Ponyville by Day, feat. Tirone by ~Mace66VW



A few strokes on the balloon, a quick touch up on Mare Do-Well's left ear, and the mural would be...

"Perfect," Tirone said through the paintbrush in his teeth. Most unicorn artists would have used magic for their painting, but he preferred to do things the way artists like Starry Night and Young Mare had done in olden times. He set the brush down and leaned back on the scaffolding to admire his handiwork. On the wood panel before him, Mare Do-Well leaped across the grain, clutching a panicked pony in her hooves. The painted remains of a hot air balloon loomed behind her, looking as if they would fall right off the panel just as they had fallen to the ground during Mare Do-Well's daring rescue. Tirone looked at the hot air balloon, then to the panicked pony; both conveyed a sense of urgency and fear, but the expressionless mask concealing Mare Do-Well's face was unnervingly offsetting.

He hoped that the mural would do the mare justice, whoever she was. "I have a feeling that it wouldn't be too good to get on her bad side," Tirone mused, using his magic to roll the scaffolding around the middle area of Ponyville Town Hall. Paintings of familiar ponies moved past him as he checked his work - Applejack riding atop a cow during a stampede, Rainbow Dash performing the second sonic rainboom in Equestria's history, and Fluttershy unleashing her soft-spoken fury on a dragon were just a few of the many scenes that flashed before Tirone's eyes. Mare Do-Well had been the latest addition to a mural celebrating the history of Ponyville that Tirone had been commissioned by Mayor Mare to paint on the upper walls of town hall.

"Let's see, then," Tirone said as he looked down at a list of the scenes he had yet to add, "Twilight Sparkle staving off the Ursa Minor, Pinkie Pie celebrating the birth of the Cake twins, and Rarity competing in the Sisterhooves Social with Sweetie Belle." A frown crossed Tirone's features; he still had a lot of work to do, and the mural was barely half done.

"HI, TIRONE!" a cheery voice rang out from the street below. Tirone gasped in surprise, and his paintbrush fell to the ground below, landing in front of a smiling Pinkie Pie. Irritation flashed across Tirone's face, but quickly vanished when he saw the happy smile Pinkie Pie wore.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie," he called back, "How's everything going? Do you always go around town surprising ponies?"

"Only all the time!" Pinkie giggled, "Besides, today is Surprise Saturday!" She bounced up and down a few times in excitement while Tirone jumped down from the scaffolding and picked up his paintbrush. As soon as he had done so, Pinkie Pie launched into her super speedy speech again. "So, are you still coming to tonight's party at Sugarcube Corner? I mean, you do know there's a party tonight, right? Of course you do, because I just told you there is!" Pinkie Pie stretched out her neck and twisted it upside-down so that she was looking up at Tirone; this mare was something else.

"Easy, Pinkie," Tirone chuckled, looking down at Pinkie's wide-eyed face. "Vinyl Scratch told me you throw the wildest and coolest parties this side of the Everfree Forest, so you can bet I'll be there to check it out. Besides, I---" Tirone was unable to continue his sentence, for a blast of confetti had flown into his mouth as well as in every other direction.

"HOORAY!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Tirone shook his head a few times as confetti fell all over Pinkie and him. Where had that confetti cannon strapped to her back come from? "Trust me, it's going to be super-special-AWESOME, and it's only an hour away! I hope you're ready to have some fun! I know I am! I can't wait... huh?" The shadow of a pegasus in flight passed by to their left, prompting a curious upward glance from Pinkie Pie.

"What are you..?" Tirone started.

"SKYWARRIOR!" Pinkie Pie shouted, "Wait up!" In a flash, the pink mare shot down the street in hot pursuit of the pegasus's shadow, knocking Tirone's saddlebag over and leaving a trail of confetti in her wake.

"How does she do that?" Tirone wondered aloud. He moved over to his dislocated saddlebag and set it upright; upon inspection of the contents, however, Tirone's face fell. In her rush to chase whoever Skywarrior was, Pinkie had accidentally kicked the side of Tirone's saddlebag, and in doing so, had also damaged the wrapped box inside.

"Horse feathers," Tirone muttered, lifting the box out. The once-pristine ribbon fell limply to the ground, followed by the box itself giving way a few seconds later. Two golden tickets floated downward, but Tirone quickly caught them with a magic bubble before they could hit the street. They shone brightly in the evening sun, as did Tirone's hopes for the night. He collected his art supplies, decided that the rest of the mural could be done another day, and gingerly set the tickets in a side pocket of the saddlebag before putting it on. Tirone set off at a slow walk, intending to circle the town square a few times before heading to Sugarcube Corner.

Tonight was the night - the night that he would finally work up the courage to ask Vinyl Scratch the all-important question that came with Equestria's biggest gathering of the year. Tirone had rehearsed it in his mind a few dozen times, and, though he hated to admit it, was doing so again as he paced around the fountain in town square. The sun was beginning to dip below the rooftops of Ponyville, and soon, Princess Luna's glorious night would blanket Equestria.

The sounds of laughter and merriment drifted through Ponyville, eventually falling upon Tirone's ears. He turned to look at Sugarcube Corner; the lights were on, ponies were filing in, and the smell of baked delicousness wafted from the open windows of the sweet shop. Somewhere inside, Tirone knew, Vinyl was setting up for her performance, and probably was just as excited as he was about it.

With one last glance at his saddlebag, Tirone steeled his nerves, walked to the entrance of Sugarcube Corner, and stepped inside.



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