The Ballad of Falabella Mulanby VitalSparkChaptersPrologue — An Enemy at the GatesChapter 1 — An Empire in Crisis; A Bride To BeChapter 2 — The Princesses; The Matchmaker; A Call to ArmsPrologue — An Enemy at the GatesSpearsight looked up when he felt something knock his helmet off. The helmet clattered on the stone path beneath his hooves. A lone falcon was retreating into the sky. The pony bent down to replace his helmet. The falcon landed at the top of a pole bearing Crystal Empire's flag. The great bird, silhouetted by the full moon, opened its beak and let out a powerful cry. A shiver ran down Spearsight's spine. The defensive Crystal Wall along the empire's northern border was eight ponies high, and at night the winds up here could chill a pony to the bone. Spearsight regretted not dressing more warmly for tonight's patrol. Spearsight spun around when he heard another clattering sound against the path. A few paces away he could make out a grappling hook that had landed on the path. Somepony was trying to scale the wall. A smuggler perhaps? He trotted over to investigate. He leaned over the wall, peering into the blackness below, his eyes straining to discover where the rope led. With a whooshing sound, he saw half a dozen more hooks coming straight at him. He looked up and down the path. There were dozens more grappling hooks landing now. Spearsight broke into a gallop, heading towards the nearest tower. "We're under attack!" he shouted to anyone who was listening, "light the signal!" As Spearsight neared the tower, two enormous hulking monsters blocked his path. He skidded to a stop. Minotaurs: creatures with the head of the bull and the body of, well, something not of this world. The two monsters smiled at the earth pony and slowly walked towards him. Spearsight knew that the fate of the empire could be within his hands. History would judge him for his actions tonight. He charged straight at the largest minotaur. The bull-headed creature braced himself for an impact that never came. Spearsight threw his legs forward and dived between the monster's two legs, skidding along the path and emerging behind them. He broke into a gallop towards the tower door. Spearsight barged through the door and bolted up the stairs to the top of the tower. At the top, there was a huge cauldron full of a flammable liquid — the signal fire. He went for the small flaming torch, kept here for precisely this purpose, grasping its handle in his teeth. As he approached the cauldron, a dark figure leaped onto the tower wall opposite him and leaned on the flag pole. Another minotaur — he must have been at least twice the size of even the larger one downstairs. The falcon flew down and perched on the great beast's shoulder. The pony and the minotaur locked eyes on each other. Spearsight spat the torch into the open cauldron and the signal fire instantly erupted in flame. Seconds later, he saw the signal in the next tower burst into flame too. And moments later the next one. Spearsight narrowed his eyes at the minotaur and addressed him sternly, "Now all of Equestria knows you're here." The minotaur pulled at the flag pole, snapping it like a twig. He lowered the flag into the signal fire, watching the flames lick at it. The monster looked up and smiled at the pony before opening his mouth to speak. "Perfect". Author's Note Isn't Spearsight a cool OC? Shame he's not in the rest of the story. Onward to chapter one! Chapter 1 — An Empire in Crisis; A Bride To BeThe Crystal Palace was tall enough to be seen from every province of the Crystal Empire. The crystal heart gently revolved in its forecourt, protecting the empire against all forms of magical threats. By daylight, the spire of the palace glistened in the sun, providing a sight that was inspiring and reassuring to all the crystal ponies who saw it. But tonight the spire glistened in an unfamiliar light — the light of the signal fires along the northern wall. The large doors to the palace's central chamber swung open as General Moss walked in, flanked on his left and right by soldiers, and approached the Empress. He bowed, then looked up. "Your Majesty, the minotaurs have crossed our Northern border." Chief Hooves, the advisor to the Empress ruffled her wings. "Impossible! None can get through the Great Wall." Empress Heart motioned for her advisor to be silent. General Moss stood to attention. "Shan Zebu is leading them. We'll set up defences around your palace immediately." The empress stamped a hoof forcefully. "No! Send your troops to protect everypony." She turned to her advisor. "Chief Hooves?" "Yes, your highness," the grey pegasus answered meekly. "Deliver conscription notices throughout all the provinces. Call up reserves and as many new recruits as possible." General Moss interrupted. "Forgive me your Majesty, but I believe my troops can stop him." The empress slouched back on her throne, contemplatively. "I wont take any chances, General. A single oat can tip the scale. One pony may be the difference between victory and defeat." ☯ The young mare concentrated on a single grain of rice, allowing just a tiny amount of her magic to flow through her horn. The grain floated from the top of the pile, and into her mouth. The pale green unicorn furrowed her brow. "Quiet and demure... graceful... polite..." She picked up some more rice, eating a mouthful. Still chewing, she continued. "Delicate... refined... poised..." A quill moved, wrapped in a magical field, writing notes on the inner side of one of her front legs. A cock crowed in the distance. "Punctual... punctual!" She was running late! "Aiii!" Falabella Mulan panicked. "Little brother! Little brother!" she called. Falabella Yao, her younger brother, came running. "Lit— ahhh, there you are. Who's the smartest pony in the world? Come on smart boy, can you help me with my chores today?" Yao frowned. He took a sack of grain in his teeth. Being an earth pony, he didn't have the option of levitating it with him. The young colt dragged it off to feed the chickens. ☯ Nurse Goodheart wiped the old stallion's brow with a cloth, trying not to disturb him, but he started to stir. She sat down on the chair beside his bed. He opened his lips and started to mumble something. "Wa… water." "Of course, Mr Rich, I'll go get you a glass." She trotted out of the room to the bathroom next door. Filling the glass with water from the tap, she heard a commotion outside and wondered what it might be. Probably nothing of her concern — Manehattan was a lawless town and there were often scuffles and fights on the street. Still, that was why it paid so well being a private nurse in this city. Heading towards the bathroom door, she stumbled and knocked a bottle of expensive cologne off the counter onto the floor, where it smashed into tiny pieces. "Buck it! This clumsiness will be the death of me!" she muttered to herself. She put down the water and started to sweep up the fragments of broken glass. ☯ Falabella Zhou knelt at the family temple. "Honourable ancestors, please help Mulan impress the matchmaker today." His son galloped up the temple steps, looped around Zhou, and ran back towards the chicken coop, screaming all the way, and leaving a trail of grain behind him. A flock of chickens followed him, clucking and flapping. Zhou watched in disbelief. "Please, please, help her." Mulan came out of the house, wearing an elegant but simple dress, and walked past her little brother, resting from his daring escape from a flock of chickens and passed him an apple. He accepted it gratefully, and took a bite. The young mare continued towards the temple. She approached her father from behind. "Father I brought your—whoops!" Zhou stood up, knocking a cup and teapot out of Mulan's field of levitation. The cup fell to the ground, but Zhou caught the teapot with a hoof. "Mulan..." he started. The small unicorn levitated another cup from behind her. "Don't worry. I brought a spare." This time he spoke more loudly. "Mulan..." She interrupted again, knowing what he wanted to speak to her about, but trying to avoid the topic. "Remember, the doctor said three cups of tea in the morning..." "Mulan...!" "And three at night." She brushed a lock of her green mane away from her face. "Mulan, you should already be in town. We're counting on you to up..." Mulan interrupted again. "... uphold the family honor. Don't worry, father. I won't let you down." Mulan adjusted her sleeve to cover over the writing on her foreleg. "Wish me luck!" She hurried down the stairs. Zhou called out to his daughter, "Hurry!" He turned and poured himself a cup of tea. Putting it down he muttered to himself. "I'm going to pray some more." ☯ "Ready the Skycoach!" the Empress