My Little Pony: Nine Elements
Written by Brandon Nell and Blake Hawkins
Additional suggestions by Rachel Ravens
Chapter 3: The Ticket Masters
It had been one week since Twilight Sparkle and Spike had moved to Ponyville. They bid farewell to Twilight’s big brother and her parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light. On this particular day, Twilight and Spike were invited to have lunch at Sweet Apple Acres. They arrived just as Applejack finished bringing a barrel to the main barn.
“Ah’m mighty glad ya both could join me.” Applejack smiled. “Ah just finished mah mornin’ work. A li’l lunch break n’ it’s back ta work.”
Spike looked at the number of trees. “You sure have a lot of trees, Applejack.”
“We have ta.” Applejack said. “We’re responsible for makin’ sure everypony has tasty apples.”
“Fluttershy said that your family founded Ponyville,” Twilight said. “Is that true?”
“Eeyup,” said Big McIntosh as he walked by. He was carrying three barrels of apples on his back.
“He’s not one of many words, is he?” asked Twilight curiously.
Applejack chuckled. “Not no more,” she said. “He used ta be a real chatterbox. Though, he weren’t much o’ a listener back then.”
“I see,” said Twilight. “What made him act so quiet?”
“Well, now, THERE’S a story,” said Applejack. “It has ta do with the hospital, apple blight, n’ a tall tale.”
“Huh?!” Twilight and Spike asked in surprise.
“How’s about ah tell y’all over lunch?” Applejack offered.
Twilight’s stomach couldn’t help but growl in response.
“I guess that’s a yes,” Twilight said with a sheepish giggle.
Spike suddenly felt his own stomach gurgle a bit.
“Sounds like Spike’s hungry, too,” commented the farm mare.
“That wasn’t a hungry–” Spike began, but, didn’t get the chance to finish as he belched smoke that turned into six scrolls. Applejack was surprised.
“What in the name o’ rhubarb pie just happened?”
“Sorry, Applejack,” Spike said. “That happens whenever Princess Celestia has a message for Twilight.”
“Ah thought dragon fire just burned stuff,” Applejack said.
“Apparently, it does more than we thought,” said Twilight. “Wait, why are there six scrolls?”
Spike picked one up. There was a scribbled emblem with Twilight’s cutie mark on the paper. He picked up another and this one had Applejack’s cutie mark drawn on it.
“It looks like they’re for you and your friends,” answered Spike. “You want me to read yours first, Twilight?”
“Sure, Spike,” answered the unicorn. “You can do it over lunch.”
Soon, lunch was served. Spike started reading Twilight’s scroll first.
“Princess Celestia cordially invites you and a plus one to the Grand Galloping Gala as a heartfelt thanks for assisting in the defeat of Nightmare Moon one week ago today.”
The two mares were surprised by this and nearly coughed their apple turnovers.
“The Grand Galloping Gala?!” Twilight and Applejack gasped. They then cheered excitedly. Spike checked Applejack’s scroll.
“Yours says the same thing, Applejack,” said Spike when he noticed something else. “And both messages have two tickets each.”
“This is incredible!” Twilight said. “Spike, you can be my plus 1.”
At this, Spike suddenly looked from side to side. “Uh, I appreciate the gesture, Twilight, but, maybe somepony will want it more,” he said with an uncharacteristically nervous smile.
Twilight noticed this. “Are you hiding–?”
Spike quickly changed the subject. “Hey, Applejack, what would you go to the Gala for?”
“Well,” Applejack said. “Ya may find this hard ta believe, but, even if we have a successful apple farm, we don’t really make a whole lot o’ money. So, what ah’m plannin’ on doing is settin’ up a stand where ponyfolk’ll line up ta sample the Apple Family viddles.”
“I’ve actually been meaning to ask you about that first point, Applejack,” said Spike. “If your family’s such a big deal here, founding the town and all, why does this farm look so run down?”
“Well, before mah parents were born,” Applejack admitted. “The Apple family feuded with the Pear family. Both families wasted their money tryin’ ta one-up each other. Sweet Apple Acres has been scrapin’ the bottom o’ the barrel ever since.”
“I see.” Spike said. “Though I do like the idea you came up with for the Gala, I don’t think it’ll really work. Parties like the gala will likely prepare a buffet for the party attendees and the food would be free. Nopony pays for food when it’s being given out for free.”
