//------------------------------// // An sudden invitation // Story: The Greatest Showmare // by Koekelbag //------------------------------// "Thank you all for coming to see us tonight! We hope you enjoyed the show!" The unicorn ringmare shouted out while holding her signature pointed hat high, starting a thunderous applause from the crowd. Nearly six hundred pairs of hooves shook the ground as seventeen heads started to bow, raise, and bow again, all the while being deafened by loud cheering and yelling. Heads raised again, they all started happily waving to the audience while the orchestra started her last song of the night. Under a funky, upbeat tune, each of the Troupe's artists started to leave the stage, doing a little dance routine on the way out before disappearing behind the curtains, until only the ringmare remained. With a smile on her face, she put her hat back on, concealing the slowly-increasing glow around her horn, and waited for the orchestra to finish their piece. Once she decided that it had gotten quiet enough, she started speaking again. "This was our last show in Vanhoover, and we all immensely enjoyed being able to perform here. You were all a wonderful crowd!" Waiting out the second round of cheers, she continued, keeping the spell she was charging up a secret still. "I hope you all had a wonderful night. If you did, be sure to spread word of us far and wide, so all can know the wonders they can experience wherever the Troupe decides to land next!" Seeing the excitement in so many eyes, the mare's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. The spell was ready, and as a special surprise for their final show, the Troupe went out with a bang. "Thank you Vanhoover!" she shouted as loudly as she could, and finally released her magic. Instantly, hundreds of little stars started to litter the air, miniature explosions of bright lights anywhere one could look, and everyone was stunned in awe. A Grand-level illusion, of course, as the mare would never considering using real fireworks this close to anyone, but it was no less breathtaking to watch. Before anyone could manage to tear their gaze away from the spectacle above them, she had already left the stage in a quick flash, officially, finally, ending one of the Troupe's greatest nights to date. And the crowd went wild again. --- Slowly closing the door to her study, the mare was positively exhausted. Flam was already at his desk, hard at work tallying the income and expenses of the night, beads on the abacus rising and falling in his magic. She didn't want to bother him in risk of messing something up, so she quietly walked towards the large sofa on the other side of the spacious room before getting herself into a comfortable position. Making sure that she was snuggled in quite nicely, she then levitated over a very special book lying on the main desk to her hooves. Daring Do and the Forbidden City of Clouds, first edition, hoof-signed As much as she liked doing the shows, nothing could beat that quiet bit of time right after it, where she can just read without worry. The Troupe will handle the clean-up and everything, on their own request, so that 'the mare who always does the majority of the work' can take a breather. Even if she felt a bit guilty about this in the past, she has since become all the more thankful for their decision. So now she'll just wait until Flim comes knocking on the door, hopefully bringing news that everything went smoothly, while enjoying her book. Carefully turning the cover and pages to the point where she last left off, she started to tune out the clacking of the abacus, the scribbling of endless numbers on paper, and the distant sounds of the audience being led away, losing herself in the excellent as usual writing of one of her favourite fiction writers, A. K. Yearling. She was still tired though, which slightly irritated her. Casting that new spell at the end of the show drained her more than she expected. Still, the knowledge that she was holding one of a trio of extremely rare books balanced things out. In the end, her decision to travel straight to Vanhoover after finishing their shows in Baltimane for a single lead turned out right, even if Fillydelphia and Manehatten were much closer and travel costs on the ship would have been much cheaper. Truth be told, whenever she takes a stroll through the city they are currently moored in, she occasionally hears rumours that the most logical explanation for the Troupe's seemingly random travel route is because they simply throw darts at a map, and she can't help but smile a little every time. Of course, everyone within the Troupe knew the real reason why, but that was a personal secret she wasn't as willing to let slip out, lest she be hounded by the press about it. So she read on, becoming engrossed in a story about an invisible city, forgotten treasures and an ancient group to protect them, never noticing the darkness that crept in her sight... --- As rays of light started to pierce closed lids, the mare slowly starts to open her eyes. Turning her head a bit groggily, she realized she isn't holding a book any more, and she also noticed a soft blanket covering her from hoof to neck. Oh, did she fall asleep? Yawning for a bit, she looks around the study to find that, yes, it is now empty and yes, the light shining through the window implies that Celestia has already raised the sun, even though it was still an hour past midnight just a few moments ago. Shaking her head a bit, she levitated the blanket off her and got into a sitting position. A bit more awake, she noticed her book lying back on her desk, a small piece of paper lying next to it, as well as the 'do not disturb' sign on the door flipped over. Flam must have tucked her in after she fell asleep, making sure that the book wasn't damaged and putting it back, before letting her sleep in peace. Stretching her legs and back, she slowly got off the couch and on her hooves. She must have been a lot more tired than she realized, if the clock on the wall showing it's already a few minutes past 10 o'clock is any indication. Walking to her desk, she was intrigued by the piece of paper she saw earlier, and started to read it... before she jumped a bit at the soft but rapid knock-knock on the door. A bit surprised, the mare quickly regained her composure and, after tidying up her frizzled bed hair somewhat, called out, "Come in." The door opened and in came the twins, looking immaculate as usual, one carrying some papers. Both bowed for a brief moment before addressing her. "Good morning, miss." Flim said. "Oh, apologies, did we wake you up, miss?" Flam followed up, without missing a single beat. She rolled her eyes. She might have tried time and time again for them to drop the formalities, at least when they are alone, but it seems this is the one thing they just will not budge on. So she just sighed and shook her head. "Good morning to you two as well." She said, stealing a quick glance at the piece of paper. We hope you had a good rest. When my brother came in, it appeared that you had fallen asleep, so we decided to just let you, miss. The book is alright. We'll check in at 10 o'clock at