Author's Note: Chapter 1 of 2.

It was a dreary, dreary day in the city of Manehattan, the kind of dreary that had long settled into the residents' bones. Everything felt gray, from the dense, dark clouds to the littered remnants of tobacco long stained into the sidewalk. It was cold too, with several of the past days embittering the streets with frost. And on this particular dreary day, a yellow pegasus was making her way slowly to a grand, showy party that was lighting up the depressing winter.

She could see it from a distance. The party was taking place in a tall, wide stone building with pillars lining the top of the ruler-straight steps. It was one of many venues bought out by a prospecting businessman, who'd used his considerable wealth to turn it from a bank to a hotel. Bright lights were shining through the windows to signify a party was going on, although the pegasus knew it wasn't strictly formal. The host ran the lights all day and all night, just as he frequently beaconed his high-rise condo.

Before she reached the steps, the pegasus hesitated. She looked down at the clothes she'd donned for the party, a flowy, mostly green dress and shoes that had been made haute couture. There was nothing wrong with it, but looking at it still made her lip turn. A friend had made this dress from blueprint to finish, but all of the pegasus' closest friends had left long ago, uprooted from their jobs or searching for answers as to why the Equestria they knew had become so…well, dreary.

But she'd made it, despite all her anxiety for formal functions, despite that cursed shyness her parents had named her for—Mom, Dad, why would you do that?—that practically defined her. The pegasus now nearing the stairs was named Fluttershy, and she was beginning to wish she had stayed home.

The double doors opened, and stallion in a three-piece suit waved her in. "Fluttershy!" Fluttershy, come in, dear, you must be freezing," he said as Fluttershy ran up to meet him.

"Terrible cold," said the unicorn. He tilted his chin up, held out a hoof in formal poise. "I am Cecil Richerford, as you know. Good to have you at the party." His silken blond mane was coiffed around his horn and beck, going well with his red fur. He seemed exceptionally polished that night, although Fluttershy wouldn't know, since she'd only met him once before.

She hesitated before shaking his hoof. Something about standing on those steps didn't seem right. They parted the shake, and he turned around to walk with her into the bright light of the party.

Other guests were already inside, but Fluttershy still heard the patter of her hooves echo across the vast floor. The entrance of the hotel could easily be turned into a ballroom, if you moved the tables that were set up. A stage was on the far-right side of the room, its curtain rich velvet; paintings were spaced along the walls in exact measurement, which some guests perused near the tall, winding staircase leading to the first level of rooms.

"Took half a million to set up this room alone," Richerford mentioned, listing off the features with conversational satisfaction. "Tailored rug for the staircase in the plushest fabric supplied, paintings I didn't already have, the polish on the glass displays, and the chandelier, of course."

He waited for her to be impressed. She said, "Oh, wow. You have expensive tastes, sir."

"Nothing's too expensive for a gala like this," he replied. "You won't believe, I almost had a whole display of multinational tapestries hanging off those walls there, but Expressway Global was running late on the shipment. A shame—I take pride in the diversity of my hosting experience."

Fluttershy looked around to the guests who were already there. They were mostly ponies, although a handful of other creatures dotted the room. They were all beautiful, wearing the finest of gown, sipping on drinks as they had quiet discussions or lingered over the art gallery. Fluttershy pictured—and imagined they really were—on the covers of business magazines.

Richerford moved in front of her. "Permit me to bestow a gift upon your most cherished presence," he said oozily, bowing as he held her hoof in his. He closed his eyes officiously as his horn began to glow. The mahogany aura reflected on his suit's breast pocket, which soon revealed a gold bracelet.

"I insist you wear it," said Richerford, magically sliding it over her hoof. It fit snugly on her ankle and was decorated with gems. "From one special pony to another." He gestured vaguely to the party. "Enjoy yourself, my dear. There's food, festivities, and entertainment in store tonight. Help yourself to some appetizers, if you so desire."