Applejack realized what Spike was saying. “Ah, ponyapples!” she exclaimed. “Well, ah can at least show Caramel a good time.”
“A good choice,” Twilight smiled. “We’ll have to deliver the tickets to our other friends after lunch.”
“Ah can help y’all out fer a spell,” Applejack offered. “Yer both still new ‘round these here parts. Ah can show y’all where the rest o’ the gals live.”
“Thank you, Applejack.” Twilight said gratefully. “Who lives closest?”
“Pinkie’s a tenant at Sugarcube Corner,” said Applejack.
“Alright.” Twilight said.
So, they finished up lunch and Applejack led them to Sugarcube Corner.
“Thanks again, Applejack,” Twilight smiled. At that moment, the pink party pony came out of the cake-shaped building.
“Whoa!” Twilight and Spike gasped in surprise.
“Hey, girls. Hey, Spike,” Pinkie greeted. “What’s up?”
“Princess Celestia delivered these to us in the friend group,” Spike said, showing her the invitation. “Here’s yours.”
Pinkie somehow managed to open her scroll with her mane. “How did–” Twilight started.
“It’s Pinkie,” Applejack interrupted. “Don’t question it. It’ll be better fer yer sanity.”
Pinkie read through the invitation and saw the two tickets. She gasped excitedly.
“Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?!” Pinkie gasped with stars in her eyes.
“Eeyup,” said Applejack, doing her best impression of her brother. “Ya can bring anypony ya choose.”
“Ooh~” Pinkie said happily. “That’s going to be a challenge because I like everypony in Ponyville.”
At that moment, Rainbow Dash flew down from a cloud.
“Did you say the Grand Galloping Gala?!” Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically.
“Uh-huh,” confessed Pinkie. “Would you be my plus one?”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Pinkie,” said Spike. “I’m sensing a pattern that all these invites are the same. Here’s your’s, Rainbow.”
“Yes!” Rainbow said excitedly. “Do you know what this means?!”
“You’re being invited to a party?” Spike quipped before muttering under his breath. “Where you have a chance of experiencing a good time among other ponies.”
“What was that, Spike?” Twilight asked.
Realizing he was heard, Spike quickly came up with a cover story. “Oh, look, Rarity and Fluttershy haven’t gotten theirs yet,” he nervously laughed. “Let’s fix that.” He then ran off quickly, leaving some concerned mares behind.
“Somethin’s up with that boy,” Applejack commented.
“No doubt,” Rainbow said. “The little guy grabbed Nightmare Moon by the horn, literally, and now, he’s sweating like he ran through a rain cloud. What’s up with that?”
“I’ll have to talk to him about this,” Twilight said with concern in her voice. “Before I head off, what reasons do you two have for wanting to go?”
“For me,” Pinkie said. “The Gala is the biggest, most ginormous, super duper party of all! I’ve always, always, ALWAYS wanted to go!”
“So, you’re just going to do something you basically do everyday?” Twilight said dryly.
“Yeah,” Pinkie giggled. “Only this time, in Canterlot!”
“And you, Rainbow?” Twilight asked.
“Well,” Rainbow explained. “Every year, the Wonderbolts perform a stunt show at the Gala. So, with me going to the gala, this’ll be my chance to show them my stuff!”
Twilight was surprised. “Huh,” she admitted. “I have to say, that’s the best reason I’ve heard thus far. You’re getting a chance to meet your heroes. It’s not often that anypony gets such an opportunity.”
“Hey, thanks,” Rainbow said with a smile. “Now, who should I give the extra ticket to?”
“I offered my plus 1 ticket to Spike,” said Twilight. “But, he seemed nervous about it.”
Meanwhile, Spike was still running. He looked back for a moment before tripping and landing face-first in the knothole of a tree.
“Oof!” Spike said interjection-wise. He tried getting himself out, but, to no avail. “This is embarrassing,” he complained.
At that very moment, Rarity and Fluttershy were on a walk when they saw Spike’s backside sticking out of the tree.
“Oh, dear!” Rarity gasped. “Spike, darling, are you alright?”
“Oh, no!” Spike said, his voice echoing off the inside of the tree. “Why did Rarity have to see me in this embarrassing situation?”
Rarity and Fluttershy both helped to get Spike out of the knothole. Fluttershy grabbed Spike’s left leg while Rarity pulled the right. Their combined efforts freed the little dragon. “How did you get stuck in the first place?” Rarity asked.
