//------------------------------//
// Pinkie Party 
// Story: Alastair Equus 
// by Duke.B 
//------------------------------//

The sun had just set over Ponyville, and, although the lamps were all light, very few ponies were still out and about. This, however, didn’t deter the two girls walking along next to each other, heading towards the large tree near the centre of the town.
“Fluttershy, darling, did Twilight mention who the special guest of honour was for tonight’s party was?” One girl, the unicorn with white fur, yet curled, dark purple hair asked her companion.
“No, not that she said to me, at least…” whispered the yellow Pegasus, her light pink hair falling over her eyes. “I’m sorry…”
“No need to apologize, dear, I just was curious if she’d told you but not me.” The unicorn replied, waving aside the Pegasus’ apology. “It’s not often that Twilight holds such a party, after all. I was merely curious as to the occasion.”
They both had with them travelling bags, the white Unicorns being conspicuously larger than that of her companion; in fact, she carried her smaller bag, still larger than Fluttershy’s single one, daintily over her shoulder, while wheeling a white, gem encrusted suitcase behind her, with several more piled on top.
Soon, they came into view of the tree, all the windows of which blazed merrily into the night air. Muffled music could be heard from the tree, while streamers and balloons drifted past the windows, casting distorted shadows on the surrounding buildings.
The two girls looked at each other, the unicorn smiling at the Pegasus, who quickly averted her gaze, kicking abashedly at the ground. Rolling her eyes in amusement, the white mare grabbed her friends’ hand, leading her towards the building.
The unicorn threw open the door, waltzing in as though she owned the building. “I’m terribly sorry we’re late, I hadn’t realized that the party had already begun!” She declared to no-one in particular, as her timid friend shut the door behind them.
Twilight appeared at the top of the stairs winding around the bookshelf-lined room, grinning at her two friends. “Nonsense, Rarity, you and Fluttershy are right on time!” She quickly pointed to the others in the room, listing as she went. “Applejack arrived a couple of hours ago, as she knew of this before almost anyone else, Rainbow came only a short while before you two, once she finished with the clouds, and Pinkie Pie… well, she was here before I was.”
The pink pony bouncing around the room suddenly appeared next to Rarity, apparently ignoring the space that had originally separated the two. Her frizzy pink hair, coupled with her constant bouncing, made her appear to be a dancing stick of cotton candy. “Oh, I knew hours and hours and hours and hours ago! My left foot tapped, followed by my right elbow flapping, then both my eyes blinked three times, meaning that there was a party! And then my nose itched, and my right knee twitched, and I was to help plan the party! I grabbed my cannon, ranranran over to Twilights library, and whoomph had this place decorated lickety split!”
Rarity just stared at her friend throughout this bombardment, then turned back to Twilight. “Pinkie Sense?”
“Pinkie Sense.” Came the knowing response.
Rarity smiled, nodding. “Well, as lovely as it is, and as thrilled as I am to have been invited to yet another sleep over,” her smile faltered for a moment at that point, quickly glancing at Applejack, then back to Twilight before continuing, “I am most curious as to who the ‘special visitor’ you mention is?” She fluttered her eyelashes at Twilight, giving her a winning smile.
“Don’t worry, you’ll meet him soon enough, he’s just in the kitchen!” Twilight smiled at her friends impatience.
“Ooh, a he, is it? Has our little Twilight finally found a colt-friend?” Rarity sidled over to Twilight, draping an arm around her shoulder. “I have been telling you for ages that it’s time you found that certain someone! Who is it? Somepony I know?”
Rainbow, who’d been hovering overhead, let out a guffaw. “No, no-one quite like that, Rarity! HEY, AL, GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT HERE!” Rarity winced at the sudden loud noise at her ear, but stayed where she was, looking towards the kitchen door.
“Just give me a sec, would you? Pinkie, this cake of yours is amazing!” a muffled voice emerged from the doorway.
“No more secs, out here now!” Rainbow shouted again, looking askance at Applejack as she in turn let out a laugh.
Alastair appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, a plate piled high with sweets in one hand, a half-eaten cake in the other. “No, we can save that for later!” He laughed at Rainbow, before noticing the arrivals. “Howdy!” he lifted his cake by way of a greeting.
He was a bit perturbed when he was greeted by silence, then he grinned, embarrassed. “Riiight, forgot I’m the odd one out here for a moment…” Rarity was just staring at him, speechless yet open mouthed, not a sound emerging. And Fluttershy was still turned away, hiding behind her hair. After a moment, however, she peeked out, and let out a small shriek.
“A human!” Every single pair of eyes in the room focussed on Fluttershy. “I’ve never seen a real live human before! Or any type, for that matter!” She dashed over from one side of the room to the other, examining Alastair minutely, not noticing his discomfort. “I never even knew you were really real! Oh, this is just amazing, wait until I tell the little critters!”
Everyone else was silent while Fluttershy continued her examination of the man, until he’d finally had enough of being prodded. “So, you’ve heard of me before, then? Or, rather, my kind?” Shaking his head, he smiled. “Still feels odd saying that, ‘my kind’…”
Fluttershy looked up at him, at first seeming shocked that he spoke, then more so at what she’d been doing. She quickly darted back several steps, once again hiding in her hair. “Oh, I’m so sorry, it’s just I’ve never met a human before… yes, of course I’ve heard of your kind, everypony has!” She looked to her friends for encouragement, but they were all staring at her mutely, shaking their heads. With a sigh, she continued. “You know, the fairy tales we were told as fillies? Of the mysterious ponies-who-weren’t, living in a land without magic, but could still manage to live thanks to their machines? It’s where we got the ideas for most of our technology!” she finished her lecture, then ‘eep’-ed, blushing. “I… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sound so weak…” she muttered to Alastair.
“Not at all… and it’s not quite like that, but pretty close.” Alastair replied, feeling guilty for making Fluttershy feel guilty, oddly enough.
A look of dawning recognition spread across Twilights face. “Of course! I thought you sounded familiar!” Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, just shook her head. “Nope, must’ve skipped that class.”
“Well, duh, of course you’re a human!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, drawing everyone’s gaze to her.  “What?” she asked, “Wasn’t it obvious?”
