Enjoy the Show
by Norcalforneigh
Viridian Meadows was in the heat of battle: a battle against the heat, that is. Her plane had just landed from the maneland, and she was still adjusting to the toasty climate of Haywaii. Sweat beads ran down her temples as she trotted down the jetway and into the terminal. Without warning, Viridian became enveloped into the afternoon rush hour as she entered the main terminal. Business ponies with lavish suits and ties rushed around and, to add onto that, confused tourists and families scuttled around in an attempt to get to their appropriate gates. Ms. Viridian Meadows was not here to tour the lush, green forests, ancient artifacts, and white sand beaches of the Haywaii. She was here to finish filming the last scene of her latest movie, The Pegasi Chronicles Part VI.
“There it is!” she said following her discovery of the baggage claim. Viridian picked up her beige roller from the conveyor belt, and proceeded to the exit. She did not book a rental car for her stay, as the video shoot would take only about a day or two. As if on cue, a shiny black sedan pulled up to the curb.
A slender, teal blue stallion wearing a red aloha shirt and a sports coat stepped out of the driver’s side, and said, “Welcome to the island of Haywaii, Ms. Meadows. May I take take that?” The chauffeur pointed a hoof at her roller bag, and Viridian gave him confused a nod. He opened the trunk, and gently placed her luggage inside. Viridian hopped into the backseat of the sedan, and her chauffeur got back into the driver’s seat. “Ms. Meadows, I have been informed by your secretary that you will be staying at a resort to the North. I was told to tell you nothing else… except that it is a ‘surprise.’”
Excited, Viridian stepped into the car.
*****
“Ms. Meadows? We’re here.”
“Yes, dar’lin?” answered a drowsy Viridian Meadows. She had slept for more than half of the duration of the trip. Her sunglasses had become askew, and her hair had become messy, giving her an goofy and unprofessional. Viridian sat up, poked her glasses into place, and fixed her hair. She opened the door and got out of the sedan. Her chauffeur did the same, opened the trunk, and unloaded her luggage.
“My apologizes. Ah guess ah got a bit carried away,” said Viridian to the chauffeur.
“It’s quite alright, Ms. Meadows. We all get carried away every once and a while. I suspect it was just a little bit of jet lag. And you don’t have to address me as ‘sir.’ Just call me Cerulean. We take it easy on the Islands,” said the teal blue pony with a smile.
“Thanks, Cerulean, for the ride.”
“Anytime, Ms. Meadows.” And at that, Cerulean got back into his car, and sped off.
Viridian entered through the resort’s revolving doors, and walked up to the check-in desk. The lobby was grand: vases full of eye-catching flowers, a grand chandelier, and a large TV screening the national news here and there. There was only one pony at the check-in desk, a red unicorn with short pink hair. Viridian guessed that she was around 20 years old. “Welcome to the Seashell Resort and Spa! May I have your last name?” asked the unicorn.
“Meadows,” Viridian replied.
The unicorn peered through her glasses as she scrolled through the hotel database on her computer. “Are you...Ms. Viridian Meadows?” said the unicorn, looking down at her computer.
“That’s me,” confirmed Viridian.
“The Viridian Meadows?”
Viridian looked confused. Did the unicorn not believe that she was Viridian Meadows? A puzzled look spread across her face.
“Oh my Celestia! Ms. Viridian, I am Hibiscus Flower. I’m a big fan of your work. I’ve watched all the of The Pegasi Chronicles, or at least the ones up to date. Is there any word on installment six?” asked the overjoyed unicorn, as if she had instantaneously consumed a whole crate of energy drinks.
“Ah’m afraid I cannot disclose of that information right now to the public,” Viridian admitted. “All ah can tell ya is that it’ll be filmed here on the island of Haywaii.”
“Aw. That’s a shame. Here’s your room key. You’ll be staying in room #173, floor 15. It’s our best room,” said Hibiscus Flower.
“It’s been a pleasure becoming ‘quainted with you, Hibiscus. Now, ah must get going. Ah’ll be taking a tour of the film set by chopper, and ah’ll be taking pictures. Who knows? Maybe ah’ll share them with you tonight,” said Viridian, with a wink.
Hibiscus tried to keep herself together. “Remember, if there is anything you need, just call desk. I’ll be happy to help. Oh, and the elevators to your room are to your left,” informed Hibiscus.
