Spark: Book One

by Lake

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Other, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 30850

Golden Passion tries to remember who she is in a kingdom she knows nothing of.

Princess Luna was soaring through her night skies when she stumbles upon an unconscious winged unicorn mare in the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Feeling she knows this mare, she thoughtlessly takes her to her chambers in Canterlot Castle and personally takes care of her wounds.

However, Celestia strongly disapproves of this, believing it could be dangerous. Her suspicions are confirmed when the amnesiac mare wakes up and starts recovering what seems to be small pieces of her memories which tell her different things about herself. At first, she convinces herself she is a terrorist and has betrayed her kingdom, but the truth is very, very different.

The cover image and all the drawings you may find here were all drawn by me!

Published 2012-07-01 09:04:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-14 20:13:12 UTC

Unloved

Spark

Chapter 2

I slowly opened my eyes, everything was dark; pointing that it was already evening. There was only one source of light, the half opened door of the bedroom, which allowed the entrance of the lights of the hallway. I was lying down on the same bed.

“Are… sure… safe… keep… here?” I heard a faint voice coming from outside of the room. I identified it as Luna’s sister’s voice …Princess Celestia was it? I was barely able to understand some words.

“She… remember… anything!” that was definitely Luna’s. They sounded like they were arguing. I could tell it was about me. “if… she… evil…remember…mission… amnesia!”

“Be… faking it…” Celestia’s voice changed its previous serenity to a stern tone.

…Evil? I thought, Luna’s words echoing through my mind. Then I recalled the memory I had when Luna and I were in the balcony.

FROM NOW ON

…YOU SHALL CALL ME GOLDEN PASSION!

AND SOMEDAY

I WILL OVERTHROW MY FATHER…

THE KING OF NICARDIA!

…So … I do remember my name… or at least what they used to call me… I thought, analyzing the fragment of memory. My father is a king?! …so, I am a princess… that would explain the wings and the horn… but why would I want to overthrow my own father?!... Perhaps I AM evil… or my father is corrupt... and what is this Nicardia?

My head was pounding with questions making me even more frustrated, and if it couldn’t get any worse, the painful feeling of betrayal was added to the pile of emotions.

…These ponies were nice enough to shelter me inside of their CASTLE and I result in being some USELESS TRAITOR of a kingdom I can’t even remember… then, I thought about it again … but…what if I am wrong?...what if I had proper reasons?... what if…? What if…?

…Ah… what if…?

I was getting mentally exhausted. I decided that it was best to let it be until getting another memory, by the moment, I could only hope that none of those thoughts were true. Only an instant passed when I drifted back to sleep.

The sweet scent of honey and eggs gave me a warm welcoming to a new day. And so did a sweet voice…

…sweet?...

“Good morning, Passion” said Luna, a small smile in her lips.

“…Morning…” I said lazily, stretching out my forelegs and letting out a loud yawn “sorry about that…”

“Don’t worry; you slept for quite a while” she said while giggling “now, if you don’t mind, I would like you to meet me in the dining room when you finish your breakfast”

“B-but…”

“A guard outside of my room will guide you there” Luna finished, answering the question I had in mind.

“Thanks…” a weak smile was drawn on my face. I was still affected by the previous night I had spent thinking. An awkward silence filled the air between us to then be broken by my voice “…can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead” she said, her eyes closed, preparing herself for any question.

“Is this your room?” I asked while looking around it.

“Yes it is, and I also painted the pictures” she said, answering a question that was yet to be asked again.

“Really? You are a great artist! I just loved the one you have over the fireplace!” I said with sudden excitement.

“Thank you, I painted that just a couple of weeks after I returned” she turned her vision to the painting.

“…Returned? From where?” I asked with a tone of curiosity.

“That’s… a long story I’ll tell you later; your breakfast is getting cold and I must hurry to the dining room” I sensed a faint nostalgia in her tone “Tia must be waiting for me”

“Aha…” now who is this ‘Tia?

“Celestia, I mean” She said while walking to the door “oh, and remember, I need you to come to the dining room, we have some matters to discuss” she opened the door with a small amount of her magic, to then, close it.

What the… I thought with an awestruck look in my face. All of the previous events were a lot to take in, and this princess was confusing me even more without trying. Anyways I thought pancakes taste better when warm. With that, I began literally devouring the meal in front of me, occasionally stopping to let the flavor travel through my taste buds.

“ah, you’ve arrived!” Luna said, interrupting a chat that she previously was having with her sister, which joyous expression changed to a more serious one.

“Um… yeah” I said shyly “good morning, Princess Celestia”

“…Good morning” she said hesitantly, by the looks from the guards and Luna herself I figured out that this behavior was rare for Celestia to have.

There was an uncomfortable silence across the room for several minutes… that felt like hours. I stood still in front of the enormous table, two fearful guards standing behind me and a nervous Luna sitting next to her sister who was staring deadly directly into my eyes.

“...Now I know why I felt like I knew you…” she said, though the statement increased my confusion even more.

“…’Tia?” Luna said, showing the same amount of confusion I had.

*BUMP!!*

A familiar sound of giant doors crashing echoed through the room when a purple unicorn mare busted into it.

“Princess! I came as fast as I…” she stopped when she noticed me “…ah…ha, ha, ha… I think I came in a bad moment… again…” she said in a lower tone, a light blush in her cheeks, then, she started walking backwards to the exit.

“no, Twilight Sparkle…” Celestia said; referring to the purple mare who stopped walking “you couldn’t have come in better time”

“YOU CALLED HER?!” Luna yelled “YOU. CALLED. HER?!” she hit the table with a hoof emphasizing each word “I TOLD you you could trust me! I TOLD you that you didn’t need to worry about it! AND HOW HARD COULD IT HAVE BEEN TO TRUST ME?!” her eyes were starting to get watery “YOUR OWN SISTER?!” she exploded in tears, hiding her head between her hooves. I felt an indescribable desire to go to her side, extend my wing around her and tell her that everything would be ok. After all, all of this was my fault.

But… why do I want to do THAT in the first place?!

“…Pardon me princess… but… could you explain me what’s going on here?” Twilight interrupted, soon regretting her words.

I wandered alone in the edges of the Everfree forest; place where Luna first found me.

…Luna…

It was raining heavily, the black clouds covering the sky made the night even darker, some of the clouds, blocking the moon halfway.

…Luna…

I had a deep pain and sorrow in my heart. I was lonely and probably, in a few days, even banished from Equestria. The thought of Luna arguing with her beloved sister because of me hurt my heart even more.

…Luna…

I was still fighting to analyze everything that had happened to me in just a few days. Thinking of what could have happened before made me even more nervous, but then I ended up understanding that in a part of that time good things happened to me, between them, meeting Luna, hearing her voice, making her smile, but perhaps, she wasn’t thinking the same, not after everything.

…Luna…

Maybe Celestia found about me somewhere or somehow and discovered that I was indeed evil in some way, and, because of that, threw me out of the castle. Still, she stated that she felt like she knew me, and that had me intrigued, but then the image of Luna crying flashed back to my mind along with the desires of comforting her.

...I am so sorry…

“I’m sorry about what happened back there” a familiar voice coming from behind me said. I turned around; it was the purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. She carried an umbrella attached to a saddle.

…what an irony… “w-well… it doesn’t matter any more…” I said trying to reassure the mare before me “…but I think I need a few explanations as well”

“I may be close to the princess, but I don’t have much to say about this…” she said disappointed of her knowledge about the subject “…last night I received a letter from her, it was in the middle of the night so my assistant was a little upset about it…” she chuckled “anyway, the letter alarmed me, she said that she received a letter from a king in a distant kingdom, that she feared for her sister’s safety and also Equestria’s because she was warned that there was a dangerous pony in her castle” she sighted “…and that would be you”

“…And why are you apologizing instead of calling Princess Celestia to kill me, throw me to a dungeon, torture me or sending me to Freaki-land or…”

“Because I have an idea of who you are” the statement seemed to echo through the air, sounding each time lower and lower. “Come to my library and I’ll explain there. I have some towels for you to dry yourself up a bit and my assistant can make us some hot chocolate.”

“Are you sure? I mean… Prin…”

“She may be my mentor, and I may love her as my second mother, but when I have evidence I follow it, and if I don’t have enough, I’ll look for more.” She said firmly “plus, you don’t look like a bad pony, not even your Cutie Mark says so”

“…Thanks Twilight… I… feel so guilty, I am destroying your trust with your… wait, you said Princess Celestia is your mentor?”

“Yes, oh and don’t worry, I’ve always been like this. You see, when I was a filly I always studied magic and one day at the Summer Sun celebration…”

“…And then Princess Celestia said that there was more and I was all like “what?!” and she pointed at my flank and I saw my Cutie Mark!” she pointed her Cutie mark.

“And what became of the baby dragon?”

“Oh, he is my assistant in the library, his name is…” she looked in front of her “oh! We have arrived!”

“…This… is your house?” I saw the enormous tree that was standing tall and strong in front of us. It had doors and windows, and seemed to have 2 floors; the first one had the lights on.

“And library!” she added with a proud smile from ear to ear “come on in” she opened the door.

“Twilight!” a purple baby dragon came out of nowhere “where have you been?” then he noticed me “…and who is she?”

“Oh, this is…”

“Golden Passion, nice to meet you” I interrupted while extending my hoof

“Hiya! I’m Spike, nice to meet you too!” he took it with his hand and shook it lightly.

“well, now that everyone has been introduced…” she started nuzzling Spike “could you please make us some hot chocolate?”

"Sure, ma’am!” she ran to the kitchen in an instant

“That’s him, my number one assistant and… almost my son or younger borther” she muttered to herself.

“You two are very close…” I whispered “…It is… kind of sweet… I wish my parents would have loved me that way…”

“Hm? You remember your parents?”

“…I do?” then, I felt it again, like if my consciousness was fading away and the real world being replaced by some sort of déjà vu world…

“I don’t understand why you can’t be like your eldest sister” a deep male voice coming from a tall Alicorn with golden fur and black blowing mane and beard said “elegant, sociable, has proper royal manners… and has our ideals!” he screamed while sitting in his throne.

“…your ideals of slavery for our subjects?!” I screamed

“Our kingdom is by far more advanced thanks to our ways of ruling! Thanks to it, we will someday conquer Equestria as well!”

“How can you THINK like THAT?! They are FREE ponies, and even if they don’t have the best technology, they are HAPPY! THEY HAVE NEVER HAD ANY CIVIL WARS! NOT LIKE US!”

“It’s a small price to pay for our glory!”

“YOU CALL THIS GLORY!?” I changed into my fighting stance; sounds of metal clinging indicated me that I had armor on. My wings stretched and my horn started glowing; I was mentally reciting words of a very powerful spell.

“GUARDS! TAKE HER INTO THE DUNGEON!” thousands of guards appeared out of nowhere, grabbed every inch of me and started pulling me outside of the throne room. “…I cannot understand… how you can be my daughter… how The Spark could choose you…”

Chapter 2

Unloved

Closed

War

Spark

Chapter 4

…HOW DID SHE GET TO MY DIARY?! …was it even a diary?

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t get a word from Twilight, so I am not sure of what bothers her” Luna’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“…I” So, I didn’t faint this time… I’m making progress… but… I don’t think I should tell her about particularly THIS memory… right? “Luna… we must have a long talk…”

“I am sorry… I cannot stay for long” she had a depressed tone “if ‘Tia discovers I’m here…”

“It’s ok…” I sighted “I’ll figure things out myself…”

“No, I do not mean that” Luna’s face lightened up “I will be right back tomorrow!” she extended her wings, preparing herself for flight.

“If it’s ok with you...” I gave a weak smile.

“But, where are you going to…”she said, half closing her wings.

“Go” I interrupted “I don’t want to be the cause of more troubles between you and your sister.”

“…Far thee well” then, she took flight. In a matter of moments, I was completely alone… again...

My ‘feelings’ for Luna aren’t anything new. I thought …Well DUH! Love at first sight? Seriously?! But most importantly… I think I really did have reasons to want to overthrow my father, I mean, ‘father’ and that spell I was reciting in my head. Let’s see if I can remember…

“…And I was trying to be nice…”I suddenly hear a voice behind me.

“T-Twilight?” I turned to see her. We had a considerable amount of space between us. She had a fighting stance and her horn was glowing. Are you SERIOUS?!, I thought, don’t tell me this is about Luna!

“THIS is a war!” she started running towards me.

“Ok…”

Remember the spell, remember the spell, remember the spell…

Suddenly, arcane words started popping inside of my head, like if I had thousands of books getting opened inside of it. I looked for the weakest spell to counterattack Twilight’s, but decided that hurting her will only cause more problems …considering she is Princess Celestia’s student… so I decided to use a simple teleportation spell that takes me whereverdestinywantstotakeme, all of this being decided in a matter of seconds.

I ran towards her, my horn glowing as well. We were growing closer and closer with each second that passed, if I miscalculated our distance, everything could end in terrible results.

…Just a little closer…

…a little more…

…just a bit…

*poof*

“AAAAAAH!!” I crash landed over a bunch of cloth of different colors. I removed each piece of cloth from my head.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA IS GOING ON HERE?!” a white mare unicorn with purple mane entered the room, she had a fearful look in her face “my room is a DISASTER!”

“I’M SORRY!” and yet, more apologies “it was an accident!” I said while freeing myself from the pile of cloth.

“Oh, it’s okay darling… but… could you explain me how could something like… this… happen?” she said, referring to the chaos of cloth that the room became with disgust.

“Well…” this is gonna take a while…

“Oh my… I didn’t know Twilight was into mares… and this mare is the princess?” she had an awestruck look. “and you say you felt and feel the same for her you even wrote poems about her in a diary but for some reason Twilight knows those poems?”

“Actually, I just heard her say one of them…”

“And you say your name is…”

“Golden Passion”

“Hm…” she scratched her chin with her hoof “do you remember that poem, darling? I doubt that book you saw was a diary, perhaps you used to write poem books? I have a lot of those here, most of them regarding to romance”

“You mean that you probably have a book that I wrote?” I could feel hope growing in my heart, alongside with fear.

“Exactly!” she smiled proudly “so, if you could please tell me the poem?”

“Ok, it said… oh great Luna, oh great Princess of the Night…”

“AAAAH!!” a sudden shriek interrupted “THIS CAN’T BE TRUE!!” her horn started glowing while she opened drawers with her magic, pulling a familiar book from one of them “that poem is in one of my FAVORITE books!”

Passion: Book 3

Lunar Love

By: De Oro

“Ah…ahaha…” I giggled nervously ...Note to self: I must prevent Luna from seeing this “you mean I wrote this?”

“Oh darling, De Oro means Golden! It certainly must have been you!” she hugged me “oh sweet Celestia! I’m your biggest fan! Luna MUST choose you! Not that I have something against dear Twily, but she has…”

Get me out of here…

“…I would definitely marry YOU instead of any Prince NotSoCharming!” the embrace broke when she realized what she just said, her cheeks turning a bright red “I-I mean… I... got a little carried away…” she cleared her throat “but I didn’t know Twilight was interested in romance to buy this kind of books…”

“…Rarity” I said quietly

“Yes, dear?”

“How can you not be mad at me for hurting one of your best friends?”

“Because that is what love consists of. It is Twilight’s life, she had to experience this kind of pain sooner or later” she sighted “plus, the behavior you told me Luna had with you indicates… many things…”

“B-but, I didn’t see she met me back then!”

“You said that was just a fragment of memory… perhaps there are many things you haven’t seen yet”

“You got a point there…” the air between us filled with silence while I was trying to process all the new information I just got.

“Well, darling, I assume you don’t have a place to stay” she broke my reflexive trance “I promise I won’t kick you out like the others did” a chuckle escaped her lips.

“But, before anything, do you have any idea of who was or am I?”

“…About that, I do not know much, you always kept who you were in secret, but I think that you may be royalty, basing myself on the memories you have told me, that colt you said you called father and was standing in the throne might be a king, after all, is not everyone that comes to sit on a throne without any previous reasons, not to mention your wings and horn” her smile widened “speaking of which… princess, you should take my bed, it isn't the best for royalty, but it is descent!"

“Oh no, no, no, no!” I waved my hooves “It is your home, I’ll take the sofa!” then, I heard the same sobs which made my heart break “…you hear that?”

“It must be a heartbroken Twilight…” she sighted “love can be tough, but the reaction of attacking you certainly wasn’t the smartest, considering of who we are talking about” she said firmly.

“…I’m sorry” at this point, I felt that wherever I went, sadness followed me, leaving a painful trail that, if an unlucky pony followed it, it’s destiny wouldn’t be the best.

“Hush, you deserve rest, maybe you can get some memories back” she walked the stairs and disappeared in darkness “oh, and about the pile of cloth, don’t worry about it, I will take care of it tomorrow!”

“Ok…” I lay down on the nearby sofa, taking one of the cloths with my magic and covering myself with it, feeling a comfortable warmth that I hadn’t felt since… since Luna’s embrace.

…Oh, what would I give for another one…

I found myself standing in large hills, the night sky above me as bright as ever… or perhaps… us?

“Passion” a familiar voice said, my heart warming when identifying its source, which was right next to me.

“Luna?” I said, surprised.

“You dream of my night sky…” she said, her voice lower than a whisper, her teal eyes fixed on the moon, her moon, above.

“Well… in one of my memories it said that I loved your stars”

“I know…” she turned to look at me “and we really must have a long talk…”

“Oh yeah… wait, wha…” my mind was left in blank, leaving me speechless, at the sight of Luna’s muzzle getting closer and closer…

“Princess Pasión De Oro…” her wings extended, slowly wrapping around me. I thought I would get a memory because of the mention of my assumed real name, but my mind was still occupied with the dream. And soon, it would be occupied with something more intense.

