CHAPTER 5: THE REAL TICKET MASTER

---

"Thank ya kindly Twilight for helpin' me out." Applejack thanked Twilight with a cheerful hop, bouncing the apples in her saddle basket for emphasis. "I bet Big Macintosh I could get all these golden delicious in the barn by lunchtime." The farm-pony grinned cheekily. "If I win, he's going to walk down Stirrup Street in one of grannie's girdles!"

"No problem at all, Applejack." Twilight told her, glad to hear that food was waiting for them at the end of the workload. "I'm glad the goal is lunchtime. All this hard work is making me hungry!"

"I know, right?" Spike interrupted; the dragon was currently seated on Twilight's back, going through the apples in the unicorn's own baskets.

Twilight gave him a mean stare. "Pu-lease, Spike; you've been lounging on my back all morning while we worked!"

"Exactly!" The dragon said, unfazed. "You guys were taking so long that I missed snack time!" The sheer mention of food make Twilight's stomach growl hungrily, and she found herself regretting skipping breakfast before meeting up with Applejack. Meanwhile Spike, continued sorting through the apples in the baskets, tossing out ones that he didn't like.

"Nope...no...worm...no...A-HA!" He announced, pulling out the biggest, reddest, most perfect-looking apple Twilight had ever seen.

Her mouth watered at the sight, prompting her to lick her lips. "Oh, Spike! That looks delicious! I-"

*FWIP! SPLAT!*

In a streak of pink, a long slender tongue shot down from the sky and pierced the apple through the middle, punching out the core in an almost perfect cutaway. The forked tips hooked around the base and, before Spike could yelp 'HEY!', the tongue yanked the fruit out of the baby dragon's hands and back into Spyro's waiting jaws. Twilight could only gape in shock before the dragon's jaws closed with a clap, splattering apple juice through the air with a noisy *crunch*.

Spyro purred happily as he swallowed what had to be the best apple in his entire life, his large wings flapping up a powerful gust as flew down from above and hovered to a stop on the road, landing on all fours with a light thud; the shock-wave sent a few apples tumbling from nearby trees, landing neatly in the baskets waiting below.

"My compliments to the gardener." He stated, stepping around to steady his footing as he licked the apple juice from his gums and lips.

Applejack tipped her hat, which she had grabbed to keep from blowing away in the wind. "Much appreciated there, Spyro." She said with a grin. "What brings ya ta Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Your brother asked me yesterday if I could come over and help him win a bet of some sort." He told them, pausing to scratch an itch behind his ear with his hind foot's claws. "Something about gathering the most red delicious before..." He trailed off, suddenly aware of Applejack's deathly glare boring a void into his soul. "...Ah...I see..."

As the farm pony promptly chewed the bemused Spyro out with a long rant full of countryisms and insults toward her brother, Twilight took a moment to contemplate the situation: a large, scary dragon causally flying down to a pair of ponies, and said ponies greeting him just as causally without any fear or anxiousness whatsoever; it was still just as baffling now as it had been when he first came to them in the forest to say he was there to help.

Three days had passed since Spyro defeated Nightmare Moon and the visitors from another world had made their home in Ponyville, and things had been going surprisingly well. Pinkie's party had done wonders in getting the ponies of the town to accept their guests (even after Spyro's explosion over Spike's presence; the gems he gave to help repair the town had gone wonders with regaining everypony's trust and respect), and now they barely gave the dragon a second glance when passing him on the street or when his shadows cross the ground as he flew overhead. It was almost surreal, seeing ponies so accepting and calm toward a member of what many ponies considered their sworn enemy race.

Ponyville was truly a different town than the likes of Canterlot, she acknowledged with a thoughtful look.

But soon home came calling: just as Applejack was nearing the end of her rant, panting for breath as she did so, Spike suddenly heaved with swollen cheeks before burping up a puff of green flame, which outright launched him off of Twilight's back; said flame condensed and transformed into a scroll.

"It's a letter from Princess Celestia." Twilight stated.

Spyro looked confused. "Who else would it be from?" He asked as Spike grabbed the scroll. "I mean, does anyone else have the spell to use Spike as a living mailbox as she does?"

Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but come herself coming up short, so she simply closed it and let the dragon mailbox in question open the letter and read it aloud:

"*Ahem*... " Spike cleared his throat before reading the letter's contents out loud. "Here ye, Here ye! Her grand royal highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot on the 21st day of…yadda yadda yadda…cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle, plus one guest!"

Both Applejack and Twilight gasped with joy. "The Grand Galloping Gala!"

Spyro could only cringe as their excited double-layered cheers dug into his eardrums like vocal knives; gods, he hated it when people talked full sentences in perfect unison. "I'm guessing this Gala of yours is a big deal, then?" He asked to keep them from going any further.

