open Strange Tales of the Equestrian Idiot RP Thread (See OOC to join!)

[Taialin 217]

@@Hypn0ticD, @@Randimaxis, @@Derplight Sperkle, @@Zhooves, @@GeneralDirection, @@Yoshi89, @@DwhitetheGamer, @
It was the sleep of the just. She never slept the sleep of the just. It was a trance of nothingness where time held no meaning; whether an hour passed or a day, she had no understanding of it. Perhaps it could be a very special type of lucid dreaming, one where there was no dream nor consciousness. Just existence in an endless sky of window panes. It was a curious Zen look at reality, and it was one she knew she'd probably never get the chance to see again.
 
She'd take every moment.
 

---

 
Celestia felt an odd twinge, one that she very rarely felt. Like somepony had stumbled into someplace they shouldn't have been. And a bit more visceral than that feeling she got when Luna snuck into her room. She twitched in discomfort. Even so, there wasn't much time to muse on that feeling; there was a summit of humans to attend to.
 
Applejack directed the flow of ponies and where they were to carry the gifts, and Celestia quite happily followed along. It was a very rare moment indeed when she was able to relinquish leadership and just follow along for a little while. Instead of going to the castle, Applejack quite logically directed everypony back to the humans' abode. Once they arrived, Celestia set down her gifts and took stock of her other foreign visitor.
 
This one seemed significantly less exuberant than Colette did. He seemed downright timid, in fact, ducking behind his otherworldly computing machine and not allowing others to see his face. This was more the type that Celestia was expecting from the humans: cautious but optimistic about what they would see, and perhaps open to new experiences. This one, perhaps, would be easier to handle.
 
Colette began unpacking her gifts, starting with the heaviest one, the one that Applejack herself was carrying. But as soon as Colette opened the box and pulled out what was inside, Celestia felt that odd twinge again, this time much more intensely. She closed her eyes and retreated a few steps, and she put a hoof to her temple, a rare headache coming on. It really was quite peculiar. Celestia really would have rather not looked away at such a time—it could be seen as a rather rude gesture—but even an alicorn could not resist base pony instincts. Only once had a headache of this caliber attacked her before, and it was when her protégée made her own magic and proved her readiness to be a princess . . .
 

---

 
Memories of yesterday, years ago, and times forgotten flashed through her eyes like wisps of pollen on the wind. It was incredible; she had never seen something like this before. The barest thought she had to recall a long-lost memory, and it came flying towards her, showing itself in perfect clarity. It really was a place where time meant nothing. She stood at the center, the only material thing in this realm, surrounded by circling window panes showing her the moments in her past that led up to this one. Her entire being was disseminated before her.
 

". . . gonna come to me . . ."

 
The images started to shake and become unclear, as if viewed through a blanket of thick fog. She willed the panes to come closer and behave themselves, but when she did so, all they did was shatter, casting the window and the memory held inside to the ether.
 

". . . anything and everything . . ."

 
The shaking grew more violent until the images disappeared completely, and she felt the sensation of weightlessness grip her. It was a terrifying: to be, just moments ago, in a realm of endless sky where bodily needs meant nothing and memories were at her beck and call, and the next, to be falling in endless void, no promise to an end to that falling in sight.
 

" . . . 'cause I'm—"

 
She tried to scream but couldn't make a sound.
 

"—coming at you—"

 
A dream turned nightmare, she clenched her eyes shut.
 

"—like a—"

 
And she willed herself to wake.
 

"—dark horse."

 

---

 
Conciousness came slowly for Rarity, and her senses came back to her one at a time. Her sense of smell and touch came back first, and she detected first a horrible alien odor she had never smelled before and one she hoped never to smell again. And against her coat, she felt cotton poplin, a mundane and boring textile she swore to use only in the rarest of circumstances years ago.
 
Next came her hearing, and she heard in a muffled cadence a spot of singing. It was vaguely musical and on-key, at the very least, though it sounded something like a minotaur attempting to sing a hummingbird to sleep and doing a rather terrible job at it. Rarity disliked death metal, but at that moment, she decided that she disliked death metal imitating ballad even more.
 
Last came her eyes, and she first saw nothing more than dancing globes of light. She blinked several times to clear her eyes. (She was unable to use her hooves to rub her eyes for some reason.) And when she brought the sight in front of her into focus . . . she saw dozens upon dozens of gaping ponies.  Confused, she swiveled her head and looked behind her. There was a vaguely familiar looking figure with a smile on her face that somehow looked simultaneously smug and mortified.
 
"Um, you're welcome for me dancing you back to life."
 
Despite her senses having come back, her brain was not ready to do the same, and it decided to return to her in little bits at a time. The first bit happened to be the instinctual one that told her she was being held against her will. It also happened to be the bit that knew martial arts.
 
"GYAH!"
 
Rarity flailed her forehooves to free them from the human's grasp. The moment one of them was, it naturally whipped across her body in an arc to the ground. Thus, momentum in hoof, Rarity followed the arc her forehoof took and pivoted on one hind leg. She kicked behind herself with the other in a vicious meia lua de compasso (half moon crescent kick).
 
Whatever happened next, it appeared to work, as both her hooves were free and she was back on all fours. Then she made use of her newly gained peace to find the rest of her mind and take stock of her bearings. Though it didn't seem to make much sense, regardless.
 
Before she fainted, she was in the castle. Now she was in Celestia-knows-where surrounded by gaping ponies and mountains of gifts. It was a thoroughly confusing sight. Though she also saw Colette, the human, the one undoubtedly responsible for restraining her and "dancing her back to life," which seemed just a way of humiliating her in front of an enormous crowd. The logical response to such ridiculousness was fainting, but having just done so what seemed like moments before, that seemed irrational. Thus, with all sanity in this world lost to her, Rarity turned her mind to the one being that made sense. In the way that she was more than worthy of her current ire and seemed the source of all this.
 
"Good evening," she said in a carefully level voice. She remained in a ready stance, one hoof cocked, silently challenging Colette.

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@Hypn0ticD, @Taialin, @DwhitetheGamer, @Derplight Sperkle, , anyone I forgot...

 

Pinkie just... stared.  Wide-eyed, open-mouthed, incredulously stared at the sight as Colette started her own Dead Pony's Party... and really, who COULD ask for more?  Well, if Rarity herself was any indicator, SHE certainly could ask for more... though at this point, it might be asking for more rocks to throw.

 

Pinkie stepped timidly up to Colette's side, and l-e-a-n-i-n-g out towards her, she whispered softly in the human's ear.

 

"Um... she's not dead."

 

She then turned to her friend... her very ANGRY friend... and tears began to well up in her eyes.

 

"Rarity, honest, I just put you somewhere I KNEW you'd be safe because you decided to take a nap while standing up, and that's not exactly the smartest move, so I knew you wouldn't want to miss meeting the human, so I made sure you found your way here in a box that was giftwrapped then the human found you and she thought you were dead - but you really WEREN'T dead - and she decided to do a song and dance number but it turned out YOU were the one who was made to dance I swear I didn't mean it to happen like this and I'm SOR-REE-HEE-HEE-HEEEE!"

 

Pinkie obviously felt awful for the embarrassment the Fashionista had to go through, and she looked absolutely pitiful sitting there, big droopy tears rolling down her cheeks as she spoke.

 

"PleasepleasepleasepleasePLEEEEEEEASE forgive me?"

 

And just when the drama couldn't seem to get much worse...

 

"... hey you guys I gotta tell you something!"

 

Rainbow Dash zoomed down from the clouds above, a look of near-panic on her features as she skidded to a halt directly in front of Twilight Sparkle.

 

"This is BAD, Twilight!  REALLY bad!  DISCORD'S found the human, and I saw them talking, and they're UP to something, I just KNOW-..."

 

It was at this point RD finally noticed the human she'd been speaking of was right there along with the rest of them.

 

"... uh... know that, um... it... eh-heh-heh-heh..."

 

A nervous, somewhat embarrassed look crossed her muzzle, and she put on a HUGE smile, her teeth almost reflecting sunlight onto Colette.  As she did this, she leaned in closer to Twilight.

 

"Y'know, you coulda WARNED me or something..." she muttered through closed teeth at her Alicorn friend, still smiling up a 'no-I'm-innocent' storm around her face.

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Derplight Sperkle, @@Taialin, @, @@GeneralDirection, @@Yoshi89, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@Randimaxis,

 

Colette gleefully snapped a few more selfies before she felt the white Unicorn begin to stir. Adding to the confirmation that the pony was in fact waking up was the pink mare's voice in her ear.

