Mistakesby InkyarnChaptersPokes and PeachesBuckets In RedAlicornCross EyesPokes and PeachesA pair of bright blue eyes stared ahead, narrowed with concentration. The pony they belonged to let her face scrunch up. Her eye began to twitch as sweat broke her brow. With every passing second, those brilliantly blue eyes watered, their lids quaking with effort. The filly held her breath until her pale yellow cheeks began to go blue. Still, she stared on. Her brow furrowed, her ears pinned. Her neck strained as she fought to keep her eyes locked on her target. It sat mockingly before her, expression blank, eyes unblinking. The intensity was too much. She was going to keep over. She... She... She blinked. A great huff of air burst from her small chest and she collapsed to her side. The young filly kept rolling until her hooves struck out into the air in front of her. Her mane swirled about her head on the floor, waves of purple that crashed down on the smooth marble beneath her. She glanced up to find her opponent. A great pink doll. The filly flipped back over and frowned at the thing, kicking it with a hoof. "You always win, Poke." She humphed, sitting heavily on the floor. "Why not just blink and get it over with?" The barest hint of a smile flickered across her pale face. She leapt away, settling into a crouching stance. "Because I'm gonna win this one!" The intensity was high. The strain was terrible. Seconds ticked by into a full minute. Sweat broke her brow and she sank lower into her stance, eyes narrowing with effort. Another minute began to roll by and darkness suddenly fell across her vision. With her eyes still closed, she let out an exasperated groan and rolled over, hers flattening. "Come on, Poke!" She snatched the doll's paws, throwing it into the air to land atop her soft yellow belly. She snorted and sat up, shoving the plaything away and looking about the room. It was a nice room, as bedrooms go. There was a large bed with soft pink drapes hung lightly around it. Its rich purple comforter was strewn about, its pillows askew. In fact, everything in the room was much the same. A desk in the corner was cluttered and lopsided. Its papers and pens were scattered all around the corner, a few making their way almost to where the filly sat. She was in a large open space. It was clustered and by all accounts messy. Old toys and broken things lay everywhere, unused and unwanted. The room itself was disheveled and off-kilter. All of the furniture was made of deep, polished wood. Dark surfaces, shining in the sunlight and almost glittering. The filly's reflection peered back at her. There were also soft leather chairs and plushy, soft couches. This made up the sitting room, just before the front door. It was a few paces from the edge of the play area, where she sat now. The light wooden floor became creamy, beautiful marble. Despite its many years-worth of scuffs and scratches, it hardly looked any worse. This section lacked furniture, despite a beautiful marble counter space where she ate her foods and a hand-carved treasure chest of toys. After the toy room, the marble floors became a soft magenta carpet. The bed adorned the wall, with tall oak nightstands beside it. There was a hope chest at the foot of the bed, but its lid had long since broken off, revealing an empty hat box and more broken toys. The desk was on the opposite wall. It had collected a fine layer of dust in its days of neglect, as the filly had quickly grown tired of its usefulness, preferring to draw and write in the comfort of the play area. Oddly enough, however, the room was bare of decorations. There were no statues, rugs, or even paintings on the walls. The furniture was all the appeal the room had. While there were toys, none of them could be considered decorous. The only one still in-tact was the lumbering pink creature that sat before the filly now. The tall white walls were utterly bare. One showed signs of having recently been painted, with faint lines of random colors peeking through. Buckets of colors and paints were resting on the floor beside it, but all of them were sealed. Opposite the bed, the wall opened into three tall, wide windows. Their view of the city below was distorted by the glass but the sky was clear and bright. The light that streamed in was always golden and warm, giving the room an almost lively feel to it. The filly frowned to herself, moving into a long stretch. She yawned widely and shook out her soft purple mane, standing and dragging her doll to the sitting room. Beside the door, in a corner, was a small television. Her horn lit up, dragging a remote control toward her. The tv flicked on with a small thumping noise and colors brightened across the screen. Brightly colored creatures danced across the glass surface, spraying jets of water or emitting more colors from their foreheads. One orange lizard let loose a gout of flame, frying an odd tall beast until its furless skin was black. The filly watched these antics, her mouth a thin line. Her ears lowered slightly and she pressed a button. The image flipped and a similar hairless monster stomped about on screen, its voice whining and shrieking words that made no sense to the filly watching. She made a face, glancing at her pink companion. The monsters continued stomping about and the filly sighed, dropping her chin into her hoof. The jumble of half-Equestrian words continued to flow from the speakers. Finally, she was forced to mute the thing. "What a stupid show." She rolled over on the couch, sliding down onto the floor until just her back hooves still rested on the cushion. One monster babbled to the other, tossing its hands in extravagant gestures. "I wanted a pineapple," The filly pitched her voice higher. "It had to be in this exact shape!" The beast rounded its hands, making a strange curvy shape in the air. "You gave me a peach. I didn't want a peach. I wanted a pineapple!" It stomped a foot. Another beast shook its head and the filly dropped her voice low. "I couldn't find a pineapple this shape." The second monster made a similar gesture. "I found one this shaped, but there was a sponge inside it." "I hate sponges," The other one huffed. "That's why you don't have a pineapple." "I hate peaches." "Maybe if you didn't hate sponges, you would have a pineapple." "But peaches are gross and sticky and blegh!" The beast shuddered at the very thought. "You don't have to hate my peaches..." The monster began to whimper. There was a sudden knock at the filly's door and she gave a start, flipping over and dragging the pink creature with her. She galloped for the door, sliding across the wood and throwing it open to a startled white servant pony. On his back, he carried a tray with a silver lid on it. His expression instantly steeled and he raised his chin, stepping inside with an air of brave authority. The filly watched him hungrily, mouth beginning to water. Or, rather, she watched the tray. The stallion cleared his throat and slid the tray onto the short marble counter. "Dinner, my princess Erroria." He gave a small bow as the filly approached the counter. She jumped into the seat, glanced at the lid for half a second, then tore it off the tray, leaving the food beneath it behind. "Silver!" The clamped her teeth on the edge of the lid and chomped down. There was a horrible crunching noise and the sound of tearing metal. The butler looked on in horror as Erroria's horn lit up and she chewed the metal as though it was no more than a bite of lettuce. "Oh Butty, how did you know silver was my favorite?" She grinned at the stunned stallion, a flake of metal poking out from between her teeth. The butler frowned, a bead of sweat breaking his pristine white brow. After a deep breath, he pulled the lid from Erroria's grasp, nodding toward the plate of food. He cleared his throat, unsure of how to proceed. "A patch of hay on slightly toasted baked bread, with cinnamon buns and peach preserves on the sides, my princess." He gave a slight bow, eyes flicking from the filly to the food. When she did not move, he straightened, taking half a step back. Erroria stared at him for a long minute, her face expressionless but her eyes intense and focused. She observed him with the kind of determination one would watch a puzzle. Concentration masked her face until the butler took another step back. His impassive face broke into a wide frown, his ears falling dramatically. Another bead of sweat rolled down and he blinked. "Finally!" Erorria leapt into the air, wings fluttering with a faint buzzing noise. She flitted about the room at top speed, crashing into the butler and sending them both tumbling to the floor. She hugged him tightly around his neck, wings continuing to buzz. "I've been waiting for years to beat somepony at this game!" Her voice was high, her muzzle scrunching up with a brimming smile. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She nuzzled his hard and then skipped away, whisking her silver lid off the floor and taking another bite. A harsh scraping, grinding sound came from her chewing as she hopped up onto her chair and observed the dinner laid out for her. It continued to steam. The butler stood, dusting himself off before retrieving the lid. "Princess, you-" He turned to the faint yellow pegasus sitting at the chair. "Princess Erroria?" A drop of cold panic shot through him and he raced around to her side, eyes widening at the sight. The pegasus turned to smile at him, small flakes of silver protruding from her teeth. "You really went all out with this one, Butty." She squeaked, turning back to the food. "This all looks delicious. Even better than the silver!" She grinned playfully, shifting her gaze to the small bowl of peaches. A low hum of concentration rumbled from within her as her face screwed up. Finally, with a small huff, she put a hoof to her head. "Oh, I've lost my horn. Darn it! I had so many uses left for that thing." She caught the butler's eye and pursed her lips, giving him a small glare. "Quit staring, it'll come back tomorrow." He gave a start, stumbling back and giving a hasty bow. "Yes, princess. Sorry princess!" He snatched the lid and bolted for the door. Erroria watched him go, sighing shallowly. "I liked the last Butty better." As he reached the door, she gave a short whinny. "If you're back tomorrow, call me Alula." Without another word, the butler nodded and slammed the door shut, the heavy deadbolt sliding into place behind him. Once again, princess Erroria, Alula, was alone. She gave a snort and scooped up a hoof-full of peaches. A single one entered her mouth before she shot away from the food, coughing and spluttering and spitting across the floor. "Yuck, I hate peaches!" Buckets In Red"Slopoke, go!" A little tan earth pony leapt off the large princessy bed, throwing the giant pink doll ahead of her. She rolled merrily across the floor, laughing as the plushy thing landed atop her. With a flair, she tossed it up and positioned it just so on the corner of the footboard. After making sure it was perfect, she raced across the room and found a halfway decent man-creature toy and stood it on its two spindly legs, facing Poke. A grin splayed widely across her face and she took a few steps back, lowering her torso and swishing her tail about happily. "Here, we set the scene. It's macho pony man," She darted forward and held the action figure in the air like a trophy, giggling excitedly, "Against the fearsome pink blob, Poke!" She tossed the beast up and chuckled as it came crashing down atop her. After carefully removing her horn so as not to break it, she positioned it back on the bed and whipped around. "But what's this? Macho-Pony-Man sends out Pikachu!" She skid back to the toy, lifting its oddly shaped arm and flipping a switch on the back. "Pikachu, I choose you." Alula pitched her voice higher, moving the figure as she spoke. "Come on out!" She flipped the switch again and the toy's arm convulsed, nearly shattering the toy. With a spurt of magic, however, she was able to keep it from falling apart. Allula jumped forward and made a surprised springy sound-effect. Then she struck a fighting stance, digging a hoof into the ground. She flared her wings and snorted, leveling her voice until it was piercing. "Pikachu!" She took one look at her wings and deflated, glancing at her foe. It stared unblinkingly at her. Not mocking, but almost reprimanding. "Come on, Alula." She dropped her voice as low as it could go for Poke. "You can do better than that." Determination scrunched up her young face and she set her jaw, stomping back to the now collapsed and armless monster-figure toy. She set it upright and planted it firmly on the floor. "Now I call out... Uh, Pidgey." Her wings fluttered with anticipation as she held the toy's arm against its body. Instead of flicking the switch, she pulled the arm back and flipped it forward, letting the toy crumple to bits. "Go, Pidgey!" As the action figure fell, she flared her wings and leapt out onto the scene. "Pidgey, use gust on Slopoke!" She threw herself into the air and waggled her hooves dramatically, and made a whistling, gusting noise as she beat her wings. Her body convulsed once, her muscles and her bones shifting. There was the distinctive pinching pressure as her bones hardened and her wings were suddenly gone. Without anything to hold her aloft, she crashed to the floor, skipping along the carpet and tearing through a path of broken toys and torn dolls. A soft cry came from her crumpled body and she slowly pushed herself up. The toys scattered about her, insincere smiles on plastic faces. Ponies and animals and strange two-legged monsters. They sneered mockingly at her as she sat in a crumpled heap of shame. With her pidgey impersonation failed, Poke won by default. Even his impassive and friendly face jeered at her. "Should have known, Alula." It almost seemed to say. Alula sat herself up, drawing her hooves colser to her. "Shut up," She sniffed, ducking her head. "Now I know why they call you princess Erroria!" His deeply feminine voice chuckled and he rocked forward, falling to the floor with a soft puff. Alula watched him fall, tears stinging her eyes. "Come on, Poke," She choked out. Standing, she hobbled toward the doll, poking it gently. "Poke, you're my only friend here. Don't be like this." "Like what?" The doll snapped back. With a faint, shimmering silhouette, the doll rose and danced about the unicorn. "Little Lula?" It swirled in the air about her, soft pink paw reaching out to jab at her. She stumbled back, cringing as the doll came closer and closer. "Little Lula, sing along. Lula, Lula, got it wrong!" Alula could not back up any further. She toppled a paint can and slipped, sliding into the wall. Her head struck stone and the room spun, along with the fluffy pink menace. "She tried to fix it, but then..." Poke surged toward her, muffling her startled shriek with his great, plush body. "Lula got it wrong again!" She shoved past it and scrabbled across the crowded marble floor. The toys and trinkets shrieked with laughter, pointing and jeering and mocking. They all began to chant, every echo following the filly. "Little Lula, sing along. Lula always gets it wrong!" A half-gutted stuffed dog came crashing down before the sitting room, blocking Alula's path. She reared back, stumbling into the toys. "Stop!" She screeched. "Stop, stop, all of you!" Their echoes pierced her ears. Their laughter filled her until it was all she could hear, all she could know. "I said stop it! Let me wake up, please! I wanna wake up now, let this be a dream!" Suddenly, her horn puttered out. Muscles and bones shifted within her and an earth pony cowered on the marble floor, quaking visibly. Tears began to wet her furry tan cheeks and she buried her head in her hooves. Still, she heard their sickening laughter. The door burst open and a grey butler, much younger than the one before him, came bursting through. "Princess Erroria!" He gasped, stumbling into the mess. His eyes locked onto the filly's small form across the room and he charged forward, stopping only when he heard the sound. Rocking to herself, her face hidden beneath her hooves, the princess was laughing hysterically.The butler froze, his ears twitching. "Princess?" She whipped around, bloodshot eyes locking onto him. He flinched, stumbling back. "Princess, I heard a scream. Is everything... Alright?" She stood slowly, never taking her eyes off him. In one hoof, she clutched a broken pony toy. It had long since been torn from its plastic pedestal, with one foot torn completely away. A tattered black suit had been forced over its crushed and deformed body. Perhaps to represent a butler... Alula's head suddenly jerked to the side, the sudden movement catching the butler's attention. She started toward him, brow furrowed in anger. "Little