//------------------------------// // It's Party Time! (Revised) // Story: Family // by FleetlordAvatar //------------------------------// Reiver awoke to a quiet house. Usually there was some sort of background noise, Granny Smith cooking in the kitchen, Apple Bloom doing her homework down the hall, muffled conversations between Big Macintosh and Applejack from downstairs. It gave the place a warmth and comfort that put the human turned colt at ease. But now it seemed like even the timbers of the farmhouse had fallen silent, and as he climbed out of bed he prepared himself for anything. Pushing open the bedroom door, its squeaky hinges echoing throughout the darkened hallway, Reiver looked around. “Hello…Big Mac? Applejack?” he called out nervously. “Where is everypony?” “Heck if I know,” replied Bedlam. “But this makes me feel uneasy.” Mentally agreeing with the strange entity, Reiver cautiously made his way through the hall and down the stairs. Reaching the darkened living room, he called out once again. “Hello?” The lights suddenly flicked on as over a dozen voices yelled: “Surprise!” Blinded by the bright light and sudden noise, Reiver nearly jumped out of his skin as nearby cannon went off with a loud bang, showering him in confetti. The colt barely had time to recover his senses before a mass of pink pony completely took over his field of vision. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! You must be Reiver! Twilight told me about you! I can’t believe there was a new colt in Ponyville all this time and I never got to throw you a welcome party! But then Twilight told me you were sick and feeling down, so I decided to throw a welcome/get better/cheer up surprise party just for you! Were you surprised? Huh huh huh?” “Uh…” Reiver hesitated as his brain tried to process the mass of syllables, and apparently slashes, that had just poured from the party pony’s lips. “…yes…” he finally finished. “Yay!” cheered Pinkie. “I knew it would be a surprise! Pinkie Pie makes the most surprising surprises that ever surprised a surpriseee! But what’s the one thing better than a surprise? A Surprise PARTY!” She punctuated that last statement by throwing her hooves dramatically into the air, which triggered two more bursts of confetti. Reiver, slack jawed and bewildered, sat down, snapping back to reality when a familiar laugh reached his ears. “Careful partner, you’ll start catching flies,” chuckled Applejack, gently closing Reivers mouth with a hoof. “Does… she always have that much energy?” he slowly replied, his brain finally starting to shift into gear. “Never known her not to,” she said with smile. “Yepperoony,” interjected Pinkie. “I always have lots and lot and lots of energy, some ponies say it’s because I work at Sugarcube corner, but I don’t see what they’re talking about. All I do is the baking, but sometimes I like to try the cakes, cupcakes, eclairs, batter, sugar and frosting…creamy, creamy frosting…” Reiver and Applejack shared a look as Pinkie Pie started to drool. “Anywhooo,” she said, pushing thoughts of frosting to one side. “I hope you like the party. Twilight told me you’ve been so sick you haven’t been able to leave the house, and that made me sooo sad because it meant you must be sooo lonely, so I invited plenty of colts and fillies so you can make lots and lot and lots of friends!” She gave a sweeping gesture at the party with this last declaration. Reiver could see that the living room’s furniture had been pushed against the walls, and it was decked out in balloons, banners and other party paraphernalia. Snacks, cakes and a bowl of apple punch lay out on several tables occupying the vacated space. The room was also full of ponies, and, true to Pinkie’s word, most of them were foals around his age, his current age anyway. He quickly picked out the Cutie Mark Crusaders s underneath one of the tables; Sweetie Belle using her magic to slowly lift plates of snacks down to her friends. He spied the lanky form of the Pegasus Featherweight, fluttering around with his camera while near the back, playing ‘Pin the Tail on the Pony”, were Snips and Snails, although it looked like they were trying to pin it on themselves instead of the picture. Standing apart from the crowd he saw a pink filly in a tiara and a grey filly in glasses doing their best to stay out of the party, but not make it too obvious. He recognised them as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the ‘enemies’ of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Reiver had never been the most sociable of individuals; in fact, at this point he had definitely interacted with more ponies than people. It was a little overwhelming to think that most of these ponies had come here to see him, a complete stranger. His thoughts were interrupted when a plate of was levitated under his nose, upon which was a piece of cake. Unusually for a Pinkie Pie Party, it hadn’t been decorated at all and it was thinly sliced. Looking up, he saw that Twilight Sparkle had joined them, the confection held in her magic. “Here,” she said. “A party’s no fun without cake.” “But I can’t eat it,” he replied. “Yes you can,” said Twilight with a smile. “I’ve spoken to Nurse Redheart, and based on your progress, she has decided you can move onto