Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or the My Little Pony franchise, nor do I claim rights to any of their characters.

Chapter 4: A Dash of Friendship

Twilight grabbed the newcomer’s prismatic tail in her magic and yanked her back down to the ground, turning her around and bringing her muzzle-to-muzzle with the irritated librarian. “Rainbow Dash! How many times do we have to tell you not to practice stunt flying in town?”

“I was high enough! I just hit a rough patch and couldn’t get control in time! More importantly, what in the name of Celestia’s horn is that?”

“That’s Harry,” the downed human moaned, clutching his stomach in pain. “And it’s a human.”

“You mean those weird things Lyra’s always going on about?”

“Apparently.”

Dash raised a brow and gave Twilight a look of amusement. “Heh, nice. Does he always speak in third pony?”

“No,” the unicorn replied testily. “He’s just been run over twice in the last half hour, and I doubt being hit by something moving as fast as you were is helping.”

Applejack snorted and threw in her two bits. “You ain’t kiddin’, Twi. That poor stallion looks like he got run over by the Friendship Express! Probably feels that way, too!”

The rainbow-maned pegasus winced in sympathy. “Oh, dang, sorry dude! Who hit him the first time?” Scootaloo’s sudden attention to her hooves didn’t go missed by her idol. “Let me guess, doing tricks on the scooter again?”

“Yeah,” the filly admitted shamefully.

“Dang it, Scoots! How many times have I told you not to do that in town?”

“Probably ‘bout the same amount we’ve told you not to practice stunt flyin’ in town,” Applejack quipped.

“Hey! I’m a firm believer in ‘do as I say, not as I do’!” Rainbow Dash shot back. “I know I’m awesome, hay, everypony knows that, but I can own up to my own mistakes!”

“Got me there, Ah guess.”

“Dang right I do!” The daredevil grinned, turning back to her latest victim and offering him a hoof. “Sorry about that, dude! I was working on a move called the Fantastic Filly Strut, but I got caught in a bit of a tailspin – dang express delivery ponies never watch where they’re going – and, well, here we are! But, yeah, the name’s Rainbow Dash! Future Wonderbolt and all around awesome pony!”

“Pleasure,” Harry wheezed, accepting both the hoof and the light tug she gave to help him to his feet. He staggered a bit as his body readjusted and leveled both pegasi with a look. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that the pegasi are out to get me.”

Before Scootaloo could object or apologize again, Rainbow snorted and grinned before giving a retaliatory barb. “Yeah, we heard this weirdo that walked around on two legs, wore heavy clothes and looked like a hairless monkey except for the bird’s nest on top of his head,” she extended a wing and buffeted against his head, ruffling his hair and making even more of a mess of it. “Was skipping around with Twilight, so we decided to take care of that little problem.” The lone human couldn’t help but laugh at the nonchalant, airy manner in which she delivered the line. “Oh, I like this one, Twilight! He’s got good taste in humor! Can we keep him? I promise I’ll feed him and walk him and bathe him!”

Twilight and Applejack groaned and facehooved, leaving Harry with the perfect opportunity for a retort of his own. Really, he needed something silly to take his mind off of all the seriousness he’d been dealing with today. “No, I just thought it was funny that a pony who can’t even pull herself out of a tailspin thinks she can ‘take care’ of this little problem,” he drawled, quirking an eyebrow as if daring her to one up him.

Little did he realize, but Dash was always up for a challenge. She could tell he was kidding, hay; he even earned points for use of her little accident. But that didn’t mean he was off the hook. Anypony, or human, who challenged Rainbow Dash was gonna get exactly what they asked for.

In this case, the resident human had just earned himself a very special initiation session of her favorite game…

“READYSETGO!” She cried, launching herself forward and tackling him to the ground.

“What in the world are you doing?!” Harry shouted, trying to push himself up, only to be shoved back down by the quick hoofwork of the laughing mare. He tried to shift his arms to gain leverage, but no matter which way he moved, Rainbow Dash shifted with him and pressed her hooves down on his arms or shoulders, trying to pin him to the ground.

To his surprise, none of the other ponies moved to stop her! Rather, the Crusaders were cheering!

“Go Harry!” Sweetie Belle chirped, bouncing in place as the older mare managed to pin his legs.

“Get ‘em Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo laughed. “That’ll show him to make jokes about pegasi!”

“Watch out fer her wings, Harry!” Apple Bloom called out. “Rainbow likes to play dirty with those feathers of hers!”

Rainbow grinned broadly as she finally managed to get one of his flailing arms pinned under her foreleg. “Only one limb left,” she crowed. “Better move or I’m gonna be the first pony to outwrestle a human!”

“Outwrestle a – are you insane? Twilight! Get her off of me!”

“I’ll pass,” Twilight giggled. “Remember that friend I mentioned this morning? This is she. Rainbow loves to roughhouse, and you just threw down the challenge. I might have magic, but I’m not stepping in the middle of this one!”

“Darn right she’s not!” The cyan pegasus laughed. “You’re on your own here, scruffy! And, right now, you’re on your last limb!”

“A little warning would’ve been nice!” He wheezed, his lungs losing air due to the sudden addition of Rainbow’s weight. “Really! Get off! I can’t breath!”

His comment made Rainbow stop, but not for the reasons he wanted. Narrowing her magenta eyes, she brought her muzzle just inches away from his face. “You calling me fat?”

Uh oh. Danger Will Robinson! “Uh… no?”

“Oh, you asked for it, wise guy!” Rainbow growled playfully as she finally managed to pin his second arm. Harry struggled and squirmed beneath her, but he couldn’t free himself. She definitely had him, and it was a fact that the mare pinning him reveled in.

As did her biggest fan. “Rainbow wins again!” Scootaloo cheered, jumping and buzzing her tiny wings with joy.

“Aw, Ah wanna see a rematch,” Apple Bloom pouted. “She only won ‘cause she jumped him!”

“Oh, the show’s not over, girls!” Rainbow called back, her eyes not leaving Harry’s. The boy noticed that they seemed to take on a very mischievous gleam. “Our little human just earned himself a little extra for that last comment of his!”

A low chuckle from Applejack drew Harry’s attention away from the spectral pegasus’s eyes. “Yer in for it now, bucko!” She laughed. “Shouldn’t have said anything about her bein’ a little heavy on ya!”

Harry looked back at his attacker, confused, and noticed that she’d unfurled her wings and moved them into position on either side of him, right next to his ribcage. His eyes widened in realization. She wouldn’t!

