A Ponyville Tradition
Applejack looked back at the saddlebags draped over her body. The covers bulged upward as the contents strained to get out. Apples, of course. She'd been asked to bring a gift to the party, and what better gift for the guest of honor than a taste of Ponyville's finest fruit harvest, freshly picked from its best farmland?
Trotting into her home, she kicked the door shut behind her and tilted her head back with a jerk. Her hat flew off her mane and, with a practiced roll, hooked itself onto one of the hangers by the door. With a shake of her mane, she walked through her family's living room and up the stairs toward her bedroom.
"Applebloom," she called as she walked by her little sister's room. "Y'all need to be ready in 'bout ten minutes! We're not gonna be late for this party like we were with the last one!"
"Ah'm ready, sis!" Applebloom opened up her door, smiling up at her sister. The little filly's hair was done up in her bow, pretty as it always was. She grinned to show off her pearly white teeth, knowing that the next question her sister would ask would be if she had brushed them like she'd been asked to do.
Applejack had to fight the urge to reach down and ruffle her sister's mane, instead settling for nod of approval. "Now go on downstairs and wait fer yer brother an' me. I gotta get mah mane straightened up, then we'll be down lickety split." Applejack turned to head to her room, nearly running into her big brother Big Macintosh. The red-coated stallion had an uncanny knack for appearing out of nowhere whenever his name was mentioned. Applejack smiled and looked her brother up and down, noticing that he'd taken a shower like she'd asked.
"Ah, Big Mac! Ya'll ready for the big party tonight?"
"Eeyup." Applejack had expected nothing more from her brother, the big stallion moving past her with Applebloom hot on his heels. The filly began going on and on about how excited she was to meet the guest of honor and checking out his cutie mark and asking him questions and so on and so forth. Big Mac only smiled and nodded, patient and silent as he always was, as they both descended the staircase.
Applejack grinned, turning to trot into her bedroom. Rearing up on her hind legs, she let her saddlebags slide off gently onto the floor and made her way into her bathroom. Grabbing the water knob of her shower with her teeth, she turned on the hot water and sighed as steam began to fill the small room. With a deft twirl of her manetail, she pulled her scrunchie off the end and shook her mane out, her blonde mane falling about her face in flat, sweat-soaked strands. Dipping her head underneath the flow of the shower, Applejack allowed herself a few moment to savor the warmth of the water washing over her scalp. For a hardworking farmpony like her, such moments came few and far between.
Ten minutes later, a dry and happy Applejack came trotting down to meet her kin. Her mane glistened softly with what little water was left, though it was most likely dry on the way to their destination. Regarding her brother and sister, she looked back to check if her saddlebags were sitting correctly on her body.
"Well, I guess I'm ready. Let's get on the road, gang."
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Rarity sang to herself as she combed out her mane with her most expensive, gemstone-studded comb. Staring at herself in the mirror, she batted her eyelashes a few times, pursing her lips into a gentle pout. Turning her head left and right, she made sure that her mane was correct from any angle she could conceive.
Setting her mane comb down, her horn glowed once again as she picked up her mascara brush and popped it out of its small, round holster. Leaning close to the mirror, she brought the rounded brush close to her right eyelash. She needed to do this just right, or the whole night could be ruined.
"Rarity!"
Rarity jerked and nearly thrust the mascara brush into her eye. Leaning back with an exaggerated sigh, she turned to see her little sister, Sweetie Belle, standing at the entrance of her room. The filly's hair was done up according to Rarity's exacting standards, an absolutely adorable frilly collar wrapped around her neck. Sweetie had a pouty, indignant look on her face.
"Rarity, we're gonna be late!" Sweetie Belle's voice cracked as she almost hopped into the air, the emphasis she'd put on the word 'late' almost too much for her young body to contain. She put on that adorable pout once again, and Rarity heaved a sigh.
"Sweetie Belle, you know I must be as prepared as possible for tonight's party!" The fashionista huffed and marched over to her little sister, raising a hoof and pointing toward her living room. "Wait downstairs and I shall be with you as soon as I possibly can! I cannot leave one detail amiss, or I shall embarrass myself in front of the guest of honor!"
Sweetie Belle looked as if she were prepared to throw a tantrum, but finally she sighed and turned to trot downstairs, her head hung down. Rarity didn't particularly enjoy arguing with her sister, but Sweetie Belle just never understood the importance of making a good first impression.
Turning to march back to her makeup table, Rarity sat back down on her haunches and resumed her preparations. Her mascara applied with the slow, deliberate perfectionism that was her trademark, she ran through the rest of her necessities with what she considered to be irresponsible speed. A bit of perfume to enhance her presence in close conversation; a small hair clip with a gemstone representation of her cutie mark, to catch the eye; and finally the tiniest bit of lip balm.
Regarding herself in the mirror, she grinned in satisfaction with her appearance. She was sure she would make a great impression with the guest of honor.
"I'm ready!" Rarity sing-songed as she proudly walked down the stairs, ignoring Sweetie Belle's childish yell of 'Finally!'.
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“Yo, Fluttershy. You ready to go?” Rainbow Dash gently knocked on her friend's front door, her wings tucked against her sides, body covered with a thin sheen of sweat from the flight over.
From inside, Rainbow could hear the gentle shuffling of hooves on a wooden floor. Slowly the front door opened, and Fluttershy peeked her head out to look up at Rainbow from behind her mane.
“Oh...um...is it time for the party already?” Fluttershy opened the door fully and meekly stepped out onto her front porch. The wing she had dislocated lay in a sling at her side, the doctor having told her to keep from flying unaided for at least a week. Rainbow Dash didn't have any idea how Flutters could stand it; when her wings were disabled, she'd nearly gone crazy with boredom.
