My Most Faithful Mortifer

by hamishwarfare

Chapter. 26 – Too the Gala

Chapter. 26 – Too the Gala

The castle was in a state of panic. Well, not panic so much as organised chaos; somewhat similar to what you would find at the first and last of season court sessions. Except there was no court planned for today, or for the following week.

All this chaos, however, came by like clockwork at the same time every year; the preparations for the most illustrious of events were well under way. It was time for the Grand Galloping Gala.

If anyone asked Princess Celestia – and managed to get an honest answer – they would receive a less than enthusiastic response. If Princess Celestia was actually able to get her way with the advent, she would have long ago disbanded it.

The grand Galloping Gala, the pinnacle party of the elite within pony society. The event that runs the nation…the event that helped divide the ruling sisters so long ago.

Princess Celestia shook her head, bringing her back to the here and now.

She turned from her study window as her gaze fell upon the door that had just garnered her attention; the wooden portal was open and revealed her student, on time for another lesson on magic. Celestia was not expecting her student to be smiling – they were having a purely theoretical lesson today, something that Trixie did not enjoy – but the frown that was there caused a concerned eyebrow to be raised.

“Good morning Trixie, is everything alright?”

The light blue unicorn squeaked a little, as a child would with their hoof in the cookie jar. “No Princess,” she replied quickly as she finished seating herself at the only desk in the room sized for her.

Celestia stood there patiently with a caring motherly smile and waited while her student realise what she had actually asked.

“I-I mean, yes Princess. Everything is fine.”

The Princess just hummed in agreement before she walked over and draped a wing over her sitting student; causing the young mare to sigh.

Trixie was a prideful mare who had a bad habit of keeping things to herself no matter how much they dug away at her; convinced that she was the only one who cared about her problems.

Celestia had found a way in however; a simple winged hug that enveloped her student and blocked the world from Trixie’s sight. It made her feel safe and secure; it allowed her to speak of her problems.

This was yet another issue her faithful student was getting over; that it was required now suggested the problem has had quite some time to fester.

“It’s just. I-It’s just you finally gave me permission to attend the Gala, but I…”

“Do you not want to go?”

“I DO! But, I don’t want to go alo. Sigh, I know you shall be there, and Princess Cadenza with Prince Shining Armour…but there won’t be anypony else. I mean, even Spike won’t be there. I, it’s just…”

“You would like your friends from Ponyville to attend with you as well?” The motherly pride within Celestia swelled when she felt her student nod her head in agreement. ‘Look at how far you have come, my student.’

“I know the nobles would object, and it’s thanks to both my birthday and promotion in duties that is allowing me to attend this year. But…”

“I understand, and all the available public tickets have already been sold. If your friends were to attend, it would be as a guest from the nobles or royalty.”

The silence stretched between teacher and student, one considering how to help her student, the other enjoying the closeness a lot more than she would ever admit out loud.

“Well, those mares did help you rescue Sir Spike and take down a threat to Equestria, did they not?”

Celestia felt Trixie tense up and pull away to look at her mentor face to face. “They did. And Shining Armour said he would think of a way to repay them! I don’t think he’s done anything as a thank you yet.”

“That may be my fault, as I have been keeping him rather busy. But this works out very well for us; as more often than not tickets to the Gala were indeed given as rewards for noble deeds.”

Trixie’s face bloomed into a smile, the thought of all her friends being at the Gala with her made it feel so much less intimidating. Still her happiness couldn’t last; there was one of her friends who were not there for that fateful night.

“Umm, could I possibly get just one more ticket?” At Celestia’s raised eyebrow Trixie elaborated. “It’s just that Sunset Shimmer wasn’t there that night. I’m sure she would have been!” Trixie tried to reassure her teacher. “But with how quickly everything happened we couldn’t spare any time going to get her.”

Celestia began to blinked in confusion; Sunset was indeed there that night and according to her report had made sure Trixie and her friends were as safe as could be. But as her eyes revealed themselves to the world once more she caught herself and gave a gentle smile. “I’m sure one extra ticket being hoofed out will go unnoticed.

“Now, before anything else distracts us, can we get back to the lesson I have planned?” Her student nodded eagerly as she removed herself from the feathery embrace and arranged her writing materials on her desk.

Celestia meanwhile, walked over to a self-standing blackboard and levitated a piece of chalk; ready to begin.

