It was a week after Trenderhoof interviewed Richie about the orphanage, and the day the celebration was going to take place. Friends and family of the Mane Six showed up for the celebration, with some exceptions.
Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor's parents Night Light and Twilight Velvet made it, and even Shining Armor and Cadance made it due to arranging things so that the Crystal Empire Court could take over for a while. Despite not being a baby anymore Flurry Heart was still too young for the trip, and so was left behind with babysitters. And of course Spike came.
Rarity's parents and sister made it. Truthfully Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles weren't into going to formal events, but this one was about something important that their daughter helped with so they came just to be supportive of that. Sweetie Belle on the other hand was really excited since she enjoyed fancy stuff. Not as much as Rarity did of course, but certainly a lot more than their parents did.
Fluttershy's parents and brother couldn't make it due to not being able to afford to stay in Manehattan overnight (mostly thanks to Fluttershy's brother being a freeloader). However she did invite Tree Hugger, who agreed to come, so at least Fluttershy had one guest.
Rainbow Dash's dad Rainbow Blaze made it as well. As for her mom, well, Rainbow Dash will bring her up later in the story.
Due to a stroke of bad timing Scootaloo's parents had to work overtime that day and so couldn't make it. Because of this Rainbow Dash had to head back to Ponyville to pick up Scootaloo, since she wasn't old enough to travel by herself. However Scootaloo's parents did promise to come later that night so that they could spend the next day with Scootaloo before needing to go back to work.
Also the Wonderbolts couldn't make it since Wonderbolt Academy was starting soon and they had to prepare the academy for old and new trainees. Rainbow Dash was going to participate as well, but only as a helper since she didn't have as high a rank as the other Wonderbolts. Because of this she didn't need as much preparation time as the others, and so was allowed to go to the celebration and even stay overnight without a problem.
As for Applejack only Apple Bloom could come, so Rainbow Dash picked her up too. Granny Smith was too old for long trips and Big Mac wanted to stay behind to keep her company. Applejack didn't mind though, since Richie had agreed to visiting Sweet Apple Acres with her after the celebration to properly meet her family. Besides, Aunt and Uncle Orange and Babs Seed were going.
In Pinkie Pie's case the Cakes didn't want to leave Pumpkin and Pound Cake behind even with babysitters - mostly because they were usually too busy to spend any real time with their foals - so they politely declined. Pinkie understood this, and was at least relieved that her sister Maud Pie and their mom Cloudy Quartz were able to make it. Their dad Igneous Rock Pie was still busy on the farm, and their sisters Limestone Pie and Marble Pie had to stay to help him (plus Marble Pie wasn't comfortable with large parties).
Even Starlight and Sunburst made it, though it wasn't easy for Sunburst. He at first refused to come since he hadn't left the Crystal Empire ever since he first moved in and was too nervous to socialize further, but Starlight convinced him to come by reassuring him that she would be there and most of the guests would be friends or family of friends.
Flicker Sentry also came with his parents, and even Celestia and Luna came (after arranging things with the Canterlot Court of course). Discord came as well, but mostly to be with his friends. Plus he actually had a soft spot for foals. Twilight's Canterlot friends made it too, including Lyra with Bon Bon
Trixie however couldn't make it, though she was grateful - and even touched - by the invitation (Twilight invited her mostly for Starlight's sake, plus to show that she did forgive Trixie). It's just that Trixie was too far away from Manehattan to be able to arrive on time, much to her regret.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were invited as well, but politely declined because Diamond Tiara didn't want her mom to come (she most likely would have since the Fillyanthropys were one of the most high-class families in Manehattan). And Silver Spoon didn't want to come without Diamond Tiara. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo completely understood.
All the guests who could make it came within the time frame of an hour, the Ponyville and Canterlot residents first.
"Hey everypony, got Scootaloo and Apple Bloom here ready for the party." Rainbow Dash smiled as she went over to Richie, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack. "Sorry Granny Smith and Big Mac couldn't make it though."
"It's okay Rainbow, frankly I think they're grateful they couldn't come." Applejack smiled. "Granny Smith never was into formal events."
