The Curious Case of the Party at Pie Manor

Well, here we are again! After almost a year of silence and hiatus, chapter 3 of my first and only MLP fic is finally here! Not sure if there's even any interest in this thing anymore, but I got a spurt of motivation to continue this thing and, with season 3 coming up and BronyCon looming on the horizon, I'm looking to jump back into the fandom, so I'm back for good!

I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I've decided to throw in as many guest characters into this fic as possible, and this chapter introduces quite a few (but nowhere close to all) of them, so keep an eye out. The wait is now over and the real story begins... NOW!

Chapter 3: The Horror and the Host No-More!

The Ponyville ponies were fascinated by the sheer enormity of the mansion and its grounds, even in the small amount of time that they were actually able to explore them, and were amazed that they'd managed to find each other amongst the sea of ponies gathered inside the mansion's main hall.

Twilight wasn't able to find the Grand Library as she'd hoped, but she and Spike delighted in getting a tour of Peach and Periwinkle's private historical archives detailing the history of their, and, by extension, Pinkie Pie's, family.

Pinkie gave Fluttershy her self-declared "Super Exciting Deluxe Grand Tour of Amazement" of the manor's gardens. Though they were only able to spot a couple of hummingbirds and rabbits among the groups of noisy, socializing ponies, Pinkie assured Fluttershy that all of the animals would come out again once things settled down, much to Fluttershy's relief, as being shy was something she could easily identify with.

Apple Bloom and Applejack spent their time playing tag in the massive, yet well-lit field in front of the manor's hedge maze. The nearby, uptight ponies were clearly annoyed at first, but the two Apples managed to get at least twenty other ponies to play, and it wasn't long before a crowd of curious onlookers came to watch the ponies in dresses and suits run around in the grass and spin around the fountains and statues, laughing in competitive excitement. By the time they returned to the group, their dresses had grass stains and their manes were frizzied. They could only smile cheekily as the other ponies raised an eyebrow at them.

Rarity didn't even notice. She only stood there and grumbled angrily to herself, a scowl stretching across her face and her teeth barred. Every now and then she'd turn up her nose in defiance and huff, pursing her lips. The other ponies tried to find out what was wrong, but every time they asked they were met with a stern growl.

Rainbow Dash was the last to arrive. Despite having abruptly interviewed at least a hundred of the well-mannered guests and scoured a decent fraction of the manor's massive grounds, she was unable to track down a single member of the Wonderbolts. Downtrodden, she let her heart cling on to one last glimpse of hope as an announcement rang through the mansion, carried by a mansion-wide P.A. system.

"Attention, guests!" called a gruff, firm voice. "Lord Periwinkle and Lady Peach would like to ask that everypony file into the dining hall for the Commencement Dinner, so our grand festivities may start!"

"It's about time!" shouted Pinkie Pie gleefully.

"Yeah!" added Rainbow. "I'll just have to bump into the Wonderbolts in there!"

The voice continued as the horde of ponies began to file into the dining hall neatly but assertively. "Your pre-assigned seats have been determined by the cars in which you arrived to our manor. Please make haste, but remember to be polite! And let the party... Begin!"

Happy cheers and giggles resonated through the crowd after the announcement, causing the already excited rush to intensify. Ponies from all sides were bumping into each other as they hurried into the hall.

"We better get inside before we get trampled!" Twilight declared. The other ponies eagerly agreed, and they forced themselves along with the crowd, stepping through the towering, illustrious doors and into the massive dining hall.

The ceilings were even higher than they were in the main hall, and several giant, crystal chandeliers hung, casting off a bright orange glow with the help of at least fifty candles in each one. On both sides the walls were covered in many intricate and colorful paintings of various sizes and subjects, the largest of which was a sprawling portrait of pair of elite ponies. The stallion wore a golden-rimmed monocle and sported a bushy, yet not unkempt, mustache, while the mare had a full, voluminous mane, beautiful diamond earrings and a ruby necklace. Both wore a friendly smile, and It was easy to assume that these two were the host and hostess of the ball, even if you had never seen them before. Either way, one couldn't help but look at the portrait in dignified admiration.

"Follow me, girls!"

