“Your throne room is FABULOUS!” Pipp squealed, flying around to each of the stained glass murals. “I mean, it’s so simple but so stylish.”
“How do you have waterfalls in doors?” Hitch poked at the water. “Where does this even run to?”
“You know, I always questioned that too,” Applejack chuckled.
“Wait, this mural is of all of you!” Sunny looked up the beautiful stained glass of all of them with Twilight in the middle.
“And this is one of those three villains getting turned to stone,” Izzy grinned.
“Who makes all these?” Zipp asked. “They’re quite the artist.”
“They kind of just appear on the stained glass,” Twilight said. “These used to be just regular windows but they just started appearing one after another.”
“It’s because they’re enchanted, my dear Twilight,” Discord said as a 2d version of himself on the glass panels. “Celestia put the enchantments on them a long, long time ago.”
“Thanks for the history lesson,” Twilight smiled.
“These stained glass are beautiful though,” Pipp said.
“Why is there a small seat next to your throne?” Zipp looked towards the end of the room.
“Oh you know, for Spike!” Twilight chirped. “Sometimes he likes to hang around during my hearings, so I had a seat made especially for him.”
“Spike likes to listen to royal hearings? Aren’t they boring?” Zipp asked. “I know my mother’s are.”
“Yeah, it’s usually just a bunch of ponies complaining about some sort of law or asking for favors,” Pipp said.
“I mean he usually just sleeps when he’s here,” Twilight chuckled, patting the seat. “So I made it extra comfy. Sometimes it’s comforting having some company, even if he’s not talking.”
“That’s so cute,” Pipp grinned.
“So I’m guessing there used to be two thrones here?” Hitch looked at the large, single throne. “You know, because of Celestia and Luna.”
“Yup! Although it took a little bit for Luna to get her own throne oddly enough,” Twilight tapped her chin.
“Luna told me that Celestia procrastinated on getting it for her while we were having tea one day,” Fluttershy said.
“Huh, wouldn’t expect that from Celestia,” Applejack chuckled.
“Every ruler has their flaws,” Twilight said.
“Ah yes, they do indeed,” Discord nodded. “Like how Celestia ate too much cake and how you eat too many hayburgers.”
“Hey! I’ve been trying to cut back on them,” Twilight frowned. “I try not to have more than three a sitting.”
“Not a day?” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “I knew you were getting a little pudgy.”
“I blame my alicorn metabolism!” Twilight huffed. “I’m a growing alicorn so I need more food than normal ponies.”
“Okay princess,” Discord rolled his eyes. “Don’t come crying to me when you're unable to fit your gala dresses.”
“I already outgrew my old ones. I’m a few inches taller already,” Twilight shot back. “Celestia said I’d be as big as her soon enough.”
“I can’t imagine you being that tall,” Rainbow examined Twilight. “I mean, it just wouldn’t look right.”
“Are you going to get wavy hair as well?” Pipp asked. “That makes them so majestic.”
“Apparently I will eventually,” Twilight answered.
“It would look wonderful on you darling,” Rarity smiled.
“I’m trying to imagine you looking like Tia,” Discord stroked his goatee. “I just can’t imagine you being so tall.”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Rainbow said. “Finally something we agree on.”
“Indeed…” Discord mindlessly said, still staring at Twilight.
“Why are you looking at me so intently?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow, smirking.
“Oh, no reason at all,” Discord smirked back.
“Ew…” Rainbow frowned.
“You two really need to stop flirting,” Applejack chuckled. “Rainbow just can’t handle it.”
“It’s just weird seeing one of my friends flirt,” Rainbow mumbled. “Especially with someone like Discord.”
“Heh, sorry,” Twilight grinned sheepishly.
“So… Where to next?” Hitch asked.
“Want to visit the vault?” Twilight asked. “Or would you like to see where I stayed when I became Celestia’ student?”
“What’s in the vault?” Hitch asked. “Is it bits or something?”
“Pinkie should know,” Twilight smirked.
“CAKES!” Pinkie cheered. “Let's go to the vault.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Well, guess it’d be cool seeing all the special cakes Celestia had.”
