Interlude 14 - An Evening Soiree
Well, tonight was the night. What had initially started out as simply inviting Milano round to the house for dinner had turned into something of a party. I had thrown the odd get together back home, so I didn’t see any reason why we couldn’t. Plus, it was a good opportunity to get to know everypony in town a little better. I mean, I knew a fair few ponies from the market and a few from school, but it never hurts to keep up relations. So, after asking Milano if she was alright with it, I began to steadily plan my first evening do in Equestria.
My husband, initially, was not on board with the idea. Like my son, he can at times be a little asocial. But with a little bit of nagging, he eventually came round to the idea, either because he came to like the idea of having a party (I suggested he invite a few friends from work too), or because he knew it was pointless to argue with me once I’ve set my mind on something.
It wouldn’t be something over the top, more along the lines of a pleasant evening with friends; you know the drill, snacks, music, socialising; the sort of party that younger generations don’t seem to comprehend. Although, to be fair, there probably would be a bit of hard cider flowing too.
So, my first obvious step was to start planning everything and gathering up the supplies that would be needed. As I said, it was going to be a pleasant little evening do with dinner at the end; something I’ve done on occasion before. However, I do always like to defer to the experts. And since Pinkie Pie would also be the one helping me with supplies and party paraphernalia, my first stop had naturally been Sugarcube Corner.
Pinkie Pie is a…strange pony, to say the least. Were she a human back on Earth, they would undoubtedly have put her on a variety of medications, put her in special schools, and generally done all they could to make her life intolerable. Luckily, we are in Equestria, and whilst she is still looked upon as a little odd, it cannot be denied that more often than not, there is a form of logic and rationality behind her actions. Plus, the kids like her.
Throughout Ponyville, she is recognised as being an excellent party planner. Twilight is skilled in organising events, but Pinkie excels at organising parties. Whilst her forte may be planning parties that are a little more, shall we say juvenile, than what I had in mind, I had every confidence she would take to the job like a duck to water.
I dropped by the shop that was both Pinkie’s home and place of work. It’s a brilliant arrangement she has with the Cakes’; she gets a paying job, full room and board and side work as a babysitter. I found Mrs. Cake behind the counter as usual; I figured that Pinkie would be in the kitchen towards to back of the shop.
“Morning, dearie,” Mrs. Cake greeted as I walked up to the counter. I figured since I was here, I might as well indulge a guilty pleasure and grab something sweet.
“Morning, Mrs. Cake, can I get a couple of those jam tarts to go, please?” The mare nodded and quickly began to bag up a couple of the treats; I’ve loved those things since I was a child.
“There we go,” she said as she passed me the small paper bag. “Anything else for you?” I shook my head.
“Not today, have to watch my weight after all,” I replied jokingly. “Is Pinkie Pie around though? I wanted to ask her to do me a favour.” Mrs. Cake turned around to face the doorway that led into the kitchen.
“Pinkie, can you come out here a minute?” she called. For once, Pinkie did not materialise right beside me, a truly terrifying habit she possesses. Instead, she trotted out through the small saloon doors that separated the kitchen. Much to my surprise though, rather than being pink, her coat seemed to be an odd shade of white. She greeted me enthusiastically as soon as she saw me.
“Hey, Margaret,” she said in her usual peppy tone. She even added a little wave.
“Pinkie, what on earth happened to you?” I exclaimed. “What’s happened to your coat?”
“Oh, no biggie; it’s just flour,” she said, explaining the issue away. Luckily, Mrs. Cake explained.
“I don’t know why, but for some reason, the foals like it when Pinkie dumps flour on herself.” Well, I guess if it’s stupid but it works. I turned back to Pinkie, who was now once again pink, despite not having moved an inch and me having taken my eyes off her for mere moments.
“Pinkie, Roger and I were planning to have a little party sometime this week for a few friends here in Ponyville. I was wondering if you’d be free to help me sort out a few things.” Instantly, I felt my left arm seized in an iron grip and I was pulled bodily out of the shop, barely having time to throw the bits I owed on the counter. Once outside, I found myself released, and Pinkie hopped around me excitedly.
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun. We’ll need balloons, streamers, cake, rocking music…” Having seen the technique employed by the majority of townsfolk, I promptly covered Pinkie’s mouth in an effort to stop her verbal tirade.
“Pinkie,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, lest I provoke another outburst. “I’m not looking for that kind of party. I wanted to do something more along the lines of a dinner party. Okay?” I removed my hand to allow her to speak. The expression on her face could be described as mildly offended.