"Are you kidding?" Twilight asked. "The Grand Galloping Gala is one the biggest events in all of Canterlot, if not all of Equestria! It's and extremely high-class event, and tickets are very hard to come buy if you're not a member of one of the noble houses." She beamed with excitement. "So getting a direct invitation is a once in a lifetime event for anypony, and from the princess herself, no less!"

Spike, however, seem to try and make a point looking annoyed and stuck out his tongue in disgust...until he heaved again and burped out a pair of shiny golden tickets. "Look! Two Tickets!" He announced.

"Wow! Great!" Twilight said excitedly. "I've never been to the Gala myself, have you Spike?"

"No! And I plan to keep it that way! I don't want any of the girly frilly froo-froo nonsense." Spike replied.

"If you're trying to impress us with an act of cliche testosterone-based manliness, it's not working." Spyro stated, scratching his claws against the dirt, making Spike slump over in embarrassed shame. "A royal ball is nothing to stick tongues at; many opportunities can be presented at such events, especially if all the rich hot-shots of the kingdom attend."

"You got that right!" Applejack agreed. " Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres if I could set up a stand of apple goods at a big fancy event like that? Why, with all that money, we could do a heap of fixin' up 'round here: We could replace that saggy old roof, and Big Macintosh could replace that saggy old plow, and Granny Smith could replace that saggy old hip!" That last image made Spyro stick his tongue out in disgust, regardless of the earth pony's dreamy-eyed stare. "Why, I'd give my left hind leg to go to that gala."

"Oh… well in that case… would you like to-"

"Are we talking about the Grand Galloping Gala?" A certain rainbow-maned pegasus asked excitedly.

And just like that, the rest of the day's events were revealed in full, and Spyro shook his head in exasperation as a borderline-cliche routine straight from a 90s morning cartoon reared its predictable head: five girls, plus one extra ticket, equals an all out war for a chance to go to some fancy dance. Sure enough, Rainbow Dash went on this big, excited talk about how she could use the gala as her chance to make connections with the Wonderbolts (which, as far as Spyro knew, were some sort of fancy flight performance team posing as military figure heads), and no sooner did she finish were she and Applejack fighting over the ticket via hoof wrestle. He also knew it was only a matter of time before the other three learned about it and voiced their own desires to go, and soon it would be a war of favors as each one tried to bribe Twilight for victory.

He had seen this dozens of times before, and each was just as infuriating to watch as the next.

---

"She only sent one extra ticket?"

Spyro nodded, absentmindedly tapping his claws against the mushroom table he was sitting at (though to one of his size, it was barely big enough to be a plate). An hour later, he had met up with Elora, Hunter, Bianca, Moneybags, and Zoe at a local restaurant for lunch. It had only been a few hours since he had left Sweet Apple Acres, and just as he predicted, the other three ponies had learned about the extra ticket and now it was a five-way war for a single prize. "I find the idea of a pony-based dance ridiculous, but these ponies seem to think this gala is a big deal, and so it falls to Twilight to decide who goes with her." The dragon told them.

Hunter scowled, crossing his arms. "This whole thing feels off." He stated with a growl. "This 'Princess Celestia' knows Twilight has at least five friends, so why only send two tickets, one already resigned for Twilight, a pony who is her prized student and probably could attend the gala by default?"

"Perhaps the tickets are in limited supply?" Bianca offered. "Most big events are usually catered to a certain class, and there are usually prepared to only host a certain number of guests. Thus there are only a certain amount of tickets?"

Moneybags, however only scoffed. "Please, this is Princess Celestia we're talking about." He told them in a serious tone. "She is literally worshiped as a goddess by the majority of ponykind, and has not only the authority but the ability to pick and choose as many guests as she pleases. If she wanted to host a ball for all of Equestria, she has the power to order it so, regardless of the serious hole it would make in the kingdom's wealth; I'm willing to bet she can magically create those tickets on a whim."

"Which doesn't excuse her miscounting." Spyro said in a dark tone, his brow furrowing. "And means this whole thing is a deliberate set-up."

Zoe cocked an eyebrow. "You figured that too, huh?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The dragon asked. "Those six mares are the elements of harmony, the ones who helped me save Luna and destroy the Nightmare, and Celestia knows it. She knows there were six heroes that day, those deserving of her gratitude for her sister's freedom...so this action is a deliberate ignorance of that fact." He scratched an itch on the side of his jaw. "Which means three things: 1: she doesn't believe the five 'lesser' elements are deserving of the praise she's saving for her precious student. 2: this is all one big joke she's pulling on Twilight for some sort of sadistic laugh. Or 3: this is some sort of test she's putting Twilight and the other five through for whatever bullshit 'deeper reason' she thought up on the spot."

