The Background Pony Crew Goes to the Gala

Chapter Three: Weeping Angels and Gala Dresses

The Doctor was used to mayhem and mystery following him at every turn; that was part of the job description of being a timelord. So when Derpy came crashing into the TARDIS in a panic, the Doctor just furrowed his brow and said, “What is it this time!? Cyberponies?” He rushed to Derpy’s side, holding her up as she collapsed.

“It-*huff* was-*puff* a stone statue of a pony with a human face! And it moved!” Derpy gasped as she got her breath back.

In surprise, the Doctor let go of Derpy without thinking, and she crashed to the floor.

“Ouch!” Derpy cried, giving the timelord an annoyed look as he rushed to get his sonic screwdriver and some other things.

“Quickly! Tell me more about this thing you encountered!” The Doctor said as he dashed  around the TARDIS.

“Well,” Derpy began. rubbing her head, “I first saw it in Lyra’s basement. It was a human, and was holding its head in it’s hands, like it was crying or something. And it had huge wings, like an alicorns’.”

The Doctor cried out, momentarily stopping. “In Lyra’s BASEMENT?” he said, a disgusted look on his face. “I don’t know which I believe more, the fact that there is a weeping angel in Equestria, or that it was in Lyra Heartstrings’ BASEMENT of all places! This is most certainly definitely not good...” suddenly the Doctor’s face changed. “Did... did it touch you at all?”

“Yes...” said Derpy, feeling uncomfortable with the Doctor staring at her. “I was flying out of the basement when I felt it touch my hoof. I looked backwards, and I saw that it had moved! It was reaching towards me, and-”

The Doctor cursed under his breath. He found his screwdriver and put it in the pocket of his long overcoat. “It didn’t hurt you... but why?” he asked no one in particular, staring into space.

“Um, if it helps any, I saw it again just a few minutes ago, at the Ponyville fountain,” Derpy said. “It had the body of a pony, but it still had the face of a human. I don’t know why-”

“AHA!” The Doctor cried, jumping up, “It’s following you! You are leading it to something it wants, and it came into contact with you so that it could take the shape of a pony! That way everybody would think that it is only a normal statue, and it could get away with anything!” The Doctor gave Derpy an excited smile, but then it faded away, replaced by a frown. “But what can you lead it to that it needs...?”

Derpy, thoroughly confused, furrowed her brow and cocked her head. “Doctor, please! What’s a weeping angel?!”

The Doctor gazed at Derpy. “Weeping Angels are creatures from another world. They feed on electrical energy as well as potential energy. When you look at it, it is still like a stone statue, stuck in quantum lock But when you look away, or even blink... it attacks,” stated the Doctor in a dark tone.

Derpy’s eyes grew wide. “So, it could have... killed me?” Her mismatched eyes began to moisten. “I might have died?”

The Doctor gave a slow nod. “It also could have sent you to the past with only one touch, feeding off of your potential life energy. But like I said, it didn’t. It needs you for something.”

Derpy wiped her wet eyes with her hoof. “What are we going to do?” she whispered.

The Doctor gave a small smile. “We’re going to lead it to what it wants.”

“Wait, what?!” Derpy cried. “Why in Equestria would we do that?”

“I’m assuming that what it needs is at the Gala, since you were talking with Lyra about it in the basement. So we will let it follow us there, and keep an eye out for it. Whatever it wants, it will most likely have to come out in the open to find it. And when it’s out in the open, we’ll see it, and when we see it, we can warn the Princesses about it. And once we’ve warned the Princesses, they can use their ‘magic’ to teleport it to a safe place where it can be contained! Brilliant!” The Doctor beamed, a smile spread across his face.

“That sounds... dangerous,” said Derpy hesitantly. She in no way understood his hastily explained plan.

The Doctor shrugged as best as his equine body could. “All in a day’s work for me.”

“Do you have this in brown?” asked Octavia, rubbing her chin with her hoof. She held a lovely blue dress draped over her hooves, and was looking it over casually.

"Yes, I do!" said a white unicorn standing a few feet away from Tavi. "Though that shade of brown should really only be used for accents..."

"Could I see it?" asked Octavia, hanging the blue dress up on a rack. "I will probably purchase it today, if you do not mind."

"Oh, that's quite alright," said the unicorn, "I will fetch it right away." She trotted into the back room, her purple tail bouncing up and down in time.

***

Octavia sighed and looked around the room. She had never been to the Carousel Boutique before, but she needed to buy a proper dress for the Gala. She couldn't go trotting in without the proper attire.

The sound of a bell made her whip her head around. The door of the shop had opened, producing a jingle from the bell attached to it. Several ponies stepped into the room.

