Chapters The day's routine had gone normally.
Celestia's horn glowered, her aura surrounding the sun, allowing it to set.
Luna's aura suddenly appeared across the horizon, and little twinkles shrouded the dark sky. And she finally finished her masterpiece with a full moon gracing the world.
Celestia retired to her own room, prepared to slumber.
But Luna's day had only just begun.
Another glow fell upon her horn. Her body fell limp as her conscience self separated away from it.
This was her favorite duty, fixing dreams. It was always a bit fun seeing each dream of the innocent foals that lived around equestrian and beyond. Their nightmares fixed at the mere notion of a princess guarding them from their fears.
There were always dire cases. Once a small pegasus named Scootaloo dreaded her idol discovering she was fearful, Luna had to enter her dreams and fix them directly.
The ethereal mare spread her ghostly wings, allowing the wind to fill them, lifting her above Canterlot. She sensed the foals' calm down as her presence become known.
Then came a strange flicker in her mind.
So faint, only she could've sensed it.
Luna turned and shivered, for the flicker was in the direction of the badlands. Where the changelings dwelled.
Luna was over a thousand years old, but she was extremely childish. And if you're childish, you're often curious. She knew Equestria could survive one night without her. She shifted her direction.
She felt chilled and disturbed as she neared the kingdom of the changelings. But it was soon replaced with a surprising inner warmth.
The city was made up of snarled, black homes. Dying plants. Even the sky was twisted and orange. Why did they live like this? They may not have good resources, but this still seemed like suffering rather than normalcy.
Luna's conscience flooded into a home. A tiny changeling slept on a black bed with no blanket or pillow. This family must've fallen under the poverty line.
Despite the larvae's shivering, it seemed content. Luna's ethereal horn gently rested itself on the larvae's head.
Luna gasped.
It didn't quite dream with pictures, not completely anyway.
Of course it dreamed of pictures, but the emotion surviving in its head was amplified so many times over.
It dreamed in hope and warmth.
Of love and kindness.
Of Peace.
The exact opposite of what the princess thought a changeling would dream.
The pictures were just as interesting. It had the queen.
The queen that invaded Canterlot. Luna didn't exactly know what truly went on until it was explained. For the young princess had discovered Master Chief and his holographic AI, Coltana, She spent the day playing every one of the games.
The queen in the dream was far more different than her earlier description.
No, this one was loving with everyone. Presenting her kingdom with happiness and love. Throwing her hole-filled hooves around every larvae she saw as she trotted to her castle. Though she knew she had come back with no nourishment for her dying kingdom.
And they all forgave her, none blamed her.
The foal cringed, sensing Luna was near...The poor thing shivered.
Luna left just as the creature's parents came through.
Luna was officially confused.
The mare in the dream wasn't the queen.
At least not the queen she was told of.
The Chrysalis she was told of was a cruel tyrant who cared only for her soldiers because of her need to conquer as many lands as possible.
This queen was kind, merciful. Trying to protect her subjects. Luna was unsure, and so she decided to peer into the dreams of the changeling queen for the truth.
Even the Castle of the kingdom was broken and chipped. Something felt almost…wrong.
A flicker in the back of her mind screamed at her, told her to be mistrustful. Though she was unsure at who.
She passed through the walls with ease, quickly making her way to the bedroom of the sleeping queen, who was gaunt from her hunger. Luna's horn glowed and set itself upon Chrysalis's head. Luna allowed the thoughts to flood inside her mind.
Luna recoiled so few moments later. A tear shedding from her eye.
She saw fear.
Fear of her city dying, each changeling suffering a slow, painful death. Fear of being the last one. Fear of Celestia for destroying her kingdom with a smile.
But for a second, there was something else.
Two fillies, playing in the light of the glow bugs.
Luna's head hurt. Bad.
And then she realized it, the fillies were her and Chrysalis.
Chrysalis was putting her crown on Luna.
Her crown.
And suddenly she remembered it.
The first night she set the moon in the sky.
Chrysalis was there, and she never left her side.
Then something else came to her head.
Luna
almost
screamed
Celestia was not as she appeared. Nor was she ever as she appeared.
Luna had no memory back before she was spiritually cleansed by the elements. She just knew what was in the books. She was always so remorseful, thinking Nightmare Moon was the effect of her own hatred for her sister.
But it wasn't.
It was Celestia's power-lust.
Luna's own sister had summoned the demon to make Luna seem evil and traitorous. A vessel in return of power, it was a good deal.
She looked at Chrysalis, she was just an innocent mixed up in the wrong-doings of others.
She wouldn't have to hunger soon.
Luna flew back to Equestria, memories swirling in her head.
Canterlot seemed…darker with this revelation.
Luna flew back into her body, and made her way to Celestia's bedroom.
Celestia immediately knew she was there.
"Luna, why are you here? You don't usually finish your royal duties within such a short time." Celestia's voice was tired.
"I'm only back for a moment. After all. I believe you have a certain truth you should address to the public, don't you, dear sister." Luna spat, her voice spiteful.
Luna reared up, then came crashing down with the force of a hundred dragons, terraforming the room with her small earthquake. Her eyes glowered for a moment when she came down.
Uncertainty flickered in the sun goddess's eyes.
Luna's horn glowed brightly with white-hot energy. "Shall we address them together?"
1 month later
Pinkie sat on her bed, main flat and eyes sad.
Mrs. Cake looked at her with pity. "I'm sorry Pinkie, but you've been awake for days. You need to sleep. Please."
Pinkie didn't even look at her.
Mrs. Cake sighed and shut off her lantern, but it did little to darken the room, for the sun had blazed on all month. She left, still fearful for Pinkie's sake.
The pink mare sat on her bed, still as a statue, until the only noise was the soft buzz of the air conditioner.
Wasting no time, Pinkie threw her blanket off herself and dove under the bed. She pulled out a dull green saddlebag, filled with nothing.
Save a photo of a filly.
Inkie Pie
Inkie pie was her favorite sister. She was so much more in admiration of Pinkie's talents than Maud.
Pinkie shook as she remembered her fate.
Her family had so little food to go around, and they were slowly starving.
Then Inkie disappeared.
Suddenly, there was a hefty meal on the table.
Pinkie had ventured down to the cellar in search of a lost doll when it happened.
knives and cleavers hung from small hooks drilled into the wall, each dull with use.
And in the center, a tiny body, which lay destroyed. Bits of long, gray hair and tufts of a gray coat were in the carcass.
Pinkie remembered losing her final meal.
Taking Maud with her, Pinkie immediately fled from her home.
Maud went to live a safe life with Rose Stone, a friend from her school.
Pinkie arrived in Ponyville a few days after she left. Eventually coming to a bakery begging for food. Of course, Mrs. Cake couldn't bear to leave the tiny, starved foal in the rain.
She remembered the first night she spent at her new home. Sobbing continually, asking Mrs. Cake the most innocent question.
"Why would Mommy and Daddy do that?"
She ended up answering that question herself.
"Of course, hey haven't been very nice lately. They would take most of our meals for themselves, they never really liked my partying, said my talent was a sign I would become one of those " \ravers". They hit Inkie when she discovered her talent wasn't rock farming."