She would. Rainbow softly traced a line up and down the sides of her pinned victim, laughing at the way he squirmed and writhed, trying to escape her teasing feathers, all while biting down on his lips to try and prevent himself from submitting to her torment.

Well, that was fine, she had a solution for that little trick, too. “You know,” she began with a conspiratorial stage whisper. “Scoots isn’t the only one who can buzz her wings…”

Just as she planned, Harry’s eyes widened in realization. “No! Don’t!”

Bingo!

The instant he opened his mouth to protest, Rainbow made good on her threat and gave her wings a light buzz. It was nothing to her, hardly an effort, but more than enough to send her victim into peals of laughter.

“Who’s heavy now?” She mocked, giving her wings a more insistent buzz against his sides. “Who’re you calling fat?”

“No – pfft! No one!” He cried between laughs. “Oh – haha – M- er-her-her-her-lin! My ri-hi-hibs! Please!”

Rainbow shook her head in mock disappointment at his wording and gave another quick buzz. “Nope, gotta speak Equine, dude! Not sure what a ‘no one’ is, so looks like you’re gonna laugh until you burst!”

“No pony! No pony! You’re not he-he-heavy! I can’t even fe-he-hehehe-heel you!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought!” The pegasus laughed victoriously as she hopped off of him and stood to the side as he regained his breath. Rainbow poked him a couple of times with a hoof, forcing him to roll over onto his hands and knees and start pushing himself to his feet again. “C’mon, dude, don’t tell me a little post-wrestling tickle session was too much for you!”

“Ease up a bit there, Dash,” Applejack chided. “He ain’t exactly havin’ a dream of a first day, y’know!”

Her pegasus friend rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, well, serious time over, awesome time now! And I’m awesome enough for pretty much all of Equestria!”

“And humble enough, too,” Harry grumbled as he finally made it to his feet, earning a round of giggles from the Crusaders, Applejack and Twilight and a glare from Rainbow.

“What was that? Coulda sworn I just heard you ask for another round?”

“I’ll be good!”

The Crusaders were rolling on the ground at this point, both at Harry’s immediate response and the backwards flinch he’d taken the moment he heard the threat of a second round of wrestling with the tomboyish pegasus. Matching grins from the other two mares gave light to their own amusement in the situation.

“I’m sure you will,” Rainbow cooed teasingly, reaching up to ruffle his hair again. “I’ll even give you a treat if you behave for the rest of the day!”

“Wonderful,” he deadpanned. “I’ve gone from suspected cheater to science project to pet in a day!”

“What was that first one?” Twilight asked, all traces of joking gone.

“Long story, I’ll tell you the full version later. For now, let’s just say that, back home, I’ve been blamed for something that I didn’t do and have been taking a lot of heat from fellow students.”

“”But –“

“Now really isn’t the time,” he interrupted, glancing at the Crusaders, who were still laughing at Rainbow’s joke.

“Fine,” Twilight huffed. “But you’re telling me everything when we get back to the library!”

Applejack nodded. “Ah’m with Twilight. Ya’ll seemed bothered when ya mentioned the ‘cheatin’ thing, so Ah’m more ‘n a bit interested in that one.”

Before Harry could open his mouth to object to the farm mare’s additional presence, Rainbow cut in and shot him down, hovering in the air so she could cross her hooves and give him a stern look, a look that seemed out of place on her muzzle. “Don’t try to ditch out on this one, dude. You brought it up, so I wanna hear it too!”

“What’re ya’ll talkin’ about?” Apple Bloom asked, somehow appearing at Harry’s heels without warning. “Ah wanna hear!”

“Yeah! Who’s a cheater?” Scootaloo asked, jumping up and down eagerly.

Not wanting to be left out, Sweetie Belle zipped over and started jumping in place alongside her pegasus friend. “Yeah! Cutie Mark Crusaders, human story listeners!”

“YAY!” The trio chorused, not missing a beat.

“It’s not something I feel comfortable talking about – hang on,” he stopped suddenly, his thoughts turning to the way the fillies had identified themselves, as if they were part of some sort of club. “You said it again.”

“Said what?” The fillies asked in unison, tilting their heads to the side.

“That thing, you called yourselves something when you introduced yourselves. You just said it again.”

“What? Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Apple Bloom offered.

“Yes, that,” he nodded. “What is that?”

Scootaloo gave him a look that showed that she felt the answer should be fairly obvious. “It’s our club, silly! We go around trying to find our special talent so we can get our Cutie Marks!”

“And… what exactly are ‘Cutie Marks’?” The blank stares and blinking was more than enough to tell Harry that this was a subject that was fairly common knowledge here.

Ever the prepared student, Twilight was the first to recover. “You… don’t know what a Cutie Mark is?”

“Not the slightest clue.”

“Ya haven’t noticed?” Applejack put in. “The marks on our flanks didn’t stand out or nothin’?”

“Well, I don’t typically spend my time staring at people’s… ponies’… backsides… I mean flanks… whatever! I don’t normally look there!”

The trio of mares exchanged looks with one another, before turning to give him a view of the marks they spoke of. “These,” Twilight began. “Are Cutie Marks. They appear on a pony’s flank when he or she finds their special talent.”

“Mine’s apple farmin’,” Applejack explained, pointing to the trio of bright red apples that adorned her orange-coated flank.

Rainbow darted forward and pointed a hoof at the image of a cloud with a tricolored lightning bolt. Harry couldn’t help but admire the colors; they were as diverse as her namesake and equally as vibrant. “Mine is flying!”

That left Twilight, who simply smiled and allowed Harry to examine her mark: a magenta starburst, circled by six tiny stars. “My Cutie Mark represents magic,” she explained. “My special talent.”

“No kidding!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Talented enough that she’s the Bearer of the Element of Magic!”

“Well, yes,” the purple unicorn admitted, her cheeks coloring slightly at her friend’s praise. “But that’s not important right now!”

“Fine, fine. So, any other questions?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Harry said, turning to look at the Crusaders. “Not to be rude, but where are your marks? Or is that what you meant by trying to find your ‘special talents’?”

The trio of fillies hung their heads sadly. “Yeah,” Sweetie Belle pouted. “Everypony in our class has theirs, we’re the only ones left who don’t!”

“So, you ‘Crusade’ to find your talents?”

“Eeyup!” Apple Bloom answered, bouncing back from her momentary bout of self-pitying and giving a grin. “We’ll find our talents soon enough! We just haven’t tried the right stuff yet!”