She trotted away and smiled. It felt good that her work was being recognized. Viridian rode the elevator up to the 15th floor and located room #173. She slid in the magnetic room key. The door lock clicked, and Viridian pushed the door open. And her jaw dropped.
*****
Viridian was entranced by the view from her room. It was beautiful; the room was facing due West, giving her a beautiful view of the expansive blue ocean, white sand beach, grand resort garden, and palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze. Suddenly, the sound of propellers filled the air, and the palm trees began to sway unnaturally. Out of nowhere, bright orange helicopter landed on the resort lawn. A few ponies turned their heads, attracted to the noise of the rotorblades. She mounted her saddlebag, and threw in a granola bar and her phone. Viridian took the elevator down, and went to meet the ponies at the helicopter.
“D’afternoon, Ms. Meadows. My name is Silver Wings, and I’ll be your pilot for the next hour or so,” shouted the pilot as Viridian boarded the chopper. It was hard to hear, as the helicopter’s blades were still in motion.
All Viridian could do was smile and nod. She put on a headset that was conveniently placed on her seat so that she could communicate with Silver Wings properly.
“Skies are clear t’day. Should make for some good pictures. Your movie set is on top of Mauna Khaya, but we’ll save that for tomorrow. As for today, I’ll be giving you a private tour of the island of Haywaii,” said Silver Wings over the com. He closed his door and got strapped in. The yellow stallion pushed the throttle forward, and the helicopter began to rise into the air.
The sun was setting over the horizon as it began its final descent. Silver Wings had flown Viridian around the island, pointing out major landmarks like beaches and towns. The helicopter had complete a full clockwise flight around the island, and the resort lights were coming into view. Viridian was ready to go back to her room and sleep. It had been a long day in the air and on land, and she needed a rest for the big day tomorrow. Since the resort was on the edge of a cliff, the helicopter had to make the approach over the ocean. A screeching sound alarmed Viridian, and a visible, red “Engine Malfunction” indicator began flashing.
And that was when the engine exploded.
*****
Viridian awoke. She was floating on a blue piece of sheet metal from the helicopter, and soaking wet. The island of Haywaii was nowhere in sight. Telling from the Sun’s position in the sky, it was about ten to noon. Her saddlebag was a bit wet, but the interior was completely dry. Her phone, camera, and journal were fine, but she was sure that she could get no service out in the open ocean. Where was Silver Wings? Had he made it through the crash? Viridian was sure that he was gone. She sustained a couple of cuts and gashes, and the salt water made them no better, but she was happy to still be alive. Viridan opened her saddlebag and pulled out her phone. She was surprised to see that she had one bar of service, but how? Viridian opened the camera application, and began videotaping herself.
“Hello, inner’net. My name is Viridian Meadows. Mah helicopter crashed into the ocean off the coast of Haywaii yesterday, and ahm the only survivor. The pilot, Silver Wings, is deceased. This is day number one of mah survival.”
Viridian ended the recording and broke down. “Why had this have tah happen tah me?!” she yelled at the open ocean. She smacked the water around her in anger.
After a few minutes, she had calmed down. Complaining about what had happened wouldn’t help. Her priority was survival. She pulled out her granola bar and quickly consumed it. Realising that she had consumed her only piece of nutrition, Viridian sighed. There was little hope for her. Hoping that a magical force would suddenly present her with food, Viridian peered down into the deep, blue water below. She didn’t find a floating plate with a hayburger on top of it, which she was hoping for, but she did find somewhat of a viable food source: kelp. A tangle of kelp floated near her sheet metal raft like a forest of wet leaves. Viridian shot out a hoof and grabbed a hooffull of the kelp. She looked at it, not sure what to do. Was it even eatable? Viridian stuffed the kelp into her mouth. Suddenly, her tastebuds were hit with a terrible briny taste, followed by a bitter aftertaste. The taste caused her to gag a bit. It was almost unbearable, but she had to do what she had to do in order to stay alive until her rescue.
After her recovery from the kelp consumption incident, Viridian got to work. She began drinking from the water bottle that she had thrown in her saddlebag. Then she began bringing more kelp onto the raft, which she had named ‘The Sheet,’ so that the kelp would dry out. Viridian hoped that dry kelp would be a little more appetizing than wet kelp. When the preparations of her provisions was complete, she turned on her camera and began videotaping.
