Different's Story

Chapters

Chapter 1- The Elements Gaurdian
Chapter 3 - Dapper the Doctor
Chapter 4 - Arguments
Chapter 5 - Sorry
Chapter 6
Chapter 2- Goodbye Nightmare Moon
Chapter 7 - Abandoned

Chapter 1- The Elements Gaurdian

Different’s P.o.V

I watched from the shadows of my home, the Everfree forest. These alicorns… these princesses… are heading to the Tree of Harmony. They want the elements… And I can see why… That Draconequus is making a mess of Equestria. I can’t say I’m not surprised though. It is in his nature. He’s a chaotic being and they want to stop him. That’s like trying to stop a changeling who just wants something to eat. I should know…

I blew strands of my black and blue mane out of my face as I followed the princesses. I can’t let them take the elements. I can’t let them… hurt my sister…

As they approached the tree, a mare stepped out from behind the tree. She had pink fur, shining purple eyes, a brown mane and tail with blue, pink, and yellow streaks, and both a horn and wings. Her cutie mark was gold scales, evenly matched out.

“Hello. You two are here to take the elements I suppose?” The mare asked boredly.

“We need the elements to save Equestria. To save our home! If we must take them by force, we will,” The older mare, with white fur and luminescent mane, said as she and her sister, with dark blue fur and a mane like a starry night sky, got into defensive positions. My blue eyes widened.

“No!” I yelled, crashing through the brush. The three alicorns stared at me in shock.

“What is a changeling doing here?” The blue alicorn growled, turning to me.

“Don’t hurt her!” The pink alicorn demanded.

“Harmony, I can’t let them hurt you,” I hissed, eyes glowing blue.

“It’s fine Different. You can’t just keep doing this! I can defend myself,” Harmony huffed. I looked at her in surprise.

“I’m your big sister! It’s my job to protect you!” I said, offended.

“Enough!” Yelled the older princess. I flinched. The older alicorn’s eyes softened when she looked at me. “I understand. You want to protect your sister. And we don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Tia!” The blue alicorn hissed.

“I am an older sister myself. I am Celestia, and this is my little sister Luna. Now I can see you are different from other changelings,” Celestia said warmly. I regained my composure.

“I am. I’m not full changeling. I’m half pony also. Our father was a unicorn. My mother was a changeling. Her mother was an alicorn. We also have a brother I am still searching for while Harmony watches over the Tree her mother used to guard. And I will not allow any harm come to her or it,” I said as professionally as I could.

“We need the elements to save our kingdom!” Luna yelled suddenly. I got into a defensive position and hissed at her.

“Different, stand down,” Harmony calmly stated, “You two can take the elements.”

“What?” Luna and I said simultaneously in shock.

“Harmony, you’ll grow ill without the elements! They’re connected to you!” I hissed.

“True. But the Tree has enough magic to last centuries. Thousands of years. I’ll be fine,” Harmony smiled, a purple glow surrounding her horn and the six Elements of Harmony. The stones were removed from the tree and they floated to the older alicorn, where the glow turned from purple to gold as Celestia’s horn started glowing and Harmony’s stopped.

“Thank you, Harmony,” Celestia bowed respectfully.

“Just remember. I need you to keep these elements safe,” Harmony said.

“Of course,” Celestia smiled. As the alicorns left, Luna and I glared at each other. I swear, her pupils changed for a second… It could have just been me… I turned to Harmony.

“I’m following them,” I stated. Harmony shrugged.

“Go ahead. Follow them for as long as you want. But keep looking for our brother while you’re at it. I could sense their aura. Celestia will keep the elements safe,” Harmony said.

“And Luna?” I asked. She frowned.

“Luna is nothing to worry about at the moment. Everything is fine,” She said. I shook my head and left to follow the mares.

Time Skip!~

I watched as they used my sister’s elements to turn the Draconequus to stone. The elements power returned everything to normal and I flew down to the princesses. They looked at me in surprise.

“My sister believes you can keep the elements safe. I’m leaving to search for my brother. I need you to hide the elements, Celestia. I’m… trusting you with this…” I muttered. Celestia smiled.

