“Thanks for all the help, Twilight,” Bon Bon wiped some sweat from her brow, “You have no idea how busy I’ve been since we, you know, defeated Nightmare Moon.” The mare continued to crush colorful gems that she’d be using for rock candy.
“You’re welcome. I wanted to see your business, anyway.” Twilight smiled wearily. She was using magic to wrap the candy up so they’d be ready for purchase.
“What do you think of Bon Bon’s One Stop Sweet Shop?” The owner smiled as she said the name of her place. It was very colorful inside, as the thought of candy provoked.
“It’s beautiful, Bon Bon…” Spike stated with a dreamy look in his eyes. It had taken him a full ten minutes to get ready to come, since he kept insisting that his spines weren’t straight.
Twilight chuckled. “The alliteration is nice, and the candy’s pretty good.” Bon Bon smiled thankfully just as Spike belched flames. The dragon blushed in embarrassment at this and apologized to the beige mare profusely. Twilight lifted up the letter and opened it.
“…Two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?” Both Spike and Bon Bon stopped talking and looked over at Twilight. Spike jumped onto his friend’s back and whispered into her ear.
“Twi! You gotta let me have them so I can go with Bon Bon, please!” The dragon clutched Twilight’s neck a little too tightly.
“Sorry Spike…look at what Princess Celestia wrote…” The unicorn levitated the letter into Spike’s grasp. He snatched it and began reading aloud.
“My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Enclosed are two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala that I would like you to attend with one guest. I hope to catch up with you once there. Signed, Princess Celestia.” He looked up from the letter with an upset expression.
“Never mind… I don’t want to go to a girly thing like that.” He frowned.
“The Grand Galloping Gala? You mean, the Grand Galloping Gala?” Bon Bon stared at Twilight with a hopeful glint in her eyes. “Can I go with you?”
“Oh no you don’t, Bon Bon!” Somepony shouted before the unicorn could say yes. Lyra Heartstrings was standing in one of the candy-filled aisles. She trotted up and pushed Bon Bon away comically.
“Can I go to the Grand Galloping Gala with you, Twilight?” The lavender mare looked between the two, torn.
Bon Bon got Lyra off of her and spoke with an edge in her voice. “I asked first, Lyra. Besides, if I can go to the Grand Galloping Gala…It’ll jump-start my business! I’ll pass out flyers that show my place and discreetly mention that I’m the bearer of the Element of Honesty.” She smiled as if in a daydream. “Then maybe I’ll finally be able to afford that cotton candy machine!”
“That’s no good, Bon Bon!” Lyra shook her head in mock woe, “When I go to the Grand Galloping Gala, I’ll do my totally awesome stand-up comedian act. Everypony will laugh so much and beg me to give up trying to do music and instead become a comedian! You don’t understand how much that’d mean to me.”
Both mares watched Twilight pleadingly. The unicorn gulped and tried to imagine Lyra actually making somepony laugh with her antics. Not very likely.
“You’d give up on your special talent?” Spike questioned, looking confused. Lyra stopped all movement before plastering on a very fake smile.
“Well…Yeah…” Lyra scuffed a hoof. “I’ll never be as good as Octavia; I don’t even know why it’s my special talent. I’m not good at it, and Ponyville isn’t exactly…a music place…” Twilight suddenly felt depressed.
“Anyways…” Lyra composed herself, “You’ll give it to me, right?”
Twilight knew that she’d never be able to pick somepony over the other. Luckily, her stomach rumbled, giving her the perfect excuse to escape.
“Oh, would you look at that. I’ll get back to you girls on this after some food.” The two mares didn’t get a chance to speak before Twilight darted out of there. Spike was only just able to latch onto her tail.
Once out of immediate danger, Twilight stopped cantering and sighed. “How am I supposed to pick somepony to come with me to the Grand Galloping Gala, Spike?”
“YOU HAVE AN EXTRA TICKET TO THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA TWILIGHT SPARKS?!” Derpy Hooves flew right into Twilight’s face. The unicorn flinched when everypony within earshot turned to look at her. “I’ve wanted to go since I was a filly! You know why, Twilight? ‘Cause they have the bestest muffins! I’ve heard stories all my life about how delicious they were and what a great texture they have! Don’t you understand? My life would be complete if I could go!”
Derpy wasn’t the only one. Everypony within the vicinity flooded towards Twilight with all sorts of reasons for wanting to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. Overwhelmed, all Twilight could do was teleport away.
