Octavia was trying not to let anything bother or distract her. It was just a shame that her feelings didn't agree. She had never had anything against using the train to Canterlot, but right now she hated the cushions of the seats, the buzz of the tracks, and every other pony in the caboose with her right now for not being as equally miserable. Even if there were only two other ponies. One was a quiet old brown stallion who had pretty quickly fallen asleep in his seat and the other was a bright lime-green pegasus mare with a trumpet. And how dare she not be as neurotic as Octavia about performing today.

She actually wasn't likely to be a fellow Gala musician tonight, brass instruments weren't exactly great for the subtle compositions the Gala liked to play in the background. Octavia still decided to act like she was a massive bitch until the train stopped. There was only one thing the chello player found herself unable to hate, and it was sitting next to her. Octavia looked to her left at the bright round smiling face beaming up at her, with a bowtie matching hers tied around its rotund body.

"Hiiiiii!"

"You are very lucky to be so cute."

She couldn't wait till this night was over and she could just crawl into bed with Vinyl. But she signed a contract and she didn't want to start straining their coffers if she didn't have to, so here she was.

"Poyo!"

"You're pushing it..."

Twilight Sparkle was a little concerned. Or, rather, she was a little concerned about a few different little things. Which all added up to her being moderately concerned. For one, the whole situation with Vinyl Scratch was, in a word, fucked. And it was something that Twilight couldn't fully block out of her mind even as her and her friends carriage carried them to Canterlot. She tried to distract herself with other things, but that brought up concern number two.

Spike was pretty set on spending the night showing the girls around the city, and all the girls (Twilight included) seemed committed to their own plans. She was pretty sure he was going to end the day disappointed. And then she was thinking about her friends, and that brought on concerns numbers three through seven. How had she not seen that all of her friends plans were unrealistic this while time? Rarity wanted to fall in love with a prince, Applejack was trying to sell pastries at a catered event, Pinkie Pie was most certainly not one for slow parties, and Rainbow Dash was banking on somehow getting into the Wonderbolts reserved area and wowing the professional career flyers so much they hire her on the spot. That was so not how that worked.

Fluttershy was the only one of her friends whose plan might not be doomed from the start, but said mare was acting... off. Distracted. Despite wearing her dress, being in a magical carriage, being on the way to the most prestigious event in Equestria, on the way to the gardens she had once spoken of in complete reverence, Fluttershy looked like her mind was on literally anything else.

"Fluttershy? Are you feeling OK?" No response. "Fluttershy?" Nothing. Now Rainbow was getting concerned.

"Uh, Flutters? Hello?" Whether it was because she knew Rainbow for longer or because Rainbows voice just cut through her thoughts better, she had finally caught the yellow mares attention.

"Hm? O-oh, um... yes?" Well maybe now Twilight could ask her what was going on.

"Are you okay? You look... unhappy. Did something happen?"

"Oh, no. Nothing is wrong, I guess. I'm just... thinking about the animals back at the cottage. I don't leave them on their own very often..."

"Aw, sugarcube. You spoil the lot of em. They'll be fine fer the night." Applejack inserted herself into the conversation.

"I know. I just... Oh, nevermind. Let's just... enjoy the Gala..." And then Fluttershy went straight back to looking at nothing, trapped in her own thoughts.

Twilights concern levels rising. 26%

I looked at Carina with a discerning eye. This dress was done and redone so many times, I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything glaringly wrong with it.

"You're looking at me like I insulted you. Can you look at me like I'm sexy for a bit?" I blinked and looked up at her wry smirk.

"Oh, sorry. You're beautiful Cari, I just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong or out of place after everything." And it was true, she was very eye-catching. Her chitin was a hot pink and her mane, tail, eyes, unicorn horn and heart-shaped antlers were all a bright yellow color. Rarity initially wanted to add more colors to her with her dress, but eventually moved away from that idea and chose to make it an all black peice. And it was a good decision, as it stood out in all the best ways on Carina. The tight sleeves on her front legs went all the way down to cover her hooves, the collar of the dress made a curved 'V' shape, and the actual dress portion fanned out about halfway around her barrel. It wasn't nearly as big or as detailed as the other dresses I saw being made at the boutique, but it was perfect on her.

Ignoring how wack it seemed to me that her backside was still completely exposed, besides her tail. I was getting better. I think. I wasn't sure if becoming more used to it meant thinking about our nudity more or thinking about it less, but I was getting good at ignoring it for a time. A very healthy individual, I am.

"Relax, Rarity clearly knows what she was doing. I look hot and sexy, just like I requested." Oh look, more thoughts to ignore. "Now, where's Swaddle-Dee?" On cue, the little dude walked up to us, big black bowtie pinned in place on him. He was also, miraculously, not armed. "There's the handsome little dude. Looking spiffy!"

"Indeed. We all ready to go?" I got two nods and vague sounds of confirmation. "Well, let's go then. One, two, three-"

Three spears down, two more left to hold the line. One hearts slowly fades as the next finally begins to crack.

...Just a little longer...

Twilight wasn't upset, not at all. You're upset, and you're projecting onto her. She was enjoying her time sitting next to her mentor, watching her talk to literally everypony else who walked in the door.

...Fine. She was upset.

Of course her plan was also doomed, why not. Celestia had an obligation to greet all the guests of the most well-known and sought-after party in the country. How Twilight thought she would have any time to talk about anything, she had no clue.

"Ah, welcome Carina, Elfilis, and... Swaddle-Dee I assume?" Twilight looked up as she heard the Princess greet her friends/patients/banes-of-her-existance. Sure enough, Carina was stood front and center in a stunning black dress and Elfilis was standing behind her in... absolutely nothing. That was odd. And then he spoke.

