Apple of Discord's Eye (Chapter 4)

The night of the grand Gala had finally arrived, and everypony was beyond excited for what would surely be an incredible celebration. Twilight and her friends boarded the train that would take them to the Crystal Empire, and their anticipation was eminent.

“I can’t wait I can’t wait I can’t wait I CAN’T WAIT!” chanted Pinkie as she bounded around the moving train, her party-themed dress bouncing with her.

“Thanks again for the new dresses, Rarity.” Twilight complimented, admiring how beautiful her friends looked tonight. She was especially impressed by her own dress, which was extra fancy, even for Rarity’s taste.

“Why of course, Twilight.” the unicorn replied with a humble smile. “I just had to make you a dress fit for a princess this time, since, well, you are one! And if I had to make a dress for you, then I simply couldn’t leave out anypony else.” Her own dress was shiny and magnificent, as always, accessorized with many-colored jewels.

“Aw man, this is gonna rock!” Rainbow declared, zipping around the train car with zeal as her rainbow dress fluttered behind her. “Did you guys know that the Wonderbolts are going to be there?!”

“Of course, I heard they’re putting on an airshow after the fireworks ceremony.” Twilight elaborated.

“And guess who gets to light the fireworks…again!” Spike grinned, adjusting his fancy bowtie with pride. He still felt like quite the celebrity to the Crystal Empire, and was certainly treated like one.

“I reckon this’ll be the best Gala we’ve ever gone to!” Applejack declared, adjusting her hat (which she insisted on wearing to any and all events, regardless of how formal, or how much Rarity protested).

“I certainly hope it’ll be better than the last Gala we all went to.” Rarity added with an unpleasant grimace. “That night was dreadful!”

Everypony nodded and murmured in agreement, shuddering at the terrible memory. This Gala would be different, however; it was far less formal, and the seven of them were even being commemorated for all the good they did for the Crystal Empire.

“Well, I’m especially excited to see all of my friends enjoying themselves.” Fluttershy said in a small voice, smiling brightly at their enthusiasm. “I’m certain this will be the night of everypony’s lives…even Discord’s!”

At the mention of his name, the train car fell silent abruptly. Fluttershy looked up to find that her friends were all staring at her, and she sheepishly put a hoof over her mouth. “Right…um…” she murmured in an even smaller voice. “Did nopony else know about that…?”

“I knew,” said Twilight after a moment. “I’m the one who made an invitation for him. I thought I was the only one who knew about it.”

“You too? I thought I was the only pony!” said Rarity. “He came to me asking for a last minute outfit.”

“And I taught him how to dance!” declared Pinkie with a grin as she bounded up and down.

Applejack exchanged a look with Rainbow Dash. “Does anypony else know what he wanted to go to the Gala for in the first place?” she asked. “He came to Dash and I asking for the strangest advice…”

“Something along the lines of how to ‘woo’ somepony, I’m guessing?” Rarity said with a roll of her eyes. “I could hardly believe it when he told me.”

“Who could have guessed that Discord had it in him to fall in love.” Rainbow said incredulously. “If you ask me, he’s making it all up.”

“Oh, why would he ever do that?” Fluttershy interjected. “I talked to him about it myself, I was sure he was sincere.”

“Fluttershy, do you maybe have an idea of who Discord has his eyes on?” asked Twilight, to which the pegasus shook her head.

“Whoever it is, I sure feel sorry for them.” Spike added.

“Spike!” The princess glared at him disapprovingly at the remark.

“What?” the dragon exclaimed. “Imagine Discord having a crush on you!”

“That would be pretty irritating…” Applejack agreed.

“Honestly I can’t imagine him falling in love with anypony except himself.” Rarity said.

“Maybe he found a mirror!”

The train car erupted into laughter at Rainbow’s comment—but not everypony was laughing. Fluttershy stepped out in the middle of the commotion, suddenly stomping her hooves and shouting.

“ENOUGH!”

Her command was very effective, and in an instant her six friends settled down, each taking a seat and remaining quiet. Looking around at everypony, Fluttershy took a deep breath to cool down. She truly hadn’t meant to shout, but the comments they had made were beyond rude, even if the subject of ridicule couldn’t hear them. The timid pegasus knew she would take any opportunity she could to stand up for a friend, even if that friend was Discord.

