Twilight
Twilight could barely contain her excitement. Today was the party Connor had invited Twilight and all her friends to join him at the castle. Twilight was overjoyed to hear that Connor was doing so well with his new game and that is was gaining so much popularity. It had concerned her to see Connor looking like a lost pony for the last couple of days and Twilight was about to take some time off to intervene, but thankfully Rainbow Dash beat her to it as she spotted her energetic Pegasus friend dragging Connor in and out of town for whatever adventure she had planned for him.
Twilight had sent all the tickets Connor had given her to everypony else in a letter explaining the invitation to the event. Connor wanted to tell Rarity himself about the party and hopefully use it as a way to persuade Rarity into making him a suit for the party. Twilight had assured Connor that wasn't necessary as she would have done so anyways for a friend, but she obliged and left Rarity's letter out of the messages sent. She had placed her and Spike's ticket safely on a table for safe keeping while they waited for the day of the party.
Twilight was finishing up noting the rest of the returned books that day in her check-out list while she magically reshelved each book that she marked. Spike came bounding down the stairs with a large grin on his face and his eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Twilight! It’s time!” he shouted as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Huh?” Twilight paused from her distraction of marking her returned book list and magically reshelving the books.
“The party, Twilight! Connor's party is today and we're supposed to meet at Rarity's place to get ready at 12:30!”
Twilight's eyes shot for the clock hanging on the wall as it read 12:25. “Oh, you're right Spike! Come on, let’s go now and we might still make it there in time!”
Twilight grabbed Spike in her magic and levitated him onto her back as she set the rest of the books held in her magic down in a neat pile for when she would return later that night. She hurried out the door and headed for Carousel Boutique where everypony was preparing for the party happening later that day. She shut the door with a solid click and trotted off for the dress shop.
“Oh, this is so exciting! Who knew that Connor’s game would do so well!” Twilight said to Spike with excitement.
“I know! This is so cool! I wonder what kind of ponies are going to show up? It’s not exactly a Grand Galloping Gala, so who do you think is going to show up?”
“I’m not sure,” Twilight responded to Spike’s question, “But I think it can be fun either way!”
“Cool!” Spike fist pumped the air and Twilight smiled as the pair drew closer to the shop. Twilight wasn’t sure what to expect from this party. She understood that it could be business party with major company pony representatives there to make a presence, but she hoped that the party might be more open to other members of society who simply enjoyed the game Paint Wars thoroughly.
Twilight pushed opened the door to Carousel Boutique to hear the familiar chime go off as she and Spike entered Rarity’s shop. Carousel Boutique was closed for the day as Rarity had gathered everypony who was going together to prepare for the party the same way they prepared for Grand Galloping Galas. Twilight’s ear twitched and swiveled towards the ceiling as muffled chatter and the sound of running water radiated through the floor above.
“It looks like they’re already started upstairs,” Spike pointed out.
“Yeah, it sounds like it. Let’s head up and join them.”
Twilight trotted up the stairs near the back of the main floor into the home above the shop where Rarity and her sister, Sweetie Belle, lived. She slowly walked down the hallway turning her head trying to pin point where the noise was coming from. A few paces down the hallway, Spike tugged on her mane to get her attention and pointed to a door that was slightly ajar and voices echoing out.
She smiled and nodded a thanks to Spike. She walked over to the door and pushed it open with her magic to reveal the self-made beauty parlor by Rarity along with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack all occupying the room. Applejack was in the middle of toweling off her mane while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were busy brushing out their coats and tails; although, Pinkie was having little success with combing out her curly hair. Rarity was currently fighting with Rainbow Dash near the mane dryers over grooming for the party, again.
“I thought we agreed that the only parties I would let you dress me up and go through your whole ‘Grooming process’ was for the Grand Galloping Gala! Do you know how much time you take with just combing my mane? Too much!”
“Rainbow, I will not have you looking like a slob and an unsophisticated rapscallion in front of so many important business ponies while representing what kind of friends Princess Twilight associates herself with! As her closest friends we should put our best hoof forward and show just how civilized we can be and display such grand dresses that they must have a dress like ours and will want to order one from me as soon as possible!”
“Ah ha!” Rainbow flew right in front of Rarity’s nose and poked her, “So this is all just a big scheme to get new high paying orders, isn’t it?”
