The Unnoticed

Pinkie skipped down the street that served as the Ponyville market. She scanned the stalls when something caught her eye. She stopped mid-skip and floated slowly to the ground. She had planned to go see if Rainbow dash wanted to go prank someone but this development require some investigation.

Pinkie skipped toward the stall the Apple family always had set up. She figured that would be the best place to try and get some information. Pinkie was in luck as Applejack was running the stall today. “

Hey Applejack” Pinkie said “I have a quick itty-bitty question for you.”

Applejack arched an eyebrow at Pinkie, internally pondering why she hadn’t acted in her usual over the top manner.

” Oh uh, Hey Sugarcube. What can I do ya for?” Applejack asked

Pinkie looked over her shoulder for a moment and snapped her attention back to Applejack.

” Have you ever seen that guy over there?” Pinkie asked while gesturing over her shoulder. Applejack looked toward where Pinkie was motioning. Across the street, by the cherry stand was a young man in a black hat. He wore a simple white shirt, blue jeans, and seemed to be deep in thought. The thing that grabbed the most attention, however, was his size. While not particularly muscular he was very tall, probably taller than her brother Big Mac. He was maybe a couple years older than the two of them.

“Huh, no I can’t say I’ve ever seen that feller before.” Applejack said while Pinkie began to grin an absurdly large grin.

“Sooooo, what you’re saying is….. He’s new?” Pinkie asked

“Sure would seem that way.” Applejack replied.

Pinkie giggled excitedly while bouncing up and down. Inside her own head she was going over all the details of what had to be done. She thanked Applejack and ran off toward Sugarcube Corner. She had a party to plan.

Locke watched the crowd while he stood by the cherry stall. Suddenly a young woman with shockingly pink hair went bolting out of the crowd and down the street. He wondered briefly what had gotten her so excited but shook the thought out of his head. He went back to his favorite past time, people watching, while he waited for the morning rush at the stalls to end. He never went shopping during peak hours but rather, waited until in between the breakfast and lunch rushes so he wouldn’t have to wait in line. He began thinking about what he would get for lunch when he decided to just go home and eat what he already had there. He stepped in to the crowds and began slowly making his way home.

He only stopped once just outside his door to pick up the newspaper. He opened the door to his small two story townhouse. He weaved through the piles of boxes he hadn’t bothered to unpack and entered the kitchen. He opened the fridge, peering critically at its contents before pulling out an unmarked bottle. He went back in to the living room and sat down on the sofa. He cracked the bottle open and took a deep breath before swigging down a portion of the liquid inside. The sharp, bitter taste of poorly made beer stung his throat. He shook his head and sighed, he had been told that this brand was good by the woman at the liquor store. He opened the newspaper and began to read.

It was four in the afternoon when Pinkie finished baking but it was perfect. She had muffins, cupcakes, pies, and pastries of all kinds as well as a single large three tiered cake. She had checked around and no one knew the young man from the market, so she didn’t know what he would have liked. The only choice was to make some of everything. Pinkie had already sent out invitation to everyone in town and her friends were coming to help her decorate. Soon everything would be ready for the party and she would just have to get the guest of honor. She smiled knowing she would soon have a new friend.

Locke jolted awake so quickly he rolled off the couch. He hit the floor with a resounding thump. He sat up rubbing the back of his head before standing up. He yawned and made his way to the window. Looking outside he figured it was somewhere around five in the evening. With it being spring he knew he had a couple hours before sun down. “Just enough time for a walk” Locke thought.

Locke stepped out in to the cool evening air. Breathing deep he looked left and right. Locke saw absolutely no one. He arched an eyebrow wondering if there was something happening this evening that he didn’t know about. He shrugged his shoulders and began to walk down the street. After a few minutes he had still not seen another person and began to feel that something wasn’t right. He looked around for any sign of life. The stalls were all deserted, all the houses had their lights off, and not a single sound was heard. Locke made a suspicious noise before continuing on his walk. His hand strayed down toward the back of his belt as he walked. He was walking past the local bakery when he finally found some sign of life.

Pinkie roamed the crowd inside the bakery making sure everything was just right before sending Rainbow Dash to get their new neighbor. Satisfied that everything was alright see nodded to Rainbow to go get the stranger. Rainbow was about to leave when she stopped, turned back, and waved pinkie over.

“Is that him?” Rainbow whispered once Pinkie was close enough to hear. Pinkie peered out the window at the young man whom she had seen in the market that morning.

“Yep, that’s him alright.” Pinkie confirmed while nodding enthusiastically.

“Well, that was easy.” Rainbow muttered as she slid over to the door.

As the young man passed by Sugarcube corner Rainbow poked her head out the door and whistled.

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted “Hey you!”

The young man turned toward her and tilted his head asking for confirmation. Rainbow nodded and waved him over.

“Come here.”She said “I need your help.”

The young man walked over to her with a quizzical look on his face.

“What do you need help with?” He asked in a slightly raspy voice. Rainbow thought that the young man sounded like a bit of a smoker but shook her head internally.

“Oh, I just need some help moving a really big cake.”Rainbow lied.

“Alright,” the young man said “I can help with that.”

Pinkie waited anxiously while Rainbow called the young man over. She could hear him climbing the three small steps outside as he made his way toward the door. Pinkie smiled as she prepare to shout what she had wanted to shout all day.

Locke opened the door to the bakery when the lights flashed on.

“SURPRISE!”

The crowd shouted as they leapt out at him. Locke stepped back in shock at the sudden appearance of what seemed like everyone in town. He recognized the pink haired girl from the market as she hopped up and down while she giggled.

“Tee hee hee, you sure were surprised, your eyes almost bugged out of your head!” The girl giggled. Locke took the time to take stock of the girl in front of him. Everything about her was pink. Pink hair, pink shirt with blue and yellow balloons on the front, pink sneakers, rosy pink cheeks, everything was pink. He looked around the room of smiling townsfolk before glancing up at the banner hanging from the ceiling.”Welcome to Ponyville!” It read. He arched an eyebrow as was his way.

“And what is all this?”Locke asked.

“Well duh,” the girl said “It’s your welcoming party, and I’m Pinkie what’s your name?”She stuck out her hand. Locke took it and gave a firm but gentle shake.

“Um, I’m Locke,” Locke said “and you said this was a welcoming party?”

“Yep, I throw one for everyone when they first move here.” Pinkie said with a smile.

“Oh, well, um, thanks for the sentiment,” Locke said “but parties aren’t my thing.” Locke turned away and headed for the door. He paused before he stepped out and looked back at a gob smacked Pinkie.

“And by the way,” Locke said over his shoulder “I’ve lived here for almost two years.” Locke then closed the door and headed for home.