“Today is finally the grand day!” Another rude awakening for Lazlo, hearing Twilight yelling excitedly. “Spike! Get me the book about advanced transfiguration!” Twilight’s voice came through the closed doors at full force.

Knowing that he won’t be able to go back to sleep and was also a little curious about what was this all about. As he left his room, he had to realize that Twilight’s voice didn’t come from her room, which was basically beside his but from down, the library part. As he walked down he heard the mare running around, while shouting at Spike about not forgetting the apple, whatever she meant by that. By the time he reached the ground level of the building, he heard the entrance door being shut and then quiet... signaling that the two others, who also live here, left. He just sighed and went to take a shower while thinking about what to eat for breakfast.

After finishing up in the bathroom, and filling his belly with some sandwiches, Lacy decided to go out and look for Twilight, or at least somepony else, who might know, what’s going on. It wasn’t unusual for him that he woke up and the first thing he experienced is one of the stage antics of this unique mare but usually, he could take a guess simply by hearing what she was yelling about or what she was doing.

His first stop was Sugarcube Corner. There was a big chance that Pinkie was there and she probably knew if something was up. But of course, this was one of the rare times, she wasn’t in the bakery. At least Mrs. Cake could tell him that Pinkie went to the Carousel Boutique to meet with the other girls, meaning Twilight is there too.

As he approached the fancy building he heard multiple sets of hooves running in his direction. He immediately noticed several horses, which were the size of a normal horse but had strange muzzles with teeth being out in the front like the rodents have. They were seemingly running from something and would’ve hit Lacy if he doesn’t jump aside. He watched for a few seconds as the strange horses continued running and Lazlo convinced himself not to think about it further to keep that little sanity, he has left.

Arriving at Rarity’s home he notices all six girls and Spike there near the Boutique. There were also two stallions, who were currently talking with Rarity. And let’s not forget about the carriage that looked like a big apple.

First the weird horses, now this... Was there something in the cheese I put into my sandwich?

“What’s going on? Oh, hello by the way.” he greeted them after the obvious question.

They all looked at him, saying their own greetings’. The man could see that they were excited for some reason which wasn’t unusual as individuals but Lazlo didn’t remember if he ever saw all of them like this at the same time.

“We are all preparing for the night, darling.” Rarity gave him an answer, which wasn’t enough for him, but the others joined in.

“Tonight will be the best!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Yes! And we are all so excited about it! Aren’t you excited too?” Pinkie asked, but before Lazlo even had the time to put on a questioning look, Twilight started to panic.

“Oh no no no no NO!” she shouted. “How could I forget?!” her eyes became watery and tears started to flow down on her face, wetting her fur in a thin line under her eyes. “I’m a horrible friend! I wanted to ask the princess but then things happened and... and... I completely forgot about it and... and now it’s too late...” she then completely lost it, collapsing on the ground, crying.

The others gasped as they realized why was she crying, but Lazlo was just confused and concerned. He didn’t understand what was going on, why was Twilight in this state, and why was he the only one clueless. He knelt down beside her, the others giving him some space.

“Twilight... What’s the problem?” but the only answer he got was some sobs. He already figured out that the issue was something she forgot to do for him, but still had no idea what it was. “Look. Whatever it is, I’m not angry at you.”

“But I-” she started but the sobbing took over again. Lazlo looked at the others since they seemed to know what it was about but they all had their heads down, even Applejack. He then turned back to the purple mare, one hand caressing her back, the other scratching her ears as if she would be a dog. This seemed to calm her a little as she started speaking again. “I forgot to ask Princess Celestia to send you a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala.”

Right, the Gala. He remembered her telling him about it. One of the biggest and most important events in Equestria. Originally a party to celebrate the anniversary of the competition of Canterlot. Twilight told him about the ticket fiasco too, which he found funny but at the same time had a strong opinion about it.

“I said that if my friends can’t go, then I don’t want either.” she continued. “You weren’t here back then, but now you are one of my best friends. I wanted to ask the princess when she was here at that get-together but then the incident happened with her pet and it was forgotten,” she spoke. “I’m so sorry!” she started to cry again.

Lazlo was frozen. He never could handle these kinds of situations well. What could he say to her? That he’s not angry? He knew that that rarely works. But what else to tell her, when it’s the truth? When she talked about the Gala he didn’t even express the curiosity to see it for himself. However, he did wonder about it but never thought about it as something, he’d regret if missing.

“Come on, Twilight,” he continued to pet her gently for a few more seconds before he realized that it was probably inappropriate at some level. “I’m not mad.” he tried to sound as gentle as he could. Even if he wasn’t a good example for a gentleman, he wouldn’t want a girl, like Twilight to cry over something like this. He still didn’t understand why was this such a big thing that made her like this.

