Twilight has two tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala, but two of her friends start to compete for the prize of the other ticket. Set in the Manehattanverse.
After many months of mayhem happening in the Big Apple, Twilight and her friends are in need of some well deserved rest. They get that chance with the Grand Galloping Gala coming up in Canterlot. When Twilight receives two tickets to the Gala, some of her friends have already received their tickets, save for Blossomforth and Trixie. With two of her friends not having their own tickets, they start to compete to win Twilight over and win the prize for her other ticket. Will Twilight be able to chose which of her friends will go, or will they both drive her insane?
It was a beautiful morning in Manehattan, and Twilight Sparkle, local librarian and student of Princess Celestia, was hard at work, doing some rearranging. It was a tradition she called Re-shelving Day. The idea of a neat, tidy library made all her cares blow away like a gentle breeze.
The books really were a mess, though. Spike was a great assistant, but this was more than a job for the two of them. After mulling it over, she decided to call on one of her friends for help. That did raise the question of whom to call, of course. She couldn’t ask Orange Sherbet, Manehattan’s own beloved Auntie, to take the time to help with something so routine, especially knowing she would agree, and she dreaded what might happen if either daydreamer Blossomforth or manic Trixie were to attempt to utilize her filing system.
Deciding, she picked up the telephone in the trustees’ room, which had been converted into her bedroom after her permanent assignment to Manehattan, and dialed.
After three rings, somepony on the other end picked up. “Hello,” a voice greeted, crackling slightly over the wire. “Is it me you’re looking for?”
“Octavia,” Twilight confirmed. “Yes, I wanted to ask if you could come over. I’m reshelving the books in the library, and it’s going to be great!”
“Oh, hm,” Octavia replied. “My apologies, Twilight, but my bandmates will arrive soon to rehearse. It does sound like a big job, though. Perhaps I should come over once we’re finished.”
The unicorn considered for a moment. “Well, maybe you could call back, instead,” she suggested. “I’ll ask Honey to help, and we can both stop by your apartment later.”
The two said their goodbyes, and Twilight dialed the Equestrian Museum of Supernatural History. She was surprised when, after only one ring, she heard the click of the other end being picked up.
“Help me,” Honey Do uttered.
"What?”
“There’s a couple here with way too many foals.” Indeed, some shrieking did come through over the wire. “I need to get out of here, let the tour guides handle this.”
A little confused, Twilight nodded. “Okay, then. Would you like to help me organize the library?”
“Would I!” And the call disconnected.
Twilight stared for a moment. “...would you?” she asked the silent receiver.
Spike had a plate of snacks ready for the three of them when Honey arrived.
“I didn’t know you’d taken up baking,” the pegasus remarked, taking a pretzel.
He scratched his cheek with a claw. “Eh, it’s a hobby,” he explained casually.
“He used to do it a lot more, back in Canterlot,” Twilight explained. “Pony Joe was teaching him some recipes. He kind of stopped for a while, but he’s gotten interested in it again recently. Can’t imagine why.” She smirked.
“Well,” Spike said, “I guess we can get started now.” He picked up a heavy-looking tome and headed up the nearest ladder to return it to its place on one of the higher shelves.
While the dragon and pegasus handled a lot of the search-and-replace work, Twilight assumed her own favorite role: Sorting. When one of her helpers finished shelving one book or stack, Twilight sped them along by having the next ready.
"Foundation of Modern Equestrian Architecture, by Dr. Hoovian Vanderhoof, goes on the left of shelf 3 in section 4 of the Architecture section," she instructed as she passed Honey a thick text.
Honey nodded in approval and headed off to the correct section.
Spike had returned now, so Twilight supplied him with a new one. “The Little Seapony, by Hans Christian Andermane. Fiction section, shelf 1 in section 3.”
Spike saluted and climbed a nearby ladder to place the book in its proper place.
Twilight sighed with relief as this was really calming her down a notch. She needed a day to relax after all the work she and her friends had to go through in the last couple of months. It seemed a new problem would rear its ugly head every week for herself and her friends. Lately, though, everything had started to slow down in Manehattan and nothing exciting had really been happening the last couple of weeks, which was generally a good sign. Good thing she was taking the day to relax with her good friends.
"Hey Twilight," called Spike, drawing her out of her musing. He stood at the top of the ladder holding a book. "I think this one was mis—"
But before he could finish, he burped up a letter from the princess. Surprised, his grip on the book slipped. Both the letter and book started falling towards Twilight. She quickly grabbed both the letter and book with her magic, and gently set them down. Spike slipped down the ladder and Honey flew down next to Twilight.
"A letter from the Princess? I wonder what it's about," Honey pondered.
"Let’s have a look," said Twilight as she returned the letter to Spike. “Care to do the honors?”
Spike cleared his throat as he opened the letter and recited the words. “My dearest and most faithful student Twilight Sparkle. In light of your recent lessons on the meaning of friendship and how you and your friends have accomplished so many fantastic feats over the months, I hereby personally extend an invitation to this year's Grand Galloping Gala. You will be given two tickets. One for you, and the other for one guest. Sincerely yours, Princess Celestia."
"Tickets to The Grand Galloping Gala!" Honey gasped.
Twilight followed up with, "Oh my gosh, this is so exciting!!"
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…
(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what friendship could be
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me
Great discoveries!
Tricks galore!
A rich slice of life,
And a heartfelt score.
Budding courage
It's an easy feat
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
Do you know you're all my very best friends?
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! Eeeeeeeeeeee!" cheered an excited Twilight with joyous squeals.
Honey was pleased to see Twilight this excited, but Spike almost completely ignored it. His face again scrunched up again and he magically burped up two tickets. "Here ya go Twilight, two tickets to the Gala," said Spike as he handed the tickets over.
Twilight lifted the tickets with her magic and gazed at their splendor, regal, for pieces of paper. The tickets read: Grand Galloping Gala, Admit One. "Ooh, I can't wait to meet the princess again and have a fantastic time at the Gala!" Back in Canterlot, she had never even thought to ask for a ticket; she could speak with Celestia at any time, and chatting with other ponies of the more refined classes just hadn’t seemed important. Living in Manehattan, however, she occasionally missed that life, and the Gala was an opportunity to experience a part of it she hadn’t before.
"Go ahead, I'm not one for those, ball scenes. Besides, I'm not a good dancer," muttered Spike, disgusted.
Honey giggled. "Aw come on now Spike, who has ever said you can't dance?"
"W-w-well, I'm just not one of those ponies. I just want to stay away from boring stuff, that's all," said Spike, looking pointedly disinterested.
Both girls giggled at Spike's resistance to going to the Gala. "Well if you say so,” Twilight replied, “I might as well give the ticket to somepony else then. So Honey, would you like to have my other ticket?"
Honey shrugged. “Nah, I’m taken care of," she replied.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?"
The curator then reached into her sweater with her hoof and pulled out her own slip of golden paper. On it were printed the same words as Twilight’s: Grand Galloping Gala, Admit One.
Startled, Twilight replied, "Wow, you already have an invitation to the Gala?"
"Yup, I was going to surprise you all later today," said Honey gleefully.
"When did you get it?”
"A few days ago at the museum. I received the same letter from a mailmare and even got additional information that somepony important will be meeting me at the Gala," Honey explained.
"Who is this ‘somepony’ important?" Twilight asked.
Honey shrugged. "Well, the letter had the royal seal on it, so I guess it’d be one of the Princesses, or somepony who works for them. Regardless, I've already got a ticket. And I think it’s the perfect time to reveal my secret identity at the Gala."
That caught the unicorn off-guard. "What about the reason for having that secret in the first place? All the ponies who expect you to be things you’re not?" she asked.
