In the great hall of Canterlot Castle, the sounds of a magnificent and fanciful orchestra played throughout. Many a pony danced to their pleasant music.
However, the symphony was mostly ignored by a pair of stallions who were keeping themselves occupied by sampling the wide assortment of foods the gala provided.
“Hmm…” the snowy colored stallion hummed to himself as his savored his snack. “You were right, Forge. These cocktail weenie things are great.”
“Aye,” Forge replied, his attention focused on the toothpick-skewered food he was spinning about in his magic. “If there’s any one thing I’ll give the griffins credit for, they’re experts in making non-pony meats surprisingly tasty.” He finally stopped playing with his food, taking a bite of the miniature sausage.
“For sure,” Snow said through a mouth full of food before swallowing. “Next time I get us a pizza back home, I’m gonna try it with some of that pepperoni stuff on it.” He trotted up to the cobalt unicorn’s side and placing a wing across Forge’s back, giving him an affectionate nuzzle. “Thanks for getting me to give it a try, Forge.”
“If you think that this sausage is something spectacular, wait until you’ve tried bacon.” Forge leaned into the pegasus’ caress, placing a kiss upon his forehead. “That was something that immediately made my second week on Butterfly Island much better than the first.”
“Well Forge, since we’ve pigged out on the pig meat, how about we finally sample some of the desserts you mentioned?”
Snow pulled Forge along with him, guiding his dear unicorn closer to the grand assortment of sweets.
“Certainly, Snow.” Forge’s eyes widened as he took in the display of delights upon the long table.
There were wonderful sculpted fruit dishes, cakes larger than he was with frosting and piping laid so artistically that it rivaled the finest paintings and sculptures he had ever seen. Standing out the most for the salivating stallion was a shining silver fountain gushing out a waterfall of wonderfully smelling chocolate. At the base of the fountain stood a huge collection of the plumpest strawberries he’d ever laid eyes upon, next to a row of skewers.
“This all look so delicious…” Forge muttered, wiping a small amount of drool from his lip. He started to reach for one of skewers, only to withhold his hoof at the last instant. “But...”
“But?” Snow tilted his head curiously.
“I think we should start with the very best.” The blue stallion quickly pulled his winged boyfriend further along before his eyes finally settled upon his prey. “There they are! The crepes!” His eyes were nearly shining as his magic grabbed hold of two of the desserts, levitating them into the waiting couple’s hooves.
“Alright. Hope they taste as well as you said they are.” Snow Sweeper shrugged before taking a large bite of the pastry. As the taste of the fruit, pastry and creme struck his taste buds, his eyes widened and watered out of sheer delight. “Oh sweet Celestia, you’re right, Forge!” He exclaimed before rapidly digging into the treat, devouring it in a matter of seconds.
“Eh, it’s alright.” Forge shrugged before taking another slow bite.
“Alright!?” Snow stared into Forge’s eyes, grabbing onto his shoulders. “How can you say these are just alright, Forge? This has got to be the best dessert I’ve ever had!”
“It’s just that they seem… I dunno, undercooked to me.” Forge lightly poked at the crepe with his hoof. “I’m no culinary expert, but it just doesn’t... seem…” His words slow down as something dawned for him. “Of course! That’s the answer!”
“What’s the answer, Forge?” Snow inquired as he scratched the back of his neck. “My sis and I order out for pretty much everything, so you probably know more about this than me.”
“How did I not see this sooner?” Forge chortled as he slapped a hoof to his forehead. “These things need to be set on fire!”
“What?!” Snow shouted, grabbing Forge by the shoulders, staring him in the eye. “Are you insane? Why would you set those on fire?”
“Snow, my dear, calm down,” Forge calmly replied as he gently pulled the pegasus’ hooves off of him. “It’s simple. The crepes from the last gala I had were flambéed. That’s a thing in cooking where you set the food on fire to prepare it. Obviously, the chefs simply forgot to flambé the crepes. Honestly, I can’t say I blame them too much for one misstep when they’ve had to prepare so much food.”