“Not to the rest of us, sugar!” Applejack shook her head. “Shoulda known you’d know, if anypony did, what with the parasprites and all!” The others laughed, nodding their heads in agreement. Pinkie Pie seemed to be enjoying their praise, a wide grin covering more of her face than Alastair would have thought physically possible.
“So, what are you guys like, then?” Rainbow’s question brought everyone to silence, looking curiously towards Alastair.
Not used to being the centre of attention, he bit his lip, eyes darting to the sides. Why couldn’t I just keep my big mouth shut? He wondered.
“We-ell,” he started, pausing to think of how to reply, “We’ve changed a lot over the course of man-kind, seeing as we go back thousands of years. Modern man is somewhat like what you just described,” he nodded to the yellow Pegasus. “Most of our lives revolve around technology; be it for travel or work. But not all! We also have sports,” he nodded toward Rainbow, “fashion and fame,” a nod to Rarity, “as well as the manual laborers, be they the farmers or the workmen.” He once again nodded towards Applejack, before settling eyes upon Pinkie Pie. “But then again, there are those who just live for the next big party!”
He felt a bit guilty, almost as though he were deceiving his new friends by not revealing the darker side of humanity. Well, I don’t want us to look all that bad, he reasoned with himself. He’d made it as obvious as he could that the party should just carry on, and so surreptitiously looked around the group, wondering if they’d get the hint. As his eyes passed over Applejack, however, she gave him an odd look, one that made Alastair feel as though there were and ice-cold hand beneath his breast, clenching shut. He’d felt that feeling before, whenever his parents asked how his grades were in school, when his teachers asked why he hadn’t finished his homework, when his boss asked why he was late for work. She knows. He just felt it, knew that she did. Mentally, he laughed at his worries. I’ve never been called out before, and besides, they know nothing of my kind as it is! But the feeling persisted.
Barely a second had passed, before Pinkie Pie shouted, “Like this one!” throwing her hands in the air. “Enough boring talk, let’s get this partay started!” As if that were its’ cue, the needle on the record player dropped, loud music quickly blaring from the speaker.
Pinkie soon had almost everyone out on the floor dancing, dragging an un-willing Alastair with her. After a couple of awkwardly shuffling seconds, however, the human had once again extracted himself from the group.
Looking about himself, Alastair was happy to see all of his new-found friends enjoying themselves. He’d been a bit shocked at first, learning that Twilight’s home was actually the town library, and that they’d be having the party there. “Won’t the other townsfolk be upset at having such a quiet place hosting a party?” he’d asked.
“Oh, no, they rarely ever come here; most of the time it’s just me and Spike, and he’s out with some friends tonight.” The purple unicorn had replied, waving her hand in the air as piles of books floated back to their spots on the shelves. “As for the noise, everyone’s used to Pinkie Pie by now.”
Feeling a bit claustrophobic for the first time that night, Alastair quietly but quickly made his way up the staircase. Once at the top, he took a quick look around to get his bearings, and then headed towards the door leading to the balcony.
Outside, Alastair gratefully leaned against the railing, taking deep breaths of the crisp winter air. Staring into the night sky, he gazed at the vast panorama of stars, yet again struck by the thought of how far from home he was. There were a couple of constellations that he recognized; he could easily point out the Big and Little Dippers, as well as his personal favourite, Orion, but as for the rest, he might as well have been looking at white paint drippings on a black cloth. Even the moon was different; none of the familiar craters that were on the one back home showed. If anything, he thought they formed the profile of a unicorn…
Taking a quick look around him, Alastair, seeing no-one, pulled one of his notebooks out from his inner pocket. He stared at the cover, deep in thought, before shrugging. “Now’s as good a time as any.” He smoothly slid the cord holding it shut out of the way, idly twiddling the fingers on his right hand before flipping open the front cover. He skimmed over the lines denoting that the book was his, his gaze stopping for a moment at the personalized inscription. Never stop chasing your dreams. ~J.
Letting loose a happy sigh, he smiled as he flipped over the next page, pulling out a pen from another pocket, and setting it to the blank paper. 
“Not enjoying your Welcoming Party, Al? Pinkie’s gonna be disappoointeeed!” A cheeky voice sounded from the door behind him, several minutes later. Grinning, Alastair closed the book, once more hiding it in the depths of his jacket before turning around.
“Hey Dash! No, I’m loving the party, it’s just… never really been a big one for big dance scenes, outside of musicals. Too awkward with these long legs, I guess!” He chuckled, idly kicking one out. “How ‘bout yourself? Thought you’d be the one tearing up the dance-floor! …or dance-sky?” Terrible, terrible pun… Alastair could hear that voice shaking its head. Instead, the Pegasus let out a small chuckle of her own.
“You were in musicals? Like, singing and dancing? Man, I never pegged you for a girly-type guy like that!”
Alastair felt as though he had invisible bristles on his back, and they were standing out straight. “’Girly’? You think theatre is girly? Do you have any idea how hard it is? Learning all the lines, the songs, dances, stage positions, having to go downstairs, run across a crowded hallway, do a costume change, back upstairs on the other side of stage, and not appear to be out of breath all in ten seconds? And having the stage crew yell at you if you don’t manage that?” No-one insults the theatre around me, Alastair fumed, Not even a chick as-
His train of thought was cut off by Rainbow, who’d backed up a step, hands raised. “Whoa, now, didn’t mean to get you all riled up! Didn’t know that you guys had to deal with all that stress!” She shrugged it off with a chuckle. “Back to why I’m out here, normally I’d be a beast on the floor, but I gotta check on my minions!”
“Minions?” Alastair raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, that’s just what I call them.” The Pegasus shrugged. “Underlings, inferiors, worker drones. The other Pegasai on my weather crew.”
This once more baffled Alastair. “Weather crew? As in, you monitor the weather?” She’s a weather-lady? Never would have guessed that, of all things…
Rainbow Dash shook her head, though. “No, we control the weather. How else would the crops get enough water, and still tons of sunshine to chill in?”
Alastair stood dumbfounded for a moment, then ruefully shook his head. “I should probably stop being surprised by everything here… Just never had anything like that back home.”
