//------------------------------// // Gallop to the Gala // Story: My Little Universe: Season 3 // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// With her wings happily spread, and the wind blowing against her mane, Rainbow Dash took the afternoon to clear away the skies of any clouds, even if nopony asked her to. Honestly, not only was it fun to beat down the clouds floating around Ponyville, but also it was nice to fly around fast around in the air. It at least gave her an excuse to fly about as high speed. Of course, she can do that anytime she wanted to, but to her, this still helped out Ponyville, and basically killed two birds with one stone; helped the skies, and helped herself. Rainbow did many twists, turns, and a few bucks here and there to beat down the clouds just above Ponyville. Rainbow Dash went over about fifteen clouds, going on twenty, when she decided to land over by a nearby tree to chill out. As much fun it was to go fast around in the air, chilling out in the afternoon sun was just a bit nicer. Like a bird looking for a comfy perch, Rainbow flew around a little bit until she found a good sized branch, and settled down comfortably onto it like a beach chair. With her back to the tree, and front hooves behind her head, Rainbow gave off a good sigh, ready for an afternoon nap. Just before she could ... "Hey, Rainbow!" The voice belonged to Amethyst, and was enough to startle the Pegasus. It wasn't enough for her to fall out of the tree, but she did end up catching herself on the branch with her front hooves, her back hooves dangling a bit. After regaining her footing, she looked down and then saw Amethyst on the ground. Rainbow Dash got back onto her branch before looking down to her. For Amethyst, the Gem appeared to be holding something in her hand, though was a bit hard to tell from her standpoint. "Do you mind? I'm just about to get busy napping," Rainbow said, looking down to Amethyst. Amethyst then brought the tickets up, waving them so Rainbow could have a better look at them. "Believe me, I know how important that is, but just come down for a second will ya?" Amethyst asked. Rainbow, although still annoyed with being interrupted from her nap so quickly, decided to come down anyway, hovering down to the ground. When she did, it was then that Rainbow Dash got a better look at what Amethyst was holding. In her hand were two golden pieces of paper, about the size of a train ticket a piece. Immediately, Rainbow Dash got two and two together, and knew exactly what the tickets were. "You got two Galloping Gala tickets?!" Rainbow gasped, enough to get her hovering off the grounds, her wings beating like a hummingbird. "Yeah, got them this morning. So did that others. Twilight said to get you so you can get ready," Amethyst explained, giving Rainbow Dash one of the tickets. "Sweet!" Rainbow smiled, getting her ticket on her hooves. Still, Amethyst didn't entirely know what the buzz was truly about. "So, mind giving me the gist on this Galloping Gala thing?" Amethyst asked, still not exactly getting the idea too well. Rainbow Dash knew what the Galloping Gala was about, going there herself once before. "It's a party held by Celestia at Canterlot! All sorts of fancy ponies go there, and many keep calling it the biggest night in Equestria," Rainbow summed. "And what do the few call it?" "Eh, a bore fest. But hey, we can easily spice it up, if you know what I mean," Rainbow Dash said, with a nudge and a wink. Being the rebellious Gem she was, Amethyst easily caught onto the idea very quickly after thinking a bit. If this party was a bore fest, she was sure to bring up some lively action to the party. Her, and a few others as well. "Oh yeah," Amethyst chimed, smirking. Rely on what group better to liven up a party, after all. Rainbow, ticket in her grip, flew off to get herself ready, as Amethyst did the same. ~~~~~~ With time going on, the night for the event came about fairly quickly, much to the delight for those higher class in Canterlot, and those invited to the event in question. The Grand Galloping Gala was set to take place, as it usually does, at Canterlot Castle. The decor, and the catering were all set up inside by the Canterlot staff, and everything was prepared for the groups of aristocratic guests to arrive for the event. For the guests themselves, they were all greeted by the princesses themselves, as