A/N: Another chapter here just for you. Consider it your early Christmas (Hearth's Warming Eve) gift for all of you. :) So merry christmas, happy hanukkah and I will see you all in the year 2015.
Not much I can think of, but I felt really happy today. Today, they released an announcement date and album name for Nightwish's next studio album. So exciting!
Review response time!
mr234scott: You saw Liquid Tension Experiment? Lucky! I wish they could come back so I could see them.
AVP5: Thank you :) Oh, there will be a lot happening.
sonic3461: Thank you. I always respond to my reviews whenever I can.
Born-From-Black-Lightning: Thanks, for Brayden's blood... oh it'll be quite a surprise so I'm not going to release any details about it until it happens later in the story. I'm not sure when it'll be though. But it'll definitely happen.
I was walking through the streets of Ponyville on a partly cloudy evening with the sun starting to fade over the western horizon and Luna's moon starting to rise over the eastern horizon. Most of Ponyville's townsfolk have already gone indoors to have their traditional dinner among family and friends. A few that I had known were outside still, taking a gentle stroll in the evening. A few fillies or foals were coming home from that bright day to have dinner as well that was waiting on the table for them. Restaurants around the town were quite active at this time and I could smell the scent of fresh garden salad leaves in the warm air.
I was on my way to the Sugarcube Corner. Since I hadn't hung out with Pinkie for quite a while, I pretty much decided to give her a surprise visit and see what is going on with her and how she is doing. Usually around the evening, Sugarcube Corner is still open, but there are very few customers at that time picking up their orders. It's the basic sign to Mr. and Mrs. Cake that it will soon be time to close for the night.
Down the street was the store itself and I am walking at a relaxing medium pace of speed. I could hear the sound of the crickets beginning to make their wake into chirping their sweet tune songs for most of the night. I turn towards the wooden steps leading towards the swinging doors of the building and gently push both of the doors open.
I walk into the room and I could see Mr. Cake standing behind the vendor of all types of sweets that would mostly form a tiny bit of saliva in my mouth at the sight of them. Some of them that were made I had already tried out and thought that they were delicious. I would also try out all of the other treats, but I had to remember about my teeth as well. Don't want to get another cavity I tell you.
Mr. Cake raised his head from sorting out in the 'hidden' cash register and smiles when he sees me coming in. "Hello Brayden. How have you been doing?" He asked me with a greeting tone in his voice.
"I am doing really good tonight Mr. Cake," I said to him with a returning smile to him. "I just came by to see if Pinkie was around. I pretty much realized that I haven't got a chance to hang out with her again and I'm hoping that she is here."
"She's just in the kitchen with Mrs. Cake, so I'll let her know that you've come by." Mr. Cake said, keeping his head turned towards me and he began trotting into the kitchen where most of their stuff they made for the customers would be. He finally turns his head, pushing open the pink swinging doors when he passed into the kitchen.
A few moments pass and I find myself alone in the room yet again. Though I could a bit of talking from the kitchen, nothing really else. A few seconds of silence pass and I could hear hooves trotting back out of the kitchen.
It was my good friend Pinkie Pie. She came trotting out past the two swinging doors. When she turned and saw me standing at the counter, she kept her smile and trotted over to me opposite side of the counter that I was standing.
"Hello Brayden!" She said with the usual high-pitched tone that I knew her by. "I didn't expect to see you here in the evening because I usually see you come in during daytime."
"Well I guess I'm always that kind of guy who decides on any time of the day or night to come and see one of my favorite friends." I said to her only scratching my head for a short bit. "I was actually here to ask if you and I wanted to have dinners… as friends 'cause you know."
"A friendly dinner?" Pinkie asked.
I nodded my head with a smile and said "Of course. You've been such a good friend to me for so long that it came to me to treat you to dinner."
"Well, I think that sounds really good!" She tells me, jumping up and down. "I just have to let the Cakes know that I'll be heading out the door with you and will be back soon."
"Take your time." I said.
"Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I'm going to stepping out the door for a little bit," Pinkie called out into the kitchen where they were. "I'll be back later though."
I could hear Mrs. Cake call back "Okay Pinkie, let us know how it was when you get back."
"I will!" Pinkie said, and then hopped over the counter to join me.
I let out a smile on my face and begin to walk beside her on our way out of the Sugarcube Corner. I have my head turned towards her and I'm looking at her. She does turn her head towards me and share with me a gentle and friendly smile minus how energetic she looked. Her energetic behaviour was the best because that is what I personally like about Pinkie Pie. She almost reminded me of a few people that I knew who were really energetic when they met other friends or me.
I guess I could say that at such a young age, I had a bit of Pinkie Pie in me though I still wasn't aware about the show just yet. It was only before I came to middle school so it was most likely during the time of Generation 3. I didn't really pay attention to it though as I was more diverse towards other stuff like the want to going to parties with friends, trying to make friends without looking annoying or awkward which it turned out to be most of the time. Nevertheless I still had that kind of spirit in me.
I walk over to the swinging doors and push one of them open for Pinkie Pie as it might seem that I am blocking her by complete accident should I try to open both of them at the same time. "Thank you Brayden." Pinkie thanks me. She trots past me and opens the other swinging door with her left front hoof. After she had exited the building first, I follow out after and join up beside her once again.
