Bramble Rose

Bramble Rose flushed a little, a broad grin on his face. "Well, you know. Not much of me to weigh on them," he tried to joke about his size. He ducked his head, letting his hat fall off and onto his foreleg, rolling it down to his hoof where he caught it, twirled it, and rolled it back up his forehoof. It was a very flashy, very impressive sort of a trick. Right up till he started losing it, and fumbled briefly with it, bobbling it on one hoof till he grabbed it with his horn and jammed it back on his head. He grinned at MudBug, hoping the fumble wasn't *too* obvious. Suitably humbled, he got back to the dancing, spinning around backwards so that he was facing MudBug, keeping up the same pace, but retreating before MudBug's advance, and stepping towards her when she stepped backwards, a small grin on his face.

Purple Haze waited impatiently. She knew she was right - she'd seen her brother set up for a night of stargazing before, and he was way too nervous, and kept looking around like he was expecting someone. Oooo, who was she? Purple Haze wondered if she'd met her yet. Then she dropped out of the sky, like a bolt of lightning. Ahhhh, she was so pretty! And Purple stifled a giggle. She shouldn't have been surprised that it was a pegasus. Carrot always had thought wings were pretty. But when she got there, Carrot didn't give her flowers, or treats, or anything! He fumbled and stammered and fell over himself! *sigh* Ach, big Brae, ye fergit th' most basic things! Aye, ye'll be th' derth of me, yet. It was a good thing she was here! Well, enough flowers everywhere! She grinned to herself and hurried off into the woods, picking out only the loveliest violet and pink flowers that would match the pegasus filly's colors. She was sure that Carrot would manage for at least a couple minutes before she got back!

Sweetie Belle sat in awe ... Miss Willow Wisp was so beautiful, glowing in the dark like that! And she sang so beautifully! Ohhhh, Sweetie Belle hoped that some day, *she* could sing like that! And so bravely sung, up in front of so many strangers! When Grim started moving back towards his seat, Sweetie Belle leaned over. "That was wonderful!" she said softly, then looked up to his cousin Miss Willow Wisp. "You sang that song so beautifully! And you looked so *pretty* with the way you glow in the dark! Thank you so much for sharing that with us, both of you!" When the class finally started filing outside once more, for all the rest of the show-and-tell presentations, Sweetie Belle couldn't help herself. The song was stuck in her head, and as she trotted out happily next to Grim and Scootaloo, her soft voice was singing, in a low undertone so almost nopony else could hear, o/~ He's the boogie woogie colt, who goes bump in the night. Your hooves start tappin' you wanna start clappin' o/~ Purple Haze really, really liked how Willow wisp looked. She was all creepy and ghostly ... it was AWESOME! The song was all right. Kinda bouncy, kinda kiddy... it woulda been better if it was spookier, but it was still all right. Nothin' to complain about, really. But if it had been spookier, it would have been soooo cool. When all the ponies started filing outside, one of the ponies - a unicorn - started bouncing a couple balls on her way out. Purple Haze was delighted. "Oh, that's a bonnie trick!" she said happily, "Ye're a roit nimble sort, areye nay? Giv'us a pass!"

Doctor Whooves considered Lola's exuberance, and the expanse of her dreams, pausing in his work on the Manavane. Certainly he understood the desire for knowledge. He, himself, was completely driven by such a desire. And he understood, of a certainty, the envy of the Unicorn's spellcasting - what he wouldn't give to be able to just lower his horn, let off a soft blue glow, and have some annoying door unlock before his whim. But the extent of that speech showed more than just a desire for knowledge or magic. Rather, it was the sort of speech that led to ... unnerving events. Events such as those that destroyed the docks in Talonopolis a few years back ... "Well," he said, softly, "Those are grand dreams... but of course, one must remember that, as a whole, we do control the heavens. We tell the sun when to rise, when it is night and when it is day ... we make the rain fall, the grass grow, the wind blow... "But it is not magical power which limits the breadth of our influence on the world. It is balance. You don't just turn a desert into a lush jungle. That has ... far-reaching effects, beyond that of just the area of the local change. A desert is a desert for a reason... not every Saturday can be bright and shining... When we do not balance the natural forces as we do, there are repercussions that cannot be foreseen. Sometimes they're far in the future... and sometimes, the results are more immediate, as massive energies tear through the shipyards and cause terrible destruction. Be careful you fully understand not just the powers you wield, but why they must be wielded." He looked over to Trixie. "Which is why if one is powerful ... it is very important to also be great, and not just pretend to be great on stage. Greatness has nothing to do with power, or how much you are known. One of the greatest ponies I know ... of ... know of ... lived over a hundred years ago. Olive Branch, was her name. She was a diplomat that stopped a war with a few carefully chosen words. She's almost completely unknown, except to history buffs."