formally dressed up in princess dresses, colored for each princess. Luna had a midnight corset, long and flowy. Celestia's was similar to this, but in a rainbow like her mane rather than Luna. Now, usually, it would just be Luna and Celestia in this greeting stance, often the first to introduce guests to the event, and the first sight they see. This year, they had another Alicorn to greet the guests; Twilight Sparkle. Her formal attire consisted of a silver blue dress and glass horseshoes, the dress lined with stars along the rim. Like Celestia and Luna, Twilight also had her priority for the event in terms of greeting the guests. Not the best job in the world to be gifted with, but, it will only last until all the guests show, and then she will be free to join the party. That wouldn't be bad if so many didn't show, but Twilight knew better than to complain about it. She just stood there next to Celestia, smile on her face and hoof waving the coming guests in a greeting. At the front doors, there was an announcer who had a royal horn to present the more regal or special guests. The mane six had already arrived a while ago, so, Twilight wasn't waiting on them. Eventually, he blew his horn. "Presenting the friends of Earth; the Crystal Gems!" He announced. Sure enough, going through the front doors came in the Gems in question. They all were in formality, sure, though some didn't really dig the idea like others. Most of them were in dresses or skirts, while Flint, Emerald, and Steven were in tuxedos. Few of the more tomboyish girls (Amethyst and Fulgurite in particular) found the idea of dressing all fancy not exactly their cup of tea. Yet other Gems (Lapis, Pearl, Star, etc.) fit in to a perfect tee. Each outfit the Gems wore all matched their wearers in colors, with Garnet being an exception (main base Red, the rim and shoulders blue). "Welcome to the Gala, Gems," Celestia said. "It's nice to be here, Celestia," Garnet replied, though she couldn't say the exact same for everyone ... "Do we really have to wear this stuff?" Amethyst complained, not comfortable in her purple dress. Pearl, who was wearing her white dress she'd kept since their first arrival in Equestria, hushed Amethyst. It wasn't exactly a good idea to start complaining in front of the princesses. Soon, with greetings taken care of, they soon went off to the party, Twilight seeing them off. While she knew she had to, the job of standing at the door and waving left her most bored. Sure, the event itself may not exactly be a wild gig, but at least it gave Twilight more to do than this. Still, Twilight knew her priority, and stayed around. Still, Celestia turned to her former student. "We should only have one more pair arriving, Twilight. You're free to go soon as they arrive, I promise," Celestia assured. "Huh? No no, I'm fine Celestia, really," Twilight insisted, smiling. Celestia knew her student pretty well already, however. As if on cue, the announcer blew his horn again. "Presenting the spirit of chaos, Discord, and ..." The pony seemed a little forgetful on who Discord brought along, but then a slip of paper magic'd itself in front of him with his answer. After reading, he announced again. "Member of the great Diamond Authority, Blue Diamond!" Twilight couldn't believe her ears on what she just heard, but surely enough, as the two came in, it became perfectly clear. Discord arrived inside with a orange tuxedo, rustic bow tie, and orange top hat. And there, walking in, was Blue Diamond herself! Blue Diamond was dressed in a beautiful, sea blue flowing dress, with a necklace around her neck, and diamond-patterned bang around her right wrist (beats a pearl bracelet). Blue Diamond didn't had her cloak, and so her head was exposed for them to see. The Diamond had lovely blue eyes that almost seemed to glow, and her hair, which was surprisingly short, rested on the back of her neck. However, Twilight Sparkle remembered her to be a towering giant (comparing to ponies anyway), but here she didn't look more taller than Garnet, especially when comparing her to Blue Pearl next to her (who was also formally dressed for the occasion). "B-Blue Diamond?" Twilight thought, as Blue Diamond gave a small now to Celestia. "A pleasure to be here," Blue Diamond said. "It's grateful to see you face to face, dear," Celestia replied. They should be the last, so Celestia, Luna, and