Not in Her Wildest Dreams

“We're here! We're here! We're at the Grand Galloping Gala!”

Since they had walked in through the front gates, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had not stopped cheering at full volume. Rarity hadn’t the urge to blame them. Though she had of course kept herself more reserved when she and her friends had first attended, she had most definitely felt the same level of excitement that they were experiencing at the moment. It wasn't often that citizens who weren't rich beyond any commoners imagination were allowed to partake in such an illustrious event. It was truly the chance of a lifetime.

Despite the regal ambiance of the castle, the majestic tableware, upholstery and exquisite dishes laid out for the guests to dine on, Rarity could not share in the enthusiasm that the crusaders did. All she could think about was the nightmare she'd had earlier that morning. Standing in the middle of this very castle, without the purple, diamond encrusted dress that she had put so much hard work into, with nothing to conceal her body from those around her. An uneasy sense of dread formed in the pit of her stomach as she trudged along. Her head hung low, her eyes fixated on the dress she wore, clutching it tight to make sure it didn't go anywhere.

She felt a gentle nudge on her arm, and lifted her head to see Applejack's face. Looking dapper in her summery yellow dress and top hat, the farmer offered her an encouraging smile. Rarity forced herself to smile back, in order to avoid raising her concerns too much.

“I know what you're worried about,” Applejack said. Rarity tilted her head in confusion, wondering how on Earth she would know such a thing. “You're worried Discord's gonna show up and turn the whole castle upside down, right?” Rarity felt a touch of relief that Applejack wasn't aware of her real fear. However, she was greeted with agitation at the reminder of another potential problem for the evening. “I dunno sugarcube, I'd think we'd have seen 'em by now if he were here. He's kind of a hard guy to miss.”

“I'm not counting him out until the night is actually finished with.” She replied, the both of them continuing their pace behind the crusaders. “The man does have a tendency to show up out of the blue, invited or otherwise.”

“I know, it's kinda aggravating. But hey, you know Fluttershy's around here somewhere too. I don't think Discord's gonna get too out of control if it might risk upsetting, her, do you?”

Rarity was impressed with Applejack's logic. She had seen firsthand how remorseful Discord had been, when he had put his friendship with Fluttershy in danger, the very same day she had gifted it to him. He had won the day, and there had been no hope of stopping him. However, seeing his new friend storm off without any wish to see him again had broken his heart. He had immediately rushed to put all the mischief he'd made back into its rightful order. Rarity felt a smidgen more secure that Fluttershy would be able to reign Discord in if he became too unruly.

“You're right, Applejack.” Rarity replied. Applejack reached to Rarity's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The dressmaker looked ahead, and saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in front of a table of food, looking in wonder at the dishes splayed out before them. Hanging from the air above the children, she saw the train of a sparkly sky blue dress with white edges in the shape of air currents. She looked up to see its wearer, Rainbow Dash, hovering in the air by her blue wings. The girl was in the process of stuffing her face with hors d' oeuvres, cradling a few in her arms that she hadn't gotten to yet.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity called to her disapprovingly.

“Wha?” Rainbow replied back with a mouthful. “I'm starving! You do as much flying around as I do, you work up an appetite.”

“Whoa! What are these?” Apple Bloom exclaimed with excitement, pointing to a tray of food on the table. The little girl had her eyes fixated on a plate covered in little, diamond shaped breaded hors d' oeuvres.

“I dunno much about these fancy little finger foods, sis.” Applejack admitted. “Maybe Rarity can tell ya a little something about it?”

Rarity cleared her throat, picking up one of the little diamonds and inspected it closely.

“Wild mushroom ragout with comte cheese, sandwiched between untoasted polenta bread.” Rarity indicated after a closer look at the finely crafted snack. “One of my personal favorites from last year's gala, a dish I managed to cook at home from time to time.” Rarity delicately placed the treat into her mouth, chewing in gingerly. “Mm, simply divine.” She said after swallowing.

“Eww!” She heard Scootaloo exclaim. Rarity's mouth hung open a moment in offense. She knew that Scootaloo was a rather crass young lady, but she thought that she at least knew better than to blatantly insult someone's choice of food. Nonetheless, Rarity's patience for the child won out.

“Well, I suppose it can be considered an acquired taste.” She resolved, her head tilted high with dignity. Applejack nudged Rarity to redirect her attention to the other side of the room. Rarity turned her head and looked towards the table on the far side of the area, and her eyes widened as she struggled to process what she saw.

