//------------------------------// // Celebration. // Story: Ascend // by xTSGx //------------------------------// For copyright/disclaimer information, see Chapter One. Version 1.1 Published 11/22/12 Chapter Eight: Celebration. It was a dreary day in Canterlot. Rainclouds hung in the sky, causing a steady drizzle to soak the city below. Gusts of wind would occasionally sweep through the city's streets, chilling any citizens caught in the miserable weather to the bone. While most of the city was empty of ponies due to the dismal weather, Canterlot Castle was a different story. For you see, there was a reason for these weather conditions: the death of a very important figure. His funeral was being held at the castle and there were many in attendance. In and around the main ballroom of the castle, ponies, griffons, minotaurs, and zebra mulled about. Several tables of hors d'oeuvres, punch, and other assorted snacks were on each side of the room. At the back of the room lay a casket with numerous pictures on it. Many bouquets of flowers were scattered around the casket. To the right of it, suspended on an elaborate ivory pedestal and flanked by two members of the Crystal Empire's Aquamarines, sat the Crystal Heart. A purple alicorn, wearing her regalia, sat in the middle of the room, staring into the cup of punch she held in her telekinesis. A griffon, dressed in his fanciest suit, approached the alicorn. “On behalf of the Republic of Griffia, I would like to offer our sincerest condolences.” “Thank you.” she muttered back at him. On the other side of the room, three other alicorns looked on. “So the last of the Originals has died. How old was he?” the pink one asked. “A scant fourteen hundred and thirty six.” the white one said. “It's too bad his body couldn't be present.” the pink one said. “He was over eighty feet long. I don't even think the Grand Parliament Building could have held him.” the white one stated. “A small casket representing him will simply have to do.” the blue one added. The pink one took a sip of punch and sighed. “It's such a shame though. He did so much to help the Empire.” she looked over at the casket, “If only we could have done more to help him.” The blue one extended a wing over the pink one. “There wasn't much that could be done. He was old.” she retracted her wing and glanced over at the purple one, “She couldn't even help him.” “How's she holding up, anyway?” the pink one asked. The white one looked on at the purple one with worry before replying. “Not well. I'm afraid that his death might have finally broken her.” “We have to do something, lest she fall as I once did.” the blue one said. “What can we do but let her grieve. You know as well as I that grieving takes time, then the healing process can start.” the pink one said. “I am well aware of that, Empress,” the pink one crinkled her nose at the statement, “but just because she is grieving does not mean we cannot help her grieve.” “You know I detest that title.” The blue one smirked, “Then you should not have taken over an Empire.” Their attention remained fixed on the purple alicorn, who continued to only barely acknowledge the well-wishers that spoke to her. “I'll speak to her. Let her know that we're her for her and ready to help.” “'Tis a good idea, sister. You were always closest to her.” The white began moving towards the purple one. “'Tis'? Fifteen hundred years and you still use archaic expressions?” “Says the person who still uses the term 'pony'.” ----- “How are you?” the white one asked the purple one. The purple one mumbled something unintelligible. “What was that?” “You promised.” she mumbled. The white one wore a confused look, “Promised wha—” “You promised that the pain would go away.” the white one flinched at the scream, “Remember? At Rainbow's funeral?” “That was almost—” the white one made a few quick calculations, “thirteen and a half centuries ago.” “Exactly. And it hasn't. It's only gotten worse.” The white one bit her lip, “The pain of losing someone never truly leaves, but the new friendships that you build can—” “No! No, they can't. And do you know why? Because I've tried. Oh, I've tried to 'make new friends, to replace the old', but all those friendships do is kill a small part of me when, inevitably, they too end in death.” “But you still have us. Even if those friendships have faded with the passage of time, we'll still be there for yo—” “Yeah, you three. The white alicorn who spends all her time plotting and scheming to teach her subjects 'lessons' only because she's too lonely and scared to do anything else. Or the blue alicorn, still filled with so much guilt and shame over trying to kill every living thing on this damned planet that she can't even interact with her subjects without it bubbling up.” she gave a hollow, mocking laugh, “Or how 'bout the pink alicorn? Attempting to desperately