The Endby Befallen TragedyChaptersAwful Lot of RunningA New HomeLittle Bit of HistoryStarved For Help[Interlude] LoyaltyInevitableAwful Lot of RunningThe Year Of Our Princess 1536 AD, The 23rd day of Spring I ran today. I ran and I didn't stop. Not just from my abusive father, not just from my home, but from Cloudsdale. From my life and my problems. I never want to go back. Never! I may just be 8 years old, but I can take care of myself....not like I haven;t been doing it for years now anyways..ever since mom died. NO! I'm not going to think of her! She left me with that monster of a dad! I'm not sure where I am, at some lake, that's pretty obvious. But it's a new moon tonight, and not even the stars can light my way. I wish I could have made it to Canterlot before nightfall...but that's just my luck I suppose. What should I put in this journal thing? Maybe I should start with a name. Skyward Glory. Cheesy name right? Thank my mom for that. She was the high priestess of the Cloudsdale Alicornic Church...'was' being the keyword. Like I said earlier, she died when I was little. After she passed, my dad started drinking his Sweet Apple Hard Cider, not caring who he hurt in his drunken rampages...and by 'who', i mean me. he always used to tell me that I look her..My deep magenta mane, and my hard yellow coat. I truly was a spitting image of my mother. not that it warranted the beatings he used to give me...nothing warranted that. As of right now, though. That life is behind me! I will no longer be a filly that goes to school with absurd explanations of her bruises, I will no longer be a filly that cowers in her room at the sounds of her father's drunken rampages. I will be something more awesome than that! But for now, even a future awesome filly such as myself must sleep. The Year Of Our Princess 1536 AD, The 24th day of spring Well, I made it to Canterlot's gates today. I had to walk along along the railroad tracks though, it's the only way up the blasted mountain. I think I can make it a bit further today....I know I can. I'll make it to the Church, then they'll give me a better home. Well, that failed miserably. So, get this, I go to the church. First off: the church. That place was HUGE! It had these big stained glass windows! Bigger than the ones on Cloudsdale's church at least. The building was made of dark gray stone. The one in Cloudsdale had been made of Cumulus Marble, as were all important buildings in my old home. But this one, no matter how big and intimidating it looked, it still made me feel calm. Mostly because I spent my foalhood in a church. Anyways, I knocked on the big wooden doors, sure, It was dark outside, but the lanterns were lit, so I knew somepony would be inside. After a few brief moments of a frightening silence, i heard tired, uneven hoofsteps. The door opened and a burly stallion with a gray coat, beady black eyes, and a black mane. But..even though he looked like a weightlifter, his voice was really soft and kind, he even smiled down upon me. "Peace be with you child, what brings you unto this doorstep at this hour?" I knew how to talk around these church-y types, I was one after all. Thanks to his kind voice and soft demeanor, I wasn't scared to talk to him either. "Peace be with you, also, Priest." The stallion smiled a bit wider, probably surprised I knew proper manners. I couldn't blame him. I must have looked like a wraith with my rough appearance. "I was wondering if you had a place for me to stay tonight." At this, the priest frowned. "Come in, my child. The Alicornic Church welcomes all who need help." He stepped out of the way and opened the door, allowing me to trot into the church. The inside looked even bigger than the outside! Rows and rows of cushioned prayer mats lined the massive room. On the ceiling were the magnificent frescoes of Celestia giving knowledge unto ponykind, along with other significant moments in the religious history of the kingdom. I had seen them all in my books, they were painted by the painter Naychelangelo over 1000 years ago. "Now tell me, blessed young one, why do you seek shelter?" I dreaded answering it. I was unsure of how he would react...I hate being unsure. "I-I ran away from home.." The stallion stepped closer to me, his curiosity clearly piqued. "Oh?" I simply nodded. "What is your name, child?" "Skyward Glory" I immediately regretted it. I knew he would recognize my name. "A biblical name? You are a divined filly then?" Being a 'divined child' was a big deal in the church. It meant that your family was a descendant of one of the Princesses' apostles. For only those families were allowed to use biblical names. He already knew, so I couldn't back-track. So I nodded. "Why would such a child run from their home?" "I don't like my dad..." I said absentmindedly while kicking my hoof against the stone floor. "Tell me child, what does Starswirl 7:19 say about the father?" He was asking for a passage from the King Rordian Testament. I knew the passage well. My mom used to make me recite it when I threw temper tantrums a small filly. "Obey the father, for only he has his mind opened to the true way of the universe." It was the old way of saying 'Father Knows Best.' In a world full of mares, the holy book focused on giving colts more power in families. The priest nodded. "Tell me, where are you from?" Just as I was about to tell him, a small voice came from the very front of the church, near the pulpit. "Daddy...?" It was a filly, a few years younger than me no doubt. She was stone gray, the same color as her father, and the stone church. her mane, from what I could see, was brown. "Yes, Octavia?" Octavia. Another biblical name. In legend, she was the first musician to the Alicorns. The Octavia standing in the room, started walking up the aisle to me and her father. "Daddy, who is that?" "Her name is Skyward Glory, Octavia." The little filly scrunched up her nose and stared at me. "Isn't that the name of that filly that ponies are searching for? Is she the one that ran away?" At this, my eyes went wide. I didn't expect anypony to be looking for her. "Octy. Room. Now." The little gray filly, knowing she was in trouble, but not quite why, she cantered off back up the aisle. "I...they're looking for me..?" I all of a sudden felt a lot smaller underneath the stallion's gaze. "Your father misses you dearly, child. He wishes that you return home." The very thought made my blood run cold. I got in trouble for forgetting chores, what would my father do to me for running away? "No! I'm not going back!" The stallion gave a stern glaze. "Young filly, I will notify your father by scroll tonight. You will sleep here. You will go home tomorrow." He moved closer to me. I know he just wanted my safety, but he still looked intimidating as of then. So I did the only thing I could think of at the moment. I ran. A New HomeI ran out of the church, I ran down the streets, I ran past guards and families. I ran because I didn't want to go back to Cloudsdale. Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of going back. I hated it there! I hate anywhere up in that Discord forsaken sky! I never wanted to go back, and no one could make me. Just the thought of going back made me start to cry, I tried to blink the tears away, but that just made more come. I stopped in the middle of the street and cried. I don't know how long I sat there, eyes closed and crying, but when I opened my eyes, I saw a tower, it was boarded up and looked like it hadn't been touched in years. I reached my hoof up to dry my eyes when a sound caught my ears. Hooves. Big Hooves. Galloping towards me. I started panicking. I became painfully aware of my own heavy breathing.I wanted to run, but I saw how hopeless it was. No matter where I went, the priest would follow, he probably knew the city better than me. "Psst! Over here!" A voice, one of a filly, came to my ears. I looked around, but couldn't find the source. "No, over here." The voice's increased volume made it easier to pinpoint. It was coming from the spaces in between the boards on the door of the tower. I slowly got up and started to trot over to the source of the voice. As I got closer, I could see a pair of red eyes staring out at me. "H-Hello..?" My own voice was shaky and cautious. I was always told to never talk to strangers, or disembodied voices for that matter, but this voice was young, a lot like mine. A head poked out of the boards. It was a unicorn filly, maybe my age. She had a white coat, brilliant red eyes and a mane that consisted of two shades of blue: One dark, the other almost neon. "C'mon! Get in here!" Her ruby eyes darted around suspiciously. Feeling more secure around a filly my age, I carefully squeezed between the boards. Once I was in, the other filly thumped my head with her hoof. "Ow! What was that for?" My own hoof reached up to rub the sore spot, and possible knot, that was forming on my head. "You almost let somepony see you!" She frowned and looked a more than a little mad. "What if somepony found out I was here? They would send me back to my parents. I