Even though it was raining, it was still a beautiful spring day. Outside the simple hospital were a row of purple flowers in the flower bed, full of red pollen as they were ready to make more flowers. The light shower rolled off of their petals, givining them a light shine.
Meanwhile another beautiful moment was happening inside. A blue stallion and a white mare were about to become parents. Moonshine's hoof was being firmly grasped by his wife, who was clinching it as hard as she could. She was going through labor now. The water had already broken awhile ago, so it wouldn't be long before the child came. As another wave of sweat washed done her face as she grimaced and then screamed in pain. Her husband offered her reassurance.
"You can do it, honey, it won't be much long now."
The midwife could be heard giving similar encouragement, only it was less personal and included the phrase "now push, PUSH!", but to Evening Lilly all the sounds blurred together in her pain. At last she felt something give and the midwife reached in and pulled the foal out of her. She sighed in relief.
A quick glance confirmed that it was a filly and an earth pony, and the midwife clamped the umbilical cord and cleaned the foal. After the placenta was expelled and Evening Lilly had time to recover a bit the now wrapped filly was placed into her hooves. She was a moderate shade of purple with a reddish mane. Once she opened her eyes they could be seen to be a stunning shade of magenta. Evening Lilly looked out the window at the light shower of rain outside, took notice of the flower bed, then her gaze went back to her daughter. Through the pain she smiled.
"I'm going to call her Rainflower."
***
Seven months had past. Moonshine was a pulling a carriage, while Evening Lilly and Rainflower were in the back. They were going across Equestria to their summer home. As they pressed along Evening Lilly held her daughter by the window so she could look outside. They were passing by a forest now, and Rainflower opened her mouth wide as she saw trees flashing by and felt the wind in her face. The wind picked up her mane and tossed it around. The sweet scent of pine filled her nostrils. She felt wonderful.
Suddenly a new odor joined that of the pine. It was sharper, muskier. It smelled wrong, so she started crying. Her mother tried to comfort her, but she had no idea what was wrong. Evening Lilly brought her daughter to her teats and offered her fresh milk, but she refused to take any. Then she smelled it as well. Somewhere in the forest something else was smelling fear.
Without further warning a pack of timberwolves emerged from the forest. Evening Lilly screamed as they pounced onto her husband and tore his flesh off. The bonds connecting him to the carriage snapped, sending it careening into a tree. As the carriage crashed mother and daughter were sent flying into a heap. After Evening Lilly came to her senses she found that she had a severe wound on her head, but that would have to wait. She had to find her daughter. It didn't take her long to hear Rainflower bawling from underneath the rubble. Evening Lilly pulled her out as quickly as she could, not noticing the snap that could heard as she pulled one of Rainflower's legs out from the rubble. She could hear the wolves gaining on her, so with Rainflower in her mouth she ran as fast as she could away from the forest.
Even after the timberwolves were far out of sight she kept on running. She ran until her vision grew blurry, but she couldn't stop yet. She had to get her daughter to safety. After what seemed like hours she arrived at a small town. She located the hospital, burst in, set Rainflower down, and exclaimed one last sentence before passing out.
"Her name is Rainflower."
***
Gold Hair jumped as the door opened. Standing in the doorway was a white mare with a red mane, holding a small, mewing, purple foal in her mouth. Well, a second glance confirmed that her mane was actually yellow, but it was soaked in blood that came from a wound on her head. The mare staggered in and set the foal down on the floor.
"Her name is Rainflower."
With that the mare let out a moan, swayed back and forth, and collapsed onto her side. Gold Hair then approached the fallen. Upon examination he noticed that the filly wasn't untouched either. The flesh on her left hind leg was badly torn and was fractured above the knee. Both ponies had life threatening wounds, so he would have to divide the resources.
"Sun Stone, come quick! I want you to attend to the mare while I work on the filly!"
An orange mare wearing a nurse's hat rushed in from another room in the simple hospital and headed to the mare. Meanwhile Gold Hair picked up the filly, who he assumed was Rainflower, and took her over to the operating table. The wound was beginning to become infected, so the limb had to be amputated. He reached inside a chest underneath the operating table and pulled out a rope, a scalpel, tweezers, a saw and a syringe. Using the rope he applied a tourniquet above Rainflower's wound. Normally tourniquets are risky as the loss of blood flow can kill a limb, but this was not a problem here as he was going to amputate the leg.
He filled the syringe with a sedative, injected it into the squirming foal, and as she began to wind down he got to work. He delicately slashed through skin, muscle, and sinew, pulled out shards of bone and pieces of flesh, and sawed through the last bit holding it together. At last he retrieved an iron, heated it up, and sealed the wound. The procedure was complete.
He then went over to check on the mare, who he assumed was Rainflower's mother. Her head was bandaged up and Sun Stone has laid her to rest on a bed. That was all they could do here. In Canterlot they had all of the latest medical technology, but here in the village of Cowdoor they had to make do with what they had.
Crying could then be heard as Rainflower awoke. Sun Stone headed over to the filly and picked her up, carrying her over to her mother. Gold Hair smiled as she cuddled up to her mom.
***
The mare had been in a coma for several days now, and there was no sign of recovery. Gold Hair concluded that she had suffered brain damage from trauma which was then aggravated by stress. If she had not overexerted herself she might be ok, but now it looked like she wasn't going to make it.
On the other hand, the filly was doing great. Rainflower had gotten used to her new stub and was eagerly crawling around. Soon she would be walking. The missing leg would make it impossible to run correctly, but only three legs are needed to walk. However, the real problem was going to be what would happen to her once her mother was gone.
As Gold Hair stared at the foal scooting across the floor of his room he came to realize what he wanted to do. He never wanted her to go away. He was going to adopt her.
***
Rainflower hobbled over to the operating table. She lived with Gold Hair in a living quarters attached to the village's simple hospital. On the operating table was a grey earth pony, and Gold Hair was working with his tools between her legs. Rainflower balanced her stub on a block by the table, and placed her front hooves onto the table, giving her a better look.
Gold Hair was using a scalpel to slice skin from the pony's inner thigh, which he then removed with a pair of tweezers and placed to the side. As Rainflower moved her gaze up the ponies body and came to it's face she gasped. The grey mare's face was horrifically mutilated.
"Daddy, what happened to her?"
Gold Hair didn't even look at her as he responded, he had to keep focused on his work.
"She was burned when she tripped while holding a pot of boiling water and it splashed on her face. She looks the way she does now because I had to remove the burned flesh, but I'm going to fix it soon."
"Well how are you going to fix it? And why are you cutting skin from her leg? Did she get burned there as well?"
Gold Hair let out a small chuckle.
"No she did not. Actually, the answer to your other questions are the same. I'm taking skin from here so I can attach it to her face and fix it. Soon enough it will heal and she will be better. This is called grafting. Sometimes the skin is taken from another pony, but that is more risky. Pieces of bone can also be grafted if a pony breaks one of their bones badly."
Rainflower now watched as he placed skin onto the wounds on the mare's face and sewed it back on. As her mind turned she began to think of a deeper question.
"Can legs be grafted?
Gold Hair stopped as he heard this question. It took him a moment to respond, and he actually turned towards her.
"No, sadly they cannot, at least not for ponies. Trees can have their limbs grafted together, even from completely different types of trees, but for nothing more complicated than a tree has such a complex graft ever been successful. However, you don't need another leg, you are my perfect little filly with all three of your legs."
He stopped working and pulled Rainflower into an embrace and for a moment the filly was happy the way she was.
***
It was Rainflower's first day of school. She eagerly trotted as fast as she could up to the other school ponies, who were conversing in smaller groups. Instead of welcoming her, they glared at her. Some showed confusion, some pity, but others displayed cold disdain. A brown colt from one group shouted at her.
"This is Stone Heart's group."
He gestured to a large, pale yellow colt in the group. He had a brown mane and turquoise eyes. Stone Heart then spoke, his voice full of hatred.