“It's gonna start really soon. I'm here to make sure you get there in time. You are one big part of the party, after all.” Rainbow smiled, before moving up to her friend's side. Dash hated to walk when she could fly, but trying to help Fluttershy fly the whole way to the library didn't sound like an enjoyable task.
Fluttershy looked sidelong at Rainbow Dash, then dipped her head down and mumbled something too inaudible for her friend to make out. Dash sighed softly and gave her friend a gentle nudge on her shoulder.
“C'mon, Fluttershy,” she said, reaching up to gently drape one of her forelimbs across Fluttershy's neck. “You're not still scared of Loki, are you? He told all of us that what you saw was just an illusion, a trick of his teleportation spell.”
Fluttershy sighed and worried on her bottom lip, gently stamping one of her hooves in frustration.
“He did look like a monster, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy's voice barely rose above her usual two decibels, and she looked up at her friend, frustration playing across her face. “He was tall and blue and he had these big, scary-looking red eyes and he stood on two legs! It was as real as you are right now!” She reached out and gave Rainbow's chest a gentle push, a blush rising to her face before she mumbled a small, squeaky apology. Rainbow could only smile and give her friend's neck a one-armed hug.
“Aww, c'mon, Fluttershy,” Rainbow smiled, giving her a gentle push forward to get her walking. “He saved your life, remember? He can't be all bad. Besides, this party isn't just about him; this is a Get-Well-Soon Party for you, too, remember? Think about how disappointed Pinkie'd be if you didn't show up.”
The thought of disappointing Pinkie Pie made Fluttershy dip her head down and count at the ground, heaving a small sigh and nodding her head. “A-All right, Rainbow Dash. I'll go.” She took another sidelong look at her friend, raising her head a bit as she noticed the thin sheen of sweat that stood out on Rainbow Dash's coat.
“Are you sure you're ready to go, Rainbow? Maybe you should come in an--” Rainbow Dash cut off Fluttershy's offer for a shower with a small laugh. She shook her head and winked.
“Ready? I'm always ready for a Pinkie Pie Party!”
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Pinkie Pie's mind was not something for mere mortals to understand; it worked in mysterious and often self-contradictory ways, flitting from one subject to the next with the speed of a hyper-advanced supercomputer. Never was her mind more keyed up and in tune with the fabric of the Universe than when she was going through the preparations for her latest party.
The pink party pony stood in the middle of Twilight's library home, craning her head every which way to check out the decorations. Tilting her head back, she observed the triple-tiered banner she'd made especially for this party. From top to bottom, the banners read:
WELCOME TO PONYVILLE, LOKI!
THANKS FOR SAVING FLUTTERSHY, LOKI!
GET WELL SOON, FLUTTERSHY!
Each banner was decorated with drawings of cakes, balloons, pies, and any other things Pinkie Pie thought would be cheerful and welcoming. She still felt slightly disappointed in herself that she hadn't been able to put this party on the day Loki had arrived; however, she was more forgiving than usual. She'd never attempted a Triple-Party before! A welcoming party, a thank-you party, and a get-well-soon party? She was going to outdo herself without even trying!
Zipping over to the food buffet, she had to fight with every ounce of willpower not to take a little nibble of each of the succulent treats on display. A tall, wide cake topped with a hastily-thrown-together representation of Loki saving Fluttershy on its crown dominated the long table, surrounded by small plates containing tasty appetizers ranging from fried hay sticks to tiny cupcakes, perfect for dipping in the chocolate fountain she'd brought over.
She finally just had to give in to her nature and dipped herself some of her specially-made punch, an ice-blue concoction she'd whipped up with their guest-of-honor in mind. A knock at the door almost made her fumble with the ladle, but she recovered and finished doling herself a measure of punch. Taking a sip as she trotted across the room, she opened the door and grinned.
“Vinyl! I'm so super-excited you could make it on such short notice!” She reached out and hugged her best-good DJ friend, pulling her inside with a grin. The DJ grinned in the laid-back way she was known for, reaching back outside to grab her portable turntable and wheel it into the library.
“No prob, Pinks,” Vinyl Scratch spoke cheerfully, anticipating another great party and a hefty pile of bits in return for a job well done. “Always happy to scratch some discs at a Pinkie Pie Party.” Giving her turntable a good, swift kick with a rear leg, the machine sped into a corner where it hit a bookcase and unfolded itself. Two large speakers popped out from its inner workings and settled on either side of the contraption, the white-furred DJ grinning as she trotted over to begin her sound check.
Pinkie Pie gave a giggle at Vinyl's hilarious means of unpacking, before the sounds of voices at the doorway instantly switched her mind to the task of welcoming the party's guests. With a speed that would give an Faster-Than-Light drive a run for its money, she was at the doorway in a nanosecond, putting on her best grin and waving at the gaggle of ponies who had arrived early.
“Hiya! Welcome to the Triple Party! I hope all of you ponies are ready to par-tay!”
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The noise from downstairs was beginning to grow. Twilight looked up to check the clock on her wall. Yikes, she was going to be late to the party! Time always flew when she was finishing up the last few tasks on her checklist.
Levitating the checklist in front of her, she pulled her favorite quill from its inkpot and began triple-check the steps necessary to prepare for a Pinkie Pie Party:
RSVP? Triple-check. She'd done that the day before, when the party had been announced.
Avoid sweets for the day? Triple-check. She didn't need to get sick, and she certainly didn't want to refuse any food at the party.
Cancel her plans for the next day? Triple-check. This was a party like none the pink pony had ever thrown before, and Twilight knew she wasn't going to be getting any amount of sleep tonight.
