[Canterlot Castle] Awards Banquet - Day 2 [Open:See OOC]

[Mojo]

After Pigpen greeted the Princess, the shaggy, unkempt stallion proceeded to walk around the room with the intention of being as socialable as he could be. As he passed by a row of potted plants, each one whithered a bit under the power of his strong smell. The flies continue to follow his every movement, orbiting his head.

The first two he walked over to greet were Cashmere and AppleBloom, the brave honored heroes of the night. Seeing that they were still recovering from their injuries, the untidy Earth stallion simply bowed to them in reverence before addressing them.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintances, mighty heroes of the realm! I'm Pigpen, and I must say you are both more worthy of honor than I. I wish you both a speedy recovery from your injuries. and if there's anything I can do to help, just ask!"

Pigpen next approached a group of ponies who were in conversation, Flying Brick, Pyro and Time Spinner. Wanting to be friendly, the shaggy stallion walked over to introduce himself.

"Hello there! My name is Pigpen, so wonderful to meet you all! Isn't this a lovely party?"

He waited for their responses, smiling as he stood in place.

[TheHybrid]

Rusty looked around in an apparantly fruitless search, hoping to find the guard that had saved him from being... drained. But, of course, he couldnt find him... perhaps he WAS there the other day, and he had just missed him... ah oh well. He saw the Princess standing not so far from him, and decided maybe he should introduce himself... that is what polite ponies do, right? But maybe he shouldnt be so formal with his speech... she was the princess, but maybe she was tired of ponies treating her like she was the most important pony ever, "Hey, this is a real nice banquette you have goin' here." he wouldn't waste too much of her time though, he'd probably leave after she responded, "Oh, names Rusty Contraption by the way."

[Pretzelparty]

Presteza was still pretty much trapped in flying brick's grip in what was almost a headlock, lucky enough she was still able to speak and was fully conscious so she saw Miss brick shaking a stallion's injured hoof. This guy seemed to have taken a bit of damage from the invasion and whatever events he was involved in, while he was a bit rude in a way to her friend she had to admit that trying to shake his injured foreleg was not the best idea,"Oi, try and be a bit more careful miss uh... ya still didn't tell me yer name y'know...but anyway he is pretty obviously hurt so just try an' tone down yer energy a bit"

With the princess answering her question she realized she had completely forgotten to greet her although being dragged along by her new friend, the acrobat from Stalliongrad was more then a little distracting. With a nervous laugh she spoke up to the princess,"Sorry I fergot about Sayin' hi, Yer highness and uh who's Pigpen again?"

"Hello there! My name is Pigpen, so wonderful to meet you all! Isn't this a lovely party?"

suddenly heard a very familiar voice ... and odor from behind her. now she remembered where she'd heard that name before, She had seen this pony adopting a pet raccoon from that nice pink maned pegasus in ponyville... she hadn't noticed the smell before since she was both upwind of him and not very close as she was now. Speaking of how close his characteristic smell was it was almost making the mare tear up a bit so she lifted a hoof to rub her eye a moment before she responded with a slightly forced but pleasant smile.

"N-nice ta meet ya too Pigpen! and It sure is isn't it" The stallion while he was indeed pretty dirty and unkempt seemed like a nice guy so she felt it would be a bit rude to bring up the smell now, despite how it made her muzzle scrunch of instinctively... then she distracted by a familiar sounding voice. The voice had a distinctive twang to it and the tone could only belong too...

"RUSTY?! I didn't know you were in ponyville durin' Nightmare Night!"

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro smiled, a little sympathetically, at Time as he stood there. Time looked like he had been through a lot. They all did, of course, but his wounds weren't the type to heal easily or quickly. Pyro had, at this point, almost completely tuned out the smell of the unkempt stallion. That was when they had been basically across the room from each other. Now that he was with the two guests of honor, his smell wafted back into Pyro's nose. When the stallion approached them, his stench grew with the decrease in distance. Pyro unconsciously scrunched up his nose as the stallion addressed the little group they had forming. Pyro smiled at the stallion, trying to ignore the smell, with no real success. "It's umm... Nice to meet you too, Pigpen. I'm Pyro Blaze. It's turning out to be a fine banquet." Pyro said, greeting Pigpen. What he had said about the banquet was true. Besides the one rude stallion, everypony was great. He wouldn't call it a party though, he had been to plenty of those, and this wasn't much like a party. Pyro looked around at the ponies that had arrived, and he focused in on one in particular. He saw a Pegasus mare standing around by herself with her eyes closed. Pyro frowned slightly in confusion, tilting his head to get a better look at the mare. 'What is she doing over there?' Pyro wondered, examining the mare as she stood there. Pyro shrugged and walked over to the mare. Pyro stopped in front of her and cleared his throat to get her attention. "What're you doing over here by yourself? It's not like there's a lack of conversation partners to choose from. I'm Pyro Blaze, it's nice to meet you." Pyro said, smiling warmly at the Pegasus in front of him.

