//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 // Story: Pinning the Heart // by Random_User //------------------------------// Coco closed one eye and looked down the dart perched on her hoof. “You’ve got this,” I encouraged in a quiet voice. Coco bit her lip and let the dart fly. The dart hit the backboard with a solid ‘thunk’ less than a hoof width from a balloon. Coco gave a snort. “Drat!” “That was close.” “No, it wasn’t,” she said with a sheepish grin. She pointed towards a balloon up and to the right of where the dart had struck. “I was aiming for that one.” “I’m afraid you don’t have enough points for a prize,” the mare running the booth told her. “I poke holes in things for a living, you would think I could do this,” Coco joked as they moved from the throwing line. “I would like to have a go,” I told the mare running the booth. I gave her my required number of tickets, and she gave me five darts. I stepped to the throwing line. “This should be good,” a voice said from behind me. I turned my head toward the speaker. “Berry?” Berry, Barrel, and Satin had come up from behind us. “Get ‘em Pokey Pierce!” Berry cheered. “Who?” Sassy asked. “Oh, the stories Barrel and I could tell,” Barrel teased. “Please don’t. Not here anyway.” I aimed and let the first dart go. Pop! “Good one,” Barrel congratulated. Pop! “He’s good,” Sassy said. Pop! “Wait, he’s not using his magic.” Pop! I took a second to line up my shot for one of the smallest balloons at the center of the target. “Why isn’t he using his magic?!” Sassy asked. “Using magic is against the rules in Ponyville,” Berry explained. “That’s not quite true,” the mare running the stall said. “He would have to stand about where your friend is, though.” Pop! I sighed with relief. “That was a good show, especially with all the distractions going on,” the mare told me. “You got enough points for anything on the second shelf or lower.” “Which would you like, Coco?” I asked. “How sweet,” Sassy cooed. “How stereotypical,” Barrel said. “Be nice!” Berry chided. “That one, please,” Coco said and pointed toward a stuffed diamond dog. Using a grabber pole, the mare retrieved the diamond dog plushie from the shelf. “Here you go,” she said and gave the plushie to Coco. “Thank you!” She hugged the plushie and smiled. “He’s so cute!” “That’s one word for him,” Sassy said. She turned to Barrel and Berry. “Either of you want to try it?” “Nope!” Barrel and Berry said together. Sassy giggled. “I take it there’s some history there?” “Yes, there is. Let’s leave it at that,” Barrel said. “It’s good to see you, but what are you three doing here?” I asked. “We got through the tour of Ponyville with Crystal Hoof early so we came to the festival. Pinch, Crystal Hoof, and Spike are in the bouncy castle with Wind watching them. We wanted to see what else there was to do, while they had their fun.” “Where’s Piña?” Coco asked. “Piña had to go help set things up for lunch at the castle with her class.” “I offered to help Rarity and Thunderlane get things set up at the Castle too, but they told me to come have fun,” Sassy volunteered. “I ran into these two and then we three ran into you two.” “Shall we five look for something else to play?” I asked. “Sure!” Berry said. “The more the merrier.” “Thank you,” I told the mare at the booth, as we walked away. “I should thank you!” she said and gestured to the larger crowd of ponies that had gathered at the booth. “You made it look easy,” Barrel said. “She will make a killing for a little while with all the ponies thinking they can do as well as you did.” “There’s something more my speed!” Berry said and trotted toward a booth. “We’ve got to try this!” Coco laughed. “You can’t tell she and Piña are related can you?” “She’s a big filly,” Barrel said. “She doesn’t take life too seriously.” “Pin, you’re first,” Berry ordered as we caught up to her. “I want to see how my competition does.” I looked at the test of strength game and shook my head. “I won’t be too much of a challenge.” “You did great on the balloon pop, though,” Sassy said, nodding to the stuffed diamond dog on Coco’s back. “I’ve trained with projectiles, but performing feats of strength is outside my bailiwick.” I gave the stallion running the booth my tickets and took the game’s hammer from him. “Thank you.” The stallion grinned. “Good luck,” he told me with an Appleoosian accent. “I will need it.” My swing yielded a result that was average according to the markings on the test of strength. I gave the hammer back to the stallion. “At least I didn’t embarrass myself.” “My turn!” Coco said. She passed me her diamond dog plushie, gave the stallion her tickets, and took the hammer. She