//------------------------------// // Chapter 60 - Party Planning (Part 1) // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// The atmosphere at the breakfast table felt somewhat warmer for Barrier that day, and not because of the lingering effects of last night’s meal. A small, somewhat silly grin plastered his face as he watched Daring across from him tearing into a piece of toast. “Thanks for breakfast, Verdant,” Wind Whistler said as she hopped out of her chair. “Gotta go, Mom. Stakes and I have a great business plan we’ve got to get set up.” “Alright. Take care.” Fleet smiled as the little filly made her way to the door. She knew that not only did her friend live fairly close by, but that despite being a filly, Wind Whistler was also deceptively capable of defending herself. A perk of growing up with a bunch of guards during war-time she supposed. Once the door clicked shut, Fleet cleared her throat, drawing the eyes of everypony present. “Now that she’s out of earshot, I’d like to discuss what we’ll do for her birthday party.” “Windy’s birthday is soon?” Daring asked before swallowing what was left of her toast. “Crud. I’m usually good at remembering dates and stuff.” “It’s fine, Daring.” Fleet gave the golden coated mare’s shoulder a pat. “At any rate, we need to plan things before the eighteenth.” “Well, Wind Whistler’s told me she’s been getting interested in stage magic,” Forge said as he rubbed a hoof against his chin in thought, “so maybe we should make that the theme for this party?” “Great idea!” Hatty grinned as he waved his hoof, making a fan of cards appear from nowhere. “I’ve been wanting to try some of my new tricks, Windy and her friends would make for a good test audience.” “Actually,” Verdant nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “I was thinking we should hire someone else for this.” “Why would we do that?” Winter Gem tilted her head in confusion. “Hatty would do this pro bono and hiring somepony else just means shelling out bits. I thought you really liked saving money.” “Oh, I do,” Verdant sighed and rested his hooves on the table. “But my boss’s daughter is a stage magician who’s pretty desperate for work right now. I figure hiring her to do her stuff for the party would help her out.” “Eh, fair enough.” Hatty shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll learn a trick or two from her.” “Now that we have a theme and entertainment picked out,” Swift spoke up as she jabbed a fork into a slice of cantaloupe. “Perhaps we should discuss what presents to get her?” “Well, I know what I’ll get her.” Forge grinned as he rose from his seat. “I saw a rather cute looking toy wand and a book of spells at the pawn shop the other day. If it’s still there, I figure it will be the perfect gift.” “Excellent,” Fleet said with a nod. “Perhaps we should get her some Foaltron toys as well?” “I wouldn’t bother,” Forge said, catching Fleet by surprise. “Apparently she thought the most recent comics were rather terrible and isn’t much of a Foaltron fan anymore.” “Oh, that could be a problem…” Fleet brought a hoof to her chin.  “Maybe she’d like some Glitter Force comics?” Verdant chipped in. “It’s got some magic and fairy-tale themes in it and Erica said girls tend to like it more than Pony Rangers.” “That might be a good idea,” Fleet replied and set her hoof down. “It’d probably also be a good idea to see if there’s some movies she’d like at Blockbuster’s.” “Figurine Fantasy and Shoobeedoo would probably be our best bets,” Gem said between sips of her orange juice. “Thankfully there’s like a billion different Shoobeedoo movies, so picking up some she’d like should be easy.” “Okay, now that we’ve got ideas for entertainment and presents, next up is one of the most important things for a party.” Winter Gem took charge as she dramatically stood up from her chair. “We’ve got to plan what food we’ll be serving.” “Well one thing’s for damn sure,” Barrier said as he shot a dark look in Hat Trick’s direction. “We’re never buying bite-sized powdered donuts ever again.” The purple pegasus gave a chuckle. “All I did was point out they resemble a part of Gem’s body.” “And thus, ruined them for all of us.” Swift gave Hatty a very harsh glare. “Also, do not discuss that while I’m eating.” “So… Pizza?” Daring suggested, to which all the ponies gathered muttered and nodded their agreements. “And we can’t forget cake,” Verdant cheerfully