//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Starting Over 
// Story: Infatuation 
// by Wheremymaresat 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 2: Starting over.

I was looking out from atop that hill. Looking towards the small town that stood in front of me, I noticed an inn on the far side of town. I couldn’t read it, but I could clearly tell it was in the more wholesome part of town. The town itself was like parts of different towns all mushed together. The country welcome of Sweet Apple Acres, the poor, still lit picture of Soresaddle street, the natural neighborhood welcome of where (I assumed) the element of kindness lived, the market area and main square of town, where the famous Twilight Sparkle’s library stood, and the outskirts where I saw a large cloud home with a rainbow fountain.The inn was in the far back side where there was hardly anything but a few houses and a shop or two near the inn.
Seeing that I had a long way to walk, I started trotting toward the patchwork town, with a low head. If walking at night in a place that was never asleep was scary, then walking in a place that’s asleep so early, is somehow terrifying. ‘I’m going to get jumped by a murderer. Or kidnapped and forced to work on horseshoes for the rest of my life.’ I imagined in my head, a pegasus with knives held by his feathers, jumping from a rooftop and plunging at me whilst screaming “FRIENDSHIIIIIIP!” It was far-fetched but nopony for miles would be able to hear me scream if it were to happen.
I grew tired of the silence, so I whistled a tune. A cheery, happy, disgustingly colorful tune. There’s nothing wrong with color, but it wasn’t something I was used to. It seemed like the thing of fairytale. I hope by now you know that I’m speaking of emotional color, not physical.
It was only 9:00... So why was everypony inside? well, I finally figured it out, when I heard a door opening from behind me. I heard a young mare gasp. ‘There’s something behind me isn’t there? She’s not just gasping at a random pony at night, that makes little sense. Well I guess right now if I saw anypony I would run for my life, but I’m new here, so that’s to be expected right?’ I turned to look behind me, and there was nothing but the shadow of a mare in a doorway. The same mare that gasped, apparently at my presence.
The next thing I knew, there was a ^WHOOSH!^ as wind blew right by me. I looked toward the doorway where the shadow once came from, and there was nopony... Just a closed door, no more shadow, no more light. I looked up, to see what this place was, as I quivered in fear, in front of what appeared to be a bakery. The sign above the door read “Sugarcube Corner”. It seemed like an ironically cheerful place to have a ghost.
That made it twenty percent more horrifying. ‘It saw me, what if it hacks me apart with a baking utensil? This is how I die, under Luna’s moon...’ I kept walking, sure that I would die that night. I wasn’t superstitious, but I was paranoid because I was in a new town. I heard the childlike giggles of the apparition. Catching glimpses of poofy mane.
If it really was a ghost, I wasn’t letting my fear become visible. I kept whistling, walking, hoping that I’d  live to see the sunrise. I was nearing the inn, I could see the big sign, I could even read it now. The inn was called, “The flat hoof”. I ran now, no longer hearing the laughter of the ghost. 
I sprinted closer and closer to the doors of The Flat Hoof. I finally ran right inside and stopped as the lights suddenly turned on, and a multitude of figures suddenly popped out as a single word was screamed “SURPRISE!!!” I Jumped and used my magic to turn the lights off. I snuck behind them all while the lights were out, and went up the stairs just as the lights were turned back on.
‘Was that going to be a mugging? or maybe a terrible initiation to an evil cult!’ my thinking was cut short by the same childish smile as I had heard outside. I turned around and saw the deathly figure of... A pink poofy maned pony? I was in attack position. Threatening to kill the mare! Until... I recognised her mane.
“A... are you Pinkie Diane Pie?” The mare looked at me with an, almost creepy smile. “Howdie doody? and I prefer Pinkie Pie, or Pinkaroony or Pinkiebot 5.0! *GASP* so you don’t remember me?!”  As she said this she seemed to jump in impossible ways, at least for an earth pony. I looked at her. Had we met before? I had no idea what she meant... until I thought of the gasp, and the laughter. “Do you mean that moment when you gasped from behind me? Was that you?” I asked suspiciously. Pinkie Pie nodded. “YUP! Now come downstairs silly um.... what’s your name?!” I walked toward the doorway that Pinkie stood in. “Just call me Pane please... I don’t give out my first name.”
Pinkie made small hops leading down the stairs. ‘So this is the element of laughter? She certainly is odd. I kinda like it, it makes me feel warm inside’ I followed Pinkie Pie down the stairs. She started talking to the crowd of ponies. “Hey everypony! I brought him down! He’s from out of town.” She turned to me as I descended down the last step. “Why did you sneak away from your surprise party Mr. Pane?” I told them that things worked differently in Fillydelphia, I didn’t go too into detail about it. After all, I didn’t want to scare the ponies who came to welcome me in to town. I also told them that I thought Pinkie was a ghost.
There was a laugh from the crowd, but some were worried about my name. Those were the ones who would give me trouble in the future. When I was finished I nodded at Pinky, letting her talk. “Alright everypony! Let’s PARTY!!!” she said while leaping in the air with her back hooves.
For the first time since my graduation, I smiled. It might not have looked like a normal smile since it had been a year and a half, but it was a smile. I walked through the crowd, someponies made suspicious faces, others smiled. There was one pony who caught my eye though. She had a mane and tail that were curled, but not poofy like Pinkie Pie’s, with the colors of pink, and dark blue. Her blue eyes made my mind numb, and she had an amazing vanilla coat. I looked at her plot, and her cutie mark was clean. A 100% family friendly cutie mark. Not only was it that, but it was three, wrapped, candies. I knew we had a common interest right then, and I hadn’t gone out on a date in months. Before my mind had even caught up, I was already next to her.
“Hello there! My name... my name is...” I was at a loss for words. I blushed, luckily nopony noticed because of my coat’s red color. “Pain, right?” She said. My head caught up with me. “Yes but it’s spelled P a n e. And you can call me Glass, miss...”  She spoke the sweetest name I’ve ever heard. In an even sweeter voice. “I’m Bonbon. Bonbon Kyandi.” I loved that name. I didn’t want to seem like a freak, so I had to end the conversation quickly. “Well then, it was nice meeting you miss Kyandi, but I should go mingle with the other ponies.” 
“ Alright mister Glass.” she laughed. I backed away, giving a courtesy bow. I walked back to Pinkie, who was spouting random nonsense to the tune of the music at the party. “I don’t want to be nopony elses bestes frieeeeeeend in the world. I just want some souuuuuuup because you’re my souuuuupe givin lovaaa”
I used magic to give her a glass of punch. which she drank so I could speak. “Pinkie, could you explain friendship to me? Like define it?” Her face seemed to light up and darken at the same time. It was quite a sight, I guess you’d have needed to be there. She simply spit out her punch into the air and then caught it in her mouth and swallowed it! Then she said “You don’t know what friendship is?! Weeeeeeell friendship is what makes us who we are. Life would be WAAAAAAAAY boring without it!” I thought to myself ‘Tell me about it.’
“It’s why we all came to this last minute party for you! It’s somepony’s feelings toward another pony that they think is just awesome! Friends hang out~, go to the beach~, eat cake until they cant anymore~ or sometimes they throw surprise parties for eachother!” At the word surprise she had somehow gotten behind me faster than I could tell.
Suddenly I heard the door open, sure enough, Lyra walked in. Remy said she’d be keeping an eye on me, or at least, it was implied. I saw her walk to a place that had a clear view of me and Pinkie. “So Pinkie, does that make us friends?” I asked, trying to keep an eye on Lyra just in case. Pinkie gave me that look that by now, I was used to. Yes, the (Are you an idiot) look. “Of course we are SILLY! I thought you knew that.” She patted my back and said “But maybe I need to clarify or recriteriorate.” I doubted that criteriorate was even a word, but I let her continue. I didn’t expect what came next, the music changed to an upbeat one. Pinkie started singing ”My name is Pinkie Piiiiiiie”
“Yes I know tha-”
“And I am here to say”
“Ok is this really happeni-”
“I’m gonna make you smiiiile and I will brighten up your daaaa-a-A-aaay”
“That’s not as easy as you make it sou-”
“it doesn’t matter now”
“What doesn’t matter?”
