Dawn's Storyby YourDashOneDawnChaptersThe BetrayalA Decade LaterThe PreparationsThe Journey BeginsThe LiesThe UprisingThe Journey EndsThe AftermathThe "Plan B" (Or Lack Thereof)The BetrayalIt had been two months since my coronation as the “Princess of Diversity,” and something needed to change. I thought that being a princess would bring changes, but so far, nothing was very different. Sure, I was now royalty, and ponies viewed me differently as a result, but nothing major had really happened. I had the same home, I walked the same streets, I talked to the same friends. The only big change I really noticed was that Princess Celestia was no longer hanging over my shoulder, watching my every move. Now, the obvious question would be ‘why is this a bad thing?’ Well, that’s just it: Nopony seemed to see the problem. Nopony except for me. At any given moment, some monster could walk out of the Everfree Forest, and decimate a town. At any given moment, the changelings could attempt to overthrow Equestria, or Discord could break free, causing chaos wherever he went. Whenever they wanted, somepony could just up and betray Equestria. Granted, none of that had happened in some time, but I didn't like the fact that it could. Somepony had to do something to show Equestria that it wasn't as safe as it was proclaimed to be. The other option was to arm ourselves with the Elements of Harmony to defend Equestria, but we would need six ponies who could connect with them. While Celestia had told me that she had been keeping an eye on some potential candidates, I doubted that they would actually work out. I decided that I would take matters into my own hands, in order to prove that we had no real way of defending ourselves. I would 'turn evil' and attack Equestria. I was just going to cause a slight ruckus, maybe knock down an abandoned building or two. Then I would wait to see how long it took for somepony to try and stop me. After that I would just act like I lost, only to show that it was all fake, and prove my point. That was the plan, at least. Unfortunately, everypony knows that things never go according to plan, and this was no exception. Ponyville would be the target of my "attack," since it was a quiet town, where all the citizens thought they were perfectly safe. It was the perfect place for me to make my point, as they had no means to stop something like this. Once everything was in place, I hopped a train to Ponyville, and I was on my way. Some of the ponies seemed a bit surprised to see me leaving Canterlot by train, and without my escort. One Pegasus even worked up the courage to sit beside me, and ask a few questions. "Umm, excuse me, Princess Dawn? If you don't mind my asking, what is a princess doing on a train? Don't you normally have carriages to ride in?" "Well, yes, but I never liked to ride in them. It makes me feel too special. I might be an alicorn, but I don't like giving off the impression that I think I'm better than anypony else." "What business do you have in Ponyville?" I was caught a little bit off guard, but I managed to come up with something on the fly. "I was invited to a party that a friend of mine is hosting, and I managed to fit it into my schedule." "Oh really?! Me too! Who's you're friend?" Darn it! I really should have been prepared for follow-up questions. "I can't tell you that." "Well, maybe I can tag along, and see if we're going to the same place." "I'm afraid now isn't a good time. I have to get off here." "The train doesn't stop for another ten minutes" "I'm getting off here." "While the train is still moving?" "Yup." And with that, I made my way out the doors at the back of the car, and jumped off. While I still wasn't one-hundred percent accustomed to my wings, I was good enough to catch myself before I hit the ground. No, I wasn't crazy. I had a reason for bailing from a moving train: I wanted to approach Ponyville from the air. This way, I could get a good view of the town, so I could pick buildings to attack without any casualties. I was prepared to bail from the train. I wasn't prepared, however, to have a follower. The Pegasus from the train had followed me, and was now trailing me. "What are you doing, kid?" I asked. "Right now, that doesn't matter. What does is: what are you doing? But wait, you don't have to answer that. I already know, and I want to help." "You don't know what you're talking about, kid. Besides, even if you did, what could you do to help me?" "I believe I can answer that without verbally explaining anything. Allow me to demonstrate." And as she added that last statement, the cyan Pegasus melted away, revealing a changeling. But to make matters worse, this was no ordinary changeling- this was the leader of the changelings, herself! "Queen Chrysalis?!" "In the flesh. Why are you so shocked? You should be overjoyed to know that I'll be helping you." "It's just that, well... how did you know what I was up to?" "Does that matter right now? We have work to do." Before I could respond, she flew ahead, and began eyeing up her first targets. Luckily, she couldn't see through my façade, meaning I had the drop on her. Unfortunately, Chrysalis would be about as powerful as me, making her an incredibly tough opponent. I could let her attack, and wear herself down a bit, but that would mean letting her level half of Ponyville, and I would never be forgiven. But what other choices did I have? So I let her go, and watched in horror as she destroyed an entire home in one blast, only to frown when she discovered that it was empty, and turn to the next one. She went on to decimate ten more, before turning back to me. "Why aren't you helping me?" She asked, and I could hear suspicion in her voice. "I don't think I can do it, but I won't stand in your way, either." "If you're not going to help me, then I will treat you as an enemy. You've already betrayed Equestria, are you willing to lose all of your allies in one day?" "I guess I am." "Where will you go? Who will you turn to?" "I'll go out on my own, if I have to. I've heard that the life of a 'lone wolf' can be quite adventurous." "You won't last a day on your own. I won't let you." "You don't have a say in what I do with my life." "But I do have the power to end it." "Ha! You don't even have the power to try." "You've got a lot of nerve, talking to me like that." "Look who's talking. You just threatened a princess." "A princess who has no way to back herself up, seeing as though she recently betrayed her country." "Are you implying that a princess has no way to defend herself?" "Yes, I am, and I can prove it, too." Then, she fired at me. I had been anticipating the shot, and easily dodged it, before sending one of my own. She hadn't been quite as prepared, and only narrowly avoided it. Before she had a chance to recover, I let loose another bolt, striking her center mass. It hadn't been very concentrated, and only knocked the wind out of her. However, in a fit of rage, she managed to hit me with a shot that was quite a bit more volatile. I was sent careening into a building, crashing through the wall. My abrupt entry was met with the screams of several fillies, gathered around a birthday cake. Jeez, talk about party crashing. They calmed down a bit when they figured out who I was, but they were still terrified. "Uhh, hello. Happy birthday," I squinted to read the name on the cake, "Rarity. Sorry I ruined it for you. Anyways, I have to go. Enjoy the rest of your party." That moment couldn't have been any more awkward. I quickly made my way back outside, being sure to use the door this time, and took to the skies. As soon as I was above the rooftops, I was almost sent right back down by another blast. Acting fast, a traced the bolt back to it's source, and spotted Chrysalis above the town hall. "You know, for somepony who's lost everything, you've got a lot of fight left. Just give up already." "There's still one thing left that I can fight for." "What's that?" "Bragging rights." "That's why you're fighting?! You know, I like you, kid. It's a shame I can't let you live." "Your pretty lost if you really think that's why I'm fighting. Just because my friends might stop caring about me, doesn't mean I have to give up on them." "Yeah yeah. Spare me the friendship nonsense. Let's just get back to it." Without any other warning, she bolted for me, aiming to tackle me. I strafed left, and followed up with another blast of magic, this time being sure to charge it more. As she came to a stop, the bolt made its mark, right on her back. She reeled, but still didn't go down. If I wanted to beat her, I would have to use something more powerful. I fired a beam, and she caught it midway with one of her own, entering us in a magical power struggle. The stronger or more motivated pony tended to be the winner of these 'magical duels.' The bad news was that it was impossible to tell which one of us that was, beforehand. This was just a shot in the dark, and all I could do was pray to Celestia that it was me. At first, I was winning, but then Chrysalis pushed back, and almost took the win. I gave it everything I had, but only managed to push the epicenter back to the middle. Sweat ran down my face, as Chrysalis suffered the same fate. We both put in everything, but nothing happened for the longest time. I started to think of the faces of ponies I cared for, which was just enough motivation to push the border back to my opponent. Unable to do anything, her expression of hatred faded to horror, as she began to panic. The panicking only made matters worse for her, and eventually, she lost entirely. The center ball of light met her horn, and she was blasted backwards. She managed to recover with surprising speed, but she was too smart to come back for more. Queen Chrysalis shot me one last dirty look, before turning to flee. I could have given chase, but we both knew she was beaten. And anyways, I now had new problems. The Royal Guard had begun to arrive, and I knew that they would be looking for me. I ran deep into the Everfree Forest, not once looking back. That was the last time almost anypony would see of me for more than a decade. Celestia erased most records of my existence, knowing that it would be better If I was just forgotten. Over time, exactly that happened. Ponies started to forget my name, my face, my status. I became a rumor, then a myth, then nothing, as I faded the farthest corners of everypony's memories. One good thing did come of my actions, though. Celestia got what I wanted to say, and pressed to get a way to better defend Equestria. The six candidates she looked into wound up being the right ones, which was proven time and again, with Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, and Starlight Glimmer. One of them wound up taking the place I might have filled by becoming a princess. I was there for all of it, but always as an observer, never taking part. I was afraid to leave the safety of my forest home, for I didn't know how anypony would react to seeing me again, if they even remembered me at all. So I lived in the Everfree Forest as a 'lone wolf,' for more than a decade, while any memory of me faded from ponies minds. I never intended on being found, and I sure didn't think that I would ever leave these woods. I thought wrong. A Decade LaterIf there was one thing about living alone in the Everfree that I enjoyed, it would have to be the blissful silence that would occasionally fall in the woods. Everything would get so quiet, I couldn't help but just sit and relax, sometimes even falling into a state of meditation. Today, however, was very different. Sure, it was still quiet, but it didn't feel right. It was dead silent, but it didn't have that same sense of peace that it normally would. It was almost eerie. I decided I should look into it, so I left my makeshift log cabin, and headed for the edge of the forest. The whole trip there, I had an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Being alone out here could sometimes get to me, but the silence filled me with a whole new feeling. I felt empty, and it was starting to bother me. Eventually, I reached the edge of the woods, and I could see Ponyville in the distance. The town was normally bustling at this time of day, with ponies selling their various goods at the marketplace, with carts toting just about anything entering and exiting the town. Today, none of that was occurring. The town was just as dead as everything else. It almost seemed like a ghost town. There was no way I was leaving my wooded sanctuary to investigate, so I turned towards Zecora's place, instead. Zecora was the only pony I ever maintained relations with when I vanished from the face of the planet. She could see that I wasn't the traitor they branded me as, and helped me any way she could, including not telling anypony else about me. If anypony might know what was going on, it would be her. When I got there, her place was dark. I knocked on the door, but there was no response. Upon realizing that I was on my own, I got a sinking feeling. Something was wrong, but I didn't know what, how to fix it, or who to turn to. If I felt alone before, now I felt helpless. It was up to me to find out what was happening, but I didn't even know where to start. I waited for dusk to roll around, and when it did, I took my first steps outside of the forest in over ten years. I managed to convince myself that I had to investigate, but I wanted to avoid being seen. Slowly, I made my way to the outskirts of town, being careful to stay in the shadows. I didn't see anypony, but that didn't mean the town was totally abandoned. I scouted around for a good two hours, at least, but didn't encounter another living soul. It was like Ponyville had lost it's entire population, and it was furious about it. If I wanted answers, I might have to resort to knocking on doors. That wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that I would loose my cover that I had spent so many years in hiding to get. