Pant, pant
The little filly ran. Yellow coat streaked with muck and bruises.
Keep running
The Timberwolves were in hot pursuit of her. They weren't going to let up.
I want my sisters
For three days this little filly had been running. Pounding the dirt with her hooves. Wings flapping to gain speed.
Why does this happen to me, and only me?
A Timberwolf appeared in front of her. She veered to the right. Only for another to jump in from the left. Change direction. Stay one step ahead.
Harder and harder
The Timberwolves slowed. They stopped and howled their vengeance at her. She didn't dare look back or stop.
To stay alive
A crash heralded the arrival of something worse. A roar confirmed it. Two Ursa Minors, accompanied by an Ursa Major, presumably their mother.
The False Horns did this
The two Minors came on opposite sides of her. She dodged and skidded away into the undergrowth.
The False Horns will pay
The Major was distracted by something. She took it as an opportunity to rush past it.
The Tribe is gone
A wall blocked her path. This castle, she recognised it. There was a town nearby.
I am alone
She wasn't sure the town was a good idea. Her sisters could find her, but so could the Horns.
What should I do?
She decided against the town. She ran around the castle and ended up smack in the faces of a hydra.
Press on?
The head on the left lunged, but it was a trick. As she swerved to avoid it, two more heads grabbed her, one by her tail and one by her forehooves.
Or give up?
The two heads pulled, trying to rip the little filly in two. But she was made of tougher stuff than your average pony. But even she wasn't indestructible.
Everything's so meaningless
She cried out weakly as she felt herself being torn. The remaining heads called with glee in anticipation of the meal soon to reach their shared stomach.
All the world has to offer is emptiness
Help came from an unexpected source.
Life exists only in my dreams
A boom sounded from above, and an orange and violet shock wave erupted across the sky, blasting away the clouds and leaving the sky blue and clear.
Why must everything I want slip away from me?
The hydra's eyes bulged in shock, and the two heads holding her dropped her.
Why do the monsters taunt me so?
She landed heavily and lay in a crumpled heap. She didn't want to move.
They have been employed to kill or capture me
Her little boots had lost their shimmer, and were tarnished and dirty. Her eyes no longer sparkled.
So why not get it over with?
Eventually she got to her feet. She limped forward slowly.
What is the end product?
A huge spider scuttled down from its web to confront her. Its eight eyes stared at her.
Fear
She gaped at the spider before survival instincts took over.
Hatred
She bolted away from the spider and the castle. The spider scuttled after her lazily.
Pain
She continued to run, the spider waiting for her to tire. She came to a river.
Sickness
A sea serpent was marvelling at himself in a glassy puddle of water. The little filly stretched out her limited magic, what little of it remained.
Death
She relaxed slightly. He had no bad intentions, that much was clear.
Fate's dealt me a bad hand
She darted towards him, seeking protection. The spider shied away from the serpent.
And I lay down the chips
The sea serpent looked at her in confusion. As she hopped across his back arched in the water, he stared blankly. He just went right back to admiring himself.
Call or fold?
As she ran, she approached a patch of blue flowers. Bad news. She jumped and flapped her wings to clear it.
Only the cards of destiny
Even this small action was a challenge. Combined with her magic use earlier, it was too much.
Their backs wreathed in enigmatic flame
She lay down. Exhaustion and fatigue overcame her. It should be ok to rest. Nothing was chasing her right now.
Can know the final outcome
Mistake. A mysterious bird swooped overhead. It resembled an owl, but larger, with a razor sharp beak and talons like knives.
The stakes are high
She didn't fret the details. Dragging herself to her feet, she set off to find cover.
Life or death
She approached a strange wooden structure.
The universe decides
The interior was filled with all sorts of paraphernalia, ranging from herbal ointments to books.
Is this my fate?
In the centre of the room was a cauldron, with something or other brewing inside.
Doomed to wander from one danger to another
There were various masks adoring the walls. They frightened the young filly.
Leaving the jaws of one threat
She rested her head on a convenient bed. Somehow she'd wandered into somepony's home.
Only to find myself in the claws of another
She froze. A strange stripy creature was entering through the door.
I cannot trust anything
The strange creature, which resembled a pony, began to speak.
I must not let my guard down
The little filly didn't stick around to hear what it had to say.
Else I shall join the stars above
She dashed out the door and into the forest. Thankfully the bird was gone, and the stripy pony didn't give chase.
Perhaps I shall welcome Death's sweet embrace
She continued onward. She saw many creatures though none were hostile.
When it finally sweeps over me
Rabbits, songbirds and at one point a colourful cyan Pegasus who stared at her in confusion.
Like a familiar lover
Bit the little filly did not care.
The world is too cruel, too terrible
She was so exhausted she could keel over and die any moment.
No
She wandered forward. There was a break in the forest.
