The Syndrome Playlist

BLOW THE ROOF – FLUX PAVILLION

"So, band practice, huh?"

Sunset gives me a sheepish grin. Rarity recomposes herself before explaining, "Yes, well, we had to come up with some excuse. Pinkie required our help in setting up this party."

I shrug. "Fair enough. I'm just shocked the seven people I formally met today are all best friends. Now I don't have to worry about you guys running into people you know that I don't know."

"What's that mean?" asks Applejack.

"Well, there's always that awkward moment where I'll just stand there now knowing what to do while you catch up with, ahem, your friends."

Twilight looks at me oddly, saying, "Why can't you just talk…"

Rainbow Dash interrupts, "You only met seven people today?"

"Yeah, well, that's good for me. I'm not the most graceful social butterfly. My original plan was to mumble incoherently at my classmates before going home and crying in the shower fully clothed."

With a concerned look, Fluttershy joins the conversation. She speaks just loud enough for me to hear over the music, but quiet enough that I'm not entirely sure I heard her. "Do you actually cry in the shower fully clothed? That's sad." Though she refuses to make eye contact, it's nice to see we're moving past this morning. Course, I have to reroute my brain to recognize that no, Fluttershy wasn't saying that sarcastically. I have a tendency to overthink things, especially what other people say.

"I don't actually do that, Fluttershy," I say. "I just cry in the shower without clothes like everyone else."

The girls laugh at that, except Fluttershy, who just smiles softly at her feet.

I almost fall onto my face as Pinkie jumps and latches onto my back. "Alex, come play Pin-the-tail-on-the-Pony! It's the bestest party game EVER! You'll have so much fun!"

"Uh, pin-the-tail…? You know what, I'm good, Pinkie. Think I'm gonna just talk to everyone here."

Pinkie pokes her head over the top of mine so I'm looking into her eyes upside-down. "Everyone?" she asks.

I sigh before clarifying, "Not everyone, no. Just the main six here. You can join in too if you'd like."

Pinkie shakes her head. "I've gotta go make sure this party is super-duper fun for everyone else! I'll be back in a jiffy."

The sudden disappearance of Pinkie off my back does the trick. I fall flat onto my face while the girls giggle at the antics. Getting up, I look at them. "Is she always that energetic?"

Everyone nods. "Yeah, it's non-stop," Sunset says. "You should see what the inside of her mind looks like."

The group laughs and I kinda chuckle along with them, though I'm not quite sure what to make of that statement. I shrug, scratching it off as some inside joke. "Alright, I'm thirsty. Two cupcakes forced down your throat really do a number. Anyone else want anything?"

Disappearing into the crowd to find the punch table, I try to remember that Rarity wants a water bottle. Rainbow Dash was in the middle of making a request for cider, but got cut off by a smack to the back of the head from Applejack. Wonder what that's about.

In my search, I end up passing the DJ booth. The speakers blast my ears, so I can't hear jack diddlysquat except for the music. Or, at least the bass. Good ol' wub wubs. I about jump out of my skin when a particularly loud air horn noise cuts through the rest and directly into my brain. I look up to see the girl with striped neon blue hair giving me an expectant grin.

I yell at her, trying to be heard over the music. "What?"

She holds a hand up to her ear, still smiling. Little Miss DJ should take her damned headphones off. I sigh before yelling a little bit louder this time, "What do you want?!"

She points at my pants. I freak out a bit, thinking my fly is down or, worse, my pants have somehow disappeared. Seeing that A) my jeans are in fact on and B) that my zipper is zipped up and right side round, I turn my head back up to the DJ.

Right as the music cuts, I yell as loud as I can, "MY PANTS ARE FINE!"

Everyone stops and looks at me, this time with looks of confusion, mirth, or concern. I see a few of the girls near me give my pants an up-and-down. Great. I smile meekly at the crowd before turning and giving the DJ what I hope is a death glare. It must not be working out, because she just beams right back at me.

The music starts up again and people resume their normal party activities. This time, the music is a bit quieter, or, at least less wub-wub. The DJ points at my pants again. I about start swearing when I realize she's pointing at Syndrome. Ah. That makes a bit more sense.

I yell, a little less violently mind you, "It's an iPod." After getting a confused face in return, I hold up the ear buds draped around my neck. "Music!"

She smiles at that and nods in affirmation, lifting up her own headphones from her neck. I take it as a sign of respect, so I salute her before going off to find the beverages.

When I finally get to a table with punch and water coolers, Pinkie pops out of nowhere and grabs me by both shoulders, bringing me down to her eye-level. "I heard something went wrong with your pants! Can I help?"

Before I can even grasp that statement enough to make an idiotic attempt to respond, Rainbow Dash comes to save the day by pulling Pinkie off of me. "Calm down, Pinkie, he's fine." She tilts Pinkie's head down so they're both looking at my pants.

Jesus, I've had enough of this. I push both of their chins back up. "Okay, nope. My eyes are up here!"

Rainbow Dash just smirks while Pinkie does what I'm now considering her trademark mile wide grin.

"Well," I say, "I'm here for a drink and Rarity wants a water. You two want anything?"

Pinkie shakes her head, still smiling, while Rainbow Dash remarks, "We thought you got lost."

"Rainbow Dash, you have absolutely no idea."