Bon Bon and Colgate had taken the lead since leaving the hospital, Sam and Josh following behind while Josh looked back every now and again to check for little trouble makers or any pissed off doctors. Confident that no one was after their blood, Josh decided to make conversation.
“So where are we going?”
“We're heading off to Bon Bon's place, that's where everypony will be. Lyra's there right now setting up.” Colgate explained.
“And what exactly is going on at your place then Bon Bon?” Sam asked.
“Well we're gonna meet up at mine, have a chat probably, have some dinner then probably go out to the local club.” She replied with a smile.
“Ok, then why are we coming? Sounds like a bit of a girls night or a mares night in your case.”
“Why not? Besides, did you have anything else planned?” Colgate asked.
“Of course.” Josh replied. “I planned to eventually wander off, get lost and walk around aimlessly until I found something interesting.” Once he finished his sentence, he got strange looks from the three around him. “What? I assumed it'd just happen so I planned it in, it's what happened when I first came into Ponyville and knowing me, I'd do it again.”
“Is he always like this?” Bon Bon asked.
“Not really. He's never been this organised about it.” Sam grinned a little. “I'm a little proud if anything.”
“You two are pretty weird, you know that?”
“Yup.” They replied in sync.
XXX
They eventually arrived at Bon Bon's house. It looked the same as most in the area, a thatch roofed house with two stories. They made their way inside the peaceful abode to find a grey mare with a little filly on her lap.
“Kids are everywhere today... It's like an invasion or something.” Sam muttered under his breath.
The mare was wearing a pair of brown trousers and a white t-shirt while the filly wore shorts and a brown top. She seemed to be grey with a slight purple tint and her mane was blond like the mares, she also seemed to have a horn on her head yet the older mare had wings.
“Hi Ditzy, we brought more guests.” Colgate said. The older mare looked at the two boys and they noticed her eyes seemed to look off in different directions. She lifted up the filly into her arms and walked over to them with a smile on her face.
“Hi there, my name's Ditzy Doo. You must be the hoo-mans that I've heard about.” She said as she outstretched her arm, they shook her hand in turn and nodded.
“Yeah we are, it's actually said as human, not hoo-man.” Josh said.
“Though hoo-man has a nice ring to it. “The hoo-mans are coming.” I like it.” Sam said, eliciting a giggle from the filly in Ditzy's arm. “And who is this little one?” The unicorn quickly hid her face in her mothers chest.
“This is my daughter Dinky, she's a little shy around strangers. Say hello muffin.” She said as she nuzzled the little unicorn. Slowly, but surely, Dinky pulled her head away from her mother and looked at the two.
“H-Hello...” She said.
“Hey there Dinky, that's a lovely name.” Sam said, trying to make her feel comfortable. “How old are you?”
“I'm 45.” She replied.
“Wow, that's pretty young.” 'I think' He thought to himself. He gave a little tussle of Dinky's mane before he heard a familiar voice ring out.
“Hey Bon Bon, you back now?” The voice of Lyra yelled out.
“Yeah I'm back, I brought company with me.” She replied. Lyra entered the room from a door on the other side which looked like it lead to a kitchen, her face lit up when she saw the news guests.
“Hey boys, it's nice to see you again. What brings you here?” Lyra asked. Josh decided to speak before thinking.
“The risk of being pummelled by an angry doctor.”
“What?” Lyra replied.
“I said Bon Bon thought it'd be fun if we came along.” He corrected.
“Oh. Well I'm glad to see you here too.” She said with a smile. “And Colgate, lovely to see you here again. How's your brother doing?”
“He's doing ok, spends a lot of time tinkering with his toys and such as usual though.” Colgate replied with a shrug.
“Fair enough. Ok everypony, the rest of us should be here soon so just chill out till then.”
XXX
Everyone else eventually arrived within the next couple of hours. The seven at the house were joined by four more mares, an earth pony named Berry Punch and her daughter Berry Pinch, a unicorn named Vinyl Scratch and another earth pony called Cheerilee. Josh and Sam could never seem to get over how the ponies thought they had the strange names. Berry Pinch and Dinky were outside playing with each other while Cheerilee had taken to the kitchen to help Lyra make drinks for everyone, the rest of the group were in the living room conversing.
“So then I told him, 'You're wearing half a hollowed out watermelon on your head, you can't say I drink too much'.” Berry Punch finished, gaining a laugh from the rest of the mares. Sam and Josh smiled politely but didn't laugh with them.
'But you was wearing a lampshade as a skirt!!' Josh mentally screamed. After calming down from the laughing, the one called Vinyl Scratch turned to the boys.
“So guys, how are you enjoying Ponyville? Is it anything like where you came from?”
“It's fine, we've not really been anywhere since we got here though.” Sam explained. “There wasn't that much around where we used to live. A few clubs and some takeaways, not a lot of things.” Vinyl's ears perked up.
“Clubs? What were clubs like in your world?” she asked eagerly.