Coming down from the tiny wooden steps outside the Sugarcube Corner, I could see Twilight's castle in the distance, hanging out over the wondrous majesties of night. The combination of it and the night made the sight of it even more beautiful. The sounds of crickets chirping could be heard in the ambience with the mild-toned conversations of ponies talking to each other. The sun had finally set in the west and Luna's moon rose up over the eastern horizon as a crescent.
"So…" I could hear Pinkie say to me as if she wanted to ask me a question. She had a smile remaining on her face when I had turned to look at her.
"So?" I said in return. A smile had grown onto my face as well. I was getting quite curious.
"I was just starting to wonder how you are doing nowadays?" She asked me.
I chuckled for a quick moment and looked back at her cyan eyes. "I am doing really well Pinkie. Since the new castle came in, I have been just going about and checking in on friends from time to time to see if they want to join up with me and hang out," I said to her. "In other news, I have a few plans in mind to go and visit Manehattan and the Crystal Empire."
"Oh!" Pinkie said, bouncing up and down. "I think you'll just love being there in those two places! I am pretty sure you have something big planned for what you will do there in the two most visited tourist cities in Equestria."
"Well, I do have a few things in mind for what I want to do," I said. "For Manehattan since it is the first, I will stop by Coco Pommel's apartment as Rarity said that she is willing to let me stay there for as long as I want to as long as it's alright with her. I'll make sure to get a good view of the city and walk alongside its beaches. For the Crystal Empire, it isn't really much of a visit. There's something for the mirror in the one of its rooms… a portal. Something is telling me to go inside."
"The mirror?" She asked. "Brayden, I do not think that anypony or you might be allowed to enter through there unless granted permission by a royal princess' authority. Plus it is still closed for the thirty moons.
"But… there is somepony that I know about who is in there." I said to her, continuing to walk. "If you remember… it was the thief that stole Twilight's element at the time. Sunset Shimmer. She had been in my thoughts as soon as I saw the mirror-"
Pinkie interrupted me by placing her right hoof onto my left hand. "Brayden… you can't…" Pinkie said to me in a concerned tone. "It is only to be authorized by the order of the princesses. None would probably allow you entry into the mirror."
"I see," I said, calming down an attempt to make a point that was probably not going to work anyway. "I am not even sure how the physics of the mirror portal works." Though I had dropped the topic about the magic mirror, I still was being fed with the temptations to enter through into the portal to the other side. They were pretty much humans like me, but it was an alternate Equestria I would be witnessing as I did before when I first saw the Equestria Girls movie.
"Don't worry though Brayden," Pinkie said. "I am sure that one day, the princesses will allow you to pass through into that world."
"That is what worries me the most though," I said. "That 'one day' might be too late for me."
Pinkie kept her hoof on the top of my hand as I was talking to her. "Brayden, I don't think that we should keep talking about the mirror? Can we change it to something else?" She asked me, still sounding a bit concerned.
I let out a bit of a defeated sigh and looked back at her with a smile. "Okay." I answered to her question. "What else do you want to talk about?"
"I would like to know a little more about how you and Twilight are both doing together?" She asks, sounding a little better that I had changed the subject. "Has your relationship with her been fine? No fights between you and her?"
"No, no fights at all." I said, smiling again when Twilight finally came to my mind. "Our relationship seems to be very healthy as of right now. I am planning to go on another date with her sometime after my visit to Manehattan. Since I already made the plan for our first date, it's her turn then.
"And when will you already start popping the question to her?" Pinkie said to me. I take her pink hoof that on top of my left hand and it gently holds onto it in a friendly way.
"Pinkie, I really do not want to rush straight into asking her to marry me just yet," I said to her with a bit of warning in my tone but with seriousness, but not too serious. "I am thinking that if after a couple of months and nothing changes, then yes… I'll pop the question to her."
"Okie dokie lokie." She says to me with a giggle coming from her.
"I'm pretty sure an idea she for the date she is setting up is probably something a little more easygoing," I said. "I am guessing that both I and Twilight will go up to Canterlot to one of those fancy restaurants. I heard one of them is like a big club that have live performances from instrumental musicians."
"You could probably ask them to play a song that you like." She suggested.
"I'm not sure if they know about the music that I listen to," I told her. "But if you want to, you could hear a bit of the music that I listen to just for an example."
"Well, I listen to any kind of music in all of Equestria whether it's the classical kind in Canterlot or the general music today that most ponies hear. I would like to hear what yours sounds like." She says, bouncing up and down.
Me and her stop walking on the path to the restaurant district and I pull out my phone from my pocket. I unlock my phone with a password. In the music section I am trying to think of something that I can best relate to Pinkie when I hear it. What's a song that best represents her? Well, I know she's one who loves to party… oh yes. I move down to the 'K' letter of the alphabet and press one of the artists in the section of that letter. I select one of the artists' albums and offer one of the two earphones to Pinkie. She nods and I gently place the left earpiece into her left ear. I select the song and let her listen to it. A few seconds pass into the song, the mare seems to have a face that looked like it was her first time ever hearing this song I was playing.
She starts to slowly bop her head up and down to the rhythm of the song. A smile crept onto her face as she listened on. "This song is really catchy." She commented about a minute into the song. Considering that it was only around 2 to 3 minutes, it shouldn't be too long.
After about two minutes and fifty seconds of the song, the song had been finished and I took the left earphone out of Pinkie's ear gently. I put my phone and earphones back into my leather jacket. "Well," I finally said while I had been doing this. "What did you think of that song?"
