//------------------------------// // Two Tickets to Armageddon // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Adventures of the Book of Virtue // by ColossalGX //------------------------------// Ever since that Elements of Harmony incident, the young blue pony was able to enjoy the rest of his day in his new home in Ponyville. He just never expected his new home to be in the library's basement, or that he'd be living in a hollowed-out tree, or that the entire library would be a hollowed-out tree. Princess Celestia had Twilight and him arranged to live here the day before. The only problem he had is that he had to pay rent to stay, as ordered by New Moon, the librarian. Luckily he found a means of paying so he had no worries. He woke to the sound of an alarm clock ringing in his ear. After an agonizing while of searching for it outside the covers, he finally dropped his hoof on it, shutting it off. He rose out of the blanket with a tired yawn. Leaving it on the floor behind him, he slipped on his everyday clothes: his jean vest and kilt. After going up the flight of stairs he crossed the main library and went out the door. Retracing his steps from two days ago, the blue pony finally reached the Apple Barn, where someone was waiting for him at the gate, the tanned stallion with the black hat Boomhauer. He gave a poke and the stallion tilted his hat from over his eyes. "Yo…" "Um, excuse me, I'm because Applejack told me you need extra help on your farm today," the pony greeted, "Do you know her?" After a moment of awkward silence the stallion retreated into the farm property, "C'mon…" and the pony followed. Later after taking out the baskets and the wagon, the two went to the area where the apple trees are. "A'ight now, here what'cha need'tdo,kay?," Boomhauer instructed, "Just grabon t'thatthere dang'ol treet-runk'njus… jus' shakeitlikethere no tomorrow, them apples'llbe fallinoutin notime. Or you can justurn'round 'ngiveita big… dang'ol kick like so…," he spun around and gave the tree a firm kick, causing a lot of apples to fall out of the tree, one of them fell on the pony's head, "Jus put'em inthembasket 'nbring'em tothatthere barnoverthere. You'd beworkin' till noon." With that, Boomhauer left the pony to work. All throughout the day he busied himself with the apple trees, shaking the red fruits from them and tossing them in the baskets attached to his given saddle. It wasn't so hard since he help with farm work back home. As he shook the umpteenth tree one of the apples rolled away. He bent down to grab it but it then glowed purple and floated off on its own. He looked up to see Twilight Sparkle holding the apple with her magic. "Twilight…? How long have you been here?" "Not that long," Twilight answered, "I'm helping Applejack pick apples. It looks like you've already gotten started." "Well, um… Would like some help? I mean, since you're picking apples… And I'm picking apples…?" "Sure! The more the merrier! That's why I was looking for you," Twilight said with a smile, "C'mon. I left Spike over where I was." "Spike?" the pony asked, puzzled as they walked across the edge of the tree orchid. "Oh! Right, I forgot we were moving in that I didn't introduce him to you. He the dragon who was with me when we first met here! Wait, speaking of, I didn't really catch your name, either, did I?" "Omnifarious." "Huh?" Twilight looked back at the pony, unsure of what she heard, "You're nefarious?" "Omnifarious! With an 'O'," the blue pony corrected, "It's my name. It means 'many forms'. But you can just call me Omni for short." Twilight smiled back, "Well, Omni, it's nice to finally meet your acquaintance." Omnifarious carried the wagon and followed the purple unicorn until they stopped at another part of the apple orchid, where Applejack and the dragon Spike were busing themselves. "Hey, there!" Applejack greeted the moment she spotted Omnifarious, "I was told you'd be working with us today and wondered where you've been! It's mighty nice of you to help out!" "Thank you." Omnifarious said. For the rest of the day they continued on harvesting apples, he and Twilight shaking them and tossing them into their baskets. But as he worked he couldn't help but notice Applejack's bizarre method of harvesting, the orange cowgirl charging towards a tree and stopping just in time to spin around and deliver a powerful kick with her back-legs. A slight crack was heard right before a bunch of apples fell to the ground. She did the same thing once every tree. The moment he moved to another tree he decided to try it himself. He backed up a few yards, and then ran towards it. Then just like Applejack he turned and shot out his back-legs, connecting his feet to the tree. But nothing happened. He tried again, and again, but the apples still stuck by the stems. "How do they do it…?" Omnifarious huffed, muttering to himself. "Hey, try not to overdo it, okay?" Applejack said walking to him, "Apple-Bucking isn't something anypony can do. Besides, some trees need a little extra KICK!" she emphasized with a kick of her own and a load of trees fell down, one of them hitting Omni on the head, "Oh! Sorry about that. I guess I don't know my own strength! I'll just get to work somewhere else. Keep up the good work!" As Omnifarious watcher trot