Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. I make no legal claims to it whatsoever.

Author's notes: This story was completed prior to posting, and has been crossposted to my account on FIMFiction Dot Net, under the author name of AnoneMouseJr . Hope you enjoy. And if all goes well, sequels will be forthcoming. (Also, the version on FIMFiction has some alterations to text size for a few bits of dialogue.)

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Chapter 2

By Anon e Mouse Jr.

The morning before the Summer Sun Celebration…

Vroo-vrooooooooooo!

Twilight winced as the train's whistle sounded right as she was boarding, Moondancer and Spike right behind her. Sighing, she led the two to a compartment, levitating their luggage into the overhead rack. "This shouldn't take too long," she muttered to herself. "No more than an hour or so down the mountain… and we've got books, just in case!" She grinned eagerly at the thought.

Moondancer just shook her head in an amused manner and took one of hers out, settling onto her seat, while Spike read over her shoulder.

Suddenly, the compartment door was flung open with a loud bang, startling all of them and making Twilight's mane frizz up in surprise. "Hey!" barked a gruff voice. "Got any room in here?"

Running a hoof over her mane to calm it, Twilight looked at the door to see a bluish-gray Earth Pony standing there with an… odd look on her face. "We might," she said.

"Good." The other pony disappeared, then came back with a smaller pony in tow. "This is my sister, Marble Pie. She needs a seat for the trip to Ponyville. Don't cause any trouble for her, and you won't get any trouble from me."

Moondancer just raised an eyebrow and held a hoof over Spike's face so he wouldn't say anything, while the blue-gray pony got Marble settled into a seat. Tossing a small suitcase into the compartment, she walked out, slamming the door behind her.

When the train was finally moving a few minutes later, Twilight could finally breathe easy. "Well. That was… something."

"'Something' is right," Moondancer agreed. "Is she always that cranky?" she wondered aloud.

"Mm-hmm."

The two unicorns turned to the smaller pony in surprise, and Marble ducked her head, blushing shyly. "Limestone means well, but…" She let out a tiny meep.

"I understand." Twilight smiled. "Moondancer and I have older siblings too." She rolled her eyes. "At least yours can't use her position as Captain of the Guard to have other ponies watching over you, like Shining Armor did… at least, until Princess Celestia made him stop."

Marble smiled faintly. "Mm-hmm." Then she looked startled for a moment, as what Twilight had said finally got through to her. "Princess… Celestia?"

Twilight nodded. "I'm her personal student. And you don't have to be afraid of me," she added as Marble let out another tiny meep. "I'm not going to hurt you, or anything like that. Promise."

Marble looked at her, still slightly nervous. "Pinkie Promise?"

"Um…"

Leaning over, Marble whispered in her ear, and Twilight tilted her head in response, but nodded. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, I will not hurt you. At least, not on purpose," she added as she did the motions.

Moondancer rolled her eyes at the sight. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Twilight."

"I do." Twilight nodded in satisfaction. "I made this promise, and I'm not going to break it. Because as the Princess once told me, breaking a promise is the best way to lose a friend-"

"FOREVER!" an Earth Pony with a pink, poofy mane yelled as she suddenly popped out of Marble's luggage. "Oh, hi, little sis. See you in Ponyville soon!"

Marble's smile grew a little wider at that. "Mm-hmm."

Two unicorns and a dragon stared as the pink pony disappeared again. "How…" they all said simultaneously.

Marble giggled a bit behind her hoof. "It's Pinkie Pie," she said. "She does that."

"Oh-kay…" Twilight shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask."

Marble just giggled again.

---

The rest of the train ride passed quietly, and very soon, three ponies and a dragon got off in Ponyville. Twilight blinked in surprise as she saw Marble being happily greeted by the pink pony from before, and the smaller pony looked back at them, a happy smile on her face, as she walked off with her sister. Shaking her head, she studied her checklist. "All right, first things first. Banquet preparations at Sweet Apple Acres… this way."

Heading for the farm on the outside of town, the trio quickly found a large gathering of Earth Ponies. Walking up to the nearest one, an orange mare in a Stetson hat, Twilight coughed. "Ahem… Excuse me, ma'am?"