Scootaloo followed suit, buzzing her wings in excitement. “Yeah! We’ll find a way! Hey! I know! What’s your talent, Harry?”

“Uh… what?”

“Your special talent! The thing that helped you get your mark! Maybe that can help us find ours!”

Harry blinked in confusion, hadn’t he just explained that he didn’t know what a Cutie Mark was? “We… Humans don’t have Cutie Marks, Scootaloo.”

“What? But… But how do you know what your talents are?” She asked, sounding horrified that anypony would go without a definite way of finding his or her talents.

“We find them on our own,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “It’s part of human life.”

“Then… what about that?” Scootaloo pressed as she looked at a point slightly above his eyes.

“What about what?”

“That!” She repeated, pointing with a hoof. “That lightning bolt looking thing on your head!”

Harry felt a clump of ice drop into his stomach as the words sunk in, as all attention was drawn to his most hated feature. All eyes went straight to that damn scar on his forehead.

And he’d been so happy that no pony had stared at it for any length of time, too.

“Hey, you’re right, Scoots!” Rainbow praised, reaching down to ruffle her mane. “Looks like you do have a mark, dude!”

Applejack stepped closer to take a better look. “Eeyup, she’s right on the money there! Though, Ah’ve never seen one that dark, other ‘n Princess Luna’s, that is.”

“Hmm, you don’t have wings, so I doubt that it has anything to do with flight, like Rainbow Dash’s mark,” Twilight muttered as she examine the scar on his forehead. “Is it supposed to represent your magic? Do you specialize in weather or elemental magic?”

It took a moment for Harry to find the words, even longer to find his voice as the sound of his mother begging her murderer for her child’s life echoed in his mind, along with that high, cold, cruel laughter that was so familiar to him.

The laughter of Lord Voldemort.

“It’s… not like a Cutie Mark,” he muttered, a bit of sadness in his tone. “It’s something else…”

“What is it then?” Apple Bloom asked. “It looks an awful lot like one!”

The human teen shook his head. “It’s not. Believe me, it’s not. It was… It was an accident.”

He couldn’t help it, he just couldn’t tell them. Not Scootaloo, not Sweetie Belle, not Apple Bloom, they were too young to know. He didn’t really know Applejack or Rainbow Dash that well, but they didn’t need to know that either. He didn’t need them to pity him both for being a stranger in a new world and for being an orphan.

But he definitely couldn’t tell Twilight. He just couldn’t. She didn’t need the burden of that knowledge, none of them did.

Of course, he’d already made Ponyville’s resident librarian curious, so she just had to ask. “What happened?”

This time, he had a reply ready. “It’s not something I like to talk about,” he admitted truthfully. “Not a very good day for me.”

Sensing the sudden shift in mood, Rainbow zipped over and threw a hoof around Harry’s shoulders. “Hey! I said less seriousness, more awesomeness! So, let’s get back to fun stuff, ‘kay?” While she definitely wanted to break up the tense atmosphere, Rainbow wasn’t heartless. Hay, she’d have to be deaf and blind not to see how much of an effect a simple mention of that mark on his head was having on the newcomer.

Besides, if he was moping around all the time, she, along with the rest of her friends, would have to spend valuable time finding ways to cheer him up rather than doing something awesome like wrestling, pranking or putting on a stunt show. And that just wasn’t happening. Not when Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash was on watch!

Even worse, Celestia and Luna forbid he mope around during Pinkie’s unavoidable “Welcome to Ponyville” party. Rainbow shuddered at the memory of the last pony who was grumpy during one of those; Pinkie could be quite inventive when it came to finding ways to make ponies smile.

“So!” She started cheerfully, practically dragging the teenage wizard over to the rest of the group. “What’s the plan, egghead? What’s in store for the latest victim of my physical superiority?”

Despite the good mood being ruined for the most part, Harry snorted. “You sure you don’t mean your superior body mass?”

“All I heard from that was ‘Hey, Rainbow Dash, please kick my flank again’!”

“Shutting up.” Dash gave him a wicked smirk that told him all he needed to know; he was off the hook for now, but next time, she’d serve his flank to him on a silver platter.

That was one source of embarrassment that he didn’t want to experience again. Though, with the look she was giving him, he’d end up in a rematch with her whether or not he made another comment about weight.

Looking to his unicorn friend for a way out, he found his hope lost at the amused look on her face. Evidently, Twilight was quite pleased that he’d made it past the initial awkwardness with Applejack and Rainbow and had even managed to get on what he assumed to be good terms.

His pleading look was not lost on Princess Celestia’s prized student. Twilight shook her head at the boy and decided to at least take some pity on him. “Rainbow wanting to roughhouse with you is her way of saying that you’re ‘cool enough’ to hang out with her. And no, there’s no way for Applejack or I to stop her.”

“Got that right!” The cyan pony boasted. “Even with magic, Egghead can’t pin me! AJ’s got more muscle on her than ten other earth ponies, and she still has trouble!”

“Ah think Ah gotta go with Harry on the humble comment, Dash,” Applejack drawled.

Rainbow held a hoof to her ear in a joking manner. “Sorry, AJ! Can’t hear you over how awesome I am!” She glanced out of the corner of her eye, and found that Harry was trying to subtly slip out of her grasp. Her cocky grin returned immediately as she gave him a little jerk back towards her. “Whoa, there, fuzzy top! You’re not slipping away that easy!”

“Why would I want to do that?” He asked innocently, drawing a raised eyebrow from his winged captor.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with the fact that you’ve just earned yourself a permanent spot on the prestigious Rainbow Dash match card.”

Harry gulped. “Permanent?”

“That’s right,” she purred predatorily. “Consider that last one your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ lightweight preview. Next time, you get the same kinda match Twilight gets!”

“… Oh… wonderful…”

“You’re so lucky, Harry!” Scootaloo cheered, happy that her idol and newest friend were getting along. “Rainbow says I have to wait a couple of years before I can wrestle her!”

“Err… thanks? I guess.”

Applejack had to laugh at the uncertainty evident in his voice. “Heh, that boy looks like he’d rather tangle with a rattler ‘n have a friendly wraslin’ match!”

“Let’s move on, girls,” Twilight cut in before Rainbow could continue their banter. “Before Rainbow’s ego is inflated even more!”

So maybe she wanted to get a shot in on Dash, too. As much as she wanted Harry to get past his awkwardness, she couldn’t very well leave him to the mercy of Applejack and Rainbow, those two were more likely to turn him into a stammering mess if she let them needle him without somepony to balance them out.

As funny as that might be, he still had to meet Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie.

