//-------------------------------------------------------// A Warm Welcome -by Vahkii- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 (Prologue) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 (Prologue) This paragraph is an explanation of the story and why I'm writing this. Not reading this will not affect understanding the story for anypony. Skip this paragraph to go straight to ponies. This is a ponyfied story that was a big part of my life, starting at the beginning of high school. I had no friends, but the transition from middle school to high school changed that. Vahkii has graduated into a music career at the time the story starts, but in relevance to myself, I am just entering high school about to make my first friends. They had all come to me and introduced themselves. Vahkii being me, and the mane 6 being strangers who turned into my future best friends. This is the ponyfied story as a tribute to them for changing my life around, but it is for everyone to read and enjoy as any other story. -- Vahkii is sitting by himself on the train. He's happy just to be out of Las Pegasus. He always hated that city, the unfriendly population, the uneccessary crowdedness, everything. He hated it all. Ponyville was his destination, he read several articles about the ponies who've moved there from all around Equestria, and every one of them is still happily living there. He kept those articles with him, and they were setting on the table in front of his seat. Being able to see them and re read them gave him more faith in this new place. It will be a long ride, estimating to last through the night. Vahkii had already been on the train for almost a full day now. He noticed he was thinking back to his old home, and tried to take his mind off of Las Pegasus again. Vahkii is always lost in thought, and usually he can't catch himself to break out of it. But he wanted happier thoughts. He thought about what he knew of the town so far, not much. But he knows he will have his own house. It's close to the towns' bakery and right across the road from the most popular bar. His train of thought is broken by the train steward coming up to him before they shut down the bar and stop selling refreshments. "No thank you, just, wake me up when we hit Ponyville okay?" He asked, hearing his own voice trail off made him realize he was more tired than he felt. "Sure thing sir! Have a good night!" The pony said as she went to the next passenger for the same question. Drifting off into sleep wasn't very hard, the movement and sounds from the train made it easier for him. He doens't have to worry about missing his stop, so he can sleep and rest all he can for his big day tomorrow. He's never lived alone before. He had both parents back in Las Pegasus, even though they never cared much for him. He's still a bit nervous, no matter how happy he feels from leaving that awful city. He just hopes ponies don't bully him and treat him like they have his whole life. He hopes for a change, I mean, this place is supposed to be the friendliest, right?... -- //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 (Intro) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 (Intro) A voice was calmly talking to Vahkii as he started to wake up. "Sir? You asked me to tell you when we have arrived in Ponyville, and we're here!" "Hm? Oh, right. Thank you miss." Vahkii replied as he got up and grabbed his belongings. He then exited the train. There was one small building with a few wagons outside, and a path going into the distance, where he can see what is supposed to be Ponyville. Other ponies were taking wagons themselves, but he's going to walk. It's not that far, it's exercise, and it's free. He guesses the time is right before noon, the sun is high in the sky, but not about to start setting just yet. He starts to follow the dirt path, walking somewhat slow. He's still waking up. It would be faster to take a wagon, but he'd probably fall back asleep before they got halfway. As Vahkii gets a good distance into the trail, the walk starts to wake him up the rest of the way, and he realizes how hungry he is. The wagons are now starting their way back to the train station from the distance. He didn't eat at all on the train, so he quickens his pace a little, hopes are high for a good lunch. Las Pegasus had a lot of very good food places, and he's heard that small towns usually have a few places that are good. It sets his hopes high as he's going to be living here, and doesn't want to eat bad food and have to cook for himself every night. He was getting pretty close now, walking for maybe fifteen minutes, just walking and spacing out into thought, like always. He can start to see signs on buildings, but there are no words, just symbols. One he assumes is a restaurant, as ponies are sitting outside eating at tables, but the sign was what looked like a sandwich next to a sun with a smile on it. As he gets closer, he smells that food, and decides to go get lunch before stopping at his house to settle in. He orders a simple daffodil sandwich, and found that it doesn't take fancy food to be good tasting. And it wasn't that expensive for being so filling. He'll just have to remember where this place is and the sign, as they don't have words, and the streets aren't labeled and organized. This place seems like it belongs in the movies. It doesn't seem real to