//------------------------------// // PiT 12: Tinsel // Story: Ponies in Tartarus // by ff0000 //------------------------------// As Twilight walked forward, she found her eyes drawn to sharp shapes sticking out from above. Sometimes, when the fog moved a certain way, rusty iron structures could be seen hanging down. Rough gates with spiked bars poked through menacingly. Hanging lamp posts provided no light as it lacked a source. Twisting girders and metal cables loomed in the mist, like fingers waiting to snatch up anypony that wandered too close. Looking around some more, Twilight found that she was alone. She shivered at the thought of being all by herself in such a sad location, but she didn’t really expect to see anypony else. After all, Twilight had come here by herself for purposes. She couldn’t exactly remember what purposes other than they were important. Lights hovered around the area, casting a sickly glow over through the heavy mist. They moved as if they were sentient, but none of them cared when the unicorn got close. They passed straight through Twilight if she happened to be in their way. Twilight jerked to the side, giggling while doing so. The part that the lights touched tickled warmly. She plowed on with a bit more life than before. Whatever the unicorn was here for, she was certain it would come back eventually. For now, all she knew she had to do was continue onward. The other five Equestrian ponies and the young under pony were all wandering around alone like lost ponies. They charged forward with varying levels of energy. For what reason, they didn’t know. All they knew was that it was something important. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie went ahead at top speed. Applejack, while a bit slower, didn’t really take the time to properly explore the area. Rarity and Ferry Merry had taken to walking and looking around. Fluttershy had barely moved. She had her face buried under her hooves while wondering just why she was in this mist covered area. The sound of hooves hitting against the grates made the meek pegasus shiver. As the noise came closer, her trembling became so great, that even the mist shook. “¿Señorita? What is a beautiful mare such as yourself doing here?” somepony asked. Fluttershy peered up only to let out a gasp. “Oh me? Nothing. I’m not doing anything. I’ll just be going now.” She turned away, only to pause. After spinning around in a complete circle, she didn’t find any good direction to go. “Please, do not be frightened of me. Let me help you.” The pony that spoke extended a bony leg. Not a frail leg, but one that was devoid of any flesh or meat. He was a skeleton, tall and thin, but a friendly looking one wearing a dark coat with colorful trimmings. “Who are you?” Fluttershy asked in a barely audible squeak. “I am nopony important, just a caretaker of this river.” “River?” The skeleton caretaker pointed down. “Eep,” Fluttershy gasped when she saw through the grate into a vast expanse of fog. The sounds of running water was audible over the sound of music. “Come with me, our mistress has invited you to a gathering.” The skeleton pony stared directly at Fluttershy. He was trying to smile, but that was rather hard without any lips. The unmoving bone face came across as bored. “Okay,” Fluttershy whispered. “I don’t want any trouble.” “It’s just a dinner for our honored guests.” “M-me?” The caretaker nodded. Elsewhere, the other ponies were all meeting fancily dressed skeleton attendants. Rainbow Dash had been oddly easy to catch. Having no idea where to go or what she was doing here, she had followed one of the many floating lights in the area. They passed by a hanging three headed lamp post, and then another one, and another one. Rainbow Dash swerved around it while thinking that there sure were a lot of similar looking lamp posts hanging on the ceiling in this place. Even the metal dents were the same. She was relieved to see another pony, even if it was one that was just bones. It was kinda off putting, but she felt relieved not to be alone at least. Applejack stubbornly walked ahead. That was until a rather thick boned attendant asked, “Where are you going to in such a hurry?” “I’m going, I’m going somewhere,” Applejack said firmly. “Er, it’s something important.” “What is it? Can I help?” “Well, uh.” Applejack scratched her head. “I don’t remember right now.” “It can’t be that important if you don’t remember it, señorita. Please, won’t you at least come with me for a little while? Our mistress went to a lot of trouble preparing a feast for her guests.” “I’m her guest?” The farm pony adjusted her hat. “Well, I suppose it would be rude of me not to go at least. But only for a little bit. I reckon have something important that needs doing, and I’ll be doing it.” She pulled her hat forward in an appreciative bow. For Rarity, the promise of someplace to rest her weary hooves and have a nice meal was more than enough to get her to go along. This place was absolutely dreadful in many senses. Just look at all that ridiculous hanging decorations. Whoever designed this place needed to learn how to use some color. She had to admit