"Hmm...maybe a little to the left..."
A pink hoof nudged the end of the banner so that it was slightly closer to its target location.
"No, no...definitely back to the right..."
The limb once again came into contact with the decorated flag, moving it back to where it was.
"Ugh, no! That still won't do...oh, I'm sorry, Pinkie...I'm so indecisive, sometimes..." sighed a white unicorn. As she lowered her head to the floor in dismay, her luxurious purple mane flopped sadly down over her face. Her misery only lasted for a moment before a wide smile filled her vision. When the two sets of eyes met, the unicorn mare let out a shriek and jumped backwards, away from her invasive pink friend.
"Aww, it's okay, Rarity! It's always worth making sure everything is perfect for a party! Especially if it's a party for a new family in town!" Pinkie Pie gabbed excitedly. The pink earth pony's enthusiasm and absence of irritation brought a small smile to Rarity's face. No matter what situation they were in, Pinkie could always be counted on to keep those mean feelings away.
"Thank you, dear. I do agree with you! It's not very often we get a whole family to throw a party for. Have you heard any more information regarding their names? I would love to fill out the rest of the welcome banner, but I don't know what to write," Rarity explained as she eyed the empty flag hanging from the ceiling.
'Welcome to Ponyville!' it read. There was space for a name or two, but it still functioned perfectly without them. Regardless of whether or not it functioned, Rarity was determined to make it perfect if she was able.
"Uh-uh. Sorry, I still haven't heard anything more than 'new family coming to town!' I'll just float back up here once they arrive and finish it," Pinkie said, her body hovering a few inches from the floor. She had a bundle of balloons tied around her barrel, allowing her to float up to the ceiling-bound banner to work on it. Normally, balloons wouldn't be enough to hold up a fully-grown pony. Pinkie Pie sometimes did things that...defied normality. Her friends had grown used to it. Even Rarity, in her pondering, barely noticed the pink mare excitedly waving her legs around as she floated.
"Ooh, I'm so excited! I heard one of the new ponies is a little colt! I haven't thrown a party for a colt in at least a week! I've been having these weird tingles telling me to throw a colt a party, but there aren't any birthdays for another month! It's been burning me up inside!" Pinkie sang happily, her movements causing her to spin in circles.
Under the airborne party planner, some other ponies were also helping set up. It had been decided that the party would take place inside the famous Sugarcube Corner, as it usually did. The bakery was the perfect place for a new pony to feel welcomed. The room was open and nonrestrictive, the air was warm and smelled of confections, and the interior was soothingly rustic. Plus, it was easier for Pinkie to throw a party in the place she lived. She wouldn't even have to leave when it was over!
On the opposite corner of the room, along the ceiling, a cyan pegasus tried her best to keep her rainbow-colored mane from falling into her eyes as she tied streamers. Her mane wasn't even that long, but her bangs grew like a weed. She had it trimmed a week ago, but it looked like she would once again be needing a snip. Her wings flapped rhythmically, keeping her body hovering in the same spot.
"Pfft!" she blew some air up into her mane. "Hey, is this okay, Pinkie?"
"M-hmm! Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie cheered happily up at her prismatic friend. Dash smiled proudly as she lowered herself back down to the ground. She had been working on those stupid streamers for at least an hour, and she deserved a rest. That bean-bag chair brought it specially for the party had been looking more and more enticing the longer she had worked. With a grunt of relief, the blue pegasus plopped her rear into the cushy confines of the bag and leaned back.
"Oh, good, yer done with the streamers. Mind lendin' me a hoof bringin' out the food?" came a southern drawl from the kitchen. An orange mare stepped out, carrying a gigantic tray full of snacks, pies, cakes, and other assortments. Rainbow Dash blew air out from between her teeth, her eyes shutting tightly in agitation. She should have known better than to hope for a break. There truly was no rest for the wickedly fast.
"Ugh, come on...seriously, AJ? Seriously?" she questioned. She already knew what the end result of her complaining would be, but she still felt like doing it anyway. Her minor resistance was met with a snort and a raised eyebrow. Applejack didn't even have to respond; Dash was already in the kitchen, gathering some supplies to bring out.
Applejack marched carefully to the large table set up against the wall, shuffling the tray so that it slid cleanly onto the tabletop. A large bowl of punch caught the edge of the table at an odd angle, and started tilting over. The sudden movement drew a skipped heartbeat and a panicked curse from the cowmare. Before the glass bowl could slide any further, it was surrounded in a purple fog that pushed it securely onto the table. Applejack let out a sigh of relief and wiped her forehead with her leg.
"Whewie! Thanks, Twi. That coulda been bad," AJ chuckled nervously. Princess Twilight Sparkle responded with a friendly smile, assuring her friend that it was not a big deal.
"Of course, Applejack! I'm sure the Cakes wouldn't be thrilled with us breaking their glassware," Twilight giggled to herself. The stetson-wearing mare next to her just nodded in agreement.
"Uhm...where should these go?" a small, petite voice piped up from behind the two. Twilight and Applejack turned to face the mare addressing them.
"The silverware? Ah, right here on tha table," Applejack directed. Fluttershy nodded once and floated slowly over, setting the cups of forks down gently. Her unending goal of ultimate calmness sparked a smile between the two friends watching her. The butter-yellow pegasus was the absolute sweetest mare in Ponyville. They were proud to call Fluttershy their friend.
Knock Knock Knock
The knocking came from the front door of the bakery. The sudden sound seemingly set Pinkie's fuse off, the pink mare starting to flail around in mid-air, causing the balloons to get pushed around wildly. The largest smile she had had since the last super-smile shot across her face.
"The guests are arriving! Ooh, ooh, it's almost time!" Pinkie Pie shouted joyfully. Somehow, she managed to push her balloon vehicle over to the door before any of her friends could beat her there. Before she could even plant herself on the ground, her hooves latched onto it and turned it with the force of a thousand earth ponies. It was a miracle the knob didn't snap off.
