//------------------------------// // Last December // Story: Once Upon a December // by FlimFlamBros. //------------------------------// The entire right side of the castle was destroyed, crumbled in the fiery blaze that happened a year ago. The rest of the castle stood on shaky bricks, threatening to collapse at any time. The castle grounds were infested with weeds and overgrown vines and trees; the grounds keepers probably stopped tending to the gardens long ago. Not that it mattered; not a soul lived in the castle anymore. Not since the disaster one year ago… ***** “Dear Twilight Sparkle; my most faithful studet, As you are well aware, Hearth’s Warming Eve is approaching, and it is a time to celebrate our unity as a pony race and spend time with the ones that we care for. So I graciously invite you and your friends to the special 5000th anniversary of the Hearth’s Warming Eve’s Spectacular! It will be a special gala event that will take place the night before Hearth’s Warming. We hope that you and your friends will join Luna, Cadence, and I for a night we will all remember! Your Royal Highness, Princess Celestia.” “WOWEEEEEEE!” screamed Pinkie Pie excitedly, clapping her hooves as Twilight finished the letter from the Princess. “That sounds like it’s going to be the best party ever!” “Pinkie, y’all say that about every party,” chuckled Applejack. “But, that’s because it’s always true!” the pink pony exclaimed. “And I really mean it this time!” “Well, I think that it will be a lovely evening,” Rarity chimed in. “It’s not every day that the princess invites you to such a grand invent.” Rainbow snorted in from the back of the room. “Pul-leeze! We all know why you want to go! You just want to see your little ‘Spiky-Wiky’ again.” “Umm…actually Spike isn’t little anymore,” whispered Fluttershy, who had remained excited but quiet throughout the whole reading and conversation. “He’s actually gotten quite large… It’s a little scary.” Twilight sighed. “Fluttershy, you know that Spike wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone one of his best friends.” “Oh I know that,” she said quietly, “but he stills scares me.” “Silly Fluttershy!” laughed Pinkie, grabbing the pony in a headlock. “Spike’s just a big o’ softy, even if he is the new first lieutenant of the Canterlot Guard!” Rarity sighed. “Yes, I remember that day quite fondly, a day filled with both happiness…” she paused as she attempted to force back her tears, but one still managed to slip past, “and heartbreak.” “We all miss him, Rarity,” said Twilight, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “But hey, maybe we’ll meet see him at the ball?” “You’re right, Twilight!” the white mare smiled. “I’ll bet he’ll be there. Oh, to see him again after all this time!” she hummed happily as she skipped through to the door. “I’ll see everypony later, I need to go pack! Oh, there simply isn’t much time!” The snow white unicorn pranced out of the door, leaving the rest of the mares in the library. “Well, y’all think we should go?” Applejack asked, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’m not big on the whole dancing gala thing, plus I sort of planned to spend Hearth Warming with the family. We have the whole Apple family coming in this year.” “Aww! C’mon AJ!” begged Pinkie, her eyes growing large and blue, cutting straight into the cowpony’s soul. “It wouldn’t be the same without you, Jacky.” The orange mare bit her lip as she tried to look away from the pink pony’s eyes. “Dang it! It ain’t fair, using them puppy dog eyes. Twilight, make her stop.” She looked to her violet friend for support, but was met with a similar pouty face from the unicorn. “Ah, c’mon! This ain’t fair, there should be a law banning this sort of nonsense!” she complained, but the mares didn’t let up. “All right fine, y’all win! I’ll go. But the second the Gala’s over, I’m catching a one way trip back to Ponyville!” “Yay!” screamed Pinkie, sucking Applejack into a giant bear hug. “This is going to be the best night ever!” ***** How terribly wrong she had been. The white mare shook out of her daydream and took her first few steps onto the old castle grounds. Making her way through the unkempt courtyard, she approached the rusted gates of Canterlot Castle. The doors hadn’t been opened since the disaster, so it was with great difficulty that Rarity was able to push the screeching gates open. With the entrance open just a crack, the slightly winded unicorn slipped through the doors, not bothering to close them back up. It was a wreck inside the main entrance. It looked like the room had been ransacked by burglars and other thieves, with overturned, broken furniture and ripped, tattered drapes full of holes just like the rest of the hall. There was hardly a part in the room that wasn’t covered in a dark layer of ash. The mare walked solemnly down the once great halls of Canterlot, doing her best to avoid the gaze of the haunting interior. She came across another door, and with a heavy heart, pushed the door open into the main gala hall… ***** “Captain Armour, you wanted to see me?” The white unicorn turned around to see who he was talking to. “Lt. Spike, please, I told you, it’s just Armour when we’re off duty,” he said with a smile as the large purple dragon walked next to him on the balcony that overlooked all of Canterlot. It was around the end of December, and Canterlot had become a sparkling winter wonderland. The snow was falling quite nicely that evening, perfect fat snowflakes floating gently down from the clouds. The lights that shone from the city were a wonderful mixture of red and green, and laughter and good cheer could be heard from all the ponies down in the courtyard, the first of many guests that would be attending the Hearth’s Warming’s Eve event. “So, Armour, what did you want to talk about?” asked Spike. “The party that’s happening downstairs,” he said, still looking out at the court grounds. “It’s going to be the biggest event of the year; everypony that’s anypony is going to be attending.” “I am aware, Captain,” Spike said, “and I’m sure that it will be a great evening, for everypony.” “And maybe a dragon…” smiled Shining, reaching into one of the pockets of his winter armour. “Sir?” “I got you a little present, for all of your loyal service to the guard,” the guard pony said, pulling out a pair of golden tickets, and giving them to the dragon. “Consider yourself off duty for the rest of the holidays.” “Are these….” The dragon paused, reading