//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Party Time! // Story: Well, this is new... // by CommunistTaco //------------------------------// After a nice long nap in the comfort of the library I was awoken by a tapping on my face. I opened my eyes to see Applejack standing next to the couch I was sleeping on. "Mrphhh... Ugh... Hey," "Looks like y'all are rested so git on up and I'll take ya around to Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack said. "Ugh fine whatever just... five more minutes," I grumbled turning over. All of a sudden someone grabbed be and pulled me off the couch with surprising force. Awake, but also annoyed, I slowly got to my hooves and stretched. "Y'all up?" Applejack asked with a smirk. "Yea, thanks for that," I replied sarcastically glaring back. "Your darn welcome. Now git yer flank movin!" Applejack barked practically shoving me out the door. "I'm coming, jeez," I said following her off into town. It was around sundown about now and the town was deserted. Seriously, not a single pony in sight. I decided to inquire because either we were breaking some weird curfew law or something was amiss. "Uh, Applejack? Where did everyo...pony go?" "Uh, something about a meetin. I decided to skip so I could pick up you." It was so obvious that she was lying that you'd have to be dumb not to tell. I decided not to press the issue to avoid angering my temporary landlord. We walked out of the deserted town towards what I could only assume was 'Sweet Apple Acres'. I couldn't even believe what I was seeing at this point. Apples as far as the eye could see. Applejack must either have a family of 50 others living there or slaves cause there's no way her and her sister could harvest this much. "Wow this place is huge! How many apples do you output per year?" I asked with intrigue. "Well Ah've never really counted but Ah assume at least a couple million," Applejack replied with pride. "Applejack, you have probably the most extensive apple orchard I've ever seen. Wow." "Aww shucks. We just try to provide the best quality apples for all of Equestria. Anyway, why don't we start the tour by showin you the barn." "Sure, why not." I replied. We made our way towards a cliché looking red and white trimmed barn with two large double doors on the front. Seeing that the door was slightly ajar I decided to take the lead and go inside. I was met with pitch blackness. Trying to find some sort of light was proving fruitless until... "SURPRISE!!!!" Light filled the barn as countless ponies simultaneously shouted 'surprise'. As for me, I ended up recoiling in surprise and falling back on my rear. I heard quite a few snickers from the collective ponies and Rainbow Dash was in full blown hysteria. "HAHAHAHAHAHA You shoulda seen the look on your face!" she laughed with tears of amusement coming from her eyes. I scoffed and replied with, "You shoulda seen your face earlier when I said you were gettin it on with government officials." Rainbows face immediately turned to one of pure horror as everypony looked in her direction. "HEY! THAT WAS BETWEEN US!" Rainbow yelled at me while I simply blew her a raspberry. "Well maybe somepony should stop laughing at others' embarrassment," I retorted. Our bickering was stopped by none other then Pinkie Pie. "Hiya Vlady! (I hate being called Vlady) How do ya like it? I set it up just for you like I said I would!" "Um, it's great Pinkie. I really appreciate the gesture. Could you not call me 'Vlady' though, it kinda annoys me." "Oki-Doki-Loki! See ya later Vlady!" Pinkie exclaimed as she ran off to chat with other ponies while I just facehoofed at her inattentiveness. I decided that if this party was for me I might as well enjoy it so I set off to take a look around. Pinkie really went all out with this party. There was a huge buffet table loaded with sugary confections that gave me diabetes just from looking at them, a DJ booth with a white, blue maned unicorn stationed at it playing dubstep and wearing awesome-looking purple shades, and plenty of party games that seemed more for the little ones. It appeared that just about everypony in town was here. The barn was surprisingly bigger on the inside then it looked. Still the crowd of assorted ponies was quite dense and I had to squeeze my way through. I contemplated about what activities I should partake in when I was interrupted by somepony knocking into me. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" the offender exclaimed. I found myself looking up at a grey pegasus with a blondish mane. The thing that stood out the most was her eyes; they were looking off in different directions. "It's fine. No need to worry ma'am. It was probably partly my fault," I said. "Oh, ok then. Hi there! I'm Ditzy Doo but my friends call me Derpy." she said with a warm smile. 