Bring the guest of honor to the party? Well, no triple-checking for that, because you could only do it once. Curling up her list and settling her quill back into its inkpot, Twilight hopped off her pillow-seat and trotted to her doorway, turning right to walk down the small hallway to the guest room.
Finding a place for Loki to stay had been tricky, but in the end she and her friends had decided on the library. It was the closest to the hospital, and as Princess Celestia's best student, Twilight thought of it as her duty to look after a new visitor in Equestria. Reaching up, she knocked on the door. A sound behind her caught her attention, and she turned to regard her assistant Spike with a smile.
“Hey, Spike. How's the party?” Spike already had a small party hat on his head, and a glass of punch in his hand. He grinned up at her and downed the punch.
“It's great! There's so much good food and punch and the music is awesome! But everyone's wondering where Loki is; matter of fact, I've been wondering that myself. You know he hasn't come out of that room at all?” Twilight tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. She'd spent most of her day out of the library, trying to get her chores and affairs in order in preparation for the massive bash Pinkie Pie had planned; she hadn't had the time to come in and check on her guest.
She was about to knock again when the doorknob turned. The door opened, and Loki appeared. His helmet missing, his black mane gave off a soft sheen from the light of the candles in his room. His armor had also been removed, leaving him only with his green shirt and his cape. He looked down at Twilight with those magenta eyes, and Twilight smiled back.
"Hello, Loki. I just wanted to let you know that the party has begun." Twilight moved out of the way for Loki to join her, keeping that welcoming smile. Loki stood at the doorway, his face unreadable. As the seconds ticked by, Twilight finally coughed softly and raised a hoof to her mouth.
"Um, Loki? We kind of need to get going. You're the guest of honor, after all." Twilight tilted her head, looking up at the stallion, her purple eyes searching his face to try to detect any reason why he would hesitate. Loki turned his head to look down the hallway, his magenta eyes narrowing at the sight of a balloon floating up the stairway to bob against the floor.
"I am..." He spoke slowly, carefully picking his words, "unsure that I wish to attend such an event, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight raised her eyebrows and turned herself so that she fully faced her houseguest. Spike shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the party; if Loki wanted to be stubborn, that was his business. All that food wasn't going to eat itself. Loki continued, looking down at Twilight with that same unreadable face.
"I am grateful for your hospitality, as well as the access you have granted me to your library.” He looked down as that balloon floated close to his hoof. “However, not to sound egotistical, but it seems to me that the actions I took in defense of Fluttershy would call for something with a bit more pomp and circumstance." Levitating the balloon up with his horn, he raised an eyebrow.
"Such a celebration seems rather childish, in my opinion." He let the balloon fall and met Twilight's gaze again. He had worried that he would offend the purple unicorn mare, but found himself taken aback when she closed her eyes and started laughing. Raising a hoof to her face, Twilight opened one eye and looked up at Loki, her grin wide and genuine.
"Loki, trust me, I know exactly how you feel. But here in Ponyville, a Pinkie Pie Party is about as formal as you can get.” Twilight motioned for Loki to follow. “Every new pony gets a Welcoming party. It's practically a Ponyville tradition." When Loki continued to hesitate, Twilight had to stifle a sigh. She moved in closer and lowered her voice.
"Look, you need to at least make an appearance. If you don't show up, she'll get sad and possibly offended. If you offend Pinkie Pie, that's practically the same as offending the entire town." She turned and trotted to the head of the stairs, looking over her shoulder and smiling.
"You've gotta be hungry after being cooped up in your room all day. So come on down, have some cake and punch, and mingle a little bit!" Twilight looked down the stairs to see Pinkie Pie at the bottom, nearly hopping up and down with excitement. Twilight raised a hoof and made a gesture that meant 'wait just a second' and turned back to look at Loki, an expectant look on her face.
Loki breathed a slow, deep sigh. Closing his eyes, he allowed his armor to rematerialize across his body as he slowly walked to join Twilight Sparkle at the head of the stairs.
"Lead on, then, Twilight Sparkle," Loki spoke, looking down the stairs to see the pink pony whom he now knew to be Pinkie Pie, practically squeal in delight at the sight of him and trot off into the party.
"I am as ready as I shall ever be."
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"Fillies and Gentlecolts!"
The entire party stopped and stared as their elected official, Mayor Mare, stepped up to stand at the base of the stairs. Regarding her constituency with a smile, the white-maned mare raised a hoof into the air and continued.
"Pinkie Pie and I would like to thank you all for attending this party on such short notice. It has been an exciting twenty-four hours in Ponyville, as I am sure you are all quite aware. Before we get to our newcomer and guest of honor, I would like to recognize the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, and hope you'll join me in wishing her a speedy recovery."
The entire room rumbled with the beating of dozens of pairs of hooves against the ground, and Fluttershy wished both of her wings worked so she might better hide her face. She blushed and hung her head, gently kicking at the ground. As the applause died down, Mayor Mare continued.
"And now, for the guest of honor. For those ponies present who are not aware, our guest of honor appeared yesterday, seeking asylum in our lands. His sudden appearance frightened Fluttershy, who took refuge in the Everfree Forest. She might have died at the hands of a vicious quarlem had it not been for his intervention. Now, won't you all please give a great big Ponyville welcome to our guest: Loki!" Mayor Mare moved aside and raised a hoof to the stairs. The applause rang out in the room as the golden-armored unicorn descended the staircase, standing at its base to look out at the gathered crowd.
Twilight followed him and stood at his side, smiling out at the party. She could see her friends, the Elements of Harmony, gathered together in a small group amongst the partygoers. Her stomach rumbled as she gazed upon the gigantic cake.