him. There was hardly anypony in the streets and the restaurant wasn't that populated. Everyone had smiles on their face, and the whole town was quiet and peaceful. Of course, he was used to one of the most crowded cities in Equestria, but he never expected it to be this small. He pays for his meal, and decides to go put his stuff away at home, unsure of what to do after that. He never really planned anything, he just wanted to get here. His house wasn't too far from the restaurant and he tried to remember the way back. His house was near the end of the road, but he couldn't find the bar. Something very loud was down the street, and ponies were outside of a building just a street down from here. Taking a better look at his house, it was two stories, and looked really dark and empty. Nopony was living there now, as he moves in. He unlocks  the door and goes inside, barely able to see anything. All the blinds were closed. He shuts and locks the door behind him, setting down his stuff to his side. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4 (Climax and Fall) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4 (Climax and Fall) Vahkii follows Pinkie Pie down the street, that loud noise from earlier is growing. He saw ponies outside partying before, but now there were a lot more, and he assumes that what he saw before was when his party started. "Now that I think about it, I've never been able to call a party my own before. I've never even been to a party. There's so many ponies here too. This just doesn't seem right..." The doors to the bakery were held open, and Vahkii could see that there were even more ponies inside. The music was loud enough to be heard halfway down the street, but getting up closer he's surprised he can still hear himself talk. As the two approach the front yard area, some ponies that were outside cheer and wave at him. Pinkie runs up and into the bakery, yelling "Hey everypony! I found him!" Pinkie turns around and sees that he's still waiting outside, like he's too shy to come into the party. She runs back and starts pulling him around. She pulls him up to just about everypony that was outside, introducing them and then pulling him around again. "This is Carrot Top! Now come here! This is Octavia and this is Lyra. Oo! Over here! This is Cheerilee!" She is kind of yelling, even though she doesn't have to. "Hold on Pinkie! You're telling me their names for them and not telling them mine?" "Well we all already know your name silly! That's why we're here!" "Okay, well that seems like a fast introduction to get to know somepony." "Oh well we have a lot of people to meet and their all my friends so you'll see them quite often. You should come meet my best friends! They'll love to meet you!" "Who?" Vahkii barely starts his sentence when Pinkie pulls him off to the side of the party, where five other mares are sitting at a table. "And these are my best friends Vahkii! This is Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack!" "Umm, nice to meet you." Vahkii gets that out before blushing. He's never had to do anything like this before, and to a bunch of cute mares he's never met. Pinkie Pie pushes him into a seat, and then sits down herself. "It's nice to meet you Vahkii. That's quite an interesting name. I'm Twilight! I run the library here. If you ever need a book come see me." "Umm, well. I'm Fluttershy. I just take care of all my pets and animals." "Yeah, she's the shy one. I'm the cool one. Name's Rainbow Dash. I control the weather around here, but I can do just about anything twenty percent better than other pegasi. You need something? I can do it." "My name is Rarity. And I must agree with Twilight, I've never heard of a name like that before. Dash is quite the boaster, but she's good at what she does. I run the most popular fashion boutique here. If you ever need something made just let me know." "And I'm Applejack. I run my farm, Sweet Apple Acres down the road. If you're looking for good food, come see me or come here and see Pinkie Pie." "They introduce themselves, and ask me if I need any favors? Why? What have I done for them? I thought Pinkie was crazy, but they're taking being nice really far. Can I say no? Would that offend them? I'm even more confused. It went from one word greetings to this,.. what do I do?" They were all looking at him, as if waiting for answers. Pinkie Pie broke the silence, "He likes to think to himself, just give him a minute. He kept doing this when I went to grab him." Vahkii decided he had to say something, "No it's fine. I've just never had any friends, so I've never introduced myself. And I just got here and you're asking if I need anything from you already. I'm just confused. I make music, and I have my stuff at my house. My name is unique and my parents never told me why they gave it to me." Fluttershy looked out from her bangs for the first time so far, "No,.. friends?" "Well, I'm sorry about that. But now you got us right? We're all your friends now!" Rainbow Dash interrupted her. "Yeah. I've never had a friend. Or been to a party. This all seems so new and it doesn't seem right. It's making me nervous. I didn't know I could learn your names and call you my friends just like that." "Well, why not? We don' really have enemies, so what do you want us to call you sugarcube? We just make it a habit to be friends with everypony 'round