“Well duh!” she said. “I know that. I was planning my party planning party for later,” she explained. See what I mean, logical explanation. “No you’re gonna need a few more things. I figure you’ve got some music ready to go. But I can help out with the catering if you want, and maybe a few decorations. After all, you’re gonna want some colour for a party, maybe some paper hats even. C’mon, come upstairs to my office and we can work out a few of the details.” I was promptly grabbed again and hauled up the stairs to Pinkie’s room, which now had a professional looking desk in the middle of it. Adding to my confusion even more, was the fact that Pinkie was now wearing a full three piece suit. She settled herself down behind the desk and gestured for me to take a seat opposite.
“Now Mrs. Owen,” she began. “I’m told you are looking to plan an evening dinner party.”
The two of us then spend the next forty five minutes ironing out the details of the party. What needed to be purchased, what could be loaned, what I already had available to use, and so on. Pinkie frequently chipped in with suggestions, or rather Ms. Pie as she called herself, did.
By the time we were finished, everything had been sorted, right down to inviting the various guests along. In the end, there would be a little over a dozen guests over for the evening. We’d begin with a typical sort of get together, music, a couple snack tables, and a general opportunity to socialise. Whilst that was going on Pinkie and Applejack, who also agreed to lend a hand, would be cooking the dinner in the kitchen. Pinkie is an excellent baker, but according to her, Applejack is the better cook overall, particularly when it comes to pies and other pastry dishes. Even more so if they include apples of any variety in the recipe.
As for decorations, Pinkie was happy to provide a few of her more low key articles to do up the living room, hallway and dining room. Nothing over the top, sadly I had to put my foot down on the balloons, but I agreed with having a few streamers hanging from the ceiling.
In addition to the meal and snacks, I also wanted to have a few pre-dinner drinks, of the alcoholic variety. For this, Pinkie suggested that I stop by Berry Punch at the tavern. Whilst it is a bar, Berry has also been known to sell a few bottles of the good stuff for special occasions. I decided that it couldn’t hurt to splash out for a Prench red.
Then there was the music. We had a gramophone back at the house, which would have no problem playing a bit of music to cover up any awkward quiet moments. Plus, following that strange incident on New Year’s, I also had a fair few records of music from back on Earth that would be suited to a party. So in the end, we decided to have a mix of both Equestrian and human music. Who knows, maybe some ponies will start dancing.
The final matter to attend to was the invitations. Now, I have nothing against the Equestrian postal service, nor do I have any issue with our local mailmare, Derpy. However, were somepony to inadvertently not receive an invite, it could land me in some very hot water, a state of affairs I have no desire to be in. So for that reason, it was decided that we would deliver the invitations ourselves. I’d do the ones in Ponyville and my husband could do the ones in Canterlot. Pinkie was also kind enough to give the name of her stationary supplier to purchase some invite cards.
The next day saw me back at the school again happily going over a lesson. The kids were currently practicing their creative writing skills. I’d told them that they could write a short story on anything they chose. I’d then look over them, mark them for corrections and so on. It would help them when the exams rolled around, but it was also a lot of fun.
One of the many good points of working where I am is the relative freedom I have in decision making. Cheerilee is the only other teacher in the school. There is no head, no extra faculty, and no unnecessary bureaucrats. I didn’t have to wade my way through red tape every time I wanted to take the kids out on a field trip or teach something different. Back in the previous school I had taught in, which I later resigned from, you taught to the exams, you didn’t really teach knowledge, you taught them how to pass exams. If you wanted to do anything that deviated slightly from the curriculum, a meeting had to be held to get permission, and there would always be a couple health and safety freaks there to shoot your idea down. Here on the other hand, I had both the trust of Cheerilee and the parents to teach their children properly. It was just nice.
The kids were working away steadily on their stories. I let them swap ideas, but told them not to just started chatting like it was recess. Just to be sure, I’d occasionally ask one of them how they were doing and to summarise what they’d written so far. I did this every now and again to keep them on their toes, or hoof tips I suppose is more accurate.
Whilst they were working away, I too was writing. I’d bought around two dozen invitations yesterday after leaving Sugarcube Corner. I’d given half to my husband to invite some of his friends from work, and kept half myself. I’d already given Cheerilee and Milano theirs and now I was steadily working my way through other ponies who I thought might enjoy the evening. Twilight and her friends were on there of course, along with a few parents. This party was shaping up to be quite a busy night.