“You’ve improved so much recently, both in magical ability as well as maturity, that I am now comfortable enough to teach you about the darker aspects of magic. More specifically how the will of magic can both effect and be affected by powerful emotions; to the point of corruption. It is this reason why the darker aspects of magic are so very dangerous.

“Now if you look at this spell formula here…”

---

The library was ticking along nicely; colts and fillies were using the study area, talking and laughing as they worked through their homework. Sweetie Belle had tried to get Sunset to teach her more magic, but the bulge in her saddle bag said there was more pressing items for the young filly to be focusing on. Still Sunset left the carrot for her; if her homework was completed, and to a reasonable standard, before the library closed for the day, then Sunset would show her a spell or two.

Strangely Pinkie Pie came by and glared at Sunset for a moment before vanishing.

What made today that little bit more interesting for Sunset, was that Zecora had been by to place an order for a book. It was certainly an obscure one, and if the title alone was to suggest, entirely written in Zebracan. According to the zebra it was a tome on arcane ritual runes from her home land; apparently she was going to access the Ayyaana within Equuis to send a message home.

It sounded fascinating to the bibliophile, and she asked for permission to have a read of it when it arrived; to which the zebra mare was more than happy to allow provided said bibliophile could understand it.

Sunset’s musings were interrupted when she heard the library door was knocked upon.

This sound was a rarity, as it was unusual for Sunset to receive visitors outside of the libraries opening times, and during said time of day ponies just walked in. This was a public building after all.

“SUNSET!” gushed the pony as she was revealed. The glowing, smiling face of Trixie Lulamoon practically skipped into the library. “Have I got a special treat for you and the girls!” her tail was wagging and the mare itself appeared unable to stay still in her excitement.

Sunset found the smile infectious and couldn’t help a smaller one forming on her own face, “oh? And what is this surprise that has got you this excited?”

“It’s a surprise silly, and I want to reveal it to all of you at once. I’m here just to drop off my bag and then I’m going to gather everypony together. See you at Sugarcube Corner. Ok thanks bye!” and with that Trixie dropped her saddle bags and ran back out of the door.

The fiery mare blinked a few times before her eyes travelled to the gold wearing Pegasus who had just entered where Trixie had left. “What has happened to Trixie?”

“Miss Lulamoon has been like this since she left her latest study session with Princess Celestia.” The white furred guard was as indistinguishable as all the others Sunset had ever met. By the ever so slightness of the face it was possible the guard was a mare, but not even from the voice was it possible to really say for sure.

“I’ve been instructed by the Princess to pick up Trixie tomorrow at 2pm.”

“Sigh, so Trixie’s staying here tonight. I had asked for some notice, but I suppose a single night won’t be a problem. Is Spike here as well?”

“No ma’am, Sir Spike is still in Canterlot.” The guard looked over their shoulder to see if the coast was clear, before returning their attention to Sunset.

“Miss Shimmer I was also instructed by your pen pal to deliver this missive to you.” They said this with a clear look in their eye; this missive was from Princess Celestia. “She requested you open it before Miss Lulamoon tells you of her news, but to still act like it is news.”

With both of their cargos delivered, the Pegasus guard saluted before turning around and flying out of the door.

Sunset, still confused at the whole thing, walked back over to the reception desk while reading her letter.

“Hey Sunset,
“I’ve heard through the grapevine that you somehow managed to snag yourself a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala! You are so lucky!
“I know, I know, big events like this are not your thing, but you really should consider going; because I’m going to be there as well!
“It’ll be nice to finally meet face to face, especially since there are a few things I want to talk to you about that can only be said in person.
“Don’t worry about looking out for me, you’re distinguished enough that I’m sure I’ll find you first when I can.
“Looking forward to meeting you properly,
“Sunny Skies.”

Sunset blinked at this. It seemed there was something that the Princess wanted to speak to her about; something that involved a bit of discretion.

‘Still though, the Grand Galloping Gala? That’s the biggest social event Equestria does. I am not looking forward to this. Still I can see why the Princess wrote this for me; without it I’d have turned down the invitation instantly.’

Sunset couldn’t help but let her mind wander as she tried to figure out what the Princess wanted to talk to her about.

---

Sugarcube Corner was busy with ponies of the town coming and going with fresh bread or tasty treats; but it was a bench seat by the window that made the store seem more crowded than it actually was. Seven mares were squished around two tables that had been pushed together; all of them were seated but one stood out from the others, only one was talking and causing the others eyes to widen.

