//-------------------------------------------------------// "The Gathering" -by Aurora Boreallis- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// The Royal Round Trip //-------------------------------------------------------// The Royal Round Trip September 22nd, 2012. 　　Princess Cadence was last seen flying off into the Southern quadrant of Canterlot. 　　5 miles outbound. We were about to assist her when she quickly gained up into hyper speed and teleported into thin air before we could catch up to her. The Princess looked like she was in a state of distress. Due to the recent events prior to this night, we did not dare to interfere with her. We assumed she needed her space. 　　Reported at 2:05 AM EST. The Lunar Guard. 　　Princess Cadence flew at unbelievable speeds through the night sky. Bursting through any lingering clouds that happened to be in her path. She did not care where she was going. She wanted to be somewhere. 　　Alone. 　　Tears were flying from her eyes. She could barely see where she was going. She was crying to herself. Not loudly, but silently. She could no longer sustain the pain that was inside her. She no longer wanted to be associated with him, related to him, seen with him. 　　He had done his damage and it is something that she should have seen coming. 　　Flying. 　　Cutting through the midnight sky, she did not want to return anymore. She felt like her entire life had came crashing down all within a span of three months. She could not believe what had happened. She did not do anything wrong to set the relationship on the course of disaster. She had made her vows. She did everything a good wife was supposed to do. 　　However......bad things happen to good people. 　　She was far from the outskirts of Canterlot and Ponyville. About 50 kilometers now. There were more establishments of neighborhoods down below and above her. As Cadence realized that she had flown far away from the diligent high class society known as Canterlot, she decreased her speed and started to glide with the wind. She was longer crying anymore. She had ran out of tears. Instead, she was silent. An emotionless expression plastered across her face. Knowing that she was the entity of love and compassion itself, she had finally met her match. 　　There nothing that she could do to restore the bound between herself and Shinning Armor. 　　“.....I......I-....I do not understand.....” , she mumbled to herself in silence. 　　“....why would he not tell me.....? Keeping a secret like that after all that had happened, I should have known he was not going let go of his feelings for he-.....” She stopped herself as she felt like she was about to choke up another sob. 　　Shaking her head out of the matter once and for all, she flapped her wings a little more to gain more altitude. She honestly did not know where she was. All that she knew was that she had flown South from Canterlot, in a rural area with a few neighborhoods......in the sky. 　　Approaching her vision was a cluster of nimbo-stratus clouds that had small building establishments, emerging from the cloud tops themselves. Cadence flew along side the neighborhood to get a better look. A good portion of the clouds were cut into roads. Houses were built by the many. An entertainment district was located on the Northwest side. The rest was just one big neighborhood onto of a nimbo-stratus. 　　Princess Cadence scanned the area. 　　“Yeah.....I think I’m nowhere near home now.” 　　Knowing that she accidently roamed too far, she banked to her left and decided to circumference the outer perimeter of the neighborhood before she would head North back to Canterlot. She had started to become worried as to whether she had caused a slight disturbance as she was storming out of the castle. 　　She threw the though away. She was a princess. 　　Coming across the opposite of the neighborhood, she was facing due North. Giving a deep sigh, she put her hooves forward and prepared for a long flight back home. 　　A sound shot through Cadence’s ears. 　　She stopped dead in her tracks. Keeping herself a float, she kept still to listen again. 　　The sound was heard again. This time, more different than the last one. 　　“What.....is that......?” , she asked herself as she leaned her head closer to the row of houses she was near. 　　The more she listened closely, the more it began to sound like somepony was blasting music. But it wasn’t about how loud the music was, it was more about what kind of music it was. 　　Princess Cadence had started to become more of a fan of electronic music ever since Vinyl Scratch and Pinkie Pie performed at her wedding reception. Initially Cadence was more of a fan of orchestral symphonies that the Canterlot Elite would play in the dinner halls of the castle. 　　Every..........night. 　　Eventually, she became bored of it entirely. She had heard of the electronic dance clubs that were held in Ponyville every night. The most popular event they held was called, “The Knation” . This event was held every Friday night in Ponyville and broadcast throughout all of Equestria. It was known as a dance festival that features the music genre of hardstyle. This event was funded by The Canterlot Treasury in early 2001. This event was created to celebrate the electrifying night life that Ponyville had to offer. Ponyville had became famous due to the fact that the bearers of the elements of harmony reside there, and due to the recent wild events that always seem to take place, more and more ponies began to visit. Some even decided to move here to be apart of the town that never seems to have a dull moment. The idea was started by Pinkie Pie, known as the Element of Laughter. Might as well be called the element of partying. Aside from being a complete goofball, she is the premier party pony of Ponyville. If there is any party that a pony needs help being planned, Pinkie is there. Birthday parties for the children and general public, hoedowns and family reunions for specific groups, and then we have the night festivals. 　　