by G. M. Berrow
But the truth was, they only had one day left to make them connect.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I’m going to see what I can find hiding in Ritzy Rose’s things with my little spy eyes,” Pinkie Pie said as she took off toward the dressing room. Maybe the box has been there all along, right under their muzzles.
“And I’ll keep mine on Jazz Hoof,” Songbird Serenade mumbled to herself. Perhaps she could just talk to him and see what he knew. Since she’d been nominated for the past few years, Songbird felt like she’d gotten to know the colorful Jazz Hoof pretty well. He loved the Glammy Awards with all his heart—it was his greatest pride. He knew everything about the show, what every singer was doing, and what every dancer was saying. Jazz Hoof was just like Crownpiece in that regard. So why would he want to ruin it?
But as she trotted back up to the stage to find him, Songbird heard a strange noise coming from the costume room. It was muffled by the sounds of music blasting onstage, but it was unmistakable. Somepony was ripping fabric!
As Songbird turned the corner and entered the room, she couldn’t believe what she saw. Everypony’s costumes, besides Rara’s, were on the floor in a heap, ripped and cut beyond recognition! There was rainbow glitter in little piles everywhere, along with a red hoofsies stamp: the trademark signature logo of Countess Coloratura. Nopony but her had one of those stamps. Maybe Ritzy Rose and Jazz Hoof had been right about Rara all along.
Songbird Serenade snatched the hoofsies stamp and took off to alert Jazz Hoof. As Songbird replayed the scene in her head, there was only one conclusion she kept coming to: that her friend Countess Coloratura was trying to sabotage her competition and end the Glammys, once and for all.
The facts were all there—Songbird just didn’t want to believe them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
By the time the big night had finally arrived, everypony had managed to recover from the costume attack. It was all thanks to the emergency sewing help from Rarity, her former intern Charity Sweetmint, and her good friend Ms. Pommel. All three designers called in extra seamstress friends to get the job done and had miraculously finished repairing everything earlier that afternoon. Jazz Hoof had declared it a “Musical Menagerie Miracle.”
Despite the upset, most of the nominees found themselves looking forward to the evening of partying, performing, and finally finding out the winners of the awards. Pinkie Pie and Songbird Serenade were not among them. Why had Lyra and Bon Bon ever thought that they could pass this task off to a party planner and a pop singer?
Instead of feeling nervicited for their performance, they were sick with stress over their potentially failed mission. They had a main suspect, but still no Pondora Box or clear answers as to why Countess Coloratura would want to destroy the awards. And every time they tried to talk to her, she disappeared and retreated to her hotel room.
“Here goes nothing!” Pinkie Pie nudged Songbird and they stepped out of their carriage and onto the pink carpet. Suddenly, a friendly face popped up and made them momentarily forget their dilemma.
“Good evening, fine fillies!” Cheese Sandwich did a little bow and gave a wink. He looked dapper in his pink suit and red bow tie. “You’re looking swell.”
“Thank you, Mr. Sandwich.” Songbird nodded and her sparkly bow caught the light. “I didn’t know you’d be here, but I’m glad to see you again.”
“Me too!” Pinkie Pie chirped. “Whatcha doin’ here, Cheese?”
Cheese let out a belly laugh. “Good one, Pinkie. Thanks for asking Countess Coloratura to invite me. It’s so rare that I get invited to a party I didn’t plan! This must be what it feels like to be a normal pony.”
“But I didn’t ask Rara to invite you.”
“Wait . . .” Cheese furrowed his brow, and reached into his pocket and procured two slips of purple paper. “She didn’t send me this invitation?”
The invitation was hastily hoofwritten. The writing looked familiar, but it definitely was not Coloratura’s. But there was a red hoofsies stamp at the bottom, and she was the only pony with one of those. It was puzzling. Pinkie Pie was trying to wrap her mind around it, when a line of thirty stallions in white tuxedos broke through the bustling pink-carpet crowd.
“Move aside!” barked a security pony. “Ballot boxes coming through!” Each of the stallions held a shining silver box with intricate crosshatch designs engraved into them.
Songbird and Pinkie Pie gasped and immediately looked at each other in shock. Those ballot boxes looked identical to the picture of the Pondora Box!
