Sprinkled With Trouble

“Frosty?” a little white filly whispered. “Frostinilla, wake up.”

Frostinilla’s eyes cracked open. She glanced at Vanilla Bean through the small gap she managed to stretch between her lids. It was late. She wasn’t sure how late it was, but she could see through the window. It was still dark. She was barely able to see the soft glow of moonlight reflecting off her sister’s white coat.

“Wha-?” Frostinilla mumbled.

“I’m thirsty,” Vanilla Bean said. She was looking at Frostinilla with wide eyes and a slight pout.

Frostinilla felt powerless against her young sister’s stare. She had never cared before, but it had become her weakness after recent events. Frostinilla was not known for being a loving sister. She used to spend much of her time with friends rather than family. When she was home, she was in her room, chatting with friends on her computer. But after losing her parents, Frostinilla treasured Vanilla Bean over all else. She lived to make her sister happy.

The filly tilted her head, “Can you get me some water?”

Frostinilla buried her muzzle into her pillow. She loved her sister, but she was too tired. She had spent the previous days following Lemon Drop through the city. Lemon Drop had been asking ponies around town about what they knew of Frostinilla’s family. She asked the neighbors if they might’ve noticed anything, and asked around for anypony who might’ve known the family.

The Cupcakes were looking for anything that might’ve been similar to any of their own individual circumstances. So far, nothing seemed to stand out in any of the situations. It seemed that the ponies were attacked by random choice, but if they could find anything of a similarity, they might be able to save other ponies.

Frostinilla was exhausted. She had worn herself out, both physically and emotionally. Canterlot had never seemed so large to her before. Now that she had followed Lemon Drop door to door, it seemed to be ten times the size of the Canterlot she had mentally mapped out beforehand. Not only was there a lot of walking, but there was quite a bit of explaining. Frostinilla had not spoken to anypony herself, nor was she around when Lemon Drop did.

Whenever Lemon Drop felt that she might’ve learned something, she asked Frostinilla about it. She asked if it seemed accurate, or if it fit her parents’ personality. Frostinilla had a hard time dealing with it. She had been trying to push her parents out of her mind. She felt bad about it, but she couldn’t handle the thought of them just yet. Since she moved in with the Cupcakes, she had been trying to toughen herself up, with little success. She had been able to refrain from tears, but her outer appearance wasn’t reflecting the boiling hatred and deep sadness that was continuing to build inside her. Talking about her parents and hearing what other ponies had to say about them was weighing down on her.

“Please?” Vanilla Bean whined.

Frostinilla turned to face her sister again. Her little face was tilted, and her light grey eyes shone through the darkness. Frostinilla lifted her head. It felt heavy. “Why are you awake?” She asked.

Vanilla Bean gave shrug. “I had another nightmare.”

Frostinilla gave a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry,” she said. She reached her head over and kissed her sister on the forehead. “I’ll go get you water,” she said.

Frostinilla let out a long yawn and stretched her hooves up. She slid out of bed, dragging her blanket onto the floor without meaning to. She grabbed it with her teeth and threw it back up onto her bed. Vanilla Bean hopped back towards her pink canopy bed and jumped in. She crawled under her blanket and smiled when Frostinilla turned to look at her.

“Thanks,” she said.

Frostinilla smiled back. “I’ll be right back.”

“Turn the lights on when you leave,” Vanilla Bean said as Frostinilla turned towards the door.

“Alright,” Frostinilla said. She already knew that Vanilla Bean had a slight fear of the dark. She could only handle it when somepony else was with her.

Frostinilla pushed the switch up with her muzzle before leaving the bedroom. She left the door open so that her bedroom could dimly light her way to the stairway. The moon shone through the windows across the spiralled stairway, lighting her way down. Still, she had to descend carefully. Her hooves tapped against the granite tiles of the main hall as she made her way to the the kitchen.

When she reached the counters, she stood on her back hooves to reach the higher cupboards. She grabbed a glass and scooted to the left for the sink. As she reached over to run the water, a shrill shriek startled Frostinilla. She jumped back and the glass slipped out of her hoof. It clanked against the white tiles, and shattered. Tiny clear shards slid across the floor in all directions.