“It sounds fun,” Fluttershy agreed.
“Cakes? Sounds yummy,” Zipp smirked.
“Alright, let's go everypony!” Pinkie chirped, jumping in a random direction.
“Uh, Pinkie,” Twilight called out to her. “The vault is this way.”
“Oh, okay!”
Making their way through the castle, they first arrived at the kitchen, where they were greeted by chefs, pâtissier, and maids. They seemed quite busy, moving around all over the place very quickly and efficiently.
“Princess Twilight,” The pâtissier greeted her, bowing.
“No need for all that, Sweet Treats,” Twilight smiled. “We’re just here to look at the cakes in the vault.”
“We?” Sweet Treats tilted his head, looking behind her. “Ah, I see we have some company.”
“Yup!” Twilight continued smiling.
“It’d be an honor!” Sweet Treats quickly said.
“Thank you,” Twilight said. “You heard him everypony, let’s go take a look.”
“Woohoo!” They all cheered, following behind Twilight into the vault.
As they walked through the giant vault door, the sweet aroma of all kinds of cakes hit their nose. Pound cakes, sponge cakes, butter cakes, chiffon cakes, chocolate cakes, vanilla cakes, fruit cakes. Surrounding them was pretty much every cake ever baked inside this vault.
“This. Is. AWESOME!” Rainbow said, flying up in the very spacious and tall room. “There’s like, a zillion cakes in here!”
“Are you okay Pinkie?” Sunny asked, seeing that party pony shed a tear.
“I’m more than okay…” Pinkie sniffled. “It’s just so… beautiful…”
“Just let her have her moment,” Twilight giggled. “She’s probably overwhelmed right now.”
“How does anypony pick a cake here? There has to be at least a thousand kinds,” Rarity frowned.
“Well, that’s why we have this handy-dandy catalog!” Twilight said, pulling out the large book. “Or, we could just go to that area over there where the best of the best cake is stored.”
Twilight pointed towards a smaller room with another vault door. Above it was a sign that read “Speciality Cakes”.
“How convenient,” Zipp smirked.
Entering the smaller vault, they were greeted with glass cases. Displayed inside the glass cases were cakes. A golden plaque had the name of the cake, as well as the main ingredients. The cakes were very beautifully decorated.
There were a total of twenty cakes, all of different colors, sizes, and shapes.
“Woah… This is even better than outside,” Hitch said. “They even have special names for the cakes! How cool.”
“This cake is called ‘Death and Destruction’,” Zipp chuckled. “What a peculiar name.”
“Although that’s the name, the cake itself is quite soft and mellow,” Sweet Treats said. “The pâtissier who baked it was going through a juxtaposition phase.”
“Huh, interesting…” Pinkie stared at it seriously, jotting down notes. “Very, very interesting…”
“Let’s look around the vault some more!” Izzy suggested. “I want to see all the cakes.”
“What about Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight chuckled. “She seems a little distracted, so let’s leave her here for now.”
The crew walked out of the smaller vault back to the larger area. There were a couple ponies walking around, some taking cakes out while some carted some new ones in.
“What are they up to?” Zipp asked, looking towards the ponies.
“They’re replacing some of the older cakes,” Twilight answered.
“What do they do with the old ones?” Sunny joined the conversation.
“They give them mainly to orphanages, charities, and food drives,” Twilight smiled. “Celestia started doing that a while back when there was a food shortage.”
“They still made cakes during a food shortage?” Zipp frowned. “
“You know how royalty is,” Twilight chuckled. “Celestia told me that she didn’t want to bake cakes, but the royals demanded it.”
“Huh, what an odd demand,” Rarity said. “You think they’d want actual food.”
“Have you seen our diet, Rarity?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow.
Rarity frowned. “What’s wrong with it? I think our diet’s pretty balanced.”
“Have you ever noticed the amount of sweets we eat compared to the amount of fruits or vegetables we eat?” Twilight asked.
“Huh, now that you mention it, we really do eat a lot of sweets,” Rainbow said.