“Follow. Those. Boxes,” Pinkie urged Songbird through her gritted, toothy smile. “Sorry, Cheese! Catch you later!” Songbird managed to push through the throngs of fancy ponies complimenting one another’s gowns, but a perfectly polished white hoof stopped Pinkie Pie from following.
“Pinkie Pie, I’m delighted that you asked me to sew you a pink-carpet look along with the one for Songbird,” Rarity cooed in the voice she reserved for formal occasions. She was wearing a gold-sequined gown that almost made her look like a giant Glammy statuette. Her purple mane was done up in a cascading-curl style.
“Finishing both garments was quite the time crunch, but if I do say so myself… you both look utterly divine.” Rarity stepped back to admire Pinkie Pie’s ensemble, which consisted of a black gown with a huge pink bow on the back, identical to Songbird Serenade’s.
“Oh, thanks!” Pinkie Pie felt the dress was a bit much, but it did make her feel fuzzy-wuzzy warm that Rarity was so happy. Now if only her dear friend would take a hint and continue this conversation later. “I really gotta go—”
“It was so lucky that I was ahead of schedule, or Charity Sweetmint and I couldn’t have repaired all those costumes.” Rarity fanned herself as she remembered the destruction. She was flustered even imagining a tiny rip in one of her priceless dresses, let alone a bunch of them being torn to shreds. “It was horrifying.”
While Pinkie Pie reassured her frantic friend and tried to break away, Songbird stuck to the plan and forged ahead. She waved to a few important ponies, weaving through the party with relative ease. Like a secret agent’s sunglasses, Songbird’s bangs provided excellent cover for avoiding eye contact. When she was sure she wasn’t being watched, Songbird slipped into the ballot room.
Her heart began to thump rapidly inside her chest.
If anypony saw Songbird Serenade in there, they would automatically assume the worst—that she was trying to rig the outcome of the awards. It could ruin her career! Songbird decided that, given the circumstances, it was a risk worth taking. She would save her friends and the Glammy attendees from that monster, no matter what it took. That is, if she could figure out which box it was first. How in Equestria was she going to tell the Pondora Box apart from all the others?
The thirty ballot boxes were placed on long tables along the perimeter of the room, along with the actual Glammy statuettes in neat rows beside them. They were identical. Whoever had stolen the box from Lyra and Bon Bon had managed to re-create the exact look of it for all the ballot boxes.
If she opened any of them, Songbird was going to be in big trouble. Either they would announce the winner of a category or they would release a terrifying mystery creature. She was trying to riddle out what her options were, when she heard her name.
“Songbird Serenade!” somepony shouted from outside the door. “Songbird?” Crownpiece leaned her head inside. True to her name, she was all gussied up for the big event and wearing a crown made of pretty bronze stars.
“Oh, it’s just you.” Songbird Serenade felt relief wash over her. She’d almost been caught!
Crownpiece raised an eyebrow and stepped into the doorway, her frame cast in silhouette. “Uhh… what are you doing?”
“Just admiring the new ballot boxes . . .” Songbird lied. “They’re so… unique this year, don’t you think?”
“Sure, I guess,” Crownpiece replied, scrunching up her muzzle. “But not nice enough to miss your
Glammy performance. Come on! You were supposed to be in costume five minutes ago. The show is starting and you’re on first.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The excitement of the evening was tangible, almost an audible buzz. Pinkie Pie peeked through the curtains to survey the scene. The Stables Center was packed to the gills with ponies dressed in their fanciest clothing from all over Equestria, eager to see their favorite stars win awards and perform their latest hit songs live. Everypony was trying to guess who would win Pop Pony of the Year.
“Eez definitely going to bee Songbird Serenade to win Pop Pony!” guessed the famous photographer Photo Finish in her thick accent. “She ’az very nice voice and bold styles!”
“Personally, I’ve got my bits on Feather Bangs,” said her friend and fashion designer Hoity Toity. He pushed down his purple aviator sunglasses and raised his eyebrows. “The fillies just adore him. And they have major influence. Never underestimate the fillies.”
“I don’t care who wins, as long as what they’re wearing is fabulous,” chimed in Dandy Grandeur from the row behind them. He was sporting his best fuzzy-necked vest and tie for the event. “You know?”
