//------------------------------// // 10 - Befriending II // Story: Spilled Ink // by Fiddlove Enfemme //------------------------------// Today was now Monday. Tomorrow would mark one week of being in Ponyville. Not exactly a grand accomplishment, but at the moment it was really my only accomplishment. I decided that I was going to start today off right, with a nice cup of tea to go with breakfast. This was an exotic brand, from far-off Zebrica. It wasn't bad, though it certainly wasn't something I'd have again. That honour would be going to the lovely lavender tea that the Nice Little Cafe Across the Way made. Given who was working there, it wasn't exactly a contest. I made myself two slices of toast with raspberry jam to eat alongside the tea. In a wonderful twist of fate, I did not find Starlight passed out at the kitchen table again. In fact, she had gone to bed at a reasonable hour and had just been on her way out the door when I finally decided to get up. When I was on my way out the door, I received an invitation, delivered by a small green alligator. Well, by delivered I mean the alligator was sitting on the stairs with the invitation in its mouth, staring blankly out towards town. I felt a bizarre sense of camaraderie with the small alligator, what with its bulging pink eyes and lack of involvement. Not that my eyes bulged or I wasn't trying to be involved in things, but the alligator really captured how I felt in this day to day struggle; alone in a world I did not understand very well. Again, I wasn't exactly alone, but that was the way it felt sometimes. The invitation read: You've been invited to a SPECTACULAR PARTY! Head to the Castle of Friendship on the north side of town (You can't miss it, it's the giant crystal castle-tree!) no later than 6:49 this evening to have sweets and treats at Pinkie Pie's Celebration for the Safety of a New Friend! It was surprisingly well done for an invitation that had been made in less than a day. It had been made so recently that a bit of the ink was still wet, and had smeared slightly when I'd taken it from the alligator. I stuffed it into my borrowed backpack and decided to make my way downtown. I was just about to the town proper when out of the corner of my eye I spotted some strange movement between two trees. A silvery pegasus was lounging in a hammock strung between the two trees, though he didn't seem very comfortable. He was doing a lot of tossing and turning. Remembering what Starlight had said, I decided to go talk to the lounging pegasus. "Hello." I said when I thought I was close enough. "Hello." the pegasus replied. "You know, I've never slept in a hammock before." I commented, not really knowing what else to say. "Oh, you haven't? I'd recommend it. Almost as good as sleeping on a cloud." the pegasus said. "I haven't slept on a cloud either." The pegasus nodded. "Well, if you want to know what it's like sleeping on a cloud, try a hammock." "Where'd you pick up yours?" I asked. "Got it at the Cloudsdale Swapmeet, from an old sailor who was looking to get rid of it for some reason. After using it, I think I know why." he said. I looked at him quizzically. "I'm stuck." "Oh. Is that why you were tossing and turning so much?" I asked. "Yeah." "Would you like a bit of help?" "I'm actually supposed to be at work right now, so yes please." he smiled wryly. "Fair enough," I replied. "Do you care if I cut you out as opposed to untangling you?" "I can always just sleep on a cloud, so feel free to cut me out. Quicker than trying to untangle this mess, and I'm late enough as it is." I shrugged, and took out my big medical scissors, the ones that were sharp enough to cut through bone if they needed to, and cut down the hammock. A few more snips later, and the pegasus was freed. The moment he was freed from his hempen prison, the pegasus stretched his wings and picked himself up off the ground. "Thanks for that. Shame about the hammock, though. Are you new in town? I haven't seen you around before, and I'm generally pretty good with names and faces." "I'm Ink Blot. Just got here last week, but I'm probably going to be here for a while." I said with a smile, offering my hoof. "Well, I'm Radiant Star, lived here all my life. Probably the best delivery boy in town." he replied, giving me a hoof bump. "Really? Are you fast?"" "Ehhh, not particularly. If you asked my mom she'd say I'm Wonderbolt material and something along the lines of "you should apply yourself more, Ray," but if you ask me I'm fine with keeping on the way I've been. I'm really good with navigation, know all the shortcuts and tricks to get around Ponyville. It's not quite the same as just going up in the sky and flying really fast to the destination, cutting out all the twists and turns, but sometimes you gotta take it slow because you're gonna squish the goods otherwise." he rambled. I nodded. "Makes sense. What do you deliver?" "Oh, all sorts of stuff," he boasted sarcastically. "I deliver bread. Mostly just bread. Pastries sometimes. Lotta folks don't like squished bread, and I can get