A quick warning with this chapter. Hardline fans of the show from Season 5 and onward will undoubtedly find a section of this chapter to be offensive. If you think you may be triggered by something like that, I highly advise skipping this chapter.

As for everyone else, enjoy and please consider supporting my Patreon.

Today was a big day. Perhaps even THE big day for some. The Grand Galloping Gala was tonight and my friends and I were all looking forward to it. I woke and washed up with a bit of a spring in my step before joining Fluttershy and Scootaloo at the breakfast table. The topic almost immediately turned to the gala.

"You two are gonna be going to the Grand Galloping Gala again? What's it even like up there? Is it awesome?" Scootaloo asked while she munched on some French toast.

"Um... It really depends on what you call awesome. I think it's more for sophisticated ponies than just anypony. I think you might not like it." Fluttershy tried to explain as she wiped a milk moustache from her upper lip.

I then added, "Yeah, you'd have to dress up fancy too, so I know you wouldn't like it. And they only play soft classical music."

That quickly derailed any interest Scootaloo had in the occasion. "Bleh! No rock ballads?! And I'd have to wear a dress? I only do that for weddings and if I'm one of the flower fillies! You can count me out!"

Fluttershy and I got a little chuckle out of that. It was almost predictable, really. It would take a while for Scootaloo to become sophisticated enough to have any interest in such an event. That, and she would need to be invited. I then said, "Sure, no problem. Anyway, we'll be getting home late, so make sure you get to bed at a reasonable time."

"Sure thing. Is it OK if I spend the day at Sweetie Belle's? She came up with another idea that might get our cutie marks." Scootaloo then asked while looking quite excited. I wonder how many things those fillies have tried to get their cutie marks by this point. How much longer until they notice their obvious talents? Oh well. The journey is the destination, as they say.

"That sounds fine. Just be careful. We don't want to come home to find out you're in the hospital." Fluttershy then said with a wink. I know she was just messing with Scootaloo, but I know she was also being serious. Those fillies have had some close calls before, or so I have heard.

Scootaloo snickered while rubbing the back of her head. "So I forgot a parachute that time. Hey, at least I landed in the lake!"

Before long, Scootaloo was on her way on her scooter. I watched from the window as she buzzed down the path towards Ponyville. She just cannot stay in one place, that filly. But as I watched her little fluttering wings push herself along, a thought came to mind. I had not heard anything about her flying lessons from Fluttershy. Had she made any progress?

I peeked in on Fluttershy as she finished up cleaning the dishes. I know she has always been a very patient instructor and not one obsessed with bravado and rapid progress like Rainbow Dash, so surely she has been a more suitable tutor for a late bloomer. Still, I decided to approach her about the subject and took a seat at the table. "Hey, honey? Got a minute?"

Fluttershy peeked over her shoulder at me and smiled while stacking the dishes in the corner of the counter. "Of course. What's wrong?"

I glanced over at the window and saw that Scootaloo was nowhere in sight. During that moment, Fluttershy looked back to the sink to focus on the dishes. "Well... How's Scoot's tutoring going? She finally able to get off the ground?"

Fluttershy paused momentarily as the clinking of glasses and dishes suddenly stopped. I could tell that Fluttershy did not have a happy response for me. Her face turned to me to show a rather worried look in her eyes. "Well... Not really. I'm not entirely sure what's wrong, but ever since I started teaching her everything I know about flying, she hasn't been able to really get off the ground for more than a few seconds. I've taught her everything about controlling her wings, but nothing seems to work."

"You think she's just really having a hard time breaking old habits? I'm pretty sure the way she flaps her wings to propel her scooter isn't how you're supposed to fly normally." I asked while taking note of how Scootaloo has to rapidly flutter her wings to propel herself forward. I suppose it does not quite work the same when trying to generate vertical lift.

"Well... It's either that...or SWS." My lover replied while sounding noticeably disheartened.

I cocked my head to one side as I tried to decipher that term. "I can't say I'm familiar with that acronym."

Fluttershy sighed while averting her gaze for a moment. "Stunted Wing Syndrome. Basically, I think her wings might be undersized. If the wings of a pegasus are anymore than 5% smaller than average, they just can't trap enough air under their wings to get themselves airborne. I know we're very light compared to other pony races, but our wings still need to be at least a certain size. We're not birds, you know."

I scowled upon hearing Fluttershy explain such a frustrating condition. "That's a very tiny margin to qualify... Scoot's wings don't seem undersized at all from a glance, so... I'm guessing they're somewhere between six and ten percent smaller than they need to be... Man, what would we tell her if she's never going to fly?"

My beloved walked up to me and nuzzled my cheek, trying to stay optimistic. "Don't tell her. I'm not entirely convinced she can't fly. She goes everywhere on that scooter almost every day, so I think she's just too used to flapping her wings the wrong way. I'll try to iron out her old habits and see if that helps."

"OK, you do that, honey. Just let me know if she makes any progress." I replied while showing a smile. After that, I went outside while Fluttershy went back to finishing up the dishes.

I began to take a walk around the house while thinking back to Fluttershy's words. Stunted Wing Syndrome. I never would have guessed that such a thing even exists. And even though Fluttershy was trying to stay optimistic, I was thoroughly convinced that Scootaloo would never fly. I have never heard of a pegasus having never once flown on their own before the age of twelve and Scootaloo turned eleven just a little while ago. While I wanted to believe she could fly in time, realism was telling me otherwise. What would we tell her when the time came to reveal the lie?

Without much thought, I went around to the side of the house and opened the tiny outdoor closet that Fluttershy keeps her garden tools in. It is also where Scootaloo stashes her scooter. And at the bottom, I noticed something else. The sled attachment that Apple Bloom made for Scootaloo to let her use her scooter during winter. I have to say that Scootaloo probably prefers to use that sled since she is not restricted to the use of roads when using it.

I eyed the sled attachment for a moment before taking it into my hands. I began to brainstorm. By swapping out the wheels for the sled, Scootaloo could go everywhere there is snow. But if the wheels were to be swapped out for wings...

I felt a huge smirk spread across my lips as an idea bloomed in my head. I quickly put the sled back and closed the closet before hurrying over to the kitchen window. "Honey, I'm heading over to Sweet Apple Acres for a bit! If I'm not back in time, I'll see you at the train station when we go to the gala!"

I did not even wait to check if she heard me. I was so excited that I hurried off to the south. If my suspicions were correct, Scootaloo would fly yet. With or without Stunted Wing Syndrome.

I reached Sweet Apple Acres without incident, but things were quiet on the farm. It was too soon for the Apple family to start harvesting since instead of there being apples in the trees, all I saw were droves of trees lined with white flowers. But as I approached the farm house, Applejack came around the corner with packs of seeds in a saddlebag. She was even wearing that red neckerchief I got her over the holidays. Before I could even say anything, Applejack called out first. "Howdy, James! What brings ya 'round these parts?"

"Heya, AJ. I was just wondering if Apple Bloom is around. I wanted to ask her something important." I explained while walking over to her. I could not get over how good that simple red cloth looked on her while hanging from her throat.

Applejack pointed towards the back of the farmhouse that doubled as a barn. "Her? She's around back fixin' up our carts."

"Thanks, AJ. Can't stay long, so I'll see you when we meet up at the train station. And please bring some apple cake if you're bringing your food stall." I replied while waving goodbye. I wanted to get to Apple Bloom while my idea was fresh in my mind.

"You got it! An extra big batch of apple cakes. I'll see y'all there." The friendly farm mare replied before going back to her business. I followed the side of the farmhouse until I got to the big open barn doors at the other end. I heard the tapping of hammers as I got close and looked inside to see Apple Bloom smacking a cart wheel into place before giving it a spin to see if it was on right.

I decided to walk in before the preoccupied filly could reach for the paint cans. "Hey there, Apple Bloom. Got a minute?"

My little friend really was not expecting to see and showed a delighted smile. "Howdy, James! What can I do ya for?"

I took a seat by her and stroked her mane while being mindful of the large bow on her head. "Well, I did come here to ask a favor. But it's for someone else."

That caught her attention. I do not believe she was expecting me to ask a kid like her for something. "Uh... Is it somethin' AJ or Big Mac can help ya with?"

She might have been oblivious of it at the time, but I knew she has a knack for arts and crafts. Or even just crafting. Her work on fixing up that wooden cart was already a sign of it. "Nah. I'm pretty sure you're the right girl for the job. So, are you up to it?"

Apple Bloom seemed both embarrassed and thrilled that I would be coming to her specifically for something important. I know about how Applejack kind of looks down on her as the baby of the family, so Apple Bloom was probably not used to someone valuing her skill or input in something over the rest of her family. "Me? Well... Uh... Nopony's ever wanted ta ask me for somethin' big instead of... Ah, ponyfeathers! Sure, I'll do it! Whatcha got for me?"

That got a smile out of me. "Thanks, Apple Bloom. Now, this is probably something new for you and will probably be a big project. The thing is... You remember that sled thing you made for Scootaloo that turned her scooter into a snowmobile? I've got a request for something else that's kinda like that."

"Sounds easy peasy! Puttin' that sled together was no problem. Whatcha got this time?" Apple Bloom replied while sounding quite sure of herself. How could she be so confident in her carpentry skills and NOT have a cutie mark of it at the time? Kids these days. So oblivious!

The only way Apple Bloom would agree to something like this would be if she knew the reasoning behind it. "Well, basically... You're going to help Scootaloo fly."

Apple Bloom's expression quickly became one of bewilderment. "Huh? But... I thought Fluttershy was givin' Scootaloo flyin' lessons. Ain't that gonna be enough?"

"Apple Bloom... What I'm about to say doesn't leave this barn, OK?" I said with a scowl as I prepared to reveal to her the very sensitive information I had discovered about my own daughter.

My little friend seemed to understand how serious I was being and held up her hoof like a salute. "Crusader's honor!"

"Atta girl. Now..." I said with a smile before trying to find the right words to tell her. "Basically... The whole reason I even came to you about this is... Scootaloo CAN'T fly. It's very likely by this point that she has something called Stunted Wing Syndrome. So... I guess you can say her wings just don't work right and there's nothing that can be done about it. But I'm still convinced we can get her to fly in a different way."

Apple Bloom's expression darkened as I revealed to her the likely truth about her friend. "She...can't fly? Well... All right. So, how am I gonna make 'er fly?"

I tried to brighten her mood with a smile. "Well, it's simple. Her wings already work well enough to push her along the ground at high speed if she's on wheels. So all she needs is a bigger pair of wings to trap the air under them for her."

I then leaned a bit closer to Apple Bloom and looked her in the eye. "In other words? She needs a glider."

"Glider... You mean like a kite?! A kite she can ride?" Apple Bloom asked as inspiration shimmered in her eyes. Almost immediately, she held out her hooves as she began to brainstorm. "I get what yer sayin'! How's about this? Right here's the scooter, but it's set in a frame with the wings out ta the side and a tail and rudder back here. And the handlebars control the wings ta make it go up an' down!"

She took to the idea like a fish to water. Apple Bloom was proving herself to be a genius in crafting to the point of already having a firm idea of how to design a small aircraft. I could already picture it in my mind. The glider serving as the wings and Scootaloo's own fluttering wings serving as the motor. "Man... You already know what you're doing... Do you think you can get it done?"

Apple Bloom looked up at me with an very excited smile. "You bet I can! I mean it's gonna be a big project since I ain't never done somethin' like this before, but I'm pretty sure I can get it done in time for Scoot's next birthday."

With roughly half a year or so until Scootaloo's next birthday, that sounded like plenty of time to get it done. And I could think of no better time to reveal this special little surprise. "Sounds perfect. I know you won't disappoint. Just remember, we never had this conversation if anyone asks. Now, is there anything I can do before I get going?"

"Right, our lil' secret. I'll make sure this'll really knock Scoot's socks off! But...uh... How 'bout ya hold up this cart so I can get the other wheel back on?"

Once I had helped Apple Bloom out with that, I left Sweet Apple Acres with a big spring in my step now that I felt things were going to turn out just fine for Scootaloo. We would have to bring her into the doctor's office to test her for Stunted Wing Syndrome eventually, but I made a mental note to set up that appointment on the day before Scootaloo's birthday. That way, she would not have to feel upset about it for very long if tested positive since that little contraption would flip that frown around.

Since the Grand Galloping Gala does not start until sundown, I still had a fair bit of time to spend before I should start to get ready. It had been quite some time since I last wore that robe. But still... What did Rarity have behind those curtains? I have not been up in her room since the last time.

With next to nothing to do with it being a Sunday, I decided to head south to the park. Quiet as usual with it being the last day of the weekend, no one was really out playing aside from a few parents and their kids. I finally came to my favorite place by the largest pond in the area and was delighted to see that Fluttershy had returned the sack of fish food. I promptly took a seat and tossed a handful of it to the grateful jumping fishes.

I was half expecting someone to show up. Maybe Fluttershy? Perhaps Rainbow Dash flying overhead? Maybe even Pinkie Pie bursting out of the pond? Although it was still a bit cool for swimming. Right as I was starting to suspect no one was going to show up, my ears picked up the subtle sound of hooves approaching. I glanced around while focusing on just the edge of my vision so I would not look directly at whoever was coming. To my surprise, Rarity had just come over the nearest hill while wearing a hat with a wide brim. Probably something designed with spring in mind. I turned away to let her think I did not know she was nearby. The tempo of walking soon turned into a quick trot as Rarity hastened her pace. It came to a stop right beside me. I suspect she was trying to be sneaky and surprise me in some way.

Just as I was starting to wonder what was taking so long for her to say or do anything, I turned my head to the right to look at her and provide a quick greeting. Instead, I lined myself up for a kiss as her lips pressed against mine instead of touching my cheek. We both reeled back in surprise with Rarity gasping, "Oh! Oh my, I didn't expect you to turn right then!"

"Well, I didn't expect a kiss either!" I retorted before snickering a bit as we both laughed for a moment. "Although I wouldn't mind another."

Rarity smirked at me while letting out a chuckle. She then took a seat beside me and tilted her hat back so it would not bump into my brow. "Oh, I will never run out of kisses for you, my love. Come hither and help yourself."

Taking her up on the offer, I reached out and held my dear friend in my arms as we sealed lips. I heard her sigh in delight as our lips touched, savoring the moment before the kiss ended. Nothing special or messy. Just a moment of sweetness with someone I love. While she smiled at me, I asked, "So... New hat?"

Proud of her work like always, Rarity adjusted her hat's angle. It was a minty green with fresh flowers tucked into a ribbon tied around the base of the crown. Definitely full of springtime freshness. "Oh, yes! Just a little something I whipped up just in time for the season. I took a design I created a couple of years ago and changed it up to be a bit more seasonal. You like?"

"Yep. Looks like something that's perfect for a walk through the park or even for a bit of light gardening. I think Fluttershy would like one of these." I replied as the colors reminded me of the dress she wore to the Grand Galloping Gala last year. If the hat's brim was modified to look like flower petals, it would fit with the rest of her attire.

"I just might consider that next time I weave something for her." Rarity said with a smile before gathering up a small bundle of fish food with her magic and flinging them towards the pond. "Bon appetit, darlings!"

The water splashed and rippled as the fish made short work of the food pellets. I glanced at Rarity out of the corner of my eye and asked, "Nothing quite like feeding the fish of a sunny day, huh?"

"Nothing quite like it indeed. The poor dears must have been famished after being stuck under a layer of ice all winter." Rarity said while flinging a few more pellets out onto the pond's surface.

"I hope they didn't mind too much when Pinkie Pie came crashing through the ice this winter. That must've been a sight." I retorted while recalling that rather frightful memory. That could have easily turned into a far worse scenario.

Rarity then looked at me in shock and spoke, "She fell through the ice?! I was wondering why she came down with such a wretched cold when she did. She really must be more cautious when ice skating."

Trying to avoid bringing up that Pinkie Pie was eager to try ice skating as a human, I then patted Rarity on her shoulder. "Give her some slack. She was trying out a new trick. And even I thought she was going to pop back up with her lower body trapped in a block of ice."

My beautiful friend let out an amused snort. "Yes, that does sound like the most likely result when it comes to her."

For a bit longer, we just continued to chat and cuddle under the sun and even took a stroll around the pond with the fish following us at the water's edge. I eventually asked, "Just checking, but you've got my robe at your place, right?"

"That old thing? Yes, I've kept it stored away for when you need it. So just stop on maybe an hour before we head on up to Canterlot tonight. I'll make certain you're dressed for the occasion." Rarity replied, although her initial response puzzled me. What was wrong with my robe? She did not sound all that proud of it anymore. Regardless, I dropped the subject.

I eventually stopped and scanned the horizon in an attempt to make out the local clock tower. Wherever it was, I could not make it out from my current location. "Uh... You think it's almost lunchtime?"

Rarity reflexively glanced at her wrist despite not owning a watch. Although she did end up looking at the silver bracelet she always wears and smiled at it. "Hmmm... I can't say I know. Although I'm sure that if you were to make your way to the cafe now, it would be lunchtime by the point you arrive."

