Welcome, Bunny Basket

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and something special was happening. There was a new family of Earth ponies moving to town. Egg Basket, Flower Basket, and their only little daughter, Bunny Basket, had just moved all the way from Baltimare. Egg needed more inspiration for his art, Flower wanted to be around more flora, and they both thought Bunny deserved a chance to find more friends close to her age than she was able to back in Baltimare. And they all thought Ponyville would be the perfect place to do so. As they entered their destination and went searching for their new house, they all marveled at the place.
"Look at this place," Egg Basket said with a grin. "It's beautiful and it's perfect. I'm sure to get some more ideas here for Easter egg patterns."
"And I'll have much more room at our new cottage to plant flowers," Flower Basket added blissfully. "And we can have our very own beautiful garden full of different flowers of every shape, size, and color."
"And I can't wait to meet some new friends." Bunny said, beaming. "Do you think the foals will like me here, Mommy?"
"I'm sure they will, sweetie." Flower giggled.
"Yes, you're just bound to meet plenty of good friends here," Egg agreed. "And they'll be a lot nicer than the ones at your old school."
"Jumping Jack was a good friend," Bunny Basket said, remembering the only friend she had at school back in Baltimare, an athletic little colt with whom she had loads of fun with. "But I want some filly friends, too."
"And I'm sure you'll get to make some here, dear," Flower said. "And you could always write to Jumping Jack anytime."
"I hope he's not too sad that I moved away." Bunny thought out loud.
"Well, this is it," Egg Basket declared as they approached their new home. "Let's get settled in."
Bunny was so excited that she sprinted into the house and bounced from room to room, admiring the beautiful cottage til she finally came to her new room, a colorful room touched with pastel shades of pink, blue, and yellow, and of course, Bunny's favorite, lavender. Sunlight flooded through the window, shining a streak of light over the bunny-pattern covers on the bed. Bunny dropped her bag onto the bed and rushed downstairs.
"Good thing the movers have everything ready for us," Egg sighed. "That'll give us much less work."
Suddenly, Bunny Basket sped past her parents and out the door, stirring their curiosity.
"Bunny, where are you going?" Egg asked.
"I'm gonna go out and find some new friends!" Bunny cried, smiling ear to ear.
"Well, okay," Egg said. "You'll remember where our house is when you're ready to come home, right?"
Bunny nodded excitedly, though she wasn't really quite sure she would remember. She just really wanted to get out there and meet some new ponies.
"Alright," Egg chuckled. "You have fun out there, okay?"
"And be home for supper." Flower added.
"I will!" Bunny replied as she merrily skipped off.
As Bunny was skipping along the path, she was suddenly surprised by the sound of party horns and an explosion of confetti. Right before her eyes, she could see a pink pony jumping right in the middle of the path, crying, "Surprise!! Welcome to Ponyville!"
Bunny smiled. "Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm Pinkie Pie!" The young mare answered in a hyper voice. "I heard there was a new family in town. So, I came to see who they were, but then, I saw you come down the street and I was pretty sure you were one of the new ponies. So, I decided to give you one of my official surprise welcomings. Are you surprised? Are you? Are you? Huh, huh, huh?"
"I sure am," Bunny answered. "I like surprises."
Pinkie gasped. "Me,too! Me,too!" She cried, jumping up and down. "So, what's your name?"
"I'm Bunny Basket," the filly answered. "And my parents and I moved here from Baltimare. I'm so excited to be here and make some new friends."
"Well, you've come to the right place, Bunny," Pinkie said. "Because there are a bunch of friendly ponies here and you're sure to find lots of great friends here. I mean, you're already off to a good start since you just met me."
"You mean..." Bunny cried, beaming. "You'll be my friend?"
Pinkie nodded. "Abso-tootly-lootly! I'm be happy to be your friend."
"Yay!" Bunny screamed, giving her new friend a big hug.
Pinkie smiled and giggled with glee. Then, she started chatting away as the two headed off, "Hey! You wanna go get a snack from Sugar Cube Corner? And I could introduce you to the Cakes. They have the cutest little twins, Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake, and I just love love LOVE baby-sitting them, though it can be a big responsibility. But, it's also really fun. I could also show you my room and my pet alligator, Gummy. He's just a baby and doesn't have teeth, so, it won't hurt if he bites you. Then, after all that, I'll show you around Ponyville and introduce you to my best friends. Let's see. There's Twilight Sparkle..."
Bunny was amazed. She had never heard anypony talk so much. But she didn't mind. She really liked Pinkie Pie and enjoyed hearing her speak.
When the two had entered Sugar Cube Corner, a voice rang out, "Hey, look, girls! That must be the new filly!"
The southern voice belonged to Apple Bloom, Apple Jack's little sister.
Bunny Basket turned to see Apple Bloom and two other fillies galloping toward her.
"Well, who's your friend there, Pinkie?" asked Mr Cake.
"Oh, this is Bunny Basket," Pinkie explained. "She and her parents just moved here from Baltimare."
"Howdy, Bunny Basket," Apple Bloom greeted her. "I'm Apple Bloom."
"I'm Scootaloo," added an orange pegasus filly.
