//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Celebration // Story: Mending Hearts // by Ronglar //------------------------------// Chapter 7: Celebration "Wow, I'm pretty sure this can be seen from Canterlot right now." Silver and Cheerilee were on their way to the town square to attend the party, but it was quickly turning out to be slightly redundant as Pinkie had somehow encompassed over half the town into the event. Every few feet there was some streamer, light or other decoration literally making the town as bright as Manhattan, if not brighter. On a certain level this party reminded Silver of The Grand Galloping Gala, the main difference being that ponies were actually having fun. Pinkie had visited every building in town earlier that day and handed out invitations to the party, with the schoolhouse being no exception. She had interrupted Cheerilee introducing Ms. Rush to the students; some were not very thrilled about having a second teacher while others were excited at having a new face in the school. The party was all the students really talked about for the rest of the day. At first Silver thought it would be a perfect opportunity to quickly meet Twilight Sparkle. That idea was rapidly deteriorating as she walked among the glowing streets. There were so many ponies attending that finding a single one would be a challenge in itself. "Probably," Cheerilee chuckled. "Does Pinkie usually go this far?" Silver asked while gazing around at the town. "Come to think of it, no," she replied, "If she put this much effort into it then it must be something special." "I didn't know that my visit would be such an occasion, you shouldn't have gone to all this trouble Lee," Silver laughed sarcastically. "Oh yes, I spared no expense to welcome my dear friend back to town," Cheerilee played along. This was their thing. They threw jokes back and forth to pass the time and, as usual, it worked splendidly. Before they knew it the two had already made it to the town square. The place was alive with ponies dancing, eating and having fun. A large stage was erected near the clock tower which seemed to be the center of attention. A pony with a blue mane and sunglasses was spinning a disc table and bobbing her head with the beat. The crowd around the stage was cheering and dancing to the music. "Want to get a snack?”" Cheerilee offered. "Sure, but you’re paying this time," Silver retorted. "Yes; because a soup and a sandwich are ssoooo expensive." "It's not the price but the principle of the thing." "Sure sure," Cheerilee smirked, "now are you hungry or not?" The two of them began browsing the assortment of stalls throughout the square. There were vendors for just about anything you could imagine. Vegetables, fruits, cakes, pastries and cookies. The latter probably set up by Pinkie Pie. Oh so many choices. Maybe some fresh fruit or veggies… "Nope! Pie!" Silver cheered. She trotted up to one of the vendors and took out a few bits, purchasing a whole pie. "At this rate you could be a Wonderbolt in no time!" Cheerilee laughed, getting a slice for herself. The two of them evaded through the crowd and found an unoccupied bench to sit on. "Hah! Soarin's got nothing on me!" Silver boasted. She had beaten Soarin three years running at the state fair pie-eating contest. They've had a competitive friendship for many years in both flying and pie eating, and recently she had eclipsed him in both, much to his dismay. Silver took a large chunk out of the pie. "Mmm, this is delicious!" Silver said before taking another bite. “Better than any pastry I've had in Canterlot." Cheerilee smiled. "Well it is made by Pinkie herself." A thought struck Silver as she downed her pie in seconds and tossed the tray into a nearby garbage bin. "Hey Lee, do you know if Twilight Sparkle would be here?" "Probably, *Bite* no one ever misses a Pinkie Pie party," Cheerilee replied, "If she was here she would probably be with one of her friends. *Chomp* Give me a second." She placed the rest of her pie on the bench beside Silver, stood up and began scanning the crowd. There were ponies of all colors talking, dancing and having general fun. Pinkie really had gone all out this time. Multiple games had been set up amongst the venders and a certain orange mare was walking between each of them. "Ah, there's Applejack," Cheerilee stated, "C'mon." "Hey! Wait up!" Silver called. She hopped off the bench and tried maneuvering through the crowd. However there was no available hole for her to squeeze through. "Ahh, maybe if- excuse me- eh- uh- oh fine," Silver grunted. She flapped her wings and rose into the air above the other partygoers. She got a few wayward glances, but nopony really paid too much attention. Now where did Lee go… There she is! Silver gingerly flew over the street and drifted down beside Cheerilee, but not before tripping on a rock and falling on her face. "Have a nice trip. See you next fall." Cheerilee stifled a laugh. "Oh god the puns! You're killing me!" Silver held up a hoof over her chest as if she just received a mortal injury. Cheerilee burst out laughing, and Applejack joined her. Silver quickly got up on her hooves and with a flick of her head straightened out her mane. "You alright there, Ms. Rush?" Applejack asked after calming down. Cheerilee giggled and Silver just rolled her eyes. At the confused look on Applejack’s face Cheerilee quickly explained, "She doesn't