"On second thought, let's not go to Canterlot. It's a silly place."

"Ugh, no Forgemaster, we are going to the Gala, and that's final!"

"Honestly, Forgemaster! It's like you've never been to a ball before."

"Yeah! You're acting just like Spike, even though we can tell he wants to come."

Chuckles and giggling came from the room.

"You said that you were going earlier in the week, why don't you want to go now?"

"Something bad is going to happen there. I can feel it in my bones."

The Forgemaster was speaking with the mares through a door. They had refused him entry because they were dressing into the gowns that Rarity had made for them. This unreasonable action perplexed The Forgemaster; the ponies don't normally wear clothes, but it would be uncouth to be in the room with them as they dressed? It was a confusing conundrum, to say the least.

The Forgemaster, on the other hand, had been prepared for the day since the instant he woke up. Rarity had been kind enough to fashion a uniform that was a personal favorite of his: a USMC dress uniform, complete with 'ceremonial' saber. He had even made some copies of the medals he had earned when he worked for the USMC, and they adorned his chest quite strikingly. Also, his saber had been enchanted and sharpened to a deadly edge; if The Forgemaster was going to carry a blade then it was going to have to work, after all. His piercing eyes were only highlighted by the presence of the cap he had donned. All in all, the ponies all agreed that he looked handsome, though they were ponies and didn't understand what may or may not be considered handsome to his people; he just assumed they were being nice.

Rarity had even commented on the uniform he had asked her to make, he seemed to come up with another one every other week. The surprising thing, she said, was that no matter what outfit he 'designed' for her, he was actually just retracing the designs of his homeland, they looked great on him!

He groaned, he had involuntarily brought up the memories of being in Rarity's boutique. Drawing up something for her and waiting for the results was one thing: staying there for hours at a time was another thing altogether.

He had arrived at the pre-arranged meeting spot to find Twilight practicing transmutation spells. And, surprise, surprise; none of the mares were ready to go. Apparently, females are the same no matter where you are or what species they were.

Anyway, Twilight had created a carriage out o an apple, and created horses out of mice. The irony of having horse-drawn pony carriages did not escape The Forgemaster. Then, Rarity's cat had swiped at the mice-turned-horses which made them flee. Apparently, no matter what your size, cats were still cats to the mice.

Twilight had despaired at the fact that the mice had run away, leaving nothing to pull the carriage. Then Rarity had asked her neighbors to pull the carriage for them, using undisguised flirting, to be honest.

And that brings us to the present, with The Forgemaster wondering how, exactly, he was going to fit inside the carriage and Spike approaching the room the mares were dressing inside.

Spike attempted to gain entrance to the room, a conversation erupted between the 2 parties involved, but The Forgemaster didn't pay much attention to it. However, his sensitive ears picked up on something Applejack had said to Rarity. Namely, 'Uh, beg pardon, Rarity, but, uh... we don't normally wear clothes.'

'At least she noticed.' He thought.

After a few more moments of waiting, the mares came out of the dressing room.

"Wow! You all look... amazing!" said Spike.

The Forgemaster put his 2 cents in "I agree, although I am unfamiliar with the attributes that the males of your species seek in potential mates, as a human I find you to be appealing."

The mood immediately dimmed, somewhat. All those that had heard the comment were looking at him strangely, except for Twilight who understood what he was trying to say.

There was an awkward silence that reigned for a moment, only broken by Spike's cough.

The Forgemaster used this as an opportunity to break the uncomfortable silence, "Your chariot awaits, my dears."

The Forgemaster bowed and gestured towards the 'awaiting chariot'.

As the mares passed him, Rainbow whispered to him, "Real smooth, Forgey."

He whispered back, "Don't care."

Soon enough, the mares were all loaded into the carriage. As he had thought, the carriage did not have enough room for him. In fact, the carriage didn't even have enough room for him to sit on top of it. Well, he could have, but he had a feeling that he would break it. It was an apple, after all. He resigned himself to march alongside the carriage, close enough to listen in on the conversation going on within the carriage.

Spike informed the mares of all of the things he wished to do with them in Canterlot. From his perch on the carriage, Spike made the unfortunate mistake of cracking a whip and calling out, 'Yah!'

The carriage lurched into movement. Along with its unusual escort, the carriage containing the most important little heroes to Equestria made the trip to Canterlot, and to the Gala.

wWwWwWw

The trip towards Canterlot would take several hours, at least. And at the pace the stallions were pulling the chariot, it would likely be much more. The Forgemaster wasn't about to rush them, however, aas any attempts to increase their speed might result in their abandoning of the carriage and forcing him to pull it.

