Chapter one: The Invitation
(this chapter is basically a 'day in the life' recollection of Static of how he and the others have fared after the major battle in the previous story)
It was another bright and beautiful day in Ponyville, and everypony was out enjoying the sunshine. Shops were opened for business, many groups of friends
wandered around, enjoying each other's company, and the young fillies and colts ran around, looking for new ways to entertain themselves on such a
wonderful day. One of the many ponies out in town was Twilight Sparkle, along with her two friends Rarity, and Fluttershy, and of course, her
number one assistant, Spike the dragon. The yellow pegasus and white unicorn had just left their weekly appointment at the Ponyville Spa and had joined
their two other friends for a bite of lunch at the Graze Café, "Darling, you must try the new carrot soup special they have here, it is simply delish!" said Rarity
to Fluttershy, who simply donned her small, shy smile as her unicorn friend spoke. The three made it to the café and had taken a seat at a shaded area, where
a waiter pony gave them each a menu and asked for what they wanted to drink. "I'll just have a glass of water please" said Twilight Sparkle, Spike also
ordered a water, Rarity had a glass of sparkling grape juice and Fluttershy asked, rather quietly, for a glass of lemonade. When the waiter left, Twilight turned
to her friends and struck up conversation, "So Rarity, how is everything at the boutique? Is business running well?" Rarity's eyes brightened at the mention of
her business and she replied, "Oh much better than just well, it's absolutely wonderful, I've just finished a full line of summer dresses for a client in Canterlot
and he is using them in his next fashion show!". Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy both exchanged impressed glances as Rarity daydreamed of her newest
fashion line on the catwalk. The Waiter pony had then returned with a tray full of drinks, when they were all handed out, he then asked, "Ok then, now are
you all ready to… hey miss is he ok?" the three mares turned to Spike, who's eyes had widened and had both hands on his stomach, his cheeks puffed out,
"Rrrrgh… feelin'… a message… comin'" was all he could manage to say before he let out a loud belch, shooting out a jet of flame over the table, this caused the
waiter pony to yelp out in fear and cower under the table. From the flames, a scroll materialized, closed with the royal seal of Celestia. "What a surprise, I
wasn't expecting any letters from the princess today" said Twilight Sparkle, using her telekinesis to open the scroll to see what message hid within it:
Dear Twilight Sparkle and friends,
I am pleased to announce that you are all invited to the Summer Solstice Ball coming in two days. You are invited as my honored guests and will be
presenting yourselves to many members of the royal family and many other highly esteemed ponies of Equestria. The ball is this Saturday afternoon, upon
which I will send a carriage for you all. I cannot wait to see all of you there.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
Twilight read the letter out loud to her friends, whose expressions grew more and more excited as they listened, Rarity let out a loud gasp, "The Summer
Solstice Ball! Next to the Grand Galloping Gala, that's one of the most important celebrations in Canterlot! Do you know how many esteemed ponies of royalty
will be there? Not to mention the dukes, the duchesses, the lords and ladies, and great relatives of the Princesses? This is huge!". The other two shared in
Rarity's excitement, "Oh we must tell the others as quickly as possible, we've only two days to prepare!" said Fluttershy, a wide smile on her face. "Right"
replied Twilight, "After lunch we'll head out to tell the others" she then looked around for the waiter pony, who they eventually found still hiding behind the
table after Spike's little outburst, she then giggled and said, "Umm… sir? We're ready to order now"…
MEANWHILE:
"Come on Static! I thought you were actually gonna try and win this time!" hollered Rainbow Dash as the two pegasi sped through the clear sky, "Oh don't
worry about me" he called back playfully, "This ain't over by a long shot!". The two were doing what they usually did in their free time, race all the way to
Snow Cap Peak and back to Ponyville town hall, Rainbow Dash barely had the lead as Static stayed directly behind her, slowly gaining. As the peak came into
view, Static took his window of opportunity and cut to the right side of Rainbow Dash, the angle gave him the edge as they turned the mountain, and he was
in the lead as they sped back towards town. From the ground, the two could only be seen as two separate blurs blazing across the sky as they neared the
town hall, Rainbow Dash pumped her wings as hard as she could, trying to gain the few inches she needed to win. Finally, with pinpoint precision, both pegasi
stopped immediately before the town hall, a hoof placed on the wall of the building, a perfect tie. Both were too winded to say anything at the moment, so
instead they slumped down onto the roof of the building as they caught their breath. "Okay… I've gotta admit, you actually made me have to work that time…
maybe you are getting better" said Rainbow Dash, Static chuckled in return. As they rested, they heard the light flapping of wings and turned to see Fluttershy
hovering toward them, she wore a shy expression as she crossed her forelegs and tilted her head slightly, "Oh… I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Rainbow
Dash sat up to her haunches and replied happily, "Of course not Fluttershy, what's up?" "Well, you see" said Fluttershy, a smile appearing on her face,
"Twilight got a letter from the princess today about the Summer Solstice Ball, and we're invited as her honored guests! The ball is this Saturday and she's
going to send a carriage for us and everything! Twilight and Rarity are already off to tell Applejack and Pinkie Pie". Rainbow Dash's eyes brightened up as she
heard this, "No way! The Wonderbolts perform there every year! This is… soo awesome!" she immediately sprang up to her hooves, immediately forgetting
how tired she was. Static was also happy to hear the news, he had never been to a formal affair before, then he remembered, "Wait, I don't have a suit to
