//------------------------------// // An Invitation // Story: Soren the Alicorn Part 3: A True Hero? // by KingNyroc15 //------------------------------// Half an hour after the EMP was used. "...and that's when the past-me did a Sonic Rainboom and got killed by the windigos. The Doctor disappeared because he no longer existed, but I stayed here because apparently the universe needs me." Rainbow Dash just finished explaining her adventure to Soren. The two were laying on their backs on grass, enjoying the sunny afternoon. It took Rainbow many minutes to convince Soren that she went to a future that no longer existed, but eventually he believed her. "That's a disturbing thought that the past-you died, yet the new-you, who's supposed to be nonexistent, is still alive," Soren said. "But there's one thing that's still bugging me." "What's that?" Rainbow turned on her side to look at him. "The past-Doctor was so...lively and energetic...and happy. When I met him for the first time, he was discorded and solitary. What happened to him to make him like that? Not even Twilight knows, and I highly doubt Cain was the only reason." "Don't think about it too much, Soren. In the end, he changed back to normal. He was just going through a rough phase." Rainbow paused before continuing. "I have an idea!" This time Soren turned onto his side to look at her. "How about I introduce you to Princess Cadence? She lives here, and unless she had to leave on some emergency, I can introduce you to her. What do you say?" "I'm willing to do anything to keep my mind from wandering." "Anything~?" Rainbow teased with sultry eyes. "Just lead the way, you crazy mare," Soren laughed, as did Rainbow. The couple arrived at the entrance to the Crystal Castle, and after having to explain who they were to the guards for five minutes, Soren and Rainbow Dash walked inside. While in the castle, the two were escorted towards the throne room. Rainbow Dash looked around at the familiar castle and couldn't help but have flashbacks about the ruined version of the beautiful building. Rainbow visibly shuddered and Soren took notice. "Remembering the not-future?" he asked. Rainbow nodded. "It's going to be alright. I can't imagine seeing all of that and forgetting it anytime soon." The couple finally arrived at the double doors that led into the throne room. The two crystal guards opened the doors and ushered them in. Soren and Rainbow Dash walked inside and were instantly greeted by a sweet voice. "Hello, Rainbow Dash. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? And who is your friend?" They looked across the long room to see none other than Princess Cadence sitting on her throne, smiling at them. "Hey, Cadence. We just decided to drop in and see what you were up to. This here is Soren. You have to have heard of him by now. The Elemental Guardian? Nyroc? Ringing any bells?" The princess thought for a moment before realization hit her. "Oh, of course! How did I not recognize you? Celestia and Luna have told me so much about you, but we've never met in person until now." Cadence flew off of her throne and landed in front of Soren. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Soren. I'm Princess Cadence." "It's very nice to finally meet you, princess," Soren replied as he bowed. "There's no need for that. We're all friends here. I'm pretty sure the other princesses have said that to you before." "On occasion. So how long have you–" Soren was interrupted by the throne room doors being opened. A guard walked in and stopped in front of Cadence. "Message from Canterlot, your majesty." The guard held out a scroll for the princess to see. Cadence then levitated said scroll in front of her. She thanked the guard, and the guard bowed before exiting the room. "Excuse me for just a moment," she said to Soren and Rainbow. "I need to see what this message says." Cadence opened the scroll with her magic and began reading it. Soren and Rainbow waited patiently for the princess to finish. As she read, the princess levitated two golden tickets away from the scroll so she could read what they were blocking. Rainbow noticed the tickets and her jaw dropped. "Are those...?" Rainbow started but stopped when Cadence nodded. Soren looked confused the entire time. When she was finally done reading, Cadence rolled up the scroll and levitated it onto her throne. She continued to float the two tickets next to her as she spoke to Soren and Rainbow once again. "It seems as though Princess Celestia is looking for two specific ponies. She sent two tickets to important and trustworthy ponies across Equestria in hopes to find these lucky two." "Who are they?" Soren asked, while Rainbow Dash was snickering and trying not to squeal. Cadence gave a small laugh before answering. "You two. You're both invited to the Grand Galloping Gala." "The Grand Galloping Gala, huh?" Soren said. "I think Twilight told me about her first Gala. She said all of her