Flying High

by arglefumph

The Grand Galloping Gala

Shining Armor threw open the window to the bunkroom and sang loudly.

Morning in Canterlot shimmers...
Morning in Canterlot shi-i-ines...
I know for absolute certain
That everything is going to be fine!

"Somepony shut him up!" a voice called from one of the bunk beds.

"We're trying to sleep here!" another member of the Royal Guard said.

Shining Armor's friend 8-Bit tapped him on the shoulder and explained that "shines" does not rhyme with "fine". Shining ran a hoof through his blue mane and laughed loudly. "Say what you want, guys, but nothing is going to spoil my mood today! Tonight's the night I finally get to spend time with...*sigh*..."

"Rarity," all the members of the guard groaned at the same time.

Shining blushed slightly. "I don't talk about her that much."

"Oh no, just every single day for the past two weeks," 8-Bit said.

"Yeah, well...I haven't seen her in a while," Shining Armor said. "And besides, tonight is extra-special. I'm going to ask her to be my marefriend!"

"Did you forget that Captain Whitewings put you on latrine duty every night this week for not paying attention during drills on Sunday?"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault!" Shining Armor said. "I was busy thinking about...*sigh*..."

"Rarity," all the members of the guard groaned at the same time.

"...Okay, maybe I have talked about her a lot," Shining admitted.

"It's okay, Sub-Captain Shining," one of the newer recruits said. "We're all rooting for you to get the mare of your dreams tonight, Sir!"

"...Mainly because he won't shut up if he doesn't."

"Too true."

Shining turned back to the window and resumed singing.

My Rarity is so pretty...
Can things go wrong?
No, not for me...

"STOP SINGING!" everypony shouted.

---

It was a beautiful night for the Grand Galloping Gala. The moon was bright, the air was crisp, and all the ponies in Canterlot were wearing their nicest clothes for the occasion. Even the ponies who hadn't gotten invitations to the biggest royal party of the year were dressed up for a night on the town.

Our friends from Ponyville arrived in a group, but they soon split up. The Apples, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all went to the outside area, while the others headed into the palace. They were greeted by Princess Celestia, and Trixie wasted no time in planting herself by Celestia's side.

"I'm going to stay here with you tonight, Princess," Trixie said.

"Is that right?"

"Yes, I'm not leaving your side for a moment!" Trixie said. "We've had hardly any time to interact with each other ever since the Summer Sun Celebration, so I'm going to make the most of it!"

"I'm glad to have you here with me, Trixie," Celestia said. "And it is good to see all of your friends, too."

Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie said their hellos to Celestia, then wandered off by themselves. "Looks like it's just us tonight," Twilight said. "What do you want to do?"

"PARTY!" Pinkie cheered.

"I was going to suggest the ballroom or the lounge area," Rarity said.

"That's right, my brother said he'd meet us in the ballroom," Twilight said. "Let's go there."

"Shining Armor?" Rarity asked quickly.

Twilight chuckled. "Well, it's not like I have any other brothers."

"But he…that is to say…didn't you get a letter from him?"

"No, I didn't. Did you?"

"Yes! He said he was far too busy to meet with me tonight, and that I should spend the evening with…somepony else."

"He cancelled your date tonight?" Twilight gasped.

"Awww, poor Rarity!" Pinkie Pie said, giving her a sideways friendship hug. "If it makes you feel any better, I'd totally date you! If I was a stallion who liked unicorns, that is!"

"That doesn't sound like my brother," Twilight said. "The only time he missed something important was when he got injured in a sports game and broke off his horn."

"Whoa, hold the phone!" Pinkie said. "Unicorns can lose their horns? They didn't mention that in biology class!"

Rarity coughed discretely. "It's not a topic for polite conversation, but yes, that happens sometimes. After a few weeks, the horn eventually grows back."

"Oooo, is that gonna happen to you, Twilight? You had a horn for that week when you were an evil alicorn!"

Twilight gestured towards her smooth forehead. "Nope. Ever since you used the Elements of Harmony on me, I haven't been able to do a speck of magic."

"Ah, bummer! But hey, do pegasi have any cool secret abilities? Can you take off your wings and use them as boomerangs?"

"Er…no," Twilight said. She knew how to expand her wings to 1.5 times their normal width, but that was a closely-guarded Pegasus secret she was unwilling want to reveal.

"Back to your brother, are you sure Shining Armor didn't try to contact you?" Rarity asked.

