//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6: The Big Night 
// Story: Deus Equestria: Ascension 
// by HarmonicaJay 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 6


The Big Night

“When going to war, you must be prepared to get your hooves dirty.”
-General Salamander Red
When Rarity rendezvoused at Twilight's office that evening, she was surprised to not only find Twilight, but Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash there as well, all looking in her direction.
“So, how did your date go,” Rainbow asked, a sly smile on her face.
Rarity raised her nose to this with a huff. “For your information, Rainbow, it was not a date. It was a friendly lunch/business deal and it went well. Dr. Rain is quite the gentlepony. Oh, and Twilight, the plan went off without a hitch. The bug planted itself and we have access to the main building for the after party.”
Twilight smiled. “Perfect, Rarity. Now that we have access, we can begin the next phase of the plan.” She turned to Pinkie Pie. “Do you think you will be able to handle your part?”
Pinkie nodded. “Oh, yes, yes, yes! I cannot wait. This is going to be a great party! When we are done with that hall, nopony that works there is going to recognize it!”
Twilight looked at Applejack first, Rarity next, and finally Rainbow Dash, all with puzzled looks on their faces. “Umm, yeah. Of course, Pinkie. But...”
Pinkie grinned. “Oh, don't worry. I haven't forgotten the super-special-ultra-secret plan. Don't you fret. Old Pinkie Pie's got this in the bag.”
Twilight shook her head. She really hoped that was true. Pinkie was a great friend, but she had her own method of doing things. And that's what worried her. This job was too important to leave to chance. There were only three weeks to go before the fashion expo. Then it would begin.
Over the next three weeks, Rarity spent most of her time at E.A.T. and with Dr. Rain. They spent most of their time supervising the decorations, so almost none of their conversations were recorded. In the evenings, he would personally drop her off at her residence at the Carousel Boutique. When Rarity wasn't there, Dr. Rain spent his spare time in his office. Twilight was frustrated that almost nothing he said was incriminating enough to get any dirt on him or had anything to do with the mysterious Project: Ascension that Mr. White had mentioned. To add insult to injury, Twilight was having less luck decrypting the file that had been recovered from Sunny Dale's terminal. It was so advanced to the point that whenever she made a mistake, the file would go on lock up for 24 hours and she would have to start again from scratch. It was driving her up the wall. 
It's ok, she thought to herself. After this operation, I will have what I need to nail them. I know I will.
“Do you know how late it is?”
Twilight looked up to see Spike at her office door. The purple dragon was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised.
“I need more time, Spike. I am so close to cracking this code. I need time.”
Spike shook his head. “You need sleep. Come on. Listen to your number one assistant. The fashion show is tomorrow. You need to focus on that before you finish this.”
Twilight stood upright in her chair. “The fashion show! I forgot! OHMIGOSH! If I'm not ready for tomorrow, then I won't be prepped for the job! And if I'm not prepped for the job, then I won't be able to coordinate with Pinkie Pie for the operation! And then everything will go wrong! And if everything goes wrong then ALL OF EQUESTRIA WILL BE DOOMED!!!”
Spike walked behind the desk and looked Twilight in the eyes and slapped her across the face. It was one thing if Twilight was too tired, but it was another when she was wound up. When Twilight was in this state of mind, she was no use to anypony. Just  one of the many duties as the Princess of Magic's Number One Assistant. 
Twilight shook her head. “Thanks, Spike. I don't know what came over me.”
“You need sleep. Let's go, Your Highness.” Spike lifted her on his shoulders and carried Twilight out of the office to the secret bedroom Twilight kept around for late nights. One of the many perks of being a dragon, with growth came strength. He laid her on the bed and draped the covers over Twilight. She laid her head on the pillow and drifted off.
“Big day tomorrow, Twi. Sleep well.”
The next night would be a night nopony would ever forget.
At the same time, across Equestria in the high towers of the capital city of Canterlot, Twilight's former mentor and now fellow Princess, Celestia also slept. While her sister, Princess Luna, kept watch over the night and all that slept, Celestia rested in her royal bedchambers. When it was time, she would rise with the dawn and resume her duties as Princess and watcher of Equestria's daytimes. 