the earliest next morning. P.S. Mulia's menu for tomorrow morning includes her excellent but rare mousse. We'd suggest not holding off on visiting mess if you don't want to miss out on it. A slight smile forming on her lips at the courtesy, she pointed her head at the conference table while charging a spell, a few moments later disappearing in her tell-tale flash. The brothers shared a glance, and took a seat. Flim laid the papers he was holding on the table, making sure to not wrinkle anything, especially the single white envelop lying on the top of the stack. Half a minute passed until the second flash, the mare teleporting directly in a sitting position on her chair, a delicious hay breakfast topped off with a small cup of chocolate mousse laying in front of her on the table. She was about to dig in until she noticed the brothers looking at her, making her blush a bit. "Ah, sorry, I'm a bit hungry. Eh, how about you two fill me in on last night while I eat?" she asked. She could have sworn Flam cracked into a smile for a brief moment, moustache slightly moving, before returning to his usual neutral expression. "Very well, miss, please enjoy your meal." Flim replied, which she happily did. He laid the envelop to the side for now, and grabbed the sheets his brother was working on last night. "Firstly, the total income of last night's performance rounds up to about eight thousand bits, give or take." The mare nearly choked on her grass salad. The Troupe usually makes around a comfortable six thousand on a good night, seven on a great night, but eight? While it's true that the last shows usually bring in more ponies than usual, she didn't think there were that many more ponies in the audience last night. Flim, noticing the surprise, continued, "Did you notice the large group of zebras last night, miss? As it turns out, a delegation of diplomats from Zebrica was on its way to Canterlot. They stopped in Vanhoover to stay the night, noticed some of our advertisements, and decided to visit our last show." The mare finally managed to clear her throat. "Diplomats? I don't think I had been notified such, important people would be in the crowd..." she said, with a slight hint of accusation. What if she had messed up, and relations between Equestria and another nation would have worsened? What if the diplomats were offended by what they saw, and decide to take actions because of what the Troupe did? What if- "You had not been notified precisely because we did not want to worry you, miss." Flam said, breaking the mare away from her thoughts. "Apologies if this sounds brash of me to say, but you are known to freak out in such scenarios." ...Yeah, he's got a point there. "But you did not know, and so you did not worry, and so you and the Troupe put forth a, as one of the diplomats happily said afterwards, "most heavenly show, with a quality we did not expect." They also put in a request for the Troupe to travel to Zebrica, though we have to consider their different currencies, weather, and the like." The mare breathed out a sigh of relief. "Alright, so have a lot of spare bits now, that's good. Continue, Flim," she said, digging into her breakfast again. "The rest went relatively well. Outside of a few drunk off-duty guards who thought it was a good idea to test their prowess against Strong Shield, and their subsequent thrashing by the minotaur followed by the rather loud earful from their commanding lieutenant, nothing notably happened." The mare had a small laugh at this. If he was here, they would have gotten far more than a simple earful... "Lastly, we also have gotten some applications, as usual, but this time there were a few you may be interested in." Flim finished, laying a few papers in front of her. Just as the mare was enjoying the delicious mousse, her ears perked up at this. As successful as the Troupe has been, the amount of both ponies and non-ponies wanting to join the Troupe has risen as well, with varying levels of competency. Whether they think they are good enough to have their own act, or want to work in the background, all must pass the Troupe's rigid evaluations, both on their abilities and skills as well as their drive and motivations. So if Flim thinks a few have potential this time, that might be rather interesting indeed. She finished her dessert, and laid the tray to the side. As tempted as she was to start looking at the files before her, there was still one more thing that intrigued her. "So, save for the extra bits from the zebras, it was business as usual?" She asked, and the brothers gave a curt nod. "Well, that, and Bright Spark got an, hmm, unexpected present." Flam added, to which his brother picked up the neglected envelope with his magic and put it before her. The mare raised her brow at this. Flim replied. "The young dragon was, ahem, relieving himself, when he received this envelope last night..." "You mean..." the mare began, but Flim interjected her with a quick "I'm not going to be detailed about this, ask the drake himself if you really want to know", to which the mare laughed out loud. Taking a short while to shoo away the comedic thought, the mare recomposed herself, and took a better look at the envelope before her. She did not expect another letter from her old pen-pal for at least another week, so she's not really sure what she's looking at right now. The elegant yet simple 'From T." on the front does indicate it came from Ponyville, but why now? So she opened the letter, and started to read, not even asking Flim and Flam to leave the room as she usually does whenever she receives such a letter. As she went further down, Flim and Flam could see the brow above her eyes grow deeper, until her eyes lit up, before she started to read the letter again. Unsure what to do, they both simply waited. They had not been asked to leave, and they still had to discuss the Troupe's next destination, so they just... watched the mare, from now. Finishing her second read, the mare put the envelope down, and looked out the window. "A spell...? How much longer until the ship is ready to sail again, Flim?" She asked, not looking away. Flim, caught off-guard by the sudden question, had to take a few moments to consider. "Fo- no, three days, at least, taking fuel resupply and food restock in consideration. Tool Wrench also wanted to make a full check on the ship before taking off again." The mare nodded, looking at the envelope again, seemingly sunken in thought. The brothers were unsure again, as this was certainly a first. They looked at each other, hoping the other would bite the bullet. Flam eventually caved. "If I may, do you already have our next destination in mind, miss?" he asked. The mare looked up again at them, a smile now on her face. "Yeah. It's been a while, more than four years since I was there for the last time. But I've gotten an invitation, and so the Troupe will follow. Flim, Flam, get everyone ready for the journey. I'll try to interview the applicants in the next two days, but I want to leave as soon as possible." Flim and Flam shared a glance at this, both feeling a sense of dread, before asking in unison, "Where to, miss?" Twilight Sparkle grinned. "Ponyville."