Scarlet Mane's Diary, Entry 2: The Party for Blasting Boomby Madame MintyChaptersEntranceExasperationExhaustionElectrificationEntertainmentEntrance"Hello Poppy Roll," cheerfully said Moonbeam, "I wanted to..." "Oh, hi Moonbeam, yes, yes, Cinnamon Cream told me everything and I've already prepared them all," a mare quickly replied. She had champagne colored fur and her mane intertwined in a grand braid, reminiscent of a long pine cone. She didn't even turn around. "Are there..." Moon started. "Yes, all sixty of them," Poppy cut her off again, looking with her orange eyes at the pile of poppy rolls and apparently recounting them all in a split of a second. "Now excuse me, I have a lot to do before," she paused for a moment to look around, "the party!" she finally whispered theatrically. "Okay then, see you there Poppy!" said Moon and picked up a rather large box with the magic of her horn. The glow illuminated her frilly mane. She didn't like using magic at all—?for her, the only proper way to do something serious was to use intricate machines. Being famous of her clockwork devices that performed various tasks throughout Maretown and beyond, like propelling the ferry to Coltisle, no wonder she had a cutie mark of a gear. "Come on Chewer," she called her pet gecko as she trotted towards Cinny's place. Chewie let out a joyful growl and tramped behind her. "Really, I can't understand how no one can remember anything what happened recently," she said to Chewer. "I mean, it couldn't be a dream, could it? I still have these crystals somewhere," she continued, gazing at the skyline with her charcoal black eyes. Chewie didn't really understand anything and instead of listening he just slalomed between her sandy brown legs. Scarlet Mane was new to town, but she was determined to make a good impression. Especially because there was no mark on her rose white haunch. Long ago she had heard a story about three brave fillies who didn't just sit there and wait, but actually tried everything. They were her idols. Even though they weren't really famous, she still thought they should be. Scarlet didn't want to be famous, oh no, but she left her home village, Taterfield, to try at least something different than just plowing. And so she traveled for years, did everything from cooking to music to construction to even her beloved science, but the mark never appeared. She wasn't a filly anymore, yet she still didn't find her inner talent. The only thing she didn't do was magic. Not that she didn't try, but despite being a unicorn she just never succeeded. There was also another goal of the trip, however she couldn't remember it now. Silly, she pondered, I knew I wasn't going in a random direction. Eclipse, her almost completely black wolf, whined loudly and she noticed that she was standing still, lost in her thoughts, for at least a while. She shook her head, rolled her torch red eyes and said, "Oh well, I guess it wasn't as important as I think it was. I'm probably paranoid as usual," then continued on her way towards Jelly Joy's house. ExasperationMoonbeam wasn't pleased. In fact, she was incredibly angry at herself. How could I not count the required parts first? she thought. Her pet goat, Chewie, trotted besides her on her way to Malachite Glint's place and appeared interested in what Moon has to say. She noticed how he looks at her and said, "I know, I know, I really should just count, not try to save a few minutes." "Hidley Ho, Malachite!" said Moonbeam as she finally got there. "Hello there honey," with a very soulful, dark, smoky timbre spoke the asphalt black earthpony of light blonde mane. She gave Moon a shot glance with just one of her appropriately malachite green eyes, the other one still looking through an enormous magnifying glass on an arm lamp. "What brings you here?" her slightly nasal voice sounded again. "I need exactly one 44 cogged wheel, diameter 60." "Didn't count the parts needed... again?" "Yes," said Moon with embarrassment, "do you have the part up here?" "No, I'm afraid not, dear," Malachite Glint said as she walked into an elevator to the storage hall and Moonbeam followed. "I suppose you're in a hurry?" she added as the machinery started its work. "Yes, I am," said the unicorn and paused for a second. "You are going, aren't you?" "I sure am! Hopefully Blasting Boom is going too, she always forgets her own birthday, even when she actually can celebrate it," said Malachite. We have to make it count, she added in thought. The accelerating mechanism's pulleys and ropes started to produce crackle and rattle so loud it wasn't really possible to talk. The elevator finally stopped and the wooden door opened to reveal a sight that was nothing like Moonbeam experienced ever before. The chamber was immense. I've got to get one of these, she thought and already began to imagine the entire operation. I need to talk with Blasting Boom about that. The lights turned on only near the entrance. Story-high shelves seemed to go on forever, and yet, faded into the darkness. Thousands of crates, chests and boxes on them, each one with a cryptic label no one but the owner could possibly understand and recognize. "You visit me workshop almost every day, but you're down there for the first time, right honey?" Malachite Glint asked. Moon couldn't reply for several seconds as she stood there in awe. Malachite's hoof pushed her muzzle shut. "Yes," she finally managed. "Don't forget to breath, sweetie. Let's go find that... 42 cogged wheel, diameter 60, yes?" "Yes, diameter 60," said Moon absentmindedly as she trotted along. "Okay, here you go then," said Malachite Glint, giving her the part. Moonbeam just couldn't resist looking around and just hid it inside her pouch. "Thanks," she just said. Only when the elevator's door closed, she shook that feeling off. "That," she said, "is a really impressive repository." "Oh, hi Scarlet," said Jelly Joy, considered to be the most yellow and dangerous pony in Maretown, "what's up?" "Hello Joy, I just want to know if I can be of some use," said Scarlet Mane, "I mean, maybe I can help with party preparations?" "Not if you want to keep your mane," Joy replied, tossing hers, not very long one and even more yellow than her coat, from side to side. Scarlet Mane couldn't control herself enough not to frown. Joy noticed and felt sad for her. She took off her protective goggles. "Oh, well, let's see what you could do," she said, looking around her oversized workshop. "Mixing compounds... nope. Primers... no way. Shells," she said as she got her violet eyes on a blackboard with some designs. She walked towards it, full of thought, her hooves clicking noisily on the stone slab that acted as a makeshift floor, as the rest of the workshop's bottom was just uneven dirt. "Nah... it won't do." "Oh, rockets!" Scarlet Mane yelled almost to Jelly Joy's ear. She got startled and her heart rate appropriately skyrocketed, but she didn't even flinch. She blinked slowly, very slowly, stepped sideways with a couple of clicks and turned her head towards Scarlet. "Yes, rockets," she said. "Oh, I've got it! You must know some magic, being unicorn and all?" "Well, actually..." "You can make rockets magically bigger! Or turn them into missiles!" "I don't do magic, I can't perform an enchantment even as simple as that," she said with embarrassment, "I've never learned a single spell." "But, but, big missiles!..." "Well, I don't want to sound rude, and I guess you get that a lot, uh..." Scarlet mumbled as she began to loudly tap the floor with her hoof, like trying to dig. She hoped to dodge the topic. She does make sounds with her hooves after all, Joy thought. Scarlet seemed to read those thoughts and instead of digging she started to silently drill a hole in the stone. "Well, I don't want to sound rude, but relax and just say it," Jelly Joy said. "It seems a bit ironic, your name and Blasting Boom's," Scarlet