"Not a problem," Daring stated calmly. "I've been thinking lately about hiding my image of Daring Do from the public. I’m a real, legitimate, world-saving hero now. Things aren’t the way they used to be, and I never liked keeping secrets anyway. So I’ve decided it’s about time to reveal my identity to the public and stop hiding from it."
"Are you sure that's a good idea doing this? I'm all for you coming out with your secret, but is this the right time?" asks a concerned Twilight.
"This is the right time. I want to make this night memorable not for only me, but for everypony else who will be there. I want to make the largest crowd have all their eyes on me as I reveal my secret to the world. The Element of Honesty doing the most honest thing by not keeping secrets from anypony. I'm confident they'll respect me for the pony I am, not what they think I am," says a courageous and confident Honey.
Twilight is happy for her friend seeing how far she has come, from hiding her identity, to coming out more often with her secret. With that out of the way, now she's open to the option of her other friends being able to go. So she gets an idea. 'I've got it! I'll go ask our other friends and see if they would like to go to the Gala," says a brilliant Twilight.
"That seems like a good idea," Honey agrees.
Twilight and Honey put their tickets away and start to head out the entrance, but pause to see if Spike will come. "You want to come Spike?" asks Twilight.
Spike looks down from the ladder and says, "No thanks. You go on your hunt for giving away those frou-frou tickets."
Twilight and Honey both giggle at his tough act and then head outside.
As they get outside, Honey asks, "Who shall we ask first?"
Twilight starts to think of her options and replies, "Maybe Auntie will go? She is always trying to improve her business. So this may be a great opportunity to inquire some investors from nobles."
Honey nods in agreement and they both head off.
-Orange Hotel: Orange Residence-
"So you see, that is why I came here to visit was to ask you just that," explains Twilight.
"So you want to give away your extra ticket to the Gala?" replies Sherbet.
Twilight nods in agreement and smiles eagerly awaiting her answer. Sherbet then nervously replies, "Well, uh. The thing is, um.... My husband and I already have our tickets."
Twilight's smile then turns to a frown and says, "You two have tickets to the Gala as well?!"
"Yes indeedy-do! My wife and I attend the Gala nearly every year for business!" responds Mosely. Mosely approaches from the entryway and approaches his wife. "We go nearly every year for promoting our business and have talks of expanding our business and/or looking for worthy investors in our stocks. We had to skip a couple of years after Tangerine was born. Also had to skip trying to find the perfect nanny, but it's no less raising a child than finding somebody to invest in you," explains Mosely.
Twilight figured this may be the case why they would go to the Gala, but didn't know they are annual attendees. This made the choice ever the more difficult of finding somepony to take her ticket.
Sherbet sees that Twilight is thinking in thought and asks, "You not upset about this honey?"
Twilight responds with, "No, of course not. Just surprised that another of my friends is going to the Gala."
Mosely and Sherbet both smile in Twilight's acknowledgement.
"I'm just weighing my options at the moment for when one of us will get the extra ticket. So I'm just going to ask the rest of our friends who does not have a golden ticket to the Gala," says a composed Twilight.
Twilight and Honey wave goodbye to the Oranges and decided to head out to their next destination. Twilight sighs and says, "Well it was worth a try."
Honey approaches Twilight to comfort her worries. "Don't worry. We still have three more of our friends will want to go to the Gala," says Honey.
Twlight picking herself back up again says, "Yeah! I'm sure Octavia will go. She loves the sophisticated atmosphere. By now I'm sure she doesn't-"
-Octavia's Apartment-
"-already have a ticket," says Octavia.
Twilight and Honey are both gawked that another of their friends has a ticket to the Gala as well.
"Well, this is really unexpected," says Twilight. "I didn't expect three of my friends to have tickets already."
Honey laughs at the irony of the situation at hoof. Yeah, before you know it, everypony in Manehattan will have a ticket," jokingly says Honey. Twilight is not amused by the sarcasm uttered by her. Honey then whistles away trying to not be noticed.
Twilight then goes back to Octavia and asks, "Why were you invited to the Gala?"
Octavia gets up from her chair and goes over to the adornment of pictures on the wall, all of her at either some orchestra performance or at a fancy party. She then points to one picture of herself with Princess Celestia and her while holding her Cello in one hoof, and her bow in the other. "If you recall, I'm the Princess' favorite cellist in the kingdom of Canterlot. After I perfected my cello skills, I was invited to the Gala to be among the few musicians that perform in the grand ballroom. I've been invited for the last few years doing just that," explains Octavia.
Twilight then walks out of Octavia's apartment waving goodbye. Honey thanks Octavia for the visit, and follows suit and immediately head outside the building.
"So three of you already have tickets to the Gala. I didn't expect this in the slightest," says an analytical Twilight.
"Don't worry about this. Let's go back to the library and rest up for now. Maybe an answer will pop up," says an uplifting Honey.
Twilight's eyes then brighten up with glee. She now has an idea of who to check out next. "Honey, you just gave me a brilliant idea!" says an excited Twilight.
Before Honey has time to react, Twilight teleports herself away, leaving Honey alone in the streets.
"You could've told me you were going on ahead," says a deadpanned Honey.
Spike is still organizing the books in the same top row as Twilight and Honey left him at. Then out of nowhere, a bright flash blinds him for a second and he sees Twilight below the ladder. "Twilight? What are you doing back here so soon?" questions Spike.
"Could you come down from there? I've got a request for you," asks Twilight.
Spike comes down the ladder and sits on a pile of books next to Twilight. "So what do you need? How goes the ticket hunt?" asks Spike.
"Believe it or not, most of our friends already have tickets to the Gala," Twilight responds.
"That's great! Who's going so far then?" says Spike.
"Well there's Honey, Aunt and Uncle Orange, and even..." Twilight pauses to emphasize the last pony, "...Octaviaaaa....
Spike then tenses up hearing the last mare's name. "Octavia is going to the Gala too?" asks Spike.
"Yes she is. She's performing with the rest of the musicians in the Gala by request of Celestia," explains Twilight.
"Oooh, this will be a magical night for me and my beloved Octavia. We will dance under the stars and have the moment just right for the both of...." Spike pauses for a bit to run by what Twilight said. "Wait. Did you say she's performing for the Gala?"
"That's what I said. Is there a problem Spike?" asks Twilight.
Spike tries to choose his words carefully on what to so say to her. He knows what to say, but doesn't have the words to say it. Before waiting any longer to think, he then says, "No there isn't. Nothing's wrong at all. Remember, I'm not one who likes those fancy dance parties for the rich and fancy."
"You reaaallly sure you don't want to go? Even for Ocatavia?" Twilights asks again.
Spike is trying to get himself out of this conversation. He wants to go for Octavia, but will she even have time for him at the Gala? He needs time to think about this. "I need to think about this. Besides, I need to return to stocking the shelves again right? Don't want to be unorganized," says Spike trying not to look stressed.
Twilight analyizes Spike's expression to make sure he's okay. She knows he is hiding something, but can't understand what it is. Out of ideas, she doesn't want to push him any further. "Okay then. I'll come back later and we can talk about this later, okay?" says Twilight.
Spike nods in agreement and gets down from the makeshift seat and goes back to the ladder to return to his duties. Twilight knows she has other friends to ask, but also wants to keep Spike in consideration for later. She then heads out the library to find the rest of her friends.
Spike is happy that Twilight is gone. Now he has time to think about his decision. But is going to the Gala really important for him? Even if it means taking time away from Octavia?
-Downtown-
"Now, I might as well ask Blossomforth next. I just need to figure out where she is. I wish the answer would just fall from the sky." says Twilight trying to give herself ideas.
As if right on cue, a sandwich from the sky land right smack dab in the middle of Twilight's horn. All of the sandwiches contents then start to leak onto Twilight's face and onto the sidewalk.