"Only cool ponies are allowed here. You aren't cool, you are a freak, so stay away from us!"
Rainbow cowered and scooted away from Stone Heart. Maybe she would find some nicer friends somewhere else.
***
Not only was Gold Hair a doctor, but he was also an apothecary, brewing potions and medicine for the ponies of Cowdoor. Rainflower learned a deal of the trade from him. At the moment she was making making an antibiotic with Gold Hair's help.
She was standing at the cauldron with Gold Hair behind her. He supported her and helped guide her hooves to make sure the potion would end up in perfect condition.
"Daddy, now what?"
"You need to keep stirring, or else it will burn. We aren't ready for the next step yet."
Rainflower kept stirring, but her arm was getting tired. The brew was getting quite viscous at this point. She wanted to add some more ingredients. After what seemed like an hour and she felt like her foreleg was going to fall off and join the rest of the concoction the doctor spoke.
"Ok, you can stop now. Now add the five teaspoons of elderberry extract."
Gold Hair had already measured out the extract and placed it in a cup, so she only had to dump the contents of the cup into the cauldron. Rainflower sighed with relief as Gold Hair took over stirring. Eventually all the water boiled away, living nothing but a pile of powder.
"Now to use this powder it's meant to be mixed into water and dissolved. The solution is then to be drunk, and it can help with bacterial infections. You did a very good job at making this."
Rainflower looked up to her stepfather and smiled.
"You are the best daddy ever! You make it ok that I don't have a mommy."
Gold Hair looked back down at his step daughter and smiled back.
"And you are the best daughter ever."
He then bent down and kissed his daughter on the head.
***
Rainflower watched from the top of the hill. Down in the valley the other fillies were playing with a ball. She was reading a book, but from time to she glanced at the fillies. She watched as a purple filly tossed the ball across the field, and a group of fillies pursued it. A blue filly she did not know caught the ball, and the other fillies tried to pry it away from her. One of them, a pink filly with a spiked green mane, returned her gaze, and she stopped the game.
"Rainflower, come down and play with us."
"No, I'm fine. I'd rather read this book. Thanks for the offer."
The fillies resumed their game, and Rainflower let out a sigh. That was a lie. She wanted to be in the game, but she couldn't. If she joined their game they would have to tone it down to accommodate for her limp, and they wouldn't want to that. She would make the game worse, not better. She considered herself lucky enough that the filly even took enough pity on her to offer her a spot.
Her three-legged self was not perfect.
***
There was one unicorn in Cowdoor. Grey Dusk was an old mysterious pony. He had a long beard, only one eye which was a bright red, and mainly kept to himself. Most of the other ponies in Cowdoor were afraid of him, and the foals made up stories about him, saying he a sorcerer who cooked little fillies up to eat for his breakfast, he would use his beard to tie colts up, and he lost his eye when one little pony tried to fight back, but now he could use his remaining eye to see fear. However, Rainflower was going to have none of that. She felt the she knew what it was like to be alone like him, wanting nothing but a friend. She was going to be his friend.
Rainflower walked to the old grey cottage at the edge of the village without fear. She scuttled right up to the rundown door and knocked on it. A gruff voice from inside yelled back.
"Who are you and what do you want?"
Rainflower piped back without hesitation.
"I'm Rainflower, and I want to be your friend!"
Rainflower heard the sound of locks jangling on the other sides, then watched as the door glowed with grey light and swung open. Standing in the door way was Grey Dusk, his one red eye looking as if it was staring straight into her soul.
"Why do you want to be friends with an old fool like me? Why doesn't my broken gaze send fear into your heart?"
"Well, I think missing part of you is no good reason to be made fun of, and I figured you would be lonely. See, I'm broken too."
She then turned and displayed her stub to the unicorn.
"I see. I guess I am lonely. Come on in."
Rainflower followed the unicorn inside. The place was messy, with papers and clothes strewn all over the place. However the thing that interested Rainflower the most was the scores of books lining the walls. As Rainflower could not run she had spent a lot of time reading. As Rainflower explored the place Grey Dusk nonchalantly explained his past.
"I was once a craftsman in Canterlot, a carver, and one of the finest at that. After I lost my eye is a horrific accident I lost my sense of depth, forcing me out of my business. I left to the country, were no one knew me, hoping to start anew were no one knew who I was, where I wouldn't need much of my former skills to survive. I came here, where there are no other unicorns. I can always find a way to use my magic to pay for what I need to live. I'm sure the only reason the village council has not called me out as a sorcerer and banished me is because I provide services for them. "
Rainflower stopped looking at a book she found on the ground called "Tales from the Stable" and turned to Grey Dusk, who was now sitting on a saggy grey arm chair.
"Have you thought about trying to get a new eye? My dad told me grafting limbs is impossible, but he didn't say anything about eyes."
"I've never heard of grafting eyes before, but now that you speak of this, you remind me of an old legend. According to the legend there was once a student of Star Swirled the Bearded, one of the greatest sorcerers to have ever lived. This student's lust for power caused him to turn evil, and he tried to overthrow his master. In the resulting fight he lost his left front hoof and his horn was broken. However, this did not stop him. He managed to find a way to reconstruct his horn, and give himself a new hoof. Using this technique he built chimeras, abominations made from multiple types of animals, the greatest of which was a Drakonequus modeled after Discord, the lord of chaos himself. The legend then says that a knight slew the warlock and his monsters, but that isn't important. If this legend is true then it would indeed become possible to graft limbs, but it's probably just a legend."
Rainflower hoped it wasn't just a legend. Any hope was a hope.
***
Soon enough Grey Dusk became Rainflower's friend. She spent many afternoons at his house, chatting with him and reading his books. She wanted to find anything that could give her a lead and looking within those dusty old tomes seemed like a good place to start.
When Rainflower was bullied she sometimes fled into the forest. Inside she found a clearing to be alone. There she could read those books and practice potion making in solitude. Eventually she began to tame the animals of the forest, and she started practicing medicine by healing the animals. She assembled a pack for her trips to the woods which she called her adventure pack. Inside was medical tape, a scalpel, a saw, tweezers, potion supplies, and smaller pouches for potion ingredients she found in the the woods.
Over time she developed new potions that she used for healing. By combining information from the books she read and her original discoveries she believed that she was making progress with finding a way to graft limbs on, and she had helped many wounded forest critters in the process. However, sometimes the surgeries weren't always a success, and near the clearing was an animal graveyard. Rainflower cried for them and felt guilt as she was responsible for their deaths, so to put herself at ease as she reminded herself that their deaths were not in vain, she was trying to help them, and with this new knowledge she was going to find a way to help crippled ponies everywhere.
She was going to be a hero someday, she would become whole.
***
As Rainflower came to school that day she saw something that filled her with dread. Stone Heart now had a large rock on his flank. The rest of his gang also had their cutie marks. She tensed up and lowered her head as she braced for the onslaught that would come once they saw her. She tried her best to slink past them, but one of the goons noticed her anyway.
"Hey look, there is the freak! Not only is she a freak, but she is a blank flank too. I bet you she is gonna remain a blank flank for life!"
Stone Heart stepped up and struck her where her cutie would be with full force. She straightened with a start from the sudden blow, but she lost her balance and fell over onto her side. Books fell out of bags on her sides. She blushed and tried to cover her face as everypony laughed at her.
"That's the only mark you are ever going to get on your flank."
The gang laughed. After they stopped Stone Heart continued.
"A cripple like you is useless, you will never a special talent. I bet if you ever got one it would depict a broken twig, because all you good at is ruining things. In fact..."
"I bet your cutie mark represents your talent is being a block head. Leave her alone, you good for nothing bully!"
Rainflower recognized that voice. It was Melon Head, her only friend her age. The green maned pink mare was now standing between Rainflower and Stone Heart.
"Why you little punk, you're just as much of a freak as her. I would pound you right now, but I've got better things to do than deal with you freaks. Come on guys, lets go."