 

"Um... she's not dead.

 

It was then that Colette locked eyes with her now former puppet, right as the Stetson-donning pony yelled out her name. "Uhm... You're welcome for me dancing you back to life."

 

"GYAH!"

 

In one fluid motion, Rarity slipped out of her grip and delivered unto the side of the human's skull a half moon kick so fierce that it sent her to the floor. HARD.

 

Colette curled up, hissed through her teeth, and cradled her head as the now fully awake mare looked around to take stock of her surroundings, before finally glaring at Colette. "Good evening," Rarity said, her stance indicating she was ready to floor the human again.

 

"Gaaahhhd Dahh--" Colette began, only to stop herself upon remembering the filly in the room. "Brown or black belt??" she asked as she sat up.

 

The pink mare then came up to her friend, explaining herself at a rapid fire place, apologizing profusely as she sobbed bitterly.

 

"I..."

 

What could she say? Colette already made herself out to be the asshole before, but she might as well be the villain, with the cotton candy maned pony was crying.

 

"PleasepleasepleasepleasePLEEEEEEEASE forgive me?"

 

"I don't think you're the one who needs to apologize. I-"

 

"... hey you guys I gotta tell you something!"

 

A rainbow-streaked surprise cut Colette off. The streak dissipated to reveal a blue winged pony who had somehow went from super sonic speed to stopping dead in front of the purple horse.

 

"This is BAD, Twilight! REALLY bad! DISCORD'S found the human, and I saw them talking, and they're UP to something, I just KNOW-..."

 

Colette waved to the newcomer once she realized she was there. "Hi."

 

"... uh... know that, um... it... eh-heh-heh-heh..." the new pony flashed a large embarrassed grin as she leaned in close to her friend. "Y'know, you coulda WARNED me or something..."

 

Well, shit. Now she was really starting to make herself out to be the villain. How the hell was she gonna get outta this??

 

"All Discord did was tell me how much be loved the music I play and remodeled my room. You know, to show his appreciation." she said with a shrug. "But~, if making new friends in the land of friendship is illegal, then by all means, go ahead and use your Rainbow Magic Sugar Sprinkles Beam of Death Cookies on me or whatever! I'm sure every last human watching us right now will love it."

 

Satisfied with her response, Colette crossed her arms and smirked, waiting for what the others had to say.

[Yoshi89 5,290]

@@Derplight Sperkle, @@Taialin, @, @@GeneralDirection, @, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@Randimaxis, @@Hypn0ticD,

 

Spike could not believe what he was seeing. There was the human dancing and singing this beautiful song to his fair maiden! He stared as Colette continued her song, Rarity struggling in her grasp with the promise that she's come back to life. What could he do? As actions screamed in his mind, he bared the non-existent garments on his upper arms and his eyes became dangerous slits. As he came closer to the where the rest of the Mane Six watched the performance, he stopped. The next time he saw Rarity, she fought back with a quick hoof check!

 

"All right, Rarity!" he cheered without a second thought. Spike knew she was a strong mare even after he thought she had lost all hope. He came closer as Rainbow Dash started talking about Discord again. Spike rolled his eyes; this was par for the course for him. When Colette explained herself, Spike did a double take. Was this a side of Discord he hasn't seen before?

 

Not even thinking about how a human would react to a talking baby dragon, Spike looked at Colette. "Friendship? Illegal in Equestria?" he asked. "That's not what we're about!"

[Derplight Sperkle 1,013]

@@Yoshi89,@@Hypn0ticD, @@Randimaxis, @@Taialin, @@DwhitetheGamer

 

Gavin watched as his Twitch chat was going crazy. He could barely read any of the comments as hundreds kept filling his laptop screen. “I've never had this many viewers at once before...” he muttered.

 

“What do you mean by viewers?” Twilight asked from behind him. “Are there other humans watching us too?”

 

Right, Gavin thought, that purple unicorn? But it has wings... After a few seconds, the chat had the recurring word of Twilight. Is that her name?

 

Then suddenly the girl popped over his shoulder and introduced herself as HypnoticD. He figured that it was just her online name. “If you wanted to be on camera, it's right over here,” he said while pointing to the web cam on his right shoulder.

 

“Oh? This is how your human viewers are watching us?” Twilight piped in. She suddenly put her face right in front of it, studying it. “It's a lot smaller than what we have. And where is the flash?” Twilight's curiosity was getting to her.

 

A tap on his shoulder broke him from his screen as his pony escort(?) had a scroll outstretched in front of his face. “Read this now, it is from Princess Luna,” Moonlit commanded. “It is important.”

 

“Alright, I will read it,” Gavin said as he took the scroll and read the invitation. He quickly read it and finally decided to answer Spell Caster and Twilight(?).

 

“Yes, they are some of my human followers, but not all of them. I have-” he paused to look at his laptop,”-around six thousand viewers at the moment.” Six thousand! Gavin thought frantically. I barely get close to a thousand if I'm lucky! The number seemed to be getting higher and higher every second too...

 

Meanwhile, Fluttershy returned from the outside just before Colette opened her first gift. She saw Twilight hovering over some weird object in the unknown human's hooves? Did humans have hooves?

 

Colette's gift, however, revealed something that surprised everypony in the room. It was Rarity!? And she was limp? Oh no no no no... Fluttershy thought. What happened? She can't be dead!

 

Twilight diverted her attention from the new technology to her friend's limp form. What's going on? She thought as Colette began pantomiming Rarity.

 

Gavin looked up momentarily to see what could HypnoticD be doing now. What he saw surprised him. Was that pony alright? He hoped so, dead ponies may not be the best thing to show on Twitch. Especially another human playing with the body of one. He was about to cover his camera before the pony began to stir.

 

How could Colette do something like that to Rarity?! Both Twilight and Fluttershy thought to themselves. After Rarity kicked herself out of Colette's grasp, both of them rushed to her side. “Are you alright Rarity?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight was about to ask what happened, but Pinkie beat her to the punch and explained what happened.

 

After the Rarity debacle, a sudden new issue arose. Rainbow Dash flew in and landed directly in front of Twilight. After Rainbow made a wonderful introduction to herself, Twilight leaned in and whispered to her,”Maybe we should talk to this later? Not in front of the humans?”

 

Fluttershy was flabbergasted that Rainbow would think such a thing. Discord was reformed after all. He could be up to something, but it could be some surprise party for them all.

Gavin watched with a questioning look on his face. “Um...maybe I missed something, but who is this...Discord?” Moonlit was about to respond but Colette let out a little outburst. Sheesh, this is getting a little tense in here isn't it, he thought as he put his laptop away into his bag. His camera kept recording as he stood back up. This HypnoticD seemed to have a good singing voice though...

 

Fluttershy pulled all of her courage and decided to step up first. “I'm sorry Colette. My friends and I have had a history with Discord. I believe what you say, as I trust Discord to be nice and civil.” she sighed. “We won't do that, I promise.”

 

Twilight, on the other hand, didn't trust Discord as much. Sure, he has been much better than in the past,  but he always has some agenda. But friendship being illegal?  “No, you are right, friendship isn't illegal.  Just make sure to keep an eye on Discord.” 

[Skycoaster 697]

@@Derplight Sperkle, @@Yoshi89, @@Hypn0ticD, @@Randimaxis, @@DwhitetheGamer,
His attention only broken from the male human for a second, he would salute Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia. He would also nod to each of Twilight's friends. His laser like focus went back to the human as he finally read Luna's message. "So, I can inform Princess Luna of your acceptance?" Before he could get an answer, there seemed to be some commotion eminating from near the other human he had met earlier...the girl. He would just shake his head and watch her fiddle around with the stack of gifts before his jaw would drop in shock. His eyes would narrow as the bat pony darted across the room to assist the white unicorn, as did almost everypony else.

(Meanwhile in Pittsburgh PA)
"Holy crap. Yinz guys gotta see this. Turn dawn the Stillers game for a minute. This girl was being a total jag and this talking white unicorn just cold cocked her."

(Back in the magical land of Equestria)
Dark Wing would remove his helmet and look to the mare. "Are you alright Miss Rarity?" he would as before turning to Collette. Without his helmet, his features where more pronounced, especially the furry tips of his ears, the nocturnal eyes, and the fangs that were showing as he scowled at her. "What in the name of Equestria is wrong with you!" he would snap. That expression would only last a few seconds before he would extend a hoof to her and roll his eyes. "Here. At least let me help you to your hoofs..er feet."