“Ooohh! I think I saw something about that in a magazine or a movie. Now it makes sense.” Snow nodded as Forge’s horn began to glow brighter before casting a flame which started to consume the crepes on the table.
“There. Now all we have to do is wait a few minutes and these crepes will be prepared to perfection!” Forge beamed as the fires burned away, completely unaware that the flames had slowly started to spread.
“Well in the meantime,” Snow slung a foreleg over Forge’s shoulder, leading him away. “How about we put some of Swift’s dance lessons to good use?”
“That sounds splendid, Snow.” Forge grinned as he gently leaned into the grey stallion. “This will be fanta—”
“You have insulted my honor! I challenge you to a duel!” A familiar mare’s voice came from within a gathering crowd. Out of curiosity, the pair moved to see the source of the commotion and saw Swiftsword glaring daggers at an orange unicorn stallion.
“Very well!” Swift furiously bellowed, undoing the clasp of her cape as she drew closer to him. “Forge, my cape!” She tossed the cape over the crowd of ponies, where it was quickly caught in Forge’s magical grasp while the noblemare’s opponent began to draw a deck of cards from his jacket.
“Right, let’s—” The words died in his throat as he pulled the deck from his jacket, seeing the longsword pointed directly at his face. In that instant, the stallion let out a filllyish scream as he bolted away, with Swiftsword and a green coated guard quickly tailing the two.
“Face me, you cowardly lech!”
“Should…” Snow watched as the trio dashed up a flight of stairs, nearly ramming into Princess Celestia at the top. “Should we try to stop them?”
“No,” Forge curtly answered as he folded up Swift’s discarded cape. “If he accepted her challenge to a duel, we shouldn’t interfere with the outcome, no matter what. Besides, he’ll probably end up surrendering once she corners him and makes him ruin his pants, which I’m betting will be long before she can actually hurt him.”
“If you say so…” Snow nervously looked at the stairway, seeing the nobles quickly gathering themselves in anticipation of meeting with the alabaster alicorn at the top.
“If it makes you feel any better, think of this and the crepes as dessert and a show.” Forge patted the snow stallion’s shoulder just before a bright flash of blue made a charcoal unicorn appear before them
“Forge, do you have any idea what Swift was doing chasing that stallion around with a sword?” Barrier barked as he gave his former cadet an intimidating glare.
“Sir!” The younger unicorn saluted. “From what I can tell, that stallion did something lecherous to Swiftsword and she challenged him to a duel. For some reason, he thought cards were a suitable weapon when he accepted Swift’s challenge. Sir!”
Barrier grumbled as his forehoof made close friends with his forehead. “And this is why I made sure to fill up my flask tonight. Any idea what are the others up to?”
“Not really, sir,” Forge replied as he tried to scan the crowd for any sign of his fellow housemates. “Last I saw of Verdant and Erica was a while ago, and I haven’t seen Hat Trick or Winter Gem since they went off to dance.”
“Speaking of dancing,” Snow stretched a wing over Forge’s back and started to pull him away, “Forge and I have some plans for the dance floor. Have a good time, Barrier.”
“You too,” Barrier dismissively waved as the couple strolled away. “Swift’s getting an earful once I get my hooves on her.” With a sigh, Barrier drew out the aforementioned flask from his cummerband, taking a long swig. “Faust knows what stunts the others are up to. It better not end with me paying bail.”
***
Within a darkened hallway of the palace, a trio of ponies ran through the hall, lead by a screaming unicorn, followed by a mare with a sword and a guard who was starting to regret not taking a personal day.
As the three ran, they passed by a pair of ponies who were hidden behind a pillar. The sounds of the chase soon gave way to silence, signalling the pair to step out.
“Alright, the coast is clear,” Winter Gem whispered to her pegasus paramour as they drew closer to a large and ornate door.
