The Gala
“No, no, no, no! This is all wrong!”
Twilight Sparkle flung a suit across his room.
Twilight paced around his dressing room, stepping over various suits and ties. The Grand Galloping Gala was tonight, and he didn’t have a single decent outfit.
Everything was too extravagant or too bland. Too shiny or too dull. Nothing that was really him. Twilight had never been a stickler for clothes, but tonight was different; he needed to look his best.
He groaned, tossing another suit. Twilight collapsed to the floor, squeezing his eyes shut. Why couldn’t this go right? He had an entire rack of clothes designed especially for him, yet they all felt too…off.
There was a soft knock at the door. Twilight whined, pressing his hooves against his muzzle. Why now, of all times, does he have a guest? Maybe if he stayed quiet, whoever was there would leave.
“Can I come in?” Flash Sentry asked through the door. Twilight sighed in relief.
“Yes.” He croaked. If anyone was going to see him like this, at least it was his boyfriend. The door creaked open. Twilight sighed. Flash looked handsome as ever, his armor practically shimmering in the light. Why couldn’t he look like that?
Flash eyed Twilight, frowning. He lay next to Twilight, gently prodding with his hoof.
“You alright?”
“I can’t find anything to wear.” He whimpered, putting his hooves over his face.
“Well...how about this?” Flash pulled a shirt off his back. It was a pale green with a blue tie. It shined in the light with little bits of glitter embedded into the fabric. Twilight gasped, hopping up.
“It’s perfect! Where did you get it on such short notice?”
A smile crept onto Flash’s face.
“Rarity made it last minute. She asked me to keep it a surprise.” He admitted.
Oh, bless that white mare; she was akin to an angel right now. Twilight levitated the clothes, eyeing them happily. It wasn’t anything like his old gala dresses, but it just felt right. A perfect outfit for a first impression. On the front was a piece of paper, delicate taped on.
‘I’m sorry I can’t be here for your big day, but fret not, I made you the perfect outfit. What’s a prince without his tailor? Now go show everypony who’s in charge!
Truly yours, Rarity’
Twilight couldn’t help but smile. Rarity always knew what to do. He slipped on his shirt and adjusted his tie. He felt great! It fit in all the right places and didn’t pinch his skin like all the other outfits.
The alicorn approached the mirror, admiring his reflection. He looked like a true prince! The more Twilight looked at himself, the more antsy he grew. The nervous knot in his stomach quickly returned.
“Do you think it’s too much? Should I take it off?” He asked, tugging at the tie. “I could just go bare. I’ll change now.” Twilight turned around, eyeing the clothes rack once again. Flash nudged Twilight, causing the stallion to stumble.
“Don’t worry, you look as handsome as ever. Everyone is going to love it.”
Despite the reassurance, Twilight continued his pacing. Anxiety gnawed at his stomach, nearly making him keel over. Flash Sentry eyed his boyfriend curiously. He recognized this all-too-familiar pacing.
“Anything you want to talk about?” He inquired.
“What if everyone thinks I’m trying too hard?” Twilight blurt. Flash cocked his head.
“Why would anyone think that?” He urged on. Twilight spun on the heels of his hooves.
“Because I’m the first alicorn prince! It’s my first time in public as myself. I mean, sure, I’ve gone out to run errands, but I’ve never been out out.” Twilight began to ramble. “What if ponies don’t like me now? What if they want me dethroned? What if they convince Celestia to banish me!?”
He sighed, plopping onto the floor. “I just...I just want them to like me for me.”
Flash frowned, nuzzling against his cheek.
“Anypony would be crazy not to like you!” Flash said in awe. “Just look at you; you’re a smart, resilient leader. Who wouldn’t want a prince like that?” He encouraged. A smile crept its way onto Twilight’s face.
“I guess you’re right. I am pretty smart.”
Flash nodded in agreement.
“And you’re so handsome! You have to be top 10 most handsome princes.” Flash began to gush. “In fact, I think you’re number one!”
Twilight’s face flushed, and he covered himself with his wings.
“Flaaaash.” Twilight chuckled. Flash Sentry leaned closer to Twilight, wrapping a wing around his torso.
“And you’re so strong and brave. Frankly, I think you’re the best alicorn prince out there.” Flash finished off, peppering his cheek with kisses. Twilight let out a squealing laugh.
“Alright, alright! You’re gonna wrinkle my suit!” Twilight laughed, playfully shoving Flash off. His laughter died, and he wiped the anxious tears from his eyes.
“You feel better?”