“Oh, uh,” Spike stammered. “I was looking for you two to give you these.”
He handed them both the invitations and tickets. “The Gala?!” gasped Rarity. “I design ensembles for the gala every year, but, I've never had the opportunity to attend. Oh, the society, the culture, the glamor! It's where I truly belong and where I'm destined to meet him.”
“Him who, Rarity?” Spike asked.
“Why, my dream stallion, of course,” said Rarity with an enthusiastic smile.
“That’s not really clearing anything up for me,” Spike said dryly.
"Oh, sorry," giggled the white unicorn. "It's just… I've heard so many stories about him…" she closed her eyes dreamily.
"I would stroll through the gala, and everyone would wonder, ‘Who is that mysterious mare?’ They would never guess that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville,” Rarity continued dreamily. “Why, I would cause such a sensation that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself and the princess would be so taken with the style and elegance that she would introduce me to him, her nephew: the most handsome, eligible unicorn stallion in Canterlot. Our eyes would meet, our hearts would melt. Our courtship would be magnificent. He would ask for my hoof in marriage and of course I would say, ‘Yes!’ We would have a royal wedding, befitting a princess, which is what I would become upon marrying him, the stallion of my dreams.”
“Wait,” Spike said. “Your dream stallion is Blueblood?”
"Why, of course," giggled Rarity. "I haven't actually met him, but, I'm sure he's as charming as the princes I read about when I was a filly."
Spike winced. “I hate to break it to you,” he said. “But, maybe you should lower your expectations a bit.”
"Oh my goodness," gasped Rarity. "I should take the time to get to know him better. You're right, Spike. My foalish behavior is getting the better of me. And… my, what am I going to WEAR?! I should check my wardrobe."
She galloped off to check.
“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Spike said. Too late, Fluttershy was the only one who heard him. She noticed that Spike seemed cautious about something.
"S-Spike?" The butter-yellow pegasus whispered.
Spike turned to look at Fluttershy’s eyes, which seemed to radiate concern for him. “Yes, Fluttershy?”
"Did you… meet Blueblood at all?"
“Do you want the honest answer?” Spike asked.
Fluttershy nodded.
“I have,” Spike confessed. “I’ve been trying to tell Rarity that he might not be the stallion she thinks he is.”
"Well… Rarity is sort of a hopeless romantic," sighed Fluttershy. "I'm not sure she'll listen…"
“I see,” sighed the dragon. “Okay. I don’t like it, but, Rarity will have to learn the hard way what kind of stallion Blueblood really is.” He then glanced at Fluttershy. "What reasons do you have for going to the gala?"
"Well… it's not so much the Grand Galloping Gala as it is the wondrous private gated garden that surrounds the dance," she explained. "The flowers are said to be the most beautiful and fragrant in all of Equestria. For the night of the gala, and that night alone, would they all be in bloom... and that's just the flora! Don't get me started on the fauna. There's loons and toucans and bitterns, oh my! Hummingbirds that can really hum and buzzards that can really buzz. White-blue jays, red jays, green jays, pink jays, and pink flamingos!"
Spike considered Fluttershy’s reason. “Well, that DOES sound like a good reason,” he admitted before muttering under his breath. “Not that I’ll ever get to know.”
At that moment, Fluttershy noticed that she had two tickets.
"Oh dear," she gasped. "Did Rarity forget hers?"
“No, actually,” Spike explained. “You and the other girls got two tickets each so you can invite anypony you want.”
"Oh wow!" Gasped Fluttershy. "This is incredible. Who do I pick?"
Spike shrugged. “It’s up to you,” he said.
“Oh, that’s a hard decision for me to make,” Fluttershy admitted. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint anypony and Twilight’s probably already asked you.”
Spike rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Well, she did,” he admitted. “But, I decided to let her give her spare ticket to somepony else.” Spike flashed his nervous smile again.
"Wh-why?" Asked Fluttershy. "If you don't have anything to wear, I'm sure Rarity would want to make a dragon sized tux just for you. She likes trying new designs."
“Oh, look at the time,” Spike said, looking at his wrist and pretending he had a watch. “I better go help the other girls find their plus 1s!” He then ran off, leaving a confused and concerned Fluttershy behind.
Meanwhile, the other mares were trying to think of who to take with them.