Pinkie thought of all the bad things her mom and dad had done. As the horrific deeds piled up, she began sobbing. Mrs. Cake held her tight, rocking her gently and shushing her.
Pinkie gripped the photo tightly, and dropped it back on her bed.
She plopped the saddlebag onto her back, and opened the door just a sliver. The Cakes were asleep, hopefully. Pinkie crept on the tips of her hooves across the hallway.
Gently, she creaked the Cake's door open. She sighed in relief when she heard the two peacefully snoring.
If the adults were asleep, surely the twins are asleep, Pinkie thought. She didn't see the two tiny, empty cribs.
Pinkie had to be quick, but quiet as she galloped along the darkest alleys of Ponyville. Today, she would leave, and never return. She knew what she was sacrificing.
No more pranks with Rainbow dash.
No more modeling with Rarity.
No more playfully distracting Twilight.
No more adventures with AppleJack.
No more.
Fluttershy was already gone. She was so stunned by Celestia's dark past, she left. She didn't take any of her animals, save angel bunny. No one had seen her since.
As with AppleJack.
At least Fluttershy gave warning when she left.
Applebloom just woke up one morning, and AppleJack was gone.
Her only trace was an open window.
Pinkie knew she was doing the same thing.
She hit herself. No! You aren't doing the same thing, Pinkie! You've been so sad, it's a hint, they'll know.
They have to.
At last, Pinkie had arrived at her destination, the edge of Ponyville, and the entry to the Everfree Forest.
Pinkie took a breath.
Tonight, she would no longer answer to her quirky nickname. But by her real name.
Pinkamena Diane Pie.
Tonight, her party arsenal would be left behind, and in its place would be real weapons.
Tonight, she'd step into the night, leaving Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity behind in the empire.
Once again, Pinkamena breathed.
Just as her hoof was about to step into the darkness of Luna's night, their was a shout.
"Awnty Pinkie!"
He came as a blur, and suddenly, Pinkamena found a little colt firmly attached to her hind legs.
Pumpkin trotted just behind him.
She hugged both foals. "Pound? Pumpkin? You should be at home!"
She picked both foals up, cuddling them both. "We've been waiting for you to leave, awnty. You've been so sad. " Pound Cake pointed out.
"We've been wanting you to take us wit you!" Pumpkin cried.
Both foals begged to come with her.
The Everfree was only a few steps away. Pinkamena looked back and forth between the forest and the foals.
She sighed. "Do you know what you'd be giving up? You wouldn't get to be with your mommy or daddy anymore!"
"We don't mind." said Pound.
"Mommy and daddy never even twy to spend time wit us! You make sure we're happy, you care fo' us mowe den dey ever have!" screamed Pumpkin.
Pinkamena nearly choked as she fought back a wave of tears.
"We wuv you, awnty." Pound said with gigantic eyes .
"Pwease take us. You'd make a good mommy." Pumpkin hugged Pinkamena's leg, beginning to sob.
The mare finally broke. Her throat ached so hard, she could scarcely breathe. Her eyes grew cloudy as streams of her tears fell from her eyes, down to her cheeks, and finally staining the ground. And biting down on her muzzle was all she could do to stop herself from screaming.
But she caved. She set Pound and Pumpkin on her back, and trotted into the dark forest.
Into the The New Lunar Republic.
Two days later
Pinkamena was giddy as she took the quill. Maybe not giddy enough to inflate her mane, but still giddy enough to be content.
The changeling pushed the papers across the desk.
Pinkamena was initially fearful of the changelings prior to discovering they were kind and considerate citizens. She now accepted them.
The young mare dipped the quill in ink.
"Sign here, miss." he said to her.
She wrote her curly signature, with her tiny heart replacing the dot of the "i". The changeling nodded, and filed the papers away.
She teared up a little as she exited the office.
then smiled at the many mares in the room.
AppleJack shook her hoof, and Fluttershy tearfully hugged her.
The twins were busy trying to take down a mare who had been assigned to the many foals that inhibited a playpen. They immediately stopped the assault on the mare to hug Pinkamena.
"Mommy!" They called. Pinkamena couldn't help breaking into a full sob, though it seemed her eyes were wet a lot lately.
Two hours later, she was in the the castle, trotting down the halls to her lavish suite. Two foals riding upon her back, ready to see their new home.
Her foals
Applebloom had been keeping to herself.
Not only that, but her personality became more violent and elusive every day.
Many inquired about her change, especially her friends, but she'd grow defensive and threatening.
It reached it's peak one fateful day at school.
She was filthy. Dirt coated her face, and her mane and tail were tangled between bits of dry mud and twigs. Dark circles surrounded the bags of her eyes.
The filly took her place between Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon, both giggling at her bedraggled appearance. She yawned, as if to drown them away.
Cheerilee eventually had to step out of class due to a phone call.
Applebloom still stared blankly, as though her teacher was still talking to class. She broke away when Diamond jabbed her elbow into the side of AB's arm.
Realizing her teacher wasn't there anymore, she very nearly fell asleep on her desk, but DT and Silver laughed loudly.
"You look disgusting!" Silver snickered. AB stared ahead, but was clearly bothered.
"Then again, what would you expect from some little, baby, blankflank?!" There was bitter venom ejected into that last word. At the very sound of flank, AB covered hers with her tail.
But she was surprised at being called "disgusting". "Filthy?" she rubbed her hoof against her gray muzzle, revealing yellow fur on her face, but blackening her hoof.
She looked at the sooty hoof. "Oh, ah didn't notice…"
Sweetie and Scoot looked on at her, concerned.
Ab sighed as the teasing and insults continued, but never looked or replied to either bully.
Then they mentioned AppleJack.
At last Diamond and Silver had found where to hit her, and how hard.
"It isn't a mystery why she left this utopia our queen has made for us." Diamond said into Ab's ear.
"After all, I would go anywhere to leave such a disappointing sister." Applebloom shook her sleepy head and squinted to keep her focus. But she would break if Diamond could help it.
She said one more insult.
An insult that would break any victim.
even Applebloom.
"She has to despise you. You were never anything but a disappointment to her. This world never deserved anything like you, you disgusting, little, freak
Applebloom made a noise that sounded like a combination of sobbing and screaming.
To the pink filly's horror, Applebloom didn't so much as think when she pounced on top of her. She got so close to her face that their muzzles were touching.
Applebloom lavished in Diamond's fear, it fueled her burning rage. She didn't stop shrieking for a second.
"Ya'll believe the UNIVERSE revolves around you and yer pathetic cutiemark!" AB violently grabbed her crown and tore it to pieces.
"Yer talent is WORTHLESS! No pony cares that yer talent is wearing jewelry! Ya'll know that! And yer so blindly UPSET 'bout it that yer picking on ponies who could be BETTER than you! Ah AM better than you, my cutiemark isn't useless!"
The class gathered, watching her fury rise, but they were confused. Applebloom had a cutiemark?
The filly moved her tail, revealing her cutiemark.
A crosshair with a bullet at the center.
"I SHOOT ponies! That's mah talent! Shootin and killin 'em with guns!" Applebloom was crying. "Ah live with BLOOD on mah hooves! Even that's better than what you do!"
Something had to be wrong with the filly, as she through one more insult. "Freak!"
"Darn it, Diamond, ya'll have gotten on mah last nerve!"
