The Ponyville Theater presents an origional play about our Equestrian Wolf for your amusement. Warning: The actors are inexperienced and the props are cheep and are bound to fall apart. No refunds.
Light Heart had an idea to write a play about Dr Wolf, someone who has helped countless ponies handle their personal and emotional problems. However, in spite of him being able to convince Doc to work with him on this idea, he ends up having just a couple of weeks to assemble a cast and set up the stage. Now only two rules can apply in this hectic play.
Rule 1: The show must go on.
Rule 2: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
“... and then it’s just a simple bow and bravo!!! The best play our theater has ever seen!” Light Heart said as he was sitting in the office of the Equestrian wolf who was holding a large script with his name on the title. “Dr. Wolf, a helping paw.” Dr Wolf didn’t know how to react to the eager alicorn who was showing him this new play that he had written.
He was trying to be kind as he expressed his opinions to the teddy bear alicorn. “Well… I think it builds me up quite a bit, but at least you understood the part of me talking to ponies in a friendly manner. I do express my doubts about depicting the main six like this, let alone some of the others.”
“Oh, I got permission from Twilight and her friends for this. You’ve helped them out so much that they wanted to show you some gratitude.” He explained with a hopeful look on his face.
“Well, I appreciate that, but I feel like this is over exaggerating my actions.”
“Nononononono. This is showing ponies how even the best of us can feel pressure and how to cope with it. It’s also a thank you to you from the town in a sense.” He tried to explain to him. “Just think about how many ponies can learn to open up with this play.”
“I don’t know… it seems like a lot of work…”
He quickly cut off the doctor as he held up the script. “I can handle it. Set designing, casting, directing, everything!” He offered eagerly.
“You?!? A whole play?” The doctor asked in shock before he saw Light wincing at his reaction. He cleared his throat as he tried to regain his composure. “I mean… it’s a rather daunting task, and I am concerned that you may find it overwhelming.”
“Well, I wrote the play, and I have acted in a couple others, so I’m sure that I can work out as a director. My little brother can help me make the stage and props, and we already have the scripts. It’ll be easy.” He said, being dismissive of any problems that could happen.
“B...but it’d be a lot of pressure on your part, and I have heard that you… tend to get stressed under pressure.” Doc tried to reason with him, knowing that this pony was autistic and had heard about a few breakdowns he’s had.
However, he just gave him a pleading look as he continued. “It’s a small play in a small town. Listen, you have helped so many ponies in Equestria. This is just a small token of our gratitude. I can handle this project. I’ve even gotten a head start on it. May you please let me do this? I promise I’ll make you proud.” He begged, looking rather nervous about Doc’s response.
Doc didn’t feel good about this, but he started to see how eager Light was to do this play. If he was begging any more then he’d be on his knees. It felt like a way to lift him up, but he was a little scared of turning down a project that this teddy-bear alicorn and the main six had worked on. “Well, if you believe you can handle this…”
The alicorn shot up like a light as he shook the doctor's paw eagerly. “Thank you, Doc! I promise you that in three months this will be the best play you have ever seen.”
He was caught off guard by the excited alicorn, but he smiled as he tried to reclaim his paw. “I… I’m flattered. Is there anything you want from me?”
“Well, we need somebody for the leading role, and you do fit the bill. Celestia even tried filling in for her own role in a play once.”
He looked curious about this new fact. “Really? I hadn’t heard of it.”
“Well, last year’s production was rather rocky… and involved a hole in the floor… some light bruising, and Celestia being a rather poor actor. But as this year’s director, I assure you that I will make this our best production yet.” He promised before looking a little nervous. “You can act, right?”
Doc gave an assuring smile as he nodded to the alicorn. “I’ve done a few radio dramas for experience, so it’s just the physical acting element that I’ll need to handle. By the way, you said that the play is in three months, right?”
Light nodded. “That’s when the fall play usually happens, and with that kind of prep time I can assure that everything will be set up perfectly. Twilight and her friends are even playing their own parts.”
“Um… haven’t you heard?”
Light looked a little confused as he tried to understand his concern. “Um… what?”
“Mayor Mare announced that the town passed a bill to fix the old theater up. It has started to look a little worn out. Construction starts in three weeks, so you may not be able to use the theater.” He explained, trying to let Light down slowly.
It didn’t help. His eyes widened as he looked like he was going to panic. “That’s… okay… um… let me talk to Twi about this… and we’ll… work from there… just… meet me at the theater tomorrow so we can start working on the play.”
He simply gulped as he adjusted his glasses. “Well, I had dinner plans with my lady for tomorrow and I…”
“Did I say tomorrow? I meant the day after tomorrow. I have to work out the details for the date of the play and beg… I mean.. Ask my little brother to help me with building the set. Just leave it to me. I’ll fix this.” He nervously assured the wolf as he started walking towards the door. “I’ll see you at the theater.”
“Oh… okay… and thank you for talking to me Mr He…” Doc was cut off as Light walked out the door and started running to Twilight’s castle. He sighed as he started to clean his glasses. “Oh dear.” He mumbled, hoping that this toymaker knew what he was doing.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY CAN’T HELP?!?” Light screamed in fear as Twilight was trying to calm him down.
Spike merely rolled his eyes as he got to witness another alicorn having a panic attack. He wanted to ask if all alicorns freaked out like this, but he figured it was best to stay quiet as he brought them some hot cocoa.
Twilight looked rather sympathetic at Light as he was freaking out. He was a good friend of hers since she started buying toys for Flurry through him. He brought the idea of this play about Dr. Wolf to her a while ago, and she liked it. She knew that it brought up the pressure she had with Celestia, but it was no small secret. Even then, everybody felt pressure when talking to the princesses. She really liked the script he came up with, and the rest of her friends agreed to it too. However, she didn’t know about the renovation plans until he came in saying that they had a major problem. Now their plan was starting to fall apart due to this schedule change.
She could only give a soft sigh as she tried to explain his new problems to him. “I’m sorry. Two weeks from now was the only available time the mayor could give us. Next week is too soon in my opinion, and Octavia has a concert in three right before the renovations. None of my friends will be able to fit this into their schedule. Applejack has to finish harvesting the east orchards, and she won’t be able to study her parts in time.”
“Like any of you do.” Spike said with a chuckle, earning a disapproving glance from the princess.
“Sigh. As for the others, Dash has a show in Canterlot with the Wonderbolts on that day, and will also have training the next couple weeks. Rarity and Pinkie have to attend a peace summit in Yakyakistan the day before the show, and you never know how long that will take. As for Fluttershy, she has a date night scheduled that night, and I’m not going to debate with Discord over that.”
Light groaned as he started pacing around the room. “Great! Most of my cast is gone and I only have two weeks to fix this.”
“And you still don’t have your background characters.” Spike pointed out, earning another glare from Twilight.
“What about you Spike, or maybe the students?” Light suggested, looking for a glimmer of hope.
“I don’t think the students are up to it after the mess of a play last year, and I already promised to help Rarity with her bags when she leaves for the trip.” Spike explained, not feeling confident about this guy leading a play. He had a good heart, but he was no leader.
He started breathing heavily as he started pacing faster. Twilight felt a little comfort knowing that she wasn’t the only alicorn with anxiety, but she knew that it didn’t comfort him. “Listen, why don’t we call off the play and try for next year?”
He started shaking his head. “No! I was put in charge of the play this year and I promised I’d make this work. I… I just need to…” He suddenly paused as his face lit up with excitement. “That’s it! What do normal theaters do?”
“Use plays that ponies have seen instead of writing one?” Spike asked.
“No! They have casting calls! They find their cast members. I can even get some volunteers from the school to help!” He explained as his fears were replaced by a large smile. “Tomorrow I can get a cast and have them rehearsing when Doc shows up the next day. Brilliant!”
Twilight looked concerned at his last minute plan as she quickly started seeing flaws in this idea. “Um, are you sure that you can get a last minute cast ready in time?”
“Of course! How hard can it be? Meet up at the theater in two days! The show must go on!” He exclaimed as he ran outside, leaving her with a sense of uneasiness.
Spike chuckled as he turned to his caretaker. “You know, he reminds me of you when you are freaking out.”
She gave a soft groan as she turned to the young dragon. “Why are you giving him a rough time?”
“For three lines in a play? Any actor would give him a hard time.” He said kiddingly.
She rolled her eyes as she sat down to her cup of cocoa. “I’m just afraid that this play will bring out the part of me that Celestia saw in last year’s play. The only change is that it will be Light who shows it this time.”
“Don’t worry. He’s a teddy bear alicorn. He can handle it.” Spike tried to assure her. “I’d be more worried about your part. You are one of the main actors. Shall I get your sparkling iced tea for you with no preservatives or sugar? Maybe a hayburger from the crystal empire with boneless buns? Our diva must have the best.” He offered in a joking manner.
She giggled as she gave him a playful shove. “Very funny, but if I am going to be helping Light, I will try to ease his stress, so let’s practice my parts while you make that tea. And it had better still be cold by the time I’m done with my cocoa.” She quipped as they started going over her copy of the script again.
Dr Wolf made his way towards the theater just after he finished his lunch. He was a little anxious about the play he was about to join. He did do a few voice acting roles for a couple of radio programs, but this was his first time doing an actual live action play. There were dozens of ways that he could mess up, and since this was a new play based on himself, there were so many other factors that he had to take in.
The biggest one was his new director. He was already afraid that Light was stressing out about his position too much. He knew that some ponies could handle such stress, but he also knew that this alicorn wasn’t one of them. He couldn’t handle stress like other ponies could, and it had the potential of overwhelming him. The last thing he wanted to see was Light crying in a corner somewhere.
Doc started taking a few deep breaths as he decided to just try to keep an aura of confidence and calmness. He knew that ponies tended to follow his lead, so if he could just try to support Light and show some faith in him, maybe he’d be able to keep calm with this new deadline. He also had the main six helping them, so he was hopeful about this play being decent.
“Hey Doc! I’m glad you could make it.” He was surprised as Light called out with a big smile and a wave.
He smiled at his happy reaction as he set his jacket aside and adjusted his vest. “Well, I am sorry that I am a little late, but I am glad that this change of schedule hasn’t ended your play.”
“Of course not. All I had to do was make a few small adjustments.” Light explained, trying to make light of what he was to break to the doctor.
“W… what do you mean by that?” He asked, wondering what he had to change.
The alicorn tried to hide his gulp as he explained the situation. “Well, we’ve only got two weeks before the play now, and now everypony in my main cast but Twilight are unable to help with the acting.” Doc looked a little worried as he was getting ready to comfort him, only to be interrupted. “Don’t worry. Yesterday I got some ponies to come and fill in those roles. Easy fix!”
The wolf looked rather impressed as he was following him around the set. “Wow, that’s very resourceful of you.”
“Thank you. Now, I was going to have a lot of the school kids take over all of the minor roles, but…”
The other day at the school.
“Ite, I ant elt u ith or oblen…”
Light winced as the muffled sounds before he picked a chalkboard eraser. “How about I clean and you talk? It may make things go smoother.”
Cheerilee nodded as she set the other eraser down, once again wishing she wasn’t an earth pony. “Light, I can’t help you with your problem.
“What?!? But we had an agreement to let the school kids here have a shot at being in a play.”
“I’m sorry Light, but most of the kids won’t be able to put the time in for this play, especially since they will have to dedicate more time into getting ready in such a short time span. They’d also be in larger roles, which is not what we agreed to. Not all of them are able to take on such a responsibility.”
He looked desperate as he was following the teacher and helping her pick up the trash. “Come on! I promised to allow the kids to participate in this play. I’ll accept any of them. I’m great with kids! This will be fun.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who to give… unless…” She turned to him with a small smile. “I have a couple of kids who have been struggling in class. They are… unique, and they might benefit from working with a... unique alicorn” She said as she wiped some sweat off of her head. “You have always had a way with encouraging kids, and helping them with this play may help them interact more socially and find more self confidence. The catch is that you’ll also need to help them with their schoolwork for the next two weeks since they will be under your supervision.”
He had a hopeful smile as he nodded eagerly. “Of course. My parents homeschooled me, and I’m sure the other actors will be more than willing to help.”
She nodded to him as she made her way to her deck. “Good. I’ll see what roles they are wanting, and then we can work from there.” She explained as Light helped her finish cleaning. “Also, thanks for bringing up some of the struggles I go through. Not many ponies know how hard it is to be a teacher.”
“And that’s where I got my first two actors. They may be young, but I’m certain that they will be a great help to us.” Light finished explaining to the doctor as they saw the two fillies reading their parts.
Doc looked intrigued by Light’s choice to cast these kids as part of the main play. “Well, I am proud to see you taking such a stand on your support of the youth. May I meet them?”
Light nodded. “Of course. Hey girls! Do you want to meet Dr Wolf?”
Both girls nodded as they ran over to him, curious about this wolf-like being in front of them. “Wow, he really is a.. .WOOP!!”
The wolf’s eyes widened as the light blue filly slipped on the ground in front of him. He was rather taken aback by her strange body. This child had a wing on her left side, but no wing on her right. That would have been strange enough if she didn’t have a horn on her forehead. He turned to the teddy bear alicorn with a shocked expression. “Um… I… I want to try to be as sensitive as possible when I ask this…”
Light raised a hoof with a smile. “Tell me, have you heard of a pegacorn?”
Doc winced as he tried to think about what race that is. “It doesn’t come to mind…”
“Well, you get the magic of a unicorn and the wings and flight of a pegasus. It’s a rare case of genes mixing, and it’s easy for them to be mixed up with an alicorn. That’s why you end up getting checked out by some professional doctors now when you have both. Linda is a unique case, having one wing and a magicless horn.” Light explained as he helped the filly up. “At least that’s what I have been told by Cheerilee. I could be wrong...”
“Oh? How does that work parentwise…”
Light quickly cut him off as he started whispering nervously. “No asking about the family. She has the same amount of relatives as you do.”
“I get it, and I’m very sorry.” Doc apologized quickly as he felt rather embarrassed for bringing up such a sensitive topic. “Well, I can understand what it feels like to be unique in such a way.” Doc said as he shook the young filly’s hoof.
“It’s okay. I just tend to trip a lot due to my one wing. The doc said that when I get older I should have more balance as my body gets bigger.” Linda said with a hopeful smile. “Light said you were a very nice wolf, but I didn’t believe him when he said you could walk on your hind legs and talk. How did you learn to do that?”
Doc’s heart skipped a beat as he thought back to his transformation which was rather painful to say the least. He quickly thought about the best way to explain it without traumatizing her. “Um… magic?”
“Cool!” Linda said, looking excited at the wolf in front of her before turning to her friend. “Oh yeah, this is my friend, Schuberry.”
The Doc turned to the other pony. “Hi there. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Schuberry was a pegasus who had a grey coat and a green mane. She had a musical note for a cutie mark, a common one for singers. However, instead of talking to him, she started writing on a notepad she had and handed it to him. Doc looked confused as he read the note.
The pleasure is mine. You are a nice puppy.
Dr. Wolf blinked before he turned to Light. “Um… is she mute?”
Light nodded. “And a wonderful piano player. She may not be able to fly yet, but she’s very eager to learn and help. She’s spending a couple of months in town due to her guardian’s having to take some important trip. This will be her first play.”
He kept his calm smile up, but he was hiding his cringe as he realized the new problems with this. “Well… I do support the idea of helping her to try acting, but the script has lines for most of the characters. How will…”
“Already on top of it.” He explained as he pointed to the sound system at the side of the seats. “I couldn’t get my little brother to help with building the entire set, but he gave me a few toys to help me out with this. One of them is a prototype for a new sound system that will be built into the new theater. You can save hours of recorded audio onto this thing. So Dash promised to record her lines in a sound system and we can play them back for Schuberry.”
He raised an eyebrow as Light explained whose part she was playing. “Wait, she is playing Dash? How will she be doing all of that flying? It sounds a lot for a young flyer.”
“Oh, she can’t fly yet. Don’t worry! I got another toy to handle that too.” He said excitedly as he pointed to some strange contraption he set up over the stage. “It’s a rig Fuze set up for her. There are wires that we can connect to a small vest we set up for Schuberry. It can lift her up and move her around the room like she is flying. It’s safe and simplistic.”
Doc looked impressed again at such ingenuity. “Wow. Your brother is rather clever.”
Light nodded happily. “See? Linda even volunteered to play Pinkie Pie so flying and magic isn’t a problem for her.”
Doc looked confused as he was glancing at the horn and wing. “Um, how do you plan to hide those?”
“Pinkie lent me a shrunken Pinkie body suit that should cover the wing. It’s like the real thing. You won’t tell the difference. Since the mask is too big for her, we’ll just use some makeup and a wig to hide the horn. You see? Any problem can have an easy solution. From ingenuity to simple flexibility.” Light explained as they walked over to a pegasus with a red coat and yellow mane who was sitting on a chair while going over his script. “Hey Golden Flame! Stay seated. I want to introduce you to Dr. Wolf.”
Golden instantly stood up, dropping the script on the floor. “Um, it’s an honor to meet you sir.”
Doc nodded as he shook his hoof. “I’m flattered. I didn’t know there were more male roles in Light’s play, and I read it a couple of times.”
“Well, I am playing Applejack in this play. I have written so many stories that I wanted a chance to break out of my shell and be a part of somepony else’s.” Golden explained, looking a little bashful.
Doc looked confused at the stallion that was in a mare’s role. “Um… okay… Light? Was he your first pick or…”
He gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well…”
The other day, after five hours of looking for cast members.
“How is this so hard?!? Is every mare busy in this town?!?” Light whined as he had spent a good part of the day hanging out in the market with a sign that said Casting call for new play. Needs to be available for the next two weeks. He had a few bits, but none of them wanted to join the play. A large part of it was because he had a rather small budget due to him having no time to set up, so he had to ask ponies to donate their time. It didn’t work as well as he hoped since he couldn’t give them enough time to handle their jobs and the play at the same time. It was rather hopeless, and he was on the verge of desperation.
As Light was trying to think of some sort of backup plan, Golden walked over to him, looking a little excited. “Um, hi. Do you have positions open for this play?”
Light’s ears perked up as he saw somepony interested in his play. “Oh? Well, it’s nice to meet you. Um… what position were you looking for. I have some stagehand positions open if you wish…”
“I was actually hoping for an acting role if that was alright with you.” Golden said, looking a little anxious.
“Oh… I… didn’t expect a stallion to join a cast for plays that are mostly mares.” Light said, looking a little disheartened.
Golden looked a little hurt as he looked ready to walk away. “Oh… I’m sorry… I just wanted a chance to act. I guess with all of the mares in this town you’re already set on your cast.” He said as he started to turn around.
Light felt a little hurt about not being able to help this guy, but then he realized that he was still missing a majority of his cast. Beggars can’t be choosers, right? “Hey, um, can you do accents?” Light asked quickly as he stood up.
Golden looked slightly hopeful as he turned back towards the alicorn. “Um… I can do a small southern accent.”
“And do you have any reserves about playing a mare?”
Golden looked shocked by that question, not expecting to be put in such a situation for his first acting role. Admittedly, his desperation for a chance in the spotlight was close to Light’s desperation for actors. “Um… I guess I can play a mare…”
Light instantly jumped over to him and shook his hoof. “You’re hired!”
“... so he’s playing Applejack.” Light said, trying to hold the best fake smile he could.
Doc raised a concerned eyebrow at Light. “A stallion playing a mare?”
“You know, before Nightmare Moon happened, a lot of mare roles were played by stallions. I’m sure nopony will mind. Applejack didn’t when Twilight told her.” Light explained, sweating a little from his forehead. “At least, that’s what Twilight told me.”
“Then you really are doing this the old fashioned way.” Doc turned in shock at the monotone quip and found himself face to face with a white unicorn with a black and grey mane. “So, is this your first time in theater?”
Doc crossed his arms as he looked at the stallion’s blank expression. “Yes?”
He nearly scoffed at the wolf before turning to Light. “He’d have to be for this production.”
Light rolled his eyes at the pony. “Why don’t you just do your job and I’ll do mine? Test out the wire rig. I want to make sure that nopony will get hurt on that thing.”
“Do I look like an electrician?” The stallion raised an eyebrow.
“I want the controls to be working smoothly. Fuze doesn’t have time to do the fine tuning on that thing, so you have to test it.” He said before gesturing to the sound booth and the wire rig itself.. “Now, you can be at the controls or attached to the wires. Your pick.” Light offered sternly as he looked rather irritated at the pony’s actions.
“Whatever boss.” The stallion said before turning to the mute pegasus. “Get your vest on. You’re going for a flight.”
Doc looked at Light with a disapproving glare. “Who is he, and who is he playing?” “Quillian B. Inkheart.” Light watched the unicorn walk away and sighed. “Another writer, sadly without a real personality as far as I can tell. He’s the secondary stage manager.” He raised one hoof. “Great at taking command,” his other hoof followed, “bad at being friendly about it.” With another sigh he signaled Doc to move on.
“I see. I didn’t expect you to hire somepony like this.” Doc said curiously. “May I ask why?”
Light’s nervousness showed as he started to explain. “Well, I needed another stage hoof… and I…”
After hiring Golden, and meeting Inkheart… and after allowing the jerk to go over his entire script and point out every flaw...
“So, to make a long story short…”
Light groaned, as he was listening to what he would describe as the male version of Maud, if she was a critic. “Too late. It was too late an hour ago.”
“Your characters are flat, putting the most focus on Twilight and this pet wolf of yours…” Inkheart started to list off.
