By the time the sun had set, I finally arrived at Lyra and Bon Bon's house. For some reason, I didn't see the lights on inside. I guess Lyra and Bon Bon aren’t home yet.
Once again using my mouth, I opened the door to the house. I hoped this wouldn't be an everyday thing, using my mouth to hold things. When I took a step inside the house, the door slammed shut behind me, shrouding everything in absolute darkness. That was until the lights turned on and about a dozen ponies appeared from their hidings spots, shouting "SURPRISE!"
I had nearly forgotten that Pinkie was going to throw me a surprise party, and if I was still wearing pants, I would have soiled them by now. Thankfully, there weren’t any messes that needed to be cleaned. The surprise made me jump a good two feet back into the closed door as I let out a yelp. My heart skipped a beat as I was caught off guard, and I was now clinging to my chest, trying to slow my fast-beating heart.
The crazy pink mare, the one and only physics-defying Pinkie Pie, was now in front of my face, just a hair away. "Hey! Were you surprised? Hmm? Were ya? Were ya? Huh? Huh?"
Pinkie obviously didn't know the concept of personal space since she was so close to my face that I could practically smell the baked goods she indulged in. It smelled kind of nice actually, like walking into a bakery. Seeing how she worked in a bakery and how her life revolved around sweets, I could see why she smelled the way she did.
With Pinkie being at a distance that was too close for comfort for me, I took a step away from her, a blush on my face. "Yeah, I was surprised alright. Thanks for almost giving me a heart attack.”
“You’re welcome!” she replied, oblivious to the sarcasm dripping from my voice. I rolled my eyes.
"Hi! You must be Lyle! My name is Pinkie Pie but you can just call me Pinkie and this is your..." She paused for dramatic effect. "Welcome-to-Ponyville party!" The only word I got from Pinkie’s greeting was “Hi.” The rest was a blur since she was talking so fast. She was pretty much a ticking time bomb of energy ready to cause a nuclear explosion of confetti.
Looking around, I saw that the whole room was decorated. Tables were set up, covered in an assortment of treats and a punch bowl. Streamers and confetti were strewn all around. Party music filled the room, coming from a phonograph that was placed at the corner of the room. Above us was a large banner saying, “Welcome to Ponyville!” I noticed Lyra and Bon Bon standing next to the treats giving me a wave with their hooves. I waved back with a grin. I had a feeling Lyra knew this was going to happen. They weren't the only ponies I noticed in the room.
I recognized the trio of fillies as they galloped up to me, and if they hadn't slowed down, I would have thought they were going tackle me to the ground. They all beamed at me. "Hi Lyle!"
I gave a friendly smile back. "Hey there, girls. What are you all doing here?"
"Pinkie invited us to come," said Sweetie Belle.
"She said that there was going to be a party for you," added Scootaloo.
"So she invited us, mah sis, and her friends to the party," finished Apple Bloom.
It was then I noticed the rest of the stars of the show, minus Twilight, in the room. When they took notice of me, the ones who I hadn't met yet introduced themselves.
The first to introduce herself was the orange earth pony wearing a light brown stetson hat. "Hiya sugarcube! Ah'm Applejack, apple farmer of Sweet Apple Acres. Apple Bloom here told me ya like our apples," she said with a grin.
"I don't just like them. I love them!" I exclaimed. Talking to her made me think about the apples I ate for lunch. Also, her name made me start thinking about the cereal. I wonder if the Apple family have their own cereal brand? If they did have their own cereal, it would have been hilarious if it was named after her.
"Well, come on by Sweet Apple Acres any time ya want ta try some of our apples."
“I’ll be sure to stop by.” I turned to the next pony, a familiar cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane.
"Hi, I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria," she boasted as she hovered in the air with a prideful look on her face.
"I'm sure you are," I said while rolling my eyes when she wasn't looking. "It's nice to meet you. Maybe you can show me a Sonic Rainboom later."
"You've heard of the Sonic Rainboom?" she asked gleefully.
"Uh, yeah, I have. I mean, who hasn't heard of it?" I lied, trying to correct my mistake.