It was Rainbow’s turn to look surprised. “Seriously? You mean… you guys just let the weather do whatever it wants? Weeeiiiird.” She ruffled her wings briskly, stirring up the air around her. “Well, I gotta be headed off; the snowstorm that’s due to hit Ponyville tomorrow won’t get here on its own!” She eyed Alastair for a moment, then amended. “Well, it might, but most likely won’t. If you ever have any other questions about Equestria, don’t hesitate to ask!”
This offer set off a spark in Alastair’s mind, reminding him of something that had been nagging at him all day. “Hey, there is one other thing…” he started, “Cutie Marks. What are they? Those three girls wh-“ He let out a forced cough, amending what he’d been about to say. “I overheard some… fillies, I guess? I overheard them going on about them earlier.”
“Oh, the Crusaders? Yeah, they’ve been trying everything they can to find their marks for years!”
“You don’t say…” Alastair grumbled, rubbing his wrists where the ropes had dug into his skin.
“Anyway, Cutie Marks appear on ponies once they discover their ‘true calling’ in life. Twilight’s was for magic, Applejack’s for, well, apples, I got mine for speed!”
Alastair idly scratched the back of his neck, digesting this. “So, they’re like birthmarks?”
“Not so much,” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “You’re not born with one; they only appear once you discover them. Here,” she hopped up so that she was sitting on the railing, wings spread to help keep her balance. “Take a peek!”
Alastair’s eyes widened as he saw her hitching up the side of her shorts, baring her cheek. Quickly turning around, he pointedly stared off into the tree. “N-no thanks, I’m fine.” Quite a proper lady you’ve got there! The voice in his head chided. Come on, just one look, she’s offering! 
“Don’t go turning into a timid creature like Fluttershy on me! It’s not as though it’s going to bite!”
Alastair contemplated for another couple of moments, absent-mindedly listening to the sudden fluttering of leaves above them, before turning around. “Well, if you insist…” he murmured, eyes raised to the sky, before dropping down to her… flank? He wasn’t entirely sure what the anatomical names were here; horse or human?
He didn’t ponder long however, as he frowned, dropping down to one knee to get a closer look. “It looks more like a tattoo than anything…”  he muttered, absent-mindedly brushing the cloud-and-rainbow-coloured-lightning-bolt image in front of him.
It wasn’t until he heard a slight gasp, and the leg in front of him twitched, that he realized what he’d just done. Eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, he leapt backwards, arms clasped firmly behind his back.
“Hey there, big guy! I know we’re friends and all, but this is going just a bit fast, even for me!” Rainbow Dash chided, as her wings flapped behind her, Alastair assumed, keeping her balanced. Greeted only with silence, the Pegasus flashed him a lop-sided grin. “Come on, just kidding with you!”
Pull yourself together, man! You can still turn this around! You’re sexy, you know it, all girls know it! Why else would they keep throwing themselves at you? The voice was back for Alastair. They don’t! He tried to argue, Enough do! Came the reply. Come on, play it off with a joke, be suave, cool, does she sound out of breathe to you, nah, that’s just my own breathing, god, why is my heart going so fast, SAY SOMETHING! Alastair opened his mouth, then promptly shut it, instead giving Rainbow Dash a tight-lipped smile and a thumbs up. Idiot…
“Well, I gotta fly, see you back inside!” With a flapping of wings, the blue Pegasus disappeared, leaving only a rainbow-coloured after image. Twisting around, Alastair could just faintly make out the outline of a pair of wings, before they, too, disappeared into the night sky.
Behind him, Alastair once more heard the door’s latch click, followed by a distinctly southern drawl. “Well howdy there, Al! Was wonderin’ where you’d disappeared off to!” Sauntering up to the railing beside him, Applejack eyed the silent human next to her. “Somethin’ out there got yer fancy?”
Sighing, Alastair nodded. “Yeah…”
Applejacks shot Alastair a cheeky grin. “Ya know, Dashie came out this way not too long ago… Y’all got the hots for her?”
Alastair blinked several times, coming out of his reverie. Suddenly realizing just who he was talking to, he quickly shook his head. “No, it’s not that… just…” A short pause, as he quickly thought of what to say, SHE CAN REEEAAAD YOUR MIIIIIND! The voice hollered. “I’ve always dreamed of flying like that. Just… nothing but the open sky around me, feeling the rush of wind through my hair.” Shooting a grin in the farmer pony’s direction, he amended. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being stuck on the ground like us common folk, but it’s just a dream I’ve always had.” Turning back to the night sky, he continued. “Heck, if my sister was here instead of me, she’d probably be pestering Twilight and… Rarity?” A sharp nod from Applejack convinced him that he’d remembered the other unicorn’s name. “She’d be pestering those two all night long about their magic.”
“So… y’all have family back home?” Alastair nodded. “You’ll be wanting to get back to them as soon as you can, then!” At this, though, Alastair merely shrugged.
“Not particularly…” He paused, thinking about his relations back home. “Sure, I’ll probably miss Julie some.” He shot a quick look at Applejack. “She’s my sister. But really, she’s been out of the house for years now, and even when she lived at home, she was more often than not out with friends. We were united more by our love of fantasy, and our dislike of our parents, more than anything.” He held up a hand as a concerned look crossed Applejacks face, sensing that she was about to interrupt. “It’s not that we didn’t love them, just that… they seemed to just think they could control every aspect of our lives for us. Overpowering, I guess you could call them. We agreed, our friends agreed, everyone agreed on that point. I was actually in the process of moving out of their house when I was brought here.” He paused again, then shrugged. “As for my friends, well… I had a small group of close friends during high-school, but after that, we kind of lost touch. They all went away to different Universities, most of which were on the far side of the country, if not in another one altogether. So,” Again he shrugged, “There’s nothing really drawing me back home right now.”
They stood in silence for several minutes, before Applejack spoke up. “You’re lucky to have known your parents, ah reckon.”
“Oh?” Alastair said before he fully registered what she’d said. Mentally, he smacked himself in the head. Stupid, stupid, stupid…
“Ah never knew mine.”
Several moments of silence passed, before Alastair whispered “I’m sorry to hear that… what happened?”