"I thought that song was amazing!" She said, with the both of us starting to walk again. "It started off a bit with drums and then came that sound out of the guitar that I've never really heard before that I knew were electric. Electric ones like the one you have are hard to come across nowadays here in Equestria, but I also like the chorus. It sounded really catchy and would definitely fit me as a song!"
"Well I am glad that you like the song that I listen to whenever you come to mind." I said, zipping up the pockets on my leather jacket shut. "I still remember the day that I went to go see those guys in concert."
"Back on Earth?" She asked. I almost ended up forgetting to place that into my words.
"Oh yes." I said, smiling again.
I cannot find anything else to talk about at the moment, so me and her just continued walking together to get to the restaurant in Ponyville. The restaurant looked very outdoors just like the last time that me and her had hung out together. I could see the waiters delivering either menus or food to their customers, with the aroma of fresh salad filling the air tonight.
"Alright Pinkie, I'm all set for a meal tonight amongst a good friend being you, of course." I said, with a snicker coming out from my mouth. I didn't really hear her say anything which surprised me for a moment. I turn around to see if she was still making conversation with me. Her head seemed to have lowered a bit and she bore a weak, nervous frown from her mouth. "Pinkie?"
She sighed quietly for a moment and then looked up at me. "I'm sorry Brayden… it's just-" Pinkie said before stopping. By the way she was speaking, she sounded really nervous about something. "I- I am just a bit worried."
I walked closer towards her and got onto both of my knees. "What has you worried Pinkie? Is something wrong?" I asked, sounding a bit concerned for my friend.
"Nothing's wrong yet, but it'll be what I fear once we take a seat." Pinkie said, shaking only a little bit. "Remember when I told you about my special somepony at the time? Well, I fear that the teasing might happen again and you'll end up losing your temper towards me and just yell at me!"
"Pinkie. I-" I tried to say, but she interrupted me again.
"…And then you'll break off our friendship after the ponies tease me to think I'm with you, but I already know you're with Twilight." Pinkie continued.
"That I already know as well as you do. But-" I tried to say again, but was cut off by Pinkie again.
"And once you break off the friendship I'll end up begging to you and have our friendship back, but you'll say no and end up leaving me there alone with one less friend-" She continues before I placed my right hand onto her left shoulder.
"Pinkie?" I had asked. She stops talking in a rant-like way and looks into my brown eyes with sad emotions coming from them. "Nothing can ever repeat itself again. You shouldn't worry about it. As you are a good friend to me, I will never raise my voice towards you nor will I ever bring harm to you in any way nor break off our friendship. Both of our friendship is important to us. Don't ever let your worries or the past get to you in the present."
"Presents?" Pinkie asked, her lowered ears rising a bit.
"No, I meant the present as in time… well, as of right now." I said, kind of explaining what I had meant to say.
Pinkie's ears lower again and she exhales a sad sigh. I move a little closer towards her and gently move my arms around her. I pull her towards me and I could feel her hooves moving around to my back as well. Both of us begin to share a friendly, gentle hug in a way to get across that I was only trying to cheer up the happiest pony in Ponyville, possibly in all of Equestria. My left hand gently rubs her back.
"Thanks Brayden." Pinkie says with the volume of her voice sounding only a little bit quiet from her normal voice whenever she spoke. Her shaking decreased at a normal rate and eventually she had stopped. Her ears rise again.
"You're welcome." I said to her. I now should remember something whenever I am hanging out with Pinkie Pie and she is getting sad, a hug can cheer her up. My stomach makes a rumbling sound. "Now, if you don't mind, can we get to dinner? My stomach is already begging for something."
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie Pie said, letting go from the friendly hug and getting up back on her four hooves. Surprisingly to me, she got cheered up pretty quick.
I get back onto my two feet and the both of us approach the wooden booth for one of the waiters. A waiter comes out from inside the restaurant and approaches the booth to see the both of us standing there.
"Welcome, the both of you." He had greeted us in a majestic, blooming tone. "Can I help you both to your seats indoors or outdoors?"
"Outdoors, please." I had said to the waiter when he turned to look at me.
"Alright, please follow me." He says. He leaves from the booth and I and Pinkie continue on, following him.
In the dining area, I could see a couple of the pony residents that I knew sitting down to east their dinner. A few I recognized were Time Turner, Derpy Hooves, Lily Valley… the list goes ever on. Most of the food that the ponies were already getting into was mostly consisting of the finest meals that would be served that weren't in Canterlot. Some of them were also from the other cities in Equestria or beyond. Tomato soup with crackers, baked potatoes, apple crisp seasoned with rosemary bits and garden salads galore, with the seasonal apple cider for those who could ask for more.
The sounds of ponies chatting filled around the air along with the sounds of ponies cooking in the kitchen heard inside the restaurant from another door. No music accompanied the restaurant, except the sound of classical instruments composed by the Canterlot Orchestra located at the Opera Hall performing live for an audience. So it all made sense… I missed the sign that it was Canterlot Day today for the restaurant. Oh well… silly me.
"Here are the both of your seats." I could hear the waiter say to the both of us. My full attention on what was going on around me is snapped back to what was happening with me and my friend Pinkie. On his face, the waiter donned a friendly smile.
I walk towards my assigned chair, moving my body for a moment and taking my seat on its plush mushroom top. Yes, I already knew that I was sitting on a magic mushroom coming out of the ground. I wonder if it don't actually even mind if it likes being sit upon by others. Pinkie takes her seat on the other side of the table, and she continues to smile.
"Now, can I help the both of you with a drink to start off?" The waiter says to us. I turn my head and look at the waiter as he asked his question.
