The Seventh

Chapters

Prologue: Gala Soon to Come
Chapter 1: Day of the Gala
Chapter 2: A Night to Remember

Prologue: Gala Soon to Come

“Is Rarity going to get here any time soon?” Rainbow Dash spouted impatiently, “At this rate she’s gonna miss the train!”

“Please, calm down Dash…” Twilight urged to her, “She’s probably on her way already.”

“Yeah, she better.”

Rainbow Dash had been extremely impatient lately. And it was all because of one thing: The Grand Galloping Gala. The Gala was a yearly event, however it had never been quite like this year; as this year it was to be held specifically to celebrate the on-going “Age of the Sun” in Equestria, as well as to celebrate the many great feats she and the rest of the six friends, otherwise known as the main six, had accomplished. It was always a highlight of the year for many of Equestria’s upper class, but it hadn’t very much interested the six mares again until this year. It was to be the most exciting one yet, as the organizational team, led by none other than the newest princess, the lavender alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle, had managed to pull out all the stops to enhance it beyond anything before. A “small” new town had been constructed specifically for it, housing many shops, hotels, and a massive palace-like building made for the bulk of the festivities, as well as a large square for dancing and an aerial stunt coarse. They had also managed to amass a huge orchestra, consisting of only the best musicians in Equestria, to provide accompaniment for the event; and a group of professional stage directors to work the event’s lighting and help with the formalities of the Gala’s various new celebratory ceremonies.

But Dash wasn’t looking forward only to seeing the newly built location, but also to seeing many of the famous fellow Equestrians that would be making appearances; and the fact that they had made special arrangements to get the mane six on stage for a few of the events helped in her anticipation as well. Many events had been scheduled that had never been tried before, including the small air show that Dash had been invited to participate in. It had, of course, decreased the amount of regular attendees that would arrive, but had greatly increased the amount of those slightly lower in status, to the point where it all balanced out in the end. Dash imagined all the fun she’d have going to it this year, as well as many of the famous attendees she’d meet, among other things that they hadn’t even been told of yet.

Suddenly her thought process was interrupted by the loud squeaking of cart wheels. “Um… Okay…” Rarity, a bright white, fashion obsessed, unicorn, had finally turned a corner into view with a massive cart filled with various sizes of bags. She had a tendency to do this, especially around the time of the Gala, but this was one of the most extreme examples she could ever remember. It seemed she had misinterpreted the “two-three days” from the invitation letters as “two-three months”.

She approached them slowly. “Sorry it took so long, I had to make sure to finish my packing.”

“Um… Rarity,” Dash asked, only slightly surprised, “I know we ask you this every time, but… are you sure you’re gonna need all of that? Or, better yet, if you do… how are you gonna fit it on the train?!?”

“Why, of course I need it Rainbow Dash!” Rarity quickly replied, “After all, this is the Grand Galloping Gala we’re attending. If I don’t look my best-”

“I’m just gonna stop you right there Rarity…” Dash interrupted. She had had this happen far too many times in the time she’d known Rarity, she would start talking about “the way I look” or “If I’m not looking my best” or other variations of the two, proceeding that with a seemingly endless “tangent”, or as Dash always said: a rant, about the subject; she remembered some of them going on for multiple hours even, and was not about to have that start up just before the long train ride to the Gala grounds.

“Ugh…” Rarity groaned angrily in response.

“Alright! That should be everyone!” Twilight said joyfully.

“YEAH!” Pinkie shouted as she poked her head around the corner of one of the many walls of the train station. She, Fluttershy, and Applejack had been waiting in another part of the Ponyville train station for the majority of their time there.

“Finally…” Dash groaned.

“Ah come on Rainbow…” Applejack said, “Try to have a bit more patience.”

Dash simply sighed at this, a mixture of frustration and anticipation present.

“Let me guess,” Twilight stated, “You’re wanting to get on with that air show, aren’t you?”

“Obviously!” she replied, “I’ve been waiting for this kind of chance since the first time we went like… I dunno… two, maybe even three years ago!”

“Still, at least try to have more patience.”

*sigh* “Alright… I’ll try…”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, “And… as much as I hate to say it… Don’t get your hopes up; at least not as much as that first trip.”

“Yes… we all remember how that went…” Rarity added, still slightly frustrated about being cut off a few moments ago.

Dash remembered back to their first trip to the Grand Gala, about two-three years ago. It had been a complete disappointment for them, as it was nothing like they had imagined it. Many things they had thought would be part of the festivities were never even considered, and most of the attributes they had given it had never come true. However, this year she was sure it would be different, what with all the changes in organization and reasoning that had taken place over the years.

Suddenly a loud whistle was heard in the distance as the train began coming into view from the station platform. It was moving fast, and large puffs of smoke flew out of the engine’s smoke stack periodically. And, within a mere few minutes, the train had pulled into the station, its brakes activating, letting out a loud screeching sound, and bring the locomotive to a halt as it expelled any excess steam with an even louder hissing noise. Its doors were opened as a small amount of different ponies filed out onto the station platform, leaving them open for the new passengers to enter through.

“ALL ABOARD! NEXT STOP, CANTERLOT!” the station manager shouted out.

With that the surprisingly large amount of new passengers entered onto the train, having their tickets collected before entering.
“Thank you,” Fluttershy whispered in Dashes ear as they boarded.
“Heh, you’re welcome,” she responded, knowing exactly what she was referring to.

They all found seats in the long line of train cars, with Dash deciding to take a seat by the window as always. It was slightly harder than usual with the large number of passengers; however it still did not take long to accomplish. And once everyone was on board, the doors were closed, and the engine gave out another loud hiss as it sprung back to life and began to pull the train forward along the track.

The train raced down the tracks at top speed. It was making a bee-line for the mountain sitting in the center of Equestria, which was where all the tracks converged to meet the beautiful capitol city of Equestria: Canterlot.

“Where is it…?” Rainbow Dash asked as she peered out the window, to no one in particular.

“Where’s what?” Twilight responded.

“The new Gala grounds… I can’t see them anywhere.”

“Really?” Twilight stuck her own head out the window to look for the grounds; and was surprised to find nothing visible in the flat, grassy plains on the outskirts of the mountain. If the grounds had been there, they would have been easily visible on the nearly entirely flat surface of the plains.

“Um… what’re ya two stickin’ yer heads out da window for?” Applejack asked confusedly.

“We can’t seem to find the new Gala grounds out there.”

“Maybe it’s on the other side a’ the train?”

Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight looked at each other for a second before bringing their fore-hooves to connect with their foreheads.

“Yeah… you’re probably right AJ,” Rainbow replied.

“We just checked that,” Rarity stated, “and… well, it wasn’t there either.”

Rainbow, Twilight, and Applejack, with Rainbow and Twilight both entirely in the train car now, gave Rarity a confused look.

“Actually,” she continued, “We’ve heard many of the other passengers wondering about this as well. It seems that no one knows where it is.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added, seemingly excited by the current state of things, “Nopony knows anything about anything anymore! It’s really starting to get creepy...”

“Well,” Twilight stated, “It should be somewhere out there. After all, while I’ve only about as much information on it as the rest of you, I do know that Princess Celestia said one could see Canterlot from the grounds. So it has to be somewhere out there…” The truth was that, despite how extensive the already given information was, the other princesses had urged that it was only a small portion of what to expect from this year’s Gala.

“I dunno…” Applejack said.

“Huh… what is it?”

“Well… maybe that view could be another one a Celestia’s fancy spells.”

“I guess… even still…”

Now it was beginning to confuse everyone on board, as all were traveling same location. The burning question of exactly where they were headed to kept repeating itself.

Suddenly their thought processes were interrupted by the now extremely loud sounds erupting from the train and flooding through the still open windows as it roared into the tunnels, giving them all a scare. The passengers acted quickly and closed the windows of their respective cars, so as to silence the noise.

“So… that happened,” Rainbow stated, voice as well as body still quivering from the startle.

“Y-yes, it did…” a frightened Rarity added.

They decided to give the matter a rest and sit down for a moment. It had been a fairly long ride after all, and they didn’t want to be overly stressed out about anything upon arrival.

“So,” Twilight perked up, “Did you all bring your speeches?”

“Yep!” came the unanimous response, as they each pulled a rolled piece of paper from their saddle-bags. They didn’t exactly know why they had decided to keep the saddle-bags in the train with them, but it was convenient for now, so none of them complained.

The papers where a light-tan color; each perfectly rolled and sealed with the official Equestrian Royal Seal, decorated with the mark of the main of the four princesses, Princess Celestia.

“None of you have read it yet?”

“Um, Twilight,” Rainbow replied, “You do realize we only got these a few minutes before we left for the station, right?”

“It wasn’t that sudden.”

“Yeah… it was.”

Twilight did not respond, but rather opted to remain silent as the others put the rolled papers back into their saddle-bags where they had been kept.

A short time passed before the train rushed out of the tunnels. However, they didn’t exit at the usual exit that led directly to the Canterlot station, but rather at an entirely different looking location. It was a large, and brightly lit room with a high, domed ceiling and two separate floors, with their train arriving on the lower of the two. Each floor had two train platforms, one for each of the four main lines that converged at the mountain, which was easily deducible from the sounds of other trains coming to a halt resonating from above them, being loud enough to hear from even inside the train. The room’s second floor had a large hole in its center to allow it to look down onto the lower floor, and the lower floor’s center was emblazoned with a big and bright design that incorporated the marks of all four of Equestria’s princesses.