prove that she isn't completely useless despite her and her 'Empire' having to be saved by regular old people on countle—” “Enough. You don't really mean what you're saying. It's just the grief talking.” The purple one ignored the white one's efforts to regain control of the situation. She gazed over the assembled creatures with a spiteful look. “Just look at them. So happy, so cheerful, so kind. They don't really care. They're just here to rub noses or simply to indulge in the food. When it's over, they'll go back to their loving families and friends while I must wallow in my loneliness and bitterness. It's not fair!” The purple one's eyes glowed a menacing green. “If I can't have happiness,” a dark purple and black aura formed around her eyes and horn, “THEN NO ONE CAN!” A burst of Dark Magic shot from her horn and struck the Crystal Heart. The Aquamarines stared in horror as the Heart glowed a sickly black before splitting right down the middle, causing a magical explosion to rock the ballroom. Panic broke out among the funeral guests as sinister laughter filled the wrecked and chaotic room. A new Nightmare had been unleashed... ********** Twilight's eyes shot open. She looked around her bedroom to regain her bearings. Her eyes glanced over to the clock on her nightstand. It read 3:13. She sighed. 'What ever happened to the dreams where I swam in a lake of chocolate while Princess Celestia sang 'Row, Row, Row, Your Boat' in a raft made of earwax?' She rolled over and drifted off into a thankfully dreamless sleep. ----- The morning arrived with the sound of Twilight's alarm clock going. She slammed a hoof on the bell clock to silence its alarm before she blearily got out of bed and made her way out of the room, being careful not to disrupt Spike on the way out. 'Ugh, mornings are the worst.' She opened the linen closet and retrieved two towels. 'At least I got more than five hours of sleep like I usually do.' The purple alicorn walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. 'I think I'll make the water colder this time. Don't want to waste all the hot water like some dragon I know.' She adjusted the water levels to a suitable temperature before hopping in. 'Aaahhhh. All this panicking over the last few days has caused me to neglect my personal hygiene.' After soaking her fur, she grabbed her shampoo, applied it, and scrubbed it into a foaming froth using her telekinesis. 'Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up, do do do do do do do do...' She then rinsed off the shampoo and applied the conditioner in a similar manner before washing it off as well. 'Behind the ears, check. Mane, check. Tail, check. Back, check. Underbelly, check. 'Unmentionables'—” despite being all alone and no one being able to hear her thoughts, Twilight still felt as if someone could hear her and so blushed, 'Okay, now you're just being silly. You already have enough to deal with; don't add 'paranoia' to the list. 'Unmentionables', check. Face, check. Legs, check. Hooves, check. That should just about cover everything.' She turned the water off, stepped out of the shower, and looked at the mirror. 'Squeaky clean.' The alicorn telekinetically grabbed one of the towels and dried herself off. After throwing the towel into the nearby clothes hamper, she grabbed the other towel and wrapped it around her still sopping wet mane. 'Now for the dental hygiene.' She grabbed her tooth brush, squirted some toothpaste onto it, and started brushing. 'Thank Celestia—and Luna for that matter—for telekinesis. I think Cadance is a bit too young to be thanked just yet. Wait!' she nearly dropped her toothbrush as a sudden thought hit her, 'Does that mean that ponies will be thanking me?! A-And saying things like 'In the name of Twilight' and 'Oh my Twilight'?' it was only thanks to the towel that her mane didn't spring up, 'Oh dear, oh dear, oh de—' Twilight caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, 'Get a grip! No pony does that with Cadance—yet—so no pony'll do it with you. And stop brushing your teeth. You gotta rinse now.' She gurgled some water before grinning brightly. 'Now to go make some tea before Spike wakes up.' Twilight exited the bathroom and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen. She saw a certain pink pony sitting on the couch, reading A Troper's Guide To: Metafiction. “Huh, Leaning on the Fourth Wall.” Pinkie tapped a hoof to her chin in thought before she shook her head of the thought and giggled, “Who writes this stuff?” “Hey, Pinkie.” Pinkie, too engrossed in her book to look up, waved a hoof. “Hi, sleepyhead.” The purple alicorn continued into the kitchen. She opened a cupboard and looked at the many jars of tea she had. 'Let's see. Earl Grey? Nah. What about good old Black? Oah!' she grabbed one of the smallest jars, 'I think I'll indulge in some White. With all this stress lately, I need it for my health.' She next grabbed a pot, poured some water into it and placed it on the stove to come to a boil. 