Chapter 1 - A Long-Expected "Before-the-Party"
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Chapter 1 - A Long-Expected "Before-the-Party"
When it was announced that there was to be a party to celebrate Princess Twilight Sparkle's 22th birthday, you could expect that it was to be a party of special magnificence, even though it wasn't technically the actually her birthday yet. Pinkie Pie, the resident party planner, insisted that they throw a preview birthday party, so that they were psyched for the actual thing.
So, without arguing with the pony who made sense only to herself, and with no small fanfare, the residents of Ponyville began preparing for the "Before-the-Actual-Party" birthday party of the Princess of Friendship.
The Castle of Friendship, prehaps one of the most dominating buildings in all Ponyville, was hustling with activity on the inside. Everywhere there was castle, there were ponies preparing the rooms for the arrival its resident Princess.
It was lucky that the Princesses had managed to call away Twilight on important business, so that they could decorate the castle and it's grounds for the special event.
On the inside, ponies were hustling and bustling about setting up with their allotted tasks according to their talents. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were in the kitchen helping other baker ponies in creating a variety of sweet treats and desserts for the party. There were plates filled to brim with warm cookies, baked to golden brown perfection and oozing with melty chocolate chips. There were pies laden with fruits of all kinds: apple, strawberry, blueberry, succulent peach, rich key limes, sweet apricot, fig, quince, and many others. Ice creams and gelatos of many flavors were brought to go with the dominating dish of the entire festivity: Pinkie Pie's signature cake, Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, or as it was called, 'the MMMMadness." The kitchen was soon wafting with the pleasant smells of baking sweets.
There were also many apple dishes (courtesy of the Apple Family) from apple crisps, candy apples, Apple fries, apple tarts, apple fritters, and apple brown betty's, all to washed down with a few kegs of Apple cider they had brought. There was a fresh batch of zap apple jam to go with everything.
While the kitchen occupied the sense of smell, the main hall was taking care of satisfying the sense of hearing. The walls rang to the sound of Fluttershy's troupe of birds as they practiced their vocals to sing the birthday song, while a group of musicians led by Octavia Melody occupied themselves with practicing some jovial birthday songs for the dance. Even though it was called a party, it was really a variety of entertainments rolled into one event.
While all this took place, a group pegasi and unicorns, led by Rarity, Starlight Glimmer, and several others, set up decorations and tidied up the castle's rooms and halls. Ribbons hung from the crystalline, tree-like columns, which had been well polished to give it some extra shine (Rarity was always one to give her best when it came to making something fabulous). Pinkie, for her part, had set up a large banner in the Cutie Map room. It hung on the chandelier above the circular crystal table that had acted as the guide to many of the Six's adventures. The banner had been made of canvas and had been painted with multicolored letters ("Happy Birthday Twilight Sparkle!") and sprinkled with glitter.
The outdoors got as much of a makeover as the inside. Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt and Equestria's fastest flyer, was leading weather teams to provide clear skies for the occasion. Not so much as a single rain cloud would blemish the sky, Dash had seen to that, and she had done her job well.
There was at least one volunteer in the castle who was helping to gather Twilight's presents as they arrived on the doorstep, and he wasn't a pony. A large gamboge furred feline, about a head taller than the other ponies and wearing a red coat, was lugging in presents on a push cart, unloading them in the map room before going to get the rest. His furred face was damp with sweat, and he was breathing heavily.
"There!" He said as he unloaded the last wrapped package. He wiped sweat from his brow and walked over to the map table, leaning on the armrest of Applejack's chair.
Across from him, seated in Fluttershy's seat, was a unicorn with a dark orchid coat, aquamarine eyes, and a dark pink mane with lighter edges. She wore a black leather aviator jacket with two stripes of dark orchid on each sleeve, matching her fur color. She was holding a list out in front of her, a pen in her mouth, and a sheath of envelopes to her left. Her appearance was not unusual here, given that she, too, was helping prepare. The things that were unusual about her, though, were two things: the long scar across her left eye, and the fact that her horn was broken at the tip, leaving a jagged break.
It gave her an almost warlike appearance that contrasted oddly with her calm demeanor, as she carried out her task.
"Complaining much, Capper?"
The unicorn, addressing the cat, looked up from her work. She spat out the pen, which had muffled her question.
Capper gave her a sharp look, still leaning on the arm of the chair. "Not really, Tempest. Why'd you ask?"
The unicorn chuckled with amusement, shaking her head. "Come on, Caps. You and I both know that you're a terrible liar, remember? I didn't believe one second that Twilight and her friends were on Black Skull Island."
Capper scratched the back of his left ear, groaning. "Well, you would be saying the same thing if you had to carry all those heavy boxes around! I had to take twelve trips total before I was done. I was even surprised that there were many acquaintances and friends."
With a little flamboyant exaggeration, he collapsed into the seat.
"...I'm pooped," he sighed.
Tempest smiled and shook her head, still chuckling as she picked up the pen again and checked off another item on the list. When it had been announced that the ponies of Ponyville were going to be having a party for it's resident princess, Tempest, who was currently living under the Castle's roof, and Capper, coming all the way from his new home in Canterlot, had been given the tasks for handling the presents sent head of time and checking off the number of guests that would be arriving.
Capper at least had comfort in knowing he didn't have to a job that involved a horn. Tempest mostly picked the latter task because if their positions been reversed, her horn - which had led her down a path of ambition and villainy, had caused her to hurt millions of individuals, and gave her the guts to join one of the loudest, angriest, and craziest villain in the history of Equestria - would've destroyed the pile of presents that had been meant for her teacher and friend in a magnificent blast of light and fire.
She was still trying to keep her magic from getting out of control, hence the lack of magical use.
Capper looked up from resting place to eye her task with both interest and curiosity. "What're you doing?"
Tempest checked off the last item on the list before spitting out the pen, where it landed in the middle of the crystalline table with a clunk. "Checking off the number of guests for the party that are coming and those that aren't," she said casually.
Capper snorted in amusement. "Who wouldn't come? I swear, the minute the country heard that there a birthday party for Equestria's Number One Princess, the whole place was in an uproar since this morning." He shifted to lie on his left side before continuing. "Even the hippogriffs and seaponies were sending presents here." He smiled. "I wasn't surprised to find that Skystar sent the most."
Tempest smiled back. "Let me guess...seashells?"
Capper laughed at the memory. Skystar, princess of the seaponies/hippogriffs, daughter of Queen Novo, and resident of both Aquestria and Mt. Aris, was well known for her love of shells, and the many crafts she did with them. The former citizen of Kludgeton and con artist had few of them himself in his new home at Canterlot since he had moved there.
Even if she made everything out of nothing but shells, they helped to lighten up the day with the memory of the enthusiastic and bubbly sea pony.
The smile on his face faded a little. "It's too bad she can't come."
Tempest nodded, then rolled up the list. "Well, I need to go inform Pinkie Pie of the number of guests we're about to get." Clenching the list in her teeth, she got out of the seat and headed toward the door. "Wish me luck."
She left, closing the door with her magic...though it came out with more force than she actually needed, and the frosted green crystal of the door shattered, leaving an empty door frame. Tempest peered in the room and gave sheepish grin at the slightly amused Capper.