“Wow…” Fluttershy said in her usual quite tone, “This is really…”

“Amazing…” Twilight finished.

They had only seen the few details they could from their side of the train, which was luckily facing the open side of the platform, but what they could see was beautiful.

Soon the train had slowed to a stop. The doors then opened as the many ponies that had been present on the train exited off onto the long platform. They looked up in awe at the sight, now being able to fully take it in for what it was; continuing to observe everything in the room, from the paintings lining the walls, the intricate design in the center, the doorways into the branching halls that led up to the higher level, and the large, golden colored sign visible up above them that read: Equestria Central Station.

“Welcome one and all!” the voice of Celestia sounded throughout, “To the new Equestria Central Station. I am very pleased to have so many to witness the new locations present here, and hope you all enjoy your stays.”

Everyone was speechless at this point. The sight was awe inspiring, and the fact that there may be more like it was both exciting and intimidating if the scale of the station alone was any indication.

The group exited the network of large tunnels making up most of the station and stepped out to an even more awe inspiring site.

The tunnels exited onto a large, multilayered platform on the side of the mountain, with wide paths leading up to Canterlot from there, and a beautiful view of the plains outside the mountain and all their features. There were also wires connecting Canterlot with an area higher up from the platform, which they could only assume was used to power the station, and a pair of large gates in the front of the platform. The gates were conformed to the surrounding railings, and were held tightly shut by what seemed to be an enchanted locks based on the glow emanating around them.

On the platform stood an already impressively sized crowd, amassed from not only those arriving on the multiple trains, but also from the large stream of ponies coming down from Canterlot just a little ways up.

“Greetings!” the voice of Cadence perked up from seemingly nowhere, and addressing the crowd that had formed, “Please step away from the gates. This shall only take a moment.”

Soon the gates burst open and, in a flash of bright light, a set of new paths appeared before them all, locking in place with the platform. The panels on them began to move as an arcane glow began emanation around the wheel-like objects on the side of the path.

“That should be it! We all hope you enjoy the festivities.”

Ponies from the massive crowd began stepping onto the moving walkway, and soon began the descent to another, even larger platform that could be seen below them.

Upon arriving at the new platform below, all those present eagerly awaited what was to come next. The anticipation was starting to get to them after all that had happened before.

“Welcome all!” came the voice of Luna from around the crowd that had formed, “We trust thou art here to attend the Gala, am I not correct?”

A silence followed, however was quickly broken as a small group of ponies near the front of the crowd shouted out a response.

“Get on with it!” they all shouted in unison.

“Alright, alright,” came the reply, “Bear witness!”

A bright flash of light began emanating from the ground still far below them, glowing brightly even under the sun that was still high in the sky. Arcane symbols began forming around the bright light, circling the light formation as they spun faster and faster. New lines began to form and circle the light, and soon the entirety of the area of ground below was lit in a brightly glowing light. The ground began to shake and the light began morphing in shape. Then, finally, the light began to fade as it rose, revealing a large town, surrounded by high, detailed decorated walls, and resting on a massive plateau that rose beneath it. It rose higher and higher, to the amazement of many on-lookers.

When the light finally faded completely, the ponies below couldn’t believe their eyes. The front gate was massive, with a bright light shining behind it, an occasional shadow flashing in front of it, as well as with two banners on each side, each representing one of the four princesses using an image of how they appeared in the stained glass of Canterlot Castle, their respective marks, and a line of text reading out what they represented. Along with those was a large banner strung across the middle-top of the entry gate, reading: “Welcome one and all to the Gala Square, new grounds of the annual Grand Galloping Gala!” And on the door was the same symbol as in the center of the station many had just came out of a mere few moments ago, only carved entirely in gold.

“Quite the sight, is it not?” came the voice of Luna once more; however this time it had a clear source, as the dark blue alicorn with the flowing, starry mane, Princess Luna, appeared before them all in a flash of light. At the same time, Princess Celestia, the near pure white alicorn with the flowing blue, green, and pink mane, and being the tallest of the three, appeared in the center; and Princess Cadence, the pink alicorn with her purple, pink, and gold mane, by her side. All were wearing their respective royal jewelry. “Witnessing a city such as this appear in such a way, I mean.”

“I think we all know the answer Luna,” Cadence responded.

“Yes, indeed,” came Luna again.

Celestia did not waste any more time and jumped directly into her next address.

“Greetings to all!” she began in a joyous tone, “As one of the princesses of Equestria, I am honored to welcome all of you to the new holding grounds of the annual Grand Galloping Gala, and hope that you are all just as eager as I and my fellow princesses were to experience what lies on the other side of this wall.”
“Now, please note that this wall is simply an aesthetic detail to add to the dramatic nature and grandeur of the grounds upon the reveal and in the future, nothing more, and nothing less,” Cadence added swiftly.

Many within the crowd still stirred at the rarely seen sight of Celestia, as well as the presence of both Luna and Cadence as well. A majority had already gotten used to the sight of Twilight, as, even after receiving her own castle and mission of spreading friendship, she was still the most actively social of the four princesses, and was often seen outside continuously trying to blend in with the rest of the populace. Contrarily, the others were rarely seen outside of their own castles, or, in the case of Cadence, the Crystal Empire; and Luna was most often seen in dreams rather than the physical world. So the sight of the three, especially at this time, definitely surprised at least a small amount of the on-lookers.

“However,” Celestia continued, “We, knowing that felling of eagerness and anticipation well, will spare you the formalities.”

A collective, happily surprised gasp spread quietly throughout the crowd for a brief moment.

“So, without further ado…”

The massive gate split, and, with a loud screech, opened into the town that stood before the crowd. The light behind it slowly faded as it opened, revealing the interior more and more, before the gate finally lay entirely open and the light had completely faded.

“We hope you all enjoy your stay.”

With that, the crowd began to slowly disperse into the new town that had opened to them.

The land inside was beautiful; with the lightly colored brick walls and light orange roofs of the buildings surrounding the wide cobblestone streets, the colorful banners and other fabrics hanging all around above them, the trees planted throughout, the mini streams flowing under grates in the streets, the banners and artificial water falls decorating the interior side of the already beautiful wall surrounding the town, the large and open square directly on the path of the main street, the fountain and flag poles and flags and trees decorating it, and the massive palace-like structure directly forward from that. The glass was perfectly clean, the many pieces of greenery meticulously placed, the grates in the street beautifully crafted, the water below clear, the streets articulately assembled, and the many fabrics artistically hung to bathe the entirety of the town with a magnificent spectrum of colors. There were also many shops already open, being ran by many faces recognized as the best, most talented ponies in the respective fields; and each was designed with that particular individual in mind, with many unique props and decorations strewn about the store fronts and surrounding areas. Birds chirped happily as they flew around the grounds, and the many ponies already when this new crowd arrived strolling about the streets seemed very content with the location.

“Wow…” came a voice from the now much more dispersed crowd, “This place is huge…”

“I never expected anything like this…!” came another.

“How did they manage to build all this… in such a short time…” came a third.

“…And so secretly as well…?” came a fourth.

“And did they do that whole reveal for every new group?” came a fifth.

By this point the entire crowd was curious about it, and the small roar of the many present beginning their speculations and sharing thoughts began sounding throughout the grounds. Although, it was more happy, or mesmerized in many cases, than anything else. Many discussed the magics that must have been used to hide the sight, or that must have been utilized for the dramatic reveal of the city, as well as the path leading to it. Some mentioned how the moving platform that had taken most of them down worked. And a few could be heard talking of the massive Central Station that most of the ponies currently present had arrived to at first. Everything was new to them, as so much had changed in such a short time, in comparison to many other occurrences, that it was nearly impossible for many to fully comprehend at the time.

“Well, Twilight?” Cadence said as she flew down to meet her in a gap in the crowd, “Isn’t this place amazing?!”

Twilight could only manage a nod as she and her friends simply stared at all the features of the new town, faces blank of all emotions other than amazement, and voices completely silent.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“It… really is…” Fluttershy said softly, only barely heard over the sounds of chatter all around them.

“Who designed it all?” Rarity asked, “It’s all so well put together… I just…”

“The concept was first presented to us about a month after the defeat of Tirek, via an anonymous tip,” Cadence replied, “Despite the circumstances we decided to go forward with building it, although only after the inspection of the design blue prints for any deliberate structural flaws.”

“So… you don’t know?”

“Not precisely. Not at all, really.”

“Oh…”

“Sorry… But, hey, maybe they’ll crash the party sometime tomorrow. After all, they’d know how to get in to do so.”

“Speaking of which,” Twilight began, “What are the plans for tomorrow?”

“Well, actually,” Cadence replied, “that’s what I was sent over here to do, more or less.”

“Huh…? And what is that?”

“To come get you and your friends. We all know that you six will all be playing some role in tomorrow’s events, and so we’re having a short meeting soon, in the Gala Stadium up ahead, to discuss plans, as well as provide you all your schedules.”