I felt Luna’s lips touch mine; it was like having a Big Bang inside of me. Even if it was just a dream, it felt so… real…

…because it was real…

I open my eyes to encounter the sight of Princess Luna over me, kissing me and swirling her tongue inside of my mouth, exploring each corner of it. I soon joined the kiss, closing my eyes; repeating the same procedure Luna applied, wrapping my hooves around her at the same time. As much as I wanted that the moment lasted forever, it couldn't...

Luna soon pulled away, leaving a trail of saliva between our tongues. I noticed the intense blush marked in her dark blue coat and then, felt mine. She had a weak smile adorning her face, I responded smiling back. I noticed the darkness of the night was fading, indicating that the dawn was about to come.

“...I’m still confused…” I said, still shocked

“…You weren’t too discreet…” Luna said while lying down beside me.

“W-wait... shouldn't you be at the castle?!" I was starting to feel scared and nervous “what about Princess Celestia?!”

“She is performing royal duty, she won’t notice it… unless I forget to lower the moon before dawn” she nuzzled my head, and then kissed the tip of my horn, making my wings half open.

“Ok…” I surrendered to my desires and leaned on my now lover’s chest, which I just noticed it lacked its breastplate.

“…Please, understand my sister… She just wants to protect the things she loves the most. Plus, it is not her fault… it seems she was fooled by… your father… because...”

“…Because he hates me for not being like my ‘eldest sister’…” I finished for Luna.

“Passion! Good mor…” Rarity came into the room, soon surprised due to the scene in front of her “AAAAAH!”

“…Oh for the nonexistent love of Origin…”

…Origin?

“So, your parent’s have never told you of who they are?” Luna’s younger version said, while walking through a corridor with me. It also seemed from the palace, the walls being of a gold color with silver details.

“Am… no… they always avoid the subject” the filly me said while looking up at her.

“Ok then, I’ll tell you, I have free time right now” Luna said, while entering a bedroom and sitting on the bed.

“Yay! Luna is the best!” I screamed childishly while jumping on the bed out of excitement.

“Your father, Origin, is even older than my parents, as well as your mother, Andromeda. Your father wielded the most powerful type of magic that ever existed, exists and will exist: The Spark. With it, you were almost invincible and you could control all the other types of magic, even the one of the Elements of Harmony” Luna spoke while I was listening carefully every word coming out from her graceful lips. “That made him even more powerful than me and my sister combined. However, all of this depends on the wielder’s heart. Back then, Origin’s heart was and had to be the purest, so he had full control of The Spark. He created the balance that originated time and space while Andromeda created the celestial bodies. Millennia passed when our parents were finally created, remember, alicorns can be born and created. They both created the Sun and the Moon and several other planets, one in which Celestia, a couple of millennia after being born, was left. Later then, I came, and alongside with my sister, created what you see now.”

“Oh... that was amazing! I had no idea...!” I clapped my hooves together.

“Wait, I am not done yet!” she giggled “when the ponies were created, Origin came alongside with Andromeda and created the kingdom you live in right now, Nicardia. He felt superior because of his possession of The Spark; it granted him authority. This soon became arrogance, which started decreasing the pureness of his heart. With time, Origin became a tyrant and because of this, The Spark suddenly deactivated itself and waited inside of Origin’s heart for someone worthy of it: you. He hated you for it; of course, he wanted the power for himself, but if he couldn’t have it, he would rather her eldest daughter, your big sister, to have it. The problem was, she was also like him.”

“…Ok…” my happiness disappeared, being replaced with sadness and guilt.

“It is not your fault” she said while wrapping a wing around me “in fact, you should feel proud.”

“Yeah… thank you Luna!” I nuzzled her chest, feeling more content with Luna’s last encouraging statement.

Chapter 4

War

Closed

Second Mother

Spark

Chapter 5

“CONGRATULATIONS, PRINCESSES!” Rarity screamed from her boutique’s door… for the third time.

“Thank you... again, Rarity!” I responded, waving my hoof “…I’m glad we are finally out of there, Luna” I nuzzled against my lover’s chest while walking.

“She always overreacts when it comes to royalty…” she said with a soft tone that I was starting to think she pulled exclusively for me.

“Urgh… all the yelling she did when she saw you lowering the moon…” I shut my eyes tightly “my ears still hurt” I opened them back.

“Well… it didn’t seem to ruin your concentration; I could feel you trying to figure out the spell I used” she winked, silence predominated alongside with the constant sounds of our hooves hitting the ground.

“…What are you going to do with Celestia?” I suddenly said, breaking the silence and the contact my head made with her chest to look up at her.

“…I do not know…” she said with a concerned tone.

“You should really return, I can handle things by myself” I sighted “she can banish me if she finds out about us…”

“Then I shall be banished with you” her tone changed to a stern one. “I had been banished on the moon for a thousand years with a monster who wanted to take over me to then take over Equestria; if I am banished with you, I can endure anything, anywhere, for all the time needed.” She stopped to look directly into my eyes “I love you, and this feeling isn’t new either, now I feel foalish for waiting all this time… I love you…”

“Luna…” My eyes were starting to get watery …THIS is worth a poem book… speaking of which… I should show her the one Rarity has… nah, never mind, I’m not going back there… “…and I feel foalish for making you hurt yourself for me… I love you too… but I’m not going to let them banish you” I sighed “plus, what about Twi…” a sudden kiss interrupted my worries, letting the world disappear for an instant. This kiss was different, less passionate, but more sweet, our lips being the only ones making contact.

“Follow me” she simply said after breaking the kiss, her muzzle still near mine. My eyes were fixed on hers, making me feel hypnotized by her royal beauty. She started walking, the sudden movement sapping me out of the trance. I quickly started following her.

“Maybe you can't remember but, the Everfree forest is very different from the rest of Equestria,” Luna stated while walking deeper into the forest which got darker and darker with each step. “and maybe, the world; live sprouts by itself without the help of anypony else. In addition, if you notice the clouds, they also move by themselves, meaning that no pegasi are needed to work here.”

“…Unique indeed” I said absentmindedly while looking at my surroundings, letting Luna’s soothing voice guide me through the path ahead “this is what you wanted to show me?”

“No, our objective is deeper into the forest” she said, her statement was followed by silence, broken only by the constant sounds of dead leaves breaking. I decided it was time to enter to my reflexive state, like I always did after a memory.

…Ok… so Rarity was right… Luna and I met before… it seems we were close to each other from the beginning… and Luna is very knowledgeable. Ha, ha, such a filly I was… I can’t believe I took so normally the hatred from my own father… and that Spark she was talking about… I’ll ask Luna more details about it when we… arrive wherever we need to arrive…

“Here we are!” Luna suddenly said, waking me up from my thoughts.

I noticed that the panorama had changed radically; from a dark forest to a paradise. It was a clear in the middle of the forest; a vast plain surrounded by dense vegetation. In the middle of the plains there was a house that looked like a mansion, not for the size, but for its… architectural design, resembling Canterlot Castle’s own, but it also had a resemblance with the castle in Nicardia I saw in my memories; the house’s majesty being increased by the dazzling sun rays, which I hadn’t seen since I entered to the forest. For some reason, the house seemed familiar.

“LUNA! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! WE FINALLY FINISHED!” the filly me screamed, a thousand voice cracks in each word “IT LOOKS SOOO AWESOME!” I was looking at the house we just had finished full of pride.

“Well, from now on, it will be our club house!” Luna said while wrapping a wing around me “you did a great job, by the way!”

“I couldn’t have done it without you…” I said with a lower tone, a light blush across my cheeks and a soft smile drawn on my young muzzle “you… have been the only friend I’ve ever had… “ I said with a depressed tone while my ears lowered “…and the best someone could wish for!” I finished regaining my almost permanent joy, my ears perking back up.

“You…” she paused, taking a gulp “you are also my only and best friend…” I felt a peck in my cheek, my blush turning even redder and redder “…ahem!” she cleared her throat, folding back her wings, regaining posture and previous shared joy “so, we should put it a name!”

A sudden and familiar peck interrupted the memory, but this time, was in the lips.

“We named it, Golden Moonlight…” Luna said, a hint of nostalgia in her tone “I can’t believe it looks so new after so many years…”

“…By ‘so many years’… how much do you mean?” I said with sudden curiosity and fear.

“...Five thousand years…”

“…Now I feel old…” I muttered.

“You are actually young for an alicorn, an equivalent for a young adult in a normal pony, putting it that way, you were only seven back then… or around four thousand years old” she said with her teacher behavior.

“...And you are?” I asked.

“Around fifteen thousand, I would have to be making hours of calculations in front of a calendar of who-knows-how-many-centuries-ago to find the exact number.” she chuckled “if you want to know someone who knows what’s to live for a REALLY long time, ask ‘Tia!” suddenly, her face turned pale… “…oh no… ‘Tia…”

“…W-what’s wrong?!” then, realization hit me “…wait… don’t tell me…”

“GET IN THE HOUSE NOW!”

I was frozen in place at the terrible sight a whole royal army approaching, though that wasn’t the reason of my shock. There was a carriage, a golden carriage pulled by 2 pegasi. Inside of the carriage, I could see the stare of an angry goddess penetrating my eyes and looking deep inside of my soul, fire burning in her eyes…

Celestia’s eyes… they didn’t use to be this way… in fact… it used to be the opposite… specially when being with me…

Her eyes… her eyes always told me that everything was going to be okay…

“Lulu! It is time to go!” Celestia’s less mature voice called, she had her usual regal posture.

“’Tia! ‘Little Gold’ and I wanted to build our own club house, I wanted to ask you if we could somehow take her with us to Equestria once and build the house there!” Luna said with a serene smile while leaving the bedroom and looking up at her sister… literally looking up.

“Yeah! It will be soooo awesome to finally see a real flower!” the filly me said with a high pitched voice while bouncing behind Luna.

“Alright” she paused “but I don’t believe her father would ever let her come with us”

“Aww…” my ears went down to my skull, my face expressing disappointment.

“…So, I've decided you could come with us hiding…” Celestia finished while sitting next to me (match my height) and wrapping me with her wing (that I could literally use like a blanket).

“Yay! Thanks auntie Celly!” I said while nuzzling her chest.

“Oh, it is quite alright, I just thought some fresh air would make you good” she nuzzled back.

“PASSIONE D’ ORO! MOVE YOUR USELESS FLANK HERE, YOU HAVE A LOT OF STUDYING TO ATTEND!” Origin yelled from the library at the other side of the corridor.

“…I… have to go!” I said with a depressed look. I looked up at Celestia, who was still sitting beside me, she had an expression full of fear and concern, her eyes fixed on the library door. Then, she proceeded to stand up slowly.

“I promise we will be back for you as fast as we can…” she gave me a serene smile.

“Um… bye ‘Little Gold’… what ‘Tia said… we will be back for you!” she nuzzled my head, subsequently trotting to the carriage that was waiting for them outside of the window.

I saw the pegasi extending their wings and fluttering them, getting ready for the long flight back to their kingdom. I looked back at Celestia, paying special attention to her eyes, her sincere expression spoke for her. My heart warmed at the feeling her eyes gave me.

I felt in her… the mother I just lost…

Chapter 5

Second Mother

Closed

In Your Absence

Spark

Chapter 6

Everything was pitch-black, only a part of the prison cell being illuminated by the moonlight. I had a ring attached to my horn that prevented me from using magic. Every inch of my body and soul ached, but I endured the pain like a stallion with a life of military training.

The old wounds I had were opened and new ones were added, produced by the fight I previously had with the royal army, but that I lost; I had been severely outnumbered and the wounds I already hadwere a great disadvantage.

I suddenly hear voices. I close my eyes and focus in my ears in an attempt to identify the furious voice’s source.

I heard an angry Celestia, her voice and words being as sharp and penetrating as the look her eyes gave me back in the Everfree forest, yelling at a heart broken Luna, who was in a desperate attempt to fight back, holding the tears that she and contained ever since pony kind existed, ever since she became a hated and feared princess, ever since she knew that her night sky meant nothing to her sister’s subjects; she never considered them hers.

But that she could endure thanks to the existence of a filly whose love for her and her night sky, her innumerable constellations and stars and her radiant moon, she considered even greater than any love her sister’s subjects could give her.

…And that filly would be me…

I approached the cell’s only window and stared up at the night sky, my hooves holding the metal bars that were attached to it.

I looked directly at the giant orb that hung high in the sky. Tears started welling up in the corner of my eyes; the pain kept growing in my heart at the image of Luna that flashed in my mind at the sight of the now melancholic moon.

It seems the feelings the moon projects to the residents below depend on Luna’s…

But soon, the sensation the moon projected changed… I felt very uncomfortable and… annoyed… an intense rage building up inside of me… I looked up to the moon, it shone brighter than before, along with the stars… and not long after, a thunderstorm started…

Then, I heard a louder yelling that made my ears perk up. This time it sounded like Luna.

“SHE IS PASIÓN DE ORO! YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME!”

“DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?! SHE DIED!” Celestia yelled back

D-died?! But I’m right here!

“DIED?! WHO WAS THE INSANE WASTE OF A PONY WHO TOLD YOU THAT?! AND HOW CAN’T YOU RECOGNIZE HER?! I FELT I KNEW HER! THAT’S WHY I HELPED HER BACK THEN!”

“SHE DIED IN A WAR AGAINST HER FATHER! SHE COULDN’T HAVE SURVIVED IT!”

…A war against my father?... maybe she just can’t accept the fact that I survived… why? …and if she really doesn't recognize me? …Celestia used to have a motherly behavior with me… and now she is making me wait in a prison cell until she decides whether to put me inside of a dungeon for the rest of eternity or kill me right away… maybe she can’t recognize me because of the manecut I have now… But now that I think of it… I can’t really see anything from my left eye… not even the hair covering it…

I looked myself at a small pond that the raindrops that fell inside of the cell through the window formed and removed the hair that covered my left eye with one hoof. What I saw surprised me. I had a huge scar across my eye and the iris was pale blue.

“ARGH!!” I screamed in pain, this version of me didn’t look much different. I was walking with three hooves to a nearby tent; one of them was broken. I was being helped by a black-coated stallion I was leaning on. The left side of my face was bleeding furiously; the rest of my coat and the armor I had on was dirty with blood. I heard sounds of thousands of guns shooting and ponies screaming; I was in the middle of a battlefield. The sky was grey and the land was completely infertile.

“HOLD ON! JUST A LITTLE LONGER!” the stallion tried to reassure me. We finally made it into the tent, entering it. I saw many medicines and medical instruments inside of it.

“No… the war… we must… we must win!...” I said while panting, enduring the pain on my face as much as I could.

“We can’t win if you are like this!” the unicorn said while pulling gauze out of a kit “You are our commander! Plus, victory wouldn’t be the same without you!” then, he put it over my eye with his magic, covering the wound, in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

A chill ran through my spine as I heard a maniacal laughter that interrupted the memory. It didn’t sound like Celestia’s or Luna’s… a thousand possibilities came into my mind about the source of the laughter.

Worst case scenario… oh no… LUNA! I MUST GET OUT OF HERE!

I tried using my magic as best as I could, but the artifact around my horn avoided it. I kept trying… and trying… and trying… then, I thought about my biggest motivation.

“L-LUNAAAA!!”

I felt a warm feeling in my heart… Then… the same warm feeling ran through my body… I started levitating.

A magical explosion erupted from my horn and my body started to glow. The ring around my horn broke.

I finally landed. I noticed I could finally see through my left eye, my wounds were completely healed, and my hair was different. It didn’t flow like Celestia’s and Luna’s… instead it just burned like fire… but it didn’t have any orange or yellow, it was just… red…

The prison bars were all broken and the ceiling was broken too; pieces of it where scattered across the ground.

As soon as the sudden transformation and the overwhelming power I felt disappeared, I started running as fast as I could to where I heard the laughter was coming from.

I kicked the doors of the chamber. It was the throne room. There were two alicorns fighting in midair, one of them was Celestia, the other was unknown to me, but Luna was nowhere to be seen.

The other alicorn had a black coat and flowing mane, but it was disordered and resembled the night sky… like Luna’s. She had a blue helmet, a breastplate of the same color and shoes. Her Cutie Mark resembled Luna’s… She was as tall as Celestia.

They were attacking each other with countless spells… that I could recognize, fact that surprised me, the magic each alicorn controlled was unique, it couldn't be controlled by anyone who wasn't themselves. I noticed that Celestia only used defensive spells, while the other mare didn’t have the slightest mercy.

“Auntie Celly, what are you gonna teach me today?” the filly me asked while following the younger Celestia through a library. There were many Equestrian flags hanging on the shelves, I deduced I was in Canterlot Castle.

“…What you have been waiting for since you arrived here!” she said happily while walking, turning her head to the side and looking at my through the corner of the eye.

“YOU ARE GOING TO TEACH ME ABOUT YOUR MAGIC?!” I stopped walking, my irises grew up to be like huge flying disks “I’M GONNA BE LIFTING AND LOWERING THE SUN JUST LIKE YOU?!”

“Ha, ha, I guess!” she said while stopping and turning around.

“I LOVE YOU CELLY!” I said while bouncing around her.

“I love you too, dear! And guess what?”

“What?” I said when I stopped bouncing, already exited to hear the next news that were to come.

“Luna will be joining us soon!”

“YAAAY!!” I kept bouncing and bouncing around a happy Celestia, without noticing the countless researchers’ weird looks.

I found myself frozen in the room while the fight still continued; the mares didn’t seem to have noticed me yet, despite the loud crashing sound of the doors that I concluded they didn’t hear due to the noises the spells produced. I started analyzing ways to stop the fight: spells, attacks… anything I knew. Then, I came up with one of the most powerful of my arsenal. I unleashed the spell at the mare, but it never hit her. Instead, it hit a barrier, a barrier made by Celestia.

“DO NOT HURT HER!” she yelled while avoiding attacks “THAT’S LUNA! SHE’S POSSESED BY NIGHTMARE MOON!”