back to her stations, he wondered how a pony like that could be that strong, even among earth-pony standards… Finally done when the sun was at its peak, Omni hauled the wagon of filled baskets as he followed the two girls. Thank you kindly for helping me out," Applejack gratefully expressed, "I bet Big McIntosh I could get all these Golden Delicious in the barn by lunchtime. If I win, he's gonna walk down Stirrup Street in one of granny's girdles. Hmhm." "No problem at all, Applejack," the purple unicorn replied, "I'm glad the goal is lunchtime. All this hard work is making me hungry." "I know, right?" Spike added as he rode on Twilight's back. The dragon was busy going through the apples picked, apparently tossing them aside. That's a terrible waste of good apples. "Puh-leez, Spike, you've been lounging on my back all morning while we worked." "Exactly. You two are taking so long, I missed snack-time," All that lunch talk reminded Omnifarious he hadn't had anything since this morning. That's why he didn't expect his stomach to suddenly growl on him. He froze when he got caught and Twilight stifled a giggle, "See? He agreed," Spike continued tossing away apples and one caught itself in Omni's mouth. Omni spat it out the moment he found a worm in it. "A-Ha!" Spike finally held a bright red apple in his claws. Although Omni would rather have a granny-smith, he decided not to be picky, "Excuse me, are you gonna—" he didn't finish his sentence as that same apple disappeared into the dragon's mouth. "I guess so…" "Spike!" Twilight scolded, angry at the dragon's rudeness. "What?" the dragon argued, not realizing his behavior. Suddenly the dragon belched. His breath seemed to float around until it transformed into a rolled parcel. Seeing that made Omni's jaw drop. How does this kind of thing even happen?! "It's a letter from Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed as they watched it float down for the dragon to catch. As Omni walked around to peek at the opening letter, Spike cleared his throat and read aloud, "Hear ye, hear ye. Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce The Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot, on the 21st day of… eh, yadda yadda yadda, cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest." After a moment of silence, the looks on Twilight and Applejack brightened, "The Grand Galloping Gala!" Omni looked on as the two ponies continued to hop and dance, repeating the same words over and over. What are they so excited about? "What's the Grand Galloping Gala…?" he went ahead and asked. Twilight and Applejack stopped jumping and stared at him like he was some sort of strange creature. They looked at each other before shooting back at Omni. "You never heard of the Grand Galloping Gala?!" "Uhhh… Am I supposed to?" The two ponies groaned loudly, "It's only THE most greatest annual ball of all time! How could you not have heard of it?!" Omni felt a little crowded what do they expect of him? Spike, on the other hand, looked disgusted and gagged. Suddenly he burped our two golden scraps. "Look! Two tickets!" "Wow, great! I've never been to the gala. Have you, Spike?" Twilight asked. "No," Spike replied, "and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want any of that girly frilly frou-frou nonsense." "Sooo, it's not that good?" Omnifarious asked. "Not that good?!" Applejack repeated, "It's a heap good more than just good. I'd love to go. Land sakes, if I had an apple stand set up, ponies would be chowin' our tasty vittles till the cows came home. Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres? Why, with all that money, we could do a heap of fixin' up 'round here. We could replace that saggy old roof, and Big McIntosh could replace that saggy old plow, and Granny Smith could replace that saggy old hip. Why, I'd give my left hind leg to go to that gala!" "Oh, well in that case, would you like to—" But Twilight was interrupted when someone overhead gasped. Next thing Omni knew that he was slammed flat onto the ground. "Are we talking about The Grand Galloping Gala?" "Rainbow Dash!" Applejack snapped, "you told me you were too busy to help me harvest apples. That's why I had to ask Omni and Twilight!" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "Twilight and who?" "The new pony who's moved into town a week ago; AND the one you're sitting on!" "Wha…?" Rainbow looked down and found Omni groaning under him, "Oh! Sorry, I didn't notice you there!" he then hovered off of him using his wings. "What were you busy doing, anyway? Spyin'?" Applejack demanded. "No, I was busy napping," Rainbow defended, and flew upside-down over to Twilight, "and I just happened to hear that you have an extra ticket?" "Yeah, but—" "YES! This is so awesome," Rainbow cheered, doing a loop, "The Wonderbolts perform at The Grand Galloping Gala every year." "What's the wonderbolts…?" Omni asked, still recovering. Rainbow stared blankly at him and lost his focus that he dropped on his back. The Pegasus scrambled back on his feet and stared at Omni accusingly like Twilight and Applejack did, "You're joking, right? He's joking, right?! Somepony tells me he's joking!" he whipped his head back and forth between Applejack and Twilight, then he flew right towards Omni, pressing his