Pinkie raises her right front hoof a bit off of the table and said "I'll go with the fruit punch." She calls out in an excited tone.
"I guess I'll have a pint of Apple Cider." I requested with a calm tone in my voice. The waiter smiles, with a nod he writes them down on a notepad. He places the food menu on the table and essentially leaves both me and Pinkie there at the table to get our drinks inside the restaurant.
"So, what's been on your mind lately Pinkie?" I had asked to her to make some conversation flow instead of the silence.
Her head turns back towards me. "Me?" Pinkie asked first before that same smile rose again. "Yes, I was just thinking about my best friends, one of them being you of course!"
"I know I am, as well as you being one of my best friends as well," I said to her. "But what I really meaning to ask was if anypony else, that being a stallion been on your mind, because… well you know." I kind of hope I didn't mention about the other stallion who shouted at her. If I happen to see him, I'll definitely make sure that I tell him off. Violence to me is not the answer to solving anything whatsoever and I'd just like to keep the peace.
"Oh… that." Pinkie says, her smile lowering a bit to a weak smile. "Well, yes there has been this one stallion on my mind but he's in the back there."
"Who is it?" I had asked, leaning forward a bit and raising an eyebrow.
"Why do you ask?" Pinkie sounded questioned when I had asked about who this other stallion on her mind was. Something tells me that she's got a special somepony there, but he doesn't even know it at all just yet.
"Oh, I'm just curious," I told her. "Would you like to tell me or am I going to have to torture you in a fun way to get you to say it?"
Pinkie's ears shot up into the air again and she said "Torture me in a fun way? Like tickling me?" She said, with a giggle coming from her.
"Oh yes, so better tell me or the tickles are coming." I said to her, putting an evil smile right onto my face just for the fun of it.
Pinkie has a playful smile now and she says "Well, alright I'll tell you who it is. But please Pinkie Promise that you will not tell him or anypony else about it."
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I said to fulfill that I would keep the promise, even doing the hand or… err, hoof gestures to be exact. I don't know, my hands try to work like pony hoof gestures.
Pinkie gets off her mushroom chair and trots over to me. She gets up a bit on two legs, placing her two front legs onto my right leg. Her head leans forward and really close to my ear. "It's Cheese Sandwich." She whispers into my ear.
"Pinkie, you've got your mind on Cheese Sandwich?" I had asked with a smile on my face. "Why that is wonderful that you have these kinds of feelings for somepony who is just like you."
"Oh thanks," Pinkie said, taking both of her legs off of me. She moves back to the other side of the table and sits down. "I think I started to develop feelings for him after Rainbow Dash's birthday."
I could remember Cheese Sandwich all too well. From the instant he had been voiced by a famous comedian artist back home on Earth, all the way to the moment when he pulled Pinkie closer to him in the episode "Pinkie Pride" and when I met him before my performance for Twilight and the rest of my friends. He seemed like such a comedian, but I also saw that connection between him and Pinkie because they had the same kind of interest in common together: throwing parties.
"I think he would be just perfect for you as a special somepony, just being honest." I said to my friend, raising both of my open fingered hands into the air to show my innocence.
Pinkie Pie had a bit of a blush cross on just her cheeks and she looks at me as if I in a fun way was embarrassing her. I will admit that this is probably the first time that I have ever seen Pinkie Pie blushing other than the fan-art I saw back at home.
The sound of somepony's throat being cleared grabs both me and Pinkie's attention. It was only our waiter with the drinks that were order by the both of us on a gray colored and round tray. "Here are the both of your drinks." The waiter says.
"Thank you sir." I complimented as he handed me my pint of Apple Cider. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that because this is Equestria's equivalent to beer: I won't get drunk because it's made of apples alone. For the pony body, it does make a bit of sense.
"Brayden?" Pinkie asked. "Aren't you worried that you might not get used to the taste of apple cider, usually the first time is disgusting."
"Don't worry," I said to her, raising the metal cup with the pint full. "I'm pretty sure that the side effects of drinking too much apple cider won't affect my body. I mean, think about it. I have been eating Equestrian food without any side effects done to me yet from its foreign taste."
"If you say so." Pinkie said, taking a sip from her cup of fruit punch.
The waiter takes out his pen and notepad, ready to jot down our meals when we were ready. "I suppose that you want me to get your meals ready for tonight." He said to us.
"Oh yes, we're ready," I said to him, my stomach already starting to growl a little bit.
"Alright then sir," He said to me with a tone of respect in his voice. "What can I get for the both of you tonight?"
"I have decided that I shall have tomato soup with garlic bread and celery on the side." I told him my food order and he starts writing it down while hearing Pinkie with his other ear to find out what she was going to have for tonight.
"I will have the grand garden salad with those ingredients straight from Canterlot itself." Pinkie Pie says, reading a bit from the menu to find what she needed.
"All of the food on the menu made for tonight are from Canterlot, miss." The waiter corrected.
"So you have been to Canterlot?" I asked him.
The waiter finished writing down Pinkie's order and turned to look at me. "Yes sir, I've grown up there since I was just a small foal. Lots of royalists though who state that Canterlot is the more supreme city in Equestria. I mean, for crying out loud… I don't think they've ever been to Manehattan." He told me.
"Manehattan?" I asked, an eyebrow rose on my head again. "I'm going there for a visit shortly and I was already starting to wonder what it would be like there. Any attractions or tourist locations there that I should see?"