He went off to oversee other guests. Feeling a bit out of place, Fluttershy looked around the room again. On the other side of the room a griffin was moving toward a door that had to have been the entrance to the kitchen. He was clearly a staff member, based on his black and white uniform and how he was handling several dishes at once. He struggled to balance them all in his arms as a few guests stood talking nearby. None of them looked at him.

Fluttershy took a step toward him, but a small group of guests came drifting in her path, all gowns and jewelry and fancy hats. Since they were so much closer, she gave up to them. "Uh, hi," she said.

They stopped and, in an almost elegantly synced move, turned their heads. "Hello," said one of them, a tall gray mare. "You're Fluttershy, right?"

"Um, yes I am," she replied, self-consciousness kicking in.

The herd looked over her in another nearly synced, appraising move. "Feel free to join us," the gray mare said, to a few agreeing nods.

Fluttershy did. The group continued walking, picking up whatever conversation they were having. "I couldn't believe the Hayfields thought they could win the farmer's market competition," said another mare. "All scraggly, with this paltry stand of crops and eggs. No one would do business with them if they could help it. Next time instead of registering at the carnival, they should be a part of it!"

The group shared a round of derisive snickers. "My family would have kicked them out if we hadn't found a better venue in the Trotsfield Expo," said one of the stallions. "It's like the Grand Galloping Gala, only more VIP. Our carrots sold for five thousand dollars!"

"I'm friends with a lioness," mentioned the tall mare. "She loves the caviar from your fisheries."

"Shala Raye? From the movies? Oh, such a compliment!" said the stallion giddily.

By then they had reached the appetizer table, sprawled with a dozen foods atop a lace tablecloth. Fluttershy nibbled on a literally bite-sized piece of cake, and saw the griffin again. He was being sharply reprimanded by Richerford, who spoke with a furious scowl before pointing him back to the kitchen. The griffin's beak moved—Fluttershy was too far away to hear the words—and he turned around to trudge back through the door.

Richerford primped his mane, then turned around and smiled as he saw a particularly lavish unicorn. They walked off together for drinks, catching up on some animated chat.

Fluttershy was treated to a few weird looks when she used her cake plate to dish up some chips and hummus. "There's plenty of bowls, don't be shy," said one pony.

After everyone had loaded up on appetizers, the herd looked around for a booth. Clearly it was their booth—a placard was set there to mark their reservation. The engraved silver had been polished excessively shiny, to the point where Fluttershy squinted as they sat down. It was funny…almost. By now guests were steadily filing through the front doors, fanning out as Richerford welcomed them in from the cold.

Fluttershy had, in fact, the best hummus she'd ever tasted, and tried to look interested as the group continued discussing their businesses. It seemed to be a long, drawn-out competition of who had the most money and the biggest things, with casually-really-boastful namedrops as they recounted. No one seemed actually upset when Thornhike the earth pony had more assets than anyone; they simply enjoyed each other's company. Their elaborations were kind of like fishing tales. Except that theirs were all true. Fluttershy remembered fishing with her friend Spike once and felt a twist in her stomach.

The tall gray mare looked at her. "And what kind of things are you in charge of, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy looked down at the small bag looped around her shoulder. It held some money, some photos and trinkets, and a few vials of numbing medicine that she kept around. "I'm not in charge of anything. I certainly don't own the fourth-biggest merchandiser of collectible teapots," she said to the other mare, who did. "But I do work a lot with non-speaking animals. Mostly to ensure that they're cared for. I, uh, feel out of my league here."

"But you are the pony who represents the Element of Kindness too," said Thornhike the stallion. "That's what we were cajoling you for. Don't sell yourself short!"