Pinkie Pie easily spotted the table reserved for her and her friends, it being the only one with bright blue and yellow balloons and pink placemats, while most of the other guests stirred around the hall in quiet confusion. The ponies excitedly took their seats and were reminded of their renewed hunger.

"Mmmm, I'm ready for some grub!" Applejack said, looking around for a menu.

"Me too!" declared Apple Bloom.

"I'm... actually quite hungry as well," Fluttershy peeped, never fully satisfied from her light meal on the train.

"I'm starving!" Spike added, clicking his silverware together hungrily.

All around them, the fancy ponies found their seats and slowly started to settle in, surprisingly filling the enormous dining hall. Many of the guests were either tapping their hooves or squirming around in growing hunger, and all of them were beaming with excitement as the real festivities were about to begin.

"Ehem. With your dinner, red or white, ma'am?"

Twilight looked up at the uniformed servant pony standing beside her. A quill pen and sheet of paper hovered in front of him, guided by his magic while he waited for her order. She smiled sheepishly at him and looked around the table, trying to see if anyone else was confused by the question, before looking back at him.

"Heheh... Um... Red or white.. what..?"

The waiter blinked and answered curtly, still managing to remain emotionless despite his intense glare. "Wine."

Twilight's cheeks flushed as she turned away in embarrassment, pretending to straighten out the cloth napkin in front of her. "O-oh, yes, of course..." She looked back at him and tried to regain her confidence, giving him a slightly alluring bat of her eyelashes. "I'd just like some water, please." The waiter was clearly unfazed as he scribbled down Twilight's order, stepping around the table to collect the other ponies' orders. As soon as he stepped away, she sighed in relief and lost her dignified posture as she slumped down in her chair.

Every few seconds, Rainbow Dash would crane her neck as high as she could without standing up, trying to look over the myriad of ponies seated around her, looking around the crowd frantically. She had been doing this for at least fifteen minutes, and every time she would just sigh and relax into her chair again. Finally, she caught a glimpse of a fiery orange and yellow mane, sticking out through the sea of ponies filing in the hall's doors.

"Is that--??" she shouted ecstatically as she jumped onto the seat of her chair. "It is!! Spitfire!!!"

The other ponies turned curiously, searching the crowd for the famous filly. Surely enough, Spitfire emerged into the dining hall, followed by the other Wonderbolts. The other ponies couldn't help but be impressed that Rainbow Dash had even recognized her at all. She looked like a completely different pony in her fiery red dress instead of her signature baby blue uniform. Soarin' walked next to her dressed in a formal tuxedo complete with a lopsided bowtie, and the two of them offered their greetings to the ponies they passed, making their way to their designated table.

She was about to dash out in their direction before Twilight stretched out a foreleg to stop her, trying to keep her in her chair as best she could.

"You'll have plenty of time to talk to them this weekend, Rainbow," she offered, easing her leg away as Rainbow nodded glumly, trying to contain herself. The waiter grunted.

"And it looks like you've already had enough, so I'll just go ahead and put you down for some water too." Rainbow ignored him, playing with her fork and spoon glumly. Pinkie Pie insisted upon having cherry soda, despite the waiter continually asserting that that was not an option.

"Are you telling me that my uncle forgot to stock up on my favorite drink this year?!"She demanded, huffing impatiently. The waiter widened his eyes, horrified.

“Wait... You're... P-Pinkie Pie..?”

“Well, duuuhhh!!”

The waiter scribbled hurriedly onto his pad “Cherry Soda” in large letters, underlining it several times. He forced a smile and nodded as though he knew the whole time.

“Yes, why, of course you are... All the cherry soda you can drink, coming right up!”

Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves together and smiled brightly. “Yay!”

The waiter mumbled under his breath, still pretending to smile. “And, o-of course, there’ll be no need to tell your uncle about this whole misunderstanding...”

Before Pinkie Pie could answer, although it was doubtful that she'd even heard, considering she was busy playing charades with Gummy, the waiter turned his attention to Rarity, who rested her face angrily in her forelegs, her mane slightly frazzled.

"And for you, ma'am..?"

Rarity raised her head grumpily and glared at the waiter.