“Loud.” Josh replied. “Loud, full of drunk people and flirty girls that are probably underage but you got no way of knowing so you go to try and chat them up thinking you got a shot but it turns out that even though they are underage and as orange as an oompa loompa, they still say they are out of your league. The land of clubbing, tis a strange place, both fascinating and terrifying at the same time.”
“Good times...” Sam muttered. He then looked up to Vinyl. “So why ask about the clubs?”
“Well I'm a DJ for the club here in Ponyville. HoofStomp, the greatest club around.”
“The only club around.” Lyra added as her and Cheerilee made their way into the living room. They put the drinks down on the table and took their seats.
“Still the greatest.” Vinyl said as she puffed out her chest in pride.
“Beside from the place in Canterlot anyway.” Berry Punch teased.
“You'll get to see it later after we've had something to eat.” Cheerilee said to the two boys, earning a quick grimace from the DJ pony.
“Well... Not really...”
“What do you mean Vinyl?” Berry asked.
“Well, last night, there was a little fight between a couple of drunks that turned into a big fight between a lot of drunks. Tables were broken, a few windows were smashed. Basically, the club has been closed down for repairs for a few days.” The mares all let out a collective 'awwww' in disappointment.
“What about that place in Canterlot you mentioned?” Sam asked Berry.
“Could be a good idea.” She replied.
“Not tonight, we have no chance of getting in.” Vinyl interjected.
“Why not tonight?” Bon Bon asked.
“It's Prince Blueblood's birthday today. He's got the whole place booked, heard you can only get in by list.” She explained.
“Well all you ponies are pretty nice and reasonable, I'm sure he won't mind letting in a few stragglers.” Josh said.
“Oh not Blueblood. He may be a Prince but he's far from charming. Rubbed it in every club's face that he was having his party in Canterlot, I applied to be the DJ for his party. I'm fine that I didn't get it but the bastard insulted me, my music then he... he went and...” She trailed off. It was clear she was gritting her teeth and clenched her drink tightly before she got a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see Josh smiling at her.
“You alright? You don't have to say it.” Vinyl smiled before chuckling slightly.
“It's fine.” She says patting Josh's hand. He smiled and pulled it back to hold his drink. “You see, Octavia, my roommate, is a chellist. She works in Canterlot often and it's pretty clear to everyone we're good friends. He hired her for his party but when I blew up at him for his insults, he not only kicked me out but fired her from her job too.” She let out a sigh. “Now she's got to go babysit the cutie mark crusaders with Big Mac tonight.”
“That sounds dreadful... The firing bit not the babysitting bit I mean.” Cheerilee stated while scratching the back of her head.
“That isn't the worst part.” Vinyl started again. “Octy left her cello at the club and when we went to get it back, Blueblood wouldn't let us back in. He told us we'd be lucky if he didn't use it for kindling.” She ended with a growl.
“So he's a royal douche huh?” Sam replied.
“A royal what?” Colgate asked.
“Douche, don't really know what it is but it ain't nice.”
“I just wish I could get hold of her cello, it's bad enough that I lost her that job but that cello was important...” She said with a depressed look.
“Then why don't we?” Sam asked.
“What?”
“What? You don't have party crashing here?”
“We can't just go to a royal party uninvited.” Bon Bon replied.
“Well why not? You girls know where it is right?” They nodded. “You'd join, right Josh?”
“Hell yeah, any chance to be like a spy or something. Plus this git sounds like he deserves to be knocked down a few pegs.”
“I can't believe I'm hearing this.” Cheerilee said.
“It sounds like a good idea to me but I can't go in, I'd be recognised in an instant.” Vinyl said.
“Then just take us there and we'll deal with the rest.” Sam replied.
“You'd actually sneak into his party? Surely you're not serious?!” Ditzy said astounded.
“I'm dead serious.” Sam answered.
“And don't call him Shirley.” Josh added, earning him a smack upside the back of his head for the overused joke.
“Don't you know what can happen if you get caught?” Colgate asked. They shook their heads in response. “Getting kicked out would be the least of your worries, he could sue you, get you arrested and no one could say otherwise.” Josh and Sam just shrugged.
“Then we better not mess up eh?” Josh said with a wide grin. The girls just stared at them wide eyed and jaws dropped.
“Alright, I'll come with you.” Vinyl said.
“Vinyl! Surely not?” Cheerilee said.
“Well I messed up for Octy and these guys are trying to help out. I can't just say no, it wouldn't sit right with me.”
“I'm sorry but I can't, I wish I could help but I don't want to get in trouble and leave Dinky.” Ditzy explained..
“I can't go, I'll lose credibility as a teacher if I get caught.” Cheerilee added.
“I'll go. That Blueblood needed a good kick in the flank anyway.” Colgate decided.
“I got to see how this goes. Count me in for sure!” Lyra announced.
“Damn it guys. I wanna come with you but I can't leave little Berry if something goes wrong.” Berry Punch said with a pout.
“I'll go too, I can't leave you guys to do something so stupid like this alone. I'd lose sleep over it and we need at least one responsible adult.” Bon Bon added.
“Then it's settled.” Sam said with a grin. “We wait till after something to eat then we set off.”