got into position, swung, and gave the machine a solid blow. The ringer ran up the game’s pole. “She beat you, Pin!” Sassy said, looking up to where the marker had stopped. “She beat me by three levels too.” Why is that so appealing? I asked myself. Coco smiled, as she gave the hammer back to the stallion running the stall. “Thank you.” “Not bad, but I’ve got this,” Berry said with confidence. She gave the stallion her tickets, took the hammer from him, and got into position. She lifted herself into a two-legged stance and took the handle of the hammer between her forehooves. “You look like you’ve done this a time or two,” the stallion commented. Berry lifted the hammer above her head and then swung it down with a grunt. I felt the thump of the hammer’s blow on the impact plate of the machine in my hooves. The ringer shot up the test of strength’s pole and the bell rang with a clear note. The stallion gave a tip of his hat to Berry. “Pick any prize you’d like.” “I don’t really want a prize,” Berry said. “I just wanted the exercise and to see if I’ve still got it.” “There’s no doubt you’ve still got it,” the stallion said with a grin. “I could take you out to dinner and treat you to dessert as a prize, if you’re goin’ to be around this evenin’,” he offered with a waggle of his eyebrows. Berry’s eyes narrowed. “I think I’ve decided. Rather than taking anything or going to dinner with you, I would like my husband to have a turn.” Barrel stepped forward, looked down at the stallion and gave him a look I would not want to be on the receiving end of. The stallion blanched. “Sure,” he said after a nervous swallow. Berry gave the hammer to Barrel and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t break anything.” “I’ll try not to,” Barrel said and got into position. Using a technique similar to Berry’s, but without rising up but the slightest bit, Barrel lifted the hammer above his head and then swung it down. Despite the ease of his swing, I felt the thump of the impact of the hammer in my hooves even stronger than when Berry had taken her turn. The ringer shot up and rang the bell with energy to spare. “What would you like for your prize, Sir?” The stallion asked with his hat in his hooves. “I would like you to give my wife’s tickets back to her,” Barrel said. The stallion nodded and returned Berry’s tickets. “Sorry ma’am. I didn’t realize you were hitched.” “If you hadn’t been eyeing her flanks so much, you might have caught a hint,” Sassy said, sounding irritated. The stallion’s ears snapped back, and he glanced towards Barrel with apprehension. “Sassy, it’s fine,” Berry said. “I had my fun and Barrel got my tickets back.” Barrel gave the hammer back to the stallion, using one hoof on the handle and moving it as if weighed nothing. We walked away from the stand, our collective mood less jovial. “He sure had some nerve,” Sassy said. “Sassy, let it go,” Berry said. “I can’t! His eyes were all over you the moment we got to the stand. He didn’t even look at Coco or me. There’s a huge difference between taking an appreciative glance at a mare and being creepy and making offers like that.” “While it doesn’t excuse what he did, I think there was a misunderstanding,” Barrel said. “I’m sure he thought you and I were together since Berry rushed to his stand and we walked together after her.” He tilted his head towards Coco and me. “It’s clear these two are together, so he must have thought Berry was the only single mare in the group.” Sassy’s ears angled out. “That makes sense.” She shook her head, huffed, and raised her nose in the air. “He still shouldn’t have acted that way. Glancing my way, you at my side or not, wouldn’t have hurt either.” Berry gave a mirthful snort. “Never change, Sassy.” “He got one thing right,” Barrel said. “And that would be?” Berry asked. Barrel grabbed Berry up into a hug and gave her a kiss that drew a few wolf whistles and catcalls. “Dad!” Pinch called from somewhere in the throng of ponies in front of us. Barrel grinned as he broke the kiss. “You still have it.” “Excuse us,” Wind said grinning at the pair of kissing ponies. “We need to talk with them.” Ponies parted so he, Crystal Hoof, Pinch, and Spike could make their way to us. Barrel put Berry back on the ground. Sassy giggled, put a hoof on Berry’s shoulder, and asked, “You all right? You seem a bit out of it.” Berry gave Barrel a tempted looked. “If we weren’t in the middle of a festival, I’d pin him to the ground and-” “Mom!” Pinch said, turning much redder than her normal pink hue. “Is this kind of display of affection typical for Ponyville?” Crystal Hooves asked Pinch as they, Spike, and Wind joined us. “No,” Pinch said. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into them.” “They both enjoyed it though,” Crystal Hooves said. “As did several ponies around.” “Place and context,” Spike cautioned and glanced at some nearby ponies. Crystal Hoof noticed the looks he was getting and rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. “Sorry about that.” Barrel glanced at Pinch, who gave him a strained smile. “There was just so much…” Crystal Hoof started and trailed off. “My parents still love each other very much,” Pinch said. “There are a lot of couples like that in Ponyville.” “I can tell,” Crystal Hoof said. “There’s a lot of new love around too.” He looked towards Coco and me and greeted, “Hello again.” “How do you like Ponyville so far?” I asked. “It’s great!” Crystal Hoof said, with a grin. “It’s not as fancy as the Empire, but it’s cozier and lots warmer.” “Coming from Manehatten, I like it for those aspects too,” Coco said, kissed my cheek, leaned against me, and put her head against mine. “To top it off, the ponies here are wonderful.” Crystal Hoof’s ears perked up as I blushed. “You really like her.” “The blush is a dead giveaway,” Sassy kidded. “Their love is delicious too,” Crystal Hoof said. Spike gave Crystal Hoof a warning look. “Most ponies here call it ‘cute’ not ‘delicious’.” Crystal Hoof seemed to realize something, and his ears folded back. “Sorry. I’m still adjusting to how to say things.” “I think you described it quite well,” Wind said. “I always think spending time with my special somepony as a kind of treat.” He asked us all, “Speaking of tasty things, are you ready for lunch?” “Sure!” Berry said. “Follow me then, please,” Wind said. Pinch moved towards Coco and me. “Hello,” she said, giving me a smile. I grinned back. “Hello yourself.” “Did you give her the gifts?” “I did.” Berry and Sassy both turned an ear towards us. “Did you like them?” Pinch asked Coco. “Very much,” Coco said. Pinch’s steps came close to becoming skips. “What were they?” “Getting a little close there, bud,” Spike said to Crystal Hoof, who had drifted very close to Pinch. Spike put a hand on Crystal Hoof’s shoulder and guided him so there was more space between him and Pinch. Crystal Hoof blushed. “Her excitement pulled me in.” Spike gave him a light elbow. “We could tell.” Pinch smiled at Crystal Hoof. “They have been following the Canterlot  traditions.” “Welcome back!” the Crystal Guard greeted us as we neared the castle. “You still here Brass?” Wind asked. “I thought you would be off by now.” “Just a few more minutes and I will be,” Brass replied. “How was the festival?” “It was great,” Wind said. “Etched and Precious will love it.” The Royal Guard opened the door, and we followed Wind into the castle. “Who are Etched and Precious?” Sassy asked Wind, as we went down the hall. “Etched Plate is Brass’ wife and Precious Gem is their daughter. If you’d like, I could introduce you. They are supposed to be having lunch with all the other guard’s spouses and kids.” As Wind led us back towards the dining hall, the sound of foals laughing and talking reverberated through the hallway. I looked towards Pinch. “What is going on? It sounds like every foal in town is here.” She smiled and nodded. “Every foal in town and then some.” We stepped into the dining hall and into a semi-organized chaos. The room was arranged to accommodate what looked to be around a hundred foals and close to thirty adults. Amethyst, Cheerilee, and Riff were directing guests, their foals, and Ponyville students through a buffet style arrangement on the far side of the room. Muffins, Turner, Rarity, and Thunderlane were doing what they could to assist getting the younger ponies from their tables, into the line for food, and then back to their seats. All four of the princesses mingled with the students, drifting among the tables and striking up conversations. “Oh, wow!” Crystal Hooves said his ears up and looking around smiling. “I can’t believe the feeling in this room!” Cadance looked in our direction, smiled, and waved. “Crystal Hoof! Great timing, I have three students here I would like you to meet.” She gestured towards Noi, Piña, and Rumble, who were sitting at the table she was visiting. “Yes, Princess!” Crystal Hoof turned to Pinch and Spike. “I’ll be right back.” “Don’t worry about us, this is what you are here to do,” Spike told him. “I’m going to go see the Crusaders real quick.” Crystal Hoof tilted his head. “The who?” “Oh, that’s right, you don’t know about them.” Spike grinned. “You’ve got to meet the three of them.” Crystal Hoof looked to Pinch. “Are you coming?” “I’ve got to go get my collar and tie,” Pinch said touching her bare neck with