“For the love of... Twi, you made a checklist for getting ready for the Gala?” Applejack questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
“Of course! Always be prepared for everything,” Twilight answered, grinning. “Now, if you don’t mind, there’s just a few items left on the list. Let’s see... Hooficures?”
“Checker peppers!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around on the tips of her hooves. “Wow, Rarity, these shoes really are springy, thanks!”
“Wings preened?” Twilight continued, ignoring Pinkie’s antics with a smile.
“Yeah, only because you cheated,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, crossing her hooves. “Stupid spells...”
“Manes styled?”
“Just finished,” Rarity sang, stepping back from Fluttershy.
“Great! That just leaves transportation, and that’s on the way, so I guess that-”
“Cutie Mark Crusader Ballroom Dancers! Yay!”
Three young fillies burst into Carousel Boutique, all wearing their flower-filly dresses from Princess Cadance and Shining Armour’s wedding. Their manes and tails were styled to a small degree, parts of their manes having been displaced in the wind on their race to the boutique. Behind them, panting more heavily than the three fillies whose energy knew no bounds, was Spike, struggling not to puff like the bellows.
Dressed sharply in his tux, Spike took a moment to gather his breath, smooth his spines, and then walked towards Rarity as suavely as possible. “Good evening, Milady, and might I say you look absolutely stunning tonight?”
Rarity tittered as Spike bowed low to her, soaking up the attention while Applejack dealt with the three rambunctious fillies. “And just what do ya think you girls are doin all gussied up like a pig to a luau?”
The crusaders stopped and looked at each other, before Applebloom asked sadly, “Ya don’t think we look pretty enough ta go to the gala?”
Applejack didn’t need three sets of puppy eyes directed solely on her to know she should have reworded her statement. Backpedaling, Applejack shook her head, hugging the three fillies tightly. “Of course not! Y’all are more pretty than a magnolia in May... Ah just, ya can’t come to th’ Gala! You’re not old enough enough yet!”
“But we already got all dressed up!” Sweetie Belle squeaked in protest.
“Yeah! Spike spent a couple hours on our manes alone!” Applebloom added. “We just needed Rarity ta add the final touches! Y’all can’t just leave us here at home alone! T’ain’t fair! We won’t cause a mess or nuthin! Cross mah heart and hope ta fly, stick a cupcake in mah eye!”
Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, wincing as they had a very quiet, mumbled argument. Twilight fluffed her wings a little, resettling her feathers, when she was struck by inspiration. “You girls just want to see what the Gala is like, and see if dancing is your special talent? That’s it?”
“Spike promised us all a dance,” Scootaloo explained, torn between disgust and excitement of getting a dancing cutie mark. “It might be a lame cutie mark, but at least it would be a cutie mark!”
“What’s lame about dancing?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Dance clubs are awesome! Rockin’ music, flashy lights... Are you kidding? It’s a way to show your moves, show others how awesome you are! That, and it’s kind of fun to get all of the stallions hopes up, and then just disappear before they can ask for your address, or spout some cheesy pick-up line.”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity exclaimed, gasping in shock as Rainbow Dash grinned smugly. “You’re supposed to be setting a good example for them! I cannot believe that you would-”
“Gotcha!”
Scootaloo laughed alongside Rainbow Dash, adding, “Yeah, as if somepony as awesome as Rainbow Dash would be caught dead around ponies as lame as colts!”
“Heh heh... Y-yeah, squirt. As if,” Rainbow Dash agreed, laughing nervously.
Rarity’s eyes widened, before she grinned predatorily. “Oh, so our Rainbow Dash actually has her eyes on a stallion? Do tell...”
“W-what? I-I do not!” Rainbow Dash protested, her wings twitching open. “We’re just pen pals, that’s it!”
“Oh, so you’re ‘pen pals’, hmm? And, pray tell, Rainbow Dash, what do you say to each other, hmm?” Rarity pressed, wagging her eyebrows slighty.