For a brief moment after that, everything was silent. Then, Frostinilla heard something else. Somepony was crying. The cries were coming from the next room over. Frostinilla wasn’t sure how to respond. Her heart was beating so fast, it felt as if it would jump out of her throat. The crying continued, and there was another scream. Frostinilla backed away from the sounds, forgetting about the glass. She felt a small stabbing pain at the bottom of her hoof, and winced in pain. The stabbing became a stinging, but she wasn’t concerned about her hoof.

Words began forming through the cries. “No. Stop,” a familiar voice pleaded.

Frostinilla’s head spun. It was Cinnamon Twist. She knew it was Cinnamon Twist’s voice but what was going on? There was a crash and Frostinilla ran back, stepping on two more shards. She was shaking in fear. She felt that she needed to do something, but what? Why hadn’t anypony else come down? Frostinilla wondered if anypony else had heard at all. She wondered if anypony else was shaking in fear, in some corner of the house, just as she was. She wondered if Vanilla Bean could hear these screams.

Frostinilla’s thoughts stuck to Vanilla Bean. Frostinilla heard more crashing coming from the living room, just past the large wooden door that separated it from the kitchen. Frostinilla had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, she didn’t want it moving on to Vanilla Bean. She wasn’t sure she could put a stop to it, she wasn’t sure it was safe, she had no confidence in the matter, but she had to try. She would have to do her best to keep her young sister safe.

“Get your hooves off me!” she heard Cinnamon Twist yell.

The tone was different. The cries had died down. Cinnamon twist was yelling, making demands. She sounded as if she was finally putting up a fight. Still, Frostinilla couldn’t let her do it on her own. Frostinilla crept toward the door, slowly. She winced as stepped down, driving the shards into her hoof. She was careful to avoid anymore now, but she didn’t have time to concern herself with the shards already in her hooves.

She pushed the door open with her hoof. It creaked and Frostinilla froze, hoping nopony else had heard. Nothing seemed to change, but she could still hear Cinnamon Twist’s voice, demanding to be left alone. Frostinilla pushed forward and peaked her head out of the door. She couldn’t see anypony, but she could still hear her friend. She turned over, towards the couch where the voice was coming from. Frostinilla let out a sigh of relief.

Cinnamon Twist was on the floor near the couch, thrashing, yelling, and wrapped in the cord of the small lamp she had pulled off of the table. Nopony else was there. Cinnamon Twist seemed to be having night terrors, nothing more.
Frostinilla slipped passed the door and trotted over to the pony. Cinnamon Twists forhead was matted in sweat and etched with lines of aggravation. She seemed to be struggling. As the pony thrashed around, the wire of the lamp dug into her coat, and she yelled again. It seemed to Frostinilla, that her change in behavior was triggered by the lamp.

Frostinilla found the end of the cord, and tugged at it with her teeth, unjamming it from under the sofa. The cord around Cinnamon Twist loosened but she didn’t seem to relax. Frostinilla tapped the frightened mare on the shoulder.

“No,” Cinnamon Twist yelled out.

“Wake up,” Frostinilla said. She began to shake the sleeping mare.

With a battle cry that Frostinilla never would have expected coming out of a young mare, Cinnamon Twist jolted upward and tackled Frostinilla, pinning her down to the floor. She was awake, but startled. She was ready for attack. She had her teeth bared at Frostinilla, like a wolf ready to tear apart its prey. Within seconds, her expression softened, and the hostility was replaced with confusion. She jumped away from Frostinilla.

Frostinilla rolled onto her belly and looked up at Cinnamon Twist. Anger was reterning to her eyes. Frostilla couldn’t shake the feeling that the young mare wasn’t alright. Her dreams seemed to be haunted by something. Cinnamon Twist still seemed shaken. Frostinilla believed that if it was nothing more than a simple dream, the pony would have gotten over it in a matter of seconds.

“Are you alright,” Frostinilla asked.

“Yes!” Cinnamon Twist snapped.

“You don’t-”

“Well I am!”

Frostinilla stared at Cinnamon Twist.