[Blueblood]

Flying Brick gave a hearty laugh at Apple Bloom's statement of her predicament. "Oh, I don't see why they not believe you, I do!" She turned her shining face back to Cashmere, now that she knew just what he had done. "So, you are very big hero! Take shot for little one! Let me once again shake-ah..." Little details previously unregistered were just beginning to occur to her, or rather, pointed out to her by her companion. "Hehe, sorry comrade, I not notice." She gave an embarrassed laugh and what was supposed to be a comforting hoof on the back. It was gentler than usual, but it still felt like a halfbrick in a sock.

Having met the great big heroes, the earth pony mare was ready to move on. Before going to her seat, however, she felt like paying respects to her host. She marched up without hesitation, then paused, seeming unsure. "Ah, zdorovat'sya, Princess. I am not sure if I should bow; I have never been sure, see, if Stalliongrad was part of your domains or not."

[Lilia]

Cherry opened her eyes when she was addressed, an easy smile coming to her. She had inadvertently gotten caught in her thoughts and had completely tuned everything else out around her! Her eyes sparkled with a suppressed laugh, the blue brightening a touch.

"There may be no lack of conversational partners, but it would be rude to intrude on a group having a conversation, one you were part of, and...well, I can't answer for how long I can tolerate a smell, though I would do my best to not show it to that poor stallion...and I dare not approach those honored guests. I heard what that snooty one said. A shame, really, but some ponies have no manners. I'm Cherry Bloom. As for what I was doing here...I think I may have ended up taking a bit of a nap! It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Blaze. Feel free to call me Cherry, Miss Bloom would be my dear twin sister." She said, admitting to Pyro that she hadn't been awake to tune into the banquet. Her wings fluttered again, a blush rising to her cheeks. Why wouldn't they stay still?

​

[NeoExlucky]

Time Spinner wanted to follow Pyro, unsure what to do by himself. He could go to the Royal Equestrian Army Captain with Flying Brick, but that might cause some problems. What if she knew Swift Blitz? Time wasn't really in the mood to answer questions, and what if he said something wrong and Swift Blitz was told to do push-ups, like what happened when she was still in training. She was just a filly though, and more than likely, not a real guard, but looks can be deceiving, Time knew that all too well now. He turned to Flying Brick and followed her to Applebloom. He tried to put on the best smile he could, but it looked fake, and empty. Almost as if it were made of plastic. When Flying Brick left to see Celestia, Time Spinner stayed to speak with the red headed filly. "S-so...your a guard captain..." He was never good with children. His siblings loved to play with them but Time did not share that trait. "Th-that would explain your bravery during th-the incident." He turned to Cashmere, and before anything else noticed the injuries the unicorn held. He seemed much like some of the ponies he knew in Canterlot. Yet he had never seen the unicorn before. Perhaps he was from another city. Time read in a book that you should never assume anything. Never assume where your glasses are, never assume that your quill is in the drawer you left it in last night, never assume your bed is going to be in the same place as it was last night instead of say; in the middle of the ocean, and most importantly; never assume where somepony is from. "Y-you must have done something really big." He told the stallion after and awkward moment of studying him. "I-if you don't mind me asking, wh-what did you do? Oh! M-my name is Time Spinner...by the way..."

[TheHybrid]

Rusty was sitting, waiting for the Princess to respond, however when she was just about to ((sorry for god-modding)), a bright voice cut in, a voice that caused Rusty's ears twitch with familiarity. He smiled wide as he recognized the voice, turning to it, pretty much forgetting about the Princess, "Oh heya Pressy! And eyep, Ah was in Nightmare Night alright..." he trotted towards her, and away from the Princess, "Not fer the celebrations or anythin', Ah don't do any of that junk... but, Ah was in Ponyville to get some scrap while it got attacked."

He smiled proudly at this point, "So, Ah ran off to the scrap yard, threw together some random bits and bobbles to make a weapon, my stuff launcher grappling hook combination device, and took on some of them changelings! Well... near the end of all of it at least..." his smile started to falter lightly, but he tried to keep a bright tone to his voice "At the begining well... Ah shot a piece of scrap at the queen with my device, which missed, and made her real mad! So she got over to me, said some stuff, and threw a large bolt of magic at my device... luckily, my stuff is tough, and only the stuff launcher part of device was broken..." he thought for a moment, "Long story short, Ah ran away from some minions, who thought they caught me but didn't, ran away again, hijacked a train, went in the conductors/engine room, disconnected the rest of the train from the carts so it'd go faster... but I got caught anyway. They... shot me with a green bolt of magic...gosh darn, that hurt so bad! Felt like lightin' rippin' off my skin!" he shivvered, "They put that goop stuff on me, took me back to Ponyville, and put me next in line to get... drained."

He grinned coyly at her, "But lucky for me, a certain member of a the royal guard saved my plot and I went back to kickin' some CHangling butt!"