“Yeah, because I’m stupid enough to tell the town gossip about my personal life,” Dash deadpanned, rolling her eyes. “I’m not stupid, Rarity.”
“I am not the town gossip!” Rarity huffed, crossing her forelegs. “I might... know a few things, but I don’t go telling everypony everything! A lady does know how to keep secrets, you know!”
While Scootaloo sat in rapt attention, shocked that Rainbow Dash would actually be interested in something like cootie-filled colts, the other crusaders high-hoofed, since the adults were now distracted, they were practically garunteed a chance at getting into the gala now, right?
Spike burped loudly, his face turning red as a letter appeared. “E-excuse me.”
Twilight opened the letter without hesitation, glancing at it briefly before smiling, closing the letter. “Alright girls, let’s get ready for the gala! Rarity, do you think you could finish styling the girls’ manes?”
“Um, Twilight, Darling, I am done. It was a part of the checklist, remember?” Rarity said gently, privately worried that her friend’s mind was starting to go.
“No, I mean the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Twilight clarified, smiling. “The situation has already been taken care of completely. The girls will get the chance to experience the full Gala setting, while still being far enough away to prevent being involved in any disasters that might occur, whether or not they start them.”
“Really, Twi? What do ya have in mind?” Applejack questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
.o.O.o.
“Oh heck no!” Applejack protested, shaking her head adamantly. “How is having Discord watch the crusaders supposed ta ease mah mind about the trouble they could get into?”
“Applejack, you wound me,” Discord said theatrically, his paw clutching at his heart. “Who knows more about chaos than I?”
“I do believe that is Applejack’s point,” Rarity said, standing protectively in front of Sweetie Belle. “We’re not so foolish as to think that chaos plus chaos equals order!”
“Girls, you aren’t giving him enough credit,” Twilight sighed, massaging her temple. “He really has gotten better. We’re just trying to keep both him and the crusaders out of trouble, right? Do you really want Discord at the Gala proper?”
“Hay yeah! That would make the party a blast!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, Scootaloo nodding along eagerly.
“It would also give Celestia and Luna, not to mention myself, headaches from all of the complaints we’d get from the nobles,” Twilight sighed. “Look, things will get a bit chaotic, but at least it will be controlled! Cadance will be there to make sure that-”
“Oh, well then why didn’t you say so sooner, darling?” Rarity interrupted, laughing. “Are you quite sure she’ll be able to manage though? I mean, she-”
“Is what? Pregnant?” The pink alicorn asked, stepping into the room with the aid of her husband. “I haven’t let that stop me from doing any of my other duties, and I hardly think it should impact something I’ve been doing since I was barely more than a filly myself. There is a reason why ponies call me the best foalsitter in Equestria, you know,” she said, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
“Hi Aunt Cadance!” Spike called, hugging the alicorn’s leg briefly. It had been decided fairly early in the marriage that, since Spike called Armour his uncle, that Cadance would then be his aunt. Of course, neither were really his aunt or uncle, but when you’re very young, relations and names tend to be blurred. As Spike grew up, they had simply not worried about his actual relation to Twilight, and thus Shining Armour, and as such, nopony really cared.
“What am I? Chopped yam?” Shining Armour commented, rolling his eyes as Spike continued to ignore him.
“Careful Sis, I think he’s getting smarter,” Twilight giggled teasingly, hugging her sister-in-law.
“Oh dear, that’s going to be dangerous. A smart stallion? He might try to upset the mare rulership!” Cadance laughed, hugging Twilight just as tightly.
“You wound me!” Shining Armour sniffed, raising his muzzle into the air. He cracked open a sparkling eye, adding, “Being in charge? That’s just more work! Stallions are too lazy to be in charge because that’s too exhausting!”
“Says the ex-captain of the royal guards, and prince of the Crystal Empire,” Cadance retorted playfully, bumping his flank with her own.
Shining Armour was sent sprawling to the floor, moaning in pain and anguish. “Help me, help me! My wife is beating me! I must write letters of solidarity in protest of this cruel, mare overlordship! Somepony rescue me!”
