It took me some time, but I finally escaped my new home. The moving ponies had just stacked everything in the front entry and left me stranded! But now I had moved the last of the boxes and could breathe in the fresh air.
"Whew! Not what I had in mind for my first day in town. Glad to be outside Fireball?"
I looked down at my orange, feline friend. He purred in reply and I chuckled to myself. Now that I had caught my breath, it was time to go into town and get some supplies.
My gaze fell on Ponyville as I began the walk towards it. It was a quaint little town. I had grown tired of Fillydelphia and was glad to be somewhere less busy.
I took my first step into town, my eyes glistening with curiosity. There were stores and stands all over the place. And ponies covered the main square. Must be some sale going on or something. I hope there aren't more ponies than this. The town population seemed to border on too large. At least that's what I thought.
"HI!"
I don't know where she came from. I don't even know how I missed her. But there she was, a giddy, pink mare. And I was staring at her from my back.
"Um... Hi?"
"Are you a new pony?"
Since she obviously wasn't going to offer any help, I pulled myself up and brushed the dust off my flank.
"Not really. I've been a pony my whole life."
That got a giggle out of her.
"No silly! Are you a new pony to Ponyville?"
"Oh.. Yes, I suppose I am."
"Great!"
Had she been wearing that party hat the whole time? And where the hay did the one on my head come from?!
"I love meeting new ponies! It's super-duper exciting. My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours?"
"Speedy Quill."
"Good to know ya Speedy! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find my tambourine."
With that she was gone. I blinked a few times, trying to make sense out of what had just happened. When I couldn't do that, I shook my head and pulled a list out of my saddle bag.
"Let's see... An alarm clock."
Dumb movers had broken my old one. I looked around at the shops. Where did one get an alarm clock around here?
Ah-ha!
The shop sign was around the corner of a store. In an alley actually. It didn't seem like the prime spot for a shop, but it was what I was looking for. I walked over and read the sign again:
Time Turner's Timepieces
Definitely the place to get a clock.
I walked inside to discover the most cluttered room I had ever seen. Every last inch of wall space was taken up by clocks of differnt sizes and shapes. A glass case stood in the middlethe floor with more clocks stuffed inside. And not only was this shop cluttered, but it was small too! The back wall wasn't more than ten feet in front of me. And two feet of that was taken up by a small countertop. Nopony was behind it. All there was was a blue cabinet. Where was the salespony?
"Hello?"
CRASH!
"What the hay?"
The noise had come from the cabinet. Had something fallen over? One of its doors flew open to reveal a brown stallion.
"Sorry! Didn't expect anypony today!"
He climbed out of the cabinet and closed the door behind him. He walked along his side of the counter until he reached me. Of course that only took him four steps with how small the place was."
"The name's Time Turner. What can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for an alarm clock."
"Basic, fancy, sonic, or custom?"
"Uh... Just basic."
Time Turner returned to his cabinet and pulled out a small clock. It was very similar to my old one and I nodded enthusiastically.
"Perfect."
The clock was placed in my saddle bag and Time Turner smiled.
"You're new in town, aren't you?"
"That easy to tell?"
"No. Have a good day!"
He began to walk to the cabinet again.
"Wait! I didn't pay you!"
He looked back as he opened the door.
"Consider it a welcome present."
He stepped in the cabinet and closed the door. I stood there for several seconds, wondering what was up. I shook my head again and muttered under my breath.
"Is every pony in this town crazy?"
Alarm clock, a hammer, some groceries.. All that was left was to get my library card! The Ponyville library had been one of the big pluses in moving here. I heard they had a great collection of books.
I spotted the library before I had even taken a step. Hard to miss when it's housed in a tree. I trotted towards it, excited to finish my list and head home.
I reached the entrance and pushed the door open.
Wow! This library was way cooler looking than the one in Fillydelphia.
"Need help finding something?"
I turned, expecting a librarian. I jumped back in surprise as I came face to face with a dragon.
"Wah!"
"Ahh!"
Why was it screaming? Wasn't it-
Wait... This dragon was tiny! It couldn't be more than an infant. We stared at each other for a moment before the dragon spoke up.
"Sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to know if you needed help."
"Are you...the librarian?"
"Heh heh. No. Twilight's the librarian. I'm just her assistant."
A dragon assistant? That was a new one. And Twilight. Where had I heard that name?
"Is somepony there Spike?"
From the top of the stairs came a lavender alicorn. Sweet Celestia! It was Princess Twilight! My mouth fell open in shock. I should have bowed, but my knees wouldn't work."
"Hi. I'm Twilight. Did you need some help."
"You're... You're.."
She blushed.
"Yeah. I'm Princess Twilight. But you don't have to call me that. No one in town really does."
I took a deep breath and lowered my head.
"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Speedy Quill."
"It's good to meet you Speedy. Did you need a book?"
"A library card actually. I plan to make this my second home."
"Well it's nice to have a fellow book enthusiast in town. Are you new?"
"Yeah."
"So I take it you've already been welcomed by Pinkie Pie?"
"How... How did you know that?"
She pointed above her head. I slowly reached up to my own head. I was still wearing Pinkie's party hat! Had I been wearing this the whole time in town?!
I ripped the hat off my head and grinned sheepishly. Twilight giggled as she lit up her horn. A card popped out of thin air and she levitated it to me.
"Just sign your name on the back and you're good to go. I hope you enjoy the selection here."
"Thanks Princ- I mean.. Thanks Twilight. It was a pleasure to meet you. And you too Spike."
Spike rolled his eyes. Twilight was already walking out of hearing, but I heard the dragon muttering.
"Just don't come in screaming again."
A sigh escaped me as my home came into view.
"Almost there."
I continued down the path, passing a small cottage. I really should meet my neighbors, but exhaustion was towing me towards my bed. My gaze turned from the cottage back to-
"OOF!"
I hadn't seen the mare walking towards me. We both fell back on our flanks, staring for a few seconds.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!"
"No, no. I wasn't looking where I was going. It's my fault."
"Oh but I should have said something. I could have warned you."
"It's perfectly fine. No harm..."
My voice trailed off as my eyes took in the mare before me. She was a pale yellow color with a beautiful, pink mane. And her eyes.. Wow!
"Done."
She hid her face behind her mane.
"No. It's my fault."
"Where were you coming from exactly?"
"I was just introducing myself to my new neighbor. Or... I would have, but they weren't home. Or maybe they just don't want to know their neighbors. I probably shouldn't have tried."
"No, no. I was just out getting some things in town. In fact, I was thinking of coming to introduce myself!"
Her face appeared again.
"You're my new neighbor?"
"Yes! I'm Speedy Quill."
I held out my hoof. The mare slowly raised her own hoof and smiled.
"I'm Fluttershy."
A smile crossed my face as I heard her name. Fluttershy. Beautiful.
"Well Fluttershy, would you like to come in for a drink?"
"Eep!"
I don't know what exactly happened. One second she was in front of me, next she was in her cottage. Had I said something wrong? I looked back at the cottage and saw her peeking through a window. Too tired to think any longer, I continued home.
My first day in my new home had been eventful. And odd. Especially odd. Was this place really more peaceful than Fillydelphia? I thought over my day of meeting strange ponies, a princess, and a beautiful pegasus. So maybe Ponyville wasn't as peaceful as I had hoped, but it was definitely more interesting.
Fireball appeared from a pile of moving boxes and walked between my hooves, purring. I smiled down at him before glancing out the window. The sun was setting over the town. I sighed happily.
"I think we're going to like it here Fireball."