The Party Must Go On

Gala paced through Fluttershy’s cottage, waiting for Discord to get back home from wherever he had gone off to. She heard Fluttershy coming down the stairs and she stood still, not wanting to make Fluttershy think she was anxious or anything. Fluttershy made her way into the living room where Gala was standing.

“Oh, hello, Gala. I was just leaving to check on Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.” Fluttershy said. Gala noticed that she had a saddlebag on her back.

“Alright, have fun. I hope they’re all doing well.” Gala said, nodding.

Fluttershy gave Gala a small smile and left the cottage, giving her a small wave as she left. Gala waved back and Fluttershy closed the door after her. Gala continued her pacing as she waited for Discord to get back.

A small, white bunny hopped through the room, practically right under Gala’s hooves. “Oh, hi Angel.” She said, picking him up. He had gotten older over the years and he was much slower and his fur was tinged gray.

Gala gently set the little guy down on the couch and continued pacing. A few minutes later she saw a bright flash of light out the window and the door started to open. She knew that Discord had just arrived.

“Discord?” She asked, just to make sure it was him and nopony else. Though, who else could it be?

“Yes. Gala, is that you?” Discord asked as he walked in. He lowered the grocery bags that he was holding so he could see. He hadn’t aged a day since Gala could remember, though Fluttershy had gotten much older.

Discord walked into the kitchen and set the groceries down on the table. He used his magic to put them in their places and Gala trotted into the kitchen after him so they could talk. Something glinted in the light and she noticed the small silver ring on Discord’s claw. She smiled slightly at the memory of Fluttershy and Discord’s wedding and then shook it off, remembering what her goal was.

“Discord, I have a question for you.” She said, staring him down.

Discord sighed. “I’m not telling you where babies come from.” He said, continuing to put up the groceries he had brought home.

Gala stared at him, her mouth open and her eyes slightly closed in confusion. “Wha-..... No.” Gala said, shaking her head. “That’s not what I was going to ask you. But….. Now that I’m thinking about it, where do babies come from?” She asked.

“Gala, I just said I’m not telling you.” Discord said.

“Oh, right.” She said, looking down at the ground.

“What was your question?” Discord asked as he finished putting the groceries away.

“My question?” Gala asked, mostly to herself. She was only 11 and had a hard time remembering things. “I don’t remember…” She replied honestly.

Discord sighed. “Why don’t you go play outside? You haven’t done that in a while.” Discord said.

“I haven’t done that since Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom lived with us.” She said matter-of-factly.

“I know, just….. Go outside and find somepony else to play with. There are plenty of nice ponies in Ponyville. Actually, you should go play with Pumpkin and Pound Cake. I’m sure they would love to play with you, and they’re only a year older than you.”

“But that’s so far….” Gala said sadly.

“I’ll take you, if you promise to stay there and play for most of the day.” Discord said, recycling the grocery bags.

“Fine.” Gala sighed.

“Great!” Discord wrapped her in a hug and snapped. They reappeared in front of Sugarcube Corner, which had been repaired after its destruction. Discord lifted his claw and prepared to snap, but Gala stopped him before he could.

“Don’t go yet, please!” She squealed, grabbing onto one of his legs and holding on.

Discord didn’t try to shake her off. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I want you to go in with me, and what if they don’t like me?” Gala whimpered. “What if they make fun of me for not having my cutie mark?”

Discord suppressed a chuckle. “Trust me, they won’t.”

“Promise?” She asked.

“I promise.” Discord said, stopping himself from doing the Pinkie Promise.

“Ok.” Gala said, letting go of his leg. She took a deep breath and looked back at Discord. “I still want you to go in with me.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Discord said, walking into Sugarcube Corner. Gala followed behind him shyly.

“Hello, Discord!” Mrs. Cake said cheerfully from behind the counter. She chuckled slightly, “And Gala. How are you two doing?” She asked.

“Good.” Discord said. “And you?”

“Oh, we’re doing just wonderfully.” She said with a smile. “Anyway, what can I help you with today?” She asked.

“Well, actually, Gala wanted to play with Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake if that’s alright.” Discord said.

Mrs. Cake’s face brightened significantly. “That would terrific. Pumpkin! Pound!” She called.

The twins came trotting down the stairs. “Yeah?” They asked in unison.

“Would you two like to play with Gala Amour?” Mrs. Cake asked, pointing her hoof towards Discord and Gala.

Gala was standing behind Discord so the twins couldn’t see her. “Mom…..” Pound Cake said awkwardly, glancing at his sister who had a similar expression. “That’s just Discord.”

Discord and Mrs. Cake laughed and Discord pushed Gala in front of him. Her mane had lost its poof and was sitting flat over her face. It was brown with a single pink stripe down the middle. Her tail was the same, straight and had a singly pink stripe down the middle like her mane. Her coat was a dark pink and she had blue-green eyes that were mostly hidden by her mane.