Unlike Ponyville, a town on the rise to becoming a true city or Manehattan, a city where anypony could make it, Canterlot was purely upperclass. It was the city where the crème de la crème made roost. Ivory towers filled with snobs born with silver spoons in their mouths. Old money was the only way a pony could succeed here if they wanted to be something.
In this city, augmentations had become more of a fashion statement. With Canterlot staying out of harm's way for most of the war, except for when the siege began, there were few ponies that were gravely injured, save for a bruised foreleg. But, when augmentations came around, suddenly it was the latest fashion trend as well as a brand new form of physical therapy. Though the former was the most utilized. This trend had also been the spark that lit the flame that attracted the Harvesters to Canterlot. Star-Metal, from his nest in Ponyville, had seen the opportunity and took it. Next to Ponyville, Canterlot was his golden goose and it was ripe for the plucking.
As Celestia tossed and turned in her sleep, her new terminal, a gift from Twilight, switched itself on. It bathed the room in a sickly green glow, accompanied by a sharp and constant beep. After a few minutes, Celestia finally stirred. She opened one eye to see a “you got mail” sign flashing on the terminal screen. After dragging herself out of bed and hobbling over to the desk, Celestia opened the message.
“I normally wouldn't do this, but things are getting too urgent. My associates have ordered no direct contact between our parties, but this bares a partnership. Warning: Keep an eye on the local Harvesters. I have been monitoring Canterlot Police Reports. Attacks have been getting less frequent in the Capital. Reason: they are beginning to move out. Not a good sign despite what you may think. New management is calling the shots. Something big is going down. Civil War big. Your protege is also in deep with E.A.T. My associates are keeping an eye on her, so no need to worry. I will keep in touch. Do not call me, I will call you.
With love,
Mr. Glory.”
Celestia's eyes widened. The Harvesters were a problem, but it was a problem she and Luna felt best left to Law Enforcement. She had stayed on top of reports when it became clear this was not a problem that was going away anytime soon. Looking back, she realized that the Harvesters really had been getting quiet. Too quiet now that she thought of it. Now Twilight was involved in something at Equestrian Augmentations and Technologies. Whoever this Mr. Glory was, he was connected. Too connected. Celestia didn't like this. In the morning, she would have to talk with Luna about this before she turned in. Celestia had to know. She had to know if her country and her people were truly in danger.
The night of the fashion show, the after party went off without a hitch. True to Pinkie's word, it was, in a word, amazing. The normally crowded main hall of the building was transformed from an office complex into the ballroom of a magnificent palace. The floor of the main hall had been replaced with a discotheque dance floor with flashing lights. There were sterling steel statues of Princess Celestia, Luna, and Twilight along the sides of the hall, multicolored lights all over the ceiling, and dance music blared out of the speakers in the ceilings replacing the muzak that the company usually played to give the building some atmosphere. In the center was a life sized ice statue of Celestia, or at least an Alicorn that looked like Celestia. Upon closer inspection, Twilight recognized it as the Alicorn on the logo of the building. At the back of the room, a large stage had been erected with a large sign behind it with the word, “Equality” written in large metallic letters. 
Among the many ponies, Twilight could distinguish a few notable faces, including Filthy Rich, a landowner/business pony, Vinyl Scratch, or as some called her, DJ Pon-3, and Photo Finish, the most famous fashion photographer in all of Equestria. She could also see a few of her friends. Fluttershy and Big Mac, having left the kids in the capable care of Granny Smith, were conversing with a group of ponies while Rarity toured around the room with Dr. Rain. She heard Spike give a grumble as they passed. Pinkie was no where in sight and that was perfect. As long as nopony noticed, the operation would not be jeopardized in any way. Rainbow had elected not to attend and Applejack was at the bar. Twilight sighed as she realized that it was an open bar as well. She was about to go to her when she heard the sound of feedback over the speakers. She turned to see Dr. Rain in the center of the hall with a microphone in front of him. He tapped it twice to make sure it was on.
“Ahem, Mares and Gentlestallions, members of Equestria's social elite, thank you for attending tonight. I know we would not be here had it not been for the initiative of this lovely lady beside me: Ms. Rarity.”
The spotlight focused on Rarity, who blushed and took a bow as the ponies in the room gave a polite applause.