Blue Diamond started to head off to the party. Discord was about to go himself, but Twilight Sparkle was soon in his face. "Oh, hello sweet Twilight." "Listen, this is a very important night, Discord," Twilight strictly informed. Twilight glanced back to Celestia, waving her hoof before continuing. "Keep your magic, under control." "Yes, yes, sure. Now, have you seen Fluttershy anywhere?" Discord asked, although he began walking off to the party anyway. Twilight was still shocked to see Blue Diamond, of all Gems, to show up. Homeworld was far enough away from Equestria, and Twilight could only wonder how the other Gems will react to see her. ~~~~~~ As for the Grand Galloping Gala itself, the event was in full swing at this point. The main ballroom of Canterlot Castle was fully decorated, seating set up, plenty of room in the center of the ballroom, and a red carpet lined along the floor, leading to an Alicorn statue on display by the Canterlot windows. Also, there was a stage set up to the left of the statue; red silk curtains and smooth white flooring, with four ponies providing the music. One was on piano, one on a stand-up bass, one on a harp, and one on a sousaphone. Many mares and stallions from all over Canterlot were there at the event; Pegasus, Earth Pony, and Unicorn alike, all from a high class standard. Of course, the Gems seem to stick out from the crowds of ponies, but that didn't seem to really bother anypony else there. After all, they were invited guests, same as anyone, and it wouldn't be dignified to mock any guests there. Many of the Gems and Ponies pretty much split up and were doing their own thing in this party, although what exactly to do remained to be said. Some were alright with the formality of it all, maybe even impressed with it, but some just found it completely boring. Even if it was a big night for every guest, there wasn't exactly anything to spice it up. No action, no big activities, just basically a formal get-together. Not the best thing ever for the best night ever. At the moment though, the Gems didn't realize that another one of their own was coming in, since Blue Diamond and Blue Pearl didn't get to the ballroom yet. Over by the punch bowl, Emerald and Star were both over there hanging out. His suit mainly consisted of a lime green tuxedo, with a white and green striped tie. On his head was a rather big top hat, also green with a white trim. As for Star Quartz though, since she was pretty formal already (and didn't had much clue on it), mainly looked the same apart from a small addition of a gold bracelet on her hands - best she could figure out from what the others said. "... These ponies look different," Star Quartz said, looking around at the neatly dressed ponies, as Emerald helped himself to some punch. "They're just fancy schmancy, that's all. Wants some?" Emerald asked, pouring himself a drink of the fresh fruit punch in a glass cup. Star Quartz looked down to the punch for a bit, as Emerald waited a bit for an answer. Star Quartz though was a bit slow, and eventually Emerald just shrugged, and enjoyed his own drink. As he drank, Star Quartz noticed that Emerald was holding the cup with a pinkie extended. After Emerald had his sip, Star Quartz gently held Emerald's pinkie, a bit curious. "... Something wrong with this digit?" Star asked, wiggling the pinkie. Emerald got her to let go, a little awkward from Star's questioning, but can get the idea to why. "No, no, it's just something fancy people do. At least people off TV," Emerald said, taking another sip in the same manor. Star didn't know what TV was, so, it didn't help too much. Still, she picked up one of the cups from the stand, and looked over to the fruit punch. "... What's that? ..." "That's fresh fruit punch." "... It attacks then ..." "No, no, just a name! Here, try some," Emerald quickly correctly, going on and pouring a glass of fruit punch for her. Star looked into her glass cup, seeing the purple juice inside. She looked over to Emerald, seeing him drink it in the same fancy manor. Star Quartz wasn't sure exactly why she should do it, or if she should drink it or not. As Star Quartz was trying to figure it out, the Gem then began to hear someone walk over to her. Once she turned over (and while Emerald had his back turned), Star Quartz then saw Blue Diamond there! She never met her before though, so seeing her wasn't as