//------------------------------// // Urban Legends // Story: Sweet, Solemn, Sad // by Shingo //------------------------------// Dear Auntie Luna, Your suspicions were indeed correct. The first time I saw her threads, I thought I was hallucinating. It is possible to have multiple threads but the rare times that happens a pony has two threads coming from them. I followed one of her threads and found that the pony on the other end too had five threads coming from her. I followed a third and again found five threads from the other mare. Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern. I thought you were insane when you suggested that all six of them were connected to each other. After all, love is selfish in its own nature. Seeing them together with their threads all tangled and connected though has convinced me otherwise. There are no changes to the current plan. However, I have modified the spell to allow ponies to hear each pony at the end of their threads rather than one. While only a year old to this day, the rumour and the spell attached to it has led to a large number of happy couples being born. To my knowledge, it hasn’t been heard outside of my micro nation. If we want the plan to work, it would be best if you shared it with Twilight as soon as possible. And if my timing is right (which is usually is) you should be getting this when the spell activates. It’s time to put our plans into action. Best of luck. Love, Cadance ~~~ Luna held a letter out in front of her as she walked down one of the halls of Canterlot Castle. She smirked as she finished the second paragraph. “It wouldn’t be the first time ponies thought I was insane,” she mused. “Part of my name is after all used in a word to describe a crazy pony.” Luna continued reading the letter as footsteps approached her. She briefly looked up from her reading and found Equestria’s newest princess. Multiple pieces of parchment were floating in her magical grasp as a quill scratched on one of them. Luna stopped in her place. “Twilight Sparkle, it is good to see you.” Twilight looked up from her work. “Hello Princess,” she greeted. Twilight stacked her parchment and put her quill behind her ear. “Do you have a bit of time? There are a few documents that have spilled over from the Night Court that I’d like you to see.” “In a little while.” Luna pushed her letter out in front of her. “My niece sent me a letter telling me of an interesting rumour that you might be interested in.” “A rumour?” Twilight asked. “What kind of a rumour could Cadance think I’d be interested in?” “There is an urban legend that has been going around the Crystal Empire for the past year,” Luna explained. She put a hoof to the letter, running it across its surface. “Cadance says that this rumour involves something called the Midnight Station.” “Midnight Station? What is it?” “If you let me finish, you’ll know,” she continued. Her hoof continued moving along the surface. “According to her, there’s a radio station that can only be heard at midnight when there’s a full moon. To listen to it, you have to turn your dial to the furthest end where only static is heard. When a radio picks it up, you’ll hear your soul mate singing.” “Intriguing, but I don’t think that it’s real,” Twilight remarked. “It’s possible to pick up stray signals with a radio, but it’s very unlikely that it’s a pony’s soul mate. After all, what urban legends are real?” Luna rolled up the letter. “Well for one, I was,” she retorted. “My story was once an urban legend before it was turned into a fable. You of all ponies should know that all legends contain a grain of truth in them.” Twilight raised a hoof to counter. She stopped and put it on her chin with a thoughtful expression. Luna started walking past Twilight. “Since the rumour started, Cadance says that there have been a large number of ponies finding true love within her nation. Who better to know whether a rumour about love is true than the physical embodiment of love? Just some food for thought. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to raise the moon. There’s going to be a full one tonight so it’ll require all of my attention.” Luna continued walking down the hall with the letter in tow. She turned back and found Twilight still in the same position presumably thinking. A small ding went off around Twilight before she galloped down the hall. Luna chuckle as she continued down her path. ~~~ A grandfather clock read 11:58 as Twilight stood in her personal chambers. Her curtains were open allowing the pale light of a full moon flood her room. She stood in front of a table with a small radio on it. “Okay,” she said. “Turn the dial to the end with static.” Twilight reached out a hoof, turning a dial to the right as far as she could. “Now to turn it on.” She flicked a switch bringing the radio to life. Loud static played through each of the speakers. Twilight’s ear’s flattened against her head. She turned another dial lowering the volume. The clock’s arms reached the top letting it chime. The chimes echoed a steady beat while the static continued its unstable rhythm. The static continued as the final chime rang. Twilight stood for thirty seconds listening to the static. She sighed as she reached her hoof out. “Well that’s disappointing,” she murmured. “Then again, what was I expecting?” She touched the top of the switch as guitar music came from the speakers. Twilight stepped back. “What the?” The guitar continued with its chords as the radio began to sing. “I don’t want to set the world on fire,” the radio sang in a sophisticated voice. “I just want to start a flame in your heart.” Twilight gawked at the radio. “It’s true,” she gaped. “The rumour is true. I can’t believe…wait. That’s Rarity singing. Rarity’s my soul mate?!” A blush formed in her cheeks. “In my heart I have but one desire,” an airy voice sang. “And that one is you, no other will do.” The blush intensified. “Fluttershy?!” she screamed. “Why is Fluttershy singing here? Is she my soul mate or is Rarity? Or is it both of them?” “I’ve lost all ambition for worldly acclaim,” a scratchy voice continued. “I just want to be the one you love.” “And with your admission that you feel the same,” a country accented voice sang. “I’ll have reached the goal I’m dreaming of…” “Believe me,” a bubbly voice finished. The bubbly voice continued singing the first verse but Twilight wasn’t paying attention. Her entire head had chosen to colour itself a deep shade of red. “Wha…” she croaked. “What’s going on?” The song got to a narration where each of her friends’ voices said part of it. “The urban legend says that a pony hears their soul mate sing on this station. I heard Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. If a pony hears their soul mate and I heard five voices singing, then that means…” “I don’t want to set the world on fire,” the five voices sang in unison. “I just want to start a flame in your heart.” They held the final note before fading into silence. The silence sat with Twilight as she stared at the radio. Defying all logic, her face became a deeper shade of red while the static from the radio returned. She held her hooves over her face hoping to hide herself. On the other side of her chamber’s wall, the lunar princess had an empty glass pushed against the wall. Her ear was on it and her tongue was stuck out in concentration. “If I heard all of my friends on a station that lets a pony hear their soul mate,” a muffled voice mused. “Then that means that all of my friends are my soul mates. How in Equestria is that even possible?!” Luna placed the glass down. She smiled as she lit up her horn. A piece of parchment and a quill was brought in front of her. She scratched the quill against the parchment. Dear Cadance, Phase one of our plan went perfectly. Twilight now knows who her soul mates are but she does not know what to do with that information yet. I suggest that we meet for phase two to help her with that. How’s your schedule for Thursday? Love, Luna