Click-SWOOSH
The door opened quickly, sending Pinkie floating off once again. Luckily, the door had missed her face. She just giggled to herself as the first guests trotted into the party room. The first body to enter was more of a collection of bodies. Three little bodies, to be exact. They had been pushing and shoving each other around, each trying to be the first to enter. The sudden opening of the door had sent them all tumbling forward, kicking and yelping the whole way down.
"Ouch! Ugh-...I won!" shouted a young, raspy female voice. The orange filly sat up, her hoof rubbing her head soothingly. Another day, another head injury. At least she normally wore a helmet for the other ones.
"Nuh-uh, Scootaloo! Ah did!" came another voice, this one very similar to the orange mare currently cupping her face in her hoof. The little yellow filly had been wearing a bow, but the previous scuffle had undone it, somehow. Normally, that bow was impervious to movement. Apple Bloom felt naked without it, so the sudden absence on her head caused her to gasp in shock.
The panic was short-lived; the bow had been conveniantely wrapped around the last filly's head. The young unicorn kicked it away, the tingling of restraint having caused a bit of nervousness to hit her. She didn't like being stuck. Her older sister, Rarity, was glad that the bow was away from her as well, but for a different reason entirely.
That red bow clashed horribly with her white coat!
"Sweetie Belle, could ya hoof that-? Thanks," Apple Bloom said in quick succession. The bow had already found its way to her before she could even finish requesting it.
The three friends gathered themselves as the older ponies in the room looked down at them. They should have expected them to do something like that; the Cutie Mark Crusaders never missed a party, if they were invited. They were invited to most parties, but there was the occasional bachelor party that they were banned from, for obvious reasons.
"Gals, would you mind not roughin' each other up for a bit? Party's gonna be startin' soon," Applejack commented to the three young ponies on the ground. The Crusaders looked up, matching her gaze with one of their own.
"Okay, Applejack," Scootaloo responded, her hoof traveling down her purple mane and smoothing it out. On her back, her small wings ruffled a bit to even out the odd feather or two that had been disturbed in the scuffle.
"And you, too?" Applejack asked the other girls. The two fillies nodded their heads compliantly and stood up. Instantly, their gaze was drawn to the multitude of party decorations and treats strewn about the room. Their mouths started watering in unison, the thoughts of which pastries they would scarf down first buzzing in their minds.
They were tempted to dig in right away, but they knew better. They had tried getting at the cakes before the rest of the guests could arrive, once.
Once.
Pinkie didn't take too kindly to having her surprise lessened by missing sweets. At least the honey came out from their manes in less than a week. But the feeling of sticky would haunt them forever...
Luckily, they were not going to have to wait long. As soon as Scootaloo had stood up to join her friends, another pony walked into the room. Then another. And another. It soon seemed like the rest of the town had decided to arrive at the same exact time.
Ooh, another pony.
Ooh, another pony.
The room was quickly filling to its maximum occupancy. Twilight was beginning to worry that they wouldn't have enough room to fit everypony, but Pinkie Pie knew better. She had had tons of parties in that very room, once with twice as many guests. With effort, that room had the potential to hold a lot of ponies.
There would be plenty of room!
****
There wasn't as much room as Pinkie had thought. It occured to her as she started counting guests that with each new 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, the invite list grew! So, of course, the room would eventually fill up.
No problem! They would just take the party outside once the new family arrived. It was a nice summer night, complete with a cool breeze to match the warm evening air. They would just have to move some tables outdoors, set up another record-player, and everything would be set!
Easy peasy! Pinkie thought to herself with a confident smile. Now all they needed were the-
A trembling in her hooves and a flop of her ears drew Pinkie's attention. They were coming!
Pinkie Pie squee'd in excitement and ran in a quick circle. "It's time, everypony! Into your 'surprise' positions!" the pink mare commanded eagerly. With her, a surprise had never once gone wrong. Never had she ever had a pony not be surprised by her...surprise!
The partiers in the room all nodded at the same time, aware of what was being asked of them. A new family was arriving, and it was up to all of them to make sure they got the traditional Ponyville welcome that they had all received at some point. Pinkie was counting on them, and they were not about to let her down.
The room grew quiet the instant Pinkie turned the lights off. Not a sound could be heard, despite the multitude of pastel ponies hiding in the room. Well, they were doing their absolute best to hide. It wasn't exactly easy or possible to hide that many guests. Each and every set of ears was locked onto the front of the room, where they could hear somepony approaching. More than one, somepony, they quickly remembered.
Clop
Clop
Clop
Mumble
The ponies in the room held their collective breath. The new ponies were so close. If somepony in the bakery did so much as sneeze, the surprise would have been ruined. Why weren't they opening the door?
Another few seconds passed. Not a sound could be heard from either side of the door, besides for the squeaking of what sounded like an open window. Pinkie paid attention to the squeak for all of two seconds. That darn window had been needed some oil for the past few weeks. It didn't matter right now, what mattered was on the other end of the-
Click
Pinkie's grin started growing slowly, regardless of how much she tried to keep herself calm. They were coming in! The familiar rush of anticipation hit the pink mare as the door swung open.
Crreeeaaaak
The door was open. In the doorway, two shapes stood still. They didn't move much for the first few seconds, probably second-guessing their decision to walk into a dark room.
"H-hello?" asked a soft, feminine voice into the supposedly empty bakery. The one figure moved a bit, taking a nervous step forward. Pinkie's vision was focused entirely on the two forms, waiting for them to walk just the tiniest bit closer.
Closer, just a bit more
Clop
Now!
Pinkie Pie flicked on the light, bathing the decorated room in a blinding golden light. The two new ponies were finally relieved, along with the rest of the guests. In the doorway stood two fully-grown earth ponies; a stallion and a mare. The stallion was a light grey, with a darker grey mane hanging loosely in his face. On either flank sat the image of a hammer going to town on a nail. He was much larger than the mare next to him.
The look of shock on his face was absolute gold to Pinkie.