"Well I can't really suggest anything on my mind at the moment," He said, thinking about what I had to say a moment back. "Though, I do recommend that you go and see one of the Bridleway shows in the Entertainment District. The only problem is the prices whether it comes to seating so you'd rather be off finding a much cheaper seat in the balconies which provide a good view as like every theater that does. The small beach on the right side of the city's island is also a good spot to take a quiet stroll when feeling down. Seeing how I lived in Manehattan for two years in my life… it does explain a lot."
"A friend in Manehattan I believe invited me, asking her to come and see her when I get the time to." I said, seeing the waiter take his notepad.
"Well, I do wish you the best of luck on your visit to Manehattan," The waiter said to me with a smile adorned on his face. "I'll go and get the both of you your food. It just needs to cook up."
I nodded with understanding and turned back to Pinkie. Pinkie was indeed curious about Manehattan. Though she's probably seen it more physically, I've seen the city as of back on Earth when that episode first aired. It did make a lot of sense because besides that episode almost reminding me of New York City, I also visited that city with my own family.
"A friend in Manehattan invited you?" She innocently asked. "But you've only been to here, Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. Who is this friend who invited you to because I don't think I've seen her unless her name rings a bell."
"Coco Pommel," I answered her with the smile on my face. "After my birthday party, she asked me to come and visit her when I wasn't too busy. So I decided to give it some thought. Considering it has been only two weeks since Twilight got her castle, I figured why not because nothing really interesting has happened yet, but something tells me that it should happen while I'm gone. You know what to expect."
"Yes indeed!" Pinkie said to me. "Also, just a friendly reminder to you that Nightmare Moon sent down a letter to you, but you weren't at Fluttershy's cottage. I took the letter for you and now that you're here, I can give it to you." Out of under the table with her strange physics, she somehow makes the letter appear and slides it across the table with her hoof.
The letter hits the top of my hand as soft as a feather when it slid across the mushroom table. I move my hand that it hit and stopped at. I take the letter with both of my hands and open up the top that had been sealed with the royal symbol of Canterlot itself. I take the parchment right out from in there and begin to read the well done text that had been written by the black alicorn herself.
Brayden,
I know you have been a bit busy with your friends down in Ponyville. I was just starting to wonder, I feel like since I had the magic of darkness removed from me, I've been feeling a bit lonely. Sure I've got Princess Celestia or Luna to talk to, but it just doesn't feel right. Has this whole me being the legendary Nightmare Moon scaring off everypony that I am trying to make friends with? I'm not really sure, but you and your friends are the only one that I know down in Ponyville that I can talk to. When I am with you and them, I feel happy like I've never seen happiness before in my entire life?
Anyways, I'm just going to keep this short. I only ask that you only come to me for a simple get-together at any time when you are not busy. I won't get upset at you if you decline this offer, because I will understand that you are always on the run. Please though… keep me in mind.
Nightmare Moon
I slowly slip the letter back into my pocket and I have a smile on my face after I am finished reading it. "I will be happy to accompany you sometime after my visit to Manehattan, Nightmare Moon." I said to myself.
"So what did she say?" Pinkie asked.
"She wants me to come and accompany her when I am not busy." I said, disposing the rest of the torn open letter mail that I ripped open to see the written parchment.
"So you're starting to open yourself to more ponies besides the six of us?" Pinkie says, still smiling. "I am proud to see you broading more of your horizons."
"Thanks." I said to her, thanking her for the evidence. "Though everytime I meet somepony new… it doesn't seem to feel right for me."
"What do you mean?" She asked, her smile lowering a bit and looking curious.
I sigh softly and place my left hand onto my right arm. "Well," I said, sounding a little sad when I was going to head into this kind of brief topic. "It's all based on my disability."
"Disability?" She questioned.
"It's something that everyone back home can be affected physically or mentally. Often times it's both on that matter. It's been with me ever since I was only a small child and I burden it upon me a curse some of the time because of the behaviour that I sometimes displayed while back there," I said, lowering my head to only look at the side of the mushroom table. "Autism. It's a curse that has been with me and will always be with me. There is no way to change it, but if I could…"
"Brayden," I could hear Pinkie say to me. My attention is drawn back towards her getting off of her round mushroom seat and trotting over towards me. Finally, I was thrown off-guard when she came towards me with her hooves. She wraps them around my back and her head is resting on my left shoulder. It was a hug that she was giving me. "Don't ever wish that you could ever change. If you did, you would be a completely different pony. You're the perfect friend just the way you are. We don't want you to be different among us. You have been lucky to make it out this far and you're still here. I'm here for you just like the rest of our friends."
I place my arms around her, sharing the friendly hug. After a few seconds, the both of us let go of the hug and look at each other. "Perhaps… one day I can tell you all about how it affected me." I offered with a now more confident tone.
"Okie dokie lokie." Pinkie Pie responds to me with a smile upon her face. She trots back around to the other side and sits back down.
I could see the waiter coming up towards our table carrying a tray with our food right on it. My tomato soup with garlic bread was on the right of the gray solid tray, and Pinkie's garden salad on the left. He moves across past the other tables where everypony chats with their friends, or is laughing mildly with them. He finally arrives at our table and begins to serve us our dinner.
"Thank you very much." I said to the waiter in an appreciative tone. He smiles back and hands Pinkie her salad.
The waiter said "If you want, you could pay now so you don't have to worry about the hurry you might be in."