can't go back! Nu-uh. All that stuffy stuff isn't my style. To frilly fancy prance." I blinked and tried to decode what the pearl white unicorn was talking about, then I understood. "You're a runaway, too?" I leaned forward, curious of this fellow runaway. She simply nodded. "Yep, couldn't stand all of the dresses and bows and the yuck." The filly visibly shivered at some unpleasant memories. "Anyway, now that you're in here, we better get you up top." She turned and started walking into the all consuming darkness that surrounded us. "C'mon." "Umm....I can't see..it's too dark." Even though she was facing away from me, I could feel her roll her eyes. She grunted and within a few seconds, a light emanated from her horn. "That's better." I looked around. The inside of the tower looked no worse for wear. It was noticeably bare, probably from when they stopped using it. The first floor consisted of the door, and a window, both boarded up. The rest of the room was occupied by a spiral staircase that stretched up into the darkness of the tower's height. The unicorn started going up the stairs. I instinctively spread my wings and hovered a few inches above them. Us pegasi don't like to use stairs. We have wings for that. So, up we went. it took a couple of minutes to reach the top of the staircase, at that point, my wings had gotten tired and I resorted to walking. I wasn't a strong flier, but I could still hover and do some basic stuff. "Grr, dumb door.." My attention was brought to the unicorn filly again, both from the darkness that now surrounded us and her voice.A blue glow was encompassing both her horn and the latch on the door. She was trying to manipulate the latch, but failing. "Almost..." The latch moved upwards, all it needed was to go over and the door would be unlocked. Unfortunately, the glow disappeared and the filly was now sweating, obviously exhausted. "Here, i can do it." I spread my sore wings and hovered up to the latch, I expertly smacked it with my hoof, which caused it to go up and over, unlocking the door. I landed again and smiled at the filly. "Show off.." Was all I got before she nudged the door open and trudged in. I followed her in. The room was well lit by a few well placed candles, the windows all had a dark heavy fabric covering them. Most likely to keep the candlelight from showing tot he outside world. On the floor in the far corner was a mat with a pillow and a thin blanket on it. That's the first place the little white filly went to. I was more nervous than I cared to admit, with good reasoning too. I was in a strange place, with a strange pony. "So..what's your name..?" I asked this hesitantly. This filly seemed easy to anger. "Vinyl." She said as she curled up on her mat and closed her eyes. "Vinyl...?" "Just Vinyl." "Oh...Okay.." It was an odd name, you don't see a lot of ponies with just one name. Only the really fancy, rich ones did that. "I'm Skyward Glory." One of Vinyl's red eyes popped open and looked at me. "Another one of you cult fillies?" I've been called that before by some other ponies in Cloudsdale. It was never a good thing, like they hated me and my family just because we were pious. "You always have such long names.." She closed her eye again. "You can call me Glory, everypony does." I got no response from Vinyl. She was either already asleep, or ignoring me. Either way, I went to the opposite side of the room from her, took off my saddlebags and laid down. The Year Of Our Princess 1536 AD, The 25th Day of Spring I woke up to the pleasant smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the small room on the tower I was in. It was trying to draw my mind from the slumber induced haze, and it was succeeding. I sat up and yawned. I took stock of my things. My journal, quill, ink, brush,were all still in my saddlebag. That other filly hadn't stole anything, good. Then I realized that Vinyl was not lying on her mat, nor was she in the room. My worries were quashed as soon as they began, for Vinyl came in through the door, a loaf of bread on her back, and she was talking to somepony behind her. "Yeah, so I just saw her out in the street crying, I had to do something. So I let her sleep here." They were talking about me. I already didn't like this. But it got worse, the pony behind Vinyl was the daughter of that priest from last night. Octavia.I immediately stood up and took an aggressive stance. The little brown filly saw me and narrowed her eyes. As if on cue, we both spoke at once. "You." . Little Bit of History"Me? No, You!" Vinyl was looking between Octavia and I. She looked both confused and excited. "Whoa, that's awesome! Do it some more!" The white filly smiled and had a look of eagerness in her eyes. "Vinyl! Do you know who this is? This is the filly my daddy is looking for. She ran away before we could get her back to her daddy." Vinyl's smile dropped from her face. "I don't wanna go back to my dad! I ran away for a reason..." I was screaming in pure anger. This filly didn't know what she was talking about and it was so aggravating. The brown maned filly glared daggers at me. "I'm going to go tell my daddy where you are! Your daddy is with him" My eyes shot wide open. My father? Here? Not good. I was thinking I might have to tackle this filly to stop her, but Vinyl stepped in. "Whoa, whoa. Octy. You can't tell anypony we're here, I'm real thankful you've been helping me out, but...I'm not going back to my family either." Vinyl stepped between Octavia and the door. "Vinyl, I can get you somewhere to hide while they come get her, I promised to keep you safe and I will." Octavia gently smiled at her unicorn friend, who started to buckle. "Why does she get saved, huh? What's so special about her?" I wanted to know. What made one runaway different from another? Octavia huffed and rolled her eyes. "Because SHE is my best friend, and not a filthy pegasus!" Vinyl gasped and my jaw was dangerously close to the ground. Racism was nearly unheard of in Equestria, though there were a few pockets that believed Pegasi were not real ponies due to the fact that they were not Earthbound. "W-What..?" I was stunned. I had never been called a filthy pegasus, I had heard of stuff like it happening, but I was always assured that the world wasn't like that. "Octavia! That's not cool! You know that's not true."Vinyl looked hurt. Almost as hurt as me. "You know as well as I do they aren't natural! Rats with wings..." Octavia mumbled that last part under her breath. "Octavia, those are your dad's beliefs...not yours.you know that" Vinyl carefully approached her friend and put a hoof around her. Her red eyes met with my magenta ones. "Glory...can you please leave us for a minute..? I think there's a tour going on at the palace in like 10 minutes...you can make it." I resigned myself to a quiet walk down the stairs. I didn't know what was going on up there, all I knew is that what Octavia said hurt. She was a child of the church, they were taught tolerance and love for all. Sure, the bible focused mostly on Unicorns, but it did talk about pegasi and earth ponies. Each of the three types of ponies were created from a piece of the Alicorn sisters. The Pegasi were created from a feather of Luna, The Earth Ponies were crafted from the muscle of Celestia, and the Unicorns were created by pieces of mane from each. So, naturally within the religion Unicorns were granted a higher social status. The palace loomed before Glory. Its pure white walls shone in the late morning sun. It was truly marvelous. The bible says that Luna created the palace from enchanted moonstone, it would stand to reason that this would be true. For it was truly magnificent. At the top of the staircase leading into the palace, there was a line, most likely for the tour. So that's where I went. I didn't fly up the steps though, this was holy ground and was to be treated as such. No flying or magic was allowed on holy ground. Strangely, when i reached the top of the steps, the line looked different. It wasn't full of families or other fillies. There were farmers, dukes, duchesses, and everything in between. I supposed that even the adults liked to get a tour of the castle. I took my place in line behind a dapper looking stallion. He was pure white, Kinda like Vinyl. he had a beautiful golden mane and tail, and wore a dark blue suit. I'd never seen such a fancy looking stallion. I was drawn out of my revelry by a hoof tapping my head. I looked up and saw a pegasus guard in shining gold armor standing over me. "Excuse me, little filly?" I put on my best smile and replied. "Yes, sir?" "What's your name?" He asked so kindly, and he was a royal guard..but I still couldn't tell him my real name. He might be looking for 'Skyward Glory.' "Morning Glory, sir." I had heard that name before. It was a flower, my mother used to pick them when she went down to the ground. When she would come back home, she would put them in my hair and tell me how pretty I was. my smile started to fade as I thought of her. The guard said something, I didn't catch what, so I just nodded. He went over