Bramble Rose felt Mud Bug's hoof lightly on his chin, and a goofy expression spread over his face as she closed his jaw, little hearts floating up from him and then *popping* quietly. He didn't even notice that she was taking such a *long* time to decide. He walked out onto the dance floor with her, grinning ear-to-ear, so amazed and excited that it wasn't till he was actually about to start that he realized... He was about to dance. In public. The extent of his dancing previously was sitting in the corner at the high school formals, and glaring down colts that came to ask him to dance, or just in his bedroom... or in gardens, for the plants. Sure, he danced every day, but not in front of anypony. And the plants were a LOT more forgiving than ponies... They bloomed when he danced. Mudbug didn't have any mud in her hair for him to grow a flower in, this time. He took a deep breath, listened to the music a moment ... and then started off, sinking into the music, striding confidently forward, the smaller unicorn pony taking the lead and counting on Mud Bug to follow his lead and step forward alongside him, his hooves hitting the floor in a slow trot in time with the music. Step, step, step, pause ... SeveralRapidStepsForward two slow ... steps back ... Step, step, step, pause ... SeveralRapidStepsForward two slow ... steps back ... Bramble grinned over at Mud Bug, heart racing for so *many* reasons, not caring that none of the other ponies around were dancing like he was.

Bramble Rose looked up in surprise as Mud Bug stepped back up to him, and his jaw dropped. He had thought she looked amazing when she was making her hesitant way across the dance floor in that perfect dress... but that look of confidence on her face, that sure strut to her walk, made her so much more gorgeous that his jaw just dropped. He already had forgotten the stranger. He could breath again, his heart back in place in his chest, but now swelling so much it almost hurt... he took a few quick breaths, and then finally managed to finish the sentence he'd started half a minute ago. "D-dance?" he softly says.

Doctor Whooves blinked, and grinned a little bigger. This wealthy pony was actually trying to *threaten* him?! That was ... hilarious! "My good pony!" cried Doctor Whooves, laying a forehoof on the fancy stallion's dress shirt, "I found out about it because I'm the pony that got the other half of the miners out of there and sorted the whole thing out! Also had to get out of that whole nest of gorgons while blindfolded when I tried to go get the statues back, and the entrance was collapsed behind me, so it was quite an adventure! I will say, it was the most creative use I've ever put a turnip towards, believe you me!" A smile of genuine amusement spread across his face as he leaned in, his voice losing its 'tipsy' flamboyance and becoming briefly serious and quiet. "So please believe me when I say that your threats mean very little to me." He laughed, then, and said out loud once more, "But there was no way to know you'd mined into an ancient seal keeping them locked away, like that! No fault to be laid here!" He turned away from Rockefilly tossed a couple bits on the bar, took up the two new Banana Daiquiris waiting for him on the counter, and balanced them both atop his head. "And that's all behind us! I'm off, dunno if Luna's ever tried a Banana Daiquiri before, and I haven't seen her in a while, so let's share the love!"