I turn towards Pinkie and can see her reaching to take out a small bag of bits. "Don't worry about it Brayden," She said, digging out a couple of bits from the leather bag. "I'll pay for our meal."
She in turn places those shiny golden bits on the table to give to the waiter. The waiter takes the bits and trots off, leaving us with our dinner.
The soup still seems to look a bit like it had just come off of the stove, so it looks like I'll have to let it cool for a bit. The garlic bread on the other hand feels really warm and looked delicious. I open up my mouth and take a bite out of the fluffy-looking bread.
By Celestia, the fluffs of wheat that were inside of my mouth from the bite were filling a part inside while I proceeded to chew it up into the mush inside. I swear that these kinds of Canterlot garlic bread were about not twice, but three times as better as the ones I had back on Earth.
The steam that had been leftover from the tomato soup had finally dissipated into the warm night air. I just about decided that I might be the right time to check on the soup and see how well and exquisite it would taste. I take the metal spoon that was lying on the plate with the garlic bread and dip it straight into the soup. Knowing how picky I could be sometimes about eating, I move the spoon towards my mouth and open it up, placing a spoonful of rich tomato soup right into my mouth.
The taste of this new soup that I had decided to try out, tasted surprisingly very different from what I was going to expect from it at first. For the first time ever trying something new, this taste was very delicious for my mouth, with its taste of tomato juice in a floating fluid-state but heated and spiced. I swallow the hot liquid and I get my glass of apple cider, taking a quick swig to gulp down. Pinkie's crunching from her salad could be heard from across the table by my own ears.
I just smile and dig my spoon into the soup again for another sip.
"Ah, well that was a very good meal!" Pinkie says to me, just about to have swallowed the last of the salad leaves in the wooden bowl.
I had just about finished my bowl of tomato soup as well. Most of what had been left of the garlic bread was now only just small bread crumbs lying around on the side of the plate with the bowl of soup that had always been with it. My glass of apple cider was just about almost finished, all that I would have to do to finish that would be taking a big sip of it and taking only a few to finish it off.
"Yeah," I said to Pinkie. "I'm stuffed as full as a Christmas turkey."
"Christmas?" Pinkie asked.
"It's a holiday tradition back on Earth. It works almost like Hearth's Warming Eve, but it is very different." I explained to her, clearing up her curiosity.
"Ohhh," Pinkie said to me with a giggle coming from her. "Silly me!"
I looked down at the table towards the cleared, but somehow dirty dishes that we left. "What should we do about our dishes?" I had asked.
"Oh, don't worry about them Brayden," She says. "The waiter will take care of it. I just need to leave him a bit of a tip."
While she gets out a few more bits on the table to thank the waiter, I take the white napkin and use it to wipe any leftover messes that are around my mouth like the tomato soup. After the small mess on my face is done and gone, I dispose of the paper napkin properly, which also included a longshot of me tossing it into the nearest garbage can.
Pinkie had placed about fifteen bits onto the table and she gets up and out of her seat. I too, got up off mine and follow her once again. My two feet sped up a bit so I could walk beside her when I and she came out of the restaurant.
"So what should we do now?" Pinkie asked me with her innocent and high-pitched voice that always put a smile to my face.
"Well, you did say that you've recently had your mind on Cheese Sandwich, right?" I said, crossing my arms a bit, and doing a rather sneaky smile.
"Yes, but what does he have to do with what we do?" She asked, sounding curious.
"I was thinking," I said. "Why don't you ask him to be your special somepony because I have a big feeling that both you and him will get along just fine."
Pinkie places her pink left front hoof onto my right hand. "I'm not so sure about doing that though. What if he rejects me?" She said, sounding a little worried.
"He won't," I said to her. "You helped me in a way to get me to tell my true feelings to Twilight, so I am helping you in return. Though I won't expect an instant kiss if he does accept your request."
"I did?" Pinkie asked. Then it struck her when she remembered. "Oh wait never mind, I was hiding in a bush and had the sign that said 'Tell her'. I still have that in my room for memories of helping you."
I turned my eyes back forward and could see that familiar Earth pony with a brown puffy mane similar to Pinkie's and his green eyes and cheese sandwich cutie mark. I turn towards Pinkie and I start to eyeball at her to motion forward and greet him. Pinkie looks a bit nervous at first, but gulps a bit and trots forward towards Cheese Sandwich, me following behind her to keep an eye on things should something go wrong.
Cheese didn't notice us at first for a brief moment, but then his eyes turned to Pinkie and he grew a smile. "Hello Brayden, hello Pinkie," The young partying stallion said to the both of us, greeting us both at the same time in a jolly voice. On his back is Boneless Two, that rubber chicken that he had used to replace Boneless when he gave that rubber chicken to Pinkie.
"Hello Cheese Sandwich." I said to him. I nod my head with that smile on my voice as I can see that his voice still hadn't change even after that performance I pulled off musically.
"How have the both of you been doing lately?" He asks.
Pinkie smiles and says "My friend Twilight got a sweet new castle like two weeks back. But it was a big fight I can tell you."
"A fight?" Cheese asked. "I hope you didn't get hurt in the battle."
"Well, all can really say is that you have to sometimes expect the unexpected." Pinkie commented, her happy voice dropping a bit that almost sounded serious about it.
"I see." He said in return to Pinkie.
