Harmony's New Flame

by Nova Pyro

Equestria has always been known as land of peace, but now an ancient evil threatens it. Now the elements of harmony must team up with the dragon king Pyro to fight this ancient evil. Powers will be discovered, friendships will be tested, and universus will colide. What will come in the near future? You'll have to read to find out. Inspiration for my fanfic goes to Quest for Harmony

14. Chapter 14: The Gala Part 1

Harmony's New Flame Chapter 13 - The Gala Part 1 - The Best Night Ever:

Hey everyone Nova Pyro back for my 13th chapter. This is the one you've all be waiting for, the Grand Galloping Gala chapter. I know the title is different, but trust me it's the Gala. Join the mane six and their dragons as they go to one of the biggest parties of the year and plan to have the best night of their lives; of course making sure not to make the same mistakes they did during their last Gala. Will this experience be another disaster or will the girls really have the best night even and what role do Pyro and his generals have to play and what secrets will be revealed during this night to remember. Read and find out.

The sun rose into the sky over Ponyville as yet another beautiful day came to pass. The elements of harmony were gathered at the library watching Twilight practice a few new spells she had been working on. She told her friends that she had been practicing with more advanced magica and they were all dying to see her in action. While the elements of harmony watched Twilight work her magic (pun intended), they were also talking amongst each other about new things they had been up to as well.

Rainbow Dash told them about how she created a new flight routine and went on and on about how awesome it was and how awesome she was for pulling it off. She then said, that she and sky had flying in all kinds of new terrain to challenge themselves and really test their flight skills.

Applejack told her friends about a some new apple trees that had grown in her farm, that had produced a lot of delicious apples. She even said there a few new kinds of apples growing thanks to Ethan using his earth magic and with his help they've cut their chore time in half so they can have more time to themselves. She went on to say that she's been using her newfound free time to come up with new recipes for the new apples.

Rarity told her friends about the experience she had at the 'Sister Hooves Social' as well everything that occurred before hand. She told them the lesson she learned about being a better sister and how she would be there for her little Sweetie Belle from now on. She also told them about her new fashion line that her sister helped her come up with and that they would be on sale and on the shelves in about a week or so. She was really excited about the last part, which was very easy to tell.

Fluttershy told the girls in her usual happy whispered tone about how she and Razor were caring for a much larger group of animals now. Not only that but apparently they were able to go into the Everfree Forest and help larger creatures since Razor could protect her from any animals that may have been a bit too wild. She also told them about how much time they had been spending together and they all picked up on that giving signals to each other and confusing the cyan mare.

Last but not least Pinkie Pie. The party pony went on and on about how she and Conner had having all kinds of fun. Pulling pranks, baking, deliveries, helping the cakes, baking again, and even more pranks. She then told them how he had been giving her new ideas for baking recipes as well new party ideas; they would sometimes stay up late at night planning out the details and would actually test them out later on.

Twilight smiled as she stood before her friends and continued setting up her spell. "Wow, seems like Pyro and the guys have changed our lives for the better. They've really been helping out lately. Pyro's been helping keep things organized at the library, and he helps me with my experiments too. And he's been spending more time with Spike too. It's almost like he's Spike's big brother."

Applejack followed with her usual happy smile and upbeat personality. "You got that right Twalaght. Ethan's been a big help to mah family and ah'd be lyin if ah said ah'm not glad he came to live on our farm. Things have changed here in Ponyville since those dragons came, but ah think they've changed for the better."

They all nodded in agreement, and turned back to Twilight as she prepared her spell.

Twilight stood before a small podium that had big red apple on it, provided by apple jack. The apple was serving as the target for Twilight's new spell. She took a deep breath and readied her magic and said, "Ok everypony, here goes." Twilight gathered her magic and prepared to fire "Ok, three, two…"

"Ms. Twilight!" A random voice called out startling Twilight and causing her to fire of course, and instead of hitting the apple, she hit a nearby bird, turning it into an orange. Fluttershy put her hoof to her chin as she said, "Oh dear." Rainbow Dash landed next to her and said, "On the plus side, the spell worked. . . kind of." The mane six then turned to the pony who interrupted their friend's spell and saw that it was a delivery stallion.

Twilight recovered her shock and composed herself before turning to him. "Um yes?" He reached into the bag and handed her a letter. "Delivery from Canterlot! It's from the princess!" Twilight used her magic to grab the letter and he was off. She then opened the letter up, read it. The unicorn's eyes widened as she did and she said aloud, "It's an invitation from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Dear Twilight Sparkle, you and the other elements of harmony are invited to the Lunar Gala being held in Canterlot tomorrow night, in celebration of Princess Luna's return Equestria and the arrival of visiting royalty. I would like you all to invite Pyro and his generals to the gala so they may be introduced to the ponies of Canterlot. Inform them that they may appear in their stallion or dragon forms if they wish; either will be acceptable. This gala will be feature the same events as the Grand Galloping Gala as well as the same requirements. All other information required is on the back of this letter. With our best wishes Princess Celestia & Luna."

The girls began were excited and began to talk amongst themselves about this new gala. Rarity then spoke up, "Oh my, a Lunar Gala. This is going to be quite an event. I simply must make a new dress for the occasion." Rainbow Spoke next, "I gotta admit, I'm not usually one for these fancy, shmancy, uptight, dress wearing parties, but this does sound interesting." Applejack came after, "Well if y'all are goin, so am ah. Besides this could be a chance to earn some extra money for the farm." Fluttershy followed up, "I'd like to go as well. I hear there are a lot of nocturnal critters in royal gardens at night."

Twilight smiled and said, "Well girls, it looks like we're going to the 'Lunar Gala'!" They all cheered and began to talk and gossip about what they were going to do. Twilight then said, "I'm glad the princesses sent this letter early, so we'd have time to prepare." Rarity then realised something and asked, "Um Twilight darling, Don't you usually get your letters out of Spike?"

The girls all realised that she was right and Aj commented, "Yeah, where is the little guy anyway?" Twilight then answered saying, "I'm not sure. Actually, I don't really know where any of the guys are right now."

Pinkie Pie then said in a peppy tone, "Ah don't worry, they're probably just somewhere in town. Besides wherever they are I'm sure they're fine."

In the Everfree Forest:

In a clearing not too far from the Forest entrance at the edge of Ponyville, Spike and the guys are training in the forest. Since the ponies avoided entering the forest unless absolutely necessary it was the perfect training ground for the young dragon. Not only did it allow him to keep his secret, but the seclusion and quiet would also help him stay focused. Within the forest clearing, Razor was using his psychic powers to create energy constructs, allowing they young warrior to gain fighting experience by battling astral images of a beast from their world; this would help to better control and fight in his teenage dragon form.

They started him off with a small astral ape warrior construct. It took him awhile for him to get the hang of fighting it, but with his friend's guidance, he eventually defeated it. Now they had moved on to having him take on multiple small apes. Learning to fight multiple enemies was essential to his training, since the everyday life for a dragon is a fight for survival; and one never knows when the odds will be stacked against them.

The dragons were circled around Spike as they watched him fight off the astral apes. They were close enough that they could intervene if necessary, but far enough away that they didn't distract him. The veteran warriors were could see the raw, untrained, obviousness in their pupils fighting style; however thanks to their years of battle and training, they could also see he was beginning to improve.

They watched the young dragon fight off the apes with only minor difficulty keeping track of all of them as they circled around him, and attacked him from opposite sides. "He's improving" Pyro stated aloud. Razor, who was sitting next to him replied, "Yes, but he's not yet fighting at the appropriate level for a teenage dragon. At his current skill level, the younglings from our world could take him."

Ethan who was sitting nearby under a tree on the left spoke up. "There's no need to rush, besides Spike hasn't been trained at all since he was born. He's basically been kept like a pet by Twilight, saying he's her assistant, while the others treat him like a sidekick chore boy. Besides that he's been looked after and protected by ponies his whole life. You can't blame him for lagging behind in his ability to defend himself. He'll improve and learn at his own pace."

Conner spoke up next from the other side. "I have to agree with Ethan. Besides given that handicap, he has come along way since we took him under our wings and began training him. He's rather impressive if you ask me." Skye spoke next from beside the lightning dragon and said, "I'm with you on that one. Besides there's no telling what hidden abilities lie dormant within him or what he'll be capable of when his trainings complete."

They all nodded in agreement on that comment and continued to watch spike fight the astral apes.

One of the apes charged Spike/Slash from the front. He retaliated by charging and sending it flying with his horns causing it to vanish. He looked to the left to see another one swing its club at him. He ducked under the swing, before delivering a powerful uppercut, and sending it flying as it vanished as well. He looked back to see the last one charging at him full speed ahead. The young purple dragon took a deep breath before crouching down and jumping backwards with all his might. He leaped over the ape's attack and the ape itself before landing behind it. He then opened his maw and unleashed a large green fireball at the stunned primate projection, causing it to vanish.

