A Change in Strategy

Stratus Fairweather sat comfortably in the cloth covered seat of the train, her wings tucked primly behind her. The afternoon sunlight streamed in from windows all around her, warming her usually chilly back legs. An autumnal breeze floated through the cabin, aided by the hot chocolate and pumpkin cake being served by the service ponies. Beside Stratus sat a large brown suitcase absolutely packed to the brim with traveling gear. The box was covered in stickers from all over the world, though there were of course some places she hadn't visited...

She took out a hoofkerchief and coughed into it softly, then sniffled. Hopefully not all of Ponyville would be so full of pollen as the forest on the ride over was.

Stratus sipped at some hot chocolate and nibbled at a biscuit, barely able to contain her nervousness and excitement as her final destination drew closer and closer. She was a slender pony, with longer and thinner legs than even other Pegassi her age. Her coat was a creamy yellow, topped with a rough golden shock of hair that glimmered and gleamed, and was styled quite fashionably. Cut short at the sides, left loose to grow long and curling at the top, it was a perfect compliment to the dark eyeshadow she had applied around violet eyes. Her lips were faintly glossed a light lavender shade that she particularly enjoyed from the Sheep lands of Baarabia. She'd noticed several sideways glances from the mares and stallions on the train, and the thought of them admiring her handiwork gave her a slight confident smirk. She may not be as hale and hearty as she was as a filly, but she still knew how to draw the eye.

"Next stop, Ponyville!" a voice called over the crackling announcement system, "Next stop, Ponyville!"

Not many people rose at this call, which Stratus found odd. This was Ponyville, home to the elements of harmony! Couldn't the ponies here see that this was a major opportunity? That this place would soon become one of the centers of the world?

She shook her head as she stood awkwardly and stretched her delicate wings. They had quite the wingspan, nearly to that of an Alicorn's, unfortunately that was more of a detriment than a compliment to her these days.

As she stood, her long legs wobbled slightly and she had to catch herself on the edge of her small booth table, breathing hard. Several ponies looked up, concerned, but she had straightened herself out before they could offer to help.

Come on, Fairweather, she thought sternly to herself, you can do this. Today's a big day, don't screw it up.

She felt the pull on her guts as the train began to slow and moved towards on of the exits with her overloaded suitcase trundling along behind her. The doors slid open, and she stepped out into a new world.

The sun blinded her for a moment, but when her eyes cleared the sight was beautiful. A quaint, rural town awaited her. A few buildings here and there, mostly arrayed down a central road. Most were colorful, with bright primary colors, likely matching the owner's, being a common theme. Banners and streamers hung from every streetlight and frame, adding depth and variety, and seemingly advertising all manner of things. One stood out to her in particular though.

"Welcome to Ponyville, Strat!"

It was a big white banner with lettering painted sloppily in bright pink. And it was hung right over the train station entrance.

"You Stratus?" an old stallion sitting on a bench in the station asked her.

She blinked in shock. Where she was from nobody just spoke to her randomly on the street, and certainly not fresh off a train. Then again, she was from a much larger town than Ponyville... she should probably get used to this.

"Um, yes! That's me! Owner of Fairweather Flarket!" She said in her best "please come to my store" voice.

The old stallion with a brown coat and greying mane smiled slightly, "Well then, let me be the first to-"

"WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!!!" an energetic, loud, and surprisingly squeaky voice boomed at Stratus from out of nowhere. The slender pegassus half jumped out of her own skin before whipping around to see who had yelled that.

A pink pony, with even pinker hair, and bright baby blue eyes was smiling enormously at her. The eyes turned sharp and the mare's face dipped into a frown as she eyed the elderly stallion, "Not today old man. I got up early."

The pony merely chuckled to himself and flipped open a newspaper he had set on his lap.

The pink mare's eyes snapped back to Stratus, and she began bouncing up and down on all four hooves in excitement, even making little boink boink boink noises.

Suddenly Stratus' brain slapped all the pieces together and she gasped, "Oh my- you're Pinkie Pie!"

"Yaaaaaaaayy!" Pinkie shouted for joy and leapt into the air, producing several spouts of confetti and pyrotechnics that Stratus hadn't seen before, "You already know who I am!"

Stratus blinked, "I mean... of course I do! You're a hero! You stopped Nightmare Moon and saved Canterlot from the Changelings! Well, you and the other Elements of Harmony."

Stratus looked around, suddenly panicking, "They're not here too, are they? Oh gosh, I wore my travel makeup I didn't think-"

"Pfff, nah," Pinkie said nonchalantly, "They're all super busy. Twilight's still dealing with wedding stuff, Applejack's preparing for a family thing, Rainbow Dash is... probably asleep. Anyway, I just really love love LOVE to welcome everypony I can to the town!"

Stratus wondered how the little pink earth pony, who was nearly a head and shoulders shorter than her, had so much energy. She was still bouncing.

"Well thank you very much Pinkie Pie! I appreciate that a lot!" Stratus said with a genuine smile.

Pinkie's face brightened further. Literally, her whole face began to shine.

"That's GREAT! You're welcome party is this afternoon and EVERYONE is going to be there! You'll love it!"

Stratus blanched, "A- uh... a welcoming p-party?"

Pinkie nodded rapidly, "Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm!!"

"Oh," Stratus said, some of her starstruck joy fading into dread, "thank you so much for putting thought and effort into that Miss Pinkie Pie, but-"

"Just call me Pinkie, new friend!" Pinkie said.

Stratus blinked, "Um, alright. Thank you, Pinkie, for the offer but I really don't do well with crowds. Would it maybe be possible to, I don't know, introduce me to everyone in small groups over periods of time?"

Pinkie visibly deflated, "Oh. Why?"

Stratus scratched her head awkwardly and was suddenly and uncomfortably aware that they were both still standing in plain view on the train platform.

"It's just... a thing I've had since I was a kid. I get faint, sometimes pass out, it's not good. I try to avoid crowds when I can. Up to a certain number, like 10, is fine, but a whole town's worth?" she shuddered, "I'd collapse in minutes."

Pinkie's faced scrunched up. Not in anger, like Stratus was worried about, but in Party Planning Ponycentration (TM) as she tried to determine how to give her new friend the best welcome party possible!

"Okay, new plan," Pinkie said, "How about just the ponies you'll be working with at first while you're here? You run a shop, right? You're bound to meet everypony eventually! And this way you can still have cake!"

Stratus smiled brightly with relief, "Thanks, Pinkie, that means a lot to me."

Pinkie nodded, "Yeah, well, I've learned a few things about giving people the wrong kind of party. I'll meet you at your shop, ok?"

Stratus nodded, "Okay! Thank you again, really,"

Pinkie gave another bright smile, then trotted away. Before she got to the end of the plat form though, she turned around and said over her shoulder, "Oh, and don't worry about your makeup. I think you look plenty cute!"

It took Stratus several moments to process what she just said, then a blush rose up on her face so fiercely that she tried to hide it with a hoof. Unfortunately, everypony on the platform had seen her blushing, and grinning like a big dumb idiot.