Age of Inferno: Part 1

Twilight

"Twilight...hey, Twilight!", a cheerful voice called her out of sleep, she lazily sat up with a yawn.

"Wha,...what is it Spike?" Twilight rubbed her eyes to stay awake. Her faithful green-and-purple assistant stood at the side of her bed.

"Don't you remember? Princess Cadence invited all of us to come to the Crystal Empire today!", Spike said, holding up her calendar for her to see.

Twilight vaguely remembered getting the letter,

"Oh...that's nice, what time are we supposed to be at the train station?" Twilight asked with another yawn, stretching out her wings.

"Nine o' clock."

"Hm? Oh, yeah. And, what time is it now?" She sat at the edge of her bed and pushed off the covers.

"Eight fifty-seven"

Twilights eyes sprung open, she jumped down from her bed and flew across the room, grabbing her saddle-bag.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner!?" Twilight asked, stuffing several items into her bag. Spike hopped down the steps,

"Well, I thought you could use the sleep, you know, after all that studying last night?"

"Uh!, Spike! I've read longer than that and still woken up early! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I, uh...kinda...slept in too..." Spike mumbled, looking down and suddenly finding his claws very interesting.

Twilight chuckled to herself,

"Oh, I guess if that's the case it's fine, Spike, but right now we need to get to the train station!" Twilight finished packing her bag and raced out the front door. Spike hopped on her back and they flew for the train station.

"Look!,"Spike pointed to a column of grayish smoke in the distance.

"We're too late!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes on her target,

"Not if I can help it." She put on a burst of speed and flew after the train. Spike lurched sideways on her back,

"Woah!," he said, holding his mouth, "Warn me next time your gonna do that!"

Twilight smiled to herself, looking over her shoulder at Spike, who was attempting not to lose what little breakfast he had.

"Hang on, the train's just up ahead.", Twilight started her descend and swooped downward to land on the caboose. After a few empty cars, she came to the rest of her friends sitting in the dining car.

"Oh, there you are, Twilight darling!" Rarity exclaimed, setting down her teacup. A blue blue flashed over her head,

"Did you fly all the way here?", Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight had to catch her breath before answering.

"Unfortunately, yes, we slept in."

"That's totally awesome! I told you guys that she could fly all the way here!", Rainbow Dash said with a fist-pump.

"We're just glad y'all could make the train," Applejack said, walking over to her, "After all, cant be a party without one of us missin."

"Thanks, Applejack. I'm glad that all of us are going to the Crystal Empire, we haven't had a good adventure in months!"

Everyone laughed, Twilight and the others sat down again and they all waited to arrive at the Crystal Empire.

"There it is!"

Everyone turned heads when Pinkie pointed out the window. They rushed to look outside, the Crystal Empire was a sight to behold in the morning, with early sunlight reflecting and spreading its colors all across the land around it. Twilight sighed, It's beautiful, and she wasn't talking about just the scenery.

As they exited the train, a certain somepony in golden armor was there to escort them to the palace.

"Hey...Flash," Twilight said, trying to conceal her blushing.

"Greetings, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess Cadence has asked me to escort you and your friends to the palace. So, if you will please follow me, we can get going." Flash Sentry bowed, then started walking dutifully down the train platform. "Come on, Twilight! he's right there! Say something!", she thought to herself.

They all followed Flash, and Twilight tried to think of something to say to him. Ever since the incident with Sunset Shimmer, Twilight had wanted to spend more time with Flash, but their feelings for each other had started in that alternate world, not here. But, Twilight thought to herself, he has the same personality, right? And does that mean he could still like me?

While lost in thought, Twilight failed to notice that they had completed their journey and stopped. She bumped right into Flash, he turned around and smiled at her,helping her up to her hooves again.

"We've got to stop bumping into each other!"

They both paused for a moment, looking into each others eyes. Twilight could tell he was struggling for something to say too. Does that mean he still likes me?

"Well, uh...here you are!", Flash opened the double doors in front of them and bowed them inside, "After you."

"Twilight!" A pink alicorn across the room caught her attention, they raced toward one another. They stopped then started dancing, while chanting,

"Sunshine, sunshine, lady bugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Princess Cadence and Twilight hugged and laughed, still enjoying one of their childhood games that had become their greeting.

"I'm so happy you all could come!" She exclaimed, leading them into the room.

The throne room had been fitted with a long table and more chairs. Dishes, platters, and utensils topped the table. All, of course, were made out of crystal, but it was the contents of the dishes and pans that got the Mane Six's attention. Cadence walked over and sat at the head of the table in her crystal throne.

"Please, enjoy the food! I want to know everything that happened since we last saw each other."

Everyone sat down along the sides of the table. No one did a whole lot of eating, except for Spike, who was stuffing his face with crystals. But all of them laughed as they chatted about the Mane Six's latest adventures. Eventually, Twilight noticed an empty chair at the opposite end of the table.

"Who's that for?" she asked. Cadence put down a goblet,

"Oh, that's for Shining Armor,"

Twilight perked up, it had also been a while since she had seen her brother.

"So, where is he?"

"He was going to come, and he was really excited about seeing you again, but at the last moment he was called out on border patrol. Sorry he couldn't come, Twilight."

She sighed,

"No, it's fine..."

The happy conversation had suddenly died. Twilight decided to bring it back,

"Hey, did you hear about the time Fluttershy turned into a vampire?"

"Really!? No, I haven't! Can you tell it to me?"

Everyone started talking again, filling in details and telling the story from their point of view. Everything was normal, everything was perfect...or was it?