I was sitting under the starry sky with a book in front, book that I read only with my right eye.

“…But the bitterness in the young one’s heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon…” I looked at the moon noticing Nightmare Moon’s symbol on it “Luna… I… I couldn’t help you…” a tear ran through my cheek “I am sorry…”I sighted “why… why couldn’t I have told you how I felt sooner?!” I screamed without expecting response, my voice echoed through the empty air “…I love you so much… and I always will"

These memories are coming more and more frequently…

“LUNA!” I tried calling to her. Nightmare turned to look at me.

“I AM NOT LUNA!” she said while landing in front of me “your Luna is GONE!” she started charging a spell

“No… she… ISN’T!” I took a deep breath; despite the fact I was about to be attacked, I stood there. I still believed I could reach Luna with my words “Luna, I know you are in there! I am here and perfectly fine! Celestia will eventually understand! Right… auntie Celly?!” I winked at Celestia with a weak smile in my face. She was still flying.

“…Is it really possible?” Celestia muttered to herself, her face had an awestruck expression.

“Luna, we will fix things together! Fight her! Fight Nightmare Moon!” The light at the top of Nightmare’s horn started weakening as she also started twisting and moaning; Luna was trying to break free.

“I… I… c-can’t…” it was Luna speaking, I was making progress.

“Yes you can! This isn’t a fight for the Elements of Harmony! This is YOUR fight!”

“…No!” The spark started regaining its previous glow. Nightmare was regaining control “NO!”

“REMEMBER WHAT YOU TOLD ME?! YOU COULD SURVIVE A THOUSAND YEARS IMPRISONED ON THE MOON WITH THIS MONSTER! THAT IF YOU WERE WITH ME YOU COULD ENDURE ANYTHING! BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT?! THINK ABOUT YOUR SISTER! THINK ABOUT THE PONIES RIGHT NOW THAT APPRECIATE YOUR NIGHT! THINK ABOUT TWILIGHT!” I paused, containing the tears that were fighting to come out “…think… about me! I have waited for you for more than a thousand years…” I built up courage to approach the mare I wasn’t sure it was Luna or Nightmare, to nuzzle her gently “I don’t want you to leave me again…”

Dark energy started leaving Nightmare’s body, revealing an exhausted Luna. She was about to fall, so I caught her and slowly laid her down in the floor.

“…Little Gold…” she muttered

“…Lulu…” I responded, slowly planting a soft kiss on Luna’s lips.

“Golden Passion…” Celestia approached us.

“A-ah! Celestia! I’m sorry for the scene..."

“It’s alright…” she whispered “…I am the one supposed to be apologizing… I was intending to be like a mother to you since I met you... but instead I just...” she laid down besides me.

“So, it was on purpose?” I interrupted

“…Why, of course! I loved you like if you were my own filly…” she sighted “…it hurt so much to see you at the state you were after your mother’s death…” she nuzzled me.

“…Yeah…” I responded absent mindlessly. A comforting silence followed.

“You grew up a lot since I last saw you…” she added.

“I just hope you hadn’t replaced me those thousand years I was absent... if you remember what I mean” Luna said jokingly.

"...I just remembered that..." I said. I was surprised that after the events she was still up to telling a joke… but it wasn’t a joke for me.

The memory continued, I was still inside of the tent with the stallion holding the gauze onto my eye.

“Ugh!... b-but…!” I whined in pain at the contact the gauze made with the wound. I tried to object but the stallion suddenly kissed me.

“…And I already have plans with you… I don’t want those plans to be crushed down because of your ignorant father…”

“D-Dark Warrior…” I muttered “t-there… there’s s-something I n-need to tell y-you…”

“What is it?”

“I… we… we can’t b-be together a-anymore…”

“…What? …WHAT?!” the pressure the gauze had against my eye increased alongside with the pain.

“Ugh! Stop!” Dark Warrior obeyed and the pressure decreased.

“Sorry! I just… are you serious?!”

“I c-couldn’t be more serious…” I gulped “…you… are getting in t-too much t-trouble for m-me…” I sighted “ and… my h-heart belongs to s-someone else… I j-just couldn’t admit it on t-time…”

“Are you asking for… no” he closed his eyes shut “…who is this someone else?!” he suddenly opened them back and yelled “Does he even deserve you?! He isn’t here supporting you in this war! What do I have to do to…” the pressure increased again.

“HUSH!” I yelled, part because of the pain and a part because of the anger, the pressure decreased “first, it is not a he, is a she, second, she can’t be with me, because she is imprisoned in the moon, third, she has been with me most of my life, supporting me, fourth, she was my only and real friend, and fifth… I am the one who doesn’t deserve her…”

“…Are you talking about… Princess Luna?!”

“WATCH OUT!!”

I was wandering through the streets of the capital of Nicardia, the crowd being as busy and accelerated as always. I had a coat on; I didn’t want anyone to recognize me. The pavement was cold and wet due to the previous rain and the sky was as grey as that day he… he died… There was a giant screen attached to a tall building, suddenly, a mare appeared on it.

“As you must remember, we had a civil war a few months ago in which, our king, has won. The agents have examined the place in search of cadavers or survivors. It has been calculated that more than five hundred of the soldiers of the revolutionary movement died and only fifty have been found alive but with severe injuries. Unfortunately, the body of our princess was never found… now… I request that we make a minute of silence in honor to the only hope of freedom to our kingdom… the bravest and strongest princess, warrior and pony who ever stepped on the land…

Princess Passion De Oro…”

I was sitting in front of a fountain besides Dark Warrior, the night was falling and the stars were appearing. My eye was still untouched and… he was still alive. I was wearing a black dress and a white flower was adorning my hair. Dark Warrior wore a tuxedo.

“…Passion…” Dark Warrior said soothingly “…we have had our couple of years together… and I was wondering…”

“…Yes?” I said while I saw him pulling something out of his tuxedo’s pocket.

“Would you marry me?”

Chapter 6

In Your Absence

Closed

Twilight Sparkle

Spark

Chapter 7

It was a calm night in Luna’s bedroom. My head rested on her chest while she stroked my mane. There was a comfortable silence that filled the room, interrupted by an ‘I love you’ or a small conversation. My lover’s garments laid on a night table beside the bed.

I always had an odd habit on analyzing the smallest and most obvious things; I started comparing Luna’s heartbeats with mine. I came into so many conclusions, I would write a complete book talking about them.

I buried my face deeper into her coat, capturing her scent… it was unique, even I was unable to express it in words.

I felt her shifting position, her chin now resting on the top of my head. I lifted my head to plant a soft kiss on her cheek, then returning it to its previous position, letting a soft moan escape my mouth.

I slowly closed my eyes, leaving my mind completely blank, soon getting occupied again by the thoughts of the latest events.

It had already passed a week since the Nightmare Moon incident… well… the third one. I was getting used to the constant ‘surprise attacks’ Luna gave me, though the contact our lips made still left me a little shocked.

Celestia was mostly apologetic with me; she was pretty upset with herself for behaving so badly with me, although I didn’t mind at all. I understood that she was worried about her subjects, and that's the behavior of any true ruler.

In that week, I told my memories to Luna and Celestia while they filled some holes between them with what they knew, though there was still a particular memory… or two… I still haven’t told them and I still couldn’t bring myself to tell them, especially to Luna.

…That stallion had me intrigued. Dark Warrior was it? He proposed to me in the last memory… ah… how could I be so stupid to marry him while still being in love with Luna?! Argh… how will I tell her about this?! No… that was in the past… I shouldn’t worry so much about it.

And that war I had against my ‘father’… ah… my sister must be enjoying a luxury bath at this moment… ha! I am enjoying a night courtesy of the Night Princess herself! That is much better than any bath!... but what about a bath with her? Ah that would be the best…

I was lost in thought, thinking about countless things to do with Luna, to give her, to show her… but then, realization hit me.

…But… now that I think about it… my older sister has never appeared in any memory…

A question suddenly sprung into my mind.

“Luna?” I said softly with my eyes half open, my head still lying on Luna’s chest; I had no intentions to break the warm embrace.

“Yes, beloved?” she whispered into my ear. My heart warmed at the nickname.

“…Um… well… I was wondering… who is my ‘so spoken’ big sister?”

“…That is a nice question…” there was silence for a moment “I didn’t see her so often… and has passed so long since the last time… I can’t remember exactly…”

“Oh… do you have an idea, at least?”

“Well… I can only remember her lavender coat and her eyes… they were purple, like yours”

“…Lavender coat… purple eyes…” I started analyzing the characteristics Luna could remember about my older sister.

…Nah… there are many lavender coated mares in the world…

“…Do you remember anything else?”

“…Her name… let me see…” another round of silence “Princess Esplendor del Alba” she finally said.

“...And that means… Dawn Shine…”

Suddenly, the door opens, the movement caught our attentions. It was Celestia, she had a subtle light surrounding her.

“Oh, was I interrupting something?” she said, half of her body was still outside of the room.

“Ah, no!” I said, the skin under my coat turned red, changing its golden color to copper. I changed into a sitting position; Luna still remained lying on bed “in fact, I wanted to ask you something”

“Go ahead” she said while entering the room and closing the door.

“Well… I wanted to know about my older sister” I repeated the question to Celestia, who was approaching the bed to sit next to me.

“Hm… Princess Esplendor del Alba?” she said, the accent included “well… she disappeared 24 years ago… lavender coat, eyes like yours” she repeated Luna’s words “and her flowing mane resembled a blue nebula… just like your father’s used to be…” she said while wrapping a wing around me.

“’Tia!” Luna said, bothered by the contact Celestia made with me.

“What? ‘My heart already belongs to someone else’” Celestia said mimicking my words.

"...Wha...?" Luna tried to say, being interrupted by her sister. "Oh... I see. So you actually-"

"We will talk about that later..."

“…W-well… ha ha...” I giggled nervously, my cheeks turning red. H-How does she… ah… I must have written it in one of my poem books…. Also, I slightly wondered what they were talking about in their sibling language “a-anyways! I was wondering if you didn’t notice something about those characteristics…”

“What am I supposed to…”

“Celly” I called her by her old nickname “just… think about it…” silence once more. I started analyzing the possibilities again…

…My sister disappeared 24 years ago… ‘she’ must be around her 20’s…

…’she’ has lavender coat, purple eyes, and blue mane…

…’she’ is a special unicorn with special magical abilities…

…Opposite of dawn… twilight… synonym of shine… sparkle…

…Hello Big Sis’

I was in the throne room; Origin was sitting on his throne, as arrogant as always.

“Where…” I said, an intense rage building up inside of me “WHERE IS MY SISTER?!”

“She was opposing to ‘our’ wedding so… I could just get rid of her” he said with a cold tone.

“WHAT?! W-wedding?! Who are you marrying?!”

“…That is none of your business…”

“What’s with all this arguing… darling?” an alicorn-like creature appeared the throne room. Its coat was black and it had holes in its hooves. Its horn was… simply… deformed, and her wings resembled those of a fly. It had dark green hair and eyes of the same color. A pair of fangs could be seen as she smiled.

“The… the…” I said, a knot being formed in my throat; my heart couldn’t take anymore “Changeling queen?!” my breathing became fast and my eyes started to get watery.

“The only…” she said with malevolent tone while… kissing my father… the scene made me want to vomit.

“…Where… she…” I muttered “she… I… but… I have finally found a cure…”

“And after all she did to you, you are going to help her?” Origin’s statement was enough to make me break into tears.

I used a transportation spell and appeared in an old cottage. I sat in a nearby sofa and cried until the moon rose.
I approached a familiar desk that had a scroll on it. I levitated the scroll and unfolded it.

“Dear Lil’ Sis’

I do not have much time left. The curse’s progress is too advanced to stop it now. I now look like a 7 year old filly and my mane is completely still, but it looks nice, I like the pink highlight it has.

I am spending my last years researching magic and I discovered so much, it is pretty fascinating. I have also written some books about what I think of my life previous to this incident and I want to say I am profusely sorry for what I have done to you, I have found in you a truly amazing pony and I wish I have opened up to you before.

Now that my end is near is when I realize my mistakes. It is too late; you can’t come to the castle again, unless you want suicide. You have no idea how much I want you to come back for us to spend some time together... I never realized how comfortable it would be to sleep under someone's wing...

I predict that in a couple of years I will completely lose my memories but I will conserve my knowledge. And when I reach the state of a newborn… I will eventually die.

I never wanted you to be the one staying up late looking for a cure to this curse; it really makes me feel terrible. After years of screwing your life up I am screwing it even more with this (I can't believe I am using such uncouth words). You don’t have to worry about me anymore, and when Princess Luna returns I want you two to have a happy life. There are only 31 years to go until the next Summer Sun celebration. Patience, sis!

Oh, I almost forgot, it was really fun to read the stories of your life… well… the happy parts.

With lots of love…

Your Big Sis’

Princess Esplendor del Alba – Dawn Shine”

“…She must be in the castle… she simply must… he is lying… that’s what he has done his whole life…”

I picked as many weapons and armor as I could carry. I was determinate to save my sister, even after everything… I still loved her. The letter was sent 7 years ago, which meant she was already a baby without memories. I possessed the cure which could break the curse, but could not reverse the damage made by it. The cure needed her to sacrifice a fraction of her powers; she could become either a pegasus or a unicorn. That gave me a chance to give her a new life…

“…With no regrets…”

I was walking through the streets of a city that I recognized as Canterlot. The night sky was clear and starry. I carried a basket in my mouth which contained a small baby unicorn, lavender coat, blue hair with a pink highlight and purple eyes. I also had a saddlebag.

She was wide awake, her big round eyes fixed onto my right eye… it was just like she was trying to tell me something…

I kept walking until approaching a small building. I left the basket in front of the door and took out a quill and a piece of scroll out of my saddlebag. I simply wrote a name…

…Opposite of dawn… twilight… synonym of shine… sparkle…

“Twilight Sparkle”

I knocked the door and ran as fast as I could, hiding behind some nearby bushes. A white mare with purple and white mane and three stars as her cutie mark appeared at the door.

As planned, she took the baby with her magic, a warm smile forming in her lips, after noticing the note. She put her gently on her back and took her inside.

Good bye Big Sis’…

Chapter 7

Twilight Sparkle

Closed

Old Scars

Spark

Chapter 8

A single tear ran through my cheek at the wave of emotions that hit my heart… the fear, sadness, hatred, rage, rejection, disappointment, misery and a deep desire of revenge that came along with my memories…

All of these were old feelings, feelings that I have had ever since I was born, feelings that, regardless of the time, their presence was still strong inside of my heart…

And they kept growing…

And growing…

And growing…

I was amazed at how couldn’t I have ended in committing suicide with seventeen thousand years of constant pain.

…I guess I don’t have this Cutie Mark for nothing…

But there was still love and hope inside of my broken heart… My mind was filled with thoughts of my sister; she was that smart, talented, beautiful young unicorn; she was a heroine, she freed Luna from Nightmare Moon’s darkness, and Equestria from Discord’s chaos; the best of it all was that she was not alone…

She had five wonderful friends and an amazing princess by her side, protecting her, no matter what the situation could be… she always had everything I didn’t… but things happen for a reason… right?

At the moment, she could be at her balcony crying, hating me for stealing the love of her life; it had to be her hurtful past coming back… in other words, me.

I feel the warmth of Celestia’s sun rays caressing my skin; it was already morning; I had been crying the whole night. The warmth of the sun made me think of Celestia and dissipated that lonely feeling that had made my crying worse.

...Thank you Celly…

…You are very welcome, dear…

My ears perked up at the serene voice inside of my mind. Celestia could communicate telepathically; she is the all powerful sun princess after all… and my second mother…

Though I still felt she was hiding something from me… the way she acted when I asked how my mother died…

…Hey, Celly…

…Silence…

…You still there?

…More silence…

She’s avoiding the question…

Soon, my train of thought changed from Celestia, to her sister… I noticed that my tears had ceased; the mere thought of my lover brought peace to my heart…

I was in Luna’s bed. She had been gone all night due to her night duties. Before leaving, she told me she had a surprise for me, but I had to wait until… ‘moonrise’, as she preferred to call it.

Perhaps a new constellation? Ah… I should do something for her… oh I know! I should take her to Manehattan! …no, she is a princess, there will be paparazzi following her…

Luna also told me a resume of the second Nightmare Moon incident, when she finally came back from her one thousand years of isolation on the moon. It had passed five years since then, five years that allowed her to adapt to the modern ways. As a result, Luna finally became a little more appreciated by ‘her’ subjects.

A gentle smile drew on my face as thoughts of possible gifts to Luna ran through my mind; it was my second attempt at coming up with something good to give her.

Soon, these thoughts were interrupted by two names… two names that referred to a single pony…

Twilight Sparkle…

Dawn Shine…

…

SISTER!!

I jumped out of bed and ran to the balcony, subsequently throwing myself and expanding my wings, catching an air current that lifted me higher in the sky.

From the heights, I could spot my destination… Ponyville.

I could feel my eyes closing by themselves; the consequences of not sleeping the previous night were showing up. I tried focusing more in the flight… but I could feel my attempts going to waste…

My surroundings were pitch-black… I could see nothing; the place lacked a source of light. I was just standing there…

Suddenly, a red light appeared… it was small at first, illuminating a small portion of the place, which revealed… pasture. Then, it started growing, and growing, shining brighter and brighter, until it reached me, revealing a paradise.

There was fresh pasture under my hooves that was moved by a subtle wind. The sky was half day, half night, being divided by twilight. There was a moon, it looked bigger than normal; however, there was no sun; the area was being illuminated by the red light that was a few meters away from me.

In the middle there was a huge tree with red leaves and golden peaches, though they looked like they still needed to grow more. Under the tree, there was a tombstone, it read…

“Andromeda”

Around the paradise, the panorama was completely different.

