//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5~Meeting a friends friends 
// Story: Youngblood 
// by Centurion Pike-Wall 
//------------------------------//

"Why are you dragging me here, again?", DJ asked as he followed his older brother. 

Depressi replied, "I've agreed to meet some friends of the mare I met this morning, Southern Rose. I'm meeting them at this cafe, and I decided, why not drag you along? You know, help you not be such an anti-social bastard, eh?"

The two of them entered the cafe in question, a light bell ringing as they entered. A female donkey looked up from behind the counter, smiling, "Oh, hello there boys."

"Salve, miss...", Depressi said. 

"Oh, my name is Matilda. My hubby and I run this cafe. Can I help you?", she asked. 

"Yeah", he said. "Me and my brother here are meeting some ponies here in a little bit. Besides, we're not from around here and thought we might try some of the food."

Another donkey came out from the kitchen; a male with a massive slouch and a blonde wig. "Oh yeah. Rosie came by earlier. Told us to tell you that there's been a, quote, 'Change of Plans'. She wants you to meet her at her family's barn."

"Oh", Depressi said. "Oh, ok then. Thank you. Come on DJ, let's go." 

As the two of them exited the cafe, DJ asked, "Why do you think this little, meet-up has been moved?"

"Don't know. Maybe something came up?", Depressi offered. DJ just shrugged his shoulders and the two walked in silence. 

They arrived on Sweet Apple Acres, noticing that there was almost no-one in the orchard around the path or by the house. As they got closer, they heard a few noises coming from the big red building, which Depressi assumed was the barn. He said, "Alright. This is what I assume is their barn."

"Well?", DJ asked. "Open it."

Depressi undid the latch and swung open the door to the barn. Inside, they were greeted with a hay-covered floor and the vague outlines of a few girders. The rest of the room was shrouded in darkness. The two of them walked inside a little bit, looking around in confusion. DJ opened his beak, but before he could say anything, the lights suddenly shot on, temporarily blinding them as their eyes adjusted to the sudden shift. 

"SURPRISE!", a chorus of voices yelled, coming from the mass of ponies previously hidden behind bundles of hay, barrels, and racks of farm equipment. 

The ponies were a mix of familiar and unfamiliar to them. Depressi spotted several ponies that he identified as Southern Rose, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, along with the two workers at the Bakery from yesterday; Pound and Pumpkin if he recalled right.

Of the ponies he didn't recognize, he spotted one about his age, two a bit younger, and one very much older. The older one was a buttermilk colored pegasus, tall and lanky with a long pale pink mane. She regarded Depressi with a rather nervous expression, her hair barely hiding a long, faded red scar across her cheek. She was standing close to Pinkie Pie, seemingly trying to hide behind the pink mares excitement. Despite only seeing her once before, he recognized her after a second due to his mother's stories; Fluttershy.

He shifted his gaze to the two of them that were a bit younger than him. One was a unicorn mare with a light grey coat and a black and blue mane. She had a cutie mark of a black and red record decorated with a sixteenth note. The other one was an earth pony stallion with a pale brown, almost tan coat, and a dark red mane. He was wearing a dark blue tie and had a cutie mark that was a pair of cherries with the stems forming a double-barred bit sign.

The final one was the one he thought to be about his age. At first glance, he thought she was another unicorn. She had a pale pink coat with a light purple and cyan mane. She was wearing a faux-leather jacket with a silver gorget over it along with a silver tiara. It was then that he noticed her wings, a pair of large limbs along her sides bigger than his own. Again, while he hadn't seen her, he had heard of her; Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire.

"What is this?", Depressi asked. 

Pinkie leaped out from under Fluttershy's wing, landing in front of him. "This is your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party! After I saw you yesterday, I knew I needed to throw you and your brother the bestest 'Welcome to Ponyville' party I've ever thrown! So, I spent all day yesterday getting this ready, but then I heard from Applejack that you would be meeting Southern's friends later. I decided it would be the perfect opportunity, and so I moved the welcome party for you two here! By-the-by, where's DJ running off to? Is he going to go get something to eat? Because we have all sorts of food here!"