'Derpy? Really? That's like calling a paraplegic 'Wheelie' or something. Some friends those must be...' "Well my name is Vlad. Nice to meet you Ditzy," I said not using her offensive nickname. "Nice to meet you too! Ooh! Are those muffins?" she exclaimed before darting off to the snack table leaving me to my own devices. I decided to just get a drink from the buffet table and find a seat somewhere. I came up to what appeared to be the punch bowls. One was labeled 'Adult' much to my satisfaction. As only a twenty-one year old, I haven't been drinking for very long, but from what I've experienced so far it's great in moderation. I pour myself a reasonable sized glass of spiked punch and look around for a place to sit. Trying to navigate through the crowd without spilling is a challenge of its own. It's literally taking all my concentration not to bump into somepony else. I reach the other side of the barn after a few minutes of crowd surfing so to speak. Assorted objects are strewn around in a circle to act as seats. I end up sitting on a hay bale positioned against the barn wall to serve as a bench. Sipping my punch and listening to the music, which was a whole ton better than the dubstep we had back on Earth, I let myself fall into a hypnotic state. My weird hypnosis was interrupted by somepony plopping down beside me. I turned my head to see a mint-green unicorn with a harp for a 'cutie mark' as I'm now told they're called. Whoever came up with that name probably was taking some serious drugs. "Hi there!" the unicorn says to me. "Uh, hi," I reply trying not to be rude. "Your Vlad right? (I nod) Well I'm Lyra nice to meet you!" she says. "Uh, good to meet you too," I reply dismissively. "I couldn't help but notice how your sitting," she states which takes me completely by surprise. "What's wrong with the way I'm sitting?" I inquire. "Oh nothing, it's just most ponies find that uncomfortable. I sit like this cause it's the way humans do!" she explains. Now that she mentions it, sitting like I am is kinda making my back hurt a bit. "So you have an interest in humans? I used to be one until I got universally screwed by a dimensional rift," I said still agitated about the whole 'ripped from my dimension' thing. "You used to be a human??!! No way! You have to tell me all about them!" she exclaimed starting to sound a lot like Twilight but a lot more creepy. "Uh, maybe some other time, I'd rather spend my time enjoying the party." Lyra deflated a bit but then perked back up, "OK that's fine. I'll see you later?" "Uh, sure I guess." That's apparently enough for her as she gets up and disappears back into the party. I soon fixed my sitting position to try to match the other ponies and found it much more comfortable. I continue letting myself be drowned in the beat of the music while the alcohol was giving me a slight buzz. Parents began to take their kids home around this time because it was bedtime for the little ones. Still, many ponies stuck around to continue the party into the night. I decided to leave when drinking contests broke out. After my twenty first birthday, I vowed never to drink more than a glass or two of alcohol at a time. I didn't want some drunken idiot pulling me in to do shots or something. I exited the stuffy barn into the crisp night air. The moon and the stars were fully visible and were absolutely astonishing. Living in urban area for so long, I never really saw much of the night sky. But here, where light pollution was not a problem, the stars were out in their full glory. After a few minutes of stargazing, I saw Applejack exit the barn. I flagged her down so that she could escort me to my temporary living arrangements. She didn't seem too drunk either much to my relief. "Woo-wee! What a party! Now let's get on home before it gets too late. Follow me Vlady-boy!" "So who lives on the farm with you?" I asked. "Well there's me, mah little sister Applebloom whom you've met already, mah older brother Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith. Ah also have a dog named Winona." "Well, I can't wait to meet them all, but I think we should hold that off till morning." I replied. "Ah agree. Well here we are! Yer room is gonna be upstairs, last one on the left. Ah'm gonna go make sure the party doesn't get too outta control," Applejack said at we arrived at the farmhouse. "Alright, thanks again for the room. G'night." I said walking in through the front door and turning around. "Think nothin of it. Now get a good night's rest, y'all got a big day ahead of ya," Applejack said turning back towards the barn and walking off. I crept into the moonlit farmhouse trying to stay as quiet as possible. I found the staircase with relative ease but getting up it without having the steps creak and groan was a challenge. I eventually managed to find my room in which I immediately flopped down on the bed once entering. 'Another interesting day, with many more to come.' I though as I drifted of to sleep... Meanwhile Back at the Barn: "I'm totally *hic* gonna win this *hic*," Rainbow Dash slurred. "Nuh Uh! *hic* I'm gonna win! *hic*," Pinkie slurred back. While Applejack had been escorting Vlad back to the farmhouse, Pinkie and Rainbow had gotten into a drinking competition. Both were total lightweights, only having drunk three glasses of punch each at this point. Both grabbed their fourth glasses and chugged them respectively. "Ohhhhh, *hic* the floor's spinnin. Stop it floor! *hic*" Pinkie slurred before passing out. "Heh, I wi..." Rainbow managed before also passing out. Just then Applejack re-entered the barn and stared at the sight before her. Two of her friends were passed out drunk on ground in a pool of alcohol and half-eaten cupcakes and the barn was an absolute disaster. Decided to just let it be, she left the barn and began walking back to the farmhouse. Those two would have a lot of cleaning to do come tomorrow...