wonderbolts AND won the ‘Best Junior Flight Competition’?” “The one and only!” Rainbow Dash announced. “Were you there? You’re not a Pegasus.” “Oh, no. My friends and I weren’t there, we just heard about it.” Catherine winced, realising she had messed up. “Well, I AM pretty famous.” Rainbow boasted, shrugging it off. She now moved over to Pinkie. “Hey, Pinkie. Did you see that flash of light going through town earlier? What do you think it was?” “What flash of light, Dashie?” Pinkie inquired. “You didn’t see it? It was pretty bright. Never mind, it was probably just Derpy having a joyride on a storm cloud, like she did last week.” Rainbow accused. “What are you guys talking about?” Leroy asked curiously. “Huh? Oh, sorry, uh…Coco Chip, was it?” Rainbow Dash said. “There was this light that shot through town earlier today. I had come back from this awesome Wonderbolts derby. Hey, it must have been just a bit before you guys probably came.” The three looked at each other nervously. Could that have caused their sudden appearance in Ponyville? “So, uh, as much as I want to chat,” Rainbow said. “I need to practice more. See ya!” She shot off into the sky, doing a loop-the-loop in the air. “Do you guys want to meet some of my other friends?” Pinkie Pie asked eagerly. “I’m sure they’d love to meet you!” “Sure Pinkie!” Caitlin said. “I’m loving this tour.” Sweet Apple Acres “Applejack!” Pinkie Pie called, with Catherine, Leroy and Caitlin following behind. “Applejack!” “Ah can hear ya, Pinkie.” A voice said from behind them. Spinning around, they found out the voice belonged to Applejack herself. “Oh, hey Applejack!” Pinkie greeted. “This is Coco Chip, Page Chapter and Cloudstar! They’re visiting, and I wanted them to meet all my friends!” “Well, it’s nice ta meet y’all!” Applejack said, shaking their hooves just like she had done in the very first episode of ‘Friendship is Magic’. “If you need any help around town, just ask.” “Sure thing!” Caitlin said, a bit dizzy from the vigourous hoofshake. Noticing the rest had made their goodbyes and already left, she ran after them. “Bye Applejack!” She hastily cried. Carousel Boutique “Rarity!” Pinkie Pie yelled, knocking on the door of ‘Carousel Boutique’. “Rarity? Oh, Rarity, where are you?” She said in a singsong voice. “Huh. Guess she’s not here. I wonder where she is.” The three other ponies exchanged a look. Edge of the Everfree Forest Pinkie knocked on the door of Fluttershy’s house. The door opened slightly, Fluttershy peeking through. “Oh, hello Pinkie.” Fluttershy said in her adorably shy way. “What are you doing here?” “I made new friends!” Pinkie exclaimed, opening the door so Fluttershy could see the three other ponies. They all smiled at her. “Eeeeep!” Fluttershy squeaked, zooming back into her house. “Fluttershy!” Pinkie called. “It’s okay!” “Don’t worry, we’re friendly!” Catherine said into the house. “I’m Page Chapter, and this Coco Chip and Cloudstar. By the way, I love your home. It’s so nice that ponies like you care for animals.” Part of Fluttershy’s face, mostly obscured by her pale pink mane, peered out from her hiding place. “Really?” “Of course!” Leroy put in. “Yeah, we love animals!” Caitlin said. Fluttershy ran over to the door. “Oh, really?” “Yes! Definitely!” Catherine assured. “We love animals, and it’s great that you’re caring for them.” “I’m so glad you appreciate animals.” Fluttershy said. “Not everyone is as keen on animals as I am.” “Oh no, we love them. I have a bunny myself!” Caitlin said. “Awww!” Fluttershy cooed. “What’s his name?” “His name’s Muffy!” Caitlin replied. “He’s really sweet. You know, I don’t suppose that I could come in and see your animals?” “Oh, I don’t know.” Fluttershy said awkwardly, brushing the ground with her hoof. “You know,” Caitlin started, “Muffy’s a little lonely. Maybe, you could help me get another bunny?” Fluttershy immediately perked up. “Oh, really? You want me to help you get another pet?” “Definitely!” Caitlin affirmed. “If it’s okay with you guys, I’ll just be with Fluttershy.” “Sure!” Pinkie said. “I can keep touring Pagey and Coco. If you need any help, you can meet me at Sugarcube Corner!” “Cool. I’ll do that!” Caitlin agreed. “See you guys later!” Catherine waved goodbye before running off with Leroy and Pinkie, who were having a conversation about their favourite confectionery. Just outside Sugarcube Corner “Sooooo, do you guys wanna make cupcakes?” Pinkie asked, while walking in Sugarcube Corner. (A/N: NOT the gory fanfic type, normal cupcakes) “Definitely!” Leroy said, no hesitation. Catherine wasn’t so enthusiastic. “Well, I kinda wanted to go to the library.” Catherine grinned. “I, uh…really like reading, and, well you can see it’s my special talent.” She hoped Pinkie wouldn’t be offended. Wait. This was Pinkie Pie she was talking about. “Okie Dokie Loki, Pagey!” Pinkie giggled. “Oh, I forgot to take you to see my other friend, Twilight! She’ll be in the library. She’s a super smart, book reading pony!” “Okay, Pinkie. Maybe I can bake cupcakes later? I would really love to!” Catherine was glad she hadn’t gone all ‘Party of One’ on her. “Don’t worry, I’ll save you some. You guys need a party anyway!” At hearing these words, Leroy’s pupils enlarged by about twice as much. “We’re…getting…a Pinkie Pie party?” He whispered excitedly. “Yeah!” Pinkie confirmed. “Of course, Coco! It’s going to be super duper party! I was going to make it a surprise party, but instead I gave you guys a tour, because then I could get to know you guys better! So then I-“ “See you guys later.” Catherine said, trotting (she had adapted