The Little Mermare

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE HASN’T SHOWN UP?!” Sunburst yelled! The orange crab was currently rehearsing with Queen Celestia’s daughter’s for the upcoming concert they’d be holding in their mother’s honor. Or at least, he was rehearsing with SIX of her daughters. (The eldest of all the Queen’s children and the only son, Shining Armor, watched from afar.) Her seventh and youngest daughter was a no-show. This wasn’t a surprise, the filly had a tendency of being late and sometimes nearly missing rehearsal. This was the first time she’d been absent ENTIRELY and Sunburst was nearly at the end of his rope. Moondancer, the eldest of the daughter’s, looked to the crab.

“She just hasn’t shown up. We’ve had Cadence on lookout, but she hasn’t seen hair nor tail of Twilight. She hasn’t even seen Spike either,” the yellow mermare said.

Sunburst sighed, smacking his claw to his face and dragging it down. This filly was going to be the death of him, he just knew it.

“We need Twilight here! She has the big solo number at the end! It’s extremely important!” Sunburst said, exasperated.

“Sunburst is right, girls. How do you think Mother will react if Twilight isn’t here for the performance?” Octavia, the third youngest, asked. Sunburst squeaked with fright at the thought. There was a reason Celestia was known as ‘Queen of the Sun’ as her fury could often match the heat of the yellow star. If there was one thing Sunburst DID NOT want, it was to be fried alive. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he turned to the six girls.

“Okay. Do any of you have ANY idea where your sister might be?” Sunburst asked, trying to keep his tone even and not crack. But the daughter’s shook their heads. The only one who would know would be their Aunt Luna and she was currently meeting with their mother. “Alright. Okay. We can fix this. Your sister always has a tendency of being...very late, so we’ll just continue on with the rehearsal and hopefully, Galaxia willing, Twilight will come back before we’re done,” Sunburst said.

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Sunburst was exhausted. Surprisingly, Twilight HAD made it to the rehearsal (with only an hour to go, but she still showed up) and had performed her solo flawlessly, not before being given a scolding by the crab. The young mermare had apologized profusely, (she’d gotten caught up in a book she’d found in the castle library and had lost track of time) and gave her word that she would be there for the performance.

Sunburst was momentarily reassured, but something was nagging him. This concert was to honor Celestia, and Twilight was being given the most important part. If Twilight missed her solo, it would not only reflect badly on her mother, but the whole kingdom. Suffice it to say, it was all hinging on Twilight. No pressure, or anything.

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Things seemed...off. It was the first time in a while that Twilight hadn’t been consistently tardy, Sunburst noticed. She’d shown up to rehearsal on time, she’d done her solo perfectly, she’d even helped some of her sisters with their harmonies. Now, while Sunburst was not one to look a gift squid in the mouth, the normalcy of Twilight’s tardiness made these recent arrivals disconcerting to the crab.
But Shining Armor reassured him that while Twilight may be late a lot of times, she’d never miss a concert as important as the one coming up. She’d be there right on time, the white mer-stallion had said. It was with those words that Sunburst let his nerves go. Shining Armor vouched for Twilight, so that was all he needed.

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The day of the performance had finally come and Sunburst was less nervous than usual. Celestia and Luna had already made it to the concert hall to the sounds of applause from the audience and now, the royal announcer was calling him!

“And now, introducing the royal composer and advisor to her royal majesty, Queen Celestia, I give you our conductor, Sunburst!” The crab was greeted by..less applause than the two royal sisters, and where they had received fanfare, he’d received...a kazoo. But it didn’t deter him. He was high up in the royal family, but the Queen and her sister deserved the fanfare. Sunburst was fine with the kazoo. At least it was in tune.

Taking his place at the music podium, Sunburst tapped his baton and then, with a flourish, began the concert. With voices ringing, Celestia’s daughters ran through their beautiful melody, harmonizing here and there, with nary a break nor pitchy voice to be heard. It seemed as if this was going to work, as the sister’s began to hype up Twilight’s solo. Sunburst smiled. This was it!

As the music reached a crescendo and the voices slowed down, the shell where Twilight was stationed rose and opened up to reveal....nothing. It was empty. Completely empty. Gasps ran out from the sister’s to Sunburst, Luna, and the audience. But Queen Celestia had a different reaction. Her eyes beginning to blaze, and her horn beginning to glow, the Sun Queen bellowed through the hall, sending her daughter’s, Sunburst and the audience fleeing the Queen’s wrath. Luna was the only one left, having to eventually calm her sister down. But Celestia’s yell reverberated from the halls of Canterlot, to the depths and beyond.

“TWILIGHT!!!!”