“Again, not my pet. He’s an actual walking and talking wolf.” He tried to explain before Inkheart cut him off.
“Most of the other characters have minor interactions. Your minor roles are pointless and handle minor problems, and we’ve seen Twilight deal with idol worship way too many times for this to be relevant. This play is a mess. Flim and Flam tell better stories than you.” Inkheart said bluntly.
“Well if you don’t like it you don’t need to play in my production!”
“Are you nuts? Can you hear my voice? I’m the worst actor you could ever dream of hiring. I just wanted to see how bad this was and how I could fix it as a stage hoof. I’d need at least two months to fix your mess of a script.”
He looked even more ticked as he caught the script in his magic. “The play is in two weeks. There is no time to rewrite the entire script.”
“Wow. You are really bad at running a play, aren’t you?” Inkheart asked dryly.
Light took a deep breath as he stood up. “I think we are done here. Thanks for your time. I’m taking my auditions someplace else.”
Inkheart gave a small wince as he stood up as well. “Listen, I’ll… stay out of adjusting the play… unless it’s really dumb. I have nothing to do with my free time, I have no ideas for a new story, and if it keeps up like this I’m going to go crazy.”
“So you just want to volunteer your time to a play which won’t get you any money?” Light asked him.
Inkheart shrugged. “Why not? You have your hobbies, I have mine.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” Light said bluntly.
“Hey, you had checkmarks on less than half of your cast, and you have no experience with running a play. I can help you keep things organized and flowing. Right now you need to ask yourself one question. Are you desperate enough to hire me?”
“I was.” Light admitted to the doctor. “That’s why he’s here. I made it clear that he’s not to make the kids cry or else he’d deal with me personally, and that the others along with myself will be in charge of their studies. He’s to help assemble the set and manage scene transitions. Besides that, I am in charge.”
Doc looked a little worried, but it was mainly because of Light’s main admission. “I understand, but did you say you were desperate?”
Light’s eyes widened a little as he tried to fake another smile. “Well… maybe just a little, but I got the cast together, didn’t I?”
“I haven’t met them all, but I do trust your decision. After all, a stallion playing Applejack can pass…”
Doc was suddenly interrupted by a blue blur that rushed into the theater area, allowing a gush of wind to send several papers flying around. For a second he thought it was Rainbow Dash, but this pony darted across the room, and didn’t have a rainbow streak. The wolf soon saw that this pony had dark blue streaks in his mane, and a shooting star for a cutie mark.
He looked a little anxious as well as he started brushing off the doctor. “I’m sorry! I was late coming in and I didn’t see you. I hope I didn’t startle you.”
Doc gave a small chuckle, getting used to these surprises. “It’s perfectly alright. I never thought I’d meet another pegasus in this town who flew as fast as Ms Dash.”
“I ran actually. I can’t fly anywhere near that fast. The name is Luminous Skies. It’s nice to meet you.” He said as he gave the doctor a strong hoofshake
“The pleasure is mine Mr Skies. It’s nice to meet another capable stage hoof.” Doc said with a relaxed smile, glad to meet a pony with manners after his run in with Quill.
“Oh, I’m not a stage hoof. I’m an actor. I was a little late to the auditions, so I ended up with a rather… unique role.” Skies said with a light blush.
Doc sighed as he turned to Light. “Should I ask?”
“Well…”
An hour after hiring Inkheart, and five minutes after tearing his booth down.
Light was upset as he was walking back to his house. He knew that he was almost out of time. He failed to fill in most of his roles, and now he had to think of some other way to get a few more actors. Maybe he could stop by one of his friends' place and ask him for advice and help.
As he was nearing his home to put his sign and booth away, he was suddenly stopped by a speeding stallion who looked like he was in the middle of a panic attack. “Sweet Celestia! I saw your booth was down and I thought I missed the auditions. Are there any roles left open? I’ll do anything!”
Light was startled as the stallion was asking him questions faster than he could answer them. “Um… sorry… who are you?”
“The name is Luminous Skies. I just heard you were accepting actors and I jumped at the opportunity to try acting for the first time.”
Light nodded, looking rather curious. “Um… how did you know I was the guy looking for actors?”
Skies gestured to Light’s body. “You’re the only teddy bear alicorn in town. So what do you say? I’m in great physical condition, and I’m eager to learn. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll work hard for you sir!” He said eagerly, making Light realize how few roles there are for stallions in these plays. He knew that there were a lot more mares in this town than stallions, so it would be reasonable that plays would be written to account for more mare roles.
“Wow… all of the guys in town are wanting the spotlight now. I guess I can use all of the help I can get, but I am low on roles right now. Tell me… do you have any reserves about playing a mare?” Light asked the stallion.
“Eh, it could be fun. What kind of play is this?” Skies asked him as a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes.
“Um… it has the main six in it…”
“Oh! Can I play Dash? I have some of her colors and I can be fast.”
“Taken. Sorry.”
“Oh… okay… maybe Applejack? I’m pretty strong as well.”
“Taken as well. I think a southern accent is all that actor can do.” Light admitted.
“Oh… what roles aren’t taken?” Skies asked, looking a little worried.
“Rarity and Fluttershy. Sorry. All other roles are minor, but right now I am desperate for a main cast.” Light explained to him, upset that he couldn’t offer him more.
Skies sighed as he thought about his options. “Well… will there be makeup?”
“Wigs and fur dye.” Light said with a nod.
Skies shrugged as he shook Light’s hoof. “Okay, I don’t think I can do the more reserved one, so I might as well try out the bolder one…”
“... so I am going to be playing Rarity. I think I have the style for it, and it will be fun!” Skies said, not looking desterbed by the idea of playing a mare like Rarity.
Dr Wolf merely sighed as he rubbed the ridge of his nose. “I see. I hope this will work out.”
“Thank you doc. I’m going to go help build the backdrop.” Skies said before leaping off to where the tools were set up.
Doc gave a soft groan before turning to Light. “Light, may you tell me how many stallions you casted in mare roles?”
“Three, and it’s an honor to meet you.” Doc turned around to greet the new actor only to be shocked by this large stallion. “I have heard great stories about you. You are shorter than I imagined though. Then again, a lot of ponies are smaller than I picture them.”
This pony… if he could be called a pony, was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He was about as tall as Princess Celestia. He boasted a bright green and orange mane that flowed off of his large and muscular body. The front of his blue skin was smooth and dragon-like while the back of his torso and his hind hooves had fur growing on it. His front hooves had claws on them along with the ends of his wings which had a few feathers on it, but were mainly smooth. This large pony also had a long horn on his forehead, making Doc wonder if this was some kind of alicorn hybrid.
Doc was speechless as he looked up at the large stallion. “Hehe, I guess a big guy like me is pretty intimidating.” The strange pony said with a small chuckle.
“Oh, I’ve seen bigger. You’re just… unique… very unique.”
“I take that as a complement. The name is Kirouac, king of MoonRacer.” The stallion said with a rather charming demeanor.
“Oh… I apologize your high…”
Before Doc could bow to the king, Light grabbed him to stop him. “Uh… I should warn you that in his culture you only bow to him when he’s wearing his crown. No crown, no bowing.”
Doc blushed a little at his cultural mistake, but he nodded to Light. “Oh, I see… by the way, I’ve never heard of MoonRacer before.”
“It’s a kingdom out in the middle of nowhere. We haven’t been too open to meeting other nations yet due to past history, but that’s partially why I’m here. I’m hoping that a king taking part in a play will be a sign of good faith to the locals. That, and Light visits every other week with some of the locals.” Kirouac started to explain. “Our nation is one that is founded by outcasts and hybrids, built on a foundation of unity. Most of our population are people who have no real homes or are looking for acceptance someplace else. So somebody like me or you wouldn’t really stand out, even though you are a first as a walking wolf.”
Doc sounded rather intrigued by this place. “Fascinating. And your breed is…”
“Part unicorn, part pegasus, but mostly dragon. It’s a bit hard to explain.”
“Isn’t that a kirin?” Skies asked curiously.
“Nope. I’m a mixed breed. Kirin is its own thing.”
“I see…” Dr Wolf paused as he realized what role was left. “So… you are willing to…”
Kirouac chuckled a little before nodding. “Yes. I am playing Fluttershy.”
Light sighed as he started to explain what happened.
In the throne room in MoonRacer, after a long flight.
“... And that’s where I’m at with my play. My friend, FlashTruth, is busy with his daughters, and the theater here is busy with its own production.” Light was explaining to Kirouac as they were having some hot chocolate.
Kirouac was listening carefully to Light as he was expressing his stress to him. He was always comfortable with talking to the one alicorn who wasn’t royalty, mainly because of his sense of humor. Kirouac was impressed by Light’s description of how helpful and respected this Dr Wolf was to the ponies in Ponyville. Light’s lack of joking around showed the king how stressed Light truly was. “So, you’re short a main role and all of your minor roles. That must be rough on you. Especially since you speak of Dr Wolf so highly.”
“Trust me, he has helped ponies more than I could ever pretend to. Right now I’m just trying to fix this mess before it spins out of control.” He explained with a deep sigh.
“I see. So what can I do to help you out with this?”
“If you can give me somebody to play Fluttershy and the minor roles then I’d have the weight of the world off of my chest.”
Kirouac stroked his chin as he thought about it. He didn’t want to have to order anybody to do this due to how busy most of his people were. However, he always wanted to see the city that was famous for its strong foundation of friendship and unity. He also wanted a good chance to talk to Princess Twilight since she was a main symbol of friendship and she’d be a main character in this play. It did seem kinda silly, but it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing a MoonRacian has done or seen.
“Well, it looks like an easy fix to me!” Kirouac said as he set his mug down and stood up. “I’ll play Fluttershy!”
“So I’m just going to be handling any official business in the mornings and nights and will open my schedule up to attend the play and also meet with Twilight concerning opening trades with the other nations. You see, MoonRacer doesn’t use currency like other nations, so it’s more of us all having to do a job and do our part to support everybody. Thus we deal in material goods like crops and construction products. Light even exchanges some toys for some materials to make more.” Kirouac said as he lifted a stack of boards. “Basically, I don’t have to be constantly trying to make sure our economy isn’t going to fall apart.”
Dr Wolf was astonished at the idea of a nation with no currency. “Wow. Doesn’t such a nation need constant monitoring? I mean, I can see so many ways how such a system can be abused.”
“Well, along with a bit of a magical effect on the land, we have a wonderful system that takes people's talents and can allow them to work on an output that when every…” Kirouac started to explain before he was cut off by the princess of friendship.
“Um, I think we can wait a while before going over the functions of your nations’ unique economy. I want to make sure I get down all of the details.” Twilight explained as she walked over with some paperwork.
“Oh, good morning Princess Twilight.” Doc said politely as he walked over to her. “I was just meeting our… unique cast.”
She giggled a little at Doc’s attempt to not offend anybody. “Yeah, it’s not your typical cast, but I see no problem with it considering last year’s cast, let alone the cast for several other productions we’ve had. In fact, we should be thankful that there is a full cast considering those productions and Light’s sudden deadline. Speaking of which, I managed to get us a pony to handle the soundboard.”
Light’s eyes brightened up as he ran over to Twilight. “That’s great! I thought I was out of luck when DJPON3 said no. Who did you get?”
Twilight smiled as she gestured over to the grey mare walking in. “Derpy. She had enough free time and was more than willing to help. She didn’t like the thought about acting and possibly messing up, but she is more than happy to help with the wire rig and the sound system.”
Derpy was beaming as she joined the others. “It was my pleasure. After all, she did say that I was her only hope, so I could tell you wanted my help.”
Light seemed content with the cross eyed pony, glad to know he wasn’t the only one suffering to get cast members. “Well, I’m glad to have you here. I don’t have the recordings of Dash yet, but I’ll help set that up for you as soon as possible.”
She smiled and nodded. “Thank you Light! I’ll try to do my best.”
Kirouac’s head turned as he heard the pegasus talking. “Wow! I thought a pretty mare like that would be having one of our roles.”
Derpy blushed at the complement. “Oh… I’m not really good at acting.”
Twilight giggled a little before handing Light the paperwork. “As for the other thing, Thorax said that he is okay with placing her in your custody. He thinks that the play may help her adjust to modern society. He just wants us to make sure she’s fed three times a day, and try to be in a good mood when you do. Anger has a bitter taste.”
He looked excited as he started filling out the paperwork. “Hey! That’s great! Now I can untie her!”
Doc looked scared as he was trying to piece all of these pieces together. “Custody? Untie her? What are you two talking about?”
Twilight suddenly looked guilty as she looked at Light. “You tell him.”
Light turned to Doc who looked like he was not liking where this was going. “Eh… hehe… a… um… A funny thing happened on the way home from MoonRacer… and I locked her in the theater’s broom closet…”
Like he said, on his way home from MoonRacer.
Light was tired, almost done with all of the running around he had to do. He managed to scrape together a main cast, counting on Twilight to stay in her role, but he was still stuck on several supporting roles. He was almost out of time, and didn’t know how to break this to the doctor. None of the parts were large or hard, but they were just hard enough to fill.
He started muttering to himself while he took a slow walk home “Maybe I should find a way to write them out… or join the other stallions in my crossdressing play. Directing looked so much easier in that book. My mane is going to start going grey before this play is over.”
As he was trying to focus on just getting home before dark, he started getting an uneasy feeling, like something was watching him. Before he could look around, he heard a sharp hiss and the sound of hoofprints running towards him. His body tensed up as he swung around, punching the attacker out of reflex. It was times like this when he was glad his family had the tradition of teaching the next generation of their line self defense when they come of age. He managed to see that his attacker was a changeling, an unreformed one at that fact. If he had to make a guess, he’d say it was a female, namely due to how she was groaning as she was trying to get back on her hooves.
The alicorn gritted his teeth as he glared at his attacker as she bared her own teeth at him. “What are you thinking? You’re just going around and jumping on ponies!?! Don’t you know that somebody can get hurt like that?”
“You lousy pony! We have taken on alicorns twice your size! You will not be able to simply best me! We have…”
As the changeling was ranting off about how she’d be able to take him on, he could only roll his eyes as he looked at this unreformed changeling, a love sucking being who can change into anybody she wants… any PONY she wants..
A large smile crept over Light’s face as he started walking towards the changeling. “Hi there little changeling. My name is Light Heart. What’s your name?” He said in an overly sweet and kinda creepy voice.
The changeling paused in shock as the hissed again at the pony who interrupted her. “What… It’s Elytra to you! You may be an alicorn, but I…”
“Do you want to be in a play?” He asked as he got even closer.
Elytra looked dumbfounded. “No. Why would I…” She stopped as she noticed the slightly crazed look in Light’s eyes, making feel like she was the prey now, and the alicorn was hunting her. “Um… I’m sorry for bothering you. I… I’m just going to go…”
Elytra quickly started running, only to hear the alicorn chasing after her. She was now terrified as she glanced over her shoulder to see a crazed alicorn jumping to tackle her. “BE IN MY PLAY!!!”
“... and then I dragged her back and dumped her in the closet. I told Twilight what happened and she took the matter to Thorax.” Light explained to the wolf who was glaring daggers into him.
“So, you tied up a mare and held her as a prisoner?” Doc asked sternly, making the others feel uncomfortable just hearing him talk with such a cold tone.
“She attacked me first! I didn’t do anything wrong to her! I just tied her up and locked her in here!” Light exclaimed as he opened the closet to reveal the changeling trying to get out of the ropes around her waist.
“Okay! I’m sorry for trying to kidnap you! I’ll never do it again! Just let me go!” Elytra whined as she was trying to get free.
Dr Wolf groaned as he rubbed the ridge of his nose again. “Again Light, this feels wrong.”
“I needed support roles, and she started it.” He tried to explain, only to be glared at again.
Twilight sighed as she stepped forward, trying to ease things over. “Elytra. This isn’t the first time you have been reported for jumping on a pony and draining their love. Thorax has been dealing with a lot of complaints against you. Do you understand the seriousness of your actions?”
The changeling rolled her eyes. “Huff. Look, I just want to have a decent meal every now and then. Is that so wrong?”
Twilight nodded as she walked forward to the changeling. “Well, Thorax wants to try and help you adjust to finding other ways to find that love you need, but he’s making an offer to you.”
“Please tell me it’s not another group hugging session.” She asked with a shudder.
Doc raised an eyebrow at that as he looked at Twilight. “They have those?”
“They have an interesting culture. They find ways to give each other love through simple acts like hugging and having group talks to express feelings. The thing is that not every changeling has been reformed yet.” She explained before turning to Elytra. “He’s kindly offering to let you be a part of the play we are doing. I can even make sure you get some love to eat while we are working.”
Elytra looked confused as she looked at Light. “That’s why you offered to let me in your play?”
He nodded with a bit of embarrassment. “Yeah, I needed some supporting roles and you seem like a versatile actor. I was also told that changelings love being in plays.”
“And why do you assume that Light?” Dr Wolf asked the alicorn, hoping that his response wouldn’t be racist.
“Because of the pure love they get on the stage. I heard that the best part is at the end when everybody stands up and applauds. It’s like a wave of emotions that fills you to the brim and keeps coming.” He explained as Elytra’s eyes widened at the sound of such a feast.
Doc actually looked impressed that he'd know something about that. “Really? It’s that kind of sensation?”
“I remember Ocellus talking about it after last year’s play.” Twilight said, trying to assure him that Light knew what he was talking about. “She said that the sensation was to die for, and more than worth falling through the stage for. She claimed that she could last a week without any more love after that play.”
Doc was impressed at the changeling's ability to absorb love, but he still felt hesitant. “Hmm… I don’t like the idea of forcing her to do something she doesn’t want to…”
“I’ll do it! Just… don’t keep me in this closet and I’ll be in your play.” She spoke up, her mouth drooling a little “Umm… There’s only one difficulty.”
Light was smiling brightly, seeming happy that she accepted. “What is it?”
“I… can’t shift clothing onto me. I’m not the best changeling in the world.” She admitted with a blush. “Thus the ambush tactics…”
He didn’t seem to care in the slightest as he interrupted her. “That’s no problem whatsoever. I just need to go through the costume supplies and get what you’ll end up needing.”
Twilight smiled as well as things seemed to be working out. “Okay, I’ll take you to my castle so you can have someplace to stay, and so we can make sure you don’t run off and try to ambush anypony else, just for security reasons. You do have a history of this after all.”
“Okay, fine. I can live with that. As long as I’m getting fed and get to be in the play.” Elytra tried to assure the princess before turning to Light. “So… What part am I playing?”
“Everything that the main cast isn’t.” He explained as he handed her the large script. “You’re basically everybody who isn’t Doc or the main six.”
Her eyes widened at the size of the script. “Oh dear… well… I guess I have a lot of work to do. May I please be untied?”
Twilight nodded as she undid the ropes with her magic. “Just please don’t run off on us.”
“And miss out on a meal… I mean, the role of a lifetime?” She asked as she tried to hide her nervousness of angering the crazy teddy bear alicorn.
He didn’t seem to mind as he turned to the doctor. “See? Everything is working out perfectly… more or less.”
“Sigh. Light, I don’t want to discourage you, but are you sure you can handle this? There’s only a couple of weeks, and it’s quite clear that you are dealing with some… issues. There is no shame in waiting a year…”
“No!” He yelped, gaining the other actor’s attention. “I mean… we have an eager cast, we are getting the stage set up quickly, and we have one shot before the theater closes for renovations. We can do this.”
Dr. Wolf still looked concerned, but he also knew that Light was extremely invested in this play for some reason. He was willing to pick these unique ponies for his cast, so maybe this play didn’t have to be perfect? Either way, backing out may cause more problems than he’d like to handle, especially since the other actors were excited about being in this play as well.
At least it was just the questionable casting call that was messing with things, and they can’t be that bad.
“Okay. I’ll follow your lead on this, director.” He said politely.
Light smiled brightly as he started to think that this play was actually going to work. “Thank you Doc! I promise you that this will go smoothly! Nothing will go wrong.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Teddy.” Inkheart called out from the sound both.
His eyes widened as he glanced at the unicorn. “May you keep your nose out of this?”
Dr Wolf felt nervous as he started to stroke his chin. “Oh dear.” He muttered as he had a feeling that this play was going to be anything but smooth.
The doctor was starting to learn the flaws of this cast that Light managed to slap together. First there was Golden. He was a nice guy, but he couldn't take orders well. He’d do his best, but he’d also do the opposite of what he was told almost impulsively. Dr. Wolf has tried to talk to him about it, but every time he’d ask him to sit down and take a break, he’d keep working. Trying to instruct him was difficult to say the least.
Kirouac seemed to be a great help, since he and Skies could easily lift the heavier props around. Adding that to the fact that most royalty are strong speakers, the king seemed to be a solid pick. However, Doc could see why Canterlot was known for its high arching doorways. It was so Celestia wouldn’t hit her head on them. Seeing the king struggle with the smaller doorways did make the others feel less self conscious about their size.
Well, except for the two alicorns who were worrying about if they were next to be hitting their heads on every doorway.
Linda was a decent actor, except when she was moving. The hard part about her role was that she always had to be bouncing, meaning that she was stumbling across the stage most of the time. Light even had to work a rug onto the set to at least try to keep her from hurting herself.
Schuberry was somewhat helpful, considering that she didn’t have to memorize her lines, but simply go through the motions. However, she somehow got a piano delivered to the theater. Doc and Light had no clue where it came from, but they had no place that they could put it except the stage. Now the mute pegasus was trying to play it whenever she had the chance. The others agreed that she was one of the most talented pianists they had ever heard, but it got in the way of practice several times.