"I'd say option three." Moneybags stated. "I've heard a lot of Princess Celestia in Manehatten, and it sounds as though she holds ideals of friendship in an almost obsessive light. 'Friendship is Magic', I believed they put it."

Spyro scoffed, puffing a cloud of smoke from his mouth. "I value allies as much as anyone else..." He stated. "...but mere playground friendships cannot solve every problem in the world, especially if the other side refuses to listen." He lifted his tail and slammed it into the ground, creating a soft tremor that startled the ponies nearby. "Strength, planning, and determination: those are what gets a race through the trials of nature; counting on friendship, a completely sapient ideal, to do so alone is naive to the point of being outright childish."

"Be that as it may, they are the ideals Equestria has been holding for thousands of years." Elora warned him, patting his paw with her hand. "They aren't just going to give them up just like that. Right now, let's handle them as they come and see how that works out before taking it full throttle."

Spyro nodded with a grunt. "If you say so-"

"I CANT DECIDE!" He was cut off when a familiar voice suddenly shouted across the outside dining area.

Spike gave Twilight, who had just shouted loud enough to disturb the entire restaurant, an unamused look. "Twilight, he just wants to take your order…" He told her, pointing to his own menu.

Twilight blinked. "Oh…" She stated lamely, before telling the waiter her order. "I would love a daffodil and daisy sandwich."

"Do you have any rubies?" Spike asked, to which the stallion gave him a flat look. "No? Okay…I'll have the hay fries; extra crispy!" He finally settled; the waiter nodded and took their menus, leaving them to wait.

"Still having trouble with the tickets, huh?" A sheer wave of relief passed over the lavender unicorn as she turned at the sound of Spyro voice, just in time to see him and his friends approach. "Mind if we sit with you?"

"Of course not." Twilight told them; the dragon and the other non-ponies nodded before settling themselves down around her table; the little pony couldn't help but stare in awe at how much bigger they were than ponies, each of them tall enough to force Twilight to look up at them, even when they were sitting down. "I could really use someone to talk to who isn't trying to get these dumb tickets from me..."

Spike rolled his eyes. "I've been telling her to just let it go all day, but she's worrying about it non-stop." He told the others. "I mean, can't you just-"

"Guys, LISTEN!" Twilight all but shouted, jumping up and slamming her hooves onto the table. "How do I choose? And when I do choose, will the other four be mad at me? I mean I can give up my ticket and give away two, but that would still leave three disappointed ponies! What if I-"

"Here's you food."

The unicorn perked up as the waiter set her daffodil and daisy sandwich in front of her; Spike was already digging into his hayfries, scowling as Elora playfully swiped one from his plate and ate it herself. "Oh, thank you; this looks so good. I'm sure everything will be much clearer once I eat." She lifted her sandwich and readied to take a bite, when the waiter asked the oddest question.

"Em, madam? Are you going to eat your food in ze rain?"

Twilight blinked in confusion. "It's not raining."

*BOOM!*

Sure enough: no sooner did those words leave her mouth did the skies split open and a genuine monsoon come rushing down in buckets...expect in the one spot where there was a single hole in the cloud: right above her table. "What's going on?" She asked in confusion, looking upwards...

"Hi there, best friend forever I've ever ever had!" An overly happy and cheerful Rainbow Dash called down from above. "Enjoying the sunny weather?"

Twilight scowled. "Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" She asked questioningly.

"Whaddya mean?" The pegasus asked innocently. "I just saw the smartest, most generous pony about to get rained on, so I thought I'd kick a hole in the clouds to keep her dry so she could dine in peace, that's all."

"Rainbow, you're not trying to get extra consideration for the extra ticket by doing me extra special favors, are you?" Twilight asked, eyes narrowed.

"Me? No no no, of course not!" Rainbow Dash said cheerfully; the sun itself was shining behind her head, giving the impression of a glowing halo around it.

The unicorn looked unconvinced. "Uh-huh."

"Seriously, I'd do it for anypony."

"A-HEM." Came a dark growl of a cough. Twilight looked back down and immediately had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing: Spyro and the other five had been sitting just outside of the hole Rainbow made, and as a result had been caught in the full brunt of the storm. The dragon himself sat there with his head lowered and ears hanging down, water running off his scales like a river over pebbles. Hunter, Moneybags, and Bianca looked outright miserable, their fur hanging in dripping clumps and their clothing thoroughly soaked; a pointedly feline growl was coming from the cheetah. Elora's hair hung over her eyes, leaving a stern frown visible as she covered her breasts with her arms to hold her soaked and sagging corset in place. And Zoe could only sit there, arms folded, and pout as her insect wings sagged and shriveled in the water. All six were of them were giving the pegasus a look that would set her on fire if looks could kill, making her giggle nervously.

"I speak for all of us right now." Spyro growled. "Close the hole."