Mane managed. "Oh, I really do enjoy jelly!" Joy said, "but seriously, Boom makes booms too, just other kind. I guess now isn't the season, that's all. So, about those bigger rockets..." "I'm so sorry, I'm really unable to do magic," Scarlet replied, "but you could use shaped charges to change the explosions and auxiliary thrusters, like that," she said, picking up a piece of chalk with her teeth and drawing a schematic along with writing complex equations on a side of the blackboard. "Sho you shee, you han mwhake ''em more shpecthacular withouth mwhaking them bwigger," she said and after a second put the beslobbered piece of chalk away and smiled awkwardly. "Most unicorns do that by magic," Joy said, which caused Scarlet to blush scarlet. "But I..." she started, but she just sighed and quickly got to the table where Joy was mixing something that looked like dough. She picked up several pieces of some kind of thick foil and made cones and cylinders out of them, then hastily applied to an almost finished firework. "There, just try to detonate this." "Oh-kay, it won't be very big though, it's the smallest charge," Joy said as she put her goggles on again and attached the fuse. She looked at Carrie, expecting her to light it magically. "Um, why are you staring at me? Should I take cover?" Scarlet said, quickly backing up. Joy sighed in resignation and used a flint lighter. "No need," she said, "it's a really small cha—?" An unexpectedly loud explosion cut her off. "Aaah!" she yelled, noticing a streak of her hair on fire. She smacked her head onto a pile of wet clay to put it out, then slowly raised herself to see a small circular hole in her heavy, oak table and scowled at Scarlet Mane through her dirty goggles. "Uh... I, um..." Scarlet stuttered, nervously trying to wipe the mud off, but then she saw the eye expression behind the lenses. "I'm sorry!" she said and then ran away crying. ExhaustionMoonbeam arrived at her workshop and without delay began to attach the newly acquired part into her machine. "There, all done!" she said to no one in particular. She jumped when she heard a sudden knock on the door. She rushed to a big red button and pressed it. "Coming!" she yelled, as the brass and steel wonder behind her twisted and bent in surprising silence and hid in plain sight as an enormous tea machine just as she opened the door. "Hi Moon!" said the bright pink pegasus with unevenly cut emerald and conifer mane. She still had a white hard hat on her head and black brazing goggles. She noticed Moonbeam's face expression and took them off, uncovering her golden eyes. "Hello, what brings you here?" said Moon. "Just having a break," replied Blasting Boom, "don't you have any?" she smirked just as Chewer the cat started to rub against her leg. "Why, yes, in fact I'm having a tea break right now." "Mind if I join you?" "Not at all!" said Moonbeam and walked to the kitchen, "I'll just put the kettle on." "Aren't you going to use this monster here?" asked Boom. Moon's head instantly popped out from behind the wall. "It's a prototype! Don't touch it!" she said quickly. Startled Boom kept her hooves to herself. "It might explode," Moon whispered theatrically, making a scary face, "with boiling water and fiery tea leaves." "Oh. Oooh. Okay," Boom said and stepped back. "Have you gone bananas? Why the hay would you keep it inside your house?" she added after a while. "I don't. We're in my workshop." "Right," said Boom, glancing at the rosy curtains in the windows. Several minutes later, she was again staring curiously at the fake machine, especially at a big red button on its side, so absorbed that she didn't notice a flying saucer with a cup on it for a few seconds. She sipped her hot black tea and said, "Splendificient!" "Now, now, what's wrong Carrie? Were you crying?" said Cinnamon Cream, taking off her large flowery apron and revealing her olivine green coat with a mark of a cupcake and a muffin on her flank. "Uh, it's just... something has fallen into my eye," Scarlet Mane replied. "Carrie, sweetheart, you know well—?to me, you can always tell," said Cinny, now absorbed by untying her tumbleweed and golden sand colored mane. "No, never mind, I just wanted to ask if you, I mean—?can I help you in any way?" "The party? Cakes are in the ovens, they're baking, later I'll be decorating, it needs some skill though, and that which doesn't, is done, you know." "I'll do my best, but I guess I'd need a test, I can't draw at all and I don't want to make a foul." "That's bizarre, why do people always make rhymes when they meet me for the first times?" seriously said Cinny. "Well, um..." "Oh, I know!" she said suddenly, "Do you know a spell to make cakes glow? They would excel, it'd be a show!" "I don't," whimpered Scarlet, embarrassed and confused. "Now look what you did, you've given me the rhymes. I'll have to watch myself all times. I think it's contagious. Oh, again... outrageo—?hrm... Let's just try decorating," said Cinny and gave Scarlet a tube of whipped cream and placing a form with a test pie on a white and red checkered tablecloth. "Maybe you can reconsider the magic?" she admitted after watching Scarlet's efforts for a while. "What if I'd make a fluorescent cream..." mumbled Scarlet Mane and started to look around the drawers in Cinnamon's kitchen. "What are you doing gal?" said Cinny in surprise. "Do you have some yellow dye?" "Indeed I do, check the drawer on your left, yes, this one, and I see you've got also some vinegar and whole lot of other stuff I'd rather not add to a cake," she spoke slowly and carefully. Scarlet moved fast, mixed the compounds, heated them, shook them and mixed again while simultaneously scribbling something on a piece of paper. After several minutes of this amazing performance, there was a tiny amount of disgustingly looking brownish mud at the bottom of a glass and she stepped back. "Ew!" said Cinny. "Well, it doesn't have any taste," said Scarlet defensively. "Just add a drop to the cream and under very blue light, I'm sure Moonbeam could help you with that, it will, um, charge. Then it will glow for a while even without the light." "Are you sure anypony could eat that?" Cinnamon Cream asked with doubt in her voice. "Everything I used came from your kitchen." "But you did some magic to it, Carrie." "Oh, no, I didn't cast any spell nor enchantment. It's just alchemy." Cinnamon Cream pondered about it for a while. "Okay, let's try!" she finally said while she took the glass and carefully let a drop fall into a large pot of cream, which she then put into a machine that was obviously of Moonbeam's design. "Come on, hop onto the treadmill and gallop for a while as I take the cakes out, okay?" she said as she tied her mane again. Scarlet nodded and started to run. The machine began to shake but after several seconds it was working smoothly. A pair of forks emerged and started to whip the cream at incredible speed. It didn't take long until it was ready. Scarlet put a bit of it into an empty tube the same moment Cinny placed a freshly baked cake on the table. "This is it!" Cinny said, very slowly, as she began to put the yellowish cream on the cake. Suddenly, it burst into intense red flames which made her jump. In panic, she forcefully put an empty form over the cake. It worked, but the cake didn't survive and the fire consumed several little bits of the tablecloth. "I—?I'm so sorry," Scarlet said after a moment of awkwardness, "I'll help you clean it up." "No no no, really, absolutely no need, And, as you seem to be of the same breed..." nervously said Cinny as she led Carrie towards the door, "Maybe you could help Moonbeam while I'll clean up all the cream." she added with an obviously forced grin. Blasting Boom and Moonbeam had some great time, but of course tea breaks don't last forever. "Unfortunately," Moon thought aloud. "Huh?" said Boom, "oh, right, the time," she