“You can trust me. I’ll hide them well,” Celestia said. I gave her a small polite bow before flying off, refusing to look at the younger of the two.

Chapter 3 - Dapper the Doctor

"...She's waking up."

That voice. It was so clear. Who did that voice belong to? Where was I? I opened my eyes slowly, staring up at a familiar stone ceiling with purple gemstones embedded into it. A face popped into view. I didn't recognize this face.

A stallion. He was a unicorn with a grayish-brown mane, a goatee, and brown fur. His eyes were bright green and he wore a black top hat with black framed glasses.

"She seems pretty focused already," He said.

"F-focused? I'm focused because there's a r-random stallion in m-my f-face," I stammered, my voice hoarse. I shifted away from him, only to hiss in pain.

"Try not to move too much. Nightmare Moon did a number on you," He said worriedly.

"Who a-are you? Where's H-Harmony?" I demanded.

"Over here," I looked at the entrance of the room. Harmony stood there, a relieved look on her face. She looked tired.

"Harmony! Are you okay? You look..." I trailed off.

"I haven't been sleeping since Celestia brought you here," She smiled.

"How long was that?" I asked.

"About six days ago," The stallion chirped. I narrowed my eyes at him. Ponies don't usually come into the Everfree Forest for any reason at all. Harmony noticed.

"Different, this is Dapper. He was brought here by Celestia to help you heal. He's been staying here for the past couple of days. He's great company," Harmony explained, smiling at the stallion.

"The pleasure is all mine, m'lady," Dapper said, tipping his hat. I nodded at the stallion.

"So, he's okay? You trust him?" I asked Harmony.

"I trust him," She confirmed. I looked at the stallion.

"Can I get a glass of water? My throat hurts," I muttered.

"On it," He replied, trotting out of the room.

"...He's a strange fellow," I told Harmony.

"He is. But he is funny. He has the most strange tales. He's also into chemistry as well as medicine," Harmony said.

"Chemistry?" I repeated.

"Yes. He's rather intelligent," Harmony mused.

"...You fancy him," I realized. Harmony's pink face turned dark red.

"What? No! That's impossible," She rejected the idea.

"Harmony. I know a crush when I see it," I deadpanned. I'm part changeling for crying out loud. I know love.

Dapper walked into the room, a glass of water levitating in his green magic. I noticed he had a slight blush on his face. He overheard our conversation. Of course he did.

I took the glass from him, drinking down the cool liquid.

"It's odd. She literally got her wing burned off. Of course, they're bug wings, so how painful was it really? Sorry, I've never been a doctor for a changeling before. It's very exciting," He chuckled.

"Half changeling," I sneered.

"Oh, well... yes. Sorry. Let's check your wound now, shall we?" He said. I nodded and stood up, wincing in pain. I looked at the bandages. They were wrapped around my torso neatly, avoiding my other wing completely. The spot where my wing used to be, a stain of blood soaked through the bandages. I felt nauseous.

"Okay, I'm gonna remove the bandages," he said, using his hooves to start unwrapping the bandages.

"Why don't you use magic to do this?" I asked.

"It may be easier to use magic, but magic could potentially be a hazard with its radiation," He said slowly, concentrating on unraveling the bandages.

"M-magical radiation? Do you think... N-Nightmare's magic..." I trailed off.

"It could possibly affect you. Most likely in a negative way. Could be pain, nightmares, maybe even your personality," He explained. I went rigid. He noticed. "Or, it could do nothing at all!"

"How... c-comforting," I said nervously. Once he removed the bandages, I refused to look at the wound. I was never a big fan of blood, especially seeing my own.

Dapper grabbed a role of bandages from nearby.

"Yeesh, that does not look pretty. Harmony, could you get me a bowl of cold water?" He asked. Harmony nodded and quickly left the room.

"...So, you like my sister?" I asked.

"Pfft, what!? No..." He trailed off, seeing the look on my face, "Okay, yes. Can you blame me? I've never met a pony like her before!"

"Because she's an alicorn, right?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"No! Need I remind you, I was brought to you by Celestia herself. I've met alicorns. Harmony's not like them," He responded.