ordered, striding down the shimmering hallway of the crystal palace, shortly after sunrise. Chief Hooves hurried along in the empress's wake. "I must advise against this, your majesty. They cannot be trusted. They will use this as an excuse to annex the empire." Empress Heart came to a sudden halt to confront her advisor. "They are my aunts, Chief Hooves, and our closest allies. Of course I can trust them." "They are the sisters of your distant ancestor. How old must they be? What sort of a deal did those sisters make with the devil to live so long?" "They are born alicorns." The empress started up the stairs. "They have naturally long lives." "With those horns and their magic, why, they could read your mind, or plant thoughts into your head. They could stop your heart from beating in your chest through force of will." "Well, they have never done so before," the empress chuckled. "You are letting your prejudices inform your counsel again, Chief Hooves." Chief Hooves scowled. They arrived at the balcony and Empress Heart stepped onto the Skycoach. "Now good day. I should return before nightfall." "Good luck, your majesty." Chief Hooves bowed. "And be on your guard." Empress Heart shivered in the cold, crisp early morning air. The team of armoured pegasus ponies took off, towing the Skycoach behind them, bound for Reverie. ☯ An elegant unicorn mare waited impatiently on a street corner. Another mare poked her head out of a door further down the street and shouted, "Falabella Lee, is your daughter here yet? The matchmaker is not known for her patience." Lee shook her head. "Of all days to be late. I should have prayed to the ancestors for luck." "How lucky can they be?" an older unicorn beside her asked. "They're dead! Besides, I've got all the luck we'll need." She turned to address a small cage she was levitating. "This is your chance to prove yourself." An unintelligible squeaky voice came out of the cage. The older mare closed her eyes and stepped into the busy street. Lee reached out to grab the mare, but she was already out of hoof's reach. "Mother, no!" Traffic swerved out of the old mare's way. The breezie inside the cage shut his eyes in terror. A pony pulling a cart of apples collided with another pushing a wheelbarrow of hay. Other ponies skidded to a halt to avoid the accident. The mare arrived safely at the other side of the street, stepping onto the kerb. "Yep, this breezie's a lucky one!" The breezie collapsed with relief. Falabella Lee spotted the pony she had been waiting for. "Mulan!" she called. Mulan crossed the street, hopping over the recent accident. "I'm here." She was greeted by a stern look. "What? But mother, I had to--" Lee pulled hay from Mulan's mane. "None of your excuses. Now let's get you cleaned up." They walked to the building down the street. ☯ Nurse Goodheart tipped the last pieces of glass into the wastepaper basket and picked up the glass of water again. A crash came from the room next door. She hurried to see what had happened. Standing in the doorway she saw two strange earth stallions by Mr Rich's bed. One held a crossbow. Nurse Goodheart's eyes followed the bow's trajectory. The glass of water fell from her hooves when she saw the arrow in Mr Rich's chest. As the glass smashed on the ground, she turned and ran towards the stairs. "Hey! Who's that?!" a voice called from the bedroom. "Get her!" She stumbled at the top of the flight of stairs that led downstairs, seeing two more earth ponies heading up, alerted by the commotion. She turned back and headed for the other stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, three at a time, she climbed up towards a doorway which led out onto the roof. ☯ Inside the spa, there were a number of tubs of various sizes filled with bubbling liquids. The spa pony hurried Mulan towards a screen. "So this is what I have to work with?" She removed Mulan's dress and pushed her towards the nearest tub. "I've seen worse, honey." Mulan was pushed backwards and stumbled against the edge of a tub, tripping and falling in. She shivered. "It's frozen!" Her mother replied softly, "it would have been warm if you'd been here on time." The spa pony ignored Mulan's complaints. "We'll have you washed and dried and groomed before you know it. We will have you looking like the perfect bride. You'll bring great honour to your family." Falabella Lee wrapped a sponge in her magic and started scrubbing her daughter. Coming to her right foreleg she discovered the writing. "What is this, Mulan?" Mulan snatched back her leg. "Umm... notes? In case I forget something?" She fluttered her long eyelashes. Mulan's grandmother sighed and passed the caged breezie to her daughter. Lee accepted the cage into her field of levitation. "Here, hold this," the older mare said, "we're going to need more luck than I thought." Mulan looked at her mother and grandmother with embarrassment. Finished washing Mulan, the spa pony helped her out of the tub and used a towel to dry her. She led Mulan to a seat, and another, almost identical, spa pony appeared, carrying a brush and comb. She looked at Mulan's mane and frowned, deep in thought. Mulan grimaced while the second spa pony brushed and combed her hair. This spa sadist didn't seem to go easy on the tangled parts. "When we're through, you'll look like a whole new pony," she promised. "Oooh, you're going to get such a surprise when you look in a mirror!" she squealed. The first spa pony dipped in here and there with a pair of scissors, making strategic trims to Mulan's mane and tail. "You'll have all the stallions fighting over you," she predicted. The second spa pony finalized the hair-do. "Perfect." She levitated a mirror over for Mulan to inspect the result. Mulan looked into the mirror to reveal a hairstyle exactly like that of the spa ponies. She raised an eyebrow. ☯ Falabella Lee guided her daughter along a busy street, avoiding carts and ponies. Walking past a café where a couple of elderly stallions were playing chess, Mulan held back for a moment to observe, while her mother carried on, not noticing that she'd left Mulan behind. Mulan wrapped the white queen in her magic and moved the piece forward three squares. One of the players stared at the board for a moment, before burying his face in his hooves. The other player smiled. Mulan felt a jerk as her hoof was suddenly pulled. Her mother was hurrying her along. "Come on, Mulan. You can bring great honour to our family by finding the right match. Today is the day you need to make an effort to impress the matchmaker." They arrived outside a shop. "Here we are," Lee announced. Inside the shop two dress-maker ponies fussed around Mulan, squeezing her into a much more figure-hugging dress than she would normally wear. "Men want girls with good taste," said one of the ponies. Mulan had to admit that it was a rather elegant outfit. The other dress-maker picked out a belt from a rack and slipped it around Mulan. "Calm," she offered. Mulan's mother interjected. "Obedient." "Full of grace," suggested the first dress-maker again. Falabella Lee stood back to admire the work being done by the dress-maker ponies and smiled. "With good breeding," she contributed. "And a tiny waist," said the second dress-maker while tightening the belt so much that Mulan could barely breathe. Mulan grunted as the wind was pushed out of her, and the other ponies frowned to hear such an inelegant sound come from her. Lee paid the dress-maker ponies some bits, and took Mulan by the hoof, whirling her around and out of the door. They crossed a busy street and took a shortcut to their next destination by cutting through the park diagonally. An earth pony colt bumped into Mulan and ran off down the path carrying a donkey doll in his teeth. Moments later a young pegasus filly ran past her in tears. Lee was pointing out the different flowers that were in bloom at this time of year, but Mulan was not paying attention to her; she used her magic to gently lift the donkey doll and return it to its owner. By the time Mulan and her mother caught up to the filly, she was playing happily with her doll again. The two women trotted into the beauticians'. It wasn't long before Mulan was sat in a chair with the mother and the make-up pony fussing over her, applying powder, lipstick, eye-liner, mascara, and all other kinds of lotions and potions that Mulan would never normally wear. "It must be soft and pale," Falabella Lee said, "like a lotus blossom." The make-up pony reassured her. "Don't worry, when we're done, she won't fail to impress any stallion." Mulan sighed and crossed her forelegs. She couldn't stand everypony talking about her like she wasn't in the room. She wouldn't want to be single for her