The soil was infertile and the sky was covered with dark clouds. There were also dead trees everywhere. I could see another tombstone; there was a hole in front of it, where the coffin was supposed to be, but it was empty. There was supposed to be a name engraved on the tombstone, but most of its letters were scratched, making it almost impossible to read. I could only distinguish some letters.

“D_r_ W__r_o_”

“Good Morning Passion…” a deep male voice spoke, its source was unknown. I started looking at my surroundings for possibilities “I am right here” the voice spoke again, my vision focused on the red light in front of me.

“Now, who are you and where am I?” I spoke with annoyance.

“Ways to speak to the one who has helped you through nine thousand years…” he said with amusement “I am The Spark, and this is… your heart."

“Beautiful in the inside and catastrophic in the outside?”

“No” it giggled “you will eventually understand, of that I am sure, but it is certainly not my task to reveal the meaning of this place, it is yours and yours alone.”

“…I see…”

“I believe I have revealed to you a fragment of your past…”

“So, the memories were actually sent by you?”

“Indeed.”

“You were answering my questions…”

“And I know you have more.”

“Yes, uh... oh, I know! can you tell me how my mother died?” I sighted "I doubt Celly would ever tell me."

“It would be my pleasure show it to you, yes… but I am afraid this is no moment to do so…”

“Why?”

“Have you forgotten that you have fallen asleep in midair?”

Everything went black again.

“Oh, and you can buy a private beach at Vanhoover.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

*CRASH*

I could not see, I could not hear, I could not smell, I could not taste… I could only feel pain…

“Ugh…” I groaned as I opened my eyes. I could see a purple silhouette with green circles in its head.

Dawn?... nah she is not this small… and since when does she have green hair...or... whatever those things are?

“Passion! You’re awake!” a young male voice shouted.

“Oh…” my vision cleared, revealing a purple dragon “hi, Spike… what happened?”

“You crashed…” he pointed at a hole on a wall that was in front of the bed I was lying on. There were pieces of wood scattered everywhere “and your left wing screwed up."

“…What a nice way to put it…” I saw my left wing; it was bandaged “for how long have I been unconscious?”

“4 hours” he said while scratching his head “make sure you don’t move that wing.”

“Don’t worry… anyways, where’s Da--Twilight?”

“At Canterlot Castle…”

You're kidding, right?

“Now that you bring that up, she’s been acting weird lately” he added.

“…Continue” I sat up.

“Remember the day we met and you fainted?” I nodded “and when she left the bedroom running and sobbing?” I nodded again “well, she returned crying and depressed, she barely slept and she was saying ‘Luna’ and murmuring something I couldn’t understand the whole night. The next day she didn’t eat, and the scariest thing is that she didn’t read anything… not even a single page… ‘dun, dun, dun….’” There was an awkward silence for a moment, I had no idea if I should facehoof or laugh because of how terrible the 'joke' was “ah come on! I was trying to add suspense!”

“…Just… keep going."

“Whatever… (and I thought you weren’t boring…)” he muttered.

“What?” I had a small grin in my face.

“N-nothing! Well… the next day, things got even weirder, she was all happy and she was even singing songs, and… she made breakfast!... and she would go to the balcony just to stare at the sky… at day… (I think she was staring directly at the sun… how can she not be blind?) … and at night, she got a letter from Princess Celestia, I wasn’t sure about what, but after she read it, she started jumping around saying ‘yes, yes, yes’."

“Ok?” I started scratching my chin with the tip of my hoof “and what happened next?”

“Then, she started leaving at night and returning in the afternoon of the next day with a smile that would put Pinkie’s to shame… that continued for a week… and because of that I have to take care of the library and I can no longer visit Rarity!”

Pinkie and Rarity?... ah two of her friends... and Elements of Harmony…

“Well… I have to go downstairs and clean up a bit… you hungry?”

“No, thanks… but a glass of water would be fine."

“Alright, I’ll be right back."

When the purple dragon left, I recovered my previous position; I laid down on my back and let out a loud sight.

Can’t there be a day when I don’t get an injury?

I was at the balcony, staring with awe at the piece of art painted in the night sky… which seemed more like staring at a galaxy…

So... THIS... is Luna's surprise...

There were millions of stars of different colors surrounding the moon, which was shining brighter with a subtle golden color. Yes, it was simple, but its simplicity made it more gorgeous.

“I am glad you have finally found happiness… even if it would not last for too long…” the same deep male voice of the dream spoke.

“Yeah.. a-anyway! Why didn’t you wake me up before?!”

“Why did you fall asleep, in the first place?”

“Because…!” I had no words left; the entity's wisdom was, by far, superior to mine “argh… whatever… what do you need?...” I asked coldly.

“I thought you wanted to know about Miss Andromeda’s death."

“’Miss Andro…? OH! Right, my mother… yes!” I sighted “would you show me?”

“Indeed… now… close your eyes…”

I did as commanded… the feeling of the world fading was now completely normal.

The filly me was sitting with her eyes closed, in other words, meditating. I could feel pasture under me.

“Now, Passion… focus… focus on that small voice you have deep inside of your heart…” a soothing voice said in a whisper, I identified her as my mother.

After some seconds that felt like hours, I appeared in the same black room of the dream, in front of the same light, which grew and grew in the same way… but a sound of thousands of hooves hitting the ground interrupted my trance; the light now growing smaller and smaller…

I opened my eyes in shock. I saw my mother in front of me, she had a fighting stance and her horn was glowing with a red light. In front of her, I saw an entire army of royal soldiers. A tall alicorn, who I recognized as Origin, was making his way between the soldiers, who moved at the sight of their king approaching in both fear and respect.

“…Passion…”

“M-mom…”

“…I love you… now… go…”

“W-WHAT?! NO!!” I took a step forward “I AM NOT LEAVING YOU HERE!”

“GO!”

After a blinding flash from her horn, I disappeared and reappeared a few meters away from the spot, behind some trees. I could see my father approaching my mother, his horn glowing in the process. He shot a beam at my mother, a loud scream coming out of her…

My eyes filled with tears… the only pony in the whole world who supported me was being attacked by my worst enemy… and I could do nothing to save her.

I ran… and ran… as fast as I could… with my eyes shut…

I could sense a flash with more intensity than the one that teleported me… I stopped, opened my eyes, and looked behind…

The light was intense; it reflected in the clouds, the night sky turning to a silver color…

Then… a shriek… I knew who’s shriek was it… but I didn’t want to accept it… I just couldn't…

I took a few steps backwards… and I ran deeper into the dark forest… without caring where I was going, how it would be, or what would happen to me.

However, there was one name that raced through my troubled mind and was still present inside of my disastrous heart… I yelled it as loud as my vocal cords let me... begging for the name's owner to appear, to be by my side, to protect me...

“LUNA!!”

Chapter 8

Old Scars

Closed

Chrysalis

Spark

Chapter 9

“W-why are you thanking me, Twilight?” I said with confusion and surprise at the mare in front of me.

I was in Canterlot Castle’s yard not too long after the memory at Twilight’s house. I had been brought by a royal carriage sent by Celestia after receiving a letter from Spike which told her about my wing problem. I did not know about Spike’s letter until the carriage arrived.

…He’s not a bad dragon after all… just a little… annoying?

After arriving, I saw Luna. She had a concerned look in her face that lightened up as soon as she saw me. Suddenly, a whole medical team surrounded me and checked my temperature and my pulse rate, then, they proceeded to examine my wing. They concluded that my wing would heal fast, specially because of my power as an alicorn. When the doctors left, I asked Luna for Dawn, she just smiled and took me to the yard.

The yard was, indeed, worth of royalty. Adorned from right to left with flowers of countless colors and shapes, all of them releasing a sweet aroma.

In front of me was Twilight Sparkle, or Dawn Shine. She had a soft smile in her face while she nuzzled Celestia, who covered her with her wing. Both of them had a subtle blush.

“It’s… a little complicated” said Twilight with a sheepish smile

“No it is not” Luna interrupted “you are in love with my sister”

“Oh, yeah, that’s obvious” I said calmly

“You… knew?” Twilight had a surprised look

“After Spike told me about your recent behavior, yes” I gave a step forward as I saw Twilight give a light chuckle at the mention of his assistant “but I still don’t understand how you could switch from Luna to her… sister…”

Ok… this is starting to sound sick…

“Oh, well that’s…”

“Dear, how would you feel if you fell in love with your own almost mother and mentor?” Celestia interrupted Twilight, folding her wing and looking serenely at me. I imagined myself falling in love with Celestia.

I shuddered at the thought and quickly dismissed it.

An awkward silence followed Celestia’s statement. I thought deeper into it, and remembered my mother… and I would have felt terrible, but anybody would fall for such a mare. The lack of a spontaneous memory made me release a sigh of relief; I wasn’t crazy enough to fall for my mother when being a filly.

“…So I was a… shield to hide the truth, right?” Luna finally said, breaking the silence and my thoughts

“I’m sorry princess…” Twilight said with a depressed tone.

“It is all right… Twilight Sparkle” Luna answered. I noticed she gave me a wink; I knew what she was trying to tell me.

“Um… can you excuse us for a moment?” I requested the couple, who instantly agreed. We were a few feet away from them when the question that I feared the most was asked.

“But, wait! …who are you anyways?”

Twilight’s voice made the same echo from before, which lowered in the exact same way, going through my ears and entering my head; I had to do it. I had to tell her the truth…

Or perhaps ‘show’ her the truth…

A nod from Luna gave me the necessary strength to turn around, recite the memory spell and approach Twilight slowly…

“…What are you…?”

“Relax…” I said with a subtle smile; an attempt to resist the tears that began to well in the corner of my eyes.

She had a confused look in her face, but I could sense fear in her eyes. I widened my smile lightly, trying to reassure her, which I saw worked.

The same wave of emotions hit my heart as I gave each step… She was there… my big sister was finally there… I could only hope the spell would work… that she would recover her old memories… but that she wouldn’t lose her new ones.

The worst thoughts came into the surface of my mind… the pain she would feel when she realizes her parents weren’t her parents, her brother wasn’t her brother, her life… wasn’t her life… and, to tell the truth, she seemed happy with her new life…

But the past comes back sooner or later…

As soon as my horn touched her forehead, an intense flash came out of it…

Millions of memories ran through my head; memories I already saw, and memories that were yet to be seen…

It wasn’t like I had given her my memories, in fact, quite the opposite, she was giving me the memories that the memory spell unlocked, like opening an old chest full of long forgotten objects…

The light faded when we opened our eyes. We were in shock; we had just seen the tale of our lives in 5 seconds. We stared directly into our purple eyes, literally paralyzed. We remained like that for what seemed an eternity… until I spoke up…

“…D-Dawn?”

My voice was breaking and my respiration and heart beats increased their pace. I was expecting an answer, an answer that confirmed that pony was still there…

My heart skipped a beat at the sight a smile forming on her face… and a gentle movement I identified as a nod…

“Lil’ Sis’…”

The small amount of space between us broke when he both leaned on a warm embrace. I buried my face in her neck, inhaling the relaxing and familiar lavender scent that came from her coat. I knew the scent was natural; she has always had this sweet aroma coming from her, however, in my past, every time my nostrils sensed it, I knew nothing good was coming, but that childhood trauma was about to change.

Dawn broke the embrace, holding my right shoulder with a forehoof and caressing my hair (I had just noticed was still covering my left eye) with the other one. She stared directly into my eyes; I noticed her joyful expression changed to one of concern. She put her hoof under my chin and pulled it slightly closer to her face, move I now thought looked a little… ‘weird’… I was mentally pleading for Luna not to think what I was thinking.

“…Your left eye…” her eyebrows curled in concentration as she now stared exclusively at my left eye.

“Oh?” I removed some tears from my face with my hoof “it is now healed! I am already used to not seeing through it so I didn’t notice the hair and…”

“No, it's of a different color…”

“…What now?”

“Is something wrong with Passion?” a worried sick Luna asked while approaching us. She positioned herself besides Dawn; as soon as she saw my eye, her look changed to one of shock. Soon, Celestia joined, though she was able to hide the feeling of surprise more efficiently.

“…Remember Chrysalis?” Dawn asked.

“Why in the HAY do you remind me to that...”

“BECAUSE it is necessary!” Dawn interrupted with her stern ‘older sister’ tone before any ‘inappropriate’ word escaped my mouth “and…” she muttered something none of us could understand, safe for Celestia, whose attempts of hiding the shock failed.

“…You… are joking… Twili…”

“I am not Twilight” she turned to face Celestia “and unfortunately, yes, it is true, but that was long ago”

It seems the memories of her past have returned her part of her… old behavior…

“COULD YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” Luna yelled with her old Royal Canterlot Voice, her eyes burned with frustration. However, no matter how loud The Voice was, the mares did not pay any attention to the angry princess.

The Voice was sure familiar. Memories of when Celestia and Luna took me to Equestria soon filled my head. I could remember when they spoke with their subjects with The Voice and the Royal ‘we’ in some of the events I could witness.

I changed my concentration from The Voice to what Dawn muttered. I replayed the sound (or what I could remember from it) in my mind and identified the words ‘that’, ‘girlfriend’, ’once’.

“Luna, what does my eye look like?” I whispered to Luna.

“it looks like Chrysalis’ eye” she answered, her eyes were fixed on her sister.

“I refuse to believe this…” Celestia finally spoke up

“…That is... not up to me…"

The past, the past, the past… which DAMN past?!... Wait… Chrysalis…

I explored the memories of my childhood to find the answer... which was unexpected...

You… you MUST be kidding me… of all mares… why HER?!

My filly version walked alone through the silent hallways of the Nicardia Castle with a ton of books telekinetically; this was my daily routine. I was walking in front of my sister’s room when I heard a soft giggle… it came from my sister… I intended to ignore it until I heard another giggle… it was definitely not from Dawn…

Curiosity got the best of me; I approached the door and opened it until the hole was large enough so I could see what was inside without being noticed. I saw two mares: my sister and… an alicorn-like mare that was slightly taller than my sister… It was black and it had holes in its feet. Its horn was… simply… deformed, and her wings resembled those of a fly. It had dark green hair and eyes of the same color. A pair of fangs could be seen as she smiled seductively at my sister as she closed the distance between her face and my sister’s and…

…Planted a soft kiss in her lips…

The scene… made me want to vomit…

Both mares had their eyes closed… the mare opened her eyes and stared with her green shiny eyes at me… I ran as fast as I could from the place...

I stood there… staring at nothing with a blank expression…. I looked up at the starry sky… and spotted a dark cloud… an army of Changelings… lead by Chrysalis…

Not this again…

“Tell me you broke with her…”

“I thought you would also remember that…” Dawn said while looking at the terrible sight that resided in the sky with a calm expression.

Ah… I had no childhood…

I was, again as a filly, at the library studying the anatomy of the horn when I heard two voices coming from behind a bookshelf. I approached the bookshelf and looked around its corner to spot my sister and Chrysalis again. I was expecting another ‘scene’, but what I saw was totally different; they were arguing.

"What are you planning to do?!” Dawn said with an angry expression at the Changeling princess.

“Don’t you see the grand opportunity we have right in front us?!” Chrysalis’ younger version said to my sister “Nicardia could be ours! What your father calls glory can be turned into something better! We can conquer ANY kingdom using the technology we have here… including Equestria…”

“…How are you planning to do that?” Dawn’s tone showed a slight interest.

“Getting rid of your parents of course” Chrysalis could smell victory and power coming her way; her attempts on persuading my sister seemed to be a total success.

“…No… you can do anything you want to my father… but you leave my mother ALONE!”

“SHE WOULD TRY TO STOP US IF WE LET HER LIVE!” she stomped the ground emphasizing each word “…then, my efforts would go to waste…”

“…Your efforts?” Dawn gave a step backwards “so… you are with me only to take my kingdom?”

“N-no! of course not!” it didn’t take time for her to notice the mistake she made “you are thinking that after everything I have done for you?!”

“EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE TO FOOL ME!” it was the first time I saw my sister heartbroken; tears ran freely through her lavender cheeks “IT IS OVER!”

I saw my sister run into my direction. With fear at being severely punished for spying, I dashed into my seat and pretended to be studying. I could hear Dawn’s sobs as she left the library; however, the changeling princess was still there. Fear overcomes my mind. My heart raced and sweat ran through my forehead. A chill ran through my spine as I heard a whisper…

“If you really appreciate your life… you should keep your mouth shut…”

Chapter 9

Chrysalis

Closed

Hope

Spark

Chapter 10

I found myself floating in a black void… again… I fought to remember the previous incidents. Images of Changelings attacking me and sounds heartbreaking shrieks came to my mind… but there was something else… my coat… my coat was covered with blood… blood coming from a severe wound in my chest…

All my hope disappeared… I felt I have failed Luna… Dawn… Celestia… and Equestria itself… I was alone inside of that black space full of nothing… with nothing but my thoughts to make me company… since I had nothing to do… why not exploring my life?

I saw my marriage with Dark Warrior... which wasn’t too fancy… after all, it couldn’t catch too much the attention; we were being chased far and wide by my father.

I also saw how I gained my cutie mark… though it was a peculiar way to earn one… It suddenly appeared while I was under a tree and it was raining… I seemed very depressed… my coat was covered in mud and dead leaves and branches were stuck between the strands of my dark red hair.

And the evenings I spent with Luna in our club house while I was in Equestria… she would make the moon brighter and create new constellations just for me… I also remember flying with her in the night sky… and when we fell asleep in any nearby cloud we found and awoke in very awkward positions…

I also remembered when I used to risk my life to enter the castle and visit my sister when she had the curse... She would start crying and begging for forgiveness… and then she would slowly fall asleep under my wing…

As I witnessed these moments of my life… tears ran down freely through my cheeks… but each time they hit the ground… I heard a grassy sound…

“Hm… I don’t know you for giving up so fast…” I heard a familiar deep male voice. The place lit up as The Spark’s light kept growing, revealing that I was inside of the place he called ‘my heart’.

