//------------------------------// // Happy Anniversary // Story: In the House, In a Heartbeat // by Perception Filter //------------------------------// Happy Anniversary Cadence was having a fairly average day. She woke up, cooked breakfast for her and her husband, let said breakfast grow cold before he woke up, and then dumped it all over him when he refused to wake up after another hour. Shining Armour jerked awake as the cold, runny, and messy eggs followed by pancakes, drenched his upper body entirely.    He shouted a military cry as he attempted to jump into position, only to get entangled in their bed sheets and fell hard onto the wooden floor below. Shining Armour slowly disentangled himself and groggily stood to his hooves as he saw a neutral expression on her face. His anger flared up as he yelled at her.  “CADENCE, WHAT THE HAY?!” He shouted, shaking the cold food off his coat.   The neutral expression melted into an angry scowl. “WHAT?! YOU DON’T KNOW?” Cadence shouted back, the rage and anger clear on her face. Shining Armour’s ears flopped onto his head, a worried look smoothing out his initial anger.   “W-what's wrong baby?” He shrunk back the tiniest bit.   Cadence looked at him in disbelief, eye twitching madly. “You don’t know?” she whispered, the hurt clear in her voice. “You don’t know?!” his wife yelled as her anger escalated with a vengeance. “Did you suddenly forget what day it is today?!”  She screamed, pointing an accusing hoof at her husband.   “I-I..... “ His eyes went wide as dinner plates when he realized the severity of his error, “It’s our anniversary...”   Throwing her hooves up into the air in frustration she screamed, “AND THE LAST PONY FINALLY CROSSES THE FINISH LINE!”   Shining Armour covered the short distance between them, “C-Cadence, I’m really, really sorry!” He begged for her forgiveness on his knees. “Please, let me make it up to you!” He scanned the room, looking for a way to salvage the wrecked situation. Seeing none, he promptly did what most men did when in trouble. He lied.   “I got a present for you!” He spat out hastily, “O-one you’d really, really love.”   Cadence looked unamused. “Oh YEAH?! What is this mysterious present you got me?!” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him, closing the distance between their faces.   “I-It’s.... its uhhhhh.... “He scanned the room again, “It’s a surprise! I wasn’t going to give it to you until the special dinner I had planned!” He smiled, knowing that the situation had been fixed to some extent.   Cadence faltered a bit. “Y-you planned a special dinner?”   “Of course!” He lied through gritted teeth, “I would never forget our special day! I just slept in!” A half lie of course.   “Oh.” Cadence responded softly, “W-well I’m really sorry for yelling then. I honestly thought you forgot.” She said sheepishly, looking down and rubbing her hoof into the floor.   Shining Armour lifted her head up and kissed her softly on the lips. “It’s okay baby, we all make mistakes sometimes.” He cooed softly, rubbing her back gently.   “Well..... Thanks. Thanks for not forgetting, you’re the best husband a mare could ask for.” Shining did a sharp inhale and let out a small smile.   “Yeah, thanks.”   “Well, I guess I’m off.” She shrugged out of her husband’s grip and started to trot away.   “Wait! Where are you going?” He asked confused.   “I’m going to take a shower, you rubbed those nasty eggs all over me when you hugged me.” Shining’s ears lowered back and he held his head down in shame.   “Y-yea,” he said with a chuckle. “Sorry about that.”   “Oh it’s okay sweetie. I shouldn’t have judged you so fast.” She said lovingly causing Shining winced.   “Yea, it’s okay I guess.” Cadence chuckled a bit and trotted out of the room, leaving a guilty husband in her wake.                   “Look, I don’t care if you don’t have any open spots for tonight! I need a reservation now!” Shining shouted at the hostess in distress. He had dug a hole for himself, and he was having a bit of trouble getting out. “Sir, if you are going to shout, I am going to have ask you to leave.” “BUT IT’S MY ANNIVERSARY AND I NEED A TABLE!” Shining yelled as he slammed his hoof on the podium. “Oh sir, I didn’t know that was the case! Let me show you a special table we have for ponies in your predicament.” The mare stood and led Shining through the restaurant. Shining Armour breathed a sigh of relief as he followed. “It’s about time.” He mumbled under his breath. After they walked through the back kitchens, Shining was beginning to question whether or not this mare had any actual tables for him.   “AND STAY OUT!” Shouted the manager of the restaurant as she threw Shining out into the back alleyway.   For the second time in the day, Shining’s face was met with a cold, hard surface. “GAH! MY NOSE!” He shouted, nose breaking with a clean snap as blood gushed out of his nose and pooling around his hooves. No attempt to cover it or at least stopped it seemed to work as his anger and frustration began to rise. Not seeing any stop in sight, he got up and walked around to the front of the restaurant and waited for the bleeding to stop. He gritted his teeth angrily as he shoved his way into the restaurant. “BITCH!” He shouted at the hostess, who groaned in distress. “Sir, didn’t you take the bucking hint?” She pinched her nose in frustration. “Do you know who I AM?!” “No, I don’t. SECURITY!” She shouted to the back of the restaurant, a burly looking pony lumbering out of an office door. “I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD! AND I WANT A TABLE, NOW!” He shouted. The hostess’ eyes widened as big as Celestia’s sun. “O-oh, s-sir. I’m so, s-sorry.” She said with a quick bow, “I d-didn’t kn—” “That’s right, you didn’t. Though obviously, you should know that.” He said menacingly. “All I wanted was a bucking TABLE! A TABLE FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA!” Shining yelled down at the mare, who was cowering on the ground. “S-sorry sir, I’ll g-give you t-the best one w-we h-have!” She said nervously, bowing low to the ground, head pressed submissively on the ground. “I never wanted the best one.” He pinched his broken nose, pushing it back into a place with a painful grunt “I just wanted one, freaking, table!!.” He growled out, sighing frustratingly as he brushed a hoof through his mane. “Y-yes sir. R-right this way.” She got up and began to speed walk to the closest table in the restaurant, which happened to be towards the back, where there fancier tables were placed. “Not right now. I wanted one for dinner, my wife is going to kill me if I don’t get a reservation.” He said in exasperation. “So you didn’t get us reservations. I should have known.” Came an angry voice from behind him, and he froze. Slowly turning around, as if doing it fast would provoke the wrath of the voice, he was soon face to face with Cadence. “Uuuhh, hey honey. What’re you doing here?” He stared blankly at her. “I was going to the restaurant you that you said we had reservations to at five o'clock. It’s five ‘o seven.” “W-well I got us a table!” He said nervously, eyes darting from side to side. “Yes,” Cadence replied dryly. “I saw.” Shining chuckled nervously. “W-well yea.... So you want to go in?” “You forgot about our anniversary.” She deadpanned. “N-no I didn—” “YES YOU DID!” She yelled at him. “I SAW EVERYTHING, YOU LYING BASTARD!” “B-but honey I—” He shrunk back slightly, ears pressed against his head, trying to avoid his wife's wrath. “NO! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!” “But look at all the trouble I went through!” He complained, waving a hoof to the cowering hostess and glowering manager. Cadence shook her head. “That’s not why I’m mad.” She replied sadly “Then what did I do wrong?!” “I’m mad because you lied to me! If you had just said you forgot, it couldn’t have possibly been as bad as this!” “WHAT?! Now I’m the bad guy?!? All I was trying to do was make our anniversary as good as I could make it! Look at the trouble I went through, for an ungrateful BITCH, like YOU!” Cadence took a step back in shock. “S-Shiny, w-wh-” “NO! JUST SHUT UP! JUST, SHUT! UP!”  He screamed, and took several deep breaths, his temper raging. After a few moments, Cadence was slowly backing away. “Just..... Just go.” He waved a hoof off. “Go home, I have to think this through.” and he trotted off, leaving a bewildered, lonely, and sobbing Cadence on the street.   Cadence had wandered through the streets of Canterlot, avoiding anypony who approached her, and eventually broke down in an alleyway by a loud nightclub. Her loud sobs were drowned out by the immense ground-shaking bass coming from the inside. Several ponies passed her, but they made no move to approach her, and she was fine with that. After about an hour of lying on a pile of trash and crying, she had no more tears to cry. The sun was already down, and she had no idea what time it was. Even the moon was of no indication, as it wasn’t visible anywhere in the clouded sky.   