“Oh, it will be, darling,” Rarity assured him. “Don’t you fret.” She imagined the moment when Songbird Serenade trotted up to accept the award wearing the gown she’d designed, and began to beam with pride. “Besides, I hear Jazz Hoof always puts on such a show. I can’t wait to see what spectacles he’s got in store for us!”
Little did they know that backstage it was already a sight to behold: It was utter chaos. The nominees were frantically trying to change their outfits and prepare to perform, while the stagehooves pushed the massive menagerie sets into order for seamless transitions. Pinkie Pie bounced up and down the hallways, searching for Songbird.
“There you are!” Pinkie Pie cheered as Songbird came galloping in, still pinning the pink bow to the back of her head. She’d just barely made it out of her dress and into her costume.
Pinkie Pie adjusted her own black top and Songbird wig. “So, did you find the Pondora Box?! Please oh please oh please—”
“No,” Songbird lamented as she picked up her microphone from a table of equipment. “The boxes are identical. Whoever did this really thought this scheme through. Now every time somepony opens a box onstage to read the winner of a category, they could be facing a terrible beast.”
Pinkie Pie gulped. This was not how she’d imagined Glammy night going. She’d pictured sparkling apple juice and parties, not being on alert for scary monsters. There was nothing they could do now but keep their eyes open.
“Songbird Serenade—you’re up!” A stage manager galloped over to Songbird and Pinkie with an angry expression on her face. “We’re already behind schedule. We need you both to take your places, now.” Songbird and Pinkie gave each other a hoof-bump and galloped to their starting positions.
The stage was pitch-black as Songbird trilled out the opening notes to her song. “Ohhhh, I’ve got strong hooves and a crystal heeaaaart . . .” Her hauntingly beautiful voice echoed through the Stables Center.
A lone spotlight illuminated Pinkie Pie and she began her dance. She leaped across the stage with ease, her nerves having completely abandoned her in the wake of trying to solve the mystery. It was magic.
And it would have been perfect if Pinkie Pie hadn’t spotted Crownpiece in the audience, carrying a silver box. The Unicorn kept looking over her shoulder, as if she was nervous that somepony would stop her. Right away, Pinkie Pie knew that it was the box she had been searching for. Pinkie Pie hoped Songbird Serenade would understand if she went off routine a bit. Because before she could stop herself, Pinkie Pie was diving off the stage and into the audience.
“Geronimoooo!” Pinkie Pie couldn’t help shouting, just like Cheese Sandwich would have. She tackled the assistant in a blur of black and fuchsia, and quickly grabbed the box. Songbird kept singing, and everypony watched the scene unfolding in the audience with curiosity. Was it part of the show? One never truly knew with Songbird Serenade and her taste for performance art, so nopony got up to stop the altercation.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” Crownpiece barked, trying to wrestle the box back. “This is the ballot box for Pop Pony of the Year!”
“No, it’s not!” Pinkie Pie yelled. “It’s a Pondora Box! It’s dangerous! There’s a monsteeeeeer in theeeeere!” Crownpiece dove for the box, and both ponies crashed down onto the floor. Pinkie landed on her stomach with a splat! The box was just beyond her forehoof’s reach. She scooted and stretched.…
“Whoaaaa, I’ve got strong hooves and a crystal heart… but your magic spells might be too smart! I’m like a shiny relic, a piece of art!” Songbird belted out onstage, watching Pinkie and Crownpiece roll around from underneath her choppy bangs.
Crownpiece hopped to her hooves and snatched the box. “Look, if you wanna see, I’ll show you what’s inside!” she shouted over the music. Then Crownpiece placed her hoof on the lock and twisted it back and forth in a series of complicated movements. Where had she learned to do that?
As the lid flipped open, a brilliant blast of red light shot up from inside the box. A gust of wind swirled around Crownpiece, causing her golden mane to fly up like the Mane-iac. Her face looked spooky, illuminated from below with the red tint, but she did not look powerful. She seemed… scared?
That couldn’t be a sign of good things to come.
