Chapter 1
A New Year to Remember
By: Zero_Starlight
The bell chimed as I made my way to the door, and I shivered, the below freezing winds seeping partially through the cracks of the door frame.
"Hang on a sec, I'll be right there!" I said, pulling the door open and smiling at my friends.
"Hey guys! Glad you could make it! Come in, come in!" I ushered Troy, Zen, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Sharky and Redheart in, grabbing the tray of hot chocolate I had prepared earlier, which they all accepted with thanks. Minus Zen, who had to have Pinkie guide his mouth to the straw, resulting in him burning his tongue slightly while Pinkie giggled, and Troy, who remained silent as always, unable to use his chalkboard as both his hands were occupied.
Twilight peeked over the banister, waving a hoof at everyone. "Hey, glad you could make it! I'll be down in a second!"
I led everyone over to the couches and chairs arranged around the center of the library. Fluttershy sat on Troy's lap on one of the couches, Pinkie and Zen sat on one of the love seats, while Sharky and Redheart sat on beanbag chairs.
"How is everyone?" I asked, looking at each of my friends in turn.
Fluttershy spoke for herself and Troy, "Nothing much happened, Troy finished another five chapters of his new book." She gushed, nuzzling close to her boyfriend with a smile.
"What's it about?" Sharky asked, leaning in. Troy looked at him for a second, picking up his chalkboard and began to write, holding his chalkboard up.
"It's about a mare finding love while searching for her place in the world, and the hardships and friends she makes along the way."
Everyone was silent for a moment, and Redheart spoke up. "It sounds very interesting dear!" She commented.
"I agree, I'll be sure to have Twilight get a copy for the library when it comes out!" I added. Troy's books were always in high demand at the library, and I doubted the next one wouldn't follow the same pattern.
"It sounds ok, but mine is totally more awesome." Sharky replied, not noticing that Redheart had quietly levitated a book behind his head.
"Reeeeeeeed... CHOP!" She yelled, slamming the book onto Sharky's head, leaving a rectangular indent and a puff of smoke as his soul left his body.
"Pretty stars... ehehehe..." Sharky said, wobbling and falling to the floor with a thump.
After Sharky recovered from the blunt force trauma via book, the conversation moved on to general chatter. I looked up as I heard the sound of hooves making their way down the stairs.
Everyone looked to the source of the disturbance, except for Zen, who simply sat and drank his hot chocolate, oblivious to the world. "And there she is! The mare of the hour!" I said, smiling at Twilight.
She blushed, "Zero! You make it sound like I'm the only one here!" She reached the bottom floor and smiled at her friends.
"Hey everyone. I'm so happy that you were all able to make it! Is everyone ready to go?"
We left the library, bundled up in heavy winter gear. I wore my heavy synthetic leather jacket, my bag on my back carrying three thermoses of hot chocolate, some paper cups, a container of cookies, and my phone. Twilight wore a red and white striped scarf, and a (in my opinion) adorable little red hat with a white trim and white ball at the tip that bounced as she trotted close to me. Zen was quite literally being pulled along by Pinkie, who had attached a collar with a leash attached around her neck, the leash wrapped around Zen's hand as she bounced along, a candy cane in her mouth.
Sharky and Redheart followed closely, Redheart nuzzling close to Sharky. Troy and Fluttershy walked at the back of the group, Fluttershy, with a warm, fluffy coat on, quietly talking and Troy, wearing a sweater and gloves, writing replies on his chalkboard.
Our destination wasn't far, and within fifteen or so minutes we reached the town hall where a large group of ponies had gathered, chatting and dancing to the music the band on stage played. Atop a pole that towered over the town hall sat a large silver ball, and nearby a large display counting down the hours until the new year. The clock currently displayed; 0 Months, 0 Weeks, 0 Days, 5 Hours, 43 Minutes, 22 Seconds.
We made our way through the crowd, managing to find a quite spot on a nearby porch. I pulled the blanket from my bag and placed it on the cold porch. We all sat down, chatting and waiting as the hours began to disappear.
At the 1 Hour mark, the band began to play a slow song, and I turned to Twilight with a smile.
"Care for a dance, my dear?" I asked. Twilight smiled and nodded. "I'd love to Zero..."
Taking her hoof in my hand, I helped her up, and we made our way to the town square.
Pinkie turned to Zen, "Let's dance too!" She exclaimed. Zen chuckled, shaking his head. "Sorry Pinkie. I've got two left feet and no sense of coordination."
Pinkie gasped, "YOU HAVE TWO LEFT FEET?" She exclaimed. Zen sweat dropped. "It's a figure of speech, Pinkie..."
I put my hands on the inside of Twilight's back, her hooves on my shoulders as we slowly danced around. I noticed her lips moving quietly as we danced, realizing Twilight was counting her steps to the music. I smiled, leaning in and pecking her on the nose before continuing to dance, laughing when she lost her count.