“Oh! Okay then. Lead the way.”

“Very well, please follow close.”

Cadence took to the skies once again, although made certain to stay low to the ground so the others could follow her more easily through the gradually thinning crowd. They all had assumed that the “Gala Stadium” was the large, palace-like structure beyond the fountains of the square, so it would be a good distance for them all to cover, especially for those of the six who couldn’t fly. However that had not stopped them before, and most definitely wouldn’t now with the simple task of walking across town.

The group of now seven ponies entered the massive Gala Stadium through a gate near to the size of the main entrance to the town. It, too, was decorated with various banners, these one depicting the Elements of Harmony, the ancient artifacts that had been used to subdue many of Equestria’s most fearsome and dangerous foes, both in the past and present times, as well as the six that represented them, all of whom now stood below, mesmerized at the sight.

“Wow…!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “It’s just like in the—”

“Hall of Elements?” Cadence finished.

“Y-yeah…”

“Great…” Applejack said sarcastically.

“What is it Applejack?” Cadence asked inquisitively.

“Well, now Rainbow’s gonna have an even bigga’ ego than before!”

“Oh shut up Applejack…” Rainbow replied.

The others had a good laugh at the small exchange before being led inside.

The interior of the Stadium was even more impressive than the exterior, with many large openings to let in sunlight, as well as to provide views into the open interior of the area. It had a large amount of decorative pieces in the architecture, as well as many miscellaneous banners for the various event to take place, as well as many places exclusive for the event participants, with the doors of rooms being labeled for things such as dressing/make up, routine practice, and consultation. The stairways were wide and grand.

The only thing that seemed to take away from the magnificent view was in the open section of the interior, with a large, gray, stone pit using up most of the area.

“Um…” Rarity asked, “What is that?”

“You mean the pit, right?” Cadence replied.

“Yes… that…”

“That is the multipurpose field,” she explained, “It can be used as, or converted to, an open grass field, a runway, a stage, an acrobatics setup, and an artificial lake.”

“Oh… okay.”

“It’s currently not in use. Maintenance and all that…”

“Ah, now I understand… I think.”

With that out of the way, Cadence quickly brought the six ponies with her up to the top floor and to the royal terrace, where the nobility and their guests would be watching the festivities from later tomorrow.

“Ah, Cadence,” Celestia said as they entered, “Thank you for bringing them at such short notice.” She turned to face them. “And to the rest of you: Thank you for coming.”

Twilight stepped forward. “You’re very welcome, your highness.”

“Don’t you remember, Twilight?” came the response, “You’re a princess now, have been for some time. You and your friends can simply call me Celestia.”

“Heheh… I guess we just got so used to it… we never let go of it.”

“Well, I guess old habits really do die hard.”

“Yeah… guess so…”

“Hm… Well, Twilight, do you know why I have sent for you all?”

“You wanted to discuss tomorrow’s plans, right?”

“That would be correct. You see, I want to make sure you all know where to go tomorrow, and when the best times would probably be.” Celestia proceeded to retrieve a collection of rolled sheets of paper from off the large table to the right of them with her magic. “Speaking of which, these are the schedules I’ve had prepared for you all. They have the locations, times, and reasons behind everything for tomorrow’s events.” She levitated them over to their respective owners, who all quickly unraveled them and looked over the contents.

“Alright… looks good.”

“Yeah, we’re all good Twi,” the others added in near unison.

They all took the papers, rolled them up, and inserted them into the saddle-bags they still possessed.

“If that is all—”

“Actually, Twilight,” Celestia cut her off, “There is one more thing.”

“Huh? What would that be?”

“I’ve already brought this up with the rest of those who should know, however I feel that, as my star pupil, as well as a fellow princess, you and your friends have a right to know these kinds of things.”

Twilight and the others looked at Celestia worriedly.
“What is it?”

“I had another one of those… dreams.”

“Oh, you mean those prophetic ones?”

“Yes, precisely.” It was true that Princess Celestia occasionally had prophetic dreams, and they usually occurred very soon before the fore-told events.

Twilight looked closer. “You look worried. Is there something about it…?”

“I can’t say for certain. It was, unlike most of them, extremely blurry. I could barely make out anything that happened. It didn’t even seem to be from my own perspective like it always has been.”

“Really?” came the unanimous response.

“Yes. It just worries me. I can’t pinpoint exactly why it does, as no apparent danger was present within it, however I felt it was important that you know of this, just as a precaution.”

“Hm…” Twilight was now going deep into thought at the introduction of this sudden new information.

“But, please, you need not concern yourselves with this, at least for the time being. As said, no danger was present as far as I saw, and there have been times in the past where these dreams have fore-told non-threatening events. Please, it is getting late, and I imagine all this is a bit much to take in within such a short time frame. Just get some rest, and we’ll, if convenient, discuss the matter further tomorrow.”

“Hm… alright…” Twilight responded hesitantly, “I guess we’ll see you later then.”

“Thank you.” She paused, face going blank for a brief moment, as if deep in thought, before she came to. “Guards, would you please escort these six to their accommodations.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they responded.

“Accommodations?” Twilight asked.

“You did not receive the notice?” Celestia responded, “Everyone attending the Gala will now have their own room in one of the many buildings of the residential district, near the entrance.”

“No, we didn’t get one of those…”

Celestia sighed, “Should have known better than to get the overnight delivery for those. It seems mail carriers are just not what they used to be…”

“Couldn’t you just send them the way you usually send mail?”

“I needed to send them on a larger scale. Plus, I don’t want to write or send out all of them separately.”

“Oh… yeah…”

The two of them stood silently for a moment, before being brought back to reality by the voice of the guards.

“Excuse us, but we should make leave immediately.”

“Yes, right,” Celestia said, “Sorry to hold you all here so long.”

“It’s all right. We’ll… just be on my way then.”

“Very well. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

“As do we.”

And with that, the Twilight and her friends were escorted out of the room, down to the ground floor again, and out into the nearly empty streets of the town.

“These will be the keys to your rooms,” one of the guards said as they had the keys taken from them by their respective owners, “We recommend not losing them.”

“Thank you,” Twilight responded.

The two guards then left, returning on the same route to the Stadium they had taken to escort the group to where they stood now.

“Well,” Twilight said, “I guess I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” came the response.

The group parted ways, each walking, or, in some cases, flying, towards their own rooms, and all eager to finally be able to get some rest after the long day. After all, every one of them had another long day ahead of them tomorrow, and the rest was very much needed now.

Tomorrow would be a great day none-the-less, or at least that was the hope.

--To Be Continued--

Chapter 1: Day of the Gala

Suddenly Rainbow Dash jolted awake, letting out a loud shriek as she began frantically looking around the room. She was shocked and scared by what she’d just seen, the sudden change from peace to utter chaos, the death of everyone she knew and loved, the mysterious figure at the end, her own death. It was all so horrible. All so unbelievable.

“Oh… my… gosh…,” Rainbow said, seemingly out of breath, and still trying to process the vision she had just received, “…thank Celestia that was just a dream…”

It was about 6:37AM, meaning she still had about an hour before she needed to go off to the last minute practice sessions for the aerial stunt show she was to participate in.

She first tried laying back down on the bed, still panting heavily, and even sweating a tiny bit. She just needed a bit of time to relax after that.
*knock* *knock*

The sound came from the door to her room. They seemed hesitant. But she decided to try to ignore it for now, and went back to trying to relax. When that didn’t work, she decided to try focusing on the room around her, to distract herself from both the thoughts of the dream and the knocking.

It was a nice room. It had two sections, separated from each other with a dividing wall. One section contained an ice box; any utensils one could possibly need, although those weren’t very useful for Rainbow; some extra cabinets and drawers; and assorted other kitchen and dining related objects. The other section contained a medium sized bed; a small table, where she had set her saddle-bags; some book shelves, which had already had some books on them when she arrived, although none of them interested her; and the entrance to the bathroom.
*knock* *knock*
*knock* *knock*

The sound was a bit stronger this time, and came much less hesitantly than before.

“Just ignore it…” Rainbow thought, “It’s probable just your imagination…” She began her observations once more.
There was also a window next to the door, which led into the kitchen section of the room, with some colorful and finely detailed curtains hanging over them. The walls were a bright shade of white, with a bit of yellow mixed in by the looks of it; and on certain sections of the walls were tiny vents that kept a regular air flow through the complex of rooms.

“No…” she thought to herself as she further surveyed the room, “…Not working either…”

*knock* *knock*

“What is that!?” Rainbow thought as the sound came another time.

“Rainbow?” came the confused voice of Twilight, on the other side of the door to the room, “Um… Is everything alright? We heard you scream and… well…”

Rainbow, suddenly realizing that the noise was most likely real, got up and began walking to the door, thinking “Maybe this will help…” to herself as she did. But she hesitated. Once about half way to the door, she stopped dead in her tracks, feeling unable to move. “Yeah…” she said aloud, “I’m alright.”

“Oh. Okay…” came the reply.

Then there was silence.

“Well… I guess we’ll… see you soon,” came another reply.

The sound of Twilight slowly making her way away from the door was heard, followed by another long period of deep silence.