“Viridian ‘ere. Still alive. Ah’ve been drying out some kelp on Tha Sheet. Hoping that it’ll taste better than wet kelp. Wait. What’s that?”
Viridian stopped recording to investigate. A flashing red object was floating in the water, not too far from The Sheet. She cast out a makeshift kelp net to retrieve the blinking object. When she finally pulled the object from the water, she noticed a similarity between it and her raft. They were both the same shade of blue. Another thing she noticed was that there were wires coming out of the bottom of the object, implying that it must have been ripped off of the helicopter. Viridian looked at it, hoping to find out what part of the helicopter it was from. On one side of the metal object was some writing. It read:
[HELO #314159 SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS ANTENNA]
It was the communications antenna from the helicopter, the same one which allowed the late Silver Wings to talk with Air Traffic Control. It was a fascinating find, but what would Viridian do with a broken antenna? An idea popped into her head. What if she could wire up her cell phone to the antenna? Viridian began checking if the wires to the antenna could work with her phone’s port. Sure enough, one of the cables fit into the phone. It was like a miracle. What were the odds? Viridian had three bars of connection, just enough to do simple tasks. She decided to go into her navigations app, and successfully found her coordinates. After that, Viridian fired up the camera app and began yet again videotaping. She was prepared.
“Mah name is Viridian Meadows. Ah’m the movie director, and best known for her work on The Pegasi Chronicles. Ah was finishing up a tour of Haywaii when my helicopter crashed into the ocean on final approach. The pilot, whose name is Silver Wings, is deceased. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Since the crash, ah have been lost at sea for an unknown amount at time. My current coordinates are [PAUSE] 18.953 North, and -153.962 West. Please send help. Viridian Meadows, sah’ning off.”
The battery on her phone was almost drained. It was a few minutes until her phone died. She quickly opened her PonyTube app and loaded her video onto it.
And Viridian pressed ‘Upload’
*****
All the actors and movie assistants of The Pegasi Chronicles Part IV filed into a movie trailer and crowded around one of the movie set’s laptops. A video called “PLEASE SEND HELP” was playing on the screen. A yellow mare with curly green hair began speaking to the camera. “My name is Viridian Meadows,” said the mare. At that moment, all of the ponies in the trailer gasped. Their director was alive! She had been presumed dead after her helicopter crashed into the ocean a couple days before. At the end of the video, Viridian rattled off some coordinates, presumably of her own location. How she got her coordinates did not matter. It was the information that counted. Viridian’s film team scrambled around the makeshift village comprised of twenty or so movie trailers. One pony was trying to contact Viridian directly through her cell phone. Another began contacting the coast guard. Even the actors played their part. The actors bunched up to film a quick, non scripted video to raise awareness of the effort to save their director. They posted it to PonyTube, Haybook, and any social media website that they could think of. Within half an hour, the search and rescue effort was in full swing. From the mountaintop, the movie ponies heard a horn echoing in the distance. The sound’s point of origin was a large, orange coast guard ship departing the harbor. On the other side of the mountain, a fleet of planes that matched the coast guard ship’s colors took to the skies. What was thought to be a sad time in the movie industry had become joyful. There was a glimmer of hope.
Social media was blowing up. It was a trending topic on many forms of social media. The video, “PLEASE SEND HELP,” had gotten over a million views in the last day. The Pony News Network, or PNN, had been covering it for the past the story for the past few hours, calling it ‘Breaking News.’ The domino effect was so great, that coast guard ships and aircraft began setting out from the maneland to cover a greater area than what the Haywaiian fleet could do alone.
Finding Viridian would be a difficult task. Yes, her yellow hide and green mane made her eye catching, but the raft she was sailing on would not help. The raft was a dark shade of blue, and almost matched the color of the ocean below. Fortunately, EASA, or the Equine Aeronautics and Space Administration, had joined the party. A few satellites had been allocated to the search, and begun observing the area of the coordinates that Viridian had said in her video.
It had been a long day at Mission Control. Everypony was tired. They had been looking at pictures of blue ocean for hours on end. The ponies began packing up, when, one of the ponies shouted “Hey, boss! Come check this out!” The Mission Control Director trotted over to the pony’s console and peered at the screen. His jaw dropped in show as a result of what he saw. A few other ponies began to crane their necks to see what the fuss was all about. On the screen was something that was not the ocean. It was an anomaly. Though heavily pixelated, the picture was clear to everypony. It was a raft, and upon that raft was a certain mare. That mare was Viridian.