whole life, but she felt that she had more to offer the world than to just be an obedient wife. The make-up pony held a mirror up so that Mulan could see her finished look. She wasn't happy with the severe-looking impression that her mane style and makeup gave. With a quick glow from her horn, her mane instantly resumed its natural appearance. "No!" scolded her mother, and used her hoof the snuff out Mulan's horn. The reality distortion field Mulan was casting dropped, and the neatly styled look returned. Mulan groaned. She reached up with a hoof to free a single bang from her mane, and let it hang down the side of her face. She smiled — she supposed it didn't look too bad now. Lee placed a white lily in Mulan's mane. "There; you're done." "Not quite," corrected Granny Falabella. She shoved an apple into Mulan's mouth. "An apple for serenity, jade beads for beauty, and a pendant for balance." She used her magic to wrap Mulan's neck in a jade necklace which beautifully complemented her coat. A diamond pendant hung down from the necklace. "Last thing: a breezie for good luck." She tucked the tiny cage she was carrying into one of the folds of Mulan's dress. ☯ "She went that way," said one of the earth pony thugs and gestured up the stairs. One of the others smiled. "Those just lead to the roof. She'll be trapped." While one of the ponies stayed to clean up the bedroom, the other three climbed the stairs and stepped out onto the roof. Spotting Nurse Goodheart in her white gown by the edge of the building, they fanned out and slowly approached her. Calmly, she took a step backwards and fell out of their sight. The three stallions looked at each other and rushed to the edge of the roof, prepared to be greeted by the sight of a dead mare on the pavement five stories below. They peered over the edge only to stumble back as Nurse Goodheart soared past them, her grey–white wings outstretched. ☯ Mulan's mother and grandmother led her to the town square, where the matchmaker would be holding her consultations. Dozens of other young mares dressed equally glamorously were milling about the square, waiting for their appointments. Mulan muttered a silent prayer to not screw this up, and to make her family proud. Chapter 2 — The Princesses; The Matchmaker; A Call to ArmsA trumpet sounded in the throne room at the Castle of the Two Sisters. A guard standing by the door introduced a visitor. "Your Highnesses," he addressed the princesses, "I introduce Empress of the Crystal Empire, Countess of the Frozen North, and Knight of the Grand Order of Equestria, Empress Heart." "Oh, Radiant Shield," Princess Celestia giggled, "why do you have to be so formal? I think I can recognize my own niece! Come in, Sweet. It has been too long since you last visited." Empress Heart approached the throne. Her aunt was the only pony who still called her by her given name. "Dearest aunts, it has. But I'm afraid that this isn't a social call. The Crystal Empire is under attack; the minotaurs have breached our northern border. I am here to beg your assistance." A look of concern crossed Celestia's face. She turned to her sister; Princess Luna glared back. "That is troubling news," Celestia said, turning back to her visitor. "If the minotaurs can establish a stronghold in the Crystal Empire, they could use it as a base to attack Equestria. Of course we shall offer you our every assistance." Luna spoke for the first time. "Our concern should be for our own subjects." "Well, of course we must protect our own subjects, but we can do that by aiding the crystal ponies," Celestia explained to Luna. Luna gritted her teeth. "We should to that by strengthening our own defences." "But, dear sister, the best defence is a strong offence." "Fine," Luna said, "but if this goes wrong, the burden shall be on your shoulders." The princess addressed a guard. "Radiant Shield, send word to the northern provinces: a defence force must be raised to assist the crystal ponies. The Crystal Empire's guards will oversee the organization of an army to fight the minotaurs." Luna crossed her forelegs. Empress Heart smiled half-heartedly. She was naturally grateful, but still concerned about the trials ahead of her. "Thank you, dearest aunts. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return at once to my empire. I am needed there. That social visit will have to happen another day." Celestia stood up. "Hold on — I'll walk with you." Celestia walked Empress Heart back to the Skycoach. She spoke to her in a hushed tone. "I apologise for my sister's behaviour. She has been awake all night. It is hard for her, you know, the arrangement we have between night and day; sun and moon." "I understand," the empress said. "I really wish I could do more to help you. I wish I could come to the Crystal Empire to assist." Celestia looked back towards the throne room. "But I am not all powerful; even I have my limitations; and my presence here is necessary." She paused. "Equestria faces other threats as well." Empress Heart was concerned about Celestia's ominous words, but had no time to consider them in depth. She stepped onto the Skycoach. "Farewell, dear aunt." "Goodbye, Sweet, and good luck." Empress Heart ordered the pegasus ponies to pull the coach, and in moments they left the Castle of the Two Sisters behind, flying north over the Reverie Forest towards the Crystal Empire. ☯ The matchmaker stood on her front door step and looked at her clipboard. "Falabella Mulan?" Mulan jumped to attention and raised her hoof. "Here!" The matchmaker raised an eyebrow. "Speaking without permission." Mulan buried her face in her hooves. "What's her problem?" Granny Falabella whispered to Falabella Lee. The matchmaker motioned for Mulan to enter the building. Mulan trotted inside with the stern-looking earth pony following behind her, and shutting the door. Inside, Mulan stood while the matchmaker walked in circles around her, inspecting her body. "Hmmm... far too skinny; no good for bearing foals." The breezie escaped from his cage and Mulan struggled to capture him, trying to avoid the matchmaker seeing what she was doing. Giving up hope of catching him, her horn glowed and the breezie instantly became invisible and inaudiable to the matchmaker. Hiding and silencing a moving target, even from just a single observer, required great concentration — it was close to the limit of what her reality distortion spell could achieve. The matchmaker nodded. "Recite the oath." Mulan coughed and glanced at her foreleg and the now smeared text. She fanned herself, stalling for time. Reciting the oath and keeping up the concentration for her spell would not be easy. "I will respect the nation of Equestria, the princesses, my family, and my has—" She strained to make out the words. "… my husband. I will reflect before I snack." A look of shock came over her. "Before I act! This shall bring me honour and glory." She sighed with relief. The matchmaker smiled a sly grin. "Very good…" She snatched at Mulan's fan and turned it over, expecting to see the words of the oath printed on the reverse side. Mulan smiled and the matchmaker scowled. "Very good," she said reluctantly. She grabbed Mulan by the fetlock, smearing the ink around, and dragged Mulan to the other side of the room. "This way!" She deposited Mulan by a table and sat down. "Now pour the tea." A second layer of magic appeared around Mulan's horn and the teapot lifted from the table. "With your hooves!" the matchmaker admonished. Mulan set the pot back on the table, and lifted it by hoof. Mulan watched in horror as the matchmaker wiped her brow, smearing the ink from Mulan's leg onto her face. Not concentrating on the tea pot, she poured some tea on the table. The matchmaker tutted and started muttering. "You unicorns think you're so special with your magic. You will never match the honour, dignity, and refinement of the earth ponies." The tea cup full, the breezie fluttered towards the cup and perched on the brim. The matchmaker, unaware of the little creature, lifted the cup to her muzzle and sniffed. In a timid voice Mulan tried to get her attention. "Um… pardon me?" "A good wife will only speak when spoken to!" the matchmaker barked before taking another sniff of the tea. "If I could just have the tea cup back for a moment…?" Mulan reached for the cup and grabbed at it. Mulan's grab turned into a struggle, and the matchmaker shrieked as the tea was poured over her dress. Mulan's concentration on the spell failed, and the now-visible breezie flew up the matchmaker's dress. "You clumsy mare! I ought to— woo! wooooooo!" The matchmaker danced about, trying to get the ticklish creature out of her clothing. She tripped over a bucket and landed