“Don’t rightly know. Only ever had Granny Smith and Big Macintosh to raise me, and they’ve never spoken of them, either. Although,” she smiled, “Rarity’s got it in her mind that we were orphaned to avoid a political scandal.” Alastair felt his eyebrow climbing up his forehead at this, waiting for her to continue. “She reckons that we’re the illegitimate-type children of Canterlot’s ‘Pink Lady’, and a mysterious stallion, who’s known only as the royal, ‘Gala’, and that old Granny Smith was a pony who owed the two of them a favour, so got her to raise us. Ever since she got this idea in her head, she’s been trying to get me to get me to dress all fancy-like, and, ahem,” Applejack coughed, before adopting a more refined tone. “Act more as my station dictates, to behave with dignity and grace.” She grinned, dropping her poise. “If y’all can believe that.”
Alastair’s eyebrow had managed to completely hide itself in his hair by this point. “Dress… fancy-like?” He let out a brief snort. “Not saying that you couldn’t pull it off, I just think you’re perfectly suited as you are.” He shot her his most roguish grin at this. Sure, play up the charm now, why not before? Because she’s not flirting back, that’s why! “Although,” he amended, lifting a shoulder, “It might just be because I technically live in a farming community back home.”
“Well gosh, if Ah didn’t know better, Ah’d think y’all were flirting with me, Mr. Alastair!” Applejack replied, adopting a 'southern belle' accent, which promptly dropped as a thought entered her mind. “Speakin’ of back home…?” She left the end of her question open, eyeing Alastair.
With those few words, he suddenly felt the fist of ice return to his chest. Drawing a breath, Alastair managed not to let his grin or voice falter. “Yes?”
“Ah think there’s something y’all weren’t telling us.”
How does she bloody well know?! Ignoring the panicked chain of thoughts whirling around in his mind, Alastair kept up his calm demeanor. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied, forcing a frown onto his forehead.
Giving the human a flat look, Applejack shook her head. “Do y’all remember how earlier, Twilight and I were telling you about our fights with Nightmare Moon and Discord? How we used the Elements of Harmony?”
“Vaguely…” Alastair nodded, though truthfully he’d been more distracted by a particular pink party pony pestering him on the particulars of his personality and point of origin.
The tan pony continued, despite his hesitation. “We each bore one of the elements, as we also embodied their essence. Mine,” she looked Alastair squarely in the eyes, “is Honesty. As such,” she took a step closer to him, “Ah can tell when someone’s lying, or intentionally misdirecting his words. Now.” Alastair found himself pressed firmly into a corner, worriedly looking down at a very focused pony standing not a foot away from him. “About yer home?”
“You… can tell… every lie?” Alastair wasn’t so much thinking of his earlier deception, so much as his answer to why Applejack had asked him why he was looking after Rainbow Dash.
“Most every time.”
Alastair heaved a mental sigh of relief; most was different from definitely, there was still a chance she didn’t know…
“Well?”
Riiight, back on topic! Alastair let out an actually sigh, feeling as though this girl who he towered over was actually looming over him instead. How do short women do that? He wondered briefly, before speaking. “Yes, I did leave a bit out… My home’s not as bright and happy as I made it to be. While most people you meet are what I described, there are those who’s intentions are less… perfect. Murderers, arsonists, thieves,” Politicians, shut up! “not to mention the wars… I can’t think of a single moment in my life where there hasn’t been some war or another going on. Originally about spiritual beliefs, they’ve now degraded into plain out fighting for greed. I… just didn’t want you all thinking that I came from a land of evil, and was such a person.”
He was silent after that, just staring down at his feet… until he heard a laugh from in front of him. Head shooting upwards, he frowned at the girl in front of him.
“That’s what y’all were worried about?” she laughed, supporting herself on the railing. “Gosh, what sort of children’s tale do you think we live in? We have troubles of our own! Heck, we’re on the brink of civil war!”
“What?” Alastair stared at the farmer pony.
“Sure! If y’all’d been here a bit longer, or even into town, you’d probably hear about some folk wanting to start a revolution, callin’ for the ‘New Lunar Republic’!”
“What?”
“If you were just worried we’d think you were a monster for living with that, then heck, so’re we all! Now come on, let’s go back inside! Looks like your lover girl will be rejoinin’ us soon, anyway!”
“What!” Alastair almost shouted as he was bodily dragged towards the door. Looking over his shoulder, he saw what Applejack had been nodding towards; an approaching wall of clouds, drifting down from which were large, fluffy white snowflakes. And behind one cloud in particular, he could faintly make out a multi-coloured streak.
“What.”

*	*	*


“Dare.”
The party had progressed quickly after Alastair and Applejack returned; the dancing had ceased, and the other girls were taking a quick break, snacking on more of Pinkie’s baking. The return of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who had disappeared outside at some point in the evening, led way to Pinkie declaring pillow-war on everything that moved. Alastair, fancying himself as a minor tactician, had attempted to disregard all pre-set pillow-fighting rules and make an alliance with Rainbow Dash and Applejack; the two most capable allies, as he saw it. Disregarding his disregard for the rules, they promptly turned on him, only to be in turn pummeled by Pinkie, as she jumped out of a potted plant, which was far too small to conceal her. The fight deteriorated into a normal free-for-all of a pillow fight, finally to be called to a halt by a terrified Fluttershy. Checking over her check-list, Twilight announced that, as Alastair adamantly refused to take part in a make-over, that it was time for ‘Truth or Dare’.
Alastair had been surprised when the quiet yellow Pegasus had chosen him, seeing as how, if anything, she seemed afraid of him. I’m not that scary… he mused, waiting for her to give him a dare. Then again, she had cowered on top of a bookshelf the entire pillow fight…
“Well, if you want, I mean, you don’t have to, but I was just wondering…” Alastair found himself leaning in to hear her; he didn’t have the best of hearing, he knew, but this girl was quiet! Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy let it all out in a rush. 
“YousaidearlierthatyoulikedtobeinmusicalsandthatyousangsongsinthemandIwaswonderingifitwasalrightwithyouthatyousangasongforus?”