The unicorn ended up in midair. She wasn’t even sure how, but chalked it up to the fact that she couldn’t focus. Spike was still on her back when she began her descent back to Equestria.
“Ahhhh!” Both she and Spike screamed.
“I’M SORRY FOR ACCIDENTALLY BURNING YOUR BOOK UP TWILIGHT! I DIDN’T MEAN TO!” Spike shouted.
“I KNEW IT WAS YOU!” Twilight reached a hoof up and grabbed Spike. She hugged him. “IF THIS IS THE END, YOU WERE THE BEST ASSISTANT I’VE EVER HAD!”
“YOU WERE THE BEST…PONY EVER!” Spike attempted. Twilight closed her eyes, preparing herself for the harsh and unforgiving ground. It never came.
Twilight felt wind blow through her mane and forced an eye open. “S-Spitfire?”
The Wonderbolt laughed loudly, “Hehe, that’s me! Sorry for grabbin’ you so late, but your goodbyes were pretty funny. You should’ve known I’d come to save the day, Sparks.” Spitfire smirked, “Like last time, right?”
Twilight wasn’t in a good enough mood to smile, but she blushed in embarrassment. Spike squirmed in her hooves, but she held him tightly.
“Can we land? Please?” Twilight felt like she was going to throw up. Spitfire started to slow down and got closer to the ground. She gently placed Twilight on her hooves and moved around so they were facing each other.
“There ya go. So why were you being surrounded by everypony?” Spitfire was wearing her trademark uniform. She used a hoof to push up her goggles.
Spike bristled on the ground. “We were being swarmed ‘cause Princess Celestia gave Twi an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala! Derpy announced it to the whole town.”
“Really? Sounds like something she’d do.” Spitfire chuckled. “I have a performance there every year, so don’t worry about me asking you for your ticket. Unless you want me to go with you,” The Wonderbolt stuck her tongue out before snickering, “I’m joking! Hahaha, don’t make that face!”
Spike looked over to see what Spitfire was talking about before falling over laughing too. Twilight quickly composed herself and glared at the two.
She sighed. “Anyways, I’m not sure what to do… Everypony wants the extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala.”
“Heh, don’t look at me. I’m not good with this kinda thing. Why don’t you go find Octavia or something? I’m pretty sure that she would know what to do in this situation. I guess.” Spitfire shrugged. “I’ll stop by later just in case you need saving again.” The captain smiled.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen Octavia just yet today… Why didn’t I think of that sooner…?” Twilight face-hoofed. Of course. Octavia was always level-headed, and she was the Element of Kindness.
“I haven’t seen her in a while. Good luck findin’ her. If you need anything, all you have to do is give a shout out. I should be able to hear you.” Spitfire saluted before flying off.
Twilight hid behind buildings as she went through Ponyville. A bunch of ponies were running around screaming her name and Spitfire’s, so she figured it wasn’t a good idea to make her presence known.
Octavia wasn’t anywhere to be seen. That was strange. Twilight knew for a fact that she’d moved into Ponyville, but she hadn’t really seen the pony since the defeat of Nightmare Moon. Twilight felt a little bad that she hadn’t paid as much attention to Octavia as her other friends.
Music. Twilight could hear a cello playing close to Town Hall. The unicorn peeked around the building she was behind and looked towards it. Octavia was playing and she had gathered small crowd. The ponies were throwing bits into her cello case and silently cheering her on. It was a very beautiful piece.
When Octavia finished playing, everypony tossed more bits and bid her farewell. The musician frowned before sorting out the money.
“Spike, could you go over there and get Octavia to come over here?” Twilight asked. Spike copied Spitfire’s salute before waddling over to the gray earth pony. The unicorn watched Octavia glance up at the purple dragon, and look at Twilight. She nodded to Spike, putting the bits in a saddlebag and putting her cello away. The musician followed him back to Twilight.
“Why so secretive?” Octavia questioned with a smile as she straightened her bowtie. Spike silently pulled out the two tickets and motioned to the ponies not so far away looking for Twilight. The earth pony nodded understandingly.
“I see. The Grand Galloping Gala is quite the event.” She looked over at the unicorn, “It has been awhile. How are you, Miss Twilight?”
The lavender mare shook hooves with Octavia. “You can just call me Twilight. I actually needed some advice.” Octavia waited patiently.