The bat pony would sigh and shake his head at Collette's comment about illegal friendship. "Perhaps we where expecting things to go differently. I don't know about you humans, but when I am a guest of somepony, I use please and thank you. I wipe my hooves before entering their dwelling, and I don't go around making others listen to my music unless I ask permission first. Also,"and his eyes would narrow. "No touchie without permission."

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Taialin, @, @@GeneralDirection, @@Derplight Sperkle, @@Yoshi89,

@@DwhitetheGamer, @@Randimaxis,

 

Racine, Wisconsin

 

"You guys, I found the stream!" Madison Hildebrandt said, waving her friends over. Knathan Eckl and Jon Wolstencroft both put their phones away and went over to Madison's laptop. Fantastical ponies of just about any color imaginable came and went on screen, going in and out of buildings that could only be described as coming straight out of a little girl's dreams.

 

And to think Colette was there.

 

Two ponies, one brown, the other gray peered directly into the camera then.

 

"Are those your human 'followers'?" The brown pony asked. "And can they see us??"

 

"Yeah, we're watching!" Knathan said rhetorically. If only they knew just how many humans were watching them now...

 

The last cursory check revealed over 6,000 people were watching the rather silent adventurer!

 

"Did anyone text Colette yet??" Jon asked.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Case CE Components Factory

 

Production on the newest component has all but ceased as word spread that not only was a young girl in a previously undiscovered world, she just so happened to be related to one of supervisors, who was all too happy to give everyone on his team a free 30 minute break - "Brony" or not!

 

William Irving couldn't be prouder. He could only stare at his phone's screen as a bipedal figure - no doubt his daughter - finally appeared.

 

"I was just about take on Mount Giftsmore myself, but since you finally decided to show up," she said, pointing to the mysterious cameraman, "you can help me!"

 

Yup, that was Colette, alright!

 

William watched as she lifted a large box off of an orange pony's back, and grunted at the apparent weight. "What the hell is in this?? It weighs a TON!"

 

He sighed and shook his head. He really needed to do something about her foul language! But she was doing something that no one else in history was doing, and it filled his heart with pride.

 

"Finally got it hooked up, Mr. Irving!" A young man said.

 

"About time! Turn it on already!"

 

William had to extend everyone's breaks several times as they "oohed" and "ahhed" at the ponies (and baby Dragon).

 

"Oh my God, that's Applejack and her sister Apple Bloom!"

 

"Pinkie Pie and Twilight, too!"

 

"And Spike"

 

William didn't know any of these charac--Ponies, from Adam, so all he could do was smile and nod. Before long, Colette had opened one of the larger gift boxes-- to which there was an audible gasp. Inside was a pony.

 

"What...Colette, what're you.....?"

 

"Whoa, she's still limber! I wonder if... Mr. Wilson! Make sure you record this before rigor mortis sets in!"

 

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Los Angeles, California

 

"Welcome, welcome all you internerds to LiveWire, YouTube's fastest growing news channel! I'm your host PritPrat, and let's just dive right into the news, shall we?" Jeremy Prittenger, also known as Prit the Prat, greeted. "First up, we're gonna talk about what everyone and their dog have been talking about! That's right, those two kids in Equestria! No one thought it was possible before, it's just a kid's show, but here we folks! It has been confirmed that one of them is a Twitch Streamer named Gavin Wilson, better known as Whatshisface, and the other one is Colette Irving, a YouTuber who goes by the name HypnØticD. Speaking of whom..."

 

Anyone watching the broadcast would see Colette manipulating an unconscious Rarity to the song Dark Horse.

 

"Make me your Aphrodite/

Make me your one and only/

But don't make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy..."

 

"Now, just what the hell was she thinking?? She's in another world, and she thinks it's a good idea to make unconscious pony dance, then take selfies with her? Well, fear not, cause--"

 

"]

 

Guile's theme begins to play as Rarity delivers a flying kick unto Colette's skull.

 

"... And this little pony went Bob Sapp on that ass!"

 

https://youtu.be/0sORXQ-KHXw

 

"T!K!O! Ladies and gentlemen, Rarity, the unwitting dancer certainly puts the 'pwn' in Pony! As always, we're gonna continue covering this and bring you any updates as they happen, so stay tuned!"

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Derplight Sperkle, @@Taialin, @, @@GeneralDirection, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@Randimaxis,

 

Applejack was completely stunned at the sight. Colette had completely flounced common courtesy and made an unconscious Rarity dance. Rarity in turn clocked the human but good upon awakening, which relieved Applejack, if only just a bit.

 

"Friendship? Illegal in Equestria?" Spike asked, a bit closer to the action. "That's not what we're about!"

 

"That's right! And we certainly don't make anypony dance against their will!" Applejack added as she too went over to Rarity. "Especially if they're unconscious -- that's no way to make friends around here!"

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The metal pony, Nightwing was at Rarity's side at the blink of an eye, just like the others. "Are you alright Miss Rarity?" he too, then turned to Colette, an angry look upon his face. "What in the name of Equestria is wrong with you?!"

 

It seemed as if every pony was less than pleased at her little stunt, but it was just as well. It wasa dick move-- but still hilarious! "A better question would be what is right with me?" Colette responded.

 

Night Wing seemed to roll his eyes at this. 'You thought that was something, wait until you see the other tricks I've got up my sleeve! "Here. At least let me help you to your hooves..er feet."

 

"Perhaps we were expecting things to go differently, Night Wing began as Colette accepted his hood and rose to her feet. "I don't know about you humans, but when I am a guest of somepony, I use 'please' and 'thank you.' I wipe my hooves before entering their dwelling, and I don't go around making others listen to my music unless I ask permission first. Also," Night Wing added as he narrowed his eyes, "No touchie without permission."

 

It was then that the blue Pegasus appeared and told the purple princess that she had seen, seemingly vilifying the human girl that much more.

 

“I'm sorry Colette. My friends and I have had a history with Discord," The yellow Pegasus said, her voice just loud enough to hear, "I believe what you say, as I trust Discord to be nice and civil.” she sighed. “We won't do that, I promise.”

 

Looking around again, she saw that the others were still less than amused. "Look, for one thing, most people do mind their manners, but I thought it'd be funny to make Rarity show off a few moves, but it was in extremely poor taste, and for that--" it was Colette's turn to sigh. "I'm sorry."

 

She made her way back over to Gavin, get cast a sidelong glance at the Night Guard."However~" she said pointedly, "There were curious visitors who wanted to hear my music when Discord happened by. The rest, as they say, is history."

 

When she was close enough, Colette snatched up the scroll, read it, then lifted her eyes towards her roommate incredulously. "You're really gonna blow this off?? Either you're royalty yourself, or you're too stupid to live!"

 

Handing the scroll back, Colette turned to the ponies once more. "I think there's been enough excitement for now, so I'm afraid I must end this meeting. I have to get ready for tonight's party. You know, to liven things up! Why doesn't everyone else go get ready as well? Do Luna proud Don your fanciest gala dresses and alla that~! 'Specially you, princess!" she said, pointing to Twlight. "I'm 90% sure that there'll be a royal welcome or whatever. And don't you worry. I'll keep my eye on Discord, though he's been a real trooper!" she added with a wink before turning to leave the living room, but not before lowering Gavin's hood to reveal his features. "Be a dear Mr. Wilson, and show our guests out?"

 

"Now, hold on a tic!" Applejack said, stepping forward. "Like Fluttershy said, we have history with 'm, but Ah fer one don't trust what he's doin'. If you don't mind, Ah'd like to see what Discord did to yer room. Ah'll only be a minute!"

[Skycoaster 697]

Luna had been pacing back in forth in her almost empty closest. "Tis silly," she said to herself. "Celestia is normally the one that attends the gala. She is the one that enjoys getting made up." With a sigh, she would exit the large closet. "And it appears that my guard has yet to return as well..." She would exit her chambers and make her way to the grand ball room where castle staff where getting the room ready as she looked it over.

 

"Thy preparations are must wonderful. Keep up the excellent work. We want this event to be grand and show our human guests the finest in Canterlot hospitality and class." Looking to her left, she would notice an idle set of hoofs. "You," she would call out. "Fetch me the royal seamstress. I am in dire need of her services. Send her to my chambers at once." "Yes Your Majesty," he would respond as he bolted off to find her.