The mare at his side was almost his contrast. She was a bright yellow, her mane a sleek and smooth orange color. Somewhere in the back of the room, Carrot Top blinked at the uncanny color resemblance. On the new mare's flank was the image of three smiling suns. Cherilee also had reason to blink; the cutie mark reminded her greatly of her own. The idea of possibly having another teacher in town sent Cherilee into a happy dance.
"SURPRISE!" Pinkie Pie shouted in the faces of the two new arrivals.
"EEK!" came a shrill, high-pitched voice. To everypony's confusion, the new mare hadn't been the one to make the sound. She did turn her head to the stallion she was standing with, though.
He had scream like a little school-filly.
The room went quiet. The stallion's eyes were wide and panicked; he was about to turn tail and run. Luckily, when he tried, his legs tangled with each other and he went sprawling into the dirt outside the bakery entrance. To everypony's further confusion, the yellow mare just shook her head and sighed. She bent down and helped her companion to his hooves, which took no small amount of effort on her part. For some odd reason, his legs didn't seem to work all that well, despite how muscular he seemed.
During the time they took for the stallion to gather himself, Pinkie just stood with a patiently excited smile on her face. When they both turned to meet her gaze, she finally continued with her routine.
"HIYA! I'm Pinkie Pie and we threw this party just for you to welcome you to Ponyville! We love new ponies, and especially families! And-hey. Wait...didn't you have a co-?"
Pinkie Pie was cut off from her speech as a ball of warm fur leapt onto her back. Pinkie panicked. She couldn't see behind her. The eyes on the back of her head that everypony claimed she had were fictional and useless. The sound that previously came from the new stallion shot from her mouth as she spun around, trying to figure out what was going on.
"EEK! What is it?! Help!" she shouted, beginning to suspect that she was being attacked by something scary. What if it was a giant, hairy spider that hated cupcakes? Oh no! Not even spiders should be able to hate cupcakes!
A soft giggling broke her from her shock. Pinkie stopped herself and actually took the time to turn her head to the look at the thing invading the space of her back.
When she turned, she locked eyes with a little colt. She blinked. He blinked in return, but maintained the smile that he had been wearing the whole time. The smile was too enticing for Pinkie not to share. He was a light blue little thing, with a faded yellow mane that was somewhat disheveled. He was smiling his brightest, but seemed tired.
"Surprise!" he chirped at her.
Pinkie blinked again. Surprise? Her?
But...that...that's, no...did I...become the surprisee? Pinkie contemplated in her mind. The colt didn't seem to mind her going quiet. He just remained latched onto her, burying his face into her back at one point and nuzzling. He was just so happy to be in contact with her, it seemed. The ponies in the room looked around at each other, unsure about this unusual turn of events.
"Buh...but how? The door..." Pinkie stuttered. It was quite the shock to everypony else that somehow, this little colt had managed to confuse Pinkie Pie. Such a feat was something only talked about theoretically; it had never actually been proven to be possible until then.
"I came in through the window," the colt responded, still sighing happily to himself. In the doorway, the two older ponies smiled. The yellow mare was paying attention to the little pony on Pinkie's back, but the stallion was smirking. He was just glad that somepony had gotten Pinkie Pie back for scaring him.
Pinkie turned to look to the location of the squeaking from the before. The window, previously only nudged open, was now gaping. A soft summer breeze rolled in, bathing the guests in the smells of the nighttime. This little colt had surprised the surpriser!
"Whoa..." Rainbow Dash could be heard over the sound of silence in the room. A few murmurs surged through the room, but they were quickly intercepted by a loud southern voice breaking them from their concerns.
"Whoo! Welcome ta Ponyville, sugarcubes!" Applejack shouted, trying to break the ice. Fortunately for her, it worked. The rest of the guests, realizing that they were neglecting their duties, joined her in her shout.
"Welcome to Ponyville!"
****
Scootaloo was surprised. The feeling she got from watching the new colt actually out-random Pinkie Pie...it was close to 'impressed.' At first, she didn't want to seem like he had shocked her all that much. Rainbow Dash's verbal confession of surprise to the rest of the room made her feel better about it, though.
How the hay had he done it? He had expected the surprise and countered it by sneaking into a window and hiding among a group of silent, vigilant ponies...just who was he?
Scootaloo noticed something right away about the strange new pony: he didn't have a cutie mark. He looked the same age as the three of them, though! The sly, knowing smile she received from both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle alerted her to their newest mission. Whoever this new colt was, they were going to be his friend and help him find his special talent!
So far, Scootaloo strongly suspected his talent to be in spying. Maybe being stealthy would warrant its own cutie mark?
The three fillies weaved around guests after guests, having to dodge more ponies than they were used to. As soon as the welcoming had been completely, Pinkie had immediately sent out a few ponies to help her move one of the tables outside. The room, despite having some of its previous occupants now outdoors, was still pretty full.
Being the smaller ponies that they were, the Cutie Mark Crusaders couldn't see much. The bodies of seemingly endless pony partiers blocked most of their vision. The rest of the ponies needed to move! They were seriously getting in the way of official CMC business. That was a crime punishable by death!
Or, at least, getting an angry glare for a second or two. That was cheaper.
"UGH, yeesh!" groaned Scootaloo. If only she could get the useless stubs on her back to work for once, she could simply fly up to look around for the new colt! Regardless of her wishes, her wings just buzzed in sync with her irritation.
Where the buck was he-?
"Hey, Crusaders!" came a small voice from behind the trio. They all yelped and spun around to face the pony guilty of scaring them. Scootaloo half-expected it to have been somepony from their school. The truth was even more surprising.
It was the colt.
He just stood there, staring at the three fillies with this little expectant grin. The Crusaders drew a collective blank. What were they supposed to say to a new pony that already knew about them, somehow? Introduction were obviously supposed to be in order, but were they really? The colt already seemed to know who they were.
"Uh...hey, uhm...pardner?" Apple Bloom offered. Her greeting seemed to make the colt's day. His face split into a happy smile and his legs started to tremble. For a second, it looked like he was going to topple over. Scootaloo then noticed a movement on his back. It drew her attention to a pair of extremities that she had previously ignored.