Lula, sing along. Lula, Lula, gets it wrong." Her body convulsed once more. Her bones popped and narrowed, hollowing out and expanding wider and lighter. A horn shot out from her forehead, parting her pale purple bangs. A tiny alicorn strode angrily toward the butler as he scrambled back, eyes going wide. She lifted the doll over her head and dashed it to the ground. "Well am I wrong about this, Butty?" It skittered across the floor and rolled onto the carpet. She chased after it, stomping viciously on the soft plastic. It squeaked ever so silently. "I have a new butler every day, Butty. Do you know why?" She stomped again, never taking her eyes off the stallion. "Huh?" She snapped. "Do you?" "N-No ma'am, I don't!" He hit the wall, sliding down onto his rump. From Alula's angle, he looked smaller than she. A wide, manic grin splayed across her face. She kicked the toy at the butler, making him flinch. With a chuckle, the princess stepped back and gestured to a wall. "Why not ask the last one?" The butler dared sit up and peer over the plush couch. A pool of crimson stared him in the face. Beside a label-less bucket, it spilled across the floor, stilling running hot and thick. He began to quake as his daring eyes led him up further. The wall had been vainly painted over in white but there were still patches and streaks of faint color. Dark black streaks and splatters of red. Then, finally, at the corner by the floor. Three scarlet words: "Celestia save us" Alula's horn lit up and her face filled the butler's vision. He reared back, striking his head on the wall. With a maddened cry, he scrambled for the door. It slammed shut behind him, with the echo of a piercing scream following in his wake. The princess stood where the butler had been, her grin not lost. A moment after the echoes ceased, she turned back to the stuffed doll before her. Her grin only widened and a full-hearted laughter erupted from her tiny chest. She reached down and retrieved a ring of keys from within her tail, eyes sparkling. "You, my fluffy pink friend," She chuckled, "Are amazing!" She tossed the rings up and caught them in a faintly blue magical hold. Only then did she notice her wings, buzzing happily at her sides. She gave an excited gasp and jumped into the air, facing the pink doll. "Pidgey, use gust attack!" Her horn grew twice as bright and she beat her wings furiously, whipping up a huge gust of air. The doll was torn off the floor and thrown across the room, landing in a sticky pool of sunset red. Alula lit down, jumping happily. "Yes! And Pidgey is the winner!" She skipped about the bedroom, laughing and exhaling as loudly as possible. "The crowd's going wild! Go Pidgey, go Pidgey!" She spotted Poke and lifted him out of the mess, hugging him tight. "And Slopoke, too!" AlicornThe unicorn sat upside down on her couch, eyes locked on the door. The deadbolt it concealed mocked her from the thick wooden frame. She could almost see it, keeping the entrance firmly sealed and keeping her deliberately outside of the world. Every butler she had acquired over the years had always held a key on them, so they could enter and exit at will. Now Alula found herself in possession of the sweet, ever so rare silver instrument. In a room filled with things that should not exist, this was the most precious artifact she could hope to have. A single silver key. And though her belly rumbled like a crying foal, she refrained from swallowing it. A sudden sound caught her ears and she went rigid, flipping over. Her wings fluttered, carrying her to the door and up to its accompanying peep hole. It was never meant to have such a thing, however after the drilling incident, some kind construction pony was courteous enough to slip a small glass piece in it to make it a mirror. All that could ever been seen from the hole was a blank wall. The spyglass gave Alula a field of vision only half as wide as herself, so she had quickly lost interest in the thing as her room continued to fill with impossible things. Now, however, she was grateful for it, as she watched the slightly distorted form of a blue butler trot up to her room. With a gleeful laugh, Alula shot away and his the floor, giving only the barest hint of a groan as her wings disappeared. She raced across the room and dove across her bed, gathering up the blankets and bundling them around her. Seconds ticked by and there was the characteristic sound of the deadbolt sliding away. Then a pony walked inside and the door relocked automatically. "Princess Erroria?" The stallion spoke with the kind of confidence only an arrogant pony on his first day could have. The alicorn in question fought the urge to gag as she reached forward to grip a broke slinky. Her horn lit it up and tossed it across the room, ensuring that it smashed to the ground with several quick little thumps that disappeared around the side of the couch. The butler flinched and whipped around, eyes snapping onto the furniture. "Princess?" With his arrogance now masked in a tinge of caution, Alula was much more relaxed. She scooted toward the edge of the comforter and peeked out the edge, stifling a giggle. There was the sudden rush of hoofsteps behind the butler and he skipped forward, ears pinning. "Alright, young filly. That's enough, come out right now." He stamped a hoof. This was characteristic of all new butlers. They hear the stories and think themselves capable of handling just a filly. Then, the show begins. Suddenly, the tv in the corner flipped on with a sudden thump, immediately followed by a girly shriek. A child's voice rushed out, pitched higher than any normal filly. "Daddy? Daddy, are you there?" Butty glanced back at the television and blanched, finding the hideous creature on screen. "Goddess, what is that?" He shuddered down to his bones. "Princess, I know you're here. Enough with the games." The tv gave another thumping sound and the channel switched. Across the brightly lit screen, a boy was chasing a few adult beasts through a house. "Are you my mummy?" "Princess Erroria!" The butler snapped, stamping his hoof. "Enough of these silly games. You are a young filly and just because you're not a real princess doesn't mean you can take it out on others with these silly games!" Even the characters on the television paused at his stinging words. Alula could not help her tiny gasp, nor the spasm through her muscles that sent her leaping out from beneath her blanket. "I'm a real princess." She scoffed, sizing up this new stallion. Not as old as the others, but still rather ancient. Two strong wings hung at his sides. Rare in a butler to be anything other than an earth pony or a unicorn. Still, he was merely a butler and how dare he? Alula told him just that. "I'm not on Celestia's throne, but you can't tell me I'm not real!" Her cheeks blazed, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. The butler set his sights on her for the first time and snorted with surprise and disdain. "Please, you're an earth pony. You're no alicorn princess." He raised a brow and hoisted the heavy tin tray up onto the counter. "Now come on, eat your soup." Alula felt something within her tick. Her eyes widened and narrowed in quick successions. "I-I am too an alicorn princess!" Her pale cheeks burned beneath the yellow fur, nearly glowing a bright orange. The butler glanced back, his sharp blue eyes taking in her small, earth-pony form. A small hum of disbelief and disinterest rumbled out from within him and he uncovered the plate of cold carrot soup. Alula's face crinkled, her features distorted and wild. "How dare you? I... I am your princess!" Her body heaved and her flank began to flash. A silvery white feather appeared across it in an instant. "I'm as much of a princess as those-those little pretend gods!" Another flash changed the feather into a single bit. It flashed again- again and again. Finally, a red triangle with strange runes almost like numbers in its middle flashed across her flank, branding itself seemingly into her skin. The young filly's body distorted, her wings striking out from her back. A horn burst through her forehead, bringing with it a spark of magic. The tin tray lid flung itself into the air, careening across the ceiling with a loud shriek. The butler reeled back, his face wrinkling in horror. He watched the filly transition swiftly from an earth pony into an alicorn. She did not stop. Her wings shrunk and her stature