The first to enter the shop was Vinyl. She had an ecstatic look on her face, shuffling while nodding her head in time with a mental tune. Derpy came in next, her usually cheery face sporting an unusual look of quiet dread. Next was the Doctor, also wearing a frown, though he did not look quite as melancholy as Derpy. Carrot Top and Lyra entered close to the same time, both wearing interesting clothing. Octavia just rolled her eyes when she saw Lyra's outfit. The mare was dressed up like a human again. No surprise. However, Carrot Top's ensemble was different. She wore a red and white plaid dress with short, puffy sleeves, as well as some white stockings and red shoes. The outfit looked nice on her, even Octavia had to admit.

"What in Celestia's name are you all doing here?" Octavia asked the group.

"Buying some clothing for the Gala!" Vinyl answered, her hoof tapping in rhythm on the floor. "You?"

"The same reason," stated Octavia, hearing hoof steps behind her. The white unicorn entered from the back room, a brown dress in her magic's embrace. She gave a smile as she saw the new group.

“More customers, I see. Lovely! The Gala is certainly giving me more business than I've gotten in a while," she said, setting the dress in front of Octavia. "What do you darlings need?"

“We’d like to buy some new threads for the Gala,” Vinyl told the unicorn, giving a grin.

“Of course,” said the boutique owner, motioning to racks of varying dresses and tuxedos. “Take your pick.”

Vinyl, Derpy, and the Doctor looked through the forest of hoof-stitched clothing, each searching for the perfect outfit. Carrot Top trotted over to Octavia, already wearing her chosen Gala dress.

“That’s a lovely Victorian gown,” Carrot Top stated with a friendly smile.

Octavia ignored the comment. “Is that what you are wearing to the Gala?” she asked.

Carrot Top looked down at her outfit. “Yes. It was my mother’s. She wore it the first time she went to the Gala.”

“Oh,” Octavia said simply. Such a country-style dress was not appropriate for a high-society event, but Octavia did not feel the need to tell this to Carrot Top.

“I think this would be a good suit. What do you think, Derpy?” the Doctor’s voice stated, muffled by the hundreds of clothing pieces he was surrounded by.

Derpy talked next, in a low tone. “That looks alright,” she said.

Octavia furrowed her brow. Derpy had been so cheerful earlier. Now she looked and sounded like all of the happiness had been sucked out of her. What was wrong?

The white unicorn who owned the shop gave a small squeal as she looked behind the rows of clothes and saw the outfit the Doctor had picked. “Magnificent!” she cried. “Go try it on at once!”

The Doctor did, stepping into a changing room for privacy. He came out a few minutes later, wearing a dapper dark blue dress jacket and tie. The white unicorn smiled in glee, brushing her purple mane away from her face.

“Well, how do I look?” asked the Doctor, trotting over to Derpy and striking a pose. “Certainly was a challenge putting clothes on this strange pony anatomy, but I think I did a good job, no?”

This prodded a small smile from Derpy. “It looks great on you,” she said, blushing.

Strange pony anatomy? Octavia was really starting to wonder how sane the ponies she hung out with were. Speaking of ponies with questionable sanity, Octavia spotted Lyra aimlessly wandering around the store. She was constantly adjusting her strapped on human ears. A small white unicorn filly near the back of the store saw Lyra doing this.

“What are those things on your head?” asked the filly, tilting her head to one side.

Lyra spotted the source of the question and smiled. “These are human ears, my good filly! I’m dressed up like a person!” She explained jubilantly.

“What’s a human?” asked the filly, walking up to Lyra.

“You don’t know? Well, let me explain...” Lyra responded. She put a foreleg around the filly’s neck and began talking about the “wonderful world of the human race.”

Octavia grimaced. “There she goes, polluting the future population,” she muttered under her breath. Carrot Top just sighed.

“Hey! Everypony!” Vinyl called among the clothes. “Found my Gala dress!” She trotted out into the open, holding up some clothing in a swath of magic. She dashed into a dressing room.

Derpy walked up to the boutique owner. “Could I order a custom dress?” she asked. “Something with bubbles and muffins. Those are my favorites.”

The boutique owner grimaced. “I have many custom orders to finish today... but I will try my best, darling,” she said. “Perhaps you could follow me to pick out fabrics, and we can discuss the price.” The white unicorn led Derpy into another room, probably the sewing workshop.

Vinyl popped her head around the dressing room door. “Okay, you all ready for this?” she asked.

“Sure!” said the Doctor and Carrot Top simultaneously. Octavia just shrugged.

Vinyl stepped out of the dressing area, decked out in a blue and black modern-style dress with a black belt and choker. Black boots on her back legs and almost shoulder-length stockings on her front completed the look.

“So! Whadda ya think?” Vinyl asked, raising her shades with her magic.

“Very nice,” said Carrot Top.

“Fantastic!” said the Doctor.

Octavia just brushed past them all and headed out the door. She had had enough of these ponies. She would relax and practice her cello tonight before the big day tomorrow.

As she walked out of the Boutique, she heard a small filly’s voice. “Rarity! Guess what I heard!” the filly squeaked. “There are these creatures called humans who-”

Octavia closed the shop door, cantering home in a huff.