Chapter 4
-- Party --
Trail’s heart rate slowly returned to normal as the shock of the surprise and the blast of confetti gave him quite the startle. Comet was giggling with delight at all the decorations and the confetti falling all around her.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash came up to them, both laughing at the scene.
“Pinkie’s surprises are always the best. Bet you two weren’t expecting that huh?” Rainbow said, hovering in the air with her forehooves crossed.
“Sorry for tricking you Comet, but I figured a surprise party would be worth it,” Twilight said, smirking at the end.
Comet was giggling like a filly on a sugar rush, “This is so cool! A party just for us. I’ve never had a surprise party before. Daddy is terrible with surprises.”
Trail quickly turned to Comet, “Hey, it’s not my fault you’re too curious for your own good.”
Twilight and Rainbow burst out laughing at that, making Trail blush a bright red. The party was in full swing at this point and ponies were moving from place to place, talking and enjoying the festivities.
“Well I guess we should let them enjoy their party. Come on Rainbow, let’s find the others and see what Pinkie has in store,” Twilight said before turning and walking away with Rainbow Dash.
Trail recovered from his embarrassment and decided to look around, see what this party had in store. It had been so long since his first real party, rather than the little get togethers he had. Just as he was about to leave, a purple blur appeared in front of him and Comet.
“Comet! Did you like the confetti? Professor Pinkie Pie let me help set them up,” Silverstream said, hovering just in front of the filly.
“Yeah, it was great Silverstream. Oh this is my dad, Trail Blazer. Daddy, this is Silverstream, she goes to Twilight’s school,” Comet said, pointing to her dad as she introduced him.
“Nice to meet you, I’m glad Comet is meeting such kind people,” Trail said, smiling at the hippogryph.
Silverstream smiled at the stallion, and soon after a changeling came up to the group.
“Ocellus, told ya I’d find her, you find the others?” Silverstream asked the changeling, who smiled back at her friend, pointing to another part of the castle foyer.
“Sure did. We found us a table over there. Comet, wanna come meet the rest of our friends?” Ocellus asked, smiling warmly at Comet.
Comet jumped in excitement, “Of course I would.”
She then turned to Trail, “Can I go Daddy, please?” Comet said, giving a cute look with her eyes sparkling.
Trail laughed and hugged his filly, “Of course you can kiddo. Go and have fun, enjoy the party.”
Comet squealed and hugged him tightly around the neck, which he turned in kind before putting her back on the ground. Comet then ran off with Silverstream and Ocellus leading the way. Trail just stood there, watching the sight of his filly happier than she had ever been.
“She seems to getting along well with the other students,” A mare said from his side, making him jump a bit. Looking to his left, Trail found a familiar purplish pink unicorn standing next to him, looking towards Comet with a smile.
“I would say so, and I couldn’t be happier. I hope she has found a good group of friends here,” Trail said, smiling back in Comet’s direction before returning his attention to the mare.
“I must say Starlight, you sure know how to sneak up on a pony,” Trail said, smirking to the mare, who just smirked back.
“Easy to do when the pony in question is lost in his thoughts,” Starlight said, floating a drink over to Trail with her magic.
Trail laughed and accepted the drink, “Well ya got me there.”
Trail sipped the drink, finding a delightful fruity taste to the punch, prompting him to finish the drink. He thanked Starlight and the two found a table in the foyer to sit down and talk.
“So Trail, how are you enjoying Ponyville so far?” Starlight asked, sitting down across from Trail.
“It’s certainly a lively town. I’ve only been here a day or so and I’ve meet so many friendly faces. Manehatten and Vanhoover certainly have a lot of ponies, but friendly not so much,” Trail said, rolling his eyes at the mention of the two cities.
Starlight laughed, “I’m sure that there are some nice ponies in the big cities, Rarity told me of a friend in Manehatten in show business. Coco Pommel, I think her name was?” Starlight said, rubbing her chin in thought.
“I believe I’ve heard about this Coco, but my time in Manehatten is usually short. I don’t care much for them big cities. Too much noise, give me the calm and beautiful countryside anyday,” Trail said, remembering the hussle and bussle of Manehatten.