“So, yeah; as a thank you in assisting with the crown in apprehending a dangerous criminal Princess Celestia, along with Shining Armour as the gift giver, has granted all of you a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!” Trixie emphasised this by standing up onto her hind hooves and spread her forelegs out to her sides; a wide and happy smile on her lips as she looked over the faces of her friends.

The announcement was met with silence for a fleeting moment, more than enough time for a fly to flap their wings at least a few times, before pandemonium was unleashed.

Rainbow Dash’s jaw tried to hit the table, Applejack was hacking and coughing as the shock of the announcement made her choke on nothing. Flutter shy just plain fainted, Rarity had clasped hooves with Pinkie and were currently jumping into the air screaming “Yes!” Trixie was very pleased at her friend’s reactions; well all but one. Sunset Shimmer was the only one of her friends who had a questioning look on her face, and Trixie quickly remembered why.

“Don’t worry Sunset, all of us know you would have helped out if you were with us; there was just no time for us to come and get you.” Trixie’s eyes softened and her smile shrank to something simpler and honest. “Trix, ahem, I have come to value your friendship, as much as all of the other girls here. The thought of being at the Gala without every single one of my closest friends celebrating with me; why that is no celebration at all. But thanks to Trixie’s persuasiveness, and Princess Celestia’s endless wisdom, it was agreed that you too shall be granted a ticket to join us.”

The look of surprise that covered Sunset’s face was a little strange in Trixie’s opinion. There was a slight delay in her reaction; not one of hesitation or distraction – Trixie had experienced enough of those to tell – but perhaps confusion, or lack of comprehension maybe.

Trixie couldn’t dwell on it for long; because Rarity had clearly heard the news and had all but climbed over the tables and was looking directly into Sunset’s eyes, her forehooves smooshing the face of the powerful Librarian. “HA! That dress I made won’t just stand there being beautiful anymore! It will now be worn and allowed to show all of Equestria what it can do with who it was meant to be wielded by! But not just you!”

Rarity gathered herself and got back onto all four hooves; she was still on the table, and was conveniently ignoring the mess her dive across its surface had caused. “All of you! I shall make a dress for all of my friends.” She hopped down from the table and started to head towards the entrance, “come along now. I will need all of you to accompany meeee,” she all but sang. Her horn was radiating power and all six of the other mares felt themselves being not to subtly dragged after the fashionista. They could resist, they could counter or fight the magic. But all of them knew that when Rarity got in such a state, it was almost futile to resist.

---

Shining Armour found himself deep within the archives of the palace; a place of history so long ago that even Princess Celestia struggles to remember that far. Or at least that’s what historians like to say.

The reason for his long and frequent excursions into the depths of history was curiosity of a single pony. Rather it was the organisation that had trained this pony to be as good as she clearly was. Shining Armour was still annoyed with Princess Celestia and how long it took her to tell him that the Violent Rose was back in custody; he had soldiers scouring White Tail Wood while that murdering SOB was lying about in the castle. Admittedly in the Royal Infirmary. Unconscious. Slowly dying until his heart eventually gave out before he could be properly interrogated…the point was he had ponies out looking for a mass murderer and he had already been recaptured by a single mare.

A mare who apparently appeared out of thin air, whom the Princess seem to trust despite the lack of knowledge of her past; and had been trained very extensively, but by no force he could see the records of. Considering he was the former Capitan of the Royal Guard and now a Prince Consort; he could see a lot of military records.

Even the tax records were a bust; and that was a month of complete tedium he was never going to get back.

For as unused and as deep as he was into the archives, there was still not a speck of dust on the table he was working at; but it was gloomy. The lighting was magically dimmed and there were no windows for Celestia’s sun to come in. The tomes here were very fragile, and he had to wear a white gold curator ring on his horn to slow and limit his magic. Just in case he causes damage to these fragile glimpses into the past.

All of his research so far had proven fruitless; be it the pony in question, this Miss Sunset Shimmer, or the organisation that she was a part of. His wife had assured him that her training was extensive and detailed, but she could not say what it entailed. So she knows of the organisation, but nothing more. That was not good enough in his books.

This was his last possible lead he could follow without going right up to Princess Celestia or Cadance and politely demanding that they told him what was going on. And then hope that they were in a good, but distracted mood, for them to actually tell him what he wanted to know.

Maybe he was exaggerating just a little, Cadance had said if he really wanted to know he could simply ask; but as he had deduced, Cadance did not know the details of the training.