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro pushed his anger out of his mind. He was at a royal banquet, there was no need to get angry at Celestia's guests. Pyro smiled again at the mare as she spoke, explaining why she hadn't approached anypony, among other things. "I guess some would consider that rude, but it's not like I was suggesting you barge into the middle of a sentence or something. Anyways, I think we're all a little messed up from those changelings, I'm sure he's a fine pony. Celestia wouldn't invite him as a guest of honor if he wasn't a good pony, right? And Pigpen isn't so bad either, once you get used to him." Pyro said, now calmed down. He tended to be nicer when he was calm, even to the ones he had been angry at. Either way, Pyro was putting the incident behind him. Pyro couldn't suppress a lighthearted chuckle at her explanation and what she called him. "Well, I hope you got a good rest in, Cherry." He said jokingly, nudging her a bit in a friendly way. "Mister Blaze? Is my Dad here too? You can call me Pyro, just like everypony else I meet." Pyro said, still smiling warmly at Cherry. Pyro looked around at the other guests, seeing the unicorn mare with a stallion, who seemed to know her. Everypony had found somepony to converse with, at least as far as he knew they had. Pyro decided that he might as well greet the princess now, since she didn't seem busy. "Hang on, Cherry, I'll be right back." Pyro said to the mare before making his way over to Celestia. "Hello, princess. Thank you for letting me come to this banquet." Pyro said, bowing slightly. "Oh, and, umm... Sorry for sitting at your guests of honor table." Pyro said apologetically as he straightened up and looked at Celestia.

[SteelEagle]

The Princess was too savvy to not be a little bit concerned, but Apple Bloom wasn't savvy enough to catch onto the fact that the Princess was savvy to the business that she was savvy on. Such mental espionage. Doctors sure as heck didn't want her to come, but Apple Bloom was too proud to not brag about how big a filly she was meant she could go right ahead and do what she wanted.

"Ah'm likin' tha sound of Captain Apple Bloom a lot still, Princess Celestia. Fits being a big filly! The doctors weren't keen on me comin' up here ta see ya. Neither was Twilight, for that matter. They said it'll take a lot longer for mah forelegs ta heal on account of how much of a beatin' they took. Gosh, Ah'll probably have a cutie mark by then! Assuming it's in tha next two ta three months at the least, anyway. The casts itch somethin' fierce though. But this wheelchair's real nifty! Might try to use it on a lazy day after Ah'm healed up. Point bein', Ah wasn't gonna just sit there in tha bed and soak in yer sun when the window is open while yer havin' ta deal with the aftermath of being COCOONED without mah support," She said, chuckling with energy as she stared at the menu. Soon she would be all ready to order. She could feel it, sense it. Just as she went to go pick it up with her mouth though, a familiar odor announced itself.

Pigpen had a soothing smell about him. It was awfully similar to the sort of smell she grew accustomed to working with dirty farmyard animals who played all day in the mud, gettin' really smelly and dirty and loving every second of it. She liked that sort of mindset, running about and playing and just being yourself. She didn't really know what Pigpen, or Piggy as she liked to call him, did so she just chalked it up to a wild and free stallion.

"Thanks for tha support, Pigpen. It's real appreciated!" She offered with a smile, wondering if she could convince Applejack to have a servant for a while. Probably not.

By now, she was ready to order. Sadly she was in no position to simply pick up a menu however, so she had to improvise. She craned her aching neck down, picked up a menu in her equally jaw, and dropped the menu into the wheelchair and nuzzled it with her nose. There sure was a lot of things she could order! A lot of it was fancy food that she wasn't too fond of or had much of a desire to eat, and she saw some foods and drinks that if she were to order would be higb treason. No doubt the fizzy apple cider wasn't from good Apple stock. But what she did see made her mouth water. Rapturous spaghetti looked delicious. Peel and seed fres roma tomatoes, simmer down into a sauce witho live oil, salt, and pepper. Cook your pasta about halfway, throw it in a wok. Toss with about a tablespoon of butter. Add the sauce, several fresh chopped basil leaves, and half a cup parmesan cheese. Yum!

"Ah'll take...rapturous spaghetti...and hay fries...and some dandelion greens, with a nice tall glass o'milk, thank ya very much!" She spoke slowly and simply, enraptured while the waiter took her order and moved on. That'd be a feast fit fit for a Queen. Or Princess. As she imagined the deliciousness about to hit her, a presence made it's...presence known.

The pony who trotted to meet her next, Time Spinner, seemed to have a bit of a vacant stare about him, like he was a pony stuck in the past. It was an odd look and when he came up and spoke to her, she didn't really know how to respond. She wasn't even sure if he would even know what she said, but everypony needed help sometimes and while she didn't really know what was going o, that didn't stop her from trying to help. She smiled and nodded towards him in lieu of waving.

"Well, Ah'm not a guard captain, it was just tha costume that Ah wore ta Nightmare Night. Feels pretty good bein' called a Captain though, especially by tha Princess!" She coughed, shaking her head with effort, "though Ah'd be just fine gettin' most of mah mane back so Ah could get ta wearin' mah bow. Miss that more than mah mane! So, what's yer story?"

[Bellosh]

"I've never met the Princess directly. I've seen her at formal events, speeches, the 'Summer Sun Celebration', among others..... Wait. You mean actually meet her, as in 'meet meet'? Like she will be here. And I'll be here? Oh my."

“Tehehe,” Moondancer giggled as politely as she could, her voice shifting to match Pocket’s quieter whispering; “You are so adorkable when you want to be, Pocket Change.” Giving her coltfriend a reassuring kiss on the cheek, Moony jovially advised; “Just relax; as long as you remember that bowing to my boss is only a friendly recommendation, you’ll be fine.” Doubtless Pocket was going to bow to Celestia anyway out of respect; Moondancer would do the same thing if she didn’t see her royal boss on a semi-frequent basis.