He had wings!
"You have wings!" Scootaloo blurted out intelligently, ignoring the groans from her two friends. The random saying broke the colt from his grinning and caused him to stare at her oddly. He tilted his head a bit, his eyes crossing in confusion. Obviously, he wasn't outside the capability of being surprised, himself. A shake of his head later, he started smiling again.
"Oh, uh...yeah. Mhmm, pegasus and all," he confirmed, moving his two little wings around a bit. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were unaware of the subtle movements, but Scootaloo caught on.
The way he moved his wings...the uncertainty he displayed...did he even know how to use them?
The orange filly stared at him, her eyes scavenging his body for any other signs. Besides for a general lack of balance, the colt seemed fine. He just looked a bit sleepy was all.
"But weren't your parents earth ponies?" inquired Sweetie Belle. Points could be given for boldness, but not for tact. The colt didn't seem as offended as much as he was just nervous.
"Oh...those aren't my parents. They're my, uh...guardians..." he admitted, his left front hoof scratching at the ground a little. Nothing more had to be said to the trio. They could tell that he wasn't simply being watched for a little while. The way he danced around the guardian bit let them know that it was a touchy subject. Apple Bloom and Sweetie flinched at the implications of what he had said, but Scootaloo felt a strong surge of knowing flow through her tiny body.
This little colt needed a friend. She would be his friend. Celestia knows that she had needed one when she had gone through it. The utter feeling of loneliness and insecurity...it still burned the poor little pegasus when she thought about it.
"Hey, what's your name?" Scootaloo asked him, her voice breaking through the uncomfortable silence that Sweetie Belle had caused. The colt blinked and looked at her for a moment before smiling again. Unbeknownst to the four little ponies, a pair of blue eyes were watching them closely. The owner of those blue eyes trained her ears in their direction, making sure that she was able to hear every syllable.
"Oh, uhm...it's...Pan Cake...?" the colt responded, his answer sounding more like an offer than a solution. As soon as he had finished speaking, a loud gasp rang out across the room. The gasp was followed by a whistling, which was then itself followed by a bundle of pink flying by and snatching the colt. The three fillies that were left standing there blinked together. Pan had been standing there one moment, then was gone the next. The image of his body still lingered in their vision every time they blinked.
"OOH! ANOTHER CAKE! THIS IS SO AMAZING, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs. In her arms, poor Pan was having the life squeezed from him as Pinkie spun him in circles. The guests in the room all turned to look at the sudden noise, but smiled when they saw what the source was. Despite the massive force being applied to his body, Pan Cake smiled along with her.
Above them all, Rarity's magical aura subtly filled out the names of the new ponies arriving. The Crusaders below hadn't had a chance to talk to the adult ponies, so they had to wait for the sign to finish filling out to read the new names.
'Welcome to Ponyville! Pan Cake, Hammer Time, Sunny Day!' it now read.
"Sunny Day...that must be Miss Yellow over there," Scootaloo commented while rubbing her hoof against her chin thoughtfully.
Sweetie Belle looked around and spied Sunny conversing with a group of older ponies near the snack table. She nodded in agreement and started her search for the gray stallion. He was much harder to find, seeing that he was doing his best to remain separated from any sort of attention. From what the trio could figure, Hammer wasn't a social pony. They did notice that he was keeping a close eye on Pan, though.
When they all turned their attention back to where Pinkie Pie had been holding Pan Cake, they found an empty spot on the floor. Where had they gone? The Crusaders again had to start searching, this time for the pony who they were determined to befriend and help.
****
Pan Cake was in his absolute glory. Here he was, in Ponyville, getting introduced to all the ponies he already knew. It was everything he could have ever wanted! To him, it was like getting the grand tour of heaven. He just still couldn't believe it was even possible.
"And these are my friends!" Pinkie proclaimed as she led Pan over to her closest circle. They had been talking amongst each other at one of the many party tables, thanking each other for helping out with the party preparations. When they noticed the two ponies approaching, they all turned to them and smiled. Pan just stared up at them, his eyes widening and his mouth opening slowly.
"Hello, there! Pan Cake, isn't it? Any relation to the Cake family here?" Twilight asked kindly, giving the frail little thing a supportive gaze. Any nervousness Pan had been feeling melted away as he realized just who was talking to him.
"Uh, nope! No relation," Pan responded, his eyes wondering over the Princess' horn and wings. His own wings gave a little flutter, catching the attention of the rainbow-maned Pegasus next to Twilight. Before he could even blink, he was once again scooped up in somepony's grasp and carried away. This time, however, he found himself in the air when the movement finally stopped. He shook his head a little to get past the dizzy spell that had come over him, only for his eyes to meet two big magenta orbs.
"Hey, hey, little guy! A flier, eh? Shoulda known, with the way you got the drop on ol' Pinks! Let me guess, you flew in, right?" Rainbow Dash interrogated, a determined grin spread across her face. The little pegasus colt had to take a few moments for his mind to register that Rainbow Dash was holding him. Rainbow Dash was actually flying around with him! Just another check off of his shortening bucket list.
"Woo!" he cheered, looking around excitedly. He was flying! Just like he had always wanted to fly around like a pegasus, and now here he was! It was the reason he asked for wings. He just wish that he had time to learn how to use them...
Rainbow Dash took his cheer as a demand for more flying, so she assumed that he wanted to fly with her. The competitive pegasus took her legs out from around him. To her shock, the little colt did not fly when she let him go. He simply plummeted like a rock. The whole way down, he flailed his little legs and tried flapping his wings. The underdeveloped little limbs just flopped around uselessly, the air flowing past him and overpowering his muscles easily.
A collective gasp rang out amonst the crowd. Every set of eyes locked onto the falling blue bundle, watching in horror as the ground grew closer and closer. From the other corner of the room, a pair of violet eyes watched him as well, begging for somepony to save him. Scootaloo couldn't believe it when Dash had let him go when she was that high up. She should have known! If a little filly could see that he couldn't fly, then one of Equestria's greatest fliers should have been able to tell!
