A/N - Howdy ponies! I know it's been a crazy long time since I posted, and I'm truly sorry for that I know some of you thought I passed away, but that isn't the case. Things in my real life have been... stressful, and had left me without a whole lot of motivation to do much of anything. One such stressor was that every time I tried to write in this chapter, I was never happy with the results. I've scrapped and rewritten this single chapter at least a dozen times, and while I'm still not happy with it, it's best iteration I've come up with, and I don't want to leave you all hanging forever. That's enough about me though, I hope that this chapter finds you well, and that you still manage to enjoy it. As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!
The ground had barely stopped shaking from the explosion as Twilight, Spring Leaf, Shimmer, Mitta and myself all rushed out into the street to see what had happened. The sight before us befuddled us all, and while I couldn't speak for the others, I at least was filled with a sense of relief; there, in the street, was a giggling pile of pink cake batter, the town surrounding us covered in the stuff, as well as all the nearby inhabitants. The pink batter tainted the pure, white snow surrounding us as well.
A soft 'plop' was heard as a glob of the batter fell from a snowy branch of the Library, and landed squarely on Twilight's head. "Pinkie?! What did you do?" It was the question on all our minds, I was sure, but my studious marefriend was the first to voice it.
The resident party pony giggled again, and in a feat that I would have thought impossible before coming to this strange and magical place that I now considered to be my home, swirled her tongue around herself in a giant circle, wiping her whole body clean in a single, physics-defying swipe, somehow including her back. "I thought it would be a neat surprise to shoot some yummy cake out of my party cannon for the finale tonight… turns out cake batter doesn't like being shot out of a cannon." No sooner had the pink energy monster finished speaking, then she descended into another fit of laughter, snorting comically all the while.
Twilight let out a long sigh, and lit her horn, beginning to pick up all the cake batter strewn about the town, starting with the large glob resting atop her head. "I should've known it was something silly like that with you, Pinkie. Now help me clean up this mess so the town isn't a wreck for the party tonight."
Even as she told Pinkie to help us, I raised my hand, and my forearm glowed softly as some of the batter was surrounded in my own magical aura, the blue-flecked, golden light mingling with the pink of the batter as I lifted it up. While Twilight picked up a dozen or more blobs of the gooey batter with each casting of her levitation spell, I was limited to two or three at a time, as it was all I could manage to focus on at one time given my limited time studying magic. "I'll help Twilight, Pinks; you go ahead and finish the preparations." The two of us began piling the sticky batter into a mound in the center of town that one of us could carry off and dispose of once we were done.
Pinkie Pie saluted, and zipped off elsewhere in the town, leaving our three friends dumbstruck. "Is… is that a regular thing Boss?" Spring Leaf was obviously in a state of disbelief, and her question caused Twilight to giggle softly.
Before the violet-furred mare could answer, I nodded, and patted Spring Leaf's newly corporeal shoulder with a free hand. "Don't worry about it; you get used to her… eventually." My words caused Spring Leaf to sigh softly, but I couldn't quite read what was on her mind as she did so.
It took nearly twenty minutes, but eventually Twilight and I managed to clean up the mess. Shimmer had tried to help, but her magic was even worse off than mine, and she ended up giving herself a headache after only a few moments. "Holy crow… how big is her cannon to hold that much batter?" As she spoke, the disguised changeling held her head, still in mild pain from her previous exertion.
Her words caused Twilight to let out another soft, slightly amused giggle as the last mound of batter was placed onto the pile. "To be honest, even I don't know how Pinkie does some of the things she does. Even in a land full of magic and mysteries, she's a strange one." The pile was lifted in a hot pink aura as she started off elsewhere in town. "Anyway, I need to dispose of this, so you all have fun on your tour." We waved her off as the purple mare trotted away, hauling the heavy cake batter as though it were a feather.
Once Twilight was gone, Spring Leaf and the others turned to me. "So Boss, where to next? Are we gonna see more weird stuff like that?" It was clear that the mare was still confused and awestruck by what she had seen, as relatively mundane as it was.
Shimmer giggled between Mitta and Spring Leaf. "I hope we do; I've never seen anything like that before! It was so much fun~" She practically hopped in place as she spoke, making it clear that the disguised changeling had gotten over some of her social anxiety.
Mitta it seemed, was a different story. "I um… I don't know if we should. Shouldn't we take it slow for now? Until we get our bearings." Those words sounded oddly similar to something that Fluttershy would say in a situation like this one. "I mean, we've already been out here for a while, and there are still other things to do. Plus, we don't want to get in anypony's way."
