I had set the Pip Buck to wake me up, an hour after midnight; when every pony was fast asleep, safe in their very own beds. I had the stable built for them, so that I could ensure their survival and safety; just as I had been promising them, all along.

Now my promise is demanding a sacrifice, of me. I have to leave the stable, in the middle of the night; while every pony is sleeping, so they can know nothing of what I had in mind for them. By tomorrow, when they wake up, the stable will be sealed up tight. None can enter and none can exit the stable. Every pony will be safe in here.

I step out of bed, trot over to the door. I push up the door and step out, before I close the door behind myself; quietly, so that none can know I had ever left my home.

Trotting down the path, to the gate. This is the tricky part. Opening the gate, quietly, stepping out. Closing the gate and performing the spell; duplicating myself.

I open the inner gate, step back in and close the gate; before I am enacting the seal, preventing anyone to enter the stable. I trot back to my home. Opening and closing the door. I go back to my bed and slip in under the quilt and falls asleep.

I open the outer gate, the one with Double Diamond’s mark and step out. I close the gate behind myself and promptly seal the gate behind me. My stable and its inhabitants will be safe.

“No rest, for the wicked!” I ponder.

The gate is closed, sealed and thus secure. I trot to the bridge towards the village, my village; cross it and continue to the village. Once I am in the safety of what had once been my home, I cast the spell of duplication, once more. Two is always better than one, after all.

“Time to head out, my mission awaits me!” I ponder.

“If we split up, we should have greater chances to get what we need!” the second duplicate points out.

“Yes, splitting up the attention between the two of us should be a convenient distraction! Best of luck, with your mission!” the first duplicate responds.

While my duplicate is still in my home, I hastily teleport to the train station. Maybe there is a train, waiting for me. Or, maybe there isn’t.

The building is exactly where I had pictured it, just as the tracks. Yet, there is no train waiting, guess I had expected this too.

“Teleporting will tax my magic, but it will take me where I want to go; much faster, than I could go by hoof!” I ponder.

There is a strange feeling in the air, I feel a chill flowing down the length of my spine, from the base of my scull to the tip of my tail.

“I hope she will reach the destination, so she can take care of her end of the mission!” I ponder.

I trot about a mile, quietly; before I make the ext teleportation along the rail on which I am trotting. There is no point in articulating my thoughts, some pony or zebra could hear me. Besides, I do not feel as if I have the air to spare for the effort.

For a single unicorn, trotting all the way to Canterlot, is a very long trek. I am most certainly not the athlete, I am a unicorn and rely on magic. I am fluent in magic and its implications. I trust in my power and capability to wield magic.

Am I merely the duplicate, who is to say? I see myself as being the true Starlight Glimmer, just as much as the one in the stable and the one currently on her way to the railway station. At least, she should still be on her way there.

The track is long, sided with forest and only making a turn, every now and then. I am making prime progress, on my way towards the destination I had set before me.

Somewhere, halfway to Ponyville; I had this strange feeling, of something being wrong. Very wrong. I jump off of the track and turn around. For a moment, I wish it was just the sense of a train behind me; but this is not the case. I stay low and off of the track. I feel the ground shudder under my hooves, just a moment I see the light on the sky. I know exactly where the blast had gone off.

I see her teleport away, to the train station as I would assume. I slowly trot after her. The station is after all my best choice. I need to go far, and the train should be the best option.

I manage to trot to the station without any problem, just as I had been expecting. There is no train in, as I arrive; but that had never been expected, I knew the train is sporadic at best. It isn’t as if all that many ponies came to the village in the first place.

On second thought, the rail road would still be the better option; even if I trot there by hoof. I choose to forgo a new duplication; not so much out of the fear of taxing my magic, but there would be four of me already. The process of duplication still does come with consequences.

After about five minutes of waiting and resting; I choose to trot along the railroad track, mainly as a guide to take me, where I am heading.

“If I do not teleport, I have magic to spare on a shield!” I ponder.

I do have a shield, worthy to mention; one that could stand up, protecting me against most anything I could imagine to face. Of course, I did not know exactly what could jump me along the way. Just as I had no idea as to what could possibly be thrown at me, as I travel to Canterlot on a day like this. It may not be a special day, but I had heard of the war against the zebras. The war is why I am here, and why I established the stable in the first place.

With the shield up, at full strength; I can trot along the track, feeling perfectly secure. Little did I know, exactly what horror was about to befall upon me. How could I have known, even if I did know a war was raging across the nation of Equestria.

This far, the battles had been fierce and bloody; but this had been battles between zebras and ponies. The worst I had to fear, is a zebra with a spear jumping me from beside the track. No mere spear, or bullet could penetrate my shield.

I continue along the track, trotting along slowly; in a good mood, spirit soaring high as the clouds above me. While within the stale, I had failed to hear the latest news. I know nothing of the latest events.

After a few hours of trotting along the track, I make camp, setting up my tent and slip inside. I do not have time for anything more, as I hear the terrible noise of a bale-fire bomb going of. Only thanks to the shield, did I even survive the event. While within the tent, I had not even seen from which direction the attack had come. Not that it made any difference to me.

Since the shield is still up, with the tent inside; I remain inside, but finds myself growing tired. I chance to sleep a few hours, hoping the shield will remain intact.

There is a strange sensation, just as the bomb went off; but thankfully I had managed to put a greater distance between me and the bomd, than my duplicate trotting by hoof.

Even if I had been trotting by hoof, between each and every teleportation; teleporting had given me a great head start of my duplicate.

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Author's Note

Starlight Glimmer's POV

the Duplicate of Starlight Glimmer's POV

At the Gate - the Zebra: settlement