Spike began panting as he tried to catch his breath. He then turned to his brothers/masters as they came closer. "Well done Spike. It looks you now have a firm grasp on the basics of combat" Pyro said as he stepped in front of him. "Thank you Pyro, I feel like I'm finally starting to get stronger." Razor stepped next to him as he said, "Don't get ahead of yourself Spike, you've still got a long way to go before you become truly strong."

The lavender dragon nodded as he replied, "I know, but I'm glad I'm making progress. I'm definitely stronger than I was and that's something." Ethan walked up next to him and said, "Ah don't worry Spike. We'll make a dragon warrior out of you in no time. Now, we should probably start heading back. If we're gone too long the girls might get suspicious."

The dragon king nodded in agreement and said, "He's right. Ok everyone, let's head back."

Spike followed behind his mentors as they exited the Everfree. He quickly reverted back to his small form before anypony could see him, as his body lit up with green flames, and he shrank down. As he watched his friends walk ahead of him, he couldn't help but think of the future. He thought to himself, 'Don't worry guys, one day I'll be strong just like you, and then it'll be my turn protect everyone. I know I can do it.'

Back in Ponyville-

As the dragons exited the forest they headed straight for Twilight's library. Upon arriving they could see that all the girls were inside and seemed to be excited about something.

"What's go'n on in there?" Sky asked somewhat confused. Pyro moved towards the door as he answered, "Only one way to find out." He grabbed the door and opened as they all walked inside, now hearing the full sound of the girls excitement. The mane six all turned to their dragons as they stood near the door confused.

Conner then asked, "Uh. . . what'd we miss?"

Pinkie Pie zipped up to him and yelled in a super excited tone, "LUANANDCELSETIAAREHOSTINGALUNAGALAINCANTERLOT, and WE'RE ALL INVITED! AAAAAAAAAHH!"

"Really, that sounds like it could be fun." Conner said nonchalantly. Razor then asked, "Uh, you understood that?" He replied, "Well I am pretty fluent in speed gibberish, plus I can speak pretty fast myself." Ethan then asked, "So, what did Pinkie say? And slowly this time. Not all of us can 'listen' at the speed of sound."

Twilight stepped next to her excited friend as she repeated her statement. "She said, we've all been invited to Celestia's and Luna's, 'Lunar Gala' in Canterlot tomorrow night. They're celebrating Luna's return from the moon as well as the years of peace we've been having. Celestia sent this letter along with our invitations." Pyro smiled and said, "Well, that does sound interesting. You said we were all invited?" Twilight as pulled out the letter and showed them.

The dragons read the letter rather quickly and looked at each other as they contemplated what to do. Ethan was the first to speak as he said, "Huh, we haven't attended any formal gatherings or parties in quite some time. It might interesting. I'm in." Razor spoke next. "I suppose so, and the fact that we're allowed to come in our dragon forms is definitely a load off as well. I think I'll go as well." Conner quickly followed up, "Since when do you guys know me to miss out on a party. I'm so in. Besides we'll get to see Jordan and find out what he's been up to since we left him there."

Skye looked over to Dash and said, "So these Gala's. . . are they usually fun?" "Totally. You get to mingle, hang out, meet new ponies, eat great food, and see some awesome entertainment. Plus the Wonderbolts go to every Gala and I know they'll be there." Skye smiled as he saw how excited she was and said, "Well if Dash gives the ok, then I'm in too. What say you your majesty?" Pyro turned to the others and said, "I'll be going as well. It will be a good opportunity for us to make a good first impression with the noble high class in Canterlot, as well as make new potential connections. Besides I could really use a night of fun."

Rarity was quick to reply to the dragon king's statement. "That's a wonderful idea darling. I'll be speaking to the high class myself. I'll show them just how proper a lady I am, and maybe, just maybe I'll meet the stallion of dreams."

Spike snorted at the sound of that, but as he did an idea suddenly formed in his mind. He spoke getting everyone's attention. "You know, I don't think I'm going this time." The girls and his fellow dragons turned to him as he said this in both shock and surprise. Twilight was the first to ask, "What do you mean Spike? We've always gone to gala. Why don't you wanna go?" The girls waited for his response as he said, "Well, it's just. . . I'm not really feeling it this time Twilight. After everything that's been going on, I'd really like to just, you know. . . chill for a bit. You can give my invitation to someone else."

Twilight looked at the others quizzically as she responded, "Someone else, like who?" He then turned to his mentor and said, "I know, Pyro, how about you invite that new dragon you introduced me to." The fire dragon gave his protege a confused look as he asked, "Huh, who?"

Spike then said, "You know, that new dragon you said you were scouting to become a new member of your team. Uh uh. . . Slash, that's was his name." Spike then winked, allowing Pyro and the others to figure out what he was aiming at. "Uuuuuhh-oh! Right sure. I'll ask 'Slash' if he wants to go so your ticket won't go to waste. I hope you'll be ok staying behind."

The little purple dragon shrugged as he responded, "I'll be fine. I'm sure I can find something to do to occupy my time." He then walked off into the distance into the direction of the library. Twilight and the girls seemed a little disappointed that Spike wasn't coming, as well as confused as to who this new dragon might be.

Twilight then said, "Well I guess Spike can come next time. By the way, who's this Slash he was talking about? You've never mentioned him before." Razor spoke up, "We met him recently. He's an equestrian dragon with a lot of promise and some real skill." Ethan followed up saying, "He's pretty well mannered and doesn't act like the other dragons from around here." Applejack smiled as she said, "Well, if this dragon fellers ok by y'all, he's ok by me too."

Pinkie smiled and said, "Yay, I get to make a new dragon friend and go to the Lunar Gala; Total fun overload!" Twilight then said, "I just hope he decides to go. Well girls, we better get to work. The Gala's tomorrow".

With that everyone split up and began getting prepared for the Gala.

Rarity got to work designing dresses for the girls, and tuxes for the guys if they decided to go in their stallion forms. Applejack prepared her food stand to take the gala so she could make some extra money for her family. Once she had it all done, she packed it up in her cart. Ethan was more than happy to help and offered to help with the food as well.

The Next Day In the Afternoon:

The girls had decided to meet over at Rarity's boutique, so she could give them their dresses and the guys could get their tuxes if they decided to go in their stallion forms. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie had already arrived with their dragons, and were waiting for the others with Rarity.

Ethan looked to the side and said, "They're here." Everyone looked to see Twilight, Pyro, Fluttershy, and Razor heading their way. Twilight greeted them and said, "Sorry we're a little late girls. We had to clean the place up before we left." "Oh don't worry Darling, we still have plenty of time. Now let's head inside and get dressed. We'll get dressed upstairs, while the boys change downstairs. Those of you going in your stallion forms speak up, I've gone ahead and made tuxedos for all of you." Rarity said excitedly.

Skye then replied, "You did? Thanks Rarity." She answered, "Oh you're quite welcome darling. Now then let's go. Oh by the way, were you able to contact this friend of yours, um Slash was it." The guys looked at each other before Pyro said, "He'll be by in a little bit. He had to uh take care of something."

"Well, let's just hope he gets here in time. I hope he's as good as you guys said. I don't want him to cause any trouble at the Gala." Twilight said aloud. Pyro patted her head with his paw and said, "Don't worry Twilight. I'm sure he'll be on his best behaviour. Who knows, he might surprise you."

With that, everyone made their way inside and began to get changed.

The guys did as instructed and got dressed down stairs. Skye, Conner, and Ethan decided to go in their stallion forms and wore Rarity's tuxes. Pyro and Razor decided to go in their dragon forms, and donned a some of their fancier armour they used for formal events back home; however they decided to bring the tuxedos with them, just in case.

It didn't take long for the guys to get dressed, and man were they looking sharp.

Ethan's tux was dark forest green color, with light brown trim to make a nice outline. On the back was a brown mountain symbol that was on Ethan's flank, that he really liked. On the front of the suit was bright green gem that completed the suit with style and flare. The suit fit Ethan perfectly and really showed his muscular features.

Skye's tux was a dark navy blue, to match, but not clash with his his light blue fur. There were spaces for his wings to perfectly fit through so he could fly without messing up the suit. The trim on his suit was black, and it had a dark blue sapphire on the front. On the back, the lace formed his wind symbol.

Conner's tux was a bright yellow as to not clash with his darker fur. His suit came with a white shirt for the middle, as well as a black tie. While the suit was bright yellow, it had dark yellow trim, as well as a lightning shaped pattern leading back to his flank. As with Skye, the symbol of his cutie mark was tagged on the back of the suit.

