Chapters Old Mare Mabel was breathing her last. She spent her later years falling ill, laying in bed waiting to die. Any moment she is going to taste the sweet relief of death.
Still, there was something that plagued her mind ever since her youth. It haunted her wherever she went, and when she thought she had purged it from her thoughts, the smallest of incidents triggered her memory. She never told a soul about it, for nopony would believe her, but it drove her to madness countless of times.
It was a cold night when Old Mare Mabel died, full of rain and rolls of thunder. Before she passed on to gates of Elysium she had one more visitor. It wasn’t any of her family members; they were long gone or had severed connections with her. It wasn’t her friends neither. Her final visitor was a young stallion. A nurse led him to Mabel’s room, then looked at her sympathetically as she closed the door. The stallion removed his hat and his raincoat, swung a chair beside her bed and sat down. There was silence. Mabel gazed at him with weak, sickly eyes.
“I have heard a great deal about you,” the stallion said. His voice was soothing, almost like an angel. “I was wondering if I can talk to you before it’s too late.”
“I don’t think there’s anything much to talk about,” the old mare said. She coughed.
“It took a lot of time for me to find you. I need answers.”
“Why are you so interested in me?” asked Mabel.
The stallion was silent. “Because you’ve seen things,” he finally said. “And I need to know what you have seen.”
Mabel coughed violently. The stallion was anxious. He wanted to have this talk before she faded away.
“I’ve seen many things,” she said.
“Then maybe you can tell me what you saw. I know you’ve experienced something when you were fifteen years old. I need you to remember. It happened at night, didn’t it?”
The old mare was silent. “I never seen anything.”
The stallion leaned closer. “You have. Tell me, please.”
“Why do you come for me?” the old mare asked feebly.
The stallion gently placed his hoof on her forehead. Her skin was cold. The eyes of the old mare grew. There was fear in them. Mabel gasped for breath, and then she coughed some more. The stallion held her thin hoof. She moaned in pain. A moment passed. Mabel closed her eyes and images and sounds she thought were buried forever found its way out. Her time on earth was almost up, and she gathered the last of her strength to speak.
“I remember… I was outside. I was lost. Then… there were these lights. The lights were colorful, they blinked. Then there was this awful sound. A light came down and took me away like I was going to Elysium.”
“Is there anything else?” asked the stallion.
“I was taken away. Far away from here. Those ponies… they weren’t ponies, I finally realized, but it was too late. They got to me. They hurt my head.”
“And then what happened?”
“... They spoke to me. They told me things. Terrible things.”
“What were the terrible things they said?”
Old Mabel gazed at the stallion. Her breathing slowed, then ceased altogether. The stallion touched her hoof for a pulse. There was none. The stallion fixed her blanket so she’d look dignified in death. Like the nurse, he too looked upon the old mare in sympathy. He grabbed his raincoat and hat and exited the room. The nurse came to him.
“I was able to talk to her before she passed,” he said.
“Were you related to her?” asked the nurse.
“No I’m not. But she has met… ponies I knew.”
The stallion nodded and crossed the hall until he found the stairway. He came out of the nursing home and into the wet and stormy streets of Fillydelphia. The stallion looked up toward the sky and wondered what was in store for this world, and for himself, and how much time this world has left before they arrived.
While pressing the keys on the typewriter, Twilight Sparkle wondered why she hadn’t become a writer for the Ponyville daily newspaper a long time ago. Over the past months she had been a great contributor; she gave her opinions in columns, interviewed Ponyville’s most notable residents, and covered some of the town’s observances and special events. She stationed herself at her work desk, writing a cover story about Ponyville’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
The Cherry Blossom Festival is a week-long celebration which happens every April after the first few weeks of spring. Festivities are celebrated across every part of Equestria to commemorate the long friendship between Equestria and the Deer Kingdom. Nearly a millennia ago the Deer Kingdom was attacked by dark forces, bringing destruction and fire to the forests before Celestia and Luna intervened. The Royal Sisters helped the Deer rebuild their society, and in return the Deer gave Celestia and Luna cherry blossom seeds that will bloom every spring, and the trees that grow will bring happiness and joy, as well as beauty wherever they are planted.
While writing the article Twilight remembered the festival in Canterlot from her filly years. Although she loved Ponyville with all her heart, the cherry blossom trees couldn’t compare to those in Canterlot. Every year the trees are planted in every corner of the city. They were absolutely beautiful that ponies would stop for a moment to admire them, coming to the colorful trees like a museum painting come to life.
