//------------------------------// // A Night to Remember // Story: A Deceptive Storm // by Doctor Watson //------------------------------// “Where did all the time go?” Twilight Sparkle thought to herself as she stood at the edge of the train tracks, anxiously anticipating the arrival of two very special guests in Ponyville. It had been exactly one year since she had last seen her brother, Shining Armor and his new wife, Princess Cadance. Twilight and her friends had travelled to Canterlot in order to attend their wedding. However, Chrysalis, the queen of the Changelings, had been impersonating Cadance in order to gain power over Shining Armor, thus breaking his barrier spell and allowing her Changelings to roam free in Canterlot. Twilight broke Cadance’s bonds, allowing her to free Shining Armor from his hypnosis, and her love gave him enough strength to cast the protection spell again, thus repelling the Changelings and their queen from Canterlot. But not all of the Changelings were completely exterminated… Twilight gazed back towards the clock tower. 6:30, it read. “They should be arrivin’ any minute now.” Applejack said. She had gone with Twilight to receive the guests while the others prepared a welcome party. It was Shining Armor and Cadance’s first anniversary. Twilight was ecstatic about not only seeing her big brother, but her new sister as well. She had always loved Cadance as a foal-sitter, especially for her extraordinary talent of being able to spread love wherever she went. The train station was dimly lit as the sun dipped under the mountain in the distance. Twilight heard the faint sound of a train whistle, and sure enough, a majestic white train pulled into the station, and out of it stepped Shining Armor next to Cadance. She beamed with delight and strode up to embrace her siblings. “Twily!” Shining Armor said. “It’s been such a long time since I last saw you, little sis. I missed you a lot.” “I missed you too, B.B.B.F.F.” Twilight said, embracing him. “Twilight!” Cadance beamed. “How’s my favorite sister?” “I’m so happy to see you both!” Twilight replied, smiling. “ ‘scuse me for interruptin’ ya’ll, but we best be headed down to the square, everypony’ll be waitin’ there for us,” AJ spoke up. “Right!” Twilight said. “We’ve prepared the most amazing anniversary party for you both. You’ll love it!” “Well, what are we waiting for?” Shining Armor said. “I’m eager to eat more apple family treats straight from the town they come from!” “Aw shucks, sugar cube.” AJ blushed. The four of them strolled down the road of Ponyville towards the flashing lights coming from town square. Everypony in town would be gathered there, ready to receive the couple in celebration. Pinkie Pie had been asked to host the party, so Twilight was sure it would be an amazing time for her and her siblings. A great firework shot up like a bullet streaking into the sky from town square, exploding into a brilliant pink cluster of light. “Looks like this is going to be a night to remember,” Cadance remarked. Firecrackers popped and whistled throughout the square. Music blasted from the stage on which Vinyl Scratch sported a great stereo system labeled “BASS CANNON” on the front. Rainbow Dash flew around the low sky, generating vibrant color patterns and streaks that flowed with the fireworks. Cadance and Shining Armor were the center of attention as Twilight sang a number dedicated to them. Everypony beamed as they danced in perfect synchronization with the music and its melodic bass pumps. Shining Armor dragged Cadance out of the crowd, over to the stand where Applejack was selling Apple family home-made treats. Though she never received an abundance of business due to everypony being occupied with the event at hand, it was always special to her when somepony she knew stopped by and asked for one. “Hello Applejack!” Cadance remarked. “Enjoying the party?” “Darn tootin’, princess!” AJ responded. “How would you and your lovely husband like to try some of our traditional recipes?” “We’d be delighted,” Shining Armor smiled, handing Applejack two bits and grabbing two apple pies off of the shelf. The couple strolled back to the town square, catching up with Twilight. “Twily!” Shining Armor beamed. “How are you liking the party?” “It’s great,” she said, looking slightly dismal. “I just wish we could have a bit more time to catch up…” “Don’t worry, Twi, we’ll make some time!” he chuckled, taking a bit out of the apple pie. “Mmm, they really are better when made directly from the Apple farm!” “What have you two been doing lately?” Twilight asked. She was skeptical about bringing up the topic of having children, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her, so she was attempting to dance around the subject until one of them mentioned it. “To be honest, Twilight,” Shining Armor began, “I’ve been really occupied with my job as Captain of the Royal Guard lately. Cadance and I hardly ever have the time to attend social events like this together, which is why we were both thrilled to be coming out to visit you and all of your friends!” “Of course,” Cadance said, “We haven’t even had the opportunity to think about starting a family yet…” There it was. Twilight had sparked that from one simple question. “I understand,” she said, “but on par with you, I’m just as thrilled to finally see you both again after so long!” Vinyl Scratch’s smooth voice rang out through the square. “Now everypony, this next number goes out to Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, our royal guests of the night!” Cadance laughed. “Guess that’s our cue. See you later, Twilight!” “Yeah, we’ll catch up with you in a bit!” Shining Armor repeated. Twilight walked over to a table away from the main crowd in front of Pony Joe’s Donut shop. It had closed about an hour ago, along with all the other business in the square. Her friends Fluttershy and Rarity were seated enjoying large mugs of apple cider. “Twilight, dear,” Rarity beckoned, “come sit with us.” Twilight pulled an empty chair and sat down at the table with them. “Are you okay, Twilight?” Fluttershy inquired, concerned. “I’m fine, it’s nothing.” Twilight replied. “You don’t look all that fine, darling.” Rarity remarked. “Does it have something to do with your brother?” “Well, yes. It does…” “Go on, you can tell us. We’re your friends, and we can only help you,” Rarity said. “Okay. It’s just that… ever since the Royal Wedding last year, I haven’t once spoken to Shining Armor or Cadance through the mail or