“Mhm, I really needed that. Thank you.”
“Anything for you.”
Twilight walked through the court, keeping his head up. Though no one else noticed, Flash could see right through Twilight’s stoic demeanor. His wings twitched nervously, and sweat dripped down his brow.
Ponies bowed as he walked past. Twilight kept his head high, trying his best to not show his nerves. The pair made their way up a flight of stairs, stopping at the base. The entire room could be seen from here.
Flash would never admit it, but he found social events like this boring. It was the same song and dance every year. A pony would walk up the stairs, shake Twilight's hoof, smile, and leave. Flash didn’t see the point, but it wasn’t his place to judge.
Just as he had expected, a line was already starting to form. Flash Sentry watched as the ponies did their yearly routine. Hoofshake, smile, and leave. Hoofshake, smile, and leave. He found it quite tedious.
“Before I go, may I ask you a question?” A mare asked. Flash blinked in surprise. Something new? Now that got his attention. Twilight beamed.
“Of course!”
“Why did you choose to look like that?” She asked, disgust dripping from her voice. Twilight’s smile faltered.
“Pardon?” He asked.
“I mean, you used to look so beautiful! I used to look up to you, too! Now you look like a basic stallion.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Flash stepped in between the pair. The stuck-up mare huffed, upturning her nose.
“You alright?” Flash whispered. Twilight gave him a nervous smile.
“It’s fine, she was just asking a question.” Twilight hastily reassured. “She was probably just ill-informed. Everypony learns at their own pace.”
Flash Sentry frowned, scrunching his face. She didn’t seem ill-informed. He sighed. No need to argue about this; if Twilight said he was fine, then he was.
A stallion approached Twilight, happily shaking his hoof.
“If that mare asked a question, I must ask one, too.” The stallion proclaimed. It sounded more like an order than a suggestion. Twilight blinked in surprise.
“Oh, uh…sure!”
The stallion smiled.
“Princess Twilight-”
“Prince, actually.”
“Yeah, whatever. So when are you going to become a mare again?”
Twilight grimaced, anxiously shifting on his hooves.
“Well, um, I…” Twilight began to stammer.
“Okay, that’s enough questions from you,” Flash huffed, guiding the stallion away. What was the matter with these ponies? Before Flash had realized, another mare was already talking to Twilight. She shifted on her hooves, speaking like a business mare.
“I understand you’re a stallion, but why aren’t you like one of the Wonderbolts? You know, bulkier? You’re pretty spindly for a stallion.” The mare pointed out, eyeing the prince. Twilight frowned, covering himself with his wing.
She squinted, rubbing her hoof across her chin. “I can practically see it now. If you sign up for my gym membership, you’ll be bulked up in no time.” The overly preppy mare advertised. Flash groaned, flaring his wings. He stood in between Twilight and the mare.
“Get out of here!” He ordered, stomping his hoof. The mare scrambled down the steps, nearly falling. Flash rolled his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his muzzle.
What was with all of the personal questions? He thought Canterlot ponies were meant to be fancy. For such ‘fancy ponies,’ they sure asked a lot of dumb questions.
Flash peered down the steps, looking at the line. It was so long that it went out the door. These questions were just going to keep coming, weren’t they? He could see it in the partygoer's eyes; they were just itching to ask more questions.
The pegasus looked at Twilight. He looked like he was going to melt out of his skin. Flash was Twilight’s guard; he couldn’t just stand around watching him get invasive and, quite frankly, inappropriate questions.
The pegasus scanned the room, looking at anything that could be used as a distraction. He didn’t want to make a scene; this was a fancy event, after all. Flash’s gaze veered to the snack table. Or maybe he did.
It was positioned perfectly in the center of the room. Flash Sentry had one duty, and it was to protect his prince. Flash leaned to Twilight, catching his attention.
“Hey, Twilight, watch this,” Flash whispered. Before Twilight could answer, he was already making a beeline to the snack table.
He approached the table, eyeing the various fancy shmancy foods. Now, Flash needed to be subtle. He was a royal guard; stealth was practically in his title.
“Oh no, I am losing my balance!” Flash exclaimed, dramatically bringing his hoof to his forehead. He flapped his wings and stiffly staggered over his hooves. He stumbled headfirst into the table, a plate of food tipping over. Flash dramatically rolled across the table as if he was still trying to catch his balance.
What Flash didn’t account for was the table being unable to hold the weight of a full-grown stallion. The table collapsed, food flying in the air.
