Twilight tried not to think about how heavy the cannon was as she tugged it behind her. Instead, she thought on what she knew about the colt having the birthday party and his family. Pinkie Pie usually knew everything about everypony. Twilight... did not. She had to admit that she was far more outgoing now than she had been before she'd moved to Ponyville, but her knowledge of each and every resident wasn't as... encyclopedic as Pinkie's was. Still, she was far from being the shut-in pony she'd been before.
Pipsqueak and his father Iron Smith lived in a small neighborhood of cottages past the library. They had moved from Trottingham almost a year earlier. Iron was a farrier by trade, and Ponyville had been happy to see him move in after the retirement of the previous pony to hold the job.
While not all ponies in Equestria needed shoes, they were a vital component for many occupations. In Canterlot, the guard wore shoes to help prevent the paved streets from wearing down their hooves. In Ponyville, hardworking earth ponies, especially those who hauled heavy equipment, often wore shoes to prevent wear and for greater traction. Twilight knew that the weather teams seasonally wore shoes of ceramic or thick plastics to help buck the lightning prone thunderhead clouds. Applejack and her family changed their shoes during applebucking season to plastic that wouldn't damage the trees when kicked, but would still transmit the force of the buck.
Mr. Smith also fitted hoofboots for those who didn't need to wear shoes frequently or didn't wish to have them nailed or glued onto their feet. Twilight had decided her winter boots were a little long in the tooth and had been very pleased with the replacements made by the capable and friendly pony. Twilight knew the stallion was a widower, but beyond that, she really didn't know much about him personally.
Pip she'd come to know a bit more personally since he'd come to the library looking for books on sailing, piracy, sea ships, airships, famous explorers and coastal pirates. Twilight knew he had even attempted to help the Cutie Mark Crusaders earn their map making badges. The little colt had also been the first foal to truly welcome Princess Luna to Equestria. He was a good kid with a great deal of imagination. He reminded Twilight a little of her older brother and Twilight wondered if his sense of adventure would draw him into the Royal Guard.
Twilight glanced at the sun and realized she was going to be late soon if she didn't get her flank to Pip's to prepare for the party. Thinking about something other than the cannon had seemed to help her move it thus far. Perhaps Pinkie's inherent earth pony magic would help her navigate the party, too. She would just have to roll with it and let it happen.
Trotting up to the Smith's home with Pinkie's cannon in tow, Twilight could see that a number of things were already in place. Food was being set on the table by Pip's father, Iron Smith.
"Hello Pinkie!" he called, waving a hoof as she entered the backyard. Iron was a piebald pinto with patches of black on white. He was only a few hands[1] shorter than Big Mac but built on leaner lines. His black and silver mane was a bit messy and it looked like he'd been rushing about the yard helping to get things settled before Pinkie and the guests arrived.
"Hi there!" Twilight said in a cheerful tone, surveying what had been done and evaluating it against the mental checklist she'd been making. She dragged the cannon to a spot that looked like it would get good coverage of the yard. A small white and brown missile launched itself at her and collided with her legs.
"Pinkie!"
"Oof! Hi there Pip! Are you ready to have a party?"
"I sure am!" he said. "Did you bring the decorations? And the hats? You said it could be pirate themed!"
"Come on, Pip," Iron said, pulling his wayward son off Twilight with a gentle hoof. "Let Pinkie have some space." He ruffled Pip's short mane. "Sorry about that, Pinkie. He's just really excited to have his first birthday party here in Ponyville."
"A party is totally, absoposolutely the bestest reason to be excited," Twilight said giving the colt a wink.
"Do you need help? Did you leave a supply cart out front or-?" Iron let the question trail off. He looked around behind Pinkie, clearly expecting some large trailer.
"Nope!" Twilight answered cheerfully. "You two just stand back. I've got this!"
"If you say so," Iron said, taking a step back.