"Oh my gosh! You alright Twilight?" says a sorry somepony. The pony then lands on the ground in front of Twilight and is revealed to be Blossomforth. Perfect timing, or all a coincidence this happened? Twilight doesn't want to question this at the moment. Blossomforth quickly takes the sandwich off Twilight's head and throws it away in the trash. "I'm so sorry! I got distracted while looking at some birds flying overhead. My head must've titled and my wheat sandwich fell out of my bag," says a sorry Blossomforth. She heads into what's left of her sandwiches' bag and grabs a couple of napkins. Blossomforth hands them to Twilight as she uses her magic to wife the sauce and other condiments off her face and horn. She then scrunches up the napkin and throws it away.
"Don't worry about it Blossomforth, it's just been a long day for me," Twilight responds.
"Why is that? Plus, why were you near Octavia's place?" asks Blossomforth.
"I have two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala," explains Twilight.
Blossomforth's eyes go wide with suprise. Twilight then takes out the two tickets she has tucked away and shows them to her.
"You mean The Grand Galloping Gala? The single most exclusive ball in all of Canterlot?" says a surprised Blossomforth.
"That's right. I've been looking for our friends to give away my extra ticket all day, but Sherbet, Octavia, and Honey already have tickets to the Gala. Plus Spike is trying not to go, but I'm talking to him about it later," explains Twilight.
"Oh, I see. Well, I don't have a ticket to the Gala if that's what you are asking," says Blossomforth.
Twilight then quickly adjusts and asks, "So you have no ticket to the Gala at all?"
"Nope."
"You didn't check your mail today?"
"I did today, but I didn't get a ticket. I didn't even know I'm supposed to be expecting one."
Twilight now has an option to give away her extra ticket. "Well, would you like to go to the Gala with me then?" asks Twilight.
"W-w-what?! Oh my goodness, I could never take such a generous offer like that. Besides, I'm nopody important," says a bashful Blossomforth.
Twilight then interrupts her and says, "Nopody important? You helped Manehattan deliver water to Cloudsdale with your determination. You won bronze at the Young Fliers Competition. Last of all, you are an Element of Harmony. I highly doubt you are nopony important." Blossomforth blushes at this admiration for her great accomplishments.
Blossomforth then responds, "Well if you say so, I'll gladly-"
But before she could answer Twilight, a puff of smoke envelopes the three mares. They all cough from the sudden surprise and are caught off guard. A voice then speaks from out of nowhere, "My Little Ponies, gaze upon the glory that is The Great, and Powerful-"
"Trixie! Did you really have to do that!" interrupts Twilight.
The smoke clears away and Trixie is shown to be standing in front of them. "C'mon Twilight, you know you should never interrupt Trixie's performance," says a snarky Trixie. She then sees something sparkle on the ground and notices the golden tickets on the ground. She inspects them and gasps with excitement. "Are these tickets to The Grand Galloping Gala?" asks Trixie.
Twilight recomposes herself and answers with, "Yes they are. I was just about to ask Blossomforth if she wanted my extra ticket."
"But what about me? Aren't you going to ask The Great and Powerful Trixie if she wants to go?" questions Trixie.
"Well, I figured you'd already have a ticket considering you are part of the Lulamoon House. You are nobility after all," says Twilight.
"Well not until just recently. If you recall a couple of weeks ago, I was brought back to my house to be nobility again after being away for so many years. So I must have not gotten the memo of the tickets going out," explains Trixie.
Twilight then asks, "Well why would you want to go to the Gala anyways Trixie?"
"What else? To put on a performance for all of the nobles in Canterlot. If I was able to entertain them during the council meeting, I can entertain them during the greatest night of everypony's life," explains Trixie.
Twilight is now leaning more towards giving her ticket to Trixie. Twilight then says, "Well if that's the case, would you like-"
Blossomforth interrupts, "But I thought I was getting the extra ticket?
Twilight then turns back to Blossomforth saying, "Oh yes, sorry. I forgot about you. You did come first so-"
"But aren't reasons for going more important?" interrupts Trixie.
Twilight then goes back to Trixie.
"Well I deserve as much as anypony else in this town," says a flustered Blossomforth.
Twilight starts to get scared seeing her friends argue over her.
"Then we'll let Twilight decide who gets to go," decides Trixie.
"I agree. So who gets the extra ticket?" responds Blossomforth as she turns towards Twilight.
"Yes, who? You need to decide, Twilight Sparkle," says Trixie demanding towards Twilight.
Twilight starts to get nervous from the demanding pressure of her friends. "I-I-I-I......," weakly says Twilight.
"YES?!", Blossomforth and Trixie both says enviously.
Twilight didn't know who to choose at this point. Calm and Loyal Blossomforth? Joyous and Boastful Trixie? Or her own assistant Spike? One way or the other, one of her friends won't go to the Gala. Twilight then tries makes her decision, hopefully not to upset the other.
Twilight was backed into a corner as both of her friends Blossomforth and Trixie were demanding Twilight to give either one of them her extra ticket. She knew in the end only one friend would be going and the other would be disappointed. She closed her eyes and hoped for the best. Just as Twilight was about to make her decision, out of nowhere Honey Do flies down and lands in front of Twilight, shielding her from Trixie and Blossomforth's approach.
"HEY! Give her some space will ya!?", yelled Honey as she shelters Twilight with her wings.
Twilight then opened her eyes and sees her friend protecting her. Honey looked behind and gives Twilight a nod to indicate she's got her back.
Daring returns her gaze to the other two and with a demanding voice, "This isn't how you're supposed to act with your friend. You two are pressuring her into a corner and are making her choice pretty stressful. I don't care whose intentions are better or have more meaning to them, it doesn't mean badgering your friends to get what you want. So back off a bit and give her some room."
After being told off by Honey, Trixie and Blossomforth looked to each other then to Twilight and see her looking stressed out. Realizing their mistake they both backed up and gave her some space. With the space now open, Honey also moved away so Twilight can speak.
"You have the stage Twilight," said Honey as she motioned with her hoof.
Twilight looked to both Trixie and Blossomforth for a couple of seconds and said, "I know you two want to go to the Gala more than anything, and you both have good reasons for going. Either one of you going with me to the Gala would make my night even better and know that I'm there with the accompaniment of a friend I've made ever since I left Canterlot. I don't want to deprive you of the opportunity, but right now I can't make my choice."
Trixie and Blossomforth turned glum as neither of them got the ticket. While they both wanted the ticket more than anything, it wouldn't have been fair to force her decision right away. Twilight then used her magic to pull out the ticket and handed it over to Honey.
"When I've made my decision by tomorrow morning, I'll give the extra ticket to Honey for safe keeping. I can trust her to hold onto it, and I know she won't give the ticket to you two without my consent," explained Twilight.
After hearing her explanation, Trixie was the first to respond, "Trixie supposes that this is the right choice, and that the both of us have acted rather harsh," she then looked towards Honey, "Trixie was acting not like herself, and was acting more like a dragon wanting to get his claws on gems."
Blossomforth also replied towards both her friends, "Same here. I acted like a foal wanting candy and didn't give the time and space you needed to make this choice. This isn't how a pony is supposed to act."
Trixie and Blossomforth bowed their heads with shame and said, "We're sorry Twilight."
Believing that they had both come to grips with her decision, Twilight then said, "Apology accepted."
Honey, seeing that the matter has been settled, she stuffed the ticket away in her sweater and said, "Now that this has been taken care of, I'm going to put this away at the museum for safe keeping until tomorrow morning. All three of you can come by to get it once Twilight chooses who gets to go with her to the Gala. Agree?"
