The Canterlot Carnival

by Gear Works

The Invitation

Author's Note:

The idea came from a dream that I had months ago. Soon then, the idea started to grow. So I decided to write this story and divide it to three parts. Enjoy.

Come To The Canterlot Carnival! Where Your Dreams Can Come True!

If I told you that it was true, then you would think I was crazy. I have thought that myself as well.

It was early in the week when I was walking out of the streets of the city, trying to clear my head. My life has had its ups and downs, but I was at a point that I started to question what I was doing with my life in the first place. But as I was walking down the street, I started to see carnival posters being placed on walls and posts. Even on windows with the owners permission. Each of them was different, but they had one thing in common, the Canterlot Carnival.

There have been several events from time to time, but the Canterlot Carnival was the first that I have even heard of. I was guessing that is was new, but each poster I saw showed a variety of acts that were being held there.

On one poster was a lady with a blue wizard’s suit with stars on it showing off her tricks. It said “Behold the Magical Illusions of the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

Another was two girls displaying a knife throwing act. One of them had puffy pink hair who was smiling while throwing knives at the target. The girl on the target had purple hair and a blank stare of her face. It said “Witness the Daring Skills of the Pie Sisters, Pinkie and Maud.”

Then I saw one of a girl with smooth pink hair that was surrounded by animals both fierce and tame. It said “Meet the Stare Master, Fluttershy. Tamer of Animals.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that one.

Another had a cowgirl with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and holding a gun with the phrase “She’s the Fastest Gunslinger in the World. Applejack.”

I came up to the fifth poster and looked more of what you would see under any big tent. Four acrobats wearing blue jumpsuits with a yellow lightning bolt and goggles. The one that stood out of the four was a girl with short rainbow hair. “Behold the Death Defining Stunts of the Wonderbolts.” was the phrase on that poster.

There were more posters on display. But the one that made me question this carnival was of two ladies standing back to back. One was taller than the other and had pink hair with shades of blue. She was wearing a white dress and holding what looked like the sun in her hands. The other had dark blue hair and was in a dark blue dress and holding the crescent moon in her hands. And that’s when I saw the phrase. “Come To The Canterlot Carnival! Where Your Dreams Can Come True!”

“How can someone, or some event, make your dreams come true?” I said out loud.

“You never know until you witness it yourself.”

I was surprised when someone spoke to me from behind. I looked around to see a lady with long, purple hair. She was dressed in a penguin-tail tuxedo, but instead of the usual black I see everywhere, hers was purple. I could only guess that she would be either the owner or ringmaster of this carnival.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I just heard what you said while looking at the poster and had to respond. I’m Starlight Glimmer, new ringmaster of this carnival.” She extended her hand to me, to which I responded by extending my hand and shaking hers.

“I’m guessing this carnival is new then, right?” I asked her.

“Not really. It’s been going on for… six years I believe. I just became the new ringmaster for this tour after Star Swirl retired as the carnival’s ringmaster. This is the first time we’ve come to this city from what I’ve been told.”

“Then how can it make anyone’s dreams come true?” I asked her again.

“Depends on what your dream is in the first place.” She stared at the poster of the two ladies with the sun and moon. “I was but a manager for one store of a big business. And I… had a habit of taking control of everything.”

“I figure that’s what managers do for a living.”

“Not the way I was doing it,” she said with a hint of concern in her voice. “I wanted to do things my way. But the workers couldn’t keep up and didn’t like how I was treating them. When the CEO heard of what I was doing, I was fired on the spot. I thought I was doing things right, but it turns out that I was wrong. No one really liked me for how I was treating them. But when the carnival came around where I lived, the two sisters, Madam Celestia and Lady Luna,” as she pointed to the ladies on the poster, “and their manager, Twilight Sparkle, helped me find what I was looking for in my life. They were in need of a new ringmaster before Star Swirl retired from the carnival. So I was trained and started to realized what I was doing wrong this whole time. Now I’m taking the role of the ringmaster seriously. Even everyone else has had their share of problems in their life before they joined the carnival.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked her.

“Well…” She took a moment, then walked over to the first poster I saw. “Take Trixie for example. She liked to do magic for her shows, but boasted about it every time. No one liked her for what she did. Even Twilight saw this as wasn’t pleased with her show. But she saw what Trixie was doing and asked if she can join the carnival with her illusion show, as long as she followed Twilight’s example. Now her illusions and magic tricks have brought laughter and cheers at her shows. She was the first friend that I was able to make when I joined the carnival.”

“What about some of the others?” I asked her.

“Well, most of them had dealt with their problems long before I joined. The one that stood out was Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts. She’s the one with the rainbow hair. She wanted to do some crazy stunts in hopes to get noticed. I think it was called parkour. But most people felt that she was being too reckless. Soarin, one of the Wonderbolts, saw her skills and decided to help her in perform in a safer manner. She spent the past year training and is performing with the group this year.” She walked over to where the Wonderbolts poster was at and pointed to the guy with the short blue hair. “That’s Soarin right there. The other two on the poster are Spitfire,” as she pointed to the one with orange hair, “and Fleetfoot,” as she pointed to the other one with white hair. “Those two have been performing since the carnival started.”

