9. At the Gala
This being the middle of summer, or close enough in any event, the sun was still hanging in the sky as Princess Luna entered Canterlot Castle’s great, wide courtyard. It was dipping notably towards the horizon, of course, but it was still there, bathing the land in orange and red, as Luna separated herself from her Night Guards, leaving them at the courtyard’s edge. The courtyard was empty of ponies, and several statues and benches had been moved off to the side and out of the way as well to make room.
Luna fluttered her wings a few times, stretching them, as she closed her eyes and trotted towards the courtyard’s center. In the most technical of senses, she was about to cast a spell, using her horn as a focus, as a unicorn might – but this was so very far beyond what any unicorn could achieve, at least in the short time frame that she was working with. As she came to a stop in the center of the courtyard, her entire body glowed with deep blue magic, coursing along her hooves and wings, and up through her horn.
The Grand Galloping Gala was one of the most prestigious events in all of Equestria, and an ancient one, dating back to a time of gathering the three pony tribes together, encouraging mixing and coexistence. It was normally held in the Grand Hall, but with the addition of some one to two hundred guests – depending on how many of the invited Ponyvillians came, and took advantage of their plus-ones – the Grand Hall, already usually very full, would simply not suffice in this instance. The courtyard was the only location in Canterlot Castle large enough for such a gathering. Now, Luna had to make it look the part.
Luna finished gathering her magical might, exhaled, and cast her spell. A few minute later, and the courtyard was ready. She trotted away from her work, joining her Night Guard, who themselves had just finished acknowledging the arrival of her captain of the guard, Shining Armor.
“Good evening, captain,” Luna said after he had finished bowing to her. “Your final report?”
Shining Armor looked past the Princess, to the result of her spell. “Security will be…difficult, but I’m confident that my ponies can exceed expectations,” he said.
“Let’s just hope that this one lasts a bit longer,” Luna said, a trace of guilty mirth in her voice.
Shining Armor shifted slightly. “I certainly hope so, Majesty…though, on that note, I actually just saw your student, Miss Lulamoon.”
Luna’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh?” she asked.
“Yes. She had some…interesting…things to say…”
---
“Why aren’t you ready yet?” Blueblood demanded as he knocked on the door to the salon. He had waited at his office for half an hour before one of Trixie’s acquaintances – the pegasus, something Doo, or Doo something, Blueblood couldn’t remember much other than being unnerved by her walled eyes – had flown over to inform him that she was running late on preparing, and he’d have to meet her at the salon.
“Because I’m – gah ow Carrot Top careful! – not exactly used to wearing dresses!” Trixie called from the other side of the door. “And this thing – ow! Ow!”
“Oh, pipe down!” Another mare’s voice – presumably Carrot Top’s – said from the room. “It’s supposed to be tight!”
“Can’t…breathe…”
“Uh,” a third voice said from the other side. “Carrot Top, she’s turning blue.”
“She is blue.”
“Yeah, but…more blue…now a little purple…”
“Hmm…good point, hang on…”
Blueblood put a hoof to his face, sighing as he turned around. There were three other mares – the Doo something or other, another pegasus by the name of Raindrops, and an earth pony, Cheerilee. Blueblood had to admit that, even considering that they were commoners, the three looked absolutely stunning, their manes expertly styled by the salon’s staff, and their dresses each perfectly complimenting their coats, eyes, and builds, even including small touches that suggested their cutie marks. In addition to the mares, there was a small, gray unicorn filly, probably the gray pegasus’ little sister, Blueblood imagined. As she was a foal, her outfit was a very simple dress and skirt – even the most wealthy of nobles usually didn’t spend much money on clothes for foals, since they grew out of them quickly and clothing was usually reserved for special occasions only.
Most importantly, to Blueblood, anyway, the viscount noted that the three of them were having a hard time keeping their eyes off of him. His strict morning regimen and diet for the past month leading up to the gala had clearly worked out in his favor, not to mention the small army of mane stylists, horn filers, and other experts he employed to keep him looking his best at all times, and even better on important nights like tonight.
Blueblood flashed the jasmine pegasus a smile. He noted a slight twitch to her wings at it, though she looked otherwise like she was trying very hard to not let him know that she had been staring. Blueblood smirked to himself as he turned back to the door. He had no serious chance with Trixie, he knew. Perhaps her friends were not quite so standoffish, however. He had all night to find out.
“Hate corsets…” A hiss came out from behind the door. “Hate them sooo much…”
Blueblood groaned as he checked his pocket watch. It read 7:35. The salon happened to be close to the castle, so they could still make it to the opening ceremony if they left right now. “How much longer?” Blueblood demanded again.
