It was the final day of winter and the final day of the year, which could only mean one thing – the Grand Galloping Gala was tonight. Fireworks blasted into (still sunny) sky, exploding into a colorful shower of colors with thunderous bangs.

Oh, but that had nothing to do with the Gala – Trixie just accidentally set fire to her latest shipment of fireworks.

“Back! Back, Trixie says,” shouted Trixie, armed with a chair and whip as she fought against the raging spiral of screaming rockets. For reasons beyond any comprehensible logic, Trixie snapped the whip and the rockets backed away slowly. “Trixie is your master, and you will obey!”

Twilight, who had been sitting in front of the Canterlot Carousel across the street from Trixie’s wagon, grimaced at the ruckus the showmare was causing, glaring over the top of her book.

“Trixie, please stop making all that noise!” Twilight yelled. “I’m trying to concentrate!”

“Trixie would love to!” Trixie resorted, taking another crack at the sentient fireworks. “But these pyrotechnics that Party Popper sent Trixie are even more unruly than the last batch! Trixie thinks they might be going through their rebellious stage!”

“You ordered fireworks from Party Popper?” asked Twilight, looking up from her book in surprise. “From the Justice Ponies? How many superhero do you know?”

“You want Trixie to make a list!” Trixie yelped as a green firework shot over her head.

A few more cracks of the whip and the blue showmare finally managed to wrangle the disobedient p[pyrotechnics back in their box, pressing the lid over top and nailing it shut. Trixie leaned against the box, wiping the sweat from her brow with a relief sigh. Not a moment later, Starlight Glimmer walked out of the Canterlot Carousel, shooting a disapproving leer at her best friend.

“Trixie Lulamoon, stop playing around!” said Starlight Glimmer disapprovingly. “It's time to prepare for the Gala, and I refuse to let my best friend put on her new dress when you're all sweaty!”

Trixie shot Starlight a look that combined irritation with disbelief. The blue showmare telepathically lifted the fireworks box and carelessly tossed in inside her wagon, causing a loud clatter that sounds like a car crash. Trixie huffed and walked around the wagon, leaning against it next to spike, who was watching Twilight burn a hole in her book.

“What is Twilight Sparkle up to?” Trixie asked him.

“She's got an awesome magic spell she's been working on for the Gala,” said Spike.

“Yes, yes, that’s very nice,” said Starlight uncaringly, joining them. “But where are the others? It’s getting late.”

“Hold your ponies, girl,” said Tempest Shadow as she and Moon Dancer trotted down the street; Grubber sitting on her back. “We’re here.”

“Where’s Sunset?” asked Starlight, looking around for the sunny mare.

“She’s helping the princesses set up for the Gala,” said Moon Dancer. “She said she’ll meet us there.”

“Just in time!” Twilight declared, snapping the book shut with an eager expression. “Because I’m ready!”

“For what?” asked grubber.

“All right, Spike,” said Twilight, signaling her assistant.

The baby dragon stepped up and set a single apple in the middle of the road.

“What’s with the apple?” questioned Moon Dancer.

“Ooh, are we gonna make pie?” Grubber asked hopefully.

“Why is stomach always more talkative than your brain?” said Tempest, rolling her eyes at the pudgy hedgehog.

“Shh! Just watch!” Spike hushed them.

Twilight’s horn glowed with magic, which shot a purple beam at the fruit. With a puff of smoke, the little apple turned into…an apple-shaped carriage with gilded wheels, a door with a heart-shaped window, and a little flag with an apple on it. Twilight raised her head proudly, waiting for her friends to praise her work…but was instead met with awkward silence. The kind of silence where not even the crickets were chirping.

Twilight opened her eyes and looked at her friends. They all had curious expressions ranging from confusion, to awkwardness, to downright unimpressed. Spike was the only one who seemed happy and was making an effort to clap loudly to fill in the uncomfortable silence.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, uh, it’s nothing, Twilight,” Starlight muttered. “It’s very uh…nice.”

“It’s certainly…unique,” Moon Dancer said awkwardly.

“Very…fruity,” said Grubber unhelpfully.

“It sucks!” Tempest retorted bluntly. The other mares let out hidden sighs of relief; you could always trust Tempest to be rude and frank when she needs to be. “What the Tartarus am I even looking at?”

“It’s a carriage to take us to the Gala,” said Twilight.

“Why do we need a carriage – we literally live at the palace,” Tempest pointed out. “And why is it apple-shaped. It’s like something you would see on a shelf in a toy store.”

“Don’t listen to her, Twilight,” said Spike, trying to cheer up his downcast friend. “I think it’s awesome! The best in all of Equestria!”

“Uh, excuse you!” shouted Trixie, looking insulted. “Trixie will have you know that Trixie’s wagon is the greatest in all of Equestria! Isn’t that right, Trixie’s wagon?”

She clapped her hoof once on the side of the wagon. At that same instance, the wagon’s door flew open and a single red firework escaped into the air. It spun around several times, then stopped, seemingly looking, at them, then dived for Twilight’s apple carriage. The mares (and dragon and hedgehog) threw up their hooves to shield their faces as as the carriage exploded, splattering apple guts all over the street. Twilight glared at Trixie with applesauce dripping down her mane; Trixie chuckled nervously, looking away and rubbing the back of her neck.