“So everyone that has toured in the carnival has had their past problems dealt with and were able to fulfill their dreams.”

“Yep. It’s like we’re all family,” she replied. “I think if you would come and see for yourself, you might understand and like it. I’m sure that your wife or friends would like it as well.”

“I’m not married. And all my friends from high school and college have moved on.”

“What about family… or even co-workers?”

“Parents passed away, and the rest of the family live far away. As for my co-workers, hard to say since I haven’t had a long term job in about a year. Not that I’m worrying about, that’s for sure. I’m just… by myself most of the time.”

“Oh. I see.”

That was one of the problems I had. People that I know always come and go in my life. And the only way I could keep up with them was on social media networks online. While most of them have their own lives to take care of, I have yet to figure out what to do with my life.

“Hey, can you give me a moment?” she asked me.

Before I could respond, she went off and came up to another lady with straight purple hair. She was dressed like she was more of a secretary of some company and was carrying a clipboard. The two were exchanging conversation, to which I couldn’t hear from where I was standing. So I turned my back to them and looked back at the posters on display. I was looking back at the one with the two ladies. I think she said that their names were Celestia and Luna. My guess is that they would be the ones that own the carnival. But I still couldn’t believe that they could help make your dreams come true.

“Um, excuse me.” I looked over to see the other lady that Starlight was talking to earlier speaking to me. Starlight was also with her. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, manager of the Canterlot Carnival. She tells me that you’re having a hard time believing that our carnival can help make dreams come true. Has there ever been a dream or goal that you wanted to reach?”

“Not really,” I said to her. “I not sure what my goals are. I’m just… trying to figure out what to do with my life. That’s all.”

“And you don’t have anyone to help guide you on that path?” she asked.

“Well, it’s not like I need anyone to help me, since they all come and go in my life.”

“I’m guessing that not having a job could be one reason. I mean you get to find out what you want to do with your life instead of sitting in a room doing nothing.”

“Maybe so,” I said. “But I’m in no hurry to find a new job, since my late father created a rainy day fund for something like this. I just can’t find one that fits me, that’s all.”

“Say, do you have yours with you?” Starlight said to Twilight.

“Nope. Already gave mine away. What about you?”

“Already gave mine to a single mother and her son. I’m going to see if Trixie can help out with them.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked them.

“Oh, we always carry a free pair of passes to the carnival to give to someone that needs to have their spirits lifted,” Twilight explained to me.

“When we come across someone that has had a hard time with their lives, we hand them our passes for free to have them come to the carnival and have a good time there,” Starlight added. “Helping others out is what the carnival does.”

“Hey Twilight, Starlight. You girls done here?”

There was a group of girls on the other side of the street. The one who spoke was Rainbow Dash. The others that were with her were the same ladies from each poster. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. But I wasn’t sure who the last lady was. She had gorgeous purple hair and was wearing a white slim dress.

Starlight whispered to my ear, “I’m sure you recognized the ladies from the posters, expect for the last one. That’s Rarity. She works on all of our costumes and clothes for the carnival, and is really good at it. She always likes to help out no matter what the problem is.”

“Just about,” Twilight said to the group. “Have you given away your passes?”

“Eeyep,” Applejack answered back. “But we need to get back and practice before performing on Friday.”

“You go on ahead. We’re catch up soon.” As the group left, Twilight turned back to me. “Well, I guess all of our passes have been used up for this city. But I do hope you come and attend the carnival. You might feel better after attending.”

At that point, both ladies left to join the others. So I went back and looked at the poster and debated on going. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go by myself. It would be like sitting alone at a table for two. Having friends around has become a struggle for me. As for a girlfriend, well…

“Oh, there is one thing that could help.” I looked to see Twilight right next to me. And this time she was holding an envelope that had the letters “VIP” on them. “Take this. I usually give it to someone who would need it the most during our tour. And since it won’t be long before this tour comes to an end, well I never had a chance to find someone to use it.”

I waved my hands back to her, trying to refuse. “Oh, I don’t need it. I’m sure there must be someone who really needs it more than me. If not in this city, then I’m sure it’s another city along the way.”

“Well, at times, I would have used it by now. But I still have it with me. And Madam Celestia still wonders why I haven’t used it. So I figure I give it to you. I’m sure you don’t have anything better to do for the weekend. And this will convince you to come anyway.” She handed the envelope to me, to which I decided to take. If she wanted me to use it, then I might as well use it anyway. “Well, I need to get back. Just make sure to come Friday. That the first day we have it here in this city. And do not open it. Just hand it to the lady at the entrance and she will get you set up.” And with that, she was off to join the others again.

Well, I now know what I would be doing this Friday. I guess it would be better than doing nothing.