"Suprise! Welcome to Ponyville, Anon!"
Wha?
Several ponies jumped out from several hiding places, including Dawn, as confetti fell through the air. My apprehension quickly turned into confusion. I mean, seriously, what was going on? A pink mare with a mane that looked like cotton candy quickly approached me, slipping a necklace of candy around my neck.
"Uh...thank you," I said, sounding confused.
Suddenly, I felt something land on my back, hugging my barrel. I jerked my head to the right to get a look at what it could be only to see a small yellow foal with a pink mane comparable to the mare in front of me. This must be her child. The foal smiled at me brightly and I smiled back nervously.
Dawn approached me from behind a counter of baked goods.
"Dawn, what's going on?"
"Sorry Anon, if I told you, it would ruin the surprise."
"Surprise?"
"Yeah, Pinkie Pie knows everyone in Ponyville. When she found out that you just moved in, she asked me to bring you here. Please don't be mad at me."
I shook my head. "I'm not mad, I was just caught off guard. I've never been to a party, let alone had one thrown for me."
Pinkie Pie frowned at this. "That's so sad."
"I can't imagine what it'd be like to never have been to a party," a stallion said.
His coat was a light brilliant gamboge, complimented by a dark brown frizzled mane and green eyes.
"Cheese, could you go cut the cake, please?" Pinkie Pie said to the stallion.
"You got it, come on Li'l Cheese, let's go cut the cake."
The foal slid off my back, rolling around mid-air and landing on her hooves before darting off to a back room of the building. Big Cheese followed suit.
"Come on, let's go party!"
A few hours later...
I'm honestly not sure what's worse, lovesickness or food sickness? Because right now, I feel terrible after eating all that cake. I should've stopped after the first piece, but it was just so good. It was so bad that I could hardly walk.
"Anon, are you alright?" Dawn asked, sounding concerned.
I wasn't at all. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Dawn's eyes narrowed at me as she leaned in closer. "Are you sure? It's not good to lie."
I was a bit taken aback by this. "No. I feel terrible, but the party was great."
"Of course it was, but, at this rate, you won't make it to Rarity's. Let's head back to the castle, for now, you should get some rest."
"Dawn, I'll be fine. we still have to meet up with Rarity."
"No, Anon, you're going back. At least for a little while. We still have a lot of time before we have to go to Rarity's."
I wanted to argue with her but really wasn't in the condition or mood to do so. Reluctantly, I agreed with her.
"Alright," I sighed, looking at my hooves.
Dawn placed a hoof on my shoulder, looking me in my eyes warmly. "Come on, let's go."
Dawn began trotting in the direction of the castle, I called after her.
"Dawn, wait, I can't move," I said as I collapsed to the ground.
Dawn opened the door to my room using her telekinesis, levitating my body in her magic. Dawn gently placed me down on my bed, throwing a blanket over me.
"Thanks, Dawn," I said, expressing my gratitude.
"It's no problem at all," Dawn said before stepping out of the room, closing the door behind herself.
I was feeling a bit better, but a little rest couldn't hurt.
I sat at my desk, toward the middle of the lecture hall, clicking away at my pen as I listened to the professor's lesson. Sitting there with my chin rested on one hand, I allowed my mind to begin to wander for a bit.
"Human emotions are a very potent thing. On one hand, they can lead to beautiful works of art and love, and on the other, they can lead to horrendous acts of violence and depravity. Within the animal kingdom, there is no creature more chaotic and unpredictable than a human. You see, we try to rationalize emotions to find better ways of controlling them. While it's not an impossible feat to accomplish, it is very difficult. Now, would anyone like to tell me what part of the brain regulates emotions?"
I took my chin off my hand, raising it high enough for the professor to see.
"Yes, you there in the middle," he said, pointing to me.
"The limbic system?"
"That's correct. The limbic system is responsible for regulating emotions and is comprised of four main parts: the hypothalamus, the amygdala, the thalamus, and the hippocampus. Funnily enough, the limbic system is also heavily tied to memory. This is why we feel things like nostalgia or sadness for things that happened in the past despite them not currently affecting us. Despite how amazing the limbic system is, it has a few major flaws. For one thing, when emotions go out of control, the limbic system has a tendency to shut down the neocortex; the part of the brain responsible for logic and reason. As one could tell, this could lead to disastrous consequences," the professor stated, smiling at me.
"What was your name again?"
"My name? It's-"
"Anon, you feeling better?"
I awoke to see Luster Dawn standing over me.
"A whole lot," I said as I got out of bed.
"That's good, come on, let's head to the boutique."
"Alright, but first, I gotta use the little foal's room," I said as I rushed to the bathroom.
Exiting the bathroom, I felt more refreshed than ever. Well, it's a close second to the shower I had this morning.
It's strange though, although I can't remember my dream at all, I feel like it was important. Oh well, no use getting caught up on things I can't control.
"You ready?" Dawn asked.
"Yup, let's go!"
"We're here!" Dawn announced excitedly.
I've been here before. It's that strange building that looked like a carousel I landed behind when I first arrived.
"Come on, Rarity must be waiting."
Dawn walked up to the door, knocking on it with her hoof.
"It's open!" Rarity yelled from the other side of the door.
Dawn opened the door, stepping through, myself following after.
"Dawn, is that you, darling?"
"Yup, it's us, Rarity."
"Oh good, I just finished setting up the table."
Table? Please, no more food.