Applebloom thrust her left hoof into the left side of Diamond's face, then the same on the right side.
Tears flooded the ground, but Applebloom wouldn't stop.
Years of rage and aggression and rage was vented into both blows. .
Sweetie and Scoot made a difficult choice: Rescue their bully or let her get what was coming to her for months. They almost didn't save her, but they did anyway.
They pulled the violent apple off of Diamond.
Applebloomed shrieked and fought, but when she found she couldn't break her captors' hold, she simply spat on Diamond's shivering body.
Then Cheerilee returned.
The next week
The cell was cold.
Applebloom had never felt so alone or angry.
Ruled so dangerous that she couldn't share her cell with another "Juvenile", and she was chained to the wall to prevent escape.
Once more, she she tugged and pulled at her chains, but held no avail.
Hot tears spilled from her eyes.
Then she heard two tiny sets of hooves gallop through the halls.
AppleBloom watched through the iron bars as two small ponies dressed entirely in black disabled a security camera.
One had a key attached to a belt.
That tiny pony jammed the key in Applebloom's cell lock.
The ponies took their hoods off. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were her saviours.
But she expected that.
Applebloom looked to the direction her friends came from, and bodies littered the way back. Looking back to the two, she saw a knife, powders, and a vial half filled with a vile, purple liquid.
Sweetie began crying. "When you were taken away, we began wondering if our…talents were different too." she said.
"Th-they were different. Re-programing and disable stuff, that's what I do, apparently…"
"I-I can poison things. I..k-kill."
"Our talents hurt, but I know we can make them help, right?"
Applebloom stared at her own cutiemark.
"There's only one place that will accept us right now." AB looked through her window to the dark Everfree ahead.
She knew where they would be safe.
Luna watched as three of her younger spies entered her kingdom. This is good , She thought. They will be safer here than if they stayed In the Empire.
The wind howled in the night air, as if trying to tangle her ethereal mane.
Luna allowed a hot tear to fall from her eye. The battle between Celestia and herself was brutal . Memories came in red flashes.
Searing pains, deep bruises.
Brutal.
She had retreated to the Everfree Forest, knowing that she would not be ready to kill her sister at the time.
The second that word began spreading around about how Luna was forming her own society, a fifth of the population left for a new princess to rule them, and more were coming.
Her civilization wasn't thriving. Few plants grew in such darkness, and the ponies mostly thrived on magically grown plants or the mushrooms that grew like crazy in the forest.
Luna's amnesia was dissipating more and more every day, and every truth was more horrifying than the last.
But then she remembered her young self's relation with Chrysalis.
Before her sister was corrupt with her power, and before Luna's inventions made the night welcoming, Celestia constantly pushed Luna to make friends.
Though few wanted to befriend "she who brought fear and darkness".
Luna was a tiny filly at the time, but she still knew that her sister hated the changelings who resided in the neighboring kingdom.
Celestia made sure that no changeling could legally enter the kingdom.
It was one night, the first night Luna introduced her stars in fact, the younger princess had found a changeling venturing away from her home.
The tiny thing was starved to a point where each of her ribs showed, and many other bones as well.
Her once lively, green eyes were dull with hunger.
The filly, had she been fed better, would've looked fairly adorable.
She had a shiny, black coat. And a long, teal mane and tale.
She was an alicorn, as a gangly horn and insect wings topped off her features.
Luna had been excited to see such a creature! The changeling, however, wasn't as excited.
At the sight of the filly princess, the changeling ran and hid behind a rock.
Luna knew little of what would happen.
Once the Changeling got over her fear of Luna, they hit it off.
They became each other's greatest playmates, though neither could reveal the other's existence to their superiors.
Luna's undying friendship became a substitute for the love Chrysalis needed to feed off. And eventually, Chrysalis was no longer starving.
The two were forever loyal to each other.
Chrysalis had even given Luna the crown that she wore even today.
The poor changeling was forced to watch, helpless, as the demon that Celestia summoned take over Luna. That night was when the changelings declared Cold War on Equestria.
That led to the only formal attack on Canterlot, though that was also because of the hunger crisis.
Luna was discomforted about one specific thing. She knew her dear friend was having a difficult time adjusting to the comforting world around her.
Which was upsetting.
That meant that the changelings had lived in such tribulation for so long, it was what they knew now.
But what unsettled Luna the most, was herself.
The relationship between her and Chrysalis didn't feel the same.
She missed the friendship they had when they were fillies.
But it felt like that piece of herself was left behind when they reconciled.
Luna was broken out of her thoughts when she heard the changeling queen trot into her room.
"Well, speak of the devil," she turned to face the other princess, "and she doth appear."
"I apologize, princess, if you were in the middle of disturbing you. Especially after all you've done to accommodate my citizens. I just… I feel as though there is no way to repay you after all you've done."
"There is no need for you to repay your debt. You have known that."
She walked to her Chrysalis, something else was wrong.
" This is just so…unfamiliar. A warm bed, food, and prosperity for my subjects."
"I know it's odd, but you'll get used it. Frankly, I'm glad you feel the way you do. It would be odd to experience enjoyment immediately after settling in."
Silence swept through the room.
"I-I…it isn't the same…" Luna sighed.
"Things are different when you're young." Chrysalis pointed out.
"I know, I know, but it should at least feel more comfortable."
Luna flopped onto her bed.
"It's times like these I wish I hadn't left my gaming console back in Canterlot…"
"I wouldn't know what it's like playing games. The badlands don't have the resources or the technology to make those kinds of things."
Silence.
Ten seconds of uninterrupted silence.
Finally, Chrysalis broke it.
"Do you regret it?"
"What do you mean?"
"I-I mean, she was your sister. From what I remember, you idolized her when you were a filly. Had I been in your place, I doubt I would believe my memories."
The Alicorn looked down somberly. "I must admit, with my memories growing in strength each day, and the growing suspicion causing unrest within me, I have no regrets."
Chrysalis tilted her head. "I thought she managed to hide her tyranny."
"Slip-ups, little Chryssy. The tiniest mistake will incite suspicion. Being honest, I wasn't as surprised as I probably should've been when I discovered her past."
Each word after that made Luna seem more and more depressed.
"Celestia always had a questionable way of doing things. And all started when she was little. I was only two, but the largest movement of anti-racism was finally made by seven-year-old Celestia. Despite her age, a throne was erected for her to sit upon. For a year, I remember how kind she was to me. She was so eager to make sure I grew up healthy."
Luna trotted over to the balcony, letting the pegasi-induced breeze flutter past her.
"That was when she found the elements. They made her…different. She started shunning me, and stopped caring for me altogether. And a millennia later, she still acts as when we were fillies."
"Do you remember discord?"
Chrysalis shuddered. "His cruelties inspired foals in my land to be good."
"Celestia could have done him in with ease. She could have done the same with King Sombra, a dragon, a myriad of Everfree cryptids, and even…myself. But no. Instead, she left the elements in the hooves of six, inexperienced mares. Poor things were more like mercenaries."
"What of the "shunning" you speak of?"
Luna stared at the searing light in the horizon for a moment. "It has been three years since the elements cleansed me. And yet, my sister has kept me away from the Summer Sun Celebration for two of those years. The only reason I was there this year was to loosen me of my previous suspicion. She invites me to no celebration, in fact. I wasn't even at my honorary niece's wedding.''