“Now, I would like to announce the following, this night is also for another purpose. In the weeks it took to prepare this, Ms. Rarity and I were in conference and we have decided to add an additional benefit to this night. As you might know, there are many ponies that have had terrible integration problems with my augmentations. Even with the distributed vaccine, they are still suffering problems. That is why this ball will double as a charity that I encourage you to contribute to. Now, I am not saying I am going to strong arm you into contributing, but all I ask is that you give a little to aid those that did not escape the war as unscathed as others did. Thank you all and enjoy the party.”
A ring of polite applause sounded out from the gathered crowd and the guests went back to their revelry. As Twilight made her way to the bar, she heard an “Ahem” right beside her. She turned to see Mr. White wearing a black bowtie, giving a small smile at her. This was the first time she had seen him do that and Twilight felt uncomfortable at the sight of it. She wasn't sure if she preferred the stone faced Mr. White more.
“Nice party, isn't it?”
Twilight looked up at Spike who looked at her, shrugging. Was Mr. White trying to make small talk with her? “Umm, yeah. Nice. It is a nice party.”
“Your friend really did keep her word. I hardly recognize the place.”
“That's what I thought myself,” Twilight said. 
“Great minds think alike, wouldn't you say?” Mr. White raised an eyebrow. “By the way, speaking of your friend, Pinkie Pie, I haven't seen her around. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?”
Twilight swallowed. “Oh, Pinkie? She said that she would be late getting here. She had another party across town she had to work on. She'll probably be here later tonight. She wouldn't miss this for anything.”
“Funny, she didn't mention another party when she was here.” Mr. White paused for a moment as if considering. “Eh, probably didn't feel the need to mention. Doesn't matter. Enjoy the party, Your Highness.” He nodded over towards Applejack at the bar. “Oh, and tell the General to go easy on the Apple Schnapps. This may be a charity party, but the company is still footing the bill.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I've wondered, why do you call her “General”?”
Mr. White shrugged. “It's what she is. Right?”
Twilight shook her head. “She was, but not anymore. The war's over.”
A look of surprise came over Mr. White's face. “Oh, right. Sorry. Hard to turn it off sometimes. Still got soldier's instincts in me. I see authority, I must salute.”
“What were you during the war?”
“A soldier. What else?” White gave her a cyber-wink that made Twilight shudder. The red glow from his eyes was unsettling. 
“Do the augmentations hurt,” Spike asked, looking over Mr. White.
“At times, but I'm one of the lucky ones not to experience integration problems. Only problems I get are aching or itching joints. For a while I had phantom limb syndrome, but I got through it. Now if you will excuse me, Your Highness, Dragon.”
Mr. White looked up at Spike, nodded, and trotted off into the crowd. Spike bent down to Twilight's ear. “I don't like him. I don't know why, but I just don't like him.”
“I know what you mean.”
Twilight and Spike trotted over to Applejack at the bar. Applejack was on her fourth glass of Schnapps and it looked like she was about to tip out of her seat. She noticed Twilight coming up and gave a drunken smile.
“Hey, Twi, Spike. How the heck are y'all doin'? Great party ain't it?” She reached for another glass and instead sent it tipping over the bar with a crash. “Oops. Sawry. Butterhooves.” She let out a drunken chuckle and banged on the bar. “Barkeep. Another. And keep 'em comin'!”
Twilight shook her head at the barkeep and nudged Spike in Applejack's direction. Spike nodded and in one motion, picked up Applejack and swung her over his shoulder. Applejack's chuckle turned into a guffaw.
“Come ooooooon, Twilight. Ah can handle myself just fine. Besides, it's a party! Everypony have fun! HOOOEEEE!”
Twilight facehooved. No need for Pinkie when Applejack was in the house. Now there was a sentence she never thought she would ever have to say.  Spike took Applejack to Fluttershy and Big Mac and explained the situation to them. Mac just motioned and Spike draped AJ over her big brother's back. The three ponies made their way out of the hall, Applejack singing all the way. With a drunken “Goodnight, Y'all!” they departed.
Twilight realized something with a jolt. Pinkie! She'd forgotten to contact her in order to sync up. As she activated her concealed earpiece, she hoped Pinkie was in position by now. She hoped the plan was going well.