I've seen a few comments about the story being a bit moody, so I decided to brighten the mood a bit! Warning: lulzy humor ahead! Volare is gonna kill me...
August 25th, Ponyville Late Afternoon...
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It was just a short walk from The Golden Oak Library on the west side of Ponyville, and within a few minutes, the pony trio entered the medium-sized town. It wasn’t nearly the biggest settlement Volare had ever seen, being smaller than even his own smallish hometown, but in the show as now it seemed to have more than its fair share of nooks and crannies to explore. He wondered how the folks here would take him, being new and all.
“I say dear boy,” a blue-maned white Unicorn wearing a bow tie and black suit-vest called out to him. He had about a half-dozen other well-dressed ponies around him who seemed to hang on his every word. The blue monocle on his face jiggled as he talked; he seemed like a rather upper-crust individual and spoke like one as well.
“Was that you we saw up there just a few moments ago?” He nodded in the general area above the Library with a hoof. “That was quite the show you put on up there; that is until you wore yourself out and fell. Luckily, Ms Rainbow Dash caught you in time! Huzzah!” He stomped his hooves on the cobblestones in applause, and the other ponies around him followed suit.
“Actually, I got hit with some really bad hunger cramps,” Volare muttered and looked down at his hooves. If he would have looked back at Twilight and Rainbow Dash he would have seen that they had looks of shock frozen on their faces.
“Aha I see…those old belly pangs can really muck up one’s day, I warrant? And who am I to judge on how badly things can go when famishment hits at 1000 feet when I myself rarely leave the ground!” he mused, tapping his chin with his hoof before his eyes brightened.
“Oh my, I’m so terribly rude,” he held out his hoof in greeting. “I'm Fancypants and I’m here on visitation from Canterlot,” he nodded towards the majestic castle perched on the mountain to the northeast that overlooked Ponyville. “As I was saying, I was just admiring the little show you and Ms Dash put on up there and I wondered if I could inquire as to what your name is, good sir.”
Volare had never been called “good sir” by anyone in his life, and he was a bit taken aback at what to say at first. But he did what came naturally and gave Fancypants a hoof shake and shot him a quick salute.
“Name’s Volare, sir and I’m new in town.”
“Oh, a military pony-capital!” Fancypants beamed as did his small entourage. "My great-grandfather was part of the old Long Patrol's Ground Units. Quite a bit before your time, I'm sure. Well, my dear boy, since you said you were asking about food, might I suggest the Gilded Griffon café,” he nodded across the market square towards a mid-sized building with a high roof that arched down in flowing overhangs above a covered porch that ran around the building. “It’s not quite as formal as the places up in Canterlot, but I find it charmingly rustic; and the food there is top-hole as well!”
“Alright then sir,” Volare nodded with a smile. “I’ll take your advice and sate my hunger there.”
“Jolly good, Volare! Well, I’m sorry to chat and gallop, but I must be heading back out of town; can’t be late for an appointment, you see,” Fancypants gave him a crisp smile. “If I come back to Ponyville I shall inquire of your presence; I’d like to learn more about a pony such as yourself, especially one with such budding flying skills. Good day, sir!”
Fancypants nodded and turned on his hoof and trotted out of town towards the Ponyville Station, his entourage in tow and chattering about the dark blue Pegasus known as Volare.
“Well, he seemed like a nice guy,” Volare said as he turned back to his friends who still wore the same looks of shock. “Um, you guys ok?”
“Volare…do you even know who that was?” Twilight asked slowly.
“Um, I’m afraid not,” he replied, not able to recall the guy from the show; he was never too good on minor characters…
“That was Fancypants,” Dash exclaimed.
“Yes, that’s what he told me; he seemed like a pretty well-off guy.”
“You don’t know who he is?!” Dash nearly shouted, but Twilight calmed her with a wave of her hoof.
“Dash, this is Volare’s first day in our world; how can you expect him to know anypony?” She turned to Volare and smiled. “Fancypants, according to our friend Rarity, is the most important pony in Canterlot. His opinions don’t carry as much weight here, but if he approves of you being here, anypony else will find it hard to protest.”
“Basically, you just got chummy with the richest guy this side of Manehatten!” Dash grinned. “And you impressed him with your flying too!”
“Heh, I think he was more impressed with you saving my butt, Dash.”
