"Home sweet home." I said as I glanced around at all of the books arranged on the shelves, something I can never get tired of seeing.
"No time to dawdle Anon, we've got work to do." Called Twilight as she made her way to the stairs.
I nodded and followed her, we both made our way past the library section and headed up the steps towards the bedroom part of Golden Oaks. Just as Twilight was about to use her magic to open it, we heard some voices inside, it sounded like they were arguing loudly, a very familiar kind of arguing that made the two of us frown in response.
“Sounds like you already have some guests over for the sleepover, unfortunately, they seem to have already gotten into an argument about something.” I said to her flatly.
Twilight just shook her head and opened the door, and lo and behold, we did indeed have guests, two of them in fact, Applejack, who almost certainly arrived first, and Rarity, who usually doesn’t get here this early, perhaps it was just a slow day for her today.
“Ahm tellin ya sugarcube, that dress y'all want me to wear is NOT mah style! Anythin’ frilly an frou frou just don’t suit me, ya hear?”
“Nonsense Applejack, you may not notice it but underneath that… rough and rural, yes let’s go with that, rough and rural look you have is a wonderful model just waiting to happen, and with the dress I have recently designed, you would look absolutely darling in it!”
“Look here, I mighty preshate y’all for the thought, but ah ain’t goin’ around wearin’ that in front of anypony, an ah much prefer bein’ rough an rural, thank you.”
“Oh pur-lease dear, a little sprucing up for a small occasion like this wouldn't hurt at all, and it’s not like you would be a laughing stock of the town, on the contrary, I think everypony would be awe struck by your stance, your looks, and the dress to complete it all-”
“Ah, ain't, doin' it! Ah will not wear any dress that's snooty lookin' or fabulous, specially if it makes me feel like a broad!”
“Snooty looking!? Broad!? How dare you! Why if I wasn’t a proper lady, I would’ve slapped you round the cheek for such an uncouth attitude!”
“An if ah weren’t a respectable hard worker without manners, I'd hoof ya right in your fancy smancy snoot too.”
Rarity went wide eyed, gritting her teeth, she was no doubt about to say something real harsh, that's when I decided to intervene before it got any more out of hand, making the two of them jump in surprise.
“AH-HEM! Sorry to interrupt your little bickering girls, but we’re back with the things needed for the sleepover tonight. So, if you are done with your arguing, we’d like to get started setting everything up right now.” I said to them.
Twilight still had the mother of all frowns on her face as she glared at both of them.
Rarity took a deep breath, then spoke up first. “My apologies darlings, me and Applejack didn’t mean for you to hear all of that, we were just talking about a new dress I designed, and well... I got a little too carried away with that conversation and nearly did something I knew we would soon regret, especially if it ruined the sleepover.”
Applejack spoke up next, taking her hat off her head.
“Yeah... ah apologize too folks, ah didn’t mean for thet there conversation to get heated right there… especially since we’re bout’ to have a sleepover too… please forgive our horsing around.”
The two of them leaned their heads forward in apology. Twilight closed her eyes and let out a long sign.
“Alright, apology accepted, but, I'm gonna have a word with the two of you about this later on tonight privately.”
The two ponies nodded to her, with that out of the way, she walked over to the table and undid her saddle bags, placing them onto the ground right next to it.
“Now then, without further ado, let us get started organizing this sleepover! First things off the list, the food and makeover products all organized and laid out.” Twilight said as she picked up her checklist with her magic.
“Ready and waiting, Twilight!” I said as I went over to the table, putting down all the items I had been carrying for the last while, shaking off the strain out of my hands.
I soon got busy organizing the food into a respectable presentation, there was just about everything you could want here, including potato chips, bottles of soda, fresh apples, carrots and even a few cupcakes, courtesy of one Pinkie Pie who we met at the local bakery earlier on in the afternoon, no doubt she’ll be gracing us with her presence very soon.
“Y’know, ah’ never get tired of seein’ y’all just holdin’ all that there heavy load like it was nuthin’ at all sugarcube.” Applejack said, who had come over to the table to help out.
“Well, when you’ve been working in shops for years and years back in my world, you soon get used to holding heavy things all the time. That, and having fingers helps out too.” I said, wiggling them in front of her as a bit of a tease, Applejack chuckled in amusement.
“Heh heh heh, ah’ certainly wouldn’t mind havin’ one of them, it’d make gatherin’ all the apples round’ Sweet Apple Acres much easier than with just these lil ol hooves.” She said, looking down and lightly tapping the table with her front hooves.
