The Gathering Storm
When Twilight finally had gotten around to heading outside to meet up with her friends, she had been studying the first couple scenes, getting ideas for character roles and task assignments. Even as she walked outside, she levitated the script in front of her, glancing back and forth between reading the script and watching her path. She studied and studied until she couldn't take it anymore.
"Ugh. Spike," Twilight said as she glanced over at the baby dragon on her back. "This script is all over the place. The pacing, the structure, it's all terrible. What am I supposed to make of this mess?"
"Well think of it this way. The movie was obviously loved by some back when it was made. If you play to a big enough crowd, odds are that at least one or two ponies might love it. Plus you're only playing to children. Just relax."
"I wish I could, Spike, but this is a task given to us by Princess Celestia. I want to make sure that everything is perfect!"
Spike sighed and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. He had lost track of how many times he had to lecture Twilight on perfectionism. With a project as big as a play, he expected a few ponies to go crazy before everything was said and done.
Twilight wound her way through town and found herself near the town square pavilion. Applejack and her cousin were building a stage nearby and had already had it half completed. Rarity was there as well, preparing some of her fabric and a couple dresses. She had a couple of her bolts of fabric and some racks out. Twilight smiled as she approached Applejack.
"That looks great, Applejack. Keep up the good work."
"Thanks, Twi!" Applejack exclaimed with a triumphant wave.
Twilight then headed over to where Rarity was hard at work sorting through her wares. Twilight sadly shook her head. "We won't be needing any dresses for the play, but I'll probably have you make up some costumes if need be."
Rarity had been rifling through her dresses and accessories hanging up on her rack, shoving them this way and that with her muzzle, and she hadn't seen Twilight approach her until Twilight opened her mouth to speak. Rarity pushed her face all the way through the rack of dress to glare at Twilight on the other side. The corners of her mouth were down-turned.
"Twilight," Rarity pouted. "Are you saying we're going to put on a play and we can't look fabulous at all?"
Twilight shook her head. "None of the characters in the movie wore any dresses, so that's the way it's going to be. This is my play and my vision."
Rarity reeled in abject horror, and she could do nothing but gawk with her mouth agape like a flap from a torn window drape. Twilight however, naively oblivious, walked away and headed towards Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus animal-lover was cowering underneath a nearby tree.
"Hey there, Fluttershy," Twilight greeted. "Why do you look so scared?"
Fluttershy almost looked like she was trying to pull her head into her shoulders, and she stared meekly out from underneath her twin bangs. "Um. . . Well, Twilight. I'm not so sure about being in this play. I'm afraid I might get stage fright."
Twilight cocked her head closer to Fluttershy. "What was that?"
"I'm afraid I might get stage fright."
Twilight inched even closer. "You might get. . .?"
"STAGE FRIGHT!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
Twilight patted Fluttershy on the shoulder and smiled. "Oh don't be silly, Fluttershy. You were a model. Remember?"
"I never had to memorize any lines, then."
A thought then seemed to cross Twilight's mind, and her expression lifted with the pride she felt. "Oh! And I've got the perfect role for you! You will be Lofty! It's great! My first casting decision! Yay!" Twilight's height nearly doubled, and she clapped her two front hooves together in exuberance.
Fluttershy, however, uttered her famous "eep" on a register so high that Twilight never heard it. She gasped out the words that were forming in her throat. "Lofty? But Lofty is. . ."
"Well that settles that," Twilight exclaimed with certainty and trotted away, unknowingly leaving Fluttershy to stew in misery.
Twilight then found Pinkie Pie, fallen face first into a large box of metallic junk and wires. Pinkie Pie was rummaging around, as was evident by the shifting sounds of metal clanks.
Twilight raised an eyebrow and cautiously approached, barely dodging a flying whachamacallit that was ejected from the box. "Do you need help, Pinkie?"
"I know it's in here somewhere," Pinkie called, her voice muffled by the depths of the box.
"What are you looking for?"
"Ah ha!" came a triumphant shout. Pinkie emerged from the box and pulled out one of the strangest contraptions Twilight had ever seen. Pinkie held it high over her head like a trophy. "I have the power!"
"Wha. . . What IS that thing?" Twilight said.
The thing that Pinkie held seemed to be an oddly shaped metal cylinder of sorts with multiple light bulbs and colored filters and spinning parts and metal arms aplenty.