"No, I haven't heard from him all week."

"Which means he went out of his way, just to stand me up," Rarity said. "Yay. I feel so special."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said. "I'll be sure to—"

"Hail, Twilight Sparkle and friends," a voice said. "'Tis a pleasure to see you again."

It was Princess Luna. The three ponies bowed to her. "Good evening, Princess Luna," Rarity said.

"What's shaking, Night Gal?"

"Hello, Princess Luna," Twilight said. "I didn't know you were attending the gala."

"I did not plan on doing so," Luna said. "My last public appearance was...less than desirable. I am merely visiting the gala temporarily, to speak with you and the young princess. Where is Scootaloo?"

"She's not here tonight," Twilight said.

"Yeah, she was grounded for stealing magical cream which transported her to Manehattan, where she beat up some bullies!" Pinkie said, referring to the events of Chapter 26.

Luna lifted an eyebrow.

"…It's a long story," Twilight said. "You should ask her mother about it."

"I see," Luna said. "In any event, I find these premises a bit congested for casual conversation. Might we retire to someplace more quiet? Perchance the Royal Archives."

"The Royal Archives?" Twilight asked, her eyes widening. "That would be amazing!"

The Royal Archives were a librarian's dream; owned by Princess Celestia, they made up the largest private library in all of Equestria. Twilight had only been there twice in her life. She looked at her two friends, who nodded at her encouragingly. "Go ahead," Rarity said. "I will be fine here."

"Yeah, I can take care of Rarity!" Pinkie said. "I'll make sure she never leaves my—"

Rarity gasped, as she caught sight of a handsome stallion with a white goatee. "There's Sidcord!" she said. She dashed forward towards the dance hall.

"Hey, wait!" Pinkie cried. She bounded forward after Rarity, who stopped running because she didn't want to look too eager. Pinkie ended up smashing into Rarity's rear end, and the two crumpled in a heap on the ground.

Twilight and Princess Luna wisely decided to leave after that.

---

It was fortunate for the Apple Family that Applejack, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom were all able to attend that gala. That way, they could take shifts watching the apple stand, instead of forcing one pony to work all night long.

Big Macintosh got the first shift, and things went rather well, until he saw his former date for the evening, Cheerilee.

"Yikes!" Big Mac said. He tried to hide behind the stall, but it didn't work because he was too large. Cheerilee spotted him and walked over.

"Hello, Big Macintosh," Cheerilee said, without any emotion in her voice. "You decided to come to the gala after all."

"Eeeyup."

"I didn't know you would be selling apples. Is it difficult to sell food at a place with an open buffet?"

"Eeenope."

Cheerilee frowned. "Earlier, you said that you were coming as a guest, not a vendor. Was that not true?"

"Eeenope!"

Cheerilee took a moment to wonder what he was trying to say, then smiled gently. "Big Macintosh, can I tell you something? As a friend?" she asked.

"Eeeyup."

Cheerilee took a breath, then let loose. "You are the most frustrating pony in the world to talk to! Seriously, you are incapable of having a normal conversation! Do you know how hard it is to speak with somepony who only says two words?!"

Big Macintosh stepped backwards, slightly frightened. "Eeenope," he said honestly.

"GAH!" Cheerilee cried. She shook Big Mac's yoke furiously, then pushed him backwards before stomping off.

---

Fluttershy frowned as she flew around the garden. She couldn't find any animals anywhere! It was almost like they were hiding from her.

"Crrrrrrrra," she heard coming from the bushes.

Fluttershy carefully spread the bushes apart, and she found a large grayish frog with a goatee. "Are you the Western Bearded Frog?" she gasped in delight.

The frog croaked again, then opened its mouth wide and spit up a large amount of purple goo on Fluttershy.

"Oh no, my dress!" Fluttershy said.

The frog bounced away, chuckling to itself.

"Oh, dear, there goes the frog!" Fluttershy said. "This is starting to be the worst night ever!"

---

Pinkie Pie hit the dance floor. Literally. She punched it in frustration, because nopony wanted to dance normal dances like the Pony Pokey or the Macareina. The Canterlotters only wanted to dance to the fancy orchestra music, which was being played by a nondescript band.

"My dear, are you all right?" a voice asked.

Pinkie looked up to see a white stallion with blue hair and a monocle. He was looking at her with some concern.

"Yes, I'm fine," Pinkie said. "It's just…well, I thought the Gala would be different!"