Alastair stared at the timid Pegasus for several moments, frowning as he tried to work out what she had said. The frown deepened once he had deciphered it. I told her that? Surely not right to her, I haven’t even said five words to her altogether! The only person here I told that to was… his face slackened to a neutral expression, as he tried desperately to keep his gaze away from the other Pegasus in the room. I said that right before… wait, how did she hear, there was no-one else out there! Was she spying on us? Did she see…
A quiet voice snapped him out of his reverie. “I mean… you don’t have to, if you don’t want to, I was just wondering…” Fluttershy trailed off into a squeak, once again hiding behind her pink hair.
Giving his head a quick shake, he forced a casual smile. “No, I don’t mind at all, just… give me a moment to think of a song, alright?” Alright, what to sing, what to sing… Alastair quickly went over all the musicals he’d been a part of. Grand Hotel? No, the only songs in my range are either for duets, or about lying, thieving, or dying… Pirates of Penzance? Yeah, no, pirates, here, no, just… no. Les Miserables? Yeah, songs about revolutions after what Applejack just told me, no. Dismissing the other musicals for similar reasons, he had a sudden epiphany. They don’t know which songs are musicals or not! Something I’m more comfortable with… Beatles?
Grinning at the group around him, Alastair finally settled on a song. My range, I know most of the words… here goes! He took several deep breaths, closing his eyes to calm his nerves. You can do this, Al, it’s no different from being in the Mac… Actually, it is, it’s a smaller crowd. The pessimistic voice was back, however. Yeah, smaller crowd of chicks, all focussed on you. No-one else here to distract them. Go get ‘em, tiger! Angrily shoving the voice aside, Alastair grinned to his audience.
“Can I-I-I, tell you so-omething… da-duh-da-da-duh!” Adding a bit of the back-ground music as best he could, he continued. “I think you’ll under-stand… When I-I-I, say that, so-omething, da-duh-da-da-duh, I want to hold, your, ha-and! I want to hold your ha-aa-a-aa-and, I want to hold your hand.”
Alastair paused for a second longer than the music called for; For a moment, he could have sworn he actually heard a band faintly playing along with the song. Noticing that he’d been mainly singing towards Applejack, he quickly turned to the rest of the group.
“Oh ple-e-ease, say to me-e-e, da-duh-da-da-dum!” Yeah, there’s definitely something there, he thought with a frown, “You’ll let me be, your, ma-a-an, and ple-e-ease, say to me-e-e,” he skipped over his improvised background additions, and sure enough heard the strumming of a guitar from behind him. Quickly, he took his gaze off of Rainbow Dash and shot a quick glance over his shoulder, but there was nothing there. Shrugging, he once again turned back to the other girls, once more seeking out a new target to sing to. “You’ll let me hold your ha-and! I want to hold your ha-aa-a-aa-and, I want  to hold… your… hand.”
Alastair finally trailed to a stop; he’d started singing to Rarity, but stopped when he noticed not only the music behind him was even louder, but also the fact that not only did the lights in the room seem to be dimming, but also turning a slight shade of pink! He frantically looked around him, not noticing the dreamy-eyed looks he was getting from the girls. “Ok, seriously, what is going on here?”
“It was magical…” Twilight sighed, resting her head on her palm.
Alastair turned to the purple magician, raising an eyebrow at this. “I know my choir teacher always said I had a good voice, but not that good! Besides,” he added, getting slightly worried about the expression on Twilight’s face, “I was… talking about the, you know, music from no-where, and the change in lighting.” He waved his hand in the air to encompass the changes of the room, but faltered, noticing that all changes had vanished.
Twilight shook her head, shaking off her dulled senses. “No, it actually was magical! Every creature has magic in them; it’s how the Pegasai can control the weathers, or why Earth ponies are so good when it comes to crops.” She shrugged, the dreamy-state of her eyes returning. “Yours appears to be your voice…”
“Your beautiful, gorgeous voice…” Rarity whispered.
Alastair did a couple of concerned double-takes in Rarity’s direction, before turning back to Twilight. “My voice is magical, you say?” He asked in a joking tone. Yeah, right, and pigs fly. “Alrighty then!” He squatted down in front of her, staring into her eyes. He raised his hands to the level of his eyes, wiggling his fingers as he did so. “Get… me… a… cider!” He laughed when Twilight just gave him a blank stare. “Darn, guess it’s not that magical, then!” Chuckling, he returned to his position on the couch. “Well, now that that’s over, I believe it’s my turn. Twilight,” He grinned at the mentioned girl, his eyes gleaming. “Truth or Dare?”
She narrowed her eyes, staring at the human. She could tell that he had something planned, but… “Dare.”
A triumphant smile split Alastair’s face. “I dare you to get me a cider!”
Rainbow Dash fell off the armrest she’d been sitting on, clutching her sides as she laughed.
“I… guess I did walk right into that one…” Twilight chuckled as she got out of her chair, heading towards the kitchen.
As she returned, levitating the cider bottle over to Alastair, she had an expression on her face that Alastair found truly frightening. “Alright, Al, Truth or Dare!”
Finding himself fearing the possible consequences of what he chose, Alastair sought a back-way out. “Hey, you can’t ask the person who just asked you!”
“Not according to my book!” Twilight grinned, pointing to said book, which lay beside her chair.
Alastair glared at it. That book… the one that had dictated the events of the evening. With a resigned shrug, he acquiesced. “Dare.”
Twilight smirked at the human, a look of triumph in her eyes. “I dare you to let Rarity give you a complete make-over.”
All expression dropped off of Alastair’s face at this. I thought I got out of that earlier… His shoulders slumped, as Rarity let out a small squeal of delight. “Fine.” He spat out, getting up from his seat. Rarity eagerly grabbed his hand, dragging him, and one of her many travel bags, up the stairs.
“Twilight, darling, I’m borrowing your bedroom in lieu of my salon, I hope you don’t mind!” The white unicorn almost sang out, dragging a resigned human behind her.
“Not at all! And make sure the make-over’s complete. Dress included!”
“WHAT?!” Alastair squawked, before he was shoved into the room.
Glancing in after him, Rarity pursed her lips, musing. “I may have to borrow your drapes, dear, I hope you don’t mind. Red really is your colour…”
“Not at all!” The girls simultaneously burst into laughter as the door closed behind their friend.