Rarity blushed furiously at her slip up, but tried to recover. “It is not! That might be a nice outcome for the night, but it is not the main focus! And don’t change the subject!”
“Rarity!”
“Rarity!”
Applejack and Twilight shouted in unison as Applejack removed the towel from her head and Twilight closed the door behind her. The arguing pair stopped in their tracks to see who had interjected to spot Twilight with Spike standing amongst the occupants in the room. Rainbow back off from Rarity and landed softly looking a little ashamed while Rarity blushed with embarrassment.
Twilight shook her head in disgruntlement, “You don’t need to worry about that, Rarity. This is a party and we’re supposed to have fun,” Rarity nodded in agreement while Rainbow looked victorious, “But I do think it’s a good idea to look nice if only for your own sake.” Rainbow Dash quickly lost her victorious smile and followed Rarity’s example by nodding affirmatively.
But to lighten the mood again, Twilight smiled and stood next to Rarity, “Come on, it’s a party you two! Let’s have some fun and make a good time there. Besides, this is Connor’s party we’re going to for making a really great game!”
Rainbow Dash and Rarity returned the upbeat thinking with smiles and gave a single nod in agreement.
“You’re right, Twilight. This isn’t something about us, this is a party for Connor’s great success! And we shall make it a great night for him as well!” Rarity relaxed her stance and walked over one of the many mirrors hanging on the wall with a table full of beauty products and picked up a brush to work on her mane.
“I guess you’re right, Twilight. It is a pretty awesome game and I always have a blast playing it. I think I can do one more night of dressing up. Hey Rarity, could you help me out with getting ready?”
“Of course, dear,” Rarity brought the brush she held in her magic over to Rainbow Dash who sat down next to her in front of the mirror, “And I’ll try not to spend too much time on your mane. I’ll have to think of something simple but still goes nice with your Grand Galloping Gala dress as well.”
“We are using the Grand Galloping Gala dresses for the party?” Twilight asked.
“Yep!” Pinkie Pie entered the conversation, “Isn’t it awesome?! I get to wear my candy dress again, and it smells like gum drops too!” she licked her lips at the thought, “Haah, sweet, sugary, strawberry gum drops.”
“It turns out that Rarity likes to have a few days’ notice with these kind of important parties so she can have enough time to design new outfits for everypony to wear. She says it’s for testing designs and making adjustments.” Applejack finished brushing her own mane and tail out and grabbed the hoof brush and polish.
“Actually, I think she said it was one day for designing all the dresses and one day for making all the dresses for castle parties,” Fluttershy added from her spot in the room as she brushed out the rest of her coat.
“Anyways,” Rarity said a little loudly to get off the topic of her creative process, “Twilight if you would like to go ahead and start, there is some lovely shampoo on the table next to the window. Oh, and Spike, could you be a dear and grab the hair gel next to Pinkie Pie?” she half-lidded her eyes smiled at the baby dragon for his help.
“Sure Rarity, no problem.” Spike hopped off of Twilight’s back and ran over to where the pink pony was trying out different hair dos that used the sticky gel.
~~~
The process of getting ready for castle parties was always a slow one, but enjoyable nonetheless. Rarity fussed over every little detail on everypony as they cleaned their coats, brushed out their manes, and slowly got into their Gala dresses while adding the final touches to every pony’s outfit. Twilight was already in her dress alongside Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Rarity was the first to finish with her outfit and had helped everypony else get into theirs; she was currently working on Rainbow Dash fiddling with her mane and the last few folds of her dress.
“I’m almost done, I just need to finish with tying your mane and then we can go.”
Just then, the door chime to the shop downstairs rang out followed by shutting of the door.
“Who could that be?” Twilight raised a brow confused, “Isn’t your shop closed?”
“Oh, no that must be Connor just now! I told him to come to the boutique at a later time for his own dressing.”
“I think he’s a little late for that. Aren’t we about to leave soon?” Rainbow Dash asked Rarity as she struggled to stay still for a few more seconds.
“Oh no dear, he is already clean and ready for the party. He just needs to put on his outfit before we leave.”
Rainbow sighed and winched as a particular hair was pulled by Rarity, “Hmm, I just need to finish tying your mane and then you can go. But I need to give Connor his suit before we leave; Twilight, could you finish this up while I head down stairs?”