"Oh sweet Celestia, look at that. I saw that kid at a little event I attended back in Ponyville. She's one of Princess Celestia's Champion's sisters. And she's in that chair. Poor kid."

The sight of those two special guests at the royal table all bandaged up made Moondacer gulp on reflex; “Wow… those two guys must have had it pretty rough during Nightmare Night. It kinda makes me feel bad staying inside that magic bubble for most of the Invasion. But maybe that means they’ve got a really exciting story to tell! I can’t wait to hear it…” Moony made a note to ask her boss about getting them some magically-assisted healing before they left Canterlot Castle for the night.

"Your Majesty. I thank thee for this event."

~Way to be a cheeseball, Pocket~

"It is a pleasure to see you as always Moondancer. You always bring such energy and life to parties. Greetings Pocket Change. Moondancer has told me much about you. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I hope you both enjoy yourselves, though I hardly suspect that will be an issue with you Moondancer."

“You got that right, Princess Celestia!” affirmed Moondancer before she mischievously whispered back to Pocket Change; “See? That wasn’t so bad. Now when the time comes, you how it’ll feel like to meet my parents.” That time probably won’t be coming for a couple months still, but it always made sense to prepare early.

Remembering her mental note from earlier, Moondancer leaned upwards towards the royal alicorn’s ear and quietly asked her so that the other guests couldn’t hear; “Hey boss, do you think we can get some of the court healers to fix up our guests of honor? I’d do it myself if I could, but I don’t specialize in fast-working healing spells... and I'd rather not risk screwing things up.” While Moony spoke softly, she did glance back at the royal table once or twice to get a better look at the occupants.....

[NeoExlucky]

"Oh...erm..." Time dug his hoof into the ground nervously. What to do, what to do...did he tell the filly about where he was or does he lie? The very prospect of sharing his story once more seemed kind of scary. He wondered if maybe telling her would help any. His mother used to ask about his problems, and when he told her, he felt better. Since he the head of the family though, he didn't tell anyone about anything he did. He just kept them bottled up, never revealing to another soul, the secrets and troubles he went through. He even told his siblings that he was at the fashion show instead of at Twilight's haunted house during the incident, so he wouldn't have to bring up the nightmares. He didn't feel like he could trust anyone, but maybe...he could confide to this small filly, a foolish notion might I add, considering they had not met each other since before this night.

"I...I went to the golden oaks library. The changeling there was impersonating Princess Twilight Sparkle and she made us go through..." He shuddered. "...Nightmares...we had to fight our worst fears, and eventually she pitted us against each other. I had to fight a stallion named...filthy fish."

[Mojo]

"Nice to meet you, Pyro! Yes indeed, this is such a lovely occassion!" Pigpen neighed as his loyal flies continued buzzing all around him. He then heard a mare call out his name from behind.

"Pardon me a moment, please," the shaggy unkempt stallion said as he turned toward Presteza. "Hello there, ma'am! You do look familiar, I know I saw you somewhere before... do you live in Ponyville? If you do, chances are I'm the pony who picks up your trash! I do love my job. Somepony has to do it, may as well be me."

[tacobob]

The sight of those two special guests at the royal table all bandaged up made Moondacer gulp on reflex; “Wow… those two guys must have had it pretty rough during Nightmare Night. It kinda makes me feel bad staying inside that magic bubble for most of the Invasion. But maybe that means they’ve got a really exciting story to tell! I can’t wait to hear it…” Moony made a note to ask her boss about getting them some magically-assisted healing before they left Canterlot Castle for the night.

"I just wonder where those two were at.", the unicorn asked in a proper-whisper, "I'm also curious what the kid did, but I'm guessing she's probably as much of a hero as her older sister. And speaking of Applejack, I wonder where she and her companions are at. I wanted to ask Lady Pink Pie how she was subdued, but we were all very obviously too busy for some conversation at the time."

Celestia was met with a very familiar and energetic face, Moondancer, along with her friend. "It is a pleasure to see you as always Moondancer. You always bring such energy and life to parties" Celestia said with a grin as Moondancer introduced whom she could only assume to be her coltfriend. "Greetings Pocket Change. Moondancer has told me much about you. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." Celestia greeted the stallion. "I hope you both enjoy yourselves, though I hardly suspect that will be an issue with you Moondancer." Celestia said playfully with a smirk and a wink.

Pocket Change couldn't believe it! The princess, Princess Celestia actually said his name! He couldn't help but break out into a little blush, "Thank you, your Majesty. We shall allow ourselves, bearing now with your permittance, to enjoy this most festive of celebrations.", he humbly stated to his leader. Once Princess Celestia had moved on to other groups, the stallion returned to his hooves. "I hope that was the correct bow. How was my prostration? I didn't want to go with a full face on the floor sort of bow, considering there's a horrible smell in this room like some animal wandered in and did its duty before leaving. Didn't want to find my face in that pile. So a proper hoof over my heart and the other on the ground should have been proper.", the unicorn was starting to go into 'babble-mode', thankfully, he realized he was before it got worst and stopped. "Oh, Sorry Moonie.", he grinned back at the mare. "Eh. Your parents, did any of them by chance happen to be instructors in our school?"