Purple Haze was suspicious. Her brother was going out to look at the stars... Not that this was unusual for Carrot. He did that a lot. But usually, he just went out back and looked at the stars, with the telescope set up in the barn. That was good enough for him. Tonight, instead, he was going to the stargazing hill, as he called it, which he usually only did for special occasions ... but there were none, tonight! And then he blushed when he said he was heading out! He never blushed about going star gazing... And then, when he was packing supplies, he packed *two* blankets! Usually, he only packed the one! Purple Haze was sure. The only thing that got her big brother all blushy was a filly. He was going stargazing with a filly! Big Brother Carrot had a date! *eeeeeee!* How romantic! So she nodded as he told her to do her homework - she would! Eventually... and she pretended to do as he said... She brushed out her orange and purple mane, and her green coat, as if the little earth filly were getting ready for bed. And then, when he left, she slipped out and followed afterwards! After all, he hadn't even packed any snacks! So her saddlebags had a jar of pickled carrots, and a bag full of deep-fried carrot discs, all ready in case he needed it. And who knows what else he'd forgotten to bring?! She stayed far behind him, jumping into the bushes if he even paused, or seemed to be thinking about glancing behind him, following after carefully. And when he got to the hill, she was hidden in the bushes, watching with eager eyes. Eee! Her big brother, out on a date! ** Well, he didn't have to worry. He didn't know it, but he had a guardian angel named Purple Haze, coming along to make sure this was the best night ever!

Doctor Whooves knew he came off as a bit ... different. He had no illusions about that. But he didn't care - when dealing with the strange and unusual, a few oddities lent an air of expertise to a personality - who better to deal with the bizarre than someone who's just a bit bizarre, himself? Never, though, had he found himself so proven correct as now. He'd gotten caught breaking into the palace... and now the princesses were following along after him, doing as he said?! This was definitely a high point in his long and magnificent list of adventures. Now all he had to make sure to do was follow through. He was sure something was down here, whatever it was, but if they didn't find it... Well, he'd certainly come out looking more like a crazy person than an expert. No sense worrying about that, though... So many empty doorways. Or closed ones. Imagine... there were rooms down here that nopony had gone in for hundreds of years... perhaps even thousands of years! Imagine what ancient devices, ancient magics, ancient books or scrolls or friezes or art, might be found down here, by an intrepid historian. The flow of time, in all its glory. Surely, travelling down here was like time-travelling, in its way, entering a world from ages past. He could tell, from glances out of the corner of his eyes, that the princesses were nervous. But how could they be nervous? They were the second and third most powerful forces in the kingdom! The first, of course, being one he watched over carefully, though it was laying unused and forgotten, tucked away in the bottom drawer, second from the left, in a little library in a tiny little town out in the countryside. Ah, well. Sometimes he didn't understand other ponies. What was to be scared of down here? It was dark, but what was darkness? It was old and musty, with cobwebs all over, but what were a few spiders? Well, there were the disappearing guards, he hadn't made them up. He supposed there was likely *something* dangerous down here... but that's why they were here! What fearsome thing? What great monster, what terrifying creature awaited? Maybe it had tentacles... maybe it had big crab-claws on tentacles! Maybe it was on fire! Maybe it breathed acid and could go right through stone walls! Maybe it slowed time around it so you moved as if embedded in molasses! Movement attracted his eye, while he was getting himself more and more excited with his imaginings. "Hold on!" he said cheerfully, and pulled out a little miniature lantern from his bag. He set it on the floor briefly, lit it with a brief flash from his flintstone, then picked it up in his teeth and progressed forward, with the flame licking up off to the side of his face. "Ah, there you are!" he said around the handle. There, in the middle of a side-corridor, where a few hoof-prints marred centuries of dust and murk, stood a little creature. Nothing more than an adorable little bit of blue fluff, with great big adorable eyes. It let out a soft little chirrring noise, a sweet trill of greeting, as Doctor Whooves approached it. "Well, well, well. Aren't you adorable?"

Sweetie Belle had just started getting up from her desk to go outside - a class outside, what fun! But then she was sitting down again, curious about her new friend Grimm's presentation, that needed darkness! She turned her head to smile back to him. "Break a leg!" she whispered, eyes shining happily. He was so brave! He looked eager, not nervous ... and that reminded her that she was going to have to present to the class. Oh dear. Well, perhaps it wouldn't be that bad. At least she didn't have to do very much, just show her items. Purple Haze was on her way *out* the door when Miss Cheerilee called everyone back. She was sooooo excited! She got to make carrot dishes for everyone in the class! Oooo, she wondered which ones they'd like? She could barely sit still, or focus on anything, waiting for Grimm's show-and-tell to start so that they could go outside and she could do hers! Oh, comon, comon! Hadn't he done it yet? Oh, it'd only been ten seconds. Commooooonnnnn!