“Even so, dude, you just got in tight with Fancypants!”
Volare ignored how wrong that statement sounded and cleared his throat. "Ahem, anyways….have any of you ever been to the Gilded Griffon?”
“Yeah, it’s kinda a fancy place compared to the other cafes in Ponyville, but it’s more than affordable and right next to the stores we need to visit,” Twilight explained. “You wanna try it, Volare?”
“You’re leaving the decision to me? Wow, thanks guys,” Volare smiled and turned to the café. “If Fancypants says it’s good, I say we go for it!”
“Be careful or you’ll become one of his swooning followers,” Dash laughed.
“Not likely,” Volare quipped as they crossed the market square; looking around at the town interior as they went. Everything he could remember from the show was there, from the market stalls with vendors hawking their wares, to the Town Hall standing tall on the other side of the shops, to Rarity’s Carousal Boutique past that, to the bouncing pink-maned grinning pony headed their way.
…oh crap.
Volare tried to get out of the way, but to no avail. Just as he thought the pink pony would collide with him, she stopped right in front of him and gasped in a lungful of air before talking a mile a minute like only one particular mare could.
“Hi I’m Pinkie Pie, and I’m here to welcome you to Ponyville!! Why am I welcoming you to Ponyville, because you’re new in town!! And how do I know you’re new in town? Because I know everypony in Ponyville and I’ve never seen you here before, you gotta be new, right?”
She finally took another breath and grinned widely before continuing. “So, if you’re new here to Ponyville and I’ve never met you before, then it’s your turn to tell me your name! What’s your name, Mr Blue and Yellow and…burnt Pegasus that has no cutie mark despite obviously being the same age as Rainbow Dash, Twilight and me? Oh hi Twilight and Dash!” she waved a hoof wildly at her two friends before turning back to him. Dash facehoofed.
“So, what’s your name, Mr. Tall, Blue, and Silent? Speak up!”
“Heh, hiya Pinkie Pie,” Volare replied. Man she’s a lot wilder face-to-face than I ever thought possible… “I’m Volare, and yep you’re right; I’m new here.”
“Ooooh, Volare!” Pinkie Pie mused over his name for a moment before grabbing his hoof and shaking it. “Pleased to meet you! I’ve never heard of a name like that; what’s it mean? Example: my name Pinkie Pie has to do with me being pink and liking pie and helping to run a bakery that even happens to make pies! Even though that last bit is kinda a crazy coincidence cuz I didn’t start out liking pie! Can you guess what I started out liking?! Rocks!! Can you believe I was a rock farmer? Isn’t that just nuts? So, what’s your name mean, huh, huh, huh?”
Volare’s head spun as she hopped around him asking these crazy questions at a speed he was having trouble keeping up with. He gave her a chuckle and answered. “Volare means ‘to fly’ in Latin, which is kinda appropriate since I was a pilot and I’m now a Pegasus,” Volare realized he’d made a mistake when Pinkie Pie gasped and pulled a megaphone from seemingly nowhere and began galloping towards a flagpole in the market square. Just as she began climbing it to make some sort of crazy announcement, Dash grabbed her and flew her back down to Volare and Twilight.
“Hey, what was that for? I was only gonna announce that we have a pilot in town! What’s the harm in that?” Pinkie fumed slightly, the megaphone now gone again.
“Pinkie, do you even know what a pilot is?” Twilight tilted her head.
“Yep, it’s obviously what Volare is!” Pinkie smiled, but now it was Twilight’s turn to facehoof.
“Look, Pinkie,” Dash began, twiddling her hooves.
“It’s not that simple…”
“What’s not so simple? Volare is a blue Pegasus kinda like you and he’s a pilot! That’s something everypony should know about him if…no, when I throw him his ‘welcome to Ponyville’ party!” Pinkie grinned, seemingly oblivious to the worried looks the blue pegasi and the purple Unicorn wore.
“Come on, let’s not talk about this out where everypony can hear us,” Dash said, motioning towards the Gilded Griffon. “There are…certain things about Volare that, I dunno…might very badly freak out anypony here if they heard about them the wrong way.”
“Ooooh, I see…secret stuff. Clandestine stuff," Pinkie's eyes shifted up and down the street for a moment. "Heh, you know: I've got some night vision goggles for just such an occasion if you-"
"Ugh, Pinkie come on!" Dash snorted impatiently. "We're starving to pieces here!"