“But-” she suddenly looked up, realizing something else. “Oh no! I have to tell the princess about this and she will think that I’m going backward with my friendship lessons and then she will be angry at me! What if she thinks, I’m not worthy of her lessons anymore? What if she-” she was cut short by the man.

“Stop it! Please!” Lazlo lost it a little. He didn’t want to do the more aggressive approach but what he was doing so far wasn’t working. “Listen to me!” she looked at him, her eyes still filled with tears. “I! Am! Not! Angry! At! You!” he made sure that his voice didn’t betray his words, because he really wasn’t mad at her, just wanted her to calm down.

“Really? So it means I’m not a bad friend?” she asked. Lazlo smiled, then looked at the others asking for their help silently. They understood what he wanted and all began helping her to calm down.

“It is our fault too, darling.” Rarity spoke. “You told us that you wanted to ask for one more ticket, I even made him some formal clothes to wear but I too forgot to talk with you about it later.”

“Are you sure, you don’t mind?” Twilight asked, still not letting it go. Lazlo just shook his head. The others seemed relieved that things worked out and a few of them also expressed their regret that their human friend cannot join them to their ‘Best Night Ever’.

Rarity invited all of them for an early lunch. It was still morning but the girls had to start preparing soon because with that carriage it will take quite a few hours to get to the Canterlot Castle. Lazlo was invited too and while he eat not so long ago, he joined them, only ordering something to drink.

“Is there anything we can do to make up for this?” Twilight asked the man, while they were waiting for their orders. Lazlo sensed that she probably won’t drop the topic until she feels like she did something for him but luckily an idea came to him.

“How about I go with you to Canterlot and while you’re at the gala, I’ll look around in the city?” he told her his idea. She nodded, smiling and thinking that it made them even at some level.

As their food and drinks were brought to them, the topic went back to the gala and the girls were chatting with each other, clearly excited for the night, seemingly forgetting what happened earlier, much to Lacy’s amusement.

Like a bunch of goldfish...

He almost giggled out loud.

After finishing their meals, Rarity was so generous that she paid for the whole thing. The girls went back to the boutique, while Spike showed Lazlo the carriage up close. The inside was big enough for the six mares and the driver’s seat was big enough for the dragon but Lazlo had doubts that it won’t break under his mass. His weight was a little over a hundred kilogram after all. After mentioning it to Spike, he calmed him down that Twilight will make some modifications for it so he can sit beside him.

The dragon went to talk with the girls, while Lazlo sat down on the ground, near the carriage.

“We have to pull this thing with him on it too?” he heard a male voice whispering near him not quiet enough for him not to hear. “He much heavier than the mares.”

“Yeah,” another stallion agreed. “How much do you think he weighs?”

“Around a hundred kilogram. Probably a little more,” he answered and scared them.

“Um...” they came closer to him. “We meant no offense.” One of them said.

“None taken.” Lacy smiled.

The two earth pony stallions introduced themselves. One had a light gray coat and darker mane and tail, his cutie mark was three four-leaf clovers, his name was Lucky Clover. The other had amber colored coat and brown mane and tail, and three blue horseshoes for a cutie mark.

Lazlo told them that if it’ll be too heavy for them, then he won’t go with the girls but they said that they will manage it. Lucky worked as a transporter pony, so he’s used to pulling heavy carriages, while Caramel is a farm pony so they weren’t lacking strength.

In exchange the man told them about his job, he had on Earth, though it took some time to explain what a software engineer was and what do they do.

Soon the girls were ready to go. As they exited Rarity’s boutique in their dresses made by the group's dressmaker and Lazlo looked at them, he had to admit that even though it was weird to see clothes like these on equines it did look great on them. Twilight quickly cast a spell on the driver’s seat and it became larger. She said that now it will support both Spike and Lacy.

The afternoon just began when the carriage started its way to Canterlot, pulled by the two stallions, six mares inside, and the two non-pony on the driver’s seat. While the gala only started in the late afternoon, they had to go now to reach the castle in time. The capital was fairly close to Ponyville, the little town was the closest settlement. But the journey still took time. With the train, it’s only one and a half hours but on hoof, it’s almost four. Half of this time is actually reaching the mountain base, then going up to the city.

While the castle was visible from Ponyville, the city itself was on the other side of the mountain. Lazlo gazed at the magnificent palace almost every day, it really looked like something from a fairy tale. And Spike told him that though Canterlot City is nowhere close to the castle, it’s still beautiful. The man was curious of course and now it was time to see the capital of Equestria.

As the big apple was on the way to the gala, the girls were chatting inside excitedly continuing whatever they were talking about at the early lunch. Spike was talking about what he wanted to show the girls. Lazlo just listened to him, though the dragon was talking to the mares, who probably didn’t even hear him.