"Yeah, maybe. Sorry, I'm just trying to find ways to pass the time until tonight. We don't head up until around 5 PM, right?" I then said while trying to not to sound too pathetic. Sundays always tend to be boring for me.

With a chuckle, Rarity then said, "Well, I would join you, but I am fasting until we get to the buffet tonight. I can't wait to see what they bring out this time."

"Yeah, they always have good stuff there. I'll be sure to eat light until then... Anyway, I think I will head back into town right now. I'll see you in a few hours, right?" I then asked while starting to step away, but stopped once Rarity motioned with her hoof for me to approach her.

"Oh, absolutely. But aren't you forgetting something, darling?" She then asked. I dropped to one knee to bring myself closer to her so I could listen better. However, she then surprised me with another kiss on the lips. "Much better. Ta ta!"

I watched with amusement as Rarity trotted away while humming a tune. She just wanted to kiss me goodbye and I could not help snickering o myself over it. Now alone, I headed back north to make my way to the cafe for lunch.

The clock tower had just struck noon when the cafe came into view. Not that many people were outside, so I pulled up a stool at the nearest table and waited for the waiter to drop off a menu. But before he could, I was approached by a familiar face as she walked up behind me. "Hey there, James! May I join you?"

I glanced over my shoulder and was greeted by the face of Twilight Sparkle. "Heya, Twi. Sure, grab a seat."

My purple friend pulled up a seat at the opposite side of the mushroom top table right as the waiter arrived and left us some menus. But before we could even start looking through our menus, Twilight then asked, "So, what're you up to today?"

"Oh... Nothing." I replied briefly with no attempt to hide how bored I was. I then opened my menu and started to browse.

Surprisingly, Twilight took that as an opportunity to strike up a conversation about a rather unexpected topic. "You know what gets me about doing nothing? During my first year in Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, I had to take a class where I had to monitor varying quantities of water boiling for roughly four hours."

I looked up from my menu at her and said, "Four hours? That's a tall order for a kid... Well, I flunked chemistry, but that doesn't sound so bad once you get around the..."

I was interrupted before I could even finish speaking as Twilight started to look increasingly distraught while holding a hoof to her head. "They gave me a B, James."

I looked at Twilight for a good five or six seconds before asking, "They gave you a B on...boiling water?"

Looking increasingly mortified, Twilight then said, "I swear, it keeps me awake to this very day... And sometimes when I can sleep, I have nightmares about being in that class."

"Uh, Twi? I think you..." I started to say before Twilight smacked the table with her hoof in exasperation. I decided to refrain from speaking until she finished.

"I'm wearing a diaper, but everypony's laughing at me not because of that, but because I'm not boiling the water right!" Twilight then said before reaching across the table and hooking her hooves under my shirt to pull me closer while looking like she was on the verge of panic. "And I don't know what I'm doing wrong, James! Why would they give me a B?!"

I did not blink once at Twilight and I shared a long stressful stare with everyone watching. Very slowly, I removed Twilight's hooves from my shirt and pushed her arms back until I had set her hooves back on the table. I then returned to a proper seated position and said, "Soooo... How's Spike?"

Twilight's incredibly stressful pleading gaze immediately turned into a laughably irritated scowl. "You're just gonna dismiss it like that, huh?"

I held out my arms to her and all but yelled, "Hey, you know I have no idea what to say whenever your OCD flares up like this!"

That did not sit well with her. Twilight then smacked her hoof into the table and shouted, "Hey, I don't have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder!"

All I could do was stare her down with a scowl of my own. It was working as Twilight started to look increasingly embarrassed and whimpered, "Uh... OK, maybe I do... A mild case... But it's just off and on! And I'm trying to cope..."

"Sure you do. At least you're kinda funny when you have episodes like this." I said with a snicker while Twilight quietly went back to reading her menu.

Once the waiter came back and took our orders, Twilight tried to change the subject. "So... The Grand Galloping Gala's tonight."

"Yep. And it's gonna be Nightmare Moon's very first." I replied while turning my gaze towards my dining partner.

It seemed that Twilight had forgotten all about that little detail. "Right, it is! This is an important day for her! You think she'll be accepted at the party?"

I just shrugged my shoulders. "Well, if how the rest of Equestria has come to accept her by now, I say she'll blend in just fine."

"I hope so... She's come a long way since just last year. Can't believe it's been that long." Twilight muttered thoughtfully as she turned her gaze to the horizon. She was probably thinking back to that fateful night. Ugly memories there.

Trying to get her mind off of that, I then said, "I heard Rarity was commissioned to weave a dress for her. Or at least that's what I'm guessing what with how top secret it was. If Rarity wouldn't even show me, it must be special."

That caught her attention. "Ooh, really? You think it's for Nightmare Moon? I can't think of anypony else requesting a dress that could be such a priority."

"Well, we'll find out tonight. Maybe she'll even meet us in the main hall while wearing it." I retorted right as our waiter returned with our sandwiches. I opted to not get a side to avoid filling up too much. I was totally with Rarity on that. I wanted to save room for the smorgasbord rich gourmet food that was certain to be served.

Twilight and I did not discuss anything else of interest for the remainder of our meal. Once we went our separate ways, I took a stroll through town and eventually came to Sugarcube Corner. But what caught my eye was the sight of Rainbow Dash hanging around on the tiny balcony wrapped around the loft's spire. While I pondered what was going on, Rainbow Dash glanced over her shoulder at me. Rather than call out in greeting, she jumped off the balcony and swooped down to me. "Hey, James! Good timing. You've gotta see this!"

"See wha... Hey, are you peeking on Pinkie Pie in the bathroom?" I then asked while wondering what was on the other side of that window.

Rainbow Dash cringed at first. "Ewwww, no! Besides, that's not even the right window for it. It's just... Here, lemme give you a boost!"

"Huh?!" I yelped as she went behind me and scooped her arms under mine before lifting me into the air and towards the balcony above. "Whoa! Hey! You better have a good grip there!"

Thankfully, Rainbow Dash knew what she was doing. She set me down on the balcony just fine and flew up beside me. "Take a good look in there and tell me what you see. And look really hard."

I could see the main chamber of Pinkie Pie's living quarters just fine. Pinkie was in the middle of pulling her Grand Galloping Gala dress out of her wardrobe. She seemed to be getting ready for the evening. My eyes scanned the room and took note of a chocolate cake sitting on a table against the wall. And from the angle I was seeing it, there seemed to be something propped up behind it that Pinkie could not see. I then turned to Rainbow Dash and asked, "Hey... That cake over there. Is that thing behind it a walkie tal..."

I paused when I noticed what Rainbow Dash was holding up. With a sly smirk on her face, she was holding up the walkie talkie that was connected to the one I saw. I snorted and asked, "So, you're passing the time before the Grand Galloping Gala by pulling pranks, huh?"

"You know it." She said with a suppressed snicker. However, she then handed the little radio to me. "Wanna do the honors?"

"Uh..." I muttered in hesitation as I have never been big on pranks. However, as I eyed Pinkie Pie and the cake with the other walkie talkie behind it, a brilliant idea popped into my head. "OK, I can't say no to this setup. Gimme that."

Rainbow Dash watched in intense anticipation as I held down the button to let my voice get through. The window was open just a crack, so we could hear whatever Pinkie Pie would say in response. I cleared my throat and spoke into the device with a raspy and squeakier voice than I normally use. "Hey, you!"

Pinkie Pie's ears flicked around a bit in response to the voice. She then glanced around in an attempt to decipher the source of the voice. I then called out, "Yeah, you! Over here!"

Finally, Pinkie Pie looked at the cake. Even she seemed baffled that a cake could be talking to her and asked, "Uh... Was that you?"

Now that I had her attention, I then spoke in a more menacing tone of voice. "Bow before me, mortal! For I am the Chancellor of Chocolate!"

Rainbow Dash was doing everything she could to not bust out laughing as I really got into the gag. Pinkie Pie was taking this way too seriously and was crawling towards the cake while looking rather unnerved. Although that did not last long. "Wow... A spirit of chocolate has possessed my cake... Sweet! Does that mean if I worship you and spread your teachings, I'll get all the chocolate I want for life?!"

I was not expecting her to stop being freaked out and even start worshiping the source of the voice. But I rolled with it even as Rainbow Dash snickered madly beside me. "Of course, mortal! Spread the gospel of chocolate, and you can have... Hey, is there an echo in here?!"

I was momentarily distracted by a bit of reverb coming through the radio in my hand. I released my grip on the button to disable it before pressing it down again. I decided to run a few tests to see if Pinkie Pie could hear me properly. "Chase your tail!"

On command, Pinkie Pie when into a frantic spin as she kept trying to grab her poofy tail in her teeth. Rainbow Dash was struggling to contain her laughter as she watched to the point it sounded like she was gasping for breath. I then spoke into the radio, "Touch your hooves!"

Pinkie Pie immediately stopped chasing herself and brought her back hooves and front hooves together. However, she did this without sitting down and her face soon plummeted into the floor without her legs supporting her. It did not seem to faze her much, at least. Seeing that she was listening to everything I was saying, it was time for the coup de grace. "Now, eat your mattress!"

Rainbow Dash froze in what was likely a combination of shock and amusement. Pinkie Pie too stood up and looked utterly bewildered by the frankly outlandish command she has just received. She turned around to look at her bed for roughly five seconds before turning around to look at the cake for another five seconds. Right as I was expecting her to back down, she let out a delighted response. "Oki doki loki!"

I facepalmed as Pinkie Pie walked towards her bed. Rainbow Dash then said while struggling to not laugh, "You're terrible, James. Eat her what now?!"

"Hey, it's not like I'm expecting her to do it!" I then said before laughing with her after making certain the talk button was not being held down. However, I then noticed movement coming from the stairs leading up into the room. Applejack was walking up the stairs with Twilight right behind her. "Whoa, quiet! We've got guests!"

Both of us shut up right away as Applejack stepped up into the room. "Hey, Pinkie? Twilight and I were wonderin' if..... GOOD GRAVY, GIRL!!!"

The look of horror on their faces startled us and prompted Rainbow and myself to look at Pinkie Pie. My god, what had I done? She was actually doing it! That psycho mare had somehow gotten her mouth open wide enough and was steadily consuming the mattress and even the bed frame with it! She was stretched out to fit the shape of the whole thing as her body got pulled along it like a snake pulling itself over its prey! Rainbow Dash sounded unsure if she should vomit or laugh. "Ooooh my gosh, that is so wrong! I think I'm gonna hurl!"

"Jesus Christ, Pinkie... You... Oh my lord!" I all but yelled while busting out into confused laughter as I forced myself to watch the deranged sight.

Applejack and Twilight could not bring themselves to watch as I looked away just briefly to check on them. Both were shielding their eyes from the freakish sight before them. However, when I looked back to Pinkie Pie, she was just fine! Her body was right back to normal, but the bed was gone! She then let out a belch and said, "Woo! That hit the spot!"

Applejack and Twilight began to carefully approach her with the former speaking first. "Pinkie? I might've had the appetite of a full-grown stallion since I was still in diapers, but even I know mattresses ain't good eatin'!"

Twilight then approached Pinkie Pie before suddenly prying her mouth open and staring right down her throat in utter confusion. "Exactly. And why were you... How did you even fit that in there?!"

"That's what she said." Rainbow Dash whispered while coaxing a small chuckle out of me. But as Applejack started to approach the cake, Rainbow Dash grabbed me from behind. "Uh oh. We better get outta here."

I dropped the radio as Rainbow Dash lifted me into the air and quickly lowered me back down to the ground outside. "Man, that was nuts! You think they're gonna get her bed back out?"

"I certainly hope so! I really wasn't expecting her to go through with that, let alone actually be capable of doing it!" I replied loudly as I tried to not laugh at the recent memory. My god, did that really happen today?!

Rainbow Dash could only hold her head in her hooves and laugh. "Ohohoho man, I still can't believe she did that... I'm never gonna get that image out of my head... Agh!"

Out of nowhere, there was a flash of light right next to us. And standing beside us after that was a rather annoyed Twilight Sparkle. And in her hoof was a familiar small radio. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I happened to find this behind a chocolate cake in Pinkie's bedroom after she devoured her own bed. You two wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

She caught us. I could tell she was not playing dumb. Of course, knowing there was somewhere I had to be soon, I playfully decided to let Rainbow Dash take the fall and pointed at her. "Rainbow's idea! That radio's hers! She talked me into it! I've got nothing to do with setting up this situation. See ya!"

And with that, I bolted. But not before Rainbow Dash yelled at me as I ran away. "What the... THAT WHOLE BED THING WAS YOUR IDEA!!!"

Maybe I should not have run, but it was funny nonetheless. Besides, Rainbow Dash dragged me into it without even letting me turn her down. Either way, I knew that Twilight was going to do was give her friend a good scolding. With nothing else to do, I decided to head on over to the Carousel Boutique to pick up my attire for the Grand Galloping Gala. And if I arrived early, I could just enjoy some tea with Rarity or Mitta.

I arrived without incident and was surprised by what I found outside. Rarity seemed to be doing a bit of gardening right outside her home, which struck me as odd due to her aversion to getting dirty. And getting dirty is practically a requirement for gardening. At least she was still wearing that wide hat much like how a gardener would wear one to shield themselves from the sun. I decided to step closer and get a better look.

I approached Rarity from behind so she would not easily detect me with her wide field of vision. She seemed to be humming a tune as she worked her spade, digging small holes in the ground right under her window to plant a small flower. Tulips, if memory serves. Her humming showed she was enjoying herself to some degree and her hooves were completely spotless while she used her levitation magic to move everything. I suppose she does not mind gardening if she does not have to make physical contact with anything that would force her to take a shower afterward.

After waiting for her to finish planting the last of her flowers, I decided to make my presence known. I reached out and dragged my fingertip over the curve of her flank. I would have done so to her ear, but they were concealed under her hat. This prompted a startled yelp as Rarity turned to look at me in surprise, but that look of shock quickly turned into one of amused adoration. "Oh, you little rogue! You shouldn't sneak up on a lady, you know."

"You can thank Rainbow Dash for that. She awoke my inner trickster a little while ago." I retorted with a smirk before just stroking my hand over her back. I then turned my gaze towards her new flower garden and said, "I didn't know you had a green thumb... Uh... Green hoof. I thought you couldn't stand getting dirty."

"Well, I would. But I'm not exactly dirty now, am I?" My beautiful friend retorted whimsically as her magic lifted her little spade up. "The use of magic allows me to keep a safe distance from that filthy soil while allowing me to tidy up my lawn. Sometimes, I am oh so grateful that I was born a unicorn."

"Can't blame you with how convenient that magic is... Although I'd prefer being a pegasus, all things considered." I retorted while I watched Rarity finish up her gardening. While I could have helped out, I doubt Rarity would want me to get dirty before putting on my robe. She was going along rather quickly already thanks to her mastery of the levitation spell.

Minutes later, I followed Rarity around back. She tapped the tools she had used against the side of the house to get more dirt off before inviting me inside. "Now that this is out of the way, I take it you're here to dress up for the gala this evening?"

"Am I too early? The train leaves at 5 PM, right?" I asked in return. Rarity had made her way to the kitchen and was washing her tools off in the sink. She does such a fine job of keeping anything she uses spotless after use. First time I had ever seen anyone keep their gardening tools indoors.

Rarity glanced at the clock on the wall. Barely past 4 PM. Where did the time go? "Hmmm... Yes, I suppose now would be a good time. But first, come with me. I have a little surprise for you."

I already had a hunch of where this was going. With a bit of an excited smirk, I followed Rarity out into the main workroom so we could reach the stairs. But when we did so, we found Mitta going out of her way to tidy up. She was pushing everything that was close to the middle of the room off to the sides and hiding any unfinished ensembles behind curtains. The room was already quite empty and spacious to the point that you could hear an echo if you raised your voice. As Mitta was starting to put on the finishing touches, she finally noticed us standing at the end of the hall. "Oh, James! Hi!"

While I waved back, Rarity beat me to the punch by approaching our friend. "Mitta? I know I closed the boutique early since it's a special occasion today and I need to get ready, but... What are you doing? There's no need to move everything off to the sides like this."

Being confronted by her employer and landlady, Mitta quickly became somewhat nervous. "Oh? Um... All this? Well... Funny story. You see, the Cutie Mark Crusaders asked me if while you and everypony else are up at the Grand Galloping Gala... They...thought it would be a good idea to have a...little gala of their own? At your place?"

"You mean... Those three fillies running amuck in my home without my supervision?" Rarity just stared blankly at Mitta while apparently recalling some bad memories. However, she began to look around at everything that had been pushed up against the sides of the room.

Mitta seemed rather apologetic over doing this without consulting her boss. "I'm sorry... They quickly took to the idea and I admit it sounded like fun. I'll be keeping an eye on them the whole time so they don't make a mess, but..."

Apparently satisfied over how well Mitta was pushing things out of the way to keep the girls from taking an interest in them, Rarity soon smiled. "Oh, there's no need to apologize, Mitta. The fillies should be able to have a good time on special days like this too, so I only suppose the elegance of the Carousel Boutique would be acceptable for a miniature gala of their own."