“Ugh!” Rainbow thought to herself as she made her way away from the door as well, “Why did I say that!?”

The voice echoed over and over again in her head as she ran the question back to herself. It did help distract her, but it bothered her to the point that it had just made the feeling worse, and it just kept going. She kept thinking the same things.
“If I had just… I dunno… talked with them all about it…” it repeated, “Then maybe it would be… better… somehow. Less to think about… less to hide…”

It was greatly frustrating her, to the point where she became tempted to do something about it in the real world, instead of just thinking. But what she had in mind was far too drastic.

“No…” she thought in response, “No, that would make this even worse.” She had always had trouble controlling herself when she got angry or frustrated, but had started to do better as of late and didn’t want to break that streak. “I just need to calm down… think of something… better.”

Suddenly thoughts of today’s events began circling through her head. More specifically, thoughts of the air show she’d be participating in later with the Wonderbolts, her favorite team of stunt flyers in Equestria, as well as its closest equivalent to an aerial combat team, and her long time idols. The thoughts started to calm her significantly. And soon she had gotten completely swept up in them all, completely forgetting about whatever dreams she may have had a short while ago.
It continued for a while, just her sitting there on the bed thinking about today’s events, day dreaming about all the wonderful things that would happen today. But it was short lived as she realized how much time had passed already.

“Oh no…” she thought, staring at the clock worriedly. It was 7:51AM, and she had to be at the practicing grounds to meet with the Wonderbolts at 8:00AM. She jumped up as quickly as possible, making sure to grab the short speech she was to give later that night and place it in the saddle-bag she was bringing, just in case she didn’t have a chance later to come back and get it, and raced out the door towards the Gala Stadium on the opposite side of the Gala grounds.
===================================-----------------------------------------

“So,” Applejack asked curiously, “what’d she say?”

“Nothing really…” Twilight responded, “Just told me she was fine. Never said a word after that.”

“Really?” Rarity wondered, “Why would she do that…?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed, a slight amount of frustration apparent in her voice.

“She did sound… well… pretty scared…” Fluttershy added worriedly.

Twilight began thinking back to the recent events.
Not long ago the five ponies present had met up near the entrance to the temporary housing complex, which they were to reside in for the duration of the Gala festivities, to discuss their plans for the day. However the meeting had come to a sudden halt when they had over heard the sound of their friend Rainbow Dash screaming. It had been loud enough to hear through the walls of her room, which was at the top of the three story building, and had given them all a fright when they heard it.

“What was… that…?” Fluttershy had asked, still shaking from the fright.

“That sounded like…” Twilight had responded as the others remained dead silent. Soon after she had flown up to the walkway outside the room, and had begun knocking on the door.

“I knocked on the door for a while, not wanting to just barge in…” Twilight recalled, “Then, after a while, I tried to ask her if she was alright.”

“And we know the rest of the story,” Rarity finished.

“Yeah…”

The group went silent again as they stood there, wondering what exactly had happened. They all knew they heard Rainbow screaming, that much was for certain, but they couldn’t tell what had caused the event to start, and it was all too obvious that Rainbow was not going to talk yet.

“Well…” Twilight broke the silence, “I guess we should just go on with plans.”

“Right…” came the collective response.

Each of the five ponies had some role to play in today’s festivities. Rarity was to present some of the costumes she had completed for the theatrical performance, which she had sent in to Canterlot about two weeks ago for storage, and to assist in finishing up the rest; Twilight was working with the other three princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, to finish the organization of the official events and mapping the Gala’s schedule out as reference; Pinkie was helping with not only catering, but also in certain areas of entertainment for the attendees; Applejack was also helping out in catering for the Gala, as well as participating in the ground race in the Stadium later that day, which she would attend practice for at 2:00PM; and Fluttershy was to help tend to the many animals allowed to run and fly about the grounds, as well as possibly some of the foliage planted around. On top of all of that, each one of them was to give a short speech later, when the festivities were to come to a close. They had been written by the four princesses for that specific purpose, and had been sent to them by Celestia before they left for the train station yesterday. They all had busy days ahead of them, to say the very least.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash went racing out the door above them, flying directly toward the Stadium. It surprised all of them, as they weren’t expecting it after not seeing her outside at all yet that day, and they began to wonder why she was in such a hurry.

“Um… Twi?” Applejack asked, “Wha’ do ya think got her so frantic?”

Twilight looked around, soon realizing what exactly had caused it. “Look what time it is!” she said, pointing one of her fore-hooves up.

The others looked to where Twilight pointed, toward one of the large clock towers that were strewn about the grounds. It read 7:53.

“Oh…” came the collective response.

Rarity gasped. “That reminds me, I need to be at the wardrobe center by 8:30!” Soon she was on her way as well, as it would be much longer for her than Rainbow Dash, seeing as she couldn’t fly, and that street traffic was beginning to pick up.

“And we need to get to the pastry shop!” Pinkie screamed to Applejack, before she ran off as well.

The clock had served as a nearly unwelcome reminder to all five of the ponies, as soon all had remembered they needed to be somewhere soon, and had sped off to there. It would be a long day, but well worth it in their eyes.

“Um… Hello…” Fluttershy said quietly as she made her way into the small Animal Care Clinic.

Not a sound was heard.

“Maybe I was supposed to meet her somewhere else,” Fluttershy thought to herself.

Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her.

“Oh! Hello Fluttershy, I wasn’t expecting you to get here so early.”

Fluttershy jumped slightly from the sudden entrance. “Oh… Well… Hello to you too.” The mare speaking to her was named Crissy Flowery; she was colored with shades with shades of brown and gold, had bright eyes colored with a mix of red and orange, and wore a red hat with white spots covering its surface; her cutie mark was three lady bugs, all with four white spots covering them. The two had met a while ago at a nature festival, and had become quick friends.
“Heheh… Sorry if I scared you, I’ve had a tendency to do that a lot lately,” Crissy apologized.

Fluttershy smiled back at her.

“Alright, I’ll take that as a good sign. Now, were you able to look around the Grounds yet?”

“Well… No, not really, yet,” Fluttershy responded.

“Well you’re gonna need to know your way around if you want to keep track of all these animals. So, come on, I’ll give the tour real quick.”

The two ponies left the small building as began the tour of the grounds.

“This,” Crissy said as she led Fluttershy into the area, “is the grounds’ central plaza, where most of the shops and other accommodations are located. It’s also one of the main landmarks, as well as has one of the best views of some of the others, such as the four clock towers.”

Fluttershy looked up from the area to see the two of the clock towers off in the distance, as well as the other two when she looked in the opposite direction. Then, looking around the plaza, noticed all the different details she had missed on her first, brief visit to the area, such as the many smaller carts stationed outside the larger shops. They were selling smaller food and clothing items, painting portraits and/or landscapes, and playing music, either solo or in small groups; it added a lot of life to the town.

“Wow…” she said in amazement.

“I know, pretty impressive for just one year of work,” came the reply. Crissy paused as she looked to the next area of the grounds. “Alright, we unfortunately don’t have all day, better get going.”

Fluttershy nodded and followed to the next area.

Fluttershy was led all around the grounds, next stopping at the large park that had been put in place at the base of one of the many artificial water falls flowing off the surrounding wall; it was also one of many origin points for the small streams that flowed throughout the grounds. It was absolutely beautiful, with large trees scattered about, benches occasionally placed on the side of the many dirt paths leading throughout the park, white painted bridges built over the streams that found their way there, small bird fountains built in some places, and a large lake at the water fall’s base. And like the rest of the grounds, it was extremely large, especially when compared to the parks of other cities and towns in Equestria.

Then she was taken to one of the eight entrances to the wall’s tunnel system. They were closed until further notice, however explained that the tunnel system allowed anyone who entered extraordinary views of the grounds, as well as access to the top of the wall to overlook its entirety from an aerial perspective, and easy access back to the new train system through the lower levels.

Next on the list was the Gala Stadium, which she had gotten a quick look at yesterday evening when Cadence had brought them to speak with Celestia about the day’s plans. Aside from the multipurpose field and large seating arrangements, there wasn’t much else to see or do at the site, so it was the shortest of the stops on the tour.

After that was one of the four Clock Tower Plazas. They were much smaller and less decorated than the larger Central Plaza had been, and most of the space in the middle was taken up by the enormous clock tower located there; however the location was still filled with life as ponies walked around, in and out of the tower, played instruments on the benches outside, and did other miscellaneous things. Told her that the other three of them were built almost exactly the same, with the only real differences being created by the ponies there and what they did. Even still, it was a nice area to just relax for a bit, and to go up in the tower and get a great view of the surrounding buildings.

Finally, there was the observatory. It was a collection large, white, dome shaped buildings with slightly larger cylindrical bases of the same color. And a collecting of large cylinders of a slightly darker color protruded out of the top of the domes in multiple places. The interior was just as impressive as the exterior. It was nearly entirely hollow, with support beams clearly visible due to the bright lighting, and each dome had a long track going along its center with a hole in the center. The hole in the track was where the large cylinders that made up the telescopes pointed out of the domes. It looked like something straight off the Canterlot Castle, and was one of, if not the most amazing location Fluttershy had seen on the grounds.