added after noticing where Moon laid her eyes. "Got to go!" she said, putting her hard hat and goggles back on, "See ya!" "Bye bye Boom!" said Moonbeam. She made sure her visitor is out of sight and then happily hopped to her so-called tea machine and pressed a big red button labeled self-destruct. Pistons, gears and plates shifted and soon the device reshaped itself back. She hastily checked if everything seems fine. "Terrific! Now I don't have time to run full diagnostics," she said in Chewer's direction. He just fluttered his wings. "I'm so tired, I haven't slept in so long!" she said as she slowly walked towards a couch and promptly collapsed. ElectrificationScarlet Mane was on the way to Moonbeam's house, however she decided to try her luck with Melody too, especially that her place was closer. "Hello Melody," said Scarlet Mane, "I... I guess I won't be able to burn anything of yours, so could I be of any help?" Melody nodded with a smile and made an inviting gesture. Scarlet stepped inside and saw that every wall was completely covered with various instruments. As she looked at different violins, guitars and trumpets, Melody flew from another room with tea, fluttering her sky blue wings slowly, yet powerfully, producing a laminar air flow not to disturb the instruments. She put the tea on a small, very low table and sat on a mat besides it, gesturing towards Scarlet to sit down too. "Oh, thank you very much," said Carrie. Melody nodded and drank the tea with her. "So, um..." mumbled Scarlet Mane, but Mel just put the cup away and pointed at a grand harp. Then she got up, picked up a trumpet and walked into another room, again gesturing her guest to follow. When they were both inside, Scarlet noticed every wall is covered with some kind of mattresses or maybe pillows. I guess the room from which she got the tea has walls covered in tea-related merchandise, she thought. Melody made a stopping gesture and blew the trumpet without putting much effort to it, but it was still very loud. They went back to the harp and Melody pulled a string. The instrument was several times bigger than her, yet it was still surprisingly quiet. She tapped her ear and shrugged, then walked towards Scarlet and pointed at her horn. "Oh, you, um... want to make it magically louder, I suppose," Scarlet Mane said. Melody just nodded with a grin. "I'm very sorry but I'm afraid I don't know any spells," Carrie added. Déja vu, she thought with sadness. Melody combed her hair for a moment, then shrugged twice and Scarlet caught herself tapping the floor with her hoof again. Suddenly, she got an idea. She looked around and noticed one of Moonbeam's machines, a gramophone. "What, uh... what if we... do you have a steel wire or a hairpin?" she asked. Mel combed her hair once more and gave Carrie a pin, which her guest took with her teeth and then got closer to the machine and started to disassemble it. Melody put her hoof on Scarlet's shoulder and gave her a worried look. "Oh, I'll put it back together," Carrie said as she continued to put it apart. Finally, she found what she was looking for as the pin started to tingle. She took out the magnet and some wire from inside. "Help me bring this closer, please," she said, and they both moved the machine adjacent to the harp. She attached the pin to the string with a piece of string, then started to work with the magnet and the wire. "There!" she said after a few minutes, "Let's turn on the gramophone." Melody nodded and did so as she walked towards the harp and a moment later Scarlet pulled the modified string. The sound started quietly and harmonic, but instead of fading its volume grew and grew. Melody covered her ears and tumbled to the floor. Scarlet rushed to the machine and switched it off a split second after a single string on each of the instruments on the wall violently broke. Still dazzled from being just a hoof away from the gramophone's tube, the next thing she knew was that she was being pushed outside by Melody. She shook her head and wanted to at least apologize, but through the note-shaped glass in the doors she saw that dark blue of Melody's eyes was not visible, but the tears within were. Scarlet Mane was devastated. What she managed to do today, instead of helping, was to destroy, burn and break. Nothing went according to any plans. She was ashamed. She couldn't take it anymore. She was on her way back to her room in Moonbeam's workshop. She knocked on the door. "Come in," she'd heard. "Hi Scarlet, how was your day?" said Moon. "Oh, um... fine," she replied and headed straight to her room. "Hey, can you help me with something?" Moonbeam asked. "I'm sorry, I can't. I don't know any magic." "Magic? Why would I want any magic? I can cast a few spells myself, I'm a unicorn." "Oh, I just..." "And you can too, I saw you cast an epic charm!" "I... I... but I never—?" a tear appeared in Scarlet's eye as she stuttered. Moon realized that she's accusing her of things no pony but her seemed to remember. "I'm sorry, never mind what I've just said," whispered Moonbeam as she hugged her. Scarlet twitched and winced nervously, which made Moon tighten her grip. When she finally felt that her huggee relaxed, she added "I just need somepony to press, um..." she paused, as she remembered the machine has a keyboard too small to press anything on it without using a little bit of magic, "to pull a lever in the right moment." "Okay, I think I can do that," Scarlet replied. I think I can't ruin that, she thought and smiled. EntertainmentMalachite Glint arrived in Moonbeam's workshop long before the party started. "Hello sweeties," she said to a pair of burnt umber colored unicorns. They both had straight, neatly cut manes of similar colors, old brick and cherry wood. Even their marks were the same, of a glass with some plum juice and a drinking straw. Their orange eyes seemed identical as well, however anypony could see a difference after a while. "Greetings!" Cuddly Plum was quick to answer with happiness in her voice. "Greetings," repeated Boggly Plum. "B, why so glum, honey?" asked Malachite. Boggly just mumbled something. At the same moment Scarlet Mane got out of her room and found herself in the same area the party was supposed to take place. "Hello there, you must be Scarlet Mane!" Malachite shouted warmly. Scarlet felt awkward when everypony looked at her for a second. "I'm Malachite Glint, Moonbeam has told me about you. I'm sure you want to get to know everypony, right dear?" "Well, I wa—?" "Those are the Plum twins, meet Cuddly and Boggly," Malachite said. "Now excuse me, Moonbeam asked me to do something first. Have fun!" she added as she went off to help others with decorations. "You look exactly the same," Scarlet Mane noticed. "Do you have, uh, something that helps others to distinguish you?" she asked. "I have a half-empty glass for my mark," Boggly Plum said. "I have a half-full glass for my mark," said Cuddly Plum at exactly the same time. "Uh, alright," Carrie said and nodded slowly, "I think I understand." Everypony was busy. Jelly Joy was positioning her rockets just outside Moonbeam's workshop. She went inside to get more of them. "Oh, Scarlet, hi again," she yelled. Scarlet Mane flattened her ears and kind of shrank. "You won't believe how great your rocket design is! The mix just needed slight modifications for burning speed," continued Joy, "and of course I had to use far, far less of it," she added in a whisper. "Does that mean, you know..." "Manes grow back. And don't worry about the table, it's just... collateral damage," she went on, squinting her eyes. "I liked it a lot, though." She finally stopped and smiled. It made Carrie smile as well. "Come on, let's get the rockets in place. It's an important day for Boom." They were carefully putting leg-long rockets on a small cart. There were too many of them as Joy made some as a backup. Suddenly Melody