''What of Nightmare Night? I thought she announced the occasion just for you."
"Do you think it is to honor me? She made this mockery of a celebration supposedly in hopes of inciting Nightmare Moon to come sooner. And yet, I was told to be something to fear. To this day, the only thing ponies do on that day is fear me. Fear the monster in me will return. No, my sister was a monster hidden behind a sunny cloud. I have no regrets of this war."
She turned back. "There, in Canterlot, I was feared. Here, people need me, lest Celestia place their heads on pikes as an example. Surely, her tyranny will rise, soon. And-and…I don't know what we should do, what we can do."
more silence ensued.
"Luna…"
Luna turned to Chrysalis.
"You…you." Chrysalis huffed as though her breathing was labored. "Just know…I-I'm with you."
The two stared at each other until they both grew hot in the face.
Then Luna trotted to the changeling,
kissed her on the cheek,
and nervously left the room.
In Equestria, there were three types of ponies.
The ponies who were the natural citizens of most of the country.
The crystal ponies of the frozen north, who had no natural unicorns or pegasi in its society
Then there were bat ponies.
A pony whose DNA was magically altered with bat DNA.
They were made to serve as Luna's nannies when she was little, but they now served as Luna's guards.
At least, what was left of them.
Of course, most of them left with Luna to the Everfree, but there were those who tried staying.
But Celestia executed them all.
The remaining Bat ponies in Equestria were scattered, and ever dwindling.
Then there was Midnight Beauty.
She looked like most female Bat ponies; grey coat, short, purple mane and tail, and piercing yellow eyes.
One must also take note of her other features; bat wings, fluffy ears, a distinct dislike for daylight…
She was living in the abandoned buildings, just as the other surviving bat ponies She would've been content, but her burden kept her from it.
For the mare was bearing a foal, and a special one at that.
Of course, no one knew why her foal was special, no one except Midnight.
And she was terrified.
Where there was no possible way her baby could be born safely.
The only remotely safe place was the castle infirmary in the Everfree. There was no doubt her baby would be protected and welcomed in the place of her rightful queen, but Beauty was unsure she would make the journey fast enough.
It had been nearly a year since her foal was conceived, and Beauty knew she likely only had a few, short days before the foal would make itself known to the world.
For now, she was in a tiny camp far from Night's embrace, but it was her only chance at two ponies' survival.
Midnight felt a slight kick within her.
She smiled, but still felt discontented. Even more so now.
In Midnight's tiny tent, all she truly had was a haystack to sleep on and a dark cloak. But what pushed her to go the distance for both her and her baby was a song.
A song the father shared with her.
A song Beauty sung to herself when she cried herself to sleep at night.
A simple, sweet song.
Beauty pressed her hoof to her heart, quietly humming the first two lines.
This world has changed, and so have I
A world where I need you so much more
The bat mare sighed, and picked up her dark cloak.
There's a hint of difficulty donning it, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.
Sticking to the deep shadows, and staying away from the beating heat, Beauty began her journey.
Deep down, Beauty didn't desire the will to live most had.
Had fear not been the obstacle it had been, Beauty could have imagined her corpse hanging from a railing, or muzzle-down in the water. And she could never bring her imagination towards reality.
Night's embrace! What is wrong with me!? You mustn't try to think of what could've been, you must think about now. For him. with increasingly heaving effort, Beauty continued, though she found herself unable to rid of her suicidal thoughts.
Not two minutes later, she had a small coughing fit.
In fact, when Beauty really thought about her condition in terms of traveling, she felt dizzy and achey.
The bat mare didn't know it, but she was sick, very sick.
It took two days of surviving on mud puddles and grazing on crab-grass, but the near-hopeless mare found herself in the town of Ponyville. However, joy swiftly turned to terror.
For Ponyville had been shifted from a tiny, peaceful hamlet, into a dark place. Guards patrolled every area except a few dark alleyways, and posters claiming that Celestia was ever watchful.
The residents, once known for their kind, outspoken nature, were not all their reputation wanted them to be. No, the residents all had dark bags under their eyes. Each struggled to avoid the guards.
Then came the incident.
A young, pretty mare, only seventeen or eighteen, had accidentally gotten in a guard's way. He immediately grabbed her hoof in an iron grip, much to her terror.
The mare squealed aloud, inciting laughter from the guards.
The guard who grabbed looked over the fearful mare, and began asking her questions. Questions no mare should ever answer to anyone.
The two stallions egged him on, and at one point, he tried dragging her away.
The mare was unable to think due to fear. She opened her mouth, and sunk her blunt teeth into the guard's fore-hoof.
He cried out in sheer pain, letting her go, but the mare couldn't escape that easily.
One of the other guards kicked her in the gut, and she keeled over in pain.
The leader was bleeding freely from his front-right fore hoof, and his veins had popped.
He beat her mercilessly, and Beauty lost control.
She galloped faster than she ever had in her life, and threw her body against his, allowing the mare a few precious seconds to escape, which she gratefully took.
Beauty would've been out of the situation in a second if she hadn't realized her cloak was gone. Her daze took more than enough time for the two guards to grab one of the creatures their queen loathed.
They threw her to the ground, ready to pleasurably kill this menace, when a rock hit one of their heads.
The mare! In those few moments, she had rallied two of her brothers to help her rescuer.
The two stallions had several piles of rocks next to them. With no hesitation, they unloaded them on the guards.
More soon arrived to take care of the two whom had intervened with business, but soon another rock hit one of them. And so on and so on.
The whole town was revolting! From the tiniest foals, to the oldest ponies, they all helped themselves to the granite on the sidewalk. These stallions had stolen their mothers and sisters and aunts. Killed their fathers and brothers and uncles. They all wanted to help take that first step into a rebellion.
As Beauty tried to slip away from the hectic scene, the mare tapped on her shoulder.
"Go through the library, the path there is a shortcut. And the guards will never try to find you there."
Beauty flashed her brightest smile, and the most knowing nod she could, then ran off.
And as she slipped through the desolate library, she bumped into another mare.
With her heightened reflexes, Beauty easily recovered from the blow quicker than the other mare.
It only took a glance to know who this mare was, even with the concealing cloak on her back.
She was lavender, with a straight mane and tale, and she had a horn…and wings.
Twilight
Beauty bolted before the mare could even speak to her.
Why was Princess Twilight there?
She had her Canterlot library, didn't she?
Was that fear Beauty had caught in her eyes?
The princess, a beacon for Celestia's subjects, what was her reason for being so far from her home?
The quiet of the Everfree was much consolation compared to the chaos of the prior situation, but Beauty didn't have long to enjoy it.
Pain suddenly stabbed through her, she never felt such agony, but she knew what it meant.
The more the pains occurred, the faster Beauty went. But it was difficult, the faster she went, the more she coughed, and the farther she moved, the more disoriented she became.
Not far from the castle, the bat mare tumbled over the edge of a tiny cliff. But fortunately, a night guard had caught sight of her.
Beauty soon found herself being wheeled into the infirmary, but at the first glance at the horrors of war, she broke down into hysterics
She saw a two foals desperately searching for their mother, both had bandages on their head.
A mare with bloody bandages over her eye touched her son's face, which was filled with guilt.