All three of the ponies nodded in agreement as Honey then took off towards the museum leaving the three ponies alone on the sidewalk. Trixie and Blossomforth then turned their attention back towards Twilight.
Trixie then quickly said, "Well, Trixie is going back to her home and practice her magic."
She then walks off towards the edge of town.
Blossomforth also said quickly, "Me too, I've got to water my garden and maybe get something to eat. Bye Twilight."
She then heads off in the direction of her home.
That was unusual for even Twilight to see her friends mood swing like that after what they've done to her. Now the only thing left to do was to decide who will get her extra ticket. Not knowing how to solve the problem, she tried to come up with an idea on how to make her decision by tomorrow. She quickly recollects why both wanted to go to the gala. Blossomforth wanted to see the garden, and Trixie wanted to perform at the Gala in front of a crowd. Although good reasons, Twilight wondered if there was more to their reasoning for going or if they can go more in-depth with their explanation.
Snapping out of her train of thought, Twilight saw her friends continue to walk off in opposite directions towards their homes. Before they could continue any further, Twilight shouted, "Wait! Come back here!"
Both Blossomforth and Trixie stopped in place and ran back to Twilight. Having got their attention, Twilight asked, "Why don't you both come back to the library with me and we can discuss about the Gala? Maybe if I talk to both of you in a calm and selective manner instead of demanding me, I can get a clearer reason why you both want to go to the Gala."
Trixie deep in thought replied, "Well, Trixie wasn't planning on doing anything until later tonight. So why not. My magic act practice can wait."
Blossomforth also replied, "I'll come too. My plans for tonight can wait as well. I suppose watering my plants isn't too important at this moment."
Twilight smiled and is happy to see the both of them act normal again without pestering her.
"Alright, let's go....." said a cheerful Twilight.
Then her speech was cut off from Blossomforth's stomach growling from hunger, since her sandwich was gone after falling on Twilight's head.
Twilight heard her friend's stomach and replied, "...and also get something to eat. Spike should still have some snacks made."
All three then headed back towards the library.
-Manehattan Library-
Upon returning the library, Twilight saw that Spike was at the top of the ladder and was continuing to reshelf the books in the library. Spike saw Twilight enter and slid down the ladder to greet Twilight back home and welcome her guests.
"Welcome back Twilight, any luck with the ticket?", asked Spike.
"I may have found two of our friends who really want to go, but I still need to think this through. So I invited them over so we can discuss about it," explained Twilight.
The chat was quickly interrupted by Blossomforth's grumbling stomach once again.
"I've got just the thing!", Spike said quickly as he dashed for the kitchen.
Spike then returned to Blossomforth with the mini sandwiches he made earlier and gives one to her. She takes the sandwich and eats it, then thanked Spike by giving a nod of approval.
Spike then whispered to himself, "Thank Celestia I didn't make Macaroni and Cheese like last time."
Blossomforth caught a bit of Spike's whispering and confusingly asked, "What was that Spike?
Spike then caught himself and quickly replied, "Nothing!", as he shifted his view somewhere else.
Spike then went back to reshelf the books as the three ponies went over to the lounge area to sit and talk. As they all sat down, Twilight decided to get to the point and asked her friends the question, "Why do you two want to go to the Gala? I want each of you to go into more detail on what you want to do once at the Gala, and speak one at a time in a calm manner."
After hearing Twilight's explanation, Trixie and Blossomforth both looked to each other.
Trixie then said, "Trixie will let Blossomforth go first. Then Trixie will see if her reasons are better than I."
Blossomforth was swallowing down another sandwich when Trixie was speaking. When finished, Blossomforth catches her breath and spoke to Twilight, "Okay, here's my full reason to go to the Gala. I did say I want to see the palace garden, but there's more to it."
"The royal garden is said to house some of the most extravagant plants and flowers from all corners of Equestria. From the common Poison Joke, to the rare Middlemist Red, I want to see all of the amazing plants there. If I could, I want to also visit the royal greenhouse and see how they take care of their plants and learn some of the gardene'rs tips and tricks of caring for exotic plant life. While having a dance in the royal ballroom sounds wonderful, I might get a little overwhelmed from all of the ponies there. So a trip to the garden will be better for me."
Blossomforth finished her description of her dream going to the Gala. Twilight nodded in approval as she did get a better explanation for her understanding of wanting the ticket.
"I can understand where you are coming from," said a delighted Twilight, "I've heard great things about the garden as well. There's also supposed to be a hedge maze as well, and holds some great works of art like statues and fountains."
"Really?! I need to see it then," said a surprised Blossomforth.
"You should," Twilight responded, pleased, "I can also see why you wouldn't want to be in the Grand Ballroom. An event like this with crowds filled to the brim with hundreds of ponies can be quite crowed and a bit overbearing for somepony like you. So doing something relaxing like having a moonlit stroll through the garden would suit you perfectly."
Blossomforth sighed in pleasure as if she was imagining herself there already. With this thought in mind, she might as well have gotten the ticket already. Then Trixie coughed to get both of their attention. Blossomforth snapped out of her daydream and turned her attention back to Trixie.
"If it doesn't trouble you both, do you want to hear Trixie's explanation for going to the Gala?", Trixie requested.
Twilight almost have forgotten her then said, "Oops, silly me. Guess we both got lost in thought. Go ahead."
Trixie then said, "What I told you before was the truth, but not the whole truth of why I want to go."
"After you went through everything you could to get me back home from my mother, I still performed in front of all the nobles in Canterlot and even impressed my mother with my magic skills. Even though my sister had jealous intentions, she's the rightful heir of becoming head of the Lulamoon house. Where her talents are in Canterlot, my talents are to spread all over Equestria. In short, while Trixie wants to perform at the Gala with her magical expertise, she also wants to show her family how much she has learned over the years, how much she learned from Hoofdini, and also rekindle the relationships with her family so we can heal the wounds after all of those years she has been away from home. Plus with the lessons I've been given from Celestia's school, I can also show how much I've studied as well."
Twilight was more blown away by Trixie's explanation than Blossomforth's, as Trixie had a deeper and hidden reasoning for going to the Gala.
Twilight then responded, "Your first explanation doesn't hold as much weight against Blossomforth's if all you were only trying to do was just perform your magic act at the Gala. Now you add that you're doing this to showcase more of your magic then what you did at the Night Court to your family, specifically to your mother and sister. With those in mind, I believe that can put you on equal terms with Blossomforth for going to the Gala."
Trixie is glad to hear that she wasn't ousted of getting the ticket, but not any better now that she was on equal ground with Blossomforth. Yet she may need to fight back a bit more to guarantee herself getting the ticket.
Twilight then got up from her chair and said to both of her friends, "Now that I've heard both of your explanations, I'll deliberate tonight and give my answer tomorrow morning at Honey's museum. Whoever gets the ticket, I hope the pony that is left out doesn't get disappointed by my choice, okay?"
Both her friends nodded in approval. Twilight then levitated the empty plate where the sandwiches were and took them away with her.
"I'll be back with more snacks," said Twilight as she left for the kitchen.
When Twilight was out of sight, Blossomforth and Trixie turned to each other and glared into each other's eyes.
"Trixie knows for sure that she isn't going to go down without a fight," said a for certain Trixie.
"Neither am I. The ticket will up for grabs for any one of us to get," Blossomforth replied sternly.
Trixie smiled with confidence and said, "Then let's have a clean fight, and whoever wins, no hard feelings."
Trixie then motioned for a hoofbump. Blossomforth then responded to the hoofbump and said, "Agreed, may the better mare win."
Twilight came back with more sandwiches and saw her friends sitting across from one another and hoofbumped each other.
Twilight was happy to see her friends getting along again.