"I agree with Spyro." Twilight said firmly. "I am not comfortable accepting unwanted favors, so I'd appreciate it if you close up that rain cloud right now."

Rainbow dropped the innocent act, huffing in disappointment. "Ugh, Fine!" Was all she said before closing up the clouds.

"That's better." Twilight stated, opening her mouth to finally eat...only to get herself and her sandwich drenched as her only escape from the weather was literally closed off. Her sandwich flopped to the table with a soggy splat, and her ears dropped to the sides of her head as she gave a frustrated growl.

And it would've continued much like this...

"Alright, that's it." Had Elora not put her hoof down, using a hand to hold the hair up out of her face. "I'm putting an end to this before it begins."

Spyro cocked in eyeridge. "What do you have in mind?"

The faun stood up, beckoning Twilight to do so by gently pulling her up by the hoof. "You go gather your friends and have them all meet us at the Golden Oaks Library. There, I'm putting an end to this nonsense...after we clothes-wearers change, of course."

Twilight looked confused, but nodded in agreement all the same.

---

The air in the Golden Oaks Library was full of an underlying tension...at least between the five other ponies there. Twilight could only watch nervously as she and everyone else waited for Elora to come back downstairs. As the faun had told her to, she had gathered all five of her friends and brought them here, and now they were all sitting about in a line next to Spyro (who was so large he was laid out along the wall of the first floor of the library, his long body and tail looping all the way around the circumference of the room at least once) and the others, who had all been seated next to the dragon and waiting.

But it was hardly a comfortable wait; Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all shooting glares back and forth at each other, each silently sizing each other up as they waited for the final decision to be made, completely oblivious to the stressed nervousness in Twilight expression as she watched them. She wished she could be as calm and cool about this whole mess as Spyro and the others were; heck, the dragon himself had laid his head down and closed his eyes, appearing to be taking a nap.

The tension was broken when the door to the upstairs opened (prompting Spyro to wake up and lift his head) and Elora came back down, wearing a green t-shirt and with her hair wrapped up in a towel. "Sorry that took so long." She apologized, tugging on the rim of her new clothes. "It took me a while to make something that fit."

Twilight's ears perked up when she saw the shirt. "Wait a minute, isn't that one of my curtains?"

"I'm impressed a library of all things had enough fabric material to make something to fit around those monsters, let alone the rest of you." Spyro stated with a smirk.

Elora rolled her eyes, smiling coyly. "Hush, you." She scolded, giving his head a playful shove as she passed. The faun then turned to address the crowd, coughing into her first to get their attention. "Now, let's get this started. We all know why we're here, so let's not waste anymore time and energy."

"I know why ya'll are here, alright..." Applejack spoke up tensely. "It's all because these'ns are trying to make off with my ticket!"

"For the last time, it's not your ticket!" Rainbow Dash snapped back.

"Doesn't mean it's yours either..." Fluttershy grumbled.

"It must be mine!" Rarity cried out. "We're talking about true love here! I outright deserve it!"

"You don't even know the guy's real name!" Pinkie Pie objected. "It's a party! It should be mine by default, because it's a party!"

And just like that, the five ponies devolved into a mess of arguing and bickering, leaving a miserable Twilight to sink to the floor. Elora, however, would not let it stand.

"Spyro." Was all she needed to say.

*POW!* *WHAM!* *SMACK!* *BONK!* *SQUEAKY!*

The descent into maddened arguing was promptly interrupted when Spyro once again unleashed the fist of bullshit-breaking upon their skulls, striking all five of them in directly order with audible impacts; the blow was strong enough to knock them all over, their ears ringing from the impact, as large meaty bumps of varying sizes popped out from under their manes.

"OoOoOoWwWw!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, rubbing her sore head with her hooves. "Faust, that hurts!"

"Not so funny when it's your head being beaned, is it?" Twilight muttered bitterly, taking a bit of satisfaction knowing they all now knew the pain of spewing BS in Spyro's presence.

"Thank you, Spyro." Elora said politely; with a glow of her fingers, she magically pulled Twilight's wheel-mounted chalkboard over to her side, levitating a long pointer stick to her hands, which she held like a teacher ready to whip disobedient students. "Now then, this whole squabble over Twilight's extra ticket has been going on since this morning, and with only one act of kissing-up for extra consideration has robbed me completely of my patience." She told everyone in the room. "Now, I know that this 'Grand Galloping Gala' of yours is, evidently, a pretty big deal for ponies, but I highly doubt it is worth squabbling over with."

