//------------------------------//
// The Speech 
// Story: Living in Equestria 
// by Blazewing 
//------------------------------//

As I had thought I might be, I was awakened early in the morning by Bon Bon knocking at the door. I got dressed and joined her and Lyra without a vocal word of complaint about how early it was, though my brain was prepared to grumble up a storm. Lyra, of course, was all smiles. Bon Bon was a little more subdued, but not in a bad way.

As we walked, my candy maker friend didn’t say anything, but let Lyra talk, loud enough for me to hear. However, from time to time, she would turn around to look at me. Her little smile whenever she did this told me things were all right again. Lyra’s bad jokes seemed to have brought her back into a better mood and removed her former sulleness. What else could I do but return her smile with one of my own?

Some time later, she suddenly said,

“Oh, Dave! I just remembered something!”

“Yes?”

“Hearts and Hooves Day is coming up fast. Would you mind helping out in the week leading up to it? There’s going to be a lot of ponies buying candy for their sweethearts.”

“Of course I wouldn’t mind, Bon Bon! You can count on me.”

“I know I can,” said Bon Bon, kindly.

“And hey,” piped up Lyra, “you’ve been doing really well at piano practice. Maybe you could play something romantic or cute for customers on Hearts and Hooves Day, as an accompaniment.”

Play a song for customers? Now there was an idea...

“Lyra, let’s not overstrain him,” said Bon Bon.

“No, no, I like her idea,” I said, honestly. “If I’m good enough by then, I’d be glad to do something like that.”

Bon Bon stared at me for a moment, then smiled.

“We’ll see, then,” she said.

From there, the walk progressed in relative silence. Lyra seemed to have run out of stuff to talk about, and was content just to walk beside Bon Bon, so close they were practically flank to flank. It warmed my heart to see what close friends they really were.


***


I whiled away the rest of the day by going through my note cards or practicing the piano some more. Now that I could more properly read the notes in sheet music, playing them became a lot easier. It felt exhilarating! I could almost picture the looks on my parents’ faces when I came home skilled at an instrument they’d never seen me practice.

Now, the question was, what could I play for Hearts and Hooves Day? Soft-heart that I was, I knew a fair amount of romantic or sentimental songs, mostly from movies. I ran through some of them in my head, trying to decide which would sound best on Hearts and Hooves Day, and whether or not they would even be recognizable. Pony society had thus far proven to possess their own versions of what was in human society, but I also had a feeling it could only go so far. I had to tread carefully. Then again, the sheet music for the songs themselves was a whole other question. Would it be possible to do it by ear, I wondered?

In the end, I decided I should leaf through sheet music at Ponyville’s music store, see if anything clicked. That seemed the sensible thing to do, at any rate, so I decided to stop by there sometime in the near future.

Monday, January 18


***


The front of the town hall was packed with ponies by the time I arrived the next evening, dressed in my Canterlot best with my notes in my pocket. A stage had been erected, with a lectern in the very center. The myriad of pastel coat colors was further complicated by the almost eye-watering amount of differently-colored winter apparel: jackets, coats, sweaters, scarves, earmuffs, and hats. It was like looking at a stationary kaleidoscope, one that was fogged by puffs of winter steam.

Mayor Mare was standing at the lectern, and when she saw me, cleared her throat, and spoke into the microphone set in front of her.

“Good evening, everypony,” said Mayor Mare. “I’ve called this meeting because of a special announcement one of our number wishes to make. It is an announcement, moreover, which comes from the princesses themselves.”

There was a good deal of excited muttering at this, and I felt a pang of nerves shoot through me.

“And so, without further ado, I present the stallion of the hour: human Dave!”

She stepped back, smiling, and I stepped forward. The crowd was applauding heartily for me, and I felt my heart swell. As I took my place, I looked about for recognizable faces. There were Pinkie, Twilight, and the others grouped together near the front, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sitting on their sisters’ backs, the Hooves family next to them, with Scootaloo on Sparkler’s back and Dinky on Derpy’s, Moonlight, Lyra, Bon Bon, Berry Punch, Vinyl Scratch, Zecora, Cheerilee, the Apple family, the Cakes, Screwball, Diamond Tiara with her father and some well-dressed mare who might be her mother, Silver Spoon, the other members of both bowling teams, and townsponies I mainly knew by sight. Just visible beside the Hooves family was Dolly Tribune, her notepad at the ready, and Papa Razzo, with his camera hanging from his neck. I could see several more camera ponies in the crowd, already clicking their cameras away, their flashes getting me right in the eyes.

