Fillydelphia Big Time's Big Party (OPEN)

[RarityDash]

"Okay..." Spirit said to Starflower in a spaced out voice, tilting her head. As she walked away with Starflower, she glanced back at the blue stallion.

"That pony is... odd..." Spirit commented softly once they were a distance away. It was true. Most ponies were odd to her, but that pony had been especially odd to her. Something was just really strange about him.

[Sunshine]

“Absolutely!” Big Time said with enthusiasm as he pulled out two tickets and held them to Shanna. “There you go. Good luck, and have a great time at the party!”

Meanwhile, Bull Dozer's worries were once again washed away after hearing Shanna refer to him as 'handsome company'. Meeting her brother now seemed much less of a daunting task.

When the brown stallion caught a glimpse of Shanna's cutie mark, he made a mental note of it to ask her about her special talent when they got to their table.

Bull Dozer opened his mouth to say something back to her compliment but stopped himself. His eyes widened into saucers as he remembered why he came here in the first place. Originally, he was going to have a talk with Big Time about an incident they had a few years ago. The two stallions weren’t fond of each other, and Bull Dozer was fully expecting a physical fight.

The brown earth-pony now had second thoughts about confronting the blue Pegasus. He didn't want to make a scene in front of the mare he adored. Bull Dozer HAD to think of a way out, otherwise he would probably be removed from the party.

"Bull Dozer?” Big Time said questioningly.

It was too late. There was no way out. It was now or never. Bull Dozer sucked in a breath to let out a barrage of prepared comments, but was cut off by a deafening yelp coming from the blue stallion.

“OWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!” Shouted Big Time as he was speared in the rear by Destiny’s horn. The stallion put both hooves on his flanks and nearly made it to the roof with how high he jumped. The pain was excruciating beyond belief.

His sunglasses were flung off of his face and landed somewhere in the distance, while the bag of raffle tickets was knocked over.

Landing back on the ground, Big Time squinted and bit his lower lip as he looked at his backside. He was still rubbing it with his hoof while the pain throbbed. Finally, the injured stallion was able to look at the panicked unicorn who jabbed him.

Normally, it would take a LOT to get Big Time angry, and he wasn’t one to get flankhurt about situations…but in this situation he really WAS flankhurt and reacted thusly. “YOU!”

With his sunglasses off, it was easy to see the anger in his green eyes, “First, you knock over a bunch of ponies who were standing in line! Then, you constantly make a mess by knocking over food! And now THIS!”

Big Time pointed a hoof to the exit. “I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave!”

The blue pegasus’s wings, which were normally kept at his side, were now unfurled to punctuate his anger towards the mare.

At this moment, Bull Dozer slipped away. He grabbed one of the raffle tickets that fell out of the bag and trotted next to Shanna. The brown stallion couldn’t have asked for a better distraction. He smiled at Shanna as though nothing had happened while still holding the raffle ticket between his teeth.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna giggled and put the tickets away. "Thank you! I certainly will!" sending a glance to Bull Dozer as she moved aside for him.

She cocked her head curiously at the stunned look on Bull Dozer's face, then turned back to look when she heard Big Time speak his name.

Before she could wonder what that could mean, she saw an angry uncorn charging from behind. She started to shout "LOOK Ou.... oh!" as she stepped back, seeing Big Time go straight up!

Shanna stood in amazement as Big Time crashed down and blew his top, sending the now-pale unicorn out of the building, not seeing Bull Dozer grab a ticket.

She fluffed her wings a moment "Oh dear, will he be all right, do you think? That might end the party if he's hurt..."

After a moment, she thought over how they acted. Not wanting to push the situation between them until she knew more, she smoothed her feathers down, then looked to Bull Dozer "Ah well, might as well head over to Hoss now..."

Meanwhile, Hoss chatted happily with Mojo and Jubilee "Well I hope you get your chance. Have you signed up for the talent show he mentioned?"

Just then there was a yell and the host nearly hitting the ceiling, and a pair of sunglasses bonked Hoss in the head. He watched as Destiny was ejected "Too bad... -That it didn't happen sooner."

He hoofed the sunglasses to Jubilee with a wink. "Now might be a good time for you to take these to him. Will he need Starflower's help?"

