One Of Those Nights

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I sit up feeling like I haven’t slept in days.  The hammering of the train prevented all attempts of sneaking in a power nap during the trip.  I can already tell that this is going to be a rough night.

I grab a heavy grey saddlebag and take one last look around the train cabin before stepping into the hall.  Several Ponies occupy the small corridor and gradually all of them become aware of what just joined them in.  The closest ones edge back and the ones who just got promoted to being closest to me inch further.  I guess I can’t blame them for not wanting to be near me but to act like I have some horrible disease that their foals will get if they make eye contact with me is getting annoying.  I want to tell them that they’ll have to get used to the sight of Changelings eventually but I have a hunch that raising my voice might be interpreted as a threat.

The doors leading outside the train open and the Ponies file out.  I’m the last one to step onto the platform because I’m not power walking on the way out.  I’m greeted by the last rays of the setting sun.  It’s very cold outside and it feels like some heavy snow is on the way.  I look up and the clouds look like they have something a bit harsher planned.  A few choice swear words come out as I make my way to the other side of the station.  Ponyville employs Pegasus Ponies to manage the weather patterns so why the hell do they deliberately set up large storms?

Yep.  It’s going to be a rough night.

I pause and realize that a Unicorn is staring daggers at me.  Her white coat and purple mane are very well kept; the standards of physical appearance accent the cutie mark composed of three small gems.  I recognize Rarity and take note of the young filly standing next to her.  I stop soaking up detail as it occurs to me why I earned a hostile glare.  I take the moment to apologize to the child for the vulgarity and resume my pace.   Aside from that one mare I’m not regarded with any degree of hostility.  The local Ponies are a lot more used to Changelings than the ones on the train coming here from other corners of Equestria but swear in front of their children and the differences fade.

The rising moon gives a fair amount of light and the streetlamps give even more.  The chill grows a bit more and I wish I was back in the train cabin where it was warm.  I sigh as I tell myself that I’ll like being home a lot more.  I glance back at the small crowd of Ponies back at the station.  All of them are either catching up with their friends and family or patiently waiting for them to come off the train.  Some of the ones from the train try to act like I didn’t catch them staring at me.

I take a deep breath and keep moving.  I start to turn the train ride into just a memory and make my way through the quiet streets.  I just want to get home and get some actual sleep.  If not for the biting cold and the desire to be home I might have nodded off while walking.  I try not to think about how far I need to go.  I pause and swear that the cobblestones in the road just wiggled.

Yeah.  Wiggled.

I shake my head and just keep going.  I consider flying but conclude that the wind chill might be worse above the buildings.  Plus I can’t fly with the saddlebag with my considerable fatigue.  Abruptly my mind is taken off the impending weather as a loud bass beat fills my ears.  I guess there’s a party in progress at the bar to my left and the DJ just came off break.  Or the party just started once the sun was completely down.  Either way the sudden shock was enough to make me jump.  I land on what must have been ice and end up sliding a good eight feet in an odd direction straight into a pile of snow.

Yep.  It’s going to be one of those nights.

I wedge myself from the snow pile and glance back at the ice patch and realize that it’s just the stone pathway staring back at me.  For a moment I swear that I say a pair of mismatched eyes and a grin.  Then again I also swear that the stones wiggled earlier.  I take a deep breath and just walk on like it didn’t happen.  I glance back at the suspicions stones again and the only thing in my cone of vision is a pink Earth Pony who is very happy to see me.

“Hey!  Are you OK?  That slide looked like a real doozey!  You should be more careful!  It’s winter and winter means ice after all!  Where are you going?  The party’s inside!  C’mon!  We got drinks, a DJ and lots of good times just waiting to be had!  Are you OK?  Are you so cold that your tongue’s frozen?  Is that why you’re not answering?  That would be weird to have a frozen tongue!  I once got my tongue frozen to a pole when I was a filly and it”

I cut her off and try my best to be polite.

“Pinkie…I just got off the train…it’s been a long trip…I’ve been gone for a month…I just want to go home…”

She just bounces in circles around me.

“Of course you just got off the train Antares!  Everypony knows that you took a train to Canterlot so you’d have to take a train to get back!”

“Pinkie Pie” I interject again “I promise that I’ll come to the after party tomorrow if you just let me get home.

She stops bouncing around and gets right in my face.  Her cheerful mood is replaced by a deadly serious one.

“You Pinkie Pie Promise?”

If you weren’t used to her this is the part where you would pray that she doesn’t start the next day by wearing your skin.  I’ve had the benefit of knowing her so I know that if I make it an official Pinkie Pie promise then she’ll let me go.  Once she’s satisfied she just bounces away into the bar without skipping a beat.  I won’t lie: My heart skips a few steps when she’s around.  I take one step forward and a lone snowflake lands on my nose.  Many more follow in its wake and I quickly realize that I’m now officially racing the storm.

I start to wonder why the hell there’s a large party happening on the eve of what feels like a good sized blizzard; then I consider who probably set it all up.

It then sits in that my earlier thoughts on the night were accurate.

I make my way past the town and it occurs to me that whether I liked it or not, I just committed myself to going to a Pinkie Pie Party tomorrow.  Sleep would be a very much needed thing and in a large quantity would be preferred.  Some more cuss words slip out and this time I’m not on the receiving end of an angry glare.

It is with great relief that I get to my house.  It’s a small two story structure a little ways past Ponyville.  It’s a good hike away from the forest.  I get to the door and let myself in.  I don’t lock my door; it’s that kind of community.  I let my saddlebag hit the floor and go straight for where my fireplace is.  I can’t quite account for starting the fire since I’m really just that tired.  The fresh embers light up the simple room.  Now that I think about it there was already a fire going.  All I did was add wood and guarantee that it will still be going in the morning.

These enchanted pieces of lumber go a long way.

I slowly make my way upstairs and I become increasingly aware of how tired and sore I am.  That saddlebag was heavy.  I climb into my bed and just let go.  I toss a bit trying to get comfortable.  I think about Pinkie, her smile, everything…In the back of my head I can hear the hammering of a train.

I sit up and want to scream.  I’m still on the train.  I’m not home.  I’m not in bed.  I groan and stretch and the train comes to a stop.  Stretching again I grab a heavy grey saddlebag and step out of the private cabin into the hall.  It’s occupied by several Ponies who seem to be oblivious to m presence.

I guess in reality they’ve gotten used to the idea of Changelings living among them.  The doors out of the train open and I make my way outside.  The last rays of the setting sun greet me.  An uncomfortable chill hits my body as I step onto the platform and some details of the dream start to sink in.

It brought back fond memories to be honest.  I didn’t know her name back then.  The first time I met Pinkie Pie I took cannon fire to the back.  The second time was on a cold winter night after I had slipped on ‘wiggly stones’ which I later learned was a prank played by the former Master of Chaos.  I’m taken from memory lane when a blur of pink tackle hugs me to the ground.

I smile to myself as I hug back.  It’s going to be one of those nights.

She lets me up and I soak in her smile.