//------------------------------//
// S1 E26: The Best Night Ever (What If?) 
// Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 17 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

For Princess Celestia, another Grand Galloping Gala had come and gone. This one was certain to be one to remember, not only for herself but for several ponies who had attended it. Which is exactly what the alicorn with a majestic coat of white had wanted. Granted, things had perhaps "escalated" beyond what she might have secretly hoped for. But in the end, nothing had been done that couldn't be undone in her opinion. Even some of the nobles who might take offense would forget and move on with time.

So, as she made her way back to the royal castle in Canterlot with only a few royal guards for company (for security's sake she wasn't allowed to travel alone, not even within the confines of Equestria's capital city), her thoughts were focused more of those her pupil: Twilight Sparkle. Twilight had come to the gala with her friends that she had known only for almost a year at this point, and Spike had been there too. For all of them, it had been their very first Grand Galloping Gala. Each of them had had dreams, desires, or even just hopes. And all of them had been greatly challenged by the night's events.

"Still, they have each other," Princess Celestia thought to herself as she roamed the empty streets of Canterlot. "That's always a good thing. Twilight has come such a long way in so short an amount of time. Pretty soon, there might not be anything left that I can teach her. Perhaps I'll need to adjust her lesson plan to account for that, no need to have her keep writing to me about friendship if she has nothing new to report." But those were thoughts and feelings for another day.

At last, Celestia reached the castle's front gate and strolled on in. Much like Canterlot itself at this time of night, the castle was more or less vacant. Only a hoofful or so of housekeeping staff were at work cleaning up from the gala's aftermath, everypony else had gone home or had retired for the night.

However, there was one pony who was waiting for the sun princess upon her return. Like Celestia, this pony was an alicorn, albeit one a bit smaller in stature. She had very familiar and recongizable eyes a shade of moderate cyan, like a cloudless sky during the day. This alicorn's coat was very dark blue, almost like a midnight sky. Only the tips of her hooves were different, they were a shade of light blue. Her mane and tail flowed not unlike Celestia's, but they were a moderate sapphire blue in color with a grayish-persian blue outline. The alicorn's cutie mark was a crescent moon, covered by a black patch on her flanks. And a similar black patch with a crescent moon appeared around her neck.

This smaller alicorn flashed a warm smile and bowed to Celestia. "Greetings, sister," She spoke in a polished, elegant tone of voice. "Tis splendid that we art able to see thou at such an odd hour of night."

Celestia had to put a hoof to her mouth to keep herself from giggling. Even so, a playful smirk formed on her face. "Luna," She greeted her little sister (with whom she had been reunited almost a year ago). "You know we've talked about this. There's no need for such formal language, or to speak in such old ponish ways. Times have changed."

"But is tradition to speak using the royal we," Princess Luna protested with a pout. "Thou cannot simply change tradition whenever thoust feel like it. Art we not princess? Art we not to speak as royalty? To use the Royal Canterlot Voice and the Royal Canterlot Tongue?"

The sun princess replied not unlike a mother correcting her child. "Nothing lasts forever, Luna. Clearly, we will have to work on getting you up to speed on modern Equestrian language and speech patterns. And you most certainly don't need to bow to me. We are sisters, we are equal. I know I didn't do the best job of showing it prior to your banishment," She then trotted forward and embraced her sister in a hug. "But I promise you, whatever differences we may still have, we will work through them together as family. We have each other. We ruled together before, and we'll rule together again as harmony intended."

The younger alicorn seemed to appreciate the hug and reassuring words her elder sister gave her. Even so, when the hug ended, she saw fit to ask. "Sister, how was the Grand Galloping Gala? Thou told us our presence would not be required for the function, yet thou also informed us that thy student and her friends wouldst be making an appearance. Why is that? What reason did thou have for allowing them to come to something as formal as the gala?"

"Oh, that," Celestia commented as she blinked in what appeared to be surprise. She quickly regained her composure, however, as she seemed to blush a bit. "Well, I must confess I had a bit of an alterior motive for inviting them all. I knew they had their expectations for the gala, and I really didn't wish to dampen their enthusiasm. It was my hope they would liven things up a little on what is otherwise a rather dull event in my opinion."

"And did thou not get thy wish?" Luna inquired. "From what we heard as we werest trying unsuccesfully to rest, it sounded as if there was quite the commotion that unfolded during the gala. Did thy student and her friends not live up to thy expectations?"

At that the sun princess seemed to smirk, chuckling in spite of her best efforts to avoid doing so. "They did, to an extent. But do I have a story for you, sister. You would not believe just how much Twilight Sparkle and her friends livened up this year's gala. I dare say, it will be talked about for years to come, perhaps even long after we are no longer around." And with that, she began to flashback to the events of the past twenty four hours. Some of which she remembered personally, and others of which she had been informed of by her student at a later time.

It was true what Celestia had said, the Grand Galloping Gala had most certainly been "livened up" by the actions of Twilight and her new friends. But even she could not have anticipated events unfolding the way they did.



The events that would lead to the... calamity of sorts at the gala had begun innocently enough: Twilight Sparkle and her friends, still in Ponyville during the day, had begun to prepare for what many of them believed would be the best night of their lives.

Pinkie Pie was excitedly bouncing up and down on a trampoline, all the while saying to herself in between bounces. "I... can't... believe... the Grand... Galloping... Gala... is... tonight!"

Rarity frowned as she came upon the scene, everypony having opted to come over to Carousel Boutique in order to put on their gala dresses. Seeing her pink party planning friend bouncing, she immediately protested. "Pinkie Pie! Stop that right now. It's time to prepare for the Gala, and I refuse to let you put on your new dress when you're all sweaty."

Pinkie ceased in her bouncing and came down from the trampoline. "Sorry, Rarity. But I'm just so excited! I never dreamed I'd get to go to something as grand as the Grand Galloping Gala! It's the biggest bash in all of Equestria! I can't truly call myself a party pony until I've been there. Seeing how the elite of Equestria party is just what I need to figure out how to make my parties here in Ponyville even better."

"Well, I just hope I'll have time to check in with Princess Celestia and give her a progress report on my friendship studies," Twilight commented with concern. "And hopefully, there'll still be time afterward for Spike and I to do something together. I know he's only going to the gala because we're all going too. And if Princess Celestia hadn't given us all tickets, I probably wouldn't have gone. I never bothered to attend the gala when I lived in Canterlot and studied with the princess. It just wasn't my cup of tea."

Rarity smiled. "But now you'll get to see what you've been missing out on, Twilight. And all of our friends will get a chance to live out our dreams," However, her happy mood faded as she then remarked with concern. "Where are the others? It's getting late."

Fortunately, at that very moment, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all came trotting up on the scene. "Hold your horses, girl. We're here," Applejack reassured the fashionista. "But are we sure we're gonna have time to get dressed up before we get to the gala? We should be gettin' down to the station to catch the train."

The studious unicorn then bit her lip. "Actually, Princess Celestia took the liberty of arranging special transportation just for us." She looked up to the sky as she said those words. And as if on cue, a massive chariot being pulled by four members of the royal guards (two at the front wheels and two at the back wheels) descended from the sky. It had a royal golden trim about and was painted a regal shade of red.