swelled, then the horn fell back into the filly's skull as her wings burst back out. Her body seemed to shrink as her bones hollowed and her weight lifted. Then she was an earth pony once more, then a unicorn. Her face twisted and her eyes flashed over with an eerie white light. The butler recoiled further, a snort of disgust erupting from within him. Things began to fly about the room, all carrying the same shimmering silhouette that surrounded Princess Erroria's horn. The tray lid suddenly dropped from the ceiling, landing heavily on the back of Butty's head. He grunted and toppled over, eyelids fluttering. Alula instantly reverted back to a mere pegasus. She skipped back as her eyes returned, finding the motionless form of her new blue butler on her floor. Panic and fear crawled through her gut and she raced toward the door. The silver key fit easily into the lock and the deadbolt swung back with a metallic swish. Its accompanying latch clicked and the door swung open. A rush of cold, clean air swept about her, sucking her out the door and into the hallway. The door behind her slammed shut, with the delicious silver still in its lock. The deadbolt slid back and trapped her on the outside world. There was a pony down the hall, his shimmering yellow armor gleaming in the light of a nearby window. His eyes darted to the door and the pike at his side stooped. Shock ran across his expression and his voice filled the corridor. Alula glanced back to see two more similarly clad guards stumble from a side hall, clambering hastily toward her. Fear sparked through her heart for the first time in her life. A sweet, sharp pain stabbed her gut, flowing through every vein and working its way into her tense muscles. Despite the agony and the sickened churning of her stomach, a grin splayed wide across her face. A horrid, unconctrollable laugh rose from within her, making the guards pause. The watched her heave and giggle in the hall, stumbling into the wall and leaning against it. "Don't let her get away!" The first guard shouted, making a charge. Alula met his dazzlingly green eyes and she gasped. Another stab of fear opened a wave of panic. Her body convulsed and her eyes glazed over. From a newly emerged horn, light flooded the coridor. There was a blinding flash and a loud crack that sent everypony dashing away. When the glare cleared, there was nothing but a blackened streak across the wall where the princess had been. "Oof!" A small yellow unicorn fell from the sky. She landed heavily inside an old wooden wagon. The driver shouted and glanced back but and found the filly in a pile of her belongings. The filly's blue eyes stared up fearfully for half a second before fluttering shut. Her body went lax and she groaned, her head lolling forward. The grey pony whipped around to the storefront beside the cart. "Mommy!" Cross Eyes"Unhand me, you fiend!" The square was quiet, bathed in an early morning glow and filled mostly with store owners and dressed up school foals on their way across town. One such filly was as well, and she sat atop her mother's cart and watched in awe as the strange yellow filly tried to break away. "Stop!" Derpy dug her hooves into the dirt, her teeth clamped tight on the pegasus' tail. "I just want to talk!" The filly's wings buzzed and she teetered precariously in the air. The shopkeep nearby gave the pair a strange look before slowly moving back into his store. "No, I've seen this on TV!" Alula missed a beat and came crashing down. She scrabbled frantically in the dirt. "You find an innocent, beautiful young maiden. And then you steal her away and lock her in a tower so that a prince has to come rescue her! But you put a dragon outside the door so that the prince gets roasted." The mare let go and Alula launched to her hooves, pacing about the cart. "And you feed the meat to the captured princess and make her eat her prince. Then you gouge out her eyes or tear off her fingernails." Derpy opened her mouth but the filly suddenly snapped on her, pointing dramatically with a hoof. "You monster! How could you?" She skid forward and fell to Derpy's hooves, shaking her own toward the sky. "He was delicious!" Derpy looked to her daughter for help, mouth agape. Dinky shrugged and rested her chin in her hoof. "Hey, filly billy." Alula paused at the sound of Dinky's voice. "And you're the competant mastermind, right?" She veered away from the mare's legs and made a show of approaching the cart. "The one who wants to rid of the beautiful princess. To chop off her hair and sell it." She braced herself on the side and leaned up to stare Dinky in the face. "You want to use my magical hair to keep yourself young forever, don't you, Mother?" Wings buzzing, Alula hovered in the air, muzzle to muzzle with her adversary. "Uh, what-" Alula suddenly darted away, flitting about excitedly. "Oh, that's good. I gotta write that down!" She grinned at the mare. "Do you have a pen and paper? I need paper." She quivered happily, lighting on the ground. "What're you talking about?" Alula paused long enough to flash back to her days of stuffing half-written scripts into the vcr slot, trying to make a cartoon. She shrugged and sat down. "Nevermind. I am princess Erroria 404." She bowed extravagantly. Dinky hopped down and offered a hoof, which was immediately ignored by Alula in place of a hug. "I think the proper greeting is hoof shaking." She backed away and wiggled her hoofies. "I've never had a friend!" With great protest, Alula drew Dinky closer and hugged her tight. "I know everything we need to do. We have to paint each other's nails and do each other's hair and talk about colts." She sat on the ground and blinked expectantly at her new pal. "Tell me about your hormones and all how they pertain to stallions." Derpy gave a start and stepped between the two. "Okay now, well. Sorry to have to run but, Dinky needs to get to school now." She looked across the near empty street. The pale sunlight was growing brighter, giving the surrounding shops a fuzzy glow. A tree nearby just began to stir with the flutter and songs of birds. Though for all the waking up the world seemed to be doing, not another pony wandered this street. Even the foals on their way had disappeared from view. Derpy looked from the distant curve in the road to the filly and back again. "Is your mom or sister around?" Alula followed Derpy's gaze. Both of them. "I don't have a mom. Or a sister. I always wanted one, though." She fluttered her wings. "How do you do that with your eyes?" She batted her own innocently. Derpy frowned, which drew an instant reaction from little Dinky. "Hey, watch-" "It's alright," her mother spoke softly, hugging her little one. "It's a condition. I can only see from my left eye, so the right just misbehaves." "Why does it do that?" Alula's ear fell with a nervous twitch. "Because I can't keep an eye on it." Dinky giggled despite herself but she quickly caught herself. Alula stepped away. "Is it contagious?" Dinky bristled and rose to her hooves. "Watch your mouth!" Alula narrowed her eyes down her muzzle. "Do you have a mirror? I can't see it." "Shut up." Dinky snarled the words. Derpy chastised her immediately, ruffling her ears. "Dinky, you know better." However, the yellow filly had been quite rude. Derpy slowly stood and brushed out her mane, stretching her wings. "We have to get going. If you go inside there," she pointed to the pharmacy behind them, "Nurse Quil is inside, he'll call you parents and help them find you." She moved to the cart and hoised it atop her back. "Goodbye, Erroria." With a strange frown, the mare loaded her filly into the cart and walked down the street, often glancing back. Alula watched them go, head cocked to the side. "Oh gosh, I need to wash my eyes!" She frantically glanced around and burst into the pharmacy. "I might catch something!" She squeaked to the orange stallion inside. "I need to wash my eyes, hurry!" Alula freezes, eyes widened. "Wait... Ha, who cares?" She leaps into the air, her wings buzzing. The horn on her forehead lit up, throwing her all the way up to the ceiling. The stallion behind the counter flinched, face drawing back with shock. But Alula did not notice. She zoomed around the ceiling. "I'm free! I'm finally free. I can eat all the silver I want!" Her loud, maniacly laughter shook the heavens. She turned on the storekeeper, grinning wide. "Residents of Ponyville, give me your metals!" She licked her lips hungrily.