like being called Miss Rush outside of the classroom. Just stick with Silver." That statement was only partially correct. Silver never liked it when other ponies called her Ms. Rush, she preferred Silver. While she had never taught at an elementary or high school Silver had been the chief instructor for the royal guards' training program. She didn't like the position too much, not enough flying. "On another slightly less embarrassing note, have you seen Twilight anywhere here?" Silver questioned. The questions in itself was a bit redundant. There were so many ponies walking around that finding one would be very difficult. And yet somehow Cheerilee had pinpointed Applejack in mere seconds. "Ah'm sorry sugar, I haven't seen hide nor hair o' Twilight since the meteor shower. From what ah heard something happened at the lake outside of town. That's what ah'm guessing this party is about," Applejack answered. "Oh, well thank you anyway." Silver sighed, slightly disheartened. "So I wonder if there will be some kind of…" *DING* *DONG* *DING* *DONG* "Hi everypony!" A loud and cheerful voice rang out over the speakers. "The main presentation of the party is starting, so if you could all make your way to the stage, that would be superly fantastic!" There was a small buzz as the speaker died down. "Well I guess that answers that," Cheerilee commented. The three of them moved along with the crowd towards the front of the stage. If Silver thought the square was packed before, she had another thing coming. It looked like nearly the entire town had gathered and squeezed around the stage. The DJ had moved her table to the back and joined the crowd. A pink pony with a curly mane and a huge grin was standing up on the stage with a microphone along with three other ponies beside her. "Well now that the guest of honor is finally here…" "My, Pinkie really out did herself this time." "I don't deserve all this." "Nonsense! You saved Rainbow Dash's life!" "But-" "No buts! You will enjoy yourself this evening whether you like it or not!" *sigh* "Thanks Twilight." “Anytime.” Trixie and Twilight had just left the library for the party. The building was almost smack dab in the center of town, so walking to the square only took a few minutes. And in those few minutes Trixie was amazed. The town was damn near as bright and colorful as her own performances. And that was saying something. "There's no way Pinkie was able to decorate the whole town in one afternoon. It doesn't seem physically possible," Trixie said. "Hah!" Twilight laughed. "What’s so funny?" "Pinkie doesn't seem to follow regular physics. It’s like she had her own rules. Don't ask me how, ignoring it is the only way I haven't gone crazy. Well, completely crazy at least." Twilight giggled. "But this does seem like a bit much. I think she recruited the help of Spike and a few others for this one. Oh, speaking of which…" The two unicorns had only just walked into the town square prior to being assaulted by a pink blur. Everything happened so fast that afterwards Trixie's brain couldn't register what it had just experienced. Somehow the two of them had gone from the outside of the town square to behind a large curtain on a wooden surface. She had brief images in her mind of somehow floating over the crowd. Looking around Trixie could see that Rainbow Dash was also with them, and she looked just as confused as her. Beyond that she couldn't see too much else, the only light source was a crack between the two curtains. There was a loud tune buzzing from the other side and strobe light peeking through the seam. "What is this, I don't even…" Trixie began, utterly baffled. "Stop right there," Twilight warned, "don’t question it, just go with it." Trixie turned back to Rainbow, who just shrugged. Pinkie was still going on like there was no tomorrow. Words flew from her like miniature Wonderbolts. They went in one ear and came out the left so fast and incoherently that Trixie could feel herself losing brain matter. After a minute or so of the rambling speech she could feel herself growing numb. At no point could she even fathom what she was hearing. Sensing her pain, Twilight came to the rescue. "Ugh... Pinkie, could we get to the point?" Twilight asked. Trixie mouthed a silent thank you as the pink mass started talking more slowly. Trixie was still only able to catch the last few things it said. "- and then the fireworks will go off and it'll be superly amazing!" Pinkie finished. "Fireworks? In such a decorated area? That doesn't seem very safe," Twilight commented in a concerned tone. "Oh don't worry," Pinkie replied, "I triple checked to make sure that nothing could go wrong!" On that note Pinkie threw open the curtains exposing the group to the on looking crowd. Without a second thought she walked up the stage and tapped a button on the side of the microphone. *DING* *DONG* *DING* *DONG* "Hi everypony!" Pinkie cheered at the crowd. "The main presentation of the party is starting, so if you could all make your way to the stage, that would be superly fantastic!" Pinkie took a step back and waved a hoof backstage for Trixie, Twilight and Rainbow to join her. Trixie cautiously walked up beside Twilight with Rainbow bringing up the rear. As soon as they came onstage the curtains snapped shut and a number of bright lights focused on them. Up on stage Trixie could really see the whole scope of the celebration. Nearly