“E-he-he…Trixie’s bad…,” said Trixie.

“…Why can’t we just have one normal morning?” Starlight groaned.

Thanks to the splatter from Trixie’s rocket, the Mane six (minus Sunset) were forced to clean themselves up before they were allowed to put on their dresses. Thank Luna Sassy Saddles was ridiculously prepared for every circumstance. The tall store owner magically converted the back of the store into an indoor spa complete with full sized bathtubs, oversized mane driers, and even – dare I say it – hoofie-pedis!

Twilight was just coming out of the bath, trying her mane with a towel offered by Sassy, and looked around at her friends. Starlight and Moon Dancer were underneath the oversized dries, but Trixie got curious about the machine and turned it on while it was facing sideways, generating a current that blew the stagemare across the room. The strangest sight was Tempest and Grubber leaning back in chairs with matching facial masks, cucumbers over their eyes, and listening to gentle music through headphones.

“Oh my Luna…,” Tempest groaned pleasantly. “Why did we not do this before…?”

“You say it was too girly…,” Grubber answered with a heavenly sigh.

“I’m okay with being wrong,” said Tempest.

Twilight shook her head amusingly when she heard tiny hands (more like claws) pounding against the door to the backroom.

“Come on, you guys,” Spike whined. “Let me in!”

“Sure thing, Spike,” said Twilight, walking over to the door.

“Absolutely not!” Sassy Saddles shouted, throwing herself in front of the door. “Not while ladies are getting dressed! That is uncouth!”

“Uncouth?” Moon Dancer repeated, pushing the drier off her head. “Not to point out the obvious, but you do realize that ninety-eight percent of the pony population doesn’t even wear clothes, right?”

“She brings up a good point,” Twilight agreed. “Plus, you let Grubber in.”

“I’m in touch with my feminine side,” said Grubber.

Sassy thought about it for a moment, coming to the “unfortunate” conclusion that they were right. Still, she was rather reluctant as she opened the door to let the annoyed baby dragon in.

“I'm sorry, Spike,” she apologized. “Some of us do have standards.”

“I still can't believe we're gonna be at the Grand Galloping Gala tonight,” said Spike enthusiastically, walking into the room. “And the best part is that we all get to hang out together all night long!”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, Spike,” said Tempest, removing one of the cucumbers to peek at him. “Grubber and I are gonna be scoping out that Cadence Chick all night looking for a chance to snag that pretty bauble around her neck.”

“Yeah, and I plan on spending the night with Sunburst,” said Starlight. “I haven’t seen him since we were foals, you know.”

“And I want to get in some one-on-one time with Princess Luna,” said Moon Dancer. “She’s only taught me a few lessons in the Realm and they’ve been infrequent at best.”

“And Trixie will be performing the greatest magic show Canterlot has ever seen!” Trixie cried excitedly, popping up with a leaning tower of hats on her head.

“Oh…okay…,” Spike mumbled disappointedly.

“Don't worry, Spike,” said Twilight, putting a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. “We'll all get to spend some time together. I can’t believe after all these years of watching from afar, I’m finally going to the Grand Galloping Gala. With my best friends in the whole world. With all that we've imagined, the reality of this night is sure to make this... The Best Night Ever!”

“This is the worst night ever,” Sunset groaned.

“Stop complaining and keep smiling,” Luna muttered out of the corner of her lips, straining to put on her brightest smile. “We have to look good for our guests.”

Sunset quietly exhaled an agitated sigh, then forced herself to smile so wide, her face hurt.

Being the personal student of the princess unfortunately meant that she had the “responsibility” of greeting the guests with said princess. So, as much as she wished she could just teleport away, she stood faithfully by her teacher’s side as the long, long, long, long, long, long, long of ponies slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly trickled into the castle. The only positive spin Sunset could find in this agonizing torture was the Princess Celestia was also forced greet the guests with them. She seemed even more uncomfortable than Sunset – her smile was so weird and crooked and scared some of the guests away (which could only be a positive in Sunset’s book.)

“How long does this keep going?” Celestia asked through her gritted teeth. “My face is starting to go numb.”

“Get used to it,” Sunset groaned. “We’re gonna be here all night.”

“I regret not burning the kingdom to ash,” said Celestia.

“Knock it off, you two,” Luna hissed at them after another greeting. “This is going to be a long night, so try to be on your best behavior.”

“If this is how it’s going to be for the rest of the night,” said Celestia, “then I will make no promises.”

Luna rolled her eyes, then flashed another award-winning smile as another guest came up to greet her.

After five minutes of nonstop greetings, a pair of familiar faces finally showed up.

“Tempest! Grubber!” Sunset shouted, genuinely happy to see the broken-horned mare and her dapper-looking sidekick as they approached. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Well, obviously we were,” said Tempest. “After that whole ticket thing, it’s be dumb not to come.”

“Okay, I get your point,” said Sunset, shaking her head lightly. “So where’re Twilight and the others? Didn’t they come with you?”

“They did,” Grubber answered, gesturing over his shoulder. “But then they started doing a three minute and eighteen second choreographed songs and dance outside.”

“There’s always somepony,” Luna exhaled an exasperated sigh. “Sunset, would you please?”