“Now,” she began, looking at everypony as seriously as she could. “I don’t want to hear another word of ridicule tonight. You all think it’s something to laugh at, but I for one think Discord is being very brave, showing his feelings like this. You should all be happy for him for finally showing some true signs of change.” She gave everypony a stern look for good measure, but suddenly blinked, softening her expression and cowering sheepishly. “W-Was that maybe too harsh? I’m sorry…”

“No, no, Fluttershy!” said Twilight reassuringly. “I think it needed to be said. He is our friend, after all…no matter how strange the idea is…”

“I think it's super sweet of him!” Pinky chimed in with a smile.

Fluttershy perked up at their change in tone, smiling. “That’s right. And we’re all going to give him the support and reassurance that he needs tonight.”

With that, the train gradually came to a halt—they had arrived at the Crystal Empire. That alone was enough to rekindle the excitement that had been lost along the way, and everypony filed out of the train with a smile on her face. Spike practically ran out ahead, hoping he could sneak in a moment or two on the way to the Gala to admire his favorite statue again.

~~~

The Gala was being held in an enormous crystal dance hall—still not large enough to hold everypony, so some of the party was going on outside, as well. Inside, there was a long balcony that wrapped around half of the circular enclosure, and four seats reserved in the center for the four princesses. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had taken their places already, while Cadence was presumably busy greeting guests. The beautiful structure had a partially open roof, as well, ensuring that everypony could see the aerial show and fireworks at the closing of the celebration. As the six friends trotted inside—with Spike lagging behind, already getting stopped by crystal ponies asking for autographs and pictures—they all admired the breathtaking room, especially the decorations. Twilight had been in charge of organizing everything, but that was mostly just technical things; she saw now for the first time how much Cadence had outdone herself with making the Gala look beautiful. Intricate ornaments of crystal hung from the ceiling, and any other conceivable place. The lights from the crystal chandeliers danced off the shiny, translucent gems, giving the effect of glimmering rainbows shooting out in all directions.

“Wow! I’ve never seen a crystal dance floor before!” Pinkie hopped around excitedly, admiring her reflection on the polished floor as the six mares stopped to take everything in.

“This is even more extravagant than I ever imagined!” said Rarity, to which everypony nodded in agreement.

AJ pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and looked straight up, marveling at the distance from the floor to the ceiling. “I didn’t even know they made dance halls this big…”

“It really is incredible…” Twilight remarked. “I can’t believe how well Cadence pulled it off!”

“Well, I had a little help.” The six friends turned around to find Princess Cadence trotting over to greet them with a cheery smile. “If Twilight hadn’t been such a great help with organization, I wouldn’t have had nearly as much time for decoration.”

The younger princess blushed at the compliment. “Haha, any time!"

Cadence smiled, looking around at Twilight's friends. The mares all seemed to be staying in the company of the two princesses for fear of coming off as rude if they all left too quickly. “I’m glad to hear how much you’re all liking the Gala. But please, go off and enjoy yourselves.” said Cadence, emphasizing the last part. With that, the five friends all smiled and thanked their hostess, breaking off in different directions.

“Let’s party!” Pinkie shouted, bounding off into the crowd.

“I’m gonna go find the Wonderbolts!” declared Rainbow, dashing off—though much slower than she would have liked, since Rarity didn’t make her dress very aerodynamic.

The shiest of the group scanned the crowd, as if she were looking for somepony. She fluttered a few feet above everyone else to get a better look, but still didn’t seem to find what she was looking for. Landing back on the floor gently, Fluttershy carefully weaved her way through the crowd, muttering an occasional “Excuse me!” or “Oh dear, pardon me!” as she disappeared in the mass of crystal ponies.

Applejack was scanning the crowd as well, but for a much different reason. Suddenly her eyes landed on what she was looking for, and she licked her lips hungrily at the sight of the horderves table. “I think I might grab myself a bite to eat.” she announced as she trotted off in that direction. “Surely not all of it can be hoity-toity fancy pony garbage...”

Rarity huffed when she overheard the comment, trailing behind her and muttering, “Some ponies just don’t know class when they see it…”

Twilight found that she was alone with her sister-in-law, which was more than alright with her.

“Aren’t you going to go off with your friends?” Cadence asked with an expectant smile. Twilight thought about it, but shook her head.

“I’m sure they’re all busy having a great time already.” she pointed out. “I know Spike has his hands full…”