"Relax Twi. Go with the flow." I said, grinning again.
She snorted and knocked me upside the head with a hoove. "Shut up and dance Zero..." She leaned in closer to me and placed her lips on mine.
Fluttershy sat with Troy, quietly chatting.
"S-so... how are you feeling today, Troy?" Fluttershy asked.
Troy rolled his eyes, writing on his chalkboard. "I'm fine Shy, same as always. Would you like to dance?"
She froze up and blushed, hiding behind her mane. "Oh no, I couldn't! I'd just embarrass you, and then no one would buy your books and then you'd hate me and we couldn't date anymore and-"
Troy put a finger to her lips. "Calm down Shy. I've seen you dancing when you don't think I'm looking. You'd do fine, so don't you dare discount yourself, not for one second."
Fluttershy blushed again and sighed. "Um... if your sure..."
Troy rolled his eyes again, before writing down another note. "Of course I'm sure. Now come on!"
Giving her a moment to read the message, he grabbed her hoof gently and pulled her over to the dance area.
"A-are you sure about this Pinkie? I mean, we never signed up or anything! What if we're halfway through a number and we get pulled off-stage?" Zen said, panic edging into his tone as Pinkie dragged him the the stairs to the stage.
"If that happens, I'm sure you and I can find something to do..." Pinkie replied in a very husky tone, before bouncing back. "So let's get up there and ROCK!"
Zen sighed and let her drag him to the top of the stage. "Fine, but it's on you!"
As Pinkie place a microphone in his hand (Celestia help me, if she put it upside down again...) Zen took a breath and began to sing.
"I spent twenty years tryin' get outta this place, I was looking for somethin', I couldn't replace, I was running away from the only thing I ever known!"
Pinkie joined in, "Like a, blind dog, without a bone, I was a gypsy lost in the twilight zone, I hijacked a rainbow and crashed into a pot of gold!"
Pinkie and Zen sang together, "I been there, I've done that, and I ain't looking back from the seeds I've sown."
"Saving dimes, spending too much time on the telephone..."
Zen and Pinkie sang together, "Who says you can't go home!"
"Every step I take, I know that I'm not alone," Zen sang, joined by Pinkie.
"You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home!"
"These are my streets, the only life I've ever known!" Zen sang.
"Who says you can't go home!"
Sharky sat back, relaxing with Redheart.
"Sharky?" Redheart asked.
"Yes?" Sharky replied.
"I love you." Redheart said, nuzzling closer to him.
"Who wouldn't?" He replied, chuckling. He didn't notice Redheart lifting a heavy book.
"Reeeeed... CHOP!" She yelled, slamming the book on Sharky's head again.
As the clock ticked down, the friends gathered together. Zen and Pinkie were still on stage, busy entertaining the crowd with their renditions of such classics as "White Celestmas" and "Pony Rock Anthem", Troy and Fluttershy sitting off to the side, talking in private.
Twilight laughed as Pinkie began dancing and making funny faces around Zen, who obliviously continued singing, and she turned to Zero.
"We have some weird friends, don't we?" She asked.
Zero peered over his aviators. "Normal is dull, babe. I like weird, keeps me on my toes." He grinned, looking at the clock. "Well, looks like it's almost time." He pulled a small black box from his pocket, getting down on one knee.
Twilight gasped, "You didn't..." She opened the box with her magic, finding a beautiful necklace. "You didn't." She rolled her eyes and grinned, kissing Zero on the cheek. "I still don't know where you get the bits to pay for things like this."
Zero grinned, "I have my ways." The ball on the town hall reached the bottom of it's pole and then cracked open, showering confetti down on everyone. "Now get over here." She laughed as he pulled her close, her lips meeting his.
Troy and Fluttershy had long since retired from their dancing, deciding to instead listen to the musical talents of Zen and Pinkie.
Fluttershy sighed happily and nuzzled closer to her boyfriend. "Um... Troy...?"
Troy blinked at her, nodding for her to go on.
"I-I really enjoyed d... dancing with you..." She blushed and placed a kiss on his lips as the ball reached the bottom of the pole, releasing confetti.
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END -
Author's Note; Well, there you have it! My very, very, very late New Years story! Fun fact; I was going to have Zen and Pinkie sing some of the great hits from "I'm Secretly Afraid Of Christmas Songs" by Tomska. Then I realized that it would require too much yelling.
Yeah...
Also, sorry for the delay on new Rainbow Shades chapters. Exams are coming up soon, and I've been too busy with A Special Package to do the editing for the next half dozen or so chapters I have recorded. I'll do it once exams are over.
Lastly, I'm planning to go back through my stories and adding in all the scene breaks that got turned into page lines when I pasted it into my other text editor.
If you have any questions for me, you can visit my tumblr blog, email me or PM me at . The links are on my profile.
Until next time, Zero out!