“Why are you just sitting there like a stunned filly?” Cinnamon Twist questioned. “Go to bed!”

Frostinilla stood. She said, “You aren’t alright,” as she walked by and left Cinnamon Twist alone.

The next morning, Cinnamon Twist was abnormally grouchy. Frostinilla limped down the stairs followed by her sister. Vanilla Bean ran ahead once they reached the bottom. She trotted into the kitchen and took a seat next to Chippy Chocolate at the table. Chippy Chocolate smiled but Cinnamon Twist let out what sounded like a soft growl. Lemon Drop took a seat at the other side of Vanilla Bean and patted her on the head. Cinnamon Twist was searching through the cupboard of cereals when Frostinilla finally entered.

“What’s wrong?” Chippy Chocolate asked, noticing the limp right away. Her ears drooped
dramatically and Lemon Drop looked over to see what the fuss was about.

“Oh no,” she said, hopping out of her chair and cantering over to the white mare. “What happened? You were fine yesterday.” Lemon Drop gave Frostinilla a questioning glance.

“I just stepped on some glass,” Frostinilla informed her.

“When?” Lemon Drop asked.

Cinnamon Twist was sending boxes of cereal over to the table with her magic when she cut in. “When she was sticking her muzzle where it didn’t belong.”

“We weren’t asking you,” Lemon Drop said. “Are you alright?” she asked Frostinilla.

Frostinilla nodded.

“Sit down. Let me see your hoof.”

Frostinilla limped over to the table and took a seat across from her younger sister. She held out both right hooves so that Lemon Drop could take a look. She took a look at them and shook her head.

“I’ll go get the tweezers.” Lemon Drop left the kitchen and trotted back in minutes later, holding tweezers between her teeth.

“Is she going to be okay?” Vanilla Bean asked. She seemed to be scared for her sister.

Frostinilla smiled at the thougt of her sister worrying over such a simple matter.

“Of course she will,” Chippy Chocolate said, patting the little filly on the head.

Lemon Drop took Frostinilla’s front hoof in her own. “Hold still,” she said. She squinted her eyes, examining the size and placement of the tiny shard.

She got a grasp on the piece and, with a quick motion, pulled it out. There was a momentary sharp pain, and then nothing. Frostinilla looked at the bottom of her hoof. There was a small sliver and a little blood, but not even enough to collect into a single drop. Frostinilla looked over at her young sister. She had her head on the table and her hooves over her own eyes. It was a wonder to Frostinilla, that the young filly could be so sensitive to such minor detail after all that had happened. It only reminded her of how precious the filly was to her. She was still so young and vulnerable.

Chippy Chocolate was giggling. The chocolate brown pony had spent a lot of time with Vanilla Bean since they moved in. Vanilla Bean peaked at her sister, but covered her eyes once again once she noticed Lemon Drop taking Frostinilla’s other hoof.

“There are two in this one,” Lemon Drop said.

Vanilla Bean let out a soft moan, as if she was going to be sick.

Cinnamon Twist was pacing at the other side of the island. “Get over it,” she growled at the filly.

“Don’t be mean!” Chippy Chocolate called back at the angry mare.

“Don’t worry, Nilly Bee,” Frostinilla said. “It’s fi-Ow!”

Lemon Drop had just tugged on a slightly larger piece of glass, and on it’s way out, it had tugged on her hoof. “Sorry,” Lemon Drop said. “Just one more.”

Vanilla Bean let out another moan.

“I'm okay, really,” Frostinilla assured. “I was just a little surprised by that one.”

Lemon Drop yanked out the last piece without warning, and Frostinilla bit her lip. She took a deep breath and said, “See, Nilly Bee? I’m okay.”

“Yup,” Lemon Drop added. “All done.”

Vanilla Bean peaked again, and relaxed when she saw that the tweezers were now resting on the table. She smiled at her sister.

“Nilly Beeeeeeee.” Chippy Chocolate was rocking sideways in her chair. “Nilly Bee. Nilly Bee. Nilly Bee.”

The white filly looked up at the pony, who looked back at her with a grin. They both broke into laughter. Frostinilla and Lemon Drop were both staring at them. Cinnamon Twist finally joined them at the table.

