//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Party // Story: Twilight Sparkle the Foalsitter // by Hawk Noctis //------------------------------// Twilight struggled to find an appropriate response for the current situation. While Blazing Star going back to the library on his own accord solved Twilight's first problem, it did nothing for the second one. How would she ever explain why her nephew was seemingly all by himself in the library? “They have a head start on us, there is no way I'd be able to get back there in time!” Exclaimed Twilight as she attempted to come up with some sort of plan given the small amount of time that was left. As a light bulb went off in Twilight's head, she felt a little easier about her dilemma. Good thing she was so talented with magic, there was a solution after all. “Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, you two try and catch up with Princess Cadence and my brother. Stall them for a minute.” “Okey dokey lokey!” Exclaimed Pinkie Pie happily. She then paused for a moment and blinked. “How are we supposed to stall them exactly?” “I don't know. Ask them how their day has been, talk about life in Ponyville, whatever comes to mind. Just delay them for a few minutes, that's all the time I need!” “You got it!” Said Rainbow Dash as she shot off, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake. Pinkie Pie hopped along the road toward the library, humming a song to herself. “Don't move a muscle spike,” warned Twilight. “Wait, what are...” Before Spike could finish, Twilight's horn began to glow radiantly. In a burst of magical energy, Twilight and Spike vanished and reappeared inside the library with a loud crack. “Warn me when you are about to do that next time! Do you realize how disorienting that is if you aren't expecting it?” “Sorry, we are just so short on time that...” Twilight paused as she looked over to her left and saw both Blaze and Pip sitting at the table. They were both eating apples as they silently watched the new arrivals. “That was an awesome entrance Auntie Twilight!” Said Blaze. “Do it again!” Twilight's first impulse was to scold Blaze harshly, but she held back on that. There wasn't much time before his parents arrived and the last thing she wanted them to walk in on was their son crying. She just needed to get some answers, that was all. “There you are Blaze, why did you leave the library without telling me? If you were still hungry you should have told me that, silly,” said Twilight. “I wasn't gonna leave originally. I just was in the mood for a prank,” said Blaze. “Oh well that's...” Twilight paused for a moment as what the little colt said registered. “A prank?! Your prank nearly scared me to death! Imagine the panic you could have caused your parents if they had found out about this!” “Found out about what?” Asked a familiar voice. Twilight let out a squeak of terror and froze in place. She knew she had to turn around but she feared to do so. How did she not hear them come inside? Shaking, Twilight slowly turned around and saw both Cadence and Shining Armor giving her a confused glance. She gave a wide smile and peeked around the two guests to see Pinkie Pie shrugging apologetically. “Rainbow Dash almost made it, but then there was an unfortunate collision with Derpy just outside of the library,” said Pinkie Pie. “My bad.....” Echoed the voice of the clumsy, gray pegasus. Oh how Twilight loathed Murphy's Law. She swore that if she ever met that pony whom came up with the theory, she would kick them into next century. “Is... everything okay Twilie? You're shaking,” said Shining Armor, concerned for his sister's health. This lead to Twilight's second stage of panic, hysterics. She jumped down to the floor and grabbed Cadence's front right leg with both hooves. “I was upstairs for less than a minute, I swear!” Cried Twilight hysterically, tears welling up in her eyes. Cadence had a mix of surprise and confusion on her face as she starred down at the lavender colored unicorn. “Twilight... what in all of Equestria are you talking about?” She asked. “I... I had to go upstairs to check a message I had gotten. T-t-then I came back and... and... he just vanished. Out of thin air! I didn't hear a door open, I heard nothing!” Twilight lowered her head to the ground. “I'm sorry! I was supposed to take care of him and I let you both down. I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!” Cadence seemed surprised for a moment but then that shifted to annoyance and her eyes shifted up toward where her son was sitting. “Ugh... he did it again, didn't he?” Asked Cadence as she covered her face with her front left hoof. Twilight's eyes shot upward in silent confusion, tears still threatening to fall. “W-what?” Stammered Twilight. “I warned you that Blaze has been known to be a bit of a live wire. I guess I didn't explain it as well as I should have in the first place.” Cadence then turned toward her husband and glared at him. “Somepony over here decided it would be a great idea to teach our son some of the things they have learned from being Captain of the Royal Guard.” Shining Armor smiled sheepishly and backed a step away as he was subjected to the icy wrath of his quite irritated wife. “But he's a public figure, he needs to know how to...” Started Shining Armor. “Not at this point in life he doesn't! He's only three years old, Shining Armor! He's too young to understand how he is and is not supposed to apply the lessons he's learned.” “I still don't understand... what do you mean by 'again'?” Asked Twilight. “This is not the first time Blaze has used stealth to pull a prank. He did that to me a few weeks ago and nearly gave me a heart attack. But we found him hiding in the closet a few minutes later.” Twilight slowly stood up and gazed directly into her old foalsitter's eyes. “So... you aren't mad at me?” “Of course not you silly filly. It was my fault for not giving you enough warning about Blaze's slightly more playful side,” said Cadence as she gave Twilight a hug. After letting Twilight go, Cadence looked up toward her son and gave him a disapproving look. She walked past Twilight and stood only a few inches away from Blaze. Blaze flinched and looked up at his mother apologetically. “I swear, I don't know what's worse sometimes. Your mischievous pranks, or your father's insistence on having you follow in his hoof steps. I thought I told you never to do that again.” “But...” Started the young colt. “No buts, Blazing Star. You are not supposed to play that prank on anypony, and you know it.” “But I needed to find supplies...” Said Blaze as he lowered his head. “Supplies for what?” Blaze nudged a large piece of paper forward on the table. Princess Cadence walked over to the table to examine whatever was on the paper. After looking at it for a few seconds, her frown vanished and then she sighed and smiled at the young colt. Both Twilight and