the floating lights were a nice touch. If only there weren’t all that hair-volume destroying fog around. Rarity was the first to arrive at the site of the miniature party. There was a grand oval table set up in the middle of several silver arches. The frame of the table and seats were all made of silver as well. The unicorn we a quiet, delightful noise at the faceted glass that acted as the tops to the chairs and dining surface. Dull red cushions were provided on the chairs for comfort. In total, there were eight place settings. Though it wasn’t her event, Rarity went over and straightened out the actually silver silverware that was next to the plates. The source of the festive melody flowing through the area was revealed now. Standing under one of the arches was a band of four skeleton attendants. Unlike the one that had brought her here, the band had a fancier outfit with golden tassels hanging from their dark coats and pants. All of them wore colorful, wide brimmed sombreros. They made a small bow to the guest without missing a note. Being able to play brass trumpets as skeletons shouldn’t be surprising considering how they could talk. The lead band member strummed a large guitar. His hoof tapped against the wood panel as he bobbed up and down rhythmically. “Dear, this place is a bit drab though, don’t you think?” Rarity asked a rather small attendant. “It isn’t to your liking, señorita?” “No, it’s marvelous. I’m just thinking out loud here. Would your host mind if I make some modifications?” Rarity leaned towards the attendant with batting eyelids. “I suppose not. We put up all the decorations ourselves, but we’re not particularly good at it.” The skeleton pony remained completely still as he spoke. “It would be rude to have a guest do it though.” “I insist. The proper decoration can set the entire mood for the party, and it’s the least I could do for such a gracious invitation. It’s no trouble to me at all.” After a moment of what might have been contemplative silence, he said, “What did you have in mind?” “If you could get me some colored fabrics, gemstones and flowers, I think I can spruce this place up a bit, make it more lively.” “No flowers.” The sharpness of his voice made the white unicorn step back. “I apologize. Flowers are not a good sign to us. They happen to like growing on bones. If too many of them gather on us, they’ll lock our joints in place and drain out what bit of soul we have. There is an old saying from a wise person, ‘We may have years, we may have hours, but sooner or later, we push up flowers.’ “Down here is nice because no flowers grow.” “I understand,” Rarity said with a kind smile. “I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable. The fabrics and gems will more than suffice.” The small skeleton pony bowed before setting off. Lace, meanwhile, had chased down Ferry Merry. The small filly was shuffling through the grates above the River of Forgetfulness without any worries, or rhyme for that matter. “Ferry Merry, come here would you, dear?” Lace said. “Who are you?” Ferry Merry asked. Lace hung her head and frowned. She quickly looked up with wide, innocent eyes. “Don’t you remember me? I’m one of the five guardians.” “Never seen you before, dame, sorry.” “Well, that’s really bad. Here, put this on.” Lace just jammed a small sized skull mask onto the filly. “This will filter out the effects of the fog.” “What effects?” Ferry said, her voice now muffled. “Er, come on, I think I have some imported gingko biloba around here. The potion made from that should fix you right up.” “Fix what right up?” Lace let out a weak chuckle. “Nothing, nothing. Just go with Dat Bones now, she’ll get you sorted out.” She pushed the confused filly towards a skeletal attendant with wide hip bones. Lace wiped her brow. What happened last time young river guide came to the river was still fresh in her mind. While Lace had been emphatically playing with Ferry, the filly had slipped off the boat and fallen into the water. It had been an accident, but Arch Rune was having none of it. A cold sweat made the dark green pony shiver as she recalled what happened next. At that time, Arch Rune said, “Listen, Lace, doll, I like you and all, but if you do not fix my sisters memory, bad stuff is going to happen. I have these nails. See? They’re long, rusty things. If my sister can’t get her memory back, I am going to have to string you up, hooves in the air. I’ll hammer in these nails through your hooves and into the fleshy leg portion. It’s going to take a while since hooves are so hard. I might accidentally split them entirely. Still like you though, remember that.” And then Arch Rune had given a firm squeeze on the shoulder. Those words echoed loudly in Lace’s mind. No wonder Arch Rune guarded the River of Pain. It should be fine though. Right? If Lace could fix up (most of) the memory of somepony that fell into the river directly, just breathing in a bunch of the river vapors should be no problem. She let out a nervous chuckle. Now that her friend’s younger sister was being taken cared off, Lace set off for the party. All of the guests should have been gathered by now. At