Chapter 10

Proud of Yourself

Neo had just saved everypony in the stadium when a huge icy cloud hurdled towards the stadium. He played Heavy Metal music that was incredibly loud and the loud music destroyed the cloud. Everypony was cheering for the human boy that had saved them once again from disaster, especially his friends, the mane 6, Spike and Chucky.

Neo's friends went to go see Neo to tell him awesome they thought he was when he saved everypony.

Neo went out into the hallway of the stadium. He sang a Punk Rock song that he think described how he was feeling about himself at the moment ("Say Anything" by The Bouncing Souls).

He danced like a Punk Rocker as he sang his song, his friends heard his music and they came to see him in the hallway. They watched him sing and dance and when he finished his song, the mane 6, Spike and Chucky surprised him.

The ponies and Spike came out and they all said, "That was awesome," referring to how Neo saved everypony.

Neo was surprised to see his friends, they were all smiling at him and they were all very proud of him.

Then Neo felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, Neo gasped, looked behind him and saw that it was Princess Cadence. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were with her as well and they were all smiling at him.

Princess Cadence said to Neo, "I just wanted to thank you personally for saving those ponies and the Games, O Great and Honorable Neo the Brave and Mighty. You must be very proud."

She was so proud of him, she actually bowed at him. But sadly Neo didn't feel proud of himself, he looked down and said, "No, not really."

"Not really?!" They all shouted.

They were so surprised that he didn't feel proud of himself.

"I just saw what needed to be done and reacted. Just so happens I can play my music loud enough to break ice and... if any of you could do that, you'd have done the same."

Neo's friends and the princesses didn't understand what Neo was saying. The princesses were concerned, and the mane 6, Spike and Chucky just didn't understand why Neo felt the way he felt.

Applejack approached Neo and said, "Forgive me for bein' blunt, Neo, but you're not makin' a lick of sense."

"Can't explain it any better than that," said Neo, looking down at the ground.

Then Twilight approached Neo and said, "Wait a second. I think I get it. You keep saying you let everypony down, but we all keep saying you didn't. You know who's disappointed in you, Neo? You are. You're disappointed in yourself. And only you can make it right with you again. What would that take, Neo?"

Neo sighed "I honestly don't know. I kind of wish I could turn back time and redo that match with my brother."

Princess Cadence said to Neo, "We can't turn back time, but, would you do me the great honor of performing music in my place at the closing ceremonies tonight?"

"Come on, Neo," Twilight said with a smile, "You saved the Crystal Empire twice! I think you can perform some music."

Neo thought about it for a second. He looked at his friends and the princesses, they were all smiling at him, hoping that he would say yes. Princess Luna even winked at him as if she were telling him to do it for her, she was proud of him no matter how he felt.

After a moment of silence, Neo finally said, "I guess I can. Maybe I should at least give it a try."

The ponies, Spike and Chucky cheered for Neo and the princesses all smiled sweetly at him. They were all very proud of him and thanks to their encouragement, he was finally feeling proud of himself as well.

Each of the princesses gave Neo a kiss on the cheek, Princess Cadence's kiss was a thank you for saving the ponies. Princess Celestia's kiss was to show him how proud she was of him and that he will always be her sweet little boy, and Princess Luna's kiss was for pride, gratitude and how much she loved him. Neo blushed after each kiss and hearts hovered over his head. He couldn't believe that he had been kissed by all 3 princesses, and it was the most wonderful thing he ever experienced.

The ponies gossiped to each other about his blushing, but that was normal girly talk. Then the ponies and Spike all gave Neo a group hug and told him that they all loved him very much, which the princesses thought was very sweet and they awed at the sweet moment.

Later after Princess Celestia had set the sun and Princess Luna had raised the moon, it was finally time for the closing ceremony of the games. The mane 6 were sitting in their seats, waiting for Neo to appear. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were sitting on the row under them.

While they were waiting, Pinkie Pie said, "We did it! Ponyville won the medal count, and only by one medal!"

"Hmm," said Rainbow Dash. "Wonder which medal that was? Bam!"

Applejack said to Applebloom, "How does it feel to have opened the best Equestria Games in Ponyville history little sis?"

"Probably as good as it feels to close them!" replied Applebloom.

Then a group of Royal guards began marching across the field to begin the closing ceremony. After they marched across the field, one of the guards blew a horn for a second. Then suddenly, a cloud of smoke appeared in the center of the field.

When the smoke cleared, Neo was standing in the center of the field, wearing all black, white makeup and a long black wig. Everypony clapped when he appeared and the mane 6 clapped the loudest. Pinkie Pie cheered with joy for Neo along with Rainbow Dash.

Then Neo performed a song with his mind and he began dancing to his song ("Eyeless" by Slipknot). Everypony watched as Neo sang and danced in the field for them, even though the song was strange and had a lot of profanity, they all loved his performance. The Cutie Mark Crusaders moved their heads to the melody of the song and they were really enjoying Neo's performance.

The princesses watched Neo perform and they were enjoying his performance most of all, especially Princess Luna. She couldn't stop smiling as she watched him, she thought his performance was wonderful despite the strangeness of the song and the profanity, but she was very happy to be in love with a talented young boy like Neo.

Ms. Harshwhinny was watching Neo's performance from inside the stadium. She was happy that Neo had saved everypony from disaster, but she still thought he was a very strange kid.

"Well I was right. He got to put on a rock concert after all." She said, rolling her eyes.

Neo danced all through his song in strange ways like a Heavy Metal performer would. When Neo finished the song, he gave a signal across the field. Spike and Chucky were over in the right side of the field with fireworks and Neo was giving them the signal to launch them. Chucky set them up and Spike lit the fireworks. And right when Neo's song ended, the fireworks were launched and they exploded into the sky.

Everypony watched the fireworks with delight and everypony clapped and cheered for Neo. The mane 6 cheered the loudest for Neo. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash shouted and cheered as loud as they could for Neo and the closing ceremony was a complete success.

Neo had finally found pride in himself once again and from now on, he wanted to take pride in everything he did. His friends helped him find that pride in himself, and that is true friendship.

The End.