However, just when Mitta started to smile in relief, Rarity suddenly rushed up to her with a piercing gaze and held the tip of her hoof right under Mitta's chin. "However, I better not come home to find any of those ensembles thrown to the floor and ruined. They're for very important clients and must be completed by the end of next week. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Mitta replied reflexively with a nervous grin on her face. She surely understood by that point how much work Rarity puts into those things. As someone with an eye for art, even I understand that Rarity's line of work is for all intents and purposes an art form. Time and inspiration is vital and damaged work is difficult to restore or reproduce. Not that the Cutie Mark Crusaders can understand that, making them a prime threat for Rarity's unfinished creations. No wonder Mitta was going out of her way to make sure they would not notice or interact with them.

"Very good. Now then! James, if you will follow me?" Rarity then replied with a satisfied grin. I then followed her up the stairs and into the loft while Mitta stayed behind to finish up the preparations. Once we were at the top of the stairs and making our way down the hall, Rarity glanced at me over her shoulder. "Excited?"

"Well, it has been a while since I last wore that robe. It'll be nice to try it on again." I replied while trying to recall how that robe looked. I left it at Rarity's place so she could keep it safely stored away until I needed it again.

"Oh, that old thing? No no no, I didn't mean that." Rarity retorted, catching me by surprise as we entered her bedroom.

From the sound of it, she did not think as highly of that robe as she did last year. "Huh? But aren't I going to wear that tonight?"

Once we were inside, I noticed that there was only one curtain frame in use. The second one I had seen last time was missing. Rarity then began to coyly explain, "Well... Not this time. I must confess that for as enthusiastic I was last year in weaving a fitting ensemble for you, I didn't really...know you as well as I do now. In hindsight, I had not yet properly grasped the real you. It was too soon and I took my brush to the canvas before I had a firm grasp of the image in my mind, you understand?"

I crossed my arms and thought about what she was talking about. She certainly had a point. Rarity wove that robe for me not even a month after I arrived in Ponyville. We had become good friends, but not quite to the point we are now. She had only scratched the surface at the time. "Yeah... I do get you... Wait. Does that mean... Behind that curtain right there...?"

Rarity gave me quite a delighted smirk, her horn becoming coated in her magic aura as the curtains before us were equally coated in that billowing cornflower aura. "Oh, it most certainly is! Behold, my love! THIS is for the real you!"

With an unseen tug, the curtains parted. And I stood transfixed by what I was seeing. What was behind the curtain was not a robe at all. Instead, it seemed to be a stylized white tuxedo. Or at least that was the first word that came to mind. The jacket covering the torso had twin tails hanging from the back that brought to mind the tail of a swallow and the sleeves had feather-like decorations just behind the cuffs. It was all complimented by a pair of white slacks. The only thing recycled from my previous attire were the black buckled shoes at the bottom. As I circled the suit, I could not but help that Rarity had given it something of a dove motif. Certainly fitting when considering my cutie mark. "You...really outdid yourself this time..."

Delighted with my display of awe, Rarity trotted over to me. "I kept wondering exactly what sort of motif to use. With Pinkie Pie, it was candy. With Fluttershy, it was the season of spring. But you were a new type of enigma to unravel. But I think I got it just right, oh prince with the heart of a dove. You like it?"

"Well, I can't give it a proper review until I try it on, but it looks amazing!" I retorted while walking up to the display. I circled the suit as I observed it. Truly, it did not feel like a simple arrangement of formal wear. It felt like something special. Made for a very specific person. "Is it OK if I try this on now?"

Rarity glanced at a clock on the wall. "Well, it is a bit early, but I suppose we can have some tea while we wait for the clock to tick closer to 5."

Not that I would have minded Rarity being present, but she still left me alone to undress as she headed downstairs to prepare some tea. I left my clothes on Rarity's desk nearby before putting on the suit she had woven for me. I was expecting it to stiff and uncomfortable, but I was delightfully surprised that Rarity had gone to some lengths to insure I would not have any issues. While still having some of the rigidity of a brand new set of clothes, I found it to be quite comfortable to be in. Not even a minute after I slipped on my slacks and shoes, Rarity nudged the door open a bit to peek in. "James? I just put the water on to boil and... Oh my stars, darling! Just look at you!"

My friend trotted in to get a good look at me now that I was suited up. I crossed my arms and looked myself over before giving her my best smile. "You were right. That robe wasn't quite right for me. But this? Exquisite, m'lady. Is there anything I owe you?"

"Oh, nonsense! You owe me nothing! I was simply fixing a misstep I made last time... Although..." Rarity replied while shaking her hoof dismissively before falling silent as an idea came to mind. She then looked at me with an inviting smirk and asked, "Well... I suppose I would be willing to accept a kiss from my prince."

"How could I resist that?" I retorted with a bit of a snort. I should have seen that coming. I dropped to a knee and held out my arm to her. Soon, she was in my embrace as we sealed lips as a delighted shy escaped my beautiful friend's nostrils.

However, she did break the kiss rather abruptly as Rarity hurried over to her bed. "Ooh! I almost forgot! There's a little something else I commissioned to accompany your attire."

I was about to inquire into what she was talking about, but then took note of her choice of words. "Wait... You asked someone else to make it?"

A box slid out from under the bed while Rarity glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "Well, I am a seamstress. I don't commonly work with wood."

The lid of the box opened to reveal something I was not expecting. A sleek polished black walking stick. A cane one might see one of the Canterlot elite walking with if they walked on two legs. And at the top of the cane was an emerald serving as the spot where my hand should grasp it. I certainly had no need for a cane, but it definitely finished my suit's look. "Whoa... Now that is fancy."

"But that's not all, my dear." She then levitated the cane over to me until I took it in my hands. "Give it a good look. Notice anything unusual?"

I started to look the cane over. It was beautifully crafted with a sleek black finish, but completely inconspicuous otherwise. "Aside from the emerald on top, not re... Eh?"

There was a change when I gripped the cane just under the emerald handle and tugged on it. The cane seemed to extend slightly. However, I quickly deduced what this object really was and gave Rarity a smirk. "Rarity. You know what I like."

I proceeded to pull the handle as far out as it would go. Indeed, the cane was not merely a cane. Concealed within the cane was a blade. A sword with the top of the cane serving as the hilt and pommel. The blade was narrow, being akin to that of a rapier, but still had a sharp edge that could cut if needed. I performed a few slashes and stabs with the hidden sword before returning the blade to its elegant scabbard. "Who'd you commission to make that? The royal armory?"

Rarity snickered momentarily before saying, "Um... Would you believe me if I said yes? Oh, all right. I did. Twilight put in a good word for me with her brother, so I was allowed to visit the armory to request a very unique type of sword. I didn't expect them to be able to make something like this! Now you'll have a means to shoo away any louts that harass you at the gala tonight!"

I was not expecting to find any trouble in what might be the pinnacle of upper class soirees throughout the world, especially when considering that the royal guard is always present there, but I still relished the thought of drawing my blade on a disgruntled noble. And I had a hunch that somepony I knew still had a score to settle from last time. "Wouldn't surprise me. But seriously, I can't thank you enough for this."

"Well, all I ask is that you carry that cane with dignity and style... Hmmm... You know... Ironic as this may sound, the glasses you used to wear would probably fit with that ensemble right now." Rarity replied while bringing a hoof to her chin.

"Wait, really? I get my eyes hadn't been fixed at the time of the last gala, but... You'd think a monocle would go better with that." I said in contemplation, having all but forgotten that I had worn glasses at this time last year. Having gone without them for almost a year now, I suppose they would give me a studious appearance.

"Well, Fancy Pants has had that covered for some time now. And I'm certain we'll be seeing him tonight. But first, off you go! It's my turn to prepare myself for our night out!" Rarity then said while she stepped over to a closet at the far end of the room. However, she then peered over her shoulder at me with a very sultry gaze. "Unless, of course, you would care to watch?"

A wave of heat rushed through me as I realized I was being teased. Knowing this was not the best time for this sort of thing, I humbly made my way to the door. "Oh, but that would not be proper, m'lady! I shall...uh...leave you to your wardrobe and beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen! The water should be ready for the tea by now. Excuse me!"

I could hear Rarity let out a laugh as I shut the door behind me. On my way to the kitchen, I took the time to get used to walking with a cane, even if I sincerely did not need it. It was simply to complete the look. Mitta was nowhere to be seen, but the main chamber was very open and uncluttered. She must have finished clearing out the place before heading out to find the Cutie Mark Crusaders. My ears caught the sound of a whistle and led me to the kitchen where the tea kettle was hissing. I quickly poured it into a teapot and set a bag of raspberry black tea in it to let it brew. Knowing it would take time to cool, I also added a couple of ice cubes to speed up the process.

Before much longer, I heard the faint approaching sound of hooves. But along with the clopping, there was the sound of light clacking. I suspected it was Rarity wearing something on her front hooves. And when she rounded the corner and stepped into view, it confirmed my suspicions. Snuggly worn on her front hooves were a pair of glass slippers. And the rest of her was clad in the same dress and hairstyle as last year, that dress and tiara fit for a princess. "Just as radiant as the last time, m'lady."

"Ohoho, you are too kind." Rarity replied with a chuckle. She then pulled up a stool and took a seat while sniffing the air to confirm the aroma wafting from the teapot's spout. "Mmm... Is that raspberry?"

"Indeed, it is. I felt some black tea could give us a bit of a boost before we head out, but I could never stomach it without some flavoring first." I retorted, having never liked the flavor of straight black tea. Probably better than black coffee though.

Rarity proceeded to pour us both a cup of tea. Thick steam rose from the liquid, still hot even after having ice melt into it. The temperature was at least tolerable, thankfully. Rarity proceeded to stir in some honey for additional sweetness as well as to try and cool it down further. "Have things been well between you and Fluttershy, darling?"

I pushed my cup closer to let her add some honey to mine. "Very well. She's really excited for the wedding next month, although she's also a bit nervous about it too."

"That certainly sounds like her. Fluttershy's going to be getting a lot of attention that day... I hope she can handle it." Rarity said in response while clinking her spoon against the inside of my cup. She then took a sip from hers. "Mm... A bit better. Probably should wait a bit more, but we can't take too long lest we miss the train."

I took a good look at myself now that I was dressed up in a white tux of sorts. Now that the topic had turned to the upcoming wedding, a thought popped into my head. "Say... You think this would make for an appropriate suit for the wedding?"

"Actually, I was having the same thought as I was putting the finishing touches on it! It would be wonderful if you could wear that to your wedding. I'll be certain to try and make Fluttershy's wedding dress match." Rarity retorted with a hint of excitement. It was definitely clever to consider that. I would not want to be stuck in something that I would only wear once and then never again.

After a few more sips of tea, Rarity then flashed me an excited smirk. "So, how long has it been? I mean, since it was discovered Fluttershy is expecting? She'll be due in a few months now, yes?"

"Um... I think so. Gestation is around ten or eleven months, right?" I retorted as my thoughts turned to my fiancée.

"Yes, that's about right. So, is somepony excited to meet the little one?" Rarity then asked as she brought up her future godchild.

I paused in silence. An unpleasant feeling of stress settled onto me, although I am sure that is normal for most first-time fathers. "Uh... Is it normal to have doubts?"

Rarity gazed at me understandingly. "I would imagine it is, darling. Have you had poor experiences in unplanned parenthood?"

I let out a long sigh. For as optimistic I have been trying to be about the subject for a good while now, I was not without worries. "Well, not with myself. It's just... I've seen what an unplanned pregnancy can make you go through. It really disillusioned me when my brother came home with a kid he was far from ready for. It was hard on everyone and I don't want to make the mistakes he did. I've been trying to prepare and Fluttershy and I want to keep the baby, but... Well, I won't know what it's like until it happens, right? And...I just really don't want to inadequate in it all..."

A moment of silence went by as Rarity sipped the last of her tea. She then set it down with a clink while giving me a more serious, yet understanding stare. "James. I know you have your worries. But please do understand that you are in a very stable situation for such a thing. You have myself and our other friends ready to help if needed. You're receiving financial aid from Princess Celestia herself, so there's no need to fear overstepping your budget. The only thing you're lacking is experience, but that will come in time. Even I know there is no easy way to suddenly jump into parenthood even with all the preparation in the world. But trust me when I say I know things will work out in the end. Just be brave and be there for your beloved and your little one."

For once, Rarity's words were not enough to really wash my worries away. They were calming to a degree, but my worries were still there. All I could do was try to not think about it for the rest of the night. This was to be an evening of fun and relaxation, not one overshadowed by angst. Still, I appreciated her optimism. I quickly chugged the rest of my tea and stood up. "Yeah, maybe... Anyway, how about we get going?"

With no one left in the house, we both headed out for the train station. I had a hunch we were leaving a bit early and this was confirmed upon our arrival. None of our friends were there at all. Rarity glanced at the train schedule on display behind the ticket counter's window and said, "Seems we were a bit hasty... Still, the train arrives in less than half an hour."

I turned my gaze back towards Ponyville and scanned the horizon. I could not make out anyone approaching in anything that looked like formal attire. For a time, I took a break and looked towards the mountain to the east since there was nothing to obstruct my view at the edge of town. I was tempted to lean against the nearest wall, but feared that might scuff up my new jacket's backside. Rarity left me to my lonesome for a time and conversed with the worker in the ticket booth regarding the train schedules. Before long, I heard a familiar voice speak up from behind me. "Whoa, James! Where'd ya get those duds?"

That was definitely Applejack's voice. Upon turning around, I was greeted by exactly what I was expecting. My five other closest friends, Spike included, dressed up for the occasion in their best ensembles. Fluttershy's dress even hid her pregnancy quite well so long as you did not look too hard from the front and back, although she was wearing it higher up on her body than usual to hide the bulge. Probably to avoid drawing attention since her body is normally only barely covered at all compared to the rest of the dresses. Spike was still only dressed in a black tuxedo coat, but I would not expect a child to have much of an interest in being classy. I know I certainly did not at his age. "Afternoon, ladies. Ready for a good time tonight?"

"You bet we are! Hopefully I'll be able to remember what happens this year. What even happened last time?" Pinkie Pie replied while looking up at nothing and rubbing her chin on her wrist.

Rainbow Dash let out a snicker and said, "You got wasted on one drink, that's what. And I thought I couldn't hold my liquor!"

"Really?! I don't remember that! But if I got drunk, I wouldn't have remembered... Meh! No strong stuff for me tonight!" Pinkie Pie shrugged, completely missing the point. I was just hoping there was something up there this year that could satisfy her. Fancy quiet parties just are not Pinkie Pie's thing.

Spike then asked while still seated on Twilight's back, "Hey, are we gonna have to wait for the train long? We didn't get here too early, did we?"

As he said that, a distant whistle was heard. The telltale call of a steam locomotive. While we could not see it yet, the train was definitely approaching. Fluttershy then faced the south and said, "I think that's it now. It'll be here any minute... Wow... Rarity, I can't tell you how good James looks in this. What happened? Did something happen to his robe from last time?"

Rarity dismissively shook her hoof. "No, of course not! It's still safely stored away. It's just that... I suppose I was too hasty in preparing our friend some formal attire for the Grand Galloping Gala once the tickets were passed out to us. I must confess that I...just did not know him as well as I do now. I did not have the best grasp of his character in those first few weeks. But by now, I have a much better image in my mind and I have properly replicated it in what you see before you. Much more fitting, wouldn't you say?"

"Yep! He's got that dove look going on there. Looks good!" Rainbow Dash replied before hovering around me for a better look. I have to wonder how she flies with a dress draped over her. Regardless, I simply stood there with an arm behind my back and the other outstretched towards my cane as I tried to strike a gentlemanly pose.

However, Spike then hopped down from Twilight's back and approached me before he poked my cane. "What's this for? You didn't sprain something, did you?"

"Nah, it's just to complete the look. And I can use it to smack anyone who gets on my nerves this time." I retorted while omitting the fact that a blade was concealed within. I would have said more, but it was right around then that the train pulled into the station. A number of ponies departed the passenger cars while several remained onward as the train was restocked for the trip to Canterlot. All we had to do was show our tickets for the gala and we were allowed onboard. After maybe another thirty minutes, the train lurched forward before rolling out of the station and on its way up the mountain.

I tried to prop my cane up with both hands resting on the top, but it was hard due to how low my seat was. I finally gave up and just propped it up against the wall. My friends and I were all packed close together as they engaged in chitchat. I eavesdropped on a few of those conversations, hearing Rarity bring up a few commissions she had received lately that she was excited to start on and Spike talking about the latest issues in his favorite comic books. From the sound of things in the Project H series, it seemed like Alpha is on the verge of making his return debut.

Fluttershy soon came over to me and took a seat by me. I reflexively put my arm around her shoulder and held her against me with my beloved resting her head against my chest. She soon whispered, "You look amazing in your new suit. Rarity got it just right."

"And it looks like she got yours right the first time too. You still look lovely in it, dear." I retorted while rubbing my hand over the flowing leaf-like gown that stretched over Fluttershy's back. "You know... I think your dress might be one of my favorites out of the entire six."