"Wow!" Everypony except Twilight all commented in amazement!

Twilight could only sigh and shake her head. "I told Princess Celestia she didn't have to keep doing things like this for us just because we helped reunite her with her sister. But she was quite insistent on letting us borrow one of her spare chariots. And as we all learned from Rarity's dresses, you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Splendid!" Rarity clapped her hooves in approval. "Now we have plenty of time to get dressed up before we have to be on our way. We will be the talk of all of Canterlot, we will!"

"Let's try not to let the attention go to our heads," Applejack warned. "Can't say the same for all of ya, but I for one ain't lookin' to make a scene."

"Enough talk," Rainbow Dash impatiently remarked. "Let's put on those dresses and head to the gala!" And so everypony trotted inside to put on the dresses Rarity had made for them a while back.





"Wait, sister!" Luna interrupted, abruptly putting an end to her elder sister's flashbacks. She immediately saw fit to question a particular detail. "How does thou about such events that transpired before the arrival of thy student and her friends? Surely, thou does not meanest to say that thou werest secretly spying on them, or does thou?"

Celestia was quick to shoot down the idea. "Of course I wasn't spying on them, Luna. I simply learned of some the events at a later time, when I had a chance to talk to Twilight and her friends personally. But that was at the end of the night, not the beginning. Now please allow me to continue with my story."

The younger alicorn blushed. "We art sorry, dear sister. We werest simply confused by the way this story was being told to us. We art still eager to hear what thou has to say, so thou may proceed at thy discretion."

The sun princess smiled. "Excellent. Now where was I?" It took her but a moment to recall where she was when she had been interrupted. "Oh yes, I remember: Twilight and her friends went and put on their gala dresses." And her story continued playing back in her mind, recalling the details her student had provided:

With their transportation issue resolved, the six mares had gone inside of Carousel Boutique to put on their gala dresses and otherwise make themselves look as presentable as possible. Tonight promised to be a very big night for them, and they wanted to look their best.

However, it seemed like it was taking a long time for all of these last minute preparations to be completed. As such, an impatient Spike knocked on the locked door that would normally lead to Rarity's workshop. "Hey, come on, girls. Let me in!" The little dragon demanded.

"Sure thing, Spike." Rainbow Dash called from the other side of the door and went to go open it.

Rarity immediately protested. "Heavens no, we're getting dressed!"

Applejack blinked in surprise at such a statement. "Dressed? Uh, beg pardon, Rarity, but, uh... we don't normally wear clothes." And then she opened the door, allowing Spike to enter without further fanfare.

Rather than be ashamed by what seemed like common sense, the fashionista unicorn hastily apologized to Spike. "Some of us do have standards."

Even so, when Spike entered the room he could see that most of the ponies had yet to put on their gala dresses. They were busy doing things like polishing their hooves, getting their manes styled with mane driers, or in Rarity's case styling their eyelashes (and for a second, Spike thought he could see them being "put on". He quickly dismissed the possibility of something so ridiculous). "What's been taking you girls so long?" He impatiently demanded. "We'll keep the guards waiting. Plus, if we have time before the gala, there's a lot of things I wanna show you. Twilight and I grew up in Canterlot, we know all the sights that there are to see. And we'll get to see them together, and go to the gala together, and hang out together!"

Fluttershy, however, nervously raised an objection to the proposal. "Um, I don't know if we'll have time for all of that, Spike. The Grand Galloping Gala is usually a once in a lifetime opportunity for ponies like us."

Rarity delicately reassured the dragon. "We'll just have to see, Spike."

Applejack then bluntly and honestly stated. "We're gonna be a mite busy tonight."

"Busy having fun, you mean." Pinkie Pie declared as she poked her mane out from under the drier. She had tried to style it so it was nice and flat, but it immediately poofed back to its original state as if it had a mind of its own.

Spike unhappily sighed as he realized how caught up everypony seemed to be in their plans for the gala. "Oh, right. You're all going to be doing your own things."

Twilight, however, reassured Spike. "Don't worry, Spike. I promise, we'll find time to do something you want to do. Either before the gala if there's time, or after it," She then put a hoof to her chin. "Do you suppose we'll see Princess Luna again? It's been a while since she was freed from her darker self, she should at least have regained some of her powers by now, right?"

"Who knows?" Rainbow Dash shrugged her hooves. "She's an alicorn, nopony really knows anything about them."





Eventually, all six mares had gotten dressed, and Spike had his tuxedo and matching top hat. From there, they all climbed into the chariot and were soon lifted into the air, bound for Canterlot.

When at last the chariot touched down outside the castle grounds, night had fallen on the city of Canterlot. The Grand Galloping Gala was in full swing! Countless ponies in finely dressed attire were strolling down a red carpet that had been laid out for all gala attendents. The castle itself stood out in bold detail, as if it had been freshly painted and lavishly decorated for the occasion.

Even Spike couldn't help but be impressed by what he saw! "Wow! Everything looks... amazing!"

Twilight took the lead in ushering everyone out of the chariot, saluting the guards as they flew off with it afterwards to park it somewhere (so as to give room for the many carriages carrying ponies arriving and departing). Even for somepony who hadn't cared much for parties, balls, and other affairs while living in Canterlot, something about the gala had gotten her all excited! "I can't believe we're finally here, girls!" She exclaimed with her eyes all aglow! "With all that we've imagined, all that we've been dreaming of, the reality of this night is sure to make this...the best night ever!"

It wasn't long before the six mares and dragon had made their way along the red carpet, reaching the entrance to the castle proper and thus the gala in all its glory. Already, excitement was running high!

"Yeah! This is gonna be the best night ever," Spike happily proclaimed, unaware that his friends already had their own destinations clear in mind. "You know why?" He didn't bother waiting for an answer, he gave one himself. "Cause we're all gonna spend time together!" Yet he had no sooner spoken those words than he saw all of his friends (save for Twilight) dart off in different directions! So excited were they that not one of them said so much as a word to him before they departed. Once again, reality started to slowly settle in for the little dragon. "Or not."

Twilight put a hoof around Spike, hoping to reassure him. "Sorry, Spike," She apologized. "Nopony wants to waste a minute. This night won't last forever, even if we wish it could," She was quick to offer. "Why don't you stick with me while I check in with Princess Celestia? I'm sure she'll want to see you too and get to know what you've been up to. I haven't even told her about my plan to adopt you yet."

But the little dragon brushed the hoof off and looked down at the ground. "No, Twilight. It's fine. I should've expected this. I never thought that our friends would have their own plans for tonight, plans that obviously I can't be part of," He began to sadly walk away while telling the studious unicorn. "If you need me, I'll be at Donut Joe's, drowning my sorrows in hot cocoa."