“Ah don’t think the help y’re askin’ for is the kinda help ya need,” Applebloom commented, quirking an eyebrow.
“But this could be our only chance to get our cutie marks in rescuing somepony!” Scootaloo protested eagerly, looking at both of the other crusaders.
“You’re right!” Sweetie Belle agreed, eyes bright. “Let’s go!”
”Cutie Mark Crusader Pony Rescuers! Yay!”
Rarity stifled a laugh as the crusaders bum rushed Armour to ‘rescue’ him, sighing as she turned wistful. “Something wrong, Rarity?”
Rarity blushed as Princess Cadance trotted over, a knowing look in her eye. “I uh... No, nothing’s wrong, I suppose,” Rarity said softly, watching Sweetie Belle from the corner of her eye. “... Perhaps a little jealous.”
Cadance chuckled quietly, her hoof hiding her smile. “I know. I was just a little-”
Rarity blushed, backing away. “N-not like that! Besides, how-”
“As much as I say my special talent is love, I can sense emotions,” Cadance cut Rarity off, trying to save the alabaster unicorn some embarrassment. “And no, I know you aren’t jealous of me for Shining Armour. I’m sure you can imagine just how many mares still give him doe eyes, and try to flirt with him. Rarity, it’s not wrong to want what I was lucky enough to get. It would be wrong to want Shining Armour, as he is mine, and I his.”
“I just... I’m starting to think that I’ll never find my prince,” Rarity admitted with a whisper, blinking back a stray tear. “I guess I’m afraid of being alone. Silly, isn’t it?”
Cadance chuckled knowingly, shaking her head. “No... I had felt the same way before I met Shining. Ironically enough, it wasn’t until I stopped looking that he just sort of appeared out of nowhere, practically falling into my lap. I know it sounds counter-productive, Rarity, but if you want to find somepony, sometimes, the best thing you can do is to stop looking.”
.o.O.o.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were having a blast. Princess Cadance kept Discord mostly in check, and knew how to have fun, whilst mocking her own royal background and the ponies that made up the nobility. What was upsetting two of the crusaders, however, were the actions of their third member. “Oh come on, Sweetie Belle! That’s your fourth freaking dance with Spike! I don’t think that you’re going to get a cutie mark in dancing!” Scootaloo exclaimed, her short temper reaching her limits.
“So?” Sweetie Belle answered dreamily, still lost in the waltz.
Scootaloo sighed, glancing over to Princess Cadance, before gasping as she saw Philomena, Princess Celestia’s pet phoenix, resting on Cadance’s back. She and Applebloom galloped as quickly at their short legs could take them, gazing up at the majestic bird with stars in their eyes. “Woah... Hey, Cadance, what’s it like having a phoenix as a pet? That sounds so cool!”
Cadance laughed, tilting her head so that Philomena could nuzzle her with a beak. “Oh, the same as owning any other pet, I suppose, aside from not worrying about her dying from old age.”
“So... What’s it like having a pet then?” Scootaloo asked, undeterred.
Cadance blinked, a little shocked. “You don’t have a pet? I know that Twilight and A’mour didn’t get a pet because Twinkle is allergic, but-”
“A’mour? Isn’t that Fancy for somethin’?” Applebloom asked Scootaloo, receiving only a shrug in response.
Cadance allowed herself to blush as she smiled, more than willing to explain to the fillies. “Yes, it’s Phrench for the word love. It’s what I call Shining, since armor sounds close to a’mour, and he’s the love of my life, so it just... fit.”
Almost as if they had rehearsed it, the three crusaders, as one, floated up into the air, cooing with an adorable, “Awwww!”
Cadance was then swarmed by the three fillies, surrounding her as they bombarded her with questions.
“How far along are ya?”
“Is it going to be a colt or a filly?”
“What race is it gonna be?”
“Does being pregnant hurt?”