Twilight bounced behind the cannon because bouncing seemed to be what her body wanted to do. She checked the sights, then motioned for Iron and Pip to take a few more steps back. Then another. She lined the cannon up, grasped the trigger and pulled.
Nothing happened.
"Huh," she mused. She tugged on the pull string again. It seemed to be stuck.
"Er, is everything okay?"
"Just fine!" Twilight said, tugging the string again. She'd seen Pinkie do this fifty three times before! Why wasn't it working?
"Are you sure?" Iron asked.
"Just a, ah, minor technical difficulty!" Twilight said.
"Okay Twilight... don't panic. Don't. Panic. They haven't seen nearly as many Pinkie Pie parties as you have. Think this through... What does Pinkie do that you haven't done?"
"It's- it's gonna be okay, right?" Pip asked. The colt's ears flicked back and he trotted nervously in place, packing up on the emotions of the two adults.
"Just fine!" Twilight said. If she didn't figure this out, she'd be so busted.
"Horseapples! I don't want to call Pinkie to come help! I don't want to ruin Pip's day!" Twilight thought. Okay, Twilight, let's look at this objectively." It was a cannon. A very modified one. It was already loaded. The pull for the release seemed to snag and wouldn't budge. Why was that?
"Pinkie?"
Twilight frantically looked at the cannon release. The release wouldn't budge at all, which meant logically it had to be a feature not a mistake, so why- A safety! Of course! Twilight found the safety release and triumphantly tugged on the cord. It pulled with only minor resistance and the party cannon exploded with a Bang!
"Yes!" Twilight shouted, punching the air as she jumped.
All around her, confetti in black, silver, blue and white rained down. The trees were now covered in streamers in the same colors. A cluster of weighted blue balloons hovered in the center of the yard and an artfully constructed balloon tall ship rode on the gently bobbing waves of the balloon sea. A bundle of appropriately themed party favors had landed on one of the tables along with a pile of foal sized paper pirate hats, eye-patches, foam hooks and cutlasses. A board with a pin the parrot on the pirate game had been set up, as well as a pirate themed bean bag tossing game. The yard was dressed to party and while there wasn't yet any music playing,Twilight already felt like dancing.
"There," she said, turning to Iron and Pip. "That should do-... it?"
Pip was rolling on the ground, laughing with wild abandon. His father had apparently been caught in the blast from the Party cannon. He was now covered head to hoof in confetti. A spray-painted Jolly Roger design now adorned his flanks, the black blending in with the dark splotches on his coat, and the skull and crossbones design overlaying his usual cutie mark of crossed files and a horseshoe in the space above them. A pirate hat hung off one ear and a stuffed parrot was in his mouth. The stallion's expression was one of wide-eyed surprise.
"Blegh!" Iron spat the stuffed bird out of his mouth and made a face. Some confetti remained stuck to his muzzle and he began scraping it off.
"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Twilight asked, trying not to giggle too hard.
"Ego's bruised but I'll recover," he said, as he took off the hat and regarded it for a moment. He gave Twilight a grin as he set it back on his head. "That'll teach me to stand in front of a cannon!" He struck a pose for his son. "How do I look?"
"Awesome!" Pip said, hopping to his feet. "I want a hat!"
"There are plenty to go around!" Twilight said, relieved she hadn't ruined the party - and that Pinkie had already packed the cannon with the appropriate party supplies.
"Yay!" Pip said. He raced for the pile of goodies as fast as his legs could carry.
"And just in time," Iron said, looking over his shoulder. "Looks like the first guests are here. Mind bringing out the last of the snacks while I go greet them? I left them on the kitchen counter."
"Aye, Aye, Cap'n!" Twilight said, giving the stallion a jaunty salute.
Iron strolled off, laughing, while Twilight went to get the rest of the snacks.
The guests were the foals from Pip's class at school, and the junior league hoofball team he played with. Some of the parents stayed to mingle to one side and keep an eye on the youngsters running around having mock sword fights and pretending the small swing set was a vast tall ship to be boarded.
