“Well. Here I am.” A pale yellow pony said as she looked up at a colorful sign reading ‘Welcome to Ponyville.’ She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she had finally arrived after having gotten briefly lost in the Everfree Forest. “Thank goodness I found that hut in the forest. Ms. Zecora was so helpful.” She said with a smile, remembering the eccentric yet kind zebra that had helped her out of the woods. “I should make it a point to visit her sometime with some honey as thanks.” She giggled as she shifted her long sapphire mane out from in front of her verdant eyes. “Oh! But first I need to get some new bees.” She said, now looking a bit downcast. She perked up however, when she saw a large house seemingly built out of a still living tree and heard some of the most heavenly singing he had ever heard.
As she approached, she saw the source of the music. A young pegasus pony with a coat of a similar color to her own was singing to a nest full of baby robins. The earth pony approached slowly and quietly, not wanting to disturb the pegasus. Finally, the other pony stopped singing and landed with a contented sigh.
“Wow. That was beautiful.” The earth pony said in admiration.
“AH!” The pegasus yelped as she jumped and flew quickly behind the tree.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!”
“Oh.” The pegasus said as she peeked out from around the tree and gently touched down in front of the earth pony. “No, I’m sorry. I really should have been paying more attention to my surroundings.” She said. “My name is Fluttershy. How can I help you today?”
“You’re Fluttershy?” The earth pony asked. “That’s lucky. I actually was looking for you.”
“For me?” Fluttershy asked, somewhat surprised. “What would you be looking for me for?” She asked as she saw the earth pony’s cutie mark. “Wait. A beehive?” She asked. “Oh! Would you be the pony picking up all the bees? Honeysuckle, right?”
“Yeah.” Honeysuckle said. “I’m glad you got my letter. Are they ready to go?”
“Oh yes.” Fluttershy said with a nod. “I’d say they’ve been looking forward to meeting you very much.” She said with a smile. “Here, let me introduce you.” She said as she led the new pony into the yard going on about how excited the bees were.
“Okay Spike, hold it steady now.” Twilight Sparkle said as she looked over the baby dragon’s shoulder.
“Why do I need to learn about chemistry again?” Spike asked as his hand holding the test tube full of purple liquid quivered a little bit more than the pony behind him was comfortable with.
“Careful!” Twilight scolded. “This is a very delicate mixture!” She said.
“Why couldn’t we have at least started with something easier then?” The dragon asked. “I’ve been holding the same tube for over half an hour!”
“Chemistry is a very careful and exact science.” Twilight explained, showing the beginning stages of one of her famous lectures. “If you add even one drop too many to that mixture, the results could be catastrophic.”
“So no pressure. Got it.” Spike gulped, the lecture somehow not doing much to steady his hand.
“Just keep your hand steady and tilt it ever so slightly, and you’ll be just fine.” The unicorn said as Spike began tilting the mouth of the test tube down just a fraction of a hair.
“Right. I’ll be just… Fine.” A single drop began sliding out and stopped, dangling over the beaker on the table as sweat beaded on Spike’s forehead. As they both watched the drop with the utmost intensity, neither of them could possibly have expected what happened next.
Just as the drop was about to fall into the beaker, there was a deafening crash as a plume of dust appeared in the far side of the room. Twilight and Spike jumped at the noise, the little dragon spilling the entire contents of the test tube into the beaker.
“Guys! Guys! You gotta check this out!” Rainbow Dash yelled from within the dust cloud as the mixture began bubbling ominously.
Suddenly, the contents of the beaker exploded in a torrent of foam, covering the room in a deluge of frothy semi-liquid bubbles. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled as she poked her head out of the mess. “Can’t you use the door like a normal pony?”
“Sorry, but no time! I’ve gotta get things ready!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she flew out of the bubbles and shook herself off. “Here, read this letter!” She said, flying lower and holding out a piece of paper in front of Twilight’s face.
The unicorn sighed as she began reading the letter out loud. “Dear Rainbow Dash. The team and I are going to be in Ponyville for the Equestria Ice Hockey finals this week, and I was looking for a place to stay. If you’ve got some spare room then I’d appreciate the opportunity to stay with a familiar face. If not, then don’t worry about it. I’ll make it work someplace else. Either way, I can’t wait to see you again. We have a lot of catching up to do. Yours awesomely, Maplefrost.”