"Hehee... Is it because it reminds you of spring? It always was your favorite season, after all." Fluttershy replied with a brief giggle. She nuzzled her head against my chest lovingly while my hand continued to stroke her back. However, my hand soon rubbed down over her side and felt the firm round curve of her pregnant belly. Mere seconds later, I felt a gentle stirring within as our daughter responded to my touch. Fluttershy let out a sigh and said, "It's her first time to the gala..."

I felt my heart flutter as I heard Fluttershy's words and felt the movements of our growing child within her womb. In that brief moment, any anxiety I had over what the near future may bring vanished. I was just so happy being in the presence of my future wife and our unborn child. I responded to her in kind with a kiss on the ear. "It most definitely is. Just remember though. No booze. It's not good for her."

Fluttershy looked at me and gave me a wink with her right eye. "No worries. I haven't had a drop in months. I almost never drink anyway."

Right at that moment, someone came over and took a seat across from us. "Howdy there, lovebirds. Enjoyin' the ride?"

I almost felt embarrassed to have been caught in a more intimate moment with my fiancée, as was Fluttershy herself. She then replied, "Oh! Uh... Hello. Something wrong, Applejack?"

Our spiffed up farm friend twisted her neck from side to side amid a symphony of cracks to loosen herself up, her beautifully braided ponytail being flung about with each swing of her head. "Oh, I'm just goin' a bit stir crazy and wanted somepony ta shoot the breeze with. At least on longer trips, there's more cars with stuff ta do in 'em."

I shrugged my shoulders, knowing that with such a short trip to Canterlot it is from Ponyville, the train does not bring much along. "Yeah, maybe. So... What's up?"

Applejack's eyes fell upon my hand as it rested upon Fluttershy's side. "How's the youngin' doin'? Everythin' lookin' all right from what ya can see?"

Fluttershy replied with a calm smile as her wing extended and began to gently stroke her side with it. "She's growing just fine. The doctors haven't noticed any problems during the ultrasounds."

Our friend let out a delighted chuckle, "Well, that's as right as rain. Good ta hear the little thing's growin' all right. I'm gonna have ta bake 'er plenty of good eats. Those youngin's grow like weeds, so ya gotta keep 'em fed."

"Glad to see her Auntie AJ is up to the task." I replied while prompting a chuckle and blush out of Applejack. She was probably going to be a very doting caretaker for Gladesong if we ever needed her to help out. However, I then recalled an event from earlier. "Hey, uh... Now that I think about it, did you and Twilight ever get that bed outta Pinkie Pie today?"

Fluttershy could only look up at me in confusion since she did not actually witness the event. Applejack instead looked somewhat unnerved by the memory. "Uh... Well, yeah. Twilight got it outta her somewhere, although she wanted me outta the room just in case somethin' weird happened. But yeah, her bed's right back where it belongs. Didn't want that thing ruinin' her appitite at the gala."

"Um... What happened exactly?" Fluttershy then asked while looking up at me.

I replied as bluntly and dryly as I could as that crazy memory came to mind. I still cannot believe Pinkie Pie pulled that stunt off. "She ate her matress along with the seats and bed frame. Don't ask how she pulled it off because I'm not asking her."

Fluttershy's expression went blank as she tried to process the thought I had just planted in her head. "Oh my..."

Applejack just rolled her eyes in amusement. "Ya know, if I wasn't worried about her busting 'er own gut open, I'd say we could get Pinkie Pie ta star in a local show. Does 'Will Pinkie Eat It?' sound like a catchy title?"

"I've got the weirdest feeling Pinkie Pie may have already witnessed something like that during her university days, complete with a similar title. Call it a hunch." I retorted as I recalled that incident with the inner tube during Maud Pie's first visit to Ponyville. Seriously, was that who I think it was?

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful aside from us engaging in playful banter. Once the train pulled into the station in Canterlot, the sun was already in the process of setting with the sky starting to turn a majestic orange to the west. Pretty much everyone else who was onboard departed as well and began to make a beeline towards the royal palace on the far side of town. We were no different. Once we stretched our legs, we all began to head towards the main event of the evening.

I had to get used to walking with my cane again despite not really needing it. I started to get quite a few glances from members of the Canterlot elite who had not yet started on their way towards the palace. Rarity stayed close to me and really enjoyed taking in the sight of me doing her latest work justice. I could not help glancing down at her and asking, "So, how am I doing?"

Rarity flashed me a delighted wink and said, "Carrying yourself like a true gentleman! By all means, do continue."

Once we reached the castle, the sun had just started to sink into the horizon while a crescent moon was starting to rise over the mountain's summit. The stars were becoming increasingly visible as the blue sky started to turn black at a steady rate. Along with a number of other guests, my friends and I crossed the drawbridge leading into the castle from the back. I just kept turning heads everywhere I went, although the bright flashes and pops of fireworks provided quite the distraction now and then. I suppose those are set off right as the Grand Galloping Gala begins each year. I suppose that suit was looking all too appropriate for the occasion. I suspect a few guests even recognized me from last year.

The clamor of the many guests who had amassed in the entrance hall was all but deafening, so we all made our way into the quieter main hall. And sure enough, there they were at the top of the grand staircase. Celestia and Luna watched from above as the guests began to pour in. Twilight wasted no time in rushing to Celestia while Luna looked on with a smile. "Princess Celestia! So good to see you!"

Celestia lowered her head to engage with a brief hug with Twilight. "I'm so glad you could make it, Twilight. I'm sure we have a lot to catch up on." She then raised her head and looked down at the rest of us. "And it's so good to see all of you as... Oh my, James. What are you wearing this time? Where'd you get that amazing attire?"

I cast a bit of smirk down at Rarity in response. "I'm sure you can guess who wove this amazing ensemble."

Rarity held her head high in pride as if to make clear that it was she who wove it. Luna then spoke out, "Every bit as impressive as your last creation. It'll be interesting to see how they mesh tonight."

The previous creation? I then turned to the princesses and Twilight as they descended the stairwell and asked, "Wait... Wasn't there another order that was commissioned from Rarity lately? Something top secret, so to say?"

"Huh? Wait, you mean it was that thing behind the curtains that was all blue and purple?" Spike then asked, apparently having snuck a peek at it during a visit without knowing the significance of the ensemble he must have seen behind that curtain.

Rarity, shocked that someone had caught a glimpse of the unfinished product, turned to Spike with a look of disappointment. "Spike, you really mustn't snoop around my workshop! If there's a curtain around something, it's there for a good reason."

"Sorry! I don't even really remember what I saw. Where is it anyway?" Spike replied in apology immediately while keeping his head bowed. I know he hates to offend Rarity, but she seemed more annoyed than upset.

Luna began to turn her gaze up at the top pf the staircase behind her as she said, "Well, we should be getting the chance to... Speak of the devil. She arrives."

All eyes turned to the top of the stairwell. And indeed, someone was standing at the very top. The room fell remarkably silent even with the few other assembled guests at the edges viewing the spectacle as Nightmare Moon began to slowly descend the stairwell with the grace of any queen.

With tonight being the very first Grand Galloping Gala she would attend, Nightmare Moon was truly dressed for the occasion. It was clear why Rarity had been so careful to keep Nightmare Moon's attire hidden from any prying eyes up until its grand reveal. It was quite a feast for the eyes. A flowing dress was draped over her body consisting of cerulean hues among spots of cyan and deep indigo. The spots that hung over her flanks and chest were even emblazoned with a cyan crescent moon with patterns that almost brought to mind moon-kissed clouds in the deep blue ocean that is the night sky. Her usual blue metal shoes had been given quite a shine and even her crown and sturdy metal collar had been swapped out for even more elegant counterparts for the occasion. The blue metal collar wrapping around her neck had a number of reliefs embedded into it while her new tiara had a number of curved points along its length to the sides of the central spire. We all watched as she came to a stop before us, stopping short of leaving the stairs. Rarity seemed quite proud of herself while the rest of us were all but spellbound by the elegant sight before us. Nightmare Moon's eyes glanced back and forth at us while her sisters stood at her side, waiting for an answer. "Soooo? How do I look tonight?"

Everyone around me burst into a chorus of compliments. They were all quite dazzled to see the Princess of Dreams really dressed for the occasion. But shortly after looking back and forth at everyone before her, Nightmare Moon then cast me a most whimsical gaze. I could tell it was my input that she was most interested in hearing at that moment. "You are all too kind. But what of you, Sir James? May we hear your evaluation on my ensemble tonight?"

My mind started to race. What could I say when I do not have much of a grasp for fashion myself? Never mind that I knew she would appreciate whatever I had to say. Still, after a moment of thought, I cast my vote. "Well... You would be hard pressed to ask someone else with a proper understanding of fashion for such input. But from me... I feel words do not do justice, your highness. Your attire is like that of a shrouded dream in a sleeper's mind, such ethereal beauty."

"Why, I do believe those words did just do justice, my friend. Such a way with words." Luna said almost mockingly while Nightmare Moon could only look at me in stunned appreciative silence. In hindsight, I really surprised myself there with my response.

My own friends looked at me as well in surprise. Nightmare Moon herself even seemed to have a noticeable blush shining through her ebony coat. Still, she managed to word a response. "My word... Now that was indeed some fine praise. To that effect, I must ask a...personal request, Sir James."

"Name it, your highness." I replied while my hand tightly grasped the top of my cane.

The Princess of Dreams then calmly spoke her desire. "As this is my first attendance to the Grand Galloping Gala, I feel out of sorts among the unwashed masses that once feared me as a demon of the night. If I may be so bold... May I request that you serve as my escort tonight?"

I somehow suspected that she would make such a request. And the rest of my friends looked on in anticipating silence as well. Of course, I knew what my answer was. I dropped to one knee and took Nightmare Moon's hoof in hand before placing a kiss upon it. "It would be an honor, m'lady."

A number of my companions got a chuckle or giggle out of that, especially since Nightmare Moon seemed to not expect such a retort. Especially not that kiss. Still, she cracked a giddy smile and said, "Then it is settled! Uh... I hope the rest of you do not mind me stealing him away for the evening."

I could tell that she was directing that towards Fluttershy more than anyone else. My fiancée took it quite well and stepped towards Rarity. "Oh, it's no trouble, your highness. I'll just stick with Rarity while we see the sights. But we'll be around."

"Excellent. So... What happens next?" Nightmare Moon then asked while turning to Celestia.

The Princess of the Dawn let out a soft chuckle. It was hardly surprising seeing as how Celestia has seen dozens, if not hundreds of such galas in her very long lifetime while Nightmare Moon has seen none. Probably not even when she was still Luna a thousand years ago since Canterlot was not founded until after Nightmare Moon's banishment. Regardless, Celestia provided a retort. "Well, you don't have to worry about standing here to greet the guests this year. You just go in there and have a good time. I'm sure many of our guests are itching to meet their beloved Princess of Dreams in the flesh."

Such words of encouragement were not wasted on Nightmare Moon. She grinned in delight and giddy excitement. Such an event was most important for her since her return to Equestria in full almost a year ago. "That I shall. Now then, what are you all waiting for? Go! Eat, drink, mingle, and be merry!"

In a gaggle of giggles, laughs, and some cheers, all seven of my companions trotted off in different directions to go enjoy themselves among the rest of the invited guests, most of them in pairs. However, Luna then whispered to Celestia in a panicked hush just as a line of newcomers started to arrive, "Sister. I trust you arranged to provide some distractions for Miss Pie this time?"

I almost laughed as I recalled what happened the previous year. I learned the hard way to keep the strongest booze away from Pinkie Pie that time. Thankfully, Celestia sounded quite at ease about keeping Pinkie Pie entertained. "No worries, Luna. I had one of the smaller chambers set aside for some low brow entertainment that I'm sure she will enjoy quite a bit. Now, look alive! You've got guests to greet!"

"So I see. Just remember! It's your turn in thirty minutes!" Luna replied while Celestia trotted off towards Twilight as she and Spike waited by the doorway.

Now alone with Nightmare Moon as Luna dealt with the guests who were lining up to see her, I turned my attention to the Princess of Dreams. "Shall we?"

As our gazes met, I noticed...something in her eyes for only a second or two. Something like...fear. Or a look of uneasiness. She averted her gaze momentarily, but soon regained her serene smile as her wing extended and draped across my shoulders as if it were an arm. "By all means."

Thinking nothing of the break in her expression, I continued on into the grand hall with my date at my side. At least it felt like it was a date. Sure enough, the first grand hall we entered was bustling with activity as many formally dressed guests mingled and chatted. The band up on stage was filling the room with pleasant classical music. I could even Twilight, Celestia, and Spike in line at the buffet, although Spike was really loading up on desserts. After my previous attendance, it was everything I would come to expect from the Grand Galloping Gala.

Being her first time, Nightmare Moon scanned her surroundings while I waited patiently beside her. I was to venture only where her hooves carried her and nowhere else. "My word... I cannot recall the last time I witnessed so many louts in one area like a flock of strutting roosters."

Heh. I actually felt the urge to laugh at that. While neither Celestia or Luna have much love for the Canterlot elite, Nightmare Moon in particular really loathes them. "Oh, I'm sure quite a few of them are decent folk... Like this fellow approaching us right now."

At first glance, I did not recognize the stallion who approached us. But those large sunglasses and his silvery mane gave it away after a moment. It was none other than Hoity Toity. The fashion mogul quickly took a bow before his princess as he said, "Ah, your highness! It is so good to finally make your acquaintance. And I must say you are looking quite striking in that gown tonight."

Nightmare Moon cracked a smile at her guest's praise. "It is most appreciated, Hoity Toity. I personally commissioned this lovely ensemble from Ponyville's own Rarity some time ago and she most certainly delivered."

Hearing the name of a colleague he most likely had worked with before caused the stallion's ears to perk up. "I thought I recognized that design. Miss Rarity truly brings out the best of the material she works with. I've been updating the stock in my boutique to carry only the finest ensembles she can produce and... Hmm! I almost did not see you there! Didn't we meet last year? What was your name again... James, was it?"

Pleased that he remembered me, I nodded with a smile. "It is, my good sir. I will be with her highness for the night. And..." I paused briefly when I noticed that Hoity Toity was eyeing my attire. Possibly giving it a silent evaluation. "See something you like? Like her gown, this fine suit of mine was woven by Miss Rarity as well."

"That is exactly what I was beginning to suspect! I must say that the robe you donned last year was a feast for the eyes on its own, but I have to say this ensemble... It simply screams 'you' the longer I look at it. Truly, only Miss Rarity knows how to find a look that fits anypony right down to the finest detail. I must go find her and inquire about this as I am quite intrigued! So sorry to cut this conversation short, your highness, but it was a pleasure nonetheless."

Nightmare Moon could only let out a chuckle as her guest trotted off to find Rarity. For all of his cool and collected reputation, seeing some eye-catching works produced by someone he knows quite well is enough to get him quite excited. The Princess of Dreams then looked at me and said, "Well, that went better than expected. The shorter the discussion, the better."

"Meh, he's not so bad. At least compared to the rest of those fops among the elite." I retorted while adjusting the grip on my cane. I then turned my gaze towards the buffet and felt my mouth water as the various foods greeted my eyes. I could scarcely tell what any of them were, but I was eager to try them. "Mmm... Shall we feast before moving on to the rest of what the gala has to offer?"

When I looked back at Nightmare Moon, I was giving a surprise. That same disheartened and uneasy look at returned to her face. It stayed there a while longer as her eyes glanced at me, then the buffet, then back to me. She slowly started to regain her composure and said, "No, not yet... My appetite is not quite worth sating yet."

Considering that feelings of guilt, anxiety, and or fear can really screw with your appetite, I began to suspect something was wrong. But unless I saw it again, I decided to chalk it up to Nightmare Moon being rather nervous about her very first Grand Galloping Gala. I smiled calmly and said, "Very well. As much as I'd love to sample the fare, I'd much rather wait for you to join me."

"Thank you, my dear... I... I think I could just us some fresh air. If we might may our way to the garden, that would be grand." My beautiful friend replied with gratitude. I began to make a path towards the far end of the hall that led out into the vast royal garden, my cane serving as a prod of sorts as I gently nudged people out of the way with it or otherwise signaling them that I needed to get through. Along the way, many guests greeted the Princess of Dreams with smiles and not an ounce of fear or wariness. Even though I could still see that disquieted look in her eyes, she really was enjoying everyone opening up to her not as a legendary villain, but as a beloved and respected member of Equestria's rulers. Although I was also quick to notice one or two of the guests were surprisingly underdressed for such an occasion, including a stallion with a snow-white coat and mane with traces of an icy blue in his hair with his tail cropped a bit short and a pair of blue snowflakes for his cutie mark. All he was wearing was a purple scarf. No one seemed to give him any trouble though.

Stepping out into the garden, we were greeted by the sight of multiple guests engaging in conversation, enjoying walks along the rows of flowers, and quite a few were lined up at Applejack's vendor stall. Much like last year, she pulled out all the stops and had brought along only the most decadent apple treats she could come up with. She still kept a few apple pies around, probably for the Wonderbolts on the other side in the courtyard, but the rest consisted of apple parfaits, sparkling apple cider, apple ice cream, and a number of other treats. It really looked like a stall one might find in Canterlot itself. Only this time, she did not have that silly apple turret out that shot me in the gut. I decided to refrain from messing with her this time.