There are several different night clubs that go on every weeknight in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie wanted to make sure there were parties for everypony’s preferences. Making Vinyl Scratch one of the officials DJ’s of the clubs, the events attracted numerous groups of ponies who are looking for the night life. Ponies would come from around the country, just to stay a few nights here and attend the night clubs. Even some ponies from Canterlot would sneak out of their society to join in. 　　But the most exciting music dance festival that Ponyville holds is “The Knation” . Its distinct name comes from the theme that Pinkie Pie created, “K-Dance” . This label was pitched towards the Public Affairs of Canterlot. After having a majority vote from the entire town of Ponyville and several other towns, ruling in favor of the idea, The Public Affairs gave the O.K. To Pinkie Pie. Since 2001, there has been a party every night, with the main event being The K-Nation. The label company itself began searching for electronic musicians across the country that could created any form of hardstyle. Ponies like Hoofhunterz, Briddle Heart, and Wild Motherbuckers have been making sure to keep the night life alive with its music. Princess Cadence had started becoming a fan of this type of music 3 years before her wedding. She always thought of herself as being a unique type of princess. She did things that most formal ponies, including Celestia & Luna, wouldn’t do even if they had spare time on their hooves. 　　But as of now, her attention was more focused on where that sound was coming from. Because it was starting to sound more of the music she really......really liked. 　　Like a bee attracted to bright colors, she flew closer to the neighborhood, keeping her ears perked up to hear if she was getting closer. It wasn’t long before she found herself wandering in somepony’s backyard. It did not matter if she was trespassing. She was princess. And adding to that, the music seemed to be blasting right in front of her. 　　She looked up to see a window open. It was somepony’s room. The source of the noise was coming from there. Stealthly, she flapped her wings and ascended about 20 feet into the air, just peeking below the window sil of the room. She poked her head inside the room. She saw what seems to be a pegasus colt, bobbing his head to the sound that was finally confirmed to Cadence herself. 　　It was hardstyle. 　　She put her hooves on the bottom of the window and kept her head low, knowing that she was legit spying on a random pony. She was too interested in the music she was hearing to realize fully what she was doing though. All of a sudden the music stopped. Her eyes went wide for a second as she realized the music stopped right before the buildup. Before she could determine why it stopped, a very loud noise rang through the room for one second. Shocked, Cadence let out a small yelp before covering her mouth and hiding behind the window. Hearing the loud bass again, she raised her head above the bottom of the window to see why was he rewinding the music. 　　Turns out, he was not rewinding the music. 　　Cadence looked closer at his desk. There was two massive speakers on either side of him, along with two monitors, and what seems to be a small piano in front of him. She noticed him move the mouse. As soon as he released it, the loud bass was heard again for another quick second. The pegasus also begun tapping his hooves on one key of the small piano. Another noise was heard, but this time, it sounded like a note on a different pitch. 　　Putting her hooves back on the window sill, keeping silent, she stays still to listen in. Her wings flapping silently, yet keeping her afloat. The pegasus began playing the noise once again. It was on point. It was on beat. There was so much distortion with every beat that was played out. Cadence recognized what he was making immediately. 　　She loved it. 　　Then she heard a deep vocal within the buildup. 　　“H-h-h-h-HardwithPonystyle” 　　She did not need to listen anymore, for she knew what was associated with this pegasus. He was one of the producers of K-Dance. She quickly teleported into thin air. 　　The pegasus quickly took off his headphones and turned around. He saw nothing behind him. Just an empty window. 　　“Must’ve been lightning or something.” , he says to himself. 　　With a shrug, he turns around, and puts back on his headphones. //-------------------------------------------------------// "The Discovery" //-------------------------------------------------------// "The Discovery" 　　She apparated into view in the comfort of her own room back at the the Canterlot Castle. Landing on all of her hooves, she gives herself a quick second to take a deep breath, before she starts to jump in place. 　　“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! That was so fu-.....uh-......AWESOME!!” 　　She covers her mouth with her hooves, not wanting to wake up any other ponies who were sleeping next to her room. She needed to keep her composure, but had trouble doing so, knowing that she just spied on a pony hours ago. But she good reason as to why she did. She never knew how the music of hardstyle was created. She never even knew how electronic music was made entirely. But now that she has had a peek at it, her mind started to erupt with curiosity. 　　“Ok. Calm down Cadence. First thing. Where’s my computer?” , she said quietly to herself as she turns her head both ways, scanning the area for her desktop.....in the dark. 　　“Oh.” , she realized. 　　With a the sound of a chime, she lit up her horn and illuminated the room. She was able to spot the lamp near her knightstand. She walked over and turned it on, allowing her horn to stop glowing in return. She then walked over to the computer, sat down, and moved the mouse over to wake it up. She immediately logged on the media streaming site of Ponytube, and typed in exactly what she heard at that house. 　　Hard with ponystyle. 　　