approached and hugged Scarlet heartily, then pointed at a grand harp with now steel strings, where a malibu blue pegasus with completely disorderly silver and gray mane was connecting the newly arrived instrument to Moonbeam's machine. Scarlet made a questioning gesture and pointed at the harp. Melody replied with putting on of her legs horizontally and then kind of balancing it, then made a motion resembling turning a knob. Scarlet paused for a while to think of an appropriate gesture, then facehoofed. "It just needed tuning?" she said. Melody nodded her head, then led her friend towards the pegasus working with the musical equipment and when Scarlet just stood there unable to say a word she pushed her forward a little, then turned to Joy and started moving in a way that made Scarlet think she's dancing. "What?" Joy replied to Melody, "What do you mean you don't know the difference between a missile and a rocket?" Scarlet's mind tried to analyze how could anyone possibly understand that. She shook her head after a while. "Hello, I'm Scarlet Mane," the unicorn finally said to Melody's friend. The other blue pegasus turned around, revealing enormous cyan eyes, a cutie mark of three guitar picks and a ridiculously wide grin. "Hi, um, nice to meet you... I am... I'm Nuddly Plum," she replied awkwardly and waited for any reply, but it never came. "Now excuse me, Blasting Boom will be here soon and I'm breaking my duck here as Moonbeam would've said, hurr, durr." The last part made Scarlet lift an eyebrow. As Nuddly Plum got back to work, she began to wander. Not for long, though. Very soon Cinnamon Cream and Poppy Roll arrived, both pushing a big warehouse trolley, covered with a sky blue blanket with little white fluffy clouds sewn on. "Scarlet, switch 1, mode 1!" Moonbeam shouted. Scarlet hurried to the machine, noticing it has a name engraved on its side now. Partytron. Fitting. She pulled the first switch into mode 1. A beam of very faint, purplish light shot from one of Partytron's appendages. "Hello Carrie, I'm glad you're not crying," Cinnamon Cream said as she pushed the trolley under the beam. "In case you're wondering, the cream isn't bad, the reason for exploding was the cake was too hot." "Oh, well, good to hear that," Scarlet replied sincerely and smiled lightly. Everypony finished the preparations. All lamps were turned off and then a slight green glow from the cakes and bluish moonlight seeping through a window were the only sources of light. "Scarlet, Blasting Boom on the horizon, switch 1, mode 0! And on my mark, mode 2!" Moonbeam whispered theatrically as she closed the curtains. It was almost pitch black when Carrie pulled the switch into what she remembered was the position of mode 0. She got worried as the weird light didn't turn off as it should. After a second or two she noticed not only that, but it's getting more and more powerful. "Mode 0, Scarlet!" Moonbeam said. "It is in mode 0!" Carrie replied as she pulled the switch to mode 1 and to 0 again. The light's intensity grew even more rapidly. Suddenly, the cakes burst into enormous red flames. Bits of fiery cream flew around and ignited somepony's mane. "Meep!" yelped Nuddly Plum, just before Jelly Joy quickly, as by a reflex, clapped her hooves just in front of her muzzle, extinguishing the flame. In the meantime a lot of things caught fire. First tablecloths, then furniture and finally the fuses for the fireworks that were still inside. "Duck! Duck and cover everypony!" frantically shouted Joy as she dived under a table that wasn't burning yet. The rockets started flying around, one of them missing Scarlet's mane by a mere hoof. The Partytron didn't duck, though, and got hit not once and not twice. Joy's excellent display of firefighting skills proved futile to save anything. The biggest flames were gone, but what was left was simply a disaster, most probably bigger than it looked like because of very dim light coming almost exclusively from small pieces of burning cream. "No, no, no, this is just a dream, this can't be happening," Scarlet Mane whispered to herself. "And everything went pear-shaped," muttered Moonbeam, trying to stay as low as possible, then looked at Scarlet with anger, but that feeling subsided quickly when she noticed a cutie mark of sanguine triquetra appearing on her haunch. More importantly, the haunch itself and the rest of the unicorn's body with it became nearly twice as big as usually. Her eyes started to fill with blinding light and her horn's glow got stronger than the Sun. Moonbeam produced welding goggles from her pouch but they were still not enough to block all the light, but she was able to see shadows and outlines through the blaze. Amazed, she noticed that Scarlet Mane grew magnificent wings and her horn seemed to extend and twist. It's happening again! An incredibly bright flash dazzled Moonbeam, then the darkness fell. Blasting Boom entered the workshop a second later, together with the moonlight. "Blasting Boom!" gasped Moonbeam in shock. The same moment there was a loud click of Partytron's switch and colorful lights illuminated everything. "Surprise!" everypony shouted in unison and the party began. Moonbeam looked around in disbelief. Everything looks the same or... even better than before. Fine and dandy, she thought. She turned her head towards Scarlet Mane, now normal sized and again a blank flank, and noticed she's leaning on the Partytron's first switch with her eyes closed. As she cautiously walked closer, Carrie slipped a bit, right onto the second one, just as Nuddly Plum was to pull a string on the grand electric harp and Melody picked up a microphone. Moon expected another disaster, but then Melody's and Nuddly's birthday rock-like music filled the room, amplified by the machine. She didn't listen though, focused on Carrie. She walked even closer and prodded her a few times with no effect—?she seemed to be perfectly fine, just sleeping. I guess the stress got us both, she thought and tried to pick her up with magic, but her horn just sent some sparkles instead and she groaned as she felt like a blood vessel in it just burst. Yikes! I'll better not strain myself. She and Malachite Glint soon moved Scarlet Mane to her bed. The bedroom got darker and Moon could swear she saw Scarlet's horn glowing faintly just before she closed the door. She stopped for a second to think about it, then just shook her head. The party went perfectly. After some time Blasting Boom had to leave to get onto the ferry to Coltisle. She always had a busy schedule. Every other pony left too, except Melody, Jelly Joy and Moonbeam. They were making goodbyes at the door. "Okay, let's clean it all up!" said Moon when the last pony went home. She turned around to see her workshop filled with scorch marks, pieces of what seemed to be Partytron laying around in small puddles of glowing cake and being stuck in the ceiling, dripping with the fluorescent cream. "Is it just me or it wasn't that bad just a minute ago?" she said. Melody just shrugged and Joy didn't seem to care much. Scarlet Mane walked out of her room and looked around with terror. "Great party, awful you missed it," said Joy. "It was? Um... I did? I think I had a dream that—?never mind." While Scarlet was talking with Joy, Moonbeam noticed a cogged wheel on the floor. She looked at the engravings and noticed a number she didn't quite expect. I'm absolutely sure there was no 42-cogged wheel in Partytron design, she thought. Then it hit her. "By the Princess! What were we eating if the cakes exploded?" "If anything, they exploded with flavor," Jelly Joy said and stuck out her green tongue. "Grass cakes?" Moon said with a distaste in her voice. "You ate them too and you liked them." Moonbeam stuck out her tongue to check and it was green as well. "Grass is healthier than regular cake," Scarlet Mane said and smiled awkwardly. "It tasted like a cake and it was healthy!" Joy exclaimed and they all burst into a laugh.