Shining Armor approached and glanced over at the paper themselves. Blazing Star had begun drawing a picture on the paper. It was clearly unfinished, but it gave a clear idea of what the little colt had been intending to draw. The picture had five outlines of ponies drawn on it. Even though they were not colored, the ponies were recognizable. Blaze was drawing a picture of Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Twilight, Pipsqueak, and himself. At the top of the drawing Blaze had written 'Friends and Family'. “I wanted to draw something. And this was the first thing I thought of!” Said Blaze. Twilight looked to the left and saw a small box of crayons sitting on the table. Obviously they didn't belong to her, and it didn't take long to figure out where they had come from. “You know Blaze, if you really needed to go out and get some crayons you should have told me. I'd have gone with you,” said Twilight. “There really was no need to go out on your own.” “But I didn't go alone,” said Blaze. “I went with Pip.” “He told me he wanted to get crayons and a snack. So I decided to go with him,” added Pip. Blaze looked over at his mother and then looked back at Twilight. “I'm sorry. I should have come back in sooner and asked for your permission Auntie Twilight,” said Blaze sadly as he lowered his head. “It's okay Blaze.” “Just make sure not to pull that prank on anypony ever again,” said Princess Cadence as she hugged Blaze. She then glanced down toward the little colt and glared. “Cause if you do, you will be grounded for a very long time.” * * * * * The next few hours flew by as Twilight, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence got everything ready for the upcoming party at the library. They had just placed food and drinks onto the buffet table when the guests arrived. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy had all arrived around the same time. Even Pip had come to the party as well after he had been invited to join in the festivities. Pinkie Pie had brought in a wide variety of deserts from Sugarcube Corner to add to the wide variety of food. Applejack added a large apple pie to the menu as well, which was gone within the first hour of the party. There was music, dancing, and several of Pinkie Pie's favorite party games. The party lasted well into the night and finally began to wrap up around midnight. At the end of the party, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence stayed to help Twilight clean up the library a bit. As they put away the spare table, the three ponies noticed Blaze snoozing away on a small rug. “Somepony must be tired,” said Twilight. “Well it sounds like he had a pretty big day today. I can't blame the little colt,” said Shining Armor. “I'm just happy that he met a new friend at the very least,” added Princess Cadence. Pip and Blaze had certainly become good friends in a small amount of time. While Blaze certainly did enjoy the company of his family and family friends, having a friend there whom was his age made it even better. When Pip had left to go back home, Blaze asked his parents when they were going to visit Ponyville again. “He hasn't really found many friends back in Canterlot,” commented Shining Armor. Seeing Blaze reminded Twilight of the time she spent in Canterlot. Like Blaze she didn't really have any friends beyond Spike, her brother, and Princess Cadence. Coming to Ponyville and meeting Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie had been one of the best things that had ever happened in her life. Twilight hoped that her young little nephew would eventually have many friends just like she did. “I know you two are busy back in Canterlot, but you are always welcome to come by and visit. Same goes for Blaze,” said Twilight. “Yeah, I wish I knew when we will be able to come back here again. But with the way things are right now it's hard to say,” said Shining Armor grimly. “Is this related to that news you had referred to earlier?” “Yes it is. Now that Blaze is asleep, I think it's time we told you more,” added Cadence. She and Shining Armor looked at one another for a moment and then nodded in unison. “We've been getting reports from the northern border. Ponies are starting to disappear from the nearby villages. Stallions, mares, foals, they are vanishing off the grid without a trace,” said Shining Armor. “We don't have any solid evidence to support it yet, but we believe the changelings are responsible for this.” “I figured as much. Any bad news from the north is bound to be their doing,” said Twilight. “It gets worse,” said Cadence grimly. “Afraid so. Several of our scouts have reported that some of the nearby hives are showing signs of increased activity. They are literally crawling with countless drones.” “Increased activity?” Twilight thought about the troubling news and in that moment, Twilight theorized what that could possibly mean in the near future. “Does this mean they are going to try a second invasion?” “It's certainly possible,” answered Shining Armor. “So Princess Celestia is not taking any chances. A full evacuation is occurring in the towns and villages on the northern border.” Shining Armor could tell the news was troubling his little sister. He knew he had to say or do something to try and ease her concerns. “But don't worry, we'll be ready for them if they should choose to attack.” “I hope so. Most of Equestria would never be ready for that kind of full scale invasion,” said Twilight as she looked over at Blaze. “So many generations of ponies that have known peace for a thousand years.” “If they do try and invade we will find a way to stop them. I don't want Blaze to live through a repeat of what happened in Canterlot several years ago,” said Princess Cadence. Twilight knew very little about the changelings beyond what intel they had gathered back during the royal wedding. Even after years had passed they still knew so little about the creatures. “Any sightings of the Queen?” Asked Twilight. “If she's showing her face again, then we certainly need to be worried.” Indeed, Queen Chrysalis was far more dangerous than any evil that Equestria had ever encountered. She made Discord seem like a harmless school prankster. “Nothing so far. But I don't see Chrysalis being the type to give up so easily. If she is still alive and in charge of the swarm, she will certainly not be shy in letting us know,” said Shining Armor. The End Author's Note: Hmm... well that went sort of well I suppose. So many ideas for stories, no idea which one to do next. Those Human in Equestria stories seem to get mixed feelings amongst readers and I can't blame them. I might eventually try writing one of those to see if I can make a half decent one. There's also the 'sequel' short story of sorts that I've left hints about in this story. I dunno, we'll see which one I write first. I still have a bunch of other ideas floating in my head as well.