nose against his. "I-I can't believe what I'm hearing! You never heard of the Wonderbolts?!" Rainbow was suddenly pulled back down by his tail by Applejack, "Whoa! You might wanna calm down, there!" "How could I calm down!? How could he not know who the Wonderbolts are?! Everypony knows who—" Applejack shoved her front hoof against Rainbow's mouth to keep him quiet, "Maybe, since you're such a big fan and all, maybe you can tell him about them." "Oh, I'm more than a fan!" Rainbow scoffed after he swatted away the earth-pony's hoof, and then shot back into Omni's view, "The Wonderbolts are the most talented, most amazing, most awesome flyers in Equestria and beyond! The kind of Pegasus-ponies you have to be living in the center of the planet not to—" "Rainbow Dash!" "Alright, fine! But you really don't know what's you're missing! And going to the Grand Galloping Gala is am opportunity of a lifetime! Everyone would be watching the sky. Their eyes riveted on The Wonderbolts, but then in would fly Rainbow Dash! I would draw their attention with my Super Speed Strut. Then, I would mesmerize 'em with my Fantastic Filly Flash. And for my grand finale, The Buccaneer Blaze! The ponies would go wild! The Wonderbolts would insist that my signature moves be incorporated into their routine, and then welcome me as their newest member," he then hovered back to Twilight, "Don't you see, Twilight? This could be my one chance to show 'em my stuff. You gotta take me!" Applejack pulled him back again, "Hold on just one pony pickin' minute here. I asked for that ticket first." "So? That doesn't mean you own it." "Oh, yeah? Well I challenge you to a hoof-wrestle. Winner gets the ticket." At a nearby stump they locked arms and went at it. Their so-called contest remained at deadlock for a few seconds before Twilight shoved them apart. "Girls, these are my tickets, I'll decide who gets it, thank you very much. Whoever has the best reason to go should get the ticket, don't you think?" "Drummin' up business for the farm?" "A chance to audition for The Wonderbolts?" "Money t' fix granny's hip!" "Living the dream!" "Oh my, those were all pretty good reasons, aren't they?" Twilight backed away nervously. Omnifarious' stomach rumbled on his again. He held his head low, trying to hide his blush having to stand attached to the wagon for everyone else to hear him. "Look, uh, I'm gonna just bring these back to the farm. I need to eat something." "Here let me help you!" Twilight hastily went to Omni's side, "You know what, I'm hungry, too. After we're done let me show you the cake shop walked past on the way here, okay?" "Um, okay." "That's great!" Twilight turned back to Applejack and Rainbow as she led Omni to the farm, "I'll need some time to think about this. I'll get back you later, okay?" "Okay." The two dejected ponies groaned. After putting the apple and the equipment away they left the farm and returned to town. "Alright, boys, we're here!" Twilight called. Omni could see a small two-story building built just like a gingerbread house, with candy-striped columns on the front corners and a cookie flowerbed. They actually make houses out of that stuff? When Omni went ahead the top half of the door suddenly burst open and out shot a pink blur that dropped him right back on his face. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the end of it. "Eeeee! Spideeer!" Omni suddenly found himself being stomped on by the pink pony! "Get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off!" "Pinkie Pie, STOP!" Twilight exclaimed and yanked the pink pony away from him with his magic. When Pinkie calmed down she finally had a chance to look at the so-called spider, "Wait, that's not…" also, since Omnifarious was asked to carry the tickets, because he was the only one who has actual pockets, the managed to fall out of his jacket and onto the ground. And seeing those tickets put stars into Pinkie's eyes. "…tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?! It's the most amazing incredible tremendous super-fun wonderful terrifically humongous party in all of Equestria! I've always, always, ALWAYS wanted to go!" "Omni!" Twilight rushed over to the trampled pony and helped him up, "Omnifarious, are you alright?!" Omnifarious groaned, "What just happened…" "Uh…" Twilight pointed towards the pink pony, hopping around and dancing. "With decorations like streamers and fairy-lights and pinwheels and piñatas and pin-cushions. With goodies like sugar cubes and sugar canes and sundaes and sun-beams and sarsaparilla. And I get to play my favorite-est of favorite fantabulous games like Pin the Tail on the Pony!" Pinkie sang. "Uh, maybe it's best you didn't know," Twilight looked away from that disturbing scene, "Wait, where are the tickets?" Omni looked around and found them on the ground, "There they are…" he reached down and picked up the tickets. When he looked up he was met with a pair of sparkling blue eyes, which belonged to a white pony, with a neatly-styled, curled mane. "Are these what I think they are?" she gasped with a regal-like accent, startling Omni. "Yes, yes, yes!" Pinkie cut in, jumping in place, "Twilight's taking me to The Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot." "The gala?" the white pony said, "I design ensembles for