The Storm

“SURPRISE!” said a myriad of voices. Suddenly, the once dark pastel interior was full of light. A multitude of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi were standing all around, with large smiles on their faces. A large banner hanging from the ceiling read: Welcome to Ponyville, Blue Typhoon!  Clusters of blue balloons were taped to the walls, and off to the right was a large dessert buffet. Off to the left were cafe tables and chairs, and, in the middle of the room, a set of large speakers and other strange equipment that didn't quite fit with the tech level was set up. A white unicorn with a blue two-tone mane, wearing sunglasses with purple-lenses, was sitting silently behind the equipment.

“What do you think?!” said Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and down in anticipation.

“I think…” said John, deciding to mess with Pinkie. “That pastel colors are overused in the interior decorating.” John’s smirk crept a mile wide as he saw Pinkie’s smile turn into a frown.

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes and said with an exasperated sigh, “I meant about the party!”

“Oh, its wonderful!” said John. "I can't honestly believe someone would organize all this for me..."

Pinkie’s smile returned and she hopped off. She then turned to the pony at the speaker set and other various gear said, “Vinyl Scratch has a song for the awesome pegasus, Blue Typhoon!” Vinyl Scratch hit the play button and a heroic march song issued from the speakers.

John actually liked the march, it somehow felt right. It hit his nostalgia nerve on the head and reminded him of the good old days, where it was only him and his Typhoon, slugging it out over the skies of France; shooting the Luftwaffe down, one plane at a time, and blowing Nazi soldiers sky high. It was his party, after all. After a minute or two, the march was finished and the ponies all just sat around, chatted, or played a few of the party games that had been set up. Some danced slowly to the music that Vinyl was playing, and it sounded very familiar. John could’ve sworn it was a song form Earth, be he couldn’t be sure. And then something weird happened. He suddenly found himself standing up on his hind legs, grabbing Twilight’s hoof, putting his right foreleg around her waist, and they started to dance.  Maybe it was just his imagination, but, somehow, the lights had dimmed, which made it very romantic. Then everything else became distant and fuzzy, and the only thing John saw was the girl his hooves.

Twilight was blushing profusely. “John!” she said, her tone and face clearly indicating dis-comfort.

“What?” John asked softly and tenderly as they waltzed slowly.

“I’ve never danced like THIIIIIIIIIIIIS!” Twilight yelped as John spun her around.

The rest of the ponies didn’t seem to notice their dancing, they were too busy dancing or doing other things themselves. Twilight kept tripping (especially when he spun her), but John's dancing skills were good enough that he was able to save her and transition smoothly back to dancing. For the entirety of the song, John and Twilight danced, and Twilight became more comfortable as they waltzed slowly. When the song was over after a few minutes, John and a dazed but happy Twilight sat down.

“That was… different,” said Twilight. She had never danced like that, and the bipedal dancing... it seemed familiar to John, which she found very weird. But she also knew not to judge ponies by their dancing, so she ignored it entirely.

“Yeah, but it was… nice,” said John. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d danced with a girl, and this time seemed better than any other previous times.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie rushed up and said, “WHOA! Where did you learn to dance like that? I'm not sure if even Dashie could do that!”

"HEY!" yelled Rainbow Dash from somewhere in the crowd.

John blushed slightly and said, “Well, I kinda taught myself, but some of my friends gave me some help, too.”  Suddenly, he had another crazy idea,which he blamed on the potion. "Wait, why do I keep blaming the potion for anything that I think is weird, is it like a running gag or something?" thought John. Nonetheless he turned to Pinkie Pie and said, “Hey... would you mind if I sang a song?”

“Of course not!” said Pinkie. “Here, use this!” Suddenly, a microphone on a stand appeared in front of John.

“Uh, but on second thought…” said John, but he never finished his statement of protest. “And how in GOD’S NAME did a microphone just appear out of…! I give up,” thought John. “The more I try to understand this place, the harder it is to understand.”

“Hey everypony! Blue typhoon has a song to sing for us!” yelled Pinkie, somehow getting most of the crowd's attention.

All the ponies cheered and clapped, and saying encouraging things to John.

"A… alright, this one goes to the doll over there,” said John, grabbing the microphone and nodding towards Twilight, whose cheeks were a bright right red. John cleared his throat and began to sing a song he had heard one of the American pilots sing once, “The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms. But when I woke, dear, I was mistaken, and I hung my head and cried. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make happy, when skies are grey. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.

I’ll always love you, and make you happy, if you will only say the same. But if you leave me, to love another, you’ll regret it all someday. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.

You told me once dear, that you really love me, you told me no one else could come between. But now you’ve left me, and love another, you have shattered all my dreams. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”  John then exhaled deeply and said, “And there you have it. The song is called ‘You Are My Sunshine’.”

