Twilight gives an understanding smile before she explains. “The Grand Galloping Gala is a celebration done every year to celebrate the completion of Canterlot. It was originally hosted by the unicorns who built Canterlot, but now it is hosted by the princesses.” Twilight clears her throat, and a small blush grows on her face. “Last year, though, we kind of ruined the party.”
Pinkie’s face grows brighter, and she even smiles, despite the feelings experienced just minutes ago. “Yeah, but afterwards Princess Celestia told us that we only made it more fun for her! And now we have Storm to make it even better! I can’t wait to go with him!”
“What?” You heard her quite clearly, but what she said confused you. “What do you mean, go with you?”
“Silly, you’ll be taking me as your date, won’t you?”
Oh my…
“He’ll be taking me, you mean.” Applejack took a step closer to you, and you just looked at her, still unsure of how to tackle this situation.
“Girls, please. There’s no need for all this fighting.” You turned to look at Rarity, the latest to speak. “Clearly he’ll be taking me, as only I have the class and sophistication to truly enjoy the festivities.” She matches your gaze, and a smile spreads on her face. “Besides, he and I go together so well!”
Soon, all six mares are fighting over you. Or, to clarify, they’re all fighting, save for Fluttershy. You were standing, but now you just sit there, dumbfounded at what is happening before you. You raise a hoof, and all six look at you.
“Did any of you stop to think that maybe I have an opinion in the matter?” You look at each of them in turn, and they are all clearly waiting on what you have to say. “I’ll be honest with you all.” You pause, for dramatic effect. “I have no idea who I’m going to take. But I do know that I won’t choose yet. I still have some time, right Twilight?”
“Yeah, the gala isn’t for another month.”
“Well, than I have a week to get to know each of you, once I feel that I know Pinkie well enough. Only then will I be able to make my decision. So, until then, I’d appreciate it if each of you would avoid bringing it up too much. Or, at least, don’t bring it up around me. If the six of you can come to an agreement without me, than I’ll gladly hear it.”
All six nod in agreement, but a smirk appears on Rainbow’s face. “You know that I know you the best, so I’m pretty sure I’ve got this in the bag.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, Rainbow. From what I’ve seen of Pinkie, and Applejack, they’re both solid competition. There won’t be an easy win to be had here. But, I’m still not going to talk about this anymore.” You cross your hooves across your chest, firmly signaling that you’re done with the topic.
“Well, now that that’s out of the way, how about we go get some food! I’m famished.” Pinkie would be the one to break the silence, but you can’t help but agree. You’re feeling quite hungry as well. After a short discussion, it was agreed that you would go to the small diner in town.
The trip there was quite peaceful, although you did notice a few glances in your direction. The thought of picking one of them over the others sent tiny shivers down your spine. You arrived at the diner without incident, and soon the seven of you were seated at a table, and talking about whatever topic came about. You were only barely paying attention, though, as you were occupied with this new conundrum. I already know that I have to spend time with Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Dash, so I still have time to get to know them, before I have to decide. Still, why does this have to be so damn hard?
“What do you think, Storm?” You are torn from your thoughts by a question thrown your way. You could identify the voice as having come from Rarity, so you look at her, but you quickly notice that all six mares are looking at you.
“Um… What? I was distracted by my inner monologue, so could you repeat the question?”
Rarity offers a small smile, and she repeats herself. “I was saying that I would design all of our outfits, and that I would do yours last, so that I could match it to whoever you chose to go with. I just asked you what you thought of that plan.”
“Oh. Well, that sounds like a good idea. That way I match whoever I go with. Although I’d like it if there was a certain unity between all of us. A theme, if you will.”
Rarity’s eyes go wide at this, and she lets out a small squeal. “Oh that is a wonderful idea! We’ll all have a certain element in common that will only add to the beauty! But what element can I have as a constant between all of our dresses?” She trails off, clearly lost in thought as to what she’ll do with all the dresses.
The rest of the meal passes without any real incident, and with only some friendly banter passing between all of you. With the meal complete, the seven of you go your separate ways. As you all split apart, you find yourself with nothing to do. Somehow, you managed to please whatever god is responsible for free time, because you now have the rest of the day to do nothing.
With a powerful sweep of your wings, you take flight, just to enjoy the freedom of flight. You soar amongst the clouds, slowly climbing higher and higher. After quite some time, you feel yourself growing faint, due to the ever decreasing amount of oxygen in the air.