Pokes and PeachesA pair of bright blue eyes stared ahead, narrowed with concentration. The pony they belonged to let her face scrunch up. Her eye began to twitch as sweat broke her brow. With every passing second, those brilliantly blue eyes watered, their lids quaking with effort. The filly held her breath until her pale yellow cheeks began to go blue. Still, she stared on. Her brow furrowed, her ears pinned. Her neck strained as she fought to keep her eyes locked on her target. It sat mockingly before her, expression blank, eyes unblinking. The intensity was too much. She was going to keep over. She... She... She blinked. A great huff of air burst from her small chest and she collapsed to her side. The young filly kept rolling until her hooves struck out into the air in front of her. Her mane swirled about her head on the floor, waves of purple that crashed down on the smooth marble beneath her. She glanced up to find her opponent. A great pink doll. The filly flipped back over and frowned at the thing, kicking it with a hoof. "You always win, Poke." She humphed, sitting heavily on the floor. "Why not just blink and get it over with?" The barest hint of a smile flickered across her pale face. She leapt away, settling into a crouching stance. "Because I'm gonna win this one!" The intensity was high. The strain was terrible. Seconds ticked by into a full minute. Sweat broke her brow and she sank lower into her stance, eyes narrowing with effort. Another minute began to roll by and darkness suddenly fell across her vision. With her eyes still closed, she let out an exasperated groan and rolled over, hers flattening. "Come on, Poke!" She snatched the doll's paws, throwing it into the air to land atop her soft yellow belly. She snorted and sat up, shoving the plaything away and looking about the room. It was a nice room, as bedrooms go. There was a large bed with soft pink drapes hung lightly around it. Its rich purple comforter was strewn about, its pillows askew. In fact, everything in the room was much the same. A desk in the corner was cluttered and lopsided. Its papers and pens were scattered all around the corner, a few making their way almost to where the filly sat. She was in a large open space. It was clustered and by all accounts messy. Old toys and broken things lay everywhere, unused and unwanted. The room itself was disheveled and off-kilter. All of the furniture was made of deep, polished wood. Dark surfaces, shining in the sunlight and almost glittering. The filly's reflection peered back at her. There were also soft leather chairs and plushy, soft couches. This made up the sitting room, just before the front door. It was a few paces from the edge of the play area, where she sat now. The light wooden floor became creamy, beautiful marble. Despite its many years-worth of scuffs and scratches, it hardly looked any worse. This section lacked furniture, despite a beautiful marble counter space where she ate her foods and a hand-carved treasure chest of toys. After the toy room, the marble floors became a soft magenta carpet. The bed adorned the wall, with tall oak nightstands beside it. There was a hope chest at the foot of the bed, but its lid had long since broken off, revealing an empty hat box and more broken toys. The desk was on the opposite wall. It had collected a fine layer of dust in its days of neglect, as the filly had quickly grown tired of its usefulness, preferring to draw and write in the comfort of the play area. Oddly enough, however, the room was bare of decorations. There were no statues, rugs, or even paintings on the walls. The furniture was all the appeal the room had. While there were toys, none of them could be considered decorous. The only one still in-tact was the lumbering pink creature that sat before the filly now. The tall white walls were utterly bare. One showed signs of having recently been painted, with faint lines of random colors peeking through. Buckets of colors and paints were resting on the floor beside it, but all of them were sealed. Opposite the bed, the wall opened into three tall, wide windows. Their view of the city below was distorted by the glass but the sky was clear and bright. The light that streamed in was always golden and warm, giving the room an almost lively feel to it. The filly frowned to herself, moving into a long stretch. She yawned widely and shook out her soft purple mane, standing and dragging her doll to the sitting room. Beside the door, in a corner, was a small television. Her horn lit up, dragging a remote control toward her. The tv flicked on with a small thumping noise and colors brightened across the screen. Brightly colored creatures danced across the glass surface, spraying jets of water or emitting more colors from their foreheads. One orange lizard let loose a gout of flame, frying an odd tall beast until its furless skin was black. The filly watched these antics, her mouth a thin line. Her ears lowered slightly and she pressed a button. The image flipped and a similar hairless monster stomped about on screen, its voice whining and shrieking words that made no sense to the filly watching. She made a face, glancing at her pink companion. The monsters continued stomping about and the filly sighed, dropping her chin into her hoof. The jumble of half-Equestrian words continued to flow from the speakers. Finally, she was forced to mute the thing. "What a stupid show." She rolled over on the couch, sliding down onto the floor until just her back hooves still rested on the cushion. One monster babbled to the other, tossing its hands in extravagant gestures. "I wanted a pineapple," The filly pitched her voice higher. "It had to be in this exact shape!" The beast rounded its hands, making a strange curvy shape in the air. "You gave me a peach. I didn't want a peach. I wanted a pineapple!" It stomped a foot. Another beast shook its head and the filly dropped her voice low. "I couldn't find a pineapple this shape." The second monster made a similar gesture. "I found one this shaped, but there was a sponge inside it." "I hate sponges," The other one huffed. "That's why you don't have a pineapple." "I hate peaches." "Maybe if you didn't hate sponges, you would have a pineapple." "But peaches are gross and sticky and blegh!" The beast shuddered at the very thought. "You don't have to hate my peaches..." The monster began to whimper. There was a sudden knock at the filly's door and she gave a start, flipping over and dragging the pink creature with her. She galloped for the door, sliding across the wood and throwing it open to a startled white servant pony. On his back, he carried a tray with a silver lid on it. His expression instantly steeled and he raised his chin, stepping inside with an air of brave authority. The filly watched him hungrily, mouth beginning to water. Or, rather, she watched the tray. The stallion cleared his throat and slid the tray onto the short marble counter. "Dinner, my princess Erroria." He gave a small bow as the filly approached the counter. She jumped into the seat, glanced at the lid for half a second, then tore it off the tray, leaving the food beneath it behind. "Silver!" The clamped her teeth on the edge of the lid and chomped down. There was a horrible crunching noise and the sound of tearing metal. The butler looked on in horror as Erroria's horn lit up and she chewed the metal as though it was no more than a bite of lettuce. "Oh Butty, how did you know silver was my favorite?" She grinned at the stunned stallion, a flake of metal poking out from between her teeth. The butler frowned, a bead of sweat breaking his pristine white brow. After a deep breath, he pulled the lid from Erroria's grasp, nodding toward the plate of food. He cleared his throat, unsure of how to proceed. "A patch of hay on slightly toasted baked bread, with cinnamon buns and peach preserves on the sides, my princess." He gave a slight bow, eyes flicking from the filly to the food. When she did not move, he straightened, taking half a step back. Erroria stared at him for a long minute, her face expressionless but her eyes intense and focused. She observed him with the kind of determination one would watch a puzzle. Concentration masked her face until the butler took another step back. His impassive face broke into a wide frown, his ears falling dramatically. Another bead of sweat rolled down and he blinked. "Finally!" Erorria leapt into the air, wings fluttering with a faint buzzing noise. She flitted about the room at top speed, crashing into the butler and sending them both tumbling to the floor. She hugged him tightly around his neck, wings continuing to buzz. "I've been waiting for years to beat somepony at this game!" Her voice was high, her muzzle scrunching up with a brimming smile. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She nuzzled his hard and then skipped away, whisking her silver lid off the floor and taking another bite. A harsh scraping, grinding sound came from her chewing as she hopped up onto her chair and observed the dinner laid out for her. It continued to steam. The butler stood, dusting himself off before retrieving the lid. "Princess, you-" He turned to the faint yellow pegasus sitting at the chair. "Princess Erroria?" A drop of cold panic shot through him and he raced around to her side, eyes widening at the sight. The pegasus turned to smile at him, small flakes of silver protruding from her teeth. "You really went all out with this one, Butty." She squeaked, turning back to the food. "This all looks delicious. Even better than the silver!" She grinned playfully, shifting her gaze to the small bowl of peaches. A low hum of concentration rumbled from within her as her face screwed up. Finally, with a small huff, she put a hoof to her head. "Oh, I've lost my horn. Darn it! I had so many uses left for that thing." She caught the butler's eye and pursed her lips, giving him a small glare. "Quit staring, it'll come back tomorrow." He gave a start, stumbling back and giving a hasty bow. "Yes, princess. Sorry princess!" He snatched the lid and bolted for the door. Erroria watched him go, sighing shallowly. "I liked the last Butty better." As he reached the door, she gave a short whinny. "If you're back tomorrow, call me Alula." Without another word, the butler nodded and slammed the door shut, the heavy deadbolt sliding into place behind him. Once again, princess Erroria, Alula, was alone. She gave a snort and scooped up a hoof-full of peaches. A single one entered her mouth before she shot away from the food, coughing and spluttering and spitting across the floor. "Yuck, I hate peaches!"
Buckets In Red"Slopoke, go!" A little tan earth pony leapt off the large princessy bed, throwing the giant pink doll ahead of her. She rolled merrily across the floor, laughing as the plushy thing landed atop her. With a flair, she tossed it up and positioned it just so on the corner of the footboard. After making sure it was perfect, she raced across the room and found a halfway decent man-creature toy and stood it on its two spindly legs, facing Poke. A grin splayed widely across her face and she took a few steps back, lowering her torso and swishing her tail about happily. "Here, we set the scene. It's macho pony man," She darted forward and held the action figure in the air like a trophy, giggling excitedly, "Against the fearsome pink blob, Poke!" She tossed the beast up and chuckled as it came crashing down atop her. After carefully removing her horn so as not to break it, she positioned it back on the bed and whipped around. "But what's this? Macho-Pony-Man sends out Pikachu!" She skid back to the toy, lifting its oddly shaped arm and flipping a switch on the back. "Pikachu, I choose you." Alula pitched her voice higher, moving the figure as she spoke. "Come on out!" She flipped the switch again and the toy's arm convulsed, nearly shattering the toy. With a spurt of magic, however, she was able to keep it from falling apart. Allula jumped forward and made a surprised springy sound-effect. Then she struck a fighting stance, digging a hoof into the ground. She flared her wings and snorted, leveling her voice until it was piercing. "Pikachu!" She took one look at her wings and deflated, glancing at her foe. It stared unblinkingly at her. Not mocking, but almost reprimanding. "Come on, Alula." She dropped her voice as low as it could go for Poke. "You can do better than that." Determination scrunched up her young face and she set her jaw, stomping back to the now collapsed and armless monster-figure toy. She set it upright and planted it firmly on the floor. "Now I call out... Uh, Pidgey." Her wings fluttered with anticipation as she held the toy's arm against its body. Instead of flicking the switch, she pulled the arm back and flipped it forward, letting the toy crumple to bits. "Go, Pidgey!" As the action figure fell, she flared her wings and leapt out onto the scene. "Pidgey, use gust on Slopoke!" She threw herself into the air and waggled her hooves dramatically, and made a whistling, gusting noise as she beat her wings. Her body convulsed once, her muscles and her bones shifting. There was the distinctive pinching pressure as her bones hardened and her wings were suddenly gone. Without anything to hold her aloft, she crashed to the floor, skipping along the carpet and tearing through a path of broken toys and torn dolls. A soft cry came from her crumpled body and she slowly pushed herself up. The toys scattered about her, insincere smiles on plastic faces. Ponies and animals and strange two-legged monsters. They sneered mockingly at her as she sat in a crumpled heap of shame. With her pidgey impersonation failed, Poke won by default. Even his impassive and friendly face jeered at her. "Should have known, Alula." It almost seemed to say. Alula sat herself up, drawing her hooves colser to her. "Shut up," She sniffed, ducking her head. "Now I know why they call you princess Erroria!" His deeply feminine voice chuckled and he rocked forward, falling to the floor with a soft puff. Alula watched him fall, tears stinging her eyes. "Come on, Poke," She choked out. Standing, she hobbled toward the doll, poking it gently. "Poke, you're my only friend here. Don't be like this." "Like what?" The doll snapped back. With a faint, shimmering silhouette, the doll rose and danced about the unicorn. "Little Lula?" It swirled in the air about her, soft pink paw reaching out to jab at her. She stumbled back, cringing as the doll came closer and closer. "Little Lula, sing along. Lula, Lula, got it wrong!" Alula could not back up any further. She toppled a paint can and slipped, sliding into the wall. Her head struck stone and the room spun, along with the fluffy pink menace. "She tried to fix it, but then..." Poke surged toward her, muffling her startled shriek with his great, plush body. "Lula got it wrong again!" She shoved past it and scrabbled across the crowded marble floor. The toys and trinkets shrieked with laughter, pointing and jeering and mocking. They all began to chant, every echo following the filly. "Little Lula, sing along. Lula always gets it wrong!" A half-gutted stuffed dog came crashing down before the sitting room, blocking Alula's path. She reared back, stumbling into the toys. "Stop!" She screeched. "Stop, stop, all of you!" Their echoes pierced her ears. Their laughter filled her until it was all she could hear, all she could know. "I said stop it! Let me wake up, please! I wanna wake up now, let this be a dream!" Suddenly, her horn puttered out. Muscles and bones shifted within her and an earth pony cowered on the marble floor, quaking visibly. Tears began to wet her furry tan cheeks and she buried her head in her hooves. Still, she heard their sickening laughter. The door burst open and a grey butler, much younger than the one before him, came bursting through. "Princess Erroria!" He gasped, stumbling into the mess. His eyes locked onto the filly's small form across the room and he charged forward, stopping only when he heard the sound. Rocking to herself, her face hidden beneath her hooves, the princess was laughing hysterically.The butler froze, his ears twitching. "Princess?" She whipped around, bloodshot eyes locking onto him. He flinched, stumbling back. "Princess, I heard a scream. Is everything... Alright?" She stood slowly, never taking her eyes off him. In one hoof, she clutched a broken pony toy. It had long since been torn from its plastic pedestal, with one foot torn completely away. A tattered black suit had been forced over its crushed and deformed body. Perhaps to represent a butler... Alula's head suddenly jerked to the side, the sudden movement catching the butler's attention. She started toward him, brow furrowed in anger. "Little Lula, sing along. Lula, Lula, gets