> Invites you to the Gala > by Chaos57 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Twilight invites you to the Gala > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You give a powerful yawn before you start stirring the small cup of coffee sitting in front of you. You quickly float a couple cubes of sugar in before you give the cup a quick swish with your spoon. Taking a sip you felt your face cringe up at the bitter taste. You always hated this stuff but at least it was a good way to wake up. After downing the horrid drink, you quickly brushed your teeth in an attempt to remove the awful taste. After partially succeeding you decide to get the mail. You take several steps out of your door and quickly shield your eyes from the glare of the sun. "Definitely not a day pony," You mutter while your eyes slowly adjust to Celestia's sun glaring off the surrounding houses. Typically, you are a shut-in who only really leaves the house to get food or a book or two so the sunlight was something to be despised and feared. Checking your mailbox, you find it empty which would be surprising if your mailmare wasn't Derpy Hooves. With her you were lucky to get mail more than once a week but she was so friendly that it was almost impossible to get angry with her. Almost. Looking back towards your open door, you quickly debate about whether you should go back in and crawl back under your covers or if you should go into town for a while. Your stomach quickly answered that question for you as it growled, clearly still upset at you for feeding it that horrible, brown liquid. You quickly trot back inside and are soon back outside with a small saddlebag on your back jingling with bits. You give your door a quick tug with your magic and lock it before you trot into town. You get into town and immediately head towards market street. Heading to your favorite vendor, Applejack, you quickly buy a few apples. "Thanks AJ." You say as you float the apples into your bag while simultaneously floating a few bits onto the counter. "Anytime (Insert name here)." She replied with a tip of her hat. "Oh, before I forget. Twilight was looking for ya earlier." You blink a few times in confusion. "Why would she be looking for me?" You ask and just receive a shrug in return. "She didn't say. Seemed important though." She said after a moment before turning to help another customer. You trot away deep in thought. "Why would she be looking for me...?" You wonder while thinking of the strange librarian. Sure you went to Twilight's library every once in a while to borrow a book but why would that make Twilight want to find you. Your mind slowly drifted away from trying to figure out why she was looking for you and you simply just started focusing on the thought of Twilight. Somehow your thoughts turned to her appearance and you found yourself blushing from the sly look that imaginary Twilight was giving you. In an instant the image vanishes as you remember a particular book. You stop in mid stride as your mind flashes to the spell book on your nightstand. You had borrowed that book at least a month ago and Twilight's return policy was two weeks! "Oh nononono!" You quickly stutter as you think of what Twilight would do to you if she found you. "She's looking for me because of a book!" You quickly gasp and quickly gallop back to your house. "Gotta...return...that...book!" You say in between struggled breaths. "Note to self: Get in shape." You think as you get close to your home. "Home...free." You gasp happily before a purple unicorn comes into view. Your eyes grow small as you quickly try to slow only to end up tripping and getting a face full of dirt. You groan in anguish as you hear a set of quiet clops by your head. Lifting your head off the ground, you find yourself staring at a set of purple hooves. You mentally prepare yourself for the punishment she most likely reserves for book thieves as you climb slowly back to your hooves. You are surprised when your eyes finally settle on her face. Where you were expecting a look of vengeful wrath, you instead see a look of embarrassment. Her cheeks have the slightest tint of pink and she seems to be focusing on everything that isn't your face. You scratch the side of your head in confusion. "Umm, Twilight? Are you okay?" You hesitantly ask. She nods once and takes a deep breath, as if calming her nerves. "You're acting a little odd." You point out. "Are you sure you're-" You're cut off as a little piece of gold paper floats in front of your face. "The Grand Galloping Gala at Canterlot Castle: ADMIT ONE." You read off, your eyes slowly widening with each word. You quickly look past the paper and at the purple mare. "I would be honored if you would accompany me to the Gala." She said in a very formal tone as her cheeks took on a slightly brighter shade of pink. You don't know how to respond. On the one hoof, you had the choice of going to the most prestigious party in all of Equestria with the beautiful, although slightly socially awkward, Twilight Sparkle. On the other, you had just another night of sitting alone in your house reading dusty old books. You felt stupid for even having to think about it. You quickly wrap Twilight up in a tight hug. "Of course I'll go with you." You say as she returns the hug. "That's wonderful!" She says after the hug ends with joy etched on her features. You smile and are about to grab the ticket out of the air when it floats up just out of reach. You look at her in confusion waiting for her to explain herself. "You can have the ticket in exchange for one overdue book." > Fluttershy invites you to the Gala > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reaching into the clear blue water at your hooves, you shift a few smooth stones around before grabbing a flat gray stone. You pull it out of the water and inspect it for a few moments before lifting it out of your grasp with your mouth. You turn your head to the side slightly and, with a quick twist of your neck, send the stone skipping across the surface of the water. You count the bounces. One. Two. Three. Four. Turtle. You watch with disappointment as your stone comes to a premature stop thanks to the hard shell of a surfacing green turtle. With a soft thud and an even softer plop, your stone drifts down to the bottom of the lake never to be skipped again. You're about ready to search for another stone when you notice a yellow and pink pony across the lake watching you. You quickly recognize the pony as your friend Fluttershy and you wave to her. She waves back hesitantly and slowly starts to trot around the edge of lake in an attempt to get to you. You contemplate just waiting for her to come to you but you quickly realize that at the pace she's going, it would take a few minutes for her to reach you, which is odd considering the lake isn't that big. You quickly trot over to her and she hides behind her mane. "That's odd. She normally doesn't hide until I at least get to say hi." You think but decide not to make any comment on it. "After all, she does look really cute when she does that." You think but keep all signs of that thought from your face. "Good day Fluttershy," You say with a smile. She squeaks in response and pokes her face out of behind the curtain of hair. To your surprise, her cheeks are flushed and she looks a little queezy. "Are you feeling alright Fluttershy?" You ask in concern and receive a quick nod in return. You raise an eyebrow and put a hoof to her forehead. Although she tenses under your touch, she doesn't move. "You feel a little warm. You sure you're okay?" You ask again but receive no answer. You pull your hoof away and she quickly relaxes and drops her head down so that she's staring at the ground. Seeing this reaction, something clicks in your brain and your ears droop lightly. "I get it. You don't want to talk to me." You say sadly and turn away to leave. You take less than two steps before you hear her squeaky voice call out. "W-Wait!" You hear a few flaps and Fluttershy instantly appears in front of you. You blink a few times in surprise and you're shocked to see a small pink trail fade from behind Fluttershy. You open your mouth to comment on this when you notice her turn her head into her wing. After a moment she turns back to with something very shiny and golden in her mouth. You take a moment to read it. "The Grand Galloping Gala at Canterlot Castle: ADMIT ONE." After you finish reading you look at her with your jaw hanging open. "I-I have...a-a ticket..I..I..would..like you to go..with me..if you want..I-if not thats okay..." She stutters while somehow keeping the ticket from falling from her lips. With a forceful hoof, you force your mouth shut and smile. "I would love to go with you Fluttershy." You say and are surprised to be caught up in a crushing hug. It lasts for a full ten seconds and you are left panting for air after your lungs are decompressed. "S-Sorry." She apologizes and giggles lightly. You chuckle ignoring the pain in your sides. After all, what are a few cracked ribs when compared to Fluttershy?