A stallion watched in horror as a blanket was thrown over a bloody corpse.
She screamed, and broke down into sobs as she was rolled into a bed.
but awhile later, the cries of a foal rang through the Infirmary.
The whole world seemed to stop, if not just to hear the newborn's announcement on how she was alive.
Everypony stopped their fear, their screams, their sobbing.
Many trotted just to see the little foal, and many were surprised at it's appearance.
Indeed, the new filly was special.
She was black, and the little mane and tail was dark teal.
She had bat wings, but also a gangly horn on her head.
The foal's father had been a changeling.
The crowd parted to let in Luna, and relief finally washed over Beauty.
Even in her princess's eyes, there was a glimmer of surprise and love.
She reached her hoof out to the filly, who happily took it. Her crying turned into a gurgling giggle.
Beauty was at peace. She pushed her baby into Luna's fore hoof with pleading eyes before a violent coughing fit.
"Please, name her something meaningful," she begged.
Fear swept over her as she broke into a seizure.
Reluctantly, Luna reached for a needle.
And plunged in into Beauty's throat.
Beauty went limp.
Luna's sense of hope diminished by the minute.
She had no idea of what she could do to stop her sister.
Then this filly came.
A combination of what everyone was fighting for.
She was hardly an hour old, and she had already distilled the fear of the lost, the sick, and the injured.
She pressed her hoof against the glass of the nursery, where the foal slept soundly.
Chrysalis appeared next to Luna.
"H-have you decided on what to name her?"
Luna just shrugged.
Chrysalis took another look at the foal. An odd…spark of magic surged through her.
"A changeling and a pony finding love. Real, mutual love," Chrysalis pressed her head against Luna's. "Before this war, I would be shocked if a pony didn't scream at the sight of us. But that mare let one into her heart. Now she's posthumous mother of a beacon of hope. I-it surprises me.
Luna smiled and nuzzled the Changeling queen, making her blush.
"Hope."
"I will name her Hope."
Meanwhile
Celestia was annoyed.
This wasn't a simple riot.
The whole village of Ponyville rebelled.
Not even the guards could stop it.
Now she had to quarantine the town in a magic forcefield to keep their influence from spreading.
She needed to get more guards, which involved a lot of spells.
Twilight entered the room.
"Where have you been!?" Celestia immediately questioned.
Twilight hid a shudder. "I-I've been surveying the castle's p-perimeter."
Celestia wouldn't let herself be fooled so easily. "You were at Ponyville, again. Twilight, you know I put that place under lockdown!"
"I know, I know! I'm sor-"
"Sorry won't cut it, it never cuts it. I need to know, why do you go there so often?"
Twilight whimpered. "I want him to know I haven't abandoned him, I-I want to try to find him, but he's never there." Twilight sobbed, unable to form coherent words.
"Who?" Celestia sharply asked.
"Spike," she weakly answered.
Indeed, Spike was alive.
And heading for the Everfree.
Pinkamena was a freak of nature.
And no matter how often she tried to put it in a nicer, it was still the truth.
Biologically speaking, Pinkamena was technically a defective unicorn.
In every pony, there is a certain percentage of each type. The dominate DNA decides if a foal is to be a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony. Thus, one can have two parents of the same sub-specie, but can produce an offspring of the other
Pinkamena's mother was 45% unicorn, 2% pegasus, and 53% earth pony.
Her father was 43% unicorn ,32% pegasus, and 35% earth pony.
Being their foals, Inkie, Maud, and Pinkamena had the same amount of unicorn and earth pony in them.
It gave them magic, just without the horn.
Now let's get one fact straight.
A unicorns have better memory and a larger brain capacity, most end up in a profession like scientific study or in medical practice. This is due to an extra gland in their brain. Normally, a unicorn's horn can easily release the energy the gland in the form of spells.
The pie sisters all had abilities.
No one knew what Inkie's power was.
No one would ever know.
Maud, however, channeled her magic into her strength. This was how she could chip a boulder into dust in a few seconds. Though her ability only surfaced in life or death situations.
Pinkamena used her ability more fluently and frequently.
There were several instances were she destroyed physics in odd ways. Ways like multiply her hoofs, or twisting her neck in a fashion that would've killed most in two seconds.
Of course, she did exhibit natural triggers as well.
There was her ability to predict the future, but it didn't work too well. The most accurate prediction involved birthday presents.
No, the far-off future wasn't her specialty, but the immediate future was.
Dubbed "Pinkie Sense", certain things would cause little reactions in Pinkamena's body. For example, if her tail twitched, something was going to fall.
There was one more factor to her abilities, emotion detecting.
The reason Pinkamena was so optimistic in any situation was because she could tell when there was an accumulated amount of negative emotion.
This also applies to the way she thrived in happy environments, like parties. The happiness made her explode in glee.
Pinkamena had volunteered as a nurse for the Castle Infirmary, but unease crept inside her as she approached the door.
The raspberry mare finally gripped the door's handle, and opened the door.
The wave of emotion nearly knocked her off her hooves.
The fear of frantic foals.
The desperate praying to no one for the safe return of friends and family.
The sheer anguish of the death around everything.
Pinkamena crumbled like a cookie in a blender. Tears poured down her face, and the pathetic mare could do nothing to stop it.
It took an eternity, but Pinkamena suppressed the bulk of her tears, and trudged through the pain. No amount of optimism could fix this.
But just as she entered, two ponies shouted at her to move. Pinkamena threw herself to the side in a nick of time, for a bat pony was being run into the facility.
She would never forget what happened next.
Fluttershy came up with several supplies. She acted as though she had gone through these things a thousand times. The mare would screech every now and then, and the pastel pegasus would comfort her. The whole time Fluttershy worked, she sang to the mare, all while smiling brightly.
"Hush now, Quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head." The single line over and over.
It was obvious the mare was giving birth.
Fluttershy even appeared to be having difficulty, than she spotted her pink friend.
"Pinkie, I need help!"
And Pinkamena found herself holding a mare's legs apart as her yellow friend comforted her.
Not long after, Pinkamena was holding a tiny filly.
The poor thing screamed, and the mare holding her would've done the same thing.
After all, it wasn't born in an ideal location, and it was covered in several differing fluids.
Fluttershy took a clean scalpel and cut the cord that connected mother to baby.
Pinkamena placed the filly in the mother's arms.
She cried again.
But she wasn't sad.
For the whole infirmary had gone silent, the only noises were the filly's cries.
For the first time in a long while, Pinkamena felt a twinge of something she thought was lost forever.
Hope.
"BOO!" both Cake twins shouted in unison.
Hope giggled maniacally as both twins revealed their faces from behind their hooves.
Pinkamena watched happily from the kitchen as she heated another bottle of foalmula.
Luna assigned Pinkamena to care for Hope, for her mother didn't go on long after her birth.
The twins enjoyed the idea of another sibling, and expeditiously fell in love with her, just as everyone else had.
Pinkamena had been so desperate, so fearful, for so long.
Then this filly came along.
Half changeling, half pony.
And more magical than either of the two species.
She felt nothing but love around her. Love as pure and strong as Luna and Chrysalis's.
Of course, Pinkamena didn't tell anyone about Luna's secret consort.
She laughed at the thought.
