The first rays of dawn were already peaking over the horizon when we arrived in Canterlot. I hadn't been able to sleep the entire train ride, but the other two looked well rested. After all, we only have to contact the princesses, and then we'll get to rest, won't we?

As the train pulled to a stop, I got up and walked to the door. I could already see ponies pouring out of the passenger cars at the front of the train. I jumped down from the platform and gestured for Amber and Glaze to follow. We got to the station platform without any trouble.

"Alright, so are we going straight to the castle?" I asked.

"I guess so. Where else are we going to go?"

I shrugged. "True. We can't do much with only 100 bits. We still need enough money to eat and for anything that we absolutely need, so there's no way we can waste it on casualties." I began to walk down the road. "Where can we get a map of Canterlot? We need to find the castle."

Amber sighed and stopped walking. "Is it really that hard?"

I gave her a confused look.

She rolled her eyes. "Glaze, you have 5 seconds to spot the castle, go."

"Found it 5 minutes ago. Mystery, are you blind?"

I glanced around quickly. Truthfully, I hadn't really taken the time to look. It would've saved me the time of looking like an idiot.

I nodded towards the gigantic castle that loomed above the entire city to the right of us. "No, I'm not."

"You're right, you're not blind, you're just useless..." Scoffed Glaze.

I rolled my eyes. Useless. Useless. Useless. That's all he ever thinks of me. Even after I saved his butt, multiple times.

I didn't answer, just began to walk off in the direction of the castle. I honestly have no clue what we're doing. I don't know how visiting works in the castle, but I'm sure they don't just let any old ponies in. Though Glaze's bullet wound might get us into the castle, there's no guarantee that the princesses will be able to talk to us at the time.

And what if we can't get to them at all? What will we do then? I guess we're pretty much dead...