As the bullies left Melon Head helped Rainflower gather up all of her books and get her back up onto her hooves.
"Ray, Are you alright?"
"Just a bit startled. Mell, what if they are right, what if I am destined to be a good for nothing blank flank?"
"Don't take any mind of them. They are just stupid jerks who are mad because they won't amount to anything in life. You have shown me that you are really talented with potions and medicine. Do you remember that one time you fixed my dog up?"
Rainflower was on her feet now, brushing herself off. All her books were gathered.
"Yeah."
"If it wasn't for your help he might be dead now. I thanked you once, but I'll thank you again. You really do have talent."
"Thank you."
Together the two friends hugged, then walked to class.
***
Rainflower had salvaged a pair of mice from a trap. One was dead, and the other lost it's leg. Today Rainflower was going to work magic. In front of her was a pot filled with a green gel. All of her study of potion making came down to this last brew, and from descriptions she found she had reason to believe she had recreated the concoction used by the fallen warlock. Using her scalpel she amputated a leg from the dead mouse, then used a brush to apply the gel to the top of the leg. She then did the same to the wound on the other mouse.
"Let Harmony be found in Discord."
With that she attached the leg to the mouse. There was a soft glow, then it stopped. The leg was held fast, and it was moving. She had done it. She had recreated the "Demonic Flesh Glue", as one source called it. Now she could work miracles. She set the mouse free, and stood. As she got up she noticed something. There was now a a pair of flasks full of potions on each of her flanks. She now had her cutie mark.
She had to go home. She would show the mark to Gold Hair, Grey Dusk, and Melon Head. They would all be so proud of her. Then she could go show Stone Heart. She would show him that she was more than just a useless freak.
***
The years went by, but even though Rainflower now had the means of attaching a new leg, she lacked an actual leg to attach. That was ok. She had her cutie mark, and for the most part she now had a few friends to defend her. Stone Heart's gang stopped taking so much interest in tormenting her as they found they had other things to do.
Then the time came were Rainflower was now a young mare, and then it was time for the end of the year party.
***
Rainflower was talking with Melon Head about the upcoming party to commemorate the end of school. They were sitting underneath a tree in the park. They decided they were going to have a blast together. Then they heard a voice.
"Melon Head, where are you?"
They both recognized the voice of Melon Head's coltfriend, and she stood up.
"I got to go. See you later."
She then headed off, leaving Rainflower alone. At this time a brown colt approached Rainflower, whom she recognized him as a friend of Stone Heart. As he loomed over her he delivered a message with an unusual amount of emotion in his voice.
"Rainflower, listen to me. Stone Heart said the if he catches you going to the party and ruining it then he will mess you up real bad. He wanted me to deliver this to you as a threat, but I'm telling you as a warning. Please, for your own safety, don't show up. He isn't bluffing."
With that the colt gazed at the ground and trotted away. Rainflower could do little more than breath heavily as she thought over what she just heard. She knew perfectly well that Stone Heart had no problems with hurting her.
***
Despite Stone Heart's threat, she decided to come to the party anyway. She came late as she didn't decide to make this choice until well after the party started, and she sneaked in as best as she could. After weaving through the crowed she finally found a dancing Melon Head. Mell stopped dancing once she saw her friend.
"Hey Ray, you're finally here! What took so long?"
Rainflower shushed her friend.
"Shh. If Stone Heart finds out I'm here he's going to pummel me."
"What a block head! How can someone he so mean? Oh come one, don't be afraid, dance with me!"
So together they danced into the night, Rainflower dancing the most exotic dance of all as she had to improvise for only three legs. This made her quite the star of the dance floor, until at last she attracted some unwanted attention.
"Rainflower, I told you not to come!"
As she heard Stone Heart shout she lost her balance and fell on her rump.
"You always come and ruin everything! Now I'm going to show you!"
The crowd back away in fear of the stallion. Melon Head stood up and tried to keep him back, but he just punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. However, she could still try, and she clamped onto Stone Heart's back legs, bring him down.
"Ray, escape now!"
And so Rainflower fled the party, not stopping until she got back home.
***
Rainflower returned home to retrieve her adventure bag, and then headed off into the forest. She flew through the forest as fast as her three legs could carry her, not noticing the familiar trees as tears flew out of her eyes and obscured her vision. At last she came to her secret clearing, where she curled up into a ball and cried herself to sleep.
However, her sleep was not for long. She awoke as she heard the sound of a branch snapping. As her eyes flutter she noticed a familiar form in the moonlight. Swaying before her was Stone Heart. As a breeze came towards her she smelled liquor on his his breathe. She stood up, sweat coming to her brow. As soon as Stone Heart saw her he yelled at her.
"You little crippled horse! I found your little spot were cut up small animals or summon demons and you can't hide now! You ruined the party and everything, and now you must pay!"
Rainflower tried to flee, but she found herself shaking so hard that she lost her balance. She lay trembling as Stone Heart came over.
"Please d-don't hurt me. I-I'll do anything. Just let me be."
Stone Heart laughed.
"Hurt you? I'm going to kill you or worse!"
He roared and Rainflower screamed. She tried again to escape, but he got up to and clamped a hoof over her mouth and pulled her to the ground, her adventure pack falling off.
"It's the middle of the forest in the dead of night. No one can hear you scream."
He was on top of her. He then proceeded to pound her in the mouth until blood flowed. She squirmed all through the time he was on her. When she slowed down he grabbed her head with his hooves.
"No one is going to miss a freak like you once you are gone. I might as well make you useful for once in your miserable life before I end it."
Rainflower tensed as she figured out what was going to happen next, her blood going cold. Stone Heart was adjusting his position. She needed to find a way to save her now. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her adventure bag, and she remembered it's contents. She only had one chance to save her life, and now was the time to act.
With one last extortion of strength she broke one hoof free from underneath him and punched him in the eye with full force. As he was knocked back she rolled to her side and reached for her pack, fumbling around inside it until she found the scalpel. Stone Heart was now even more enraged and brought himself down on Rainflower with full force, but now she was armed and could defend herself.
With the fury that can only be found within panic Rainflower slashed at her attacker's neck repeatedly. Even after she struck his jugular she could not stop as she too full of adrenaline to think properly, much less stop. At last she came to her senses, and she saw the blood, so much blood. It had been spurting from Stone Heart's body with each heart beat, but his heart wasn't beating anymore. Rainflower was horrified when she realized what she had done. She had killed another pony.
***
After she calmed down and stored away her guilt, at least for the mean time, she realized something. There was now a body in front of her, and she might as well make the death not be in vain by making use of it. She had to work quickly, before rigor mortis set in. In her pouch was the magic grafting ointment that she got her cutie mark for. With scalpel and bone saw in hoof she made work on his left hind leg until she had the needed part removed.
Now it was time for the painful part. Using the scalpel she cut into her stub, and opened the scar back up, exposing the bone. She sawed the femur open, biting her lip as tears ran down her face. At last the hardest part was over. She applied her paste to the wound where it would merge on the leg, and placed the parts together. She felt a stinging sensation and felt herself shake as magic bonds merged the bodies together. The process seemed to sap her energy, and she collapsed from the exhaustion. The stress of the whole ordeal was just too much.
As she lay on the earth, she breathed slowly. There was nothing to fear now, she was now at peace. She was finally whole.
***
After burying the body as best as she could she returned to the village. Maybe they would finally accept her now that she had four legs. She saw a group of three mares conversing outside their house, so she approached them.
"Hello. I got myself a fourth leg, so now I can be with you!"
However, instead of welcoming her now they were even meaner to her than before. One simply shrieked, but the other two were more verbal with their distaste.
"My word, what have you done now? You witch!"
"Now you are even more of a freak, stay away from us!"
Rainflower watched as the pony who shrieked ran away. Rainflower turned and ran away as well, running for the first time in her life. Maybe she could find comfort at home.