here. Why not avoid conflicts? Nopony wants to deal with things like that." "No, enemies? You mean like bullies? I'm sorry, I'm just confused. There's too much going on at once." Vahkii said, now tilting his head down. "Would you rather go someplace quieter than this? I don't really enjoy music this loud or crowded myself. We could go to Horsia's for some wine and have a more peaceful environment." Rarity said. "Umm, yeah. That would be better. Less crowded..." Vahkii mumbled. "No, bullies? No enemies? Just everypony is everyponies friend? That doesn't make sense. That's unheard of! How can that be right? They only knew my name and they are asking me to have favors ready for them? Something can't be right here..." Pinkie Pie blurts out, as she watches Vahkii's face become even more confused, "I think we broke him.." "But we do this for everypony. When you did this for me, yes I thought you were crazy, but I didn't change. We're all friends now right?" Twilight added. "Yeah, I'm fine don't worry. I get lost in thought all the time. I never talk out loud cause I havn't had any friends. We should go to that quieter place." They all get up and head outside, heading back towards where his house is. But they lead him across the road to the bar, they called Horsia's. Inside is a big room, with a bar along the wall, and a dining area full of tables on the other. The middle was a dance floor with a small DJ stage, empty. Everypony was at the party, only ponies here were the ones that worked here. All of them besides Rainbow Dash sit down at a larger table. Rainbow Dash comes back floating over with a tray of full shotglasses, two wine glasses, and one bottle of wine. "If you've never partied, then you've never gone to a bar I take it. So, I'll start you off with this. Try one of these shots. The wine's for Rarity and Fluttershy but they'll probably share if you prefer that. Just try to relax and take it slow." "And honey, just so that you understand," Rarity started. "Pinkie Pie really is that outgoing, and a bit crazy. There are times when we don't understand her, or even each other. It just happens that way. It's not just you Vahkii. It wouldn't be possible to agree with everypony on everything." Twilight brought herself into the conversation, "Indeed. But sometimes you just need to take it slow and relax. It really does help. That's why I started going to the spa with Rarity and Fluttershy." Pinkie Pie put on a fake sad face, "Now you're making me sound like the bad pony!" "No we ain't sugarcube," Applejack butted in, "You know we all love you. You just don't always explain yourself." Vahkii just sat there and listened to them. "Is this what having friends is like? You can just sit here and talk and laugh? This is wonderful. I've only had one drink, so that's not why my nervousness is leaving. I can feel it though, the panic from confusion is leaving. This feels great. Why did everypony bully me before? Wouldn't this feel better?" "I, just have a question for you all. Why would you be so nice to somepony you don't know? I just got here and already had Pinkie waiting for me in my own house. It just seems to good to make so many friends in two hours." The six all share a glance between themselves, and burst out laughing. Twilight breaks the laugh and answers him. "You must have had a real bad time where you came from, or it was just unlucky to meet only mean ponies. All of us are welcoming and friendly here. It took me awhile to believe it too. I had hardly any friends before I came here, except Spike and the princess. I would always be studying. But to conclude the last conversation, Pinkie doesn't always make sense, but her intentions are well and things have always ended up working out. You just gotta go out of your comfort zone for awhile and it will change you." "Okay, you all seem to be telling the truth. I did come from an unlucky bunch of ponies to have been around. I never had any friends in Las Pegasus, and my parents never did anything special for me, just cook my food and give me a roof over my head. They never spent time with me or anything. Everypony was a bully to me, but friends like this with each other. My teacher didn't even like me, and tried to make me drop out of school. I had the law on my side, but it still upsets me that even a teacher tried to do that. That's why when I got here it felt the same when nopony was outside and about, I was alone at lunch. But then Pinkie was in my own house, and then this started. It's all so new to me. But you all are just so nice, I had found it unbelievable. I'm sorry that I just went into a story of my life, but I don't know what else to say. You guys really have changed how I can see ponies now. Thanks." "It's really no big deal sugarcube, we've done this for every new pony that moves here. It's just, none have had such bad luck in their life before. Your welcome, helpin' ponies is what we try to do." Applejack cut off his story unintentionally, because he seemed to be wrapping it up anyway. "But we meant what we said darling," Rarity added. "If you need us for anything, we'll be here for you as friends. If you need to learn the magic of friendship, you're not too far behind Twilight here. That's why she moved into Ponyville. You could ask to read some of her letters that she sends to Princess Celestia." "If you wanted to come by sometime, I have most of them in