At first I was wondering what she meant by ‘Really CAN'T miss it,’ but after seeing it, her words made perfect sense. There were enough balloons to make Carl and Russell jealous. There were neon lights and signs and banners and fireworks and everything in between all decorating a candy-coated house that made me think about a couple of witch-hunting orphans.
I got a few excited and nervous glances as I followed the crowd -I gulped- inside. Once indoors, I was almost immediately tackled by a pink ball of pure energy. Or sugar. Or both. “Oof!” I exclaimed, managing to keep my footing as Pinkie climbed onto my head like a monkey. I wondered if this was a normal thing. Judging by the looks she was getting, that didn't look too surprised, it was.
“He’s here! Woohoo! Justice, this is Riptide, Cloud Chaser, Berry Punch, Lyra, Golden Thread, Electric Riff…” She began pointing to random ponies and I swear she was making half these names up, I mean they weren't even actual names. Well, I guess I shouldn’t be one to talk, with a name like Justice.
With my narrative hat, I made my way to where I saw Applejack and Twilight Sparkle, smiling and saying hello to the braver ponies that greeted me. Looking around, I couldn’t help but smile at how….fun, lively, expressive, just plain happy everyone--everypony here was. Despite that they were hosting a party for an alien creature that they knew nothing about...they were just so friendly. It kinda warmed my heart, pardon the sappiness.
Twilight smiled as I approached. “Hey, Justice! Applejack was worried you wouldn’t be able to find Sugar Cube Corner on your own. We’re glad you did.” She said. I scoffed, waving my hand. I noticed the motion receive a few looks. Hands were probably really odd to them.
“I may be bad with directions, but even I can’t miss this place. Pinkie knows how to throw a party.” I replied, looking up to realize the party pony in question was actually still on my head, ‘introducing’ me to everyone. How the hell did she know all of their names? Like, literally, ALL of their names.
“...Shimmering Sunset, Hat Trick, Rich Soil, Stacked Deck, don’t ever make a bet with her….”
Very carefully, I lifted her off my head and set her on the ground, backing away slowly. She didn’t notice, just kept rambling off names. I turned back to see Applejack and Twilight walking away. The latter looked back at me, nodding to the room. I get it. She didn’t want to hold my hand, so to speak. She wanted me to go socialize on my own. Okay, Mom, jeeze.
Aaaaand the anxiety set in. I wrapped one arm around my stomach and rested my other elbow onto it. My hand ran through my hair incessantly, separating and gripping my thick brown locks. Being Italian in heritage, my hair was very thick, pretty soft, and five flavors of unmanageable.
After the ice had been broken by one mare I later learned was named Ditzy, many more ponies began coming up to me, talking to me, asking me questions. I sat down on a couch with half the party around me, talking and answering questions. I….kind of liked it. I normally hated being the center of attention, I got horrific anxiety, but they were just so friendly and kind it washed away all of my fears. They laughed with me, not at me if I stammered or got a little nervous. It was...relaxing.
Time flew like an arrow. Before I realized it, it was dark outside and many of the ponies were saying goodbye to me, making remarks about hoping to see me again. It was really a great feeling; I had grown up in a broken household and had never felt like i was wanted or appreciated….these brightly colored talking horses were making me feel better than my parents ever had. Huh.
There was only a handful of partygoers left, whom I had learned the names of earlier. The polar opposite roommates, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, both were musicians of dance music and classical, respectively. The clumsy but sweet grey pegasus mare who was the first to approach me, Ditzy. Three little girls--rather, fillies, as they were called here, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Sweetie was Rarity’s younger sister, and at first I thought Scootaloo was Rainbow Dash’s sister or daughter or something, but now I’m starting to think that they weren’t ACTUALLY related, just very close. No one seemed to mention Scoots’ parents, or any relatives for that matter...it didn’t take a rocket scientist to piece it together.
The three girls seemed familiar to me somehow….I couldn’t quite place it, but I think it was their voices. Itched something in the back of my head and it was bugging me that I couldn’t remember. Oh well, I’d probably figure it out eventually.
