Eclipse

by Golden Hoof

The Party

Chapter three: The Party

Twilight slowly stumbled to the library in the darkness of night. The finishing touches to the town for the party had taken much longer than expected, especially with Pinkie Pie and the cake incident. As she walked up to the door, a book flew through the upper story window, shattering the glass above as the thick tome fell next to her. Barely half awake, it drew almost no response from the tired mare for several seconds before she was finally shaken awake from pure panic.

"Wait a minute, what the hey?!" she yelled as she rushed up the small flight of stairs to the library, finding a distraught Cherry shifting through a small pile of books she had recently dragged from the shelves.

"Cherry! What in the name of Equestria are you doing!"

The cloaked unicorn suddenly turned, tossing the book she had been looking at up into the air, only uttering a surprised murmur as she stared back at Twilight.

Twilight stood with her mouth agape, slowly studying the library, which had strewn books covering almost every square inch of the floor from where they had obviously been carelessly tossed aside by her guest. "Wha... Why?" was all she managed to utter as she stared at the carnage.

"I was um... Just looking for a book..." she responded modestly.

"What book? What could you possibly be looking for that you had to trash the entire library in an effort to find it!" the lavender unicorn responded, barely able to contain her disbelief.

"Well you see, um... Thats just it. I'm really not sure what book it is exactly..."

A string seemed to snap in Twilight's head, her eye twitching uncontrollably. "You... Don't know what the book you were looking for... Is called?" she began slowly.

The larger unicorn paused for a few moments, pondering her answer before slowly nodding back in response.

"Well why didn't you ask me of Spike for help! I mean are you insane or something!?"

Before Cherry could respond back, the door above suddenly burst open, startling her. She jumped up, flinging her long cloak off of her as a disgruntled dragon approached the edge of the balcony, looking down with tired eyes.

"Could you guys keep it down in here?" Spike pleaded sleepily. "SOME people are trying to sleep around here!"

Neither Twilight nor Cherry responded, so he assumed they had taken his advice. He shrugged, returning to the bedroom and slamming the door behind him grudgingly.

Twilight ignored Spike and stared at Cherry, who slowly picked herself up from the floor, shaking her head from the impact with the floor. Her eyes flew open in fear as she turned around, realizing her cloak had fallen off as was laying far across the room in a ball, her wings outstretched. The revealed alicorn turned nervously back to Twilight, who appeared frozen in place.

"You- you're a- how?" she stammered as her eyes remained locked on Cherry's wings.

"Uh-um... Y-you're just- um..." Cherry stuttered, panic quickly growing inside of her as she realized her cover would be soon blown if she didn't act immediately.

"Say something you imbecile!" Eclipse practically screamed inside of her head.

"You're um... Dreaming!" she suddenly blurted out, panting as an awkward silence suddenly filled the room.

"I'm... Dreaming?"

"Uh, YES!" Cherry shouted, putting on the spookiest voice she could muster as she hopped on the idea. "You're having a teeerrrribblee nightmare!"

"A nightmare?"

"Um... Yeeeeeeesss?"

"If I'm having a nightmare... Why haven't I woken up yet?" she asked groggily.

"Erm... Becaaaauuuuseee it's one of those nightmares where... Um you just can't wake uuuuppp!" Cherry continued, waving her hooves in front of her as an added effect. Another awkward silence passed as the two simply stood staring each other, waiting for one to break.

The lavender unicorn suddenly brought a hoof to her forehead, rubbing it gently. "I knew I shouldn't have tried Rainbow's cupcakes..."

"Y-Yeeeeeesss! Rainbow's cupcakes have created this nightmare! This terrible, terrible nightmare! You should probably go upstairs and sleeeeeep!

Twilight nodded slowly, moving towards the steps to her room. "Yeah... Maybe I should just sleep this off... *Yaaaawn*"

"Yes! Wait, I mean... Yeeees!" Cherry continued, putting on the biggest smile she could muster whilst holding her breath as the unicorn slowly made her way up the steps to her room, finally leaving with a loud slam of the door. She exhaled loudly, looking over to her cloak across the room. She picked it up with her magic and slipped it back on over herself, once again hiding her wings, along with her true identity.

"That was too close." Eclipse whispered to her as she returned to one of the shelves to continue searching.

"Yeah... But I think that got rid of her for the night... Hrm... Do the Elements of Harmony ring any bells?"

"Let me see the book."

Cherry picked up the book, levitating it in front of her as she flipped past several pages. The voice in her head chuckled darkly as she stopped at a specific diagram in the middle of the book.

"Yes... This will do just fine..." Eclipse whispered coldly, sending shivers up Cherry's spine as she set the book down to read.