[QuickLime]

Cashmere just offered a small smile a soft oof, and a quiet"Thank you' at Flying Brick, but his ears pricked and he heard Cherry Blossom's scalding words reached his ears, making his face go scarlet in shame and embarrassment..he didn't belong at this table, Time Spinner asked him what he did, but he let him speak first...Time Spinner's story was far more impressive, of inner strength and of courage...Cashmere had taken one shot, and had wished REALLY hard, and that was it..

He really couldn't find his voice for a moment Snooty with no manners So she had assumed without speaking a word to him that he was a rich, snooty jerk from Canterlot (Which in it of itself was horribly unfair! Most citizens of Canterlot were very polite and kind).

After being able to gather his breath he glanced at Time Spinner "Hello Time Spinner..I'm Cashmere..I live in Ponyville and run a small store, I make custom fashions;And I didn't do anything to deserve this seat.." It felt like he was giving a speech or pouring his heart out... probably a little of both.

"The night the Changelings attacked I did nothing of valor, I did no great deeds, I didn't charge in and fight my fears. or fight changelings...I saw somepony was in trouble "He glanced at AppleBloom and gave her a soft smile "A very brave pony who could barely stand, but was fighting so hard, and being so brave...so I did what any good citizen of Equestria would do..I helped her...and when she wanted to free Celestia..I helped her too"

He lifted a glass up to his mouth with his magic, taking a small sip, his throat felt dry... " And when I saw a blast coming towards her..towards..us for trying to free Her Highness..I got in the way to soften the blow..that's why I'm all bandaged up.."He shook his head 'That's also not a courageous thing to do, that's just doing the right thing."

Another short pause "The final thing I did, was just..I focused, I focused my love, and my devotion for Equestria, for Celestia herself..for all of us " Cashmere glanced towards the Princess then, with eyes shining with devotion, like a student to a respected teacher... "I focused all of these things, the things that Changelings think make us weak, and I sent them to her..and she heard me" A small smile cracked his lips before he hung his head.

"I dont' deserve to be at this table Time Spinner, I did what anypony should have, and would have done in my place... I'm just some nopony that wouldn't sit idly by..."

With that he glanced over the menu, and smiled, glancing at the waiter "I'll have what she's having, but substitute the milk with some grape juice please"

[NeoExlucky]

Time Spinner listened deeply to cashmere's words. He shook his head, as he told his tale. He had done something of amazing courage. Not everyone would have done that. In fact a similar situation had apparently happened between that filly, Diamond Tiara, another filly, whose name Time had forgotten, and Prince Blueblood. In this situation Prince Blueblood had held the fillies back so he would succeed in his challenge against them.

"No, Cashmere, what you did was very heroic. N-not only did you save the 'guard captain' but you also focused your devotion for p-princess C-Celstia. You have every right to s-sit here. No other pony has done what you tried to do..." He took a deep breath to give him a few seconds to ponder what he should say next. "When I...wnet through my challenge. I was trying to save my brother and sister. D-during this I broke down. I gave up on everything, laid down and waited for my e-e-e-e...my you-know-what to come. It wasn't until later that I got back up and learned to s-s-stop feeding them." He looked down. "B-but it didn't have the...best effect..."

He heard the disembodied words of a pony not far from where he stood. He turrned towards it and gave the mare he thought was said a very disapproving look, then turned back to Cashmere. "I...I apologize for the acts of some of these ponies. I suppose part of it is my f-fault. I am a fairly rich pony, that lives in Canterlot. They assume you have my stereot-t-type."

[RarityDash]

"Ah, you must be Radiant Steel. Col. Pummel has spoken highly of you. He notified me of your great deeds and felt it necessary to present you with the medal of valour. And if even half of what he said was true, that medal doesn't do your deeds justice. The honour is mine to have such hard working and loyal mares and stallions protecting Equestria. I hope you will enjoy the banquet, and I look forward to talking to you some more."

Radiant was completely speechless. The princess knew who she was? She was honored to meet her? She wanted to talk to her more? She simply couldn't believe any of this was true at all. The guardsmare staggered backwards slightly in disbelief before giving a rigid nod. She felt half compelled to drop to the floor and plant kisses at the princess' hooves, but of course that would be a silly thing for a mare to actually do.

"I-I-I...Your Majesty! I most certainly will enjoy your banquet for which I am most gracious!" she started with extreme awkwardness, staring stiffly ahead. "A-and I would like nothing more than to talk to you about whatever you desire!" she added, hoping it wasn't presumptuous to actually say. She really had no clue how to talk to royalty. She was still not completely convinced she hadn't long been dreaming.

​

"Wow, yer a big fan of tha Princess Ah take it? Can't blame ya thar. Mah name's Apple Bloom, nice to meectha!"

One of the princess' guests spoke to Radiant then. She turned her head to find the honored guest was just a young filly, who was very badly injured. This was the one who had helped find the princess escape capture wasn't it? Radiant remembered hearing of the incident before. If so, she was quite the hero. Radiant definitely had respect for her, especially since such bodily harm had to be sustained through it. All the same, Radiant really hadn't even the beginning of a clue how to talk to children.

"Well met, Miss Apple Bloom," she said probably several degrees too seriously, with another stiff nod. "I must offer you my gratitude for what you did for Princess Celestia and by extensions all of us that night. Your heroism and self sacrifice are truly most commendable.You have cause to be proud."