Chapter 3: I've Got A Golden Chance to Make My Way
After the crazy event that took place with Twilight today, Blossomforth left the library later that day and returned home to eventually wait for Twilight’s decision on who gets the ticket. Even after making a “truce” with Trixie in order for Twilight to not interrupt their competition for the ticket, she couldn’t sleep late that night. She laid in her bed just staring at the ceiling as the hours ticked by. She then looked over to check her clock again and sees that it was nearly midnight, and she didn’t even feel the least bit tired. Continuing to toss and turn in her sheets doesn’t help the matter that something was on Blossomforth’s mind at the moment, Trixie.
“I just know that Trixie is planning something so that I don’t show up to get the ticket tomorrow,” said a skeptical Blossomforth.
Blossomforth then took her covers off and got up from her bed. She then proceeded to pace back and forth in her room as thoughts were racing in her head. Is she going to be left out with her friends? Will she be outwitted by Trixie? Will she accept defeat? No, she can’t! Blossomforth whined and groaned into her pillow as if she was going to explode with all of the stupid thoughts in her head.
Then Blossomforth remembered that Honey left the ticket at the museum. So she got an idea.
“I’ll simply go to the museum and take the ticket so that Trixie can’t get her hooves on it,” said Blossomforth out loud.
But she then also remembered her promise to Twilight and that she didn’t want to break it. Also, she didn't want to resort to breaking the law to get what she wants, but at the same time though she didn’t want Trixie to be the one at the museum first that morning. How will she be able to secure the ticket for herself, and also delay Trixie’s approach? Then another idea popped into her head.
“I’ve got it!” said Blossomforth with a stroke of genius, “I’ll just lay a trap for Trixie so she can’t use her fancy magic to mess with me or get a head start to get to the museum that morning. But what can I use?”
She then looked around her room and then the rest of her apartment to find the right tool to sabotage Trixie’s morning arrival. Then she headed out to her greenhouse and looked over all of her plants. She found something that could work, so she had put on her gardening gloves and then carefully clipped some leaves off the stalk of the plant and placed them into a jar. While out of the ordinary, Blossomforth got an evil smile with her little devilish idea moving forward.
“One touch of this plant, and she won’t be going anywhere,” Blossomforth said with a wily smile.
She then bagged the jarred plant into a knapsack and then sneakily headed out towards Trixie’s wagon. Just to be sure, Blossomforth went through her plan one more time in her head.
“Once I’ve planted the….plant into position, I’ll sneak into Honey’s office and grab the ticket for myself. Once I have it, I’ll return back to my place and safeguard the ticket just in case Trixie comes looking for it. When dawn breaks, I’ll then sneak back into Honey’s office and place the ticket right back where I found it. Then, I simply wait at the entrance for both her and Twilight to come and then with Trixie still occupied with her ‘gift’, I’ll reap the reward and enjoy the Gala with my friends,” she planned thoughtfully.
With everything planned out, she began her operation.
-Trixie’s Wagon, Outskirts of Manehattan-
-Midnight-
Elsewhere at Trixie’s, she also wasn’t having the best time getting some shuteye. Trixie was trying to practice some tricks for her show, but she couldn’t concentrate with what tomorrow may bring. She stopped levitating objects and turned towards the window near her that looked towards the city. The many lights from the city that never sleeps was a good way to calm her nerves.
“What will Trixie do about Blossomforth interfering in my plans to get the ticket?” questions Trixie, “Trixie promised Twilight that she wouldn’t do anything brash or rude to Blossomforth in order to get the ticket, but what other choice is there? Augh!”
Just at that moment she used her magic to throw a ball to the wall and it bounced right off on the walls until it hit Trixie right in the back of her head. Trixie, then face first on the floor, groaned in both agony and in need of answers. She then pulled herself off the floor and couldn’t get all the way up. Her belly felt stuck and was forcing her back to the floor. Then using all four legs, she then pulls with all of her might and with a grunt, got herself unstuck. She then examines the thing that got her stuck on the ground. It was pasty, slimy, and sticky to the touch. She then realizes that she fell on one her props, the sticky bomb. She looked at what remained of the prop and a memory popped up.
It was an old parlor trick she used in some of her acts during her days with Hoofdini. The trick was that the two of them would juggle the balls of slime back and forth to each other without any of the balls breaking. The trick was for Trixie to completely cover her mentor to where he stood and encase him in a slimy cocoon. Deeming that nopony could break out of it, she then used an immolation spell to harden the slime to make it rock solid. She then took a hammer to try and release her mentor, only to reveal that a dummy that looked like him was inside. Hoofdini would then appear in the crowd staged as an audience member and showed that he was okay. The trick was after he was encased by the immolation spell, he would then teleport himself into the crowd and switch places with the dummy he sneakily placed into the crowd beforehoof. It was the good ‘old switcheroo routine.
Feeling nostalgic, she then took out a couple more of the sticky bombs and placed them on the table. She never used the balls ever again after the accident and wondered why she never threw them away. Beside the point, she was getting distracted from her main focus of getting the ticket from Blossomforth.
“What can Trixie do to stop that no-good ticket snatcher from getting her filthy hoofs on my ticket?” Trixie questioned herself.
Trixie then looked back to the balls on the table, then the wheels in her head started to turn.
“That’s it!” exclaimed Trixie, “I’ll use my old sticky bombs to slow down Blossomforth’s attempt to get the ticket first! All I need to do is booby trap Blossomforth’s place with these bombs and she won’t even be able to leave her doorstep. If anything, she can’t fly to beat me to the museum in the morning. Trixie will then meet with Honey and Twilight at the entrance, and without Blossomforth to show up, I’ll reap the rewards!”
Trixie then cackled an evil laugh that resonated through her whole place. Then a side thought occured to her.
“Just in case Blossomforth does manage to get out of my sticky trap with her herbal knowledge, I’ll just sneak into the museum and swipe the ticket away for safe keeping overnight. Then when dawn breaks, I’ll place it back and wait for my friends. Then Trixie will show her spectacular talent to all of her friends at the Gala,” Trixie thought through.
She gathered up the sticky bombs and carefully placed them into her bag, she then headed out to sabotage Blossomforth.
Unbeknownst to the both of them, their opponent each planted their sabotage on the top of the other pony's doorway. Blossomforth rigged a makeshift contraption to open the jar filled with her ‘special’ plant to be dropped onto Trixie, while Trixie planted her sticky bombs by planting all of them in a bucket, like the old water bucket over the door trick. Once their traps were set into place, they both headed out towards the museum to snatch the ticket away.
-Manehattan Museum of Natural History-
After trekking through the city streets at night, both mares had arrived at the museum without being seen by the passing taxi carts or citizens. Both mares had different plans on how to approach of getting into the museum. Trixie decided to take the easy route and went straight for the window that lead into Honey's office. The matter of the fact is that her office is on the third level, but to Trixie it seemed no problem. Blossomforth on the other hoof decided to try a more complex approach by going through the glass ceiling overhanging the main lobby and navigate to the office without getting caught. She would simply open the window and fly through the building to the third level and find her office without any security guards finding her. So both mares then sprung into action.
Trixie went around the edge of the museum to find the only window that overlooked the city. Honey had mentioned to the group once when she got the job in the museum, she wanted her office to have a window overlooking the city as to remind herself of her ventures into the jungle. The closest thing she got to see was the "concrete" jungle for it was better than nothing. After about a few minutes of searching, she found the window and opened it. This was perfect for Trixie as she had found the perfect opportunity to get inside. While her teleporting skills weren't on par with Twilight, she needed an opening of sorts in order to teleport into something like a building, otherwise she could've teleported into the wall. Since her concentration for that particular spell isn't quite perfected yet, she still trained on that spell, but that night was better than nothing to see how far she had come. She prepared her spell with her horn and was imagining the place in her mind while also concentrating on keeping the spell active. She got the image of Honey's office through the window and executed the spell. She then vanished in a flash for a second, and the next she was set in the center of Honey's office. Just as she was about to celebrate her victory, she then feels a force starting to push her out. Before she could react, she was then thrown outside the window and back down onto the ground outside with a 'thud.' Hearing a buzzing in her ears, she then stood herself straight back up and shook off the pain. She then looked back to the window only to see a magical barrier blocking the window. Trixie thinks to herself that something must be producing the barrier to ward off any magical intruders. Whatever it was she didn't know, but she then knew she had to find another way into the office.
