Okay, maybe calling Princess Luna a cock was a bad idea. Hooray, I got my first parental scolding out of the way. Her guard Night Stalker didn't seem too happy about it either. Oh well. He shouldn't have hissed at me, though! I'm pretty sure that's a major fox paw or... foe pass? I don't remember.
Anyway, we're on the way back to Ponyville from Canterlot. Holy cow, we're actually going home! Like... a real home. Not the orphanage, but home. With a mom and dad. My mom and dad. Just like I always imagined. There's still a little bit that says that I'm going to wake up and be back at the orphanage. It's not like I haven't had a dream like this before.
I keep flicking myself in the ear whenever Mom and Dad (my actual mom and dad!) aren't looking. Still not waking up.
I think it's real this time.
I lay down with my head on Dad's leg while Mom is stroking my back. They're telling me all about Ponyville, which sounds like a really weird place, but okay. It's not like the other foals talked about living there. Most adopted foals ended up in Canterlot anyway.
"--and yeah, people don't generally go toward the Everfree Forest unless... I dunno, it's Twilight and her friends going on some adventure to save the world. That's happened once or twice."
"Mhm." I let out a happy sigh and nuzzle in more. He could tell me that it's a slice of Tartarus and I wouldn't care. Just as long as I had my mom and dad there.
"Other than all of the monster attacks and whatnot, Ponyville is actually a pretty nice place to live," Dad says.
Mom scoffs. "TD, maybe don't tell her how dangerous the town can sometimes be?"
"What? Twilight and her friends have to save the world sometimes around there, not to mention Discord and everything he gets up to. Just want to make sure she's a bit prepared for how crazy the town can be."
My ears perk up a bit, and I glance up at Dad. "Discord? Like, 'lord of chaos' Discord?"
Dad nods and grimaces. "Yeah, that one. Him and Fluttershy are pretty close, so it's not too rare to see him around town. He's much better behaved than before... mostly."
Huh. Weird. I wasn't born yet when he got out the first time, but we studied him in history class. Miss Hoof told us stories about what he did to Ponyville. Guess that town does get pretty nuts.
I don't know how long it is, but the train stops after a while, and Mom and Dad start getting up so we can go home! I hop off of the seat and land next to Dad. We get off the train, and Dad gets my luggage. There wasn't a lot. I had one small suitcase of stuff, mostly my music posters. Mom and Dad said that they were getting me sheets and pillows and stuff, so I didn't need to take any of that.
Not like I wanted to anyway.
"Okay, so which way is home?" I ask, following beside Mom and Dad.
"Well, we were thinking about hitting Sugarcube Corner first," Mom says. "It's the local sweet shop."
I definitely perk up at that. Sweet shop means chocolate! Maybe even better chocolate than what we got at the orphanage! Ooh, I had to try this place out. Maybe if it wasn't too far from our house, I could go there every day! Okay, maybe not every day, but a lot of days. Not just for special occasions. Ponyville is gonna be awesome!
It's pretty easy to tell which one is Sugarcube Corner. It's the one that looks like a giant gingerbread house. My mouth starts watering as my bat sense of smell picks up on the stuff they're baking. Chocolate. Definitely chocolate. And all kinds of other stuff, too!
I'm imagining what tasty stuff is gonna be there as we get to the door. Before we get in, Mom reaches her leg out and covers my eyes. I frown and try to push it away, but it doesn't move.
"Just trust me, Comet," Mom says.
I sigh and roll my eyes. "Okay. Fine." We enter the store, and all of the smells I've noticed as we get to the bakery hit me all at once. Heavenly. "I just hope this place has got--"
Mom lifts her leg, and I see a ton of ponies in front of me. That's all I notice before they all shout at once.
"SURPRIIIISE!!!
Shit fuck damn hell fuck!
Thank Luna I didn't say that out loud.
I start getting over my heart attack and see that the ponies are all standing under a banner that says "Welcome to Ponyville, Comet!" There's a giant table with a ton of food and stuff to drink, and another that has a bunch of presents on it. My heart is still beating really fast when a pink pony with a huge smile pops up in front of me fast enough that I have another heart attack.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she says with a squeaky voice. "I heard about your new mom and dad adopting you and I thought to myself 'Pinkie, this is one of the most specialist things ever so it deserves a really special party' so I got everypony together and told your mom and dad so we threw you a surprise party!"
"Uh..." I take a deep breath. "Yeah. Th-thanks."
"Pinkie here is Ponyville's resident party pony," Mom says. "She throws parties for every special occasion around here."
"Yeppers!" Pinkie says happily. She steps aside and points at all of the other ponies. "And these are all of my friends!"
"Welcome to Ponyville, Comet! Ah'm Applejack," an orange earth pony with a cowpony hat says.