Depressi looked behind him, watching as DJ ran off at full speed. Depressi looked back and said, "Sorry, everyone. But my brother doesn't take sudden loud noises well. I'll go get him. We'll be back in a bit." He ran to the entrance of the barn and took off, chasing after his brother.


++++~++++


After a few minutes, DJ and Depressi returned to the barn. The others had fallen into an awkward silence, looking up as the two of them re-entered the barn. Pinkie said, "Oh, I am so so so so so sorry, DJ. I didn't realize that you would be uncomfortable with the surprise party. I guess that these types of things aren't for everypony."

DJ snorted, before saying, "Ok. Just... don't."

"Okie dokie lokie!", Pinkie said and began bouncing up and down. "Now, with that done, let's get this party started. Flutters, drop the beat!"

Fluttershy moved a needle on a record player, which began to play upbeat music. While the adults began to talk amongst themselves, the eight teens just stood in a loose circle, awkwardly looking over each other. Finally, Southern said, "Well. How 'bout we have some introductions, eh? You already know me. And according to them, you met the twins yesterday."

"Yes", Depressi said. "And, the others are...?"

"Hi!", the unicorn mare said. "My name's Soundboard! Nice to meet you."

"Likewise", Depressi said, shaking her hoof. 

"Name's Maraschino Cherry Rich, but you can just call me Maraschino", the other earth pony said. "And that ball of angst and edginess in the back is our dear sweet Flurry Heart."

"I heard that, bar", Flurry said, trotting up between the two of them and glaring at the Pryhans. "Alright. Now, I know you two come from a place that is obsessed with ranks and all that, but let me make this clear. No titles. No calling me princess. Just Flurry, ok? Just. Flurry. And while I can't speak it to save my life, I can still understand your language, so none of that either. Ok?"

"Y-yes Prin-I mean, Flurry", Depressi said. 

"Yeah", DJ said. 

Flurry nodded sharply and said, "Good."

An awkward silence purveyed over the group of them. Each looked at those they were unfamiliar with, silently drinking up the details of their new acquaintances. The proverbial silence was broken when Southern asked, "Well, we might as well establish some things to do after this is over. So, what do you do for fun in Pryha?"

"Well, let's see", Depressi mused. "We have various dice and board games-"

"You do those for fun?", Pound asked. "That sounds like the most boring thing in the world."

"Pound", Pumpkin hissed, lightly smacking him with her tail. 

"What?", he questioned. 

Pumpkin said, "Be polite. Just because you find those things more boring than watching paint dry, doesn't mean they do."

"Well, it's not like I'm wrong", he defended. 

"Continuing", Depressi interrupted. "We also have various active games we play. Javelin and discus throwing, races, swimming's a big one..."

"Gladiatoral bouts", DJ offered.

Depressi smiled and said, "Yes, thank you. Gladiatorial bouts, wrestling, ball games. All sorts of things like that. Now, what about you? What do you do for fun?"


++++~++++


"When you said 'Shoot some hoops', this is not exactly what I had in mind", Depressi said. 

Depressi was hovering in the air, a large bucket levitated behind him. Directly across from him, Pound Cake was also hovering in front of his own bucket. Maraschino and Southern Rose were also facing off, while Pumpkin Cake and Flurry Heart were just below the buckets, which were held in their magic auras. Soundboard and DJ sat off to the side, Soundboard holding a small chalkboard in her hooves and a piece of chalk in her mouth. The hastily assembled Buckball court had been set up just outside the barn, with the adults still inside talking.

Behind him, Flurry Heart yelled up, "What did you think? We'd actually shoot at hoops with crossbows or powder-weapons or something?"

"Buckball isn't a thing in Pryha", Depressi said. "So, the context of 'Shooting Hoops' isn't a thing."

