Tapestries with Celestia’s and Luna’s colors lined the room, the large windows letting the moonlight mix with the light of floating candles. To their right in the back wall sat a raised platform that held four thrones, the top of each emblazoned with the cutie mark of each princess. Several cocktail tables, each covered in a white tablecloth sat to the right of the thrones. Two guards stood watch on either side of the roped-off entrance, one a Lunar guard, the other a Solar guard. A glass door led outside to a private balcony that provided a wonderful view of the city below. A quartet of musicians sat to their left, playing music for numerous pairs of ponies dancing in the middle of the room.
Lily nudged Jason’s shoulder to get his attention then nodded towards an empty table to their right near the thrones. A bowl of light snacks sat next to a candle that smelled of pine. Lily smiled in thanks as a waiter placed two glasses of champagne and a glass of water on their table.
Jason took a sip from his glass to help his nerves. He’d never been one for dancing, much less as a being with four legs. He had a feeling that that was what was expected of him, especially as he felt Lily’s eyes bore into the side of his head. As the music swelled with an increased tempo, he watched those dancing in the middle of the room, trying to learn anything that would help him not look like a fool on the dance floor. He glanced down at his glass as another thought popped into his mind: who would watch Nightshine if Lily went dancing with him? A gentle nuzzle on his cheek pulled him from his thoughts. He looked at Lily, her relaxed smile pushing the worries from his head. The pain in the back of his head subsided a little more as if her smile was the medicine that he needed. He noticed something in her eyes that put him slightly on edge.
“It’s okay, let them talk,” Lily whispered into his ear. She lifted her glass to her lips and while she drank, she looked around the room as if she was looking for threats. Her glass was half-empty by the time she set it back down. “That’s all they ever do.” With her back to the wall behind them, she had a clear view of the whole room.
“Huh?” Jason was caught off-guard. Oh, of course… The murmurs, he thought. He followed Lily’s gaze, his eyes settling on that same green stallion from the line to get in. He stood with a light brown mare near the entrance, deep in conversation with four others. Jason smirked as their eyes locked for a moment.
Lily nodded.
“Is it really rare for thestrals to attend the Gala?” he asked.
“Aside from Luna’s guards, yes.”
“I see.” Jason took another sip from his glass. He noticed Rarity trot out of the VIP section, a warm smile on her face as she made her way through the crowd to them.
“Ah, it is quite lovely to see you all here! And don’t we all look exquisite?” Rarity asked as she walked up to them. She wore a sleeveless dark purple dress that glistened in the light, something rather simple compared to what Lily and Nightshine were wearing. Jason wanted to inquire about that but thought otherwise.
“You look beautiful!” Nightshine piped up.
“Thank you, little one. You look gorgeous yourself!” Looking back up at him and Lily, she stepped back and to the side then held out her hoof towards the VIP section. “Would you three join us? There’s more than enough room.”
Jason noticed Lily’s eyes widen for a brief moment before she replied, “Yes, that would be lovely.” He wondered if it was Lily’s position as a Lunar Guard or if it was how he knew one of the princesses personally that got them access to the VIP section, though it mattered not. Nightshine was happy and that was all that mattered. They followed Rarity through the roped-off entrance and greeted everyone, then found their own table off to the side.
Jason looked down at Nightshine. “Whatcha think, honey? Having fun?”
“Sure am! When are we going to go dancing, though?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“After we get some food; I’m starving,” Jason said with a laugh. “What do you feel like eating, you two?”
“Oh, something light for me. A salad perhaps?” Lily asked.
“Why not get something with a bit more substance? It is a special night, after all.” Jason nudged her shoulder with his own. “Come on, look around! You’re at the Grand Galloping Gala with a hot date dressed to the nines. Let’s splurge a little! If it’s a matter of cost, I’d be happy to cover it.”
“Oh, it’s not that at all; everything is free at the Gala,” she said. After a few moments of biting her inner cheek, she shot a comfortable smile up at him. “You’re right, it is a special night. Why don’t we splurge a little?”