Your breathing slows, as you pace yourself to maintain your altitude. You simply enjoy the freedom of flying for quite some time, but an idea crosses your mind, and you decide to act on it. With a small adjustment to your wings you enter a dive. Over the next few seconds you angle yourself into an incredibly steep dive, and you feel yourself pass the mental barriers that once prevented you from going any faster with ease.
Finally, you hit the barrier that you had never been able to push through. The air itself screams past, almost as if it is angry that you would disturb it so. Pushing as hard as you can, you shatter the barrier that held you back. A shimmering cone of air appears before you, but you find yourself unable to make it through. The mental block in your mind is too solid, and so you can travel no faster.
The ground rushes towards you faster than you would have thought possible, and with less than a thousand feet below you, you pull out of the dive. The ground whizzes past in a blur of color, and soon you angle upwards, allowing gravity to help you slow down. The adrenaline pumping through you makes you feel so alive, so you level out before you lose too much speed.
You start a gently banked turn, and soon you are headed back towards Ponyville. On your way back, though, you spot a white mass in the Everfree Forest. You pull up, wanting to investigate whatever this thing was. The forest was fairly uniform in its density, and arrangement of foliage, so it was odd that there would be something that sticks out so much in the forest.
You circle a few times, still unsure as to what it is. In a display of arrogance, you assure yourself that you’ll be able to handle whatever it is that’s down there. As you get closer to the ground, you are shocked to see that it is a dragon. Still, you assure yourself that you’ll be able to escape, if it turns out to be a threat. You land a distance away from it, and it cracks open an eye to look at you. It has a nasty looking scar running along its left eye, and you can’t help but wonder what caused it.
“Ah, so the interloper shows himself at last.” His voice, as this is undeniably a male, is deep, and filled with experience. You suspect, though, that his size plays a larger role in the deepness of his voice, though. “I’ve been in Equestria for quite some time, now. And then you decide to interfere. Your actions have upset the balance, and I will be forced to pick up the pieces, should your actions cause any lasting harm.”
“Um… Who are you, and what, exactly, are you going on about?”
A massive rumble escapes the dragon, as he sits upright. Surprisingly he’s not as tall as you suspected. “I am Eidar, the Wanderer of Equestria. You are another wanderer, brought here by the wish of another being.” He pauses for a moment, as if suddenly speaking with somepony else. “Screw the rules, I’m a dragon. I’ve been told, by the watchers, that I can not speak any further with you on this topic. Something about pissing off God. That’s God with a capital ‘G’.”
“Wait, God? There’s a step up from the princesses?”
“No. Now go away. I’ve already said too much.” With that, the dragon simply turned, and began walking through the forest. You just watch for a few minutes, as the large white form slowly becomes obscured by the trees. Just as you are about to turn to go, you hear the faint voice of the dragon once more. “And don’t tell anypony that I’m here.”
Well, things just seem to be getting better and better! I’m apparently breaking some sort of cosmic rule, and nopony saw fit to tell me. Great… You spread your wings once more, and you begin the flight back to Ponyville. You arrive back at Ponyville, and you head to your home, your mind racing.
As you enter your home, you can’t help but look at the grandfather clock. You sit before it, watching the swinging of the pendulum. “Why do you draw my mind? I sit here, now, before you, awaiting the revealing mysteries that you seem to promise. What deep intricacies do you hide behind that clock face, I wonder? Is it a foretelling of death, or one of hope? Do you bring wise words, or perhaps a fanciful tale?
“Or are you naught more than a clock, telling the time? But what time, I wonder? Do you tell the time as it is, or as it will be? Do you count down, or up? With all the magic of this world, is there any real difference between the two? Or, am I just going mad, slowly? Well? Have you no answers?” You realize that you were shouting at the clock, with your last words, and so you take a deep breath, and steady yourself. “No. No, you’re a clock, nothing more, and nothing less.”
You stand, and turn away from the clock, no longer interested in it. A knocking comes from your door, and so you head over, and open it up. Standing there is Pinkie Pie, and a smile adorns her face. “Oh, hi Pinkie. What brings you by?”
Her smile fades a bit, and she gains a curious expression on her face. “Are you okay, Storm? You sound a bit upset.” You motion for her to come in, and she follows you upstairs.
“I’ve just been thinking, is all. I’ve been through so much in the past few weeks, and it only just hit me how short a time it has really been.” You take a seat at the piano, and Pinkie sits on the bench next to you. You move your hooves over the keys, but Pinkie stops them.
“You don’t need to play for me, you know.” Her smile is sincere, and it even brings a smile to your face.
“I know. I’m playing for myself this time.”