“Of course.” Twilight took over where Rarity had left off as she disappeared out the door and downstairs.
“Are you almost done, because I’m getting really tired of standing here.” Rainbow painfully asked once Rarity was out of ear shot.
Everypony around giggled at Rainbow’s dismay, “What, you don’t like looking more pretty than a polished red apple on a summer’s evening, Rainbow Dash?” Applejack chided.
“I think you look lovely, Rainbow,” Fluttershy offered to Rainbow Dash.
“Maybe we should take a picture and show it to everypony!” Pinkie Pie bounced around pulling a camera out of her mane.
Rainbow flushed slightly, “Pinkie! Stop it!”
“Don’t worry,” Twilight assured with a small chuckle, “Everything will be just fine.”
She finished tying the mane and let it fall gently against the Pegasus’s back, “There! All done!”
Rainbow turned around glad that it was all over, “Finally; let’s get going and head for the castle.”
There was a murmur of agreement and everyone left the room and trotted down stairs.
“So Twilight, how are we going to get to the castle this time? Are you going to try teleporting all of us there like the last Grand Galloping Gala?”
Twilight laughed nervously, “No, I don’t think we need to teleport on top of a group of party guests like the last time we went. Princess Celestia has sent us a carriage of our own to take us up to the castle after that little mistake.”
“Little?”
“Mistake?”
Rainbow and Pinkie asked simultaneously.
“You landed on top of that one noble so badly, he demanded that you be banned from coming to another Grand Galloping Gala ever again or he would never show up for another one!”
“Are you kidding?! That was the greatest way to show up to a party ever!!!” Pinkie exploded in a shower of confetti and party noise makers as everypony stepped into the shop landing. Rarity was busy standing over by the changing room waiting.
“I don’t think the mare I landed on was too pleased with me. She said that party was too rich for the likes of me being there,” Applejack fumed a little at the memory.
“Don’t worry Applejack, she was just surprised at all of showing up so suddenly like that. I know I would be surprised.” Fluttershy soothed.
“Hey Rarity, are you coming?” Rainbow called over.
“Yes dear, I will be outside in a minute!”
The group continued on outside where a golden and white carriage was waiting with palace guards at the lead and Spike in the driver bench. There were several oohs as everyone gazed at their fancy transportation for the night. Spike hopped down from the bench wearing his own tuxedo and pulled open the door for everypony to get in.
“Miladies, your carriage awaits,” he said in a dramatic tone.
“Thank you Spike!” Pinkie Pie said sweetly, “You are such a sweet, cute, little dragon! And you are looking sharp!”
“Thanks!” he brightened at Pinkie Pie’s compliment.
The rest of the friends climbed aboard the surprisingly roomy carriage while they waited to leave. Twilight was one of the last ones to climb on but she waited a little still looking for Rarity to come out of the shop with Connor. A moment later, Rarity came running out of the shop.
“Rarity, is everything alright?”
“Hm? Oh yes, everything is fine. I just want to make sure nopony sees Connor just yet until we get to the party. I want to surprise everypony with the outfit that I made for him!” Rarity started pushing and trying to shove Twilight into the carriage before Connor could step out in to the open.
“But Rarity, wait! Why do you want to hide Connor until we get to Canterlot?!” Twilight tried fighting the fashionista’s efforts with little success. She glimpsed Connor slowly walking towards them from inside the shop, but still not easily seen with what he was wearing. She caught a small glimmer of green and blue before Rarity gave one final shove and pushed Twilight inside the carriage with a yelp.
Everypony inside stared in mild surprise as Twilight landed on her rear before everypony while Rarity stayed outside for a few more seconds before joining everyone inside as the door closed behind them.
“What was all that about?” Fluttershy helped Twilight to a seat as she glared at Rarity.
“Yes Rarity, why is it so important that we not see what Connor is wearing until we get to the castle?” Twilight gave an angry look at her friend.
“Well Twilight, I think you are really going to love what I have made for him!” Rarity was practically giggling with excitement at her secret, “It is such a dashing design that I came up with and the way the colors and lines flow across the fabric, oh I can barely hold myself because it just wants to pull your attention to him!”
“We noticed,” Applejack deadpanned with a straight face.
“Well, come on! Spill the beans! What does it look like?”