from the bakery to any doorstep in town win under 15 minutes without squishing it." "Impressive," I responded with equal sarcasm. "Where do you work, so I know where to get unsquished bread?" "Oh, little place called the Bread and Butter Bakery. Right across the way from this cute little cafe-" "No kidding, I've been there! Penny works the counter, right?" "Dang, dude, you stole my thunder! I was gonna tell you about the seventeen varieties of bread we make," Radiant Star laughed. "But yes, Penny does work there. Why don't you tag along, so we can bug her about something?" I chuckled. "Sounds good, maybe when it's time for your lunch break we can chat over coffee." "Groovy." he replied. He started going, so I followed. Didn't exactly have anything better to do at the moment. "Morning, Penny!" Radiant Star said cheerfully as we entered the bakery. "Ray, I told you to stop coming in late. Hi Ink Blot, don't mind this slacker." Penny shook her head from behind the counter. "Hello." I said. "I've got an alibi today. A good one! I was stuck in a hammock!" Radiant Star smiled cheekily. "How did you get stuck in a hammock?" Penny asked incredulously. "Well, I didn't sleep well last night and I had to be up to help with something, so I figured I'd take a nap before work. When I woke up I was all tangled. Couldn't get out for the life of me." Penny shook her head disapproving. "Only you, Ray. Only you." "He only got out because I cut him out." I added. "At least you're honest." Radiant Star shrugged. "What've we got for today's deliveries?" "One white for Gracenote, four whole wheat for the Pralines, two pumpernickel for Dr. Rosenberg, five brioche for the Rich family, the usual shipment of muffins and bagels for the Cafe, and three braided light rye for Sauce Supreme on top of his usual order." Penny rattled off. "Give me the list, I'll take half and be back in 30 for the rest. You got it all bagged?" Penny nodded, and began setting the bags onto the counter as Radiant Star stretched a little bit. He put on this harness with several large pockets for bread bags, which he quickly filled. The bell above the door jingled as he went outside. As I watched, he stretched one more time before strutting forward, and lifting off the ground with a powerful sweep of his wings. He moved a lot quicker than I'd expected, what with the bread bags and him claiming he wasn't very fast. "He seems like he's pretty good at what he does." I commented. "Yeah, worked with him for almost three years now. Went to school with him, too. Weren't really close friends, but he was one of those kinda guys you wondered why you didn't hang out with as much as you should've, you know?" Penny said. "I know what you mean. You wonder why you don't, say you should, then never do, right?" "You hit the nail on the head with that one." Penny nodded. I smiled, but Penny was quickly distracted by someone poking their head out from the back room. "Penny, could you give me some help with this? Cereal's on his break and I need somepony to move stuff with me." he shouted. "I'll be right there, Mr. Brown! Excuse me for a bit, Ink Blot." she said as she trotted over to the door. And that's when I noticed him. The author from before. There he sat, at the table by the big window with his pen and notebook, scratching away. His writing was so stilted and spidery that I couldn't quite make out what it said. On the table in front of him was a plate with an untouched croissant and a takeout cup of coffee from the cafe across the way. Except right now he wasn't writing, only pretending to write as he side-eyed me. When he noticed me looking at him, his eyes bulged in alarm and he quickly turned the page over and rattled out at least half a page's worth in the blink of an eye. "What are you writing?" I asked hesitantly. "Uh, you see, it's.. um," the author sputtered for a moment. "It's still in the early stages right now, I'm halfway through the planning and it's not ready to read and you probably wouldn't like it anyway so-" "Well, why don't you try me and see if it's any good?" I asked further, almost challenging him as I took a seat across from him. "...It's about a, um, filly and... a colt?" "Oh, romance. Those always sell pretty well, I hear." I smiled. "...Yeah." the author said, glancing away nervously. An awkward silence grew between us as we sat. The author was clearly uncomfortable, but my curiosity had been piqued and now I was interested in what he was doing. "So... what's your name?" I ventured. He looked at me for a moment, like he was struggling to understand what I'd said. Then he looked away. "...Quill." he said. "Nice to meet you, my name's Ink Blot. You were here the other day too, right?" "Well, uh, I'm here most days really," Quill replied. "It's... quiet. I like the quiet." "Oh, the quiet can be pretty nice. I guess I disturbed your quiet when you came in." I said sheepishly. "Yeah." he said sharply "What do you do? Like, when you aren't here." I questioned. "You ask a lot of questions to somepony you just met." I shrugged. "What can I say, I want to get to know you. I'm trying to make friends around here and I'm not that picky. Having lots of kinds of friends can open up a lot of different opportunities, you know." "Friends..." Quill sighed. "That's what it's all about these days, isn't it?" When he said that, it was clear to me that I wasn't welcome as his friend, and so I decided to gracefully take my leave. "Really seems like that's what the world revolves around, yeah. Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time. hope your book goes well." I said politely before turning away. "Wait." I halted midstep, then looked over my shoulder. Quill had set down his writing and was looking strangely at me. "You're... different. I've never seen anyone like you before. Pony or otherwise." he said enigmatically. "Well, I am pretty new in town-" "That's not how I meant it," Quill cut me off before I could finish. "You're different, there's something about you that... well for lack of a better term you have an unusual aura." This personality change unnerved me. Why was he so interested in me now? "That's, uh, one way to put it. maybe you've noticed the curse I'm under?" "Maybe, maybe. What sort of curse is it?" "It's messing with my memory, can't remember anything about myself other than little bits and pieces here and there." I tried to explain quickly. "No, a simple curse like that wouldn't mess with your aura that bad. Unless it wasn't exactly "simple", in which case there is a lot more to you than meets even my trained eyes." "Unless you're gonna help me get rid of it, it's not worth talking about right now." I sighed at him, a little frustrated at his change in character. Quill nodded sagely. "I can try to help you alright, but I'll need some time to prepare. I don't exactly know what I'm going to do about it, but it'll require a great degree of trust from you." "Sure, but can you go back to being that shy author again? You're kinda weirding me out." I said. "You wanted my attention and now you've got it. Don't look a gift... something-or-other." Quill waved his hoof dismissively at me. "So are you saying you want to be friends after all?" I asked. "What's a level down from friends?" I thought for a moment. "Acquaintances, I guess." "No, no, above that but below friend." he waved again. "Buddy, maybe. Pal is also up there." "I can handle being a buddy," Quill nodded happily. "Pal has too much baggage that I don't want to deal with." "What do you mean, baggage?" I asked incredulously. "Just ignore that and shake my hoof, buddy." Quill muttered. So I did. He held it for an awkward amount of time before I cleared my throat and took my hoof away. He looked at me, and I looked at him. "Now what?" I asked. "I don't know." Quill replied. "Do you want to come along to a party a friend of mine is putting on for me?" I asked. "Is that something a buddy would do?" Quill countered. I nodded at him, so he said "I accept. But! Strictly as a buddy, none of that friendship nonsense." "Fine by me." I shrugged off. Just then, the bell on the door rang as somepony entered the store. Just as expected, it was Radiant Star. "Hey there, Radiant." I greeted him. He shook himself off before replying, "Just call me Ray, dude. Radiant is kinda too much of a mouthful. Same with calling you Ink Blot, actually. Do you have a nickname?" "Guy I know calls me Inks, but I'll respond to about anything as long as it's not something vulgar and insulting." I smiled. "I'll just call you Inks then. Or maybe Inky, that's got a nice ring to it." Ray said. "No, it's too close to Pinkie and I think that could get too confusing. You could try Clyde." I suggested. Ray blinked disapprovingly. "What kinda name is Clyde? I'll stick with Inks." Just then, Penny stuck her head out of the back room. "Hey, could one of you help with something for a minute?" she asked nicely. "I thought you were helping Mr. Brown move stuff?" I asked back. "I was! But somehow he's locked himself in the basement, and the key broke off in the lock." she sighed. Ray and I looked at eachother. He shrugged and stepped into the back room, and not hearing any objections I followed. The back room was what I'd expected of a bakery. There was a wall of ovens, half of them woodfired and half heated by natural gas. Spread throughout the room were tables and counters with space for mixing and rolling out dough. A pony, absolutely covered in powdery white flour was in the middle of kneading an oversized lump of dough. He seemed lost in his work and paid no mind to the hammering coming from this large wooden door barely three feet away. There were cupboards full of baking supplies, large bowls and bread pans hung from hooks on the walls and above the tables. "How'd he get stuck in the basement?" Ray asked. "We'd just got the last bag of flour down there, and I'd come up to get back to the counter. He stayed down to reorganize something, and he'd put the wedge in the door before we went down. When I turned around the door was shut. You know him, he likes to keep it locked most of the time. And Cereal only brings his key when he's the only baker in." "And somehow Mr. Brown's key broke off in the lock?" I asked. "IT WAS A VERY OLD KEY, AND IT WAS CHEAP! I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE REPLACED IT SOONER!" shouted a voice from the other side of the door. Evidently Mr. Brown could hear us just fine. "Well. Have you got a saw or axe or something?" I asked. *Shunk!