“Oh, I don’t know, I think your hooves do their job really well, especially when it comes to bucking trees for apples. Plus I just don’t see myself punching trees over and over just to get apples to fall, I'd probably break my hand more times than that.” I said, Applejack then looked up at me.
“Say, are y’all talkin’ bout that one time ya wanted to help us out back at the farm, and y’all then went an broke yer fingies on that big ol apple tree in the ol orchid?” She said, with a small grin on her face.
I lowered one eyebrow at her, “Yes, just like that one time. Though to be fair, your little sister did kind of egg me on into doing it, mainly because she wanted to see how strong a Human was when it came to punching power, but I guess I kinda overdid it.” I said, rubbing the back of my head, then looking over at the hand in question.
The fingers had long since healed up from that misadventure, but there was still a bit of a faint scar on a few of them, a not so subtle reminder of that episode.
“Yeeeaaaahh… ah’m sorry that happened Anon, Apple Bloom can get real fired up when it comes to seein’ somethin’ impressive like that.” Applejack said with a sign, clearly recalling her sister and friend’s past hi jinks as part of their little group.
“Hey don’t worry about it Applejack, it was all harmless fun. Besides she didn’t mean anything bad from it at all, you can forgive a little filly being so curious about things.” I said, patting her back to ease her worry. She smiled warmly in return.
Applejack is the pony I probably get along with the most out of the mane six. I relate to her quite a bit since we’re both hard workers at heart, she breaks her back trying to keep her family business afloat, keeping the town stocked up with her signature apples, and of course holding the family together, especially if spats break out between them. She has offered me a job to work at Sweet Apple Acres multiple times. but I feel that there is no way I could keep up with her even if I did take it, besides I'm sure her family have got all of that covered anyway, I mean who can compete with her brother in that role?
“Is everything all set with the food yet?” Twilight called out in our direction, ending that little moment.
“Just about! Now, where do you want me to put these makeover products over yonder?” I called back to her.
“Put them on that side table over there, Rarity can help out in setting them up for use later on tonight.” Twilight said, gesturing to where her friend was.
I picked up the products and carried them over to what I assumed was going to be the sleepover salon, complete with hair rollers, mud mask kits, and of course filers for hooves and horns.
“Just put those items next to me darling, you can help me with setting up the salon for use tonight.” Rarity said while her attention was focused on the task at hand.
So I started to help her in organizing the impromptu salon. Rarity is another pony I get along with fairly well, not as much as Applejack but still we’re on good terms. Sure her voice, attitude and tone are a little too upper class for my taste, but this girl has a heart of gold, always willing to help out when it comes to fashion, clothes, or even more mundane tasks around town. That being said, she is a bit of a sucker when it comes to being the centre of attention, and she has a real flair for the dramatic.
“Anon my dear, tell me just how long are you going to be wearing that drab attire you currently wear?” Rarity said, looking at me with an eye.
“Rarity, I've told you before, these are the only pair of clothes I have on me, I didn’t exactly come with another matching pair when I ended up stuck here.”
“Well then, if that’s the case don’t you think it’s about time I helped make some more for you to wear? Wearing the same clothes everyday will wear them out fast you know.” She said as she turned her attention towards me.
I looked over to her. “Well that thought has been on my mind for a while now, but I don’t think I can afford to pay for new sets of clothes just yet.”
“Nonsense darling! You absolutely must pay a visit to my boutique as soon as you can, that way I can help make you new sets of clothing and suits to wear everyday. Oh and don’t worry about paying for any of it, since this will be new territory for me in terms of tailoring items to your size, I'll do this all for free, just for you.” She said as a bright smile appeared on her face.
I felt a warm blush creep onto my cheeks, this was such a generous offer, again as I said, this mare has a heart of solid gold.
“Well gosh, that is really generous of you Rarity, but I wouldn’t mind giving you a small tip for that since I know you would do such a fabulous job.”
Rarity closed her eyes and giggled heartily.
“Oh no no no, nothing at all my dear, but thank you for the offer. Now however, I will need to take some measurements of your body in order to get an idea of what size I need to work with.”
And now that warm blush has been replaced by an embarrassed one.
“Umm well… I'm sure I've said it before, but I'm not exactly comfortable with being out of my clothes publicly, especially when in front of females.”
Rarity just tilted her head in confusion.