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like I had a choice. I spotted the castle belonging to the new princess. If I had heard right, her name was Twilight Sparkle, and she took the role as "Princess of Friendship." I really hoped she would also be good at forgiveness. I walked up to the big front doors, and stopped. Was I really willing to do this? Did I have a choice? Finally, I managed to muster up every ounce of courage I had, and raised my hoof. Knock knock. When I waited for a minute, but heard nothing, I gave up. Oh well. I guess nopony's home. As I turned to leave, however, I heard the door latch moving. As the door opened, a light purple unicorn stuck her head out. She looked as if she had just woken up. "Twilight?" "Nope. I'm Starlight Glimmer. The princess isn't here right now. Besides, isn't it a little late to be-- wait, are you an alicorn?" "Yes, I am. My name is Dawn." "I thought there were only five alicorns in Equestria." "Well there's actually a sixth, and you're looking at her." "I'm guessing you're a princess as well?" "I was, but that's a long story. May I come in?" "I told you that Twilight's not here." "I don't need her." "Then come in, I guess." She stepped aside, and I walked in while she closed the door behind me. "Are you here to help?" Starlight asked. "With what?" "You know: the whole missing princess thing." "The princess is missing?" "Yeah. You didn't know that?" "I've been out of the loop for a while." "Well, the princess has gone missing, along with half the town's population. Anypony that hasn't disappeared is hiding in their homes. Even some of the Elements are gone, too." "The what?" "The Elements? The Mane Six? You haven't heard of them? Where have you been?" "Again, it's a long story." "I'm not going anywhere." "Long story short, I kind of turned on Equestria, then felt bad about it, and went into hiding." "Welcome to the club." "What? Wait, Starlight Glimmer, I know why that name sounds familiar now. Your the Starlight Glimmer! The one that tried to take all of the Cutie Marks. Why are you in Twilight's castle?" "I guess you could say Twilight helped me." "Maybe she could do the same for me!" "We'll have to find her, first." "Right, so where do we start?" "Tomorrow." "What's that supposed to mean?" "We start tomorrow, so rest up. You can stay in one of the guest rooms. I'll show you how to get to them. When I first stayed here, I got lost really easily. You probably want to avoid that." "Thank you for your kindness. If you used to be evil, you've done a great job turning your life around." Saying this made her blush. "You know, not many ponies have ever bothered to tell me something like that. I guess I can say the same thing about you. I'm sure Twilight will see how nice you've become, and then she'll be more than willing to help you. Ah, here we are." She pushed open the door on her right. "If you need anything, I'll be right across the hall. Otherwise, it's been a pleasure meeting you, and I'll see you in the morning. Good night." "Good night." As she entered her own room, I peered into mine. Compared to my old room in Canterlot, this one was tiny, but after living in the woods for as long as I did, it was just nice to feel the air conditioning, let alone sleep in a proper bed. There was no way I was going to complain. Maybe Twilight can help me rebuild the life I lost, once we find her. Only time will tell. The PreparationsI woke up in a strange place, lying in a bed I didn't recognize. It took me a minute to realize how I got here. The guest bedroom came with its own bathroom, so I dragged myself from under the covers, and walked to the sink. Turning on the faucet, I splashed frozen water in my face, still not fully awake. The chilling water helped me wake up, but not entirely. There was a knock at the door, and I heard Starlight call. "Breakfast will be ready in around half an hour. The dining room is just up the hall, and to the right." "I'll be there. Thanks for the heads up." I shouted back. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and didn't quite recognize the pony on the other side. Usually that would be a bad thing, but this time was different. I still saw the same pony I saw in the reflection of ponds and streams, with her grey coat, her black mane with yellow streaks, and her electric eyes. That much didn't change, but the expression did. She normally appeared hopeless and defeated, filled with sadness, but today, I saw something new in her eyes. If I didn't know any better, I would almost think it was hope I also saw something else in the background: the shower. I hadn't taken hot shower since the day I ran away. I still bathed, but I had to do it under a freezing waterfall. If I had a half-hour before breakfast, I knew what I was going to spend it doing. I spun the knob all the way to the red, and let the water heat up. Once I could see the steam starting to reach over the top walls, I stepped in. Turning right, I walked through the doorway, and found myself right where Starlight said I would. I stood at the edge of what must have been the largest room in the castle. In the center was a round table, with seven chairs around it. Every chair had a marking, which I assumed was the Cutie Marks of the six ponies I had heard so much about, plus an extra chair for-- well, I didn't really know who that was for. Maybe an assistant of some sort? Starlight sat at the chair with a purple sparkle as its mark. It must have been Twilight's chair. I didn't know the names of the other five, or I would guess which belonged to which. "Here." Starlight said, levitating a plate of pancakes over to me. I took it with my magic, and set it at the seat on her left, marked with a trio of apples. "Sorry it's nothing fancy. Spike usually makes the meals here, but he went missing with Twilight. I had to cook it myself, and if I'm honest, they're not very good." "I'm sure they'll be fine. I had to live off of whatever I could scavenge up for ten years. Any homemade meal is fine by me." "We'll see if you feel that way after you take a bite." She joked. I sat next to her, and took my first bite. While she was right, I had eaten worse. I feigned a smile, and she let a laugh. "I'm glad to see that one of us likes them." "At least they're not inedible." "Are you implying that they are bad, after all?" She smiled. "Eh, I've had worse." I smiled back. "To tell you the truth, this isn't really the dining room. I'm still not sure of where it is, and I've been here for a while now." "Then where are we?" "This is both a conference room, and where the Cutie Map is kept." "Cutie Map?" "Yeah. When all six of them are in their appropriately matching seat, this table turns into a map of Equestria. It also activates on its own from time to time. It points out friendship problems, and picks the ponies necessary to fix it." "Incredible." "It may also be where I tried to ruin Twilight's life, in order to have my revenge." "may?" "Alright, well, it is where I tried to ruin her life. Is that better?" "Hey, who am I to judge. You've heard my story." We finished eating in silence, and then Starlight took hold of my dishes, and vanished through another doorway. While she was away, I turned my attention to the table in front of me. It was fascinating, that this table could hold so much power. I reached out, and ran my hoof across its glossy surface. As if on command, the table glowed to life! "Woah! Starlight! You need to see this!" I heard her drop what she was doing, and she popped through the doorway seconds later. "What's going on? Wait, the table's on!" "I don't know what I did, but look!" I pointed to a spot on the map. Above Canterlot floated a handful of Cutie Marks. Among them were mine and Starlight's. "No fair! I didn't get my first mission for at least a year." Complained Starlight. "Maybe the map is desperate." "It must be." "Well, either way, we need to find the other three, and get our flanks to Canterlot. Who do those marks belong to?" "We're going to need Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. I would suggest splitting up, but you have no idea where you're going, do you?" "Not a clue." "Rarity is closest, so we'll get her first. Let's go." "You said some of the Elements are missing. Are these the ones that aren't?" "Now that you mention it, I think they are." "Let's hope." Walking up to the fashionista's boutique, I couldn't see any lights on inside. Starlight gave me a brief run-through of who we would be meeting, which is the only reason I knew she cared about fashion. "Are you sure she's home?" I asked. "Only one way to find out." Starlight knocked on the door, and we heard movement inside. When they finally made their way to the door, they clicked the latch, and stepped outside. What I saw was not what I expected. Rarity was a mess, and her mascara was running like she had cried for hours. "Oh, hello Starlight. Any word on the princess?" "Actually, that's why we're here." "You found her?" "Maybe. We need your help to find out. The map is calling us to Canterlot." "Oh, alright. You'll have to give me a minute to get ready." With that, she walked back in, and shut the door. "Goodness, what happened to her?" I asked Starlight. "Her little sister, Sweetie Belle, is one of the missing ponies." "She looked heartbroken." "She is." The door re-opened, and the pony that stepped out look brand new. In one minute she managed to fix her hair, clear her mascara, and put on perfume to mask the smell of the lack of a decent shower. "Why can't you get ready that fast normally?" Starlight joked. "My sister isn't missing normally." She either missed the humor, or ignored it. Closing the door behind her, she noticed me for the first time. I had been off to the side, and she missed me the first time. "Hello. And you must be..." She waited for me to fill the blank. "Dawn. She's here to help get everypony back safely." Interjected Starlight. "And she's a princess? Why haven't I heard of her before?" "She's been an ambassador for Equestria, travelling to all of it's neighbors." "It's nice to have you with us." She nodded at me. "Listen, Rarity. Can you get Fluttershy, and meet us back at the castle? We have to grab AJ." "Sure. Let's get moving!" Before we had time to add anything else, she was on her way. Starlight started off as well, and I followed her. "Hey, thanks for covering for me back there." "Don't mention it. I know what it's like to loose everypony's trust, and I'm not about to have you go through the same thing." "Thank you." We made the rest of the trip in silence. The Journey BeginsAs we were on the path to the Apple Family Farm, a realization hit me, and my eyes flew open when it did. I turned to Starlight. "I've just remembered why I recognized Rarity!" "You recognized her?" "Yes! At first I thought maybe I knew somepony that looked like her, but it turns out I've seen her before. You remember the story of how I fought Chrysalis?" "No... Should I?" "Well, I guess I never filled you in on the whole thing. Basically, she's the reason I went into hiding. Anyways, while I was fighting her, I got blown through the wall of a house. When I got up and looked around, I saw that there was a birthday party going on." "So..." "It was Rarity's birthday party! Now, that wouldn't be a big deal, except Rarity might recognize me if we aren't careful." "Why would that matter?" "If Rarity figures out who I am, she might assume that I'm here to cause trouble. That could pose a problem." "I'm sure we'll be fine. She couldn't have been old enough to remember that anyways." "I sure hope so." We had reached the front door of the farm. "Just like last time. I'll do the talking, and you'll use the same cover that you used with Rarity." Starlight said. Unlike the other places we had passed, the farm still had a few lights on. We knocked, and the door was answered by a young filly. "Uh, hello Apple Bloom. Is Applejack here?" Starlight asked. "Yeah, she just came in for lunch. Should ah get her?" Was it lunchtime already? "Would you please?" "Sure!" We waited for about a minute, before an orange pony came to the door. "What can ah do for ya, Starlight?" "The map is summoning us to Canterlot. I think it has something to do with all the missing ponies." "Oh, well you're gonna have to give me a minute to say mah goodbyes." "We'll wait out here." "Who's we?" Asked Applejack. I took a step forward, and she turned to look at me. As she looked me over, her eyes caught my wings and horn, and then met my own. "You're a princess?" "Yes and no." I responded. "What's that supposed to mean?" "She's been treated more as an ambassador than a princess lately." Starlight interjected. "Why haven't I heard of you before?" "She's spent such a long time visiting neighbors of Equestria." "But why has nopony ever mentioned before? Ah've only heard of five alicorns." "They keep her existence quiet, in case some villain like Tirek comes along." "Can she answer her own questions?" "I'm a pony of few words. My name's Dawn. I'm assuming you're Applejack?" I stated before Starlight could make something up. "You're assuming correctly. Nice to meet you. Now, ah'm gonna tell the family what's going on, then ah'll be out." "We'll start walking back to the castle. Just catch up with us." And then we were off. In a few minutes, Applejack joined us. The whole walk back, she wouldn't stop staring at my wings. For somepony with an alicorn friend, she seemed fascinated by me. "Why do you keep staring at me?" "Aside from Twilight, ah don't hang around princesses very often, though ah do see them more often than most ponies. What's your title?" "My title?" "Yeah." "What do you mean?" "Well, Twilight's the Princess of Friendship. That's her title." "Ah, I see. I am the Princess of Diversity." "What's that supposed to mean?" "For a long time, I was a bit of an outsider. I managed to find ways to fit in, but I was always a standalone. With Celestia's guidance, I managed to figure out that I didn't need to conform in order to fit in, and I was fine the way I was. When I earned the role of princess, it became my job to help portray that message to other ponies who needed to hear it. I was essentially a more formal version of these Cutie Mark Crusaders I've been hearing about." "Since the CMC's are sort of stealing your job, what are you going to do now?" Applejack asked. Up until now, I hadn't thought of what I was going to do if Twilight was able to help me. I wasn't sure if the rest of the princesses would allow me to take back my title. "Maybe I could recruit them, or better yet, maybe I could see if they'll recruit me." "That'd be great for them! They're still so young, and that would help them make a bigger name for themselves. My little sister is one of the founders of the CMC's." "The one that answered the door?" "That's her." "She seemed nice enough." "Nice enough? That's all you thought of her?" I couldn't tell if she was joking or serious. Seeing my unease, her eyes softened. "Hey, relax. Ah'm just pullin' your leg." This made me feel a little better, but the conversation had died. Sensing the awkwardness creeping in, Starlight intervened. "We're here." She announced. Though this was half-true, we still had another five minutes before we would truly arrive. She was simply changing the subject. We entered the castle, and immediately made our way to the room where I had eaten breakfast. The thought of food made me hungry, as we had already missed lunchtime. Applejack took her seat, while Starlight reclaimed Twilight's. The seat I had used before was now occupied, so I sat on the other side of Starlight, right next to who I assumed was Fluttershy. This chair was marked with a multicolored lightning bolt, originating from a white cloud. The map had not deactivated, and everypony could see their Cutie Marks hovering in a circle over Canterlot. Although nopony had officially declared it, Starlight seemed to be taking the lead. "We all know why we're here. The Map is calling us to Canterlot, and I'm willing to bet anything that this has to do with the missing ponies." Announced Starlight. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going." Rarity said, not trying to hide her impatience. It seemed that Starlight had more she wanted to say, but the other two ponies sided with Rarity, so she cut her announcement short. "If you all feel that way, then I guess we can get started." Without another word, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy got up and walked out. Starlight hesitated, so I figured something was wrong. "Is everything alright?" I asked. "I'm not sure. Something just doesn't seem right, but I can't put my hoof on it." "You've got a whole train ride to figure it out. If you need somepony to talk to, I suppose you have me. I might not give the best advice, but I'm willing to listen." "No, it's fine." "At least let me know if you figure it out." "Will do." We joined the other three at the station, and then we were on our way to Canterlot. The LiesCanterlot was just as deserted as Ponyville was. If seeing Ponyville abandoned was eerie, seeing Canterlot like this was downright disturbing. It was filled with overwhelming senses of emptiness and depression. Seeing my hometown like this was crushing, but I had to keep it together. While Starlight was getting her bearings, the other three huddled around and started whispering, occasionally glancing over at me. That can't be good. I thought to myself. I tried to ignore it. "I'm assuming we're supposed to go to the castle." I stated, approaching Starlight. "You're probably right. I just can't shake the feeling that it's a trap." "What other choice do we have?" "We don't." "Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you something." "What's up?" "Do those three always act like that?" I asked, using my eyes to motion towards the trio. Noticing what they were up to for the first time, she looked puzzled. "No... No they don't. They might just be feeling a bit paranoid. Their friends are missing, after all. Should I ask them about it?" "If we bring it up, they might think we're onto them, which would only make their paranoia worse. Unless it becomes a problem, be should probably just let it alone." "Makes sense to me. We should probably start walking. The castle is a good half-hour from the station." "I'll follow you." As we drew near the castle, I thought of something that worried me. It was more of a worst case scenario than anything else, but I wanted to avoid the risk. "Hey, Starlight? Do you think we could make up an excuse, so I don't have to go in there?" "Why wouldn't you want to... oh, that's right. Well, maybe Celestia is in a forgiving mood?" "With so many ponies missing, she's more likely to be in a panic. Seeing me might make things worse. She might even think I'm behind all of this." "Good point. How about this: you can branch off, and I'll tell the others that you're looking for other potential friendship problems." "That could work." "Just meet back outside the castle by the time we're done talking to the Princess. It shouldn't be long." "Guess I'll see you in half an hour-ish." We parted ways, and when I looked back, I could see the other three, who were loosely following us, staring after me. Not five minutes passed, before my mind started to wander. There were so many things to think about. First I thought about how odd Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were. I tried to think of reasons explaining why they were behaving that way, but they just felt off. Then my mind moved to the missing three, and I wondered if they were just as strange. Then, thinking about all six of them, I remembered the map they had. Starlight had told me many things about that map, like how it sensed friendship problems, how it knew which ponies were needed for the job, and how it could almost communicate with the six, in order to let them know if they were needed. Wait... the map could alert the ponies it needed. If that were the case, then why did we have to go and get them... I bolted through the castle doors, right into the throne room. Sprinting to the end of the hall, I skidded to a stop beside Starlight. Applejack looked over, and seemed puzzled. "Weren't you--" "Yes, I was, and I found one." I cut her off. "It's something that requires Starlight's attention, but not you three." I said, pointing to her. Starlight walked over to me, and we took a few steps away from the group, in order to have a somewhat private conversation. "What's going on? I thought you were staying outside." "I was, but something came up." e "Is something wrong?" "Yes, very. You remember telling me about the Cutie Map?" "Sure." "Then you must remember telling me that the map can alert anypony it needs to in order to solve friendship problems." "what's your point?" "Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were called by the map." "Yes, and..." "When we went to get them, they had no idea that the map had called them." Starlight's eyes widened as she started putting pieces together. "Plus, we both noticed that they aren't acting like themselves." I continue. "What do you think is going on?" "You told me that you defeated Chrysalis, and she vowed to have her revenge. I'm thinking that this is her revenge play. And, to make matters worse, I'm fairly certain that she wants to destroy me after I betrayed her." By now, the other three had gotten impatient, and Celestia was trying to figure out why she had seen me before. The only thing that kept her form figuring it out already was that Starlight was in her way, and she couldn't get a clear line of sight. Strangely, Luna was nowhere to be seen. "What do we do? Should we tell the Princess?" "Of course we should!" I whisper-yelled. Starlight spun around, and took a step to the side , finally giving Celestia a good look at me. As soon as we made eye contact, I could see that she recognized me. "What are you doing back here, you traitor?! I thought I banished you to Tartarus." She prepared to order the Royal Guard to arrest me. I had to act fast. "Wait! I have something I need to tell you!" "What could you possibly have to tell me?" "I think the last remaining Changelings have-- wait, why did you think you banished me? I got away. You should have known that." I lightly nudged Starlight, and we both began to slowly back away. We had three quarters of the room to cover, and Celestia would surely notice that we were backing away before we even got halfway. Still, any head start we could gain would be helpful. "Of course I knew that! I was just-- oh, who am I kidding? You've already figured me out. That's why you're trying to get to the exit. Well, at least I don't have to look like this anymore." After she said this, she emitted a green aura. In a matter of seconds, it as no longer Princess Celestia standing in front of us. Where she had stood, there was now a monstrosity I had met only one other time: an abomination known as Queen Chrysalis. She turned towards her guards, who now looked like Changelings, and yelled. "Get them, you fools!" "Dawn! what do we do?!" Starlight asked. "You shouldn't need to ask me! RUN! The UprisingThe sun was now high in the sky, and the top of old Changeling Hive was just barely visible on the horizon. After we had gotten out of Canterlot, we hadn't encountered a single creature. Not pony, nor Changeling. If this walk was to take any longer, I was going to collapse from exhaustion. "Have you put any thought towards how we're going to get in some rest?" I asked. "Not really. That probably would have been a good thing to think of before we left." Starlight responded. "Yeah, no kidding. I hope we can squeeze in a nap before we head back to Canterlot." "Maybe the Changelings will need time to get ready. That's when we'll sleep." "That's assuming they take forever to get ready. Odds are there's only going to be fifteen minutes, tops." "Why do you have to be such a downer?" "Me!? I'm the downer!? Do you even listen to yourself when you talk?" "No, not really." We laughed. Like Starlight had said, it had taken all night, and half the day, but we had finally arrived. I had never been here before, but I could tell that this place had once been meant to strike fear into the hearts of potential attackers. While it had recently taken on a less hostile mood, it was still a bit eerie. This place did not, however, have the feeling of emptiness that I had recently noticed in Ponyville and Canterlot. That meant good news for us. "It looks like a maze in there. Do you know where you're going?" "Sort of. At least the walls aren't moving anymore." "The walls used to move?" "Back when Chrysalis was in charge, yes. They stopped when we blew up the throne." "Sounds like I missed all the fun." "In the heat of the moment, it was anything but fun. Now come on. We have to get to the top. That's where the throne room is." "Once again, I find myself saying: 'I'll follow you.'" We passed a few of the 'Reformed' Changelings on the way to the top, and I have to say: they were definitely different. I didn't even realize they were Changelings at first. I had to have Starlight tell me why there were strange looking ponies roaming the Changeling hive. Finally, we made it to the top, where we were greeted by a slightly larger Changeling- presumably the new leader. Starlight introduced him as Thorax, before going off to talk alone. Having nothing else to do, I laid down against one of the walls, and passed out. Who knew walking for almost twenty-four hours straight could be so exhausting? I rose before the sun, early in the morning. Starlight had fallen asleep pressed up against me, which would have been weird if the room wasn't freezing. It was mid-spring, meaning that the nights were still cold enough to leave frost in the morning. Aside from us, the room was empty. The Changelings had all gone off to their version of bedrooms for the night. This struck me as worrisome, as it may mean that they weren't willing to help. I slowly got up, so as not to wake Starlight, and walked out to the balcony. The sky was just beginning to change colors, indicating that the sun would soon be joining us. I simply stared at the horizon. Though I had seen it thousands of times, I still found the sunrise to be one of the most beautiful things. Being named after it didn't help. I watched the new dawn until I heard hoofsteps behind me, and a groggy voice call my name. I must not have gotten up slowly enough, but that was fine. It would be nice to have somepony to share the sunrise with. "Sorry, Starlight. I tried not to wake you." "No, no. It's fine. I needed to wake up anyways." "What's the word from the Changelings? Will they help?" "Yes, actually. They want a chance to get back at Chrysalis for all of her crimes. They wanted to leave shortly after sunrise." "I was afraid that they weren't going to help, since they had gone to sleep." "They simply wanted a good night's sleep before the inevitable fighting takes place." "That's the first good news I've heard in days. This calls for a celebration!" "Take it easy there. You're starting to remind me of Pinkiepie." "First, I have no idea who that is, and second, that's not what I meant. I simply wanted to watch the sunrise, and I was hoping you'd join me? "I don't see why not." And so we watched the sun rise, standing side by side in the frigid air. I didn't want to say anything, because it might ruin the moment. Similarly, Starlight remained silent. We stood, and we stared, and I became aware of something. I was feeling something that I almost didn't recognize. For the first time in a very long time, I actually cared for somepony. I had the first pony I was willing to call a friend since before I was branded as a traitor. What would I do if I lost her? Hopefully, I would never find out. With the sun now fully visible, and the first Changeling beginning to rise, we went back inside. Thorax met us there, and we began discussing our plan of attack. "Scouts report that there are more of them than originally anticipated. I've also heard that there are still several squads of the Royal Guard in hiding. If we add up our numbers, plus the last of the Royal Guard, we still may not have enough to win this fight." Thorax reported. "We may not need to wipe them out. If you lead the main force in from the west, I can use the initial chaos to lead a small team in from the east." Starlight stated. "You just need to buy us enough time to reach Chrysalis." "I just don't understand how there could be so many of them. When we beat her, the majority of the Changelings sided with us." "You seem to forget that she's the one that lays the eggs." I added. "Now that you say that, it does make sense." Starlight agreed. "That just means we have to stop her for good, this time. I'll assign you two a small detail. When we kick down the front door, you slip in the back." "Understood." "Then we need to get moving. I want to be there by noon." That was it. The plans were made, and the Changelings began taking to the skies. Realizing that Starlight was the only one who couldn't fly, I asked how she planned to get there. "Using our combined magic, we should be able to teleport the entire way." She explained. "Why didn't we do that to get here?! That walk was exhausting!" "Because I've never tried such a teleportation before, and I didn't want to risk winding up in the castle, where the enemy was." "I guess that makes sense." I admitted. Soon, we were joined by four Changelings, and we prepared to cast the spell. By simply concentrating on where we wanted to go, we were there. Now it was just a waiting game. When Thorax's troops engaged on the western side, we would slip in, and go for Chrysalis. Unfortunately, we were at least two hours ahead of Thorax, so we would be here for some time. All we could do was prepare for the upcoming fight. What we didn't know, was that no amount of preparation would really make us ready for these next few hours. There's a very good chance that what happens next will define the future of Equestria, and quite possibly, the world. The Journey EndsA week ago, I wouldn't have cared about how things turned out, as my world had already fallen apart. Now, here I am, a week later, fighting to save ponies that either forgot about me, or despise me, and all because of one mare. The only mare I called a friend. It had been about two hours, and we could hear the first signs of fighting in the west. That was our cue. The six of us stood up, and began to make our way into the city. We ducked into every side alley and doorway, trying to stay out of sight. As we made a right, we came face-to-face with a Changeling patrol. Not knowing what else to do, I kicked one of them in the face, while one of our escorts took the other one, knocking them out. As we moved up, I noticed the looks of awe I was receiving from the escort. I must have impressed them with my fighting skills. "Is there a reason you four are staring at me?" "It's just, we didn't think you'd be able to fight." One of them responded. "Why? Because I'm a princess?" "Yes." That made me feel just great. When you're a princess, you have to get used to having ponies make assumptions about you. I would never fully become accustomed to that fact, but I learned to suppress the fact that it offends me. As we reached the castle doors, I felt a deep sense of dread. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were walking into a trap. Unfortunately, we had to press on, so we shoved open the doors, and entered the main hall. When the doors shut behind us, one of the escorts perked up. Everypony else noticed this, and froze. Quickly, he snapped back to his senses, and ushered us into a hallway. When we asked what was wrong, he stated that we had to get out of the open. The words had barely left hi mouth, when the room we had just left exploded into a flurry of distinct green lightning bolts: Changeling magic. When the shooting had died down, the room filled with Changelings, trying to find out what they had just killed. What they found instead, was that their prey was trying to escape down a hall. Knowing that Starlight and I took priority, we were told to run, while the escort held off the attackers as long as they could. If we weren't after Chrysalis, I would have stayed to help. Sadly, that wasn't an option. I followed Starlight down the hall, and up a flight of stairs. She knew where she was going, but I sure didn't. "Where are we going? I asked. "If Chrysalis knows we're coming, she'll be waiting for us at the top, on the highest balcony." "How do you know that?" "She likes to be in a position of power. That's why her throne room sat at the top of her hive." "Wouldn't we just be walking into another trap?" "She may be arrogant, but she's not stupid. She wouldn't pull the same trick twice." And so we climbed the staircase as high as we could go. But that wasn't the end. We ran down more halls, and into a small, two story library- likely Celestia's personal library- and up a spiral set of stairs. On the second floor of the library, we stepped into a small reading alcove, with an open hatch in the ceiling. This hatch had a drop-down set of stairs, leading to another spiral staircase. Unlike the others, however, this one was very narrow, and very steep. Though I had never seen it before, I knew it must lead to the top of the highest tower in the castle. "How many stairs are we going to have to climb?" I whined. "Tired already?" Starlight teased. "Tired of all these stairs!" "This is the last set. Can you make it?" "Of course I can. I just don't want to." "Well, if we're going to save Equestria, you're going to have to suck it up." "That was harsh." "I was a villain! Compared to what I could have said, that was pretty mild." "Oww! You're hurting my frail princess feelings!" I pretended to be offended. "At least I didn't assume that you don't know how to fight." "This is true." We shared a laugh. Then I took on a more serious tone. "Hey, I just want you to know that, whatever happens up there, I'm proud to call you my friend." "Aww, why you gotta' go and kill the mood like that?" "Sorry, I didn't think-" "You're fine. I'm glad you've got my flank." We reached the top. The stairs opened into a small room, with a few books placed on pedestals. These definitely weren't the books you would find in a generic library. They all had special designs on them, and some of the covers even looked to be in different languages. Any language besides Equestrian had died out, and the only place to find them now was in extremely old spell books. The only places with old spell books were the personal libraries of great wizards and magicians, and they usually only had one or two, if you could find any at all. Celestia may have some explaining to do. As we reached the glass door in the back, and the only door in the room, Starlight motioned for me to stay put. "Just stay here, in case something goes wrong." "Why can't I go out there with you?" "I want to see if I can talk her out of this." "She didn't listen last time. What do you have that could change her mind?" "The fact that I don't attack her the moment I walk out there. If she sees that, after everything she's don to me, I still don't try to vaporize her, maybe she'll respect me more." Chrysalis and respect just didn't go together, but Starlight was bent on this, so I let her try. "Okay, just be careful. I'll be right here, and if something goes wrong, I'll be there in the time it takes for Chrysalis' heart to beat." She opened the door, and walked to the railing, where the evil queen sat in wait. From through the crack in the door, I couldn't hear what was being said. The conversation started in a half-civil manner, but quickly escalated. I could hear once the yelling started. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Chrysalis yelled, a tear rolling down her face. "YOU DESROYED EVERYTHING I HAD!" "I know! Twilight did the same to me, but she gave me a chance to rebuild! I can do the same for you!" Chrysalis paused, and considered Starlight's words. She seemed like she was actually going to take the offer. Then, she blew Starlight off the balcony. The AftermathMy eyes narrowed as adrenaline filled my veins, and time came to a halt. My mind blocked out everything except for my two choices. I could use this opportunity to get rid of this evil monstrosity, once and for all, or I could save Starlight. If I did that, it would give Chrysalis a chance to run. For me, there was really only one option. I wasn't going to let my only friend fall to her death, but I wasn't letting this thing get away, either. I dashed onto the balcony, firing a bolt of pure rage at the queen. She turned just in time for it to hit her in the face. Without stopping, I went right over the edge. Starlight had fainted from the hit, and had already fallen a third of the distance. I closed the gap in half a second, and grabbed her by her midsection, almost like a tight hug. What I didn't realize at the time, was that I became one of two ponies to ever create a Sonic Rainboom in that half-second. The blast had been so large, all fighting in Canterlot stopped, and everypony turned to the castle. Running on rage and adrenaline, I was back to the balcony before Chrysalis had even hit the ground. Starlight began to wake up as I set her down, which was the only thing that saved that evil queen from dying, right then, by my hooves. As I prepared to finish her off, Starlight stopped me. "Wait!" She yelled faintly. "If you finish her, we'll never know where our friends are." Though they were truly her friends, I controlled myself. I was never a killer, but seeing somepony harm my friend had pushed me to the edge. Starlight stood, and walked to Chrysalis, who was still laying on the ground. When she stood over her, the queen spoke. "After everything I've done to you, you still can't bring yourself to end me? How pathetic." Her voice was raspy, as she had taken quite the hit. "No, because unlike you, I'm a civil being. You are just downright evil. You're a monster, but nopony deserves to die. Besides, I believe that you weren't always this way." "Well you're wrong." "No, I don't think I am. I think that you were an ally of Equestria's, hundreds of years ago. You were capable of friendship, until somepony hurt you." "You don't know anything!" "But I do. Somepony hurt you somehow, so you built your walls. You hid yourself from everypony, and devised a way to get revenge." I couldn't see where Starlight was going with this, but it was working. There were tears on Chrysalis' face. "You started blaming everypony, and treated them all as if they hurt you. Slowly, you believed your own lies." "STOP!" "You blamed everypony for your problems!" "STOP IT!" "But why?! Why do you blame others?!" "STOP IT NOW!" "I think you blame everypony because it's easier than blaming yourself!" "YOU'RE WRONG!" "No, you're wrong, Chrysalis! STOP TELLING YOURSELF THESE LIES!" "Please, stop." She stopped trying to hold back her tears. "No. No, I won't stop, because deep down, you know it's true. And if you would only let somepony in, to show you that we aren't all out to hurt you, you wouldn't be so afraid. I can be that pony, but you have to let down your walls, and open the gate. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already." "How do I know that you don't just want to mentally break me." "I guess you're just going to have to take my word. I promise that I am not that kind of pony. I don't know who hurt you, or how they did it, but not everypony is like that. You just need a friend you can trust." Starlight reached out her hoof, and Chrysalis flinched, before taking it. Starlight and I helped her to her hooves, and Starlight gave some last words of assurance. "I promise that Dawn and I will do everything in our power to help you through whatever Celestia throws at you. That reminds me: where is Celestia?" It would be a long time before things truly returned to normal, but they were slowly getting there. We had found all of the missing ponies in the dungeons below the castle. They would have tried to find a way to escape, had they not bee trapped in Changeling stasis pods of some sort. Chrysalis' punishment had been a lot lighter than everypony expected, as Celestia was willing to give her a chance to prove herself. Twilight and the others had a lot to teach her, but it wasn't impossible. I was about to enter the Canterlot Throne Room, where Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight would all be waiting. Starlight was by my side, to help show them that I had changed. These next few minutes would define my entire future. I would either be given a second chance, or thrown into Tartarus. Preferably the former. A Royal Guardspony came through the door, and nodded to me. "They're ready for you, Princess Dawn." I turned to Starlight, who gave me a reassuring smile. "He called you princess. That's a good sign, right?" "It could just be a formality, but I hope you're right." We stepped inside, and walked to the front of the room. As we approached the ponies who would determine my future, Twilight let out a chuckle. Celestia turned to her. "Is something funny, Twilight?" "Well, not funny per say. More so ironic than anything else." "And...?" "You see, not long ago Starlight was in the same situation that Princess Dawn is in now. And here we are now, with Starlight helping another pony through what she went through." "That just means that you were right about Starlight Glimmer. Maybe you will be able to do the same for Princess Dawn?" Princess Cadence chimed. "I don't believe I have to." Twilight surprised us all. "What do you mean? Is Dawn unable to be helped?" Princess Luna asked. "I just think that Starlight beat me to it. Dawn has already been helped." "What do you propose we do, then?" Starlight replied. "I think the only pony who can answer that is you, Starlight. What do you propose we do?" "I think that you should allow me to take her under my wing, as you did for me, and Celestia to you." "Are you up to the task?" Twilight inquired. Starlight looked at me, and I looked at Starlight. We met each other's eyes and nodded in unison. She turned back to Twilight and the others. "I think I can handle it." The "Plan B" (Or Lack Thereof)We ducked into a side alley, and stopped at the back door of some house. We tried it, but it was (unsurprisingly) locked. Usually ponies are friendly enough to leave your doors unlocked, but with everything that has been going on, I could understand why somepony would want to lock their doors. "We have to get off the streets." I stated. "Let me try something." She faced away from the door. "This is a trick Applejack taught me." Then, she bucked the door, breaking the lock. "Wow." "You think that's impressive? You should see Applejack do it. She would have taken it off of it's hinges." "While that would be cool, then we wouldn't have a door to close behind us." "Point taken. After you." She gestured to the doorway. We walked in, and checked to see if anypony was home, but the place was abandoned. I sat on one of the couches, and tried to brainstorm ideas. I came up with nothing. "How do we find a way out of this?" I asked Starlight. "I don't know if we can. I thought the Changelings were reformed." "Well, maybe a few still sided with Chrysalis, like a Changeling Rebellion or something." "Maybe you're right, but that still doesn't tell us how we can stop this." "If we don't do something, they will just track us down. We'll always be in hiding, or on the run. I'm not going back to a life in the shadows." "What do you propose we do? We don't know who to trust, and we're miles from home. Nopony is going to help us." "I've spent long enough on my own to know how to look after myself. For years I had to live with the mentality that nopony could help me, so I've become somewhat of an expert at operating on my own." "How did you live like that? With nopony to talk to, and no friends to have your back?" "The same way we're going to live right now." "But that doesn't answer my question." "We're going to make our own path, improvise, and find ponies we can trust." "Like who? Anypony could secretly be a Changeling, and we'd never know until it was too late." I had an idea, but it was just a spark. It could work, but only if that spark could catch fire. "Then why don't we go to the Changelings themselves for help?" "You mean the one's I reformed?" "Precisely." "You know... that might work." She paced the room, thinking over my proposal. I couldn't hear her thoughts, but she must have been in a heated, mental debate. Finally, she spoke. "There's a lot of variables- a lot of things we won't be able to control, which I don't like. However, it also has the highest chance of success, assuming everything works out." "Are we going for it?" "I guess we are. There's a lot of problems long the way, though. For instance, how do we get out of Canterlot without getting caught?" Looking out the window, I came up with an answer. "What if I made a diversion on the other side of town? I could lead them into thinking we were coming for Chrysalis head-on." "But you're the only pony I'm willing to trust right now. I can't loose you." "Relax. I've got wings, and I know how to use them well. I've had them for more than a decade, and in that time, there was very little to do. The only things I ever really did to pass the time was: practicing flying, and using magic. Do you know how hard it is to fly through a forest without hitting any trees?" "No, but I can imagine it would be hard." "And you would be right. By the time I left those woods, I was a master at avoiding the trees, while still maintaining top speeds." "If we get out of this, you have got to tell that to Rainbow Dash. She'll probably view you as a goddess or something." "I still don't even know who that is." "You don't know Rainbow Dash?!" "You must have forgotten where I have been living for the past decade." I joked. "Now look, the sun is going down. Once it's dark, we should get moving." "Why don't we leave now?" "We can use the cover of darkness to avoid being noticed." "Good idea." Fifteen minutes after the sun had dipped below the horizon, two shadows could be seen exiting a home, and going separate ways. Aside from the Changeling patrols looking for those same shadows, Canterlot was quiet. Nothing moved, and nothing dared to make a sound. It was a ghost town, but even the ghosts had vanished. While one shadow slowly crept to the edge of town, the other made its way the heart of the city. After around ten minutes, there was an explosion. Something had been hit with a yellow bolt of magic, which caused it to detonate at the foot of a staircase. That exact staircase happened to lead right to the front door of the Royal Castle. While Changelings disguised as Royal Guard scrambled to discover the cause of this explosion, a lone shadow glided through the night sky, before landing beside its fellow shadow. Nopony saw it soaring away, as everypony was too distracted by the chaos by the castle entrance. All of this went exactly according to plan. I landed silently, as Starlight waited patiently. "I told you I knew what I was doing." I said. "That wasn't exactly the diversion I was expecting." "What, did you think I was going to stand on the castle steps, and yell 'HEY CHANGELINGS! I'M HERE TO DISTRACT YOU! COME BE DISTRACTED BY ME!'" "Well, no, but... alright, maybe that is kinda' what I was expecting." "What's funny is that they probably would have bought it, too." We both shared a laugh. "Are you ready to go? This is going to take all night, and the better half of the day on hoof." Starlight asked. "I've been ready." "Then I suppose it's time to get moving." With this, we were on our way to the Changeling Hive.
