The Shy and the Knight ch. 6

Chapter 6


Two days down, one day to go until the Grand Galloping Gala arrived.

Rarity spent her daily hours for the past two days to create luscious outfits for two very special ponies: Fluttershy and Yorkshire. After hours of using magic and hard work, the outfits were finally done. She had them displayed on pony mannequins to see how they look. She examined Fluttershy's first. Her outfit included a small crown of brown and yellow fake leaves and vines. The long silk dress that reached over to the hind legs had various colors of the autumn season: red, orange, and yellow. Slippers were on the front hooves with silk straps wrapped around the ankles up to the knees. "Just like how she would've wanted it to be." Rarity said to herself. "Now to look at Yorkshire's outfit." His was no exception. The surcoat of the outfit was green and white that reached to the flank, covering it. On the front, a black eagle with white detailed outlines was sewed on with its wings spread open almost touching the sleeveless openings. Under the surcoat, she added a long sleeved shirt and pants to go with the outfit. "They're going to be so happy about this!" she thought. She then heard the door's bell ringing. She quickly hid the new clothes on the mannequins away in two separate rooms. She looked to see who it was and saw that it was Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! Welcome!" she said with a smile.

"Good afternoon Rarity." she replied quietly. "I got your letter this morning. You wanted to show me something."

"Oh yes! I just finished your dress for the Gala! Follow me." she said. She walked into a small room with Fluttershy following her. "I followed all of the details you have given me for this dress." she showed her the dress she had made. "There it is."

Fluttershy's eyes widened and gasped quietly, gazing upon the beautiful dress. "Oh Rarity, it's so wonderful. I love it." she said, hugging her. "Thank you so much. I just know that Yorkshire's going to love it on me."

She smiled and hugged her back. "I hope so too. Now then, you better take it home with you and keep it hidden before the Gala." She removed the dress off of the mannequin and wrapped it carefully in a bag. She handed it over to Fluttershy. "You're going to look beautiful in that dress."

"I thank you again, Rarity. Bye!" she exited the store with the dress in the bag in her mouth.

About an hour later, Rarity heard the door bell ring again. She looked in the lobby and saw Yorkshire enter the shop. "Yorkshire, darling! You're just in time!" she said, smiling.

"Is my outfit finished?" he asked.

She nodded her head fast. "You're just going to adore it! Come this way!"

He followed her to the second small room across from the first small room. Before she opened the door, she closed his eyes. He chuckled. "You want this to be a surprise, don't you?" he asked.

She giggled. "Very much." she replied. She opened the door, letting him in. "Keep those eyes closed." she reminded him. When they were in front of the outfit, she uncovered his eyes. "You can look now."

Yorkshire slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his new outfit for the Gala with widened eyes. His jaw dropped and began to stammer, unable to speak words. He circled the display. He looked to Rarity, staring at her.

"You like it?" she asked, smiling.

"I LOVE IT!!!" he exclaimed loudly. He dashed to Rarity and hugged her, making her yelp. "Thank you so much Rarity! It's awesome! I just know that Fluttershy's going to love this!"

She smiled. "It's no problem at all."

"You have no idea how much this means to me!" he said smiling big.

"I'm sure I do, dear." Rarity replied, giggling. "Just let me wrap your outfit and you can be on your way." she took the outfit off from the mannequin and wrapped it nicely. She slipped the wrapped outfit into his large belt bag. "Enjoy the Gala with Fluttershy tomorrow! Make her happiness last through the night." she said.

He nodded, turning to the exit. "Again I thank you for using your gracious skills for this piece of art you have made."

She smiled. "You are most welcome. See you tomorrow night."

"You too!" he replied. He walked out of the boutique.

Rarity watched him walk away through the window. But she saw a mare pony walking towards him with a rose in her mouth, stopping him. She looked to be blushing with love shown deep in her eyes.

"Excuse me Yorkshire…?" the mare asked nervously.

"Can I help you?" he asked her.

"I um… I'm really hoping uh…" her heart began to beat faster. She started to break a sweat and blushed brightly. "Please go to the Gala with me! I'm dying to be your girl!" she shouted.