“What... what on Earth IS THAT!?” She screamed with disgust.

A large form of green, gelatinous mucus substance slunk across the room, leaving a slimy trail of itself across the white marble floor. Though it certainly wasn't human by any means, she noticed the upper half of its form was adorned in a light blue top hat, and what she noticed to be a tiny bow tie at its neck. In all fairness, Rarity wasn't certain if that was its neck or its chin, or if it even had a head at all to possess such things. Regardless of what it was, seeing its dripping form slither forth made Rarity feel sick. She could practically hear the wet, squelching sounds it made as it moved, and they incited the urge to vomit within her.

“Oh! Looks like somebody wants to mingle.” Rarity heard a male voice call out. “We'll be back in a bit.”

Rarity recognized that voice. It had that arrogant, condescending tone that made the hairs of her neck stand on end. It was the very same voice that she had heard earlier that day, when she and the others had been so rudely interrupted when trying on their gala dresses.

Rarity turned to see Discord, dressed in a dark green tuxedo and top hat, running towards the gelatinous creature. She noticed the table he was leaving had Fluttershy seated on one side, as well as another pony she didn't recognize. Her blood began to boil as she watched him skid to a halt at something that Fluttershy said to him, and then run back to her in response.

Of course that THING is something of your doing. She seethed, her teeth grinding in frustration. She was so preoccupied with her resentment towards him, she took no notice of the breaking glass and the scream that sounded from someone outside of her vision.

“Smoozie! Wait up!” Discord shouted, once again in pursuit of the creature.

“Smoozie?” Rainbow Dash asked, watching on from above with the rest of them. “What the heck is a Smoozie?”

“I dunno.” Applejack replied, befuddled as the rest of them. They watched as Discord took hold of the gooey creature, and yanked him towards the doors of the room. “But hey, maybe we can go talk to Fluttershy, now that she and her new friend got a moment to themselves?”

“That sounds like a splendid idea.” Rarity concurred. “Perhaps she can fill us in on the workings of that obnoxious blob.”

“Well well well, what do we have here?” A poised, decorative voice sounded out from behind her, and the muscles of her face froze all at once. “If it isn't Little Miss Rarity.”

Rarity already had enough to worry about already with the spirit of chaos roaming about the halls with a grotesque creature of indiscernible origin, and the lingering fear from her nightmare still hanging at the back of her mind. The voice that had just called to her piled on yet another headache she was hoping to avoid at this year's gala. She didn't want to believe it. She prayed in vain that the voice belonged to another, or that her troubled mind had warped the voice of someone else. She turned back towards the voice to see that her fears were indeed warranted.

Standing before her, dressed in a flawless white tuxedo with a rose above his breast pocket, was Prince Blueblood. The end of his long blonde hair laid magnificently over his right shoulder, his bangs resting just above his bright blue eyes. Rarity remembered a time in her life when those eyes of his made her swoon, as she pictured a future of royalty by his side as his princess. Spending the gala with him last year, however, had crushed those dreams into pieces. She'd learned that behind those gorgeous looks of his, there was nothing but a spoiled, self-absorbed condescending brat who rode the coattails of his aunt Celestia for anything in his life. She had hoped for everything in the world that she could have gotten through the night without running into him again.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Rarity offered a polite smile toward the gentleman.

“Ah, Prince Blueblood.” She uttered, striving to keep her anger from staining her tone of voice. “I was wondering if I might see you again, after last year's, erm... events.”

“I was wondering the same thing actually. And I'm more than glad that things have worked out in such a way.”

Rarity lifted an eyebrow in confusion. “You are?”

“Why yes.” He said, circling about her until he was on the same side as Applejack and the others. “In fact, I've been hoping for so long that I would see you tonight, and get a chance to speak with you again.” A loud scream erupted from the other side of the room. Rarity, Blueblood and the rest of the group turned towards the direction of what Discord had referred to as Smoozie earlier. The creature seemed to have what looked like its mouth wrapped around some woman’s diamond necklace. Her date tried to strike it with its cane, only to have it sucked through its gooey surface. Discord, looking rather bored and unamused, reached a claw into the center of the creature and fished out the necklace and cane and returned both of the slime-covered objects to their repulsed owners.

“Why don't we relocate ourselves?” Prince Blueblood suggested. “I don't know about you, but being in the same room with such an unappealing thing as that makes my skin crawl.”

Rarity was surprised to find that she agreed with Blueblood for once. She looked to see Applejack and the others nodding in turn, before stepping toward the door. Blueblood stretched an arm out in front of Applejack halting their advance.