Elytra had one of the biggest problems out of all of them. Apparently changelings need to either imagine the creature they are trying to mimic or have seen them before. So now alongside the fact that she had the most lines to memories, she had to learn all of the extra ponies she had to impersonate, and most of them she couldn’t get a clue of how they sounded. Twilight also started making complaints about her having an endless stomach.
Then there was Quill, the pony that Doc found himself dealing with the most. He was rather critical of the others' flaws in a sarcastic kind of way. His controlling nature found it’s way to pit him against Light on several occasions, and it also rubbed some of the others the wrong way. Doc found himself having to play ambassador most of the time to keep them from fighting.
Admittedly he started to realize that there were a lot of new potential patients in this cast.
Then there was the teddy bear alicorn. Light’s stress seemed to grow the further they got into production. He was trying to juggle all of these tasks, and often failed to look over some of them well enough. He was giving his all, which often made Dr. Wolf concerned about his anxiety. He was in this state of denial about the seriousness of the issues that Dr. Wolf would bring up. However, he would constantly say that it’s a small problem or that it can be easily fixed.
This led to the current date. The day of the play.
Everybody was stressing out about today. They had to make the cake prop for the final scene, make sure all of the props were set up, finish programming the sound recordings for Schuberry’s lines, and make sure that the set was ready.
Dr. Wolf knew that he had to talk to Light about the stressful atmosphere, but it was easier said than done.
He was busy pointing ponies around and making sure their makeup was ready. “Twilight! Help Kirouac with the scale paint! He’s missing a few spots!”
“Of course Light. It’ll only take a minute.” Twilight said as she got out the paint and brush.
“Golden, come here!”
Golden almost instinctively started walking away before Light used his magic to lift him towards him. “Oh… sorry.”
“Golden, I know that your acting has been a little off, but now is the time I need you to pull it together, okay?”
“Yeah, you can count on me.” He said eagerly.
Light gulped as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. “I’ll try anyway.”
Dr. Wolf winced at Light’s reaction as he tried to talk to him again. “Um, Light?”
“Give me a minute.” He said as he turned to Schuberry, who was happily playing on the piano. “Schuberry, we all love your music, but we need to get ready for the play right now. May you please get Skies to hook you up to the rig?”
She gave a poochie lip as she pointed to the piano.
“I know you love playing, but we only have a little bit of time. Once the play is over, you can play as much as you want.” He tried to assure her before looking around the room. “Where is Skies? And where is Elytra?!?”
Before Doc could offer to help, there was a sudden gust of air as the speedster walked over to Light, carrying Elytra on his back. “Sorry! I saw Elytra sneaking off and I ran and grabbed her.” Skies explained as he dropped the changeling in front of them.
“Elytra! This is the third time you have snuck off for a snack! You’re going to get us all into trouble!” Light exclaimed.
She merely pouted as she rubbed her belly. “But I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry. We give you plenty of love a day and you are still hungry!” He pointed out as he was breathing heavily from the stress. “Just wait till the play is over! You’ll have a tidal wave of love!”
Doc cleared his throat to try gaining the alicorn’s attention. “Um… Mr Heart, may we talk about…”
“In a minute Doc.” Light interrupted him again as Derpy approached them with a concerned look. Before she could speak, he was already trying to settle her issues. “Now, the track is already mixed and timed. All you have to do is press the button that plays the next line when she’s supposed to speak. You even have a copy of the script with you. All the other buttons are clearly labeled. You have the easiest job here. There is nothing for you to be stressed about.”
Dr. Wolf was happy to see him starting to switch to a more supportive style, but then he heard her new problem. “Well, I am scared about the wire setup. I was wondering if we had enough time for me to practice using it.”
Light looked concerned as he was staring at her in dismay. “Derpy, you spent loads of time practicing with Quill, and you have a pretty smooth touch from what I have seen.”
“Well… Quill always used the controls and had me watch. I never got a chance to try it out myself.”
His eyes widened as he turned to the stage manager. “QUILL!!! You told me you were training her!”
“I showed her how it works.” The unicorn said bluntly as he calmly walked up to the angry alicorn.
“But you didn’t let her use it! This equipment is sensitive and requires a precise touch!” He scolded him, only earning a carefree shrug from the monotone pony.
“That’s why I used it. It was the only way I could make sure it was done right.”
He gritted his teeth in anger as he started to think about seriously hurting his stage hoof. “But you… I… GRRRRR!!!”
Dr Wolf was starting to see the entire group getting stressed as they were a few minutes away from opening the curtain. Derpy looked like she wanted to cry, only to be petted by Kirouac, which summoned a large blush on her face. Skies was trying to ask for help with hooking Schuberry up to her wire rig, looking confused by how this was supposed to connect to her vest. Twilight was trying to get Elytra to do a check on her images while the changeling was begging for another snack before the show.
As Light was starting to yell at Quill, who remained in an emotionless state, Dr Wolf decided that he had to gain control of this situation. “ALRIGHT!!!” He barked loudly, making every creature stop in their place. The doctor took a deep breath to compose himself before speaking. “I know tensions are running high right now, but there is no reason to lose our heads right now. We all have put a lot of work into this play, but we do have to recognize that not everything can go smoothly. Odds are that even I will mess up before the play is over. I think we all need to stop and recognize how much work we put into this in such a short period of time, which is quite a feat. Let’s not stress out about trying to get this play done perfectly, and focus on just delivering this play to the public.”
Everybody was silent for a minute as they thought about what Dr. Wolf said. Light looked the most embarrassed as he was the one who was stressing out the most.
Kirouac simply nodded with a smile as he was adjusting his pink wig. “Yeah. It’s nothing to stress about anyways. Odds are we will be playing for a couple dozen ponies. All we need to do is just do our best and have some fun. How hard can that be?”
Golden nodded as he looked like he was starting to relax too. “Okay… you have a point. It’s not like it’s a major play like last time, right?”
Twilight’s eyes widened when they mentioned this. “Um… well… there may have been a couple of mistakes… and surprises…”
Light instantly looked concerned as he approached his fellow alicorn. “Twi… are you hiding something?”
She blushed as the cast were all looking at her. “Well, I only learned this recently, and I know with my anxiety experience that bringing this news up last minute would have added some more stress, so I wanted to wait until we were all ready for the play before I explained what happened.”
Dr Wolf gulped as he realized how guilty she looked about this. “Twi, what happened? Did your friends return early?”
“Well… sorta? Dash told the other Wonderbolts about the play and her being able to use the recording system, so they let me know that they were flying straight here after their show. And knowing how fast they can fly, they will have been here ten minutes ago.”
Light sighed in relief. “Well, I don’t think that’s too big of a problem. It’s just a few extra ponies. I bet Applejack is here too, right?”
She nodded, but still didn’t feel confident in confessing everything that was happening. “Yes, she is. She did her daily chores and was able to make it with her family. As a matter of fact, this is also where Fluttershy is having her date with Discord. He did assure me that he’s not planning on messing with us with his magic. In fact, he seemed rather genuine about it. Fluttershy promised that she’d keep him from doing anything.”
Quill raised an eyebrow at this new information. “Discord being genuine about something? That’s a first.”
“Well, don’t worry. I made sure that he understood what would happen if he messed with the play. He even, and I quote, let his powers take a holiday at Gravity Falls, and will not be able to use them until morning.” She explained, looking like she had a hard time understanding Discord’s actions as well.
“Well, I guess we can give them the benefit of the doubt.” Dr. Wolf said hopefully.
“Well… now is where things get interesting. Celestia and Luna were very interested in this play, and made sure to get front row seats, along with Shining Armor and Cadence.” She continued, noticing how some ponies were tensing up at the mention of the princesses.
“What? Why are they so interested?” Light asked before Schuberry happily started skipping around the room.
Kirouac looked curious as he walked up to her, handing her a pencil and paper. “Um, how are you connected to Princess Celestia and Luna?”
Schuberry quickly wrote one word on the paper.
Guardians
Light’s eyes widened when he saw the paper. “They adopted you?”
The mute mare nodded happily.
Twilight nervously scratched her head as this was new information to her too. “Well, Celestia has adopted orphans before.”
“So… is that it? I’ve been in their presence before, and they are very kind and considerate.” Dr. Wolf tried to assure the group to help ease their nerves.
“Oh… remember that peace summit? Well, the issue was rather minor, and they finished yesterday. So Rarity and Pinkie told the diplomats there about the play, and they took the rest of the front row.” She explained as she got to the worst of it. “Now for the main problem…”
“The other problems were little?” Light asked as he started wishing that he could hide in a corner.
“The national newspapers were supposed to be reporting a story about a play called Hamilton with an all star cast. Apparently instead of putting down the Canterlot theater, they put down the Ponyville theater instead. We have more ponies here than last year, and half of them are expecting to see Hamilton.” She finished explaining, waiting for Light to start freaking out and crying.
The whole group was actually silent, staring at their director expectantly as he was frozen in shock, leaving his mouth hanging open.
Skies now looked like he was panicking as well as he turned to Twilight. “Is it too late to cancel the play?”
Quill gestured to the door as he was still in his expressionless state. “If you want to face that crowd, go ahead.”
Dr. Wolf was more focused on Light as this was his play. “Um, Light? Are you sure you can handle this?”
He suddenly snapped out of his trance as he looked at the doctor. He looked like he was going to faint for a minute, but then he managed to put on a shaky smile. “Oh… it’s not a problem… It’s just… a bigger audience. There’s nothing we have to change in the play. No problem whatsoever.”
“Um… pretty big problem if you ask me. We’re now playing for the most important ponies in Equestria, let alone out of Equestria.” Linda pointed out.
“And we’ll do the play the same way we would have if it was just a bunch of normal ponies. Look, in the book I read about play managing, there are three rules. Something always goes wrong, be willing to adapt, and the show must go on. Right now we need to focus on rule number three.”
“But… if we mess up?” Golden asked nervously.
“Then we ad lib, or stick to the script. No matter what happens, the show must go on!”
Dr Wolf gulped as he started fearing the worst, but then again, they already had a crazy cast and a few unexpected mistakes.
How could things get any worse?
“Alright. It’s just a play, and it’s too late to back out. Let’s just do the best we can and see what happens.” Dr Wolf tried to assure the others as he started adjusting his vest.
The rest of the group slowly nodded, looking anxious, but willing to go through with the play.
As the others started to get back to getting ready, Twilight ended up realizing what time it was. “Um, Light? The play is supposed to be starting in a minute, and we need at least a couple to finish setting up the props. What do we do?” She whispered nervously.
Light’s eyes widened as he started looking around. “Um… Derpy! Get to the sound system and turn on one of the right wing spot lights! I’ll stall for a few minutes before we get started.” Light said as he got ready to head onto the stage.
The group could only exchange glances as Quill simply shrugged. “Well, it’s showtime!”
The audience were all patiently waiting for the play to start. Some of them were rather curious about the confusion of what kind of play this was. Some said that it was supposed to be a new best hit, but there were arguments about who wrote the play and who was starring. Royalty was there, so surely it had to be some kind of masterpiece, right?
As they heard a pony walk onto the stage, they all started to quiet down as he started to talk.
“Fillies and…”
A spotlight turned on, giving a startling sound as the pony on stage realized that the light was on the other side of the stage. He quickly ran over into the light, revealing himself as Light Heart.
“Gentle-colts. Welcome to the annual Ponyville stage performance. My name is Light Heart and I am making my official directorial debut.” He said as a hint of anxiety started to show in the alicorn. “I do want to take this time to apologize to anypony who is here to see the musical, Hamilton. But I assure you all that you will enjoy this play just as well.
“Now, I am sure that some of you have experienced some of our other plays which have been… understaffed. Like the amazing story of the dogs who went to rescue their numerous kids… One Dalmatian. Or our musical blockbuster, Newsie. Then there was one of our star’s first opportunities to try out being in a play, Beauty and the Beast. However, he had some serious medical problems at the time, and we couldn’t get another beast, so that play became Beauty. Rarity really enjoyed that play. It was basically a fashion show.”
He was shocked as some of the ponies were giggling at the description of the old plays, making him fear that he may have shared too much information. “Um, but I assure you that this play will surpass the other plays. Now put your hooves together…”
The audience immediately started to applaud as Light frantically waved his hooves to get them to stop. “Not yet! Sigh! Put your hooves together for Doctor Wolf, A Helping Paw!” Light announced as he ran off the stage, ready for his show to begin.
There was silence as the curtain opened. The crowd was watching expectantly as they waited for the stage lights to go on. It was like a wave of suspense as they waited for what this play would open up with.
*Thud!*
“OWW!!!”
The lights almost instantly went on to see Dr. Wolf standing next to a small table that was at the center of the stage, holding his knee as he was jumping in pain. The wolf froze suddenly as he saw everybody looking at him, many of whom were holding back giggles.
He quickly ran to the chair and started looking around for the teacup that was set up. He snatched it up, getting ready to grab the small plate under it before realizing that it was attached to the cup.
He blushed as he grabbed the attached plate. “Ahhh… there is nothing like a calm and relaxing morning to clear your mind of all distractions.” He said, trying to speak calmly as he was sticking to the script, feeling silly about messing up so quickly in the play. “I wonder why the main six have asked to meet me this morning. I rarely do such group therapy sessions, and they always seem to be able to help each other so well. To meet before their sessions seems so strange to me.” He explained as he set the glass down. “Ah! I think I hear a knock on the door!”
Dr. Wolf paused as the small lights near the door lit up, only for silence to reign. He gulped nervously as he decided to repeat the line. “Ah! I hear a knock on the door…”
“For the hundredth time, knock.” Quill’s voice could be heard ordering the others calmly and clearly before there was a knock on the door.
The doctor winced as he tried to ignore the few giggles from the crowd. “It must be Applejack. She is always insistent on being early.” He said as he opened the door, finding Flare at the door, all dressed up as Applejack, except for the missing hat. “Ah, Applejack! Please come in and let me take… your… hat…”
“No, thank you. I rarely go anywhere without this old thing.” He said as he walked into the room. Right before he closed the door, the hat was tossed out, hitting him in the face. He nervously put it on before turning to the doctor. “Have the others shown up yet?”
He shook his head as he walked over to the seats. “You are the first one here. Take a seat.”
“Thank you. I will.” He said as he stayed standing, making the line seem awkward. Doc was afraid that the people would start getting annoyed by these errors, but it seemed like everybody was trying to keep from chuckling, even the royalty.
“Are you comfy, Applejack?”
“I am. This couch is very soft. Is it a new one?”
“More like reupholstered. Rarity was generous enough to help me redesign my room. She said that it would make the room have a more comforting feel to it.” Doc explained awkwardly as he heard the door knock again. “Ah! I think one of your friends has come to join us.”
“Oh, I think it’s Pinkie Pie. She is always on time, no matter how strange her entrance is.” Golden said as he looked at the doctor. “Mind if I get it for you?”
Doc nodded as he opened the door, showing the strange filly at the door. “Ah, Pinkie. It’s great to see you again.”
“It’s great to see you too Doc.” Linda said happily as she bounced into the room. As Doc closed the door behind her, he heard a thud as she crashed into a small table with a vase on it. He was glad that it was a prop vase, otherwise, she may have hurt herself. “H… hey… those are some lovely flowers. Did Fluttershy pick them for you?” She asked as she scrambled to pick up the scattered flowers.
Doc quickly bent down to help her. “Actually, it was a gift for my wife a few weeks ago. Sometimes a material gift can help build your relationship, even if it isn’t their love language. Being able to use multiple styles shows the ability to go above and beyond.” He explained as he helped set the table back up, glad that the water in the vase didn’t all spill out.
“Wow, fun!” She said as she stumbled to the couch. She tried bouncing on it a few times, but she fell off on the fourth time, making her grunt as she fell on the ground.
Doc winced as he wondered if she was okay, but she waved him off as she got back on the couch. “Pinkie, please don’t bounce on the couch. I don’t want you to fall off.”
“Oh… I never fall off of a couch, but I get your point.” She said with a small groan as she heard the crowd giggling more audibly.
“Thank you.” He said with a nod as he heard the door knock again. “Hm, it’s almost close to being late…”
“It has to be either Twilight or Fluttershy. Sometimes they show up to meetups before I do.” Linda said as she rubbed where she hit her leg.
“Good point.” He replied as he opened the door, revealing Kirouac at the door. A few ponies were cheering on the ruler, so he gave a big smile and a wave before the doctor. “Oh, hi Doc. May I come in?” He asked in a charming voice, instead of the timid one Light told him to use.
“Uh… Of course.” He said with a nod as he opened the door wider for him, feeling awkward that the man playing the timid mare was being confident and charming. Then again, as a ruler, it was his job to be confident and hold an aura of leadership and trust. This wasn’t boding well for the play. Then again, they were five minutes in and had about a dozen mistakes already. “How are you doing this morning?”
“Oh just…”
*Thud*
Kirouac grunted as he hit his head on the top of the doorframe, realizing he had to duck to get on stage. “... wonderful. Harry is recovering from his cold nicely. Angel and I had a nice relaxing walk in the park, and I started doing yoga. It’s rather exhilarating, even though it may not seem like the most exciting of exercises.”
Doc somehow had the feeling that many ponies in the audience were about to take up yoga now. As he tried to block out the idea of the effect Kirouac was having by misrepresenting the character, the king spoke up.
“I think I hear Dash coming. You may want to open the window. You know how she loves to make an entrance.” He said as he sat down in a chair and relaxed, right before it broke under his weight, startling him for a moment before he tried to play it off.
“Oh, of course,” Doc said as he opened the window.
As soon as it opened, Schuberry swung through the window, clearly looking terrified as the wire rig she was using was jerky and sending her all over the stage. Doc started panicking as he started running under the flailing child, trying to make sure she didn't hurt herself. After fifteen seconds of flailing, She landed on top of his back, making him fall to the floor with a grunt. The child blushed out of embarrassment before looking out to the princesses and waving to them with a smile.
“Dash… I know you are the best flyer in Equestria…” Doc was interrupted by the sudden laughter of the Wonderbolts in the crowd, but he tried to ignore them and go on. “But you know how I feel about you flying in my office. Somebody could get hurt.”
“Oops, sorry Doc.” The recording of Dash’s voice went off as Schuberry got off of the doctor and helped them up. “I just wanted to show off my new trick to you all.”
“I will admit that stunt was perfect, but you shouldn’t press your luck,” Flare told her, earning even more laughs.
“Fair point, although I am the best flyer in all of Equestria.”
That last half wasn’t in the script, and all of the actors knew it.
“Um… I think Rarity should be here at any moment now.” Dr. Wolf said with a small gulp, wondering why Skies wasn’t coming in yet. There was an awkward pause as they were waiting for Skies to come on stage. “Any minute now…”
“I… I changed my mind! I can’t do this!”
“You can’t back out now!!! They are all out there!”
“I… I just… it’s royalty…”
As Doc was starting to worry about what was going on backstage, the door suddenly opened right before Skies was shoved onto the stage. He could tell that the young pegasus was still panicking over being on stage, and he looked ready to get out of there, but the door magically closed behind him before he could dart off.
“Oh! Hello Rarity.” Doc said, trying to make his voice as calm as possible. “How are you doing?”
“I… I’m going to faint…” He whimpered as his body was frozen, feeling the stares of so many ponies focused on him.
However, Dash’s recordings weren’t able to be changed last minute. “You always were one for a stylish entrance.”
“I wish I had your confidence,” Kirouac added, sticking to the script despite Skies’s shaking legs and him trying to pick up the ones to his seat.
Dr. Wolf winced as several ponies in the crowd were giggling, which was now becoming a recurring thing. He decided to purpose to himself that he’d no longer focus on the laughter of the crowd and focus on the play itself. However, if he was to keep Skies from running away, he’d have to go off-script. He gently led Skies to a chair and tried to calm him down. “Well, I was just thinking about a good technique I learned from the princess to control my stress. I believe that Twilight and Cadence use the same technique as well.”
“R… really?” He asked as the other cast members looked at Doc curiously, not remembering this in the script.
“Yes. Just take a few deep breaths, and focus on the solution to a problem instead of the size of it.” He explained as he raised his paw to do the exercise. “Just like this…”
Skies watched Dr. Wolf take a few breaths, clearly wanting him to do the same. He gulped at the thought of embarrassing everybody, but the wolf’s pleading face convinced him to follow suit. He took a few breaths, starting to calm down as Doc patted his shoulder.
“Do you feel better?” He asked, hoping that Skies would be able to continue.
“A… a little… thanks…” He said as he managed to regain his composure.
“Good. Just relax, and we will be able to do this.” He assured him before hearing the door open up.
“That wasn’t the line, and Rarity would never…” Before Quill could finish his criticism, Light Heart reached out and grabbed him.
“Get off the stage Quill!” He yelled as he dragged him back behind the door and closed it.
As Dr. Wolf was trying to figure out what to do next, the door opened again before Twilight was shoved onto stage. “Hey!” She yelped as she turned to the door, only for it to close quickly. She gritted her teeth as she turned to the doctor. “Ah, I am sorry that I took my time getting here. I was just going over some letters regarding why I asked you all to come here.”
“I see. Well, make yourself comfortable.” Dr. Wolf offered her as he went back to the script.
Sadly, so did some of the others.
“Would you like to sit next to me Twi?” Flare offered as he was still standing in place. “These new seats are very comfortable, don’t you agree?”