'Gotta be careful not to make the water too hot.' Twilight then took her tea infuser and stuffed it with the White tea. 'I really need to research tea making spells. Considering all the tea that Canterlot drinks, there's bound to be more than a few and if there isn't, than I could invent one! They could call it the 'Twilight Tea...some other words that start with 't' Spell'.' She next grabbed the teapot, cup and saucer, and some sugar, and sat them on the kitchen table. 'It feels like I'm forgetting something. Something incredibly obvious.' Twilight's eyes widened in shock, 'Oh my gosh! The water! How could I forget about it so soon?' She hastily gripped the pot and placed it on one of the other burners. She next dropped the tea infuser into the teapot and poured the hot water into it to let the tea steep. After a minute or so, she poured the fresh tea into a cup, added some sugar, and sat down at the table to enjoy her morning beverage. She picked up Arcane Magic Quarterly from the stack of magazines near the garbage bin to read it. 'So they finally finished researching that Mirror Pool. Took 'em long enough.' She lifted the teacup and sipped from it. 'I mean, if I would have known about it sooner, maybe we could have handled Pinkie bett—' Twilight calmly set down the teacup onto its saucer, slowly closed the magazine and put it down, got up and walked over to the kitchen entrance to look into the library's main room. There, still sitting on the couch, sat Pinkie, still reading her book. 'Huh.' She looked at her back and saw her two lavender wings tucked at her side. 'I should really be freaking out right about now.' She looked back up at the pink party pony. 'I did just waltz right past her with my wings brazenly showing. There's no way she didn't see them and, knowing Pinkie, she'll want to throw me an 'Ascension Party' or something.' The purple alicorn looked back at her wings. 'I must only be able to panic so much before it just rolls back over to zero.' She felt something bubble up inside of her. 'No, wait, never mind. There's the panic.' She burped. 'Oh, I guess I'm not going to...' Twilight teleported back to her room. “PANIC!” ----- Spike had been having a wonderful sleep. The only way things could have been better would be if he was dreaming of Rarity, but alas, those dreams were just as elusive as her name suggested. Unfortunately, Twilight decided to interrupt that sleep. He was jolted awake by her scream. “What now, Twilight!” He rolled over, “Can't I get one night sleep without you waking me up with your panicking?!” “Oh, how could I do something like this!? I was so careless! It's all my fault!” Spike sighed, before he sat up. “Okay, what happened?” “When I got up to have my morning tea, Pinkie was sitting right there and—wait! Why was Pinkie there?! The library doesn't open for another half-an-hour! Why is she breaking into my house?” Spike noticeably stiffened. “Oh...oops.” Twilight rushed up to him. “'Oops'? Why the 'oops'? What did you do?!” Spike sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Pinkie may have come over late yesterday while you were at Applejack's and might have asked if she could come by early today and I suppose that it's possible that I told her where we hide the spare key and I just maybe forget to tell you about it.” “You forgot.” Spike nervously laughed. “Hence the 'oops'.” “You just forgot to tell me.” “Yup. Kind of strange considering I don't normally forget stuff.” “It just slipped you mind that one of my friends who doesn't know I'm an alicorn would visit at a time when I wouldn't have my disguise up.” “Well...yeah. It's not like I did it on purpose. Besides, how do you even know she saw your wings?” “I walked right next to her! Of course she saw them.” “Remember: this is Pinkie we're talking about here. You can never be one hundred percent sure of anything.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “You're right, Spike.” she patted his head, “It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who can come up with desperate best case scenarios.” “Hey!” Twilight cast her Wing-be-gone Spell and took a few deep breathes before teleporting back downstairs. “Good, now maybe I can get some sleep.” ----- Twilight popped back into the kitchen. 