"Sorry..."
The world passed by Twilight Sparkle as the Friendship Express chugged along the tracks to Ponyville. But the beauty of the scenery was lost on the Princess of Friendship as she sat tired, grumpy, and in much need of more pleasant company.
Delegates of Abyssinia asking for the return of their riches taken by the Storm King...Griffons and Dragons disputing over border lines...the deer of Everfree asking for expansion of their borders...Oh, why was I stuck with this twaddle!? I may be the Princess of making and keeping friendships, but this is ridiculous!
With the Storm King's defeat last summer, other nations outside Equestria, praising the ponies as saviors (particularly Twilight and her band of friends, the Elements of Harmony) for stopping him, had been sending ambassadors to Celestia, Luna, and Cadance in Canterlot for the last few weeks. Some had asked for the return of their riches taken by the King in his conquests, others for support in rebuilding their nations.
In short, things had been stressful.
She looked it, too. Her lavender eyes were slightly bloodshot with sleepiness and had dark circles under them. Her mane and tail, deep indigo with streaks of pink and plum, were frazzeled, giving her the look of wildpony. Even her voice had suffered, scratchy and hoarse with having called many arguing delegates to order.
Now, after weeks of debates, treaties, meetings, and pestering royals, she was on her way to home, hearth, and maybe a warm shower. It would help to take her mind off all that was happening, and all that was yet to come.
For now, however, she pried herself away from the window to look over the list of tasks she needed to do over the week. She was soon so wrapped up in her list that she almost didn't hear a familiar voice.
"Twilight, you want something to eat?"
She looked up, tired eyes resting on a small purple dragon with green, rounded spikes that gave him the look of a small baby dinosaur. His greengage eyes looked into hers with childish innocence, seemingly unaware of her predicament. Though given the fact that he had lived with her his whole life, Spike being unaware of his caretaker's troubles was highly unusual. Nothing ever escaped his eyes, even if it wasn't too noticeable.
She smiled, a weary attempt to at least look cheerful. "No thank you, Spike, but thanks all the same."
He looked at her with a rather critical eye. "You sure?"
She nodded, returning to her list. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just need to look over a few things before we get home, and I'll be alright. We can get something when we get back to the castle."
Spike stared hard at her, unconvinced. "Are you really sure about that?"
She tried to maintain her smile, which was now looking less confident than a few minutes ago. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Why do ask?"
"Because your face tells me that you're going to have an aneurysm and a nervous breakdown at the same time," Spike deadpanned.
At those words, Twilight sighed, face and pointed ears downcast. Despite her trying, she could hide nothing from Spike, and having lived with her for years under her care had allowed him to read her like a book. She rolled up her parchment list and placed it her saddle bag. "You noticed?"
He nodded, the critical look leaving his face, replaced with sympathy and concern for the alicorn. "C'mon, Twilight. What's wrong?"
She sighed again, then lifted her head to look at her ward. "Oh, I'm just worried, I guess. Meeting all these rulers and delegates, trying to solve the problems they've had, listening to their praise for our role in stopping the Storm King..." She groaned in frustration, throwing her hooves in the air. "It's just too much!"
She finally lay her face in her hooves, mostly in defeat. "I don't know how much longer I'm gonna last. I can't take it anymore."
Spike only watched for a few minutes in surprise at her outburst, then smiled. Always Twilight, he thought, shaking his head. Even after our little adventure in the mirror world, she still has anxiety over being a princess. Not to mention the daily frustrations of her role. He chuckled inwardly. Well, you have to take the good with the bad, I guess.
The foal-sized dragon pushed himself off his seat and walked across to Twilight's. He grabbed the edge of the seat and pulled himself up so that he was sitting next to his caretaker. He placed a claw on her shoulder. "Aw, don't worry, Twilight. You'll get through it, I know it! Let's just stop worrying about what going to happen soon and focus on now, OK? Let's just head home and see where the next few you have off takes us."
Twilight looked from her hooves at the baby dragon she had raised since her entrance exam, and smiled. She pulled him in for a hug. "You're right, Spike. Thanks for cheering me up."
He smirked, and a mischievous look passed on his face. "Where would you be without me, your number one assistant? I have to do everything, you know."
The train car rang with the sound of merry laughter at the dragon's little joke.
Sleep.
That was all her life had been. Sleep. And dark. And cold.
When those filthy sub-creatures imprisoned her, they thought that had been the end of the matter, a millennia and 12 years ago. She could've laughed aloud; what fools they had been! They thought they could imprision her, she of ungodly terror! But even though there was no such thing as stopping fear, she only found (to her dismay) that it could halted and hindered, bound and chained, like she was.
Again and again she had tried to loosen or break the bonds of her dark blanket of stone. But try as she might, she was pushed back by the ancient enchantments that held her three other sisters in place. It tightened it's hold on her as she tried once more, and fought back the drowsiness that threatened to wash over her again. She knew it would try to push her down again, and succeed.
And as the darkness closed over her again, she thought one thought that kept her going, that kept her from giving up hope that she and her sisters would rise again, as they had before. It was a word that kept her fire for revenge hot and smoldering.
Soon...
Twilight's friends didn't greet her at the station.
In fact, nopony was there at all. The train station was entirely abandoned.
Which might've not have been a bad thing, since ponies don't usually go on the train unless they were going somewhere far away. It was just the realization, as Spike and Twilight stood there on the station platform, that there was no noise within a 17 foot radius to be heard.
Spike looked around him as he held Twilight's suitcases in his arms (she had only packed two, and filled with "light" reading) a look of confusion spread across his face. "Do you think it's some sort of pony holiday?"
"Well, no that I -" Twilight started, before shooting him a glare. "Oh, don't start that again."
Spike shrugged. "Worth a shot."
Twilight sighed, then looked around again. "But you are right about that, Spike. Where is everypony?"
Spike shrugged again, but didn't say anything. As they stood on the platform, Spike tried to listen for the possibility that the reason for them not hearing anything was the possibility that there was an event taking place in a certain part of town that they didn't hear about or missed entirely, or that everyone was having a stay-in day and wasn't doing anything today. But he heard nothing, save for the occasional breeze or the train whistling as it left, chugging down the track toward it's next destination.
Ironic, really, he thought. And dragons are supposed to have good hearing.
Twilight, however, was not one to give up hope that something strange had happened to Ponyville that she didn't know about. "Well..." she said, trying not to let her concern show too much. "The whole town can't be completely abandoned, so maybe everypony is just taking a day off. Maybe we can stop to see our friends, see how they're doing."
Spike nodded, starting after Twilight as they walked toward town. It seemed like a sensible solution, simple though it was, and it seemed like the best idea.
Besides, the suitcases were heavy.
When they had tried to imprision her, she had fought, and fought hard.
She hated the thought of being confined, of being chained and set on a leash like a filthy domestic animal. She had thrashed and shrieked and howled and raged, raged, raged. But they won, in the end, they had won. But still she fought, for she was a being full of hate for them and their filthy race. They were mere beasts with intelligence, and deserved to die. So she had raged against her bonds until they had decided to place more powerful enchantments on her prison until finally she had wasted the last of her strength.