“They sure look like Rarity’s finest work,” She said as she sat in a chair next to the doctor’s chair, using her own magic to pull Flare into his seat.
“Admittedly, I used to simply care that a chair can hold my weight.” Kirouac said as he tossed the broken pieces to the side.
“Yeah, Rarity just gave us a lecture about everything that goes into a chair.” Everybody froze as they heard the recording of Dash going off, knowing that they skipped over Skies’s lines about comfort and fashion in decor.
“Y… yeah… she is very insightful in this field,” Doc said as he tried to keep from blushing in embarrassment.
“A… all in a day's work… darling.” Skies said as he held up a wing to cover his face before having it pulled down by Kirouac, who was tapping the pegasus’s fake horn to remind him of what race he was pretending to be.
“Well, I wanted to talk to you all about a letter I got from Celestia,” Twilight said as she suddenly tensed up, forgetting to grab that prop before she was tossed on stage. “T… the letter…”
“Why don’t you read it for us?” Dr. Wolf asked, not noticing that Twilight was starting to stress out.
A part of her wished that she could summon the prop to her, but she was too unfamiliar with it to be able to quickly summon it to herself. If she knew where it was, it also would have made teleporting it to her easier. She knew that she had no way of getting Light’s prop… unless she used a different letter. She knew that there was a letter prop in Doc’s desk, so maybe she can just borrow that one for a while?
She quickly teleported the letter to herself and opened it up, realizing that there was a flash that came out of the desk that the audience clearly saw, but none of the cast saw. She smiled nervously as she tore it open. “Celestia’s birthday is going to be tomorrow, and I wanted to set up a big party for her.”
“How old is she anyway?” Flare asked out of character, looking confused about the thought of it. “Even then, when is her actual birthday?”
Doc tensed up as he realized that Flare just asked a couple of questions that no socially tact pony should ask, especially about Celestia.
Kirouac gave a nervous chuckle as he realized the same thing that Doc did. “Um, let’s leave breaking the fourth wall for Pinkie Pie.”
“I have to break something?” Linda asked as she looked confused. “But breaking the fourth wall wasn’t in the script!”
Everybody realized that that was a line that no pony should say on stage, but at this point, nopony in the crowd was taking anything seriously.
“As I was saying, the party is going to be soon, so I was hoping that you all will be able to help me get everything set up in time,” Twilight asked as she looked at the group.
“Twi, you know that we are always ready to help you out,” Flare said with a small smile.
“Yeah! I’m always ready for a party!” Linda said as she started bouncing around again, only to stumble into Schuberry.
“Are you sure that I should go? You know how nervous I get at events like this.” Kirouac said with his same charming grin.
“D… don’t worry. I… I’ll help you keep your cool.” Skies said as he still looked rather bashful at having messed up so much already.
“But why are you dragging Doc into this?” Dash’s voice asked.
“Well, I…”
Twilight was cut off as Dash spoke again, sounding somewhat disappointed in herself. “Eh… that didn’t have enough emotion, did it? I’ll try that again… But why are YOU dragging Doc into this? Nonono… But why are you dragging DOC into this? Nah… not cool enough… But WHY are you dragging Doc into this? YES!!! That’s the moneymaker! Alright, I’ll remember to ask Light’s brother to take that extra stuff out…”
All of the actors first stared at Schubberry in disbelief, then they turned to Derpy who bashfully shrugged from her little sound booth.
Kirouac gave her a reassuring smile as he gave her a thumbs up. “Don’t worry about it. You’re doing great, Derpy!”
Derpy blushed at the compliment as she waved back to him before the door opened. “Only Pinkie breaks the fourth wall!” Quill critiqued before being pulled backstage again.
“What is this wall?” Flare asked in confusion as Linda looked at the others in confusion.
“Why do I have to break things?!? It’s not in the script!”
“Guys! Calm down!” Twilight pleaded as she tried not to look at her mentor in the crowd.
“Yes, let’s not worry about the wall and just focus on the situation at hand. There is nothing to be stressed about.” Dr. Wolf tried to assure the group, calming them a little with his calming tone. “Now Twilight, why did you ask for me?”
“Well, I know that some of us had plans to meet with you later this week, but with this event coming so soon, I feel compelled to ask if we can take turns meeting with you today and tomorrow. Will that be okay?”
He gave a thoughtful look as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath which he had a habit of doing. “I have a few appointments scheduled, but I have some time open for you all, but I don’t know why you’d all want to talk to me when you all have so much on your plate right now.”
She faked a gulp as she looked to the side. “Well… I guess… I mean…” She paused as she waited for Skies to speak up, only to hear silence once more as the others awkwardly looked at him. “Oh… can any of you help explain?” She asked as she tried to keep her embarrassed look.
Skies looked around as he started to realize that they may be waiting on him. “Um… is it my line?”
“Yes!” All of the cast members yelped at once as he stumbled back in his seat.
“Oh… um… Well, Darling… We are all going through our own personal issues, and the stress is just starting to get to us. I don’t know if we can stay composed until then.” He said as he tried to do Rarity’s dramatic pose, but didn’t realize that he was on the wrong side of the couch to do it, finding no armrest as he fell down. He blushed as he heard the laughter of the crowd, but he tried to look stylish as he was laying on the ground.
“Well, that’s one pony’s perspective. I’m just working on getting my stunts ready for the show coming up. I am the best flyer in Equestria after all.” That line that Dash added in her recording wasn’t in the script. However, Schuberry was suddenly jerked into the air by the wires, causing her to start flailing around as the others were ducking, trying not to get hit by the scared filly as she was being jerked around the room unwieldy.
Doc yelped as she landed right on his back again, which reminded him that he was about the size of a kid. “Dash… I know that your physical skills are nothing less than perfect, but I would like to assist you in maintaining your mental health as well.”
“Eh, I’ll stop by if I have time.” Dash’s voice said as Schuberry got off of Doc and tried to brush his coat off with her wings.
“Yeah, I have some chores to do before getting things set up for the party,” Flare said as he stood up.
“And Angel will be cranky if I don’t feed him. Shall we have our meeting at lunchtime?” Kirouac asked as he walked up to the doctor.
“Of course. Will you be bringing lunch this time, or will I?” Doc asked with a smile as he tried to remember that Fluttershy is a small and timid pony, even though Kirouac was twice as big as her. Then again, what would Fluttershy be like if she was this strong and powerful? That was going to be something to theorize about another time.
“Oh, I forgot to get things for lunch! How could I forget a silly thing?” He asked, not sounding nearly as embarrassed as he should be.
“Hey, I can bring over some of the samplers that my family is making for the party for you. I do need an outside opinion for them after all.” Flare said as he started to walk towards the door.
“Yes, and I’ll be working out some sketches of the decorations before Twilight settles on the theme.” Skies said as he got up bashfully.
“Understood, well, if any of you wish to talk to me now, I have some time before my first appointment.” Dr. Wolf offered as many of the cast members were getting ready to go.
“Well… if you have a little time to talk to me, I would love to. Would any of you like to talk to Doc as well?” Linda asked the group.
“Sorry Pinkie, but I have a lot on my plate with the scheduling and planning and all of the preparations that I have to prepare for the princess of Equestria and my mentor. Maybe later.” Twilight said as she quickly walked off of the stage.
“I see… well, I guess that I will see you all here later,” Doc said as the others left the stage, leaving him with Linda, who looked a little nervous but managed to hold a smile. “So, what’s on your mind?”
“Hey, you always ask ponies that first. Why don’t I ask you how you are doing?” She asked somewhat softly, struggling to hold onto the energetic style of acting.
“Oh, I’m doing fine. Thank you. It’s rare when ponies ask me that question during a session. My wife is currently out of town on business, so I currently spend a lot of time alone. I guess you all spending some time with me is a good way to allow me to stay socially active.” He said with a smile as he pretended to drink from his teacup again.
“I’m glad that I can keep you smiling. That is a portrait of Ms. Wolf, right?”
“Indeed.”
Both Linda and Dr. Wolf looked at the photo behind him, only to turn away in shock. They didn’t know how, but somehow the photo of Ms. Wolf got mixed up with a photo of a cat. He nervously looked over to where his wife was sitting in the audience, relieved that she just seemed to giggle at this mistake.
Linda blushed at her mistake as she kept to the script. “She does look a lot like you, just with some pink in her fur.”
“Yeah, that’s how it works with wolves, although her coat is more unique for our kind.” He admitted, knowing that he was not going to hear the end of this from his wife. “But I think I should start by asking you questions. Why did you insist on talking to me first?”
“Well, I have to be honest with you Doc,” She said as she walked towards the doctor, but lost her balance as she came up to him, landing on his body. She looked embarrassed as she looked at the wolf’s head that was sticking out. “I think your support is going to be needed a lot.”
“Oh… pray tell,” He grunted as he was trying to get this kid off of him.
She climbed off of him again as she tried to continue. “Apparently there has been a lot of stress boiling over. Some are personal, others are between a few of them, and this party may be the boiling point.”
“Oh, dear. This may cause some problems.” He said as he rubbed his back, feeling rather sore from the fall.
“That’s why we decided to handle the appointments now. I convinced them that it would ease up our schedules. And I thought that you would love to have us visit you.”
“Well, I do enjoy our appointments, but it sounds like I have to be at my best to help you all.” He didn’t really understand that line, mainly since it was simply a matter of listening and giving helpful advice, but it was in the script, and it wouldn’t be wise to play too much with it right now. “So, are you needing a chat?”
Linda nodded, twiddling her hooves nervously as she tried to keep focus. “Um… I received a letter from… somebody…”
His eyes widened as he realized who she was talking about. “Um… is that your oldest sister, Limestone Pie?”
She shook her head as she sat down to try to think about it. “No, that doesn’t sound right. Let me think for a minute…”
He bit his lip as he realized that had completely forgotten her lines. “I’m pretty sure that it’s your sister…”
“No… I don’t think that’s right. Was it Celestia? No, that’s not my line… what is it?”
“Well, do you remember what the letter was about?”
“Um… I’m trying to think… Maybe it was about me not coming home more often. Maybe it was my mother?”
“Alright… let’s just work on that. What does she feel while you are away?”
“I… don’t know… I mean… I don’t remember much about my family.” She said out of character, making him panic about this strong deviation from the script.
“Um… I’m sure that there are some scripted memories that you have.” He tried to say as she got further off track.
“I actually don't remember anything. It’s actually something that bothers me.” She sniffled as she started to lay down on the couch. “I mean, do you know what it’s like to be bullied for having one wing and a magicless horn? It’s like a target for bullying. And this is why I don’t get letters. I just feel like I am the only one of my kind.”
His eyes widened as he realized that she had fully broken character and was opening up to him…
On stage!
He knew that this was a large breach of doctor-patient confidentiality, but she opened up right here, and a part of him wanted to help her through this.
“Surely they will think that this is part of the play, right?”
The doctor gulped before speaking up. “I… didn’t expect you to… put me in such a scenario, however, I can relate greatly to being considered a freak of nature. After all, I am one of the only sentient wolves in the world, and I’m pretty sure I am married to the other one. There are ponies I could name who have called me… some rather shocking things.”
She wiped as she looked at the doctor. “But… ponies treat you with so much respect. Light calls you the wisest wolf in the world.”
He chuckled a little, not knowing that Light held him to such esteem. “Well, I wouldn’t call myself that, but I think this respect has come from being able to help others despite my body and the weaknesses. People can always get to you through your body if you let them, but the way to gain respect from those who care is to show them the best qualities of you and how you help others.”
“A.. are you sure?”
“Of course. I bet that even Celestia can see when a pony humbles themselves for others.”
As soon as he mentioned the Princess, Elytra walked into the doorway and onto the stage, taking on the perfect likeness of the alicorn ruler. When she spoke, her tone perfectly matched the motherly voice of Celestia. Even Luna could be taken aback by this perfect illusion. “My dear and faithful student, I believe…”
“Um… Not yet.” Doc interrupted her, looking a little embarrassed at the fact that this actor took the stage too early.
She blinked a few times as she processed her mistake. “Oops… Sorry.” She said as she stepped out of the room, looking rather embarrassed as well.
As the crowd was laughing, Linda blushed as she remembered that she was in a play. “I… guess this isn’t the best place for a therapy session… even though we are in your office, and technically alone…” She mused as she looked at the audience.
“Well, we can always pick this up later. Just know that you’re not alone in the world. Take it from a wolf who doesn’t remember his own family, and has seen others leave him.” He said, thinking back to the memories of his master and
Linda nodded before giving him a hug, Well… I guess I had better get going. Thank you, Doc.”
He smiled as he gave her a nod. “My door is always open if you wish to talk more about it.” He offered, going off script once more for her.
“I’ll take you up on it.”
As she left the stage, he took a deep breath as he spoke softly. “It’s…”
“IT WAS LIMESTONE!!! I REMEMBER NOW!!!”
Doc rubbed the ridge of his nose as he realized how late she remembered her line. He took another breath to keep calm before addressing the audience. “That’s Pinkie for you. Always kidding and upbeat… I envy her lighthearted attitude. Well, I might as well take this moment to go through my mail.” He said before turning to his desk. Ah! A letter…” His eyes widened as he realized that there was no envelope on the table. He swore that he left it there before the play started, but now he had nothing to work with.
Unless…
He quickly grabbed the book off of the table and started acting like it was a letter, tossing the cover of the book aside before opening it up. “Ah! A letter from the princess. It is rare for her to write to me like this.” He said as he flipped a few pages ahead before trying to look more serious. “Oh… that’s why Pinkie insisted on this…”
His thoughts were interrupted as there was a sudden thud on the wall. He hid the paper, but what was supposed to be a sudden transition became several more thuds. “Oh… it sounds like Dash needs to be a bit more to the right,” He said out loud as he was trying to tip off Derpy.
“THUD!!!”
“Your other right.”
After a moment, Schuberry finally was sent through the window, rubbing her forehead as she finally landed on the ground.
He blushed as he cleared his throat, trying to keep the play going. “Dash, why do you insist on using the window?”
She brushed herself off as Dash’s recording went off. “Doc, you know that I am the best flyer around. Just look at me!” The filly’s eyes widened at the line before she was yanked into the air, leaving her flailing around as she was afraid of how poorly Derpy was using the wire controls. She was either being flung towards a wall or jerking up and down. After several moments of flailing and Doc hoping that he wouldn’t have to call for a medical doctor for the kid, Derpy let her down with a small thud on the couch. “See? Picture perfect.” Dash’s recording said boastfully as the crowd was cracking up.
He could only blush a little as a cryptic quip escaped his lips. “Well, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. So, I guess you have something to talk about?”
She nodded as her recording continued. “Yeah, I hate to admit it, but I think that my work is…”
*click*
“Dash? What are you doing here? I thought you left already?”
Schubberry and Doc froze as they heard Captain Spitfire’s voice over the recording, clearly having walked into the room as Dash recorded this line.
“Oh, sorry Ma’am! I was just doing a recording for a play.”
“Really? Are they doing them long-distance now?”
“Hehe. No. I was supposed to help out with this year’s play, acting like myself, which should be considered a starring role, but the schedule got changed. So Light’s little bro whipped this up so my actor doesn’t have to worry about being able to speak.”
“Why? Is she a lousy actor?”
“Hey! She’s a mute kid! Lay off!”
“Oh… I am so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Sigh. It’s alright, I know you didn’t mean it. Admittedly I wish more could have been done with this script. I mean, I know Light Heart wrote this, but I feel like it’s not awesome enough.”
“You’re the kind of pony who thinks that adding more lines for you would make it better. So… isn’t Light that alicorn who is afraid of heights?”
“Yeah. He wrote a play based on Dr. Wolf and has Twi as one of the main actors. I mean, it’s not bad, but hardly flawless.”
“Really? Well, I have heard about the doctor before.”
“Yeah, wanna come along?”
“... Why not? If the good doctor and Twilight are in it, I’ll watch it. Let’s go work out some scheduling and then we can see about your acting skills.”
“Yes, Ma’am… oops! I left the mic on.”
Schubberry and Doc both stared at each other in shock as they heard the crowd laughing out loud, and possibly a face-hoof from Spitfire. Doc had to take a moment to try and gather his thoughts before he defaulted to the script. “Why… everybody gets bothered at work now and then…. People interrupt you in the middle of your work, say something they shouldn’t have by mistake, or just speak unwanted gossip.” Doc winced as he realized that everything in the script was unwittingly condemning Spitfire. “B… but… it’s good to be respectful… and try to look at things with a sense of humor, and explain your side of the… oh for Celestia’s sake… this isn’t working, is it?” He asked in defeat as he realized that now he pointed out everything Dash did. It went from bad to worse for him.
“Wow, you sound like you heard it all before!” Dash’s recording said excitedly.
“Yeah… every word,” He said out of embarrassment. “Sometimes the problems that inflict us are obvious.”
“Yeah, I hope my ranting about work didn’t bother you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Sometimes work stepping in is inevitable.” He quipped softly before seeing Schuberry walking over to the piano. “… Although I know that you are good at relaxing,” He added as he looked confused at her actions.
The mute pony simply looked happy as she started playing the piano. It was soft and gentle as if a maestro had composed it himself. Everypony was in awe of the music that this mute child was playing.
Well… almost everypony.
Quill opened the door to the stage, giving Schubbery a disapproving look as he closed the lid to the piano. “You do know that Dash is one of the worst piano players out there, right?”
The doctor looked shocked at the audacity of this monotone pony, but he wanted to try to correct him. “Well… it’s never too late to learn.”
“Then let the real Dash learn before her actor plays a sonnet that isn’t in the…”
Before Quill could finish, Light stepped onto and started pulling him away. “Get off the stage! If I told you once, I told you a thousand times! No character correction in the middle…”
*Slam!*
Dr. Wolf groaned as he realized how upset Light was when he literally dragged Quill off stage. “So many sessions I need to arrange… it makes me wonder if this was a good idea.” He thought as he turned towards Schuberry. “Well, I think I’ll have to end this session here. I am expecting my next patient soon. It that alright?”
“Yawn! I think I’ll catch a few Zs. Recording this stuff is tiring.” Dash’s voice said as the sound of her hoof propping up onto the table could be heard by everypony. Schubberry blushed in embarrassment before she was suddenly jerked back into the air, flailing around helplessly as she was being swung around the room.
He could only duck, seeing her nearly hit his desk and actually knocking the portrait of his “wife” off of the wall as she “flew” out of the window. “Thank you for using the... door this time.” He said with a long sigh, knowing that there was no point in trying to cover up the mistake he just made as people started laughing again.
He decided to just keep pushing his luck as he moved the photo to the side. “Well, so far so good.” He said, starting to feel numb to the failures as he looked at the clock. “Oh look! It’s one o'clock…” He watched in dismay as he saw that the clock read at 6 o'clock. Slowly a purple glow came over them as the hour hand was changed to 1. “My, how time flies. My next patient should be here soon…”
As soon as he said that, Elytra came through the door. Now, Doc knew who she was supposed to be imitating. Cheerilee was kind enough to let Light add her character into the play, however, now Doc feared that she would quickly regret that decision.
Well, she did a decent job at mimicking Cheerilee’s form.
If she was a stallion.
He stared at the changeling in doubt before speaking weakly. “Oh, hello… Miss Cheerilee. How are you doing today?”
“Oh, I’m doing fine.”
Well, the voice matched the body.
“That’s wonderful. So… tell me what’s on your mind.” He asked weakly as he sat down.
She nodded as she… or more accurately, he sat down next to him. “Well… I keep feeling like Rainbow Dash doesn’t care about my feelings, and…”
“Nope… that’s not what you are here about,” He interrupted quickly, knowing what the actual part was. “You’re here for something else.”
She blinked a few times before speaking. “Oh… Um… well, it’s not easy being so successful in the fashion world…”
“Nope. You’re not here for that either. Try again.”
“Um… my roommate is always so noisy…”
“Not that.”
“... My dear and faithful student?”
“Not yet! I mean… sorry.” He took a few deep breaths as he tried to calm down. “Try once more… because you are a school teacher… in a tough work environment…”
“Was I getting divorced?”
“No! Nopony in the play has that problem written down!” He tried to explain as he started to panic, trying to think about how to explain her part to her. As she was trying to think about her lines, he decided to whisper the line to her. “I’ve just been dealing with a lot of stress lately.”
“Oh! Well, sit down and tell me what’s on your mind,” Elytra said as the script came to her mind.
“Are you sure that I won’t be in the way? I saw the main six entering this building a while ago,” Dr. Wolf replied, forgetting himself as he continued.
“I cannot disclose what they have spoken to me about, but right now my time is for you.”
“Well, I have been under a lot of stress lately, and not a lot of ponies seem to understand that.”
“Oh? Go on.”
“Well, I have worked at this school for a good part of my life, and not a lot of ponies seem to understand how hard it is to manage a school all by myself.”
“I can only imagine the challenge.”
“I need to prepare all of the materials for my students, try to keep them challenged, try to help them improve, and all the while deal with a limited budget while parents ask why I can’t offer more. It starts to wear down a mare, you know? I want to do more, but I feel like I’m hindered by what I can do.”
“I think that there are a lot of ponies who feel weighed down by their workloads. From being overworked to underpaid. Admittedly, I have known many ponies who struggle with their jobs from time to time.”
“But how can I handle it?”
“I suppose you take great care in your job if you still strive to help your students.”
“Well… yes. I do care for them greatly. I have always wished the best for my pupils.”