the gala every year, but I've never had the opportunity to attend. Oh, the society, the culture, the glamour! It's where I truly belong, and where I'm destined to meet him." "Him?" Pinkie repeated, a puzzled look between her and Twilight. "(Him who?)" Omni couldn't help but mutter with the tickets in his mouth. "Him," the white pony began to wander with dreamed eyed, "I would stroll through the gala, and everyone would wonder, 'Who is that mysterious mare?' They would never guess that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville. Why, I would cause such a sensation that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself, and the princess would be so taken with the style and elegance that she would introduce me to him, her nephew: the most handsome, eligible unicorn stallion in Canterlot. Our eyes would meet, our hearts would melt. Our courtship would be magnificent. He would ask for my hoof in marriage, and of course I would say, 'Yes!' We would have a royal wedding, befitting a princess, which is what I would become upon marrying him, the stallion of my dreams… Twilight, I simply cannot believe you would invite Pinkie Pie so she can... party, and prevent me from meeting my true love. How could you?" she then turned away like those fancy unicorns would do… Suddenly something small and white snatched the tickets from Omni's mouth, "What the…!" the rabbit did a quick u-turn before scampering a long pink tail, along a yellow back and ontop a pegasus' head, holding the tickets over her eyes, "Angel, these are perfect." She gasped softly. "Uh, listen guys," Twilight said, "I haven't decided who to give the extra ticket to." "You haven't?" Pinkie and the white unicorn asked, in either irritability or eagerness. "Um, excuse me, Twilight," the yellow Pegasus caught everyone’s attention with a soft tone, "I would just like to ask, I mean, if it would be all right, if you haven't given it to someone else—" "You? You want to go to the gala?" the white pony asked cynically. "Oh, no…" the rabbit suddenly kicked her in the leg, "I mean, yes, or, actually, kind of. You see, it's not so much The Grand Galloping Gala as it is the wondrous private gated garden that surrounds the dance. The flowers are said to be the most beautiful and fragrant in all of Equestria. For the night of the gala, and that night alone, would they all be in bloom... and that's just the flora! Don't get me started on the fauna. There's loons and toucans and bitterns, oh my! Hummingbirds that can really hum, and buzzards that can really buzz. White-blue jays, and red jays, and green jays, pink jays and pink flamingos!" "Gee, Fluttershy," Twilight said, "it sounds... beautiful?" "Wait just a minute." Now everyone turned their attention to a rainbow-haired Pegasus perched on a roof. "Rainbow Dash, were you following me?" Twilight gasped. "No. I mean, yes. I mean, maybe. Look, it doesn't matter. I couldn't risk a goody-four-shoes like you giving that ticket away to just anybody." "Wait just another minute." Then came Applejack. "Applejack, were you following me too?" Twilight groaned. "No. I was followin' this one-." Applejack pointed to the blue pegasus in front of her, "make sure she didn't try any funny business. Still trying to take mah ticket." "Your ticket?" Rainbow argued. "But Twilight's taking me!" Pinkie cut in. Pretty soon Twilight was caught between five bickering ponies and a hard place. Omni was left out as Twilight huddled under the onslaught. This looked kind of silly, arguing over someone else's stuff. If she's not gonna atop this, he figured he should. "Hello? …Hello?!" his voice didn't reached the barrier of arguments so he figured he should… "QUIET!" Twilight yelled, breaking their barricade. "And then I said, "Oatmeal, are you craz-" Pinkie finally settle down a second late. "Girls, there's no use in arguing." "But Twilight-" "Eh!" Twilight snapped, "This is my decision, and I'm gonna make it on my own, and I certainly can't think straight with all this noise!" she then found an excuse when Omni's gut rumbled again, "not to mention I'm practically dying of hunger. Now go on, shoo," everyone reluctantly grumbled as they dispersed. "Wait, Omni, where are you going?" Omnifarious stopped when he heard his name called, "Didn't you just tell me to—" "I didn't mean you," Twilight caught up to him, "Besides, didn't you say you need something to eat?" "I did say that…" "Good. I needed your help, anyway." Twilight slipped the tickets back into Omni's jacket, "C'mon, I wasn't lying when I was getting hungry myself." The two went back to their previous task and reached the cake shop. But as soon as Omni opened the door… "You made your decision yet?!" Twilight shut the door right back in Pinkie's face. "Let's go somewhere else," she laughed nervously before looking around. "Hey, where's Spike…?" After catching up to Spike, they went to a café in another part of town. Twilight, Spike and Omnifarious were sitting together on a flat-top mushroom table outside. Omni couldn't help but watch Twilight slump over on the table. He felt bad not doing anything to help her back near the shop. "Oh,what am I gonna do…?" Twilight whimpered as she levitated one of the flowers in the vase, "All five of my best friends have really good reasons to go to