“…What can I do about it? That wound… wait, I’m dead or not?”

“If you were dead we would not be here…”

“…Another one?” I spoke my thoughts aloud as I saw another silhouette in the mist of the destroyed area. It also looked like an alicorn, in fact, it was even familiar…

“…Hm… her…” he sighted “…however… I am here to discuss something with you…”

“…What is it?” I said with curiosity

“I can heal the wound in your chest… and I can also protect Luna… but you will have to sacrifice your alicorn powers, just like your sister had to… but it will be temporal… I can grant you enough time for you to get to Nicardia… once you enter the territory I will return to you, of course, if you make it in time…”

“…How much time do you think you can give me?”

“…five months… that is all I can do without you…”

I thought about this opportunity… I thought very, very deeply… I couldn’t teleport there, Origin had conjured a magic shield around the kingdom; no one from the outside could teleport inside and vice versa… nor would it be easy to enter by feet… but it would be more possible and less risky...

“I agree…”

“Very well…”

Everything turned black again… I open my eyes, a terrible shriek came out of my mouth as I felt an intolerable pain overcome my body… all I could see was the night sky… it was empty…

“W-who’s there?” said a very delicate voice. I could sense fear and nervousness coming from it “oh no… w-who did this to you?” I saw a pony’s silhouette over me… I distinguished its aqua eye, the other one being covered by its pink long hair…

That’s the last thing I saw before my vision blurred again…

…I won’t take long, Luna…

Chapter 10

Hope

Closed

Author's Note

Change of plans. Will be explained in the next chapter's notes (though I'm not sure if there's anything to explain).

Trust

Spark

Chapter 11

Just... how... how did I get stuck in this mess?

I awkwardly mixed a nasty looking substance inside a bowl with a disgusted look on my face. I had definitely no idea of what I was doing. I was covered in flour, icing, and other strange things and the place I was in was a complete disaster. It was supposed to be a kitchen, but it actually looked like the ruins in the Renegade's forest at Nicardia, just that instead of remnants of houses, nuclear bombs and who knows what else, it had broken eggs, candy, milk, and other stuff I'd rather not know about.

I sighed. A deep sigh of defeat and guilt. I knew that I was supposed to make something edible but what was inside the bowl actually looked like some kind of poison that would cause the poor pony who drank it a nasty, slow, painful and pitiful death.

I'm sure there's no pony stupid enough to eat this... thing.

Well... a pinkie promise is a pinkie promise. I can do nothing about it unless I want to be stalked forever by a pink hyperactive earth pony... and now that I don't have my wings running away would be... challenging.

It had only taken me a week to understand the dangers of breaking a pinkie promise, something that everypony in Ponyville knew. A week ago, I was fighting against changelings, trying to protect the three beings that mattered most in my world, though I failed miserably. And now, I was fighting against...

Cooking. And it seemed like I was also failing miserably.

A week ago, I had woken up (again) in a place I did not recognize. But later I knew it was a hospital. One of Dawn's... Twilight's... friends had found me near her cottage and brought me here (after panicking for half an hour). I had severe injuries all over my body, and even though the doctors acknowledged that I was special and was recovering incredibly fast they would not let me go find 'the ponies I needed to find', until I fully recovered.

Of course, I would not tell them their princesses had been captured by changelings and were probably being tortured in a distant kingdom. I knew that would bring a huge uproar and... things would get worse. I panicked and cried in that hospital room until I saw a familiar face show up. Rarity.

Somehow, I started feeling how much I had missed that mare and how happy I was to see her. What surprised me was that she didn't bombard me with questions, but was calm and understanding. I couldn't have felt happier that moment. Well, happy is not the word... I think relieved is a better way to describe it. A feeling that I was actually not alone. Not anymore.

She reminded me that we were actually talking about two of the most powerful princess and the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, who was also a former alicorn princess. That they would of course be fine, and that I had enough time to recover and go look for them. But there was something that puzzled me... How could she stay so calm, knowing that her best friend and the princesses were missing? Who would manage the kingdom?

She reassured me, telling me she had a plan, though she didn't want to tell me what it was. So I decided to trust her.

I smiled. And Rarity smiled back. I thought how lucky Dawn was to have a friend like Rarity, and I was exited to meet her other friends. The rest of the mares that knew Twilight Sparkle, who perhaps was the luckiest and happiest mare in the world.

The next day I met Fluttershy, who was the mare who found me, as well as Rainbow Dash, who was actually in a bit of a hurry and left like fifteen minutes later. Fluttershy decided to stay and we talked for a couple of hours that seemed like minutes. In the afternoon I met Applejack. She apologized to me for not coming earlier because she was very busy with the farm, or Sweet Apple Acres. Mere minutes later came the door opened and a just second later the room was filled with party decorations. In the doorway stood a pink pony with a party hat and in front of her a sky blue cannon.

The only thing I remember from then was the introduction; the pink mare was another one of Dawn's friends and she was named Pinkie Pie. The rest was blurred since I was having an awful headache provoked by the constant yelling of the hyperactive pony.

Oh, I also remember absentmindedly doing a pinkie promise... to go to Sugarcube Corner and bake some pastries with her once I was well enough to at least walk around by myself.

If I had been in my right state of mind I would have refused without a doubt. Not because I specially disliked cooking, but because I was so bad at it (and still am) that it was dangerous. And that did not exclude baking. I simply could not be standing near a kitchen.

And that day I had once again proven why. The green... blue... or brown... or even black... slimy substance inside the bowl looked like it could come to life at any moment, start reproducing at an increasing rate and eat the whole town, leading to ultimate chaos and the next universe destruction...

I'd rather think I have just... brewed some sort of poison...

And to think I was supposed to be baking cupcakes...

I stopped mixing, putting the spatula that I was holding with my magic, which had changed it's color to red, aside and looked at a small paper with a list (does this even deserve to be called a list?) of very vague instructions.

"Add stuff, mix stuff, put the mix on the molds, to the oven they go, and just have lots of fun."

This explains why I just randomly added everything I found on the shelves... But I guess is time for the oven...

As I stared at the substance, I immediately knew it would be another bad idea. It wasn't the first time I had done a kitchen disaster after all.

...No, I can't do this. Who knows what might happen.

I threw away the apron I was wearing with another but deeper sigh of defeat. I was so frustrated I could just scream. I peered my head through the door and looked to the sides, to see if Mr. or Mrs. Cake were around. I sighed in relief. Fortunately, they weren't around, and I didn't have to face them and tell them I had just made a weapon of massive destruction in their kitchen. I felt guilty for the mess I made, but at least I had kept my pinkie promise, even if it wasn't such a good idea. No, it was the worst possible idea I could have had, but what mattered was to keep the promise.

Just as I made my way to the stairs, a pink pony who was shaking uncontrollably came down, muttering something a bout a Pinkie sense. She made her way to the kitchen, and adrenaline suddenly started flowing through my veins.

"NO! PINKIE! DON'T--"

Too late. I ran to the kitchen and found Pinkie staring at the bowl suspiciously. Then sniffed it. And then made a gasping sound.

"I-I'm sorry Pinkie!" I bowed. As a princess, I was taught a lot of manners (by my mother) "I was always bad at cooking but I knew I couldn't break the promise I made you and--" I was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug by Pinkie. The next thing I knew, I was holding my head with my hoof, everything around me spinning. I shook my head and everything came back to normal.

"Goldie! You are the best! You just discovered a way to keep the parasprites out of Ponyville forever!" she said the last word with a strange and eerie tone, doing awkward moves with her hooves.

I knew about the parasprites. I knew about their destruction power. But I always thought they were a legend only meant to scare children and force them to eat their whole meals even if they didn't like the food. Pinkie told me there was once a huge parasprite invasion in Ponyville but she had managed to banish them by playing several instruments at the same time. But that didn't keep them away for too long. There had been several attacks and ponies were tired.

"...And now we have the permanent solution right here!" Pinkie finished explaining. I had just learned something new about her. She could speak incredibly fast...

"But, wait" something had caught my attention "how do you know this can keep the parasprites away?" I knew this thing could scare anything and keep them away for a long time, but parasprites were actually something new for me and it had picked my curiosity. If it could even eat buildings... could it eat this? Not even I had any idea of what I had just created, or the exact properties of the substance, and it would take me several hours of studying to figure it out, but this pony had just... sniffed at it and already knew its potential.

"Oh, my Pinkie sense told me!" she said with a smile from ear to ear, like it was the most trivial thing in the world.

Pinkie sense...?

"And... what is this Pinkie sense thou speakest of?" somehow I had unconsciously switched to archaic speaking, something that often happened when I was lost in thought. But it surprised me since I had thought I had left that bad habit centuries ago. "I-I mean... you understand..."

"There's no time to explain!" she said, balancing the bowl in her head while searching for something inside the shelves. She took out a bottle and poured the contents of the bowl inside it. "Gotta go! See ya!" and left in a flash. A second later, she reappeared "and don't worry about the kitchen!" and left again.

"...I can't catch up with this mare..." I said with a sheepish green. But I noticed something... a tear was running down my cheek... and I started feeling very lonely.

This only happens when I don't remember something... but my heart does... At least that was what the Spark told me... weird...

But lets think about it... I actually feel like I've known this pony for a really long time...

Pinkie Pie...

I sighed. I was now feeling tired. Both physically and mentally. I wiped my tear and rubbed my eyes in exhaustion. It was just two in the afternoon but I wanted a nap, though if I left the kitchen as it was I would not be able to deal with my conscience. I made up my mind to try and clean it as much as I could.

Ahh... finally... nothing like a nice hot bath...

It had taken me half an hour to leave the kitchen shinning. I smiled, content with my work, and made my way to Fluttershy's cottage, where I was currently staying until I recovered. On my walk back home, I noticed many ponies looking at me and midway I remembered I was still covered in ingredients. I gave up on it and kept walking.

And there I was. Finally relaxing after a long and disastrous day inside a kitchen. I remembered all the hot springs I used to bathe in when I went on adventures. All those hidden treasures of nature, destined to be found by those who still believed in the beauty Nicardia could still possess. I did not believe in such a thing, but I did believe that we could still find peace. Somewhere Origin could not reach...

Origin...

I was afraid. I did not know Origin's limits, or even if he had any. My mind was set, no matter what I had to leave this town as soon as possible, or else more innocent ponies would be hurt... Or else Dawn's... Twilight's friends would end up hurt... or even worse.

"Passion! Are you there?" I heard a soft (perhaps too soft) knocking at the bathroom door. I immediately knew who it was.

"Yes, Fluttershy!" I answered to the gentle voice at the other side of the door. "I'm sorry for using the bathroom without telling you first!"

"Oh, its okay, I only wanted to know if you came back" the pegasus answered calmly. Applejack had told me earlier it was very unusual for her to open up so suddenly to someone who she was only known for a week.

Fluttershy's interruption had reminded me this wasn't a hot spring, and this wasn't even my own bathroom. As I left the bathub with a towel covering my hair, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I observed the empty spots at my sides, a sight I wasn't used to yet. I missed my wings, at that moment flying could relax me a bit. The sky was another good place to be alone with my thoughts.

I removed the wet red hair that covered my left eye. My abnormal eye was revealed. It emitted a soft green light. I looked at it suspiciously, just like Pinkie did earlier with my poison. I was worried this could mean something else...

That explosion of power back then...

I remembered the time I was held inside that prison cell at Canterlot Castle. Afterwards I was able to see normally with my left eye, almost as if it was healed. But instead...

I wonder if that was really... healing...

I acknowledged how stressed I was. I indeed needed a break, but there were just too many questions that I knew wouldn't know the answer for in a while.

At least... I'll have some fun in the short time I stay here...

I went downstairs with a towel wrapped around my hair. I found Fluttershy serenely reading a book on her sofa. Her bunny, Angel, was already sleeping, though it was kind of early. I wondered how could they stay so calm, like nothing happened, knowing that Twilight could be in danger. Something was going on. Feeling suspicious, I decided to confront Fluttershy, but before I could do anything...

"Passion?" Fluttershy called. She was standing and the book was already back in the bookshelf. I must have missed her movement while I was lost in thought.

"Yeah?" I answered, signalling her that I was listening.

"Would you... um..." I noticed her nervousness. That's when I knew I was right. There was definitely something going on "come with me to Twilight's library?" she requested while staring at her hooves, which were randomly poking the ground.

"...Alright" I replied with reluctance in my voice.

I opened the tree house's door for Fluttershy to enter, and then entered myself. The first thing I noticed was that all of Twilight's friends were there, with gentle smiles on their faces. Fluttershy joined the group while I was just standing there without knowing what to say or do.

"Passion, darling" started Rarity. I noticed her horn was shinning and so was something behind her. "There is a little something we would like to show you" she levitated a letter in front of me. I eyed it with confusion, and noticed it had no seal.

"Open it! Open it!" urged Pinkie bouncing up and down, though she was a mess. She had leaves tangled in her fluffy hair, and her coat was covered in dirt. However her energy remained unaffected.

I proceeded to open the letter... and immediately recognized the writing. It was Dawn's hoofwriting; for some reason she had always preferred to write by hoof instead of using her magic.

I gasped in surprise, wide eyed. I put a hoof against my chest, feeling my heart beating faster, as well as my accelerated breathing. I decided not to waste any time and read the letter.

Dear Passion,

This is the first letter I've sent you in years, but this time I write to you to let you know that I am safe and managed to escape the changelings. However, I don't really know where I am located right now, nor know about the whereabouts of Celestia and Luna.

I also want to tell you to relax for at least a couple of days; you need it. I've already taken care of most of the problems that would have been caused by the Royal Sisters' absence, and I am confident that Princess Cadence (you remember her, don't you?) is taking care of the rest. I am also taking care of finding the Sisters, so as soon as I find any clues I will tell you right away.

I hope you find it nice in Ponyville, and that the Elements of Harmony make your brief stay comfortable. And just in case you were wondering, I was the one who teleported you there. It was the first place that came to my mind when I thought of somewhere safe and peaceful.

I can't wait to see you again and have a proper conversation with you. There are many things I'd like you to tell me, and many things I'd like to tell you as well. Perhaps we can keep communicating by letters, but I'd personally rather see you in person. Anyway, I've got to go already.

Bye, sis. See you later.

"Sis..." I gave a chuckle, while wiping a tear that escaped. However, I quickly frowned; there was something about this letter that bothered me. She usually ended her letters with her name, but it almost seemed like she was unsure of who she was. She didn't know if she was Dawn Shine, or Twilight Sparkle. Then, I realized we indeed had to have a very long conversation. I looked at the five mares that stood in front of me, looking at me like they were expecting me to say something "H-how did you receive this?" I said, furling the letter again.

"Well, darling" Rarity begun "it seems like somehow Twilight managed to send the letter through Spike... I'm sorry if my explanation is somewhat vague but that is all I know" she apologized with a troubled expression and lowered her head, feeling disappointed with her lack of information. I put a hoof on her shoulder, reassuring her, which worked since she gave me a small smile.

"I thought only the princesses could do that stuff" Rainbow Dash muttered to no one in particular.

"It doesn't surprise me. Ah mean, Twily spends most of her time reading her books. Ah reckon she must know her couple of fancy tricks" Applejack answered Rainbow's muttering, and they engaged in a discussion. I turned my attention to Fluttershy and Rarity.

"I guess this explains how you could be so calm all these past days..." I said while looking at the floor. I was feeling myself blush due to their kindness. I felt happy for knowing I could finally trust someone.

"...I-I was actually a little nervous..." confessed Fluttershy, copying my actions. "But I was happy to know Twilight is okay..."

"We actually didn't know what that letter said" assured Rarity "Twily had sent us letters telling us about the situation and giving us instructions." what Rarity said also explained why they didn't demand any explanations, and how they weren't afraid of trusting me.

But... where's Pinkie Pie?

I was lying on the sofa (it actually took some effort to convince Fluttershy that sleeping on the sofa was ok), staring at the ceiling. Everybody was asleep but me. I was lost in thought about today's events and was feeling very frustrated. There were many things I wanted to tell my sister, many things I wanted to ask her but I couldn't because I had no idea of where she could be. Worst of all, I couldn't even go looking for her because of my injuries.

I sighed. Even if my sister had told me to relax, I just couldn't... Slowly, sleep started to overcome me. Because I was tired I decided to ignore the strong déjà vu feeling I got before falling asleep.

I opened my eyes and found grass underneath me. I stood up and recognized the place as my heart, like the Spark liked to call it. But there was something different about this place... something wasn't right. I surveyed my surroundings looking for a answer, and noticed something next to the empty tomb; it was the silhouette of a mare. It seemed like a unicorn but there was something odd about her horn. I also noticed that the leaves of the red tree were falling... and there was a faint voice...

"Be careful..."

Chapter 11

Trust

Closed

Author's Note

For a while I abandoned this fic and recently I started to think it would be better if I just cancelled it but... Suddenly I felt like I should give it another shot.
Just in case, Passion fell unconscious when the Changelings attacked Canterlot Castle in the ninth and tenth chapter and Twilight thought of teleporting her to somewhere safe: Ponyville. That's how she ended up there. This chapter takes place a week after that.
Anyways, critique is encouraged. Please tell me if you spot any mistakes.

Despair

Despair

Spark

Chapter 12

"AAAHH!" I yelled from the top of my lungs. I could not stand what was happening to me in that moment. It was simply too much to bear.

"Passion?! Are you okay?!" Fluttershy peeked her head from the kitchen's entrance.

"I-It's biting my ear!" I kept screaming while running from one place to another, trying to get away with my magic the little monster biting my very sensitive spot, but his teeth would not let go. "Get it away! Get it away!"