Entrance"Hello Poppy Roll," cheerfully said Moonbeam, "I wanted to..." "Oh, hi Moonbeam, yes, yes, Cinnamon Cream told me everything and I've already prepared them all," a mare quickly replied. She had champagne colored fur and her mane intertwined in a grand braid, reminiscent of a long pine cone. She didn't even turn around. "Are there..." Moon started. "Yes, all sixty of them," Poppy cut her off again, looking with her orange eyes at the pile of poppy rolls and apparently recounting them all in a split of a second. "Now excuse me, I have a lot to do before," she paused for a moment to look around, "the party!" she finally whispered theatrically. "Okay then, see you there Poppy!" said Moon and picked up a rather large box with the magic of her horn. The glow illuminated her frilly mane. She didn't like using magic at all—?for her, the only proper way to do something serious was to use intricate machines. Being famous of her clockwork devices that performed various tasks throughout Maretown and beyond, like propelling the ferry to Coltisle, no wonder she had a cutie mark of a gear. "Come on Chewer," she called her pet gecko as she trotted towards Cinny's place. Chewie let out a joyful growl and tramped behind her. "Really, I can't understand how no one can remember anything what happened recently," she said to Chewer. "I mean, it couldn't be a dream, could it? I still have these crystals somewhere," she continued, gazing at the skyline with her charcoal black eyes. Chewie didn't really understand anything and instead of listening he just slalomed between her sandy brown legs. Scarlet Mane was new to town, but she was determined to make a good impression. Especially because there was no mark on her rose white haunch. Long ago she had heard a story about three brave fillies who didn't just sit there and wait, but actually tried everything. They were her idols. Even though they weren't really famous, she still thought they should be. Scarlet didn't want to be famous, oh no, but she left her home village, Taterfield, to try at least something different than just plowing. And so she traveled for years, did everything from cooking to music to construction to even her beloved science, but the mark never appeared. She wasn't a filly anymore, yet she still didn't find her inner talent. The only thing she didn't do was magic. Not that she didn't try, but despite being a unicorn she just never succeeded. There was also another goal of the trip, however she couldn't remember it now. Silly, she pondered, I knew I wasn't going in a random direction. Eclipse, her almost completely black wolf, whined loudly and she noticed that she was standing still, lost in her thoughts, for at least a while. She shook her head, rolled her torch red eyes and said, "Oh well, I guess it wasn't as important as I think it was. I'm probably paranoid as usual," then continued on her way towards Jelly Joy's house.
ExasperationMoonbeam wasn't pleased. In fact, she was incredibly angry at herself. How could I not count the required parts first? she thought. Her pet goat, Chewie, trotted besides her on her way to Malachite Glint's place and appeared interested in what Moon has to say. She noticed how he looks at her and said, "I know, I know, I really should just count, not try to save a few minutes." "Hidley Ho, Malachite!" said Moonbeam as she finally got there. "Hello there honey," with a very soulful, dark, smoky timbre spoke the asphalt black earthpony of light blonde mane. She gave Moon a shot glance with just one of her appropriately malachite green eyes, the other one still looking through an enormous magnifying glass on an arm lamp. "What brings you here?" her slightly nasal voice sounded again. "I need exactly one 44 cogged wheel, diameter 60." "Didn't count the parts needed... again?" "Yes," said Moon with embarrassment, "do you have the part up here?" "No, I'm afraid not, dear," Malachite Glint said as she walked into an elevator to the storage hall and Moonbeam followed. "I suppose you're in a hurry?" she added as the machinery started its work. "Yes, I am," said the unicorn and paused for a second. "You are going, aren't you?" "I sure am! Hopefully Blasting Boom is going too, she always forgets her own birthday, even when she actually can celebrate it," said Malachite. We have to make it count, she added in thought. The accelerating mechanism's pulleys and ropes started to produce crackle and rattle so loud it wasn't really possible to talk. The elevator finally stopped and the wooden door opened to reveal a sight that was nothing like Moonbeam experienced ever before. The chamber was immense. I've got to get one of these, she thought and already began to imagine the entire operation. I need to talk with Blasting Boom about that. The lights turned on only near the entrance. Story-high shelves seemed to go on forever, and yet, faded into the darkness. Thousands of crates, chests and boxes on them, each one with a cryptic label no one but the owner could possibly understand and recognize. "You visit me workshop almost every day, but you're down there for the first time, right honey?" Malachite Glint asked. Moon couldn't reply for several seconds as she stood there in awe. Malachite's hoof pushed her muzzle shut. "Yes," she finally managed. "Don't forget to breath, sweetie. Let's go find that... 42 cogged wheel, diameter 60, yes?" "Yes, diameter 60," said Moon absentmindedly as she trotted along. "Okay, here you go then," said Malachite Glint, giving her the part. Moonbeam just couldn't resist looking around and just hid it inside her pouch. "Thanks," she just said. Only when the elevator's door closed, she shook that feeling off. "That," she said, "is a really impressive repository." "Oh, hi Scarlet," said Jelly Joy, considered to be the most yellow and dangerous pony in Maretown, "what's up?" "Hello Joy, I just want to know if I can be of some use," said Scarlet Mane, "I mean, maybe I can help with party preparations?" "Not if you want to keep your mane," Joy replied, tossing hers, not very long one and even more yellow than her coat, from side to side. Scarlet Mane couldn't control herself enough not to frown. Joy noticed and felt sad for her. She took off her protective goggles. "Oh, well, let's see what you could do," she said, looking around her oversized workshop. "Mixing compounds... nope. Primers... no way. Shells," she said as she got her violet eyes on a blackboard with some designs. She walked towards it, full of thought, her hooves clicking noisily on the stone slab that acted as a makeshift floor, as the rest of the workshop's bottom was just uneven dirt. "Nah... it won't do." "Oh, rockets!" Scarlet Mane yelled almost to Jelly Joy's ear. She got startled and her heart rate appropriately skyrocketed, but she didn't even flinch. She blinked slowly, very slowly, stepped sideways with a couple of clicks and turned her head towards Scarlet. "Yes, rockets," she said. "Oh, I've got it! You must know some magic, being unicorn and all?" "Well, actually..." "You can make rockets magically bigger! Or turn them into missiles!" "I don't do magic, I can't perform an enchantment even as simple as that," she said with embarrassment, "I've never learned a single spell." "But, but, big missiles!..." "Well, I don't want to sound rude, and I guess you get that a lot, uh..." Scarlet mumbled as she began to loudly tap the floor with her hoof, like trying to dig. She hoped to dodge the topic. She does make sounds with her hooves after all, Joy thought. Scarlet seemed to read those thoughts and instead of digging she started to silently drill a hole in the stone. "Well, I don't want to sound rude, but relax and just say it," Jelly Joy said. "It seems a bit ironic, your name and Blasting Boom's," Scarlet Mane managed. "Oh, I really do enjoy jelly!" Joy said, "but