the party location, Rarity had been hard at work making things more elegant, refined, while keeping the overall tone of the place intact. To go with all of the hanging metal structures, a focal point was created in the center of the table that looked a bit like a reverse chandelier of gems. She was currently decorating the many arches surrounding the area with long pieces of colorful fabric. They were carefully draped over, evoking vines crawling along the metal. Bright gemstones popped from the shiny fabrics. Lights of lost souls hovered around the area. As they had nothing better to do, they agreed to provide a brighter ambience. Hanging out by the party was certainly much more interesting than the usual aimless wandering. “There,” Rarity said. She stepped back, admiring her additions. “What do you think?” “It’s lovely, Señorita Rarity,” the small attendant said. “You certainly have a way with decorating.” “Thank you. I do, uh, what did I do?” The unicorn shrugged. For some reason, not being able to come up with an answer didn’t really bother her. “Hoo wee,” somepony said. A peach colored pony wearing a rancher hat said. “This place is looking fancy. Are you the host of this little party?” “Oh me?” Rarity raised a hoof to herself. “No. I was just given permission to do some additional decorating. I’m a guest too.” “Mighty fine work you’ve done here. Name’s Applejack.” She spat on her hoof and extended it. The unicorn backed away defensively from the spit laden hoof. She waved instead. “Rarity. Charmed.” Soon, two more guests arrived, both pegasi. The way they carried themselves couldn’t be more different. The sky blue pegasus with the rainbow mane swaggered, not caring about offending anypony. On the other hoof, the yellow pegasus with a long, flowing pink mane tip toed around the edges and refused to face the other guests directly. “Sup,” the blue pegasus said. Without hesitation, she spat on her own hoof to shake Applejack’s. “I’m Rainbow Dash.” Rarity had walked over to the cowering pegasus. With a bright smile, she asked, “And what’s your name, dear?” “....” A name had come out, but it was too quiet to hear. “What did you say?” Applejack asked. Now that the other three ponies were all staring at her, the meek pegasus retreated further towards the ground. The tall caretaker next to her raised a bony hoof. “Presenting Señorita Fluttershy.” “Oh,” the other three said in unison. “Well howdy, Fluttershy. No need to be, er, shy.” Applejack gently patted Fluttershy on the back. They’re greetings were interrupted by the arrival of a murky green pony with the strangest mane any of them had seen. “Good evening. My name is Love, and I am the host for this party. I’m glad you have all, er.” Lace raised her hoof and pointed to each of the Equestrian ponies. This would have been so much easier if there was a built in counting device on her hooves. “Only four?” She turned to the skeleton workers around. “Where are the other two?” None of them knew. Lace rubbed the side of her head. “Well, we can get started for now. I’m sure the others will join us soon. So please, have a seat.” A sultry smile spread across her lips. “We’ll have a grand time.” For the occasional, Lace had adorned some jewelry. A golden pendant sparkled around her chest and two miniature gold chains dangled from her ears. The left one looped up to a piercing near the top of her ear. Even though the table was large enough to fit at least twenty ponies, they all gathered on one end. The band started playing a livelier tune. Those bones could really shimmy if they wanted to. The guitarist and violinist also started vocalizing in a smooth, low harmony. The music still remained unobtrusive, allowing for conversation between the guests. Waiters brought out the first course to all of the present guests, a lovely salad of various moss, lilies and lotus roots. Glowing silk lines were neatly arranged along the top. “Upon seeing the plate before her, Applejack tilted her head. “Is this it?” “Of course not. I was informed that this is a proper, full course meal,” Rarity said with an air of haughtiness. “That’s right,” Lace said. “We’ll be having a salad, soup, appetizer, entrée and dessert.” Rainbow Dash made a slurping noise as she sucked up her tongue. “Why can’t you just bring that all out now? I want to try everything.” She leaned forward onto the table. “We could do that if you girls want,” Lace said. Rarity waved a hoof in objection. “No, no. This is a nice, proper dinner event. We should enjoy it properly. Rainbow D....” What was the pegasus’ name again? It would have been impolite not to use it but a ruffian such as her probably wouldn’t mind anyway. “Don’t slouch. And you, Applejim, don’t wear your hat at the table, it’s rude.” Applejack glanced up at the brim of her hat. “Why should I? I always wear my hat.” Her voice dropped to a low mumble. “You’re the rude one for not knowing my name.” “What was that? Mumbling is rude.” A distinct noise of grinding teeth was coming off Applejack. She decided to just eat. Looking around however, she saw that the host and the proper unicorn were both using forks to eat. Applejack tried picking