The crowd that had gathered was actually quite massive. Nopony expected this many ponies to show up to this event, which started to make Twilight nervous about her performance. Sure, she and the group had been practicing for a month now, making sure it was perfect, but something started to make her feel like it was going to be terrible. No, she thought. I have to do this. This is a special occasion. Her nervousness would have to subside for the time being.
Twilight was surprised that gathering her group was so easy. Applejack and Rainbow Dash immediately jumped in to assist with this, but Rarity and Fluttershy had to sit out because they couldn't contribute. She was also surprised that Pinkie's sister, Octavia, a musician from Canterlot, came and insisted she be a part of the performance.
Everything was going good so far. Twilight had asked Princess Celestia to help spread the word of the event, hoping to get as many ponies come and celebrate with them as they could. The amount of RSVPs were so large, that they actaully needed to change the location to outside of Ponyville, on a flat grass plain. A work crew had built a temporary stage early this morning, and had just finished hooking up all of the electrical wiring before the sun set.
Ponies from all across Equestria seemed to be here, all knowing full well the reason. There were loud ponies from Appleloosa, and even the highly sophisticated ponies of Canterlot and Manehatten. After hearing of an event the Princess was advertising, everypony wanted to go. And now that the sun had set, and the moon was high in the sky, everypony had taken their seats that were spread out across the field, and began chatting with one another.
Twilight pulled her head back behind the curtain, not sure if she really would be able to do this, even if it was for Pinkie Pie. But a sudden presence behind her broke her train of thought. The Unicorn turned around to see Princess Celestia, smiling down on her pupil. “Twilight. I'm so glad you decided to do this for Pinkie Pie. You really are a great friend to her.” She said with pure sincerity.
She couldn't help but blush a bit at the comment from embarrassment. “Oh, Princess, it's not really that big of a deal. I just didn't know you'd have told so many ponies. The crowd is ginormous.”
“Well, what can you expect when the leader of a nation puts away her schedule for one event? Everypony would start wondering what the big deal was. Besides, I'm certain none of them would have missed this for the world.” The Princess giggled a bit, before looking behind her at the rest of the group about to walk onstage. Applejack was making sure her guitar was tuned, Rainbow Dash was air drumming a random beat, and Octavia just took deep breaths, keeping her nerves down. “I hope you all do fantastic out there tonight.” Celestia spoke to the ponies, catching their attentions, and earning a thank you from each.
Twilight nodded to the Princess, thankful for her support in all of this. It really was a special day. She couldn't help but think back to just one year ago. Flashes of the Pink pony flooded before Twilight's eyes. She saw Pinkie bouncing around as usual, only for it to flash ahead, showing a frightened pony soaked outside her front door. She had told Pinkie to go home and rest, instead of invite her in. Who knew one small oversight would have had such a drastic consequence?
"Twilight!" Princess Celestia stated loudly, enough to break the Unicorn from her flashback.
She shook her head, and took a deep breath. "I'm alright. Let's go everypony. We have a show to perform."
Just then, the lights went out near the crowd, and the stage lit up, shining a spotlight on center stage. That was their cue, so the four ponies made their way into the view of the crowd, receiving a quiet stomp applause. Applejack and Twilight took their spots near the microphone up front, Rainbow Dash going to the drum set, and Octavia positioning herself at the piano.
After taking a deep breath, Twilight used her magic to lift the microphone off of it's stand before her, and raised it near her face. “Hello, everypony.” At the sound of her voice, all of the chatter ceased, causing a build on her already existing stage fright. “For those who did not know, we are gathered here today to celebrate the memory of one of Equestria's greatest ponies. This mare was one of the friendliest ponies you could ever meet. She loved to make everypony smile, and never gave up until they did. Her actions brought true happiness on more ponies than any of us could count, and plenty of laughter with it.”