friends, including herself, made it...interesting." Rainbow Dash started laughing as she remembered that night. "We definitely livened up the place," she commented. "It was pretty boring without us ruining the party." "So what do you think your friends have planned this year?" Cadence asked Rainbow Dash, who shrugged as a response. "No clue. Soren and I are most likely going to be spending the entire Gala together, unless either of us gets dragged away from the other." Soren chuckled. "One thing I know for sure is that Rainbow and I have to head back to Ponyville for some attire," he explained. "You're already set on going back to Ponyville?!" Rainbow asked in disbelief. "But I thought–" "That doesn't matter right now, Rainbow Dash," Soren interrupted. He didn't want to explain anything to Cadence right now. "What matters is that we ask Rarity if she can make us some nice clothing." "Alright. We can leave after we're done talking with Cadence." "You two can start heading back whenever you feel like it. You don't have to stay here for my sake," Cadence explained. "But I do have one question: Why are you two all the way out here alone?" "We're on a date," Soren lied quickly. "We came here for a little time for ourselves. By the way, when is the Gala?" "About five days from now. You two should probably start getting ready for it." Cadence floated the tickets and a pair of saddlebags over to Soren, who made a face of confusion. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Cadence," Rainbow Dash said quickly, seeing Soren's expression. "Are you going to be at the Gala?" "Yes I will. All of the princesses show up every year. I will also be spending time with Shining Armor while we are there. Anyways, I don't want to keep you two lovebirds busy any longer. I'll see you at the Gala." "Wait a se–" Soren began only to be cut off by Rainbow. "Goodbye, princess!" Rainbow began pushing Soren out of the throne room. Once he and Rainbow were out of the palace, Soren wanted to say something about the saddlebags that came out of nowhere; instead he was slapped by Rainbow. "Ow! Why am I always the one being hit?" Soren started to rub his cheek. "What was that about?" she asked. "What was wh–" "Why did you lie to the princess about why we came here?" Soren sighed. "I don't want the princesses to worry about me. All I want is a vacation, and I don't need Celestia or Luna or even Cadence trying to help me." Soren gave an even stare at Rainbow as he began to fly. Dash stood still for a few seconds and watched as Soren slowly flew away. 'There's something about that colt...' she thought to herself. She shook her head sadly and went to catch up with him. ------------------ The Next Day ------------------ "Rarity, are the dresses finished?" Twilight Sparkle asked. Twilight decided to visit Rarity at Carousel Boutique to check on the Gala dresses she was making for them. "But of course," Rarity replied. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't complete them before the Gala?" Rarity answered. "Where is everyone else?" "I don't know, but I'm sure they will show up eventually." "I only wish I could have made a nice suit for Soren. This would have been his first Grand Galloping Gala, correct?" Twilight nodded. "I think we all wish he could be here right now, but at least Rainbow Dash is taking care of him." "And isn't that the truth," a new voice said. "I didn't think all of you would miss me that much." Rarity and Twilight turned towards the front door of the boutique. They both gasped as they saw Soren and Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway. Twilight ran up to Soren and hugged him. "How's my best friend doing?" he softly asked as he returned the hug. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash walked over to Rarity. "I hope we didn't cause too much of a panic," Rainbow said. "We were all a little heartbroken at first, but we understood why Soren decided to leave. Everypony needs a vacation now and again, even moi, and especially a hero." (Soren shuddered at that title.) "So why have you both returned? Did you two see anything spectacular?" "We went to the Crystal Empire," Soren answered as he and Twilight joined the two mares. "I even met Princess Cadence for the first time. As for why we came back, well...apparently Princess Celestia really wants me and Rainbow to come to the Gala." Rarity squealed after hearing that. "Then I absolutely must make fabulous outfits for both of you. I have already completed the dresses for the rest of our friends so I have more than enough time to make two more. Come, come, Soren, I must get you fitted." Before Soren could say anything, Rarity grabbed his hoof and started dragging him away. Soren looked back at Twilight and Rainbow, who both rolled their eyes and smiled. After Rarity did her routine of finding Soren's size, Twilight, Soren, and Rainbow Dash went to look for Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie while Rarity worked on Soren and Dash's outfits. By the end of their quest, they discovered that their three missing friends were each at their respective houses. One strong hoofshake and one bear hug later, Soren, along with his five friends, had gathered at Sugarcube Corner for some refreshments. "Ah never understood why you up and left, Soren," Applejack chastised him. "It's pretty simple...at least to me anyway. I was tired of my friends being caught in the crossfire between me and anything evil, so I decided to leave to try and prevent anypony from getting hurt. However, I couldn't allow myself to say no to bringing Rainbow Dash with me." "Yet you did in the future," Rainbow muttered to herself. "You're a silly, smart pony!" Pinkie exclaimed. "We like you too much for you to just leave." "I know, but I feel like it's necessary." "You're starting to become a lot like him, you know," Twilight said. "The Doctor." "Maybe. I doubt he wanted to see anyone he cared about getting hurt either, especially you, Twilight." "So are you and Rainbow coming with us to the Gala?" Fluttershy asked. Soren and Rainbow nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for the world," the rainbow pegasus said. "Since we're back for now," Soren started, "we might as well have a lot of fun with you girls, right?" The four mares agreed happily. "What should we do first?" -------------------- Day of the Gala -------------------- The past four days were like no other for Soren. He almost felt exhausted from all of the things he did with his friends. He studied with Twilight, spent time with Fluttershy and her animals, went to a "small" party that Pinkie Pie hosted, and even raced Applejack and Rainbow on more than one occasion. It has been a fantastic few days for him. Too bad Rarity was too focused on Soren and Rainbow's outfits to spend time with him. The unicorn assured him it was fine. Tonight, though, was very important to all of them. Tonight was the Grand Galloping Gala. It was around 5 o'clock when Soren and his friends gathered in the Carousel Boutique. Soren was anxiously waiting in the main room of the shop while his friends put on their dresses in the back room. Rarity had given him a book to look through while he waited. It showed all of her most successful creations, including the very first Gala dresses she made for all of them. It was interesting to see those along with many other outfits Rarity has made, but he was very curious to see his friends in their newest clothing. After they finish changing, the six mares would then wait for Soren to put on his suit. Soren had to only wait five more minutes before all six of his closest friends exited the back room. Upon seeing them, not only was Soren struck silent, but he could tell that he was blushing. They all looked absolutely beautiful! It looked as though Rarity took a similar approach to their very first Gala attire, but changed them slightly to somehow look even better. Soren was so awestruck that he couldn't describe the modifications even if he tried. Soren thought the first set was perfect, yet Rarity managed to make them look, as Rainbow would put it, twenty percent cooler. "I can see that these dresses will catch any stallion's eye," Rarity giggled. "Soren is already blushing." "Just be glad he's only blushing, Rare," Rainbow Dash commented. Soren checked his wings and cleared his throat. "Well, I didn't know what to expect." He gestured to all of them. "You all look beautiful." "Well thanks, Soren," Applejack said. "Can't wait to see what you look like in your tux." "Indeed," Rarity agreed. "Soren, your suit is waiting for you in the back. Come out whenever you're ready." Soren, still fighting the small blush on his cheeks, nodded and trotted into the back room to change. It only took him a few minutes to get dressed. Soren stepped back into the front room of the store and heard every one of his friends gasp. Rarity gestured Soren over to a tall mirror so he could see himself. He was wearing a tuxedo that was lined with green on some areas, and instead of a white undershirt, he was wearing a green one. Rarity also decided to give Soren a white bow tie instead of the red one that was known to match well with the normal suit. Rarity also added a black fedora with a white stripe going across it. Soren had to admit that he looked handsome in his suit, and he knew his friends thought the same. Rainbow walked up to Soren, leaned against him, and looked at both of them in the mirror. "Best couple at the Gala," she joked. Soren chuckled. He turned towards Rarity. "Thank you for the suit, Rarity. It's amazing...and surprisingly simple." Soren smiled as he looked at himself again. "Well I assumed you didn't want anything over the top, so I stuck to the basics," she explained. "Are we all ready to leave?" Everypony nodded or said 'yes,' so the seven friends exited the boutique and walked to the train station. This was going to be the best night ever!