What You Deserve

A difference, to be a difference, must make a difference.

More tea?

Once the initial shock had worn off with the aid of a couple minutes hiding out by the snack table and a cup of punch, Dusty had to admit the idea of a party just for her was pretty cool. She had yet to see anypony present that she personally recognized, but there was a couple watching her with an expression she wasn’t unfamiliar with. She felt like she should know them.

All at once she became dimly aware of someone trying to speak to her. Her eyes rose from the gold leaf on her shoes’ wings, to be met with the most intense blue eyes she’d ever seen, framed by a pelt of fluorescent pink.

“-so then I was asking everyone I knew about you and that’s a lot of ponies since I know everyone in town and nopony seemed to know anything about you well except Thunderlane and Cloudchaser - or is it Flitter? I can never keep the two of them straight but anyway they didn’t seem to like you but I’d never met you so I didn’t really pay too much attention…”

Lightning wasn’t quite sure of what to do, so as the sentence dragged on she just stood and blankly stared. The only thought she could keep in her head in the wake of such bubbly, annoying cheer was ‘Mothers, she’s still talking? Is she ever going to breathe?’

“So then I asked Rainbow Dash and she seemed to know you a little more and she thought you were nice so she told me that Scootaloo told her that Liza told her that you were working for her grandma and staying in their spare bedroom and-”

A millisecond of blessed silence was interrupted and brutally murdered by a high-pitched, keening inward squeal as the Pink One filled her lungs with a sharp breath.

“-signed her Wonderbolts collector’s card of you so you couldn’t be as bad as Thunderlane said and Missus Cake said you’d came in early today and were nice to her so you must be alright so I talked to Ditzy and she said she knew you a lot which is how I knew today was your birthday and that you’re really sad and lonely and I know that’s no fun at all so I decided to put together a big party so you could meet lots of Ponyvillians and have lots and lots of friends I mean I know it’s hard moving somewhere new where you don’t know anypony so- hey, why are you crying?”

In the face of such raucous cheer, there was really nothing she could do. Poor Lightning Dust had been accepted by very few ponies in her life, so the fact that a mere stranger would go through such lengths… was as touching to her as it was creepy. Slowly she straightened and wiped her eyes with the back of one hoof.

“I’m-- I’m not crying. ‘s water from my mane, got in my eyes. Yeah.” She cleared her throat and tugged off her flat-topped cap, slicking said mane down and letting it rest around her neck and ears. “So uh… What’s your name? What’s with the party? Did you set up all those ponies to stall me all day?”

The pink one turned to the snack table and quickly drew a cup of punch and produced a cupcake, pressing the former into her hoof and the latter resting on the turquoise mare’s snout. “Didn’t I introduce myself? My name is Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you! Normally I just welcome new ponies into town at the bakery or whenever I first encounter them. But you’re a special case.”

Pinkie grinned widely, throwing a leg around the pegasus’ neck and pulling her into a chokingly tight embrace, nearly making her drop the cupcake and spill her drink. “Yes. Yes I did. I needed to time you being right here right when the storm was supposed to start. I’d say I did pretty well, not to toot my own horn or anything.”

Lightning managed a small smile of her own before pulling the cupcake off her snout and taking a bite, finding it to be chocolate cake with vanilla creme center.

“I… See. That’s pretty nice of you,” she said, eyes turning down towards the floor as she took a small sip of her punch.

“Sooo…. how’s the cupcake?” It should be a crime for one creature to be so incredibly cute, beaming as wide as Pinkie Pie did mere inches from Dusty’s own snout.

“It’s, uhm… Nice. I like it.” She rubbed the back of her neck and managed to return a small smile, before withdrawing back into herself, eyes falling back to her gilt shoes. As the silence stretched until becoming uncomfortable, Dusty idly scuffed the leading edge of her hoof against the wooden floor of the town hall.

“Oh look at how selfish I am, hogging the birthday mare. Now, Ditzy told me all about some of the things we should do for your birthday an- AWP!” She was cut off, as it was now the turquoise pegasus’ turn to grab Pinkie and squeeze her tightly, burying her wet face into the pink mare’s neck.

She let out a slow breath and patted Pinkie’s shoulder as she drew back, nodding a little bit, that small smile of hers spreading slightly. “I remember you, I think. You’re the friend that came to visit Dash at the Academy, right?”