“Good idea, can't pull off something like this with an empty stomach.” Josh agreed.
“You two... How can you think this is a good idea?” Bon Bon asked.
“You wanna know our secret?” Josh asked. Bon Bon nodded and Josh motioned closer, causing all the mares to lean in. “I'm intelligent so I lack common sense and Sam has common sense so he isn't amazingly smart.” Sam nodded. “In other words. Together, we are very, very... stupid.”
XXX
Josh and Sam had eaten the dinner that was kindly made for them then left Bon Bon and Lyra's home. The mares made their way to the station while the two boys returned home to prepare for their escapade. The two boys were looking through their rooms for anything they could use to help them get into the royal party.
“We're actually going to be sneaking into a party. Oh I feel like Sam Fisher.” Josh said with a dreamy grin on his face.
“Yeah but we can't botch this up. It's game time mate, shit gets real now. We need a way in and then we need to get to the store room, Vinyl told me that's where Octavia left her cello so it's our best bet to assume it's in there still.” Sam replied. Josh's grin turned into a determined frown.
“Right. We haven't got anyway of climbing a building so if there is a way on the roof, that's out. Vinyl didn't say anything about a way underground so that's no option either.”
“The place will be packed, we can't get in through a reachable window, we'll be seen in a second.”
“Hang on.” Josh thought out loud. “If this is really as posh a party as Vinyl said, there's probably a chance we can get in through a back way. For waiters and the like.” Josh said with a smile. Sam just shook his head in response.
“Look at us, he interviewed his staff before he hired them. He'll know for a fact we aren't a member of his staff.” Sam said with a sigh.
“I got it!” Josh cried.
“Sure you do.” Sam said half heartedly with a roll of his eyes. Josh flew into his friends room at a speed Rainbow Dash would be proud of and threw something at the human. Sam felt something smack him in the back of the head and recoiled in pain.
“Ow! The hell was that for you prick?”
“Because I heard what you said a-hole. Plus, look at what I threw at you.” Sam turned round and grabbed hold of the object. It was a DVD case with four humanoid machines on the front. Sam raised an eye at the case then to Josh.
“This is your idea? We invite him to watch a DVD?”
“No you fucking fool. Do you remember how they had to sneak into the big guy's party?” Josh asked. Sam looked up at nothing in particular as he recalled the scene with a smile.
“Ah, I loved that bit. Then again, who didn't?... Wait a bloody minute, are you saying we should-”
“Yup.”
“That's crazy!” Sam exclaimed. Josh just nodded.
“So crazy it just might work. Look, let's be honest. We'll stick out like a sore thumb no matter what we do, we need to walk through the party and we are a different species but if we pull this off right, we can use that to our advantage.” Sam tried to retort but came up short of an excuse.
“This whole idea is strange in and of itself, I guess it deserves a strange way of getting in. How do we slip away from the party though? We gotta find that store room.” He said. Josh sighed and sat next to him.
“I know but I haven't got a clue at the moment. As for getting in, I say we use the costumes for mum's last birthday party. You still have yours right?” Sam nodded. “Ok, you want the blue role or the red role?”
“Blue, you always was good at acting the fool.”
“Pfft, I never act.”
XXX
“Where are those two?” Vinyl said as she tapped her hoof against the wooden floor of the station platform. “I hope they haven't chickened out after they raised my hopes.”
“I'm sure they'll be here. They said they'd help out and I think they honestly meant it so just be patient.” Lyra said to calm down the DJ.
“Though I can't see how they are going to pull this off, they will stick out far too easily and Blueblood will kick them out.” Bon Bon said.
“Then we better hope they know what the Tartarus they are doing.” Colgate sighed.
“I'm sure they thought of something. All they have to do is get in, find the cello and get out. Easy.” Lyra said.
“No, not easy.” Bon Bon countered. “They are a different species and a cello is the size of a pony. What could they possibly come up with?”
“The most ingenious plan yet.” Sam announced as they approached the group of mares, both of them carrying a suitcase each. “We know what we're doing...ish.”
“What took you so long?” Vinyl asked. More like demanded.
“A good plan needs good preparation. Now, we need one more thing to make our plan to get inside work. Are the nobles all ponies or different species?” Josh asked.
“All ponies.” Colgate replied. “He wouldn't dare invite anypony that wouldn't suck up to him.” The two boys nodded and Josh sighed.
“Right then, I'll just need to change my lines a little and we'll be set.” Josh pulled out a pad of paper with a pen clipped onto it and started writing down something.
“What's that?” Colgate asked.
“Just notes.” Josh replied.
“No, I meant that odd looking quill.”
“A pen. I'll explain our stuff another time, don't worry.” Josh finished. The train pulled up to the station and the whistle was blown.
“Come on, this is the train we need.” Vinyl said. The boys nodded, Josh putting his pen and pad away before getting himself and his case into the train, Sam following behind with his luggage.
“So have you guys got a plan for once you're inside?” Lyra asked.
“Yeah,
improvise.” Josh replied.
“That's not a plan!” Bon Bon countered.
“It is if it works.” Sam said.