“Just a minute!” A forth voice said from behind the door. “Honestly, Trixie, you’ve only been to five of these in the past, I don’t see how you couldn’t know how to put on a dress.”
“I didn’t wear dresses to them.”
“Please do not remind me,” Blueblood said, sighing. In response, there was a flash of blue light from behind the door – and standing before Blueblood suddenly was Trixie, bedecked in a purple and gold jacket with a frilled neckline and sleeves, a deep, deep blue, frilled undershirt, a short purple cape, and a purple top-hat. In short, she looked like a magician at some stage show in Las Pegasus, not somepony who had been personally tutored by the Princess.
Blueblood stared at the illusory Trixie – for of course that’s what it was – and sighed, covering his eyes with his hooves. “Trixie, I beg of you, please tell me you’re not wearing anything that remotely resembles that this year…”
“Well, it is purple,” Trixie said, as the illusion disappeared. After a moment, the door to the back of the salon finally opened. Inside were four mares – Lyra Heartstrings was one that Blueblood already knew, of course, though he kept that fact to himself. She wore a gown that looked like an old Roam stola and toga ensemble, white and gold with a golden wreath atop her head. Standing close to her was a cream earth pony, bedecked in her own gown of dark blue and pink, while a third, an earth pony mare with orange tresses, wore a simple yet quite fetching dress.
Blueblood’s concern, however, was for Trixie – and much to his own surprise, she did not disappoint. Her mane was largely tied up, though she kept a few locks forward over her eye in her usual style. Her hair had been decorated with a small amount of glitter, while she wore blue earrings shaped like stars. Her dress was purple, of course, the same purple of her cape, with a high collar and deeper purple undershirt, while her dress’ chain was decorated with small stars, much more subtle in appearance than her cape. Whoever had designed her dress had done an excellent job.
Trixie smiled at Blueblood, striking a slight pose that Blueblood supposed was what Trixie thought constituted ‘alluring.’ “Well?” she asked.
Blueblood considered her as her friends left the back of the salon, joining the rest of Trixie’s acquaintances. “Quite fetching. Can we please get a move on now?”
Trixie’s eyes widened. “Quite fetching? That’s all I get from you?”
Blueblood glared slightly at that. “Well, how would you rate me?” Trixie blanched at that, and Blueblood nodded. “Exactly. This is a business arrangement, Trixie, don’t think I’ll forget that simply because you’ve chosen to dress nicely.”
The blue unicorn sighed, shaking her head. “This is going to be a long night…"
---
The streets outside of Canterlot Castle bustled with ponies of every tribe – even pegasi, who joined their fellow ponies on the ground before the gates that they would soon be walking through, as it would have been uncouth in the extreme to simply fly over the walls and essentially skip the line into the castle itself when the Gala officially began.
There were nobles of every stripe – margravines and dukes, counts and baronets, viscounts and vicereines, as well as their husbands, or wives, or lovers, or even just casual acquaintances. There were the Wonderbolts, here to put on a show over the Gala, and famous musicians and playwrights and actors and authors. There were dozens others who were lucky enough to have acquired a ticket, all dressed in their finest.
And arriving by train, there were others as well – Ponyvillians, two hundred of them, everypony who had been lucky enough to win this morning’s raffle having decided to come, and every one of them having taken advantage of their plus-ones. They were dressed in their finest, too. The difference between the Ponyvillian finest and the elite of Equestrian society’s finest was immense, especially given all that Ponyville had been through over the past week, though sheer weight of numbers on the Ponyvillian side – now consisting of about a fifth of the total guests – ensured that nopony said anything.
Duke Greengrass moved easily through the crowd of ponies that waited with varying degrees of patience outside of Canterlot’s gates. He shook hooves and traded some jokes with them, scoping out the feel of this year’s Gala. The unexpected arrival of the Ponyvillians had thrown off many of the nobility, making some timid of how to act, what to do, if the usual political battlefield that was the Gala was still open or if the presence of so many of the peasantry had made this year’s Gala off-limits. Greengrass had decided that until he had a good reason to think otherwise, he was going to do what he always did: throw his lines and see what he could do, what alliances he could make, who he could embarrass, and so on. There was a particular spring to his step this year, after what had happened to Lulamoon yesterday – he’d worried that she would be making a fool of herself at the Gala this year, as she had every year, but after tearing through Canterlot in tears at whatever Night Light had said to her, he sorely doubted he’d be seeing her any time soon. To an extent, it was unfortunate – he’d hoped to attempt another power play tonight – but, c’est la vie.
Greengrass put on a plastic smile when he ran into one particular pony. “Ah, Archduke Fisher!” he exclaimed, as several pre-Gala fireworks began going off in the sky, seeming to carry their own thrum and life to them.