The guests waited, flinching in anticipation of the inevitable crunch.
It never came.
Before Pan Cake's body could become a literal pancake, another pair of legs wrapped around him and stopped his decent. This new pair of legs was buttery yellow. Pan could feel that he wasn't the only one trembling between the two.
"D-Dash! Why would you do such a thing! You should have known better!" Fluttershy scolded, her gaze hard. Most of the other ponies in the room had never seen the shy pegasus look so mad. Rainbow Dash was shocked into a stunned silence. The image of the plummeting foal danced in front of her eyes, teasing her with the giant mistake she had just made. She had known that she had bucked up the moment she had let go. She was so surprised by her negligence that she couldn't get her wings to move her towards him.
"I...but he...oh..." Dash stuttered, lowering slowly to the ground. Her mane sagged over her eyes again, hiding the tears that where beginning to brim. She had almost killed a little colt. He couldn't even fly, and she had dropped him like a stone. She dared looking around, only for her eyes to meet a pair of violet, angry ones. She flinched again, the implications of what she had done hitting her.
The colt was developmentally stunted, just like Scootaloo. The orange filly had just watched her hero almost kill a foal with the same disability that she had. Dash turned her head away, unable to maintain the stare any longer.
Pan Cake sat there, in Fluttershy's arms, trembling slightly. Despite how tired he looked, he still seemed happy. He snuggled up into Fluttershy's chest fluff, drawing a surprised EEP! from the buttery pegasus.
"Hey, Fluttershy..." Pan sighed, his own little legs wrapping around Fluttershy. Her heart melted at the sight of the content little colt. She wanted to be mad at Dash for endangering him, but he didn't even seemed fazed.
"Oh, hello, Pan Cake..." Fluttershy responded, hugging the colt tighter. She could feel his chest moving in and out against her, a comforting sign that he was still okay. The ponies in the room turned back to Dash, giving her a look of disbelief. The prismatic mare responded by flying out of the room as fast as she could, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake.
Pan squirmed out of Fluttershy's grasp when he saw this. The guests in the room watched in confusion as the little colt ran in the direction Dash had taken off. He tried his hardest to follow, but he had a hard time moving his legs correctly, for some reason. It was almost like he had never used his legs before.
"Rainbow, wait!" Pan yelled out. His efforts were in vain; Dash was already way out of earshot and could not hear his yells. He barely got out of the bakery door before stumbling and falling to the dirt. His body was shaking now, for reasons unknown to anypony but the two that had shown up with him. The ponies outside, confused by the activity inside, blanched when the little colt had collapsed in front of them.
He did not get up.
Before anypony else could help, two figures appeared on either side of him. Hammer Time and Sunny Day worked together, pushing the little colt onto the larger stallion's back. Pan was breathing softly, a slight trembling visible. His face was contorted as if he had eaten too many sweets, but he had not even had the chance to eat the confections.
Scootaloo managed to push her way out from the crowd just as the three new ponies started leaving. Behind her, the other two Crusaders struggled to keep up. They weren't as motivated as their orange pegasus friend. Scootaloo's eyes widened when she saw the colt's limp body being carried away from the party like an old sack. Without any hesitation, she ran ahead as fast as she could towards the retreating trio. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle lost track of their friend in the crowd, leaving Scootaloo to chase the new ponies on her own.
"Wait!" she shouted with whatever breath that wasn't being used to fuel her body. Up ahead of her, Hammer Time and Sunny Day turned around. The look of defeat in their eyes brought Scootaloo to a grinding halt. For close to a minute, the three ponies just silently watched each other. Once Scootaloo had gotten her breathing back to its normal rate, she continued. "Where are you going? What's wrong with him?" she demanded. The sight of his frail body being taken away so soon after the fall brought back memories of some of her own injuries. The two adult ponies looked at each other, legitimate surprised that somepony was asking them about him.
That's not supposed to happen, they both thought.
They gave Scootaloo one more look full of misery before turned back around and continuing back into town. Hammer Time remained silent, so Sunny took it upon herself to answer the inquisitive filly.
"He's sick," she said simply. Before Scootaloo could respond, the three ponies disappeared into the dark and out of sight. Scootaloo was left, hearing nothing but the gentle blowing of wind as it tussled her mane slightly. A leaf scuttled along the cobblestone road, but was unable to draw Scootaloo's attention away from where she had been looking when she lost track of them.
She promised herself.
She was going to help him. If he was sick, she would help. Whatever she could do, not matter how small, would be done.
That was the way of the Crusader.
"I'm sorry, Pan..." she muttered to herself before turning around and heading back to Sugarcube Corner.
scoot.exe has stopped working
Author's Note
"I...I don't understand...you said I wouldn't feel it here..." muttered the little blue colt from where he lay in his bed. The sheets covering him were warm, but that didn't stop the chills from shooting through him. A narrow beam of sunlight came in through a nearby window and hit his muzzle, causing him to scrunch it up cutely. Everything he went through still felt so weird. Walking was hard enough, but then trying to fly? His little wings still ached. It was such an alien feeling, having new muscles ache behind him.
He just hated that the only familiar feeling was the one he was trying to get away from.
Painful dizziness.
Above him, a large grey stallion sighed in helpless agitation. This wasn't supposed to be like this. Those whole reason that Sunny and he were here instead of the boy's parents was because they needed to be there to make sure nothing went wrong. Well, something had definitely gone wrong. It was just supposed to be a party! But no, that stupid blue pegasus just had to drop him from twelve feet in the air. She just had to run away, even when Pan was calling out for her. His condition just had to follow him here.
What had gone wrong? Somewhere, somehow, decisions were being made that were negatively affecting little Pan Cake.