“You see…Everypony wants to have the extra ticket, but there’s no way I can pick between my friends…” Twilight’s stomach growled. “Er…Can we continue this over lunch?”
Octavia laughed a little before agreeing. When they began to walk, Twilight found herself wondering how she could lug her instruments around all the time; especially the cello. Spike seemed to be marveling over the same thing.
“I am planning to attend the Grand Galloping Gala as well, but simply as a musician. The pay will certainly keep me going for quite some time.” Octavia’s voice had a hopeful touch to it, but she changed the subject before Twilight could reply. “Where would you like to dine?”
“How about Sugarcube Corner? I’ve heard they sell cupcakes with gems! Gems!” Spike mentioned with a cheeky smile.
“Actually…” Twilight glanced over at a nearby place, “How about over there? I’d really like to eat something not sugary.”
Octavia concurred with Twilight, causing the dragon to pout. “I never get to have gems…” They trotted up to a table and took a seat. The waiter came by with a huge smile on his face.
“Here you go.” He placed a milkshake in front of Twilight.
“…I didn’t order anything yet.” The unicorn stared at the server, quickly becoming annoyed with his shiny teeth.
“Yes, compliments to the young lady over there.” The stallion pointed over at a certain beige colored mare. Bon Bon waved exuberantly at Twilight.
The unicorn looked back at the milkshake. “This is bribery, isn’t it?” The waiter shrugged. “I don’t want this. Would you give her a message? Bribery will not work. Oh, and we’d like two daisy sandwiches.” The server didn’t look too happy, but he took the milkshake away.
Twilight looked back at Octavia. “A daisy sandwich is okay, right?”
Octavia nodded absently before leaning towards Twilight to whisper. “So, what seems to be the problem?”
“Well…Like I said earlier, Princess Celestia wants me to go to the Grand Galloping Gala with one other guest. Bon Bon, Lyra, and Derpy all want to go with me, along with the rest of the town, but I can’t pick somepony over the other. It’s important to all of them, too.” Twilight frowned.
Octavia tapped a hoof to her chin. “My, my, what a decision you have. And Spike the dragon does not wish to attend?” Spike shook his head defiantly.
“If I could go with Bon Bon, yeah, but it’s too girly for me to go with just Twilight. She’d just be with Princess Celestia the whole time anyway.”
Octavia kept a straight face while she thought. “Perhaps it would be best—“”Two daisy sandwiches and a birthday card!”
Twilight turned towards the waiter with an irritated huff, except now it was a mare. An undeniably turquoise colored mare. “Lyra—I know what you’re doing.”
“Open your card!” The other unicorn pretty much shoved what was obviously a birthday card into her hooves. Twilight opened it cautiously and was blasted away by its contents. Literally. A red boxing glove had emerged out of it and punched her square in the muzzle, pushing her and the chair she was sitting flying backwards.
Lyra doubled over laughing while the card began singing ‘Happy Birthday.’ Octavia was beside Twilight and helping her up almost immediately. The lavender mare rubbed the spot of impact with tears in her eyes.
“What was that for? It’s not even my birthday! And how the hay did you get a boxing glove to fit into a card?” Lyra stopped giggling and sat up.
“You didn’t think it was funny?”
“Of course not! That really hurt!”
“But it was the ‘punch-line.’ Hehe… I thought for sure that you’d catch on pretty fast.” Lyra continued to poke fun into Twilight before sighing. “Sorry, I got a little carried away in thinking that you’d think it was as funny as I did. Working on my comedian skills. But yeah, really sorry. And to make it up for you…” She slinked over next to Twilight and threw a hoof over her shoulder, “Why don’t I give you an exclusive pass to my act at the Grand Galloping Gala? It’s sure to make up for this…humorless incident.” Lyra winked.
“Hm, good poin—Wait…” Twilight blinked before scowling. She hadn’t realized that Lyra was such a good trickster. “I’m not falling for that.”
Lyra giggled. “…Sorry…I can be good. I just like to laugh is all…” Lyra looked back up with a smile. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. Just got carried away, heh… You think I can try again? I actually had a birthday present handy too.”
Both Octavia and Twilight stared at the gift carefully. Lyra noticed this and opened it for them. A strange bipedal animal model was in the box. It was wearing clothes and didn’t look like a pony or anything Twilight had ever seen before. “You like to study new things, right? How about this?”
Twilight stared at the figure, feeling very interested. However, her resolve not to fall for bribery kept her from accepting, despite wanting to study it. Was it even real?