Fisher acknowledged Greengrass with a nod, and returned his bow when Greengrass gave it. “Duke Greengrass,” he greeted.
Greengrass looked around at the gathered guests. “Dear Fisher, what a splendid party!”
“The midpoint to a prosperous year,” Fisher agreed.
“Quite a night, I’m impressed!”
“Well one does one’s best,”
“He’s to us!” The two sang together, “the toast of all the city – ”
“But what a pity that dear Trixie won’t be here!” Greengrass finished.
The song was moving through the crowd – pegasus wings flapping, unicorn horns glowing, the fireworks and their own hooves setting the beat. As one, the thousand ponies sang together:
“At the Gala! Nearly ready to begin –
“At the Gala, past the gates there’s a night of endless wonder!
“At the Gala! Open up and let us in –
“At the Gala, food and drink to sate anypony’s hunger!”
“Flash of mauve,
“Splash of puce,
“Croup dock haunch,
“Lack of nous,
“Green and black,
“Red and white,
“What’s he wearing?
“Such a sight!”
“Faces!
“Take your turn
“Take a ride
“On the merry-go-round
“But don’t you lose your place!”
“Eye of gold,
“Point of blue,
“True is false,
“Who is who?
“Curl of lip,
“Swirl of gown,
“Break their hearts,
“Keep it down!”
“Faces!
“Drink it in,
“Drink it up,
“’Till you’ve drowned
“In the light, in the sound,
“But can you carve your place?”
The Ponyvillians weren’t singing quite as strongly as the rest of the crowd – they kept to themselves, mostly – but for everypony else singing, they understood what their words were – a declaration that the quiet game of cloak and dagger that was every year’s Gala, was still on.
“At the Gala! Grinning yellows, spinning reds –
“At the Gala, take your fill, let the spectacle astound you
“At the Gala! Burning glances, turning heads –
“At the Gala! stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you.”
The nobles’ singing dropped several octaves as they looked furtively between each other.
“At the Gala, Seething shadows breathing lies –
“At the Gala, you can fool any friend who ever knew you!”
The low voices didn’t last, of course –
“At the Gala! Leering presence, peering eyes –
“At the Gala, run and hide, but a face will still pursue you!”
“What a night!” Greengrass heard a familiar, nearby voice sing. Duchess Posey was nearby, Baron Mounty Max alongside her, and nearby the long-elusive old crone that was Vicereine Puissance, apparently having left her telegraph in order to attend the Gala.
“What a crowd!” Greengrass agreed with Posey. “Makes you glad,”
“Makes you proud!” Fisher added. “All the crème de la crème,”
“Watching us watching them,” Puissance noted.
Posey frowned. “All our fears for all to see – ”
Fisher sang over her. “A grand night!”
“Of untruth, of denial,” Posey countered.
“Oh don’t be so uncouth!” Greengrass countered. “You chose to play the game,”
“Taking notes, seeing ghosts,” Baron Mounty Max added in a low voice.
“Well here’s a health!” Puissance insisted, procuring a flask from within the folds of her dress, the most ostentatious of any in the crowd. “He’s a toast!”
“To a prosperous year,” Greengrass agreed, “to our friends who are here,”
“Maybe we shouldn’t have come,” Mounty suggested to Posey.
“Oh you’re no fun!” Greengrass insisted. “After all, it’s the Grand Gala!”
“Look at it,” Trixie said. She was with her friends at the edge of the crowd, a slight hill on the road leading up Canterlot’s front gate. The thousand or so ponies that were waiting eagerly for the Gala to begin were milling before them as Trixie trotted alongside her friends, Blueblood having been temporarily ‘lost’ so the six of them could gather together one more time. “Our secret battleground,” Trixie added. “Nowhere left to hide…just look at it.”
Carrot Top grimaced. “Maybe this isn’t the best of ideas,” she ventured. “So much could go wrong…”
“We can still back out,” Trixie said, putting a hoof to the vial, hiding in her dress, that held the Truth is a Scourge.
“And let all of this go to waste?” Raindrops asked. “We’re here now. We have to make things right.”
“Come on, what’s left to be afraid of?” Cheerilee asked, doing her best to smile for her friends.
Lyra and Ditzy both sang together.
“All that’s happened… (let’s not argue…)
“All we’ve seen… (…we can only hope…)
“Now’s when we have to act… (…that this is the only way…)”
Blueblood arrived then, looking somewhat annoyed at Trixie for having ditched him. She offered a smile, shrugging as she nuzzled each of her friends closely, for re-assurance and strength, and she separated from them and, with Blueblood, began making her way into the crowd. The music was taking care of itself for now, ponies spinning and conversing with each other in low voices. Trixie had never been here before, at the pre-show – it was one of the benefits of being Luna’s student. She looked at it now as a virtual outsider, though with her vision also colored by what she now knew of the Night Court.