to a unicorn and told him something...I'm not sure what, I wasn't listening. Sometime later, I'm not sure how much later, time seemed to slow down in lines,I was almost up. I thought each pony was given a personal tour..well...I was wrong. "Ms. Morning Glory!" I heard my alias called so I trotted through the doors that the guards were holding open for me..I was in the throne room, and Princess Celestia herself was on the throne. Looking down on me. "Hello Little Morning Glory." I was panicking, as I had a tendency to do. I quickly bowed and started shaking. "H-Hello Your Holiness.." I looked up to see her smile die off a little when I called her that. "Er...I-I mean your Highness." Her smile returned. "Rise, child. You have no need to bow." Even though I disagreed, I wouldn't do or say otherwise. Not to Celestia herself. "Now, What brings you to my court on this beautiful day of mine?" Court? I was racking my brain trying to think of what a 'court' was. It certainly wasn't a court of law.. "C-Court..? I thought this was the tour.." At this Celestia seemed to smile more, the pony next to her let out a little chuckle, as did the guards. "No, my little pony. The tours start on the east side of the castle. This is the south side." My face felt like it was on fire, and it probably looked as red. "I-I'm sorry Your Highness.." I started to back away when she spoke again. "It was a mistake, I understand.." She paused and tilted her head as if she was thinking. " Do you still want to go on the tour?" I nodded eagerly, all i wanted was to get out of there. "Very well." She got down from her throne and trotted over to me. "Allow me to escort you. We wouldn't want you getting lost, now would we?" She smiled and winked at me, which made me blush again. Two guards started coming towards the Princess and I. "No, you stay here. She is just a child, I can handle this." The two guards respectfully bowed and went back to their positions. When she started walking, so did I. We were out of the throne room before she spoke again. "So what is your real name?" That made me stop in my tracks behind her. She turned around, her eye that wasn't hidden behind her pastel mane stared at me intently. "W-What..?" "I know Morning Glory isn't your name. No Pegasus would name their foal after a flower, only earth ponies do that. So, what is your real name?" I knew I couldn't lie to her. it was useless. "S-Skyward Glory.." The Princess smiled wide. "That is a pegasus name, and a religious one if I am not mistaken." I simply nodded. "So tell me, who are you a descendant of?" I knew this one off the top of my head, I had recited it for a long time. "Regalia Gazer, Your Highness." "Oh? I remember her, she always wore the prettiest dresses." The Princess seemed to brush that off. "And you are a part of that cul-I mean, religion?" I nodded again. "You may speak freely around me. I am just the Princess." "M-My mother was the high priestess in Cloudsdale..she..died a few years ago." Celestia's gaze softened and she gave a sympathetic smile. "My apologies, Skyward Glory.." "It's okay Your Highness. It wasn't your fault.." I suddenly became very interested in the tiles on the floor. "Let us continue. It's a long walk." I nodded and followed the Princess down the hallways. She was telling me about my ancestor while I listened and nodded when I was supposed to. "The tour is right through here." She nodded at the door in front of us. "But before you go, I have one last thing to say." I looked in her eye and nodded. "I do not know why you ran away from your home, and I do not want to know. But, I wish to see all of my subjects happy. That's what all ponies should think. It does not matter how or why, but you should make sure that all of the people that matter to you are happy. Not just you, alright?" I was simply stunned, she had known who I was the whole time and didn't call the guards or anything else. As she opened the door with her magic, I realized how omniscient our Princess was...and how right she was. Starved For HelpThe tour was pretty cool to say the least. I got to see the crown jewels, the scepter used to knight ponies worthy of such an honor. The coolest part had to be seeing Celestia's and Luna's dresses from the Inaugural Ball from over 1400 years ago. They were so beautiful: Celestia's dress was shimmering white with pastel blues, pinks, and greens woven into it ever so suddenly. It was like looking at the most beautiful sunrise ever created. Luna's dress was equally as beautiful: It was a deep blue, almost the same color of the night sky. On it was beaded the most intricate star patterns. They modeled the clear night sky perfectly, but there was more to it, across the waist, one could barely make out a ripping band of white. It was the milky way, sewn perfectly into the dress. No single dress was as beautiful as even a fraction of one of those.dresses. I remember being distracted from the glorious garments of the goddesses by a whining filly. I turned and saw a family beside me. The father: a white earth pony with bushy brown eyebrows. an even bushier mustache, and a garish flower print shirt was taking pictures of the exhibits. While the mother: A light pink unicorn with her deep purple mane in a bun was trying to calm down a crying filly. The filly was white, like her father, with a deep purple mane and a horn like her mother. Her mane looked expertly styled, it seemed to give the filly a very dignified look about her, even though she was crying. "Rarity." The mother hissed at her daughter quietly. "This is no way to behave in public." The little white unicorn couldn't have been more than a year old, she sat on the ground, quite frankly, she looked bored. Museums were no place for fussing foals. I hate seeing crying foals, it's just sad for one, and it's annoying. So, I trotted over. "Hey there.." The little one looked up at me with bright blue eyes. They looked like sapphires sparkling in the light. "Don't be sad, it'll be alright..." I looked up and saw the mother and the father talking about some of the exhibits and how valuable they were. "Look at the pretty dresses!" I pointed my hoof towards the royal dresses. The moment the little unicorn's eyes connected with the gowns, she smiled happily and started reaching for them. I backed away as the mother turned around and saw her daughter. "Does Rarity want to go see the pretty dresses?" The filly nodded and the mother picked her up and carried her over there. I was happy, just like the filly. Hopefully she liked the dresses. My job was done, there. So I exited the Eastern side of the palace and down the stairs. Canterlot was shining in the midday sun, but that's not all that was shining. Down Canterlot's main street I could see a very familiar pegasus being flanked by guards on either side...it was my father. Out of instinct, i dove behind a potted plant. I had completely forgotten he was looking for me when Vinyl told me to go! I peeked through some of the leaves and saw they were still coming my way. I was for sure they were going to find me...but, they strolled on past,up the stairs and into the palace. It was then that I realized my yellow coat was drenched in sweat, and my once bed-head mane now clung to my face. I didn't realize how nervous i had been...but I did realize that I needed to get back to the tower, and quick. So, I did what I was good at, the one thing that kept coming up in my life. I ran. Ponies in the streets looked at me, the sweaty, dirty, filly with disgust..but I didn't care. I just ran, weaving my way in and out of crowds. When I finally got back to the tower, the door wasn't boarded up anymore. "Oh no.." I said as I rushed up the stairs and into the top room. Vinyl's stuff was gone, but my saddlebag was left in the far dark corner. I could barely make it out in the shadows, but it was there. I leaped over to it and quickly opened it: The loaf of bread from earlier was in there, along with my journal...at least that was still there. I only wished I knew where Vinyl went...or Octavia. Sure, Octavia wasn't nice, and Vinyl could be a little...strange, but they were ponies to talk to. They were company. I said nothing and did nothing for the rest of the day, except eat a little bit off the bread. There wasn't much i could do.. The Year of our Princess 1536 AD, the 30th Day of Spring I spent the past 5 days doing things around the tower: Usually at night. I went out and found a suitable lock and key for the tower room, I'm not too proud of how I got it...but it's for my safety. The other night I went to one of the fountains and bathed, that's usually not allowed by guards, but I made sure none were around. It feels good to be clean again, even if it meant the perpetual spikiness of my mane returned. Even within the past 5 days, Octavia or Vinyl hadn't shown up. I guess it makes sense that Octavia wouldn't come back, but this was Vinyl's home. Perhaps Octavia had found her a new home like she promised, or maybe Vinyl went home. Either way, I wanted one of them back here to talk to, and to help. I finished the loaf of