*****
Viridian turned on her camera.
“Good mornin’, everypony. It’s Viridian Meadows again. Day three out at sea. There’s no more kelp. And ah can tell you, the kelp looked and tasted disgusting, but it’s nutritious. Ah think. If you’re wondering how ah’m uploading this, I’ll explain. Ah found the antenna of the helicopter, and was able to salvage it. Miraculously, the antenna hooked right up to mah mobile phone, and ah instantly got three bars of connection out here in the open ocean. Ah hope ah see a ship or plane or helicopter or something in the next day. If not, ah will starve. Viridian Meadows, sahn’ing off.”
Viridian ended the video by tapping her screen. She then uploaded it to the web, where everypony could see. After the helicopter crash, all she could do was sit around, eat kelp, post vlogs, and do nothing. She did not want to use her phone for any unnecessary things. If she did, she would run out of battery, and all communications between her and rescue would be cut off. Suddenly, she spotted something on the horizon. It was green, almost like the kelp that she had been eating for the past three days. However, as she got closer, the object seemed to be much larger than the tangle of kelp. It was an island! She had made it back to Haywaii! As she got closer, she began to paddle with her hooves. Within a couple of hours of spotting the island, she had made it onto solid ground. The sound of The Sheet scraping on the sandy shore was music to Viridian’s ears. Viridian got down on her knees and kissed the sand. She was so happy to be back on land. After stumbling for a couple of moments, she was back on all four hooves. She was back on solid ground, but her journey was not over yet. She had to find somepony to get her back to the hotel. Viridian put the helicopter antenna into her saddlebag, which had become wet over the course of three days at sea. She decided to walk along the beach to find the casual surfer or sunbather. Viridian did not want to venture inland, as dense forest lay on the edge of the beach.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Viridian had seen nopony on the island. Maybe she was in a Native Haywaiian reserve, or in a top secret missile range. She was not sure. She spotted a blue metal object on the beach ahead of her. Upon further inspection, Viridian had found out that it was her seafaring sheet metal. She had gone around the whole island! Viridian was sure of it. She was also sure of another thing. This was not Haywaii at all. It was a much smaller island, far away from Haywaii. The thought devastated Viridian. She might as well die on this island. Finding a place to sit, Viridian turned on her camera.
“Good afternoon, everypony.”
And that was when a turquoise-maned, light blue alicorn stepped out of the forest.
*****
“Who… who are you?” asked Viridian, stumbling back.
“My name is Pixel Wavelength, the Princess of the Internet,” said the alicorn. “I have seen your videos on PonyTube, and your posts on Haybook, and they have received millions of views. Your use of the internet to find help caught my attention.”
“Thank you. It was no big deal. Really.”
“Oh, yes it was. Thousands of ponies are looking for you right now. The Equestria Coast Guard, EASA, and almost everypony that has a television and access to the internet is anxious to see you alive,” said Pixel Wavelength.
Viridian had never expected such participation in her own search effort. She was amazed how many people cared for her that she was brought to tears.
Pixel Wavelength made a square of facial tissue magically appear out of thin air, and handed it to Viridian.
After a couple of minutes, Viridian had calmed down. Still, there were so many questions to be answered. Could she trust Pixel Wavelength, or would she be another obstacle in her journey back home?
“How can ah trust you, Pixel? Ah understand that you’re an alicorn… er… princess, but the fact that you just appeared on the same ahland as me is making me suspicious,” Viridian said.
“Let’s just say that, being the princess I am, I have traveled forward in time. From the information that I have acquired from my trip to the brief future, I can tell you that there is a satellite above us right now, six coast guard ships sailing towards us, and dozens of helicopters accompanying them. When the ships and helicopters come, I will be accused for causing the helicopter crash, and be arrested. You, on the other hand, will be taken back to Haywaii, and be showered by press for the next month.”
The explanation completely sold it for Viridian. How could any other pony know that she had come from Haywaii? Also, how could any other pony tell a story so vivid? She had to trust Pixel Wavelength.
“Alright, Pixel. Ah want to prevent you from getting arrested, and ah want to get back to Haywaii. How do we fix what is about to happen?” asked Viridian.
“Viridian, I have to cast a very complex spell, even more complex than the all the spells created by Starswirl the Bearded combined.The spell will let you and I go back to three days ago. It is a spell I can cast only every one thousand years. But, for a resourceful and brave pony like you, I believe that you are worthy of the spell.”