They both looked into the crowd to find a group of crystal ponies gathered around in a circle, and the cluster was growing rapidly. It was impossible to see what the center of attention was, but they could clearly hear the little dragon shouting, “Alright, one at a time! One at a time! I know everypony wants an autographed picture with your hero, but you’ll have to form a line first!” Both princesses laughed at the spectacle.

“…Besides,” said Twilight after a moment. “I’d rather spend as much time as I can with my favorite sister in law. Preferably without any interruptions this time.”

Cadence chuckled. “If you’re referring to my last visit, I assure you the interruptions made it all the more fun for me.” She thought about it, then added, “Even with Discord and his nonsense.”

The younger princess smiled, grateful that her sister-in-law would always cherish the time they spent together, no matter who tried to mess it up. However, the mention of the infamous Spirit of Chaos reminded her of the change she had made to the guest list in secret, and suddenly Twilight grew very uneasy. She looked around for any sign of him, crossing her hooves that if he ever did show up, he wouldn’t draw too much attention to himself. She laughed nervously, turning back to Cadence. “Well thankfully he isn’t around this time, and we can just enjoy the party!” At least, she hoped so.

Just then, a section of the crowd erupted into gasps and the conversation was reduced to a perturbed mumbling as the crystal ponies cleared away from the main entrance. The new arrival strutted in without taking notice of his not-so-warm welcome, clad in a classy suit and top hat, and grinning ear to ear.

“Surprise, surprise, everypony!”

Twilight gritted her teeth and mentally cursed herself at the sound of the familiar voice, not bothering to turn around and see for herself. So much for hoping.

“Oh, there you are!” Fluttershy trotted into the space that the crowd had cleared, smiling up at her friend fondly. “And you look great!”

“Ah, thank you, Fluttershy!” Discord replied, greeting her with an equally friendly smile. She trotted close behind him as he made his way through the crowd. This didn’t take much effort, since everypony backed away as he came through, creating a wide path for him.

“Just look at how kind these crystal ponies are,” he pointed out, “They’re parting the crowd, just for me!”

Fluttershy laughed nervously at his feet. “Sure…um…how kind of them…” From her level, she could clearly see the frightened and uncomfortable expressions of everypony as they passed by, and she tried her best to ignore the tension he was already causing.

“Good evening, my dear princesses.” he said as he approached Twilight and Cadence. “What a splendid party you’ve put on!” With a snap of his fingers, his top hat was replaced with a colorful party hat, and a noisemaker appeared in his talons, which he blew on loudly.

“Welcome…we’re, um…glad you could make it.” Cadence greeted with a strained smile. “Though I guess I never expected you to come at all, since I don’t recall putting you on the guest list…”

“You can thank my dear friend Twilight for that!” Discord wrapped an arm around the smaller alicorn, who quickly wriggled out of his grasp, a look of sheer humiliated horror on her face. He promised not to tell anypony what she had done!

“Twilight?” asked Cadence, turning her attention towards her sister-in-law, confusion gracing her features. “Twilight, do you mind telling me what’s going on?”

The younger princess blushed and tried to play it off with a nervous laugh. She quickly pulled Cadence aside and out of earshot. Or, at least she thought they were out of earshot. One of Discord’s ears detached from his head and followed the princesses to eavesdrop.

“Okay, so I may have…added Discord to the guest list.” Twilight blurted out, muttering the last part so quickly that Cadence nearly missed it. She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Why would you…?”

“He was practically begging me!” said Twilight, sighing. “I know I shouldn’t have without your permission…but I don’t think we have any reason to worry. I mean, aside from a bit of harmless mischief here and there, he seems to be completely reformed…”

Cadence looked from Twilight to the uninvited party guest, whose ear snapped back in place before she could see. He had a halo over his head and an innocent smile plastered on his face. She sighed, and gave Twilight a small smile. “If you judge that nothing bad will come of this, then who am I to argue with your decision?”

The purple mare could only blink at the hostess in confusion, her ears flattened against her head in dismay. “So…you’re not mad at me for inviting somepony without permission?”

Cadence only shrugged indifferently. “The more the merrier, I suppose.”

“Thank you so much for your hospitality, Princess.” said Discord, leaning down to her level and grinning. She forced a polite smile in return.

“Glad to have you, Discord. Enjoy the Gala, now!” With that, she turned to leave, calling over her shoulder, “You’re welcome to join me in greeting the rest of the guests, Twilight.”

