//------------------------------//
// Chapter One 
// Story: A Sparkle In Her Eye 
// by Raff 
//------------------------------//

It is an event that only comes once in a lifetime; When your heart catches in your throat and the whole world around you stands still. The moment that you first see the person that you know you want to spend the rest of your life with, is a moment you will remember forever.
I know I remember mine.
There's not a single detail that escapes me, even a year later. I remember how she looked at me when she first stood up, shakily on dainty legs. 
How her hair fell in front of her eyes as she straightened the hem of her dress.
I even remember the exact number of petals that fell on her shoulder as she stood there amongst the cherry blossoms.
I remembered all of this, because she was the woman I thought I would spend the rest of my days with.
The woman that I love, with all my heart and soul, I will never see again.


********


I had been working at a Japanese restaurant, the only scrawny white boy amongst all the professional Japanese chefs.
That didn't stop me from cooking though. The head chef always told me that I must have a Japanese ancestor, otherwise I wouldn't be able to cook so well.
I swelled with pride the first time he told me that, and it didn't lose it's meaning no matter how many times he said it.
From performance teppanyaki to simple sushi, I excelled at every dish I set my utensils on. I never thought I'd find anything that made me as happy as cooking did.

One night - after a particularly long shift - I stopped in the small rooftop garden to have a moment with myself. It was a gloomy night, the moon partially covered with drifting clouds. There were two small cherry blossom trees that were beginning to droop as the days grew colder.

I turned away from the trees and stared up at some of the billboards that adorned the city.
One in particular caught my eye. It was bright, colourful and happy; the exact opposite of everything else around it.
A smile crept up my lips as my mouth formed the word "Bridlemaids..."
Six colourful ponies wearing dresses were draped along it, their faces in varying degrees of happiness.
I made a mental note of the splash text and vowed to look it up when I got home.


As soon as I got home that night, I sat at my computer and began to search for the meaning of the mysterious billboard.
I hit enter on the search engine and recoiled when I saw what it was about. I was tempted to close the browser there and then and forget about it all.
But something kept me there.
My mouse hovered over a YouTube link momentarily, before I sat up and walked away from the computer.

"My Little Pony?" I thought to myself as I fixed a small dinner. I could remember my sister playing with the toys when we were both young. "I guess some things will never die."
I walked past the computer and down to the lounge room and turned the TV on.
Out of the corner of my eye I could still see the glow of the monitor.

Two episodes of Doctor Who later I was back on the computer, my finger poised on the mouse button.
"What the hell..." I muttered.
The video opened up and began to load, and before I knew it I had watched over fifteen clips of these adorable ponies dancing around on the screen.
From Pinkie Pies pratfalls to Twilight Sparkles paranoia, I was completely hooked. 
If there was anything that could make me happier than cooking, then it would be ponies.


A few weeks later, I stood atop the roof of the restaurant again, a can of Mountain Dew in my hand. I had been up late every night watching episodes of My Little Pony after work, and I was feeling burnt out. 
I hadn't admitted it to anyone yet, but I knew I wasn't the only one.
It was a perfectly clear night, but freezing cold. The cherry blossoms were beginning to wilt and their petals danced around in the wind.

I tilted my head back for a second as I took a swig from the can, and when I looked back, there was a girl laying outstretched beneath the trees.
I spat out my drink in shock. She was definitely not there when I last looked. I put my can down and walked quickly over to her.

"Hey." I spoke softly, kneeling down beside her. "Hey, are you okay?"
Maybe she fell from a plane? I mentally slapped myself as I thought of it, she'd look a lot worse if she'd done that.

I tenderly reached out and moved her hair away from her face, and I gasped despite myself.
Her skin was beautifully pale, her dark hair contrasting with her skins gleam. I stooped up to look at her properly and was struck by her beauty. She wasn't dressed properly for the time of the year, wearing only a dark purple shirt and a short black dress.

With a look around, I decided it would be best to get her out of the cold, even if I just took her down to the kitchen until she woke up.
As I knelt down to try and lift her, I saw her eyelids flutter.
With my heart racing I stepped back, not wanting to seem creepy.
"Miss? Are you okay?" I asked again a little louder.

She stood up shakily, her legs wobbly. A dainty hand lifted to her head and she rubbed it groggily.
"Where am I..." She mumbled in a voice that sounded strangely familiar.

She looked up at me and the hair fell from her face, revealing a bright pink streak that shot all through her hair.
My mouth went dry as I stared at her, and I was sure she could hear my heart thumping in my chest.
Those eyes... I'd never seen purple eyes before. They were two of the most beautiful things I had ever laid eyes upon.

She straightened the hem of her dress and stepped away from me. "Where am I?" She asked, her voice wavering. "Where's the Princess?" There was something about her voice, I knew it but I couldn't quite place it.

I held my hands out in what I hoped was a non-threatening way. "Are you okay?" The question was beginning to sound redundant now. "My name's Desmond, I just found you here. Do you remember what happened?"

Her eyes began to water as she looked around. "I... I don't remember. I was helping the Princess with a transportation spell and then..." She flung her hands up in the air as she tried to explain, and then shrieked. "What is... What are these?! Where are my hoofs!? What's going... On..." She looked down at her body and her mouth fell open.
"No no no no no! Oh sweet Celestia..."

That's how I knew it.

"Twilight... Sparkle?" I asked, my head cocked uncertainly to the side.

Her eyes snapped up to look at me. "How do you know my name?" Her tears were flowing freely now and I could feel my chest start to tighten.

I said nothing and pointed to the billboard behind her.

She turned slowly, seemingly afraid of what she might see. 
The "Bridlemaids" advertisement was still there, each of the ponies light by a spotlight.
Twilight looked back at me, then to the board again. 
"What happened..." She said softly.
Her legs began to shake again, and she collapsed to the ground.