“Well food's not just gonna walk right up and say 'hello', silly filly! Let’s go grab some lunch!" Pinkie giggled as she patted the grumbling Dash on the head while Twilight and Volare shared a quiet snicker behind their hooves. "I’ve got Mr. and Mrs. Cake watching Sugarcube Corner and I’m free for about an hour or so. Oooh, the Gilded Griffon; I have friends working there!” She hopped along towards the café, the other three ponies following her and exchanging glances that read something between: ‘should we tell her’ and ‘what have we gotten ourselves into with Pinkie?’
As they trotted under the porch overhang, twin roaring brass griffon heads greeted them from each of the front double doors. It was quite a bit darker inside the café than outside, but Volare could make out multiple pony-related odds and ends such as horseshoes, wagon wheels, and photos of competition ponies festooning the walls around the eating areas and a small bar in the back.
“Heya Lyra!” Pinkie waved to a mint green Unicorn who was sitting…yes sitting…like a person…on a bench just inside the door. She levitated a few menus with her horn and stood up.
“Afternoon, Pinkie! Oh, hey Twilight and Dash! Who’s your new friend there?” the Unicorn smiled as another pony, this one a cream-colored earth pony with a curly navy blue and pink mane trotted up and stood next to Lyra, smiling brightly at the diners.
“Hello again, Pinkie, Dash, Twilight,” she nodded at the trio before turning her gaze to Volare who was getting just a bit uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. “Might I ask your name, Mr…”
“Volare,” he replied before Lyra whirled on the blue and pink pony.
“Hey, I saw him first, Bon-Bon!” she scowled a bit.
“It’s not a competition, Lyra; besides, he answered me first,” the earth pony replied with a sideways smirk before turning to Volare. “Don’t mind Lyra, Volare; she can be a bit silly at times.”
“So can you!” Lyra sat back on the bench and crossed her hooves in a demonstration of humanity that was both adorable and just a little bit unsettling; Volare couldn’t decide which. “Sorry Volare; we’re just having a slow business day and we got excited with a new customer showing up, that’s all.”
“Why’s business so slow?” the blue Pegasus looked around. Sure enough, there were only two other ponies there; both unicorns and both nose deep in their mugs at the bar. “This seems like a nice enough place, and even Fancypants says he likes it here.”
“Ooh, Fancypants says he likes it here?!” Bon-Bon gasped excitedly. “I-I didn’t realize he enjoyed the place so much!”
“Maybe if you made it more known that he comes here, more business might show up,” Twilight suggested. Lyra and Bon-Bon both nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes, yes, yes, that’s perfect!” Lyra pounded the bench with her hoof before standing up. “I’ll figure out some way to advertise that! Ooh, I hope that doesn’t sound too desperate…”
“Pfft, nah,” Pinkie waved her hoof. “I’ve done crazier things to promote my baked goods than that.”
“Oh, like what?” Bon-Bon inquired.
“Well, first I had to gather a harmonica, a banjo, and a big rubber ball! Then I”- Pinkie was cut off by Volare’s grumbling stomach and slight groan. “Oops, heh, got carried a way there a little.”
“Yeah, ya think? We’re starving here!” Dash grabbed Volare around the shoulders as her own stomach growled loudly. “See? Two great stomachs think alike, Volare! We’ve been working up an appetite while teaching this guy how to fly, so if you could just get us a table, we can”-
“Dash, that’s kinda rude!” Twilight scolded before her own stomach rumbled a bit and she blushed. “Heh-heh, perhaps not as rude as I thought…I’m sorry Bon-Bon, Lyra, but we are quite hungry,” she smiled awkwardly before both the duo waved their hooves at her.
“Oh no, no, no, it’s ok,” Bon-Bon said. “This IS a café after all; besides, there’ll be plenty more time to catch up after lunch!”
“Right, Bon-Bon,” Lyra nodded before hovering a number of menus before her and headed to the nearest table. “Will this work?”
“Um, actually, we’d like a more private booth, if you don’t mind,” Twilight said.
“No problem; you guys get the VIP room!” Lyra announced as she led the others towards the sliding wooden doors of the private room, leaving Bon-Bon to watch the front door. Handing them all their menus, she slid the door shut with her horn, but not before adding: “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do back here!”