Doctor Whooves grinned, unfazed by Trixie's condemnation of his device, and his abilities. "Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out," he said, the telescope-like piece of the manavane now in half, and the pony tinkering inside it with a screwdriver in his mouth, talking around it. "I'm told I'm rather a bit clever..." He glanced up at Lola as she declared her interests. "Really? I hadn't known Griffin technology had reached that level! Then again, it has been a few years since I was in Talonopolis... might be time to visit again. Though after what happened last time ... hooooo ... but I'm sure they rebuilt the shipyards, and have forgotten allll about it..." He went back to tinkering in his device, shifting the alignment of the variously colored crystals. "So, my dear unicorn," he said casually, almost absentmindedly, "With a display of power, ability, and control like that... why do you find the need to *tell* people that you're great and powerful?"

Doctor Whooves let out a sigh of relief, glancing over his shoulder towards the blue glow far off in the distance... though it was a bit hard to see over the blue glow right behind him. "That did it!" he finally said, as he could see, far off, the Cacti turning and heading back. "They've lost us!" He threw a lever again, spun a wheel, and a loud hiss sounded from behind everyone, blue steam venting out the rear of the cart. The 'vworp vworp vworp' wheezing noise slowed, and the cart sputtered and slowed at the top of a hill, ringing with a deep, reverberating metallic 'bwoooong' as the cart rolled backwards just a couple inches, then came to rest. the pony kept a wary eye on the horizon as he turned around in the tightly packed little cart, everypony barely able to fit in here. "Ah, good job, good job!" he said, seeing everypony taking care of Willowwisp. He knew from personal experience that Willow's leg should pop right back into good working order. He shifted his haunches at the memory of the sting of the cactus needles... "Right, so! Everyone alive? Good on ya! Glad of that, then! First things first, I answered all your questions... least you could do is answer the ones you all avoided back there! Never saw a batch of ponies so loathe to introduce themselves! Also, how *do* you do such a *lovely* glow?" The last was to Willow Wisp, though he was looking around generally at everyone. As Dio pushed the needles into the pincushion, it seemed to wither up a bit - the pincushion starting to shrink, to wither up like a raisin, right before Dio's eyes ... no more than half a minute before the pincushion finally collapsed into a little pile of dust with the cactus needles lying amongst the dust. Then the cactus needles themselves, their purpose fulfilled, collapsed into dust themselves. The fate Willow Wisp had narrowly avoided.

Not sure where to put this in the Gala... but a lot of the foals of Ponyville must be at home just now, perhaps being Foalsat. (Mudbug - would Tea Cozy be happy to babysit that many foals?) I was wondering if there'd be interest in the Cutie Mark Crusaders hosting a 'Gala Jr.' while all the adults are off at their own party?

Bramble Rose flushed a bit at Inkwell's words... Not entirely sure if that was truth or facetiousness... he was always bad at telling... "Ah ... OK. I just ... was taken by surprise. I was expecting to see ... y'know ... flowers in the garden. Not ponies." He had missed Fluttershy's story, having arrived only just at the end of it, but he tipped his fedora politely to her, trying for a suave motion to the gesture. Not that he was flirting at the moment ... he just needed the practice. "Bramble Rose, at your service," and he blinked, and his eyes widened ... "Oh, wait... you're... you're Fluttershy! You were in ... everything!" He stopped right there, nearly biting his tongue, and standing in awkward silence for a few moments. Do not fancolt, do not fancolt, do not fancolt he admonished himself. What did you say to a legend in the modeling world?! He didn't even notice as Inkwell pointed out Big Mac!