a hoof. “I’m supposed to wear it to let visiting foals know I’m from town in case they need something.” She glanced towards Twilight, who had approached us during the conversation. Twilight told Pinch, “Your tie is in the sitting room where we met this morning.” By her tone, I got the impression that Twilight was giving another message to Pinch with her words. Pinch’s smiled with enthusiasm. “I’ll go run and get it right now.” Pinch turned and trotted out of the room. “You better get over there,” Spike urged Crystal Hoof. “Cadance keeps glancing this way.” Crystal Hoof nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit,” he said and walked off. “When they said we would have lunch at the castle, this wasn’t what I envisioned,” I admitted. “You’d rather it be a stuffy formal lunch?” Barrel asked. I grinned. “Nah, this will be a lot more fun.” “Everypony, a moment of your time, please!” Cheerilee called out over the din. She got some response from the ponies in the room, but not much. Princess Luna stood and addressed the room in her booming Canterlot voice, “Our hostess calls for our attention. We shall give it to her.” The room went still. “Thank you, Princess Luna,” Cheerilee said. “I wanted to thank you all for coming. My students and I have been looking forward to this event and having you here means so much to us. Please enjoy the food, meeting new ponies, and the town. We hope to see you at the school, where our class will have foal focused activities and games set up.” She bowed to the princesses. “Princesses, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us. It is an honor having you here.” “We’re glad to be here,” Celestia said. “Thank you for having us.” “There is one last group of ponies I would like to thank. I’m sure you have noticed that all the foals from my class and Ponyville are wearing collars and ties so you can tell they are from here. I wanted to thank Rarity and Royal Pin for donating the collars and ties and Coco Pommel and Sassy Saddles for helping my students pick out their ties.” I blushed as the room applauded us, and Rarity took a graceful bow. “Thank you for your attention,” Cheerilee said. “Please, enjoy the rest of your meal.” “That should stir up some business for you,” Sassy said, as everypony returned to their conversations and to eating. Amethyst trotted up to our group and gave us an uneasy grin. “Could we get help serving the foals? We had more family members of the guards show up than we had thought would come. We’ve got enough food, but if everything is going to keep on schedule, we will need more hooves.” “Sure,” Sassy said. “I’ll be glad to jump in.” “I’m in,” I told Amethyst. “Me too!” Coco said. “I love community events like this.” “We’re in,” Berry said for her and Barrel. “Where do you need us?” Amethyst directed each of us to a serving position. After helping a few foals through the line we found our rhythm, and the line moved much faster. “Uncle Pin.” I looked up from the serving trays and met Piña’s eyes. “Hello Piña! Corn on the cob or grilled asparagus?” “Go for the corn on the cob,” Coco advised. “You’ve got enough greens on your plate to avoid it.” “She likes asparagus like me,” I told Coco with a laugh. “Something’s off with Pinch and the colt she came back with,” Piña whispered and glanced up the line towards her niece. “I’ll take the asparagus, please,” she told me in a normal tone. “Sure,” I leaned closer to her as I put the asparagus on her plate. “What do you mean?” I whispered. Piña had to move down, but Noi picked up the conversation. “She’s acting weird around him, like he’s about to go running off at a loud noise or something and she has to keep from bolting,” Noi said, keeping her voice down. “Corn on the cob or asparagus?” “Corn on the cob, please.” Noi dropped her voice again and added, “He doesn’t have anypony with him like the other visiting foals do too.” I put her corn on the cob on her plate. “Pinch’s probably making sure he’s not so nervous around so many new ponies.” Noi moved down to be replaced by Rumble. “Asparagus, please,” Rumble said before I could ask his preference. “He knows the Sisters too. You could tell because of the way he acted, and they talked to him like they met before.” After putting the asparagus on Rumble’s plate, I looked down toward Pinch and the colt. “He might be the colt of one of the guards or somepony who works at the castle,” I offered as an explanation. “Maybe, but he keeps getting odd looks,” Rumble said and moved down As I served the next foal, I glanced around the room. At first, it did not seem anypony else appeared to be paying the colt any notice, then something caught my eye.  