​

[Pretzelparty]

In regard to Rusty's story the mare could only smile and visualize it in her head,"I heard a lot of that battle and that things got kinda... crazy. If ya got a good look at the guard that saved ya maybe I can have my big brother try and find him ta give 'im yer thanks!"

"Ah, Dosvedanya, Princess. I am not sure if I should bow; I have never been sure, see, if Stalliongrad was part of your domains or not."

Seeing as the mare from stalliongrad (Who still had not told the friend she has in a headlock her name)didn't seem like she was going to release her anytime soon, Presteza took some initiative and squirmed her way free in time to remark on what she said in a playful jab,"I'm pretty sure since princesses rule all of Equestria, it's pretty safe ta say it is. speakin' o' bowing" The mare bowed calmly to Princess Celestia and her guests of honor.

"Hello there, ma'am! You do look familiar, I know I saw you somewhere before... do you live in Ponyville? If you do, chances are I'm the pony who picks up your trash! I do love my job. Somepony has to do it, may as well be me."

The silver maned unicorn nodded,"Ya did see me before, It was at Fluttershy's animal adoption event. I drew ya a rough sketch o' you and yer little buddy , Rascal!" She spoke in a Matter of fact sort of tone that was mixed with a hint of enthusiasm. "Fresco stayed indoors that night an wasn't took keen on me goin' out... I guess 'e kinda had a bad feelin'!"

[Mojo]

Pigpen was delighted to hear Presteza's words.

"Wow! You drew a sketch of my pal Rascal? That's wonderful!" Pigpen neighed in delight, jumping up and down for joy briefly, just enough to stir up a dust cloud that floated up from the shaggy unkempt stallion's body and began to drift across the room. "Do you happen to have it with you? You must be a great artist! I tried my hoof at creating art once, but it didn't go so well. I tried moldy clay scruptures too, but for some odd reason, the clay I would mold would never set right."

As Pigpen continued in conversation, the flies orbiting his head began to fly around the room, dodging other ponies and even doing a quick 'fly by' in front of Celestia before returning to their usual orbital flight patterns around the smelly stallion's head.

[Pretzelparty]

"Wow! You drew a sketch of my pal Rascal? That's wonderful!" Pigpen neighed in delight, jumping up and down for joy briefly, just enough to stir up a dust cloud that floated up from the shaggy unkempt stallion's body and began to drift across the room. "Do you happen to have it with you? You must be a great artist! I tried my hoof at creating art once, but it didn't go so well. I tried moldy clay scruptures too, but for some odd reason, the clay I would mold would never set right."

The mare smiled proudly,"Yep! If ya want I could stop by... wherever ya live in ponyville and d-drah... drop it off" as the dust began to drift about the room the golden mare's head bobbed slightly and her muzzle scrunched up. Pigpen definately was a friendly stallion... but why did he have have a coat full of dust on him? This was possibly the worst place Presteza could ever hope for one of magical malfunctions, but with her standing right in front of the dusty source it seemed like it was gonna happen whether she liked it or not.

As her muzzle scrunched up and her eye lids grew heavy she began to rub her hoof to her nose... but it was to no avail,"Ah... ah... Ah-TCHIEW!" the young artist's horn soon lit in unison and as if on cue a strong gust rushed through the room. It was in now way shape or form a dangerous miscast but depending on how close one was to the caster thy had a chance to have their mane rustled and/or blown back and possibly some loose fitting accessory such as glasses blown off if at just the right angle. On the other hoof the magical malfunction seemed to have done a decent job of dispersing the dust cloud.

"..." Pres only blushed and remained silent for a few moments before laughing nervously,"Uh... 'scuse me" she said with cheesy grin before rapidly trying to change the subject at least with Pigpen and praying to the princesses that not everypony in the room could tell she had just done that,"So uh... 'ow is Rascal? doin' good I hope!"

[Lilia]

Cherry flushed when she realized that she had been over-heard, waiting until Pyro had stepped away to approach Cashmere. She hung her head, giving herself a good mental kick for not using her brain-to-mouth filter.

"I hope I'm not interrupting...I just wanted to apologize for that...I don't know you, but you have to be a good pony to be honored by Her Highness herself! I just...I don't see why anypony can't sit beside you, aside from you being so highly honored..." She said, true regret in her eyes as she looked Cashmere over. He was hurt, and she had judged him from a single action. Who was she to determine who was good and who was not? She sighed, turning away.

If it wasn't for the fact that she had opened her big mouth, she wouldn't have to apologize to a recognized Hero.

​

[Mojo]

"Bless you!" Pigpen responded to Presteza's sneeze.

Pigpen didn't notice he had accidentally produced a 'cloud of dust' with his actions, nor did he know that Presteza had used her magic to dispell it. All he knew was he was having a great conversation with his new friend!

