My Random Dream

I’m lost. I’ve been past Carousel Boutique three times, and had no answer when I wanted to ask for directions. It wasn’t until the fourth time that I realised that I could see the market place, where Sugar Cube Corner resided. When I exclaimed out loud my ignorance, I heard a female giggle. It quickly shut up when I looked around. I was being watched. I slowly crept towards the market place, looking for any sign of movement that may be following me. None appeared so I holstered my curiosity and turned to walk normally towards the Cake’s Cake shop. A small sigh, barely audible, could be heard but I thought nothing of it.

As I passed through town, I noticed several ponies staring at me. I could understand why, but it was still annoying me. If my friends were in town, why are they staring at me like I’m something new? I would have done something about it or ignored it any other time but my mind was on other things. Walking through town by myself gave be some much needed time to think things over.  How had Niall and Jamie got here?  Had they been just as bored or saved some pony from trouble? Knowing them, they’d probably just hit the wrong buttons on their computers. I would be surprised if they didn’t.

I was fairly surprised when I came to spot Sugar Cube Corner over a few of the stalls. It looked exactly like it should have; it was a mirror image of the show’s drawing apart from one small detail. There were a few tables set out in front of the shop, with parasols protecting the few couples that sat beneath them from a fairly intense summer’s heat. I would have cursed Celestia there and then, but I decided against it. I didn’t want to be judged so early in my time here. The couple sitting under the nearest parasol were already giving me a nasty look but I just ignored them. The next few parasols were empty, apart from one pony sitting that I recognised from the show, Bon-Bon. I was slightly surprised to see her by herself as she always seemed to be with crowds, never by herself. The fact that two pieces of the cake were set out suggested that some pony had either stood her up or left to go somewhere.

I quickly notice a very energetic argument going on the second to late table, between two very different personalities that I recognised very well. On one side was my favourite mare. She was girly, fashionable and usually graceful in the show. Rarity. No one really understood why I’d taken to her but I did. She was almost the opposite of me and I often got along with people like that, mostly because I could have fun doing anything. The other was the friend that I usually would go along with. Generally a good friend, Niall and I would always meet up at breaks between lessons to chat. We always had fun, and we’d always exchange a few laughs. He was almost always calm but when he lost his temper, he lost it hard. And it looked like that was what was going on in front of me. Niall and Rarity were having a seemingly passionate argument about each other.

“I really don’t understand why we’re, and more importantly, I’m, doing this…” Niall groaned, rolling his eyes.

“For your simple mind to understand it, I asked her to meet us here so we could arrange this for her. She is fairly shy, you know. She’d never do this by herself.” Rarity responded, pleading to Niall’s usually abundant kindness. She gave him the puppy dog eyes that I’d imagined had manipulated many a stallion.

“So why am I here?”

“You’re my date and I’m yours. Basically, if I’m with some pony, or somebody in this case, hopefully Fluttershy won’t be so nervous.”

“Okay. I think I’ve got that. But still, why do I have to pay?”

“As I have already said twice, your friends are our guests at this dinner, and it is customary for the stallion to pay on a date.”

“But I’m not a stallion and this wasn’t my idea!”

“Frankly, Darling, I don’t give a damn.”

“Why are you the Element of Generosity again?”

I found their heated conversation to be quite humorous, especially the intense stare down that had started at the end of Niall’s question. A quiet snarl could be heard emanating from one of them, but which one was indecipherable. I didn’t want to get in the middle of the problem, as I had learnt from previous experience, but I knew that I couldn’t just stand there and watch them. I decided to stand next to a bush, pretending I hadn’t noticed them. I would wait for them to spot me, and usher me over, if not for the yellow Pegasus that just noticed me.

“Oh, hello. What are you doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?” Fluttershy asked, seeing my attempts to remain incognito from the displeased couple. She glanced over to them and realised my motives. She giggled slightly as I tried to hide behind her. “I know you’re only trying to not get yourself in trouble but your friend looks like he needs your help.” Niall, looking fairly anxious, was slouched in his chair to the irritation of the white mare across from him.

“He looks like he can handle her on his own. I have a feeling I’d only get used by her against him.” I chuckle in reply. She knew I wasn’t about to get in the middle of them and I had a hunch she knew why.  I couldn’t remember whether it was cannon or not, but I always felt that Rarity would be good at inspiration. A lesser known fact was that Rarity was going to be the Element of Inspiration, changed because it was ‘too tough for kids to wrap their heads around’. She always seemed passionate and to have conviction in her efforts, something I admired greatly. I had once gotten in the way of someone determined to be the best at everything. It ended in me receiving a fractured shoulder from a fall, caused by a push from a sore loser. I knew Rarity wouldn’t physically harm me (or I hoped so) but Niall was quite the opposite. He may not have been very physical with me in the past but I’d seen him lose his cool and the consequences weren’t pretty.

“Ugh. Fine. I’ll pay. But don’t let me hear you whining about how I act.” Niall once again groaned. He seemed to be defeated in the argument but he wasn’t going down without the last say. I could see how it would play out if it got any further. Niall moaning, Rarity getting annoyed, tensions riding high. The pair getting annoyed at their friends for not turning up on time even though it was only a few seconds past the time they said they’d meet. It had happened before to say the least. I had to intervene. I sighed and started to walk towards the dispute. Fluttershy followed suit, hidden behind me.

“Hey, Niall. Who’s your friend?” I asked, seeing if I could get at least one side of the tension to lighten. I winked at her for added effect, and the mare giggled and smiled slightly. I stifled a chuckle and looked to Niall who was frowning.  I almost went into hysterics. The look on his face was priceless. A mixture of confusion and disappointment.