A sudden sound of a whiplash made Lacy duck his head low while looking around trying to find out where the sound came from.

“Hey!” the two stallions in front of them shouted in unison. Lazlo noticed that Spike got a whip from somewhere. He quickly acted and took it from him.

“What the hell, Spike? Where did you get this?” Lazlo questioned.

“It was on the seat.” the dragon said.

“And what made you think, it was a good idea to use it?” the man asked. After not getting an answer just a guilty look, he sighed. “Just apologize and I’m keeping this thing with me.”

The dragon said his apology to the two stallions, who accepted it but they still seemed angry at him. Lazlo held the whip in his hand, looking at it, having the urge to do some lashes with it, though not on the two, pulling them but in the end, he could resist the temptation.

Well, now that I have this, I can officially become a member of a BDSM club.

He chuckled at his thoughts, which earned a questioning look from the one sitting beside him but he waved it off.

The travel was quite boring after this incident. Spike and the two stallions weren’t really in a talking mood and the girls were occupied with their own so what Lazlo could do to pass time was basically watching the scenery. He was somewhat used to long travels, after all sometimes, when he went to visit his family, that meant three hours traveling by car or four by train. But then there was always something to do. Of course, he had to concentrate while driving but he could listen to music, and when he could read on the train, or play something on his phone, or watch a movie or show if he put any on his tablet. But here... nothing.

Four and a quarter hours later finally they reached Canterlot. It took a little longer because they stopped once. The road up was actually the other side of the mountain range. Luckily they didn’t have to go all around the mountain range, there were a few serpentine roads (or at least similar, but with that many turns, since Canterlot wasn’t that high up there) around here and there and the closest started basically close below the castle. With light trotting, they could’ve done the journey in less time but they stopped at a resting point. In function, these were similar to gas stations by the highways. There were parking lots for carriages, restrooms, and a shop where you could buy food and drinks. A few benches were also placed around the stop. There were a few of these along the road to the capital.

After a short bathroom break, Rarity brought some drinks for the stallions and Lazlo brought two sandwiches for himself, it was his lunch. There were a few other carriages as well. Those ponies, who rode in them were most likely also on their way to the Grand Galloping Gala. After their break, they continued their way up to the castle, seeing more and more carriages as they get closer and closer.

Passing the borders of the city, Spike began to tell Lazlo about it as they slowly moved forward. This was the only road to Canterlot and it lead through the city up to the main gate of the castle. From the side roads, other carriages joined, creating one long line that moved at a consistent speed even if it wasn’t that fast.

“Well, here we are,” Spike began his guiding for Lacy. “This is the most outer part of the city, obviously. Here is the train station, a few hotels, shops, warehouses, and the manors of the newer nobles.” As they went by the buildings, Lazlo observed them. As the dragon said, there were really some manors that actually barely was fit in the definition. The home of those nobles, who got their title in the last few hundred years. He also spotted another large building which seemed to be the Canterlot Railway Station. He didn’t see the warehouses but guessed that those were placed further from the main road. As they moved forward, Spike continued. “This is the outer living part. Common ponies living here, with some shops and elementary schools and kindergartens. There are also some parks and squares, though you can find those basically everywhere in the city, hmm... now that I think about it, the same applies to shops and restaurants as well. Anyway moving on we’re at the students' district. This is where the more advanced schools are, except for Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns, because that one is in Castle Town. Here you find the dorms and a library too. It’s the smallest part of the city, we already left it. The next district is mainly for tourists. From basic to the most luxurious hotels and all kinds of restaurants. Then we have the cultural center of the city. Museums, the Canterlot Theatre, the Canterlot Opera House, the Library of Magic, the Canterlot Archives, the Cloud Stadium, several event centers, and many more. Moving on the next part is more mixed, here you find business centers, office buildings, and the homes of the richer ponies, who aren’t nobles, our family lives here, by the way. And lastly, there is the noble district filled with manors of the ancient noble families, some of them date back even before Equestria.”

The city was indeed great. As Lazlo observed, mostly light-colored buildings, only a few of them was bigger than three levels. Also, there weren’t many ponies that weren’t on their way to the castle.

As they arrived at the main gate of the castle. Before it was a small green zone, even a little lake that comes from a waterfall and then turns into a little creek in front of the gate going down the mountainside as another waterfall. The Castle Town itself was the most beautiful sight, Lacy has ever seen in architecture. The ivory towers with some gold and purple here and there. The grandiose building, which was the castle itself. The wall was also impressive, hiding most of the buildings from the view. A pair of royal guards standing at the gates.

They stopped close to the gate. The two, who sat on the driver’s stepped down. Spike, acting as a true driver and gentlemen, opened the carriage door, letting them out of the vehicle.