Rarity breathed out a calming breath and held up a hoof in shunning, “I cannot possibly ruin such a wonderful surprise for you all by revealing it now! You will just have to wait until we get to the castle.”
The bickering continued for a while longer until everypony gave up on trying to convince Rarity to reveal the surprise. They quickly turned to other topics to talk about as the carriage lurched forward down the road to the castle.
~~~
The carriage rattled down the dirt roads and the wheels clattered loudly as the group travelled to the castle with the party waiting inside for them. The anticipation inside the carriage was growing with each passing minute as everypony drew closer to Canterlot. The sun was just touching the tips of the horizon and a clock struck seven o’clock somewhere in the distance.
All side conversations stopped as everypony watched their carriage roll closer and closer to the castle draw bridge and front gates. The hoof steps coming from outside slowed their pace to a walk before stopping all together and the carriage halted its movement with a slight jolt.
“We’re here,” Twilight sang out with glee. Rainbow Dash and Rarity were beside themselves with joy, though for different reasons. Rainbow Dash couldn’t wait to see what kind of fun she could find at this party while Rarity wanted to show off her latest creation with Connor.
There was some movement from the front of the carriage like somepony dismounting from the driver’s bench along with some faint whispering like instructions being given. Soon, the door opened to reveal the castle looking regal in the sunset colors of the sky and Spike and Connor flanking the door on either side. Spike was easily visible with his black tuxedo and red tie bowing forward with an arm sweeping towards the castle. Connor was also visible, however only down to his neck as he bowed in the same fashion as Spike. The rest of him was obscured by the door he was standing behind and holding open for the mares.
“Madams, the party awaits,” Connor spoke in an eccentric voice like a mansion’s butler and swept one of his legs to the castle waiting in the distance.
Twilight was first out the door and down the stairs set out for them to walk down into the evening air. But nopony was paying too much attention to the castle as their focus was placed on trying to get a good look at Connor. Twilight’s mouth fell open as she stared at the amazing tuxedo Connor was wearing. The design on it was of an intricate design of smooth flowing lines weaving in and out of each other as they danced down his sides and stopped around his flank. But the colors are what really caught her attention. The green and blue shimmered ever so slightly in the light which whited out some parts of the strands across his body while the others glittered alluringly. It definitely wasn’t the eye wrenching attention that one would get with Rainbow’s dress; it sort of caught your attention out of the corner of your eye with curiosity and make you want to search for the unique outfit that was catching your eye.
Twilight couldn’t help but gasp as she stared awestruck at the spectacular work of Rarity. There was a chorus of gasps behind Twilight followed by pleased cries of joy once everyone else had stepped out of the carriage and got a good look at Connor. The mares huddled in front of Connor who took notice of them staring at him. He paused as he looked around at them all before straightening up and displaying his tuxedo to its fullest for everypony to see.
“Oh my goodness, Rarity! It’s beautiful!” Fluttershy was the first to speak.
“Wow Rarity, you were right to make this a surprise! That is awesome!” Rainbow Dash hovered overhead shifting from one side to another looking at Connor from every angle.
Applejack pushed the tip of her hat up a little and let out a whistle, “You have really outdone yourself this time, sugar cube.”
Rarity smiled smugly seeing all the responses from her friends, “Thank you everypony. But I do need to thank Connor for giving me the inspiration too. I didn’t do all the work.”
“Oh come on Rarity,” Connor finally spoke, “All I did was stand there and tell you what I wanted for the tuxedo.”
Everypony laughed a little at his comment. Once they were done chuckling, Rarity looked up to the castle again.
“Should we head inside now? I think the party is still waiting for the arrival of the guest of honor.”
Twilight nodded, “I think you’re right. Let’s get in there and make this one of the best nights ever!”
“Ooh, ooh! I have an idea!” Pinkie Pie bounced enthusiastically, “We can make this just like at the Gala!”
Pinkie bounced in front of the group and started marching down the cobblestone path to the castle as she started the first line of her new song.
~ Like the Gala, there will be music, fun and sweet! ~
Everypony laughed and followed after Pinkie Pie’s example and joined in on the song. The only ones not seen jumping into the song were Connor and Spike. They laughed and danced and sang all the way down the road, across the bridge and through the castle gardens until everyone stood just outside the main entrance to the castle where party going noises and talk could be heard. Twilight stopped the group as they finished their songs and turned to address everypony.
