Chapter 30: The GGG 5
Deep bellow Canterlot Castle, sits a dungeon, capable of holding some of the most dangerous criminals in the nation.
For hundreds of years, this dungeon stood empty and unused, seeing as all criminals powerful enough to be held here were already on their way to Tartarus, and so the Canterlot dungeon stood empty.
Until now.
"Stay here and someone will get you tomorrow, don't leave," A Royal Guard told the menace held in the dungeon, sitting on a small wooden bench near the wall, looking at the walls of chains and cages.
"Okey Dokey!" Pinkie Pie said, already wearing a black and white striped jumper and a heavy ball and chain around her ankle.
"Good," The guard said and left her alone in the dungeon.
"You forgot to lock the door!" She called out after him, but he ignored her as he exited the dungeons, not bothering to lock the pony up.
"I mean, I don't want to be chained up," Pinkie said to nobody as she stood up and started wandering around the empty dungeon, her only source of light being the few rays of moonlight peeking through the window leading to the steep cliffs below Canterlot, making escape for anyone who can't fly, almost impossible.
"I understand that some ponies see me as a party freak, but I'm way more of a Vanilla gal," She continued speaking as she continued walking around the dungeon, peeking into different cells and admiring the cages and chains.
She stared at a wooden horse sitting next to an iron maiden.
"I know what that's for, but the modern state of entertainment has made it so this device will be more synonymous with the adult entertainment genre than the torture device it was meant to be." She kept walking, exploring every nook and cranny of the dungeon, before she made her way back to her cell and sat down, her chin resting on her hoof as she waited.
"Oh yeah!" She suddenly had an epiphany, "We already stopped the pirate wizard, I didn't need to tackle him..." Pinkie then thought a bit more about what she said before her bored face turned to horror as tears started trailing down her cheeks.
"He gave me wine! He's my friend now! And I hurt him!" She cried, promising that once she was out of this dungeon, she will apologize to him with the best apology party she will ever make!
"Heeheeheeheehee, That's a Pinkie Promise, right pinkie?" She asked out loud, before speaking with a deeper tone, "That's right Pinkie, by the way, did you do something with your hair? I did, Thank you for noticing! No problem!" And she spent the rest of her night holding a conversation with herself.
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"Do they not know what the Grand Galloping Gala is?" Raven Inkwell asked as she laid her head on a table, Prince Blueblood sitting in front of her eating from a small bowl of salad.
"I find it hard to believe that some ponies don't know what a Gala is," He said as he took a bite of his salad before asking, "On the subject of the Gala, How much money did we raise yet?"
Raven sighed before answering the prince, "I don't know, I'll need to check."
Blueblood sighed, "Then it seems that the fundraiser has been a failure," he said as he placed down the bowl of salad he was eating and stood up, "Please go check how much money was raised, I'll be back shortly." He told her and left, entering one of the corridors leading to the castle proper.
Raven sighed once more, her red dress creased from not taking care of it, her hair messily splitting away from her bun, and her eyes tired of working during her day off.
"It's always the Elements of Harmony, isn't it?" She grumbled quietly as she made her way to see how much money was raised.
And she blanched when she saw the number of bits raised and started looking for why so few ponies donated.
And that's when she saw it, A blue-colored Pegasus with rainbow-colored hair, subtly dropping the signs calling people to donate near the Wonderbolts, only to swoop in and catch them, making herself seem impressive to the Pegasus, without placing the banners and sign back up.
She just tucked them away to the side.
Raven was having none of it.
"Excuse me, Miss Rainbow Dash," She called out to the mare as she walked in her direction, her face set in an angry frown as she saw all the hard work she did in order for the Gala to be perfect get thrown to the side by the Elements Of Harmony.
She can rest easy knowing that Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle, have yet to cause a disturbance, but looking at the girls' track record, how long will that last?
"Did someone call me?" The Element of Loyalty asked and sharply turned her head to see the white Earth Pony walking up to her.
"Yes, I'm going to have to ask you to stop dropping these signs and leave them alone," She told the mare, who chuckled in response.
"Me, dropping them? What are you talking about? Haha," She asked in a wooden voice, her eyes looking elsewhere.
"I see this is funny to you, but the Grand Galloping Gala needs these signs standing, so if you could please stop doing whatever it is you're trying to do, that would be a blessing."
Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding, "I see, Let me put all those signs back, then you won't have to look like you want to shout." Rainbow Dash said with a smirk, and before Raven could stop her, she was gone.
Sounds of crashing could be heard all throughout the gala as the blue Pegasus flew around, placing the signs back in their place but also pushing many guests aside in the process, causing them to drop what they were holding, causing a large mess.
But none of the mess was as horrible as when a guest jumped in fright at the sound of the crashes, bumping into the artistic statue of Celestia, causing it to start falling.
But before the statue could fall on top of the guest, Rainbow Dash flew and caught it, however, her victorious smile did not last long, as the statue started to wobble in her hold, knocking over the nearby decorative pillars.
Ending it all with the statue's head falling off, and landing on the marble floor.
