The Seventh

“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--