Grumpily, Sunset moved to the front entrance of the castle, following the long red carpet leading outside to the walkway. Milling through the hundreds of ponies, Sunset stepped out and immediately found the flash mob that Grubber warned her about. To nopony’s surprise, she found Twilight, Trixie, Moon Dancer, and Starlight leading a small army of background ponies in an unnecessary musical score about what they wanted to do at the Gala.

With a dull look in her eyes, Sunset magically summoned a firehose and blasted the background dancers in a geyser of water. Twilight and the girls screamed in a panic and dropped to the ground, hooves over their heads, as the backup dancers were shot out of the castle grounds past the gate. A wall of armed guards immediately formed up, blocking re-entry.

“We’ve told you a thousand times!” Sunset yelled at them. “Stop trying to sneak in posing as background characters! Go on! Get outta here! Get a real job, you deadbeats!”

The backup dancers go up and dispersed, grumbling under their breaths.

“Well, that was weird,” Starlight commented.

“I was wondering why all those ponies were singing and dancing with us,” said Moon Dancer. “I just figured it was part of the royal welcome or something.”

“Is anypony else concerned they somehow knew exactly what we were singing,” Twilight remarked, shivering slightly. “We didn’t even plan that – it was completely spontaneous.”

“They’re very good at improv,” said Sunset. “C’mon, I’ll show you girls inside.”

Sunset led her mare friends to the castle doors, bypassing the extensively long line of guests who had already been waiting for hours. Needless to say, many ponies were not happy. But the Mane Six were able to ignore them as they re-entered the palace and joined Tempest, admiring the decorations that had been put up in preparation for the event. Floating crystals that glittered like stars, colorful banners draped over the normally barren walls, authentic red velvet carpets that went in virtually every direction – they even polished the floor to make it extra shiny (and extra slippery, as an unfortunate unicorn carrying a tower of plates discovered.)

“Whoa!”

“So awesome!”

“Very nice.”

“Sunset, this place is amazing,” gasped Twilight. “It looks completely different from this morning.”

“Princess Luna likes to go all out for the Gala,” said Sunset. “She especially brought out all the best stuff for this particular gala.”

“What’s so special about this gala?” asked Moon Dancer.

“Because the Bearers of Harmony are attending,” said Sunset brightly. “It’s been a thousand moons since the Elements of Harmony have returned to Equestria. That’s why Princess Luna wants to make sure that this is the best night ever.”

“And it is going to be the best night ever!” said Spike enthusiastically, appearing in his adorable little tuxedo. “And you know why? Because we’re all gonna spend time to – “ The baby dragon yelped, spinning in place as the Mane Six split off in different directions, making the baby dragon dizzy. “…gether. Or not.”

“Yeah, you should’ve seen that one coming,” Sunset laughed as the baby dragon slumped on the floor. “Oh, come on, you pouty dragon. You can hang with me for a while.”

“Really?” Spike asked hopefully.

“Sure,” said Sunset, levitating him on her back, making sure not to wrinkle her expensive dress. “We’ve got a few hours before Princess Luna gives her big speech at the end of the night. Plus, we haven’t had a chance to hang out since you helped me with my ticket problem.”

“Aw, thanks, Sunset,” said Spike happily.

“What would you like to do first?” asked Sunset. “Ballroom dancing, or dessert table.”

“To the dessert table!” cried Spike, pointing dramatically.

“All right, dessert it is,” Sunset laughed, walking towards the dining hall at a leisurely pace.

Meanwhile, Moon Dancer sprinted outright the moment she spotted Princess Luna standing at the top of the stairway, she nearly tripped over her dress. She climbed the stairs straight past the long line of ponies, earning her several belligerent shouts. Moon Dancer reached the top Princess Luna and Princess Celestia finished greeting another pony.

“Princess Luna!” Moon Dancer yelled excitedly.

“Moon Dancer,” Luna greeted pleasantly. “It’s always a pleasure to see my eager young student. Outside the Realm of Sleep, that is?”

“I’m so excited to see you too,” said Moon Dancer. “Outside the Realm of Sleep, that is. There’s so much I want to catch up on.”

“Well, I want you right by my side the entire evening,” said Luna, “so we'll have plenty of time together.”

“That's just what I was hoping you'd say,” said Moon Dancer, practically teleporting to Luna’s side.

“Well, sounds like you have plenty of company,” said Celestia quickly. “I’ll just be taking my leave now.”

“Celestia, you can’t just –

“BYE!” Celestia squealed before teleporting herself to the other side of the kingdom.

Luna exhaled an irritated groan, but quickly put on her best smile as another pony walked up the stairs to greet her.

At the same time, Starlight Glimmer was moving through the crowded hallways, looking left and right with a deepening frown. There were dozens of ponies of every shape and color everywhere she looked. It seemed like an almost impossible task to find Sunburst in this thick crowd. Though, in all fairness, she had no idea what his adult self would look like. All she remembered of him as a colt was that he had an orange coat and fiery-red mane.

She gasped in excitement when she thought she spotted him heading to the dining hall, only to realize it was Sunset Shimmer. Huh, Starlight never noticed how similar they looked until now. What a weird coincidence.

“Oh, I’m never gonna find him at this rate,” Starlight moaned. “Maybe I should ask around if anyone’s seen him?”

She looked around for someone that might look reliable. She spotted a light-blue unicorn stallion nearby that she recognized from the faculty at Princess Luna’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

“Professor Top Marks!” Starlight called out, trotting over to him.