---

Morning came quickly for Twilight, and though she questioned the strange dream she had experienced over night, the mare simply dismissed it as a side-effect to the stress, and soon became distracted by last minute preparations from the party to care. Followed in tow by Spike, she oversaw the last-minute progress for the party. The event itself was to be held in a quaint meadow near Fluttershy's cottage, and things couldn't look better. The tables were beautifully adorned with silk cloth decorated with gems of different colors and shapes; courtesy of Rarity, who was finishing up the last of them on the far side of the area. Rainbow Dash and several other pegasi were seen flying over-head sweeping away a few stray clouds that had somehow escaped yesterdays cleaning. Everypony was hurrying about once again doing their respective duties, and Twilight was at the epicenter of it all, recording every change.

"Alright, everything checks out so far. Anything I'm leaving out Spike?"

The dragon looked down the torn up list from yesterday, looking at the tick marks he had made. "Nope, everything' A-OK for the party!" he responded happily.

"Excellent, and not a moment too soon." she enthusiastically added as she looked up at the sun in the sky, checking the time. "The Princess should be here in about half an hour so we should be able to get set up right quick. Alright Spike, tell everyone to get into position, its party time!" she exclaimed smiling joyfully.

Now done with most of the party, she began looking for Cherry, who had mysteriously disappeared from the library overnight. She had looked all over town but still couldn't find any sigh of the large unicorn. She spotted Applejack carrying a large cart of food next to Big Macintosh.

"Maybe they've seen Cherry." she thought as she sprinted over to catch them, right as they began to unload the food at one of the long buffet tables. "Hey Applejack, hey big Macintosh!" she yelled out as she drew closer.

The two turned as smiled as their lavender friend approached. "Hey sugar cube, how's everything goin? We got all the food, here just like you asked."

"Excellent Applejack, it all looks delicious!" Twilight noted, panting from the short run over. "But thats not why I'm here. You two haven't by any chance seen Cherry around anywhere, have you?"

"But... Wasn't she stayin you Twi?" Applejack asked quizzically.

"Yeah, but she must've left some time during the night because when I woke up, she was gone."

"Huh, you don't say. You haven't seen Cherry anywhere, have ya Big Macintosh?"

"Nope." came a reply from the big red colt as he fiddled with the piece of grain in his mouth.

"Well, I'm stumped sugar cube." she replied looking around. "I'd check with everyone else though before you start jumpin to conclusions like you always do. Anyhow, the Princess should be here any minute now, so you should probably get ready."

"Ugh... You're probably right. I'll ask around some more after the Princess has arrived. She may even arrive with the Princess! Thanks Applejack!" she said, turning around and running off to go check on other parts of the party.

Applejack stared off at her friend and she dashed off, turning to her brother. "She's one strange pony thats fer sure..."

"Eeup" replied Big Mac, who lifted up some plates onto the table as he began to unload the cart.

A few minutes passed as Twilight made some final check-ups on the party, when she suddenly heard a loud boom off in the distance. She turned, shivering excitedly as she saw the Princess's chariot bolt from the castle far off in the distance. She took one final look around her, making sure everything was in pristine condition. "Everypony ready?" she yelled out.

"Ready!" responded a dozens of voices as everypony got into position. On cue, Fluttershy, up in the trees, grabbed a small stick and turned a choir of birds assembled on a branch above. Acting as the conductor, she began waving it lightly, directing the birds into song as the Princess's chariot pulled into the field, crunching loudly on the dry grass. As it came to a halt, everypony around bowed politely to the two princesses inside. Princess Celestia, accompanied on her right by Princess Luna, stepped from their chariot, Celestia's long rainbow mane billowing in an invisible breeze as it usually was. Luna kept her head down slightly as her older sister smiled over the crowd, noticing her apprentice approaching from amongst the crowd.

"Twilight Sparkle," she spoke majestically as Twilight finally reached her, bowing in respect in front of her. "Thank you so much for going through all this trouble just for me."

"Oh Princess, no thanks our needed. The honor is ours." she began as two guards stopped on either side of the Princess. "All the greetings aside, let the party begin!" she yelled, everypony else cheering with excitement and tossing up confetti. Luna was of course, suprised by this sort of behavior in the presence of royalty and her face certainly showed it. Before she could act however, she was settled by her sister, who simply smiled and followed her pupil to her table.

After the initial presentation, the party began without a hitch. More guests shortly began arriving after the Princesses, dressed elegantly in long flowing outfits. Fluttershy kept the birds singing for a short while, providing a pleasant atmosphere until the orchestra arrived to give them a break. Everyone had finished their respective duty right on time, and everything was going exactly as Twilight had imagined it would. Except for Cherry, who was still missing, and despite her best efforts to find her, she remained missing.

Twilight moved up to the entrance of the party, hoping that perhaps she had just gone out to run some errands, and would arrive late. The entrance itself was lined by a velvet rope that led to a small podium where a very well dressed colt stood, looking over a small list while speaking with some guests. He turned as he saw Twilight approaching, adjusting his posture.

"Good day madame, how may I be of assistance?" he asked politely in a thick Prance accent.

"Good day sir, I have a few questions I need to ask you."

"Madame, whatever they may be, I shall answer zem to ze best of my abilities as Royal attendant."

"Oh thank you. You haven't perchance seen a large unicorn enter, probably dressed in a long flowing cloak?