surprising as it should be. "Hello, dear," Blue Diamond said. "... Hi ... Are you another Gem?" Star Quartz asked, head tilting slightly, as she looked to Blue Diamond's blue eyes with her own starry eyes. Emerald turned around, and nearly dropped his drink he was so surprised. "W-What the?! What're you doing here?" Emerald asked, shocked as ever. "I heard about this event, and decided to come down to Equestria to visit. I assume the other Gems are here too?" Blue Diamond asked. She was more than sure if any other Gems were there, they'd make her out almost immediately at this point. Blue Pearl looked around, and can see plenty of ponies around them, and she also saw the Crystal Gems in a number of spots too. Considering Blue Diamond was taller than anypony else, even if shrunk down, it was easy for the Gems to spot her. Pretty soon, many of the Gems were right over to her, Blue Diamond happy to see them. "Blue Diamond?" Garnet said, in surprise. "Garnet. A pleasure to see you all again. And introducing myself to some too," Blue Diamond said, seeing the Gems that didn't go to Homeworld before. Flint kept the most distance from her, but he soon found that Jade had began to get curious with her, especially since she acted so nice towards the other Gems there. "Wait a minute; didn't we leave you from Homeworld? How'd you get here?" Amethyst questioned, scratching her head. Surely a question on many of their minds the second they saw her. "And ... weren't you taller?" Added Fulgurite, again a question on their minds. "I'd tell you, but, he insisted to keep it a secret. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise," Blue Diamond said with a smile. Surprise? If it was who they think, why was there any surprise to begin with? Still, the fact that Blue Diamond was there at all was surprising enough. "Okay then, but what happened to you? I swear, you were tall enough to touch the ceiling," Amethyst asked. "I shrank down, to sum it up. Might as well not break down Celestia's entrance for my first arrival. Don't let me stop you though; you all enjoy yourselves," Blue Diamond insisted, letting the Gems go off back to the event. She even allowed Blue Pearl sometime with Pearl by the punch bowl. Blue Diamond smiled, and allowed Blue Pearl to stay as she went off. At first, the two Pearls stayed quiet, not entirely sure how to start a conversation. Blue Pearl turned to her, looking at Pearl's outfit. Blue Pearl and Pearl had similar outfits for the occasion, with colors matching the Gems. "You look lovely, Pearl," Blue Pearl said after a bit. Pearl blushed a slight blue from the sudden compliment, her gentle fingers holding a part of the dress's flowing rim. "Well, Thank you. My friend Rarity made it when I first arrived in Ponyville," Pearl said, letting the dress gently flow back down. Blue Pearl watched it for a moment before looking back to Pearl's face. "The unicorn?" "That's right. Maybe she can make one for you too." At this point Blue Pearl blushed up, turning away sheepishly. "Well ... I don't know. I'm just a Pearl ..." "Believe me, Rarity will be more than happy to help. I mean, she is the elements of generosity," Pearl replied, confident Rarity would make something for her. Blue Pearl still felt a bit bashful on the subject, but seemed Pearl was more willing than her. Of course, one Pearl was more free than her, so that can easily add to why she'd think so. Still, the outfit did resemble someone that Blue Pearl had heard of in the past. Her faced blushed up a dark red before she felt ready to ask ... "Pearl? ..." "Yes?" "Um ... how was, uh ... well ..." Blue Pearl couldn't seem to get the question out correctly, and she could feel the awkwardness grow with each passing second. Pearl began to feel a bit awkward too. "How was ...?" "... Um ... R-Rose," Blue Pearl finally got out, her voice hushed, and her face a deep blue hue from her blushing. Pearl wasn't sure if she heard it correctly, but she still felt like it was taken from nowhere. Sort of. Blue Pearl gulped. "Rose? You mean Rose Rose?" Pearl asked, a bit surprised herself. All Blue Pearl did was nod slightly, not turning to her. It was Pearl's turn to blush a slight blue, though perhaps the outfit reminded Blue Pearl of her. Pearl took a moment, lowering her eyes to her hands, which she held together for the moment as she remembered her sweet Rose Quartz. She hadn't seen