//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: The Party 
// Story: My Little Necromancer 
// by Midnight Moon 
//------------------------------//

	She’d been having nightmares for weeks now.

Twilight Sparkle had tried just about everything: herbal tea, meditation, yoga exercise, aromatherapy, none of it had worked. You could easily see it in her baggy eyes and haggard mane. She had wrote to her mentor, Princess Celestia, about it, and Princess Luna, being more tuned with dreams and nightmares then her sister, had actually came to visit and determine their nature, and find a way to stop them, but even she had been unable to do anything about it.

Every night, the same dream. Corpses rising from the graves, an undead horde marching across Equestria, the land around them dying. Ponyville burning. Canterlot under siege. And a pony she never thought she would see again.

Luna thought the dreams to be prophetic. Twilight didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if she was right. Even in waking, she could still catch a faint hint of the stench of decay. She could recall every last detail by heart now, including how many maggots were writhing on the zompony that had started the fire in Sugarcube Corner. Eighteen, not including the three that got gnashed in the rotted teeth.

Frowning, she set about fixing her mane. Sleep-deprived or not, it’d be a cold day in hell before she missed a Pinkie Party, much less this one. Pumpkin and Pound Cake were turning one year old today, and Pinkie Pie wasn’t going to hold anything back. They’d be talking about this party for years to come, without a doubt.

Spike had taken to sleeping in the next room once it became apparent that the nightmares weren’t going to stop anytime soon. Still, he would often wake up early, plagued with guilt that he could sleep so soundly while she couldn’t get a single good night’s rest. Sometimes, Twilight would wake up (if you could call those hours of constant, nonstop nightmares sleep) to find that he had prepared her favorite tea, or he would be snuggling with her, earplugs secured. At least she could always count on him.

Of course, Spike had barely gotten any sleep tonight either. All of Ponyville was abuzz with news that Pinkie Pie was going to throw what might be the largest party Equestria has ever seen, and he couldn’t relax for all his excitement. Downstairs, she found him pacing the library, constantly checking the clock. When he heard her coming, he instantly turned to face her.

“It’s finally here!” he said enthusiastically. “The big party is today!”

“It’s not until 3:00, Spike,” Twilight reminded him. “We’ve still got six hours.”

“I can’t wait! Pinkie’s sure to have something unbelievable planned. Maybe she baked the world’s biggest cake! Or maybe she got the Wonderbolts to come! Rainbow would love that. Or the Trans Equestrian Orchestra! Or both!”

“Relax, Spike. They’re some of the most exclusive, talented ponies out there. Pinkie’s good, but I doubt even she could get them to perform for a birthday party.”

It was pointless to argue with him. Ever since Pinkie announced that Pound and Pumpkin’s birthday parties were going to be “The greatest, super-duper-extra terrific, largest, awesomest, most amazing party to end all parties!”, Spike had been unable to think about anything else. And at any rate, Pinkie might just be able to do that. When Pinkie puts her mind to something, there’s no stopping her.

There was little to do but wait for 3:00 to come. With all her friends getting ready for the big party, Twilight was content to just sit quietly and read. She dozed off more then once, but she always woke up before the nightmares started up again. Ironically, she got more restful sleep during the day then she did at night.

Finally, Spike woke her up from another nap at about five to three. With just enough time to fix her mane one more time (as it had gotten tangled again during her on-and-off naps), the two eagerly went on their way. Most of the town was already heading to the lake, where the party would take place. Well before they even got there, they could hear the DJ playing the tunes, and smell countless baked goods that made Twilight’s mouth water.

As soon as everypony arrived, Pinkie Pie got things started by launching an amazing fireworks display. Somehow, she had managed to time everything so that it looked like one continuous image. It showed Pumpkin and Pound taking their first steps, saying their first words (Pinkie had told them all about that first night babysitting them), eating their first solid foods, and getting their first teeth. She even managed to synchronize the sound effects to match the fireworks.

After that, the refreshments were served, though there was no sign of the cake yet. Twilight asked Pinkie about that, and she merely said that it was a surprise. That, of course, only fueled Spike’s imagination. Party games of every kind adorned the grounds, and a large section of grass had been reserved for ponies that wanted to dance.

All of Twilight’s friends came to have some fun with her. They talked about the first time they saw the Cake Twins, as they had come to be known. They had been so adorable, and, remarkably, had only grown more so as they grew. If only they could stay foals forever.

At around 5:30, Pinkie announced that the cake was ready. Spike was right when he guessed she would bake the world’s biggest cake. The whole thing must have been as large as the tree Twilight’s library was made in, and would probably collapse if there had been any wind. After Pumpkin and Pound got the first slices, Pinkie got more prepared for everypony. The Zap Apple frosting all but melted in Twilight’s mouth, and flavors she couldn’t even begin to describe tantalized her taste buds. Celestia only knows how long it took to make, or how she managed to do it without anypony noticing anything.

Two more hours of dancing, playing fun party games, adoring the Cake Twins, a second and third slice of the cake for everypony, and socializing, the party finally started dying down after the Cakes left to prepare the babies for bed. Applejack had to get up early the next day, so she and Applebloom said their goodbyes. Fluttershy had all her animals to take care of, and left too. With stomachs filled nearly to bursting, Twilight and Spike reluctantly gave their farewells, and left.

It was 7:42 when they finally got home. They had been partying for over four hours. Limbs feeling like lead, Twilight took a steaming hot bath, and sighed with pleasure as she dropped in.

Eighteen minutes later, water cooled and scented candles extinguished, she pried herself from the tub and dried herself off. Exhausted, she half-walked, half-stumbled to bed, determined to get some sleep tonight.

She noticed an odd smell when she settled into bed. It wasn’t there when she first woke up; she would have remembered it. She quickly determined that it was coming from an open window. Reluctantly, she got back up to close the window, then gasped when she saw what was outside.

Ponyville was under attack.