Many of the ponies were silent, some cried lightly, others applauded, but it was obvious: John had rocked the house. “Thank you for hearing me out,” said John. He then sat down, and the party turned to normal.

Pinkie Pie cave over to John and said , “That. Was. One. Of. The. Best. Songs. Ever!”

“Well, maybe, but I don’t want to pat myself on the back too much,” said John. “What time is it, anyway?”

“Ten thirty, why do you ask?” said Pinkie Pie.

“No reason, just like to keep an eye on the time,” said John. He suddenly spied the buffet table, and suddenly noticed how hungry he was. And his stomach grumbled in agreement to the prospect of some dessert.

John got up and walked over to the buffet table. On it was one of the most varied and best dessert bars he'd ever seen. Cakes, cookies, pastries and other dessert items were lined up and filled every inch of the table. He felt a tad bit guilty while loading his plate; his mother had forever burned into his skull that 'If you don't eat your meat, you can't have your pudding.' But then, he realized his mother wasn't there, which he realized sounded like a really stupid and typical childish excuse, but... it worked. John came back to Twilight's table with six oatmeal cookies, six chocolate chip cookies, a slice of red velvet cake, a dozen cherry cordials, a dozen various truffles, a cupcake, and a brownie.

“Yikes… when was the last time you had desert?!” said Twilight, looking at John’s heaped plate with slightly wet eyes.

“A long time, miss, a real long time…” said John with a somewhat wistful tone as he sat down.  “I want to thank you and your friends for your hospitality. It’s made me feel really welcome. So I guess I should return the favor and say…” John paused to eat a bite of red velvet cake. “Say that… I… I…” John was now seriously debating on whether or not to tell them who he really was. They had just thrown AN ENTIRE PARTY for him, after all. But it also went against everything his military mind was telling him. He sat there his eyes flickering back and forth, starting to sweat as he began to attack his desserts, his thoughts conflicting like a dogfight between a Bf-109 Messerschmitt and a Supermarine Spitfire.

“You what?” said Twilight, starting to become a bit suspicious. Even though she trusted John, something seemed to be off. His clothes were… different to say the least bit and he seemed to be a bit nervous at times. And right now, he seemed very nervous, eyes darting back and forth.

“Love you!” exclaimed John. This was true. John did have feelings, but it was impossible for him to describe. And, he felt it was better than saying, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m not a pony, I’m a human in disguise as one, just so you know.’  And, he did know, that, for some reason, he really liked Twilight.

Twilight gasped and put a hoof over her mouth.

“There,” said John, actually somewhat embarrassed and flushed, but strangely relieved as well. “I… kinda just… well… you know…”

“Oh, Blue, I… I don’t know what to say!” said Twilight. She was surprised and actually very flattered, but, at the very darkest recess of her head, the ever-present voice of suspicion kept nagging at her. But she also felt there was sincerity and truth in Blue’s words, so she ignored her suspicions completely.

“Neither do I,” said John.

Then, they both pulled each other and kissed. Both were somewhat slightly surprised, but they soon melted into it.

Sure, John had kissed other girls before, but this was different. The way she kissed, it seemed right, as if it was his mom kissing him while telling him goodnight, but more… loving. It was almost indescribable for him. It just possessed that affectionate quality that could quiet down anger and relieve tension, that kind of miraculous healing power that the right woman seemed to have. After what seemed like an eternity (which was actually only a few seconds), they pulled a part. He found, much to his discomfort, that Pinkie was staring at them with an un-naturally large grin.

“Oooooooooh, looks like Twilight has her special somepony,” said Pinkie.

“Pinkie!” said Twilight, her cheeks becoming red again.

“Hey, bug off! How’d you like it if I poked my head while you and your special somepony were snogging?” snapped John.

Pinkie winced, but her smile didn’t vanish. “What’s snogging?” she asked, suddenly dropping her grin and looking very confused.

John face hoofed and said, “Kissing.”

“Oh, now I get it,” said Pinkie. “Sorry. Guess I was a bit rude.”

“Forget it. I shouldn’t have snapped at you anyways,” said John. “So, did you make these? I know you work here at the bakery, but, wow… these cookies are really good! These rival those of my mother, and she made some good cookies!” John attempted to change the conversation to something more publicly appropriate. And it worked.

After an hour of talking, playing party games, dancing, eating deserts, and having some hard cider, which John really liked, he and Twilight left Sugarcube Corner, walked back to the library, and sat down together on the couch.

Fifty minutes later…

“What time is it?” asked John.

“About ten ‘till midnight, why do you ask?” said Twilight.

“S***!” John swore mentally. He suddenly got up, put on his clothes (which were nearby on the floor) and ran out of the library.

“WAIT! Blue, Where are you going?!” yelled Twilight.