Twilight and Pinkie were playing poker in their train car, and Twilight was winning. "So, Pinkie," she asked the pink mare, "how do you think this year's festival's going to be?"

"Exciting, duh," Pinkie said. "It always is, or at least has been since the Empire returned."

"Yeah, I guess so. What about you, Author."

If I said, there'd be spoilers.

"Yeah, no spoilers, please," Pinkie said.

Of course.

"Honestly, writers can be annoying sometimes," Twilight said, though I didn't care, as she was right.

"What about you, Spike? How do you think it's gonna turn out?"

"For me? Probably going to be boring, just like the last few times."

"Well, we can't have that," Pinkie said. "I'll make sure you have a fun time this year." A large grin was on her face.

"You don't need to do that, Pinkie. I'll be alright."

"You sure, Spike," Twilight asked, looking up from her cards.

"I'm sure, Twi. Celestia knows the crystal ponies won't leave me alone. I've really gotten tired of the hero worship. Don't they have a princess or something to worship?"

Twilight and Pinkie giggled. "Guess not," Twilight said, "seeing as how they still worship you, even when you only saved them, what, twice?"

"Oh, ha, ha, guys. I'm serious. I know I practically fed off it during the first year or two, but I've out grown it. So should they. The adults, anyway."

"Okay, you have a point there, Spike," Pinkie said.

"Pinkie, since when are you logical," Twilight said asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Since last month for some reason," the pink mare replied. "I kinda like it, actually," she said, puling a pair of glasses out from her mane and putting them on. "Reminds me a lot of you."

Twilight just shook her head with a smile on her face. "Never change, Pinkie," she said, removing Pinkie's glasses with her magic and looked at her face, a sudden blush coming to both mares. "Never change." it was then Twilight did the one thing none of those in the car expected.

She lunged fore ward quickly, and kissed Pinkie, putting her tongue into the other mare's mouth, which got a surprised look from Pinkie before she relaxed into the kiss, and returned the favor before Twilight pulled back quickly, as if she had been hit by lightning.

"Oh, Pinkie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," she said quickly, her face becoming a huge blush.

Pinkie, looking a little hurt, said, "No need to say sorry, Twily. I liked it, and something tells me you did too."

"But Pinkie, I just kissed you! We aren't even in a relationship!"

"Who said it has to stay that way?" Pinkie asked, looking at Twilight with an admittedly sexy stare that only caused the alicorn to blush more. "We could consider the fair our first date, after all. If you want to."

"W-well, I guess so, Pinkie," Twilight said. "Even before the incident with the others, I always felt something with you, but i htought it was just whatever gave you your powers."

"It was, a little," Pinkie admitted. "But I think it was because you liked me more then a friend. So I ask again: Do you want the fair this year to be our first date?"

"Y-yeah," Twilight said nervously. "I guess."

"Oh, that's good," Pinkie said in her usual enthusiasim. "I can't wait!"

"Another hour or two, Pinkie," Spike said.

"Oh, I know. I'm just so excited."

"Me too, Pinkie," Twilight said as she put the cards away. "I can't wait for our date, and to see Cadence and Shining. I haven't seen them in a while."

"Yeah," Spike said. "How do you think they're doing right now, anyway?"

"I'm sure they're doing fine," Twilight said.

Crystal Palace infirmary-meanwhile

Cadence, as far as the doctors could tell was fine. Except for the fact she seemed to go crazy with no explanation for a few minutes and looked ready to kill Shining, that is.

Said stallion had been at his wife's side since she had been brought to the infirmary, and had been holding her hand through out it all.

Fortunately, Twilight and the others weren't supposed to arrive for another hour. Unfortunately, Chrysalis, wearing an elegant, arm length dress that went to the floor and had royal green and black as the colors,had arrived half an hour before now, and was in the infirmary with Shining, watching over Cadence.

"You sure you don't have a clue as to who did this," she asked Shining.

"None," he responded. "Who ever did this hid their tracks pretty good. Not even our best doctors can detect a mind control residue."

Silence passed for a few minutes before Chrysalis proposed something that hadn't been thought of before. "What if it was a sealed memory coming to the surface?"

Shining looked at her with a look of confusion. "What do you mean? No one's suppressed her memories!"

"Not the memories you know of," Chrysalis said. "When I took her place during the, ahem, incident eleven years back, I had to take the memories I thought important-"

"And yet Twilight found you out."

"Oh, her calling me out was my plan all along, but back on topic: when I looked over her memories, I found a lot of them sealed away. I couldn't tell you who, I never encountered the signature before, but it was someone with a lot of power. I could tell that much simply because I once tried something similar on Celestia a hundred years ago, and was to weak to accomplish it. Bottom line, some one messed with her mind before you two met, maybe even changed her personality, and the seal's starting to break. Only the pony who cast the block can fix it."

"Well, I think she'd rather have all her memories back then not," shining said. "That said, if I find him, I'll end him for messing with her mind."

"Well, good to know that part of you hasn't gone away," Chrysalis said.

"What do you mean," Shining asked, looking at the changeling queen.

"Well, when I was disguised as her, I was actually, well, attracted to how loyal you were to those you loved," Chrysalis said blushing.