I followed Nightmare Moon out into the farthest edges of the garden. The air was pleasantly cool in the low 60s as the moon and stars hung high in the sky above the canopy. A few birds and squirrels fluttered and scampered around now and then, but activity was quite minimal. It would have been outright spooky being that far from the party if it was not for some of the lights from the open doorway and the number of outdoor torches that were illuminating the area and the music from the dining hall barely reaching us.

Nightmare Moon was almost oddly silent as she walked along. I thought she would speak up and engage in conversation with me, but those words never came. Instead, it seemed she was simply out there to be alone with her thoughts. She did look quite troubled with how she seemed to not even notice my presence anymore. I decided to do away with my gentlemanly facade and voice my concerns. "Hey... Are you feeling all right?"

She almost did not even hear me. It took Nightmare Moon a moment to process that my words were directed at her if that delay in the turn of her head was anything to go by. She looked at me with those beautiful yet unnatural eyes filled with self-doubt and even fear. For a moment, we said nothing as our eyes locked. However, she could see what I was concerned about and let out a sigh. "It's nothing... It's just... I... I cannot lie to you, my friend... I am deeply concerned that I...made a grave error..."

"An error? With what? When did..." I began to ask before it finally dawned on me. I had all but forgotten about it. "Wait! The raid under the last full moon! How'd that go? Did everyone make it out all right?"

My thoughts went back to the hostage situation the royal guard had discovered out in the wastes near Manehatten. The mare known as Starlight Glimmer. What had become of that megalomaniac? Were there any casualties? Whatever it was that happened, Nightmare Moon seemed deeply unwilling to speak of it. Even so, she could tell I wanted to know. With some hesitation, she gave me an answer I did not expect. "I am uncertain if words will be able to do justice... It may be better if I show you instead."

"Show me...? What, like a mirage? You can do that?" I asked in surprise as I tried to imagine what would happen. Would she conjure up a mirror that would serve as a window into the past?

"Well... Something to that effect. I can show you everything that occurred as if we were there. However..." She replied before stepping towards me and placed her hoof on my chest while giving me a desperate pleading gaze. "You must promise me... No matter what you see, please... Please do not think any less of me. I beg of you..."

She was afraid. I began to put the pieces together. Nightmare Moon was fearful she did something I could not accept. She did not want to jeopardize our bond. Regardless, I only had the utmost faith in her judgment and cupped her cheek with my hand. "That's a promise. You know I won't give up on you."

My words and touch seemed to reassure my dear friend. She smiled momentarily before her horn became engulfed in her deep blue magic aura. "Thank you... Truly. Now, stay close to me. It is for the best we are not interrupted out here."

I did as she requested and stepped next to her. In a move I would probably expect out of Trixie more than Nightmare Moon, the area around us became gradually covered by a new vista as if the garden around us was a mirage that was fading away. In a matter of seconds, we were no longer standing in the royal garden. Instead, we seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere along two rows of identical houses. Even the moon above us had gone from being a crescent to a full moon. I could no longer hear the sounds of the gala nearby. Only the sounds of night reached my ears. "So... This is where it happened?"

"Yes. This outpost is where the hostage situation took place." She explained as I looked around. The appearance of the tiny hamlet was roughly about what I expected and matched the various descriptions I had heard from her to a T. The homes before me were identical in design and they were evenly lined up parallel formations with the number of houses on each side mirroring the other. Considering the mention of the hostages all bearing the same unsettling cutie mark of an equal sign, I realized that the rows of houses would appear to look like an equal sign if seen from above. The only thing that stood out was the presence of another house ahead of the rest, breaking the sense of symmetry. All around us was a rather bleak dusty wasteland with only a few rather bare trees here and there along with larger rocks jutting up out of the landscape. It was no wonder such a hideout had gone undiscovered for so long. Why would anyone even go there? As I pondered in silence while taking in my surroundings and contemplating how boring it must have been to live in such a bland settlement, Nightmare Moon spoke over the night's stillness. "Five minutes until midnight."

Her gaze was no longer as uneasy as it had been before. A look of cold sternness had replaced it. Whatever it was that was about to transpire was clearly bringing up some unpleasant memories. I looked around and, just barely, I saw it. Atop the lines of houses. There was movement as the forms of winged stallions climbed up onto the roofs' steeples with spears in hoof. I recognized their forms. Being a bizarre fusion of pegasus and bat while clad in armor that almost looked like a costume for Nightmare Night. I knew by that point that such appearances are just an illusion due to an enchantment placed upon the armor. With there being six houses on each side, two dozen members of the royal guard stood atop the rows of homes with two on each roof. Minutes ticked by as I watched in silent anticipation, the rows of guardsmen atop the roofs watching like ravens about to swoop down upon their prey. Only the house at the head of the rows was left untouched as Starlight Glimmer likely slumbered away in it. Then, Nightmare Moon spoke once more. "It begins."

At those words, midnight struck. The rows of guardsmen leaped off the roofs and landed lightly upon the ground in unison with wings spread. They all kicked the doors in and rushed inside to secure the captive ponies. I could hear the shrieks of the startled captives being roused from their slumber so suddenly, but the guardsmen did everything they could to assure that they were in no danger. Calls of them revealing their identity as members of the royal guard having come to rescue them. Some of the captive ponies managed to flee out the doors, understandably frightened by the sudden raid and probably not understanding that they were in no danger. Each were tackled to the ground by one or more of the guards and were warned to be still as they were not yet safe. It was at that time that I discovered Nightmare Moon's description of them was quite accurate. Muted coats of drained color and cutie marks all bearing the same equal sign. "You weren't kidding about the marks..."

It was at that time that a light flicked on inside the house to my right. I heard a rather geeky sounding voice speak up with the tone of a young woman. "Huh?! What's going on out there?! You're all supposed to be in bed!"

Nightmare Moon and I turned to face the house as the door burst open to reveal the one person in the outpost who did not bear the same cutie mark as the captives. A young unicorn mare stepped out into the moonlight, her coat being a shade of pink and her eyes a shade of lavender. Her mane consisted of two similar shades of purple and lines of light blue and were styled in bangs over her brow and a long ponytail with her tail styled very similarly to her mane. Her cutie mark, incriminating her of the charade of equality she had forced upon her captives, consisting of a purple diamond shape set over a four-armed white star with trails of what I thought were magical energy consisting of an aquatic blue and green. She certainly did not look like anything special to me and I was left silently questioning if that was even the one I had been told about. Upon seeing the royal guards freeing and restraining her panicked captives, Starlight Glimmer's eyes opened wide in a combination of shock and frustration. "They're... No... No!!! I didn't get this far just for..."

As she stepped forward, a sudden surprise came up. Or rather, dropped right out of the sky and landed right in front of her. A dark visage landed right before Starlight so suddenly that she staggered back in shock. I recognized the form before me as Nightmare Moon rose and glared down at Starlight Glimmer in silence. The real Nightmare Moon by my side stood silently as she watched this event from her past, including her past self.

As the Princess of Dreams glared down at Starlight Glimmer in silence, all of the frustrating and anger left the unicorn's eyes and was replaced with utter horror as she realized exactly who she was seeing before her. No matter how cunning and conniving she had been thus far, she knew it would be foolhardy to even try to tangle with the Mare in the Moon. "No... You can't... You can't be... NIGHTMARE MOON!!!"

In a panic, Starlight Glimmer scrambled to her feet and fled away from the village off to her left. Nightmare Moon yelled out at her to halt, but the terrified mare was no about to let herself be caught by the reviled black sheep of the royal family. Nightmare Moon then turned to her men as they all gathered outside with many of the townspeople starting to panic as they realized exactly who it was leading the royal guard in the raid. "Half of you come with me! The rest of you, protect the townspeople!"

A dozen of the royal guardsmen rushed off after Starlight Glimmer with Nightmare Moon leading the charge. Instead of following these ghosts of the past, I found that Nightmare Moon and I began to float along after them as if standing on an invisible platform. It was as if we were watching a movie being displayed in all directions like magic-based virtual reality. A pursuit under the full moon took place as they chased her out of the village and up a craggy path that lead up to what seemed to be a cave not that far from the village itself. It was so inconspicuous that it was no wonder the royal guard and even the Wonderbolt scouts never took note of it. But it was there. Just a cave on a high cliff overlooking the outpost with a path leading right up to it. What was Starlight Glimmer hoping to do there? For all I knew, she was backing herself into a corner with no way out. "That looks like a bad idea unless the whole cave is booby trapped."

Nightmare Moon said nothing as we floated along, keeping an eye on Starlight Glimmer as she rushed into the cave with Nightmare Moon's past self and the dozen royal guards with her following close behind. The two of us suddenly picked up speed and I flinched as we were about to slam into the rock formation the cave was set into. Instead, we just phased right through it as if we were in a video game and had just glitched through the wall. It really is the only way I can describe it. We could see the corridor Starlight was galloping through while seemingly floating in a black void. We were very close to the wall itself, so I could almost reach out and touch her.

What we saw next was quite a shock. The passage in the cave soon led into a spacious chamber. At the far end of the chamber stood what I could only describe as some sort of vault set into the wall. A vault of cutie marks for whatever sense that makes. It immediately explained where the cutie marks of Starlight's captives had gone. They had been...extracted somehow and put into the many slots of that wall. The outlines of each slot glowed a bright neon cyan, providing a fair bit of light. The cutie mark vault was eight slots wide and fourteen slots high while only thirty or so marks were on display. Seeing that it could hold more than a hundred cutie marks filled me with a sense of horror as I wondered just how many ponies Starlight Glimmer would have abducted in several more years had she gone undetected. "Those are all...cutie marks? How's that even possible?"

"I wish I had an answer for that myself... Forbidden magic to be sure." Nightmare Moon muttered as Starlight rushed towards the vault. Before the vault stood a pedestal that held what seemed to be a wooden staff with a forked end. With the way the staff seemed to have a spiraling band of wood just below the forked section, it looked like something Shining Armor would use as a prop during one of his roleplay sessions.

The longer I looked at that staff, the more I pondered its purpose. But then a name came to mind. "Wait... Is that the Staff of Sameness?"

Nightmare Moon let out a noticeable groan, probably because of how laughable she found that name to be. "Ugh... Most likely."

"It looks like a tuning fork with a needlessly long handle! What could one even do with it?" I asked in return as Starlight Glimmer rushed up to it and took it into her magical grasp as her horn and the staff itself become coated in a layer of billowing light turquoise magical energy.

We watched as the tension rose rapidly now that Starlight Glimmer was boxed into the cave with no way out. The night watchmen blocked the exit with spears ready while Nightmare Moon stood before them. Starlight Glimmer pointed the Staff of Sameness at them like a polearm almost as if she was going to channel some sort of spell through it. Just as panicked as minutes earlier, she shrieked at her pursuers as Nightmare Moon's eyes opened wide at the perceived threat. "Get out! Get out of here or I'll... I'll..."

"NO!!!" Nightmare Moon yelled as she fired a bolt of magic lightning from her horn. The lightning obliterated the flimsy wooden staff into countless splinters as Starlight Glimmer screamed in fright. The lightning just kept going and slammed into the vault behind her. Great cracks began to line the barrier that contained the cutie marks within. Seconds later, the barrier shattered into sparks of light. With nothing to keep the cutie marks contained, they flew right over everyone in the cave and out through the entrance, likely to return to their rightful owners. It was...strangely beautiful to watch.

Starlight Glimmer could only look on in horror as everything she had worked towards completely unraveled before her. She shrieked and pleaded as she desperately tried to grab onto the cutie marks that flew over her to no avail. She was in an utter panic, trying so hard to salvage whatever she could from what she likely spent a great deal of time building up. But it was all for naught. Every last cutie mark escaped the cave and left Starlight Glimmer backed into a corner as her vault's glowing frame continued to illuminate the chamber. It was all over for her. All that remained was for her to surrender.

"Looks like you got her." I said while watching with intense curiosity to see how this event would play out. It had gone flawlessly. Starlight Glimmer was trapped, her captives had been freed, and they had likely just regained their stolen cutie marks to boot. There was just one loose end to tie up, but Starlight Glimmer still looked the part of a cornered rat. Terrified, yet probably not willing to throw in the towel yet.

The twelve royal guardsmen aimed their spears ahead at their target. However, Nightmare Moon threw up a wing to order them to stand down. They rested their spears, but remained watchful. The Princess of Dreams took a few steps forward, prompting Starlight Glimmer to flinch in fright as the dreaded Mare in the Moon glared down at her from across the room. With a look of unflinching cold resolve, Nightmare Moon spoke. "Starlight Glimmer. As princess of Equestria, I hereby place you under arrest."

Even with no chance of escape, Starlight simple backed away while still pleading with her captor. "No... You... You can't do this to me! I've done nothing wrong!"

One of the guardsmen spoke up, probably do to having experience in similar situations and knowing how to talk to emotionally compromised individuals. "There is nothing else you can do. You are surrounded. You have no control over this situation. Come quietly and you will not be harmed."

The way Starlight kept trying to slink away from the situation... Even after being guilty of mass kidnapping, she seemed to not comprehend that she had committed a serious crime. "No... You don't understand! I was just trying to spread equality! That's it!"

"Kidnapping and the theft of cutie marks...however you managed to do that...are not acts of insuring equality. It is a most unsettling crime and you will stand trial for it." Nightmare Moon cool commanded as she tried to keep control over the situation. I simply stood there baffled. I was expecting Starlight to be some sort of devious mastermind and not someone convinced she was doing the right thing.

Whatever bizarre logic she was following, she did not back down. "No... You don't understand. Cutie marks do nothing but divide us... They create difference. They create rifts that force others apart. To be unique is to be uneven. To be unequal! Through equality, no one is superior and no one is inferior. Why can't you see that?"

I could not help cocking my head to one side. Was she really misinterpreting the entire purpose of cutie marks THAT hard? Even the royal guardsmen seemed baffled as to what she just said if the way they were looking at each other showed anything. I mean, really. Cutie marks breed inequality? What was this tripe? Who could ever come to that conclusion? At most, they breed diversity. And at the very least, they merely show what your foremost talent is or an important trait about yourself.

Nightmare Moon was left unfazed by such claims even though she too seemed bewildered by such outlandish conspiracy theories. "I will not ask how you could possibly come to such a conclusion, but you are sorely mistaken. Equestria has never been a land built on inequality. And in times where inequality occurs, cutie marks have never been the cause. Cutie marks are a badge of identity. An emblem displaying one's greatest interests, talents, or even a look into their very soul. They have nothing to do with one's status in society. Much how mine does not indicate my right to rule over this world alongside my sisters."

I quickly noticed something change in Starlight even before Nightmare Moon could finish speaking. Even the real Nightmare Moon beside me started to seem increasingly anxious as if she knew something was about to happen. Starlight Glimmer's expression very slowly started to become one not of terror, but anger. Resentment. As if Nightmare Moon's spoken facts about the purpose of cutie marks was somehow insulting her very intelligence. Not even a second after Nightmare Moon finished speaking her peace, Starlight immediately went from cowering to yelling at her. "Don't you dare try to use this sentimental garbage against me! I've seen what these useless marks do! They're a blight on the world! All they do is ruin the connections between people and drive them apart! That's inequality in a nutshell!"

Nightmare Moon remained unfazed and promptly shot down her argument with the most obvious statement she could make. "Then why do you still wear your original cutie mark while your captives are forced to bear false marks consisting of an equal sign?"

Starlight Glimmer fell silent while her face seethed with rage and even some humiliation. It was as if those words had just dealt a massive blow to her pride. All she could do was bow her head and mutter, "Shut up."

Nightmare Moon began to sound impatient as her tone become more stern. "Whatever your mindset is or whatever goal you were working towards, it's all for naught when it's fueled by such nonsense. There is nothing more you can do. Stand down and come with us. You have nothing to lose by surrendering."

"Shut up..." Starlight Glimmer growled with an unsettling sense of malice in her voice. Her horn became covered in her magic aura unexpectedly even while her gaze remained directed to the cave floor.

Clearly seeing Starlight's magic aura as a threat, Nightmare Moon all but shouted at her target. "Enough! I will not say it again! Surrender now and we shall not..."

"I said SHUT UP!!!" Starlight Glimmer screamed at the Princess of Dreams before doing the one thing I would never expect a sane person to do in that situation. She began to bombard her arrestors with frightfully potent bursts of magic! I could see why everyone had been so wary of a direct confrontation with her. The magnitude of her magical might was on par with Twilight Sparkle herself, if not greater. Rather than blast them directly, she instead directed her aim at the cave ceiling and walls above the royal guard, trying to trigger a cave-in and bury them alive! Even if it meant sealing herself in the cave and insuring her demise.