small, controlled portions. I’m afraid icing is still off the table and you’ll still have to drink water, but at least you won’t have to eat ‘mush’ anymore.” “Hey now Twi, that’s prime Apple Family mush,” said Applejack, responding to the good natured insult. As the two ponies shared a laugh, Reiver just stared at the plain cake that he had been offered, after eating applesauce for so long it might as well have been a four course meal. “Go on, try it,” whispered Pinkie Pie conspiratorially. “I can’t” he replied, sadly. “It looks delicious, really it does. But I’m allergic to gluten; this is going make me sick if I eat it.” “What!” exclaimed Twilight. “Why didn’t you say anything to me before?” “Because I didn’t think it was relevant, I was eating applesauce and water. If I had known you would throw me a surprise party then I would have said something.” “But then it wouldn’t have been a surprise!” said Pinkie Pie. “Everything about this party is a surprise, even the cakes. I made them all with my new flour that’s gluten free.” “Wait, what?” stuttered Applejack. “How’d ya’ll know to do that?” “Something triggered my Pinkie Sense a while back, and it made me think that something bad had just happened. Which meant there was a pony out there that couldn’t enjoy cake, so I got out my extra special flour and made cakes that anypony can enjoy!” replied Pinkie with a beaming smile. Reiver looked down at the cake once again, processing what the party pony had said. Given what he knew, the ‘Pinkie Sense’ was worth trusting, and if that were still the case, it meant this cake was safe for him to eat. But he also knew that suffering an allergic reaction would definitely not help his recovery. Lavender light enveloped the slice as Twilight scanned it with her magic. “Pinkie is right,” she said. “I’m not picking up any traces of gluten or wheat; I think you should try it.” Looking up, he saw the three looking at him expectantly as he debated the merits of an allergic reaction against actual food. Then his stomach growled hungrily, and he promptly devoured the cake with gusto, the sweet taste setting his taste buds alight after having nothing but apple sauce for so long. “That was delicious!” he exclaimed, joyfully. “Can I have another one please?” “Just one more,” replied Twilight, smirking. “You don’t want to make yourself ill.” “Yeah,” chipped Pinkie Pie. “Cause if you eat too much then your tummy gets all, blech, ugh, blaaah!” she dramatically lurched around to emphasise her point. “Now, go have fun, I’m going see if everypony else is having fun, then we can all have fun together!” With that, the perpetually bubbly party pony bounced off. “Why don’t you and mingle while I get that slice of cake?” said Twilight. “That sounds like a great idea,” he replied, handing the unicorn his plate and heading over to where he had seen the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Hi Reiver,” said Apple Bloom cheerfully as he approached. “How are you feeling?” “Much better,” he replied happily. “Especially now I’m being moved onto solid foods. No more mush for me.” “Hey, that’s quality Apple Family mush!” teased Apple Bloom. “Applejack just said the same thing, I still think its mush though,” he deadpanned, and the group shared a giggle. “So, are you guys still grounded?” he asked. “Yeah,” sighed Scootaloo. “But Pinkie Pie persuaded our parents to let us come to the party. I think they gave in just to stop her from talking.” “Given what I just experienced, it wouldn’t surprise me.” “Hey, I’ve got an idea,” said Apple Bloom. “Since ya’ll have been stuck inside, you haven’t met any of our other friends. So, how about we introduce you?” “Sure,” replied Reiver, having been cooped up with very little company for so long, he was actually looking forward to meeting other ponies. Moving away from the table, the three fillies escorted Reiver through the throng as they went towards the other foals. As they approached, his ears pricked up at the sound of something he had not expected to hear in Equestria, at least outside of an arcade. Eight Bit Video Game music. Scanning the crowd, he spotted a foal with a brown coat sitting alone at a table. On his head was a beanie with a spinning propeller and in his hooves was a small device that reminded him of a Game Boy. From the intense look on his face, Reiver could see that he was completely engrossed in whatever he was playing. Sweetie Belle must have also heard the music, because she started heading towards him almost as soon as Reiver made eye contact. “Button,” she groaned. “You’re not just going to play that thing for the whole party are you?” Reiver blinked in surprise, after the incident with Colgate he hadn’t expected somepony like Button Mash to match his fan given name. He knew that the character existed in the series, but beyond his physical appearance no one knew if that was his official name. “Mgh,” mumbled Button. “Will…party…later…just got to, YEAH!” He jumped up in elation, punching the air with a hoof as he did. “Take THAT high score!” He then seemed to take notice of unicorn filly. “Oh, hey Sweetie how’s it going?” Sweetie Belle facehoofed. “Are you seriously just noticing me now?” “No, wait, yes, wait, I mean…how long were you standing there?” he stammered nervously. “Not