bread 2 days ago, and the hunger was setting in. It was hard to acquire food. I couldn't steal any during the day because there were always too many ponies around, and during the night the vendors took their stalls home. I just want to eat...I'm starting to feel my ribs, and my coat is losing its sheen. Things aren't looking up. But, earlier today I thought I might try to go steal some food. It didn't end well. The vendor caught me and reported me to the guards, who in turn threatened to throw me into Guantanamare Bay if I stole again. I even resorted to prayer last night, and I hate prayer. I didn't want to bug the goddesses with my petty problems, but I did anyways. I looked up to the night sky and spoke quietly. "Dear Luna, Protector of Children, Regent of the Night, look over me as I sleep and protect me. I'm sorry to bother you, but I request your assistance. I ran away from home, and now I am out of food and out of luck. Dear Luna, Smile upon me and deliver me from this. I pray for my continue existence and health. Amen" The stars seemed to twinkle a little brighter in response. it amy have just been a trick of the light, but deep down, I trusted that I was in good hooves. [Interlude] LoyaltyRainbow Dash had been flying around all day doing damage control, making sure ponies weren't severely hurt or worse. Twilight had sent her out due to her speed, and flying prowess. She could spot ponies in need then get somepony to help them in 10 seconds flat. She was the perfect scout. As of now, she was flying over the area between Ponyville and Cloudsdale. It was the last area in her patrol, then she could finally go home and rest after this eventful day, but she spotted a magenta tail coming from under the shade of a tree. It could be nothing, but it could be a pony in dire need of help. Rainbow banked hard and descended towards the firm earth. What she saw when she landed shocked her. Underneath the tree was a mare, a pegasus to be exact. She looked some years older than Dash, her yellow coat and magenta mane were stained with blood, most likely just her own. Her wings were limp behind her, they were horribly twisted and broken, the same went for the majority of her legs. Dash rushed over to the fallen mare. "Miss?" She reached a tender hoof out to gently shake the mare. "Miss, are you alright..?" No response came, Dash put her hoof on the yellow mare's neck to feel for a pulse. She felt nothing. The rainbow maned pegasus let her head droop. This had been the only casualty she had witnessed all day. "I'm sorry..." Then she saw the small book lying beside the mare. It was a simple brown tome with the name "Skyward Glory" written on it. "That must be you, huh?" Dash didn't care that she was speaking to the dead. "Here I was thinking I was having a bad day.." Dash smiled sadly as she wiped a tear away. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you.." Dash looked back at the book and picked it up, flipping it open to a random page. "Your journal, huh?" Dash nodded slightly. "You, stay here, I'm going to go get some help, I promise" Dash lifted off slowly and with great regret and took to the skies to go get somepony to help her take the body to Ponyville. Dash returned within the hour with all of her friends, sans Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy who were unaccustomed to death, or not fit to witness it. Dash herself, had resigned to walking with her friends instead of flying, she didn't feel like flying for the first time in her life. "Dash, what did you say the name of this mare was?" They had all been quiet and somber the whole walk, it was Twilight who broke the silence. Rainbow felt depressed every time the mare was brought up. She hated death, she hated talking about it, and most of all, she hated seeing dead pegasi. "Her journal said Skyward Glory on the cover..." Her voice carried little to no emotion. "Wait, are you sure?" Dash nodded. "She runs the orphanage in Canterlot. Why would she be all the way out here?" Dash hadn't disclosed the full details to her friends. She just said a mare was hurt and she couldn't deal with it herself. Dash was about to answer Twilight when they came over the hill. The dead pegasus was in full view for everypony now. "Rainbow Dash....y-you didn't tell us she was dea-de...deceased." Rarity turned a light shade of green, and nopony could blame her. Applejack took off her hat and held it to her chest, while Twilight...well..Twilight just stood there. "Sorry guys, I couldn't bring myself to tell you..It's...too much." Applejack nodded. "It's alright Sugarcube, y'all don't need ta be sorry. This shouldn' happen ta nopony." Applejack rested a firm hoof on her friend's shoulder. Twilight approached the body apprehensively. "G-Glory..?" Sure enough, as she got closer, she could tell it was the orphanage owner. The familiar Indigo heart cutie mark with a small hoof-print in the middle of it. But she wasn't used to seeing the mare in such bad shape, so bloody and beaten. "So, you knew her Twilight?" Dash's voice came from behind her. "Y-Yeah...she was my mother's midwife during mine and my brother's birth...and she ran the local orphanage. I used to visit her to read her foal care books when I was bored.." It was hard to see such a significant part of her life, broken. Her magic reached out and moved her tangled mane out of her face. Rarity finally joined the group. "Will you be okay, Twilight..?" The purple unicorn nodded. Then, without a second thought, a purple glow encompassed her horn and the small book on the ground, she flipped through it. "What do you know about her, dear?" Twilight flipped to the very first page of the book. "She was born in....1528?" All three of the mares stepped back in shock. "That's only a couple of years older than us..." Dash said in a small voice. "She looks so old, though...and tired.." Rarity's eyes were trying to look away, but just couldn't seem to. "She had a hard life Rarity. She was an orphan on the streets of Canterlot from what she told me. She also had a daughter she lost.." Twilight was reading through some of the entries in the journal, in the meantime, Rarity pulled a dark sheet out of her saddlebag and placed it on the body. "Twilight, ah know this must be mighty hard fer you ta take in, but we need ta get the body back to Ponyville fer burial. It's awful improper fer a body to rot in the open.." The orange mare kept her head bowed in respect for the dead. Twilight nodded and lifted the body with the blanket, gently wrapping the blanket around it. " I suppose you're right AJ." The group started walking back towards Ponyville. "You were such a loyal mare, Glory. What made you leave your job and do this?" InevitableWhat does it mean to die? Does it mean we go up to the eternal herd in the sky? That's what we're taught growing up: dying is simply being elevated to a higher form of life. A life where you face no fear, no regret, only love and tolerance. But why does going to such a paradise require so much pain? I look at the magenta locks hanging in front of my eyes. I don't even have the strength to blow them away like I usually do, but it's not like that's the only disparaging part of my appearance at the moment. Not with my broken wings, shattered legs, and bloodied torso. My mane can wait. My name is Skyward Glory. I lay here, on the cool grass, dying. I wish somepony would come along and save me, but as always, my wishes will most likely go unanswered. I wish I could see my daughter again, I wish I could have seen her grow up...I wish I would never have let her go. My magenta gaze drifts to a nearby tree. The shade looked inviting under the hot afternoon sun. I slowly put my one good forehoof on the ground, wincing at the pain of my injured shoulder. I put it down a few inches away and used my strength to pull me ever closer to the arboreal paradise a few feet away. I finally get there after a few minutes, and a few collapses that resulted in me screaming in pain. But I'm finally here. I'm propped up against the tree, I let my wings droop to the side so they don't come in contact with the hard tree. I finally had time to just...breathe. I close my eyes and lay my head back against the bark. It may be rough and uneven, but it feels like paradise to just relax. After a few minutes, I open my eyes and finally look down at myself. My once shining yellow coat lay in tatters. Blood spills from open wounds without stopping. This is when I start coming to the realization that I am close to my end. So close in fact, I can feel the call of the eternal herd. Welcoming me. It's a warm welcome, one that I wish to embrace this very moment...but there is one thing I must do before I go. My good hoof reaches up to my mane, withdrawing a small journal that usually lay within its tangles. On it is written my name, and within it, my story. I want whoever finds me to know who I am, what I've done. My whole life has been one inevitable mistake after another. Now, the only inevitable thing left is death...but I am not afraid of it. I do not regret it. This is the one thing I look forward to. Absolve my sins, eternal herd, and make me whole.