Rarity politely laughed at her words. "A 'pretty big deal'?" She repeated, tittering into her hoof. "Elora, darling...I don't believe you're fully grasping the weight of the situation. This isn't just a gala; this is the gala. The Grand Galloping Gala is, by far, the single most amazing, brilliant, and important night in all of Equestria! Only the highest of the high ponies even get a chance to see the dance from a distance, let alone step onto the palace grounds themselves, and only ponies who are anypony will be able to attend. You don't understand: to actually receive a ticket for the gala, let alone one directly from Princess Celestia herself...it's truly a once in a lifetime opportunity!" She elegantly bounced her mane with a hoof. "So of course, being that it's the only chance I'll ever have to meet my one true love, it should be given to me by default."

"Spyro."

*POW!*

And thus the white unicorn received another bump on the head. "EeEeEeEeEe..."

"And that's the issue forcing my hand." Elora told them with a stern glare. "This gala is such a big and important event that you five are literally at each others throats for the chance to go; like watching a pack of wild dogs fighting over a scrap of meat. It's genuinely disgusting." She turned to face the chalkboard, picking up a piece with her fingers while levitating three others with her magic. "So, since Twilight's too pressured by her desire to make all her friends happy, I'm going to choose who gets the tickets, by going through you all one-by-one until we find the best candidate based on the reasons why they want to go."

What happened next was a thing of beauty; with almost supernatural precision and skill, the four pieces of chalk turned into a blaze of white as they quickly drew numerous images on the chalkboard in perfect unison, completing what would've taken a few minutes at best in only a few seconds.

Twilight internally whistled in impressed surprise. 'I wonder if she can teach me that spell.' She mentally stated.

The faun then turned back around and stepped to the side, revealing her handy work: across the chalkboard, almost filling up all the space, were thirteen drawings of smiley-face pictures of all thirteen individuals in the room: Spyro, Hunter, Elora, Bianca, Moneybags, Zoe, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and even Spike.

At this revelation, Twilight suddenly gasped. "Oh gosh...I'm so sorry."

Moneybags cocked his head. "Whatever for?" He asked.

"All this time, I've been so focused on my pony friends I didn't even think that any of you might want the ticket." She explained. "I didn't think that you would be interested in the gala, but you might and I-"

"You don't have to apologize." Elora assured her with a smile. "You had enough on your plate as it was." She then turned back to the crowd. "Now then, let's get the easy part out of the way first: who here doesn't want to go to the gala?"

"Me." Hunter, Bianca, Moneybags, Zoe, and (with a bit of reluctance) Spike all said in unison, raising their hands.

Elora nodded, moving to cross out each of their smiley faces with her piece of chalk. "Though to be clear, let's hear why you all don't want to go to the gala before I remove you from the list."

"The Sorceress use to throw grand balls and galas all the time when she ruled the Forgotten Lands; usually as a means to indulging her vanity and ego." Bianca explained with a cross look. "And as her apprentice, I was required to attend them with her, whether I wanted to or not. I've been to enough of those fancy, high-class 'parties' to last a dozen lifetimes."

"I am a predator of the wilds; what I call a good time is taking part in The Hunt." Hunter told her next, face one of unamused focus. "I have no business nor desire to be in the middle of an event of restricting civilized life."

"I myself am one the richest bears in all of Ursa Woods. My wealth outranks more than half of Canterlot's noble families." Moneybags assured her with a raised paw. "If I want a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, I'll buy one myself."

"And if I get forced into another Barbie dress for the sake of a fancy event, I'm going to claw someone's eyes out with my bare hands!" Zoe outright shouted, bristling with indignity.

"I thought that Cinderella dress was a cute look for you." Spyro stated with a smirk.

"Bite my glowing pixie ass!"

Elora ignored the fairy's bickering as she crossed out each of those who had spoken up with large, fat X-s. There was a moment of silence, then she turned to give a nervous-looking Spike an expectant look. "What about you, Spike?" She asked. "We're waiting for your answer."

Spike twiddled his fingers, a nervous sweat running down his forehead. "W-What else is there to say?" He stammered slightly. "Galas are all girly, fru-fru stuff! Guys like me don't like stuff like that! We're into big, tough stuff!"

"Like those Superhero comic books you have stashed under your basket?" Elora asked with an smug tone, leaving the poor baby dragon to wilt in boyish embarrassment as everyone else chuckled/giggled at his expense. "If that's your final answer then I'll leave it to you; just remember, once you're crossed off the list, there's no going back." When Spike didn't object, the faun simply said "Very well..." before crossing Spike's face off the board. "That takes care of everyone but you five and Spyro."

"I'll go last." Spyro stated, resting his head on the floor again. "I want to hear their reasons first."

Elora nodded. "Suit yourself. We come to the main issue of this whole mess, so let's deal with it one pony problem at a time." She turned her attention to Applejack. "Since you're the first pony to learn of the ticket, you can go first: why do you want to go to the Gala?"

"Fer the same reas'n I said before: ta sell Apple Family goods ta them city folk and make a whole lotta money to fix up the farm and stuff." Applejack told her proudly. "A might good reason if any, if I say so mahself."

