Gala Crashing

by Paper_Pen


Part 1

"Pen, I need four hundred bits!" Rock Note shouted, crashing into Paper Pen's apartment. 

Pen, who was laid asleep upon the couch, immediately jumped to his hooves in shock. His cat, Bambino, instinctively lunged at Pen rather than the home intruder.

"Buck, Bambino, get off!" Pen shouted at his pet as he struggled to pry it's clawed paws from his neck, "Sit, buck off, agh!"

"Here kitty kitty!" Note cooed. Another moment of clawing Pen continued, but sure enough Bambino came to the pegasus and allowed him to pick it up, "So, the cat's still not used to being inside?"

"Are you kidding? He's more than at home, he does whatever he wants and struts around like he pays the rent, he's just a jerk!" Pen complained, "So… why do you need four hundred bits? And more importantly what makes you think I have four hundred bits just, like, at all?"

"Right, so, Princess Luna is hosting a gala and Canvas got invited but they won't let her bring a plus one, problem is she really wants me to go but there's a four hundred bit cover right at the door." Note explained, returning Pen's cat to the ground.

"So why not just ask Canvas? She's the only one of us that isn't poor." Pen optioned.

"Well, she sorta already gave me the money and I kinda… I uh… I spent it on a new guitar…" Note shamefully admitted, "It was a great deal, Hex Hendrix played it on stage moons ago!"

"And somepony gave it away for only four hundred bits?!"

"Well, at first it was twenty two hundred but I made a joke about being related to Hex and they thought I was being serious… telling the truth would have ruined the vibe, y'know?" Note explained.

"So, you lied about your identity and scammed somepony out of eighteen hundred bits?" Pen questioned, "That's awesome, buck, I couldn't have done better!" Pen felt a strange sort of joy. Identity theft and, well, theft in general had always been his strong suit so he couldn't help but feel the same sort of pride a teacher must feel when seeing their former pupil graduate university.

"You know, I'm starting to think Canvas was right about you being a bad influence." Note commented, "So, about those bits…"

Pen pondered for a moment before suddenly remembering something. The unicorn dashed to his couch, removing the two seat cushions to reveal a hidden compartment. Within this secret storage were two large jars filled with bits, a sword bearing the brand of the Royal Guard, and an evil looking book bound in stitched together scraps of what Note feared was leather.

"You're the second poorest pony I know, where did you get all these bits?!" Note exclaimed.

"Ever since 'My Alchemical Friendship' broke up I've been saving up for tickets in this jar in case they ever got back together!" Pen explained, pointing to one of the jars.

"And what about the other massive jug of money?"

"Oh, those are counterfeit!" Pen answered without explanation, "Counterfeits that I'm just now realizing I never labeled… I'm gonna leave figuring out which is which up to you…"

Note picked opened one of the jars and picked out a bit to inspect, holding it up to his eye and checking for imperfections.

"This one is the counterfeit jar." Note plainly stated.

"What? How can you tell?!"

"It's the new design with both Celestia and Luna on but it's dated like twenty moons before she came back, sorry dude." Note shrugged.

"Buck, the mare I bought these off of said they were expert quality fakes!" Pen complained.

"Why, uh, why do you need fake money anyways?"

"Don't worry about it." Pen brushed him off, taking the jar of counterfeits and returning it to it's hidden abode before carefully giving the jar of real bits to his friend, "And here ya' are, that's about four hundred bits in there!" 

"I owe ya, dude, seriously!"

"It's all good, I gotta stop waiting for MAF to get back together anyways…"

A week passed and as per the plan Note found himself in Canterlot with Canvas, he was outfitted in a fancy red suit while his marefriend dressed in a simple yet elegant black dress. The venue was, of course, Canterlot Castle under nightfall. Note had never actually been to a gala, really the only sort of parties he was used to were at somepony's house, and even then those nights typically ended up with him getting high in the basement with a load of stoners just like him. But a royal gala? He was completely out of his element.

"You know, it's gonna sound horrible," Canvas began with a friendly laugh, "But I was sorta worried that you'd spend your money for the gala before we got here."

"Ha, yeah- nope, totally- not a thing I'd do!" Note nervously chuckled.