For once, I had not needed to fill in for the UN peacekeepers today; Diamond Tiara had perhaps finally gotten the message that I won’t tolerate her bullying. The stupid thing is, she seems to go after everypony. At first I thought it was just some kind of vendetta against Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but having worked here full time for quite a while now, I can see she does it to everypony. It’s as if she and Silver Spoon form their own clique and look down on absolutely everypony in the school.
And the strangest thing is her father, whilst being a bit of a tosser if you want my opinion, is not all that bad. Sure he spoils the filly rotten, but I can’t see where all her vindictiveness, manipulation and other sociopathic tendencies come from. On the rare occasions in the past where she tried to kick up a fuss over me, he often smoothed things over. In any case, today she had decided to keep her mouth shut and was working quietly. It was actually Sweetie Belle who broke the silence. She’d been collaborating with the Crusaders and had evidently spotted me doing something that wasn’t school related.
“Hey, Mrs Owen, what’s that you’re working on?” she asked, pausing in her own work.
Another thing I like to do when teaching, is treat the kids as equals. It’s a fine line to walk, but if you can keep order and still get them to like you, you’re doing something right. Whereas many teachers would simply tell the kids to mind their own business and get back to work, I don’t mind answering their questions.
“I’m just working on a few invitations for a party my husband and I are throwing in a day or two,” I replied. “I’m just finishing up one for your older sister actually.” This sort of party would be Rarity’s natural environment; it would be cruel to not invite her, Filthy Rich on the other hand…
The day continued in a pretty much uneventful fashion, the kids behaved themselves for the most part and got their work done and both the Crusaders and Diamond Tiara avoided each other and trouble. On the one hand, I was glad of this. However, kids like Diamond don’t change their ways overnight, I fear she may be planning something. At any rate, half three rolled around and the youngsters once again regained their liberty. Tomorrow night, the party would begin.
It was around half past seven in the evening when the first of the guests arrived. First up was Milano herself. She’d managed to get Button’s older brother to keep an eye on him for the night, so hopefully her home would still be intact upon her return. My husband took her coat, introduced himself and generally followed the script he always does at these kinds of functions. I can definitely see where my son gets his introvert tendencies from; at times he can be such a wallflower.
Everything was already set up when Milano arrived, so the three of us headed into the living room to grab some drinks and chat amongst ourselves until some of the other guests showed up. My husband seemed to warm up to Milano quite quickly as well which I was grateful for. About five minutes later the doorbell rang again. This time it was Cheerilee; I couldn’t go and throw a nice little party and not invite my co-worker now could I? She and Milano knew each other quite well already, presumably from the various times she’s attended the parent’s evenings and other school functions.
After that, Twilight and her friends arrived in a sort of gaggle, having met up at Twilight’s place beforehand. They were all a pleasure to talk to as always. Pinkie immediately went into full blown party mode and promptly helped herself to the snack table. Luckily Twilight was there to stop her from gorging herself. Rarity took to things very easily, as I would expect, she has always struck me as a bit of a socialite. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were not as quite at home as she was but nevertheless were content to make conversation and chat. Fluttershy meanwhile quickly plastered herself to the wall and nursed a small glass of non-alcoholic cider. Luckily though, Rainbow swooped in and got her talking. I think she just finds it hard to break the ice. Once that’s done she’s just as social as anypony and from what I understand, a year or two ago, she wouldn’t have even contemplated coming to an evening soirée, so she’s come a long way.
Anyway, by the first half hour, things were in full swing. Music was playing, ponies were laughing and chatting and good food and drink was to be had. All that was needed to complete things were Roger’s guests to arrive. I wandered my way over to him to ask where they were, thirty minutes was a little late. I found him chatting with Roseluck.
“Sweetheart, when do you think your mob will be here?” I enquired over the music. He turned, briefly kissing me before replying.
“Don’t worry, they’ll be here. Evening shift only finished a little while ago. They’ve all got to change and catch a ride down here.” I figured most of his friends would be guards. Still, nothing wrong with a few single, unattached soldiers wandering about. As luck would have it, at that moment, the doorbell went. My husband set his drink down. “That’ll be them now.”
We both made our way to the front door; the party was pretty much confined to the living room, and the dining room on the opposite side. Pinkie suggested it so ponies would have someplace to go if things got too hectic and they wanted to get some air. Even though winter was gone, the nights could still be a little chilly.