“Oh, he’s going to be gorgeous!” Rainbow managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter.
“Too bad we can’t get a picture of him!” Applejack added, despite feeling the slightest bit of sympathy for what the human was going through.
“Or can’t we?” Twilight asked, quirking an eyebrow at her friends confused expressions. “I remember him saying…” She muttered, as she grabbed up Alastair’s jacket, “That his… cell phone, I think?” she dug furiously through his pockets, pausing to look up towards her room, where snippets of a muffled argument could be heard.
“Can’t the clothes stay on for that?”
Letting out a cry of triumph, Twilight pulled out his red phone. “Yes, he said it had a camera, I think? Now, if only…” she trailed off, a look of concentration crossing her face. Several button pushes later led to her letting out a cry of triumph. “Aha! Now, all set! Just a few practice pictures, I think?” Without warning or asking, she quickly took a picture of Rainbow Dash struggling to get off the floor, while combating her laughter. “Perfect!” Twilight laughed, dancing away as an outraged Pegasus tried to get the phone back.
“HEY!” a loud cry from upstairs cut into the pair’s wrestling for the phone, all present staring at the door.
“Inseam, my foot! Couldn’t you just-cold hands, COLD HANDS!”
With a collective sigh, the girls relaxed… until Rainbow Dash quickly stole the prized phone. “Aha! Who’s got it no-ow?” She taunted, while trying to puzzle out the buttons.
“Hey! Give that back!” Twilight started, a look shock and confusion crossing her face.
*Click!* “Too late! Oooh, perfect, Twi!” Rainbow leaned over to show Applejack, who quickly snatched the phone for herself.
“Mine now, sug!” She crowed, before being lost in an impromptu dog-pile.
The scuffling over the phone was finally interrupted several minutes later by a cough from the top of the stairs. Craning around from their various poses (Applejack had Rainbow Dash in a headlock, while Pinkie was piggy-backing on Twilight, and Fluttershy was cowering on top of the chandelier), they saw Rarity at the head of the stairs, a triumphant look on her face.
“Ladies,” her mouth quirked into a smile at her friends antics below her, “May I introduce to you all… Allison!”
All eyes turned expectantly towards the bedroom door. “I’m going to kill you for that…” a sullen voice mumbled from the dark interior.
“Now now, that’s no way for a proper lady such as yourself to talk!” Rarity chided, grinning as the door finally opened.
Teeth clenched, Alastair stood glowering, slightly hunched over. Rarity had managed to turn one of Twilights crimson drapes into a tight-fitting, bare shouldered gown, which she had managed to cut in such a way that it appeared to be flowing with each step he took, as though a light breeze were brushing it. Alastair grumbled as he made his way down the stairs, a pair of stocking covered feet peeking out from under the dress’s hem. He irritably flicked his head to the side, trying to get accustomed to his new hair style; where before, he had worn it pre-dominantly combed to the right, so that it fell in a single wave over his fore-head, Rarity had styled it so that it fell evenly to both sides; she’d also apparently given it a quick go-over with a hair-curler, as his blonde locks now were far wavier than they had ever been before. Even the normal plethora of loose strands had somehow been forced into place. And to top it all off…
“Are you… wearing… make-up?” A shocked cyan Pegasus asked, staring.
Wincing his eyes shut, Alastair bared his teeth. “Shut up!”
“He was actually very helpful at that part; I barely had to give him any instructions as I applied it!” Rarity added, grinning at Alastair’s discomfort.
“We had to have it applied every night at the theatre, so that we’d look normal under the stage lights.” Alastair grumbled, conceding the point to the numerous pairs of intrigued eyes. He carefully threw himself back onto the couch, making sure that the dress didn’t ride up too high.
“Well, you look very comfortable in it, at least…” Fluttershy whispered shyly, again on the ground and hiding in her hair.
Alastair chewed on his lip for a moment, taking deep breathes as he stared off into the distance. After apparently working up a large amount of courage, he muttered something indistinctly.
“Didn’ quite catch that, sugar-cube.” Applejack spoke up, finding the sudden knowledge about the human fascinating.
Again, Alastair mumbled whatever it was that he said a bit louder, but still for the most part incoherent. Fluttershy, being the mistress of quiet talk, gasped, a hand flying to her mouth to stifle a sudden bout of giggles.
Eyeing her normally quiet friend, Twilight spoke up. “One more time, just a biiit louder.”
“…it’s not the first time I’ve worn one.”
The room was silent, save for Fluttershy’s giggling. “Care explain, hun?” Applejack inquired.
Taking another deep breath, Alastair ruefully shook his head. “The theatre’s going to be the death of me…” Looking around at the girls, he heaved another sigh. “Several years ago, a couple of my friends and I were in a small talent show. We were doing a dramatic scene from Macbeth.” Seeing nothing but puzzled looks on his audiences faces, he waved his hand through the air. “Famous play back where I’m from. Anyway, they found a nice, short scene, perfect for three players, which fit in the time constraints that we were told. Thing was, we were two girls and one guy, while the scene called for two guys and one girl. So,” he shrugged his shoulders, “we switched genders for the play. Aaaand it just so happened that in the props bin, there was a dress that fit me.” Shrugging his shoulders, he quickly added “Also, I’m part Scottish; wearing kilts is part of my heritage.” Yeah, that’ll distract them.
Apparently not, as Alastair dully noted, looking around the room. Fluttershy had lost control, excusing herself to the confines of the kitchen. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were holding each other up, as they were laughing so hard, and Pinkie pie was dancing around the room, singing “Alastair likes dresses, Alastair likes dresses…” Twilight still seemed to be in shock from his announcement, and Rarity had a gleam of mirth in her eyes, but was managing to refrain from adding to the human’s embarrassment any more.
“Oh, right, Al-eroony!” Alastair looked over in the party girls’ direction, only to see his out-held Blackberry. *Click!* “Perfect!”
“Right!” He shouted, snatching his phone back, “Who’s turn is it?”
Twilight stared at Alastair in shock for several more seconds, before replying with a shake of her head. “Yours, I think.”
