//------------------------------//
// New Places, New Friends 
// Story: Friendship is Insane 
// by UnorthodoxMethods 
//------------------------------//

Three ponies were walking down a small pathway towards a town. The three ponies were a blue Pegasus with a nappy black afro, a light green earth pony with a dark pinkish red mane and tail that were long and curly and a slightly feminine body, and a light blue unicorn with a white shortcut mane and tail. All three had saddlebags on. 
The unicorn was currently trying to read a map to help guide his two friends, “I think we’re on the right track.”  
“At least somethin’ is going well this week.” The earth pony said while glaring at the Pegasus, who was currently flying through the air. 
“For the last time, it wasn’t my fault we got kicked out of Las Pegasus.” The Pegasus said. 
“Yes, it was. You keep sayin’ that, and you keep lyin’, Sirius.” The earth pony growled. 
“I ain’t lyin’, Emerald. You think I wanted to get kicked out of my hometown?” the Pegasus inquired. 
The earth pony turned to the unicorn before questioning him, “You wanna get involved in this, Mood?” 
“Nope,” the unicorn replied as he folded the map with magic and put it in his saddlebag. “This is between you two.”  
Sirius grinned as he flew and assumed a relaxed pose. “Moody knows not to get involved.” 
“Either that, or he doesn’t care. The point is we had ta move! Ah don’t know why you’re so happy!” Emerald exclaimed, causing Sirius to smile broadly. 
“We’re going to a nudist colony! There’s gonna be more plot there than most of Los Pegasus! To top it all off, the mare to stallion ratio is like 9 to 10!” Sirius explained excitedly. Emerald rolled his eyes as they continued to walk. 
“Ya know you can probably do somethin’ productive when we get ta this town.” He said while turning to Mood. “What’s it called, anyway?” 
“Ponyville. It’s a village that was founded by an earth pony family.” Mood replied. 
“Ain’t that the town that was almost called Fillydelphia? That would’ve been a better name.” Sirius snickered. 
“I think we’re here.” Mood said as a town came into view. 
Then let’s go! I’ve gotta see what this is like!” Sirius exclaimed, taking off with his two friends close behind him.  
XXX
Whoa. This place is awesome.” Sirius said as the three walked around. 
“I guess it’s not too bad.” Mood agreed.
“Who do you think we have ta talk to ta get permission to stay somewhere?” Emerald asked. 
“Who cares? I’ll probably be sleeping in a tree tonight.” Sirius quipped.
“Oh, I know that.”
“Buck you.” 
As Emerald snickered, Sirius saw a pink mare with a magenta mane. She was trotting through the marketplace without a care in the world. Needing information about the town, Sirius decided to ask her a few questions. 
“Hey,” he said as she walked up, “We’re new here, and we wanted to know if-“ 
“Oh my gosh! You’re new ponies? I totally have to throw you a welcome-to-Ponyville-and-I-hope-you’re-going-to-stay-long party! Be seeing you!” she said at Mach speed, dashing off. 
The three stallions stood in shock. Emerald looked at the other two before deciding to break the awkward silence. 
“You two OK?”
“I guess. That could’ve been worse.” Mood replied. 
Sirius, however, was very excited, “If I have that effect on the mares here, then I’m gonna love this town!” 
“Where should we go now?” Mood asked. 
“Probably the Town Hall; the mayor will know what we should do.” Emerald explained, leading the way. 
About fifteen minutes later, the three stallions entered the Town Hall, where they went to meet the mayor. She was a tan earth pony with a gray mane and tail and had a scroll for a cutie mark.
“What can I do for you three today?” she asked politely. 
“We’re new here, and we plan on finding a permanent residence in this town. We thought it would be appropriate to inform you instead of just coming out of nowhere, especially since we got kicked out of the last town we lived in.” Emerald explained while directing a glare at Sirius.
What town did you live in before?” the mayor asked.
“What town did you live in before?” the Mayor asked. 
“Los Pegasus.” Mood said without missing a beat. The Mayor’s eyes bugged out and her necktie suddenly seemed to get very tight.
“Los Pegasus? You don’t say…”  
“Is there something wrong with Los Pegasus?” Sirius asked. 