“Is there any problem with that? I mean I know from what you have told me that you don’t have any natural fur, just bare skin, but surely you can’t be hiding anything awful, right? Besides, the measurements would only take about five minutes at most, and then we wouldn’t need to bother with it anymore since I'll know it all by heart.”
She then got a spark in her eyes, you could almost hear the word “ideeeeaa!” screaming out from her ears.
“In fact, why don’t we do all of that right here tonight? I brought my measuring tape with me as I was gathering my things for the sleepover. We can take this to another room if you wish to have more privacy and not be disturbed, what do you say Anon?” She said as she took a step forward.
I backed away at little bit, blushing more now. "Ummm well... I-I think it could work b-but-"
Then there came a loud reply from behind her. Rarity turned round to see Twilight staring at her.
“Rarity, I'm sure Anon appreciates your generous offer, but don’t you think you should wait until he says he is ready to do this first?”
Twilight threw me a wink, I nodded back in kind, she was throwing me a little save here.
“Oh no, I understand that dear, it’s just that… well I feel that it wouldn’t hurt for him to have more options to wear if you know what I mean?”
Twilight signed. “I know I know, but-
Rarity started raising her voice, it seemed she was really determined with this idea of hers.
“Twilight please! As I said it will only take five minutes to do this then I won’t have to bother him again about it. Besides, I am rather eager to learn what fashion his kind the 'hu-mans' are into. And the dresses, my goodness, what sort of dresses do the females of their kind wear on a day to day basis? Or better yet what do they showcase on the stage! I have to know this, I must!”
She turned to look at me again with that look in her eyes. Now I'm starting to feel pretty uncomfortable about this, I mean surely there is a much better time and place for all of this then right here? I was just about to say something, when Twilight spoke up again.
“Listen, Anon and I will have a chat about this later on tonight, then when we have finished I'll let you know right away if he’ll agree to it or not.”
Rarity looked at Twilight with an eyebrow raised up.
“Don’t tell me, is there something about him that you’re hiding from us?” Rarity asked, sounding suspicious.
Twilight’s eyes widened, but she shook it off.
“No no no no no, nothing like that! It’s just, well he’s very different from us ponies biologically and physically. Trust me, he’s not being rude, he’s just very sensitive about his appearance without clothes. Also don’t forget that we are ‘mare’s’ Rarity, he isn’t used to a female being that… ‘involved’ with him.
I looked at Twilight with a frown and raised eyebrow, I mean she is correct in what she’s saying, but still, she isn’t my mum!
“So please, don’t bother him about this for now, instead let us get back to setting everything up for tonight, the others are probably on their way here right now so we'd better hurry.”
Rarity signed in defeat. “Alright darling, I'll abide, but remember that my offer is still on table Anon, just give the word when you are ready and I'll be there in a flash.”
She looked back at me again briefly before going back to working on the table, I could see that determination was still in her eyes. I think I'll need to keep an eye out for her tonight in case she tries any funny business when I ain’t looking.
In any case I went back to work on organizing the table with her, and soon it was all set, it sure smelled like a salon alright with all the products on there, including one fine arrangement of sliced cucumbers on a plate. Why they use them at all for this, I'll never understand.
“Perfect! All set and ready for tonight!” Exclaimed Rarity, hopping up and down on her hooves.
It was at that moment we heard a loud knock on the open window up above, everyone looked up to see who it was. Before we knew it, a familiar rainbow streak dashed right into the room from the open frame, followed by an equally familiar Pegasus pony hovering right above us, then came a raspy tomboyish voice I knew all too well.
“Everypony look out, the V-I-P has arrived in the building!”
The pony in question landed down onto the floor and folded up her wings, her rainbow mane and tail shining in the fading sunlight, contrasting to her baby blue coat and bright magenta eyes, yep, it was the one and only Rainbow Dash, aspiring Wonderbolts Trainee and the local Weather Patrol for Ponyville.
“What’s up everypony? Tonight’s sleepover is gonna rock and roll with awesomeness!
Applejack chuckled at the Rainbow mare. “Well well, howdy there Rainbow, sounds like somepony has had a good day today.”
“Good!? It was an AWE-some day!” She said, jumping in front of Applejack with a wide grin, then she began telling about how her day went.
“First thing that happened was when I was out clearing the clouds, one of the Wonderbolts came flying around in the skies doing a little practice, and wouldn’t you know it, it was Soarin’ himself! I caught up to him and managed to get him to autograph my own Wonderbolts Forever fanbook! I'm one step closer to finally completing it with every single signature from them! He even gave me a free noogie before he dashed off back to practising. Let me tell you, I don’t want to ever brush this mane of mine today after that!” She said, adorably hopping on her hooves from the excitement.