"A good reason, indeed." Elora agreed with a thoughtful nod. "So you have the permit for it already then, right?"

The farm pony gave pause. "Excuse me?"

"...Applejack, this isn't a potluck where everyone brings something to the table: this a formal gala being hosted by Princess Celestia herself; she has used royal funds to have the gala catered by the finest services in all of Canterlot, including the food. The finest chefs and bakers from all across the city, and even from the palace itself, will be hand-picked and permitted by the princess to sell their goods to the highest of pony classes, and are likely being paid heavily to do so; thus it would be illegal for anypony without one of these permits to sell their own food on the palace ground, as that would interfere with the business of those already working there." The faun explained in length. "And even if it wasn't, I'm pretty sure that no one will eat your food: these are the nobles and upper class of Canterlot, who frown upon anything made by whom they perceive as a 'commoner', no matter how good it is. Not only that, but the food prepared at the gala is free; no one will buy from you when they can eat a buffet in the other room."

By the time she was done, Applejack's expression had fallen into one of disappointment. "So ah can't sell anythin' at the Gala?" She asked solemnly.

Elora shook her head. "I'm sorry, but unless you buy a permit from Celestia, which would be crazy expensive as it is, it's not only unlikely but illegal." She lifted her piece of chalk and crossed out the earth pony's face on the board. "I am sorry; I know you had plans."

Applejack sighed and lowered her hat, but nodded. "Ah understand, and I don't blame ya..." She murmured. "...but dang if it ain't disappointin'."

Elora nodded, turning her attention to the next pony in line: a suddenly-unsure Rainbow Dash. "If I recall, you wanted to go for the Wonderbolts, correct?"

Rainbow Dash, suddenly not too sure about her own chances with the ticket, forced down her nervousness and presented an excited grin at the name of her idols. "Well, duh! The Wonderbolts perform at the Grand Galloping Gala every year. I can see it now: everyone would be watching the sky, their eyes riveted on the Wonderbolts...but then in would fly...Rainbow Dash! I would-!"

"Stop." The goat-hybrid suddenly interrupted, holding up a halting hand. "I'm gonna stop you right there: I know for a fact that's illegal." She gave the indignant pony a scalding glare. "You just can't fly into the middle of the professional air-show and disrupt the whole thing just because you want to show off! It'd be like if a big Broadway show was going on, and in the middle of the act some random person in the audience just climbed up on stage and started singing to try and get into the play!" She told her. "It doesn't matter how 'awesome' you think you are; not only would that sully your name with the Wonderbolts, but you could get yourself arrested and sent to jail!"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to object, only for Twilight to speak up before her. "She's right you know. And these are professional stunt-ponies we're talking about, who rehearse their performances for days before a show: not only would it be heavily guarded to the point you probably couldn't enter the air space of the arena, but you could endanger the fliers by disrupting their rehearsals; they could get seriously hurt, if not worse."

"And there are other means to earn the Wonderbolts' attention." Moneybags spoke up with a raised paw. "Surely you know the Best Young Flyer's Competition is only a few weeks away, correct? That would be a much better way to introduce your talents, as they will actually get to see what you can offer them."

The pegasus could only stammer in objection. "But...but...awesome!" She finally squeaked.

"Is not enough to get you through life, no matter how much you have of it." Elora said in a final tone, crossing off Rainbow's face from the chalkboard. "Sorry, but I'm crossing you off for your own safety, knowing you have other means to accomplish you dreams without making yourself a endangerment to the public." In the end, Rainbow Dash could only turned away with a frustrated huff and forelegs folded across her chest, pouting like a child as her self idealism was effectively shattered. The faun merely shook her head in annoyance before turning to Rarity. "We all heard your reason: you want to go to meet some Prince Charming?"

Rarity looked outright offended."Ugh! This is not just some 'Prince Charming' we're talking about!" She said scathingly. "This is the most handsome, sophisticated, amazing, eligible unicorn stallion in all of Canterlot! Prince Blueblood himself!" What followed was the most ridiculous, self-idolizing, and an absolutely fantasy explanation anyone in the room had ever heard as Rarity described how she would enter the ball, win the hearts of everyone there with her grace, and make such a sensation with the princess, and be married to Blueblood by the end of the day.

Elora took a moment to recover her sense of reality, shaking her head and snapping her mouth shut in the process. "Okay...just...wow." She began, truly unable to get a grip on what she just heard. "...even if the greatest of Canterlot's elite tolerate the presence of what they view as a worthless peasant girl from a mud wallow of a town, do you really think Celestia would be moved by your presence enough to actually ask for your solo audience? Hate to break it to you, but you're really nothing special compared to them."