“Ah ah ah; you’re more than welcome to stay.” He advised belligerently. Applejack's lips parted as she bared her teeth to him. Before she could utter anything against him, Rarity shook her head towards the farmer, outside of Blueblood's vision. She brushed her hand gently through the air, signaling them away for the moment. Applejack looked a bit disappointed, but she nodded understandingly, before she and the others stepped away. Sweetie Belle stayed behind, looking quite disheartedly at her older sister.

“Rarity? I thought you were gonna stick with me the whole night?” Sweetie Belle asked pitifully. “Aren’t I your plus one?”

Rarity winced in response to her sister’s plea. She knelt down in front of Sweetie Belle and offered her an encouraging smile.

“You are my plus-one dear, and I am going to stay with you. I just need a few minutes to catch up with an old friend of mine.”

“Friend?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking up at Blueblood in confusion. “But I thought you said that Blueblood—”

“I know what I said, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity cut her sister off hastily. “I shan’t be gone for too long, dear. And if you wait patiently for me, I promise we’ll have the best night ever when I return. Deal?”

Sweetie Belle smiled and leapt forward for a hug. “Deal!” She said, before running off to rejoin Applejack and the others.

“Well then. Shall we?” Blueblood asked, extending his elbow toward her. Rarity rolled her eyes, before slipping her hand underneath his arm, letting him escort her out of the room. From afar, Applejack watched the two leave, her left eye twitching in agitation.

“Applejack?” A timid voice called out to her. She turned to see Fluttershy, in her dress and hair ornament of flowery petals, looking to her. “Are you worried about Rarity?”

“A might bit, yeah.” Applejack admitted. “Rarity said she absolutely hated that Blueblood feller last year. I can't say I'm comfortable thinking about the two of them by themselves.”

“Hey! We should follow them!” Scootaloo shouted excitedly.

“Yeah, we’ll be like super secret gala spies!” Apple Bloom chimed in.

“That would make for a neat cutie mark!” Sweetie Belle concurred. The three extended their hands and joined at the center encouragingly.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Gala Spies! Yay!” they all cheered, before running off toward the exit.

“Hey you three, get back here!” Applejack shouted. A strong breeze flew past her head and blew her hair up over her face. She pulled it away to see Rainbow Dash, with her wings outstretched and nearly past the door leading to the hallway. “Rainbow Dash!”

“What?” she called back abrasively. “You know you’re not gonna enjoy the night unless you keep an eye on them anyway!” And she zoomed off through the air toward the exit. Applejack shook her head as she jogged away from the table, in pursuit of the rest of her group. One woman, with thick brown hair and a plain white dress, stayed within her seat, a dazed smile affixed to her face.

“Um, Tree Hugger?” Fluttershy asked, tapping her shoulder. “Are you coming with us?”

The woman looked at Fluttershy, her smile unchanging for several seconds until it lit up with excitement.

“Oh, yeah! Righteous!” She exclaimed, before standing up and walking behind Fluttershy out of the room.

In the main reception hall of the castle, with only a few groups scattered throughout, Prince Blueblood and Rarity found themselves at the center of the area, within the red path leading to the set of stairs at the back. Blueblood cleared his throat before he began speaking.

“Lady Rarity, I want to begin by saying that I'm no fool. I haven't forgotten about what transpired at last year's gala.”

“I would be surprised if you'd had.” Rarity replied uneasily. “Such events would most likely be lodged in one's memory for life, would they not?”

“Quite so. I'd be a fool to not recognize that what happened between us was truly a mistake.”

Rarity was surprised at what she was hearing. She'd expected the prince to lash out at her for disgracing him in front of so many nobles. Could it be that a bit of humility might have served Blueblood well, and changed him into a more humble gentleman?

“Well, your majesty, I am pleased to hear that.” She said. Her forced smile became easier to bear, as a slight air of the attraction she'd once felt for him began to return.

“And as I'm sure a lady such as yourself knows, everyone deserves a second chance, do they not?”

“Oh yes!” Rarity agreed, a bit louder than she'd meant to. “Yes yes, everyone deserves another chance to make up for the mistakes they've made in the past!” Tonight was going to be full of second chances. A second chance at the gala, a second chance at letting Discord be a part of their activities. Now, she would give her darling prince another chance to sweep her off of her feet, and treat her like the lady she was.

