Thursday Morning

Chapter 1 – Pinkie Pie

It was another beautiful Thursday morning in Ponyville. The pegasi had made unusually quick work clearing the clouds, making everything look as bright and cheery as if felt. To Pinkie Pie, this Thursday morning was also very important. Only once a month did the trains have extra storage carts with them to accommodate ponies who were in the middle of moving and this Friday was her "100th Party" spectacular extravaganza and she wanted to invite all the new ponies to her most ultimate celebration yet. Today was also her one chance to greet every new pony resident and be the first to welcome them to Ponyville. In fact it was so important to her, that Pinkie Pie woke up early every third Thursday of every month to be at the train station before the moving train even arrived. Only this morning she overslept.

"Oh Gummy, this is just terrible!" Pinkie said as she rushed through her morning hygiene. Her toothless alligator sat in his bed, teething on a cushion as he watched the pink mare scramble. "I mean, just think about it," Pinkie continued. "What if I'm late to the train station today? What if I miss saying hi to somepony when they arrive? What if they get sad that nopony was there to greet them? What if they think it means nopony wants to be their friend? Ooooohhhh!" she gasped, hysterically. "What if they don't like Ponyville at all and decide to move away because I wasn't there?" Gummy blinked in response. "You're absolutely right, Gummy." Pinkie said with renewed determination. "I must be there to say hello and give them a smile! I simply must!" And with that, Pinkie dashed out of her room, and through the front door of the bakery. Gummy stared confused at the blank spot where Pinkie Pie used to be, and then continued to teeth on the pillows.

As she dashed through Ponyville, Pinkie made sure to wave hello to all of her friends, which was, well… everypony. Even though Pinkie had to hurry, she never ever forgot to make her friends smile. When she turned her head for an over-the-shoulder-smile-and-wave to Vinyl Scratch, Pinkie ended up colliding with Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh Pinkie, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there," Twilight said. Pinkie steadied herself before responding.

"Twilightsorryi'vegottogettothetrainstationandmeetsomenewfriendsotherwisetheywontlikeponyvilleandbesadandmoveawayandtheniwontgettobetheirfriendeverandtheywillmissmyonehundrethpartyextravaganzaandicantletthathappen!" she exclaimed in a single shout.

"Whoa, Pinkie calm down…" Twilight started.

Pinkie vigorously shook her head before yelling, "I'M ALREADY LATE!" and then she took off. Twilight stood with a look of concern on her face as the pink mare became a blur. She hadn't understood a word of that conversation, but felt as if it didn't really concern her.

Meanwhile an exhausted Pinkie Pie finally made it to the train station, mere minutes before the train was due to arrive. Elated that she hadn't missed anyone, Pinkie trotted up to the gate and displayed the biggest smile she possibly could. The train clanked along shortly and released dozens of ponies, soon to take up residency in Ponyville. Pinkie ran down the line, introducing herself to each new mare and stallion, shaking their hooves, and making sure each one had a smile on their face and an invitation to her party as they went to unload.

It took all of four minutes for Pinkie Pie to meet and befriend the forty-two ponies on the train, tying her personal record of friends made in a single day. Pinkie felt fantastic as she chalked this day up as another good Thursday. Nearly ready to head back into town, the corner of her eye caught one last pony stepping off the train near the very end.

He was an exceptionally ordinary stallion at first glance. An icy coat covered him while a fiery red, tattered mane hung down his head. Heavy, bronze-tinted eyes, one partly covered with hair, marked him as weary traveler, though he didn't seem more than a year older that Pinkie. His Cutie Mark was an icicle surrounded by orange flames, which was a little odd, but the party pony didn't focus on it. Pinkie also caught a pair of wings at his side that were almost hidden by a saddle bag he wore. Upon second glance, the wings were unlike any she'd seen before. Instead of being a single color, these wings started out as a chilling blue like his coat, and then faded to the redish shade of his mane. Pinkie got a wild grin as she realized she was about to set a new record.

She sprang up in front of the pegasus as he stepped off the train, catching him by surprise. "Hello, number 43!" she said giddily to the pony.

He blinked, confused, and said. "Excuse me?"

Pinkie giggled a little. "43, that's the number of friends I've made today, including you. You're the forty-third!" The pegasus still looked taken aback. Pinkie decided to break the ice some more. "I'm Pinkie Pie, your new best friend, and you are?"

The snowy blue pegasus replied curtly, "Frostburn." Then he made as if he were about to move past Pinkie. She stepped in his path, dead set on getting at least one smile.

"So do your friends call you Frosty, or Burny?" She asked.

Frostburn sighed, and then retorted, "I don't really have any friends." Pinkie Pie was stunned by this to say the least. Before she could recover, Frostburn walked around her and made for the exit.

He didn't get far before Pinkie caught up to him. "B-but how can you not have friends?" She sputtered. "Everypony needs friends." Frostburn pretended that he hadn't heard her and kept moving. Pinkie matched his pace. "Well, don't worry Frosty. I'll be your friend."

"Thanks for the offer, Pinkie Pie. But no thanks." Pinkie's eyes widened. Was it possible that this pony didn't want friends? The very thought was simply ridiculous. And not the good kind of ridiculous where you got hopped up on sugar and giggled until you passed out. "Well, at least come to this party I'm throwing tomorrow. It'll be so much fun and then you'll definitely want to make some friends!" Pinkie offered.

Frostburn shook his head. "Parties aren't exactly my scene."

"How can you say that parties aren't your scene? Parties are everyone's scene!" The pegasus just kept walking. "Okay, Frosty, that's it. I'm going to be your friend, and you can't stop me."

"Watch me," Frostburn replied.

Pinkie gave a wry smile and said, "See, we're already having some friendly banter right here! You can't deny that." Frostburn lowered his head and kept walking.

Pinkie stepped in front of the stubborn pegasus, stopping him completely. "I'm not letting you pass until you admit that I'm your friend." Frostburn attempt to move around, but Pinkie blocked him at every attempt. After the twentieth escape try, Pinkie got really frustrated. "You can't possibly expect to live in Ponyville without making any friends. You know that right?"

"I don't plan on staying in Ponyville," Frostburn spoke calmly. "So I guess I don't need to make any friends here." This really confused Pinkie. Who would come to town on moving day, and not plan to stay? She wondered. Turning back, she saw Frostburn already walking away. "Wait up Frosty!" Pinkie cried, galloping after him. It was a challenge for sure, but Pinkie was determined to make Frostburn her friend, and break her record.

Next Chapter: A Small Victory Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 29 Minutes