"Rascal's doing great, Miss Presteza, thanks for asking!" Pigpen neighed happily. "Poor little guy wanted to come with me to this fancy dinner, but I had to leave him behind. I have a feeling pets wouldn't be allowed in. Besides that, Rascal's keeping watch over the junkyard and Antique Shoppe while I'm away. Perhaps sometime if you happen to be traveling around the Ponyville area, you could stop by my Antique Shoppe! You'd be amazed at all of the things I have to sell there! Valuable things I've discovered by searching around, hauling away junk from houses and even in the trash collections. There's an old saying that 'one pony's trash is another one's treasure.' Forgive me, here I am monopolizing all the conversation. Tell me a little more about yourself, Miss Presteza, if you'd like to."

[starswirlthebearded]

"Hey, this is a real nice banquette you have goin' here." he wouldn't waste too much of her time though, he'd probably leave after she responded, "Oh, names Rusty Contraption by the way."

Celestia looked at the rust coloured stallion who introduced himself as Rusty Contraption and gave a smile. “This banquet would never have happened without the efforts of all who attended.” Celestia replied to the compliment with a smile, had it not been for Ponyvillians, Equestria may very well have been on it’s way to falling at the hooves of the changelings. Celestia only played a small part driving them off, as she was captured most of the night. After the stallion had introduced himself, the princess bowed her head “It is a pleasure to meet you Rusty. I hope you can continue to enjoy the banquet.”

Shortly following was a Stalliongrad mare who gave the traditional Stalliongradian greeting.

"Ah, zdorovat'sya, Princess. I am not sure if I should bow; I have never been sure, see, if Stalliongrad was part of your domains or not."

"I'm pretty sure since princesses rule all of Equestria, it's pretty safe ta say it is. speakin' o' bowing" The mare bowed calmly to Princess Celestia and her guests of honor.

“Dobryj dyen” the princess replied, unsure of what to call the mare. Before she could reply to the question of whether Stalliongrad is a part of Equestria or not, Presteza answered for her. She looked at the young painter mare and smiled giving a confirmation nod towards Presteza. “What Miss Presteza says is true, though Stalliongrad is one of the furthest areas north of Equestria, it is still very much an Equestrian city,” she confirmed, “Though, it is easy to see why some ponies would forget that.” Celestia said with an understanding smile. “Welcome to the banquet, I hope you can enjoy yourself.”

"Hello, princess. Thank you for letting me come to this banquet." Pyro said, bowing slightly. "Oh, and, umm... Sorry for sitting at your guests of honor table."

Celestia nodded at Pyro’s greeting. “I hope you can enjoy yourself tonight.” Celestia said with a smile as he apologized for sitting at her table. “It is quite alright, everypony makes mistakes.” Celestia forgiving him easily. “I know you were merely eager to talk to this young filly next to me.” Celestia said while looking at Apple Bloom. “But there will be plenty of time for that after the awards portion of the night. The seating arrangements are for the awards and dinner, there will be plenty of time to move around and talk to everypony after.” Celestia explained why things were the way they were. She didn’t want to make anypony feel alienated, and everypony would be honoured tonight in some way or another.

"Ah'm likin' tha sound of Captain Apple Bloom a lot still, Princess Celestia. Fits being a big filly! The doctors weren't keen on me comin' up here ta see ya. Neither was Twilight, for that matter. They said it'll take a lot longer for mah forelegs ta heal on account of how much of a beatin' they took. Gosh, Ah'll probably have a cutie mark by then! Assuming it's in tha next two ta three months at the least, anyway. The casts itch somethin' fierce though. But this wheelchair's real nifty! Might try to use it on a lazy day after Ah'm healed up. Point bein', Ah wasn't gonna just sit there in tha bed and soak in yer sun when the window is open while yer havin' ta deal with the aftermath of being COCOONED without mah support,"

Celestia chuckled at the young filly’s earnestness. “You will certainly be treated like a captain tonight Apple Bloom” Celestia smiled at the filly. “However, you must promise me that you will not over do it tonight, I would not want Princess Twilight or your doctors sending me angry letters about how I let you allow your injuries to worsen so that you may attend a banquet,” Celestia said with a hint of joking, but wanting to impress on Apple Bloom that her health came first. And Celestia could plainly see that Apple Bloom was making the best of a bad situation, the little filly’s outlook on life was something to be mimicked, seeing the best in every situation. Celestia chuckled at her obsession with her Cutie Mark.“I appreciate the support ‘Captain’ Apple Bloom, and I shall be here for you as well if you need it.” Celestia said with a wink to the filly.

“You got that right, Princess Celestia!”

“Hey boss, do you think we can get some of the court healers to fix up our guests of honor? I’d do it myself if I could, but I don’t specialize in fast-working healing spells... and I'd rather not risk screwing things up.”

The ever cheery Moondancer gave an affirmative to Celestia’s suggestion that she’d have fun no matter what. She also offered a suggestion to have Apple Bloom checked by court physicians. Celestia nodded at the suggestion. “That sounds like a fine idea Moondancer.” Celestia concurred as she summoned her guards to get a court physician.

Shortly thereafter a court physician arrived, and gave both Cashmere and Apple Bloom a quick examination. “Princess Celestia, as much as I would like to treat your guests of honour, there is not much more we can do for them. The Ponyville doctors have done everything we would have done, including accelerating their healing using magic. We do apologize Princess Celestia.”

Celetsia nodded at the doctor. “That is quite alright, thank you for coming down to check.” Celestia smiled at the doctor as he walked away.

