Dawn's Story

If 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.