The roommates were arguing about something having to do with dishes, wubs, and two in the morning. Vinyl seemed like a cool chick. I’d have to listen to her music sometime. And maybe Octavia’s too, so I don’t feel bad for leaving her out. I have an overactive conscience. I realized they had to have some sort of power to be able to play electronic music like Vinyl did. Unless it was magic. I mean, she’s a unicorn, so I wouldn’t be surprised.
I was sitting with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as they called themselves. I had always been great with kids, having basically raised a few of my cousins. They made this little club to help each other find their cutie marks, which were apparently a huge deal here. I was leaning back against a wall as they drew out cute little plans on a piece of paper, using their mouths as hands to hold the pencil. I wondered why Sweetie didn’t use her magic, then remembered it was like a muscle and she couldn’t quite do it yet, or was still learning. Probably same why I didn’t see Scootaloo flying at all.
I was fiddling with a deck of cards, idly performing a few fancy cuts and flourishes as the trio talked. Once in a while they told me an anecdote about their adventures searching for their cutie marks. I have to admit, they sounded like a pretty cool bunch of kids. In risk of sounding creepy. Everyone always told me I acted just like a kid, which is why I got along with them so well. Probably true, probably true.
“Apple Bloom! Time t’head on home.” Applejack said from over by the door. She and Rarity were there, looking ready to go. “Justice, are you gonna come along now, or stick around a bit?” She asked. I would be fine walking back in the dark, and I wanted to help clean up. It was the least I could do after Pinkie threw this big party for me.
“I’ll stick around.” I informed her, standing up and pocketing the cards. “I can find my way back alright.” I said, hoof-bumping the Crusaders as they passed me. “I’ll see you at the orchard, then. Bye, guys!” I waved as they left. I turned around to be grabbed by the hand and pulled over where the remaining ponies were. Lyra, Vinyl, Octavia, Pinkie, and Derpy.
Vinyl, who was the one who dragged me over, was already talking. “It’s your party and you haven’t even had any of the cake yet. That's gotta change right now." She said, sitting me down as Pinkie set a plate of cake in my grip. The others were talking among themselves, so I took a bite. I melted, and I almost moaned a little. The blue frosting wasn't just decoration, it actually tasted like blueberry, mixed with the rich chocolate layer inside the soft bread....Pinkie Pie really knew her way around a kitchen.
I think Pinkie was about to ask me what I thought of it, but my expression probably told her everything she needed to know. I tried to pay attention to the conversation, but....cake....so good....I guess I should have, because Vinyl was addressing a question towards me. "What about your...uh, world? What kind have you got?" She asked, eyes turning to me. I blinked dumbly.
"Uh, well...chocolate is probably the most popular kind...." I took a shot in the dark. After a moment of silence, "But my favorite is probably, uh...vanilla. Can't beat the classics." I grinned sheepishly, holding a forkful of the cake high in toast before eating it. "I'm sorry, I have no clue what we're talking about." I admitted, to laughter from the group.
"Clearly." Octavia said with a chuckle. She seemed a refined, proper woman...er, mare? Refined mare who was still learning to to let her hair...uh, mane down sometimes. "Music is the subject. What kinds do you have on your place of origin?" She clarified. My eyes lit up as I dug around in my pockets.
"Oh! Yeah, we have an extremely diverse plethora of music on Earth. Classical, opera, metal, jazz, hip-hop, grunge, rock and various forms of it, techno and dance...." I listed, pulling out my iPhone. They all gave it curious looks, completely lost. "I like a lot of different kinds, but my favorite is an artist named Owl City. He's got a very imaginative, unique style that's all his own and does it so well. Here, one of my favorite songs by him." I rambled. I was pretty passionate about music, probably influenced by my dad being a DJ and showing me all kinds of music.
I held the device out and Vinyl's red magical aura wrapped around it and brought it closer to the group. The music started, I had chosen something that would interest both Vinyl and Octavia, the two biggest music buffs here. Not only that, but it was arguably THE classic Owl City song. Fireflies, his first big hit that got so famous because iTunes got Adam Young’s permission to offer it for free as promotion. The synthopop tunes vibrated out of my phone's crappy speakers, taking them by surprise.