“I…can’t take that. Sorry, Lyra…Octavia,” Twilight nursed the wound on her jaw, “I’m going to head back to the library. I’m not hungry anymore…” The unicorn trotted off towards her home.
“Well, how about we make a pit stop at Sugarcube Corner for me?” Spike asked as he waved to the two ponies they just left. Twilight shook her head.
“Not right now, Spike. This actually really hurts and I want to put ice on it.” The unicorn continued on her way, feeling the dragon’s sulky mood. She was wondering if maybe she should stop by this ‘Sugarcube Corner’ just for Spike, but she almost ran over somepony.
“Oh, sorry about that…” Twilight stared down at the cutest thing she’d ever laid eyes on. A little unicorn filly stared up at her with puppy dog eyes. She had a light purple coat, blonde mane and matching yellow eyes.
“It’s okay, miss.” The little filly smiled brightly. Twilight felt like she’d seen this pony before…
“What’s your name?” Spike yawned from atop the unicorn’s back, obviously signaling her to move on. It was rather rude.
“I’m Dinky Doo! Umm, you’re Twilight Sparkle, right?” The little unicorn looked up with hopeful eyes when she nodded. “You see, miss, my mom really really wants to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. She isn’t exactly the smartest mare on the block, but I know that she’d be really grateful if you’d give it to her. It’d mean a lot to me, too. It’s always been her dream… So… Please? Won’t you think about it?”
Twilight gulped. When an innocent filly was asking her for something so selfless, it surpassed her adorable meter, leaving it to the dust. Twilight wanted to hug the little pony for all she was worth.
“Who is your mother, Dinky?” The smaller unicorn beamed with pride.
“Derpy Hooves, of course! The greatest mother ever.” Twilight’s brain stopped working. Derpy was a mother? But wasn’t she a little…young? After the initial shock, anger began to swell within her. This was by far the worst. Even if Lyra had physically hurt her, using your own foal to get you a ticket… It was selfish by all means; and was especially so for the spirit of Generosity.
“Woah,” Spike sat up, suddenly interested in the conversation, “So she wanted you to get the letter for her?” Dinky’s eyes widened as she waved her hooves and shook her head frantically.
“Nonono! Mom came home and talked to me about it. I knew she really wanted to go with you, but told me that she couldn’t be selfish enough to take it when everypony else wanted to come. You see, Miss Twilight, sometimes she can’t take stuff for herself because she doesn’t want other ponies to be upset. My mom set aside her own wants and she also knew that she’d be stressing you out, too. So please don’t be mad at her! She doesn’t know that I came here, and if she did she’d be angry with me and wouldn’t let me go out with friends. So please don’t tell her, and maybe let her go with you…!”
The petite filly’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Spike grimaced and looked at Twilight for support. However, she was feeling guilty herself for thinking ill of Derpy.
“Don’t worry, little filly. I won’t tell your mother. I’ll…think about the extra ticket.” The mare smiled encouragingly, “Why don’t you run along back home before she notices your absence?”
Dinky Doo grinned even wider. “Oh thank you thank you thank you! I’m sorry about the trouble I’ve caused you—but you’re really cool, miss Twilight! I’ll be sure to tell my mom about how great you are!” The filly ran off without another word, leaving the lavender mare with a warm feeling in her heart.
“Well, that was probably the most respectful filly I’ve ever seen. By the way, I don’t know about you, Twi…” Spike said quietly, “but I’d be getting out of here, if I were you. Everypony’s starting to notice.” Twilight looked around, and, as the dragon had stated, everypony was closing in on her. She’d stayed in one spot too long.
“I’m going to teleport, Spike, hold on to the tickets.” She closed her eyes to concentrate.
“But remember last time...!” He protested loudly.
“Don’t worry, I know where we’re going this time.” Twilight imagined the library’s front door and focused her magic into her horn. This time she didn’t let all the noise distract her, and instead let Spike try to diffuse the situation. She was still learning the technique for perfect teleportation, but this was good practice. As the library’s details started to come into place in her mind, she heard that satisfying ‘snap!’
When she opened her eyes, Twilight saw exactly what she wanted to see—the library’s front doorstep. She cheered audibly, but her good spirits were cut short when Spike vomited. Twilight shuddered when she heard it and was thankful he hadn’t done it on her.
“S-Sorry, Twilight. I just got a little…sick,” the dragon wiped his mouth with a claw. “I’m okay now.”
