Bravery of the Stars

by Phase Nexus

Chapter 4- Tasks and Tickets

It’s been a few days since Ruby and I moved into my grandparents’ house, and it’s another beautiful day in Ponyville. Well for now at least. There’s a short rainstorm scheduled around noon, so I’m out with Ruby running some errands before then. After a day of unpacking and inspecting the house, we’d come up with a solid list of everything we needed. Unfortunately, most of the appliances needed either replacing or upgrading, and we’re waiting for those to get delivered at some point this week.

Right now, we’re heading to the farmer’s market to stock up on cooking supplies and food.

“Thanks, Carrot Top!” I thank the ginger-maned mare, putting a bag of carrots in my cart. Ruby marks off her checklist from her seat in the cart. “Okay, that’s carrots done. What’s next?”

“Let’s see,” the dragon hums. “Carrots finish off the vegetables. Already tackled baking supplies. Got soap and cleaning stuff… Looks like the only thing left is apples to finish off the fruits!” She says happily, tucking the checklist away.

“Great! Now where the heck is Applejack?” I mutter, walking to where the Apple Family cart is usually parked. There I find Apple Bloom and a napping Granny Smith mareing the cart. I walk up with a smile. “Morning ladies.”

“Howdy North!” Apple Bloom greets me. “Ya doin’ some shoppin’?”

“That’s right,” I nod to the filly. “Think you could set me up with two dozen apples?”

“You got it!” She hops to the cart, starting to put apples in a sack.

“By the way, where’s Applejack? She’s normally out helping you guys.”

“Oh, she’s gatherin’ up some apples in prep for Apple Buck Season next week. Somethin’ about a bet with Big Mac?” The filly shrugs. She drags the sack of apples over to me. “That’ll be twenty bits!”

I levitate the money into their collection box and lift the sack into my cart. “Thanks, Apple Bloom,” I say, ruffling the filly’s mane.

“See ya around, North!” She giggles, waving to me as we walk away, making our way back to the house.

“This mean we’re done for the day?” Ruby asks excitedly.

I nod. “Yep! All we gotta do is unload this stuff at home.”

“Awesome! I had this great idea for a new drawing and- erp,” she’s cut off as her cheeks balloon. She lets out a belch of pink fire, producing a letter.

“A letter from Celestia?” I tilt my head. “I wonder what she needs.”

“Only one way to find out,” Ruby clears her throat. “‘Hear ye, hear ye. Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot, blah blah blah, next spring… cordially extends an invitation to North Star, plus one guest!’” She lets out another burp, and two golden tickets materialize from her magic. We exchange blank looks. “...So we’re selling these, right?” We both start laughing as we get back to the house.

I cough a bit as my laughter subsides. “Yeah. A whole evening of just us with the stuffy Canterlot nobility. Noooo thank you.” I start to carry the groceries inside as Ruby hops out of the cart.

“You remember your last fancy shindig the Princess invited you to?” The dragon giggles.

I groan as I start to put everything away. “Oh yes, Blueblood’s birthday party. Y’know, I’m still half convinced she only invited me because she knew I wouldn’t be able to resist messing with him.”

Ruby hops on the counter to help. “I still think he’s terrified of you for getting frosting in his mane.”

“Hey, that was an accident! I only wanted to make him sneeze his drink out his nose, he’s the clod that got so startled he tripped into the cake.” We both laugh at the memory as we finish putting the groceries away.

“Hey! Maybe Twilight and Spike got tickets too?” She suggests. “I mean it wouldn’t be so bad if they were with us.”

I hum in thought. “Not a bad idea. She’ll probably want to spend most of the night with Celestia, but I can think of worse ways to spend an evening. Why not?” I take off my saddlebags and head for the door. “You coming with?”

She shakes her head. “Nah, I’ll stay here. I did say I had some drawing I want to get done, and I might head over to the Library later. But you go on ahead! And don’t be scared to give my ticket away if a cute mare asks.” She teases me, pulling her drawing pad and pencils off the table.

