It was a day not unlike any other day in the town of Ponyville. The Cakes' had delicious baked goods, young ponies were gathered at Sugar Cube Corner for after school treats, and the sky was clear and bright; no sign of the previous days' thunderstorm remained but a few puddles here and there. Everypony was out and about, the hustling and bustling same as every other day.
Pinkie Pie bounced and hopped through the crowds of ponies, smiling and greeting each pony she passed. "Hi Cranky! Your new toupee is stunnerific! What's the occasion?" Pinkie asked, practically buzzing with joy.
Cranky Doodle was in fact wearing a new, milk-chocolate colored toupee; it was slicked back and tied in a short mane tail at the nape of his neck. He also sported a fancy tux with a pair of lilacs pinned to the front. "Well hello there Pinkie. Today is Matilda's and my anniversary." Cranky replied, giving the biggest smile his drooping face could manage.
Pinkie stopped her bouncing, a confused expression plastered on her face, as she thought back to two months before when she had thrown her two favorite donkey friends a quiet, but super fun and romantic, three year wedding anniversary. Cranky chuckled a bit as he watched Pinkie's expression change from joy, to confusion, to confused joy. "Wait, what? Oooh, are you having a three year, two month anniversary celebration? I can go grab my party wagon and be back in a jiffy, and make invitations, and get music, and..." Pinkie started ranting.
"Pinkie!" Cranky said.
"...and of course we can't forget the most important part of any party..." Pinkie continued rambling, not having heard Cranky call out to her.
"Pinkie!" Cranky shouted louder this time, but Pinkie had already begun her bouncing again, this time circling him and laughing, as she continued her party planning.
"... oh! I know the perfect balloons, and streamers, and flowers we can use. We can have the party at the gazebo in the park..."
"PINKIE!" yelled Cranky, fed up with being ignored. "It's not our three year, two month anniversary," he continued after having finally gotten Pinkie's attention again, "it's our anniversary for when we first met at the Grand Galloping Gala all those years ago." His voice trailed off as he reminisced on the first sight of his beloved Matilda.
"... uh Cranky? Cranky?" Pinkie said into Cranky's long donkey ear. "Ponyville to Cranky, you in there?" she pulled on his ear and yelled.
"Quit that!" Cranky pulled away, startled by the shrill Pinkie voice ringing in his head. "And we aren't having a party either," he finished, fixing his mussed up toupee from Pinkie's ear pulling.
"What?! No party?! How can it be a celebration without a party?!" Pinkie bellowed.
"We plan to have a nice, quiet night together, just the two of us. No parties, no guests. Just me, and Matilda." Cranky sighed dreamily.
"But couldn't I throw you just a small, teensy, quiet..." She started.
"No parties!" Cranky shouted. "Now if you'll excuse me, a certain beautiful jenny is waiting for our wonderful night for two." And with that, Cranky strutted off towards home.
Pinkie sat, sad for a moment at the lost opportunity to party until, "wait, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! The Grand Galloping Gala? It's tonight! Silly me, la la la la la..." Pinkie bounded off towards Princess Twilight Sparkle's castle.
" I am happy to welcome you to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash will be by later to discuss about your weather duties and where you can set up home." Twilight was speaking to a deep midnight blue maned mare that, upon closer inspection, had streaks of a lighter blue that glittered like a star-filled night. Her coat was a pale white that resembled a full moon, with the lower halves of her legs being a silvery gray, like the craters that blemish the moon's pure face. She had a star shaped patch in the same silvery gray above her eyes, peaking from below her slightly curled mane.
" I actually already had some ideas about where to settle in at, but I was actually hoping you could help put in a good word with who I would like to help me build my home. You see, what I am looking for is a bit... outside the norm. Now I know this might be too much to request of you, Princess, but the help would be much appreciated." The unknown mare spoke softly, her lilting voice a sweet lullaby to listening ears.
"Please, just call me Twilight. No need for formalities between new friends Moon Struck. What is your request, I will do what I can, I assure you." Twilight smiled at the mare. "I can suggest some good cloud construction ponies for you. I have a list in alphabetical order of all the pegasi between here and Cloudsdale who come with wonderful recommendations. Or if you prefer, I also have them organized by years of experience, or by the homes they have built." Twilight rambled, pulling scroll after scroll from the shelves nearest her.