Doctor Whooves arrived at the bar with a very quick step to his hooves. The lover of history and delver of ancient sites, tinkerer, and all around clever pony, was all dressed up. He had a white dress shirt, a brown suit coat, and a very nice tie. Except the tie was tied around his temples, dangling down the side of his face. His front hooves stopped at the bar, though his rear hooves took a couple extra steps, turning him a little sideways, then retraced their route so he was straight no again. A daiquiri glass, balanced on his nose, slid off smoothly onto the counter. "Ahhh, that was a wonderful Banana Daiquiri!" he cried happily! "How'd you know just how I like it?" He blinked, thought a moment. "Oh, right, I mixed it myself!" Amicably, he threw his hoof over Knightly's shoulder, and spoke to the noble knight in a friendly manner. "But I remember her. She made me one before. Listened to me being crazy, too! Not that I am crazy. Really good Daiquiri. Love to say Daiquiri. Daiquiri Daiquiri Daiquiri, Doc!" He laughed a bit, grinned up to Martini. "Another! Make it two! I'll bring one to... ohhh... Luna or Celestia, whomever I find first! Gotta say hi, while I'm here!" He peered at the pony on the other side of him. "Oh, hey, I know you! Yes, don't tell me... yeah! You owned the dig site where half the ponies got turned to stone before that whole problem got sorted out! Nice to see you!"

Bramble Rose took a deep breath, then another, assaying a grin. MudBug was a wonderful filly - always so energetic, and she loved working in the garden... he'd admired her several times, and thought she was cute, but ... wow. She had seemed to like it when he'd grown a flower in the mud in her mane... not that there was a trace of mud on her today. Last time he'd seen her clean, she'd looked a lot more miserable about the fact. Although admittedly she had a slightly wild look in her eyes just now... He grinned at the compliment, and modestly dropped his head with a little bit of a blush. "Well, thank you, Mudbug," he said, "That's kind of you to say so. I'm surprised myself." He took another deep breath, rubbed at the back of his neck with one forehoof, then lifted his head. Not quite looking at her as he said, "So, well, while we're both, y'know. Here. Perhaps I could have the pleasure of this -" as he was speaking the words, he looked up to her again, and blinked... she was already turned away from him, dancing with some other stallion. And he sounded soooo suave and self-assured... He couldn't tell exactly what was being said, but he heard the low, classic tone of the words. Bramble's heart dropped into his stomach, which rejected the offering by churning fiercely. His throat showed solidarity with the stomach by closing up tightly. He stood a moment in shock as he tried to figure out what just happened.

Bramble Rose stepped onto the ballroom, his heart leaping in his chest and butterflies flitting about in his stomach. The delicate little purple unicorn with the long silver mane had promised himself two things, now that he was finally at the Grand Galloping Gala. One, that he would see the gardens up close, instead of always at a distance from the window of the tower room in the library ... and two, that he would ask a lovely filly to dance. Oh boy. He swallowed nervously, ran a front hoof over his suit coat, the tie that was always losing its place, and then lifted it to adjust his fedora. The clothes helped him settle down, feel more confident. Clothes did make the stallion, and these were *awesome*. Glitzen had chosen wonderfully. He had promised himself. At least one dance. Don't overthink it. You practiced. You won't trip. Just ask someone. He looked around nervously. Exactly how did you pick who to ask to dance? How did you know who was available? Was there some sort of sign? What if he asked a filly to dance and her coltfriend came up and was angry? And he was huge! He didn't even know anyone here. Look at that mare, with her nose in the air... and that mare, with the adorable saddle... and that one, with the gorgeous, sparkling white dress. Hey, she looked kinda like MudBug ... ... "MudBug?" Bramble asked, stepping up to her, his eyes wide. "I... is that you?! You look *amazing*!" His jaw was dropped as he just took in the magnificent, sparkling outfit ... and the sleek, gorgeous filly that made it look even more beautiful.

Sweetie Belle eagerly trotted over towards the buckets she'd already brought out, where there were rags hanging over the sides. And, of course, the rag that had fallen out of the spilled bucket. She took up the wet rag and folded it nice and neat in half, then in half again, then set up on the far side of the puddle. She put her front hooves on the rag, crouched down eagerly, her tail up. Then she ran across the puddle, sending up a small wave across the puddle as she pushed the water ahead of her with the rag. Halfway across one of her rear hooves *slipped* slightly and she almost stumbled, but she recovered before she hit her chin on the floor and kept going, so that she send a lil' splash of water out the door. She wrung her rag out into the flower beds and came back in to try again! Yay! She was helping! ** She was helping and not making a mess! She smiled over to Scootaloo to share her happiness with her friend, then grinned up at her sister. Sure, an adult would recognize that she was putting *way* too much effort into this, but Sweetie was just delighted to be helping! o/~ o/~ o/~ Cleeeeeeeean! The cleanest we've seeeeeeen! An end to the grime, and dirt all the time, and keep it sparkleeeeeen! Now let's all clean, you know what I mean, Dry up the spill, clean it all up we will, we know the routine as we clean! o/~ o/~ o/~