"This thing plays music? That's awesome!" Vinyl vocalized. I shushed her and pointed to my ear. Listen, dammit, this is an amazing song! She nodded but the excitement couldn't be hidden on her face. They seemed to be enjoying it. After it ended, I grinned, eager to hear their opinions.
"That was pretty cool. A really chill style, like you said, that was really unique. The instruments he used sounded really electronic, and I like that." Vinyl said, to which I nodded. For sure.
"It has the air of classical composing at the heart, especially the nostalgic feel it offered during the chorus. And...it was quite catchy." Octavia said with a small smile. "I would listen to more music by that artist."
I was surprised at Pinkie's uncharacteristically calm response. Maybe the music had calmed her down. "I really liked it. Mellow and soothing." She said with a giggle. "Something I could relax to!" The looks she got were rather amusing. "What? I relax! Sometimes! Stop giving me that look!" She crossed her forelegs and pouted.
Derpy, whom I still felt guilty calling her that despite her reassurances that she inked the nickname, chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, what Pinkie said. Not exactly something I would dance to, but I could listen to it to go to sleep or something.” she mused. I couldn’t argue, I had insomnia and one of the best things to put me to sleep was Owl City. I looked over to see Vinyl flipping my phone over in her magic, examining it from every angle.
“How….how the hell does this thing work?” she asked in absolute wonder. “I think I broke it, the screen went dark.” She said, floating it back to me like it was a bomb. I just chuckled, pressing the lock button and sliding my finger across the bottom to unlock. Quickly typing in my passcode, Vinyl’s magic grabbed it again and the ponies all piled around her to look at it.
“What’s an iTunes?”
“Oh, push that one, that one has a flower!”
“Your music folder is on the bottom, right? Easy to access, I see.”
I leaned back and chuckled as they fought over the phone, like children in a candy store. The music snapped around erratically as they kept passing it back and forth, and Vinyl looked upset until I told her the controls were heat sensitive and that was why it wasn't working for her, and her mood lifted right back up. “This one keeps saying access denied.” Ditzy spoke up to me. My eyes snapped open and I coughed. They must have found my photo vault app. Where I hide pictures I don’t exactly want hanging out, no pun intended, in my regular photo folders.
“Oh, that’s...uh, top secret human stuff. Very discreet, blueprints to….doomsday...things. Yeah. Don’t try to open it.” I said quickly, leaning forward in my seat at the ready in case things got bad. “The passcode is a super complex string of-”
“Oh! Got it!” Pinkie sang. “I just played connect the dots, and I made a square.” she said, waving my phone around like it was some trophy. Luckily my phone was slow as molasses and I was able to snatch it before the app loaded up, hurrying into the settings to switch it to the keyboard passcode mode.
“Okay, in my defense, I was going for the ‘hiding in plain sight’ tactic by making the password so simple, okay?” I grumbled, defeated. “I think I’m ready to go now before my phone starts World War 3.” I said, vaguely realizing they probably wouldn’t understand that. The party had already been cleaned up with a collective effort from everyone. “I’ve had a pretty big day, and-”
I was interrupted by a collective groan, making me blink in confusion. Wait...they were…? “Well, if you’re here to stay then we'll see you around, right?” Ditzy wondered, met with similar murmurs from the others. I ran my hand across the back of my neck, fighting a blush. This feeling was...something interesting. They wanted to see me again. I was almost in shock.
“Oh, er, yeah, of course.” I said. “I’m gonna be all around, I guess, learning my way about the town.” I said, meeting all their eyes. I didn't sense any sarcasm, any fear or even any malice. They were all genuinely interested in meeting me again. I may be far away from home, but they were making me feel welcome, and I don’t think I could thank them enough for that. With a final goodbye to them, I took my leave, walking back to Sweet Apple Acres with my hands in my pockets.
I made it back and everyone was already asleep. No surprise, with how hard they worked. Apple Bloom would be going to school tomorrow, so she needed rest, and Applejack said I could take tomorrow to explore Ponyville a bit. Twilight had said she needed to talk to me about something, and it made me a little nervous. Maybe her studies had brought something to light? Either way, wondering isn't gonna change anything. I shut the light off for the guest room, and put my earbuds in to play my music. It didn't take long for sleep to consume me.