Viridian nodded. Pixel Wavelength closed her eyes in concentration, and her horn began to glow various tints of blue. Sparks flew from her horn, and Viridian began become surrounded with the aura as well. The two began to lift off of the sandy beach. A fleet of ships and helicopters could be seen on the horizon. Pixel suddenly opened her eyes, which were glowing white.
And that was all Viridian remembered.
*****
“Ms. Meadows? We’re here.”
“Cerulean!”
“Yes, Ms. Meadows?”
“Cerulean, where are we?”
“At the Seashell Resort and Spa, Ms. Meadows.”
It had worked! Pixel Wavelength’s spell had really worked! Viridian jumped out of the black sedan, and so did Cerulean. He opened the car’s trunk, revealing a large roller and a saddlebag. Viridian mounted her saddlebag as Cerulean pulled out her roller.
“Thank you, Cerulean,” said Viridian as she smacked a twenty-bit bill into his hooves.
“And thank you, Ms. Meadows.” Cerulean got into his car and sped away.
Viridian entered through the revolving doors as she did three days before. Hibiscus Flower was at the desk, talking to somepony over the phone. Viridian decided to wait until Hibiscus was finished talking to the pony on the phone, and sit down in a corner of the lobby where a flatscreen TV was showing the afternoon news.
“Speeds are picking up this afternoon. All flights are canceled out of Haywaii International Airport. Pegasi are being asked to not fly for the next 24 hours. Back to you, North,” said the news anchor.
Hibiscus Flower had finished with her call, so Viridian decided to walk up to her.
“Check in for Meadows, please,” said Viridian
Hibiscus Flower began typing on a nearby computer, and her jaw dropped.
“Oh my Celestia! Ms. Virid-”
Viridian cut her off. “Ah know, ah know. Please, ah need to get to my room.” Viridian was getting pretty tired after all the going back in time and the repetition of events stuff, and she just wanted to take a nap in a soft, clean bed.
“Will do, Ms. Viridian. If there is anything you need, just call me at the check-in desk,” said Hibiscus, smiling, as she handed Viridian her room key.
Viridian rode the elevator up to her room on the 5th floor. When she finally got to her room, she slid the card key into the slot, and opened the door. To her surprise, Pixel Wavelength was on her room’s veranda. She was facing away from her, admiring the ocean, just as Viridian had on her first day here. Pixel heard the door to the room open, and she turned around.
“Why, hello, Viridian. Nice to see you again.”
“Good afternoon, Princess.”
“You never did get your cutie mark when you were little, did you?”
“No, Princess.”
“Not anymore.”
Viridian turned around to look at her flank. It was a camera! Since fillyhood, Viridian had aspired to be one of the greatest film directors there ever was. Now, it seemed that it was no longer a dream. It was her destiny.
“Did you ever happen to finish filming your movie?” asked Pixel Wavelength.
Viridian shook her head.
“Well, let’s change that.”
And Viridian and Pixel Wavelength disappeared in a bright blue flash.
*****
Two months later, Viridian landed in Vanhoover. She was there for the 31st Annual Vanhoover Film Festival. Everypony was talking about her movie debut on the internet. An hour or two after landing, Viridian arrived at the VFF. She stepped out of a limousine, wearing a beautiful red dress. Camera flashes of the pressponies filled the air as Viridian trotted down the red carpet.
When she got inside the theater, an usher escorted her to the stage to give her a quick speech.
“Good evening, everypony! Mah name is Viridian Meadows, lead of The Pegasi Chronicles Part VI. Fun fact: Ah have an honorary co-director with me today. Her name is Princess Pixel Wavelength.”
The audience clapped.
“Our friendship goes back to a couple months ago. Let’s just say that we, together, went back in tah’me to change the movie, and the world.”
The audience laughed, thinking she had cracked a joke. Viridian winked at Pixel Wavelength, and she flashed Viridian a smile.
The lights dimmed, and the audible whirring of the projector filled the auditorium.
“Enjoy the show,” said Viridian.
Author's Note
This story was heavily inspired by "The Martian" by Andy Weir and by "The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel.
NOTE: If this story wins the contest, I will, by choice, not receive any of the prize ($50). Instead, I will request that $15 goes toward the MLPForums and that $45 goes to the Red Cross.