Spike, her young dragon assistant, was filling the role of librarian while Twilight worked. It was easy, he began to realize. All he had to do was to stamp the due date on the back of the books that were being checked out. Only once in awhile he had to step out of his chair and help some ponies find the books they’re looking for. It was still the easiest job he had to do that day. He couldn’t remember a time where the library was busy. Most of the time it was just he and Twilight, and the occasional visitor on certain days.
Twilight stepped out of her workroom with a smile on her face.
“I’m finally finished with my article,” she announced.
“Wow, that fast?” asked Spike. “Did you started on it like… yesterday ago?”
Twilight giggled. “Of course. I work very fast. I’m going to send it to the editor to have it checked. Would you like to accompany me?”
Spike looked around. There didn’t seem to be anything else to do, so he climbed out of the chair to join Twilight. As they walked to the Ponyville Gazette building, Twilight decided to read to Spike the article she completed. It was mainly about the history of the celebration, from the traditions, customs, all the way to the music and activities involved. The article also included Prince Naveen’s visit to Canterlot to join the celebration. It read more like an essay than an article, although she did managed to add some quotes from the residents she interviewed for her research. All while listening Spike had an idea why Twilight took up writing.
“So what do you think?” asked Twilight.
“It was alright,” answered Spike. “It sounded more like a research paper for school.”
“Well… that’s the whole point of the article. The editor wanted me to do column on the festival, so in some cases it has to sound like an essay. I just hope the editor likes it.”
Twilight and Spike talked some more; about the newspaper, the festival, and other topics that held their interests. They even saw some ponies planting and tended to the cherry blossom trees that were blooming, and began to talk about them.
Spike noticed a pink blur in rapid motion. Twilight wondered what was he looking at, then she noticed it, too. It was Pinkie Pie, one of their good friends. There were moments where she pause in her tracks and glance at the sky. It seemed Pinkie thought something might fall on her head. In an instant her body twitched and shivered, and she hid underneath somewhere. Twilight and Spike exchanged confused glances at each other. Twilight figured it was just Pinkie being Pinkie.
“Do you think we should try to find what’s wrong with her?” asked Spike.
“My answer would be no,” said Twilight. “But we’d be terrible friends if don’t help her, no matter how odd her problems may be.”
They witnessed Pinkie climb out from under a cart. She was still, cautious of making her next step. Was somepony after her, Twilight and Spike wondered. Pinkie looked nervously about her, then up at the sky again. Her poofy tail twitched, and not a moment later her whole self bounced like a spring. She gasped and hid behind a lamp post. The unicorn and the dragon approached Pinkie slowly, as to not frighten her.
“Pinkie, this Twilight and Spike, your friends,” said Twilight. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
Pinkie cast her suspicious eyes side to side. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “My Pinkie-sense have been going haywire all day.”
“Pinkie-sense?” asked Spike.
“It’s my special ability to sense trouble before it happens. You remember, right Twilight?”
“Don’t remind me,” muttered Twilight. She rolled her eyes.
“Can you tell us what’s going on?” said Spike.
“Let’s see - from the moment I woke up my body was acting all shaky and jumpy. Then when I thought something was going to happen today, so I had to be very careful. I saw so many accidents happen today, but the thing is… that’s not what my Pinkie-sense is warning me about. Crazy, huh?”
Twilight and Spike exchanged confused glances at each other once more. Pinkie’s body shivered again, and a flower pot fell from the sky. It startled Spike.
“Are you sure your Pinkie-sense didn’t warn you about that?” he asked.
“That’s happened several times today,” said Pinkie. “Where do they keep coming from?”
“Whatever it is, do you think it has to be in your head?” said Twilight. “Maybe your Pinkie-sense is giving you a false perception of danger when there isn’t any.”
“I can’t ignore my Pinkie-sense when it’s been going bonkers since this morning. I’m telling you, something big is going to happen… I just don’t know what, or when.”
Her body shivered with a quick, sudden motion. There was a loud crash. They saw that two carts collided with each other; one carried cabbages, the other carried potatoes. Spike turned to Pinkie, silently asking if that had anything to do with her Pinkie-sense. Her tail twitched again, then one of her front hooves tapped rapidly.
“Nope, that’s still not it,” she said.
“Well, in that case, we have to go,” said Twilight. “Um, good luck with figuring out your Pinkie-sense.”
“Where are you going?” asked Pinkie.
“To the Ponyville Gazette. I’m turning in my article for the Cherry Blossom festival.”
Pinkie placed a hoof under her chin. Her eyes widen, believing that whatever is making her Pinkie-sense go out of control has something to do with the Cherry Blossom festival. She hugged Twilight, thanked her and hurried off, promising to reveal to them what it was when the time came.