Yorkshire gasped in surprise that another girl asked him to go to the Gala. He kept his mouth straight, showing neither a frown nor smile. "That's very nice of you to ask me."

The mare looked up with a smile.

"But I'm afraid I cannot accept that offer…" he added. He saw her eyes fill with tears of hard rejection. He sighed heavily. "I have already accepted another girl's invitation to go with her. I'm very sorry to tell you this way." he slowly turned to the side and continued to walk off.

The young mare dropped the rose from her mouth, fell on her knees and cried, heartbroken that a knight she had a big crush on had denied her invitation. "Please!" she begged loudly, loud enough for other ponies to notice what was going on. "I want to be with you! I want you to be my knight in shining armor! I love you!"

Yorkshire stopped and saw that everypony was watching. He slowly turned his head to the weeping mare, showing no pity in his eyes. "But I love the one who I am going with." he said lastly. He continued to walk away, hearing the mare cry louder.

Rarity watched him walk away from the mare, sighing heavily. "Love can be hard sometimes." she thought. She walked into her office and began to design and make her dress for the Gala, smiling a bit. "Grand Galloping Gala, here comes Rarity!"

.  .  .

It was on the early evening of the Grand Galloping Gala that the knights and the girls would meet at the town square before heading to Canterlot. They all met, looking at each other with amazement. The girls saw how handsome the knights were in their robes, surcoats and chainmail with their swords hung by their sides. The knights saw how lovely the girls looked in their dresses based on their personalities.

"You girls look ravishing tonight." Knighton said to them.

"Thank you for that compliment." Twilight Sparkle said, giggling. "And may we say how you boys look very masculine with those cloaks and robes on."

He chuckled. "Twilight Sparkle, shall we introduce our little couple for the Gala?" he asked, winking.

She nodded. "That would be a wonderful idea." she turned to Fluttershy that was behind the others who was in her beautiful dress. "You ready to see your date?" she asked.

Fluttershy blushed and rubbed one of her front legs nervously. "Y-yes…" she quietly replied.

Knighton turned to Yorkshire who was in his new outfit. "Ready to meet the mare of your dreams?" he asked.

Yorkshire gulped and chuckled nervously. "Yes I am." he replied.

The other knights and girls slowly moved aside, creating a path for the two to see each other.

Fluttershy and Yorkshire looked to each other. They were suddenly filled with strong emotion and passion: their hearts beating fast, their faces in red, and their eyes in complete awe. They walked to each slowly and carefully.

Yorkshire could not believe what he saw. It was as if he had seen a goddess of nature.

Fluttershy felt the same. She had now seen the most handsome knight she had ever seen and had feelings for. They were then standing face-to-face with each other.

"Fluttershy…" Yorkshire said in such a quiet voice. "You're so beautiful…."

She blushed brightly. "You're looking… very handsome tonight…" she replied. "I really like how you look in that suit... the tunic matches your eyes…"

He began to breathe heavily, quietly. "And I love how the dress depicts you so well. It matches your true nature." he said. He lightly kissed her cheek, making her blush. "Shall we go?" he asked her.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Yes." She and Yorkshire started to lead the way walking together to Canterlot while the other knights and mares followed them.

"I think they like each other even more now." Llanfair whispered to Pinkie Pie.

She giggled quietly. "That's what happens when ponies fall in love." she whispered back.

.  .  .

Later while the sun was setting behind the hills, the group arrived to the majestic castle of Canterlot. The royal guards outside proudly opened the gates, letting them and other guests in. As they walked through the main hall, they looked around seeing two rows of guards in armor with spears on their sides. They continued to walk until they reached a pair of large doors. They could hear muffled orchestra music coming from the other side. The doors were slowly opened by butlers from the other side. The group walked in, seeing a large ballroom with shimmering lights hovering from above, dozens of large window doors all around, and reflecting marble floor. Hundreds of well dressed stallions and mares were inside the ballroom chatting, feasting on appetizers, and dancing in the middle of the floor along with the music from the orchestra.

