*****RAINBOW DASH’S P.O.V.*****
I had been waiting in line for about twenty minutes now, getting impatient and bored.
Winter Wrap-Up had recently finished, and we had set a new record this year. After this, the Mayor soon organized a festival in celebration. One of the main events was that the Midnight Manes would be playing. Next to the Wonderbolts, the Midnight Manes was a show I did not want to miss. And unlike the Wonderbolts, I had yet to see the Midnight Manes play.
“Ugh… will they hurry up?” I groaned, tilting my head back with boredom.
“Just a few more minutes…” Pinkie Pie told me. She’d been waiting with me, wanting to get the tickets to the festival as well. We’d arrived early, so we were pretty close in line. It wasn’t that I was afraid of tickets running out- entrance to the festival was free, but they were expecting to have at least 50,000 ponies in attendance, and spots that were close to the stage had to be sold... probably to help pay the band, I guess. With a number that large attending, I wanted to be sure that I got good seating for the concert. I didn’t want to be way in the back.
Finally, the windows of the booths opened and a cheer arose from the line of ponies. Many of them tried to rush the lines, but a security pony spoke into a megaphone, telling everypony that the lines needed to be orderly so that the tickets could be distributed properly.
Luckily, we only had eight ponies ahead of us, so we didn’t have to wait long. We approached the window and spoke with the mare sitting behind the booth.
“Two front-rows, please.” I said as Pinkie handed me her bits for her ticket. I gave the amount of bits required for the front row spots. The mare entered the amount and a ringing was heard. For a moment I wondered why the ringing sounded to begin with.
“Well, would you look at that!” she said. “You two are the first of only ten to win backstage passes. After their show, present this to the staff and you’ll be able to go backstage and meet the Midnight Manes in person!”
She handed us our tickets, along with two VIP laminates.
“Congratulations! Don’t lose these!”
“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed “Can this get any more awesome?”
“This is so neat!” Pinkie spoke at what seemed like 50 words per second “We’re gonna get to see the Midnight Manes and now we get to meet them backstage! I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait!”
“Well, I said I’d help Applejack out today.” I told Pinkie “They’re gonna be making a lot of cider for the festival, and I told her that I'd give them a hand. I’ll see you later.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie shouted as she headed toward Sugarcube Corner.
I made my way to Sweet Apple Acres, where I spotted Applejack bucking apples out in the orchard. She saw me coming as I walked over to her.
“Howdy there, Rainbow! Ah sure appreciate you offerin’ to help us out. This festival’s gonna call for a LOT of cider, but it’ll sure get us a lot of money! Did ya get yer tickets yet?’
“Just got back from getting them.” I answered proudly. “And I got something awesome along with it!” Smiling, I held up my VIP pass and said “I get to meet the Midnight Manes backstage after the show! Pinkie got one too.”
“That sure as hay is a lucky strike fer ya!” Applejack said. “A’hm not as big a fan of them as y’all are, but since A’hm runnin’ the cider stand, Ah actually get backstage fer free. Ah just might go and meet them with y’all if Ah ain‘t got nothin’ better to do.”
“I think you should.” I told her while knocking some apples out of a tree. “Besides, what’s the point in having access to backstage and not use it?”
I spent the next couple of hours helping Applejack gather apples. Once she determined that she’d gathered enough for one day, I headed back home, where I placed my ticket and VIP pass into a secure location where they couldn’t get misplaced. I couldn’t help but feel hyped up. Not only was I getting to see the Midnight Manes, but I now got to go backstage and talk to them!
Seeing them all was gonna be insane, but I was really looking forward to meeting Shadow Chord. Call me typical, but he was my favorite pony in the band. He always seemed to put everything he had into his music. I identified there with him- both of us put everything we had into doing what we loved. I'd read stories about how he came from a not-so-good life, and he overcame all the odds that were against him to make his dream happen. Whenever I heard their music, his voice, I could sometimes lose myself in it. He truly put his heart and soul into it. He just seemed to be such an admirable pony. Hopefully he wouldn't be weirded out by me. Even though I didn't know what about me could weird him out, it was a thought that somehow creeped into my mind anyway. I shook my head and disregarded the thought.