“Then on my break, I heard a noise coming from the nearby river. I took a look over the side of the cloud I was on, and I saw that one of the school fillies had fallen in and was in danger of drowning. So I jumped right off the cloud and dived down towards the river, I followed her and managed to pull her out just in time. Next I ran I check on her to make sure was okay and hadn't swallowed any water, then I helped her back to the school group she was with. The teachers were thankful that I saved her since they were looking around for her and were worried she had wondered off somewhere.
“It was a good thing you did save that poor filly as quickly as you did Rainbow, Celestia knows what could’ve happened to the poor girl if you didn’t save her in time.” Twilight said, smiling at her proudly.
Rainbow Dash blushed a little, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.
“Yeah I know, just doing my job as the local hero, but, that’s not even the best part from today! Around an hour before I was supposed to meet everypony here, I happened to catch A.K Yearling herself sneaking about town, and in her saddle bags I saw her holding a couple of copies of the new Daring Do book that’s not even out yet! I caught up to her and asked her all about it. Apparently they weren’t supposed to go on sale until next week, but she let me have one as an advanced copy since I was such a big fan of her work, and in return I wouldn’t leak the word out about it to everypon-”
She suddenly stopped talking, her eyes went wide as she realized what she had just said, then she looked over to everyone else in the room in a panic.
“Ooooops! Erm… P-promise me that you won’t leak this out to anypony else, okay? Pretty please?” She said, looking at everyone with big pleading puppy dog eyes.
Everyone else in the room nodded in agreement, Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief, then in a split second she was back to her happy energetic tone from before.
“But yeah, today has been SOOOOOO AWESOME!! One of the best days ever!"
I watched Rainbow pumping her hoof up in the air, she’s clearly in such high spirits right now. I couldn’t help but be happy for her.
She’s another pony I get along with fairly well, mainly because she has a great sense of humour, and we both have had our fair share of laughs when it comes to jokes and snark. However, believe me when I say, never ever challenge her in any activities unless you can back it up with more than just words, she has a competitive streak so wide that it would impress the horizon itself.
“Oh hey Anon! I see you’re here too huh? Heh heh heh, so then, are you finally gonna have the courage to be a part of our sleepovers?” She said, turning towards me with that familiar cocky grin on her face.
I smiled in return.
“Hey Rainbow Dash, good to see you too! But to answer your question, no I won't be taking part in the sleepover tonight. I know I hate to disappoint you, but I'm only here to help organize it."
No sooner did I say that, she looked dead at me with shrunken pupils like I had just upset her in the worst possible way. Then suddenly she jumped up and dashed in my direction, hovering right in front of me face to face, personal space much Rainbow?
“OH COME ON!! Seriously!? What is your excuse this time huh!?” She said, sounding super annoyed.
I signed, then tried to defuse this situation fast. “Look it's um, it’s just not for me alright? I'm sure you and everyone else will have lots of fun and enjoyment without me taking part, I'd only be taking up space. Besides I can always find something else to do downstairs in the library like reading and sorting.”
“Uh huh, that’s what you said last time, and the time before that too. So just what do you mean it’s not for you, huh?” She said, crossing her hooves while narrowing her eyes.
“Well lets see, I just think that I wouldn't fit in with the group. I mean between all this salon stuff right here, the usual giggling and gossip I sometimes hear from downstairs, and then there are times when all I hear is just shouting and crashing about, like you guys are having a fight. Last time at the sleepover it got REALLY loud with all the fighting, I mean what the heck were you girls up to?”
Rainbow looked at me wide eyed for a moment, then lightly chuckled while rubbing a hoof over her head.
“He he he heh, well you see... Last time we all had an epic pillow war going on in this very room, it just got a tinnie bit out of hand. I mean there were feathers all over the place, poor Fluttershy was hiding away in that closet, Pinkie was a giggling mess on the floor and Rarity was just in complete shock over her poor sleeping bed being messed up. It was just me and AJ left standing, but before we could finish it, we were both conked out cold for the rest of the night, all thanks to Twilight over there.” Rainbow said, looking at said pony with a frown.