"Angel!" suddenly, Fluttershy's eyes were filled with something I could not decipher... but it was scary. Angel stopped nibbling on my ear and I stopped running "Let go" the little bunny obeyed without hesitation and I gently put him on the floor. I just stared blankly at Fluttershy, not understanding what had just happened. Normally, Fluttershy would had to beg to make Angel eat his food... but now. "Good boy" Fluttershy's gentle smile came back "Now, your lunch is on the kitchen" Angel obeyed and walked towards the plate, which had a salad, lying on the kitchen's floor.

"Th-thanks" I hesitantly said with a nervous smile, still a little confused and even scared. Fluttershy smiled brightly at me, nodded and continued feeding the birds, mice and other animals that were currently inside. I lowered my head and my ears cautiously, afraid that some other animal would try to bite them (which had been something that had been happening a lot lately), but then remembered I wanted to ask something to Fluttershy... well, now I wanted to ask two things "Fluttershy, if you don't mind me asking... what did you just do?"

"U-um... well... I don't normally like to use it but it's called The Stare" Fluttershy explained with a little guilt in her tone. For some reason the name sounded familiar and I started looking it up in my brain.

Then I remembered I had read it somewhere in my childhood. It said it was the ability to control other living beings using the emotion from the soul amplified by the eyes. It forces the soul of the 'victim' to obey the soul of the user, like a puppet (though it actually depends on how powerful it is). The ability only works with those living beings whose spiritual power is lower than the user's.

"I-is something wrong, Passion?" asked Fluttershy with worry. I had been lost in thought and did not notice that I had been staring at her for a while.

"N-no, I'm okay." I shook my head. I decided to ask more about Fluttershy's ability "s-so, what can you control with your Stare?"

"W-well... so far only animals... small ones..." Fluttershy said timidly, staring at her hooves. I realized Fluttershy's Stare wasn't that powerful... or maybe it had to do with her very insecure personality. Unfortunately, all I knew about the Stare was from books, since I did not possess such an ability myself.

"Oh, okay. Sorry if it was a touchy subject" I apologized noticing Fluttershy was feeling uncomfortable. I decided to ask her what I wanted to ask her from the very beginning.

"D-don't worry" she smiled timidly and before she could make her way back to the kitchen I stopped her.

"There was something else I wanted to ask you. Can you tell me about the Everfree forest?" even though I had been to the Everfree forest before, I did not know much about it, only about how it could maintain natural balance by itself and about its exotic flora and fauna. I had heard from Applejack that Fluttershy could be very brave and she was one of the few ponies that ventured the mysterious forest, and perhaps knew about it more than anyone... almost.

"Oh, yeah... I guess" she answered shyly "But I think it might take some time... c-could you please wait until I take care of the animals?" she asked with an apologetic smile while hiding her face behind her pink mane.

"It's okay! I can wait! Sorry for interrupting" I smiled to calm Fluttershy down. "I'll make myself some lunch meanwhile"

"Its not necessary... I already made something for you" she pointed at the counter and then muttered something I could not understand. I looked at the plate on the counter and felt my mouth watering; the food looked specially delicious. I thanked Fluttershy and began eating.

Now, you may be wondering. Why did I want to know more about the Everfree Forest?

I had a dream... There was a familiar feminine voice telling me something. However I could only remember her telling me to Be careful and something about poison running through my veins... that was enough for me. Even if I did not know what kind of poison I had, how it got inside of me, or what it would do to me, Applejack had also told me about a kind of pony whose name starts with 'z' but she can't remember could help me, and that she lived in the Everfree Forest. But she told me to ask Fluttershy for guidance since I could get lost inside.

And that was exactly what I was going to do... but lets say I wanted to know a little more about the forest.

While I was eating the last parts of my breakfast, I heard a knocking on the door. When I opened it I looked down to find a panting Spike, holding a letter without a seal. I immediately knew it was my sister's and got extremely happy.

"Here" Spike said while catching his breath (it seemed like he had come here running from the library) and held out the letter for me to grab. I took it with my magic and opened it without hesitation.

"Thanks" I said absentmindedly and began reading. The letter was actually very short.

Dear Sis,

I forgot to mention you can live in the library for now, after all, Spike could use a little help. And... well, I think Fluttershy would rather tell you that herself.

That? What does she mean?

"Hey, Spike" I called out for the dragon that seemed to have recovered.

"Yeah?"

"Could you tell me what Twilight meant with this?" I held out the letter for him to read and he held it with his claws, reading the two short sentences again and again.

"Oh! I think she's talking about Fluttershy's-" but before Spike could finish...

"Hi there!" said a very cool, mature and composed voice behind Spike with a slight cheery and playful tone.

I lifted my gaze and saw a unicorn mare with light lavender coat and wavy black mane. Her cutie mark consisted of two quills crossed over a scroll. She was carrying a saddle bag that seemed to have nothing more than books and scrolls inside of it. Everything about her seemed normal, except her blue eyes... there was something about them that made me curious.

"Oh! Hi Silver! Back already?" Spike turned to face her with a big smile and, after a moment of hesitation, he ran to hug her.

"Aw" sh nuzzled the dragon's head as she smiled "see? you can be really cute when you try!" Spike retreated from the hug and gave her a pout, however she ignored this "and, well, it was kinda tough but everything went well..." then, she looked at me with curiosity "and who might this be?" she started approaching me with a calm grin.

"I'm Golden Passion" I introduced myself, extending a hoof.

"Silver Quill, nice to meet you" the mare shook my hoof... but as soon as we made contact I felt something... odd. However, I decided to shake it off.

I need to relax... relax...

"I've heard a bit about you from Fluttershy" the mare spoke again, calling my attention back to the real world.

"Is that so?" I said, a bit curious. What could have Fluttershy told her?

"Yeah... well, as much as I'd like to stay and chat for a bit I'm a little busy, see ya!" she went upstairs and left me behind with a dozen questions.

"...W-well..." I muttered, unsure of what to say to break the silence between me and Spike "so, can I really move into the library?"

"Of course! It gets kinda lonely in there..." he said with a sad tone and sighed "need any help with your stuff?"

"N-no, not really" however, I remembered I had to tell Fluttershy I was leaving. I really did not had much stuff, only a couple of things I bought the days before with the money I gained helping ponies around (I also had to beg Fluttershy to allow me to 'work'). "But... I'd be thankful if you took them since I've got to tell Fluttershy that I'm leaveing. It's not too much anyways and I already have them inside a bag"

Not too long after, I was inside the library, lying on the floor while doing some research about different poisons since Fluttershy told me she wasn't going to be able to talk since she was too busy with something that came up in the last minute. She, of course, apologized a ton of times, and I assured her that it was okay since I had a whole library at my disposition.

I had a pile of books beside me, and some parchment, quill and ink to take notes. By that time, I had quite a lot of information. However, I did not know exactly which kind of poison that voice was referring to and I did not seem to have any symptoms... right?

I finally felt something click into place inside my brain, and went running right back to the bookshelves, not noticing a certain dragon coming downstairs. After going through the sections I finally found a couple of books that maybe could possess the information I was looking for.

"Hey, I finished putting your..." Spike paused, and I only noticed this since even though I was ignoring him I could faintly hear his voice mumbling something my brain didn't care to register and had trailed off "...you are just like Twilight..." just the mention of Twilight's name had made me direct my attention to Spike.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously, slowly putting the books next to the other pile.

"She's always researching stuff and reading a ton of boring books without paying attention to absolutely anything around her!" the dragon explained with a slightly annoyed, yet proud and nostalgic tone while waving his claws around "I mean, the library could be on fire and she still wouldn't notice!" he rolled his eyes and silence took the room for a couple of seconds... until I broke into laughter.

I laughed heartily and when my stomach started hurting I tried to calm it. When I finally succeeded I wiped a tear from my eye "Really? She's that absent minded?"

"Not really absent minded. More like, very focused... But she's actually the smartest and most talented pony I've ever known!" Spike exclaimed with a grin from ear to ear, though it didn't really last long, overtaken by a look of sadness "I really miss her, though..."

"Don't worry" I approached the dragon and put a hoof over his shoulder. I tried to give him the gentlest smile I could form "either I find her, or she finds us, but she'll definitely come back!" somehow, I ended up making such a foolish promise, but I felt like I needed to. Not only to calm down the poor Spike, but to calm down myself too.

"Yes! You're right! This is Twilight we're talking about!" Spike beamed again as I removed my hoof from his shoulder "well, I better move! There's some dust to clean and groceries to make!" he went to the kitchen, perhaps to check what he needed to buy, but before he left, he looked back at me "and... Passion?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you" he gave me a sincere smile and I returned it. When he left to the kitchen, I sighted deeply, feeling guilty for not telling him the whole truth about his almost big sister...

I returned to my full attention to my research, finding it perfect to escape my thoughts and guilt. I took the first book from the pile and checked the index.

Seaponies... Lycans...

Aha!

Changelings. Page 235.

Quickly turning to the indicated page, I recognized it instantly because of a large drawing of a changeling in one of the pages. I already knew a lot of things about changelings myself, so I skimmed to a good portion of the information until something caught my attention.

Changelings have different methods of reproduction. One of them, is through infection. This can be done through biting the victim, or introducing the poison through an already open wound with, for example, a spell. The victim, the time required depending on the amount of poison received, will transform into a changeling, loosing the memories of its previous life to become a slave of the Changeling Queen's desires.

My heart started beating faster. Everything was right in place now, but it didn't relieve me in the slightest. I remembered when I arrived here, being chased by changelings and desperately trying to run away without caring where I would land. One of them had managed to hit me...

In my left injured eye...

And even though the wound was very old, it was still an open passage into my body. My heart seemed to have gone up to my head at this point, since it was pounding hard, and my chest was already about to explode. It had been a while since I was this scared. The symptoms hadn't shown up since that night inside one of Canterlot's prison cells because the explosion of power that occurred then had seemed to accelerate the process, or somehow given power to the poison, which wasn't really enough to cause me effect before. It had been a week or two since then... Who knows what else had that poison done to me already, however I knew that since my body was specially resilient the process of contamination had been slowed down. I was lucky, but I decided not to trust luck anymore and start looking for a way out of this.

I kept reading, however, it never mentioned a cure. I took the other books and kept reading, and reading, and reading. It was already somewhere near eight o'clock and I hadn't noticed, but I kept reading.

Finally, I closed the last book with a deep sigh of defeat. A number of spells and other ideas came to my mind, but it required a lot of magic which I didn't possess since the Spark had taken some of my power so he could survive without me. Also, there was a side effect for using the Spark's magic for so much time; my own magical aura was blocked, only a small fraction available.

However, if I unlock it... After all, I do possess some power myself, but it is kind of... unstable.

Maybe I can ask my sister for help. She's the only reliable pony available right now. She's able to keep her cool in desperate situations so I don't have to worry about her panicking...

So I took a quill and some parchment and began my very brief and direct letter. Spike was still awake and I managed to send it. He explained he did not know how he was able to do it, but told me it maybe had to do with Twilight already sending a letter through him before.

Maybe Spike's flames work like some sort of... link?

I remember the Spark telling me about a kind of technology...

Memories of stories that the Spark had told me came to my mind. Those were and are secrets that only me and probably Origin too should know. I kept pondering about many things at the same time until not too much time later a reply came. It was very short as usual.

Sis,

Meditate. However, I warn you that those spells you told me might not be able to do the job. There's someone that will be able to provide detailed information about a cure. But still, meditate and practice, you will need your magic for the journey you will have to make.

The pony you need to find is actually a zebra and she lives in the Everfree Forest, her name is Zecora. You should ask Fluttershy for directions and be careful with the poison joke, a blue flower that maybe you'll find it easy to spot... You don't want to know what it does, believe me.

I sighed and suddenly felt very sleepy. I finally felt all the stress catch up to me at once, and my body was begging for a comfortable and warm bed to the point that even the cold wooden floor of the library looked very inviting. I was tired of just thinking about all the things I had to do; looking for a cure before transforming, finding Twilight, Luna and 'Tia, somehow entering Nicardia, and finally defeating Origin. On top of it, who knows where the Spark was.

I thanked Spike absentmindedly and out of habit, then I immediately went upstairs to Twilight and his bedroom. Normally, one would explore a place in which one has never been inside before, but I couldn't care less about the details at that moment. I simply let my body fall flat on the bed with starry, indigo blue sheets, without even caring to cover myself with a blanket. I quickly drifted away to sleep...

Walking. I knew I was looking for something, but I didn't know what. I could feel a rocky surface under my hooves, taking a closer look I could see drawings engraved on it, however, I could not see details since it was very dark, the place only being lit by the silver moon that hung high up in the sky.

I yawned loudly, stopping momentarily to do so. I was feeling exhausted, almost as if I had spent the whole day looking for whatever I had been looking for. It seemed very important though.

I sighed and looked around, looking for something else. It seemed like I was looking for a place to rest. The area was surrounded by trees, though they weren't very dense. There were also huge boulders and ruins that seemed to had belonged to an ancient civilization of some sorts. I suddenly took impulse and started flying. I noticed that I had my wings back; however there was something very strange about them... I heard a buzzing sound...

Finally arriving to a dark, humid, but very spacious cave, I laid down the saddlebags I had just realized I was carrying and lit my horn, the soft, red light casting somewhat scary shadows because of the other rocks inside the cave. It didn't scare me at all though, I was already used to it.

Suddenly, I went from simply watching the scene from a first person perspective to live the scene. I simply stood there... without knowing what to do. Then, I decided to check the saddlebags. I found supplies, food, tools and... a book. A very old leather book. I opened very carefully, since it had the impression that it was so old it could shatter with the slightest mistreatment. The very first page had a single word written in the middle. No, not exactly a word; more like a name...

"Origin"

A second later, the book vaporized into thin air and so did my surroundings. The next thing I knew, I was drowning, and then, I was running aimlessly and desperately, without any intention of looking back. I ran through the halls of what resembled a castle, tears streaming down my cheeks. However, I was expressionless, and the only thing I felt in my heart was not sadness, but an anger I had never, ever felt so intensely before. Thousands of curses and dark thoughts crossed my mind, and I felt something frightening and dark coursing through my whole body.

A tree slowly dying and loosing its leaves...
Everything pure being replaced by...
A sacred meadow losing its sacredness...
Darkness and evil...
Golden fruit of life rotting...
Love and happiness are no more...
Souls loosing their long desired peace and rest...
Anger and hatred... may prevail

What surprised me the most was that the curses were directed at...

Just as I was reaching the door that led outside, I started drowning again inside a dimly lit ocean. The current carried me, and I tried fighting back, but my body wouldn't move. Suddenly, I felt something wrapping around my already cold body. A pair of hooves that pulled me out of the water and caught me in a loving embrace, probably in an attempt to warm my body, or to show a deep affection that washed away all the negative feelings I felt previously.

I breathed in, and my heart started to beat faster when a familiar scent entered my nostrils... I had a hunch that the body I was leaning on belonged to...

"Passion, my dear, it's time to wake up" soothingly whispered an equally familiar voice into my ear, and my eyes shot open. I already knew I was probably in a dream, and I was relieved when I did not see the wooden roof of the library, instead I saw a starry night sky above me; I wanted to see the owner of the scent, the body, and the voice that rescued me from the abyss of nightmares. I slowly rose, rubbing my head with a hoof, feeling a little dizzy. I turned my head around and saw...

"L-Luna...?" my eyes widened in disbelief. The silver light of the moon bathed her body, and the light reflected on her teal eyes, giving a somewhat mystical and majestic aura. She was the same, but lacked her royal garments. Though I knew it was her, I wanted to make sure she was not part of the dream, but instead Luna herself communicating with me through the dream.

"Passion..." she caressed my cheek tenderly with her hoof and suddenly pulled me in for a kiss. Our first kiss in what seemed like a long time. My eyes were wide open in shock and tears started welling up... then I closed them, allowing the tears to flow freely through my cheeks, and returned the kiss we had longed. We reluctantly separated after a while; even in a dream we felt the necessity to breathe.

"Luna..." I nuzzled her neck while hugging her tightly, afraid that she may disappear again. Luna hugged me back stroking my mane repeatedly, she did not seem to care that I was soaking her coat with my tears. I suddenly rose up again and grabbed her by her shoulders "Please, tell me where are you!"

Luna remained silent with her eyes closed and formed a small and sad smile. Then she opened her eyes again and whispered "Passion... promise me something..."

"Anything" I answered firmly with a determined look in my eyes, still holding her shoulders.

"...Promise me that no matter what happens you will forgive me..."

"I promise" something told me that this was a promise I was not going to be able to fulfill.

Stars

Spark

Chapter 13

The weird sounds, the creepy atmosphere, the branches getting stuck in my mane… All of these sensations were familiar. Adventure. Something I had experienced since young. Because of this, I felt very nostalgic as I walked through the dark Everfree Forest. And as any thoughtful and cautious adventurer would, I took a pair of saddlebags, just in case.

While I did have a guide, it was not Fluttershy, but Silver Quill instead. She had told me Fluttershy was busy at the moment so she asked her to accompany me in her stead. It seemed like they had both ventured this forest, together or by themselves, enough times to know their way around and to understand it. At first we were silent, until I noticed something really strange…

“A-ah!” another spider had tried to bite me. I quickly brushed it off and kept walking behind Silver.

“Another one?” asked my guide, still walking without looking back at me.

“Yeah… So far I’ve had three frogs suddenly jumping on me, ten mosquito bites, four birds pecking my head, two spiders sneaking up in my mane and seven squirrels throwing nuts at me” that had been happening a lot ever since I came to Ponyville. Even in Fluttershy’s cottage animals constantly attacked me.

“You’ve been counting them?” she suddenly stopped and shot me a look of amazement, though I wasn't sure if it was genuine.

“I pay attention to my surroundings…” I rolled my eyes as I answered.

“Heh… the same thing used to happen to me…” she kept walking “maybe the animals see you as a… threat.”

“Huh?” suddenly, a light purple magical aura brushed aside the stands of mane that covered my left eye, and Silver turned to look at me.

“You’re a changeling.” she deadpanned, glaring at me with a suspicious look.