Razor's armour consisted of 6 pieces: the chest plate, two guard bracelets, a back guard, a tail guard, and his helmet. The armour was silver, with light blue wave like chest piece had a blue mark in the shape of a shield, with a blue sapphire gem in the center. The blue waves on the gauntlets circled all the way around on the top and bottom. The back guard had six blue six slash marks as a battle symbol. The tail guard, was studded with blue and silver guards pointing up and down. Finally the helmet, which had blue marking from the front to the back. The helmet had two ridges up front for protection, as well as small spikes leading to the back between the blue lines. The armour shined from just being polished, but it was also covered in slashes and dents, showing it had been used in battle.

Pyro's armour consisted of the same pieces as Razor's but his was mostly red with gold as an outline and design chestplate was red with golden outline all around, with his family symbol in the middle. His back plate was red with in the shape of a flame with a golden outline with a golden tip pointing in between his wings. The bracelets were red in the middle, with gold on the top and bottom in a fiery pattern. Pyro's helmet was a very special design, as it had holes for his horns to fit through, two bladed spikes up front, as well as front that slid over his face down to his nose for extra protection. The eye holes had a golden outline around them, making them somewhat stand out. The helmet had been measured and dit Pyro's head perfectly, so it was functional and comfortable. Pyro's armour was also pretty beaten up, but shined brightly from being polished very thoroughly.

Once the guys were finished getting dressed, they heard a knock at the door. Pyro went to open it, and said, "Hey guys, Slash just got here!" (Spike will be referred to as Slash in this chapter until he changes back to his other form at the end). Slash walked in and greeted his dragon brothers. "Hey guys, looking sharp."

Ethan responded, "You can thank Rarity for that. Speaking of which, you had better get dressed. Here I brought one of my armour sets for you to wear. I adjusted it to fit you and match your scales, so you should look fine." Slash smiled as he looked over the armour. He looked over and to his earth mentor and said, "Thanks Ethan."

Ethan smiled as he handed him the armour. "Don't mention it, just make sure you don't stain it." They both laughed as Spike began to put on the armour. Ethan's armour was soothing forest green, with bronze outline trim. The gauntlets trim went around midsection on the sides, and came together in the middle to form a bronze earth spiral. The chest plate had the blue crystal with the symbol for earth in bronze in the center around it, along with circular curves around it that led to the outside like veins. The back plate only had the bronze outline on the edges. The tail armor began at the base and was separated around the midpoint and end; this was because it was meant to support the massive strength of an earth dragon's tail. The helmet had a similar shape and design to that of samurai, and had two horn spikes out the front, holes in the back for the horns to fit through, along with a cap to protect the eyes.

Spike took a look at himself in the mirror and stood in shock. He couldn't believe he was actually looking at himself. The armour made him look like a whole new dragon, and it made him feel like a warrior. "Wow, this armour is awesome. I look like a new dragon." Ethan smiled as smacked Spike's back before putting his paw on his shoulder.

"Heh heh, I gotta say Spike, that armour looks pretty good on you, but you don't have to wear the helmet if you don't want to." "What really?" he asked as he looked to his friend. Ethan nodded and replied, "Yeah, the rest of us the guys aren't wearing them to the Gala. They're just putting them on here for nostalgia and such."

Pyro turned to them and said, "He's right Spike, we're going to leave our helmets here. We don't want to look too serious when we get there, besides they can get a bit uncomfortable if you wear em too long." Razor then said, "But when you're in the heat of battle, you don't really have time to notice."

Spike/Slash laughed nervously as he said that.

The guys then heard the girls coming down from upstairs and turned in the direction of the staircase. Rarity then called out, "We're ready. Well darlings, what do you think?"

Rarity had designed dresses for her and her friends and to wear to the gala and now they were being show to off for all to see. The male dragons looked in awe at the mares who looked to be reborn as they stood before them in their new dresses and fresh makeup.

Applejack's dress was dark and light brown saddle with a green skirt that led down the pack. It came with a green choker, with a red apple pendant. There were also a pear of green boots with brown straps that had apple hooks, with a white western style trim and a red trim at the top. The assomble was complete with a new light brown hat, with two red apples on the bottom, in full view.

Twilight's dress was beautiful dark blue, and decorated with white stars on the back and end of the dress. It came up to tie around her neck with the end sticking up around the back, with a white star button in the middle of the chest. The end of dress was also decorated with light blue and white stars, and dark blue wave trim. Finally there was a star hair clip that gave the outfit a truly balanced and beautiful look.

Rainbow Dash's dress matched her nearly perfectly. The dress had every color of the rainbow and the edge was lined with cloud shaped cotton. As it approached the waist, the dress evened out, wrapping around the stomach like rainbow belt. The dress came with a pearl grape necklace, a golden reif headdress, and golden shoes that wrapped around the leg.

Fluttershy's dress practically screamed spring and one with nature. It was a beautiful forest green as to not clash with her cream colored fur. The dress was lined with lighter green in the curves, and around the end, it had a yellow trim and a flower at the beginning of each curve. Above the curves was a blue flower peddle like belt. As the dress led up to the back, it turned into a darker green to wrap around the neck and led to a light blue butterfly button. It also came with a blue butterfly hair clip. Finally her shoes were also a dark green with a vine like trim around her legs.

Pinkie Pie's dress like the others fit her to a T. The dress trail was pink and poofy around the end, with a blue ribbon, and pink clips along the bottom. The back of dress had a small white skirt decorated with lollipops and candy corn. Above that was thin pink trim, which led to a blue and white stripped upper shirt. The shirt then led to a yellow and white frill with a pink tie. It was complete with a small white and blue hat, and a pink bow on the back of it.

Finally was Rarity who looked absolutely stunning in her dress, which everyone knew was her aim for the night. The dress was a mix of purple, magenta, and pink. The dress end was magenta with a gold trim pattern leading up to the back, with purple and pink jewels in the magenta sections. There was also another layer with a violet, light pink, and pink pattern with jewels in the violet part. As it reached the back the veil ended at a violet belt, and led to a light pink shirt. The collar was also magenta, and was the outfit was complemented by two violet diamond earing, and a golden tiara with violet gem in the center.

"Wow", Conner said as beheld the mares before him. Ethan smiled and said, "Wow AJ, you look great. You all look great." Razor smiled and said, "I think we're all in agreement there. You all look beautiful." The gray scaled dragon shot a look Fluttershy's way, making her turn away with an embarrassed blush as she smiled.

Pyro stepped up and said, "Agreed. You did an amazing job with these dresses Rarity, our tuxes too." Rarity giggled as she responded to his compliment. "Oh thank you darling, but I was happy to do so, and I must say you all look very dashing in your armour and tuxedos."

Rarity's eyes suddenly fell on an unfamiliar face behind the dragon king. As he removed his helmet, the white mare got a good look at his face. "Oh, that must be, um Slash was it?" The girls all turned to the dragon Rarity was looking at and started looking him over. Pyro looked back at his pupil and said, "Oh uh yes, this is Slash. Go ahead Slash, introduce yourself."

The purple and green dragon turned to them and said, "Um yes, that's me. It's very nice to meet you all. Uuuhm Pyro and the others have told me a lot about you all. I'm hoping we can get along great. I must say, you all look very beautiful."

The girls smiled as they heard this and began to relax. Rarity smiled and said, "Why thank you, and I must say that armour rather flatters you." Slash blushed as he looked at the mare before his eyes. She looked absolutely beautiful; not that he didn't always think that about her. Rarity saw that he was looking her over and said, "Oh, you like it? I worked very hard on this dress. I think it's one of my most beautiful designs yet." Slash blushed as he said, "Not half as beautiful as it's creator."

Rarity's eyes widened as she heard that comment and looked at the dragon before her. "Oh uh thank you." She smiled as she looked into his bright emerald green eyes, and he into her bright blue ones.

The moment was broken as Twilight said, "Alright everpony, we better get moving if we want to get there on time. Let's go." With that the dragons paired up with each of their hosts and escorted them outside; Rarity was escorted by Slash since she wasn't hosting one of the others. As they made their way outside, they came upon a large white carriage, big enough for all the girls to fit in.

Conner then said, "Wow, classy." Skye then asked, "Um girls, did you plan on having someone pull you there, cause there's no one at the reins. Twilight responded, "Well, Rarity did ask two stallions to pull us the carriage earlier. They said yes, but then something came up with their jobs and they had cancel.

Rarity then thought for a moment as an idea popped in her head. "I don't suppose you strong handsome dragons could pull the carriage. They all looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders. Ethan then said, "Eh, why not? It is a special night. I'll do it." "Me too." Conner said in a helpful tone.

The stallions/dragons quickly got strapped in, while the girls climbed into the carriage. Skye climbed in to the carriage as well, while Pyro, Razor, and Slash stood outside to walk alongside them as they went. Twilight then said, "Looks like we're good to go. Let's head to the Lunar Gala."