“Psst! Twilight!” The purple unicorn was jolted out of her thoughts as a familiar voice called her name from somewhere behind the Apples’ stand. Pinkie? Sure enough, a pink-coated earth pony mare with big, bright blue eyes was waving her over with a hoof.

Speak of the mare who makes logic optional and she shall appear!

“Pin –“

“Shhhh!” Pinkie cut her off, holding a hoof over her lips. “Come here!”

Twilight made as if to ask why the heck Pinkie couldn’t just canter over and tell her whatever it was she wanted, but stopped short as she realized that this was Pinkie Pie, the only logic that mattered was whatever made sense to Pinkie at that given moment. Glancing back to her other friends, who were, as she predicted, taking turns teasing their human companion and laughing as his face took on a rather interesting shade of pink.

She shook her head in amusement and slipped away as quietly as she could. Harry would have to survive on his own for a bit while she tried to decipher whatever Pinkie wanted.

Along with whether or not she’d need a mug of the Apple family’s hard cider afterward.

As she approached the stand, Twilight started to greet her perpetually hyper friend, but before she could get the first syllable out, Pinkie grabbed her and yanked her behind the cart and out of sight.

“ACK! Pinkie Pie! What in Equestria are you doing?”

“SHHHHH!” Her friend shushed her again. “He’ll hear you!”

While Twilight was used to Pinkie’s eccentricities, she had to ask. “Who will hear you?”

“Him!” Pinkie hissed, pointing a hoof at Harry, who Twilight noticed, with no shortage of amusement, had somehow found himself in a wrestling match with Applejack, while Rainbow Dash and the Crusaders hooted and provided commentary. “Harry can’t know I’m here or it’ll ruin the surprise party!”

“Pinkie… we’ve told him that there’s going to be a – wait! How do you know his name?”

“Just a hunch!” She chirped, drawing a deadpan look from the studious unicorn.

Let it go, Twilight reminded herself. This is Pinkie Pie; nothing with her makes sense. Just let it go and move on. “Ok, Pinkie,” Twilight began slowly, trying not to give into the headache that was always associated with Pinkie’s more eccentric moments. “I’ll bite, why did you call me over?”

“Oh! Well, first my ears got tickly, then my hooves got the shivers! Which usually means that there's a new pony in town! But then, my tongue went dry, my teeth chattered and my eyes got scratchy like I was reading for a really, really long time! Which means that I need to go the the library! And then, when I went to the library, I saw him and thought to myself: 'Wow, self! He's new, not a pony, and looks an awful lot like a Harry! Hey! Let's throw him a party!' And now, here I am! Also, could you take Harry to Carousel Boutique first? Kinda need to do some stuff.”

Despite prior experiences with Pinkie's... Pinkieness, Twilight found herself gaping. "Pinkie... I don't even... None of that made the slightest bit of sense in any way."

For her part, Pinkie just shrugged. “If you say so. But seriously, take him to Carousel Boutique and keep him busy. I need a bit more time getting things ready. See ya later!”

With her message delivered, Pinkie bounced away, humming a tune to herself as Twilight struggled to make sense of her friend. After a moment of mental struggle, she simply gave up and decided to file it away under the many things that made Pinkie who she was.

She shook her head as she walked out from behind the apple stand and back towards her friends, giggling at the sight of Harry being pinned down and subjected to teasing from Applejack and Rainbow.

“Y’know, yer supposed to try and pin me, bucko,” Applejack grinned, looking at her victim through half-lidded green eyes. “Not flail those arms o’ yers around like a windmill.”

The pinned human glared back up at the farmpony, growling in frustration at the widening grin on her face and the poorly hidden guffaws from the ever-confident pegasus standing just a few feet away. “Well, excuse me for thinking that Rainbow was the only crazy, wrestling pony around here! And, seriously, get off!”

“Hear that, AJ?” Rainbow goaded. “He thinks you’re crazy!”

The orange-coated pony leaned closer to the fallen human, touching her snout to his nose and snorting threateningly. “Ah heard,” she growled playfully. “And Ah’m pretty sure that last part was a shot at mah weight, too!”

“W-What! No it wasn’t!” Harry protested frantically, dreading what cruel punishment the large country pony could think up for him.

“Now, now, ya’ll shouldn’t lie, bucko,” Applejack said in a mock stern tone. “That’s just as bad as talkin’ ‘bout a mare’s weight in mah book!”

“But –“

Rainbow cut his protest off, sharing a wink with her friend as she put forth a suggestion. “Hey, AJ! How’s about we teach our little human a lesson about how to treat fine mares, such as ourselves?”

“And just how do you suggest we do that?” The farmpony asked in faux confusion, having already caught on to her spectral-maned friend’s plan.

“Well, if we’re gonna keep him, we’ve gotta train him right?” She asked, grinning at the indignant look that crossed Harry’s face at her repeated joking that he was their pet. “So, we’ve gotta make sure he knows how to behave.”

“Ya mean like how Ah used to splash Winona with water when she was bad?”

“Sorta, but not quite. Fuzzy top might actually like being cooled off, since he’s got all those clothes on! We’ve gotta think of something he won’t like!” Ok, now he was starting to get worried. It was clear that they were just teasing, but there was something about the inconspicuous winking and shared gleam in their eyes that was rather frightening. His face betrayed his nervousness, as the pegasus laughed and walked slowly towards him. “I think he’s figured it out, AJ. So, how should we start off?”

Harry turned his eyes to his captor and gave her his most pleading look, hoping that she’d have pity on him. Judging by the smirk on her face, she’d been subjected to Apple Bloom’s puppy dog eyes enough to where his poor attempt at an imitation didn’t even faze her. She hummed to herself in consideration. “Well, we know that his sides are pretty ticklish, but Ah hear that some ponies are the same way on their hooves. Ah think we should see if his are, fer science, o’ course!”

Rainbow made as if to reply, but noticed Twilight approaching out of the corner of her eye. With a grin, she turned to the town librarian and decided to see if she couldn’t milk this a bit longer. “Hey, Twilight! We’re gonna see if human feet are as ticklish as hooves! Better get your notebook!”

“Maybe later,” she replied smoothly, laughing at the look Harry shot her as Applejack let him up. A look that showed a mixture of relief, gratitude and betrayal, probably when he caught on that she was only saving him temporarily. “He still has to meet the others.”

“Ah’d love to stick around ‘n chat with ya’ll s’more, but those apples ain’t gonna sell themselves!” Applejack declined with a tip of her hat to the young human. “Hope ya find a way home soon, but Ah won’t lie ‘n say that Ah don’t hope ya stick around fer a while. Ya seem alright enough.”