“Oh!” Flash gasped. His back hit the ground, knocking the wind from him. Food flew through the air, splattering across his armor. The punch bowl tipped over, dousing his mane. Flash sputtered nonsensically, as he felt the punch shoot up his nostrils. The stallion sat up, letting out a few haggard coughs.
By the time he was done writhing on the table, all eyes were on him. In fact, some of the musicians were struggling to keep their composures. He could see a few trying not to double over in laughter.
“My bad. I guess I have four left hooves!” Flash excused rather loudly. He could hear the high-class ponies muttering in shock. He decided to own it. Flash kept his head high, walking past the partygoers. A trail of mushed-up food followed behind him.
With each step he took, he could feel his hooves sticking to the floor. He wasn’t going to let that stop him, though. As he strode up the stairs, he saw the posh ponies stick their noses up in disgust.
The line in front of Twilight quickly vanished, the posh ponies scattering off. Twilight looked between the now empty staircase and Flash.
“What was all of that about?” Twilight whispered. Flash looked at the empty staircase and turned back to Twilight with a look of shock. He brought his hoof to his mouth.
“Would you look at that; no one is asking weird questions anymore!” Flash fake gasped. Twilight looked at Flash perplexedly before his eyes widened in realization. His mouth gaped, and he began to sputter, trying to form words.
“Flash!” Twilight finally uttered, hitting his coltfriend with his wing. Despite the scolding, Twilight couldn’t keep a smile from creeping on his face.
Flash Sentry had done it once again! He had been the perfect guard. Sure, he reeked of overly fancy food, but he had still done it.
Now that everything was under control, he could guard more efficiently. Flash stared down the stairs, waiting for another pony. And he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
After about an hour, Flash realized no one was coming back. He pouted. He was starting to regret shooing all those ponies off. Sure, a few of them sucked, but at least something was happening. The night was nearly over, and nothing worthwhile had happened.
“You wanna get outta here? Go get some dinner?” Flash suggested. Twilight whipped his head around, staring at him as if he had sprouted two heads.
“We can’t leave. This is the biggest event of the year!” Twilight exclaimed. “I need to be here until the night ends.”
Flash sighed. As much as he didn’t want to be here, Twilight was right. Royalty must always leave last.
Flash’s ears twitched as a new song began. It was nice and slow, making him sway to the melody. It was soothing enough to nearly put him to sleep. An idea popped into his head.
The pegasus trotted in front of Twilight, kneeling on the floor. He held out his hoof and lowered his head.
“Your majesty, may I have this dance?” Flash asked. Twilight gasped, a smile spreading.
“I would love to, but…” He trailed off, gazing at the partygoers. “Look at me. What if ponies stare?” Flash shrugged.
“Well, I think they’d be staring at the most handsome stallion in Equestria.”
Twilight couldn’t possibly reject that. He placed his hoof in Flash’s. The pair made their descent down the stairs.
The dance floor was much prettier up close. The stained glass windows illuminated a gorgeous pattern on the floor.
“My liege,” Flash said, pulling Twilight onto the dance floor.
The couple intertwined their bodies, swaying to the music. Twilight stumbled over his back hooves awkwardly, nearly losing his balance.
“Sorry, sorry. You know I’m not that good of a dancer.” Twilight bashfully admitted. Flash chuckled, pulling Twilight closer.
“Don’t worry about it. Just follow my lead.” Flash instructed. “Left hoof, right hoof.” He said, slowly leading his coltfriend.
Soon, the two were moving as if they were one. They were so close that Twilight could hear Flash’s heartbeat. Twilight snickered.
“You’re still sticky.” He giggled, prying his head off of the gluey armor. Flash playfully huffed.
“Imagine how I feel; My armor is sticking to my fur.” Flash giggled back. Twilight clamped his hoof over his mouth, holding back a boisterous laugh. “I think I have some gravy on my flank too.”
Twilight could no longer hold his laughter, letting out an obnoxiously loud chortle. His laughs were filled with snorts and honks, catching the eyes of a few dancers.
Flash twirled Twilight across the floor, pressing their snouts together. Their lips met.
This wasn’t the first time they’d kissed; far from it. But to them, every kiss was like the first. Magical in every way. They pulled away, staring at each other with wonder in their eyes. Twilight scrunched up his face, curiously smacking his lips.
“You taste like deviled eggs.” He pointed out. Flash shrugged.
“That’s the price you gotta pay for happiness.” He joked. Twilight chuckled, leaning on Flash’s still-sticky helmet.
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For giving me the perfect night.”
Flash smiled.
“Anything for you.”