She saw the glares and sneers, the whispers and derisive laughter. The nobles glided through the crowd effortlessly, keeping their eyes on each other, heads looking this way and that. Their muzzles were held high in the air as their regarded their lessers, avoiding their predators while they sought out their prey. Already some nobles were wearing smirks of triumph, or their masks were cracking and showing the tragedy that had already been inflicted upon them.
This was what Trixie had wanted. This was the Night Court at its purest. A whispered word, a subtle threat, a few misplaced papers, and the whole pulse of Equestria could change. For the barest moment, Night Light’s ultimatum seemed more like an invitation. But only for a moment – and even if she had accepted it, she knew she could never leave the Night Court without making at least some attempt at fixing it.
The thrum, the beat, the fireworks and stomp of hooves and shimmer of magic, at last reached its crescendo – just as, through the crowd, Trixie spotted several ponies she at once did and did not want to see. She pushed all thoughts and doubts from her mind, and settled into character – trying to imagine what she would have done six months ago, even as the chorus resumed.
“At the Gala! We’re all ready to begin –
“At the Gala, past the gates let us through to endless wonder!
“At the Gala! Open up and let us in –
“At the Gala, lies and danger for anypony's hunger!”
“At the Gala! Buring glances, turning heads –
“At the Gala, stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you!
“At the Gala! Grinnning yellows, Spinning reds –
“At the Gala, take your fill, let the spectacle astound you!”
For everypony else, the song ended, the night resumed as normal. But Greengrass happened to look up just then – and he saw the last pony he expected to see, standing next to the last pony he expected to see her standing with. And she did not look happy.
Trixie advanced one step at a time, leaving Blueblood behind as the crowd seeming to part around her as she bore down on Greengrass. Fisher was still nearby, in fact he was almost between Greengrass and Trixie, and seemed as surprised as the duke himself was. Posey, Mounty, and Puissance all stared themselves, wondering what they were about to witness.
Trixie’s head cocked to the side somewhat. “Why so silent, good monsieurs?” Trixie sang. “Did you think that I had left you for good?
“Did you miss me, good monsiers?
“I’m not afraid of your scare tactics.
“Here I’ve come to spite you all –
“And stand here triumphant!”
Trixie smiled a most unpleasant smile, as she reached Fisher. “Fondest greetings to you all – a few instructions just before the Gala starts.
“Fisher can’t really hold his notes,” Trixie said, poking a hoof against the point of her fellow unicorn’s shoulder. “Hearing you just now was torture to my ears.
“Oh, and Fisher? Lose some weight –
“It’s not healthy in a stallion of your age.”
Fisher bristled, opening his mouth, but Trixie had already left him, trotting over to Posey. “Duchess Posey, you look well. I trust no accusations are forthcoming this time?”
Before Posey could even get as far as Fisher had, Trixie had her eyes on Greengrass. “And as for the star, Duke Greengrass, hello…” Even as she kept her eyes locked on him, she began cantering backwards, back to Blueblood.
“No doubt you’ve done your best – it’s true, I nearly gave in you know
“Should you wish to attempt
“To come at me again,
“You’d do well to see the noble I now stand with…
Trixie seemed to realize what she was saying, as she looked to Blueblood. A scowl overcame her features.
“Now stand with…”
Trixie stomped her hooves, turning and cantering towards the gates of the Castle angrily just as they opened. “Good night to you all – I’m off to get drunk!”
---
Trixie’s angry canter slowed, and then stopped entirely, when she found herself looking in to Canterlot Castle and seeing what lay through its gates, on the Courtyard. She knew that the venue had changed, of course, but she had expected the new Gala to take place under the moon and stars, with perhaps cheap tables lined up containing the catering and a space cleared for the dance floor.
What she had not been expecting to find herself staring at was a wide, tall palace where before there had been only open courtyard, stretching into the sky and glistening in the light. The whole palace glowed with magic that kept it intact despite the warm night – for the palace was made out of ice.
Trixie remembered – a hazily, vaguely, incompletely – what had happened the last time she had been inside an ice palace. After several long moments, she looked up, at a crescent moon that was hanging in the sky.
“No matter how bad things get,” she said to the moon, “I promise, I will try very, very hard to not melt this one.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.089 seconds
Total duration
1,005 users online
388,575 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
The game is afoot! Let the curtain rise and the chaos COMMENCE!
And as much as I hate Blueblood and love Raindrops, I think it would be hilarious to see those two getnsome private time somewhere in here.
Okay........figures that Blueblood would get certain details about somepony mixed up because her eyes creep him out. Also, it does sort of make sense for him to assume that Dinky is Doo-Something's sibling.
