Up in Smoke: Chapter One

>Finally your house is completed, and you have somewhere to call your own

>You had been living in the castle for a few months now since you ended up in Equestria, but Celestia promised you somewhere to live

>It took a while for it all to be sorted out, having a house built for someone your size was a large project for the simple folk of Ponyville

>But now, at last, your house was done!

 

>You are Anonymous

>You are in Ponyville, and you are about to enter your own housewarming party

>When you step into the large abode, you can't help but be taken aback by the beautiful hoofmade architecture

>The walls have been well painted in your favourite colour, and the plush carpet is soft beneath your feet

>You don't have long to look around however, as a pink blur zooms towards you, before standing stock still in the form of Pinkie Pie, mere inches from your face

>"HAPPY HOUSEWARMING ANON!"

>Confetti seems to appear from nowhere and Pinkie has the biggest grin on her face

>You think that if she grinned anymore her jaw would come unhinged

"Hah, thanks Pinkie, this place looks great huh?"

>You were wrong, Pinkie does smile bigger, and her jaw remains in tact, "It certainly does! But forget about that! Let's party!"

>You chuckle, and dance with Pinkie and many other ponies in your front room for what seems like hours

>Pinkie then steps up onto a table, and pulls from nowhere what seems to be a very large cannon, adorned with glitter, ribbons, and all kinds of other decorations

>"Alright everyp0ny! For Anon's party, I think it's only right that I reveal my new and improved party cannon! I've made improvements to give it that extra Pinkie Pie kick! So let's do this!"

>You can't explain it, but through the cheers of all the other ponies, you feel a sense of impending doom as Pinkie presses a button, and a large explosion fills the room

>Confetti and streamers leave the cannon, but your eyes only notice a single spark that follows, and lands squarely on your brand new curtains

"Oh."

>You're not entirely sure what those curtains were made of, but you'll be damned if you've ever seen something set ablaze so quickly

>Before you have time to so much as think, the curtains are glowing with flame, and smoke is pouring from them and over the crowd of ponies

>It takes a moment, but the cheers soon turn into scream of terror as ponies dart here and there, frantically moving towards the exit in a blind panic

>Pinkie seems to be mostly in shock, before she waves her hooves and shouts above the crowd, "Don't worry everyp0ny! I have everything under control!"

>Almost immediately as she speaks those words, the fire travels upwards towards the ceiling, now lighting up the wooden boards around it

>You're no fire fighter, but at this point you realise that trying to put this fire out without a hose or something similar would be pointless

>The most important thing is your safety, after all

>Rushing through the stampede of terrified ponies, you manage to reach Pinkie, who is still flailing madly and still trying to get the attention of the ponies

>You quickly grab her and pull her into your arms, now following the crowd towards the door

>"Anon! I can fix this! I-"

"Forget it Pinkie! We need to get out of here before we suffocate!"

>Pinkie's face sinks but she doesn't continue her protest, falling silent as the sounds of screaming and burning overtake all else

>After a few moments you reach the front door, and step out into the open, breathable air with the rest of the ponies, and Pinkie in your arms

>You notice that a crowd has begun to gather around as the flames behind you are growing larger and more out of control

>The sound of a siren fills the area as you notice a cart of brightly dressed stallions heading toward your house brandishing hoses and fireaxes in magic and hoof

>You join the crowd a small distance away from your house, and watch as it burns, the fire ponies doing all they can

>At least it didn't hit-

>BOOM!

>Your booze supply...

>A heavy feeling of hopelessness dawns on you as you hear various ponies crying out and questioning the explosion

>Pinkie is staring at the burning building, now standing at your side having gotten to the safety of the outside area

>There is silence between the two of you as you just watch your short lived home burn, the smoke growing thicker and thicker as it seeps from now heat broken windows

>After a moment, Pinkie speaks up, "M-Maybe they can still save it! The fire ponies know what they're doing, maybe they ca-"

>She is interrupted as with a loud crack, flames burst from the roof of the once quaint wooden home, the structure seeming to finally give way under the weight of itself

>You continue to stare as you see the roof collapse in on itself, the brightly clothed fire ponies now shouting at you and the crowd to 'Get back!'