“One moment, please!” the young alicorn replied, waiting until Cadence was out of sight before yanking Discord down by the beard and glaring. “You had better be on you best behavior tonight!” she warned. “You nearly ruined everything already by blurting out the secret you promised to keep!”

He offered a toothy grin in response, and a pair of scissors appeared out of thin air, cutting his beard off to free him from her grasp. A new one grew back immediately as he stood to his full height. “You say that as if I’m not perfectly behaved already!”

Twilight dropped the hoofful of hair in disgust, looking up at him sternly. “One night, just one night of no chaos. If I so much as see one of your tricks, this is the last favor you’ll ever be getting from me.”

The chaos spirit sighed and rolled his eyes. “Very well, I can contain myself.” To demonstrate, he straightened his posture, folded his mismatched hands behind his back and tried to look as gentlemanly as possible. “Run along now, Princess Twilight. I believe our lovely hostess is waiting for you.” He smiled innocently as the alicorn gave him one last warning look before departing.

Just then, Discord felt a small tug on his tail, and he looked down to find Fluttershy trying to get his attention. She smiled, asking, “Is your special somepony here yet?”

He tensed up considerably at the reminder of why he came to the Gala in the first place, and quickly glanced over the crowd. The crystal ponies around them had noticeably grown more comfortable in his presence after seeing both princesses give him a warm welcome, and the party went on with the same liveliness as before. Discord scanned the Gala with his vibrant vermillion eyes, then turned his attention to the balcony above. He gulped back the ball of anxiety forming in his throat, disguising his apprehension with a smile.

“…She’s here.”

Not a moment later, everypony’s attention was directed towards the balcony as the other two princesses took their places. Cadence stepped forward to make an announcement, and the whole room fell silent in anticipation. “Ladies and gentlecolts,” she declared, “Crystal ponies and…guests…” The last word was spoken with a touch of unease, as she was reminded that not every guest at the Gala was technically an invited one. She quickly forgot about it and continued her speech. “It is my honor to welcome you all to the first annual celebration of the liberation of the Crystal Empire!” This earned an excited cheer from the crowd, and she waited for everypony to quiet down before continuing. “As you all know, today marks the anniversary of the day that King Sombra and his dark magic were defeated, and the Crystal Heart was returned. However, I cannot speak of such feats without congratulating the ponies…and dragon, who helped save the day.”

Suddenly, a large banner unrolled from the edge of the balcony, revealing the faces of each of the six mares from Ponyville. Spike’s image was in the center of the banner, and his face was the largest of all. The crowd roared and applauded again at the sight of their saviors. Somewhere in the crowd, fives mares were surely blushing at the recognition, and a certain dragon was beaming with pride at his sudden popularity.

Waiting for the crowd to settle again, Cadence continued, “On that note, let us celebrate in their name, and in the name of my great Empire!”

As the ponies cheered again, somewhere in the crowd a certain party pony bounced high into the air, exclaiming, “Let’s get this party started!” She dashed over to the orchestra, whispering something to the ponies playing on their instruments. The slow, calming music abruptly stopped, and they started to play a more vibrant tune, which quickly ignited the energy in the room. As a result, the center of the floor cleared out, and some ponies started dancing.

Somewhere in the sidelines, Fluttershy nudged Discord and grinned. “This is your chance!” she told him. “Do you see her anywhere?”

The draconequus bit his lip, staring into the crowd with a sudden apprehension. He only snapped out of it when Fluttery nudged him again.

“Discord…?”

“I…um…” he blurted out, searching the room frantically for an excuse, before his eyes landed on the table of refreshments on the other side of the room. “I think I see her over by the punch bowl!” With that, Discord disappeared in a flash, leaving Fluttershy alone to wonder about his sudden change in attitude.

Meanwhile, Twilight was making her way back down from the balcony, when she spotted her brother in the crowd, wearing a fancy suit and seemingly looking for somepony. Grinning, she trotted over to greet him.

“Shining Armor!”

The prince turned at the sound of his name, smiling brightly at the sight of his sister. “Twiley!” He wrapped his hooves around her in a quick hug, chuckling. “Enjoying the Gala?”

The two siblings engaged in conversation, catching up on each other’s lives. Twilight talked about her new position as a princess and he teased her about finally getting a castle of her own, asking if she needed a good guard. They laughed about it, but their conversation was cut short when Shining Armor noticed Cadence, who was beckoning him onto the dance floor.

“Sorry, Twi.” he said, offering an apologetic smile. “Find me again later!” He trotted away to join his wife in a dance, and his little sister smiled warmly at the sight of the happy couple.