sitting on the stove. "Arghhhh!" she screamed, jumping up. Mulan took her fan and tried to cool down the singed area on the matchmaker's dress, but only caused it to flame up. She buried her face in her hooves at making such an obvious mistake. ☯ Outside the building, Falabella Lee waited with Grandma Falabella. When the noise of screaming reached the streets, Lee shook her head. Grandma Falabella whispered, "I think it's going well, don't you?" The door burst open, and the matchmaker ran out, her flanks on fire. "Put it out! Put it out!" she shouted in panic. Mulan ran after her and doused her in tea, finally extinguishing the fire. The matchmaker stared at her with a face that could freeze Celestia's sun into a ball of solid ice. Mulan nervously passed the empty tea pot to her, hung her head, and walked back to her mother and grandmother. "You are a disgrace!" the matchmaker yelled, walking back into the building and drawing the attention of the all the other ponies gathered outside her office that morning. "You may look the part, but you will never be a bride!" After she'd slammed the door, the crowds outside the building began whispering amongst themselves. Mulan walked away in shame, her family following behind her. ☯ Mulan walked through the gate and saw her father waiting in the garden. He smiled at her, but she turned away and walked towards the family temple. Stopping by a cherry tree, she held the breezie's cage aloft. "I'll never be the perfect bride. If I'm not meant to play this part, could it be my destiny is something else?" She opened the cage door, and the breezie flew out, landing on her mane. "Go!" she said to the breezie and it fluttered away. She continued on past the family's great stone dragon statue, and arriving at the temple steps. Seeing her reflection in the marble stones of the temple, she wiped off her make-up. She prayed a silent prayer to her ancestors for guidance and strength. After a few moments, she rose and walked back towards the house. Her father was waiting for her under the cherry tree. Mulan shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it." Falabella Zhou looked up at the tree. "My, my, what beautiful blossoms we have this year. But look, this one's late." He smiled at his daughter. "I bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all." A flower fell from the tree, and Zhou picked it up and tucked it behind Mulan's ear. Mulan was about to speak when there was a sound of drums and commotion on the street outside. "What is it?" Zhou held up a hoof for Mulan to remain where she was. He limped over to the gate. "Mulan, go inside," he called. Mulan stood a few paces behind her father. ☯ Chief Hooves stood in the street and unfurled his scroll. "Citizens, I bring you a proclamation from the Empress Heart: the minotaurs have invaded the Crystal Empire, and are heading for Equestria." A panicked murmur errupted amongst the crowd. "By order of the Emperor, and the Princesses of Equestria, one pony from every family must serve in the Imperial Army." Chief Hooves started going through the list. "Daze family." A stallion stepped forwards and bowed to one of Chief Hooves's guard ponies before accepting a conscription notice. "Pie family." A young mare held her father back. "I will serve the Princesses in my father's place." The guard with the conscription notices nodded and passed her a scroll. "Falabella family." Mulan could only look on in horror as her father limped forward towards the guards. Zhou bowed before them. "I am ready to serve the Princesses." He reached for a scroll from the guards. Mulan ran up to him. "Father, you can't go!" He turned to her and gave her a stern look. "Mulan…" "Please, sir," Mulan begged the guards, "my father has already fought bravely against the centaurs. He is old and injured—" "Silence!" shouted Chief Hooves. "You would do well to teach this… unicorn… to hold her tongue. War is earth pony business — we are connected to the land and must defend it; they are not." Zhou looked away from Mulan. "Mulan, you dishonour me." Grandma Falabella led Mulan back to the house. Chief Hooves handed Zhou a conscription notice. "Report tomorrow at the Hollow Shades camp." Zhou bowed at Chief Hooves. "Yes, sir." He turned and limped slowly back to the house. "Spoon family." The sounds on the street grew distant as Mulan followed her father back into the house in a daze. ☯ Nurse Goodheart landed at Manehattan docks. Mr Rich was dead — he was an old man and had only had a few more weeks left in him anyway. She wouldn't mourn his loss, but why would somepony do that to him? She shook her head in disbelief. She didn't know where to go or who to turn to. She was new in town, and now all her possessions, such as they were, and all her bits were gone — still in the house, but she couldn't go back there. A building at the end of the block had loud music playing and bright lights. It must have been a bar of some kind. Lacking any better ideas, she trotted towards it. She was still an attractive mare; she might be able to persuade a stallion to buy her a drink or perhaps even a meal. She could figure out what to do in the morning. ☯ As night fell, Zhou went to the armoury. Taking out his sword, he went through his stances. Balancing on his hind legs, he felt a twinge in his right flank and fell to the ground, his sword clanging on the floor. "Dinner's ready!" came a call from Grandma Falabella. As her father turned around to head towards the dining room, Mulan drew back behind the column from which she'd been observing her father. As he limped through the door, she shook her head. ☯ The family sat in silence while they ate, each lost in their own thoughts. The crash of thunder outside was the only sound to be heard. Falabella Lee used a warmth spell to heat a pot of tea. She'd been trying to teach Mulan the spell for weeks, but the young mare still hadn't perfected it. Mulan poured tea for her family, practising using her hooves. She poured the last cup for herself. Just as she was about to take a sip of her tea, she slammed the cup down on the table and stood up. "You shouldn't have to go!" "Mulan!" Lee exclaimed, looking up at her daughter. She motioned to Mulan's little brother. "Go to your room, Yao." He trotted off, happy to be spared another family drama. "There are plenty of young ponies to fight for Equestria," Mulan insisted. Zhou spoke calmly but firmly. "It is an honour to protect my country and my family." "So you'll die for honour?!" Mulan shouted angrily, tears brimming in her eyes. Zhou stood and confronted her. "I will die doing what's right." "But if you—" "I know my place in life. It is time you learned yours." Mulan opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her. She turned away and ran out of the front door, the rain masking her tears as she wept. She soon found herself at the base of the great stone dragon statue. She slumped to the ground and caught the reflection of a sad-looking young mare in a puddle. Looking back at the house, she could see her parents arguing through a window. After a few minutes the light went out plunging the house and gardens into almost complete darkness. Mulan picked herself up and walked slowly to the family temple. She lit a candle and placed it in the candle holder, shedding light on the interior of the temple. She saw a dozen versions of herself reflected in the shiny marble tablets. Curse this stupid horn. If I weren't a unicorn, I could join the army! For a moment, she cast her reality distortion spell on her reflection, seeing what she'd look like as an earth pony. She let the spell fall, bowed, and offered a prayer to her ancestors, before sitting in silent contemplation. Another crack of lightning spurred Mulan into action. Everything is clear. She rose from the ground and hurried towards the house, her hooves kicking up splashes of water from the puddles on the stony ground. The breezie, who had been sheltering from the storm in the temple, flew after her. Quietly creeping into her parents' bedroom, the lifted her father's conscription notice with her magic, replacing it with the lotus blossom from her hair. Pausing for a moment to give her parents a sorrowful look, she hurried out of the room. She looked in on her sleeping brother on the way to the armoury. Using her magic, she flung the cabinet open and began to put on her father's battle barding, tightening a belt to hold it on. She held her father's sword aloft, catching her reflection in its smooth metallic surface. Perhaps this is who I am meant to be? She decisively drove the sword into the scabbard built into the barding and cantered out of the front door. The breezie fluttered onto her mane as she cast a final tearful glance back to her parents' darkened bedroom window before galloping out of the gate.