the entire square was filled with ponies of all shapes and colors. On a certain level, Trixie was reminded of her performances, the bright lights, interested crowd, and the sense of nervousness. As Trixie stood up beside Pinkie, that familiar feeling of ridicule returned to her mind. Oh goddesses please don't let this go as it did a year ago. What if everypony still hates me? I wouldn't be surprised. Oh what if I get booed out of town again? I don't want to be alone again... Trixie began to cringe as Pinkie tapped the microphone. "Well now that the guest of honor is finally here, I'd like to introduce to all of you the new and improved Trixie!" Pinkie cheered into the microphone while sliding it over to Trixie. "Um, hello everypony," Trixie murmured towards the crowd. A hushed murmur spread out across the square. She tried to muster up a smile, but found her mouth unwilling to cooperate. No no no no. Don't ruin this, I have to- Before Trixie could finish the thought, she felt a slight tapping on her should. She turned to find Rainbow Dash gently nudging her aside. Trixie gladly stepped back beside Twilight while Rainbow stepped up to address the crowd. The murmurs had died down with the new speaker. "Hi everypony, Rainbow Dash here," she said. "Now I know what all of you are thinking more or less the same thing. What is she doing here?" she said, making a gesture towards Trixie. "Now I want all of you to know, that she is not the same mare that came to town a year ago. What you all saw was her ego." Trixie blushed slightly at the comment. "This, this is the real Trixie. I’m going to put it bluntly, I almost drowned yesterday out at Ponyville Lake. If it wasn't for Trixie who, even without magic, dove in after me, I wouldn't be here right now." Gasping could be heard across the crowd. There was speculation that something happened at the lake but very few ponies knew what had actually transpired. "And so, I'm asking all of you," Rainbow continued, "to please try to forgive and forget. I'm sure both her and I would be eternally grateful. Now I think Trixie would like to say something.” Rainbow took a step back from the microphone and allowed Trixie to walk back up. Her confidence had soared during Rainbow's speech. Only pausing for a moment to clear her throat, Trixie began telling everyone present her story. How she left home to be a traveling magician, the death of her mother, her out of control ego, the events after the incident one year ago and her slow spiral into depression and near death. Throughout her entire story, not a single soul spoke a word. After what seemed to her like hours, Trixie's story finally came to a conclusion. "- and finally that brings me to tonight, here, on this stage talking to all of you. I sincerely hope that you all can find it in your hearts to forgive a foolish egotistical jerk. Thank you," she concluded. Trixie silently bowed her head and stepped back beside Twilight and Rainbow. The silence was deafening. A tiny beeping could be heard somewhere, but it died down after a few seconds. Nopony said a word; nopony knew what to say. To Trixie it was the longest moment of her life: what was only minutes felt like hours. At first she thought that she was about to be run out of town; what actually happened stunned not only her, but all four of them on stage. A single clop was heard of a hoof to the ground, and then another, and another. The silence was broken as a torrent of clops vibrated the stage and square. It felt as though there was a stampede running through town. That was nowhere near what she had been expecting. A single tear ran down Trixie's cheek which met a growing smile. She looked to Twilight, Rainbow and then back at the crowd. All around she could see smiles and gazes of approval and admiration. So, is that it? Am I now- Oh? What was that? Trixie's ears perked up as she heard something that sounded like an explosion and felt the stage shake for a second. Was that one of the fireworks? She looked over at Twilight who also looked confused. Before either of them could say anything however Pinkie took the microphone and addressed the crowd. "Alright everypony! So that's the story, clear as cake! And now it's time for the big finale!" she hollered. Out of nowhere Pinkie produced a bright red button that said FIREWORKS. It was quite obvious that Pinkie had been waiting for this moment all evening, so when nothing happened when she pressed the button she was very upset. "Oh come on! Really!? I triple checked to make sure it was working! How could it-" Pinkie was interrupted as a pegasus flew through the curtains behind them. “EVERYPONY GET AWAY FROM THE STAGE RIGHT N-" *KABOOM* "- and finally that bring me to tonight, here, on this stage talking to all of you. I sincerely hope that you all can find it in your hearts to forgive a foolish egotistical jerk. Thank you." Silver watched from the crowd as Trixie stepped back away from the microphone. Wow. Now that was some story. Silver looked over to her friends, Cheerilee to her right and Applejack to her left. They had also met up with Rarity and Fluttershy just before the presentation started, the two of them were standing adjacent to Applejack. A quiet beeping started; it took Silver a second to pinpoint the cause. Oh? This again? She looked down to her compass which she had strapped to her left hoof. It was letting out a slow stream of beeps. She lifted