A familiar chuckle, laced with a southern twang, emanated from behind us. "Y'all 're soundin' like Fluttershy there, Sugarcube." It seemed that I wasn't the only one to have such thoughts. "Don't worry, folk around here won't pay ya no mind unless ya give em a reason to." As she spoke, Applejack trotted past us with a cart piled high with apples, giving us all a big grin. "Much as Ah'd like ta chat though, Ah gotta get these here apples ta Pinkie Pie, she needs em fer… well, Celestia-knows-what." She too trotted away from us, after giving me a quick kiss, and I looked around briefly, deciding where we should go next.
Fortunately, the rest of the tour was relatively uneventful, save for the meeting with Mayor Mare, who was all too delighted to see new faces in the town. It wasn't lost on me that Mitta was becoming more and more uncomfortable the longer we were out, and so I decided after a few more stops that we should head home for the time being, to let everyone rest, and take in what they'd seen. The only one of us who didn't return, was Spring Leaf, instead opting to trot around town, and take in the sights. After thousands of years of being trapped in that damned temple as some sort of undead abomination, I couldn't say I blamed her for wanting to stretch her legs, especially after spending time as a ghost, and technically not even having legs.
Once the rest of us were safely back at my home, Mitta let out a sigh of relief, and visibly relaxed. "D-don't worry about me, I'll be ok." She blushed, and pawed at the ground bashfully. "I just um… I've never really done well with lots of ponies around, that's one reason why I moved to… you know." A light shiver coursed over her body at the thought of Sunny Town, and I felt my blood heat at the thought of its inhabitants, and what they had done.
My thoughts were quickly drawn from that, however, when Luna trotted slowly up to our small group, and wrapped the former Sunny Town inhabitant in a firm but gentle hug, causing her to squeak in surprise and perhaps a tinge of fear. "Worry not young one; you could not have found a better home to start your new life in." She released Mitta from the hug before speaking again, earning her a small sigh of relief from the crimson-maned mare, though the relief in her eyes was far more profound. "Ponyville is a small, quiet town, with plenty of open spaces for you to spend your days, away from crowds of ponies." As she spoke, my Nocturnal lover began to lead Mitta to the dining room, beckoning her to sit in one of the comfy chairs there.
Beside me, Shimmer shifted slightly, clearing her throat almost inaudibly. "Luna makes her nervous, Sir." Her voice was quiet, a slight whisper so that only I could hear it. "I don't know everything that happened yet, but I gather that the Princess did something a long time ago, and it made Mitta really unhappy for a long time."
With a slight nod, I knelt down beside the disguised changeling. "You could say that." I too kept my voice at a low whisper, so that only she could hear me. "A thousand years ago, the residents of her home, a place called Sunny Town, became paranoid of what we now know are perfectly normal and even celebrated parts of growing up; cutie marks. Well, one day, a little filly got her cutie mark, and they were so scared of her that they… hurt her. A lot."
I could see Shimmer's eyes shift as I spoke, a subtle glancing off in another direction that indicated that she didn't like what I was saying. "I… I can feel your emotions Sir. The anger you feel, the sadness… it's overwhelming. They did more than just hurt her, didn't they?"
She was spot on, as usual, and I sighed softly. "Yes. Mitta tried to help her, tried to save her, but she was overwhelmed by the other residents, and the town got together and… beat the little filly, then threw her into a lit fireplace."
The reformed changeling's hoof rested against my arm, and I looked into her eyes, seeing the pain at what she had just heard therein. But, there was also a good deal of worry in those sapphire orbs. "Sir, please… there is so much bitter anger in you because of what happened to the little filly. Please try to put it behind you, I don't want to see anypony, especially my savior, in such a state."
Another sigh escaped my lips, and I nodded softly. I hadn't noticed it, but Luna had taken Mitta outside, into the cold day, likely to continue their conversation without us disturbing one another. "I'll be alright, Shimmer. It's just… I met the ghost of the little filly while I was in the Everfree. She was a truly sweet little dear, and she didn't deserve anything like what happened." My voice remained quiet, this time in sad remembrance of the little filly who had passed on to the next life.
Hearing what I was saying seemed to spark something in Shimmer, a memory perhaps, and she looked at me strangely. "Sir… This… filly. Was she a little, gray earth pony with a corn-yellow mane, and strange eyes, that glowed like a lantern?"
I was taken aback that she knew what Ruby looked like, and nodded slowly. "Yes, that sounds like her alright. Her name was Ruby. Did you see her in the forest?" Knowing that little one, I wouldn't have been surprised if she had helped Shimmer out.
My suspicions were confirmed a moment later as she nodded. "Yes sir, I did… kind of. When I was doing poorly, on my own, she brought me things, like berries, nuts and even little bowls of water. I only spotted her once or twice, but I never got to talk to her. I would have told her that I appreciated what she was trying to do for me, but that I couldn't use the things she brought. I thought it was because she was afraid of me, but wanted to help. Every time I got close to her though, she… disappeared on me. Maybe… since she was a ghost, she couldn't approach me for some reason. Do you… do you know where she is now?"