The BetrayalIt had been two months since my coronation as the “Princess of Diversity,” and something needed to change. I thought that being a princess would bring changes, but so far, nothing was very different. Sure, I was now royalty, and ponies viewed me differently as a result, but nothing major had really happened. I had the same home, I walked the same streets, I talked to the same friends. The only big change I really noticed was that Princess Celestia was no longer hanging over my shoulder, watching my every move. Now, the obvious question would be ‘why is this a bad thing?’ Well, that’s just it: Nopony seemed to see the problem. Nopony except for me. At any given moment, some monster could walk out of the Everfree Forest, and decimate a town. At any given moment, the changelings could attempt to overthrow Equestria, or Discord could break free, causing chaos wherever he went. Whenever they wanted, somepony could just up and betray Equestria. Granted, none of that had happened in some time, but I didn't like the fact that it could. Somepony had to do something to show Equestria that it wasn't as safe as it was proclaimed to be. The other option was to arm ourselves with the Elements of Harmony to defend Equestria, but we would need six ponies who could connect with them. While Celestia had told me that she had been keeping an eye on some potential candidates, I doubted that they would actually work out. I decided that I would take matters into my own hands, in order to prove that we had no real way of defending ourselves. I would 'turn evil' and attack Equestria. I was just going to cause a slight ruckus, maybe knock down an abandoned building or two. Then I would wait to see how long it took for somepony to try and stop me. After that I would just act like I lost, only to show that it was all fake, and prove my point. That was the plan, at least. Unfortunately, everypony knows that things never go according to plan, and this was no exception. Ponyville would be the target of my "attack," since it was a quiet town, where all the citizens thought they were perfectly safe. It was the perfect place for me to make my point, as they had no means to stop something like this. Once everything was in place, I hopped a train to Ponyville, and I was on my way. Some of the ponies seemed a bit surprised to see me leaving Canterlot by train, and without my escort. One Pegasus even worked up the courage to sit beside me, and ask a few questions. "Umm, excuse me, Princess Dawn? If you don't mind my asking, what is a princess doing on a train? Don't you normally have carriages to ride in?" "Well, yes, but I never liked to ride in them. It makes me feel too special. I might be an alicorn, but I don't like giving off the impression that I think I'm better than anypony else." "What business do you have in Ponyville?" I was caught a little bit off guard, but I managed to come up with something on the fly. "I was invited to a party that a friend of mine is hosting, and I managed to fit it into my schedule." "Oh really?! Me too! Who's you're friend?" Darn it! I really should have been prepared for follow-up questions. "I can't tell you that." "Well, maybe I can tag along, and see if we're going to the same place." "I'm afraid now isn't a good time. I have to get off here." "The train doesn't stop for another ten minutes" "I'm getting off here." "While the train is still moving?" "Yup." And with that, I made my way out the doors at the back of the car, and jumped off. While I still wasn't one-hundred percent accustomed to my wings, I was good enough to catch myself before I hit the ground. No, I wasn't crazy. I had a reason for bailing from a moving train: I wanted to approach Ponyville from the air. This way, I could get a good view of the town, so I could pick buildings to attack without any casualties. I was prepared to bail from the train. I wasn't prepared, however, to have a follower. The Pegasus from the train had followed me, and was now trailing me. "What are you doing, kid?" I asked. "Right now, that doesn't matter. What does is: what are you doing? But wait, you don't have to answer that. I already know, and I want to help." "You don't know what you're talking about, kid. Besides, even if you did, what could you do to help me?" "I believe I can answer that without verbally explaining anything. Allow me to demonstrate." And as she added that last statement, the cyan Pegasus melted away, revealing a changeling. But to make matters worse, this was no ordinary changeling- this was the leader of the changelings, herself! "Queen Chrysalis?!" "In the flesh. Why are you so shocked? You should be overjoyed to know that I'll be helping you." "It's just that, well... how did you know what I was up to?" "Does that matter right now? We have work to do." Before I could respond, she flew ahead, and began eyeing up her first targets. Luckily, she couldn't see through my façade, meaning I had the drop on her. Unfortunately, Chrysalis would be about as powerful as me, making her an incredibly tough opponent. I could let her attack, and wear herself down a bit, but that would mean letting her level half of Ponyville, and I would never be forgiven. But what other choices did I have? So I let her go, and watched in horror as she destroyed an entire home in one blast, only to frown when she discovered that it was empty, and turn to the next one. She went on to decimate ten more, before turning back to me. "Why aren't you helping me?" She asked, and I could hear suspicion in her voice. "I don't think I can do it, but I won't stand in your way, either." "If you're not going to help me, then I will treat you as an enemy. You've already betrayed Equestria, are you willing to lose all of your allies in one day?" "I guess I am." "Where will you go? Who will you turn to?" "I'll go out on my own, if I have to. I've heard that the life of a 'lone wolf' can be quite adventurous." "You won't last a day on your own. I won't let you." "You don't have a say in what I do with my life." "But I do have the power to end it." "Ha! You don't even have the power to try." "You've got a lot of nerve, talking to me like that." "Look who's talking. You just threatened a princess." "A princess who has no way to back herself up, seeing as though she recently betrayed her country." "Are you implying that a princess has no way to defend herself?" "Yes, I am, and I can prove it, too." Then, she fired at me. I had been anticipating the shot, and easily dodged it, before sending one of my own. She hadn't been quite as prepared, and only narrowly avoided it. Before she had a chance to recover, I let loose another bolt, striking her center mass. It hadn't been very concentrated, and only knocked the wind out of her. However, in a fit of rage, she managed to hit me with a shot that was quite a bit more volatile. I was sent careening into a building, crashing through the wall. My abrupt entry was met with the screams of several fillies, gathered around a birthday cake. Jeez, talk about party crashing. They calmed down a bit when they figured out who I was, but they were still terrified. "Uhh, hello. Happy birthday," I squinted to read the name on the cake, "Rarity. Sorry I ruined it for you. Anyways, I have to go. Enjoy the rest of your party." That moment couldn't have been any more awkward. I quickly made my way back outside, being sure to use the door this time, and took to the skies. As soon as I was above the rooftops, I was almost sent right back down by another blast. Acting fast, a traced the bolt back to it's source, and spotted Chrysalis above the town hall. "You know, for somepony who's lost everything, you've got a lot of fight left. Just give up already." "There's still one thing left that I can fight for." "What's that?" "Bragging rights." "That's why you're fighting?! You know, I like you, kid. It's a shame I can't let you live." "Your pretty lost if you really think that's why I'm fighting. Just because my friends might stop caring about me, doesn't mean I have to give up on them." "Yeah yeah. Spare me the friendship nonsense. Let's just get back to it." Without any other warning, she bolted for me, aiming to tackle me. I strafed left, and followed up with another blast of magic, this time being sure to charge it more. As she came to a stop, the bolt made its mark, right on her back. She reeled, but still didn't go down. If I wanted to beat her, I would have to use something more powerful. I fired a beam, and she caught it midway with one of her own, entering us in a magical power struggle. The stronger or more motivated pony tended to be the winner of these 'magical duels.' The bad news was that it was impossible to tell which one of us that was, beforehand. This was just a shot in the dark, and all I could do was pray to Celestia that it was me. At first, I was winning, but then Chrysalis pushed back, and almost took the win. I gave it everything I had, but only managed to push the epicenter back to the middle. Sweat ran down my face, as Chrysalis suffered the same fate. We both put in everything, but nothing happened for the longest time. I started to think of the faces of ponies I cared for, which was just enough motivation to push the border back to my opponent. Unable to do anything, her expression of hatred faded to horror, as she began to panic. The panicking only made matters worse for her, and eventually, she lost entirely. The center ball of light met her horn, and she was blasted backwards. She managed to recover with surprising speed, but she was too smart to come back for more. Queen Chrysalis shot me one last dirty look, before turning to flee. I could have given chase, but we both knew she was beaten. And anyways, I now had new problems. The Royal Guard had begun to arrive, and I knew that they would be looking for me. I ran deep into the Everfree Forest, not once looking back. That was the last time almost anypony would see of me for more than a decade. Celestia erased most records of my existence, knowing that it would be better If I was just forgotten. Over time, exactly that happened. Ponies started to forget my name, my face, my status. I became a rumor, then a myth, then nothing, as I faded the farthest corners of everypony's memories. One good thing did come of my actions, though. Celestia got what I wanted to say, and pressed to get a way to better defend Equestria. The six candidates she looked into wound up being the right ones, which was proven time and again, with Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, and Starlight Glimmer. One of them wound up taking the place I might have filled by becoming a princess. I was there for all of it, but always as an observer, never taking part. I was afraid to leave the safety of my forest home, for I didn't know how anypony would react to seeing me again, if they even remembered me at all. So I lived in the Everfree Forest as a 'lone wolf,' for more than a decade, while any memory of me faded from ponies minds. I never intended on being found, and I sure didn't think that I would ever leave these woods. I thought wrong.
A Decade LaterIf there was one thing about living alone in the Everfree that I enjoyed, it would have to be the blissful silence that would occasionally fall in the woods. Everything would get so quiet, I couldn't help but just sit and relax, sometimes even falling into a state of meditation. Today, however, was very different. Sure, it was still quiet, but it didn't feel right. It was dead silent, but it didn't have that same sense of peace that it normally would. It was almost eerie. I decided I should look into it, so I left my makeshift log cabin, and headed for the edge of the forest. The whole trip there, I had an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Being alone out here could sometimes get to me, but the silence filled me with a whole new feeling. I felt empty, and it was starting to bother me. Eventually, I reached the edge of the woods, and I could see Ponyville in the distance. The town was normally bustling at this time of day, with ponies selling their various goods at the marketplace, with carts toting just about anything entering and exiting the town. Today, none of that was occurring. The town was just as dead as everything else. It almost seemed like a ghost town. There was no way I was leaving my wooded sanctuary to investigate, so I turned towards Zecora's place, instead. Zecora was the only pony I ever maintained relations with when I vanished from the face of the planet. She could see that I wasn't the traitor they branded me as, and helped me any way she could, including not telling anypony else about me. If anypony might know what was going on, it would be her. When I got there, her place was dark. I knocked on the door, but there was no response. Upon realizing that I was on my own, I got a sinking feeling. Something was wrong, but I didn't know what, how to fix it, or who to turn to. If I felt alone before, now I felt helpless. It was up to me to find out what was happening, but I didn't even know where to start. I waited for dusk to roll around, and when it did, I took my first steps outside of the forest in over ten years. I managed to convince myself that I had to investigate, but I wanted to avoid being seen. Slowly, I made my way to the outskirts of town, being careful to stay in the shadows. I didn't see anypony, but that didn't mean the town was totally abandoned. I scouted around for a good two hours, at least, but didn't encounter another living soul. It was like Ponyville had lost it's entire population, and it was furious about it. If I wanted answers, I might have to resort to knocking on doors. That wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that I would loose my cover that I had spent so many years in hiding to get. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like I had a choice. I spotted the castle belonging to the new princess. If I had heard right, her name was Twilight Sparkle, and she took the role as "Princess of Friendship." I really hoped she would also be good at forgiveness. I walked up to the big front doors, and stopped. Was I really willing to do this? Did I have a choice? Finally, I managed to muster up every ounce of courage I had, and raised my hoof. Knock knock. When I waited for a minute, but heard nothing, I gave up. Oh well. I guess nopony's home. As I turned to leave, however, I heard the door latch moving. As the door opened, a light purple unicorn stuck her head out. She looked as if she had just woken up. "Twilight?" "Nope. I'm Starlight Glimmer. The princess isn't here right now. Besides, isn't it a little late to be-- wait, are you an alicorn?" "Yes, I am. My name is Dawn." "I thought there were only five alicorns in Equestria." "Well there's actually a sixth, and you're looking at her." "I'm guessing you're a princess as well?" "I was, but that's a long story. May I come in?" "I told you that Twilight's not here." "I don't need her." "Then come in, I guess." She stepped aside, and I walked in while she closed the door behind me. "Are you here to help?" Starlight asked. "With what?" "You know: the whole missing princess thing." "The princess is missing?" "Yeah. You didn't know that?" "I've been out of the loop for a while." "Well, the princess has gone missing, along with half the town's population. Anypony that hasn't disappeared is hiding in their homes. Even some of the Elements are gone, too." "The what?" "The Elements? The Mane Six? You haven't heard of them? Where have you been?" "Again, it's a long story." "I'm not going anywhere." "Long story short, I kind of turned on Equestria, then felt bad about it, and went into hiding." "Welcome to the club." "What? Wait, Starlight Glimmer, I know why that name sounds familiar now. Your the Starlight Glimmer! The one that tried to take all of the Cutie Marks. Why are you in Twilight's castle?" "I guess you could say Twilight helped me." "Maybe she could do the same for me!" "We'll have to find her, first." "Right, so where do we start?" "Tomorrow." "What's that supposed to mean?" "We start tomorrow, so rest up. You can stay in one of the guest rooms. I'll show you how to get to them. When I first stayed here, I got lost really easily. You probably want to avoid that." "Thank you for your kindness. If you used to be evil, you've done a great job turning your life around." Saying this made her blush. "You know, not many ponies have ever bothered to tell me something like that. I guess I can say the same thing about you. I'm sure Twilight will see how nice you've become, and then she'll be more than willing to help you. Ah, here we are." She pushed open the door on her right. "If you need anything, I'll be right across the hall. Otherwise, it's been a pleasure meeting you, and I'll see you in the morning. Good night." "Good night." As she entered her own room, I peered into mine. Compared to my old room in Canterlot, this one was tiny, but after living in the woods for as long as I did, it was just nice to feel the air conditioning, let alone sleep in a proper bed. There was no way I was going to complain. Maybe Twilight can help me rebuild the life I lost, once we find her. Only time will tell.