"Thank you Princess. And may I say, it's nice to see another pony with as much fashion sense as me."

... Damn it, Celestia was only wearing her regalia, which was effectively nudism compared to majority of the guests. Now Twilight felt overdressed.

"Hahaha, yes. Sometimes less is more after all. Please, enjoy your night." And then they were gone, and Twilight opened her mouth to ask her favored mentor a question and-

"Welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala. Please-" And closed it and tried really hard to not glare while sitting next to the regally smiling royalty.

Twilights frustration levels rising. 67%

Tink, tink, crack, and another heart disappears. Only one left, it's only a matter of time.

...I'm almost done...

"Oh, Elfi! Stay here for a sec. I think I know that pony in the wheelchair. Or, well, I knew him as Frontline. I'm going to go surprise him!"

"Alright, I'll be by the drinks when you're done." I watched her push her way through the crowd as I made my way to the food tables, though most ponies moved out of the way of the both of us. We were just so much taller than all of them. Of course, I didn't just stare at her behind the whole time. I looked around and saw Octavia on stage, which surprised me. I didn't know she was going to be here. The less surprising guests were the girls I could spot in the crowd, Rarity and Applejack for example.

What I ended up looking at the most though, was other ponies behinds. I couldn't help it. The formal suits and dresses covering their fronts just made their bare pony bits stand out even more in my mind for some reason. They almost looked more naked than when they wore nothing at all. So I ended up looking under that guy's tail, and that girl's tail, and that guy was trying to hide a hard-on. And that mare over there was... either flirting with or being apprehended by a guard because those gems were not supposed to go there. What the fuck lady. Oh, And look! Another pony with her junk exposed to air... A familiar set of junk...

"A-ah! Lu- Ahem, Princess Luna. It's nice to see you." I made sure to look her in the eyes as she turned around, though her smile quickly began to wane.

"Sir Elfilis! You... look rather uncomfortable." Now, my discomfort probably showed on my face. But I would be blind to miss her big expressive eyes darting down to look at my waist as she greeted me. I didn't bother looking down myself, I just opened a small portal and attached it to my groin. I put my dick in the back of my mind.

"I am uncomfortable, let's talk about something boring. So how's that education reform thing coming along? Actually, nevermind. How do you and Celestia get your hair to do that flowy thing. I don't think I've ever seen yours do it before."

"Oh, this is actually its natural state. It just took some time to 'recharge' you might say after my return. And it's also not boring. How dare you sir." Big party or not, it was the same shit as every other day. If only it stayed that way.

It shattered. Every other spear had gone without a sound, but the final one was destroyed with greater force. The prisoner was losing patience. But now she was free, and she made sure to take a deep breath of the dusty air as the crystal heart that encased her fell to peices around her.

"Haaaa... It's so much... It's... Not enough?... But... OK! OK... I will find more... I can feel more... much more..."

Slowly, haltingly, Chrysalis's head tilted up towards the ceiling. Many floors above her, a gathering of ponies was taking place.

Storo was the largest member of the Squeak Squad, and he made use of his muscle and mass. A crate that would normally take at least two unicorns to lift was easily hoisted over his shoulder as he walked onto their future ship. He had just been about to put it down when-

An explosion. Screaming. The big purple mouse turned on a dime towards the noise. The castle, near the gardens. Where the big Gala event was taking place. Where his leader, and friend, Daroach was intending to spend the night.

Storo pulled his red shirt down over his belly and put the crate down in both hands before leaping off the ship. Daroach could handle himself, but he wasn't going to leave it to chance.

Twilight was never going to any 'prestigious' event ever again. All the rumors and talk of its magnificence were lies told by shitty rich ponies who wanted to brag about how rich they were to the richest pony ever. And it was stupid and she hated stupidity. She was just about ready to teleport the next noble who approached Celestia to flash some jewelry under the guise of paying their respects when-

An explosion. Screaming. Twilight shot onto her hooves only moments after the Princess, but she didn't quite know what it was that was running through her body.

Twilights panic levels rising. 89%

Me and Luna were enjoying ourselves, just trading barbs and talking about whatever came to mind. It was our usual banter. It came to an end when I heard Carina call out to me.

"Elfilis! Look who I found!" I turned towards the center of the building to see her walking towards me with Toby on her back. How did he get here?

"Well, it was nice talking to you Luna, but it looks like the girlfriend needs me now."

"Haha, very well. We will talk to you later. It was nice." I put down my cup as I began to walk over to my partner. And then everything froze.

My mind overclocked. I was thinking faster than I could actually reasonably understand. I knew something was wrong but I didn't understand that something was wrong. Where was it? What was it? What was I looking for?

It.

It what?!

And then I saw it. Even in frozen time, the ground under Carina and Toby moved. It bulged, it expanded, it rose, it began to glow green. Carina didnt have time to blink. I only had enough time to take a running step towards her. And then-

An explosion. Screaming. A pink body in a tattered black dress launched towards me. I caught her in my arms, and I lost sight of everything around me. The only things that existed were me and Carina. She bled and she cried, and I wanted to do he same. But my body continued to move without me. Because I refused to let her keep hurting.

Nothing else mattered until she was safe. And then... Then someone was going to die.

Toby yelled as he was launched into the air. He managed to catch himself by taking a large puff of air into himself before he hit the ground, but it was a very close thing. He winced as he looked at where he had just been. There was smoke, and debris, and it smelled like burning, but he could see her. Chrysalis, even if he didn't know who she was. What he knew was that she was a large black bug pony creature, and she had undoubtedly just hurt Carina and most likely many other ponies.

And that meant it was time to fight. He took a stance as Chrysalis walked towards him.

I can do that.

Author's Note

Merry Christmas have a cliffhanger