"I see. Perhaps I could be of some assistance, Miss…?"

"Pinkie Pie," Pinkie said.

"My name is William Theodore Fancypants III," said the stallion. "But you can just call me 'Fancypants'."

"I can? But you don't wear pants!"

"Well, not right now, but..."

"STRANGER DANGER!" Pinkie shouted. She pulled out a whistle and blew it in Fancypants' ear before throwing him over her shoulder and towards the cheese table. This would result in the most delicious and painful injury he ever received at a state function.

Not far away, Rarity was dancing slowly with Sidcord. She groaned at Pinkie's antics and hoped Pinkie wouldn't interrupt the dance any more than she already had.

"Your friend seems to be…making quite an impact," Sidcord said.

"She's a good pony, but her manners are atrocious," Rarity said. "Nothing at all like your manners."

"Yes, well, I always try to behave my best when I'm with a beautiful mare," Sidcord said. "I am very fortunate to have met you today. Otherwise, I might not have had anypony to spend the evening with!"

"A well-bred stallion like you, hurting for company?" Rarity asked. "I doubt that."

"Let me rephrase that. I would not have spent the evening with anypony as wonderful as you, Rarity."

"Ooooo, you flatterer..." Rarity said, feeling a little weak in the knees. Her dreams of romance at the Grand Galloping Gala were coming true! Sure, Sidcord was no equal to the boyish charm and military accomplishments of Shining Armor, but he was very well-refined and dignified in his own right.

---

Rainbow Dash threw back another mug of apple cider. "Okay, am I the only pony who thinks it's lame we have to keep the Nightmare Moon thing a secret?" she complained. "I mean, we practically saved the entire world, for pony's sake! And nopony even knows about it!"

"You know Princess Celestia didn't want to make things difficult for her sister," Applejack said. "It's bad enough that she was evil for a thousand years. If ponies knew she first came back evil, who knows how they'd react."

"Yeah, well, the guard at the area with the Wonderbolts won't let me inside. He thinks I'm an obsessed fangirl."

"You are an obsessed fangirl."

"I'm just saying, maybe they'd have time for me if they knew I saved the world, that's all! I'm not selfish. I don't want a parade or anything. I just want to meet my heroes."

"Shucks, what for? You and the rest of us—we're heroes. Knowing that should be payment enough."

"Yeah, but we're still a bunch of poor nobodies," Rainbow Dash said. She sighed and took another swig of cider. "I even tried using my connections with Princess Scootaloo to get inside, but nothing doing."

"At least you didn't get stuck foalsitting your little sister half the night," Applejack said. "She's been a right—wait, where's Apple Bloom? I told her to stay right here!"

"Chill. Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie are over there," Rainbow said, pointing to the buffet area, where Pinkie was standing on a table, on her hind legs. She held Apple Bloom in her arms.

"This is your big chance!" Pinkie said loudly.

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom cheered. "Cutie Mark Crusader Crowd Surfing!"

"WHOOOOOO!" Pinkie shouted.

"...I gotta put a stop to this," Applejack said. "Don't drink any more cider while I'm gone."

The instant Applejack's back was turned, Rainbow reached for a new mug of cider.

---

Thanks to latrine duty, Shining Armor returned to the bunkroom much later than he would have liked. He pulled off his messy work clothing.

"Hmmm...do I have enough time for a shower?" he wondered. "If I don't shower, I'll see Rarity sooner, but I want to look my best for her..."

Shining decided to quickly wash himself off, but he didn't take any time to style his mane. He put on his favorite suit of shining armor, modeled for himself in front of the mirror for a while, then left for the palace.

As he entered the grounds, an inaudible siren sounded. Discord, posing as the fancy pony Sidcord, instantly straightened up and grinned. That's my cue...

"What is it?" Rarity asked, noticing his reaction.

"Oh, nothing," Discord said. "I was just wondering how it is that we both live in Ponyville, but we haven't seen each other before."

"That is most unfortunate," Rarity agreed. "You make a delightful addition to my list of acquaintances."

"Acquaintances?" Discord asked, pretending to be hurt. "I was hoping we could be more than just...acquaintances."

"Friends?"

"Alas, the Grand Galloping Gala is going to my head," Discord said. He picked Rarity up and held her in his hooves. "The romance of the night and the beauty of the mare before me is overwhelming my senses, and I find that I want to do something dreadfully straightforward!"