'Okay, now just relax. It's all cool. Pinkie didn't see your wings, despite the fact that you walked less than five feet away from her.' She walked out of the kitchen and into the main room where Pinkie was still reading A Troper's Guide To: Metafiction. “Oah, what's this? The Fourth Wall? That sounds exci—oh, Twilight! You're back.” Pinkie's right ear twitched every few seconds. “Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I was just a little—uh—surprised that you got into my house before the library opened.” “Sorry if I startled you but I got this super fun idea yesterday. I was baking cupcakes—or was it tarts? Maybe it was tart cupcakes. But wouldn't those just be muffins? No, muffins are savory, not sour. Oh! Sour cupcakes! That sounds tasty! You could make them with little lemon candies and—” “Pinkie!” Pinkie's ear continued to twitch. “Oh, right. So I was baking something when I suddenly realized: you've never baked anything.” “Wh-What? “Whenever we've had a get-together or a meal, you've never brought a baked good.” “I have too. Remember that picnic? I brought cupcakes.” “That doesn't count.” “Why not? You said I never brou—” “I meant you never baked anything, silly.” “So?” “So, what would happen if the Cakes are sick and I've gone to my Family Reunion-but-we-stopped-calling-it-that-after-that-one-fight-happened-that-caused-Great-Aunt-Kuchen-to-get-a-hip-replacement?” “We'd...have Applejack bring the dessert?” “But what if she couldn't?” “Then we wouldn't have dessert.” Pinkie gasped in horror. “Not have dessert! Now dontcha' see?! I can't just let a travesty like that happen.” “Pinkie, the likelihood of those events happening together is astronomically sm—” “Nonsense, Twilight! Everypony thought a ball emergency was impossible and look what happened.” 'Ugh, this is hopeless.' “Fine. You win. I need to learn how to bake.” Pinkie's ear relentlessly twitched. “Yay! It's going to be so much fun! Especially since the Cakes don't have any super stressful orders today so we can take our time.” 'S-See, she didn't notice anything. Y-You're fine.' Twilight focused on Pinkie's ear. “Say, Pinkie?” “Mmyes?” “What's wrong with your ear?” “Oh this,” Pinkie pointed to her still twitching ear, “it's just my Pinkie Sense acting up.” “P-Pinkie Sense?” 'Oh no. No, no, no. Not that accursed thing.' “Yeah, you know, my Pinkie Sense.” “W-What's it mean?” Pinkie grew serious. “It either means that something earth shattering, something that will shake the very foundations of pony society, something that'll force us to question the very standards and beliefs that we hold, something that could cause civilization as we know it to fall, will happen,” Twilight was hyperventilating and her mane was a train wreck, “Or it means it's going to rain next week.” Twilight stopped mid-panic. “What.” Pinkie scratched the ear. “Yeah, it either predicts the complete unraveling of everything we know and love or that it'll rain next week. I haven't been able to tell just yet.” Pinkie stroked her chin, “Maybe it predicts both! Like the eye twitch hoof spasm combo can tell if there's going to be an assassination attempt on one of the Princesses or if we're out of mayonnaise.” Twilight huffed. “Let's just go learn how to bake!” ********** Twilight and Pinkie were in Sugarcube Corner's kitchen. Various ingredients were scattered across the counter as were several mixing bowls and utensils. “Now that we've finally gathered the necessary ingredients, can we get started?” 'The sooner we get started, the sooner we can finish.' “Hold your horses. First we have to put on the hats.” Pinkie reached under the counter and retrieved two toques. “The hats?” “Yeah, you can't cook properly without 'em.” Twilight sighed before she took the hat and put it on. Her horn ripped a hole in it and poked through. Pinkie also put on her hat. “There! Now we can start.” Pinkie disappeared for a moment, then popped up on the other side of Twilight, now holding a cook book in her hooves. “What should we make first? Oh, there's just so many options! We could make donuts, or fritters, or funnel cake. Wait! Silly me, we're supposed to be baking, not frying.” she held up the cook book to Twilight's face, “Just look at all these pies we could make, or how 'bout these yummy danishes?” Twilight gently pushed the book away. “Maybe we should start with something simply. Like a sheet cake.” “Simple but still tasty! Let's see, first we're gonna need—” Pinkie stuck her tongue out in thought, “two cups of flour, one and a half cups of sugar, a teaspoon of baking powder, and half a teaspoon of salt. Got that?” Twilight had already gathered the necessary ingredients. “Yup.” “Then we'll need three quarters cup of buttermilk, two large eggs, two teaspoons of vanilla extract, a half cup of melted butter, and a tub of sour cream.” Twilight made a face. “A...tub of sour cream? That sounds disgus—” “Who's the baker?” “Alright, but I don't think this is going to work.” “Of course it will. Now, you start sifting the dry ingredients and I'll get the oven and pan ready.” ----- Twilight and Pinkie stared at the cake. “I told you it wasn't going to work.” “I don't understand? We did everything according to the recipe.” The purple unicorn poked the flat, lifeless cake with a toothpick. “Either we missed a step, or that recipe needs to be revised.” “We didn't miss any steps.” “Well then maybe we forgot an ingredient or added too much of something.” Pinkie rushed over to the left over ingredients and began scouring them. “We added all the ingredients. The flour, the sugar, the baking so—Aha!