The entire cave became a chamber of mayhem as the guards struggled to maintain their footing due to the powerful tremors and avoiding the falling debris. The amount of falling rocks was small at first, but Starlight's assault did not relent. Such wrath and utter madness in those eyes... The expression on her face was nothing short of murderous rage. An emotion I did not think was possible to see on a pony's face. Even Nightmare Moon herself struggled to deflect or block the falling debris around her with magic barriers, but something needed to be done soon. Starlight Glimmer was beyond reason and if something was not done within the next moment, somepony was going to wind up dead.

I was at a loss for words. I did not expect to see this situation go to hell like this. I was all but quivering in anticipation to the point of not noticing Nightmare Moon's past self charging her horn for a spell as she became still and focused despite all the chaos happening around her. The real Nightmare Moon beside me began to look back and forth at me as fear seemed to fill her eyes. At that moment, I began to notice icy mist beginning to form right under Starlight Glimmer even while she was too deranged to focus on anything other than smiting those who dared tried to capture or reason with her. It was at that moment that Nightmare Moon threw up her wing, blocking my view of what was happening before us. Mildly startled, I yelped in irritation at not being able to see what was happening. "Hey?! I was wa..."

What followed was a sound I still struggle to describe even now as I replay it in my head. All I know is that it chilled me. And with that sound, the entire cave was engulfed in a deathly silence. I dared not move for roughly seven or eight seconds as I felt the silence reach me. Whatever it was that happened, everything stopped. I looked to my left and could see the guardsmen looking rattled, but all right. Quite a bit of rubble littered the floor around them while their helmets had dents in them from being struck with falling rocks. I leaned a bit further to my left and saw Nightmare Moon standing transfixed, motionless as a look of abject horror filled her eyes. What had she done?

I began to reached for Nightmare Moon's wing to move it aside, but she turned a most worrisome gaze towards me in warning. "It's morbid... Are you sure you're ready to see this?"

I was left momentarily stunned by those words. Just what did Nightmare Moon do to pacify the situation so suddenly? Images played through my mind, none of which painted a pretty picture. I steadied my nerves and nodded my head to signal that I was ready before gently pushing her wing aside so that it would partially fold. I immediately regretted my decision to the point that I had to look away and only gradually look back bit by bit until I could bring myself to tolerate the sight before me.

Starlight Glimmer was still there. And her visage was nothing short of ghastly. That icy mist below her had served as a warning that Nightmare Moon was on the verge of casting one of her signature ice elemental spells. Specifically ice spikes. Starlight Glimmer's hooves dangled limply in the air as she was supported by the three narrow ice spikes that were now jutting out of the floor under her, thoroughly and bloodily impaled through her torso. Even with how twisted and murderous she had proven herself to be, all my mind could process at the time was that I was seeing a pony, one of Equestria's citizens that I had come to view as embodiments of innocence and purity, gruesomely skewered and bleeding heavily on a trio of sharpened frozen spires. "My god..."

Much to my shock, I soon found that Starlight Glimmer was not dead at all. She let out a sudden loud gasp as she struggled to breath with one of her lungs likely collapsed, her voice shuddering as the ice spikes impaling her body chilled her and slowed the loss of blood. Her eyes, quivering in what was likely unbearable agony or frigid numbness, looked towards the motionless Princess of Dreams as she beheld the horror of what she had done with a look on her face that I could only describe as a crisis of conscience. "You could...never understand... What I went through... When he...left me as soon as...his mark appeared..."

I forced myself to watch as Starlight's time likely drew near. There was no way she was going to survive those injuries. Nightmare Moon's face showed a reaction that seemed to show that she had come to her senses enough to listen to what Starlight Glimmer was saying. The dying mare continued to speak her mind along with what was surely the catalyst behind her outlook on life. "He gained his mark... I did not... And he...left me... My friend left me... That mark...took him from me... Drove him away from me... That wretched...cutie mark... They all...drive friends away... Destroy friendships... Make them...meaningless... Make everypony...unequal..."

I averted my eyes from the carnage before me to try and comprehend what her words meant. From the mention of the time she did not have her mark, it was surely during her childhood. A friend of hers got his cutie mark first? And they drifted apart? But... That is something that every child is all but doomed to go through. It is rare where a friendship formed in childhood lasts into adulthood. I should know because my best friend from elementary school and I drifted apart in later years and I never dwelled on it. It is something you just need to overcome and keep trying again until you find friendships that end up lasting.

The royal guardsmen were clearly having the same idea as they looked at each other in utter bewilderment. I heard them mutter lines like 'Is she serious?' and 'That's a joke, right? I mean... Really?', indicating that such a childish motivation could truly be the motive behind the mass kidnappings she had carried out. Did she truly not have the courage to try again after her first friendship floundered? Even twenty years later?

I noticed something begin to change with Nightmare Moon's face. The look of horror slowly became replaced with a very special kind of anger. Cold focused anger with a hint of disbelief and disgust. Surely she was having just as much difficulty comprehending Starlight's motives as the rest of us. " This is just some jest... It must be."

A new kind of tension began to fill the chamber as Nightmare Moon began to very slowly approach the impaled mare before her. "You could not have...been the least bit serious just now... Nopony...could ever be so...petty... So...childish..."

My eyes opened wide as I saw my friend's rage and disgust begin to simmer and boil over. Those words Starlight Glimmer had spoken... They had just struck a very sensitive and personal nerve in the Princess of Dreams as her quiet voice seething with malice turned into roaring as she began to draw ever closer to her enemy. "Are you mad?! How could you have been so weak as to not overcome an ordeal literally every person on the face of the planet has had to face at least once in their lives?! How could you have just given up when everyone else has faced it, conquered it, and moved on?!"

Her wrath was terrifying, yet utterly justified. Even Nightmare Moon's men seemed intimidated as their princess screamed out at the true absurdity of Starlight Glimmer's childish motivations for her crimes. "I could have been like you. I could have... And yet, I never faltered. Even in my darkest moments, even when I was immortalized at the dreaded Mare in the Moon, I NEVER gave up on trying to win the love of my people! Decades turning into centuries as I struggled to be admired! To find somepony to adore me as the Princess of the Night! And lo and behold, my perseverance was handsomely rewarded! I have everything I have ever wanted. The love of my people. A place on the throne beside my sisters. And most of all, the adoration and acceptance of the one person who made it all possible! The first person to ever see me not as a demon, but as a mare! He is my guiding light and I never would have found him had I just given up at the first hurdle!"

Her words... I knew then she was speaking of me. I understood what she had gone through up until that night I found her in the Everfree Forest. And it was true. Despite everything that had happened in her long life, Nightmare Moon never gave up. I instinctively reached out and embraced the real Nightmare Moon beside me, holding her to know that I appreciated her words and that I still adored her even at that moment as I watched this dark event play out before us. Nightmare Moon remained silent, but I felt her lean her head against me while her wing wrapped around me for support.

And yet, the Nightmare Moon before us continued to scream right into Starlight Glimmer's face as the impaled mare visibly cowered in the face of the Mare in the Moon's frightful rage. Even more unsettling was that Nightmare Moon's nebulous mane and tail began to quiver like billowing storm clouds while her eyes became engulfed in a brilliant white glow. "My struggles were torture compared to your petty childhood grievances that you have refused to let go of. And now, look at what you've become! On the verge of death and not a single friend in the world to mourn you. You chose live without friends and now you will die without friends. All because you were too cowardly to try again where literally everyone else in the world has already triumphed over an inevitable trial we all face at some point in our lives! Even I, the vile Mare in the Moon, succeeded where you voluntarily failed! For as misguided as my methods were for so long, I was still BETTER THAN YOU!!! YOU ARE PATHETIC!!!"

I sincerely thought Nightmare Moon was going to kill Starlight there and now with her roars echoing throughout the cave and making her sound louder than she really was. And yet...she did not. Once again, the room began eerily silent. Nightmare Moon's wrath slowly faded as she still snarled and glared at Starlight Glimmer with intense disgust and contempt, yet her mane and tail regained their more relaxed billowing tempo and the glow in her eyes faded. She stepped back, apparently burned out for the moment and having got all she wanted to say off her chest.

Starlight Glimmer gasped and wheezed as she continued to struggle to breathe. She coughed as blood spurted from her mouth and oozed down her jaw. Did Nightmare Moon manage to get through to her? Would she die enlightened and see the error of her delusional ways?

I was left both surprised and disappointed by what happened next. Rather than look humbled, Starlight once more began to look frustrated and offended. It was as if nothing Nightmare Moon said even registered with her other than being a challenge to everything she stood for, no matter how wrong it all was. She gasped and growled, speaking in as loud of a whisper as her collapsed lung would allow. "You... You could never understand... You don't get it... You CAN'T get it... I'm the only one who understands... I'm the only one who gets it...!"

To my shock, Starlight Glimmer raised her head as her horn became coated with her magic aura. Even in such pain and with hypothermia setting in, she could still focus enough to use magic? It began to shine brighter as she began to give Nightmare Moon a most chilling look of insanity as she grinned in malice. "You beat me here...but I'll... I'll make sure you never... All I have to do...is make sure you never come back, Mare in the Moon...! You'll never return as long as...I have anything to say about it!"

A surging bright orb of magical light began to build on the tip of her horn. Something specific was about to be cast. It then occurred to me. The time travel spell blueprints she had stolen from the Canterlot archives! Did she perfect it? Was she going to use it to travel to the past and do something to prevent Nightmare Moon from ever returning from her banishment within the moon as a means to spite her?

The royal guards seemed to understand full well that Starlight was not going to let herself be taken alive. They readied their spears and charged forward to stop her, but Nightmare Moon barked at them while suddenly spreading her wings to her sides to block them. "Stand your ground."

One of the guards seemed bewildered by his superior's orders when Starlight Glimmer was on the verge of doing something vile as a means to spit in the face of the one who not only stopped her, but even humiliated her and her childish motivations for her criminal actions. "Your highness, please! Allow us to..."

"I said stand down!" The Princess of Dreams all but roared as she glared at Starlight Glimmer in still defiance. Even though she had more than enough power to stop her or otherwise finish her off, Nightmare Moon did nothing aside from staring down her enemy without blinking once. Why? What was stopping her from intervening?

"I'll show this world... I'll show everypony...the truth... Inequality will cease... Everypony will be equal and... I'll... I'll..." Starlight Glimmer wheezed in madness as the spell neared the point of use. I looked at Nightmare Moon beside me, her expression becoming noticeably bothered. I turned back to the scene playing out before us, watching in suspense as Starlight Glimmer prepared to get in the last laugh. But then, she...stopped.

The glowing orb of magical energy began to fade away until it was nothing as Starlight Glimmer bowed her head in silence, her mouth going from a maniacal grin to just hanging open. Her eyes still had that look of insane rage in them though. I was left confused. The chamber had fallen silent even as Nightmare Moon's unblinking glare did not cease. Even the guards seemed puzzled at first. But they soon rested their spears as if the threat had passed. I took a step forward, closely eyeing the remarkably still and silent mare still impaled upon the magic ice spears as the flow of blood had been chilled to a stop. Why had she given up on her last spiteful attack?

Seconds crept by as a sense of horror began to settle into my soul. I stepped back as the truth dawned on me. "She's dead..."

Nightmare Moon offered no response, although I saw her turn her head away as if ashamed to face me. Indeed, her past self began to show a conflicted expression somewhere between horror and contempt for the one she had just killed. I could only suspect that Nightmare Moon was suddenly going through a crisis of conscience. Even if everything she did was to protect her men. She turned to the royal guards behind her and spoke in a tired monotone, "Return to the townspeople. I will join you shortly."

The dozen of night watchmen nodded and turned to leave. I overheard one of them calmly applaud Nightmare Moon with the assurance that she had done the right thing. Once she was alone, Nightmare Moon approached Starlight Glimmer's impaled corpse. With a flash of her horn's magic aura, the ice spikes dissolved into pillars of frigid mist as the cadaver before her hit the ground with a thud. No longer exposed to the icy cold source of her wounds, Starlight's blood began to flow again and slowly pooled under her. I saw Nightmare Moon's magic aura cover her eyes only to watch as she closed her eyelids in what was likely the only shred of mercy she could bring herself to show such a despicable individual. She then turned and walked out of the cave while the real Nightmare Moon and myself followed as we drifted through space.

We watched from afar as Nightmare Moon's past shade stood before Starlight Glimmer's captives. Indeed, something had changed now that their cutie marks had been returned to them. Their colors were more vibrant and even their manes and tails had become more diverse in designs instead of being so uniform in what little way they could have been styled. I even recognized the white stallion as the one I had seen just a short while ago at the Grand Galloping Gala. Did they all attend?

Everyone was too far away for us to hear, but their actions alone told us the story. The townspeople still seemed frightened by Nightmare Moon as well as the bat-like guards that surrounded them in the middle of town. Nightmare Moon seemed stoic and very focused as she spoke to them. They seemed to relax a bit as it became clear to the captives that they were in no danger and that the intimidating ponies who had raided the town were not their captors, but their liberators. I suspect they then inquired as to what had become of Starlight Glimmer since whatever Nightmare Moon said to them next brought forth looks and gestures that oozed extreme relief and gratitude. They likely knew she would never be seen again. The townspeople entered all but one of the homes that were lined up in rows, probably to go back to bed and rest before they could be escorted home the following morning. Nightmare Moon and a few of the royal guards made their way towards Starlight Glimmer's house at the end of town while a couple of other guards entered the only house that was not being inhabited. The rest stood watch over the village to insure no further harm, physical or psychological, would come to Starlight Glimmer's victims.

I looked at the real Nightmare Moon beside me. Rather than look at me, she seemed to cast a spell without looking away from the scene before us. Time seemed to advance at a rapid pace before the flow of time returned to normal. What stood before us then was a surprise. We seemed to be in the same place, but... The village was gone. Every last bit of housing had been demolished with a number of carts and wagons having been loaded up with the resulting debris. One could scarcely tell where they had all stood. One of the royal guard, a pegasus in the usual coat of arms of white coat, blue mane and tail, and gilded armor, stood beside the Princess of Dreams right in the middle of where the rows of houses would have been. It was then that we drifted closer so we could actually hear what was going on. The carts of junk started to get hauled away as the guard turned to his princess and asked, "Was this all truly necessary, your highness? Demolishing this little place so far from civilization."

"Trust me. This place and everything that occurred here is best forgotten. You may go on ahead. I will depart shortly." Nightmare Moon bluntly told her subordinate while barely casting him a glance. He bowed his head in compliance and spread his wings before taking to the sky and flying south.

A full minute went by while Nightmare Moon stood out there in the wastes with nothing but the sound of wind kicking up dust reaching my ears. She seemed to glance around to insure that no one was watching before turning to face the high cave in the distance that likely still held Starlight Glimmer's rotted corpse. She began to channel her magic through her horn momentarily before launching a concentrated burst of magic at the cave's mouth. There was a blast that triggered a rockslide, creating a massive pile of rubble at the cave's mouth. It was sealed, turning Starlight Glimmer's cutie mark vault into her tomb.

The air became silent once more as Nightmare Moon's past self glared at the sealed cave above her with a look of disgust. As she spread her wings to take flight, one last line escaped her lips. "May nopony remember your name."

It was as Nightmare Moon took to the sky to return home that the mirage around me began to fade. I soon found myself standing at the far end of the darkened royal garden with the real Nightmare Moon close behind me. Her expression showed concern and even uneasiness as she looked at me. I could hazard a guess by that exactly why she was so worried over me seeing what had happened. I sighed while just looking at the ground for a moment before saying, "I... I hope I can get that image out of my head soon... That was painful to see..."

Nightmare Moon bowed her head as well. "I had no choice... I know that, yet... Had I not acted when I did... How many of them would have perished? Still..."

A moment of silence passed between us before Nightmare Moon looked at me with a most fearful gaze. "James, I must know. Now that you saw everything that happened that night, please tell me. Did I make a mistake? Did I do the right thing? I must know that I am or am not a demon like my legend says."

I cannot fault her for being so torn over her actions that night. As a princess of Equestria, it is her duty to shelter, guide, and govern the people of her world. Not to kill them. And yet, I saw how deranged Starlight Glimmer was even in the face of cold hard facts about something she did not understand and attempts to persuade her to surrender peacefully. And I saw the shocking levels of magical power she possessed to the point where she would have surely killed someone had Nightmare Moon waited even a few more seconds. Too insane to listen to reason and too powerful to capture, there was only one way that encounter could have ended. The only other option would have been to let her go and that just was not a viable option.

I knew what my answer was. I reached out and gently cupped Nightmare Moon's face with my hand. I could not bring myself to smile as such a subject was not supposed to enjoyed in the slightest. I then spoke softly to her. "Yeah... You did the right thing. You can't say you didn't try to reason with her. At that point, it was either you and your men or her. I know that wasn't an easy choice to make, but you did what was best for your men and your world. Please believe me when I say I'm proud of you for how you handled yourself back there."

Her expression relaxed greatly. I could feel the Princess of Dreams lean into my hand as she whispered to me. "Thank you... Somehow, I knew I made the best of a bad situation, and yet... I was just so afraid of what you would have thought of me... I needed to know. Thank you...for not thinking less of me."