"I cannot say I have, madame. I'm sure I would have noticed someone with such a horrendous outfit.

"Oh, well could you keep an eye out for her then?" she asked, sighing with disappointment. "She was supposed to be here earlier but she disappeared this morning. She won't have an invitation so could you just-"

"No. Absolutely not." he interrupted harshly.

"Huh?" Twilight stopped, confused. "Why?"

"I am under ze strictest orders possible to not let any suspicious characters into ze party, especially those without an invitation." the attendant began.

"But, I have her ticket right here..." she said, levitating the small sheet of paper in front of herself.

"Oh..." he stated blushing. "Well then- Ehem- I shall keep my eyes open for zis "special guest" of yours, madame."

"You will?"

"Or course, what do you think I just said?! I will do my best, but for now, I must return to my duties and admit these guests!"

"Oh, of course. Sorry sir"

"Hrm, very well. I must bid you adieu madame Sparkle. Enjoy ze party!"

Twilight nodded politely back and returned her attention to the party, crisscrossing between tables and guests looking for Cherry. "Ugh, where has she gone off too? If she was so excited to meet the Princess, why did she suddenly disappear like that?"

Sighing, she looked around her at all the guests, seeing if she could pick Cherry out of the crowd. "One of my friends /has/ to have seen her. Looks like I'm just gonna have to ask around. she thought. With this in mind, she began to seek out everypony she knew at the party, starting with Derpy Hooves. Several dozen minutes of asking later, she finished up on Rarity and Rainbow Dash, completely exhausted and still no closer to finding her guest.

"... So none of you have seen Cherry?" Twilight asked panting.

"Well I thought she was with you darling." Rarity said dubiously.

"Yeah, I mean, why would she even wander off in the first place?" Rainbow added. "She was the one who wanted to meet the Princess."

"Well if you don't know where she is, then who does!" Twilight nearly shouted, frustrated out of her mind with the whole Cherry business when she overheard two familiar voices at the party entrance.

"Madame, I simply cannot let you enter without an invitation."

Twilight turned, hearing this to find a familiar hooded figure standing at the entrance conversing with the Attendant.

"There she is! I'll be right back girls." she yelled back as she rushed over to the two, stepping between them. "Don't worry, she doesn't need an invitation, this is the guest I told you about earlier, remember?." she explained to the attendant.

"Zis poorly dressed ruffian, is your special guest?" he responded curiously, eyeing Cherry cooly.

"Uh... Yeah?"

"Hrm..." he paused, rubbing his chin in thought, before quickly nodding. "Alright then, begone! My time is wasted here!"

Cherry said nothing as she passed by the gate and followed Twilight in between guests through the party, glancing around furtively. Twilight studied her for a moment, before she began to question her of her whereabouts.

."So, where the hey were you? I practically turned this town upside down looking for you!"

Cherry kept her face hidden as she softly spoke, a certain tiredness about her voice. "I was just around..."

" 'Just around', thats a good one, but where! I mean, I looked /everywhere/ for you and-"

"Look, I was just "around" OK?!" she snapped.

Twilight paused nervously, taken aback by Cherry's sudden bitterness. "Oh... Alright..." she muttered as she continued to weave in and out of crowds with the unicorn towards the table she had assigned them earlier. She decided it would be best if she broke the ice between themselves and started a friendly conversation. "So... You enjoying the party so far? Anything you'd like to see or do before-"

"Is Celestia here?" she suddenly interrupted, catching Twilight off-guard.

"Um... Yeah she's at that table over there with Princess Luna, but why do you-" replied Twilight, pointing off at the two at the farthest table, chatting with some guests.

Before she could finish, Cherry suddenly broke off, heading off slowly in the direction she had just pointed. Twilight watched curiously as she stormed off, tilting her head.

"That was wierd..."

Her friends appeared behind her, sharing the same confused expression.

"Hey Twi, what was that all about?." Rainbow began curiously.

"Yeah, what the hey is her problem?" Applejack added, joined by the rest of her friends.

"I don't know... But I think somethings wrong..."

With that note, she sprinted off after Cherry, navigating through the crowd after her, her friends in tow as they chased once again after the mysterious stranger as she made her way towards their friends.

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(Authors note: Hello valuable inves- I mean readers! I don't always make cliff-hangers, but when I do, I put them in very obnoxious spots. Sorry to end this new chapter so quick, but at the moment, our writers have collapsed from a sudden case of carpal tunnel syndrome. So until we can get a new crack team in, there won't be a new chapter. Thankfully, we already have one, so you don't have to worry your heads about that situation. The next chapter should be released in the next few days, so stay tuned! Oh and don't forget, we only have one proofreader at the moment, so overlook any glaring mistakes you may find throughout. Golden hoof, we're done here.)

Comments

Good chapter thus far (wonder if Luna knows this alicorn (And i bet cherry is curious as to why Luna is speaking in the old english.)

And oh dear, is this eclipse similair to nightmare moon (Or some even twisted creature sorta like Discord.