Over the course of the tour, Fluttershy had been able to see most of her friends also getting a tour around the grounds. Pinkie Pie and Applejack had been being led around the grounds by Sugar Pie. She was a mare with a bright cot of mixed purple and pink, who had turquois hair, eyes of an only slightly different color, a yellow flower in her hair, and a purple frosted cupcake as a cutie mark. She was also another one of the assistants for the catering staff, whom had been able to look around earlier the previous day. And Rarity was being taken around by Fancy Pants, a bright white stallion of the higher social classes that was managing the wardrobe department for this year’s Gala. Even Discord could be seen about the grounds playing and being his usual goofy self. He had learned a lot over the few years Fluttershy and her friends had known him, and was really seeming to feel at home now, even at this large event. Rainbow and Twilight, contrarily, hadn’t been seen anywhere at all; however Fluttershy assumed that was because they had flight routine practice or administration duties to attend to respectively, although she wished she had gotten to see the two of them at least once.

Even so, the tour Crissy had provided Fluttershy was now over, and it was time to start the task she had been given. They had walked back to the small Animal Care Clinic, and upon arriving had grabbed a few smaller items from the interior that would aid in the current task.

“So,” Crissy asked, “Now that you know your way around, and have all the stuff you’ll need, how about we get started with this whole thing?”

“Um… Yeah, sure. We can do that,” Fluttershy responded.

“Alright. So, I’m gonna mainly be taking care of the plants around, although I won’t leave you do take care of all these animals alone. But, if you see any animals that need care, don’t hesitate.”

“Oh, alright, I can do that.”

“Great! I guess I’ll see you around.”

With that, the two left the small clinic to go start their job for the day, both eager to get started.

“Thanks for the tour Sugar Pie!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly upon arriving back at the bakery in the central plaza, “Wow… I never realized how weird it is to say your name ‘till now.”

“Hm?” Sugar Pie responded, slightly confused, “Why is tha—?” She paused, “Oh… right, that. Heheh.”

“Yeah, that!” Pinkie responded.

The two laughed a little at the sudden realization. Even Applejack joined in bit towards the end, having to repeat the names in her head a few times to fully understand what was so funny about the two.

“Hehe… well. Ah… I guess that’s why you’re the element of laughter…”

“Yeah…” Applejack responded, seeing as Pinkie was still unable to control herself, “Ya couldn’ even believe tha rest a’ what she got… hehehe…”

“It must be a great time hanging out with her.”

“Believe me, it is… it is.” Applejack looked over to Pinkie again, who was only just now gaining control of herself again. “Although… she can be a real… um…”

“Hoof-full?”

“Yeah… let’s stick wit’ that.”

The two of them chuckled a bit at the small exchange.

“So, Applejack?”

“Yeah?”

“How do… actually, never mind.”

The line confused the orange earth pony, but she didn’t want to press the matter further, especially now that Pinkie had finally calmed down enough to breathe again.

“Okay… okay…” Pinkie said, still panting, “I’m… I’m fine now… I think…”

“You think?” Sugar Pie asked in response.

“Yeah… yeah… I think…”

“Alright...” Applejack said, a hint of frustration present in her voice.

“Well, if she’s fine, should we get started?” Sugar Pie asked, obviously eager to get started on all the baking that would follow.

“Yes!” Pinkie responded, even more eagerly, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Alright, jus’ calm down Pinkie,” Applejack urged.

“I’m starting to see what you mean…” Sugar Pie stated. Suddenly, the clock towers outside in the town chimed; it was 10:00AM. “Oh no… We’re supposed to open the doors NOW! Oh… that tour must have taken longer than I thought… What’re we gonna do!?”

“Don’t worry,” Pinkie stated happily, “I think this will help give us time!” She proceeded to pull a large, light blue cannon out of seemingly nowhere, than firing it off a little too happily. “PARTY CANNONtm! Never leave home without it!”

Sugar Pie simply stared on in surprise and fright. “Wha? How? Where? Why? WHAT!?!”

“After a while, ya just stop asking questions…” Applejack reassured her, having seen the same reaction from a majority of other ponies who had just met Pinkie Pie on multiple occasions.

“How…?”

“I… jus’ don’t know Sugar Pie… I jus’ don’t know anymore…”

However the two gladly accepted it, seeing as it gave them time to make more of the many baked goods the store was supposed to sell before the ponies outside were going to get in. The three got to work quickly, all making their own specialties to display, as well as extras to sell at some point that day.

“Thank you so much, Fancy Pants, for the tour of the grounds,” Rarity said as the two stepped back into the wardrobe department room in the Gala Stadium. The room was a large, well lit, and extravagantly decorated one, with a massive selection of materials, mannequins, mirrors, tools, and everything else one would need to assemble a great piece of costuming.

“Don’t mention,” Fancy Pants responded, “It was the least I could do for you Rarity.”

“No, please, I really do appreciate it.”

“You are too kind. Now then, shall we discuss costuming plans?”

“Yes, let us.”

The two walked over to the many racks of clothing items that had been set up earlier that day and began shuffling through them.

“Ah, here are the few sets I’ve made,” Rarity stated upon finding the costumes she had finished on the rack, of which there were four, “I managed to just barely finish them up before I left. Do you like them?”

Fancy Pants inspected the sets of costumes, thoroughly looking over every detail of the pieces until he was satisfied with the investigation. “They’re lovely, Rarity,” he said upon completion, “However, I’m seeing a few minor things I’d like to see if you could change about them.”

“Oh, please, any improvements will be happily made.”

“Good. Now, for this one,” he pointed to the costume set to the far right, “I’d like to change the trimming, as well as some of the designs you’ve put in, to a lighter coloring. Something more… lively, I guess is what I’m looking for.”

“Okay. I’ll get started immediately. Shouldn’t take more than… maybe, ten minutes.”

“Actually, before you leave, I’d like to give the rest of my notes.”

“Alright.”

“For this second one,” he said, pointing to the set to the direct left of the first, “I only want to try to get a more fitting tie to go with the piece. This current one, it just doesn’t seem to fit the rest of the set as much as I know some of the ones we have in storage would.”

“Yes, unfortunately that is one of the disadvantages a smaller boutique such as mine has. I’d love to see what pieces you have here.”

“Finally, with this one,” he moved to the one on the far left, “I feel like adding a few extra decorative designs, specifically with in the middle and lower regions, would aid in giving this the ‘over extravagant’ feeling the stage directors are going for, although keep the coloring and overall decorative theme consistent.”

“Alright, I can do all of that. Although,” Rarity paused for a moment, “What about that one?” She pointed to the set to the direct right of the set Fancy Pants had just commented on, a suit that was to be worn by Fancy Pants himself in the performance that was to be put on. “That’s your costume.”

“Yes, why?” Fancy Pants replied.

“Well… don’t you want to change anything about it, even if it’s minor?”

“No. I feel it fits me perfectly as it is.”

“R-really?” Rarity was extremely happy now, although she attempted to maintain her composure as best she could.

“Yes. The coloring, the style, the small and barely noticeable, yet obviously meticulously designed details. It all comes together, at least as I see it. And, since this is to be my garb, I feel that my thoughts are all that matter on the subject of changes.”

“Well… thank you.”

“No problem, Rarity.” He paused as he looked over the other three costume sets one last time to finalize his thoughts. “Now, shall we go forward with those few changes I mentioned?”

“Yes, we shall. I assume I can help with the rest of the costume sets after these changes are complete for the performance?”

“That would be greatly appreciated, especially from a mare of your talent.”

Rarity was having a tough time containing her happiness now, but managed to do so despite this. Today was going to be a magnificent chance to truly display her skill in the field, and to the upper classes as well. It was a dream come true to her, and she wasn’t about to let it go to waste.

“Your majesty,” the guard stated plainly, “Twilight Sparkle is here.”

Celestia looked up from the many papers she and two of the other princesses, Luna and Cadence, had spread across the table. “Ah, good. Please, let her in.”

The guard nodded and proceeded to open the large door, behind which was standing Twilight Sparke, already dressed in her formal dress.

“Thank you,” she said to the guard as she stepped in.

“Hello, Twilight,” Celestia said happily, “I hope this morning has treated you well so far.”

“It has Prince—erm… I mean… Celestia,” Twilight responded, “Sorry, still trying to break that habit.”

Celestia chuckled slightly. “Yes, old habits really do die hard.”

“Didn’t you say that yesterday?”

“Yes, I did, and you just confirmed it.”

The two princesses laughed a bit at the exchange.

“So, what are we planning for today… Celestia? Anything that you would like to discuss before we finalize tonight’s schedule?”

Celestia’s face changed from happiness and excitement, to a dark, deep fear and worry.

“Celestia…? Is there… something wrong?”

“Um…” she could barely speak, “Actually, Twilight, there were… two things that I wished to touch on before we… wrote that up…”

“What were they…?”

Celestia paused, thinking on how to best word what she was about to say, and in what order to present the issues. Suddenly she calmed a small amount, and spoke again.

“Well, firstly. Twilight… your friends, why do they never seem to speak around me anymore?”

“Hm?” Twilight seemed slightly confused.