[Mojo]

Destiny Star was mortified. She had made a complete fool of herself tonight. She wanted to be the center of attention tonight, but not like this! What if the press found out about this? The reddish maned unicorn shuttered at the thought of the possible headlines in the Entertainment section of the newspaper: "Destiny's Star is Tarnished at Big Time's Party." As she opened her mouth to try to defend herself, she noticed all the angry looks from the gathered crowd of ponies. Embarrassed beyond belief, the unicorn bowed her head low, began to sob as she slowly walked towards the exit.

"That wasn't cool, miss," Mojo neighed.

"Way to score points with Big Time!" Jubilee laughed. "You really got your POINT across to him!"

As Destiny continued her 'walk of shame,' Saddlesore emerged from under a table and promptly stuck out his tongue at her.

"Serves you right, you crazy hornheaded clown!" the blue stallion laughed, turning to shake his rump at her before walking back towards the buffet table. At that same table, Starflower and Spirit Flame sat together and began to dine. When she saw Big Time getting attacked from the rear, the nurse unicorn stood up to take action.

"Please excuse me, Spirit Flame. I'll be right back after I tend to our host's injuries," Starflower said politely as the light blue unicorn rushed up to Big Time, levitating her black bag with her. "Mr. Big Time, I'm Nurse Starflower and I want to help you with your injury. If your wound is serious, I'll need to wrap a sterile bandage around it to prevent infection."

Starflower really felt awkward. Having been a nurse for a long time, she was used to viewing other pony's rumps, but how will the host of the party react to a mare he's never met before asking to give his rear medical attention? Jubilee looked down at her hooves. They held Big Time's sunglasses that Hoss had just given her.

"Thanks, Hoss, I owe you big for this," the petite blonde Pegasus said as she flew up to the blue stallion. "Mr. Big Time, sir, here are your sunglasses. By the way, if you're still accepting entrants to your talent show, may I sign up? I'm Jubilee Flyer, you may not have heard of me but I hope to be a big star someday, and since I have no horn, I'd never jab you in the rear like Destiny did!"

Jubilee hoped her humor would make Big Time feel better. Seeing this, Mojo turned towards Hoss.

"Looks like Wings is getting to talk to him. Hoss, thanks for helping me chum! Where's your sister? Love to meet her!"

[RarityDash]

Spirit Flame titled her head, confused. Starflower walked away from her. She turned and watched her, head tilted in curiosity.

She rushed over to the very strange blue stallion they had just left. He was acting even stranger it seemed. He was shouting at some pony to leave. Apparently he had been hurt somehow, but Spirit didn't see any blood and the pony was still able to stand up, so she doubted it was very serious.

Spirit stood there awkwardly, perfectly still, just watching the scene. She really just wasn't sure what to make of any of this.

[Sunshine]

After making sure the white unicorn was out of the building, the blue stallion looked to Starflower. Her question took him by surprise. "My...injury...?" Big Time blushed. "Um...I think I'll be okay." The embarrassed pegasus dropped to a sitting position, but instantly sat back up after feeling a jolt of pain. "Ow!"

Big Time looked back at his rear again. “I really don’t want to…but…” With a sigh, he turned around so his backside was facing Starflower. This had to be one of the most embarrassing things he had to do, especially during a party where anypony could be watching.

To add to the situation, a petite Pegasus mare was flying over to him. However, his shame turned into excitement as he saw she was holding his sunglasses. “Thank you very much, Jubilee!” Big Time took the sunglasses from her and slipped them on. He smiled at the blonde mare, “I’d be more than happy to enter you into the contest. So far, only three ponies have signed up, so you have a very good chance!….um….” Big Time looked back at his rump. “…I’m sorry we couldn’t have met under less….humiliating…circumstances.” The talent agent gave a nervous chuckle. “I look forward to seeing what you can do!” At least something good came out of this situation, Big Time thought. A pony with ambition, and she actually seemed nice. Being nice wasn't a factor in whether or not he would take her on as a client, but still, it WAS refreshing after what just happened. She also seemed funny, which was always a bonus.

"I have a feeling he'll be just fine, Ms. Skybright," Bull Dozer said. He was almost smiling at the thought of Big Time getting poked. In the brown earth-pony's mind, he knew that Big Time was let off easy compared to the beat-down Bull Dozer would've put on him.

Now, at least Bull Dozer felt he could enjoy the rest of the night without worry. He could spend time with Shanna, meet her brother and hopefully get along, then enjoy the rest of the events at the party.