Prologue — An Enemy at the GatesSpearsight looked up when he felt something knock his helmet off. The helmet clattered on the stone path beneath his hooves. A lone falcon was retreating into the sky. The pony bent down to replace his helmet. The falcon landed at the top of a pole bearing Crystal Empire's flag. The great bird, silhouetted by the full moon, opened its beak and let out a powerful cry. A shiver ran down Spearsight's spine. The defensive Crystal Wall along the empire's northern border was eight ponies high, and at night the winds up here could chill a pony to the bone. Spearsight regretted not dressing more warmly for tonight's patrol. Spearsight spun around when he heard another clattering sound against the path. A few paces away he could make out a grappling hook that had landed on the path. Somepony was trying to scale the wall. A smuggler perhaps? He trotted over to investigate. He leaned over the wall, peering into the blackness below, his eyes straining to discover where the rope led. With a whooshing sound, he saw half a dozen more hooks coming straight at him. He looked up and down the path. There were dozens more grappling hooks landing now. Spearsight broke into a gallop, heading towards the nearest tower. "We're under attack!" he shouted to anyone who was listening, "light the signal!" As Spearsight neared the tower, two enormous hulking monsters blocked his path. He skidded to a stop. Minotaurs: creatures with the head of the bull and the body of, well, something not of this world. The two monsters smiled at the earth pony and slowly walked towards him. Spearsight knew that the fate of the empire could be within his hands. History would judge him for his actions tonight. He charged straight at the largest minotaur. The bull-headed creature braced himself for an impact that never came. Spearsight threw his legs forward and dived between the monster's two legs, skidding along the path and emerging behind them. He broke into a gallop towards the tower door. Spearsight barged through the door and bolted up the stairs to the top of the tower. At the top, there was a huge cauldron full of a flammable liquid — the signal fire. He went for the small flaming torch, kept here for precisely this purpose, grasping its handle in his teeth. As he approached the cauldron, a dark figure leaped onto the tower wall opposite him and leaned on the flag pole. Another minotaur — he must have been at least twice the size of even the larger one downstairs. The falcon flew down and perched on the great beast's shoulder. The pony and the minotaur locked eyes on each other. Spearsight spat the torch into the open cauldron and the signal fire instantly erupted in flame. Seconds later, he saw the signal in the next tower burst into flame too. And moments later the next one. Spearsight narrowed his eyes at the minotaur and addressed him sternly, "Now all of Equestria knows you're here." The minotaur pulled at the flag pole, snapping it like a twig. He lowered the flag into the signal fire, watching the flames lick at it. The monster looked up and smiled at the pony before opening his mouth to speak. "Perfect". Author's Note Isn't Spearsight a cool OC? Shame he's not in the rest of the story. Onward to chapter one!
Chapter 1 — An Empire in Crisis; A Bride To BeThe Crystal Palace was tall enough to be seen from every province of the Crystal Empire. The crystal heart gently revolved in its forecourt, protecting the empire against all forms of magical threats. By daylight, the spire of the palace glistened in the sun, providing a sight that was inspiring and reassuring to all the crystal ponies who saw it. But tonight the spire glistened in an unfamiliar light — the light of the signal fires along the northern wall. The large doors to the palace's central chamber swung open as General Moss walked in, flanked on his left and right by soldiers, and approached the Empress. He bowed, then looked up. "Your Majesty, the minotaurs have crossed our Northern border." Chief Hooves, the advisor to the Empress ruffled her wings. "Impossible! None can get through the Great Wall." Empress Heart motioned for her advisor to be silent. General Moss stood to attention. "Shan Zebu is leading them. We'll set up defences around your palace immediately." The empress stamped a hoof forcefully. "No! Send your troops to protect everypony." She turned to her advisor. "Chief Hooves?" "Yes, your highness," the grey pegasus answered meekly. "Deliver conscription notices throughout all the provinces. Call up reserves and as many new recruits as possible." General Moss interrupted. "Forgive me your Majesty, but I believe my troops can stop him." The empress slouched back on her throne, contemplatively. "I wont take any chances, General. A single oat can tip the scale. One pony may be the difference between victory and defeat." ☯ The young mare concentrated on a single grain of rice, allowing just a tiny amount of her magic to flow through her horn. The grain floated from the top of the pile, and into her mouth. The pale green unicorn furrowed her brow. "Quiet and demure... graceful... polite..." She picked up some more rice, eating a mouthful. Still chewing, she continued. "Delicate... refined... poised..." A quill moved, wrapped in a magical field, writing notes on the inner side of one of her front legs. A cock crowed in the distance. "Punctual... punctual!" She was running late! "Aiii!" Falabella Mulan panicked. "Little brother! Little brother!" she called. Falabella Yao, her younger brother, came running. "Lit— ahhh, there you are. Who's the smartest pony in the world? Come on smart boy, can you help me with my chores today?" Yao frowned. He took a sack of grain in his teeth. Being an earth pony, he didn't have the option of levitating it with him. The young colt dragged it off to feed the chickens. ☯ Nurse Goodheart wiped the old stallion's brow with a cloth, trying not to disturb him, but he started to stir. She sat down on the chair beside his bed. He opened his lips and started to mumble something. "Wa… water." "Of course, Mr Rich, I'll go get you a glass." She trotted out of the room to the bathroom next door. Filling the glass with water from the tap, she heard a commotion outside and wondered what it might be. Probably nothing of her concern — Manehattan was a lawless town and there were often scuffles and fights on the street. Still, that was why it paid so well being a private nurse in this city. Heading towards the bathroom door, she stumbled and knocked a bottle of expensive cologne off the counter onto the floor, where it smashed into tiny pieces. "Buck it! This clumsiness will be the death of me!" she muttered to herself. She put down the water and started to sweep up the fragments of broken glass. ☯ Falabella Zhou knelt at the family temple. "Honourable ancestors, please help Mulan impress the matchmaker today." His son galloped up the temple steps, looped around Zhou, and ran back towards the chicken coop, screaming all the way, and leaving a trail of grain behind him. A flock of chickens followed him, clucking and flapping. Zhou watched in disbelief. "Please, please, help her." Mulan came out of the house, wearing an elegant but simple dress, and walked past her little brother, resting from his daring escape from a flock of chickens and passed him an apple. He accepted it gratefully, and took a bite. The young mare continued towards the temple. She approached her father from behind. "Father I brought your—whoops!" Zhou stood up, knocking a cup and teapot out of Mulan's field of levitation. The cup fell to the ground, but Zhou caught the teapot with a hoof. "Mulan..." he started. The small unicorn levitated another cup from behind her. "Don't worry. I brought a spare." This time he spoke more loudly. "Mulan..." She interrupted again, knowing what he wanted to speak to her about, but trying to avoid the topic. "Remember, the doctor said three cups of tea in the morning..." "Mulan...!" "And three at night." She brushed a lock of her green mane away from her face. "Mulan, you should already be in town. We're counting on you to up..." Mulan interrupted again. "... uphold the family honor. Don't worry, father. I won't let you down." Mulan adjusted her sleeve to cover over the writing on her foreleg. "Wish me luck!" She hurried down the stairs. Zhou called out to his daughter, "Hurry!" He turned and poured himself a cup of tea. Putting it down he muttered to himself. "I'm going to pray some more." ☯ "Ready the Skycoach!" the Empress ordered, striding down the shimmering hallway of the crystal palace, shortly after sunrise. Chief