//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Dreams and Nightmares // by UndercoverBrony //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Party Soft Google docs Somepony knocked on Applejack’s barn door. “Shh!” Twilight hissed. “That must be her.” She nodded at Applejack, who walked over to the door to open it. Outside, stood a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. “Well howdy there, Flutter- whoooaa nelly... Er...” She paused. “Ah’m sorry, but you look mighty similar to a friend of mine. Can ah help you?” “You mean Fluttershy?” Spitfire grinned. They’d quickly coloured her mane and tail with the pink dye before heading out. Ending up looking a bit like Fluttershy had been an unintended side effect. “I’m a... friend. From Cloudsdale. That’s why I’m here. I heard you’re throwing her a birthday party?” “Well then ah’m mighty pleased to make yer acquaintance!” Applejack stretched out her hoof to her. “Mah name’s Applejack. What’s yours?” “I’m Windburst.” Spitfire placed her hoof in Applejack’s, only for Applejack to grab her foreleg in both hooves, almost shaking it out of its socket by her firm hoofshake. She winced in pain as the motion disturbed her injured wing. “Oh my!” Applejack gasped as she spotted Spitfire’s sling for the first time. “Ah’m so sorry, ah didn’t see that you wus hurt.” “It’s alright,” Spitfire replied. “Actually, that’s the other reason I’m here. I’m staying at Fluttershy’s while I heal up. Getting around Cloudsdale without wings is a nightmare!” They’d knocked up a quick back-story for ‘Windburst’ on the way over. Unfortunately, she realised that she’d already pretty much burnt through it all in the first minute. How in the hay am I supposed to keep this up all night? “Come on!” Rainbow Dash whined. “Hurry it up, it’s cold out here!” Applejack stuck her head further outside. She caught sight of Dash and the rest of the Wonderbolts, with Fluttershy in tow. “Well why didn’ya just say so?” She pulled the door wide open. “Come on in y’all! Everypony is welcome! ‘Specially you, Fluttershy! Not much of a birthday party without the birthday mare, now is it?” “Oh thank you Applejack, but you really shouldn’t have gone to so much...” She froze, her mouth dropping open as she caught sight of the inside of the barn. Pinkie had, as usual, outdone herself. Every beam and column in the barn was decorated with garlands of flowers, and the floor was littered with multicoloured petals. Somehow, Pinkie had managed to coax in a multitude of birds, squirrels and rabbits, who fluttered, scurried and bounced around the room. Best of all, Twilight, Pinkie and Spike were there waiting for her, smiling in welcome. “Oh my...” “You like it?” Pinkie grinned. “Of course I like it!” Fluttershy replied, gratitude radiating from her voice. She glanced around. “There’s... no balloons?” Pinkie nodded. “Uh-uh! Balloons go pop! I like it when they do, but I know how you hate sudden loud noises, so your party is a balloon free zone! I’ve thrown you a super special quiet party!” “Oh, thank you Pinkie!” Fluttershy smiled. She paused. “But where’s Rari-” “Aaaah!” Rarity squealed, appearing from the back door. “Fluttershy, what happened to your mane?” Before Fluttershy could answer, Ice Wind interrupted. “You!” She glared at Rarity with contempt. All the little creatures scattered into the shadows and crevices around the barn. One of the garlands slipped loose from its beam, and dropped to the ground. “Er... yes, me...” for once, Rarity was lost for words. “I’m Rari-” “I know who you are.” Ice Wind charged forwards, thrusting her face just inches from Rarity’s. “You made that abundantly clear the last time I met you. Just before you nearly killed me and two of my team-mates!” She jabbed Rarity in the chest with her hoof. “Ah...” Rarity giggled nervously. “That was you... Yes... well... I’m really sorry about that... I mean... in the heat of the moment... falling through the air... I panicked...” “Back the hay off!” Rainbow pulled Ice Wind back. “I’ve had it just about to bursting with you! Look at that!” She pointed over to Fluttershy, who had retreated to a corner of the barn when the shouting started. Her lips were quivering, and tears began to form in her eyes. “This is her party! How dare you ruin this for her?” “Too far, Windy, too far...” Surprise hissed. The silence in the room was