seriously, Boom makes booms too, just other kind. I guess now isn't the season, that's all. So, about those bigger rockets..." "I'm so sorry, I'm really unable to do magic," Scarlet replied, "but you could use shaped charges to change the explosions and auxiliary thrusters, like that," she said, picking up a piece of chalk with her teeth and drawing a schematic along with writing complex equations on a side of the blackboard. "Sho you shee, you han mwhake ''em more shpecthacular withouth mwhaking them bwigger," she said and after a second put the beslobbered piece of chalk away and smiled awkwardly. "Most unicorns do that by magic," Joy said, which caused Scarlet to blush scarlet. "But I..." she started, but she just sighed and quickly got to the table where Joy was mixing something that looked like dough. She picked up several pieces of some kind of thick foil and made cones and cylinders out of them, then hastily applied to an almost finished firework. "There, just try to detonate this." "Oh-kay, it won't be very big though, it's the smallest charge," Joy said as she put her goggles on again and attached the fuse. She looked at Carrie, expecting her to light it magically. "Um, why are you staring at me? Should I take cover?" Scarlet said, quickly backing up. Joy sighed in resignation and used a flint lighter. "No need," she said, "it's a really small cha—?" An unexpectedly loud explosion cut her off. "Aaah!" she yelled, noticing a streak of her hair on fire. She smacked her head onto a pile of wet clay to put it out, then slowly raised herself to see a small circular hole in her heavy, oak table and scowled at Scarlet Mane through her dirty goggles. "Uh... I, um..." Scarlet stuttered, nervously trying to wipe the mud off, but then she saw the eye expression behind the lenses. "I'm sorry!" she said and then ran away crying.
ExhaustionMoonbeam arrived at her workshop and without delay began to attach the newly acquired part into her machine. "There, all done!" she said to no one in particular. She jumped when she heard a sudden knock on the door. She rushed to a big red button and pressed it. "Coming!" she yelled, as the brass and steel wonder behind her twisted and bent in surprising silence and hid in plain sight as an enormous tea machine just as she opened the door. "Hi Moon!" said the bright pink pegasus with unevenly cut emerald and conifer mane. She still had a white hard hat on her head and black brazing goggles. She noticed Moonbeam's face expression and took them off, uncovering her golden eyes. "Hello, what brings you here?" said Moon. "Just having a break," replied Blasting Boom, "don't you have any?" she smirked just as Chewer the cat started to rub against her leg. "Why, yes, in fact I'm having a tea break right now." "Mind if I join you?" "Not at all!" said Moonbeam and walked to the kitchen, "I'll just put the kettle on." "Aren't you going to use this monster here?" asked Boom. Moon's head instantly popped out from behind the wall. "It's a prototype! Don't touch it!" she said quickly. Startled Boom kept her hooves to herself. "It might explode," Moon whispered theatrically, making a scary face, "with boiling water and fiery tea leaves." "Oh. Oooh. Okay," Boom said and stepped back. "Have you gone bananas? Why the hay would you keep it inside your house?" she added after a while. "I don't. We're in my workshop." "Right," said Boom, glancing at the rosy curtains in the windows. Several minutes later, she was again staring curiously at the fake machine, especially at a big red button on its side, so absorbed that she didn't notice a flying saucer with a cup on it for a few seconds. She sipped her hot black tea and said, "Splendificient!" "Now, now, what's wrong Carrie? Were you crying?" said Cinnamon Cream, taking off her large flowery apron and revealing her olivine green coat with a mark of a cupcake and a muffin on her flank. "Uh, it's just... something has fallen into my eye," Scarlet Mane replied. "Carrie, sweetheart, you know well—?to me, you can always tell," said Cinny, now absorbed by untying her tumbleweed and golden sand colored mane. "No, never mind, I just wanted to ask if you, I mean—?can I help you in any way?" "The party? Cakes are in the ovens, they're baking, later I'll be decorating, it needs some skill though, and that which doesn't, is done, you know." "I'll do my best, but I guess I'd need a test, I can't draw at all and I don't want to make a foul." "That's bizarre, why do people always make rhymes when they meet me for the first times?" seriously said Cinny. "Well, um..." "Oh, I know!" she said suddenly, "Do you know a spell to make cakes glow? They would excel, it'd be a show!" "I don't," whimpered Scarlet, embarrassed and confused. "Now look what you did, you've given me the rhymes. I'll have to watch myself all times. I think it's contagious. Oh, again... outrageo—?hrm... Let's just try decorating," said Cinny and gave Scarlet a tube of whipped cream and placing a form with a test pie on a white and red checkered tablecloth. "Maybe you can reconsider the magic?" she admitted after watching Scarlet's efforts for a while. "What if I'd make a fluorescent cream..." mumbled Scarlet Mane and started to look around the drawers in Cinnamon's kitchen. "What are you doing gal?" said Cinny in surprise. "Do you have some yellow dye?" "Indeed I do, check the drawer on your left, yes, this one, and I see you've got also some vinegar and whole lot of other stuff I'd rather not add to a cake," she spoke slowly and carefully. Scarlet moved fast, mixed the compounds, heated them, shook them and mixed again while simultaneously scribbling something on a piece of paper. After several minutes of this amazing performance, there was a tiny amount of disgustingly looking brownish mud at the bottom of a glass and she stepped back. "Ew!" said Cinny. "Well, it doesn't have any taste," said Scarlet defensively. "Just add a drop to the cream and under very blue light, I'm sure Moonbeam could help you with that, it will, um, charge. Then it will glow for a while even without the light." "Are you sure anypony could eat that?" Cinnamon Cream asked with doubt in her voice. "Everything I used came from your kitchen." "But you did some magic to it, Carrie." "Oh, no, I didn't cast any spell nor enchantment. It's just alchemy." Cinnamon Cream pondered about it for a while. "Okay, let's try!" she finally said while she took the glass and carefully let a drop fall into a large pot of cream, which she then put into a machine that was obviously of Moonbeam's design. "Come on, hop onto the treadmill and gallop for a while as I take the cakes out, okay?" she said as she tied her mane again. Scarlet nodded and started to run. The machine began to shake but after several seconds it was working smoothly. A pair of forks emerged and started to whip the cream at incredible speed. It didn't take long until it was ready. Scarlet put a bit of it into an empty tube the same moment Cinny placed a freshly baked cake on the table. "This is it!" Cinny said, very slowly, as she began to put the yellowish cream on the cake. Suddenly, it burst into intense red flames which made her jump. In panic, she forcefully put an empty form over the cake. It worked, but the cake didn't survive and the fire consumed several little bits of the tablecloth. "I—?I'm so sorry," Scarlet said after a moment of awkwardness, "I'll help you clean it up." "No no no, really, absolutely no need, And, as you seem to be of the same breed..." nervously said Cinny as she led Carrie towards the door, "Maybe you could help Moonbeam while I'll clean up all the cream." she added with an obviously forced grin. Blasting Boom and Moonbeam had some great time, but of course tea breaks don't last forever. "Unfortunately," Moon thought aloud. "Huh?" said Boom, "oh, right, the time," she added after noticing where Moon laid her eyes. "Got to go!" she said, putting her hard hat and goggles back on, "See ya!" "Bye bye Boom!" said Moonbeam. She made sure her visitor is out of sight and then happily hopped to her so-called tea machine and pressed a big red button labeled self-destruct. Pistons, gears and plates shifted and soon the device reshaped itself back. She hastily checked if everything seems fine. "Terrific! Now I don't have time to run full diagnostics," she said in Chewer's direction. He just fluttered his wings. "I'm so tired, I haven't slept in so long!" she said as she slowly walked towards a couch and promptly collapsed.