One thing was for sure- the Post Winter Festival couldn’t get here soon enough!
*******************************
The next few weeks passed by slowly, yet quickly at the same time. I did my usual daily routine, as well as helping and hanging out with my friends. I also spent quite a bit of time on Sweet Apple Acres helping Applejack- they needed more cider than they’d needed in a while. The other ponies sometimes dropped by to help out as well. We didn’t want Applejack ending up like she did during Applebuck Season, after all!
Then, the day I’d been waiting for was finally here- the day of Ponyville’s first annual Post Winter Festival.
I got up earlier than I usually did, heading over to Pinkie’s place to meet up with her. She answered the door before I could even knock.
“Hi Rainbow Dash!” she said in an excited voice. “No time to waste, let’s get going!”
The two of us headed to the edge of Ponyville, to large clearing where the festival was being held. Even though it was still kind of early, the festival was kicking off to a good start. Quite a few ponies had already arrived. I’d heard talk that ponies from Ponyville, Cloudsdale, Manehattan, even Canterlot that were coming to this.
“Howdy, Rainbow! Howdy, Pinkie!” Applejack’s voice cut my train of thought. Our heads turned to a large cider stand, where Applejack, Big Mac and Granny Smith were busy getting their cider ready.
“Hi Applejack!” Pinkie piped as we approached the stand.
“How are y’all likin’ it so far?” Applejack asked.
“Well, we just got here like a minute ago.” I began “But it looks like it’s starting off pretty good.”
“To tell ya the truth, the festival ain’t even started yet. It’s supposed to start in about half an hour.“ Applejack told us as she reached under the stand and gave us 2 small slips of paper.
“This is fer y’all helping us with the cider.” she said as we looked at what she gave us- they were vouchers for free unlimited cider.
“Applejack,” I said “Are you sure? Unlimited? Do you guys have enough?”
“Trust me.” she answered with a grin. “We actually wound up with a lot more than we though we had, and we couldn’t have done none of it without y’all. It’s the least Ah could do for mah friends.”
“Thanks AJ!” Pinkie said, reaching over the stand to hug her friend.
“Well, we’ll be back for the cider later on.” I said, walking off. “It’s a little too early for it now.”
Applejack laughed and waved to us before she continued to help set up the stand.
“Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie!” I heard Twilight Sparkle’s voice call from behind us.
We turned and saw her approaching, along with Fluttershy and Spike. The three of them had "STAFF" laminates around their necks. That reminded me, we needed to get our passes out.
“Hey, guys!” I shouted back, getting my pass and donning it.
“Can you believe the Post Winter Festival’s finally here?” Twilight said, grinning from ear to ear. As the Winter Wrap-Up organizer, Twilight had been asked by the Mayor to help organize the festival as well. With Spike and Fluttershy’s help, Twilight had helped not only to organize Post Winter Festival, but did an awesome job promoting it. No doubt, Twilight was one of the reasons that so many ponies were coming to this, and she was nothing short of proud to have helped bring this together.
“Today’s gonna be unquestionably, undoubtedly unforgettable!” I answered.
“And we get to see the Midnight Manes backstage tonight!” Pinkie added, bouncing with anticipation.
“I remember you telling me about that last week!” Twilight said. “Fluttershy and I are actually helping to keep the festival organized. We got to meet them earlier this morning.”
“Wow! That must have been amazing! What was it like? What did they say? What did YOU say?” Pinkie began inquiring.
“They’re actually very nice ponies and they're all very humble and down-to-earth.” Fluttershy said.
“You actually wouldn’t be able to tell these guys apart from other musicians.” Twilight added. “They don’t have that huge ego like a lot of musicians do, and they treat their fans just like they treat a friend.”