She kept her prideful smirk. "Well, I'll be glad to show it to you some other time, squirt." She ruffled my mane. I grumbled under my breath. I'm not a squirt...
Finally, I met the last pony of the girls and the most shy of them all. The yellow pegasus with light pink mane was trying to make herself unnoticeable by hiding behind Rarity. I made my way over to them and planned my approach to Fluttershy.
"Hello Rarity. It's nice to see you here."
She turned away from the timid pegasus she was chatting with. "Hello again Lyle. I’ve already started on your costume, and I just want to let you know that your costume will be finished soon."
"Alright then. Again, thank you for making my costume."
"It’s no problem at all, darling. It was my pleasure."
"So who's your friend, Rarity?" I motioned towards Fluttershy, who was now trying to make herself as small as possible.
Using her magic, Rarity pushed the timid pegasus in front of her. I could tell she wanted to run away at that point, but instead, she hid behind her long mane. With a little coaxing from Rarity, Fluttershy finally spoke up. "My name is Fluttershy..." she whispered.
I didn't have to listen closely since I knew what her name was. "Well, hi Fluttershy. My name's Lyle," I said quietly, trying not to startle or scare her. From the surprised look on Rarity’s face, she probably wasn’t expecting me to be able to hear the barely audible introduction.
"Fluttershy's a really nice name," I complimented. I tried to get her to come out of her shell a little bit at a time. Fluttershy peeked out from her mane and gave a small squeak in what I assumed was a “Thank you.” Confound these ponies, they drive me to hnnnnng. Seeing how I wasn't going to be able to coax her out of her shell completely, I said, "It was really nice meeting you, Fluttershy. And it was great to see you again too, Rarity."
The door opened, revealing the remaining party guests. The party just wouldn’t be complete without Twilight and Spike. I greeted the two of them as they came through the door: "Hey Spike. Hi Twilight. Welcome to the party."
"Hi Lyle. Are you having fun so far?" Twilight asked.
I smiled. "I'm having a great time."
"All of Pinkie's parties are awesome! I wouldn't miss out on any of them," said Spike.
While the older mares got together and talked, I headed towards the table filled with sweets. The first thing I tried as soon as I got to the table was one of Pinkie's famous cupcakes. It was a vanilla cupcake with light green frosting and a white stripe swirling around the green. The moment I took my first bite, my mouth was filled with an orgasmic sensation. Oh my god... Best. Fucking. Cupcake. Ever. The cupcake was an explosion of sweetness on taste buds. The cupcake was so good that I shoved the whole thing in my mouth in an instant.
After finishing the delectable treats, I joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders in their merriment. They all looked at me with smiles on their faces.
“Lyle, we’ve got a surprise for ya!” exclaimed Apple Bloom.
“A surprise?” I wondered what it was.
My vision was cut off by a pair of orange hooves coming from behind me. “You’ll see soon enough,” said Scootaloo. “Just hold out your hooves.” I sat down and did as I was told. I heard some shuffling. My ears swivel towards the source of the sound; the unfamiliar sensation of my ears moving was still unsettling like the rest of my new body. Something warm and soft was placed on my outstretched hooves.
“You can look now,” said the voice that was unmistakably Sweetie Belle’s.
Scootaloo lifted her hooves, giving me a look at what was the so called “surprise.” I looked down at my hooves and looked at the object resting in my hooves. It was a simple, red scarf. Stitched at one end was the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ emblem, a filly wearing a cape on a blue background. Honestly, I was expecting a cape, but the scarf looked pretty good too. No doubt there was a grin on my face. “Wow, thanks.”
“You are now officially a fellow member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” said Sweetie Belle. “I would have made you a cape, but I kinda ran out of fabric and made you a scarf instead.” All three of them cheered for me as I was now part of their clique.
Pinkie bounced over towards us. “Alright, now who wants to play some games?” We all nodded.
It’s probably going to be games for kids. Hey, maybe it won’t be so bad?