"Holy moly!" Rhayader exclaimed in amazement. "This place is huge!"

"Why of course." Rarity said. "I've always enjoyed the culture, fashion, and glamor on occasions like this."

They all walked further into the party with Yorkshire and Fluttershy still in the lead.

The music slowly ended, and everypony were lightly stomping their hoofs on the floor as applause.

"My welcomed guests!" a voice loudly said.

Everypony turned to where the voice was heard and saw that it was Princess Celestia, a white, graceful unicorn Pegasus with a flowing rainbow colored mane and tail and a large mark of the sun on her flank who ruled all of Canterlot sitting on the royal throne with two royal guards always standing by her.

"I am pleased to welcome all of you to another year of the Grand Galloping Gala!" she continued. "I do hope that all of you enjoy yourselves with us here at the capital of Canterlot!" she looked to the recently opened doors seeing a group of knights and ladies standing close to the middle of the ballroom. She smiled standing up from her throne. She walked along on a large red carpet that reached all the way across the ballroom, heading for the group. Everypony else but the group moved off the carpet to let the princess pass by. She walked up to the knights and mares and then smiled again.

The knights and mares bowed to her royal majesty in respect.

"Please rise fellow knights and lady companions." the princess said. She watched them rise, standing up again. "Brave and noble knights, welcome to the kingdom of Canterlot."

"Thank you your Grace." Knighton replied. "We thank you for inviting us to your Gala tonight."

She nodded and turned to Twilight Sparkle. "My faithful student." she said to her. "I thank you and your friends for bringing these gentlestallions to my castle."

"You are indeed welcome your highness." Twilight Sparkle said, bowing to her again. The other girls bowed down as well. "These knights have told us of their tale in battle, a very tragic tale."

"I can believe it is." she said. She looked to all of them. "I welcome all of you personally and hope that you enjoy your night. I only wish that my younger sister was here to greet you as well. She's very fond of knights." she said, referring to the younger princess who always brought out the moon when the sun went down, Princess Luna.

"How is she?" Rarity asked.

Celestia smiled. "She's doing just fine." she replied. "I know that she'll be here soon. She always loves to dance when it comes to the Gala." she quietly giggled.

Suddenly, one of the large windows slowly opened up by themselves, letting the wind lightly blow into the ballroom. Then a stream of glistening stars slowly flew into the room. Everypony wondered why it was there and were in awe at the same time. Only Celestia knew about the stream of stars and smiled. The stars hovered down to the floor and created a bright flash. From the flash appeared a young unicorn Pegasus mare. Her coat was colored in purple; her long flowing mane and tail were in blue and bared the mark of the crescent moon on her flank. Everypony applauded the younger princess's arrival.

The knights all watched the princess walk to her sister. Knighton suddenly had a strange feeling swelling up inside him as if all his memories of pain went away. He couldn't keep his eyes off of the purple mare. His stomach felt a little upset, and his heart was beating quickly. He blushed a little, but tried to hide it.

"Luna." Celestia said to her. "I'm glad you're here."

"I'm sorry I didn't come early." Luna said in a young, beautiful voice. "I'm back on the job for bringing up the moon, remember?" she asked giggling.

She laughed. "Why of course. Come little sister, there are some guests I would like you to meet." she showed her the girls and the knights. "You remember Twilight Sparkle and her friends don't you?" she asked.

Luna looked to them as they were bowing to her and smiled. "I do. The girls who saved me from my evil form." she bowed to them. "I again thank you for your heroic deed for me."

"You're very welcome your Grace." Twilight Sparkle said.

Luna smiled and turned to the knights.  She saw that one of them, the one in red was looking at her with a strange look in his eyes. When she looked at the red knight, she began to have a strange feeling of lust for him. She blushed brightly and did nothing to hide it. She slowly walked up to the red knight.

Knighton was beginning to feel nervous, seeing the young princess walking up to him. He tried his hardest to hide his blushing but failed.

"Hello… good Sir Knight." she said in a quiet and shy tone.

"G-good evening your majesty…" he said, slowly bowing to her. The other knights bowed as well.