Unfortunately, however, Bull Dozer was out of the frying pan, and into the fire. Where Shanna was leading him was the last place he wanted to go. The brown earth-pony hoped and hoped she wasn’t going where he thought she was going. “…oh, shoot…” mumbled the stallion as they approached the table Hoss and Mojo were sitting at.

Bull Dozer remembered that he, Mojo, Jubilee and Starflower had a bit of a disagreement during the beginning of the party. As Bull Dozer and Shanna approached the table, Bull Dozer seemingly lowered his head and avoided eye-contact with Mojo. The hippie pony was the last pony he wanted to see tonight, and Bull Dozer knew that his other sentimental friends wouldn’t be too far away.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Hoss looked over and saw Shanna was coming closer. He also noticed the brawny stallion was coming with her. He thought to himself * Hoo boy! Play it cool. Remember, a quick intro is to prevent mix-ups, like that time I got pinched last year when some colt thought my rump was hers... *

He put on the most pleasent, sincere smile he could "Well Mojo, here's your chance to meet Shanna. Here she comes, with somepony in tow..."

Shanna smiled brightly as she trotted up to her brother, hoofing him his ticket "Heeere you are, bro!"

She looked back at Bull Dozer, seeing the expression on his face, and went up to him in concern. "Are you all right? Is something the matter?"

[Mojo]

Jubilee squealed for joy when she heard what Big Time had to say.

"Thank you, sir, you'll love my act! And don't worry about your.. rear. Starflower is a friend of mine, the very best nurse in all Equestria!"

Jubilee's conversation served as a perfect distraction for Starflower, keeping the blue stallion busy as she levitated a nearby divider and moved it between them and the rest of the party so no one else could watch her work. Quickly assessing the situation, the tall light blue mare treated Big Time wound (which turned out to be less serious than she had first imagined), placing blue bandages on it so it'd be less noticable. In less than a minute, she was done with THAT end and turned to address Big Time face to face.

"All done! The bandages should prevent any chance of infection. Here are a few pills to help ease the pain. If you have any other complications, contact me." the unicorn said with a smile, She then rolled back the divider and returned to Spirit Flame. "Sorry I was gone for so long. I hope you're enjoying the party so far. Do you have any questions? Are you getting enough to eat?'

When Shanna brought Bull Dozer over to their table, at first, Mojo was disturbed. But then, the Paint pony took the time to observe him with the Pegasus mare. He seemed rather pleasant, kind and even tempered. It was a that moment, Mojo realized he and his friends had jumped to the wrong conclusion about him, In his usual peaceful, laid back manner, Mojo approached him and offered his front hoof to shake.

"It appear me and me chums have sadly misjudged you, sir. That's not cool. On behalf of all of them, I sincerely apologize."

Mojo hoped to defuse the potential tension quickly. Parties were meant to relax and unwind, but argue and fuss like what happened earlier in the night with Destiny Star. Speaking of her, the furious reddish poofy maned unicorn had left the party, but not the immediate area. Outside of the building, she stood on her hind legs to reach a window to peek inside. She growled loudly when she spotted Jubilee talking to Big Time and Saddlesore returning to the buffet table for more food.

"NO! That should be ME sweet talking that agent pony! She definitely on MY list! So is that grumpy blue stallion. Wait a minute, LIST! That's it! That's how I'll get to perform in Big Time's talent show!"

Trotting quickly around the other side of the building, Destiny soon entered through the delivery entrance. Grabbing a white apron and chef's hat from the wall, Destiny hoped to disguise herself as one of the caterer's crew. She even placed a crude bandana over her face to hide her appearance. Peering out a door, she saw Big Time still busy talking to Julibee. Then she spotted a piece of paper on a nearby table.

"Hay! That's the sign up list for the talent show!" she said to herself. "I'll secretly sign up and then he'll have ot let me perform!"

Using her levitation powers, Destiny moved a quill over and quickly squibbled her name on it just as she felt a slight yank on her tail.

"Hay! Get these steamed veggies out to the buffet table pronto! I don't pay you to join into the party! Get moving or you're fired!"

Looking behind her, she spotted a grunting Palomino mare who wore a white apron and an even bigger white hat.

"That must be the Head Caterer!" Destiny thought to herself, "I better just play along, can't afford to get myself thrown out again."