"I don't care what you bring me, but whatever it is, make sure you bring the whole bottle!"

After the waiter hastily scribbled down Rarity's order, the normally polite and civil pony buried her head in her forelegs again, letting them muffle her grunting and incoherent ranting. Apple Bloom and Applejack quietly ordered their own bottle of the same pear cider from the train, not wanting anyone to know how much they loved it, especially considering they were Apples. Fluttershy quietly requested a vanilla milkshake, hoping it would hold her over until dinner was served.

"Well, normally, we reserve those as a dessert option, but I suppose I can bring one out for you if you like."

"Thank you," she peeped. "A-as long as it's not a burden, of course."

"Wait, we can get milkshakes?!" Spike hopped up at the very thought of the cool, creamy beverage. "I'll take two!" This, of course, was met by a glare from Twilight. "One chocolate and one vanilla!" he added. Twilight intensified her glare.

"Spike..."

"What? I want to mix 'em! Have you ever tried it before Twilight? It's amazing! Besides, it's the Biannual Ball! We might as well live it up..."

Twilight thought about it for a second and conceded with a smile, for once admitting he was right. "Alright, Spike, but don't blame me for the inevitable stomach ache..."

Spike smirked and shrugged it off. "We've been over this before, Twilight... I just live in the moment!"

The waiter nodded with the last order and bid the ponies a brief farewell, neatly folding up the sheet and tucking it into the pocket of his blazer as he walked away. With the waiters busy sending their orders and gathering the drinks and glasses, the dining hall rang with the familiar buzz of hundreds of ponies engaged in passive, friendly conversation. All of the Ponyville Ponies happily chatted about what they'd done with their time to wander around the grounds, save for Rarity, who was still grumpily reserved. Finally, Twilight pressed her to tell them what happened.

"Rarity, if you don't mind me asking... What happened that upset you so much?"

For the first time since they reunited, Rarity tried to downplay her frustration by sitting upright and twirling her curls around her hoof, looking off into the distance.

"Oh, it was nothing you girls should be worried about... I just had an unpleasant encounter with... HIM." With the last word she set her teeth again, almost losing herself to her inward rage.

By now, all of the ponies and one dragon were listening in intently to what Rarity had to say. Before they could even ask who she was talking about, she continued, slowly growing more and more angry and dramatic.

"There I was, standing in the light of the chandelier in the grand hall, mingling as us high society ponies do, but making sure to keep my eye open for my fated beau, when I heard someone call my name! Naturally, my heart began to flutter like never before, but when I turned around... I was greeted by his smug grin."

By now, Rarity's story was leaving more questions than answers, but nopony dared to interrupt her.

"Still, I didn't lose hope. He bothered to remember my name, so perhaps he changed, right?? That's what I thought, but when he walked up to speak to me..." Her eyes began to well up with tears as she recalled the event vividly. She bit her quivering lip, trying to keep from crying. Every other pony was leaning in, similarly biting their bottom lips, impatient for the rest of the story.

"He asked me how much I would be willing to sell my earrings for!! He said they would match his new fiance's wedding dress beautifully! Can you believe it?? He even offered me a thousand bits for each one!" She scoffed tearfully. "'Prince Blueblood'. More like 'Lord Blackheart'! Am I nothing more to these ponies than a walking display??" Her eyes welled up to bursting before she finally let out a desperate, dramatic cry before burying her head in her forelegs again, letting them muffle her high pitched cries.

"I'll never find my true love!"

The other ponies looked at each other, not able to help feeling bad for the admittedly melodramatic pony. Twilight, sitting the closest to her, did the only thing she could think of and patted her back with a hoof while trying to cheer her up.

"Oh, Rarity... Of course you will... You just have to... Let it happen... You can't expect it to happen all at once..." After a pause filled only with Rarity's muffled sobbing, Twilight glared slightly at the group and motioned to the crying unicorn with a nod of her head. The rest of them took the hint and piped in their condolences.

"Twilight's right, sugar cube." Applejack offered. "You'll find your prince charmin' before you know it."

"Yeah, Rarity!" Pinkie chimed in. "Besides, love can wait, because we're here to party!"