“What I mean is… Even Rainbow Dash barely speaks in my presence anymore, and it has been decreasing for all five of them ever since you all defeated Tirek. Yet they speak with you so casually, so I suspect it is not a rank issue. I’m just wondering… are they afraid of me?”

“What?! No, of course they’re not afraid of you.”

“Then why?”

“Truthfully, I don’t have an exact example. However, I suspect it would have to do more with greater respect, and thus greater conformity to rank differences.”

“How do suspect that?”

“Well, and they have told me things along these lines before, after the whole Tirek crisis they saw just how much danger being a princess can put one in, and grew to have much greater respect for those who were willing to take that position despite that, especially for you Celestia.”

“And… why especially for me?”

“Because you’ve so for the longest out of all of the princesses, and have done so after dealing with many great emotional losses as well. They’ve gotten to see you as a much stronger mare than they originally did, and even then it was very nearly overwhelming to think of for them.”

“And so this led to them growing to respect the customs of the difference in our social positions more, which include the lack of non-direct communication?”

“It’s only a theory, but it seems to me to be the most logical interpretation. But even so, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that they don’t fear you, if that makes you feel better.”

“It does, truly. Thank you.” Celestia paused, and the fear and worry greatened yet again as she began speaking again. “And… the second thing…”

“What is it?”

“Do you remember… yesterday…? I told you that I had… had another…”

“Dream?” Twilight finished.

“Y-yes… dream… Well, I… I… had another and… it… it was…”

Celestia was beginning to seem like she could go into a panic attack at any moment now, which was something that never happened with her. Even in times of great crisis she had always maintained some semblance of composure and calmness to her; but now she seemed to be losing it.

“Celestia…” Twilight was starting to feel the fear and worry seeping into her now, “…what did you see…?”

“…”

“Celestia…?”

“Death, Twilight Sparkle… Fire… and death…”

Twilight stared on in horror at the princess that stood before her, who was now on the verge of tears.

“It was horrible… in every way possible…”

“But, wait,” Twilight urged, “Yesterday you said there was nothing threatening about it. And now you’re saying that it will cause death?!”

“Yes… I still don’t know exactly what happened. The view I had was… not optimal… it seemed to be that of an on-looker in the audience… directly out of that window.” Celestia pointed to the window, which had been closed. “But… it was terrible… I have already sent out Luna and Cadence to alert the whole of the Royal Guard to fortify the grounds tonight, as well as to gather the rest of the Wonderbolts that would not be present due to not performing to aid in dealing with any aerial threats that may be present.”

“But… wouldn’t it be best to just call off the Gala all together, to avoid the possibility of this going through the way you saw it.”

“No… this event… it was planned by one of evil intent… If I were to call it off, they’d likely attack sooner, before the evacuation could be complete, and then there would be no way to tell when they would come, nor any way to defend the Gala guests and participants. Or, if they allowed evacuation to be completed, they could attack Canterlot, and take even more helpless lives. If we go forward with it, we will know where and when, and will be prepared for it. Those things will be indispensable when dealing with… what I saw…”

Twilight was still visibly confused.

“Please, you must understand Twilight. I only ask you to aid in gathering the Equestrian forces, as well as in planning for defending against this dangerous being.”

“I… I…” Twilight sighed, “Alright, I’ll go help out in the planning. Do you think you’ll be able to handle scheduling alone?”

“If it is what is necessary, then I will make it so.”

The two were silent for a few moments, before Twilight simply turned, said “Goodbye… and good luck…”, and stepped out of the room. The events had disturbed all four princesses now, and had now made the coming night an event they were not looking forward to, but it was necessary to continue now. No stones were to be left unturned, and no detail left unprotected. The grounds, and surrounding area, were now going into a secret lock-down, one that the guests were to be kept from finding.

--To Be Continued--

Chapter 2: A Night to Remember

The Grand Galloping Gala proper had finally come. All the catering staff had finished their share, all the routines had been perfected, all but a few of the seats were filled, all costumes completed, all sets made, all lights ready, and everyone was eagerly awaiting the performances that were to be put on this night. It was all going as planned, without a single issue, even for the princesses at the moment. And it was only getting better as the night advanced through its festivities. The race around the grounds had already taken place about two hours ago, so Applejack was the only one of the main six currently taking her seat in the crowd currently in the Gala Stadium, and was eagerly awaiting the festivities to get started.

First on was the aerial stunt show which the Wonderbolts, as well as the widely regarded “Best flyer in Equestria” Rainbow Dash, were putting on.

The show was amazing, with many flying colors and daring aerial maneuvers being used to wow the audience. Rainbow Dash even pulled off another massive Sonic Rainboom for the crowd to see, which was getting increasingly easier for her do. And to make it even better, it was all part of the main performance of the night, a, for once, entirely fictional play to be put on for the guests; and because of this the stunt show was set to an amazing, sweeping, and dramatic orchestral score. It went on for about fifteen minutes before the music ended, the crowd stood as tall as they could, and applause erupted throughout the stadium.

Next came the bulk of the performance, the rest of the play. It was set up as a musical, with many different ponies, griffons, dragons, and other species taking part in it, and all with great costuming, beautiful staging, amazing special effects, and even more amazing lyrical and instrumental numbers, all with brilliant musical composition. The final number was by far the crowd favorite though, with a wide range of moods, and a large majority of the cast members getting to play a part in the lyrical sections.

After the performance was finally over and the crowd had finished its applause, Celestia took the stage and announced that the last part of the Gala would proceed as it had previous years, with the guests free to roam the Stadium and do as they please, within implied guide lines. Everyone there had a great time during that part of the Gala as well. Many of the performers left to the dressing rooms backstage to change and, of course, meet with the many who would be eagerly awaiting them to get autographs and photos. Meanwhile, the rest of the guests went into the rest of the stadium, including the now open field with a newly positioned dance floor, to enjoy the rest of the night. For the time being, the incidents with the dreams were in the back of the princesses’ minds, which made it easier to enjoy themselves at the event.

Even the main six, who had all had large roles in this year’s festivities, were now having a great time. Rainbow was still going around and conversing with the Wonderbolts that had participated in the stunt show, sharing stories of the many adventure the two parties had been through respectively; she was also able to introduce a few of her own friends to them. Pinkie had decided to go over by the DJ stand and help out in the music department with one of her many DJs she had stashed across the land. Applejack was all over the place, speaking with many of the other guests, hanging out at the concession stand, and participating in the many games that had been set up all around; as well as, of course, occasionally attempting to sell a few small things. Rarity was speaking with some of the higher class mares and stallions that had attended, who had all stated that they had loved the work she had done with the costumes she had made, with some even stating they’d be looking to her for their own wardrobe I the future. Fluttershy was sitting at a table with a few of her friends, namely: Tree Hugger, Discord, and her new friend Crissy Flowery; the four were discussing many things, mainly the grounds flora and fauna, however occasionally straying onto other topics such as how Fluttershy had ever been able to deal with Discord the way she did, or how Tree Hugger’s therapy was going after the occurrences of the Grand Galloping Gala about one year ago.

Twilight was still with the other princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. All four of them were attempting to put on a look of enjoyment, which was becoming easier as the night advanced until they had completely forgot it was an act. Even still, Twilight was still constantly reminding herself that an attack could come at any moment now, if only mentally; and Celestia continued to do the same, although for both it quickly faded into the back of their minds. They all thoroughly enjoyed the festivities, all finding games to play, guests to converse with, and a wide range of other activities to engage in as the night wore on.

However the festivities couldn’t go on forever, and soon the end of this year’s Grand Galloping Gala had come. It surprised everyone, especially those who had participated in the events on stage, how fast it had all gone by this year, despite the theoretically longer length of this year’s version of the celebration. But it had come none the less. The main six, as well as Celestia, Cadence, and Luna, were to give the few short closing speeches, with the order of speakers being: first Applejack, then Fluttershy, followed by Pinkie Pie, then Rarity, with Rainbow Dash being put last before the four princesses in the order. The speeches they were to give were all fairly short, with only about three paragraphs each, save the four princesses’ far longer speeches, which in Rainbow Dash’s eyes was good, considering the fact that they were mostly all the same things reworded over and over again. Things like “we’re so honored you could all come tonight” and “we’d like to personally thank you for coming”. It was a bit too sappy for Rainbow’s tastes, but, then again, a lot of things were, so it didn’t exactly surprise her. Still, she decided to go with it none the less.

Apple jack stepped up to the mic, happily beginning her portion of the ending speeches. “Hella’ there everyone! I’m Applejack, and I’d jus’ like ta…” The rest was a blur to Rainbow, as was the case when things like this got too repetitive for her. “Fluttershy, ya’ got somethin’ ta add?”

One after another, the six mares stepped up to the small microphone that had been set up on stage for them to use, it went by rather quickly and wasn’t overly dramatic in any sense of the term. However, that all soon changed for the princesses, as well as Rainbow Dash.

She stepped up to the mic, confident, and determined to make it through the short blocks of text, when suddenly, they started coming back to her. She thought she had forgotten about that already, but no, they came back. The memories. All of the terrifying dream she had had the night before, they all started rushing back to her. She remembered the sounds, the visuals, everything. All reality became a blur as the images began moving before her eyes, like a sick, twisted movie.