I did not need to ask her why she was so afraid. She had already voiced her thoughts during that spectacular rant towards Starlight Glimmer. There was nothing else either of us needed to say regarding our connection. She is dear to me as I am to her. Still, I could not help thinking back to Starlight's asinine delusions about cutie marks. "You're very welcome, but... I mean... What was with her deal with cutie marks? I mean... What? They cause in equality? Did she really just not get that stuff at all?!"

With the topic having been abruptly changed, Nightmare Moon began to voice her own disbelief behind Starlight's outrageous lack of understanding about something even she possessed. "I know! How does one even come to that conclusion? Cutie marks breed inequality? They have always bred nothing more than diversity! It's an established fact of Equestria!"

"Not to mention not everyone in the world can get one." I added while the air became one filled with amused and bewildered banter. However, I still had a few questions regarding everything that happened. "Um... Anyway, what happened between that night and the outpost's demolition? Anything else?"

Nightmare Moon's expression darkened, but not to the same extant as before. "The following morning, the captives were questioned regarding the real truth over their presence there. They were all nearly identical. Being bewitched by Starlight Glimmer with offers of a perfect life without inequality. The story told by her earliest captives differed somewhat. It seemed that they, for a reason they could no longer remember, were in the process of constructing that place when Starlight showed up and roped them into her little scheme. Probably all the result of some adventurous whim. Whatever the reason was, they had no desire to stay there any longer and just wanted to return home as soon as possible. Once they were escorted back to Manehatten for further questioning so they could be returned home, the royal guard and I began to investigate the town further."

"Seeing as how you had the place demolished, I'm guessing what you found wasn't good." I then added while starting to find myself once again engrossed in this morbid tale of a fallen mare's madness.

Nightmare Moon could only scowl in the shadows we stood in. "That's quite an understatement. Our first line of business was to investigate the one bit of housing there. It was barely a house at all. All I can describe it as was some sort of...'indoctrination chamber'. Loudspeakers were wired in the hire corners of the walls with the only means of entertainment being books with each page consisting of a single large equal sign. And when the loudspeakers were turned on... Her voice..."

Indoctrination chamber... That is a line I would never expect to hear in Equestria. Let alone something to be associated with who was supposedly an ordinary member of society. "They... You heard her voice through it? Like recordings?"

"Yes... It was chilling hearing the voice of one I had just slain. But the lines she spoke... In that unsettling smugness... In sameness, there is peace. Exceptionalism is a lie. Free yourself from your cutie mark. Choose equality as your special talent. Difference is frustration. To excel is to fail... And so much more delusional bile that made my stomach turn knowing what she had done to those people. All guilt I had felt faded at the time as I felt the desire to destroy her again if I could..." Nightmare Moon hissed as her expression became one of great bitterness and disgust. What the hell was wrong with that mare? By that point, I strongly suspected she suffered from a severe form of some sort of mental illness.

Nightmare Moon grumbled before letting out a sigh as she continued. "We next investigated her own home. I suspect her captives were not permitted to enter since she made no effort to hide the scroll that she had copied that unfinished time spell onto. As I examined it along with a number of equations she had scribbled near it, I came to a frightening conclusion. She had made progress in the development of that spell to the point of nearly completing it."

That sent a special kind of chill down my spine. She nearly finished a spell even the legendary Starswirl the Bearded could not? What kind of magical prodigy was Starlight Glimmer? "That's terrifying... You think that was the spell she was going to use during her final moments?"

"Most definitely, even if it was likely only an untested prototype at the time. She was a spiteful little wretch. She was likely going to use it to return to the time of my banishment and do.....something to make my imprisonment within the moon last forever. Or even... I cannot truly fathom what she had in mind, but I knew she would not have lived long enough to do anything of substance. Not with wounds like that." My royal friend said with a look of lingering resentment in her eyes. She truly despised that mare.

I remained silent to allow Nightmare Moon to continue. Which she soon did. "I promptly burned that scroll to prevent it from ever being used again. Although there was one last curiosity to be seen. A trap door was found which led out east to the edge of the village. And beyond was a frigid mountain range with a narrow path that even led along a natural bridge. It could not have been there solely for coincidence, so I had a number of my men investigate."

I did not need to say anything. She knew what my response would have been, so she continued to speak with a faintly alarmed expression. "It was her way out. An escape route had she been cornered. Why she fled into that cave instead of along that path, I will never know. Perhaps because she had lost the element of surprise. Perhaps because she was no longer near that secret door to slip away quietly. But whatever the reason, that path led into a complex cave system that, after hours of mapping, led out at the base of the mountain it was in far from the village. Had she fled down that path, we may have never caught her. We came THIS close to losing her. Had she escaped... I would have feared for this world's future."

"That's really grim... I think the only reason she lost her cool and panicked was because you were there... It might've ended very differently if Celestia or Luna led that raid... Looks like your reputation came in handy seeing as how she couldn't have known you returned as yourself rather than a curse in Luna's body." I replied while trying to take in what I had been told. Starlight Glimmer had all the makings of a diabolical mastermind. What horrors would she have unleashed upon the world had she escaped and pursued her delusional ambitions? However, it was then I remembered Nightmare Moon's final words before that vision ended. "Hang on... That last bit at the end. What was that about? Demolishing the outpost. Sealing the cave. What...?"

Nightmare Moon's gaze became much more bitter. "As preposterous as her beliefs were and how utterly groundless they were, her ideology is dangerous. There will always be some fool in the world who may believe she was onto something and follow her example. And then they will tell two fools, and those fools will tell two fools and so on until we have an entire culture built on it that nothing good will come from. I took it upon myself to erase every last trace of her existence to prevent this horror from ever being copied. That, and I utterly loathe everything she ever stood for, that wretch..."

Removing Starlight Glimmer's name from the annals of history... An extreme measure to be sure. And yet, I could not fault her for it. Even if it was partially being done out of spite. Starlight Glimmer's legacy must not be allowed to be embraced by anyone. A fool will embrace another fool's ideals. "Can't really say what you're doing is wrong... There are plenty of things that are better off forgotten."

"Indeed. In another century, nopony will even know that Starlight Glimmer ever existed. That wretched ideology will die with her memory. And thus..." Nightmare Moon then said before turning to me with a most sincere gaze directed at me. "If I know you as well as I think I do... James, I must ask that if you choose to write another one of your journals documenting this conversation we just had... If you do chronicle this evening, I must ask that you keep any and all mention of Starlight Glimmer to yourself. I cannot stress how important this is. And that includes all prior journals of yours that include her name. Please. Promise me you will do this."

She was right to be afraid. I have documented my conversations regarding Starlight Glimmer and they just might be the last traces of her existence. All too aware of how such ideologies can become something better off forgotten when I come for a world rife with such stupidity, I nodded in agreement. "I will. I'll set aside some time next chance I get to separate any mention of her and lock them away."

Nightmare Moon could only smile gratefully while letting out a sigh. She said nothing, but I could tell what it was she really wanted to say. I then asked, "So... Got everything off your chest that was weighing you down?"

My friend let out a chuckle. "Oh, absolutely. That's quite a bit of tension off my mind. And now that I'm much more at ease, I feel my appetite coming back. Shall we visit the buffet?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask. Lead the way, your highness." I replied while taking up my gentlemanly facade as we made our way back towards the palace. As tempted as I was to stop by Applejack's food cart, I decided to wait until I was in the mood for dessert.

We soon got in line and lined our trays with a vast variety of exquisite morsels. I hardly even knew what any of them were as I am not terribly familiar with Canterlot fine dining, but it was all nothing short of what you would find in the menu of a 5-star restaurant. We soon made our way to a table where Rarity and Fluttershy were engaged in conversation with Fancy Pants.

The kindly gentleman was quick to provide us with a greeting. "Good evening, your highness! And a jolly welcome to you, Master James. And I must say, congratulations! When are you and Miss Fluttershy here expecting?"

I cast my gaze at Fluttershy, who was blushing furiously while showing quite a smile. She must have revealed to Fancy Pants her pregnancy at some point. I could only blush a bit myself while we shared a glance before turning my gaze to Fancy Pants. "Oh, I'd say this coming summer. It's a filly and Rarity here even picked out a name."

"Is that so?!" Fancy Pants replied with his monocle popping off his face in surprise. He then turned to Rarity in delight and asked, "Is that true, Lady Rarity? You're the godmother?"

Rarity giggled in utter bliss while grinning brightly. "Of course! I Fluttershy and I have always been the best of friends, and I have always adored dear James here, so they requested that I name their first foal. And I settled on Gladesong. Isn't it just darling?"

"Gladesong...? Why, it's one of the most endearing names I've heard for a filly in some time. Bravo. Once the little one has arrived, you really must bring her up here to Canterlot so I can see her." Fancy Pants then said in glee. He was quite excited at the topic of Fluttershy and I having our first child. I made a mental note to grant his request at some point in the future.

However, our meal was interrupted by someone clearing their voice from just behind us. I thought I recognized that voice and turned only to find the one person I was not exactly looking forward to seeing. But before I could say anything, Fancy Pants spoke first with his voice oozing with snark. "Oh my. So, the prince himself has arrived. But what title was it you carry? I seem to recall it being...oh...blue baubles?"

A chorus of snickers came from the table as Fancy Pants derided the one member of the Canterlot elite he is infamous for not getting along with. And for perfectly justifiable reasons. I had heard he and Prince Blueblood never saw eye to eye, but this was the first time I got to see in person how much they loathe each other. Regardless, the haughty noble threw his hoof up before Fancy Pant's face. "Save your banter for another day, Fancy Pants. I am here for this scoundrel."

A few guests were watching from nearby as tension began to settle over the table. It seemed Blueblood was quite sore after that little duel of honor he roped me into last year and he had not forgotten how much I had humiliated. I made sure my cane was within reach just in case I would have to draw my blade. Nightmare Moon in particular was watching with keen interest. I then said, "Your highness, I think I busted your balls quite enough last year. And I most certainly hope you're not firing blanks after that."

"Wait, what?! Am I missing something here?! What happened back then?" Nightmare Moon then asked with intense curiosity while Blueblood seemed ready to scream at me to shut up the instant I would try to speak.

Thankfully, I did not need to say anything since Rarity beat me to it. "Oh, nothing. Aside from this lout here getting into a courtyard scuffle that resulted in a dull sword being swung into his family jewels."

"Miss Rarity!" Blueblood yelled in shock as Nightmare Moon howled with laughter. Oh, how I wish she could have seen that duel. However, he then turned his wrathful glare to me and barely contained his grudge against me. "But as for right now... You and I will settle this tonight."

"Whatever for, Lord Azure Orbs? I think we entertained the crowd quite enough last year. I can't imagine us topping that one." I replied smugly just to get under his skin. Everyone who had any idea what happened during the previous Grand Galloping Gala were snickering and quietly laughing around us.

Blueblood looked like he was about to blow a fuse. Twisting around his name really ticks him off, I suppose. Especially when it is in regards to the bruised testicles he received at the end of that duel last year. I then moved in for the killing blow, although I knew I was going to regret it. "Now, if that's all you have to say, we would like to get back to enjoying this fabulous night. Is that too much to ask for, Cobalt Cumfactories?"

"WHAT?! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!" Nightmare Moon all but screamed in a mixture of shock and amusement as she burst into howling laughter, as did everyone else around me. I did not laugh, but I did snicker in utter embarrassment. What drove me to be so crass at that moment?

"Oooohohoho my god, what is wrong with me?!" I guffawed while holding my face in my hand as tears streaked down my cheeks from how hard I was laughing. I felt faint for a second. I then turned to Blueblood and said, "I am so sorry! I really must apologize for that one. That was so uncalled for!"

It was a struggle to contain my laughter once I actually got a good look at his face. How do I even describe it... It was a bizarre frozen fusion of wrath, embarrassment, and utter bewilderment. Finally, unable to bring himself to continue the confrontation, Blueblood stiffly walked away and out into the garden.

Nightmare Moon struggled to calm herself as the surrounding crowd dispersed. "Oooh my lord, that made my night. You and your tongue of daggers, my friend!"

"I can troll with the best of them if I must, m'lady." I retorted with a smirk before I turned to Fancy Pants as he adjusted his monocle. "In any case... I had heard that you and the prince really don't get along, Fancy Pants."

The kindly gentleman regained his composure before he turned to me. "Him? Oh, I could never stand that pompous fool. He is everything that is wrong with the Canterlot elite and I simply cannot do with his company."

"That just might be the harshest I've ever heard you be towards anyone, my good sir." I said with a brief chuckle. With how composed and gentlemanly Fancy Pants is at all times, it takes a special kind of irritation for him to drop his air of refinement and let his frustrations flow. Good man, that stallion.

Fancy Pants then turned his attention to Nightmare Moon, who had gone back to enjoying her meal now that she had gained a hearty appetite. "But I must say it is truly a pleasure to have you here tonight, your highness. I trust your very first Grand Galloping Gala experience has been up to snuff?"

Nightmare Moon paused in a bite with a cheese-filled ravioli served in a sweet amaretto butter sauce and smiled. "Oh, it's surpassed my expectations. Celestia informed me that they are always awful from her experience, but it seems that she and Luna have swapped things around a bit to improve the experience. And it has not disappointed."

I allowed the two of them to converse while I enjoyed my own food. It was all so good that I had to go back for seconds. Along my way to and from the buffet line, I noticed that same white stallion as before conversing with a beautiful pegasus mare with a windswept white mane and a very dark blue coat reminiscent of the night sky. Her cutie mark depicted a crescent moon being surrounded by a pair of pale purple feathers. I recognized them both from the view into the past involving Starlight Glimmer's demise. Upon returning to my seat, I tried to get my royal friend's attention with a whisper. "Hey... Nightmare Moon. Did you invite all of Starlight Glimmer's captives here tonight? I think those two over there are some of them."

She glanced at me with a look of caution in her eyes as if to warn me to not mention that name publicly, although I was keeping my voice down just for that. I pointed over to where those two were and they even noticed Nightmare Moon and waved at her. She smiled and waved back at them before turning her gaze to me. "Yes, they are. That is Double Diamond and Night Glider. As for why they are here... I granted every last one of the rescued townsfolk an invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala, basically as a means to apologize for us not finding them sooner. And as a means to really reintegrate them into society. Socializing is good for the soul."

"That it is. And it looks like they're having a good time. It was especially nice to not force them to dress up." I replied while glancing over at the two ponies over yonder. They seemed quite happy and were approached by another stallion who was lacking in formal attire. Another rescued captive, I am sure. At least they were having a good time after so long trapped in that desolate outpost.

Nightmare Moon snorted as she smiled as well. "After all that, the least I could do was not place any conditions on their attendance. They've already spent quite enough time being forced to live by somepony else's orders."

We soon departed the dining hall and ventured back out into the garden. Now in the mood for dessert, we decided to head out to Applejack's food stall to see what she brought along. The line had just dried up for the moment, so we were quick to approach before anyone else could beat us to it. Applejack quickly gave us a hearty greeting. "Howdy, James! Heya, yer highness! What can I do ya for?"

I quickly noticed that silly apple turret from last time was not standing guard by her stall. "What's wrong? No security this time?"

Applejack let out a chuckle before she said, "Nah, don't need it this time. I checked in with Princess Celestia ta see who's on the list and it turns out them Flim Flam varmints ain't showin' this year! So, what can I getcha? I busted out the best for tonight."

"I should say so. I was expecting carnival fare, but these look delightful!" Nightmare Moon replied while she browsed Applejack's gourmet apple treats on display.

I too took a closer look. "Lots of good stuff here... Ooh, is that apple parfait?! I'll take one."

"Make that two!" The Princess of Dreams added while Applejack placed two glasses of apple parfait on a wooden tray for us to take.

"All righty then! I'll just bill ya for these, if that's all right. I know ya probably ain't carryin' any bits on ya right now, yer highness." Applejack then said as we took the two glasses and complimentary spoons. Turns out it was all plastic, but it looked fancy enough. We thanked the hardworking mare for our treats and headed back inside.

I was not disappointed with Applejack's handiwork. Nightmare Moon also seemed delighted with hers as we ate while we walked. We went out the other side of the palace to what seemed to be another outdoor area, but it seemed to lead to an outdoor patio with large support pillars holding up a roof. I think it was an outdoor dance floor that was being used as a VIP area for the Wonderbolts. Just as we started to approach, we heard a bit of a commotion. I scanned the distance with my eyes as many of the Wonderbolts and admitted guests seemed to be gathered in a circle in the middle.

Just as I was starting to wonder what was going on, I got a surprise as something descended from the ceiling. A piñata? And no sooner had it stopped lowering when I saw Pinkie Pie jump up out of the crowd with a baseball bat in her hooves and took a swing at it. She kept jumping and swinging and looking like she was having a lot of fun. I then looked at Nightmare Moon and asked, "You hired a party crew to set up piñatas to keep Pinkie Pie out of trouble?!"

Nightmare Moon laughed at my surprise and said, "The trick was finding something some of the other guests would enjoy. Only the Wonderbolts liked the idea, so we set it up in their section."