Ethan then said, "And, we're off!" With that, they made their way to the Lunar Gala and the night of their lives.

Canterlot Gala Hall:

It didn't take too long for the group to arrive in Canterlot, as they entered the crown jewel city of Equestria. They quickly made their way to Gala hall, making sure to avoid heavy traffic or drawing in too much attention; which was a little difficult since it looked like the white drawn carriage had dragon security.

As they approached the hall, everypony's attention was drawn to the stallion drawn carriage surrounded by three armoured and very intimidating dragons. Ethan and Conner quickly unhooked themselves, and fixed up their clothes as they came around. Pyro moved towards the carriage and opened the door, allowing the mares to step out.

As they did, they all gathered together in their usual formation with Twilight in the center as they looked around. There were many mares and stallions here from all over Equestria, many of which were nobility or important figures. The dragons and stallions came forward and stood alongside their respective partner in the same formation.

They all smiles as they beheld the decor of the Lunar Gala. Twilight was the first to speek, "Wow, this is amazing. Celestia and Luna must have really gone all out." Rarity followed up by saying, "I agree, the decore truly captures the beauty and elegance of the night, and Princess Luna of course." Pyro smiled and said, "I have to agree. This does appear to be one impressive celebration."

Conner then said, "Well, what are standing around for? Let's head inside." "Conner's right. We have a party to get to! Let's go!" With that, they all made their way up the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

As they all made their way inside they were met with a truly beautiful sight. The entire Gala Hall had been decorated with beautiful dark blue and sky blue ribbons, star pattern curtains, many different types of blue colored gems, and all kinds flowers that thrived in moonlight. The girls couldn't believe their eyes as they saw this. This Lunar Gala had a much more elegant aura to it than even the Grand Galloping Gala itself; which was saying something.

As they made their way in they continued to look around at all the decorations as well as the many stallions and mares that were in attendance; however the group of dragons and ponies were also receiving glances or to be more accurate, stares. Many of the surrounding stallions and mares were staring at them for the most obvious reason. While the girls were a bit embarrassed at having so many eyes on them, the dragons didn't seem to even care, and kept walking.

Rarity was getting excited as she saw the many faces of fame and fortune there. As they all moved forward, their eyes finally fell on the hostesses of the gala.

Twilight beamed with happiness as she saw her mentor standing at the top of the stairs greeting the many ponies that came in. She quickly walked up the stairs leaving the others behind. Pyro could only smile at seeing his friend's eagerness to see the princess; in truth he was pretty eager himself. He hadn't seen his brother, Jordan in a few months now and was dying to see him again; he made sure to keep an eye out in case he spotted him.

As the purple unicorn finally came up she greeted the princess in her usual excited but respectful tone. "Princess Celestia, it's so great to see you. Thank you for inviting me and my friends to the Lunar Gala." Celestia chuckled as she replied, "It's good to see you too Twilight. I'm happy all of were able to attend this evening." "Of course, we wouldn't have missed it."

The princess of the day then turned her attention to the others and said, "I'm so glad you all could make it. I'm sure my sister will love to see you all." She then turned the dragons and bowed her head to Pyro as she said, "King Pyro, I am honored you could come as well." Pyro bowed his head response as he replied. "The honor is mine princess. Thank you for having us."

Pinkie Pie then asked, "By the way, where is Princess Luna? I don't see her anywhere." Celestia chuckled as she answered, "She will be along shortly. It took her a bit longer to get ready then she'd hoped. Jordan will be escorting her in when she arrives." They all shared looks of excitement and understanding as they heard this.

Celestia then got their attention as she spoke up. "In the meantime, feel free to enjoy the festivities. I still have to greet a few more ponies, but once I'm finished and Luna arrives we will begin the feast."

Celestia then turned to the dragons and said, "Oh and don't worry, we've gathered a few things that you all will be able to eat as well. I just hope it will be to your liking." Razor responded in a bit of an annoyed tone, "Good to know." He then walked right past the princess as she shot her distrusting glare, and headed off in some random direction. Fluttershy quickly followed after him, walking beside him as she caught up.

Everyone was shocked by the action, accept for his friends.

Pyro sighed and said, "Forgive him Princess, Razor's never been the most trusting or social dragon. He's probably still skeptical of you, but he'll come around." Everypony shared nervous glances before the dragon king spoke up again. "Now then, what are we waiting for. This is a party, so let's all have some fun." With that everyone beamed at that thought. Each of the mane 6 paired up with their dragons and split up to do their individual plans.

Twilight decided to stick next to the princess, so they could have a chance to talk. Pyro decided to stick around as well and meet a few of the ponies around here. As the dragon king, he needed to make a good first impression on behalf of his people. This was the perfect opportunity to change the public's minds about dragons.

Unfortunately, now came the hard part; finding somepony with an opened mind, and who wasn't too intimidated by him to strike up a conversation. As he scanned the crowd, he could easily see a great many were afraid to even come near him. He then spotted a white stallion with blue hair and black and white tux heading in his direction, and decided to start with him.

"Good evening my sir dragon, I hope you are having a pleasant evening."

Good evening to you as well sir, and yes, this evening is indeed a pleasant one, thank you for asking. Might I have your name?"

"But of course. I am Fancy Pants, I was one of the lucky few who the princess asked to aid in this wondrous event for his sister. And what may yours be."

"I am the current king of the dragon race, my name is Pyro."

"Oh, well it is an honor your majesty. I must say, I was quite surprised to see a dragon here. Although I must say, you are quite different from the rest of the Equestrian dragons I've heard of seen." Pyro chuckled as he responded. "That's not very surprising, my friends and I are of a different breed and our home lies far beyond Equestria"

"Really? Well then, by all means, please tell me of your land, if it wouldn't be a bother of course." "None at all, now where to begin. . ."

While Pyro engaged in conversation, with fancy pants a few more nobels who happened to be fans of his began to gather around listen to the kings tales. Elsewhere a certain fashion pony in her beautiful dress was walking about looking for a certain somepony; as was a certain purple/green armored dragon.

As Rarity moved through the crowd, her eyes landed on the very stallion she was searching for, Prince Blueblood. "Ahaaa!" She scampered off after him as she said, "Hurry Rarity," but then she attempted to compose herself as she slowed down, "Oh but not too fast." She sped up again, "But I don't want to lose him." Slowed down again, "Wait, have to play it cool." And sped up again, "Oh, but don't be cold. I can't lose him, I can't! He's everything I imagined."

She then looked at said stallion, who currently had a rose in his mouth as his gaze landed upon her. She swooned as she said, "He's better than I imagined." Not too far away Slash took a look at the stallion as well and couldn't help but snort in annoyance as he rolled his eyes. He watched his friend walked over to the prince.

Slash then looked to the side to see Razor and Fluttershy heading towards the royal garden, where it was said Celestia's animal friends stayed. Fluttershy turned to the grey scaled dragon and asked, "Razor, why were you so rude to the princess back there?"

"Because I don't trust her and I don't respect her." Fluttershy gasped and made a face that looked like you told her bunnies weren't cuddly. "I don't understand. How can you not respect the princess? Why don't you trust her?"

The psychic dragon sighed as he began to explain. "Fluttershy, a dragon's life is a constant fight for survival. We've come this far by being strong, learning, and evolving. I've been on many adventures in my life and in that time, I've learned you can't just trust everyone. There are a lot of dangerous beings out there that will try to get you trust them, just before they stab you in the back. Trusting everyone you meet blindly can get you hurt or worse get you killed."

The element of kindness looked very say to hear the dragons words of experience and although she didn't completely understand, she had to admit it made sense. "Oh, I see. I guess that means you don't trust me either.

Razor glanced at her, seeing her sad face and let out a sigh before responding. "I'll be honest, I didn't at first. It wasn't just you, it was all of you. I didn't know you or what your intentions were, so I had no reason to trust you." She made pained expression. "But, I do now." She looked up at him in surprise. "In the short time I've been here you've shown me unparalleled kindness, and helped me in many different ways. I think I trust you the most out everyone in this dimension."

Fluttershy couldn't but give him a warm smile before a thought occurred to her. "Well, what did you mean when you said you don't respect her?" "Well, that's more a combination of tradition and instinct. You see in dragon society, respect is earned not given for almost everything: friendship, status, team mates etc. Each of my friends earned my respect and loyalty. So far, Celestia's given me no reason to respect her as an equal, and until she does, my opinion won't change."

"Oh." "But enough about that. I thought we came here to have some fun. We're finally in the royal garden, so let's head inside."