ElectrificationScarlet Mane was on the way to Moonbeam's house, however she decided to try her luck with Melody too, especially that her place was closer. "Hello Melody," said Scarlet Mane, "I... I guess I won't be able to burn anything of yours, so could I be of any help?" Melody nodded with a smile and made an inviting gesture. Scarlet stepped inside and saw that every wall was completely covered with various instruments. As she looked at different violins, guitars and trumpets, Melody flew from another room with tea, fluttering her sky blue wings slowly, yet powerfully, producing a laminar air flow not to disturb the instruments. She put the tea on a small, very low table and sat on a mat besides it, gesturing towards Scarlet to sit down too. "Oh, thank you very much," said Carrie. Melody nodded and drank the tea with her. "So, um..." mumbled Scarlet Mane, but Mel just put the cup away and pointed at a grand harp. Then she got up, picked up a trumpet and walked into another room, again gesturing her guest to follow. When they were both inside, Scarlet noticed every wall is covered with some kind of mattresses or maybe pillows. I guess the room from which she got the tea has walls covered in tea-related merchandise, she thought. Melody made a stopping gesture and blew the trumpet without putting much effort to it, but it was still very loud. They went back to the harp and Melody pulled a string. The instrument was several times bigger than her, yet it was still surprisingly quiet. She tapped her ear and shrugged, then walked towards Scarlet and pointed at her horn. "Oh, you, um... want to make it magically louder, I suppose," Scarlet Mane said. Melody just nodded with a grin. "I'm very sorry but I'm afraid I don't know any spells," Carrie added. Déja vu, she thought with sadness. Melody combed her hair for a moment, then shrugged twice and Scarlet caught herself tapping the floor with her hoof again. Suddenly, she got an idea. She looked around and noticed one of Moonbeam's machines, a gramophone. "What, uh... what if we... do you have a steel wire or a hairpin?" she asked. Mel combed her hair once more and gave Carrie a pin, which her guest took with her teeth and then got closer to the machine and started to disassemble it. Melody put her hoof on Scarlet's shoulder and gave her a worried look. "Oh, I'll put it back together," Carrie said as she continued to put it apart. Finally, she found what she was looking for as the pin started to tingle. She took out the magnet and some wire from inside. "Help me bring this closer, please," she said, and they both moved the machine adjacent to the harp. She attached the pin to the string with a piece of string, then started to work with the magnet and the wire. "There!" she said after a few minutes, "Let's turn on the gramophone." Melody nodded and did so as she walked towards the harp and a moment later Scarlet pulled the modified string. The sound started quietly and harmonic, but instead of fading its volume grew and grew. Melody covered her ears and tumbled to the floor. Scarlet rushed to the machine and switched it off a split second after a single string on each of the instruments on the wall violently broke. Still dazzled from being just a hoof away from the gramophone's tube, the next thing she knew was that she was being pushed outside by Melody. She shook her head and wanted to at least apologize, but through the note-shaped glass in the doors she saw that dark blue of Melody's eyes was not visible, but the tears within were. Scarlet Mane was devastated. What she managed to do today, instead of helping, was to destroy, burn and break. Nothing went according to any plans. She was ashamed. She couldn't take it anymore. She was on her way back to her room in Moonbeam's workshop. She knocked on the door. "Come in," she'd heard. "Hi Scarlet, how was your day?" said Moon. "Oh, um... fine," she replied and headed straight to her room. "Hey, can you help me with something?" Moonbeam asked. "I'm sorry, I can't. I don't know any magic." "Magic? Why would I want any magic? I can cast a few spells myself, I'm a unicorn." "Oh, I just..." "And you can too, I saw you cast an epic charm!" "I... I... but I never—?" a tear appeared in Scarlet's eye as she stuttered. Moon realized that she's accusing her of things no pony but her seemed to remember. "I'm sorry, never mind what I've just said," whispered Moonbeam as she hugged her. Scarlet twitched and winced nervously, which made Moon tighten her grip. When she finally felt that her huggee relaxed, she added "I just need somepony to press, um..." she paused, as she remembered the machine has a keyboard too small to press anything on it without using a little bit of magic, "to pull a lever in the right moment." "Okay, I think I can do that," Scarlet replied. I think I can't ruin that, she thought and smiled.
EntertainmentMalachite Glint arrived in Moonbeam's workshop long before the party started. "Hello sweeties," she said to a pair of burnt umber colored unicorns. They both had straight, neatly cut manes of similar colors, old brick and cherry wood. Even their marks were the same, of a glass with some plum juice and a drinking straw. Their orange eyes seemed identical as well, however anypony could see a difference after a while. "Greetings!" Cuddly Plum was quick to answer with happiness in her voice. "Greetings," repeated Boggly Plum. "B, why so glum, honey?" asked Malachite. Boggly just mumbled something. At the same moment Scarlet Mane got out of her room and found herself in the same area the party was supposed to take place. "Hello there, you must be Scarlet Mane!" Malachite shouted warmly. Scarlet felt awkward when everypony looked at her for a second. "I'm Malachite Glint, Moonbeam has told me about you. I'm sure you want to get to know everypony, right dear?" "Well, I wa—?" "Those are the Plum twins, meet Cuddly and Boggly," Malachite said. "Now excuse me, Moonbeam asked me to do something first. Have fun!" she added as she went off to help others with decorations. "You look exactly the same," Scarlet Mane noticed. "Do you have, uh, something that helps others to distinguish you?" she asked. "I have a half-empty glass for my mark," Boggly Plum said. "I have a half-full glass for my mark," said Cuddly Plum at exactly the same time. "Uh, alright," Carrie said and nodded slowly, "I think I understand." Everypony was busy. Jelly Joy was positioning her rockets just outside Moonbeam's workshop. She went inside to get more of them. "Oh, Scarlet, hi again," she yelled. Scarlet Mane flattened her ears and kind of shrank. "You won't believe how great your rocket design is! The mix just needed slight modifications for burning speed," continued Joy, "and of course I had to use far, far less of it," she added in a whisper. "Does that mean, you know..." "Manes grow back. And don't worry about the table, it's just... collateral damage," she went on, squinting her eyes. "I liked it a lot, though." She finally stopped and smiled. It made Carrie smile as well. "Come on, let's get the rockets in place. It's an important day for Boom." They were carefully putting leg-long rockets on a small cart. There were too many of them as Joy made some as a backup. Suddenly Melody approached and hugged Scarlet heartily, then pointed at a grand harp