“I guess, we will be meeting somewhere here later,” Lazlo told them, though it was futile as the mares were occupied with themselves, while Spike went with the two stallions to park the carriage. So he just began walking back towards the city.

[Twilight]
At the Gala,

[Choir]
At the Gala

He stopped. Turned around. He couldn’t believe his ears, nor his eyes.

[Fluttershy]
At the Gala
In the garden
I'm going to see them all
All the creatures
I'll befriend them at the Gala

[Choir]
At the Gala

[Fluttershy]
All the birdies
And the critters
They will love me big and small
We'll become good friends forever
Right here at the Gala!

[Choir]
All our dreams will come true
Right here at the Gala
At the Gala

It was like a whole musical in front of him. Random ponies, who also just arrived joined in were like a background choir, Fluttershy going against her personality sang several lines alone, without any care who was listening. They were all dancing and Lazlo even heard music in his head.

After Fluttershy, Applejack took the role of the singer.

[Applejack]
At the Gala (It's amazing)
I will sell them (Better hurry)
All my appletastic treats (Yummy yummy)
Hungry ponies (They'll be snacking)
They will buy them (Bring your money)
Caramel apples, apple sweets (Gimme some)
And I'll earn a lot of money
for the Apple family!

[Choir]
All our dreams and our hopes from now until hereafter
All that we've been wishing for will happen at the Gala
At the Gala

Lazlo felt himself sing along with the other ponies like he wasn’t in control of himself. He became truly scared when his legs began to walk him towards the musical show. Collecting all his willpower he managed to stop himself and put his hands on his ears but he could still hear the music at the same volume, though the singing became quieter. He used the opportunity of being again in control, he quickly ran away.

Only when he didn’t hear the music anymore did he stop to catch his breath. His endurance could only take him so far. After all, having a sitting job and being too lazy to do any workout plus not the healthiest diet equals poor fitness. But it was enough to take him away from this... whatever it was.

Making a mental note to ask Twilight about it later, he started his in the city. He didn’t go back to the road, they’ve come, because carriages were still there, transporting guests to the gala. Going by the noble district, he quickly left the part of the city, which was filled with manors. Walking in the next district, he admired the whole city. It felt like walking in a European city, which was built hundreds of years ago and wasn’t that badly damaged during the many wars and of course putting a high fantasy filter on the whole picture. There were a few ponies on the streets, who looked at him for a short time upon noticing him, before continuing their way. It didn’t bother Lazlo, he expected such things. He was glad that they didn’t pay too much mind to him. He knew that there was some information about him in the papers but guessed that the main reason for their neutrality towards him was because it was the capital of Equestria, the place where the rulers were and they bound to get visitors from foreign dignitaries and since this world was filled with many different sapient species, Canterlot ponies got used to seeing non-ponies on the streets from time to time.

After half an hour of walking around aimlessly, he arrived at a park. Felling still tired from the running he sat down on one of the benches. The park was simple. A few trees, big green fields, and gravel roads across them with benches and trash cans. Lights were only placed along the ‘main’ gravel road, which was wider than the others but wasn’t going to sit there, he was fine with one of the dark spots. Not like it mattered as no pony was out there. At least that’s what he thought at first but a female voice near him startled the man.

“Excuse me. Mind if we join for a little bit?” He looked towards the voice, noticing a pink pony. The first thing, Lazlo noticed was that she had a horn but there was also a pair of wings folded to her sides. Also a crown on her head, behind her horn, and a gold necklace. Her mane and tail had three colors, purple, darker pink, and gold. Her light purple eyes studied the human while waiting for a response.

Lazlo soon recognized her from what Twilight told him and what he read about Equestrian history. Princess Cadance. The Princess of Love and adopted niece of Princess Celestia and as of late, Princess Luna as well. He didn’t know much else about her, except that she became an alicorn pretty young, before that she was a pegasus and as her title said, her role was to spread love across Equestria, along with helping Celestia and Luna to manage the country. Lacy had no idea what did this whole ‘spreading love’ thing entailed.

“Of course, Princess.” stood up and bowed his head. The princess sat down in the middle of the bench motioning Lazlo to sit back and also to the pony who was with her.

”Fucking hell! No matter where am I, somehow I always attract dignitaries, in my world because of my mother, here because I’m the only human.”

Lazlo only then noticed that the princess wasn’t alone, and remembered that she was saying ‘we’ when she addressed him. The other pony was a stallion and by the armor, he was wearing he quickly realized that he was a royal guard, though the armor was different from the others he saw. It was purple and gold. His coat was white, though all the royal guards he saw were white-colored, his mane was hidden under his helmet, but his tail was visible and it had several shades of blue. He was a unicorn and by the different-looking armor, Lacy guessed that he either was some kind of officer or a bodyguard to Cadance, and this armor was supposed to show that, he wasn’t too sure, not like it mattered too much to him anyway.