The PreparationsI woke up in a strange place, lying in a bed I didn't recognize. It took me a minute to realize how I got here. The guest bedroom came with its own bathroom, so I dragged myself from under the covers, and walked to the sink. Turning on the faucet, I splashed frozen water in my face, still not fully awake. The chilling water helped me wake up, but not entirely. There was a knock at the door, and I heard Starlight call. "Breakfast will be ready in around half an hour. The dining room is just up the hall, and to the right." "I'll be there. Thanks for the heads up." I shouted back. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and didn't quite recognize the pony on the other side. Usually that would be a bad thing, but this time was different. I still saw the same pony I saw in the reflection of ponds and streams, with her grey coat, her black mane with yellow streaks, and her electric eyes. That much didn't change, but the expression did. She normally appeared hopeless and defeated, filled with sadness, but today, I saw something new in her eyes. If I didn't know any better, I would almost think it was hope I also saw something else in the background: the shower. I hadn't taken hot shower since the day I ran away. I still bathed, but I had to do it under a freezing waterfall. If I had a half-hour before breakfast, I knew what I was going to spend it doing. I spun the knob all the way to the red, and let the water heat up. Once I could see the steam starting to reach over the top walls, I stepped in. Turning right, I walked through the doorway, and found myself right where Starlight said I would. I stood at the edge of what must have been the largest room in the castle. In the center was a round table, with seven chairs around it. Every chair had a marking, which I assumed was the Cutie Marks of the six ponies I had heard so much about, plus an extra chair for-- well, I didn't really know who that was for. Maybe an assistant of some sort? Starlight sat at the chair with a purple sparkle as its mark. It must have been Twilight's chair. I didn't know the names of the other five, or I would guess which belonged to which. "Here." Starlight said, levitating a plate of pancakes over to me. I took it with my magic, and set it at the seat on her left, marked with a trio of apples. "Sorry it's nothing fancy. Spike usually makes the meals here, but he went missing with Twilight. I had to cook it myself, and if I'm honest, they're not very good." "I'm sure they'll be fine. I had to live off of whatever I could scavenge up for ten years. Any homemade meal is fine by me." "We'll see if you feel that way after you take a bite." She joked. I sat next to her, and took my first bite. While she was right, I had eaten worse. I feigned a smile, and she let a laugh. "I'm glad to see that one of us likes them." "At least they're not inedible." "Are you implying that they are bad, after all?" She smiled. "Eh, I've had worse." I smiled back. "To tell you the truth, this isn't really the dining room. I'm still not sure of where it is, and I've been here for a while now." "Then where are we?" "This is both a conference room, and where the Cutie Map is kept." "Cutie Map?" "Yeah. When all six of them are in their appropriately matching seat, this table turns into a map of Equestria. It also activates on its own from time to time. It points out friendship problems, and picks the ponies necessary to fix it." "Incredible." "It may also be where I tried to ruin Twilight's life, in order to have my revenge." "may?" "Alright, well, it is where I tried to ruin her life. Is that better?" "Hey, who am I to judge. You've heard my story." We finished eating in silence, and then Starlight took hold of my dishes, and vanished through another doorway. While she was away, I turned my attention to the table in front of me. It was fascinating, that this table could hold so much power. I reached out, and ran my hoof across its glossy surface. As if on command, the table glowed to life! "Woah! Starlight! You need to see this!" I heard her drop what she was doing, and she popped through the doorway seconds later. "What's going on? Wait, the table's on!" "I don't know what I did, but look!" I pointed to a spot on the map. Above Canterlot floated a handful of Cutie Marks. Among them were mine and Starlight's. "No fair! I didn't get my first mission for at least a year." Complained Starlight. "Maybe the map is desperate." "It must be." "Well, either way, we need to find the other three, and get our flanks to Canterlot. Who do those marks belong to?" "We're going to need Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. I would suggest splitting up, but you have no idea where you're going, do you?" "Not a clue." "Rarity is closest, so we'll get her first. Let's go." "You said some of the Elements are missing. Are these the ones that aren't?" "Now that you mention it, I think they are." "Let's hope." Walking up to the fashionista's boutique, I couldn't see any lights on inside. Starlight gave me a brief run-through of who we would be meeting, which is the only reason I knew she cared about fashion. "Are you sure she's home?" I asked. "Only one way to find out." Starlight knocked on the door, and we heard movement inside. When they finally made their way to the door, they clicked the latch, and stepped outside. What I saw was not what I expected. Rarity was a mess, and her mascara was running like she had cried for hours. "Oh, hello Starlight. Any word on the princess?" "Actually, that's why we're here." "You found her?" "Maybe. We need your help to find out. The map is calling us to Canterlot." "Oh, alright. You'll have to give me a minute to get ready." With that, she walked back in, and shut the door. "Goodness, what happened to her?" I asked Starlight. "Her little sister, Sweetie Belle, is one of the missing ponies." "She looked heartbroken." "She is." The door re-opened, and the pony that stepped out look brand new. In one minute she managed to fix her hair, clear her mascara, and put on perfume to mask the smell of the lack of a decent shower. "Why can't you get ready that fast normally?" Starlight joked. "My sister isn't missing normally." She either missed the humor, or ignored it. Closing the door behind her, she noticed me for the first time. I had been off to the side, and she missed me the first time. "Hello. And you must be..." She waited for me to fill the blank. "Dawn. She's here to help get everypony back safely." Interjected Starlight. "And she's a princess? Why haven't I heard of her before?" "She's been an ambassador for Equestria, travelling to all of it's neighbors." "It's nice to have you with us." She nodded at me. "Listen, Rarity. Can you get Fluttershy, and meet us back at the castle? We have to grab AJ." "Sure. Let's get moving!" Before we had time to add anything else, she was on her way. Starlight started off as well, and I followed her. "Hey, thanks for covering for me back there." "Don't mention it. I know what it's like to loose everypony's trust, and I'm not about to have you go through the same thing." "Thank you." We made the rest of the trip in silence.
The Journey BeginsAs we were on the path to the Apple Family Farm, a realization hit me, and my eyes flew open when it did. I turned to Starlight. "I've just remembered why I recognized Rarity!" "You recognized her?" "Yes! At first I thought maybe I knew somepony that looked like her, but it turns out I've seen her before. You remember the story of how I fought Chrysalis?" "No... Should I?" "Well, I guess I never filled you in on the whole thing. Basically, she's the reason I went into hiding. Anyways, while I was fighting her, I got blown through the wall of a house. When I got up and looked around, I saw that there was a birthday party going on." "So..." "It was Rarity's birthday party! Now, that wouldn't be a big deal, except Rarity might recognize me if we aren't careful." "Why would that matter?" "If Rarity figures out who I am, she might assume that I'm here to cause trouble. That could pose a problem." "I'm sure we'll be fine. She couldn't have been old enough to remember that anyways." "I sure hope so." We had reached the front door of the farm. "Just like last time. I'll do the talking, and you'll use the same cover that you used with Rarity." Starlight said. Unlike the other places we had passed, the farm still had a few lights on. We knocked, and the door was answered by a young filly. "Uh, hello Apple Bloom. Is Applejack here?" Starlight asked. "Yeah, she just came in for lunch. Should ah get her?" Was it lunchtime already? "Would you please?" "Sure!" We waited for about a minute, before an orange pony came to the door. "What can ah do for ya, Starlight?" "The map is summoning us to Canterlot. I think it has something to do with all the missing ponies." "Oh, well you're gonna have to give me a minute to say mah goodbyes." "We'll wait out here." "Who's we?" Asked Applejack. I took a step forward, and she turned to look at me. As she looked me over, her eyes caught my wings and horn, and then met my own. "You're a princess?" "Yes and no." I responded. "What's that supposed to mean?" "She's been treated more as an ambassador than a princess lately." Starlight interjected. "Why haven't I heard of you before?" "She's spent such a long time visiting neighbors of Equestria." "But why has nopony ever mentioned before? Ah've only heard of five alicorns." "They keep her existence quiet, in case some villain like Tirek comes along." "Can she answer her own questions?" "I'm a pony of few words. My name's Dawn. I'm assuming you're Applejack?" I stated before Starlight could make something up. "You're assuming correctly. Nice to meet you. Now, ah'm gonna tell the family what's going on, then ah'll be out." "We'll start walking back to the castle. Just catch up with us." And then we were off. In a few minutes, Applejack joined us. The whole walk back, she wouldn't stop staring at my wings. For somepony with an alicorn friend, she seemed fascinated by me. "Why do you keep staring at me?" "Aside from Twilight, ah don't hang around princesses very often, though ah do see them more often than most ponies. What's your title?" "My title?" "Yeah." "What do you mean?" "Well, Twilight's the Princess of Friendship. That's her title." "Ah, I see. I am the Princess of Diversity." "What's that supposed to mean?" "For a long time, I was a bit of an outsider. I managed to find ways to fit in, but I was always a standalone. With Celestia's guidance, I managed to figure out that I didn't need to conform in order to fit in, and I was fine the way I was. When I earned the role of princess, it became my job to help portray that message to other ponies who needed to hear it. I was essentially a more formal version of these Cutie Mark Crusaders I've been hearing about." "Since the CMC's are sort of stealing your job, what are you going to do now?" Applejack asked. Up until now, I hadn't thought of what I was going to do if Twilight was able to help me. I wasn't sure if the rest of the princesses would allow me to take back my title. "Maybe I could recruit them, or better yet, maybe I could see if they'll recruit me." "That'd be great for them! They're still so young, and that would help them make a bigger name for themselves. My little sister is one of the founders of the CMC's." "The one that answered the door?" "That's her." "She seemed nice enough." "Nice enough? That's all you thought of her?" I couldn't tell if she was joking or serious. Seeing my unease, her eyes softened. "Hey, relax. Ah'm just pullin' your leg." This made me feel a little better, but the conversation had died. Sensing the awkwardness creeping in, Starlight intervened. "We're here." She announced. Though this was half-true, we still had another five minutes before we would truly arrive. She was simply changing the subject. We entered the castle, and immediately made our way to the room where I had eaten breakfast. The thought of food made me hungry, as we had already missed lunchtime. Applejack took her seat, while Starlight reclaimed Twilight's. The seat I had used before was now occupied, so I sat on the other side of Starlight, right next to who I assumed was Fluttershy. This chair was marked with a multicolored lightning bolt, originating from a white cloud. The map had not deactivated, and everypony could see their Cutie Marks hovering in a circle over Canterlot. Although nopony had officially declared it, Starlight seemed to be taking the lead. "We all know why we're here. The Map is calling us to Canterlot, and I'm willing to bet anything that this has to do with the missing ponies." Announced Starlight. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going." Rarity said, not trying to hide her impatience. It seemed that Starlight had more she wanted to say, but the other two ponies sided with Rarity, so she cut her announcement short. "If you all feel that way, then I guess we can get started." Without another word, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy got up and walked out. Starlight hesitated, so I figured something was wrong. "Is everything alright?" I asked. "I'm not sure. Something just doesn't seem right, but I can't put my hoof on it." "You've got a whole train ride to figure it out. If you need somepony to talk to, I suppose you have me. I might not give the best advice, but I'm willing to listen." "No, it's fine." "At least let me know if you figure it out." "Will do." We joined the other three at the station, and then we were on our way to Canterlot.