with now steel strings, where a malibu blue pegasus with completely disorderly silver and gray mane was connecting the newly arrived instrument to Moonbeam's machine. Scarlet made a questioning gesture and pointed at the harp. Melody replied with putting on of her legs horizontally and then kind of balancing it, then made a motion resembling turning a knob. Scarlet paused for a while to think of an appropriate gesture, then facehoofed. "It just needed tuning?" she said. Melody nodded her head, then led her friend towards the pegasus working with the musical equipment and when Scarlet just stood there unable to say a word she pushed her forward a little, then turned to Joy and started moving in a way that made Scarlet think she's dancing. "What?" Joy replied to Melody, "What do you mean you don't know the difference between a missile and a rocket?" Scarlet's mind tried to analyze how could anyone possibly understand that. She shook her head after a while. "Hello, I'm Scarlet Mane," the unicorn finally said to Melody's friend. The other blue pegasus turned around, revealing enormous cyan eyes, a cutie mark of three guitar picks and a ridiculously wide grin. "Hi, um, nice to meet you... I am... I'm Nuddly Plum," she replied awkwardly and waited for any reply, but it never came. "Now excuse me, Blasting Boom will be here soon and I'm breaking my duck here as Moonbeam would've said, hurr, durr." The last part made Scarlet lift an eyebrow. As Nuddly Plum got back to work, she began to wander. Not for long, though. Very soon Cinnamon Cream and Poppy Roll arrived, both pushing a big warehouse trolley, covered with a sky blue blanket with little white fluffy clouds sewn on. "Scarlet, switch 1, mode 1!" Moonbeam shouted. Scarlet hurried to the machine, noticing it has a name engraved on its side now. Partytron. Fitting. She pulled the first switch into mode 1. A beam of very faint, purplish light shot from one of Partytron's appendages. "Hello Carrie, I'm glad you're not crying," Cinnamon Cream said as she pushed the trolley under the beam. "In case you're wondering, the cream isn't bad, the reason for exploding was the cake was too hot." "Oh, well, good to hear that," Scarlet replied sincerely and smiled lightly. Everypony finished the preparations. All lamps were turned off and then a slight green glow from the cakes and bluish moonlight seeping through a window were the only sources of light. "Scarlet, Blasting Boom on the horizon, switch 1, mode 0! And on my mark, mode 2!" Moonbeam whispered theatrically as she closed the curtains. It was almost pitch black when Carrie pulled the switch into what she remembered was the position of mode 0. She got worried as the weird light didn't turn off as it should. After a second or two she noticed not only that, but it's getting more and more powerful. "Mode 0, Scarlet!" Moonbeam said. "It is in mode 0!" Carrie replied as she pulled the switch to mode 1 and to 0 again. The light's intensity grew even more rapidly. Suddenly, the cakes burst into enormous red flames. Bits of fiery cream flew around and ignited somepony's mane. "Meep!" yelped Nuddly Plum, just before Jelly Joy quickly, as by a reflex, clapped her hooves just in front of her muzzle, extinguishing the flame. In the meantime a lot of things caught fire. First tablecloths, then furniture and finally the fuses for the fireworks that were still inside. "Duck! Duck and cover everypony!" frantically shouted Joy as she dived under a table that wasn't burning yet. The rockets started flying around, one of them missing Scarlet's mane by a mere hoof. The Partytron didn't duck, though, and got hit not once and not twice. Joy's excellent display of firefighting skills proved futile to save anything. The biggest flames were gone, but what was left was simply a disaster, most probably bigger than it looked like because of very dim light coming almost exclusively from small pieces of burning cream. "No, no, no, this is just a dream, this can't be happening," Scarlet Mane whispered to herself. "And everything went pear-shaped," muttered Moonbeam, trying to stay as low as possible, then looked at Scarlet with anger, but that feeling subsided quickly when she noticed a cutie mark of sanguine triquetra appearing on her haunch. More importantly, the haunch itself and the rest of the unicorn's body with it became nearly twice as big as usually. Her eyes started to fill with blinding light and her horn's glow got stronger than the Sun. Moonbeam produced welding goggles from her pouch but they were still not enough to block all the light, but she was able to see shadows and outlines through the blaze. Amazed, she noticed that Scarlet Mane grew magnificent wings and her horn seemed to extend and twist. It's happening again! An incredibly bright flash dazzled Moonbeam, then the darkness fell. Blasting Boom entered the workshop a second later, together with the moonlight. "Blasting Boom!" gasped Moonbeam in shock. The same moment there was a loud click of Partytron's switch and colorful lights illuminated everything. "Surprise!" everypony shouted in unison and the party began. Moonbeam looked around in disbelief. Everything looks the same or... even better than before. Fine and dandy, she thought. She turned her head towards Scarlet Mane, now normal sized and again a blank flank, and noticed she's leaning on the Partytron's first switch with her eyes closed. As she cautiously walked closer, Carrie slipped a bit, right onto the second one, just as Nuddly Plum was to pull a string on the grand electric harp and Melody picked up a microphone. Moon expected another disaster, but then Melody's and Nuddly's birthday rock-like music filled the room, amplified by the machine. She didn't listen though, focused on Carrie. She walked even closer and prodded her a few times with no effect—?she seemed to be perfectly fine, just sleeping. I guess the stress got us both, she thought and tried to pick her up with magic, but her horn just sent some sparkles instead and she groaned as she felt like a blood vessel in it just burst. Yikes! I'll better not strain myself. She and Malachite Glint soon moved Scarlet Mane to her bed. The bedroom got darker and Moon could swear she saw Scarlet's horn glowing faintly just before she closed the door. She stopped for a second to think about it, then just shook her head. The party went perfectly. After some time Blasting Boom had to leave to get onto the ferry to Coltisle. She always had a busy schedule. Every other pony left too, except Melody, Jelly Joy and Moonbeam. They were making goodbyes at the door. "Okay, let's clean it all up!" said Moon when the last pony went home. She turned around to see her workshop filled with scorch marks, pieces of what seemed to be Partytron laying around in small puddles of glowing cake and being stuck in the ceiling, dripping with the fluorescent cream. "Is it just me or it wasn't that bad just a minute ago?" she said. Melody just shrugged and Joy didn't seem to care much. Scarlet Mane walked out of her room and looked around with terror. "Great party, awful you missed it," said Joy. "It was? Um... I did? I think I had a dream that—?never mind." While Scarlet was talking with Joy, Moonbeam noticed a cogged wheel on the floor. She looked at the engravings and noticed a number she didn't quite expect. I'm absolutely sure there was no 42-cogged wheel in Partytron design, she thought. Then it hit her. "By the Princess! What were we eating if the cakes exploded?" "If anything, they exploded with flavor," Jelly Joy said and stuck out her green tongue. "Grass cakes?" Moon said with a distaste in her voice. "You ate them too and you liked them." Moonbeam stuck out her tongue to check and it was green as well. "Grass is healthier than regular cake," Scarlet Mane said and smiled awkwardly. "It tasted like a cake and it was healthy!" Joy exclaimed and they all burst into a laugh.