I roll my eyes. “Okay, have fun!” I tell her, closing the door behind me as I leave.

---

“Now, if I was a purple book horse and I was not in the Library, where would I be?”

I’m broken from my thoughts by the sound of a rather loud argument happening nearby. “Okay, that sounds bad…” Putting my current task on hold, I take a detour, following the ruckus. What I find is my friends, for some reason, arguing with each other with a nervous looking Twilight in the middle.

‘Well that’s one problem solved, but it looks like I have a brand new one.’

Walking over, I clear my throat. “Hey!” I yell, getting all of their attention. Well, almost all.

“And I said, ‘oatmeal? Are you craz-’” Pinkie cuts herself off, looking at me. “Oh, sorry.”

“Girls, what is all this arguing about?” I ask.

Rainbow speaks up first. “They’re all trying to get Twilight to give them my ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!”

“Um Ah think you mean my ticket!” Applejack counters.

“Enough!” Twilight yells, trying to stop another argument. “Girls, there’s no use in arguing.”

‘But Twilight-” Rarity tries to plead, and the unicorn cuts her off.

“No! This is my decision, and I’m going to make it on my own. And I certainly can’t think straight with all this noise!” At that moment her stomach growls, causing her to groan. “Not to mention this hunger. Now go on, shoo!” She demands, waving her hoof. Our friends all groan, going in their separate directions.

I walk up to Twilight, tilting my head at her. She looks at me sadly, and her stomach growls again. I let out a soft chuckle. “Come on, let’s hit up the diner, then you can tell me all about what craziness we’ve gotten into now.” She nods, a smile forming on her face as we head off.

---

Twilight and I are sat in the corner booth of the local diner. I insisted we eat inside, due to the rain that’s supposed to start soon. That and to keep us from getting interrupted by our friends. I listen to Twilight retell the events from this morning as we wait for our orders. From Spike receiving the tickets, to all of our friends starting to argue over them, as well as their reasons for wanting to go (and resisting the urge to audibly groan at Rarity’s desire to marry Blueblood of all stallions. Seriously she deserves so much better.)

“Oh, North, what am I gonna do? All five of our best friends have really good reasons to go to the Gala, but I only have two tickets. There’s no way I can please all of them.” She sighs, idly chewing on one of the flowers sitting in the vase on the table.

I sigh. “Twilight, each of our friends means well, but this is not something they’re gonna let go of easily,” I say as the rain starts to pour outside. “The Gala is a huge opportunity for all of them, I get that. But what do you want?”

“What do… I want?” She asks, almost confused by the question,

“Your orders,” The waiter pony says, setting a double daffodil and dandelion sandwich in front of Twilight, and a double baked potato in front of me.

“Thanks, Savoir,” I say, and he nods to me before walking away to tend to other guests. I turn back to my companion. “Now. Less thinking. More eating,” I instruct her with a smirk. She looks at me thankfully, taking a big bite out of her sandwich. She lets out a happy groan, making me chuckle as I dig into my own food.

Twilight happily eats her sandwich, quickly devouring it to satisfy her hunger. She lets out a content sigh when she finishes, the only thing being left is a toothpick. “Thanks for this North, I really appreciate it.”

I give her a soft smile. “Any time Twilight.”

She smiles back at me, before getting a small blush. “You asked me what I wanted, but what about you? Would you want to go to the Gala with me?”

I swallow the last of my meal, letting out a nervous chuckle. “Funny you should mention that.” I look around the cafe to see if the coast is clear, and then I pull out my two tickets with my magic.

Twilight gasps. “Princess Celestia sent you tickets too?” She asks quietly.

I nod. “Yeah. It’s actually the reason I was out looking for you.”

“For me? Why?”

“Well, Ruby and I weren’t really interested in going by ourselves,” I explain. “We had the idea that maybe you and Spike got tickets too, then maybe we could all go together. And if not, then maybe you and I could go.”

“You’d wanna go to the Gala with me?” She asks, almost in disbelief.

