Author's Note

Gonna do a time-skip on this chapter. This takes place during the episode of the same name. At this point I'm going to mention that all of the ending portions of the episodes, Copper has seen them, but has taken no action to fix the issues. I want to keep the story true to itself in FiM, but also show that Copper was present in the episodes, but was never seen.

The Best Night Ever

Chapter 3: The Best Night Ever

Copper Strikes walked down the paved walkway to the Canterlot Castle, feeling so happy for himself that he was able to partake in the Grand Galloping Gala. He heard music coming from the Mane Six and he sung along with everypony else, his mane waving when he danced a bit. His mane, just before making it to the Gala, was straightened to the point where it hung down to a side of his head, his usual "quills" as you call it, not being present at the moment. He knew it would take a while to get his quills back, but for now, he was content with his mane. After the song was finished, he was seen talking to a group of ponies in the main hall.

"Eh, you sure look nice, squirt," came a stallion's voice as he came closer to the group with Copper. "I'm surprised the Princess gave you an invitation to the Gala."

Copper turned around, and had a gigantic smile on his face when he recognized his big brother when Lightning took off his helmet. "Lighty!" he said, and they both embraced each other. "So glad to see you again, big bro! And congrats on making it to the Royal Guard, as well!"

"Was there ever any doubt?" Lightning asked. "All that hard work paid off for me, and I can't wait to see how far I can go from here."

The other ponies who were with Copper smiled and congratulated Lightning, giving praises for being a strong pony that he was. Copper took the time and looked over his brother, and he could see that he was working out. His muscles were more tone and refined than when he was younger, and he sounded more deeper, partly because of him growing up. Both Copper and Lightning let go of each other before Lightning asked, "So how did you get a ticket, Coppy? Did Princess Celestia show up at your home in Appaloosa?"

"Nope, and you're far off from my home," Copper replied. When Lightning raised an eyebrow from confusion, he elaborated. "I now live closer to you, in a town called Ponyville. And Princess Celestia ended up randomly giving me a ticket to the Gala. I dunno if she had tickets to spare or what, but I'm happy to get one."

"So you're the one whom Twilight was talking about," said a mare's voice. Copper, Lightning, and the four ponies with them turned to see Princess Celestia coming to them. Copper, Lightning and the four other ponies instinctively bowed to her in respect. "You may rise," she added to them all. When they did, Celestia smiled at Copper. "I have heard of you from Twilight's friendship lesson about not asking for much out of other ponies working for you."

"Indeed," was his response. "I was taught to never ask for too much, otherwise I would not only look lazy, but I would stress out other ponies."

Celestia smiled, then turned to her guard, Lightning. "You have a nice brother, Lightning Shield. I'm going to assume that he did annoy you sometimes, no?"

Lightning laughed. "No sibling is perfect, Princess. He was an annoyance a few times growing up, but overall he was, and still is, my favorite squirt, and I wouldn't have it any other way." He put his hoof around his little brother, making him blush.

Minutes later, during the Gala, Copper, Lightning, and Celestia talked among themselves of what had been happening, mostly between Lightning and Copper. Lightning told Copper that he was living an excellent life despite the hard work that was being in the Royal Guard. He made a few friends and even a couple of rivals, but overall he had a pleasant experience. When it was Copper's turn, he told Lightning about what happened before the Gala, with some additional tidbits. He was now working for the Ponyville Mail Service, and was tasked with delivering mail to all the residents in the small town.

Then, out of nowhere, the main doors burst open, with the animals running for their lives. A yellow furred, pink maned Pegasus, who Copper recognized as Fluttershy, yelled, "YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!" at the animals.

By then, it was total chaos in the hall. Everything was falling apart, the music became just plain terrible from Pinkie Pie, and so on and so forth. Celestia gave Lightning a worried glance, and he almost immediately nodded, putting on his helmet and galloping to right in the middle of the scene to take care of everything.

"Uh..." Copper stated, moving up to the Princess moments after everypony had left the Gala, with some guards cleaning up. "I assume that this just became a disaster?"

"Actually..." Celestia replied, "...this Gala was a lot more fun just because of this."

"It was?" he asked.

"Yep. Every Grand Galloping Gala before this one was really boring, and I'm actually glad things... fell apart, if you would say. It won't surprise me if Twilight and her friends feel bad about what they did."

"Well I guess Lightning was right," Copper said.

"I beg your pardon?" Celestia asked with a confused tone.

"Lightning told me when I was younger that you didn't like the same old thing all the time," he explained, "And he said that you'd prefer... as we modern ponies say it, to spice things up once in a while."

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, that is true," she admitted. "I want to have a more modern style of life, just to keep up with today's standards. But it doesn't hurt to bring things from the past as well."

"True," he said. "Well, I guess I'll be headed off, then."

"Fare thee well, my little pony," Celestia said before Copper took off out of the castle.

Back in Ponyville after the Grand Galloping Gala, Copper took some time to think about what had happened previously. "Hmm," he said to himself as he fixed his mane back to where it originally was. "What exactly happened that made my friends act that way?" After some thought he came up with a conclusion. "I get it. They must have thought that the Gala was boring and they wanted to make it fun for everyone." He chuckled and shook his head after he finished with the combing. "I hope they're okay with Princess Celestia telling them about her being fine with it. I don't think they'd ever forgive themselves after what happened."

He shrugged and yawned. "Boy, it's been a long day," he stated to himself. "I deserve a good night's sleep after everything that happened." He trotted to his master bedroom, climbed onto the bed before he shut off the nearby lamp, and went to sleep, snoring softly to his content.