“Ah, Professor Starlight,” Top Marks greeted kindly. “How are you this fine evening?”

“I’m doing well, thank you,” said Starlight. “Actually, I’m looking for somepony. Have you seen a unicorn stallion around my age? Well mannered, super brilliant, very handsome?”

“Handsome, you say?” Top Marks hummed, tapping his snout thoughtfully. “Ah, yes, I believe I saw someone matching that description not too long ago. They were headed out to the gardens if I remember correctly.”

“Oh, thank you, Professor Top Marks!” Starlight cried jubilantly, rearing up on her hind legs. “I’m coming, Sunburst!”

Starlight sprinted out the castle doors towards the royal garden. She was running so fast, she didn’t even stop as she nearly ran over Tempest and Grubber.

“Hey, we’re walking here!” Grubber yelled at Starlight’s fleeing backside.

“What lit a fire under her flank?” Tempest wondered. “Ah, it doesn’t matter. We got bigger plans tonight.”

“We’re going after that big jewel?” asked Grubber.

“Yup, the Ruby Heart,” Tempest declared boldly. “I heard that Princess Cadence is having a private gathering in the gardens. And there she is.”

She pointed a hoof straight ahead and Grubber narrowed his eyes to focus on where she was pointing at. Through archway between the high hedges, there was a large gathering of ponies cluster around a gazebo. One pony in particular stood a full head taller than the rest, though it was hard to say who it was with their back turned.

“It’ll be easy,” Tempest told Grubber confidently, walking towards the archway. “We go in, blend in with the crowd, snatch that necklace, and get out. Easy-peasy – “

“Hold it right there, Tempest!”

Tempest and Grubber grounded their feet (hooves?) to a stop just short of the archway. Somepony was blocking them; an orange Pegasus with a wild blue mane geared up in full royal guard armor and carry a spear in his wing. He glared at the thieves, who greeted him nonchalantly.

“Hey, Flash Sentry,” said Tempest, waving casually. “We were just about to head in, so if you don’t mind….”

“This is a private gathering,” said Flash Sentry firmly. “And I seriously doubt Princess Cadence invited either of you.”

“C’mon, Flash, you can let it slid once, right?” Tempest requested. “It’s the gala.”

“The captain made it explicitly clear that I am not to let you anywhere near the princess,” said Flash Sentry resolutely, pointing his spear at the pair, forcing them to take as step back. “Now leave!”

“Okay, okay, we’re going,” Tempest relented, reluctantly walking away with Grubber. She looked back over her shoulder to see Flash Sentry glaring at them suspiciously. “Well, that was an unexpected wrinkle.”

“Are we gonna give up?” asked Grubber.

“Of course not,” Tempest scoffed. “The challenge just makes it more fun.”

They unknowingly walked past Twilight, who was heading out to the opposite side of the gardens where a large group of ponies were mingling, sipping tea and apple cider. Twilight looked around the yard hopefully. She had heard that her idol, Rosette Nebula, was hanging around talking to likeminded ponies in the field of science. Now that she was so close to meeting her, Twilight couldn’t help be sweat nervously.

“It’s okay, Twilight, calm down,” Twilight told herself, taking huge breaths to calm her racing heart. “It’s no big deal. She’s just a pony. A pony who has achieved the highest level of standards in the field of astroscience with over a dozen awards. And I’m just somepony fresh out of school working as a glorified day planner. Oh my Luna, I can’t do this! I can’t – “

“Excuse me.”

Twilight shouted out loud, which also frightened the pony who came up to her. But it wasn’t just any pony, Twilight realized. With her turquoise coat, deep-purple mane tied into a bun, and telescope Cutie Mark, Twilight covered her muzzle with her hooves to stop herself from gasping out loud as she came face-to-face with….

“Are you all right, miss?” asked Rosette Nebula, concerned.

“You’re…you’re Rosette Nebula,” Twilight breathed.

“Yes, yes, I am,” Rosette Nebula laughed. “And you’re Twilight Sparkle, I presume.”

“You know who I am?” Twilight squeaked.

“Of course,” said Rosette Nebula. “You’re the mare who accurately predicted Daybreaker’s return. Tell me, is it true you were able to measure the length of time between Daybreaker’s imprisonment to her release by comparing the pre-kingdom star charts to the modern versions?”

“Yes!” said Twilight excitedly. “The date of Daybreaker’s banishment was never official documented, but if you take into considering that more than three-quarters of the stars we see today didn’t exist back in ancient Equestria, you can steadily build up a timeline based on when they were discovered and documented.”

“Impressive,” Rosette Nebula approvingly. “Say, I’m feeling a bit parched. Would you care to join me for a class of apple cider while discussing how the phases of the moon can effect global tides and weather phenomenon.”

“Would I?” Twilight squealed.

Twilight was practically skipping alongside Rosette Nebula that she didn’t even say ‘hi’ to Trixie. Not that the showmare would have noticed; she was busy carting her magic trunk into the castle’s grand ballroom. Upon entering she took a good look around the room from the shiny polished floors to the fancy quartet on stage. And, most importantly, the rich-looking party ponies socializing everywhere, just waiting to throw all their bits at Trixie (which kind of hurts, but hey, it’s free money!)

“This is it, Trixie,” Trixie said to herself, smacking her face to hype herself up. “The moment you’ve been waiting for. Time to give them your best performance yet.”