Seconds later, the disguised unicorn mare rolled out a cart loaded down with hot steamed vegetables and rolled it towards the buffet table. Her anger rekindled when she spotted Saddlesore helping himself to the buffet just as she arrived.

"Bout time you brought out more steamed veggies, babe!" Saddlesore grumbled. "Hurry up and set them out! Chop Chop!"

To make his point, the blue stallion gave the unicorn a sharp pat on her rear. As luck would have it, it was the exact same area that had been jabbed moments before. Destiny fought the instinct to yell out though the instant pain was nearly unbearable. First, she shot an angry glare at him, but soon calmed herself down.

"Can't make a scene now, can't make a scene now," Destiny repeated to herself as she began setting out the food from her cart. Starflower glanced over at her from her nearby table.

"That unicorn over there looks very familiar...."

[RarityDash]

Starflower returned from helping the very strange pegasus. Spirit hadn't moved a single step from when she had left. When she returned, Spirit shot her a stare. She asked Spitifire if she had any questions. Spirit wasn't even sure where to begin really. There was so much she didn't understand about this that it was impossible to even articulate it. So she didn't even try. Instead, she turned to the second question.

"No. I am still hungry," she said somewhat quietly. She hadn't eaten anything yet.

Moments later, Starflower made a comment about a unicorn nearby. Spirit glanced up and tilted her head. The pony's general physique, pelt and mane color made the answer pretty obvious to Spirit Flame.

"That's because that is the unicorn who earlier identified herself as Destiny Star. She is simply dressed in strange clothing for some reason," Spirit said in a confident voice, giving a nod.

[Sunshine]

((ooc: freaking power outage ))

Getting his rear medical exam seemed to be over within seconds. Talking with Jubilee definitely made time fly, and the excitement made his embarrassment disappear. “Great! Thank you, Starflower. You definitely saved my flank…especially with that divider!” The blue Pegasus laughed then turned to Jubilee as Staflower returned to Spirit. “Well I can’t wait to see what you do…actually, what ARE you going to do for the talent show? We might need to make some preparations.”

Bull Dozer could no longer avoid eye-contact with Mojo. The hippie pony was now in front of him...and apologizing? This was unexpected in Bull Dozer's mind. If he were in Mojo's horseshoes, he would've put up more of a fight. If he hadn't already seen how kind this pony was, Bull Dozer would've been a bit suspicious.

The buff earth-pony just stared for a moment before reaching up and shaking Mojo's hoof. Unsure what to say, the brown earth-stallion responded with: "well, uh...yeah..."

After having somewhat awkwardly resolved things with Mojo, Bull Dozer turned to Moss and gave him a nod. It was surprising to see how similar Moss and Shanna looked. However, their similarity made it abundantly clear they were, in fact, siblings.

“I’m guessing you must be Shanna’s brother,” said Bull Dozer in his usual deep tone. “I’m Bull Dozer.” He held out his hoof, looking upon Hoss with judgmental eyes. Bull Dozer’s father taught him that he could tell a lot about a stallion by the quality of his hoof-shake. Because he already had an opinion on Mojo, the earth-pony stallion didn’t think much on their hoof-shake, it was more of an agreement to let things go than anything else. However, this was his first time meeting Hoss, and he was keeping an eye on the Pegasus stallion’s actions.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Hoss stepped up, continuing his smile. He looked at his sister, who looked back at him with huge, pleading eyes just out of Bull Dozer's view.

He nodded and took the offered hoof in a firm shake "Yeah, we're twins, even down to practically identical Cutie Marks. I am Star Skybright, and called Hoss by friends."

The stallion maintained eye contact in the shake as he had been taught by his parents to help ease meetings in their long travels. "Would you care to eat with us? we were going to hit the buffet table when Shanna here got back."

As he released the hoof, he took a moment to peek around at the larger pony's flank. "That's an interesting mark..." Hoss' stomach chose that moment to interrupt with a growl. Shanna giggled and poked her brother with a wing "You too huh? What are we waiting for?"

He chuckled and shook his head "Sorry, I think we can save telling what we all do for while we eat, if you dont mind."

[Mojo]

Big Time's question stumped Jubilee. She had not expected to be performing tonight, but with a confident look on her face, she boldly spoke: "I plan on singing and dancing onstage, if that''s alright. I brought my... backup band with me. Just give the word and we'll be set up in no time!"