 

As she waited, she would walk over to the large table that had been set up. "Well done. I have but one request, make sure the tables are set up in a horseshoe, with the heads of state, as well as ours 'esteemed'," a bit a venom was injected into that word, " guests and the heroes of Equestria nearby."

 

Moments later an out of breath servant would approach the lunar princess. "She is on her way to your chamb-" as he would collapse for exhaustion. "Thank you. You may have the rest of the day off for your serves," as she turned and began walking back to her room."

 

As she opened the door, an unfamiliar voice would  greet her. "My your highness, this is an unexpected honor," the voice would say in a french accent. "It is normally your sister that I-"

 

Luna would cut her off there. "I am in quite the condrum, and I understand that this is short notice, but I am to be Gala ready by the time the party starts. I am in deepest need of, as you call it now of days...a makeover?" The seamstress would smile and nod.

 

"Not to fret princess, I have waited for the day that I could make you a dress. I am sure that I can whip something up." The door behind Luna would close and she began working on Luna's outfit and even her mane.

[Taialin 217]

@@Hypn0ticD, @@Yoshi89, @, @@Derplight Sperkle
Rarity took several deep breaths, trying to make sense of all the madness around her. There was a Lunar Guard berating her (or Colette, she couldn't tell) for her movements, Spike apparently approving of her kick, somesuch or other about Colette and Discord striking a deal, Colette later apologizing about her acts . . . it was all a blur of nonsense. But considering how much had occurred and seeing that Colette was being appropriately remorseful and not trying to humiliate her again, Rarity put down her hoof and assumed at "at ease" stance, garrisoning her years of martial arts training in favor for her years of playing social dodgeball.
 
"Ah, you needn't apologize, Pinkie," she said, addressing said mare. "Things happen, mares faint, and ponies and people get struck without warning."
 
Then came the whole issue with Discord and whether Colette was in the right with, well, conspiring with him. Rarity didn't like Discord any more than the next pony—possibly less—and considering what kind of impression first Discord and then Colette left on her . . . she didn't have the rosiest of perspectives regarding either of them. Her instinct was to suggest to bar Discord from the party and give Colette's dwelling's a well-earned scouring for Discording, but considering what her instincts had also led her to do in very recent times, she was less sure that such instincts were necessarily the best moves to make. So she left the decision making to cooler heads, which, at the moment, seemed to come to the reluctant consensus that there was nothing inherently wrong with their friendship.
 
Rarity finally turned to the elephant in the room, or rather more appropriately, the human. Needless to say, she didn't make nicest of first impressions. Even now, she had the sneaking suspicion that this would not be the last time they butt heads. Even so, she wasn't a total social disaster, as she did apologize. And to that, Rarity said, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't attempt to do the same again, darling." Her last words were drawn out, perhaps the most unbecoming use of her characteristic epithet she had ever used. "And I'd advise you to show a bit more tact in the future. By your leave." There was an apology of her own noticeably missing, and Rarity was aware of it. Verily, she wasn't ready nor willing to apologize for what she did. She wasn't classically a vengeful mare, but when such things as this happened, "forgiveness" was not the first word she had on the mind. Rather, "comeuppance."
 

---

 
Celestia groaned. Just as she started to seriously consider calling over the royal doctor to address her splitting headache, it subsided. Slowly, mind. But eventually, once she felt a bit better, Celestia found the presence of mind to open her eyes again.
 
"Did I miss anything?" she said.
 
Her mouth, perhaps, woke up before her eyes actually did. Because it took only a cursory glance to see that, yes, she did miss "something." Colette was gone, Dark Wing was here, Rarity had made a sudden reappearance, and every other pony was in a circle around her. "Something" indeed.
 

---

 
Rarity blinked and looked at Princess Celestia. Yes, she was in front of the Princess, and she had to fight back a groan. Rarity couldn't begrudge her her absence—princesses tended to do such things, as evidenced by Princess Luna at Princess Cadance's wedding—but she couldn't help but wonder what could have been avoided and what social improprieties could have been prevented if Princess Celestia was present.
 
"Yes," Rarity said, and she couldn't help but have her word come out in a deadpan.

[Randimaxis 8,633]

@@Derplight Sperkle, @@Taialin, @, @@GeneralDirection, @@Yoshi89, @@DwhitetheGamer,

 

 

Pinkie was relieved that Rarity hadn't been TOO upset over it all... though that was a mean kick she gave the human... but all the same, forgiveness was forgiveness; best to bask in the glory of it than to continue to grovel for anything more. Besides, she wasn't much of a groveler, anyhow.

 

"Okay! Now we've had apologies from our guest, and I KNOW I heard something about a party! A Grand Ball would be a GREAT idea!" She paused a moment, then gave a bit of a blush as she said, "Well... as long as it's not gonna be like the Grand Galloping Gala, that is!"

 

She gave a slight giggle - maybe it WOULD be like the Gala. Especially if Discord was going to show! RD, however, had an entirely different opinion.

 

"It won't matter WHAT it's like - Discord's gonna CRASH it, even though he's invited! He'll stir up some of his wonky Chaos Magic, and nopony'll be safe, and the night'll end in a disaster! A catastrophe! A... A DISASTROPHY!"

 

"Is... is that even a word?"

 

"Doesn't matter! If we don't find some way to keep Discord under control... we could make up all the words we WANT to, and it won't do any good!"

 

"But, uhm..." Fluttershy began, "I wouldn't say that Discord will be a problem without some kind of proof... I mean, if that's okay to say."

 

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow groaned, "You KNOW he's not gonna pass up an opportunity like THIS! Heck, I wouldn't be able to pass up an opportunity like this, if I were him!" Dash's tummy turned a bit at that thought, but she kept it to herself. "I'm TELLIN' you - he's UP to something, because he ALWAYS is!"

 

"Maybe he's up for throwing the biggest, bestest party for the hu-"

 

"NO, PINKIE! He's up to NO GOO-"

 

"STOP IT!"

 

The two ponies froze as Fluttershy belted out the single word command. As they turned, she locked them into the steel gaze of 'The Stare' as she spoke to them both.

 

"THAT. IS. ENOUGH."

 

She strolled right up to RD, staring her dead in the face.

 

"You should be ASHAMED at yourself! Discord's done SO well lately, and he hasn't been a bother to ANYPONY - even when the human was playing that... that... music, he made sure I was okay; THAT is what friends do! Now, I'm going to make sure that Discord is okay at the party... and I would STRONGLY SUGGEST you do the same, Rainbow Dash!"

 

Dashie put a hoof to the back of her head, scratching at her mane uncomfortably. "Yeah, yeah... okay, FINE. I'll.. try to give ol' Dipcord the benefi-"

 

"WHAT... was that?"

 

"I mean, uhm, yeah, okay - I'll give Discord a chance, no problem, turn off the Care Stare, sheesh!"

 

Fluttershy blinked away the look, then smiled and nodded. "Good! Oh, we're going to have SUCH fun, aren't we? I need to get home; my little friends will want time to get ready, as well." She tossed a sweet smile at the rest. "Won't this be ever so much fun?"

 

Yeah... fun like getting a cast on your wing, Rainbow thought.

 

Pinkie did wander over to Rarity's side. "Ummmm... you okay? I mean, your performance was GREAT, but... eh heh heh... I mean, you ARE okay, right? Right?"

 

"Yeah," RD piped up, "you okay, Rarity?"

 

Fluttershy put on a concerned face. "I'm sure Colette was just playing a game with you; I don't think she meant any harm by it. Plus, it was kind of funny..." She blushed. "I mean, uhm... it was. Funny, I mean. I'm sorry."

Edited September 8, 2016 by Hypn0ticD
Inserted mentions

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Derplight Sperkle, @@Taialin, @, @@GeneralDirection, @@Yoshi89,

@@DwhitetheGamer, @@Randimaxis,

 

Applejack frowned thoughtfully; if Rarity's tone were anything to go by, she was less than amused by the human girl's antics, but it wasn't as if she didn't have good reason!

 

"Ah, you needn't apologize, Pinkie," Rarity said, a bit of acid in her voice. "Things happen, mares faint, and ponies and people get struck without warning."

 

Applejack took notice of Colette smirking, yet rubbing the side of her head in response; the cowpony took this to mean that she wouldn't pull a stunt like that again!