She then moved her head closer to the human and performed the pecks on the cheek kind of greetings with the human, who returned it out of reflex.

“This is really different from nuzzling,” she commented after retreating from Lazlo’s personal space. “Auntie was right.” then her eyes widened a little. “Oh, forgive me, I am Princess Cadance and this here is Shining Armor, the Captain of the Royal Guard.” she introduced herself and her companion.

“A pleasure, Princess. I’m Lazlo Kis.” he only introduced himself out of courtesy, because Cadance most likely already knew who he was. He also realized that the guard who was accompanying the alicorn was Twilight’s brother. She told him a little about his ‘Big Brother Best Friend Forever’, though not too much, only that he was a Royal Guard and that they were pretty close.

“I heard about you from my aunt, Princess Celestia,” she told him. “I feel sorry for what happened to you, it must’ve been hard at first, but I also heard that you got accustomed to our world pretty fast. Your kind must have great adaptive skills.”

“Umm... thanks. Yeah, humans can adapt easily to most situations, though I think this is different. If I had to guess, I think, my mind got an overload from all these things and went to some kind of autopilot mode, but I cannot be sure, as getting to another world hasn’t happened to anyone or at least no one came back to tell the experience.” Lacy said.

“I heard, that you’ve been living with Twilight Sparkle.” Shining Armor spoke for the first time. “She’s my little sister. How is she by the way?”

“Fine, I think. She’s at the Gala with her friends. Why aren’t you there though?” he asked, assuming that a Princess and the Captain of the Royal Guard have an invitation.

“Well, officially I will arrive back to Canterlot later from Saddle Arabia with Shining Armor.” she gave the human a mischievous smile, that told him everything. They were playing hooky. “It’s a rather boring event, to be honest, I’d rather spend that time with my coltfriend, since we’re both are busy usually, it’s a great opportunity to have a few hours for ourselves. This part of the city is rather empty this night, so it’s perfect but now that I saw you I thought, why not get to know you better. By the way, why aren’t you at the Gala?”

Disappointment. A feeling Twilight wasn’t that familiar with, yet was constantly afraid that ponies, close to her will feel it towards her. But right now, she was the one experiencing it. Despite initially it seemed great, standing beside her mentor, spending time with her, it quickly turned upside down when she had to turn her attention to everypony else there from Celestia. As she stood there with the princess, trying to make at least one sentence without interruption, which itself seemed impossible, she sighed in disappointment and now could only hope, that her friends have a better time.

But eventually, the last pony arrived, ending this endless greeting session. Now it seemed that they’ll have some time for each other. Her face lit up a little.

“Twilight,” Celestia took the initiative. “I’ve seen girls and Spike, when you arrived, but not Lazlo. Why didn’t he come? I hope, everything’s alright.”

Fear from earlier this day resurfaced. Back then she only did think that she was a bad friend, but now not only did that feeling come back but she was terrified, what if Princess Celestia thinks, she does forget her lessons and thus not being worthy of studying friendship and making her leave Ponyville and come back to Canterlot permanently, and even worse, stops being her mentor.

“You see... hehe” she laughs nervously and starts shaking a little. Celestia raises her eyebrows. “I kinda forgot to ask you to give him a ticket too. I’m sorry! I know, I’m a horrible friend and I accept whatever punishment you have for me.” she hang her head and closes her eyes, waiting for her teacher to scold her, but it didn’t come. Daring to open her eyes and look up, she saw the confused expression of Celestia.

“But Twilight, I did send him a ticket,” she said. “After I got back from the visit from Ponyville, when I brought Philomena with me, that evening I spent the ticket to him via Spike,” she explained and it was now Twilight’s turn to be confused.

“What? But Spike never mentioned it to me. I don’t understand.” she said, more to herself than to Celestia.

“So, he’s back in Ponyville?” the princess asked.

“No, he’s in Canterlot. He came up with us, just went sightseeing,” Twilight answered. “We will meet at the carriage after the Gala.”

“I see. Well, I wanted to talk with him about several things. One is about something we talked about when I was in Ponyville but the research about sending him home was also finished two days ago.”

Hearing this made Twilight happy and sad at the same time. If Lazlo goes back to his world, that means that she won’t get any more knowledge from him but also lose one of her best friends. However, she also would feel bad if he is stuck here because that means, he’s basically lost everything he had.

“So that means you found a way to send him home?” she asked, looking at Celestia. Her face gave Twilight the answer but before she could react, a group of ponies came up and started a conversation with the princess and some did the same with Twilight. She saw Celestia giving her a look, that said ‘later’, and then with her signature smile, she turned her attention towards the other ponies.