Fluttershy didn't reciprocate his jolliness. The truth was, Cecil Richerford invited her because of her famous element. He told her to consider it a special invitation since she had, arguably, done the most good with her lessons in kindness and daring adventures. He'd stayed at her front door for some time, insisting and cajoling. She'd finally acquiesced, hushing her snarling wolves and side-eyeing bear, although she couldn't stop the woodpeckers she was taking care of from shooting out the door and stabbing like darts into the tree next to Richerford, one after the other. They'd told Fluttershy later that they meant to miss. She wasn't sure if she believed them.

By now a few more griffin employees had come into the party. They worked silently, restocking drinks and appetizers while always standing straight. All their feathers were black. Fluttershy thought they looked rather handsome in their black waistcoats and white polos, and wondered when her plus-one would arrive. Each invitee had the opportunity to bring along a friend, and she was sure hers would make her night more lively.

"Not every guest has arrived yet, but here are the menus for you to peruse." Richerford had appeared at the table and magically placed them in front of each guest. The name of the hotel, the Mane Soiree, was typed in fancy font on the front page, with a stencil of Richerford's bust grinning dapperly. Fluttershy opened it and quickly became dizzy from the selection.

"Don't worry about the prices. Tonight's gala is free," Richerford assured as the other ponies nodded at him. "A free night for the best of guests, provided for by our volunteer staff. Any fancy starters catch your eye, Fluttershy?"

She looked up at him, realizing she had started to breathe deeply. Was she that anxious already? What was she so anxious for? As she looked into Richerford's calm face an old chant from her childhood oddly rang in her ears: Fluttershy can't hardly fly.

"I'll check later. I'm still waiting for my plus-one," she said as she closed the menu.

"Well, I'll have some more of your bread and dip. It's divine," said the non-pony who had joined the table, a white Persian cat in a ruffled dress. "You! Bring me another bread!" she barked at a nearby waiter, who hurried off. She looked over him with an expression of disgust, then turned back to Fluttershy and smiled as though nothing had happened.

Fluttershy took a few seconds to realize her jaw had dropped, and closed it. Fluttershy can't hardly fly. "Nice talking to you. I'm gonna look at some of the paintings now."

They watched her go. "No need for shyness here," Thornhike murmured to himself. "We're all a part of the party here!" He sounded genuinely fond of her.

Fluttershy perused uncertainly around the paintings for a couple minutes, then walked timidly over to some activity at a double rack of clothes for guests to look through. "No one better bid on this," said an Afghan hound of a splendorous multicolored sundress. "I'll put down ten thousand, minimum!"

"I'll the take the whole left end!" bellowed a bearded brown stallion. The other guests laughed along with his jocularity.

"This selection is from the clothing emporium I secured a few days ago," mentioned another stallion, coat hangers clicking past him as he looked for something for a hyacinth macaw. "All the proceeds from the bidding will be donated to a hospital."

"You secured an entire clothing emporium? How did you do that?" asked Fluttershy.

"Why, I bought it," said the unicorn, looking surprised. "Wouldn't you?"

"Don't you know who you're talking to?" Fluttershy shirked, but the brown pony was talking to him. "That's Fluttershy, our special guest."

"Ohhh," they all said, regarding her with awed curiosity.

"Don't feel any less welcome," said the unicorn. "I'm Claud Rockefeller. If you see something you like, I can put it in to go to you. I do love your necklace," he went on. "One of a kind, right? Enviable."

Before leaving her cottage, Fluttershy had put on her Element of Harmony necklace. It made her feel like she was going to meet up with friends. She said nothing, remembering them. "Too shy? Well, you've always been the quiet one," said Claud, going back to the racks. He held up one dress with a wrinkle on his face. "Did that clumsy griffin poke a hole in this? I told Richerford it was silk. Let's bring it up during the auction," he said with a mean grin to the brown pony.

"Have you ever spoken to a griffin?" Fluttershy asked. "There's a traveling baker named Gustave le Grand…"

"That nobody? Pah."

Fluttershy had no more to say in their conversation, feeling any attempt to continue would be like talking to a brick wall. Instead she turned around to go back outside. It was cold, but waiting for her friend would have to be better than this.

