Mixed Drinks 12: The Great and Powerful -Hey let’s do something else-
Soral was enjoying the show surprisingly enough. While Trixie came off as a bit arrogant she was very good at her craft. The crowd of ponies were dazzled by the pyrotechnics and Trixie never slowed down her wordplay once during the display. There was however one thing wrong with the show at the moment. Not so much something wrong on Trixie’s part, but within the audience itself.
“My, my, my! Such boasting.” Rarity tsked at the display.
“Of course, she is a show mare after all.” Soral defended the mare.
“Well that is no excuse for showing off like a filly who just got new ribbons.” Applejack scowled.
“It’s not wrong to show off your special talent is it?’ Twilight asked, a worried expression on her face.
Applejack looked like she wanted to say something but Soral cut her of with a loud snort. “If it was then nopony would ever do anything because they would be showing off.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Applejack question, while glaring at the colt.
“Think about it. You always boast that you have the best apples in all of Equestria. Rainbow dash boasts that she is the fastest flyer in the world.” Soral stated while jabbing a hoof at the cyan pegasus.
“Yeah, I know I’m awesome.” Rainbow dash said, puffing up like overly proud bird.
“Let’s not forget Rarity though.” Soral said.
“Me! I hardly boast about my talents dear.” Rarity defended.
“No, you don’t. However you are supplying them. For what is fashion at it’s core if not somepony boasting about their looks or their money. Even though I know you want to just make ponies feel pretty, that doesn’t change the fact the there are ponies out there who will try to use them to put others down about their looks, or boast about their wealth.” The colt explained.
The fashionista frowned at the cynical outlook. “Soral, you really shouldn’t have such a poor view of other ponies.”
Soral gave a blank look for a few seconds before stating. “Diamond Tiara.”
Rarity coughed into her hoof. “Of course there are exceptions.”
“Besides, everypony knows Twilight is the most magical unicorn in Equestria.” Spike stated, oblivious to the worried look Twilight sent his way.
Their attention was back to the stage where Trixie began bragging about her accomplishments, some of which didn’t hold weight with any of the six friends. “Okay, now this is blatant boasting.”
“See, I told ya’ the mare was no good.” Applejack said with a nod.
“That doesn’t change the fact that she is a show mare. After all, do you see her getting a job anywhere in town? Do you see any house that belongs to her? She has a wagon, and chances are all her possession are in it.” Soral shot back at Applejack, who backed away a bit from the heat in his voice. “The act you see now is effectively her job. This is how she earns her bits. However, you just want to do everything you can to stomp it out right now, don’t you.”
“Now hold on there sugarcube, I ain’t about to take away somepony’s livelihood.” Applejack said taking offense to Soral’s statement.
“Then why are you so against her show? It is a magic show, you are just supposed to sit back and enjoy the flare, maybe toss the performer a few bits if you really liked it and go home. If there is something you don’t like about the show then there is nothing keeping you here to watch it.” Soral said firmly.
“Soral, don’t you think you’re being a little mean?” Twilight asked, looking concerned at the building argument.
“Words hurt.” Soral said flatly, meeting Twilight’s eyes. “Words hurt more than you can imagine. Especially for a performer, where everypony who thinks they know better is going to say their opinion at the top of their lungs. I have seen performers who were just starting to get big, just starting to gain more notice, quit just because somepony in the audience decided to say the most hurtful thing they could.” Soral took a deep breath to calm down. “I am just mad that everypony who doesn’t like a show decides to take it out on the performer rather then just leave. So if I have the chance to stop it from happening then sorry if I sound rude but I am gonna stop it from happening.”
The the silence between them was deafening, broken only by the fanfare of the show but even that seemed muted.
“I’m sorry.” Applejack said after a while. “You’re right, if I don’t like the show then I don’t have to stay here and watch it. So I’m sorry for ruining the show for ya.” The farm pony was sincere in her apology.
Soral’s expression softened and he let out a sigh. “Sorry for telling you off like that.”
“Okay, enough of this gloomy attitude. Why don’t we all head down to sugar cube corner. My treat.” Rarity broke in. There were mumbles of agreement all around and the group left the show together.
*-*-*
Soral stared at the sugary treat that was sitting in front of him. It seems that the argument back at the show was water under the bridge. It seemed strange that they were able to shove it aside so quickly, but he couldn’t really complain.
He lifted the cupcake up with his magic and took a bite. It was good, the flavors all seemed right. “This is good.”
“Of course, I made it with love silly.” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced out of the kitchen towards the group. “Oh, and sugar, can’t forget that.”
“Well, ya did a good job of it.” Applejack told her.
“Mmm, sapphires.” Spike mumbled as he munch on a cupcake filled with precious stones. “You guys oughta try one, they’re great.”
“Spike, sapphires would shred the inside of our mouths. Remember the last time you try to share one of your treats.” Twilight told him.