“Apparently eating too many sweets in the human world could be deadly,” Twilight said. “For some reason, though, it doesn’t affect us ponies.”
“Hooman?” Sunny tilted her head. “What’s that?”
“We’ll explain it another time,” Twilight said. “And I think we’re getting a little off course here. Let’s keep looking at cakes!”
“Alrighty…” Sunny nodded.
The crew continued walking around the oddly large cake vault, watching the pâtissiers do their work or looking at all the different kinds of cakes. Eventually, they made their way back to Pinkie, who was still just staring at all the cakes.
“Pinkie, you there?” Twilight waved her hoof in front of her. Pinkie shook her head quickly, turning to Twilight.
“Where am I?” Pinkie tilted her head. “Why are there so many cakes everywhere?”
“Pinkie, we’re in the cake vault in Canterlot Castle,” Twilight explained. “Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m feeling great,” Pinkie grinned. “Especially because of all these cakes!”
“I think we should get her out of here,” Rainbow whispered to Twilight.
“I think you’re right,” Twilight whispered back. “She might be having a cake-sensory overload, causing her to short circuit.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” Rainbow said in a very convincing tone. “Totally…”
“Okay Pinkie, let’s go explore more of the castle,” Twilight patted her on the back.
“Okie!” Pinkie simply agreed, hopping out of the vault.
“She was weirder than usual,” Hitch said.
“She gets like that sometimes,” Rainbow shrugged. “Just Pinkie being random as always.”
“Alrighty then…” Hitch said.
“So, where to next?” Sunny asked, changing the topic.
“I guess we can check out where I stayed when I was attending Celestia’s school!” Twilight grinned. “That place has so many memories.”
“Cool!” Izzy chirped.
“I bet it’s filled with books,” Zipp chuckled.
“You know me too well,” Twilight chuckled. “It is filled with books!”
“Heh, egghead,” Rainbow smirked.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Har har, very funny Rainbow.”
Rainbow snickered as she followed behind Twilight. The group walked through the castle, passing by paintings, furniture, and other decorations. Guards would often pass by them, greeting their princess and the Elements.
“There’s still a lot we have to see, so we’ll backtrack later,” Twilight said.
“Roger that, Princess!” Izzy playfully mimicked the guards, grinning.
Eventually they made it to the tower where Twilight stayed before coming to Ponyville. The ivory tower stood tall.
“This is where you stayed?” Pipp gasped. “It’s beautiful!”
“I always thought it was kind of a pain to be honest,” Twilight chuckled. “Having to climb all these steps just to get to my room was annoying. I did, however, like how spacious it is inside. That meant more books!”
“Guess we should start climbing the stairs then,” Applejack suggested.
“Or fly up!” Rainbow smirked before making a bee-line to the top.
“Not all of us can fly, Rainbow,” Applejack frowned.
“Oh yeah…” Rainbow realized. “My bad!”
Making their way up the stairs, they eventually all made it to the top. They stood in front of the entrance. Twilight turned the knob, and it was surprisingly unlocked!
“W-Who’s there?” a voice called out as they walked in.
“There’s another pony here?” Rainbow asked. “Isn’t this your place though, Twilight?”
Twilight smacked her forehead. “It completely slipped my mind! I let Moondancer use the place as she pleased because of all the books here.”
“Who’s Moondancer?” Izzy asked. “A new friend?”
“I guess she would be a new friend to you,” Twilight chuckled. “She’s an old friend for me, though.”
“I said who’s there?” Moondancer called out, peeking her head down the stairs. Her eyes went towards the ponies standing in the doorway, then towards the more familiar face. “Twilight?”
“Hi Moondancer!” Twilight waved, smiling, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Y-Yeah,” Moondancer said, trotting down the stairs. Looking at the ponies surrounding her, she smiled awkwardly at them. “Hello everypony, I’m Moondancer, an old friend of Twilight.”
“Hello!” Izzy waved. “I’m Izzy!”
Pinkie also waved. “And I’m Pinkie!”
“I know who you are, Pinkie,” Moondancer laughed quietly. “Everypony knows who the Elements are.”