Of course, Rainbow had to have the last word. “Just want you to know, I definitely pinned him faster!” She gloated, drawing a groan from all but her self-proclaimed number one fan.

“It ain’t ‘bout speed,” the farmpony drawled as she turned to walk away. “A win’s a win on the scorecard.”

“Sounds more like some fancy talk from somepony too slow to keep up, if ya ask me! Right, fuzzy?” Before Harry could react, he found himself with Rainbow’s hoof around his shoulder and held in place.

He heaved a sigh, resigning himself to his fate of being dragged around by the speedster. “Leave me out of this,” he deadpanned. “I’ve already reached my quota for wrestling matches today.” His reply drew a chuckle from the farmpony as she trotted over to her stand and proceeded to greet Octavia and Vinyl, who, to Harry’s amusement, still seemed to be going back and forth, continuing the friendly argument from earlier.

“So, where are we taking scruffy next?” Rainbow cut off his observation, laughing at the slightly irritated look Harry gave her for the near-constant remarks about his hair.

“Well, Fluttershy’s cottage is a bit out of the way and Pinkie… is somewhere,” Twilight finished lamely. Come to think of it, she had no idea where her hyperactive friend was setting up the party either. “So we’ll visit them a bit later.”

“Rarity’s then?” the pegasus asked, receiving a nod of confirmation. “Oh, she’s just gonna love you!” She said, nudging him with an elbow. “A whole new species that wears clothes all the time! I’m sure her fashion senses are already tingling!”

Her laughter increased in volume at the visible shudder that passed through her human companion. Harry remembered his first actual trip to be fitted at Madam Malkin’s. While it wasn’t the most miserable experience of his life, it wasn’t exactly something he particularly enjoyed. Standing in place while someone took measurements, mumbled to herself, and then had you try on clothes that they picked out wasn’t his idea of a good time.

And those needles… Yeah, he definitely wanted to avoid those.

Twilight caught on to his expression and spoke up. “It won’t be that bad,” she tried. “She’s a wonderful designer, but I’m sure she’ll be considerate.”

“Pfft! If he doesn’t end up standing in place while she tries to figure out how to make clothes for him, I’ll eat my flight goggles.”

---  

“Oooh! That little sister of mine! How many times do I have to tell her not to play with my fabrics without asking?” A pearl white unicorn mare huffed angrily as she telekinetically sorted through the mess of fabric. This simply could not be happening right now! This was the worst possible time, the worst. Possible. Thing!

If she couldn’t find the right fabric for this concept ensemble, she’d have to place an order for it, which ran the risk of being late, given the nature of the Equestrian Postal Service ever since Ditzy Doo left.

Times like this served as a harsh reminder that, while Ditzy was given to accidents here and there, she was a lot more intelligent than most ponies gave her credit for.

Back to the topic at hoof, since the Postal Service was, for lack of better term, shoddy at best, the likelihood of getting the fabric on time was suspect at best. And that, why that was unacceptable!

Perhaps we should examine her reasoning a bit. This mare was known throughout the elite circles of Canterlot as the brilliant fashion designer who ran the Carousel Boutique in rustic Ponyville. To the rest of Equestria, she was the Bearer of the Element of Generosity, one of six mares who had saved the peaceful nation from certain destruction thrice within the span of a couple of years.

But to the inhabitants of Ponyville, to her friends, she was just Rarity, the high-maintenance, prissy, frou-frou pony who hated to get her hooves dirty. At the same time, she was Rarity, the generous, hard-working, kind mare who loved to do everything she could to make everypony around her look and feel their very best.

The main reason for her current state of distress was the distinct lack of fabric of a specific shade of green for her dear friend Fluttershy’s dress. Rarity generally refused to make an outfit of the same style twice, in fear that it would grow tacky, but even she had to admit that paying homage to the timid pegasus’s love for nature and animals fit too perfectly to change. Oh, she could definitely change a few things in the overall design, but the subtle elements like colors blending together simply had to stay.

“Um, Rarity?” The aptly named Fluttershy spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. Had it not been for her years of straining to hear the butterscotch yellow mare’s voice, Rarity wouldn’t have heard a thing. “If it’s too much trouble, I could always come back another day to do this. I can just go home and take care of Angel Bunny and the rest of my animal friends… if that’s ok with you, that is.”

The designer shook her head without looking up from her search. “Oh, heavens no, darling! This is no trouble at all!” She waved her off airily. “I’m just having a bit of trouble finding the right shade of green for you, dear.”

“Oh, alright. But, I really don’t want to be a bother or anything, so –“

“Nonsense, dear! You are a dear friend, and I will not have you looking anything less than utterly fabulous when we go to the Grand Galloping Gala this year!”

“I know and I really appreciate that, but, really, you don’t have to go to all this trouble so far in advance for me…”

This time, Rarity turned to her friend and shot her a look that made it perfectly clear to the timid animal caretaker that she wasn’t going to be allowed to put this off any longer. Although Fluttershy really didn’t want to bother her friend, she had to admit that it was a good idea for Rarity to discuss dress designs in advance, so to avoid a similar mishap as the last Gala they’d attended.

Fluttershy lowered her head and rubbed her fetlock nervously; she hoped those poor animals in the Royal Gardens had forgiven her for her outburst. She really had been such a loudmouth! Well, by her standards.

The sound of tinkling bells from the entrance drew the attention of both mares. “Just a minute!” Rarity called out in a singing manner before turning back to her friend. “I’ll be just a moment, dear, don’t go anywhere now!”

“Oh, ok,” Fluttershy muttered, prodding a hoof into the floor in nervousness of more ponies coming into the boutique. “If you say so.”

The pearl white unicorn stifled a giggle at her friend’s expense as she made for the front door. Really, that timid pegasus needed to stop worrying so much about pleasing others and not coming off as rude! Fluttershy was the most sincere, polite pony in Ponyville, even if Rarity counted herself.

Admittedly, Rarity was a tad vain, but she wasn’t above giving credit where it was due.

She adopted what Applejack referred to as her “fancy walk”, snout high in the air, eyes closed serenely and stride confident as she stepped into the foyer. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique,” she began her well-practiced greeting, cracking her eyelids slightly to get a view of her guest. It was a trick she used to come up with ideas prior to even speaking with the customer. She happily noticed her dear friends, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and somepony she’d never seen before.  With great effort, she refrained from grinning outright at the thought that her friends had brought a potential customer in and continued on unabated, fully opening her eyes to better survey the specimen before her. “Where everything is chic, unique and magnifique! My name is Rarity, how might I –“

Ponyville’s resident fashion expert stopped in mid sentence, eyes wide in shock as she took in the sight before her!