Starlight smiled, “I agree, I don’t like big cities either. But I’m not all that great with the outdoors either. Twilight and the others brought me for a camping trip, and it didn’t go so well.”
Trail chuckled, “I can understand that. The outdoors do have their charm, you just need to see them for yourself.”
“So Twilight showed me a few of your books. I gotta say, you’ve been to a lot of places, haven’t you?” Starlight said, changing the subject.
Trail rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, “Yeah, I guess you can say that. Certainly makes life interesting.”
“I’ve only heard stories about some of these places. Also, the one with the Zahara Desert, you went to Zebrica? What’s it like?” Starlight said with a gleam in her eyes that sparkled with curiosity.
“It’s a beautiful country, filled with all kinds of wonders. Ponies avoid it because of the predators that tend to roam the area, but the Zebras have learned how to avoid them pretty well. And they are some of the friendliest folks you will ever meet,” Trail said, smiling as memories of his time in Zebrica came to mind.
“It sounds wonderful. I’ve only ever met Zecora, but I’d love to see Zebrica one day,” Starlight said, looking up with a hopeful expression.
“Zecora? You have a local zebra?” Trail said with a look of both confusion and curiosity.
“Oh right you probably haven’t met her. Yes, Zecora is our local zebra. She lives in the Everfree Forest, but occasionally comes into town for shopping and visits,” Starlight said.
“Interesting, I look forward to meeting her. Perhaps I’ll run into her while I explore the Everfree,” Trail said, looking forward to his first venture into the forest in the coming days.
Starlight looked worriedly at him as he said that, “You’re planning on exploring the Everfree? Haven’t you heard the rumors and stories?”
“Oh certainly, but it won’t be the first dangerous area I’ve been to. The Ash Fields in the Dragon Lands, now that was a hazard believe me,” Trail said, chuckling as he remembered those fields of fire and soot.
“You certainly love adventure. You and Rainbow Dash would get along well,” Starlight said, a little shaken from Trail’s casual attitude towards the dangers he was talking about.
“I do enjoy adventure in my travels, but the real goal for me is to learn all I can about the places I go. How the environment works, the wildlife, plants, etc. Then I write books on how ponies and other creatures can explore and navigate through these places safely,” Trail said, looking to the side in thought.
Starlight’s eyes grew a little, “so you want every creature to be able to navigate dangerous places safely? Wow, that is such a noble goal,” Starlight said, genuinely impressed by Trail’s goals.
“You are too kind Starlight, but yes that is what I strive for in every place I go. Every creature should know how to be safe in any environment,” Trail said, looking down at the table for a second.
“So what made you choose this line of work? Especially with raising a daughter on top of all that,” Starlight asked, leaning over the table.
Trail flinched ever so slightly, “I’m sorry Starlight, but that is a sensitive topic. It’s hard to talk about.”
Starlight’s ears immediately folded, “Oh, I’m sorry Trail, I shouldn’t have asked.”
Trail lifted a hoof to get her attention, “No please Starlight, you don’t need to apologize. I just have a hard time sharing that experience.”
Starlight tried to smile to lighten the mood, “So… do you like kites?”
Silverstream was practically dragging Comet at this point, making a beeline for the table that sat on the far end of the foyer. Ocellus following right next to them, keeping up with the hippogryph.
“There you are, what took you so long?” A orange dragon with purple frills said from the table, looking impatient.
“Yeah, where’s this new friend of yours?” A blue griffin said, sitting down on the far side of the table with a cup in his claw.
Silverstream flew over the table and dropped Comet right in the center seat, right in between every creature. She and Ocellus then sat down in the seats next to her.
Comet was surprised by the quick flight and the sudden drop, and now she was extremely nervous with every creature looking at her. She wasn’t use to this close proximity, but at the same time, she felt a small warmth in her chest.
“Everyone, this is Comet Trail, the new student,” Silverstream said, a little loud for being so close to Comet.
Comet blushed and fiddled with her braid, “Umm… hi.”
“Gee, and I thought Ocellus was the shy one,” the dragon said, laughing at Comet’s shyness.