***
Rainflower entered her home. Inside Gold Hair was reading a book. She walked up in front of him.
"Daddy, look! I've figured out how to fix myself!"
As he glanced up from his book she turned to display her new leg to him. Instead of displaying joy, he displayed jaw dropping horror.
"Ray, do you know what you have done? The council will be outraged! Oh, my dear sweet Rainflower..."
"Why aren't you happy? I'm whole now. I can show you how I did it, then you can fix all the other amputees."
"NO! These secrets were lost for a reason. No good can come of this. This power corrupts. I'm sorry Ray, I...I still love you, but, oh dear..."
He then stood up and hugged his adopted daughter, who was still confused. Rivulets were streaming down his face.
***
It didn't take long before it was discovered that Stone Heart had gone missing, and news spread that Rainflower now had his leg. Rainflower was brought before the council. Everypony now knew what she did. She stood before all of Cowdoor with her head bowed, back to the spectators. Across from the audience stood the council, reading her sentence.
"Rainflower, for the crimes of witchcraft and murder, you are hereby banished from Cowdoor. After sundown you are never to be seen in this town again, or else a more fitting punishment would be dealt to you. This is an act of mercy."
The council went silent. Rainflower then turned to face the crowd. She tried to approach Gold Hair, but he would not meet her gaze.
"Father?"
"I'm sorry, but as much as I loved you, after what you have done I cannot associate with you anymore. I'm so sorry."
His voice was mournful, and his eyes moistened the ground at his hooves. Grey Dusk then emerged from the crowd and approached Rainflower. He handed her a map and a carving.
"Here, take this. The map will show you how to get to Canterlot, where maybe you will be able to start a new life, hopefully one free from such prejudice. This carving will prove that you met me, and may make your time easier."
She took the gifts and stared at the old wizard, not quite sure what to say. At last she said all she could.
"Thank you."
She then looked for the final pony in the crowd who still cared about her and wasn't shunning her. As she passed through the mass the other ponies backed away from her, disgusted. At last she found Melon Head. The moment the mare saw Rainflower she just latched onto her and wept. At last she stopped and found her voice.
"Ray, I guess this means goodbye. If I can ever break free from this place, I-I'll try to find you, wherever you are. I-I love you, I-I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, M-Mell. W-when you can, try to f-find me in Canterlot."
The pair embraced and cried until at last they had to break apart. Rainflower then headed home, grabbed her pouch, and head off into the distance.
She might have gained a leg, but her had lost everything that she held dear. She was now dead to Cowdoor, and Cowdoor was dead to her. Maybe Canterlot would be a better place.
Rainflower set off in the direction of Canterlot. Until now, she only thought she knew what it was like to be alone, but she always had someone, whether it was her adopted father, her friend, or her unicorn mentor, who cared about her and she could turn to. Now she was truly alone. She had been walking the road to Canterlot for days now, subsiding off of grass and dew. In the distance she could see the faint outline of mountains. The map said that Canterlot was located there. Maybe she might meet another pony once she got closer. Even the company of one of her apathetic classmates would be better than this loneliness.
She thought she might have found refuge in her dreams, hoping to find memories of playing with Melon Head, reading Grey Dusk's books, or Gold Hair holding her, but in her dreams she found nothing except torment. Every night she had the same dream. She dreamed of the night, the attempt that Stone Heart made, and most of all, of the murder. She saw wave after wave of blood and she awoke in terror. The memory of what she had done and what had happened would not go away.
One day it rained. As unpleasant as the rain felt, it was a major relief for Rainflower as it provided fresh water. She had been slowly growing delirious from dehydration, and now she could finally save herself with a proper water source. The famished mare found a puddle of water by the side of the road. She bent down and began to gorge herself, her eyes firmly sealed as she focused on the taste. Even though it was somewhat dirty it still tasted like sweet memories. At last she was refreshed and opened her eyes. What she saw nearly made her choke on the last bit of water in her mouth.
In her reflection she noticed that there was now streaks of turquoise mixed in with the magenta on her irises.
***
The mountains grew larger and larger, and before long she met another pony traveling on the same road, only he was traveling in the opposite direction. The stallion was older than her, with a coat the color of the dirt road, and a cleanly cropped mane. On his back was a saddle supporting a few bags, and his cutie mark was similar bag. He appeared to be hardly paying attention to where he was or where he was going as he ambled along. As she hadn't seen another pony in days she decided it would be best to approach him. When he came into focus she let out a yell to get his attention.
"Hello! What brings you down this road!"
The stallion seemed to return to Equestria from the depths of his mind as he lifted his head to find the voice. Once he spotted Rainflower he made out his modest reply.
"Just taking goods out from the city to the countryside. And you?"
He was drawing in closer now. Taking in a deep breathe Rainflower prepared to ask for assistance.
" My name is Rainflower. I'm moving to Canterlot from a village far down the road. I haven't seen another pony in days, so I'm wondering if you can help me. See, my first problem is that I've had hardly anything to eat or drink in days. Second, I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to do once I get to Canterlot."
As she spoke Rainflower noticed that he was staring at her leg. She shifted her weight to hide it from his view. The stallion then averted his gaze from the leg and tried to meet her eyes.
"Well, I'll see what I can do. I have some water, and some dandelion cookies. I guess I could spare some. Want any?"
Rainflower could feel her mouth filling up with saliva as she saw the delicate yellow circles emerge from the other pony's bag. She was so hungry that her nodding was practically involuntary. A slight smile crept across her lips as she gingerly took the cookies from him. It took all quite a bit of restraint to keep her from just eating them all right there, but she needed to save some, so she only snarfed down one of them. Her hooves were shaking when she opened her bag to store the remaining cookies.
"By the way, I'm Glossander."
As Rainflower stashed the cakes into her satchel Glossander's eyes fell upon the figure in the bag.
"That's a nice carving you have there. Where did you get it?"
"Oh, I got it from a friend of mine, his name is Grey Dusk. He told me that this carving would help me in Canterlot."
At the sound of the unicorn's name Glossander's ears perked up.
"Did you say Grey Dusk? I see how that carving could help you. If I could sell it I would be set for a month. After he disappeared and his excellent carvings became more rare they have become quite expensive. Anyhow, I really need to get going, so I wish you luck in Canterlot."
As Glossander trotted away Rainflower let out a farewell with far more confidence then she actually felt. After she watched him disappear over a hill she let out a sigh. Alone once again, she turned around and headed towards Equestria's capital. It was going to be a long climb up the mountain.
***
Magnificent Dawn awoke to the sound of birdsong. She grumbled as she fumbled out of bed and hobbled over to her mirror. Her reflection was a mess, her majestic purple mane splayed across her face and not looking the least bit majestic, her eyes were barely open so she couldn't see her normally brillent vermillion orbs, and her normally ruby face was looking more puce with her dead expression. A scarlet glow illuminated an ornate brush lying next to the mirror as the unicorn nonchalantly levitated it and got to work. It would only take a few minutes to polish the tarnish off of this trophy.
After she finished applying makeup the mare examined herself again. She was perfect now. She had pulled her mane back into a braid, restored life to her eyes, and her face was full of color now. She finished off by throwing a deep violet robe over her back. It was time to go downstairs and open the shop.
Meanwhile at the city limits a bewildered Rainflower trotted slowly as her eyes darted around. It was strange enough climbing up the mountain and getting past the guards, but once she stepped past the outer walls she was in something else entirely. She had never seen so many ponies before, or so many buildings. Multicolored, curvy shops stood fused together on each side of the street. And there were so many unicorns. It amazed her that all of the ponies were wearing clothes, something that aside from Gold Hair's coat and Grey Dusk's robes she had only heard about in books. The stone beneath her hooves felt so different than the dirt she was used to, harder, less even. It certainly sounded louder as she heard a *clop clop clop* come from every step anypony took. It was so alien.