“Then you need to take some time to reflect on the good you have done and what you will be able to do in the future. A wise pony once said that if you love your job, and enjoy doing it, you will never work a day in your life. My advice is to look up some of your old students and listen to their feedback. Maybe that will give you the strength to move onwards.”
“I think I’ll take your advice. It’s been forever since I’ve seen some of them. It may help me regain some of my spirits.”
“I sure hope so. In my opinion, I don’t think enough ponies respect a mare who does what you do. I just wish more ponies would help out with the public school system, and help support the foundation for the next generation.”
“Well, I guess I had better get back to work. Thank you… Dr. Wolf?”
“You’re welcome… Cheerilee?”
Both actors froze in front of the doorway as they realized that despite them acting out the rest of their lines in perfect tone, they made one single flaw.
They read each other’s lines!
Doc was reading off Elytra’s lines the second he whispered her part to her, with her falling suit. They were now trying to figure out what they were supposed to do next.
She slowly started to reach for the door as she was still hung up on Doc’s part. “Shall I get the door for you, ma’am?”
His eyes widened as he realized that he needed to break the pattern quickly, or else this play was going to take a rather interesting turn. “No! I am supposed to get the door for you, ma’am!”
“But I am a man.” She pointed out, looking rather confused.
“No! You’re a woman!” He cried out, realizing how ridiculous that sounded. “Almost everybody but me in this play is a mare!”
“Tell that to the guys.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“And Cheerilee sounded like a masculine name.”
“J… just please get off the stage.” He pleaded, now feeling like he can’t control his stress for much longer.
“Well, may I eat first?”
“No!”
“Just a little love from the first row?”
“No!”
“How about you?”
“Please go!”
“You’re right. Your love just went sour.”
The wolf whimpered as he closed the door, now having the feeling that he was letting the alicorn down, let alone the audience. He shakingly walked over to a table by the fireplace, glad that there was a pitcher of iced tea and a couple of glasses set there. He poured himself a glass before drinking the whole thing in a few gulps, trying to ease his nerves before he continued.
Admittedly, one glass wasn’t enough, but he had just enough tea left for a second.
As he finished the pitcher, he took a deep breath as he regained his nerves. “Well… It was interesting being in her mind for a while… but I could use a quick break.”
As soon as he sat down, he heard a pony knocking at the door. “Oh… I didn’t expect anypony here so soon.” He said, too tired to put any shock into that line. “Come in.”
He felt relieved as Twilight came in, namely since she seemed to be one of the better actresses here. “Hello Doc, um, am I bothering you right now?”
“No. I am actually quite refreshed.” He said as he took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. “You seemed rather stressed though. May I offer you some t… tea?” He asked as he realized that he was looking at an empty pitcher.
“That would be nice Doc. I am just starting to get worried about this whole situation.” She said as she laid down on the couch, trying to be dramatic like Rarity while Doc was frantically looking for something to fill the pitchers with.
“I… uh… always say that a good cup of tea… can calm anybody down…” He said nervously before seeing a vase near the desk with some flowers and water. The wolf winced as he took the vase and started pouring the dirty water into the glasses. “I hope you don’t mind having iced tea. I didn’t get the chance to make a fresh kettle.” He said as he walked over to the alicorn with the muddy water.
“Trust me, I don’t mind,” She assured him obliviously, not noticing its contents until she took a large drink of the mixture, spitting it out in shock as she realized that this was essentially dirt and water. “Oh… that’s some good stuff… How do you get such flavors?”
“It’s… just the matter of having the right ground herbs,” He said, looking rather embarrassed about this. “Would you like another glass…”
“NO! I mean, no thank you.” She said as she set her own glass aside, trying to get back in character. “I am just worried about my friends right now.”
“Really? Well, why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind while I… finish my glass.” He said in dismay as he realized that he’d not only have to drink the muddy water but an entire glass’s worth.
“It’s just that…” Twilight froze as she saw the wolf nervously raise the glass to his lips, closing his eyes as he started to drink the muddy water. Dr. Wolf’s grimacing face showed his clear pain and disgust as he steadily drank the entire pony-sized glass. She stared at this feat in shock, knowing how nasty this drink was. “I… I’m worried if the others are having problems with each other.”
“Oh.” He wheezed out as he tried to continue with his lines. “That sounds tough for anybody to swallow.”
She tried to hold back her own giggles as she had to act stressed out. “W… well… why else would they insist on talking with you so soon?”
He coughed a few times as he slowly found his voice. “Every pony has their reasons, but admittedly this was something you all agreed about doing. I think that this may just be a fear of the unknown right now.”
She nodded as she started pacing around the room. “I know, but what are they needing your wisdom for?”
“You know that I cannot tell you that.”
“So how can I tell that my friends won’t come bursting in as groups and start complaining about each other?” She asked in exasperation as she stopped next to the doorway.
*Slam!!!*
Kirouac and Skies both burst into the room, slamming the door open.
Right into Twilight’s head.
“Hello doctor, are we disturbing…”
*Thud!!!*
The princess fell onto the floor, being knocked out cold from the blow she received from the two strong ponies. Everybody on stage was frozen in place at the sight of the unconscious princess. The king and speedster were both wondering which one of them was to blame, and how this was going to affect their future. They did not want to visit the local prison anytime soon, let alone the moon. Doc was now wishing that he did know first aid, like other doctors.
Skies gulped before finally speaking up. “H… Hello doctor. Are we disturbing you?”
The next line should have been Twilight’s, but she wasn’t awake to deliver it.
Kirouac took a deep breath as he decided to continue. “Sorry Twilight. We didn’t see you there.”
“...”
Doc still looked dazed by Twilight’s blow, but after he took a moment to pause, he managed to continue with his own lines. “Twilight… Please, lower your voice.” He said, almost tearfully.
“...”
“Twilight, please slow down. We’re okay with waiting.” Skies “replied”, still looking down at Twilight.
“...”
“Oh… I’m sorry if we hurt you.” Kirouac said as he started to hope that this won’t harm his nation’s relationship with Equestria.
“...”
“Twilight? Where are you going?” Skies asked the unconscious pony as he stepped aside.
“...”
Doc closed his eyes in fear as he reached a paw forward as if he was beaconing to somepony. “Please… come back.”
“...”
Skies sighed as all of the men faced each other. “She’s gone.”
They all slowly walked over to the couch and chair, trying to pretend that what just happened didn’t, and praying that Twilight would wake up soon. “I’m sorry Doctor. We didn’t mean to force Twilight out of the room.” Kirouac admitted as he sat down.
“Oh… it’s alright.” Doc said as he wiped his forehead. “I think she needs some time to herself to rest.” He said, trying not to think about the unconscious alicorn on the floor. “So, what brings both of you here?”
“Well, Fluttershy and I were talking about how we communicate, and wanted your thoughts on it.” Skies explained with a sheepish look.
“Ah, well…” Doc paused as he saw Light poking his head through the curtains, looking at the princess’s body in shock before ducking back. “I guess I could give my own thoughts.”
“Thank you. You see, we both are polar opposites with how we talk, and we keep talking about what makes a solid…” Kirouac’s talk was stopped as they all noticed a green glow coming from Twilight’s tail.
The actors assumed that this was Light’s way of trying to get Twilight off of the stage without being noticed. Well, there were a few small problems with this. One was that he wasn’t the best magic user, not understanding the full scopes of his magic. Usually this resulted in the spells just not having any effect.
However, he was able to use telekinesis. He just wasn’t skilled enough to lift an entire alicorn without looking.
Speaking of which, problem number two.
“Um… well, I guess everything needs to have a certain balance…” Doc started to say before he saw Twilight’s body slowly scooting into the couch. “Um… one needs to make sure that one… doesn’t get in the way of… other people's opinions.”
Skies nodded as he watched the alicorn bump into his seat a few times. “Um… yeah… but… it’s hard to resist getting LEFT out of a conversation.” He raised his voice, trying to give Light a hint of where to go.
“True, but…” Kirouac’s thought was cut off as he saw that Twilight was being dragged the wrong way. “But you must consider the OTHER WAY people may be thinking.”
“Um… yes. But there are basic considerations one should give no matter how you display yourself. You shouldn’t…” Before Doc could finish, he felt his chair being dragged as Twilight’s wing snagged one of the legs. “You… shouldn’t get caught up on little things…” He said quickly as he tried to keep from falling over.
Kirouac’s eyes widened as he quickly reached over and grabbed the arm of Doc’s seat. “I know, but it’s hard not to want the little details.”
“True, but I feel like it’ll drag the conversation down when you focus on the small details.” Skies added as he tried to subtly kick the wing out of the way.
If only he didn’t have to slouch so low that his head was resting on the seat cushion to do so.
As Twilight finally got free, Kirouac pulled Doc’s chair back into place as the wolf started to speak again. “It’s not bad to look into some details, but it’s also a matter of knowing how far to pry into… things.” Doc trailed out as he saw that the half breed’s claws were stuck in the arm of his chair.
He started yanking his arm back as he tried to get free. “I guess my… experience… gives me an understanding… of when to… break off…”
*SNAP*
Kirouac froze as he looked at the broken piece of wood, still stuck in his claws. “The… conversation.”
Skies nodded as he looked at the king’s claws before scooting away from him. “Well, I just try to make sure that whomever I talk to doesn’t feel uncomfortable.”
Doc nodded as he scooted away from the broken arm of his chair. “Well, I think that no matter how you speak, common courtesy should be held up well. Just simple things like…”
*Thunk*
Doc paused as he heard Twilight’s body hitting the wall under the window behind him. “Um... paying attention,”
*Thunk*
“Being mindful of others,”
*Thunk*
“Not interrupting,”
*Thunk*
“And picking your words carefully.”
“For Celestia’s sake!” Light’s voice blurted out of frustration as he was struggling to lift the alicorn through the window without looking.
“Well… you certainly have quite the grasp on the topic.” Kirouac said as he was picking the wood out of his claws, catching a glimpse of two yellow hooves reaching out of the bottom of the curtains to grab Twilight’s unconscious body.
“Yeah… may I… get you a drink?” Skies tried to ad lib as one alicorn was trying to lift the other, realizing how hard it is to lift an unconscious body while reaching over a windowsill.
“Oh… that would be perfect, thank you.” Doc said, hoping it would draw attention from the princess’s body being yanked, not making it out of sight as Light struggled to get a good grip on her body.
Before Skies could make any distance, the door opened to reveal Quillian walking in. “You were supposed to open the curtains to let some sunlight in. Why can’t you follow simple instructions?”
“NONONONONO!!!” All three actors yelled before he opened the curtains with his magic, revealing Light’s shocked expression as he was holding Twilight’s limp body by the right wing and hoof.
The alicorn and the unicorn stared at each other for a moment as Light’s shock turned into rage, gritting his teeth as Quillian looked at him without any expression.
“So… is that how you pick up all of your dates?”
Light’s eyes widened as he barked at the monotone pony. “GET OFF OF THE STAGE!”
“I figured it’d make this mess look better.”
“GO!”
“I told you to leave this bit out of the play. It just doesn’t have as much…”
Before Quill could finish, Light used his magic to grab him and chuck him through the door out of a fit of rage. As he used his magic to close the door, he heard Quill give the last word. “Where was that a minute ago?”
The alicorn took a deep breath as he went back to trying to lift Twilight by hoof as Golden came over behind him to help him. Doc wondered why Light didn’t go all in with lifting her with his magic, but with the stress he was under, it may be safer for them to carry her.
As two of the guys were trying to get her limp alicorn body through the window, the other three actors tried to speak up to cover the commotion.
“SO MY ADVICE IS…” “HELP ME PULL HER!” “WHY, DOCTOR, I CAN SEE WHY…” “HOW DO YOU WORK AROUND THE…” “BUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT PIZZA…” “PULL! NOT PUSH! LISTEN!” “BUT WHAT IF I’M NOT LISTENING?” "WELL, FIRST YOU HAVE TO STAY CALM.” “THE WING’S IN MY EYE!” “I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN.” “DON’T DROP HER!” “AND IT AFFECTED MY…” “GENTLY!” “AND YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BREAK IT GENTLY!” “CARRY HER OFF!” “AHH!” *Thud* “MY BACK!” “AH… GIVE ME A SEC!” “SO I GUESS WE ARE THE SAME!”
As soon as Kirouac finished that last line, Light closed the curtains like a shot. After the audience applauded the chaos for a moment, Doc took a shaky breath as he looked at Kirouac. “Glad I could make what I was saying clear."
As the group tried to recover from this incident, Skies cleared his throat as he tried to keep things moving. “So, I hope this doesn’t seem like prying, but do you think Twilight’s doing alright?”
“Well… I think she feels like she’s being pulled around…” Doc winced at the unintentional quip he just made. “But I think she may need some support right now.”
“Yeah, she did seem exhausted, but we’ll do our best to carry her,” Kirouac said, unable to hold back a small chuckle at the lines he just said.
He sighed softly as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Thank you, and I’ll try to help her through her personal struggles.”
“Thank you doc. I think we had better go help with the preparations.” Skies said as he got up to leave.
“Yes. I’m afraid of what pains Twilight’s feeling right now.” Kirouac said as he followed suit.
As the two strong stallions left the room, Doc slumped into his chair, finding this whole ordeal exhausting. Having the princess of friendship unconscious with a concussion didn’t help. He took a shaky breath as he was nearing the end of act one. “Oh, dear… I hope Twilight is alright.” He said as he was waiting for a knock at the door.
…
Well, there weren’t any for several seconds.
He got more anxious as he called out a little louder. “Oh, dear! I hope Twilight is alright.”
…
“OH, DEAR! I HOPE TWILIGHT IS ALRIGHT!” Doc called out louder, now starting to fear that they forgot about the next part.
“Get the door!”
Doc nearly jumped as Elytra opened the door, not in character or anything.
“No! Knock! And you’re supposed to be Spike!” Light called out as the door was magically closed.
Doc watched in shock and confusion before there was finally a knock on the door. “Come in.” He said as he realized that this play was far from over.
The door opened just as the last green flames came off of her, revealing that the changeling was now taking the form of Spike…
If Spike was a pony.
Dr. Wolf winced as he tried to keep in character. “Oh… hello Spike… How may I help you?”
“Hey, I have something for you.”
How in the world did she think that he sounded like the terminator?
“Ah… may I ask what it is?”
“It’s a letter from Celestia, and it sounds urgent.”
“May I please have it?” He asked as he realized that she had forgotten it.
She looked at her hooves nervously before shaking her head. “No.” As soon as she said it, someone tossed the scroll at her, which she quickly picked off of the floor. “Yes.”
“Thank you, Spike,” He said with a small gulp before taking the scroll. “Would you like a snack before you leave?”
Her eyes widened as she got a big smile on her face. “Would I?!?”
“The line is no.” Quill’s monotone voice could be heard from backstage.
“But I’m hungry!” She whined like a four year old, making Doc facepalmed with a sigh.
“Some other time perhaps.” He groaned out. “By the way, how is Twilight doing?”
“Oh, Quill bandaged her head, but she has a huge bruise that will need a lot more than…” Before she could finish, Light ran up to her and whispered into her ear frantically. “OH… a little stressed, but she is resting.”
“I see. Well, I guess I had better let you get back to whatever you’re doing.” He said with a smile. “I hope I see you again soon.”
“But I thought Spike wasn’t in the rest of the play?” She asked in confusion before Light started to gently pull her off stage. “But I’m still hungry!”
Doc quickly closed the door with an exasperated sigh. “Oh dear… a letter from Celestia. I am glad that I can read this in privacy.”
As soon as he said that, the nails holding up the curtains came free, allowing them to fall to the ground. Everybody laughed as they saw Golden struggling to move a few boxes. The pegasi froze as he saw the people, but then he cluelessly smiled and waved at the crowd, even bowing to the princesses.
Kirouac and Skies ran to him as they pulled him and the boxes away before Light ran over and grabbed the broken curtains, pulling them away as they all ran out of sight.
Doc whimpered as he opened the scroll. “Let’s see…
Dr Frog, scene one.
Have you seen these case reports? They are ribbiting…”
He froze in place as he realized that this was most likely the wrong scroll. As he tried to figure out what to do, Quill poked his head around the corner and offered him the actual scroll. “Here. Try this one. It’s a better read.”
Doc looked humiliated as he walked over and took the scroll. As he tried to open it, he found that they must have used some high strength wax, because he couldn’t break the seal. He grunted in frustration as he tried to pull the thing apart, but to no avail. He finally gave up as he decided to read the seal. “Dear Doc, um… worried about Twilight… Yada Yada Yada… Princess Celestia.” He said in shame, sounding uncertain as this was the only line he hadn’t memorized.
He took a few breaths as he walked over to his desk. “Well, I had better check my schedule if Celestia’s letter is true.” He said as sat down in front of him. “Let me get out my… book…”
He closed his eyes out of regret as he remembered that he already tossed the book in place of a letter. He slowly looked around before he looked at the vase he poured the water out of, and quickly grabbed it and poked his head into the tip of it. “Ah… I have a couple of appointments, but since the party is inside, I think I can talk them into some private time for me to handle my patients.” He said before moving to the couch.
“My only hope Is that I will be able to put Celestia’s worries at ease.”
As soon as he sat down, the section of the stage right behind him seemed to lean forward, either from someone leaning against it or poor craftsmanship.
All honesty, it was probably a mix of both.
As the wall smashed to the ground, Doc yelped as he ducked in fear. Luckily he was positioned under the window, which left him completely unscathed. As he slowly turned around, he saw most of the cast staring at the crowd in shock, none looking more stressed than Light.
The alicorn quickly turned to Derpy before yelling at her.
As the curtains closed, the cast quickly ran over to help Doc, moving the now broken props out of the way.
“Doc! Are you okay?” Kirouac asked as he started to lift the wall back up with Skies.
“I… I think so.” He said, hugging himself as he tried to calm down after that near miss. “H… how’s Twilight?”
“Sleeping like a baby.” Quill explained with no emotion whatsoever. “Thanks to the two brutes over there.”
“Hey! We had no clue she was over there! Lay off!” Kirouac scolded the monotone pony, looking frustrated at how little he seemed to care.
“Of course, your highness.”
“The crown is off. I don’t need to be at my best to cut the fat with you and your wise cracks.”
The monotone pony held up his hooves before anypony else could address him. “Hey, I’m not the one who poorly organized this play.”
“Cut it out, Quill!” Skies barked out, starting to get seriously irritated by him.
Before an argument could break out, Golden Flare cleared his throat. “Um… now may be a bad time to ask, but do you think Twilight will be back for the second act?” He asked nervously, looking worried about whether she'd be okay with continuing.
Quill shrugged before looking towards the two stronger stallions. “I highly doubt she’ll wake up before the show ends. So now we’re down an actor down, and even with the stage partially taken down, there is no way that we can carry on without covering her role. So, I suggest we start cleaning this mess while Light practices his apology speech.” He said as he turned to the alicorn, who looked stunned by how this was essentially the perfect storm of catastrophes.
As everybody had their eyes on Light, Shubberry tugged at Light’s wing, drawing his attention to the two worried fillies. “Mr Heart? Are you really going to stop the play?” Linda asked, looking worried at the idea that their hard work had gone to waste.
He looked nervous for a minute, making the others worry about if he was going to break, especially Doc. He knew more than the others the mental toil how so many failures could make a pony fall apart, even Twilight herself.
However, he seemed to swallow his anxiety for a moment as he put on the most forced smile any of them had ever seen. “No. We’re not done yet.”
The group all looked at each other as the more skeptical ones spoke up. “Light, your stage fell apart…”
Light held up a hoof before Elytra could continue. “No problem whatsoever. We are shifting to the party set. We don’t have to worry about the props that have broken. Let’s move quickly and get the next set ready while Quill and I handle the Twilight situation.”
Doc cleared his throat as he walked over the rubble to talk to him. “Light, are you really sure that this is the wisest option?”
He could easily see that Light’s hooves were shaking, and his keen ears could hear his heavy breathing as he was doing everything he could to try and stay standing. “Yeah, Doc. The show must go on.” Light said as he grabbed Quill’s tail walked further backstage to talk.
Dr Wolf turned around to the rest of the group, who all looked nervous, but still willing to go on for now. The canine could only sigh as he gave a small shrug. “Well, things can’t get any…”
“DON’T SAY IT!!!” Everybody barked out at the same time.
As Light dragged Quill to where they would normally get dressed, he just rolled his eyes at the alicorn’s naive nature. “Look Light, I don’t know what’s going through that head of yours, but unless Twilight has a twin sister, we aren’t pulling this off. Also, don’t even think about asking Starlight. In my mind, she doesn’t count.”
He gave a frustrated sigh as he started looking through some of the large cans they had lying around. “Tell me, what do normal theaters do?”
“Hire professionals. Plan things thoroughly. Quit while they’re ahead. All options for a pony in your...”
“They have understudies to take over if something happens to the other actor.” He said sternly as he got out a large can of purple fur dye out.
Quill showed no sign of emotion in his voice, and yet Light felt like he was being belittled by the unicorn. “Light, if you were smart enough to get one, then you’d be covered. However, I believe that the current state of this play reflects your leadership skills and intellect. Now, where are we going to get another Twilight?”
“Well, luckily we have a pony who knows everything about acting and constantly boasts a perfect memory.” He said as a cruel grin came over his face.
“First of all, it’s photographic. I never used other words to describe it in front of you. Second, you know that I am a lousy actor. Something about my emotions.”
“It’s your lack of it.” Light explained as he started walking towards him with gritted teeth. “Now you have the chance to pretend to play someone who actually has emotions.”