Cadance giggled, shushing the crusaders as she gathered them next to her, eagerly motioning for them to put their forehooves on her stomach. “One question at a time, girls! As far as the colt is concerned, yes, he’s going to be a colt. He’s about nine months along, now, and we don’t know what race he’s going to be, mostly because we want it to be a surprise. As far as-”
Cadance stopped as she felt her foal kick gently, causing her to smile widely. The crusaders’ eyes all grew wide with wonder, rendered speechless. After she was sure that the crusaders were paying attention again, she continued, “Well, not the pregnancy itself, no, but the extra weight causes my back to hurt, or my legs, and I get tired easily. It’s almost hard to stay laying down most of the time, but it’s harder to stay standing up for long periods of time.”
Not wanting to scare the fillies, she thought it best not to mention the pain that would come when she gave birth. Nopony needed to know how painful and messy birthing was at such an early age. While it would be a good way to scare a pony into staying pure longer, scare tactics always have the chance to backfire. Besides, the crusaders had many more questions that needed answering.
“H-how is he so small?” Scootaloo asked quietly, still amazed. “There’s no way I was that small before!”
Cadance nuzzled the crusaders, answering, “Everypony was that small before, my little pony. Even I was that small once, and Twilight, and Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, and-”
“Even Princess Celestia?” Applebloom asked, giggling at the ridiculousness of such a large pony being so small.
“Eeyup,” Cadance answered with a nicker.
“Even... Discord?”
“You rang?” the draconequus asked, lounging on Cadance’s stomach as he shrunk to the size of an apple. He slurped noisily on a pineapple with a straw sticking out of it, before he asked, “Want one?”
“I could use one!” Spike piped up. “All that dancing made me thirsty!”
“Yeah, sure,” everypony else agreed, accepting pineapple drinks eagerly, sucking down the sweet, refreshing juice. After a moment of silence broken only by sounds of happiness, Philomena fluttered down to Scootaloo, tilting her head as she cooed at the pegasus, asking for a bite of the fruit. Scootaloo happily complied, giddy as she watched the fire bird greedily peck away at the pineapple.
As Applebloom and Sweetie Belle also cooed at the bird, Scootaloo’s eyes waxed spacey for just a moment, before she exclaimed, “That’s it!”
“What? What’s it?!” Applebloom shouted, startled.
“Discord! You have to give us pets! I’m begging you!” Everypony blinked as Scootaloo threw herself at Discord, clutching her hooves together as she knelt right in front of Cadance’s belly. “I’ll do anything, but I want a pet! And not just any pet, but a cool pet!”
“And cute!” Sweetie Belle added, her eyes growing wide.
“And soft!” Applebloom threw in, not wanting to be left out. The crusader’s demands, however, started to flow fast and furiously.
“And intelligent!”
“And playful!”
“And magical!”
“And brave!”
“And graceful!”
“And easy to take care of!”
“And funny!”
“And fast!”
“And loyal!”
“And friendly!”
“And affable!”
The other two crusaders looked at Sweetie Belle, quirking eyebrows. “... What?”
“Ah already asked for them to be funny, so whai would ya ask for them to be laughable?”
“And tough!”
Everypony looked to Spike, who had added in a requirement of his own. “What? You think I don’t want a pet? I took Peewee back to his family forever ago! I can want a pet too you know!”
“My, is that all?” Discord quipped, rising in the air. “And here I thought you were going to ask for something more complicated, like becoming an alicorn, or super powers, but pets? That’s easy! Let’s see, let’s peruse the list again, shall we?”
With a snap of his claw, a parchment paper list appeared in front of him, spectacles settling on his snout. “Hmm, let’s see now... Oh, I know, how abou-”
“No,” Princess Cadance interrupted, sipping some tea she summoned to herself. “It can’t be something dangerous to these fillies.”
Discord’s eye twitched as he thought, Now then, where am I going to find a sentient sheep that runs faster than lightning and burps butterflies? Flies... Fly... Oh my... That’s an idea!