The cream colored pegasus soon spotted a distinct small bird and followed it excitedly. "Oh a Medelark." She followed it into a clearing, with her grey scaled armored dragon right behind her. They heard a sudden whistle and stopped. "Oh, I think she's calling to me. This is just like how I imagined." She then sung out to the Medelark and her tune was returned. As she followed Razor paid attention to the whistle and thought, 'That didn't sound like a bird to me.' He followed close behind her as disappeared into the trees.

In another part of the Gala, Applejack was pushing her cart along to a clearing where she thought she would get some good business. Ethan was walking alongside her, looking for any open spaces where his host could make her sales. Finally the two came to a large clearing and decided to set up. She looked to the green stallion and said, "This is as good a spot as any."

She then gave her cart a good solid kick and it transformed into a very well decorated apple stand. Ethan stood off to the side and decided to watch her work. Not even a split second after opening one of the Wonderbolts, a stallion named Soarin, came up to the stand. Applejack greeted him as friendly as possible, "Howdy partner. Ya hungry?" His response was, "As a horse."

"Well, what are ya hanker'n for: Caramel Apple, Apple Pie, Apple Fritter, Apple Fries?" Soarin pointed and said, "I'll take that big apple pie." He paid her and she gave him the pie as she thanked him for his business. "Yeehaw! In mah first minute, I made mah first sale, just like ah expected." Ethan couldn't but smile as he saw the smile on her face.

While AJ was making sales Rainbow Dash had gone to the VIP area to see if she could meet her heroes the Wonderbolts. She eventually spotted two of them heading into the VIP section. It was Spitfire and Soarin. Skye was with her and smiled as he saw how excited she was. The rainbow pegasus smiled brightly as she wrapped wing around her friend and said, "Oh my gosh! Look it's them."

Following where the his friend was pointing, he looked and saw two pegasus, one male and one female in Wonderbolt uniforms. The female was known as Spitfire: she had bright yellow fur, orange eyes, and a fire styled mane. The male was known as Soarin: he had sky blue fur, bright green eyes, and dark blue mane.

The duo saw Spitfire and Soarin talking about something in front of the VIP section, but they couldn't hear what Spitfire said to him. As Soarin opened his mouth to reply, only to drop the apple pie he was holding. She heard him scream out, "My pie!" and like a rocket shot over and grabbed the pie out of the air saving it. Soarin walked up to her with a grateful smile as he said, "Wow, thanks. You saved it." He then took it back into his mouth leaving Dash with a satisfied smile over helping him out.

Skye then came up next to her and said, "Nice catch Dash." She then turned her head as she heard somepony else's voice. Upon doing so, she gasped happily, for it was none other than Spitfire who had said that.

"Hey there, nice save there." Dash smiled bashfully as she heard that and quickly responded trying her best to keep her composure in front of one of her idols, "Hey, no biggie." Spitfire smiled and spoke again in a polite and friendly tone, "So, what's your name?" "Names Rainbow Dash." She said proudly and confidently.

Spitfire chuckled and replied, "Well Rainbow Dash, looks your skills saved Soarin's apple pie there." The trio then turned to see said pegasus scarfing down the apple pie like no tomorrow. Dash couldn't help but giggle and blush as she heard those words of praise. "Huh, well you know, just try'n to help." Spitfire then turned her gaze to Skye and her eyes widened. Her shocked expression soon turned into a smile as she looked this new stallion over; she liked what she was seeing.

"Who's your friend?" Rainbow Dash quickly answered, "Oh uh this is Skye, a new friend of mine I wanted to bring to the Gala. He's real good at flying too." Skye smiled and extended hiss hoof as he said, "Nice to meet ya." "Likewise." Spitfire extended her own hoof and the two shook. "You two wanna come hang out with us?"

Rainbow Dash and Skye answered together, "Sure, why not." As they approached the VIP section, Skye went in, but Dash stopped to revel in the moment. "I'm hanging with the Wonderbolts, Aaaah, hahaha." She then quickly dashed inside next to Skye who smiled seeing her so happy.

In another part of the Gala, a certain pink party pony was getting super excited as she saw everything around her. Conner had followed her to one make sure she stayed out of trouble, and two made sure she had fun without going overboard. She looked around and gasped as her eyes widened and filled with wonder. "Mmmm, The shiny dance floor, the pretty party ponies, ooooh, the fancy band. Shiney! Pretty! Fancy!"

Conner nodded in agreement as he looked around with an impressed look on his face, "Yeah, this all looks pretty co- uh Pinkie?" He looked to see that the party pony was beginning to shake with excitement and her smile grew wider and wider, and he knew what the meant "Uh oh."

"Gotta Dance." Pinkie Pie burst forward in pure excitement and joy as she bounced around room singing out loud earning confused and irritated looks from the surrounding ponies. "I'm at the Lunar Gala, I'm at the Lunar Gala, I'm at the Grand Lunaaaarrr Galaaaaaa, it's all I ever dreamed! It's all I ever dreamed, Woohoo! It's all I ever dreamed! Yippee!" She grabbed and hugged two ponies for her final note. "I'm at the Grand Galloping Galaaahaaahaaaaaa!"

"Pinkie!" Conner called out getting her attention and pointed his head in the direction of the other ponies who were glaring at the ill mannered pony who had just caused an uncivilized uproar. The two ponies she had hugged ripped themselves away from her and walked off with huff as she said with a low hanging head and face, "It's all I ever dreamed."

Conner then tapped her shoulder getting her to turn to him. "Uh Pinkie, I'm glad you're happy and you're having fun, but this is a different kind of party. You're going to have take it down a notch. . . or two from your usual bright party excitement, ok?" She nodded and said, "Ok."

Back in the Royal Garden, Rarity who had been searching for Prince Blueblood had, wandered into a beautiful part of the garden and found herself looking and smelling a beautiful rose. As she did a voice called out to her, getting her attention. "Well Hello, I am Prince Blueblood." Rarity looked up with a gasp before smiling bashfully as she returned her name. "I am Rarity." She then turned her attention back to the flower, "Oh my, what a lovely rose."

The prince looked down as he said, "You mean-" He plucked the rose from the bush with his teeth as he showed it to her. "This rose." Rarity smiled brightly as he held out the rose, only for that smile to vanish as he pulled it back. She watched as he bit off the end of said rose and placed it on the collar of his tuxedo. "Thank you, it goes with my eyes." The white mare couldn't help but look down in disappointment.

Only a few feet away, a certain dragon had seen the whole the scenario play out and he could not believe what he had just seen. How could that stallion just do that, it didn't make sense, and was totally rude.

He continued to look on until something caught his eye. He then got an idea. Prince Blueblood turned back to Rarity as he asked, "Would you care to accompany me to the rest of the Gala, it will truly be a sight to behold." Rarity smiled brightly as she answered, "Oh yes, of course." As the white stallion turned and began walking, Rarity prepared to follow, until she heard a voice call out.

"Excuse my lady." She turned to see it was Slash who had called her, as she turned to face him. "- but I think this belongs to you." The purple and green dragon held up a violet rose between his fingers and presented it to her. She looked at the rose in wonder as she responded, "Oh Slash, oh this flower isn't mine. . . but. . ."

The purple dragon interrupted during her pause as he said, "Oh you must be mistaken," He placed the violet rose on her right ear, allowing it to compliment her hair as he continued, "A flower as beautiful as this one belongs no where else than with a maiden as fair as yourself." Rarity blushed as she heard his words and looked at the flower. "She looked down in a bit of bashfulness before looking up to thank him, "Oh my, why thank you I. . . oh? Where did he. . ."

Blue Blood then called out, "Miss Rarity, are you coming?" She looked around one last time before saying, "Oh yes, of course." She quickly followed him as she thought, 'Wherever did he go? I at least wanted to thank him."

In another part of the garden, Fluttershy and Razor were still searching for the Medelark she had spotted earlier. She once again sung with her angelic voice, calling to the bird, and hearing a whistle in return. She then took off with her dragon right behind her. "Oh, my little Medelark is right around this bend."

However instead of finding the Medelark, she found a rather old stallion with brownish grey fur, a green hat with a black stripe, and grey hair. They both watched as he whistled the tune they had been following. She then asked, "Was that you?" He responded in a nice peppy tone as he continued to rake the leaves, "Yep, I love whistl'n while I work." He then whistled again as he got back to work.

Razor then said, "I was going to tell you it didn't sound like a birds whistle, but you looked so excited." She looked at him and said, "Oh, I'm sorry." "Aw, don't worry about it." The pegasus couldn't help but smile at him, only for her attention to be called as she spotted some other critters and animals interacting nearby. She excitedly smiled as she began to identify them. "OH, I see a toco Toucan, oh and a Spider-Monkey, and oh is that Wallaroo." She then opened her wings and flew towards the critters at fast pace. . . well fast for her. Razor then called out, "Wait Fluttershy, don't-"

Before he could warn her, the Animals dispersed. Leaving one sad and disappointed Fluttershy. She then looked down and said, "Oh Fluttershy, you're such a loud mouth." She then looked back as she heard Razor's voice.