Slowly, and shakily rising to her hooves, she tried to trot out of the alley but collapsed from a sudden bout of exhaustion. Without warning, she curled into ball and began to shiver furiously. It was a cold night, colder than most. Then, a crack of lightning struck the air, and Cadence jumped slightly. It began to rain, slowly at first, until it was pouring. Her mane clung to her body, and she began to slowly make her way back into the alley to find refuge from the rain, when a strange pony appeared at the edge of the alleyway.   This strange pony was a mare. Purple coat, and cotton candy looking hair that was also purple, with a large stripe of white through it. The strange mare had a screw next to a baseball as her cutie mark, and she slowly approached Cadence.   “Are you okay there?” Asked the purple mare cheerfully, not even acknowledging the rain.   “L-leave me a-alone.” Cadence’s shivering made her stutter.   “You look wet! Let me help you with that.” The mare reached into a pair of saddlebags that Cadence hadn’t seen before a second ago, and pulled out a large bright green umbrella that couldn’t have logically fit in the small bag. Opening the umbrella, she quickly shielded the poor princess and sat down next to her.   “So, do you want to be my friend?” The purple pony asked, oblivious to the glare Cadence was giving her.   “Just leave me alone.”   “Awww you seem sad, what’s wrong?”   “My husband hates me that’s what. Can you leav—” She was interrupted with a large gasp of horror that would have made Pinkie jealous.   “THAT MEANIE! What did he do to you?!”   “You don’t even know me, what do you care?” Asked Cadence resentfully.   “Well I’m not going to let my new friend sit in the rain all alone. Friends need to talk to friends.” She said with a serious expression before breaking out into a small, friendly smile.   Cadence sighed tiredly. “Listen, I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, but can you please leave me alone?”   “Nope!” Said the mare with a large smile, “So, I bet you feel really sad huh?”   “Not helping.”   “I bet you feel so sad you don’t want to live anymore.”   “Are you even trying to cheer me up?”   “So, why don’t you let me help you want to live and send you somewhere else; a happier place?”   “Leave me alon— Say what?” Cadence rubbed her ear with a hoof, “Did you say send me somewhere else?”   “Yeah!” Replied the purple pony, unfazed by Cadences reaction, “So, whaddya think?”   Cadence sniffled, wiping away the last of her tears. “I just don’t want to be sad anymore..... “   Her new “friend” smiled and patted her shoulder supportively, “I can send you to a place where you won’t be sad!”   Cadence perked up a bit, “R-really?” She replied hesitantly. “What’s the catch?”   “No catch! Well except for one teensy, tiny thing, but it doesn’t matter!” The odd pony said nonchalantly.   The princess thought her options over before nodding to herself, “Well, as long as I won’t be sad.... Okay then. Do it.” The eccentric purple mare smiled in a very creepy way.   “You got it!” Without skipping a beat, she began to rub her hooves together furiously, and they began to spark wildly.   “What are you doi—” Asked Cadence, before she was interrupted when the purple mare flung both of her hooves up dramatically and a bolt of lightning came down and struck the mare. Cadence shouted and jumped back in shock.   “ARE YOU OKAY?!” She shouted and jumped up and away from the mare who, once Cadence’s eyes returned to normal from the flash of light, was completely unharmed. Wild sparks of every color of the rainbow sparked off of her body, and everything around her was disappearing in flashes light, the same color as the spark that hit them.   “Are you sure about this?” Asked the mare seriously, looking at her in concern. Cadence hesitated, troubled by the purple ones concern, but nodded her head.   “Okay!” Right away, the strange mare was back to normal.   “Wait, what did you say the catch w—” She never got to finish her sentence, as the purple pony gripped her in a tight hug and she vanished in a flash of light that sent a giant rainbow colored beam, crashing through the clouds. Ponies all over town smiled, oohed and ahhed at the beautiful phenomenon and after it was over, nopony noticed that a small little obscure alleyway next to a nightclub was completely devoid of life.     