The unicorn recoiled as if she had actually been struck, her eyes wide and her face contorted with sheer indignity. "Uh! Why, I never!" She exclaimed. "I am not some 'worthless peasant girl'! I am Rarity the Unicorn-!"

"A name that holds no weight amongst the most famous and influential ponies in all of Equestria, and which Celestia has only just come to know." The faun stated with a the blunt forwardness of a sledgehammer. "If you'd take a moment to stop kissing your own flanks and look at the event outside of your fantasy, you'd realize this to be true."

Rarity's jaw dropped with enough force to dislocate it.

"That being said, if you're really serious about meeting this prince, you already have the means to do it: them." She pointed to Twilight and Spike. "Spike is a living hotline directly to the princess herself, and Twilight is her prized student with personal connections with her. If you want to meet her nephew, just ask with their help. If Celestia is as kind and open as you ponies claim her to be, then I'm sure she'd be more than happy to arrange a meet-and-greet for you; maybe give you some pointers for a date with the guy."

"But...B-But...it has to be the gala!" Rarity exclaimed, jaw quivering as her eyes went big and teary. "Glamour! Fame! Notoriety!"

"You don't need the gala to complete your main goal. So you're off the list." Elora said in a firm final tone, and with that crossed out Rarity's image, leaving the unicorn to sob dramatically in the corner, fountains of water erupting from her eyes. "The same can be said for Fluttershy."

The cream-colored pegasus blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Just like Rainbow Dash, you're using the gala for a means to an end. Heck, you don't even plan to attend the gala: you wanted to visit the Private Royal Gardens, correct?" Fluttershy nodded. "Normally, this is a logical action, as Moneybags has informed me that the night of the gala is the only time the gardens are open to the public. But you don't need the gala for this either: just like Rarity, if Celestia is as you ponies say you are, I'm sure she'd let you visit the gardens anytime you want; maybe even have some of the animal handlers accompany you so you don't frighten off animals that aren't use to other ponies on the grounds. It'd also be a private visit, where you can enjoy it without hundreds of other ponies visiting at the same time."

Fluttershy blinked again, this time in realization as the faun's words registered in her mind. "...you know...you're right." She finally concluded with a firm nod. "I-If Celestia wouldn't mind it, I-I can go some other time; i-if anyone else wants the tickets, I-I guess they can have it."

"MINE!" Rarity screamed at the offer.

*POW!*

And received a third bump on her head for her trouble. "It's not fair-air-air-aaaaaaiiiirrrr..." She bawled to herself, cradling her head while waterfalls ran down her cheeks.

With that, Elora turned to the last pony on the list, who had been surprisingly silent and still since her first bump. "And finally we come to you, Pinkie." She told the pink earth pony. "Out of all the ponies, you have the purest and most direct reason to go: for the Gala. No other motives, no using the gala for your own means, and certainly no outright criminal activity: you want to go to the gala for the gala. The greatest party in Equestria, right?"

Pinkie Pie said nothing, but her face perked up as Elora flipped her hand up, the extra ticket held between two fingers (much to the surprise of Twilight, who checked her person for wear she had just been holding it).

"I'd say that's the best reason so far, don't you agree?"

It was like watching the launch of a rocket: Pinkie's pupils expanded to take up her entire eyes as she began to tremble on the spot; the trembling began to build and build and build until she finally exploded with a blast of pink smoke, rocketing off the ground and through both the second story floor and ceiling, screaming across the sky with drawn-out 'WOO-HOOOOOOOOO!'

"Aw, man!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "I get why she gets it, but even without the Wonderbolts I really wanted to go."

"For once we agree on something." Rarity whimpered, nursing her bumps as well as the shattered remains of her self-image. "Even without Blueblood, the Grand Galloping Gala is the dream of every mare throughout Equestria."

"It would be nice to actually attend." Fluttershy admitted.

Spyro gave a rumbling snort. "And that's why I'm putting an end to this game here and now." He growled aloud, turning his gaze to Spike. "Get ready to send a letter, pipsqueak."

---

Princess Celestia had just settled down to a delicious-looking lunch when a swirling cloud of green flame and silver magic came through the Royal Dining Hall window, floating over to her and turning into a scroll with a poof of sparkles. She blinked in surprise; she hadn't expected Twilight to write back so soon. Setting her fork down on her plate, she took the scroll in her magic and unfurled it to read its contents, only to find an unfamiliar handwriting.

Greetings, Sunbutt! How's the daily ass-kissing today?

Celestia's brow furrowed in a stern glare; she had a good idea who this was from. She was half-tempted to throw it away then and there, but she decided against it since it was the first time he was contacting her.

I'm going to cut to the chase: I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play here, but I'm not going to stand for it. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about: the Grand Galloping Gala? Only one ticket for five other ponies? I know you're aware of their existence, and that they have ties to Twilight, so you can't claim ignorance. Whatever you're trying to pull making them fight amongst each other for it, I'm not going to allow.