Rainbow dash tried to sound as sympathetic as she could, despite having an incredibly hard time understanding how the unicorn could get so worked up over something some stallion did.

"I mean, you should've learned that the guy was a jerk after what happened the first time..." This was met by a collective glare from the other ponies, to which Dash shrunk in her seat and smiled cheekily, whispering a quick sorry.

Twilight once again turned to Rarity. "Besides..." she offered. "Blueblood was probably just worried you would outshine his fiance at the ball tonight..."

This was just enough to get Rarity to pick up her head again and sniffle humbly, her mascara running messily down her eyes. She was about to smile and thank the other ponies for cheering her up, but was interrupted by the waiter returning with their drink orders. He cradled two full bottles in one arm, one a bubbly red and the other a pale yellow, and a silver platter with the rest of the orders balanced upon it.

"I have one bottle of white wine for the la-"

"MIIIINE!"

Before the waiter could finish his sentence, Rarity lept up and snatched the wine bottle from his arm, hurriedly pouring some of its golden contents into a wine glass before tossing her head back with the rim of the glass against her lips, downing it quickly before burying her head in her forelegs again to cry more, hugging the bottle close to her. The other ponies rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

"She'll get over it," Rainbow Dash quipped.

The waiter, once he'd regained his balance with the tray after Rarity's attack, breathed out deeply and proceeded to serve the rest of the drink orders. Twilight calmly sipped her water, while Rainbow Dash only scoffed at hers, not quite content with the "boring" choice that was forced upon her. Fluttershy and Spike giggled with one another as they sipped their milkshakes through their straws. Pinkie Pie poured a bit of the cherry soda in the glass for Gummy before drinking her share straight out of the bottle, only stopping her binge to burp loudly, pressing a hoof against her lips shyly to mutter an "exceeeeuuuuuse me!" Rarity continued to pour herself several more glasses of the white wine, letting her sorrowful cries echo into the glass with each sip.

"Now, if you all would please take your meal selection cards out from under your placemats and indicate your choice for your supper meal, we'll get dinner started post haste. There are quills and ink in the center of the table."

Twilight slid the selection card from under her mat and studied it. Apparently, there were only two options: a "spicy sweet potato stew with minced dandelion and rose petals," or a "whole wheat pasta shell filled with three different gourmet cheeses, flavorful herbs and tomato sauce." Delighted, she unconsciously licked her lips just from reading the second option and happily checked the box beside it.

Rarity grunted and grumpily pushed her placemat aside and pulled the card toward her, barely bothering to look up as she used her magic to pull out one of the quills, dip it in the ink, and mark an X on the card, smack dab in the middle of both choices, apparently caring more about not getting ink on her hoof than how she marked the card. Once it was done, she took another sip of her wine and angrily curled up again in her chair.

Applejack and Apple Bloom chose one of each, pledging to share their meals with each other, and Pinkie Pie scribbled "Pineapple Pizza" onto her card with a box next to it before checking it, quickly flipping the card over and conspicuously shifting her gaze back and forth to see if anypony noticed as she slid the card across the table. Spike checked the box next to the stew, being a sucker for spicy food, while Fluttershy shyly marked a small X between the choices before drawing a connecting arrow to both of them. She looked timidly at the waiter.

"Um... can I please have both..?" The other ponies looked at her in surprise.

"What..?" she defended herself with a coy smile. "I've been hungry since we left... I guess I was just too nervous to eat..."

The waiter nodded, although he, too, was surprised, and used his magic to gather up the selection cards, stacking them neatly before stuffing them into his pocket. Everywhere throughout the dining hall hungry ponies were making their choices, though one particular request stood out among the monotony of the others.

"Uhh, excuse me, mister waiter..?" somepony asked, rather loudly. "... Where's the box for muffins?"

"... We do not offer muffins as a meal."

"..."

There was a long pause, much to the frustration of the waiter. Still, being the sophisticated servant he was, he had no choice but to wait it out as the pony no doubt contemplated very long and hard what the waiter could have possibly meant when he said that they didn't offer muffins as a meal. By now, this, along with all of the other conversations around them, blended together in an indistinguishable mesh of words and sounds. Most everyone in the hall was growing restless with hunger and anticipation, and it couldn't have come soon enough when a loud voice broke the anxious hum.