She turned to a white stallion in a funny black suit she saw walking past her.
"Excuse me sir, can you help me?"
However, the other pony just passed by her without even casting a glance in her general direction. She tried asking help from several other ponies, but they all responded, or rather didn't respond, the same way. Even though she was now in a sea of ponies she had never felt more alone. After wondering the streets for what felt like hours she couldn't take it anymore and just collapsed into an alley, out of the way of the other ponies, and sobbed.
***
Dawn was having a poor day. The only thing she had sold was some sort of wooden doll to a half-crazy old mare. As she sat with her head on one hoof, staring idly at a spider spinning a cobweb in the corner, a sudden sound disturbed her. She came to her hooves and ventured outside the shop through the side door, searching for the source of the noise. Once she was outside she could tell it came from somepony crying. At last she she found the source, a mare with her face on her hooves. She placed her own hoof on the mare's shoulder and tried to comfort her.
"I've found you, there's no need to cry. Now tell me what's wrong."
The mare turned to face the speaker. Dawn's face fell when she saw the other pony's forehead.
"What's wrong? I'm a monster! I did something I can't undo, and now I've lost my home, my family, and my friends. I came to Canterlot to look for a new start, but everypony just ignored me. "
The earth pony practically screamed as she spoke. Dawn faked a smile and tried to find a way to take advantage of the situation.
"Well, I'm sorry that happened to you. If you are looking for a home, I believe I can provide for you, at least for while. However, I can't afford to just keep you around for nothing, so I'm going to need you to assist me. Housing isn't cheap here in Canterlot. Come, follow me."
The other mare stopped crying and followed Dawn into her shop. Once they were inside Dawn got behind the clerk's counter. Rainflower put the sack she had with her onto the counter and reached into it. Dawn found earth ponies' inability to simply pull something out with magic to be rather pitiful. Rainflower pulled a small brown object out of the bag and held it in front of the unicorn.
"Well, a unicorn named Grey Dusk gave this to me when I left Cowdoor. He said it would help me, and from another pony I learned it might be of much value. Could I pay rent with it? By the way, my name is Rainflower."
The unicorn used her magic to lift it out of the other pony's hooves and she examined it, turning it over and over, looking into every nook and cranny, feeling every grain. It was undeniably something made by Grey Dusk. It would be worth a fair amount, but Dawn wasn't just going to let the earth pony just pay once and then just stay with her, and she decided she might as well let the poor earth pony keep her trinket.
"Well Rainflower, I'm afraid I can't take this from you, so it looks like you are going to have to work for me. Trust me, with the way the market is in Canterlot right now that's probably your best option. Oh, and my name is Magnificent Dawn. It was rude of me for not telling you earlier."
***
Dawn showed Rainflower around her place while she described what she wanted her to do. It seemed that Dawn mainly just wanted her to keep the place tidy, sweep, organize the items for the shop, cook their food, and the like. On the bottom level was the shop, which had the front room, a back room for storage, a kitchen, a restroom, and of course the staircase up. Below there was a basement with more storage room. On the upper level was Dawn's home. She had her own room with it's own bathroom, and a study. There was a smaller servant's quarters up there as well.
"Now, this would be the room you would live in. Your bed is right there. Unfortunately you have to use the bathroom downstairs."
They were standing in the hallway, peering into the quarters. After she was done presenting the room she lead Rainflower back into the master bed room and went to her desk. On it was a stack of papers with a quill and ink pot.
"Now, any questions?"
Rainflower thought over it. She needed a place to live, but this isn't quite what she wanted. After all, her talent was potions, not sweeping.
"Well, I was wondering if this is really the best thing for me to do. I mean, cooking and cleaning isn't really my strong suite. I'm more of a potion maker if I say so myself, so I was wondering if instead I could make you potions that you could sell?"
The unicorn let out a friendly laugh, then replied.
"That would be nice, but I really need someone to help me take care of the place, and I only have room for one pony to stay with me, so if you want to stay with me I'm afraid you are going to have to cook and clean. I'm not going to stop you from making potions, if you provide me with them it would provide a nice supplement to your income. In fact with the way the economy is right now I'm afraid if you just cook and clean I wouldn't be able to pay you with much more than room and board, so I highly advise making some potions as well."
Rainflower opened her mouth and tried to protest, but it died inside her throat. Right now she really couldn't complain. As long as she could resume potion making and have a home she figured life would be good enough.
"No more questions? Good. Now, I just need you to sign this contract so we can formally settle this. First sign here."
She gestured to a line on the first page of the stack of papers. Rainflower picked up the quill and signed as she was directed.
"Now sign here and here."
Rainflower did as she was told. She was too happy that she was finally with another pony and had a home to take the time to read them over.
"That's it. Now, let's get to work."
Rainflower was already quite tired from her trek to Canterlot, but she couldn't bring disappointment with her first day. She swept and cooked a dandelion stew, which took out the last of her energy after she gulped it down. After an exhausting day Rainflower simply collapsed onto her new bed. Within seconds she was asleep.
***
Tonight her dream was different. It was not a jumbled nightmare of her memories, rather it was something new. She found herself in a dark open space. The ground beneath her was made of cobblestone, and it felt as real as if she were awake. However, it was a lot more comfortable than the cobblestone in Canterlot, if only it wasn't so cold. She wandered around the monotonous space, a feeling of crushing despair even greater than the one she felt after she was exiled filled her as she walked. As she felt she was about to be overcome by the loss of all hope she caught a glimpse of a figure in the distance.
As she drew in closer she saw that it was statue of an earth pony. Soon she was close enough to inspect it. The statue had mismatched eyes and a beard, reminding her of Grey Dusk. She traced the pony with her eyes down from the neck to the forelegs to his back, and the rest of the pony looked normal, but then she got to the hind legs and a chill ran down her spine. One leg was normal, the other was that of a dragon.
She woke up as a voice in her head said "Come to me, my child."
***
A few weeks had passed, and it was another day were Rainflower was sweeping the shop. So far her time spent with Magnificent Dawn had been okay, but compared to what she had just come from it was heaven sent. She got up in the morning, made breakfast for them, and then Dawn sent her off on whatever set of errands she had for her on that day. She could usually get them all done in the morning before lunch, so she usually had most of the afternoon off except for the tasks that had to be done later like making dinner. This left her plenty of time to make potions, but it also gave her time to look around the city and explore. She was even beginning to make friends, or at least acquaintances, on her outings. Today she was planning on meeting up with a unicorn named Lily Leaf after lunch.
When the bell rang, alerting her that another customer came in, she took a half glance at the door, not expecting anything unusual. However, she noticed something different about the latest costumer to enter the shop. It was something small, but it made all the difference. He had no horn, he was an earth pony. Rainflower stopped sweeping and watched the small white stallion hobble over to the counter. Rainflower now noticed that he had a bandage over one of his back legs, which he held awkwardly.
"Hello miss. I injured myself while playing hoofball, so I'm looking for some ointment to find some relief. My boss gave me a recommendation, so I'm not just looking for any ointment. Here, he wrote it down a slip of paper for me, let me show it to ya."
Neither earth pony noticed the disgusted look Dawn made while the stallion pulled out a sheet of a paper from a pocket in the vest he was wearing.
"Nightfire Salve? Really, I wouldn't recommend that. It might work for your boss, but I don't think it would be good for a pony of your stature, it might overwhelm you. Instead I recommend Merlion Tears. "
With that Rainflower let her broom and her jaw drop. Was her boss out of her mind? Sure, Merlion Tears would kill the pain and keep the wound from getting infected, but it would also keep the wound from healing. This was not the proper use for them at all. Meanwhile, Dawn got up and retrived a vial of it herself, making Rainflower even more suspicious. Usually she would just send Rainflower to fetch whatever needed to be sold when she was available.
"Here you go. Just apply three drops to the injury every morning and evening. This should last you one week, see me again if you need anymore."