"I promise we'll come and see you when we're all done with the gala, then we can spend whatever's left of the night touring Canterlot together," Twilight vowed then and there, and called out to him. "And save a few donuts for us if you can." Spike didn't acknowledge hearing such a request. Though a bit troubled at Spike's unhappiness, Twilight decided it best not to intefere. Besides, she had come to the gala for a reason. It would be rather silly of her to turn it down now. Who knows when she'd next get an opportunity such as this to have a one on one audience with her mentor?

Sure enough, Princess Celestia was waiting at the stairway connected to the different wings of the castle. She was not wearing any sort of dress, and she did not have any royal guards there to keep watch and protect her. Yet as soon as she lay eyes upon Twilight, she was overjoyed!

Twilight was just as happy to see her mentor, and happily raced up the steps to approach the alicorn! "Princess Celestia!"

Princess Celestia smiled as Twilight trotted up to her. She happily embraced her student in a hug and greeted. "Twilight! It is so lovely to see you again, my star student."

"Feeling's mutual, princess," Twilight happily replied. "I've been looking forward to this meeting for a long time. I really can't think of a better opportunity. We have so much to catch up on, so much I want to tell you."

The sun princess nodded. "I'm sure you do, Twilight. That's why I would be honored to have you by my side the entire evening. That way we'll have plenty of time together, just like the old days."

"I was hoping you'd say that." The studious unicorn smiled anew as she took her place at her mentor's left side.





"Oh, I really wanted to hear more about Twilight's studies and how far she'd come. Getting her letters, it's not the same as having her in pony to talk to." Princess Celestia admitted as she paused in her recollection.

Princess Luna couldn't help but playfully smirk. "Thy affection for thy student runs deep. Tis almost as if thou seeth her as family."

The sun princess blushed a tiny bit. "Guilty as charged, Luna. Almost from day one, I've felt like Twilight could be the child I never had. She's unlike any other student I've ever known before," Then she coughed into a hoof. "But things didn't go exactly as we'd hoped they would for the evening. We didn't get much time to really talk to each other. It couldn't be helped, though. I really should've planned better."

"But thou said thou invited Twilight and her friends, so as to liven up the gala." The younger alicorn blinked in confusion.

Celestia slowly nodded. "True, true. Even so, Twilight not getting to really tell me anything about her friendship studies ended up being the least of her worries by the end of the night. After all, I haven't yet covered the actions of her friends. First, there was Rarity, who hoped to win the affection of my nephew."

At that the moon princess' face contorted in a pronounced frown. "Sister, thou is aware of the reputation said nephew has had with potential suitors. To everypony in Canterlot, tis a reputation that unfortunately preceeds him."

The older alicorn seemed to be smirking ever so faintly as she replied. "Oh I know. I meant to warn Rarity about it, really, I did. But it slipped my mind until it was too late to do anything about it. Still, I daresay she taught him a lesson he won't soon forget." And she began recalling what she had heard about Rarity's encounter with her soon to be anything but "Prince Charming", and events that had unfolded related to it.





Rarity had quickly spotted the object of her affection: Prince Blueblood! He had a coat a majestic shade of white, just like his adoptive aunt. He sported handsomely groomed locks a shade of blonde, arctic blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, and a cutie mark depicting a compass rose in shades of yellow and pink. He was wearing a black collar with yellow buttons, a blue bow tie around his neck, and a white lilly pressed into one side.

Rarity followed the prince as he left the interior of the castle and entered the confines of the royal garden. All the while, she was talking to herself, seeing as it was all she could do not to lose control of herself. "Hurry, Rarity, after him!" She trotted forward, adjusting her pace as she felt necessary. "Oh, but not too fast. Don't want to seem desperate. But then again, don't want to lose sight of him!" She stopped momentarily when she felt she was going too fast. "Have it to play it cool." She told herself.

Prince Blueblood was unaware of Rarity's conversation and actions. He in fact hadn't noticed he was being followed. He just continued trotting away at his lesiurely pace.

The fashionista followed the stallion, trying to keep up with him while not making it seem like she was stalking him. "Can't be cold!" She told herself. "I can't lose him, I can't! He's everything I imagined! Even better than I imagined. I can't believe I'll finally get to meet my prince charming!"

As Rarity was following Prince Blueblood from what she felt was a suitable distance, she was unaware that some of her friends also happened to be carrying out their own activities in the garden. Fluttershy, in particular, was looking forward to meeting the rare and exotic creatures she'd heard dwelt within the castle's grounds. Creatures she would never have a chance to see otherwise, as this was the one night of the year they were know to be visible and active.

The animal loving pegasus suddenly heard the sound of a bird chirping, and recognized at once what it was. "Oh my! A meadowlark! This is my lucky night!" And when she heard a whistle, she was sure it could only be coming from one source. The meadowlark was calling out to her. "This is exactly what I've always wished for!" She thought to herself! "At last, my dream's going to come true!" She thne happily followed the sound of the whistling, trying to locate its source.

While that was going on, Applejack was busy hauling a large stand painted a shade of red. The stand featured some of her family's apple treats that she'd helped to bake for just this occasion. She hoped to find a suitable spot to set it up in order to attract customers and make some money.

Suddenly, a masculine sounding voice called out. "Hey, you selling food here?!"

Applejack spun around in time to see a pegasus stallion clad in a navy blue flight suit approach her. When he got closer, it was possible for her to see ears, wings, and a nose a very pale cornflower blue in color. He had a dark grayish-blue mane and tail that hung loose against his body, and emerald green eyes. Above his eyes rested a pair of flight goggles. He had to be the owner of the voice who had called out to her just then.

In a friendly tone of voice, the farm mare greeted. "Well, not yet. I was lookin' for a place to get set up," Then she locked eyes with the stallion and asked him. "Ya hungry, partner?"

The pegasus stallion nodded. "As a horse!" His eyes immediately fell upon an apple pie resting atop the stand, and eagerly shouted! "I'll take that big apple pie you got there! I love pies!"

Applejack happily retrieved the pie as she set up her stand, giving it to the hungry pegasus stallion as he tossed over some bits to pay for it. "Thank you kindly, sir!" She declared, and then as she watched him depart with his treat she exclaimed! "Yeehaw! My first sale in my first minute of bein' here! That's gotta be a sign!" She then went back to her stand. "No sense just standin' around here. Gotta take the food to the customers." And she set off again, opting to trot around the garden in search of other potential ponies who might be interested in her confections.

As for the stallion who'd bought the pie, he brought it with him as he held it firmly in his mouth. He trotted out of the garden and back into the castle, so eager was he to dig into the apple pie.

Greeting the stallion by a roped off section was another pegasus pony. This one was a mare also wearing a navy blue flight jacket. Unlike the stallion, the color of her ears, nose, and wings were brilliant gold bordering on a shade of orange. Her mane and tail were two shades of firey orange, and she had strong orange eyes that currently looked young and playful. "Always hungry after a show, eh, Soarin?" She teased the stallion, thus revealing his identity to any who did not know.