““Into the dark, and from the void... let’s see if disaster you can avoid,” Discord cackled as he snapped his talons, causing a small, swirling, black mass to appear in front of him. He fished his claw inside, and then his arm as he felt around for something elusive. “Oh, come on, I know I left them around here somewhere... Ah! There we go!”
Discord reached his paw into the void as well, scooping something up as he held his back to the crusaders, hiding the pets with his arms. “You asked for a pet, and you will receive, but... Will it bring joy, or bring cause to grieve?”
“Cor, just give them their pets already,” Princess Cadance interrupted, unimpressed as she slowly filed a hoof. “They’re three fillies and a baby dragon; they’re no more impressed with your theatrics than I am.”
“Oh come on!” Discord protested loudly. “You always ruin my fun! I decide to reform for Fluttershy’s sake, and ever since then, you princesses think you can just walk all over me! Well that’s it! I’m moving back in with Fluttershy!”
“Wait! What about our pets?!” Scootaloo asked quickly, panicking. “We didn’t say anything! You can’t just bring them and then go away! That’s mean!”
“Oh... fine! Hope you have fun with them!”
Discord snapped his paw, releasing the pets from the invisibility spell he had placed upon them. The three crusaders plus one dragon turned eagerly to the revealed animals to find: “Multicolored chickens?! That’s it?!”
On the stone floor stood four small chicks of a unique coloration. One was a royal purple color, another a ‘plain’ yellow that seemed to shimmer in the torchlight, and finally, a pair of blue chicks, though one was lighter in color than the other. The four chicks made a bum rush for Scootaloo, flying through the air as each one of them pecked her once on the muzzle rather forcefully. As Scootaloo laid on her back, dazed from the attacks, the magenta chick stood atop Scootaloo’s muzzle, its tiny wings spread wide as it chirped its victory to the world. The chick’s chirp was more whistle-like than anything, and sounded nothing like a chicken.
The remaining three rushed to the other two fillies and dragon, each of the chicks quickly claiming their owner as they settled down in their manes. The golden chick chose Applebloom, attracted to her coat, while the two blue chicks decided on Sweetie Belle and Spike, the darker of the pair attracted to Spike’s deeper, richer color scheme.
“... So... They’re magical chickens?” Applebloom asked hesitantly, wincing in advance as she expected the chick to start pecking her.
““There was certainly enough magic in the world I took them from,” Discord replied smugly. “The fact that they are flying with such underdeveloped wings should be quite enough proof that they are no ordinary birds.”
Applebloom stared at the fluttering chick in front of her, asking, “So what’re they called?”
“Their race, as a whole, are called... Chocobos, if I recall correctly,” Discord replied with a yawn, pulling out an eye-mask and night cap, before holding a teddy bear in his paw. “Now, I think that’s enough being a goody-goody for one day. I would love to cause some chaos at the gala, but I wouldn’t want to ruin Fluttershy’s special day. Ta-ta!”
Discord disappeared in a flash, leaving behind the ponies and baby dragon to deal with the happily chirping chicks. After a moment of relative silence, Applebloom piped up, asking, “So... does anypony know how to take care of a chocobo?”
The crusaders frowned in thought for a moment, before Sweetie Belle exclaimed in her squeaky voice, “I know! Fluttershy would know how to take care of them, right? Come on!”
“G-girls! Don’t- you can’t...” Cadance started to say, holding out a hoof, but the crusaders were long gone, leaving her alone with Spike. “Spike, you need to go and find Shining and the girls as quickly as you can. Discord might be reformed, but that doesn’t mean that bad chaos can’t still happen from what he does. Can I count on you?”
“Yes ma’am!” Spike saluted sharply. The baby chocobo on his head did the same, throwing out its tiny chest as it gave its short, whistling chirp.
Cadance giggled as Spike ran off, the baby chocobo trying to keep its place on the scales of the dragon’s head. “Well, they are kind of cute, and have personalities, but... Where did they come from? I’ve got a bad feeling about this...”