"Thank you," Loki spoke. "Thank all of you for this wonderful welcome. I am sure that you all have questions to ask of me. Before this party begins and I become distracted by food, drink, and music, I suppose now would be the best time for me to answer any that you wish to ask." A grey-colored hoof shot into the air. Loki raised his own hoof in acknowledgement, and a blonde-maned, wall-eyed pegasus floated up above the crowd.
"Where didja come from, anyway?" Her ditzy voice gave the impression of absent-mindedness. Loki only had to think for half a second before he was able to come up with an answer that would suit his needs.
"I come from a realm known as Asgard. It is also known as the Realm Eternal. It is a land of wealth and plenty, and was at one time ruled over by an intelligent and benevolent king; myself. I--" Loki nearly lashed out as he found his personal space suddenly invaded by a familiar fashionista. Rarity smiled up at him, batting her eyelashes and leaning in slowly.
"Oh my goodness; strong, brave, and royalty." Rarity lowered her eyelids to half-mast, her smile taking on a tone better reserved for moments shared between two special someponies. "You simply must come by my shop sometime, Loki. I would dearly love to explore what sort of fashions I could create from your armor..." Rarity's sentence trailed off. Looking out at the party, she found herself being stared at by nearly the whole town. Smiling sheepishly and offering a nervous chuckle, she backed down and melted into the protective shell of her group of friends. Rainbow Dash was nearly crying, she was laughing so hard.
Loki recovered his composure quickly, and after Twilight had apologized for the behavior of her friend, he reiterated that he was willing to take any other questions about himself. Another hoof went into the air, this one belonging to the red-coated mare named Cheerilee. An intelligent mare, as one would have to be to teach children, she voiced the one question that almost everypony had on their mind.
"Why are you here, Loki?"
Loki raised an eyebrow. He had hoped that he might avoid this question, but such hoping was probably childish at best. These ponies might be soft and easily led, but they were not at all unintelligent. Still, he was not known as the God of Mischief among the human mortals for nothing. Letting out a slow, deliberate sigh, he let his head hang down as he started in on his tale.
"Because I failed. I failed to protect the ponies over which I ruled, and then I was banished." He allowed his words to sink into the audience, hearing the promising sound of murmuring amongst the ponies before he continued.
"I have a brother by the name of Thor. He was once a strong and stalwart stallion who was content to adventure amongst the universe with his friends while I ruled over our homeland.” He lowered his voice an octave, a grave expression crossing his face. “However, the power I wielded soon became too much for him, as jealousy clouded his simple mind. He tried to usurp my throne, but I easily repulsed his childish attempts. With a heavy heart, I was forced to banish him from Asgard. I sent him to a tiny world known as Midgard, and thought him lost to me."
Loki slowly moved into the midst of the crowd, turning to face each pony in turn, giving the proper inflection and weight to each word as he continued with his fabricated story.
"That is not the end of the story, however. While on Midgard, my brother's jealousy turned to rage. He sought out likeminded individuals and brought them over to his cause.” Loki's eyes locked with every other pony in turn, reading the crowd and adjusting his voice to gain the best reaction. “He called them the Avengers, and they were bloodthirsty mercenaries without peer.
"Seeking aid from a shadowy organization known as SHIELD, he found the help of two psychopathic killers known only as the Black Widow and Hawkeye. The Widow is a creature of disguise and manipulation, the Hawk preferring to use his bow and arrow to mercilessly cut down his foes.
"In a land of fascistic totalitarianism, he found Captain America; a red-white-and-blue representation of everything that is sick and wrong with his country, bodily enhanced by fell science and fueled by a need to seize power over anypony he sees.
"From atop his tower of opulence and decadence, Tony Stark answered my brother's call. He is a viciously clever pony who created for himself an abominable suit of living armor, a golden and red menace that he uses to terrorize the timid populace of Midgard.
"Finally, he found a mad scientist by the name of Bruce Banner; a common-looking pony with a sick anger burning inside his body. He had found a way to give that anger form, and would transform into a vicious green brute known as the Hulk- a great muscled Earth stallion three times as big as myself.
"It is with these horrendous murderers and madponies that my brother assaulted Asgard. Try as I might, I was unable to keep them at bay, and my brother eventually toppled my armies and I was forced to flee. In my panic, I teleported away without any idea of where or even when I would end up. That's when I ended up on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest."
Loki stood in the center of the crowd, studying the faces of the ponies. He had been hoping for sympathy and fear, and from what he could tell, he had been able to induce just such a reaction in all those present. His eyes found Fluttershy; she looked absolutely horrified by the tale he had told. He offers a small bow of his head as he finished.
"The rest of the story I suppose you all know."
A heavy silence descended on the party, as the weight of the Loki's tale sunk into everypony present. Loki shifted his eyes from face to face, taking in their reactions and having to suppress a smile. Why, he swore he could even see some tears being worked up by a few of the ponies in the audience.
Fluttershy broke from the crowd and slowly approached Loki, her bottom lip quivering. Loki tilted his head back, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. He opened his mouth to say something, before he was almost bowled over by the force of the hug Fluttershy gave him.
"Oh Loki, I'm so sorry for you!" She cried out, hugging tightly to his neck and squeezing her eyes shut. Loki looked down at her, unable to truly comprehend what was occurring. Fighting back the urge to throw her away, he brought up a hoof and laid it gently across the back of her neck, giving her a soft hug in return.