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight and shook her. “Baking soda. It called for baking soda.” “So, let me get this straight. The baker confused two ingredients and ruined the cake.” Pinkie let Twilight go and grinned sheepishly. “And now you know why my special talent isn't baking.” The purple unicorn sighed before grabbing another baking pan. “Let's do this again.” ----- Twilight and Pinkie gazed at the delicious yellow cake while it cooled on a rack. “Much better. Now we just need to make some scrumptious chocolate frosting.” “I'm not an expert, but doesn't frosting require powdered sugar?” “Yup, three cups to be exact.” “Well I'm afraid you're all out.” Twilight's face brightened, “Wait, don't you usually have extra supplies in the basement?” Pinkie stiffened. “T-The basement?” Twilight walked over to the basement door and opened it. “Yeah, I thought the Cakes said something about storing extra supplies down here.” She began to descend the stairs. “No Twilight, stop!” Pinkie rushed over, but it was too late. She heard the click of a light bulb, followed immediately by a horrifying scream. “Oh! What is this! I-It's everywhere. It's on the walls!” “T-Twilight, wait, I can explain. Y-You see, there was this lottery and—” “Why is there a table covered in it?!” Twilight turned the light off and rapidly ascended the stairs. Her hooves were covered in a messy substance. “P-Pinkie! What was that?!” “Well, you see, Sugarcube Corner's plumbing has never been that good a-and sometimes, when it rains really hard, the basement will flood with sewage. I thought that maybe my Pinkie Sense could help the Cakes win the lottery and get some extra money to fix it, but that darn tongue itch gave me the wrong number.” “But it was everywhere!” “The last rain was really bad, and Rainbow said tomorrow's is going to be way, way worse.” Twilight shuddered. “It was horrible.” “That's why we had to move all the supplies. Why don't I go get the sugar while you clean up?” “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I think I'll use the back washroom.” Twilight exited the kitchen and headed for the bathroom to clean up. Pinkie, meanwhile, hopped over to the storage closet and, after a moment of digging through the boxes of flour, corn starch, and various oils, nabbed a bag of powdered sugar before she returned to the counter and started measuring it out. Her eyes bulged as she watched the sugar rise to the appropriate line on the measuring cup. “Psst.” Pinkie stopped pouring the sugar and glanced around for a moment. “Huh, stupid twitchy ear.” She shrugged, then resumed her careful measurement of the sugar. “Pssst!” She jerked up and looked around the kitchen. Seeing nothing, she proceeded to bit her lip. “Who's there?! Oh, I read about this once. The funny ones are always the first to go. There's never any room for humor in these kinds of situations.” Her face brightened, “Aha! All I have to do is act all sad and mopey and whatever it is that's making those hissing noises will be sure to leave me alone. Alright, Pinkie, think sad thoughts. Sad thoug—” “Ugh! Pinkie! Look out the window.” Just as she was imagining a world where all the sugar was replaced by artificial sweetener, she looked up to see the form of Rainbow Dash hovering in just outside of the window. “Rainbow! Watch out. There's a hissing monster on the loose and the athletic types are always knocked off early on to show just how dangerous it is.” “Pinkie, I was the one hissing.” Pinkie gasped. “You're a hissing monster?! I'm so sorry, Dashie. If only I could have been there to save you.” She began to cry. “I'm not a hissing monster! I was just trying to get your attention!” The pink pony instantly stopped the water works. “Oh. That makes much more sense than a hissing monster.” Dash sighed. “Yeah. Anyway, is Twilight almost ready? We've finished setting everything up.” “Did you get those super cool balloons?” “Yes.” “What about the confetti? It has to be no bigger than five millimeter to work with my party cannon.” “Yes.” “And what abo—” “Pinkie! We got everything you asked for. All we need is the cake.” “We've almost got that done. All that's left is getting it frosted.” She heard the sound of hoofsteps, “Quick! Shoo, shoo. Shoo be doo!” She waved for Dash to leave. “Alright. Alright. I'm going.” Dash grunted discontentedly and slowly fluttered out of view. Twilight returned, dragging a wet towel on the ground in front of her. “Oh, Pinkie. Why didn't you tell me I was tracking this stuff all over Sugarcube Corner?” “I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I mean, we track all sorts of stuff around every day and don't make a fuss about it.” 