Purple Haze stood outside of the school, giving a soft sigh. The young earth filly with the green coat and the orange-and-purple mane wasn't a big fan of waiting, or of school, or of anything like that. And today had been the first day of school, going about as well as she could have expected - slowly, boringly. Just the same as back home, except that everyone had really strange accents. She was looking forward to going home and cooking up a whole bunch of fresh carrot dishes to bring in for show and tell tomorrow! In her mind, she went over the ingredients she needed, and tried to remember if they had enough. She was pretty sure they didn't need anything from the store - she usually stayed on top of that. She glanced up at the sky, marking the movement of the sun. At least it was a nice, sunny day - warm, with everything seeming especially green. Her brother, Carrot Fields, was in the main square selling carrots today. Oh, why couldn't she have gone to sell carrots and pickled carrots and carrot curry and carrot pie and carrot bread and carrot cupcakes with him instead of having to sit there in school being bored all day? She let out a soft sigh. And he was very good at being late... she was tempted to go to the market square and join him there, with the hustle and bustle of ponies heading home for dinner and needing a few last-minute ingredients, but ... for all she knew, he'd gone off to mail a package or something, and they'd end up missing each other, and then he'd get all worried about her and blame her. She wasn't a little foal anymore! She scraped her hoof along the ground and picked up a little stone, and started bouncing it off the tip of her hoof, counting how many times she could do it. Five times... twelve times... fifteen times... thirteen times... She impressed herself when she managed a really good streak that got her all the way up to forty-two times! But then the next one she screwed up after only eight times. "Ach, come on, me brae!" she grumbled to herself. "When'll ye pop by already? Oi dinnae have all even!"

Bramble Rose trotted lightly into the garden, his step light and eager. All his life, the delicate little purple unicorn looked down from the window at the top of the library tower to see into this garden. All his life, he'd sat in that window seat and daydreamed, and looked at the exotic plants, possibly even caught a glimpse of the Princess' golden apple tree. And now, for the first time, he was actually here! it was so exciting! And since most ponies tended to stay in the lit areas, with the other ponies and the food and the music, that meant he'd get to be by himself for a while, just him and the flowers. He brushed a hoof over the dress shirt and straightened his tie, tipped his fedora lightly, thinking of how stylish he looked. Glitzen did good work. He'd go back, eventually, and find a nice filly to dance with. But first, the gardens. He came around the corner happily, eagerly, and was surprised to find himself facing a pair of ponies who were also in the garden! "Oh!" he said, startled. "I'm sorry ... I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Doctor Whooves spun around and looked up at the two princesses with a slightly dazed grin. "Oh, yes. Perfectly all right!" He turned around, again, to peer at the wall. "I just don't remember a waaaalllll being there," he said suspiciously. He turned around and looked at the stairs.. then turned to look at the wall. Held up both his front hooves before his face, peering between them, then tilted his head slowly sideways. "Oh! Nevermind! There it is! Just got turned around a bit!" He smiled up to Celestia and Luna, then looked around at the surrounding murk and dirt. "Well, this is certainly exciting!" he said energetically, seeming to be more and more delighted, the creepier it got. He peered closely at a hanging cobweb, gave it a sniff, then gave it a lick. He smacked his lips, and rubbed his front hooves over his tongue. "Blech. Yup, we're on the right track! Getting stronger now!" He peered closely at the floor, in the light of Celestia's horn, and then proceeded to follow the sole worn, almost-clean path through the dusty surroundings, the smooth groove worn into the stone floor from hundreds of years worth of halfhearted guard patrols. "This way, then!" Doctor Whooves hummed happily, and out-of-tune, as he proceeded on down the twisting, winding halls. "I gotta say," he said enthusiastically, "I've had a lot of ponies follow after me in my adventures, but this is the first time I've had *two* princesses as my companions! It's quite a treat for me!" His tone was light, offhand - just showing an enjoyment of the moment, regardless of what the future might hold. Every so often, the brown earth pony paused at some turn-off and examined this or that turn-off... sniff the air... listen carefully, a hoof raised for quiet... then shake his head, and move on. Further down, further in, the strange procession continued.