Blossomforth landed on top of the building and went over to the overhead window. Since barely anypony goes up there, except for the janitor to wipe the windows, she figured the windows weren't well protected. Strangely enough, there were no locks on the latch of the window. Confused, she wondered why there was no lock but found it lucky to get into the building. Blossomforth undid the latch and opened the window to get inside. When she flew into the building, she found it very creepy to see the building in the dark at night without any of the lights on. Blossomforth got a little worried and scared from the sight of the statues, props, exhibits, and fossils surrounding the place. While scared, she flew towards the third floor and then landed on the floor. She's been to Honey's office before, so she remembered the way to get there. The only problem was that she had to trek through the extinct animal exhibit to get there. Normally this was never a problem, but with the lights off it was very scary. The bear, dragon, and dinosaur statues all gave off a menacing scary feeling as she passed by each statue one by one. Blossomforth started to become paranoid in the room and began to panic. She then started to back up from fear and bumped into something. She heard some shaking behind her, and then something dropped right in front of her. It was the head of a bear statue, and it was staring right into her eyes. Blossomforth then screamed at the top of her lungs and started to run off in a random direction. Without even thinking, she bumped into another statue and looks up to see a dinosaur statue staring at her. She got more panicked and got even more freaked out. For the next few minutes, she ran throughout the whole exhibit while screaming and crying at the same time with no clear direction in sight. Afterwards, she then bumped into the wall and stopped for a moment to catch her breath and rubbed her head from pain. She then looked up expecting another freaky thing staring at her, but surprisingly, it was the door to Honey's office. Seeing her objective was in front of her, she then calmed down and wiped away the tears in her eyes. Blossomforth felt she may have panicked a little too much, but pulled herself up. Before she decides to go in, she noticed that while during her panic trip that none of the security guards had come to check on the noise. In fact, she noticed no guards at all in the museum. Shaking off her suspicions she then opened the door to the office.
Earlier...
Trixie pondered for a bit on how to get into the window without using her magic, otherwise she would be catapulted out again if she tried. So she decided to go the old fashion way, climbing to the top. Luckily she found a nearby tree to the side of the window with a branch nearly reaching out. The only problem was that the branch was pretty thin and looked like it wouldn't be able to support her weight, but either way it was her only option without resorting to magic. Trixie levitated herself to the nearby branch and placed herself on the base of the branch. This wouldn't be much problem at first for Trixie as when she traveled with Hoofdini, she would often practice on a tightrope to get over her fear of heights when practicing her levitation spell. The height back then was over five stories tall on average, and the branch was about three stories above ground, so no worries for her. The problem was if the branch gave way, she would have no easy way to get inside without getting caught. She readied herself at the base of the branch and walked towards the window. She moved little by little to not force any tension on the branch. She swiveled inch by inch on the branch and didn't make the slightest movement of the branch. When suddenly, Trixie heard a snap. She turned around and saw at the base that the branch was starting to snap and crack. With each passing second, she felt the branch start to break down. With no time left Trixie leaps from the branch and landed on the open window, then she looked behind to see the branch fall to the ground. She breathes a sigh of relief and proceeds into the office. Just as she landed in the office, she heard the door start to open.
"Oh no, did a security guard hear me?" panicked Trixie.
With nowhere to run the door opened up all the way. Trixie closed her eyes and prepared for punishment, but instead heard a meek voice call out.
"Trixie?! What are you doing here?" said the voice.
Trixie recognized that voice and immediately opened her eyes. She then saw Blossomforth in the doorway.
"Blossomforth?! The better question is what are you doing here?" answered Trixie with another question.
"To stop you from getting the ticket!" said Blossomforth as she then booked for Honey's desk. Without a second to respond, Trixie also booked for the desk. Both of them collided and then struggled with each other at the foot of the desk.
"How dare you meddle with my dreams of performing at the Gala!" shouted Trixie as she pulled of Blossomforth's tail.
"Your dreams? I just want to have a lovely night with my friends and enjoy the royal garden!" yelled Blossomforth as she pinned Trixie to the floor.
Trixie then flips Blossomforth over onto her back and replies, "I want to enjoy the night with our friends too! What makes you more special over The Great and Powerful Trixie that you deserve the ticket?!"
"More than the pony that boasts herself 24/7 just to gain attention!" Blossomforth spat harshly.
"Same can be said for the pony who blends into the crowd that nopony would ever pay attention to!" Trixie replied bitterly.
"Some friend you are!" proclaimed Blossomforth.
"Trixie never wants a friend like you!" Trixie exclaimed.
Both of them continued to wrestle with one another for a few minutes at the desk and proceeded to wrestle all across the office knocking over books from their shelves, flower pots off of tables, papers from the waste basket, and ruining the furniture. After another few minutes, both mares became tired from their struggle and were out of breath. The office laid in waste with papers in all angles, flower pots shattered and dirt covering the floor, furniture ripped and broken, and books spewed about the room. Trixie then got up with what little strength was left and limped over to the desk's top drawer.
"It may have been a struggle, but I, The Great and Powerful Trixie will now reap her rew...." said Trixie boastfully before she cut off in mid sentence. When she opened it up the ticket was not there, just a lone piece of paper. She looked through the drawer more to see if it was more in the back, but nothing. The only thing in the drawer was the lone piece of paper. Trixie took it out with her magic and turned it around to the other side. She then goes wide-eyed as it says that this paper was addressed to Blossomforth and Trixie. Trixie then limped over to Blossomforth and said, "This letter is addressed to both of us."
Blossomforth still woozy from the fight got up and asked, "Really? Why is that?" Trixie shrugged and proceeded to read the letter aloud.
To Blossomforth and Trixie,
If you are reading this, that means you both got to my office and noticed the ticket is not in my desk. I figured one or both of you would try to pull something, so I lied to lead you both astray. I have the ticket with me and the both of you aren't going to get it. I'll be sure Twilight knows what you have done when I come into my office the next morning. Don't even think about sneaking into my place to try and get the ticket, I've been known to deal with intruders in the middle of the night.
Signed,
Honey Do.
Both mares were dumbfounded on what was read, Honey was one step ahead of both of their plans and had the ticket the whole time. Both of them fell to the floor defeated. Their objective was thwarted by their friend from the very start and everything they did up to this point was pointless. With nothing left to do, they reflect on what went wrong with their plans. Did they not think of this possibility, the way of entry, whether or not the other would come, or whether their booby tarps would stall them? While they pondered, they thought to their fight and remembered the harsh words they said to one another.
Both of them got the same thought in their head and looked towards the other pony. Blossomforth was the first to speak, "Trixie, those words I said, they meant nothing. I'm really, really sorry for what I said. It's just, this ticket is driving both of us crazy and made us say things we didn't mean.
Trixie replied, "I agree. We both got greedy for something as trivial as a piece of golden parchment to an event that comes every year. We have hurt each other both mentally and physically because of this stupid thing. It's my fault that I started this. You wanted to go before I just came out of nowhere and proclaimed to go. I don't deserve to go to the Gala."
