Twilight.
Normally Twilight Sparkle's namesake time of the day brought her peace and comfort as she always felt at ease with the world when night and day was balanced as they were. To see the combination of Celestia's sun on the backdrop of the beginnings of Luna's night made Twilight's fears melt away. However, tonight was not a normal twilight. In fact, nothing about the day had been normal but she felt compelled to follow the course of events that the day had set out for her.
It had all started simple enough; she had gone outside of her suite at Canterlot Castle to check the mail that had been delivered to her that day. It should have been an uneventful task, and indeed for the most part it was, but one piece of mail made the trip to her mailbox a little more unusual than normal.
The plain white envelope addressed to her was unassuming enough to be sure but when opened by the purple unicorn, it revealed something far more interesting than the plain envelope. The contents of the envelope were a single white sheet of paper with cryptic text that sent Twilight's analytical mind reeling as well as a train ticket. The message was simple enough. The piece of paper merely said:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Your presence is requested at the Iselin Mansion at Cady Island on the fifth of November of this year. There is a most urgent matter which requires your presence to resolve. I cannot and will not say more as I do not want this letter to give away more than I need to, but I implore you to believe me when I say that this is a matter which must be dealt with with the utmost caution and secrecy. Everything depends on you. Encased in this envelope is one train ticket to Cady Island. You will board the train leaving at 3 o'clock on the dot. Pack light as most things you need will be provided for you once you reach the mansion. I trust you will not let me down.
I bid thee good evening and a safe journey.
Twilight sighed as she put the letter down once more. It didn't matter how many times she read it, she could not discern any new meaning or indeed any hint of what she was needed for at Cady Island.
Twilight returned the letter to her saddlebag and stared out the train window, looking admiringly at the twilight that was slowly giving way to Luna's darkness. She began to feel a tad tired as she watched the sun set and she began to think that she should try to get some sleep. However, it being November, the sun was setting at 7:00 so it was still quite a while before her normal bedtime. Still, the train ride had left her curiously drained of her energy, despite the fact that she had spent the past five hours merely sitting in the same spot.
She stretched out with a small yawn as she scanned the train compartment she currently occupied. It was a rather large compartment, large enough to house at least sixty ponies on a busy day. At the moment though, it housed only ten ponies, herself included. She had been trying to work up the energy and the drive to go chat with one of her fellow passengers as she was curious as to why they were on the train with her. Based on the train schedule she had glanced at upon boarding, the last stop on its route was the station adjacent to Cady Island. Were these other nine ponies headed in that direction as well?
Feeling that she had nothing better to do, she stood up and walked over to the passenger nearest to her, a light cerulean Pegasus pony with a vivid rainbow mane and tail.
"Hello," she said in a tone as friendly as she could manage. The pony snapped out of her blank expression and returned Twilight's smile.
"'Sup," she said.
"I was just sitting in my seat and I realized that I was traveling with nine other ponies so I didn't need to sit alone bored out of my mind. Do you mind if I sit down?" The Pegasus shrugged.
"Go right ahead," she said. Twilight smiled and sat in the seat opposite the Pegasus.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle," said Twilight with an extended hoof.
"Rainbow Dash," said the Pegasus, shaking Twilight's hoof.
"Rainbow Dash," repeated Twilight. "I must say the name fits you." Rainbow Dash smirked.
"Yeah, it's always suited me better than most names."
"So, Rainbow Dash, what brings you out here if you don't mind me asking," questioned Twilight. Rainbow Dash sighed and opened up a saddlebag that was placed on the seat next to her.
"I don't mind you asking," she said as she leafed through the contents of the bag. "It's really nothing too interesting I guess. You see, I got this letter telling me to come to Iselin Mansion along with a ticket for this train so here I am." Twilight's eyes widened.
"Wait, you got one of those too?" she asked. Rainbow paused for a moment before she looked up at Twilight.
"You got one?" she asked. Twilight nodded.
"Just last week I got a letter in my mailbox telling me to come on this train to Iselin Mansion." Rainbow frowned and began leafing through her saddlebag once more before pulling out a sheet of paper.
"Did your letter look like this?" she asked, handing the note to Twilight. Twilight scanned the note for a brief moment before nodding and handing it back to Rainbow Dash.