I shook my head. Stop it Mystery. You're worrying too much. We'll get in to talk to the princesses, exploit the Factory, and this'll all be over...

~~~

"I'm sorry miss, we can't just let 3 random ponies in to see the princesses."

I sighed at the guards who had crossed their spears in front of us at the castle gates. "We need to get in! This is an important issue!"

The guard on the right shook his head. "You must go through a full background check before we can even let you into the throne room. May I see your ID?"

I paused for a second. "I... ID?"

The guard nodded.

Well... There's a problem... Ponies get a full ID card when they turn 16, the same age that their allowed to drive. I'm turning 17 next month. Shouldn't be a problem... Except for the fact that I never got my ID card. I was already employed at the Factory when my 16th birthday came. Dash never supplied me with an ID. Since I was never allowed out of the Facility anyways, I never had a need for one...

I glanced hopefully at Glaze, who shook his head. Of course. From what I know, he was only employed a year before me, and though I don't know how old he was when he was hired, he couldn't be more that a year or two older than me. He doesn't have one either.

I looked back at Amber. "You don't happen to-"

"I'm 12..." She cut me off.

The guard on the left sighed. "Can we hurry this up? We don't have all day, so either show us a valid ID so we can run a background check, or get out of here."

I frowned, thinking for a second. If we could somehow fake an ID, we could come back later and get in. I just have one more question... "Sooo... If we show ID, we'll be able to get in right away, right?"

The guard rolled his eyes and shook his head, pulled a notepad out of his uniform pocket and flipping through it. "The soonest appointment we have with princess Celestia is... Monday."

Glaze stepped forward. "No way, there's got to be a spot before that."

The guard shook his head again. "Monday. That's only 3 days, probably one of the best wait times we've had in a while. The princesses are very busy with the preparations for the spring gala, especially today, since everything needs to start being set up for tomorrow night. They haven't had much time for citizen complaints lately. However, if you want a sooner date, and don't mind coming after dark..." The guard flipped trough his notepad some more. "We can get you an appointment with Princess Luna on late Sunday night."

"Late Sunday night? That's the soonest we can get?!"

Both guards sighed again. "Yes. Take it or leave it. And we still need ID."

I shut my eyes. "Ok, give me a second to talk with my..." I glanced at the other two ponies, not sure what to address them as. "Uhmm... Allies?"

We stepped off to the side.

"What do we do now? Even if we can somehow fake an ID, we'll be dead by Sunday night, let alone Monday. There's no way we can evade the Factory for that long, especially if they already know we're here."

Glaze shook his head. "Hey, we have a chance of surviving until Monday, but how the hell do we fake an ID? Do you even know what those things look like?"

I shook my head. "I've never seen one in my life."

"Not even your parents?"

"MY PARENTS ARE DEAD, YOU IDIOT."

"GEEZ, I MEANT BEFORE THEY DIED."

"GEEZ, I NEVER ASKED THEM, DID YOU?"

"NO, WHY DO YOU THINK IM ASKING YOU?!"

"STOP. FIGHTING!!!!" Yelled Amber, coming between the two of us. "If both of you don't stop acting like 2 year olds, we'll be dead before tomorrow, let alone Monday. We're kind of in a life or death situation here, why can't you two cooperate?!"

"I don't cooperate with idiots." I spat.

Glaze rolled his eyes. "Says the useless one."

"IF YOU'RE GOING TO FIGHT, DO IT ELSEWHERE." Shouted one of the guards from across the space. "We don't want to hear your bickering."

I sighed and walked back towards them. "Alright, we've got an injured pony whose been shot, and valuable information about a major crisis in Equestria. You can see that this is important! WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED TO LET US IN?!"

The guard fixed me with an even gaze. "An ID."

I stared at him for a second, then threw my hooves in the air. "AGGGHH BUCK YOU."

The guard rolled his eyes. "I don't understand what the problem is. You must have an ID, you look old enough, and if you need to get in that badly, why don't you just... Show it?"

"I left it at home," I lied, an annoyed expression on my face. "Forget it, come on you two. Let's go."

Glaze shook his head, turning back to the guard. "Now wait just a second. What did you say about this "Spring Gala" thing?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at 1:00, it'll be held, here at the castle. I suppose, if you want to come back again then, we'd be able to allow you in without ID. That said, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to talk with either of the princesses, as they'll be busy talking to guests of a higher rank for most of the afternoon, and they'll be surrounded by heavy security, so don't try anything stupid. Though there will be a 'meet the royalty' type session, there's over 3000 ponies planning to attend the gala, and they'll all want a chance to talk with the princesses. Good luck getting anywhere near them."

Glaze nodded slowly. "How can we get tickets?"

The second guard answered this time by shaking his head. "This isn't as huge an event as the Grand Galloping Gala, so there's no ticket system. As generous as our rulers are, there's no entry fee, though if we top 4000, we'll have to stop letting ponies in. It's just a rule, in case of an emergency, we don't want the place overcrowded. Now get out of here, you're wasting our time."

Glaze turned. "Fine. Where can we get more information?"

The guard rolled his eyes and dug through his saddlebag, drawing out a crumpled pamphlet. "Here."

He nodded, satisfied, and we began to walk away. We found a park bench around the middle of the city to sit down on, and surveyed the pamphlet.

Amber seemed more excited than ever. "No way, we're going to a gala?! I've always wanted to go to a gala! All of the dancing, and the delicious food, and pretty dresses, and the castle scenery, and the-"

"Amber, we're not going to the gala, for the sake of going to a gala..." I sighed, feeling a little guilty for ruining her enthusiasm. "We have a job to do, and we're not going to waste our time on silly gala activities."

"But... Until we get a chance to see the princesses, we might as well have fun..." She protested, the disappointment obvious in her voice.

I shook my head sadly. "Once we get in, we're going straight to the princesses, and if they're not free, we'll make them free."

Amber's face fell. "Oh... Ok."

I smiled. "Cheer up Amber, we'll have plenty of time for these things once we shut down the Factory. Heck, maybe Celestia will even get us tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, because she's so grateful for what we've done."

"Grateful may not be all. Don't forget, she might also give you two jail time for participating in the crime in the first place..."

I waved the matter aside. "Eh, a little jail time is nothing compared to a life of peace. I'll wait it out."

She didn't answer.

Glaze flipped through the pamphlet. "This thing says nothing. Just explains about all the activities." He threw the thing at Amber.

She began to flip through it as well. "Oh, of course, all the fun activities we'll be missing. Where are we getting outfits, by the way?"

"Outfits? Pfffftt, we're not wasting our money on outfits." I scoffed.

Amber opened the pamphlet to a certain page. "This is a formal event. It has a dress code."

I looked down at the page, scanning the words. "This is crap. We don't have the money for this."

"Woah, woah, woah, so we can't get in without dressing up? What kind of event is this?!" Glaze snatched the paper out of my hooves and surveyed it with disgust.

"A stupid one," I growled. "We have..." I tried to do the math in my head. "88 bits left. There's no way that's enough."

Amber shrugged. "We might be able to get something cheap. Come on, let's take a look around."

She hopped off the bench and began walking down the street, forcing us to follow.

"This is stupid..."

"You know, for once I actually agree with you..." Sighed Glaze.

Amber, who was walking a ways in front of us now, stopped to look in a window. "Let's check in this one. I'm sure they have reasonable prices."

~~~

"175 BITS FOR A DRESS?! THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS!" Amber exclaimed as we walked down the street.

I shrugged. "This is Canterlot. From what I know, everything is expensive here."