"Well... I wouldn't get too attached. We're practically immortal. We don't die of old age. You wouldn't be able to be with her throughout her entire life," I told him.

"I'm painfully aware of this fact, Miss Different, but... I like her all the same..." He muttered. I tried not to role my eyes. Who did this stallion think he was? He likes Harmony, my Harmony!

"She's my little sister. Forgive me if I seem a bit over protective," I apologized. It wasn't sincere.

"Perfectly understandable," He replied just as Harmony walked back into the room, a bowl of water and a wash cloth floating behind her. She sat the bowl next to the stallion and stepped out of the room. The blood must've been getting to her too. I hissed in pain as the cold liquid touched the wound.

"So... Celestia told me you said it would be a few months before your wing grows back," He said.

"Yes. It's not the first time I've lost a wing, although it is the most... gruesome," I shivered.

"Can't you just... transform? Make it grow back?" He asked. I glared at him, but he just continued to hold the wash cloth to my side, ignoring me.

"Let me tell you something. I'm only half changeling. You know what that means?" I asked, continuing without waiting for an answer, "I'm not as powerful as a normal changeling. Every form I take on has a flaw. My fur might be too bright, my mane might have one discolor, my eyes might be too dark, my height might be too tall, things like that. Another thing is that my transformations take up a lot of energy. Even if I did transform to create a copy of my wing, I'd have to revert back so it didn't take up too much energy."

"Do you still feed off of love like normal changelings?" He asked, putting down the bloody rag and beginning to wrap bandages around my torso.

"Well, yes, but it has to be love aimed at me. Somepony has to love me, or at least, the pony I'm disguised as. Same as any other changeling. Unlike other changelings, though, I can feed off of any emotion. Love just has the best flavor. I also cannot stomach normal pony food. Beverages are an exception. For example, I can drink cider, but I can't eat apples. I think it has to do with how solid food is," I explained.

"You said all your disguises have flaws. How do you get your meals then?" He asked.

"Sometimes, the flaw is something small, like an extra inch taller or something like that, so I don't have to worry too much. Most of the time, however, there's Harmony. She allows me to feed off of the love she has for the real me, so I never have to transform around her," I answered.

"How... unorthodox. Alright, we're done," He said, a smile on his face.

"Are you serious?" I asked, looking at the clean bandages.

"I talked to you to distract you so you wouldn't feel too much pain," He explained. I had to admit, that was rather smart.

"Well then, I guess I should lead you out of the forest now," I said, shakily walking towards the entrance.

"Oh no you don't," He said, stopping me by putting his hoof on my tail, "I'm here to help you heal. I can't leave until I've fulfilled my duty."

"Come now, Dapper. You don't really-" I started.

"Nope. Princess's orders. Can't go," He cut me off. I huffed in frustration and went back to bed.

"Then wake me up when I'm healed," I growled, throwing the covers over my body.

"I'll wake you when I need to change your bandages again," He retorted.

"Of course you will," I grumbled, burying my face into the soft pillow. After a while, I found myself drifting off into a dreamless sleep...

Author's Note

A/N: Bonjour! I've decided to do a thing. Every now and then, I will be asking ponies on Equestria Amino to have a part in this story, mainly because I can't create an OC out of thin air and I love the other ponies in the community ^w^
The lovely stallion in this chapter and in more to come is known as Dapper, a pony that belongs to one Level 11 "Scar".
I hope you all enjoy!~

Chapter 4 - Arguments

"How is she?"

"She's fine. She woke up last night. She's in a stable condition and sleeps soundly," That was Dapper. That other voice, though. It wasn't Harmony. I flipped over, glaring at the pair in the doorway. It turned out, the voice belonged to Princess Celestia. What was she doing here?

"Not as soundly as you think," I grumbled. The two looked at me, shocked I was awake.

"Different! How are you? You're okay right? Of course you're okay! Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. I blinked, trying to process all that she had said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. There's no need for worry. The only thing wrong with me is that I'm missing a wing. Other than that, I'm fine," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Dapper frowned, "Where's my sister?"