This seemed to open the floodgates, for he felt himself assaulted on all sides by warm, soft arms. Fluttershy's friends joined in with her, Pinkie Pie foremost among them, grabbing Loki's neck and hugging him extra-tight to keep herself from crying. Twilight and Rarity took up stations on either side of Loki, raising their arms to embrace him and lean in to offer their apologies and condolences. Even Rainbow Dash flew into the group hug and wrapped her arms around Loki's neck, hugging him tight while keeping herself aloft with her wings.
Only Applejack remained outside of the group hug. She watched from the sidelines, her green eyes narrowed. Pinkie Pie shouted over the crowd, separating herself from the group hug to bounce up toward Vinyl's turntable.
"C'mon, everypony!" she said, putting on a great, big, Pinkie Pie grin. "Let's not all have saddy-sad faces! This is Ponyville, and we've got a new pony to welcome!" She stood on her hind legs and, with an overdramatic flourish, pointed a forehoof at Vinyl.
"Now let's drop all of the bass and get this party started!"
Vinyl grinned, using a forehoof to flip one of her records onto the turntable. "Aw, yeah! Time to lay down the beats, Ponyville style!" The record started up, and with a few scratches back and forth, Vinyl let the music play. The beat thrummed throughout the library, ponies grinning to each other and beginning to bob up and down in time with the music.
Loki closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
This was going to be a long night.
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The music pounded against Loki's head. His stomach felt full to bursting with sweets multifarious. He had drunk enough punch to fill a lake. Still the party continued. If there were one accolade he would give to these ponies, they had an abundance of energy.
Twilight had made sure that Loki had been introduced to all of her friends. He had met her closest friends, the so-called 'Elements of Harmony', the day before in the hospital, so now he was meeting friends and acquaintances. The wall-eyed pony went by the name of Ditzy Doo, although she spoke of some friends calling her 'Derpy'; other ponies went by in a blur of brightly-colored fur with equally-garish manes: a bright blue pony, the residential dental hygienist; the red-colored pony with smiling flowers on her flank, a local schoolteacher; a plain-looking brown pony with an hourglass on his flank; the DJ with a brash, almost rude demeanor; and so many, many more. Loki could not bring himself to care enough to remember their names.
It was when Twilight was introducing Loki to what he suspected was the one-hundredth friend that night that he felt something tugging on his cape. He gave his shoulders a little jerk, thinking he might have caught it on a table edge. A squeak and another hard tug followed. Turning around, he found a small white-coated filly with a pink-and-purple mane attached to his cape by her teeth. He raised an eyebrow as she let go.
"Excuse me, Mr. Loki," she spoke, her voice cracking slightly. "My name is Sweetie Belle, and these are my friends!" As if from some pocket dimension, two more fillies popped out from behind Sweetie Belle; a yellow-furred earth pony with a big bow in her mane, and a orange-furred, pink-maned pegasus.
"Ah'm Applebloom!" The yellow-furred filly trotted out to Sweetie Belle's side, sitting down on her haunches and smiling up at Loki.
"My name's Scootaloo!" The orange pegasus' wings buzzed softly as she tried to achieve liftoff, but she settled with plopping down next to Sweetie Belle. The three of them looked at each other, then tilted their heads back and spoke in unison.
"And we're...The Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
Loki winced, the volume and sharpness of their youthful voices biting into his ears, making them lower against his head in reflex. Straightening himself up, he turned to face the young fillies, tilting his head to the side. The questioning look on his face made the three friends shuffle nervously before Scootaloo raised a hoof and pointed at Loki's flank.
"We wanna know what you got your cutie mark for, Loki! We've never seen anything like it!" At the pegasus' question, Loki turned his head around to regard the three ice-crystals on his flanks. Twilight's face scrunched into a look of disapproval at the Crusaders interrupting her introductions, but Loki cut her off before she could voice any objections.
"I am skilled in the use of ice magic," he said, turning back to face the three Crusaders. "My cutie mark shows that. When I was younger, I discovered that I could manipulate ice with a greater degree of control than my brother, or any other Asgardian for that matter. When I made that discovery, this appeared on my flank."
The three crusaders looked at each other, grins playing across their faces. Twilight rolled her eyes and braced for the inevitable, while Loki just regarded the three fillies with the same dispassion that had forced himself to display for the entire night. From across the party, Applejack separated from a small group to walk closer, sidling up beside Twilight.
"You can do ice magic?" Applebloom grinned and stood up, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo following suit. After a nod from Loki, Scootaloo began to hop up and down, her wings buzzing happily.
"Show us! Show us something awesome, Loki! We wanna see some super-cool ice magic!" Loki tilted his neck back a bit, surprise playing across his face. Twilight sighed softly.
Before she could say anything, she was interrupted as Applejack gently nudged her neck. Turning, Twilight furrowed her brows as Applejack raised a hoof, beckoning Twilight away from Loki with a look of worry on her face. Scrunching her face up, Twilight looked back to see Loki levitating his helmet off.
Another insistent nudge from Applejack made Twilight sigh softly and follow the farmpony a few feet away from the guest of honor.
"All right, Applejack," she said, looking at her friend's worried expression with a tilt of her head. "What did you need to talk to me about?" Applejack shifted her eyes over Twilight's shoulder, checking to see that Loki was sufficiently distracted, before letting out a slow sigh and speaking.
"Twilight, I'm sorry, I really am, but I just can't shake this feeling. I can't trust this Loki character at all." Applejack fidgeted nervously, reaching up to adjust her hat. She worried on her bottom lip some before she went on. “Ever since yesterday when we first saw him in the hospital, I’ve had a weird feeling about him. I’ve been watching him since then. Celestia help me, but he gives me the creeps, Twilight.”
Twilight had to fight to hide her surprise at Applejacks’s sudden confession. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again and brought a hoof up to her chin, scratching thoughtfully.
