The moment I opened the barn door, Pinkie Pie and all the others leapt out of their hiding spots. I had a few seconds to look around and see what the crazy party obsessed Pinkie Pie had done. Naturally, the entire of the barn was filled with balloons and streamers. Sitting off to the side, still smoking, was Pinkie’s patented Party Cannon. Obviously, she had used this device, which I am still yet to fully understand, to decorate the barn so quickly.
Dozens of tables had been set up with all kinds of party foods and drinks. From my position, I could see crisps (chips to American readers), sandwiches, and bowls of punch, amongst others. The sheer amount that was here was incredible. In the background, I could hear music playing from a gramophone, neither too loud and obnoxious, nor too quiet and subtle. Nor was it some god awful Whale song, which I had once had to endure for four long hours at a party for a friend of my family.
Then there were the guests. In addition to the Mane Six, Pinkie seemed to have invited pretty much all of Ponyville here to this shindig. I could make out loads of background ponies and minor characters from the show. Lyra was sitting with Bon Bon, who was undoubtedly keeping her on a short leash. I could see all three of the Crusaders looking at the four of us in awe, no doubt scheming. On the one hand, they were cute and adorable, on the other; they had a tendency to get covered in tree sap and did inadvertently release Discord. Mayor Mare had also clearly decided to attend; she and her aid were standing with Twilight, probably here on business. Time Turner was here as well, with Derpy, whose eyes seemed to be focussed on both me and some of the framework in the barn’s roof. I could go on, but all this happened in about five seconds so I won’t bore you.
So, in the spirit of attending a surprise party, we all looked surprised. My parents didn’t have to make much effort; they had yet to come to terms with the expression ‘Pinkie being Pinkie’. I hoped soon they would stop questioning her antics, that road only lead to headaches. As the cheering died down, Pinkie bounced up to us, allowing her to briefly look even my father in the eye.
“Were you surprised? Were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?” she said, as she bounced from me, to Lizzie to both my parents. Since I was probably the only one with coherent thought at this point, I spoke up.
“Yes, Pinkie! We were surprised, though I figured you’d be setting up a party for us soon. It’s what you do for everypony isn’t it.”
“Yeppers, Bladey!” Pinkie replied. “Everypony new in Ponyville gets a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ Party, but since you’re not even from Equestria I decided to throw you a ‘Welcome to the Universe’ Party! I’ve never thrown one of these before, so this proves my theory. If it exists, it will be partied with, no exceptions.” If Pinkie was on Earth, would she be considered mad, or brilliant?
“What on earth is that cannon doing there though?” My father asked, noting the large pink, wheeled contraption in the far corner of the barn. Pinkie glanced toward it.
“Oh that’s my Party Cannon! I use it to decorate everything for a party, or beating up mean changelings. It's even faster than Dashie.” She paused. “Hey, you don’t have any party stuff on. Wait right here.” She quickly zoomed off and retrieved the cannon, along with the Crusaders who greeted us all kindly.
“Load!” Pinkie ordered, becoming serious. The Crusaders stuffed a strange packet down the barrel.
“Run out!” she bellowed. The cannon was moved forward so it would not jump back into anypony. I realised what was about to happen and proceed to cover my ears.
“Ready!” proclaimed the three Crusaders as they moved to take up the firing pin.
“FIRE!” Pinkie bellowed. In an instant, I felt a strange sensation all over and my vision became obscured. The blast also played havoc with my hearing, though back on Earth, I would have probably lost my eardrums. When everything cleared, I found I had a party hat perched on my head, was covered from head to tail in streamers and had a massive smile on my face. The Party Cannon, in short, worked. The same had happened to my family, who were looking at me as if I had gone mad.
“What just happened?” My mother asked. Her voice filled with a mix of confusion and amusement.
“The Party Cannon. And Pinkie Pie. Just go with it, Mum,” I answered.
Pinkie quickly dragged us all into the party and began introducing us to, well, everypony in Ponyville. How Pinkie had the knowledge of some two hundred ponies in her head, including birthdays, musical tastes, favourite foods and dozens of other trivial facts, was beyond me, again I chalked it up to Pinkie being Pinkie, the safest option. Either that or she truly was insane.
As the party continued, we each split up to go and be social. My parents naturally stayed together, but were having the time of their lives. Very quickly they fell into conversation with Roseluck, who ran one of the stands in the market. Their anniversary was coming up and my father wanted to get his wife a beautiful bouquet as he always had done back on Earth. Of course, it took a few minutes for Roseluck and the others to explain to him, that such flowers were considered a delicacy here in Equestria and not romantic gifts. I grinned as my father realised that he had pretty much planned on going to the local deli for an anniversary gift.
Lizzie had gone off to be with the Crusaders. While she was their senior by several years, it was no doubt good for her to spend time with them. Both me and her usually got on well with kids. And since the children in this society were significantly better behaved than their human counterparts, she quickly got into playing games with them. Before long she was having a whale of a time with Pinkie and the Crusaders playing ‘Pin the tail on the Pony’.