But she would still fight it, even if it won over her again and again. She didn't care. Her rage fueled her, and that was her fire that burned away all her doubts.
Soon, she mused. I will be free. We will all be free. And when that time comes, they will see what it means to feel the rage of a superior being. The last of that filthy race will perish beneath my strength, and all will know what it's like to feel death.
And though she could not move in her blanket of stone, she smiled inwardly.
Well, that was a bust. Twilight thought glumly.
So far, Sweet Apple Acres, Carousal Boutique, and the cloudiminium where Rainbow Dash lived yielded up nothing. Sugar Cube Corner had no customers, or it's resident ponies, which was strange for even Pinkie Pie lived. Their last stop, Fluttershy's cottage, which lay in the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, was their only hope. But when they had knocked on the door, the only one that answered was Angel, Fluttershy's pet bunny, who had waddled out a bloated stomach, half-groggy, and was carrying half of an eaten carrot.
"Oh! Hi, Angel." Twilight tried hard not to show her concern, and was surprised to find Fluttershy's most demanding of animals answering the door. "Hey, have you seen Fluttershy anywhere? I really need to talk to her right now."
Angel, who had trouble supporting his full belly, groan and leaned on the door frame like a drunk freshly out of a bar before shaking his head.
Twilight face drooped a little with disappointment.
"Ok," she said glumly, poorly hiding her disappointment. "Well, thanks for telling us."
She and Spike turned the hill, walking toward Ponyville. Angel watched them go for a few minutes, then stumbled back into the cottage to sleep off his bloated stomach.
It was none of his business.
Unlike the rest of her sister's, she was the only one who was keeping a cool head about all this.
She hated being imprisoned, that much was the truth about her, and she certainly hated being in a prison of hard stone, where there was little to eat or drink, and you had to stand in the same position for eons on end, which led to the stiffness of muscles and the awful feeling of starvation.
But what kept her calm and on the island of sanity was the entertainment of new ideas that pulsed through her head. She was the both the cleverest and the smartest of the Four, and that made her the leader. They had all agreed unanimously on her having the title, and that satisfied her well, because when the time was right, she would shed her considerate demeanor and rightfully take what was hers.
Because something was awakening. Something that had been set in motion since her imprisionment, as if a great story was being written before her, and they were finally reaching the climax.
It was something she had not felt since...when? An eon or two?
She dismissed the problem, deciding to worry about it when the time came. Thier time would come, when they would shed their fetters and be re-birthed from the earth; a quartet of bastard children heaved from the laboring womb of a great mega beast, to be unleashed upon the world.
That was prehaps the most entertaining thought of all.
When it came to her magic , Tempest carried a handicap that was not typically common, but not impossible, and one that was had been a problem for her since the Ursa Minor broke off the tip of her horn.
Before she had been welcomed into the Castle of Friendship as a resident, Tempest wasn't always the nicest of ponies. Her handicap and the loss of her friends had caused her enough emotional pain that she had set out on a personal quest to find a way to get her horn back. She had done fair bit of traveling for some number of years until she reached marehood, when she met one who said he could restore her horn if she promised to serve him. She had accepted the Stom King's proposal on the spot, never once thinking of the consequences, or that he never intended to fulfill her desires.
At least, she thought bitterly. He got what was coming to him.
Luckily, Twilight was understanding in every way. She and her friends had accepted her on the spot after the Storm King's stony form lay in pieces on the castle courtyard. They didn't mind that her flares of power had a vicious bite to them, or that it had the possibility of lashing out at the wrong time when her emotions were at their strongest. Twilight even told her that her horn, though broken, reflected the power of the unicorn who had it.
Despite this, however, there were still some drawbacks to having a broken horn, such as it's power to do more harm than help.
Luckily, Twilight had developed a solution.
Placing the scroll of parchment that list those who were coming, Tempest reached her hoof into the pocket of the leather jacket she wore (it was a gift from Rarity - she had said the black color would go well with her coat) until she felt a hard nub of metal. She lifted her hoof to find a ring, roughly the size of a small waffer and made of iron. She lifted it to her broken horn and slid it over the fracture so that it slid down to the horn's base.
With this task complete, her horn charged with aquamarine magic and a humming sound. Aiming at the scroll she had dropped earlier, she levitated it with ease, spinning it a few times to practice her control. She smiled, making a mental note to thank Twilight later.
She proceeded to the hall to find Pinkie Pie and give her the news.
It was long since she had smelled blood, particularly that of ponies. In fact, it had been eons since she smelt anything of nutritional value.
Before imprisonment, she was considered the most dangerous of her sisters, savage and blood-hungry. She loved blood.
She practically worshiped it, believing it to be a drink of the gods. Hence, she was the pioneer of gory blood magic, and her practices were adopted by dark mages, witches, sorceresses, and other practitioners of the black arts.
Then, her imprisonment. And she was craving for the rich red liquid that she lusted after, for centuries now.
She knew who had been responsible for torment, and she knew they still lived. And when she got out, she would kill them first and drain them dry. Then all Equestria would be trampled beneath her.
For you can never stop a savage, and her hunger.
"Oooooooh, boy! This is more exciting than a triple fudge sundae with chocolate sauce on top! This will the biggest-est party in the history of parties! Oh, I hope we have enough cake for everyone!"
In the great library of the castle, excited squealing could be heard as Pinkie Pie, an Earth Pony with a hot pink coat and a poofy mane and tail of brilliant raspberry (Capper often thought it resembled a wig of cotton candy) was reviewing the list Tempest bought, and was practically hopping even as she read the list. It wasn't much of a surprise to her five other friends, who had assembled in the library with her. Anything that had to do with parties - no, anything in general - could bring out great peals of laughter from her.
Rarity, a snow white unicorn with a curled purple mane, stood next to Pinkie, her sootily lashed eyes widening with amazement as she read. The list was indeed long, and almost all of Equestria had been invited to come, but Tempest had assured them that there were more ("This is only the first page!").
It was going to be quite a festivity, that was for sure.
Applejack, an Earth Pony with an orange coat and a golden blond tail and mane tied with a red band, read over the list with Rarity, eyes widening in surprise as she got lower down in the list. "Pinkie, Ah know ya wanted to have a big party and everythin', but ah don't remember asking ya to invite the entire Apple Family. Now how in the hayseed did ya learn which Apple was which?"
Pinkie stopped her excited hopping and looked at Applejack straight in the eye. Her smile had vanished, replaced with a rather serious look.
"Applejack," she said, her voice so calm and serious, it made Applejack a little nervous. "When it comes to being an Apple..." She got in the farmpony's face so that their noses were touching "...You have to learn every member of the family if your planning a party."
Applejack leaned back, smiling nervously. "Okay, then. Ah'll take yer word for it."
Pinkie smile returned and, after a short pat on the cowpony's head, went back to bouncing around the room.
Fluttershy, a pegasus with a butter-yellow coat and a light pink, naturally curled mane, read the list, her teal eyes wavering with fear. "Oh, m-my..." she stammered, her voice soft with her casual shyness. "That's a l-lot of ponies..."