“Are you sure this a good idea, Gem?” Hat Trick gently tapped upon her shoulder as they came to a halt in front of the towering door emblazoned with two golden sun emblems upon its surface. “You remember what happened last time, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” the snowy earth pony rolled her eyes as she gently pushed the door open, letting herself into the princess’s warm and inviting bedchamber. “But this time, everypony’s attention is focused on the gala, so they won’t pay attention to a pair of ponies sneaking off to have a little fun.” She gave the nervous pegasus a wink before shaking her tail, going deeper into the forbidden room.
With a nervous gulp, the shuddering pegasus made his way after her, taking in the sights of the luxurious chamber. It was covered in finely crafted pillows that matched the bed’s silk sheets. In the far side of the room was a large fireplace, collection of large cushions laid before it. Off to the side, he took in the sight of both a large mirror and a red bird on her perch, preening her wings and ignoring the intruders.
“You’re sure she won’t guess we’ll try to make history repeat itself?” Hatty closed the gap between himself and the white mare in the red dress, standing before the door that lead to Celestia’s private bathroom.
“C’mon, Hatty. It’s been over ten centuries since we pulled that stunt. Sure, she remembered it in the letter, but she’s got a million other things she’s got to take care of at the gala, not to mention her daily life.” Gem placed a hoof on the door handle as she looked at Hatty over her shoulder. “Just relax and trust me, dear. There’s no way she’ll see this coming.”
Gem lightly pushed the door open, showing two mares clad in day guard armor. The smaller one was a sky blue unicorn with a rainbow mane while her companion was a muscular midnight blue thestral.
“She saw it coming,” the unicorn smirked she stepped forward.
“I’ve got a score to settle with you two from the empire.” A dark grin stretched across the thestral’s features as her large muscles flexed, taking a combative stance.
“If it makes you feel any better…” Hatty shook as he and Gem slowly started to back away. “Verdant was the one that shot the darts that took you out. Not us.”
“Ladies,” Gem paused, quickly putting up a calm visage. “Let’s discuss this like rational— LOOK A DEAD BIRD!” She exclaimed, pointing a hoof at the princess’ perched pet.
Philomena spun around as if struck in the chest. She dramatically kawwed as she placed a wing over her forehead before falling back onto Celestia’s night stand. She grasped a flower from the vase on the stand, placing on her chest before crossing her wings over it.
“Nice try, Philomena. I know you’re not—” the unicorn mare was cut off by her thestral compatriot smacking the back of her helm.
“Forget the damn bird, the perps are running away!” she exclaimed as she took to the air, following the fleeing pair into the hallway.
“Oh shit, right!” The unicorn straighten her helm as she ran after the fleeing pair. “Cobalt, wait up! Legs are slower than wings!”
***
On another side of the palace, within Princes Luna’s private bathroom, a pair of guards stood by the door, waiting patiently for any possible intruders.
“Go with the special assignment. That way you avoid the stuffy nobles,” one guard, a large green earth pony mare, mockingly said before sighing. “Thanks a bunch, Tail. Now we’re stuck on toilet sitting duty. Do we really have to stay in here all night?”
“You heard what the princess and Lieutenant Starshine said, Bonecrusher.” The second guard, a smaller lavender pegasus glanced to her muscular compatriot. “We’re to stay here in case anypony tries to sneak in here.”
“Whatever, Civvy.” Bonecrusher rolled her eyes before focusing on the door once more. “Did you at least bring some cards or a magazine or something? We’ve been here for over two hours.”
“No, but…” A grin came from Tail as sidled up to the lime-colored mare’s side, making the latter’s coat bristle. “Maybe we can scare off intruders slipping out of this armor and saying the room's taken by a couple of busy mares?” She offered the sneering mare a flirtatious wink.
“Knock it off!” Bonecrusher pushed her fellow guard away, nearly knocking her over. “You know I’m into dicks, not chicks.”
“Whatever, you living bulldozer.” The pegasus huffed, puffing her cheeks up as she stewed. After a moment of annoying silence, a thought occurred to the lavender mare. “You also once told me you couldn’t stand me, but here we are.” She winked once more at the towering mound of mare muscle, making her slap a hoof to her forehead.
“Shuddup,” Bonecrusher groaned as she sat down upon the cool bathroom floor. “I need the extra pay.”