"Uh, that's not the problem Flutters. Some animals behave differently than others, especially when they remain in a habitat like this one. It's so similar to where they naturally live, they behave as they would in the wild; and I'm guessing a lot of these critters usually avoid making contact with ponies regularly. They probably only interact with the groundskeepers since they're probably here the most often."

"Oh dear, but I really wanted to make friends with them." The grey dragon tilted her chin up and said, "And you can, but you need to approach it a little differently. I can help. . . if you let me." She smiled as looked at him with wide eyes, "Really? Ok, so what do we do?" Razor looked around before pointing with his wing, "Let's head back in there and find the center of the habitat. Once we're there, I'll tell you." "Alright" She quickly followed him back into the woods like area of the garden.

Next up was Rainbow Dash who was having a bit more trouble "hanging out" with the Wonderbolts than she thought; mainly because she wasn't the only big fan there. The star flyers were surrounded by a giant crowd of ponies from all over who were trying to talk to them. Rainbow Dash, who had gottens shoved to the back, used force to slip under and push past the other fans to get close to her idols.

Skye on the other hoof was off to the side trying some of the orderves and enjoying himself. He looked over at Dash and was kinda bummed that she wasn't getting the chance to have fun with flyers she one day wanted to be. He saw her trying to talk to them, but because of all the other stallions and mares they were talking to, as well as the commotion in the background, they couldn't hear her.

She made a disappointed and frustrated expression as she made her way back over to him. "Oh man, how am I supposed to hang out with wonderbolts if they can't even hear me? I need to find some a way to get their attention again." Skye then said, "I don't know Dash, maybe you should just wait until they're finished. I'm sure they'll be done. . . eventually."

Dash shook her head, "No way, I said I was going to hang out with the Wonderbolts and I'm going to. I just need a way to get their attention." Dash then remembered how she got their attention before and got an idea. The look on her face got Skye more than a little bit worried, but he knew there was no talking her out of it.

He watched as she moved over to one of the waiter stallions who was holding a tray of drinks. She then rammed into him and sent him flying through the air. Skye couldn't help but drop his jaw as he saw this; he knew what she was thinking, but he didn't think she'd actually do it. Many of the other ponies looked up as they saw the poor stallion flying over head and falling.

They all watched as the rainbow mare zoomed after the stallion with her usual impressive show of speed and caught him on her back. She then looked forward to see that the Wonderbolts weren't even looking in her direction and didn't see a thing. This caused her great irritation as she tossed the stallion she had just 'saved' off her back.

Skye shook his head as he sighed. "This is going to be a long night."

Back in the Main Entrance Hall:

Things were not going much better for Twilight as her mentor she wanted to spend time with and catch up with was so busy greeting the many guests arriving that she had no time to speak or even turn to her for more than a few seconds. Twilight tried again and again, only for the princess to turn back to yet another arriving guest. She hung her head in disappointment as she tried to wait for her chance.

Pyro on the other claw was actually having a good time. He was using this chance to speak to nobility of Equestria and make a good social standing for himself and his friends. He figured making connections here would be beneficial in future. He was having a very delightful conversation with fancy pants and a few others that had joined in. They had moved from one topic to another such as his arrival, his mystic training, his compatirates, and finally his world itself.

"And so the land itself is treasure trove of mystery and discovery. You never know what you might find or encounter there. My friends and I have found many ancient artifacts and rare mystical items on many of our adventures, allowing us to take journeys into our heritage and our history."

Many of the nobles were completely entranced by the dragon king's stories, Fancy Pants especially. "I must say your majesty, your home sounds like an absolutely remarkable place. I simply must see it for myself one of these days." The armored crimson dragon smiled and replied, "Please, call my Pyro, and I'm sure I could arrange that in the near future. Although I must insist you not bring too much luggage with you."

"Oh, why is that?" "You may come to love my land so much, you won't want to leave." The white stallion and the others couldn't help but chuckle to themselves at the young king's sense of humor. Fancy Pants then looked down at his clock and before a shocked expression came to his face. "Oh dear, is it that late already. Forgive Pyro, but I must be off. I'm meeting someone here and I do love to be punctual." "Of course, I understand."

With that Fancy Pants and the others nobles were on their way, leaving the dragon king alone. He then then turned around to see how Twilight was doing, and was shocked to see her sad and disappointed face. He walked over to her and asked, "Twilight, what's wrong?"

She sighed before saying, "I wanted to spend some time with Princess Celestia and catch up on everything we've done and learned, but she's so busy with the greetings, she can't even turn in my direction for more than five seconds. (sigh) I don't think I'll be able to talk to her at all until she's greeted everypony here."

Seeing the look on his instructors face filled the fire dragon with quite the large amount of pity. He then put a light smile on his face as he turned to Celestia. "Princess-" She turned to him and said, "How about you take a quick break and go and catch up with Twilight. I know you both have been looking forward to this night for a while."

"Oh, I'd love to but, the guests." Pyro stepped forward and said, "I'll handle the greetings for a while. You two go ahead, I'm sure you have much to discuss." Celestia smiled and replied, "Thank you, Pyro. That is very kind of you." Twilight then turned to him only to see him smile and wink at her. She then figured it out and smiled back.

Celestia then stated, "Attention guests, I must step away for a moment, but do not fret. You will now be greeted by king of dragons Pyro Dracous." Pyro stood at the top of stairs with his chest out, beaming with confidence, pride, and honor. The ponies started to look at each other before continuing going up the stairs and greeting the new red dragon.

Pyro smiled as the first mare came up to him. He bowed respectively and said, "Good evening my lady. Please do enjoy the Lunar Gala." The mare smiled before bowing back and moving along. Celestia then stepped next to Twilight and said, "Come Twilight, I'm sure you have much to tell me and I can't wait to hear all about it." Twilight prepared to follow, but looked back as Pyro continued greeting.

She then zoomed back over and kissed his cheek, stunning the dragon for a moment. "Thank you" she whispered before zooming back over to Celestia. Pyro placed his paw on his cheek before smiling to himself and going back to greeting the arriving ponies.

However Twilight wasn't the only one of the mane six who needed help tonight. The other five did as well, and like they're king, it was time for the dragons to step in.

Back in the Clearing:

Applejack was still sitting behind her cart with a sad expression on her face. It had been over half an hour since she sold her pie, but nopony else was even turning in her wagons direction anymore. Ethan had come back around and saw this and decided it was now time to act.

"Hey Aj, how are the sales going?" She turned to him with a disappointed expression. "They're not sugar cube. All those hoity toity ponies are ignoring my food to eat that fancy shmancy food in there. I don't know what to do. Maybe ah should just pack it up and go."

"Oh come on Aj, you never give up this easily. Look, I know things seem bad, but that doesn't mean you can't turn it around. You always give it your best no matter what you do. That's what I like most about you." The apple mare couldn't help but smile as she continued to listen to her stallion/dragon friend.

"You can still sell, your food. You just need to work on the presentation. Shape the food to meet your client so to speak. Here let me have a look. Yeah, I can work with this. Give a few minutes, and I'll make sure those stuck up ponies won't be able to tell the difference." After thinking it over for a quick second, the farm mare decided she didn't have much to lose. "Well, ok sugarcube, have at it." With that, the earth stallion moved the cart and worked his magic.

The Earth dragon packed up the apple cart and left to do his work. Applejack watched as he left and waited for him to come back. He was gone for about thirty minutes at the most, leaving the earth pony bored and somewhat worried.

Ethan came back with Applejack's cart, getting her attention as she heard rolling. "You done sugar cube?" "Yep. Trust me, I think you and your customers will like these." Just as the earth dragon spoke those words, a customer approached and asked, "Excuse my lady, what horderves are you serving?" Ethan winked at her and answered, "My good sir, my employer has variety of delicious horderves to vacate your hunger. We have: Caramel Covered Fuji, Baked Honeycrisp, Chopped Ambrosia on a stick if you choose, Sugar Spread Braeburn, & Chocolate Circlet Cameo. Please take your pick sir."

"Well this all looks delicious. I'll take a few of those Baked Honeycrisps please?" Applejack smiled and replied, "Can do partner." With that Applejack made her next sale. As she did a mare came by and watched the Stallion walk off with a satisfied expressions as he ate the food. She too made her way to the cart and said, "Hello, oh these delicious. Do you two recommend anything?" Just as she asked a few more ponies were moving closer to have a look and a taste.

Applejack and Ethan turned to each other and smiled as they prepared to do business.