The LiesCanterlot was just as deserted as Ponyville was. If seeing Ponyville abandoned was eerie, seeing Canterlot like this was downright disturbing. It was filled with overwhelming senses of emptiness and depression. Seeing my hometown like this was crushing, but I had to keep it together. While Starlight was getting her bearings, the other three huddled around and started whispering, occasionally glancing over at me. That can't be good. I thought to myself. I tried to ignore it. "I'm assuming we're supposed to go to the castle." I stated, approaching Starlight. "You're probably right. I just can't shake the feeling that it's a trap." "What other choice do we have?" "We don't." "Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you something." "What's up?" "Do those three always act like that?" I asked, using my eyes to motion towards the trio. Noticing what they were up to for the first time, she looked puzzled. "No... No they don't. They might just be feeling a bit paranoid. Their friends are missing, after all. Should I ask them about it?" "If we bring it up, they might think we're onto them, which would only make their paranoia worse. Unless it becomes a problem, be should probably just let it alone." "Makes sense to me. We should probably start walking. The castle is a good half-hour from the station." "I'll follow you." As we drew near the castle, I thought of something that worried me. It was more of a worst case scenario than anything else, but I wanted to avoid the risk. "Hey, Starlight? Do you think we could make up an excuse, so I don't have to go in there?" "Why wouldn't you want to... oh, that's right. Well, maybe Celestia is in a forgiving mood?" "With so many ponies missing, she's more likely to be in a panic. Seeing me might make things worse. She might even think I'm behind all of this." "Good point. How about this: you can branch off, and I'll tell the others that you're looking for other potential friendship problems." "That could work." "Just meet back outside the castle by the time we're done talking to the Princess. It shouldn't be long." "Guess I'll see you in half an hour-ish." We parted ways, and when I looked back, I could see the other three, who were loosely following us, staring after me. Not five minutes passed, before my mind started to wander. There were so many things to think about. First I thought about how odd Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were. I tried to think of reasons explaining why they were behaving that way, but they just felt off. Then my mind moved to the missing three, and I wondered if they were just as strange. Then, thinking about all six of them, I remembered the map they had. Starlight had told me many things about that map, like how it sensed friendship problems, how it knew which ponies were needed for the job, and how it could almost communicate with the six, in order to let them know if they were needed. Wait... the map could alert the ponies it needed. If that were the case, then why did we have to go and get them... I bolted through the castle doors, right into the throne room. Sprinting to the end of the hall, I skidded to a stop beside Starlight. Applejack looked over, and seemed puzzled. "Weren't you--" "Yes, I was, and I found one." I cut her off. "It's something that requires Starlight's attention, but not you three." I said, pointing to her. Starlight walked over to me, and we took a few steps away from the group, in order to have a somewhat private conversation. "What's going on? I thought you were staying outside." "I was, but something came up." e "Is something wrong?" "Yes, very. You remember telling me about the Cutie Map?" "Sure." "Then you must remember telling me that the map can alert anypony it needs to in order to solve friendship problems." "what's your point?" "Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were called by the map." "Yes, and..." "When we went to get them, they had no idea that the map had called them." Starlight's eyes widened as she started putting pieces together. "Plus, we both noticed that they aren't acting like themselves." I continue. "What do you think is going on?" "You told me that you defeated Chrysalis, and she vowed to have her revenge. I'm thinking that this is her revenge play. And, to make matters worse, I'm fairly certain that she wants to destroy me after I betrayed her." By now, the other three had gotten impatient, and Celestia was trying to figure out why she had seen me before. The only thing that kept her form figuring it out already was that Starlight was in her way, and she couldn't get a clear line of sight. Strangely, Luna was nowhere to be seen. "What do we do? Should we tell the Princess?" "Of course we should!" I whisper-yelled. Starlight spun around, and took a step to the side , finally giving Celestia a good look at me. As soon as we made eye contact, I could see that she recognized me. "What are you doing back here, you traitor?! I thought I banished you to Tartarus." She prepared to order the Royal Guard to arrest me. I had to act fast. "Wait! I have something I need to tell you!" "What could you possibly have to tell me?" "I think the last remaining Changelings have-- wait, why did you think you banished me? I got away. You should have known that." I lightly nudged Starlight, and we both began to slowly back away. We had three quarters of the room to cover, and Celestia would surely notice that we were backing away before we even got halfway. Still, any head start we could gain would be helpful. "Of course I knew that! I was just-- oh, who am I kidding? You've already figured me out. That's why you're trying to get to the exit. Well, at least I don't have to look like this anymore." After she said this, she emitted a green aura. In a matter of seconds, it as no longer Princess Celestia standing in front of us. Where she had stood, there was now a monstrosity I had met only one other time: an abomination known as Queen Chrysalis. She turned towards her guards, who now looked like Changelings, and yelled. "Get them, you fools!" "Dawn! what do we do?!" Starlight asked. "You shouldn't need to ask me! RUN!
The UprisingThe sun was now high in the sky, and the top of old Changeling Hive was just barely visible on the horizon. After we had gotten out of Canterlot, we hadn't encountered a single creature. Not pony, nor Changeling. If this walk was to take any longer, I was going to collapse from exhaustion. "Have you put any thought towards how we're going to get in some rest?" I asked. "Not really. That probably would have been a good thing to think of before we left." Starlight responded. "Yeah, no kidding. I hope we can squeeze in a nap before we head back to Canterlot." "Maybe the Changelings will need time to get ready. That's when we'll sleep." "That's assuming they take forever to get ready. Odds are there's only going to be fifteen minutes, tops." "Why do you have to be such a downer?" "Me!? I'm the downer!? Do you even listen to yourself when you talk?" "No, not really." We laughed. Like Starlight had said, it had taken all night, and half the day, but we had finally arrived. I had never been here before, but I could tell that this place had once been meant to strike fear into the hearts of potential attackers. While it had recently taken on a less hostile mood, it was still a bit eerie. This place did not, however, have the feeling of emptiness that I had recently noticed in Ponyville and Canterlot. That meant good news for us. "It looks like a maze in there. Do you know where you're going?" "Sort of. At least the walls aren't moving anymore." "The walls used to move?" "Back when Chrysalis was in charge, yes. They stopped when we blew up the throne." "Sounds like I missed all the fun." "In the heat of the moment, it was anything but fun. Now come on. We have to get to the top. That's where the throne room is." "Once again, I find myself saying: 'I'll follow you.'" We passed a few of the 'Reformed' Changelings on the way to the top, and I have to say: they were definitely different. I didn't even realize they were Changelings at first. I had to have Starlight tell me why there were strange looking ponies roaming the Changeling hive. Finally, we made it to the top, where we were greeted by a slightly larger Changeling- presumably the new leader. Starlight introduced him as Thorax, before going off to talk alone. Having nothing else to do, I laid down against one of the walls, and passed out. Who knew walking for almost twenty-four hours straight could be so exhausting? I rose before the sun, early in the morning. Starlight had fallen asleep pressed up against me, which would have been weird if the room wasn't freezing. It was mid-spring, meaning that the nights were still cold enough to leave frost in the morning. Aside from us, the room was empty. The Changelings had all gone off to their version of bedrooms for the night. This struck me as worrisome, as it may mean that they weren't willing to help. I slowly got up, so as not to wake Starlight, and walked out to the balcony. The sky was just beginning to change colors, indicating that the sun would soon be joining us. I simply stared at the horizon. Though I had seen it thousands of times, I still found the sunrise to be one of the most beautiful things. Being named after it didn't help. I watched the new dawn until I heard hoofsteps behind me, and a groggy voice call my name. I must not have gotten up slowly enough, but that was fine. It would be nice to have somepony to share the sunrise with. "Sorry, Starlight. I tried not to wake you." "No, no. It's fine. I needed to wake up anyways." "What's the word from the Changelings? Will they help?" "Yes, actually. They want a chance to get back at Chrysalis for all of her crimes. They wanted to leave shortly after sunrise." "I was afraid that they weren't going to help, since they had gone to sleep." "They simply wanted a good night's sleep before the inevitable fighting takes place." "That's the first good news I've heard in days. This calls for a celebration!" "Take it easy there. You're starting to remind me of Pinkiepie." "First, I have no idea who that is, and second, that's not what I meant. I simply wanted to watch the sunrise, and I was hoping you'd join me? "I don't see why not." And so we watched the sun rise, standing side by side in the frigid air. I didn't want to say anything, because it might ruin the moment. Similarly, Starlight remained silent. We stood, and we stared, and I became aware of something. I was feeling something that I almost didn't recognize. For the first time in a very long time, I actually cared for somepony. I had the first pony I was willing to call a friend since before I was branded as a traitor. What would I do if I lost her? Hopefully, I would never find out. With the sun now fully visible, and the first Changeling beginning to rise, we went back inside. Thorax met us there, and we began discussing our plan of attack. "Scouts report that there are more of them than originally anticipated. I've also heard that there are still several squads of the Royal Guard in hiding. If we add up our numbers, plus the last of the Royal Guard, we still may not have enough to win this fight." Thorax reported. "We may not need to wipe them out. If you lead the main force in from the west, I can use the initial chaos to lead a small team in from the east." Starlight stated. "You just need to buy us enough time to reach Chrysalis." "I just don't understand how there could be so many of them. When we beat her, the majority of the Changelings sided with us." "You seem to forget that she's the one that lays the eggs." I added. "Now that you say that, it does make sense." Starlight agreed. "That just means we have to stop her for good, this time. I'll assign you two a small detail. When we kick down the front door, you slip in the back." "Understood." "Then we need to get moving. I want to be there by noon." That was it. The plans were made, and the Changelings began taking to the skies. Realizing that Starlight was the only one who couldn't fly, I asked how she planned to get there. "Using our combined magic, we should be able to teleport the entire way." She explained. "Why didn't we do that to get here?! That walk was exhausting!" "Because I've never tried such a teleportation before, and I didn't want to risk winding up in the castle, where the enemy was." "I guess that makes sense." I admitted. Soon, we were joined by four Changelings, and we prepared to cast the spell. By simply concentrating on where we wanted to go, we were there. Now it was just a waiting game. When Thorax's troops engaged on the western side, we would slip in, and go for Chrysalis. Unfortunately, we were at least two hours ahead of Thorax, so we would be here for some time. All we could do was prepare for the upcoming fight. What we didn't know, was that no amount of preparation would really make us ready for these next few hours. There's a very good chance that what happens next will define the future of Equestria, and quite possibly, the world.