"You shouldn't. I'm not sure why you can, it's supposed to be completely muted," Hammer answered. Pan stirred uncomfortably under his little blanket. He wanted to do it over again, without causing Dash to freak out over him. He didn't want to upset the ponies, he just wanted to talk to them. Maybe play with them a little...but now they would probably all see him as a sickly little hospital case.
"That's not the only thing we have to work on," Sunny piped up, coming into view next to Hammer. "Rainbow shouldn't have done something like that. And Scootaloo, the way she was behaving...something's definitely off." Pan perked up at the mention of Scootaloo. She had been pretty cool to him so far. Maybe she hadn't seen the whole episode he had? Maybe she would even want to take him out on her scooter at some point!
"Can I go outside?" the bedridden colt asked. The two adult ponies above him shared an uncertain look. They knew that something was unstable. But how unstable could it become? Was it just a little problem that would sort itself out?
"I don't think...that's the best-" Sunny began. Pan Cake cut her off, showing a surprising amount of irritation for one so young.
"Look, I'm not going to lay here in bed all day. I'm in Ponyville! Those are ponies outside! If you're just going to keep me here, then...then...just take me out and let me die in the hospital..." Pan squeaked angrily. Tears had formed halfway through his rant and had began streaming down his face. He hated this! He finally gets to go to the one place he wanted to see, and what happens? The same thing that happened back home. His body was keeping him from doing what he wanted. It was just so aggravating, being stuck inside himself like that...
Both of the adult ponies in the house with him flinched. A pang of guilt ran through them, causing them to look down at the floor together. They had once again forgotten the young boy's situation. They couldn't really understand what he was going through. When they presented the idea to him and his family, it was more of a project to them. Now, they weren't so sure.
"R-...er, Pan...I get it," Sunny said after a few moments of tense silence. "I know you're feeling trapped, and all of this has to be really dampening...but...there's something off with the sys-"
Knock Knock Knock
The three ponies all turned their attentions to the front door of their little cottage. Hammer's eyes widened at the same time as Sunny did a little nervous dance. Nopony dared make a sound.
After a few moments, they began to question whether or not they had even heard the sound the begin with. It could have just been another glitch in the-
Knock Knock Knock-THUMP!
"Ow!" came a raspy voice from outside. At the sound of Scootaloo's voice, the two older ponies cringed. Pan Cake, on the other hoof, was elated beyond belief. He started scrambling to untangle the sheets from around his little body, accidentally forgetting that he still didn't know how to use his legs all that well.
"It's her again..." Hammer whispered to his partner.
"I know...I know..." Sunny responded, her legs starting to tremble. What did the little orange filly want? What was she going to do to get what she wanted? Better question, how did she know where to find them?
"It's!-UMF-Scoota-UGH-loo!-OW!" Pan tried to say as he hobbled to the door. In his elated state, he forgot to pay as much attention to his walking, resulting in him falling every few steps. With every thump of his body on the floor, the two adults flinched. Before he could manage to reach the door, Hammer stood in his way. Pan looked up at the towering stallion and glared at him. The little colt's muzzle was leaking some blood from having been smashed into the floor repeatedly.
"Pan...I really don't think that-"
A series of thumps leading around him and to the door let Hammer know that he was being ignored. The door clicked and opened before he or Sunny could stop it. On the other side of the wooden barrier stood three fillies. One of those fillies, namely the orange one named Scootaloo, was the cause of a great amount of fear that was shooting through the two adult ponies.
The Crusaders were smiling when Pan opened the door, but their grins were quickly replaced with looks of concern when they saw the poor state of the little colt's muzzle. Sweetie Belle, being slightly more unnerved around blood than the other two fillies, backed away slightly. Pan noticed her moving away and tilted his head.
"Hey, Sweetie Belle, you okay?" he asked. The little white filly quickly nodded her head, giving him a sheepish smile. Pan looked at her for a moment longer before shrugging and smiling at them again. "What's up?"
"Well...we were just wondering if you would like to come out with us and do some...things?" Scootaloo said, her voice getting higher as she watched Pan's expression brighten. By the time she finished asking him, he was looking like he had just won the lottery. The fillies didn't know, but the little colt pretty much had. Still ignoring the blood dripping from his nose, the little colt began moving his head up and down rapidly. A few droplets of crimson were flung off, making Sweetie back up even more.
"Y-yes! YA-I mean, uh...s-sure. That sounds...cool," Pan corrected his over-enthusiasm. His eyes then wandered over to a large box on top of Apple Bloom's back. "Whacha got there, Apple Bloom?"
The red-maned filly in question blinked a few times when she heard her name. A bunch of questions were still buzzing around her head, the most common being 'How does he know our names?' They hadn't exactly gotten a chance to introduce themselves last night. Pinkie Pie had stolen him away as soon as she heard what his name was.
"Uhh...jus' some cake from the party," she responded. "Ya kinda left really early." Pan nodded and looked down to the ground, a shiver running through his body. He didn't want to talk about it with the Crusaders. He had just wanted to be a pony around other ponies. Was that too much to ask? His condition apparently thought so. Pan really didn't want the three fillies thinking of him as a sickly little rat. Scootaloo noticed his shift in mood and got the hint.
"Hey, it's okay. Stuff happens, right?" the pegasus filly offered. Pan shot her a thankful glance and nodded.
"Mhmm. So...we got cake. What were you planning on doing today?" he asked curiously. The three fillies gave each other a smirk before turning it to Pan. The deviousness in their eyes made the colt take a nervous step back. Had he just asked them the wrong question?
"Wellll~ you know who we are, right? I mean, you've already called us by our names, even though we never actually told you," Scootaloo said, grinning. Pan Cake's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking. How could he have been so careless? He had only talked to a few ponies, and already they were catching on! Panic coursed through Pan's mind, triggering a colt sweat to begin covering his body.
"Uhm...y-yeah...?" the nervous colt replied. The three fillies just smiled wider.
"That must mean that the Crusader name is spreading! Our Manehattan branch has to be doing something right!" Scootaloo cheered. The idea of being known all over Equestria was amazing to the her. Pan just stared at her, unsure of how to respond. He quickly noticed his chance to cover his tracks and took it.