"Well, ah think mah choice is simple," said Applejack. "Ah'm goin' with Caramel."
“You pretty much already chose him before we left Sweet Apple Acres,” Twilight said. “But, the rest of us haven’t decided yet.” She looked at Pinkie and Rainbow. "Do you two have a really close friend who would have a good time at the Gala?"
Pinkie pondered. “Hmm… well, Royal Pin’s a maybe for me,” she said. “Though, he has a habit of popping balloons with his horn when dancing.”
“Oh yeah," said Rainbow Dash. "That may not be too good for the Gala."
“Maybe you could go with Shoeshine, Rainbow,” Pinkie suggested.
“After that fling I had with her?” Rainbow said. “Not a chance. You know how I feel about other ponies touching my hooves.”
“Wait, her?” Twilight asked, getting curious.
“I’m bi, Twilight,” Rainbow said, defensively. “You got a problem with that?”
"Not at all," gasped Twilight. "I'm just curious."
The mares suddenly saw Rarity trot by.
"Hey, Rarity!" Called Pinkie. "Got any ideas for your plus 1?"
Rarity suddenly stopped in her tracks. “Plus 1, darling?”
“Ya didn’t see two tickets in yer scroll?” Applejack asked.
Rarity checked her scroll and noticed two tickets. “Huh,” she said. “How about that? Hmm… Twilight, did you ask Spike to be your plus 1?”
"I did," said Twilight. "But, he refused. I don't know why."
“He did?” asked a surprised Rarity. “That’s odd. We’ve only known Spike for a week or so and in that time, he’s never turned down the opportunity to partake in pony social events before.”
"Ah know," sighed Applejack. "Rare, do ya have any ideas on who ta pick fer yer plus 1?"
“Well, the thought to make Spike my plus 1 just crossed my mind,” Rarity admitted. “I figured it would be a good reward for all his help around my boutique lately.”
"It can't hurt to try," said Twilight. "Maybe you'll have better luck than me. But, if so, there's the question of who I will bring. I haven't known ponies in Ponyville that long outside of you girls and Fluttershy."
“Well, you might consider Comet Tail,” Rarity suggested. “He’s quite skilled in magic, too.”
"I think I'll chat with him a bit more," said Twilight. "I did see him around the marketplace the other day and he's nice."
At that moment, a nervous Spike approached the mares in a sprint. Once he was close enough, he stopped to catch his breath. “Whew!” he panted. “I’m REALLY out of shape.”
"Spike?" asked Pinkie. "Are you okay?"
Spike straightened himself out. “Fine, Pinkie,” he said, pretending nothing was wrong. “Why wouldn’t I be when I’m helping my friends pick their plus 1s? I know Applejack picked hers. Who’s left?”
"Well, Pinkie and Rainbow are kind of stuck," said Rarity, "not sure on Fluttershy's end, seeing as I left before hearing her reasons for wanting to go."
Spike sighed in relief. “Okay,” he said. “Come on, Pinkie and Rainbow, let’s walk around town and find you each somepony to give your spare tickets.”
Pinkie stepped up to Spike. “Spike, you’re acting a little weird today,” she commented.
“You KNOW something’s weird when PINKIE’S the one saying that,” added Rainbow.
"Yeah…" trailed Twilight. "Spike, do you wish to talk–"
"Later!" cried Spike as he dragged Rainbow and Pinkie off.
“I don’t need my Mystic Eyes to see that something’s bothering Spike,” Rarity said.
"Indeed," sighed Twilight. "Let's go and see if Fluttershy made her choice yet."
But, they needn’t have bothered, for at that moment, a concerned Fluttershy trotted up to them. “Um, have any of you seen Spike?” she asked. “I’m worried about him.”
"He was just here not a minute ago," Applejack explained. “He left with Pinkie n’ Rainbow.”
“Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “Spike said he turned down your offer to be your plus 1. Is that true?”
Twilight nodded. "I mean, it's not unheard of for ponies to ask family members to go to the Gala. My brother’s gone every year and has even invited Spike over the last three years. Up until last year, Spike always seemed excited about the prospect of going there."
"So, somethin’ must’ve changed in the last year," said Applejack.
“But, what could it be?” questioned Rarity.
Twilight pondered hard. “If memory serves, each time he came back, he seemed to have a slight tear in his eye.”