“Nope! I just had a turn! Enough about me, Rarity’s go!” Alastair punctuated his statement with the click of his cider bottle opening.
“Well then… Alastair, darling, Truth or Dare?”
Alastair head fell forward, eyes shut. I really should have seen that coming… “I think I’ve had enough embarrassment for the evening, so Truth.”
“Alright then, darling… who’s the most beautiful person in the room?” Aside from a few gasps for breath from the recovering Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the room went silent, waiting for Alastair answer.
He wasn’t quick in giving it, however; There’s the straight out answer to the question she’s asking, Alastair pondered, which is obvious; however, there’s the one she probably means… Answering the question she asked isn’t technically lying, he thought, eyes quickly glancing to Applejack. Mind settled, he grinned. “Well, assuming you mean besides me, in this gorgeous dress, then I’d have to say you, Rarity!”
Rarity at least had the grace to look abashed at the answer, summoning a blush. “Oh, you sweet person, you’re just saying that!”
“Not at all!” Alastair smiled his ‘winning smile’, before eying the farmer and the flyer, who were still recovering from their mirth. “Alright, my turn. Since we seem to be doing doubles… You two! Truth or Dare!”
The two girls immediately stopped their left over laughs, eying each other with concern. Seeing their indecision, Alastair decided to take matters into his own hands. Sidling over to Rainbow Dash, he whispered in her ear. “Afraid to take an unknown challenge?”
Her entire stance immediately hardened, a competitive look entering her eyes. “Not at all! Dare.”
Grinning, Alastair turned to the farmer pony. “Going to let her show you up?” He asked, in a quiet tone for her ears only. 
With a snort, Applejack shook her head. “Over mah dead body! Dare!”
Alastair felt an evil grin cross his face, as his eyes darted between the two girls. Ye gods, am I good at reading people or what?
He tried to keep his face as blank as possible as he sauntered back to his seat. “Well, seeing how amusing my discomfort was to you two,” he attempted to keep his voice flat as well, but a slight smile crept in. “I dare you two to make out. Ten seconds.”
Spinning round to get back in his seat, Alastair found himself to be the centre of attention of two very shocked girls. “Something wrong?” He asked nonchalantly, curiosity piqued as Applejack glared at the other girls in the room.”
“A’right, now which one of you fillies told him?”
“Told me what now?” Alastair tried to ignore the train of thought that his subconscious had immediately leapt to. Don’t think it, don’t think it, they couldn’t be… I SAID DON’T THINK IT!
Applejack eyed Alastair, the sighed. “Well, seein’ how y’all were forthcoming and all… a while back, word ‘round town was that Rainbow here and I were… ya know, an item. Together like an’ all.”
“Not that there’s anything wrong with Applejack and all, or chicks liking chicks, just… I prefer guys, myself.”
“Same here.”
Alastair struggled to keep his face neutrally interested at this. Neither of them outright denied it… SHUT UP! Stop thinking like that! …but the possibilities WHAT DID I JUST SAY!
“Well, honestly, darling, it was a natural assumption, what with you two being as thick as thieves half of the time, and the during the other half you were bickering like an old married couple!”
“Got awkward when Lyra invited us out on a double-date with Bonbon…” Rainbow muttered.
“So… this sort of thing happen here a lot, then?” Alastair asked, bemused.
“Well, it’s hard to avoid certain… ‘attractions’ when three quarters of the town are women.” Rarity pointed out. Alastair, however, wasn’t privy to this, and was thus shocked by the news.
“I… I see. Must be… difficult, to say the least, for any straight women to find a husband, then.” Feeling awkward at the sudden turn in conversation, he tried to drown his further embarrassment in his cider.
“Oh, not at all! Some guys end up having three or four wives!”
Alastair sputtered, slamming the bottle down on a side table, while clutching at his nose with the other hand. Face screwed up in a grimace, he let out a pained gasp, chanting “Aaah, my nose my nose my nose…”
“Oh man, your face!” Rainbow laughed even louder at the humans’ glare. “Just pulling your leg! Man, you’re easy to trick, aren’t you? Nah, we tend to go hunting out-of-town. Ponyville’s situation’s pretty unique.”
Still clutching at his nose, Alastair let out a flat chuckle. “Yeah, I can take a joke. Can think of some pretty good ones occasionally to. Speaking of which, fifteen.” He grinned, seeing the cyan Pegasai’s baffled look. “Want to make it twenty seconds?”
She groaned, a faint blush spreading on her cheeks. “Aw, man, thought you’d forgotten ‘bout that.” She shot a worried glance towards Applejack.
“Not likely. Shall we make it twenty?”
Seeing her friends’ hesitation, Applejack rolled her eyes. “For the love of Celestia, it’s just a dare!” That being said, she grabbed the back of her friends neck, bringing the startled Pegasus into a kiss.
Not expecting quite such an enthusiastic response from Applejack of all people, Alastair found himself staring, open mouthed. Idly, he wondered why his jaw hadn’t hit the floor. “Um… Al?” He was shaken out of his state of shock, and glanced over to Twilight. “Timing them?”
“Not at all!” Even the combined glare that the two girls in question shot at him didn’t wipe the smile off his face. “Let’s say… eight seconds so far? Sound reasonable?”
Any response he might have gotten was interrupted by the front door slamming open. “Hey Twilight! I got-Whoa, sorry!” The two sprang apart, Rainbow Dash going so far as to fly on top of a bookcase.
“Oh, come on!” An extremely disappointed Alastair glared at the, in his view, unwelcome arrival.
Although they’d briefly met when he’d first arrived at the library, this was the first time Alastair got an actually good look at Spike, as Twilight’s assistant had been running out the door as Alastair arrived.
Obviously several years younger than the rest of the girls, Alastair had learned that the young dragon (he’d been shocked to learn that dragons did, in fact, exist here) was accepted as a part of their group, having helped them out through several tight spots before.
Alastair had initially been shocked to learn that this boy was a dragon; at a quick glance, he didn’t really notice too many major differences, but now that he was standing still, and close, he could pick out quite a few.