"And my name's Sweetie Belle," piped a white unicorn filly. "And we're..."
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" the three of them chorused.
It was then that Bunny Basket noticed that none of the three had their cutie marks yet. At that moment, she gasped, smiling her widest of smiles.
"Finally!" She squealed happily. "I'm no longer the only foal in town without a cutie mark!"
"You don't have a cutie mark either?" Scootaloo cried.
"Oh, yeah!" Pinkie Pie giggled. "I was so excited to meet you that I didn't even notice."
"But, you're still my friend,right?" asked Bunny, looking up at her hopefully.
"Of course, silly!" Pinkie laughed loudly. "Why do you think I wouldn't be your friend just because you have no cutie mark?"
"Because..." Bunny began. But, she could hardly speak while thinking about how badly other foals had treated her back at her old school. In fact, she looked like she was about to cry.
"Are you okay?" Apple Bloom asked.
Pinkie was carrying a plate of cupcakes on top of her head when she noticed Bunny trying really hard to fight back the tears urging to come out of her big blue eyes.
"Aww! There, there, Bunny." Pinkie said, patting her on the head. "Let's go sit down and you can tell us about it if you want."
So, the five of them found a table to sit down at. Pinkie set the plate of cupcakes down on the table as Bunny began telling them about how she was the only one at her school without a cutie mark and other foals, especially the fillies, would pick on her, ignore her, or make fun of her just for having a blank flank.
"Gosh," Apple Bloom said. "We sure know how you feel."
"You're welcome to join our group if you'd like," Sweetie Belle added.
"Really?" Bunny cried, beaming.
"Sure," Scootaloo agreed. "We're always accepting new members."
"There's also Babs Seed," Apple Bloom told Bunny. "She lives all the way in Manehatten but I'm sure she would love to meet you whenever she comes to visit."
"Wow!" Bunny said. "I'd love to join your group!"
"That's great!" Scootaloo cheered.
"So exciting!" cried Sweetie Belle.
"How about we take you to our clubhouse tomorrow after school?" Apple Bloom asked. "We'll have a meeting that'll turn you into the fifth member of our group. What d'ya say?"
"Yes!!" Bunny cried, jumping high into the air and landing back down beside Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie laughed. "Wow, Bunny! You're such a great jumper, I would have thought you literally WERE a bunny!"
Then, they all laughed.
The five of them were having such a great time talking and laughing together that they lost track of the time. That is, until they heard a voice coming from the entrance.
"Hey, Apple Bloom," Apple Jack called. "Time to get home."
"Coming, sis!" Apple Bloom got up and frolicked over to her big sister. She looked back once more at her friends, calling, "See you guys tomorrow!"
"Bye!" Bunny Basket, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle waved back.
"Oh, that reminds me," Sweetie exclaimed. "I gotta get back to Rarity!"
"I think I'd better go now,too," Scootaloo said. "Hope we see you tomorrow, Bunny Basket."
"Bye, guys!" Bunny called. "See you again soon."
"It's getting dark, Bunny," Pinkie said. "Would you like me to walk you home?"
"Sure!" Bunny replied.
So, on the way back to the Baskets' new house, Pinkie and Bunny continued to chat.
"So, tell me about your parents," Pinkie said.
"Well," Bunny began. "My mom is gardener. She really loves flowers. And my dad's an artist. His specialty is painting eggs."
"They sound really neat," Pinkie giggled.
Suddenly, Bunny Basket looked around.
"Pinkie?" she asked. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"
Pinkie looked around, too.
"I dunno," she answered. "I thought we were. But then maybe, I missed a turn. Hmmm. I think we were supposed to go the other way. Follow me."
So, they went the other way but they still didn't know where they were.
"Hmm," Pinkie thought out loud. "Maybe we should have taken the middle road."
So, the two of them ventured off elsewhere.
Pretty soon, though, Bunny Basket spotted a firefly. Where could this shiny little critter be heading off to? Forgetting about finding her own way home, Bunny followed the firefly off to where it was going.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had reached the cottage where Flower Basket stuck her head out from the top front door, calling, "Bunny! Bunny Basket! Where are you?"
"Hello, Mrs. Basket," Pinkie greeted her cheerfully. "I brought little Bunny home for you."
Flower looked beside Pinkie from both sides, confused. "Well, where is she?" She asked.
"Why, she's right here!" Pinkie laughed. But suddenly, looking beside herself, she noticed Bunny was gone. After breaking into one of her huge, over-the-top gasps, Pinkie searched all around her to see if she could find her little friend. "Bunny! Yoo-hoo! Oh, Bunny Basket! Come out, come out, wherever you are?" She sped all over the place to increase the chances of finding Bunny. But alas, she couldn't find her.
"Where's our daughter?" cried Egg Basket, overhearing the commotion.
"I don't know!" Pinkie sobbed her poor heart out. "She was right behind me, I swear! I don't know where she could have gone!"
Flower began to cry.
"Don't worry," Egg said, consoling his wife. "We're gonna find her."
Suddenly, Pinkie could feel her whole body tingling.