“Alright everypony, the party is just inside and it looks like we are right on time!”
They all cheered happily, ready to get inside and make some new memories. Twilight let her eyes cast over every one of her friends waiting for them to finish whooping in excitement. Her eye caught a slight glimmer of green and blue and spotted Connor approaching the rest of the group. However, what really caught her eye was Fluttershy walking next to Connor with one of her hooves hooked through his elbow, like a gentlepony escorting a mare to a ball room.
“Ooh, I’m going to have to ask about that later,” she thought to herself as Fluttershy quickly let go of Connor and took a step away from him when she noticed Twilight staring at the pair. She tried her best not to linger too long on the pair and refocused on everypony else.
“We will all meet back here in a few hours when everypony is ready to leave. How about we meet back here at around 10:30?” Twilight asked her friends.
Everypony nodded in agreement and headed inside together. Everyone walked through the entrance with Applejack and Pinkie Pie flanking Twilight and everyone else following behind. There were a few party goers hanging in the hall away from all the noise coming from one of the grand ball rooms. They trotted up a flight of stairs to the next floor and followed the noise of ponies talking and music to a large door way on the right side about 30 meters down the hallway.
Once there, the hallway opened up to a grand ball room that looked similar the ball room downstairs that usually held the Grand Galloping Gala. The stone floor was polished to a mirror and red carpets were rolled out between doorways. At the opposite end of the room, an elevated platform was set up with a pedestal placed in the middle. To the right of the stage, an orchestral band and DJ booth was set up beside each other. The music being played seemed to drift back and forth between the hum of string instruments and the thump of the electronic beats coming from the speakers. The music would bounce between the two genres and sometimes intermingled with each other as they played.
To the far right wall was another small staircase that lead up to a balcony outside with a couple of ponies already there getting some fresh air. The sun was still setting outside but the moon was starting its own ascension into the night sky. In the left corner closest to Twilight was a food table set out with countless trays of snacks and food for those who got hungry. A chef stood behind the table smiling and taking personal orders as they came. In the left wall was another doorway leading to a second, smaller ball room but was less crowded.
The majority of the main floor was crowded with high class business ponies wearing their own midnight black tuxedos and various business suits. There were a few ponies that didn’t look related to business and were possibly just fans of the game, but there were few of those kinds of ponies in the room. Some very successful ponies could be picked out from the crowds from where Twilight and her friends stood. Fancy pants was seen standing near the musicians conversing pleasantly with the ponies around him. Twilight even recognized Mr. Job from the meeting several weeks ago with Princess Celestia present on the floor. But what caught Twilight’s attention was Mr. Bunsen Burner, one of her personal scientific equipment suppliers, currently eating a plate of food by the snack court.
She wanted to talk to Mr. Bunsen before the night was over for a couple of reasons. Twilight needed to discuss about her next shipment of parts to be coming in for the portal repair project and wanted to see if she might be able to speed this delivery up as several important replacements were in that particular shipment. Any way to speed up the repair process would be gratefully appreciated and Twilight could try using some of the negotiation strategies that she learned while sitting in with Princess Celestia’s meetings. The rest of Twilight’s friends had dispersed amongst the guests already, but she didn’t worry too much about it. She slowly weaved her way in between ponies giving polite nods and curt greetings to those who said hello to her as she passed by.
As she got closer to the food court she could hear Mr. Bunsen laugh boisterously with another pony at some joke that was told. She levitated a few snacks onto a plate as she passed by to seem like she was only coming over to get some food. Actually, Twilight was a little hungry as she missed lunch when she and Spike had to hurry over to Rarity’s shop. She placed one of the crackers topped with various condiments of different flavors in her mouth and chewed happily as she got closer to Mr. Bunsen.
She was about two meters away when Mr. Bunsen noticed the princess approaching.
“Ah! Princess Twilight! So good to see you here tonight!” he let out another deep rumble of laughter.
Mr. Bunsen was a large and heavy set unicorn pony with a light-hearted personality and loved to let loose a loud, jolly laugh at a good joke. His ash colored coat contrasted greatly from his usually wild, fire blue and orange hair that was combed back for the night; though a few strands were already coming loose from their confinement. Twilight came across the pony when she needed to speak to someone about a missing delivery of supplies for one of her experiments and he had personally come by to assure her that the supplies would be ordered again at no extra cost to her. Even though he was a pony that distributed scientific supplies to thousands of schools across Equestria, he still saw himself as an eager young colt who loved to conduct experiments in the search for fun and learning.