Twilight let out a quiet groan, then she too turned to those ponies, who were interested in talking with her, while thinking that it’s not what she had in mind. Concentrating on her conversation, she had to let her thoughts about the human go for now.

“So how is it to be Twilight’s roommate?” Cadence asked, after explaining, that Celestia did send him an invitation to the Gala.

“I think, similar to married life...” he answered with a deadpan look. “She’s always right and I mostly do what she wants, though she rarely cooks or does the cleaning.” The two ponies’ eyes went wide for a moment, then realized that it was a joke when Lazlo chuckled and joined him. “To be honest, I feel more like a test subject, than a roomie...”

“I can imagine,” Shining commented.

“Any funny stories?” Cadance asked with a sly grin.

“Well, it’s more like creepy, but I learned that she sometimes watched me, while I was sleeping. One morning I woke up and saw her at the end of my bed, sleeping, like a dog would and she had notes around her. I looked at it and she basically documented everything. Every movement, snore, or any kind of sound I make with the exact time when did it happen.”

That got them laughing a little.

“There were also some funny talks, during those sessions when she asked about my world or kind. The face she had, when she learned that human males have nipples too... priceless.” that made the princess and the guards brown rise.

“Why do you have nipples? Do males feed their foals?” Cadance questioned.

“No, it’s just happened and since it wasn’t a disadvantage evolutionary, it stayed. At least that’s how I know. But we can’t produce milk, only the females.” he quickly explained.

“I see.” Cadance nodded. “Speaking of females. I also saw that memory of that little girl on that trampoline. Your little sister right?”

“Well, half-sister to be exact,” he said.

“Are humans polygamous?” Cadance continued on with the questioning and now Lacy saw, where did Twilight learn to ask about everything.

“No, my parents divorced, when I was young and my father found another woman,” he stated.

“That sounds sad,” Shining said, the princess nodded, Lazlo only shrugged.

“Yeah but that’s humanity for you. Higher chance for a divorce, than staying married nowadays.” Lacy stated bitterly. The Princess of Love seemed really disturbed hearing this. Lacy decided to change the subject and turned his gaze to the guard. “So Captain? Where is that in the military rank hierarchy?”

“It is the highest,” he stated.

“I see. I never could memorize it, though my grandpa used to be in the army back then, though it was mandatory service and he never got any rank, only the basic private, though he was still a little special case and often told me hilarious stories. Anyway, I’m pretty sure, our military has higher ranks than the captain.” Lazlo explained.

“Well, since you’re not from this world, there’s bound to be differences,” Shining said. “And the Royal Guards are not exactly military. We function as such in times of war, which haven’t happened in hundreds of years but our main essence is in guarding the princesses. We are only in Canterlot, though if needed any town or city can request guards if in need and bigger cities also have local police forces. Also, I don’t know about your military, but we only have a few ranks. Guardspony is the basic, everypony who finishes training and swore the oat starts there. Then there is the Sergeant rank, then the Lieutenant. These are selected from promising Guardsponies and getting an offer for officer training. There are special guards too. The Escort Guards are pegasi who are pulling the Royal Carriage in the air. They get special training for this. And then there are those who do the investigative works and those who do the administrative works but that’s mostly it.” the stallion finished his presentation.

“Yes, the captain is the top,” Cadance confirmed, then smiled at his coltfriend. “And he’s the youngest captain ever.” she proudly stated. “His specialty in defense magic and a great mind for defense strategy got the attention of the former captain soon after he joined the guards and with some extra training and the approval of my aunt and me, he got named as Captain of the Royal Guard after the retirement of the former.”

“That’s good,” Lazlo said. “And what about you, Princess? What does the Princess of Love mean here?”

“My main duty is to spread the value of true love and help ponies with their feelings. I never force two ponies to love each other, I help couples remember why they love each other, I help rekindle their feelings for each other, help those who are uncertain, or afraid to approach the pony they have their eyes on. But I also help those who lost their loved one either by the inevitable or just when it turned out, they weren’t mean for each other after all. But as a Princess of Equestria, I also have a duty in governing this kingdom. While most of the things are handled by Celestia, I am still in a learning period, but if needed, I can take her place in anything, except with the sun and the moon. My magic is strong, but not that strong yet. I also help Luna, reintegrate into Equestria. When she came back, she was almost already ready to take her place and duties but the society was pretty different a thousand years ago. My aunt, the palace staff, the guards, and I are all trying our best to help her out but it will take time. Celestia told me, she got a good idea for you, that could help her out in some way so thank you for that.”

Lazlo was just about to ask about the last part of what she said, but another voice interrupted them.

“LOVE ME!” came a voice, that sounded like a shout from a great distance.

“That came from the castle,” Shining said immediately.