“Rarity, darling. Come, sit. We asked you to come here to set up something between you and… Fluttershy? I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. Anyway, we were going to set up a blind date between you and her.” Rarity explained. It was something hard to take in. I was being set up on a date with Fluttershy. And with that came something else.  I realised why Niall may have been so cranky. Fluttershy is his favourite pony.  I don’t know the specific reason for his attachment to her over other ponies but and they share some very similar traits. Both were quite shy and kind. I occasionally made that link to him when talking about the subject of favourite ponies.

As I took my seat across from Niall and next to Rarity, I realised something was missing. “Niall, where’s Jamie?” I asked, confused at my other friend’s lack of being here. Niall stopped frowning and explained that it was Jamie being Jamie. Sometimes tardy but never too late. He also went on to explain that Jamie was spending a lot of time with Pinkie Pie after their first experimental blind date. They seemed happy for it too. Jamie had recently started to stay with Pinkie overnight, although it was ‘that’ serious. It all made sense. Once again, Jamie was quite similar to Pinkie. Eccentric, probably the youngest of the group, and creative. All traits they have in common. And once again, she was his favourite pony. In retrospect, that was probably why Niall set it up.

I looked around the table as the four of us read menus. The tension seemed to have disappeared for now but I knew at some point it would come back. I could see it in the occasional twitch shown by the both of them. I took the opportunity to look at my own menu. Most names had a list of ingredients afterwards. Daisies and Daffodils appeared more than once.  They were some odd things on the menu, although I suppose they’d be good for ponies. After reading, I just decided to have the same as Fluttershy, mostly because Niall was having the worst possible cake ever. Coffee. I didn’t have anything against the drink but Coffee cake was something I never wanted to try again. It was a few minutes of an awkward silence before Pinkie to come over to take out orders.

“Surprise!” Pinkie shouted in my ear from behind, making me jump and the others sigh. “I knew you were having a friend over and I thought I’d surprise him so, Surprise!” She shouted again, grinning. I looked up in a daze and saw the three of them giggling, even Niall.

“Pinkie, this is Connor. Connor, Pinkie.” Rarity introduced me to the hyper energetic mare, still giggling. I smiled at Pinkie, realising that she was inevitably going to interrupt me if I did. “Hi, I’m Pinkie,” she blurted, “I’m Rarity and Fluttershy’s friend, but you knew that. Silly me.” I nodded in acknowledgement as she suddenly appeared between Rarity and Niall, her hooves around them both, still grinning.

“Pinkie, where’s Jamie? I thought he’d be with you.” Niall asked, looking bored. I’d expected him to be with Pinkie to after the explanation from earlier. Pinkie looked around the table, frowning. By the looks of it, she had expected him to be here, with us. I had a quick glance behind me to check if Jamie was going to shout in my ear as well. It appeared as though he wasn’t. Instead he just walked out of the building, already eating a cupcake. He glanced towards me, chocolate frosting around his mouth, which was turning into a ‘O’.

I started laughing. It may not have been Jamie’s usually behaviour but I could see him doing it in real life. Real Life. It suddenly occurred to me that I might not be able to get back. My parents could get worried. Oh well. Screw ‘em. It’s not like we had anything planned for the next month. But I’d probably have that nipping at me for the rest of the time I was here.

“Oh, I found Jamie. What do I win?” Pinkie asked, gleeful in her discovery. She smiled as she looked for an answer. “You win Jamie for the rest of the evening. He knows he wants it.” Niall joked, grinning at Jamie. Jamie gave him a look of disapproval, as did Rarity. “Niall, why do you tease your friends like that? It seems petty.” Rarity complained, rolling her eyes.

“And you’re not, with your ‘petty’ whining” Niall mocked Rarity’s posh accent, much to the anger of the mare. The tension was coming back, both Fluttershy and I realised it and shrunk in our seats, hoping to avoid the stares from other tables. Staring at her inconsiderate friend, Rarity growled “I wasn’t whining. I was….” “Complaining? And no, we don’t want to hear you whining. You’re annoying enough. I don’t see why I put up with you.” Niall interrupted, being snarky in his comeback. I think the tension broke with that last word as it rolled of his tongue. Rarity’s eye started twitching and she got up from her seat. She sighed and started walking away, muttering something along the lines of ‘we’re through’ as she walked past Niall. He turned and snarled at her, “Fine…”

As he turned around, he met the gaze of the eight eyes now staring at him. “Sorry about that. I guess that relationship is over. Does someone want to go after her?” Niall immediately looked at the floor and clenched a fist. He knew his guilt but he wasn’t going to admit it. A moment passed before Pinkie chirped up, volunteering to go after her. She hopped off her seat and almost yanked Jaime out of his as went passed, “Come on prize, we’re going to cheer up a sad mare.” Jaime looked to me to pull him back before giving up after a fraction of a seconds worth of resistance. He sighed. “Okie dokie lokie.” I stopped myself laughing, realising that Jamie was trying to mimic Pinkie’s voice. As he was dragged away, he turned to Pinkie and asked, “What actually happened?”

Fluttershy was whimpering slightly, trying to avoid any gazes. It only pulled mine in. She looked worried. I could empathise, but I was still trying to overcome my confusion of Rarity’s statement. Niall and Rarity had been going out? It had gone straight over my head. I face palmed as realisation possessed me. The lover’s quarrel, the matchmaking assistance, as well as other things, it should have been obvious. How had I missed it?

I was still confused as I started to blurt out what was on my mind. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I don’t think we need this attention. Can we go to yours Fluttershy?” I was almost surprised when she nodded in acceptation and moved from her seat. She looked to Niall and gestured for him to follow. I don’t think she realised how much that meant to him.