"Yeah!" Soarin admitted with a giggle, momentarily forgetting he was holding the pie in his mouth. It slipped out and began to fall towards the ground! "My pie!" He gasped! Before Soarin had a chance to react, a rainbow colored blur swooped in and snatched the apple pie just before it could fall to the ground. He thanked the cyan coated pegasus mare who held up the pie and presented it to him. "You saved it. Thanks." Then he went off, lowered the pie to the ground, and began to eat it with just his face. In the process, he was making quite a mess.

"Hey, I know you!" The flight suit wearing pegasus mare said to the other pegasus mare. "You're the pony who won The Best Young Flyer Competition in Cloudsdale a while back."

"Hay yeah! Name's Rainbow Dash," Rainbow Dash greeted. "You're Spitfire, right? The captain of the Wonderbolts?"

"Yup, that's me," Spitfire said with a firm nod. "And it looks like your skills saved the day once again, Rainbow Dash," Chuckling, she added. "Well, they saved Soarin's apple pie, at least."

Soarin was too busy eating to do anything other than reply with a quick. "Yeah..."

Spitfire then offered to Rainbow Dash. "Hey, you wanna come hang out with us for a while? You know, seeing as you're something of a VIP too?"

Rainbow didn't need to think twice about accepting the offer. "Sure. Why not? Maybe we can go for a fly later too?"

"We'll see." The young captain cautiously replied, and then she and Soarin trotted in as the rope blocking off a portion of the ballroom was lifted up for them.

Rainbow followed, though not without squeeing and saying happily to herself! " I'm... hanging... with the... Wonderbolts! Oh, this is working out even better than I thought it would!" So far, it seemed like everypony's hopes and dreams for the Grand Galloping Gala were coming true.





As all of her friends were living out their dreams, confident that everything was going as they hoped it would, Pinkie Pie came happily bouncing into the ballroom. She was eager to learn how the ponies of Canterlot handled their parties! With any luck, maybe she'd even get a chance to add her own Pinkie Pie style to some of the festivities.

The pink party pony's blue eyes soon beheld the most magnificent of sights! Compared to the parties she was used to throwing, the Grand Galloping Gala was more than a step up in scale and splendor! "Ooh! Shiny dance floor!" She noticed a brightly colored dance floor with alternating black and white tiles. "And a fancy band too!" Scanning the ballroom, she saw four earth ponies who were all playing musical instruments: A cello, a tuba, a harp, and a piano.

So excited was Pinkie that she couldn't contain her excitement! "Gotta dance!" She said to herself, and started humming a little tune to herself as she bounced over to the dance floor! In the process, she made quite a scene. Ponies all around the ballroom stopped what they had been doing to stare at her, rather harshly in fact.

For a moment or two, Pinkie Pie was completely lost in her own world. She was having the time of her life, or so she thought! Now if only she could figure out how to replicate such magnificent features for her next Ponyville party, then she could truly call herself a party pony to end all party ponies!

But suddenly, the earth pony mare with a curly mane and tail had her fantasy abruptly ended. Something tipped her off to the fact that the other gala attendees in the ballroom with her were not smiling and laughing. Suddenly, she became all too aware of the silence she had brought with her antics. All eyes were on her, and none seemed to approve of what she had been doing.

Sheepishly, Pinkie blushed bright red with embarrassment. "Guess I had a little too much fun," She said with a nervous giggle as she trotted off for a table at the far end of the ballroom. "I'll just... sit here... and watch, I guess." Her tone of voice indicated how quickly her expectations had changed, and not for the better.

And as this was going on, Rarity finally had the pleasure of meeting the intended object of her affections face to face. Quite unexpectedly, however.

The fashionista had stopped momentarily to sniff at a rose, and when she opened her eyes again she found herself gazing into the eyes of Prince Blueblood in all his glory.

The prince spoke in exactly the tone of voice one would expect him to have. Yet, strangely, he didn't bow to the mare he had the pleasure of meeting. "Why hello there," He greeted. "I am Prince Blueblood. Who might you be, fair lady?"

It was all it took for Rarity to maintain her composure and answer. "I am... Rarity. I'm... delighted to finally meet you," Eager to change the subject and not seemed obsessed with the prince, she turned her attention to the rose and said. "Oh my, what a lovely rose, you have." She expected it to be given to her.

But instead Prince Blueblood picked it up with the soft golden glow of his horn, fastening it into one of the holes on his collar. "Oh, you mean... this rose? Why thank you, Miss. Rarity. It goes with my eyes. Nice to receive flowers for a change instead of always being asked to give them." And then he trotted away.

Rarity could only moan and grumble in displeasure. How had her prince missed so obvious a display of affection? So what if they'd just met, it was supposed to be polite and proper to present a rose to someone who was courting you. Still, she decided not to let it bother her. "It's just a mistake. I'm sure his true self will shine through once we've had time to t get to know each other. Can't rush these things." She thought to herself, and then trotted off after the stallion in the hopes of being able to spend more time with him.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was following the sound of the beautiful whistling that she was sure was coming from one of the rare creatures in the garden. Humming a tune to herself, she could hear the whistling grower louder and louder as she advanced deeper into the garden proper. At last the whistling grew so loud that she was sure she would find its source! Eagerly, she exclaimed to herself! "The little meadowlark is just around the corner! I can feel it!" Then she shouted! "Wait for me, little meadowlark! I won't be long!"

Yet when the animal loving pegasus rounded a bend, her hopes were almost immediately dashed upon discovering what the source of the whistling actually was. It was not a meadowlark, but a crusty old earth pony stallion with a dull brown coat. He had a gray mane and tail cut short, and faded green eyes. He was wearing a rumpled hat a shade of earthly green, and over his flanks rested a torn blue cloth (which covered up his cutie mark). The stallion was currently pushing a rake with his hooves, whistling a tune to himself as he did so.

An unhappy Fluttershy reluctantly asked the stallion. "Was that you I heard?"

"Yup," The stallion replied. "I'm Mr. Greenhoves, the official royal groundskeeper. And I love to whistle while I work." And he went back to whistling just as he'd finished speaking.

The animal loving pegasus reluctantly trotted away, just the tiniest bit unhappy about having been led astray. Fortunately, her hopes were raised when she spotted a whole bunch of exotic looking animals in a clearing just up ahead! She eagerly raced towards the animals! "My friends!" She shouted at the top of her lungs! Said shouting unfortunately ended up causing the animals to flee. Fluttershy was once again left with a feeling of disappointment. "Me and my big mouth." She lamented.





Rainbow Dash was having no better luck on her end back inside the ballroom. Spitfire and Soarin seemed to be the only Wonderbolts attending the gala (she thought she overheard Spitfire saying something about the other Wonderbolts having been called away for an emergency), and that unfortunately meant that countless ponies wanted to talk to them or have their picture taken with them. Spitfire and Soarin were too distracted to pay any attention to their invited guest, despite Rainbow's best attempts to engage them in conversation (even yelling in the hopes of being overhead).

In the main hallway, Twilight tried to take advantage of an absence of crowds to talk to Princess Celestia. Instead of jumping straight into a progress report, however, something that had just caught her attention was brought up instead. "Um, Princess Celestia? Why aren't you dressed for the gala? And how come there aren't any royal guards here even though you've always had guards with you whenever you travel somewhere?"