Pinkie began to have the usual conversation with Cheese Sandwich everytime they met again. It would mostly be about the latest parties they've hosted. Now is my chance to try and play the role of matchmaker for both those two playful stallion and mare. I move my arm to curve the elbow into something different so I could get Pinkie's attention. My elbow moves forward towards Pinkie's shoulder. When it made contact a few times with Pinkie, I could see that she stopped talking and turns her head towards me. I let out a smile on my face and look into her cerulean eyes.
"Tell him." I mouthed those exact words to her. I sounded really convincing when I had mouthed this to her.
Pinkie just looks at me for a few moments after I've told this to her. She turns back around and take a look into Cheese' green eyes. I could hear her gulp nervously while Cheese was patiently waiting to continue talking to her.
"Cheese?" I could hear Pinkie ask. Come on Pinkie, you can do it. He's been in your thought for a bit of time now.
Cheese Sandwich's face enlightened once again. "Yes Pinkie. Is there something you need?" He asked with a tone of happiness coming forth again when his 'Cheesy-Sense' would go off.
"I have something that I want to ask you." Pinkie said to him, sounding a little nervous.
I watched as Cheese moved his left front hoof towards her left front hoof and took it with his. "What is it that you want to tell me?" He asked. His tone shrank a bit to sound calm, but kept his happiness in the tone at all times.
"Yes, I was just wondering…" Pinkie said, pausing for a few moments to find the right words to say to him. "I was wondering that if you're not busy… maybe we can…"
"Can what? Do the can-can?" He asked, trying to lighten up the mood. I chuckled a bit quietly.
Pinkie giggled softly and with a smile, she continued. "No Cheese, we'll save that for another time. I wanted to ask if you are available sometime later so we can… you know, get-together?"
"Pinkie," He said. I think he already knows what might be going on. I'm just about ready to comfort Pinkie Pie if he ends up rejecting her. Pinkie almost seems ready to face the truth as well, as I know well that once that mane deflates and falls straight… let's just say you don't want to see her go all 'Pinkamena' again. "Are you trying to ask me on a date?"
"Yes." She said with a blush crossing softly onto her face.
"Well, I'm not sure. Let me check my schedule for if I am busy." He said, reaching into his yellow shirt fit just for a pony. He pulls out a large calendar with a bunch of written stuff he's put down on the date of that current month so far. He studied his calendar with a single hoof and his eyes were scanning. I'm guessing that he was trying to find the right day where he wasn't too busy. I could hear a lot of 'hmm' coming from him while he searched. Both I and Pinkie felt like we were on the edge of our seats just like watching a movie in a theater.
"Well, according to the schedule here," He said, making a bit of a dramatic pause to throw us off guard. A smile grows onto his face. "It appears that I am available for a date after all Pinkie. Are you free this Friday?"
"Yes I am." Pinkie said with the nervousness in her voice fading. "I'm sorry if I sounded nervous, but you had been on my mind for some time."
"No worries, Pinkie." Cheese said, putting the calendar back into his yellow shirt of disappearing tricks, taking Pinkie's pink hoof again. "Do you have anything that we should do for a start?"
"I say that we just take it easy for this," Pinkie said, knowing that she did not want to jump into any conclusions. "I'm guessing a little dinner at the local restaurant or a movie at the theater… or both."
"Both? That would sound really good!" He says, sounding delighted to hear that she had gave some ideas for what would happen Friday night. Unfortunately I won't here for Friday night because I am going to be in Manehattan by them. But I'll definitely find out once I get back to Ponyville after about a week in the big city. "I think we can plan those out just fine. What time should I come to Sugarcube Corner?"
"3:40 would be a perfect time." Pinkie says, not realizing that she and Cheese were holding hooves. Her blush can still be seen, but is a bit faded.
"Alright, that sounds good. I'll definitely write that down on my trust calendar." Cheese said, sounding rather glad to hear of a time set for the both of them. "I'm definitely available around that time and can push my usual duties aside. I have a good feeling that-"
He stopped talking for a moment and started to get that doozy by random parts of his body moving about for a moment. He lets go of Pinkie's hoof. He began to feel rather jumpy and excited just as Pinkie would be at parties she would host for others. It was his Cheesy-Sense starting to go off, it was like a party alarm for him that would sound off every time somepony's birthday party was coming up.
"Ohhh! Another party is calling for me!" He said. "I can tell that it is going to be hosted in Canterlot, so I must be on my way immediately, but I will be back before Friday."
"I will see you this Friday then?" She asked.
"Of course you will," He said, taking her hoof and holding it for the last time. "I must hurry now, another party calls for me."
"I'll see you later Cheese Sandwich." I said to her, giving him a bit of a wave.
He turns around, with his head on the side towards me with a smile on his face. "I will see you around too, Brayden." He said, turning his head again to face the train station. He did look back on one occasion to Pinkie Pie. She was smiling.
Once Cheese Sandwich was out of sight, Pinkie turns around to look at me. I look back at her with a smile upon my face. A smile grows more on her face and I can sense that something big was going to happen right there. But I am surprised by the time that Pinkie leapt towards me, wrapping her hooves around to my back. She had both knocked the both of us onto the ground and was giving me a very warm and friendly hug.
"Thank you so much." Pinkie was saying to me. It almost sounded like she was happily crying because she was exhaling a lot. It wasn't heavy though because that would have meant that she would really be crying. These exhales sounded really happy. I wrap my arms around Pinkie and gently share the hug with her, while I'm getting up off of the dirt ground.
"Sorry about jump-hugging you like that," Pinkie apologized to me. "I feel like you helped me in return to make a change and tell Cheese Sandwich in a way of getting together with him. It makes me feel so happy."