“Oh, good evening Mr. Bunsen! How are you tonight?” Twilight put on a surprised expression and smiled kindly. Twilight was already beginning to plan out how to take the conversation just as Princess Celestia had instructed.
“Oh I’m doing just fine, Princess. The food is marvelous, the music is lovely if not different, and the night is still young! I can only imagine what can happen before tonight is over.” He place another few snacks in his mouth.
Twilight did the same before continuing to speak, “I didn’t know somepony like you would be here at a party for a game? I thought you might be busy with trying to get more supplies shipped to me at the library in Ponyville or here at the castle.”
Mr. Bunsen’s chest rumbled with another chuckle, “Oh Princess, this is not just some game we are celebrating here. I can see that this ‘Paint Wars’ is going to be big! So big that it might even become a full-fledged sport! Wouldn’t that be something entertaining!”
Twilight laughed a little at Mr. Bunsen’s enthusiasm, “Well it certainly would seem like it could be that. I have heard that a lot of ponies have started playing Paint Wars and are enjoying it.”
“Exactly!” Mr. Bunsen pointed out in a slightly hushed tone as he stuffed a few more treats in his mouth to eat and swallowed before speaking again, “This is a perfect opportunity to make some new business! Why, think of all the research and development that can go into this game! I could set up deals to figure out the best powder composition for that chaff balloon, I think it’s called. Or, perhaps we could develop some new storage system for the balloons instead of having them bounce around in saddle bags and possibly break! Now what pony wants to reach in and find paint covering the insides of their saddle bag? Oh, the research and experiments are endless!”
“Um, Mr. Bunsen there was something that I wanted to talk to you about. It is business related and I was hoping you wouldn’t mind taking this conversation somewhere more privately.”
Mr. Bunsen eyes gleamed with excitement, “Ooh, a new experiment that needs some supplies? Or maybe you would like to get a head start on some of the research ideas that I just mentioned?”
“Something like that,” Twilight laughed, “Do you know of any place that we can speak privately right now?”
“I believe there might be some open rooms just outside in the hallway that we may be able to use,” he put a hoof to his chin in thought, “I think I know of one room that we can use. If you would follow me, Princess Twilight.”
Mr. Bunsen set his tray of food down on a table and started walking back towards the ball room entrance. Twilight placed her own plate down and quickly caught up to Mr. Bunsen before he got too far away. The two slowly walked back out into the hallway where ponies were still trying to get into the party or mingling outside for a break. He turned to his right away from the castle entrance hall and walked a short distance deeper into the castle. He stopped in front of a side door and pushed it open for Twilight to enter.
She smiled gratefully as she walked inside and inspected the room. It was side room that looked like it held more private dinner parties since there was only one or two tables pushed end to end in the middle of the room. It was dimly lit with only a couple of candles on the table when the door shut behind her with Mr. Bunsen standing there.
“Princess Twilight, let me just say right now that I am excited that you have decided to lead the research project of Paint Wars. This will be an excellent opportunity for us both.” He approached Twilight with the same eagerness as before like a young Pegasus ready to try flying for the first time.
“Actually Mr. Bunsen, I had something else that I wanted to talk with you.”
Mr. Bunsen paused in his babbling and looked confused. “And what might that be, Princess?”
Twilight cleared her throat and squared her shoulders before speaking again; she hoped that the direct approach in negotiating would work best here. “This is about an important order that was placed several days ago and it has not arrived yet. It contained several important replacement parts including a grid coordinate calculator and a reciprocating magic inducer to be shipped here at the castle, and it was scheduled to arrive here this Tuesday.”
“Ah yes, I remember that particular order,” Mr. Bunsen’s eyes darted to the ceiling in recollection before quickly returning to Twilight, “Those are very specialized pieces of equipment and only the most serious of researchers use them. I’m glad to see that you have continued doing your experiments even while being a princess!”
“What I am wondering is when it will arrive at the castle. It is for a very important project that I have to complete as soon as possible.” Twilight put a hint of urgency in her voice.