“So are you ponies all done messing around now?”

“Lighten up,” Chippy Chocolate said.

Cinnamon Twist took a seat at the end of the table, using her magic to pour her cereal into her bowl. Everypony took turns filling their bowls except Vanilla Bean.

“Do you have oatmeal?” she asked.

“We’re out,” Cinnamon Twist answered flatly.

“Oh.” Vanilla Bean picked up a mixed berry flavored cereal and poured it.

“We should go get some!” Chippy Chocolate suggested, patting the filly on the head.

“We should get to work!” Cinnamon Twist said angrily.

“With what?” Chippy Chocolate asked, with a hint of her own frustration. Frostinilla found it a little odd when she showed anger or annoyance. It wasn’t completely rare for her, but it didn’t fit her personality.

“Getting more information on Frostinilla’s parents,” Cinnamon Twist said.

Lemon Drop sighed. “I’ve already asked everypony around. Nopony knows anything. The only piece of information that seemed at all out of the ordinary was that Frostinilla’s mother was at the castle that day. Even so, that isn’t really anything odd. Frostinilla said she had been going to volunteer with the preparations for the Grand Galloping Gala. There’s nothing strange about it; She did that every year.”

Cinnamon Twist glared at Lemon Drop. “You think that isn’t important information? And where exactly were your parents the night before they died?”

Lemon Drop stuttered. She was speechless for entire minutes before she finally pulled herself together. “That’s not the same thing. They-My mom-She worked there.”

If Cinnamon Twist felt sympathetic, she did a good job of hiding it. “Whatever the reasoning was, they were both at the castle before it happened.”

Lemon Drop’s lip quivered for a short moment. She was lost in her memories.

“Well what about your parents and Chippy Chocolate’s parents?” Frostinilla asked, hoping that it would take the spotlight away from Lemon Drop.

Lemon Drop answered for her, “Chippy Chocolate doesn’t remember anything. She barely even remembers enough for us to be sure it was the same creatures that we all lost our own parent’s to. Cinnamon Twist’s own past is a mystery. Nopony knows what happened. She doesn’t remember.”

Cinnamon Twist’s face was unreadable. She had a stern and guarded expression as she looked away towards an empty wall. Frostinilla didn’t believe for a second that she couldn’t remember. She was keeping secrets, but Frostinilla wasn’t about to challenge her just after moving into her home.

“We should investigate the castle,” Cinnamon Twist announced.

“How?” Lemon Drop asked. “We can’t just trot into the Castle without reason. The guards would stop us at the door. They’ll ask what our intentions are and they’ll ask for names. The castle is heavily guarded. There’s no sneaking in.’’

Cinnamon Twist stood from her chair. “There is sneaking in. We go when everypony is occupied, and when the guards have too many ponies to watch to keep track of them all. We go during the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“Oh!” Vanilla Bean chirped in. “We can wear masks.”

“We can't walk into a ball with masks, silly,” Chippy Chocolate pointed out.

“Why not?” Cinnamon Twist asked, bringing all the attention to herself with her unexpected agreement with the filly.

“Because masks would attract attention and bring up questions,” Lemon Drop told her.

“Not if they fit the appearance,” Cinnamon Twist pointed out. “We will get masquerade masks. We should be hiding our identities anyway. Especially since the deaths of Frostinilla’s parents are still fresh.” Cinnamon Twist walked out of the kitchen, turning back to tell the others, “I’m going to the basement volt. We’re going to need to go shopping.”

The next three days passed quickly. Lemon Drop had collected all of the sizing information that she needed so that she could go with Chippy Chocolate in search of dresses. Vanilla Bean, of course, insisted on joining them. Frostinilla spent the days alone with Cinnamon Twist, who had lectured her on a few things she needed to know before the ball. She had told her what was and was not acceptable, how important it was to do exactly as she was told, and above all, nopony could know who she was.

Frostinilla was woken the morning of the Gala by her sister’s squeals of excitement. “It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!”

Frostinilla’s eyes cracked open to see Vanilla Bean hopping around the room. Her mane and tail rose and fell with each hop, and when she finnally stopped at her sister’s bedside, her mane was a frizzy mess. She smiled at her sister, but Frostinilla only sighed.