“What sort of feeling is this, Applejack?” She asked, concern lacing her voice. “I’ve never seen you so flustered by another pony before. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you looked almost terrified of Loki.”
“Applejack’s scared of Loki?” Rainbow Dash interjected, looking between her two friends as she floated down between them. “What for? He saved Fluttershy’s life. He’s cool in my book. Why in Equestria would you be afraid of him, Applejack?”
“Who’s afraid of who?” Like a gas particle, Pinkie Pie bounced into the scene, her bubbly voice toned down with curiosity and concern as she took up a place next to Twilight.
“Applejack’s scared of Loki.” Rainbow cut her friends off before they could explain the situation, earning a hat-slap to the head from Applejack. Pinkie Pie gasped softly and gave Applejack a reproachful look.
Applejack was nearly shouting. “Listen here now: what I’m tryin’ to tell y’all is that I’m not scared of--”
“Scared of whom, darling?” Rarity trotted into the small group of friends, a cup of punch held aloft at her side. Applejack sighed and hung her head, a low groan rumbling through her throat.
“Applejack’s scared of Loki!” Rainbow and Pinkie Pie said at the same time, causing Rarity to gasp melodramatically and look at Applejack, her eyes wide and a hoof pressed to her cheek.
“Applejack! For shame!” Rarity set her cup down on a nearby table. “Loki not only saved Fluttershy’s life, he’s a fugitive in from his homeland! Why, of all ponies, I should think that you would--”
Applejack brought a hoof down on the ground and whinnied, tossing her mane back and forth. Rarity and Pinkie Pie squeaked softly at her friend’s outburst, while Rainbow and Twilight shared a look of surprise and mild worry.
“I said,” Applejack spoke slowly and distinctly, so her friends would not miss a word, “that Loki gives me the creeps. And if y’all would be quiet...I’ll explain why.” She looked out at her friends, waiting to see if they had any more to say before she continued.
“Girls, I pride myself on being able to tell what anypony is thinking and feeling. Y’all know I’m able to sense when one of my friends is havin’ a problem that they need help with. I’m the Element of Honesty, and bein’ an honest pony means I can get a feel for when another pony is or is not tellin’ the truth. Loki...” She looked at the guest of honor, standing in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle wore his helmet, a few sizes too big, as he prepared his spell.
“Do you think he’s not telling the truth about himself, Applejack? About his past?” Twilight followed her gaze, lowering the volume of her voice for fear that Loki might be listening in on them.
“That’s just the thing, girls. I can’t tell! Usually I can read ponies really well. Loki, I can’t tell if he’s really sad or really lyin’ or nothin’! Lookin’ at him is like lookin’ at some kinda livin’ statue.” Applejack let a shiver crawl through her spine, a shiver she’d been holding back all day, and lowered her head slightly.
“Look, girls,” She said, her voice low and steady so only he fellow Elements could hear. “I’m not saying he’s a bad pony; he saved Fluttershy, so he’s gotta have some good in him. I just don’t think he’s on the level, either. We need to be welcoming, we need to be friendly, just like Princess Celestia would want us to be. We also need to exercise a bit’a caution.”
All of the gathered friends jumped as the room’s temperature took a dip and a loud rapport ricocheted off the book-ridden walls. The five friends looked in Loki’s direction to see him standing in front of a twinkling, gently-creaking ice sculpture, his horn still glowing from the effort of the spell. The sculpture depicted the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, standing on top of a small plinth, each of them raised up on their hindlegs as they appeared to be giving off their usual loud greeting.
The Crusaders hopped around the statue gleefully, praising Loki’s magic and arguing over whose statue was the most awesome. The crowd around the scene rumbled their hooves against the floor in applause. For his part, Loki simply looked on with the same impassive tone he’d had the whole party. Twilight hated to admit it, but looking at him now, with Applejack’s words playing in the back of her mind, she found it hard to suppress a shiver of her own.
“I agree with Applejack...” Came a soft voice from behind Twilight. The five friends turned to see Fluttershy walking up to their small circle, her head held down as she meekly looked out from underneath her mane. She joined her fellow Elements and slowly continued, softly kicking at the floor.
“I know he saved my life. And I’m really, really grateful! But I know he looked like a monster! I just know it! Everypony keeps telling me that it was some kind of illusion, but I know what I saw!” Fluttershy gently stamped a forehoof against the wooden floor before blushing and tilting her head down, trying to hide behind her mane.
“Ya know, ” Applejack said, turning to look at Twilight. “He might be one of them changelings.”
Twilight was taken aback by Applejack’s words, before her logical mind reasserted itself and she shook her head.
“Possible, but unlikely,” Twilight said, raising a hoof in her usual ‘speech-giving’ manner. “Changelings work by replacing ponies that we already know and sneaking into places of power, like the Canterlot Royal Guard. They don’t just appear out of nowhere disguised as a monster, then disguise as somepony we’ve never met. Plus, changelings are very much like insects, so they always travel in groups. It’s a kind of hive mind interaction between them.”
Having listened in on parts of the conversation from the buffet, Spike finally approached his friends, a plate teeming with confections held in one hand. He took a big gulp from the punch cup held in his other hand before he gave the group of friends a disapproving look.
“What is wrong with you ponies, anyway?” He scoffed and popped another piece of cake into his mouth, speaking through it and spitting crumbs everywhere. “He saves Fluttershy’s life, he does great sculptures, and he’s got that way-cool helmet. What’s not to like about him? I think you’re all being a bunch of worry-war--”
Spike’s entire body convulsed, his plate and cup slipping from his hands to splatter all over the floor. His stubby legs were lifted off the ground as a burst of green fire rocketed from his maw with a sickening belch. Twilight grinned as the green flame formed itself into a sealed roll of parchment, the Princess’ Royal Seal tied snug around its center.