Turning away from the front entrance for a moment, Princess Celestia engaged her pupil. "I'm not really attending the gala, I'm just here to oversee it and greet ponies as they come in," She explained. "I don't really need guards while I'm inside the castle. I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself. Plus, I have guards stationed outside checking ponies as they arrive and depart to prevent theft. I'm sure they'd catch any trouble makers."

The studious unicorn breathed a small sigh of relief at that. "That's good, I guess. Now, about my friendship studies... well actually, there's something related to them I wanted to talk to you about. You see recently I..."

But just then the sound of impatient chatter from ponies alerted the sun princess to the fact that a long line had formed behind her in the brief amount of time she had not been paying attention. She quickly spun around. "Oh, my apologies, everypony," She extended a hoof and began briefing exchanging greetings with one pony after another. "Welcome to the gala. Thank you for coming. Nice to see you again."

Twilight unhappily sighed. A perfect opportunity for a progress report had been squandered. "Hope you're all having better luck on your end, girls." She said to herself, as she saw that the line of ponies wanting to talk to (or even just greet) Princess Celestia didn't seem to be diminishing even the slightest.

And as for Applejack, well, she hauled her stand all around the garden in the hopes of finding more customers to try her various apple treats. But despite her best salespony efforts, nopony was interested. Some even trotted right past her stand without even looking at it. The only sale she'd had at all this night was from that one pegasus who'd bought an apple pie. "I don't get what I'm doin' wrong," She muttered to herself as she slumped next to her cart. "Only one sale in sixteen minutes? This ain't goin' great."

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and even Twilight all had to admit they had similar thoughts and feelings. None of their hopes, dreams, or expectations had been met so far this night.

But none of the six mares were willing to give up so easily! So what if the Grand Galloping Gala was shaping up to be a disappointment so far? The night was still young, there was still plenty of time for things to turn around if they just tried a little harder.





"So it was that Twilight Sparkle and her friends began to resort to drastic measures to try to make their dreams come true." Princess Celestia told her sister as she paused once again in her recollections.

"And we art to take it that thou did not plan for any of the events that followed to happen, even though thou should have informed thy student and her friends about things such as our nephew's reputation, or the exotic creatures being extremely shy?" Princess Luna questioned with what sounded like skepticism.

The sun princess was quick to answer. "Of course not, Luna. Never in my wildest imagination could I have anticipated any of the events that were to unfold. Much as I had hoped for the gala to be livened up, I would not have allowed things to get nearly as out of control as they did. My plan worked perhaps a bit too well."

"It would sound as if it did," The younger alicorn replied. "But we shalt decide for ourselves after thou hast told us the rest of thy story."

Celestia nodded, and continued reliving the memories as best she had been able to piece together. "Very well, Luna. The first pony to truly change her approach was Fluttershy, who quickly lost her patience and thus her temper."

Indeed, Fluttershy was already getting desperate, doing something she normally would never do to any animal. She was setting up a net, and using a carrot as bait in the hopes of trapping some unsuspecting creature. "Just like Twilight and Rainbow Dash always say, I have to be bold and assertive," She said to herself. "If they won't come to me, I'll make them come to me. I will make them love me if it takes all night." 

As the animal lovng pegasus spoke it was possible to see her left eye twitching ever so slightly, which unnerved some of the animals who could still see her. Undeterred by this, she just cleared her throat and began to retreat, while holding a rope that, once released, would drop the net. "I'm so sorry to have scared you, my friends! But I'm leaving now, so you can all come out!" She intentionally spoke as loudly as possible, something she wasn't used to doing. Then she retreated to what she thought was a safe distance. Then she waited, and waited, and waited some more.

At last, the sound of something munching away on the carrot alerted the pegasus mare to the fact that an animal had emerged from hiding. "Now I gotcha!" She shouted and let go of the rope, dropping the net right on top of the unsuspecting creature. She then rushed over to her trap, eager to see what sort of animal she had caught. "Sorry I had to do this, but I just wanted to be your friend." She tried to apologize as sincerely as possible.

However, when Fluttershy inspected her trap, she discovered that instead of an animal she had snagged Mr. Greenhooves. Mr. Greenhooves, undeterred, just lifted the net off of himself and said. "Sounds good to me. The only friends I've known before have been the animals, and they don't talk much."

A groan escaped Fluttershy's lips as she watched the gardner trot off. Her trap was perfect, if only he hadn't shown up to ruin it! And so she vowed! "I'll catch you yet, my pretties! Oh yes! Just wait! Sooner or later, I will catch you! And then you'll be mine! All mine!" She proceeded to let out a laugh that, coupled with her twitching eye, betrayed her loosening grip on sanity and reason. It never occurred to her once that such a display was frightening the animals further, making it less likely for them to come out and see her.

Back inside the ballroom, meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had quickly decided that drastic measures would have to be taken if she wanted Spitfire or Soarin (or hopefully both of them) to notice her for more than a few seconds. Since she was within a confined space, any sort of flying or aerial acrobatics were out of the question. But that was okay, the rainbow maned speedster had plenty of impressive athletic skills that were completely unrelated to flying.

After quickly glancing around to confirm that nopony was looking, Rainbow not so secretly stuck out one of her back legs and kicked it! The kick knocked an unsuspecting unicorn stallion into the air for all of a few seconds! Then, Rainbow swooped in and grabbed him in mid-air. "You're welcome." Was all she bothered to say.

Spitfire happened to glance over from where she had been looking. She appeared to smile ever so faintly. "Not bad, Rainbow Dash. Kind of reminds me of me." But then she turned back to where she had been before and went on talking with somepony else.

Soarin, for his part, made no acknowledgement that he had witnessed Rainbow's little "stunt". He was too busy having his picture taken, and licking his lips to try to get the last few crumbs of his apple pie off his face.

The brash speedster snorted and narrowed her eyes. "What's it gonna take to make them notice me?!" She impatiently thought to herself! "How can I impress them if they won't even look at me?!" Clearly, far more dramatic (and drastic) performances would need to be performed.

Meanwhile, Rarity had followed Prince Blueblood back into the ballroom. She wasn't willing to let a bad first impression get in the way of her romantic dreams. "Just give him a chance, Rarity. His princely side is sure to come out if you're just patient." She said to herself, all the while she paid no attention to anything or anypony else.

Suddenly, the prince cried out and extended a hoof to Rarity! "Miss Rarity! Stop!"

The fashionista obeyed without hesitation. It took but a moment for her to see that she had just been about to step into a very large puddle of water. That would not have been pleasant in the slightest, and she was grateful for having been saved from an embarrassing fate. " Oh. Prince Blueblood! How chivalrous of you." She said and tried not to blush.

Prince Blueblood just smiled and bowed his head. "Think nothing of it, fair lady. I simply knew that it would be a travesty for one to slip and fall. One might easily break a leg, or an arm."

"Oh, indeed. One certainly would hate for that to happen," Rarity commented and smiled. "Thank you for noticing that puddle for me," Then a matter of great concern came to her. "But what are we going to do about it? We cannot simply walk around it, it's far too big."

