“Wow. Looks like everybody’s here!” said Twilight, walking through the center of town in the late evening, heading towards the pending Summer Sun Celebration in Town Hall.
Ponies littered the streets, most of them trotting about in small groups, conversing about how this year’s celebration was further from the ordinary, compared to previous years. The street lights began to flicker on as the sun dipped down beneath the buildings, casting shadow on the town as the night rolled in, dropping the temperature down to a more comfortable level.
“No kidding!” said Spike, waddling slightly ahead of Twilight as the excitement in the small dragon began to build. “Tables of snacks laid out, music, dancing… it’s going to feel more like a real party this year!”
Town Hall was all the rage tonight, several ponies could be seen gathering inside, most others standing outside shooting the breeze, wooden mugs of punch in hoof. And Town Hall itself, although still quite tame feeling, was lit up like a Christmas tree; colored lights and appropriate banners decorating the building and giving it a sparkly quality. The lights on the inside flickered around the windows as well, an upbeat mellow song lightly thumping around on the inside.
Upon walking in, they were met with a sort of jazzy mix of sounds coming from the front stage, even filling the front lobby with music as Twilight and Spike entered the building. The front lobby wasn’t very brightly colored, minus the candles and glimmering streamers that decorated the tables and buffet in the dimly lit atmosphere. Twilight could see Applejack over behind the buffet with more of the Apple family and their friends, tending to the refreshments as more and more ponies gathered around, filling their plates.
As they entered the main ball room, the light and sound they were met with was a happy welcome to what was usually a quieter gathering. The room was filled with decoration; the banners, the dance floor up front of the stage, the seating areas off to the sides; all of it decorated with greens and blues and oranges that gave the room a certain naturalistic earthy feel, as if the sun had already risen on a new morning. Even the getups of the celebrity guests had a life-like quality to them; having the celeb’s mixed in made the crowd splotchy with clothed and unclothed ponies.
Up on stage, across from the dance floor, the music group of the Celebration was performing, dancing around under the spotlights. Fluttershy performed with her bird quire, playing a more soothing melody. Vinyl Scratch mixed it up on her DJ equipment, mixing softer beats and backing tracks to bring more edge to the song. Wildfire sat on a stool, strumming an upbeat chord progression out to bring the melodies together. It had a good mix of jazz, quire, and dance, and it had a catchy tune to it that the ponies on the dance floor seemed to enjoy.
Twilight and Spike looked around, taking in the room with great amazement that their Summer Sun Celebration had evolved into an even greater party. They saw that Pinkie was out on the dance floor, hopping around to the beat with dozens of other ponies. Rarity was up and to the side of the stage, admiring the music as she spoke with some of the celebrity ponies.
The song ended with an energetic improvisation, halting itself with a crash. The ponies on the dance floor clapped their hooves happily on the floor.
They began to set up for their next song, the rustling of the ponies slowly building to an audible chatter as they muffled out the humming of the PA. Mid-way through their set up though, the silence was broken by the loud rip of Vinyl putting on another disk. The ponies on the dance floor jumped in surprise, the crash, pop, and thump of the boisterous beat shaking the room with enormous bass.
Wildfire, looking across the stage, could see Vinyl Scratch with a big grin on her face. The only one ready, Fluttershy raised her hooves and prepared her ensemble of birds. She started the melody, but realized that she was the only one playing anything. She quickly hushed them, turning around to see why no one else was doing anything.
“Are you kidding?” shouted Wildfire across the stage. He could be heard over the PA slightly shouting aside from the mic, shouting at Scratch over the thumping beat.
Some of the ponies on the dance floor looked around in confusion. Others smiled, wondering what sort of shenanigans were happening up on stage.
Scratch leaned over her table, holding her hoof out stretched as she pointed at Wildfire.
“Go ahead!” she shouted, her voice too layered in behind the thumping bass to be audible to anyone else.
Wildfire looked back at the guitar in his lap, smiling apprehensively. He readied the guitar and propped it up against him. He readied his hooves, looking back at Vinyl and still shaking his head. She remained hunched over her turn table, smiling at him, awaiting Wildfire to begin the song for them.
Stalling for more time, Wildfire adjusted the microphone and brought it to his face a little closer. He sat back up in his chair, fixing the guitar in his lap.
As some of the ponies got excited, they let out a few cheers of encouragement as the got ready. Wildfire scooted closer on his chair, nodding to Fluttershy to go ahead and start back up again with her chorus of birds. She counted the beat down, bringing the rainbow of birds back to life with a harmony of their voices mixing into the room.