“Wait, what do you do, Lyra?” Volare asked, to which she grinned and batted her eyes at him.
“Oh, lotsa stuff…maybe if you have some free time I’ll give ya a little demo later, handsome-"
“LYRA!! QUIT FLIRTING WITH THE CUSTOMERS!” Bon-Bon shouted, making the green Unicorn blush and shut the door in surprise. As they heard her protesting yells fade away towards the front of the restaurant, the three female ponies turned to see Volare’s face turning a dull pink.
“W-what?!” he sputtered.
“Heh, oh nothing dude, nothing,” Dash teasingly pretended to flutter her own lashes at him, but she merely looked like she was blinking rapidly, eliciting a laugh from both Pinkie and Volare before Dash chortled loudly herself. “Bwahahaha, you’re just too fun to mess with, Volare!”
“Yep, that you are, Volare-bear,” Pinkie quipped her new nickname for him before Twilight interrupted them with a small cough.
“Ahem, sorry to break up the amusement, but we need to get down to the business of why we’re back here in the first place,” Twilight said, suddenly serious.
“Uh, eating?” Dash asked as she poked her napkin on the table.
“Well yes,” the Unicorn rolled her eyes as Dash pumped her hoof with an emphatic yes! “And explaining the situation about Volare to Pinkie.”
“Yeah…what’s so secret about Volare anyways?” Pinkie leaned over to him, her bright blue eyes inches from his face. “Are you, or were you ever…a space monkey?”
The moment of stunned silence was broken by the drawl of a familiar voice from near the sliding door. “Ya said they’re back there, eh? Well, don’t mind if’n Ah do, Lyra, thankee kindly!” The door slid open to reveal an orange Earth Pony wearing a brown Stetson hat above her blonde mane and a neighborly smile. “Well, goooood afternoon, everypony! Say, what’re ya’ll doin’ back here in tha VIP”-
Her green eyes then fell on Volare, and after a moment of looking him up and down, she whistled loudly and yelled back out the door. “Lan-sakes, ya’ll were right Lyra; he is a tall drink o’ water!” Volare blushed heavily as Applejack slid the door shut and waggled her eyebrows. “Now Ah see whatcha’ll are doin’ back here!”
Volare’s head hit the tabletop with a groan as the country mare laughed and took a seat between him and Dash, ignoring her blue friend's grumble of consternation at her intrusion. “Ah’m just funnin' ya sugarcube. Name’s Applejack, but ya’ll can call me AJ,” she tipped her hat and grinned. “What’s your name, pardner?”
“His name is Volare, and we are NOT all back here to flirt with him, AJ,” Twilight said, a bit exasperated at the immaturity of her friends; even if they were all just having a laugh, she could only imagine the stress it was causing their new friend. “Volare, you handling this ok? They’re not bothering you too badly, are they?”
“Oh no, it’s all good,” Volare mumbled into the table top before sitting up and putting on a straight face. “I mean, lotsa girls used to flirt with me, so it’s not like I’m not used to it or anything,” he crossed his hooves defiantly. It worked for a moment before Dash and Pinkie burst into loud guffaws, soon joined by Twilight as Applejack looked on with a bemused expression.
“Did Ah miss somethin’ here?” she looked around before Twilight regained her composure.
“Oh well, since you’re here AJ, you might as well learn the truth about Volare as well.”
“Is there somethin’ funny about him besides his bad sense o’ humor,” Applejack asked before hoofing Volare in the shoulder, knocking him out of his self-righteous pose. “Who taught ya'll them punchlines anyway? Rarity?”
“It’s a long story, AJ,” Dash said as Bon-Bon entered the room to take their orders, leaving Lyra on her bench by the door to fume about not getting to see “that blue and yellow Pegasus hunk” again. “But we can talk about it more after we get some food!”
“Indeed,” Volare nodded as he asked Bon-Bon for the first food that entered his mind. “Do you guys happen to have muffins?”
Why had he craved muffins ever since he got here?! Hrm, must be a Pegasus thing…
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Small notes: Volare says he'd murder me with his own hooves for the amount of embarrassment I put him through, but then he wouldn't be written about..So I guess I'm safe for now XD;