deafening. For a moment it looked like Ice Wind was going to argue, but then she dropped back. She spoke in a calm, regretful voice. “No, you’re right. That was out of line. I was planning to keep quiet, just for tonight. Really. Then I saw-” briefly, the venom returned to her voice “-her, and I just... I just lost control. Forget it. For tonight, a truce. Okay?” Dash glared at her through narrowed eyes for a few seconds. “Fine. A truce. For Fluttershy. But I will not be forgetting this.” She spat on her hoof, and held it out towards Ice Wind. “Fair enough.” Ice Wind spat on her own hoof, and slapped it against Rainbow’s. “Don’t think this means I’m going easy on you tomorrow though.” She looked around, suddenly aware of everypony’s eyes on her. “I guess I’ll just... take some air for a minute.” She trotted outside, glancing over her shoulder to see if everypony was still watching her as she left. Even after she had gone, nopony really knew what to say for a few seconds. Surprise spoke first. “I’d best go after her...” She headed towards the door. “How do you put up with her?” Dash asked. “Really... once you get to know her...” Surprise sighed. “You’ll see. Trust me.” She disappeared outside. “Are you okay there sugarcube?” Applejack had trotted over to Fluttershy to comfort her. “Jus’ don’t think about it, okay? Don’t let that big meanie ruin your party.” “It’s alright, Applejack.” Fluttershy sniffed. “It’s Rarity I’m worried about...” The unicorn had barely moved since Ice Wind had confronted her. However somehow Fluttershy’s words seemed to break the spell. She collapsed onto the barn floor. “Uuuugh!” she groaned. “Well, I certainly thought I’d put that sorry episode behind me. Lovely bunch, these Wonderbolts of yours, Dash...” “Hey!” protested Lightning. “We aren’t all like that... Believe me, I’m as shocked as you are.” He grinned. “So you’re the mighty Rarity then? Who knocked out three of our finest members in as many seconds! Don’t worry, we don’t all hold a grudge.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” Rarity said. “I wasn’t thinking. Of course it’s unfair to tar you all with the same brush. I just... wasn’t expecting such a performance. Although I admit in many ways I probably deserved most of it...” “You apologised to her already, Rarity,” Twilight pointed out. “It’s not like you can turn back time and fix things. She was out of line.” She glanced over at the two colts. “Dash was right, how do you put up with somepony like that?” “Ice Wind has...” Stormy Skies paused. “She has her own way of doing things, but she’s good at her job. I’m willing to put up with a little aggravation for that.” Lightning smirked. “That’s why we haven’t thrown Dash out yet!” “Hey!” Dash protested. “What?” Lightning smiled innocently. “I was just saying how good you are at your job! I can’t imagine what you thought I was suggesting?” Everypony laughed at that, dispelling some of the tension from the room. Fluttershy dried her eyes, and the party began to swing back into gear. “Sooo...” Rarity sidled up to her. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, what have you been doing to your beutiful mane?” “Oh...” Fluttershy brushed her shortened mane gently with her hoof. “Surprise cut it for me. Do you... do you like it?” Rarity paused for a long time. “It’s very... modern...” She sighed. “I do wish you’d run these things past me, dear. Don’t you worry, this can still be salvaged. Come with me if you want to look fabulous!” She led Fluttershy away to a corner, levitating a comb from her saddlebags to begin fussing around with her mane. Spitfire sighed. She was actually somewhat relieved that Ice Wind’s display had drawn the attention away from her. She’d recognised Rarity herself, but bit her lip and kept her mouth shut to stay in character. Now she wondered how she’d have reacted if that hadn’t been the case. Probably not as violently as Ice Wind, but she’d certainly have wanted to give Rarity a piece of her mind. She was glad that she hadn’t gotten the chance now. Watching Rarity chatting and laughing with Fluttershy, it was hard to maintain the grudge. “So... how long’ve ya known Fluttershy?” Spitfire jumped at the unexpected voice. She turned to see Applejack smiling at her. “Oh...” Try not to panic, try not to panic! “Well, from back when we were foals actually. We met in Cloudsdale