“Well yeah,” I smile. “You’re basically my best friend Twilight. I could tolerate being around stuffy nobles if I’m hanging out with you.” She smiles at this, the blush on her face deepening. “But now I’m having the same problem as you,” I sigh. “Cuz even if we go together, that still leaves two spare tickets and five friends who want them.”

Twilight groans, laying her head on the table. “So we’re right back to square one.”

I pat her head, standing up out of the booth as I set down bits for the bill and tip. “Come on, why don’t we head back to the Library for now? Give you a chance to clear your head?”

She nods following me outside. Fortunately, the rain has stopped. Unfortunately, someone is waiting for us.

“SURPRISE!” A bunch of ponies yell, throwing confetti. A pair of pink legs grab us, pulling us into the crowd. They start tossing us in the air as Pinkie Pie starts singing.

“Twilight is my bestest friend! Whoopie, whoopie!~”

Twilight deadpans as we get tossed, “Pinkie…”

“She's the cutest, smartest, all-around best pony, pony!~”

“Pinkie,” I try to get her attention, but she ignores me and we get tossed again.

“I bet if I throw a super-duper fun party, party!~”

“Pinkie!”

“She'll give her extra ticket to the Gala to me!~”

“PINKIE!” We both yell, startling all the mares tossing us as they drop us to the ground. I feel my tickets fall on my face, and my eyes go wide.

“Northy! You got tickets too?!” Pinkie gasps.

“Wait a minute. Tickets to what?” I hear a random mare ask as Twilight and I scramble to our hooves, quickly putting the tickets away.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Pinkie smiles innocently. Twilight has an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala! And apparently Northy does too!”

“THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA??” The group all gasps, turning towards us. A few mares zip up to me.

“Y’know I’ve always thought you were really cute.”

“Maybe you need a date, handsome?”

“I’ll clean up your house for you! And maybe more~?”

Twilight is in a similar situation as we bump into each other, the mares continuing to talk over each other, throwing compliments and offers of favors at us.

“Twilight? Any Ideas?” I nervously ask her.

“Just one…” She sighs. “RUN!” She takes off, and I follow close behind. The crowd yells in surprise, chasing after us. They chase us all through town, unrelenting in their pursuit. We do everything we can to try to lose them. Hiding in shops and under bridges. I’m pretty sure I ended up in a baby carriage at some point.

The crowd eventually corners us in an alley peppering us with more offers of favors and compliments, each wanting our spare tickets. Seeing no other way out, Twilight and I’s horns light up, and there’s a flash of light. We reappear in the Library, startling Ruby and Spike.

“Ugh, that spell is gonna take some getting used to,” I groan, rubbing my head.

“Where the heck did you two come from?!” Ruby yelps.

“No time! Quick lock the doors!” Twilight yells. The four of us run around, locking all the doors and windows on the first floor. Turning off all the lights, we slump against each other, letting out a sigh of relief.

The lights turn back on and our eyes go wide. We shoot up, seeing our friends in the loft above us, smiling down at us.

Twilight yells in frustration. “I can't decide, I just can't decide! It's important to all of you and I just can't stand to disappoint any of you, because you're all my friends and I wanna make you all happy and I can't! I just can't!” She collapses to the floor, putting her hooves on her head. I put a hoof on her back, glaring at our friends as my own frustration rises.

“I’m disappointed in you girls. I understand you all want to go to the Gala but putting this kind of pressure on Twilight like this isn’t fair to her at all, not to mention to the rest of your friends! I’m glad I didn’t tell any of you about my tickets. Were you planning on harassing me too?” I scold them, and they all get guilty looks.

Applejack hops down, walking over to Twilight and putting a hoof on her head. “Twilight, Ah’m sorry. Ah didn’t mean to put so much pressure on you. And if it helps, Ah don’t want the ticket no more. You can give it to somepony else. Ah won’t feel bad, Ah promise.”

“Me too,” Fluttershy hovers down.”I feel just awful I made you feel so awful.”

“And me too!” Pinkie nods. “Northy is right. It’s no fun upsetting your friends.”