"And I am glad to make you happy," I said to her, gently patting her puffy mane. "But you know what else is good. You are one of my favorites, so you're somepony that I can come to whenever I feel down. You, like everypony else… make me smile and laugh. I feel accepted among you as a friend to me. That is what makes you one of my very best friends."
"That's the spirit." Pinkie says to me. No change in her voice. She still sounded happy to hear my compliment to her.
Both I and she continue to share the hug and after the few moments pass, me and her let go of the friendly hug. "If you weren't there with me, I probably wouldn't have gotten the chance to ask Cheese Sandwich if he was interested in doing stuff with me. I feel that he's the right stallion for me though." She told me.
"What about the other stallion that was your special somepony then before he ended the relationship?" I asked, curious if she still remembered.
"I'm just hoping that I don't run into him or in other words, my ex-special somepony while I am with Cheese Sandwich." She answered, sounding a bit worried.
"Remember to take it slow," I suggested with a bit of advice being given to her from me. "And if this stallion decides to bother you and him, I'll make to tell him off. You just have to let me know."
"Sounds good," Pinkie said, smiling once again. "By the way, do you know what time it is?"
"Ah, let me check." I said to her. I take my phone out of my pocket. I am actually surprised by how my phone is actually getting along well with Equestria time. 9:36pm. I guess it might be time for me to wrap up the hangout for tonight and head back to Fluttershy's cottage. "It's 9:36."
"Oh, well that's usually a few minutes before Sugarcube Corner closes for the night." She says to me. "I thought it was a really good hangout and I enjoyed having a friendly dinner."
"Same here, you have a good night Pinkie," I said to her wishing her a good night's rest for her. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."
"Silly Brayden," She said with a giggle. "The bed bugs don't bite me, I bite them."
Both me and her move forward up closer. I gently move one arm around her neck gently and her hoof wraps around my waist, both of us sharing a gentle hug. Finally, after a few moments we both let go of the friendly goodbye-for-now-I'll-see-you-later hug and both go in our separate ways back home to get some rest for ourselves.
The stars in the Equestrian skies lit up while Luna's moon shone brightly, but dim. The brightest stars from all of them were a beautiful sight to see when the nebulas close by could be seen with the view of the galaxy since I was far from the city. If I were in Manehattan at the moment, I probably wouldn't see the galaxy as clearer. Mostly a few stars and the moon would be out for in-city. Besides how night-time is my favorite time of the day, I really needed to get some rest.
You probably already know the rest of what happens, I go into Fluttershy's cottage as quietly as possible. I really don't want to wake up her animals. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I did. I open up the front door to the cottage and close it shut behind me quietly. But for when I got into the cottage, I aw something I never expected to see.
Fluttershy was lying right down on her couch with her eyes closed. I walked a little closer towards her to see if she was still awake and that she was just relaxing. Nope, when I took her hoof to check up on her, I kind of knew the rest of the story. She must have been exhausted from helping out her animals all day. Oh wait never mind, she told me today that she was going to be with Rainbow Dash today. I'm not sure what she did with her, but all that excitement tired out my best friend. Oh yes, Rainbow Dash. I'll have to make sure to hang out with her again when I get the chance.
I didn't usually do this, but I'll make this an exception just once. I carefully tug my hands underneath Fluttershy. My left arm and hand had a strong grip near her flank but around her body. The other hand for my right was gently around her neck. I slowly begin to lift her off of the couch. Then the tricky part would come: don't drop her.
I carefully hold onto her in my arms when I slowly am pacing across the wooden planks of her cottage really quietly. Besides the small and quiet sounds of my footsteps, only mine and her soft breathing accompanied the ambience inside the cottage. The stairs wasn't too much of a problem. She wasn't snoring, but her breathing sounded very peaceful. At the top of the stairs, I walk past my bedroom and the door on the right to the bathroom. Fluttershy's door was on the right as well as the bathroom door, just far down the hall a little more.
I opened up the door to Fluttershy's room. The windowpanes were shut and all was quiet in the room except for the continued breathing. Thud… thud… The soft thudding of my feet on the wooden planks continued when going across the room to her bed. Thud… thud… I am at the side of her soft bed that seemed all prepared for her when she would go to sleep. I carefully lower my arms with her in them to place her on the soft mattress.
I move my hands towards her sheets and carefully pull them up towards her, only having it cover half of her body. Still, it should be enough to keep her warm and comfortable. Her head rests on a pillow and her face remains unchanged, still sleeping away. I lower down a bit and gently move my hand towards her left cheek, giving it a gentle and friendly stroke.
"Goodnight Fluttershy." I whispered gently to her and removed my gentle hand slowly from her soft cheek. I get back up and walk slowly towards the door as quietly as possible without trying to make any loud noise as possible. Once outside the room, I close her door behind me.
I walk back to my room in same quiet manner. I entered through and pretty much got into my pyjamas that my special friend Rarity had made for me. They were rather sewed with the best quality material you could imagine and the colours were in red and green. It's not really the holiday season or Hearth's Warming, but still… why not?
I finally slip into my bed and pull the sheets over me. The curtains on the windows in the guest room are closed so whatever light comes in will be Celestia's sun when day should come over the eastern horizon like it did every morning. Comfortable in bed and the relaxing humming of the Song of Order on the other side of the room from the door, I slowly close my eyes and head to sleep.
Good night Equestria, I'll see you again tomorrow as I always do.