“Well yeah, because I had to stop both you and Applejack from throwing anything else that could’ve gotten broken, or worse! You two ponies I swear, you just never give up when it comes to competitions, fights, or a combination of both! You both really need to tone it down with your rivalry a little bit, because last thing we want is for both of you to end up at the hospital with broken legs.” Twilight said to them rather pointedly.
Both Rainbow and Applejack laughed awkwardly, but still glanced at each other with that competitive look in their eyes.
“And if I may add in too darlings, we all ended up being forced to share beds with each other for that night, all because we lost most of our precious pillows to that silly little war. You all have no idea how cold of a shower I had to take that morning after just to wash that 'feeling' off my coat.” Rarity interjected, but all she got was dirty looks from the others in the room, so she huffed and held her head up high.
“Ohhh nooo, well anyway.” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, shifting her focus back to me, itching herself a little closer to my face. “As well as all that, we were also talking about you alot during the last sleepover, we spent like an hour discussing why you don’t join in on the fun. Pinkie believed it was because you didn't know what fun was, but I called horse apples on that since I know you have a good head when it comes to funny stuff. Then Fluttershy said that she believe that it was because you was all shy about having to be apart of a party like this, that and you never really interacted with girls of your kind in that sort of way before so you have little experience from it."
I went a little wide eyed from hearing that, I wanted to frown and say something, but it all made too much sense. Rainbow Dash seemed to sense it as a grin began to grow across her face.
"Hah! Looks like I hit the nail on the head huh? Or should I say, Fluttershy hit it on the head!"
“Well I… I guess so?” I was drawing a blank, come on brain get working!
Everyone else in the room just giggled, Rainbow included, she then put a hoof on my shoulder and looked at me with a look of pity.
“Oh man, Anon my friend you are missing out! I know, we do often engage in such frilly and frou frou things like makeovers, gossip and… manicures. But! We also do lots of fun stuff as well, like toasting s'mores, ghost stories, the aforementioned pillow fights, my personal favourite truth or dare and more! Honestly dude, you are missing out on some good honest fun!”
“Rainbow’s right sugarcube, ah think it wouldn’t hurt for ya to take part in it just once, yawl might end up enjoyin’ it just as much as we do!” Applejack said, giving a warm smile to me.
“I agree darling, you simply must take part in these sleepovers more often, I certainly wouldn't mind helping to make you feel more comfortable by providing extra pillows and blankets if needed." Rarity said.
The three of them were now giving me that pleading look on their faces. I felt my mouth twisting about, deep in thought about it. I didn’t think they would be 'that' interested in having me take part in this at all, but now that they put me on the spot, I knew I had to make a choice. I looked to Twilight for guidance, but she just nodded to me, making it clear that I had to decide on this one alone, I was about to speak up, when suddenly.
*BOOOM*
Everyone jumped as random confetti rained around the room, we looked around and I soon eyed a familiar looking cannon at the now open bedroom door that was closed only a minute ago. Then when I looked back some balloons appeared around the central table as if from nowhere, along with a random cake that actually looked really delicious. I began to put two and two together and as soon as I came up with the answer in my head, that was when it happened, a familiar pink pony popped out of the cake
“Wheeeee! Hahahaha! The party has arrived! Everypony better get ready for a long night of FUN!”
Yup, the pink apocalypse has arrived, Pinkie Pie aka Pinkius Pieicus, good thing there was only one of 'em. She’s another one who I get along with very well, she sure knows how to make a party happen and put a smile on everyone’s faces, not to mention just like Rainbow, she has a talent for pranking and humour, and she sure appreciates my sense of humour, I mean you have no idea how much of a giggle fit she has from some of my snark. That being said, she can sometimes wear out her welcome with her quirky antics, and her Pinkie sense, my god, I don’t I'll ever figure it out.
“Oh hey Anon, good to see you! Said Pinkie, bouncing out of the cake and stopping in front of me. “Have you had a good day today? Have you been helping out with the sleepover again? Are you thinking about taking part in it this time? Are you? Huh? Huh? Huh?”
I had to chuckle, this pink menace never ceases to amaze me with her energy.
“Hey Pinkie, good to see you in high spirits as per usual. Well to answer your questions, yes I am helping out once again, it seems my extra help comes in ‘handy’ for them.” I said to her, earning a loud giggle from her. “And as for taking part? Well, it’s funny you should say that, everypony here just now was asking if I would like to do so tonight.”
Just at that moment her eyes lit up like fireworks, you could almost see the sparks flying out of them, almost.