Spike blushed and looked away sheepishly. “Celestia managed to fix your teeth after it though.” He mumbled.
Rainbow Dash started snickering at that. “Gee egghead, I would have thought you wouldn’t need to learn that from experience.” The pegasus prodded at the unicorn.
“Pony Joe was testing a new recipe for Spike, I took one without thinking.” Twilight mumbled.
That got a laugh from a few other ponies in the group. Soral didn’t say anything, he just sat there and enjoyed the atmosphere. The friends continued to chat. It was a far cry from what originally happened in this episode and an improvement as far as he was concerned. Pinkie Pie was being over exuberant in the telling of some joke. Twilight laughed, her eyes closed and hunched over the table. Rarity was sharing some event from when Sweetie Bell’s past, and Applejack reciprocated with tales from Appleblooms. Rainbow Dash, much like Spike, was far more interested in the food than the other events at the table.
He felt warm and content. It was odd, he never felt like this before. Then again it was a long time since he had friends he could meet physically back in his old world. Sure he had those he made online, and they worked together on several things. But distance ruined what gatherings could have been. They had to resort to online programs to get together, and it wasn’t bad, just would have been more fun in person. So Soral sat there, more than happy to be quiet and just listen to what was being said.
“So I go down stairs and there is the little wooden case sitting on the floor. Next to it is Sweetie Bell covered in bits of tape, shredded paper, and tangled in ribbons. The poor dear was in tears and when she saw me it just got worse. She started balling and saying sorry over and over again. The box was a gift she was going to give to me, and she wanted to do everything on her own and it ended in a disaster. it took me a while to get her to calm down, and even longer to get the tape out of her mane without hurting her.” Rarity’s voice was fond as she spoke of the memory.
The orange farm pony chuckled. “Heh, reminds me of a time when Applebloom wanted to surprise us all with breakfast. She managed to make a plate of decent dumplings, but the entire kitchen was covered in flour and bits of batter. She was ecstatic when we said they were good, even if she had to spend the rest of the morning cleaning up the mess. Granny also had to make us a brunch because breakfast was on the light side of what our normal fare is.”
“So me and Suzy were at Berry’s bar the other day. Suzy was having something called a Long Island tea or something like that. I was having juice because it was still day time. This stallion a few seats down though had, had a few too many and started making rude comments. Well me and Suzy decide to play a little prank on him. So Suzy turns to him and goes “Miss, can you please settle down.” and that got the stallion to go silent. He then started to defend himself stating he was a stallion and we shouldn’t get that wrong, well for the next few minute me, Berry, Suzy, and a few of the other bar goers are calling him Miss, and ma’am and lady. The poor stallion was completely confused by the change and soon left. Once he was gone everyone in the bar started laughing.” a pink ball of energy extolled.
“Pink’s you are evil, you know that?” Rainbow Dash told her as she broke down into laughter.
“It was Suzy’s idea, she called it a psycho-what-it attack.” Pinkie Pie defended.
Twilight was shaking with laughter from the story. “Pinkie, I, I can’t believe you did that.” the princess’s student said through guffaws. “It’s psy-psycho-psychological.” Twilight managed to explained before she collapsed back into calmer snickers.
Soral looked at each member of the group and felt something he hadn’t in a long time. It was a part of his creativity that he indulged more in high school. His eyes slipped close and he began to think of a rhyme.
Gathered at a table bright,
Flames of laughter flicker light.
Stories passed, memory and voice,
Allow these friend to rejoice.
Even though the sun is low,
The friends gathered simply know;
That their fire shall be bright,
Like a star through the night.
Poetry was an odd thing. Soral has always been fond of the Nursery rhyme system of poems. They are simple to create, fun to say, and convey their meaning quite well. Sadly, his poems always tend to revolve around moments that he experienced and he doesn't feel they convey well to other people.
“Soral, that was lovely.” Rarity commented.
The little colts eyes snapped open, and the first thing he noticed was everyone at the table looking at him. Crimson began to glow through the fur on his muzzle. “I, I said that out loud?” he squeaked out. The question was rhetorical at this point as he already had the answer. He was more surprised over it than anything.
“Sure did sugarcube. I gotta say it was a nice piece.” Applejack chuckled.
“I didn’t know you liked poetry Soral.” Twilight said giving him approving look.
Soral shifted on his seat for a moment. “I like to wait for them to be a bit more polished before I share them.” he told them. Soral was still embarrassed that this aspect slipped out and he didn’t share it on his own.
Rarity got up from her seat and gave him a small nuzzle. “You shouldn’t look so despaired dear. You have a lovely talent, it is nothing to be ashamed about.” she told him. The colt just gave her a small nod.
“This calls for Milkshakes!” Pinkie cried out, arriving at the table with a tray of aforementioned treats. With that things were back to normal, and just like in the poem itself, they continued until it got dark.