Crystal Hoof kept sneaking looks towards the colt as if he was uncertain about something. Coco nudged me. “What’s going on?” “I’m not sure.” Spike seemed to pick up on Crystal Hoof’s concern and put a claw on his shoulder. “Hello Uncle Pin,” Pinch said. I looked down at Pinch and smiled. “Hello! How are things going?” “Great!” She glanced at her choices of food. “Corn on the cob, please.” “Here you go,” I said, and put two cobs on Pinch’s plate. The colt at Pinch’s side acted as if going through a buffet was a novel experience. He seemed overwhelmed with all the excitement and noise in the room. Pinch shuffled down a bit and asked the colt, “You doing okay Star?” Star nodded. “I’m good.” “Asparagus or corn on the cob?” I asked him. “Asparagus, please,” he answered. “You must be kin to Star Hunter,” I said, putting Star’s choice of food on his plate. “You look a lot like him.” The colt seemed pleased. “You think so? I tried my best. He’s one of my favorites.” “Cousin,” Pinch said, glancing around. Star looked at her as if confused. “What?” “He’s one of your favorite cousins,” Pinch told him with nervousness in her voice. Star’s eyes widened. “Oh!” He turned and gave me a self-conscious grin. “My favorite cousin!” Pinch and Star moved down the line. I think that counted as one of the odd conversations that Princess Cadance warned us about. The next pony in line drew my attention from Pinch and Star, and I could not focus on what they said to Coco as she served them. We served the remaining guests, foals, and ponies in short order and then got in line ourselves. “What about the Princesses?” Berry asked Amethyst, as we shuffled down the length of the serving table. “They ate first so they could have more time to visit,” she explained. As soon as Coco finished putting her final choice on her plate, Sassy declared, “We get Coco.” “No, you don’t,” Coco told her. “I promised to sit with the ‘training partners’, Liza, and Cloudy.” Sassy stared at her. “You’re just going to leave him with us? “Yes,” Coco said with a slight grin. “I’m sure he understands.” I nodded. “I do. I wouldn’t want to disappoint somepony who invited me to share a meal with them.” Sassy’s ears fell in exaggerated disappointment. “But we need you two together to get the best reactions when we tease you.” “Sorry to delay your fun, but I promised.” Coco patted Sassy’s shoulder with a hoof. “You can give us a proper teasing later.” “Miss Coco!” Piña stood at her table and waved. “We’re over here.” “Got to go,” Coco said to Sassy with a smile. “Miss Sassy, Uncle Pin!” Pinch called. “Come sit with us!” “Does something seem off with those two?” Sassy asked in a quiet tone as we moved towards Pinch’s table. “Piña said there might be, when she was in the line.” “She did to me too, but I don’t think so,” I said. “Star seems to be nervous, but nothing more than that.” “Thank you for sitting with us,” Pinch said, when we got to the table and took our seats.” “Pinch, could we borrow you for a moment?” Princess Cadance asked from a few tables over. “Yes, Princess!” she answered. Pinch assured us, “I’ll be right back.” Star looked at her as if he were afraid for her to go. Pinch put a comforting hoof on Star’s shoulder. “Uncle Pin is one of the nicest ponies in town. He’ll take care of you.” “Okay,” Star said, with a nervous nod. “Not going to say a thing about me?” Sassy put her nose in the air as if offended. “I see how it is.” Pinch halted. “What? No! There's a lot going on all at the same time and-” Sassy leaned over the edge of the table and booped Pinch’s nose with a hoof. “I was kidding. You go take care of what you need to do.” Pinch blinked, smiled, and nodded. “Thanks, Miss Sassy.” I sat down at the table between Sassy and Star. “Hello again.” “Hello,” Star greeted. I realized Star was wearing the bow tie I had sold Cranky and Matilda. “I’m glad a collar fit. I had to guess what size you might wear.” Star looked downwards and put a hoof to the bow tie. “That’s right, you made the tie. Matilda told me about how you helped her and Cranky with them.” “It looks good on you,” Sassy complimented. Star looked up to her and blushed. “Thanks.” We ate in silence for a few minutes. As time went on, Sassy seemed to get more and more impatient. “Well?” she said, as if waiting for me to say something. “What?” I asked. Sassy gave me an unamused look. “What happened last night?!” “We had a lovely evening,” I told her and returned to eating. Star’s ears went up and a small grin came to his face, as Sassy stared at me. Sassy narrowed her eyes. “That is not a sufficient answer.” I speared a piece of asparagus with my fork. “You said that you wanted the whole group together before