'You're sure Applejack was the one that made the baked bads, right?' “This is different. It's raw sewage! Do you know what kinds of bacteria and amoebae live in that!? And we're making food!” “Isn't that why you went to wash your hooves?” “Yes, but it would have been rendered moot by—ugh, never mind! Let's just make the frosting already.” Twilight tossed the towel into a hamper. “Great. I got the powdered sugar all measured out. Now, we're gonna need a half cup of cream cheese...” Twilight grabbed the ingredients as Pinkie rattled them off and the two set to work making the frosting. ********** “I still don't understand why we're going upstairs.” Pinkie grinned slyly. “Oooh, you'll see.” Twilight held the cake, along with a spatula, aloft with her telekinesis. “I mean, we could have enjoyed this cake downstairs.” “But it'll be much funerer if we eat it up here.” “Whatever you say.” Just as they reached the top of the stairs, four ponies and a dragon burst from their hiding spots and screamed. “SURPRISE!” Pinkie reached behind herself and pulled out her party cannon, shooting it straight into the air with a loud “bang”. Confetti and balloons rained down into the room. Twilight, shocked by the surprise and loud noises, threw the cake and spatula into the air, only for them to be caught by a light blue aura and gently set down on the table that had been set up. “I knew that would happen.” Rarity turned to Applejack and smiled smugly, “You owe me ten bits.” Applejack grumbled something incomprehensible under her breath. Twilight recovered from the shock of the surprise. “W-What's going on? Why's there a party?” Pinkie hopped around the room. “Dashie came over yesterday and told me that you were going to Canterlot.” Twilight glared in Dash's direction. “She did, did she?” “Yup and what better reason to party then when saying goodbye.” “You guys didn't have to do this. I'm only going to be gone for a day or two.” Pinkie burst up next to Twilight. “That's the best part! The sooner you come back, the sooner I can have a 'welcome home' party. It'll be great. There'll be balloons and cake and—” “So, pretty much what this party's having then?” “Yeah, except it'll be for welcoming you home, not saying goodbye. That's a big difference. Anyway, let's get this party started!” Pinkie ran over to the record player and turned it on. Soon, the party was in full swing. ----- While Applejack and Pinkie played a variant of “bobbing for apples” that involved twelve oranges, three carrots, and a gourd shaped like the back of Soviet Premier Khrushchev's head; Dash and Fluttershy talked about the weather. Twilight was busy looking over the various refreshments that were on the table. 'Pig in a blanket, or crackers and cheese?' Rarity walked over and interrupted her inquiry. “Can I have a word with you for a moment, dear?” “Of course, Rarity. What do you want?” “Well, neither Pinkie nor Rainbow was forthcoming with why you were going to Canterlot and I was merely wondering why—if it's not too personal.” 'Just take a deep breathe to stay calm. There's no reason to stress out over this.' Twilight took that deep breathe and responded. “I was subpoenaed to appear before Parliament and—” “What! P-P-Parliament! As in, the United Parliament of the Principality of Equestria and Its Territories?” “I think they just call it the 'Parliament of Equestria' now-in-days. Rolls off the tongue better than 'UPPEIT'.” “But, why are you appearing before Parliament?” “They want to know about the changelings. They're probably trying to figure out how the attack on Canterlot happened.” “That makes sense, but, what will you wear?” “I'm not going to wear anything.” Rarity's eye twitched. “You're going to appear before the most prestigious legislative body in the whole of Equestria and you plan on wearing nothing?” Twilight grabbed a (simulated) pig in a blanket from off the table and prepared to eat it. “You make it sound like a bad thing. It's not that big of a deal.” “Not a big deal! Of course it's a big deal. You simply must let me design you a dress for your appointment.” “Wha—no! I appreciate the offer, but I already have several dresses I can wear.” The purple pony ate the appetizer. “But, Twilight, those are old dresses. You need something fresh and bold. All of the important politicians will be there.” “It's not even going to be in front of all of Parliament. It's only the Oversight and Reform Committee.” Rarity gasped. “The Oversight and Reform Committee? The one chaired by Corn Subsidy?” Twilight looked bewildered. “I...guess? I don't keep up with politics. Who's Corn Subsidy, anyway?” “Only one of the most influential MP's around. He singlehoofedly took on the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation over their mismanagement of the Weather Factory and