//------------------------------// // Late arrival // Story: Animal Passion // by briantherat //------------------------------// It was dusk when Blueheart stepped off the merchant cart, handed a few coins from his pack to the old stallion, and watched as he pulled the wooden rig down the path and over the hill. It was a long journey from the city - Blue had left with his few personal possessions early that morning - and he was eager to settle in for the night. He wasn't quite sure where he was headed in the end, but when he saw the lights of the small town from the cart he'd be sitting in, he decided that it was as good a place as any to stop. The path into town was mostly empty, the moon now in full display in the Equestrian sky, and Blueheart was grateful to find an inn run by an elderly mare that had a bed available for the night. He vowed to plan his next move in the morning. "WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!!!!" was what awoke Blue the next morning. He opened his eyes to see a wide-eyed pink pony staring down at him with an enormous grin on her face. "OHMYGOSHWHENIHEARDTALKTHATANEWPONYARRIVEDINTOWNLASTNIGHTICOULDBARELYWAITFORMORNINGTOINTRODUCEMYSELFANDWELCOMEYOUMYNAMEISPINKIEPIEITSSOGOODTOMEETYOUAND..." Blue barely had time wake up, to figure out what this strange pony was doing in his room, or to understand what she was even talking about, when she suddenly grabbed his hoof and pulled him - still half-asleep - from bed. Blueheart was a healthy, young male pony who was fairly strong when he needed to be, but not even he could match the strength and determination of this mare's desire to drag him where she wanted him to go. "Hold on a sec!" Blue managed to exclaim as he found himself being dragged out the door of the inn and through the village square, "What's going on here?" "Your party, silly!" Pinkie Pie giggled, "You need to get to your party! Everypony is waiting to meet you!" "My what?" Blue said, more to himself at this point as he was beginning to wonder if this wasn't some strange dream. It just couldn't be possible that he'd be dragged from his bed by some strange pony in this strange town and brought to some kind of party. The two burst into the hall, Pinkie dragging Blue behind her, where indeed he saw what must be nearly every pony in town there rushing to meet them the moment they came through the door. "My word, we don't get new ponies here often! Nice to meet you!" said a stallion, grabbing his hoof and shaking it vigorously. "Where did y'all come from, then?" "What brought you to Ponyville?" "What does your cutie mark mean?" The questions were coming from all sides, as every stallion, mare, filly and colt in the room crowded around him. He could see the pony that had originally brought him there chatting energetically with other ponies in the crowd, occasionally looking over his way and waving at him with a goofy grin on her face. Blue politely answered their questions as best he could, all the while inching himself across the room and looking for an escape route from the crowd. He soon found himself standing over by the snack table, having gotten away from the majority of the welcoming committee. As he looked down at the rows of muffins, cookies and small cakes his stomach growled as he realized that he'd been dragged from bed before he'd had a chance to eat any breakfast. "Well, this is my party, after all, so when in Ponyville..." Blueheart thought to himself as he took the liberty of stuffing his mouth with the yummy-looking treats. He had just finished stuffing a third muffin in his mouth, when he looked up and was startled to find a mare standing beside him. He coughed in surprise as he choked on his food. "Oh my goodness! I'm sorry if I startled you!" the yellow pegasus pony said meekly - her face partly hidden behind a fringe of pink hair. "I wanted to say hello, but didn't want to get in the way of the crowd. They...umm...sure seemed to want to meet you. I can leave you alone, if you'd prefer." Blue swallowed his food as quickly as he could and shook his head, "No, no...it's fine. They just...came on a bit strong, is all. That Pinkie sure seemed to want me to meet everybody." The pegasus smiled and giggled a little, "Yes, Pinkie Pie is Ponyville's one-pony welcoming committee alright." The two ponies stood in silence for a few seconds, both unsure what to say. Finally, Blue broke it by extending his hoof and managing a smile, "It's...umm...good to meet you; I'm Blueheart." The pegasus looked up at Blue and smiled, her blue eyes twinkling from the lights in the room. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly blushed and looked away. Blue pulled back his hoof slowly and shrugged, "Well, I guess I'll see you around." and started to walk away. "Fluttershy." Blue turned around and saw the pink-haired pegasus had walked up beside him. "I'm Fluttershy." she smiled at him, shyly. Blue smiled back at her. Though he had just met her, he felt much more at ease around Fluttershy than the other ponies he'd met so far. There was something comforting about her uneasiness, her quiet manner of speaking and the awkward way that she carried herself. "Fluttershy...I don't suppose...umm..." Blue began, unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say. Fluttershy looked at him quizzically, "Yes?" "I'm not really much for parties. I don't suppose you'd like to, maybe, go for a walk?" "Oh...umm..." Fluttershy said, then blushed and looked away. "It's okay if you don't want to." Blue quickly added. "I'm just...I appreciate what Pinkie did, but...I don't really like crowds." "It...it's fine." Fluttershy said, quietly, "I'd...I'd like to go for a walk with you, Blueheart." "Call me Blue" Blueheart said, smiling.