"It's word-for-word what I got except mine has my name at the top." Rainbow Dash frowned.
"So we're headed to the same place then," she said. Twilight nodded.
"It seems that way," she said. Before Rainbow could respond, a cerise Earth Pony with a trio of smiling flowers as a cutie mark nervously walked up to them.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation but I couldn't help but overhear you two saying something about a mysterious letter you received about a week or so ago."
"Yeah, why did you get one too?" asked Twilight. The mare nodded.
"Yes and based on your conversation it is exactly like the both of yours," said the mare. Twilight frowned at the news and scanned the rest of the compartment.
"Do you think that the rest of them got the same letter too?" she asked. Rainbow Dash and the mare copied Twilight's scan.
"I dunno," said Rainbow. "Should we ask them?" Twilight nodded.
"The only other stop for this train is Cady Island. If the rest of them are on the train then they have to be going there the same as us and if they are it's a good bet they all got letters too." Twilight stood up from her seat. "I'm going to go ask them about it." The mare and Rainbow Dash gave nods of agreement and Twilight loudly cleared her throat. The other occupants of the car turned around and looked at the source of the intruding noise.
"Uh, I'm sorry to bother all of you but I've been talking with these two ponies here and we discovered that we three are all on this train because we received the same letter telling us to be here. I was wondering if any of you got a letter too."
"Ah did," said an orange more with a heavy southern accent to Twilight's left. "It told me and my sister here that we needed to come to Cady Island tonight so that's why we're here."
"I received one as well," said a white mare with a purple mane.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie also received such a letter," said a light blue mare.
"So did everypony here get one?" asked Twilight. The occupants all nodded. "Okay, that brings up the question of 'why'. Do any of you know anything about why we've all been summoned to Cady Island tonight?"
"Nnope," said a large red stallion.
"I do hope that our presence will be explained when we reach the island," said the white mare. "I wouldn't have come at all if the letter wasn't so urgent."
"Okay then," said Twilight. "If I had to guess whoever invited us will be at Iselin Mansion when we arrive in five minutes. In the meantime why don't we go around and say our names? If we're all going to the mansion then we'd best know who each other are."
"Agreed," said the white mare. "My name is Rarity and I'm a dress designer in Canterlot."
"My name is Cheerilee," said the cerise mare. "I used to be an elementary school teacher but I'm currently unemployed.
"My name is The Great and Powerful Trixie!" said the light blue mare. "I am the greatest traveling performer in pony history!" Twilight roller her eyes at the mare but she moved on.
"The name's Applejack," said the orange mare. "And this here's my kid sister Apple Bloom."
"Howdy do," said Apple Bloom with a wave.
"I'm Rainbow Dash."
"Big Macintosh," said the stallion.
"Um...I'm Fluttershy," said a yellow Pegasus who seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible.
"And my name is Pinkie Pie!" said a pink mare in the most high pitched voice that Twilight had ever heard.
"Wonderful, my name is Twilight Sparkle," said Twilight. "So now that we know each other’s names...now what?"
The car was silent for a few moments while everypony pondered the question.
"Well, I think now we just wait to arrive at Iselin Mansion," said Cheerilee. "Unless of course anypony here knows what's going on."
"Can't say that I do," said Applejack. "I'm just as curious as y'all are to be honest."
"Well I don't suppose it matters too much," said Twilight. "We're pulling into the station right now."
The ten ponies all looked out the windows closest to them and discovered that they had indeed reached their destination.
With a hiss of steam the train pulled to an abrupt halt at the station. The ten uneasy passengers each returned to their seats and began gathering up their luggage. Twilight fired up her horn and used her magic to open up the overhead compartment where she had stored her simple saddlebag filled with some school supplies. Even now she wanted to keep up with her schoolwork.
She turned around to see Cheerilee standing behind her with a saddlebag of her own slung over her shoulder.
"Does anything about this seem...off to you?" asked Cheerilee.
"Well yes," said Twilight with a nod as she adjusted her saddlebag on her back. "I mean, it isn't exactly the most normal thing ever for ten random ponies to receive letters telling them to come to Iselin Mansion. I mean, hasn't that place been abandoned for a few years now?" Cheerilee nodded and the two began to walk out of the train.