long…this time.” The colt groaned in frustration before slumping to the floor. “Augh! I did it again!” “Does that happen a lot?” Reiver whispered to Scootaloo. “Oh yeah,” she replied. “One time, we tried getting his attention with trumpets, drums and a heavy metal guitar album; he didn’t even look up from his controller.” “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle,” said Button, tearing up. “It’s just, this is the new Super Mareio and I wanted to beat that one level, then a few more, then mum said we had to come to the party and I just…kinda…” he trailed off, he gaze fixed on the floor. Sweetie Belle sighed and sat by his side, draping a hoof over his shoulders. “Button, I’m not mad, but you need to stop doing this.” “I know,” he sighed. “But, it’s just that I don’t know anypony here and that made me nervous. You know I’m not the best at talking to other ponies.” “I know,” she said. “But that why I’m here, to introduce you to new ponies.” Button Mash lifted his head and saw Reiver standing between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. “This is Reiver,” said Sweetie Belle. “He’s new in Ponyville, and he doesn’t know many ponies”.” “Hi there,” said Reiver. “Uh…hi,” nervously replied the colt. Reiver could see Button Mash was nervous and he found himself empathising with the colt. Moving around when he was younger meant he hadn’t socialised like a child would normally have. He used to get nervous around new people, and he still found himself getting anxious in social settings. So he decided to try something he had learned to help cope with such an event, pointing out a shared interest. “I see you have a…is it a Joyboy?” Button Mash gasped like Reiver had just committed some sort of felony. “This isn’t just a Joyboy! It’s a Ninvento, limited edition, Platinum Joyboy!” The colt’s excitement caused Reiver to inwardly grin; they were going to get along just fine. “So, what were you playing?” “Super Mareio! It’s this game where you run and jump through levels to rescue Prince Mushroom from an evil dragon lord!” “Okay Button, enough geek talk,” interrupted Scootaloo. “We’ll be here all day if Reiver gets sucked into playing one of your games.” “Although, I didn’t hear Sweetie complain about that time we spent an entire afternoon on Wonderbolt Derby,” replied Apple Bloom. A blush bloomed on the unicorns cheeks. “It…it was just really fun to play.” “Sure it was,” said Scootaloo with a knowing look. “How about ya’ll come along Button,” said Apple Bloom. “We’re introducing Reiver to some of our other friends.” “Uhh…I don’t know,” he replied, nervously. “Please,” said Sweetie Belle. “I know you’re nervous around new ponies, but Reiver is really nice. It would mean a lot to me if you were part of this.” She finished by taking one of Buttons’ hooves in her own, and Reiver saw the colts perpetually spinning beanie go into overdrive. “S…sure Sweetie Belle,” he stammered. “Great!” she exclaimed. Reiver and the other fillies shared a chuckle as the blushing colt was enthusiastically pulled past them. “So…do they like each other?” asked Reiver. “Oh yeah,” said Scootloo. “They’re just too nervous to admit it out loud.” “I find it kind of sweet,” said Apple Bloom. “Meh,” replied Scootaloo. “I don’t really go in for these mushy feelings.” As they followed Sweetie Belle towards another group of foals, Reiver and Apple Bloom saw a brown and white pinto pony in a pirate outfit attempting to show off his swashbuckling as he widely swung a plastic sword through the air. As Reiver recognised many of these ponies from the TV series, he wasn’t really surprised when the Crusaders introduced him to Pipsqueak, who boasted that he had been promoted after a great battle with the Equestrian Admiralty. Which Sweetie Belle clarified was just a massive water balloon fight they had around the Crusaders Clubhouse. Featherweight was next, as he practically pushed his camera in front of the group as they spoke to Pipsqueak, the flash temporarily blinding them. Once the spots had cleared from their eyes, Scootaloo explained that photography was one of the pegasus’s hobbies, and Reiver spent a moment watching him flit back and forth between ponies as he looked for the best angles. Scootaloo found Dinky Doo next and brought her over to the group. Speaking to her revealed that the unicorn wanted to study magic in Canterlot, and that she had been practicing a lot in preparation and she decided to demonstrate by levitating some punch out of the bowl in a liquid orb. However, the strain was too much for the filly’s magic and the spell broke, accidentally drenching the group in apple punch. This got the attention of an adult unicorn, Sparkler, if Reiver recalled correctly. Dinky immediately started apologising frantically for what happened, however, instead of being angry like she had expected, Sparkler gently reassured Dinky that her magic would get stronger someday, before using her own power to dry them off. As they went from pony to pony, Reiver looked around for Spike, rasoning that if Twilight were there then he would be as well. He finally spotted the little dragon munching happily on a bowl of jewels near Rarity, every so often shooting a lovesick look towards the alabaster mare. He seemed happy enough, and Reiver