//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20 
// Story: The Voices of Nobody 
// by BowtiesandFedoras 
//------------------------------//

	After a good amount of cavorting with other people, Luna and I sat at a table and the caterer brought us drinks as I was finishing a joke.

"... And that's why they're green!" I said, and we both burst out in raucous laughter.

As she wiped a laughter tear from her face, the music in the room died down, and everyone's attention was pointed toward the kitchen doors, so I looked too.

Before I even knew what was going on, a line of musicians marched out the door and into the ballroom. Each one of them had an instrument: a harmonica, an accordion, a drum, a trumpet, and a kazoo respectively, and was playing some tune that reminded me of some sort of polka. Then, being wheeled out on some metal cart was an enormous pink cake with extravagant designs and decorations being pushed out by Pinkie, who was wearing an odd pink helmet with four cylinders pointing outward from the top.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." she said loudly, making a grand gesture with her hands, "I give you... The Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness!"

And she yanked on some string that was attached to her headgear, and the cylinders each fired confetti, streamers, and glitter into the air, and almost instantly a conga line formed behind her as upbeat music began playing.

"Come on," Luna said, "Let's go and get some cake. I heard that Pinkie's is the best cake around."





The cake was amazing. Never in my life had I had marzipan on a cake. I didn't even know what mascarpone was, but it was delicious. After I ate about two slices, I sat and relaxed in one of the chairs and watched everyone have a good time. Not to say that I wasn't having one. Luna went off somewhere else in the room to practice showing the people "the real her" like I suggested.

"C'mon, Nobody! Join the conga line!" Rainbow Dash shouted at me from across the room.

I chuckled. "No thanks!"

"Suit yourself!" she said, and resumed conga-ing. I was a little surprised at the amount of people in the line. I saw AJ, Big Mac (who I didn't even know was at the Gala until now), one of the cellists, the DJ, Rarity, and several of the posh-looking guests.

As I recieved another drink, I noticed a stray piece of cake someone had dropped on the floor.

"Aw, that's a shame," I said to myself, "One should never let good cake go to waste."

I looked back at the conga line (still led by Pinkie) and laughed at the sillyness of them and at the fact that so many people had joined it in so little time. I saw AJ, Big Mac (who I didn't even know was at the Gala until now), one of the cellists, the DJ, Rarity, and several of the super-posh-looking guests.

"Uh oh..." I said to myself.

I noticed that the line's trajectory was that in the direction of the piece of cake on the floor. I got up, worried that someone would slip, and shouted, "Pikie Pie! Pinke Pie, watch your step!"

Unfortunately, Pinkie couldn't hear me over whatever song she was playing on her kazoo. I shouted one more time, pointing at the tasty obstruction.

"Pinkie! Watch out! There's cake on the floor!"

She looked at me and took the kazoo out of her mouth.

"What'd you say?"

But it was too late. I tried to get to her in time, but she unwittingly slipped on the cake in such a way that, in an attempt to regain her balance, she landed on one of the catering carts and wheeled into the kitchen that she had previously come out of. I winced as I heard a loud crash and the sound of dishes and pots fall. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Luna, and Applejack rushed into the kitchen to see if their friend was alright. I followed right behind them.

I came in to see Rainbow pulling Pinkie out from under a pile of pots and pans.

"Oh, my gosh; Pinkie, are you okay?"

Pinkie was limp for a few seconds, and we all held our breath.

Suddenly, her eyelids fluttered, and we all exhaled collectively as she said wearily, "I'm fine, you guys," with a nice smile on her face.

"Whew, thank Celestia!" Applejack said, "No offense, yer highness," she said to Luna.

"None taken."

"Goodness, darling. You shouldn't scare us like that," Rarity said.

Pinkie just scratched the back of her head and smiled guiltily.

"Heh-heh... Sorry. Hey! Let's get back to the party!"

"Are you sure? You took quite a spill. Do you need to go to the infirmary?" I asked.

"No, silly. I'm fine. Just a bump on my noggin'. I've had worse."

In my head I thought, "I'll bet you have."

We all took her word for it after she stood up and dusted herself off. We all turned and headed for the door with Pinkie right behind us all.

Luna got out first and raised her hand as she addressed the crowd.

"It's under control, everyone. She's fine."

As the crowd let out a sigh of relief, I heard wheels behind me, and turned to see Pinkie quickly pull the cart from earlier in front of herself and lift her leg to put her foot on the edge. She looked straight at me and gave a wry smile.

Author commentary:
Warning: the next chapter makes references to a certain fanfic that may disturb some readers. Read with caution.