I cannot abandon my sisters
Like it or not, she had entered the town.
I must spare them the additional pain in this unforgiving world
She wandered through the town. She got a few strange looks, but no pony questioned her or lent her a helping hoof.
This plane of existence is dark enough without grief
She kept going. Eventually she wandered into an orchard. The trees bloomed with delicious looking fruit.
I'm so tired...
She longed for the fruit, but lacked the strength to reach it.
And hungry
Three unfamiliar fillies approached. She readied herself to run, but couldn't muster the force of will.
I'm sick of running
The fillies spoke, but their words left no lasting impression on her.
And of not trusting anypony
Instead the sound lulled her into a false sense of security, promising her sleep.
My life, it lacks purpose. It is nothing but running
The voices whispered to her, daring her to let dreams overtake her. She ignored the fillies' panicked cries as she collapsed in the shade of a tree.
Always running....
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at the filly stretched out on a sleeping mat in the clubhouse. So far, nopony else knew of her existence. Applejack and Big Mac were out bucking Zap Apples, and even though it was urgent, Applebloom had insisted that they not be disturbed. Granny Smith was out buying ingredients for the jam.
Their next thought had been to go to Rarity, but the filly was dirty, and Sweetie Belle recalled a time when there was a leaf stuck in her mane and she went to the Boutique. Rarity had placed her in quarantine and returned with a hazmat suit to spray her with disinfectant and rinse her mane with all sorts of detergents. Given the state of the filly, exposing her to that kind of treatment didn't seem fair.
Scootaloo thought Rainbow Dash would be perfect, but she was in the Everfree Forest helping Zecora with something, and none of the fillies wanted to go in without a fully grown pony, after what happened with the cockatrice. As for the other Element Bearers, Twilight was in Canterlot, Fluttershy was somewhere in the meadows and Pinkie Pie was...well, Pinkie Pie.
No, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were on their own on this one. Even the current location of the filly had been a subject of controversy. Sweetie Belle had thought that she should be put in Applebloom's bedroom. Scootaloo had pointed out that she had no cutie mark, and therefore she was one of them and deserved to share the clubhouse. Applebloom wasn't sure of either option. Scootaloo won, so here they were in the clubhouse.
The filly was interesting in terms of appearance. She had a soft yellow coat, about the same colour as Fluttershy's. Her mane and tail were like those of the princesses- wavy and shiny, flowing in non-existent wind. Her mane was striped a cool aquamarine and a vibrant green. Her horn was longer than your average filly's but short nonetheless. Scootaloo envied her wings, which were the same size as an average pegasus' already. They were adorned with some sort of brace or jewelry, which was a pale beige in colour. Her four hooves each bore a boot. The ones on her front hooves were black, her rear hooves white. On her front ankles she wore gray bracelets with jewels embedded in the centre.
She had a regal aura, and the Crusaders wondered if they had somehow stumbled upon one of the princesses as a filly.
The filly stirred. The Crusaders watched apprehensively, as she rose to her feet. She looked at the Crusaders. They smiled at her.
Their gesture was not well received.
"No! Please do not toy with me!" she gasped.
"The universe and its workings are complex. I could not possibly explain it to you even if I wanted to," she asserted, and then braced herself, though for what was unclear.
She had a manner of speaking that was more like that of an adult pony. In fact, she distinctly reminded the Crusaders of Princess Luna.
"Whoa, calm down! I don't need a history lesson! Miss Cheerilee's are boring enough for me," Scootaloo protested.
"Yeah, we didn't mean ta scare ya," said Applebloom.
"You are not infuriated with me?" the mysterious filly asked nervously. She was shaking, and leaned over the bed.
"No, we don't want to hurt you," said Sweetie Belle. "We were just outside and you showed up. Then you just fell over! It was really scary! Even scarier than a cockatrice!"
Her exuberance seemed to cause the filly physical pain. She shielded herself with one tattered wing and asked, "Cockatrice? Where? Must the endless stream of peril that follows me constantly chase me even here? Worse, have I endangered other fillies merely by existing in this location presently?"
The Crusaders looked at her blankly. Scootaloo spoke up, "First of all, there's no cockatrice. Second of all, what?"
The filly visibly relaxed a little. Her breathing became less ragged and she lowered her wing.
"I am relieved. Pray tell, what might the titles of your personages be?"
More blank expressions. She tried again.
"Umm... How to make this simpler... Uh, your names?"
The Crusaders looked at each other and introduced themselves.
"And here I thought Sweetie Belle was a walking dictionary!" Scootaloo whispered to the other Crusaders in exasperation.
Applebloom chuckled. "Sweetie's a picture book compared to this one!"
The mystery filly looked at the Crusaders and went over their names.
"Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom. I see. Most intriguing. My, uh, name, is Starfire. Starfire Glow. Pleased to make your acquaintence," she introduced herself, stumbling when trying to make her words 'simpler' for the Crusaders.