“If you are sad or blue”
“Was that meant to be a pun? Because I’m red...”
“Because I love to make you smile smile smiiiile”
I found the DJ and asked her where I pay for my room.
“It fills my heart with sunshine all the whiiiile, yes it does”
I went to the front desk of The Flat Hoof, and paid for my room. I then went back to the party, and yelled “I NEED TO GET SOME SLEEP TONIGHT!!! If you’re gonna continue the party, please be quiet okay?” Some ponies left and others were trying to get the DJ to stay. I walked up the stairs. Quite satisfied with how my day ended, I got a ride from a nice pegasus, I didn’t die by evil possession, and there was a nice party waiting for me. I still don’t know how Pinkie put that together so fast.
I got in to my room and lifted up the blanket with magic, and got in bed before letting it fall on top of me. As I drifted off to sleep, finally in a nice cozy bed, I thought of the way Pinkie’s random nonsense made me feel... ‘Was that... friendship?’ I asked myself. I also thought of Bonbon. ‘Her mane was so nice, and her cutie mark was candy-related. I wonder if I’ll see her again.’
I fell asleep... and dreamt of friendship. That warm feeling it gave me, followed me in my dreams. If Fillydelphia was hell, I had passed in to heaven. A land where the ponies are happy, and live on an average salary. Not rich with snobbish attitudes. This place was Celestia’s safe haven, protected from the murder and evil of its neighboring city. There was one thing I thought of consciously while under the spell of my slumber. ‘What is it that separates Ponyvile from Fillydelphia? Keeping the cynical life I used to live from entering the minds of these ponies. Is Remy somehow responsible? Is he some kind of border protection? But he owns a casino, so that makes little sense.’
I awoke, not to Celestia’s sun... but to a blue hoof shaking me awake, and the sound of a familiar voice. “Wake up Mr. Pane! You need to find a job today!” My eyes opened to find that the pony was Lyra... but my eyes for were slower than my mouth. “M... mother?” I said.
“Nope, wait... are you calling me old!?” Lyra said in a cheerful … then angry tone. I jumped from my bed! “W-what’re you doing in here?” I asked. She grunted, “UGH” quite annoyedly before saying “Remy told me if I want to keep my VIP seat I need to look after you. That means no, I’m your landlady. So I need you to get a job if you’re gonna pay me rent!”
At this point she started calming down. “Sorry about that. I didn’t get much sleep last night. lets go.” I magiced the bed to its original state and gathered my sentimental things. “Okay,” I said “But I won’t be able to put my special talent to use if there’s no candy store.” I walked out the door of my room at the inn and followed her down the stairs. “Does Pinkie Pie host parties for everypony?”
Lyra didn’t bother looking back at me as she said “Yeah pretty much. It’s kinda her thing, and she has quite a crowd that goes to all of her parties.” I stopped at the front desk and checked out. I noticed some ponies still lingered from the party, including one who had fallen asleep on the floor, he was a pegasus with a blonde mane and a white coat. I decided to pay for his fair since he probably wasn’t going to enjoy waking up to an inn bill.
“So, where to first, Lyra?” I asked. She looked back at me as we walked out of The Flat Hoof. “Well, I know a nice place that needs somepony with magic. Have you ever worked with tools, Glass?” I shrugged, “A little, I guess.” I was distracted. The color all around me was so covered up by the night, but in the daytime it was so bright... and I felt like a small colt again. “Well that’s good. ‘Cause you’re gonna work with the construction crew for a while.” Said Lyra. as we neared the home of Hard Hat, I didn’t learn this name until later though.


So this was it, I was going to live in Ponyville... I was Starting over...