Heroes of Hoofington

[prudence]

An invitation had been sent out to everypony in Hoofington to come out this day to greet and honor the ponies who had saved Hoofington from the creature that had plagued them day and night without mercy. The turn out was spectacular and Prudence the mayor of Hoofington looked out at the gathering crowd pleased.

She cleared her throat, looked down at her notes, and began.

"Ladies and Gentlecolts, we are gathered here to remember, to celebrate, and to pay tribute. Not long ago, we were shut away afraid. The object of our fear had us hiding like rabbits in a hole and running scared. We lost good ponies to it, many too young taken from us too soon. I would like to take a moment to remember those who we lost both through accident and through feats of bravery."

She bowed her head for a tick to allow for a moment of silence. Then she raised her face back to the microphone smiling this time.

"But the dark cloud has passed and we have been delivered from the darkness with the help of some exceptional ponies. Today I would like to recognize and reward these heroes of Hoofington with these fine cloaks. They have been crafted by our artisans out of the webbing of the beast. May their protection shield you in future endeavors and may their lightness keep you fast on your hooves. Please, step forward-- Ranger, Riot Rhythm, Wagon Roller, Selenia and Cloudfall."

[bronydude]

Wagon shifted nervously by the edge of the stand, he was happy he had been able to help. The pain was worth it as far as he was concerned, still walking was difficult at the moment and rather painful. He had felt bad for the other group who lost a friend and despite their differences the loss of life was always sad. Still they had saved a town and the townsfolk could sleep at night so it was a good result in many ways.

He however was never one for the limelight and preferred to quietly get on with things. He was happy for the thanks but he hadn't joined the team for this, so he was more then a little nervous going on stage in front of an entire town.

He heard Prudence call their names and the crowd applauding. It was time to step on stage... He swallowed hard trying to suppress his nerves. He gritted his teeth hiding the pain with each step as he made his way on to the stage.

[silverpine]

Silver Pine arrived just when Wagon Roller came up on stage - she was too tired to get out of the clinic to come on time, but she willed herself to go when she could. She stood in the back of the crowd, apart from everypony.

Silver felt isolated from the others. She smiled at seeing how happy they all were, but she didn't really know anypony... Being an outsider, she could only bear witness to their trials and triumphs. And her fatigue further limited her from partaking in most community events (except, of course, for the terror the monster brought).

It was only when they came to her that she felt like she had a part in their lives.

As Wagon Roller came onstage, his pain bothered her - his back leg would take time to heal, but he might escape becoming lame - he might walk normally. He was lucky. But it still hurt. Perhaps she'll treat all of them to Passion Flower tea soon, when she could muster up the energy. Perhaps Roller could have some of her Comfrey ointment or cream... With some added drops of lavender, to help ease the pain... He could go on a diet with a tablespoonful of powdered Devil's Claw added to his meals, too... And then he'll be better in a few months or so, with some rehabilitation.

If only everything were so simple. If everything had a cure... Silver sighed.

[cloudfall]

This was a large crowd, and there were a lot of ponies making up that crowd. And they wanted him to go up on the stage in front of them all. Sure, there were him team mates that would be up there with him, but this was still a lot of ponies and they would all be staring, judging. Some might cheer, some might stare, some might wonder if this was some sick joke.

Cloudfall shook his head free of those thoughts. He just helped fight a nightmare. His shyness could shut up, a little stage fright was nothing compared to that forest. He tried to open his wings, since he felt more comfortable in the air, but his wings would not open and had firmly planted themselves at his sides. He sighed. Stage fright might not be the worst thing, but it was still something...

Cloud took a breath and followed Wagon onto the stage. His eyes wide as he looked out at the crowd, that seemed so much bigger now that he was actually in front of them. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tried to keep a brave face and keep his hooves on the stage. Nightmare vanquisher or not, he hated being in the spot light....

[Selenia]

Selenia stepped up on the stage with her friends as their names were called, and gave Wagon a light pat on the back, not hard enough to bother his injuries, but firm enough to be felt. She gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, it'll heal." She turned back to face the large crowd of ponies gathered in front of the stage. Some wore looks of happiness, others of awe and fear for her group which had removed a horrible abomination from their woods. Figures, some ponies fear what is greater than them.

Selenia gave a short huff, but returned to a great smile, basking in the spotlight which was on her and Ranger's special task team. Being cooped up in Canterlot most of her life and not getting much recognition for her skills or magical talents, Selenia enjoyed the sudden change and ascent into more important matters than half-running a library.

But not all of the past event had been call for celebration. One of the ponies from an opposing group that had shown up had been brutally murdered by the creature, shortly after a blue unicorn, who looked incredibly similar to a very boastful showpony magician that had performed in Canterlot not too long before this event, had shot two strange looking darts into the creature. Thankfully, those darts were a half tragedy-half blessing, as after the opposing group lost their member, they decided to make a hasty retreat, an the darts weakened the creature enough to let Ranger and his group kill it.

[Ranger]

Ranger quickly hopped up on the stage, he wasn't really sure what to make of the situation as it was, what with those ponies they fought while trying to bring down the monster. Something wasn't right about them. But there he was in the limelight, exactly where he hated being. Thank Harmony for his mask.

"Thank you everypony," He spoke shortly, "The Ponyville Militia was happy to do its part in preserving the harmony in our beautiful kingdom." He said shortly, before taking his offered reward, oh this cloak was fabulous, some dye and it would be perfect to replace his old, worn out cloak. Sprite would love to have a chance to work with this.

He knew what he was going to do now though, he wasn't leaving. He wanted to snoop around and find out more about those ponies they encountered, see if he could learn anything. He hoped they were not related to those rumors floating about. But he needed to make sure, it was his duty. He just hoped Ponyville could make do without him for a while.