"Something like that," she said. "But I'm even talking about beyond that." Twilight shot Cheerilee a quizzical look.
"What do you mean?" asked Twilight. Cheerilee sighed and shook her head.
"I guess it's nothing important," she said. "I may just be being delusional."
"But--" However Cheerilee had already exited the train. Twilight frowned and hopped onto the platform herself. Silently the ten ponies filed towards the looming figure that was Iselin Mansion. The walk was a quiet one, mostly everypony kept to themselves. The only noises were the occasional whispers between Applejack and Apple Bloom and the sproinging noise that Pinkie Pie made whenever she bounced forward.
Twilight's feeling of unease steadily increased as the group neared the mansion. In its prime the mansion would have undoubtedly been a thing of great splendor. It was a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Its foreboding large windows dominated the front of the house and the way that they were positioned almost made the house appear to have a face staring down at them as they approached. The spires on the roof seemed to reach up to Celestia's heavens and the house was painted in a dark gray color that made the whole thing more off putting. As the group crossed a rickety bridge, Twilight got a good look at the grounds of the mansion. The mansion took up most of the tiny island but the grounds themselves were something to be admired as well. To Twilight's surprise, the grounds were very well kept. The grass was neatly trimmed and a healthy shade of green while the hedges that made up the path were neatly trimmed as well. In fact, the grounds reminded Twilight of Celestia's own, minus the animals. The whole island was devoid of life save for the group that was now walking towards the massive oak front doors.
Twilight took the lead and used her magic to slam the hard metal knockers on the door to signal whoever was inside that their guests had arrived. To the surprise of the ten, the front doors opened by themselves to reveal an ornate, but empty, front room.
"H...Hello?" said Twilight. She turned back to the group with a confused look but clearly none of them knew what was going on either. With a shrug, Twilight walked inside and once the group saw that she was safe, they followed.
Twilight led the group through the front door where she saw a note on a table in front of her. Curious, she used her magic to bring it closer to her and she unfolded it and read it aloud.
My dear friends, I am so glad that you could all make it. To your right is a door that reveals a hallway that leads to the main dining room. I am sure that you all must be very hungry so feel free to eat as much as you like. Afterwards, you may go up to your rooms to settle in. However, it is imperative that you do not take too long to settle in as I am sure that you will not want to miss our meeting in the sitting room. All will be made clear there. Enjoy your meal and have a good evening. I shall see you soon.
Twilight glanced towards the door to the right and the group uneasily began walking towards it. Rarity used her magic to open the door for everypony else and one by one they filed through towards the dining room. When they reached it, they saw a gigantic table, easily large enough to seat all ten of them, packed with all kinds of delicacies. It was a feast fit for Princess Celestia herself and the group was rather eager to dig in. Twilight circled the table and saw that a placecard indicated where she should sit. A note on her plate directed her towards her room.
"Well everypony, I suppose we should dig in then," said Rarity. The group gave approving nods and they began eating.
* * * *
Twilight, full from the delicious meal, put her saddlebag down on her bed. Her room was just as ornate as the rest of the house. There was a giant four poster canopy bed in the middle of the room with a plush mattress, likely stuffed with clouds, and a clean feather pillow. There was a large dresser against the opposite wall and a door next to that led to Twilight's own private bathroom which had a gigantic bathtub inside that would rival Celestia's own in terms of sheer size. She didn't know what she needed with such accommodations but boy was she grateful for them. This may just turn out to be a relaxing weekend.
Speaking of that, she remembered that she had somewhere to be. Promising herself to come back and test out that bathtub the moment she was free, she exited her room and went towards the sitting room in question.
When she arrived, she found that she was the last pony there. All of the others were inside already. Twilight scanned the room for any hint of their host but instead, all she found was a long table with nine notes on it. She frowned and looked around at the others.
"Has anypony shown up yet?" she asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"We just came here and there were these notes on the table here. A note taped to the front said we had to wait until everypony was here before we read them." Twilight frowned and looked around at the group.
"Well, we're all here so...so I guess we might as well just read the notes. I'm sure it's nothing bad."
"Maybe it's an invitation to another party!" said Pinkie Pie excitedly.