"Oh, yeah, mhmm! Heard about you from Babs!" he assured the three. They returned his explanation with another excited smile. The nervous feeling he had quickly melted away at how happy he had made the trio in front of him. It was replaced by a warm tingle that felt almost as alien as the body he was in.
He saw a bit of movement from Sweetie Belle's direction, so he turned to look at her. She was indeed talking to him, but the strangest thing was happening: no sound was coming out. Her lips were moving and she was emoting like she knew what she was saying, but Pan Cake couldn't hear anything. He gave her a confused look that she ignored. The other two Crusaders nodded and smiled along. Apparently, they could hear what she was saying. The next thing he knew, he was being looked at expectantly. What, was he supposed to answer her?
"Uh...sure...?" he guessed. The three fillies did a jump for joy right there in front of the door, somehow keeping the cake from falling. Pan Cake just gulped nervously, unaware of what he had just agreed to. Knowing them, it was probably something to do with his lack of a cutie mark, but there was always that chance of being wrong. Oh, he hoped it was just them asking him to go Crusading with them. They already had their cutie marks, so they could focus entirely on what he wanted to do. He wasn't about to go participating in some of their earlier attempts, that was for sure.
"Well, what're y'all waitin' fer? C'mon!" Apple Bloom cheered, reaching forward and tugging Pan out from the doorway. Again, the cake remained stable. How did they do that?
Before closing the door behind the little colt, Scootaloo looked in at the two older ponies. They gave her a nervous smile, raising her suspicions greatly. She narrowed her eyes a little before raising her hoof and moving it in the 'I'm watching' gesture. As soon as the door closed, Hammer Time and Sunny Day let out the large amount of air they had both been holding in.
"Whew...ugh...what the hell is going on?" Hammer complained, rubbing his forehead with his hoof. "How did they even know where we are? Why are they being so nosy?" Sunny just gave the floor a grim look.
"Not only that...did you hear what Sweetie said?" she asked solemnly. Hammer just gave her a questioning look.
"Uh, no? She didn't say anything," he responded.
"Exactly. She didn't say anything last night, either. But she just tried...did we forget to add a voice for her?" she asked. Hammer just shrugged to himself. Why did that even matter? They had bigger problems than a mute filly.
"So what if we did?"
"WHAT?! Paul, if something as obvious as a main character's voice is missing, what else could be? And the way that orange one looked at us...I'm...I'm scared. This might have been a mistake," Sunny stuttered, her eyes darting around quickly. She half-expected Scootaloo to burst back into the room and get her. Hammer just snorted through his nose.
"You know I can just check her status, right? Here, let me..." the stallion said before his eyes glazed over. Sunny stood there patiently for a few minutes, watching the frozen pony in front of her. He didn't move a single muscle, but that's because he wasn't even there at the time. The short amount of time for him to return still felt like an eternity to the yellow mare. Finally, he blinked awake once more. Sunny was immediately on top of him, demanding answers.
"So? What did you find? Is she-" she started, but the nervous look in Hammer's eyes stopped her. A large lump grew in her throat, halting her words. He cleared his throat before answering her.
"I...well, I fixed Sweetie's voice. I could have sworn it was there before...the file was just plain missing, though. As for Scoot...I...I can't access her files," he admitted, looking to the floor. Sunny's eyes grew wider and her panic grew.
"W-what...? Buh-...but why?" she asked weakly, her legs beginning to tremble. Hammer took a moment to lick his lips, unsure about how he was supposed to explain the situation they were in. With a breath and trembling sigh, he continued.
"She...she hasn't been working properly since last night. She stopped responding entirely. Sunny, we...we don't have control over her," he said softly, trying to keep his voice from shaking. The color drained from Sunny's face. She barely even resembled a sun anymore. It took her awhile to spit out any words, with the implications running through her head.
"S-so...she..." she stuttered.
"Yes. Her A.I. is making its own decisions. We can't even reset her right now," the larger stallion confirmed. Sunny just stared at him.
"...What do...I...w-what now...?" she asked, her entire body trembling now. Hammer looked out the window just in time to see the four fillies disappear out of sight. Whatever they could do, they would have to do it fast. If Scoot's A.I. somehow latched onto Pan while he was in here...they wouldn't be able to remove him. The system would freeze.
"I think...I think we need Laura."
****
"So...what are we doing, then?" Pan asked once they had gotten far enough away from the dreadful duo. As thankful as he was for Sunny and Hammer for what they were doing for him, he also saw them as the thing holding him back. With whatever time he had left, he was not going to spend it waiting for it to be safe. What the hell did it matter if it was safe? The end result would still be the same for him...
Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion as she watched him. All he did was ask a question, and already he was looking upset about something. Was he still sick? They probably should have asked if he was better before taking him out. Now that she thought about it...what was that whole thing last night? He looked like he had fainted!
"Well, we're going to help you find your special talent!" squeaked Sweetie Belle. The sudden presence of a voice shocked the little colt, causing him to jump to the side. The other three just looked at him. Pan watched Sweetie's mouth for a moment before shaking his head and chuckling sheepishly.
"Sorry...uh, what first?" he asked, trying to deflect any further questions.
"That depends. We don't really know anything about you yet," explained Scootaloo. "What're you into?" The question made Pan actually have to stop and think. What was he into? He pondered what he had enjoyed so far in his life for a minute or so, the fillies waiting patiently for an answer. They were used to this stage. Ponies Pan's age and younger often didn't really know what they liked, or if they did, didn't consider it worthy of being a special talent. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo knew that feeling all too well.
"Hm...well, I like music...and making things...and, uh...video games?" he answered, unsure of himself. Did they have video games in Equestria? Then he remembered the arcade machine in that Hearts and Hooves Day episode. So, yeah, video games existed. Just not the ones he was used to. The three fillies nodded, taking in every piece of information he managed to give them.
"Okay, music. D'ya play any instir-mints?" Apple Bloom asked. Pan Cake already knew what they were getting at, and he knew it was doomed to fail.