"Yupper-loki!" Pinkie piped up, blissfully unaware of Fluttershy's look. "There are probably thousands coming!"
Fluttershy began quaking. "T-T-h-housands?"
"Yeah, maybe even millions!"
Now the pegasus was quaking harder, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks. Rarity watched with concern, looking at Applejack for advice. The farmpony just shook her head at the unicorn. Pinkie had a tendency to get carried away with her words, and it was always best to put an end to it.
"Alright, alright," she said, stepping in before the party pony went too far. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Sure, this place is probably goin' to be filled more than a tree filled with vampire fruits bats at Applebuck season..."
At this, Fluttershy squeaked and hid beneath her mane.
"But," Applejack continued. "There isn't goin' to be so many that we can't get a hoofstep through the castle." Her face turned pensive. "But Fluttershy's right, Pinkie. How in the name of the great green world are we gonna fit everyone in here?"
Pinkie stopped hopping, giving the cowpony a sly look. "Don't worry, cuz. I got it all planned out in such a way it will make your head spin." It was her turn to look thoughtful. "Though how you're head could spin at all, I can't imagine. You would need to have an elastic neck in order -"
It was Tempest - who had been sitting in one of the library's armchairs - that saved them from Pinkie's tirade. "We should have more than enough food to keep everyone happy. I sent Grubber to keep tabs on the amount of baked goods and treats we have."
Applejack's lips curved a little at the edges. "Ya sure about that, sugarcube? Ya sure he won't try to pig out on the pies?
Tempest was about to reply when the door opened with a bang, causing a few books on the shelves to shift. The ponies turned to see a short, hedgehog-like creature standing in the doorway. He had dark grayish coat mixed with cobalt blue, his hair was spiked, colored whitish gray with some darker shades of gray. His eyes were a brilliant opal, and he had two pies in each hand, one of them half-eaten, also evidenced by the strawberry sauce on his face and his stuffed cheeks.
"Eh, 'empest!" he said through a mouthful of pie, his lisp muffled. "Id oo try duh 'raw-erry pie? Abs-lootly 'lightful! An' duh car-mel apples? Eh-er tasted oh uch car-mel in my 'ife! Not oo meh-tin duh - "
Grubber stopped his chewing and talking, brow furrowed in confusion. "Wah choo ookin' ah?"
There was only silence from the girls and Tempest as they stared at Grubber, agog at his appearence and his entrance, mouths open and eyes wide. Then there was a noise like a pig snorting, which quickly turned into a giggle, and transitioned into peals of rather joyous laughter. The ponies turned their heads to see Tempest laughing - no, chortling - so hard tears fell down her face. It was contagious; the girls followed suite. Pinkie rolled on the rug, great peals of wild laughter mingling with the giggles of Fluttershy. Applejack's whooping guffaws rang the loudest of them all, leaning against on the bookshelf as Rarity chortled so hard she actually teared up.
Grubber looked at them, still standing in the doorway, more confused than before, and even a little cross.
"Wah'd oo -" He realized his mouth was still full of food and swallowed. "What are you laughing at? What the spikes do you find so funny?"
Tempest tempered her laughter to a snickering and managed to get out, "N-n-no, Grubber. It's just that - that - AH-HA-HA!" She doubled over in laughter again, unable to help herself.
Grubber just shrugged, deciding it didn't concern him, and went back to stuffing his face.
Rarity, still giggling, wiped away a tear before speaking, "All levity aside, darling, how much food do have?"
Grubber, noticing he was being addressed, swallowed and wiped his lips before answering, "To sum it up, we have enough to save for leftovers tomorrow. There's enough food for everypony!"
"That is, if someone doesn't try to stuff himself," Tempest murmured.
Applejack mouth twitched at the corners for a brief second before turning serious. "Speakin' of which, has anypony seen -"
Suddenly Pinkie leapt upward, her tail twitching madly as her Pinkie Sense activated. "INCOMING!"
Out of nowhere, a prismatic blur shot through the window and crashed in the bookshelf on the opposite wall. The girls, Tempest, and Grubber only managed to get out of the way just in time.
The dust cleared, and everyone got to their hooves to see what caused the commotion.
Lying on the floor and rubbing her head was a pegasus pony with messy rainbow hair and a cyan blue coat. There was a slight lump on her head from colliding with the shelf. A pile of fallen book lay around her, knocked from their assorted places where Twilight had sorted them.
Applejack scowled, not at the pegasus, who was still moaning and rubbing at the lump. "Cosarn it, Rainbow! Ya didn't need to come speedin' and make a mess of everythin'."
The blue pony in question looked at the farmpony with pained, rose-colored eyes. "Sorry, about that Applejack," she said in her raspy voice. "But I was doing a last minute check on the weather, and I found Twilight. She's on her way!"
Rarity's eyes widened. "Where is she, darling?"
Rainbow shot up in the air, hovering above them. "She just left Fluttershy's house."
Pinkie gasped and ran out the door. Her voice carried into the library. "Code red! Code red! Party pony incoming, everypony! Stop everything! PLAAACEEES!"
Applejack and the girls left the library, Grubber waddling behind. The pies laid forgotten on the floor, uneaten.
Author's Note
This is book one of a series I'm planning out. These stories will not (in most cases) reveal friendship lessons, but will depict the trials of good vs. evil, and how friendship can stop even the most powerful evils. Expect some action, adventure, and high flying fun throughout the entire story.
Chapter 2 - Celebrations and Revivals
Ponyville had been home for as long as Twilight could remember since coming here. True, it was not as glamourous (or had big libraries, aside from her castle) as her former home of Canterlot, but it was home. It was where she made friends, faced powerful enemies, where she laughed, cried, and made memories of both good and bad. It was a place to call her own. These were the ponies she ruled with a just and fair hoof, without a thought of hurting the townsfolk.
Though, if that were possible, there were no townsfolk to hurt. They had simply vanished, without a word of warning.
And that confused Twilight more than anything.
Last she checked before she left Ponyville for Canterlot, everypony was occupying the streets and buildings, doing their usual merry business, going about their everday task.
Now, they were simply...gone. There were no stallions, mares, or even one giggling filly or colt playing tag through the street. Only the birds flying through the air was the only thing that was noise.
As she and Spike walked the deserted streets, Twilight ran through her head the myriad of possibilities that could explain everything. Had Tempest decided to practice magic without her ring and had a hole in space opened over Ponyville so that everyone had gotten sucked into? Did some kind of magical villian use magic to bring everypony to his dark castle for some purpose? Did -
Twilight mentally shook herself. All those possibilities were just plain ridiculous. Tempest wouldn't lose her ring if she knew how bad her magic could get, and there were no villians as of yet that would try to take Ponyville's ponies.
Not yet, anyway.
"Twilight?"
She looked doward toward Spike. "Yeah, Spike?"
"Where do you think everypony went?"
Twilight shrugged. "To be honest, I have no idea." She looked up to find that they had arrived at their destination: a large, towering structure, made to look like a castle standing in the branches of a large, blueish-white crystal tree. Standing atop the highest conical roof of the central tower was a starburst made of the same color crystal as the tree, to reflect it's main occupant.