Once properly psyched up, Trixie trotted to the farthest end of the ballroom where she unlatched her magic trunk. The party guests let out startled gasps as an explosion of colorful smoke went off. When the haze cleared, Trixie was standing on a miniature stage that had somehow appeared out of nowhere, having discard her party dress for her usual attire.

“Come on, come all, to the greatest show in Equestria!” Trixie shouted flamboyantly. “The Great and Powerful Trixie’s Greatest and Most Powerful-est magic show is about to begin!”

The crowd chattered excitedly as they gathered around the stage. Trixie rubbed her hooves with a maniacal grin. All was going according to plan.

While everypony else was on some wild adventure, Sunset and Grubber were happily feasting on some apple pie and apple fritter they bought from a random apple stand that popped up in the hallway. The mare running the stand felt oddly familiar to Sunset, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it.

“Thanks for the pie, ma’am,” said Spike enthusiastically. “It looks delicious.”

“Aw, shuck, twas nothing, sugar cube,” said the apple stand owner, tipping her cowboy hat to him. “Y’all just be sure to tell everyone that ya got them from Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Hmm…I feel like I’ve seen that pony somewhere before,” Sunset hummed as she and Spike walked away with their baked goods.

“You’re probably just imagining it,” said Spike, taking a huge bite out of his pie (including the tin.) “Mmm, that’s the best pie I’ve ever tasted!”

“Feeling a little better now?” asked Sunset, taking a bite of her apple fritter.

“A little,” said Spike. “Still wish the others were here. I was really hoping to spend time together with everyone. I mean, this is the biggest event of the year.”

“Well, we all spend a lot of time together already without some major event,” Sunset acknowledged. “I think the others were just excited because this is the one chance they have to meet people they don’t normally see. I mean, Princess Cadence came all the way from Trotkyo and Rosette Nebula is normally a recluse separated from civilization.”

“Yeah, I guess I get it,” said Spike, frowning.

“C’mon, cheer up,, little guy,” said Sunset, nudging him slightly. “Hey, I hear that A.K. Yearling is hanging out in the east wing.”

“The author of the Daring Do books?” Spike gasped. “The most awesome action-adventure series of all time?”

“Wanna meet her?” asked Sunset.

“Do I?” Spike cried excitedly, throwing his pie away carelessly (infuriating a certain mare who saw it) and climbing on Sunset’s back. “Hi-ho, Sunset! Away!”

Sunset snickered at his enthusiasm and decided to play along. The sunny reared herself on her hind legs with a loud whinny noise and galloped in the direction of the east wing.

Starlight had been cantering around the gardens for almost an hour now and there were no signs of any orange stallions with fiery manes. (She almost mistook Sunset again when she saw the mare dashing through the windows.) She had been asking ponies repeatedly is they had seen a suave, handsome, and intelligent stallion, but for some reason, they always kept pointing her in this direction. Starlight was starting to get frustrated.

“I’ve been running around in circles all night,” Starlight groaned. “Maybe somepony else can point me in the right direction.” She looked around and spotted a tall unicorn stallion with a white coat and golden mane standing by the rosebushes. “Excuse me, have you seen a super handsome unicorn stallion around.”

“Handsome, you say?” said the stallion, rounding to Starlight with a swish of his golden mane, sparkles literally glittering around him. “Would you, perhaps, be referring to moi?”

“…No, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t,” said Starlight, glancing back and forth awkwardly.

“There, there, no need to be shy,” said the stallion, flicking his mane once again, sending a shower of sparkles Starlight’s way, making her wince as they bounced off her face. “I may be handsome, suave, debonair, and fabulously wealthy, but I’m just the same as any pony. Only better. Much, much better. At literally everything.”

“Ri-i-i-ight,” muttered Starlight, cautiously taking a step back. “I’m really sorry for bothering you, Mr…”

“Blueblood,” the stallion known as Blueblood provided. He waved his mane again, showing Starlight with more sparkles, some of which got in her mouth and made her choke. “Prince Blueblood. Princess Luna’s handsome, smart, and fabulous nephew.”

“Blagh! Why do sparkles taste like candle wax and lemon juice?” Starlight groaned in disgust. “Look, Mr. Blueblood, I – wait, Princess Luna’s nephew? How does that even make sense? Celestia – Luna’s only sister – was trapped in the sun for a thousand moons. And I’m pretty sure she never had kids.”

“Silly filly, isn’t it obvious?” Blueblood guffawed.

A period of uncomfortable silence passed between them.

“…no?” Starlight replied questionably.

“You’re so funny, Miss whoever-you-are,” Blueblood laughed obnoxiously.

“My name is – “

“You want to talk more about me?” Blueblood interjected, flicking his mane again; this time the sparkles got in Starlight’s eyes. “I would be happy to share!”

“I didn’t – “

“It all started many moons ago when the greatest gift in history was bestowed upon Equestia: Me!” Blueblood babbled arrogantly.

Starlight rolled her eyes with a groan. She tried to walk away while Blueblood sang his own praises, but the narcissistic stallion threw his hoof around Starlight to hold her in place. Starlight huffed; she was going to be here for a while.