Crownpiece quickly dropped the box to the floor, but it was too late. The spell had been cast. The breeze picked up, and wind whipped through the rows of seated audience ponies and formed a small tornado in the center of the aisle. Masses of iridescent glitter soared from the box and up into the air above the ponies, creating an effect that erred more on the side of lovely than terrifying. “Ooooh . . .” the audience cooed in wonder as the glitter danced to Songbird’s voice.
BOOM! A loud noise resonated through the theater as the glitter sucked itself into the aisle. When the cloud settled, a giant figure made entirely out of glitter particles emerged. Its glowing red eyes shone like lasers as it stomped through the aisles, swinging its massive fists at the audience and growling.
“Ahhhhh!” the ponies cried out. “What is that thing?!”
“I don’t know,” Dandy Grandeur whimpered. “But it seems angry, you know?”
“Songbird!” Pinkie Pie shouted from the seats. “We have to stop the monster!”
“It’s a Glitter Golem!” shouted Lyra, wearing a mask and appearing out of nowhere and doing a barrel roll into the aisle. A disguised Bon Bon followed, pulling a small gold contraption from the pocket of her black waistcoat. “Stay back, everypony. We have to calm it down so we can catch it!”
Onstage, Songbird Serenade stopped singing “Crystal Heart,” captivated by the sight of the creature ambling through the theater, clawing at everything. Its body sparkled like a million beautiful diamonds, but it sounded ugly—like an Ursa Major with a thorn in its paw. She wanted to do something to help, too, but what? It felt like her hooves were glued to the floor.
And then Songbird began to hum a low, smooth lullaby. The Glitter Golem stopped in its tracks. It spun around, entranced by the notes of the song, and began to walk toward Songbird.
“Keep singing!” shouted Bon Bon. “It’s working!”
“Traaa-la-la, hmmmmm mmmm, la-laaaa . . .” Songbird cooed. With each step the Glitter Golem took toward the stage, more glitter fell from the creature’s limbs. By the time it reached Songbird, it was just a faint translucent shimmer. As Songbird sang the last of the notes, the beast had completely disappeared.
The only remnants of it were the little piles of glitter across the stage. Songbird sighed with relief and spoke into her microphone. “And that, fillies and gentlecolts, brings us to intermission! Please escort yourselves outside for a refreshment.”
“WAHOOOOO! That was amazing, Songbird!” Pinkie Pie squealed from the audience, bouncing into the air. “You did it!�
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Pinkie had never seen a better performance in her entire life.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
There was only one pony who had full access to the entire Stables Center and who had a hoof in everything with the awards. One pony who was excellent at planning, so good that she could be somepony’s assistant and execute a plot to destroy a pop singer’s reputation at the same time. One pony who was sneaky enough to steal a boxed magical monster and place it among the ballots. Finally, it all made sense: the destroyed sets, the ruined costumes, and the random piles of mysterious glitter. Why hadn’t they seen it before?
“I know who tried to sabotage the Glammy Awards!” Pinkie Pie shouted, bringing everypony’s excited chatter to an abrupt end. Pinkie Pie paused as if she were going to read the winner of a Glammy Award. “It was CROWNPIECE!” She pointed at the stunned assistant.
Everypony gasped. The nominees and their dancers shuffled their hooves and stepped away from the Unicorn. Crownpiece was left standing in the middle of the circle, eyes wide with faux innocence. “That’s not true!”
Nopony could believe it. Especially Songbird Serenade, who looked incredibly hurt. Had her own assistant really duped her this entire time?
“But—but… that’s impossible,” Ritzy Rose stammered, crestfallen. “I’m positive that it was Ra—”
“That’s what she wanted you to think . . .” Pinkie Pie explained. She trotted over to Ritzy and put a hoof around her shoulders like they were old pals. “Ritzy Rose, you were sure you were going to win a Glammy last year. Who stole the show instead?”
“Countess Coloratura!” Ritzy Rose proclaimed, sticking her muzzle in the air. Moonlight Melody nodded in support. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
Now that Pinkie was rolling with her theories, she couldn’t stop. Pinkie Pie trotted over to Jazz Hoof, who was dressed in a royal-blue suit with a neon yellow cravat. “And, Jazz Hoof, who complained to the Glammy producers to have you replaced as the show’s director and host?”