said. “Just don’t pull a repeat of Pinkie’s party this time.” Gem gave the shamrock stallion a wicked smirk. “Gem, for Faust’s sake, it’s not funny!” Verdant angrily barked, taking her aback with his surprising anger. “I’ve had to suffer going through a digestive tract and all that entails far too many times! It’s like worming your way through a sweltering sewer that’s always moving and tossing you about! How about we shove you through one and see how you like it?!” The stallion seethed, heaving slightly as he took deep breaths. “I… Wow, I’m… I’m sorry, Verdant…” Gem sheepishly said while her fellow squadmates looked stunned at the angry stallion. “I… I didn’t know it upsets you so much.” “Sorry… I shouldn’t have snapped…” Verdant found himself unable to look Gem in the eye. “It’s just… getting eaten is something horrifying and gross and… I just don’t like being the butt of every joke about it anymore.” “I didn’t mean to upset you.” Gem slid out of her seat and trotted to Verdant’s side, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” A tiny smile crept across Verdant’s face as he placed his hoof on hers. “Me too, Gem.” Barrier leaned a little further back in his seat and smiled faintly as the pair apologized to each other before his gaze was shifted to Fleetfeather. “At any rate, we should probably make arrangements for this party and get the gifts taken care of.” Fleet started to rise from her seat, only for Swift’s magic to gently hold her in place.  “Worry not, Lieutenant,” the blue viscountess dramatically said as she stepped away from the table. “My fellow privates and I shall handle getting these gifts. You can stay here and do as you wish.” “Besides, I’ve got some movies I need to return, so Swift and I will head to Blockbuster’s.” Gem quickly trotted to Swift’s side. “Hatty,” Forge spoke up as he stepped away from the table. “Want to come to the pawn shop with me?” “Sure thing,” Hatty grinned, hopped out of his chair and stretched out his wings. With a quick kick of his hindlegs, the saddlebags that laid by his chair were briefly sent into the air before landing on his back. After a moment of securing his bags to his barrel, he folded his wings back down. “They tend to have some cool Star Trot stuff I could add to my collection.” “Hey, Barrier. Want to help me get the cake taken care of?” Verdant asked as he started to gather up the empty plates. “Not that I’m opposed to it, is there any particular reason you want me to join you?” Barrier asked as he levitated his plate over to the sink. “You know what Windy likes just as much as I do.” “I ask since I want to not only place our order, but to check on Strawberry and see how her foal’s coming along.” Verdant placed the remaining plates in the sink before trotting over to Barrier’s seat. “Ah… Right...” Barrier rose from his seat and stretched. “Well, let’s get going then.”  As the six started to head for the door, Fleet smiled before looking down at the table. Hmm… Well with that sorted out… what am I going to do? “Hey Fleet.” Daring gently nudged the cyan mare’s shoulder. “How about we head into town and do something fun? It’d be a good way to get to know each other.” “That…” Fleet briefly pondered the golden mare’s words. Well, I’ve been rather focused on work and family for the past while. Perhaps some ‘fun’ would do me some good. “That sounds lovely, Daring. Is there anything you had in mind?” A wicked grin came to Daring Do’s face. “Oh yeah. I know just the place.” *** Verdant and Barrier stepped into the familiar restaurant and sweet shop that was Strawberry Sundae’s Sodas, Scoops, and Sweets. The shamrock earth pony took in the aroma of freshly baked goods while Barrier was looking in mild annoyance at the offensively flashy décor. Their hooves clicked against the pink and white checkerboard floor while Barrier shook his head silently at the cream yellow, vanilla white and pink striped wallpaper that adorned the walls. “Hey there, Strawberry,” Verdant chipperly said as he reached the front counter, “How’s things by you?” “Fairly good, all things considered,” the scarlet pegasus said, followed by a shrug as she leaned against the counter. “Business has been doing pretty well and the doctor gave me a prescription for something that’ll settle my stomach.” She then gave her belly a light pat. “On that subject, how’s the foal coming along?” Verdant asked, stepping closer to the counter. “Foals.” Strawberry chuckled slightly as she placed a hoof on her belly. “The doctor’s scans say it’s gonna be twins and from what she could tell, it’s pretty likely they’re fraternal twins, meaning both of you’ve got buns in my oven.” Verdant grinned so widely, Barrier was worried his face may split open as a delighted squeal escaped the shamrock stallion.  “Speaking of,” Orange Crush interjected as she poked her head out of the back. “We just took some fresh buns out if you’d like them.” “I think we’ll pass,” Barrier said as he faced Strawberry. “What we’d like to order is a cake for the eighteenth.” “You got it.” Strawberry quickly ducked behind the counter. When she rose back up, she was holding a clipboard in one wing and a pencil in the other. “So, what kind of cake do you want?” “Hmm… Knowing how many friends she has, I think a three tier vanilla cake, with cream icing and some peach slices would work.” “Uh-huh.” Strawberry jotted things down with precise movements of her wing. “What’s the occasion?” “Wind Whistler’s birthday,” Verdant said as he seemed to finally snap out of his stupor of delight. “Say, could you write, ‘Happy Birthday Wind Whistler’ on it in blue piping?” “No problem.” Strawberry gave the pair a smile. “Want the words on separate tiers with ‘happy’ on top, ‘birthday’ on the middle and ‘Wind Whistler’ on the bottom?” “Sounds good.” Barrier nodded along as he pulled out his bit bag. “How much will this cost?” “Forty-two bits,” Strawberry replied as she jotted down the last details before tearing the page away.  “Wait, shouldn’t it be fifty bits?” Verdant asked as he glanced up at the price guide above the counter. “I figured I’d give you the family discount since you’re our baby-daddies,” Strawberry replied as Crush came from the back and took the order form. “Thank you, Strawberry,” Barrier said appreciatively as he placed a stack of bits on the counter. “I’m sure Windy will love the cake.” “I aim to please,” She said as Barrier started to trot away. “This birthday’s gonna be one she’ll remember for a long time.” *** “We’re almost there,” Daring said as she and Fleetfeather trotted through a somewhat disused looking street in downtown Vanhoover. “This place took awhile for me to find, but it’s got all sorts of great stuff to check out.” Fleet nodded along just as Daring started to head down a set of stairs, the saffron mare coming to a halt in front of a heavy looking metal door. “C’mon down, Fleet. We’re here.” Daring ushered her down, making the cyan mare swallow.  “Do recall the last place I entered like this was a basement where I had to recover after losing my eye,” Fleet said as she descended the steps. “Ooh, right…” Daring rubbed the back of her neck as Fleet reached the door. “Well trust me when I say this is about a billion times better than just about anything you’ve seen in modern living before.” “Here’s hoping,” Fleet said as Daring pulled the door open, ushering her inside.  Once crossing the threshold, Fleet was rather surprised by the sight before her. Inside was a collection of shops and businesses, decorated in a collection of blacks, purples and dark blues. While there were a few normal lights in the complex, most of them were neon in the names of the various businesses.  “Welcome to the Midnight Mall,” Daring said as she trotted in front of the surprised pegasus. “A place started up by thestrals where you can live the nightlife twenty-four hours a day.” “My word…” Fleet’s head turned back and forth as she followed Daring along. “It’s quite big for someplace underground.” “Yeah, and this is just the first floor,” Daring said as she led Fleet into a place that bore a sign that read ‘Moonlight Melodies’. “There’s another five floors below that have all sorts of restaurants, shops, and even a theater.” “So, what are we doing here?” Fleet inquired as she looked around. The place seemed to be some sort of bar and restaurant, but with a stage set up where she saw Fruity Punch singing a song with a pale violet unicorn mare with a flowing, two-toned purple mane beside her. “Ore wa Oingo, henshin dekiruuuuuuuuuu!” Punch belted out, making Fleet quickly understand why she was a restaurant worker and not a professional singer. “Well, Fleet...” Daring slung a foreleg around her shoulder. “We’re gonna have some food, some drinks, and then I’m gonna introduce you into a wonderful Neighponese creation called ‘karaoke’.”