you got answers.” “Before we got to teasing you two, is what I meant.” “I can’t even give a hint. Rarity would have my ears if I told anypony anything before her.” “What are you talking about?” Star asked. “I had a date with my marefriend last night. Sassy wants to know how things went,” I told him. “Oh!” He turned towards Coco. Sassy and I both paused. When Star turned back to us, his ears went down. “What?” “How did you know Coco was his marefriend?” Sassy asked. “The way he was acting with her while Pinch and I were in line,” Star answered as if he were not sure and shrunk down as if he were afraid of us. Sassy gave Star a look and tilted her head. Star glanced around. “Pinch, please...” he whispered so low I almost missed it in the background noise of the room. He’s not nervous, he’s scared, I realized. “We joked around a bit, while you were in line. Was that what clued you in?” Star snapped his eyes back to me and nodded. “That was it!” “You look like I’m going to feed you to manticore,” Sassy said, sounding worried. “Are you okay?” Star nodded and took a breath before telling her, “I don’t want to seem weird.” “That wasn’t weird to say at all. When they’re being cute, you can take one look at them and tell that they are together.” Sassy gave Star a smile. “You must be new to Ponyville.” “Sort of,” Star said and looked down to his plate. “Ponyville is one of the nicest towns in Equestria and has some interesting characters living here. Trust me, from what I’ve heard, unless you’re trying, nothing you do or say will come off too weird.” Star gave her a grateful, but still nervous, smile. “Thanks.” Pinch trotted back up to us. “Star, are you okay?” Star nodded, but his eyes still held some of his fear and unease. “You’re not,” Pinch said with concern. “Come here.” My ears went up as Pinch took Star in a comforting hug. Pinch had always been kind to ponies, but I could not remember her hugging anypony like she did Star. That he was new to her made the hug even more remarkable. At first, Star seemed shocked by the contact. When he returned her hug, he held her like she were his sole comfort in the world. “I think he’s overwhelmed,” I said. “I am,” Star said. “If Pinch hadn’t talked with me this morning, I wouldn’t have been brave enough to come.” “You’re giving me too much credit,” Pinch told Star. “You’ve come out to play before.” Star chuckled. “Yeah, but those times were only after Matilda coaxed me out the door.” “There you are,” Muffins said as she, Dinky, and Turner approached from the far side of the table. “We were wondering where you had gotten off to. It’s about time for our turn with Crystal Hoof.” Dinky froze as her eyes went to Pinch and Star. “Oh no,” Pinch said. Star’s ears went up in alert and he let go of Pinch. “Pinch, what just happened?” “Nothing yet, but we could be in deep crab apples in a second,” Pinch said in a low voice, releasing Star. Dinky gave an excited shriek. She dashed around the table and stopped just short of running into Pinch and Star. “You got a coltfriend?! Why didn’t tell anypony?!” Dinky’s outburst turned heads at the tables around us. Star Blinked at her. “Wow, you’ve all kinds of excited.” “Of course I am!” Dinky hopped up and down. “Do you have any idea how long we’ve wanted for her to find a coltfriend?” Star’s ears took odd angles. “What do you mean ‘how long we’ve wanted’?” “I don’t think she’s ever had a coltfriend,” Dinky said. “She’s been looking for one for a while too.” Pinch winced. “That can’t be right.” Star turned to Pinch. Star held Pinch in a searching gaze until Pinch admitted, “She’s right.” Star’s mouth dropped open. “But you’re so brave and kind and understanding, how can you have never had a coltfriend?” Pinch bit her lip and her ears fell. “I hurt you by asking that.” Star’s ears fell, mirroring hers. “I’m sorry.” “It’s okay.” Pinch gave Star a small smile. “You were trying to be nice.” “You’re not her coltfriend?” Dinky asked, sounding confused. “No,” Star said. “This morning was the second time we’ve met.” Dinky ears went askew. “Second time?” “I don’t think the first time really counts either,” Pinch kidded and bumped shoulders with Star. “Hello, everypony,” Twilight greeted as she and Cheerilee approached the table. “Is everything okay?” “Everything’s fine,” Pinch told her. Twilight glanced to Sassy and me. Sassy nodded. “They were discussing possible coltfriends.” Twilight sighed. “So that’s what the fuss was about.” One of Star’s ears turned as if it was tracking something. His back stiffened, and he whispered, “Pinch, I think we need to go.” Piña marched to the table, followed by Noi and Rumble. The trio’s arrival cut off any easy route