Twilight exhaled. Home sweet home, at last.
She continued where she left off. "But I do know is that we need to look for them, and that mean I have to find a spell that could give us a helping hoof."
They climbed the front steps to the platform, pushing open the door to find...
...dark.
Twilght stepped into what was supposed to be the foyer, though it was a bit hard to tell where in the foyer. The dark was so thick that it looked like not even a flashlight could pierce it. Twilight felt more confused than ever now. She didn't remember drawing the curtains, though she never left on the lights while she was gone, so this level of dark was now entirely new.
She heard shuffling behind her, indicating that Spike had walked beside her.
"Don't remember it ever being this dark," he said, if a little critically. Twilight heard something scraping of the walls: Spike's claws. "Now where the heck is the li-"
"SURPRISE!"
Immediatly the darkness faded from all existence and both dragon and Alicorn lept backward in fright, eyes bugging out at the tremendous shout, like the roar of an almighty beast, that scared them out of their wits. Twilight had fallen on her back, but she was up instantly, charging her horn and ready to attack whatever had decided to reveal itself...
...only to be greet by her Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Starlight Glimmer, her entire family, and all of Ponyville. All were wearing party hats of many different kinds, and all were wearing big grins on their faces (Pinkie's was the biggest of all).
Twilight just stood, dumbfounded. Her horn had powered down till there was not even a sparkle on it, but still she remained motionless.
The group just stood there, feeling akward, and now their smiles began to vanish, ending with Pinkie, whose smile was still plastered on her face.
Twilight broke the silence. "Wha....?"
Pinkie giggled. "That's not what you say, silly. Whenever someone surprises you on your birthday party, you're supposed to be surprised as well.
Applejack cocked her head to one side, her party hat shifting slightly. "You alright, Twi? Ya seem a little...off."
Twilight shook herself, coming back to reality with a hard wumph. She was mortified to feel a silvery line of spit on her left face, a product of her open-mouthed shock.
"N-no, I'm fine," she said, a little shakily. "Did you say, 'birthday party'?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie chirped.
"But my birthday is on June 20th. Today's the 5th, only two weeks away."
Pinkie giggled again, eyes shining. "Yeah, but I reaaallly wanted to throw you a party anyway, and I was getting too excited, so "Happy 'Before-the-Actual' birthday party, Twi!"
She turned toward the other Ponyvillians behind her, and cried out to everyone, "Alright, everypony! LET"S GET THIS PARTY STARTED. Eeeee! Bring out the gem party bites for the Spikester!"
Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, annd the rest melded into the crowd. Spike had gotten over his shock the minute he heard that gems were on the menu, making a beeline for the buffet table as he vanished under a myriad of pony legs.
Only Rarity held back to grab Twilight by the hoof, the young alicorn still reeling a little. Rarity voiced her concern. Are you alright, dear? You seem a little...odd."
Twilight looked at her, confusion defined on her face. "Before-the-Actual...?"
Rarity smiled, amused. "Believe me, Darling, I stopped asking."
Luckily, however, Twilight's confusion was quelled once the party was in full swing. More guests began to arrive as the day wore on, and there didn't seem to be an end to it all. Pinkie Pie definately made sure that there were enough guests to call it "The Greatest Party Ever." Never in history had so many ponys from all over Equestria been invited.
Aside from those in Ponyville, Spitfire and a few of her fellow Wonderbolts had managed to make it (which earned a bit of quiet fangirl squealing from Rainbow), and came promising an airshow for the birthday party. Bulk Biceps, the town's resident bodybuilder, had come blundering in, apologizing for being unable to find a birthday present, though Twilight had simply said "don't mention it," cheering him up before he went off to the banquet table. Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail, whom Twilight and Rainbow helped in the past, gave Twilight a pat on the sholder (compliments of Sky), and a nearly crushing hug (Vapor's compliment).
Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's graduated student and friend, personally invited a particular foursome from her old village: Night Glider, a moderate azure pegasus, Party Favor, a cyan gray unicorn, Double Diamond, a white earth pony, and Sugar Belle, a pale cerise unicorn. Each of them were happy to see the birthday mare who had aided them in the past (though Sugar had soon run off to find Big Mac, whom she hadn't seen in a while).
There were a few Canterlot ponies there as well, but given the fact that there were few who appriciated or acknowledged Ponyville and it's citizens, there is very little need for names.
Given the fact that all Ponyvillians were invited to the party, there were also a few fillies and colt running around. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow had brought their siblings, the Cutie Mark Crusaders - Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom - to the festivities, and they, in turn (despite the complaints of their elders), invited a whole host of school mates to come, with rather epic results.
Let's just say it was a lot harder to get to the buffet table than before.
And just when it seemed the arrivals had finally slowed down to a lull, a wave of out-of-town invites suddenly dropped by; old friends from other parts of Equestria where ponies were few and other species were well known. There was Gilda and Gabby from Griffinstone, the former coming to meet up with her old friend Dash, while the latter coming to see her fellow Crusaders, giving plenty of crushing bearhugs to everyone. There was King Thorax and Dragon Lord Ember, who came to wish the Princess well, while Prince Ruthford came in bellowing happy tidings to everyone, giving off quite a merry mood, though many made sure to give his impressive bulk a few inches of room.
All in all, it was truly a night to remember. So much space had been taken up inside the castle that they had to move much of the party outside.
Twilight had never felt so happy in her life. All of her friends, those both far and near, had all come to wish her happiness. She should've felt overwhelmed, prehaps a little, but the joy overrode any feelings of being crowded. She shook a hoof here, gave a "thanks for coming" there, and gave everyone an equal amount of chatter.
By now, the celebrations had dwindled well into the evening as Celestia's sun sank into the hills beyond Ponyville. Twilight and her friends were out on the castle's balcony, chewing on some grilled sugarcane and scoops of chocolate ice cream while the inside rang to amible chatter and talk. Most of the party outside was dancing to a jaunty, merry tune that the muscians played.
Twilight sighed happily, a big smile on her face as her head rested on the crystal railing. She had eaten, talked, and now she could have some alone time with her friends. To her right, Applejack was chatting with Rainbow Dash (something about how to properly buck a football to fly to greater heights) while they sipped mugs of Applejack's cider. Fluttershy and Rarity were to her left talking about the finer points of crochet, while she could hear Pinkie behind her, dancing a jig to the music.
Finally after a moment of silence, she spoke, her voice reflecting the relaxation she was feeling, a result from the stress of the past few weeks. "Ah, it feels good to not have to hear the hubub of foreign dignitaries..."
Her voice caught the attention of her friends, who stopped what they were doing to listen to Twilight's words.
"...or the constant, overwhelming verbal thank-you notes from the same."
The friends looked at each other as she spoke. Though Twilight had already made it obvious with her words, they could tell that she needed to get something off her chest.
"What's wrong, Twi?" Applejack inquired.
Twilight looked back at her cowpony friend, then sighed again, though with less happiness. Friends will be there through your problems no matter what, and it wasn't right to keep it from her best friends in the world.