The thought of a lack of wings came into Quill’s head as an easy out, but he already knew that Light would cover that quickly. “Light, I did a lot to help you with your struggling play, but this…”
“QUILL!!! All you have done is point out every flaw in my play, my cast, my timetable, let alone causing problems by not showing Derpy how the soundboard works…”
“At least I did it right.”
Light stomped his hoof as he backed him into a wall. “Now you’re going to help me do something constructive for once! Now, either you can put the fur dye on, or I’ll dump this bucket on your head and throw you on stage. Make your choice.” He said sternly as he held up the bucket.
Quillian kept staring at him for a few minutes, holding the best poker face in the world as he was looking at an angry alicorn. After a moment of holding that stare, he slowly took the can from Light’s hooves. “Welp, the play is already a bust. Might as well join the others in the chaos.”
As everypony was taking their seats, waiting for the intermission to end, they saw Light walking on stage, under the right spotlight this time. Too bad Derpy turned on the left one.
“Awe, come on!”
Everybody giggled at how the acoustics of this place could let them hear his frustrated muttering as he got to the light.
“Ahem. Ladies and Gentlecolts. Welcome back to act two of tonight’s play, Dr Wolf, A Helping Paw. I assume that most of you have returned given the fact that this is an outdoor theater and the next train doesn’t leave for two hours.
Now, some of you may have noticed a few small slip ups in our play, however, I can assure you that these small errors will not affect the rest of the play… kinda. Our leading mare, Twilight Sparkle, has been unexpectedly indisposed for the time being. Luckily, we have an understudy who has taken her role for the time being until she can hopefully rejoin us.”
Before he could go any further, Doc poked his head out of the curtains. “Give us an extra minute. We’re running behind.” He said quickly before poking his head back in.
“Oh, um... I would also like to point out that these little errors are common in many plays… including ours. Like in one of our early plays, Journey to the Center of the Earth, when a certain unnamed pony ended up packing his bags for the trip. Then there is our Nightmare Night production of the Mummy, which was interpreted as an hour-long lecture about childcare.”
As Light was trying to ignore the crowd’s laughter, Derpy ran up to him with a worried look. “Um, sorry for interrupting, but I tripped over the cables for the wire rig and the soundboard, and I don’t know how to plug them back in.”
“What? That this is a prototype! You know that they will…” Before he could finish, he remembered that a lot of people were still watching him. “Um… we’ll have this small error fixed quickly… Derpy, keep them company.” He ordered before running to the soundboard.
The walleyed mare froze in shock before turning to the audience. “Um. Hi… I want to thank the ponies who let me try being a sound-mare, namely all of the people who passed it up so I could offer, like Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Bon Bon, Lyra, Luna, Gary, Angel bunny…”
“Derpy…”
The mare yelped as she turned and saw Kirouac walking up to her. “Oh… your highness…”
“You’ve been doing a great job, but we found a loose bolt and were wondering if you could look over the wire rig for Schuberry? I figured since you worked with it before you’d be able to tell.”
“Oh… um… I’m not an expert, but I can try my best.” Derpy agreed before looking at the audience. “Um… may you…”
“Of course. I’ll handle the stage for a while.” He agreed with a nod, making the mare blush a little before she ran off. The king cleared his throat as he addressed the people with a smile. “Greetings everybody. I am Kirouac, the currently off-duty king of MoonRacer. You know, I have never done anything like this before, but it’s not as hard as I thought it would be.
I would like to also mention that the Twilight incident was an accident, and I have already prepared my apology… for whenever she wakes up.” The king explained as he was trying to think of something to say, not wanting to bore them with a speech or anything like that. “Um… three ponies walk into a bar…”
Before he could finish, Linda gently tugged at his wing. “Excuse me, but Golden needs your help with hanging some of the metal lanterns.”
“I thought we were using paper ones?”
“You burned them after a sneeze, remember?”
Kirouac blushed as he remembered the drawback of him being half dragon. He gave a small smile as he waved off the crowd. “It’s alright, it’s not allergy season… and I take pills for that.” He explained before turning to the kid. “Um, where is Golden right now?”
“Under the lanterns, trying to get them off of him.”
“Ah, he needs to work out.” he admitted before starting to walk off the stage. “I’ll leave the audience in your capable hooves.”
“Whose?” She asked in confusion before realizing that she was alone on stage. “Oh… hi… um… Doc’s pretty nice, isn’t he?” She asked, getting a few cheers as she tried to think about what to do. “So… um… how about that Babylonian Tupperware?”
As she was struggling to find something to talk about, she noticed Schuberry coming on stage, dragging an electric keyboard from backstage.
“Oh! Hey! What’s…” She paused as she saw the other child beginning to play her music.
The mute girl went with a more upbeat melody, doing her own variation of the classic Entertainer. Linda had a hard time telling what she was thinking at the moment, but the slight grin on her face suggested a bit of a mischievous intent, playing off of the atmosphere that was unintentionally set.
Linda looked amazed as she sat down next to her. “Wow… that’s amazing! Although I never saw these buttons before…” She admitted as she gently pressed one,
Queuing the chaos.
In a split second, the classic piano music changed to synthesizer music. The mute child’s eyes widened as she kept playing, trying to understand the new music style. As she started to play with a more upbeat rhythm, Elytra appeared on stage, having somehow found a mariachi costume backstage, along with a pair of maracas as she started dancing her heart out and singing with the music.
“They call me Cuban Pete. I'm the king of the rumba beat. When I play the maracas I go chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky…”
*Squeeeeeee…*
*Boom*
Both girls were taken aback as they saw Elytra surrounded in a bright gold glow before being dragged off stage magically, slamming into some dusty old boxes before Kirouac took stage again, coughing a bit as he helped switch the keyboard back to piano mode.
The dragon hybrid sneezed out a burst of flames, lighting the piano on fire as the two kids started panicking at the sight. Linda instantly ran off stage while Schuberry started trying to pat the fire out.
In spite of the chaos and panic from the others, the audience did believe that this was the best cover of ‘Great balls of fire’ that they had ever heard someone play.
As Kirouac was trying to think about what to do to help with the fire, Golden ran out with a fire extinguisher. “I’ve got it!” He yelled as he started slamming the tank into the keyboard, breaking it into several small pieces while somehow also putting out the flames. As the Schuberry was looking at the broken instrument in front of her, he simply tossed the extinguisher aside. “Wow… who knew that plastic was that flammable?”
Kirouac nodded as he picked up the remains of the keyboard and turned to Vinyl, who owned said equipment. “Um… I’ll get you a new one… once I find a way to trade for it.” He assured her, for once regretting ruling a nation with no currency. “Um… come on Schuberry. Let’s get you hooked up to the wire rig. Golden, mind talking with the audience?”
“Of course.” He agreed as he sat down on the stage, saying absolutely nothing as he stared at the audience with a blank expression.
He kept silent for a minute before Skies came on stage. “Dude, why aren’t you talking to them?”
Golden looked at him obliviously before shrugging. “I don’t know.”
“Why do you keep doing this?”
He thought for a minute before shrugging again. “Instinct. And I love plot twists.”
Skies gave a long sigh as he tried to get him off stage. “Just go… er… don’t go backstage and help the others?”
He nodded before getting up and leaving the stage, causing the speedster to give a long sigh before noticing the audience. “Oh… hey… um… What should I do?” He asked, looking for a little help with this.
“Do a stunt!” Dash’s voice called out.
“With the curtains down? I don’t have room for it.” Skies explained as he bit his lip. “Which leaves my day job, which won’t work out. Then there is either the unicycle trick with the marshmallow and the flaming torches… but we have no marshmallows. So that leaves burping the ABCs.” He said, looking bashful about the last talent that came to mind. ”I wonder if all the stars started that way…”
“Don’t do it!” Light yelped as he ran back on stage frantically.
“But it’d be entertaining.”
“To some of us, someplace else. Just get backstage. We’re ready to get going.”
“But what about the lanterns?”
“They’re set up. Just go!” The alicorn yelped as he shooed him off stage. As he turned to the audience, he wiped the sweat off of his forehead, praying that he bought them enough time. “Well, I think we should get back to the play. Now, put your hooves together for act two of Dr Wolf, A Helping Hoof… I mean Paw!”
The crowd was applauding loudly as they saw the curtains open, only to start laughing as they saw the lights turn on, revealing the cast frantically trying to finish placing the last touches on the stage before they stopped instantly as they looked at the crowd in shock. Derpy took this as a hint to shut off the lights once more as the group frantically worked on finishing, whispering loudly as they could.
As the lights switched on once more, the crowd could see Dr Wolf and Linda were both standing on stage, now ready to start acting.
“Wow Ms Pinkie, I…”
SLAM!!!
He yelped as all of the hanging streamers and ribbons fell to the ground, the hooks that were once holding them being bent out of place due to the weight problems caused by the replacement lanterns.
The two actors were speechless as Skies darted across the stage and snatched up the loose props and took them backstage.
Doc gulped before speaking. “Wow Ms Pinkie, I didn’t think that you’d all have it done in time.”
“Well, I am a party planner expert.” She said with a small stutter before pointing at the bare rafters. “Do you like the ribbons?”
He nodded as he looked at the bare rafters. “Yes… they look rather lovely, and functional too.”
“It was Dash’s idea. She figured the ribbons would be strong enough to hold the lights.”
“I see. Well, if the others think they are strong enough, I can see it working out.” He said, scratching his head awkwardly. “So, I must warn you that I will have a few appointments here before the party, and I will need some alone time with them.”
“Okay, but you will have to talk to Twilight about this.” She said as they turned to the door, hoping that Twilight would have made a miracle recovery.
There was no miracle.
All that showed up was Quillian, now having most of his body coated in the purple fur dye and wearing two cardboard wings. He kept his uninterested gaze on Doc as he spoke in his casual monotone voice. “Hi Doctor. Are things set up here?”
“I think that your friends have everything well covered here, so I think you can try to relax some now.” He said as he and Linda were both staring at the monotone pony, wondering how he became their last resort.
“Oh, thank Celestia. I can’t express enough how much this makes me feel better.” He said, sounding so monotone that it sounded sarcastic in its delivery.
Doc gulped as he started to hope that this makes him more sympathetic about the others struggles with acting. Then again, he wasn’t the most understanding of people. “The look on your face tells me everything.” He said as he tried to stay on script, now feeling that their acting performance wasn’t going to improve. “So, would you like to sit and talk for a while?”
“I’m sorry Doctor, but I still have several dozen things to make sure are sorted out before Celestia shows up, which will only be in a few hours… Light, it shouldn’t take that long! Act two barely takes an hour.” He said as he turned to the backstage.
Doc quickly cleared his throat before Linda said her lines. “Are you sure Twilight? You seem to be working up a sweat.”
As soon as she said that, the door cracked open as a squirt gun peeked out and squirted some water onto his head, causing the fur dye to start washing off.
“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine.” He said, keeping his emotionless face as the dye dripped down his face. “I’ll see you two later.” He said as he walked off the stage, pausing for a second before looking at Linda. “And you are forgetting to bounce around.” He pointed out before Light yanked him off stage.
Doc gave a small sigh as he tried to ignore what he saw. “So, did Twilight look a little stressed to you?”
“Yeah, I think it was written all over her face.” She said as she started bouncing around again, trying not to lose her balance.
“I wish she would open up to me more about this…” Before he could finish, he saw her starting to stumble towards the edge of the stage. The wolf quickly jumped up and grabbed her wing, pulling with all of his might as she was leaning over the edge on the stage. Her eyes widened in fear of falling before she was pulled back, landing right on top of the wolf. “...pressure she’s under.” He gave a long wheeze as he tried to go through his lines.
“Same. By the way, do you think this place is big enough for a fun party?” She asked as she carefully got off of the wolf.
“ Arg… I’m sure we’ll manage.”
“Okie dokie.” She said happily as she started trying to make her way off stage. “I hope your patients are going to be all… WOAH!!!”
He winced as she tripped, falling into the backstage area. He turned to the audience as he tried to keep going. “Ah, yes. I still have to handle my next case. Well, I’m sure that we can work through this together…”
The wolf froze like a deer in the headlights as he suddenly remembered a major flaw that was left unaddressed. Light assigned all of the minor roles to Elytra.
All of them.
Before he could fully allow the mistake that was about to unfold to sink in, he watched as Elytra walked in. To his relief, she looked exactly like Vinyl Scratch. Body shape, mane, cutie mark, almost everything. The only error he saw was that her eyes were blue instead of red.
Wait… she wasn’t wearing shades…
And Octavia was supposed to come on stage first…
Unless…
Oh no…
“Greetings Doctor. Has Vinyl shown up yet?”
Dr Wolf gave an exasperated whimper as he heard those words leave her mouth. “N… not yet Ms Melody. Although I’m sure that we will see her face soon.”
“Fair enough, however, I wish she would show up on time.” She said as she sat down in front of him.
“Just give her a little time.” He said before turning to the area off stage. “Ah, I think that’s her now…”
Elytra stared blankly at the end of the stage for a moment before she remembered the other role she was playing. She quickly jumped up and ran off stage, causing the wolf to lower his head out of shame and stress. He wasn’t comforted as he saw the green flash of Elytra’s magic, followed by her walking on stage, looking the spitting image of Octavia.
Well, save for the shades she was wearing.
“What’s up? The party mare is in the house!”
Doc winced as he realized how it would look like if two mares swapped bodies, or personalities. “Good evening Vinyl. We’ve both been expecting you. Would you like to have a seat next to… Octavia?”
Now, the first thing that was missing from this scene was Octavia. That was obvious enough. Although if you were in the audience, you’d have noticed that there weren’t any seats either. The two actors looked at each other before sitting on the ground, looking rather nervous about the choice they have made.
“Well, this isn’t as comfortable as the couch in your office. Am I right, Tavy?” She asked as she looked at her right for a second before remembering that she had both roles. She quickly took off the shades and changed back into Vynal’s body.
“He’s working with what he has. It’s not his fault that he’s not in his own office.”
He sighed at this creative choice of her’s, wondering if this would result in him getting them mixed up next session. “Nonetheless, I figure that it’d be wise to get this started before the others are scheduled to get back here. So, why don’t we get started?”
“I’ve just been dealing with a lot of stress lately…”
“No you aren’t. Sigh… We are past that.”
“Um, it’s hard to be successful in the fashion…”
“Nope, but closer.”
“... My dear and faithful student?”
“Not yet! Roommate.” He clarified as he gestured next to her, before remembering that she was playing both of them.
“Oh… Now I remember.” Elytra said as she looked to her left. “My roommate is so noisy.”
He looked at her expectantly as he was waiting for her to continue. “So… why don’t we talk about it?”
“Well, we don’t remember much more than that, don’t we, Vinyl?”
“That’s right Tavy.”
He winced as soon as he heard that. “A… are you sure?”
“Not at all.”
“Nope.”
He gave an exasperated sigh, trying to figure out what was more frustrating at the moment. Elytra forgetting her lines, or swapping between Vinyl and Octavia. “Well… we need to talk about something.” Doc said, trying to at least try to pull something off here.
“Can I eat? I’m so hungry that I could eat an elephant.”
“A little something to settle the stomach would be nice”
Doc looked confused as he tried to figure out where this was in the script. “Um… the cake is for the party…”
“Doc, that’s not what we are talking about. We want to taste the love… but in the changeling way, not the other way.”
“Please forgive her improper phrasing, but she isn’t far off.”
He sighed as he rubbed the ridge of his nose, which was getting sore at this point. “Is it alright if I ask why you eat so much?”
“Because we’re hungry. That happens over time like everypony else, man.”
“And to try and put it gently, we don’t have many ways to eat anymore.”
“Yeah, love doesn’t grow on trees.”
“Well, there is always the reformation project.” He reminded the changeling. “Have you ever considered it as a better way of obtaining love?”
Before she could respond to the wolf, Quill walked on stage. “That wasn’t in the script. Why is it so hard to…”
“GET OFF THE STAGE NOW!!!”
Doc’s eyes widened as he heard Light scream at the stage-hand before he literally stormed on stage to grab him.
“That’s no way of talking to a princess.” Quill said before he was suddenly picked up by the alicorn.
“Shut up! You can stick to the script when it’s your turn!” He barked angrily as he started carrying him off of the stage.
“Why? Nopony else has. Not even the doctor.”
“TAKE IT TO SOMEPONY WHO CARES!!!”
“Like the audience, which includes royalty, celebrities, critics, your little brother who is laughing like a banshee, the…”
“SHUT UP!!!”
Doc winced at Light’s scream as he stormed off stage, leaving him and Elytra there, both looking rather shocked by this.
“Um… why is the teddy bear alicorn screaming at a princess? That is just totally uncool.”
“Yeah. I hate to be a gossip, but that doesn’t sound like either one of them.”
He rubbed the ridge of his nose, admittedly impressed that Elytra is staying in character.
Well, characters.
“I think I need to look into fitting him into tomorrow’s schedule.” He admitted with a sigh, glad that nopony was taking anything they were saying seriously. “But let’s focus on you. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Well, frankly, I don’t understand why so many people are just okay with all of the hugs and stuff like that. It’s uncool man. I love a rave like every other party mare, but I want people to respect my personal space.”
“Yeah, I mean, not all of us want to spend an hour just hugging some random stranger. Some of us have standards and preferences.”
“Ah… I think I see what you are talking about.” He said as he started to relax, surprised about how he was able to get away with public therapy sessions. “Physical touch isn’t your preferred love language.”
“My what now?”
“I thought it was french?”
“No. The love languages are forms of expression that people use to show affection, and I’m not just talking about couples. These languages apply to friends, family, and other people in general. These languages are Words of affirmation, Acts of service, Receiving gifts, Quality time, and physical touch.”
“Oooh…”
“I don’t get it.”
“Well, the main way I tend to express to others is with words of affirmation, being able to talk to ponies to be able to give them comfort or encouragement. I listen to ponies and try to give them the encouragement and assurance needed for them to improve. Acts of service imply helping people with certain tasks, like helping your parents clean the dishes or take out the trash. Tasks like this can apply to friendship, like helping them with something around the house, or even a loved one with making dinner for them.
Then we have receiving gifts, which is the process of giving and receiving items of sentiment. Such items can range from flowers to jewelry for lovers, or toys and clothes for family and loved ones. I’d suggest looking into their interests, needs, and personal preferences before picking out a gift for them.
Quality time is spending personal time with the people you care about. It could be a walk on a trail, a movie, or just sitting with them and having a conversation. Spending time out of your day for somebody else can show them how much you care. What you care about most can be shown by how much time and money you invest in it, or them.
Then there is the one that Thorax seems to be the most familiar with, physical touch. The act of hugging, petting somebody back, or other physical ways to show assurance, comfort, or simple care.
Love isn’t a simple thing that only comes between husband and wife. It’s a wide spectrum of people, ranging from friends to family, and conveyed through a wide array of actions. The most important thing to remember is that love is a two way street. In order to fully receive the love and care of others is to give it in return.”
As Doc finished his lecture, he was shocked to hear the crowd applauding him, reminding him that he was still on a stage. However, he did feel a little better about some people possibly taking this to heart.
As the crowd started to quiet down, Elytra licked her lips at the wave of love that came in for that speech. “Wow… that was awesome!” She said, wondering what it would be like at the end of the place before she shifted back into Vynal’s body.
“Do you think you can kindly get them all to applaud again?”
“Yeah, we’re still hungry.”
And there was the laughter again.
Doc sighed as he knew this talk would take a considerable amount of time to help her understand this fully. “We’ll talk about this more later.”
“Why?”
“Was there a third act that we didn’t know about?”
“It’s going to be a long play if so.”
“I’ll have to rosin my bow.”
The poor wolf shook his head as he looked at the clock on stage. “I guess I shall be seeing you two tomorrow.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Because…”
“Just get off stage please.” He pleaded with a long sigh.
The changeling took the hint as she slowly walked off stage, but she stopped right before she was out of sight. “Are you sure that I can’t have a little…”
Before she could finish, she found herself snatched off stage by the stressed out alicorn, much to the doctor’s dismay.
“Ah… I think those two are going to get along just fine.” He said as he wiped off his forehead with his arm. “I do wish that Twilight would talk to me about this whole matter. It would make…”
“We’re back, doctor. I’m glad to see…”
Before Skies could finish his line, Quill used his magic to take hold of the door. “Not yet.” He scolded him in his same monotone voice before slamming it shut.
Doc blinked a few times before trying to continue. “It would make things easier for both of us if she’d open up. So many…”
“We’re back, Doctor. I’m glad to see…”
“Not yet.”
Slam!
He winced, wanting to try again. “So many people think that they need to hide their doubts and fears to keep from dragging their friends and family down. However…”
“We’re back…”
Slam!
“They don’t understand… that it only prolongs their issues until they boil over in disastrous ways.” He finished, relieved that he was at least able to finish his line as he looked to the door…
And saw nothing.
The wolf whimpered before he heard Quillian speaking up. “That’s your cue. Come on.” He said as he opened the door, right before shoving Skies into the room.
The speedster cringed before turning back to the doctor. “We’re back, doctor. I’m glad to see that we aren’t catching you in the middle of something.”
“Too late.” Quillian said bluntly as he made his way to the doctor. “Sorry for taking your time. Rarity thought it would be good if we spent some time talking to you to unwind. Since I managed to handle the guest list… why wouldn’t I’ve done that ahead of time?” He asked as he looked off stage. “Light, I told you that you…”
Before he could start ranting again, Doc spoke up instantly. “A few minutes of free time? Well, I guess we shouldn’t waste time. Take a… seat…” He said shakingly as they all looked at the floor once more.