“We better check it out,” Cadance told the captain, then turned back to the human. “I’m really glad, that we had met, and while I hope, you’ll get home soon, I also hope we can speak some more before that.”

“Same here,” Shining said. “I’m a little curious about those stories from your grandfather.”

“Sure.” Lazlo nodded. “Well, goodbye, for now, I think whatever happened there, needs your expertise, Your Highness.” he gave her a bow after standing up. Everyone chuckled, then the princess and her guard started to trot towards the Canterlot Castle.

Lazlo too had started to walk away from this park. Soon he found himself back on the main road, that leads to the castle. He didn’t want to go there yet, there were still hours left till the end of the gala.

“Lacy!” a familiar voice caught his attention. He turned and saw the girls walking in his direction. Their face said, that they weren’t in the best mood. The man didn’t understand what they were doing here, nor why they looked like, they just came from a bar fight.

“What happened?” he asked as they got close. “I heard a yell from the castle’s direction, but I don’t know what was that and what are you doing here?”

“Come, I’ll tell you on our way,” Twilight told him. “We better go find Spike, he should be at Joe’s Donut shop.” then she began to lead the others.

On their way, they all explained to the man, how the night didn’t turn out as they planned. Hearing about what happened with them most of it seemed logical, that it would happen. Why would anypony buy Applejack’s food, when there was enough provided, the Wonderbolts are basically celebrities, they can’t pay attention to one pony for a long time, so Rainbow got only as much attention as any fan would no matter the situation. Princess Celestia was deemed to be in the center of everypony’s attention so Twilight’s plans were crushed the same way as Rainbow’s. Pinkie’s style of a party might be good for many occasions, but apparently, a gala like this would be among the exceptions. Rarity’s case with Prince Blueblood did surprise the man a little, as he would’ve thought, that somepony who was partly raised by the beloved Sun Princess wouldn’t act like that. And Fluttershy was usually great with any animals, so it was strange that the ones in the garden were all afraid of her. And it was even stranger, that she was the one shouting the ‘LOVE ME’.

As they entered the donut shop, which was actually quite big, they found the dragon at the counter. Joe, the owner apparently knew Twilight Sparkle, which wasn’t really a surprise, many ponies knew who she was, plus she used to live in this city.

Spike run to them, asking about how was the Gala. Twilight smiled at him, then ordered a stack of donuts, then they all sat down at a bigger table.

“That sounds like the worst night ever,” Spike said after he heard the story too. Lazlo meanwhile was too occupied devouring these delicious donuts.

“It was!” all the mares shouted in union and for some reason, they seemed to be happy about it, because they started to laugh.

“I just hope Princess Celestia isn’t upset with us for ruining the Gala,” Twilight added.

”And not making you pay for all the necessary repair...” Lazlo added in thought.

“That was the best Grand Galloping Gala ever!” the princess's voice was heard.

“Princess Celestia!” they all said, turning towards the entrance where she was standing.

“Pardon me, Princess,” Twilight told her, as she walked over to them “but tonight was just awful.”

“Oh, Twilight. The Grand Galloping Gala is always awful.”

“It is?”

“That is why I was thrilled you were all attending. I was hoping you could liven things up a bit. And while the evening may not have gone as you planned, I'm sure you'll agree that in the end, it didn't turn out so bad for this group of friends.” Celestia explained.

“You're right, Princess. Friends have a way of making even the worst of times into something pretty great.” Twilight said.

“Yeah! Hanging out with friends!” Rainbow agreed.

“Talking!” Fluttershy added.

“Laughing!” Pinkie joined in.

“You mean doing exactly what I wanted to do the whole time?” asked Spike a little irritated.

“Yes, Spike. You were right.” Twilight admitted.

“As horrible as our night was...” Applejack started.

“...being together here has made it all better.” Rarity finished.

“In fact, it's made it...” Pinkie said.

“...the best night ever!” they all shouted in union again.

“Well, almost,” Twilight said, as all of the girls turned towards Lazlo, who was listening to it with an amused expression. “I really wish, you would’ve been there.”

“I don’t understand this.” the princess said. “I did send you an invitation via Spike, but Twilight told me, that you never got it. Do you know anything about it Spike?” she turned to the dragon, questioningly.

“I don’t remember getting any letter from you about the Gala, nor any ticket,” he told her, seemingly just as confused as anyone else.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore,” Lazlo said. “I appreciate the gesture nonetheless.”

“I’m glad that you are here, though, because I have news to tell you. The research about getting you home is finished.” as Celestia finished this, all of the eyes were on her in an instant and all of their minds began to concentrate on what will happen?