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Oh please please please say yes! You will, won’t you? Huh? Won’t you?” She said to me with those big blue puppy dog eyes she was giving me.
Great, as if three pleading eyes at me weren’t enough, four all at once? You could melt an adult's heart to a puddle of mush with that alone. I was about to speak up when Twilight interrupted.
“Ahem! Well Pinkie now that you are here we only now need to wait for Fluttershy to arrive, then we’re all ready to get started on tonight.” She said, levitating her nearby clipboard with her magic, followed by her trusty quill.
“Ah yeah, about that...” Pinkie said, looking a little down about something.
“Somethin’ the matter, Pinkie?” Applejack said to her curiously.
Pinkie closed her eyes and signed, then spoke in a more downbeat tone. “Fluttershy.... She won’t be able to join us for the sleepover tonight.”
Everyone in the room went wide eyed, Twilight almost dropped her clipboard in shock.
“W-what? What has happened to her Pinkie?” Twilight asked her.
“I went to get her just before coming here so that the two of us could arrive together, but, she said she couldn’t come tonight because a few of her animals have come down with a nasty flu, and she fears she’s also caught it due to being in close contact with them all day. So, to avoid the risk of spreading the flu to us too, she’s decided to isolate in her home for the next few days, that way she can know for sure if she ends up ill or not, while also help treat the sick animals.
A sombre mood fell in the room, each of the ponies looking real downbeat about the news. Fluttershy has never missed these sleepovers once as far as I know, but I know that her health is important and that she was thinking about our safety ahead of time. I only hope that she will be okay, isolation can be pretty lonely, and frankly, claustrophobic too. I know that experience all too well in my own world with a certain plague raging around currently.
“That’s such a shame, I was looking forward to trying out my brand new curler for her mane tonight.” Said Rarity as her hoof nudged said device on the salon table.
“Ah sure hope she’s takin’ care of herself okay, ah reckon we should let the Ponyville Hospital know bout’ this so thet they’ll send a nurse to check up on her first thang tomorrow, and the sooner the better.” Applejack said, thinking thoughtfully about Fluttershy's situation.
“Don’t worry Applejack, I’ll send a letter to them first thing in the morning. But until then we have a problem on our hooves, we’re down one pony for this sleepover, and it’s too late now to ask around for another to take Fluttershy’s place. If Spike was here he would certainly be fine with taking part, but he’s away at Canterlot on royal business until tomorrow.” Twilight said, rubbing a hoof under her chin thinking what to do.
“Well it’s not like we’re cancelling the sleepover or anything, right? We can still host it even in her absence.” Said Rainbow Dash trying to brighten the mood.
“Well duh, but it’s still going to feel pretty empty in here without the whole crew present, not to mention all the food and drinks we brought with us, they’re all going to be going to waste if we don’t eat them all tonight…” Pinkie said with a sad tone at the end, she hated seeing food go to waste.
“If only there was somepony round’ right ere' now who could take her place…” Applejack said, her eyes staring at the ground.
As all the other ponies including me started thinking about what to do in this situation, Pinkie pie suddenly shot up into the air like a cannonball.
“Wait!! Wait a second there everypony, there is a somepony who can take her place!”
“What are you talking about Pinkie? I already told you that it’s too late now to find somepony else” Twilight said to her dismissively.
“No no no silly, I already knew that, but, there really is somepony, or should I say ‘somebody’ who can take part tonight, in faaaaaaccccttt, they are here right now, right in this very room with us!” She said to the others, who just looked at her with a confused look.
“Pinkie Pie, have you been on that sugar high again? There isn’t anypony else here! Except you, me, Twilight, AJ, Rarity and… and-” Rainbow Dash trailed off, starting to connect the dots in her head.
“And… of course how could we forget, you Anon!” Pinkie Pie finished for her, pointing her straight hoof at me.
The rest of the ponies looked at me as well, I backed up a little bit with my hands up.
“W-w-whoa hold on now!”
“He is our ‘somebody’ for the sleepover! And what an opportunity this is too, he gets to experience it for the first time ever!” Pinkie said with excitement in her voice.
“H-hey now! This is all a bit sudden isn’t it!?”
“Well well well, no excuses this time right, Anon? You gotta take part in this sleepover now!” Rainbow said with a big wide grin on her mug.
Well shucks, how bout’ it sugarcube?” Applejack said, her big green eyes shining at me.
“Please please say you will? For Fluttershy’s sake? Pretty please with a cherry on top!” Pinkie said, getting on her knees and begging towards me.
