Now, instead of walking along down the road like I was hoping, it ends up the town wants to throw a party for us. I had stopped going to parties when I was about ten when Maiden said I was too old for birthday parties. For me at least. The only other foal's party I would be invited to was Lightweight's since he was about two years younger than me and still taller as you would have guessed. But we're here and they're offering to do something nice for us, might as well take the advantage of the situation. And by that, I mean sit on the front porch of the salt bar and do my best to avoid Braeburn.
I had a cigar in my mouth as I always did and looked out at the shadowy town streets with the exception of Pinkie Pie trying to get Neon to dance in the dark but Neon wouldn't get out of his gas form which made him invisible. Occasionally, she would invite me to dance with them but I would refuse. I would look inside the bar where the party was. One time I looked, Applejack was talking to her family and their expressions were grave and Applejack's shocked. Someone burst out the doors, hollering my name."Volt? Volt? Volt! Is it really you?!"
Oh No! It was Braeburn! He found me! He found me and now he's gonna make me rip my head off. "Hi..." I said awkwardly as the bane of my existence walked up to me with a slap-happy grin on his yellow face.
"Why, I can't believe it's you! I remember when you first walked in to AaaaaAAAApaloosa!" Yes, how could I forget, his trademark on the way he would say Appaloosa. Braeburn went on to talk about something but I wasn't listening. I was looking around for Astheno. She was the one who took us here. She was perched on Fluttershy's shoulder as Twilight tried fruitlessly to get her to talk to someone. I looked back at Braeburn as he finished with whatever he was saying. He smiled lightly and he shook his head. "I'm sorry."
I raised my eyebrow. "Sorry? For what?"
"I'm makin' you wanna kill yourself, aren't I?"
"What are you talking about?"
He shook his head again. "I've realized that I can... well, annoy ponies and I've been doin' my best to just calm down a bit. So I guess I wasn't tryin' too hard, huh?"
I certainly couldn't argue. I did want to shove this guy's head in a furnace, before he admitted his uncanny ability to be hated by many.
"Uh... well..." I rubbed the back of my neck.
To my salvation, Applejack showed up. "Well, ah see you meet each other." Braeburn became his himself again and smiled.
"Well you bet! I never thought that the next time I'd see Volt again he'd be dating with one of you!"
" What!?" Applejack bellowed. I choked on some of the ashes of my cigar and thinking they would set my lungs on fire and burn me from the inside out.
"Where did you get that?" I said with a scratchy voice.
"Oh, well I just assumed 'cause you'er the only guy and all the encouragin' stuff ya said to Applejack. Is there somethin' else I should know?" Braeburn asked.
"Like what?" Applejack asked. Braeburn was going to say something but he decided to keep his mouth shut which was smart. But now I have a pretty good idea of just what he wanted to know. "Look, Braeburn. Can ah have a few minuets alone with Volt?" Braeburn smiled awkwardly and slowly walked back inside.
"I feel I should thank you." I said. Applejack laughed.
"How are ya?" she asked.
I looked at her. "So that's what you so desperately needed to be alone with me for, huh? I'm fine."
"That's good. Things back home aren't doin' too well." she mused.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Ever since we left, Malice has taken things over. My family had to leave because of all the violence over there. We gotta hurry up." Now, I can't say I, myself feel too bad about that Ponyville place. It didn't have any real sentimental value to me. I just saw it as another town. But maybe I should feel bad for everyone else who lives there but I just don't feel it. I just wanted to see Malice die or at least go away and out of my mind like everyone else in my life.
"I guess we should." was all I could say.
We were silent for a little bit, looking at Pinkie kind of getting Neon to do the Hustle. "Ya know what? I haven't introduced ya to mah family!" Applejack led me into the bar where they played country music and ponies danced and drank the night away. Applejack led me to an old mare. "Granny, this is Volt."
Granny turned her head and looked at me with that old wrinkly face. A smile smile grew on her dry lips. "Well, you must be the young stallion Applejack has told me so much about. You'er the one who saved her from the bear aren't ya?"
I forced and awkward looking smile "Well, ya know, I had to do something."
"Why, ya don't even have a scratch on ya! Ya look fit as a fiddle!"
I shrugged. "It's kind of a crazy story, really." The grandma went on to talk about the old times when she was married. I can't blame her, glory days pass you by in the wink of a young mare's eye. Every old pony seems to be infamous about boring stories of their glory days.
When she was finished recapturing the good times, Applejack took me outside, around the back where this big tough stallion was playing tag with a little filly. "Volt, that's Big Mac and Apple Bloom." she pointed to them. They paused their game to greet me. In case you haven't noticed, they were outside because, well, duh! Anyone under 18 can't enter a bar. The other guy was outside to keep company. The whole family was nice, but it only made me wonder more and more of what an actual, functional family was like. But you can't have everything.
"Hay! You don't have your cutie-mark either? Cool! You can join my club! The Cutie-Mark Crusaders! We don't have a colt in it yet!" Apple Bloom said. Now, I'll admit, it was a bit embarrassing since One: I'm 24 turning 25 and I don't have a brand. Two: I'm being asked to join a little filly's club because of it. I just said "maybe" and moved along.
The rest of the night went relatively well. Some ponies wanted me to sing The Ring of Fire because they said I looked just like the singer, Cash. Those were the drunk ones. The owner of a hotel even gave us free rooms for the night. My room was just me, Neon and Astheno, the others were scattered down the hall. Me and Neon spoke to each other for a bit and I had to ask him to take a different form when I got tired. He took his gas form so I told him not to sneak into the mare's rooms. He told me to shut up and I fell asleep, expecting another dream about me and Icarus. But for some reason I just had one of those dreamless nights that make you wonder where the night went off to.
I woke up, stretching out my fore-legs to the point where it burned the muscle but you don't really care because it kind of feels good. I turned to my side and saw someone laying next to me. "Good morning, Volt."
"Gah!" I flew off the bed and smacked onto the floor. I could hear Neon laughing as Fluttershy's face popped up over the top of the bed." Neon, did you do this?" I asked.
"No," Neon said, laughing as hard as possible. "But I think it's funny!" Twilight busted into the room.
"What did Neon do!?" she shouted. Neon shut up faster than a jackrabbit on a date. He almost seemed to know Twilight was on to him.
Fluttershy stood up as well as I. "Sorry, it was me. I scared Volt by accident." Fluttershy said to Twilight. Twilight almost looked disappointed by this.
"Look, Fluttershy. What were you doing in my room? You almost killed me!" I said.
"I'm sorry, Volt. But the girls wouldn't leave me alone about the whole deal we had. You know, to keep you from killing animals?"
I dug my face in my hoof. "That's alright. But come on guys! Couldn't you have just- wait a minuet. Twilight, how did you get in the room? I thought I had the door locked." I walked to an angle where I could look down the little hallway with the door and I saw Twilight standing among pieces of wood that used to belong to a door. "You're paying for that." I told her.