Okay, that was pretty cool.
Okay, the ponies singing a song from Phantom and Trixie doing the part of the Phantom himself? Pure WIN!
Once the music began I just knew that Trixie would be singing the Phantom's part.
I dont think Trixie will be able to keep that promise you know.
Ice Palace 2, Icicle Boogaloo. Please.
Also, no Night Light? Is he just skipping the Gala in reaction to Luna being so pissed off at him? Might be a good plan...
Other than that, arrgh, I wish it would just get started, whatever it might be.
$8 says it melts. Not necessarily by Trixie though.
1960266
Blueblood's "Doo something, or something Doo" is actually a callback to LNLD, when Trixie didn't initially remember who the previous Representative of Ponyville was - "Blueblood something, or something Blueblood." Similarly, Trixie initially assumed that Dinky was Ditzy's little sister as well.
Five bits says we're looking at a lot of ice water by the end of the Gala....
1960737
Which only makes sense.....after all, she WAS a yearling/teenager at the time.
Yeah, Trixie? Don't make promises you'll never be able to keep...
Eee so excited for the Gala to begin properly! Looks like we've got Truth is a Scourge after all, but the real question now is how will it be used? Hmmmmmmmm!
Reading all the dress descriptions gives me ideaaaaas~! 
I salute you for that song. Beats the actual one from the show by a mile.
Ice palace. Totally called it.
Yes the Ice Palace! I could pretty much tell by Shining armor's reaction to Luna's spell, I loved her perspective at the start as well, so glad you wrote that in TY
Loved the dress "she's turning purple" scene, though I still hate Blueblood (and other character apparent attraction to him) I found his "how woudl you rate me" line surprisingly clever.
Loved Trixie's little illusonary outfit bit as well, part of me though she was going to wear something embarrassing so Blueblood would refuse to go with her.
GG is his usual self and very well written, and the song, the song was brilliant! Especially with the inclusion of all those other nobles, like Posey and Puissance.
Lovely scene with Trixie and her friends, plus abandoning Blueblood for a bit was just amusing. Trixie's "screw you Corrupt Nobles" song was cool, I love how shocked they all were at her mere presence, course I can'y blame her for wanting to get drunk at the end there.
I wonder what other nobles we are going to see?
Trixie's reaction the ice palace, was just perfect, I can't wait to see where this goes next.
A bit too long on the musical interlude but other then that it's really nice to see more! Thanks a lot for sharing!
I must say, I was a bit surprised to see Dinky is apparently in attendance even under the best of circumstances the Gala really isn't a place for foals. Then again with some 200 residents of Ponyville in attendance it might have seemed unfair to deny her, not to mention harder than usual to find a foal-sitter. I supose that there is also that whole potential treason thing going down, which creates the possibility this might be the last night for many years to come that mother and daughter get to spend together (even if we can be pretty sure things won't go that badly).
1960229
Well, Raindrops is by this point well aware of Blueblood's alliance with Greengrass, and I'm sure Trixie has taken the opportunity to inform her of all the other ways in which he is a self-entitled lout. That said, since Blueblood seems intent on the idea of ingratiating himself on one of Trixie's friends, and has already noted Raindrops physical attraction to him, it could still be amusing to see him get some personal talk time with our Element of Honesty... maybe with Raindrops being the one to slip him a dose of Truth's Scourge while pretending (mostly) to be romantic interested.
1961526
Given the whole business arrangement nature of their "date", I'm pretty sure her wearing an appropriate dress for the evening is was one of the terms the deal.
1961743
Please, Raindrops wouldn't be that subtle. I picture something more like a hoof to the face.
1961743>>1961795
I get queasy imagining Raindrops being around Blueblood in anything resembling a romantic manner.
Her punching him in the face on the other hand fills me with glee
Fair point about the dress, though there didn't seem to be much on screen discussion of their arrangement, but yeah probably the case... I wonder if he'll get covered in cake this time? or an ice palace?
1961795
), and Blueblood being his usual oblivious twit while Raindrops has to endure the awkwardness tension of stinging him along, whith a side of conflicting emotions, could I think add some nice levity to the proceedings.
Normally, yes, but this is a special occasion where tact and discretion are the better part of valor. Plus as much fun as it is to watch Raindrops lose her temper, I always have more fun watching her struggle to keep her cool (doubly so since she'd be getting hot under the collar on two different fronts
That said, I'd be just fine with her popping him a good one after the scourging has played out, just to add injury to insult of whatever confessions he might make.
1961846
Actually Raindrops giving him a face full cake would probably be even better than decking him.
1961911
A face full of cake would be cool agreed.