“Already?” she asked. “I feel like I just fell asleep.”

“Well you didn’t!” Vanilla Bean smiled.

With a groan, Frostinilla slid out of bed. She shook her head in an attempt to wake herself up, but it was no use. It only made her head spin. She sighed and left the bedroom, Vanilla Bean followed, hopping all the way to the bathroom. She stopped at the doorway, and her face disappeared as Frostinilla shut the door. Frostinilla felt a bit of relief to have the bit of solitude.

It was gone when she heard her sister’s muffled voice through the door. “The ball starts in three hours.”

“What?!” Frostinilla asked in shock. “Only three? Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”

“I tried, but you weren’t listening.”

Frostinilla had barely slept the night before. She didn’t know why, but she had a bad feeling about the Gala. Cinnamon Twist had intentions of searching the entire castle. She seemed certian that they would find answers in the castle, but Frostinilla had no idea why. She couldn't help but wonder what happened to Cinnamon Twist. She wondered if her own experience had a deeper connection to the castle. Either way, something was off. Cinnamon’s gut feeling told her that answers lied in the castle, but Frostinilla’s gut told her that they were asking for trouble.

She looked at herself in the mirror, but she didn’t see herself. She didn’t see anything in the pony staring back, only a white coat and empty eyes. Her defenses had become rock solid, but her own heart felt frail and weak. She didn’t know who she was anymore. She was conflicted by what she felt and what she saw. She willed all of her emotion away. She willed it away but it only struck her back in the chest. The harder she fought her feelings, the harder they fought back. She couldn’t forget; She couldn’t go numb; She could only act like she could.

Frostinilla took a warm shower and dried her mane until it was no longer flat. She brushed it and let air drying do the rest of the work. She glanced at the pony in the mirror once more before leaving the bathroom with a sigh. Vanilla Bean was no longer in the hallway. Frostinilla walked down the spiral staircase in search of her. She was stopped at the bottom by Chippy Chocolate.

“I put your dress in your room!” she said with her usual smile.

“Oh,” Frostinila backed up a couple of steps. “Alright. Do you know where Vanilla Bean is?”

“She’s down in the living room with Cinnamon Twist, getting her hair done,” Chippy Chocolate explained.

“I’ll just go change then,” Frostinilla said, turning around. She galloped up the stairs and to her room.

She shut her bedroom door behind her and found her dress lying on her bed. It was a white dress, with yellow lace wrapped around the waist and the quarter sleeves. She slipped her head through the bottom and lifted it, letting it fall around her neck. She fidgeted inside until her hooves found their way through the sleeves.

She examined the dress in the mirror hanging from her door. The white of the dress blended with the white of her coat. She thought it looked a little odd, but the yellow lace did help. She made a complete circle so that she could examine the sides and back. There was a beige lace bow on her back.

She shrugged at her reflection and opened her door. She joined the other ponies down in the living room. Everypony seemed ready for the ball. Chippy Chocolate had her hair done in her usual pony tails and was wearing a white dress with brown spots on it. Lemon Drop wore a bright yellow dress that matched her hair, which was done up in a neat bun. Cinnamon Twist was wearing a dress that was black at the bottom, had a brown torso, and a sparkling white sash tied around her waist. Her hair was left the way it naturally was, only she clipped the side that her hair fell on, so that her face was clear.

“You look so pretty!” Vanilla Bean exclaimed to her sister.

Vanilla Bean was looking up at her sister with a sparkling smile. She was wearing a slightly greyed dress with a bright white bow below her neck and another on her back. Here hair was held away from her face with a thin black ribbon.

“Not as pretty as you, Nilly Bee,” Frostinilla told her sister.

Vanilla Bean giggled and hopped with joy. “Did you see the masks we got?”

“No I didn’t.”

“They’re all on the kitchen table,” Lemon Drop said.

The ponies all followed the filly as she trotted into the kitchen. She was giggling the whole way and Frostinilla felt warmed by her joy. Frostinilla coudln’t remember the last time she saw her little sister so happy. For the time being, she was able to forget about her troubles and gut feelings. For now she was able to enjoy the company of fellow ponies.