Awful Lot of RunningThe Year Of Our Princess 1536 AD, The 23rd day of Spring I ran today. I ran and I didn't stop. Not just from my abusive father, not just from my home, but from Cloudsdale. From my life and my problems. I never want to go back. Never! I may just be 8 years old, but I can take care of myself....not like I haven;t been doing it for years now anyways..ever since mom died. NO! I'm not going to think of her! She left me with that monster of a dad! I'm not sure where I am, at some lake, that's pretty obvious. But it's a new moon tonight, and not even the stars can light my way. I wish I could have made it to Canterlot before nightfall...but that's just my luck I suppose. What should I put in this journal thing? Maybe I should start with a name. Skyward Glory. Cheesy name right? Thank my mom for that. She was the high priestess of the Cloudsdale Alicornic Church...'was' being the keyword. Like I said earlier, she died when I was little. After she passed, my dad started drinking his Sweet Apple Hard Cider, not caring who he hurt in his drunken rampages...and by 'who', i mean me. he always used to tell me that I look her..My deep magenta mane, and my hard yellow coat. I truly was a spitting image of my mother. not that it warranted the beatings he used to give me...nothing warranted that. As of right now, though. That life is behind me! I will no longer be a filly that goes to school with absurd explanations of her bruises, I will no longer be a filly that cowers in her room at the sounds of her father's drunken rampages. I will be something more awesome than that! But for now, even a future awesome filly such as myself must sleep. The Year Of Our Princess 1536 AD, The 24th day of spring Well, I made it to Canterlot's gates today. I had to walk along along the railroad tracks though, it's the only way up the blasted mountain. I think I can make it a bit further today....I know I can. I'll make it to the Church, then they'll give me a better home. Well, that failed miserably. So, get this, I go to the church. First off: the church. That place was HUGE! It had these big stained glass windows! Bigger than the ones on Cloudsdale's church at least. The building was made of dark gray stone. The one in Cloudsdale had been made of Cumulus Marble, as were all important buildings in my old home. But this one, no matter how big and intimidating it looked, it still made me feel calm. Mostly because I spent my foalhood in a church. Anyways, I knocked on the big wooden doors, sure, It was dark outside, but the lanterns were lit, so I knew somepony would be inside. After a few brief moments of a frightening silence, i heard tired, uneven hoofsteps. The door opened and a burly stallion with a gray coat, beady black eyes, and a black mane. But..even though he looked like a weightlifter, his voice was really soft and kind, he even smiled down upon me. "Peace be with you child, what brings you unto this doorstep at this hour?" I knew how to talk around these church-y types, I was one after all. Thanks to his kind voice and soft demeanor, I wasn't scared to talk to him either. "Peace be with you, also, Priest." The stallion smiled a bit wider, probably surprised I knew proper manners. I couldn't blame him. I must have looked like a wraith with my rough appearance. "I was wondering if you had a place for me to stay tonight." At this, the priest frowned. "Come in, my child. The Alicornic Church welcomes all who need help." He stepped out of the way and opened the door, allowing me to trot into the church. The inside looked even bigger than the outside! Rows and rows of cushioned prayer mats lined the massive room. On the ceiling were the magnificent frescoes of Celestia giving knowledge unto ponykind, along with other significant moments in the religious history of the kingdom. I had seen them all in my books, they were painted by the painter Naychelangelo over 1000 years ago. "Now tell me, blessed young one, why do you seek shelter?" I dreaded answering it. I was unsure of how he would react...I hate being unsure. "I-I ran away from home.." The stallion stepped closer to me, his curiosity clearly piqued. "Oh?" I simply nodded. "What is your name, child?" "Skyward Glory" I immediately regretted it. I knew he would recognize my name. "A biblical name? You are a divined filly then?" Being a 'divined child' was a big deal in the church. It meant that your family was a descendant of one of the Princesses' apostles. For only those families were allowed to use biblical names. He already knew, so I couldn't back-track. So I nodded. "Why would such a child run from their home?" "I don't like my dad..." I said absentmindedly while kicking my hoof against the stone floor. "Tell me child, what does Starswirl 7:19 say about the father?" He was asking for a passage from the King Rordian Testament. I knew the passage well. My mom used to make me recite it when I threw temper tantrums a small filly. "Obey the father, for only he has his mind opened to the true way of the universe." It was the old way of saying 'Father Knows Best.' In a world full of mares, the holy book focused on giving colts more power in families. The priest nodded. "Tell me, where are you from?" Just as I was about to tell him, a small voice came from the very front of the church, near the pulpit. "Daddy...?" It was a filly, a few years younger than me no doubt. She was stone gray, the same color as her father, and the stone church. her mane, from what I could see, was brown. "Yes, Octavia?" Octavia. Another biblical name. In legend, she was the first musician to the Alicorns. The Octavia standing in the room, started walking up the aisle to me and her father. "Daddy, who is that?" "Her name is Skyward Glory, Octavia." The little filly scrunched up her nose and stared at me. "Isn't that the name of that filly that ponies are searching for? Is she the one that ran away?" At this, my eyes went wide. I didn't expect anypony to be looking for her. "Octy. Room. Now." The little gray filly, knowing she was in trouble, but not quite why, she cantered off back up the aisle. "I...they're looking for me..?" I all of a sudden felt a lot smaller underneath the stallion's gaze. "Your father misses you dearly, child. He wishes that you return home." The very thought made my blood run cold. I got in trouble for forgetting chores, what would my father do to me for running away? "No! I'm not going back!" The stallion gave a stern glaze. "Young filly, I will notify your father by scroll tonight. You will sleep here. You will go home tomorrow." He moved closer to me. I know he just wanted my safety, but he still looked intimidating as of then. So I did the only thing I could think of at the moment. I ran.
A New HomeI ran out of the church, I ran down the streets, I ran past guards and families. I ran because I didn't want to go back to Cloudsdale. Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of going back. I hated it there! I hate anywhere up in that Discord forsaken sky! I never wanted to go back, and no one could make me. Just the thought of going back made me start to cry, I tried to blink the tears away, but that just made more come. I stopped in the middle of the street and cried. I don't know how long I sat there, eyes closed and crying, but when I opened my eyes, I saw a tower, it was boarded up and looked like it hadn't been touched in years. I reached my hoof up to dry my eyes when a sound caught my ears. Hooves. Big Hooves. Galloping towards me. I started panicking. I became painfully aware of my own heavy breathing.I wanted to run, but I saw how hopeless it was. No matter where I went, the priest would follow, he probably knew the city better than me. "Psst! Over here!" A voice, one of a filly, came to my ears. I looked around, but couldn't find the source. "No, over here." The voice's increased volume made it easier to pinpoint. It was coming from the spaces in between the boards on the door of the tower. I slowly got up and started to trot over to the source of the voice. As I got closer, I could see a pair of red eyes staring out at me. "H-Hello..?" My own voice was shaky and cautious. I was always told to never talk to strangers, or disembodied voices for that matter, but this voice was young, a lot like mine. A head poked out of the boards. It was a unicorn filly, maybe my age. She had a white coat, brilliant red eyes and a mane that consisted of two shades of blue: One dark, the other almost neon. "C'mon! Get in here!" Her ruby eyes darted around suspiciously. Feeling more secure around a filly my age, I carefully squeezed between the boards. Once I was in, the other filly thumped my head with her hoof. "Ow! What was that for?" My own hoof reached up to rub the sore spot, and possible knot, that was forming on my head. "You almost let somepony see you!" She frowned and looked a more than a little mad. "What if somepony found out I was here? They would send me back to my parents. I can't go back! Nu-uh. All that stuffy stuff isn't my style. To