“The last ponies who came here from Los Pegasus were not exactly model citizens.” The tan mare explained. Emerald waved down her fears with a hoof. 
“Don’t worry. We’ll be on our best behavior.” 
“Yep.” Mood agreed with a nod. 
“We’ll be exemplary citizens.” Sirius added with a toothy grin. 
“Alright, could I get your names, please?” 
“Sirius Bolt.” 
“Emerald Terra.” 
“Mood Swing.” 
“You’ll be added to the consensus immediately. You’re free to go, boys.” The Mayor said with a nod. The three stallions nodded and left the town hall.
“So, where do we stay?” Mood asked. He then noticed Sirius looking around for something. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for a comfortable tree to sleep in.” he said, causing Emerald to groan.
“You can’t sleep in a tree, Sirius?” 
“Says who?” 
“Ah do! I’m trying to help you!”  
“I don’t need help. I got this covered.” Sirius replied as he flapped his wings and took flight. He had only risen a few feet before he was hit by a speeding blur. His two friends rushed over, Emerald snickering a little.
“Yeah, you’ve got it covered.” Emerald said as he looked at what hit Sirius- a cyan mare with a rainbow mane and tail. She chuckled and got off Sirius. 
Sorry about that. I’m in a hurry. I gotta get to this party one of my friends is throwing. You alright?” she asked. Sirius got up and cracked his neck to get the cricks out. 
“I’m fine. I kinda wish you hadn’t hit me so hard…” he replied. 
“Hey, can’t you take a hit? You don’t look that soft?” she stated. 
“I can take a hit. I just choose not to.” He countered. 
Before the mare could object, Mood interrupted. “Uh, who is your friend throwing a party for?”
“Three new ponies that just came into town today. Why, you know ‘em?” 
“Of course we do! They’re us!” Emerald replied. 
“Really? Then I guess I’ll take you there!” 
“Wait a minute; shouldn’t we be looking for places to live instead of going to some party?” Sirius asked. 
“C’mon Sirius, you know you wanna go. Besides, Ah thought you wanted to meet lots of mares.” Emerald said with a smirk. Sirius deadpanned as the mare continued. 
“You should probably just go to get it over with. Trust me; you don’t want Pinkie chasing you.”
“Sure, whatever. So where’s this party?” Sirius asked.  
“Sugarcube Corner. Follow me, guys!” she exclaimed as she took flight. Sirius flew after her, Emerald and Mood close behind him.
XXX
The four of them walked into the bakery to a party that was well under way. Ponies were dancing, socializing, and having a swell time. That was to be expected of a Pinkie Pie party.
“This is different form Pinkie’s other parties.” The rainbow mare mused. 
“How so?” Mood asked. 
“It wasn’t a surprise party.” 
“Hey, you mind telling us your name? I forgot to ask earlier.” Sirius asked. 
“Me? I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria!” she replied. 
“Really? Well, I’m Sirius Bolt.”  
“I’m Emerald Terra.” 
“I’m Mood Swing.” 
Rainbow grabbed a cupcake and took a bite before continuing, “Well, I’d like to introduce you to my friends, but I haven’t seen them-“ 
“Dashie! There you are!” said a hyperactive voice. Seconds later, the pink pony from before appeared.
“The hay you did you come from?” Sirius demanded. 
“You’re the pony from before, right? Pinkie Pie, right?” Mood inquired.
“Yep, that’s me! Pinkamena Diane Pie, party thrower extraordinaire! Though my friends just call me Pinkie.” She explained. 
“Who are your friends?” Emerald asked. Pinkie responded by stretching one of her hooves to the left and grabbing four different ponies: two unicorns, a Pegasus, and an Earth pony. 
“These are my friends, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack! We’ve all been friends for a really long time and are happy to-“ 
Pinkie was interrupted by Applejack’s hoof in her mouth, causing her to stop talking. “She means to say that we’re pleased to meet ya.”
“Likewise.” Emerald said. He then turned to see Mood looking at Twilight with stars in his eyes. “You OK, partner?” 
Mood replied by crying out and shutting his eyes in pain; he had just experienced something that he was sure he’d never like to experience again.
He felt some emotion. 
“Is he going to be alright?” Twilight asked as Sirius helped Mood to his feet and handed him a drink. 