"Oh, Sidcord!" Rarity said.

"Oh, do not flutter your beautiful eyelashes at me! They make me weak, and I cannot stop my lips...when...they..."

Discord and Rarity leaned their heads together and shared a slow, long kiss.

And...now.

Shining Armor bounded into the area. "Rarity, I...AUGH!"

Rarity pulled back from Discord and gasped. "Shining Armor?"

"Rarity, how could you?!" Shining asked. "Kissing another stallion? We were going to meet here together!"

"I—that is—but you told me to find another date!"

"What? I never did anything like that!" Shining protested. By this time, a small (and growing) crowd was watching the scene.

"Yes, you did! You sent me a letter on Tuesday, saying you couldn't get time off to—how are you here? Don't tell me you got kicked out of the royal guard!"

"Don't change the subject! The last letter I sent you was all about us meeting here at the gala!" Shining said. "You wrote back to me, saying that everything was fine!"

"I wrote no such thing! How dare you make a spectacle out of me at the Grand Galloping Gala!"

Discord stepped in between the two white unicorns. "Oh, I do love a good soap opera," Discord said. "But I should probably clear the air. I wrote those letters."

"What?"

"You!"

"Yep! I stole your letters and replaced them with letters of my own!"

"But why?"

"Who do you think you are?"

"It was all a setup, so I could steal a kiss from the fair Rarity here," Discord said. "I know you're too much of a wimp to put the moves on Rarity yourself, Shiney, so I thought if I showed you how it's done."

Rarity growled with feminine delicacy. Shining Armor moved to punch Sidcord, only to find his punch blocked by a lion's paw.

"Huh?" Shining asked.

"Ah ah ah," Discord said. "Naughty, naughty! I haven't introduced myself!" Discord stepped backwards, his disguised pony body growing in size. "I am the mighty...wait for it...three...two..."

*BAM!*

A sizeable hole appeared in the wall behind Discord. A group of frightened animals burst through the hole, running in all directions.

"You're going to LOVE ME!" screamed an angry, bruised Fluttershy.

Discord howled with laughter as his body morphed into its normal form. He grew so large that he filled up the room. "Puny mortals! I am Discord, God of Chaos! Bow before my wrath! MUAH HA HA HA HA!"

The ponies stared at Discord in silence.

"This is the part where you run away and scream," Discord told them.

Mass hysteria exploded throughout the room, as ponies screamed random things and ran in all directions. Combined with the group of running animals, and the angry-but-now-confused Fluttershy, this resulted in a huge mess, as ponies ran into each other and accidentally destroyed things in their hurry to escape.

Sensing a potential problem, Pinkie Pie jumped onto Discord's shoulder. "Hey, Mister!" Pinkie said. "As a party expert, I know nothing ruins a party more than gatecrashers! So go away and leave us alone, or I'll be forced to use Party Punishment on you!"

Discord peeled Pinkie Pie off of his shoulder and threw her into the cake on the other side of the room.

"I once ruled Equestria!" Discord said. "Luna and Celestia stopped me for a little while, but now I am back! Bow before your new ruler! Bow before...hey, nopony's bowing!"

The crowd parted to reveal Princess Celestia standing at the entranceway to the ballroom, her wings spread wide. Next to her was the Great and Powerful Trixie. Both ponies had an angry, serious look on their faces.

"Stop right there, Discord!" Celestia said authoritatively.

"Sun Butt!" Discord said. "Oh, my favorite self-righteous sun-loving moron! How I've waited for this day!"

"Princess Luna and I defeated you once before," Celestia said. "We will give you one chance, to undo all the destruction you've done here."

"This? Pffft! A minor stampede at a party isn't enough to whet my appetite for chaos!" Discord said. He swirled around and appeared on top of Trixie's head, causing the blue unicorn to shriek. "Besides, I did my research this time. I took the Elements of Harmony, so you won't be able to stop me."

"You stole the Elements of Harmony?"

"Guilty as charged!" Discord said. "And you'll never find where I put them! Oh, what are you going to do now? It's not like they grow on trees or anything. Ha ha ha!"

By this time, most of the ponies had left the building, except for a few stragglers who were interested in what was happening. The ponies from outside started coming in, drawn by the noise.

"What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oooo, it's the hothead," Discord said. "The gang's all here! Rainbow Bimbo, Hillbilly Applejerk, the pink menace, the wannabe magician, Fluttershy—we can all see you hiding behind the table there, you know—and of course, my favorite Rarity, who likes to pretend she's high class, when the truth is that she'll kiss any stallion who so much as looks at her."

