Chapter II
Last-Minute Waltz
6-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-9
It's now almost seven o'clock, and the crowd of formally dressed ponies are standing agog waiting for the gates to open. Everypony thinks that the gates will open at exactly seven. The ones who brought watches continually checked the time and counted down in their heads. The others would just chat with other ponies.
Besides the ponies that had already arrived, there were other guests that came to the party after them also handsomely dressed. There was Mayor who wore light-gray slacks and a white blouse with a khaki saddlebag. There also arrived Filthy Rich in a blue coat with a white long-sleeves shirt underneath accompanied by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, both dressed in evening gowns of their favorite colors. Dr. Whooves in a white tux arrived with Derpy Hooves flying by in a slim white dress. There were Lyra and Bon Bon who both came in loose dark-colored gowns with matching saddlebags of their own. Berry Punch, Daisy, and Cherry Berry appeared with dresses of different designs and colors probably made by Rarity, and Raindrops was behind them wearing a sleeveless pink dress carrying a matching purse on her mouth.
"Oh, I remember this place," said Filthy Rich, "This used to be my home before the family moved out."
"Daddy, why did you move out of this mansion in the first place?" asked his daughter, Diamond Tiara.
"It's a bit of a funny story actually... When I was still a very young colt about half your age, the Rich family who stayed here lived prosperously with our family business. We also had many servants to take care of the household. At that time, it was just weeks before a baby unicorn was born, who was your uncle, Dirty Rich. One night, the front door was left open, and no one noticed it 'til morning. Your uncle was one of the first to wake up and walked down the stairs to see a lot of fireflies that must've came in. There were hundreds of them maybe thousands, and the maids were already trying to shoo them away. Without caution, your uncle Dirty Rich used his magic, and transformed them into mice. The mice ran all over the house, started biting on the furniture and woke up our parents. Everyone panicked and quickly packed as much stuff as possible and ran out to Ponyville. Before, I still wanted to go back and visit the house, but my parents didn't dare walk near its premises. I wonder how this house came back in good condition."
Seconds later, a faint dong of a grandfather clock that sounded from inside stopped everypony's conversations and notified them that it was finally seven o'clock. A muffled rasp became a resonated creak as the iron gates finally opened for the guests to enter. Everypony ambled through the white-brick pathway of the neatened front lawn, the front door also opened in front of them. Each pony carefully took their steps over the maple floor of the living room.
Each guest's faces widened in surprise and amazement; every piece of furniture in the house looked to be in mint condition. Filthy Rich began to revisit his nostalgia. Even if he wanted to stay in the house for a little while, his current household was still rather larger than his first one. He contemplated that he wanted to thank the pony who took care of the place even if it is too late for him to occupy the space again. Besides, the 'X' pony would've been residing in the mansion all this time.
"I remember visiting this place when I was a filly," said Mayor, "The furniture looked much better than the way I saw this house before."
"I must agree Ms. Mayor," replied Rarity, "I mean, look at all this stuff! The material and the patterns of this furniture were obviously some of the finest in the land of Equestria! It's as if these were stolen from Princess Celestia's chambers. Even the decor in this room itself could outshine my boutique... I feel so jealous! On the contrary, restoring all this antique furniture would cost an enormous fortune."
"This is a mighty-lookin' house," said Applejack looking impressed, "The pony better be good at handlin' critters and fixin' this furniture 'to a perfect condition. Might I'd just hire that pony to fix the barn."
"Although most of the decor seem to look a bit s-spooky," said Fluttershy as she imagined the possible horrors lurking in the house.
"I really, really, really, really, really want to throw a party in here!" yelled Pinkie Pie, "We could play hide-and-seek in the whole house, maybe even the whole forest! I better get started! I'll go to the kitchen and bake us a cake." Then, Pinkie pranced happily to make her way to the kitchen.
"Umm, Pinkie?" hesitated Twilight, "We are still in the middle of another party by... whoever set this up."
As Pinkie was about to exit the living room, a sudden smoke cloud puffs in front of her and spreads across the entry way to the adjacent main hall. Pinkie backs away as every other pony covers their eyes as the smoke quickly disappears in gusts. The miniature chandeliers sway slightly while everypony looks through the smoke to find a familiar mare in blue and white wearing a blue and silver dress.
"Fillies and gentlecolts!" the blue mare announced, "Welcome to my humble abode. It is my honor to-"
"Trixie!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she flapped her wings, "What are you doing here?!"
"Yeah!" Pinkie cried out, "Step aside! I'll be going to the kitchen to bake our cake! Now, if you would excuse me!" Pinkie with her head held high was about to walk past her when Trixie placed her hoof on her forehead and prevented Pinkie from moving forward.
"Silly ponies," said Trixie with vain, "I expected this much attitude from you by the time you would see me. Don't you that it is rude to interrupt my introduction. Anyways, shall we begin?"
"Begin what?" question Twilight.
"The party of course." Trixie chuckled, "Why else would all of you come here so handsomely dressed?"