Not much for this seduction/flirting idea, at all, but we'll see what RDD decides.
1961911
Keep in mind I expect the hoof to the face to be in response to Blueblood doing something....unstallionlike.
1961929
I can't really see Blueblood stooping to such a vulgar display, especially not in venue as ostentatious as the Grand Galloping Gale; he's got a reputation to maintain. Once the scourging begins though, all bets are off, and while the truth poison manifests only in word not deed, I could see him letting a few more carnal observations slip.
1961927
Blueblood is still acknowledged as the most handsomely eligible bachelor in Canterlot (if not all of Equestria), and it's not even just the mares that think so. Raindrops wouldn't be true to her element if she denied the purely physical attraction, no matter how much his personality might disgust her. Obviously she's not going to be turning into a warm mushy pile of goo at his barest glance, but playing to his ego to put him off guard, maybe with some corny dialogue from one of her favorite books, all while reminding herself not to get caught up in her own act would be both appropriate and entertaining.
1962035
Blueblood...let's just say that I have a plan for Blueblood, and a lot of people here might not like it, but it involves Babylon 5 references and not cake, but Pie, so maybe they will...
But, we'll get to that when we get to that.
1962035
and then she flung him through the ice palace.
With what you said about Blueblod and a carnal slip of the tongue I now have a horrific mental image of him flirting with Luna.
"Hey princess, how'd you like a prince in you?"
Like i said, I don't like the seduction idea, I'm "ok" with her finding him attractive, but I don't like the seduction/flirting plan/idea and I doubt she would get carried away, that sort of thing harkens back to my original concerns with the "closet hunk lover" idea and carries unfortunate implications ETC and considering we have no idea what RDD plans, (besides pie) debating it probably won't accomplish much.
1962074 Pie? Does that mean Pinkie is one of the Ponyville guests?
That somewhat raises the question, might Rarity & AJ be there? Seems like Rarity ought to jump at the chance if she could swing one of the invites, assuming she isn't tired out from some last minute dress making. AJ would be a shoo in as a town council member and a representative of the Apple Trust.
Not sure I see Dash attending since she doesn't have her Wonderbolts obsession in this 'verse, but I could maybe see her there if Fluttershy was somehow dragooned into going.
1962074
Pie you say...
1962086
Except it's not really flirtation if it's only a ploy to lead to the lout's own downfall. There'd be no unfortunate implications; she'd not be some swooning damsel, hapless to the whims of her untamable hormones. Rather she would be the empowered one, who would be taking advantage of Blueblood's own pompously over-inflated opinion of himself.
As for getting a little carried away, there's nothing wrong with her taking the chance to enjoy herself a little along the way. It even goes all the way back to some ancient brainstorming stuff that predates her romantic fetish. There once was proposed a story angle wherein she conspires to have an inspection or some such occur concurrently with a flying competition thus preventing Rainbow from taking time off for it. When confronted by one of her friends about whether she's really trying to teach Rainbow a valuable lesson in responsibility or just enjoying her boss getting a comeuppance, her response (as I believe stated by RDD himself) would have been something along the lines of -- "Why can't it be both?"
I see this as potentially the same kind of situations, and if asked whether she was just putting on an act to slip Blueblood some scourge or if she was actually enjoying herself, I think her answer could be every bit as much -- "Why can't it be both?" -- That is to say, just because Bluelood is in no way tempting enough for Raindrops to abandon her principles doesn't mean the temptation dsn't exist, no matter how small, and so long as she maintains her personal resolve there should be nothing wrong with her taking a few brief moments to indulge in the fantasy.
1962193
I'm sure Rarity must be here, even if she didn't win a ticket herself, I'm sure that being the consummate favor trader she'd easily be able to pull strings to get somepony to make her their +1. Not sure where you're getting the idea, that Rainbow Dash lacks her Wonderbolts obsession, it been mentioned more than once that joining the group is still her life ambition, but unless she won a ticket herself, I can't imagine anyone making her their +1. Conversely, there is absolutely ZERO chance Fluttershy is here, she's only got three ponies that would conceivably invite her, and all of them no better than to force her into a situation where she'd be surrounded on all sides by hundreds of ponies (and even were they so foolish, trying to force her into it would be like trying to make her watch the great dragon migration).
1962286
eh I have issues with flirting plans regardless.
I personally don't like the idea of "why can't it be both" or any of the stuff, sorry that's just my view I have reasons for it and could debate, but again debating will get us nowhere, so I'll bow out of this oen for now to avoid cramming the comment section.
1962286 Huh. Somehow I've missed that the Wonderbolts even existed in the Lunaverse, I was under the impression that we just had the Shadowbolts instead in their somewhat different role (which I was assuming Dash wouldn't be interested in). Whoops.