Bramble Rose looked up at the palace with excitement. His parents had always been to the gala - his mother being a highly respected professor in the University of Canterlot. He'd always been too young to go. This was the first year he'd ever gotten a ticket! He knew it was entirely because of his mother, but nonetheless, it was very flattering, and very exciting. His parents always had such wonderful stories about the Gala. And the greatest honor of all - meeting Princess Celestia herself! And hear tell - Princess Luna should be here too! He stood in line nervously, checking over himself once more. The slim, delicate little purple unicorn had his long silver mane slicked back neatly, hanging down to one side of his slender neck. He wore a loose white dress shirt with a loosely tied black tie, a pinstriped charcoal gray suitcoat that he had left open, and a fedora perched atop his head, slightly tilted to one side. A silver rose was tucked into his lapel, a rose he'd grown himself very carefully. He didn't feel as fancily dressed as the rest of this lot, but Glitzen had said this was what he should wear, and he trusted the strange but kind pony to know much more about fashion than he would, himself. The line moved slowly, and Bramble was too nervous to introduce himself to the ponies before and behind. He was fairly certain he knew one of them from one of his mother's fancy dinner parties, but he could easily have been mistaken. And he never knew what to say to them, anyway. So he waited quietly, carefully going over what he would say to Celestia time and again in the back of his head. And then it was his turn. He smiled, his hoof taking Princess Celestia's, and he bent over her hoof in an old-fashioned manner. "A pleasure and an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I have heard wonderful things about your Gala, and I thank you for inviting me." He knew the princess was always busy at these events, though - so as soon as the Princess said her few words, he moved on politely, eyes wide to see the rest of the Gala. Finally, the chance to see the royal gardens up close, rather than from afar, through the Library's window!

Doctor Whooves was skittish as he waited for everyone to get into the cart, his eyes alternating swiftly between the incoming ponies and the incoming cacti. "Come on, come on ..." Doctor Whooves murmured to himself, his hoof sliding over to give a smaller wheel on the control panel a spin. The cart responded by letting out a couple of 'ding' noises, as if he had struck a bell. As Braeburn got his hooves into the cart, Doctor Whooves didn't wait a moment longer. He reached out and threw a lever, and a lever on the side of the metal box started rise and fall, rise and fall, first slowly, then faster and faster. The blue smoke billowed out of the back of the cart, the wheezing vworp vworp VWORP VWORP increased in volume and speed, and the cart rolled slowly forward for a few feet before it suddenly shuddered and LEAPED forward, accelerating rapidly. At first, despite the cart moving along of its own accord, the cacti were closing. Doctor Whooves let out a delighted laugh, one hoof on the large ship's wheel, the other hoof wildly cranking a lever up and down repeatedly. "Woooohooo! Let's go!" A spray of needles came from the leading cacti, lodging themselves into the back of the cart, but then the cacti started falling behind. The next spray of needles buried themselves into the sand behind the cart, and then the group of ponies were up and away over the sand dunes, hovering in the air at the crest of each dune before landing heavily on the way down. "Now *THAT* was close!" Doctor Whooves laughed, finally sparing a look for his passengers. He nodded in approval at Braeburn's first aid. "Good lad! Once you're done there, get her some water out of the barrels! That'll fix her right up!"

Awesomely Epic and Epically Awesome. Captures the scene perfectly!

Sweetie Belle smiled softly to her sister, and her best friend. They were always so nice and encouraging, even though they keeped focusing on her music. Why did everyone always seem to want her to sing? They were just her silly little twiddles, nothing special about them. Sweetie Belle smiled happily to Scootaloo. "Of course! I love trying to get my cutie mark with you! But today maybe we can do something different? Like... Cutie Mark Crusaders Cleanup, or Cutie Mark Crusader Spa Treatments!" She gave a lil' wink to her Big Sister Rarity. "But you always told me, Big Sis, that whenever there's a mess, we shouldn't go off and do fun stuff till the mess is cleaned up! That cleaning up a mess takes first priority! We should clean up here, first, before going to the spa! Scootaloo and I can help you!"