Pinkie nodded and took a bite of her own cupcake. So far her plan to lift the mare Ditzy said always seemed depressed was working out. Or at least she was starting to open up, which was progress.

“Yeah… we saw you get reprimanded. I felt really bad about it and…” She stared as Dusty almost compulsively tugged a flask from her jacket and took a long pull from it.

“Look, Pinkie, I appreciate the gesture… but I don’t know these ponies. Don’t intend to either. I’m not planning on staying in Ponyville long. Until Ditzy gets tired of me or I fuck something else up.” She sighed and flicked her wing in a dismissive gesture, setting her cake and drink down and abruptly turning towards the door.

Pinkie’s protestations at her leaving fell on deaf ears. She reached after the turquoise pony as she slipped out into the blinding rain still falling outside. Rainbow Dash noticed her friend’s sadness, and moved to embrace her, whispering into her ears.

Dusty was still outside ten minutes, leaning on the railing and staring out at the main square. The rain hadn’t abated, so she was still stuck. The sounds of the party rumbling behind her made her ears twitch, her lips slowly curving down in a frown. One hoof absently dug in her saddlebag for her flask.

She didn’t notice when a white unicorn left the party and settled in beside her. Something cold and metallic nudged against her side, just under her wing. She took the flask and allowed her eyes to track sideways, meeting the icy blue eyes of a knock-down drag-out gorgeous mare who took Dusty’s breath away for a second.

It took Dusty several moments to realize a question had been asked her, the perfect lips of the other mare embracing an ebony parliament.

“She’s quite taken with you, you know,” The white pony shrugged as a lighter sparked to life, igniting the tip of a cigarette socketed into the long holder. “You’re the Wonderbolt, yes? Lightning Dust?”

Lightning simply shook her head and took a long sip from the flask that had been offered her, grimacing as the burn of bourbon cut her throat. She handed it back and cleared her throat, fanning her wings slightly and wincing as one of the bandages flexed.

“No ma’am. I have an honorary rank, but I’ve never made it through the Academy myself.”

The other pony seemed to know more than she let on, as she probed more deeply with her next statement.

“I was simply making small-talk, darling. Dash told all of us about you.” Her smile turned the warm butterflies in Dusty’s stomach to an acidic soup. Dash had no doubt informed them all of her disgrace. Her recklessness that had driven her from the Academy and lost her rank.

When Lightning didn’t respond, and looked away with disgust plainly painted on her muzzle, Rarity rested a hoof upon the turquoise pegasus’ shoulder.

“She thinks very highly of you. By the time she came home, all she could talk about was ‘Dusty this’ and ‘Dusty that’,” She covered her mouth with a hoof to stifle a girlish giggle that had Dusty’s stomach roll again. “We hadn’t been that fed up with her mouth since the time she got it into her head to become a superhero.”

Sitting in total rapture, Lightning took another deep pull off the flask and hoofed it back, tugging her cap from her head and tugging it between her forehooves for something to do. She felt quite like a fly trapped in the web of a spider.

“I suppose, now that Pinkie Pie has given you the official warm Ponyville welcome, I feel as though I should give you a reason to stay, after all.”

That was the final straw that broke Dusty’s resolve. She cleared her throat and slowly nodded, wordlessly following the curvy unicorn through the streets of Ponyville. The umbrella that they shared wasn’t quite big enough, so Lightning had to walk with her flank almost brushing the alabaster unicorn’s, with one wing draped over her withers.

Inside the town hall, the party was starting to wind down once they all realized that the guest of honor had ditched. Pinkie and Dash stood on the front steps, profusely apologizing and thanking everypony for coming. Pinkie stifled a sniffle as she trotted back inside to start cleaning up and organize the unopened presents, while Dash flashed off to lead the local weatherponies in busting up the rainstorm.

A pony not enjoying a Pinkie Pie party? This concept was utterly inconceivable to the pink pony. She resolved to bring the presents by Ditzy’s house in-pony and wait for the mare to return home. The only explanation that Pinkie could think of was that she was overwhelmed; Ditzy had said Dusty was really standoffish, and Dash had spoken of how Dust had really only gotten along or attempted to befriend her, and then grew distant after they’d all visited the Academy.