"Well, it's a little late for it to pay off, Chrysalis," Shining said.

"I know that," Chrysalis said. "But still, who would benefit from messing with Cadence's memories?"

"I can't thin of any pony," Shining said. He sighed and said, "Maybe Princess Celestia and Luna can help. They're coming to this year's festival, after all."

"Perhaps," Chrysalis said. "When are they supposed to arrive?"

"Tomorrow morning, just after sunrise."

"Then we can only hope she is okay until then."

"Yeah, I guess."

An hour later

The train pulled into the station, slowing down as it did so. When it had come to a full stop, the doors opened and the ponies on board began to step off. The six crystal guards at the station were waiting for Princess Twilight and the other Elements, as well as, hopefully for them, their hero, Spike the dragon.

When the crowd thinned, they saw those they were to escort step off the train, though in two groups. Three made their way to the first and larger group, while the other three went to the smaller group, and were elated when they saw Spike.

When they got to them, they bowed and said, "Hail Sir Spike, savior of the Empire," completely disregarding Twilight.

"Would cut that out," Spike said. "Stop with the worship. The first time was a fluke, and the second was just me doing what any unicorn or alicorn could have done with a simple fire spell! You have a princess who deserves it more then me!"

"Spike, just let it go," Twilight said, her hand in Pinkie's. "We both know ponies can be stubborn."

"Yeah, I know, Twilight," Spike said as the three guards rose.

"Why is it you three are here, exactly," Twilight said.

"To escort you, Sir Spike, and the Elements to the palace, as something has happened to Princess Cadence, and Prince Armor asked that you be escorted there for your own safety."

"What happened to Cadence?" Twilight asked in concern.

"We do not know, your highness."

"Take us there, now," Twilight ordered.

"Of course, your highness," The lead guard said, and the six of them made their way to the palace, Rarity and the others following shortly after.

An hour later, both groups had arrived at the palace to be greeted by Shining and Chrysalis.

"Hey, Shiny," Pinkie said, raising her left hand in greeting, as her right was in Twilight's left.

"Hey, Pinkie," Shining said as he noticed their hands and raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you two start dating?"

Both mares blushed, and Rarity and the others, just arriving, heard the remark. "What?" Rainbow asked.

"We found out on the train ride here, alright?" Twilight asked, trying to hide like Fluttershy behind her hair.

"Well, I'm certai nI speak for the rest of us when I say we're happy for you, Twilight," Rarity said.

"Rarity, if I cared about how happy you were, I'd say it, but I don't, so keep it to you and Rainbow," Twilight said, instantly shooting down Shining's hope of their friend ship being repaired.

"Can you guys argue about that later," Spike said. "We have bigger issues, like with what's wrong with Cadence."

"He's right, we can get back ta this later," Applejack said.

"Then what are we waiting for," Pinkie said, raising her arm and pointing. "TO THE INFIRMARY!!" She then ran off, somehow dragging Twilight with her.

"Pinkiiiiiie!" she yelled, though it failed to get the pink mare's attention.

The others rushed after the two, and arrived at the infirmary a few minutes later.

Only to find Cadence gone.

The bed she was on was tipped on it's side, and the surrounding are was burned. There were even a few ponies with burns, but they were being treated. Shining walked up to the nearest doctor being treated and said, "What happened?"

"I don't know," he replied. "We were just taking her heart pressure when she woke up and started attacking us, saying she 'had to kill them', whoever they are."

"Where is she?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know. Last I saw, she took a left at the entrance to here."

Shining's eyes widened.

That was the same direction as the hall she had opened before he brought her here.

"I think I know where she went," he said before rushing out of the room and following the route he had taken to there from that corridor, the others following him, but not knowing what it was they were headed to. As they ran through the hall, they saw more scorch marks on the walls, and a few injured guards, but none were killed.

Eventually, they got to the hidden corridor. "I don't remember this being here last time," Spike said as Twilight put a hand to her head as if she were getting a small headache.

"Everything alright, Twilight," Pinkie asked her mare friend.

"Yeah, just a small headache," she said. "What is it," she asked.

"I have no idea," Shining said. "All I know is that when Cadence first acted like this earlier, she opened this thing up, like she had done so before."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rainbow asked. "Let's go after her." She then flew into the hall ahead of the others.

"When is she going to learn not to rush into things like this," Rarity said with a roll of her eyes before running after her marefriend, the others following close behind.

Ten minutes later, they all found themselves in front of a large steel door. "What do you think is behind it?" Chrysalis asked.

"No idea," Shining replied.

As he said this, Twilight's headache just became worse, so much so that she began to black out, though this wasn't seen by the others, as they had started talking about ways to open it.

After a few minutes of this, Twilight's head cleared, and she lit her horn. She walked to the door, the others becoming silent as they saw this. As she got closer to the door, her eyes, the entirety of them, had started to glow a dark purple. When she was a few feet away from the door, she closed her eyes and fired a small beam of magic at the door. To the surprise of all present, the doors opened, and Twilight walked inside.

"Twilight, what's going on," Pinkie asked, getting no response from Twilight before the door closed and she said, "Leave us." Next Chapter: A week in waiting Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes