//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's 500th Birthday // by Autumnschild //------------------------------// --- Two Months Later --- Princess Cadence sat on a small cloud in the VIP waiting room of the Mare-de-Sun Square Garden in Manehatten. She couldn’t help but sigh happily. She had a smile on her face and a song in her heart. Today was Hearts and Hooves Day. Her day. Even before she was the Goddess of Love, she felt she had a special connection with this holiday. She could always feel the love of her little ponies, but the feeling was so much more... Whatever it was, on Hearts and Hooves Day. Today was a day for ponies to share their love without reservation. A day to rekindle old flames. A time to work up the courage to ask out that special somepony. An excuse to hug their children a little bit tighter. A solemn moment to remember a life well lived and a heart well kept. She tossed her head back with a shake but it didn’t do anything, and she immediately regretted it. She used to do it to remove unruly strands of hair from her face, now it was just a useless habit. She frowned at the memory of the day she first woke up with an ethereal mane. She remembered how she tore her royal bedchamber apart; looking for her real hair. Not that it wasn’t beautiful, it was. Even on her worst days, it was breathtaking. She just had nothing to do with it. Used to be, when a pony would complement her hair she would shine with pride. Now? Now it was just a thing on her head that bandied about without a care in the world like some kind of happy little parasite. The worst part was that she couldn’t play with it. It would dance out of her hooves if she did more than brush it. It wouldn’t crimp, it wouldn’t curl, it wouldn’t dye, and it wouldn’t be cut. She remembered how she considered taking up smoking just to have something to do with her hooves. But her purple plotted sister and her foalish playing at Senator put an end to that idea even before she could buy her first pack. “Stupid anti-smoking laws,” she grumbled to herself as she fished a gumball out of the bowl in front of her and popped it into her mouth. A voice from across the room piped up, “Er... What was that, Your Highness?” Princess Cadence looked up at Love Note, her Private Secretary, sitting by the empty fireplace. Cadence smiled a genuine smile at her old friend cupping a hoof to her ear as she looked beyond her newspaper to the Princess sitting on her cloud. “Oh nothing,” she laughed, “Just the deranged ranting of an old gray mare.” Love Note snorted in agreement and returned to reading her paper. “Paper says it’s gonna be a hot one today, Cadie. Why in Tartarus are we here in Manehatten again?” Princess Cadence laughed at the nickname her Private Secretary addressed her with. She remembered how greatly it vexed her some 50 years ago, but she’d grown accustomed to the brusque little pony. She kept Princess Cadence grounded in reality and Cadence kept her from drinking scotch at seven in the morning. They were a good team. “Now now, Love Note, you know we’re here because it’s Hearts and Hooves Day.” “I know what day it is Cadie, I’ve been sorting through your H&H mail for three weeks now. I’ve got the blisters on my blisters to prove it. But it’s Hearts and Hooves Day in Canterlot too, you crazy old coot. Why not celebrate there?” Cadence smiled patently as she waited for Love Note to finish, "You know, for a pony named Love Note, you sure are grumpy on Hearts and Hooves Day.” “Oh, we’re back to the names, are we? What the heck is a ‘Mi Amore’ anyway?” “It’s Latin for ‘My Love’.” “Latin, eh? There you go, making things up again,” Love Note sighed and looked over the top of her paper at the smirking Princess, “If I didn’t know you were the Goddess of Love, I’d swear you were the Goddess of Bullsh—“ There was a brief knock and the door opened wide enough for a stagehoof to pop his head in, “Two minutes till curtain call, Your Grace.” He disappeared just as quickly as he came. “We’re here, Love Note, so that I can address the fine ponies of Manehatten as the Goddess of Love on Heart and Hooves Day, the annual holiday all about love. My Holiday. Every other year we visit a city besides Canterlot and every other year you ask me the same question.” The Princess stood up and stomped her cloud out of existence with the tap of a hoof, “So let’s get out there, say a few words, and go mingle. What do you say? I’m sure there’s a crusty old stallion out there just dying to meet you.” “You mean like that one last year who did die when I met him?” Cadence winced. She’d forgotten about him. But the Princess wasn’t in the habit of giving up. As she held the door for her Private