one up. It felt extremely unwieldy in her hooves. Of course, the unicorn was having no problems as she just used magic to manipulate the silverware. The sound of a plate harshly being placed on the table cut into their conversation. “Bring out the next course already,” Rainbow Dash said, still with a mouth full of salad. She had foregone the use of utensils and just ate directly off the plate. “Hmhm.” Lace nodded with a chuckle. She made a lazy wave to the waiter while keeping her smirking eyes on the guests. It was fun having dinner with new ponies. They were as lively as her own friends. Less fun was the fact that they were supposed to be friends with each other. Now, her party guests were just strangers. Lace had seen a lot of people that once knew each other turn into ones that wouldn’t give each other the time of day. She let out a sigh as her dejected eyes glanced around the table. After a minor nitpick from Rarity about which of the many forks to use, Applejack placed a hoof to her face. “Would you stop being so fussy about everything?” “I’m just hoping you are so uncivilized that you can not enjoy a nice dinner party,” Rarity said. “At least somepony here knows proper etiquette.” “Uh,” Fluttershy mumbled. She moved the salad fork away from her mouth before speaking. “It’s nothing really.” Looking at them now, Lace wondered if perhaps her guests needed proper circumstances to be friends. Throwing them directly into a formal affair seemed to be causing some friction between them. While the other ponies continued their snide socializing, one of the caretakers quietly slipped behind the guardian of the river. He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. “Pardon me, dear guests,” Lace said. “It appears our last two guests have gotten lost. Please excuse me while I show them the way. If you have any requests, I’m sure our waiters will handle it. Remember to enjoy yourselves.” She bowed her head. The guardian of the river disappeared into the heavy fog, equally heavy thoughts on her mind. A determined look was on her face as she raced over the grating. The remaining two guests weren’t lost, both of them had turned down an invitation. There shouldn’t be any good reason for them to do that. One of them in particular had gotten dangerously close to the exit. Taking advantage of the situation, Rainbow Dash ordered everything at once. Brought out was a lovely dinner of rich creamy corn soup, an entrée of delectably seasoned mushrooms and root vegetables, and a dessert of a light, clear soup mixed with various berries. “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Rainbow Dash said. A gluttonous grin spread across her face. She immediately went for the dessert soup first. Her slurping splattered as much soup outside of the bowl as inside her mouth. “Watch it,” Applejack grumbled as sweet, sticky droplets landed on her face. “Sorry,” a giggling Rainbow Dash managed to say. The farm pony stood up, placing both from legs on the table. “Waiter, bring me everything too.” Rarity rolled her eyes, mumbling, “Plebeians.” She tenderly sipped her soup course, savoring the flavor. When Applejack received all of her dishes, she leaned forward onto the table. She pushed aside the dessert dish for now. “I bet I can finish the soup and main dish before you can.” Rainbow Dash gave an evil grin. “Okay, you’re on.” Sensing the change in atmosphere, the band picked up the tempo. Vocal trilling raised the energy and spirits of the contestants. In their rush, bits of food flew everywhere. Rainbow Dash had started flinging the pieces that landed on the table towards her opponent. Fluttershy flinched as a misfired mushroom struck her nose. “Quit it,” Applejack said. “Don’t make the challenge if you aren’t prepared to win,” Rainbow Dash boasted. She slammed the empty main dish plate onto the table. “The goal is to eat the food, not spread it everywhere.” “The goal was to finish. And I finished.” Grimacing, Applejack said, “Not yet you haven’t.” She finished the rest of the entrée in one bite. The white unicorn sitting at the table suddenly let out a frustrated growl. “You two are the most unbelievable, uncouth, undignified ponies I have ever seen. Do you have any idea how to behave in formal occasions.” “We’re just having fun,” Applejack argued. “This is a party, isn’t it?” “This is a dinner party, not whatever shindig you’re used to.” “If you don’t like it, why don’t you just leave?” A wide eyed look of indignation appeared on Rarity’s face. “F-fine. I think I will. I have something far more important to do anyway.” She turned up her nose and walked away. Using the farmer earth pony’s distraction, Rainbow Dash flicked a spoon at the ranch hat. Knocking it off would delay the other pony even more. Her throw had been a little too enthusiastic though. Not only was the hat knocked clean off, it tumbled into a gnarled iron arch. One of the structural wires was sticking out just enough for the rough end to catch onto the hat. The metal bit tore through the rim, leaving a nasty cut. “You,” Applejack slammed her hoof onto the table, “you’ve done it now rainbow pegasus.