Tempest stumbled around on her hooves like a drunkard, her eyes swirling in a daze, muttering something incoherent under her breath. She eventually tumbled into a table where two mares were enjoying a spot of tea, letting out scandalized gasps as the broken-horned mare collapsed beside them, pulling the table cloth and their tea. The mares huffed and walked away with their noses upturned. Tempest just lay there in the grass, moaning, when Grubber waddled up beside her.

“Ugh…I think I’m gonna be sick,” Tempest moaned.

“I’ll say,” said Grubber, though her appeared just fine. She sat down and leaned against Tempest like a cushion, which did not help with her queasiness. “Man, Flash came super prepared tonight. I would’ve never expected that from a background character.”

That was a huge understatement in Tempest’s opinion. She had known Flash Sentry since she started living in the palace – he was one of the guards in charge with watching the royal treasury. He never did anything to stand out, but Tempest was just realizing tonight that he might be the one who kept improving security.

Take Plan A for example.

It was a very simple plan: pole vault her way over the high hedges, crash Princess Cadence’s party, snatch the necklace, and get out the same way. Tempest even did a twenty meter charge to build momentum before she thrust the pole in the ground and vaulted into the sky. She had been halfway over when Flash Sentry suddenly popped up behind the bushes armed with a shield. Tempest hit the shield face first and fell on the wrong said.

When that failed, Tempest moved on to Plan B: digging a hole.

This was one of the few times Grubber proved his usefulness. The hedgehog burrowed underneath the bushes and dig straight to the other side. But when he and Grubber popped up inside the maze, they was surprised to find themselves surrounded by a dozen vicious Chihuahuas foaming at the mouth. A few feet away, Flash Sentry was whistling the Gala Song while he hammered in a new sign that said “Beware of Dogs!” He returned to his post after he was done while the Chihuahua mangled the would-be intruders.

Okay, onto Plan C: burn it all down!

A little extreme, Tempest admitted, but her thought process was that Princess Cadence would flee into the open once she saw the smoke and that would give Tempest a chance to steal the Ruby Heart. So the scarred mare lit a match and held it to the bushes…and was promptly blasted away by Flash Sentry, who was standing on the other side of the bushes armed with Sunset’s firehose.

For the rest of the night, Tempest and Grubber had pulled out every possible plan they could muster from tightrope walking to interpretive dance (don’t ask.) But at every turn, Flash Sentry would always stop them. It got to the point where Tempest threatened bodily harm to the stallion, only for Flash Sentry to casually pick her up, spin Tempest around, and send her flying across the castle.

“This is hopeless,” Tempest moaned in defeat. “We’ve everything from Plan A to Plan Y and nothing worked.”

“We could always try Plan Z,” Grubber suggested.

“I don’t think starting a zombie apocalypse is going to help,” said Tempest, giving him a dull stare.

“You never know,” said Grubber, shrugging.

Tempest stared for a long moment…then touched her muzzle, humming thoughtfully.

“ – and that’s how I came to the theory of creating faster-than-light travel possible,” Rosette Nebula detailed to an infatuated Twilight across the table, taking a swig of Sweet Apple Acres Sweet Apple Cider© “Of course, it’s only just a theory. We’ll still have to wait until we can achieve space travel before we can test it out, but my good friend, Hoofstrong, assures me it’ll happy any day now.”

“Wow, professor,” Twilight breathed an captivated sigh. “You’re so amazing.”

“Oh, I’m nothing special, Twilight,” said Rosette Nebula humbly. “Nothing compared to the mare that save Equestria.”

“Oh no, what you’re doing is way more impressive,” Twilight countered. “Just imagine what life will be like when ponies can finally travel to space. Getting to travel the moon, swimming in an endless sea of bright stars, looking down at the wide round world we live in – “

“Oh, Twilight, you’re so silly,” Rosette Nebula guffawed, surprising Twilight. “Round world…. Everypony knows Equestria is flat.”

“…Huh?” Twilight muttered dimly.

“Don’t let those so-called ‘scientists’ fool you into believing that bag of manure,” Rosette Nebula continued. “They come up with all those bogus theories about how the world is round and say that gravity is real – “

“You don’t think gravity is real?” questioned Twilight, slack-jawed.

“They just don’t want you to know that you could fall off the edge of the world,” said Rosette Nebula. “That’;s because they’re hiding a terrible secret. The truth is, Equestia is actually sitting on the back of a giant cosmic goldfish swimming in the space ocean. That is why the Illuminati forces that fake scientists into spreading their lies to keep the public from searching for the truth.”

“The illumi – what?” Twilight sputtered.

“Princess Luna and Princess Celestia are high ranking members of the Illuminati,” said Rosette Nebula, glancing around conspiratorially. “And that who ‘banishing to the sun’ act was just a ruse to disguise what they were really up to: reporting to their masters, the lizard people of Planet X, for the coming invasion of Equestria. Princess Luna has been purposely fatten us up to serve us as food for her reptilian overlords.”

“That’s…interesting…,” Twilight smiled nervously. She turned away from Rosette Nebula for a moment, hooves in her mane, eyes bugging out. “Oh my Luna, she’s crazy! I need to get out of here before she infects me with her insanity!”

Before she could make a move, Rosette Nebula suddenly appeared by Twilight’s side, stuffing a hat shaped like a satellite dish made of tinfoil on her head.

“Put this on!” Rosette Nebula warned, snapping her head back and forth erratically. “This will protect you from the mole people’s mind probes!”

