A Warrior's Calling

by Valiant_Daybreak

Chapter 5 - Unrelenting Laughter

Chapter 5 - Unrelenting Laughter

“You really don't mind waiting to pick me up?” Fluttershy asked for the fourth time.

“As I said, it would be my pleasure to escort you home. I could not even dream of letting you walk home by yourself, not after everything you have already done for me. When would you like me to return?”

“Well... we're scheduled to be here for about two hours... but...”

“Great!” Valiant interrupted, “Take all the time you need! I shall return in two hours! Have a wonderful time!”

“Okay then...” Fluttershy said hesitantly, “see you soon...” She walked through the door to the spa, closing it gently behind her.

As the door closed, Valiant turned and began to think about which path to take. Let me think... I saw the market yesterday, so perhaps today I shall examine a few of the restaurants... Suddenly remembering he was had absolutely no money, Valiant decided to simply wander the town and see what interesting things he could find. Looking at the sun to gather the approximate time, Valiant mentally marked it and turned down a path that led deeper into downtown Ponyville.

The atmosphere of the town was completely foreign to him, and he stared in awe at the various things for sale in the shop windows. One shop in particular caught his eye, and he stopped for a moment to examine it through the glass. It was filled with toys of every kind, more wonderful than he could have ever imagined. He stared for a few minutes at a bright red ball, wondering how the crafters of such an item had made it so perfectly round.

Suddenly, Valiant began to have a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He looked around, certain he was being watched. At first he sensed nothing out of the ordinary, but after looking around a second time, he noticed an earth pony watching him from a seat at a small cafe. Refrain from making eye contact, Valiant thought to himself. More than likely she is merely interested in the store, not you.

He began walking forward again, keeping his eyes on the path ahead of him. Looking over his shoulder at the cafe, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the pony had evidently paid for her meal and left. Turning his head back to the path in front of him, he yelped and jumped back, as the pony in question stood directly in front of him.

“Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?!” the earth pony asked him, her eyes shining with excitement.

“Uh...” Valiant began.

“Uh!? Well that's a funny name! I mean, I've had friends named Umber, Olga, and Henrietta, but never one with a name like Uh! So Uh, where are you from?”

“Well,” Valiant replied, “I have traveled here from a fair distance... And my name is not Uh... It is Valiant.”

“Oh that makes way more sense! Like I said, I've never met someone named Uh before... and I guess I still haven't!” Pinkie Pie giggled to herself, before continuing, “Anyway, it's pretty obvious that you came from someplace far away! No one here dresses like that! You look all mysterious, like some sort of pony spy!” She gasped, before asking, “You're not some sort of pony spy are you?”

Valiant shook his head. This was getting extremely confusing. “No... I am not a... pony spy...”

The pink earth pony began bouncing around him in a fit of glee. “Well in that case, you must just be new and shy because you don't have any friends yet!” Pinkie Pie gasped again. “Hey I have a great idea! I can be your first friend! It'll be great! We can go dancing and have parties and bob for apples and play pin the tail on the pony and eat cupcakes and...”

“Wait a moment, please!” Valiant asked desperately. I do not understand a single thing this pony is saying... I suppose I will have to start asking questions somewhere... “What is a... cupcake?

The strange filly giggled, “Wow, you're silly, asking what a cupcake is! Everypony knows what a cupcake is!”

“No... I truly do not know... What is a cupcake? Is it a... drink made of cake?”

Pinkie Pie stopped her bouncing, turning to face him and staring him directly in the eyes. “You've never had a cupcake before?” she said, eyes bugging out at the word “never.”

Valiant shook his head. “I have never eaten a cupcake, and I am becoming extremely curious as to what exactly it is.” Perhaps if I can keep her on one topic long enough, I can find some excuse to...

“Well in that case...” Pinkie Pie grabbed him by the hoof and began dragging him towards a nearby shop. “Come with me right now!” She said. “Not knowing what a cupcake is is like... like... not knowing what happiness is!”

“Hey! Let go of...” Valiant began to protest.

“Nopey dopies!” Pinkie Pie said in a singsong voice, “We've gotta get you over to Sugar Cube Corner, and stat!” The pink earth pony quickly dragged him over to a small restaurant. It was as pink as she was, covered in fake frosting like a life sized gingerbread house.

Her grip is like a vice! Valiant thought, as she dragged him inside. I do not wish to cause a disturbance, but...

“Hi Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie Pie said to a blue earth pony behind a counter.