Blossomforth retorted, "Oh no, this was my fault. It's true what you said. My reason for going isn't that significant compared to me. You said originally you wanted to impress your family at the Gala and show them how much you learned. I just wanted to go as an excuse to see the garden. Twilight can take me anytime, so you should go."
"No, Trixie insists you go," Trixie proclaims.
"No, you're more important," Blossomforth says trying to convince Trixie.
"Wait," interrupted Trixie, "We'll let Twilight decide in the morning like she originally planned. We'll also have to accept the consequences from Honey on what we did to her office."
"Agreed. Friends?" asked Blossomforth as she motioned for a hug.
Trixie returned the favor by hugging her and said with sincerity, "Friends".
Trixie teleported themselves away from the museum and transported back to their homes. Trixie dropped off Blossomforth first then teleported away. Blossomforth then approached the door to her home when a bucket filled with Trixie's sticky bombs completely cover her body making a sticky cocoon. As Trixie teleported back to her home, she then opened the door to her home when a bucket of Blossomforth's plant dropped onto her. Trixie wasn't injured but noticed blue leaves covered her and the ground around her. Trixie knew she has seen these leaves before. She then realized what the leaves are and where they came from. It was Poison Joke. Blossomforth at the same time lied standing in front of her doorway unable to move save for her face that was left untouched. She knew of only one pony who could've done this. Both of them realized who their culprit was and both remembered their own traps. They then collectively said in both realization and embarrassment, "Uh oh."
Today was the big day for Twilight, she has made her decision for who was to get the ticket to the Gala. She was eating breakfast with Spike in the kitchen and were munching on eggs. As they were eating their breakfast, Spike then brings up, "So who are you going to pick to have the extra ticket Twilight?"
Twilight then looks away from Spike, as she was avoiding the question and continued to munch on her eggs. Spike then saw that she wasn't going to answer the question and just went on to continue eating. Before anything else happened, a pony then walked through the kitchen doors and trotted over to the duo at the table. Both Twilight and Spike looked over and saw their friend, Honey, at the table as she stood next to Twilight with a smug look on her face.
Twilight and Spike both looked to each other confused on why their friend had this pleased look on her face, so Twilight decided to break the ice by asking Honey, "So Honey, what brings you here this morning? Here to bring the ticket?"
Honey then chuckled, not breaking the smug attitude from her face. She responded with, "I'm here to do that and so much more. I've got a surprise for you to see."
Twilight then asked, "What surprise?"
Honey then walked over the kitchen door and said, "You'll find out if you come outside with me."
She didn't want to question anything, but Twilight decided to follow Honey's advice and go with her. Spike then got off his chair shouting, "Wait for me! Don't leave me behind!"
The trio then came about the library entrance and left out the front doors. As they entered the city streets, familiar ponies awaited them. It was Octavia and Aunt Orange waiting for them at the base of the steps. Now Twilight was even more confused why her friends were waiting. She was only expecting Honey this morning for the meet up at the museum, but even then it was still to early to arrive. Twilight then questioned Honey, "What's going on here Honey? Why are Octavia and Auntie here?"
Octavia then replied with, "I'd like to ask the same question Twilight, but all Honey said was to follow her and gather everypony."
Sherbet retorted with, "Same goes for me. I have no idea what the problem is, but if it involves all of us it can't be good."
Honey then turned to them and responsed, "Oh it is a good thing, and you will be surprised when I show you all."
Not wanting to question her any further, they figured they'll get nowhere asking more questions, so they all decided to follow her.
-Manehattan Natural History Museum-
After a moderate walk, they soon reached the steps of the Manehattan Natural History Museum. Twilight probably thought Honey was going to gather everypony to see Twilight hand over the ticket to whomever she decided, but Honey was still going up the steps and towards the front entrance. Twilight then bothered to ask, "Ok Honey, why are we going into the museum? We're supposed to meet Trixie and Blossomforth here."
Honey simply replied, "Oh we are. They're right inside."
Twilight, confused and off guard, straight out replied, "Wait, they're already here?" She then put the most probable conclusion as to why. She then let out a groan of displeasure, "Augh, they must've tried getting here first to see who will get the ticket."
"Oh, but they got here even earlier then that." said a glee Honey.
"What do you mean?" questioned Twilight.
Just as Honey opened the doors, she shouted as if giving a presentation as she pulled out a pair of sunglasses, "Feast your eyes, on the greatest wonder in all of Equestria!" The doors then opened all the way as a blinding light shone through the doors, causing all the girls to shriek in panic. Honey had put the shades on and handed a few over to her friends. They all put them on and gasped at the sight they saw. Honey then introduced them to the new exhibit with a huge smile, "I call it, 'Ode to Idiocy'!"
In the middle of the central room was a makeshift pedestal with Blossomforth and Trixie glued to the platform. Blossomforth was stuck in an awkward standing position with her front hooves looking like she was trying to cover herself as she was stuck in place with some sort of glue. Trixie on the other hoof, was simply standing there as she was glowing brighter than any other stage light in existence and was the source of the bright light from the entrance. They were stuck together with the sign reading, 'Ode to Idiocy', and they were both embarrassed at the sight of their friends looking at them from that position.
"What the heck is going on?!" as Twilight shouted from the confusion as her voice reverberated across the hall.
"....and that's how it happened." explained Honey as she helped both Blossomforth and Trixie off the platform.
"So what you're saying is that Blossomforth and Trixie tried to steal the ticket from the museum, and that both planned to break in, but you set up a trap and a note for them to find. Then when you went to their places, you found them trapped in the other ponies' trap? Blossomforth stuck in Trixie's sticky goop, and Trixie infected with Poison Joke from Blossomforth's garden? Then you rounded them up and forced them to be makeshift manikins to be taught a lesson?" as Twilight reiterated what Honey explained to the group.
"That's just how I explained it. You didn't have to say it again out loud." said a disgruntled Honey.
"I know. It's just I can't believe this all happened even after I asked them to get along." said a disappointed Twilight as she approached the troublesome duo.
Blossomforth and Trixie were finally free from their trappings and got themselves cleaned off, though Trixie was still glowing from the effects of the Poison Joke. Both of them then saw Twilight approach in front of them and bowed their heads in disappointment as they prepared for the scolding they were to receive.
"I can't believe it. After all of the hard thinking I went through last night to make my decision, and this is what I hear. You two fought behind my back to steal from a secured area to get one simple piece of parchment?!" scolded Twilight.
Both Blossomforth and Trixie winced at her harsh and truthful words, and prepared to receive more.
"Is it really worth it to destroy the friendship you cherish with one another to go to an event that happens once every year, a time of year that you can go at any different time of that given year? I've never heard of anything more selfish, backstabbing, cruel, and downright insufferable you've done to the both of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves!" as Twilight criticized both of their actions.
As the group behind them can only watch the judgement unfold, Aunt Orange quickly says to Spike in a whisper, "Golly, she's got that motherly tone in her voice."
Spike quickly responds, "Came with experience."
Aunt Orange then glanced at Spike for a moment after that reply in confusion, then returned her attention to the three ponies.
"Now, do you two have anything to say before I give out your punishment?" asked Twilight.
Blossomforth was the first to approach Twilight with her head still low, but then lifted up her head with a look of determination on her face. "Twilight, if there's anypony to blame it's me." said a guilty Blossomforth.
Twilight and everypony else in the room all gasped from this sudden revelation.
"I was petty for wanting to go to the Gala for my own selfish reasons! I coerced Trixie into stealing the ticket! I was the one who installed us to fight in the first place! If there's a pony to be punished, then punish me!" shouted Blossomforth as if she was confessing her sins.
Trixie knew that Blossomforth was lying so that she would get the ticket all to herself and Blossomforth would be stuck with all the blame. They both knew that this fight was brought on by petty needs for a ticket and nopony really started this conflict. Knowing what to do, Trixie stood up next to Blossomforth and said, "She lies! If there's somepony to blame, it is Trixie that should be punished!"