“Wow, Rainbow Dash. One of your old friends is coming by to visit?” Twilight asked, seeing out of the corner of her eye that Spike’s tail was poking above the foam like a periscope as it moved around the room.
“Yeah, and she’s super awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed before putting the letter back into her saddlebag. “Well, not as super awesome as me of course.” She said as she took a look around the room. “Uh. What were you guys up to in here?” She asked as if seeing the foamy mess for the first time.
“Well, I was trying to teach Spike the finer points of chemistry.” Twilight said as Spike flipped over and poked his head over the foam, revealing a big bubble moustache.
“The results could be catastrophic, huh?” Spike asked, the moustache taking away any kind of seriousness his comment might have otherwise had.
“How else would you describe the mess in here?” Twilight asked, glaring a bit at her assistant.
“Well, I’d love to stay and help you two eggheads in here, but I’ve gotta get things ready for Maple.” She said as she flew out through the same hole she made earlier.
“Wait! Take me with you!” Spike said, wiping off the frothy facial follicles.
“Not so fast.” Twilight said. “I’m gonna need the help of my number one assistant to clean all of this up.” She said.
Spike sighed in defeat. “Fine. I’ll go get the cleaning supplies.” He said just before taking a deep breath and diving back down, again somehow using his tail as an effective periscope.
“She seemed really nice.” Honeysuckle said to herself as she slipped out of the cart she was pulling. On the cart were eight beehives bustling with happy bees. “And so do these bees now that I look at them.” She said as she slipped out of the harness and looked over the beehives with adoration. “I hope you’ll all be very happy living here with me.” She said, earning a buzz of approval from the little insects. “Okay. I’ll get you all set up in the yard tomorrow morning. For now, you’ll be okay in the cart.” She said as she turned to look over her new home.
Her cottage was smaller than Fluttershy’s tree house, but certainly large enough for Honeysuckle and at least one other pony. A simple, one floor cottage with brown shingles, looking very much like a quaint country house.
Honeysuckle sighed and smiled to herself, knowing that she could relax for a night before getting to work setting up her honey business. As she walked into her new home however, she realized that there was a problem.
“Where in Equestria are the lights in here?” She asked just as the door shut itself behind her. “Oh! Hello? Who’s there?” She asked, beginning to panic a little bit. Rather than a proper response, the lights simply turned back on to reveal that there was a cannon aimed straight at Honeysuckle. “BURGALERS WITH ARTILLERY?!” Honeysuckle screamed as the cannon fired, covering her from head to toe in confetti and cake.
“Welcome to Ponyville!” Came the cumulative shout from everywhere at once.
“Hey there new neighbor!” A particularly excited, high-pitched voice said as Honeysuckle tried desperately to wipe the cake out of her eyes.
“Who are you?! What do you want from me?!” She yelled, still panicking.
“Calm down, silly!” The voice said as its owner helped to wipe the frosting away. “I mean don’t calm down so much that you aren’t surprised, but calm down enough so you know you aren’t being burgled!” Enough cake had been displaced now so that Honeysuckle could recognize that the pony who had invaded her new home was an almost obnoxious shade of pink.
“Who- Who are you?” Honeysuckle asked, still a bit worried.
“Me? I’m Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie said as she grinned wide. “And I know all about you! I mean actually, I just know your name- Oh! And where you live! And that you’ve got a cart full of bees outside, I was keeping watch and saw you coming. Oh oh oh! And I know that-”
“Okay, okay, I get it!” Honeysuckle said, putting a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth to silence her. “I get that you aren’t here to rob me but… Uh…” She trailed off and looked around her now very crowded house. “How many people are here?”
“Well, everyone knows that I throw the best parties, so everyone is here!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a flourish.
“Everyone?” Honeysuckle asked, looking around with a mixture of awe and horror.
