Twilight had been in the middle of studying when she heard the telltale burp from her little baby dragon. She smiled a bit as she listened to his footsteps as he ran towards her. "Twilight! The princess sent you a letter!" He opened the letter and was about to read it when the purple unicorn grabbed it with her magic and pulled it over to herself. She scanned the letter and smiled a bit.
"Spike, could you to get the girls? This letter is for them too..." she said to Spike, who did a little salute and made for the door, "Oh, and Spike?" He turned to her. "Get Cheese Sandwich too." The little dragon nodded, slightly confused at this, and left the library.
--cheese--pie--
Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich had been seeing who could balance the highest stack of pots on their head when Spike had opened the door. "Hey, Pinkie! You and Cheese have to...." He stared at them, perplexed. "Umm...."
The two party ponies looked at each other and giggled. Very carefully, they took the stacks of pots off their heads and trotted over to him. "Hey, Spike!" Pinkie said, giggling, "What were you saying that me and Cheese needed to do?"
"Uhhh... Oh! Twilight wants you both to go to the library as soon as possible. Everypony else is already there waiting for you." He walked back out the door. "Come on!" The two ponies shrugged and trotted after him. They got to the library and went in, five pairs of eyes turning to them.
"Ah, there you are!" Twilight said, "Okay, everypony listen to this letter I got from the princess...."
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
As you probably know, this year's Grand Galloping Gala is fast approaching. I know how interesting you all made the party last year, and I was hoping that you could do that again for this year's celebration. I have decided that I would like your friend Pinkie Pie to plan the Gala. I sure she will do a wonderful job, and perhaps this year, the celebration will be more enjoyable.
It has also come to my attention that a wandering party pony by the name of Cheese Sandwich is also currently living in Ponyville. I believe that he could be a big help to Pinkie Pie while she plans the party.
You are all welcome to stay in the castle while they are working. I will have some rooms prepared for you when you arrive.
I hope to see you all in Canterlot soon.
-Princess Celestia
Twilight looked up from the letter at the other ponies in the room. Her eyes stopped on Pinkie and Cheese. "So, do you think you two can do it?" Both party planners nodded. "Good! And everypony is going to come along, right?"
"Oh, of course!" Rarity said, nodding, "Just think of the sights!"
"Maybe while they're planning the party, I could get somepony in the gardens to help me make friends with the animals..." Fluttershy said softly.
"Then I can find the Wonderbolts and show them my stuff!" Rainbow added happily.
"Rainbow, they've already seen ya lots of times..." Applejack chuckled.
"Yeah, but they obviously haven't seen enough if they haven't made me a Wonderbolt yet!" the cyan pegasus replied, pouting a bit.
"Well, sure... Anyway, maybe Pinkie and Cheese could make some alterations to the catering this year... It'd be just dandy if I could get those ponies to buy some of mah things, unlike last year..." the farm pony muttered.
"And Spike and I are definitely going," Twilight said, "Maybe I could take some time to talk to the princess before the Gala..." She frowned slightly as she remembered what had happened the year before. "Anyway, it looks like we're all going then!" There was a chorus of "Yep"s in reply. "Well then, everypony better get packed. The Gala in only a week from now, so we need to get going as soon as possible. Everypony wake up bright. And early tomorrow so we can take the first train to Canterlot." All the other ponies nodded and left to pack their bags.
--cheese--pie--
When the ponies met the next morning, they wasted no time to get onto the train that would take them to Canterlot. They chatted amiably throughout the ride there, excited for the visit. It had been quite awhile since they had last visited the city, and they all had so many plans.
For Pinkie and Cheese, most of those plans involved the Gala and they talked to each other, suggesting various things that they thought would make the celebration fun. Of course, they wanted to do everything that was suggested, no matter how difficult that might prove to be.
Overall, their train car was alive with excited banter and the occasional shriek of joy. It was probably the most excited they had been in some time, and the anticipation was starting to make them all a bit antsy. The two party ponies' patience had begun to wear thin first, being far too eager to get started with tier preparations. The others were not far behind to wonder how much longer they would be riding the train.
That question would be answered very soon. The train pulled into the station. Everypony picked up their bags, except Rarity, who was having Spike cart around her giant mound of things. They made for the castle, still chattering excitedly about what they were going to do during the week. An entire week in Canterlot seemed like a great idea to all of them, especially Rarity, who planned to be living in the lap of luxury during that time.
They met the guards at the gate, who had been ordered to take their luggage and send them inside to meet with the princess. They thanked the kind gentlemen and trotted into the castle, following Twilight, who led them to the throne room.
"Princess Celestia!" she cried out happily, galloping up to her teacher. The five other Element Bearers and a little purple dragon followed her lead.
"Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil, I'm so glad you and your friends got my letter. I see Pinkie Pie is here to plan the party, but where is...?" The sun princess's gaze fell on Cheese Sandwich, who still stood in the doorway. The colt had stopped dead as soon as he saw the princess, and he found that his legs refused to keep moving forward. The fact that he would be meeting the princess didn't really dawn on him until now. His mind had gone completely blank.
The princess smiled a bit and laughed softly, recognizing his expression. She had seen it on far too many ponies before. "Cheese Sandwich, I presume?" she asked softly. Cheese nodded slightly before he realized that he was, in fact, in the presence of royalty and he dropped into a low bow.
"Y-yes Princess Celestia. That's me."
"Now, now. There's no need to be so formal, Cheese Sandwich. After all, I summoned you here to dispel some of the formality found during the Grand Galloping Gala." Cheese rose, looking around.
"Oh right! Yes, of course..." he said, nodding a bit nervously. Pinkie Pie grinned.