My husband threw open the front door to our guests. I was expecting guards, but then, most of them utilise enchantments in their armour to alter their appearance. So instead of four or five white haired, blue maned ponies, I had an unusual collection. The first was a pegasus, his coat was a rather dark blue colour, in the fading light it could almost be mistaken for black. His mane was quite spikey, in contrast to the typical Mohawk style of guards and was a two tone blue. Next to him was an earth pony, a massive fellow near the size of Big Mac with a caramel coloured coat and a red mane. Then there were two pegasi, both were like mirror images of the other with green coats and matted brown manes. My husband quickly set about introducing us.
“Right darling, these are a few of the guys from work.” He gestured to the pegasus. “This is Harts Fire, he’s one of the door guards, let’s ponies in and out of the court. Bit of a magician too. Show will you, mate?” Harts Fire promptly extended his wings. Much to my surprise, when he pointed the tips upward, small little fireballs shot out from them, before dropping back down. Amazingly he began to juggle these, whistling the whole time. That’s one hell of a party trick I can tell you.
Next the earth pony. “Then this is Buttercup, one of the bailiffs, used to be a guard full time but he took a nasty hit during Shining and Cadance’s wedding.” At this the hulking behemoth grinned.
“Hey, you should see what happened to the other guy though. Never knew till then you could crack an exoskeleton!” My husband finally turned to the two pegasi.
“And these two knuckleheads are Duck and Cover; they pull some of the castle’s chariots, used to be pegasi guards full time,” he turned and grinned jokingly at the pair. “At least until that ‘incident’ with the castle’s outer wall right?” The group laughed and one of the pair piped up, blushing a little at the banter.
“C’mon, it’s really easy to lose your bearings in fog; it’s their fault for building it so damn high!” At that even I had to chuckle a little. It seemed like he’d made a few good friends in Canterlot. But there were two more guests to unveil.
“And of course, you know Discord and Tia.” And with that, I had a teeny tiny mental breakdown.
Standing directly behind his guy friends, was indeed both Discord and Princess Celestia herself. Now, Discord, I could just about handle, he and my husband are friends, sort of. However, to have the ruler of the nation appear on your doorstep for a party was a bit of a shock. I mean it was hardly suited for a princess now was it?
“Darling, can I talk to you for a second?” I asked, making it obvious that I wanted a word, now. Smiling, he let the five ponies and draconequus in and followed me upstairs to our room. It was there the discussion began.
“What the hell were you thinking inviting a princess?!” I exclaimed. My husband remained unruffled.
“You said bring friends from work, so, friends from work. Besides, you invited Princess Twilight,” he countered.
“That’s different. Twilight just lives here and everypony knows her. Princess Celestia actually rules Equestria! And what about Discord; that guy’s nuts!” I replied. My husband attempted to calm me down.
“I asked Celestia about this when I invited her, she’s promised to use a disguise spell to stay incognito, she does it all the time when she wants to go out in Canterlot. She even has her own cover story perfected; she’s a secretary in the castle called Tia. I asked her to have the disguise only affect the guests; it’s harder for her magic to affect our perception anyway so I told her not to bother.” Well, that sorted at least one problem.
“What about Discord?” I asked. Princess Celestia was naturally not going to cause trouble, but Discord was chaos incarnate, at my party!
“Both Fluttershy and I have asked him to be on his best behaviour; he’s given us both his word.” That seemed sufficient for the both of them, and since he knew Discord better than I did, I elected to trust his judgement. I sighed deeply, letting out the stress that had been building up. I just wanted things to go well.
“Alright, I’m better now. But if anything does go wrong, I’m blaming you,” I warned half seriously. And with that, we headed downstairs.
And so things continued on for the next hour or so, whilst Pinkie, Applejack and I worked in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the dinner. I must say, I’m glad when we got the house, we decided to go for the larger, extendable table. The end result was you got something along the lines of a Christmas dinner with everypony gathered around the table.
I found myself sitting between Milano and ‘Tia’, both were good conversationalists. The princess herself is actually quite a good actress. Of course, I have only spoken with her on a few occasions, so it still took a bit of effort not to stand on ceremony; I’m not as comfortable around her as my husband is. Still, she did her best to keep a relaxed atmosphere and as far as everypony else was concerned, she was just another unicorn. I’m honestly not sure whether or not I should tell Milano at some point that she was telling some of her more, risqué, girls’ stories to a princess of Equestria.
Opposite me was my husband, who had Discord for company. Most of the guys he’d invited had managed to seat themselves next to a mare and Duck and Cover were shamelessly trying to hit on Cheerilee, only for Big Mac, who had accompanied Applejack, to sternly see them off. Speaking of, they seem to be going fairly steady now those two. Perhaps seeing his little sister in a relationship has spurred Big Mac to action.
I think it’s fairly safe to say that a good time was had all round. But, all good things as they say, must come to an end and by about half twelve, ponies were starting to head back to their homes, or at least the ones in Ponyville were. Cheerilee and Milano had left around midnight, as had most of Twilight’s friends, Applejack and Fluttershy had left a little earlier due to the early starts they both had tomorrow, or rather today. Twilight herself left to check on Spike and eventually, the only remaining guests were Discord, my husband’s friends, Pinkie and the princess. Said princess came up to be before she left.
“I really must thank you, Margaret for keeping quiet about everything. It isn’t too often that I get to let my mane down like this. I’m sure if I’d arrived in my real form everything would have ground to a halt. Very kind of Roger to give me this as a late birthday present; a real party.” I nodded politely.
“You are quite welcome…Tia.” The two of us shared a grin. “Anyway, I suppose you are heading back to Canterlot, you’ve got an earlier start than any of us.”
“Yes, my sister will be lowering the moon in a few hours. Still, I’ll be able to get some rest.” And with that she stepped out and vanished in a teleport.
Now, whilst the female attendants had been content to simply natter until they decided to head home after the dinner, the males had instead found their way into the booze. None of them were actually drunk, I’m not even sure if it’s possible for Discord to be drunk, or sober, but they were all quite festive. At this point they’d broken out the dart board, but before long I feared the inevitable would happen; he’d start singing.
Fun fact; when you give my husband enough alcohol, including hard cider, he has a tendency to burst out into song. Tonight, undoubtedly, would be no different. And low and behold, he started; even worse, it seemed his guard buddies had been taught the words.
Eventually though, even they managed to calm down as the lateness of the hour became apparent. That and by two in the morning I was chasing out the four foot tall ponies with a broom. With the guests gone, the two of us did a few necessary cleaning jobs, and then promptly went to bed. It would all still be there in the morning after all.
All in all, I think I consider my first party in Equestria a success.
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I call Chekhov's Gun on Diamond Tiara's behaviour.
Also, you forgot a few question marks near the beginning. I also saw an instance of an apostrophe that should not be there.
this chapter flows supper good I really like pinkie she is just perfect.
I am a bit surprised that discord did not pull at lest one little prank.
Tia was a vary nice touch she came across really good.
all in all a super chapter.
now as you said now its onward to the Apple family reunion how are blade and AJ going to introduce there salve for that one?? as a dating copal or will they keep it hidden.
Harts Fire
Looking forward to the next chapter.
"Duck and cover!"
D&C: "Yessir?" *Get hit by enemy fire*
As my mother says... It's logic, Jim, but not as we know it.
5732469 Can you give me a quick list of those bits so I can fix them?
If you didnt see the prank that Discord pulled, then its not that it wasnt there, but that he rolled his dice where they couldnt be seen.
Meanwhile, think of the poor pegasus whose name is Duck
the poor fellow needs his brother to make his name less awkward 
5733435
Sorry this took so long, I had an OTW meeting yesterday, plus I've been busy playing TWEWY again.
EDIT: I just realized this story is now on the good HiE list. Congrats man.
5736203 Thanks for the corrections. I'll get to those now.
As for being on the Good HiE list:
5748994 Yeah. Future's End, Relativity and Endgame. If you count the temporal rift in Shattered, it's 4 but that was a Chakotay centered episode.
I'm pretty certain Relativity was the biggest headache for her. I'm getting one just thinking about that episode.
Finally read everything up to this point..quite good so far actually, keep it up. (No sense in me mentioning things when others have done it already)
Never apologize to Australians. They deserved it.
9675544 And they went to war against emus and lost. Twice.
OOOHHHHH!! YOU GOT HART HERE!
9676253
I honestly never got why they decided to declare war on birds that never even did them any harm....
9734596 To be fair, emus do have an annoying habit of destroying crops wherever they go.
9675544
deserved what?
10587042 Defeat in the Great Emu War. I can't think of anything more embarrassing that losing to an army of giant, deeply stupid mutant chickens, when you're armed with truck mounted maxim guns. Twice.