H-hello." I look up at Mom and Dad, but they're smiling, so I guess this is all normal. The ponies all start introducing themselves to me. Twilight. Rarity. Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy. Lyra. Bon Bon. Derpy. Lots of ponies. It's hard to keep track. They all look really happy to see me. More than any group of ponies ever. Like, happy. All of the other times when ponies saw us at the orphanage like for Hearth's Warming and stuff, there were a lot of other foals, so it never felt real because there were a lot of us to pay attention to, so I guess it got tiring, and also visiting the orphanage wasn't something ponies wanted to do unless they were looking to adopt.
Here they actually were happy to see me because they knew they were going to like me. It's new, but... I kinda like it.
"Well, introductions are always nice because it's always great to meet new ponies, but your new parents maaay have let it slip that chocolate is your favorite thing ever?" Pinkie says.
My ears shoot up at that, and I turn completely over to the food table. I look up at Pinkie, and she motions to it. So awesome! I fly over to it. So much chocolate! What should I try first? That one? Ooh, that one has sprinkles! No, the one with caramel sauce!
It isn't too long before I notice the gigantic cake in the center of the table. It says "Welcome to Ponyville, Comet!" just like the banner. Holy Luna, I have never seen a cake this big! Pinkie hops over to me and giggles.
"How about cake?"
I nod dumbly, and she cuts out a big corner piece for me. It's the biggest slice of cake I've ever seen! She hoofs me the cake and a fork, and the second I get the fork, I take a big bite of the cake.
Wow.
Wooow.
Okay, this is the best thing I've ever eaten. So many types of chocolate in one bite of cake. Before I'm even done swallowing the first bite, I start on my second one.
"I take it that this cake meets your approval, Comet?" Mom says.
I look up at her for a second and nod really fast before getting back to the cake. This is it. I can die happy now.
Pinkie Pie starts cutting more cake, and the other ponies line up to get theirs. Mom and Dad get some cake for themselves, and we go to one of the tables.
"Might want to slow down, Comet," Dad says. "You wouldn't want to get sick."
Ugh. I guess he's right. So good, though.
A lot of ponies come up to us to say hi while we eat our cake. Some of them are ponies my age that Mom teaches in her school, so that's pretty cool. It's mostly grownup ponies though, but that's okay. They all seem really friendly.
I finish my cake and am about to go back to the dessert table to see what other yummy stuff they have. Miss Pinkie has gone all out on this one. Cookies, doughnuts, candy... it's amazing. I fly up and start loading my plate with everything I can see. I'm already shoving a mini eclair in my mouth. This can't be real. Nopony can make food like this.
I've barely made it halfway through my plate when Miss Pinkie bounces over to us, a huge grin on her face. Although she always looks like that.
"Okay Powells, it's time for some preseeents!" she sings out. She motions to a table I'd barely registered before (too busy with sweets) that has a bunch of wrapped presents on or around it. Whoa. Are... all of them for me? But isn't it like the orphanage where Princess Celestia or Princess Luna give us a small stuffed animal or something? This... doesn't feel right. Why would they want to give me these many presents?
"Well, pick one out!" Miss Applejack says, motioning to the pile. "Which one would ya like to open first?"
This doesn't make sense. But...
I gulp and walk up to the stack. I glance back at Mom and Dad who are both smiling at me. Maybe this is real.
There's a tall one next to the table that would be a good place to start. I take a deep breath and start unwrapping it. It's a bookcase with several books on it. I tilt my head to read the titles. Holy cow, these look like all of the Daring Do books!
"Applejack made the bookcase, and I pulled some strings to get you the set," Miss Twilight said. "Have you ever read them before?"
"Y-yeah. Not new copies." The orphanage library had about three or four of them and they were starting to fall apart. This is amazing. I turn to the stack on the table. If this is what they started with, what else is there? I fly up to the table and grab another present. It's really soft, so it's probably not more books. I open it up and see a stuffed timberwolf. He's really cute. Miss Apple Bloom said that she got it for me.
There's more. A lot more. A feather pillow from Miss Rainbow Dash. A blanket from Miss Fluttershy. A necklace from Miss Tiara. A stack of cards from Mom's class. A scarf from Miss Rarity. I smile and thank them for the gifts. I hope that it's not obvious that I'm having to put a lot of effort into keeping it up. I still don't get it. They're just... happy to have me.
"You see that, girls? If we don't go away, the scary little vampony is going to suck our blood."
"I hope that blanket is comfortable. It's been a while since I've made one, but I think I made it nice and warm.
"I have better things to do than talk to a gimpy loser and a rat-winged vampony."
"Hey, if you want I can see if I can get one or two of you books signed by A.K. Yearling. She gets close to Ponyville every once in a while, and I'm sure she'd be willing to."
"What would the neighbors think? Everypony would talk."
Didja like the cake? When is your birthday? I'd be happy to make it again for you!"
It's... I don't know how to feel. Happy? I think... happy? Overwhelmed for sure.