away from the table for Pinch and Star. “Hello,” Star greeted, sounding nervous. “Hello,” Piña said in too sweet a tone. “Are you my niece’s coltfriend?” “She gets right to the point,” Sassy said with a giggle. I gave a slight grunt of agreement. Star shook his head. “We just met this morning.” Piña raised an eyebrow. “And you’re getting hugs from her already?” Star blushed and nodded. “Is he going to be a transfer student?” Rumble asked Cheerilee. “That’s one possibility that’s been discussed,” Cheerilee said. “We asked Pinch to help him meet ponies and get to know the town more so he could make an informed decision.” Noi whispered to Piña, “Wasn’t she supposed to be helping Crystal Hoof today?” “I would like to introduce you Star Chart,” Pinch said in a calm, civil tone. “Star Chart, this is Piña, my aunt, Noi, one of my best friends, and Rumble, another of my best friends and their training partner.” Star’s ear stopped in its slow rotation so it was almost pointing backwards.  Star turned around and met eyes with Crystal Hooves who had stood next to Cadance and Celestia at a nearby table. The longer that Crystal Hoof held his gaze the more Star looked like he was considering making a break for it. Pinch took one of Star’s hooves with one of hers. “It’s okay.” Star trembled. “No, it’s not,” Star looked to Twilight. “Princess, I think he’s-” Twilight put a hoof on Star’s lips and smiled. “We know,” Pinch said and got a disbelieving look from Star. “We know that you two are from the same kingdom,” Twilight said with a caring tone. “Pinch has been studying your culture with me. That’s why I thought it would be a great idea for you two to meet her today and for her to be there when you two were introduced to each other. Depending on what you think about today, we are hoping to introduce both of you to Ponyville.” “Now I think about it,” Muffins tilted her head just as Dinky had, “I don’t remember Pinkie throwing a party for anypony new for a while.” “I asked her not to,” Star said, sounding apologetic. “I get nervous around a lot of ponies.” Muffins gave him a smile. “You’re here, though.” “If Pinch wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be,” Star said, as if talking about the situation was making his anxiety worse. “When she has to go back to helping Crystal Hoof, I’m not sure how well I’m going to do.” “Twilight, could we include Star in what we’re doing with Crystal Hoof?” Muffins asked. “Since they’re from the same kingdom, I’m sure they will get along and have stuff to talk about. If he comes with us, he and Pinch won’t have to split up too.” Twilight grinned. “Cheerille and I planned to ask you to do just that, if it would be too much trouble.” “Not at all,” Turner said. He turned to Star and gave him a welcoming smile and nod. “The more the merrier.” After receiving a pat on the shoulder and a whisper in his ear from Cadance, Crystal Hoof walked up to the table. “Hello, you must be Star Chart,” he said to the colt, appearing almost as nervous as Star. Star nodded. “I am,” he replied in a shaky voice. “I didn’t know that anyone else from our kingdom was here.” Crystal Hoof smiled. “It’s good to know I’m not the only one.” “Do you think there could be more?” Star asked seeming more at ease. “I hope so.” Crystal Hoof glanced at Pinch. “I see you’ve met Pinch too. She’s a special pony, don’t you think?” Crystal Hoof asked Star with a teasing smile. “I’ve only known her for a few hours, and I already consider her a good friend.” Star nodded and gave Crystal Hoof a genuine, relaxed smile. “She’s the most caring, wonderful filly I’ve met.” Pinch blushed. Piña looked to her training partners, and the three foals shared a look and a nod. “How did your tour of Ponyville go this morning?” Dinky asked Crystal Hoof. He grinned. “It was great. There is so much going on here it’s incredible. Gem collecting, farming, crafts, you name it.” “Did you get to do much else?” Cheerilee asked. “We got through with just enough time to try some of the games they have set up,” Crystal Hoof told her. Dinky grinned. “Great! That means you will have a great time with us and our class.” “Is everything okay?” Coco asked, as she walked up behind Piña, Noi, and Rumble. “We heard Dinky squeal, but Rarity assured me it was ‘a good squeal’, so we didn’t come rushing over.” “Sorry,” Dinky said, “everything’s fine. I thought… I was wrong about something.” “That’s good to know. With everypony gathering around, I was curious about what had happened.” Coco looked at Crystal Hoof and smiled. “Hello again.” “Hello again to to you too,” he responded. “You’re one of the ponies that takes care of Flurry Heart, right?” Piña asked Crystal