Back in the Dance Hall:

A certain pink party pony was still somewhat bummed out about her realization of the Lunar Gala. She was sitting alone at one of the nearby tables with a mopy look on her face. Conner hated seeing her like this more than anything and he had finally had enough.

"Pinkie, you ok?" She turned to him and said, "Yeah, I guess. It's just. . . well, this Lunar Gala isn't at all what I dreamed. Huff, I guess I'm just not the right party pony for this kind of party."

Conner scoughed and replied, "Aw come on Pinkie, these stuck up snobs wouldn't know a good party if it bit them in the flank. Listen, how about today you enjoy the party instead of making it. You said this was going to be the best night ever, well I'm determined to make that happen." Pinkie couldn't help but let a bright smile come to her face, which was exactly what Conner wanted to see.

She stood next to him as she asked, "Well… ok. So what should we do?" Conner looked out over the room and said, "Well there's an open dance floor, so how about we have some fun and bust a move." Pinkie smiled, grabbed his arm and spead off with him. "Ok, come on!"

"Whoa!" The two stopped in the middle of the dance floor. Pinkie smiled and said, "Ok let's dance!" Conner grabbed her and said, "Uh, how about we try to make this fun for everyone?" "Oh, um ok. What'd you have in mind?" Conner thought for a moment, something a little. . . live and peppy. Follow my lead." Conner made his way over to the musicians and told them to play a certain tune.

As soon as they started, everypony turned to the stage, before turning to the middle of the dance floor as Conner began singing with an auto tuned voice.

Move Your body, Out on the floor!

Put your troubles aside, And start livin'!

Anypony, Can let it go

Throw away all your problems, 'Cause right now is party time!

(Pinkie Smiles and begins dancing next to him.)

Girl, don't feel outta place, 'Cause I, I'm in love with this feeling now and I, Ihhh~I

Hope That this will last a while, We should make it last a while!

(Conner then motions to the other ponies in the room)

You like to drink, So do we!

(The ponies begin to smile as they begin to feel the pep of the song)

Get my bottles, bring 'em to me!

Hold your glasses Up, Equines everywhere!

(The ponies at the table hold their glasses up)

Now everypony, put your hooves in the air!

Say: Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

(The party ponies get excited and start dancing while others raise their hands in the air)

Girl I wanna, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!

I wanna see you tonight (ooh, Yeah)

(Pinkie Smiles as she sees the other ponies having fun and enjoying this Partay!)

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,Girl I gotta, I gotta, I gotta!

I gotta see you tonight!

Oh, Oh, Oh let me see your hooves!

Oh, Oh, Oh Tonight is the night!

The VIP Section:

While Pinki and Conner were partying in the in dancehall, Dash had kept trying to get the wonderbolts to notice her, with little success. Skye decided it was time to intervene and walked up to her.

"Look Dash, I know you want these guys to notice you, but I don't think saving ponies that you put in danger is going to end well for anyone. Besides you don't need to jump through hoops to talk to them. If they want to talk to you, they should be willing to move through a crowd like this to do so."

Dash smiled at the compliment, but it was soon replaced with a doubtful look. "Yeah but, these are the wonderbolts. I've looked up to them my whole life, and this was my chance to make in impression and hang out with them. That would have made this the best night ever for me. I mean, do you know how awesome they are?"

Skye shook his head, "No,-" Dash made a look of shock. ". . .but I know how awesome you are." That one sentence made her blush like crazy as a girly smile came to her face. Skye moved closer as he looked between Dash and the Wonderbolts. "Listen Dash, if you want to make an impression on these guys, just be yourself. I've been getting to know you for a while and if you ask me, they would be lucky to get to know the Rainbow Dash I have."

Rainbow Dash smiled as a bright blush appeared on her face, and one she didn't even try to hide. "Thanks Skye. So if I want to make an impression, and still have fun at this party, what should I do?" The sky blue dragon thought for a minute, and he got an idea. "Well, how about we dance?"

"Uh... How is dancing going to leave an impression?" Skye gave a knowing smile as he replied, "We'll do an air dance." "Huh?" she responded in a confused tone."

"Back in the dragon city, whenever we hold a formal event, some dragons pair up and do a dance together in the air. It's really amazing. It's a show of elegance and skill and it really shows off skilled someone's become in the air. You and I can do that to get the wonderbolts attention and you'll get a chance to show off some of your moves. Besides that, it'll be a lot more fun than what you're doing now."

The rainbow maned pegasus was a little unsure of what to do as she thought about her friends proposal. "Well. . . ah what the heck, let's do it." Skye smiled and motioned with his wing for Dash to follow him, which she did. The two made their way to the middle of the area. Skye then closed his eyes and summoned his wind, causing to swirl around the both of them. This started creating a harmonious sound, and also got the attention of the crowd.

The two began to circle one another as they touched their wings together. They stopped and turned touching their opposite wings together before splitting apart circling each other once again. As they did, they began to flap their wings until they opened their wings with one large flap and took to the air.

As they flew they continued to circle around each other, neither one taking their eyes off the other as they came closer together. Once they came close, they hooked their arms together and pulled in. Next they touched their remaining three hooves together before pushing and launching themselves to the opposite sides of the room.

In unison, they both flipped over curved back around, Skye banking left while Dash went right. The two matched each other's movements and speed perfectly as they began to circle each other again. As they circled each other they lined up, so that they were performing one big loop. They looped about four times and by now everypony was watching, including the Wonderbolts.

Whoa, look at that?

Amazing.

So elegant.

Beautiful flying.

More and more comments like those were being passed around as the duo continued flying. Finally they were ready to make a finale. Both of them came out of the loop and started circling each other horizontally. Suddenly they both stopped on opposite sides and flew straight up. As they reached the top their wings stopped and they just let themselves fall.

Everypony gasped as they watched flying duo fall towards the ground. As they were about seven feet above, the marble floor, they both expertly spun around, pulled up, hovered in the air, and finally touched down. The crowd had held its breath and was dead quite.

Finally they snapped out of it, and the entire V.I.P section erupted in cheers and whistles. The blue mare and stallion gave tow satisfied and confident grins as they bowed and soaked up the attention. As the crowd cheered for them, Dash looked over at her flight dance partner. She couldn't he not only came up with this idea to help her accomplish her dream of being with the Wonderbolts, but did it with her as well. She tried to fight the urge out of her usual tomboy ego, but eventually she just gave in. The rainbow maned pegasus leaned over and kissed his cheek.

This caught Skye off guard as he looked at her in surprise and confusion. She simply gave him one of her toothy grins and and laughed. He decided to just go along with it and smiled back. Both of their attentions were called in front of them as the Wonderbolts approached.

Sky spoke up first this time. "Wow, you guys were amazing out there." Spitfire chuckled and followed up, "I gotta admit, that was some pretty nice flying. Mind telling us about those maneuvers you two pulled. I think we could use a few of them in our next air show. We were just about to sit down and have a bite." The blue duo smiled with mission accomplished looks on their faces. Dash smiled her usual fan girl smile while Skye said, "Sure, that sounds great."

With that all four of them went to one of the nearby tables and waited to be served as they talked.

Back in the Garden:

Razor and Fluttershy were both sitting in a clearing they had found in the garden and were surrounded by trees. They were both sitting right in front of each other as Razor gave his cream colored date instruction.

"Alright Fluttershy, just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and clear your mind. Now stay perfectly calm and listen. Listen to the sound of your own heartbeat. Once you can hear it, let your hearing broaden out."

The pegasus did as she was told and listened. As her hearing broadened out, she could hear them. She could hear all the animals scurrying along the ground, the birds flying overhead, and even the still breathing of the animals that weren't moving at all. "I-I can hear them. I can. . feel them too. So now what?"

"Now that you know that they're there, you let them come to you." She looked at him quizzically as she asked, "How?" He leaned in closer and said, "By being yourself. What do you do for your critters at home to make them relax." Finally Fluttershy peaced together what the stallion before her was trying to tell her. "I-I sing."

"Then sing."

She then made her classic nervous expression as she said, "Oh, I don't know. What if they don't like my singing? And singing out here, where somepony might hear me, well it just. . . makes me. . . nervous." Razor put his paw over her hoof, getting her to look up at him. "Then I'll sing with you this time." She blushed as she made surprised expression; never before had someone offered to sing with her, that and she never thought he would.

True to his word, Razor opened his mouth and began singing.

Razor: Look at the sky, tell me what do you see.

Just close your eyes and describe it to me.

The heavens are sparkling with starlight tonight.

(Razor brushes Fluttershy's hair out of her face allowing him to see all of her face and look into her beautiful blue eyes, she blushes and smiles at him.)

That's what I see through your eyes.

(Fluttershy grabs hold of his hoof with her own as she sings)

Fluttershy: I see the heavens each time that you smile.

I hear your heartbeat just go on for miles.

And suddenly I know why life is worthwhile.