Pinkie Pie sat down and began rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Well actually, Twilight was doing some sciencey stuff with Spike, so they aren’t here. And Fluttershy was keeping you occupied with the bees long enough for us to finish setting up, so she isn’t here yet. Rarity said she was really busy with her design work, so she couldn’t make it. Rainbow Dash is off someplace, so she isn’t around either. And most of the rest of Ponyville had things to do with their families, pets, and jobs, so they aren’t here either.” She said, looking as if she was concentrating very hard. “So actually, I’d say that only about half- No! Half of a half of a half of a half of the town is here… But cut that number in half… I think… Maybe.”
“I… I don’t know what to say.” Honeysuckle said.
“You don’t have to thank me.” Pinkie Pie said. “Partying is just kind of what I do.”
“No, I mean I really don’t know what to say.” Honeysuckle said. “I’m just so surprised that I don’t know how to respond to all of this.”
“You’re not mad, are you?” Pinkie Pie asked. “We can still do the party, right?” She asked, her eyes welling up and bubbling with anticipation.
“Well…” Honeysuckle said. “You went to all the trouble to get so many halves of everyone here, so I guess It’s okay this time.”
“Hooray!” Came the collective chant from the surrounding partygoers.
“Oh, this is great!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she started bouncing around the room. And this is even your first party in Ponyville! You know what that means?” She asked, stopping and staring directly into Honeysuckle’s eyes from only about an inch away.
“Uh, n- No. What does it mean?” She asked.
“We need to commemorate your first party in Ponyville with… Pause for effect… A PARTY!” She yelled as she ran back to the cannon from before and fired it wildly into the crowd, spreading party supplies and food everywhere, and yet always where it belonged.
“Oh boy.” Honeysuckle thought. “This is going to be a lot to clean up.” She sighed inwardly as she began walking around the party.
“Hey there!” A voice called above the crowd. “C’mere for a second!” It called again. Looking in the direction of the source, Honeysuckle saw a pony in a wide-brimmed hat waving to her.
“Hello.” Honeysuckle said as she walked over to greet this new pony. “Um. My name is Honeysuckle. But since you’re here I’m guessing you might already know that.” She said, nervously tapping the floor with a hoof.
“Yeah. Sorry about that.” The hat-wearing pony said. “Pinkie can be a bit crazy, but she means well. Care for an apple fritter? She managed to convince me to cater for the party. The name’s Applejack, by the way.”
“Um. Okay Applejack. Thanks, I suppose.” Honeysuckle said as she accepted the offered sweet and took a bite. “Mmm! This is really good!” She said, her face lighting up.
“Glad you like it.” Applejack said. “And there’s plenty more where that came from.” She said, stepping aside and revealing a cart practically bursting with apple related treats.
“Wow!” Honeysuckle exclaimed. “Maybe this party won’t be so bad after all.” She thought as she made her way to the snack cart and geared herself up to mingle with her unexpected guests.
“Oh man! I can’t wait to hear about all the awesome stuff Maple’s been doing since last time I saw her!” Rainbow Dash said to herself as she flew past Fluttershy’s house. “Weird. It doesn’t look like she’s home.” She said as she saw a brightly lit house with an empty cart out front a short ways away. Hm. I don’t remember anyone living there.” She said as she flew over to a window to investigate. Through the window, she saw what she knew could only be one of Pinkie Pie’s parties. As she scanned the crowd, Rainbow Dash saw Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy among those attending.
“Hey Fluttershy! I’m glad you could make it!” Pinkie Pie shouted the instant she found her pegasus friend in the crowd.
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all.” Fluttershy said. “I really do like your parties. Besides, I wanted to apologize to Honeysuckle for tricking her earlier.” She said, looking around for the new pony.
“Oh, don’t sweat it!” Pinkie Pie said, putting a hoof around her friend. “She’s loving the party, so I’m sure she already forgives you. See?” She said, pointing a hoof over to the snack table where Honeysuckle was happily talking with Applejack.
“Oh, but I think I should still tell her I’m sorry. You know. Just in case.” Fluttershy said as she began walking towards the snack table.
“Hey guys, what am I missing?” Rainbow Dash asked as she opened the window and flew in.
Pinkie Pie gasped loudly in what could only be unregulated bliss as she jumped up and tackled Rainbow Dash into a tight hug. “Dashie, I’m so glad you could make it!” She exclaimed as she unwittingly choked the breath out of her friend.