“Ah, well there were some complications in trying to find everything for the order but I am happy to announce that everything has been acquired and is ready to ship soon! Actually, I think we might be slightly ahead of schedule.”
“’Slightly ahead of schedule’?” Twilight irked in her head.
“Mr. Bunsen, how is the order ahead of schedule if you have missed the delivery date?”
“Well Princess Twilight, the equipment and parts you ordered are not always easy to come by, but I can assure you that we will never let an order go unfinished so long as we can find it or make it ourselves!”
“Well, is there any way we might be able to have the parts shipped by tonight, perhaps? As I said before, they are for a very important project that has to be finished as soon as possible.” Twilight tried shifting negotiation tactics by tweaking her tone to sound more pleading in the hopes that it might yield better results.
Mr. Bunsen shook his head, “I’m sorry, but the order was made with standard shipping. It will be mailed by tomorrow morning and should arrive at the castle in about three to five days. So you could expect it to arrive by next Monday or Tuesday at the earliest.”
“Is there any way we might be able to change that and have it shipped sooner?”
Mr. Bunsen thought for a moment, “There is the possibility that we could try to expedite the delivery, but the soonest it could arrive would only be Monday.”
“But there must be something you can do, Mr. Bunsen! Is there no way you can have it shipped by tonight and show up at the castle before the week is over? Not even your own ponies could send it here? I would pay any extra costs that would come to shipping it right now.”
He shook his head, “I’m sorry Princess. The postal service is something that is out of my control and there is nothing I can do about it. Even if I had my ponies send here, it would still take time for it to come.”
Twilight closed her eyes in frustration. The conversation wasn’t going according to plan and she wanted to have some hoof in helping the repair of her transdimensional bridge. She tried to remember other ways Princess Celestia had used to persuade ponies. There was one other method that came to mind; it was a risky maneuver putting so much pressure on a pony and it could easily backfire. The princess had warned that the technique only works once with every pony; after that, they become more aggressive with their defense making it harder to talk to them. But this was a special case and she wanted to help Connor get back home.
She made her decision. Just this one time, Twilight would allow herself to say what she was about to say to Mr. Bunsen; but she made sure to not make a habit of doing this.
Twilight opened her eyes and when she did, her face hardened and her stare turned cold. “Very well, I understand that this is the best that you can do Mr. Bunsen.”
She turned and slowly walked around him but paused to stand next to Mr. Bunsen. “However if I remember correctly, I am one of your biggest clients in buying your scientific supplies and equipment; and I am quite sure that you are one of the few ponies to do good, reliable business with a princess. I need this shipment to be here before the week is over, but if you are unable to make this one exception and deliver I am sure there are other suppliers that would be willing to do better business with me as this would be our last transaction.”
Twilight took a few more slow steps to the door letting her words sink in. she could feel Mr. Bunsen quickly calculating out all the consequences of losing a princess as one of his major clients. He loved doing experiments and enjoy learning, but he was still a business pony.
“Wait!” he shouted, “Y-You couldn’t possibly leave me just like this! I-I’ve been one of your best suppliers for several years now! Who else would be able to complete every order you make needing more chemicals or equipment that needs replacing?”
Twilight craned her head around to see Mr. Bunsen with panic slowly creeping across his face, “Mr. Bunsen, I am a scientist as much as you are and you should know the importance of doing thorough research. I think I can find other, smaller suppliers who would be more than willing to overlook one shipment at a princess’s urgent request.”
Twilight turned back to the door and was only inches away from opening it before he shouted again.
“Wait! I-I-I think we can do something like that! If you could give me until the end of tonight, I can contact the warehouse where the box is and have some ponies personally ship it here to arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon! It would cost a deal more than shipping an expedited package through the postal service, but I will assure you that it will get here before the tomorrow is over; if not, it will be first thing in the morning the next day!” He put on his eager smile again but came out as a pained grin as he tried to keep Twilight’s business.
Twilight looked back at Mr. Bunsen, “I have no problem paying the costs; in fact, I will pay for it with my own account. But are you sure that it will show up by tomorrow afternoon or the next morning?”
“Yes! Absolutely! You have my word that it will show up by tomorrow afternoon or first thing in the morning of the next day!”
Twilight smiled coolly, “Thank you Mr. Bunsen, this is very important to me and will be a great help. Please send the bill to my personal account for the shipment and I look forward to our continued business.”