"And teleportation is out of the question, I am not skilled enough to perform such a feat," The prince explained. "There is but one solution: One's cloak should easily take care of the problem." Then he turned to look at his accompanying companion for the evening.

The fashionista unicorn blinked in surprise. Why was the prince looking at her? Then, suddenly, it dawned on her. "What? Me?"

Blueblood firmly nodded. "I was kind enough to point out the puddle and save you from a nasty fall. It's only natural you return the favor by doing something chivalrous for me. You certainly didn't expect me to cover up that puddle, did you?"

Rarity grumbled as she reluctantly removed the cloak from her dress and threw it over the puddle, watching it get soaking wet before Blueblood trotted over it without fanfare. So much for chivalry.

And while Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were all dealing with their own problems, Pinkie Pie felt like she had found a way to solve hers. The best way to liven up a party of any sort was with a song. She zipped over to the stage, whispering things into the ears of the ponies that made up the fancy band. Then, hopping up onto the stage proper, she grabbed a microphone and gave it a tap. "C'mon, everypony! I know what will make you shake those groove-thangs!" She declared with a bright smile. "Let's do The Pony Pokey!"

When at last the song had ended, Pinkie Pie stood on the stage and waited to bask in the applause she was sure would be directed her way.

The gala participants, however, did not applaud Pinkie's performance. In fact, one finely dressed earth pony mare in a dazzling pink coat berated the party pony. "Young lady, you ought to be ashamed of yourself! I don't know what you think this is, but I will have you know that the Grand Galloping Gala is not that kind of party." And everypony in the ballroom turned to leave.

Rather than realize the obvious, however, Pinkie said to herself. "Ohhhhhh... I get it now. They don't want to party. These ponies want a paaartay!" Of course, now it all made sense. The ponies of Canterlot got all dressed up for these fancy parties because they were the greatest parties in all of Equestria. Well, she could give it to them. She would just need to gather up some emergency "supplies" first.

And what about Applejack? Well, as it turned out, she had the good fortune of coming across Rarity and Prince Blueblood as the unhappy couple had left the ballroom and returned to the garden.

Blueblood was anything but pleased when he saw Applejack's stand. "You can't be serious, Miss. Rarity." He snorted and turned his snout upward in disapproval.

Rarity just flashed a knowing wink. "Oh but Blueblood, darling, you simply must try this food. It is absolutely divine. You've never tasted food like this before. It's my treat," Then to Applejack she placed an order. "Two apple fritters, please."

"Comin' right up," Applejack proudly proclaimed as she promptly produced the tasty treats for the two ponies. But even though they were for a friend, she couldn't bring herself to offer them for free. Informing the couple, she stated in no uncertain terms. "That'll be four bits, please. Ain't exactly runnin' a charity, you know."

"Right," Rarity nodded, and then glared at Prince Blueblood when he did not pay as she had been expecting. "Ahem." She audibly cleared her throat, hoping he'd take the hint.

The snobbish prince just "Ahem"ed right back at Rarity.

"Ahem!" Rarity tried again, much more forcibly.

But the prince just "Ahem"ed even louder and turned away, refusing to look at either Rarity or Applejack.

The fashionista reluctantly folded, much to her dismay. "Oh, alright. It is for a good cause, after all."

Yet the farm mare firmly insisted with a shake of her head. "No need, Rarity. It's on the house."

Yet Rarity produced four bits and hoofed them to Applejack anyway. "No, Applejack. I can't ask you to do that. You need the money more than I do. You're just trying to help your family, after all."

Applejack unhappily sighed. "Yeah, but so far I've got nothin' to show for it. You and the prince are the first customers I've had in almost an hour. I've only had one other sale this entire night! Can you believe it?!"

Meanwhile, Prince Blueblood reluctantly sampled the apple fritter given to him. After all, it was rude to decline food that someone else had paid for. Yet as soon as he took one bite of his apple fritter, his eyes widened in shock and disgust! He gagged and spat at the ground! "What is all this?!" He growled! "I had hoped the taste would be better than appearance led me to believe. But I see I was right to judge this book by its cover!"

"Why you!" Applejack snarled and narrowed her eyes! "How dare you disrespect my family's cookin' like that! I've got half a mind to teach you some manners, prince!"

"You wouldn't dare do anything to me! I'm of royal blood!" The prince boasted! "You, on the other hoof, are a mere peddler trying to con bits out of unsuspecting ponies like myself!" Then he turned to Rarity. "Is this your idea of a good time, Miss. Rarity? Fritters! Dumplings! Caramel apples! My royal lips have touched common carnival fare! At least the other mares who've had the privilege of courting me took me out for fine dining." And he trotted off in disgust and disappointment.

Rarity followed after the prince, her frustration with him ready to boil over at a moment's notice. "And just where are you going now, prince charming?" She sarcastically taunted with a roll of her eyes.

The snobbish stallion kept his head and snout turned up as he declared. "To the buffet table for some... hors d'oeuvres. And if you ask nicely, I might just save a little something for you. But don't count on it. You're skating on thin ice with me."

"I can't take much more of this! He is anything but the prince of my dreams!" Rarity thought to herself. Why had she been putting up with him all evening?

Applejack, meanwhile, had overheard Prince Blueblood's mention of a "buffet table". Needless to say, it sparked a realization in her. "Well, no wonder nopony wants to try my food. They're fillin' up on those fancy-schmancy vittles," She stomped a hoof. "I'll show them! My family's down-home apple cookin' is plenty good enough for this crowd. I just need to dress 'em up a little." And she set off to do just that.





"Sister," Princess Luna interrupted yet again. "Thou meanst to tell us that thou not only neglected to inform Rarity about thy adopted nephew's behavior, and neglected to inform Fluttershy about the shyness of the creatures in the royal garden, but also neglected to tell Applejack that there wouldst be catering at the gala?"

Princess Celestia sheepishly looked down at the ground in shame as her face flushed pink. "Not by intention, Luna. I really, truly did mean to tell them. But I've been so busy, not just with planning the gala, but with so many other things. You know, like breakfast with Mayor Mare, or having to deal with a parasprite infestation in Fillydelphia. The details about the gala just sort of... slipped my mind."

Luna raised a brow in skepticism. "Sister, forgive us if we art suspicious of such a claim. Thou did admit that thou wast hoping thy student and her friends wouldst liven up the gala, after all. How art we to know that thou did not intentionally choose not to inform them, so as to provide them with more motivation and encouragement to do what they did?"

Celestia lifted her head slowly, and somehow managed to regain her composure. "Trust me, Luna. I did not intend for any of what ultimately unfolded that night to unfold exactly the way it did. Even if I had hoped for Blueblood to be put in his place, and even if I had hoped for the gala to be livened up, the chaos that unfolded was not at all what I had planned. It was truly a not so happy accident. Though in my defense, nopony ended up getting hurt."

The younger alicorn then questioned her elder sister. "So what is it that ended up occuring at the gala that was not at all what thou had planned? What is it that thou hast been building towards all this time with thy story?"