"Thank you, your Majesty. We shall allow ourselves, bearing now with your permittance, to enjoy this most festive of celebrations."

Moondancers coltfriend seemed to be superfluous with his words, and it amused Celestia. “You are quite welcome Pocket Change.” Celestia said trying to hold back her laughter of his overly flowery way of speaking. “Please, do enjoy yourself. You not only have my permittance but my mandate to do so!” She playfully responded as she leaned in to whisper to Pocket Change “You don’t have to be so stiff and formal Pocket, please try to relax and have a little fun, even around me.” Celestia pulled back and gave a wink to the stallion. She understood ponies being nervous, but Pocket Change’s stiffness was so much that Celestia felt he could be used as a statue in the Castle gardens.

"I-I-I...Your Majesty! I most certainly will enjoy your banquet for which I am most gracious!" she started with extreme awkwardness, staring stiffly ahead."A-and I would like nothing more than to talk to you about whatever you desire!"

Though Pocket Change wasn’t the only pony to be nervous around the princess, as Radiant Steel was also rather nervous. Celetsia chuckled at the REA mare’s stiff reaction similar to how she felt about Pocket Change. “I am glad, if you need anything please do not hesitate to ask Radiant.” Celestia replied as she said she would talk about anything. “That is good to hear, there will be much to discuss this night. I’m sure you will be good company. Perhaps you could tell me about the open Boot Camp that will be happening soon.” Celestia said with a smile. She hoped after some light conversation Radiant would feel more comfortable around her. Celestia had visited the camps before but this was the first she heard of an open admittance camp and it was a rather interesting prospect.

((OOC: Everyone please remember that ponies should be making their way to their tables soon and place their orders so that the awards thing can get done with so this can become a bit more open and social.))

[SteelEagle]

Poor stallion. Wrestling with shadows from within was always scarier than fighting something physical no matter how vicious it was, being preyed on by the sort of magic that was held in awe and responsible for what fear existed regarding unicorn magic. She'd seen the effects on one of her classmates, Diamond Tiara. As rude as she was, as mean as she was, as insanely cruel as she could be, Apple Bloom didn't want to imagine what had happened to her that had caused her so much distress that she seemed a zombie more than a pony half the time at school. And she didn't think him any less for being as damaged by the experience as a filly. Something like that strikes you where your very soul is weakest and exploits every crack until you were just a quivering mess. Apple Bloom wouldn't have done better. Neither would her big sis.

"Yeah, Ah heard 'bout how awful that was. Sorry ya had ta go through somethin' like that. Makes what Ah went through see like a walk in the park, even if your scars are probably more, err, inside than out," She finished lowly, deciding to hoof over her glass of water. It always helped to have something to drink.

"'ere, have a glass of water. Maybe it won't make the nightmares stop, but cold water always helps me when Ah needta get better," She offered hopefully, aware of how meager it was. All she could do. especially as Cashmere blew up Apple Bloom's role as if she had any real plan. To be honest Apple Bloom couldn't tell you much about the experience. She had a somewhat dark spot above everything that happened after the ribbon had turned into a cocoon around her hooves. But she blushed appropriately, not willing to let Cashmere off that easy.

"Well, Ah wouldn't be so modest thar Cashmere! Why, ya took a big brunt of that changeling's blast for me. If ya hadn't done that, Ah'd have been a blinkin' pair of eyes that fell to the ground without the rest of me! Yer a hero, ta me and ta Celestia," Apple Bloom spoke sincerely, nodding emphatically. She would have patted his head like he was her dog Winona, but she couldn't. And he probably wouldn't have liked it anyway. Then the waiter arrived with her glass of milk, a sippy straw tucked nto it so she could drink. And that is just what she did as Radiant Steel addressed her.

Awfully formal for a pony in an informal event, but she supposed that came with the territory. The guards were legendary for being sprta stonefaced and she didn't dissapoint, being as straight forward and stern as she imagined a teacher at a private school was. Though this time said stern teacher was complimenting her in the only way a stern could. Apple Bloom received it well.

"Ah only did what anypony woulda done in mah position, but thanks, Miss Steel. Say, how longa ya been in tha guard?" Apple Bloom asked, curious as to the life and times of Equestria's fittest and finest. But Equestria's finest was certainly Celestia, who Apple Bloom listened intently too as she spoke. She was right, Apple Bloom needed to be careful with her injured body and not push it too far. Then again, she was an Apple. Pushing herself beyond all sense was as part of her identity as farming and family.

"Don't worry about me, Princess Celestia. Ah'm an Apple. We deal with all SORTSA lil' injuries down on tha farm. Ah'll only push mahself as far as Ah know Ah can go, not further. 'Sides, the doctors and Twi are smarter than some dumb little filly but they don't know me from a bushel of braeburns. So Princess, Ah ordered somee hay fries and spaghetti. Whatcha gettin'?"

[NeoExlucky]

Time Spinner took the glass of water and sipped from it. "Th-thank you..." He said very quietly. He felt himself starting to overstay his welcome and with a look behind him said, "I...I should go. It was n-nice talking to y-you." He took the water and made his way to a table by himself. "Just coffee please, caramel cream..." He ordered, not even glancing at the menu. He was in no mood to eat. He kept sipping from the glass he had taken from the 'guard captain'.