They all sat on the floor again as they tried to go on with the act. “So Twilight, you have been rather… stressed lately.” Skies started to say before Quill interrupted him.
“Don’t pause in the middle of the sentence. You’ve been on stage for a while now. Try to act like it.”
“An hour isn’t a long time!” He grumbled as he crossed his hooves.
“It’s an hour longer than most people here.”
“Um… back on script, please?” Doc whispered, but nowhere near quiet enough to go unheard.
“So… where are we?” Skies asked as he turned back to the doctor.
“Oh… well, we were just talking about your…”
“No… where on the script?”
He blinked a few times as he tried to process this strange request, soon coming to the conclusion that the pegasi forgot his lines. “Um… page eighty four…”
“I was under the impression that we were on page one hundred and five.” Quill chipped in.
“No, that’s Light’s copy. He likes using the larger print.” Doc corrected him.
“Is he short sighed?” Skies asked curiously.
“Only in directing.” Quill quipped bluntly before Light’s head poked out of the backdrop.
“It’s page ninety three.” He whispered harshly.
“Um… maybe it was ninety two actually.” Skies said bashfully.
“I wrote this play! I know what page we are on! Ninety three!” The director repeated himself before ducking back backstage.
Skies nodded as he focused for a minute, smiling as he remembered the page. “Essful in the fashion world.” He blurted out before wincing, realizing that he was not only on the wrong page, but mid sentence too.
“Wow, you were right.” Quill said as he rolled his eyes. “It was ninety two.”
Skies gritted his teeth as he tried to continue with his line to the monotone pony. “So I am just as stressed as you most days. I have to manage several stores…”
“Which you have store managers for.”
“Ah… then there is the constant need for change…”
“Which you have always been able to do effortlessly.”
“And… having to juggle all of our adventures alongside of that, it just makes things…”
“And all of the main six have done that effortlessly. Seriously. Why couldn’t Light have thought about these simple…”
“SHUT UP!” Skies yelled as he slammed his hooves on the ground. “I’m sick and tired of this! All you have done is whine, gripe and criticize, and you have done nothing to help us! Where were you when they handed out emotions? Hu?!? Now, why don’t you hop off your high horse, and shut your mouth?!?”
The crowd was speechless, let alone Doc. Skies, who had been a bundle of nerves so far had suddenly snapped, showing his rage without any restraint. The only thing more shocking than the feat of rage was Quill’s lack of a reaction.
He remained silent for a moment, keeping eye contact with the enraged pegasi before speaking a few words. “Maybe you should cut down on coffee. It seems to be affecting your blood pressure.”
Well, the crowd was laughing again.
None of the cast was.
Doc was glad that nopony caught onto this incident. However, there was now the problem of the angry pony in front of him. “Um.. we’ll talk about this later. Why don’t you go get some fresh air? We’ll meet at the party.”
“It’s not in the script.” Quill pointed out as the wolf was trying to escort Skies off of the stage. “We are going to be skipping a big part of the play.”
“I’m skipping a fight scene right now.” He said firmly as he led the angry pony off of the stage. “Now Rarity, please take those breathing exercises I told you about. It works for all kinds of stress.”
“Fine, but the fight scene would have been more entertaining.” He huffed as he left the stage before calling out after Quill. “Einstein, you are what I’d call… uncouth!” He barked as he stomped off stage.
“Well, at least he’s finally getting in character.” He said before turning to the wolf.
“That makes one of you.” He scolded him, sounding like a disappointed father with his slow and stern words. “Look, I understand your high standards, but you have to hold some understanding about other people’s situations. Many of them have never been in this situation before, and it puts them in an emotionally volatile state of mind. I am going to ask you to stop this pattern of scolding the others and focus on your own performance. Do I make myself clear?”
He blinked a few times as he tried to process his stern request. “Um… is this in or out of character? I have different responses for both depending on if you are ab libbing or just going out of character.”
He growled softly before speaking softly. “Get off stage.”
“We already skipped the part of you talking about managing stress…”
“Get off.”
“Golden is supposed to interrupt us…”
“Go.”
“Well, if you want to improvise, that’s on you.” He said as he started to leave the stage on the right side.
“Take the left side. I want you and Sk… Rarity to have some space.”
“Please remember to use our stage…” Before he could finish, a green glow of magic came over him as he was thrusted to the left side of the stage.
He sighed as he wiped his forehead. “Well, I am never going to worry about running out of business.” He muttered softly before Golden came in, grunting as he was trying to shove a few boxes on stage.
“Ah, sorry for interrupting, y’all.”
“Don’t worry. You weren’t interrupting anything.” Doc said with a long exhale.
…
“Of course Twilight.” Golden said obliviously, sticking to the stript as Doc face-palmed. “I’ll have these set up as quick as insert southern phrase here.”
…
“Why, thanks Rarity, and you look prettier than insert another phrase here.”
...
“Well, since you two are going I’ll just work on this while Doc turn page gives me instructions. Twilight and Rarity leave the stage.”
As the audience was roaring in laughter, Light stuck his head out. “Golden! What are you doing?”
“Quill told me to read what was written and not add lib.”
“Not everything!”
“I didn’t read anybody else’s lines.”
“Just forget his instructions!” He whined before ducking back to the backstage area.
Doc bit his lip before trying to continue. “Well, may I help you set everything up?”
“Awe, don’t sweat it Doc. I’ll have it all set up in no time.” Golden said as he opened up the boxes, setting a few plates and bowls on the table. “I know that you have been talking about when to take initiative and when to let others help, but I also recognize when other people need help as well and to take charge to help as well.”
He was actually impressed that Golden was remembering his lines fairly well, making him hope that he was improving. “Well, I do admit that I would struggle reaching the table, let alone lifting the heavier object. Perhaps I can list everything off for you so you can make sure that everything is here and in position.”
“Well, that’d be mighty kind of you.”
Doc nodded as he started listing everything off. “Alright, the cupcakes are supposed to be arranged on the large platter, the fruit salad is to be divided into the serving bowls, the punch is to be poured into the punch bowl, and the pie is to be set on the pie platters. Did you get all of that?” He asked as he turned around, gasping as he saw how Golden translated this.
The pies were set on the large platter, the cupcakes were set in the small bowls, the fruit salad was dumped into the punch bowl, and the most noticeable mix up was the puddle of fruit punch dripping off of the small pie platters. “Yep. That’s everything. How does it look?” He asked, looking oblivious about his blunder.
He winced as he felt pained to stick to the script right now. “It’s… perfect. You sure have a way with setting food up.”
“There’s nothing to it. When my relatives visit, I set up meals for them just like this.” He explained, causing quite a bit of laughter from the audience. “I’m willing to bet that you have set up a meal or two like this before.”
The wolf could only close his eyes as he prayed for forgiveness. “Well, my wife is more skilled at baking, but I help her where I can.”
“Well, if she ever needs a second opinion, I would be more than happy to give some pointers.” He said as he took a small cup and filled it with the fruit salad. “Want a drink?”
He gulped as he was given the cup. “Um… shouldn’t we save this for the party?”
“Awe, a little sip to cool the tongue won’t kill anypony, and you’ve been working as hard as any of us.” He insisted as he kept eye contact with the doctor.
“Well… if you insist.” He said with a weak chuckle, feeling somewhat thankful that he wasn’t being forced to drink muddy water again. He brought the cup to his lips, taking a bit of the fruit salad in his mouth.
“How is it? Not too strong, right?”
“Mmmfff… nope… but a little too much ice.” He said as he was chewing the orange and peach slices, taking a moment to wipe some whipped cream off of his lips. “A little sweet too.”
“I hope the princesses will like it anyway.” He said before waving to Celestia and Luna in the audience. “Are you thirsty?”
“They aren’t here yet!”
“Yeah they are, in row… oh…” He mused as he remembered that they were still acting “So, I guess I’d better get going.”
“Oh, so soon?” He asked as he set the cup aside.
“It’s in the script, isn’t it?” He asked before Doc cleared his throat, reminding him about his actual script. “I mean, yes! It is in the script!”
“Sigh. Well, I hope to see you again soon.”
“Well, I am going to be back on stage soon…” He said before Doc frantically pointed to the backstage area.
“See you at the party!” He pleaded, his nerves getting the better of him again.
He nodded as he walked off of the right side of the stage. “Applejack exits, stage left!”
“That’s stage right!” Quill’s voice said from near the stage exit.
Dr Wolf groaned as he tried to continue. “Ah, she has always been so helpful to others. Sometimes I wish I could be able to help half as much as she…”
“DERPY! WATCH IT!” Light yelled before Schuberry came on stage, waving her arms around as the wire rig was flinging her around more sporadically than a bounce house.
Doc yelped as he tried to stay under her, wanting to make sure that a child didn’t get hurt on stage. “Somebody! Help me!” He pleaded as he was running around the stage.
Kirouac instantly ran on stage, helping Doc as they spotted for Schuberry as she was finally lowered down gently onto the floor. The kid smiled as she steadied herself, right before she was jerked up again, being dropped right on top of Doc.
Kirouac breathed a sigh of belief before smiling at the wolf. “Oh, hi Doc. I hope we aren’t causing any trouble for you.”
“Oh, no trouble at all.” He grunted as he tried to put on a fake smile.
“So, wasn’t that the best flying you’ve ever seen?” Dash’s recording asked, queuing Schuberry to roll her eyes at the line as she got off of him.
Kirouac got a bit of a mischievous look on his face as he decided to add lib. “Maybe?” He said with a chuckle before looking at the doctor. “Oh, um… We were talking to each other and we think we need a second opinion.”
“Oh, really? Well, tell me what’s on your mind.” Doc said with a small smile.
“Well, Fluttershy keeps saying that I…”
There was an awkward pause, sounding like the sound cut off for a moment. “Um… keeps saying what?” Dr Wolf asked before his own voice came on over the speakers.
“Okay, setting this up for Dash… how does this device work anyways?”
*BEEEP!*
“AH! My ears!” The sound of him frantically tapping the buttons of the soundboard could be heard as the real one winced at the noise. “That’s not it at all!”
As Doc was looking embarrassed at the fact that he was listening to a recording to himself, he suddenly remembered what was on this recording.
*creak…*
“Um… Doc? May I talk to you for a minute?”
“Oh? Of course. Come in, Derpy. What’s on your mind?”
“W… what makes you think that something’s on my mind?”
“Something is always on our mind. A problem, a funny joke, what we plan on having for lunch…”
“Hehe, okay, you have a point. I… I wanted to ask about Kirouac… you have been working alongside him quite a bit…”
“Of course.”
“W… what do you think about him?”
“He’s rather down to earth in spite of being nobility. Never shies away from hard work. Just the fact that he chose to help Light shows quite the generosity of his. Although, his charisma sometimes gets him into trouble.”
“R… really?”
“Yeah. Sometimes he forgets that he’s in a normal setting. I remember seeing him sign a menu without realizing what he was doing.”
Kirouac raised an eyebrow at this as he looked at the doctor, who could only give an awkward shrug.
Derpy’s giggles could be heard on the recording as the real one was frantically trying to adjust the sound board. “Wow… I thought he was… well… always perfect.”
“Not even the princesses can hold that title. From my experience, I believe that he has learned to hide any anxieties with his charismatic side. The truth is that he’s just like any other pony when you look hard enough.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and he also makes me wonder if royalty have all got a sense of cheekiness. Why do you ask?”
“Well… It’s just that he’s a nice guy… and… I was wondering if I…”
“Ms Hooves… are you telling me that you are interested in dating him?”
“Ahhh… I know it’s weird! He’s a king, and I’m just a mail mare. But… I just… feel something different when I’m with him… I… I don’t know if it’s actually chemistry… but… how can I tell?”
“I see… love is quite a tricky thing. The first thing I should warn you about is infatuation.”
“W… what’s that?”
“It’s an emotional high that couples tend to have when they start dating, or when they find each other physically attractive. Those emotions tend to be described like love at first sight, but tend to wear off over time.”
“So… You’re saying that any love I may develop won’t last?”
“No. It’s just why I suggest taking things slowly, that way when that first time wears off, you can tell if there is real chemistry. Love isn’t a race, but a long journey that people take together. My advice is to get to know him as a person. Learn about his likes, dislikes, hobbies, and goals in a casual setting, like at a coffee shop, or with other friends. As you get to know him as a friend, you’ll soon learn if there is a romantic connection between the two of you.”
“Ah… but… what if there isn’t a connection between us?”
“Well, at least you will have built this relationship on a friendship. Maybe after the play you could ask him if he'd like to spend some time with you.”
“I… guess so… It’s just… scary.”
“Taking a first step tends to be. Take your time, and maybe even if it doesn’t work out, you will have found the experience worthwhile.”
“Oh… okay… thank you doc. I guess I should let you get back to work before Dash shows up.”
“Fair enough. I hope that you will be… what’s this red light?”
As the recording ended, the entire audience was cheering for the actors, who were trying to react to this. Doc looked scared, knowing he broke doctor-patient confidentiality again. Schuberry looked confused as she tilted her head, looking at the two grown ups. Kirouac was the only one who seemed rather calm.
In fact, Doc noticed that he was smiling a little. “Um… Fluttershy? What do you have to say about this?”
He cleared his throat as he looked at the sound booth, seeing Derpy’s head peeking out. “Well… she’s a sweet, funny pony who never lets the world get her down. In all honesty, I wouldn't mind getting to know her more as a friend, and then we can see where it goes.” He replied honestly, getting a louder applause from the audience.
Dr Wolf smiled a little, glad that this mistake didn’t turn into a tragedy while seeing Derpy’s blushing face in the sound booth. “Well, I am glad that we were able to settle this. It’s good to stay grounded…” Before he could finish, Schuberry started to be lifted off of the ground, desperately reaching for the floor as she was being lifted higher. “S… Stay grounded! Grounded!” He repeated as he saw that Derpy was looking scared, like she wasn’t in control.
“Thanks Doc. I guess I do need to keep my head out of the clouds sometimes.” Dash’s recording said as the two guys were running around the stage, trying to make sure that she didn’t get hurt.
“Yeah, it’s nice when you can stay close to us!” Kirouac added as he tried to use his magic, struggling to catch the scared filly.
“It’s my pleasure! I’m glad that I could break the tension before anything else could snap!” Doc shouted before the audible sound of a metal cable snapping could be heard, releasing Schuberry from her restraints and sending her flying out of reach of the guys, all the way to the backstage area.
Both men froze in shock and fear, looking at each other for a few moments before turning to the princesses, wondering where exactly they would be banished to after an accident about this.
As the two stallions started walking to see if the child was okay, Golden walked out with a smile. “It’s alright guys! She’s unharmed.”
“OH! Thank Celestia! Are you positive?” Doc asked as he and Kirouac gave a sigh of relief.
“Yeah! She landed on Quillian’s unconscious body!” He said innocently, causing the others’ eyes to widen as they ran over to the knocked out pony. They were soon followed by the rest of the cast, who all looked worried about the monotone pony, even if he acted like a jerk.
As the group was trying to tell how seriously he was hurt, Dr Wolf looked to the rest of the cast. “Who is the first aid pony?”
Skies looked worried as he pointed to the backstage area. “Twilight was the first aid pony.”
He winced as he tried to find an alternative. “There has to have been a backup!”
The pegasi nodded before he pointed to Quillian. “He was the backup.”
Linda turned to the wolf as she pulled at his vest. “Aren’t you a doctor?”
“Of the mind! Not the body!” He explained before realizing that everybody could hear them, and also see half of them.
The group started murmuring about how to handle his care as Light was trying to talk to the doctor. “Doc, w… what should I do?”
“Um… cover for us!”
“W… wha?”
“You’re the director! Cover!” He ordered as he motioned the others to help him carry the unconscious pony.
Light turned to the audience with a scared look, at first worried that they were going to be judging him over this incident.
However, he started to get the opinion that they somehow didn’t catch on.
They were still laughing.
He gave a nervous smile as he tried to gather his nerves. “Um… Ladies and gentlemen… as you may have noticed, there has been a bit of an accident… but I’m sure that Quillian will be perfectly fine.” Light said as he listened to the group carrying Quillian across the stage, in spite of the fact that they could have gone behind the backdrop.
“What’s all of the red stuff on the ground?”
“Fruit punch.” Dr Wolf explained to Linda as he pointed to the puddle by the table.
“I swear, if anybody takes this out of context…” Kirouac moaned, fearing his nation’s reputation.
Light bit his lip as they left the stage, wondering how he was going to fix this. “Well… I’m sure that we will continue soon… assuming that none of my cast is running away… So… Um… Accidents happen all of the time in plays like this. For example, there was this play several years ago, where they actually had a full orchestra. However, when they started playing the kettle drums one of the child actors got scared by the sudden loud noises, and while closing his eyes in fear, he ran into a tuba.
The child got stuck, and it led to him needing to be taken outside and have it cut open with metal snips. Due to the band having to borrow the tuba due to them leaving their own at home and having no spares, the play was utterly ruined. Now… I can’t help but feel a deep sense of regret over the failed play, because… not only was I the child actor who got scared by the loud noises… but…
It was my tuba.”
As he started to wipe his eyes, he felt Dr Wolf pet his back, looking rather concerned for him. “Light, we’re going to have a talk about this when we are done. Quill is okay, at least to our knowledge. We can go back to the play… but we are down another Twilight.”
He nodded as he looked at the crowd. “Yeah… I’ll just… we’ll continue with our regularly scheduled programming… or something like that.” He said as he started to walk off stage, sniffling a little as he walked off.
Doc looked sympathetic for the alicorn as he took his spot on stage. He knew that he had good intentions with the whole play, but with how much they all were messing up, he feared that Light’s stress and anxiety had already risen to unhealthy levels.
Maybe that was the reason why they didn’t insist on shutting the play down. They were already neck deep into this mess, and even though they may put themselves on the high ground, Light would drown from the wave that would come from it.
He took a deep breath as he went back to acting. “Well… that was… interesting… I… oh, where are we at now?” He muttered softly before hearing Golden come on stage.
“Hi Doc! I’m back with the final treat.” He said as Linda came bouncing after him.
“Yep! Nothing says party more than a giant caaaAAACCCKKK!!!” She yelped as she slipped on the spilled punch, knocking down the center table that the cake was supposed to rest on, breaking one of the table legs.
Doc ran over and caught the table, having to function as the missing table leg to keep it from falling over. “M...my… that cake looks heavy. Are you sure that you can handle it on your own?”
As he looked over to Golden, he realized that the pegasi was visibly sweating. He wasn’t the best of physical specimens, and his shaking legs were a clear sign of his struggles. “Awe… I can handle it. My legs are sturdier than any table here.”
“Sadly, I can believe that.” He said as he had to extend his arms over his head in order to keep the table level. “Just don’t drop it… WAIT!!!”
He realized his mistake as Golden almost instantly took his instructions the wrong way again as he started to drop the cake. Luckily, Skies’s quick speed allowed him to run out and catch the cake before it could smash onto the floor. As he tried to hold it up as long as he could in his hooves, Kirouac ran onto the stage as well to help him carry it onto the table, causing the wolf to give a small groan as he now had to hold up the heavy cake.
Why did they make this prop an actual cake and not something lighter?
Golden looked startled for a minute as the other two male actors ran off of the stage. “Don’t worry… I can carry my own weight.”
He nodded as he was straining to hold the weight over his head. “I can see that… sometimes we… all have to help hold up our own parts…”
“So, how are you holding up with all of these meetings?” Linda asked as she sat down away from the table, not wanting to knock anything else over.
“Well… I always try to do my best to help others with their weight.” He said as he now understood how straining this cake was to carry. Then again, Golden had to carry it on his back. He had to hold it with his arms, and over his head as well.
“That sounds great!” She said as she started scooting on the ground, not confident about bouncing anymore. “By the way, have you gotten a chance to talk to Twilight?”
“Sadly, not in detail.” He admitted as his arms started shaking, right as Light crawled behind the tables, which didn’t have long tablecloths. The alicorn had a piece of lumber on his back as he crawled next to the doctor. He raised it up to try and use it as a replacement. However, it was clearly too long for it. He whimpered softly before seeing Skies come on stage. “Ah, Rarity! How are you doing?”
“Well… it feels good to have vented some of my emotions.” He said, no longer looking nervous or scared. His temper also looked like it had been cooled after the accident earlier. “I just wish Twilight could have shared with us what was on her heart.”
He nodded as he tried to hold out a little longer. “Well… from what I could see she’s…”
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*
His eyes widened in shock as he heard a power saw running right next to him. He turned to see Light cutting the wood right next to him, using his wing to make sure that none of the wood chips got in his eyes. However, it was very loud, and he had to try to yell in order to be heard.
“... trying… but isn’t… and she…”
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*
Just as Doc finished, he finished cutting through the wood, leaving the stage silent as Linda spoke up. “Wow… that sounds pretty clear.”
“Yeah… so how can we help her?” Golden asked as the alicorn set up the leg before summoning an electric drill and some screws.
“Well, I think that our best move is to…”
*VVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
“But she’ll have to…”
*VVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
“So we’ll just have to…”
*VVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
As soon he put the last screw in, he petted Doc’s back, letting him know that he could let go now. He let out a deep breath as he lowered his sore arms as Golden spoke up.
“Wow. You’re good.”
“Well… sometimes being able to speak and being able to listen tends to help a lot.” He replied as he walked back to the rest of the groups, looking worn out after that little exercise. “Where are the others?”
