//------------------------------// // Party Planning // Story: Clash of Worlds // by Gunner59524 //------------------------------// Ponyville, Equestria; Sugarcube Corner Pinkie was busying herself doing one of the many things she loved best, baking. The smell of fresh cupcakes permeated the air as she put the icing on them. She turned her head towards the front door when she heard it open. "Hi Twilight!" the bubbling pink mare greeted her friend as she saw her enter. Then Gunnar came in, his fragile state suddenly obvious to her as soon as he walked in. "What's wrong with Gunny?" She asked curiously. "He's... kinda sad right now..." Twilight looked at Gunnar with a sad look on her face before coming over to Pinkie and whispering, "I was hoping you could help me cheer him up, offer friendship like I did. He needs real friends right now." "Well why didn't you say so! I know what will turn that frownie upsidedownie!" Pinkie bounced happily as she exclaimed that. "What's that?" Twilight asked, suspecting the answer. "A NEW FRIENDS CELEBRATION PARTY!!!" Pinkie exclaimed. Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes as she said, "Of course." Gunnar perked up a bit, at the enthusiastic mare's suggestion and couldn't help smiling at her bubbly demeanor. Twilight sure knew how to pick good friends it seemed. "So whadya think Gunny, huh huh huh?" Pinkie asked, almost superhyper now. "I supposed it couldn't hurt," Gunnar chuckled. "What do you have in mind?" "You let me worry about that. We'll have it right here at Sugarcube Corner," the pink party mare said, "Oh I almost forgot." She went to grab one of the fresh made cupcakes and gave it to the stallion. "A little something to help you smile," the mare said, "and say thank you too." Gunnar smiled and gratefully took the cupcake before saying, "Thank you Pinkie Pie." He couldn't help laughing a bit since she was bouncing almost hyperactively back to the kitchen. "You're welcome Gunny," she said as she got back to baking. "I'll let you two know when the party is ready," she said as she gave a cupcake to Twilight. "Thanks Pinkie," Twilight giggled. Gunnar suddenly felt a strange emotion at the sound of Twilight's giggling.... but he couldn't place it. "You're welcome," Pinkie said as they started to leave, "See you guys later!" she waved bye to them. "Bye Pinkie. We'll go tell the others about the party too," Twilight promised. "Okay!" The door closed and Twilight and Gunnar were on their way, headed towards Sweet Apple Acres first. "I guess you really wanna go through with this party idea then?" the stallion asked. "Of course," Twilight replied with a smile, "I think it would do you some good to hang out with some real friends. This party is a great opportunity for you and I'd be more than happy to help see it through. You're a new friend and deserve the best we can give as such." "Deserve may not be the right word...." Gunnar said sadly, trailing off for a moment, "But.... thank you. It means alot." He gave her a small and gentle smile. The sadness and regret was still there in his eyes, but something new was forming in them as well, something the stallion hadn't felt for a long time: hope. "You're welcome," she said, returning the smile as they arrived at the Acres. Applejack was already in the fields, hard at work applebuckin' and harvesting the latest crop. "Hi Applejack," Twilight said as they approached the hard working earth mare. Applejack paused to see who was saying hello and looked to see one of her best friends accompanied by their protector from two days ago. This made her smile and take a break to greet them and talk with them. "Hey there Twi, what brings you and Gunnar here?" the orange mare greeted. "We wanted to invite you to a party Pinkie Pie is hosting for Gunnar here," Twilight explained, "He needs friendship right now, and I'd like to give him just that. He's more than earned my trust, that's for sure." "That's mighty kind of you Twilight. Of course I'll come along," AJ said with a bright smile, "Sugarcube Corner then?" "Yup," Twilight said with that giggle of hers again, causing Gunnar to experience that feeling once more. "See you there then. Bye guys," she said as she waved goodbye to Twilight and Gunnar, seeing that they were leaving now. "See you later AJ, and thank you," Twilight said before they were on their way again. It wasn't long before they arrived beneath a house made of clouds. Gunnar stared curiously at the cloud house for a moment. "Rainbow Dash, you up there?" Twilight called up. "Yeah, be right down!" came the response before the rainbow maned mare flew down to meet them, landing right in front of them. "Hi Twilight, hi Gunnar. What's up?" she greeted. Twilight explained to her about the party Pinkie decided to host for Gunnar, explaining that it was time he had some true friends he could turn to when he needed them. "You kidding me? Of course I'll come!" Rainbow exclaimed enthusiastically, "After that awesome display, taking those alien monsters down and protecting us, I want to say thanks, and this is a great way to do it!" "You're awesome Rainbow. So I'll see you at Sugarcube Corner?" Twilight asked. "Yup, I'll finish up and head straight there." "Okay Rainbow. We'll see you then," Twilight said before starting to lead Gunnar away, headed to Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow flew back up to her cloud house to finish her exercises before heading out for the party. "She's not upset that I beat her down at the library like that?" Gunnar asked nervously. "No. It's more likely that you impressed her. She's a competitive and athletic mare. She can take hits but its hard to take her down the way you did," Twilight explained. "Competitive and athletic huh? I can remember a few troops from Headquarters who'd like her alot then," Gunnar joked. Twilight laughed with him as they arrived at the cottage, then knocked on the door. Fluttershy answered, but when she saw Gunnar, she cowered slightly. "Hi there Fluttershy," Twilight greeted, "You okay?" "Y-yes..." the shy pegasus answered timidly. "Fluttershy?" Gunnar spoke up, noticing how she was acting after seeing him, "I understand if you're afraid of me... I wouldn't blame you. I'm a solder... a trained killer... I've done things I could never forgive myself for.... I said it's a necessary evil.... but