Eventually the party ends, and everypony starts going home. Miss Applejack brings a cart for us to load the presents in. I keep the timberwolf, who I have decided to name Albert, on my back. Yeah, he's good there. Miss Pinkie wraps up a lot of the food for us to take home. Guess my sweet tooth will be satisfied for the next while.
"Did you have a good time, Comet?" Mom asks as we walk to where I guess is home.
"Yeah. I've never been to anything like that. Whenever it was my birthday, we'd get some chocolate, but nothing like that!"
"Well, Pinkie Pie does tend to go all out on parties like that, and your adoption is a super special amazing occasion," Dad says.
"For sure," Miss Applejack says. "Pinkie's been throwin' parties as long as Ah've known her, and when she wants to make somepony feel really special, she pull out all the stops." She looks back at me and smiles. "So Ah guess yer real special."
I blush and look away. It's a nice thought for sure, but that be a bit of an exaggeration.
Eventually we stop in front of a house. I've seen some of the houses in Canterlot, so I know this isn't a mansion, but... wow. There's gonna be room for me in here. That's super weird. Dad opens the door and steps aside, motioning for me to enter.
"M'lady. Welcome to Manderley."
I step inside and look around. Whoa. This... I can't believe I get to live here now. A house. An actual house. Mom, Dad and Miss Applejack file in behind me, with Dad and Miss Applejack carrying some of the presents upstairs. I go to follow them, but Mom puts her hoof on my back.
"Not quite yet, Comet," she says. "The room isn't ready yet."
"Oh, yeah, sure," I mutter.
Mom chuckles and nuzzles the top of my head. "I'm glad that you enjoyed the party. I'm also glad that you didn't have a heart attack when everypony said surprise."
Well... almost."
It only takes Dad and Miss Applejack one more trip to get everything into my room. Once they've finished, Miss Applejack hitches herself to the cart and tips her hat to me.
"Comet, happy to have you here. You need anythin' just look for me at the farm. We'll be mor'n happy to help you out."
"Uh... thanks," I reply.
She tips her hat to Mom and Dad before walking into the night.
"Everybody around here is pretty friendly," Dad says. "Occasionally some crazy stuff happens, but on the whole, this is a really solid place to live. On that note..." Dad motions down a hall. "I think it's time for you to see your room."
My heart starts beating faster as I walk down the hall. My room. My room. It doesn't make any sense. We stop at a door, and Dad reaches out to open it.
It's... amazing. My bookcase is set up against the wall, and there's a full sized bed in the middle against the wall. It has the cloud pillow and Miss Fluttershy's blanket on it. I hop on and it's not too soft but not too firm either. It's perfect. Across from the bed is a desk, so I guess they expect me to do homework while I'm here.
Worth it.
My posters are all set up, which is really cool. There's also a record player. I hop off of the bed and see that it has a record of one of the bands from my posters!
"Got to admit, Comet," Dad says. "It did take a little doing finding a few records from the bands. Some of them, ah... aren't foal friendly."
"Right, right," I say with a wave of my hoof, noticing a stack of records next to the player.
This can't be real. I'm going to wake up and I'll be back at the orphanage sharing a room with five other foals while parents keep ignoring me because I'm a bat pony. That's how it's always been. That's what makes sense.
But... this is real. Somehow, some way, it's real. Someday I'll start believing it.
"Well, I think it's time to hit the hay," Dad says before yawning. "Goodnight, Comet." He reaches down to ruffle my mane while Mom nuzzles me.
"Yes, goodnight, Comet." Mom motions outside of the room. "Bathroom is across the hall, and our room is directly to the left of that."
"Okay. Yeah. Cool."
With that, Mom and Dad leave. I feel a pit in my stomach for a moment. No no... they're just across the hall. I'm not going to wake up and it's all a dream.
I take a deep breath and take Albert off of my back. Unreal. I notice that the stack of cards from Mom's class is on the desk, as well as the necklace from Miss Tiara. I grab the blanket from Miss Fluttershy off of the bed. Wow! She was right: it is really warm. I fly over to the desk and take the necklace and cards off. They're made from crayons and construction paper. I open one of them up.
Hello, Comet! Welcome to Ponyville! It's great that you're here! Miss Cheerilee is the best.
The next one has a drawing of a bat pony on it. Welcome to Ponyville! I know that Miss Cheerilee will be the best mommy for you.
I chuckle a bit, but that becomes a half sob. I slowly start hugging the blanket, Albert and the necklace closer as I read the next one.
Welcome to Ponyville! It's the best place. I can't wait to meet you.
I reach out to grab the next card, but I've started crying, and my tears are landing on the card. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hoof and open it. It'll dry, right?
Welcome to Ponyville, Comet! It's--
I'm crying harder now and quietly sobbing. I hold Albert, the necklace and the blanket closer. This is real.
"Imagine feeling wanted with a mommy and daddy who love you. Guess you'll never know what that's like."
She was wrong. Every word that came out of that fucking bitch's mouth was wrong. I have a Mommy and Daddy that love me. They'll always love me.
I'm home.