to hooves far faster than you’d think) out the door. Distantly, she heard an “Okie Dokie Loki!” Books and Branches Library After the Cutie Mark Crusaders had left, Twilight was tidying up the library. Sweetie Belle had definitely improved and after awhile, she had been levitating books left, right and centre. It was evening, so the three fillies had gone home. Suddenly, Twilight heard a knock at the door. “I sure am getting lots of visitors today.” Twilight thought to herself. Opening the door, she saw an excited, if slightly nervous unicorn standing at the doorstep. She had the sort of look of a pony meeting their idol, but trying to act relaxed in front of them. Twilight realised she hadn’t seen this pony anywhere before, which was strange, as Twilight knew most of the townspeople at least by sight. The unicorn was blue, with an extremely messy, black mane in a ponytail. She had orange eyes, and a stack of books as a cutie mark. “Uhhh…Hi.” The unicorn said nervously. She was looking at Twilight with some sort of sense Twilight just couldn’t put her hoof on. She realised she hadn’t said anything yet and the unicorn was looking at her strangely. “Oh, sorry.” Twilight apologised, snapping herself out of her thoughts. “Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m the librarian here.” The unicorn had a star struck look on her face, then shook it off and replied, “I’m Page Chapter. It’s nice to meet you! Pinkie told me the library was here.” “You’ve met Pinkie then, huh?” Twilight asked. “Yes, me and my friends met her when we arrived.” Page Chapter told her. “She gave us a tour of Ponyville. Right now my friend Coco Chip is baking cupcakes with her.” “Your friends, huh?” Twilight said. “So, why are you stopping in Ponyville?” Page Chapter looked a little sheepish. “Well…it was an unexpected visit. We probably won’t be staying long.” She looked as though she wanted to change the subject. Twilight didn’t want to pry, so she did. “So, what brings you to the Books and Branches?” She asked. Page Chapter looked relieved. “Well, I wanted to check out the library. I really like reading, and I was curious about the books here.” “Oh, ok!” Twilight said. “I was just reorganising the books here. I mean, if you don’t mind." “No, no, I don’t mind!” Page Chapter assured. “It’s good that someone is organised and neat. I’ve always respected that in a per-sorry, a pony. I’m... not what you could call neat or organised.” “Really?” Twilight asked. “Not many ponies really ‘admire’, as you said, my organisational skills. Well, anyway, what sort of book are you looking for?” Page Chapter thought about it. “Um, you don’t happen to have any of the ‘Daring Do’ series here, do you? It’s been on my ‘Books To Read’ list for ages!” “‘Daring Do’, huh?” Twilight said, smiling. “Yes, I have the whole series so far. One of my best friends loves that series!” “That’s great!” Page Chapter enthused. “The whole series is over on that shelf, in chronological order.” Twilight said, with the nerdy part in her voice showing. “Okay, thank you!” Page Chapter said. “I’ll tell you if I need any help!” *** Catherine stared at the ‘Daring Do’ books on the shelf way above her. Oh dear. She couldn’t climb the ladder, she wasn’t entirely sure how to use four legs yet! She couldn’t ask Twilight, she’d have to explain why she couldn’t use magic. She would just have to try. She focused on levitating the book down to her, imagining it floating out of the shelf. Beads of sweat poured down her face. She heard a *thump*, opened her eyes, and saw ‘Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone’ sitting in front of her. It worked. It worked. “IT WORKED!” Catherine burst out. “What was that?” Twilight asked. Did I say that out loud? Oops. “Oh, uhhh... Daring Do’s trick! It worked! She sure is a smart pony!” Catherine lied. “Oh, okay, Page Chapter.” Twilight said, going back to her reorganisation. Phew. That was close. Catherine looked back at the book. She had levitated that down. It had also given her a headache. I wonder... She levitated the next book in the series down from the shelf. It was slightly easier than last time, but still put some strain on her. While levitating the book, she noticed an open door to a stairway. She realised the stairway was leading to the library basement shown in 'Feeling Pinkie Keen'. This would have just been useless trivia, except for the fact there were voices coming from that room. Curiosity spurred, the book Catherine was levitating flew out of her magical grip and down the stairs, where she heard a very audible 'OW!' Catherine ran down the stairs to collect the book and apologise. There were a few things she noticed. First, Rarity was in the room, looking rather confused. Secondly, Spike was there too, gazing at Rarity lovingly, as per usual. Thirdly, there was another, unrecognisable pony in the room. Lastly, and most importantly, this pony had a bruise on her head and was staring at Catherine angrily. That wasn't good, in any universe. "Ahh!" Catherine shrieked. "Don't hurt me, I'm sorry!" The pony stopped, her anger replaced with confusion. You could almost see the cogs turning in her head. She stared at Catherine, drinking in her appearance. "B-b-but...y-y-you!" The pony stuttered, with a familiar voice. "Me?" Catherine asked. "Who?" Spike interrupted. "CATHERINE?" The pony yelled, surprised. The realisation hit Catherine like an anvil. She knew this pony. And this pony wasn’t on the character list. "ELL?!" Catherine yelled, just as surprised. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" They cried in unison.