 

Rainbow Dash had made her appearance then, informing the others a bit too late that Discord was conspiring with the girl, which in turn earned a remark about being hit with a beam of "Rainbow Magic Sugar Sprinkles Beam of Death Cookies" -- which was thankfully countered by the others.

 

There was something about Discord's interest in the humans -- Colette especially-- that just didn't sit right with the cowpony; what was it that the humans had that he wanted?

 

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't attempt to do the same again, darling."

 

"Don't worry, I won't try that again!" Colette responded with a bit of snicker. She then went over to Gavin to read his scroll before taking initiative and wrapping things up. "I think there's been enough excitement for now, so I'm afraid I must end this meeting. I have to get ready for tonight's party. You know, to liven things up! Why doesn't everyone else go get ready as well? Do Luna proud Don your fanciest gala dresses and alla that~! 'Specially you, princess!" she said, pointing to Twlight. "I'm 90% sure that there'll be a royal welcome or whatever. And don't you worry. I'll keep my eye on Discord, though he's been a real trooper!"

 

"Okay! Now we've had apologies from our guest, and I KNOW I heard something about a party! A Grand Ball would be a GREAT idea!" Pinkie Pie said with a giggle. "Well... as long as it's not gonna be like the Grand Galloping Gala, that is!"

 

"Dunno what that is, but I'm sure it's gonna be that level of fancy!" Colette said as she made her way to the stairs--only to be stopped by yet another argument broke out.

 

"It won't matter WHAT it's like - Discord's gonna CRASH it, even though he's invited!" Rainbow Dash said. "He'll stir up some of his wonky Chaos Magic, and nopony'll be safe, and the night'll end in a disaster! A catastrophe! A... A DISASTROPHY!"

 

"Is... is that even a word?" Pinkie Pie asked.

 

They went back and forth like this, getting Fluttershy involved.

 

"STOP IT!"

 

The two ponies froze as Fluttershy belted out the single word command. As they turned, she locked them into the steel gaze of 'The Stare' as she spoke to them both.

 

It never ceased to amaze Applejack how assertive Fluttershy could be when pushed far enough, and it was always a sight to see when the shy mare used her patented Stare. She has both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash locked into her steely glare as she approached the latter, staring her down. "THAT. IS. ENOUGH." You should be ASHAMED at yourself! Discord's done SO well lately, and he hasn't been a bother to ANYPONY - even when the human was playing that... that... music, he made sure I was okay; THAT is what friends do! Now, I'm going to make sure that Discord is okay at the party... and I would STRONGLY SUGGEST you do the same, Rainbow Dash!"

 

Rainbow Dash then said that she'd give "Dipcord" a chance, but not without another hard glare from the yellow pony.

 

"Okay, now that we've all gotten that out of our systems, we can all--"

 

"Now, hold on a tic!" Applejack said, stepping forward. Perhaps it was a momentary lapse in judgement on Twilight's behalf, but whatever was going on failed to get past the farm pony. "Like Fluttershy said, we have history with 'm, but Ah fer one don't trust what he's doin'. If you don't mind, Ah'd like to see what Discord did to yer room. Ah'll only be a minute!

 

Colette turned to face the farm pony, who was joined by her sister and the scholars. "Yes, we'd like to see what Discord did as well." Spell Caster said cooly. "I would like to see what Discord did, too."

 

Colette waited a bit for any pony else to voice their opinion before responding. "Alright, quick tour. Come on up!"

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Hypn0ticD, @@Randimaxis,

(I need to get back into this, and I'll skip to the current little meeting.)

 

Copper shook his head, seeing what was happening.  He had been rather quiet about the situation, but he finally decided to speak his mind, before Colette called for the tour.  "Everyone, look.  Here I thought we were gonna have a nice little get-together with Colette, but it seems I was wrong.  Everyone is so focused on Discord that we seemed to have forgotten about our visitor from another world.  So why don't we just drop the act right now and have fun with her?"  He sighed after his speech, then turned and smiled at the human.  "Besides, I think Ms. Irving deserves a break from all of this.  Who agrees?"  He looked at the ponies with him, waiting for them to voice an opinion.

[Derplight Sperkle 1,013]

Gavin

 

@@Randimaxis,@@DwhitetheGamer, @@Hypn0ticD, @@Taialin, @

 

Gavin's camera got it all. Of course, he couldn't look at the chat at the moment, but he can check it later on his...cell phone. Ugh! Why did I forget to do that earlier!  he thought as the ponies seemed to get an apology from Colette. It did look pretty bad that somebody would use a live being like that. But soon, Colette was coming closer and...

 

Took off his hood! Why did she have to do that! It was keeping him somewhat hidden from view, and now his normal features are out there to be seen. His shortish dirty blonde hair  pushed back a little from the hood. "Why did you have to do that?" he hissed to Colette. But before he could get a response, she left to get ready for this supposed party, leaving him to escort the ponies? Where would he bring them?

 

Before he could ask them all, They all seemed to get into a major argument over somebody named Discord. "Who is this Discord?" he asked the group. "I mean, you guys seem to have such a low opinion of him..."

 

"Alright, quick tour. Come on up!"

 

"Yea I think a tour would be nice! I think my viewers, which are watching from our world, would love a grand tour!" Gavin voiced his answer. 

[Skycoaster 697]

@@Derplight Sperkle, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@Hypn0ticD, @@Randimaxis, @@Taialin,

The bat pony, clad in his armor would make his way back over to the male human and look him eye to eye, dead serious look upon his face. "Before I may leave, I need your answer to my princess's question. She is currently under a lot of stress and I would hate to leave her waiting." He would crack a small smile as a thought came into his mind, remembering protocol. "If you would like to think on the offer some more, just show me where the pantry is and I will make myself at home as well."

 

Luna would look in the mirror. Almost a look of shock would grace her muzzle. "I...I see why my sister likes your work so much. Remember to be in the ballroom for the party. I am sure that you will not want to miss it." The princess would levitate a silver ticket to the mare and nod. "You are dismissed." "We," the seamstress would say as she bowed and make her way out to get herself ready. Luna would grab a dark cloak and cover herself and her dress, and flip up the hood as to not mess her mane up. She wanted her appearance to be a surprise for the castle staff, as well as her sister and the others that would be in attendance. She would make her way down to the ballroom to make sure the perperations where going as planned. "Good work everypony!" she would say looking over the room. "Go forth and my thyselves ready for the gathering. Galla best!" 

 

The princess herself would make her way to the main entrance of the ballroom and wait for the first guests to arrive...and her sister. "In the name of...Celestia should be here as well. Guard," she would call. "Inform my sister that she is needed in the ballroom. Tis a matter of tradition."

[Derplight Sperkle 1,013]

Twilight Sparkle

 

@,@@DwhitetheGamer, @@Hypn0ticD, @@Randimaxis,@@Taialin

 

Rainbow and Applejack were right about not trusting Discord. He always seemed to have something in mind for everypony. Twilight was about to voice her opinion on the situation after Rainbow, but Fluttershy beat her to it, putting Dash in her place. The topic of Discord always seems to get to this point doesn't it?

 

"Rainbow, I know our history with Discord hasn't been the best, but he has gotten better than before. At least he is trying to be good..." Twilight said to the group. "But I still agree we should have a quick tour of Colette's room to see if there are any unexpected surprises that are in store for us..."

 

"Who is this Discord?" a voice came from behind the group. All this talk about Discord and they forgot the other guest! She turned to Gavin and replied, "I'm sorry Gavin. Discord is the embodiment of chaos magic. He plays pranks on us from time to time that we sometimes don't appreciate..."

 

"Oh ok. We humans don't have that kind of thing, or just magic in general," Gavin replied with a scratch behind his head. He turned to to the bat pony guard. "I forgot about that letter, sorry. I guess I will be going since I don't think I have anything better to do. Just don't expect me to dance too much..."

 

Twilight nodded and waited for Colette to lead the group to her room. Hopefully this will just be another harmless Discord prank. 

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Taialin, @, @@GeneralDirection, @@Yoshi89, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@Randimaxis,

 

Applejack was just awestruck at just how out of it the male seemed, but was distracted by the rather abrupt reappearance of the blue pony from earlier, and. Since when did he come back?? She didn't even hear him come in... "Due respect, sir, but we know a bit more about the situation than you do, which is the main reason Ah don't trust Discord." Applejack said, glancing back to the blue newcomer, before turning to Colette. "And Ah especially don't trust 'im with you! He's up to somethin', but Ah don't know what."