at... um... school?” “Ah can see how you two mighta got along!” Applejack smiled. “You seem almost as nervous as she does.” “Oh...” Spitfire guessed that she was a little on edge. Well why not play up to that? That way she’ll never take me for a Wonderbolt. “Oh yes, that’s how we met. Somepony was setting off fireworks, and we both hid under the same cloud.” “Aw well ain’t that just swell. Although...” Applejack scratched the bottom of her chin with her hoof. “It ‘aint half strange that Fluttershy never mentioned you before.” Spitfire laughed uncertainly, shifting her eyes from side to side in search of an escape. Well, at least Operation Act Nervous is going well... “Yes... well... you know Fluttershy. Never much of a talker. It was a long time ago, after all.” She felt beads of sweat beginning to form on her brow. I’m a natural! Now how do I stop? “Well, I can’t monopolise all of your time! I’m just going to... stand over there now.” She retreated. “Alrighty then!” Applejack called after her. “You have fun now!” She sighed to herself. “Well she seemed like a mighty nice pony. Ah’m glad that Fluttershy has some friends outside of the six of us.” She went to rejoin the rest of her friends, having completely missed that anything was out of the ordinary. The party continued into the night. Ice Wind slunk back in at some point. She stayed by herself in one corner, aside from occasional visits from Surprise, but didn’t cause any more trouble. The rest of the Wonderbolts mingled with the Ponyville contingent, and the initial awkwardness quickly faded. Lightning was particularly keen to mingle. He chatted with Pinkie and Applejack, and Rarity too, which earned him some unfriendly looks from Spike. Eventually he settled on Twilight, who seemed happy to respond, although mainly because he was willing to listen to her talk about books. Fluttershy watched from the sidelines, sipping on a drink. “Hey, ‘Shy, what’s up?” Rainbow interrupted her thoughts. “You’re looking a little down...” “Oh... um... nothing,” Fluttershy replied quickly. She blushed. Rainbow followed her gaze to Lightning and Twilight. She laughed. “No way! Do I detect a little Flutter-crush?” She suddenly turned more serious. “Listen, Fluttershy. Lightning... I know he’s been... nice to you. But you’ve gotta understand that that’s just how he acts. I mean...” Her voice trailed off. Fluttershy nodded. “Thanks Rainbow, I appreciate your advice. Um... I know that sometimes I can come off as a little... naive. But I’d actually already worked that out for myself. Not that I’m not grateful that you’re trying to help. It’s just nice to have a stallion pay attention to you once in a while, even if you know he's just a flirt.” “You hate ponies paying attention to you...” Rainbow pointed out. “Well... there are different kinds of attention,” Fluttershy explained. “Um... actually Rainbow, I’m a little surprised that you haven’t seemed to show much interest.” “M-me?” Rainbow’s jaw dropped open. “Why yes,” continued Fluttershy. “I mean, you’ve always been in awe of the Wonderbolts. It would only be natural to start having... certain feelings towards them. Do you like Lightning? He’s certainly very outgoing, I think you two have a lot in common. Or maybe Soarin? I’ve never really met him, but I’m sure he’s nice. Then again, maybe you prefer Stormy Skies? He is a living legend after all, and I know some mares like an older stallion.” She glanced away nervously. “Um... and if... maybe you like Spitfire? Don’t worry, that’s not a problem. Whatever your personal tastes are is fine with me...” Dash had been unable to speak throughout Fluttershy’s short speech. She was shocked to discover that she was actually blushing. “But... what... I...” She shook her head. “Are you teasing me? You aren’t supposed to tease me! You’re Fluttershy!” “Oh, was I teasing you?” Fluttershy looked aghast. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. All I’m trying to say is that if you want any advice, I’d be happy to help as best as I can.” “I don’t need any advice!” Dash protested. She looked around for a distraction, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. “Twilight!” Lightning had been snagged by Spike, who seemed to have something important to say to him, leaving the unicorn alone. “Oh hello Rainbow.” Twilight trotted over to join them. “And you too, Fluttershy, are you having a good time?” “Oh yes.” Fluttershy nodded. “Me and Rainbow were just discussing how she fe-” “So!” Rainbow interrupted, before Fluttershy had the chance to swing the conversation back towards that particular topic. “I saw you talking to Lightning, there. How was that going?” She raised her eyebrows and wiggled them slightly. “Oh, it was just wonderful!” Twilight grinned. “It’s so rare that I get to talk to somepony who cares about books as much as I do.” Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other in disbelief. Lightning had not struck either of them as much of a bookworm. “You know, it turns out he likes the exact same books as I do!” “Let me guess, you told him which books you liked first?” Rainbow suggested. “And then he just happened to have read the exact same ones? I don’t suppose he told you why he liked them?” “Well of course he...” Twilight paused. “You know, I was so busy explaining them all to him that he barely had a chance to get a word in edgewise. I guess that was a little rude of me...” “Sooo... you didn’t get the impression that maybe, just maybe, he was interested in something other than books?” Rainbow asked. “Oh, no,” Twilight replied. “I mean, that was all we talked about. I can’t imagine what else...” She broke off mid sentence. “Ooooooh... I see.” She laughed. “Now don’t be silly, Rainbow, just because a mare is talking to a stallion doesn’t mean that there’s anything else going on. Besides, I wouldn’t want to step on your hooves.” “What?” Rainbow groaned loudly. “Why does everypony seem to assume that I’m interested in absolutely everypony else?” Suddenly, the whole room seemed to have gone silent. Rainbow realised that everypony in the room seemed to be looking right at her. “Oh... horseapples.” “Great party, Pinkie Pie!” Surprise exclaimed. “They don’t do them like this up in Cloudsdale!” The evening had passed in a blur, and it was well past midnight. “Hey, I should come up to Cloudsdale and throw one for you!” Pinkie suggested. “Um...” Surprise flapped her wings. “Oh, don’t worry!” Pinkie laughed. “Twilight can make me a pair of those in a snap! Right Twi?” “Well...” Twilight paused. “I’m not sure that’s an entirely good idea... You remember how that ended last time, right?” “Okie dokie lokie!” If Pinkie was upset by Twilight’s reluctance, she didn’t let it show. “In that case, since you’re training Dash in flying, maybe I can train you in party planning! Then you can throw yourself a party!” Surprise scratched her chin. “Hmmm... well, maybe after we’re done with the celebration...” She shook her head. “I don’t know Pinkie, I love partying, but I think actually throwing a party seems like a lot of work. All the preparations... then cleaning up afterwards? Not sure that sounds so much fun...” “Oh don’t be silly!” Pinkie giggled again. “Planning a party is the funnest part! And tidying up...” She paused, suddenly looking confused. “You know, I never really think of that...” Applejack sighed. She looked around the barn. The flowers were starting to wilt a little, dropping petals all over the floor. All the little animals had been cute and all, but they’d also taken care of their business. All over the place. Discarded plates, cups and other rubbish had managed to get just about everywhere. “Well...” she muttered to herself. “Looks like ah’ve got a busy day tomorrow...” “And so have we,” Stormy Skies added. “If you don’t mind, I think we should all be getting some rest.” Reluctantly, the Wonderbolts said their goodbyes. Along with Dash and Fluttershy, they began to make their way to the exit. “Hey come on!” Pinkie protested. “The party’s only just getting started! Just because the ‘bolts have to go doesn’t mean you do too, Fluttershy! Or Windburst! Come on, stay a little longer!” “Oh right...” Fluttershy froze. “Um... well I’m sorry to leave, Pinkie, but I have to get up early tomorrow. To look after my animals. If... that’s okay?” “And I have to...” Spitfire paused. “Actually, I don’t have to do anything. Sure I can stay.” She grinned, turning to the other Wonderbolts. “You go enjoy your rest. I’ll just stay here and party a little longer.” “I hate you,” Lightning muttered under his breath, although with no real malice in his voice. “And I will be getting revenge.” “Sleep well!” Spitfire called after them as they departed. “Try not to wake me in the morning!”