Twilight did what she'd seen Pinkie do at parties. Have a friendly wave for every new arrival, direct the presents to the proper table (now labeled thematically with a giant red X), give the foal a prop and direct them to the others, and bring food from the house out to the party proper. And always, she had to smile, smile, smile. It was a surprising amount of work. Twilight thought she was doing a fair job and maybe everything was going to be fine, when it suddenly grew dark.
Twilight looked around in surprise as the backyard transformed from a bright afternoon day to the fuzzy twilight of early night. The foals and a few adults nickered in fear and paced in place at the sudden darkness. Twilight looked up. The sun was there, but obscured by a strange dark field of energy. She could feel the tingle of cool magic but without her horn, she couldn't tell what was going on around her. Twilight's ears flicked back and forth uncertainly.
"Pinkie?"
Twilight jumped, startled. Iron had appeared beside her and she hadn't noticed.
"What's going on?" Iron asked.
"I-"
There was a sudden gasp and a cry of "Look!"
Twilight and Iron spun to see what had happened. Ditzy Doo was pointing at a dark, spinning vortex in the center of the yard. The ponies closest to the anomaly were backing away.
The vortex grew in size sucking in all the light around it until it appeared to be a large hole in the air easily able to swallow a pony whole. The hole turned horizontal to the ground then sank to settle just above the grass. A shape made out of fathomless darkness rose from the center. Two points of light appeared in the void. They blinked. Vast wings unfurled as the figure rose into the air and solidified from vague shadow into the form of a pony. As the vortex collapsed in on itself, stars began to appear in the blackness, twinkling in a way Twilight found reassuring. The starfield unwrapped from around the alicorn as her coat shifted from pure black to a dark purple-blue. Silver-shod hooves touched down, soft as moonbeams. One hoof shot into the air and she tossed her head back in a dramatic pose.
"THY PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT... HATH ARRIVED!"
As the echoes of the Royal Canterlot Voice faded away, there was a moment of stunned silence. Twilight caught the unsure blink from the princess as her hoof came to rest on the ground and she looked at the ponies around her.
Then the foals erupted into cheers and mobbed the Princess of the Night, Pip leading the charge.
"Hello, children," Luna said in a more moderated tone of voice. The smile she had for the foals was a mixture of joy and relief. The Princess' wings hovered over the mob in a protective way. Twilight thought she almost looked like a dark swan floating on an excited, multicolored pond. "We- I- I had hoped you would find a grand entrance fun?"
The foals approved loudly, each speaking over one another to tell her how "awesome" or "cool" it had been - or to insist they hadn't been afraid at all. They were speaking so quickly, Twilight couldn't catch more than the gist of it. The light was returning as the magic Luna had used to block the sun faded. The adults were beginning to shake off their own fears, chuckling to break the tension as they bowed to the Princess. Twilight wondered if she should go save Luna from the children, or if the beaming Princess was just fine where she was.
"Wow." Iron stared, mouth agape. "When Pip asked if he could invite Princess Luna to his birthday, I- I didn't imagine she would actually show up." He gave Twilight a shrewd look. "Did you know about this?"
"Surprise?" Twilight knew she was busted.
Iron laughed and nudged her shoulder in a friendly way. "Oh, Pinkie." He trotted off to greet the latest guest.
Okay, maybe not so busted.
The party was swiftly returning to the usual volume as adults began to laugh openly about princess Luna's grand entrance. Twilight looked around and noticed the punch bowl needed to be refilled. She quickly trotted into the kitchen to fix that potential party issue and decided to bring out another tray of cut fruit. Once the food was settled, Twilight looked around for Princess Luna. Pinkie would not leave the lunar diarch waiting.
She turned and was startled by the sudden appearance of Luna from behind her.
"Oh!" Twilight said. She put on her best Pinkie Pie smile and prepared to launch into a bubbly greeting.
"Twilight Sparkle," Luna said as she tilted her head slightly to the side in question, "why art thou in the body of thy friend?"