Secretary, she tried a new tactic. “How do you feel about younger stallions?” Love Note said nothing but she gave the Princess a wink before slipping in behind her as they walked to the edge of the stage. She chanced a peek beyond the curtain and Cadence saw that the Mare-de-Sun Square Garden was filled to capacity with ponies. There had to be tens of thousands of them. It would be the largest peace-time audience she had ever addressed. She was thrilled. She could feel the love coming off of each and every one of them. It was enough to make her blush. Today was going to be the best Hearts and Hooves Day ever. She shook her head and cleared her thoughts just in time to hear the announcer on the stage finish his speech. “-nd so... Without further ado... Please rise and give a big Hearts and Hooves Day welcome to the Happiest of Hearts, that Paragon of Paramours, the very Goddess of Love herself, PRINCESS CADENCE!” She stepped out and the orchestra in front of the stage began playing. At least she thought they did. The conductor swung his baton and orchestra ponies looked like they were going through the motions, but as close as she was she couldn’t hear a note. Not over the deafening roar from the crowd. She smiled. She glowed. It was her day. These were her ponies. It was perfect. She approached the small podium in the center of the stage and stood in front of the microphone. The crowd continued to cheer, hoot, stomp, and generally raise a holy ruckus unabated for almost a full minute. The building shook with their love. Princess Cadence raised her wings high in the air and slowly lowered them. With each inch they dropped, the crowd became quieter. By the time she could brush the ground with a primary feather, it was quiet enough for Cadence to hear a bit drop. Her wings came to rest on her sides and she took a breath. She tossed her head back with a shake, and smiled. “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, My Little Po—“ There was a purple flash somewhere in front of her. A wall of dust rushed up to hit her in the face and it burned in her eyes and nose. Her back legs gave out and she fell to ground coughing. She coughed and flapped her wings to clear the air around her. She was fine, just startled. She was more worried about her ponies. There were thousands of them in here. If whatever it was ended up panicking the ponies and they all tried to run away at once... Well, somepony was going to get hurt. Or worse. “Stay calm, everypony!” She shouted. “I have everything... Under... Control?” With the purple dust cleared, she found a sea of wide-eyed ponies. Everypony in the audience was staring at two new arrivals on the stage. So was she. Cadence felt her jaw nearly unhinge when she saw Twilight and her pupil, Smarty Pants, standing together on the stage with her. Both ponies had pink coats, like hers. Twilight and Smarty Pants were wearing cheap wigs. Wigs with streaks of purple, pink, and yellow. The very colors of her mane. Smarty Pants came complete with a set of pink cardboard wings and a horn. Wordlessly, the two pink ponies turned to face each other and they closed their eyes. Cadence started with “Sister, wha—“ But it was too late. Their eyes sprang open and they began to prance in place with wide grins. The two ponies sang. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake—” Twilight and Smarty Pants clapped their pink forehooves together for the next verse, “Clap your hooves—“ Time slowed for Cadence as she watched the two abominations turn to wiggle their rumps at each other, her stomach dropping with each motion. “—and do a little shake!” Their dance complete, Smarty Pants spun around in a small circle and giggled. Twilight turned her head to make eye contact with a confused Princess Cadence. She clicked her teeth at her and said with a wink, “Now we’re even, Heartbutt.” Before she could respond, there was another flash and Cadence found herself coughing on a second plume of dust. When it cleared the interlopers were gone. There was silence in the hall. Then a single snicker came from a member of the orchestra. Cadence looked down and caught her reflection in a Tuba. She was purple. Her mane was purple. Her beautiful, untouchable mane was purple, and it was a big curly mess that stood on top of her head. Cadence shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her muzzle with a forehoof. “Yeah, ok. Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, everypony. Peace out.” And she walked off the stage in a huff. The last thing those thirty thousand ponies heard from their Love Goddess that day was a question bellowed from beyond the curtain. “What’s a Princess gotta do to get a drink around here?”