frilly fancy prance." I blinked and tried to decode what the pearl white unicorn was talking about, then I understood. "You're a runaway, too?" I leaned forward, curious of this fellow runaway. She simply nodded. "Yep, couldn't stand all of the dresses and bows and the yuck." The filly visibly shivered at some unpleasant memories. "Anyway, now that you're in here, we better get you up top." She turned and started walking into the all consuming darkness that surrounded us. "C'mon." "Umm....I can't see..it's too dark." Even though she was facing away from me, I could feel her roll her eyes. She grunted and within a few seconds, a light emanated from her horn. "That's better." I looked around. The inside of the tower looked no worse for wear. It was noticeably bare, probably from when they stopped using it. The first floor consisted of the door, and a window, both boarded up. The rest of the room was occupied by a spiral staircase that stretched up into the darkness of the tower's height. The unicorn started going up the stairs. I instinctively spread my wings and hovered a few inches above them. Us pegasi don't like to use stairs. We have wings for that. So, up we went. it took a couple of minutes to reach the top of the staircase, at that point, my wings had gotten tired and I resorted to walking. I wasn't a strong flier, but I could still hover and do some basic stuff. "Grr, dumb door.." My attention was brought to the unicorn filly again, both from the darkness that now surrounded us and her voice.A blue glow was encompassing both her horn and the latch on the door. She was trying to manipulate the latch, but failing. "Almost..." The latch moved upwards, all it needed was to go over and the door would be unlocked. Unfortunately, the glow disappeared and the filly was now sweating, obviously exhausted. "Here, i can do it." I spread my sore wings and hovered up to the latch, I expertly smacked it with my hoof, which caused it to go up and over, unlocking the door. I landed again and smiled at the filly. "Show off.." Was all I got before she nudged the door open and trudged in. I followed her in. The room was well lit by a few well placed candles, the windows all had a dark heavy fabric covering them. Most likely to keep the candlelight from showing tot he outside world. On the floor in the far corner was a mat with a pillow and a thin blanket on it. That's the first place the little white filly went to. I was more nervous than I cared to admit, with good reasoning too. I was in a strange place, with a strange pony. "So..what's your name..?" I asked this hesitantly. This filly seemed easy to anger. "Vinyl." She said as she curled up on her mat and closed her eyes. "Vinyl...?" "Just Vinyl." "Oh...Okay.." It was an odd name, you don't see a lot of ponies with just one name. Only the really fancy, rich ones did that. "I'm Skyward Glory." One of Vinyl's red eyes popped open and looked at me. "Another one of you cult fillies?" I've been called that before by some other ponies in Cloudsdale. It was never a good thing, like they hated me and my family just because we were pious. "You always have such long names.." She closed her eye again. "You can call me Glory, everypony does." I got no response from Vinyl. She was either already asleep, or ignoring me. Either way, I went to the opposite side of the room from her, took off my saddlebags and laid down. The Year Of Our Princess 1536 AD, The 25th Day of Spring I woke up to the pleasant smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the small room on the tower I was in. It was trying to draw my mind from the slumber induced haze, and it was succeeding. I sat up and yawned. I took stock of my things. My journal, quill, ink, brush,were all still in my saddlebag. That other filly hadn't stole anything, good. Then I realized that Vinyl was not lying on her mat, nor was she in the room. My worries were quashed as soon as they began, for Vinyl came in through the door, a loaf of bread on her back, and she was talking to somepony behind her. "Yeah, so I just saw her out in the street crying, I had to do something. So I let her sleep here." They were talking about me. I already didn't like this. But it got worse, the pony behind Vinyl was the daughter of that priest from last night. Octavia.I immediately stood up and took an aggressive stance. The little brown filly saw me and narrowed her eyes. As if on cue, we both spoke at once. "You." .
Little Bit of History"Me? No, You!" Vinyl was looking between Octavia and I. She looked both confused and excited. "Whoa, that's awesome! Do it some more!" The white filly smiled and had a look of eagerness in her eyes. "Vinyl! Do you know who this is? This is the filly my daddy is looking for. She ran away before we could get her back to her daddy." Vinyl's smile dropped from her face. "I don't wanna go back to my dad! I ran away for a reason..." I was screaming in pure anger. This filly didn't know what she was talking about and it was so aggravating. The brown maned filly glared daggers at me. "I'm going to go tell my daddy where you are! Your daddy is with him" My eyes shot wide open. My father? Here? Not good. I was thinking I might have to tackle this filly to stop her, but Vinyl stepped in. "Whoa, whoa. Octy. You can't tell anypony we're here, I'm real thankful you've been helping me out, but...I'm not going back to my family either." Vinyl stepped between Octavia and the door. "Vinyl, I can get you somewhere to hide while they come get her, I promised to keep you safe and I will." Octavia gently smiled at her unicorn friend, who started to buckle. "Why does she get saved, huh? What's so special about her?" I wanted to know. What made one runaway different from another? Octavia huffed and rolled her eyes. "Because SHE is my best friend, and not a filthy pegasus!" Vinyl gasped and my jaw was dangerously close to the ground. Racism was nearly unheard of in Equestria, though there were a few pockets that believed Pegasi were not real ponies due to the fact that they were not Earthbound. "W-What..?" I was stunned. I had never been called a filthy pegasus, I had heard of stuff like it happening, but I was always assured that the world wasn't like that. "Octavia! That's not cool! You know that's not true."Vinyl looked hurt. Almost as hurt as me. "You know as well as I do they aren't natural! Rats with wings..." Octavia mumbled that last part under her breath. "Octavia, those are your dad's beliefs...not yours.you know that" Vinyl carefully approached her friend and put a hoof around her. Her red eyes met with my magenta ones. "Glory...can you please leave us for a minute..? I think there's a tour going on at the palace in like 10 minutes...you can make it." I resigned myself to a quiet walk down the stairs. I didn't know what was going on up there, all I knew is that what Octavia said hurt. She was a child of the church, they were taught tolerance and love for all. Sure, the bible focused mostly on Unicorns, but it did talk about pegasi and earth ponies. Each of the three types of ponies were created from a piece of the Alicorn sisters. The Pegasi were created from a feather of Luna, The Earth Ponies were crafted from the muscle of Celestia, and the Unicorns were created by pieces of mane from each. So, naturally within the religion Unicorns were granted a higher social status. The palace loomed before Glory. Its pure white walls shone in the late morning sun. It was truly marvelous. The bible says that Luna created the palace from enchanted moonstone, it would stand to reason that this would be true. For it was truly magnificent. At the top of the staircase leading into the palace, there was a line, most likely for the tour. So that's where I went. I didn't fly up the steps though, this was holy ground and was to be treated as such. No flying or magic was allowed on holy ground. Strangely, when i reached the top of the steps, the line looked different. It wasn't full of families or other fillies. There were farmers, dukes, duchesses, and everything in between. I supposed that even the adults liked to get a tour of the castle. I took my place in line behind a dapper looking stallion. He was pure white, Kinda like Vinyl. he had a beautiful golden mane and tail, and wore a dark blue suit. I'd never seen such a fancy looking stallion. I was drawn out of my revelry by a hoof tapping my head. I looked up and saw a pegasus guard in shining gold armor standing over me. "Excuse me, little filly?" I put on my best smile and replied. "Yes, sir?" "What's your name?" He asked so kindly, and he was a royal guard..but I still couldn't tell him my real name. He might be looking for 'Skyward Glory.' "Morning Glory, sir." I had heard that name before. It was a flower, my mother used to pick them when she went down to the ground. When she would come back home, she would put them in my hair and tell me how pretty I was. my smile started to fade as I thought of her. The guard said something, I didn't catch what, so I just nodded. He went over to a unicorn and told him something...I'm not sure what, I wasn't