Blossomforth could've mistaken her for a radiant pony of justice from this interference and glowing attitude, or her bright coat shining, one or the other.
"Trixie has been known to squabble with other ponies for ridiculous reasons and do stupid stunts in order to prove herself. This is one of those selfish moments of Trixie. Blossomforth is but an innocent pony not related to this incident and deserves not to be punished." said a fibbing Trixie.
The whole group of ponies looked towards Trixie with confused looks. Was she the guilty one then? Blossomforth was now to be the innocent pony in this whole charade and Trixie to be the guilty one. So she wanted to do her best to make amends and make sure she herself was guilty.
"But there's proof I did it alone! I knocked over the vase in Honey's office." lied Blossomforth.
With a worried look, Trixie shouted, "But I knocked the stacks of papers across the office!"
Now it was a battle for you could be framed as the more guilty one.
"I ruined the furniture!"
"I knocked over the bookcase!"
"I was the one who broke through the window!"
"I went through the roof!"
"I planted the goo balls on Blossomforth!"
"I coated Trixie with Poison Joke!"
"Give Blossomforth the ticket!"
"No, give Trixie the ticket!"
They both continued to go back and forth with their bickering of who was to look the more guilty criminal while also shoving the other away to get the attention drawn towards them. Twilight couldn't take it anymore and teleported in-between the two. Her horn then started to glow aa she yelled, "Alright you two, ENOUGH!"
Just as she did, magic spilled from her horn and a shockwave covered the two in her aura and were then frozen in place. Blossomforth and Trixie were both perfectly still for a few seconds until their hold was broken and Twilight was panting heavily. "Next time, I need to get a bit more practice in." said Twilight under her breath.
She then turned her attention back to the two ponies and said, "This is getting ridiculous you two. First you bicker who's getting the ticket. Now you're bickering to give the other pony the ticket?"
Blossomforth then explained, "Please understand Twilight. After we fought last night, we both made amends and realized we were being stupid and childish about this whole thing and came to an agreement that whoever got the ticket the next morning, we would have no regrets."
Trixie then added, "That was if both of us didn't get caught, but as you clearly saw, we're not the bet at hiding our mistakes. So now we fight to give our other friend a piece of paper that nearly cost our friendship. In the end though, I guess the choice is still up to you Twilight."
Blossomforth asked, "So who will you choose Twilight?"
Twilight then looked to the two after hearing their explanation with faces awaiting confirmation. Then she looked to the group behind her with the same expressions. Twilight then closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. She then looked back to the two with a smile on her face and said, "I've decided....."
Now everypony was on the edge of their seats.
".......both of you will go to the Gala."
Now everypony was confused on what she meant as she only had one ticket. Then Twilight took out the ticket, and then took out another ticket. Her ticket, and gave both of them to Blossomforth and Trixie.
"Wait, you're giving up your ticket?!" said a shocked Blossomforth.
"Yes, and I finally figured out why I did this," as Twilight explained, "Each and everyone of us wants to go to the gala for one reason or another and enjoy what could be the best night ever, but after seeing you two fight for those exact reasons I realized I too was going for something that can be considered petty. I mean, I used to live in Canterlot and can just go back whenever I please to visit. This isn't like this is going to be the only time I'll go to the Gala. I saw Celestia every so often when I was in Magic Kindergarten up to this point and I can stave off from seeing her again so soon. So I'm willing to give up my sake of happiness to you two, so you can both enjoy yourselves."
"So what you're saying is that you are talking about self-sacrifice?" asked Octavia.
"That's right. Give up your own needs for the sake of others." explained Twilight.
Aunt Orange then came up to Twilight and patted her head. "Why that was mighty kind of you Twilight." said Auntie.
Twilight then looked over to Spike and said, "Spike, make a letter to the Princess."
Spike then got out his quill with a piece of parchment, ready to write.
Twilight cleared her voice and stated:
Dear Princess Celestia,
I'm happy to inform you that my friends will be going to the Grand Galloping Gala this year, and I am thankful for the invitations. Sadly, one of my friends may not have been able to go if it were not for me giving away my invitation. So sadly, I gave my tickets away to my good friends, Blossomforth and Trixie. I couldn't sacrifice their happiness for the sake of my own. So I felt it was the right decision to make, and I hope you understand. Please give them the best of my regards at the Gala in my absense.
Sincerely Your Student, Twilight Sparkle.
Spike finished up writing the letter, then rolled it up and blew it away with his magic breath. Everypony then gathered together as it seemed everything had cooled down.
"You sure you know what you're doing Twilight? You gave up your chance to be with us and Celestia at the Gala." asked Aunt Orange.
"I'm positive Auntie. I know the decision I made was the right one." said Twilight with a confident smile.
"Speaking of decisions, Trixie is wondering who you were going to give the ticket to originally?" questioned Trixie.
Then everypony in the room glared at her as was indicated to drop the subject.
"Nevermind" said a cowardly Trixie.
Then everypony started busting into laughter to ease the tension and stress that was built up these last 24 hours. Spike wiped his brow of sweat from the pressure, and gave a sigh of relief. Then, he started to gag up make grossed out faces. Auntie noticed this said, "Oh come now Spikey, this isn't too bad of a touching moment."
Spike then burped up a letter from the princess as it dropped onto Spike's hands. He opened up the letter and read, "My Dearest Twilight, why didn't you ask for a few more tickets in the first place? I would've guaranteed a place for you and your friends if you just asked. I even included an extra in case Spike wants to come along."
Then out from the letter came two golden tickets as they popped out and landed on Spike's head.
"Look Twilight, now both of us can go to the Gala!" said Spike as he held up two more tickets in front of him.
The group of ponies gasped in amazement as now everypony had one ticket to go to the Gala. Twilight then grabbed Spike with her magic and twirled him around in a circle with her as she cheered for joy. She then hugged the little dragon and proceeded back to her friends.
"Now all of us can go together!" said a joyful Twilight.
The group cheered with excitement and happiness as they'll be together for what could be their best night ever.
"Come on girls, we've got lots of plans to handle before the Gala. Let's have breakfast at my place, on the house!" offered Aunt Orange.
They all agreed as they all headed for the exit. At the end of the group, Spike looked at his golden ticket with conflicted feelings. He already told Twilight previously that he didn't want to go to ruin Octavia's performance at the Gala. Yet he was invited by the princess to come. What was he to do? Then Octavia trotted beside him and asked, "What's wrong Spike? I figured you'd be happy to come to the Gala?"
Spike then snapped out of his train of thought and responded, "I am, it's just some of you may be be busy with other things to do at the Gala, so I don't know." Spike was trying to play it safe in order to avoid directly talking about Octavia.
Octavia then responded, "Well then how about this? After the procession gets a break in-between sessions, how about you and I talk for a bit and maybe dance in the grand ballroom?"
Spike's heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest just hearing those words. He then meekly responded, "Y-y-y-you would?"
"Absolutely. You've been a hard worker for all of us, and it's the least I can repay you." offered Octavia.
Spike then gulped from being nervous and happily said, "Why thank you Octavia. I'll be looking forward to it." This was perfect. Not only is he going to the Gala, but he'll have the chance to dance with the mare of his dreams.
As the group then exited the building, they all realized they were still wearing the sunglasses because of Trixie's Poison Joke side effect.
"Trixie is wondering how much longer she has to shine bright like a diamond." wondered Trixie.
"Don't you worry puddin. I know the zebra who can fix you right up." responded Aunt Orange.
The group then giggled as they walked of towards Auntie's place for breakfast, as the first step towards the Grand Galloping Gala begins!