"In the other room. Why do you want to see her? To get a free meal, I suppose," Dapper muttered.

"Pardon!?" I snapped, getting out of bed and ignoring the pain in my side, "Don't you EVER say anything like that again! I love my sister. More than a pony like you ever could!"

"That's funny, I didn't think changelings could love," He sneered in my face.

"Dapper! That's enough!" Celestia barked, standing tall. Dapper stepped back, clearing his throat.

"...Sorry about that. That was uncalled for. I'll go get Harmony," He said, leaving the room. I was breathing heavily through clenched fangs. Celestia put a hoof on my shoulder.

"Please excuse Dapper for his rude behavior. He's not usually like this," Celestia said apologetically. I took a deep breath and slowly released it.

"It's... fine. I'm sure he didn't mean what he said," I muttered, taking slow breaths. I knew he meant what he said. You don't just say something like that and expect nothing to come of it.

"Still, it was a terrible thing to say. Please, accept my apology on his behalf," Celestia replied, bowing her head. I hesitated for a second.

"Of course, Princess. I accept your apology," I bowed. Of course, just because I accepted her apology, didn't mean I accepted his.

"Different!" I looked at the doorway, seeing Harmony standing there next to Dapper. She looked happy and less haggard than she did last night.

"Little sister. You look better," I smiled.

"As do you, if only by a bit," She chuckled, "Have a nice nap?"

"Definitely. I feel better already," I grinned.

"That's good to hear," Dapper chirped, and I gave him a confused look. Did he just forget all about our argument a few moments ago?

"...I think I want to go for a walk in the forest," I said, an idea popping into my head.

"Oh. I would go with you, but-" Harmony started.

"You don't leave the Tree, Harmony. I already know and understand this," I chuckled lightheartedly, "How about you, Dapper? According to my sister, you're great company."

Dapper held a confused look on his face, so I had to say something to reassure him.

"Plus, I could use somepony who has medical knowledge near me if I run into trouble with my wound," I smiled reassuringly.

"That... makes sense... Okay, but only because you're my patient," He replied.

"I should be on my way, anyhow. Back to the throne," Celestia sighed jokingly. The three of us walked to the entrance, past the Tree of Harmony. I didn't even glance at it.

Celestia split off from us as we exited the cave, flying back to her subjects. It must be great, having all that love just thrown at your hooves. Ponies adore the Princess...

Author's Note

A/N: Sorry, needed to leave you hanging ^w^
Dapper belongs to Scar on EQA.
Sorry for the short chapter, but I hope you enjoyed and I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter, ehehehe...
Till next time!~

Chapter 5 - Sorry

The walk with Dapper was... annoying. He kept glancing at me every few seconds. It was bothersome.

"So why did you want me to come along?" Dapper asked, a curious look on his face.

"I already told you why," I replied.

"Because I'm a doctor? Because I'm 'good company'?" He inquired, "You didn't even bother asking Princess Celestia. I would've thought you wouldn't want to be around me. I mean, we just had an argument..."

"Did we? You didn't act like it afterwards," I said thoughtfully, speeding up slightly.

"...I didn't want to upset Harmony," He muttered. I stopped walking.

"And there it is," I chuckled, "You love my sister. I can understand why. She's innocent. Untainted by the world. And you sound honest enough. You would probably do anything for her. And I know for a fact that she'd be... happy with you..."

"What, have you suddenly had a change of heart?" He said, stopping behind me.

"Not in the slightest. I despise you. You're trying to steal my little sister away from me," I growled. My horn began to glow, the usual bright blue glow now darkened. I turned around, glaring at the stallion. He took a step back away from me.

"Different, your eyes..." He trailed off, the taste of fear wafting from him.

"You see, Dapper, I can't allow you to take Harmony from me. She means too much to me. I won't let you take that away," I snarled.

"Different, listen to me. You've been infected by Nightmare's magic. I feared this would happen. This isn't you talking," He said, standing his ground. His horn began to glow green.

"Oh, I can assure you, this is all me. You shouldn't of come, Dapper. Ponies like you don't understand the creatures that lurk here in the Everfree," I said in a sing-song voice, a feral grin on my face.