“Now now, everypony. It’s Anon’s choice whether or not he wants to take part. So, what do you think Anon, will you take part in tonight?” Twilight said to me.
I’ve really been put on the spot this time, I'll admit I was very, very tempted to just say no right then and there. But they were all giving me that pleading puppy dog look in their eyes that I find too hard to resist, even Twilight was giving it to me now. Despite what she just said a moment ago, I think she had wanted me to take part in this all along.
I closed my eyes for a moment as I thought about my decision, that’s when it started to click in my head, why did I always think that these sleepovers were nothing but girly fun and activities? From what Rainbow Dash just told me, it was anything but that, plus the idea of games was just too much for me to resist, after all, I do like a good game for fun.
I opened my eyes back up and looked at the ponies.
“Alright, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give this sleepover a shot, I'm game.” I said with a smile.
Immediately after I said that, I found myself tackled to the ground hard by multiple colours at once, Pinkie pie giving me probably the strongest bear hug a pony could ever give, Rainbow Dash was busy giving me a noogie on the head, Rarity was joining in on the hugging along with Applejack though nowhere near as forceful as Pinkie, while Twilight just hopped up and down with a smile across her face.
“THANK YOU ANON! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!” Pinkie yelled out right in front of my face.
“Now our sleepover shall be complete without any issues at all!” Twilight said in the background.
“Ah hope y'all enjoy yourself tonight sugarcube.” Applejack said with a warm smile.
“It’s good to see you joining in tonight darling, feel free to try out the salon at some point tonight, I'm sure I could do something to help freshen you up.” Rarity said, her eyes shimmering with delight.
“Awww yeah, it’s about time you finally decided to join in. Honestly I've always been kinda curious about what you human’s get up to during sleepovers, I mean what kind of games and fun stuff do you do? Is it any different from us?” Rainbow Dash said as she hovered over to join the hug pile.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at this sight. I've been hugged by the ponies before, but never this hard or this passionately. They must take these sorts of social events really seriously, I hope I do not disappoint them by me taking part in one.
“Well I'm glad you are all happy about it, I look forward to seeing what you have in store for tonight.” I said to them with a smile.
“Oh don’t worry, I’ve got a few ideas already.” Rainbow said with a mischievous grin.
“Hehehe heh, trust me when I say this will be a real ‘riot’ of a sleepover.” Pinkie said as she eased off from the bear hug.
“That’s all well and good girls, but aren’t we forgetting something?”
All of the ponies looked towards Twilight who had her checklist floating in front of her.
“We still haven’t even set up our sleeping bags yet, the last thing on the checklist.”
“OH! Horsesh-, I mean apples, I completely forgot to bring it! One minute!” Rainbow said as she dashed back out of the open window towards her home at her usual high speed.
“Ponyfeathers, we got so caught up in gettin’ Anon here to join on in, we plain forgot to set em’ up.” Applejack said as she got up and went to her rather large bag.
“If you don’t mind dear, would you be kind enough to help us tidy up the place so that we have ample room to set our sleeping bags?” Rarity said as she got off from me and started tidying up the room.
“Sure no problem, it’ll all be done in a jiffy.” I said as I grabbed the nearby broom and got to work quickly.
We were soon busy tidying up the room, any stray balls of paper and wrappers dumped into the bin, the odd bit of clothing left around put away into the wardrobe, and of course in Twilight's case, any stray pile of books properly filed away.
“Hey Twi, where do y’all want these here weird lookin’ books to go again?” Applejack called out.
“Just put them over by the telescope, I'll sort them out later.” Twilight called out.
Weird looking? I wonder what that egghead gets up to in her private time when I'm not here. Anyway, in just a few short minutes we finished cleaning up the room, as I put away the broom Rainbow Dash came back in, this time carrying her sleeping bag, all rolled up and ready to be laid out.
“Heh, looks like I came back just in time for us to set up shop." She as she landed down on the floor.
"Right then, everypony should pick a spot somewhere around the room that's comfortable but also quiet enough to sleep in, be sure to spread out so that we all have plenty of breathing space."
“Already ahead of ya partner.” Called Applejack as she pulled out her sleeping bag from her large saddle bag, it had a bright orange cover with red rims along the side.
“Is that a brand new sleeping bag you got there, AJ?” I called to her as I began to gather a few items for my own bed.