the label of the ticket, “tickets to the Hearth's Warming Eve Spectacular?” The pony nodded. “Cadence and I got a few extra tickets, what with her being the niece of the princess, and after she invited her friends and family, we still had a leftover ticket and I thought... why not?” “Thank you, Armour,” the dragon said gratefully, handing him back the ticket. “But I can’t accept this.” “And why is that?” Shining asked, raising his brow. “I’d thought you’d be a little more excited; this is a very special event.” “I was planning on going home for the holidays to see Twilight,” he blushed, “among other ponies…” Shining Armour let a good hearted chuckle slip out as he slapped the dragon on the back. “And among these other ponies, would one of them be a beautiful white unicorn with a bouncy purple mane?” “Perhaps,” grinned Spike, reaching into his own pockets, and pulling out a white train ticket. “And that’s why I can’t accept the ticket. I was planning on surprising Rarity with a visit.” “Really, that’s the only reason you won’t attend the Gala?” wondered Shining. “You wanted to spend the holidays with your marefriend?” “And to see everyone else as well!” Spike said defensively. “But I won’t say that I’m not looking forward for a little alone time with her.” “Well, I wouldn’t get rid of that Gala ticket just yet,” laughed Armour, looking down from the balcony. “I have a surprise of my own.” “What?” asked Spike, looking to where Shining was looking. Down in the courtyard, a large grand carriage pulled up. A greeting stallion walked up to it and opened the door. One by one, six mares walked out of the carriage, each one wearing a thick coat, and a hat. Among the coat-clad ponies was a familiar deep purple, curly mane. “Rarity’s here?” the stunned dragon asked, turning to Armour, but he was already leaving. “I’ll see you at the party,” he said. “Oh, and say hi to Twily for me?” he asked before closing the door behind him. Spike tucked both tickets into his pocket before jumping off the ledge of the balcony. He free fell for a few seconds before opening up his wings, slowly down his decent as he swooped down from the skies, and landed behind the six mares. It was fairly dark, even with the golden light coming from the castle, so they didn’t see the dragon sneak up on them. “Can you believe how beautiful the Palace looks on a winter’s night?” gasped Rarity as she pulled her luggage through the snow. “It’s so pretty…” whispered Fluttershy, although it was whispered warmly. “I’ve never seen so many beautiful lights before.” “This party is going to be so awesome!” screamed the hysterical pink party pony. “There’s going to be dancing, and there’s going to be music, and there’s going to be cake! Ooooo cake! I hope they have Manehattan styled strawberry cheesecake! That’s my favourite!” “Really?” asked Rainbow. “I thought your favourite was seven coloured angel pound cake?” “I thought my Granny Smith’s apple pie was your favorite,” chuckled Applejack, holding on to her hat to keep it from blowing in the winter breeze. “I personally like sapphire fire cake,” the dragon smiled, alerting the mares of his presence. Rarity was the first to turn around; the giant smile on her face was priceless. “Spike!” she cried, dropping her luggage and running into his strong arms. He caught her, spinning around as the two reunited lovers shared a kiss, a kiss that could melt the snow around them. When the two finally parted, as all kisses must, Rarity’s eyes hung heavy with lust, fitting her sultry smile. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered. “I’ve missed you too,” Spike whispered back, as he went in for a quick peck on her cheek. “I’m surprised that you’re here. I was actually planning on surprising you by meeting you back in Ponyville, but it looks like you beat me to it!” “And it would have been a wonderful surprise, darling,” cooed Rarity, wrapping her hooves around his neck. “To be perfectly honest, the second we received the invitation from the princess, well, let’s say that the gala was the second thing that I was excited for.” “Ugh gag!” groaned Rainbow. “Get a room you two.” “Actually, that’s not a bad idea…” “Spike!” blushed Rarity, giving the dragon a playful nudge. “Please, our friends are right here.” “And we have to get going,” commented Twilight. “We still have to get changed into our Gala dresses. We’ll meet you in the main dance hall, okay?” “All right then, I will see you ladies at the gala,” Spike said, spreading his wings as he soared off into the air. “Just look for the incredibly handsome dragon!” he shouted back at the girls, laughing as he twirled through the air and away from the ponies. “See you there, my love,” whispered Rarity as she and the other mares continued to the castle, giggling and laughing in anticipation to what was sure to be the greatest night in their young lives. ***** The gala hall was covered in white ash and snow, a shadow of its former glory. The south wall and ceiling had collapsed, leaving a pile of rocky rubble and broken shards of glass. The other standing walls were cracked, and covered with dark scorch marks. That hall held so many bad memories, ones that she wished she could forget. Rarity carefully walked down the marble staircases. Imprinted in the steps were more black scorch marks, but they were in the shape of ponies, ponies that were afraid of something. Ponies that were afraid of dying. The large dance floor was no better. Small sections of the roof had caved in, and pillars were knocked down, leaving debris in the room. A pony would have thought these ruins were more than a year old, perhaps hundreds, maybe thousands of years old. But those wounds were still fresh, the chaos still settling in. She had to leave this room; it was too painful to stay here after everything that had happened. She crossed the room quickly, her eyes shut to avoid accidentally looking at the final resting places of these ponies. With closed eyes, she wasn’t able to see the stray brick on the floor, and tripped. Her head hit the ground rather hard, but nothing too serious. Her eyes slowly cracked open in horror as she saw the one mark that she was trying to avoid. She quickly scrambled to her hooves, ran through the barren room, and out the massive hole in the south wall. She had to get out of there; she needed to get away from that memory. That mark in the ground, the gala hall, everything. It was here that everything went wrong. It was here that everything went to hell.