Before she could continue, we could hear a microphone being plugged in from the stage, so we began approaching. Twilight, Fluttershy and Spike said they would see us later, and headed toward the back of the stage, probably to give the staff some help. As we got closer, we couldn’t help but notice the size of the stage. It stood towering over the already growing crowd. Mayor Mare was now on the stage, looking miniscule compared to the space and size of the stage she stood on. She took the microphone and began addressing the crowd.
“Welcome, everypony! Today, we celebrate not only the return of spring, but we are also here to celebrate the hard work and dedication from everypony during Winter Wrap-Up, which led to us setting a new record! So, today we gather here to relax and have a good time. Ponies have come from all over Equestria to take part in this event, and we will not let anypony down! We have all sorts of festivities and events that will be going on throughout the day, and you won’t want to miss any of them! So, without further ado, I hereby declare the first annual Post Winter Festival to begin!”
The crowd cheered and the festivities kicked off.
Mayor Mare was right- there was plenty to do here. This festival was, essentially, a huge carnival. In addition to the stage, there were carnival rides nearly everywhere you turned. There also were food and concession stands everywhere.
I spent most of the day socializing with my friends, running into Rarity, as well as Fluttershy again. Pinkie and I stopped by Applejack’s stand a few times for a mug or two of cider, occasionally going on some of the rides. From the time the festival started, the crowd of ponies got larger and larger in number.
The festival carried on as the sun set and the moon began to rise. It wasn’t long before the now massive crowd began heading to the stage for the Midnight Manes’ show.
Pinkie and I began heading to the front, when we were stopped by a colt who was working as security.
“You two have your tickets?” he asked. We showed him our tickets, as well as our laminates and he opened the rope blocking the pathway to the front, gesturing for us to go in.
We found an awesome spot right smack in the middle of the front row, where we waited patiently… okay, maybe not so patiently… for the show to begin.
Suddenly, we heard a voice behind us.
“Why, hello, girls!”
It was Rarity, who was walking toward us with Applejack beside her, who was carrying an extra tray of cider.
“The cider stand’s pretty slow right now.“ she said, setting the tray down. “So Granny Smith told me that she an’ Big Mac could run the stand no problem. Ah figured me and Rarity would find y’all here.”
Looking to the stage, I could see Twilight and Fluttershy speaking with the Mare, though I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying. Once she had finished speaking to them, Fluttershy spotted us and led Twilight and Spike down the stage to where we all stood.
“Mayor Mare told us that we’d helped out enough for the day, so we can take it easy now.” Twilight said.
“There’s nothing like getting together with friends on a day like this!” Fluttershy quietly exclaimed with a sigh.
We waited anxiously as crew ponies began setting everything up for the show, testing out instruments and checking equipment. As I stood waiting, my thoughts went to Shadow Chord.... jeez, I sounded like such a fanmare. But I couldn't help it. I really admired him, though I hadn't met him yet. But that was going to change tonight. I really hoped that they played my favorite song of theirs- "More Than Just The Music". The song was about overcoming odds, and staying true to your friends, as well as yourself. Being the spirit of loyalty, I myself lived up to that song. I hoped to Celestia that I would be able to hear it live tonight. But what was I worried about? That song was one of the greatest hits- of course they would play it!
After another ten minutes, the lights illuminating the stage went out and it became dark. A loud cheer rose from the crowd of ponies, which was stretching from the front of the stage to the edge of the giant field, from left to right, taking up nearly the entire field where the festival was taking place. The darkness was overpowered by excitement; everypony knew what this meant. It was time for the show to begin.
A deep, powerful voice came over the speakers: the band’s famous intro.
Mares and gentlecolts…
Are you ready?
The crowd enthusiastically responded with another wave of cheering. We began cheering as well, ready for the show to begin.
I ask again. ARE…YOU…READY?
The cheering became louder.
Then get up if you’re sitting down…
The Midnight Manes have come to town…
Don’t just stand there like a block
It’s time for everypony to rock!
Mares and gentlecolts,
I give you…
The Midnight Manes!