Jubilee wasn't technically lying since she came here with Mojo and Starflower. She knew Mojo could back her up on guitar and could sing backup vocals with Starflower. The blonde Pegasus mare was relieved to see a baby grand piano was already near the stage area. She felt confident she could talk her two friends into becoming her 'band,' even if it was just for the evening.

"This is groovy, all of us sharing a meal together. I'm gonna hit that buffet too, but first I better grab me raffle ticket, hope I win somethin' cool!" Mojo neighed as he quickly got in line where the tickets were being handed out. Spotting her Paint pony friend in line prompted Jubilee to ask Big Time, "even though I'm performing tonight, am I still eligible for one of your raffle tickets?"

Meanwhile, back where Starflower and Spirit Flame sat, the tall light blue unicorn listened to the younger filly correctly identify the disguised Destiny Star.

"I do believe you're right, Spirit Flame," Starflower whispered back. "Thanks for letting know, I think now would be a good time to unveil her!"

As Destiny Star finished putting out her cart of food, she noticed Saddlesore staring at her. She resisted the urge to give him the standard "take a picture, it'll last longer," retort in favor of something softer and nicer.

"May I help you, sir?"

"You're that crazy unicorn that got chased outta here earlier!" the grumpy blue stallion snorted.

"You are mistaken sir," the white unicorn in the caterer's costume lied.

"I KNOW it's YOU! Uncover your face so we can all see I'm right!"

"Pardon me, sir, I have to do my job," Destiny muttered as she began to wheel her cart towards the kitchen. A mischievous grin came across Starflower's face as her horn began to glow. Using her unicorn magic, she quickly removed Destiny's chef's hat, crude veil and large white apron when she was walking directly in front of Big Time.

"What the hay?" the tall reddish poofy maned unicorn squeaked as moans of shock and surprise came from the crowd.

"I knew it! I knew it! It's crazy horse, back to make more trouble!"

[RarityDash]

Spirit Flame watched as Starflower took the unicorn who had called herself Destiny Star's strange clothing off. This was somewhat confusing to her, but Spirit didn't know what questions to ask and Starflower seemed to be smiling. Maybe it was fun? Spirit almost considered using her own magic to help out and see, but she ultimately didn't. Her teacher had told her to always use her magic as little as possible since her magic was so strong. Spirit didn't quite understand this, but she liked to listen to her teacher.

So instead she just watched blankly as the scene unfolded, deeply confused by it all.

[Sunshine]

Big Time looked up in thought for moment, then nodded his head. “I don’t see why not. Let me grab you a raffle ticket.” The blue Pegasus looked at the tipped over bag of raffle tickets and let out a sigh. He reached into the pile that had spilled out and hoofed it to Jubilee. “Here you go.” Keeping his friendly tone, Big Time gave his ‘winning smile’ and said: “I look forward to hearing you and your band. You all are fourth on the list, so be prepared to go on stage after the third pony is done with their act.”

Big Time looked around, “in fact, I’ll probably talk with the DJ about the technical stuff.” If the blue Pegasus wanted to take a break from hoofing out raffle tickets, then he would need to have one of the caterers take his place. To his luck one, happened to be walking in front of him at the moment. Big Time trotted over and was about to get her attention, when her clothing was magically pulled off and her identity revealed. Destiny Star. The shocked stallion just stared at her for a moment. “…wow…” was all the Pegasus could say.

Though her trying to sneak back into the party was completely obvious, instead of just kicking her out, Big Time had thought up a new plan.

"I knew it! I knew it! It's crazy horse, back to make more trouble!"

Responding to the stallion that loudly accused her, Big Time loudly announced to the audience: “Fillies and gentlecolts! Don’t be so cruel as to judge this mare for what she has done!” With a smile on his face, he continued as he stood next to Destiny Star. “Sure she may have been a pain in the flank,” Big Time gave her a look, then returned his attention to the crowd, “but look at her now! She’s trying to make up for her rude behavior by helping out the caterers!”

The blue stallion put a hoof on her shoulder, “if anypony needs ANY food whatsoever, or has a mess that needs cleaning, you can ask this mare here.” He looked at her, “she will be more than happy to serve you.”

At that, he pat her shoulder, then looked at the DJ to turn the music back up, as it had been turned down during Big Time’s “rant”.