Especially if that pony was the Element of Honesty, so a lie was almost impossible.
"Well," she started. "Since we defeated the Storm King, everypony has been giving me constant thanks about it, with no sign of stopping."
Rainbow and Rarity looked at each other before looking at Twilight. Rainbow spoke for the both of them. "What's so wrong with that?"
For the third time that evening, Twilight sighed, but this time with frustration. "Ugh, I just wish it would stop! Everywhere I go in Canterlot, 'Thanks for stopping 'ol Stormy.' In the library, always a thank you note of some sort. I mean, I can't even go to the bathroom without being bombarded without a bunch of crazy ponies trying say 'congratulations!'"
Breathing heavily, the wind almost knocked out of her, she looked towards her friends. They were leaning away form, looking at her like she was a bomb ready to explode.
She lowered her head, ears drooping. "Sorry. It's just....It's been a long few weeks."
The others looked at one another, unsure of what to do, for they had only faced the same problem only a few months ago when they had published their friendship journal. That had been one and only time when even Rarity and Rainbow Dash found popularity to be one thing they could live without. Of course, the incident had blown off a few weeks after that, but it left a rather strange mark on them. Sometimes, they learned, fame isn't everything.
Still, they stood there in akward silence, unsure of what to do, or what to say.
"Yer right, Twilight."
Everyone looked up. Applejack, the one who spoke, walked over to Twilight, who looked at her friend in surprise and confusion.
"W-what?" The alicorn stammered.
Applejack smiled a warm, friendly smile. "Ah said yer right, Twi. Yer as right as rain on cloudy day in April."
Twilight's ears drooped and she turned back to staring down off the balcony. Rarity whispered to Fluttershy, "Oh, I hope this isn't what I think it's going to be." Pinkie looked aghast at the cowgirl, and Rainbow said, in a tone of utter appalment, "Oh, come on , Applejack! I know you're the Element of Honesty, but that's a little harsh, even for me."
Applejack gave the others a glare before turning back to Twilight. "But what Ah was going to say was that if ponies and others are givin' ya a hard time about it, we're right behind ya. We've been through this before."
Then Applejack grinned sheepishly. "And to be honest, we've been gettin' the same sort of, er....treatment."
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Your telling me. I barely managed to get a few minutes of chillaxing yesterday before the mailpony dropped a sack of my fanmail on my head." Her smile dropped a little. "At least I don't have fans storming me while I'm going to to the bathroom, because that is so not cool."
"Well," Fluttershy said. "At least it's mail than ponies. I'm more comfortable with opening letters than, um...other ponies."
"I completely understand what you mean, darling," Rarity piped up. "At least we won't have to deal with fans who keep trying to say things that would smudge your good name. Remember when we published our friendship journal?"
There was an uncomfortable silence at the mention of that incident. They remembered too well. Even Pinkie had fallen silent at the memory of how everypony laughed at every word she said, Rarity clammed up at the thought of her "Stress-sowing," and Applejack bit her lip as she recalled the "Sweet Apple Acres Invasion." That was one time they did not want to recount again.
The silence didn't last, though. Pinkie was suddenly bouncing and cheerful again, and she hopped right onto Twilight smiling in her face and startling her. "But you've got us, so stop worrying! And just remember that we can handle it together."
Pinkie got off Twilight, and the Alicorn managed to compose herself. She smiled and said, "Thank, girls. I really appreciate that."
Pinkie let out a squee. "Group hug!"
The ponies all clambored together in one great embrace, nuzzling each other as they gripped each other in their hooves. Twilight let out a sigh of contentment, happy that today, after so many days of hardship and frustration, things were looking up, and that today was truly the best day ever.
The peaceful moment ended when Pinkie broke from the hug and cried as she skipped back to the door, calling behind her shoulder, "Now, let's get our cutie booties out of this glummy-glum business and get back inside! We have a party to celebrate!"
Laughing, the other five followed the excitable pink pony, happy to be together after so much trouble.
Miles away in the west, across the Great Luna Sea, far from the great rivers and flatlands, a single, solitary stone fortress, ruined beyond it's years, stood in the darkest part of a great woodland. It wasn't much, and didn't draw much attention to wanderers who traveled the forest paths, but there was an air of....unease that surrounded it.
It was not the crumbling ruin that drew this feeling, oh no; the structure wasn't built for the purpose of intimidation, but for protection. The feeling was coming more from the inside, festering silently like a parasite bound within the body, waiting silently for the body to make a fatal mistake that could put the victim in critical condition. The power that radiated from it would have the power to kill a whole land.
The pony or traveler who passed by would at least be reassured that this...thing was sleeping.
More specifically, it was awake, but resting. Even more specically than that, it was waiting. It was weak now, but it was waiting, waiting for...something. Something that could change it's fortune around so that it could gain the power it needed, so it could be active in the world once more.
Once, long ago, it had a name. Now, in it's weakened state, it could barely remember what it was. Time and time again it pondered, but came up with only half-images and jumbled recallings of another time. It was their fault, the Ones who imprisioned him. They stripped him of his memories and all his names from him so that he would not remember the full power of his strength.
Once again, it tried, straining against the confines of it memory and-
Nothing.
Just as well. When one is reduced in power, even the mind tends to get ravanged by the same magics. But it would wait. It's time would come. It was only a matter of time before those of the land outside and beyond made one fatal mistake that could change everything, and it was willing to be patient.
After all, it had no memories of having a bad temper.
Even further away, in a land long broken, something else was sleeping and waiting, dreaming dark dreams of death and suffering.
The party itself was good, but prehaps the best part of all was "present time."
Even in her younger years, before she joined the Storm King and ravenged lands by his side, Tempest Shadow (known then by the name "Fizzlepop Berrytwist," Which was not she really liked even in her youth) could not forget the joy and suspense of opening a present. She could remember the (tragically few) birthday parties and Hearthswarmings where she would jiggle around the boxes and try to guess what was inside.
That, in her opinion, was the true meaning of the present, not just the thought that counts. Guessing what was inside was like a mystery that no detective needed to solve.
For the moment, however, Tempest watched from the back as her friend got into the same spirit as she tore the wrappings open on a square-shaped present with her magic. She had already plowed through the pile, and was now on her second-to-last present now. She pulled off the lid, opening the box to find a -
"A wastebasket!" She cried.
Looking over the heads of the other party guests, Tempest could see that it was, indeed, a wastebasket, and the decorative design of it also looked familiar. The cylinder cup was twisted in some way that it seemed to resemble a segment of a large conical shell. The rim and bottom of the basket was decorated in smaller shells. Tempest couldn't help but smile, already hazarding a guess as to who it was from.
"Who's it from?" Fluttershy asked, though the smirk on her face told that she could guess too.
Twilight lifted the tag attached and read, " 'Something creative and beautiful to throw you're trash away in. With love, Skystar.' "
A few of the party guests laughed, including Twilight's friends. Capper's smile only widened greatly, and Tempest couldn't help but chuckle herself. It had been a year since the day the Six had gone to Mt. Aris and now that the seaponies/hippogriffs were making themselves known in the wide world, everybody in Equestria was trying to get to know them a lot better, including the energetic and peppy Princess Skystar.