 

"You heard the lady, man!" Colette said, addressing Copper Strikes. "Tell you what. You've had a long day, and I've scared you off enough, so why don't you head home and get ready for the party. It's in a few hours, and time's a wastin'! The rest of ya can either head on out and get ready too, or take a tour if you want!"

 

Colette watched as Applejack, Apple Bloom and the scholars joined her, before waiting a bit for Gavin and any ponies interested before leading them up to her room, yet it seemed that Gavin was lost in his stream. Colette frowned at that. That boy ever gonna wake up and pay attention?

 

A short trip up the stairs and around the corner later, Colette opened her door stepping aside to allow her guests inside. "It's a bit over the top in a few places, I admit, but Discord did an amazing job!"

 

Once inside, one could immediately tell that the room was a bit bigger that it should've been, no doubt Discord's doing; the entire room has been remade to resemble the interior of some ruffian's tour carriage, complete with smoke pots beneath the heavily altered dressers.

 

"The furniture was all Discord's idea, but I added a bit of my own flare!"

 

Various posters of Equestrian origin were plastered on one wall, and posters of Human origin covered the other; on them were strange sayings such as, "Life Is Peachy", "Metallica Garage, Inc.", and "Things I'll Say When I Beat You at" something called "Video Games".

 

There was a queen sized bed in the far corner of the room, dressed in a human skull and roses design; upon it were unusual dolls near the pillows. Near the foot of the bed lay the red guitar, alongside a white one that wasn't there before.

 

The desk had a device that was very similar to Gavin's; if one were to look at it, they would see that its window was open and uploading something to a place called 'YouTube'; Just above it was the leaflet Celestia had left, carefully pinned to the wall. A silver and black guitar hung off the wall next to the desk, accompanied by the only other guitar the scholars recognized.

 

If one were to go into the girl's closet, they would find more human articles of clothing, all reflecting the girl's demeanor. Pants and shorts of various lengths and widths, but most were of some dark hue. There were a multitude of tank tops, hoodies, jackets and coats - the vast majority of them in dark colors. There were various costumes, accessories and props, but none of them came across as feminine or chic in any way... Come to think of it, nothing in this girl's wardrobe was elegant, girly-- or a even a dress for that matter!

 

"Where did these instruments come from, Colette?" Spell Caster asked, inspecting the white instrument. "I don't--"

 

"--They were packed along with everything else! Colette responded quickly, cutting Spell Caster off.

 

"But... Why didn't you--?"

 

"I can only carry so much! Besides, I carried the ones I had the longest and held dearest to my heart!" Colette then made her way back to the door. "Now that everyone's seen my room, I'm afraid it's time to go. I got an appointment with my shower, and then a party to attend." Colette said, heading back to the door and gesturing toward the way out.

 

"Well, can we at least get ta hear more a' yer songs?" Apple Bloom asked as she passed Colette.

 

Colette flashed huge grin at that. "Count on it, kiddo!"

 

Colette then followed the ponies out, yet Inkwell and Spell Caster remained behind. "Just a moment, Colette. We need to speak to both you and Gavin."

 

Colette rolled her eyes, but didn't object. "I'll see you all tonight, so prepare yourselves!" she said with a wave before closing the door.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

"That girl's hidin' somethin', and the boy's in orbit!" Applejack said as she trotted away. "Twi, we need ta find a way to keep the girl away from Discord and the boy ta get away from his doohickeys!" Applejack sighed. "But for now, why don't we head back to the Canterlot Boutique an' get ready..."

[Randimaxis 8,633]

Twilight started to follow AJ, yet gave a glance over her shoulder in Colette's direction.

 

"In more ways than one, Applejack; there's a big bash tonight, and I can almost guarantee that Discord will try to steal the spotlight - it wouldn't be like him NOT to try!"

 

"Are you kiddin'?  Like I said - total disastrophy!"

 

"I still think you're all not even giving him a chance... I'm sorry, but that's how I feel."

 

"Actually, I'm kinda with Fluttershy on this one..."

 

"WHAT!?"

 

"You guys remember how much FUN we all had at the LAST big shindig he came to?  Excitement!  Adventure!  Surprises!"

 

Dash's eyes narrowed.  "Yeah, Pinkie... and did you forget what he did to the pizzas?"

 

Pinkie stopped in mid-bounce, suspended in air for a moment.

 

"... those... poor, poor pizzas... every... last... one..."

 

Her eyes grew big and teary, mouth wobbling.

 

"... flying off into the sunset... burning to a crisp..."

 

Her eyes now narrowed like RD's had.  "Then again... maybe we SHOULD keep an eye on him..."

 

Dash, her paranoia justified, turned to Fluttershy.  "Sorry, Fluttershy... but maybe, just this once, you could at least ADMIT he's trouble?  I mean, you can't be BLIND to ALL of it, can you?"

 

Fluttershy, unlike earlier, was wide-eyed and bashful.  "I... well... he CAN be... well... difficult."

 

=================================================

 

In the nearby bushes, Discord let out a small gasp at hearing his most esteemed friend's words.

 

"... et tu, Fluttershy..?"

 

Slowly, the sadness on his face dragged itself into a dark frown.

 

"Well then... I suppose my EXIT strategy should be carried out after all..."

 

His rage quietly seething, he snapped his fingers and vanished.

 

=================================================================

 

"SEE!  Even Fluttershy agrees!"

 

"... but being a friend means you have to look PAST their mistakes, and care about the one behind them.  He certainly isn't doing anything EVIL, is he?"

 

Dash ran a hoof nervously through her mane.  "Well, not really..."

 

"And his presence certainly means it won't be routine and boring, right?"

 

"Yeah... he IS a barrel of fun!"

 

Twilight closed her eyes, sighed and smiled.  "You know what, girls?  I think Fluttershy may be right on this one; maybe... he's just excited that there's someone new in Equestria, and that he'll have the chance to make friends with someone who won't be afraid of his past."

 

"Can you really say that, Twi?"

 

She leveled a smiling gaze of intent at the rainbow-maned pegasus.  "Starlight Glimmer would."

 

RD sighed dramatically.  "... okay.  OKAY!"  She threw her hooves up.  "Fine!  I'll give Discord a chance tonight... maybe you're right."

[Taialin 217]

@@Hypn0ticD, @@Randimaxis, @
Celestia blinked a few more times. It wasn't necessarily a rare occurrence when she became confused—long meetings with advisors about funding magical research would do that to a pony—but it was rare that she was ever so flummoxed as she was currently. Just recently off the fetlocks of the instinct that somepony was getting awfully close to becoming a princess, followed by one of the worst headaches she'd ever had, then followed by seeing the aftermath of a pony she'd long known as exceptionally poised and well-spoken apparently almost break somebody else's jaw . . . it was enough for Princess Celestia's normally well-composed mind to throw up its hooves and say (metaphorically) "I give up!" It took her quite a bit longer to unroot herself from the ground and comprehend what had been said in the interim.
 
"Yes, my little ponies," she said to no one in particular, hoping it would be suitably relevant to whatever she had missed, marching her hooves on the ground like she needed to go to the restroom. She hadn't felt this out of place since she had accidentally decided to take an impromptu nap during that foreign policy review all those years ago. While she couldn't be certain of what anypony else had said during her . . . sabbatical, it was impossible to miss what that guard was saying.
 
"Princess Celestia, you're needed in the ballroom," an armored pony beside her said for what was probably the sixth time. Guards were trained to be stoic at all times, but even this one had an air of concern on their face that their princess was so apparently indisposed.
 
"Ah, what?" Princess Celestia returned, still trying to gain her bearings. She looked around at all the empty space around her. Wasn't there a considerable crowd around just moments earlier?
 
"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna has requested your presence in the ballroom."
 
"Y-yes, of course," Princess Celestia said, trying to regain a semblance of composure. Once she was suitably lucid, she lit her horn and teleported to the ballroom vestibule entrance, hoping she hadn't been needed there for too long.
 
At least, that was where she had hoped she would teleport to. It took another moment for Princess Celestia to regain her balance when she did indeed appear in the ballroom with a flash of light, albeit on top of a small table. She tottered on two hooves momentarily before jumping off. That was what unreadiness and fatigue costed her when teleporting: inaccuracy. She let out a quiet sigh of relief that she hadn't appeared inside the table. That would have been . . . problematic.
 