The elder alicorn sister cleared her throat. Everything she had been talking about up to this point had been building up to this. "Well, Luna, it all started in the ballroom when Pinkie Pie decided to give the gala participants the kind of party she thought they wanted." And once again, she began recalling the memories from what she had been told about after the fact.

In the ballroom, Pinkie Pie had somehow managed to bring in a large turntable and turned on a musical record. That got the attention of all the nobles and other gala participants, who all stopped to look at her. "Alright! Come on, everypony! This is what you all wanted, right? You wanted a partay? Cause now it's a paaartaaay!" She happily squealed, running all about to try to get ponies to dance to the beat of the music playing from the turntable! "Oh yeah!"

Just then, Applejack came into the ballroom, pushing a large cart upon which rested a truly massive cake with pink and yellow frosting. She didn't seem fatigued in the slightest while doing so, instead proudly proclaiming to the ponies. "Okay, all you high-class ponies. Here's a highfalutin apple cake for your hoity-toity taste buds. This'll put any of that stuff at your buffet table to shame, I guarantee it!"

But it was at that very moment that Pinkie made a most costly mistake. "Stage dive!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and shut her eyes as she jumped right off the stage without even looking! She landed on the other side of Applejack's cart, tipping it over and hurling the huge apple cake into the air!

The cake flew right towards Prince Blueblood, who hastily did the only thing he could think to do in so desperate a situation: He shoved Rarity in front of him, shamelessly using her as a shield. Poor Rarity had no time to react as the cake came down and splattered all over her, covering her coat and dress in frosting!

"Really? Really?!" Rarity snarled with a sneer as she turned around to face Prince Blueblood! "How can you treat a lady like this?! I can see now why nopony else has yet offered to marry you."

Prince Blueblood only coldly sneered. "So what? You think you're something special just because you had the privilege of being in my company? You are no different than the double dozen or so other mares who have courted me. There's nothing special about you at all, Miss. Rarity."

At that, the fashionista lost all patience she might still have had. She was quite determined to give this pompous prince a piece of her mind, and she proceeded to do so without care for who might see. "Oh, that's it! I have had it up to here with you!" She snapped, glaring at the prince. "You, sir, are by far the most uncharming prince I've ever had the displeasure of knowing. In fact, the only thing royal about you is that you are a royal pain in the neck!"

The prince whimpered, clearly not used to being called out for his behavior. He tried to shrink from Rarity's gaze as he held up his hooves and cowered in a corner. "S-stay back! I... I've just had myself groomed!"

"Oh, what's the matter, prince?" Rarity sarcastically taunted. "Afraid to get dirty?!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Blueblood protested, but was soon proven wrong when Rarity shook off the frosting from her face. It was flung all over the prince, who backed away in fright and disgust! As he did so, he unfortunately bumped into one of the large statues in the ballroom, knocking it off its pedestal.

Rainbow Dash immediately rushed to grab it! "I got this!" She boasted, delighted with another chance to show off. She was sure to impress Spitfire and Soarin with this! She quickly caught the statue, only to find out that she had severely underestimated its weight. "Uh, okay... um... might need a little help here!" She nervously called, before she lost her balance! She moved one way and then another, trying to keep the statue from slidding off her. In the process, she knocked loose several columns that fell one by one. Then the statue itself fell and broke, and all eyes fell upon the brash speedster in an instant.

Twilight and Princess Celestia had both heard the sound of a loud crash coming from the ballroom, and it made them jump! "What was that?!" Princess Celestia gasped as her attention was diverted away from greeting ponies.

"I'm sure it's nothing!" Twilight nervously insisted. "I'll go check!" She then lit up her horn and teleporated away, soon appearing in the ballroom. There, she was horrified to find everything in a state of chaos and pandemonium. And it was clear to her that her friends (or at least four of them) had caused it, all of them now looking quite ashamed.

Even so, the studious unicorn saw fit to tempt fate by asking. "How could things get any worse?"

And as if the universe had heard that declaration, the doors at the other end of the ballroom suddenly burst open! Exotic animals came running in, all of them clearly frightened of something! Or rather, somepony. That somepony was Fluttershy, who was panting heavily. "No... come back..." She shouted at the animals! " You're... going to LOVE ME!"

Twilight was horrified at the sight she was witnessing! Her friends were turning the gala into a disaster, a disaster that threatened to endanger the lives of innocent ponies if it wasn't stopped soon. To make matters worse, she could hear the hoofsteps of the approaching Princess Celestia (who had no doubt heard Fluttershy's shout and had decided to investigate). The studious unicorn now began to panic! What would the princess have to say if she discovered who was responsible for all of the destruction and devestation that had unfolded here?

Suddenly, an idea came into the unicorn mare's mind. It was the only thing she could think to do in this situation. She quicky gave a whistle and shouted to her friends. "We have to go, now!" And she raced to gather up her five friends before any of them could say or do anything in protest.

The six mares thus fled from the ballroom while everypony else was still in a state of shock. So frantic and desperate was their escape, that their gala dresses became torn and shredded. And in the process, Rarity happened to lose one of the glass slippers she had been wearing.

Pinkie Pie noticed this and called out to her fashion friend. "Ooh! Rarity, your glass slipper! Now your prince is sure to find you. Isn't that great?"

A look of utter horror flashed in the fashionista's beautiful blue eyes! She immediately picked up the slipper with her magic and tossed it out of the nearest window, causing it to shatter! Then she grabbed Pinkie by the hoof without saying a word, and took off as fast as her now bare hooves could carry her!





"Ah," Princess Luna commented in realization, once again ending the story telling for the time being. "So that explains all the nose that we heard whilst we were trying to sleep."

"Yes, sister," Princess Celestia confessed. "And by the time I reached the ballroom, Twilight and her friends had already fled. There was little I could do except clean up. I had to declare a premature end to the gala. And many of the ponies attending it were anything but pleased."

Luna remarked. "As they very well should be. Tis very rude to disrupt such an important gathering as the gala, regardless of whether thou meant to or not. Thy student and her friends owe everypony an apology for causing so much trouble, and not even staying to clean up after themselves. Surely, some of them werest raised better than that."

But Celestia protested with a shake of her head. "It's really my fault, Luna. I should've better informed them about the gala and about some of the things they were looking forward to. Even if I wanted things to be livened up, that's no excuse for allowing myself to be so distracted with other things that I couldn't inform Applejack about the catering, or Rarity about what my nephew is really like."

"But thou got thy wish in the end, sister," The night princess pointed out. "The gala was indeed livened up as thou hoped. And thy nephew was finally taught a lesson, just as thou intended. Tis not unlike how thou told us that thou had prepared for our return, even when it was as Nightmare Moon."

The sun princess then protested further. "Yet you know as well as I do that my plans didn't go exactly as I had hoped. I did not expect Nightmare Moon to come after me again, confident that she would remember last time. And by the time I realized I was her target, she had already imprisoned me within the confines of the castle, preventing me from aiding Twilight as I had hoped. It was fortunate for both of us that Twilight proved resiliant, and that she made friends as I had hoped she would. The Grand Galloping Gala is another case where any plans I might have had quickly got away from me. I am just as much to blame for what happened as Twilight and her friends."