Her shell projects were also becoming well known, too. She had a thing going now.
Twilight put the wastebasket next the pile of presents that now towered well above her. Most were books, as it was known that Equestria's youngest princess had a deep love of reading, but there was a good scattering of various other items from Twilight's "haul" (to quote Pinkie).
Applejack was certainly impressed by the size of it. "Hoowee! That lump of presents is larger than a pile of apples gathered after Applebuck season."
"Well," Twilight replied, smiling. "I don't care how many presents I've gotten. All the hard work you girls put into this party alone is enough to make me happy."
She wrapped her hooves around her friends and clasped them in a tight hug, a smiles on all their faces. Pinkie smile was perhaps the biggest of them all, definitely a sign that the party was a huge success.
Pinkie finally broke from the hug, the smile still plastered on her face, and she proceeded to hop up and down like a rubber ball on caffeine. "Now open that last presenteroo, birthday girl! Then it's our present from your's truly, and then it's Cake Tiiiiimme!"
Indeed, looking through and between the sea of heads, Tempest could see that there was one more present that Twilight hadn't opened: a small box the size of a brownie, wrapped in ebony paper and tied poorly with deep pink ribbon in front of Twilight's crossed back legs. A card was held down by the ribbon.
Tempest's smile from the wastebasket reveal fell, and her stomach did a plummeting flip-flop the minute she laid eyes of the small package, and immediately she wished she could shrink herself down to size despite her magic. Her ears drooped, her stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies, and her heart was hammering so hard it felt like it was going to rip through her jacket.
She knew what was coming, but she braced herself well.
Twilight untied the ribbon and read the card...then re-read it...the re-read it again, her face scrunched in confusion, which rapidly turned to surprise. Her friends noted this, their faces frowning in confusion.
Applejack was the first to speak up. "What is it, Twi? Somethin' wrong?"
Twilight shook her head from her reverie and said, in a somewhat dazed, out-of-it way, "...Huh? Oh, it's nothing wrong."
Rarity nudged her with a hoof. "Well, then, tell us who it's from then, darling."
"Yeah," Pinkie chimed. "Show us who this awesome gifty-giftster is!"
"Well, uh.."
"Oh, come on, egghead, tell us who it is!" Rainbow Dash shouted, impatient.
Twilight gave a glare at the rainbow - maned Pegasus before turning her attention to the card. She spoke the next few words hesitantly, unsure of the reaction they would bring, or the ponies around her would say, but she knew it had to be said.
"'...To best friend and mentor of friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle.'"
The girls smiled at each other, then back to Twilight, relief clear on their faces."
"There, now, darling," Rarity piped up. "That wasn't that -"
"'From Tempest Shadow.'" Twilight finished.
Immediately, the smiles vanished, replaced by by looks that Twilight knew would most likely reflect what she was feeling. Everyone else in the room turned their heads in the direction of where a certain dark pink unicorn mare should be sitting.
But Tempest Shadow was no longer there.
"Well, that was...awkward." Rainbow Dash said hesitantly.
The evening had dwindled into nighttime, and outside the stars and dark skies of Luna's night was contrasted only by the lights of homes and streetlamps in Ponyville. The ponies and other creatures who attended the party had filed outside to see the stars after the gifts were unwrapped and the MMMadness cake was distributed out and eaten. Twilight had been glad. After the little fiasco at "present time," the reminder that Tempest Shadow was the same mare that (nearly) conquered Equestria, had enslaved or imprisoned every pony in the name of her master, the Storm King, and had nearly led to the destruction of Canterlot had left a bad taste in the mood.
After all, not everyone had accepted Tempest Shadow as one of them. Nor did many find that Tempest was living in the same castle with Ponyville's resident Princess of Friendship acceptable, though many agreed (with much grumbling). After all, no one was willing to stand up to the Princess.
Now, on the balcony of the Castle of Friendship, the six ponies were reflecting on that. There had been something of an awkward silence before Dash had broken it, and her words summed up everything that they had been thinking.
Applejack spoke up, albeit hesitantly, "That was...uh..."
"The absolutly worst possible thing EVER!" Pinkie piped up, a scandleous look etched in the features of her pink face.
Rarity grimaced. "It was pretty awful, wasn't it?"
Twilight, who had been resting her head on the balcony rail for the whole time, turned towards her friends. "I'm not too surprised."
They all turned toward their princess friend, their expressions ranging from surprise at her answer, to confusion and a need for clarification. Pinkie, who was one of the latter, cocked her head to one side and uttwered, "Huh?"
Twilight took a deep breath before answering, "I mean, given with what's happened last year, I'm just not terribly surprised that ponies are still regarding Tempest...that way." She paused. "The only thing that really surprised me is that it's been for this long."
They nodded and gave an "mmmm-hmm" of agreement. Twilight returned to looking down the balcony at the partying ponies, and the akward silece fell in again.
Rainbow Dash, who had been hovering over the group the whole time, was eager to change the subject. "Hey, we didn't give you our present yet! Hang tight, I'll be right back!" She sped off before Twilight could question further.
Twilight stared at the space where Rainbow had hovered only a few minutes ago, then shook her head, deciding not to question further. She turned to look at her friends again.
"Well, then," she said. "While we're waiting for her, why don't we go find Tempest? She may need our support."
The night air outside was mercifully cool after a long summer's day. The ponies who had come outside to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the castle found it a pleasant change, now that all their hard work was finished. Outside the ponies of Ponyville (along with a few others) had moved some of the banquet tables outside to finish eating the rest of the confections, while a few empty ones served the purpose of game table, where ponies had set up checkers, chess, Dragon Pit, and various other games. Others had taken fold-up chairs with them to look out at the glinting stars above.
Tempest didn't take part in any of it.
Not that they wanted her anyway. Whenever she approached a crowded table, maybe to voice a friendly greeting or something, silence reigned and the ponies would give her various looks ranging from a little fearful to anger and silent hatred.
Tempest didn't mind it. She did, she reflected on an unused chair away from the crowd, invade Canterlot, enslave an city full of ponies, helped the Storm King steal the magic of the princesses, atop many other things, all for the one thing she selfishly wanted so much: her horn.
A horn, she learned, that would never be restored.
She sighed, rubbing the broken appendage with it's horn ring, and felt a pang of guilt wash over her again. She lowered her hoof and looked up again at the sky, admiring the tapestry of the night's princess, an inky lake of dark blue, dotted only with constellations of pale stars.
"Enjoying yourself?"
So focused on the sky was Tempest that she did not notice the presence of Twilight and her friends behind, and she jumped a little, startled so much that her horn actually sparked a little, tanging the air with the slight smell of magical ozone. She calmed, however, when she who it was, and her horn died with a hiss.
"Huh?" Tempest uttered.
The six of them relaxed. Satisfied that Tempest's "dampener" ring had done it's job, Twilight approached again. "I said, are you enjoying the party?"
Tempest nodded, her face solemn, betraying her emotions.
"I'm...fine."
Twilight frowned skeptically. "No, you aren't. I've spent a lot of time around my friends to know that look, and as Princess of Friendship, it's my job to understand ponies in order to make or save friendships. That face tells me that your in bad mood about something."