Wildfire sung into the mic, the tune and the words catching the ears of many more ponies as he strummed his guitar. It didn’t take very long for the ponies on the dance floor to recognize the song in its bubblier sounding cover. Ponies on the dance floor went crazy, and those who weren’t already on the dance floor broke their conversations and left their tables, flooding the room with excitement. A few of the VIP’s also got daring as they ran to join the crowd, standing out from them as their ensembles shown gleamingly under the light.
They played it loud, the energy from the audience showering over onto the stage and bringing life to the performers. The song ended with an abrupt thud that trailed off in mountainous reverb. Fluttershy, Scratch, and Wildfire all stood up and took center stage, bowing before the crowd, as they cheered for the song that brought everypony back a few years.
The announcer pony came to center stage, taking to the microphone quickly as the three left the stage.
“Alright guys! We’re taking five on the music. Get yourselves something to eat and drink over at the back of the room. We want to dance ‘till we drop, but let’s just see how long we can prolong that.” said the announcer pony.
Fluttershy went back to tend to her birds at that time as the small band’s performance reached its end. Wildfire’s performance was done for the night, and he was feeling nothing short of ecstatic after performing in front of so many ponies. Perhaps another time would come that he would get to do it again, but for right now, it was time for him to put up his guitar. He lifted the dark mahogany instrument into the hard shell case and locked it, leaving it up on stage where no one would bother it.
“Wildfire!” shouted Vinyl, coming back up on stage with a cup of punch suspended in the air by her magic.
“Wow! I’ve never had a jam like that before!” said Vinyl, enthralled by the flawlessness of their performance and the energy of their audience.
“Yeah, well I’ve never had a jam… ever!” said Wildfire, chuckling some.
Scratch giggled. “You’ve never played with anyone before?”
“Well, not in front of hundreds of other ponies before.”
“Gets ya’ pumped up, doesn’t it?” asked Scratch.
Wildfire thought for a second. “Hmm, I can think of a few other things that work a little better…” he said, smiling broadly at Scratch.
Vinyl Scratch giggled again, taking a sip of her punch and setting it down on her turn table. She removed her glasses as well, placing them on the table beside her cup of punch. She swayed her hips some as she looked back at Wildfire with a smitten smile, her violet eyes glimmering in the light.
“So, Wildfire, are you seeing anypony?” she asked bashfully.
“Wildfire!” interrupted Twilight, climbing up on stage.
“Hey!” greeted Wildfire.
“I didn’t know you were so talented!” said Twilight.
“Oh, well it’s nothing really.” said Wildfire.
“Are you kidding? You got Ponyville’s approval! I think I see a cutie mark in your future.” said Twilight.
Scratch quietly snuck away from the conversation, feeling awkward that Wildfire had taken back to Twilight so readily.
“Eh, maybe.” said Wildfire. “I’m going to go get something to drink.”
“Ok.”
Wildfire hopped off stage and walked across the dance floor, getting a “good job” from about every other pony he passed. As he passed through the doors from the main room and into the front lobby, the roar of the crowd was lost beyond the doors and the volume dropped to a more comfortable hearing level. He grabbed a cup of the punch from the drink table at the buffet, walking back into the room and wandering around some, taking in a breather as he looked up into the room, watching the lights twinkle as he sipped on his punch. Slightly lost in the bright display, the distracted Wildfire bumped into the back of another pony. He heard the sound of a full cup of punch hitting the floor as he made contact with the other pony, followed up by a familiar and less than friendly voice. He turned his head, catching the sight of a rainbow tail in his path too late.
“Hey!” screeched Rainbow, already chewing him out before she had even turned around. “Watch where you’re go- You!” gasped Rainbow.
“Me? Now wait! What did I even do in the first place?” asked Wildfire, his attitude beginning to boil as he grew impatient with Dash.
“What did you do!?” she moved in closer, not afraid to get in Wildfire’s personal space. “You out ran me, fastest pony in all of Equestria, is what you did!”
Wildfire took a moment of silence, not able to sympathize or see the point Dash was trying to make to him.
“I’m the fastest! All you did was catch me off guard, and take advantage of it too!”
“Wait… You’re mad because I outran you?” Wildfire looked at Dash with disbelief, unsure of how to even respond.
