Dawn's Story

I 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.