"No, no, no. I appreciate the offer Prin... I mean Twilight, but I already have some...pony in mind. You see, the thing is, well uh... I want the help of..." Moon Struck's words trailed off.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that last part." Twilight stopped scrolls and looked at Moon Struck.
Moon Struck sighed. "I would like to enlist the help of Discord."
"What?!" Twilight yelped. "You can't possibly mean Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony Discord, right?!" She continued to bellow.
"He is exactly who I want. He can give the things I desire in a home that no other pony can. I mean, do you know how hard it is to make a moonbow at night, let alone one that could exist in the day? I want my home shrouded in permanent night. I want a moonbow. I want my home to lack gravity. Normal ponies cannot help with my request. I need Discord and his chaos magic." Moon Struck finished pleadingly. "Please Princess, err Twilight; at least let me know how I can get a hold of him. You don't even need to put in a good word for me, I will make the request myself."
"But why would you want a house shrouded by darkness? Why don't you want the warmth of Celestia's sun?!" Twilight asked, confused.
Before Moon Struck could respond, Pinkie Pie burst through the double doors of the Castle of Friendship's entryway.
"Twilight, can you believe the Grand Galloping Gala is tonight?" Pinkie shouted before shooting confetti across the room and the two unsuspecting mares with her party cannon. "Maud even said she can come with me again this year. I am so excited!" She bounced and fell on top of Twilight. "Oops, sorry Twilight. I just can't wait for the Gala, it's gonna be a super duper amazingly fun party again this year too!" Pinkie giggled as she climbed off Twilight's back.
Twilight stood, shaking confetti from her mane. "Pinkie, I know you're excited for the Gala. I am too. Starlight Glimmer is going to be there, and I finally get to see her again and discuss her travels across Equestria with Trixie, making new friends and learning all sorts of new things. But right now I'm discussing housing arrangements with Moon Struck here."
Pinkie then looked and saw the new mare brushing confetti from her face with her pale white wings, and shaking bits and pieces of the small colored paper from her mane and tail. "Somepony new!" Pinkie squealed. "Hi, I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, but everypony just calls me Pinkie. Let's be friends!" Pinkie said, rushing up and taking Moon Struck's front hoof in her own hooves and shaking it wildly.
"Um, hi? I'm uh, Moon Struck. Nice to meet you?" Moon Struck said unsure, pulling her hoof back as the pink pony hopped and bobbed around her. "So , what the hay is this Grand Galloping Gala thing?" She asked, slowly stepping further away from the bubbling Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie sucked in a deep breath, shocked. "You've never heard of the Grand Galloping Gala? It's only one of the biggest parties like, ever! Every year it's thrown in Canterlot, and Princess Celestia says hi to all the guests at the entrance, and we get to wear these super pretty dresses that our friend Rarity makes every year, and every year the dress is better than the last, especially since she covers my dresses in deliciously scrumptious looking treats, and she only makes us new ones because wearing the same ones as the previous year is something called a faux pas, but I think the real faux pas is the boring quiet music they play, so this year I got permission from Princess Celestia to sing the pony pokey again too! It's gonna be so much super amazing party fun!" Pinkie shouted, throwing her front hooves into the air, tossing out more confetti from somewhere.
"So it's some kind of... dance party?" Moon Struck questioned, still very confused.
"Well no, not quite..." Twilight started to explain.
"Twilight dear, could I borrow you for just a moment? I just need you to do a quick fitting of your gown for the gala tonight. An idea struck me earlier today when I was in the market for a small change to make your dress absolutely fabulous, so I want to make sure it sits right in the back." Rarity stepped into the entryway through the still open doors. She stepped into a pile of the colorful confetti and took a step back, looking down at it covering the crystalline floor of the castle. "Pinkie, how many times have I told you to clean up after your cannon? Last time you shot confetti on me, it took three days to get all the little pieces out of my tail curls." Rarity complained to the giggling Pinkie, as she sashayed up towards Twilight, Pinkie, and Moon Struck. Rolling her eyes at Pinkie, she looked at the new pegasus mare. "Oh! I do beg your pardon, I did not know that Twilight was in the middle of entertaining a guest. My name is Rarity, I so hope I did not interrupt anything." Rarity finished, with a dazzling smile and flip of her curled purple mane.