"Do you even realize how absolutely insane you sound?" He asked, getting into a defensive position. I snarled and lunged at the unicorn. He managed to roll out of the way.

"You know, I thought about just leaving you here. Leaving you to wander the Everfree until you die. But there's a chance you could find your way back, so I decided I should get rid of you myself," I chuckled, firing a blast of magic at the pony. He conjured a green shield and my magic bounced off of it harmlessly. He fired his own blast of magic at me and I tried to dodge. The magic grazed my bandages, cutting them clean off. I hissed at the stallion as the bandages fell away, revealing red blood mixed with a blue, goo-like substance.

"What in Celestia's name..." He breathed out. I took this opportunity to tackle the stallion, pinning him down easily. He stared at me in fear as I charged up a blast of magic.

"Goodbye, Dapper," I grinned. Suddenly, a blast of magic hit me in the side, right where my injury was. I let out a strangled gasp as I was thrown to the side by the impact. I glared at my attacker, slightly surprised to see Princess Celestia herself.

"Different, stand down," She commanded. I rolled my eyes.

"Celestia. Great to see you. I was actually gonna visit you after I was done here," I growled. Dapper had gotten up and went to stand next to Celestia. I glared at him as I stood up slowly.

"Is that so?" She said, her horn glowing a golden hue.

"Yes. I was going to take what you don't deserve," I confessed, dusting the dirt off of my coat.

"And what would that be?" She questioned.

"The love your subjects, of course," I grinned, charging up another blast of magic, "I mean, what Princess deserves love when she can't even love her own sister?"

That got to Celestia. She attacked with her golden magic and I countered with my own dark blue magic. I took a step back at the sudden force, digging my hooves into the dirt.

"Did I hit a nerve, Princess?" I grunted, giving a strained grin. She suddenly put more force into her magic and my grin vanished as my magic was pushed back towards me. I cried out in pain as my magic along with Celestia's crashed onto me.

I blinked dark spots from my vision, realizing I was on the ground. I looked up, dazed, as Celestia calmly strode up to me.

"I'm sorry that it must be this way, Different..."Celestia said solemnly. After that, everything went black...

Author's Note

A/N: I needed to speed things up a bit. This is gonna be fun.
Dapper belongs to Scar from EQA.

Chapter 6

My eyes snapped open. I was hyperventilating. Where am I? What happened? Where's Harmony? Where's Harmony? Where's Harmony?

That question ran through my head over and over as I looked around. I was in the cave. The Tree of Harmony sat in the center, but something was... off...

It was... backwards... the entire cave was backwards. It wasn't very obvious, but I've lived in that cave for years. I can tell that the purple crystals embedded in the walls are all backwards. All wrong.

Then I saw the mirror.

It was old, but it was a new addition. It leaned against the wall like somepony had just moved it there. The dust covered frame was white-turned-gray, curving around the rectangular mirror. The glass, though... the glass was completely clean. No dust. Then it clicked.

"No..." I breathed, shakily walking to the mirror. As I approached, my reflection did not appear. I could see the cave's reflection. I could see the real Tree. Then I saw him.

"Different..." Dapper said slowly, cautiously approaching the mirror. I felt anger begin to well up inside of me.

"Dapper... You..." I snarled, my magic flaring to life.

"Ah, yeah... I... I must apologize. I j-just... I w-wasn't thinking right a-and-"

"SILENCE!" I barked, his fear flooding my senses. I felt tears well up in my eyes, although they felt thicker when they fell. I disregarded them entirely. "Where is my-"

I cut myself off. Harmony entered the frame. I couldn't identify her expression.

"Harmony-"

"Quiet."

My heart jumped on my throat.

"I'm sorry, Different," Harmony sighed, "I know this isn't your fault."

"W-what are you talking about?" I laughed awkwardly, "What's going on? J-Just let me out a-and we c-can-"

"No. We can't. I know it's not your fault, but you aren't you. You're dangerous," Harmony continued slowly. My eyes narrowed.

