//------------------------------// // It's party time! Why are you just talking? // Story: Golden Love // by enigmaMystere //------------------------------// Flick finds himself being dragged backwards by this pink mare, any attempt to slow himself down proving to be fruitless. Grab a lamppost? Lose his grip. Claw at the ground? Create divots in the gravel. Hug the nearest non-pink pony? Take them along for the ride. Then again, the one known as Twilight was rather soft to the touch... ...he makes a mental note to apologize to her after finding a suitable gift to offer her. The other girls just seem to watch with eyes that know the futility of his efforts. Eventually, they make it to the establishment and Pinkie lets go of his tail, turning and giving him a big grin. "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, where the best sweets are made!" He merely nods, his body still tense from all the tugging. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Rainbow whispering to Applejack. He can only make out something about Twilight before a warmth makes itself known against him. "Mister Flick?" Says a voice by his side. "Can you let me go, please?" "Huh?" He blinks, looking down at the mare at his side. "...ah. Sorry, I thought I let go, earlier." He does so now, getting up and offering her a claw up. "Though, if it helps any, you're really comfortable." She appears confused by the compliment, but thanks him nonetheless. "Thank you. Maybe that's why Spike never complains when I carry him." He smiles at her, and, when she's far enough away, he leans over to a nearby pony, whispering in the ear without looking. "Does she not get flirting?" Applejack waves a hoof. "She's smart as a whip but she strikes me as a pony who's had her head in a book most of the time." "Ah." He taps his chin, a thoughtful smile on his beak. "I kind of like a challenge. Maybe I'll see how she reacts when she finally gets it." "Careful, darling." Rarity placed her hoof on his shoulder. "You'll need to take responsibility when she finds out." Flick stares at her in confusion, shrugging and walking into the eatery. "Sure thing, Miss Rarity." He hears the trails of tittering as he looks around at the small crowd of customers scattered about the room. A few scattered ponies that were in the shop for other reasons seem to have gotten wrapped up into the party, now enjoying themselves. He nods quietly, his gaze just drifting past most of the ponies before they rest on a familiar shade of yellow, sitting off in a corner all alone. Sighing softly, he makes his way over, stopping a respectable distance away, though still behind her. "You know, it's a shame for a cutie like yourself to be alone in a party this welcoming." "Eep!" She squeaks quietly, hiding within her mane. "...are... are you really that shy?" He gently reaches a talon in her direction. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, Miss Shy. I just... figured it'd be a good idea to-" "Hey!" He takes a step back as Rainbow lands in front of him, eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you think you're doing to Fluttershy?" The griffin grimaces a bit. "...trying to be friendly?" "You have a weird way of doing it." She pushes his claw away from them. "Keep that to yourself. Or Twilight." He chokes on his words a moment before glancing over at the pony in question, nervous. "...I have no idea what you're talking about." Suddenly the blue mare finds herself gently poked from the back. "Umm... Rainbow, he wasn't being mean. He was just... trying to talk to me." She turns and stares blankly at her friend. "...you're sure he wasn't doing anything to scare you?" Fluttershy nods. "He was just talking to me." "...oh." She awkwardly shuffles in place before turning and heading towards the cupcake table Pinkie set up. Flick chuckles, glancing at the yellow pegasus with a smile. "She's pretty protective of you, huh?" She gives a small smile, nodding as she only hides half her face. "She has been for years." "Sounds like a good friend." He clears his throat and gestures to her slowly, as though she were made of glass. "So... should we try this again?" "Oh! Right..." Seeing him trying, she takes a deep breath. "Hello." "Hello." He places a claw on his chest and bows to her. "It is an honor to meet you." "Oh umm, there's no need to bow." She says softly. "I'm nopony important." He smiles coyly at her. "I was taught to respect females, especially pretty ones. Would you prefer that I kiss your hoof?" "Eep!" She backs off quickly. "Bowing is fine." "As you wish." He looks over everyone else for a moment before continuing. "So, what do you like to do?" "Oh, I like to care of the cute little animals that live around here." The one eye not hidden behind her long pink forelock almost begins to sparkle. He blinks, tilting his head to one side. "You really don't mind taking care of animals?" "Oh, no. I love it!" She claps her hooves. "Huh." He scratches his cheek, glancing over at her. "Any particular reason? Do you just love cuddling with cute critters?" "I.. I have a special connection to them. It's my talent." Her wings flutter as her namesake. "I can help them find good homes, help their problems, and ensure they're healthy." He considers this for a moment before nodding, giving her a warm smile. "That's a noble cause, Miss Fluttershy. I'd be lucky to have somepony like you as a nurse." He chuckles and gently pats her on the shoulder. She doesn't shy away, and instead giggles. He takes note of this and chuckles. "Glad you're being more open with me, by the way. Your voice is really lovely when you use it." He winks and stands up. "Eep!" She squeaks once more. By this point, however, he has walked away, off to mingle with more ponies. Rainbow lands beside her, an eyebrow raised. "...does he hit on every mare he comes across?" Fluttershy just tries to calm herself. The technicolor mare glances at her friend, her bemused expression turning to confusion. "Wait, did that actually work on you?" "Work? I just thought it was nice." She now looks confused. Her muzzle scrunches a bit at this. "...so... you didn't realize he was flirting with you?" "Umm... no, not really." She shrugs. "Ponies just act like that around me sometimes." Rainbow sighs and rests her head on a nearby table as she mutters to herself. "...and ponies say I'm dense..." Meanwhile, elsewhere in the party, the griffin has settled down by the snack table, eyeing everything in