She had seen four small sparkles in the sky. She had at first thought nothing of it, but had come to realize that that was a huge mistake as they came rushing to the ground faster than she could react and erupted in a huge, fiery explosion. She had been thrown back and had lost consciousness, but could still hear the sounds of ponies screaming and explosions going off in the background. When she had finally come to, all that was left to see was fire, debris, and death. It surrounded her on all sides. The sight had been horrible, and had been made even worse when she had realized her own condition. There had been a large pool of blood forming around her, and she could feel nothing but unbearable pain running through her. She had begun to lose consciousness again, "most likely for good this time" she had thought…

The images flashed before her eyes repeatedly for what seemed to her like an eternity. It was all a bit fuzzy, but she still knew exactly what they were memories of, although it hadn’t all come back to her yet. It filled her with a strange feeling that she hadn’t felt ever before, at least not as strongly as this. She wanted to make it all stop, right here and now, and before she could stop herself, she started screaming.

“RUN!” she yelled into the mic, startling the audience that had reformed, as well as her friends behind her, “GET OUTTA HERE NOW! IT’S NOT SAFE!” She couldn’t stop, it was almost impulsive at this point. She just couldn’t get the thoughts out of her head. “PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME! JUST RUN!”

“Rainbow Dash…?” she turned to see a frightened Twilight staring at her, “Um… are… are you okay? Do you just want to-”

“NO!” she replied, “I don’t know why, but I have to do this.”

“Rainbow Dash, please, calm yourself.” Now I even the other three princesses looked worried, as if they all thought she had gone insane. Maybe she had, she just couldn’t get the images out of her head. Although Twilight seemed to switch from a fright toward her friend to another thing.

“If thou art… freighted… or do not wish to continue…” Luna stated, “…We could always just move on to Princess Twilight’s—“

“NO! PLEASE!” Rainbow Dash and Twilight both shouted in unison at the others. The other three princesses, as well as the other four members of the main six stared back at the two.
“Just… please…” Rainbow urged.

“Rainbow... Just don’t. We don’t want to see this contin—” Celestia cut herself off as the other princesses and her suddenly remembered to earlier that day, before the festivities. They had been told by Celestia herself that the dream had become a dangerous one, and had put the grounds under a subtle yet effective lockdown. They suddenly joined in.

“Rainbow Dash is right!” Celestia told, speaking firmly into the mic, “The grounds are no longer safe…”

Luna stepped up to the mic. “GUARDS! BEGIN EVACUATION!”

Cadence began to fly up to aid in the evacuation procedure, all the while urging that “Everything will be fine, we just need a moment.”

“SEE!” Rainbow began shouting again, towards the few ponies that remained, “YOU NEED TO—” She paused to look up from the mic in front of her, and she saw the now small audience’s terrified looks, but she needed to do this. She was just about to continue, when all of a sudden she saw four small sparkles in the sky. She wasn’t about to be fooled by that again, and at the sight of them she, almost instinctively, sprung backwards as fast as she could, with anypony on stage following suit. They raced towards the ground and the place she had been standing erupted in a fiery explosion. The force of the blast was incredibly powerful, throwing her backward several feet, but she hadn’t taken the full force of the blast. It was all happening exactly like in the dream. Could it really have been a glimpse of the future? It was just too far-fetched to say that all this was a mere coincidence. However nothing could have prepared her for what they all saw next.

The smoke rising from the blasts had blocked the sky from view, but it didn’t stay that way for long, as it was all cleared when a huge mass of metal appeared in the sky above. No one had ever seen anything like it before, however it was all too clear that, based on how it was built, it was a battleship. It had large cannons lining its edges and deck, a large dome at the top that they all could only assume was some sort of control center, brightly glowing search lights in the front, and large tube shaped structures in the rear of the ship that were spewing what looked like blue fire. The lights were now glaring down at them as the massive ship floated overhead, blocking out the light of the moon almost entirely. Then the bottom of the ship opened, like a large door, and released many metal constructions, all standing upright with what looked like small cannons on their right arms, as well as a small craft that floated down to the mane six, finally stopping when hovering directly in front of them. The top opened, revealing a stallion inside, more specifically a pegasus.

“Ah,” he said as he rose to his hind legs, still firmly inside the hovering mass of metal, “a pleasure to meet you at last, princesses of Equestria.” He was a stallion, colored a dark shade of yellow, had a bright white mane, was wearing a large pair of glasses that reflected so brightly it made his eyes disappear from view behind them, and had placed a large, thick, square shaped bandage over where the cutie mark would be, most likely in order to hide it based on him entrance. “You may refer to me by my codename of ‘Unknown’, as my REAL name is not of importance to any of you, I assure. I have come here tonight on behalf of the ‘Order of Rebirth’, and seek to take from you the ‘secret’ to this land’s power that is of the utmost importance to our cause. You, of course, know that I am speaking of the Elements of Harmony!”

“…Unknown,” Celestia replied, in an extremely angered, and yet terrified tone, “as one of the head rulers of this land, I must ask, what authority do you have to attempt to harm our guests and us, as well as to attempt to steal the ancient artifacts that have been so important to this land?”

“…hmph… very well. If you would like a demonstration, then I’d be happy to give one.” With that, he picked up a large sheet of metal. His fore-hooves lit up with a blue aura as the sheet was lifted high into the air, surrounded by the same aura.

“Wh… what the?!” A surprised Twilight spouted, “Is… that…”

“Magic?” Unknown finished, “Why, yes.”

“But… how is that…?”

“I am sorry, but my patience has grown much too thin to answer such a simple question. Now, my minions… DEMONSTATE OWR POWER!” he shouted at the constructs. The metal constructs sprung to life, aimed the cannons on their arms up towards the floating sheet of metal, and opened fire. Hundreds of small spheres of metal were shot from them, flying up to and tearing into the metal above with pinpoint accuracy. It went on for about three seconds before the shout of “CEASE FIRE!” was heard, after which the now completely and utterly destroyed metal sheet was allowed to fall to the ground in front of two terrified princesses, and an even more terrified mane six. “So, princesses, how is that for ‘authority’?”

They looked at each other, and nodded reluctantly, “Very well, we shall abide by your demands.”

“Good, I knew you would come around eventually, it was just a matter of when.”

“Although…” Twilight stated, “We don’t exactly have the Elements of Harmony anymore. They’re all within the Tree of Harmony now…”

“Oh, I knew that,” Unknown stated condescendingly, “I did not come for the gems. I came for the six who controlled them. Heheh…”

“You… wish to take these six as hostages?!” Celestia asked, still in shock as to the stallion’s display of power.

“Did I not MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?!” Unknown shouted back, “BECAUSE IF I HAVEN’T, THEN I SHALL MAKE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR NOW! BRING THEM TO ME THIS INSTANT, OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!”

There was nothing else they could do, lest they risk themselves and their guests being ripped to shreds by these beings of metal. The main six all stepped forward, some having been urged by the other three princesses to do so, and with Rainbow Dash the most visibly frightened of them all. They formed a line in front of the craft.

“Hehehehe… This way,” the stallion said, motioning towards a now open hatch in the small craft he was standing in, “if you please.”

They began to walk silently forward, heads hung low, when suddenly a deafening sound rang through the entire area. It was a sound that Rainbow Dash knew very well, a sonic boom, and it was accompanied by a massive cloud of debris that blew throughout the stadium as the sound’s source passed. Then, at that moment directly after the sound was heard, she froze mid-step as the final memories of the dream she had had came back to her.

Just before she had blacked out, a figure had appeared before her seemingly out of nowhere. She could make him out clearly, despite the blurriness of the surroundings; he was a stallion, more specifically an earth pony, which was colored a bright shade of gray, had a bright red and messy mane with orange streaks running through it like fire, and bright green eyes. His cutie mark had looked like an alicorn wing with a thick black outline and shattering patterns forming to its left side, and was colored with dark black and glowing silver. However her train of thought had interrupted when the scene all started to go blurry again, and soon it all disappeared into an endless darkness. That's when she had woken up, still shaking from the fright.

She began looking around frantically, similar to nearly everyone else, hoping both that it was that stallion, and at the same time that it wasn’t, all before finally seeing the source of the sound. And as the source appeared, she thought to herself, “That dream… it had been so… unbelievable.” But now it was real.

Streaks of gray, red, and orange started swirling around them and the air did the same. The air was spinning and swirling so fast that some could have sworn it would start up a tornado of sorts. The colored streaks grew in size and opacity as they drew closer and closer to the group, before finally stopping and disappearing into thin air as the mysterious stallion appeared before them; standing on top of one of the many short, alter like stone pillars that had been placed in many places around the area for the current Gala event, as well as for staging during the play’s finale.

“So,” he said, standing on his hind legs, and with a smirk on his face, “how’s THAT for snazzy performance?”

“It’s… y… you… It can’t… can’t be…!” was all Dash could muster at the sight of the stallion from her dream.

“What the…! No… you…!” Unknown said, sounding almost as surprised as Rainbow, “So… you’ve come…”

The stallion turned towards Unknown. “Who? Me? Yeah, I came.”