“No” I sighed and stared back at Silver fearlessly as I fixed my mane back to its original position “I’ve been infected. I need to find a cure before I turn into a changeling”

“So that’s why you wanted to see Zecora…”

“But what kind of threat are you?” I asked her, returning her suspicious stare.

“Don’t worry. They all know, and I don’t plan to harm anyone” she answered with a gentle smile, and I decided she was really telling the truth “Hey, if I was plotting anything I wouldn’t bear knowing I was lying to them!”

“I see… Then let’s continue…” Silver nodded and we resumed our walking.

“But I do believe you owe them an explanation.”

“I know... I-I can't, it’s too dangerous”

“You can’t do this alone” Silver turned to look at me sternly again. I was silent. I knew that, and I was told that many times in many different ways. But I didn’t want to harm anybody else.

“Look… the first time I decided to accept help did not end well. It used to be a city, a city that believed in me, but now days it is nothing but ruins and dense vegetation.” A suppressed the tears that came with the painful memories “and so was the Movement’s fate… They all died, or ran away, or killed themselves when they returned home and discovered their families had been murdered! Murdered by my father, just because they believed in me!”

“A city you say?”

“I… I used to be a princess in a different kingdom. I had a very bad reputation through most of the territory. The ponies in that city were the only ones who chose to believe me…”

“See? You’re slowly telling me more and more about yourself” Silver stopped walking once again and looked at me gently “you need somepony to trust. You need to get all of this off your chest. We can take care of ourselves pretty well, and you should be very aware of that already”

“I won’t take any risks…” I refused to meet Silvers motherly gaze and looked at all the different insects that passed all over the soil. I thought how this mature and motherly behavior of Silver’s contradicted her playful behavior of the previous day.

“I wouldn’t want to know how this ends…” she suddenly commented with disappointment and distress. She turned around once again to the path ahead.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my gaze turning to her once again and she stopped in her tracks. Her ears perked up; she seemed to perceive a sound my ears couldn’t.

“Run.”

In the blink of an eye, I was running away with all my might from a Manticore, two bears and a pack of timberwolves. They didn’t seem to be chasing Silver; their attention was fully directed at me. I explored my options. I couldn’t run forever, nor I could attack them using magical spells due to my lack of magic (and also because Fluttershy would probably get upset for hurting them). I had no choice but to keep running until an opportunity presented itself.

I was running so fast I didn’t notice the exotic blue flowers scattered around the dark forest.

After some considerable time running, I seemed to have lost the predators chasing me. Not because I was faster than them (which I personally believe is impossible) but because I had crossed a very fragile and narrow wooden bridge that connected the two sides of a cliff. The mist also helped in hiding from them.

I sighed and took a small break. After catching my breath I decided to continue and look for some shelter, since I had no option of turning back. I walked slowly, watching how the mist dissipated to reveal some ruins.

I… don’t remember Luna or ‘Tia ever mentioning this…

The sun was still high in the sky, which indicated it was around noon. It seemed like I had lost track of time because of the darkness in the forest. I decided to enter the ruins and explore a little bit until help arrived. I wanted to be selfish for once and obey my curiosity.

I entered the roofless place and saw a pillar in the center of the room which seemed to have held 6 objects in the past. It reminded me of the story Luna told me about how Twilight and her friends had found the elements of harmony and managed to free her from Nightmare Moon.

This was the place…

I explored the place until I found a staircase that lead somewhere underground. I did not hesitate to follow it. Each step I gave lifted a cloud of dust and submerged me into more and more darkness. I used a light spell, which didn’t consume much energy, and the soft red light revealed a huge chamber. There was luxurious bed, a desk, a fireplace and endless bookshelves. There were many different crystals and other materials over the floor and some of the bookshelves.

There was a single item on the desk; a leather book that seemed to be very old. I carefully lifted it telekinetically and opened it. The first page said a single word, or better said, a name.

“Origin”

My heart beats stopped for a second and I gasped. The idea that maybe, just maybe, this was some sort of diary kept bouncing and bouncing inside my head. The simple thought of having the opportunity to take a peek inside my tyrant father’s mind right in front of me seemed almost unbelievable. I passed to the next page. The text was written in an ancient form of writing, but I could decipher it without problem, even after so much time without reading anything written with it.

“Well, Andromeda gave me this so I could write down… stuff… I guess. She said it was going to be helpful. I still don’t understand why, but she’s always been right. No point questioning stuff.

Today I just arrived at Cosmos and Solaria’s planet with my dear Andromeda and I must say it is a very big difference from ‘space’, as ponies here like to call it for some reason. Though I don’t mean it is bad! It’s a very beautiful place! All the green is very lively! And the ‘flowers’ smell very nice!

Oh, I also met young Celestia and her little sister Luna, who’s still just a cute baby. I’m sure both will grow up to be beautiful and talented mares!

Right now we’re getting settled down in a spot right next to a kingdom named, Equestria. It’s still very young, according to what I learned from what the Spark showed me about _h_ _n___r__.

Speaking of Equestria, tomorrow Cosmos will show us around… He says the ponies there respect and worship them for some reason…

And there’s this idea I’ve been toying around with for the past hours ever since I met the sisters… I’d like to have a child of my own. I think I’ll discuss this idea with my darling later.

Also I’d like to ask her if I’d look good with a beard. Nah, maybe it will make me look old.

But returning to the child subject, I don’t think I have any preferences in the gender. I’ll love them no matter what. If it’s a filly, I’d like her to resemble her mother though… both in body and mind. Andromeda is just the most beautiful creature that will ever exist…

Hah! If she ever caught me writing this she’d be laughing-“

I slammed the book shut as tears streamed down my face; however, my expression was emotionless. Was this really Origin? If he used to be such a kind and cheerful colt, what could have happened to him to turn into… the monster he was now?

I had to know.

I reopened the book and skimmed through some pages. I randomly chose one and began reading.

“This voice. This voice won’t stop bothering me. It had made me do such terrible things. I asked the Spark to stop giving me power to protect Andromeda, Dawn, and our future child, Passion. I fled Nicardia and now I am in my old shelter in Equestria. I can’t believe how much territory this kingdom has gained since it was created… Cosmos and Solaria sure were good rulers...

But that doesn’t matter right now. I can feel how I lose control over my actions, only a small thread of sanity keeping me from obeying that dark voice any further.

There are many threats in this world now days… I used to aid the other kings, queens, princes and princesses to defeat these threats, but I can no longer do this. I don’t trust myself in this condition. That’s why I have decided to create some sort of weapon that will help them, but that will not turn against them. I shall entrust these weapons to the Royal Sisters.

However, I fear of what may happen after I have created these weapons, since it will consume all my magic, which is the other thing pushing away that evil voice… There’s only one option. I will have to end my life.

Andromeda, honey, if you happen to find this I want you to forgive me for whatever happened, for whatever happens, or whatever will happen. I will always love you, and tell that to our little Dawn Shine too. Oh, and also to Passion. I have a good feeling about that filly.”

Next, there was some sort of spell written, than seemed to activate something in this chamber. The wave of conflicting emotions made me perform it without bothering to think of the possible consequences.

A crystal encrusted in the table that I didn't notice before, because it was previously covered by the book, started shinning and a projection formed right above the table. It showed him, Origin. His mane used to resemble a nebula; it was blue, but it seemed to be a little… dim. His eyes showed how sleep deprived he was, and how much he had been crying. However, his image still held a certain power and majesty.

“Princess Celestia of the Sun and Princess Luna of the Moon” His deep voice boomed “I, King Origin of Nicardia entrust you with the last remnants of my power and sanity…”

“The Elements of Harmony” Origin and a second voice spoke in unison. I slowly turned around and saw…

“Celes...tia…” I muttered, unable to believe what I saw in front of me. However, there was something that wasn’t right about her image; it cast no shadow, and the light passed right through it “D-did you-?!” she lift a hoof, silencing my words.

“I will be fine” her expression was solemn “…Your father used to be a noble colt. His heart was a manifestation of pureness, and happiness seemed to bloom in every step he gave”

“’Tia… I don’t get it…”I fell on my haunches and let the tears flow; I had no more strength left to hold them back. I felt a warm current of air against my back and saw the ghostly image of Celestia wrapping a wing around me.

“You will, soon enough. You're very smart, my little pony.”

“But… where are you?!” I asked desperately, just like I did with Luna. Celestia, mimicking her sister’s actions, gave me a warm smile.

“Don’t worry about me. About us. I think you should pay more attention to yourself though…” she gave me a nervous chuckle to which I responded with a confused look “You should be going now. And also, you should really visit Zecora.” She stood up and walked towards the chamber’s exit.

“Wait!” Celestia stopped and I stood up “…I… ‘Tia… Thank you for supporting me when I was a child. And for doing so now also.” I smiled, and Celestia returned the gesture. Her image slowly faded away, leaving two words behind.

“Me too”

I walked up the stairs, but there was something that made me look behind. I took the leather book that had fallen and placed it inside one of my saddlebags.

“Passion!” I heard Silver’s voice call me from the distance. The sun rays hit my face and I squinted at the sudden light after so much time in the darkness of the underground room.

“Wait! Don’t cross! I’ll get there” when I crossed the bridge and the mist surrounding it I met the sight of a stern looking Fluttershy lecturing the animals about how it was wrong to attack her friends, and Silver looking at her with a proud grin. When they noticed my arrival they both turned to look at me and then gasped.

Why does everything look so... huge?

“What?” I asked the two mares. The blue eyed unicorn suddenly burst in laughter.

And does my voice sound so... odd?

“Oh for Celestia’s flank!” my cheeks turned a deep shade of bronze “you should really take a look at yourself!”

“’T-Tia’s what?” I muttered as I found sudden interest in my hooves.

“O-oh! Sorry! I take it you’re kinda close to the princess” she apologized, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment.

“It's okay”

“P-Passion” Fluttershy walked next to me after finishing her lecture with the animals “We should get to Zecora right now…”

“Why?” the two other mares shot nervous glances at each other.

I can’t believe this…

I walked through the dark streets of Ponyville with a gloomy face that would scare anyone in my path regardless of my current state.

This couldn’t get any worse…

Unless I lost these herbs Zecora gave me…

I carried a small bag with my magic, which contained special herbs that would cure… my condition, and some instructions on how to apply it which Zecora had given me (rhymes included). I had spoken with the shaman about my infection, but she didn't seem to have an answer. Fluttershy was surprised and stated that she had always had the cure for any illness. Until now.

“What is a young little filly doing wandering alone in the dark corners of Ponyville?” suddenly asked an unknown stallion’s voice. I immediately stopped walking and prepared for whatever he was planning, glaring daggers at him “H-hey! I’m not gonna do anything to you! I swear!” The pegasus stallion had white coat and brown curly mane. He had green eyes and he had a candle for a cutie mark.

“I’m… not exactly a filly” I spoke up finally, relaxing a little bit. “Who are you?”

“I’m Jaunty Soul. And just in case you’ve met before, I’m Silver Quill’s friend” he said, fixing his glasses.

“So. You’re right now under a poison joke’s effect and that’s why you actually look like a little filly” I nodded my head, indicating him he had understood correctly what I had just told him, as we entered the library. It was until now that I noticed he was balancing a brown bag with his wings.

“What’s that?” I said, pointing at the bag with my snout.

“Oh, just some chocolate coo-“

“Ch-chocolate?!” I suddenly said in disbelief, my eyes shining at the delightful word that entered my ears and made my mouth water from anticipation.

“Haha! So, you’re a little filly at heart too?” Jaunty giggled as he took a cookie from the bag with his hooves and offered it. I did not hesitate to scarf it down in less than a second.

“Wh-why are you laughing?” I asked in embarrassment when I realized what I did.

“You have cookie crumbs all over your face!” as he kept laughing shamelessly I did nothing but sigh and avoid his gaze “Ha, ha. I reckon you should take that herbal bath before you really become a filly. Don’t worry about me, I’ll find the book I was looking for with no problem.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yah! I’m fine, I’m fine. I’ve been here a ton of times for… many reasons.” He scratched the back of his head and forced a smile. I noticed the fairly visible red on his white cheeks.

“Alright” I decided to ignore his nervousness and started heading upstairs “if you need any help just call me, okay?”

“Sure thing! Just go and relax. I can tell you need it… You’re very tense all the time y’know…” he said with corncern. His attention was already occupied fully by his search for whichever book he was looking for.

“What are you looking for? Need any help?” asked Jaunty as he saw me searching one of the bookshelves.

“No. I think I already found it” I levitated the book, which was too high to reach in my current condition, out of the bookshelf and opened it.

So she did have it.

“What’s that?” he loomed over me to take a peek at the book “Passion. Lunar Love. By: D’Oro.” My cheeks suddenly started warming up while he read the embarrassing words written on the first page “Hm… why does this sound so familiar?”

“I wrote it”

“Really? An overly romantic book about somepony madly in love with Princess Luna?” I glared him with annoyance.

“Yes”

“Oh… do you mean you’re madly in love with Princess Luna?”

“…Yes”

“That’s cute!” silence and tension filled the room. I couldn’t contain the annoyance that my stern gaze irradiated, and even if I looked like a little innocent filly the stallion started sweating bullets “…Um… Y’know, you really should do something to relax. Like, for example, you could try writing some more poetry or… I dunno…”

“That I used to write poetry and such doesn’t mean I actually enjoy doing so” I said after a sigh and relaxed my expression “I was just forced to learn those things by my father so I was kept occupied. I wrote those books to earn some bits without having to reveal my face to the public and run the danger of being found” I magically returned the book back to its spot.

“Sounds like a tough life you got there…” I walked towards the window, my head hung low, mentally thanking Jaunty for not questioning anything any further. I sighed as my gaze lost itself in the sea of stars.

Luna must be okay.

A small smile made its way into my face. I could hear hoofsteps approaching me.

“So… Is there anything you actually enjoy doing?”

“Well… perhaps-“

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I had intended to open it myself, but Jaunty insisted on doing it, revealing Rarity, who carried a pair of saddlebags and an elegant smile on her face.

“Why hello, Jaunty my dear!” Rarity said with delight.

“Heya! How’s it going?”

“Oh, busy, busy, busy. Just like always.” She looked around the library, but didn’t seem to notice my presence “but, right now I’m looking for Golden Passion. Have you, by any chance, met her already?”

“Oh! Yeah! She’s right over there!” he pointed at where I was standing, but she overlooked me entirely.

“U-um… I’m sorry dear, I can’t quite see her…” said Rarity, squinting. I approached her, but she still didn’t seem to notice me.

“I’m here” I said flatly with an annoyed expression. Rarity finally looked down at me and gasped in what seemed to be horror.

“Uh… Rarity?” Jaunty waved a hoof in front of her, but no reaction came. The next instant, I was trapped in a bear hug by the fashonista.

“OH. DEAR. CELESTIA! YOU’RE JUST TOO ADORABLE FOR MORTAL EYES TO GAZE UPON YOU!” she kept nuzzling me uncontrollably and I shot pleading glances at Jaunty. A clear of his throat was all that Rarity needed to come back to Equestria.

“Ahem… I’m sorry” she let me go and giggled nervously “I… kind of… lost myself for a second there. But anyway!” she said, as if nothing had happened in the first place “I wanted to give you something… And, I’d also like to have a small chat with you, if you don’t mind.”

“A’ight!” suddenly, Jaunty spoke up “I guess you two need space for your girl chat and stuff. So I guess I’ll see ya around! Night!” he waved his hoof.

“Have a pleasant evening!” Rarity waved back and Jaunty left the library, but I felt something was being left unfinished. I ran for the door and opened it right in time before the Pegasus could fly off.

“Hey! Jaunty!”

“Yeah?” he looked back at me with curiosity.

"S-sorry for my behavior back there..." I apologized with shame, my head hung low. The stallion aproached me and lifted my chin with a hoof.

"Hey, don't worry!" he whispered soothingly "I deal with Silver all the time. So that was just a cake walk!" I laughed at his statement, asking myself 'Is it that bad?'. "So, was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

“Oh, yeah! Um... Remember when you asked what I really enjoy doing?” he nodded vigorously, his eyes showed how much he wanted to know the answer. I smiled gently and looked up to the starry sky.

"I enjoy stargazing"

Chapter 13

Stars

Closed

Memories

"Rarity!" I shouted at the white unicorn pulling at my tail as I struggled against her with my forehooves. The heavy saddlebags I carried made the struggle harder for the both of us even if I was stronger than Rarity "I tell you to LET. GO!!" she ignored me and refused to let go of my dark red tail, since her mouth was busy with it she couldn't respond. Tears started welling up in the corner of my eyes at the frustration I felt.

How hard can it be just to let. me. go?!

"Rarity! Dammit!" I shut my eyes tight and snorted... and with one strong pull I finally won the struggle. I trotted at full speed without caring if I had done anything to Rarity, but then I was suddenly enveloped by a light blue magic that kept me from going forward.

Passion... You fool... How can you allow these weaklings to stand in your way?!

A dark voice that sounded almost exactly like mine but was filled with anger, whispered softly words of hatred and arrogance...

I listened to it. I listened to it because it promised me a way to let go of this anger and sadness that I had endured for almost nine thousand years, which was also a way to find them... to find Luna...

Something inside me snapped and my whole body started feeling warmer and warmer. The next minute, I was running at full speed towards the almost departing train. I could see Rarity staring at me with horror while rubbing her head with her hoof from the corner of my eye. A pang of guilt hit my chest at the sight, but something inside me quickly melted it away. I jumped inside the train, tears now freely running through my cheeks.

What have I done...?

What you should have done a long time ago...

Just... who are you?

You

Evil laughter echoed through my mind and slowly faded away. No matter what I said next, the voice did answer again.