confusion. "...either I'm crazy, or someone here likes apples... what even is all of this?" "Well, Ah can only do so much when Pinkie asks for things at the last second." Applejack admits, having been close enough to hear. He jumps as his heart leaps into his throat, spinning to face the mare. "L-lovely as your southern lilt is, please don't sneak up on me like that." "Heh, sorry about that." She smiles at him. "Yer not just gonna eye the grub, right?" "Why do that when I've got the Apple of my eye right here?" He chuckles and playfully winks at her. Pinkie pops up behind him, startling him into losing a couple feathers. "You have an apple in your eye? Doesn't that hurt?" "What... no, I was-" "Oh! Maybe the food's just reflecting in your eyes!" She takes hold of his head and stares deeply into them. "...nope. Just me and Applejack." The farm pony is trying to hold in her laughter as she watches him. Flick is blushing brightly by this point. "...never mind, Pinkie." "Okay!" She turns around and gasps. "Ooh, party games!" She then runs off and leaves the two of them alone. "...she's pretty excitable, huh?" He nervously chuckles, looking back to Applejack. "So how come you didn't get a cloud house like the pegasi?" Applejack asks him as the party pony pronks away. "A few reasons." He reaches over and grabs an apple juice, sipping at it before he answers. "I wanted a yard, I didn't want a house that could easily be pulled apart, mistaken for weather clouds, or blown away by a strong wind, and I wanted to invite guests of all kind over, not just pegasi." He smiles slyly at her. "Does that answer your question?" "Eeyup." She nods. "Sound like fine reasons to me." "Good." He glances at his drink. "So... you're a farmer, I take it?" She nods. "Yep, mah family runs Sweet Apple Acres on the outskirts of town." "...you mean all those trees I saw on my way over?" He taps his chin. "Even the pear trees?" "Ah'm fairly certain those are on Carrot Top's property." She says with an odd look. "But that name implies that she's a vegetable farmer, doesn't it?" He points a talon at her. "Apples are trees, and so are pears, so... right?" "Farmers ain't limited to a single type of crop." She says, scrunching her mouth. "So then you aren't limited to apples. Thus, pears." He smiles proudly, thinking he won the argument. She seems at a loss for words, instead taking an apple fritter and taking a large bite out of it. "In all seriousness, though," he gently places a claw on her shoulder, "what's up? Why so upset about pears?" "Family stuff that seems dumb when I tell it to other ponies." She answers vaguely. He raises an eyebrow but shrugs a bit. "Alright, I'll stop pushing." He lets go and offers her his claw. "Maybe you can introduce me to some southern hospitality, sometime?" "Well sure, though yer getting a sample right now." She gestures to the spread. He just smirks. "Not the kind I meant." He finishes his drink and moves to grab another. She grins once more. "We'll see. If you're neighborly, ya'll be treated like it." "And if he's more than neighborly?" Flick jumps as the pink pony jumps into view beside her friend, wearing a blindfold over her eyes. "Pinkie? How are you..." She motions to how she just avoided knocking over anything before sighing and shaking her head. "We'll see when we get there." "What do you mean by that?" She takes a step to the side and lets the griffin leave, still looking at Applejack in spite of her current lack of vision. "Look, Pinkie, you know we're friendly, so let's just see what happens." She pats her friend's shoulders. She blinks. "...is he going to join your family?" She beams brightly. "Can I join your family?" "Ah... you..." Sighing, she drags her away. "Come on, let's talk." She nods and follows her, humming happily all the while. Flick sighs and sits at a table, nursing his second glass of juice. "...there's something strange with some of these mares..." "At least they're interesting, right?" A non-female voice speaks up as it comes to the table, grabbing a bit of punch with it's claws. He jumps, looking at him with wide eyes. "...oh, right, the, uh, dragon, right?" "That's me!" He offers him a claw. "I'm Spike." He smiles and shakes the claw with his own. "Flick. Nice to actually meet you." Spike nods. "Yeah, I think I saw you earlier when things were calming down from being crazy. I was a bit distracted to say hi." "Yea, I saw you got your own..." He trails off, glancing around at the ponies in the party. "...you know what." "Ticket? Yeah." He sips his drink. "The Galla's okay, but I think we'll all have fun." "Really?" He looks around at everyone, chuckling when he sees Pinkie lead Applejack to a game of pin the tail on the pony. "What kind of fun do you think you'll have?" "Well, I just got these, so I'll need to check on some stuff, but I think I can show them a good time." He looks up thoughtfully. "Is that right?" He taps his chin thoughtfully. "...I wonder if I should've asked to go..." He blinks, looking at the crowd once more. "Wait, so how many of you got tickets? Was Twilight just giving them away?" "Twilight had a spare one, everypony seemed to have a reason they wanted to go, not enough tickets to go around, whole town goes nuts trying to get it." He sighs as he recounts the day. "Then she sends them back and ends up getting enough for all her friends and me." "...wait, they all had a reason to go?" He raises an eyebrow at this. "And you're going to try to get them all to do something together?" "Yeah... I might have to call in some favors to please them all." He admits. "Probably a good idea." He scratches his chin, glancing over at Rainbow and Fluttershy discussing something. "Maybe you should bring it-" "Oh, Spike~!" A familiar alabaster unicorn walks up to them, smiling warmly. "You just have to try this angel food cake! Pinkie really outdid herself!" "If you like it, I'm sure I'll love it!" He quickly hops down and fetches himself a piece, his eyes only on her. Flick watches him leave, an eyebrow raised. "...that's some strong puppy love, right there..." Around him, the party continues, some ponies even having pulled a piñata from somewhere and are now dodging wild attempts to hit it. Flick chuckles, shaking his head at this display and how the purple unicorn who didn't understand his flirting was the one almost hitting ponies. He takes another sip of his drink, then groans and smacks his forehead. "I've barely even seen my new place."