Twilight exhaled an exasperated sigh. It’s true what they say: never meet your heroes.

Moon Dancer exhaled a sigh. Half the night was already over and she hardly got in a word with Princess Luna. That’s because the line just – wouldn’t – end! Seriously, it was like the entire population of Equestria had showed up. Moon Dancer briefly stepped outside to see if the line had gotten any shorter after the first hour, only to discover that it had actually increased. It stretched all the way to the gates and wrapping around the outer walls – twice!

“Welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Luna greeted a mare that Moon Dancer was fairly certain she already met three times already. As they cantered away, she noticed Moon Dancer’s disappointed look. “Oh, what’s the matter, my little pony?”

“Princess Luna, I’ve been looking forward to spending time with you for months,” said Moon Dancer. “But this…is not how I imagined it going.”

“Yes, I know Moon – oh, good evening!” Luna quickly altered tones as another fancy guest walked up. “Welcome to the Gala.” The mare walked away. “I’ve been wanting to – ladies!” Luna almost shouted to a mare couple. “Lovely to see you again.”

Moon Dancer sighed, muttering, “Looks like getting a chance to talk to the princess is gonna be a magic trick in itself. At least it can’t get any worse….”

Just then, a remarkably plain Earth Pony stallion with the widest smile imaginable made it to the top of the staircase to greet the princess. Rather than receiving a formal welcome like every other pony, Luna regarded his with a narrowed look of contempt. Same for Moon Dancer. But the pony didn’t seem to notice or care.

“Hiya, princess!” the stallion greeted her with an upbeat attitude despite the hated glares. “Swell party your throwing! The best one in years! I would love to stay and enjoy it, but I gonna get to bed early tonight so I can get a full eight hours of sleep for tomorrow! I’m volunteering at the orphanage this week and we’re making birdhouses for homeless meadowlarks! Then I have to hop on over to the hospital for my shift and a world-renowned surgeon. Tomorrow, I’m treating twenty cancer patient. It’ll be tough work, but nothing is more fulfilling than saving lives! Which reminds me, I donated a one million bits check to end world hunger and they made solid golden statues of me in Canterlot, Ponyville, Manehatten, Cloudsdale, the Dragon Lands, and Yakyakastan! Isn’t that just the sweetest thing?

“Whelp, I won’t take up too much of your time,” said the cheery stallion as he walked away. “Enjoy the rest of your night!”

“Winkleberg…,” Luna and Moon Dancer growled in unison.

Trixie was practically buzzing with excitement as the crowd gathered around her stage, give her their undivided attention. It was smaller than her usual numbers on the streets of Canterlot, but these were the most influential ponies in all of Equestria! If she impressed them, she could book hundreds of shows from Vanhoover to Las Pegasus!

“Thank you, one and all,” said Trixie dramatically, “for attending the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magical performance – sponsored by the Final Act, Canterlot’s premiere entertainment bar, opening this Spring!”

She levitated her hat, holding it with the brim facing up.

“For Trixie’s first trick, Trixie will – “

“Ooh! Ooh! Are you gonna pull Angel out of your hat?” an overexcited Pegasus stallion interrupted. “I love that adorable little rabbit!”

“Of course not!” a fancy-looking unicorn mare scoffed. “She’s going to open with her famous firework special like she does in two-thirds of her shows.”

“You’re both wrong,” said a dapper Earth Pony stallion. “She’s obviously going to do her famous vanishing act where she jumps into her hat and magically appears in the crowd. It’s only her greatest opening of all time.”

“Uh…,” Trixie stammered, laughing nervously, putting her hat back on her head. “N…no, no, of course not. Trixie would never repeat the same performance at such a magnificent event. What Trixie meant to say was...uh…,” She anxiously reached under her cloak and pulled out a set of linked rings. “Trixie will now be performing – “

“Oh, it’s the ring separating trick!”

“No, it’s the flaming hoops trick!”

“You’re both wrong! It’s the trans-dimensional wormhole trick!”

“Uh, never mind!” Trixie cried, throwing the magic rings away (and accidentally summoning a Cthulhu tentacle that snatched up a random pony and dragged them to the dark dimension.) Trixie reached for something else, now sweating profusely, and whipped out her hand hoof-saw. “Okay, this is a good one! Trixie will now – “

“Are you gonna cut someone in half again?” called out Soarin, who was in the crowd with the Wonderbolt. “That was awesome when you did it in the Everfree Forest that one time!”

“Speak for yourself,” said Spitfire. “It took us hours to get your legs back.”

Trixie dropped the saw with a clatter as the startling revelation occurred to her. She had done so many performances in Canterlot that everypony knew her tricks! She had nothing new to show them!

“Do the Manticore Mouth Dive!” shouted one pony.

“No, do the Saddle Arabian Snake Charmer!” another mare yelled.

“The Romarenian Fire Dance!”

“The Disappearing Trunk!”

“Turn me into a teacup!”

The constant demands were starting to overwhelm Trixie, who fidgeted on stage, drenched in her own sweat. It eventually became too much for the showmare, who screamed in frustration and threw down a smoke bomb, exploding in a puff of blue haze. When the smokescreen cleared, the stage was left empty to a crowd of confused ponies.