She waited outside the door, freezing bitterly between the snowy streets and the friendly banter inside the hotel. She looked left, then right—and saw a tall, serpentine body peeking out at her from behind a pillar.

"Discord!" She smiled, for real.

"Flutters, I presume?" Discord revealed himself from the pillar, grinning as he looked several feet down at her. He was in his usual formal attire, an orange suit with a matching floppy hat. Tonight he'd added an extra item: an ill-fitting checkered scarf. "You haven't been out here too long, have you? I can't belieeeve a host would leave a guest out so long." He said it whimsically, smiling as he finished.

"I came out a few minutes ago to wait for you," said Fluttershy as Discord snapped a briefcase into existence and started covering her in baggy clothes. "I don't know any of the other guests. I thought I was about to keel over from them talking about how important they are."

At that moment Cecil Richerford came outside and saw Discord putting Fluttershy in clothes from the briefcase. "You weren't waiting that long!" he startled. "Fluttershy, you must ask if you need extra clothes—there's a closet in every hotel suite." He squared his hooves to look up at Discord, all the way to his head. "Our…distinguished guest," he said with a slight wince as he looked over Discord's mismatched body parts. "Come in when you're ready. A table has been set for the two of you. No need to linger at the entrance."

"You set up a table for us? Splendid," Discord said. Richerford had turned around, and now he went slightly rigid at Discord's teasing.

"Well, welcome to the party, Discord," said Richerford slowly. "I trust Fluttershy has told you to keep your magic at a minimum." He said it with a slow look over his shoulder, eyebrow raised.

Discord simply walked in with Fluttershy, leaving the briefcase and clothes on the stairs.

They stopped at the entryway, looking for their table. It was for two and a little farther off by the wall, since Fluttershy was, well, shy. She giggled at the sight of another shiny placard. "They must have it cleaned every half hour. I practically needed sunglasses."

"Ditto, my dear," said Discord, wearing a huge pair of them.

"I'm so glad you could make it. And good choice on the scarf. It clashes so well."

They caught up for a few minutes at the table, and then a griffin waiter came by. He walked at a steady pace, but rigidly, looking into the distance before reaching them. "May I interest you in some appetizers?" he asked, turning himself and the platter in his claws with exquisite timing.

Fluttershy paused. Looking up at the griffin, she couldn't help but notice how perfectly straight he was standing, even his wings, which were stiff at his sides. "Uh. I'll have the berry dish, please," she said, and the griffin handed it to her.

Discord had already swiped some oysters off the platter with his tail. The griffin paid no notice. "Enjoy your appetizers," he said.

"Thank you," Fluttershy called after him as he left.

He looked over his shoulder at her, then disappeared into the now restless party. The guests were expecting their menus soon and took it out on the workers, haranguing and lecturing them about not doing their job. Richerford appeared primly at Fluttershy's table with their menus, eyes literally closed to the scene going on behind him. "Take as long as you need to decide, treasured guests," he said. "You'll find my selection a feat to choose from."

"I like burgers. Surprise me with a burger," Discord said, putting his menu on his head. Richerford's cheeks began to redden, but he took it back and walked off as Fluttershy started reading hers. The Equestria dishes alone were four pages long. She closed the menu and started munching on her berry dish.

"Fruit and whipped cream, eh? The other day I found some golden cherries while walking through the chaos dimension," said Discord. "Not only were they hard to lift, I almost cracked a tooth!"

Fluttershy giggled. "I miss the chaos dimension."

She looked through the menu again and decided on an alfalfa salad. In the meantime, Discord was dabbing his lips from oyster juice with a cloth napkin he'd pulled out of his hoof. When he finished he wiped the napkin on the placard. He looked out to the rest of the party, and Fluttershy followed. She noticed again how everyone was so beautiful, so well-dressed, carrying themselves in ways of creatures of status. A few more griffins were out now, cleaning up messes and refilling appetizers. Fluttershy noticed how there weren't any griffins sitting at the tables, except for one with blue feathers. Everyone nearby looked as he loudly spat out a gulp of water.