She started naming off the Elements, starting with Fluttershy and ending with Rainbow Dash.
“I guess it’s common knowledge,” Applejack said.
“Well everypony would’ve known who I was even if I wasn’t an element,” Rainbow Dash smirked.
“Of course,” Applejack rolled her eyes.
“I don’t know the other five though,” Moondancer looked at the New Generation.
“You can’t tell any other pony, but these five are from the future,” Twilight said.
“Wait, really?!” Moondancer asked excitedly.
“It’s true,” Izzy smirked.
“How is this even possible?” Moondancer asked, examining the unicorn. “I mean, how did you end up here in our time?”
“Well Twilight somehow sent us a letter,” Sunny said. “Then we used some magical mirror to travel back in time!”
“You have to show me everything about it later, Twilight,” Moondancer said.
“You’re welcome anytime to stop by anytime,” Twilight giggled.
Moondancer took her eyes off Izzy and looked at the remaining four. “I’ve met Izzy, so who are the rest of you?”
“I’m Zipp, and this is my sister Pipp,” Zipp introduced herself, side hugging her sister.
“I’m Hitch,” the only stallion said.
“And I’m Sunny!”
“So we have Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy,” Moondancer mumbled to herself. “Alright, another question. What is Equestria like in the future?”
“You promise not to try and do anything about it?” Twilight said in their stead.
“Of course,” Moondancer rolled her eyes. “I know the consequences of trying to mess with time, and it’s definitely something I’m trying to avoid.”
“Well that’s reassuring,” Rainbow said. “Guess you can tell her now!”
“Well, what’s the future look like for Equestria?” Moondancer asked, eagerly awaiting an answer as she stared at the New Generation. “Oh wait, let me guess!”
“So do you want the answer or do you want an answer?” Zipp cocked an eyebrow.
“Let me answer first!” Moondancer said. “I always therosized what would happen in the future…”
“Wait, why would you do that?” Applejack asked. “Isn’t it better to just live in the present?”
“Eh, I have a lot of time,” Moondancer shrugged. “Well, one theory I thought of was that after the unfortunate passing of the Elements, harmony was shattered and the windigos came back.”
“That’s rather dark, don’t you think?” Rarity awkwardly chuckled.
“Everypony has to die eventually,'' Moondancer shrugged. “Well, expect maybe Twilight.”
“Oookay…” Rainbow slowly said.
“Was I right?” Moondancer grinned.
“Somewhat?” Hitch said. “You got the harmony being shattered. At least the tribes weren’t in harmony anymore.”
“Yes! “ Moondancer celebrated for a second, before awkwardly chuckling. “I mean, that sounds awful… How did it happen?”
Sunny explained how friendship slowly faded and the tribes separated, having their own civilizations and how they were scared of the other tribes, causing magic to fade. She also told Moondancer about their journey to reunite the tribes as well.
“So you’re telling me that the tribes were all paranoid of one another and magic wasn’t present?” Moondancer cocked an eyebrow. “Even after all that the Elements have done?”
“That’s what we said!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“We also said that we can’t do anything to stop it, and that our future selves probably did all they could to stop it from happening,” Applejack added.
“Or that we were all dead when it happened!” Pinkie said very nonchalantly.
Everypony paused for a moment.
“Or that,” Rainbow shrugged. “I mean, it’s possible.”
“Wow, I didn’t think that friendship would ever fade after everything that’s happened,” Moondancer’s face furrowed. “I wonder what caused it all.”
“We still have no idea,” Sunny sighed. “I guess it happened a while ago, because our history books barely mention Twilight, much less the Elements of Harmony.”
“Ponies probably started suppressing information and history then,” Moondancer theorized. “I mean, how could ponies just forget about some of the most influential ponies in history?”
“The same way they hid the fact Nightmare Moon was Celestia’s sister,” Twilight said. “I mean, nopony knew that somehow.”
“Now that I think about it, there’s probably a lot of things we don’t know about Equestria's history…” Moondancer tapped her chin. “Definitely something I have to look into.”
“Careful going down that rabbit hole,” Twilight warned. “I’ve been down it a couple times and there is some dark stuff to be discovered.”