Five masks rested on the table. Cinnamon Twist placed one on her own face to rest on her muzzle. It was a black masquerade mask made of sparkling white metal. It fit snugly against her face, and the metal spiraled around, covering all the way down the sides of her face. Chippy Chocolate’s mask seemed to more closely fit the description of a colorful ribbon. She tied it around her face, and her eyes glittered through the eye holes. The edges were trimmed in a curving pattern.
Lemon Drop placed a simple bright yellow metal mask over her own eyes. She picked up another mask. It was similar to Cinnamon Twists, but each spiraling piece was made of a different color. Vanilla Bean giggled as Lemon Drop placed it on her face.

One masquerade mask remained. Frostinilla thought it seemed almost too formal. Simple beige fabric was stretched over the butterfly shaped piece of plastic with two large holes for her eyes. Bright white pearls lined the edges of both the eye holes and the outside of the mask. Frostinilla lifted it, flipping it over in her hoof to examine it. She placed it on her face and looked around the room. Everypony was ready for the Grand Galloping Gala.

The orphans stood before the enormous castle. Frostinilla looked at it, remembering how her and your sister had just recently been taking refuge behind the castle, in the shadows of the glorious towers. Her sister was looking forward, but only forward. She hadn’t looked into the past like her sister did. She looked forward to the castle, giddy for what was to come. She had never been to a Gala, she was still probably too young to be let in, but Chippy Chocolate promised to get her in.
Cinnamon Twist explained that there would be no issue. As long as they acted like they belonged, everypony would assume that they did. The only sneaking that would be involved, was the distraction needed to get Vanilla Bean past the guards.

“Leave it to me!” Chippy Chocolate trotted over to the castle doors.

“Stay directly behind me,” Cinnamon Twist told Vanilla Bean. “Once I tap my back hoof, run in.” Cinnamon Twist followed behind Chippy Chocolate.

Vanilla Bean cantered forward to catch up, and stood next to Cinnamon Twist to better hide her little sister. Lemon Drop followed the example and cantered over to Cinnamon Twists other side.

Chippy Chocolate was already working on the distractions. “Excuse me!” she said, waving at the guards. “I’m supposed to be meeting my fiance here,” she said, trying to give on the appearance of a mare in distress, but not quite succeeding. “I can’t seem to find him. Have you seen him anywhere?”

The tone Chippy Chocolate used gave the impression that she was trying to sound seductive, so Frostinilla wondered why in Equestria she would say she had a fiance. Still, Chippy Chocolate continued on with her distraction, and the guards were giving her their attention.

“Well, can you give us a description?” one of the guards asked. The other went back to watching the door, which got a huff out of Cinnamon Twist.

“Well,” Chippy Chocolate thought about it. “He’s a stallion. A very,” Chippy Chocolate thought about it some more. “A very handsome stallion.” She started stepping from side to side, in concentration. “He has-He has a short mane.”

Losing patience, Cinnamon Twist found a pebble and lifted it with her magic. She strategically moved it under her friends hoof, and Chippy Chocolate fell to the ground.

“Ow!”

Quickly, and unnoticed by the guards, Cinnamon Twist used her magic on small portions of Chippy Chocolates stomach to push her farther down, making her fall appear to be more dramatic. Both guards cantered to her aid. Cinnamon Twist tapped her back hoof, and Vanilla Bean ran into the castle.

Lemon Drop was the first to trot over to Chippy Chocolate. “I’m sorry,” she said to the guards. “She ran off on us, she’s just a little over excited about her recent engagement.” Lemon Drop ended with a bit of an awkward laugh.

“It’s not a problem,” a guard told her. “Are you alright?” he asked the mare on the ground.

“Yup!” Chippy Chocolate hopped onto her hooves, good as new.

Both guards backed away from her. They seemed a little surprised by how quickly she recovered.

“Well we really should be going,” Cinnamon Twist said, looking directly at Chippy Chocolate. “We don’t want to keep your fiance waiting.”