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. Without any sincerity, she said, “Oops.” The quiet pegasus, Fluttershy, sank further back into her seat as the two other ponies glared heated sparks at each other. While the party went on, Lace sped through the swirling mist. She kept her head up, noting what structures were hanging down from the mist. She passed a cracked lamp post, a long iron fence, something that looked like a metal wing, and many other markers. Up ahead was a bright spot of pink in an otherwise gloomy area. “Hello there,” Lace called out to the pink pony. “Oh, hello,” Pinkie Pie said as she cheerfully bounced along. “Where are you going?” “To do, uh,” Pinkie scratched her curly mane, “something important.” Lace sidled over with her face down but eyes glancing up. “Wouldn’t you much rather come to a party?” “Ooh, parties, I love parties, but I feel that there’s something I must do. It’s very important. Sorry, Love. I’ll definitely come back later.” “Wait, what did you call me?” Lace asked, wide eyed. “Love. It’s your name, isn’t it?” Pinkie tilted her head one way, then the other. “Yes, but you remembered.” “Of course I remember. How could I forget? I’ve even made a song to help me remember you. It goes something like this It’s a lovely day for Love A great dark green pony All she needs is a little shove To go to the greatest party. Pinkie finished the song with a spin. “How does, how does a song help you remember?” a flabbergasted Lace asked. “It’s a mnemonic device, using other cues to help aid in memory retention. I have a song for all my friends too. My friends? Uh, I had six of them right? Of course I do, I think about them constantly.” “Oh, w-well, they’re all waiting for you over at the party.” Lace wrapped a hoof around Pinkie Pie in an attempt to lead her away from the exit. “I want to,” Pinkie said with a bright smile. “But I can’t.” Her face turned into a solemn frown. “There is something important I have to do, more important than partying.” She ruffled her mane frantically. “What could be more important than partying? It has something to do with my friends. What were their names again?” Pinkie Pie started vocalizing. I used to wonder what friendship could be Until you all shared its magic with me Big Adventure (That’s Rainbow Dash!) Tons of fun (Ooh, me.) A beautiful heart (Rrrarity.) Faithful and strong (Cider maker Applejack.) Sharing kindness (Gentle Fluttershy.) It’s an easy feat And magic makes it all complete (That’s Twilight.) “Twilight! She’s hurting the most right now.” Pinkie Pie held both front hooves up to her gasping mouth. “Twilight’s sad because of, because of. Think.” She sat on the ground, one hoof folded across her chest, the other tapping her head. “Think, think, think.” Thinking through her bank of songs, nothing really linked her to memory to the important friend. But there was more than just audio recollection. There was also spatial and color recollection. According to colors, there was somepony green and purple. According to space, that pony wasn’t a pony at all. “Spike!” Pinkie squealed. “We need to save Spike. If we don’t, everypony will be sad, Twilight especially. A party isn’t a party if all your friends are sad.” “No,” Lace admitted. She rubbed her hoof against the metal grate, unsuccessfully digging at it. “I suppose not.” Her mouth quivered. Pinkie tightly squeezed the dark green under pony around the waist. “Don’t be sad. I’m sure we’ll all be happy again.” “I’m not so sure about that.” Their alone time was interrupted by a figure walking through the mist. It was too fleshy to be one of the caretakers. The pony was mumbling something, over and over again in dull tones. Twilight Sparkle walked out from the mist in a daze. “I must keep going. I must keep going. I must keep going.” That one sentence droned out of her mouth, over and over again. Pinkie Pie hummed the part of the song that reminded her who the lavender unicorn was before springing out. “Twilight!” She performed a diving tackle that caused both ponies to tumble across the grate. “Who?” Twilight asked. Her eyes were only half open, seeing a blurry pink thing. “Twilight Sparkle. It’s me, your friend Pinkie Pie!” “I’m sorry but I don’t know you.” Twilight pushed the other pony off. She continued on her way. “I have something important to do, so please excuse me.” “I’m coming too! All our friends are. You can’t just go alone. We need to go together.” “Friends? I don’t need any friends. I have books. And books are more than enough.” Twilight gave a half hearted tilt of her head towards the saddlebags on her back. “If you don’t remember me, I’m going to have to make you remember.” Lace stood at the side, watching. She could have stopped this, but the knot in her stomach prevented her from moving. Normally, she never saw living beings under the effects of the river. Sure, it was just the vapors with a much weaker effect, but messing with the lives of living ponies made her mouth dry. The guardian was sitting on the ground, with exceptionally rigid front legs propping her up. Her mouth was pressed together until it was nothing more than a narrow line. “Remember all the times we’ve been