As evening began to poke its head over the horizon, the castle entrance became packed with a long line of ponies eager to get into the party. Only ones who were on the list, or received a personal invitation from the Wonderbolts or the Princesses themselves were able to get in. However, that didn't stop a lot of hopeful ponies who thought they could smooth talk their way through. Security definitely had their hooves full that night.
As the line shuffled on outside in the front lawn, heads began to turn at the sound of four whining engines. One stallion jumped up and pointed over a rooftop at a large grey machine lumbering into view.
"Look over there!"
The C-130 blasted over the crowd, engines roaring, to make its appearance. Then, as quick as it came, it disappeared behind the castle and lined up for landing on the cloud runway.
Murmurs were scattered throughout the crowd as they discussed and argued over just what the hell that was. Most of the ponies there had seen or heard about the race between Jake and Speed Demon, and were informed about a massive flying machine that was used to transport Jake and his Ferrari. To them, it wasn't as big of a shock.
Inside the ballroom, the guests were just now starting to file in, and the bar was already halfway full with ponies who wanted to get started a little early.
Clef and his band were all set up, and he raised his hoof to strike the downbeat.
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As he did so, the room was filled with a synthesizer opening, followed by saxophones with sound dissorting devices on their bells. The drummer began an upbeat tempo right when the soloist came in and started the melody.
The dance floor was already beginning to fill up from couples who were just moving to have fun to others who were going all out with their moves.
Luna entered the ballroom, and immediately gravitated towards the bar for a quick drink. The guests had been informed to treat the royalty like any other guest that night. They were not obligated to bow or "make way" for them. It made the two sisters feel more included in the event rather than being the center of attention all the time.
It was this rule they instilled that allowed the Moon Goddess to stroll right up and order a martini without any intimidated stares or bowing loyal subjects. She thanked the bartender and levitated it back to their reserved table in the VIP section with the Wonderbolts to wait for her sister.
Celestia, however, had said she had wanted to wait at the entrance for Twilight and her friends, as they would be arriving all together with Jake on the plane.
Fleetfoot had already downed two shots of whiskey and was going for a third when Soarin grabbed his hoof, laughing at his carelessness.
"You need to watch yourself there, Fleetfoot. We have a big show tomorrow and I wouldn't want you hungover like that one time in Fillydelphia. Remember?"
The stunt pegasus chuckled as he recalled that days events.
"Yeah. I still can't believe that I pulled it off, though."
"You're one lucky son of a bitch. You could've downed yourself and the rest of us in that last stunt the way you were swaying from side to side."
He waved Soarin off like it was no big deal.
"Lets forget about that, mate. Anyways, how about we get some partying in before we're occupied with photo shoots and autographs?"
"Sounds good to me, Fleetfoot."
With that, they stood up and headed out to the dance floor to join up with some other team members who were already in a groove with the music.
Out at the front gate, Jake and the rest finally made their way over from the runway via pegasus chariot that had been waiting for them by order of Celestia.
Seline was waiting at the gate, and had on a sleek white and red striped dress with her signature reading glasses on. Even though she wasn't working at the time, her outfit told everyone that business was what she preferred, and nothing got in her way.
Jake was impressed, and approached her immediately.
"You look amazing, Seline. Much different than back at the runway. I'm not saying that was bad or anything!"
He kicked himself for that last part until the business pony reassured him.
"Don't fret. I get it. I can't even remember the last time I went to a party to actually have fun and not just to convince some young hotshot into becoming a client. This'll be fun."
Mac and Jade were the first ones to walk past and through the gate.
"C'mon, y'all. Ah don't wanna jes stand here while all the fun is inside."
His sister sprang forward, followed by the other five.
"Right behind ya, Big Mac."
As the group approached the entrance, Celestia was waiting for them with a smile.
"Ah you finally made it! I saw the plane fly over, and was hoping that the chariot I sent wasn't late in picking you up."
Twilight smiled.
