Soarin' was fascinated. The sight in front of him was just as baffling as it was amusing and all the stunt flyer could do was sit in his chair and watch the sight unfold in front of him. Soarin' leaned back in the armchair in his living room and pressed his hoof tips together as he studied the bizarre sight.
Across the room from the blue stallion was Shade holding a pair of knitting needles. The needles were in a blur of rapid movement as the eagle knitted a small scarf in the Wonderbolts color. The bird’s eyes were locked with his owners and Soarin' swore he could see a faint smirk on the eagles face.
I can get the fact that he can knit. I've seen pets cook and even write. All I want to know is where he got the yarn and needles. Soarin's brow furrowed as he tried to recall if her had ever bought knitting materials or received them as a gift at any point. Shade looked back to his knitting while Soarin' watched and pondered on where an eagle would learn how to knit.
Soarin's pondering was interrupted by a loud, rapid knocking from his front door. The sound caused him to jump a little and he sat there for a moment wondering who could possibly be knocking on his door. He got up from his seat and headed to the door as the insistent banging on his door continued. He reached the door and was hit by a small blast of confetti and the sound of a mare singing.
"This is your singing telegram, I hope it finds you well!
You're invited to a party cause we think you're really swell!
You and Flutters are dating so we want to celebrate!
The food will be delicious, the festivities first-rate!
There will be games and dancing, congratulations, cut-a-rug!
And when the party's over we'll gather 'round for a group hug!
You and Fluttershy share something special, so let’s all share the love!
It won't be the same without you so we hope that you say yes!
So please, oh please, RSVP and come and be our guest!"
The stunned pegasus could only stand there as the smiling, pink pony if front of him finished her song and held out a small pink envelope. Soarin's jaw dropped once he realized that the mare was sitting in a large air balloon that was sitting on his front step. The pink mare poked him with the letter.
She leaned forward and whispered to him. "You're supposed to take the letter."
Soarin' came back to reality and shook his head. "Who are you?"
The pony smiled at him a little wider and smacked the top of her head. "Oh! Duh! I'm Pinkie Pie and I'm a friend of Fluttershy's. Didn't she tell you about me?"
Soarin' nodded slowly as he recalled what Fluttershy had said about this mare. "Yeah... how did you find my house?"
Pinkie shrugged a little. "Pinkie sense?"
Soarin' just stood there for a moment as he tried to figure out what to do. After an awkward moment Pinkie began to poke him with the letter over and over again. After a few moments of this Soarin' rolled his eyes and took the invitation. Pinkie did a hoof pump as he looked at the envelope for a moment then opened it. Inside was an invitation to a 'Pinkie Pie Party', or as the first three letters put it, 'P.P.P."
Soarin' looked at the mare for a second. "It doesn't have a reason for the party on here."
Pinkie just simply smiled at him. "Didn't you listen to the telegram? It's a party for you and Fluttershy. We gotta have a 'congratulations on becoming a couple' party for you two."
Soarin' couldn't help but smile with this over excited mare and nod. "There's not going to be too many ponies right? Just Fluttershy and you five friends of hers, right?"
His frown fell a little but the mares stayed the same. "Sure. I'll talk the details over with Fluttershy later. Anyways I gotta get going. I need plenty of streamers and confetti for this party. Bye!"
The balloon began to drift away from his front step as Soarin' looked back down at the invite. Well... I did tell Fluttershy I would like to meet Pinkie and go to one of her parties... Kinda a strange first impression…
Soarin' watched the balloon for a few moments then shrugged and walked back into his house. He re-read the invite as he shut the door. Sugarcube corner... six PM... Bring a smile? I know Fluttershy said that Pinkie is a very energetic mare but this... Soarin' stopped by the chair he had left and smiled slowly.
He looked at Shade, who was still working on his knitting. "I think I'm going to like this party."
A few hours had passed for Soarin' after the rather sudden but enjoyed arrival of Pinkie Pie. He had spent much of that time divided between watching Shade knit and working out. At the moment however his hunger had gotten the better of him and he was now making himself a small meal. He heard the sound of his mail box clicking, signaling that his mail had arrived. He went to his front door and retrieved the mail from the small box hanging next to his door.
He walked back and settled down at the table in his dining room after he finished making his meal. He flipped through the letters, some of them fan mail, others were random letters, and even a few of them were magazine subscriptions. He tossed all but the fan mail aside and began to open one of the letters when he noticed one of the envelopes had a rather familiar looking logo on it.
It had a bright gold D with a smaller blue C on the back of the envelope. Soarin' flipped it over and looked at the return address and spotted the name. The Cloudsdale Daily. Why is this so fresh in my... Oh right April. That nice looking mare that talked to me by the coffee shop. He opened the letter and quickly began to read it.
Dear Mister Soarin'
We at the Cloudsdale Daily would like to formally invite you and Miss Fluttershy for an interview on the topic of your relationship. This interview will be relaxed, informal in style, and unintrusive for yourself and Miss Fluttershy. We here at the Cloudsdale Daily wish both of you the best of luck in the future. We also understand if you and Miss Fluttershy would like to decline this invite. Either way please send your reply back to us as soon as you can.