Hooves hurried along in the empress's wake. "I must advise against this, your majesty. They cannot be trusted. They will use this as an excuse to annex the empire." Empress Heart came to a sudden halt to confront her advisor. "They are my aunts, Chief Hooves, and our closest allies. Of course I can trust them." "They are the sisters of your distant ancestor. How old must they be? What sort of a deal did those sisters make with the devil to live so long?" "They are born alicorns." The empress started up the stairs. "They have naturally long lives." "With those horns and their magic, why, they could read your mind, or plant thoughts into your head. They could stop your heart from beating in your chest through force of will." "Well, they have never done so before," the empress chuckled. "You are letting your prejudices inform your counsel again, Chief Hooves." Chief Hooves scowled. They arrived at the balcony and Empress Heart stepped onto the Skycoach. "Now good day. I should return before nightfall." "Good luck, your majesty." Chief Hooves bowed. "And be on your guard." Empress Heart shivered in the cold, crisp early morning air. The team of armoured pegasus ponies took off, towing the Skycoach behind them, bound for Reverie. ☯ An elegant unicorn mare waited impatiently on a street corner. Another mare poked her head out of a door further down the street and shouted, "Falabella Lee, is your daughter here yet? The matchmaker is not known for her patience." Lee shook her head. "Of all days to be late. I should have prayed to the ancestors for luck." "How lucky can they be?" an older unicorn beside her asked. "They're dead! Besides, I've got all the luck we'll need." She turned to address a small cage she was levitating. "This is your chance to prove yourself." An unintelligible squeaky voice came out of the cage. The older mare closed her eyes and stepped into the busy street. Lee reached out to grab the mare, but she was already out of hoof's reach. "Mother, no!" Traffic swerved out of the old mare's way. The breezie inside the cage shut his eyes in terror. A pony pulling a cart of apples collided with another pushing a wheelbarrow of hay. Other ponies skidded to a halt to avoid the accident. The mare arrived safely at the other side of the street, stepping onto the kerb. "Yep, this breezie's a lucky one!" The breezie collapsed with relief. Falabella Lee spotted the pony she had been waiting for. "Mulan!" she called. Mulan crossed the street, hopping over the recent accident. "I'm here." She was greeted by a stern look. "What? But mother, I had to--" Lee pulled hay from Mulan's mane. "None of your excuses. Now let's get you cleaned up." They walked to the building down the street. ☯ Nurse Goodheart tipped the last pieces of glass into the wastepaper basket and picked up the glass of water again. A crash came from the room next door. She hurried to see what had happened. Standing in the doorway she saw two strange earth stallions by Mr Rich's bed. One held a crossbow. Nurse Goodheart's eyes followed the bow's trajectory. The glass of water fell from her hooves when she saw the arrow in Mr Rich's chest. As the glass smashed on the ground, she turned and ran towards the stairs. "Hey! Who's that?!" a voice called from the bedroom. "Get her!" She stumbled at the top of the flight of stairs that led downstairs, seeing two more earth ponies heading up, alerted by the commotion. She turned back and headed for the other stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, three at a time, she climbed up towards a doorway which led out onto the roof. ☯ Inside the spa, there were a number of tubs of various sizes filled with bubbling liquids. The spa pony hurried Mulan towards a screen. "So this is what I have to work with?" She removed Mulan's dress and pushed her towards the nearest tub. "I've seen worse, honey." Mulan was pushed backwards and stumbled against the edge of a tub, tripping and falling in. She shivered. "It's frozen!" Her mother replied softly, "it would have been warm if you'd been here on time." The spa pony ignored Mulan's complaints. "We'll have you washed and dried and groomed before you know it. We will have you looking like the perfect bride. You'll bring great honour to your family." Falabella Lee wrapped a sponge in her magic and started scrubbing her daughter. Coming to her right foreleg she discovered the writing. "What is this, Mulan?" Mulan snatched back her leg. "Umm... notes? In case I forget something?" She fluttered her long eyelashes. Mulan's grandmother sighed and passed the caged breezie to her daughter. Lee accepted the cage into her field of levitation. "Here, hold this," the older mare said, "we're going to need more luck than I thought." Mulan looked at her mother and grandmother with embarrassment. Finished washing Mulan, the spa pony helped her out of the tub and used a towel to dry her. She led Mulan to a seat, and another, almost identical, spa pony appeared, carrying a brush and comb. She looked at Mulan's mane and frowned, deep in thought. Mulan grimaced while the second spa pony brushed and combed her hair. This spa sadist didn't seem to go easy on the tangled parts. "When we're through, you'll look like a whole new pony," she promised. "Oooh, you're going to get such a surprise when you look in a mirror!" she squealed. The first spa pony dipped in here and there with a pair of scissors, making strategic trims to Mulan's mane and tail. "You'll have all the stallions fighting over you," she predicted. The second spa pony finalized the hair-do. "Perfect." She levitated a mirror over for Mulan to inspect the result. Mulan looked into the mirror to reveal a hairstyle exactly like that of the spa ponies. She raised an eyebrow. ☯ Falabella Lee guided her daughter along a busy street, avoiding carts and ponies. Walking past a café where a couple of elderly stallions were playing chess, Mulan held back for a moment to observe, while her mother carried on, not noticing that she'd left Mulan behind. Mulan wrapped the white queen in her magic and moved the piece forward three squares. One of the players stared at the board for a moment, before burying his face in his hooves. The other player smiled. Mulan felt a jerk as her hoof was suddenly pulled. Her mother was hurrying her along. "Come on, Mulan. You can bring great honour to our family by finding the right match. Today is the day you need to make an effort to impress the matchmaker." They arrived outside a shop. "Here we are," Lee announced. Inside the shop two dress-maker ponies fussed around Mulan, squeezing her into a much more figure-hugging dress than she would normally wear. "Men want girls with good taste," said one of the ponies. Mulan had to admit that it was a rather elegant outfit. The other dress-maker picked out a belt from a rack and slipped it around Mulan. "Calm," she offered. Mulan's mother interjected. "Obedient." "Full of grace," suggested the first dress-maker again. Falabella Lee stood back to admire the work being done by the dress-maker ponies and smiled. "With good breeding," she contributed. "And a tiny waist," said the second dress-maker while tightening the belt so much that Mulan could barely breathe. Mulan grunted as the wind was pushed out of her, and the other ponies frowned to hear such an inelegant sound come from her. Lee paid the dress-maker ponies some bits, and took Mulan by the hoof, whirling her around and out of the door. They crossed a busy street and took a shortcut to their next destination by cutting through the park diagonally. An earth pony colt bumped into Mulan and ran off down the path carrying a donkey doll in his teeth. Moments later a young pegasus filly ran past her in tears. Lee was pointing out the different flowers that were in bloom at this time of year, but Mulan was not paying attention to her; she used her magic to gently lift the donkey doll and return it to its owner. By the time Mulan and her mother caught up to the filly, she was playing happily with her doll again. The two women trotted into the beauticians'. It wasn't long before Mulan was sat in a chair with the mother and the make-up pony fussing over her, applying powder, lipstick, eye-liner, mascara, and all other kinds of lotions and potions that Mulan would never normally wear. "It must be soft and pale," Falabella Lee said, "like a lotus blossom." The make-up pony reassured her. "Don't worry, when we're done, she won't fail to impress any stallion." Mulan sighed and crossed her forelegs. She couldn't stand everypony talking about her like she wasn't in the room. She wouldn't want to be single for her whole life, but she felt that she had more to offer the world than to just be an obedient