"You requested me, sister?" she said to whoever was in the room, again hoping that it would be suitably relevant to whatever she had missed.
 

---

 
Rarity let out a quiet sigh and mentally put her mind at ease that she wouldn't have to employ her hooves physically again for at least a little while. Instead, she just followed where her friends and everypony else were going. She realized a moment too late what exactly it was that they were all going to see, and once she did, she distinctly aware that she'd rather not see it. Colette didn't strike her as the kind of person she'd be ecstatic to get to know well.
 
And once she opened her bedroom's door, it wasn't hard to imagine why.
 
Gaudy posters hung on one wall, all attached with varying degrees of levelness that she could not ignore. They showed images considerably darker and grittier that she was accustomed to seeing, all terribly designed. The only time in recent memory she had seen such awful motifs was when she had been asked by a mare of questionable sanity to design a spiked collar for him. "Emo" and "goth," she remembered she described himself as. She was the same one who appeared in her Canterlot branch and couldn't stop speaking in that terribly croaking voice. Rarity was open to new ideas and new markets for her designs, but she was fairly certain it would be a long, long time before she ever delved into that particular market.
 
There were some instruments near the foot of her bed, instruments that most looked like the guitars she was accustomed. These, however, were shaped much more aggressively and what looked like large speakers. Rarity couldn't be sure what sound those instruments could make, but if she needed to guess, it was probably something loud, grating, shrill, and distinctly un-musical. That same description could be applied to Colette, certainly, so they matched in theme, at least. Unfortunately, it was a theme and matching Rarity would rather have nothing to do with.
 
And her wardrobe . . . Celestia, her wardrobe. All her colors were so drab and inelegant, and her garment choices were those she wouldn't be caught dead wearing. Those colors! Why was Colette in the apparent business of dressing up in the colors of dirt and slate? That was more something she'd take Maud Pie to be akin to. And was that a hoodie? She had never seen anypony anywhere wear that even for an instant, aside from Pinkie Pie, and that was for a joke! And those pants! Rare enough in Equestria as they were, but to her knowledge, pants (and all clothing, for that matter) was supposed to be thrown out or repaired when it was torn. Then why was it that the majority of the pants she saw there were torn in several places? Nopony in their right mind would choose to wear something in so desperate need for repair. Except Colette, apparently.
 
Rarity could feel the bile coming up in her throat. She brought a hoof to her mouth and averted her eyes, trying not to vomit. If not for that and what social ordinances she still had to abide by, she would have said something like, "Can I arrest you for committing these ineffable crimes to fashion?"
 
She was thankfully spared from the ongoing torment of seeing the wardrobe for any longer as Colette closed the door. Hopefully, she'd choose to wear something at least somewhat tolerable for the party tonight.
 
And as they retreated and headed to her home to ready themselves for the party, her friends started a heated discussion on Colette and Discord. Rarity and Rainbow Dash rarely agreed on much of anything, but here, they could at least agree on their distaste of Discord. He did have a tendency to make every party he attended intolerable by the very act of, well, being there. Plus, it appeared as if Discord and Colette were well on their way to getting along. It was like having dinner with a date who was both a lout and had terrible fashion taste.
 
They had come to the consensus that Discord should be at least tolerated, and though she agreed with it, she didn't necessarily like it. "It would be quite rude of me to simply abstain from attending this party, would it not?" she mused aloud to her friends. She knew the answer already, even if it wasn't the one she wanted. What she wanted was not what society wanted or demanded of her. The troubles of a life of popularity and social clout.

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Taialin, @, @@GeneralDirection, @@Yoshi89, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@Randimaxis,

 

"...And further more, Discord simply cannot be trusted! He's up to no good and I cannot help but feel that he's only using you" Spell Caster said as he pages back and forth before a pointing his forehoof at the human girl, who rolled her eyes. "I know he seems friendly and has seemingly been reformed, Colette, but he's a still the lord of chaos. He's ruled over Equestria once and made it a living Tartarus, and who's to say he won't do it again?"

 

"The Mane6, along with the two queens. I'm pretty sure that between them, Discord won't be able to do much - save those huge speakers. But seriously, what has Discord done today that was truly evil??"

 

"What about the guitars? You didn't have them when you arrived."

 

Colette shrugged. "Like I said. I packed them along with the rest of my stuff. I just carried the Two guitars that I happened to be closest to my heart, is all. Not that the newer guitars aren't special!"

 

Both scholars frowned at this. They knew the girl was lying, but time was running out to get ready for the ball. "We're gonna talk about this after the ball!" Spell Caster said before turning to Gavin, who had since pulled out his phone, and was now quite lost in whatever it was on his screen. Inkwell cleared his throat several times in an attempt to get the boy's attention. "A-HEM! Master Wilson. Did you hear anything we said??"

 

The boy gave no response.

 

Seeing as he was completely checked out yet again, Colette crept up to his side, and snapped her fingers into his ear. When this failed to elicit a response, she put two fingers in her mouth and blew a sharp whistle.

 

"GAAHHH!" Gavin shouted as he jumped, nearly falling out of his seat. "What was that for?!"

 

"It's to bring you back down from the stratosphere. Is Equestria not good enough for you, Cadet Wilson?? Is La La Land really that consuming?"

 

"I..." Gavin began, a fierce blush forming on his cheeks. "It's just that... I... Um..."

 

"Well, if this what it's gonna take to get you to wake up and focus, then go home. You're wasting everyone's time!"

 

With that, Colette turned and headed out of the room. "I'm gonna shower. Meet me in the mirror room?" she asked the ponies as she headed to the stairs, but not before stopping by the kitchen. "Cadet Wilson's indisposed - too busy being wrapped up in his cell phone. Tell Princess Luna that she can meet me instead. Tell her I'll be setting up on the stage."

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Colette waved and blew kisses to the stunned throngs of ponies, griffons, and changedlings as the taxi carriage went past, all whilst holding up a camera for all to see. "Hyoo-min! Holy crap!"

 

Laughing, she pulled herself back into the carriage, laughing heartily. Turning the camera onto herself, she smirked. "With all the shit that goes down in Equestria, you'd think that seeing a human wouldn't mean nothin'!"

 

Glancing down at her laptop, she saw that the stream was exploding with activity; her Twitch channel was barely over an hour old, and already there were over 2,000 streamers; more than a few of which inquired about the boy and what happened. "Mr. Wilson's head is too far into the clouds for him to be a of any use, so the scholars are sending him home. If any guy out there thinks they have the balls and the head to join me, feel free to audition. But I'll be honest - I'm not gonna hold my breath, 'cause I have more balls than the last two guys combined - and I'm a girl!"

 

At this time, the taxi reached the castle. "Well, I gotta go set up now! I'll be back soon!"

[Randimaxis 8,633]

"Mr. Wilson's head is too far into the clouds for him to be a of any use, so the scholars are sending him home. If any guy out there thinks they have the balls and the head to join me, feel free to audition. But I'll be honest - I'm not gonna hold my breath, 'cause I have more balls than the last two guys combined - and I'm a girl!"

 

.~O~.

 

Tucker Douglass watched the feed, his eyes narrowing as he felt a slow burn building up.  

 

He'd been sick to death of all the male-bashing hate crap YEARS ago, and had left Facebook because of it.  He'd simply gotten sick of the idea that it seemed like EVERYTHING that he was simply came up as hate-fuel for the haters: male, 17, white, middle-class, home-schooled... it was enough to drive him crazy.

 

And now, what appeared to be the QUEEN of all Goth Rockers was openly calling out males, proudly slapping them down.

 

Granted, since he'd started watching this stream, he hadn't exactly seen anything truly worthwhile from ANY of the guys that had come over into the candy-colored pony land; they'd been lily-livered whiners, and had made it look like anyone with testicles from his own world was useless.

 

Well, THAT opinion was nothing but pure horseshit - which was probably every-damn-where in Excesstium, Excreetium... or whatever the Hell they called it... and Tuck had had quite enough of the girl's hustering and blustering.  

 

Someone needs to take that lubricious bitch DOWN a peg...

 

Tuck wasn't actually a woman-hating pig or anything - he simply felt as if she was doing everything she could to making guys look bad (the idiots who showed up didn't help matters much), and if no one else was gonna do anything about it, well...

 

But he HATED the stupid show!  It was for little kids, and so many teens and even grown-ups had latched onto it like it was the Second Coming of Disney!  He didn't like the bright colors, or the tropey plots, or the muddled dialog... it was as dumb as that 'Stephan Universe' crap he'd seen lately.  