"It really makes me trust you, Note." She squeezed his hoof and looked at him with a loving smile. Suddenly Note began to wonder just how much cider Luna meant for ponies to have when she'd decided the gala should have an open bar.

Walking into the gala instantly inspired the feeling of being wondrously starstruck. All four princesses, Twilight and her friends, and other famous ponies stood out against the hundreds of faces in the crowd. Finding the ivory face and deep purple mane of Rarity, Canvas and Note moved towards the element of generosity.

"Oh, Canvas Brush!" Rarity spoke, noticing the artist and moving to greet her, "It's so nice to meet you, darling!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, miss!" Canvas proudly spoke, putting on an artificial posh accent, "Thank you again for the invite!"


"Oh, you can just call me Rarity, and it was essential, really," Rarity responded, "Once I saw your portrait of Celestia and I absolutely had to see about collaborating on a pattern for my newest fashion line!"

"Hi, I'm Rock Note!" Note interjectionally introduced himself.

"Oh my- greetings, darling!" She spoke with a surprised but still kind voice, "And you are…?"

"I'm the best guitarist in Manehattan!" Note boasted, "Well, best living guitarist, I'm a huge fan of Hex Hendrix so-"

"He's my stallionfriend!" Canvas spoke with nervous laughter, "He's my stallionfriend, and not just a random pony interrupting us!"

"Right, my bad, forgot you two had a business thing going on!" Note casually apologized, "I, uh, I'm just gonna-" Note didn't even finish his sentence before slumping away from the mares.

Mercifully, he managed to find the open bar. It was a beautiful sight not only for it's copious amount of booze, the entire bar was built into the structure of the castle's courtyard, sculpted from the same fine marble and decadent gold trimmings as everything else. Lining an ornate wooden shelf were at least a hundred, if not more, differing bottles of wine.

If only Pen could be here, Note thought, all this booze, and for free no less… the unicorn would have a field day. Note rarely drank when alone, his method of chemical escapism had always been more 'botanical', though he figured it'd be ill advised to start smoking a blunt in the middle of a royal Gala so a glass of wine would have to do.

Suddenly, a rather familiar looking unicorn in a suit trotted up to the bar and ordered a drink.

"Your finest Amontillado, please." The unicorn requested in a voice exactly the same as Pen's. When the barmare went to fetch the desired drink, Note moved in to talk to the suited stallion.

"Uh, Pen?" Note simply inquired.

"Hm?" The unicorn mumbled, turning to the stallion addressing him. His grey eyes lighting up when he realized it was his friend, "Note, dude, funny seeing you here!"

Pen was dressed in a sharp grey suit, his glasses and scarf seemed to be missing.

"Same…" Note eyed Pen with amazed confusion, "So uh, should I start by asking why or how?"

"The 'why' is I heard there'd be an open bar, and as for how… do me a favor and call me 'Cole Clouds' for tonight." Pen explained, "So, how are things?"

"I don't know, dude, I'm starting to feel a bit bad about spending that money Canvas gave me…" Note sighed, "Like, it worked out and all, but I still lied to her, you know?"

"Not really, every lie I've ever told has ended up perfectly for everypony involved." Pen shrugged, "Why have remorse? Everypony's happy so it doesn't even matter."

"Like, I betrayed her trust, it just feels wrong."

"She'll never find out, it'll never hurt her." Pen began, "What's better, you get brownie points for something you didn't even have to do, or she finds out something nopony asked about just to get mad at you? In fact, telling the truth is the worst option you could possibly choose!"

"You're not making it any easier…" Note lamented, "Man, I'd kill to be high right now, why can't ponies be as cool about weed as they are about booze?"

A devious grin crept onto Pen's face. A plan was forming in the unicorn's head, a dangerous thing to be sure.

"They are… in the V.I.P lounge!" Pen informed.

"Are… are you suggesting that we sneak into the V.I.P lounge?" Note shared his friend's devious grin, "So, what's the plan?"

"Just follow my lead and remember, I'm Cole Clouds." Pen instructed, getting up and trotting towards a roped off area exclusive to the likes of royalty and government ponies.

"Sure thing, Pen!" Note exclaimed.

"Note!"

"Right! Cole, sure thing-" Note paused and gave the least inconspicuous wink, "'Cole'!"