“Do you suggest any books or things to look at first?” Moondancer smiled.
“I’ll send them to you later,” Twilight winked.
“Sounds good to me!”
“So, this is where you stayed when you were studying in Canterlot?” Sunny asked, looking around the first story of the tower. “It’s very spacious.”
“I never really liked how big it was,” Twilight sighed. “It made me feel lonely sometimes.”
“That’s because you were, remember?” Moondancer cocked an eyebrow.
“Heh, I guess I did shut myself in often,” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Though, I remember my first nights here. I think I cried myself to sleep because I missed my family…”
Fluttershy frowned. “You poor thing.”
“How old were you when you entered Celestia’s school?” Zipp asked.
“I was around six when I got accepted,” Twilight rubbed her chin. “But I didn't move here till I was seven.”
“You were that young and you lived by yourself?!” Pipp gasped. “It must’ve been hard.”
“Not really,” Twilight smiled slightly. “I had Celestia and Spike. Shiny would also visit me often, so it wasn’t too bad. Just the first couple days.”
“Woah… there’s a lot of books up here guys!” Izzy yelled from the top of the stairs. “Like, a lot!”
“What else would you expect from Twilight?” Rainbow called back, snickering. Twilight proceeded to smack the back of her head. “Ow! What was that for?”
“Nothing,” Twilight rolled her eyes, walking up the stairs.
They followed Twilight up, revealing a large open study area with a bunch of bookshelves. There wasn't any extra space for more books, even with some stacked up on the ground. The bookshelves were tall, requiring a twelve foot ladder for some of them. There was even a small set of stairs leading up to a lounge area and balcony, even more bookshelves up there.
“Are those bookshelves built into the wall?” Hitch asked, looking up at them.
“Yup!” Twilight grinned. “Celestia said this place would be perfect for me, and boy was it.”
“I think it could use more bookshelves,” Moondancer said. “I already ran out of space.”
“Feel free to get some more,” Twilight said. “It’s not like I use this place anymore. It’s basically yours.”
“Great!” Moondancer smiled contently.
“You read all of these?” Zipp asked, looking at Moondancer.
“All the ones on the shelves at least,” Moondancer shrugged. “It didn’t take too long.”
Zipp chuckled dryly. “I don’t think I’ve even read this many books in my lifetime…”
Moondancer chuckled. “What can I say? I like reading.”
“Like is an understatement,” Rainbow muttered.
“Imagine filly Twilight climbing this ladder,” Izzy giggled.
“That would be adorable,” Pipp said.
“Shiny would usually get the book for me, but sometimes I did it myself,'' Twilight said. “I only fell off a few times.”
“That must’ve hurt,” Fluttershy frowned.
“It does hurt,” Moondancer sighed. “I’ve fallen off countless times now. I just can’t seem to keep my balance up there.”
“Can’t you just use your magic to grab it?” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow.
“There’s just something about grabbing the book off the shelf yourself,” Moondancer said.
“I know what you mean,” Twilight chuckled. “It just feels different if you use magic. It doesn't feel right.”
“I can’t say I really understand,” Rarity shrugged. “I pretty much carry everything with magic.”
“I still use my hooves for a lot of things,” Izzy looked down at her forehooves. “Still not used to levitating stuff around.”
“It’ll become second nature soon enough,” Twilight said. “Since you’re still learning magic, it probably just feels awkward to use.”
“Probably!” Izzy simply chirped.
The group continued to look around the tower, but there wasn’t much else besides books and random furniture. Another interesting thing was the telescope, but other than that, they had pretty much explored all of Twilight’s use-to-be room.
“Well, that’s pretty much all there is to the tower,” Twilight said as they gathered around the front door. “Where else do you all want to go?”
“How about we show 'em’ the ceremonial hall and ballroom?” Applejack suggested. “We’ve been there mighty often.”
“You did get crowned there the first time,” Rarity added.
“And you defeated Chrysalis and saw your brother get married there,” Pinkie chirped.
“Sounds like a place filled with memories,” Sunny said.