On the other side of the room, Fluttershy was circling the refreshments table, looking around for Discord. The mismatched draconequus was hard to lose in a crowd of ponies…where could he be? The pegasus stopped when she heard a startled shriek from nearby, and went to investigate. One of the ponies had tried to pour herself some punch from the punch bowl, but had screamed, dropped the ladle, and ran away when she noticed something swimming in it.  Fluttershy peered over to find a miniaturized Discord, equipped with goggles and arm floaties, swimming around the bowl as if it were his own personal swimming pool.

“Discord!” she cried out. Upon noticing Fluttershy, he peeked his head out of the bowl and quickly turned back to his full size, breaking the bowl in the process and splashing punch everywhere. The ponies around them, now startled and soaked, quickly left the vicinity, some out of fright, some angrily trotting away. He shouted out an apology, turning back to Fluttershy with an unconvincing smile.

The yellow mare only sighed at his predictable antics. “You promised no chaos.” she reminded him.

“Well where else was I supposed to hide?” he asked, to which Fluttershy raised a curious eyebrow.

“Hide..?”

“Uh…I mean…” he blurted out quickly, racking his brain for another lie. “I mean, how else was I supposed to bide my time while waiting for the right song to come on?”

“Hmm…” Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin in though, looking around. Where was this supposed crush of his, anyway? “Have you even talked to her yet?” she asked.

Discord tried to think up another excuse, but he could only shake his head. The pegasus looked him over, noticing the signs of uneasiness that she was all too familiar with. His tail twitched, he averted his gaze, his ears drooped, and he was making up far too many excuses. Fluttershy had to admit it was strange to see her friend, who was usually so spontaneous and confident, suddenly so out of sorts. She offered a reassuring smile, and said in a sweet voice, “If you’re too nervous, I could come with you.”

“Nervous?” he asked, producing a sudden outburst of laughter that came too quickly to be genuine. “Who’s nervous? Certainly not me!”

Fluttershy sighed. “Alright, then. Maybe you should find your special somepony and start with some small talk to break the ice, if you don’t feel like dancing quite yet.”

“Oh, well, I don’t know if I should—”

“In fact, I’ll come with you!” she declared, convinced that her presence would help calm him down enough to pull it off. “Now, if you would kindly point out where she is, exactly—”

“Hey! What’s that over there?” he blurted out before she could finish, pointing to one of the doors leading outside. “Is that a rare spotted blue-tailed hummingbird I see?”

The pegasus gasped in an uncharacteristic bout of excitement, following his gaze. “I’ve been trying to get a glimpse at a bird of that rare exotic species for weeks!” She quickly fluttered outside, and Discord sighed in relief.

“All right, all you Gala-goers!” Pinkie shouted, standing by the orchestra and grabbing a microphone. “This next song goes out to all you lovebirds out there, so grab your partner and get out on that dance floor!” At her command, the orchestra changed the song once again, playing a slow, romantic tune—something easy to sway to.

Pinkie looked out into the room full of ponies and seemed to catch Discord’s eye immediately, winking at him. He gulped, slinking to the back of the crowd again.

Gradually, couples started to make their way onto the dance floor, swaying and twirling to the amorous waltz. Cadence and Shining Armor were the center of attention, and many ponies cheered them on as the charming stallion dipped his wife down, dancing expertly. Twilight shouted and applauded the loudest. She had no idea how well her brother could dance! Soon the floor was crowded with dancing lovers and onlookers. There was a whole line of crystal ponies waiting for a dance with Spike, but he had his eyes on a certain fashion-forward unicorn. When he saw that she already had a handsome crystal stallion by her side, however, he sighed, addressing his crowd of fans again.

Discord was practically biting his talons off when Fluttershy appeared beside him again, with a content expression and a beautiful blue bird sitting on her head. “I found it!” she declared. “And isn’t he a little sweetheart?” The hummingbird chirped in agreement, pecking at the fake flowers weaved into her hair.

However, Discord was too busy staring into the dancing crowd to pay attention to Fluttershy. Noticing this, she gave him a small tap with her hoof, hoping her kindness would reassure him. “Weren’t you waiting for a slow song?” she asked.

“I…um…”

“Then go on.” She gently coaxed him forward, nudging him onto the dance floor. “Go out there and find the pony of your dreams! I know you have it in you!”