wife. The make-up pony held a mirror up so that Mulan could see her finished look. She wasn't happy with the severe-looking impression that her mane style and makeup gave. With a quick glow from her horn, her mane instantly resumed its natural appearance. "No!" scolded her mother, and used her hoof the snuff out Mulan's horn. The reality distortion field Mulan was casting dropped, and the neatly styled look returned. Mulan groaned. She reached up with a hoof to free a single bang from her mane, and let it hang down the side of her face. She smiled — she supposed it didn't look too bad now. Lee placed a white lily in Mulan's mane. "There; you're done." "Not quite," corrected Granny Falabella. She shoved an apple into Mulan's mouth. "An apple for serenity, jade beads for beauty, and a pendant for balance." She used her magic to wrap Mulan's neck in a jade necklace which beautifully complemented her coat. A diamond pendant hung down from the necklace. "Last thing: a breezie for good luck." She tucked the tiny cage she was carrying into one of the folds of Mulan's dress. ☯ "She went that way," said one of the earth pony thugs and gestured up the stairs. One of the others smiled. "Those just lead to the roof. She'll be trapped." While one of the ponies stayed to clean up the bedroom, the other three climbed the stairs and stepped out onto the roof. Spotting Nurse Goodheart in her white gown by the edge of the building, they fanned out and slowly approached her. Calmly, she took a step backwards and fell out of their sight. The three stallions looked at each other and rushed to the edge of the roof, prepared to be greeted by the sight of a dead mare on the pavement five stories below. They peered over the edge only to stumble back as Nurse Goodheart soared past them, her grey–white wings outstretched. ☯ Mulan's mother and grandmother led her to the town square, where the matchmaker would be holding her consultations. Dozens of other young mares dressed equally glamorously were milling about the square, waiting for their appointments. Mulan muttered a silent prayer to not screw this up, and to make her family proud.
Chapter 2 — The Princesses; The Matchmaker; A Call to ArmsA trumpet sounded in the throne room at the Castle of the Two Sisters. A guard standing by the door introduced a visitor. "Your Highnesses," he addressed the princesses, "I introduce Empress of the Crystal Empire, Countess of the Frozen North, and Knight of the Grand Order of Equestria, Empress Heart." "Oh, Radiant Shield," Princess Celestia giggled, "why do you have to be so formal? I think I can recognize my own niece! Come in, Sweet. It has been too long since you last visited." Empress Heart approached the throne. Her aunt was the only pony who still called her by her given name. "Dearest aunts, it has. But I'm afraid that this isn't a social call. The Crystal Empire is under attack; the minotaurs have breached our northern border. I am here to beg your assistance." A look of concern crossed Celestia's face. She turned to her sister; Princess Luna glared back. "That is troubling news," Celestia said, turning back to her visitor. "If the minotaurs can establish a stronghold in the Crystal Empire, they could use it as a base to attack Equestria. Of course we shall offer you our every assistance." Luna spoke for the first time. "Our concern should be for our own subjects." "Well, of course we must protect our own subjects, but we can do that by aiding the crystal ponies," Celestia explained to Luna. Luna gritted her teeth. "We should to that by strengthening our own defences." "But, dear sister, the best defence is a strong offence." "Fine," Luna said, "but if this goes wrong, the burden shall be on your shoulders." The princess addressed a guard. "Radiant Shield, send word to the northern provinces: a defence force must be raised to assist the crystal ponies. The Crystal Empire's guards will oversee the organization of an army to fight the minotaurs." Luna crossed her forelegs. Empress Heart smiled half-heartedly. She was naturally grateful, but still concerned about the trials ahead of her. "Thank you, dearest aunts. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return at once to my empire. I am needed there. That social visit will have to happen another day." Celestia stood up. "Hold on — I'll walk with you." Celestia walked Empress Heart back to the Skycoach. She spoke to her in a hushed tone. "I apologise for my sister's behaviour. She has been awake all night. It is hard for her, you know, the arrangement we have between night and day; sun and moon." "I understand," the empress said. "I really wish I could do more to help you. I wish I could come to the Crystal Empire to assist." Celestia looked back towards the throne room. "But I am not all powerful; even I have my limitations; and my presence here is necessary." She paused. "Equestria faces other threats as well." Empress Heart was concerned about Celestia's ominous words, but had no time to consider them in depth. She stepped onto the Skycoach. "Farewell, dear aunt." "Goodbye, Sweet, and good luck." Empress Heart ordered the pegasus ponies to pull the coach, and in moments they left the Castle of the Two Sisters behind, flying north over the Reverie Forest towards the Crystal Empire. ☯ The matchmaker stood on her front door step and looked at her clipboard. "Falabella Mulan?" Mulan jumped to attention and raised her hoof. "Here!" The matchmaker raised an eyebrow. "Speaking without permission." Mulan buried her face in her hooves. "What's her problem?" Granny Falabella whispered to Falabella Lee. The matchmaker motioned for Mulan to enter the building. Mulan trotted inside with the stern-looking earth pony following behind her, and shutting the door. Inside, Mulan stood while the matchmaker walked in circles around her, inspecting her body. "Hmmm... far too skinny; no good for bearing foals." The breezie escaped from his cage and Mulan struggled to capture him, trying to avoid the matchmaker seeing what she was doing. Giving up hope of catching him, her horn glowed and the breezie instantly became invisible and inaudiable to the matchmaker. Hiding and silencing a moving target, even from just a single observer, required great concentration — it was close to the limit of what her reality distortion spell could achieve. The matchmaker nodded. "Recite the oath." Mulan coughed and glanced at her foreleg and the now smeared text. She fanned herself, stalling for time. Reciting the oath and keeping up the concentration for her spell would not be easy. "I will respect the nation of Equestria, the princesses, my family, and my has—" She strained to make out the words. "… my husband. I will reflect before I snack." A look of shock came over her. "Before I act! This shall bring me honour and glory." She sighed with relief. The matchmaker smiled a sly grin. "Very good…" She snatched at Mulan's fan and turned it over, expecting to see the words of the oath printed on the reverse side. Mulan smiled and the matchmaker scowled. "Very good," she said reluctantly. She grabbed Mulan by the fetlock, smearing the ink around, and dragged Mulan to the other side of the room. "This way!" She deposited Mulan by a table and sat down. "Now pour the tea." A second layer of magic appeared around Mulan's horn and the teapot lifted from the table. "With your hooves!" the matchmaker admonished. Mulan set the pot back on the table, and lifted it by hoof. Mulan watched in horror as the matchmaker wiped her brow, smearing the ink from Mulan's leg onto her face. Not concentrating on the tea pot, she poured some tea on the table. The matchmaker tutted and started muttering. "You unicorns think you're so special with your magic. You will never match the honour, dignity, and refinement of the earth ponies." The tea cup full, the breezie fluttered towards the cup and perched on the brim. The matchmaker, unaware of the little creature, lifted the cup to her muzzle and sniffed. In a timid voice Mulan tried to get her attention. "Um… pardon me?" "A good wife will only speak when spoken to!" the matchmaker barked before taking another sniff of the tea. "If I could just have the tea cup back for a moment…?" Mulan reached for the cup and grabbed at it. Mulan's grab turned into a struggle, and the matchmaker shrieked as the tea was poured over her dress. Mulan's concentration on the spell failed, and the now-visible breezie flew up the matchmaker's dress. "You clumsy mare! I ought to— woo! wooooooo!" The matchmaker danced about, trying to get the ticklish creature out of her clothing. She tripped over a bucket and landed sitting on the stove. "Arghhhh!" she screamed, jumping up. Mulan took her fan and tried to cool