Chippy Chocolate nodded and headed inside with Lemon Drop; Frostilla and Cinnamon Twist followed. Frostinilla kept an eye out for her sister. Vanilla Bean had just gone in Frostinilla already seemed to have lost her. Cinnamon Twist seemed to have the same idea. She was looking around the grand ballroom, in search of something, but Frostinilla then realized she was more likely looking for clues or strange behavior.

Frostinilla rolled her eyes in response to her own assumption. Aggravation was evident in her face, but it quickly cleared away once she caught sight of Vanilla Bean. She was already making friends, which Cinnamon Twist noticed as well.

“What is she doing?” Cinnamon Twist asked. “She’s going to blow out cover,” she said in a hiss.

“Relax,” Frostinilla said. “We’ll be fine as long as we act like we fit in. We aren’t fitting in if we ostracize ourselves during a party.”

The two ponies walked up to Vanilla Bean. She was talking to a pony, who could have passed for either a very young mare or an older filly. Her coat was made up of colorful patches that made Frostinilla’s eyes hurt. Her rainbow streaked mane was perfectly straight. The pony looked at Frostinilla and Cinnamon twist, with a defensive edge to her expression. She didn’t seem to like the approach of strangers.

“This is Sprinkles!” Vanilla Bean exclaimed cheerfully.

Sprinkles looked back at Vanilla Bean. “You know these ponies?”

“Yeah.” Vanilla Bean smiled. "This is my sister Frostinilla and our friend Cinnamon Twist!"

Cinnamon Twist was about to say something to Vanilla Bean but Frostinilla kicked her hoof, warning her not to let out any suspicious reactions. Cinnamon Twist corrected herself by putting on a forced and very uncomfortable smile. “Nice to meet you,” she said.

Frostinilla noticed that Chippy Chocolate was leaving the ballroom and heading down a hallway. Lemon Drop was going down a hallway on the other side. They seemed to have it all planned out. Frostinilla wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be doing. She wasn’t sure if the other’s were taking initiative on what they already knew how to do, or if they had set jobs with each other, without bothering to include her yet.

“Well, you two have fun,” Cinnamon Twist said to the two young ponies. She wrapped a hoof around Frostinilla’s neck and pulled her away. “Your sister’s fine, as long as she doesn’t go around introducing herself to everypony.”

“Alright, but what do we do?” she asked.

“Did you see where the other’s went off to?” Cinnamon Twist asked.

Frostinilla used her muzzle to point out the halls on each side of the room that she saw them leave through.

Cinnamon Twist nodded. “Stay here and wait for them,” she said. “Don’t let them run off again until I’m back.” With that, Cinnamon Twist trotted through the maze of ponies, finding her way to a door leading her to some other corner of the castle.

Not sure of what else to do, Frostinilla trotted back to her sisters. A couple of hours passed. Frostinilla hadn’t done much other than listen to her sister talk with her new friend, who didn’t really seem to talk much at all. Sprinkles just listened. A couple of stallions had approached Frostinilla while she waited, asking her if she would like to dance. Frostinilla denied them all as politely as she could

Finally, Lemon Drop returned. She didn’t have to leave her sister’s side, since the yellow mare found Frostinilla herself.

"Well, I got nothing.” She gave a shrug of admitted defeat.

“Well,” Frostinilla said. “You weren’t really sure about this anyway. Might as well try to enjoy yourself until the others get back.”

“I guess I could try.” Lemon Drop sounded uninterested.

It was only a few minutes later that Chippy Chocolate joined them. She looked disappointed. “Nothin.”

The ponies waited for Cinnamon Twist to return, but another hour passed, and she still didn’t show up.

“Where could she be?” Frostinilla asked.

“Well knowing her,” Lemon Drop said, “she’s probably putting too much attention to detail.”

“Well, the wait is over!” Chippy Chocolate announced, pointing to their friend, who was now trotting over.

Cinnamon Twist looked horrible. She looked like she had seen ghosts. Frostinilla’s gut feeling returned. She had thought they would run into trouble, and it seemed that Cinnamon Twist found just that.