it wrong." Her body convulsed once more. Her bones popped and narrowed, hollowing out and expanding wider and lighter. A horn shot out from her forehead, parting her pale purple bangs. A tiny alicorn strode angrily toward the butler as he scrambled back, eyes going wide. She lifted the doll over her head and dashed it to the ground. "Well am I wrong about this, Butty?" It skittered across the floor and rolled onto the carpet. She chased after it, stomping viciously on the soft plastic. It squeaked ever so silently. "I have a new butler every day, Butty. Do you know why?" She stomped again, never taking her eyes off the stallion. "Huh?" She snapped. "Do you?" "N-No ma'am, I don't!" He hit the wall, sliding down onto his rump. From Alula's angle, he looked smaller than she. A wide, manic grin splayed across her face. She kicked the toy at the butler, making him flinch. With a chuckle, the princess stepped back and gestured to a wall. "Why not ask the last one?" The butler dared sit up and peer over the plush couch. A pool of crimson stared him in the face. Beside a label-less bucket, it spilled across the floor, stilling running hot and thick. He began to quake as his daring eyes led him up further. The wall had been vainly painted over in white but there were still patches and streaks of faint color. Dark black streaks and splatters of red. Then, finally, at the corner by the floor. Three scarlet words: "Celestia save us" Alula's horn lit up and her face filled the butler's vision. He reared back, striking his head on the wall. With a maddened cry, he scrambled for the door. It slammed shut behind him, with the echo of a piercing scream following in his wake. The princess stood where the butler had been, her grin not lost. A moment after the echoes ceased, she turned back to the stuffed doll before her. Her grin only widened and a full-hearted laughter erupted from her tiny chest. She reached down and retrieved a ring of keys from within her tail, eyes sparkling. "You, my fluffy pink friend," She chuckled, "Are amazing!" She tossed the rings up and caught them in a faintly blue magical hold. Only then did she notice her wings, buzzing happily at her sides. She gave an excited gasp and jumped into the air, facing the pink doll. "Pidgey, use gust attack!" Her horn grew twice as bright and she beat her wings furiously, whipping up a huge gust of air. The doll was torn off the floor and thrown across the room, landing in a sticky pool of sunset red. Alula lit down, jumping happily. "Yes! And Pidgey is the winner!" She skipped about the bedroom, laughing and exhaling as loudly as possible. "The crowd's going wild! Go Pidgey, go Pidgey!" She spotted Poke and lifted him out of the mess, hugging him tight. "And Slopoke, too!"
AlicornThe unicorn sat upside down on her couch, eyes locked on the door. The deadbolt it concealed mocked her from the thick wooden frame. She could almost see it, keeping the entrance firmly sealed and keeping her deliberately outside of the world. Every butler she had acquired over the years had always held a key on them, so they could enter and exit at will. Now Alula found herself in possession of the sweet, ever so rare silver instrument. In a room filled with things that should not exist, this was the most precious artifact she could hope to have. A single silver key. And though her belly rumbled like a crying foal, she refrained from swallowing it. A sudden sound caught her ears and she went rigid, flipping over. Her wings fluttered, carrying her to the door and up to its accompanying peep hole. It was never meant to have such a thing, however after the drilling incident, some kind construction pony was courteous enough to slip a small glass piece in it to make it a mirror. All that could ever been seen from the hole was a blank wall. The spyglass gave Alula a field of vision only half as wide as herself, so she had quickly lost interest in the thing as her room continued to fill with impossible things. Now, however, she was grateful for it, as she watched the slightly distorted form of a blue butler trot up to her room. With a gleeful laugh, Alula shot away and his the floor, giving only the barest hint of a groan as her wings disappeared. She raced across the room and dove across her bed, gathering up the blankets and bundling them around her. Seconds ticked by and there was the characteristic sound of the deadbolt sliding away. Then a pony walked inside and the door relocked automatically. "Princess Erroria?" The stallion spoke with the kind of confidence only an arrogant pony on his first day could have. The alicorn in question fought the urge to gag as she reached forward to grip a broke slinky. Her horn lit it up and tossed it across the room, ensuring that it smashed to the ground with several quick little thumps that disappeared around the side of the couch. The butler flinched and whipped around, eyes snapping onto the furniture. "Princess?" With his arrogance now masked in a tinge of caution, Alula was much more relaxed. She scooted toward the edge of the comforter and peeked out the edge, stifling a giggle. There was the sudden rush of hoofsteps behind the butler and he skipped forward, ears pinning. "Alright, young filly. That's enough, come out right now." He stamped a hoof. This was characteristic of all new butlers. They hear the stories and think themselves capable of handling just a filly. Then, the show begins. Suddenly, the tv in the corner flipped on with a sudden thump, immediately followed by a girly shriek. A child's voice rushed out, pitched higher than any normal filly. "Daddy? Daddy, are you there?" Butty glanced back at the television and blanched, finding the hideous creature on screen. "Goddess, what is that?" He shuddered down to his bones. "Princess, I know you're here. Enough with the games." The tv gave another thumping sound and the channel switched. Across the brightly lit screen, a boy was chasing a few adult beasts through a house. "Are you my mummy?" "Princess Erroria!" The butler snapped, stamping his hoof. "Enough of these silly games. You are a young filly and just because you're not a real princess doesn't mean you can take it out on others with these silly games!" Even the characters on the television paused at his stinging words. Alula could not help her tiny gasp, nor the spasm through her muscles that sent her leaping out from beneath her blanket. "I'm a real princess." She scoffed, sizing up this new stallion. Not as old as the others, but still rather ancient. Two strong wings hung at his sides. Rare in a butler to be anything other than an earth pony or a unicorn. Still, he was merely a butler and how dare he? Alula told him just that. "I'm not on Celestia's throne, but you can't tell me I'm not real!" Her cheeks blazed, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. The butler set his sights on her for the first time and snorted with surprise and disdain. "Please, you're an earth pony. You're no alicorn princess." He raised a brow and hoisted the heavy tin tray up onto the counter. "Now come on, eat your soup." Alula felt something within her tick. Her eyes widened and narrowed in quick successions. "I-I am too an alicorn princess!" Her pale cheeks burned beneath the yellow fur, nearly glowing a bright orange. The butler glanced back, his sharp blue eyes taking in her small, earth-pony form. A small hum of disbelief and disinterest rumbled out from within him and he uncovered the plate of cold carrot soup. Alula's face crinkled, her features distorted and wild. "How dare you? I... I am your princess!" Her body heaved and her flank began to flash. A silvery white feather appeared across it in an instant. "I'm as much of a princess as those-those little pretend gods!" Another flash changed the feather into a single bit. It flashed again- again and again. Finally, a red triangle with strange runes almost like numbers in its middle flashed across her flank, branding itself seemingly into her skin. The young filly's body distorted, her wings striking out from her back. A horn burst through her forehead, bringing with it a spark of magic. The tin tray lid flung itself into the air, careening across the ceiling with a loud shriek. The butler reeled back, his face wrinkling in horror. He watched the filly transition swiftly from an earth pony into an alicorn. She did not stop. Her wings shrunk and her stature swelled, then the horn fell back into