"That's a really pretty name!" commented Sweetie Belle.
"Meh, it's kind of a mouthfull," said Scootaloo.
"Ah agree," said Applebloom. "Mind if ah call ya Star?"
"Alright. That causes no inconveniences to me. I am satisfied with this um...how do I say it simpler..." Starfire thought hard but couldn't come up with anything.
"Nickname?" suggested Sweetie Belle.
"Yes. I believe that is the word I was looking for. Nickname," responded Star.
"What were y'all gonna say?" asked Applebloom.
"Yeah, we probably could've got it," said Scootaloo indignantly.
"Alias."
"Oh."
Applebloom and Scootaloo were thankful for Sweetie Belle's intervention, otherwise they could've been stuck there all day.
"I am tired. Mayhap there is someplace for me to rest my head?" Star asked tentatively.
"Huh?" Applebloom and Scootaloo said.
"She asked if there was somewhere she could rest, 'cause she's tired," Sweetie informed them.
"I apologise that my vocabulary and manner of speaking are too foreign for you. I hail from a far off land. Common terms in this location escape my knowledge," Star apologised sheepishly.
"Nah, that's alright," assured Scootaloo.
"Yeah, we got Sweetie here ta translate if we get stuck on something ya say," said Applebloom.
"Wait, what?" said Sweetie Belle. "Don't volunteer me for stuff!"
Star laughed at the discussion, a clear, pure sound like a flute.
"Anyway, y'all can sleep there if ya want," Applebloom said, gesturing to the mat she had been on earlier.
"I am most grateful for your assistance," responded Star.
She lay down on the mat once more. Within minutes she had fallen into a restless slumber.
The Crusaders waited until they were sure she was asleep before they began speaking.
"What now?" asked Scootaloo.
"We should tell somepony about this," said Sweetie Belle.
"No!" said Applebloom and Scootaloo simultaneously.
"Why not?" asked Sweetie Belle, taken aback by her friend's outburst.
"Ah don't know, ah just have this really bad feeling," said Applebloom.
"Yeah, me too," agreed Scootaloo. "I just have a feeling that if we tell somepony about her, something really bad will happen."
"But we can't keep her locked up in this clubhouse!" protested Sweetie Belle. "It's not fair to her. We don't know anything about her, she could have a family that's out looking for her right now!"
"Ah don't think so. She said she came from someplace far away, and she looked mighty beat up. Plus, alicorns ain't so easy to come by. Ah think we'd have noticed a search party by now, they probably have some kinda detection magic they could've used ta find her," reasoned Applebloom.
"But..." Sweetie tried to put up a fight, but had to give in.
"Alright, when she wakes up, we'll ask her what happened and then we'll decide whether or not we should tell somepony," she huffed.
"Good thing we had a sleepover planned tonight anyway. I'd hate to leave her here alone," mused Scootaloo.
"Ah'll go get another bedroll," said Applebloom, striking off towards the farm.
***
In Canterlot, Princess Luna was resting, preparing for the night shift. She wondered how Celestia was doing. Her sister was off on royal business with Twilight, which meant that Luna had to keep watch all day and all night.
Suddenly a pegasus courier burst in through the door. He hastily bowed.
"Your Highness, I have an urgent message from your sister."
Luna took the scroll and read it.
"What!? It cannot be true!" she exclaimed.
She scribbled something onto a piece of parchment. She then cast a copying spell, and generated several more scrolls.
"Get one of these to the mayor of every town in Equestria, posthaste!" she boomed.
The courier nodded, filled his saddlebags with the scrolls and rushed out to recruit his fastest fliers.
Luna gazed out the window, unable to comprehend what she had just read.
"It just can't be..."
***
That night, while the other Crusaders slept, Sweetie Belle could not. She couldn't help but feel that what they were doing was wrong.
As she tossed and turned, she became aware of a melodious sound. It was coming from just outside the door. She rose to investigate.
Starfire was there, gazing at the stars and singing softly to herself. Sweetie took in the song
Day to night, dark to light,
Fall the sands of time.
Let the years like the gears
Of a clock unwind
In your mind walk through time
Back to better days.
Memories, like a dream,
Wash tears away.
Like a star in the sky,
Darkness can't reach you
Light the night, joy is light,
Till the new dawn.
Cast away your old face
Let go your spite,
With this mask I'll ask
To borrow your light
The song had a lullaby effect on Sweetie Belle, and put her mind at ease. She went back to bed and soon found peace in her dreams.
As Starfire entered the clubhouse, she glanced at the now sleeping Sweetie Belle. A small smile crossed her lips and she reached out with her magic.
Communicating telepathically, she delivered the following message:
Goodnight, and do not stress yourself. Things shall work out in the end if you just let the wheel of fate turn in its own direction