“A letter from Princess Celestia!” Twilight levitated the parchment closer and pulled off the seal, unfurling it slowly. “She must have gotten the letter I sent to her about Loki this morning. I wonder why it took her so long to respond.” Outside, the sun was slowly setting in the distance, making way for Princess Luna’s dark night and large crescent moon.
Her friends gathered around her, Twilight began to read the letter aloud.
“My dear Twilight Sparkle,
I apologize for the lateness of my correspondence, as royal duties of utmost importance have been stealing my attentions for most of the day.
Having read your letter and being informed of the events surrounding the arrival of Loki, I wish to extend to Fluttershy my most sincere condolences for her experience. She has my best wishes for a speedy recovery.
On the matter of Loki, I have decided that I wish to meet him and hear an explanation of his origins and intentions here in Equestria. I shall be sending two tickets for the Canterlot Express directly after this letter. I am requesting that you accompany Loki on the 8:15 train to Canterlot tomorrow morning.
I am sure you are giving Loki a warm reception in Ponyville. I hope you enjoy whatever party Pinkie Pie has thrown for him and are not too full from all of her delicious treats to share a luncheon with me after my meeting with Loki.
As always, yours in friendship,
Princess Celestia.”
“So...”
The Elements of Harmony looked up from the letter to see Loki standing before them.
“I am called by your Princess to this Canterlot, am I? Is that the city on a mountain I observed when I first arrived?” Loki raised a hoof and motioned out the window in the general direction of Canterlot. Pinkie Pie grinned and hopped up next to Loki, beaming up at him.
“Uh-huh! Oh, you’re gonna LOVE Canterlot, Loki! It’s so super-duper-cool! It’s got all these neat shops and tons of things to see and eat! Though you don’t want to eat everything you see, ‘cause some of them might hurt your teeth or scream at you or--”
Pinkie Pie’s outburst was stemmed when Twilight shoved a big piece of cake into her mouth. The purple unicorn grinned sheepishly, curling the letter back up and laying it down on a nearby table.
“Yes, Loki,” she said, looking down at the three Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted up beside Loki; Applebloom now sported Loki’s helmet, the lip cast down over her eyes adorably. “Princess Celestia is curious about where you’ve come from and what you’ve got planned now, and she wants to meet with you tomorrow morning.”
Loki bowed his head forward slowly, raising himself back up to his full height. “You may tell your Princess that I RSVP in the extremely positive. I look forward to meeting her, and I hope she is not as horrified by the tale of my past as my party patrons seemed to have been.”
He bowed once again and took his leave of the Elements of Harmony, the Cutie Mark Crusaders hot on his heels, asking a million questions about ice magic, the Avengers, Asgard, and anything else they could think of.
Twilight watched him fade back into the party before shifting about to face her friends. Applejack’s worries and Fluttershy’s confession still hung heavy in the air around them all. Each pony looked at the other, confusion and doubt playing across their faces, before all eyes turned to Twilight. The added weight of responsibility settled over Twilight's shoulders as she saw those expectant gazes.
“Oh no.” Spike groaned, holding his stomach in dismay. “Not again. Not so soo--” Twilight turned to look at her assistant as Spike’s body was wracked with another wave of magic-induced nausea, green flames shooting out of his mouth to materialize as a pair of small black-with-red-trim tickets. Catching them with her levitation spell, Twilight could see that one ticket had her name neatly inscribed upon it, while the other bore Loki’s name.
Applejack straightened her hat out and put on a small smile, walking up to press a hoof to Twilight’s shoulder. “Don’t get too worried over what I said, sugarcube,” she said, that smile widening as Twilight looked up at her. “I’m sure I’m just bein’ a worry-wart. But in case I’m not, Princess Celestia will be able to do somethin’ about Loki. Now c’mon, everypony! This is a party for Fluttershy, too! Let’s have some fun!”
Applejack trotted off into the crowd, heading for the Pin the Tail on the Pony board, which coincidentally was the game closest to her younger sister and Loki. Pinkie Pie hopped after her, while Rainbow Dash took wing and headed right for the punch bowl. Rarity made a beeline for Loki, hoping to strike up a conversation that might mitigate whatever damage she might have done earlier.
Twilight watched them all leave, emotions rumbling over one another inside her. She was about to take off for a slice of cake to calm herself before she heard a small cough from behind her. Fluttershy moved up beside Twilight, looking up at her from behind that soft pink mane. After a few seconds of stumbling over her words, the yellow pegasus was finally able to speak.
“Um, you believe me, right, Twilight? About Loki? Nopony will listen to me. They keep saying that I bumped my head and I became confused...” She sighed softly, kicking at the wooden floor. Twilight smiled softly and draped a forelimb over her friend’s neck, pulling her in close for a gentle hug.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” she said. “Whatever’s going on with Loki, the Princess will be able to sort things out. He might have some kind of magic to disguise himself, but she’ll be able to see through it.” Despite her reassurances, Fluttershy let out another small sigh.
“She wasn’t able to see through Chrysalis’ disguise, or the changelings...” Fluttershy said. A hot blush ran through her cheeks and she brought a hoof up to her mouth as she realized exactly what she had said.
“Oh my, um, that was really mean of me. I’m so sorry, Twilight. I, um, I think I’m going to go eat some cake. Princess Celestia will take care of Loki.” Fluttershy bit her bottom lip and quickly ran back into the crowd, leaving Twilight all by herself.