listening. Sometime later, I'm not sure how much later, time seemed to slow down in lines,I was almost up. I thought each pony was given a personal tour..well...I was wrong. "Ms. Morning Glory!" I heard my alias called so I trotted through the doors that the guards were holding open for me..I was in the throne room, and Princess Celestia herself was on the throne. Looking down on me. "Hello Little Morning Glory." I was panicking, as I had a tendency to do. I quickly bowed and started shaking. "H-Hello Your Holiness.." I looked up to see her smile die off a little when I called her that. "Er...I-I mean your Highness." Her smile returned. "Rise, child. You have no need to bow." Even though I disagreed, I wouldn't do or say otherwise. Not to Celestia herself. "Now, What brings you to my court on this beautiful day of mine?" Court? I was racking my brain trying to think of what a 'court' was. It certainly wasn't a court of law.. "C-Court..? I thought this was the tour.." At this Celestia seemed to smile more, the pony next to her let out a little chuckle, as did the guards. "No, my little pony. The tours start on the east side of the castle. This is the south side." My face felt like it was on fire, and it probably looked as red. "I-I'm sorry Your Highness.." I started to back away when she spoke again. "It was a mistake, I understand.." She paused and tilted her head as if she was thinking. " Do you still want to go on the tour?" I nodded eagerly, all i wanted was to get out of there. "Very well." She got down from her throne and trotted over to me. "Allow me to escort you. We wouldn't want you getting lost, now would we?" She smiled and winked at me, which made me blush again. Two guards started coming towards the Princess and I. "No, you stay here. She is just a child, I can handle this." The two guards respectfully bowed and went back to their positions. When she started walking, so did I. We were out of the throne room before she spoke again. "So what is your real name?" That made me stop in my tracks behind her. She turned around, her eye that wasn't hidden behind her pastel mane stared at me intently. "W-What..?" "I know Morning Glory isn't your name. No Pegasus would name their foal after a flower, only earth ponies do that. So, what is your real name?" I knew I couldn't lie to her. it was useless. "S-Skyward Glory.." The Princess smiled wide. "That is a pegasus name, and a religious one if I am not mistaken." I simply nodded. "So tell me, who are you a descendant of?" I knew this one off the top of my head, I had recited it for a long time. "Regalia Gazer, Your Highness." "Oh? I remember her, she always wore the prettiest dresses." The Princess seemed to brush that off. "And you are a part of that cul-I mean, religion?" I nodded again. "You may speak freely around me. I am just the Princess." "M-My mother was the high priestess in Cloudsdale..she..died a few years ago." Celestia's gaze softened and she gave a sympathetic smile. "My apologies, Skyward Glory.." "It's okay Your Highness. It wasn't your fault.." I suddenly became very interested in the tiles on the floor. "Let us continue. It's a long walk." I nodded and followed the Princess down the hallways. She was telling me about my ancestor while I listened and nodded when I was supposed to. "The tour is right through here." She nodded at the door in front of us. "But before you go, I have one last thing to say." I looked in her eye and nodded. "I do not know why you ran away from your home, and I do not want to know. But, I wish to see all of my subjects happy. That's what all ponies should think. It does not matter how or why, but you should make sure that all of the people that matter to you are happy. Not just you, alright?" I was simply stunned, she had known who I was the whole time and didn't call the guards or anything else. As she opened the door with her magic, I realized how omniscient our Princess was...and how right she was.
Starved For HelpThe tour was pretty cool to say the least. I got to see the crown jewels, the scepter used to knight ponies worthy of such an honor. The coolest part had to be seeing Celestia's and Luna's dresses from the Inaugural Ball from over 1400 years ago. They were so beautiful: Celestia's dress was shimmering white with pastel blues, pinks, and greens woven into it ever so suddenly. It was like looking at the most beautiful sunrise ever created. Luna's dress was equally as beautiful: It was a deep blue, almost the same color of the night sky. On it was beaded the most intricate star patterns. They modeled the clear night sky perfectly, but there was more to it, across the waist, one could barely make out a ripping band of white. It was the milky way, sewn perfectly into the dress. No single dress was as beautiful as even a fraction of one of those.dresses. I remember being distracted from the glorious garments of the goddesses by a whining filly. I turned and saw a family beside me. The father: a white earth pony with bushy brown eyebrows. an even bushier mustache, and a garish flower print shirt was taking pictures of the exhibits. While the mother: A light pink unicorn with her deep purple mane in a bun was trying to calm down a crying filly. The filly was white, like her father, with a deep purple mane and a horn like her mother. Her mane looked expertly styled, it seemed to give the filly a very dignified look about her, even though she was crying. "Rarity." The mother hissed at her daughter quietly. "This is no way to behave in public." The little white unicorn couldn't have been more than a year old, she sat on the ground, quite frankly, she looked bored. Museums were no place for fussing foals. I hate seeing crying foals, it's just sad for one, and it's annoying. So, I trotted over. "Hey there.." The little one looked up at me with bright blue eyes. They looked like sapphires sparkling in the light. "Don't be sad, it'll be alright..." I looked up and saw the mother and the father talking about some of the exhibits and how valuable they were. "Look at the pretty dresses!" I pointed my hoof towards the royal dresses. The moment the little unicorn's eyes connected with the gowns, she smiled happily and started reaching for them. I backed away as the mother turned around and saw her daughter. "Does Rarity want to go see the pretty dresses?" The filly nodded and the mother picked her up and carried her over there. I was happy, just like the filly. Hopefully she liked the dresses. My job was done, there. So I exited the Eastern side of the palace and down the stairs. Canterlot was shining in the midday sun, but that's not all that was shining. Down Canterlot's main street I could see a very familiar pegasus being flanked by guards on either side...it was my father. Out of instinct, i dove behind a potted plant. I had completely forgotten he was looking for me when Vinyl told me to go! I peeked through some of the leaves and saw they were still coming my way. I was for sure they were going to find me...but, they strolled on past,up the stairs and into the palace. It was then that I realized my yellow coat was drenched in sweat, and my once bed-head mane now clung to my face. I didn't realize how nervous i had been...but I did realize that I needed to get back to the tower, and quick. So, I did what I was good at, the one thing that kept coming up in my life. I ran. Ponies in the streets looked at me, the sweaty, dirty, filly with disgust..but I didn't care. I just ran, weaving my way in and out of crowds. When I finally got back to the tower, the door wasn't boarded up anymore. "Oh no.." I said as I rushed up the stairs and into the top room. Vinyl's stuff was gone, but my saddlebag was left in the far dark corner. I could barely make it out in the shadows, but it was there. I leaped over to it and quickly opened it: The loaf of bread from earlier was in there, along with my journal...at least that was still there. I only wished I knew where Vinyl went...or Octavia. Sure, Octavia wasn't nice, and Vinyl could be a little...strange, but they were ponies to talk to. They were company. I said nothing and did nothing for the rest of the day, except eat a little bit off the bread. There wasn't much i could do.. The Year of our Princess 1536 AD, the 30th Day of Spring I spent the past 5 days doing things around the tower: Usually at night. I went out and found a suitable lock and key for the tower room, I'm not too proud of how I got it...but it's for my safety. The other night I went to one of the fountains and bathed, that's usually not allowed by guards, but I made sure none were around. It feels good to be clean again, even if it meant the perpetual spikiness of my mane returned. Even within the past 5 days, Octavia or Vinyl hadn't shown up. I guess it makes sense that Octavia wouldn't come back, but this was Vinyl's home. Perhaps Octavia had found her a new home like she promised, or maybe Vinyl went home. Either way, I wanted one of them back here to talk to, and to help. I finished the loaf of bread 2 days ago, and the hunger was setting in. It was hard to acquire food. I couldn't steal any during the day because there were always too many ponies around, and during the night the vendors took their stalls home. I just want to eat...I'm starting to feel my ribs, and my coat is losing its sheen. Things aren't looking up. But, earlier today I thought I might try to go steal some food. It didn't end well. The vendor caught me and reported me to the guards, who in turn threatened to throw me into Guantanamare Bay if I stole again. I even resorted to prayer last night, and I hate prayer. I didn't want to bug the goddesses with my petty problems, but I did anyways. I looked up to the night sky and spoke quietly. "Dear Luna, Protector of Children, Regent of the Night, look over me as I sleep and protect me. I'm sorry to bother you, but I request your assistance. I ran away from home, and now I am out of food and out of luck. Dear Luna, Smile upon me and deliver me from this. I pray for my continue existence and health. Amen" The stars seemed to twinkle a little brighter in response. it amy have just been a trick of the light, but deep down, I trusted that I was in good hooves.