the gala. Applejack, or Rainbow Dash?" she plucked off the petals as she counted off their names Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy, Rarity... Oh, who should go with me?" "Have you made your decision?" "I CAN'T DECIDE!" Twilight shouted when the waiter caught her by surprise, and caused everyone else to stare at her. "Twilight, he just wants to take your order." Spike said, pointing to the menu. After giving their orders they were once again left alone. "What do you think, Spike?" Twilight asked. "I think we have to try another restaurant. I mean, I like grass just fine, but would it hurt anybody to offer some gemstones?" "I mean about the gala and the ticket and who I should take." "Oh. You're still on that?" the dragon groaned. "Spike, listen. How do I choose? And when I do choose, will the other four be mad at me? I mean, I could give up my ticket and give away two, but that would still leave three disappointed ponies. What if I end up losing them as friends because of it?!" "Maybe you don't have to decide," Omni spoke, getting Twilight's attention, "If they're going to fight over who's going to go, then maybe it's best none of them gets to go. Better yet, if you want, you can just skip the Gala and find something else to do that you can all enjoy. If no one goes to the gala, then no one gets left out. It's just a party anyway. I mean, there'll be other parties, right?" Twilight stared at him with a confused glare before she replied, "Omni, I don't think you quite understand how epic the Grand Galloping Gala is! It's not some just your run-of-the-mill party where you do nothing but eat cake and play party games! It's THE most incredible, amazing, wonderful, remarkable—," she paused when the waiter brought her plate, "Oh. Thank you… Miraculous, mind-blowing, larger-than-life event in Canterlot! You'd have to have been born in an insane asylum to not like to go! And I'm not saying that you're crazy or anything, but I'm just surprised you didn't ask to go with me to the Gala! But the point I'm trying to make is, those tickets to the Gala don't grow on trees! Only a select few can be invited and those few are mainly noble who live in a high-class society like Canterlot! And being the princess' personal student, I'm lucky enough to even get one, let alone two tickets! I can't just spurn the princess' gift like that I'm sure she went thorough so much to give me those ticket! I just can't do that!" Now it was Omni's turn to slump, "Oh, uh… Sorry I…" Twilight sighed, "No, I'm sorry I snapped. It's just…" "Em, madam? Are you going to eat your food in ze rain?" the waiter asked from the doorway. "Rain?" Omni looked around and realized the their table was now sitting in a spot of a tranquil, clear sky in the middle of a thunderstorm. "Does…this happen often." "I wouldn't know…" Twilight replied, wondering also, "What's going on?" "Hi there, best friend forever I've ever-ever had," they looked up to see Rainbow Dash poking her head over the hole in the clouds, "Enjoying the sunny weather?" "Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" Twilight asked suspiciously. "Whaddya you mean? I just saw the smartest, most generous pony about to get rained on," Rainbow innocently replied, "so I thought I'd kick a hole in the clouds to keep her dry so she could dine in peace, that's all." "Rainbow, you're not trying to get extra consideration for the extra ticket by doing me extra special favors, are you?" "Me? No no no, of course not," Twilight scoffed at the pegasus' excuse, "Seriously, I'd do it for any pony. Heh heh, eh." "Rainbow, I am not comfortable accepting unwanted favors, so I'd appreciate it if you close up that rain cloud right now." "Uh, Twilight—" "Fine." Rainbow groaned and zipped up the hole. "That's better." But no one got to eat on account of their food being as waterlogged as their fur and hair. Omnifarious swore he was being laughed at. "Twilight, I don't think that was a good idea!" Omni said, earning a groan from Twilight. "Twilight," Omni pushed up his drenched hair and saw the white unicorn Rarity stopping by, wearing a saddle with an umbrella on it, "it's raining." "No, really?" the purple unicorn deadpanned. "Come with me before you catch a cold." Rarity yanked Twilight away from her seat and pulled her away. Not wanting to be left in the rain, Omni followed them with Spike. Eventually they made it to Rarity's home, which was basically a large, 2-story tent dressed like a carousel. Once they got inside, Omni took the chance to shake the water off him. "Ack! Stop! Stop it! Stoooop!" Omni stopped and found a soaking-wet Rarity staring back at him, "Oh… Right. I shouldn't have done that, huh?" "Look what you have done!" the unicorn shrieked, "Do you have any idea how long it took to style my mane?!" "Rarity, wait!" Twilight said hastily, "I'm sure it was a—" "Whoa, whoa!" Omni backed away from the enraged unicorn, "I said I was—" "No, no; 'sorry', is when you trip somepony in a fashion show," Rarity stomped towards the pony who backed himself against the wall, "'Sorry' is when you ask somepony, 'When's the baby due?', and it turns out the mare is just fat! This is as far away from 'sorry' as you could possibly get!" "Rarity, Please! I'm sure it was an accident!" Twilight pleaded. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but I won't have it; not in my boutique!" Rarity huffed, then pushed Omni out the door, "Until you decide to learn some proper manners, you're not welcome here!" that was that when she slammed the door behind him, once again leaving him in the rain, and for him to groan. Luckily, the rain stopped right there and then, "Well, that saves me the trouble of walking in the rain again." "How's the weather down there?" Omni looked up to see Mach Faiz fluttering down towards him wearing an umbrella hat. "I don't wanna talk about it." Omni huffed and walked off for the library. Faiz decided to follow and hovered over him. "Something must be wrong with you. I just wanna help." "Why are you so interested, anyway?" Omni asked just before his stomach growled on him again. "Wanna have lunch?" Faiz asked. Omni decided to follow Faiz to get some food, and ended up dining in the cake shop he and Twilight passed by earlier, and now they're waiting for their food, "So, now you wanna tell me what's going on?" With a sigh, Omni replied, "Well, everyone seems to be fighting over who gets to go to some ball in Canterlot." "Oh, man! Not that Grand Galloping Gala $%&!" Faiz groaned loudly, "All that party has is a bunch of snooty unicorn ponies trotting around and talking down on the little-pony!" Omni eyes widened a bit, "Is that true?" "I mean, why else do they let only famous ponies in! I've never been there, but I know for a fact that the gala is just an excuse to gather together, and talk about nothing but how much better they are than us regular ponies!" "Wow, I thought I'd never run into someone who doesn't like that ball. Wait…" Omni turned silent for a moment, "Don't ask me why or what, but I'd better do something about this. Thanks for the talk," the blue pony headed for the door until something came to him. "Um, where do Fluttershy and Rainbow live?" "Uh, remind me again where Rainbow lives!" "This is the place. I thought it was obvious." "Yeah, but… Up that… high place?!" Omni gulped as he was staring at a giant castle made of clouds. "Where else do pegasi live?" Faiz asked sarcastically. "I thought Rainbow'd be living in a house near town! I mean, how am I supposed to get up there?!" "Hey, who's that out there?!" Rainbow came out of that bundle of clouds he called a castle, "Oh, great, it's you! What are you doing here!" he sped down to ground level and faced Faiz with an annoyed expression, "I thought I told you never to come near my house again!" "Uh, that's not what I came here for!" Faiz replied smugly, "I came here because Omni wants to talk to you." Rainbow glided curiously over the darker blue pony, "Well, spit it out! What'd you want to talk to me about?" "Look… Do you remember earlier when you punched a hole in the sky over me?" "You? Where were you?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. Omni sighed exasperatedly, "At the café, sitting with Twilight!" "Oh, right. What's your point…?" "That Rarity's been trying to get Twilight's extra ticket by doing some special favor… Or at least I assume that's what she's doing." "I should have known!" Rarity gasped dramatically, "She'd try anything to get that ticket for herself, obviously!" "Uh, how's that better than what you did earlier?" "I was just giving my best friend a sample of some of my best apple pastries for business!" Applejack defended, "How's that a bad thing?" "Maybe when you're trying to get something that everyone else is trying to get…?" "And, again, how's that a bad thing?" Pinkie asked Omni over the bottom half of the shop's door. "Shouldn't you feel bad for pressuring Twilight to choose between her friends?" Omni asked the Pegasus Fluttershy. The timid yellow pony's eyes wandered as she scuffled her front feet from just behind her door in her cottage. "Well, um…" "Hey, I'm not pressuring Twilight to do anything!" Rainbow argued, "…Just as long as I get to meet the Wonderbolts!" "Just as long as I get to meet the stallion of my dreams!" "Just as long as I can get the money to support my farm!" "Just as long as I can be part of the greatest party of all time!" "Well, um…" "And if she decides not to take you…?" Omni asked. Rarity huffed, "Then I'll never speak to her for as long as I live!" "So she'd better not come running to me for a backstage pass for my first Wonderbolt show!" "Because I'd be mighty peeved if she wouldn't help a dear friend keep her bread n' butter standin'." "Besides, I'm well past due for a huge party!" "Well, um…" "But what about everyone else who wanna go?!" Omni asked. "That's their problem, not mine!" Rainbow shot back. "What they will be missing is none of my concern!" Rarity turned away. "Omni, I got a big brother, a little sister and a grandmother to help support!" "But it's the best party of all time! I can't just pass that off!" "Well, um…" "So what you're telling me, is that going to that gala is rather more important than everything else?!" "Are you serious?! Do—do you even have to ask?!" "What sane pony would even think to ask that kind of question?!" "What part of 'I need to help support my family' don't you understand?" "Did I mention it's the best party of all time?" "Well, um…" Omni felt sick trying to talk to them. Is the party really that important to