"Ma'am" said a stallion's voice, which snapped me out of my thoughts "you should take a seat"

“Uh… Yes, sorry” I apologized absentmindedly; slightly surprised that he had called me ‘ma’am’ regardless that I was still under the poison joke’s effects at the moment. Maybe he didn't notice that I still looked like a teenager because of the coat I was wearing. A coat Rarity gifted me. I slowly walked towards an empty seat and accommodated myself right beside the window. I could see the beautiful landscape passing through the train’s window, full of trees, a blue sky, singing birds and flower beds. It was the perfect moment for a little meditation… if my mind weren’t so disturbed at the moment.

It had been a rough week even in such a peaceful town such as Ponyville… I had discovered that the ponies around me weren’t the only ones in danger, but I was too. I was slowly becoming a changeling, and who knows what was happening inside of my mind. Perhaps I was finally going insane after so much…

I had even discovered that Rainbow Dash and Applejack didn't trust me, and that Rarity... well... she had fallen in love with me. That day at the spa... I should have believed what my sister had told me in that letter. She was always right. Always. Also, the letter Rarity sent me made it all obvious. Really obvious.

"Passion, I am... we are all worried about you. You have been everypony's 'knight in shinning armor' for a while, but that has been affecting you after so much time enduring all the pain you had to go through. We all can see it as clear as a beautiful sunny day. Ah, don't get me wrong dear. We appreciate what you have been doing for us. Trying to rescue our princesses and our little Twilight and also trying to save our kingdom from a possible catastrophe, but you are also a pony, for Her Majesty's sake! You have a heart! You have wishes, desires! You feel sadness! You feel love! You laugh and cry as well!

You have a beautiful sensitive heart, as well as your body. From the tip of your horn down to your hooves, you are a masterpiece. I could create an entire collection just from looking at your heavenly features. You are a princess. You have flaws, as well as virtues, but they all make you beautiful. They make you perfect.

But let us stop beating around the bush, shall we? I wanted to ask you if we could spend some quality time tomorrow as wonderful friends at the spa after your visit to the doctor. It could relieve you some stress! I'll be waiting for you there."

Once again, really obvious.

All of that just to ask me to hang out?

I couldn’t believe how much I needed someone wiser and trustworthy to talk to at that moment. I needed someone I could look up to, someone I could pour my soul at, someone that could kiss my tears away and that always knew what to say to cheer me up… But ‘Tia was who-knows-where and both Luna and Twilight were also in a similar situation… and my mother…

I guess that when you’re a princess yourself there’s not much choice…

I sighed, noticing how many times I had done that in a single week. It seemed as if relaxing was something I couldn’t and wasn’t allowed to do. But I felt a small weight lift off my shoulders when I realized that I had left Ponyville behind. The mere fact that I was present could mean the end of the small town.

I hope Rarity will find it in her heart to forgive me… and the others as well for hurting their friend…

Alright. Now I had to find a cure to my changeling infection before I became brainwashed, find a way to get to Nicardia, to compensate my lack of wings, etc... etc... etcetera.

I shifted my attention from the scenery outside to my reflection on the window before I became even more stressed. I definitely looked better than one and a half weeks ago; now I didn’t have much bandages at all. And it felt refreshing… But even if the doctor had approved I was better and could move freely again, for some reason Rarity wanted me to stay…

Why is everypony so confusing?!

Guilt returned and I did not want to escape it this time. I decided to savor it and let it all out instead of bottling it up. Nopony would mind anyway… The next second, tears went down my cheeks slowly, but my face was indifferent. Tears simply fell.

“Hey, miss!” a voice came from beside me. I looked up at the Pegasus mare that was standing beside the table. She was a grey coated mare with yellow mane with bubbles as her cutie mark. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of special talent she had, but I notice something weird about her… her crossed eyes. She was balancing two muffins with her wings.

“U-um… hey?” I answered nervously, drying up my tears with my hooves in the process.

“I don’t like seeing sad ponies and I thought I could share a muffin with you!” she placed the muffins on the table and pushed one of them towards me “Would you like one? I’m one hundred percent sure it will make you feel better! It a~lways works for me!”

“Th-thanks” I said, shyly levitating one of the muffins towards my mouth; it was true, the sweetness and the taste of blueberry somehow made me feel at ease. I closed my eyes and focused on the soft texture of the muffin and swallowed slowly. I opened my eyes back to find the grey mare sitting on the seat across mine, already halfway through her own muffin.

“Did it work?” she asked hopefully, small crumbs on her muzzle.

“Yeah… really, thank you” I whispered sincerely with a small smile. The presence of this cheerful mare also helped a lot.

“Great! I’m Ditzy Doo, though ponies prefer to call me Derpy!” taking the last bite of her muffin she extended her hoof at me.

“I’m Golden Passion, nice to meet you” I answered politely and reached out to shake her hoof, to find my own wrapped in both of hers, which shook it slightly violently.

“So why were you crying?” she asked when she finally let go, her face showing her curiosity.

“Well… I’ve just had a lot of problems lately…” I decided to keep it simple, since narrating nine thousand years in a few hours was almost impossible. Unless you had Pinkie Pie’s speech capacity.

“Oh! I totally know what you mean!” suddenly claimed Ditzy while munching on a muffin that she seemed to have materialized out of thin air “this pony delivery job is kinda tough on me! They make me carry the most impossible things and and and they blame me for whatever breaks or whatever even if it isn’t my fault! But it can be kinda fun too since you get to meet and talk to a ton of different ponies! That’s not the point. So then I thought ‘everypony needs a rest once in a while’ and decided to take a small vacation to Canterlot with the money I gained!” then, she gasped “Wait, you’re also on a vacation?!”

“Not exactly… It’s more like a business trip. There are a few things I must look for… But now that you mention it, visiting a few pleasant areas doesn’t sound bad at all…” I replied. Even if I knew there was a clock ticking, my answer was sincere. After all, I could not bring myself to lie out of pity to the innocent mare in front of me.

“You should eat muffins while visiting those places! They make the experience more delicious! My favorite muffins are blueberry muffins!” she said after finishing what seemed to be her fourth muffin “And yours?”

“…Chocolate” I answered in a whisper, a distant memory flashing through my mind, which drew a smile in my face “…my favorite muffins are chocolate muffins”

Golden Passion

Spark

Chapter 1

I try to open my eyes, but a suffocating pain in my head prevents the completion of the task, suffocating pain from the dazzling rays of sun coming through the window, which I had failed to fully distinguish.

Just DO it damn it!

I try to ignore the pain to open them; I needed to know where I was. To tell the truth, I couldn’t remember anything, not even my own name.

The pain became more tolerable; allowing me to distinguish the furnishing of the room. It was a very well decorated bedroom. It was simple, but seemed to be from a person with good social status, for the paintings hanging on the walls, most of which dealt with the night. I was lying in bed that was located in the middle of the room. In front of it I saw a fireplace.

I noticed the walls were painted a dark blue and the floor was covered with a red carpet. Beside the bed, I could see a canvas, a palette of mixed colors and brushes that seemed recently used. I concluded that the paintings could have been made by whoever inhabited the room. Above the fireplace was a painting that caught my attention. It stood out between the others, whoever the gifted painter was used a lot more carefulness and dedication in this painting.

I saw two ponies; one was taller than the other. They had both horn and wings and luxurious royal vests. Over their heads laid a crown.

The eldest of the alicorns had a white coat, her prismatic hair waved magically. Her violet eyes were sparkling while she carried a serene smile in her face. Her Cutie Mark was of a radiant sun.

The coat's color of the younger was similar to the color of the walls, a deep dark blue. Her hair similar to the other alicorn's, but resembled the night sky. Her eyes were teal and carried a more serious expression. The Cutie Mark was of the moon surrounded by darkness.

Beautiful… I thought, admiring the paints around the bedroom, specially the previous one. Then, I remembered that I always have, and just realized I still have, a great interest and ability in arts, but this was no more than a simple liking, not a great revelation of my past.

I got out of bed and headed for the door, still admiring the paintings in the room. I have to know the one who did this... wonder...

However, before I could reach to the door, I saw a mirror through another door, which was open, that seemed to lead to the bathroom. I saw my reflection in it. I noticed I had both horn and wings, but I was normal pony size. I had dark red mane which was curled in its edges and covered my left eye, golden colored coat and my Cutie Mark was a heart made of gold surrounded by fire. However, I had some parts of my body covered with bandages and some uncovered bruises in other parts. I decided to leave it alone for the moment.

I left the room to reach a large hall with marble pillars; the roof was very high. I figured that I must have been inside of a kind of mansion or castle, based on the refined atmosphere of the place.

It didn’t seem like a dangerous place and, as I had awakened in a bedroom ... like that one, my reason for being here might not be for having committed a crime. I concluded that I was instead brought here to recover from the injuries I saw before in the mirror, but shouldn’t I be in a hospital if that was the case? I decided I was over thinking things too much and started exploring the castle. It should be okay if I was brought here in purpose.

I walked while admiring each corner of the hallway, looking in every direction but in front…

“HALT!” I look at the source of unexpected shout, two guards spreading their wings, forming a barrier that prevented my step. "WHO GOES THERE?!”

“u…um…” I took a few steps back, with a nervous grin on my face.

yeah right…I thought it SHOULD be okay…

*BUMP!*

The sound of two enormous doors full of cravings, crashing into the walls alarmed the current occupants of room…

…the throne room to be more precise…

The two guards who found me pushed me into the room, literally throwing me in front of the throne... where a tall alicorn sat... showing her dazzling beauty in an elegant posture... the alicorn resembled the eldest one of the painting, no, she was the eldest one of the painting.

"Your Majesty," said one guard, kneeling while the other repeated the same procedure, "We found this unknown unicorn with wings wandering around in the halls of the Castle"

"Gentlemen!" the eldest alicorn said in surprise, she seemed startled due to the sudden outburst "you shouldn't..."

"Oh!" she was interrupted by the youngest alicorn of the paint entering through the same entrance we used; we looked behind us in surprise, she had a smile from ear to ear on her face "you have finally awakened!"

These are just too many coincidences…

The young Princess and I ended up in the highest tower of the castle. While she was telling me about everything, I was trying to process the information.

"So ... you found me in the edge of a forest ..." I said, repeating everything that the young alicorn had told me.

"The Everfree forest to be precise" she stated.

"... Uh ... Everfree Forest... yeah... and I was unconscious and badly injured so you brought me here, without even knowing who I was, so I could recover?” I concluded.

"Correct" she said in her calm tone and put a little smile on her face as her cosmic hair floated gracefully and her bright eyes were fixed at the infinite horizon as the sun went down. I just admired her for a moment, enjoying the little silence and appreciating the beauty of her figure-

WHAT am I THINKING?!

"Then ... who are you?" I asked, trying to get… those… thoughts out of my head.

"Oh, you're not from around here?" she answered with a question "hm... winged unicorns are not so common" she tapped her chin with a hoof, deep in thought.

"Actually…I can’t remember a thing..." I said with disappointment, staring down at my hooves.

"... Amnesia ..." she said in a low tone "... I am Princess Luna, sister of Princess Celestia, I am responsible for bringing the night to the world until my sister Celestia brings the day. We both rule the kingdom of Equestria" with one hoof, she pointed out the countless buildings and towns through the balcony "we are in Canterlot Castle, located on a mountain; there is no other place in Equestria where you can have such a magnificent view." She turned her vision to me “But you can call me Luna, I’ve had enough of bows and royalty…” she made a pause “can you remember your name?”

“…” I shook my head.

“Then… how should I call you?”

"Well ... call me ..." I noticed my Cutie Mark and came up with a name from it "... Golden Passion"

...Suddenly...

FROM NOW ON

…YOU SHALL CALL ME GOLDEN PASSION!

AND SOMEDAY

I WILL OVERTHROW MY FATHER…

THE KING OF NICARDIA!

Chapter 1

Golden Passion

Closed

Piece of My Heart

Spark

Chapter 3

"THEN WHAT KIND OF FATHER ARE YOU?!" I screamed while struggling against the countless guards that avoided my movement.

"Passion" he screamed again

"What?!"

"Passion!" I noticed something strange, his voice was sounding slightly... feminine...

"WHAT?!" I was loosing patience

"PASSION!" the voice became definitely feminine, in fact, it even became familiar.

"WHAT IN THE SEVEN UNIVERSES DO YOU FREAKING WANT?!" I exploded in rage breathing heavily. Then I noticed my surroundings. It was still dark. I was sitting on a bed and I had a startled purple unicorn next to me. the name is TWILIGHT!

"...Um... to wake you up..." her voice was even lower than a whisper.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry, it must have been a nightmare" she gave me a reassuring smile.

"For how long was I asleep?" I said while scratching my head with one hoof.

"For 2 hours, though you actually fainted" she said while walking to a small pile of books and sitting next to them. "In the meantime I was trying to find more things about the supposed king Princess Celestia mentioned in the letter"

"Can you tell me about what you found out?" I climbed off bed to sit next to the purple... next to Twilight.

"Of course, but before" a small glow came from Twilight's horn, levitating a cup in front of me "here is your hot... now cold... chocolate" I grabbed it with my own magic, which was of an intense golden color.

"Thanks..." I said again, after a countless times of saying the same word over and over again

"Ok I'll start" she cleared her throat "when Celestia mentioned about the evil pony and the king I started to think that, if the king knew about the pony, it couldn't have been originally from Equestria, but from another kingdom, and there is only one kingdom asides from Equestria that is populated by ponies. Little is known about this kingdom; it is the only one in the whole world who doesn't have any friendly relationship with Equestria. It is rumored that its ruler is an unknown relative of Celestia and Luna..." as soon as Twilight mentioned the name, a chill ran down through my spine, making my wings half extend "in other words, that he is an Alicorn too. It is also mentioned that he married another Alicorn and supposedly had children."

"...Twilight..." I whispered

"Yes?"

"...I've had strange memories returning to me in the past days... in one of them... they mentioned a name of a kingdom... Nicardia..."

"...Keep going" she said with sudden interest

"Well... it was actually me. I appeared screaming around saying I was going to overthrow my father, the king of Nicardia. At first I thought that I indeed was evil and such, until I had another one... I saw him physically and we were discussing about an older sister of mine and about his ideals of what I said it was slavery and then he said he was going to conquer Equestria and then he sent me into a dungeon." I sighted, feeling depressed about the memory.

"I see... can you describe him?" she said while scratching her chin.

"He was a little taller than Celestia... had blowing black mane, it looked like a void... and his fur was gold... and yes he was an alicorn, oh and the beard, it was like his mane... and..." the sudden sound of opening windows startled both of us, making us look into the direction almost instantaneously.

She was there, standing tall and elegant, the soft light of the giant orb adorning her night sky shining behind her, marking her perfect feminine silhouette.

...I wonder how can she manage to make me pull off those poems so naturally...

"Passion!" Luna said, her voice was like music to my ears "I feared the worst!" I noticed her eyes, she had been crying.

"Luna!" I stood up and approached her "have you been...crying?" I was feeling even more guilty, she was crying because of me.

"I'm sorry about what happened! I tried to convince my sister but..."

"...Don't worry" I did something I didn't know I would regret or I would end thanking my stupid brain about... I was nuzzling her chest. Million thoughts were running through my mind.

Oh you foalish bastard! You barely know her! you don't even know if she is into mares! You don't even know yourself! She is going to call Celestia, she is going to call Celestia!... or perhaps she will do it herself... oh and I'm still not used living in the moon! Worst case scenario, being burned alive in the surface of the sun! or... a warm feeling against my back literally changed the route of my train of thought ...I should visualize our wedding... Luna was nuzzling back, in that moment, I couldn't have been happier... and relieved.

...I'm making myself too many illusions...

"Luna" I broke the contact "I have to ask you a question..."

"Anything" she said in a soft tone which made my heart flutter.

"Have you ever heard of Nicardia?" after I asked the question, nothing more was said. Luna had a surprised look in her face. where is Twilight? she hasn't said a word since... I looked behind me, at the pile of books, Twilight wasn't there anymore. Then, I heard sobs coming from outside of the window, they sounded each time more and more distant

"What do you think happened to her?" I asked Luna while we were walking under her starry sky looking for Twilight.

"...There are many possibilities" she sighted "one of them, that she has developed feelings for me"

"O-oh..." I WILL DESTROY HER!! I thought "are you... you know..."

"Gender is not something I care too much about in a pony" she said, her eyes were fixed on the path ahead. We were already outside of Ponyville.

"I see..." a part of me claimed that I didn't care, another part of me celebrated the little hope.

...Hope... so... it seems I feel the same... I thought but, I just met her a few days ago!... perhaps it is because she saved me and such things?... no... there must be more... then, I remembered Luna's reaction when I mentioned Nicarida maybe she knows the place and has visited before... she's royalty after all... Then, we heard the same sobs. It was Twilight. Just when I tried to go further Luna extended her wing to block the path. Then, I heard a muttering from Twilight.

"...oh great Luna... oh great Princess of the Night... I will forever be yours..."

"...but you will never be mine..." I muttered, continuing Twilight's poem. I suddenly felt a hit of nostalgia in my chest like if...

I have spoken those words before

I was sitting in a hidden corner of the throne room when a younger version of my supposed father was talking with a younger version of Princess Celestia, another mare was besides her... she was slightly different but I could recognize her.

"Mom... who is... she?" a younger version of myself asked a tall female Alicorn with purple coat and blowing dark red mane who sat next to me, embracing me with her wing.

"Oh, she is Princess Luna, she rules the night and created all those constellations you love so much" she pointed the mare. I felt a drawn to her... I felt admiration...

"...She... did?" I said more to myself than to my mother, admiring the beautiful young mare that was slightly older than me with awe.

A slightly older version of me sat in front of a desk, full of tears. The desk had an open book and a quill submerged in ink next to it. I took the quill with my magic and wrote a phrase in the middle of the blank page.

...Oh Great Luna...
Oh Great Princess of the Night...
I will forever be yours...
But you will never be mine....

Chapter 3

Piece of my Heart

Closed