A strange feeling formed between her rubs, the feeling of remembering a sad memory. But Twilight had to push through it. “For all of our travelers, you could ask any citizen of Equestria if they knew her, and if she truly did make them happy, and they would all say yes.” Another deep breath, and Twilight lowered her gaze to the wooden stage floor before continuing. “This is for the memory of Pinkemena Diane Pie, The Element of Laughter of the Elements of Harmony. Or as we all knew her, Pinkie Pie.” Her eyes went back to the audience, her face holding a smile. “Thank you all for being here on the anniversary of Pinkie's passing. It means so much to everypony who knew her, and we hope you enjoy our song.”
Twilight looked over to Octavia, nodding to signal her to start playing, before returning to the microphone.
***Listen to this***
A long, long time ago,
I can still remember how those parties used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance,
I would make those ponies dance,
and maybe we could party for a while.
But that fateful morning made me shiver,
with the paper Derpy had delivered.
Bad news on my doorstep,
I couldn't take one more step.
I can't remember if I cried when I thought the paper could have lied,
But something touched me deep inside,
The day, the Laughter died.
So bye bye, Miss Pinkie Pie,
Tried to warn me bout your worries, but I thought you were fine.
You held my hooves, forming tears in your eyes,
Saying, this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.
Did you use your Pinkie Sense?
Was your body getting really tense?
Like it always used to do?
And did you believe no pony could help,
Cause they treated you like a whelp?
And, did you think your friends didn't trust you?
Well I knew you couldn't do it alone,
Cause I saw you were scared to the bone.
We tried to help our best,
But we all needed our rest!
We were young, teenage, friendly mares,
We went through life without a care.
But we all ran out of time to spare,
the day the Laughter died.
I started singing:
Bye, bye, Miss Pinkie Pie
Tried to warn me bout your worries, but I thought you were fine.
You held my hooves, forming tears in your eyes,
Saying, this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.
Now for a whole year, we've been on our own,
And still feel bad for leaving you alone.
Cause thats not how friends are supposed to be.
When you threw that party for Celestia,
And showed her that gift from Fillydelphia,
We all laughed at the face on Luna.
While the Princess was laying down,
You quickly stole her golden crown.
The whole room filled with laughter,
Nopony was angry after.
And while Nightmare Moon enjoyed her reign,
You were the one who kept us sane,
and we sang sad songs in the rain,
the day the Laughter died.
We were singing,
Bye, bye, Miss Pinkie Pie
Tried to warn me bout your worries, but I thought you were fine.
You held my hooves, forming tears in your eyes,
Saying, this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.
Parasprites took their flight, and caused quite a fright.
The truth had finally come to light,
right when you came around.
The Changelings took over the whole town,
but you never even made a frown.
You just grabbed me, and used my horn to mow them down.
Now the victory was short-lived,
As the Changelings had already thrived.
Those creatures were trying to eat,
But together we brought their defeat.
Shining Armor and Cadance blew them away.
And we enjoyed the rest of the day.
Do you recall the events that played,
the day the Laughter died?
We started singing:
Bye, bye, Miss Pinkie Pie
Tried to warn me bout your worries, but I thought you were fine.
You held my hooves, forming tears in your eyes,
Saying, this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.
And there we were all in the craze,
the generation of peaceful days,
with no more time for violence.
So come on, Dash the Loyal,
Dash the handy,
Rainbow Dash crashed into cotton candy,
Because, Chaos is Discord's best offense.
And as I watched him tear us apart,
I felt a stabbing in my heart.
Nopony with a sane mind,
would ever be so unkind.
And as I watched the town in the night,
Filled with Chaos' evil blight,
I heard Discord laughing with delight,
the day the Laughter died.
He was singing:
Bye, bye, Miss Pinkie Pie
Tried to warn me bout your worries, but I thought you were fine.
You held my hooves, forming tears in your eyes,
Saying, this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.
I talked with Princess Celestia,
and asked if she could help with this dilemma.
But she just frowned, and turned away.