So here he was, looking at the records of over a thousand years ago; and he had yet to find anything resembling an elite unit of ponies.

“Jeez Princess Celestia, you must be glad I wasn’t around at this time; I’d have been raking you over the coals with some of these decisions. And then this Princess Luna had every bit accounted for and treble checked,” he shook his head, “the discrimination is appalling. What were the ponies of the time thinking? Hmm, but here she is again getting legislation through; trivial spending on park development this time. That is an insignificant amount though, it would not do anything, even if it was scheduled to…” he blinked, “continue indefinitely, or with unanimous Diarch vetoing? That is surprising.

“So we’re still spending that amount; it’ll be trivial now, inflation on the bit alone would have decimated this, but it is still being spent. Wait.”

Shining Armor went over all the decrees that this other Princess had managed to pass. Many were of no consequence, some – the larger expenses – were passed thanks to help from Princess Celestia; but the rest – the smallest amounts – were passed over several decades. The final tally raised an eyebrow.

“I think I’ve found our culprit, this Princess Luna is a cunning and shrewd pony; managing to gather all these funds despite all the backlash she was clearly experiencing. But that still does not tell me what this organisation is.”

He rubbed his eyes in frustration with the heel of his fore hooves. His eyes were tired, his head hurt and all he had managed to find was that a former Princess, who was still registered as part of the crown – that piece of information explained so many of Princess Celestia’s stranger quirks; including the recent spending on redecorating the spare Princess sized quarters – had managed to discreetly gather enough bits to fund such an elite force.

A distant delicate bell chimed several times, informing Shining Armor that he had already spent far too long on this; his wife was sure to be looking for him. He sighed as he gathered his notes; the books he was reading through were left where they were. Not out of arrogance or impoliteness, but out of the insistence of the Archivist; they knew exactly where the books belonged and they also wanted to check over each tome or scroll he had manipulated.

Leaving the gloom, he inhaled deeply on a lungful of fresh air before quickly releasing it with a shake of his mane. He was getting closer to the truth, he could feel it in his hooves; it was enough to put a small smile on his face.

The smile vanished, as he heard the distant call of his wife looking for him. “Have you seen Shining Armor? The Gala starts in an hour and he needs to get ready for it.” He shivered at the thought; a part of him wondered if he could teleport away, but dismissed the pleasant idea. His wife would not stop looking for him; and the longer he was missing after the Gala started, the worse his life would be.

It was with a resigned sigh, and heavy hoofsteps that he made his way towards his wife’s voice, “Cadance I’m right here…”

---

The sky was set ablaze with golden hues and streaks of pink as Celestia began to lay her sun to rest. As dusk started to arrive a stage coach carved out of the finest of oak was pulled through the main gates of Canterlot castle; being led by a team of white furred golden clad pegasi.

Waiting for her friends to arrive at the base of the main steps was none other than Trixie Lulamoon, the personal student of Princess Celestia herself. It was clearly an anxious wait as she was repeatedly hopping from one hoof to another in what the average pony could easily believe was some sort of tribal war dance. Or a desperate need to use the bathroom.

The hopping came to a sudden and dramatic halt at the exact moment the carriage door was opened by the hoof of yet another almost identical guard. They had been standing at the base of the stairs nearby and what made this guard different from the ones pulling said carriage was the lack of wings.

One by one the passengers exited their vehicle and the smile on Trixie’s face grew larger with each pony that was revealed. It was a fight which one of her friends exited first between Pinkie Pie and Rarity, with Rainbow Dash a close third place; something Trixie was sure the fast Pegasus would not care to admit.

What surprised her more was that it was not Fluttershy who was the last pony to venture out of their transport; no she left the vehicle after Applejack. It was Sunset Shimmer who was last to set her hooves down at the base of the stairs; and while her face was its typical impassive demeanour, Trixie felt there was a hint of nervousness about it.

“You all made it!” She did not gush, but would admit to being very excited; and why not her friends were here to join in with the festivities of such a prestigious event. Said friends were clearly in a similar mood, they all gathered around her, with both Rarity and Pinkie smothering her in hugs and thank you’s. Rainbow was already trying to see if there were any signs of her heroes the Wonderbolts; while Applejack was still a little miffed at not being allowed to bring any of her farm’s wears with her. The Grand Galloping Gala was an event where the price of the ticket covered everything for the night; it was unlikely anypony would have bought a single thing from her regardless of the quality.