* A very large meat cleaver suddenly embedded itself deep in the wood of the door. We recoiled from it, startled. I don't know how he'd managed it, but Cereal had moved from his spot kneading dough to the wall directly across from the door, and thrown the cleaver. The flour covered pony shrugged. "Didn't work," was all he said before turning around and removing a series of bread pans. "What in the hay?" I asked nobody in particular as we cautiously looked at Cereal. "Has he ever done that before?" asked Ray. "No, no he hasn't." Penny shook her head. "WHAT HAPPENED?" Mr. Brown shouted from the other side of the door. "Nothing!" Penny shouted back. "We're still trying to figure out how to get you out!" "I'D PREFER TO BE OUT SOONER THAN LATER!" I looked at the door. It seemed to be solid wood, and my suspicions were confirmed when I knocked on it. "Got any screwdrivers?" "Not that I know of." Penny said. "Hinges are on the other side of the doorway." Ray pointed out. "Hmm," I tried to think of what else we could try. "Maybe I could call in an expert. Ray, do you know Gyro the Griffon?" "Not really. Is she the one who keeps making craters around town?" Ray replied. "Yeah, she lives in an old smithy, north-east part of town. Good with tools and such, a regular brainiac. Made this fancy thing on my hoof." I explained, holding up the claw device and operating it deftly. "That thing works?" Ray asked. I nodded, and demonstrated by using it to grab a bread pan on the nearby counter. The two of them were moderately impressed. "That'd be pretty useful, it's certainly a step up from the hoof-straps I normally use." Penny commented. I shrugged. "It's only her first working prototype, buuuuut Gyro said yesterday that she could make a better one soon enough. She works pretty damn fast." "Especially if all the craters around town are anything to go by." Ray chuckled. "What do you mean craters? I thought those were just very large potholes." Penny said. "That's because you don't get out much. Sometimes I've been out on deliveries and watched her flying machine crash right down a few feet away from me. Then it's barely a day or two later and she's got another one she's crashing." Ray continued. "Try saying that to her face, she might take it as a compliment." I smiled. When Ray eventually flew off to fetch Gyro, as well as take care of his second round of deliveries, we assured Mr. Brown that we'd get him out as soon as we could. I waited by the basement door in case he needed anything or wanted to talk while Penny went back to her spot at the counter. I had to admit, there was something mesmerizing about watching that Cereal lad do his thing. There was an uncanny flow to his movements, an expertise and knowledge that only comes after years of experience and practice. He almost never stopped his work, always having something he was actively doing, be it mixing or rolling or kneading or braiding or sprinkling a bunch of seeds on top of a large roll or bun. It quite honestly impressed me. The only pony I'd seen with even a remotely similar level of focus and commitment was Rags, but he had a different skill set entirely. Eventually, Ray returned to the store with Gyro in tow. "Let's take a look at this stuck door, then!" she said cheerfully, setting down a toolbox. She inspected the door from top to bottom, taking verbal notes on a few things. The rest of us gathered behind her, minus Cereal who was hard at work. "Think you can get it open?" Penny asked after a while. Gyro shrugged. "No, but trying something's better than nothing!" "You're not wrong," Ray agreed. "What're you thinking of trying?" "Well, if I had the option I would always start with the hinges, but only if the door has enough give, you see? Take it off the hinges, you can bypass the lock entirely. Of course, the hinges are on the other side of the doorway, so we're gonna have to try something else here. I could try cutting through the door itself, but this thing's made of some real tough oak so that'll take all day. Really nice door by the way, Mr. Brown! Shame you're on the other side of it!" Gyro rambled on excitedly. "THANK YOU! IT'S CUSTOM MADE!" "The other way to do it is to take apart the doorknob itself, but for some reason this is one that's been made resistant to tampering. The screws and fittings are on the other side, with Mr. Brown and the hinges. Hey, isn't that a cool band name? You should think about starting one with a name like that. Yesterday I met a pretty good pianist who might be able to help with that-" "Gyro, the door." I reminded her. "Yes, yes, I'm getting to it," she dismissed me with a wave of her claws. "If we can't mess with the doorknob, we gotta mess with