She reached out a hoof to shake which he took, “You’re welcome princess Twilight, and thank you. If you don’t mind, I would like to enjoy the rest of the party before I go and have somepony gather up a team to deliver the order.”
“That’s fine; I would also like to finish the night on a good note. Thank you again Mr. Bunsen.”
She headed for the door again and this time opened it back into the lively atmosphere of the castle party. She left the room leaving a shaky Mr. Bunsen to follow after her as Twilight went back to the main ball room and to the food court. Her stomach growled rather loudly as she entered the main floor again, but she was looking quite pleased with herself at a successful deal.
Twilight levitated a clean plate over to her as she filled it with more substantial foods that would make a meal. She glanced over her shoulder at the front entrance to see Mr. Bunsen finally entering again still looking shaken up from the grilling Twilight had given him; he had apparently lost his appetite for the night as he did not return to collect his own food.
Seeing him so shaken up by Twilight created an internal conflict with herself. As she ate, Twilight thought over her talk with Mr. Bunsen trying to find ways she could have done better rather than resorting to threatening him with taking her business somewhere else over one shipment. Now that she thought about it, it seemed petty of her to do such a thing over something so small and could have mitigated it if she just had been more patient and waited for the delivery.
She felt slightly ashamed of herself. It didn’t feel right to throw her weight around like that and she felt that it would have been more beneficial to her if she could keep Mr. Bunsen as a friend rather than just a cold business partner.
Beside, Princess Celestia had tasked her with keeping Connor content with staying in her world for as long as possible while she focused on repairing the portal. Celestia had said that if Connor was okay with staying in Equestria, then he would be more understanding if repairs might take longer than expected.
A flicker of fear crept to the front of her mind. What if she tried doing this again with another pony? Bullying them into doing what she wanted and enjoying the power? What if she started bullying her friends because they couldn’t help out for simple task or were busy with problems of their own? Twilight’s mind began spiraling again into dismay about all the possibilities that could come from this one indulgence. She didn’t want to be cruel like that! She wanted to keep her friends, not drive them away!
She was shaken out of her panic induced trance when a pony spoke to her. “Princess Twilight? Are you all right? Are you not feeling well?”
She looked up at the pony like she was caught in the act of doing something wrong, “hmm?! Oh! No, I am feeling okay. I was just thinking. I’ll be fine.”
She smiled at the business pony as he shrugged and walked away.
She let out a sigh as the pony left and went back to looking at her food. Twilight figured it would be best to talk to Princess Celestia about this and maybe get some guidance on how to handle this experience. She wouldn’t like that Twilight pressured another pony to do something, but Twilight was sure that she would be happy to console her through this.
She smiled to herself and took a bite out of her meal. Princess Celestia would help out like she always did. But right now, Twilight was at a party and wanted to enjoy the rest of it before it was over. It was Connor’s party celebrating his success after all, so why not have fun?
After several minutes of eating and filling her hungry stomach, Twilight got up to join some of the party guests on the floor. Almost everypony she spoke to was some kind of a business pony in one form or another, so most of the conversations she had with them were roughly the same. Some saw the party as an investment opportunity to earn more revenue while others were there simply because they wanted to make impression when the ponies had no interest in the game. There were a few ponies at the party that were genuinely interested in Paint Wars and twilight took great pleasure in with them about where Paint Wars would go from here with the announcement made that evening.
Twilight was intrigued with this new information, but would discuss about it later as the conversation moved to knowing the ponies on a more personal level. They chatted for some time until they said that needed to leave for the night. Twilight bid them a good night and looked at the time. It was past 10:32 and the party was already dying down with a few of ponies leaving the ball room. She stared around trying to spot all her friends amongst the crowds. She picked out Connor standing at the top of the stairs leading to the outside balcony over watching the party. She trotted over to the stairs and began climbing them to speak. Connor noticed her approaching when she was at the foot of the stairs and gave her a tired smile as she joined him at the top.
“Its past 10:30 right now; are you ready to leave or do you want to stay a little longer?” she asked.
“No, I think I’m ready to go. It’s been a long night with so many things happening at once and I’m ready to pass out for the night.”
Twilight smiled, “Okay then; let’s go see if we can find everypony else at the entrance hall and then we can leave.”
“Alright then, let’s go.”