“Heh… it seems you don’t… Ah, never mind,” Unknown raised a fore hoof, and shouted out, “FIRE!” The constructs began firing once more. Their aim was pinpoint, but even that was no good, as the stallion jumped into the air and began to jump from one construct to the next, almost as if he was flying. He weaved and dodged through the bullets, knocking each construct down to the ground upon landing on them, although he purposely left the last remaining one standing, before landing on the ground and knocking it over with a light tap from one of his fore hooves. He ran back to the group on the center stage.

“Hi there!” he said, in a very snarky tone, “Name’s Shatterwing! An honor to meet you all at last.”

They looked at the two stallions in awe. Somehow the stallion closest to them had managed to break the sound barrier, take down all of Unknown’s metal constructs, and had done it all almost as if it was for fun; and it seemed that Unknown could use magic, despite being a pegasus. “How?” they all wondered as they stared at the stallions in front of them, “How was it even possible?” However the moment was short lived, as Shatterwing turned to face the current threat.

“Now,” he said as he pointed a fore hoof at Unknown, “as for you.” His tone had remained unchanged from the snarky and slightly condescending tone he had introduced himself with, although a look of horror grew on Unknown’s face.

“You… you were not this powerful... not this agile... before… before…” Unknown’s voice was quiet, with the ponies below being to only just barely hear him, “What happened to…”

“Excuse me!” Shatterwing shouted out, “If you don’t mind, I’m getting bored, and would really like it if you would be so kind as to give me something of yours to blow up already.”

“...”

“Hello!? Equestria to obviously evil scientist with cliché reflective glasses! Anyone there!”

“I’m sorry. But I do believe that I have… overstayed my welcome. I’ll be leaving now. Don’t follow and nopony gets hurt.” With that, Unknown’s craft started to fly off.

“Ha! You’re not gonna get away that easily!” Shatterwing jumped high into the air, jumping from pillar to pillar, and then up onto the barrier between the stands and the stage. Finally, once landing, he immediately entered a ready stance, and another sonic boom was heard as he rocketed off with a sudden burst of speed, jumping directly onto Unknown’s escape craft.

“Hey! Get off of there, this is a delicate machine!”

“As if I’m listening to you! Besides, that just makes me more determined to break it!”

“Then I will just… have to force you off!” The craft started to spin, growing faster with every passing second. It was dizzying to even watch the event, even from so far way, as the craft continued spinning; before, finally, Shatterwing lost his grip on the craft and was thrown unceremoniously back down to the ground. The craft rose back into the huge battle ship that had cast a shadow on the scene the whole time, but Unknown wasn’t about to leave without causing even more chaos.

“What the!?!” was the resounding shout heard, as large cylinders of metal with sharp looking points began to fly out of the side and deck cannons and down to the ground. But, before they could reach it, Shatterwing saw an opportunity.

“Let’s hope this works!” he shouted, proceeding to jump into the air towards the metal cylinders. He grabbed onto its side, flipped around, and planted his fore legs on the same side, before kicking off in the direction of the next closest to him. He began flying from cylinder to cylinder, each time kicking it with such a force that it went spinning into the ones near it, all erupting in fiery explosions on contact. It was truly amazing how agile the stallion was, as he continuously rose up the stream of explosives originally heading down for the Gala grounds, eventually landing on the deck of the ship and disappearing from sight. The cylinders ceased firing from the sides, however more explosions could be heard, as well as some of the larger ones being seen on the deck.

“Is this what I had been hearing in the dream?” Rainbow Dash asked herself.

Suddenly though, the explosions stopped, as they saw a much smaller craft leave the ship, seemingly in a hurry. It disappeared from sight in an instant; as a sparkle was seen in the sky where the massive ship stood for a second, before the entire thing was blown apart in a series of massive explosions, with large pieces a debris falling towards the Gala grounds. Everyone started to run as fast as they could away, save for Rainbow Dash, who simply stood there frozen with fear and confusion. But she was soon pulled away from this trance by the sight of the gray and red streak landing atop one of the highest points in the grounds, on top of the highest point in the stadium. She looked up at him, mesmerized by what she was seeing.

The stallion had gone to a quadruped stance, and his hind legs were now an unrecognizable blur of bright gray. This continued for but a few seconds, as a light gray glow began to emit all around him, before, finally, Shatterwing uttered a phrase that she had heard many times before, and yet knew that, given the circumstances, she’d never forget this time it was heard.

“LET’S DO THIS THING!” he shouted as loudly as possible.

He flew forward with a massive burst of speed as a large, dark black, circular pattern of cracks and breaks, as well as a similar looking trail, was left in his wake. It was only just barely visible against the backdrop of the night sky, but was still visible to the point of astounding the on-lookers. Its sound was clearly heard by everyone there as all of reality seemed to shake. Within a single second it had disappeared, then reappearing later as Shatterwing rocketed to the ground, landing in the quadruped stance he’d started the maneuver in, all with a similarly patterned shockwave going out from him as he landed. The large debris had stopped falling, but were now suspended in midair; suddenly they began to form visible cracks, and to fade from their regular colors to a glowing white. The sound was like that of breaking glass as the cracks quickly grew larger. Shatterwing stood again, turned, and flicked his right fore-hoof as it all ended with them breaking apart in a spectacular fashion, and then disintegrating into nothingness.

“That… was… awesome…” Rainbow Dash said in complete and utter shock.

“Heh… I aim to please,” Shatterwing responded, with a smirk on his face.

Everyone else simply stood still, unable to say or do anything. Even Celestia was unable to comprehend what had just happened, this stallion had looked like just another regular earth pony after all. “How was it even possible for him to have all these special abilities?” was all anyone could think at that moment. But before anyone could ask anything, he spoke one last time.

“Well, it’s been fun, but I gotta go. You know, places to be and stuff,” he entered his quadruped ready stance, “See ya!” With that he sped off, leaving behind not only a large cloud of dust, but also a small note that he had apparently been carrying with him during the fray. The note read: Don’t worry, I’m here to help. I’ll see you all later. And it had a semi-decent recreation of the stallion’s cutie mark drawn on it in the lower right corner, seemingly as a signature.

There was silence, as everyone attempted to process and interpret what had just occurred. The Gala had gone from peace to complete and utter chaos in a matter of seconds; and now, just as suddenly as it had all started, it was all over. They had witnessed some crazy things, not to mentioned all been in grave danger for a second there, and hadn’t had time to figure anything out yet. But soon everyone, including the mane six and the princesses, began to leave, all filing out the entrances of the Gala grounds with the eerie silence still lingering. It would take a while to understand what exactly had happened, and they all needed a rest after the events that had occurred.

“Ugh…” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh… sorry…” Rainbow responded as she and the rest of the main six walked back to their rooms, “I’ve just had a… really bad headache since… the… well, you know…”

“Yeah…” Pinkie Pie responded quietly.

“Don’t worry, it’s… probably nothing. I’ll be fine by tomorrow…”

The others turned to look at her, looking confused and partially worried. “Are ya’ sure you’ll be fine…?” Applejack asked.

“Yes… I’ll be fine… Just gotta rest it off, right?”

“…Okay…” came the response.

Soon the group had arrived at the building in which they were to reside for the next night before leaving for Ponyville again. They said their goodbyes went their separate ways.

Dash woke up suddenly.

“Argh… another one…” She had had another, smaller dream.

It hadn’t been nearly as long as the previous one, and was a lot less clear cut, but had still managed to be just as disturbing as the last one. She had seen nothing but darkness for the longest time, before images of long, metallic corridors had begun to flash before her, accompanied by sounds of struggling and screaming, before finally ending in a large circular room with a flash a bright blue light and the sounds of screams again. The room hadn’t looked out of the ordinary, besides the obvious metallic look; but she found herself still unable to understand it.

“Ugh… why can’t I get a break already…?” she thought to herself, “First the dream about what just happened at the Gala last night, and now some weird room. I mean…” She let out a sigh, and tried to get back to sleep. “Why me?” she thought to herself as she drifted back to sleep. She could have sworn she had heard a response, but wasn’t sure when morning came.

The next day the main six were to return to Ponyville via the train just as they had done to get there. They woke up, packed up their belongings, and made their way out to the station, which was still just as beautiful to them as the first time. The train arrived, the passengers filed off and on as they would in all other circumstances, and the train left in the same way it usually did. It, along with the rest of that morning, were as uneventful as always, which came as a nice change compared to last night’s events. It made its way out into the fields that lay beyond Canterlot and the mountain on which it resided, speeding to its next destination of Ponyville. Usually Rainbow Dash would have stuck around, would have stayed with the others until they reached the station, but today was different, for some reason Rainbow was in more of a rush to get back, so much so that she made a decision that had never even crossed her mind for the longest of times, the decision to leave her friends behind. She didn’t want to, but something was pushing her to, too much for her to bear any longer. She got up from the seat silently and walked slowly into the isle.

“Rainbow Dash!” her frightened friends screamed, she had opened one of the doors in the train car, letting in a large amount of wind as the train sped along the tracks, and had unfolded her wings, “What are you doing?!?”

“Sorry…” she replied reluctantly, “…there’s just… something I need to do…” With that, she jumped out of the car and took flight, making sure to close the door tightly behind her, speeding ahead of the train in the blink of an eye as she left a rainbow trail behind her.

--To Be Continued--