"I asked for a lemon water!" he yelled at the waiter, his body contorting in rage. "This is nothing! It's like tap water!"

"Terribly sorry, sir," hurried the other griffin with a conciliatory bow. He went into the kitchen for a lemon water, the blue griffin turned to keep yelling after him. He slammed his glass down, making more of a mess than his initial outburst.

Shocked as well as curious, Fluttershy watched the reactions of the guests he was sitting with. A couple were smirking, a few—all ponies—looked at each other with brief judgment, and the rest didn't have a visible response. Fluttershy turned back to Discord and said, "Do you know him?"

"He's from a long line of textile suppliers and cruise line directors," Discord replied. "I overheard him with a pegasus as he was flying to the party. With his collection of yachts, jets, and trains, he feels like the ruler of land, sea, and sky."

Fluttershy started to feel dizzy again. "I'm gonna clear my head for a few minutes," she said, leaving the table.

She wasn't going back out to the cold, so she took a diagonal turn toward the stairs to the hotel rooms, where there weren't as many guests. Glamor and snobbery surrounded her the whole way.

The white Persian was having a conversation with a few non-ponies, about how ghastly it was to tour the sweatshops where most of their clothing was made. Everyone in the group tended to stick to a few retailers, including their own. "Advertising my line!" said a tapir with a humorous sashay of her hooves to her hip and cheek.

"And I love your earrings," said the ermine to the cat.

"You do? I traded some jade ones with a griffin family." The Persian flicked her head, admiring her pair of sapphires.

"I wonder if they have any gems," said the ermine with a trailing look toward one end of the room. A lone group of Diamond Dogs was sitting away from the rest of the party, dressed in simple suits and ties along with a cat. They seemed to have already chosen their dinner, as they were playing cards. Even from a distance Fluttershy could see their menus were thinner than hers. Each of them had two glasses, one for water and one for soda. There were no appetizer plates.

"Well," said the tapir slowly after a few seconds, "diversity is important."

Fluttershy was still looking at the cat, who was a little taller than the shortest Diamond Dog. He seemed like someone who'd walk among the rest of the party, but he was a little cross-eyed, and a snaggletooth poked out from the mouth of his brown mask.

"He grew up in the desert, right?" said the ermine. "An Abyssinian."

"A Siamese," said the Persian breezily.

A loud voice cut through the air, making Fluttershy jump. "Excuse me," said a griffiness to a group of ponies in front of her. Her claws were around the handle of a cart, stocked with used silverware and cloth napkins. "Excuse me. I need to move through."

Richerford was in the group. He turned to her, an air of sharp yet aloof disapproval in his upturned lip. "Stand up straight," he said. She did. "Look at me." She kept doing so. "Now, if these guests want to stand here, they can take their time," he lectured. "They are our guests. You can move around them, and if they want to move in that direction too, you can wait until they're out of the way."

A few seconds passed. "Yes, sir, I'm sorry," the griffiness said. Her voice ground and remolded into something more cheerful after the Yes. Still standing straight, she moved around the guests.

Fluttershy was close enough to see a black wrap around her arm—it was gauze. "Oh, is that an injury?" she asked, hurrying to walk beside her. "There's a numbing medicine in my bag, if you uh, want me to give you some."

The griffoness stopped, and turned an expression on Fluttershy that she couldn't read. "I'll be fine, sweetie," she said wearily. She hitched up the cart again and continued gathering used silverware.

She was doing so, it turned out, because Richerford was using different sets of silverware for different courses. Fluttershy went back to her table, where Discord had been surveying the party through a pair of spectacles on a stick, and gave her order when the host came by. Then she turned to watch the party along with Discord, wondering with a bad feeling in her stomach what would happen next.