“Well gather up your things and follow me; I’ll take you to my quarters where you all can freshen up from the journey and get ready for tonight!” Trixie pivoted before leading the way into the marble rich castle. She blinked in confusion when Sunset lit her horn; the blink turned to shock when at least half a dozen suitcases flew out of the carriage, along with seven dress bags. “Uh, Sunset, why did you bring so much? The invitation was only for tonight? You’re not even meant to be staying over, I just said I’d let you all bunk in my quarters and Princess Celestia had no qualms with it.”

The mare in question blinked, “this is not all mine.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow jumped in quickly. “That’s all Rarity’s. The rest of us are sharing my duffle bag here.” Applejack was smiling right along with Fluttershy over their friends antics, only her smile was clearly repressing laughter. Rarity just huffed at the comments.

The walk through the castle was as indirect as Trixie could make it to where she slept, provided Sunset was still happy to carry all of Rarity’s luggage. She wanted to give her friends as much of a tour as she could; certainly more than the typical tourist public one. Her friends all oooo’d and aaaa’d as she spoke about the areas she showed off; taking them along several corridors filled with history in stained glass, passed the Royal Archives, and more than a few of her more favourite locations before eventually taking a side door out to the gardens.

This trip through the gardens wasn’t a tour, just a convenient shortcut to her own living accommodations and as a result where all her friends were going to be spending the night. The walk led them past the renowned hedge maze and even the outer edges of the sculpture nursery; but unfortunately for Fluttershy nowhere near the animal sanctuary.

“Well here we are; home sweet home.” Trixie announced as they came to the end of their mini adventure; and what she led them too was a rather tall annexed tower. It was clearly made to be in keeping with the castle; but thanks to the architecture it was obvious that the tower was a later development.

While the tower was indeed connected to the rest of the castle, there was a side door that led directly into the gardens. More specifically right into the section of the statue garden where all of the previous personal students of Princess Celestia were on display, fully grown adults and posed ready to face the world. They were all set in a semicircle in front of a very old depiction of the Princess. It was a little smaller than the actual princess; set in a graceful sitting position, a motherly smile of pride was on the face and its wings were spread wide in an attempt to wrap them around all of the other statues.

There was, however, a single exception in amongst the stonework. Sitting directly in front of the princess was the only statue of a filly unicorn; she had an innocent smile on her face, and was waving to the world.

The blue unicorn led them up a marble set of stairs, passed a few doors, and into what was clearly a living/studying area. It again was in keeping with the rest of the castle, but there were a lot more personal touches that just seemed to yell to the high heavens that this was Trixie Lulamoons living quarters.

It caused Rarity’s porcelain white coat to discolour with an undertone of sickly green.

But Trixie’s background as a showmare made itself known at that moment in time; for as soon as she revealed her home away from home the bells of the castle chapel called the top of the hour. The realisation of just how little time she had left to get ready forced the seamstress to dismiss her critiques and dash off to the indicated bathroom.

All the others just smiled and lightly giggled at the antics, and Trixie made no effort to hide the glint of mischief within her eyes.

For the Grand Galloping Gala was set to begin in only a meagre two hours’ time.

---

The ball was underway, ponies of all tribes, shapes and sizes were immaculately dressed; showing off the latest trends, displaying their grandest accessories that no doubt each cost the same as a small house. The opulence, the displayed wealth, the extravagance of it all; oh it was everything the Grand Galloping Gala had stood for since its founding.

And she had long since come to loath it.

The pleasantries with ulterior motives, the smiles that never reached a ponies eyes, the fake interested front talk; it was all on display if a pony cared to look. The Grand Galloping Gala was founded on good intensions, but the power of it all corrupted it into what it was now.

A political cesspool of self-congratulations wrapped in a fancy bow.

With practiced ease, Celestia held in a sigh as she smiled and welcomed in another group of nobles trying to sweet talk her into their way of thinking. Every year it was the same script; different actors perhaps, updated language sure, but the script rarely if ever changed.

She went through the motions of greeting guests as they arrived; an act of humility and an effort to equalise the Princess to the more common pony it was claimed by all. Truthfully it was a clever ploy to delay the inevitable political dance that was all but demanded of her even within this highly decorated soiree.

And the absolutely worst thing about it all was that it was she herself that had caused it.

Sure it wasn’t supposed to be like this; at its birth it was genuinely meant to be a celebration of the prosperity and wellbeing of the country. A way for the nation to see how well it was doing. Oh, but honeyed words year after year had slowly excluded the more common pony in ways that had sounded good at the time, in her naivety.