"Did Dapper tell you that? He's crazy!" I snarled.

"You attacked him, Different. Princess Celestia told me what happened. We can't do anything about Nightmare Moon's magic. It's corrupted you. But we will find someway to help you," my eyes widened at Harmony's words, "We thought that if Dapper tried to talk to you first, he could talk you down, but that, of course, failed."

"...So... You're just going to... abandon me?" I questioned sadly, the thick tears falling in globs of thick blue goo. Harmony's face became a look of grief.

"No, Different... We aren't abandoning you... We're gonna find a way to help you," Harmony comforted me, walking forward. Dapper eyed me warily as Harmony approached, but I ignored him, "I would never abandon you. Just as you have never abandoned me."

Harmony lifted a hoof to the mirror, and a sliver of hope ran through me at the thought that it might go through. Unfortunately, it stopped on the glass.

"Please Harmony... Don't leave me here..." I whimpered, placing my hoof on the glass in front of hers. I felt a moderate amount of love, but it was... bitter...

"I wouldn't leave you... I'm sorry..." Harmony sighed, turning and walking away.

"Harmony? Please!" I cried. She stopped next to Dapper, who gave me a pitying look before turning and walking away with her. "No! Don't leave! Not with him! Please!"

My pleas were tuned out by the both of them. I felt a sudden spark of anger.

"He could never love you! Not like your big sister can!" I barked.

I immediately regretted it.

Harmony stopped. She didn't turn around. She only looked back, tears in her narrowed eyes.

"I'll be back... in a few days..." She sniffed before turning and leaving, noticeably leaning against Dapper. I fell quiet.

This... This was Dapper's fault... Dapper... Celestia... Luna... and Harmony... All their fault...

Author's Note

A/N: So! I had quite the case of writing block for quite a while, but hey! I'm back! Everything is going according to plan now... :trollestia:

Chapter 2- Goodbye Nightmare Moon

Years later…

I landed in front of the castle in the Everfree. I know that the two sisters stay here from time to time. I knocked on the large double doors, not really expecting an answer. I nudged the door open a bit and walked inside.

“Hello?” I called. No answer. I walked through the dark castle, making my way to the throne room. I hid behind the door, seeing Celestia and Luna.

“Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light?” Luna hissed at her sister.

“Precious light? The sun?” I whispered to myself.

“There can only be one princess in Equestria. And that princess… will be me!” Luna barked in anger. Suddenly, her form was engulfed in darkness, and she… changed. She was taller, her blue fur was now pitch black, and her eyes were bright and cat-like… Like mine…

“Luna! I will not fight you! You must lower the moon! It is your duty!” Celestia demanded.

“Luna? I am... Nightmare Moon! I have but one royal duty now: to destroy you!” The now Nightmare Moon proclaimed. I decided this was a great time to intervene.

I ran into the room, coming to a halt in front of Celestia. I got into a defensive position.

“Lu- Nightmare Moon! I will not allow you to harm Princess Celestia!” I barked. She looked at me, unamused.

“Ah yes, the changeling. Or are you a pony? Oh right! You’re neither. You’re a hybrid. A freak. An abomination,” I flinched, stepping back. “You think you’re all high and mighty? You foal! Ever since we met you, the only thing I’ve thought about was getting rid of you! You don’t belong! Getting rid of you would be a favor to my kingdom!”

I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I stood my ground. I glanced at Celestia and nodded at her. She nodded as well before taking off. I shot a beam of magic at Nightmare Moon’s hooves, stopping her from following Celestia.

“What? You’re going to stop me? You are nothing,” She hissed.

“If I’m nothing, you’re less than that,” I snarled back. Nightmare looked surprised before she growled and lunged at me. I jumped out of the way, only to be hit in the side by her magic. I was shot into a wall. I hissed in pain and looked at my side. My eyes widened. My wing was burning. I stood up shakily, glaring at a grinning Nightmare.

“Is something wrong, little foal?” She said mockingly. I sighed and lit my horn up in magic before a column of fire erupted around me. I hissed in pain. Transforming while injured hurt…

The fire dissipated, leaving me as a copy of Nightmare Moon. Except, my form had a slightly brighter coat and a bright blue streak through the mane.