them? "Okay, you know what… I tried to reason with you but I guess I can't. If you'd really put some party ahead of your own friends, then I guess this conversation is over!" "Good!" Rainbow zipped off. "Very well!" Rarity harrumphed and slammed the door in Omni's face. "I guess you just really don't get it, do you?" Applejack frowned as she pulled away with her wagon of food. "Okie-doke!" Pinkie chirped as she shut the door on him. "W-wait! I didn't mean—" but Fluttershy was interrupted by a white rabbit who slammed the door. "Anymore bright ideas…?" Faiz asked, hovering over Omnifarious. "I just wanna be alone right now…" Omni frowned and decided to return back to town. He just couldn't help but feel like a failure that he wasn't able to reason with the girls. Is the gala really that big a deal that they'd put everything else second, including their friendship with each other? It sounds depressing now that he thinks about it. He looked around town and found the town being unusually lifeless; not a single person in sight. Where is everyone? Eventually Omni found his way back to the library and passed through the door. The inside's just as lifeless as outside. Where's New Moon? He thought he'd be here. After hearing his stomach growl for the umpteenth time, he decided it's time to finally get some food into his stomach. But he didn't get halfway into the kitchen when a sudden flash dropped something heavy right ontop of him. "Warn me next time you're gonna do that." Spike said, queasy. "I didn't even know it was gonna happen," it only took Omni groaning but Twilight got off of him when she realized she's sitting on him. "My goodness, I'm so sorry!" "Where did you go just now?" Omnifarious groaned. "Omni, I don't want to talk about that now!" Twilight said as she helped Omni up, "Now quick, help me lock the doors!" Twilight, Omnifarious and Spike went around turning out the lights; blowing out lanterns and candles and switching off lightbulbs. After making sure no one else would know they're home, they stumbled into one heap. "Do you think we're safe?" But Omni was interrupted when the lights suddenly switched on, startling them. The blue pony looked around until he found the five other pony girls gathered in a loft above the bookshelves. No doubt they're still after Twilight for that extra ticket. And it's no surprise when Twilight screamed, no doubt out of frustration. "I can't decide! I just can't decide!" "Okay! Alright…I've had enough!" Omnifarious snapped, "I still don't see how a bunch of tickets is worth all this trouble! But if you wanna go to that gala so badly, then I guess there's only one option! Some one get me a paper cutter! Preferably the guillotine kind!" "What for?" Spike asked. "There are five girls wanting that ticket—" "There's more that five now…" Twilight cut in under her breath. "But only two tickets! Since no one wants to back out, I might as well turn those two tickets into six!" "Wait! Are you saying…" Twilight caught on to Omni's plan and gasped, "Where did you get a stupid idea like that?!" "When I was a kid and I learned about King Solomon in Sunday School." Twilight became confused, "You go to school on Sunday? And who's King Solomon?" "King Solomon; the Book of Kings." "…" "One of the 48 prophets." "…" "One of the wisest, richest and most powerful king who built the first temple in Jerusalem that ended up being torn in two later on." "Omnifarious, you're not making any sense!" "Listen, in one of his stories, Solomon had to settle a dispute between two women who both claim to be the mother of a child they're fighting over. When Solomon suggested the baby should be cut in half." "Th-that's a terrible idea!" Twilight gasped with the other girls, "Who would even think of that?! And how is that the same thing at this?!" "Look, the point is, Solomon managed to find out who the baby's real mother is because that same woman would rather forfeit her child rather than see it slain. I figured if I try sorting out who would rather give up their ticket and who's fine with just a piece of a ticket…and maybe who still wants the whole ticket…well…um…" Suddenly Mach Faiz slipped in and joined in, "Hey, Omni; here's the paper cutter you asked for!" "Wait! How'd you know about the… I mean, where were you—" "Omni! Omnifarious, I want you to hold that thought because I'm going to explain to you when this is over all of the thing wrong with what you said; but back to the topic, you just can't just chop the tickets into pieces! If tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala become damaged in any way they become invalid! And besides, the Gala is important to all of them!" Twilight turned towards her friends, "I just can't stand to disappoint any of you, and giving me gifts and doing me favors won't make any difference, because you're all my friends and I wanna make you all happy and I can't, I just can't decide!" with and exasperated sigh, she wound into a huddle on the floor, her forelegs wrapped around her head. Omni tried comforting her by rubbing her back. "Twilight, sugar," Applejack stepped over to the purple unicorn, "I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you, and 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. I feel just awful that I made you feel so awful." Fluttershy