~~~~~~~
Twilight and Spike met up with the other girls. They were all talking about the new unicorn colt, but at the moment her mind was elsewhere. She wanted to find out more about Lyle, but if she asked him directly, it would seem overly suspicious.
As these thoughts clouded her mind, the orange cowpony spoke up. "What's the matter, Twi? Ya seem ta be spacin' out there."
She turned her attention to the mare and tried to push her thoughts aside. "Oh, everything's alright. It's just..." She couldn't lie to her friends. Maybe I can ask what they think about him. "What do you think of Lyle?"
Applejack raised a brow. "What do Ah think of him? Well, he seems like a pretty nice colt. Why do ya ask?"
"It’s nothing really. It’s just… Don’t you think there’s something ‘off’ about him?” There was another confused look from Applejack. "Look, let me explain. Two nights ago, Lyra found him at her doorstep, covered in cuts after running out of the Everfree Forest. He has no idea how he got there, and he says that he's been living on his own without parents even though he’s so young. He looks almost exactly like Lyra, and even their names are similar too! Now tell me, doesn't this seem a little off to you?"
Applejack tapped her chin with a hoof. "Twilight, Ah think yer just overthinkin' it. Though, he sounds like a runaway foal who got lost in the forest. Him looking like Lyra and having almost the same name as her are just coincidence. Lighten up, sugarcube. He probably had a rough time. Take it easy on him will ya?"
Twilight let out a sigh. What if Applejack's right? Maybe I am overthinking it? What if he’s just a lost runaway colt? Though... there are still some things that don't add up. When she saw the colt playing with the three fillies, a warm smile was brought to her face. Maybe I’ll ask him some other time. I should just do what Applejack said and relax a bit.
~~~~~~~
“Let’s start off with a classic – Pin the Tail on the Pony!” Pinkie shouted. She dragged me and the fillies to a wall with a drawing of a pony attached to it. Looking closely, the pony in the picture looked like…
Me… Wasn’t expecting that.
A piece of cloth was suddenly wrapped around my eyes, blinding me, and what I assumed was the pin holding the tail was put in my mouth. Thankfully, I wasn’t holding the pin by its sharp point.
“Ready, Lyle?”
“Sure, let me jus—“
I was cut off as I was spun around and around. After coming to a halt, I tried to keep my balance on my hooves, which was strangely difficult even though I had four legs, all the while trying not to throw up. Even with the blindfold on, it felt like the room was spinning.
I heard Apple Bloom’s voice to my left. “Come on, Lyle! You can do it! Just move forward.”
I lifted one hoof, only to fall down. Everything I learned about walking disappeared. I shakily stood up and started the walking process again. My hooves were wobbly, and when I felt like I was about to fall, I put my weight in the opposite direction, causing me to veer the other way.
“Go left!”
“No, go right!”
“Turn the other way! It’s behind ya now!”
“You’re going the wrong way!”
I heard everyone’s voice shouting and giving me directions, adding more to my confusion. I ran in one direction when I began to fall, then another direction to correct my balance. I was zigzagging all over the place, moving like I was drunk. At this point, I had zero sense of balance and direction and was blindly listening to everyone.
“It’s in front of you now!” Sweetie Belle shouted. I stopped as soon as I heard Sweetie Belle’s voice. It was about time I ended this game.
If the poster was just in front of me, then all I had to do was head straight ahead. I adjusted the grip on the pin between my teeth, and composed myself so that the room wasn’t spinning so much. Ok, just make a quick run forward, and this will be all over. I took a deep breath before charging forward.
*Thump*
Unfortunately, my goal was closer than I thought. It was a big mistake to run forward as I just rammed my head into the wall. I dropped the pin upon smashing my head into the wall and began to lose my balance once again. To keep myself from falling again, I sat on my rump – another big mistake. The pricking sensation on my bottom was enough to tell me what had happened. A loud yelp escaped my lips before I leapt and smacked my face against the wall again.
Pinkie, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom let out painful hiss as they watched me and all my grace, or lack of it.
“Ooh, that’s gotta sting,” Pinkie said,” but you should see how close you got!”
