//------------------------------// // >Insert Chapter Title Here< // Story: Replay // by Scootaloose //------------------------------// >Insert Chapter Title Here< Seeing Fluttershy around the party was rather painful to watch. She was constantly avoiding everypony except Rainbow Dash, Twilight, AJ, Pinkie, Rarity, Spike and myself. It was introversion taken to the next level! Other than that, everything went a-OK. Nothing scary happened after I arrived and everypony were enjoying themselves, and I was getting the occasional "welcome" from some of the guests. Even Thundercloud dropped by for a visit, leaving a long track of water behind him from all the rain outside. The party lasted a bit past midnight, and everypony went back to their homes, which Thundercloud gave them a chance to rush their way back while he stopped the rain for a few minutes. It was quite amusing to see the town crowded with ponies rushing to their houses in the middle of the night. The only ones left were me, the 6 mares and Spike. "Well, that was a fun night", said Twilight. "Just like every other party", she smiled at Pinkie Pie. "Yup! Hopefully we get to make a new welcome party for somepony new next week!" she beamed, "Ooh! Maybe even tomorrow!" "If we do have a party tomorrow, I'll have to pass the cake", I said, "I hit my quota for sugar for the rest of the week. Totally worth it!" "Well, ah guess we should go on our ways now. Don't forget to stop by the farm in the mornin', JB!" said Applejack, who decided to stick with that acronym, which I finally agreed to let her use it. No Bieber around here so nothing awkward will happen around here, right? "I'll make sure he gets up early, Applejack. You can count on it", said Twilight. I didn't like the smile she gave me when she finished that last sentence. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Johnny", said Rarity. Her sofisticated tone of speaking was so elegant that I now realized why Spike was so "ga-ga" around her. "I realized that the suit was going to be a bit tight, seeing I had to use Rainbow Dash for measurement. If you want you can come to my boutique and I'll have a proper one made for you." "Thanks, Rarity." I smiled. "Now I guess we should get some shut-eye before we have a nasty case of 'lack of sleep'", I added. Everyone agreed and we said our final goodbyes and went our separate ways, except Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, they had to go to the cottage together because Fluttershy was a bit edgy about going home in the dark. "I'm wondering about something..." I said to Twilight as we approached the library. Spike was riding on Twilight's back. "Something bothering you, Johnny?" "Kinda. You know how I was shot from a cloud and into a new body?" "Yes, what about it?" "Did I just happen to materialize the body I am in or did I get sent into a body that was already on the ground?" "You mean like, possession of a body?", she asked. "If you like to put it that way, yeah." "I don't know Johnny, nopony else was around when it happened. And Rainbow Dash only noticed you there after she kicked your cloud. It's very hard to see things on the ground when you're very high up on the sky." she said as she opened the library door. "Who cares? It's your new life!" said Spike trying to change topic. "I guess you're right..." I smiled. "But I still don't know how old I am in this body" I chuckled. "For all I know I could be 20 years old or just over 40. "Well, how old were you?", asked Spike. "I turned twenty-four 3 weeks before I got here". With that said, Twilight's face slowly changed from smiling to sad. Spike didn't seem to notice since he was facing the opposite way. She looked very concerned about something, and I wasn't sure if I should ask about it or not. You know how girls work... We went to our own rooms (or in my case, the guest bedroom) and went to sleep. I was just finishing up snuggling myself under the sheets when I heard the door knock, and Twilight slowly walked inside with that same worried look on her face. "Something wrong Twi?" I asked while I got out of bed, ruining my perfect sleeping position. She stared at me for a few seconds, slowly walked towards me and gave me a hug. Wait what? This better not turn into something completely awkward... "To die so young...", she broke the silence, "I can't even imagine how it must be..." "Relax, Twilight", I said trying to comfort her, "I got a second chance, now. And I'm not going to let it go to waste." "But what if you didn't get that chance?", she broke the hug and went back to facing me, her eyes were turning a bit red and was almost crying. "Even so, how are you going to handle dying again after this new life is over? It must have been horrible!" "Ok, I admit, It was a very scary experience, but if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be meeting all of you. This new life is turning out to be better than my last one, and I'm glad that you're all being part of it." I smiled. Twilight held her eyes from tearing up and took a deep breath. "I just can't bear to imagine seeing you going through that again." "Hey, how about we go downstairs and have something to eat or drink?" I asked. "To get your bearings straight and all that. I don't like seeing my friends like this." "Okay", she peeped. And we went back to the kitchen to get some water. After a few minutes of random chatter, and getting her mind off the subject, she finally eased up and we finally went back to our well-deserving sleep. The next morning "Uh... Johnny?"Said a muffled voice. My head under the pillow, I couldn't make out who it was, and I had no intention of poking my head out to find out. Hnng... who's this? I want to sleep... "Johnny, you're late." I'm not late... leave me alone... A few seconds passed, and it seemed my nuisance was gone. I love you, bed. "Okay, you asked for this..." Whatever... "CANNONBALL!!" And with that, a small spiky mass crashed onto my back, effectively waking me up. I turn around to see Spike curled up in a ball, who landed squarely on my back and was now laughing with Twilight, who obviously had hurled him at me. "Okay! Okay! I'm up!" I yelled, rolling out of bed. "What gives?? Why did you do that??" "I told you I was going to wake you up. Remember last night?", she giggled. "Oh... that..." I mumbled. "I think you're forgetting something..." she continued. "Nah... I'm pretty sure that was it." I said, rubbing my eyes with a hoof. "Starts with Apple, Johnny.", said Spike, clearing his throat. "Oh darn... I'm late, aren't I?" "If I didn't wake you up, you would have", said Twilight. "Come on, we got some important things to talk about before you head to Sweet Apple Acres." And then she headed downstairs. "I'll just say one final goodbye to the bed, then". I said, walking back to bed for a snooze, but I was stopped short by Spike, who was sitting on the edge of my bed. "Not a good idea, Johnny...", he shook his head, his arms crossed. "I've tried that before and Twilight was not amused."