As Shimmer finished speaking, I rested a hand on her shoulder. "She's playing in the Elysian fields now; I helped her fulfill her purpose for staying behind by helping Mitta forgive herself for Ruby's death, and move on. Once that happened, she moved on as well, and went to the afterlife." I looked out the window, towards the sky, and sighed; it was strange to think that I hadn't believed in an afterlife before, but it was hard not to when I had seen Limbo with my very own eyes, and had watched the ghost of a filly pass on to the next life. "We'll get to see her again, some day." My mind started to wander as I thought more about this world's afterlife, and how much it shared with Earth's Greek mythology.
The little changeling mare followed my gaze, not speaking right away. "Your emotions… I can't read them, there's too many. It's like relief and happiness and melancholy and grief and so many others all wrapped into one." There was both sadness and confusion in her voice, and it was fairly easy to tell that she wasn't sad for me, at least not entirely.
"Hey! What's with the long faces?! Don't you know your party's about to start?" Shimmer yelped, and in a very Fluttershy-esque manner, flopped onto her back, legs sticking straight up into the air. "Hee hee hee! She's a silly one, Blake-y!" The pink party demon zipped over from… wherever she had sprung up from this time, and picked my unfortunate companion up before grabbing my hand in her hoof, and trotting away, dragging the two of us with her.
Of course, I knew better than to try to object, or pull away; not only was Pinkie crazy, but she was an earth pony, which meant that, even with the enhanced strength the artifact had given me, I was still probably not as strong as she was. So I watched and followed in silence as she led us into the town, which had been decorated in a number of streamers, banners, and other party favors.
As we approached the town square, a thought dawned on me. "Wait a minute, Pinks; what about the others in the house? They don't know that the celebration is about to begin, do they?" I had no idea what to expect from the totally random pony, so it was difficult to be truly shocked or surprised by anything she did.
The silly pink pony giggled in her goofy manner, and smiled back at me as she continued to trot towards the Square. "Don't you worry about a thing, Blake-y! Good ol' Pinkie Pie already took care of that while you were talking to this cutie-patootie~"
I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped my lips as she referred to Shimmer in such a fashion, her blue cheeks blushing pink at the name. "A 'cutie-patootie', eh? Can't say I've ever heard that one before." It was then that I noticed the small stage set up in the center of town, and the crowd of ponies gathered around it. "Umm… Pinkie, what's going on? I thought this was just a Welcome Back party?" Of course, I didn't care for the fanfare personally, but there was no arguing with Pinkie when the opportunity for a party arose.
My voice seemed to cause everyone gathered to turn, and start cheering for me as my party-loving friend led me up to the stage, giving me a bad feeling. "It is, silly. But the Mayor wants to thank you for defeating Nightmare Moon again, and saving everypony from those weird vibes that were making ponies act mean."
As she spoke, the Mayor trotted up to me, almost as if she had planned it that way to confirm her words. The cheering ponies fell into a respectful silence, allowing their Mayor to speak. "That's right, Blake. You've saved our town from a dire threat, and we all owe you a debt of gratitude for that." Mayor Mare looked up to me with a warm smile, her silvery-white mane swaying lightly in the gentle breeze that had kicked up.
While I was certainly flattered by all the attention, I also didn't care for being in the spotlight that much, especially not as consistently as I seemed to be. "I'm just glad that I could help, Mayor. And I do appreciate you all wanting to thank me for what happened, but I don't think it's necessary; I just did what I felt was right, and knowing that you're all safe and sound is more than enough of a reward for me. So please, can we move on to the rest of the party? Being up on stage, in front of everypony kinda kills the celebration vibe, if you know what I mean." I felt like a jerk for what I was saying, but I really didn't want to be up on stage like that.
There was silence for a long moment as the others took in my words. Finally, the Mayor nodded. "Alright, we can certainly do that. I can understand why you don't want to be put on a pedestal, so to speak, so we can skip this part." I was worried that I had offended her, but Silver Scroll's reassuring smile washed that fear away. "Alright everypony, you heard him; let's skip ahead, and get this party started!" Loud and excited cheering met that proclamation, and I sighed in relief. Thankfully, the ponies of Ponyville were generally an understanding bunch.
As the cheering died down, the gathered crowd began to disperse, and enjoy the rest of the celebration that Pinkie had so graciously put together for us all to enjoy. As they did so, I sought out the frilly, pink mane bouncing through the crowd, and went up to her. "Heya Pinks? I appreciate wanting to give everypony a chance to show their gratitude and all that, but next time, can we skip the speeches and whatnot? I don't really like to be put on the spot like that."
That floofy mane of hers deflated just a little, with the accompanying sound effect of a deflating balloon. "Sorry Blake-y, it's just that you mean a lot to ponies around here, and I thought you might want to let them know you're ok." She pawed at the ground as she spoke, clearly upset.
