The “Welcome home Princess Luna” party lasted the rest of the day. Having stayed up all night for the Summer Sun Celebration, I was pretty tired. I don’t remember falling asleep, but when I woke up, I was facedown on the library floor surrounded by cake crumbs.
“Good morning Valiant,” said Spike.
“Huh? Oh, hi.” I yawned. Here I was still in Equestria, still dreaming. Strange, I’d never slept in a dream before. Did I dream while I was dreaming?
“Spike, allow me to incept you with an idea.”
“What does that mean?”
“Don’t worry about it, just listen. If you’re just a figment of my subconscious, then you know what I know. Theoretically, that means we share the same mind, and all thoughts.”
“What are you talking about?”
I frowned. “If you know what I know, then you’d know what I’m talking about.”
“Do you know what you’re talking about?”
I actually hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I suppose not.”
“So how would I know what you’re talking about?”
“Fair point.” I got up and stretched. Twilight came down the stairs from where her bed was.
“Oh, I didn’t expect you to still be here.”
“Neither did I. Longest dream I can remember.”
She gave me an odd look, but didn’t press it. “Spike, Applejack asked me to help her out a little at Sweet Apple Acres. I’ll be gone a while. You’ll have to watch the library.”
“Can’t I come, Twilight? I haven’t had any really great apples for a while.”
“I can watch the library,” I offered.
She looked skeptical. “Do you have any experience with books?”
“Sure. They have words in them for you to read. When you’re finished, you put them back on the shelf.”
“Well, all right. I should only be gone a few hours. Come on, Spike.” He climbed on her back and they left.
I was alone in the library. Honestly, I didn’t mind. Reading the books would be a great way to pass the time. I couldn’t wait to see what kind of crazy stuff my sleeping mind would come up with.
After a couple of hours, Fluttershy came in with a whole flock of birds.
“Oh,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to find you here. I was just going to do a little tidying up.”
“Knock yourself out.” I went back to the adventure novel I had found. It was part of a series that started a great hero named Daring Do. I figured that once I got to the climax, I would probably wake up and never find out how it ended. Kind of sad, but it had to happen eventually.
Fluttershy and the birds began cleaning things. They hummed and sang while they worked.
A few minutes later, Twilight came in. “Oh Fluttershy, not you too!”
“Oh, hello Twilight. I hope you don’t mind. We’re all doing a little spring cleaning.”
“It’s summer.”
“Oh, well better late than never, right?”
“You’re not doing this for the ticket, are you?”
“Well, yes.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not accepting any favors until I’ve made my final decision. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to—”
The door burst open and Pinkie darted in, grabbing Twilight and hauling her outside. I heard some kind of song and dance number. A crowd had gathered, and they seemed as confused as I was.
“What’s going on?” asked one of them.
“Oh, you haven’t heard?" said Pinkie's voice. "Twilight has an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!”
“THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA!” the crowd roared. It sounded like there was some kind of stampede outside.
“What’s the Grand Galloping Gala?” I wondered.
A few minutes later, Twilight and Spike teleported into the room, looking frazzled.
“Quick, lock the doors!” she said. The two of them covered all the rooms, shutting windows and bolting locks. When it was all done, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“What was all that for?” I asked as we stood in the dark.
“I’ve got an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, and everypony in town wants it! We have to lock down the library so they’ll leave us alone.”
“Uh, that might be a problem.”
The lights flicked on. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie had all managed to slip inside.
Twilight screamed. “I can’t decide! I just can’t decide. I just can’t stand to disappoint any of you.” She dropped to the floor, covering her head with her hooves.
“Twilight, sugar, I didn’t mean to put so much pressure on you,” said Applejack. “If it helps, I don’t want the ticket anymore. You can give it to somepony else. I won’t feel bad, I promise.”
“Me too,” said Fluttershy. “I fell so awful that I made you feel awful.”
“And me too,” said Pinkie. “It’s no fun upsetting your friends.”
“Twilight, it was unfair of me trying to force you as I did,” said Rarity.
“Yes!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “That means the ticket is mine!” She laughed.
“You know, you’re kind of a bitch,” I said.
The ponies stared at me for a moment in shock, before seeming to agree and glaring at Rainbow.
“Ah, I haven’t perfected my signature moves yet to show off to the Wonderbolts. I guess I don’t need that ticket either.”
“We’re sorry, Twilight,” they all said in unison.
“So what is this Grand Galloping Gala?” I asked.
All six of them began talking at once. I couldn’t pick out any individual comments, but it seemed like they all had their reasons for wanting to go.
“I can’t believe you haven’t heard of the Gala,” said Twilight.
“Hello? Not from Equestria?”
“It sounds like you could use a new experience.”
“Are you gonna take him?” asked Applejack in astonishment.
“No, if I can’t take all of you girls, I’ll just return the tickets. Spike, take a letter.”
I got the feeling that I had just been slighted, somehow. Twilight finished the dictation and Spike sent the letter on its way with a puff of fire.
“I couldn’t enjoy myself without you girls there anyway,” said Twilight. They had a group hug.
Twilight’s stomach growled.
“Allow us to treat you to dinner,” said Rarity.
Spike suddenly spit up a letter. “Hey look, six tickets to the Gala!”
The ponies cheered. Spike coughed up another piece of paper. He read, “And one for a chaperone of your choice.”
“Valiant, would you like to go?”
“Uh, I guess. I still don’t know what it is.”
Spike’s cheeks bulged again and out came another letter. He looked slightly worn out from the activity, but his face brightened when he read what was written. “And one for you, Spike!”
Everyone seemed pleased by this, and they went to dinner. I wasn’t invited.
Whatever. I had a novel to finish.