"Pinkie who?" Rob asked.

David snapped back from his terror. "Pinkie Pie. She is the most hyperactive pony you will ever meet."

"Well a party doesn’t sound bad. At least something good happening." At that, Rob trotted off with David close behind. Rob looked behind him to ask for Pinkie Pie's name again, he noticed his friend was slightly flying. David bumped into something and looked down to see what it was. He saw Rob with is jaw dropped and surprise clear on his face and his shadow not touching the ground. "How... how are ya doin' that?" Rob managed to ask.

David, still in shock from running into Pinkie and the huge party sure to come, noticed he was flapping his wings he hadn't noticed yet. "I guess I became a Pegasus." David said inspecting his newfound wings.

"And ya decided to wait to tell me somethin' important like that because?" Rob prompted. He never liked being left out of the loop when it came to family and friends.

"Well, I didn't notice that I had wings?" David offered meekly.

"Ya don't just 'not notice' that ya have wings David! How can ya?!" Rob said more surprised than angry. David is usually very attentive to the small things. Rob became scared that his friend failed to mention that he 'didn't notice' something clearly important.

"Hold your horses." David said, exploding in laughs as he remembered what they are.

Rob glared at his friend. "Is now the best time ta be crackin' jokes?" Rob said.

"Ha ha... I guess not." David said calming down. "Anyway, there are four kinds of ponies. Earth, like you, pegasi, like me, and unicorns. They can use magic. Those are the most common three. Alicorns have wings and a horn, so they can fly and use magic. They are also very rare." David explained to his friend who seemed to understand.

"So, what kind of power do I get?" Rob asked excitedly.

"Rob, there not 'powers'. Just natural things for ponies to have. But to answer you, earth ponies are often very strong and friendly." David noticed Rob get slightly disappointed.

"Oh. Well, we still have a party to go ta. Let's get a move on." Rob said resuming their walk to Ponyville.

"Right, the... party..." David mumbled off and flew next to his friend.

***

David’s best companion in the world was his computer. It never got angry at him, never failed him, and most importantly, never made him meet new people. Being socially awkward at school was enough of a pain, but a party, no a Pinkie Pie party that would undoubtedly have half the population of Ponyville in attendance or, God forbid, more was one of David’s worst dreams. He enjoyed the company of one or two people at a time that he knew, not huge gatherings of people were he was the person of honor. 'Ok, calm down David. You can do this. You're blowing this out of proportion. It will be a good way to find a place to sleep tonight at least. And to meet the Mane 6. Except maybe Fluttershy.' David's thoughts were interrupted by the hustle and bustle of the market area.

"Now, if I was a pink party pony, where would I make the party...?” Rob thought aloud.

"Pinkie Pie works at Sugercube Corner so let’s try there first." David offered.

"Sugar what?" Rob asked.

David sighed. "Sugercube Corner is a bakery that looks like a gigantic gingerbread house." David told his friend. "Hey, are you paying attention? This is important." David said. Rob nodded and pointed to David’s left.

"Do ya mean that huge gingerbread house?" Rob asked. David looked where he was pointing and saw that they were right outside. There was a sign next to the door that said 'New ponies welcome!'

"That would be the place." David said, remembering his fear. "Before we go in, you need to have our story straight. Where are we from?" David asked.

"Neighvada?" Rob responded.

"Yes, good. Why don't we have any money or Cutie Marks?" David asked.

"We ran out of bits and don't know our special talents." Rob said.

"Good, you remembered what the currency is called. Finally, what are our names?" David asked, hoping he would not forget to use them.

"Uh... yer Paladin and I'm Dusk?" Rob said without confidence.

David sighed in relief. "Alright, good, you remember. Don't forget to change people to pony and stuff like that ok?"

"Sure thing David. Let’s go." Rob walked to the door like nothing was wrong. David summoned what bravado he had and walked to the door. Nodding to each other, they opened the door.

***

"SURPRISE!" And the two were indeed at the large amount of ponies in the store. A pony with pink body and curly pink mane bounced to them. "Welcome to Ponyville! We're always happy to see new ponies in town! What are your names, where are you from? Oh, I'm Pinkie Pie!" She said in her high pitched voice.

"Hi, I-I'm Paladin and this i-is..." David stammered.

"I'm Dusk. Nice ta meet ya Pinkie Pie." Rob finished for him.

"Well come in and say hi to everyone!" Pinkie said.

"What are ya waiting fer, Paladin? Let’s go meet some ponies." Rob said as he nudged his friend.

David scanned the room and saw Twilight Sparkle and decided to start with her. "Hi, I'm Paladin." David managed not to stutter this time.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Twilight Sparkle." The purple unicorn responded warmly. "Where are you from?"

"My friend and I are from Neighvada. We are traveling around but ran out of bits on the way here." David said.

"I'm not from around here either. I just came from Canterlot to make sure the Summer Sun celebration goes smoothly." Twilight explained.

'Crap, I need to find out when that is. Twilights here so it can't be far off.' David remembered. "That sounds like fun. When is it?" David asked.

"It’s in two days. You should come! Celestia will be here." Twilight added.

"Sure, I'll go talk to Dusk about it. See you later." David said walking off. 'Wait, TWO days? This has to be some kind of alternate timeline. That doesn't make sense. Then again, we're here. Actually, where is he?' David thought looking for Rob. Then he saw him talking to a familiar tan pony with a blond mane.

Rob had no idea where to start. Actually, he hoped David would introduce him to someone or name someone at least. 'Guess I'm on my own.' Rob thought to himself. He saw a pony with a Stetson hat. 'Seems like a good place to start' He walked over to her. "Hi, I'm Dusk. Nice to meet ya." Rob said.

"Well howdy there. I'm Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack said.

"Ya have an orchard?" Rob asked with more interest now that farms had become the topic.

"Ah sure do. Finest apples in all Equestria." Applejack said proudly. Rob liked this pony. A southern cowpony just like him. 'Did I really just say 'cowpony'? This place is getting to me already.' "My friend and I are from Neighvada and don't have any bits or a place ta stay..." Rob began to explain.

"Well, why don't ya stay in the barn fer a night or two? We got plenty ah room. And it's almost apple buckin' season. We sure could use the help." Applejack smiled.

"That's mighty kind of ya." Rob said.

"Hey Dusk. Who's this?" David asked.

"Hey there Paladin. This here is Applejack. She's offered us a place to stay and me a job." Rob said proudly.

"Wow. Thanks Applejack." David said impressed at his friends’ gains. "If it’s alright, I need to talk to Dusk. Alone." David said.

"Sure thing. See ya'll at the barn." Applejack smiled and walked off.

"So here’s the plan: we'll stay at the barn for a while, two days to be exact, and we'll talk to Celestia to see how we can get home. Sound good?" David asked.

"Sure, Da- uh Paladin." Rob said catching himself.

"Good. Let’s get some food and head to the barn. I'll show you where everything is." David said. The rest of the party was fun for the two; they had some cake, talked to a few ponies and then head out for Sweet Apple Acres.