“Now......where can i find him.......oh my gosh! Here he is! F*ck! Yes! H-....” 　　She covered her mouth with her hooves once again. This was the second consecutive time she has sworn out loud within the past hour. Regaining her composure, she scrolls down the set of videos that are associated with the words “Hard with ponystyle.” She finally comes across a channel, who’s image looks like the one Pegasus she was eyeing just an hour. 　　The name of the channel read, “HardwithPonystyle Recordz” 　　A picture of a dull yellow pegasus in front of a large crowd with lasers is seen to the side. Giddy with excitement, she shuffles her desk to grab her headphones. She puts them on and clicks on a live set that the pony performed during one of the K-Dance events of the summer of 2013. 　　“Mares & Stallions..........PUT YOUR MOHTERF*CKING HOOVES UP, FOR THE MANE EVENT, QLLLLIIIIIIMAAAAAAAXXXXX!!!” 　　The crowd erupted into a massive roar of cheers as the MC in the video, announced the next DJ that was to perform. And to Cadence’s surprise, the very same pegasus flew onto the stage. With a wave to the audience, he pull a vinyl seemingly out of nowhere, and slapped it on the mixer. With a press of a button, the music began. 　　2 hours and 56 minutes later, the pegasus had finished his set. With the MC signing him off, he stood up on the DJ table on two hooves, and gave a bow to the audience, who erupted in cheers once again. Princess Cadence was sweating like a rag doll. Her hair was literally matted across half her face. She had been dancing to the beat of the music half the entire time. Panting with satisfaction, she sat back down in her chair and gave out a deep sigh. 　　“Oh-.....*pant*....my....that was.......a-amazing........I haven’t been this excited since-.........my wedding.” 　　With that sole reminder, the small bit of happiness she had worked up over the course of the 3 hours, had faded away in an instant. She continued to scroll down on the recommended video that were aside of the main video she had just watched. She saw another video. This time, the thumbnail showed the pegasus, in the same room that she had spied on him in earlier. Giddy with curiosity once again, she clicked on the video and waited for it to buffer. 　　“What’s up my name is Qlimaxx with HardwithPonystyle Recordz. I’m gonna show you a new track I’m working on using a couple instruments that I just for most of my songs. The Sylenth 1 and the Nexus Pro.” 　　Cadence watched with awe as he showed what different sounds he was able to generate with those virtual instruments. It almost felt like she was actually watching him in his room. Mainly because where the point of view the camera was, was the same point of view that she had seen him earlier. For some reason, she felt calm. She felt secure. She was not worried about what was to come in the early hours of tomorrow. With royal duties and all, helping the two sister with current affairs, she had let all of that go as she was more entranced and interesting into seeing how this pony made his music. With a yawn, she closed the window, got up from the computer, and walked over the bed. Climbing in, she pulled the covers over her, turning around to stare at the massive view of the moon. 　　She was wondering. 　　“I wonder if he ever noticed........that there was somepony watching him.” 　　-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 　　The rays of Celestia’s sun beamed into the open window of one of the royal chambers. Cadence squinted her eyes before slowly opening them. Her hair was already a mess, having more the several split ends. 　　“Ugh......what time is it....?” , she groaned out as she turned around the look at the clock. 　　9:57 am. 　　She had only slept for two hours. 　　“Ugggh.......” , she groaned out again as she flopped her head in the pillow. 　　Knowing that she needed to get up in order to be in early attendance for the Canterlot Public Affairs meeting that was scheduled one hour from now, she threw off the covers and got up. Stretching her legs, she gave out another yawn. 　　“Okay, to conserve time, should I take a shower, or should I not. Hell, I need to brush my hair though. Yeah, its a mess, and that’s not gonna fly with the pu-...” 　　There was a knock on the door. A male voice sounded. 　　“Princess Cadence, are you in there? Are you alright?” , the voice asked in concern. 　　It was clearly one of the guards. Remembering the events of last night, she addressed out. 　　“Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry for giving you guys a hard time last night. I wasn’t......feeling to well. I just needed some fresh air.” 　　The voice on the other end of the door responded with sympathy and understanding. 　　“No worries your highness. We were only concerned for your safety. After what had happened earlier-.....” 　　He stopped talking right there, knowing that it was going to be quite painful to bring up that event again. Cadence ears dropped as she felt her heart sank. 　　The voice pipped up again, “We would’ve have tried him and had him thrown in the most harshest of prisons in Equestria. All you have to do is give us the command and we will find him for you, and bring him to justice. 　　Princess Cadence cut him off. 　　“No.....it’s.....okay. Let him go. Leave him.” 　　Princess Cadence was not the type of pony who wanted to been seen as seeking revenge towards one another. But she had every right to do so. Even the press and media would understand if she had made that decision to go after her ex-husband and have him arrested. But she was not looking forward the unknown drama that would ensue. All she wanted to do was to have somepony in her life to make her happy. 　　That somepony, had came and went. 　　“As you wish your highness. Oh, and just a reminder, the meeting is in ten minutes.” 　　Her eyes widened. 　　“F*ck!” 　　She covered her mouth with her hooves once again. 　　The guard on the other end, stopped in his tracks at her loud comment. Waving the matter away, he walked off to leave her to her privacy.