//------------------------------// // Surprising Events // Story: Welcome to Ponyville! // by CharcoalShift //------------------------------// Night had finally arrived, and ponies all around town gathered at Sugarcube Corner. A large crowd surrounds the door, and flashing lights of various colors can be seen emanating from the windows. The bass inside is so loud, coming close to the building will cause your entire being to vibrate. It's tough to say for sure, but this was the biggest and loudest party Charcoal has ever come across. He stands behind the large crowd with Shadow and wonders how he and the nervous pony can get through. Loud yelling can be heard, and a few of the ponies cower a bit in fear. Moving in closer, they see an extremely buff, white pegasus with tiny wings holding a clip board. Charcoal and Shadow look at each other in confusion. "Aren't all the ponies invited to any party Pinkie throws?" he asks "Yeah, it's a very common thing" Shadow said, taking another glance at the pegasus "Then why is he posing as a bouncer?" "I don't know, why are you asking me? I'm just as confused as you are!" They trot up and the over buffed stallion stops them. He looks at them square in the eyes. "NAME" he shouts in a rather intimidating voice. "U-uh, Charcoal" he stutters a bit, being sized up by the bouncer "Ah, you must be the VIP. Right this way..." the bouncer looks at Shadow and stops her "AND WHO ARE YOU?!" Shadow hides her face with her hooves. Charcoal steps back "She's with me." "Oh, very well then." the bouncer said in a very calm manner. Shadow staggers next to Charcoal as they make their way in, the bass overtaking the entire room. She tries to talk, but her voice becomes inaudible to the music. They then see Vinyl, who is waving her hoof from the soundboard that is behind the register. They trot up to her, to which she embraces Charcoal with a hug. "Charcoal! Glad you could make it!" Vinyl yells "How do you like the party?! Pretty awesome huh?!" "It's fine I guess?! Isn't this a little too much?!" Charcoal looks around, seeing a few ponies enjoying the party a bit too much. "Don't worry about it! Just enjoy it!" Vinyl looks at the bashful pegasus "So is this the mare that wants to go out with Pinkie?!" Shadow's ears perk up and gets close "Not so loud! I don't want anypony finding out!" "Lighten up girl, you can scream out your deepest secret and no one would hear it! Like that one time Charcoal...." Vinyl's voice was drowned out by the music. Charcoal's face turned a deep red. Vinyl started to laugh, leaving Shadow to wonder what she said about Charcoal. "Hey! I've been meaning to ask!" Shadow steps in "How do you two know each other so well?!" "Oh that's simple!" Vinyl smiles "He and I are--" A pink blur appears before them and greets them with a childish laughter. "Hey there Mr. VIP! Welcome to the party!" said Pinkie Charcoal looks at her for a bit and scratches his head "Isn't this a little over the top?! You didn't have to do this!" "Nonsense! I always throw parties like this for everypony!" she giggles "So what's with the bouncer?!" Shadow looks at her a bit curious "Oh him?! He always volunteers to do that just to scare the other ponies! Most of them know he does it for fun, but the rest are afraid of him! We get a kick out of it every now and then!" Charcoal and Shadow wonders if that sort of humor is good for anypony at all. Pinkie bounces away to attend to the buffet, which is quickly dwindling down to nothing but cupcake crumbs. Charcoal turns to Vinyl and whispers the plan, to which she nods and grins from ear to ear. Shadow turns and trots to the other end of the room with Charcoal. "You think this is going to work?!" Shadow looks at him with a bit of concern "Don't worry about a thing! Nothing could possibly go wrong!" Charcoal smiles. They turn to see Applejack and Rainbow Dash at the entrance. He waves and gets them to come over and greets Applejack with a hug. The music starts to die down, and the voices of the other ponies can finally be heard. "Hi there Charky! How are you likin' the party?" The cowmare smiles "It's gonna take some getting used to" He smiles sheepishly "It better be soon, cause Pinkie does this at least once a week!" Rainbow Dash grins "Once a week?!" he cringes. Charcoal already has a hard time adjusting to this party, but going to one every week? It would drive anypony mad! "I'm just kidding, it doesn't happen that often" Rainbow Dash laughs at Charcoal's shocked expression. The music dies down and Vinyl turns on the intercom that's near her soundboard. "Alright all you party ponies! This next song is dedicated to the pink party hostess, from an anonymous pony!" she says, pointing in Pinkie's direction "Huh?" Pinkie looks back, placing the tray of freshly baked cupcakes on the buffet table. The song isn't as hype as it was before. It's more of a melodic and sensual type of music. It's accompanied by singing, which describes appreciation and a deep expression of attraction and infatuation. The crowd is touched by the song, and Pinkie starts to blush and smiles bashfully, covering her face. Charcoal, Shadow, and Rainbow Dash look at each other and nod. It went off without a hitch! Applejack is a bit curious as to what they were smiling about. Shadow was giddier than the other two. "Now what's all this about?" Applejack looks at the three of them "You'll see soon enough!" Rainbow Dash grins. Pinkie trots up to them and is seen with the kindest and warmest smile that can only be compared to Fluttershy. Shadow's face turns a deep red and Rainbow Dash still has that sly grin across her face. "That is the sweetest thing anypony has done for me!" Pinkie says, trying to hold back a tear. Shadow's heart began to race. This was the perfect moment to seal the deal, to tell her long time (or rather very recent) crush how she felt in one swift gesture. She leans in and closes her eyes, puckering her lips to expect the feeling of cotton candy lips on hers. Pinkie leans forward and Rainbow Dash and Applejack are shocked by what they saw.... She had kissed Charcoal Shadow opens her eyes and sees the two in a lip lock. Charcoal has no idea what is going on. Rainbow Dash has her mouth agape, and Applejack tips her hat back, flustered and filled with jealousy. "Now what in tarnation was that fer?!" Applejack said a bit agitated "I gave Charcoal a little peck on the lips" Pinkie said, concerned about Applejack's heightened defensiveness "I figured that was from him since I threw the party for him" "It wasn't me..." Charcoal was a bit heated by the kiss. He swore he could taste enough sugar on those lips to give you diabetic shock. "Oh my! I thought it was!" Pinkie gasped "But... why are you so angry Applejack?" "Cause ya kissed mah coltfriend outta nowhere!" she stomped a hoof. Pinkie covered her mouth in surprise. Everypony but her knew, and she threw the whole party out of whack, drawing attention to them. Meanwhile, Shadow is next to them, her world shattered like glass, cutting away at her heart. Rainbow Dash saw her with the corner of her eye and trotted towards her while the other three try to patch things up from the misunderstanding. Rainbow Dash can see it in her eyes, the sight of her hopes and dreams melting away. "Don't give up yet...” The rainbow mare said softly "Pinkie is always left alone to clean up the mess when the party is over. I forgot to mention this, it may be your only chance to tell her one on one" "Y-you think so...?" hope began to twinkle in Shadow's eyes again. She turns to see Pinkie bowing her head profusely, apologizing to Applejack and Charcoal. She could clearly see Applejack glaring at Charcoal, giving him the 'was her kiss better than mine?' face. All he could do was shake his head left and right with such vigor to make a pony's neck snap. All the while, Vinyl is still at the soundboard, cranking the music up and laughing to herself. "This is going to be a loooong night~"