added. "And me too. It's no fun upsetting your friends." Pinkie frowned. "Twilight, it was unfair of me to try to force you as I did." Rarity admitted. "Wait a minute!" Omnifarious cut in, "What about trying to find your soulmate, Rarity?!" "Oh, there will be other fish in the sea, as most ponies put it." "And Pinkie, what about going to your first biggest party in history?!" "A party's not as fun without all your friends to come along." "Applejack, what about your farm? Don't you need the money you could make at the Gala?" "Eh, the farm'll still be standing without it." "But you ignored everything I told you earlier!" Omni said. "Why'd you change your minds just now?!" The girls looked at each other before returning to Omni with apologetic looks, "Maybe you're right. We were thinking about ourselves back there." "The way I treated you was most unbecoming of me," Rarity apologized. "I'm very sorry." "Guess we shouldn't have been so selfish, huh?" Pinkie added. "To think a couple of tickets would cause all that trouble," Applejack said, "I guess we all realized how wrong we are…" "Yes! That means the ticket is mine!" Rainbow laughed and danced around in the air, "I got the ticket, I got the ticket—" "Well, almost all of us." Applejack face-faulted. Rainbow shifted gears when he was caught by the dirty glares everyone else gave him. "y'know, I haven't perfected my signature moves for The Wonderbolts anyway. I don't need that ticket either." "We all got so gun-ho about going to the gala that we couldn't see how un-gun-ho we were making you." Applejack confessed, and everyone (except for me and Faiz, of course) gathered in front of Twilight. "We're sorry!" they all apologized in unison, leaving Twilight to grow a new smile on her face. "Spike, take down a note." The dragon whipped out a quill and a blank parchment for Twilight as she stood back up and cleared her throat… Dear Princess Celestia, I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be… "Can I see those tickets, Omnifarious?" Twilight asked. "Just a minute…" Omni reached his snout into his jacket for the two tickets. But there's something wrong. "Um, Twilight…" "Omni… Where are the tickets?" "…They're gone." "WHAT?!" the entire library outburst. "…I would return the tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala," Twilight scowled as she continued, "Unfortunately they have been misplaced due to the chaos caused over them. Besides, if my friends can't all go, I don't wanna go either." "Spike, you can send the letter now." The dragon set fire the note with his own flame and it disappeared. "I guess no one's going to the Gala after all." Fluttershy gloomily pointed out. "It's okay, girls. I couldn't possibly enjoy myself without my best friends there with me, so I would rather not go at all." The girls and Rainbow gathered for a group-hug, the rest of the guys staying away. "Gross! Get a room, girls!" Faiz laughed; at the same time Spike began to gag, "Seriously, there are children present!" "Well wallop my withers!" Applejack stomped towards the insulting Pegasus, "Isn't that just like a boy; can't handle the least bit of sentiment!" Spike suddenly belched and a rolled parchment came out of his fire, "Whoa Nelly!" "A letter from the princess? That was fast." Twilight commented as Spike opened the note. My faithful student Twilight, Why didn't you just say so in the first place? It's all it said before six tickets floated down into Spike's hand and everyone gasped, "Six tickets to The Grand Galloping Gala." "Now we can all go!" Twilight joyfully released, letting Rainbow and the girls cheer in joy. "Yeah, I don't think that's possible, actually." Faiz interrupted their jubilation. "And why's that?" Twilight asked. "There're six tickets, but more than six of us!" Faiz pointed out, "Do the math! Which six of us gets to go?" "Obviously not you!" Rainbow spat. "Who says?!" their argument was interrupted when everyone heard a loud rumbling coming from Omnifarious, who slumped in embarrassment of having everyone hear his stomach growl for the umpteenth time today. Twilight giggled, "We never did get a bite to eat, did we?" "Allow us to treat you to dinner." Rarity proudly offered. "What a great way to apologize." Rainbow stated. "And to celebrate!" Pinkie added, "Come on everyone, the cupcakes are on me!" everyone left the building, grabbing their ticket as they passed the dragon, until Omni and Faiz were left with him. "How come I don't get a ticket to the gala?" Spike dejectedly groaned, before he belched out another note with one more ticket, "'And one for you, Spike.'" The dragon ran out of the library laughing, only to stop short when Applejack noticed with a smirk, "I mean…gross! I have to go too?" after pasting her and eying her nervously, Applejack trotted after him, giggling to herself. "Hey! What about my ticket?!" Faiz demanded, flying after him while Omnifarious trotted behind, ignoring the pegasus' ranting. The door to the supply closet banged from the other side until New Moon burst out of it, bound and gagged. Down below in the basement, the Book of Virtues laid near the staircase, suddenly opened on its own. The front page had been magically etched, especially at the top large column where it marked with a single word: Consideration.