either the door frame or the thingy inside the door. I didn't think to bring a circular saw, but that would have made it real easy and I could have just cut above and below the latch and taken out the socket for the thingy inside the door. But! I do have a set of files that should fit in the gap here so I can saw through the latch." "How long will that take?" Penny asked. "20 minutes, maybe longer? Depends on the metal used for the latch, and how good my files are." With no one else having any better ideas, Gyro quickly got to work on the door latch, very carefully working a file between the frame and the door. She paid no mind to the large meat cleaver that had been embedded into the door. I would have stayed nearby to chat, but my attempts to start a conversation were politely ignored as Gyro worked away. So, I went back out to the storefront. Penny had just finished serving a customer, who went out the door with a large bag of bagels. Ray, having finished his work for the day, was lounging in a chair by the counter. Quill was still in his spot, and as far as I could tell he was actually doing some writing. Ray, Penny and myself made small talk, and when Gyro eventually freed Mr. Brown, she joined us as well. The time for partying fast approached. Penny and Gyro had said that they'd received invitations from the same small alligator I had. I also gathered that Ginger and Rags had gotten similar invitations. As an executive decision from the person the party was being thrown for in the first place, I decided to extend my own invitation to both Ray and Quill. It was usually bad form to just have people show up out of the blue, but my purpose was to make as many friends as i could to try and break the bloody curse. Besides, there was a note on the back of my invitation that said the invitation holder was free to invite up to two additional ponies to the party. Not knowing what kind of party it was going to be, I figured that arriving last and alone would be best. Like I was being baited into attending a surprise party, but different in that I knew exactly when and where the party was happening. Therefore, I eventually excused myself and let Ray, Penny, and Gyro make their own way to the party. Quill had... disappeared somehow, and even though I'd given him the details I half-doubted that he'd even show up. So it was, that just before 6:49 that evening, I returned to the castle. Out on the front step, Rags was sitting in a camping chair while reading a book. The horizon had begun to take on the orange tinge of sunset, but it would be a while yet before sundown. "Well, it's about time you showed up." Rags commented as I made my way up the steps. "Time on the invitation said 6:49 pm, exactly." I said. "No, it said "no later than"," Rags looked at me over the top of his ovoid reading glasses, as they perched low down on his nose. He cracked a smile and took a pocket watch out of his chair's cup holder. "And you're right on the money, it's currently 6:47 pm. Congratulations, you aren't late. Yet." "Think they'll take a rain check?" I asked jokingly. Rags rolled his eyes. "If only we were so lucky. Everypony's been waiting patiently for you, because the Mayor of Mirth says that the party can't start until you get here." "How long have they been waiting?" "The last guest other than you got here about ten minutes ago." "Well, let's get the party started then." I said with a small smile. Rags got up and stretched, folded up his camping chair and slung it over his back with its carrying strap before opening the castle door. I followed him inside. Unexpectedly, the party was being hosted in the large central room, with the crystal thrones and circular table. Everyone was here; Starlight, Gyro, Applejack, Ginger, Ray, Penny, the barista from the Nice Little Cafe Across the Way, Pinkie Pie herself, and even Quill, along with a few others who I had yet to meet. There was a grey pegasus with yellow hair and swirly eyes, the DJ from Rags's show who wore these massive pink sunglasses, and lastly a brown pony in a very long scarf in earthy colours. The room was well decorated, with streamers and hangers and banners and balloons. There were bits of confetti everywhere, and a tiered cake towered high on the central table. Various other snacks and dainties and delights were arrayed outward from the cake. All of the decorations seemed to make the crystal of the castle come alive, made it seem less foreboding and unnatural. Or maybe, considering it was a magic castle, it was actually reflecting the atmosphere and attitudes of the ponies (and Gyro) inside it. Now that was a thought. "OHMYGOSH INK BLOT YOU'RE FINALLY HERE!" shouted Pinkie Pie mere moments after I stepped into the room. She threw a cloud of confetti into the air. "This looks like a nice setup you've done. How did you put it together so fast?" I asked. "Trade secret, donchya know?" Pinkie winked at me. "Dang it, foiled again." I dryly cracked fun. She giggled. "You'll like this party, I promise! Or my name isn't Pinkamena Diane Pie!" I smiled halfheartedly, which