"Hold on, you guys," She cried hopefully. "I just got a Pinkie-sense combo telling me that there's gonna be a doozy over at the Everfree Forest. Maybe we'll find your daughter there."
"Wait! A doozy?" Egg cried. "What if something bad has happened to her?"
"We don't even know where the Everfree Forest is," Flower whimpered.
"I do!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. "Hurry! Follow me!"
So, the couple followed Pinkie Pie all the way to the Everfree Forest.
Meanwhile, Bunny Basket was, sure enough, in the Everfree Forest still following the firefly. But, pretty soon, she lost sight of it and started realizing that she wasn't in Ponyville anymore.
"Pinkie Pie?" She called. But Pinkie was nowhere in sight.
The forest was dark and scary and Bunny Basket was all alone.
"Where am I?" She cried. "I think I'm lost."
She could hear mysterious howls and screeches from deep within the forest and saw a many pairs of spooky eyes staring at her. Poor Bunny was terrified. She closed her eyes tightly and began to scream, "Help! Somepony! Anypony! Get me outta here!"
Outside the Everfree Forest, Pinkie, Flower, and Egg could hear the little filly's cry for help.
"Ooh! Ooh! Did you hear that?" Pinkie squealed. "I heard it! She's this way! Come on!"
The three of them hurried into the forest.
Meanwhile, Bunny Basket grew so scared of being stuck in the same place where she was sure to get caught or eaten by some ferocious wild creature, that she fled into a shiny cave. To her surprise, the cave was filled with many colorful jewels.
Bunny Basket stared in amazement. "Wow! These are so pretty! I wonder who they belong to."
She was abruptly stopped in her tracks by a gigantic, scaly, green beast. It was a dragon!
"These jewels are mine!" the dragon snarled.
"I-I wasn't gonna take them from you," Bunny stammered nervously. "I was j-j-just l-looking at them."
But the angry dragon wasn't listening. He just let out a horrible roar and lunged toward the little filly. Bunny Basket sped off, screaming, as the dragon raged after her.
Suddenly, the dragon was distracted by a high voice, calling, "Oh, Mr Draaa-gooon!"
The large creature looked to see Pinkie Pie smiling slyly up at him.
"Come and catch me!" Pinkie said quickly.
Then, she sped from one way to the other. Up and down. Left and right. Vertically and horizontally. All over the place, keeping the dragon's full attention until, finally, the dragon got so dizzy that he came falling down. Pinkie stopped to scoop Bunny Basket up onto her back and then jumped clean out of the way as the dragon landed with a mighty crash.
Finding that the monster was unconscious, Pinkie let out a sigh of relief.
All of the sudden, Bunny heard two familiar voices calling her name.
"Bunny! You're alright!" Egg cried.
"Oh, my little filly!" Flower sobbed happily.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Bunny screamed as she galloped right up to her parents.
Bunny Basket hugged her mother really close and bawled on her chest.
Flower put a hoof around her daughter, saying, "Please, don't wander off like that again. We were so worried about you."
"I'm sorry," Bunny wailed.
"It's okay, Bunny," Egg said gently. "We're just glad you're alright."
"How devastated we would be to lose our only little foal," Flower added.
Pinkie Pie smiled, happy she was able to rescue her new little friend and reunite her with her family.
"You saved our little girl," Egg Basket said to Pinkie. "How could we ever repay you?"
Pinkie blushed and giggled, "Aww! You don't have to repay me."
"But you deserve it, Pinkie Pie," Flower insisted. "If it weren't for you, our little Bunny Basket would have been a goner. You were very brave."
"You're our hero, Pinkie," Egg agreed.
Bunny frolicked up to Pinkie and rubbed up to her affectionately. "Thank you, sis."
"No pro...wait!" Pinkie said, surprised. "I'm not your sis."
"You can be if you want to," Bunny replied. "And I've always wanted a sister of my very own."
"Say, that's a great idea!" said Flower Basket with a big smile.
"Pinkie Pie, how would you like to be Bunny Basket's honorary sister?" Egg asked. "I'm sure she would really appreciate it."
"Well, I...That is...I mean...uh..." Pinkie was so flattered by the offer, she was speechless. But, she finally answered, "I'd be honored to!"
"Yay!!!" Bunny cheered. She started hopping around, singing, "I have a big sister! I have a big sister!"
Egg Basket, Flower Basket, and Pinkie Pie all laughed.
Then, Egg said, "Well, let's get outta here and head on home before that dragon wakes up."
The others nodded in agreement.
Bunny Basket was so happy. Not only she made new friends in her new home but she also gained a big sister. Plus, she learned a valuable lesson; Don't say you know something when you don't. Next time, Bunny would take the time to learn where her house was instead of just saying she knew and hurrying off. Because, her parents loved her so much and would hate for her to get lost or hurt.
"Your supper is still on the table, Bunny," Flower Basket said. "So, go ahead and eat up."
"But, then, go right to bed," Egg added. "You don't wanna be too tired on your first day of school tomorrow."
"Okay," Bunny said, before she started to eat her hay and oats.
As she ate, she thought about her exciting day with her new friends and what fun they would have the next day.
The End.