She giggled. "Please rise." she said.

The knights stood back onto their hooves.

"Welcome to Canterlot. Please tell me, where do you six come from?" she asked the red knight.

Knighton gulped nervously as she continued to talk him. He breathed deeply to calm himself down. "We come from a very far land." he replied. "That's all we can tell. We traveled to Ponyville after fighting in a deathly battle against a dark army, being the only survivors who made it out alive."

She gasped quietly. "Oh my…! Are you hurt?"

"We were wounded, but we weren't hurt that bad." he replied. "But the emotions I feel remembering the war still hurt once in a while…"

Twilight Sparkle noticed that Princess Luna was very interested in hearing things from only Knighton. She walked close to Celestia's side. "I think your sister might have a little crush on Knighton." she whispered to her, giggling.

Celestia smiled down to her. "Luna's first love." she said quietly to Twilight Sparkle. "That would be something." she walked up to the two. "Shall we get the Gala started, Luna?" she asked her smiling.

"Oh yes! I would like that very much!" Luna replied with a smile.

The princesses, knights, and girls moved away from the middle of the room as everypony circled around it.

The orchestra began to play slow, graceful music. Dressed up couples from the crowd galloped to the middle and began to slow dance with each other on their hind legs with their front hooves pressed together. Everypony else watched and listened.

Yorkshire suddenly had this urge to dance with Fluttershy. "Fluttershy?" he asked her.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Would you like to dance…?" he asked, blushing.

She blushed as well, slowly nodding. "Yes. I would love to dance with you…" she quietly replied. "But… there's just one thing…" she implied.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a concerned look on his face,

"I… I don't know how to slow dance…" she disappointingly said. "And I get really nervous when I do something that a lot of ponies are watching me do…"

He smiled, kissing her cheek. "I'll teach you."

She blushed again, turning her head to him. "You will…?"

"Of course." he said, gently rubbing his head against hers. "Let's give it a try."

She slowly nodded. "Okay… I'll try."

They slowly walked onto the dance floor, and then stood in front of each other.

"Waltzing is the kind of dancing everypony is doing now. All it is is just slow leg movement, slow spins and slow swerves." he explained. "Just follow my leg movements and you'll be fine."

Fluttershy gulped quietly and nodded. They both slowly stood up on their hind legs. They pressed their front hooves together. She blushed more as they moved closer together until their bodies were barely touching each other.

"You'll do just fine Fluttershy." Yorkshire whispered in her ear. "I believe in you."

Meanwhile, the girls from the crowd watched Fluttershy and Yorkshire slowly starting to dance with each other through the flow of the soft music. They felt great happiness in their hearts seeing Fluttershy being able to conquer one of her small fears.

"Awww! They look so cute together!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Yorkshire always seems so confident in that gal." Applejack added.

"It's so sweet that Fluttershy has someone to help and be with her." Twilight Sparkle said.

"That's my little brother alright." Knighton said to them, chuckling. "Always has hope for those who he believes in."

"Yes. Hey Knighton." she said. She came closer to him until her muzzle was close to his ear. "What do you think of Princess Luna?" she whispered, giggling.

He blushed bright. "Uh… excuse me?" he asked her to repeat in his ear.

"Come on. Don't play with me." she continued whispering. "I saw how your face looked when you saw her. I saw that she looked to be fond of you too."

"Well uh…" he cleared his throat. "Yes, I do think she's very beautiful." he smiled innocently.

"And…?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

He sighed with a smile. "And yes, I think I am falling in love with her."

She smiled. "I think she really needs someone to be held by. She wasn't always like what you see her now before."

"What do you mean?" he asked, wondering.

"She used to be an evil mare called Nightmare Moon." she explained. "All of the ponies would be awake while the sun was up, but would fall asleep underneath the moon. Luna was very jealous and lonely."

"The poor thing…" he said to himself, looking to Princess Luna who was a few feet away from him. "She looks so happy now."

"Yes, on the outside. But deep down, she wants someone to love her." she said. "And since you are starting to have feelings for her, maybe you should try spending some time with her."