“I should be sorry, Spike. I’ll work out the kinks of that spell soon enough.” She trotted into the library and flipped the light switch on.
Four mares were inside. Bon Bon, Lyra, Spitfire, and Octavia were all making themselves at home. Her eye twitched—when could she get some time for herself?
“…What are you girls doing here…?” Twilight spoke with irritation.
Spitfire stared at the unicorn’s muzzle. “Woah! Who gave you that shiner?” She pointed at her own muzzle.
Twilight glared at Lyra for a long second; she just shrugged with a playful smile. Spitfire connected the dots with a frown.
“Wait—did you get in a fight or something?” She glanced back at Lyra, obviously wondering why she didn’t have any bruises. Maybe she chalked it up to Twilight not being very strong.
“It was a birthday present for her! It was a prank I pulled, but she didn’t think it was very funny.” Lyra giggled and Bon Bon stared quizzically.
“It’s your birthday, Twilight?”
“No, of course not! Anyways, why are you all here?” With rising annoyance, Twilight looked over the guilty ponies.
Bon Bon seemed to be the most affected. “I wanted to tell you that I didn’t want a ticket anymore. What I was doing was really selfish of me, and I should’ve seen how nuts it was driving you. I’m sorry for making you choose between us.”
A corner of Lyra’s mouth dipped down. “I’m sorry too, Twilight. I didn’t think you’d get a bruise out of that—and I got a little out of hand about that Gala ticket. Really sorry about that, and I’d understand if you didn’t want to speak with me again.”
“I probably should’ve helped you more, Sparks. I was thinking about your problem and came to see if I could help you. I was trying to practice, but couldn’t help feeling like I betrayed you. Made me a little mad at myself, so I made sure those two knew how much they were stressing you out.” Spitfire’s tail swished back and forth.
Octavia nodded with a small smile. “It’s true. Although, she may have been a bit too harsh with her methods. However, they can see what they’ve done wrong, so I assume it was a good thing. I apologize for not being able to take on this task myself. I didn’t want to be cruel, and figured that it would work itself out. In spite of this, I should have known that by avoiding it that I’d be inadvertently hurting somepony else. I’m sorry.” The musician hung her head.
Twilight looked over her friends with new eyes. She’d already forgiven them a long time ago. “It’s okay, girls. Don’t worry, but still… What should we do about this ticket?” Spike held the two tickets up.
Bon Bon looked tempted, but she wasn’t easily swayed from her decisions. “I say we should send them back to Princess Celestia and Twilight goes by herself.”
“Me too!” Spike immediately agreed with Bon Bon. Twilight figured that he’d go with anything if Bon Bon said it.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Spitfire concurred.
“But girls…I don’t want to go if you can’t.” Twilight frowned. “I’ll send them both back and tell Princess Celestia that I can’t come, and none of you are going to be able to change that decision. Spike, take a note to the Princess.” The unicorn took the tickets in her magical grasp to make sure the dragon could use both claws to write.
“Dear Princess Celestia… I regret to inform you that I will not be able to attend the Grand Galloping Gala this year. You see, Princess, my Ponyville friends all wanted to have the extra ticket to come with me. I couldn’t pick somepony over the other, and it wouldn’t be right to attend if they can’t. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
Before anypony could object, Spike went ahead and sent the letter. Twilight waited for a response, (usually Princess Celestia sent one pretty fast), and sure enough a few seconds later another note had 'burped' into existence.
Spike picked it up and read it aloud. “My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Why didn’t you say something earlier? I could’ve provided for all of your friends if you’d only let me know! Enclosed are five tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala for your Ponyville friends. The fifth one is for Spike, too! Signed, Princess Celestia.”
Four tickets to the Gala slipped out of the sheet of paper and fell unceremoniously to the floor. Everypony smiled. “I guess we can all go then!” Twilight grinned. Lyra and Bon Bon both picked up their tickets happily. Spike pretended not to be glad that he’d gotten a ticket.
“I’m going to go give this one to Derpy. I’m sure it’ll cheer her and Dinky right up.” Twilight was already trotting to the door.
“Dinky?” Spitfire questioned with a curious look on her face.
“Derpy’s foal. You should meet her sometime.” Twilight was glad that she’d be seeing that cute little filly again, and was looking forward to Derpy’s expression when she saw the ticket. With everypony at the Gala, it was sure to be a great event.