Ocellus puffed out her cheeks at the comment, “Not funny Smoulder.”
Smoulder stopped laughing and smiled, “Hey I’m kidding Ocellus. Hey there, name’s Smoulder.”
Sudden a yak was right in Comet’s face, “Hello new pony, me Yona.”
Comet smiled despite the invasion of her personal space and waved a greeting to the yak. She then turned to the griffin of the group.
“Hey, name’s Gallus, welcome to the school of friendship. Hope you like homework,” Gallus chuckled at Comet.
Comet then turned to the last member of the group, an earth pony colt. He smiled in her direction and waved, “Nice to meet you Comet, the name’s Sandbar, hope we’ve made a good first impression.”
Comet smiled back, “You certainly have. I’ve never met a group as friendly and accepting before.”
“Yona and friends always happy to meet new friends. Headmare pony always says to be kind to others, especially new friends,” Yona said with a voice thick with the Yakyakistan accent.
“Now I really can’t wait for school. It sounds like so much fun,” Comet said, bouncing in her seat with excitement.
“Yeah school is ok. The homework kinda sucks sometimes, but we have our study group. Plus Ocellus practically sleeps with her textbooks,” Gallus said teasingly to Ocellus.
Ocellus’ cheeks burned, “That was one time! I fell asleep while reading Magical Artifacts and Enchanted Items.”
Comet couldn’t help but giggle at the thought, “I know how you feel Ocellus. One night I was reading Talismans and Zebrican Glyphs, next thing I know, I wake up the next morning and was using the book as a pillow. Daddy wouldn’t stop laughing all morning.”
Ocellus’ eyes grew at the story, “I’ve never read that one. It sounds fascinating. Can I borrow some time?”
Comet smiled gleefully, “Absolutely. I can bring to class and you can borrow it.”
Smoulder looked back and forth at the two, “Oh great, there’s two of them now.”
The comment caused the two fillies to blush and made the rest of the group burst out into laughter. Despite the embarrassment, the two fillies soon found themselves joining in on the laughter. Comet never felt so alive in her life, this feeling she had when the group was around was new to her, but she had an idea of what it could be. Friendship, the very thing she came to this school to find.
“I see that all of you are enjoying yourselves. And have been treating our new student well,” Twilight said as she stepped up to the table.
“Oh yes Headmare Twilight, Comet is our new friend. She’s a lot of fun,” Silverstream said, hovering in the air with joy.
“That’s so wonderful to hear. You couldn’t have picked a better group of friends Comet,” Twilight said with a smile that radiated with warmth and care.
“Thank you Headmare Twilight, I can’t quite believe it myself. I’ve always wanted friends, and it was so easy,” Comet said, looking around to all her new friends.
“Always happy to welcome a new friend to the group. What about the rest of you?” Sandbar pitched in with a smile.
“She seems pretty cool, even if she’s a bit of an egghead,” Gallus said with a smirk.
“Same here, I bet she’s a blast to hang out with,” Smoulder said, leaning her elbow on the table.
“Yona says new pony is part of the group. Yona so happy to meet new friend Comet,” Yona said, squeezing Comet in a hug with the strength of snake.
Caught off guard by the tight hug, Comet wasn’t prepared for the yaks strength. Despite this, it felt nice to receive the act of kindness. Soon the rest of the group joined in on the hug and Comet shed a few tears of joy.
After the hugfest was over, Twilight left the group to themselves. Comet started telling them all about her travels with her father. The group was so focused on her stories that everything around them seemed to fade away.
“No way, your dad explored the Ash Fields. That is hardcore, even Princess Ember doesn’t like going there,” Smoulder said, honestly surprised by the tale.
“He sure did. He only let me come a few times, but it was awesome. Fire pits erupting everywhere, hot springs, geysers, all kinds of cool stuff,” Comet said, remembering all the things she saw on that particular trip.
“That sounds scary, weren’t you scared?” Ocellus said, sounding a little scared herself.
Comet rubbed the back of her head, “It was a bit scary, but I had Daddy with me. He wouldn’t let anything hurt me.”
“Your dad sounds awesome, I’d like to meet him,” Gallus said before finishing his punch.