The Journey EndsA week ago, I wouldn't have cared about how things turned out, as my world had already fallen apart. Now, here I am, a week later, fighting to save ponies that either forgot about me, or despise me, and all because of one mare. The only mare I called a friend. It had been about two hours, and we could hear the first signs of fighting in the west. That was our cue. The six of us stood up, and began to make our way into the city. We ducked into every side alley and doorway, trying to stay out of sight. As we made a right, we came face-to-face with a Changeling patrol. Not knowing what else to do, I kicked one of them in the face, while one of our escorts took the other one, knocking them out. As we moved up, I noticed the looks of awe I was receiving from the escort. I must have impressed them with my fighting skills. "Is there a reason you four are staring at me?" "It's just, we didn't think you'd be able to fight." One of them responded. "Why? Because I'm a princess?" "Yes." That made me feel just great. When you're a princess, you have to get used to having ponies make assumptions about you. I would never fully become accustomed to that fact, but I learned to suppress the fact that it offends me. As we reached the castle doors, I felt a deep sense of dread. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were walking into a trap. Unfortunately, we had to press on, so we shoved open the doors, and entered the main hall. When the doors shut behind us, one of the escorts perked up. Everypony else noticed this, and froze. Quickly, he snapped back to his senses, and ushered us into a hallway. When we asked what was wrong, he stated that we had to get out of the open. The words had barely left hi mouth, when the room we had just left exploded into a flurry of distinct green lightning bolts: Changeling magic. When the shooting had died down, the room filled with Changelings, trying to find out what they had just killed. What they found instead, was that their prey was trying to escape down a hall. Knowing that Starlight and I took priority, we were told to run, while the escort held off the attackers as long as they could. If we weren't after Chrysalis, I would have stayed to help. Sadly, that wasn't an option. I followed Starlight down the hall, and up a flight of stairs. She knew where she was going, but I sure didn't. "Where are we going? I asked. "If Chrysalis knows we're coming, she'll be waiting for us at the top, on the highest balcony." "How do you know that?" "She likes to be in a position of power. That's why her throne room sat at the top of her hive." "Wouldn't we just be walking into another trap?" "She may be arrogant, but she's not stupid. She wouldn't pull the same trick twice." And so we climbed the staircase as high as we could go. But that wasn't the end. We ran down more halls, and into a small, two story library- likely Celestia's personal library- and up a spiral set of stairs. On the second floor of the library, we stepped into a small reading alcove, with an open hatch in the ceiling. This hatch had a drop-down set of stairs, leading to another spiral staircase. Unlike the others, however, this one was very narrow, and very steep. Though I had never seen it before, I knew it must lead to the top of the highest tower in the castle. "How many stairs are we going to have to climb?" I whined. "Tired already?" Starlight teased. "Tired of all these stairs!" "This is the last set. Can you make it?" "Of course I can. I just don't want to." "Well, if we're going to save Equestria, you're going to have to suck it up." "That was harsh." "I was a villain! Compared to what I could have said, that was pretty mild." "Oww! You're hurting my frail princess feelings!" I pretended to be offended. "At least I didn't assume that you don't know how to fight." "This is true." We shared a laugh. Then I took on a more serious tone. "Hey, I just want you to know that, whatever happens up there, I'm proud to call you my friend." "Aww, why you gotta' go and kill the mood like that?" "Sorry, I didn't think-" "You're fine. I'm glad you've got my flank." We reached the top. The stairs opened into a small room, with a few books placed on pedestals. These definitely weren't the books you would find in a generic library. They all had special designs on them, and some of the covers even looked to be in different languages. Any language besides Equestrian had died out, and the only place to find them now was in extremely old spell books. The only places with old spell books were the personal libraries of great wizards and magicians, and they usually only had one or two, if you could find any at all. Celestia may have some explaining to do. As we reached the glass door in the back, and the only door in the room, Starlight motioned for me to stay put. "Just stay here, in case something goes wrong." "Why can't I go out there with you?" "I want to see if I can talk her out of this." "She didn't listen last time. What do you have that could change her mind?" "The fact that I don't attack her the moment I walk out there. If she sees that, after everything she's don to me, I still don't try to vaporize her, maybe she'll respect me more." Chrysalis and respect just didn't go together, but Starlight was bent on this, so I let her try. "Okay, just be careful. I'll be right here, and if something goes wrong, I'll be there in the time it takes for Chrysalis' heart to beat." She opened the door, and walked to the railing, where the evil queen sat in wait. From through the crack in the door, I couldn't hear what was being said. The conversation started in a half-civil manner, but quickly escalated. I could hear once the yelling started. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Chrysalis yelled, a tear rolling down her face. "YOU DESROYED EVERYTHING I HAD!" "I know! Twilight did the same to me, but she gave me a chance to rebuild! I can do the same for you!" Chrysalis paused, and considered Starlight's words. She seemed like she was actually going to take the offer. Then, she blew Starlight off the balcony.
The AftermathMy eyes narrowed as adrenaline filled my veins, and time came to a halt. My mind blocked out everything except for my two choices. I could use this opportunity to get rid of this evil monstrosity, once and for all, or I could save Starlight. If I did that, it would give Chrysalis a chance to run. For me, there was really only one option. I wasn't going to let my only friend fall to her death, but I wasn't letting this thing get away, either. I dashed onto the balcony, firing a bolt of pure rage at the queen. She turned just in time for it to hit her in the face. Without stopping, I went right over the edge. Starlight had fainted from the hit, and had already fallen a third of the distance. I closed the gap in half a second, and grabbed her by her midsection, almost like a tight hug. What I didn't realize at the time, was that I became one of two ponies to ever create a Sonic Rainboom in that half-second. The blast had been so large, all fighting in Canterlot stopped, and everypony turned to the castle. Running on rage and adrenaline, I was back to the balcony before Chrysalis had even hit the ground. Starlight began to wake up as I set her down, which was the only thing that saved that evil queen from dying, right then, by my hooves. As I prepared to finish her off, Starlight stopped me. "Wait!" She yelled faintly. "If you finish her, we'll never know where our friends are." Though they were truly her friends, I controlled myself. I was never a killer, but seeing somepony harm my friend had pushed me to the edge. Starlight stood, and walked to Chrysalis, who was still laying on the ground. When she stood over her, the queen spoke. "After everything I've done to you, you still can't bring yourself to end me? How pathetic." Her voice was raspy, as she had taken quite the hit. "No, because unlike you, I'm a civil being. You are just downright evil. You're a monster, but nopony deserves to die. Besides, I believe that you weren't always this way." "Well you're wrong." "No, I don't think I am. I think that you were an ally of Equestria's, hundreds of years ago. You were capable of friendship, until somepony hurt you." "You don't know anything!" "But I do. Somepony hurt you somehow, so you built your walls. You hid yourself from everypony, and devised a way to get revenge." I couldn't see where Starlight was going with this, but it was working. There were tears on Chrysalis' face. "You started blaming everypony, and treated them all as if they hurt you. Slowly, you believed your own lies." "STOP!" "You blamed everypony for your problems!" "STOP IT!" "But why?! Why do you blame others?!" "STOP IT NOW!" "I think you blame everypony because it's easier than blaming yourself!" "YOU'RE WRONG!" "No, you're wrong, Chrysalis! STOP TELLING YOURSELF THESE LIES!" "Please, stop." She stopped trying to hold back her tears. "No. No, I won't stop, because deep down, you know it's true. And if you would only let somepony in, to show you that we aren't all out to hurt you, you wouldn't be so afraid. I can be that pony, but you have to let down your walls, and open the gate. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already." "How do I know that you don't just want to mentally break me." "I guess you're just going to have to take my word. I promise that I am not that kind of pony. I don't know who hurt you, or how they did it, but not everypony is like that. You just need a friend you can trust." Starlight reached out her hoof, and Chrysalis flinched, before taking it. Starlight and I helped her to her hooves, and Starlight gave some last words of assurance. "I promise that Dawn and I will do everything in our power to help you through whatever Celestia throws at you. That reminds me: where is Celestia?" It would be a long time before things truly returned to normal, but they were slowly getting there. We had found all of the missing ponies in the dungeons below the castle. They would have tried to find a way to escape, had they not bee trapped in Changeling stasis pods of some sort. Chrysalis' punishment had been a lot lighter than everypony expected, as Celestia was willing to give her a chance to prove herself. Twilight and the others had a lot to teach her, but it wasn't impossible. I was about to enter the Canterlot Throne Room, where Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight would all be waiting. Starlight was by my side, to help show them that I had changed. These next few minutes would define my entire future. I would either be given a second chance, or thrown into Tartarus. Preferably the former. A Royal Guardspony came through the door, and nodded to me. "They're ready for you, Princess Dawn." I turned to Starlight, who gave me a reassuring smile. "He called you princess. That's a good sign, right?" "It could just be a formality, but I hope you're right." We stepped inside, and walked to the front of the room. As we approached the ponies who would determine my future, Twilight let out a chuckle. Celestia turned to her. "Is something funny, Twilight?" "Well, not funny per say. More so ironic than anything else." "And...?" "You see, not long ago Starlight was in the same situation that Princess Dawn is in now. And here we are now, with Starlight helping another pony through what she went through." "That just means that you were right about Starlight Glimmer. Maybe you will be able to do the same for Princess Dawn?" Princess Cadence chimed. "I don't believe I have to." Twilight surprised us all. "What do you mean? Is Dawn unable to be helped?" Princess Luna asked. "I just think that Starlight beat me to it. Dawn has already been helped." "What do you propose we do, then?" Starlight replied. "I think the only pony who can answer that is you, Starlight. What do you propose we do?" "I think that you should allow me to take her under my wing, as you did for me, and Celestia to you." "Are you up to the task?" Twilight inquired. Starlight looked at me, and I looked at Starlight. We met each other's eyes and nodded in unison. She turned back to Twilight and the others. "I think I can handle it."
The "Plan B" (Or Lack Thereof)We ducked into a side alley, and stopped at the back door of some house. We tried it, but it was (unsurprisingly) locked. Usually ponies are friendly enough to leave your doors unlocked, but with everything that has been going on, I could understand why somepony would want to lock their doors. "We have to get off the streets." I stated. "Let me try something." She faced away from the door. "This is a trick Applejack taught me." Then, she bucked the door, breaking the lock. "Wow." "You think that's impressive? You should see Applejack do it. She would have taken it off of it's hinges." "While that would be cool, then we wouldn't have a door to close behind us." "Point taken. After you." She gestured to the doorway. We walked in, and checked to see if anypony was home, but the place was abandoned. I sat on one of the couches, and tried to brainstorm ideas. I came up with nothing. "How do we find a way out of this?" I asked Starlight. "I don't know if we can. I thought the Changelings were reformed." "Well, maybe a few still sided with Chrysalis, like a Changeling Rebellion or something." "Maybe you're right, but that still doesn't tell us how we can stop this." "If we don't do something, they will just track us down. We'll always be in hiding, or on the run. I'm not going back to a life in the shadows." "What do you propose we do? We don't know who to trust, and we're miles from home. Nopony is going to help us." "I've spent long enough on my own to know how to look after myself. For years I had to live with the mentality that nopony could help me, so I've become somewhat of an expert at operating on my own." "How did you live like that? With nopony to talk to, and no friends to have your back?" "The same way we're going to live right now." "But that doesn't answer my question." "We're going to make our own path, improvise, and find ponies we can trust." "Like who? Anypony could secretly be a Changeling, and we'd never know until it was too late." I had an idea, but it was just a spark. It could work, but only if that spark could catch fire. "Then why don't we go to the Changelings themselves for help?" "You mean the one's I reformed?" "Precisely." "You know... that might work." She paced the room, thinking over my proposal. I couldn't hear her thoughts, but she must have been in a heated, mental debate. Finally, she spoke. "There's a lot of variables- a lot of things we won't be able to control, which I don't like. However, it also has the highest chance of success, assuming everything works out." "Are we going for it?" "I guess we are. There's a lot of problems long the way, though. For instance, how do we get out of Canterlot without getting caught?" Looking out the window, I came up with an answer. "What if I made a diversion on the other side of town? I could lead them into thinking we were coming for Chrysalis head-on." "But you're the only pony I'm willing to trust right now. I can't loose you." "Relax. I've got wings, and I know how to use them well. I've had them for more than a decade, and in that time, there was very little to do. The only things I ever really did to pass the time was: practicing flying, and using magic. Do you know how hard it is to fly through a forest without hitting any trees?" "No, but I can imagine it would be hard." "And you would be right. By the time I left those woods, I was a master at avoiding the trees, while still maintaining top speeds." "If we get out of this, you have got to tell that to Rainbow Dash. She'll probably view you as a goddess or something." "I still don't even know who that is." "You don't know Rainbow Dash?!" "You must have forgotten where I have been living for the past decade." I joked. "Now look, the sun is going down. Once it's dark, we should get moving." "Why don't we leave now?" "We can use the cover of darkness to avoid being noticed." "Good idea." Fifteen minutes after the sun had dipped below the horizon, two shadows could be seen exiting a home, and going separate ways. Aside from the Changeling patrols looking for those same shadows, Canterlot was quiet. Nothing moved, and nothing dared to make a sound. It was a ghost town, but even the ghosts had vanished. While one shadow slowly crept to the edge of town, the other made its way the heart of the city. After around ten minutes, there was an explosion. Something had been hit with a yellow bolt of magic, which caused it to detonate at the foot of a staircase. That exact staircase happened to lead right to the front door of the Royal Castle. While Changelings disguised as Royal Guard scrambled to discover the cause of this explosion, a lone shadow glided through the night sky, before landing beside its fellow shadow. Nopony saw it soaring away, as everypony was too distracted by the chaos by the castle entrance. All of this went exactly according to plan. I landed silently, as Starlight waited patiently. "I told you I knew what I was doing." I said. "That wasn't exactly the diversion I was expecting." "What, did you think I was going to stand on the castle steps, and yell 'HEY CHANGELINGS! I'M HERE TO DISTRACT YOU! COME BE DISTRACTED BY ME!'" "Well, no, but... alright, maybe that is kinda' what I was expecting." "What's funny is that they probably would have bought it, too." We both shared a laugh. "Are you ready to go? This is going to take all night, and the better half of the day on hoof." Starlight asked. "I've been ready." "Then I suppose it's time to get moving." With this, we were on our way to the Changeling Hive.