The entire crowd stood stunned as they looked at the mayhem of what happened, the door the ballroom quickly opened, with Princess Celestia herself coming to check what the noise was, followed by Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer.
Another door opened soon after, revealing Blueblood's return to the party.
"Well, It can't get any worse," Twilight Sparkle said, and Raven felt like pulling her hairs out.
Because as soon as those words left her mouth, the door to the gardens smashed open, and groups of exotic animals jumped into the ballroom as the yellow-coated Pegasus behind them yelled out in rage, causing the remaining guests to start running around like headless chickens in a panic.
And seeing all of it, Raven's knees buckled, and she fell to the ground.
Soon she was joined by Prince Blueblood, who asked her how much money was raised, and at hearing her answer, his eyes darkened, he walked up to the stage where the musician played their music, grabbed the microphone, and tapped it a few times, causing every pony in the hall to suddenly freeze and look at him.
"What are you planning?" Raven asked as she stared at the Prince.
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Princess Celestia was enjoying the chaos, this was the first time in centuries that the Grand Galloping Gala was fun for her, she got to spend the entire evening with her lovely student (Starlight was also there, but she could ignore her) and that was enough to satiate the boredom of sitting around greeting the guests.
But her small smile of enjoyment immediately vanished when she spotted her nephew grab a microphone and get everypony's attention.
"Attention, Could I please have your attention for just one moment?" He asked the crowd that was slowly quieting down as the animals relaxed and stopped running.
"I have some words I'd like to say," He continued, and Celestia embraced herself for what he was going to say.
Was he going to tell a joke to lighten the mood? Was he going to do something drastic? What was her little baby planning?
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Rarity was starstruck as she looked into the Ballroom, Applejack by her side with her mouth agape as the two watched Prince Blueblood quiet everyone down and calm the situation.
"He really is the perfect prince," Rarity whispered as Applejack looked on in awe, her eyes wandering to her closed stand before looking back to the prince.
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"This is the Grand Galloping Gala," Blueblood said, his words being heard by every single guest at the party, "A once in a year event where the richest and most successful ponies in Equestria meet to dine and talk while raising funds for the downtrodden."
He continued, "This year, the funds we are raising were all going to go to keeping orphans warm in the winters of Rural Equestria," He said, his eyes looking down at all the ponies below him.
"However, this year we have only managed to raise the high amount of eleven-thousand bits. That is barely enough to install two heaters," It was then that his horn glowed, and an illusion appeared above his head, showcasing a group of fillies and colts playing in the snow, warm coats and hats on their body as they rolled snowballs and made snowmen.
"Because of how little we raised tonight," The scene he was showing changed, the colts and fillies happily playing in the snow were replaced by small and haggard children, shaking in the cold as they tried to warm themselves under old and ratty blankets, filled with holes and moth bites, "These same children aren't going to be able to play with their friends outside, they'll be too busy worrying about the cold to make these irreplaceable childhood memories."
"Eleven-thousand bits," He repeated the amount, "With Eleven thousand bits you can barely fix up one orphanage, that is not nearly enough for these young boys and girls." The scene he was showing once again changed to showcase the young orphans playing in the snow, their eyes full of life and their coats healthy and full, the scene changed to the orphans sitting at the dinner table, eating warm soup cooked on a brand new stove, with bread from a brand new oven, and finally getting tucked to bed on their new mattresses, sleeping with their new blankets and pillows as the brand new heater keeps them warm.
"I can't believe I am actually saying this, but think about the children."
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Across the ruined ballroom, many guests looked at each other and then at the box of donations, standing in the corner almost empty.
"Because I find it hard to believe, that from the ponies here," Blueblood continued, "From the richest and most successful ponies in Equestria, Eleven-thousand was the most we raised," He looked at all of them before pulling out a book from under his suit and tearing out a page, showcasing a blank cheque to the crowd before he pulled out a pen and quickly wrote the relevant information on it, folding the paper and levitating it into the donation box.
"It's that easy," He said, "In fact, you don't even need a cheque, every bit counts to these children," He told the crowd as he looked down at them, many of whom were unable to meet his disappointed gaze.
And after a minute of silence, He closed his speech, "That is all I have to say, Have a wonderful rest of your night, may you have a warm winter, and think of the children," Before he walked off the stage, walked up to the Secretary of Equestria, pulled her up, and slowly guided her out of the ballroom, her body barely responding as she stumbled her way.
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After hearing the speech the prince gave, nobody dared utter a word, the only sound being the few animals eating from the catering.
Applejack, having listened to the prince, looked back at her stand, and took out the small pouch of money she made.
It wasn't much, not nearly enough for what she planned to do with the money.
But after hearing his speech, Applejack could understand why he wanted her stall closed.
"You need this more than I do," She whispered as he placed the bits she made into the collection box before walking back outside and picking up her stall, leaving the castle.
Rarity, seeing her friend's act of generosity, decided to follow suit, and took off her necklace, placing it in the donation box.
And seeing the ponies place their expenses in the donation box, the other guests started to follow suit, leaving behind bits, cheques, and even jewelry.
And as Princess Celestia watched the events in front of her unfold, she smiled brightly.
"What a wonderful son I have,"