Pinkie Pie turned it over and over in her front hooves, looking at it from all sides. "I haven't found a good name for it yet. But this baby will give you the BIGGEST lights display you've ever seen! The lights will be all like ZOOM! KER-POW! Swirl swirl swirl! Flash flash flash! Zimmity zimmity zow!" Pinkie Pie then looked up and saw Twilight in a state of what could be described as "shell-shocked". Pinkie half grinned. "But you know. Something like that. I just hope this thing still has batteries."
Twilight had to struggle to find the words in her throat. "That sounds terrifying, Pinkie Pie. And too distracting. We will keep the lights simple. Sorry, Pinkie Pie."
"Aww," said Pinkie, crestfallen. She immediately tossed the strange object back in the box.
"By the way, I haven't thought of a good role for you yet, but. . ." Twilight glanced over her shoulder then back at Pinkie Pie. "It looks like Applejack and her cousin have finished the stage, so we'll all head on over there and go through first orders of business."
As Twilight walked away from Pinkie Pie and headed over to the stage that Applejack had built, Spike released a persistent and extremely accented cough. Twilight looked over her shoulder at the baby dragon.
"Trouble, Spike?" Twilight asked.
"Well. . ." Spike repeatedly tapped the ends of his two index claws together. "I know you're in charge of a big production and everything, and I'm sure you're going to do a good job and all, but. . . Don't you think you're being a little too. . .?"
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Focused?"
"Pushy?" Spike finished before slinking his head into his shoulders.
Twilight scoffed. "Nonsense, Spike. I have a clear vision of how the play is going to run, and I'm the only pony organized enough to get the job done."
"But don't you think you should. . .?"
"You want this play to be a success?"
Spike swallowed and looked away. "Well yes, but. . ."
"Well then you should trust me. Anyway, we're here, so quiet down a bit."
"Hmmph." In a huff, Spike hopped off Twilight's back.
Twilight approached the stage and looked around at her friends. Fluttershy was tracing circles in the dirt in a corner. Rainbow Dash was lounging up against a cross piece. Applejack was putting away her tools. Pinkie was dragging over her box of lights and hardware. Rarity was fussing over sashes. Twilight smiled, hopped up on the stage, and put on the tone in her voice she had adopted when she was trying to deliver her speech at Applejack's award ceremony.
"Thank you so much, my friends, for helping me with this wonderful opportunity," Twilight said, her chest puffed out in pride. "I am sure if we all work hard and work together as a team, we will have a perfect performance. But now let's get down to the first orders of business."
Twilight looked around again and frowned. Something seemed off to her, somehow. She couldn't shake the feeling that what was available to her at present was extremely sparse.
She turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy. This movie has a bunch of animals, and the opening scene has a couple squirrels. Do you think you could get some of your animal friends over here to help us out?"
Fluttershy kept tracing circles in the dirt and never looked up. "Um. . . Well, sure, Twilight. I could try to see how they feel about it. But remember, they're only woodland creatures."
"I understand. Thank you, Fluttershy. And we might also need music. In fact we need a LOT of music, so if you could also invite some of your song birds, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Fluttershy nodded and flew off.
Twilight then turned to the rest of her friends. They were all doing their own things, and to Twilight's eyes, looking decidedly unorganized and restless. "We're going to need a lot of work," she said, rubbing her forehead. "Okay. From what I've gathered from the movie, there are two main characters. Spike? There's only one role for you, and that's to be Spike."
"Naturally," Spike exclaimed, sounding very proud.
Twilight then turned her head towards Pinkie Pie. "Hey Pinkie? Would you like to be Lickety Split?"
Pinkie Pie made a dismissive gesture. "Nah. Lickety Split is kind of a big shot. I think Rainbow Dash would make a better Lickety Split," she said as she pointed to the lounging Rainbow.
"But Rainbow Dash is a pega. . ."
Upon hearing Pinkie Pie call her name, Rainbow Dash bolted upright and glanced over at Pinkie Pie then to Twilight. Rainbow's eyes glistened with anticipation.
Twilight threw her front hooves up in defeat. "Fine. Rainbow Dash is Lickety Split."
Rainbow pumped her right front hoof. "YES!"
"Let's practice the first major scene."