Twilight Sparkle moved to one of the windows of her house, a window that faced toward Canterlot. Standing up on her hindlegs, she pressed herself against the window, staring out across the gulf of miles that separated her library from her hometown. Set into the mountainside, Canterlot gleamed softly in the twilight sun, barely visible through the haze of distance. For a time she just stood there, staring at the center of her nation, her mind puzzling over the events of the past few hours.
Twilight pushed herself off from the window and turned to rejoin the party. As Applejack had said, this was also a party for Fluttershy, and Twilight didn’t want to mope around on the edges when she could be somewhere inside, talking with her friends, playing games, and having a good time.
Whatever Loki’s intentions and nature were, Twilight thought to herself as she walked through the party toward the buffet, Princess Celestia will surely be able find a solution.
Twilight hoped she would be able to, anyway.
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i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/159/621/tumblr_lkhn1wA80E1qhejp9o1_400.jpg
Loki's meeting Celestia?
This... thi- dis. Dis gonna be... guuuuuuuud!
Loki's gonna meet the princess!
i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2011/2/21/7ec426fd-3b53-4f58-a9df-9938f9073b17.jpg
"I have an army."
"
"We have a Hulk."
"My army is ponies."
"
Loki going to meet one of the goddess's of this world. How will this turn out? Will you be pairing Loki with anypony in this story?
1393872
I don't want to give anything way too early, but a romance MAY be possible. This IS Loki we're talking about.
However, I don't see him going for one of the Alicorns. He still needs to keep a low profile, after all, and getting in with one of them might lead to the temptation to do some political meddling.
1393890
If you do decide to do it i look forward to seeing who will end up with Loki. I'm hoping for either Twilight or Pinkie myself.
1393905 Nope. Take your pick from the three described with sweat glistening on them: Applejack, RD, and Big Mac. ~Ohhh Big Mac-kun...~
Only TWO tickets?! Again?! Come on, Trollestia!!!
NIcely done so far, can't wait to see the Avengers' side of things!
What about Svaðilfari
Loki's lie is going to come back to bite him so hard... Well, there's hope for him yet. On another note, I can't wait to see what kind of fighting styles you use for the mane 6 - assuming that you're going to have them fighting? And I do hope you do.
I wanna see Loki talk to Luna, with their ways of speaking, and I wanna see Tony argue with RD.
So, Loki's conniving flank is worming his way into Equestria like a foul rotworm. The Mane Six are suspicious, but unaware of his nature.
Hmmm, Everypony... say it with me.
fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/225/9/6/assemble_by_fluffomaru-d59mefp.png
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!
1396562
dash.ponychan.net/chan/files/src/133140469318.jpg
I know what you are thinking and please no, just no. Don't turn the avengers into ponies when they go to Equestria, that's just wrong so no.
1405282
Wasn't planning on it. It would be silly.
1405313 oh thank god. it was just how Loki was explaining them to the ponies who made me fear that they would be turned into ponies once they got there (sorry if i somehow spoiled anything).
I have an army.
Thats a 
!
We have a hulk.
I have the power of FRIENDSHIP!
We have lazers.
I have an army of ponies bent to my wiil, 2 goddess's on my side, and a magical rainbow of friendship and light.
Oh snap.
You derailed my thread on /mlp/. I'm going to have to read this now, aren't I?
1443556
Sorry. I wasn't trying to, but they started asking questions and...well, I like to talk about my stuff.
Very interesting.
Update faster or I will eat your FACE!!!!!!
1553531
I am sorry I haven't updated in a while.
I've been trying to re-edit my story and clean it up while also writing a new chapter. It's like pulling teeth through my nose.
Update faster.
1405347
, he doesn't need wings to fly.
But if you have to, please don't turn Thor into an Alicorn
I have a new favorite phrase now.
This story is awesome so far.. but i have noticed some detail errors. For instance, Cheerilee isnt red, she's hot-pink and scottaloos mane and tale is Purple. Other than those details... its a great read..
1394568 The poor bastard never lived THAT one down. Especially with results like this:
fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/020/0/b/pleased_sleipnir_by_jen_and_kris-d4n0cw1.gif
Ohh, how dare he badmouth the Avengers! 'Fell science' my butt. Update please! I need my fix...
It would be fun if he and Luna became best pals and Luna was able to see trough his lies...
3813429 Well, he is sorta right about the Hulk.
Late to the party but I can just see a scene somewhere in the future:
"Of course I was using them! What choice did I have? I was running from you. But... somewhere along the way, I actually came to care for these pathetic creatures! Then you and your friends show up and ruin everything! The town is destroyed, Ponies are injured! Like always, you come barging in without any thought of the consequences. What do you have to say for yourself brother?"
"Uh, er, that is..."
... and then Fluttershy gives Thor the STARE.
Do you think that there might be SOME good in Loki? And if so, will he be redeemed in Equestria?
Excellent story so far!
1393813 Mr. Banner faces Macintosh all on his own...
Eeenope
3893436
Loki is not an evil character really, he is misunderstood, ambitious and existentially confused. If Discord can be reformed then Loki can be redeemed.
4035372
Yep my issue here is that Loki ACTUALLY has a past that can be easily pitied in fact he wouldn’t even have to lie to anyone as he is a LOT like Luna in the sense that despite trying to do the right thing most of the time he constantly FAILS or his efforts are misplaced..... it really is sad.
By frilly collar, did you mean something like this?
media.gettyimages.com/photos/young-woman-wearing-frilly-collar-portrait-picture-id73345519?k=6&m=73345519&s=612x612&w=0&h=_R88JC_9kWGNZuR9krvCBCdjqxR11L38hci4jiRWBpE=