Meanwhile, Luna was looking to Knighton quietly sighing happily. "He's so handsome Celestia…" she said to her older sister. "I think I'm falling in love with him…"

Celestia giggled. "I was starting to notice that. It would be nice if you had a stallion in your life."

"But, do you think it's him that I would be with for the rest of my life?" she asked nervously.

"There's only one way to find out." she replied. "Ask him to dance with you."

Luna immediately blushed. "I-I don't know."

"Come on, little sister." Celestia insisted. "Just try."

She looked to her older sister, then to Knighton, then back to her. She thought about her sister's idea for a few seconds and agreed to it with a nod. "Okay."

Soon the waltz music ended, and the dances slowly stopped dancing. Everypony applauded to the orchestra and the dancers.

Fluttershy looked around seeing all of the ponies applauding them. She saw Twilight Sparkle and her friends were cheering and whistling to her and Yorkshire. She suddenly hugged him tightly. "Oh Yorkshire, that was the best dance I've ever done…!" she pecked his cheek with a kiss. "Thank you so much for that wonderful dance."

"Aww, you're very welcome." Yorkshire said, kissing her cheek back. He and Fluttershy walked back to the others in the crowd.

"That dancing was beautiful." Twilight Sparkle said.

"Indeed." Knighton agreed, rubbing Yorkshire's head. "I'm proud of you little brother."

Yorkshire laughed. "Come on Knighton, not in front of everypony."

He chuckled. He them felt a light tap on his shoulder from somepony behind him. He turned around to see Princess Luna with a little shy look on her face. He couldn't help but blush.

"Hello Sir Knight…" she said rubbing one of her front legs. "Will you do the honor of dancing with me…?" she asked nervously.

"I uh… uh…" Knighton stammered and started to feel his body temperature rise.

"Come on Knighton, say yes…" Yorkshire quietly said, nudging his brother in his side.

From the nudge, he was focused again. He looked to Luna and smiled. "Of course I will." he replied, lifting her hoof and kissing it.

She giggled. "Oh my, charmed are we?" she asked, blushing.

"Is that alright?" he asked, laughing nervously.

"Of course it is." she replied. "Shall we?" she asked, pointing her head to the dance floor.

He nodded. "Let's."

Together, they walked to the middle of the dance floor. The ballroom was completely silent. Everypony saw that a stallion wanted to dance with the princess of the moon. The conductor looked to Celestia with a surprised look on his face. She nodded to him signaling to start playing. The conductor turned the pages in his booklet until he got to a perfect song. He tapped his stand to get the players' attention. He slowly started to move his small baton and the orchestra began to play slow majestic music. With the music, Luna and Knighton began to dance gracefully. They made no mistakes with their leg movements. Everypony were amazed to see how gentle their dancing was.

As they danced, Knighton and Luna looked deep into each others eyes. Knighton could see her eyes glistening like the stars on a clear night with no clouds in sight. Luna saw that his eyes were like the deepest blue color in the ocean. They continued to dance smoothly. As they did, they also felt lust for each other.

"Could this really be happening to me…?" Luna thought to herself with such wonder. "Am I really falling in love…? Is this a dream… or is it real…?" Positive thoughts and doubts filled up her head. "If this is a dream, I never want to wake. If this is real… please let this be true…" she closed her eyes, slowly leaning her head against his neck.

"Can this really be love…?" he thought to himself. "Is this princess really interested in me?" He closed his eyes and looked up. "Angel Wings, if you are seeing this, please give me the power to love her as much as I loved you…" He kept his eyes closed, and slowly and gently rested his chin in Luna's mane.

Princess Celestia watched them with a smile, and quietly started to cry.

Yorkshire heard sniffling coming from Celestia. He turned his head and saw tears in her eyes. "Your majesty?" he asked her quietly. "Why are you crying…?"

She wiped her tears with her hoof. "I'm sorry to worry you, Yorkshire. It's just that I've never seen Luna so happy until now." she replied.

"It looks like my brother's having a wonderful time dancing with your sister." he said.