"Trixie thinks that idea is incredibly foolish," said the blue mare snootily. Twilight rolled her eyes and passed out the notes to the ponies they were addressed to before unfolding her own.
Slowly her eyes scanned the contents of the note.
As she read the note, all joy and happiness was sucked from her face. Her eyes, which had previously held traces of her perpetual smile, expanded to reflect her horror at what she was reading. With each line the smile receded more and more only to be replaced by a look of sheer horror.
"Oh no," she whispered.
At that moment, Rarity let out an ear-piercing shriek, causing Twilight to snap out of her own horror and look up at the rest of the group. Each one of them was reading their own note and each one had a look of sheer horror on their faces. Rarity's note was on the floor and Rarity herself had backed into a corner and was looking at the note like it was a poisonous snake, tears flowing form her eyes.
The other eight ponies merely stared in horror at their notes, each not believing what they were reading but unable to deny the evidence in front of them. Twilight looked down at her own note and gulped.
"Uh...can I have everypony's attention?" She said weakly. The other nine ponies looked up at her with fear etched into every pore of their bodies. "I...I take it that none of your notes were...good."
"Nnope," whispered Big Macintosh.
"T...Trixie doesn't feel that s...she deserves this," said Trixie.
"What did yours say?" asked Pinkie Pie. "If your guys' are anything like mine, then I want to know just what kind of ponies I'm with tonight."
"I agree," said Rarity. "As much as I don't want to, we should read our notes aloud. I...I'll go first." Rarity gingerly used her magic to bring her note over to her and she unfolded it and cleared her throat.
Rarity, I have brought you to this island tonight so you may stand trial for your crimes against ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the murders of your best friends for the purpose of making them into dresses. You willingly betrayed their trust before you destroyed them and that is beyond horrible to me. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
Rarity looked up with tear filled eyes.
"I didn't do it," she whispered.
"That's not important right now," said Twilight. "What's important is what is being said. We have to keep reading."
The others nodded and the readings continued.
Cheerilee, I have brought you to this island tonight so that you may stand trial for your crimes against Ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the graphic murders of your entire elementary school class during the performance of the school play 'Reginald the Sly.' You thought them weeds so you snuffed them out and I cannot abide that kind of evil. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
Fluttershy, I have brought you to this island tonight so that you may stand trial for your crimes against Ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the kidnapping of one of your friends for the purpose of force feeding her regression formula so that you could perform the duties of a 'mother' to her. When she outlived her usefulness, you took her into your shed and cut her up with a chainsaw. You are a disgrace to pony kind. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
Big Macintosh, I have brought you to this island tonight so that you may stand trial for your crimes against Ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the sexual assault and graphic murders of your younger sister and her two best friends as well as your other younger sister. You are not a pony in my eyes, you are a monster. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
Rainbow Dash, I have brought you to this island tonight so that you may stand trial for your crimes against Ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the murder of your best friend with a large knife in her place of employment. Your guilt then caused you to become a prominent member in the Rainbow Factory where they performed illegal experiments on ponies under your direct supervision and encouragement. You disgust me. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
Trixie, I have brought you to this island tonight so that you may stand trial for your crimes against Ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the kidnapping, sexual assault, and murders of three innocent fillies as revenge for perceived slights at the hooves of their sisters. You manipulated their child-like innocence before you showed them the true dark side of ponies. You are the lowest form of pony. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
Apple Bloom, I have brought you to this island tonight so that you may stand trial for your crimes against Ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the murders of several classmates for the purpose of getting your cutie mark as well as influencing two friends to do the same. No cutie mark is worth that. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
Twilight Sparkle, I have brought you to this island tonight so that you may stand trial for your crimes against Ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the murders and psychological torture of your best friends for the sake of scientific experiments. You abused the ponies who loved you the most. You sicken me. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
Pinkie Pie, I have brought you to this island tonight so that you may stand trial for your crimes against Ponydom. I hereby accuse you of the murders of no less than two dozen ponies including your best friend for the purpose of baking them into cupcakes. Your joy and devotion to your sick craft makes you one of the most evil beings in existence. Do not expect to survive the weekend. May Celestia have mercy on your soul.
After the nine notes were read, the ten ponies looked around at each other, hardly daring to say a word.