anything. I was so excited to see them, and I hoped we’d be spending every second of the night together. Of course, though, as royalty, they have to deal with the formalities of an event celebrating their first anniversary. I don’t know… it’s just disappointing. The two ponies in this world that I’ve always been closest to can’t seem to make time for me anymore.” She sobbed a bit. “Twilight, just because he’s been busy for the past year doesn’t mean he’s disregarding you! Why, I’m sure he wants time with you just as much as you do. But Shining Armor and Cadance both have important jobs as royalty, and you have to be more understanding of that,” Rarity condoned. “Well, when you put it that way… I guess I’m just trying to hog them.” “Nonsense, your feelings are understandable. But Twilight…” Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder. “Lighten up a bit. Enjoy the party! Have a good time, nights like these don’t come around every day.” “Why aren’t you two out there with the crowd, then?” Twilight asked, puzzled. “Oh, darling, I regret to tell you I simply cannot stand this uncultured music. It simply does not measure to my standards as a proper lady to get all sweaty dancing to music as uncanny as this.” “And Fluttershy?” “Oh, well, it’s just that I don’t like big crowds… especially when there’s loud music. What if somepony bumped into me on accident? Or… I got lost?” Twilight disregarded Fluttershy’s last sentiment. She was still dwelling on what Rarity said. Perhaps she was acting a bit selfish by believing they would have the entire night together. She was right about one thing, though. “I should relax a bit,” Twilight thought. “Just go with the party. Maybe afterwards I can come to their suite at the inn.” Twilight walked back out onto the dance floor, and saw Cadance and her brother gently swaying to the music, in their own world, as if nopony else had ever existed. All around them, however, the other ponies were busy as ever, all dancing their own separate styles to the music. Some were more graceful than others. She decided to join them. The music was… pleasurable to listen to. After a bit of getting used to the sound level, she began to unconsciously move her hooves. Before she knew it, Twilight was dancing! She must have been doing pretty well, too, because everypony started cheering for her. A circle formed around Twilight as she broke into a low groove and let her soul flow with the music. This was the most fun Twilight had experienced in Celestia knows how long. She would have been perfectly contented if it never stopped… Suddenly, mid-song, Twilight began to feel a wrenching sense of grogginess. For a second, she thought she could hear her own heart beating louder than the bass of the song in the background. Before she could realize it, Twilight’s legs snapped and she fell onto the floor, her vision blurring and ears ringing. The last thing Twilight could remember hearing was a blood-curdling scream. “Twilight…? Twilight? Twilight!” Twilight snapped back into consciousness. Her head still rang, and her vision was blurry. “Spike…?” She stuttered. “What happened…?” “You fell down while you were dancing, and nothing would wake you up until now! YOU should tell ME what happened.” “I…” she re-imagined the scream. “I don’t know, Spike.” Twilight was alert again. She gazed around to see where she had been taken. The room itself was magnificent, with silky white curtains embroidered with roses around the windows, brilliant paintings of royal stallions and mares hung on the crimson red wall which was lined with a golden border. The carpet was a lighter red, with an ever lighter pink diamond pattern weaving through it. A fireplace sat roaring like a great lion on the opposite end of the room. “Where exactly are we?” “Cadance and your brother’s suite. They brought you back here after noticing you had fallen on the dance floor.” “Where are Cadance and Shining Armor?” Twilight asked, rubbing her eyes. “Oh, they went out to try and find some medicine for you. The rest of your friends went home after trying to wake you up for awhile. In fact, I’m sure they’re still worried sick about you. You took quite the fall back there, but what caused you to do it?” “I honestly don’t know, Spike. One minute I was entranced within the music, and the next…” the scream could once again be heard in the back of her head. At that exact moment, the door could be heard opening. Cadance and Shining Armor walked in. “Twily! Thank goodness you’re awake!” Shining Armor exclaimed. “We were all heavily worried about you, Twilight,” Cadance remarked. “What happened back at the party?” “… I just… began to feel wobbly and groggy all of the sudden, and then the next moment everything blacked out. I could have sworn I heard…” “Heard what?” Shining Armor asked, gazing into her eyes. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about me; I feel fine now.” “You’re no burden to us, Twilight. I’m your big brother, and I feel privileged to be taking care of you.” “You… you really mean that?” “Of course I do.” Shining Armor embraced her and Twilight shed a tear, but sucked it back up shortly before it could drip onto the bed. “Ugh… I think I ate a bit too much at the party earlier,” Spike said. His entire face was turning green, it seemed as though he was about to vomit. “Quick! Get Spike a bag of some sort!” Cadance yelled in fear of him vomiting onto the bed. Shining Armor grabbed the trash can from the other end of the room and held it under Spike. “Bleh… ooogh….” Spike choked. “Spike? Are you okay?” Twilight asked sincerely. Suddenly, Spike spit out a large burst of flames and a black envelope came with them, landing in the trash can, which had been burned on the edges. “A… letter?” Spike coughed. “That’s weird. I never choke up like that when I receive letters from Princess Celestia.” “And Princess Celestia doesn’t normally send you letters in black envelopes, does she?” Twilight asked, puzzled. Removing it from the trash with her magic, Twilight opened the envelope, but it contained no letter. A burst of green gas emitted from it, shrouding the entire room. A commanding female voice resonated from the letter, echoing throughout the entire room. “The City of Canterlot has fallen…. The Princess of the Sun… is dead.” “AGH!” Twilight clutched her ears. The scream was echoing in her head. She now understood who had been screaming. “They are coming. They draw nearer every second. You are all on your own now… my children already dwell amongst you.”