[Interlude] LoyaltyRainbow Dash had been flying around all day doing damage control, making sure ponies weren't severely hurt or worse. Twilight had sent her out due to her speed, and flying prowess. She could spot ponies in need then get somepony to help them in 10 seconds flat. She was the perfect scout. As of now, she was flying over the area between Ponyville and Cloudsdale. It was the last area in her patrol, then she could finally go home and rest after this eventful day, but she spotted a magenta tail coming from under the shade of a tree. It could be nothing, but it could be a pony in dire need of help. Rainbow banked hard and descended towards the firm earth. What she saw when she landed shocked her. Underneath the tree was a mare, a pegasus to be exact. She looked some years older than Dash, her yellow coat and magenta mane were stained with blood, most likely just her own. Her wings were limp behind her, they were horribly twisted and broken, the same went for the majority of her legs. Dash rushed over to the fallen mare. "Miss?" She reached a tender hoof out to gently shake the mare. "Miss, are you alright..?" No response came, Dash put her hoof on the yellow mare's neck to feel for a pulse. She felt nothing. The rainbow maned pegasus let her head droop. This had been the only casualty she had witnessed all day. "I'm sorry..." Then she saw the small book lying beside the mare. It was a simple brown tome with the name "Skyward Glory" written on it. "That must be you, huh?" Dash didn't care that she was speaking to the dead. "Here I was thinking I was having a bad day.." Dash smiled sadly as she wiped a tear away. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you.." Dash looked back at the book and picked it up, flipping it open to a random page. "Your journal, huh?" Dash nodded slightly. "You, stay here, I'm going to go get some help, I promise" Dash lifted off slowly and with great regret and took to the skies to go get somepony to help her take the body to Ponyville. Dash returned within the hour with all of her friends, sans Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy who were unaccustomed to death, or not fit to witness it. Dash herself, had resigned to walking with her friends instead of flying, she didn't feel like flying for the first time in her life. "Dash, what did you say the name of this mare was?" They had all been quiet and somber the whole walk, it was Twilight who broke the silence. Rainbow felt depressed every time the mare was brought up. She hated death, she hated talking about it, and most of all, she hated seeing dead pegasi. "Her journal said Skyward Glory on the cover..." Her voice carried little to no emotion. "Wait, are you sure?" Dash nodded. "She runs the orphanage in Canterlot. Why would she be all the way out here?" Dash hadn't disclosed the full details to her friends. She just said a mare was hurt and she couldn't deal with it herself. Dash was about to answer Twilight when they came over the hill. The dead pegasus was in full view for everypony now. "Rainbow Dash....y-you didn't tell us she was dea-de...deceased." Rarity turned a light shade of green, and nopony could blame her. Applejack took off her hat and held it to her chest, while Twilight...well..Twilight just stood there. "Sorry guys, I couldn't bring myself to tell you..It's...too much." Applejack nodded. "It's alright Sugarcube, y'all don't need ta be sorry. This shouldn' happen ta nopony." Applejack rested a firm hoof on her friend's shoulder. Twilight approached the body apprehensively. "G-Glory..?" Sure enough, as she got closer, she could tell it was the orphanage owner. The familiar Indigo heart cutie mark with a small hoof-print in the middle of it. But she wasn't used to seeing the mare in such bad shape, so bloody and beaten. "So, you knew her Twilight?" Dash's voice came from behind her. "Y-Yeah...she was my mother's midwife during mine and my brother's birth...and she ran the local orphanage. I used to visit her to read her foal care books when I was bored.." It was hard to see such a significant part of her life, broken. Her magic reached out and moved her tangled mane out of her face. Rarity finally joined the group. "Will you be okay, Twilight..?" The purple unicorn nodded. Then, without a second thought, a purple glow encompassed her horn and the small book on the ground, she flipped through it. "What do you know about her, dear?" Twilight flipped to the very first page of the book. "She was born in....1528?" All three of the mares stepped back in shock. "That's only a couple of years older than us..." Dash said in a small voice. "She looks so old, though...and tired.." Rarity's eyes were trying to look away, but just couldn't seem to. "She had a hard life Rarity. She was an orphan on the streets of Canterlot from what she told me. She also had a daughter she lost.." Twilight was reading through some of the entries in the journal, in the meantime, Rarity pulled a dark sheet out of her saddlebag and placed it on the body. "Twilight, ah know this must be mighty hard fer you ta take in, but we need ta get the body back to Ponyville fer burial. It's awful improper fer a body to rot in the open.." The orange mare kept her head bowed in respect for the dead. Twilight nodded and lifted the body with the blanket, gently wrapping the blanket around it. " I suppose you're right AJ." The group started walking back towards Ponyville. "You were such a loyal mare, Glory. What made you leave your job and do this?"
InevitableWhat does it mean to die? Does it mean we go up to the eternal herd in the sky? That's what we're taught growing up: dying is simply being elevated to a higher form of life. A life where you face no fear, no regret, only love and tolerance. But why does going to such a paradise require so much pain? I look at the magenta locks hanging in front of my eyes. I don't even have the strength to blow them away like I usually do, but it's not like that's the only disparaging part of my appearance at the moment. Not with my broken wings, shattered legs, and bloodied torso. My mane can wait. My name is Skyward Glory. I lay here, on the cool grass, dying. I wish somepony would come along and save me, but as always, my wishes will most likely go unanswered. I wish I could see my daughter again, I wish I could have seen her grow up...I wish I would never have let her go. My magenta gaze drifts to a nearby tree. The shade looked inviting under the hot afternoon sun. I slowly put my one good forehoof on the ground, wincing at the pain of my injured shoulder. I put it down a few inches away and used my strength to pull me ever closer to the arboreal paradise a few feet away. I finally get there after a few minutes, and a few collapses that resulted in me screaming in pain. But I'm finally here. I'm propped up against the tree, I let my wings droop to the side so they don't come in contact with the hard tree. I finally had time to just...breathe. I close my eyes and lay my head back against the bark. It may be rough and uneven, but it feels like paradise to just relax. After a few minutes, I open my eyes and finally look down at myself. My once shining yellow coat lay in tatters. Blood spills from open wounds without stopping. This is when I start coming to the realization that I am close to my end. So close in fact, I can feel the call of the eternal herd. Welcoming me. It's a warm welcome, one that I wish to embrace this very moment...but there is one thing I must do before I go. My good hoof reaches up to my mane, withdrawing a small journal that usually lay within its tangles. On it is written my name, and within it, my story. I want whoever finds me to know who I am, what I've done. My whole life has been one inevitable mistake after another. Now, the only inevitable thing left is death...but I am not afraid of it. I do not regret it. This is the one thing I look forward to. Absolve my sins, eternal herd, and make me whole.