While the girls in the room were covered in fine hairs (Fur, he mentally corrected himself), Spike’s purple-and-green colourations came from a multitude of small, overlapping scales. He, too, like the girls, had a tail, but it was definitely reptilian. It was his (what Alastair called for a lack of a better word) hair and ears that baffled the human most, though. His hair (or… spikes?) was a dark shade of green, styled in a Mohawk, although separated into shapes that almost resembled shark fins. And his ears… well, they weren’t so much ears, as flaps, of a lighter green than his hair, which were behind tiny ear holes.
“Always wondered about you two…” Spike muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his black jacket. “Anyway, Twilight, I just got a reply from the Princess! I brought it here as fast as I could… hey, who’s the new… guy?!” Spike, finally noticing Alastair, looked at Alastair as though he’d suddenly grown two heads. Or been a human; he’d received many similar glances throughout the day.
Alastair wondered briefly why Spike was surprised that he was a guy, then remembered the dress. “Oh sweet son of a gun…” he muttered, jumping up from his seat. “Ignore me!” He shouted over his shoulder as he rushed into the kitchen. “And shut up!” This last was to the laughter that followed his hasty departure.
Chuckling both at the humans antics, and the expression on her assistants’ face, Twilight smiled. “A reply from the Princess? So soon?”
Spike shook his head, still slightly dazed. “Yeah, got it right here…” he pulled out a scroll from his pocket, the seal still intact. It was briefly surrounded by a light purple glow as it floated over to Twilight.
Breaking the royal seal, Twilight quickly unrolled the scroll, skimming over its contents. As she reached the end, her face broke out into a smile. “We’ve all been invited to a ball!” She exclaimed, loud enough so her voice carried to the kitchen. “And Al, it’s being held in your honour!”
“A what in who how’s what now?” He asked, poking his head back through the doorway.
Twilight nodded, re-reading the letter. “She says that she had been planning it for a while, and that the arrival of “Such an esteemed and unique visitor” convinced her that now was the right time.” She grinned as she looked up at the baffled man. “Seems you’ve made quite an impression already!”
“A… ball?” Alastair stammered. Always wanted to go to one… doubt it’s much like the Venetian Masquerade balls that I’d been imagined, but one specifically for me? “I… I would be honoured…” He chuckled lightly as he stepped back into the main room, putting on a dramatic air. “But I have absolutely nothing to wear! Wagh!” He’d been in the middle of a swoon, when he suddenly found himself lying back on a chaise lounge which had seemingly appeared out of no-where. Indignantly glaring around, his eyes settled on an abashed looking Rarity.
“It seemed appropriate?”
“Those two were just made for each other…” Applejack muttered, before being pelted by pillows from two different directions.

*	*	*

Shortly after the Great Pillow Battle, version 2.0, the evening quickly wrapped up. Spike had left to join his two friends, and, after much arguing on Alastair’s part, the sleeping arrangements were settled. Twilight, of course, had her own bed, while Rarity and Fluttershy shared the spare bed in her room. The had to hunt down Pinkie Pie, but eventually left her, finding her to be comfortably asleep… on top of the fridge, of all places. Alastair (having changed back out of the dress), despite having finally convinced the girls that he did not need the entire guest bed to himself, begrudgingly agreed to take the couch (“Why should I be the one who gets all the comfort, when I’m the intruder here?), while Applejack settled into her sleeping bag on the floor nearby. Rainbow Dash, being a Pegasus, managed to form a cloud indoors (Hoooooow? Alastair kept wondering, staring at the impossibility), settling down into its fluffy embrace.

*	*	*

Alastair awoke with a light snort in the middle of the night. Crazy dream… He idly cracked his neck, trying to remember it. Girls… ponies? And… unicorns and Pegasai? Seemed so real… quite a party! What were there names... Pinkie Pie, R-Rarity? Fluttershy... Twilight, Rainbow Dash... Corn Pop? No... "Applejack." Snuggling deeper into his pillow, he paused; something seemed off. Pillow? No, that was right; it was the fluffy one he’d bought several years ago, when his mum had dragged him out duvet shopping for his sister as she moved out to university. On the floor? Well, he’d fallen out of bed plenty of times before, but not recently… The floor, that was it! Hardwood! His bedroom was carpeted!
He wondered briefly where he could be… Downstairs? Maybe… he’d slept down there before, when he’d been up late playing video games. He surreptitiously felt around with his foot. Yes, there’s the couch… why isn’t it unfolded? No matter what scenarios he could think of, nothing made sense. Ok, fully dressed, sleeping downstairs… did I come home drunk? He definitely felt a fuzziness to his teeth that suggested he’d drunk at least some alcohol. But if so, why’d I go upstairs to get my pillow, then come back down? …what did I even do yesterday? It remained a blur to him, however. Tossing his thoughts aside, he once more squirmed on the pillow, trying to get comfortable. Floor's not so bad… but something was still off… he’d settled the mystery of where he was, if not why, and why he was drunk… Pillow… his mind kept coming back to that. What’s wrong with it? Comfy, fuzzy, breathing… waaaaiiit a second, breathing? He cautiously opened one eye, slowly adjusting to the darkness of the room… and then his breath caught in his throat.
Okay… that wasn’t a dream? THAT’S NOT THE IMPORTANT PART YOU FOOL! He was still in Twilight’s library, and, sure enough, had fallen off the couch. And was sleeping on top of Applejack.
SHIT! Shitshitshitshit…He held his breath, listening. Several seconds later, he let out a sigh of relief. She was softly snoring. So… adorable! Was his first thought, quickly followed by And still asleep, gooood, good good good… didn’t notice me, just slowly get baaack up and onto the couch… softly now and liiiiift… Cautiously pushing himself up, he paused again as his head left her stomach. Good, still asleep, how is her snore so adorable?! Pushing the thought aside, he carefully settled himself back onto the couch, hoping it wouldn’t creak and give him away.
He heaved a sigh of relief once back in the prone position; there were no sounds, no changes in the room around him. Good! Nothing happened, let us never speak of this again! Several minutes later, he slowly felt sleep creep back over him.
What Alastair didn’t notice, or rather, did notice but not pay attention to, was the sudden silence. The soft snores that he’d found so adorable had ceased, and, in the darkness, one green eye opened, looking at the dark silhouette on the couch.