“He’ll be fine. He just felt some emotion for once. It’s just something he’ll have ta get used to.” Emerald said nonchalantly. 
“My feels! Oh Celestia, why does this have to happen to me?” Mood exclaimed through short breaths. He then drunk the punch Sirius had given him and calmed down some. 
“Keep it cool, Moody. I think you startled Flutters.” Sirius said while gesturing toward the bug-eyed Pegasus.  
“You don’t know what it’s like to suddenly experience something new, do you?” Mood asked, holding his right eye. 
“Hopefully I’ll be experiencing a lot of new things.” Sirius replied. 
“So, um, where are you guys from?” Fluttershy asked. 
“The last town we were in was Los Pegasus.” Mood replied. This information caused most of their faces to become blank.
“Los Pegasus? You three were in a town as… uncouth as that?” Rarity asked. 
Sirius was quick to reply. “There ain’t anything ‘uncouth’ about my hometown.” 
“You were born in Los Pegasus? I expected Emerald to be from there, but not you.” Rainbow interjected. 
“Why?” the Earth pony asked. 
“You look like some of the performers my dad showed me pictures of before.” She replied. 
Wanting to change the subject, Twilight spoke up next, “Do you three have a place to stay?” 
“No, we don’t. You got a place we can go?” Sirius replied. 
“Well, I’ve got some room at my place. One of you might be able to-“ 
“Mood Swing.” 
“Moody.” 
Emerald and Sirius looked at each other and began laughing. Mood just looked at them and shrugged. 
“I guess it’s alright.” He said, though he was grinning a little on the inside. 
“What about you two? Do you wanna stay with one of us? Oh, maybe Emerald could have a sleepover and I could invite lots of ponies and we could have a pajama party!” Pinkie said in a matter of seconds. 
“That’d be just fine for tonight, Miss Pinkie!” Emerald said with a grin. He turned to see Sirius looking outside. “You’d better not be doing what I think you’re doing…” 
“What? I’m looking for a bed!” he replied indignantly. 
“You could stay at my place.” Rainbow suggested. 
“Alright, but this is gonna be a one-time thing. I only have about 33 bits, and that ain’t enough to pay rent.” 
“Sure, no problem.” Rainbow replied. Pinkie then brought out her party cannon. 
“C’mon, everypony! Let’s party!” she yelled.  
The ponies ate, drank, and made merry until the late hours of the night. As the party continued, many began to leave, until about midnight, when the only ponies left were the Mane Six and the stallions. They cleaned up Sugarcube Corner and all got ready to go their separate ways. 
“See you tomorrow!” Pinkie said as her friends left. She then smiled at Emerald. “I’ll show you to your room now, OK.” Pinkie led the green stallion upstairs and into a room that he identified as the guest room. 
“Thanks Pinkie. See ya tomorrow.” He replied. Pinkie waved and walked off to her own room.
XXX
Mood walked into Twilight’s library with her, both of them pretty tired. Mood’s eyes were still stinging slightly, and his heart also felt weird, almost like it was skipping beats. 
“Are you OK, Mood Swing? You didn’t do much besides tell me your name.” Twilight asked. 
“I’m OK.” 
Twilight eyed the stallion suspiciously due to his speedy response. It seemed he didn’t say much or give lengthy responses to questions. She’d have to change that. 
“Let’s go to bed. It’s late.” She said. 
“Whatever you say.” He said as they walked up to go to bed. Mood noticed a small purple and green thing in a basket, but thought nothing of it as he and Twilight lay down in their beds to go to sleep. 
XXX
Sirius and Rainbow flew though Cloudsdale, the lateness of the night not sapping their strength much. They quickly reached Rainbow’s house, the two chuckling as they entered. 
“You’re pretty fast, Sirius. I don’t meet many pegasi that can keep up with me.” 
“It ain’t that easy, though. So, where do I sleep?” he asked. 
“On the couch. Duh.”    
“Cool.” He replied, taking off his saddlebags and then laying on the couch. 
“We’ll have to start making you a house tomorrow so you can live on your own, not that I mind the company…” Rainbow mused, turning to Sirius. She saw him sleeping on the couch, looking much like a newborn foal. She giggled and turned off the lights.