She took a deep breath. "Ok. There must be other places. Let's try that one."

She gestured to a store across the road with a banner hung above the entrance that read "Carousel Boutique" in pink swirly letters.

When we went inside the store, I was surprised at the lack of clothes on display. Minus the few designs at the window, the place was completely empty. Where was everything?

A white mare with a curly purple mane trotted out from the back room. "Why hello darlings! What can I help you with today?"

I paused, looking at the other two, before stepping forward. "Uhmm... We're looking for outfits for the spring gala."

"Of course! You've come to the right place! I'm Rarity, owner of Carousel Boutique!"

"Uhh... Hi. I'm... Mystery, and this is Glaze and Amber Strike," I said, pointing at each in turn. "We're... Kind of on a budget... What are your prices like?"

Rarity beamed. "Well, for the most extravagant gorgeous dress, that you could only imagine in your wildest dreams, I can offer the marvelous price of 350 bits!"

My mouth dropped open. "Ok... Umm... What's the least expensive thing you've got?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, if you want to go with something not quite as fancy, the lowest I can offer you is 30 bits."

I nodded. "Perfect. One second please..." I dropped the sack onto the floor, dumping the bits out, and began to count them.

30 for me, 30 for Glaze, 30 for Amber...wait...

"We're... Two bits short..." I sighed. "TWO. BITS. Plus we need to eat tomorrow. This is crap. Who would think those two extra bits we spent on lunch would be so important..."

Glaze counted the bits himself. "Ugh, you're right..."

"There'll be food at the gala," Amber cut in. "We can eat there, and I'm assuming it's mostly free."

"But that still doesn't get us the bits we need to buy these stupid outfits. We can't eat if we can't get in."

"And we can't shut down the factory if we don't get in, and if we don't shut down the Factory, we'll probably die anyways. I think eating is the least of our worries," Said Glaze.

I sighed and looked up at Rarity. "We... Can't. Do you know where we can get stuff for a little less?"

The white mare shook her head. "30 bits is the least you're going to find in Canterlot. Clothing is quite pricy here. I've only been able to lower my prices because I've been able to sell so many dresses. Even now, customers are piling in, and I probably have enough money to buy an entire castle! Well, maybe not that much, but a girl can dream, right? That being said, I still have to make some kind of profit, and the materials I use to make my designs are still quite expensive."

Amber sighed, looking up at me. "Is... There any chance of us being able to sneak in without clothing?"

"If it's dress code, probably not. Even if we did manage to get in unnoticed, we'd be kicked out as soon as somepony saw us."

Glaze frowned thoughtfully. "One of us could stay outside. We don't all have to go in. If we have enough money to buy clothes for two of us..."

"And Amber's the least likely to get noticed by the Factory guards if they find us. They probably don't even remember what she looks like."

"You're right, if they spotted us, they'd definatly-"

"What? No!" Amber cut in. "I'm not staying outside! It's been my dream to attend a gala ever since I was a little filly! I'm not waiting on the side lines while you two go in and have all the fun!"

Rarity was the one who interrupted this time. "Alright, I'm really confused about what you're getting at, but let me tell you darling, the gala isn't all it's cracked up to be. I attended the Grand Galloping Gala a few years ago with my friends, and, honestly, it was kind of terrible. Some of the ponies there are just so... Rude," she said distastefully.

"But..." She couldn't hide her disappointment. "I won't even get credit for shutting-"

I elbowed her sharply, which shut her up.

"What?" Rarity was confused.

I shook my head. "Errr... Nevermind."

She shrugged, and looked at the ground. I thought I heard her mutter something under her breath, something about generosity. Then she looked up at us with a smile. "Well... Maybe I can help you. I'll give you a special deal. 30 bits for you two, 15 for the filly."

Amber's face lifted. "Really?"

Rarity shrugged. "Go live your dream."

I grinned and counted out the bits. We even had 13 bits left. This is great!

"We'll take it. Where can we look around?" I asked, taking another look around the empty room.

"Oh, I personally design each customer's request. No two dresses are the same, unless the client asks for a mass order! Just tell me exactly what you want, and I'll have it done by tomorrow morning!"

"Wow... You can really do it that fast?" Marveled Amber.

"Oh, of course, otherwise I would never get so many orders done! Please, come into the back room so I can take measurements!"

"You go first, Amber. Design your dream dress, it's only costing us 15 bits." I smiled.

The little filly grinned and bounded off after Rarity. Once the door shut, I looked over at Glaze. "Did she just... Guilt trip Rarity? By... accident?"

He shrugged. "Looks like it."

"I should've thought of that..." I said thoughtfully. Maybe Amber is smarter than I thought...