"And it looks like my sister's having a wonderful time dancing with your brother." she said nodding.

"Brother…" he thought in his head. "I think you have found happiness again."

Knighton and Luna slowly stopped dancing as the music quietly started to end. When it stopped, everypony was applauding loudly for the knight and princess. They both bowed to the crowd and then looked to each other.

"This is the first time in one thousand years that I've been so happy…" she said to him. She slowly kissed his cheek. "Thank you so much Sir Knight…"

"Please…" he said. "call me Knighton." He gently kissed her cheek back.

Her whole face slowly turned red. "Knighton…" she quietly said to herself. "I love that name."

"And I love your name." he said to her. "It fits very well with your cutie mark."

She giggled and he smiled. They both walked together back to the others. Knighton went to the knights and the girls while Luna went back to her older sister.

"That was beautiful dancing Luna! I'm so proud of you!" Celestia said rubbing her head against Luna's.

"Sister…?" she asked.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I think it's official now…" she said. She took a deep breath to calmly speak. "I think I'm in love with him."

Celestia smiled big. She looked to Knighton who was being commented positively by the girls and the other knights.

"So tell us!" Penarth said. "What's she like?"

Knighton laughed. "She's very kind, sweet, and gentle. I think she's beyond any other princess I have heard or seen before. I think I'm now in love with her." he quietly sighed happily.

"Oh my! This is going to be so exciting!" Rarity said in glee. "I hope I get to be the bridesmaid of honor!"

"Whoa whoa! Easy there Rarity!" Applejack said, calming her down. "Don't let your dreams be thought of so quickly. Besides, wouldn't it be nicer if you would make the groom and bride's clothes IF they get married?"

She gasped loudly with a huge smile. "Yes! I would love to make a beautiful dress for Princess Luna! The dress color will definitely match her mane!" she squealed happily.

"Hey, that dream might come true." Yorkshire said.

Knighton immediately blushed and nudged his little brother's head. "Not you too!"

He laughed. "Come on, wouldn't you like that?"

"I… I guess..." Knighton replied shyly.

Twilight Sparkle giggled. "It's always nice to have a little dream in your mind."

.  .  .

Later, Yorkshire and Fluttershy went off on their own together. They walked outside onto a large stone balcony where nopony else was. They looked up to the beautiful clear night blue sky with millions of stars glistening and the moon closely shining its bright light on Canterlot.

"It's such a beautiful night." Yorkshire said to her gazing at the stars.

"Yes." she said calmly. "Princess Luna sure has made the moon a bit closer tonight." Gazing upon the beautiful moon, she slowly leaned her head against Yorkshire's shoulder blushing and smiling. She sighed happily as she felt her heart beating faster. "The moon's lovely tonight, don't you think?"

Yorkshire looked down her and smiled. "I can think of something else that's lovely." he said blushing a little bit.

"What would that be?" she asked wondering.

He gently kissed her head. "You." he quietly replied.

She blushed, giggling quietly. "You REALLY like me, don't you?" she asked, giving him a little smile.

"I do." he replied, gently resting his chin on her head. "Very much."

She gently kissed his cheek. "I really like you too." she said with her face turning red again.

They both looked at each other with their faces close to one another. In their minds, they thought to themselves how beautiful or handsome the other was. They both felt to kiss each others cheeks again. They closed their eyes at the same time. Not seeing where they were kissing, they felt their lips lightly touching each other. They slowly opened their eyes, and realized they were kissing on the wrong part of their faces. They quickly broke the kiss, both blushing brightly.

Yorkshire quietly chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that…" he said to her. "I was trying to go for your cheek…"

"No, I'm sorry…" she said giggling quietly. "I-I was trying to kiss your cheek too… but…"

"But what…?" he asked.

"That… was a very nice… kiss we just did…" she replied.

"Y-yeah…" he agreed. "That was a nice one…"

She again leaned her head against his shoulder and then slowly wrapped her tail around his.

He looked down to her, smiling. He rested his chin on her head again.

For a while, they sat looking up at the glistening night sky together as their hearts slowly filled up with their growing love for each other.