Surprised by her elder sister's confession, the younger alicorn could only ask. "Did thou ever apologize to thy student and her friends for what thou unintentionally allowed to happen?"

Celestia's mood began to perk up ever so faintly, as she began to recall. "Yes. And you would not believe where I met them when I had to confess to my unintentional role in their bad night." And this is how the rest of her story unfolded:

Spike was sitting at the counter top at Donut Joe's donut shop. He had only Donut Joe for company, Donut Joe being a unicorn stallion with a light amber coat, a mane and tail that were short in style and a moderate organish-brown in color, eyes were a modest sap green, and a cutie mark that was a donut. Joe was currently wearing a white button vest and a matching hat.

The little dragon had been passing the night with mugs of hot cocoa and lots of donuts. He had been the only customer. And so, he was currently grumbling as he said to Donut Joe. "Hey, Donut Joe. Another donut, please."

Donut Joe trotted over and eyed Spike with skepticism. "Don't you think you've had enough for one night, little guy?"

Spike furiously pounded the table and slammed his half empty mug of hot cocoa down! "Listen, I'll tell you when I've had enough!" He then demanded! "Now bring me another donut, with extra sprinkles!"

Joe reluctantly agreed. "Okay, okay!" But before he could go fill the order, he was alerted to the arrival of other potential customers when the bell above his shop's front door rang audibly. A smile crept onto his face when he saw a very familiar looking unicorn mare with a light purple coat come trotting in, accompanied by five mares he didn't recognize. "Well well, Twilight Sparkle," He greeted with a friendly laugh. "Long time no see. You here to pick up your little dragon?"

Twilight shook her head from side to side. "No, Joe. You got room at the table for a couple of friends of mine?"

Spike smiled as he got off the counter top, and came over to greet Twilight and her friends. "You're back already, girls? How was your big night?"

Twilight sighed as she trotted over to one of the empty tables and sat down, then motioned for Spike and for her friends to join her. "Have a seat, Spike. It's a long story." Once everyone was seated at the table, she and her pony friends began talking all at once, each of them telling Spike how their big night had turned into one of disappointment.

The little dragon was quite surprised by what he heard. And when the story had ended, he could only comment in surprise. "Wow!  That sounds more like the worst night ever!"

"It was." The six mares all said in unison, and then they all laughed.

Once the laughter had died down, however, Twilight Sparkle could only lament. "I just hope Princess Celestia isn't upset with us for ruining the gala."

But it was at that very moment that the sun princess appeared in the doorway, and in her usual cheerful tone of voice she declared. "Oh, you needn't worry. Nothing was done that can't be fixed. And personally, I'd say that was the most eventful Grand Galloping Gala I've ever seen!" She proceeded to trot over to join her student and her friends.

The studious unicorn blinked in shock and surprise. "What?! Pardon me, princess, but tonight was just awful. And what my friends and I did..." She hung her head in shame. "There's really no excuse for it. You invited us all to the gala, and we made a mess of it."

Princess Celestia simply replied. "Well, the gala's always been rather boring to me. It's really a formal event dating back to just after Luna and I took the throne. I must sadly confess that it had become routine, and rather dull. That is why I invited you all. I hoped you would liven up the gala this year, and you did."

At that Twilight gasped! "You knew all of this would happen?!"

Celestia shook her head from side to side and retorted. "Not exactly. I most certainly could not have anticipated events unfolding the way it did," Then she apologized. "I have to confess I bare some responsibility for the calamity as well. There are certain things I had wanted to inform of you earlier, but I allowed them to slip my mind until it was too late."

"But it's still our fault the gala turned out the way it did," Applejack insisted. "We all let ourselves get carried away with tryin' to make our dreams come true."

"Some of which we could easily make come true on our own time if we really want to," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "I don't need some fancy gala to hang out with the Wonderbolts and impress them. I already got to know them after the Best Young Flyer Competition. And I'm sure if I keep doing what I've been doing, the Wonderbolts will eventually take notice."

Rarity added. "And I really should've known better than to believe I could find true love in the span of a single night. Especially with somepony I hadn't even met before."

"Even if the animals were shyer than me, I never should've tried to force them to love me. I wouldn't like it if somepony tried to do that to me." Fluttershy commented in realization.

And even Pinkie Pie had to admit. "Guess I didn't really understand what made the gala so unique. But I definitely learned a few things about what not to do at a party."

Applejack could only sigh and lament. "Shucks, guess it was a lot to expect to be able to make enough money in the span of one night to solve all my family's problems. Still, I really thought I'd do better than I actually did."

Princess Celestia only smiled. "Applejack, I know how important Sweet Apple Acres is to Ponyville. I'm sure we can work something out to solve at least one of the problems your family is facing."

Twilight, meanwhile, glumly commented. "I'm sorry you had to see my friends like this tonight, Princess Celestia. Here I was hoping to give you a progress report and show you how far I've come since I began my friendship studies. I'd understand if you might have second thoughts about it all."

But the sun princess protested with a smile. "Nonsense, Twilight. I've seen the bond you and your friends have. I've felt it through every letter you've ever sent to me. One bad night isn't enough to make me doubt you or your studies. And you don't need to give me a progress report in pony. You've accomplished so much in so short an amount of time. But friendship is an ongoing study, there's always something new to learn. And I know you'll continue to make me proud no matter what," Then she added with a wink. "As a matter of fact, I believe you and your friends have all learned a very important lesson tonight."

The studious unicorn blinked for a moment. Then it dawned on her. "I think I get what you're trying to say, princess. Friends have a way of making even the worst of times into something pretty great. Even if the Grand Galloping Gala didn't turn out exactly like it hoped, we still have each other. And being together has truly made it..."

Then came a chorus from the six mares still in their torn, tattered gala dresses. "-The best night ever!" And then they all laughed, especially once Spike pointed out that being together was exactly what he had wanted to do the most.





"From there, I started talking with not just Twilight but with all of her friends, and even Spike," Princess Celestia explained as she finished her story. "And that's how I learned just what had happened at the gala that had caused such a disturbance."

"Ah, now it all makes sense," Princess Luna commented as she absorbed the last bits of information. "Thy student and her friends truly are incredible, sister. We can see why they werest able to purge us of our darker self and set us free."

Celestia nodded. "Indeed, Luna. The Elements of Harmony are safe with them. The future of Equestria looks bright."

The night princess then declared. "Perhaps we should pay them a visit ourselves, so that we might see for ourselves just how special thy student and her friends are."

The elder alicorn was quick to caution. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Luna? I haven't told them yet about how... different you look from the last time they saw you."

"We have spent far too much time in the background, slowly regaining our powers, sister," Luna firmly protested. "Tis time we made ourselves known to all of Equestria again. For how else does thou propose we art to change our reputation?"

Princess Celestia only commented. "At least maybe hold off for a while, Luna. I think Twilight and her friends will all need time to readjust after what went down at the gala tonight."