my room. I could ask Celestia to send some of the more recent ones back if you really wanted to. I've learned a lot since I got here, and you should try to as well. It really is rewarding." "Yeah! We totally understand if that's what you need." Rainbow Dash came in, "And I'm sorry to hear about your experience growing up in Las Pegasus, I've been there before several times, and it was a good experience for me. But we have been kinda all over you today. Do you want to be left alone to think all this over? It's a lot in one day when Pinkie throws you a party. We could try to  pull you into our group slower if it would make you feel better." "Thanks, all of you. I've never had anypony care about my feelings this much before. It was a lot at once, but now that I've gotten to know a bit more of you and your personalities, it's easier. I was just suspicious that you were all being too nice to try and hide something from me. Using the unusual kindness to cover it up, I mean." Once again they all share a look with each other and laugh, but shorter this time. "Well I'm out of wine now we've been sitting here so long," Rarity added, her voice had a slightly intoxicated feel, but not too much. "I mean, it was worth it and the conversation was wonderful, but do you want to stay here? Go back to the party? Just go home?" "If I went back to meet ponies, I would do it for a real introduction and not just getting the name and being pulled around again." "Sorry about that." Pinkie said. "I was just so excited, I had no idea you just got out of going through that kind of life. I wanted to make you happy and feel welcome here. You could have more of a chance now. If you're too shy to meet somepony on your own, I can still help you." The mood was more mellow now, as Pinkie didn't seem sugar-high before like she did. Either it was the alcohol or his story, it felt more relaxed. "Some ponies have probably gone home anyway, it will be less crazy now. I have to start cleaning up for my parents so that we won't have a mess for baking in the morning. I'm gonna go back, but you don't all have to come back if you don't want to." Pinkie got up from the table, and hopped over to the door, instead of walking. "Well," Vahkii started, "I am quite tired, and it's only dinner time. I should go home and set up my house before I pass out. So that tomorrow I can just get to do what I want instead of worrying about unpacking. I feel quite euphoric, so that should overwhelm the sleepyness for now. I'll see you all sometime soon then?" "Yup, you know where to find us all, or you can ask somepony for directions. Everypony in town knows us by now, so it shouldn't be too hard for yah." Applejack said. "We'll see you soon then Vahkii." She got up and left the table. Rainbow Dash followed her. "It was nice meeting you, I hope you can enjoy being here compared to Las Pegasus now. See ya!" "Fluttershy and I are going to go to the spa, and Twilight if you want to come. Being in Sugarcube Corner with that many ponies made me sweaty just sitting around. I need to go for a bit." "Yeah, I'll come. Have a nice night Vahkii. Remember, you know where to find us if you need us." Twilight added as she got up and proceeded to follow Fluttershy and Rarity out. He gets up himself, his suspicions and worries gone. He actually has friends now! Outside, he sees the mares each going different ways, and he just heads across the road to his house. Inside, the lights are still on, and his bags on the floor next to him. Not too much to unpack anyway, just need to set up my mixing table and my bed. After setting up his music station he heads to the only room upstairs; his bedroom. He can finally explore his house with no Pinkie Pie pushing him out the door. "Only one worry left. I hope that they weren't just friendly on the first day 'cause I moved in. I hope they stay friends with me as days pass. I'm tired though. I didn't realize I only had one thing to unpack, and my bed looks pretty comfy..." Vahkii climbs onto his bed, and lays down. The sun is only just about to set. He decides he'll go to bed early so that he can wake up early and get started sooner in the morning, as he's a heavy sleeper. It's not that difficult to pass out, it was quiet, and his window was open. The small breezes felt nice, and weren't too cold. He passes out peacefully, and sleeps until morning. -- //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5 (Ending and Epilogue) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5 (Ending and Epilogue) Vahkii is woken up by a cool breeze in the mid morning air. His window stayed open all night. He easily gets up and wakes up, excited to get the day going. He immediately runs downstairs and outside. The weather is perfect. It's cool, with a nice breeze flowing, and the sun tells him it's still early. He decides to take a walk around and see what Ponyville has to offer. The housing was mixed in with businesses and restaurants, which he liked. He didn't have to walk too far for anything. He notices a bunch of places, and a market for food. As he comes around that restaurant he was at yesterday and had a sandwich, he sees the group of friends sitting and conversing, only halfway done eating. Rainbow notices him, and beckons him over. "This really is what I wanted! They really are kind and friendly." (He joins them and sits at the table, still lost in thought) "If