In a move that clearly surprised her, I knelt down, and hugged Pinkie Pie. "It's ok, Pinkie. I'm not mad or anything, I just wanted you to know that I don't really want all that attention. I'm like Fluttershy in a way; I'm not the type that likes to be in the spotlight, or have a whole lot of attention drawn to me. So don't sweat it, you didn't do anything wrong, as far as I'm concerned. From now on, we can let the townsfolk know that I'm ok, and if they want to thank me, they can always do it in private." I felt her hooves wrap around me, and squeeze me tightly as I finished speaking… too tightly. "Hurk… Pinkie… Can't breathe…"
Those tight, pink limbs fortunately loosened, and I breathed in deeply as their owner began to giggle. "Heeheehee… Sorry Blake-y, I forget not to hug so hard sometimes." She let me go, and took a step back, looking into my eyes for a moment. "Anyway, I'll let you go and enjoy your party. Your family should be out here somewhere, and I'm sure they'd love to spend more time with their favorite human~" Before I could answer, she turned, and began bouncing away, that strange, springing sound following as she hopped off on her hooves.
"Oh Blake, there you are." A smile spread over my face, and I turned to see Twilight, Shimmer, Spring Leaf, Luna, Derpy and the fillies trotting towards me. "It looks like Pinkie started her party before everypony was here. I wonder what's up, she usually makes sure everypony's present when there's a town-wide party like this." As Twilight spoke, looking around at the party as she did so, I gave everyone a hug in turn, which seemed to be quite common here in Equestria, not that I minded at all.
Luna was the next to speak, her voice beautiful as ever, despite the formal tone it always held, thanks to her upbringing, and having missed quite a bit of time due to the tragic events of the distant past. "Yes, it does seem odd for her to start a party without making sure everypony was there. Perhaps she was simply overly excited to welcome back her dear friend, and celebrate his health." The thought made sense, and we all nodded as I hugged Scootaloo and Dinky last.
The two fillies smiled hugely as we hugged, and Scootaloo nuzzled me lightly. "Hey Papa, how about we go and see what kinds of games Pinkie set out for everypony? I'll bet they're all just as fun as what the town set out for Nightmare Night."
I felt a slight tickle in the back of my mind as she said that, as though I could feel Nightmare Moon questioning what she was talking about. With a soft chuckle, I nodded, and looked around myself. "Sure thing, Kiddo. Let's all go, and have some fun playing games. Then, we can have some party food after." I knew we had all just eaten recently, but there was always room for cake and cotton candy and the like.
Shimmer and Spring Leaf both perked up at the idea. "Games? Oh my, we were never allowed to play games at the hive. Chrysalis only allowed us to do things that would better our skills for whatever tasks she chose for us." It was sad that Shimmer had gone through so much, but it seemed that we were all glad that she was away from that life now, and living a clearly more happy one.
Spring Leaf moved a little closer to Shimmer, and nudged her lightly with her flank. "Hey now, don't even think about all that stuff. Thanks to the Boss here, all that stuff is done and in the past. He gave us a new life, and we should start living it, instead of thinking about the old one. Its hard, I know, but it's the best way we can get over what we all went through."
The way Spring Leaf spoke reminded me of something, or rather, someone. "Hey, where's Mitta? I haven't seen her since she went back to the house."
I had an idea of what was going on, and a moment later, Twilight confirmed my suspicions. "Oh… she couldn't bring herself to come out when all these ponies were gathered together. She said that she didn't do well with crowds. So I told her that she could stay at home, and play with Aurora and Pabu."
A soft sigh of relief escaped my lips at the knowledge that the mentally fragile mare was safe and sound with my two pets. I was glad that they were intelligent enough that if something were to happen, they would seek out either myself, or Fluttershy, and let us know that something was wrong.
Even as all of us spoke, we walked, and before long, I decided to carry my two fillies on my shoulders, an activity that they both seemed to enjoy greatly. Another sigh escaped my lips, and I smiled contentedly. "Now this is what I call a good day; just spending time at a party with my family. Though I wish Applejack could be here, instead of working her apple cart."
The words had barely even left my mouth when I heard a familiar chuckle, laced with southern twang, come from behind us. "Wish granted, Sugarcube; Granny Smith had Big Mac take over fer me so Ah could come and spend some time with mah special somepony." We all turned, just in time for my lovely, apple farming marefriend to rear up, and give me a hug and a kiss. "Which is just what Ah wanted ta do with mah day~" Dinky and Scootaloo made faces and protested as they wriggled on my shoulders, showing their displeasure for the affectionate display.
As I was thinking of just how young the two still were to give such a display, Rainbow Dash flew up to our little group. "Hey Blake, I've got a prank to play on Pinkie Pie. Wanna prank her with me?"