Rainflower watched in horror as bits were exchanged for medicine and the pony left after giving a simple goodbye. Once he was gone she approached her boss.
"Why did you just do that?"
Magnificent Dawn spun around to face her accuser.
"Why did I do what? I was just doing business as usual."
She displayed an expression of confusion. Rainflower couldn't tell if it was authentic or not, so she gave her the benefit of the doubt.
"You advised him to take Merlion Tears instead of the Nightfire Salve. Why did you do that? Now it's going to take forever for his wound to heal."
Dawn turned her head away Rainflower.
"Oh, dear, I seem to have overlooked that, how could I have made such a careless mistake? I was just thinking about the pain relieving effects as that was what he was looking for. Nightfire stings so much and I didn't think he would take it, so I prescribed him the Merlion Tears as they are practically painless. Well, it's too late to fix things now, but I can switch his prescription once he comes back in a week."
Rainflower still thought there was something wrong about this explanation, but she let it drop as she figured it was best not to argue with her employer and landlord. She sighed and went back to sweeping. Maybe she would forget all about the incident once she was with Lily Leaf.
***
That night Rainflower found her herself on the ethereal cobblestones for the second time. It had been a couple of months since her last encounter. She still had nightmares of the death of Stone Heart, but they had grown less frequent after her first dream of the statue. This time it was different because she could hear music. She followed the sounds until she saw the it was coming from the statue. It was now in a new pose, in fact it was moving, strumming a harp while it sung, though the music being played was not that of a harp. She stopped to take a moment to ponder the spectacle, then went in to get a closer look. As she approached it the music grew louder, until at last she could make out the lyrics.
Come to me, my little child
And know we're born to be wild
They say you're all but broken
Through everything unspoken
Oh Ray I can set you free
My fleur, just come unto me
And now even what was lost
Will be fixed for a cost
Secrets of forgotten past
Will be revealed at long last
Shed the blood in this cold game
Just ask me my humble name
The song had her mesmerized, and she found herself drawn to the statue just as the song concluded. Soon enough she found herself face to face with the statue, and it stared back into her eyes as it finished it's song. In the silence they continued to stare at each other until at last Rainflower spoke.
"There is something about you. You remind me of someone I once knew, but I know you are nothing like him. I know this is more than just a dream, so let me ask you one question. Who are you?"
The statue grinned. He seemed to snap and the harp disappeared just like that.
"Now that's a very good question, so I congratulate you for coming up with it. I am known by many names, but you may call me Everfree, for I am the spirit of the Everfree Forest, my last haven. Long ago, I was the rightful king of this land. Then they who despised had me sealed away. I was unjustly bound for a couple centuries, but then someone like you saw the light and set me free, freeing Equestria from the usurper's descendants' iron fist. All was well until once again I was challenged, and that challenger now sits on the throne of Canterlot today. However, they couldn't truly destroy us. Bits and pieces of me still remain. They are waiting. Waiting for you."
As Everfree spoke he stood up and began to circle Rainflower. She tried to follow him, but he seemed to disappear. Then he seemed to reappear just as he said the last line, right in her face. She felt overwhelmed and backed away.
"Waiting for me?"
Everfree let out a laugh.
"Yes, waiting for you. You are the one who has uncovered what was lost, what was shunned, and embraced it. After a thousand years the bounds that held me have loosened and slipped away, and now all that I need is for someone to open the gate and let me out. When that time comes I need you to be ready."
Rainflower was confused by this. Why would this ancient monarch want anything from her? She always was a nobody who couldn't do anything. She let out a sigh and asked a question.
"Well then, what do you want me to do?"
"Oh, just keep alert for now. Pay attention to things. I will return later. For now, auf wiedersehen."
With that the dream faded away.
***
After the incident things more or less began to return to normal, but over time Rainflower began to grow more suspicious as she noticed various small things that seemed to show that Magnificent Dawn had someting against earth ponies, and her work load steadily grew larger and larger. However, Rainflower knew that the increased workload was probably a side effect of her getting progressively more disagreeable.
Several months later came the day were she finally snapped. Magnificent Dawn had told her to resort the potions according to a new system. While looking through them she took notice of their labels, and noticed that each one was labled with it's source. However, while she noticed that there were potions that corresponded with those that she had personally supplied, none of them were labled as being hers or even with a generic brand. Once she noticed this she stormed out of the storage and found Dawn in her study. She was reading a book, but stopped when she heard her servant stomping into the room. Rainflower started screaming at her before she even looked up.
"I'm not going to be doing anymore of this meaningless work! That's all it is, meaningless work to keep me busy. The old sorting system for the potions worked just fine. You don't even appreciate my real talent! I saw the potion room, you aren't even selling the potions I've made!"
Magnificent Dawn stood up and approached Rainflower. She appeared to be trembling like she was just barely in control of herself.
"You signed a contract and as of such you must continue to carry out the work I need from you until it expires. You, speaking about meaningless work, and yet you still insist on making those potions! As a matter of fact I do sell them in my shop, I just label them under another brand I made up. You should be glad that I even do that and let you continue, if they knew an earth pony made those no one would buy them. Earth ponies can't possibly comprehend the true beauty of magic. You're lucky I took pity on you and took you in. I thought I could make you as good as a unicorn if you stayed with me. You better not prove me wrong!"
Rainflower stood with her jaw once again dropped in horrific awe. She was right the whole time. The unicorn hated her and her entire race. After the shock was gone she felt a new rage burning within her. She steadily approached her master while shouting whatever came to her mind, not noticing that Magnificent Dawn was now levitating a paper weight.
"You just said it! You hate me! You hate all earth ponies! Why, because we lack a horn? I saw what you did! You think an earth pony's life is so worthless that you would let them die as long as you can suck money out of them. That's what you are doing now, aren't you, sucking me dry? Well I'll show you! I'll-"
Magnificent Dawn let the paper weight fly and it collided with Rainflower's mouth. The earth pony tumbled backwards, blood flowing from her mouth. Rainflower slunk into her room, not hearing the hasty apologies coming from her master. She fell onto her bed and let tears mix with her blood.
***
Despite her thoughts on her master Rainflower continued to serve her as she did in fact need a source of income and she didn't want to face the legal consequences for breaching the contract. At first Dawn was unusually nice to Rainflower after the incident as if trying to make up for what she did, but soon enough she gave up on that act and worked Rainflower harder than ever. As her time was taken up by her work she had less and less time to be with her friends. It came to a point where she had to choose between potions or friends, and the potions provided her with needed money, so she went with the former.
More than a year had past since she started working for Magnificent Dawn, and now the Grand Galloping Gala was coming up. Magnificent Dawn had managed to acquire a ticket for it this year, and as of such responsibility for preparing her for it was given to Rainflower. She recalled day after day where Dawn would send her to pick a dress for her, she would show it to Dawn, then she would have to take that dress back and select another dress. It was really quite exhausting, but if Dawn actually bothered coming to the store it could be finished in a single sitting.
Rainflower also knew from her friends that there was another party coming up. A wealthy earth pony by the name of Sparkle Dance was throwing his own party a week prior to the Gala in protest of it. This was catered towards the lower class. It was open admission, but it's existence was meant to be kept fairly secretive, and anyway most of the upper class ponies would want nothing to do with something with so many lower class ponies attending as guests. Rainflower knew that some of her friends would be there, and she was trying to find a way to attend.
At last the day of the party came, and Rainflower was sent to return yet another dress. This made it all too easy to actually go to her party instead of working. She simply threw on the current dress, which was some sort of frilly white thing, and headed over to the party site. It was being held in a warehouse in the city that was owned by Sparkle Dance. The front entrance was locked, so she headed around to the back. Standing by the back doors were a pair of fairly large stallions making idle conversation. One was a unicorn and the other was a pegasus. They saw her, nodded, and opened the doors for her.