Applejack was quite happy to hear this. This meant, that he will soon leave. Not like, she hated him but they weren’t best buddies. She always felt that he was trouble in some way. And while she could respect a few of his traits, she still couldn’t accept, how cruel he was towards his mother. Yes, she did lie to her parents and other family members on rare occasions, but she always felt bad about it and apologized. Lazlo however seemed to be proud of what he did and didn’t show even a little bit of remorse. That being said, she was also happy, that those humans, who were close to the man will be seeing him again.

Rarity had mixed feelings. She did enjoy Lazlo’s presence, even if his words were sometimes profane and general disinterest towards anything fashion-related did leave them only a few topics to talk about, but making clothes to him and that little information he could provide for her questions did inspire her to come out with many beautiful garments. And while he wasn’t often a gentlecolt, she still enjoyed his company.

Fluttershy was sad. She spent the least time with him, compared to the others, but she still wished to introduce him to her animal friends, he only met a few of them and many others wished to see him. Plus he was among those few who she actually felt comfortable to be with, along with the girls and Spike. But she was also glad, that he can go back and be happy with his human friends and family.

Pinkie felt like crying both in joy and sorrow. One of her best friends could go home and be truly happy again. But that also meant that they won’t see him again. A goodbye forever. The only thing of him left is the memories and pictures they made. Still, she would proudly make him her first ‘Farewell forever and never forget us’ party.

Rainbow Dash liked the human. He was kinda cool, often had some funny things to say, and had some hilarious stories to tell. She also felt the urge to put him into shape, because he looked like, he could use some workout and who else was more fit for the job, than Ponyville’s best athlete. And while she would never admit it out loud, she would miss him.

Twilight Sparkle was outright devastated. There were so many things she still wanted to learn from him. So many topics to talk about. But her scientific thinking quickly turned into friendship thinking. While she learned the friendship lessons mostly from the other girls and Spike, Lazlo also did play a part of them, and she felt like, the connection he made with them was just as strong, as what they had with each other. She felt like, he was just as part of the group as any of her friends, even if he wasn’t her number one assistant, or wasn’t there in the Castle of the Two Sister on that night or rather, morning. And she also liked that he was her roommate. While he wasn’t as great a cook as Spike and didn’t do as good a job at keeping the library and their living quarters clean as the dragon, she still appreciated his help and enjoyed his company. She also never thought she would, and frankly, never wanted to write a friendship report to the princess about handling a final goodbye to a good friend. And yet, despite how much she wanted to beg him to stay here with them, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Spike felt bad too. Lacy was his only close, male friend. He tried to make others, but it was a slower process than he expected. Not because he was a dragon, but because he still wasn’t mature enough for the adults, but more mature than most colts. But he and Lacy were pretty good together. He helped him out in his chores and he was the only one, he could ask tips about Rarity. Even if they only talked about it once, he was sure, he could ask him about things like that later. Plus he always wanted to show him his comic collection and play O&O with him, but it looks like it will never happen now.

“So does that mean...” Lazlo started his question with a hopeful tone and expression.

But the princess’ look and answer made everyone gasp.

“I’m sorry, but we can not send you home. You will have to live the rest of your life here.”

Author's Note

So this is it.

I hope you like that little introduction of Canterlot from me, I know it’s kinda different from what’s in the show, but AU tag is out there so no crying about it. Also, I hope you liked that little talk between Lacy and Cadance plus Shining. I plan to involve them more in this story because I like them.

Another thing, that I discussed long with myself is whether to have the singing in the story, or not. Well, I couldn’t wait any longer and decided to involve it. There are many great songs there, and it’s part of the essence of this show, so it deserves to be here in my opinion. So yes, there will be the songs, some bullshit explanation for it (is there any logical one?) and I’ll try to bring some originals to it as well, but don’t expect any high quality, I only hope to reach the acceptable level, or at least the ‘not that terrible but it will be forgotten quickly’ level.

But onto the main thing.

Let’s be honest, all of you knew, this would happen. The real twist would be Celestia saying ‘Yeah, here’s the portal! Bye!’ and throwing him through it, The End. But that’s not the case. Oh, but don’t worry, there will be surprises, or at least, I hope I’ll be able to surprise you.

But let me talk a little about my plan for this story. With this chapter, the first season’s episodes are over, and while it only contained the last third of it, I’ll make it up to you later.

This was kind of the prologue part of this story. The next chapter might be considered still be a part of it though. Anyway from now on, I don’t plan to skip episodes (expect the Just for sidekicks for obvious reason) for now. There will be also many extra chapters, which will either be completely original or expand one of the episodes (for example the Hearts Warming’s Eve will be followed by two others which will continue in that topic, at least that’s what is in my current planning notebook).

So get ready, because the next few chapters will be originals, before moving to Discord’s return.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I’ll be glad for any feedback and I’ll try my best to come out with the next chapter ASAP! (You probably won’t have to wait for this long because it’ll be a shorter one.)