"Well, I don't have to deal with any of this junk!" yelled Rainbow Dash, "I'm outta here!" Rainbow Dash wrenched both of the front doors wide open and flapped heavily away from the house until she crashed through some sort of force field which glowed a pale blue on where she hit herself. With her face fixed flat parallel to the wall, she slowly slipped off the impenetrable wall of magic until she falls on her back flat on the grass. Most of the ponies went out to the front lawn to help. Derpy opened her wings and flew high until she also hit her head beside Rainbow Dash's face-plant. She falls to the sod beside Rainbow, and both ponies try to recover.
"What just happened here!" cried out Twilight, "Trixie! I suspect you would trap us here!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Trixie replied sarcastically, "Did my magic startle you?"
"Why are you keeping us here?"
"Oh, don't worry. I expected some 'runaway guests' so I just cast a magical force field that will prevent my dinner party from losing guests. But don't worry, you have nothing to worry about. I promise I won't do any harm. Now, if you would all follow me back inside."
Hesitantly, they followed her back into the mansion with lowered expectations. Rainbow Dash and Derpy were patting off soil from their dresses and went behind them more heedful than usual. The mansion looked gloomier in most of the guests' eyes as they looked at the living room a second time. Trixie with her head held slightly higher led them through the main hall.
The main hall composed of vases over tall wooden platforms holding Foxtail orchids and lavenders with ferns at the bottom. The walls are painted a light-beige hue with dark brown panels on the ceiling corners made of pine wood. A wide marble staircase leading to the master bedroom and a few other halls was distinguished on their left. The ponies were walking over a broad rug of indigenous design towards the room they're all about to head.
"Now, here is where we feast!" proclaimed Trixie waving her right hoof to the corner of the expanse. It was the dining room. A long table covered by a white-laced tablecloth was beneath an alignment of candles and vases of the same flowers as in the main hall, which stands over the table under a brightly-lit, brass candelabrum. The ponies slowly take their steps into the dining room in astonishment.
"I don't know what's going on here," Twilight whispered to Trixie when she stopped before entering the room, "but you better not do anything fishy."
"Oh, Twilight, relax," replied Trixie softly, "You have too much to think about. No wonder you're the stressful one. Just don't ruin yourself and have fun."
Twilight being the last pony to enter grumbled into the room, and Trixie followed behind. Everypony began chatting amongst themselves in the room. Trixie conjured a bell and sounded it that every other pony heard it and glanced at her.
"I was expecting some more guests," proclaimed Trixie, "Does anypony know if another guest would be coming?" The ponies looked at each other and agreed that there is no other pony who is running late. "I guess this is all of you," she grinned, "Others might be busy, although I'm satisfied to know I have ponies who would come to my party in such short notice." The dinner guests felt somewhat unconcerned since they didn't have a liking for Trixie. Trixie said once again, "I might have to shorten the number of seats since we lack a number of guests." Trixie's horn began to glow a faint blue. The tables and chairs levitated slightly and each piece of furniture and decor started to shake; each party guest was backing away from the sorcery taking place. The farthest chair from Trixie merged towards a nearer one and the merged entity combined with a nearer one; the process kept going slowly. The table shortened as the legs merged with each other with the decor over it following. The tablecloth shrunk in length still maintaining its unique patterns. Trixie eventually set the table down in the center with the seats matching with an equal number of ponies in the room. Everypony clapped in wonder as Trixie wiped away the few drops of sweat on her face.
"Thank you; thank you," she curtsied, "Thank you all. I believe you may now find your seats." Everypony took a few minutes to find their place on the dinner table. Trixie sat on one end while she insisted Mayor to sit on the other. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat beside each other. The Apple family and the Cakes had found their places facing each other. Lyra, Bon Bon and Berry Punch happily found themselves sitting beside each other which goes the same with Raindrops, Daisy and Cherry Berry. The Rich family has their place beside Mayor's with Silver Spoon reluctantly beside DIamond Tiara. Derpy dragged Doctor Whooves to a seat beside hers. Rarity and Fluttershy were still chatting towards their seats, and Angel hopped onto his owner's lap. Twilight and Rainbow had found themselves on Trixie's left and right sides since every other seat was occupied; both were still grumbling and didn't dare show their faces to Trixie.
Trixie announced once again, "Now that everypony has their place on the table, we shall now feast!" The unicorn's horn shimmered once more and out comes hovering covered platters from the kitchen doors. Wine glasses followed behind each platter that came out and gently landed in front of each pony. "I know every single one of you," she proclaimed, "so on my behalf, I present you with your choices." Every platter cover flew up and vanished, and to everypony's surprise, a gourmet style of their favorite dishes was under the platter still warm and fresh. Salads, sandwiches, fruit, and pastries of their choices had captured the ponies' appetites. The glasses were filled from the bottom to top a variety of wines and juices according to the ponies' choices. Even if the guests' were stunned once again, they look down as if it might kill them. "What are you all waiting for?" asked Trixie towards her visitors, "Eat up!" Derpy tasted a muffin on her plate. Her face showed a liking towards it and munched over the plate full of pastries. Others followed and eventually, all started to eat beaming with smiles.
Trixie let out a smirk in front of her two seatmates, although Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash just continued eating trying to face away from Trixie. Rainbow Dash was one of the first to finish and Scootaloo who is beside her kept asking her questions about her interests. Other ponies took the time to look around the ground floor of the mansion. Twilight finished her salad before Trixie did.