the filly's skull as her wings burst back out. Her body seemed to shrink as her bones hollowed and her weight lifted. Then she was an earth pony once more, then a unicorn. Her face twisted and her eyes flashed over with an eerie white light. The butler recoiled further, a snort of disgust erupting from within him. Things began to fly about the room, all carrying the same shimmering silhouette that surrounded Princess Erroria's horn. The tray lid suddenly dropped from the ceiling, landing heavily on the back of Butty's head. He grunted and toppled over, eyelids fluttering. Alula instantly reverted back to a mere pegasus. She skipped back as her eyes returned, finding the motionless form of her new blue butler on her floor. Panic and fear crawled through her gut and she raced toward the door. The silver key fit easily into the lock and the deadbolt swung back with a metallic swish. Its accompanying latch clicked and the door swung open. A rush of cold, clean air swept about her, sucking her out the door and into the hallway. The door behind her slammed shut, with the delicious silver still in its lock. The deadbolt slid back and trapped her on the outside world. There was a pony down the hall, his shimmering yellow armor gleaming in the light of a nearby window. His eyes darted to the door and the pike at his side stooped. Shock ran across his expression and his voice filled the corridor. Alula glanced back to see two more similarly clad guards stumble from a side hall, clambering hastily toward her. Fear sparked through her heart for the first time in her life. A sweet, sharp pain stabbed her gut, flowing through every vein and working its way into her tense muscles. Despite the agony and the sickened churning of her stomach, a grin splayed wide across her face. A horrid, unconctrollable laugh rose from within her, making the guards pause. The watched her heave and giggle in the hall, stumbling into the wall and leaning against it. "Don't let her get away!" The first guard shouted, making a charge. Alula met his dazzlingly green eyes and she gasped. Another stab of fear opened a wave of panic. Her body convulsed and her eyes glazed over. From a newly emerged horn, light flooded the coridor. There was a blinding flash and a loud crack that sent everypony dashing away. When the glare cleared, there was nothing but a blackened streak across the wall where the princess had been. "Oof!" A small yellow unicorn fell from the sky. She landed heavily inside an old wooden wagon. The driver shouted and glanced back but and found the filly in a pile of her belongings. The filly's blue eyes stared up fearfully for half a second before fluttering shut. Her body went lax and she groaned, her head lolling forward. The grey pony whipped around to the storefront beside the cart. "Mommy!"
Cross Eyes"Unhand me, you fiend!" The square was quiet, bathed in an early morning glow and filled mostly with store owners and dressed up school foals on their way across town. One such filly was as well, and she sat atop her mother's cart and watched in awe as the strange yellow filly tried to break away. "Stop!" Derpy dug her hooves into the dirt, her teeth clamped tight on the pegasus' tail. "I just want to talk!" The filly's wings buzzed and she teetered precariously in the air. The shopkeep nearby gave the pair a strange look before slowly moving back into his store. "No, I've seen this on TV!" Alula missed a beat and came crashing down. She scrabbled frantically in the dirt. "You find an innocent, beautiful young maiden. And then you steal her away and lock her in a tower so that a prince has to come rescue her! But you put a dragon outside the door so that the prince gets roasted." The mare let go and Alula launched to her hooves, pacing about the cart. "And you feed the meat to the captured princess and make her eat her prince. Then you gouge out her eyes or tear off her fingernails." Derpy opened her mouth but the filly suddenly snapped on her, pointing dramatically with a hoof. "You monster! How could you?" She skid forward and fell to Derpy's hooves, shaking her own toward the sky. "He was delicious!" Derpy looked to her daughter for help, mouth agape. Dinky shrugged and rested her chin in her hoof. "Hey, filly billy." Alula paused at the sound of Dinky's voice. "And you're the competant mastermind, right?" She veered away from the mare's legs and made a show of approaching the cart. "The one who wants to rid of the beautiful princess. To chop off her hair and sell it." She braced herself on the side and leaned up to stare Dinky in the face. "You want to use my magical hair to keep yourself young forever, don't you, Mother?" Wings buzzing, Alula hovered in the air, muzzle to muzzle with her adversary. "Uh, what-" Alula suddenly darted away, flitting about excitedly. "Oh, that's good. I gotta write that down!" She grinned at the mare. "Do you have a pen and paper? I need paper." She quivered happily, lighting on the ground. "What're you talking about?" Alula paused long enough to flash back to her days of stuffing half-written scripts into the vcr slot, trying to make a cartoon. She shrugged and sat down. "Nevermind. I am princess Erroria 404." She bowed extravagantly. Dinky hopped down and offered a hoof, which was immediately ignored by Alula in place of a hug. "I think the proper greeting is hoof shaking." She backed away and wiggled her hoofies. "I've never had a friend!" With great protest, Alula drew Dinky closer and hugged her tight. "I know everything we need to do. We have to paint each other's nails and do each other's hair and talk about colts." She sat on the ground and blinked expectantly at her new pal. "Tell me about your hormones and all how they pertain to stallions." Derpy gave a start and stepped between the two. "Okay now, well. Sorry to have to run but, Dinky needs to get to school now." She looked across the near empty street. The pale sunlight was growing brighter, giving the surrounding shops a fuzzy glow. A tree nearby just began to stir with the flutter and songs of birds. Though for all the waking up the world seemed to be doing, not another pony wandered this street. Even the foals on their way had disappeared from view. Derpy looked from the distant curve in the road to the filly and back again. "Is your mom or sister around?" Alula followed Derpy's gaze. Both of them. "I don't have a mom. Or a sister. I always wanted one, though." She fluttered her wings. "How do you do that with your eyes?" She batted her own innocently. Derpy frowned, which drew an instant reaction from little Dinky. "Hey, watch-" "It's alright," her mother spoke softly, hugging her little one. "It's a condition. I can only see from my left eye, so the right just misbehaves." "Why does it do that?" Alula's ear fell with a nervous twitch. "Because I can't keep an eye on it." Dinky giggled despite herself but she quickly caught herself. Alula stepped away. "Is it contagious?" Dinky bristled and rose to her hooves. "Watch your mouth!" Alula narrowed her eyes down her muzzle. "Do you have a mirror? I can't see it." "Shut up." Dinky snarled the words. Derpy chastised her immediately, ruffling her ears. "Dinky, you know better." However, the yellow filly had been quite rude. Derpy slowly stood and brushed out her mane, stretching her wings. "We have to get going. If you go inside there," she pointed to the pharmacy behind them, "Nurse Quil is inside, he'll call you parents and help them find you." She moved to the cart and hoised it atop her back. "Goodbye, Erroria." With a strange frown, the mare loaded her filly into the cart and walked down the street, often glancing back. Alula watched them go, head cocked to the side. "Oh gosh, I need to wash my eyes!" She frantically glanced around and burst into the pharmacy. "I might catch something!" She squeaked to the orange stallion inside. "I need to wash my eyes, hurry!" Alula freezes, eyes widened. "Wait... Ha, who cares?" She leaps into the air, her wings buzzing. The horn on her forehead lit up, throwing her all the way up to the ceiling. The stallion behind the counter flinched, face drawing back with shock. But Alula did not notice. She zoomed around the ceiling. "I'm free! I'm finally free. I can eat all the silver I want!" Her loud, maniacly laughter shook the heavens. She turned on the storekeeper, grinning wide. "Residents of Ponyville, give me your metals!" She licked her lips hungrily.