Horror of horrors! What in the name of the Royal Sisters’ heavenly bodies was that? It was disgusting! Revolting! Vile! It was… It was…

The Worst .

Possible.

Thing!

---

“Is she going to be ok?” Harry asked as he warily surveyed the gaping unicorn mare before him. He had to admit, she certainly looked like she took the utmost care to look absolutely perfect; not a hair of her alabaster coat or deep purple mane and tail were out of place.

Rainbow Dash scoffed and waved off his worries. “She’s fine, just going through one of her overdramatic meltdowns. I give her about five seconds before she joins the rest of us in the land of the living again.”

“Oh, honestly, you two!” Twilight chastised them before turning to her stunned friend in concern. “Rarity, stay calm, take deep breaths. I know this is a bit of a shock, but I need you to –“

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA’S SHINING SUN IS THAT?” Rarity screamed, pointing a hoof directly at Harry.

Pony and human winced and hurriedly clasped hoof and hand over ears to block out the sheer volume of the mare’s voice.

“Geez, Rares,” Rainbow grumbled, rubbing her ears with a hoof. “Calm down!”

“Calm down? Calm down?” the fashion pony screeched in horror. “How can I calm down when you bring this – this – this –“

“Human?” Harry offered helpfully, already resigned to the fact that he’d just met the first pony who wouldn’t accept him.

“Crime against fashion!” That reply stopped any coherent thought running through Harry’s ‘fuzzy topped’ head in its tracks, instead replaced with the prevailing question ‘Bwa?’ He turned to his equine friends for an explanation and was met with a rather humorous sight.

Two grown mares and three tiny fillies facehoofing and shaking their heads in unison, each of them grumbling things like “Should’ve known”. “Of course”, and, in the case of Sweetie Belle, “How am I related to her?”

Naturally, Harry knew exactly how to respond. “Uh… What?” Eloquent as always, Harry.

“Your clothes, darling! They’re absolutely horrid!” She cried, before turning to Twilight. “Oh, Twilight, how could you let him walk around town with these rags on?”

“Hang on,” Harry stepped in, eager to defend his de facto landlord. “It’s not her fault! This is all I have with me!”

Unfortunately, his attempt to shift the blame only served to deepen Rarity’s horror. “Why in Equestria would you wear clothes like that, darling? Why those robes look like they’re made of such low grade material!”

The boy sputtered indignantly at the slight on his clothes, completely missing the snickers from the cyan pegasus at his side. “These are school uniform robes! And… well, fine, they are a bit hot in the spring and summer but it’s tradition!”

“They force you to wear those?” Almost instantaneously, her expression switched from utterly scandalized to sympathetic as she seemed to teleport to his side and take his hand in her hoof. “Oh, you poor darling! How awful! Well, don’t you worry, dear! I have just the thing for you, even if you are a bit different from my usual clientele.”

As her ever-exuberant friend dragged Harry into the main room, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders giggling at his protests and trailing behind, Twilight fought the urge to shake her head and massage her temples. Sometimes, her friends could just be too crazy for words.

Of course, Rainbow Dash had never been one to keep her mouth shut, especially when she knew she had the perfect chance to needle her friends. “I totally called that, by the way.”

“Oh, shut up.” The librarian shot back testily, trotting along after her friends.

---

“Wait a moment, miss! I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think you have anything that’ll fit me!” Harry protested futilely.

True to form, Rarity ignored his complaints and dragged him forward towards another mare, this one a butter yellow coated pegasus with a pink mane and light blue eyes. The moment she locked eyes with Harry, she flinched and shyly lowered her head to the floor, as if she were trying to make herself invisible.

Before he could try to placate the timid mare, Rarity released his arm and spoke up. “Nonsense, darling! True, you are unique, but, as I said earlier, everything I make here is unique in its own way! All I need from you are your measurements, perhaps a bit of help from our mutual friend, Twilight, to find a spell to make a mannequin of your shape and - oh!” She stopped abruptly as a realization came to her. “I haven’t even asked you for your name! How rude of me!”

“It’s really nothing, miss,” he assured her. “I’m Harry Potter.”

“The pleasure is all mine, darling, and please,” she said with a flutter of her eyelashes. “Call me Rarity.”

“Oh, well, uh… Thank you, Rarity, but, really, I don’t want to trouble you –“

“Harry, dear,” he stopped at the sudden change in tone. Harry noticed that the mare’s sapphire eyes had taken on a rather determined edge, boring deep into his own.  Ponyville’s fashion designer took a step forward, giving him a stern glare as she poked a hoof into his chest. “I must insist that you accept my offer.”

The human teen gulped and nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Excellent!” Rarity beamed at him, all signs of the near predatory look vanishing from her face in an instant. “Now, stand right there next to Fluttershy, dear. I’ll find the measuring tape and be back in just a moment! Oh, darling, don’t be rude!” She cut off, turning to the mare to his right. “Say hello for goodness sake!”

As Rarity turned away to search her worktable, a high-pitched “Eep” from the pegasus drew Harry’s attention, as the shy mare seemed to sink even lower, as if hoping the ground would swallow her up. Harry could hear hoofsteps approaching, likely Twilight, but resolved to try and continue the trend of introducing himself.

After all, Twilight’s plan seemed to involve him stepping out of his comfort zone and being social, so he should at least put some effort in.

“Hello,” he greeted softly, wincing as the mare squeaked in fear again. He pressed on, hoping that a simple exchange of names would ease the tension. “I’m Harry, what’s your name?”

Wow. Way to be smooth, you charmer, you, he inwardly chastised himself.

The yellow-coated pegasus looked up shyly for just a second, before quickly averting her gaze downwards again. “I’m… uh… I’m… Fluttershy…” she mumbled.

Harry blinked in confusion, turning his head so he could hear. “What was that?”

“I-I… I’m… Fluttershy.”

“A little louder?” He asked, trying to coax her to speak up.

To his dismay, this served only to frighten her more. Her eyes began tearing up, the only sound coming from her mouth being a very high-pitched whimper, a sound Harry would’ve expected more from a kicked puppy than a full grown mare.