“It is,” Twilight smiled. “Alright, let’s go!”
The group, besides Twilight, all excitedly started their descent of the tower.
“We should really catch up sometime,” Twilight said, looking at the only pony left.
“Easier said than done,” Moondancer chuckled. “You being the ruler of Equestria and all.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to make time for you,” Twilight smiled.
“Awesome,” Moondancer smiled back.
The group of ponies once again made their way through the halls of the castle, eventually ending up at a beautifully decorated room, a long red carpet right in the middle. The carpet led up to stairs and an elevated part of the room, an arch covered with flowers and greenery set in the middle.
“Woah…” Pipp looked around the room, awestruck.
“Pretty!” Izzy said, walking up the stairs.
“I remember the wedding just like it was yesterday,” Pinkie grinned. “Because I threw the best reception ever!”
“You sure did sugarcube,” Applejack heartily chuckled.
“So this is where Twilight’s coronation happened?” Sunny asked, looking around the giant room. There weren’t any chairs in place, so it was empty and spacious.
“My first coronation,” Twilight smiled, looking at the stage. “When I first became an alicorn.”
“Wait, you had more than one coronation?” Zipp tilted her head. “Why?”
“Because she became the Princess of Equestria, duh,” Rainbow said.
“One coronation for becoming an alicorn, and one for becoming the princess of Equestria,” Twilight explained.
“I guess that makes sense,” Hitch said, rubbing his chin.
“It makes total sense,” Pipp chimed in. “She was the Princess of Friendship first, remember?”
“Well I actually got that title a little while after my ascension to alicornhood,” Twilight said. “I was just an alicorn and crowned a princess, but I didn’t really have a title.”
“Wait, then how did you become the Princess of Friendship?” Sunny tilted her head.
“After my battle with Tirek, I was given that title,” Twilight answered. “Well, I guess I wasn’t really given the title, but rather I found it.”
“What does that mean?” Zipp cocked an eyebrow.
“I was questioning what I was supposed to do as a princess because Cadance, Celestia, and Luna all had their specialities, while I was still the same except I had wings as well,” Twilight explained. “I was kind of going through an identity crisis.” She added, slightly blushing.
“That’s something that wasn’t even in the history books!” Sunny grinned.
“Uh Sunny, I don’t think they mentioned Twilight at all in our history books,” Hitch whispered.
“I meant the history books my dad had,” Sunny rolled her eyes. “Duh!”
“I don’t get why somepony would alter history like that,” Twilight sighed, shaking her head. “It still baffles me.”
“Well because some ponies are big meanies!” Pinkie giggled. “We fought a lot of meanies before, so it wouldn’t be that surprising if something related to them wanted to erase our existence.”
Zipp dryly chuckled. “That's quite ominous.”
“Pinkie’s right though,” Twilight sighed. “I just hope whatever or whoever it is doesn’t stir up too much trouble for you five.”
“They’re bound to run into trouble,” Rainbow said.“I’m sure they’ll be able to handle it. With the power of friendship of course.”
“We sure can!” Izzy grinned, the rest of the New Generation nodding in agreement.
“You mentioned this is where your brother got married?” Hitch said, looking around.
“It’s also where we first met Chrissy,” Pinkie said, the New Generation looking at her with confused looks.
“She means queen Chrysalis,” Twilight said.
“Well duh, who else would it be?” Pinkie tilted her head.
Ignoring the party pony, they all walked onto the elevated platform.
“Man, this place really does bring back memories,” Rainbow grinned, looking at the large, empty room.
“Some of them are not the best…” Applejack frowned.
“Water under the bridge guys,” Twilight said. “I admit I was acting a little obsessive.”
“Still was no excuse to throw you under the bus like that,” Applejack mumbled.
“It’s all in the past,” Twilight smiled, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Friends make mistakes, but that’s what makes them stronger.”
“Wait, what happened?” Sunny asked.
“Well we basically didn’t believe Twilight when she went all crazy saying that Cadance was actually evil and trying to steal her brother away, and basically got her kicked out of the wedding instead of actually listening to her.”