“Sure is Anon, I got this here lil ol thing by delivery last weekend, Granny had it custom ordered for me since she wanted to treat me for a good summers work done." Said Applejack as she looked at me with a proud smile. "It just suits me well, don’t it?”
“Like a brand new hat.” I said, this made her chuckle in agreement.
I then looked over at all the other ponies bringing out their own sleeping bags. Pinkie's bag really stood out, for one, it was really, really pink, different shades of pink of course, but still pink all over, no surprise there honestly. Twilight’s sleeping bag was an interesting one, a deep navy blue cover with constellation patterns dotted all over it, deep purple edges along the sides, it most likely custom made just like Applejack, and of course it just reeks of her egg-headed love for the starry sky. Rainbow Dash was a curious sight, instead of the Wonderbolts sleeping bag she brought last time, she instead brought a different one, the cover had a bright rainbow thunderbolt on it, with swirling patterns like clouds in the background, but the sides and top were what stood out to me, they were white and fluffy, kinda like a soft cloud, very fitting for an airborne pony. There is no doubt that she paid top bits for this bed, and I reckon it's also super comfy too.
Now Rarity, well, you could say she went a little further than the others did. She didn't bring a sleeping bag with her, oh no, it was a full on inflatable bed mattress with what looked like a memory foam cover on top, also with her was a sapphire blue blanket that sparkled rather brightly at a glance, now that is something she likely made herself using her skills in crafting and sewing, even so I think the sparking is a bit much for me.
“Y'all always do go for comfort ,style, and poise at these sleepovers don’t ya Rarity?” Said Applejack as she eyed her bed setup.
“Why of course Applejack, a lady should always make the most of a social event and sleep in luxury when possible. That's why I like to sleep comfortably without any bother at all.” She said as she laid out the blanket over the mattress.
"Well, it sure darn beats sleeping on the hard floor any day. Ah remember doing that once long ago, mah poor ol' back, it took nearly a week for it to get better."
"Oh heaven's no! I couldn't imagine spending even a minute doing that! Why just the thought of doing something so uncouth, dirty and earthy is-"
She stopped when she saw Applejack glaring at her with a raised eyebrow. Coughing into her hoof, she wisely said something else.
“Is, it’s just not for me, darling.” She said with a sheepish smile, before going back to work on her mattress.
Applejack just rolled her eyes while she finished setting up on her end. soon all the ponies had finished setting up for the night. Twilight was just about check it off her list when Rainbow spoke up.
“Hey wait one second! Where in the hay is Anon going to sleep?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I already thought about that Rainbow." Twilight said, she hadn't really, but she quickly did. "My bed is big enough for two ponies to sleep in, if Anon doesn’t mind he can use my bed to sleep in tonight." She said, pointing her hoof up to her bed sitting next to the upper window.
“Oh well, sure I don’t mind, I'm just gonna get out another pillow to use for the bed.” I said as I went to the cupboard.
“Knock yourself out Anon, and with that, that checks off the last item on the list, finally.” Said Twilight as she did just that.
I took said pillow out from the cupboard, then I made my way up the small steps to the bed. This isn't the first time I've used this bed actually, I’ve slept in it beforehand, whenever Twilight was away from home dealing with some crises somewhere, she gave me permission to sleep in it if she didn’t get back home on time. Having done so a few times, I got to admit it was pretty comfortable, and much sturdier than it looked, considering my own size compared to the average pony.
“Well then, now thet we’re all set an’ ready for the night, what’s the first thang we’re gonna do to get things started?” Applejack asked.
“Ohh ohh I've got an idea, I've got an idea!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing off her sleeping bed.
“Knowing you Pinkie, it’s going to be something party related, am I right?” Twilight said with a smug.
“Hehe, no silly, as much as I like to party, I actually have a different idea in mind. My idea is that we should all start with a little game to get this sleepover started, and help Anon over here get integrated into our usual regime.” Pinkie said with a smile.
“And just what sort of game are you thinking of, may I ask?” Rarity inquired.
“Oh, you’ll see." Pinkie said as she flashed a slightly devious smile. "Hey Anon! If you are ready, would you mind coming down here for a minute please?” Pinkie called out.
“Sure Pinkie, I'll be down there in just a bit.” I called to her as I finished setting up the bed for the night.
I honestly don't know what I'm getting myself into by taking part in this sleepover, but I feel that it's important to keep an open mind about this so that I can take in all the new experiences without thinking of anything else. As I made my way down the steps to join the rest of the girls, one thing will soon become clear, this was going to be a very long night.