The conversation within the carriage quickly became extremely boring, at least to The Forgemaster it was. The least understood, and therefore most feared, event was occurring: Girl talk. Or in this case; Mare talk. Adjusting rather quickly to the annoying sounds, The Forgemaster made his way forward, and continued his march alongside the stallions, and Spike.

Not a word was spoken, and each male present understood why. The reason why was because nothing needed to be said: everything was understood, therefore nothing needed to be asked.

Eventually, though, The Forgemaster found the silence boring. So, he decided to start up one of his favorite marching songs.

After he was finished with that particular marching song, he sang another. And then another.

After that, one of the stallions sang a song back to him. Then the other stallion had a turn. The Forgemaster and the stallions sang for over an hour, calling back and forth. The songs quickly degenerated into a series of hilarious drinking songs. The topics ranged wildly, from women, or 'mares', to the army, to drinking, to sex, to music, and etc. Almost no topic was spared the butchering of The Forgemaster's and the stallions' lyrics. Everything they called out was both comedically inspired and devastatingly insulting. By the end of his last song, the stallions and Spike were laughing their brains out. The last line had been particularly good. However, The Forgemaster made sure never to sing loud enough that the mares could hear him, and the sudden too-loud laughter of 4 males alerted the mares that something was happening.

"What's goin' on out there?" Rainbow Dash asked them.

The immediate and unanimous response, "Nothing!" only served to increase the males' laughter.

wWwWwWw

The carriage soon arrived at the Grand Galloping Gala. While the mares stood around amazed, The Forgemaster fixed his uniform that had been mistreated during the long walk. Satisfied with his uniform, he looked up towards the open doors of the castle.

One step.

That's all he had done before he knew something was horribly wrong. Looking at the mares, he knew that whatever was about to happen will happen because of them. Not 2 seconds after that thought, his fears were confirmed.

They started to sing.

"I can't believe we're finally here. With all that we've imagined, the reality of this night is sure to make this... The Best Night Ever! At the Gala!"

(A/N – I just copied this from the wikia site. Not even gonna bother to change it. =P)

All of the bystander and the mares sang along, "At the Gala"

[Fluttershy]

At the Gala, in the garden

I'm going to see them all!

All the creatures, I'll befriend them at the Gala! (at the Gala!)

All the birdies, and the critters

They will love me big and small!

We'll become good friends forever

Right here at the Gala!

[Choir]

All our dreams will come true right here at the Gala, at the Gala!

[Applejack]

At the Gala (it's amazing!), I will sell them (better hurry!)

All my appletastic treats! (yummy, yummy!)

Hungry ponies (they'll be snacking!), they will buy them (bring your money!)

Caramel apples, apple sweets! (gimme some!)

And I'll earn a lot of money for the Apple family!

[Choir]

All our dreams and our hopes from now until hereafter

All that we've been wishing for will happen at the Gala, at the Gala!

[Rarity]

At the Gala, all the royals

They will meet fair Rarity

They will see I'm just as regal at the Gala! (at the Gala)

I will find him, my Prince Charming,

And how gallant he will be,

He will treat me like a lady, tonight at the Gala!

[Choir]

This is what we've waited for, to have the best night ever!

Each of us will live our dreams, tonight at the Gala, at the Gala!

[Rainbow Dash]

Been dreaming, I've been waiting

To fly with those brave ponies

The Wonderbolts, their daring tricks

Spinning 'round and having kicks

Perform for crowds of thousands

They'll shower us with diamonds

The Wonderbolts will see me right here at the Gala!

[Choir]

All we've longed for, all we've dreamed, our happy ever after!

Finally will all come true, right here at the Grand Gala, at the Gala!

[Pinkie Pie]

I am here at the Grand Gala, for it is the best party

But the one thing it was missing was a pony named Pinkie

For I am the best at parties, all the ponies will agree

Ponies playing, ponies dancing, with me at the Grand Gala!

[Choir]

Happiness and laughter at the Gala, at the Gala!

[Twilight Sparkle]

At the Gala (at the Gala), with the Princess (with the Princess)

Is where I'm going to be (she will be)

We will talk all about magic and what I've learned and seen (she will see)

It is going to be so special as she takes time just for me!

[Choir]

This will be the best night ever!