Sunset had to put a hoof on Spike’s head to stop him from bouncing up and down, not that she could blame him. They had found A.K. Yearling and the oddly-dressed mare was gracious enough to sign Spike’s copy of Daring-Do and the Forbidden City of Clouds, which he just happened to have on his person.

“Here you go, young man,” said A.K. Yearling, offering the autographed book back.

“Oh, thank you so much!” Spike gushed, hugging the book to his chest. The gracious author chuckled good-naturedly and waved them good-bye as they walked off. “Oh man, I can’t believe I got to meet A.K. Yearling! Twilight is gonna be so jealous.”

“So, this turned out to be a good night after all?” questioned Sunset.

“The best night ever!” Spike cheered.

“Good to here,” said Sunset, smiling.

“Excuse me, Miss Shimmer.” A palace guard ran up to them, saluting to Sunset. “Princess Luna is about to give her closing speech. She requested that your attendance.”

“Looks like it’s time to wrap things up,” said Sunset. “I’ll see you afterwards, Spike.”

“Sure,” Spike agreed, waving good-bye. “Let’s hangout at Pony Joe’s later!”

“Count on it!” Sunset called back.

Now that he was all by himself and the others were probably still doing their own thing, Spike decided he might as well get a head start and head to Pony Joe’s. With the only thing left being the closing speech, it shouldn’t take too long. That, and he wanted to show off his autographed copy of Daring-Do to Joe, who was a huge fan of the series like him.

Moon Dancer let out a dejected sigh as she stood in the center of the grand ballroom, surrounded by hundreds of ponies who were gathering for Princess Luna’s closing speech. The princess in question was standing on the raised platform at the back end of the ballroom (and, oddly, Trixie’s portal stage was right next to it.) Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer were on stage as well, all of them engaged in hushed conversation.

Moon Dancer was jealous of Sunset.

“So much for the best night ever,” Mon Dancer mumbled disappointedly.

“Rough night for you, too?” asked Twilight making her way through the crowd to Moon Dancer.

“Uh…what’re you wearing, Twilight?” asked Moon Dancer, eyeing the tinfoil satellite dish with uncertainty.

“Long story short,” Twilight grumbled, throwing away the tinfoil hat, “Rosette Nebula is a whack bag and should havew her doctorate revoked. What about you, Moon Dancer? Did you get to talk to Princess Luna?”

“No,” Moon Dancer shook her head. “I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise.”

“I know what that’s like,” Starlight complained, trotting up to Twilight’s other side.

“Starlight!” shouted Twilight. “What happened? Did you find Sunburst?”

“No,” Starlight groaned, rolling her eyes. “But run into this annoying mule who wouldn’t shut up about himself! It took me ages to get away from him!”

“Glad to see we’re not the only ones who’re miserable.” Tempest and Grubber approached the group, covered in what looked like green sludge with a rotting pony hoof clutching to Grubber’s quills.

“What happened to you guys?” asked Starlight.

“Let’s just say that Flash Sentry knows his way around a chainsaw,” said Tempest.

“They should really give that guy a promotion,” Grubber commented, ripping the rotting pony arm off and throwing it away.

“Well, I hope Trixie had a better time than we did,” Twilight sighed.

“Don’t count on it.” The Mane Six yelped, startled, as Trixie suddenly appeared between the group wearing her ultimate disguise: a pair of glasses. “Trixie has never been so humiliated in Trixie’s life.”

“Well, it’s official,” said Twilight glumly. “This is the worst night ever. Don’t know how it could get any lower than this.”

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” Luna shouted in the royal voice, drawing everyone’s attention to the stage, Sunset and Celestia standing on either side of her. “Thank you all for attending this year’s Grand Galloping Gala! I think I can safely safe that this year’s gala was the best one yet! And now, I would like to end this year’s gala with – “

The princess’s speech was interrupted with a deep, bellowing laughter suddenly rang out. The attendees gasped and chattered frightened; it sounded like the laughter was coming from every direction at once and it gave off an ominous chill that went down everyone’s spine.

“Why stop now, princess?” a stallion’s voice boomed, his tone deep and haunting. “The party’s just getting started!”

Suddenly a burst of blue flames spontaneously exploded near the ceiling, causing many ponies to shriek in terror. The flames quickly dissipated, revealing a cloaked form hovering over the ballroom. It was impossible to make out who they were due to the black cape that covered most of their body, but they were exceptionally tall – around the same height as the princesses, and dressed in an immaculate tuxedo with a white porcelain mask covering their face.

“Who is that?” Twilight screamed.

“No, it can’t be!” Luna gasped in horror, eyes wide with shock.

“But it is!” the masked stallion declared theatrically. “I swore that I would return! And now, after a hundred moons, you will finally be mine, Luna!”

“Protect the princess!” Sunset shouted at the royal guards.

But it was too late. The masked stallion dived at Princess Luna and both of them exploded in a burst of blue flames. The heat was so intense, it forced even Princess Celestia to take a step back. And when the flames went out, both the masked stallion and Luna were missing, leaving behind only a scorch mark on the floor.

“Princess Luna!” Sunset gasped. “She’s been kidnapped!”

Author's Note

Zoinks! Looks like we got another mystery on our hooves, gang!

Who is the mysterious kidnapper that spirited away the princess? And what fiendish plan could he be plotting? The only way to find out is to tune into the season finale of Pony Tails!