Pinkie took a deep breath.
“But then it turned out that the Cadance that was helping plan everything was actually Chrissy, who had trapped both the real Cadance and Twilight underneath the Canterlot Castle and was planning to take over all of Canterlot!”
“So it turned out that Twilight was actually right and we were being horrible friends, not even listening to anything she said, even though she had known Cadance longer than we have!”
The New Generation stared at Pinkie, who was happily smiling after the whole explanation.
“That’s basically the gist of it,” Rarity said, awkwardly laughing.
“No friendship is perfect,” Twilight stepped in. “And I already forgave them all for that, because as I said earlier, I was acting a little crazy and obsessive.”
“We were still being bad friends,” Applejack sighed, hanging her head.
“I said it’s okay!” Twilight shouted. Everypony was now staring at her. She gave a sheepish smile, clearing her throat. “You guys don’t have to keep bringing it up. It’s in the past, and we learned from it. That’s all that matters.”
“If Twilight thinks that’s what is best, then I think we should just go on with the tour,” Fluttershy intervened before anypony said anything else.
“Let’s just get back to the tour,” Rainbow smiled weakly. “I think that would be for the best, right?”
All nodding in agreement, they walked out of the hall towards their last destination, the ballroom. It wasn’t too far of a trot as most of the event rooms were close to one another. They arrived at the somewhat empty ballroom, only a couple tables and the alicorn statue out at the time. The whole room was basically surrounded by large windows that looked into the courtyard.
“Now that I think about it, the Gala’s coming up, huh?” Rainbow said, looking around. Nudging Fluttershy, she grinned.“ Remember our first gala? It was a mess.”
“I don’t want to remember it,” Fluttershy cringed.
“It could’ve been worse,” Applejack offered.
“Celestia did say we made it more fun,” Twilight added. “I guess they’re pretty boring without us around.”
“Well, duh!” Rainbow rolled her eyes “We’re like the coolest ponies in Equestria.”
“Did you just say we? I’m surprised! ?” Applejack snickered.
Rainbow glared at her “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What’s this gala you’re all talking about?” Hitch asked.
“You don’t know what a gala is?” Zipp cocked an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“It’s a social gathering essentially. Mainly high-class ponies attend it, so there’s a lot of mingling rather than partying,” Twilight explained, Pinkie quietly booing in the back.. “Our gala, the Grand Galloping Gala, is an event that celebrates the building of Canterlot, though a lot of ponies use it now to make connections with royalty.”
“We have something like that too, right sis?” Pipp rubbed her chin. “I think?”
“If you don’t know, how would I?” Zipp chuckled. “You know I don’t fancy events like that.”
“You’re going to have to,” Twilight said. “If you become the queen, that is.”
“I know…” Zipp sighed. “Definitely don’t look forward to dealing with all those snobby royals.”
“They’re a pain, but you get used to them,” Twilight chuckled. “Kind of.”
“Or just get some ponies to help spice it up,” Pinkie grinned. “Like us! Or, well, not us exactly, but ponies like us I guess? You know what I mean?”
“Yup,” Zipp slowly nodded.
“I’m guessing you six go to almost all the galas?” Sunny asked.
“Oh of course darling,” Rarity answered.
“That means you must have all kinds of fun stories!” Izzy clapped her foreehoves together, grinning. “Right?”
“We have a lot, but unfortunately we don’t have much time for them right now,” Twilight said. “If we want to tour all of Canterlot, we’re going to have to leave the castle soon.”
“Awww…” Izzy sighed.
“Completely forgot we still have all of Canterlot to look at,” Zipp said. “Guess that means we should start heading out then?”
Twilight nodded. “You got that right.”
“Well then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked. “Let’s go!”
The group trotted out of the ballroom, making their way through the castle and towards the front entrance. As they walked through the halls, they were greeted by guards and staff members and occasionally stopped to peek into some of the more interesting rooms. Eventually reaching the front, they bid the castle farewell.
The sun was still surprisingly high above head, shining down over all of Equestria. The group started the trot down to the town, ready to explore and see what Canterlot was all about.