“Great!” He did his best to lift the menu with a hoof, but Lily ended up having to hold it up for them. “Hayburger sliders, fries, and pies? All those sound good." Too bad they don’t have steaks or real hamburgers, though… He looked down at Nightshine and saw her looking out over the dance floor, her eyes locked on something on the far end. He followed her gaze and noticed that same green stallion from before. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Jason asked. “Who is that?”
“That’s one of the ponies that came to the orphanage a while ago.” Nightshine’s ears flopped down as her smile disappeared. “It was between me and four other ponies at the end. I remember I really had my hopes up because his wife was really, really nice to me.”
“Are you sure? There’s lots of green ponies.”
“I’m sure. I recognize his wife. I’d never forget her. She brought us all a big box of the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had.”
“Oh. They look wealthy. Do you see the pony they adopted here? Were you two friends?”
Nightshine shook her head. “No, we weren’t. It was hard to make friends back there. We didn’t really try to make friends with each other because we could be adopted any day.”
Lily pushed a stool over from against the wall and set it next to their table. She patted it with a hoof. “We’re here to have fun, are we not?” she asked as Nightshine hopped up onto the chair, finally able to see the menu. “Remember, everything is free and we’re here to splurge a little. Get whatever you want.”
“Some hayburgers with two sides of fries?” she hopefully asked with a joking grin.
“Of course. I think I’ll have the same thing. You?” Jason nodded. Lily waved down one of the roaming servers then gave him their order. “So dance first, eat second? With all these ponies here, it’ll take a while for the food to be brought out.”
“Sounds good!” Nightshine said. “Wait, how are we all going to dance? I only see pairs of ponies dancing.”
“You two go; I’ll watch from over here. Might even chat with one of the princesses, too. I’m sure Twilight has already told them all about me,” he said with a laugh. “I should make sure that it’s only good things,” he said when he noticed a few glances from Twilight’s friends.
Lily cocked her head to the side. “What’s wrong? You scared of a little dancing?” she asked.
Jason had expected her tone to be like Rainbow Dash’s: challenging and goading, though all he heard was disappointment in Lily’s voice. He could tell she expected him to show her a good time and show her off to all of Canterlot’s elite. “Who, me? I don’t know how to dance, much less as a pony,” he admitted. “I am, however, scared of looking like a fool.”
“Like that green pony across the room?” Lily looked over Jason’s shoulder. “He’s already drunk and making himself look bad.” She nodded towards him. “Look, but be discreet.”
Jason turned and watched the pony in question miss a step here, a step there, with his partner. He nearly bumped into a few pairs more than a couple of times. “Oh, wow… Is he going to get in trouble? Would some guards step in?”
“Only if he becomes an issue. We usually get a couple ponies like that at events like this; they just can’t seem to control themselves when alcohol is in the room. Celestia and Luna are lenient to an extent. I would have stepped in by now to warn him, though.”
“I see why you would.”
“Yeah… So! Shall we dance? I’ll lead; all you have to do is follow. It’s easy, I promise,” Lily hopefully said.
“Sure, I suppose I can give it a shot,” Jason hesitantly said. Though while he was a bit nervous about performing in front of so many, the relief and joy he saw in Lily’s eyes helped him push down those awful selfish feelings.
“What about me? I don’t know how to dance either,” Nightshine sheepishly admitted.
“Hm… okay.” Lily looked off into the distance as she thought for a few moments. “How about you watch Jason and I for the first dance, learn what you can, and then come out for the second dance? I’d be happy to show you, too.”
It only took a couple of minutes before their dancing took them within range of the green stallion, and as luck would have it, the song came to an end, allowing ponies to leave the dance floor. A brief intermission was announced stating that the music would return in fifteen minutes. As they made their way back to the VIP area, the green pony intercepted them, stopping in front of them. His wife swatted his side with a hoof and stormed off.
“Were you the ones that adopted that li'l thestral over yonder?” the green stallion asked, slurring his words. “Name’s Buck Wheat. I’m the owner of–” He held out a hoof for Jason and Lily to bump but nearly lost his balance in doing so. His hoof returned to the ground. “Of the largest farms around Canterlot. We supply all the raw ingredients that you little ones eat.”