As the doors were opened a wave of sound issued out of them. Rainflower stepped in and witnessed a spectacle. The place was absolutely packed with all sorts of ponies in all sorts of dress, and a soft smoke filled the air. She could hear the sound of hundreds of ponies conversing as well as that of a strange, harsh, fast music in the background. She could see a table laid out with punch and refreshments to one side, but she wanted to see what was in the center as that's where the music appeared to coming from. After pushing her way through crowd she found a group of four ponies in the center. Two held strange string instruments like guitars, but the bodies were solid and brightly colored. Another was sitting at a large drumset blasting out a simple, fast beat, while the third was screaming something incomprehensible into a mike. All four of them had their manes cut short. Just then Rainflower heard a pony shouting her name. Rainflower turned and saw a cream unicorn with a green mane that arched over her face. She recognized this as Lily Leaf.
"Hey, Ray, is that you? I haven't seen you in forever, come on over here!"
Rainflower approached her friend. Once she came close her friend grabbed her into a friendly embrace.
"I'm so glad you could come, we were thinking you would never show up. Where have you been lately?"
"Oh, I've just been working late. I really should make some more time to see you guys, I'm sorry for not seeing you sooner."
Lily Leaf smiled.
"Oh, that's alright, we understand. At least you could make time for tonight. If you ever need any help just tell us and we will be right there."
"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Rainflower knew that was a lie, but she didn't want her friends to worry or have to get caught up in this. At last Lily Leaf let go of her and they turned to face the band again.
"I know their music is a bit strange, but they are rather fitting for this gathering as their music stands in contrast to the music of the upper class, and if you listen closely you can tell they speak for the working pony."
They made conversation through the night, but eventually it became clear that Rainflower was not all right. After coming back with a glass of punch Lily Leaf pulled her to the side where it was quieter.
"Rainflower, what's wrong? You can tell me, I'm your friend."
Rainflower sighed.
"Well, I..I...it's my boss. We used to get along fine, but after I figured out what she thinks of earth ponies our relationship just went downhill. She has been working me far harder then we agreed to ever since then, partly as punishment for defying her, and partly out of some misguided belief that if I go out her sight I'd become corrupted by earth pony culture. I can't take it much longer."
Lily Leaf dropped her punch, but she didn't seem to care about it. She only cared for Rainflower right now
"That's horrible. Ray, let me help you! You shouldn't nor can you deal with this on your own. If you get some support we can take this to a higher authority and sort this out. Celestia doesn't approve of such abuse."
"No, I'm fine. Really, I can handle this myself. It's not going to last forever, it's gonna get better. I didn't tell you because I don't want you to have to worry."
Lily sighed, not looking convinced.
"Well, if you say so. But I'm still not going to give up on you. If you're unable to visit me than I'll visit you. Come on, let's get something more to drink."
***
After the party ended Rainflower headed off to find the dress shop. She hastily exchanged the dress for another one and returned home. There she found Magnificent Dawn waiting for her, and she did not look pleased.
"What took you so long? And that dress is awful, have you been paying any attention to what I've been telling you? If you were at that earth pony party I'll have your hide tanned!"
Rainflower started sweating as tried to come up with an excuse.
"Oh, I would never consider going to that thing, I heard that it's just savage. No, I was just trying to get you a dress, but they were all out of good dresses because other ponies were also getting dresses for the gala and the new shipment doesn't arrive until tomorrow. I tried hitting up a few other shops, but they were similarly out of stock. At last I noticed how late it was getting so I just settled for this and came back. I'll find something better tomorrow."
Dawn didn't look too convinced, but she seemed to accept it.
"Well, since the shipment arrives tomorrow you better get something good by the day after."
***
Tonight was going to be the night. Rainflower had finished all her work, and she was going to confront Magnificent Dawn once her master returned home from the gala. For too long the unicorn had been taking advantage of her, and now she was going to set this deal straight or just leave. Right now she was waiting for her in her room.
At last Magnificent Dawn came home. She trudged through the doorway and slammed the door, visibly upset. Rainflower took no notice of this and begin her assault.
"Magnificent Dawn, I have served you faithfully for over a year now and I have yet to see the pay I deserve. If you do not either cut my work load or raise my pay significantly, I'm leaving tonight!"
The unicorn took one look at Rainflower and screamed back at her with three times as much fury.
"Oh come on, I do not have time for this! My first Grand Galloping Gala was ruined by a group of hornless freaks from Ponyville, and now you are asking for a freaking raise! I do not have to give you a raise, if you look at the contract you will see I have not violated it and you are still bound to me. If you even think about escaping from your duty I'll take you to court!"
The unicorn then went over to her study and came back with an all too familiar stack of papers. She laid them down on her dresser and had Rainflower read it. Rainflower could do little except sit down and stare at the parchment. Dawn was right, she had her trapped. However, as she thought through it she decided she didn't care about it. She was leaving no matter what. She got up and headed out of the room. Once she was in the doorway she shouted back at her master.
"In Celestia's name damn the contract! It's just a piece of paper, and it does not excuse all the abuse you have given me. I'm going to runaway now and you can't stop me! If you do some how bring me to court I'm just going to expose you for the hateful, cruel, racist fiend you are, so goodbye!"
Rainflower raced down the stair case and towards the door, but the door glowed scarlet before her and slammed shut. The doorknob came off with a pop and hit her in the chest, knocking her wind out.
"Oh no you aren't! As an earth pony you lack magic, and thus you need knobs to open doors! We unicorns can just slide the bolts using magic! Now, tell me, can you do this?"
With that Rainflower felt herself being lifted off ground.
"No you can't! Because you're an earth pony. You earth ponies are all the same! Us unicorns take pity on you, we give you everything, and you just keep sucking like a parasite. When we finally ask for one little thing in return you leave us in the dust, taking the one pony in the word that we hold dearest with you. I was a fool, but I'll be a fool no longer. What ever you do I'm not going to just let you go!"
While she spoke she slammed Rainflower into the wall every few syllables. At last she stopped and just left the battered earth pony in the center of the floor. She headed back into her room and slammed the door, barely holding back her own tears. Rainflower felt too badly bruised to move, so she just lay there on the floor until her consciousness faded away.
***
Once again Rainflower found herself in the haunting dreamscape. Here she felt more whole than she had in her entire life. Ahead she could see Everfree beaconing for her. With a skip in her step she headed over to the statue.
"Everfree! Since the second time you came I haven't had any more nightmares, now my only nightmare is my life. Are you here to comfort me again?"
Everfree smiled and drew in closer to Rainflower.
"Well, I can't say that I'm here to comfort you, but I am here to set you free. In order to do that, I need to be made whole."
He then pointed behind Rainflower. She turned and saw a cloud of mist coming together. In the mist an apparition of Everfree formed. It reflected him except for one feature. It had horns. One was an antler, the other was a spiraling antelope horn.
"My child, I need my horns in order to be whole. You aided me through blood once, and you can do it again. Rainflower, you know what you must do. "
At first this statement confused her, but as she came to the startling realization she felt her stomach sink and an expression of pure horror came across her face. At last she found the courage to utter out the words, but it was hardly louder than a whisper.
"Y-you want me, want me to k-kill Magnificent Dawn and t-take her horn? I-I can't."
Everfree came up to her and wrapped one of his arms behind the back of her neck.
"Think about. Soon you will be free from this enslavement. Soon you will no longer be a second class citizen, but a unicorn. Think about all the things she has done, she deserves it. She never loved you, she has been using you the entire time. She hates earth ponies, imagine what it would be like if your roles were reversed. The power to deliver justice lies in your own two hooves. It's not that hard, it's just like coring an apple, if there were apple here I'd be coring one right now! It's not like you haven't killed somepony before. As I like to say if you've done it once you can do it again."
As he spoke he gestured towards the mist. Reflected inside were scenes depicting Magnificent Dawn and all the times she had abused Rainflower or somepony else. She saw the stallion being scammed, her potions being mislabeled, Dawn harassing a mare on the street, and her being beaten just the night before. Rainflower continued looking at the mist even after the apparitions disappeared. Maybe she could do this. Maybe she should do this. Maybe she would do this. But still... At that moment she broke from the statue's embrace and turned to face him.