I went down to Sugar cube Corner,
where the parties were held, years before.
But the Cakes said nopony wanted to come and play.
And in the streets the fillies wept
The mares cried, and nopony slept.
Not a word was spoken,
Many spirits were left broken.
And the ponies I admire best,
all our friends, and the dear Princess,
hoped that you would never rest,
the day the Laughter died.
And they were singing...:
Bye, bye, Miss Pinkie Pie
Tried to warn me bout your worries, but I thought you were fine.
You held my hooves, forming tears in your eyes,
Saying, this will be the day that I die.
This will be the day that I die.
They were singing:
Bye, bye, Miss Pinkie Pie
Tried to warn me bout your worries, but I thought you were fine.
You held my hooves, forming tears in your eyes,
Saying, this will be the day that I die.
The crowd erupted into applause. Cheering, whistling, and stomps were heard from all around. Twilight set the microphone back on it's stand, holding back her tears. The memory of that day was now as fresh as the day it happened, and the guilt of not being there for Pinkie resurfaced. But the reassuring faces of not only her best friends, but both Princess Celestia and Luna on stage around her brought her back from those thoughts.
After Celestia saw that Twilight was going to be alright, she turned to the microphone herself, speaking to the still cheering audience. “Fillies and Gentlecolts, please enjoy tonight's festivities that Ponyville has to offer. And don't forget to have fun.” She cleared her throat quickly, “Let the first ever Pinkimania begin!”
The crowd returned to cheering, starting to disperse to go to the 'party.' The rowdy ponies were the first to start dancing to the music, and slowly, even the fancy Canterlot ponies had started dancing and participating in the activities. It was a freestyle party, and everypony was expected to let loose. They all shared laughs and boogied down as the night went on.
Luna was overjoyed of the idea of a party at night, and Celestia was more than glad to relax and party for once. Twilight organized all of the team games, one of which was Capture the Flag. Non surprisingly, Rainbow Dash and Applejack declared themselves Captains of both teams, and they led the largest game of CTF ever in Equestrian history.
Fluttershy and Rarity stuck to the simple dancing and chatting with strangers. There was one incident where Rarity had been trying to ditch a certain Stallion, but he was very poor at taking the hint. Spike, now almost the height of an average pony, managed to 'persuade' the hopeful pony to leave Rarity alone. After the event, the two decided to spend the rest of the night together
Even though it was a party, ponies still tried to occasionally bug Celestia with politics and issues she needed to resolve. As a Princess, she couldn't just tell them to leave, but tried her best to convince them to return to the party. Luna, not able to stand seeing her sister be harassed like an auctioneer, stomped before the nobles, and very loudly told them to leave her sister be. She promptly received a hoof to the back of her head by Celestia for acting undignified, but they laughed it off and continued to enjoying themselves.
Twilight managed to sneak away from the giant crowd and into the library. Ponies were walking through the town, different buildings hosting games and activities. Sugar Cube Corner was the center of the delicacies, of course, with a few stands outside for snacks and drinks. The Unicorn could hardly walk anymore, and a smile was cemented on her face. She couldn't remember the last time a party was so exhausting. This single event could have rivaled Pinkie's best party, but it was missing one thing: Pinkie Pie.
As she climbed into her bed, she noticed Spike wasn't there. He was probably going to pass out somewhere, and she would have to find him tomorrow. Giggling, Twilight rested her head against her pillow. All of her favorite memories with Pinkie replaced all of the sad ones. Memories of her parties, and the great times they had together. This party was the best way to celebrate the anniversary. Pinkie Pie wouldn't have wanted frowns on this day, she'd want everypony to laugh it off and have a good time.
Facing her ceiling, Twilight spoke as if she could see Pinkie before her. “How's that for a party, Pinkie Pie? Who says I can't plan a party as good as yours?” With that, her exhaustion finally made her give in, and Twilight fell asleep, with the greatest party of Equestria continuing outside.
American Pie (c) Don McLean