I lifted my blindfold and looked up to see the poster hanging in front of me. You gotta be kidding me. I looked behind me to see another tail right next to my own. Really?!
~~~~~~~
Pinkie, the Crusaders, and I were now standing around a large basin filled with water and apples. An adhesive bandage was now on my butt. Embarrassing? Yes, it was. At least we were going to play something that had less sharp objects involved.
The little incident with the previous party game didn’t keep her from smiling. “Okay, on the count of three, we all reach for an apple.”
I looked down at the basin, eying the plump, red apple closest to me. I just had to dunk my head in and pull it out. It was a simple game. What could possibly wrong?
“One. Two. Three!”
We dunked our heads into the water, fishing for the red fruit. The first to pull out was Apple Bloom, followed by Pinkie Pie, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. I had a little more trouble with mine. I bit down on the apple and tried pulling, but it wouldn’t budge any further. Even using my hooves to push against the basin, I still couldn’t get it out. I wasn’t planning on giving up. There was no way I was going to let this apple win.
I thrashed and splashed in the water. While this was going on, everyone else watched me.
“Why’s he havin’ so much trouble?” asked Apple Bloom.
Pinkie giggled. “He must have found one of the surprises I put in there.”
“Surprises?” asked Scootaloo.
“Yep! It makes the game more fun!”
They stared at me as I kept tugging on the apple, my upper half now in the water. “He’s taking an awful long time,” said Sweetie Belle.
Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. “I thought he would have given up by now.”
I started feeling lightheaded. I was running out of oxygen. I could feel the air in my lungs trying to escape. However, I could also feel the apple giving away. With a final tug, I fell backwards as the apple finally came loose. I sucked in air greedily, glad to finally breathe again.
In my field of vision, I can see Pinkie's face in front of me. "Wow, I can't believe you did it! It's not an apple, but you still did great!"
I turned my head toward the apple I had been pulling, except it wasn’t an apple. It was a tennis ball... attached to a coiled spring. I had nearly drowned myself… for a tennis ball. Are you serious? After all that and it wasn't even an apple!
I brushed a wet strand of hair out of my face before turning to Pinkie. "Make those coils longer."
~~~~~~~
As the night grew late, the party lost most of its vitality. Almost everyone was exhausted from partying. I had spent the rest of the party not playing Pinkie's games; it was best for my health. The fillies were falling asleep, their eyelids drooping with tiredness. All the other ponies, with the exception of me, Lyra, and Bon Bon, left the party after cleaning up.
With everything cleaned up, we retired for the night, exhausted and ready to sleep. After I had brushed my teeth, Lyra showed me to a room across the bathroom. The room was the same size as Lyra's room. The walls were painted blue, and a single window stood out on one side of the walls. There was a small bed in the room, and other than that, the room was mostly bare except for a few boxes containing what appeared to be photo albums and other junk. Off to one side of the room was a small closet filled with more boxes which I assumed once cluttered the former storage room.
"How do you like your room, Lyle? It's not much but it's the best Bon Bon and I could do."
I walked into the room, absorbing every detail. "I love it. It's more than I would've asked for. I could've just, you know, sleep on the couch."
"Don't be silly, Lyle. It wasn't any trouble at all. Besides, if you're going to be staying with us for the time being, I can't let you sleep on the couch while you're our guest."
I now had a place to stay, and I didn't even have to pay rent. Here comes the guilt. "Lyra, if there's anything you ever need help with, let me know. It's the least I can do after all you've done for me," I said with sincerity.
She smiled as she mussed my mane. "Aww, you're quite the gentlecolt. Thank you Lyle." She then went to her room to sleep after saying a quick "Good night" while I was left in my new room. So many things had happened in just two days, but I knew that tomorrow was going to be even better. It's about time the ponies got to know a pony named Slender. I dropped my saddlebag onto the ground, turned off the lights, and made my way into bed. My eyes grew heavier until I could no longer keep them open before drifting off to sleep, as I dreamed about the exciting things tomorrow would bring.