“Well hello dearie!” she said. “Who's your new friend?”

“This is Uh... no wait, that's wrong... His name is Valiant! He's new in town and guess what? He says he has no idea what a cupcake is! Isn't that weird!”

Valiant smiled sheepishly, shrugging at the baker pony. “I do apologize for this... I am not entirely sure what is going on at the moment...”

“Not to worry dear!” Mrs. Cake began, “Pinkie Pie can be a bit... headstrong sometimes... Is it really true that you've never eaten a cupcake before? I don't know of anypony who can make that claim...”

Valiant sighed. “Yes, it is true. Would you be so kind as to tell me?”

Mr. Cake smiled. “Oh, I can do much better than that! You see, we sell them here!”

Valiant frowned. Patting the pockets of his cloak, he said, “I apologize, but I do not have any money...”

Pinkie Pie, previously silent for an uncharacteristic amount of time, giggled. “Oh, don't worry about that silly! We're happy to give you one, right Mrs. Cake?”

“Well certainly dear! I've got one right here!” She reached under the counter and pulled out a cupcake. Walking across the room, she set it on the table in front of Valiant, who began to examine it.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen. The base seemed to be made of something spongy, like cake, but much smaller than any cake he had seen before. Atop it sat some sort of semi-solid pink... something. Gingerly, he lifted the treat and took a bite, whipping his head back in surprise. It is... unbelievably sweet! This makes even the sweetest peach seem... sour. Prepared this time, he took another, slightly bigger bite, getting a dab of frosting on the end of his nose.

“Well, what do you think?!” Pinkie Pie asked, bouncing again in anticipation.

“It... It is... quite possibly the most detectable thing I have ever eaten!” Valiant said, taking another bite.

“Oh, you're just saying that,” Mrs. Cake said, slightly embarrassed.

“No, it truly is!” Valiant finished the treat and began to carefully fold up the wrapper. “You have my greatest thanks! These must be reserved for especially rare occasions!”

Pinkie Pie giggled again. “Wow you're silly! We sell them all the time here! Although, people buy them most often for parties...” A wild look came suddenly in her eyes, and she suddenly smiled. “Hey! I have a great idea! Why don't I throw you a welcome party! I must be crazy! Why didn't I think of it before, I always throw new people welcome parties... Well, there was that one time I didn't... but that's because he wanted to be left alone... Oh yeah! A party would be awesome! And we could hold it here, and I could invite all my bestest friends, and it would help you make some friends and...”

“Hold on one moment, please!” Valiant said desperately. “I am not anypony special... I do not need a party, so please do not go through the trouble of...”

“It's not trouble silly! I just love throwing parties! I'll get to work on it right away! Let's see, we'll need balloons, and streamers, and... Oooh! Party invitations!” Noticing Valiant's slightly apprehensive look, she giggled again and said, “Don't worry you silly willy! It's no trouble at all! Now, you just go home and... Oh my gosh! I almost forgot! Where are you staying? I mean, if you're new in town, surely you must be staying somewhere...”

Should I really tell this strange pony where I live? “Well,” Valiant said thoughtfully. Making up his mind, he replied, “I'm staying with a pony named Fluttershy...”

“Fluttershy!? Why she's one of the ponies I was going to invite to this party! She's one of my bestest best friends here in Ponyvile! Anyways, I've got to get busy planning the party... It's gonna take all day! I'll make sure to drop by Fluttershy's house with the invitation and time later! See ya real soon!”

Pinkie Pie began pushing him towards the door, despite his continuing protests that he really did not want a party. “Bye!” She said, waving goodbye. “Remember, all my bestest friends are going to be there! Don't worry, you'll have lot's of friends soon!”

After the door had been closed, Valiant began to think to himself. Now what am I going to do? The last thing I need is a bunch of ponies who know who I am... So much for not putting attention on myself... Even as the thoughts went through his head, he couldn't help but smile. Somepony just invited me to a party...

Valiant glanced at the sun. It was almost time to pick up Fluttershy. Turning, he began walking back in the direction of the spa, the smile still lingering on his face.

Author's Comments

Thus concludes the slice of life portion of this fan-fiction. The story will start ramping up in the next chapter. I'm excited for you guys to read it! Thanks as always for the wonderful comments, and I'll see you next Monday!

Comments

[the_phycopath]

What kind of jerk am I I forgot to like this story

[Valiant_Daybreak]

>>the_phycopath

Naw... That probably means you actually have a life off the Internet, unlike me...