“I'm glad that you agree. With that said, I'm willing to let the transgressions you committed against me be water under the bridge.” He said with a smile. “Out of the the goodness of my fair heart, I forgive you completely.”

And the affection building for him was shattered in an instant, just as she had shattered her glass slipper upon retreating from last year's gala. Her smile remained, but her teeth gnashed together as the joyous feeling was replaced with a rising fire within her heart. She could not believe that he had the nerve to think that she was the one who needed to be forgiven, when it was he who had insulted the wonderful cooking of her friend, AND used her as a human shield in the path of a cake that had been catapulted through the air.

Temper, Rarity. She reminded herself. You're better than him. Don't make a scene.

Rarity stayed silent a moment, doing well to keep herself poised before she replied.

“That is very generous of you, your majesty.” She said, her chest tightening as she forced the words out. “And I am grateful to have your forgiveness. I hope you have an enjoyable rest of the night.” She gave him a polite curtsy, before moving to step past him. Blueblood stepped back, keeping Rarity from leaving.

“Excuse me?” He asked confoundedly. Towering over her, Blueblood stepped towards Rarity, forcing her to back up against the wall behind her.“Miss Rarity, I'll have you know that NO lady has ever said no to Prince Blueblood.”

Rarity felt a touch of fear rising within her, with his height looming over her and pinning her from making a retreat. Nonetheless, she resolved to keep her wits about her, and not give into his pressure.

“Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there your majesty?”

“Not for this!” He growled, reaching up and forcefully grabbing her hands. “I won't give you the chance to reject me!”

And feeling that unwarranted contact from someone she despised made something within Rarity snap. She brought her knee up from the floor, slamming it between his legs with everything she had. His pupils shrank, and his hands fell away, as he crumpled to the ground letting out a high pitched squeal in pain. Rarity knelt down to him, her brow twitching in rage. She was so preoccupied with her anger toward him, the laughter from Applejack, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the group watching on from afar went by her unnoticed.

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” She snarled quietly, so that nobody else could hear. “I have spoken with your aunt on a number of occasions, and I know her former pupil personally. I don't think either of them would be too happy to hear about what you just did to me.” Blueblood gagged and coughed, no strength within him to look at her. “You are a disgrace to your royal bloodline.” She spat on him, before she stood to her feet and stormed out of the room, out of the front gates of the castle.

Applejack took a step toward the door, before she felt a hand on her shoulder holding her back. She turned to see Fluttershy's friend Tree Hugger shaking her head gently.

“Your friend Rarity has just gone through a moment of triumph, relying on her own strength and courage.” Tree Hugger said, her voice sounding sleepy and mellow. “She needs time to herself to bask in her empowerment, and thrive in the satisfaction of overcoming danger with her own resolve. Give her some, like, personal space, you know?”

Applejack wanted to object. She wanted so badly to leave, and see if Rarity was okay. She knew the dressmaker was a fragile type, her being so prissy and dainty. Then again, she wondered if there might be some wisdom to Tree Hugger's words. Rarity had been known to faint upon her sofa from the woe of losing an accessory. Perhaps being left by herself for the moment would help her gain some inner strength to deal with such trifles more sensibly from that moment forward?

Applejack nodded, staying put when Tree Hugger let her arm down.

Rarity slammed the door behind her after stepping outside, the cool night air wafting over her skin which had grown just a touch sweaty from inside. She was fuming, absolutely fuming with the way her night was going so far. After all the strife she had withstood putting the grief of last year's gala to rest, this year's didn't seem any more favorable. Rarity just didn't understand why this was happening to her though; the Grand Galloping Gala was supposed to be a night of wonder and enchantment reserved only for Equestria's most noble of citizens. She'd remembered when she was a little girl in grade school, and she'd heard tales from the richest student in her class about her experience. It had sounded so wonderful, so alluring. It had been her dream to attend, and experience the same enchantment for herself.

A distressing thought crossed Rarity's mind. Though she had a taste for the elegant and savvy, her parents were the very definition of commoners. She'd be lying to herself if she'd said she had noble lineage. Perhaps that was the trifle stopping her from enjoying herself? Was the event itself aware that despite her taste, Rarity was only a commoner, and wasn't worthy to enjoy her time at the gala? Her heart sank to her knees, and she lowered her face to the stair rail, doing what she could to fight the sting of tears welling up in her face.

So preoccupied with herself as she was, Rarity took no notice of the castle gates opening behind her. The dripping, mucusy blob that had been slithering near Discord slid out the door, with Discord himself pushing him forward.