Luna had seen what was going on, and had tried to make her see what was happening; but the limelight was a corrupting influence, and she failed to heed her sister’s warnings. No, instead she listened to the worries of her ‘friends’ at the time and created laws that made it all but impossible to stop it. The legislation she had weaved protecting the Gala was a masterstroke of law creation, with forethought and futureproofing were all considered in their writing. This event was all but impossible to stop or defund; be it her sister, who these countermeasures were aimed at during their creation, or by herself she realised much too late.

‘Oh sister, we were both corrupted back then, weren’t we? Your one was just more visual.’

Still it wasn’t all bad; while the event couldn’t be as general as she wanted, there were still ways to allow, at least a few, of the true populous of Equestria to see the event. Noteworthy deeds and acts, charitable nobles, and a few other more recent additions, allowed some ponies to come and see the event for what it really is.

Of course now her ponies think this exclusivity and difficulty to get an invitation meant that the Grand Galloping Gala had to be the best party ever. The ponies lucky enough to get invited always arrive with huge bright smiles, and leave with sad, disappointed frowns.

Her gaze travelled over to the latest arrivals and her smile became just that little bit brighter and a lot more honest. Maybe this lot will break the trend?

“Good evening Trixie; my you are looking quite beautiful tonight. I must say I almost didn’t recognise you without your trademark magician’s hat.” And indeed she was; her whole group in fact were all in beautifully crafted dresses that clearly had each and every pony in mind during their creations. That they were all in a style that was rather unknown to the Princess just helped the group to stand out all the more.

Trixie’s dress consisted of a beautiful saddle made out of smoothed pale amethyst gem stones that wrapped around her neck to form a heart shaped clasp. It was trimmed with gold cord and the trailing skirt was made of a transparent material the shade of pale heather.

The other dresses matched their owners just as well; from the rainbow and cloud motif with gold trim, to the dress that somehow managed to incorporate a Stetson. The subtly and simplicity of the green gown matched the yellow pegasus wonderfully; even the two more traditional gowns of high bottomed pink dresses suited their owners.

The final dress of the group was layered in purple fabric with a matching choker; the purple paled and faded into a soft pink by the time it reached the floor. Detailed swirls of silver were woven throughout the primary purple fabric, and the base of the dress was finished in silver flames that matched the mane of the pony who wore it.

Trixie lightly blushed at her mentors comment, that there was a twinkle in the Princess’s eyes told Trixie that the second comment was meant to be a light tease. “Thank you, Princess. Cough, please allow me to introduce my friends to you; this is Pinkie Pie professional party pony and baker extraordinar. The rainbow maned Pegasus is Rainbow Dash, a future Wonderbolt in the making. This is Rarity, master seamstress. She was the one who made all of our dresses tonight. And the one hiding slightly behind Rainbow Dash is Fluttershy, she’s the heart of our group and a lover of animals. Then finally, there is Applejack and Sunset Shimmer; both of whom I believe you might actually be acquainted with?”

The gobsmacked look on Rarity’s face was almost as bad as the simple half shoulder shrug of Applejack in reply. “What? The Princess has been buying our reserved cider ever since we started making it. Heck, why do you think it’s called ‘reserved’. What I want to know is how Sunset here knows the Princess?”

“I appointed Sunset Shimmer as the librarian of Ponyville myself.” Princess Celestia calmly answered; preventing the squabble that was so clearly starting up. “It is good to see all of you once again; the last time was when Sunset Shimmer won the running of the leaves I believe. It is nice to see that the little dispute then has been put behind you all.

“Ah, forgive me but I think it’s time you all venture into the Gala itself. The welcome line appears to be growing behind you all.” And indeed it had, there appeared to be two groups of important looking ponies waiting; all of them giving the group of young mares the stink eye. “Perhaps when I have welcomed everypony in we may get the chance to speak again. Until then though, please enjoy yourselves.”

The small entourage of ponies bid the Princess farewells before venturing into the depths of the most illustrious party in the country. It was so innocent a farewell that no pony noticed the subtle message the Princess gave to Sunset, “I’ll find you.”

Comments

[Solver]

It seems we have been blessed with a new chapter today.
And a good one at that!

[DarknessHusarz]

[K-O-D-E-X]

Very good

[PonyofEntropy]

Great story. In my top 5. Definitely added to read list.