Several ponies waved at me from the crowd. Pinkie’s forelegs waved so hard, she looked like she was trying to fly. I held up a hand to acknowledge their greetings, grinning weakly, then tugged at my collar distractedly. For such a cold night, it felt suddenly hot. I cleared my throat, and the silence became absolute.

The time had come at last.

“Hello, everypony,” I said, tentatively, into the microphone. “I’m glad you all could make it, especially on such a cold night. I promise not to keep you too long, otherwise we might have to start a bonfire.”

Many ponies laughed, and I even heard Pinkie cry ‘Good one, Davie!’ Their good humor put me in more confident spirits. A warm feeling spread into my heart. Taking my notes out of my pocket, I took a deep breath and continued, gripping one side of the lectern.

“My friends, I stand before you as Councilstallion David, human representative of the Equestrian Foreign Relations Council-”

There was some excited chatter at this, from those who’d had no idea.

“-but also as your friend, Dave, living right here in Ponyville,” I went on, receiving quite a number of warm smiles from the crowd. “I have news of astronomical proportions to deliver to you. In the frozen north, near the borders of Yakyakistan, there was a crystal city. Once a mighty empire of breathtaking beauty, reduced to the despotic stronghold of a tyrant, and then whisked away for many years, the spell upon it has been broken at last! It is my duty, honor, and privilege to tell you that the Crystal Empire has returned!”

I paused, allowing this to sink in. Everypony looked at one another, murmuring in puzzlement. I hadn’t expected them to have heard anything about it yet, if Twi and the others were keeping it hush-hush.

“I can understand that most of you might be perplexed by this,” I went on. “The princesses themselves confessed to having limited knowledge of it. The reason why you won’t have heard of it-”

I paused again for dramatic effect.

“-is because it’s been missing from the face of the country for a millennium.”
 
There was a long, deep silence. All eyes were glued to me, nearly all of them wide in shock and wonder. Dolly was scribbling away at her notepad, alternating between looking at it and me, her mouth agape. Razzo’s camera was clicking away.

“That’s right,” I said, nodding grimly. “A thousand years off of the face of Equestria, all thanks to the evil designs of its previous ruler: King Sombra. His tyranny was finally brought to an end by Princesses Celestia and Luna-”

Some scattered applause followed this, and Rainbow Dash shouted ‘You go, Princesses!’

“-But as he was going down, he decided to take his kingdom with him, and both vanished without a trace.” 

I paused to let this sink in before going on.

“Now, however, his curse has been lifted, and the Empire has returned, perfectly preserved, and its Crystal Pony subjects unharmed. Of course,” I added, darkly, “since the Empire came back, so did its old king.”

Several ponies gasped, and many looked apprehensive, except, naturally, Pinkie and friends.

“But there’s no reason to panic,” I said, quickly, holding up a placating hand. “Sombra isn’t a threat anymore. He was prevented from regaining control of the Empire thanks to several brave ponies.”

I cast a look down at Pinkie and the others, then moved on, the memory of what they’d told me upon their return fresh in my mind.

“Thanks to their efforts, Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor have secured it and prevented Sombra from entering its boundaries, at great risk, and are even now looking after it. Under their protective guidance, the Crystal Empire and its ponies are now safe, secure, and happy once more. I am also assured by trustworthy sources that the threat of King Sombra regaining his powers has been neutralized, and will never come to pass. The Crystal Ponies’ freedom from his tyranny resulted in that light show in the sky a few days ago. That was a demonstration of the Empire’s true power. In the words of Princess Celestia, it was to spread the hope, love, and happiness within it all across Equestria.”

I took a brief pause, another deep breath, then plunged on into my conclusion.

“The Empire itself will soon be open for visitors once again. I know you’ll be pleased with what it has to offer, and I know the citizens will all be happy to meet and know you. So, when you meet them, should you visit, they’ll more than likely say ‘welcome’. Well, I think it only appropriate to respond...’welcome back’.”