And smiled. Not the smile she used to comfort the foals. But a real smile.
She had a new foal to love and care for, after all!
Contrary to what the ponies believe, a dragon matures when it begins to embody a sin or a virtue.
Spike was no exception.
Two years ago, on his birthday, A dragon's greed overtook him. He grew monstrous, and thus, became the beast many dragons came to be. For greed was the most common thing.
Most drakes and dragons are usually older, ready to mature before their trait becomes them. Ready to face their shift into adulthood.
Spike was unprepared. Thus, he turned to an existential rampage to rid himself of fear.
And it was the mare of generosity that saved him.
Now, the assistant of Ponyville's librarian was maturing again. At this point, he was only an adolescent, but that's not the point. For it wasn't sin he was being subjected to, rather a virtue.
Defiance.
He would not be a slave to a tyrant's student any longer.
Then there was Fluttershy.
She was sheepish, quiet, and a bit of a recluse from time to time.
And it all started with that race.
When she fell, no one seemed concerned that she was falling to her death.
And in the end, the filly believed death would be a welcome concept.
But those butterflies caught her.
Intentionally or accidentally, she'd never know.
It was the first time she had truly seen beauty.
The first time she had felt a single glimmer of hope.
Then she met angel.
A bunny whose mother was about to die…
She promised the mother she'd care for her little bunny.
The Everfree Forest was dark, and a little chilly.
Spike didn't take it as a good sign.
All he took from his home was a rucksack filled with a few gems.
He tightened his grip on the bag and walked further into the darkness.
Despite the darkness, the Everfree forest was terraformed into a rather peaceful place.
Warblers sung high in the forest foliage. Reeds whistled in the light breezes. In a less dense part of the forest, he saw a two rabbits and their litter of kits. Luna and Chrysalis had done a good job making the Forest a hospitable place.
With the new beauty of the forest, he wondered what the new town would hold. Last time he was in the castle there, he thought a ghost infested the ruins of the palace. It turned out to be Pinkie, but still…
Also, ruins.
He'd been warned that some of his companions would be…different. But he already knew that. Twilight was proof enough about this war changing its citizens.
Somewhere in the distance, the roar of a Timberwolf sounded, reminding Spike he shouldn't dawdle long.
But based on the path getting more hospitable and less plant infested, he would be there soon.
The roar sounded again, but this time, it was much closer. The creature's foul breath was distant, but it was strong enough to make Spike vomit.
Spike bolted but it was too late, the creature caught his scent, and it was hunting him.
He ran off the path, hoping he could lose the Timberwolf in the thick flora, but where he ran, the forest turned stony.
He tripped on a rock, and tumbled into a crevasse.
Spike was trapped inside the plateau.
And just as he finished his assessment of his situation, the Timberwolf dropped down in front of him.
The creature licked its muzzle, Spike may not have been a full grown dragon, but he would make a decent meal.
Then something else arrived.
A pegasus, completely coated in obsidian armor.
The armor was heavily layered on her back. the shiny black stone was also used as padding for its knees even its wings. What fur he could see was bright yellow.
Then there was the mask.
It completely covered the pony's head. Two horns from a ram were plastered, and the majority of it was covered in a crimson paint.
The pegasus jumped into the crevasse with a spear. It let out a war cry, and Spike recognized it as female.
She hopped onto the Timberwolf's back.
The creature roared in an effort to frighten this little annoyance away, but she held strong.
In the end, the pegasus fluttered her wings and shot into the sky, though Spike didn't understand how she could fly with such heavy armor. As she began to fall, she raised her spear. The second she landed, she swung her spear.
Chopping the Timberwolf's head right off.
After the hulking beast fell still, she swiped her spear on the ground, setting it on fire. She threw into the wooden mass.
She turned to Spike, and lifted her helmet.
Pink hair fell, and he found icy blue eyes staring at him.
Fluttershy.
She galloped over to the dragon and hugged him.
"Look at you! You've grown so much!"
He opened his mouth, gestured to the now burning mass of wood, back to Fluttershy, and uttered a simple "What!?"
Fluttershy snickered. "Let's just say I found out healing little animals isn't the only way to help pony kind."
Spike felt as if he didn't belong in the Republic.
He also knew why he was warned about his friends being different.
He had experienced Fluttershy's new intensity first-hoof.
Pinkie was depressed, very much so. She preferred being called Pinkamena now, and she spent most of her time at her home, but Spike didn't know why.
AppleJack was almost the same, but she spent the majority of her time in the castle's library, studying previous equestrian wars and battle strategy. Spike found out he didn't want to mess with her when she was reading.
He didn't exactly knew what he could do.
But after a week of being there, Pinkamena approached with a smile. The first smile he'd seen her flash since before the war, genuine smile, that is.
"Spike, I know you're unhappy. Everyone here was."
"Was?"
Pinkie chuckled and took his claw to her suite. Along the way, she told him of a bat pony who struggled to get to the republic.
She finished when she got to the door.
"This is the fruit of her labour."
She opened the door, and there it was.
A half bat-pony half Changeling filly, nudging letter blocks into a position that said "Pinkee Pi".
She looked extremely young, she could only have been a year younger than the two other foals playing around her.
"Hope!" Pinkamena called.
The tiny filly stumbled clumsily over to her.
"Mummy?"
Pinkamena lifted her up and put her in Spike's arms. "This is Spike, the dragon I liked to talk about, remember?"
"Dragon," Hope repeated. She put her hoof on Spike's snout. "Hi!" she said happily. She smiled widely, revealing two fangs.
"This is Hope, she's three weeks old."
"Three weeks? That can't be! She looks like she's two."
"We can answer that!" Pumpkin and Pound Cake shouted.
"Pwincess Wuna and Chwissy said she matures fast natuwally." said Pound.
"Hope has a TON of magic in her. It makes her gwow." said Pumpkin.
Spike bounced Hope up and down, making her laugh.
Pinkie smiled, maybe things weren't SO bad.
"I can't let you free. I need you,"
The shadow both loathed and loved those words.
It was long ago when the first of a butterfly effect started.
His vessel, a unicorn named Starswirl had been brought to Canterlot Castle for his weekly training section with Celestia and Luna.
Oddly, Celestia sent Luna up to bed early, and asked Star Swirl to come to the balcony.
And she asked for a demonstration on healing magic.
Of course, healing magic is surprisingly dangerous. A unicorn must deplete many of his natural functions in order to perform the spell properly.
Including their automatic ability to fend off demonic forces.
The shadow had always wanted a way into the mortal realm, and this unicorn was his chance!
He had seeped into a ventilation system and possessed the unicorn.
It was amazing.
For the Shadow had possessed the most powerful unicorn in Equestria.
He killed every pony in Celestia's castle, except for a meddlesome filly.
She broke through his crystal barrier to save her mortally wounded sister.
She almost succeeded in doing him in, almost.
He made the empire his own.
Enslaved the crystal ponies.
Then they came along.
The two sister princesses had returned.. And both were like lambs to the slaughter to him.
But surprisingly, the foals bested him.
However, neither had the power to kill him.
Instead, they turned him to shadow and encased him in ice.
Sombra had shrouded the empire in a spell, and waited for a chance to return.
Unfortunately, his return was short-lived, and he was killed this time.
