A night of Mystery and wonder

[Parodius]

The night sky shone like a thousand diamonds spread on an ebony table. Canterlot itself shone with just as much splendor, with the fellow Gala attendees marching toward the castle. The general hubbub and chaos of so many ponies struck Mystery Chaser as somewhat musical in an odd way. She shifted from hoof to hoof, not that fond of formal things. However, it never hurt to rub hooves with the high class to make some new contacts. "...who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky and some mysterious and dashing thief will try and crash the party and I can nab him and haul him to the guards... or something..." For all her... noble... intentions on such, that certainly doesn't look like a noble expression, with the grin and the blush. Her daydreams were broken as her belly announced its displeasure. "Er. I suppose sampling the catering might be good. ... I hope they don't expect me to do the dainty nibble thing."

She adjusted her usual 'formal' red dress. She'd spruced it up a bit with a belt, some cheap jewelry that was still pretty nice looking, and a nice set of shoes. She'd even gotten her brown mane and tail spruced up a bit. Step by step, she cantered into the castle, drinking in the spectacle. The Princess... the tapestries... the carpet... the decorations... everything seemed to demand its equal share of the grey earth pony's attention.

Her mind drifted back to how she'd gotten the ticket. Some client was expecting an extra ticket. However, they didn't have the bits to pay for services rendered. They'd offered. After some internal debate, she reluctantly accepted it as payment. After all... tickets don't pay bills or fill bellies, but it was a good opportunity that probably wouldn't pop up again. And it was a decent journey to Canterlot. And it was just a promise for something not yet recieved. Yet sure enough, the Hoofington mail pony dropped off an official-looking envelope addressed to her. Within... one ticket, looking like just the raw materials could keep her comfy for a while. ...but still. It seemed that things were starting to look up for once in a good while.

She cantered further into the castle. "I've got a good feeling about tonight."