//------------------------------//
// Up and About 
// Story: Differences 
// by xainkrif 
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	Finally. It was time for me to start moving again. Fluttershy assured me that I would be ok. She even called over Twilight and Rarity for moral support and to catch me if I fall. I sat on the side of the bed. There was no pain. I edged slowly to the floor, Fluttershy holding me and guiding me the whole way. Twilight and Rarity stood by, horns ready just in case. My feet touched the ground one by one. Success. I took a step. I was sore but I'd manage. I slowly made my way to the stairs when all hell broke loose.
There was a knock at the door. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight ignored it as they were more interested in my safety. The knock got louder and more frequent. Becoming impatient, Twilight said "Just a min." The knocking stopped. Then out of no where, a pink mass flew in from the second story window. Startled, I fell back but I was caught just before i hit the ground. "Pinkie!" yelled Rarity. "How did you get in here?" Standing in front of me looking at me from all different angles was a pink pony with a puffy pink mane and a cutie mark that had 3 party balloons. "Well, first i knocked on the door, but no pony answered. Then I knocked some more and heard Twilight. Then I grabbed my party cannon and you know the rest. Hehehe. Who is this?" said Pinkie with one long breath. "Um my name is Jo-" Twilight cut me off and said " Its not important Pinkie, go wait downstairs" Pinkie, only hearing half of it, " Are you new to Ponyville? Oh my god, a new pony in Ponyville." She jumped into the air and her mouth shot wide open. "Pinkie no!!!" they all said, but before they could stop her a trail of dust was seen where she once stood.
"We got to hide you Jon, come on" said Twilight as she teleported everyone to the library. A quick flash and all the surroundings were changed. "Woah, uh hi Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and who's that?" came a young voice. "Don't worry about it Spike, we gotta hide him from Pinkie. "Ok if you say so." said Spike. Laying me down softly into her bed, Twilight slowly released her telekinesis spell. Still trying to comprehend what happened, I look around to see nothing but books. "Thats Pinkie Pie. We had to get you out of there. She was gonna throw you a party." said Rarity. "I like parties." I said disappointed. "Thats not the point," Twilight replied. "The point is, we didn't get to tell her that she can't invite the whole town. We have to make her believe that your not here until we can break her the news." "What news?" said Pinkie eating a cupcake. "Pinkie?!" said everybody. "How did you... never mind. Look you can't tell anyone about Jon ok?" said Twilight.
"Aw, not even Celestia? I mean she would just love to know that we have a new friend in Ponyville. Hey she might even attend the party too. And if she comes that means Luna might come too. And if Luna comes-" Rarity cut off Pinkie. "You can't tell anyone. Ok? Pinkie pie swear." Frowning, Pinkie went through some motion and chant ending with stick a cupcake in my eye. Smiling she then apologized for startling me at Fluttershy's house and offered to take me back. "That won't be necessary Pinkie. I'll just teleport them back." Twilight stated as her horn started to glow. Still confused by the shock of how fast this is all happening, a quick flash, and we were all back inside Fluttershy's place. "This has been one heck of a day" I said as I staggered back to the bed.
"Who are? Where are you from? Do you like parties? I like parties. Ohhh cake? I love cake! Especially birthday cake. I remember one time I made this cake and I..." went Pinkie bombarding me with questions. Not knowing how to handle this, I looked towards Fluttershy for help. She giggled. "Pinkie, could you please not ask Jon so many questions? That is if its alright." Pinkie frowned. "Well I do ask a lot of questions. I know. How about I make us some cupcakes!" She then scurried off leaving behind a familiar dust trail, only to return minutes later with a basket full of cupcakes. "I made some for every pony." she said smiling.
Everyone or every pony, as they call it, was eating cupcakes and chatting it up. I was again engaged in a conversation with Twilight. "So do the laws of physics apply to anything here?" I asked in a confused manner. "Well..., sometimes. They normally do, but when it comes to Pinkie..." she said looking down. "I haven't been able to figure it out. I think Pinkie has her own laws of physics." Laughingly, i said, "Are they pink also?" She looked up and smiled. "Lets hope not." she said giggling. As our conversation grew deeper, she started explaining their society. I was amazed by the way they governed things. it was much like Earth, only they had rulers. Those rulers were responsible for raising the sun and moon. Still confused, she told me "magic. Its all magic." knowing that I wouldn't understand the concept, being from another world.
Once all the cupcakes were finished, it was starting to get dark out. "You know what would be marvelous? If we could all watch the sunset," said Rarity. "That sounds like a great idea" replied Pinkie. Helping me out of bed and to walk downstairs to the backyard, I actually got a good look at Fluttershy's place. It was a cottage style building. In the main room, there were bird houses and little shelters for animals. It looked as they were all connected by a track. A closer look showed that there were actually animals living in these structures. Amazed at how she was able to tame animals, I then noticed the makeshift bed on the couch. "Had she been keeping me in her room all this time?" I thought to myself. I wanted to speak about what I saw but before I could open my mouth, Fluttershy said, "Its ok. I don't mind sleeping down here. Your still hurt and I don't want you to get caught." Frowning, we continued to the backdoor.
Outside, we all sat down next to a tree facing the sunset. "They don't look this good back home..." I thought to myself. Pinkie stared at the sunset ohhing and ahhing. Head in a book, Twilight periodically glanced up to take a quick look. Rarity, sitting next to Pinkie, was coming up with ideas for new clothing that dealt with the sunset. Noticing the other three busy, I finally managed to ask Fluttershy what I wanted to ask earlier. "Why are you sleeping downstairs and not in your room? I should be the one forced to sleep down there..." Her head dropped and she got a nervous look on her face. "Well... I didn't want-" she stopped mid sentence. "You didn't want what?" I said trying to get her to finish her answer. She blushed and said, "you to think that you didn't matter enough..." Confused by her statement, I motioned to hug her. She returned the gesture.
A few minutes later, everypony moved inside. We all chatted for a bit before everypony went their separate ways. Saying goodbye to her last friend, she closed the door. "Now lets get you upstairs and into bed mister" she said. Then an idea hit me. Why make her sleep down here? I can walk, sort of and she deserves her own bed. Besides, I am a guest. "Why don't you sleep upstairs tonight. I'll lay here on this makeshift bed." I said. "No no no. I'll have no such thing. You a guest and guests should always get a nice comfy bed to sleep in." she said in a refusing manner. It took a few mins, but I finally convinced her to sleep upstairs. "Fine, only for tonight, but tomorrow, your moving right back upstairs." she said as her final words. I nodded and started to lay down in the bed. She came and tucked me in. "Goodnight," she said as she went upstairs. "Goodnight Fluttershy" I said as I yawned. Slowly but surely, I was falling asleep, only to be awaken by a loud crash.