Fortunately, this was nothing new to Twilight, who saw this coming and decided to go right ahead and nip this in the bud. While, she had to admit, she was pleased that Harry had taken initiative this time Fluttershy was a special case. Introducing her to new friends took a considerable amount of finesse to get around the issue of the animal caretaker’s shyness.

The town librarian stepped close to her friend, placing a comforting hoof on the quivering mare’s shoulders. “Fluttershy, this is Harry,” she said gently. “He’s my friend and, needless to say, he’s new to Ponyville. He’s very nice and friendly.”

“And really fun to tease, too!” Rainbow threw in helpfully as she flew over and landed beside her fellow pegasus. With a mischievous smirk, she leaned down as if to whisper in Fluttershy’s ear and stage whispered. “His face turns the most awesome shade of red if you push the right buttons!”

Between that little revelation and the blushing and sputtering boy trying to protest her friend’s statement, Fluttershy couldn’t help but let out what could only be described as the most adorable set of giggles Harry had ever seen or heard as her prismatic-maned friend was proven right.

His cheeks were almost as red as Big Mac’s coat!

“Found it!” Rarity sang, drawing all attention to her once again. Harry couldn’t help but narrow his eyes in suspicion at the innocently grinning mare; he might be new, but he was quite sure that she had deliberately prolonged her search to force him to talk.

The fashion designer met his gaze, smiled winningly and winked, all but confirming his suspicion.

Rarity stepped forward, holding the measuring tape in her telekinetic field and gave him a look that sent a cold shiver down his spine. Somehow, he knew this wasn’t going to be pleasant. “Now, just hold still, darling! This won’t take but a minute!”

---  

Four. Freaking. Hours.

Harry stumbled out of Carousel Boutique, trying his best to ignore the giggles that followed his admittedly over exaggerated reaction to the fitting. But still, four full hours of standing in place while being measured, stuck with pins, and having Rarity mutter about possible designs, color schemes and the like, while chastising him for moving even the slightest, lest he throw off her measurements and force her to start all over again.

She had been way to excited to have a new model for her fashions. And, really, was it necessary to discuss so many different types of apparel? Seasonal apparel, formal attire, casual dress, even clothes for ‘roughhousing’ – apparently, she felt that he’d need them since he’d already befriended a certain diversely colored pegasus.

“Never again!” He vowed to the giggling mares as they trotted after him, guiding him back toward the library to rest off what had been a very hectic day. “I will never willingly subject myself to that ever again!”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but was unable to hide a grin from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit melodramatic? It wasn’t that bad!”

“She stuck me with a needle three times!”

“I-I’m sure she didn’t mean to,” Fluttershy interjected softly. After Rarity had managed to get the measurements she needed from Harry, the unicorn mare quickly jotted them down in her notes and shooed them away so that she could take care of a couple of ‘errands’ with the Crusaders’ help.

Of course, Fluttershy had been standing next to Rarity when Pinkie Pie barged in and asked them to stall Harry for as long as they could while she put the finishing touches on his party, and then asked that Rarity make her way over to be part of the welcoming committee.

She’d asked Fluttershy as well, but relented when her shy friend had declined on grounds that she didn’t want to be too loud and risk scaring Ponyville’s newest inhabitant. Pinkie had let her off the hook, but only after she Pinkie Promised (capitals required) to be present at the party and to have, in the party pony’s words: “The most super spectacular awesome fun time ever!”

Naturally, when Pinkie was involved, “ever” meant until the next party she threw. Fluttershy had been friends with her long enough to understand the nuances of Pinkie’s version of Equine.

“I know,” Harry grumped, bringing her back to the conversation. “That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell though!”

His complaint earned him a light jab to the shoulder courtesy of Rainbow Dash. “Aww, does the widdle foal not like mean ol’ Wawity’s needles?” she teased in baby talk.

“That’s funny,” Twilight stepped in, sending a light glare at her athletic friend. “I seem to recall somepony whining like a little filly the last time she was being fitted for a dress.”

Rainbow’s look could’ve melted steel. “Not. Cool. Egghead.” She ground out, jabbing a hoof with each word before dropping to the ground beside her human friend, grumbling about ruined coolness as she trotted.

A snicker from her left redirected her ire to the young human, who tried his best to look innocent. No dice.

Ponyville’s Weather Team captain made a mental note that the scruffy haired human had just earned himself round two; she’d get him now, but Fluttershy had mentioned the party location while Harry had been distracted by Rarity.

He’d get his later.

Of course, that would only happen if he wasn’t traumatized by a certain pink pony who made the laws of physics and reality seem like guidelines. Rainbow stifled a grin at the thought; if he thought Rarity was a hoof full, wait until Pinkie got going!

“Hey! Let’s get this train moving!” She grinned, zipping behind the human and pushing him along. “We’ve got stuff to do and ponies to see!”

“ACK! Stop pushing! I can walk on my own, dammit!” Naturally, the mare just laughed and nudged him along, ignoring his protests and those of her fellow ponies. There was a show to see and by Celestia’s immaculate wings she was going to have a front row seat!

---

“Really, was that necessary?” Harry grumbled as they approached Twilight’s library. Rainbow’s response went unheard as he finally got a good look of the outside; a tree. The library was inside a bloody tree!

What? How even? What?

Shaking his head, Harry just decided to go along with it. Between all the strange things that he’d seen in the wizarding world and the whirlwind of a first day he just had, Harry was willing to accept what he would now call a “treebrary” as completely normal.

Of course, Twilight was much more observant than he gave her credit for, and had noticed the brief look of shock that had crossed his face. “Impressive, isn’t it? I was a bit shocked when I first moved here, so I looked into the history of Ponyville Library. Rumor has it that the seed was planted by Starswirl the Bearded, one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestrian history!” She recited, seeming quite happy to display her knowledge to her friends.

Harry somehow got the mental image of a unicorn with a beard nearly as long as his headmaster’s, forcing him to do his absolute best to fight back his laughter. Do not laugh at historical figures! He mentally scolded himself. Especially when the personal student of a powerful, near goddess princess gets star-struck just talking about him!

He ended up settling on a nod and simply saying, “That sounds very interesting.” The grin he received was nearly blinding. Yeah, she was definitely just like Hermione in pony form, overjoyed that someone genuinely found her explanation for what most would call miscellaneous facts interesting.

With that being said, Harry resolved never to let them meet, for the sake of his sanity.

“Oh, don’t get her started!” Rainbow groaned in mock despair. “Please don’t make everypony suffer through the most horrible form of torture ever invented!”

“What’s that?” He asked, just before Twilight could fire off a retort.