Sandbar spoke up after a while of silence, “Hey Comet, I’m curious, why don’t you have a cutie mark yet?”
Comet flinched at the question and slowly looked at her blank flank, a sad look starting forming on her face. Another thing she hoped the school would be able to help her with.
“I… I don’t know. It just never appeared. Daddy says that I’m just a late bloomer. But I’m worried that I may never get it,” Comet said, her head drooping, hiding her face behind her bangs.
Sandbar was mentally kicking himself for upsetting their new friend, the rest of the group looking sad as well. But then an idea popped into his head.
“Hang on Comet, I’ll be right back,” Sandbar said as he got up and ran into the crowd. This left the filly and the rest of the group confused.
Sandbar was only gone for five minutes or so, before he came back with three fillies around Comet’s age, perhaps slightly younger. A white unicorn, a yellow earth pony, and an orange pegasus, all with similar cutie marks.
“Comet, these are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they help ponies find their cutie marks. They can surely help you find yours,” Sandbar said, looking between the fillies and Comet.
Comet couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ponies whose talents are helping other ponies find their talents. Comet squealed and jumped over to the Crusaders.
“You girls can really help me?” Comet said, looking at the three with hopeful eyes.
“Sure we can, we’ll have your cutie mark showin up in no time. Name’s Applebloom by the way,” the earth pony filly said.
The unicorn stepped forward, “I’m Sweetie Belle, and we’ve got some ideas on how to make your mark appear.”
The pegasus filly jumped in excitement, her little wings buzzing, “Totally! We can get you that mark for sure. I’m Scootaloo by the way.”
Comet smiled with absolute glee at the scene in front of her. She would finally figure out her cutie mark. After all the years of wondering why her mark wouldn’t appear.
“And don’t forget us. We’ll help you find your mark too,” Sandbar said, pointing to the rest of the group, who all nodded in agreement.
After that, the Crusaders left to find their sisters in the crowd. Later Sandbar revealed to Comet that their sisters were the professors of the school, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Comet saw the resemblance in all of them, and hoped she would see them soon.
The party kept going with Trail and Comet joining in on the games and festivities. The night soon came and Luna’s moon shined through the windows of the castle. Twilight had decreed that the party was drawing to a close as the ponies left the foyer and out the front door. Trail and Comet being the last ones to leave, by orders of Pinkie Pie.
“Well, I certainly had a good time, how ‘bout you kiddo?” Trail said, looking to a sleepy Comet on his back.
“It was the best party ever. I got new friends and had so much fun,” Comet said, her eyes starting to droop a little.
Trail chuckled and nuzzled his filly, and then turned to the seven mares that were behind him. Starlight was in the front with Twilight and the other six elements behind her.
“Thank you all for a great party. I can’t thank y’all enough for the hospitality and kindness you’ve shown,” Trail said, tipping his hat to the mares in front of him.
“You’re very welcome Trail, it was such a fun night. I hope we see more of you during your time here in Ponyville,” Starlight said, smiling at the stallion.
“I hope so as well Starlight. Same goes for all of you, if you ever feel like a visit, come by and say hi. Our cabin is just down the road from Fluttershy’s,” Trail said, pointing to the yellow pegasus who smiled back.
“Sounds like fun, and both of you are always welcome here at the castle,” Twilight said, gesturing to the castle around them.
“Thank you Twilight, now I better get this filly into bed. Thank you all again, and a good night to all of you,” Trail said, turning to walk out the door, Comet waving goodbye to the mares.
The journey home was uneventful, Comet falling asleep on Trail‘s back about half-way home. He entered their home, seeing that all the furniture he had ordered had arrived, meaning the beds would be upstairs. He could do all the arrangement tomorrow.
He took his filly into her new room, walking up to the bed. Using his magic to set the sheets on the bed, he tucked Comet in. She looked so peaceful sleeping in the moonlight coming from the window. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead, right under her horn, causing her to stir a bit and smile.
Leaving her to her sleep, Trail closed the door to her room and went to bed himself. Today was a good day, and it was only going to get better. He was sure of it.