Interviews With Equestrians

by Jmaster49

Subject 294: Ceremony Part 1

The six of us all trotted out to the stage that had been erected where Town Hall was. As soon as we did, everyone in the crowd started to cheer for us. It was...uncanny to be before a crowd this massive. After all, I just did my job, really. I was used to maybe a ‘thank you’ or something as simple as a passing smile. But this? This was on another level entirely. Ponies, griffons, dragons, changelings, batponies, yaks, minotaurs--minotaurs?! Just how many individuals showed their faces on that day? Even Sunset, Sci-Twi, and the Sirens were present!

“Feel proud of yourself yet?” Quick asked as she nudged my side.

“What do you mean? Of course I am. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for you guys.”

Corkscrew sniffled, and wiped away some of the tears that ran down his face. “...That’s super sweet, man…”

“Everybody shh--she’s here,” Flash Drive warned us.

We, along with the rest of the crowd, fell silent as Twilight Sparkle floated down to us from the heavens to greet us. She stepped up to the center of the stage, and started to speak to the crowd.

“Thank you everypony for attending this event,” she said with a wave, “We’ve all gathered here today to honor the great work of some of the most hard-working, and inspirational ponies in all of Equestria. Ponies who laid down their lives for the sake of the safety of others, led by the pony who started all of this...”

I turned and glanced at Neon. “Hey. Look at yourself now. On a stage and being praised. Doesn’t it feel great?”

The batpony let out a small sigh, but soon exchanged the look I gave him. “...Yeah. Yeah it does, mate.”

“...Pale Vestige!” Twilight shouted.

I felt my cheeks turn a shade of crimson when my name was called. Then I stepped forward to look at the crowd. “Um…”

Twilight invited me to speak. “Do you mind explaining your capability? How did you manage to rally everypony together against the threats posed by Grogar?”

“Well…” It was a slow process, but I was eventually able to come to my senses and give my speech of sorts. “It obviously wasn’t just me. But everyone. I watched and fought hard alongside many amazing individuals in that battle. All of whom were no different than the average pony like myself. That was my goal the entire time.”

“What exactly?” Twilight asked as she took notes. Even during an event like this, she couldn’t help but document things it seemed. “This will be important for the future generations to learn.”

From the crowd, I could see Celestia roll her eyes with a playful smile on her face. Next to her, Luna flicked her tail at her sister’s nose in order to get her to pay attention.

My words started to come to me more naturally as I addressed the crowd at large with a focused gaze. “My goal was to showcase the fact that you don’t need some special magic or elements of whatever-the-heck to make a difference for others around you. You can still fight back against whatever is causing you trouble as well as potentially change the entire world.”

“And do you think you’ve accomplished that?” Twilight asked.

“I’d say so, yeah,” I said to her, and focused on the audience. “All I can do at this point is hope that others can see what I’ve done and learn from it. After all, my friends and I are no different. Case in point…”

I turned my head and looked at my crew members. One by one, they each stepped forward to give their take on the situations they’ve endured.

Flash Drive was first. “Tis true. I’m no better than the average unicorn bloke out there. But I still fought hard for the sake of my folks and fam. Those who granted me the life I have now--especially my parents--deserve to live in a world where they don’t have to feel judged every two seconds. So I went and stopped South Zebrica’s insurrection--with the help of the lovely Lady Zecora and her friends of course.” He pointed to the zebra mare in question from where he stood--to which she replied with a blush. The other zebras in the crowd near her nodded in agreement.

Next was Neon. “Indeed, mate. Not only that, but I made sure I could sway my fellow bats onto our side. We’re not out for pony blood because we’re no different than anyone else. We just prefer to muck about during the twilight hours of the day. So when I rallied by fellow batlikes against Grogar’s demons, I felt like we were able to make a proper difference in our reality. Isn’t that right, friends?”

The batponies in the crowd also nodded in agreement with what Neon said. Though I could tell that a few of the female ones had made eyes at him.

I snickered to myself. Neon’s future was going to be a massive turn-around compared to his horrid past...

Comments

[Neo4K]

No comments until the next chapter. But it's great that the ceremony is underway. And Pale is right. There's a hell of a lot of characters there compared to Twilight's coronation.