Later that night, I was all ready by 5:45. I then went to Fluttershy's and knocked on her little cottage door. I heard a little fumbling before the door opened. "Hello?" asked Fluttershy as she peeked through a crack in her door. "It's me, Artie. Your neighbor." I told her. "Oh! I almost forgot!" she exclaimed. She called behind her saying, "Angel Bunny, Mama's going out. Can you watch the rest of the animals until I get back?" Mama? I thought. Crap. Then, a little white bunny hopped up to her. Oh, I guess that's Angel, I thought. The bunny gave a little salute. "Thank you, Angel." Fluttershy said as she nuzzled the bunny. Then, Angel looked at me and did the "I got my eyes on you" gesture and hopped away.
When we finally got to walking, I decided to strike up a conversation with Fluttershy. "So, I take it you like animals?" I asked. "Oh, yes." she said, smiling. "There are so many different kinds, and I like them all." "Hey, that's somethin'." I said. "Like animals, too. Seems like we have somethin' in common." "Oh, that's nice." she said. "And I think we arrived." We stopped walking to see a building known as the bakery called Sugar Cube Corner. I opened the door. That's weird, I thought. Why is it so dark? "SURPRISE!!!" a lot of ponies shouted as the lights came on and I tumbled backwards. Was everypony in Ponyville here?? Jeez, this Pinkie character really goes all out. There were balloons and streamers everywhere and cake and ice cream on a nearby table. "Wow, I was probably sorta popular back in Idahoof, but, this really takes the cake." I said. "Speaking of cake, do you want some??" asked Pinkie, who again, came outta nowhere. "Oh! Uh.... Sure." I said. "Artie?" asked Fluttershy. "Yeah? I asked. "I was wanting you to m-meet my friends i-if that's ok." she stammered. "Ok. I'll be glad to." I said.
She and I walked over to where her friends were. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle." said a purple unicorn mare. "Hi, name's Artie. Nice to meet you, Twilight." I said as I thrust out my hoof to shake hers. She accepted the offer. "Yes, I run the local library here." she said, very upbeat. "Oh, that's cool." I replied. I wondered if my buddy in Idahoof would like this mare? The next pony I came across was another pegasus. She had a rainbow-colored mane and tail and her coat and feathers were a cyan blue. Her eyes were a deep magenta. "Hey! Name's Rainbow Dash! Fastest flyer in Equestria!" she boasted. "Nice to meet ya." I said. Then, there was a pure white unicorn with a wavy purple mane and tail. "Hello there, darling." she said in a slight Trottingham accent. Darling? Does she call everypony that? "My name is Rarity." she continued. I am the owner of the Carousel Boutique. Where everything is chique, unique, and magnifique." "Oh, lovely to meet you." I said. "Oh!" exclaimed Rarity. "There are Hoity Toity and Photo Finish! I must talk to them about my latest dress design! Ta-ta, dear." Then Rarity trotted off. That's when I saw the next mare. She had an orange coat, a blonde mane and tail and a Stetson hat. "Howdy there, sir." she said as she shook my hoof vigorously. "Name's Applejack. I run an apple orchard called Sweet Apple Acres with mah family. If y'all need any caterin', just ask for me." "Ok, I'll make a note of that." I said. "Good to meet ya." "You too." said Applejack.
"Hi again!" said Pinkie Pie as she jumped in from outta nowhere. "How do you like my party so far??" she asked. "I like it." I said. "It's pretty cool." "Yay!!" Pinkie squealed with glee as she bounced away. Hey, where'd Fluttershy go? I thought. I finally noticed her all alone at the punch bowl. "Hey, Fluttershy." I said as I walked over to her. "Why are ya over here by yourself?" I could barely hear what she said next. "Oh. I'm not a very social pony". she said. "What do ya mean? Looks like you got quite a few friends." I said. "Oh yes." Fluttershy said. "They're really most of my only friends." "Would it be cool if we're friends?" I asked. "Ok." said Fluttershy. "That would be nice." Just then, somepony tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around, I noticed it wasn't a pony at all. It was a baby dragon! He was short, had light purple scales, and had a line of light green spikes going from the top of his head, down his back, to the end of his tail. "Hi. The name's Spike. Oh. Sorry. An I interrupting you guys?" he said.
Then I looked back at Fluttershy. "Oh, my bad." said Spike as he walked over towards Twilight. "So, Fluttershy?" I asked as Fluttershy perked up at the sound of her name. "Yes?" she asked. "How do ya like Pinkie's parties?" I wondered. "Oh, I don't mind them at all, really." she said. "Neither do I, considering this is my first one." I said, chuckling. Fluttershy gighled and blushed a little. The yellow pegasus and I talked all the way 'til the party was over and everyone started heading out. "Gosh," I said. "Is it that time already?" "Oh! Um.... I guess it is." said Fluttershy. She looked out the window and saw it as pretty dark. "Um.. I'm a bit afraid of the dark." she said. "I was wondering if you can walk me home? If that's ok with y-you." she added. "Sure. No problem." I said. "Thank you." said the yellow mare. "You're welcome." I said. She wasn't very talkative on the way back to our houses. When we got to her cottage, Fluttershy said, "Thank you for walking me home." "You're welcome." I replied. "Would it be cool if we learned more about each other tomorrow?" "That would be nice." she said. "Noon sound ok?" I asked. "Oh, yes. I'd like that." "Ok, see ya tomorrow." I said. "Good night." she said.
(Fluttershy POV): As I shut the door behind me, Angel hopped up and asked if Artie was a nice stallion. "Oh, he's very sweet, Angel." I said. "I made a new friend today