her in such a long time, but she couldn't forget Rose's sweet, motherly face, and her compassionate towards every being, even Pearls ... "Rose Quartz was a wonderful Gem," Pearl began, a small smile on her face. "She was very sweet towards many forms of life while she was around. I couldn't have asked for a better Gem to be with than her ..." Pearl paused, remembering the sweet memories as Blue Pearl took this information in. How close was Pearl with Rose Quartz? ... "... So ... Everything you said before on Homeworld ... about her ..." "It was true. She made me feel like everything ..." However, when Pearl looked back, something didn't look right with Blue Pearl. Blue Pearl looked down to her feet ... and something began to run down her face ... Tears ... "Pearl?" "I ... I'm sorry. I-I think I heard my Diamond ..." And with that, Blue Pearl went away to go off to Blue Diamond. Pearl didn't know what happened, or what troubled Blue Pearl like that. Pearl tried to get to her, to figure out what was wrong, but Blue Pearl was soon gone from her sight. Did she say something wrong? ... Pearl felt like she did ... ~~~~~~ "Where are you, Discord?" Taking the moment to check things out, Garnet began to look around for Discord. Even in a crowd full of ponies, the Draconequus sure can hide himself. Seeing Blue Diamond suddenly show up was something she had to figure out, or at least understand to be sure. It took her and the Gems at least a month full to get to Homeworld, and they weren't back on Earth for that long. For the crowd, she saw many ponies and a bit of her own group around the place, but she didn't see any sort of Draconequus anywhere. Considering she was trying to find a being of chaos, Discord could pretty much be anywhere. "You know I can sense you," Garnet said, looking around some more. However, Discord still didn't seem to be around. Eventually, after a good while, she then looked up and noticed a dragon tail just sticking out from the chandelier above her. Immediately, she knew who was up there the second she saw it. She looked to one of her hands, and with some body morphing, her arm stretched up and grabbed the tail, pulling Discord down to the floor. "Evening, Garnet," Discord said, hovering in mid air from his bird and bat wing. Garnet, having Discord's attention, released his tail. "I'd like to talk to you, Discord," Garnet said, arms crossed. Discord, kinda figuring as much, suddenly snapped his paw fingers. Suddenly, both he and Garnet were teleported to the castle balcony, which connected back to the ballroom from the upper floor. It was secluded, so it was only Discord and Garnet. Discord laid down on his side, right on the rim of the balcony stone fence, with a small glass of fruit punch in his talon. He took a moment to spin the drink in his glass before saying anything else. "So, what's up?" Discord asked, beginning to drink the glass, rather than the fruit punch. "It's about Blue Diamond," Garnet replied, as Discord finished his drink (sort of), and tossed it aside. "Oh, her! You like the surprise? Blue Diamond was such a sweetheart for letting me bring her here to Equestria. Almost like a particular Alicorn we know of," Discord said, with a wink on the last part. Well, that answered one of her questions in a way. "So you got her from Homeworld to Equestria, then?" Garnet questioned. Discord fluttered over by her, leaning against her like she was a brick wall, with a fancy cane for some extra accessory to his outfit. "Well, more or less. Didn't check out Homeworld though, so that fifty percent for you," Discord said, drawing a fifty in front of Garnet with his pointy talon finger. It stayed there until Garnet brushed it away like dust, though Discord seemed to make the original idea a bit confusing. "So, how'd you get her if you didn't see Homeworld first?" Garnet asked, eyebrow raised from under her shades. Discord laughed, but turned away, waving his paw finger to her. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no spoilers Garnet. You and your pals will have to wait for that cute little answer in oh ..." Discord paused, and suddenly conjured up an old fashioned alarm clock. "Few days, maybe a week, give or take," Discord finished. "Discord, you've made us magic keys, made the blueprints for the Galactic Ray, and you even got Kyra onto Homeworld without it. I'd imagine -" "Oh, it isn't me this time, I hate to say." "... Excuse me?" Suddenly, Discord was in a jack-in-the-box, popping out. "Surprise! HA HA! That's right, Garnet dear; it wasn't me bringing her from Homeworld. I'd normally pop her with that cute little door, but I didn't had the key, and opening dimensional doors isn't like window shopping," Discord joked. However, Garnet ended up thinking some more about it quite a bit, as Discord stood tall, leaning on his cane with a smug grin. If Discord didn't get Blue Diamond here, who did? Blue Diamond did say "he" wanted to keep it a secret, so Discord must have some sort of involvement in it somehow. But Discord wasn't make it any easier; he was involved, but he didn't bring her here, so that left one question ... Who brought Blue diamond here? Or how did she get here, for that matter? "So let me get this right; you didn't bring her here, yet you were still involved?" "Oh, let's leave those questions for the thinkers at home for now. Now, come on Garnet, there's still a Gala to play with," Discord encouranged, walking back inside alongside Garnet. Meanwhile, Blue Diamond was taking her time to look around, and basically see how the Galloping Gala was handled. So far, Blue Diamond found it pretty quaint; nothing over-the-top, or anything rough either - mainly a aristocratic approach like she would do for her court. Even if the exact details didn't match what a normal Gem would do, it was still pretty cute to see, and charming. With the other Gems coming and going around the ballroom, enjoying themselves to some degree depending on who, Blue Diamond decided to go over to and see the main hosts to it all; Celestia and Luna. When Blue Diamond did find there, the two princesses were over by the Alicorn statue, the two talking to a few other ponies for a bit. Interestingly, Celestia also had another little pal with her, sitting down in her back on a make-shift perch. It looked like a bird, just taller than a equestrian pony, but rather lean too. its feathers were beautiful shades of red and orange like flames to a fire, signifying its species. Pretty soon, the bird noticed her just before Celestia herself did, the others ponies going off. "Ms. Diamond, pleasant evening. How're you enjoying the Gala?" Celestia asked, as her bird calmly turned to Blue Diamond. "It's a nice event, Celestia. Mind if I ask about your creature?" Blue Diamond asked, pointing to the bird on Celestia's back. The bird smiled to Celestia, as the Alicorn looked up to her again. "Oh, her. She's my pet phoenix," Celestia explained, as her phoenix moved from off her back, and onto her raised hoof, the bird looking up to her. "This is Philomena. She's such a sweetheart, isn't she?" Celestia said. Philomena flew up to Blue Diamond, circling her in the air to look her over. Blue Diamond was impressed with the bird, even seeing some slight flames going out of the bird's wings as she flew around her. Philomena landed by Celestia again, giving a happy squawk afterwards. "She is a lovely-looking phoenix," Blue Diamond complimented. Philomena blushed on the compliment, as Celestia smiled to her bird. As their conversation continued, the Diamond Gem then began to hear something coming down to her, soon wrapping around her neck like he was a scarf. Turned out it was Discord. "Oh, Philomena is a lovely bird, isn't she? And how're you enjoying Equestria?" Discord asked. Blue Diamond didn't want Discord around her this way, so she picked him up, and dropped him on the floor. Discord quickly regained himself, wiping off some dust on his suit. "To be honest, I do enjoy it so far. This 'Galloping Gala' as you call it is quite charming. Aristocratic by many means," Blue Diamond complimented, looking around at everypony going about. Blue Diamond could see many of the aristocratic ponies going about the event, reminding her of the aristocratic Gems back on Homeworld. As she was looking around though, she then began to notice something else ... Where's Blue Pearl? ~~~~~~ Quiet and alone for the time being, Blue Pearl took the moment to get herself out of the crowded ballroom, and out onto the Canterlot gardens. She didn't knew where the gardens were, but more of finding it by accident while trying to find a spot to keep away from Pearl until it was time for her to go back to Homeworld. At least it was calming in the Canterlot Gardens for the moment. The grass was soft, and the