Maybe this is something I'm not getting: maybe this is some sort of bigger test or deeper meaning, or maybe it's some sort of sick joke for shits and giggles. Either way, none of us appreciate watching our new friends going at it like rabid animals just for this one night. Especially since it's you pulling this stunt: need I remind you owe these five a debt of gratitude that you will never be able to truly repay.

I know you remember The Elements of Harmony? Nightmare Moon? A certain lost princess? It's thanks to them I was able to save her the way I did; without them...well, let's just say I would've had to take more...drastic measures.

The guards in the Dining Hall all jumped at the loud 'CRACK' as the tile beneath Celestia's hooves split with a large crack, the very mountain shaking with a deep rumble as the princess's expression turned outright apoplectic.

So here's what you're going to do: you're going to pull the stick out of your ass, send the heroes who saved your sister's life all the tickets they need, when the Gala comes you're going to make sure they have the time of their lives. And if you ever pull something like this again, I will ram your own horn up your ass. Are we clear?

---

"Breathe, Twilight. Just breathe." Bianca said consolingly as she rubbed Twilight's back; the unicorn was outright hyperventilating, heaving her breaths into the large paper bag she was holding in her hooves. Needless to say, she hadn't take what Spyro had written to Celestia all that well. "It's not that big a deal."

"NOT THAT BIG A DEAL?!" Twilight shrieked, her hair suddenly bursting into a frazzled mess and making everyone jump back in surprise. "DID YOU SEE WHAT HE JUST SENT TO THE PRINCESS OF EQUESTRIA?! THE MOST POWERFUL AND INFLUENTIAL PONY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD?!" She began rocking back and forth on her flanks, holding her tail close while stroking it. "Oh sweet Faust, what have you DONE?! Nopony has ever spoken to Princess Celestia like that before!"

Spyro looked completely unfazed, staring out the window while waiting for Celestia's response, eyes locked on Canterlot. "Well, I'm not a pony, am I?" He asked flatly. "So that status goes unbroken."

"It did seem a bit...much." Fluttershy spoke up nervously.

"A BIT MUCH?!" Twilight outright screamed in her face, making the poor pegasus go stiff-legged and fall over. The unicorn paid her no mind and grabbed the bag again, heaving into it. "THIS...THIS IS A DISASTER!" She screamed between breaths. "IT'S A ONE WAY TICKET TO TARTARUS FOR ALL OF US!"

Spyro finally turned away from the window to give her a bemused stare, and he opened his mouth to say something, only for Spike to suddenly heave and burp up Celestia's reply, which landed in the middle of the room with a world-silencing flop. Twilight didn't move to pick it up; she had frozen on the spot, staring wide-eyed at the rolled-up paper as if it was a deadly serpent readying to strike. The other ponies stared at it with uncertainly, darting looks between each other as each of them waited for someone else to respond. In the end, Spyro rolled his eyes and picked up the scroll between two of his finger claws, unfurling it to read a single worded message:

Crystal.

There was a poof of magic, and with the shimmering of gold, five more tickets popped out of the scroll, each signed with a name of the remaining four ponies and Spike. Spyro grinned a toothy saurian grin at the sight. "I knew she'd see reason." He hissed smugly, flicking the scroll out in a way that sent the tickets fluttering toward their owners.

Rarity was outright ecstatic as she caught hers and pulled it close. "Now we all get to go to the gala!" She squealed with joy, hugging hers to her chest.

Elora stared at the celebrating ponies, eye twitching slightly, before giving a flat look and tossing her piece of chalk and pointer stick over her shoulder. And just like that, everything I did was a complete waste of time. Forget I ever said anything. Yep." She stated just as flatly, stomping away in silent frustration.

Twilight sat there, mouth agape with disbelief. "We're...we're all still alive?" She whispered uncertainly. "No banishment to the moon? No imprisoning in Tartarus? She actually let that slide?"

"Just be glad it's finally over." Hunter stated, stretching his body and limbs out the best he could in the cramp library. "Now, I believe someone wanted to eat? Anything to get out of this room."

"Allow us to treat you to dinner!" Rarity offered Twilight as everyone made their way out the door, the ponies and Spike carrying their own tickets with them. Twilight looked dumbfounded at first, but eventually gave a weary sigh and followed, silently glad the mess was over. Soon only Spyro and Elora were left in the room; the dragon got up to slither out through the small door, when Elora stopped him with a hand against his side.

"You never said your reason for going to the gala." She told him, giving a expectant look. "I'm curious, why did you want to go?"

Spyro stared at her for a moment, pupils thinning slightly, before turning away and sliding his mass through the library door...but not before speaking in a voice that rumbled with fire.

"To make good on the promise I gave her in the letter."