“Now listen Smooze, I need to make this a party of one for a little while.” Discord relayed to him impatiently. “Just stay out here until I come for you.” With a cheeky grin, he pulled his head back inside, slamming the door behind him. Smooze let out a disappointed growl as the sound of a clicking from the other side of the door could be heard.

Rarity took a deep breath. She felt ashamed of herself for letting a few trifles bring her spirits down. Every week, she was faced with much more pressing matters in terms of her clients and what they demanded of her with their outfits. She had met every single one of them head-on, without so much as a complaint or a drop of a tear. She was better than this. She stood up straight and sniffed loudly, wiping her nose and any bits of wetness that had crept into the corners of her eyes. She could go back inside and spend the rest of the evening with her darling sister, and Applejack, and the rest of her friends. She would have a lovely time at the gala, even if it wasn't quite what she was expecting.

She heard an unsettling gurgle emanate from behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see the Smooze, whom she only just now noticed was behind her. A cold chill ran down her spine as she took in the up close and personal sight of his form (if it could even be called a form). There were no legs, or arms, or a body that looked at all human. It looked for all account and purposes like something she had blown into a handkerchief when she was under the weather, only fifty times its size. She could at least recognize something that was a smile near the top of its shape. Though it had no eyes, it seemed to be looking straight at her.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell for everything she was worth, and run from its sight. Though from the way she'd seen Discord interact with him-it rather, that it was something of a friend to him. If she hurt its feelings, it might upset Discord. He was someone whose wrath she did not want to incur at all.

“Erm, hello, ah... Smoothie, is it?” Rarity voiced to him uneasily, her voice shaking in pitch. “H-h-how do you do, th-this evening?”

The Smooze continued to stare in her direction, and surprised Rarity when a tongue protruded from its smile. Its long, wet shape ran across its mouth hungrily as it inched toward her slowly. Her heart began to race. She needed to leave, now. She thought about running across the meadow, but didn't know if the creature might gain speed when it needed to. She needed to get inside.

“W-well, I, ahem, I hope you're enjoying the- the gala.” She continued, moving her feet slowly toward the doors. “It is the most esteemed night of the year, after all. Heh heh heh heh...” Rarity managed to find herself outside of the door, safety on the other side and a moment away. “Well, it was lovely meeting you, Mr. Smooze. Ta-ta!” Rarity twisted the knob of the door and stepped back, but was met with a face full of hard wooden door.

Shaking away the pain and disorientation, Rarity tried to twist the knob once again. It was locked. How it was locked, she couldn't understand. It had been open just a moment ago. Who on Earth had locked it, and why?

As Rarity frantically struggled with the lock, the Smooze pressed itself up against her. Rarity could no longer hold back her scream, as she felt its warm, sticky embrace enveloping her body. She didn't know what the creature was or where it came from, but it seemed interested in consuming her entirely.

“Let me in!” she shrieked, as the creature's warm goo fondled around the shiny diamonds of her dress, pulling them away from the fringes grooves. It even helped itself to the stones in Rarity's head ornament, making grunts and growls in joyous approval.

At last the lock of the door clicked. The doors swung open suddenly, and Rarity stepped into the reception hall, still crowded with groups scattered throughout. They all looked upon her in disgust at her dress, once beautiful and alluring, now covered in splotches of grotesque slime. Rarity feebly crawled across the floor, the ooze squelching and splatting with every movement she made. Rarity gasped out for air, even her chin dripping with the unsightly green matter.

“That creature took my jewels!” she screamed helplessly, pointing in the direction of the doors. A short distance from the staircase, the Smooze could be seen creeping up behind another lady, unaware of her stalker. The Smooze stretched his slimy lips out towards her shiny crown and slurped it up post-haste, before his size grew by an inch.

Within her vision, Rarity could see Twilight Sparkle looking in the direction she pointed. She turned about quickly in a huff, her traditional white gown rolling out behind her with her quick movement. From the look of her face, she was none too happy about what she had seen. Twilight marched forward, her heels stamping loudly against the floor, toward the spirit of disharmony.

“Discord! I thought I told you to keep your friend under control!” she growled at him intently.

“Oh please,” Discord brushed her off carelessly. “I have better things to do than to watch that thing all night.”