I stepped away, smiling around at them all, waiting for their reaction. There was silence at first. Then, slowly, gradually, building up volume and intensity like a jumbo jet revving up, every single pony broke into applause, their stomping hooves slightly muffled in the snow, but still audible. Loudest of all were the cheers coming from the seven heroes who had done their part to save the Empire in the first place. Indeed, Pinkie was stomping so hard that she might soon end up making a hole in the dirt. I looked over at the mayor. She was wearing a proud smile on her bespectacled face.

“Thank you very much for your time, everypony,” I said, leaning back toward the microphone. “I’m honored to have been given the chance to report this good news to such kind and understanding ponies.”

“Flatterer!” called Lyra, to some titters of laughter.

Mayor Mare approached the lectern now, and I stepped aside.

“Thank you, Dave,” she said. “That was quite a speech, I must say. Well, my fellow Ponyvillians, I can only say that I hope, as Dave said, we can extend the utmost courtesy and hospitality to our new, that is to say, old, neighbors, the Crystal Ponies. Thank you for your attention and attendance, everypony. This meeting is adjourned.”

She rapped her hoof on the lectern, like a judge with his gavel. The crowd began to disperse, talking excitedly about the news I had just delivered. I was just stepping down into the street when a bulky figure approached me, followed by a much skinnier one. It was Dolly and Razzo.

“Good evening, Dolly,” I said, genially.

“Evening, Dave,” said Dolly. “That was a powerful bit of news you laid down: an entire empire, returned after 1,000 years! That’s front page news, my friend!”

Razzo nodded his agreement.

“Hope you don’t mind if I ask a few questions, for the Express,” Dolly said.

“By all means,” I said, graciously. “As we speak, most likely, my fellow delegates are delivering similar speeches to their hometowns.”

“Lovely!” said Dolly, flashing that gold-toothed smile of hers. “Would you mind if I asked about the council itself and its role during this event? You know, to give our readers a look into the goings-on of the royal court.”

This was exactly what Ironmane had told me about earlier.

“Sure,” I said. “I mean, I’m not sure how much I can say on it, but I can at least tell you about the other members and where they come from, and what was going on when news first reached us.”

“Lovely!” said Dolly again. “We’ll make this quick, then. Don’t want you freezing your rump off out here.”

I cracked a grin at this, then waited for Dolly to fire away, while the rest of Ponyville moved on back to their warm homes. I couldn’t help envying them at that moment.


***


“Well, that should be enough for a nice big article,” said Dolly, putting her notepad away at last. “Thanks a bunch, hun.”

“Glad to be of assistance,” I said. “I guess I’ll see you later, then, Dolly, Razzo.”

“‘Till next time!”

She flashed that gold-toothed smile once more, Razzo doffed his cap, and the two of them started wending their way back into Ponyville, in the direction of the Express’s office. It was a relief to finally be done. I was cold and tired, and was longing to get home to bed.

“Davie!”

Pinkie’s shrill cry nearly made me jump out of my skin. I whipped around to see her bouncing up to me in her snow cap and parka.

“Pinkie! What are you doing out here?”

“I was waiting for you to finish! I have an idea on what we can do for our special day!”

She looked like she’d been bursting to say this all day, and only now had had the chance to do so.

“Oh, really?” I asked, interested. “What is it?”

“You’ll have to wait and see,” said Pinkie, grinning. “I don’t wanna spoil the surprise.”

“I guess there’s sense in that,” I conceded. “Well, with this speech business out of the way, I’m free until Ironmane gives me a new assignment, so whatever day you want, just say the word, and I’ll be ready.”

Pinkie’s pupils widened in excitement, her grin becoming a toothy smile.

“I’ll keep that a surprise, too, then,” she said, craftily. “It could be tomorrow, it could be the day after, and it could be any time, but I’ll be there when you least expect me. That’s the Pinkie Pie way!”

“Of course it is,” I said, wearily, but unable to hold back a grin. “Well, good night, you crazy party pony.”

“Good night, you goofy, huggable human!”

She reared up and gave me a quick squeeze-hug (which I was glad for, as she was nice and warm), then bounced off down a lamplit street towards Sugarcube Corner. I watched her until she was out of sight, then turned and started making my own way home, already planning a hot cup of tea before settling down for the night. That would be the perfect end to a day like this.

I stopped, my heart giving an unpleasant bound. I could have sworn I had seen something out of the corner of my eye, something flying away from a rooftop, off into the night.

“Probably just an owl,” I muttered to myself, but all the same, I quickened my pace as I headed for home.

Tuesday, January 19