Pumpkin and Pound looked at her for a minute. Pumpkin sprang into action before her brother could stop staring. “Hi!” She said happily. “I’m Pumpkin Cake and that’s my brother, Pound Cake. What’s your name?”

“I’m ummm……” She started quietly. “Gala Amour….” She squeaked quietly.

“Do you want to play with us, Gala?” Pumpkin asked.

“Sure…” She said quietly and nodded slightly.

“Stop being so shy, we don’t bite.” She said, nudging Gala gently.

Gala flipped her mane out of her eyes and gave Pumpkin a small smile. Pumpkin smiled back at her. “Do you want to play inside or outside?” She asked. “Pound?” She asked, looking at him to see if he had any ideas for what to do.

“What?” Pound Cake asked, taking his eyes off Gala for the first time and looking at his sister. “Umm…. Outside is good.” He said awkwardly.

“Do you want to play outside, Gala?” Pumpkin asked.

“Sure.” She said. She was still somewhat shy, but she was starting to get used to talking to the other ponies. Her mane had gone from being completely straight to slightly wavy. Pumpkin walked outside, Gala followed her and Pound trotted after them. Discord waved goodbye to Mrs. Cake and left the shop, obviously going back to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“What do you want to play?” Pumpkin asked, looking at her brother and at Gala and then back at her brother.

“Tag?” Pound suggested.

“Gala?” Pumpkin asked.

A small smile had appeared on Gala’s face, “Sure. But who will be it first?”

Pumpkin smiled and practically tackled her brother, tapping him with her hoof. “Tag! You’re it!” Gala trotted away from Pound and Pumpkin galloped in the opposite direction.

“What? No fair!” Pound exclaimed. He sounded sad but the smile on his face said otherwise. He began running towards his sister.

“No backsies!” She called happily.

“Darn it.” Pound said to himself, stopping and turning. He began chasing after Gala and her mane popped into it’s normal curly state as she ran away. Gala tripped as she was running away and she fell on the ground. Pound tried to slow down so he wouldn’t trip on her, but he tripped on the same rock she tripped on and fell on top of her.

They both stared at each other for a moment, both their cheeks turning bright red. “Uhhh…….. You’re it….” He said softly looking down at Gala.

Gala looked back up at him and nodded. “Oh… No backsies.” Pound said as he pushed himself off of her. Gala giggled slightly and pushed herself up off the ground. Pumpkin had galloped over to her brother and her new friend, which gave Gala an advantage to tag her.

Gala galloped over to Pumpkin and tagged her. “Tag! You’re it! No backsies!” She called as she ran away from her. Pumpkin laughed knowing that she was ok and chased after her brother once more.

* * *

After about two hours of playing outside, Pumpkin, Pound and Gala went inside to help Mr. and Mrs. Cake with their baking the sweets they needed for the store that day. They went into the kitchen after cleaning themselves off and asked Mr. and Mrs. Cake what they could do to help.

“Why don’t you all try to bake some cupcakes for us?” Mrs. Cake suggested.

“Sure!” The foals all replied happily. The three of them each began to bake their own batch of cupcakes.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake were both busy putting icing on a cake while also watching over the little ones and making sure they didn’t hurt themselves or anything. Once the cupcakes were all done, they each iced their own batches and showed Mr. and Mrs. Cake. They all tried one of each batch of cupcakes. They were all very good, but Gala’s were the best.

“Gala, have you ever made cupcakes before?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“No, I haven’t. Are they good?” She asked.

“These are delicious!” Mr. Cake exclaimed, taking another cupcake from Gala’s batch of cupcakes. Gala’s mane and tail poofed up more, if that was even possible, and the smile on her face spread from ear to ear.

Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake both congratulated Gala on doing a good job at baking.Under normal circumstances Pound or Pumpkin would of been jealous, but each of them noticed something that made them incredibly happy for her.

“Hey Gala, you got some flour on you.” Pointed out Mrs. Cake.

“Oh really? Where?” She asked, looking at herself. She did not see any flour on herself, until she saw why Mrs. Cake made the white-lie. She noticed something new on her flank. It was a picture of a cupcake with a balloon string tied around it and the balloon floating over the cupcake. Gala gasped and dropped her tray of cupcakes. Her smile grew and she hopped around in circles, “I got my cutie mark! I got my cutie mark!”

Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake laughed and Mr. and Mrs. Cake smiled at each other. She baked two more batches of cupcakes and then Discord came back to take her home.

“Discord! Discord! Guess what!!” Gala called when Discord showed up.

“What?” Discord asked, a small smile growing on his face when he saw how happy Gala was.

“I got my cutie mark!” She squealed happily, turning her flank towards Discord and showing him her cutie mark.

Discord smile grew larger. “Congratulations! That’s wonderful!” Discord said, hugging Gala. Gala waved goodbye to the Cakes and Discord snapped, teleporting them back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Gala showed off her new cutie mark to Fluttershy and then she went to her room and went to bed.