While Twilight and Discord squabbled over the actions of the Smooze, Rarity willed herself to stand to her feet. She knew that she looked disgusting, covered in such filth. Her dress had been defiled, making her quite unsightly at the moment. It seemed that her theory about destiny conspiring against her and her dream of having the best night at the gala might have had some merit after all. Despite the agony of it all, she fought against the urge to sink back into despair. Though it was a disaster, it was just a messy dress after all. If she could excuse herself to the ladies room, she might be able to recall a magical spell that could remove the stains from her dress.

While Rarity tried to shake a bit of the slime off of her shoes, the sound of a magical pop sounded out from behind her. She turned to see that Discord had teleported behind her unexpectedly. By his feet was a large ovular vacuum, the extended hose and nozzle held in his hand. With the flick of a switch, the machine whirred to life. Discord pushed the mouth of the device over Rarity's head, and the powerful current pulled up at her from her toes.

And the wind of the vacuum lifted Rarity's dress up, past her waist and above her head. It held for an instant underneath her arms, but so powerful the strength of the current was that it ripped the stitches right out from them. Rarity felt herself lifted off of the ground for just a moment, as her shoes were pulled out from under her as well. The shoes and dress flew past her hair, along with the small torn pieces of her brassiere and her undergarments, and vanished into the tiny funnel of the vacuum.

Rarity found herself in more than a state of shock. Her mind struggled to cope with what just happened to her in the span of a few seconds. Her vision had been blocked for a moment from her dress flying in front of her face. Had Discord actually done what she thought he'd done? She knew he could be rambunctious and careless. but certainly he had some tact about him. He wouldn't be so heartless as to do such a mean-spirited thing, right?

A quick glance across the surprised faces of the crowd surrounding her, and the chilly breeze she felt across her skin told her something wasn't right. She dreaded looking down, but she knew she had to. Gulping loudly, she prayed to whomever might listen that it wasn't true. She forcefully craned her neck down toward the floor to look at herself.

And what she saw shattered her. There was no longer a once beautiful dress covered in slime. There was nothing there at all, but the fair white, flawless flesh of her naked body staring back at her. Her smooth, round hips, her elegant legs and her freshly shaved pubic region was laid bare, for every noble attendant of the Grand Galloping Gala to see. This time, however, it wasn't a dream. There would be no waking up from this nightmare.

In a panic, Rarity lifted an arm in front of her petite breasts and a hand over her smooth vulva. She stared back up at the crowd, feeling her face grow red hot as she gauged their reactions. Respectable ladies and gentleman shielded their eyes from her, while others chuckled and laughed at her misfortune. Some distance away from the crowd, she saw a little green-haired boy spurt the punch he had been drinking out of his nose. It was Spike, Twilight's assistant. who'd developed a crush on the dressmaker the day he'd met her. His face was beet red, a result of excitement from seeing something he’d likely fantasized of for so long, and shame for the circumstance he was seeing it under. Part of her feared that the two might never be able to look at each other the same way again.

Several feet from him, close to her best friends, was her own sister Sweetie Belle. The little girl had come to the gala with the promise that it would be the best night ever. Now she was forced to look at her older sister, her role model, stripped naked and helpless in front of an entire crowd. Her rigid face made it clear that her young mind had trouble even processing what she was seeing at the moment.

But what truly stung her was the look of a man leaning against the wall away from the crowd. It was the same man whom she had delivered a swift kick to the groin a moment ago in order to defend her modesty. Though he was still slumped over in pain, Prince Blueblood looked quite satisfied with the situation at hand. Looking upon her now, without any modesty left to defend, the day was truly his. Feeling triumphant, the spoiled prince took a long, hearty swig from the glass of champagne he held in his hands.

Far away from Rarity, Applejack sprang into action. She ran to the table closest to her, grabbed the end of its cloth and yanked hard. The collection of food and drink laying upon it turned over quickly, the glasses crashing and spilling wine against the floor along with the mess of bread and vegetables. With cloth in hand, Applejack sprinted as fast as she could to Rarity, who had begun to feebly tip-toe away from the area. Applejack lifted the cloth into the air, and whirled it around Rarity's naked body, shielding her from the crowd.

“It's okay, I gotcha sugarcube.” Applejack reassured her forcefully. “I'm taking you to the little girl’s room. Come on, hurry.” And with an arm around a shivering Rarity, Applejack escorted her out of sight. The rest of the guests turned their gaze toward the center of the room. There stood the princess of friendship, Twilight Sparkle, looking aghast at what had taken place. She quickly realized that all eyes were on her, and cleared her throat before speaking.

“Uh... it's alright everybody!” Twilight announced nervously. “Let's all get back to enjoying this magical evening!”