A giant spear composed of rainbow spectrum thundered from the heavens, slamming onto the streets and into the ground below. The dirt did nothing to derail it as it penetrated deep enough into the transportation tunnel system. It lit the dark subway tunnels for miles in either direction, causing the infected to stop what they were doing and pay attention. Several stood idly for moments before they all began to towards the source of light, the only goal in mind being the spreading of the virus unwillingly controlling them.     Cadence crashed onto the concrete ground, a gasp escaping her lungs as the impact left her breathless. Grunting in pain, she tried to move onto her hooves, but only managed to fall onto her side, muscles twitching in pain. It was when she heard ghastly screaming coming from all around her and the ground shaking from thundering from a massive amount of hoofsteps.   Trying to get onto her hooves, she looked down and gasped. Her whole body had changed in many different ways. Her fur, wings, and horn were gone. Her hooves had been replaced with some sort of odd claw-like appendages, that eerily reminded her of Diamond Dogs. Her hind legs had been replaced with long slender appendages not unlike a monkey. After failing to walk, Cadence looked up and noticed that she was in some sort of underground system with dim, barely operable lights hanging overhead; casting deep shadows all around her.   She looked up as the screaming came ever so closer, a large creature that was wearing a long green coat and black pants ran in her direction, holding some sort of metal device in its hand as he approached her and a large metal flashlight. His fur was a tan colored and his mane was deep curly dark brown. The thing was flanked by two smaller creatures that looked the same as it, in general appearance, probably children. Right next to the taller one, was another one that was about the same size, but was slightly taller, and had a paler fur composition. This one was slightly muscular, but it looked a bit overweight in her opinion. It’s mane was a dark brown and curled on top of its head.   The first one took a look at her and shouted something unintelligible, but as the group slowly got closer its words began to make sense.   “RUN! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! THEY’RE COMING, RUN!” Cadence was stunned by its words. Before she could ask what it meant when a large mob of the creatures that varied largely, but most, if not all of them, were covered in blood, sprinted at incredible speeds towards the smaller group. She froze in fear as the group thundered past her and the blood covered ones got closer.   The creature that yelled at her before he turned around slowly and ran back to her, bending down with a grunt of pain and scooped her naked form without question into his arms.Turning around, it sprinted back towards the group, limping weakly every couple of steps. Cadence bounced in his arms and looked at it in fear, chest rising and lowering rapidly, though he paid her reaction no mind.   “Guys, they’re gaining on us!” Shouted one of the children, who was probably a girl if her voice was anything to judge by.   “Keep running!” The tallest one yelled to the others.   “We’re gonna die guys...” Said the other kid in a gloomy, yet loud voice, somehow penetrating the din of the screaming things behind them.   “No we aren’t, now run!” He shouted at her, but she felt her rescuer slowly dropping behind the group.   “Guys! I can’t carry her, she’s too heavy!” He said loudly, gasping for breath as his injury was taking its toll on him.   “Damnit!” The tallest of the group ran over and took her in his arms. Without second hesitation, he began to speed up again, once again gaining distance from the mob that was steadily inching closer towards them.   “We can’t outrun them!” Shouted the girl as she ran holding the younger boy’s hand.   “Fuck fuck fuck!” Yelled the one carrying Cadence   “What’re we going to do?!” Asked the boy, taking an interest in their survival.   “DROP HER!” Shouted the young mare. “Are you fucking crazy?! How would you feel if I dropped your sorry ass?!” The man in the green coat replied snidely as Cadence hugged his coat for protection, shivering at the cold draft. “We don’t even know her! Would you be willing to risk your life for somebody you don’t even know, much less appeared in a FUCKING RAINBOW?!” She shouted.   “YES! She’s as much as a human as the rest of us, and I will not leave a single person behind for those FREAKS to tear apart!” Throughout all of this, Cadence was simply locked up, with only one thought going on in her mind. ‘What the buck is going on?!’