"Don't worry, Princess Celestia! This Grand Galloping Gala is gonna be totally fun!" she said happily. The Princess laughed again.
"I certainly hope so, my little pony." Suddenly, a white stallion, who was obviously from Celestia's royal guard, approached the monarch and whispered something to her. "Oh my!" She turned to her guests.
"Is something wrong, Princess?" Twilight asked.
"I'm afraid so, Twilight... It would seem that we only have six rooms available for you all. There are eight of you altogether, and even with Spike staying with you, Twilight, there still won't be enough rooms..."
"Oh, that won't be a problem, Princess..." Rainbow Dash said, smirking, "I'm sure Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich won't mind sharing a room..." She chucked softly and looked at e two party ponies.
They both blushed softly. "Oh, well I don't mind..." Pinkie said, smiling sheepishly. Cheese nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I certainly don't mind sharing a room with Pinkie Pie..." he said softly. Princess Celestia looked down at Twilight, seeming confused at they're willingness. Twilight smiled knowingly and shrugged.
"Well, if you're sure, then that would be lovely..." she hesitated for a second, "But...well..."
They all turned to the Princess. "Is something wrong, Princess?" Twilight asked.
"Well, it's just there's only one bed..." the Princess shrugged, "I will send the guards to get another one for the room, but I'm afraid I can make no guarantees..." Pinkie and Cheese were blushing harder now.
"Uhm... That's fine, Princess Celestia. I'm sure we'll manage," Cheese said softly, "We wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality..."
"Anyway, Cheese and I had better get started planning!" Pinkie said, hopping towards the door. "Come on, Cheese! We need to get the party canons!" Cheese Sandwich gratefully followed Pinkie out of the room, glad to be escaping the awkward situation.
"Did she say 'canon'...?" Princess Celestia asked, causing the remaining company to giggle. They all started to file out until only Twilight remained with the Princess. "My student, what did Rainbow Dash mean when she said they wouldn't mind sharing the room?"
Twilight looked up at her mentor. "Oh! Well, Pinkie and Cheese kinda..." she hesitated, "...like each other..." The princess looked surprised, glancing over at the door out of the room before smiling a bit.
"Well, they certainly do seem to make sense together..."
"Make sense? I can't understand what either of them are talking about..." Twilight then understood. "Oh, that's what you mean..." The studious mare giggled a bit and then trotted off to join her friends.
--cheese--pie--
Several days later, the ponies were discussing how much fun they had been having so far during their visit, when they realized they were short a few ponies. "Has anypony seen Pinkie or Cheese?" Twilight asked, looking around as if she might see them somewhere nearby.
"I haven't seen them since we met with the Princess," Rarity said, admiring herself in the reflection on her shiny hooves.
"Maybe someone should go see if they're okay?" Fluttershy suggested timidly. The other agreed, and the five ponies, plus one baby dragon, made their way to the room where the two party ponies were staying. Twilight knocked on the door. No answer.
"Pinkie Pie? Cheese Sandwich? Are you guys in there?" she called out. Still no answer. Shrugging slightly, she pushed open the door.
There were papers strewn everywhere, plans for the Gala most likely. There was a list of sorts tacked onto a board hanging from the wall. The room was dim, but not dark, and it was easy to read the words 'Gala Planning List' written at the top. It looked like the two parties had a lot planned. And speaking of those two...
There they were, laying on the floor. Pieces of paper covered the both of them, but they were both sleeping peacefully as if they weren't trying get plan one of the most important parties of the entire Equestrian year. What's more, they had their forelegs wrapped around each other in a warm hug.
The mares couldn't help but coo softly at the adorable sight. Spike, on the other hand, made fake vomiting noises and walked again. "Girls..." he muttered.
Twilight very carefully used her magic to pull the door shut again, making a very soft cocking noise as it did so. She looked at the others and smiled. "It looks like they're just fine to me..."
"Yep," Rainbow grinned almost evilly, "Just fine..."
"Yer never gonna leave them be about this ever again, are ya?" Applejack asked, and Rainbow shook her head.
"Nope. Never." The other mares rolled there eyes and trotted off, letting the two party ponies sleep for awhile before they had to return to planning their party. They must have been working hard.
--cheese--pie--
Anypony who attended the Grand Galloping Gala that year would tell you it was...different. Some of the nobles used the word in a foul way. They had liked the Gala the way it was, and this change did not appeal to them. However, many of the other ponies who got the chance to attend that year, thought that it was a lovely change of pace. Most of them enjoyed themselves, and even a few of the noble ponies found that they liked experiencing this thing called 'fun.'
Pinkie and Cheese had a great time, but of course they almost always did. It was a party after all! I was a lot closer to the celebration Pinkie had had in mind when she had wanted to attend the Gala the year before, and she made a good show to tell Cheese all about it in song form.
The Princess was especially pleased with the work of the two party ponies. This had been exactly what she had been hoping for. Those two really were the most super duper party ponies in all of Equestria. They made a perfect team.
--cheese--pie--
But the Grand Galloping Gala had to end eventually. Full of new memories of their amazing night, the seven ponies, and one dragon, packed their bags and headed back for Ponyville. They were taking the first train of the day, but they were tired since none of them had really slept at all.
They talked softly amongst each other for awhile until they realized, like they had a few days before, that they were short two ponies. They looked around, wondering where they could be before Fluttershy softly called out. "Hey! Over here!" They all gathered around where she was pointing.
"Awww~" they cooed in unison, seeing the two party planning ponies curled up together in one of the seats, fast asleep. They all smiled at each other before deciding to follow the two ponies' lead and get some sleep themselves.