//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: The Spirit of Loyalty // by Matthew Penn //------------------------------// When Princess Cadance was informed that Twilight and Spike were coming to visit, she wasted no time preparing the guest room for them. She hoped at least some of her friends from Ponyville would come, and she was glad it was her sister-in-law. During these trying times, visiting family sounded like a good idea.         The guest room was located at the highest level of the Crystal Castle. Although there were several guest rooms, Cadance reserved this particular one for Twilight and Spike. It was a large, squarish room with walls made of white marble, almost a combination of a master bedroom and a living room. There were three doors on different corners of the room; one door led out of the room, the second door was a washroom, and the third was a closet. The best feature of all was the balcony, which had a glorious view of the Crystal City and the valleys and mountains that surrounded the land.         A while ago Shining Armor went to the train station in case they should arrive. He knew it will bring some joy to Twilight’s soul to see the face of her brother. She couldn’t get over of how filled with grief Twilight was at Rainbow Dash’s funeral. Cadance has seen her cry many times when she was a filly. Twilight shedded tears over a scrapped hind leg or if her favorite doll was missing an eye bead, but this was sadness of a different kind.         Maybe after her visit she wouldn’t have to shed those tears. She wanted it to be just like the days when she was her foalsitter. Although they were too old to play games or sing songs, Cadance believed she and Twilight might create a closer bond. They had years of catching up to do, and thankfully there was no enemy to threaten the world to prevent them from doing so.         She took a stroll down memory lane to a thunderstorm that happened years ago in Canterlot. Cadance was just starting out as Twilight’s foalsitter. In the middle of the night Twilight entered the room she was staying while her parents were away. Shining was probably at a sleepover. She’d to ask him about it later. Twilight asked if she could sleep in the bed with her. The storm must have frightened her, but that was normal for small children. Who wouldn’t be afraid of loud thunder and swift strikes of lightning? Even as an adult Cadance still shook from the slightest rumble of thunder.         Princess Cadance stood in front of the grand entrance of the castle while two crystal guards stood on opposite sides. The castle staff stood and smile behind Cadance. Two of her mane dressers approached her to fix her up a titch, but Cadance politely send them away. The guards opened the large doors and Shining Armor entered along with Twilight. She had bags under her eyes upon closer inspection, and she covered her mouth as she was yawning.         “Twilight, I’m so glad you’ve come,” Cadance said. Twilight was tired, but not too tired to embrace her former foalsitter, and despite her fatigue she tried to put on a little smile. Cadance caught a glimpse of Spike struggling with the extra luggage, so she used her magic to lessen the load for him. Cadance stacked them in a neat pile.         “Thank you,” he said very tiredly.         “You look you could use some rest,” Cadance said. “We have the guest room set up for you and Twilight.” She nodded to the castle to the maids and they carried their bags and briefcases upstairs. Spike was too worn out to notice that he was leaning on Shining Armor.         “I’ll take him to his room,” Shining said. Spike was carried with magic then placed softly on Shining’s back. He followed the maids to the castle guest room, and Spike’s snoring could be heard across the halls.         “He must be really tired,” Cadance said.         “It was my fault,” said Twilight. “I was crying again and he stayed up half the night to comfort me. Then we started out early to catch the first train. He’s been such a great friend.”         The little smile on her face quickly disappeared. Twilight looked away from her for a short time. She has had many sleepless nights since the death of Rainbow Dash. Princess Cadance couldn’t fathom the pain that dwelled within her. Cadance promised herself to make the next few days worthwhile for Twilight and Spike.         Twilight found the strength to look at her. “Cadance, thank you for letting us stay here for a few days.”         “You’re always welcome here, Twilight. You have done so much for me, it’s the least I can do.” Spike hadn’t realized how tired he was when he came to. He found himself in an entirely different room, tucked under comfortable blankets and his head on a soft pillow. He couldn’t recollect how he entered the room, but after thinking it over he decided he didn’t need to know. It was the best nap he had in a long time.         It was quite a large living space he was in. The walls were plastered with marble and crystal. There were several doors that lead to different sections of the room. To his left, curtains flowed from the other side of the balcony, and light reflected off the walls. Spike would have climbed out of the bed to get a view of the city, but he couldn’t leave the comfort of the bed. Shining Armor opened one of the doors to let himself in.         “That was quite a nap you had,” he said. “Are you feeling better?”         “Yeah… well, almost.”         “Well, we’re still glad you guys came. Cadance is very happy to see you two.”         Spike nodded, but was silent. He pulled the blankets away from him and let his legs hang on the side of the bed which faced the balcony. Spike felt a gurgling sensation in his lower abdomen.         “I know what that means,” Shining said.         “I always hungry after a nap,” Spike said. “Is there anything to eat?”         “I can get the chef to make something for you.” Shining paused, then smiled at Spike. "Although, I do know a good pastry shop in the city. It has great donuts, fresh from the oven.”         “Really? I can’t say no to that.” "And believe it or not, there's a fantastic comic book store that just opened. Maybe we can look around and see what they have."        Donuts and comics. How can Spike say no to an offer like that? Sleepiness had affected his mobility when his legs reached the floor. Spike held to the nightstand for support, thinking it would be best to stay in bed. His stomach said otherwise. Spike stood upright after struggling to keep his legs from wobbling. It dawned on Shining Armor that Spike was somewhat of a little brother to him, despite being a dragon. Maybe after next few days he and Twilight stayed in the Empire, he might have a chance to know him a little better. It's what his little sister would want. Princess Cadance figured that Twilight hadn’t had anypony to talk to in days, or any sleep from she had been told. She would have insist that Twilight take some time to rest before doing anything else, but the unicorn gathered all of her strength to stay awake. Since stepping inside the castle, all she wanted to do was talk to Princess Cadance. Since it was nearly noon Cadance thought it was good time to have tea. They joined together in one of the spacious rooms of the castle while a butler offered tea on a platter. There were no windows inside the room, and the only source of light came from the fireplace, but that was no matter for Twilight. There were paintings hung on the wall as well as bookshelves, which was enough for her.         Every now and then Twilight would doze off by accident, so she gave herself a kick by jerking her head. From those few times she thought maybe Cadance was right about her needing some rest. However, that will have to wait. She didn’t come all this way just to get some sleep.         “I’m glad to see the Empire is doing fine since last time,” Twilight said.         “The Crystal Empire is thriving once more, and I have you and your friends to thank,” said Cadance. “Without everypony’s help, all would have been lost.” Cadance added a tablespoon of sugar to her tea. “Which reminds me; I’ve been told from Princess Celestia that you’ve entered Sombra’s Door of Illusions. What did you see?”         Twilight drew the teacup to her lips, then closed her eyes. “As I stepped through the door… I was in Canterlot Castle. Princess Celestia had her back towards me. She spoke to me, but it didn’t sound like her. Not like the Celestia I knew. When she turned around she had this awful look in her face.”         She looked away from Cadance, like she did when she first arrived. The pink alicorn felt the distress radiating from Twilight’s heart. “Then she told me I failed… that I failed her test. And that I wasn’t her student anymore,” Twilight said, her voice trembling. “Then Spike pulled me out, and… it was just so terrible.”         “It was just an illusion,” Cadance said. “A cheap trick of Sombra. You will always be Celestia’s favorite student, passing a test or not.”         “My biggest fear is failing Celestia. I’ve been her student for as long as I can remember. She counts on me with everything, no matter how small or great. When the task was given to me, I wasn’t sure if I can accomplish it. I didn’t have any faith in myself. Now I know with my friends by my side… anything is possible.” Twilight took another sip of her tea. “But it’s hard to imagine that… saving the Crystal Empire will be the last adventure we’ll have with Rainbow Dash.”         “I’m sorry that I haven’t had the chance to know her,” Cadance added.         “Rainbow Dash was one of the first ponies I met since I began my new life in Ponyville. I never knew how much of a connection we had. Whenever I think about her final sonic rainboom, I think about the first one she made. Without her, none of us would be here today.”         Cadance silently offered another cup of tea for Twilight, but she passes. Twilight’s attention were on the paintings on the wall. Many of them were from different eras of history, nicely contained in such a small space. “Now I know in my heart that I’ve failed everypony.”         “What do you mean?” Cadance asked.         “With Rainbow Dash gone, I don’t know how our friendship can survive. Now that everything is out of balance, everything is at stake.”         “Twilight, you didn’t fail anypony. Sometimes things happen that’s beyond our control, Rainbow Dash’s death being one of them. It means that you must work harder to keep your friends from drifting apart, and to keep them as close as you can.”         The whites in Twilight’s eyes became moist and tingly. She levitated a piece of tissue to her face. “I wasn’t prepared for this. I wish I knew what to do.”         “In times of trouble, we must have faith. And I have faith in you.”         There was still doubt that dwelled within her, but Twilight nodded. Cadance was right about how some things were beyond her control, she thought, but if there was one thing Twilight had the power to control, it was the survival of her friendship with her best friends. However, she couldn’t shake away the thought of failing another test, one given to her by fate. If she doesn’t succeed, not only will she fail the ones who counted on her, but she will fail herself.         “I’m glad you have faith in me. Because I don’t,” Twilight said.