Discord gulped, straightening the bowtie on his suit and nervously searching the crowd. His eyes settled on two ponies on the other side of the room, standing just outside of the crowd, at the edge of the dance floor. There stood Celestia and Luna, who were watching the dancers enjoy themselves, especially Cadence and her husband. Discord realized that there was absolutely no going back now, he had put it off long enough already. Slowly, he began to cross the room. What was he so afraid of? He weaved his way through the dancing couples, sticking out like a giant, colorful sore thumb. He became hyperaware of how many ponies would be watching and how blatantly he stood out in a crowd. The dance floor was behind him now and they were right there, surely they would notice him approaching. A romantic melody swelled through the air, and he suddenly realized that that was definitely his heart beating in his ears, not the music.

The two princesses, who had been chatting about the Gala, suddenly looked up to find Discord obstructing their view of the dance floor. They had spotted him earlier lurking around the party, and were surprised he had been invited at all, even skeptical that he had permission to be there. However, they had both brushed it off, for he had proved himself to be trustworthy, and they found no reason to be troubled by his presence. Now he stood before them, and the sisters gave him the best smiles they could muster.

“Discord,” began Celestia. “We certainly didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Enjoying the Gala?” asked Luna.

The nervous draconequus could barely manage a nod, finding it difficult to meet either pair of eyes, and not even daring to look at Celestia. He glanced around to find that many ponies had stopped to watch this odd encounter between the princesses and their old enemy. Even more  unnerved by this, he gulped, finding that the only thought that calmed him down was Fluttershy and her encouraging words.

I know you have it in you!

Sighing and taking a deep, calming breath, Discord was finally able to get ahold of himself. Yes, he could do it. He was the Spirit of Chaos, for crying out loud! Of course he had it in him!

Celestia and Luna exchanged an uncertain glance at Discord’s uncharacteristically anxious demeanor. “What was it that you wanted…?” asked the Princess of the Sun. Discord finally made eye contact, and her eyes glistened brighter than any crystal in the room, no, in the whole Empire, and no, no he definitely couldn’t do it, every nerve in his body was telling him to flee and everypony was watching and what was he thinking?

“I was only wondering if you would do me the great honor of sparing me a dance, my dear Princess?” He knew he had finally spoken, but he felt like he hadn’t physically moved his lips at all, like he was in a dream. Regaining some of his composure, he held out his lion paw to her, managing to give her a genuine, almost pleading smile.

Now the entire room was watching. The dancing had stopped, the music had stopped, all conversation had stopped, and everypony’s eyes were locked on the princess and her former adversary in absolute shock. Even Luna was wide-eyed, looking back and forth between them as everyone waiting for an answer, a reaction, something.

Celestia was as still as if she had been turned into stone. The request rolled around in her mind, and she found that all she could do was stare at the outstretched lion paw wordlessly as her thoughts spun out of control. A bouquet of flowers was different, flowers she could handle. That gesture was easy to brush off as a simple act of kindness, an apology, a gift between friends. This was far more intimate, however, and when she could finally bring herself to look back at those bright red eyes, she saw a pleading in them that was brand new and yet all too familiar to her. It was all too much for the princess to bear, and without thinking, she turned and fled the Gala.

The on-looking ponies reeled back in awe as they watched the Princess of Equestria herself leave the Gala. Now it was Discord’s turn to feel like he had been turned to stone, again, as he watched every sliver of hope he had clung to all evening shatter to pieces.

“Sister!” Luna called out, running after Celestia, but before she could catch up, the older alicorn had vanished, most likely having already teleported back to their castle.

As the object of the crowd’s attention disappeared, all eyes turned to the rejected Spirit of Chaos. His outstretched paw slowly dropped to his side, and he was suddenly aware of warm tears spilling down his cheeks. He thought he heard Fluttershy’s concerned voice calling his name from somewhere nearby, but before she or anypony else could attempt to reach him, he too vanished out of thin air.

The initial shock slowly died away, and the Gala came alive with excited, confused murmurs amongst the mass of ponies. The tension in the air was thick enough to suffocate in.

Twilight found Cadence, rushing over and blurting out a hurried apology.

“You have no reason to apologize, Twilight.” she assured her, though the displeasure in her tone was evident.

“But I’m the one who invited him, and now this happened, and…” Twilight lowered her head ashamedly. “I honestly had no idea this was going to happen…and now the whole Gala is ruined!”

Cadence only shook her head, sighing. “I know your intentions were good, you couldn’t have anticipated anything like this happening.” She looked in the direction that Celestia had fled, her ears flattening against her head. “…I don’t think anypony could have predicted this.”