animals amongst the garden kept their distance as to not bother her. Blue Pearl found a good spot by a small tree, and sat down comfortably. She'll head back in once she calmed down, but for now, she needed a minute to think it over ... "Pearl? Where did you go?" Guess she wasn't going to get the chance this time. That voice proved as such. Blue Pearl looked up a little bit, as she heard that voice. Further away, just entering the Canterlot Gardens, Pearl had come around, trying to find Blue Pearl. Seeing Blue Pearl just go off like that and everything, Pearl herself had to at least apologize, or at the very least figure out what was wrong with her. Pearl kept looking around until she saw Blue Pearl sitting all alone. Blue Pearl didn't act like she noticed her, but Pearl still went over to her anyway. Blue Pearl didn't say anything as Pearl sat down next to her. "Pearl? Is everything okay?" Pearl asked in concern. Blue Pearl glanced over to Pearl, though not moving all too much, and not saying much to her. "I didn't mean to offend you, Pearl, really I didn't. I know you have your loyalty to Blue Diamond, and I'm not saying -" "I'm sorry." The response was hushed, and rather quick. Pearl heard something come out of Blue Pearl, but Pearl couldn't make out exactly what it was. "Wha?" "I-I'm sorry!" Blue Pearl got out. Pearl was taken aback, as Blue Pearl continued. "I didn't realize how nice she was. I should've done something during the rebellion - maybe then Rose can still be here with you ..." Blue Pearl brought her head to her knees. Pearl's expression of surprise turned to a calmer expression. "It's not your fault, Pearl, don't blame yourself. You didn't make the rebellion happen," Pearl assured her, hand on her shoulder. Blue Pearl looked over to Pearl, tears streaming down her face. "I've been with Blue Diamond though during it all, I could've done something to change her mind, maybe spare her ... I'm so sorry, Pearl." "No, no Pearl, it's okay. Please, Pearl, I don't want to see you hurt," Pearl said, trying her best to comfort her. Unless Blue Pearl planned Greg to meet Rose sometime before this, then there wasn't any way Blue Pearl would be held responsible for the rebellion. Blue Pearl took a moment, sniffing and rubbing some tears off her face. Pearl also helped to move some tears off of her face, Blue Pearl touched a little bit. As Pearl was, she could just see more of Blue Pearl's face; a sweet, blue, innocent, yet sorrow filled eye looking to her. Pearl didn't expect her to have just one eye, but then again, one of her friends had one eye too. That, and Pearl didn't want to make Blue Pearl feel any worse. Blue Pearl took a moment before answering her. "... I'm sorry, Pearl ... She sounded so sweet ... and now ..." "sshh. There, there," Pearl said, her motherly side of her showing here. Blue Pearl took a moment before she then hugged Pearl. Pearl didn't expect it, but she returned it regardless of it. Blue Pearl felt so sorry for Pearl to loose her closest friend, and master as well, and with the rebellion splitting her off from Earth, she felt like Rose should deserve more than this. Pearl just simply kept the hug going for a little bit, gently stroking Blue Pearl's head to calm her. Pearl eventually released Blue Pearl, allowing her to do the same. Blue Pearl still felt hurt for having Pearl loose Rose, but at least Pearl didn't blame her for what happened like Blue Pearl was doing to herself. The two pearls got back up after a bit, after Blue Pearl calmed down. "Feel better?" Pearl asked. Blue Pearl only replied with a nod to that question, wiping a few final remaining tears off of her face. The two both knew that it should be better to have fun at the Gala rather than stay outside. After a little bit, the two then began to head on back inside, Blue Pearl shyly smiling a little bit, side by side. Up on the Canterlot roof, having watched the whole thing go down, draconequus Discord was laying down comfortably on the rooftop, head resting on his paw and talon with a smile on his face. He had heard everything, and kept himself a grin on his face. "Oh, it's nice to make some relationships happen, isn't it? Have a good night," Discord asked the audience with a wink, before he flew off back into the Gala himself. Before he did though, he hanged a little sign on the door, and closed them. With the sign reading; End of Chapter.