"Oh it's no trouble at all. Twilight and Pinkie were just explaining to me what the Grand Galloping Gala thing is. From what Pinkie says, it sounds like some kind of strange dance party." Moon Struck said to Rarity, taking a step to the right, away from the still giggling pink pony who was now building a pile from the confetti.
"A dance party?! Why, the Gala is no such thing as a simple dance party darling! It is one of the biggest events in all of Equestria I dare say. All the finest of Canterlot nobility gather at the Canterlot Castle, where the Princess herself greets all the guests in an eloquent manner befitting one of such royal stature. The highest of fashion is displayed at the Gala, it is truly a most elegant and culturally glamorous event. To think of it as a simple dance part is quite the understatement!" Rarity began, cutting Twilight off from her own explanation.
"Well, this year, Princess Luna is also going to be in attendance, at least for a little while. I heard from Princess Celestia that the two of them have also been keeping contact with Starlight ever since she helped them become closer to each other. So she is also looking forward to meeting Starlight and hearing a bit of her travels before heading off to her duties in the dreamscape." Twilight finished.
"Princess Luna will be there as well? Wow, I almost wish I could go if I could get a chance to meet her. She is the pony I respect most in all of Equestria. She gets to bring about the beautiful nights and help everypony have sweet dreams. Can you imagine having to battle nightmares all alone, with nopony else to talk to every single night? But she bravely walks the land of dreams, ensuring the joy in everypony's heart and mind as they gently sleep her night away." Moon Struck sighed, hanging her head in a modest sorrow.
"Well, I have nopony else to take with me as my plus one. And, although I happen to disagree with the choice, I do know that Discord will also be in attendance this year as well. This would be a good chance for you to talk with him and decide if he is truly who you want to help you with the creation of your dream home, Moon Struck." Twilight said, putting a hoof on Moon Struck's shoulder and smiling.
"You... you really mean it? You will let me come with you to this Grand Galloping Gala thing?" Moon Struck sputtered, hopeful.
"Well of course, all my friends have their own tickets and their own guests, and I would be more than happy to bring a brand new friend to the Gala. I am the Princess of Friendship after all." Twilight stated.
Moon Struck stood for a moment, then laughed and threw her hooves around Twilight. "Oh thank you thank you thank you," her musical voice cantillated with elation. "To meet my hero and to even have the chance to meet Discord all in the same night? This must be a dream, " she continued, pulling back from Twilight and lightly smacking her left hoof with her right. "Ow! This isn't a daydream, it's real!" Moon Struck pranced in place, her giddiness overflowing to the surrounding ponies who smiled at her joyful display.
"It really isn't that big of a deal, Moon Struck. But speaking of the Gala, what will you wear? We only have a few hours until we have to leave to get there on time after all," Twilight said, interrupting Moon Struck's prancing about the room, with Pinkie Pie following in the same manner. Moon Struck stopped abruptly and looked at Twilight.
"Oh no worries about that. I have the perfect gown that I have yet had a chance to wear. Not really a lot of parties in my line of work after all. Most ponies are asleep by the time I awake for the evening shift anyways." Moon Struck said as Pinkie ran into her hindquarters when she halted.
"Are you sure darling? I might have a dress or two you could try on back at the boutique that I think would look lovely with your complexion. " Rarity gently said, obvious disapproval of the dress Moon Struck supposedly had, even though she had not seen it.
"Well, I suppose I could see what you have. But, I would like it if you would also look at the dress I already have, please." Moon Struck glanced at Rarity thoughtfully.
"Oh that is perfectly alright, why don't you go grab your gown and head back here, then you, Twilight, and I can head on over to the boutique." Rarity smiled. With that, Moon Struck gave one last smile to the three new mare friends she made, although still confused by the pink one, as she trotted out the doors and took flight off into the clouds.