"Hello, everypony!" There in the very front of the dining hall stood the same formally and fashionably dressed pair of ponies from the large painting on the wall. The stallion beamed eagerly through his monocle at the crowd, wearing a large grin, while the mare managed to hide her excitement a bit better, though the bright glow from her eyes gave it away despite her reserved smile. The stallion took a step forward, a glass of wine balanced calmly on his hoof, and addressed the mass of ponies, which had almost immediately silenced in respect and excitement.

"Friends, family and fellow equestrians, I welcome you to my humble home and to the tenth ever Biannual Ball!" The silence was shattered by an uproar of cheers, whistling, and clapping. Even the ponies at the Ponyville table joined in the excited rally. Rarity was the loudest at the table, apparently hoping to drown out her sorrows with sheer volume - either that or the wine was finally starting to get to her - and nearly jumped on the table to cheer more before being restrained by Twilight. After each pony's excitement was compounded by their curiosity, they all forced themselves to calm down to once again listen to the friendly yet powerful voice of their host.

The stallion gestured toward the mare, who smiled brightly and took his side without hesitation, before he resumed his address.

"My lovely wife and I would like to first and foremost thank you for joining us this weekend. I understand that you've come from each and every corner of Equestria, which, for many of you, was a journey of hundreds of miles, and we're honored to have you with us tonight."

The stallion pretended to study the crowd carefully, scanning it with his eyes squinted.

"But, just like every year, I see some new faces! It's a shame that I haven't been able to meet each and every one of you before the festivities begin, but we'll have all weekend to get to get to know one another and no doubt become friends! But, for now, I shall merely introduce myself as Periwinkle Pie, your humble host! And this is my wife, the lovely Peach Pie." The lady bowed her head in a dignified greeting. "And we would, without further ado, like to announce something to you all..."

There must not have been any air left in the room, for everpony in the dining hall was holding their breath for the exciting announcement.

"The theme for this year's Biannual Ball is... -!"

In an instant, all of the candles on the walls and in the chandeliers were extinguished in a chilling puff of air. The smoke from the candles hung over the ponies in a thick blanket, and the dining hall was reduced to a pitch black cell. Several ponies gasped, many even sat up abruptly from their chairs, but all were gripped with an unexpected fear.

Periwinkle, though now invisible to his guests, addressed the crowd again, attempting to reassure them as their hesitant, hushed whispers grew louder.

"N-now, everypony, it was probably just a draft. We'll get this sorted out as soon as we c- ..."

Just as quickly as the candles had been snuffed out, Periwinkle's voice stopped short, and, once again, a chilling silence fell over the dining hall. By now, many of the crowd's unicorns, including Twilight Sparkle, had used their magic to generate a soft glow from their horns, piercing the darkness in several spots in the room. However, no one could be quite certain as to what was going on, but a sharp scream confirmed their worst imaginings. Peach Pie, now lit by the horns of several servant ponies who ran to her aid, backed away slowly.

Lying on the ornately patterned royal blue carpet was a thick red stain, surrounded by broken glass and a lone monocle, its owner nowhere to be seen. Peach Pie let out another blood-curdling scream before backing herself against the wall, her eyes welling up with tears as she curled herself up against it. Everypony in the massive room was gripped with the same paralyzing fear, which only grew when a shaky voice broke the silence.

"L-look!"

The room was still nearly pitch black, but all of the unicorns in the crowd pointed their horns at the spot at which the pony was gesturing. Soon, the portrait of Lord and Lady Pie was completely illuminated, revealing a sinister threat stretching across it in blood red letters.

Your dear host was just the first.
We take in order to quench our thirst.
Oh, won't this be so much fun?
We will hunt you down one by one.

A sharp chorus of screams and shouts rang through the ears of everypony in the room as almost everpony in the hall sprung themselves from their seats and toward the towering doors of the dining hall. Ponies tripped and trampled over one another toward the end of the hall, but just before the first soul could reach it, the towering doors slammed shut, echoing through the black hall through horrified silence.