Pound called, "You understand the rules, Depressi!?"

"Just go over it one more time. You know, so I don't mess up or anything", Depressi answered. 

"Ok. The earth pony tries to buck the ball into the basket. The Pegasus-that's you-tries to block them from getting the ball in the basket. The unicorn tries to get as many balls into their baskets as possible." Pound then yelled, exasperation evident in his voice, "Now, do you get it!!?"

"Yes, yes. I got it." Depressi then muttered, "No need to be a prick."

Soundboard said, "Ok. Ready? GO!"

Maraschino tossed the large rubber ball into the air, before whipping around and bucking it at Depressi. He grabbed the ball as it sailed over him, before tossing it down towards Southern. The zony, in turn, bucked it at Pound, who used his wing to knock it aside. However, Pumpkin moved the basket to intercept, and the ball landed inside.

"Mullet colt! Quit being impatient if you can't even play!", Flurry yelled. 

"Lucky intercept", Pound groused. "Not gonna happen again. Send it back and send it up!"

After getting the ball from Pumpkin, Maraschino grabbed the ball, before once again tossing it up in the air. This time, Southern managed to buck it first, sending it flying over their Maraschino's head. However, it flew too low for Pumpkin to catch in the basket. Pound flew down, using his rear leg to send it to Maraschino, who kicked it and sent it flying over towards Depressi. He gave a quick burst of speed, intercepting it with his paws. He sent it back down towards Southern, who once again bucked it over towards the bucket. Pumpkin once again tried to intercept the ball, only for Pound to knock it aside and to Flurry. 

The ball went back and forth another two times, before Maraschino bounced it off the ground. The ball bounced off the side of the bucket, before bouncing off of Depressi's back and into the bucket. He fumbled forward a little bit, before regaining his equilibrium in the air. 

"Ya ok, 'ressi?", Southern said. 

"Yes, I'm fine", he said, before looking over at the other side with an almost feral grin. "Well then. Let the fun begin, eh?"


++++~++++


The ball was passed back and forth multiple times over the next hour. The game they had agreed to was that the first team to reach twenty points would win. By the end of the hour, both groups were tied at nineteen, with the ball passing in between the groups in rapid succession. 

Depressi knocked the ball aside, sweat gleaming on his coat. Southern knocked the ball back towards Pumpkins basket, only for it again to be intercepted by Pound. Maraschino managed to kick the ball back towards Depressi, who used his wing to knock it aside. As the ball flew back down to the middle, both Maraschino and Southern bucked the ball at the same. As they both fell forward, hissing in mild pain, the ball shot off to the side, flying into a tree. The rubber hit a broken-off branch of the apple tree, popping and deflating onto the branch. 

They all stared at it, before Depressi and Pound both let out a collective sign and fell to the dirt, exhausted. DJ came over to his brother, asking, "You ok? You're as red as a blood-stained piece of terracotta."

"I'm fine", he panted. "Just... I get into these things, you know?"

"Well, that was fun", Southern said. "Ah'll go get some apple juice. Cool us off." 

As she trotted off into the house and the others all laid around, panting and sweating, the two of them saw Fluttershy come up to them. "Um. Could I talk to you two?", she asked.

"Sure", Depressi said, sitting up and wiping his head. 

"I'd, I'd like to apologize", she said. "I know you've probably seen or heard your mom talk about all the letters Pinkie sent to her, but I'd like to officially say that we're sorry."

Depressi knew what she was trying to say, and shook his head. He said, "I'm sorry, but it's not up to me. Mom told us that's it's her bad blood. We can do what we want, but if you want mom to forgive you, that's up to her."

"Oh", she said. "Ok then. I'm sorry for wasting your time." She trotted off, heading over to Pinkie Pie with her head low to the ground. 

The two of them were distracted by Southern returning with several green boxes emblazoned with a red apple. Hoping to relieve their heat, they stood and went over to her, eyeing the boxes with relief.