The hoofshake was respectful, and Bull Dozer showed an appreciative smile. At the mention of hitting the buffet, the brown stallion couldn’t stop thinking about food. When he wasn’t bucking things down, Bull Dozer loved to eat. His stomach was like a bottomless pit when it came to food, and right now, it growled in agreement with Hoss’s.

Looking to Shanna, Bull Dozer nodded while maintaining a soft smile, “a lovely plan from a lovely mare...if you don't mind me saying.”

Though there seemed to be something happening up near the front of the crowd, Bull Dozer paid no mind to it. He didn’t want anything to do with Big Time, and focused his attention on he, Shanna, and Hoss's hunger situation.

Looking to the buffet tables, Bull Dozer saw they were almost empty of ponies. “It looks like the crowd is distracted…let’s get in there before there’s a line.” The brown earth stallion started to walk toward the buffet, eager to stuff himself with food.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna giggled happily at the compliment. "Why thank you, Bull Dozer." and moved alongside him. "Lead on, big guy..."

Hoss shook his mane with a good natured sigh as he headed for the buffet table. Now if he had a filly at his side, the night would be fantastic...

The bay pegasus stallion chuckled and nodded as the larger stallion commented on the way being clear to eat.

"Oh yeah! Great suggestion! We pegasi eat like theres no tomorrow since we burn up so much energy flying." He nodded to the laid back earth pony "Come on Mojo, tie on a feed bag with us."

[Mojo]

"Right-O! Just give me half a mo' to fetch me raffle ticket first," Mojo shouted while he stood in line, getting his ticket and then trotting towards the buffet table. As he walked by the still stunned Destiny Star, he smiled. "It's a fine thing you're doin', babe."

"Shut up hippie," the tall reddish maned unicorn snorted back, using her unicorn levitation to replace her apron and big white chef's hat. She was caught offguard, but then began to think of her current situation. She hadn't been tossed out again, and her name was still on the talent show sheet, so she knew she'd still have a chance to perform for him. A smile came upon her face when she realized she still had a chance to get noticed by the famous talent scout. Her moment of bliss was broken up when Saddlesore walked up to her, ready to complain.

"There's a mess to clean up over by the second buffet table. Get a move on, Destiny Caterer!"

Destiny turned and snarled at the grumpy blue stallion but then resisted the urge to slap the grin off his face with her hoof.

"Gotta play along, can't ruffle any more feathers," she thought to herself as she walked over to begin cleaning. Meanwhile, Jubilee was still talking to Big Time.

"Thanks Mr. Big Time! My band and I will be ready!" the petite blonde Pegasus boasted as she flew back to where Mojo was sitting. The Paint stallion had just got his plate of food as he sat near Shanna, Bull Dozer, Hoss, Starflower and Spirit Flame.

"Modge, I really need a big favor from you."

As she explained her situation to Mojo, Starflower was still helping Spirit Flame get adjusted to her new surroundings.

"You look confused, Spirit Flame. Do you have any questions for me? I'd be happy to answer them."

[RarityDash]

Spirit was indeed confused, but really she wasn't sure what to ask. It was all so strange to her that she wouldn't have really even known where to start. The spacey unicorn was silent for a long while as she mulled over the potential questions, looking for one that sunk into the heart of her confusion. After several moments of spaced out thought, Spirit looked at Starflower.

"What is the purpose of a party like this?" she asked in a quiet voice. "I do not understand the function it serves..."

[Sunshine]

Bull Dozer gave Shanna a flirtatious wink, then turned his head to Hoss’s comment about pegasi eating a lot. “We have something in common then.” The brown earth-pony turned to face the buffet as he walked, and saw a large variety of food laid out. His eyes went wide as his mouth watered at the sight. With a big grin on his face, and after politely giving a plate to Shanna first, Bull Dozer got two plates for himself. He filled them both up with the delicious treats and walked away from the buffet with one plate held in his mouth, and another balanced on his head.

“Thish ish gonna tasht great,” said Bull Dozer through the plate in his mouth. Suddenly, he almost slowed to a stop as he saw the ponies who were now at the table. The brown earth-stallion resolved his issues with Mojo, but he still hadn’t even talked to the other ponies since he first arrived.

Bull Dozer decided to simply pretend like they weren’t there until one of them approached him, which was ridiculous, but he was stubborn that way.

The bulky earth-pony was about to dig into his food, when he caught himself looking at Shanna’s flank again and remembered to ask her about her cutie-mark. “That’s a fine cutie-mark you got there,” he said with a sincere smile, “if you don’t mind, I’d love to hear about how you got it.”