“Look, I can understand if you’re mad at me for ignoring you; I deserve that. But for being a little faster than you? Are you kidding?”
“Does it look like I’m kidding?” said Rainbow Dash, her stern stare not braking from his.
“What do you want me to do then? I already took the blame for shaking up Canterlot the other day.”
“I didn’t ask you to cover for me, nor did I want you to!”
“Hey Rainbow Dash!” greeted a little light orange foal with purple hair, jumping enthusiastically above the snack table from the other side.
“Hey Scootaloo.” Dash stepped a couple steps back from Wildfire, breaking her angry stare and turning with a smile towards the little pony.
“What are you doing back there?” asked Dash.
“Me, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are helping serve treats! We’re gonna get our serving cutie marks by the end of the night!” she said, hoping for joy.
Dash smiled at her. “And how’s that working out?”
Scootaloo stopped jumping up and down long enough to give her own flank a study. “Well, nothing yet, but the night’s not over! What about you, Wildfire?” she asked.
“Where’s your music cutie mark? Because that performance was amazing!” Wildfire smiled, embarrassed by the foals compliments. “Wasn’t it amazing Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah…” her cynical glare returned as she turned her attention back to Wildfire. “He’s amazing alright…”
“Sooo… have you just not earned your cutie mark yet, Wildfire?” Scootaloo interjected.
“Yeah.” Dash’s face turned with an unpleasantly proud smile. “Where’s your cutie mark?”
“I bet it will be a music note! Or a guitar! Or a microphone!”
“Something to do with making noise I’m sure.” said Dash, smiling sardonically.
Wildfire felt the cap on his temper pop. The word ‘noise’ didn’t bode well with him.
“Oh yeah?” Wildfire closed the space in between him and Dash quite fast. Both her and Scootaloo were quite surprised at his outburst. “And what’s this, cotton candy on a colorful stick?” said Wildfire, pointing to Dash’s cutie mark.
“Hey, my cutie mark is the coolest around. You don’t have anything on me!” said Dash, still holding that proud smile on her face.
“You’re right; a rainbow lightning bolt looking thing…” said Wildfire. “Mind if I call you thunder flanks?” said Wildfire, shooting Rainbow back the same mocking glare that she was giving him before.
Dash’s face turned red as her jaw dropped open, a tiny gasp escaping her as her eyes widened. Her humiliated expression was quickly overcome by a fierce, piercing stare; the one she usually wore when she was focused on racing.
“You have no room to talk, especially with your chicken legs.” said Dash, starting with the name calling as she pointed a hoof at Wildfire’s skinny frame.
Their wings were raised off of their bodies, a natural Pegasi mechanism to look more threatening to their foes, and the tension was building by the second. Scootaloo gave the ponies their space.
“Umm… I’m going to get back to work.” she said, retreating behind the table.
Applebloom, walkng up in the moment to talk, turned back around with Scootaloo and returned to the buffet with her.
“What was that about?” asked Applebloom.
“I have no idea…” said Scootaloo.
“I’m sure, doesn’t matter though. As far as cutie marks go, you probably couldn’t fit anything on those sticks anyway. But at least you don’t have to worry about that, do you?” said Rainbow Dash, her tone becoming more snippy with Wildfire, taking cheap shots at his scrawnier build.
Applebloom went over and got Applejack’s attention, afraid that a fight might break out. It was to Applejack’s surprise that she saw Rainbow Dash picking a fight with Wildfire; the pony that had hardly done anything to her. She stayed back, watching the spectacle as more of the ponies around them began to take notice.
“A ‘blank flank’ is like a blank canvas, it can be made into anything.” spoke Wildfire in a firm tone as he leaned in. “It just means I have more potential.”
“More potential to be a total loser!” shouted Rainbow Dash, catching the attention of everyone around them.
They stared each other down, eyes locked in an angry staring contest while both ponies stood their ground. Neither one of them neither flinched nor blinked. They both just stood there as statuesque as can be, both personalities butting furiously up against each other.
“Fillies and Gentle-Colts!” The announcer’s voice roared the PA into life again, snapping Dash and Wildfire out of their scruff.
“The festivities are about to begin! Please get whatever you may need and come to the stage as quick as you can. Princess Celestia is almost here!”
Dash shot Wildfire a dirty look, leaping into the air and gliding over him and over the crowd towards the main ball room.
“Prick.” she whispered to herself.
“Bitch.” Wildfire whispered to himself, shaking his head in frustration towards the rainbow pegasus.