he—” Dash, overhearing their conversation while she was talking with Fluttershy, suddenly flew over. “He's the guy that caused all those problems at the Factory? It was a nightmare for weeks trying to deal with all those Ministry of the Interior clowns.” Rarity adjusted her hair. “He did not. He heroically defeated that vile company.” “'Vile'? How's the CWC 'vile'?” “They're a monopoly.” “No they're not! Los Pegasus Weather Services and Canterlot Air Control both have their own weather facilities. And the last thing we need is more government involvement.” Fluttershy wandered over. “Oh, I don't know, I think more government oversight would be a good thing.” “No! The government's so, so slow. It's like they're all part turtle or something.” 'I better do something before this turns into a four hour debate about politics.' “So, as I was saying, I have enough dresses.” 'Wait, no! Not back to that. Now Rarity wil—' “But you simply must let me design you a new one.” Rarity stooped down, “Please, oh please, oh please.” Twilight backed up a few steps. “Alright, alright. Just don't beg!” Rarity hopped back up. “Fantastic! Why don't you stop over tomorrow at, say ten o'clock in the morning and we can get working on it.” “Sounds fine to me.” Dash chuckled. “It doesn't take much to get you to play dress up.” “Weren't you the one that went as Daring Do to the Sci-fi Conv—” Dash's wings flared up as she scrambled to shut Twilight's mouth. Fluttershy was intrigued. “What was that Rainbow?” “Uh, nothing! I mean, we all have our secrets.” Dash turned to Twilight, “Isn't that right, Twilight?” “Um, yeah. Sure. S-So, ten o'clock tomorrow then?” “Yes,” Rarity giggled, “Oh it'll be so great. I can use that lace I got from Manehatten and sew it in a...” Twilight ignored Rarity's fashion ramblings and focused on other aspects of the party. ----- Twilight and her friends stood around Sugarcube Corner's front door. Spike lay, moaning and clutching his stomach, on a pillow next to the door. “That was another great Party. Pinkie. I gotta be headin' back to the farm now. After all, apples don't grow on—” Applejack cut herself off upon realizing what she was saying, causing everyone to laugh. “Bye, Applejack. I'll see you in a few days.” Twilight and Applejack hugged. “Bye, Twilight. Stay safe in Canterlot.” “I will.” Applejack waved goodbye to everyone before leaving. “Applejack's got the right idea. I got a long day tomorrow with that big storm that's planned. I'm gonna need all the rest I can get. See ya, Twilight.” Dash hugged Twilight as Applejack had, “Try to not let those boring government ponies rub off on you too much.” Twilight chuckled lightly. “I'll try. Bye, Rainbow.” Dash flew off back to her house. “I must return home, as well. Sweetie Belle and her friends wreaked absolute havoc during their sleepover and I can't design with my Boutique in such disarray. I'll be seeing you tomorrow, deary.” Rarity continued the trend and hugged Twilight too. “See you tomorrow.” Rarity gracefully made her way home. “I-I have to go home, too. Angel will be coming back from his mother-in-law's tomorrow and I have to make sure everything's all nice and clean before he gets back. Bye, Twilight.” As the others had, Fluttershy hugged her, “I could never go before all those ponies and cameras but I know you'll do just fine.” “Thanks for the encouragement. Bye, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy departed, leaving Twilight and Spike with Pinkie. “Well, we better be leaving as well.” Twilight telekinetically lifted Spike onto her back and returned the pillow to the couch, “Thanks for the party, even if I did bake my own cake.” “Anytime, Twilight. Partying's my middle name.” “I thought it was Diane?” “I prefer 'partying'.” “Well, we better be going. Spike, once again, overate. Bye, Pinkie. See you in a few days.” Twilight hugged Pinkie awkwardly due to Spike being on her back. “Bye, Twilight. I'm sure you'll have oodles of fun in Canterlot.” Twilight and Spike walked out and towards the library. “And, Twilight, be careful if the guards scan you. You never know what they might find.” Twilight's jaw dropped and she abruptly turned around, only to see Sugarcube Corner's front door shut. *********** After another exhausting day, this time because of fun rather than work, Twilight crawled into bed. Spike lay in his basket, still moaning. “Oooohhh, Twilight, you said those tablets would start to kick in.” “They will, Spike. You know, for someone who eats gems as their main source of nourishment, you sure do have a sensitive stomach.” “I'd have a witty response to that if I wasn't in so much pain.” “Just relax. The bottle said it would take a few minutes to take effect.” Twilight settled down under her blanket. 'Here's to hoping tonight's dreams are a bit less...disturbing.' “Goodnight, Spike.” “Ooooohhhhh.” End of Chapter Eight.