“Jason,” he curtly said. “And yes, I did adopt her.” He turned away and placed a wing over Lily’s back to lead her away, hoping that Buck Wheat would notice he wasn’t really in a talking mood. He chose not to engage with him, choosing to ignore what he said about his job. He wasn’t there to compare titles or anything of the sort, after all. Lily felt tense under his wing but she followed his lead and started to walk away with him.
“Why?”
Jason stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “Why what?”
“Why’d you adopt her?” he asked, his tone implying that Jason had made a bad decision. “There were better options. Younger options, even. Why’d you pick the runt of the lot? Jus’ askin’, is all.”
Lily stepped in front of Jason and caught his gaze with ease. Her stern look and a discreet shake of her head kept his mouth sealed shut. She turned to face Buck Wheat, opened a wing, and used its tip to point out Luna’s pin on her dress, shooting a stern gaze up at him.
Buck Wheat’s eyes fell momentarily before he looked back up with respect, his eyes showing he knew exactly what Lily’s pin meant. His face paled. “My apologies, ma’am.”
“Leave us be,” Lily ordered, nodding away from them. Buck Wheat nodded once then left without another word, returning to his wife’s side.
“What was that?” Jason asked as they walked back to Nightshine and the VIP area.
“A display of power,” Lily smugly said. “I felt like I needed to step in since no other guard was around to hear the horribly rude things he said to you.”
Jason felt a pit grow in his stomach. “I don’t need protection, though.”
“I know you don’t. It’s a habit from years of being in Luna’s service,” Lily plainly stated. “I hope I didn’t offend you. I just wanted to keep the peace.”
“It’s alright. Probably better this way anyway.”
The sound of a microphone sounded, drawing everyone’s attention to the stage where Princess Celestia stood. Lily and Jason made it back to Nightshine’s side before she started addressing the crowd.
Celestia cast one long look over the crowd of ponies before her. “Welcome, one and all, to the Grand Galloping Gala. I see many familiar faces and many new ones,” she said.
Nightshine nudged Jason’s leg. “How is she able to speak to so many and not get scared?” she whispered.
“I bet she has tons and tons of practice.”
“I hope you all have a wonderful night tonight; I look forward to speaking with many of you. Without further ado…” Celestia lit her horn and opened the doors to the large balcony on the other side of the room. “Allow me to invite you outside for an exclusive Wonderbolts performance!”
Once the festivities began in full swing, Princess Luna had taken it upon herself to watch Nightshine while Jason and Lily spent their time dancing the night away. She’d taken her out onto the upper balcony reserved for the VIPs to teach her about her precious stars and the constellations she had meticulously arranged them into. Nightshine’s questions were many, incessant, but most of all, genuinely curious to learn and absorb as much knowledge as she could. Luna felt more than happy to answer all that was asked of her, though she felt it was high time to finally ask the question that had been dwelling in the back of her mind ever since she’d first met her back in Jason’s house.
“Nightshine, there is something I must ask of you,” Luna softly said.
“Yes, Princess?”
“Just Luna is fine, little one.” Luna nervously shifted. “What do you know of your birth parents?”
“Uh…” Nightshine cocked her head to the side as she peered up at Luna. “Nothing. Serenity, the headmistress of the orphanage, never let us see our files. She wouldn’t tell us anything about where we came from, either.”
“I see. What of your friends at the orphanage?”
“I had no friends. Well, I had a couple at first, but after they got adopted, I felt all alone.” Nightshine’s shoulders slumped as she thought back to her time at that horrid place. “I learned to not make friends with anyone because if they got adopted, we wouldn’t see each other again, and if I got adopted, I wouldn’t see them again. It was… better that way.”
“A hard choice to make for one as young as yourself…” Luna murmured. She glanced up at her tower that stood far above them, knowing the answers she sought lay within its walls. Luna had ordered a couple of guards down to the orphanage earlier that day to acquire Nightshine’s file, though her duties and responsibilities in helping her sister with the Gala had kept her from opening it. If Celestia had known what she’d done, she most certainly would have received a stern talking-to.
But Luna had her suspicions. She had to know, and by the end of the night, she would.