1962356
Not to make a big deal out of it, but the Wonderbolts were just mentioned in this very chapter, so missing that the flight group even exists puzzles me a little. Though I guess if one had already gotten it stuck in there head that only the Shadowbolts existed, that might not be too difficult a slip to make.
1962391 Wow, hell if I know. Went back and checked and I honestly even remember reading that paragraph about their show, it just didn't connect somehow. I'm sure you must be right in your suggestion about how I was missing it.
Edit: Thinking about it, I bet part of my confusion also stemmed from Dash being so lazy in this 'verse. I have a bit of a hard time understanding that now that I know that this version of her also wants in the Wonderbolts.
1962434
It's okay, we all make silly mistakes now and again.
Part of me wonders if Trixie fixed that lottery to ensure certain ponies from Ponyville would be in attendance.........I can think of a few who could be most valuable to a plan.....
Behold! She's singing to bring down the ice palace! Ah, Trixie. The cunning of the Phantom and the personality of La Carlotta.
Awesome. Didn't expect that song! I am now comforting myself with the thought that by the end of the night, Fisher will be saying, "We're ruined, Greengrass! Ruined!" It's a pity that "At the Gala" has more syllables than "Masquerade", but the whole thing still worked very well.
I'd forgotten about Raindrops's romantic side. I don't know what Trixie's long-term plan for Blueblood is, but if it does involve an alliance as he seems to think it does, then hey, why not? Raindrops deserves to have a handsome, charming stallion pay attention to her for once. He seems a bit less socially clueless than he is in canon, and we know he's not all bad, so it might at least be an enjoyable evening. And, of course, if he upsets her, she can throw him off a balcony.
LET THE BATTLE COMMENCE!!!
Looking forward to seeing what happens. I will say that having Trixie be the phantom was a nice touch and I laughed so much at Trixie's promise about the Ice Castle.
I look forward to any punishment you have in store for Blueblood
. Though truth be told I was expecting Blueblood to be acting a lot more smug about getting Trixie as a date.for the Gala. I mean yes, this is at best a business transaction, but isn't that still better than having to blackmail her, espeically this way he gets what he wants and Trixie still owes him one.
But I diigress, this is still a good start to what's going to be a great night.
Okay, not bad. Still waiting for the other horseshoe to drop, to be honest. Here's hoping Greengrass goes down and Night Light gets tossed out of the Night Court on his rump. And here's hoping Puissance escapes with something.
1964450: I believe Vazak has also mentioned wanting to do some stuff with Fisher later on as well.
As for the chapter itself... mostly meh for me. I do like the song, but I'm still not pleased with where Trixie and the other L6 are going. Also still not liking the idea that the corruption of the Court is as complete as Greengrass is implying here.
And I really, really hope you aren't going to do what I think you're going to do with Blueblood, particularly regarding that one B5 scene you told me about earlier. Blueblood's arguably the worst of the corrupt politicians, as he's only in it for sheer naked hedonism, gluttony, and his family name, and giving him and him alone a 'get out of jail free' card would be a problem.
“No matter how bad things get,” she said to the moon, “I promise, I will try very, very hard to not melt this one.”
5 jangles on the Ice place melting, but not Trixie's fault.
1963510: Heh. Although I'm not sure there'd be much of a 'we' there. I don't think Fisher likes Greengrass very much.
(Actually, I would guess that he doesn't like most of the ponies at the Gala. From 'Fishing in the Dark', he sees most of the nobles as either corrupt and only out for their own selfish interests (like Blueblood) and making themselves happy (like the Duke), or complacent and unwilling to do what 'must be done.' Besides a very few nobles like Night Light, the only ponies at the Gala I can see Fisher actually liking/being willing to chat with are probably Luna herself, prominent military/industrial figures... and also probably Carrot Top, who started a whole new agricultural concern (Farmer's Union) and risked her farm to help the Ponyville farmers, demonstrating that she understands the principle of self-sacrifice, greater good, and all that.)
(Actually, might be interesting if they talked... Carrot Top is a conciliator by nature, so it could be cool if we saw some of that, her revealing to Fisher that she knows what he did, asking why, and then finding some way to assuage his concerns. Maybe even by saying, 'you know, it would actually be bad for Ponyville/me/all of us were I conscripted -- business to run and all that would suffer in my absence -- and the others probably can't just leave home without abandoning other responsibilities either, but as for some sort of physical trainers that came to Ponyville and trained us, magic teachers for T&LH, etc., I like it, seeing as how Corona will probably try to kill us all anyway and it'd be good to be able to defend ourselves, and maybe I could get the others to sign on with that...' )
1964942
I...don't think you know what conscription means.