“Twilight, it was unfair of me to try and force you as I did,” Rarity apologizes, then looks at me. “I’m sorry to you as well, darling. I am better than this, and I apologize for disappointing you.”

Rainbow zips into the air. “Yes! That means the ticket is all mine! Haha!” We all glare at her, unamused. She awkwardly clears her throat. “Y’know, I haven’t perfected my signature moves for the Wonderbolts yet anyway. I don’t need that ticket either.”

“We all got so gun-ho about going to the gala that we couldn't see how un-gun-ho we were making you,” Applejack finishes.

They all apologize to us, walking over. Twilight and I look at each other. I smile, nodding as I pull out my tickets and give them to her. “Spike, take a letter,” She says, getting to her hooves. "Dear Princess Celestia, North and I have learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings. But when there are not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though we appreciate the invitations, we will be returning our tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala."

“What?!” Our friends all gasp out.

“If our friends can’t go, we don’t want to go either,” I finish, smiling at them.

“You two don’t have to do that,” Applejack tries to argue.

“Nope, we’ve made up our minds,” Twilight nods. “Spike, you can send the letter now.”

The dragon nods, heading over to the window and sending the letter off with his fire.

“But now you two can’t go to the Gala either,” Fluttershy says.

“It’s okay girls,” I reassure them. “I think I speak for both of us when I say that we couldn’t properly enjoy ourselves without knowing our friends were having fun too, so we’d rather not go at all.” Twilight nods in agreement, smiling.

They all come up, pulling Twilight and I into a group hug. Spike pretends to gag, and Ruby rolls her eyes at him. Her cheeks balloon again and she coughs out a burst of pink fire.

“Celestia responded already?” I tilt my head.

Spike tries to grab the letter, but Ruby gets it first, bapping him with her tail. She unrolls the scroll. “‘ My faithful students. Why didn’t you just say so in the first place?’” She gasps, holding a clawful of tickets. “Look! Seven tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!”

We all gasp, and Twilight lets out an excited squeak. “Now we can all go! This is amazing!” The girls all cheer, and I let out a soft laugh. We’re cut off though when Twilight’s stomach growls again. She lets out a small giggle. “I guess that sandwich wasn’t enough to hold me over.”

“Allow us to treat you to dinner,” Rarity offers.

“As a way to apologize, if nothing else,” Rainbow adds as we all head out the door, grabbing our tickets from Ruby.

“And celebrate!” Pinkie cheers. “Come on everypony! The cupcakes are on me!”

I hang back for a second, watching as a burst of green light comes from the library. A second later, Ruby and a giddy Spike run out, each holding tickets. He stops when he sees me, and I give him a smug look.

“Uh, I mean gross! I have to go too?” He says, trying to play it off.

“Yeah, a real shame,” I tease him, picking Ruby up onto my back. We catch up with the rest of our friends, who are discussing what we should get.

“I vote pizza!” Rainbow says, hovering over the group.

“Oh please, Rainbow, have some class. How about the Prench place across town?”

“Well, pizza is technically Neitalian,” I giggle. “Plus I feel like something simple after the day we just had,”

“Oh, very well. I’ll find a way to inject some culture into this group eventually,” she sighs, making us all laugh, happy to be together.

Author's Note:

Not as much Lore(TM) this time around, but we'll get into it soon enough. Just gonna take my time with this. I'm gonna play a little loosey-goosey with some things since they're not super explicit in the show, such as families and who's related to who. Also as far as tech is concerned I'm gonna settle on tech being in like the early 2000's since that makes sense given some of the tech we see in the show.

Nopony cares Nexus! Just do what you want, have fun with it! There's no point if you're not having fun! Who cares if there's video games and horror movies?

Okay that's fair Pinkie, thanks.

As always, feedback is most appreciated! And please remember to stay beautiful!

Comments

[f0st3r21]

Pinkie’s right on this one. If the writer’s enjoying the process, then it comes out in the product.

Twilight really seemed to like MC’s invitation. Might be a dance saved later…

[Nonnyaddic69]

Keep on trucking