only made her smile brighter and wider in response. A few moments later she disappeared, probably to do party things. Everyone was clustered into small groups, except for Quill who had very consciously avoided being too close to any of the groups at all. Something about his behaviour seemed off, but I dismissed it as him just being weird and introverted. Still, even an introvert benefits from getting out and making friends. As it was, I decided that the best course of action was to cycle through all the groups and chat, introduce myself to the new folks who'd been invited in. Penny and Ray were standing around a pillar with the grey pegasus and the brown pony wearing a scarf. "Hello." I said to them. "Ah, so it's the colt of the hour himself, eh? I've heard some good things about you, Ink Blot, mostly second-hoof of course, but I'm sure you won't disappoint. I'm the Doctor." the pony wearing a scarf said excitedly. "Oh, is that like a medical degree or a PhD?" I asked politely. "Sort of like a PhD, I suppose? It's a touch complicated, though I'm sure you'll have the time to discuss the particulars in the coming days." the doctor nodded. The grey pegasus, whose eyes pointed in two different directions, frowned. "He didn't say it, Doc." she said sadly. "Say what?" I asked. "Oh, right. The rest of my name is Whooves, usually when I introduce myself I call myself "the Doctor" people respond by asking "Doctor who?", then I can say "Precisely," because that's my name. Doctor Whooves." "We can still do that if you'd like. I won't judge." I smirked. "That's quite alright, Ink Blot, you needn't worry about bad jokes when Ray is around." "Hey," objected Ray, "My volcano experiment was successful, unlike your weird clock thing!" "Volcanoes were tired and played out years before you did yours! You only tied for first with me because you used spectacle to win over the judges! I used pure science, plain and simple!" the Doctor replied. "Don't mind them. They're old rivals from back in the day. Butted heads at all the science fairs, the arcades, talent shows, you name it," Penny said aside to me and the other pegasus. "Anyway, this is my good friend Dee Dee, one of the local delivery mares." "How do you do?" I introduced myself. "I do well what I do, and I do do well. Do. Very well." she said, fumbling over her words. "She's actually got a lot of names. Most people just call her Derpy, on account of... well you can see that plain enough." Penny began. "No, I can't see plain enough," Derpy smiled, "Derpy Ditzy Bubbles Doo Hooves, at your service." she bowed and made an over-the-top gesture. "We also know eachother from our school days, but unlike Doc and Ray, we actually got along." "No, we get along too." Ray countered. "Exactly, it's more of a... friendly rivalry." Whooves added. "Like those two guys from the comic book." said Ray. "Erm, you're not referring to the superheroes, are you?" Whooves asked. Ray shook his head. "No, not them. The detective and his... assistant." "I'd better not ask which of us is which." Whooves sighed. Their conversation quickly turned to other things that I didn't really find very interesting, so I excused myself to join the next group around the room. Rags was pensively listening to something on borrowed headphones, bobbing his head to the beat of music that I couldn't hear. The good DJ P0n-3 waited patiently for his approval on it. "Yeah, yeah, that's got a nice flow. Good work on the piano freestyle, really blends with the sample," Rags nodded, passing the headphones back to the mare. "Inks, my boy, how would you like to hear our latest collab?" "Sure, is there like a sound system you could patch it into?" I asked. The DJ nodded, and led the two of us over to a small wheelie table of electronics. She removed a cassette that said "Party Mix", and replaced it with the one from her portable player. It started rather subdued, with a piano solo leading into a jazzy-swing sample. "That's some nice stuff, I like it." I said. The DJ smiled and gave me a sort-of salute, before bumping hooves with Rags. He shook his head like hr couldn't believe something. "I don't suppose the two of you've been properly introed yet. This is Vinyl Scratch, who you might also recognize by her stage name, "DJ-P0n-3". She also doesn't talk much." "Why talk when there's so much to listen to?" Vinyl said enigmatically. I couldn't help but agree with Vinyl's words. "Very true, very true. When you've got an ear for music, sometimes talking just gets in the way. Lucky for our joint concert series, I do most of the talking." Rags smiled. The two of them remained at the wheelie table where Vinyl was queuing up tracks to play next, mixing everything on the spot with buttons and dials and turntables. The turntables weren't actually hooked up with records, but I imagined there was some jury-rigged system that connected them to the cassette player. Ginger was talking with the other barista, who was still wearing his work uniform; a striped apron over a cream coloured shirt, as well as his nametag. It read "Cinnamon