"No, they were right there when we landed."
Without warning, Pinkie Pie suddenly bounced forward through the small crowd and down the hall towards the ballroom.
"Where are the sweets!?"
Rainbow Dash shook her head and looked up at the Princess.
"Sorry about that. She's crazy when it comes to sweets."
Celestia simply let out a laugh.
"It's quite alright. If anypony were to expect that, it would be me. Now, lets get to the party! There's dancing, drinks, and more dancing. And you all have access to the VIP section. I've seated you all at our table as well."
Rarity beamed and gave a small curtsey.
"That would be wonderful, your Majesty!"
"Alright then, follow me."
The band had moved on to some popular Equestrian hits as the entourage walked in and headed for the VIP section. As they sat down, Soarin came over and said hello. He looked over to Jake and smiled.
"So, you ready for tomorrow?"
The pilot simply smirked and nodded. Soarin was confident in Jake, knowing that an experienced captain like himself would surely know how to handle himself in a situation like tomorrow's show.
Before sitting down, Seline gazed over to the bar across the room.
"I'm going to go over there and get us some drinks. You want anything, Jake?"
Being the well mannered stallion he was, he stood up as well and offered to go with her. They left the roped off section and headed across the dance floor to the bar.
Jade was glancing over at the dancing ponies for a couple minutes, and eventually nudged Mac in the ribs.
"Hey, lets go dance."
The farmer shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Uh, ah ain't really the greatest of dancers. Why don't you ask Starfyre to dance when he gets here. Ah know ya haven't really met him, but he's a nice stallion and probably a much better dancer than me."
Twilight looked over from her conversation with Celestia in confusion.
"Yeah, what's up with that? I thought he would've been here by now."
Applejack shrugged.
"Ahm sure that he's jes runnin' a little late. Nothin' ta worry about."
Just then, a loud, high pitched revving sound could be heard in the Grand Hallway. The crowd of party goers stopped their conversations and dancing to try and figure out just what the heck it was.
Jake, who was sitting at the bar with Seline, looked behind him just as the red Ferrari rolled into the ballroom, causing the near crowd to want a closer look. The paparazzi were snapping photos left and right while it slowly drove up to the stage. It stopped right at the front and shut off. The drivers door opened, and to Jake's surprise, Starfyre got out.
As the technician was waving and posing for pictures with the car, a furious looking Jake pushed his way through the throng of onlookers, and marched straight up to him.
"How in the hell did you get this here?!"
Starfyre chuckled and put a hoof on his shoulder, leaning in to tell him a secret.
"Yeah this isn't yours, buddy. When Celestia and Luna finished restoring yours, which by the way was simply magically charged since they had no idea how to fix the engine, they cloned like thirty of these things. There's an entire abandoned mineshaft under the city that was converted into a secure garage filled with them. And get this! They have like all different colors, too! It's crazy. So I simply went down there, and with my security access codes, got in and drove one over here. I thought it'd make a nice display, and I wanted to arrive in style. You know me."
Jake, who was still processing the information, was bombarded with press asking questions about the car and tomorrow's show. He did his best to try and answer some about how the plane worked and what they could expect to see in the show. He finally had had enough, and walked away in the middle of it all and rejoined his table with Seline and Starfyre. The Ferrari had been lifted with magic up on stage to the right of the band by some of the caste guards, and became a hotspot for the press and ponies wanting a good photo or two.
Jake, after digesting the information about the cloned cars, lifted his drink into the air and smiled, causing Celestia and his friends to do the same. He'd remember to have a word to the princesses about their secret garage filled with supercars later.
"I propose a toast. To one hell of a party, and one hell of an air show."
They clinked their drinks around the table and all took a sip.
Mac however, finished his off in one go and sighed in defeat. He looked over at Jade and stood up with an outstretched hoof.
"Alright, lets go dancin'."
Applejack laughed as the two made their way out to the floor.
"Get ready for a show, everypony."