twilightpony | Mid Winter Feast!

The snow is deep in the Everfree! I followed the animal trails to Zecora's house and I found her just finishing up strapping the things she was bringing to a sleigh. With the snow this deep, the cart was not really an option. We checked to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything and we were off.

We alternated breaking trail and pulling the sleigh. It was hard work and I was sweating by the time we reached the outskirts of Ponyville. We were setting up to begin preparation of the soups and hot beverages when Spike arrived with the things I had had him get for Zecora. Between the grains, starchy vegetables and Zecora's expertise with herbs, those soups were mouth watering! And so many teas! Pinkie made a punch too and added that to Zecora's tables.

It was a veritable beehive of activity in the Hall. Pinkie had ponies making sandwiches, Applejack arrived with her contributions, there were hot dishes, a chocolate fountain started around noon, but not much second cut hay and silage on the tables.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and her team pulled banners though the skies inviting everypony to Town Hall at two in the afternoon and switching banners to count down the hours to the aerial show. At one in the afternoon the square around Town hall was beginning to fill with ponies. We had to pick our way around them to deliver the food and Pinkie's contribution to the decor, including two party canons that she had instructed us to place at the main doors, facing up and away from the building. At two o'clock sharp, Pinkie dropped down from who knows where, right between the cannons, and shouted out to the crowd in her high pitched voice: "C'mon everypony, I want to see you smile!" And she fired both cannons at once, showering everypony with confetti, party hats and balloons. That was Rainbow Dash's cue.

Rainbow Dash and her five teammates came out from behind the Town hall and whistled over the crowd. As one, they curved straight up, all six touched hooves as one, lit their vapor trails and dived straight down to the crowd again. Right above everypony's heads they veered each in their own direction and at full speed each took a different Ponyville street, flying between the houses and back to the square. They did various synchronized acrobatic stunts, peeling off to zigzag through the streets of Ponyville again a few times. This gave Rainbow Dash the opportunity to fly off, gain speed and create a Sonic Rainboom high above Ponyville and make a rainbow trail through the sky, right back down to the Town Hall doors. If anypony in Ponyville had had any doubt that something was happening today at Town Hall, they didn't now.

After the stomping and the cheering, Pinkie threw open the doors and it was time to feast. Inside, the walls and ceiling glittered, the DJ put on some Moosart (just for starters), and there was food everywhere. When everypony had filled their plates and were milling about, chatting, the DJ paused the music and Mayor Mare came out on the large inner balcony. She gave a speech, that wasn't too long, and after the applause, everypony got back to eating. The food, the soups, the drinks, the desserts, it was all very good.

We talked, we ate, the Ponytones sang four songs, Pinkie dropped an incredible number of balloons into the room from some place hidden high up on the ceiling, she lit dozens of colorful paper lanterns kept from last Summer Sun Celebration and the DJ went for louder music. The Beach Bays, the Trottles, some Whinny Hoofston and on to Coloratura. Crowd pleasers. It also started getting harder to talk.

I helped Zecora collect her things and move the tables out of the way of ponies that were starting to dance and play games like pin the tail on the pony. We consolidated what was left of the food and drink into a corner, the Cakes went home, and Applejack and Zecora joined the party. Spike was having a great time but I was partied out.

I waved bye to everypony, told Zecora that her guest room at the Treecastle was ready for her when she was, and that her things will be waiting for her in the mane hall entrance there. I pulled Zecora's sleigh back through the blissfully quiet streets of Ponyville and went home.