it to take a closer look, and found it pointing a slightly off of the stage. Oh I hope this isn't what it was before. "Cheerilee, I'll be right back. I need to take a look at something," Silver whispered as she nudged past her. "Yeah, sure…" Cheerilee quietly replied. She was still looking up at the stage as if waiting for something else to occur. Silver slowly made her way through the crowd of ponies on foot. It didn't feel appropriate to fly right now. As soon as she found some room Silver began moving in and out of the stalls, slowly edging her way to the side of the stage. She felt a pang of worry hit her gut as her compass began to frantically beep out of control. This can't be good. Silver readied a shock hoof as she rounded the stage. Royal guards where trained in a wide variety of combat moves both lethal and non lethal. The Shock hoof was the standard non-lethal tactic used by most guards. It worked by sending a pulse of electricity through the target, incapacitating them for a few seconds. Although the heavy duty magic was used by the unicorn division of the guard, pegasi could use weather related magic such as wind and electricity. A familiar cold shiver ran down her back as Silver found the source of her compass' distress. A unicorn was standing in front of a huge fireworks display. She was completely black, not just a black coat, but just one black shape. Her horn was radiating a dark purple glow encompassing the display. "Hey!" Silver yelled out. The unicorn didn't as much as twitch. "Unicorn! I'm talking to you!" No response. Silver carefully began walking forward. She didn't get very far before something else caught her eye. There was somepony else, standing high up on one of the rafters looking down on them. Silver could barely see the outline, but she could two piercing red eyes staring back at her. "What the... Whoa!" Silver jumped back a split second before the other pony - a pegasus as she could now see - smashed into where she had just stood, leaving a small crater in on the ground. Now that was fast… The pegasus spread her wings and moved directly between Silver and the unicorn. Now she was sure of it, this was the same pegasus from the day before. "So I guess you're not gonna let me have a chat with your friend over there?" Silver rhetorically asked; the pegasus snorted a puff of black smoke in response. Electricity began arcing down Silver’s front hooves as she prepared for the inevitable. "Fine, you wanna dance? Let's dance." The pegasus instantly charged Silver, attempting to bash her head in. It was fast; she was faster. Silver sidestepped and countered with a shock hoof directly on the pegasus' shoulder sending it skidding towards the wall. The shock didn't seem to faze it as it rebounded off of the wall and shot right back. Silver moved to sidestep but out of nowhere the ground began shaking as if there was an earthquake. The momentary lapse of concentration allowed the pegasus to land a hit on Silver's back leg. The hit sent her sliding across the ground but she quickly regained her balance, shrugging off the searing pain and watched as the pegasus turned for another charge. "Ah," Silver grunted, "Guess I need to turn up the voltage." The air around her began to spark and crack with electricity. Her mane stood on end from the current as she upgraded her shock hooves to electro-sabers. The sabers were a technique taught only to the elite pegasi guard. They had enough power to incinerate most organic matter and melt right through steel. Though it took an immense amount of magic to use, the results were practically twin thunder rods for front hooves. The pegasus sensed the change in power, but was still undeterred. "Come at me, bro," Silver glared. The pegasus charged once more, but instead of moving to dodge and counter Silver met it head on. There was a small explosion as the collision sent Silver skidding a few hooves back while the pegasus went soaring into one of the stages support beams. The entire stage shook with the impact as she looked at the smoldering hole in the ground. She took a deep breath and began turning down the electricity coursing through her veins, but a creak from the wreckage focused her once again. Silver watched in shock as the pegasus slowly stepped out of the crater. "How in Celestia's name are you still alive!? Let alone moving!?" She yelled. The pegasus wasn't moving nearly as fast as before, but it was still up on four hooves. "Well, one more hit like that should finish this." Silver opened her wings and flew straight for the pegasus intending for a killing blow but collided with a wall of dark purple magic. "Fucking hell." She glared daggers as the unicorn calmly walked beside her bodyguard. Silver could have sworn it smirked before teleporting the two of them away with a flash of magic. She switched off the current of electricity and took a deep breath. Wait, is that smoke? … Oh no. In the fight she had completely forgotten about the unicorn. Silver turned and saw the fireworks display smoking and glowing a deep red. Without thinking about it Silver took off through a gap in the woodwork and tore through the stage’s front curtains. “EVERYPONY GET AWAY FROM THE STAGE RIGHT N-" *KABOOM* Everypony near the stage was thrown off their hooves as a massive fireball erupted into the night sky. Silver Rush - Big thanks to Dr. Jekyll & Nikitakitten for prereading/editing the chapter!