Into the Gala we must go, we're ready now, we're all aglow

Into the Gala, let's go in and have the best night ever

Into the Gala, now's the time, we're ready and we look divine

[Fluttershy]

Into the Gala, meet new friends

[Applejack]

Into the Gala, sell some apples

[Rarity]

Into the Gala, find my prince

[Rainbow Dash]

Prove I'm great as a Wonderbolt is

Fluttershy: To meet!

Applejack: To sell!

Rarity: To find!

Rainbow Dash: To prove!

Pinkie Pie: To whoop!

Twilight Sparkle: To talk!

[All]

Into the Gala, into the Gala!

And we'll have the best night ever!

At the Gala!

The Forgemaster had left the mares just as the singing started. He had gone up the front stairs to see Princess Celestia standing at the top. Marching smartly, he quickly ascended the stairs and came to a halt beside Celestia.

"It's nice to see you here, Forgemaster. Hmmm, that uniform looks awfully familiar…"

"It's from my past, USMC dress uniform."

"Oh, yes. Now I remember. I'm glad you came here, Forgemaster. I heard you were disappointed that you couldn't 'play' with the Royal Guards."

Celestia was constantly greeting guests during this conversation, though she didn't slow any.

"An immortal finds ways of amusing themselves, else; they go insane."

Celestia nodded sadly, "Yes, I know what you mean."

The Forgemaster lifted an arm down the stairs, and said with heavy sarcasm, "Oh look, here comes your star pupil."

"Princess Celestia!" she screamed when she was in range, after hugging Celestia, she saw him, "Forgemaster?"

"Twilight! It is so lovely to see my star student."

"If you're wondering why I'm here, it's because I did not partake in your spontaneous singing outside."

Twilight blushed, but ignored him, "Oh, I'm so excited to be here! We have so much to catch up on."

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

"That's just what I was hoping you'd say."

The Forgemaster interrupted, "Twilight Sparkle, you are going to be severely disappointed. Princess Celestia is going to be tied up in greeting guests for much of the evening." He turned to Celestia, "My Liege, I wish to have a word with you, in private, so please speak Latin."

Delving into the memories of him permanently embedded into her mind, she spoke the language with alarming

proficiency, "What did you wish to speak about?"

"I feel like something bad is going to happen here, is there any trouble with the other kingdoms I should be aware of?"

Twilight looked back and forth between her mentor and her protector, clearly not understanding a word. Just as The Forgemaster had hoped.

Celestia sighed, "Yes, there's been some trouble with the Griffon kingdom recently, nothing major, but they might try something."

"I shall keep an eye out for assassins."

He bowed to his leader, and then walked away from her.

After walking maybe a dozen steps, he turned down an unoccupied hallway and used his magic to turn invisible. He quickly retraced his steps and stayed right next to Celestia for several minutes, never noticed by any save Celestia who could feel the magic he was using.

After noticing Twilight get annoyed, much to his enjoyment, The Forgemaster wandered off. He noticed Rarity's issues with 'Prince' Blueblood, who wasn't actually a prince to The Forgemaster, Rainbow Dash's attempts to impress the Wonderbolts, Pinkie's attempts to get the party started, and finally, Applejack's failing to make many sales.

After a few minutes of wandering about the party, still invisible, shit started to go down, literally. Columns and statues started to fall over in a domino effect, while Fluttershy knocked down the door and screamed that everything should love her, Applejack and Rarity caused a food fight, and Pinkie Pie went insane over her party antics being not-well-received.

He heard a whistle and turned to see Twilight and Celestia running away from the destruction, the other 'Elements' soon following.

He groaned and followed, slowly.

He found the princess, the 'Elements', and Spike at a place called Pony Joe's donuts.

He walked in to a shout of, "The best night ever!"

Evidently, he had missed a few things. He turned visible once more, startling them.

"So that's why we didn't see you at the Gala!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Partly, but none of you would have noticed me had I been visible. You were all too wrapped up in your own business. But, I wish to tell you some interesting news I think you should all be aware of."

He looked to Celestia and said, "Do you think it would be a good idea to tell them about Crimson Hammer?"

The mares looked confusedly at one another, while Celestia replied, "It's up to you, Forgemaster."

"I think they should know, but I am concerned over what their reactions might be."

Celestia looked at Rainbow Dash and said, "I understand what you mean, but I think it would be best if they know."

"KNOW WHAT!" Pinkie Pie screamed out.

The Forgemaster groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He said slowly, enunciating each word perfectly, "I. Am. Crimson. Hammer."