wear to it" Fluttershy heard this, but was unworried by it, "Oh I'm sure if you ask Rarity, she would be more than happy to make you one". Rainbow Dash then
said, "Yeah, why don't you go on ahead and ask her, I'll meet up with you back home, I want to make sure my dress is good to go, and I don't want you to
see it until I'm wearing on Saturday". Static smiled and complied, kissing Rainbow Dash and waving goodbye to Fluttershy as he turned and left for Rarity's
boutique. He soon made it to the white unicorn's home and knocked on the door… no answer. Maybe she's still out in town, he thought before hearing a voice
behind him, "Oh Static! What a pleasant surprise, what brings you here darling?" Static turned and smiled at Rarity before answering, "Well I just heard from
Fluttershy that we were invited to the Summer Solstice Ball, and I have a bit of a predicament, I don't have a suit or anything to wear for it". Rarity's eyes
brightened as he said this, already dozens of ideas for suits came to her mind, "Well what are we waiting for dear? Let's get you inside so I can get your
measurements and get to work!". She quickly ushered him into the boutique, using her telekinesis to remove bits of cloth and other appliances from a model
pedestal that she had him stand on. She immediately brought forth a measuring tape and began taking measurements of his neck, shoulder length, chest,
forelegs, etc. She then took out a pencil and a sketch pad and began scribbling down ideas for different designs. After many 'no's' and 'Oh that simply won't
do', she finally came up with a design that she was satisfied with. "when I'm through here Static, you will be the talk amongst all of Canterlot as perhaps the
most well-dressed stallion at the ball" she said as she immediately began taking out many types of fabric and went to work giving form to her ideas. After a
while of stitching, sewing, checking and double checking, she had created a white dress shirt with gold cuff links, a solid black tuxedo coat with silver stitching
on the inside, and a metallic silver bowtie that perfectly matched the color of his eyes. With a triumphant look on her, Rarity told Static to turn around and
look at her new masterpiece, when he did, his jaw dropped in awe. He barely recognized himself with the new suit that she had made for him, he was lost for
words. "Wow… Rarity, I- I don't know what to say… thanks!" she waved a hoof in front of her as she replied, "Oh think nothing of it dear, I was glad to help,
and don't worry, this is all on the house, you owe me nothing" this took Static by surprise, "Now Rarity, you don't have to do all that, here just let me-" but he
was cut off by Rarity, "No no, the only payment I require is that you wear this proudly at the ball" Static smiled, thanking her again as she put the suit in a
protective covering so as to not get it dirty when he took it home. He left with the suit and took off toward Cloudsdale to his and Rainbow Dash's home, the
trip was short and soon he was walking into the cloud home's front door. "Hey Rainbow!" he called, "I'm back, and I just got what is probably the best suit I've
ever owned! Well… considering it's the only suit I've ever owned". He heard a laugh that came from the hallway that lead to the bedroom, "Well I can't wait to
see you in it Saturday! Hold on a sec while I put my dress up, I don't want you to see it". He placed the suit gently over the top of the sofa in the living room,
then walked over to a large glass terrarium on the side of the room. In the terrarium, a large green tortoise slowly poked his head out to greet the pegasus,
"Heya Tank, what's happenin' buddy?" said Static as the tortoise simply blinked at him, in a rather slow manner. Static laughed and went to the kitchen, there
he took some lettuce from the fridge and walked back to Tank, placing it into the terrarium next to him. Static turned from the tortoise as it slowly extended
its neck and took a slow bite out of the lettuce, Rainbow Dash walked into the living room, a smile on her face as she imagined how it will be at the ball. She
walked up to Static and nuzzled his shoulder, glad to have him for herself again, "So" she purred, "What's our plans for the rest of the evening?". Static then
looked to Rainbow Dash, and lowered his head to kiss his girlfriend, a deep kiss that extracted a happy sigh from the female. When they separated, he said,
with as much charm in his voice as he could manage, "Well, I was hoping for a nice dinner by the candlelight, perhaps on the balcony as we watch the sunset,
then spend the remainder of this evening with the most beautiful mare I've ever laid eyes on…" Rainbow Dash smiled, a mischievous look in her eyes, "Well
Mr. Romantic, that sounds like a wonderful idea", they kissed again and then headed off together to what would be a beautiful evening for the both of them…
… That night, Static had another dream, different this time from his previous few, he was at the ball, with all of his friends. They were all laughing and having
a wonderful time, the room was filled with the most brilliant light decorations he had ever seen. He didn't notice at first, but the shadows that were cast by the
lights were growing larger, eventually reaching the ground as it snaked out across the floor. As the shadows grew, the lights dimmed, Static was soon unable
to see anypony in front of him, he tried to call out but his words couldn't escape, he began to feel suffocated. He felt as if the darkness around him was
engulfing him, at the height of his panic, he heard the all too familiar voices of the stallions that haunted his dreams before, Beware, for darkness can find its
way into even the brightest of events… stay on your guard, do not trust your surroundings… expect the unexpected… Static woke again, his heart pounding in
his ears, he had managed to not sit up and disturb Rainbow Dash this time, but it didn't mean the dream didn't scare him any less. He suddenly didn't feel too
keen on attending the ball, but he couldn't back out now, Expect the unexpected rang the voice again… and that, he decided, was exactly what he intended to
do…
(Well sorry this took to long, lots of stuff have been happening all at once so this had to be put on hold for a little bit. Anyway tell me ehat you think! Next to come:
Chapter 2: the unexpected guest