Your local news station,
The Cloudsdale Daily.
Soarin' looked at the formal and typed letter for a few more moments and thought about it. If they were true about what they had said then this might be a good thing for Fluttershy and himself as it could get rid of some of the negative stigma over their relationship. As he started to place the envelope down he noticed that a smaller piece of paper fall out of it. He picked up this paper and noticed that this one was hoof written.
Dear Soarin'
I think you may get a letter like this every day but I'm a huge fan of your work. The air shows you and the Wonderbolts put on are so amazing! Anyways I was wondering if you could do me a small favor. I know that you have been invited to do an interview for the Daily and I would be honored if you would let me do the interview with you and Fluttershy. If you accept please ask for me to do the interview and I promise that you and Fluttershy will be comfortable and have a pleasant time.
Your local newspony
April O'neigh.
Soarin' looked at the letter for a moment and placed it down after a few moments. "This might actually work... but I need to make sure Fluttershy is okay with it."
The stallion placed the letters back into the envelope and almost stood up with the intent to visit Fluttershy right away. However his eye was caught by the small stack of letters from his fans. He sat back down and opened the first one up and began to read the loving words of a young fan.
"I never could say no to young fans. Heh... Spitfire would call me a softy if she saw this."
Soarin' landed down on the ground near the small cottage. He had put off visiting Fluttershy until the day of Pinkies party and was now ready to meet her friends. He flapped his wings a few times as he thought about the invitation for the interview. Whatever she says is what I'll go with. I don't want to bring her into this without making sure she's fine with it.
He knocked on the door of the small cottage as Shade landed on his shoulder and waited as he heard the soft voice the mare inside call out. "Coming!"
As the door opened Soarin' gave the yellow mare a warm smile. Fluttershy walked up to him and gave him a small hug and invited him inside the cottage. Shade moved from his shoulder to one of the many perches near the stairs. Soarin' sat down on the sofa as Fluttershy sat down next to him.
Soarin' gave a soft cough and looked over at Fluttershy. "Hey I wanted to ask you something."
Fluttershy smiled at him and reached for a glass that was resting on the coffee table. "Yes?"
He rubbed his hooves together nervously for a second. "Well... it's two things really. Remember when I mentioned that my family will be having a reunion soon?"
Fluttershy nodded as she took a sip from the glass of lemonade. Soarin' swallowed and pressed on. "Well I said that you could meet my family if you wanted, but I was hoping that you would come with me to meet them. I guess I'm inviting to my family reunion."
He felt his ears pin in embarrassment and worry as silence filled the room. His gaze had fallen to the sofa and then to the floor as he spoke. As the silence dragged on for what felt like a year to Soarin' he started to feel even more worried than he already was. Crap... she doesn't want to. I shouldn't have asked because now she'll feel bad about saying no. His thoughts were stopped when Fluttershy's gentle hoof touched his shoulder.
"I would love to. Your family looked really lovely in that picture and I want to meet them."
Soarin' looked up at the mare and saw the warm, gentle smile on her face. "Really? You don't mind meeting my family? I have to warn you this reunion is a few days long. You might have to be away from home for maybe a week with travel and stuff like that."
Fluttershy continued to smile at him and placed her drink down. "I can get my friends to watch the animals while I'm gone. I want to meet your family. I'm certain that they would want to meet me as well. Do they know that you're dating me?"
Soarin' shrugged and tapped his chin for a moment. "Well... they might. I haven't written them a letter yet but they might already know with all the magazine and newspaper articles about us." He paused for the moment and gave her a shaky grin. "That kinda leads into my next question."
Fluttershy gained a curious look but was still smiling. "Oh? What's that?"
Soarin' took another calming breath and gave his wings a small, nervous flutter. "I was invited to do an interview for the Cloudsdale Daily."
Fluttershy beamed at him. "Oh, that must be wonderful for you. Do they want to talk to you about the team?"
The stallion shook his head. "No. They wanted to talk to me... and you."
Fluttershy's smile fell. "What?"
"They wanted to talk to the both of us about our relationship. I'm asking you because if you say no then I'll decline the offer. I don't want you to be uncomfortable in anything we do."
Fluttershy sat there silently for a moment then bit her lip. "They want to talk to us... about us? I don't know if that's a good idea. What if they spin it to make us look bad?" Her voice rose in worry and had started to wringing her hooves together.
Soarin' moved closer to Fluttershy and hugged her. "If you don't want to, all you have to do is say so. I'll tell them that we don't want to and that will be it."
Fluttershy hugged him back and nuzzled his neck. "What do you think?"
Soarin' shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I just want you to be happy."
Fluttershy pulled away and looked up at the stallion. "It does matter. I want to know what you think because I want to know. If you think it's a good idea or a bad one then I want to know."
She leaned back towards Soarin' and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Please?"
Soarin' blushed and sighed. "I think it might be a good idea. It could get rid of the negative stigma that's been attached to us."
Fluttershy let out a small sigh. "Maybe it is a good idea. I still don't know."
Soarin' kissed her head. "I don't need an answer yet. I guess we should both think it over but for now let’s just head to Pinkies party."
The pair got up and walked to the door, ready to head out into the night.