Bull Dozer shoved a whole sandwich into his mouth, but kept his attention on Shanna. It was clear he was trying maintain his best manners, but the big oaf was struggling with all this delicious food now sitting in front of him.

After Jubilee returned to her friends, Big Time finally got one of the caterers to give out raffle-tickets. He went up and talked things over with the DJ of the party, and solidified their plan for the talent show.

Afterward, the Pegasus stallion sat down and relaxed next to the stage. Ponies were getting their raffle tickets from the caterers, the talent show was planned, his rear was bandaged, and it seemed everypony was having a good time. Maybe now he could relax for a bit.

[Beat Match]

Suddenly, a black coated unicorn with white colored hair with black tips showed up at the entrance of the party and headed over to talk to Big Time. After walking over to the mildly tired pegasus, the mare spoke and said "Hi! My name's Beat Match, I heard you were having a party and I had to come over!" "I'm a DJ/EM (electro musician) and I've gotta say this is one of the best parties I've ever seen! "

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna giggled pleasently at the wink, then loaded up her plate beside Bull Dozer and trotted back toward the table in his wake.

Hoss chuckled at Bull Dozer's comment as he loaded up his plate. "I can imagine you eat as much as a pegasus. You look like you could buck a ball out of a ballpark easy."

Shanna slowed as the larger pony did. "Nervous? Dont be. Mojo will vouch for you..."

As Shanna sat down to eat, she turned and smiled at Bull Dozer. "Oh Thank you! I would love to tell you. Mother is an Astronomer, and we went with our parents on the long trips for her observations. Mom and Dad both taught us one night to navigate by the stars if we got lost, and use the North Star as our guide. We were so enthusiastic, we wandered off for practice in the evening while our parents were busy and got lost.

After the clouds parted, we followed the stars back to the camp, where mom and dad were asking the zebras to search for us. The Shaman pointed out our new Cutie Marks, the North Star."

She nods to Hoss, "Now we are both Weather Patrol for several hours by day, and Astronomers at night."

Hoss flared out his wings proudly "Yeah! Have telescope, will travel!"

She smirked and poked Bull Dozer's Cutie Mark with a wingtip "How about yours? What does it mean?"

Hoss earperked when he saw a very flashy black unicorn boldly trot in and head for Big Time "Ooooh niice..." He ahemed and remembered he was at the same table with Jubilee after Shanna gave him a little kick under the table. "Oh uh, you are so going to smoke her at the talent show, of course, Jubilee. You are MUCH prettier..."

[Mojo]

Starflower smiled as she turned towards Spirit Flame.

"A party is a big celebration! It's a time to meet new friends, enjoy fancy food, generally become amused and entertained! You've never been to a party before, young lady?"

"Thank you, sir!" Jubilee said, acknowledging Bull Dozer's compliment before turning her head towards Mojo. "As I was telling you, Modge, I need a band to help me perform in the talent competition. I know you play guitar and I can play piano. PLEASE say you'll help me out!"

"Ya know I'm there for ya, Wings, but you and me don't make a full band. Ya really need more ponies than that to make up a band."

"You're right! What am I going to do? I'm SUNK!"

"No you're not!" Starflower interjected. "Couldn't help overhear, I can play tamborene and help with back up vocals."

"WOW! You'd be willing to help me tonight?"

"Certainly, now if we only had one more band member..."

"YOU HAVE IT!" Saddlesore interrupted. "I play electric guitar and I owe the big unicorn here a favor for exposing that mean oversized brillo maned Destiny Star to the room!"

"Half a mo', YOU want to help us out?"

"Don't like ownin' any pony anything!" Saddlesore grunted. "I pay my debts!"

"Thank you so much!" Jubilee shouted as she fluttered over and gave the blue stallion a quick kiss on the cheek, This caused the blue stallion to blush red slightly.

"Now don't get mushy!" he grunted, fighting the urge to smile.

Watching from a distance was a furious Destiny Star.

"I am SO going to smoke that group of glue factory rejects in the talent competition! I'll win it, by hook or by crook!"