“Well, we ain’t findin’ out what’s eatin’ him just standin’ here,” Applejack reasoned. “We better follow him n’ ask him.”
The others nodded and galloped off, even Fluttershy who could have flown, but, didn't.
"Spike?" called Twilight. "Where are you?"
Spike was dragging Pinkie and Rainbow around town when they reached a store called Quills and Sofas. Rainbow broke free of Spike’s grip.
“Okay, Spike,” she said. “Something’s clearly bugging you. You literally grabbed Nightmare Moon by the horn a week ago and now, you’re sweating so much, anypony would think you walked through a rain cloud. What’s the deal?”
“Yeah,” agreed Pinkie Pie. “What in Celestia’s name is going on? We’ve known you for eight days now and you never turned down a chance to socialize with ponies before. Why start now?”
Spike twiddled his claws and looked at the ground.
“Well…” Spike stammered. “You see… it’s…”
At that moment, Twilight and the others caught up. “There you are, Spike,” said the worried lavender unicorn.
“Are you feeling okay?” Fluttershy asked sympathetically. “You look sick to your stomach.”
Spike’s sweat began turning into steam. “I’m fine, Fluttershy,” he said, unconvincingly.
“When somepony says they’re fine,” Applejack said. “That usually means they ain’t fine.”
“Spike,” Twilight said warmly. “You know you can tell us anything, don’t you?”
“Tell us why you don’t want to go, darling,” said Rarity.
Spike’s nervousness quickly turned into anger. “You think I don’t want to go?” he said. “Of course I do! But, it’ll never happen!” He then ran off to the Golden Oak Library.
"What kind of response was that?!" Gasped Rainbow Dash. "He wants to go, but, refuses to?"
“Wait a minute,” said Twilight. “Something just occurred to me.”
“What’s that, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.
“There’s only six scrolls,” Twilight said.
Rarity gasped. “What if this means that Spike thought he didn’t get his own invitation and he feels left out?”
“But, he helped defeat Nightmare Moon just like the rest of us,” Pinkie commented. “Why wouldn’t he get invited?”
“Maybe that’s why Spike was so nervous and upset.” Twilight said. “We have to find him and talk to him.”
“He was headed for the library,” said Rainbow. “If we hurry, we can catch up.”
Soon, they reached the Golden Oaks Library.
“Spike?” asked Twilight. "We're here." No answer came.
“Poor Spike.” Fluttershy said sadly. “If only there was something we could do to help him.”
Suddenly, the mares heard the sound of quiet sobbing. They followed it and found Spike sitting in a fetal position, crying into his arms.
“Spike?” Rarity said. “We know now why you’re upset.”
“Yeah,” Applejack said. “Ya helped defeat Nightmare Moon with us and yer right. Ya shoulda got yer own invitation.”
Spike sniffled. “It’s not the fact that I didn’t get invited,” he said. “It’s what happened the three times I tried going with Shining Armor.”
“So, what happened?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Every time I tried going to the Gala,” said the young dragon. “I wasn’t allowed past the front gates.”
“What?!” Pinkie gasped. “They’re denying you entrance to a party that you had a proper invitation to? That’s the worstest news ever!”
“The Gala is a ponies only event,” Spike said. “I’m not a pony, so, I can never go no matter how much I want to. Last time I tried, the guards were getting ready to throw me in the dungeon. If Shining Armor hadn’t stopped them, I’d still be there by now. Besides, it's in the name: ‘grand galloping gala.’ Last I checked, dragons don't gallop."
The ponies were heartbroken by this news. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie looked at each other and they nodded. They knew what they had to do. Rarity prepared a note.
“I believe a friendship lesson has been learned here,” she said.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight began. “One of the joys of friendship is to share your blessings. But, when the prize doesn’t seem worth it, it can make your friends feel pretty awful. So, although I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both my tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala.”
“What?!” Spike gasped in surprise.
“If Spike isn’t allowed to go,” Twilight added. “Then, I don’t want to go either.”
“No prince charming is worth seeing a dear friend unhappy," agreed Rarity. "Here, take mine."
"Maybe I could ask Princess Celestia to see the garden in bloom without going to the Gala," added Fluttershy, adding her tickets to the collection.
"I can throw a better party," said Pinkie, "one that does invite dragons!" She gave her tickets up, too.