Just then, we both looked back at the scene abruptly as Rainbow Dash let out a yell and swooped at the piñata, hitting it on the run with a bat of her own and obliterating the thing with one strike. Candy and bits of the paper shell rained down on every while cheers and laughs filled the air. Except for a disappointed Pinkie Pie who yelled, "Hey! That was mine!"

"Heh... Well, whatever stops her from making a mess." I chuckled while a piñata in the shape of a star was soon hoisted into the air. Satisfied to see how things were going with those two mares, we headed back inside.

We soon drew near where the dancehall was set up, calming classical music drifting out of the vast chamber. I paused to listen to the music before noticing Nightmare Moon glance at me with an inviting smile. "James? May I make a personal request?"

"Yes, your highness?" I replied while standing at attention.

Nightmare Moon looked back towards the dancehall, where the same quartet as last year was up on stage. "This has been a fine first gala for me, but there is one thing I feel we must do to make the entire experience complete."

I cocked my head to one side just slightly as my curiosity was piqued. The Princess of Dreams then turned to me and asked, "If you would be so kind... Would you care to join me for a dance?"

A perfectly natural request for such an occasion, even if I was far from adept enough to fulfill it. After turning my gaze towards the dance hall and hearing the melody being created by the usual quartet of musicians, I turned back to Nightmare Moon with a regretful frown. "With all due respect, dance has never been one of my strong suits. I really must insist that you consider another dance partner."

Nightmare Moon was not to be deterred. Her smile remained upon her face as she stepped towards me. "I am aware of that. But if you are lacking in confidence, I can guide you along."

I saw her magic aura engulf her horn as an...unexplainable sensation came over me. I felt...something coat my legs, arms, and torso under my clothes where it could not be seen. To my shock, my body started to dance in some way that involved rapidly tapping the heels of my shoes while occasionally clapping my hands as I seemed to groove to an unheard beat. Nightmare Moon even let out a chuckle and jokingly stated, "My word, I never knew you were so fluent in flamenco!"

"That's what this is?!" I all but shouted as I came to a stop. I happened to notice a number of guests nearby looking our way in curiosity, forcing me to try and act like nothing was amiss. "Uh... Nothing to see here, folks!"

I then leaned closer to Nightmare Moon and hissed in a loud whisper, "What did you do?!"

The Princess of Dreams gave me a very snide smirk as she said, "Why, I simply made my little puppet dance. I am much more fluent in dance than you are, or at least in a small number of them. If you doubt your ability to dance, I can simply guide you so that you keep up with me."

"Huh... So I see..." I muttered as I felt her magical grasp on me fade. I then asked, "Well... Assuming we do go in there to dance... What sort of dance would we perform."

Nightmare Moon took a listen as she pivoted one ear to turn towards the dance hall. "If I had to take a guess... I think a slow gentle waltz would suit us just fine."

"Well, if it's something you'll have an easy time puppeteer, I guess I'm OK with it..." I replied while we started to make our way into the dance hall. It seemed that the certain song was coming to a close as many couples danced out in the center of the room. There seemed to be some sort of special effects in use since bobbing orbs of light were floating above and around the dancers while cycling through various colors. Who was doing it?

I waited at the edge of the dance floor while Nightmare Moon made her way towards the musicians. Perhaps to request a specific song? The dancing colorful lights faded as the regular lights that illuminated the room regained their glow. Probably to let the musicians rest and tune their instruments. I set my cane on a nearby unused table so it would not get in the way of the dance as I waited. Nightmare Moon soon returned to me while I asked, "What song will they play next?"

"Our song." She replied while being as vague as possible. I raised an eyebrow at her response, but did not have time to really think about it as I noticed the lights were dimming. Nightmare Moon draped her wing over my shoulders and smirked quite whimsically at me as she pulled me towards the dance floor. "I will guide you, but your hands will be yours to control. Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. This is all you." I retorted while feeling many eyes falling upon us as we stood in the very center of the dance hall. There were maybe eight couples around us ready to join in the dance, but something felt different this time. Something I could not put my finger on.

The music started with Octavia performing a slow haunting cello solo before the harpist joined in as well a moment later. I felt Nightmare Moon's magical grasp coat my body from just under my clothes to keep the illusion that I would be dancing without her aid. Her hoof rose while my arm moved with my hand ready to intercept it. I reached out with my fingers and took her hoof in hand while our eyes met during this prelude.

Once the rest of the band joined in, I was in for a surprise. An illusion of sorts opened above us as what seemed to be snow began to fall around us, glittering in the light of a full moon. Nightmare Moon's eyes never turned away from mine as her delicate magic grasp guided my movements. I felt as if I was a toddler being held by his mother as he took his first clumsy steps, yet strangely in control of myself.

The snow flurries that fell began to converge below our feet as we stepped and twirled across the dance floor in a way only a man and mare could. And soon, they lifted us off the floor in a geyser of snowflakes that soon became a path that followed us everywhere we stepped. The remaining dancers stopped dancing entirely just to watch us glide through the air as if held aloft by an unseen force. As for us, we could not be bothered to pay much mind. Her eyes just...sucked me in while I am sure mine did the same. That feeling I have felt time and again when I have been with the beautiful Princess of Dreams... It was back and pushing me on.

Just when it felt the situation could get no more surreal, I felt as if gravity finally let go of us entirely while a flurry of snow surrounded us. We drifted apart, but not so far apart that we could not reach out to each other. We drifted around in what seemed to be the night sky while practically orbiting each other, my fingers touching Nightmare Moon's outstretched hoof and never letting go. It felt like a dream and probably was in hindsight. But it was a dream I did not want to awaken from.

Gravity soon took control once more as we slowly spiraled back to the floor while the music began to come to a close. Rather than maintain the dance up to the final seconds, there was only one thing I wanted to do the moment my feet touched the floor. And Nightmare Moon clearly had the same idea. As soon as the music slowed to its end once we were back on the floor, I stepped forward and held the beautiful princess in a tender embrace while she did the same with her wings. The illusion slowly faded while we just stood there together. Holding each other for reasons my heart understood, but my mind did not.

Even the sound of applause did not really affect us. For just that moment, I wanted to hold my angel of the night a moment longer. I felt such a powerful sense of longing as I held her in such a familiar way. We had been through so much... Such a dreadful night led to something wonderful. I felt a tear trickle down my face as those memories returned, even if briefly. How I came so close to losing her twice in one night. And yet, she endured. She refused to let herself die so long as I was with her. And now, here we were. Within her own palace surrounded by the people she had long sought the adoration of. As the beautiful Princess of Dreams.

I felt a tender touch to my cheek right where my tear was. Nightmare Moon's lips were upon my face as she removed my tears with a kiss. Her beautiful yet unnatural cyan eyes gazed at me most tenderly as she whispered, "No tears tonight, my darling. This is a night of joy for both of us. And...thank you for this most wonderful dance."

"It was an honor..." I muttered quietly as I slowly regained my composure. With our appetite having been stoked for another trip to the buffet line, the two of us left the dance floor. But on our way out of the hall, I noticed who was likely putting up such a grand display for us during the dance. I noticed Trixie, of all people, near the stage that held the band having a sip of white wine while dressed in a very classy black tuxedo. She caught a glance of me and waved at me with such a big smile on her face. I returned the favor with a wave of my own to make sure she knew her friend knew she was there. I made a mental note to get back to her before the end of the gala.

I was feeling quite a bit better once we were back in the dining hall after having retrieved my cane on the way out. A number of partygoers even complimented Nightmare Moon for her performance on the dance floor. I just stood back and respectfully listened since they had no interest in me. After all, this was her big night at the Grand Galloping Gala.

While I stood in line to get myself a platter, I heard someone loudly clear their throat next to me in such a way that it sounded like they were trying to get my attention. I turned to look and saw that it was none other than Blueblood himself while still giving me a brooding glare. I then calmly asked, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes, you can. We still have a score to settle. Here and now." The disgruntled noble grumbled while standing outside the line.

Not at all in the mood for more of his bitterness over last year, I turned my gaze back to the buffet line. "I'm really not in the mood for you right now, my lord. Perhaps you should be off to shine your family jewels to restore their azure luster."

I was not really thinking that time, so I may not have even been aware of how hard I was pushing his buttons. But I soon noticed out of the corner of my eye that a golden candleholder was levitating towards us. Blueblood then let out a growl and said, "Do not ignore me, peasant!"

That heavy candleholder was swung right down at my head as a number of guests yelped or shrieked at the confrontation that was building. However, I was able to block the swing with my cane by grasping it at both ends at the last second. By this point, I was in no mood to humor that pompous lout and was about to give him a very stern lesson. With my left hand grasping the bottom of my cane while my right drew my sword from it. "Do not test me, Blueballs!"

The sudden gleam of a sharpened sword emerging from one end of the cane frightened the arrogant stallion into backing away just as I took a swing at him. I was not trying to hit him that time, but I was not going to back down until he would leave alone for the rest of the night. I stepped out of line with my sword in my right hand and the rest of my cane in my left hand to be used as a parrying tool and continued to approach Blueblood while the guests around us backed away to give us some room. I then came to a stop with my blade ready for an impaling strike and said, "So, you still want to do this? Because I am NOT having anymore of your petty grudge tonight, my lord."

Before either of us could even really say or do anything else, Nightmare Moon herself stepped forward. "Stop, stop, that's quite enough! What has come over you two?!"

I started to suspect that Nightmare Moon was only putting on a show since she Blueblood had already harassed us once before that evening. Although she still cast us both an irritated scowl. She then barked, "Why drag your grievances into these halls? If you two are out for each other's blood, then let there be blood! To the courtyard!"

"Wait, what?!" I yelled as she seemed far too willing to see this scuffle boil over into a bloody duel. What was she up to?

Nightmare Moon boldly declared, "Indeed! Don your armor, choose your weapons, and have at thee! This should make for the highlight of this gala!"

Much to my surprise, Blueblood himself seemed to be cherishing the offer as he cast me a most smug smirk. "A proper duel, you say? Count me in. I'll see your blood spilled yet, you peasant."

I watched in disbelief as Blueblood and just about everyone else began to file out into the royal garden nearby since it was the nearest and most spacious outdoor area on hand. I looked at my royal friend as she stayed behind and asked in a loud voice, "OK, what is this about?! You seriously expect us to fight to the death or something?!"

The Princess of Dreams let out an amused snort. "Perish the thought! I've just been looking for an opportunity to see that lout properly humiliated and such an opportunity has presented itself."

"Well... As detestable as he is, I really don't want to hurt the guy. I don't exactly hate him." I retorted while sheathing my sword. What was she really up to?

"Oh come now, the two of you will not even touch each other if this goes well. Now then, come with me. We must prepare you." My friend replied before stepping near me as her magic flared up around her horn. A second later, I found myself in the empty throne room.

I was about to ask what she had in mind, but Nightmare Moon provided me an answer before I could even ask. She used her magic to raise the throne and reveal the spiraling stairwell leading down to the vault where my enchanted equipment rested. I stared in silence for a moment before smirking at her. "You are so mean, you know that?"

My royal friend merely laughed as she took it in stride. "My friend, you stand before the literal black sheep of the royal family. Would you expect less from me?"

"I suppose not." I replied before the two of us descended the stairwell and walked into the dimly lit vault. That swirling pool of liquid metal sat in the altar's basin before me while the Lunar Shield hung on the wall with the Celestial Sword resting in its scabbard on the backside. I barely cast a glance at my helmet and the Element of Humanity set into its brow. "So... Just my armor and a sword and shield, right? This will hardly be a fair fight, you know."

"That's the point. I don't want to see that lout even try to get in a good hit on you. Make victory unattainable for him." She said with a smirk. I proceeded to remove my shoes and jacket before placing my hand in the pool of liquid metal. It crept over my body like every previous time and soon solidified into that suit of beautiful winged armor. I used the magic in my right gauntlet to bring the Lunar Shield to my left arm and secured the clasps to lock it in place. "I guess that's it. Shall we?"

"Indeed. Just remember, do not draw blood. We just want to humble that wretch, not maim him." Nightmare Moon then retorted before we suddenly found ourselves up on a balcony overlooking the courtyard. I could see the dozens of guests below while Blueblood himself stood at one end of a circular gap in the crowd. It seemed they were not joking. He was clad in the armor and helmet of a royal guardsman while a shield and rapier floated near him. Nightmare Moon then turned to me and said, "Run him ragged, my knight."

"Gladly." I replied before spreading my armor's wings and leaping from the balcony. I drifted down on my great wings as the guests called out and pointed as I descended. Once I landed, I turned my gaze towards my opponent. "So sorry for the delay, but this armor takes some time to put on."

Blueblood seemed flabbergasted by the sight of my own far superior armor and pointed his sword at me. "One moment! Where did you even get that armor?! Are those wings on your back?! You must stay grounded for this duel!"

"And I will! Sheesh!" I yelled back while making certain my wings were folded. I then drew the Celestial Sword from its scabbard, its glowing blade drawing a chorus of awe from the many guests that surrounded us.

My opponent twirled his rapier and pointed it directly at me as he prepared to charge. "Well, size isn't everything. I'm certain I can find a gap in the plates to deliver a finishing strike!"

My eyes fell upon Blueblood's shield, which seemed to be a kite shield with gilded rims and a silvery center. I knew his armor would split like paper with a single strike from the Celestial Sword and would make for a grisly spectacle as I reduce him to two fresh slabs of meat. In an attempt to avoid having to risk slaughtering him, I reached out with my left hand as my left gauntlet was coated in a blue aura. "Yeah, yeah, sure you will. But before we get started..."

"Hm?! What are... You can use magic too?! And... No! That's mine! Give it back!" Blueblood yelled as he tried to maintain his magical grasp on his shield. However, my gauntlet's magical strength far surpassed his and dragged the shield through the air towards me.

"Before we get started, I'd just like to make certain you know exactly what you're getting into!" I called out before swinging the Celestial Sword at the shield. At first, it seemed like I had missed. But when I released the shield from my magical grasp, it fell to the ground in two halves as the audience let out a collective gasp of shock. I then turned my gaze to Blueblood and said, "Now, just imagine what will happen if that blade strikes your armor, my lord."

My words sank in perhaps a little too well. Blueblood stood frozen in place as he stared at me wit a look of horror. For reasons I will never understand, the blade of his rapier became floppy and hung low before he dropped it. With his own magic, he stiffly removed his armor and helmet before he turned away from me and slowly walked back into the dining hall with his face frozen with a look of abject horror in his eyes. Needless to say, I was not expecting him to harass me ever again after that.

Nightmare Moon burst into laughter while the rest of the guests applauded in amusement. In the end, the duel had succeeded in entertaining the guests. I even heard Rarity call out from somewhere, "Good show, darling! Bravo!"

I looked up as Nightmare Moon descended from her balcony on her sable wings and landed beside me. She then spoke out to her subjects with a loud voice, "My word, who would've expected this duel to end without a drop of blood spilled. So sorry it had to be cut short, but perhaps we can have a proper duel next year!"

"Absolutely not!" I heard Blueblood's voice yell from inside the empty dining hall, echoing out into the courtyard as everyone there burst into laughter. Everyone began to file back into the hall while Nightmare Moon used the teleportation spell to transport us back into the vault to return my equipment to its resting place.

My friend used her magic to melt my armor back down into a liquid state and placed it back into the basin while also returning my sword and shield to its place on the wall. As I slid my shoes back on and retrieved my jacket, I heard the Princess of Dreams speak to me. "I must say... Now that we only have a short while to go, this truly has been a fine first time for me at the Grand Galloping Gala."

"I'm really glad you're enjoying yourself. I've heard its not for everyone, but it looks like we're managing just fine... Eh?" I replied before freezing as I felt something upon my cheek. A kiss? I turned to face my friend and indeed saw her pulling her head back from close to my face as a calm smile set upon her lips.

We shared a long silent gaze for a moment. If that was indeed a kiss, I was very tempted to return one to her. Still, I felt the urge to resist. Nightmare Moon then broke the silence and held her hoof out to me. "There is still time left to partake in the festivities. Shall we, my dear?"

All too happy to oblige, I took her hoof and placed a kiss upon it. "Always an honor, m'lady."

I have to say there is really not much else to really mention. The rest of my time at the gala was just more of the same, not that it was a bad thing. We all had a good time and Nightmare Moon was far from willing to let me depart at the end. We stayed as late as we could, but eventually had to depart. At the very least, Nightmare Moon saw us all off at the train station when we left for home. I just hope this is the last time I ever have to deal with Blueblood during that event.

It was already quite late when I got home, so I had to divide up this entry in two sessions. I am writing this now on Monday night. Scootaloo and the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were so tired that they ended up spending the night at Rarity's place after their little private party. Did not make much of a mess either, much to Rarity's relief. Still, what a day. It is still quite a lot to take in. Especially with...Starlight Glimmer...

Right... I need to go back through my earlier entries and remove all traces of her name from it. Still cannot fathom how someone could be twisted that bad over something so childish. I cannot comprehend it... Well, she is gone now and no one will ever take up her mantle. It is most likely for the best. Time to put this to bed and get myself to bed in the process.

Starlight Glimmer... May no one remember your name.