1964969: Being drafted to go train in the military, going to boot camp and such.
By 'couldn't' I mean 'it wouldn't be responsible for me/the right thing to do' with the implicit comment of 'you, who are supposedly all about doing the right thing, should understand that and not push for it.' not 'I physically couldn't do it'. Like saying 'I couldn't eat that third slice of pie.'
1964972
Traditionally, when you're conscripting someone or talking about conscripting someone, you don't care if they have a business to run
1964984: But Fisher is all about 'the right thing' for 'the greater good.' If Carrot Top can persuade him that it would do a harm to conscript them (esp. if Fisher has just waxed rhapsodic over the PFU and complimented CT for getting it set up), and some other action (sending trainers) would not do that harm, than Fisher would (were he consistent with his established character) accept that and push for trainers, not conscription.
I know that it wouldn't be a legal defense if he actually got a conscription bill passed; what Carrot Top would be saying is that he shouldn't push that bill because it would have a negative affect, and the positive parts (Elements trained!) could be acheived another way. Fisher's goal isn't to hurt Trixie (even though he doesn't like her) but to get the Elements trained up; he wants conscription at the moment largely because he thinks it's the most effective way to accomplish that (and probably also he doesn't trust Trixie to show up to voluntary lessons); if Carrot Top could talk him 'round, that would be kind of cool. It would be more moral, and also probably more interesting, than Trixie just poisoning him.
I edited my first comment to make what I meant more clear; sorry for being unclear.
1964996
One small town's farmer's union collapsing isn't a moral concern, it's a business opportunity for other farmers to export crops (and that's assuming that somehow Carrot Top's absence takes everything besides Sweet Apple with her for whatever reason). National defense comes waaaaaaay before that in any logical argument.
1965271 CT managed to get a whole bunch of farms to band together into something that can stand up against the SAA juggernaut, and IIRC 'Tales of Ponyville' mentioned that small farms are banding together in other cities as well, based on the PFU example. I think that would impress Fisher (perhaps even remind him of his own history of fixing up the industry of Stalliongrad), to the point where CT could persuasively make an argument "we're doing great things with agriculture, we're pooling resources so that we can get better equipment to help all of us -- further increasing our ability to produce -- we're ensuring a more stable, diverse market, we're forcing SAA to actually compete instead of winning just based on size, and we're going to keep growing. In a short time, the idea of farm unions -- that support each other, so that one blight on one farm doesn't destroy an entire region's access to some crop and force them to waste money on expensive imports -- could become the norm. A more stable food supply for all Equestria. And if I'm still in Ponyville, I can keep building up/spreading the PFU. But if we're all conscripted, it might all fall apart. That'd be bad for the economy/agriculture market in Ponyville, and it'd turf the chances of the union idea spreading elsewhere."
National defense trumps it if they're in conflict, but I bet CT could make an argument that trainers would allow the Elements to be trained while also allowing them to continue fulfilling their responsibilities/duties to Ponyville. Plus, I kind of like the idea of CT being so awesome that the union idea really does spread far and wide, and of her ability to make peace and her empathy helps her diffuse another conflict (like when she got the anti-SAA boycott canceled in CTS). It's an aspect of Carrot Top's character that I think gets underplayed sometimes, and it'd be cool to see it again.
1964942 And then Fisher, after actually looking into things, notices that CT has the business sense of someones doting old grandmother, and then instead forces her to go take classes on how to properly run a successful business.
1965310
All of the counter-points I tried to think of are easily refuted by the fact that, since we control the narrative, we also control the outcomes of economic experimentation, so it's possible for CT to have gotten good enough results to make that argument. I'd be more worried about what kind of world they're living in where small farms banding together is considered a novel enough idea to start a grassroots movement, but there you go.
1966019
And that as well. I think that Fisher is actually quickly becoming my favorite non-mane character in the L!verse.
1964610
I now longer have plans for Fisher, his arc was cancelled and while I didn't like now it happened i now agree it was the right choice, so we can focus on Corona.
I still hold that GG is the worst closely followed by BB.
Though I certainly hope BB get's smashed around, i'm worried he's going to get "something" form one of the mane cast, though I don't believe there's a get out of jail free card for him at best he'd avoid punishment this time and work with the Changelings later and end up in prison. probably.
1966232 You...know that was a joke right? As in, I doubt Fisher would put training CT to manage a business high on his list of things to do, especially as compared to militarizing the Elements.
1966253
The big difference between Greengrass and Blueblood is that Blueblood is in it for gratification, while Greengrass is in it for fun. It's a subtle distinction...but basically the important difference is that Blueblood wants to get something out of the game, while Greengrass simply wants to play the game.
It's that subtle distinction that makes Greengrass worse than Blueblood to me.