Hoof. “I try to,” Crystal Hooves said with a sheepish smile. “She’s more than any pony can take care by themselves, though. Sunburst and I usually work together.” Dinky smiled. “You like her, though, don’t you?” Crystal Hoof smiled and nodded. “She’s a bundle of caring and love for everypony she meets.” “Sounds like somepony else we know,” Star said and looked towards Pinch. Pinch, blushed, smiled, and glanced away from Star. “You sure he’s not your coltfriend, Pinch?” Sassy asked. Pinch gave Dinky, Piña, and Noi a look. Noi nodded at some silent message that had been shared between the group. “My goodness, that is quite the pair of blushes,” Rarity said as she joined us. “I gather I missed something.” “Sassy’s teasing ponies again is all,” I said. Rarity gave Sassy a mock disapproving look. “I thought we agreed there was to be no teasing until we got everypony together tonight.” Sassy chuckled. “For Coco and Pin, yes. For Pinch and Star, no.” “Pinch and Star?” Rarity asked and looked to the blushing foals. “So he must be ‘Star’.” She studied the colt. “I’m not sure we’ve met, but you seem familiar.” “Star Hunter is my cousin,” Star told her in a nervous tone. “I think they look a lot alike,” Pinch said as if trying to draw attention from Star. “They do favor each other.” Rarity smiled. “In fact, if it weren’t for the fact Star is an earth pony and younger I would say he was a near copy of Hunter.” Star’s expression turned worried. “Thanks.” Turner gave a polite cough. “If we are to remain on schedule, we should all be getting along to our next activities about now.” “You and Twilight and your schedules,” Muffins teased. “Not all of us are as free as spontaneous as you are,” he said and gave Muffins a hug from the side. Crystal Hoof’s and Star’s full attention went to the pair. Muffins touched her nose to Turner’s. “I thought you liked my spontaneous side.” “I do.” He touched his forehead to hers. “It adds spice to life.” I noticed Pinch and Twilight watching Crystal Hoof and Star. It seemed as if they were studying them. “Mom, Dad, ponies are staring,” Dinky said in a suffering tone. Muffins gave Turner a quick kiss to the nose. “Your father is right. We better get going.” Star turned to Pinch, who tried to act as if she had no be staring at him. He seemed apprehensive as he asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?” Pinch smiled. “I was just watching you two appreciate their affections.” Star relaxed as he blushed. “You don’t think it’s disgust-” He paused and seemed to rethink his words. “You don’t mind?” Pinch shook her head. “You two were cute, the way you were so focused.” “No observable transference of energy occurred, so it must be on a magical level,” Twilight muttered. “That might explain some of Cadance’s ‘intuitions’. I must do controlled tests to test the theory. If it is true, love may be another form of-” “Dear, you’re talking to yourself again,” Rarity told Twilight. Twilight blinked and looked around at us as she came back from her thoughts. “Sorry! I was speculating about… a project! A project I wanted to set up.” “Projects are good, but let’s get things going,” Cheerilee said. “Children!” she called out, and the room quieted a good deal. “We’re about to leave for the school! Find your visiting buddy and meet with everypony outside the castle’s front doors! Parents who want to join us, please meet us there too!” Dinky approached Crystal Hoof. “You’re my visiting buddy,” she told him and took his hoof. “Come on! I can’t wait for you to see what we set up!” Turner shook his head, as Dinky led Crystal Hoof away from the table. “She’s so much like you. She has so much energy and enthusiasm.” “You can get pretty excited about things too,” Muffins replied as she walked by Turner’s side and after their daughter. “Remember your flameless fireworks?” “Miss Cheerilee,” Star said. Cheerilee smiled at him. “Yes, Star?” “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. I’m wearing a tie, but I’m not part of the class or from Ponyville.” “I have an idea,” Rarity said. “Why don’t you and Pinch be visiting buddies for Coco, Sassy, and Crystal Hoof together with Dinky? They’re not visiting foals, but they’re not from Ponyville either.” Pinch nodded. “I like it. Since we don’t fit in a category and they don’t fit in a category, we can not fit into categories together.” Rarity reminded us, as we moved to leave, “Don’t forget we’re all meeting for the Wonderbolt’s show later, everypony.” “No chance of that happening.“ Sassy looked over her shoulder to Rarity and smirked. “You really think I would miss getting to see Thunderlane in that aerodynamic outfits of his?” Rarity gasped. “Sassy!”