"Sorry, I've tried actually playing before, but...I stink at it..." he sighed dejectedly.
"Which one? Maybe a differ-" Sweetie tried to reason.
"All of them. Strings, winds, percussion, everything. I mostly just like listening..." Pan admitted sadly. He really would have liked to be able to play something, but even with hands, instruments were his undoing. Everything he touched ended up either breaking or sounding like a dying cow. He wasn't exactly fond of the idea of a dead cow staining his butt. Scootaloo closed her one eye tightly, her teeth squishing her tongue gently in thought.
"Okay, so music is out, for now. What about making things? What do you like making?" the orange filly inquired, looking around to the colt behind her. Pan looked down, his mind tripping over itself as he tried to recall what things he had enjoyed making. Memories of the random arts and crafts crawled to the front of his head.
"I like...well, I was an okay drawer..." Pan informed the three Crusaders. They nodded at this excitedly, already thinking of where to get the necessary materials. The colt's face grew grim again as he looked down at his hooves. His random mood changes were starting to seriously concern Scootaloo. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle didn't really seem to notice.
"You sure you're okay?" she asked again, moving to him and lifting his head with her hoof. He took a step back at the sudden contact. When he saw that she was touching him, a faint blush crept onto his cheeks. With a quick shake of his head, Pan pulled himself back into the situation he was in. He knew he had to stop drifting off, but it wasn't like he could help it.
"Mhmm. Just thinking," he assured her. Scootaloo looked over at Apple Bloom to see what she thought of his response, but the earth pony filly didn't seem bothered. That comforted Scoot somewhat; if anypony could tell when somepony else was lying, it was a member of the Apple family. Something he said suddenly hit the purple-maned pegasus.
"Hold on, why 'was a good drawer'?" she asked him, her head tilting in confusion. Pan instantly grew panicked. His eyes darted around at the three fillies, trying to quickly come up with an excuse. Apple Bloom and Sweetie grew just as curious as Scootaloo once his error had been pointed out.
He was so careless! Barely twenty minutes into hanging out with three of his favorite filly characters and already they were suspicious of him! Why were they being so nosy? Hammer had said that they were programmed to be as agreeable as possible! They weren't supposed to be so suspicious!
"A-ahm...uh...I mean, I...I'm still a good drawer. I w-was just talking about...before I moved here," Pan Cake stuttered out. Scootaloo's eyes narrowed into a piercing glare. What Pan said would have been a decent explanation...if he hadn't said it like he was making it up on the spot. Why did he have so much trouble spitting it out? It wasn't that hard of a question for him to answer.
"Oookaaaay...soooo do you want to try drawing?" Scootaloo said, her eyes still locked with the sweating pegasus colt. She was answered by a succession of quick nods. She turned her head once more to check with Apple Bloom, but only found the apple farmer smiling along. If Apple Bloom was sated, then so was she.
Before they could take another step, they were interrupted by mint green body plopping itself down next to Pan Cake. The colt, still jumpy from his prior interrogation, hopped to the side when his personal space was suddenly invaded. He even made a peep sound that got a giggle out of Sweetie Belle. Pan looked up at the intruder and froze.
"M-Miss Laura?" he stuttered out. The minty unicorn just smiled kindly down at him and rustled his mane a bit with her hoof.
"Nah, silly! It's Lyra! Lyra Heartstrings, that is. So, you're the new arrival, huh? Sorry I didn't get to go to the party last night, Octy had a rehearsal she would not let me miss," Lyra said in her usual bubbly tone. The Crusaders just watched, completely at a loss of how they should react to such a sudden interruption. They couldn't just pull Pan away; Lyra was an adult and it would be rude. Why was she getting so close to him, though? Lyra looked around at the girls, seemingly surprised to see them there. "Awe, hey girls! Whatcha up to? Trying to get him his cutie mark?" she asked.
"Uh...yep. Normal Crusader business, as usual," Scootaloo responded. The minty mare nodded along and smiled at her.
"Neat! Hey, I don't mean to pull you away from your little friend here, but can I borrow him for a bit? I want to give him my very own Ponyville welcome!" Lyra asked with the kindest expression possible written on her face.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shrugged, still smiling, but Scootaloo didn't move. She sensed that something was...off with the lyre player. She couldn't remember Lyra being so open and friendly before; she usually just kept to herself and only started acting friendly if somepony started talking to her. Plus, Scootaloo couldn't even remember the last time Lyra welcomed a pony to Ponyville. What was going on?
"Uh...no. No, that's fine," Scootaloo assured her. Lyra just beamed at the trio and stood up, taking Pan with her as she did. Scootaloo flinched when she looked at the confused little colt; he looked slightly scared, like he was expecting to get punished for something. Okay, something was definitely up with Miss Heartstrings. And why had Pan called her 'Miss Laura' when he saw her?
"C'mon, Pan! Let me show you where I live with Octavia!" Lyra cheered, encouraging the colt to follow her. Scootaloo froze. Lyra had just called Pan Cake by his name, when she had previous expressed that he was completely new to her. How did she know what his name was? It could have been told to her by somepony else, but that still didn't make sense. Why hadn't she said his name sooner? She almost seemed like she was trying...to hide that she knew his name.
Pan Cake followed along obediantely, but not without turning to give a longing look at the three fillies he was leaving behind. The pain in his eyes...it tore at Scootaloo's heart. Why was he so sad? If Lyra was truly just showing him around, then why the pain?
Something was wrong. The orange filly could tell, with or without Apple Bloom's help.
Lyra turned around a little way down the road and stared at the Crusaders for a moment, judging their reactions. She was happy to see the Bloom and Belle acting nonchalantly, but Scootaloo...the glare the orange filly was giving her made her stop in her tracks. Lyra's eyes narrowed to match the gaze she was receiving.
"Found the glitch..." Lyra said softly to herself, her voice going unnoticed by the little colt walking ahead of her.
scoot.exe had stopped responding
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Author's Note