this is what having a lot of friends is like, I wanna be like Pinkie and be friends with everypony here." He continues to be lost in thought about how happy he is. He smiles and laughs to himself. When he comes back to reality he finds them all just looking at him quietly. He didn't notice they stopped talking. "You gonna talk with us or just sit there all quiet like?" Applejack asked him. "Yeah, what are you talking about?" Vahkii replied. And he joined in the conversation. This really did turn out different than expected, but he likes where it ended him up. -- Epilogue; Vahkii is in the library, checking out Twilight's letters to Princess Celestia. Twilight herself is re-organizing with Spike, putting books back on their shelves. Fluttershy and Rarity are looking through romance novels. Rainbow is over on a pillow reading magazines. Applejack is sitting next to her with her hat over her eyes, probably napping. Pinkie Pie is in Twilight's kitchen, baking cupcakes. He's been living here for a month now, and he hangs out regularly with his friends. He knows a lot of other ponies here as friends, but these six are his best friends, who he spends time with the most. He's the only colt in the group, but he doesn't really care. They all accept him. They have started going to Horsia's every Saturday night, the night that Vinyl Scratch DJ's a small show. He's been wanting to talk to her and see if his music making could help her. Vahkii still occasionally thinks back to how his life was before. Looking at how it's changed for him, what could he want now, or even dare to ask for? His thoughts are broken by Pinkie Pie nudging him with a tray of cupcakes, extra frosting on top. He takes one and eats it all in one bite, he's enjoyed all of her cooking, and Applejack's too. As Pinkie goes around giving the cupcakes to them, they put the books down and the seven meet up in a circle of pillows where Rainbow Dash and Applejack are. They all sit, enjoying the cupcakes, and some start to talk about what to do next. Vahkii looks out the window, another beautiful day, with Winter about to come. He continues his thoughts from before Pinkie gave him the cupcake, but she immediately jumps between him and the window, right in his face. "How many times are you gonna drift off a day?" She asks him. All he can do is smile and shake his head. "What? I was being serious! That's like, all you ever do! Are we too boring that you have to talk to yourself everyday? Helloooo?!?" The others laugh when they realize that Vahkii is just messing with her now, and he's just being quiet on purpose. "This couldn't have turned out any better. A warm welcome indeed." -- After notes; This was just the way I decided to make the intro. Yes, I've heard it's unoriginal. Sure, whatever. I'll keep this story going, but right now unsure if it should be episodic or one long tale. I plan on continuing this as a slice of life, adventure, or romance depending on feedback. I can try dark but no gore. All help and critique is accepted. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3 (Build Up) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3 (Build Up) Not wanting to wait for his eyes to adjust, he turns on some lights. He immediately jumps back in fright as he sees there is a pink mare standing in the middle of his living room, just looking at him and standing there. She laughs when he jumped back, and starts to approach him. "Finally you're here! I was told we had a new pony moving in and I wanted to meet you so I got here after the train did but you never came so I waited inside because I got cold and now you're here! I'm Pinkie Pie and I throw parties for every new pony here!" Vahkii just sits, half shocked, half not knowing what to think. He can barely understand what she's saying, she talks so fast, as if it was all one sentence. His door was locked when he got here, so how did she get in? Why was anypony waiting for him? "Hello?? Are you ready to party and meet everypony in town or not? We've been partying for like an hour now waiting!" "Did she just say she already started a party for me? I havn't been here for an hour. What's going on? And how did she even get in here!?" "Umm, Pinkie you said? How did you get in here? And why are you here?" "I told you silly I got cold so I came inside and I've been watiing to bring you to your own party! Now let's go!" "Well, where is this party?" "It's at my place! Sucarcube Corner! The bakery down the street!" "This mare is crazy, waiting in my own house for me. What am I supposed to do?" "How has the party been going for an hour when I got off the train maybe forty-five minutes ago?" "We knew you were coming and we couldn't wait! Everypony loves my parties! I was trying to bring you here earlier mister take all day, but you just now showed up!" "Everypony loves her parties? She seems like she's telling the truth with everything she says. Should I just believe her and go along with this? Maybe she's just a bit bold with how she gets things done? I'm so confused, still." "Hey are you gonna keep thinking to yourself or are you gonna come party and get to know everypony in town?" Pinkie Pie was now right in his face with her head tilted, like she was trying to push him out his door. "Alright, take me to this party. I just hope that she's not being too friendly for a reason, and she really is this ridiculous."