The princess stepped forward and placed a hoof on the shoulder of her former enemy, and Tempest stiffened a little at the touch. Friendship, along with all it's facets that made it comforting, was something she was still getting used to.
"So, I need to know..."
Tempest got out of the chair and turned around to face Twilight, and looked into her eyes, Tempest's opal meeting the warm amethyst of the Princess.
"....What's wrong?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie shoved past Twilight and got uncomfortably close to Tempest's face, nearly making the dark orchid unicorn fall over. "Brighten up, Fizzy! Whatever's making that frown stay down, we'll find a way to turn it around to a smile!" She stopped, eyes widening, then grabbed the pony of her attention by the cheeks, bringing her eye-to-eye, and said in a low, dangerous voice, "It's not the party, is it?"
Tempest managed to wriggle out of the Earth Pony's grip and stutter out, "N-No, Pinkie, the party's fine. And please, just Tempest will do."
Satisfied, the upbeat smile returned to Pinkie's face, and she leapt back with her friends.
Relieved that the party pony was out of her face, Tempest sighed in a way that was both moody and sad at the same time. There was no way to hide all of it from them, and it would be good to get the weight off her shoulders. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell her friend and landlady everything-
"Hey, lookie up there!"
-when Pinkie Pie's voice cut right through it, and every pony looked up, even Tempest. Forgetting what she had meant to tell Twilight, Tempest saw why every pony's attention was turned toward the ink-blue heavens: A set of six smoking streaks flying over the Friendship Castle and the heads of every pony below. As they zipped by, She gained a slight glimpse of sky blue uniforms with jagged, pale yellow streaks across the chest. Tempest had seen them only a few times, but she knew well who they were.
The Wonderbolts. Equestria's greatest sky stunt team, and sometimes air force. And flying point was a Pegasus with a mane of unruly multicolored hair.
Tempest smiled, though it faded briefly with a glance toward Twilight, who was watching the Wonderbolts with the same awe and wonder that was probably on the face of every other creature. She thought, for a brief moment, interrupting Twilight's attention, to pick up where their conversation had left off, maybe tell her how she felt...
Oh, what the hay.
Tempest inwardly shook her head, and with a smile, returned her gaze to the heavens where the Wonderbolts were starting their show.
Some things are worth putting on hold.
Rainbow Dash was in heaven. The crowds down below were cheering as she flew through the air, the wind whipping her mane and whistling in her ears. She was flying point as Spitfire and Soarin flew on either side of her, making her the absolute center of attention as she performed the many aerial stunts that she had planned to display for her best friend's birthday.
It was awesome.
The show had gone on for a whole of 48 minutes, during which Rainbow had run through her head the various stunts that she herself had personally planned out just for the party (with Spitfire's help, of course), all the while keeping tabs on how the crowd reacted to each. That was what Rainbow had always done it during an air show, though mostly it was to remind herself how awesome she was. Applejack, though, had always stated that the Pegasus only did it to "add more stretch marks to her ego."
They had finished up their second-to-last part of their display, which involved using a rainbow-colored smoke to write in fancy-schmancy writing:
Happy Birthday, Twilight!
Rainbow made mental note to herself to thank Rarity for teaching her how to write in that "calagriffic" or whatever it was called. It had been her idea to write it like that.
Rainbow hovered in the air to survey her handiwork, listening to the loud cheer of friends and fellow ponies alike. With a huge grin, she began flapping her wings and shot towards the sky.
Now, for the finishing touch!
She sped upward, quickly reaching her goal as the crowd, predicting the Pegasus's next move, began chanting in one collective voice that could even be heard even above the wind.
"Rainboom, Rainboom, Rainboom!"
Rainbow's confidence and joy swelled as she climbed higher and the chant kept on, her heart beating rapidly in time with the chant as she climbed higher, higher, higher, until she reached her desired altitude, and, after sparing a moment to admire the height, she sped downward, gathering speed as the air began to funnel around her, charging with electricity and filling the air around the Pegasus with the tang of ozone.
Faster, faster, faster....
There was a sense of....deadness.
The frigid cave air, the quiet stillness, the stench of a corpse that was rotting: everywhere there was the sense of the tomb. The perfect feel for such a place that held something unsettling and unnatural.
Just as it was supposed to be.
It was no more than a cave, craggy and with a curved ceiling, long and dark as a demon’s eyes. And it certainly wasn’t a singlular, long tunnel, but was a network of them, branching and digging into the earth like the trails left behind by worms or coiling roots, and they led into many chambers that served many different goals and purposes. But only one was the absolute center of attention for this place, a large circular chamber connected by only three arching tunnels at triangular points.
It wasn’t much of a looker for a chamber, to anyone who did catch a glimpse of it. It was just smooth, curving walls with little else to decorate it, with each side a circumference of 25 yards, (roughly) and a ceiling of a 27 yard height. Though that didn’t mean it was completely bare, though: on each side of the doorways were rusty torch sconces, long devoid of their torches, taken by unknown hands. The wall had been carved with strange runes that looked like they were from a language long extinct. And in the center of the room was what appeared to be some kind of circle, strangely decorative, with smaller circles at cardinal points on the edge.
But what was in the center of those circles was the most interesting feature.
The world held it’s breath, waiting. Outside the places of civilization, far from ponykind, in the forests, mountains, and caves, all was strangely quiet, as if everything knew what exactly was coming.
Then, in certain somewhere, there was loud boom of a noise, a flash of light, and then a spreading wave of rainbow and white light spread across the sky, bringing with it a rush of wind that sent birds tumbling from trees, windmills spinning thrice normal speed, and leaves ripped from their green and verdant youth on their allotted trees. The wave spread a cross the air, bathing the world in an aura of multicolored glory.
It didn't stop there, though. It kept going, never dissipating, reaching other lands beyond, waking sleepy villages and great cities in a flurry of light and noise, only falling asleep when they were sure it wasn't an attack.
They were eggs, of sorts.
Within the four circles were four pine-cone like shapes, made of a hard substance that had an uncanny resemblance to obsidian and covered in spines composed of the same stuff. Though, to be honest, when one saw them, they would’ve said they all the more resembled stones then eggs.
But eggs they were, for if one pressed their ear against the cold surface without cutting themselves, they would’ve heard a sound that would’ve made them break out in shivers. An audible thumping sound like the beat of a drum.
It was the sound of a heartbeat, steady and slow, but a sign of life.
And when the rumble came, a rumble unlike any other, the way it seemed to reach into the very core of planet and throw it out of balance, the beat increased in rapidity, shaking whatever was in those black eggs into wakefulness.
Then cracks, thin but shining with white light, began spreading across the surfaces like the glowing webs of spiders, giving off a rather faint humming sound. Their light grew more and more intense as it spread, the noise increasing volume as well...
Then there was a loud crack, a flash-flood of light, a scream so primal that it could only have come from the abyss itself...
Then, silence. Total, absolute silence.
Author's Note
In all honesty, I have to say that the scene listing the guests that came is perhaps the one I am most proud of.