“How about you fight me now, Foal?” I gave a strained grin. Nightmare growled.

“Do not MOCK ME!!” She yelled, shooting a large blast of magic at me. I didn’t have time to dodge. I fired my own blast of magic at her. The magic collided in a splash of dark blue and bright blue. My legs buckled under the strain. I clenched my teeth. My eyes widened as I realized I wouldn’t be able to over power this blast. I quickly transformed into a mouse, the blast sailing over my head. I scurried off quickly, exiting the room. I transformed back into my original form, running through the halls and ignoring the pain in my side. I found Celestia in an empty room, the elements in the center.

“Cele-” I let out a cry as I was blasted by dark blue magic. I fell to the ground as Nightmare Moon calmly strode past me.

“I do not want to hurt you, sister,” Celestia said, her voice wavering. Her horn started glow a golden hue and I noticed the elements glowed as well, although Nightmare hadn’t seem to notice.

“That’s a shame. Because I want to hurt you!”Nightmare yelled before lunging at Celestia. In a split second, I saw a tear run down Celestia’s face. Then, there was a bright blast. I had to shield my eyes from the light.

I blinked repeatedly, a ringing noise in my ears. I looked at Celestia, seeing her in a state of shock, tears streaming down her face freely. I got up, swaying slightly. I shakily made my way over to the Princess, laying a hoof on her shoulder. She jumped slightly and looked at me. I was surprised when she hugged me. I hissed in pain as her hoof grazed the injury on my side.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! Are you okay? Oh my, your wing!” She fretted.

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll grow back in time. Two or three months tops. Now, are you okay?” I asked. Celestia wiped her tears away.

“Yes. I should head out. Inform ou- ...my subjects of recent developments…” Celestia sniffed. I nodded.

“Alright. I’m going to go back to the Tree,” I said, limping towards the door.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Celestia asked worriedly.

“Oh yeah, I’m fi-” I started, before I fell to the ground, my vision going hazy. I saw Celestia running over to me before I blacked out.

Chapter 7 - Abandoned

It's been years.

At least, I think it has been.

It's hard to keep track of time here.

Anyways, it's been a while, that I know. Every now and then Harmony would come and let me consume her love for me, even if I refused it. She didn't give me much of a choice. I barely ever saw Dapper. He was probably avoiding seeing me. He knows what he did...

I did try to explore this mirror world, but there was nothing outside the cave. Only a complete void of endless darkness. I was going to go crazy. If I hadn't already.

And that was where my company came in.

She first appeared in my dreams.

She appeared as a shadow with glowing blue eyes that dripped blue. She encouraged me where Harmony hadn't. She knew that I was hurting and she knew I wanted out. She kept me going. She would tell me that once we got out, I would get all the love I wanted. Even Harmony's, if that's what I wanted. She was kind. She cared about what I wanted. She told me to call her Alt.

Alt only talked to me in my sleep, so I slept a lot. I would only wake to see Harmony to throw either compliments or insults, both of which she ignored. I knew she still loved me, and I still loved my little sister, but she was being absolutely horrible.

I never saw Celestia. She was probably busy stealing the love of her adoring subjects.

Then Harmony stopped coming.

It had been quite a long time, I think. I had slept through most of it. Alt had told me Harmony had abandoned me and I believed her, so I just stayed with Alt most of the time in my dreams.

When Harmony finally came back, all I knew was I was starving.

She allowed me to feed off of her love, but I could barely taste it over a chalky kind of taste... sorrow.

"Why are you sad, Harmony?" I asked, tilting my head. She ignored me, walking away. She stopped at my next words. "I don't see why you're allowed to be sad. You abandoned me."

Harmony let out a snort.

"I abandoned you?" She scoffed, "I think you have it wrong, sister. It's the other way around."

After that, she left. I didn't really think about what she said. Alt told me that it didn't matter.

That was the last time I saw Harmony for a long time...

Author's Note

Yes, this is short. But I needed it to be this way. There's gonna be a huge timeskip in the next chapter ^w^