What he expected was for his vessel to be sent to the Elysian Fields, while he had to toil once more in the art of collecting evil souls in tartarus.
What happened was that both he and the vessel were caught, saved in a sense, by Celestia.
So here he was, trapped in a little clay box.
The words she had just spoken to him, he loathed them. He would have strongly preferred his simple jobs as a demon over imprisonment.
Yet, he longed for more of her voice. It wasn't the mare he enjoyed, it was the noise directed to him. It had been long since the last time he had a single ounce of attention, and her voice made him better. And there was more.
"There is a war to come. My sister has much power on her side. The powers of the night…" she sighed, "The embodiment of love, with she is no doubt infatuated with. And Hope, they all say she is the key to Luna's victory, but she is no more than an ill-bred filly."
A war! The spirit enjoyed where this was going.
"Your power, well allow me to extend an offer. If you aid me in victory, perhaps you shall not be considered as lowly as you truly are by Hades, that half-witted ape…"
Sombra shrugged off the obvious insult towards him. This idea was more than intriguing.
"Do we have a deal?" Celestia listened to the shadow's silence, and smiled.
Sombra's joy was unmatched as he felt the familiar tingle of black magic completely overwhelming scrapping the last shreds of the pony queen's innocence.
This was her final chance to redeem herself, a test. And she failed.
Sombra's cage exploded, and the demon lavished in its freedom.
What Celestia had expected was Sombra's support in the upcoming battle, and she got that.
What she didn't realize was that the spirit of envy and pride that had once infected Luna was now taking over the white alicorn.
The mare didn't know, but through sacrificing innocence for power, she had given up her own mindset.
The spirit just needed to find the perfect moment to take over.
It would win this time.
Sombra watched a fire-red glow flash from Celestia's eyes.
Equestria would be under new management soon.
Fear.
That was Sombra's weapon, fear.
It had been long since Celestia implanted the essence of greed into one of the more powerful unicorns in Equestria.
The alicorn had been younger, foolish.
And though her pact with envy may have worked, greed was truer to himself than to his pact.
The battle was etched into Luna's mind like an axe buried in some-pony's head.
"Where's Tia?" the blue filly asked her nanny.
The caretaker was a crystal pony. Next week, she would quit out of sheer pressure. As very caretaker did.
"I wouldn't worry, little thing."
"But Tia's been gone so much... What about Star Swirl? He missed our weekly teaching session. I was hoping to learn some defense spells today."
The caretaker watched as Luna's little wings buzzed until she reached level eye-contact with her. "Why doesn't anyone play with me anymore? Celestia is always too busy. And Chrysalis's brother died, so now she's being trained to be a-"
"Chrysalis?"
Luna bit her lip. "Erm, an imaginary friend? Not my point, I miss my friends. Now help me, I'm too short to reach my bed."
In the middle of the night, Luna was awakened by a green shockwave. the wave was followed by a desperate cry from her sister.
Noticing that her nanny had fallen asleep, the tiny alicorn slipped out of her covers.
Treading quietly through the halls, Luna realized just how unusually desolate the place was.
Well, not really. Everypony was still there, but slumped against the floors and walls in deep slumber.
Celestia let out another shout, but it was much weaker than the last time. Luna fearfully broke her slow trot into a gallop.
The tiny foal swiftly reached the balcony, but it wouldn't open. She took a few steps back, and pitifully threw herself into the door, but it still refused to budge.
Upon more examination, the door was sealed from the outside with a deep, purple crystal.
The foal was persistent. She struggled to muster the magic, but the tiny filly eventually shot a beam of white hot magic at the door, vaporizing it instantly.
Celestia was against the balcony.
The young mare's fluffy pink mane and tail were in tatters. Her left eye was black and swollen shut as a tiny stream of blood slipped from the edge of it. It was clear she had lost a few teeth. Her wings were very nearly stripped clean of feathers. What was left was matted and red with blood. Scarlet cuts and ruptures coated her once white fur.
Standing in front of her was a big, gray stallion with a short, but flowing black mane and tail. Crystals crackled and grew around him. The stallions eyes glowed with an eerie green light.
Celestia boldly but weakly shot a stream of red magic toward him, but he easily countered it.
Luna watched in horror as the determination in her sister's eyes form into fear.
His spell overtook the white alicorn in seconds.
With a fleeting cry and blindingly bright flash, Celestia's horn was broken into two.
The stallion's horn glowed with dark energy. Celestia's eyes were already filled with terror, but Luna watched as they filled with the same green glow the stallion had.
She could not break his gaze, and shivers pulsed through the mare.
Luna didn't know what he was doing to her, but she was bold enough to get into the line of the spell.
With eye contact broken, Celestia easily broke free of the horrific incantation. Just in time to see little Luna, boldly challenging him with her gaze.
The filly turned to the weak mare, her eyes were filled with utter defeat instead of fear now.
The stallion fired a few spells at the filly, but she evaded them with some difficulty.
But he did hit the flaw in his plan with a fireball after a while.
Luna screamed, then lay motionless and engulfed in flame.
What happened next was sudden.
The flame dispersed, shooting out in all directions.
Luna shot into the air with an unnatural smile.
She giggled, and though it was completely adorable, there was an eerie tone to it.
"Fool," she laughed.
"You believe you can smother the reign of the moon so easily?"
Luna shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them. The white morphed into a light blue, and her pupil thinned out into a slit.
She laughed hysterically. "You may be able to fall my sister, but me? Ha! You and I are of a kind, both born under the night's domain. Our powers forged in shadow and fear. You should know that it will not go out willingly." More giggles erupted from her mouth. Multiple voices whispered and echoed the filly's words.
"I don't know what you are, who you are, but I know by simple observation that your powers are solely based on fear. But they are but a DROP in the ocean compared to the nightmares I could induce!" The tiny, but frightening foal met eyes with the Stallion, who took a step back.
"We both control the shadows, but anyone who truly thinks knows they are loyal only to me."
Luna rose into the air, horn flickering and eyes glowing.
Darkness flocked to her, bonding itself to her horn.
Luna's coat turned midnight black. Feathers flew off her wings, leaving black skin behind. Her mane and tail stretched and turned violet, flowing softly behind her.
Luna laughed again, showing that her teeth had sharpened into fangs.
The stallion frantically shot beam after beam at the filly, but she was right. The shadows were loyal to this little foal.
Each shot bounced off her like water off a duck's back.
Luna climbed in the air, hung their for just a split second, then shot down like a comet.
She plummeted into the stallion, driving him through the balcony, beginning a long fall.
Luna smiled at her victory, embracing his end gladly.
But from under her, the stallion shifted into shadow, then floated away.
Luna caught herself, then flew back to Celestia.
The mare pitifully shied away from the little alicorn.
"What are you?" she mumbled weakly.
"Don't worry, Tia. The magics bound to me are dark, but good-willed. They wouldn't harm me or you. Save your voice, you need a healer."
But they could not get a healer.
Celestia explained to Luna that everyone in the castle was killed by the stallion. Sombra, she called him.
The sisters were forced into hiding. That meant every wound had to heal on its own.
It was a painful year.
When they returned, Sombra had become leader of Equestria, but the Crystal Empire became his domain.
He brutally murdered the Emperor and Empress of the land, and enslaved the inhabitants.