"Well… it would be hard to impress my idols with these," said Rainbow, "but, I'm not giving up on that so easily." She added her tickets, too.
Spike felt touched that most of his friends were willing to give up their tickets for him and took a cleansing breath. He set the message on fire, causing the smoke to fly out an open window.
The other ponies, sans Twilight, were surprised. “What just happened?” Pinkie asked.
"That's how I send messages," said Spike. "Didn't you girls see that in the last week?"
“I think we’d’ve remembered that,” said Rainbow. “I didn’t know dragon fire could even do that. I just thought it burned stuff.”
“Ah learned o’ somethin’ like this earlier,” Applejack said. “It works when he gets messages, too.”
Meanwhile, in Canterlot, the message Spike sent materialized before the two alicorn princesses.
"What in Equestria?" cried Luna.
“Oh, Spike just sent me a message, Luna,” Celestia explained calmly. “You’ll get used to it.” She used her magic to unfold the scroll. "Huh? The Grand Galloping Gala tickets? Or, ten of the twelve I sent."
Luna was still confused on how Spike sent the message. “Sister, how did yon dragon send thine message? We’ve never known dragon fire to do this.”
“I’ll explain later, Luna,” Celestia explained while reading the letter. “Oh dear.”
“What troubles thou, sister?” asked Luna.
“It seems that your feelings 1000 years ago aren’t the only thing I’ve overlooked,” Celestia answered. “I’m going to have a stern talk with my guards. And, I have something very important to give to Spike.”
She wrote a response and attached five of the golden tickets and a ticket that seemed to be made of platinum. The message was rolled up and set aflame. “Now that that’s taken care of, I believe it’s time we abolished the species limitation for the Gala.”
Back at the Golden Oak Library, Spike seemed a bit sad.
“What’s wrong, Spike?” Twilight asked.
“I might not have a chance of going,” Spike admitted. “But, I wouldn’t want you to give up yours.”
“It’s okay, Spike,” Twilight said with a reassuring smile. “I couldn’t enjoy myself if you weren’t there. So, I’d rather not go at all.”
“I haven’t really perfected my stunts yet, either,” Rainbow said. “I’ll try again next year.”
“And I’ll always have my cottage home and animals to be with,” Fluttershy said.
“I wouldn’t want a good friend to be left behind and miss out on fun,” Pinkie said. “You’ve missed out on too much already.”
“We’d do anything for you, Spike,” Rarity said warmly.
“Ah already gave Caramel mah spare ticket,” Applejack admitted. “It wouldn’t be very friendly-like if ah returned mine n’ let him go alone. Sorry, Spike. If’n it makes ya feel better, ah feel downright rotten goin’ with the knowledge yer missin’ somethin’ ya wanted so long.”
“It’s okay, Applejack,” Spike said. “You didn’t know.” His cheeks suddenly puffed up. “Uh oh. Message incoming!”
"Get a bucket!" Cried Pinkie, racing off. "Emergency buckets are stashed all over Ponyville, in case of a bucket emergency."
Spike belched a cloud of smoke that materialized into a scroll.
"O--kay," said Pinkie. "That's a relief, but, very unexpected."
Spike picked up the scroll and began reading it.
“My faithful student Twilight,” he read. “This is something I should have done a long time ago. I apologize for any heartache or inconvenience I’ve caused you and Spike.”
He then discovered the five golden tickets and the platinum one. “She sent five tickets back and gave…” Spike looked closely at the platinum ticket. “...a VIP pass?!”
The ponies gasped happily. “You got a VIP pass, Spike,” exclaimed Twilight.
Spike was confused. “But, the Gala’s ponies only.” He then noticed something else on the scroll. “Wait. To Spike, my sister and I are currently in the process of abolishing the ponies only policy for the next Gala. Until the abolition is finalized, I’m giving you a VIP pass so that you can finally attend the Gala as you wanted. Consider this recognition of your aid in defeating Nightmare Moon and a heartfelt apology from me. If the guards or other attendees give you a difficult time, don’t hesitate to report to me or my sister.”
“Now we can all go!” Twilight said happily. “You included, Spike!” She and the other mares hugged Spike close.
“This calls for a celebration,” Pinkie said. “We’ll treat you to dinner tonight!”
“Last one ta get ta dinner is a rotten apple!" grinned Applejack.
The ponies and dragon headed out as the grateful young drake shed a few more tears of joy.
The end.