“What do you think the big reveal will be?” asked Spike.
“It’s better if we don’t try to find out,” said Twilight. “Knowing Pinkie, the answer will probably be something very ridiculous.”
The topic was dropped, and Twilight and Spike continued on their way to the Ponyville Gazette. However, Spike brought his eyes to the blue sky and clouds. He couldn’t help but become curious as to what Pinkie was so worried about.
Princess Luna stood out on the balcony, watching Canterlot as the sky turned dark. It was nearly time to raise the moon. The street lamps of the city gave light to the cobblestone roads and sidewalks. Canterlot always looked beautiful at night, which was something Luna always admired about this modern Equestria she has returned to.
With a glow of her horn, she pointed to the sky, and the moon was risen over the edge of the earth, taking the sun’s place as the main occupant of the sky. Luna noticed it was a full moon on this night. It was the most glorious full moon she had ever seen. It was almost as bright and shiny as the sun itself. She hoped Celestia didn’t see it, or else she will be jealous. Luna chuckled at the thought of Celestia being jealous of her.
A full moon this magnificent deserves some constellations, Luna thought. She loved bringing stars together to make pictures on the night sky. Since the next day will mark the beginning of the week of the Cherry Blossom festival, Luna considered the nights should be filled with constellations. She decided the first image of the night should be of Elyra, the goddess doe of the North. There were remarkable stories of her wisdom and bravery passed down through the ages. Luna imagined the citizens of the Deer Kingdom will appreciate it. Luna assembled a few stars to create a nightly image, almost like a game of connect the dots.
The constellation of Elyra was almost complete until she noticed that something was amiss on the northeast section of the sky. A few of the stars were out of line, Luna realized when looked closely.
“Odd,” she said aloud.
How did that happened? To anyone else it wouldn’t have been a cause of alarm, since they were just mere stars, but to Princess Luna the stars were her ornaments for the night. She decree that not one star shall be out of place. Luna turned away from Elyra to fix this problem. The northeast stars were glowing when she aimed her horn at them, and not one moment later they were organized as they should be.
“That should do it,” Luna said.
The problem was solved, and Luna returned to creating the pony goddess of the North.
But something was wrong. Luna believe her eyes when she saw that the stars she assembled were scattered, ruining the image of Elyra. She looked on in confusion, then hastily fixed the goddess. How could that be, Luna wondered. She was sure she was nearly finished with the constellation.
While she tried to put the stars of Elyra back together, Luna glanced at the other direction and was shocked to see that, once more, the northeast stars were displaced.
“What?” gasped Luna.
This didn’t make any sense. How can this be happening? Luna has always kept her watchful eye over her stars. What was the cause of this?
Luna disregarded the constellation. She opened the portal that lead to a hallway in the castle, then rushed inside. Thinking fast, she teleported to Celestia’s bedroom. Her room was brightly lit, the room temperature comfortably warm. The walls were plastered with gold and white wallpaper with her cutie mark on them. Celestia was lying on her bed reading a book, and casually looked up as Luna suddenly entered her room. When she looked at Celestia’s face, Luna wondered how she can be so calm about this.
“Celestia, I have a matter of great urgency!” she said.
“What’s wrong?” asked Celestia.
Luna took a moment to breath before answering. “The stars are not right,” she said gravely.
“What do you mean?”
“My stars are out of place! Something has bewitched them!” Luna said loudly.
Celestia only reaction was to blink. Her sister seem very worried. The last thing she wanted to do was to not take Luna’s anxiety lightly, but she still didn’t understand. “Maybe if you can show me,” Celestia began to say.
Before she can finish her sentence Luna grabbed her hoof, opened another portal, and took her to her balcony. Luna pointed to the direction of the sky where Elyra and the northeast stars were located so Celestia can see for herself what has been done to them. Luna informed her of what had happened when she tried to fix them.
“Never before were the stars like this,” she said.
“That is very strange,” Celestia said, although she wasn’t sure of what to make of the situation.
“Celestia, I believe we have in our midst a premonition. The stars are trying to tell us something.”
“What are they trying to tell us?” asked Celestia.
“That something terrible has happened… or will happen.”
Celestia had a grave look on her face, as did her sister. “What should we do?” she asked.
Luna didn’t say a word. Instead she opened a portal and allow themselves to enter through. They found themselves in the throne room, much to the surprise of the castle night guards. Luna cast a firm glance at Celestia, silently telling her to stand tall for them.
“Guards assemble, for we have grave news,” Luna announced. “On this night the stars have given us a sign, warning! We must of you to be ever vigilant during these trying times! Stand guard not for this throne, not for this castle, but for Equestria itself! Be the watchponies for our grand kingdom, and make sure no adversary will come our way!”