That's what I see through your eyes.

(The animals are entranced by the singing and many of them begin to come out of hiding and come closer as they continue)

Together: That's what I see through your eyes.

(Razor points and Fluttershy sees the critters had finally come out. He then takes her hoof and leads her through the garden as they look and see them all)

Together: Here in the night, I see the sun.

Here in the dark, our two hearts are one.

It's out of our hands, we can't stop what we have begun.

And love just took me by surprise, looking through your eyes.

(The two come to a clearing where the moonlight shines down on them like a spotlight)

(Razor takes Fluttershy's hoof and the two begin to dance as the critters continue to gather around)

Together: I see a night I wish could last forever.

I see a world we're meant to see togethee~rr~rr.

And it is so much more than I remembee~rr~rr.

(Fluttershy Nuzzles into Razor's neck as he embraces her with his left front paw)

(Two birds fly in circles around their heads as they continue their song)

Razor: More than I remember.

Fluttershy: More than I have kno~oowoo~on.

(The two sit down in the clearing as the critters and creatures come closer, and they continue to sing)

Together: Here in the night, I see the sun.

Here in the dark, our two hearts are one.

(Many of the critters come and sit alongside and around the two singing figures)

It's out of our hands, we can't stop what we have beguu~uu~nn.

And love just took me by surprise, looking through your eeyy~yy~eeeess.

Together: Loo~ooking throo~oo~uugh yoo~oo~uurrrr eyeeees~ss.

(Fluttershy and Razor look into each other's eyes as they sing their last note)

As the last note is sung, the two are in a world of their own, as they gaze into each others eyes. Soon their smiles disappear from their faces as they both realised they were feeling the exact same thing. Razor cleared his throat so he could speak. "Um, Fluttershy?" "Yes?"

"I uhm I… (inhale)(exhale)... I love you."

Her eyes shot as wide as they possibly could as those words echoed in her ears again and again. Words that she thought, she'd never hear from anyone. Tears soon came to her eyes as did the happiest smile she could give. She looked into his eyes and without a moment's hesitation, she gave him her answer, "I love you too."

"I know."

She looked at him skeptically and said, "You read my mind?"

"No…" He wipes away her tears and brushes her hair aside, as he continued, "I didn't have to this time. I could already feel it." He placed his paw down and leaned closer, to which she responded by closing her eyes and leaning up; bringing their lips together, the two shared a kiss of true love underneath the light of the full moon.

Unknown to the two of them, as they came together, a new light began to glow from inside the both of them.

Back in the Main Hall:

While a fairy tale love was happening for one couple, another couldn't be further from it if they tried. Instead of meeting her prince charming at the Gala, to Rarity it felt like she met her evil Stepmother, or in this case obnoxious and annoying Stepfather. Prince Blueblood had been a total pain in her flank all night, and had not acted even the least bit chivalrous, gentlemanly, or even polite all night.

While they were outside, he took a cushioned seat for himself, he almost forced her to take off her cloak to soak water so he could walk past some spilled water, and almost made her open the door for him. Why almost? Well Despite the obvious lack of treating a lady as such, somepony or rather one dragon had been acting very gentlemanly that evening.

Slash had been keeping an eye on Rarity and his royal pain since the rose incident, and he was very annoyed with how this so called prince was treating Rarity. He decided that if this so called prince wouldn't treat Rarity like the lady she was, than he would.

After Blueblood took the last cushion for himself, Slash offered her his own. She was going to object, but he held out his paw and said, "Ms. Rarity, don't worry about it, really. I'm a dragon. I sit on grass all the time. Please take it." Feeling it would be bad manners not to, she accepted the kind gesture. Afterwards when they came to the spilled water, as Rarity prepared to remove her cloak, he let a quick puff of fire and evaporated it. "Ah, that's better, wouldn't want anypony slipping on that, or ruining such a lovely cloak, now would we." Rarity smiled and watched Slash as he left, but scowled as Blueblood thanked him said, "Why thank you Mr. Dragon. I would have simply hated to get my hooves or my cloak wet." Finally at the door, Slash moved passed both of them and opened it himself. "Sir, madam." To which they both stepped through.

As the fashion mare passed the purple and green dragon he cracked an eye open and winked. She smiled as she walked passed him and thought, 'Oh my that dragon is quite the gentleman, unlike this pompous arrogant mule. Maybe. . I should-' Her train of thought was interrupted as they entered the ball room.

The entire room was completely filled with ponies dancing and having a good time, and at the center were Conner and Pinkie singing and dancing together. They're cheerfulness and energy had spread like wildfire and now everypony was cutting a rug, either alone or with their dates.

Rarity smiled as she saw this. "Oh my." Prince Blueblood however didn't seem as amused. As a matter of fact he looked appalled. "What is this? Galas are meant to be civilised gatheirngs, not some rambunctious sideshow." The annoyed white mare simply rolled her eyes at his comment.

Just then, a food server came out with what looked like a very well made and delicious looking chocolate cake came into the room and was heading for the serving table. As he moved through the crowd, one of the stallions accidently bumped into him, making him lose his balance. Then another slammed into him sending the cake flying into the air, right at the white furred couple.

Rarity and Blueblood looked up in shock as they saw the incoming cake. On instinct to protect himself and his appearance, Blueblood grabbed Rarity and pulled her in front of him to take the hit. Rarity shut her eyes as she waited for the blow, but a purple and green blur suddenly appeared, and shielded her.

As the unicorn opened her eyes, she felt someone hold her. She looked up to see that it was none other than Slash who had swooped in, grabbed her, and shielded her from the cake.

"Slash? Y-you saved me and my dress. Thank you. Oh but your armour. It's ruined."

"What this? It's just cake. No harm done." Breathes fire on himself, burning the cake off the armour. "Besides, you made that dress yourself didn't you? It would be horrible if it got ruined. Besides, saving beautiful damsels in distress is kind of my side job."

"Oh really? Well this damsels would like to repay her knight in shining armour with a dance." Slash smiled and replied, "Sounds good to me." He offered his arm to her and she gladly took it. They both stopped and made annoyed looks as the heard a certain prince's voice. "Ms. Rarity, where are you going? Surely you're not leaving I, a prince for this. . dragon?"

Rarity let out a hard sigh as turned to Slash, "Give me a moment darling." She then marched up to said prince and cleared her throat. "You sir, are the most annoying, arrogant, and completely uncharming stallion I have ever had the displeasure of meeting." She turned with a huff and went back to Slash. She then turned back and said, "Oh, and the only 'royal' thing about you is that you are a royal pain. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to spend some time with a real gentleman. Hmph!"

The prince was left stunned, mouth agape as he watched his date walk off with an armoured dragon. Said dragon was screaming 'Yes, yes, yes in his mind, at that very moment.' He did his best to keep composed, but could not fight the grin that had come to his face.

As he the two walked, the other of the mane six had all made their way into the dance hall, each of them being accompanied by their dragons, all except Twilight who was with the Princess. They all met up in the middle as the party continued to go on around them. Apple Jack was the first to speak as they all came together.

"Well, ah don't know about yall, but ah've had a very good night here." To that they all nodded in agreement.

Fluttershy spoke next as she rested her head on Razor's shoulder, "Oh yes. It was magical."

Pinkie Pie who was bouncing up and down next to Conner, "Yeah. Thanks to Conner, we made this party super duper fun." The lightning dragon couldn't help but chuckle at that comment.

Twilight, "Yeah, thanks to Pyro, I managed to get exactly what I wanted tonight. He even got mingle with a few of the figureheads in Canterlot, which definitely help in the future."

Rainbow Dash spoke next as she looked over at Skye with a smile on her face, "Yeah, things turned out pretty cool for me too."

The princess chuckled as she said, "Well I'm glad to hear that you all enjoyed tonight. Still, the Lunar Gala's not over yet girls. There's still the banquet."

They asked at once, "Banquet?"

"Yes. Oh aaa~nd there's also a little surprise that I think you'll be. . . well surprised by. They'll be announcing it guess who's announcing it."

As they were about to guess who would be announcing, the sound of horns blowing caught the attention of everypony in attendance of the Gala. As they all turned to the source of horns, they saw that it was the Royal Batpony Night Guard that served princess Luna. One of them stepped forward and spoke aloud, so he could be heard by all.

"Announcing the arrival of her highness Princess Luna, and her betrothed Prince Jordan!"

All: WHAT?!

That's right people, this story is still going on and I left you with one heck of a cliffhanger. Now, I know this one took a while, and I won't be able to do the next one any faster because I'm going to be a little busy for a while, but I hope you all enjoyed this one and continue to read when I update. Please like my story and continue to leave comments so I can keep writing. This one is to all my loyal fans out there. Next time Lunar Gala Part 2: A Tale of Loyalty.