Shining Armor shot a bolt of magic at Discord. Without bothering to turn around, Discord backhanded the attack aside.

"Just tell me what to do, and I'll help," Trixie whispered to Celestia.

"Tell you what, ladies," Discord said. "Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll give you a fair chance. All you have to do is solve my riddle!"

To retrieve your missing Elements,
Just make sense of this change of events.
Twists and turns are my master plan.
Then find the Elements back where you began.

Discord laughed and disappeared with a pop. The ponies quickly gathered around a weary-looking Celestia, who explained who Discord was, and what he had done in the past. After some talk, it was decided that Trixie and the others might have a chance of finding the missing Elements of Harmony in the palace labyrinth.

Since the Grand Galloping Gala was more or less over now, Princess Celestia stayed behind to help everypony leave the palace safely. Shining Armor volunteered to protect her, in case Discord returned.

It was fifteen minutes later, when Princess Luna and Twilight entered the ballroom, laughing. They stopped short when they saw Celestia and the servant ponies cleaning up the mess in the room.

"Hello, everypony. Did we miss anything?" Luna asked.

"Nothing important, dear sister," Princess Celestia said. "Just the potential destruction of the world, that's all."

"They ran out of cake?" Twilight gasped.

Comments

[pendrake72]

@arglefumph...

1. A good chapter (29) in the overall.

2. The Shining Armor & Rarity Romance & Comedy has been good reading. The (Shining Armor) singing and "stop singing!" bit gave me a good laugh. I look forward to seeing how you portray the story angle(s) when it comes time to add Princess Cadance to the cast. After all, the Love Triangle is a time-tested and strong storytelling tool.

3. I think it would have been more interesting &/or entertaining if Fancy Pants (two words, by the way) and Pinkie Pie had hit it off positively, rather than resulting in bodily harm. But that is a minor passable bit, I suppose.

4. I also like that Trixie is starting to step-up, in character and courage (rather than bravado). It gets tiresome to read the Repetitive & Unchanging Trixie in the majority of other fan-fictions.

5. Hah...

"Guilty as charged!" Discord said. "And you'll never find where I put them! Oh, what are you going to do now? It's not like they grow on trees or anything. Ha ha ha!"

Good one.

[Seether00]

Cake!

[SageBrony07]

I love that you had Twilight think it was cake. Best of luck with the next chapter. I hope it doesn't take awhile before it comes out.

[khatre]

"They ran out of cake?" Twilight gasped.

Oh god no! the world really is ending!

[Unknownlight]

Nice segue into Season 2. Looking forward to it.

[TheGreatEater]

"Yeah, but we're still a bunch of poor nobodies," Rainbow Dash said. She sighed and took another swig of cider. "I even tried using my connections with Princess Scootaloo to get inside, but nothing doing.

needs an end quote.
____________________________

I find it hillarious that Dissy got most of the elements wrong. That'll be a shock when they work the girls are still discorded.

[keaton-furman-prower]

"Nothing important, dear sister," Princess Celestia said. "Just the potential destruction of the world, that's all."

"They ran out of cake?" Twilight gasped.

Yeah, that sounds exactly like what Celestia would consider "the potential destruction of the world"

[Pyrotechnic]

"My name is William Theodore Fancypants III," said the stallion. "But you can just call me 'Fancypants'."
"I can? But you don't wear pants!"
"Well, not right now, but..."
"STRANGER DANGER!" Pinkie shouted. She pulled out a whistle and blew it in Fancypants' ear before throwing him over her shoulder and towards the cheese table. This would result in the most delicious and painful injury he ever received at a state function.

I fucking lost my shit here. Pinkie, you are the craziest mare in Equestria

[PixelMoon]

"Nothing important, dear sister," Princess Celestia said. "Just the potential destruction of the world, that's all."

"They ran out of cake?" Twilight gasped.

Oh Twily! Parties NEVER run out of cake when I'm there!

[PonyPawz]

I don't know why but I feel like Twilight and Luna should be dating in this fic.
I don't know, maybe it's just me.
Right?

[Snowdrifter]

"They ran out of cake?" Twilight gasped.

The horror, the horror!

[Legatus]

"They ran out of cake?" Twilight gasped.

Oh the terror!

[Fluttershylover3]

3876281
Was so funny