“Coming in hot!”
The group heard Dash’s recording go off, all now wondering how Schuberry was going to “fly” around.
The answer was Kirouac.
The audience started laughing as they saw Schuberry being levitated right alongside him, having her hooves stretched out as if she was a superhero. It didn’t help that he kept saying “Woosh” every now and then.
As the king set the mute girl down, Skies looked shocked as he tried to speak. “Dash… you shouldn’t go flying around like that inside. You could get the food dirty.”
“Awe, come on! The floor is spotless!” Dash’s voice said as Schuberry pointed to the red puddle on the floor. “How can I get anything dirty?”
Doc winced as he tried to ignore the half-dragon in the room. “Ah… so all we are missing is Twilight and Fluttershy.”
“Shy was right behind me.” Dash’s recording said, while Schuberry looked like she was wanting to giggle at the fact that Kirouac was right in front of her.
Kirouac kept silent for a moment before speaking up. “I’m here. Sorry I fell behind.”
“Oh, it’s quite alright.” Doc said with a small nod. “We were just talking about Twilight.”
“Yeah, essentially we’re gonna party hard tonight.” Linda said as she waved her hooves in the air, still sitting on the ground.
“Hey, you’re going to make us dizzy if you’re gonna keep bouncing circles around us.” Golden said obliviously, still seeing it right to stick to the script in the wrong places.
“Well… party hard wasn’t exactly how Doc put it, but hopefully Twilight should start relaxing after tonight.” Skies said as he looked at Schuberry. “Do you understand, Dash?”
“I think it’s *BBBZZZTTT*You are listening to Radio Golf 1, the first radio broadcast system. Blueblood has just lined up for hole 12, and is now shooting for a par… ouch. Right into the moat. My, it’s always sad to see a grown man cry.”
The group all turned Derpy, who could only shrug as the soundboard was getting beyond her control, now somehow picking up radio signals.
“Glad you agree, Dash.” Linda said as she scooted over to her friend and gave her a high five.
Doc nodded as he looked to the off stage area. “Now… where is Twilight? She should be here by now.” He said as he started praying that Twilight would have somehow woken up by now.
As the entire cast looked to the side of the stage, they all saw a purple alicorn take the stage.
Just not the one they were expecting.
Everybody in the audience was losing it as they saw Light taking the stage, who looked like he took a bucket of purple paint and dumped it on his head and body, missing the entire back half. The entire cast could tell that this was actual paint, and not fur dye. It was clumpy, not looking like it had been mixed beforehand.
The worst part was that he put on a dress over this to try and cover the other half of his body which he couldn’t coat with the paint in time. This blue dress was a little too big for his male body as well. Rarity’s huff could be heard as it was obvious that the purple paint was going to stain the dress.
Yeah, the teddy bear alicorn looked desperate to his peers with this stunt.
“Ah! Everybody is here! Good!” He said as he tried to stay in character, looking embarrassed at his current situation. “Is everything ready?”
Doc blinked a few times as he tried to take in the sight of Light in this state. “I… I believe everything should be fine.”
“But this is the princess we are talking about!” He countered as he was doing a fair job at acting, even though it was clear to Doc that he was extremely nervous about this. “Everything has to be perfect for her!”
“Twi. Everything is already set up.” Golden pointed out as he got another cup and filled it with some fruit salad. “Just taste the food.”
The alicorn looked shocked at the cup, knowing that he wasn’t good at handling acidic oranges. He put on a brave face, and took a bit of the mix in his mouth. He winced as he tried to get through the orange slices, making a few faces before swallowing. “Gah… that’s good.” He said as he looked at the bare ceiling. “Dash… good job on the lanterns… they look nice.”
“*BBBZZZTTT*And I am just a pony! I make mistakes from time to time…”
“Thank you Dash!” He raised his voice as he used his magic to yank the wires out of the speakers, in full view of the audience.
Skies blinked a few times before pointing to the puddle and sawdust. “And look! The floor is spotless.”
Light had to take a few deep breaths as he tried to pretend that the mess wasn’t there. “Yes… so… maybe this will be perfect?” He suggested with a nervous smile before there was an awkward silence for a moment. “Um… Maybe this will; be perfect…” He repeated himself, looking at the leg that was actually intended to break as he realized that not only was it replaced by a 2X4, but he had no stagehand to yank the cable that was supposed to trigger its breaking.
“Um… MAYBE… this will be… perfect!” He repeated as his horn glowed, trying to pull on the cable backstage. His mind process said that if he yanked it hard enough, maybe the cake would fall over on its own. However, it’s hard to levitate the right object when you are not looking at it.
So, instead of the table being pulled, the speakers, backdrop, and wire rig all fell from the rafters, causing the entire cast to yelp and jump to the ground, trying to take cover to avoid the falling props. The most shocking part was the wire rig slamming onto the right-most table, causing the punch bowl to fly over the cake and knock over the left-most table.
Suffice it to say, the only thing left standing was the center table.
Light’s eyes were wide open as he looked at the trashed stage, making his breathing shaky as he tried to speak. “O… OH NO...TH… THE CAKE!!!” He screamed as he impulsively stuck to the script, gesturing to the only stage prop left standing.
Skies and Kirouac looked at each other, both giving an awkward shrug as they got up and grabbed the table with the cake and overturned it, slamming the cake onto the floor.
The director grimaced at the sight, turning around as he once more tried to gather his words. “N… no… the… princess… time… I can’t… I mean… I just… I… I…” His breathing slowed down as the weight of the situation hit him. He looked over to the other cast members, namely Doc as he spoke softly, even though the acoustics allowed everybody to hear.
“I… I’m sorry… I… I wanted to make this perfect… I… I tried too hard to… I wanted to make this work… Maybe… Maybe I didn’t plan this well enough… Or I didn’t work hard enough… or… maybe my idea was just… flawed from the start.” He admitted, his eyes tearing up as he looked at his failures. “I… I shouldn’t have tried to handle this… I… I messed up… too many times… I’m sorry to all of you… I never should have pulled you into this… I… I’m sorry.” He apologized to them before slowly turning to the audience with his head lowered, ready to do what he felt he should have done so much sooner.
As he started to open his lips, about to end the play, Doc spoke out desperately. “I’m not perfect!” He blurted out, making the alicorn freeze as he heard those words ring out. “I’m not perfect. We are not perfect. I know that you wanted perfection, but that’s the thing about perfection! It’s not something we can achieve.
We want perfect plans to work, but we lack control of other factors in life that affect them. We want perfect lives, but we have to deal with the broken situations that we have to live with. We want perfect communication, but often fail to convey what we truly mean, and how we feel. We want to help others without mistakes, but sometimes fail to understand or react correctly. We want perfect love, but we are imperfect people who will fail and falter.
We sometimes want to seek this to find the respect or love of others, but other times it’s to try and prove something to ourselves. We want to prove that we can achieve this perfection in spite of our flaws and shortcomings. Throughout all of my years, in and out of my office, I have never met a perfect pony, not even alicorns.
I too have fallen short of perfection. I have made mistakes, gotten angry, broken things, ruined plans… I’ve even hurt those whom I care about most. We can’t find perfection, but we can learn from our failures, become better people, and maybe help others through what we have learned.”
Light was left speechless as he looked at the wolf, who walked to him with sympathy in his eyes. “D… Doc… I… I don’t.”
He simply smiled as he placed a paw on his shoulder, ignoring the wet paint. “You have good intentions. We all just managed to mess up together. Don’t look down on yourself because of this. Let’s just keep going, and try to do better. After all, we’re most likely going to laugh about this mess later.”
The teddy bear alicorn gave a weak smile, feeling comforted before hearing the crowd starting to applaud. He knew that none of this was scripted, but even with all of the mess ups, there were at least a few people here who found something they liked about this play.
As he was about to speak, the group was interrupted by a soft groan. “Ahhh… how long was I…” The entire audience started laughing and applauding as Twilight walked on stage, her head bandaged, but otherwise looking unharmed.
Light looked a mix of shock and embarrassment as he looked at the princess, who was now looking at the mess with wide eyes. “Um… I can explain all of this… Twilight…”
As she started to get a grasp of his poor disguise of herself, Quillian walked on stage as well, holding a bag of ice to his forehead. “Light, tell your little brother that the next time he builds a wire rig, he’d better…” He paused as he saw the two alicorns in front of him, looking at his purple coat and fake wings. “Well… one of us needs to change…”
“Get off the stage, please?” Light asked with a shaky sigh.
“Fine. I don’t want to ad lib about the mirror pool or time travel. I’m going to put more ice on my head.” He said as he walked off. “And somebody had better clean up this mess, because I’m not planning to do much with a light concussion.”
Twilight nodded as she rubbed her forehead. “Let me handle it. I think I can manage to fix everything, in spite of my headache.” She explained as a bright flash came over the stage, fixing almost everything, even putting the food into the right containers. The only thing that wasn’t fixed was the broken cable on the wire rig.
However, the spilt cake was fixed too, making Skies and Kirouac sigh before taking the table and turning it over again.
The princess blinked in confusion before looking at Dr Wolf. “We are already that far in?”
He shrugged before he gave her a nod. “Yeah… fairly far.”
“So… does Luna show up now?” She asked before Elytra came on stage, looking like a filly version of Luna.
“Yes! Tis I! Woona!” She announced, causing quite a few people to laugh at her mispronunciation.
Twilight and Light both instantly turned to her and bowed at the same time. “Your highness!” They said at the same time, both staring at each other as they tried to figure out who was playing who.
“Yes, and we are here for the party, although I see there was an accident with the cake.” The changeling said, doing too cute of a voice to be taken seriously.
“Yeah… it looks like the table leg gave out.” Golden added as he pointed at the 2X4. Kirouac looked at it for a second before he grabbed it, snapped it in two, and tossed the loose piece aside while trying to look innocent at the same time.
“Oh… Celestia is here already? What is she going to say…” Twilight paused as everybody realized that they were dealing with two roles for one changeling again.
Light looked at the princess of friendship for a second before running off of the stage. The cast looked at each other in confusion as they heard a bunch of things clattering backstage. After half a minute, he ran back on stage, his body coated in white chalk dust and his mane coated in glitter. It also appeared that he was using a piece of copper pipe as a tiara as he spoke up.
“My dear and faithful student!” He called out, earning a lot of applause and laughter at his poor impression of Celestia. “I believe you have put quite the effort into this. Why should a little spilt cake ruin everything?”
Twilight blinked a few times as she tried to speak. “I… I… Um…” She winced in pain, having a hard time remembering her lines.
“I was just trying to make this perfect for you.” Golden whispered, shocking everybody about how on point he was on someone else’s lines.
The teddy bear alicorn looked confused as he looked at him. “I know Twilight. You have always put your heart into everything you do.”
“I just wish that I could have done better.” Twilight and Golden said at the same time. “I didn’t want things to fall apart like this.”
“Only one thing has messed up, and I could never be mad at you over this.” He said with a small smile. “I thought your friends would have let you know that.”
“Yes… they helped me remember that I can’t make things perfect, even as an alicorn.”
He smiled as he petted Twilight’s shoulder, who was finally saying the lines on her own. “Good. Well, I think that we can fix this little problem.”
“Really? How?” She asked eagerly before Golden spoke up.
“I think the script says that we go to the bakery.” He explained, getting another laugh from the crowd.
Light rolled his eyes before turning to Linda. “Do you think we can get another one in time?”
She nodded as she thought for a second. “I… don’t remember how long it will take…”
He gave a weak chuckle as he had to reply for her. “Seems like a short enough time to wait for some sweets, as long as we help out.”
Kirouac raised his hoof with a smile, still failing to be bashful in any way. “Your highness, how will we handle the food he… HE… HACHOO!!” He violently sneezed, the chalk powder from the alicorn having messed with his sinuses.
Now, a sneeze would have been fine, if he wasn’t part dragon.
Being pointed away from the teddy bear alicorn would have been fine too.
Everybody stared in horror as Light’s messy and clumpy mane caught on fire, who then subsequently started screaming in horror. As the rest of the cast was frozen in shock, trying to figure out how to save him, Kirouac wiped his nose before seeing the chaos he caused.
Luckily, he was quick on his hooves as he grabbed the punch bowl with his magic and chucked it at Light, dousing the flames with the fruit punch. “Excuse me. How will we handle the food here?” He asked as he gave a small sniffle.
“Oh, I’ll try and do what I can to help clean things up here.” Doc said with a small bow, trying to process what all the king had done in front of him.
“At least half of the group would have helped him! Just saying!” Quill called out from backstage.
“Hey! Don’t question the princess of the sun!” Light hollered back with a small huff as he wiped the fruit salad off of his face, just enough so he could see. “Very well, doctor. And thank you for helping Twilight and her friends. I knew I could count on you.”
As the rest of the cast left the stage, Doc turned to the audience with a smile, and decided to go off script again. “Sometimes the most complex of problems can be solved with the simplest of solutions. Sometimes the key to finding peace is to open up to others. Maybe we all should toss aside the concept of perfection, and focus more on the goal of self improvement and acceptance.
Of course, the feats of the body can never trump the health of the mind. If you need help, seek it from friends, family, or professional therapists. My hope is that none of you give up on yourselves, and always find ways to grow.
I am Dr Wolf, and as always, it’s good to be helping.”
“POP”
“AHHH!!!” Doc yelped as a lightbulb went out right above him, right before the lights all went off.
None of the cast was expecting an applaud from the audience, let alone one as loud as they were getting. As they all walked on stage to make sure that Doc was okay, the lights came back on, revealing a standing ovation for them. They were all shocked, not understanding how they could have bumbled their way through this play and be applauded for this.
Even Quill walked onto the stage, even raising an eyebrow at this reaction. The group all exchanged looks of confusion before they all simply shrugged and bowed for their audience.
Elytra was groaning out in pain as she was resting on a couch backstage where the rest of the cast was resting and recovering
“Yeah, I forgot to ask what happens when a changeling overeats.” Twilight said as she and Quill were both trying to find some painkillers in the first aid kit. “I did wonder why Ocellus called out of school the next day.”
“Arg…” The changeling moaned before raising a hoof. “Still worth it for that applause.”
Quill paused his search as he thought about the applause again. “Speaking of which, who bribed the audience?”
Twilight sighed as she looked at the monotone pony with a disapproving glare. “Why do you think that’s what happened?”
“Can you believe me when I say that the show went downhill after your nap?” He asked her bluntly.
“I don’t know… on that… the atmosphere… seemed to… keep improving.” Elytra admitted.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I heard Celestia laughing at us.” Kirouac added, not adding to the optimism of the room.
“I see you are taking her humor rather well.” Quill mused as he looked at the king with his poker face.
“Why not? I’m still a king, and I’ve got a date.” He pointed out with glee as Derpy came back to join him.
“Fair enough… although now I wonder if this is why Discord didn’t bother to use his magic on this play.” Twilight mused as Skies turned to her to give her an ice pack.
“Because we didn’t need his health to help make this play chaotic?”
“Well, if that’s true, that’s some impressive foresight.”
“Or a teddy bear alicorn with poor planning and management skills.” Quill countered as the pony he just mentioned came back into the room, his coat stained purple from the paint.
“Well, I think I’m going to be seeing a dermatologist soon.” He mused as he looked at his messy coat. “Let alone a few lawyers.”
Doc winced as he looked at Light’s worried expression. “I doubt it’ll be that bad.”
“No, I think there’s going to be a nasty rash from the paint.” Quill said as he looked at the male alicorn. “You’re not supposed to apply that on the skin.”
“I meant the lawyer part.” The wolf clarified. “I mean, nobody here has expressed any ideas of pressing charges against you.”
“Nope. That’s for that Einstein little brother of yours.” He pointed out as he looked at the mute girl who knocked him out recently. “Wire rigs. It’ll never catch on.”
“Quill, I am sorry for blowing up at you, but please quit while you’re ahead.” Skies asked with a soft groan.
“Don’t groan, please? It’s making my own headache worse.” He whined as he rubbed his forehead.
“Yeah… and odds are that I’ll be dealing with quite a few headaches.” Light said as he sat down to hug himself. “Once people find out about the mistakes…”
“Well, they won’t hear it from me. I have doctor-patient confidentiality to hold up to… which I probably broke a dozen times today.” Doc admitted as he felt worried about how much on stage therapy he did.
“How? They started it on stage. You finished it on stage.” Quill pointed out.
Kirouac raised an eyebrow at this before he looked at him. “You know, I think you’re becoming funnier.”
“I’ve been told that I tend to sound that way.” The monotone pony said bluntly. “I don’t know why.”
“Search me.” Skies said as he turned his focus to Light. “So, do you think the princesses will ask about the incident? I mean… Schuberry is alright, but the rig did break…”
Doc grimaced, not liking the idea of making him go through any more stress after the poor kid nearly broke. “Um, I think we shouldn’t focus on it right now…”
The teddy bear alicorn raised a hoof as he looked at the others. “Look… I am the director. It was my job to manage everything, and I am more than willing to take responsibility for the countless mistakes that have happened tonight.”
Kirouac looked impressed at Light’s conviction as he stood up. “Wow, said like a true leader.”
“Yeah, I can’t see the princesses banishing you.” Quill admitted. “It’d be harsh to do it to somebody crying for their mother.”
Dr Wolf sighed as he turned to him. “Mr Inkheart…”
“Hey, Twi? Are you in here?”
Her ears perked up at the sound of her number one assistant. “We’re in here, Spike. What’s up?”
“The princesses wanted to have a talk with you and the rest of the cast.”
Light’s strong stance turned into jelly as his false courage faded away. “Tell her I’m not in…” Before he could finish, he saw the young drake coming through the door with the princesses in tow. “... in any position to say no?” He said as he tried to figure out if he should fake a smile, or just cry. “I can explain all of this...”
The group all bowed before hearing Celestia giggling as she spoke up. “Please rise. May I have the honor of saying that this is the most unique play I have ever seen?”
“You’ve got to be more specific than that.” Quill stated before lifting Golden’s head up, knowing that he’d be kneeling forever if he didn’t do something about it.
“Oh, please relax.” Luna said with a chuckle. “We’ve haven’t seen a comedy like that before, even from the great jesters of old.”
“Ah… what?” Light asked, being frozen in fear.
“You don’t need to be bashful. This play was quite the masterpiece of comedy. Who would have thought about having a play where almost everything “goes wrong”?” Celestia asked with a hearty laugh.
Linda shrugged as she just said what came to mind. “Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields?”
Luna laughed at the remark as she petted Dr Wolf on the back. “And the way that you incorporated that wisdom and guidance of yours? It was an amazing way to bring in such emotion into this comedy.”
“C… comedy… yeah… sure.” He said, still stunned that she thought that they planned this.
“The way that you arranged everything… and you had three ponies playing Twilight…” She ranted as she started laughing again, making the cast feel comforted and humiliated at the same time.
“I was worried when I saw our daughter fall, but seeing that she’s unharmed, and you made a point of showing Quill’s body, I could tell that you planned that to perfection.” Celestia added as she hugged the mute child.
“Oh yeah, we definitely spent some time practicing that.” Quill said in his monotone voice, making him wish he could express some real emotions.
“Well… I am glad that I could share some wisdom while… entertaining you all.” Dr Wolf said, trying his best to hide how shaken he was about this.
“Thank you, and that goes for all of you as well. You all are some of the best actors I’ve ever seen.” Celestia told everyone before turning to Light. “So, do you have any plans for your next play?”
His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the princess for a minute in silence before squeezing out a few words. “And that’s a wrap everybody…” He wheezed out before he passed out on the floor.
The princesses looked dumbfounded at this, while most of the cast was trying to hide how much said idea scared them too. Even Twilight was wanting to back out of another play like this one. “What did I say?” Celestia asked as she turned to the doctor.
Dr Wolf simply sighed softly as he got out his schedule book. “Nothing. I just got my schedule filled for the next month.” He said as he started to see how many appointments he could fill in for the entire cast.
“Um… do you think we put him under too much stress?” Luna asked as she tried to wake him up.
“Frankly, I think he took this rather well. Why the rest of us haven’t joined him on the floor is beyond me.” Quill admitted, causing some of the other cast members to start giggling, thinking back to every mistake they had individually made.
“Yeah… I threw a punch bowl at a flaming “princess”.” Kirouac mused as he was trying to hide his grin.
“He he… you didn’t keep falling on the puppy.” Linda pointed out as she was giggling next to a smiling Schuberry. “That would have crushed him.”
“I thought I did that with the cake.” Golden admitted as he was covering his face, hiding his own laughter. “Good night, why did I read those lines wrong?”
“Ha! You didn’t read Doc’s lines for a whole minute.” Elytra added, wincing every now and then as she was starting to belly laugh.
“Hahaha! And we had to overturn the table itself!” Skies howled out, as he was now laughing out loud.
Quill showed no signs of emotion whatsoever, but he did have to make one small note about the whole thing. “You know, I actually think this was actually better than the original script.”
The snickering soon turned to full blown laughter as they all realized how silly they all looked in front of so many serious people, and they got away with all of it. Well, now the princesses were truely questioning if they were proud of if there was something happening behind the scenes. However, they decided that it would be wiser to just let sleeping dogs lie.
While all of this was going on Dr Wolf couldn’t find it in himself to laugh at their misfortune, but merely shook his head at their reaction. Of course, they may have taken his reaction more seriously if he could keep from grinning, seeing the humor of the situation himself.
“It’s good to be helping… and probably good to be laughing our hearts out too.”