The guards responded in unison, and they took their posts on different parts of the castle. Another group of guards took to the city. Those who were pegasi took to the sky. By morning the city of Canterlot will be on full alert.
“Shall I make a protective shield for the castle?” asked Luna.
“No. Not yet,” said Celestia. “We don’t know for sure what kind of danger we’re facing.”
“All the more reason to take precaution!”
“But we don’t want to frighten our ponies,” Celestia said softly. “Or our guests, the Prince Naveen of the Deer and his family. The Cherry Blossom celebration is upon us, remember?”
“So you want to us to wait for some madpony to sneak into the castle garden to free Discord?” Luna said sharply. “How about we extend our hooves to another Changeling spy! Or better yet, some pony with a grudge who may assassinate the prince!”
“Luna, be reasonable! Until we find out what threat we’re dealing with, I don’t want you to go overboard. There will be no shield unless we both agree to put it up. Do you understand?”
Luna delivered a gaze full of bewilderment for Celestia. No words were exchanged, the essence of a quiet standoff.
“Fine, sister. Whatever you desire,” said Luna.
She teleported herself away. There was an observation deck on the top of the castle. Celestia figured she was probably going to be up there for the rest of the night. She seated herself on her throne, her hoof on the side of her head, trying to figure out their next move.
A night guard noticed how distressed she looked. “Is there anything I can do for you, Your Majesty?” he asked.
She smiled at him. “I’m fine. Although you can join your ranks in watching the castle.”
The guard bowed and marched away. Now Celestia was alone with her thoughts. She hoped the madness of Discord’s return or the terror of the Changeling invasion wouldn’t happen again. Celestia then pushed those dreaded thoughts out of her mind, and remembered that Twilight and her friends are not far away. Knowing she can count on them for anything she found a new resolve. However, she was still nervous of what new threat they will have to be up against, and if they’re prepared for it at all.
After a day of waiting, Twilight’s article about the cherry blossom festival appeared in the Ponyville newspaper. However, the front page was reserved for the news that the royal guards were stationed at every corner of Canterlot Castle. Twilight’s article was on page three, which was fine with her, until she read the news about it. On the front page was a photograph of the guards stationed at their post at the wall, and a headline printed in large black letters.
It took everyone by surprised that day, especially Twilight Sparkle. Her thoughts dwelled on the disturbing news from her hometown. Princess Celestia hadn’t so much as sent her a letter explaining why this was happening. The news troubled her greatly that not even an afternoon picnic with her friends eased the tension. A breeze settled with the ponies, which sent a chill which coursed through Twilight’s spine.
She was joined by Spike, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was performing tasks for the weather team. Pinkie Pie was supposed to be with them, but as usual she was fashionably late. The ponies and the dragon sat on a large red and white checkerboard blanket, each bring a basket of goodies with them.
Rarity decided to start a conversation to help take Twilight’s mind off of things. She began to talk about the events from the day before at the Carousel Boutique. Nopony at the picnic thought it was the least bit interesting, but it was nice of Rarity to be the first to lighten the mood. When Rarity finished it was Fluttershy’s turn. She talked about her volunteer work at the bird sanctuary, then Applejack talked about her farm work at Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight listened to them - as a good friend should do, but her mind often drifted off to what was happening in Canterlot.
“So darling, I believe that you’ve been writing for the Ponyville Gazette lately,” said Rarity. “This morning I saw your article on the paper.”
“Oh yeah… about the cherry blossom festival. On page three,” said Twilight. She seem to be in a daze. “Yeah… I worked very hard on it. I’m glad the editor liked it.”
“The parade is supposed to happen this Saturday, I think,” added Applejack. “Apple Bloom and her little friends from school is supposed to be in it.”
“Oh that will be a sight to see,” said Rarity.
“Yeah. Parades are nice,” said Twilight.
Twilight tried to put on her best smile, then a little bit of her sandwich. The rest of the ponies and Spike glanced at each other, realizing their efforts in small-talk have failed. In that moment another option presented itself.
“Twilight, if there’s something on your mind, don’t be afraid to tell us,” said Rarity.
“I don’t think --”
Rarity raised her hoof. “We are friends. Just let it out.”
“Well… all day the only thing I’ve been thinking about is Canterlot. I’m pretty sure all of you heard the news about it, right?”
“I think they’re just being extra careful about things,” said Applejack. “Since the Changelings and whatnot, anything could happen.”
“And don’t the Prince of the Deer Kingdom,” said Rarity. “Maybe the princesses believe the Castle needed extra security. There are surely madponies running about in big celebrations such as this, especially when someone of interest arrives.”