“We should go,” Cinnamon Twist said. “I found something, but we need to go. It’ll be there another time, but right now, this is a bad place to be.” She was speaking quickly and quietly. She was barely audible, but the other ponies got the message.

Panic was creeping up in Frostinilla’s chest. She turned to grab her sister but she was gone, along with the Sprinkles. “Where is she? Vanilla Bean is gone.” She was too worried to care about how loud she was, but nopony showed any concern for what she was saying.

“She went that way.” Chipy Chocolate pointed in the direction that Cinnamon Twist had just come from.

“What?” Cinnamon Twist asked in an outrage. “Why didn’t you stop her?”

Chippy Chocolate shrugged. “She wasn’t alone. I thought it was okay. I didn’t know you wanted to get out of here.”

Cinnamon Twist and Frostinilla both galloped in the direction that Vanilla Bean had gone. Lemon Drop and Chippy Chocolate followed.

“No!” Cinnamon Twist exclaimed under her breath.

Frostinilla noticed Vanilla Bean following the colorful pony through the doorway. Cinnammon Twist rushed through.

“Stop!” She yelled when the door closed behind Frostinilla.

Lemon Drop and Chippy Chocolate had just opened the door again when Vanilla Bean halted. Everypony was standing still and looking at Cinnoman Twist. She was breathing heavily and her hooves seemed to be shaking.

“We need to go home,” Cinnamon Twist said, doing her best to control her tone.

“Oh.” Vanilla Bean looked confused but mostly disappointed.

“Well, see you later, Vanilla Bean,” Sprinkles said. “I’m going to go check out what your pony friends are making a fuss about.”

The pony galloped down the hall and Cinnamon Twist tensed. Frostinilla panicked when Vanilla Bean ran after Sprinkles.

“Wait!” the filly cried.

Cinnamon Twist shocked everypony when she dived for Vanilla Bean. She took her down, managing not to land on her. Still, Vanilla Bean had fallen forward and her mask flew across the marble floor, clinking against the tiles.

“No!” Vanilla Bean tried to stand but Cinnamon Twist wouldn’t let go.

Sprinkles had stopped running. She looked down at the mask, then back at her new friend. She picked up the mask and was just about trot back to everypony, but Cinnamon Twist’s eyes widened and she yanked Vanilla Bean away. The young filly screamed and Sprinkles froze up.

Frostinilla’s heart beat against her chest as a familiar creature grabbed the small pony. It looked Frostinilla straight in the eye before running off. “I got a live one!” she heard it yell. There was another voice, but it was muffled by the sound of screams.

“Sprinkles!” Vanilla Bean called out to her friend. She turned to Frostinilla, tears now streaking her face. “Don’t let them take her. You can’t let them take her!”

Cimmanom Twist stood, but gently pushed Vanilla Bean behind her. “Get out of here!” she said. “Go home and don’t come back here!”

“But-”

“If you want us to save your friend then leave!” Cinnamon Twist snapped.

Vanilla Bean galloped away, pushing her way through the door. Frostinilla watched her sister leave before following Cinnamon Twist. Lemon Drop and Chippy Chocolate weren’t far behind. Soon, the four ponies were catching up to the strange creature.

“Help!” Sprinkles screamed when she saw them.

The strange creature looked back to see that he was being pursued. He pulled out a little black box and yelled into it.

"Get it ready!” the creature yelled. “Get the Goddamn thing ready!” It ran faster.

Cinnamon Twist pushed forward and Frostinilla kept up. They followed the creature down the hall and into a nearly empty room. At the end of the room was a mirror. The mirror changed as they drew near. What was once reflective glass became a swirling purple fog.

The creature jumped into it and dissapeared. The ponies all stopped and stared at the glass.

“I’m going in,” Cinnamon Twist said.

“You can’t be-” Frostinilla started.

“I’m going!” she said. “I’m going to fix this. I won’t let those things keep butchering us!”

Cinnamon Twist didn’t wait for Frostinilla’s response. She ran forward and jumped into the fog, disappearing. The fog began to fade. Frostinilla didn’t know what to do, but she wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing. Knowing she didn’t have the time to think it through, she stopped thinking and jumped in. Lemon Drop and Chippy Chocolate were right behind her.