it doesn't mean I like it. I'm sorry if I frightened you." He looked down at the ground, his expression one of sorrow and regret once again. Fluttershy perked up a bit, hearing his sincerity and seeing his pain. She suddenly felt the urge to hug him and try to help him feel better. She smiled at him and answered, "There's nothing to forgive. You saved Twilight, so I should instead be saying thank you." Gunnar looked at the shy mare in wide eyed surprise, then couldn't help smiling. "Thank you Fluttershy. That means alot," he said. "Pinkie is hosting a party to welcome him as a friend. He needs friendship right now so I think we should give it to him," Twilight explained. "I'll be there," the yellow pegasus replied, "And thanks again Gunnar, for saving us. I'll go get ready. Do I go to Sugarcube Corner then?" "That's what I'm led to believe," Gunnar said with a smile. "Okay then, I'll see you two later then" "Thanks Fluttershy, we'll see you later," Twilight said as she hugged her friend. Then Fluttershy gently closed the door and Twi and Gunnar were on their way again. "Last stop is Carousel Boutique to see Rarity," Twilight explained to the soldier stallion. "Shes the fashion loving unicorn right?" Gunnar asked. "Yeah, you could say she has a 'passion for fashion' actually." They laughed together at the silly little rhyme as they arrived. Twilight knocked on the door and they hear somepony say, "Be down in a minuuuuute," saying the last word in a singsong way. A few moments later, they heard hoofsteps and the door opened to reveal the white unicorn mare Rarity. "Twilight, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Rarity smiled and hugged her friend. Twilight held the hug for a few more moments before letting go as she responded, "Pinkie is hosting a party to welcome Gunnar as our new friend and thank him for saving us when we were investigating the Infinity crash." "Oh how delightful!" Rarity beamed, "I'd love to attend, especially if it's for a stallion as honorable as you Gunnar. I'm sure you've heard this several times by now but thank you for saving Twilight. I owe you more than thanks for that." "heh, it was no problem, really. I was doing my job and protecting a friend after all," he replied sheepishly and modestly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh pish posh, heroics like that deserve high praise. You have my admiration and friendship without a doubt. I'll be sure to make you a nice outfit to match your career as well," she mused. "Oh you don't have to do that, It's quite alright," Gunnar tried to turn her offer down politely. "Nonsense, I won't take no for an answer. I'll have it ready for you in an hour or two before the party, free of charge," Rarity insisted. "Well I....," he began to protest, but he saw that she just wasn't gonna let him go unrewarded for his actions and thought better of it. "Okay. Thank you Rarity. That's very generous of you." "You're very welcome dear, and please to tell me honestly what you think of it once you've tried it on." "Will do, and... thank you... you, Twilight, and the others are very kindhearted and honorable indeed." Twilight and Rarity both smiled at his compliment, causing him to blush a bit and look away nervously. "We should probably get going Rarity, thanks for your time," Twilight hugged the white unicorn once more before turning to leave. "Think nothing of it dear. I'm your friend and I'm here if you need me. What are friends for after all?" Rarity said with a smile, "Take care!" "We will," Gunnar and Twilight said simultaneously as they left, the synchronization causing them to blush and fall into a nervous silence. After a couple minutes as they headed towards the Library, Gunnar cleared his throat to speak, still nervous though. "Uh... T-Twilight, I wanna say thanks again... for all of this. It's been too long since I felt hope like this... It means so much to me," he said without looking up, feeling kinda bad that hes getting all this good treatment because of a defensive kill. Twilight saw this and couldn't help frowning. "Hey, don't feel bad. You saved my life and those of my friends. We owe you everything. Don't feel bad about what you did to protect us. It had to be done, I realize that. I may not like how it had to be done... but I'm very grateful that you took up the courage and initiative to do it. Not many other ponies can say the same for themselves," she explained, trying to console him, "It takes alot of strength and courage to face a danger like that too. You risked your life and even took a hit, trying to protect me. It's the least I could do." He sighed, then smiled and nodded at her words, sincere appreciation obvious in his eyes. She then looked at the mark on the stallion's back where the energy sword had barely cut into his skin beneath his coat. She frowned. "Does it hurt....?" she asked, somewhat knowing the answer. "Unbearably so...." the stallion said as it became obvious that there was suppressed pain in his expression as well. She didn't know why she hadn't seen that in his expression before now. "Did you get it treated?" "Yeah... but there wasn't much pain relief in that treatment..." Twilight thought for a moment before looking at him. "I could try to ease the pain for you. I have some skill in medical magic among other magic types." "I... a-are you sure?" She nodded. He sighed, giving in, the look in her eye just not letting him say no. "Okay... when we get to the Library... you can try..." They moved in silence until they arrived. When Twilight closed the door she turned to see him looking at her, waiting. "You ready?" He nodded. "Okay, hold still." Her horn glowed a violet color as she started trying to alleviate his pain. The mark on his back started glowing the same color and Gunnar cringed some, the pain intensifying for a moment. Then the pain started to lessen till it was bearable, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief. Twilight stopped the spell after a moment and breathed heavily, the use of that magic having taken alot of energy out of her. She received a worried expression from Gunnar, but smiled at him all the same. He smiled back, knowing she would be fine, then did something unexpected. He pulled her into a close hug. "Thank you," he whispered. Twilight smiled and hugged back. "You're welcome Gunnar."