>Your face somehow remains blank, even when the house entirely collapses in on itself, burning and crackling in a large pile of what is now just firewood for a large blaze

>Right now, you don't feel anything. Not anger, not malice, not even sadness. Just pure, blank, emptiness

>As the brave ponies begin to quell the fire with hoses, you just fall onto your butt on the grass beneath you, and watch them

>You don't even notice Pinkie step closer to you, and sit just beside you on the grass

>"Anon... I'm s-"

"Don't..."

>Pinkie stares at the ground, her face displaying a sadness you couldn't ever imagine her having inside her

>"I... I didn't know it would... I'm-"

"I said don't Pinkie!"

>She flinches slightly as you snap, but seems to understand as she once more falls silent next to you.

>Finally the fire is out, and the crowd has dispersed, the occasional pony coming up to you to apologise for your loss of a home, only to be met with a shrug from you

>Then it is silent, and only you and Pinkie sit before the black pile of soggy ash and wood in the cold night air

>After a while you sigh deeply, and put your face in your hands, only now starting to feel the huge blend of emotions seep into your conscious mind

>Before anything else, you groaned loudly, like all your feelings would just come out along with it, but unfortunately no such mercy occurred

>In all honesty you really didn't know how to feel. You were mad, sure, but surely Pinkie hadn't meant to demolish your house.

>You were angry at the loss too, all that wasted potential. But again, you couldn't miss what you never had right?

>Your thoughts were broken as you heard soft sniffling next to you, and you raised your head just enough to see Pinkie, quietly sobbing and occasionally wiping her tears

>The longer you watched her despair, you more pain you felt in your stomach, in your chest

>She hadn't meant for this to happen

>You didn't really know Pinkie all that well, even though she'd been one of the first to greet you when you ended up in this crazy world

>You still can't understand how she was so accepting of you, being an alien to her and her friends, yet holding you not in a suspicious regard, but a kind and friendly one

>Now that very same pony, the one who threw you a housewarming party out of the goodness of her own heart, was sat there, broken next to you

>You lowered your head again for a moment and sighed once more, your anger now replace with guilt and sadness

"...I'm sorry."

>Pinkie sniffled for a moment before looking up at you, her eyes slightly puffy from her tears, "What? Why are you sorry?"

>You look her in the eye, a sad expression plastered on both of your faces

"I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did... You didn't mean to do this, I know that, I just..."

>You stop your sentence, not really sure how to carry it on anyway. Were you just sad about losing the house? Or was it more than that?

"I guess I just don't know what I'm going to do now... I suppose I'll have to see Twilight about sending a message to-"

>"Why don't you stay with me?"

>Pinkie's voice had come out of nowhere, and though it still was riddled with sadness, there was a hint of hope in her words

>You weren't entirely sure you had heard her right, but you're sure she had offered you a place at her home, somewhere to stay in your time of need

"What?"

>Pinkie looked up at you with those big blue eyes, her tears all but drying up and she repeated herself once more, "Why don't you come stay with me?"

>Sitting up straight, you turn to face your body towards the little pink mare, and shake your head slightly

"Pinkie, I couldn't do that... It wouldn't be r-"

>You find yourself being interrupted once more as Pinkie puts her hoof up to your lips, physically stopping your words

>"Don't be ridiculous Anon, I burnt down your house, I... destroyed your new home... It's the least I can do, the very very least to say the least!"

>You're not sure whether to be happy or confused, but you're fairly sure that Pinkie wouldn't mind you staying with her

"I don't know Pinkie, I'm not even sure you'll have room for me, even at the palace they had trouble finding a bed big enough for me. We're not exactly the same size after all..."

>Pinkie shook her head in an almost ridiculous manner, "No no! It's fine, I have a bed big enough for you Anon! And there's a spare room in Sugarcube Corner!"

>Why would she have a bed big enough for you? How cou-

>You stop that trail of thought as you remember which pony you're dealing with here, and she probably had all sorts of things you didn't know about at the ready

>Damn Pink pony defying reality!

>You sigh once more, unsure at this point what else you could argue against. You didn't want to feel like you were imposing, but again, if Pinkie really did blame herself then there was going to be no changing her mind.

"Ok Pinkie, but only until I can get a new house prepared, I won't impose on you for a day more than that."

>Pinkie stops her frowning, and a smile works it way back onto her face, "Thank you Anon."