[RarityDash]

Spirit stared off into space as she let Starflower's words sink in. The general purpose was to be amused and entertained? Then why had Spirit been seeing almost nothing but ponies shouting and acting kind of annoyed with each other since she got here? Why did that strange pegasus who seemed to be in change of things have such an odd smile on his face as he took the money from the partygoers for the raffle tickets? Spirit's question had just opened more questions. She was afraid to ask another one, so she just nodded shyly.

Spirit noticed then as Starflower listened to another conversation and then offered to help with something. She was confused by what Starflower and the others were discussing.

"What is a talent competition?" Spirit asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

[Sunshine]

Big Time was pleased to see another new pony arrive to the party. “Welcome, Beat Match! And thank you. I’m just glad everything worked out. We had a few…complications…earlier. We’re giving out raffle tickets for a raffle, and there’s going to be a talent show at the end of the party. If you want to sign up for-“

Suddenly, the music cut off, leaving just the lights dancing around the walls and the floor. The DJ walked off the stage, and whispered something into Big Time’s ear. “Wh-what?! But I PAID you for the whole night?! I even got you the equipment!” The DJ just shrugged and walked away.

The blue Pegasus felt himself start to panic, but took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Alright…a party is still a party…even though there’s no music…” Big Time stomped a hoof, “Oh! Who am I kidding? This night is destined to fail…”

A light bulb went off in the talent agents mind, “wait,” he turned to Beat Match, “YOU’RE a DJ! Would you mind being the DJ for the rest of the night? There’ll be a nice five-hundred bits in it if you do.”

Bull Dozer listened to Shanna. He smiled as her eyes seemed to light up while she explained what her special talent was. The brown stallion’s mind drifted to the unique markings on her coat, such as her black muzzle and the black tips of her wings. In all honesty, he never really noticed the beauty of Pegasus wings until now. Regardless, not even her wings matched the beauty of her deep blue eyes. It was almost hypnotizing the way they-

"Yeah! Have telescope, will travel!"

Bull Dozer snapped back into the conversation once Hoss spoke. His mind had drifted through Shanna’s story, and he cursed himself for his poor listening skills.

Before he could say something that would make him sound like an utter foal, Shanna spoke up and asked him a question.

"How about yours? What does it mean?"

With a small breath of relief, Bull Dozer responded, summoning his best poker face while talking.

“I’m sure my story isn’t as interesting yours, but I don’t mind sharin’.” Bull Dozer shifted a little in his seat. He loved this kind of conversation, especially when he talked about what he did for a living.

“When I was a foal, I always bucked things. Toys, walls…sandcastles,” at the mention of that word he snuck a glance over to Big Time, who was busy with a black coated mare. “…and because of that, I was one of the first in my class to get my cutie-mark. It happened after my dad brought me to his work and let me tear down my first house.” Bull Dozer smiled at the memory, and his hind leg twitched a little bit, “I still remember the snapping of the support beams…then the final crackles as the house came down…

“Ever since then, I got my cutie-mark, which is a wrecking ball.” The buff stallion chuckled, “…as if anypony needs a wrecking ball with me around. I can take down a building in ten seconds flat these days.”

Bull Dozer took another nibble of his food and swallowed, then continued, “anyway, ever since then I’ve gotten work as a destruction worker. I work at the same construction industry as my dad. He builds ‘em, and I tear ‘em down.” With a laugh, he leaned forward and took a sip from his drink.

[Beat Match]

Beat Match thought about it for a second, "This'll give me great experience and 500 bits is a VERY good price." The mare thought, she smiled and replied "Buck yeah, I'll do it! But only if I get my pick on any of the leftover food after the parties over, and I get to keep some of the equipment, deal?" and stuck her hoof out in the hopes that he would agree and do a hoofshake as she said "Besides, it looks like you need all the help you can get!"

[Boss_Hoss1]

Shanna listened intently, a smile on her face as she looked at him in fascination. * Hmm and a rugged,handsome stallion he is, and that lovely blond mane, and those beautiful Hazel eyes... *

She swished her tail as she smiled again, "Too bad you cant' fly, You would be a natural as a weather pony. We're always having to clear out clouds and bust up thunderstorms before they get dangerous."

She gave her brother a teasing smirk "I bet you could even outdo my brother at cloud bucking..." and stuck her tongue out at Hoss, giggling.

Said stallion snorted and fluffed his wings, shooting his sister a look. He fumed, then started looking around, wondering if he could get cosy with Jubilee or one of the other young mares to get him out of range of his sister's teasing....