Celestia and Luna did overcome Sombra, thus taking back their land, but he took the empire with him.
Of course, he came back.
Celestia still wanted to punish the spirit.
Luna knew that Celestia captured and sealed him within a magic cage.
But now…
Luna sensed that anything good within Celestia was destroyed, gone now.
She needed to win this war.
The door to Pinkamena's suite opened, and a changeling-pony galloped out at the speed of light.
"Hope! I need to tell you something!"
The filly let out a loud sigh and threw herself onto the floor.
"Whaaaat?" she grumbled.
Pinkamena rolled her eyes. "Be back before four o' clock, okay?"
"I know, mommy, don't worry!"
The pink mare watched the dark filly gallop down the hall. Smiling, she went back into her home.
Hope laughed, and launched herself into the air just above the floor. Buzzing her wings until she attained smoother flight.
"I can't wait to explore the castle! And the courtyard, and the marketplace, and just the overall village! This is awesome!!!"
She zoomed down the stairs, and the first thing she heard was the clashing of swords in the courtyard, instantly peaking the filly's interest.
Ryhini was a little gryphon cub.
She was seven, and tried to go with the flow, feigning the most innocent demeanor possible.
Then the war happened.
In an effort to aid the war's passing, but stay out of it, the Chancellor of the Gryphon lands sent half his army to the Solar Empire. Most soldiers were outraged with this, and went to the the Everfree to help Luna.
Ryhini couldn't resist, and the cub she had always been surfaced for the first time.
Grabbing a wooden sword she fashioned for herself long ago, Ry hid in her older brother's caravan.
He was enraged when he found her, of course, but he was left with no way to take her home. So, Ryhini got to stay.
The little cub was in the practice ground, watching dummies being obliterated by changelings, ponies, and gryphons alike.
One pony took a break, and Ry jumped in the air with glee.
She gripped her wood sword in her beak and bolted to in the direction of the free dummy.
But she skidded to a stop when her brother stood in front of her.
"Sorry, Rhino, still not old enough. Just go back inside, okay?"
The cub sighed and turned around, but then she caught something in the corner of her eye.
A dark-colored filly, watching the battle from a castle window.
Clearly she was a spy from the enemy!
Ry grabbed her sword and waited for her to be on her way to strike.
Hope galloped to the entrance of the castle, and there it was.
Grass.
She flew outside, and slowly slid her hoof onto the soft green material.
To her surprise, nothing bad happened.
Hesitantly, Hope lowered herself onto the soft grass, and it felt wonderful!
She smiled and trotted around in the green foliage.
Her accurate ears heard it, but she was too late in her reaction.
Hope soon found herself pinned under a Gryphon with a wood sword.
The gryphon raised the sword, but then she looked a little more closely at the filly.
"Are you a spy?" she asked.
"Um, no," Hope said, confused.
The gryphon set her sword to the side, stepped off Hope, and helped her up.
"Sorry. I'm Ryhini, or Ry, or Rhino. Whichever you prefer. What's your name?"
"I'm Hope. I like your thingie!"
"Thingie? Oh, my sword?"
"Yeah! Your thingie."
Ry grabbed the sword in her claw.
"Have you ever seen a sword before?"
"Afraid not, I've spent my life in the castle."
"How old are you?"
"I'm four months old. But mommy says I'm supposed to be the "ekivlant" of eight."
"Wow! You must be magic or something! So, you've never been outside the castle?"
Hope nodded her head solemnly. "This is my first time exploring the Republic."
Ry sprung into the air. "I know EVERYTHING about this place! I even know where in the Marketplace to get the best produce! Want me to show you?"
"As friends?"
"Well I like you! So yeah!"
Ryhini ran down the path, and Hape followed after, excited at having her first friend.
Glass Slipper and Katydid were very similar. But one was a crystal pony, the other a changeling.
Glass Slipper lost her parents to Sombra over a thousand years ago when they tried to organize a rebellion.
In the chaos, the tiny filly slipped away and took to living in the alleys.
Living off rainwater and moldy bread, the foal had to learn how to steal to survive.
Katydid lost her parents to starvation in the times of the famine.
She lived off the streets, but was only dealt an occasional glance by pitiful citizens.
No pony could spare a thing for her, lest they suffer her fate, so Katy began to take what she needed.
Thus, the two made the perfect pair.
It was a simple job, get an apple for dinner.
Slip and Katy hid behind an unoccupied stall. It was time for their plan to start.
Katydid's horn flickered, and bright beams of light shot towards the stall owner, the filly, and the gryphon cub occupying it.
The three became captivated by the lights as they exploded into tiny fireworks.
Once that job was done, Slip strung a suction dart into her toy crossbow.
The crystal filly aimed it carefully at a bright, juicy-looking apple, and shot the dart.
Slip's aim was true, and the dart immediately stuck to the apple.
The filly turned the crank on her crossbow, and the dart & the apple receded towards them.
Seeing the moving apple in the corner of her eye, Ryhini was immediately suspicious.
The apple was in Katy's reach, but when she when to retrieve it, the apple found itself smashed under a gryphon's paw.
The two foals cowered under her.
"Thieves!" Ry cried.
The vendor came over, and upon seeing the foals, screamed out loud.
He chastised and scolded them aggressively, with swearing and racist slurs mixed in.
"We need to do something. They may be thieves, but they're also just foals!" Hope whispered to Ry.
"Agreed, but what?"
Hope thought for a moment, then had an idea.
"Do you know that vendor's name?"
"Mm-hmm, his name is Cherry Fizzy."
"CHERRY!" Luna's loud voice boomed through the air, eyes white and glowing.
The princess descended.
"I will say this once. Let these fillies go, and close your kiosk. I will have you on the front infantry if you do not heed my instructions!"
The stallion backed away in fear, cowering before his princess. "Y-yes ma'am!" he cried, then he ran away.
The foals shamefully walked to Luna.
"I'm sorry, m'lady…" Slipper sniffed.
"We know stealing is bad, Princess. We're just so h-hungry."
The Princess kneeled down and smiled. Her horn glowed, and two apples appeared in front of the fillies.
Luna heaved herself into the air, and a bright green glow enveloped her, seeming to sear the flesh off her body. In the end, a small filly was left.
Hope dropped from the sky to Slipper and Katy.
Ryhini ran over to them.
''THAT WAS AWESOME!" she cried.
"You're not Luna…" Slip said, confused.
"I'm Hope, a bat-changeling. I just learned how to transform. Cool huh?"
"S-so you're not mad we tried to steal an apple?" Katy queried.
Hope shrugged. "Eh. It's justified. You have a royal pardon either way."
Pinkie watched from her suite window, her foal had finally found friends! It was exciting.
Watching them play in the gardens, she lost all sense of time.
It made her sad as well as happy.
At the rate Hope was aging, these children would only be in her age group a week or so at best.
And soon, it would be time to tell her of her destiny.
Feh, to heck with it.
I've been getting lazier about this story, and I know a lot of people see it.
At this point, I just work on it for the sake of keeping it going, and I honestly kind of hate it myself.
I don't necessarily want it to die, though. If anyone wants to take it over, feel free to message me.
I'd rather work on Chained or making sure that my last Trotting Dead doesn't fail too bad.