"But I don't even know how to do it. Stone Heart was an earth pony like me, I had a leg once, I've never had a horn before!"
"Child, unicorns and earth ponies really aren't so different after all. I promise you this. In her study there is a book titled "Grey House's Anatomy". In it there is a section on the magulatory system of unicorns as well as other ponies. In that chapter you find all the information you need to take what she has. I tell you, all you really need is already inside you."
With that Everfree turned away from her and faded into the darkness.
***
Rainflower awoke to find herself incredibly sore, but she could still walk. After the incident Rainflower and Magnificent Dawn acted odd around each other, neither really wanting to interact with the other. At last Dawn left the shop, taking care to close the door behind her so Rainflower couldn't escape. Rainflower used this time to explore Dawn's study.
Rainflower scanned over all the books on her bookcase, searching for Grey House's anatomy. She noticed one book was unlabeled, so she pulled it out and opened it up in case it was the book she was looking for. It flipped right open to page displaying a torn photo depicting Magnificent Dawn and a unicorn foal. The picture was vertically torn in half. This obviously wasn't Grey House's anatomy, so she put it back and resumed searching until at last she found the correct book.
Rainflower pulled it off the shelf and placed it on the ground in front of her. She was going to find out exactly how unicorn magic works. She carefully flipped through the pages, noting chapters on digestion, lymph nodes, and respiration. At last she found the chapter on the magulatory system and proceeded to skim through the introduction.
Since the preclassical era unicorn's have wondered where their magic comes from...all ponies possess a magulatory system...The core of the system is an organ located just behind the heart called the magnus corpus...A pony's magic is generated within the magnus corpus where it then flows outwards and is channeled through keratin...
Earth ponies possess a weak form of telekinesis in their hooves that enables them to pick up objects....Pegasi can use magic to deform the feathers on their wings....The natural magic found in all ponies is what causes the hair on the flank to be stained at a certain point in puberty that is particularly strong in emotion, creating the cutie mark.
The outer shell of a unicorn's horn is made up of keratin....inside is a bony core. Unicorn horns differ from the horns of many other animals in that they have an unusually thick keratin shell and a larger bundle of nerves in their interior. This reflects the horns role in the magulatory system...At the base of the horn lies the cornular nerve. Despite the lack of horns this nerve is present in earth ponies and pegasi as well....
The blank expression that was present on Rainflower's face while she studied faded into smile. Everfree was right after all. She could do the deed. It would take a few days to prepare, but she could do it.
***
Magnificent Dawn awoke to the sound of birdsong. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the sunrise, but to her surprise no light came in. As her eyes came into focus she noticed that there was no window in front of her, instead there was rack of unknown objects. At this moment she realized she was no longer in her bedroom and attempted to get up, only to find she couldn't even move her forelegs. When she looked down she noticed that her legs were restrained by some sort of bonds which she tried to magically loose. To her horror not even a light came.
As last she came to realize that what she thought was birdsong was not birdsong at all, but whistling. She turned to face the source of the whistling. It appeared to be coming from a pony with her back to her in the shadows. At last the whistling stopped, the silhouette appeared to bow it's head, raise it again, and then turned around. As it drew closer she could make out that it was holding a knife in it's mouth, and when it drew closer still she could make out the details on it's face.
If Dawn wasn't gagged she would have screamed at the sight of Rainflower, but she could do nothing except wait in fearful silence as she anticipated her slave's revenge and her certain demise.
***
Rainflower had drugged Magnificent Dawn's dinner with a special concoction she had designed herself to first bring it's victim into a deep sleep and then later interfere with her capability to perform magic. She special talent wasn't potion making for no reason. After her mistress fell asleep she dragged her into the basement and tied her up. After she was secured she got to work and made the final preparations. She had made a new batch of her special salve to prepare for the horn grafting. She was so overjoyed that she was going to finally be free again that she found herself whistling as she sharpened her knife. Soon she found the knife to be sharp enough so she stopped whistling and picked it up in her mouth.
She headed over to Dawn with blade in mouth. She was now over her head. She look down at her so she could get to work with removing the horn from the base, but then she saw that she was now awake. Her eyes were open wide and staring into her own, full of fear. Rainflower felt the knife grow heavier in her mouth. She couldn't do this, Magnifecent Dawn had supported her through all her time in Canterlot. She might have not thought too kindly of earth ponies, but she gave Rainflower a chance. She was still a pony.
A voice then came into Rainflower's head which was not her own. It was Everfree's.
"Child, you have been pushed around for your entire life. Are you going to continue to just let her push you around? When you got a leg you got a new degree of freedom, and this horn will give you yet another!"
At this Rainflower was torn and her head spinned as she thought through this moral dilemma. Yes, she had been pushed around her entire life and Magnificent Dawn had pushed her around a great deal, but was this Everfree really any better? What had he actually ever done for her except sing a silly little song? Also, while the leg had brought her an unimaginable level of increased mobility, was it really worth the cost? She had to kill Stone Heart to get it. For that she had to live with her own guilty conscience, and she was exiled from her village. Now she was going to be murdering Magnificent Dawn in cold blood. There was no way she would ever be the same after this, and she certainly couldn't stay in Canterlot after this was found out. Was getting a horn really worth all of that?
And yet somehow she still wanted to do this. Killing Stone Heart really wasn't that bad. The nightmares all went away with Everfree's help. Magnificent Dawn couldn't chase away her nightmares. She wasn't even a pony, she was a monster who tried to beat her to death, but failed. She couldn't really turn back now, now that Dawn had seen her with knife in mouth she really couldn't just let her master go free. Stone Heart was going to murder her or worse, and so she had to kill him, and the leg was just an added bonus. A very nice added bonus at that. She had nearly forgotten what the days with only three legs were like, but she could not. Things were so much better now that she had a leg. She could run with the other ponies now, and soon she was going to be able do magic with the unicorns. Soon her voice and Everfree's voice became one and the same.
She braced her self and turned back to do the deed, but then once again she gazed into Magnificent Dawn's eyes. They were full of tears now. She couldn't do this, and she felt tears coming from her own eyes. Then she reminded herself that there was no turning back now, and it was either her or Magnificent Dawn. She closed her eyes, and plunged her knife into Dawn's forehead with enough force to split stone. As the knife went in Rainflower and Dawn screamed in unison and then there was silence. When Rainflower opened her eyes she saw the knife was embedded into Dawn's forehead and her eyes were now closed. Now she could get to work.
***
Soon Rainflower had the horn detached along with the necessary nerves, ganglions, and other tissues. She then got to work with trepanning herself with a simple drill in order to expose her own cornular nerve. Right now she felt too emotionally dead to feel the pain. After she was finished making the wound she applied the salve and attached the horn. Somehow she found she could make it glow lavender, and soon she could get various small objects around her to dance erratically. It would take some practice, but it was better than nothing.
She went upstairs and gathered her personal belongings. After what she did she was going to have to get as far away from Canterlot as possible. After she gathered everything she went back downstairs and with much effort managed to magically jiggle the bolt in the door loose and open the door. She then ran away as quickly as possible, not looking back at her home for the last year, or forward to where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get out of here, and fast.
***
It didn't take long for the news of Magnificent Dawn's death to reach Lily Leaf. At the news she just sat in silence. Apparently it was worse than she thought. If only Rainflower could have held out a few more days she could have rescued her. No, she should have acted sooner. Now she had no better idea of where Rainflower currently resided than the Canterlot Police did. Maybe she could still find her friend, hopefully before the police got to her, because they wouldn't show her any mercy after what she did. The princess might, but the police wouldn't.
Author's Note
This chapter was written on November 4th, this song was released on December 1st and it fits the punk song in the story so well.