“I- It’s good to see you too, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash wheezed as she tried desperately to escape the pink pony’s bear hug.
“Oh, here!” Pinkie Pie said as she dropped the pegasus. “Let me introduce you to the guest of honor!” She said as she picked Rainbow Dash back up and pulled her over to where Honeysuckle and Applejack were talking to Fluttershy. “Rainbow Dash, meet my new friend, Honeysuckle!”
“Hi there.” Rainbow Dash said, her eyes still unfocused as she waved weakly.
“Um. Hello.” Honeysuckle said back. She, Fluttershy, and Applejack all winced as Pinkie Pie dropped Rainbow Dash to the floor again.
“Ugh. Sorry about that.” Rainbow Dash said, brushing herself off and glaring at Pinkie Pie. The pink pony didn’t seem fazed though, and just smiled blankly at her friend. “Anyways, like Pinkie said, I’m Rainbow Dash!” She said, patting her chest confidently. “What she didn’t tell you is that I’m the most awesome pony in Ponyville!” She exclaimed as she flew into the air and did a backflip for emphasis, landing with a stylish pose.
“Wow. That was pretty impressive.” Honeysuckle said. “So all of you know each other?”
“Oh yeah!” Pinkie said. “We’ve been best friends for a long time now! I wish I could introduce you to Twilight and Rarity tonight too though.”
“Tonight?!” Honeysuckle exclaimed. “As in, after sundown?” She asked as a glance out the window confirmed that the sun had indeed set some time ago.
“Well yeah.” Pinkie Pie said. “I guess you’re the type that loses track of time at parties, huh?”
“I guess I might be.” Honeysuckle said, blushing a little bit. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got things to do before tomorrow, so I think it’s time we started cleaning up.”
“I’d love to stay and help with that, but I’ve got things to finish up too.” Rainbow Dash said as she turned around. “I just wanted to let everyone know that one of my old friends from flight academy was going to be in town soon.”
At that, Pinkie Pie suddenly got a worried look on her face. “This friend of yours. She isn’t anything like the last one, right?” She asked.
“I wouldn’t worry about that. Maplefrost isn’t like Gilda.” Rainbow said, batting a hoof. “She’s competitive, but she knows right from wrong.”
“Well, okay.” Pinkie Pie said, obviously not entirely convinced.
“Anyways, I’ll be seeing all of you later. Bye!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew back out the window before Pinkie could get her hooves on her again.
“Well I guess if you have things to do, I can start packing the party up.” Pinkie Pie said, looking positively crushed.
“I’m sorry.” Honeysuckle said. “I had a lot of fun though.” She said, feeling bad for bringing the mood down. “Tell you what.” She said, perking up. “I’ll let you throw another party here next week. How does that sound?”
“Really?! You will?!” Pinkie Pie asked, putting her face right up against Honeysuckle’s, her eyes twinkling with excitement.
“Sure. Why not?”
“YAY!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she began prancing around the room, picking up the party supplies. “Okay everyone, this party is over for now!” She called, getting a few disappointed groans from the party guests. “But don’t worry! Same time, same place next week! Woo hoo!” She cheered, causing the rest of the crowd to cheer with her.
“Girl, I’m afraid you’ve got no idea what you’ve gotten yerself into.” Applejack said with a chuckle as she started packing up her apple cart.
“Um. Sorry again for holding you up and everything.” Fluttershy said, looking at the ground.
“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Honeysuckle said. “And thanks for getting the bees all set up. I really appreciate it.”
“Oh, it was no trouble really.” Fluttershy said as she opened the door. “Thanks for giving them a good home. Take good care of them.”
Over the next half hour or so, the rest of the party guests filed out of Honeysuckle’s new house. By the time the last guest was gone, one couldn’t even tell that there had been a party to begin with. Honeysuckle sighed and shifted a lock of her deep blue mane from in front of her face. “Well, at least they clean up after themselves well enough.” She said with a smile. "And I guess I’ve made some new friends too. Thank goodness. I was worried the locals might not like me.” She said as she smiled a little wider. “I wonder if they have a library in town.” She mused as she headed to bed for the night. “Oh well. I guess I’ll take a look around tomorrow. That party really took it out of me.” She said just before yawning and drifting off to sleep in her new bed.