The pony quickly turned around, revealing a freckled face. "Well howdy-doo, miss…"

"Twilight, Twilight Sparkle. And these are Moondancer and Spike."

"Pleasure to meet all of you then. Ah'm Applejack, and this here's Sweet Apple Acres, the best apple farm in all of Equestria! Heh." She leaned her head closer. "A few of my kinfolk might say the same about their own farms, but we just agree to disagree on that matter and let bygones be bygones."

"Right… actually, I'm here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you're in charge of the food?"

Applejack nodded proudly. "We sure as sugar are! Would you care to sample some?"

Twilight glanced at Moondancer and Spike, who both smiled eagerly, and turned back to the farmpony. "Well, why not."

"Good to hear it, Miss Twilight." Rushing over to where a metal triangle was hanging from a tree branch, she started ringing it. "SOUP'S ON, EVERYPONY!"

With a loud rush, the other ponies quickly found seats at the table, and Applejack led the visiting trio over to join them, pointing to each of her relatives as they passed. "This here's Apple Fritter. Apple Bumpkin. Red Gala. Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp…" She paused and took a deep breath. "Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom, Coco Pommel and Granny Smith. Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests."

Granny Smith, an elderly pony with a green coat and white mane and tail, blinked as she sat up. "Eh, whazzat? Guests?"

Twilight stared at her. "Wait a minute, I know you… I read about you in one of my history classes! You were there at the founding of Ponyville!"

Granny's ears flicked at that and smiled. "Well I'll be… never thought I'd wind up in a history book in one of them fancy unicorn classes, no sir-ee!"

"Not just any class," Moondancer added as she took a seat. "Princess Celestia personally came in to tell us the story. She was so proud when she talked about it."

"Ya don't say." The older mare smiled. "You know, I still remember the day she gave us this land like it was yesterday..."

Twilight smiled as Moondancer listened to the eldest Apple in obvious fascination, then turned to Spike, who was chatting with one of the younger mares.

"So, I couldn't help but notice your name was the only one that wasn't related to apples," the dragon was saying to a cream-colored mare with a striped, light blue mane. "Any particular reason?"

"Spike!" Twilight looked at him, aghast. "Don't be rude!"

"It's okay," the other mare said shyly. "I get that a lot. But legally, my name is Coco Pommel Apple. Applejack's family adopted me after we met in Manehatten when we were fillies." She blushed. "I owe her a lot for that day."

"Ah." Twilight smiled. "I see."

Turning back to her place, she eyed the servings of food that were being set before her. They did look tasty, and she dug in with relish.

---

Nearly an hour later, two very full mares and one little dragon, who was rubbing his stomach contentedly, left the farm. "So where to now?" Moondancer asked.

"Weather, it looks like..." Twilight looked up into the rather cloudy skies. "And it looks like somepony isn't doing their-"

SPLASH!

"Job," she finished with a grumble.

Several minutes and one prismatic pegasus proving she really could clear the skies in ten seconds flat, the trio had made their way to Town Hall, where a white unicorn named Rarity was setting up the decorations, and doing quite the job of it, though Moondancer was slightly annoyed at some of the remarks the fashionista made about her sweater. Finally, they headed for the other end of town, where the music was being prepared. As they approached the edge of the woods, they could hear a chorus of happy birdsong. Then, suddenly, it stopped, and Twilight held up a hoof.

"Oh my," a voice almost as quiet as Marble's said. "Um, stop please, everyone, umm. Excuse me, Mr. Bluebird? I mean, no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off. Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three-"

The music started up again, and Twilight nodded. "I think that's taken care of," she whispered to the others. "We'd better leave them in peace."

Turning around, the trio headed back into town, Fluttershy never knowing how close they had come to her.

As they walked down the main street, Moondancer's ears suddenly flicked. "Is that... buzzing?"

"INCOMING!" a panicked voice suddenly shouted, and the trio barely had time to dodge as a scooter and... something else shot past them, finally coming to a stop some distance down the road. As the dust settled, Twilight saw a small, orange pegasus in a helmet and a smaller gray unicorn, also in a helmet, stumbling away from the scooter and what looked like a pair of skis. Both were panting, but they also had big grins on their faces. "What did I tell ya?" the pegasus was saying as the unicorn grinned at her. "Was that cool or what?"