As for me, I had quickly gone to say hello to the mayor. We had briefly met during our initial welcome, but this gave us an opportunity to really talk. As a student of Politics, I know that it never hurts to have connections, though I was already on a first name basis with one of Equestria’s rulers, so perhaps it was a little overkill. Pinkie had quickly put on some dance music. I myself could not, cannot and therefore will not dance. However, the opportunity to see Twilight ‘dancing’ was too good to miss. When my Mum saw it, she initially thought that the Element of Magic was having some sort of violent seizure; I had a similar reaction when I first saw her attempts at dancing back in Season Two.
It briefly occurred to me that many would consider these festivities as childish or unsophisticated. On Earth, I would have agreed with them. But here, it was not the case. To be honest, I was having the time of my life as was everypony else. I hadn’t been much of a party animal back on Earth. Particularly after it was made clear to me that a ‘party’ in my age group, consisted of stupidly loud and repetitive music, unhealthy amounts of alcohol and sex, amongst other things. Needless to say, that wasn’t my cup of tea. Laugh and scoff if you must, but I’d much rather attend a genuine Pinkie Pie party any day over that.
A few hours later, as dusk began to fall, the party wound down. Ponies started to head home to prepare for work the next day. It was Tuesday evening after all, tomorrow would mark the end of our first week in Equestria. It seemed so much longer than that when I thought about all that had happened.
Some had a little trouble letting go of the festivities. Berry Punch, at some point had managed to have bit too much of the slightly alcoholic punch. She was now staggering around giggling and her companions were trying to steady her and get her home. Lyra also was unwilling to leave. She had engaged in a slightly more sensible and less crazy conversation with my father during the festivities, I think she learned a fair bit.
Me and Applejack, and Big Mac, still had Applebuck Season to finish. Then before long it would be time for Cider Season, and consequently poor Rainbow desperately seeking a cup of the stuff. After that, there was the Running of the Leaves and Nightmare Night to look forward to. Then would come winter and Hearth’s Warming, a trying time for the weather pegasi according to most accounts. Finally, came the time every brony, no matter how junior they are in our fandom knows about: Winter Wrap Up. That song, when I first heard it, had stuck in my head for nine days before finally petering out. I certainly had a lot to look forward to. Lizzie of course, was helping Fluttershy with the annual bunny census tomorrow. My parents were still house hunting, though they had told me during the party, that they had their eye on a nice little cottage just outside town. Apparently, it was a great deal like our old home back on Earth, just smaller. All in all we had a lot to look forward to.
I bid Pinkie and the others who were still partying a good night. It was getting on for half past ten and I had work with an early start tomorrow. However, I could not really resist going out to a quiet spot just outside Ponyville, to gaze at the heavens. The moon was full tonight; it seemed to change size almost randomly. Perhaps the waxing and waning of the moon were somehow connected to Luna herself. So, I headed out into the orchards and quickly found a nice elevated spot.
The entirety of the hill was covered in the pleasant light of the moon; the grass took on a beautiful quality. I thought back to something I had read once in ‘Watership Down’ about the moonlight. It spoke of how we think of everything, including Ponyville, in daylight. It is a natural state of affairs for everything we know to be remembered in daytime. Moonlight though, is different. It gives everything new, amazing and rare quality, changing a simple field of grass into a wondrous flowing sea and a small pond into a beautiful mirror. Even as I closed my eyes, I could feel the softness of the moonlight.
Despite the brightness of the moon, there were many stars out. Luna had created some constellations and had a fixed North Star in the sky. But try as I might, I could not find Ursa Minor or Major, though I could find Orion. Why would ponies identify a constellation as a man? We were the first humans here. I filed this away in ‘things to ask Twilight’. I didn’t want to think, I just wanted to enjoy the night, as its creator intended.
I could feel the magic in the air, possibly an extension of Luna’s own aura. It was easy to find, but like everything else about the night princess, was more subtle than that of her sister’s, though no less powerful. The best description I could find for this form of magic was the feeling I previously described, the feeling of the moonlight.
My thinking and reflection was interrupted as I heard a distant bell chime eleven. I had to be up, about, and working in around six and a half hours. I set off at a brisk trot back towards home, back toward Sweet Apple Acres’ farmhouse. Before I left though, I looked up to the moon one last time.
“Good night, Luna,” I said, briefly bowing to the satellite. As I trotted off, I could have sworn I heard a gentle voice reply to me.
“Good night, Blade Star.”
About ten minutes later, I was back at the farmhouse. Applejack had left a key for me under the mat. I quietly let myself in, locked the door behind and crept up to bed. I didn’t want to wake any of my companions from their slumber unnecessarily. I found my way to my room and slipped into bed. Tiredness quickly overcame me, and I was out like a light. I had one last busy day tomorrow.