through? The times we went to handle that snoring dragon? The time we pretended to be Mare Do Well? The time I thought you all hated me and wanted to kick me out of the group?” “Not really,” Twilight said as she backed away from the wide, bulging eyes. “How about this, remember the time we went after Nightmare Moon? Remember the first song I ever sang you? Giggle at the ghostly Guffaw at the grossly Crack up at the creepy Whoop it up at the weepy Chortle at the kooky Snortle at the spooky. Twilight let out a groan. She placed a hoof to her head. The horn gave off a faint glow. “Ha, ha, ha,” she found herself saying. Why did those words just suddenly blurt out? “Come on.” Pinkie pressed even closer. “Remember how to smile? We all want to smile together again right? Come on Twilight Sparkle, smile, smile, smile Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine All I really need is a smile, smile, smile From this happy friend of mine. The unicorn shook her head. Magic swirled around her horn. “Pinkie?” she managed to say. “Yes! Yes, it’s me.” “That melody sounds so familiar.” The hyper pony folded her hooves and looked down thoughtfully. There must be something else she could do to jog Twilight’s memory. “Ooh!” she gasped. She hopped up and down in front of Twilight. “Remember this?” Her entire body started to shake, as if she was standing on a localized quake. “The doozy! Something big is going to happen,” Twilight said. The unicorn’s horn suddenly burst into light. A spark travelled all the way to the tip before bouncing back, sending her sprawling on the ground. When she opened her eyes again, they were spinning. Twilight shook off the dizziness. Looking at the pony in front of her, she said, “Pinkie Pie? What’s going on.” “You remember, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie leapt around with a smile that outshined the dreary, mist filled cavern. “Do you remember?” “I remember we have this thing with the thing.” Twilight grabbed Pinkie on one of her passes. “Hold still.” She aimed her horn at Pinkie’s face. A bright glow washed over both of them. “Spike! We have to save Spike,” Pinkie said. The unicorn nodded. “Where are the other’s though? And Love? What are you doing here?” Lace let out a small peep. “Uh, well, erm, I followed you girls up. I think I mean, I can’t remember.” “Hang on. I think this place affects our memories somehow. It’s strange, but I can remember not remembering. Anyway, I’m going to cast a protective counterspell.” Twilight cast the same spell onto Lace. There wasn’t any sudden feeling of revelation for the guardian. The soothing feeling quelled her stomach somewhat. “Thank you,” Lace said appreciatively. “And please, call me Lace. I remember now, that’s my name.” “I think Love, or Lace, was telling me that our friends were at some party here,” Pinkie said. Lace glanced away. “Yes. I passed by them when following you. A band was playing there I believe.” “Let’s go get them,” Twilight said. Lace reluctantly followed the two good friends back. The nervous sweat of being an outsider rolled down her back. It didn’t take them long to follow the riveting music back to its source. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were all sitting around the table, laughing. Many empty plates were between the group of chatting ponies. Applejack’s hat had been repaired by an expert tailor. It was impossible to tell a tear was even there. Applejack tapped her hat. “Thanks for fixing that up for me,” she said sheepishly. “Not a problem, darling,” Rarity said. “And I’m sorry for acting the way I did. It wasn’t proper for the current atmosphere.” “Yeah,” a Rainbow Dash, slumped into her seat, said. “I guess I’m sorry too. I got caught up in the competition.” Fluttershy smiled kindly at the others. “I’m glad you have all calmed down.” Looking on at the four ponies, Lace had a thought. Perhaps this group was destined friends. If they met for the first time a hundred different times, they would become friends a hundred different ways. Lace shot a glare at the incoming skeletal caretakers. She repeatedly made the motion for cease and desist to them. The attendants gave each other blank stares, but they backed off and waited at the sides quietly. A skull mask wearing filly was also around. When Twilight and Pinkie came, she rushed over. The worry in her eyes were clear, even through the eyeholes. “Dames, did you lose your memories too?” “Don’t worry, Ferry. We’re fine.” Twilight gave a reassuring nod. One by one, Twilight restored her friends memories. They were all grumbling about the strangest experience. All of their moods were still high and jovial as they looked at all the strangeness going on around them. Pinkie had been perusing at the food on the table. “What’s with this party? There’s no cake.” “What is cake?” Lace asked. “You don’t know what cake is?” Pinkie said with a look of absolute horror. “I will prepare the most magnificent cake for our celebration party. You’ll see.” Lace had a wide smile that turned her eyes into nothing more than arches. “I would really like that.” “And don’t worry, I would never forget to invite you,” Pinkie said.