"SCOOTALOO MADELEINE DOO!" a voice shouted from above. Moments later, a gray pegasus with a blonde mane and tail swooped down to join them. "What have I told you about those stunts?"

"Aunt Derpy… not the full name! Not in public!" the little pegasus, whom Twilight guessed was Scootaloo, hissed in a nervous tone. "And you said to always wear a helmet and other protective gear when I do them. But we did..."

The older pegasus sighed. "Sorry, dear. And you mean the world to me... but sometimes, I wonder what I'm going to do about you," she muttered. Her ears then flicked as she turned around to look at Twilight, Moondancer and Spike. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I hope my niece didn't cause you too much trouble..."

Twilight stared. The mare's eyes were... not lined up right. Suddenly embarrassed, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare..."

"It's all right," the other mare told her. "Ponies always stare at first. It doesn't bother me, it just means I'm a little more focused on something besides keeping my eyes straight. Side effect of lazy eye syndrome, you know." She smiled. "I'm Derpy Hooves. This little scamp is my niece, Scootaloo." She ruffled the younger pegasus's mane, now exposed as Scootaloo had removed her helmet. "And this is my little muffin, Dinky." Scooping up the unicorn filly, she nuzzled her and hugged her tight, prompting a giggle.

Two mares and a dragon smiled. "It's nice to meet you," Twilight told her. "All of you." She fixed Scootaloo with a look. "And I do appreciate the warning before you came barreling through."

"Yeah..." Scootaloo shuffled her hooves nervously. "I really am sorry for almost running you over, but I was entertaining my little cousin. She just loves riding along with me. And when we're going that fast, it's not easy to change direction without a lot more space to do it in."

"It's all right," Twilight told her. "Nopony, or dragon for that matter, was hurt. So everything's just fine."

"That's good."

"So," Moondancer put in as she adjusted her glasses. "I don't suppose you could point us somewhere..."

"Oh, absolutely!" Derpy smiled at them. "I'm the Ponyville mailmare. I know every address in town."

"Then could you take us to the Golden Oak Library?"

"Of course. That's actually where I was going, once I picked up these two. But I'd show you the way even if I wasn't going there." She paused for a moment. "Scootaloo, get your things, please."

"Sure thing, Aunt Derpy." Scootaloo went to gather up her scooter and the skis Dinky had been wearing, while Twilight, Moondancer and Spike officially introduced themselves. Once Scootaloo had her stuff, they started trotting off toward the library.

Finally, when they had reached the building, Derpy paused. "I have to warn you," she said hesitantly, "You might want to hold onto your fur. Or scales, in Spike's case."

"Um... okay." Twilight blinked. "But why?"

"This is why." Derpy opened the door, and Twilight peered in.

"SURPRISE!"

Once again, Twilight's mane frizzed up, and an instant later, two very pink forelegs pulled her inside, the others quickly following behind.

Inside, Twilight barely had time to react as a rush of words flew over her. "HI! I'm Pinkie Pie, but you already know that!" the poofy-maned pink pony exclaimed. "And this is your surprise Welcome-To-Ponyville party for three, because I always throw a surprise Welcome-To-Ponyville party for all the new ponies in town, and I really had to make this one extra-super-special for the ponies and dragon that kept my baby sister company on the train ride in - she even helped me set it up because of that, because she wanted to thank you! Wheeeee!" Dancing off through the crowd of other ponies, she headed straight for the buffet table, leaving Twilight to shake her head and calm her mane again.

"Well, that happened," Moondancer noted as she trotted up next to Twilight.

"Mm-hmm." Twilight's head turned quickly to see Marble already standing next to her, and the smaller pony smiled shyly. "It's Pinkie Pie. She does that."

Shrugging, Spike grinned. "Well, there's a party here... let's have some fun!" Waddling off, he went to join Pinkie at the buffet.

Sighing and smiling, Twilight followed him, and Moondancer and Marble exchanged glances before joining them as well.

It was a Pinkie Party, after all. And nobody missed out on a Pinkie Party.