//------------------------------// // Did I not tell them? // Story: The search for the not-meat turkey, or: The Story of Equestria's First Thanksgiving // by TheEighthDayofNight //------------------------------// James smiled as he took a deep whiff of the air. It was fall, that much was clear to him. The morning held a slight chill, the trees were painted in a stunning array of oranges, yellows, and reds that reminded him of his former home on Earth. It was rare for him to think back to the human planet with thoughts of happiness, but perhaps that was because it was of a place unmarred by human contact. Anon didn’t care, he was in far too good a mood. His favorite holiday was coming up, and he couldn’t wait to see what everybody had planned. He’d been living in Ponyville for two months shy of a year, and he had of course made many friends. His personal favorites were the princesses. He, Celestia and Luna routinely held drinking nights in Canterlot, while he, Cadence and Shining Armor held a weekly D&D session (they called it Ogres and Oubliettes, even though they used his D&D modules). Still, names aside, every session was amazing with Starlight as the DM. It had taken a lot of convincing and begging on his half, but after telling the unicorn that she would have to maintain control of the session using her own cunning and ingenuity, she had hopped on board. That left Twilight, who, if James was being honest with himself, he had a huge crush on. The purple ball of friendship had been the first pony to give him a real shot (and a job as a library helper) when he had dropped into Equestria in a flash of obnoxious rainbow-colored light, and after becoming close friends, James had started just enjoying her presence. He smiled a blew a thick cloud of fog into the morning air. That was a thought for later though. Hearth’s Warming maybe, for now, they were just really good friends. James did his best to avoid skipping through the leaves as he made his way back into town. Though the ponies thought him odd, he loved taking early morning walks, mostly because it gave him an excuse to take early afternoon naps. He was up at a dark four in the morning, and after lunch, he retired to the couch in the castle library, usually with a certain purple alicorn resting on his back with a stack of school papers. He loved when Twilight would try to be sneaky as she crawled atop him and settled in. She always tried to notice when his naps ended to slip away again, but James was always faster, and he’d snatch the pony up and tickle her belly until she was a laughing mess. Though she always pouted afterwards, they always laughed about it, usually going to dinner together with Spike and Starlight. Dinner. The word brought an even wider smile to his face as he made his way toward the castle. Today was a very good day for dinner, and he couldn’t wait to see what the pony equivalent for Thanksgiving was. They had a holiday for everything. Valentine’s day? Hearts and Hooves day. Christmas? Hearth’s Warming. Halloween? Nightmare Night. It stood to reason that Thanksgiving had its own pony version (probably lacking turkey, but hey). James hit the doors at a jog, and as soon as he crossed the castle threshold, he took a deep breath, ready for the smell of a cooking dinner. He was met by nothing. Not just no smells, but no sounds, no light! Everything was dark as it always was when he got back. Anon didn’t let a frown slip on his face just yet. It was still early, and the kitchen was really good about trapping smells, he just needed to check with Spike. The little dragon always knew what was going on when it came to food. James moved at a leisurely pace, giving the ponies plenty of time to keep prepping… He opened the large kitchen doors to find it largely empty save for Spike, who sat at the counter, crunching away at a bowl of gems while reading a Power Ponies comic. There were no smells, no early morning dinner preparations. James gasped softly and turned on his heel, making a beeline for the castle doors. Perhaps he had never mentioned the wonder that was Thanksgiving, and on further thought, he realized that Equestria wouldn’t have a Thanksgiving equivalent. They had not traveled to a new world, had not met with a new people and shared a feast with them. OF course, they didn’t have Thanksgiving! HE needed to be the one to establish the tradition, to show them why it was important to get together with friends and family (and food) to be thankful for another good year! He made a slight diversion to his room to grab his reserve stash of bits, then he set off toward the marketplace, furrowing his brow as he tried to think of an appropriate turkey substitute. ***** Twilight poked her head out of the oven at Spike. “Did he take the bait?” The dragon nodded and scooped up another spoonful of gems. “Yup, he’s going to the market, just like you planned.” Twilight let out a sigh of relief and dispelled the complex illusion she had been maintaining. The kitchen exploded with the sights and smells of half a dozen ponies toiling away over hot stoves. Twilight crawled free of the oven, then set it to preheat as she smiled to her friends. “Great! Operation Turkey Hunt is a go!” A cheer went up amongst the ponies, and Fluttershy slipped out with Pinkie Pie, their direction; the marketplace. Twilight giggled as she looked over Applejacks shoulder at the pumpkin pie. “That looks great AJ! Thanks for holding with the traditional pie flavor.” The orange farm pony smiled at her. “Ah shucks Twi’, apples are the best fruit out there, but if ya can’t enjoy a different kind o’ pie every now and then, ya ain’t livin’!” Twilight nodded in agreement as she moved out of the earth pony’s way. She took a back seat on the meal prep, planning was her forte after all, not cooking. She giggled again as she watched her plan slowly fall into place. “This is going to be the best Thanksgiving James has ever had!” ***** James was not having a good day. He needed to be back at the castle by noon if he wanted to get everything prepped in time. Sure the kitchen had three ovens, but preparation would take an hour by itself, if not longer. He needed to have everything in by one if he had a chance in hell of having dinner around six. That meant no nap, but it was a worthy sacrifice in the name of Thanksgiving. James stopped in his tracks and paled. Sonofabitch, he needed to invite everyone! All the thoughts of food were for naught if nobody actually showed! James let out a yelp as Pinkie Pie appeared in the stand of green beans he had been staring at. The party pony grinned widely at him “Hiya Jamie! Whatca need Pinkie to do for you?” James blinked. “I… how did you know I needed help?” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Cause silly, scratchy hoof means Jamie needs help! Also you’ve been standing here muttering about tofu to the green beans for almost five minutes, and ponies are starting to stare.” James looked around to find most of the town staring at him silently, looking more than a bit concerned. He chuckled nervously, and gave them a wave, before turning back to Pinkie and sighing. “Well, as usual, you aren’t wrong. I completely forgot to tell everyone what today is, and now I’ve got to make everything perfect! Thanksgiving needs to make a good first impression if it’s going to catch on.” Pinkie’s smile didn’t diminish as she wiggled free of the green beans. She face planted at his feet, then snapped up and gave him a phony salute. “Party Planer Pinkie Pie reporting for duty Jamie! How can I make this day super fantastic?” James felt a bit of nervousness ease from his shoulders. “Could you send out invitations for dinner to all of my friends? I can write you a list real quick so that-…” Pinkie giggled again and pulled out a thin book from her hair. “Silly Jamie, I already know all of your friends! The Apples, The Princesses, half of Ponyville, Twilight’s parents from your last date…” James sputtered and flushed red. “I… that wasn’t a date!” Pinkie gave him a mischievous side-eye. “Sure Jamie, going out to the most exclusive restaurant in Canterlot to meet the parents wasn’t a date. Yep. I believe that about as much as the audience does.” “What?” “Nothing!” Pinkie replied with a bounce. “I’ll make sure everypony shows up by six! Don’t beat the bird for too long!” James blinked, and she was gone. He saw a flash of pink disappear in the direction of the castle, and he shook his head in exasperation. He looked back to his shopping list with a slightly calmer mind though. Invitations were out of the way, now he just had to finish getting the ingredients…. James felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned to find Fluttershy flapping lightly behind him. He smiled and extended his arms for a hug, which the yellow pegasus quickly accepted. She nuzzled his neck, then flapped backward and gave him her usual kind smile. “H-how are you today James?” she asked softly. He sighed and looked back to his list. “I’m a bit down, but if I can get everything done, I’ll be just dandy. You’re the resident animal expert, you wouldn’t happen to know where I could get a turkey substitute, could you?” Fluttershy smiled brightly. “I can actually! I used to care for a fuzzy little pack of wolves that were picky eaters. I used to have a garden full of the turkey plant, which tastes and smells just like the real thing, except, you know, it isn’t a feathery little friend.” She sighed and looked at the ground. “But I stopped growing it when they moved on. The only one I know that’s left grows in the Everfree, and only I’m allowed to see it, but I can’t take it you see.” James cocked his head. “That seems… weird. You can look at the plant, but can’t touch it?” Fluttershy nodded. “When I took the original crop, I made a Pinkie Promise to not take anymore from the grove, and I promised not to show anypony where it was. I can go there as much as I’d like, but I can’t take anymore.” She sniffled and her hair fell over her face. “I’m sorry James, I don’t know why I mentioned it.” The solution was dangled like a carrot in front of his nose, and James knew he could find a way to bite down on it. He thought hard for a minute, then snapped his fingers. “What if you blindfolded me, then lead me to the grove! I can pick a single plant and take it home, then you keep your promise!” Fluttershy’s sad demeanor dissipated instantly and she smiled brightly at him. “You’re so smart James! Let’s do it as soon as you’ve taken care of the rest of your grocery list!” James nodded, and turned to the green bean stand again, ready to finally select the best picks, only to find Rainbow Dash already there, paying the salespony. With his bits. And his grocery list in her mouth! James opened his mouth to protest, but quickly found himself blind. Fluttershy cooed in his ear softly as she alighted on his shoulders. “Oh, thank you Rainbow Dash for taking care of that for us. It’s going to take a while to get to the turkey grove, and I want to make sure we take the longer, safer route.” “ish no prblm,” the blue pegasus mumbled back, no doubt through the bag of green beans she had just purchased with his bits. James jabbed a finger at where he thought she was still standing. “No going off list Dash. I don’t need a repeat of my birthday.” He heard the sound of a bag being set down. “I won’t spend all your bits again dude, besides, you loved that drinking contest! You totally drank me and Princess Luna under the table!” James sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I did. Speaking of drinking, I forgot to add apple cider onto the list. Can you get three bottles? Two are for dinner, and the thirds for you for helping me out like this.” “Really?” Rainbow Dash said breathlessly. “A Whole bottle just for me?” James nodded again. “Yep, you two are a godsend right now, and if it weren’t for your help, I probably wouldn’t get dinner done in time. Thanks for everything you’re doing.” James felt a pair of hooves wrap around his lower half, and he felt Rainbow nuzzle his belly. “Thanks Jamie, can’t wait for this Thanksgiving of yours.” James blinked under his blindfold for a moment. “You know about Thanksgiving? Did I tell you about it sometime?” A thick silence hung in the air for a moment, then Dash chuckled nervously. “Uh, nope! Pinkie just ran by, and she gave me an invitation. Yup, that’s totally what happened. Gotogogetthestuffhaveagoodtripbye!” James felt the wind kick up in his face, and he could tell that the blue pegasus was gone. He snorted and looked up with blind eyes to Fluttershy. “So, where to?”