decided it might be best to leave him be for the moment. With his attention elsewhere, he was surprised when the small Pegasus, Zipporwhill, whizzed up to them, rapidly introduced herself, then sped off to get some cookies, her frantic father vainly calling out that she should cut down on the sugar. As the growing group of ponies chatted to one another, Twilight reappeared with his requested cake slice, causing many of the foals to break off and get their own sugary treats from the buffet. With Twilight following them to ensure they didn’t eat too much sugar, Reiver and the CMC found themselves alone for a moment. “Having fun mate?” said Bedlam, manifesting discreetly in the shadows. “You bet,” he replied, munching on the cake slice. “So where have you been?” “Just feeling things through your mind and body,” he replied. “That cake is delicious by the way.” “What do mean feeling things through him? That sounds really creepy,” said Scootaloo, as the Crusaders took notice of Bedlams appearance. “Take it how you will mate, but he and I are linked and so I experience what he does.” “Not vice versa?” queried Reiver. Bedlam shook his head. “Apparently not,” he replied. “Although I don’t want to try and force a connection.” “Yeah, it might do something bad to us both if you do…” Reiver shuddered, unaware Bedlam was speaking from experience. They continued eating and talking for a moment longer, with the Crusaders explaining they might have an idea about what Bedlam is, but they wanted to find out some more information first as it had to do with Moon Ponies. Reiver was listening for the most part, but as they explained how Moon Ponies used light to appear and disappear, he found his mind wandering away from the topic. “Bit for your thoughts?” said Apple Bloom. “Sorry, Apple Bloom,” he replied. “It’s just that, looking around here, it’s occurred to me just how nice you and everypony I’ve met has been, even when I was trying to keep my distance.” “It’s no big deal,” she replied. “Apples are some of the friendliest ponies around.” “And Ponyville is the friendliest place in Equestria!” said Sweetie Belle. “Which puts you in the friendliest place in this world,” finished Scootaloo. They all grinned at Reiver, who returned a small smile of his own. “Speaking of friends,” said Apple Bloom. “How about we go and get some food before everypony eats it all.” Getting up, the foals headed off towards the buffet, where Dinky was once again levitating punch out of the bowl, although she was doing much better this time. As they left, unknown to them, Bedlam remained hidden in the shadows. “I thought they’d never leave,” he sighed. “Now…where was I?” He casually swept his gaze across the room and locked onto a house plant in the corner. “Just a little bit now, not too much,” he muttered to himself. Focusing on the plant, Bedlam reached out with, something he couldn’t quite identify, although it felt like he was pushing against a fabric pulled tight over a frame. As he applied pressure, he felt it slowly flex, and the plant began to slowly grown as a new green shoot emerged from the stem, before blooming into a deep red rose. “Perfect,” he said to himself. “Now what else can I do?” He scanned the room once again and settled on an unattended glass of punch. “Okay, now let’s try this.” Reaching out once again, he grasped the fabric and slowly twisted it to one side. He felt it pull taught once again, but as he kept twisting the liquid in the glass changed from golden yellow, to deep purple. Releasing his grip, Bedlam watched as Snips and Snails wandered over to the glass and Snails took a sip, his expression immediately contorting into one of disgust as he reflectively spat it straight into the face of his companion. “Hey! What was that for?” cried Snips. “If you tasted that you would know,” coughed his companion. Bedlam chuckled to himself as the two began to bicker; he had successfully changed the apple punch into sour grape juice. “Whew,” he sighed, rubbing an ethereal hoof across his brow. “That one might have been too much, but it was so worth it.” Bedlam took a moment to recover some of his energy, and as he looked out across the room for a target, he saw Reiver and his new friends enjoying themselves by the buffet table, Dinky had even managed to get the punch into glasses this time, although she looked exhausted from the effort. However, as they were laughing and joking among themselves, Bedlam took notice of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who had apparently grown bored with staying out of the party, and were now making their way over to the group. “That can’t be good.” Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Cutie Mark Crybabies.” The haughty tone cut through the air like a knife. Reiver looked up from his seat next to Button Mash and Sweetie Belle to see the pair of spoilt fillies seizing up the group. “Go away Diamond Tiara,” said Scootaloo. “We just want to enjoy this party in peace.” “So do I, but then I saw a few blank flanks and the tone was lowered considerably,” replied the pink filly, haughtily. “So who’s the pony this party is supposed to be for anyway?” asked Silver Spoon. “I heard he’s some sort of savage from the Everfree forest,” replied her cohort, “You think it would be easy to pick up his smell, but then again, we are in a hick pony’s farm after all.” Apple Bloom made to rise, but Sweetie Belle stopped her. “For your information, Reiver is not a savage.” “Who’s Reiver?” “I am.” The two fillies looked over as Reiver got to his hooves, the colt had spoken up to get attention off Apple Bloom, only now he was regretting that decision. The two fillies brought back unwanted memories of being picked on at every school he went to. He swallowed nervously, had he been an adult then the scrutinising gaze of the two bullies wouldn’t have bothered him. However, as he was, he had to fight with all his self-control to remain calm. “What are you wearing?” sneered Silver Spoon. Reiver reflexively looked at his threadbare jacket; he still hadn’t taken Rarity up on her offer to fix it. “I’ll bet he hasn’t had a bath is years, and look at how unkempt he is. It’s no wonder he’s living on a farm, you couldn’t tell him from the animals.” The two laughed wickedly and Reiver felt his ears fall flat against his skull in humiliation. “Look,” Scootaloos voice cut into the bullies’ twisted merriment. “We all came here because Pinkie Pie invited us, so how about you two go enjoy yourselves elsewhere.” “Fine with us,” replied Diamond Tiara. “We just wanted to see what all the fuss was about, turns out it was little more than another scraggly blank flank.” The pair shared a shrill laugh and a high hoof, before turning to swagger off to another part of the party. As Reiver sat down amongst the other foals, he felt Sweetie Belle laid a hoof across his shoulders. “Are you alright?” she asked, concerned. “I’ll be fine,” he replied, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “I just…don’t do well with bullies.” “I know how you feel,” replied Dinky Doo. “Those two are always making fun of me for my magic.” “Or my games,” said Button Mash “Or my accent,” finished Pipsqueak. “Just, try not to let them get you,” said Sweetie Belle. “Besides, we have one thing they don’t.” “Let me guess,” replied Reiver, with a small smile, “friends.” “Exactly!” exclaimed the group. As the foals went back to their merry making, Bedlam watched Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as they made their way across the floor, heads held high in a disgustingly superior manner. Just as they rounded the table, the entity pulled sharply with his power, and the two fillies cried out in surprise as the floor beneath them briefly turned to ice, causing them to slip straight into one another. As they struggled and flailed in an effort to untangle themselves, Bedlam cracked a devious smile, before vanishing like smoke. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx A few hours later, the party was winding down and as ponies started to leave, Reiver found that he was sad to see them go. Despite the incident with Diamond Tiara, he had genuinely had a good time. “I’m sorry about Diamond Tiara,” said Apple Bloom. “I’ll get over it,” he replied. “But I think I’ll stay out of her way if I can.” He turned to his new friends. “So, I’ll see you later?” he asked Button Mash. “Definitely,” replied the colt. “I’ve never really met another pony who appreciates video games like me.” “Just promise me you won’t overdo it,” said Scootaloo. “I don’t want another friend to become a total recluse.” “Button isn’t a recluse,” interrupted Sweetie Belle. That got a few nervous whistles from the other foals; thankfully any follow up questions were cut off as Buttons mother collected him. Soon, the other Crusaders had joined up with their families and headed out as well. As Reiver said goodbye to Pipsqueak and Dinky, Applejack came up beside him. “Well partner, how do you feel?” “I feel, great,” he replied. “I think this might have been what I needed.” Applejack chuckled. “Glad to hear it, I’ll invite them over regularly if you like, just to keep you company if nopony is available to watch you.” “I’d like that, thank you.” The farm pony tousled his mane. “No problem partner. Now, it’s late, and I’ve got more harvesting to do in the morning, time for you young uns to be in bed.” Reiver found himself joining Apple Bloom in expressing his disappointment, but Applejack gently hushed the pair and sent them upstairs. As he reached the top, Reiver heard the bathroom door slam shut as Apple Bloom called dibs. Chuckling to himself Reiver returned to his bedroom and lay down on the mattress with a contented sigh. He had never really had friends in the traditional sense, his family moved too much and he got tired of leaving those he got to know behind. So he decided to just stop making them altogether, reasoning it was better to be lonely than have to experience the pain of leaving yet another group of friends behind. As a consequence, he had never really had friends, proper friends he could see regularly and hang out with, for years. The thought that he would have to leave these new friends behind when he found a way home made his heart ache. This wasn’t his world and he had no idea what effect his presence could have on Equestria, especially when he knew about certain events in advance. However, something was chipping away at his resolve, and as he lay there he finally spoke aloud the question he didn’t yet know the answer to. “Do I really want to leave?”