 

But he wasn't about to let Colette's challenge go unanswered.  He typed his response:

 

[DaftPunk182] : I don't care if you hold your breath OR your balls - I think you're full of it and I DARE you to deal with me!  I'll show your horsey friends what REAL people are like.  (Spoiler: It won't be some fluffed-up egomaniac like YOU.)

 

He hit Enter, and sat back in his chair.

 

============================================================

 

Dexter Grimes scratched his head, thinking over what Colette had said about how it seemed like no one was able to deal with being in Equestria but herself.  It didn't speak well for guys... heck, it pretty much told all of ponydom that human males were useless!

 

But Dex had never been much for people anyway - it was a good part of why he didn't go out much.  Well, that... and the OTHER thing... but he'd never let either of them stop him from learning to do what he felt was right.  He'd never been the 'SJW' type, but he did try to tell folks what they didn't usually see in front of them, especially when they were being one-sided.  He was an equalizer - at least, in his own mind, he was.  

 

This, however, might have been a bit out of his league.

 

He'd fallen in love with the show YEARS ago, and when he'd seen a pony that had the same issue HE did, well... he'd given his heart over to it.  Lord knew he didn't have a chance in Tartarus of getting a girlfriend in his own lifetime, so yay, ponies!

 

Still, even though he hadn't been picked in the first round, he felt that this might be the second chance everyone online spoke so much about.  Not only that, but the poor girl seemed like she was acting as she was because she might have felt alone in an entire world full of non-humans - it would be psychologically inevitable that she'd devolve into jibes at other folks...

 

She wanted someone there who wouldn't chicken out.

 

Well, if Dex had anything to say about it, he wasn't going to keep quiet any longer.  He pulled his keyboard over to him, and typed his own reply:

 

[Eclipso542] : I would be delighted to come and help you show the ponies of Equestria what humans can really be like - especially when they work together.  Please consider me?

 

He hit Enter, and took a deep breath of anticipation.

 

===================================================================

 

Lucas Mylon laughed as he saw Colette's stream, and pumped a fist in the air.

 

"YEAH!  You tell 'em, Colly!"

 

He sat back on his sofa and stretched; he'd been there ever since he'd first heard about humanity reaching another world, and his legs felt cramped.  Squeezing his eyes shut, he let out a long sigh and a short fart, giggling at how good it felt sometimes to just relax like this.

 

He'd been so caught up recently in his stage gigs that he'd really almost forgotten what it was like to have a moment to himself.  He wasn't famous yet - by no means - but he'd really been wowing the crowds lately, and the extra work had done a good bit to pad his account... so the vaca he'd been planning looked as though it would go off without a hitch.

 

He reached over and grabbed the beer on the table, and drained it dry.  Saluting the fallen soldier, he tossed it blythely into the trash can by the end of the couch, adding it to the two comrades it had waiting inside.  He felt good and mellow - it was the only reason he drank, anyway - and scratched at his goatee.

 

Y'know... exposure like this would do nothing but help my budding career... maybe I should give it a try?

 

He knew next to nothing about the show itself; he'd heard that it was a kid's show that had blown up over the past few years, and that 'Bronies' and 'Pegasisters' of all ages enjoyed it.  He didn't care one way or the other - folks liked what they liked - but at the same time, he'd felt Colette's stream reach the explorer in his inner child.

 

He'd wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, but his free spirit hadn't led him down that path; his guitar did.

 

He loved playing for crowds in parks and bars - it might not have paid much, but it gave him satisfaction to know that, in an era of hard rock and heavy metal, there were still folks who could appreciate some classical acoustic guitar-work.  Using his love of classical tunes (and classic rock), Lucas had entertained plenty of others with his casual manner and quiet confidence.

 

Now, it seemed, Colette needed someone there who could handle their own... plus, the idea of actually seeing ANOTHER WORLD still rang in his heart.  He made up his mind - especially when he saw the typical hate-post from DaftPunk182; he'd seen stuff like that before, but onstage.  It didn't faze him then, and it was nothing more than a catalyst now.

 

He picked up his laptop and typed away:

 

[GrooviMonkee] : Hey, if you're looking for last-minute replacements, I'd LOVE to duet with you, Colette!  Tell 'em I'd be happy to do the gig - I'd love to see what it looks like over there in person!  Cheers! ~GMonk

 

He sat back and smiled.

[Skycoaster 697]

@@Taialin,

"Yes sister. I did request your presence," Luna would say, donning her cloak. "It is just that you have attended many galas of late, where as I...I has been many years since I have last attended one. Even before my time away, I had boycotted the last few due to how our subjects received me back then...I wish for your assistance in greeting those whom attend. There is not much that frightens me dear sister,  however I am worried of the impression I will make if left alone..." The younger alicron would give her sister the puppy dog pout that she would use when they where both still foals. "Please Tia?"

 

Giving Celestia an innocent smile, she would flick back the hood of her cloak to reveal how her mane was done up for the evening. "On the bright side, your royal seamstress is has quite the flare. She is even an excellent mane dresser." With the glow of her horn, Luna would unhook her cloak and set it aside revealing her gown. "What do you think sister? I hope that this outfit is adequate for this evening."  She would look at the clock behind her as she heard a chime. "I can not wait to see what your seamstress has planned for you. I informed her that you where in need of an outfit as well. Please hurry back down here though. Your presence eases my nerves for such a tense time." 

[Taialin 217]

@
Celestia breathed a silent sigh of relief as nopony appeared to be too put off by her unorthodox entrance, least of all her sister. But with the retreat from the strange came the advance of the serious, and her sister indeed had some serious things to discuss with her.

In a lot of ways, the fact that one of them was younger was merely a semantic fact but not a practical one. Over the scale of thousands of years, a difference of a few scant years—or even a few scant centuries—was nothing if not petals in the wind. It was more the thousand year exile that her sister experienced and what she missed in the meantime that meant one of them was more inexperienced than the other. And that cute look her sister gave her certainly factored in as well, as it seemed to turn on some protective instinct in her.

"You underestimate your own power and poise, I think, dear sister," Celestia began. "The impressions you've made in recent times in your dream wanderings speak for themselves. They love you, and it is that part of you that you may show for those at the party to love you as well." She sidled closer to her sister. "I have full confidence that what you have learned in our modern times and your personality will win over our subjects if you simply be yourself.

"All I would recommend is to keep your temper in check." Celestia hesitated to mention this fact, but her sister did ask for her help. "There are certain . . . expectations that are expected of us princesses. And that does include keeping our composure in trying circumstances."

But then Luna revealed her evening garb. She smiled. "You are quite lovely, I think. Perhaps you will need to fend off potential suitors before I am able to join you?" Celestia jested. "Go, sister. I will be with you soon, and I trust you to be the magnanimous Princess of the Night you've always been able to be." And she gave her dear sister of many millennia a little squeeze.

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

@@Yoshi89, @@Taialin, @, @@Randimaxis,

 

"Ah wouldn't put it past 'im, either!" Applejack responded to the purple Alicorn as the group headed for the fashionista's salon.

 

"I still think you're all not even giving him a chance... I'm sorry, but that's how I feel."

 

"Actually, I'm kinda with Fluttershy on this one..."

 

"WHAT!?"

 

It didn't surprise Applejack in up the least that Fluttershy was sticking up for Discord, but to hear Pinkie siding with as well? That sure was! It was even more of a surprise when even Fluttershy admitted that Discord could be trouble; it faded some as the timid Pegasus reamined resolved in seeing the good in the Draconequus. "... but being a friend means you have to look PAST their mistakes, and care about the one behind them. He certainly isn't doing anything EVIL, is he?"

 

"No he hasn't - yet!" Applejack said. "But Ah still think we should keep a close eye on the girl, and Ah think Ah have an idea ta do just that, as well as get ta know 'er better, startin' with the party tonight."

 

It was then Rarity chimed in, audibly less than enthused "It would be quite rude of me to simply abstain from attending this party, would it not?"

 

"A' course it would, Rarity! You're the only one who knows most a the names of the high falutin' ponies in Canterlot! And 'sides, Ah don't think Colette meant any harm with that lil' dance a' hers. Now, let's get over to the Canterlot Carousel and get all purdyed up!"

 

Applejack leaned in close to Rarity, a thoughtful frown. "At least try ta get along with Colette tonight. We all gotta set an example fer the other humans watchin'."