down the singed area on the matchmaker's dress, but only caused it to flame up. She buried her face in her hooves at making such an obvious mistake. ☯ Outside the building, Falabella Lee waited with Grandma Falabella. When the noise of screaming reached the streets, Lee shook her head. Grandma Falabella whispered, "I think it's going well, don't you?" The door burst open, and the matchmaker ran out, her flanks on fire. "Put it out! Put it out!" she shouted in panic. Mulan ran after her and doused her in tea, finally extinguishing the fire. The matchmaker stared at her with a face that could freeze Celestia's sun into a ball of solid ice. Mulan nervously passed the empty tea pot to her, hung her head, and walked back to her mother and grandmother. "You are a disgrace!" the matchmaker yelled, walking back into the building and drawing the attention of the all the other ponies gathered outside her office that morning. "You may look the part, but you will never be a bride!" After she'd slammed the door, the crowds outside the building began whispering amongst themselves. Mulan walked away in shame, her family following behind her. ☯ Mulan walked through the gate and saw her father waiting in the garden. He smiled at her, but she turned away and walked towards the family temple. Stopping by a cherry tree, she held the breezie's cage aloft. "I'll never be the perfect bride. If I'm not meant to play this part, could it be my destiny is something else?" She opened the cage door, and the breezie flew out, landing on her mane. "Go!" she said to the breezie and it fluttered away. She continued on past the family's great stone dragon statue, and arriving at the temple steps. Seeing her reflection in the marble stones of the temple, she wiped off her make-up. She prayed a silent prayer to her ancestors for guidance and strength. After a few moments, she rose and walked back towards the house. Her father was waiting for her under the cherry tree. Mulan shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it." Falabella Zhou looked up at the tree. "My, my, what beautiful blossoms we have this year. But look, this one's late." He smiled at his daughter. "I bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all." A flower fell from the tree, and Zhou picked it up and tucked it behind Mulan's ear. Mulan was about to speak when there was a sound of drums and commotion on the street outside. "What is it?" Zhou held up a hoof for Mulan to remain where she was. He limped over to the gate. "Mulan, go inside," he called. Mulan stood a few paces behind her father. ☯ Chief Hooves stood in the street and unfurled his scroll. "Citizens, I bring you a proclamation from the Empress Heart: the minotaurs have invaded the Crystal Empire, and are heading for Equestria." A panicked murmur errupted amongst the crowd. "By order of the Emperor, and the Princesses of Equestria, one pony from every family must serve in the Imperial Army." Chief Hooves started going through the list. "Daze family." A stallion stepped forwards and bowed to one of Chief Hooves's guard ponies before accepting a conscription notice. "Pie family." A young mare held her father back. "I will serve the Princesses in my father's place." The guard with the conscription notices nodded and passed her a scroll. "Falabella family." Mulan could only look on in horror as her father limped forward towards the guards. Zhou bowed before them. "I am ready to serve the Princesses." He reached for a scroll from the guards. Mulan ran up to him. "Father, you can't go!" He turned to her and gave her a stern look. "Mulan…" "Please, sir," Mulan begged the guards, "my father has already fought bravely against the centaurs. He is old and injured—" "Silence!" shouted Chief Hooves. "You would do well to teach this… unicorn… to hold her tongue. War is earth pony business — we are connected to the land and must defend it; they are not." Zhou looked away from Mulan. "Mulan, you dishonour me." Grandma Falabella led Mulan back to the house. Chief Hooves handed Zhou a conscription notice. "Report tomorrow at the Hollow Shades camp." Zhou bowed at Chief Hooves. "Yes, sir." He turned and limped slowly back to the house. "Spoon family." The sounds on the street grew distant as Mulan followed her father back into the house in a daze. ☯ Nurse Goodheart landed at Manehattan docks. Mr Rich was dead — he was an old man and had only had a few more weeks left in him anyway. She wouldn't mourn his loss, but why would somepony do that to him? She shook her head in disbelief. She didn't know where to go or who to turn to. She was new in town, and now all her possessions, such as they were, and all her bits were gone — still in the house, but she couldn't go back there. A building at the end of the block had loud music playing and bright lights. It must have been a bar of some kind. Lacking any better ideas, she trotted towards it. She was still an attractive mare; she might be able to persuade a stallion to buy her a drink or perhaps even a meal. She could figure out what to do in the morning. ☯ As night fell, Zhou went to the armoury. Taking out his sword, he went through his stances. Balancing on his hind legs, he felt a twinge in his right flank and fell to the ground, his sword clanging on the floor. "Dinner's ready!" came a call from Grandma Falabella. As her father turned around to head towards the dining room, Mulan drew back behind the column from which she'd been observing her father. As he limped through the door, she shook her head. ☯ The family sat in silence while they ate, each lost in their own thoughts. The crash of thunder outside was the only sound to be heard. Falabella Lee used a warmth spell to heat a pot of tea. She'd been trying to teach Mulan the spell for weeks, but the young mare still hadn't perfected it. Mulan poured tea for her family, practising using her hooves. She poured the last cup for herself. Just as she was about to take a sip of her tea, she slammed the cup down on the table and stood up. "You shouldn't have to go!" "Mulan!" Lee exclaimed, looking up at her daughter. She motioned to Mulan's little brother. "Go to your room, Yao." He trotted off, happy to be spared another family drama. "There are plenty of young ponies to fight for Equestria," Mulan insisted. Zhou spoke calmly but firmly. "It is an honour to protect my country and my family." "So you'll die for honour?!" Mulan shouted angrily, tears brimming in her eyes. Zhou stood and confronted her. "I will die doing what's right." "But if you—" "I know my place in life. It is time you learned yours." Mulan opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her. She turned away and ran out of the front door, the rain masking her tears as she wept. She soon found herself at the base of the great stone dragon statue. She slumped to the ground and caught the reflection of a sad-looking young mare in a puddle. Looking back at the house, she could see her parents arguing through a window. After a few minutes the light went out plunging the house and gardens into almost complete darkness. Mulan picked herself up and walked slowly to the family temple. She lit a candle and placed it in the candle holder, shedding light on the interior of the temple. She saw a dozen versions of herself reflected in the shiny marble tablets. Curse this stupid horn. If I weren't a unicorn, I could join the army! For a moment, she cast her reality distortion spell on her reflection, seeing what she'd look like as an earth pony. She let the spell fall, bowed, and offered a prayer to her ancestors, before sitting in silent contemplation. Another crack of lightning spurred Mulan into action. Everything is clear. She rose from the ground and hurried towards the house, her hooves kicking up splashes of water from the puddles on the stony ground. The breezie, who had been sheltering from the storm in the temple, flew after her. Quietly creeping into her parents' bedroom, the lifted her father's conscription notice with her magic, replacing it with the lotus blossom from her hair. Pausing for a moment to give her parents a sorrowful look, she hurried out of the room. She looked in on her sleeping brother on the way to the armoury. Using her magic, she flung the cabinet open and began to put on her father's battle barding, tightening a belt to hold it on. She held her father's sword aloft, catching her reflection in its smooth metallic surface. Perhaps this is who I am meant to be? She decisively drove the sword into the scabbard built into the barding and cantered out of the front door. The breezie fluttered onto her mane as she cast a final tearful glance back to her parents' darkened bedroom window before galloping out of the gate.
