My Heart's Content

by Doctor Disco

10 - The Mane Six... Hey, Where'd Pinkie Go?

“Do you know where Rara is, AJ?” Pinkie questions the orange normal pony as we enter the room

“Rara?” the mare in a stetson asks, “She might still be packing up her equipment. I think she said she might drop by Sweet Apple Acres to have a meal with us. Said something about enjoying the scenery before leaving for her tour again.”

“She’s staying in Ponyville?” Pinkie gasps, “Does that mean I get to throw a party!?”

“Pinkie… I know what you’re thinking, and-” the orange mare began to say but Pinkie dashed out of the room, leaving me, and I’m sure everybody else left a bit miffed and confused. Just then, Pinkie sticks her head back into the room and points a hoof at me.

“I still need to throw you a welcome party now that you’ve gotten better. A proper one. Just you watch,” Pinkie says and she slinks away again. Everypony in the room except this one butter-yellow pegasus with a pink mane now turns to look at me. I begin to shrink under their gaze. Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been okay, but these were most certainly not normal circumstances.

“Ahem,” Twilight coughs, and they’re attention is gladly redirected from me back to Twilight. “Well, now that that’s out of the way…” Twilight raises a hoof and gestures to me, and I smile awkwardly at the group. “Girls, this is Melody!”

“Pinkie was going to introduce her to you, I think,” Twilight says unsurely and I nod, “But I guess it falls to me.”

I tilt my head one way, clicking my tongue. “Nothing to be unexpected from Pinkie,” I say, and I hear the orange earth.

“Ya got that one right,” she says, and I can’t help but smile.

“Well, I think I’ll go around the table,” Twilight begins, “The mare with the stetson is Applejack-”

“Howdy,” Applejack greets.

“Rarity is the one next to her.”

“Nice to meet you, Melody,” Rarity nods and I can’t help but note the accent in her voice.

“That’s usually where Pinkie sits, but she’s not here right now,” Twilight explains as she points to an empty chair with three party balloons on it. I smile wryly.

“What can you do?” I joke and Twilight shakes her head with a smile of her own.

“Moving on, this is Fluttershy,” Twilight points at Fluttershy, who meeps and tries to hide behind her mane. Knowing shyness when I see it, and with it literally being in her name, I smile gently at her.

“Pleasure,” I whisper softly, nodding my head and tipping an imaginary hat. At the sight of seeing her come out of her mane and smile at me, I know I did right.

“And beside Fluttershy is Rainbow Dash,” Twilight finishes, pointing to a mare with scruffy rainbow hair, “And my trusty number-one assistant, Spike!”

“Hiya!” a scaled purple and green thing waves and I smile, waving a hoof back.

“Rainbow Dash?” I question after greeting Spike, the name seeming ridiculous yet form fitting to who I’m talking to.

“The one and only!” Rainbow cries, puffing her chest out. I smirk, glancing at her hair and making sure she sees me do so.

“Well, I can see where the first name comes from,” I smirk, “But what about the last? Dash, huh? You fast?”

Rainbow grins wickedly at me. “If you want, I can show you fast,” she says.

“I hardly think now is the time for a demonstration, Rainbow,” Rarity interrupts. “You’ve just met and you’re already wanting to prove your worth to her. I hardly think that’s appropriate.”

“But…!” Rainbow complains, putting one hoof on the table and pointing at me.

“To be fair, the same thing happened when she first met Twilight,” Spike points out, and Twilight seems to glare daggers at him.

“I don’t think that’s the best idea right now anyways, Rainbow,” Applejack pipes in, “We’re all tuckered out from Rara’s performance yesterday, and I don’t think y’all would perform your best at half fuel.”

Rainbow Dash raises a hoof to object, but falls back in her chair, grumbling. “...Fine.”

“Glad we can agree,” Twilight sighed. She then turns to me with a smile. “As you can see, we may not be perfect, but we certainly get along.”

With a twinkle in my eye, I grin softly. “Glad to see it. Friends are always good to have… especially when you’re going through tough times.” As I turn my attention back to the ponies surrounding the table, my gaze falls upon Fluttershy. She’s now looking at me softly with a concerned look. As I make eye-contact, I turn my head away, not wanting to give her any clues to my inner turmoil.

“Well, it was nice meeting you all,” I say suddenly, turning away, “But I think I’ll be off.“

“Now where do you think you’re going?” Rarity asks as I take a step towards the door. Twilight turns her body to face me fully.

“Come on, Melody. Like Rarity said, you just met us. How are we supposed to become good friends if you leave?” Twilight tell me, and I sigh.

“Well, you already have what looks to be tight bond and I don’t want to intrude on that. Plus… I already have other… friends that I just made.”

Judging by the look on Twilight’s and everypony else's faces, they caught on to how I paused.

“Well, you’re going to hang out with us whether you want to or not!” Rainbow cries, flying over to my side. “Or else I won’t show you my sick moves!”

“And you really need to taste my baking and cider,” Applejack says, coming over from where she sits. “Trust me, Pinkie may have great sweets, but you haven’t tasted cider like mine.”

“I can vouch for that!” Rainbow shouts beside me, and my ear flicks involuntarily. Seeing this, Rainbow lowers her voice. “I mean, it’s really good.”

“And then I can make a dress for you! Oh the ideas I’m having right now… they all go so well with your coat and mane!” Rarity announces, joining her friends as they come together to try and convince me to stay.

“And we can hang out and read comic books and have fun!” Spike joins in, earning a glare from Twilight and a small giggle from me.

“And… and I can show you all the little creatures and animals that I take care of…” I hear a soft voice whisper, and I look around to see who said it. Turning to see Fluttershy slowly approaching me, I realize it came from her. “...You will stay, won’t you…?” Fluttershy asks.

As all eyes come down upon her, I can see her determined yet gentle face begging me to stay. Something about her eyes… tells me there’s more than just flora and fauna she wants to talk about, but how can I say no to all this?

Here they are, giving me all the many reasons to stay and bond with them. These ponies… they really just want to be my friend, don’t they? Just like Minuette, Lyra, Doctor Whooves, Vinyl, Octavia and Derpy... I can’t help but feel an overbearing weight taking it’s toll in my heart. It’s telling me that this is what I need… that they would want me to make new friends…

With five ponies and a dragon awaiting my verdict, I sigh. “...Alright. I’ll stay.”

With an explosion of hurrahs, they all cheer and stomp their hooves. They then begin to discuss with each other and to themselves of what we’re all going to do together. As somepony grabs me and pulls me into their group discussion, I wave my hooves in distress. “Whoa whoa whoa!” I shout, and they all quiet around me.

“Baby steps, ponies. Baby steps.”

“Sorry,” Applejack apologizes, rubbing the back of her neck. “Got a little carried away there.”

“But this will certainly be a fun experience,” Rarity assures me, and I smile at all of them.

Shaking my head, I move to stand just beside their table and I look at them. “So, if we’re going to do this…” I sigh, “What’s first?”

As they all turn to look at each other eagerly, I can’t help but feel a sense of dread. Maybe Pinkie was bad, but these five mares working together… I can’t help but feel a shiver go down my spine.

Spike sees my sudden expression and smiles just as nervously as me, patting my leg reassuringly.

Well, there’s no turning back now.
…
…
…

This is going to be a long day.

Author's Note:

Chapter 2/3.

Hiyah!