"Did you get a chef to make all this?" asked Twilight skeptically, "Did you make this by magic?"
"Of course, I made everything by magic." Trixie answered, "Even if I have cookbooks in the library, I only use those recipes for myself. What better way to serve a crowd than to use magic."
"But how did you know all our favorite foods?"
"Let's say I had a way to spy on you, maybe for seeking revenge. but I know I would use the information soon enough."
"Into a dinner party? How did you do it? A crystal ball? Surveillance? People would find you in town somehow. Also how did you survive when you never even showed yourself in town."
"Technically I did... Do you know a pony who was new in town a few months ago? Orange in color with a dark mane and tail?
"Umm.. yeah, Dixie? What about her?"
"That's actually me using the Inverted Colors Spell. What ever you told her told me, and since I made friends with about everypony in town, thanks to Pinkie Pie over there, I was able to know about everypony's interests." It gave a chill down Twilight's spine as she thinks about how much Trixie knows about each pony in the house. She still thinks Trixie has something up her sleeve.
"Then... how were you able to restore all this furniture? I'm guessing magic?"
"Of course, my dear."
When about everypony had finished eating and just chatted with one another, Trixie clapped her hands to gain everypony's attention. Each guest was in a lighter mood than when they first saw Trixie again.
"Now that everypony has finished eating, we shall now head to the ballroom." She used her magic once more to levitate the plates back to the kitchen. Then, she hopped out of her chair and walked towards the ballroom entry. "Follow me," she instructed. The ponies slowly got out of their chairs and followed her towards the tall entryway of the ballroom. The ponies gazed in amazement as they looked around the bright panorama of the ballroom.
The majority of the ballroom was coated in an eggshell, Villa Vecchia-style wallpaper. Two tall windows viewed a nice landscape of the forest and had crimson drapes tied to the sides of them. A few chairs and tables sat on the sides of the room for ponies to lounge on. The floor and ceiling were made of the same oakwood. Five brass chandeliers bigger than the one in the dining room rested with chains to support the anatomies. The one in the center stood out from the others because of its size.
"I'll give you the time to take a look around the house." Trixie declared, "Now, for the waltz!" Trixie's horn glowed as the whole room slowly began tuning some classical music. The ponies' moods became relaxed. Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake went to the dance floor first, and both waltzed around the center. Pinkie Pie took the twins and pranced behind the first couple. Big Macintosh asked for Cheerilee's hoof and waltzed behind the Cakes. The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran towards the center of the room and span around together. Derpy Hooves grabbed Doctor Whooves and dragged him towards the center and tried to mimic the waltz. Others wanted to sit and watch. Other ponies took their times to look around the house.
Filthy Rich, who is grinning, approached Trixie, "I must say, you really took care of my old house."
"Oh," replied Trixie, "This was your house? I didn't know, although no one was occupying it. It was clearly abandoned."
"It's fine. I plan on giving you this house anyway since you did such a good job on replenishing the condition of the interior."
"Well, of course. After all, you have a bigger household than this."
"If I could have your permission, may I visit this house again sometime? Seeing the sight of this mansion again made me look back to my early days."
"Sure. Just make sure to send a letter first before you come. For now, I have a show to do." She left the conversation and stood in between the walls of the entryway. "Fillies and gentlecolts," Trixie announced, "I will be back for a show! Brace yourselves for a performance to remember!" She headed to her way upstairs and the guests continued with what they're doing.
While the five couples were dancing, a small saw slid out from the ceiling and started cutting a circle around the chain supporting the center candelabrum. Mr. and Mrs. Cake happened to be in the center of the room. Unfortunately, they were also directly under the chandelier, blissfully unaware of the impending disaster.
"It was actually nice to take some time off to attend this party," said Mrs. Cake.
"Yes it is," replied Mr. Cake happily.
During their waltz, Mrs. Cake felt something powdery fall on her snout and she swept a foreleg across her face to remove the substance. As she looked up to determine the source of the powder, the saw completed cutting the last few inches of the circle and the chandelier plummeted down to the ballroom floor. Within the split second before the chandelier crashed, Mrs. Cake had the time to take a step back.
CRASH! The powerful impact on the floor created a giant dust cloud that filled the whole ballroom. Shards of glass flew everywhere, injuring nearby ponies. Everypony's spirits fell as they try to find the cause of the heavy impact.
Mr. Cake had been lucky. The spike at the bottom of the chandelier crushed his skull, killing him instantly. The opposite was true for Mrs. Cake. One of the downward pointing branches impaled her midsection, tearing holes through her skin deeply and making her bleed profoundly. She thrashed violently, trying to free herself from the huge piece of metal pinning her to the floor.
Before the dust settled, most of the ponies had already rushed in to help. However, thier efforts where in vain. Even Doctor Whooves, a skilled paramedic, was unable to save her. He, with the help of several desperate ponies, was able to successfully extract the chandelier branch from Mrs. Cakes body, but they were unable to patch up the huge gash. After a few moments of continous struggle, Mrs. Cake became still.