Swirl". "Medium lavender latte with a chocolate chip muffin." he said as I approached. "What?" I said back. "That was your order the other day, correct?" Cinnamon Swirl inquired, his creampuff shaped mane bobbing slightly. "Uh... yeah." Ginger rolled her eyes. "Swirl, you're weirding him out." "Good. I don't know why you even wanted me here. I could have been doing anything right now, like sleeping." he shook his head disapprovingly. "I wanted to bring a friend to introduce to a new friend I'd made, you could have said no and I'd have just brought Hat Trick instead." "You were going to bring up the time you covered my shift for an entire week as blackmail to guilt me into coming." Cinnamon swirl insisted. Ginger sighed. "That was out of the goodness of my heart, not blackmail or guilt or whatever." "It sounds like you only guilted yourself." I commented. He opened his eyes wide in shock, then frowned and glowered in my general direction. "Cinnamon Swirl, this is Ink Blot. Ink Blot, this is Cinnamon Swirl, my friend." "I would say it was nice to meet you, but it really isn't right now. I just want to go home and sleep." Swirl sneered. "We're staying for at least an hour, and after that you can go whenever you'd like." Ginger insisted. Swirl was unhappy with this, but conceded the argument to Ginger. I didn't think he'd be much for casual conversation, so I excused myself at the first opportunity. The last group - excluding Quill who still hid in what amounted to a corner - were clustered around the main table. Starlight, Gyro, and Applejack were in the middle of eating cake when I approached them. "What do you think, Ink Blot? Does Pinkie put on a good party?" Starlight asked. "So far, I'd say so. Decorations are put together well, it's not overly loud or obnoxious, good music, current friends and future friends, it's the exact kind of party I like to have." I replied. "Well, it's not quite th' same as some of the other parties she's done. Hootin' and hollerin' and lotsa sugar. In fact, when Twilight first came to town she threw a massive party with just about everpony in town attendin' it!" Applejack said. "Mmmm, first party I've had in a long while," Gyro said between beakfulls of cake. "When was the last one?" I asked, curiously. Gyro thought for a moment, chewing her cake pensively, "...When I first came to town, actually. Pinkie put one on for me but I was more concerned about getting work started after crashing my first flier... into the place she was holding the party. I was only there on accident, really." "Speaking of Pinkie, where is she right now?" I asked them. The three of them looked at eachother, but they didn't have an answer for me. But, the answer came soon enough. And it wasn't one that I would enjoy. "Hear ye, hear ye! The moment that you've all been waiting for is about to happen!" came the voice of Pinkie Pie over the sound system. I looked over to Rags and the DJ, but Pinkie was nowhere near either of them. In fact, I couldn't see her anywhere. "Ink Blot! Are ya ready?" Pinkie asked from somewhere behind me. I turned to look at her, but what I saw made my blood run cold. She was standing there, and in front of her was an oversized cannon. It would have been comical, with its bright paint scheme, if it had not been pointed directly at me. I might have been fine with it, moved out of the way without a fuss, if it weren't for one simple fact. The fuse had been lit. And it was a short one. I nearly panicked and froze in place, but a trained instinct jolted me into action. "Get down!" I shouted, pushing Starlight, Applejack, and Gyro out of the way before dropping flat to the ground. My heart was beating like a drum. I rolled to the side, curled up and covered my ears, waiting for the explosion, waiting for the cannonball to rip its way through the room with a loud crack, driving itself into the far wall. But it didn't. The only sound the cannon made was a harmless wheeze, accompanied by a rush of air. I opened my eyes, confused. What the hell had happened? Where was the boom? Had I been wrong? When I opened my eyes and looked, the only thing that the cannon had discharged was air, and a cloud of confetti. The confetti seemed to hang in the air forever as the silence in the room grew. Everyone was looking at me. Most faces were some bizarre mix of confusion, concern, and even a little bit of fear. I didn't get it, and my temper flared. "What the hell, Pinkie?" I shouted angrily. "If that was a real cannon you could have killed us!" Even as I was saying it I knew I'd made a mistake. For the first time, Pinkie Pie's face didn't have some kind of smile on it. He lip quivered like she was trying to say something, and tears began to stream down her face. "I didn't mean- Pinkie, I'm- that was-" I sputtered and tried to explain, tried to muster some kind of defense or apology for what I'd said. But there wasn't anything good enough. Shame. Shame was what I felt. Everyone was still looking at me, and I could only think of one thing to do. I ran, I ran back outside to the streets of Ponyville.