“One of egghead’s lectures, of course!” That earned her a hoof to the shoulder, courtesy of the aforementioned egghead. “Geez, didn’t realize you brainy types were so violent these days! Looks like we’ve gotta tread lightly, scruffy!”

Harry shook his head and held his hands up in surrender. “Leave me out of this.”

“Heh, wimp.”

Twilight grumbled something unintelligible, but Harry had the distinct impression that it was less than flattering, if the irritated expression on her muzzle was anything to go by. He watched as the mare took a deep, calming breath and resumed her typical calm, smiling air; she obviously had a great deal of practice and patience to handle Rainbow Dash’s constant need to make some sort of remark.

Glancing to the mare on her opposite side, Harry found that Fluttershy was looking a bit unsettled by her friend’s obvious irritation, but seemed afraid to speak up in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

It was a feeling he could sympathize with, having sat through several arguments between Hermione and Ron.

As they neared Ponyville Library, Harry noticed that the windows were darkened, as if Spike had decided to close up for the day. While he couldn’t tell time without a watch, Harry was almost certain that it was still late afternoon, early evening. Did libraries in Equestria close up earlier than those on Earth?

Turning to fix Twilight with a questioning look, receiving only a coy smile and a gesture with her hoof, inviting him to go first into the library.

British cultural norms demanded that he open the door and let the mares go first, but he shrugged and obeyed, chalking it up to another bit of difference between two cultures.

Harry pulled the door open and stepped in, finding the interior of the library covered in complete darkness. What in the world? “Uh, Twilight?” He began. “Where’s the light switch?”

Her coy smile widened into a full grin, one mirrored by Rainbow Dash and, to a much lesser degree, Fluttershy. “On your right.”

“Oh, right, thanks,” he turned and felt around in the darkness with his hands until he felt the familiar plastic covering of an outlet covering. He brushed his fingers across the surface and flipped the switch up. Immediately, his ears were assaulted by a many voices crying out at once.

“SURPRISE!”

Harry jumped backwards and fumbled for his wand instinctually as his brain went into full panic mode. Grasping the handle firmly, he pulled it from within his cloak and looked up to find his ambushers.

Only to come face to muzzle with the same pony from this morning.

“Hi!” she chirped happily, bouncing excitedly in place. “Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? I hope so! I love surprise parties! They’re super fun! That’s why I throw everypony new to Ponyville a big party on their first day in town! And I know you’re new because I’ve never seen you before, and I know everypony in Ponyville! But, then again, you’re not a pony so you’re not ‘everypony’, so I guess I still know everypony, but I don’t know everyone!”

The teenage wizard gaped in shock, stuttering and stammering as he tried to keep up with her rather enthusiastic greeting. “Wha – Who – Huh?”

Rather than explain or slow down, the pink-coated mare giggled and continued. “You’re really funny! I like you! My name’s Pinkie Pie! Wanna be friends?”

Still reeling from Pinkie’s introduction and sudden appearance mere inches from his face, Harry’s stammering continued, forcing Twilight to step in with a roll of her eyes and shake of her head. “Don’t worry, she does this all the time,” she said to the stunned wizard. “You’ll get used to it eventually.”

“Yes, but, I don’t even –“

“Don’t worry, Harry! We’re all here to have fun! Because having fun is so much fun that we just love doing it all for fun!” Seriously, what in the world was she on about?

Whatever it was seemed to be the source of great amusement for most of the assembled crowd, including several familiar faces; Vinyl Scratch was standing behind a turntable, bobbing her head to the pulsating beats and electronic music, Octavia wasn’t too far away, though she seemed a bit put out by the choice in music. Derpy and Doctor were over by the snack table, munching on a plate of muffins and having what seemed to be a friendly debate over which ones were better.

But at the forefront, laughing at the spastic pink pony, were Rarity and Applejack.

“Don’t hurt yerself tryin’ ta figure her out, Sugercube,” Applejack advised. “No pony but Pinkie gets Pinkie. And even that’s no guarantee half the time!”

“Right-a-roonie!” Pinkie sang happily, throwing a hoof around the stunned human and dragging him forward. “C’mon, Harry! You’re gonna love it! I’ve got everything here! Games, snacks, plenty of drink! Ooh! Ooh! I even got some of the Apple family’s famous cider!”

“Hey! Slow down!” The boy protested as he finally found his voice. “How do you even know my name?”

If Pinkie heard his question, she ignored it entirely as she laughed and continued to pull him along, introducing him to ponies in her rapid-fire manner, giving him very little time to actually connect names with faces or even properly introduce himself.

Not that they seemed bothered by that. Actually, they seemed to take Pinkie’s actions with a grain of salt, grinning, waving and chuckling as she zipped around with the her two-legged victim in tow and made sure he met everypony she’d invited to his party. Suddenly, she stopped, causing Harry to stumble as his feet failed to catch up to the excitable mare.

“Ooh!” She gasped, turning to him with a face-splitting grin. “Derpy brought muffins! C’mon! We gotta get some! She makes the best muffins in town! Just don’t tell the Cakes I said that!”

---

Harry learned several things that day.

He learned that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash both loved pranks, especially at parties. He learned that the aforementioned party pony wasn’t above tricking him into drinking hot sauce when he needed to cool off from eating spicy food. He learned that Spike had an amazingly sharp wit and found that he enjoyed spending time with the young drake. He even learned how to do the Pony Pokey with the help of his new friends, and that when Twilight Sparkle danced a safe distance of at least five feet was required.

But the most important lessons he learned that night were to never try to separate Derpy from her muffins or the Doctor from his butter. That was most certainly not a chase he ever wanted to experience again, and he’d never let Pinkie talk him into a repeat performance, no matter how much she promised it would be fun!

The teenage wizard smiled as he disrobed, looking on at the slumbering forms of Twilight and Spike, both equally worn out by the day’s events and the wild celebration housed in their library. While the two were both quite meticulous about keeping the place tidy (Spike insisted that he was only that way because he didn’t want to do more work, but Harry had seen his claws twitching whenever somepony neared a book with a glass of cider or punch), they had managed to keep their demands for cleanliness to a respectable minimum.

While Harry was by no means a ‘party person’, he felt that it had been a successful venture; he’d met the townsponies, avoided mass panic and even managed to make a few friends. For him, that was a damn good day. It was a turn in fortunes for the boy who could pass as fate’s favorite punching bag.

Harry closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep, one of the few times he did so with a positive frame of mind. One of even fewer times in which he actually looked forward to what was to come tomorrow.