“This whole thing will blow over, you’ll see,” said Applejack.
“I hope so,” added Fluttershy.
Spike was about to add something to the conversation, but for some odd reason he thought about Pinkie Pie, mainly her Pinkie-sense. She was able to detect danger before it happens, she told them. On the day her Pinkie-sense was triggered she couldn’t figure out what was happening on that day. Then Spike finally remembered; she believed it had something to do with the festival. And now Pinkie wasn’t here. His mind was making connections to what was happening in Canterlot to Pinkie Pie. Was it possible, Spike wondered.
Another breeze came toward them, shivering as they felt chills on their skins. They raised their heads to gaze at the sky, seeing there were clouds about. Most of them were attempting to cover the sun.
“Mighty breezy for April, don’t you think?” said Applejack. “Didn’t Rainbow Dash said she was helping the weather team?”
“I’m sure they’re doing the best they can,” said Rarity. She searched for basket with her magic and wrapped a warm scarf around her. “However, you are correct. This is unusually cool weather for April.”
Although the ponies agreed that the strange weather was nothing to worry about, Spike wasn’t satisfied with their answer. Chills ran up and down his back, and it wasn’t from the breeze. He thought about Pinkie Pie some more, and he became nervous as the clouds brought momentary darkness.
They heard a loud, high-pitch voice coming from the distance. Heads turned and approaching them rapidly was Pinkie Pie. Her running was interrupted by weird body movements. Spike noticed; her Pinkie-sense hadn’t stopped, he realized.
“It’s good to see that Pinkie Pie is finally here,” Applejack said, irritably.
“Guys, I have something to tell you!” said Pinkie. She was out of breath.
“What is it?” asked Fluttershy. “Is something wrong?”
“Twilight, remember when you said my Pinkie-sense might have something to do with the cherry blossom celebration?”
“I never said that,” Twilight said.
“Well, when I woke up this morning my body began to shake. It was like… weird, you know? Then I started to hear things.”
“W-what kind of things?” Fluttershy asked nervously.
“Something like strange voices! They told me… they’re coming!” Pinkie answered in a hushed voice.
Spike gulped. “W-who are they?” he asked. He was just as nervous as Fluttershy was.
“... I don’t know. But I do know one thing - whatever is supposed to happen, it’s happening today! I just know it deep inside my gut!”
The events leading to this moment flashed through Spike’s mind, all the way from Pinkie’s Pinkie-sense, the news of the upsurge of security in Canterlot, the weird April weather to Pinkie’s warning. The wind picked up, the grey clouds blocked the sun, once again bringing darkness. He put a hand to his stomach. He felt nauseous.
“May I interject?” said Twilight. “Pinkie, don’t you think you’re probably imagining this?”
“I couldn’t have! I heard voices, Twilight! Voices!”
“I am very much concern for you,” said Twilight.
Before anypony else said anything, there was an eeriness surrounding the air. The wind continued to blow, but there was no howl or whistle. When they looked up the sun disappeared. A cluster of clouds collided and piled together. Something like the roar of a monster… or an engine, hid beneath them.
“What is going on up there?” said Applejack. She was astonish by what was happening.
Twilight and the others looked back, and to their horror saw that Pinkie twitched, shook, and bounced all at once.
“Now do you believe me?” Pinkie asked as her body reacted to the phenomenon.
In the midst of their terror they heard another voice coming from the sky. Pinkie looked up, believed for a moment it was the ones who came to her. The shouting voice had a familiar, tomboyish ring to it. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash appeared over their heads, panting like she had just flown a marathon, trying to keep herself from falling to the ground.
“Rainbow Dash, what’s wrong? Why is this happening?” asked Twilight.
“What are you guys still doing here?” Rainbow Dash shouted. “You have to leave now! It’s an emergency! Go indoors or something!”
“What kind of emergency?” asked Twilight.
“Like a high-level category… whatever emergency! Leave now!”
Then she sped off without so much as a goodbye. The ponies and Spike gave each other nervous looks. Then they gazed at Pinkie Pie, who suddenly stopped shaking and bouncing.
“You stopped. Is it over?” asked Spike.
“... No,” Pinkie answered gravely. “I think it’s just getting started.”
She pointed to the dark sky. Everyone looked, and their ability to scream was taken from them. Time seem to stop as they kept their eyes to the large black vessel that came out of the clouds. Even Pinkie Pie herself couldn’t believe what she was seeing. As for Twilight, everything she thought she knew about the world changed drastically. A chill ran up her spine as she became witness to the greatest event in history.