"And we all know how shy Big Mac is." Apple Bloom chuckled.
"Hey cuz!" Babs Seed grinned as she rushed over to Apple Bloom.
"Hey yerself!" Apple Bloom grinned back.
"This is gonna be fun, I've never been in Manehattan before." Sweetie Belle smiled.
"Then maybe I can show ya around before the party." Babs Seed offered.
"I can show you around too if you'd like." Twilight smiled to Moondancer.
"I'd like that, I'm especially interested in the museums and libraries." Moondancer smiled back.
"Oh you'll love them, they're amazing. They even rival the ones in Canterlot."
Crystal Quartz and Maud Pie then arrived, with Cadance, Shining Armor, Starlight, and Sunburst arriving after them.
"Excuse me, but can one of you tell me- Oh, Mr. Fillyanthropy there you are." A messenger pony suddenly showed up. "I have a message for you."
"Really?" Richie was surprised, not expecting any messages; even so he took the message and gave the messenger a tip.
"Thank you, have a pleasant day everyone." The messenger pony tipped his hat at the group before leaving.
Richie opened the message and frowned.
"Oh darn." He muttered.
"What's wrong Richie?" Applejack asked.
"Oh there was an incident in the ballroom the celebration was to take place in." Richie explained. "One of the employees accidentally broke the chandelier in the ceiling when trying to replace a bulb and it'll take a few hours to fix it. So our celebration has been moved until later tonight, when it'll be too late for the foals to attend. And I can't move it to tomorrow because they're booked for the day."
"Aw man." Sweetie Belle pouted.
"Bummer. But at least we get more time to have fun in Manehattan." Babs Seed pointed out.
"That's true, but I don't like missing out on the party." Apple Bloom frowned.
"I have an idea." Cookie Crumbles smiled. "Truthfully Hondo and I aren't that comfortable with formal events, so maybe we can foalsit the little ones in the hotel and they can have a sleepover."
"Hey that sounds like way more fun than a formal party." Scootaloo smiled.
"Cool, we never had a sleepover together before." Babs Seed smiled.
"Yeah, it can be a Cutie Mark Crusaders Slumber Party." Apple Bloom smiled.
"I like the sound of that." Sweetie Belle smiled.
"That is a great idea." Richie smiled. "Either way it's a good thing I had already set up a separate party for the orphans, so they won't be disappointed by the change in schedule."
"Really? What kind of party?" Flicker asked.
"A party to help the orphans get a chance to be adopted." Richie explained.
"That is a great idea." Maud Pie said.
"Very good karma." Tree Hugger approved.
Now of course either Discord, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, or Starlight could easily fix the chandelier, but they figured that a slumber party would be more fun for Babs Seed, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and especially Scootaloo than a formal party anyway. Plus they were going to spend the night in Manehattan either way, so having the party at night wasn't a problem.
"I commend you for turning your home into the new orphanage." Luna smiled to Richie. "That is a noble sacrifice."
"Thank you Luna, but it really isn't a sacrifice at all. My home would've felt empty without the extra company." Richie smiled with a small bow.
Even though he knew Luna was a very humble princess he still liked to be formally polite with royalty at times. Not all the time in Luna's case, to respect her humble side, just often enough to show that he's still a gentlecolt despite his hard past.
Everyone then went to the less-expensive hotel everypony was going to stay at - Celestia and Luna of course could afford the most exclusive hotel in Manehattan, but they preferred staying with everyone else - so that the newcomers could get settled in. Afterward they went off into separate groups to explore the city.
Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Hondo Flanks, Cookie Crumbles, and Rainbow Blaze joined the Cutie Mark Crusader's group as Babs gave them a tour. Most other groups comprised of families, with Celestia, Luna, and Flicker and his parents joining Twilight's family and Canterlot friends. Discord of course went with Fluttershy and Tree Hugger. Tree Hugger wasn't fond of being in a city, unsurprisingly, but she put up with it for Fluttershy's sake. Plus she was looking forward to the party due to being fond of those who were generous and kind to foals and animals.